#you wanna see what happens if you cross my path? ⊱┊ important!

[loverwebs]

It's Supposed to be Fun, Turning 21

Pairing: Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Synopsis: Your boyfriend, Peter, doesn't make it to your birthday dinner. So you walk home alone, only to run into the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Warnings: Slight angst & mentions of alcohol

Word count: 1,700

A very tired Y/n stumbled over the bumpy sidewalk of New York, cursing under her breath whenever she nearly stepped in a puddle. Her purse was crossed along her body and a bottle of wine swung from her hand.

She made her way home quickly and in annoyance, not wanting to be out any longer than she had to. With that in mind, she took a shortcut through an alleyway.

"Ma'am, stop right there!" A voice behind her shouted. She hesitantly turned, about to blow the person off, before she saw the city's masked hero within a few feet's distance.

"Holy shit! Oh, fuck did I do something? If it's the wine— I'm legally allowed to own it! And I have my ID, so please don't arrest me. I'm not even drunk!” a startled Y/n shouted.

"No, no! It’s okay," The vigilante approached her.

"Oh, okay," She said, touching her heart and sighing in relief. "Sorry for getting all jumpy there. It’s been a long day."

"No, you're fine! I didn't mean to scare you. I was just gonna say, you really shouldn't be walking home by yourself. It's not exactly safe, especially at night," He explained through an overly deepened voice.

"I know it's not," Sighed the girl. "My friends tried to get me to walk home with them, but my place isn't that far. And I'm really not in the mood to talk to anyone."

She continued her path, glancing back at him to add a quick, "No offense."

"None taken," He replied through a jog, catching up to her. "Did you just happen to be carrying around a bottle of wine with you, though?" He softly laughed at her antics.

"Uhh, yeah, just tonight." She returned a weak one.

"What's the occasion?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.

"It's my birthday. I'm 21 now and I wanna have my first drink with my boyfriend. He couldn't make it to my party and the restaurant let me bring one home with me."

She smiled sadly, lifting the bottle up so he could see the written For the birthday girl, enjoy! that a waitress had signed in permanent marker.

Peter felt guilty hearing this. Not only because he didn't make it to her birthday, but because she still waited for him. Wanting to share the special moment— despite him having missed it entirely.

"Happy birthday, then." The masked boy spoke, voice cracking as he said it. "I hope you spent it well."

"It was... eh. But thank you."

"Why was it 'eh'?" He asked, holding his breath.

"It's just, I don't know." She shrugged, not wanting to get into it.

She pondered for a moment, then, "I'm not trying to be rude or like, ungrateful, but don't you have actual Spider-Man stuff to do?"

He shook his head, "Making sure you get home safely is just as important as any other mission to me... plus, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"That's nice, but I wouldn't want you to stop helping someone who actually needs it because of me."

"It's fine," He waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't even worry about it. I was pretty much done for the night anyway."

All she did was nod, not entirely convinced, then he spoke again.

"Sooo.. your birthday," He started.

"Right, yeah. It was fine, I guess."

"How come?"

"You're already walking me home, the last thing I want is for you to be my therapist too." She joked.

"Well, maybe I could help cheer you up... I like to help people. It's what I do."

"My friends already tried.. and failed. What makes you think you can?"

"I'd try my luck," He suggested. "Or we could walk in awkward silence."

She laughed at that, to which he said, "So what's got you down?"

"Okay, I mean.. like I said, my boyfriend didn't show up at the restaurant, soo I kinda spent the whole night staring at the door in case he did."

"Oh." He mumbled. "Sounds like a shitty boyfriend," He whispered, a little more to himself.

"He isn't," She shook her head a few too many times.

"He's naturally late to things, yeah. And he can't always make it to stuff. But when he is there.. His presence makes everything so much better." She said truthfully.

Peter hummed in understanding, his heart feeling heavy at her defending words. Here he was in a Spider-Man suit, meanwhile she wore her best party outfit. Not even cursing at the boy for his absence.

He didn't deserve her, he thought.

"Did he at least call? You know, saying he couldn't make it?"

Silence filled the air momentarily, which was enough of an answer. Still, she said, "He usually does..."

"Yeah?" He swallowed the forming lump in his throat.

"He— he always lets me know if he can't. And he did wish me a Happy Birthday! It's just— he's— I don't know what's going on with him anymore." She gave a teary laugh.

"Sometimes, it just feels like he's gonna break up with me. I feel like he wants to do it, but he's waiting around for the perfect opportunity, y'know?" She quickly wiped her now forming tears. "Sorry, I sound really pathetic."

"What?! No. No... You don't." He paused. "You— you really think he's gonna break up with you?" He dreadfully asked.

"I don't know," She gave a weak shrug. "He's like, distant lately."

"Have you.. Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"I've tried, yeah." She chewed on her lip nervously, thinking of the many instances where he canceled at the last minute when she intended on speaking with him.

"Like just this week, I asked to meet up after his afternoon class because I wanted to know if something was wrong, but..." She trailed off, holding back more tears.

"He canceled," He finished her sentence, wincing at her confirming nod.

"Right, and it's like, what am I doing wrong?" She added helplessly.

"Nothing! You're not doing anything wrong," He said through an interior panic.

"Doesn't feel like it."

They continued walking as Peter thought of the correct words to say. She'd laid her thoughts right there at his feet and he didn't know what the right move was.

He gave a desperate sigh, then proceeded to say, "I don't think he wants to break up with you."

"Seriously? That's what you're gonna tell me? You don't know that—"

"Hear me out... It's just, you know. Maybe he has a lot going on and.." He started, feeling overwhelmed.

"And maybe he hasn't been able to really tell you everything he wants you to know because he's scared. Scared to lose you. Or scared that you're already slipping away from him." He rambled on.

She slowed down her pace, tilting her head at him as a sense of familiarity within his words settled in.

He wasn't faking his tone anymore, and she wasn't as in her head as she was when he first found her.

"But you're not doing anything wrong, okay, Y/n?" He continued, voice breaking as he stepped closer to her. "I can promise you that."

She looked around to make sure the streets were empty before abruptly stopping in her tracks, eyeing him, when it finally clicked for her. She inched closer to him, while her shaky fingers tentatively reached towards the bottom of his mask.

She did so slowly, making sure he had time to stop her if he wanted to.

"Wait," He put his hand over hers. "It's not really.. It's not safe to do that here."

She understood and immediately withdrew her hand, taking a few steps back.

"Do you trust me?" He walked towards her, carefully placing his hands on her hips. With a nod, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Just like that, he aimed at a nearby building and shot a web, swinging with her in his arms. Her body tightly hugged him as they made their way to the rooftop of Peter's old apartment building. The same place they had their first date.

A sloppy "Happy Birthday" was webbed above the projector that was setup, along with blankets on an old couch that they’d made out on several times.. A few of her favorite drinks and snacks placed there as well. She noticed them as he gently put her down.

She once again turned to look at him, but his mask was already off.

"I'm sorry I missed your birthday, Princess."

"Oh, Peter," She frowned and went to cup his face. "Who did this to you?"

"It doesn't matter," He said softly, leaning into her hands.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I really wanted to... But I never knew when or how to do it. And tonight, I wanted to be there." His lips trembled.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to be there. But some guy had this really wonderful idea to rob a bank on your day, which caused a lockdown and eventually it led to a car pileup—"

She placed a kiss on his lips, shutting him up while holding onto the back of his neck in order to keep him close.

"I saw the news, Pete." She said once they parted and hugged him tightly, body shaking as she did so.

"Are you crying?" He asked through furrowed brows. "I'm so sorry I upset you, I—"

"I'm not upset with you. You don't have to apologize."

"You're not?"

"I mean, I was upset when I thought you were preparing some 'it's not you, it's me' speech on my birthday. And the thought of that hurts a lot more than knowing you kept this from me."

"I shouldn't have ever made you feel like we were gonna breakup, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to give you that impression. You have every right to be upset at me for it." He hung his head low in shame.

"Thank you for owning up to it, but it's okay now, love. I'm okay now that you're here," She reassured him. "And I'm really glad you trusted me enough to share this with me."

"Of course I trust you. I had it all planned out.. We were supposed to go to dinner first and then come here. I was gonna explain everything up here, but things just got all messy, as always."

"I just said it's okay," She giggled, tracing the spider on his chest. "Besides, I can't complain when you look this good in your suit."

She smiled at his forming blush and messed up hair, then leaned in to kiss him once again.

"I love you," He whispered against her lips.

"I love you too, Spider-Man."

[rey-jake-therapist]

I love Oshamir, but it rubs me the wrong way that they're speculated to be a Force Dyad, while it's very much obvious imho that if there's a Force Dyad in the The Acolyte, it's Osha and Mae.

Osha starts getting her connection to the Force back when she starts having visions and hears the voice of Mae through the Force. And she keeps getting stronger after she crosses path with Mae again. It also happens simultaneously when she crosses paths with Qimir/The Stranger, yeah, and it's very likely that he encourages the connection between Osha and Mae (a bit like Snoke manipulated the connection between Rey and Kylo in The Last Jedi)....

And if it's not an enough convincing argument, there's the fact that Sol reveals that they're not biological twins. They're not even sisters, yet they look exactly the same and share this incredible connection since they were born. In the junior edition of The Rise of Skywalker, Leia thought that Rey and Ben Solo were like "twins in the Force", which is exactly what Osha and Mae are...

Also, the song "The power of two" was clearly written in reference to Osha and Mae:

Parts of me will die with you

And I think it's gonna be the good parts

Don't wanna feel at all (Ah)

Thick skin, big scars (Ah)

While I was tethered to you

You cut it straight to the truth

And we're so one and the same

So all my pain is your pain

You thought your soul was a necklace

That you could wear and take off

That you could rip and break off

That you could trade in the dark

But you're mine

Twin flame

I feel the shame when they call me your name

Can you feel the same when they say you're to blame?

Twin flame

I feel the shame when they call me your name

Why work with myself, it's a losing game

Twin flame (Da-da-dum, da-da-da-da)

Twin (Da-da-dum, da-da-da-da)

Twin flame (Da-da-dum, da-da-da-da)

Thought I had a life with you

You know the power of two (The power of two)

But tell me, where was your heart

When you ripped destiny apart?

While I was tethered to you

You cut it straight to the truth

And we're so one and the same

So all my pain is your pain

You thought your soul was a necklace

That you could wear and take off

That you could rip and break off

That you could trade in the dark

But you're mine

Twin flame

I feel the shame when they call me your name

Can you feel the same when they say you're to blame?

Twin flame

I feel the shame when they call me your name

Why work with myself, it's a losing game

I feel the shame when they call me your name

Can you feel the same when they say you're to blame?

Twin flame (The power of two)

Twin flame

I'm at war with myself, it's a losing game

Osha and Mae were created artificially, maybe in an attempt to create a Force Dyad similar to what Rey and Ben would be centuries later. I'm certain that the Stranger will have a significant importance for Osha and I even hope that he'll be much more than a teacher to her (I want my Sith power couple!!). But I also think The Acolyte is primarly Osha and Mae's story. Maybe the Stranger will come to realize that he needs them both on his sides, that he can't get the power of two with Osha because she's already bounded through the Force to her twin. And I really don't see why he and Osha would be a Force Dyad while Mae is right here...

[apomaro-mellow]

Part 4

Robin wouldn’t call the walk home pleasant, but it did give her time to think. Time to second guess everything she had done. Time to rehearse the conversation she was going to have with Steve over the phone. And then time to remember he’d be with Eddie tonight and with any luck, putting the moves on him.

When she got home, she dialed halfway and stopped about three times before calling anyway. When Steve picked up, he was breathing a little hard.

“Please tell me I just interrupted you and Eddie running a marathon”, Robin groaned as she fell back against her bed.

“You knew what might be happening when you called. By the way why are you calling? Your date with Nancy finished already?”

“Oh we’re finished alright.”

“That doesn’t sound good. What happened?”

“Are you sure it’s more important than Eddie’s blue balls right now?”

“Robin you’re way more important than Eddie’s balls.”

“Hey! I heard that Harrington!

“She’s more important than your dick too!”

Robin felt her bottom lip quiver a little. “Steve, you have no idea how much that means to me.”

“I mean it. If you wanna talk I can send Eddie home and you can come. Or I’ll go to you.”

“Your courting suitor won’t mind being booted?”

It took a moment for Steve to answer and Robin worried that she might actually be getting on Eddie’s bad side.

“No, I don’t think he’ll mind”, Steve said. “I’m like....85% sure he’s super into me and will let me get away with anything.”

Robin felt a bit of weight lift off her shoulders. Sounded like things had gone well for them tonight. “We can talk tomorrow. You know, when he’s not humping your leg.”

“First thing in the morning”, Steve promised. “Good night.”

“Night, Steve.”

That left Robin to wallow. Or rather to let her thoughts race one right after the other. And she didn’t want to forget when her brain made a particularly good point so she wrote them all down.

When Steve came over to her house the next morning, she had a handful of papers.

“These contain everything that can happen regarding my decision to either forgive her or not, date her or not, or move to Connecticut.”

“You’ve truly covered all the bases”, Steve said, settling in for a long morning.

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

Eddie’s first instinct that morning was to find Nancy. Actually, it was to kiss Steve all over his body (the inner elbow was an oft-ignored area) but since Steve was busy, he figured he’d seek out Nancy and figure out what happened.

Something went wrong and he felt partially to blame for it. He was the one who switched up the plan.

Not wanting to cross paths with Ted Wheeler or get held up by Mike, Eddie climbed his way to Nancy’s window and tapped. Her window thrust open and she let out a sigh.

“I thought you were Steve.”

“Good morning to you too, sunshine-whoa.” Eddie paused when he got two feet on the floor, seeing an array of papers on Nancy’s bed. 

Nancy turned her gaze to the mess on her bed. “I know how it looks-”

“It looks like you spent all night working on college essay when you should’ve been making out with Buckley.”

“They’re not ess-did you and Steve make out last night?”

“Mmm, and then some”, Eddie smiled dreamily at the memory.

“Unbelievable”, Nancy began to pace around. “So you just bypassed all the awkwardness, whether he’s gay or not, and any sort of history you two had and went right to jumping his bones?”

“You did say those would all be miniscule obstacles. And you were right!”, Eddie threw his hands up. “And you’re not celebrating with me. What happened last night?”

Nancy sat on her bed, right on top of the papers. “I mean how can I have baggage with someone I never even dated?”

Slowly, Eddie sat down next to her, waiting for her to continue.

“Last night, Robin asked why me and Steve broke up. And apparently, my answer painted me as an unfeeling, manipulative bitch and she walked out on our date.”

“Robin didn’t say that?”, Eddie’s brow furrowed.

“No, no of course she didn’t but I’m pretty good at reading between the lines.”

“Or projecting and putting words into people’s mouths.”

“It doesn’t matter. This was a stupid idea”, Nancy got up and started balling the paper up.

“Hey hey what’re all these anyway? If they’re not essays what were you doing last night?”

“They’re....”, Nancy took a breath. “They’re scenarios, okay? I decided to take a page out of your book and jot down what might happen. If I apologize to Steve, maybe we can fully mend our friendship, Robin will give me a second chance. Or I’ll apologize, Robin forgives me but still doesn’t want to date me. Or like a bunch of...other ideas...”

“This one just says ‘move to Paris’.”

“Oh like you’ve never thought of moving somewhere and changing your identity.”

“This seems like an....extreme reaction to one bad date.”

“It wasn’t just one bad date. This is...it’s something major.”

“You care about Robin that much, huh?”

“And Steve!”

Eddie’s eyes widened at that.

“I care about him. I know that might be hard to believe but I never meant to hurt him back then. And there was just never a good time to explain everything that I had been feeling, every choice that I made and-what are you doing?”, Nancy asked when Eddie stood up from the bed.

“Hold that thought.” He grabbed Nancy’s phone off the hook and dialed a number. “Hello Mrs. Buckley, is Robin there? Yes, and I’m sure Steve Harrington is with her? Of course. Thank you.”

Nancy went over to him, eyes wide. “What are you doing?!”, she asked again with more urgency.

“Don’t be rude, I’m on the phone”, Eddie said before giving said device his full attention. Steve must’ve answered because Eddie said “Hey baby” in a way that made Nancy feel like she shouldn’t be listening.

She stood there helplessly while Eddie spoke on the phone.

“What’re you two peapods up to? ....Really? What a coincidence me and Big Wheel are doin’ the same...Yeah?... Sounds perfect?... Say, in an hour?..Gotcha.” While Eddie talked, he ignored all of Nancy’s questioning facial expressions which were all incredibly emotive.

“Oh! I almost forgot. I remembered what I was trying to say last night. You and Robin are the otters, but you and and Nancy are the hermit crabs.”

“Eddie what the fuck?”, Nancy whispered in a hiss.

Eddie turned towards the wall as his voice got a little deeper. “Oh yeah?..Would you like that baby? OW! Okay Nancy!”, Eddie exclaimed when she hit him with an encyclopedia. “Bye, see you at the place. Mwahmwahmwah”, Eddie kissed the receiver of the phone both to fluster Steve and to annoy Nancy more.

“God you’re worse than Mike.”

“You mean better, right?”

“What the hell was that call about?”

“The four of us are gonna sit down and have a little parley.”

Nancy was regretting putting this plan into action every minute that passed.

Part 6

I’ve thought about who their fifth person should be that acts as a mediator and I think I’ve come up with the funniest solution but imma keep it to myself until I actually write the next part. And maybe if u guys are good I’ll post steve and eddie’s full night

Tag Team

@goodolefashionedloverboi @rainydays35 @desert-fern @alienace @homohomohoe @savory-babby @gothwifehotchner @gregre369 @estrellami-1 @l0st-strawberry @dreamlandforever 

[quinny19]

"A Beautiful Dream"

This is a gender neutral reader so every reader is welcome

"Hmmm just one more cake"

Argenti gave you a disapproving look, a sigh escaping from his lips.

"Your Highness, that's already one too many. If you eat any more, you might upset your stomach."

Yet, even with his words, your charm and (E/c) , and the cute face you make whenever you pout in front of him, never failed to make him give in to you easily.

"But just.. a tiny more won't hurt, I suppose... " he said, and reluctantly, grabbed a small cake and handed it over to you.

"Yay ~! Hmmm maybe some tart next? Or strawberry jam? Oh maybe some pie?! How about macaroon do we have some?! " you ask As you list down the possible dessert you can have again for later.

Argenti internally facepalm himself for giving in so easily into you.

just with a little pout from your adorable cute face. Damn you, for being so charming.

He let out a heavy sigh, seeing you list out every possible sweet that could come to mind. "Your Highness.... you will get a stomachache for sure if you keep that up..." he said with a bit of concern in his tone, but with a small defeated smile, he grabbed another tart and handed it to you anyway.

"But this is a guilty pleasure of mine! I deserve it, I mean I don't always get sweets so I wanna enjoy this moment"

Argenti's heart melted at your words, your face was just too damn adorable to say no to."*sigh* ...I suppose you're right, Your Highness. You've been working hard lately.. so you do deserve this moment of sweet indulgence. As your knight though, I'll try to keep it in moderation for you. But no complaints if you get a stomachache later, okay? "

Letting go of the spoon that you've use for eating all the lovely dessert,you look at Argenti in the eyes and said " can I ask you something?"

"Of course you may, Your Highness," Argenti replied.

giving you his full attention. "Go ahead, what is that you would like to ask me?" He asked.

'Why do you always stay around me? I mean what happens one day if I'm gone what are you gonna do? "

Argenti's usual stoic face turned into a bit more serious expression, his eyes looking straight into your own."What would I do if you're gone...?" He repeated the question in a low voice, his grip on the sword tightened a bit.He paused for a moment and spoke in a firm, almost solemn tone. "My purpose is to serve you and protect you, Your Highness. If you're gone, that would be like...a big part of me is gone as well. I'll never let that happen, no matter what. Ever." He answered you with a soft smile on him.

You sigh. "Argenti, dont you wanna live a life the way ya want like maybe explore where you want? Or perhaps go to other galaxies? "

"Meet new people? Different and unique types of people?"

Argenti let out a small sigh..

His expression softened a bit."Sometimes, It does cross my mind... to live a life of my own, to explore and find my own path." He said

but shook his head."But my destiny was to be your knight, Your Highness. To protect you, serve you, and be at your side through everything. That's my life purpose, and I wouldn't trade it for something else. You're the most important person in my life, and that will never change, ever! " you gave argenti a soft but sad smile.

At the sight of you feeling touched by his words, Argenti's lips twitched into a light, gentle smile. He placed a hand on your shoulder.

"Forgive me for being too blunt with my words. sincerity, Your Highness. But I believe you must know how important you truly are to me," he said, his voice low and gentle. "You're like a...precious treasure to me, one I will always do everything in my power to protect you. Truly the most beautiful one in the whole galaxy"

"You don't have to always be there, You don't have to always think about me, One day when I've come to be no longer in this galaxy please don't be sad... Think only about you and not me. I want you to live a life where you can do what you want I wanna let you go now but knowing you, you won't accept that and just continue being there" holding Aregentis hand and giving it a soft Squeeze as you look up at him

Argenti was caught off guard by your words, his eyes widened in surprise. He took a moment to process them, his usually stoic expression faltering."Your...Highness...what you're saying....? "

He could barely speak, his grip on you tightened a little.The thought of you not being there, his mind refused to even think about it. He couldn't accept the idea, and it showed on his face."No. I can't do that... I can't just let you go. You're everything to me! "

"Wake up"

Argenti's face turned pale at your words, his grip on your shoulder tightened even more."What do you... mean?" He asked, his voice was low and shaky.His eyes filled with worry and confusion, unable to understand why you are talking like that to him."Please...." he started, his voice was almost pleading. "Please..."

You know I admire you truly. Very much Argenti,Finding every beauty on everything and everyone around you, I admire you for that.But I wish for the fact you would just accept it"

"*sigh* look around you... "

.

.

.

Argenti's heart skipped a beat when he heard the sound of your sigh, and the next words you said chilled him to the core. How could you be gone? How could you say something like that?

He desperately hold your hand tighter, as if afraid you might disappear at any moment if he let's go of you.

Wake up.

Argenti's eyes widen in surprise, his breath caught in his throat. He looked around and realized that...you were nowhere to be seen.He was all by himself in the empty room, holding onto nothing but air."No... I....your Highness?" his voice was low and shaky, as he slowly realized he was hallucinating you, just like he had done a few times... "

His heart wrenched in his chest as he remembered how you looked standing in front of him a few minutes ago. The sound of your voice, the sight of your smile. He desperately wanted to reach out and hold you again, but he knew it was all just a illusion.He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself . "Just a beautiful dream" he says to himself..

he opened his eyes and looked around the empty room again, as if expecting to see your figure suddenly appear. But of course, he was met with nothing again.He clenched his fists tightly, his heart heavy with sorrow and grief. He had come to the painful realization that you were indeed gone, and that he was just imagining you all along.

He lowered his head, his body slumped down on the floor as the weight of his grief hit him in full force. He felt so alone, so lost without you by his side. His love, his everything, his ( Y/n) , his Idrila...

Note: yeah honestly idk what I was doing here hahaha ᕦ( ᐛ )ᕡ it's literally almost 4 am in the morning anyways hope y'all have fun reading xD

Pls do forgive me if I have any mistakes m(._.)m and pls dont go reposting this atleast give credit .

Pls give a follow and 💗💗💗

[cyberjam]

TANGERINE AS YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER !!

there's a lack of tangerine fics on here so i decided to take things into my own hands !

warnings - slight nsfw

word count - 2.3k~

song: sparks - coldplay ୧

NOT PROOF READ !! >_<

tan - 🍊 | lem - 🍋 | you - 🍓

main masterlist

- THE CRUSHING STAGE -

- when tangerine first met you he never would've thought that the two of you would become such important aspects in each other's lives.

- he thought he would probably see you once in his entire life, but the universe had different plans.

- you'd start running into each other way more than expected.

- he was honestly a little annoyed with how much he kept seeing you.

- " ya' stalking me, love?" - 🍊

- you rolled your eyes and bit back with a snarky remark. thus creating your frenemies relationship.

- everytime you ran into each other he'd say something backhanded and you'd reply right back with unexplainable quickness.

- these interactions lasted for approximately 10-30secs, sometimes a minute if you were lucky.

- well, it was no different when you ran into him and lemon after leaving a bar.

- you greeted and complimented lemon since it was your first time meeting him and then went on to give tangerine the usual teasing remark.

- it didn't sit right with him.

- he was jealous annoyed.

- he didn't even understand why he was jealous because the two of you never really built a relationship outside of being assholes to each other whenever you crossed paths.

- throughout the day lemon noticed how his brother was more annoyingly grumpy than usual and ended up asking him about his foul mood.

- tangerine keeps his mouth shut, but lemon sooner or later finds out it was because of what had happened between the three of you earlier that day. (he's very good at reading people)

- lemon calls him out for it.

- " Don' even know 'er, but it's clear you like the bird. Stop bullshitting and just ask 'er out." - 🍋

- tangerine doesn't ask you out, he doesn't even speak to you.

- he avoids you like the plague for weeks.

- he didn't want to have feelings for you. you weren't a terrible person by any means but he couldn't possibly have time for a love life with his profession.

- lemon noticed how tangerine was a little thrown off of his rhythm and figured it was about the situation between you two.

- he ended up giving tangerine annoyingly good advice and told him that life isn't just pain and death and how it wouldn't hurt to step into the dating world if he was interested in someone.

- love is a human emotion after all.

- tangerine contemplated his situation.

- you were on his mind too often for his liking and it was starting to drive him mad.

- tangerine nearly dying in a mission was what it took for him to finally approach his feelings.

- that mission shifted his thinking a bit and made him realize that his time was truly limited and he didn't want to waste it without even trying to court you.

- so, the next time you two ran into each other he asked you out.

- "seriously? i don't see you for nearly 3 months and all of a sudden you wanna go out for drinks?" - 🍓

- "yeah..." - 🍊

- You accept his invitation because you missed him terribly and was pretty heartbroken when you stopped running into him.

- the night is of course pure bliss.

- you two have drinks, you laugh together, theres a lot of smiling, and light flirtatious touches from both parties.

- he'll tell a joke and you'll laugh, resting your hand on his bicep, while his hand is resting just above your knee, softly caressing it.

- once he drops you off at your apartment complex he tries to kiss you goodbye.

- you reject his affection because he kept you waiting for so long and you wanted to make him work for it.

- he was feigning for you at that point.

- he loves a small challenge. and your affection was something he would fight to win over.

- three/four dates went by before you let him kiss you.

- he didn't hold back.

- you were squished between your apartment door and his body. he held the back of your neck and gripped your waist with such vigor.

- you honestly would've had him right there if he asked.

- you two made out at your door for a few minutes before he broke away with a smirk and dazed expression.

- he wiped away your messy lipstick from the bottom of your lip and you didn't hesitate to return the favor.

- " til' next time, yeah?" he'd quietly murmur before tilting your chin and leaning in, placing a gentle peck on your lips.

- "til' next time." you'd whisper even though he was long gone and in the elevator.

- THE DATING STAGE -

- man spoils the shit out of you.

- if you thought his stealing habit was bad before, it's gotten 10x worse now that he's with you.

- you don't encourage it at all and you even scold him for it but he just can't help himself.

- whenever he sees something that even remotely reminds him of you, he's taking it and slipping it into his pockets.

- sooner or later you get overwhelmed with the load of expensive/flashy items he's giving you and eventually ask him to tone it down.

- he'd definitely be a little hurt because gift-giving is his main love language. but he wouldn't want to cause you any discomfort whatsoever, so he tones it down.

- you and lemon are the cutest duo.

- you indulge in his thomas the tank engine brain rot and listen to him talk about it for hours on end.

- on days you're both bored he'd make you binge thomas the tank engine with him since tangerine won't engage in such "childish shit."

- it's always a good time tho, he loves adding in his own commentary and insulting diesel whenever he appears on screen.

- you gave him a few thomas the tank engine glass figurines and gave him new stickers for his birthday and he was really happy about it. he nearly cried :').

- he appreciated your gift A TON. that was also the first time he gave you a bear hug.^^ (your feet literally weren't touching the ground for a good 15 seconds.)

- tangerine gets kinda annoyed by the relationship you two have but he's even more endeared by it.

- he's glad that the two most important people in his life like each other and can bond over something, even if it feels like they're slowly melting his brain with how much they talk about it.

- the two days before he leaves for his jobs are always the saddest.

- his job is really dangerous and there's never a 100% guarantee that he'll return so the two of you spend your time under each other for those remaining days.

- cuddling, kissing, fucking (and a little crying from you because you worry about him.)

- once you two started to get really serious and planned on moving in together, he had told you about his job and what he (and lemon) did for business.

- he wanted to make sure you were completely in with the relationship like he was.

- you were annoyed and pretty upset when you found out because of how long he kept it from you but you understood and your feelings towards him didn't change a single bit.

- he was pretty relieved when you told him you still loved him and wanted to be with him no matter what he did for work.

- living together is pure bliss really.

- baths and showers together are pretty frequent, most of the time not even sexual.

- he doesn't even mind doing face masks with you, you don't have to convince or beg him to do it.

- he will frequently pay for spa days for you.

- usually including a mani-pedi (he loves french tips), facial, wax, massage, etc... he loves to pamper his s/o.

- he usually arranges those spa days when he's away at work so you don't think about him too much.

- you get worried like any s/o would when he goes away. but his small texts throughout the mission (that are sometimes accompanied with a blurry pic of his fancy pointed shoes or lemon doing something in the background) relieved you until he came back.

- his missions can either be a quick two days or a long 2 months. he has a unpredictable schedule.

- the days he comes back, lemon doesn't even bother being in the same house as you two. he drops tan off and books a hotel for two days.

- you might be asking why and the reason is because you two are all over each other as soon as he gets back.

- i mean you two fuck so loud and do not hold back your moans/groans/screams.

- you'd think someone was watching a football game or getting murdered.

- tangerine can either be in the candlelit dinner, soak in the tub together, and then slow passionate sex after mood or the fuck you in whichever room you're in once he finds you mood. (you two have done it everywhere except lemons room, mainly out of respect for him)

- oh god, DO NOT WEAR LINGERE ON HIS DAY BACK. (for your safety and for his sanity)

- he will actually rip it to shreds without a care and will ravage you.

- he will not hold back if he's been gone for too long and that can lead to very exhausting mornings and aching body parts.

- honestly sex between you two only happens before and after missions. his sex drive isn't that high.

- i feel like he doesn't like to makeout that much. he feels like he's being teased and would rather just get straight into it. but if you love to kiss, he'll indulge in your desires.

- he definitely has a oral fixation.

- he loves going down on you and loves when you go down on him. both options are equally enjoyable to him.

- this might be a bit controversial but i feel like he doesn't really like to be called daddy.

- i think he'd prefer to be called sir, his name, or just the usual pet names you give him.

- he's okay with certain kinks but he strays far away from anything that can cause you any physical pain or will make you cry.

- he only inflicts pain on people when he's working or because some asshole got on his last nerve.

- he'd never bring that type of stuff home and do it to you.

- he isn't really into degrading either. he'd rather praise/tease you.

- he'd degrade you if you wanted him to but he won't really enjoy it as much as you would 😭 (sorry for the people with pain/degrading kinks)

- prefers to be a power top (and usually is) but he enjoys when the roles are reversed and you take control every now and then.

- he's honestly a very passionate lover, and not just in the bedroom.

- he's sweet and is always very soft with you. and only you.

- you rarely ever get into arguments because his patience with you increases by 1000.

- if he makes you cry he'd drop the entire argument in seconds and apologize.

"m' sorry for raising my voice, love. i know you don' like me yelling like that." - 🍊

- if he ever gets annoyed by you or is just in a really shitty mood, he'll keep some distance between the two of you to avoid snapping on you.

- you two definitely still tease each other, but his sly remarks are much lighter in tone from before, and he never really means any harm behind his words.

- he'll go from "I'LL BASH YA' FUCKIN' FACE IN, YOU PRICK!🤬." until you call him and then he's like "yes, darling i'll stop by the cafe you like on the way home🥰."

- he's very loud and low-tempered around others but he's so soft-spoken and calm around you.

- people who have ran into him would be surprised by the 180° his personality takes when he's with you.

- he definitely leans more into affection around you. i think he used to be awfully touch-starved before you two started dating :(

- tangerine is a very good-looking man, so women are throwing themselves at him any chance they get.

- he never gives them the time of day unless he's on a mission and needs something from them.

- say there's a lady at this fancy event who's constantly bugging him and trying to feel him up.

- he'd indulge in her flirting for a while if he sees something of worth. like a pretty necklace that he thinks will look good around your neck and not hers.

- and before you know it he has her necklace and is on his way home to add to your already impressive jewelry collection. (he has taken more than the same piece of jewelry twice.)

- he'll slap anyone's hand away if they try for a simple handshake or hug. but if you were to open your arms up to him, he'd lose himself in your embrace without any hesitation.

- your nicknames for him would be tan, love, meanie, babe, dove, and possibly more.

- his nicknames for you would be darling, your name but shorter or your middle name (if you have one), love, gorgeous, and very very rarely calls you this next one, it's only when he's in the extra soft mood-

- but sometimes he'll call you muffin.

- you swore up and down you'd never let your s/o call you cringy ass names like lovey-dovey boo-boo bear but you absolutely crumble whenever he calls you muffin. and he knows the affect that nickname has on you.

- the first time he called you it is when he was trying to calm you down from a panic attack.

- the club you were at got ransacked and shot up, lemon and tangerine were able to protect you from any harms way and all three of you left unscathed.

- you were still very shaken up from the event because you've never experienced anything like it.

- tangerine held the sides of your face and stared deeply into your eyes with a empathetic look in his eyes.

- he'd console you in the softest voice he could manage.

- 'y'alright muffin? it's over now, you don' 'ave to be scared, you're safe.' - 🍊

- ' i wouldn't let anyone hurt you, alright? not when you're with me.' - 🍊

- he reacts the same way when you call him pumpkin. he'll act like he hates it but he adores it sm.

- you're definitely the baker and he's the cook.

- lemon loves living w/ the two of you because he eats good at least 4/7 days of the week(if you guys don't order takeout or have leftovers.)

- cooking or baking together is usually the most intimate activity you two do. it always puts him in the domestic mood.

- he enjoys being around you, even if you two aren't interacting in any way. he's just content with being in your presence.

- sometimes he will overthink and have doubts about the relationship you two have.

- he really feels like he doesn't deserve you. he's a cold-hearted murder and you simply weren't. you two were complete opposites in almost every aspect.

- he wonders how he got such a warm-hearted and gentle person to be in love with him.

- he doesn't want you to leave him but at the same time he'd completely understand if you did. he's a huge asshole to mainly everybody and is a murder for gods sake.

- you love him way too much to ever leave him tho.

- you're always really quick to shoot down those terrible thoughts and reassure him.

- you always know when he's thinking of stuff like that because his usual annoyed frown is different from his sad frown.

- tangerine is truly grateful for you and appreciates the things you do for him.

- he loves you and you love him.

- lemon is more than happy for his brother but god, he feels queasy around you two sometimes.

whewwww, 🤧 i had a few more ideas but i felt like this one was getting too long.

hopefully you enjoyed it!! <3

[brittlecakes92]

Okay I am definitely all for how much I wanna rail this man(and how I want him to violently rail me), but I am also curious what some more fluffy moments look like. Like I’m very furious what a reiko proposal looks like 👀👀

Believe you me, there is nothing I want to do more then ride him like my own personal stallion. But, lets get into the fluff. Now, I'm going to be honest, Reiko strikes me as the type to just slip a ring on your finger when you are asleep, and when you wake up and see it and give him a look he tells you; "You're mine anyways, so why are you acting surprised?" But, let's get into the meat and potatoes of this. (: I have some ideas bounced around with some of these! - Reiko is the one to know immediately that he wants to be with you, there are no questions. No doubts. He doesn't want to waste time, especially when it is time that he could be making memories with you. -Reiko is definitely going to bring up the idea of a proposal to General Shoa, he is after all like a father figure to him and holds his opinions in high regard. - Reiko is attentive, especially when it comes to detail. Now, he may not be full fledge mushy gushy, it's Reiko, we don't expect that, but you are the exception when it comes to his gentle side, with that being the case, he remembers every small detail about you. He would die before ever slipped up and forgot something. He's been engrained to pay attention to every things. So when the proposal happens, expect a shit ton of your favorite flowers. Like, and ungodly amount. - I imagine Reiko has a spot where he goes to be alone. Away from everyone, it's his spot, it's where he would seek comfort before you, it was something that he knew was his and his alone, and now he has you, and he knows that you are only his. So he takes you to his spot to make it your special spot. - Reiko doesn't pull away, doesn't get nervous like a normal man, he isn't a normal man. He is so confident in himself and your devotion to him, and not only that, but his devotion to you. He knows you aren't going to turn his proposal down. -He doesn't get down on one knee, I'm telling you now. He won't do that. But he will still make the asking portion of it memorable for you. He won't cry, but he will get teary eyed at your display of emotions, and easy smile on his face. -You are his everything, his future, and if you thought he was an aggressive protecter before, you have no idea how much that has just multiplied. You are his family, and he won't let anything take his family away again. ---------------------------------------------------------------

You followed behind Reiko, he led you down the path to the training grounds. Most of the soldiers had already returned to their own homes because of the hour. The sun had started to set lower behind the mountains as you made your way further into the woods. "Reiko.. where are you taking me?" You asked as watched the branches sway lazily in the wind. "Patience is a virtue you will do well to learn." He said glancing down at you. You rolled your eyes before holding back a smile at his teasing quip. You stopped when you came to an opening. Reiko stood beside you, arms crossed across his chest as he glanced at you from the corner of his eye. This was important to him, this moment had to be right, there were not exceptions for him. "Go ahead." Reiko nudged his head toward the direction of the opening. Reaching up you locked your pinky around Reikos, his arms slowly uncrossing before he let you pull him behind you. You stop when you step inside of the cove you stopped in your tracks, the opening was littered in the blossoms of your favorite flowers, mini lanterns casted their glow on the scene in front of you. "Reiko.. what is all this?" You turn around and bump into him, his hand reaching out to grab your left one holding you steady. "This, used to be my comfort when I needed to be away." Reikos other hands reaches out the grab you and pull you closer to his body. He rested his forehead on yours, a smile gracing your lips made his heart tremor. "I didn't think I would ever need anyone. or want anyone for that fact. But you came into my life. You changed that. You are my future." Before you could say anything you felt the feeling of metal slide onto your ring finger. "Will you be mine forever?" Tears slipped past your eyes, as you connected you lips to his. Laughing you kissed him again before squeezing him in your arms. "I've always been yours." You spoke into his chest. Reiko lets out a breathy laugh at your response. "Yes, but you can't say I was brute when reminding you of that." You pulled his head down into another kiss. Your future held so much potential, and you were ready to take it on with the man you love. Your husband. Thank you for the asks! I hope you enjoy! (:

[it-was-funeral-grey]

Voice lines 1 - Introduction complete!

Masterlist

Characters: Al Haitham, Kaveh, Cyno

Summary: What do they have to say about everything that has happened so far?

Author's note: i tried. may come back to re-edit Kaveh's part after we get his actual voice lines!

Please give criticism! Also, if i missed any warnings, do tell me so i can add them!

Al Haitham: As the Acting Grand Sage

"I'm not entertaining any questions right now. I'm off the clock now, and-

…I'm doing a good job, you say? Well thank you, I suppose. Goodbye."

Al Haitham: Meeting her

"Oh? I'm surprised you know about her. She's from Vimara Village, and I came across her during a business trip.

...is there anything else...or?"

Al Haitham: About her

"I didn't meet her under the best of circumstances. But she treated me kindly- almost too kindly. It would be wise for her to be more cautious of others in the future. After all, letting an unknown person into your home for the night is dangerous."

Kaveh: Keys

"I recently made an adorable keychain! Not only is it cute, it'll also make sure that Al Haitham doesn't "mix up our keys" again, or "accidently take both". Again. Wanna see it? So, I originally thought of using Karmaphala wood to- huh? Wait, huh!? Where are my keys?!"

Kaveh: Meeting her

"Ah! Yes, her! Now, how we met isn't so important, but what is, is this! You see that, huh? Never thought Al Haitham could be reduced to a blushing mess! Because of her! And I got it all on kamera!"

Kaveh: About her

"Well frankly, I've not known her for long. And as far as I'm concerned, I'll probably never see her again. But! She seems like a calm, patient soul- especially if she could deal with Al Haitham. Did you know she cared for him when he passed out? For an entire night? An entire night! Most people can't even stand him for more than a minute once he starts running that mouth of his! Also, did you know she was able to make him listen to her?! Archons, she made the most stubborn man in Sumeru bend to her will! Oh, the things I'd do to get a fraction of her power... maybe then Al Haitham would finally listen to me and...(Kaveh goes on, and on...)"

Cyno: Work

"The fall of the sages and the termination of Akasha terminals have resulted in a lack of research projects. As such, there isn't much for the Matra to do, since most students aren't working on anything now. But, we must remain vigilant. There's no saying what trouble bored Akademiya students can get themselves into."

Cyno: Meeting her

"Kaveh and I met her on board a ship back to Sumeru City, where she was under arrest on suspicion for kidnapping Al Haitham. In the end we let her go, as it turns out that it was all just a misunderstanding. *Sigh* I've already apologised many times for the whole situation, but I still feel a little guilty about having her arrested."

Cyno: About her

"I told her a joke over the dinner table just the other night. She did not understand it at first, but she listened attentively to my explanation. It's a little strange to have someone listen so patiently to me without being intimidated by my presence, or asking me to stop. It's... a refreshing feeling. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that our paths will cross again."

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Tagged: @sh3wholiv3s

[i-magines]

Wildest Dreams: Chapter 10

Pedro Pascal x fem!Reader

CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 | CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 5 | CHAPTER 6 | CHAPTER 7 | CHAPTER 8 | CHAPTER 9 | CHAPTER 10

synopsis: You’re an assistant director in an indie movie set and fate makes sure you keep crossing paths with a certain Chilean actor.  

disclaimer: This is my first Pedro Pascal’s fictional work + the first fanfic I write in English, as it isn’t my first language. Unfortunately, I do not own Pedro and this is all a product of my imagination.

rating: M (keep scrolling if your under 18 please)

warnings: age gap, mature content, eventual drinking and drugs, fem!reader, smut every once in a while, a little angst, sex (piv), male!oralsex.

n/a: i just wanna say thank you if you’ve read my fic until here. this is the final chapter and, once again, i hope you liked it. have a good one!

word count: 1,705

The first and most important prèmiere of the film was scheduled to happen in London, so you were very much excited to get on the plane to attend it. You did your best to focus your energy on the event itself and not be worrying about a certain Chilean actor who may or may not even say hi to you. You didn’t reply to his text about it and neither did he send you another one. You didn’t feel bad, you were doing what you could to protect your feelings. Of course, they didn’t overbook the crew again so you had a couple hours alone in your room to get ready for it and you made sure you had a killer outfit on, just in case.

You made your way to the entrance, avoiding even going close to the red carpet. But, still, you saw him there. Being his gentle, funny, amazing self. Your heart skipped a beat just by seeing his smiley face. He looked so handsome, as usual. Fuck, he caught you staring at him. He winked at you, opening a bigger smile. You looked in another direction, blushing and walking inside the building already. 

There was a big room with some round tables to accommodate the guests and, later in the evening, catering and drinking. You didn’t stop there, going straight inside the theater room and finding a seat for yourself, way in the back. You said hi to some people, but mostly scrolled through your phone for what felt like forever. The room was getting busier and louder. Donna, the producer, and your friend Flo approached you with a gentle handshake, asking you to join the crew on the front row, which you did. Of course, there he was. So. fucking. attractive.

He came closer to you, with a huge smile on his face, and hugged you so tight. Your legs almost gave in, but you put yourself back together. It was a shame the way those months had passed and pretty much wiped out any chance you had to try to make it work. But you didn’t blame anyone, it was just life.

“You look gorgeous”, he whispered in your ear.

“Thanks”, you said as you moved away from him.

“Saved you a seat, sweetheart”, he showed you with his hand.

Just next to his, with a piece of paper printed with your name and a picture Pedro took from you back in one of your dates in Berlin. You had to control the smile forming on your face, you didn’t want to look like this silly, kind of in love girl. At the same time, you hated him a little bit, for growing apart but still making these cute little things.

“You don’t have to”, he told you, a bit uncertain.

You sat down, there’s no point of being mean or pretending you weren’t dying to sit next to him. Pedro and all the audience sat down as well, the movie started on the big scream. It was hard for you to pay proper attention to it, once Pedro was grabbing and rubbing your upper tights with his hand. Why did he have to add torture to it? He was amazing at the movie as well, your memories of the movie set taking over for a little bit during every scene you saw him perform. At the end, a long standing ovation. Pedro was shining, clapping hard to it as well.

Everybody went to the other room and sat around the tables. Pedro held your hand all the way there and that made you nervous, because the press was also at the event — the whole point was to promote it, after all. He made sure you were sitting at his table, before going to the improvised stage for the Q&A. Nobody seemed to care much about you, which was good, the room was loud and messy. Finally, the interview started. A couple of questions to Pedro, others to Donna and her partner. You were minding your own business (drinking alcohol) when a question got your attention:

“Even though your character didn’t have any love interest in the movie, you still looked very much in love, Pedro. Are you in love with your job or is there a different sparkle going on for you?”

“There was definitely a different sparkle going on for me during the shooting”, Pedro answered, looking at you out of the corner of his eyes. “But yeah, wasn’t in love with the job, actually, it was very challenging for me.”

They started going in another direction and you breathed out strongly. Why did he have to be so… Himself?

“I thought they were going to keep me there all night long”, Pedro said as he sat down by your side, a glass of whisky in his hand.

“You did great”, you complimented him with a smile.

“Nah, tough crowd today”, he replied. “You didn’t even look at me that much.”

You didn’t know what to say. You were a nervous trainwreck, that’s all.

“But I’m glad you came”, Pedro smiled. “I’m sorry the distance thing wasn’t working.”

“Yeah, it’s fine”, you really meant that. You didn’t consider him guilty of all.

“You seeing anybody?” He started deeply into your eyes, a pinch of jealousy inside his own.

“A lady never tells”, you told him. Not a single soul, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Well, I’m not loving it”, he laughed softly. “I meant to call you—”

“I’m sure you had your reasons not to, P.”

Silence.

“Should we say our official goodbyes tonight?” He proposed and you nodded. “Good, text me your hotel room number.”

The evening went on, everybody wanted a piece of Pedro. A couple hours later, you felt tired. The flight, all the human interactions, it was just enough for you. You got yourself a taxi and went back to the hotel, feeling accomplished after the premiere. It was the closing this project, and yourself, needed. You took a long, relaxing shower and went to bed. Pedro had your number and information, so he could’ve reached out if he wanted to. Being who he was wasn’t easy, so you couldn’t really be bad at him for anything. You had your feelings, he had his — and the real, grown-up world didn’t give a fuck about any of them.

It was 4am when you heard sounds around your room. You didn’t have to move or open your eyes, because soon Pedro talked to you:

“Hey, sweetheart. It’s me.”

He crawled into your bed, got under the blanket and hugged you. The heat of your body contrasting with his chilly, outside temperature. Even after 6 months, he still felt very inviting.

“I tried to leave early”, he promised close to your neck.

“Yeah, it’s okay”, you said quietly. “You’re the star, everybody wants a piece of you.”

“Lucky me I already had plans”, Pedro kissed you cheek. You crossed your arm though his neck. “But, still… I’m sorry it took me so long.”

“Just fucking kiss me already.”

He did as you asked. His strong grip on your waist, his tongue invading your mouth without second-guessing. It wasn’t just lazy sex, it was very… familiar. There was already this intimacy between you and it felt like not a day had passed since the end of the shooting. You were still laying down when Pedro came closer to your head with his hips and you began to suck his cock. You couldn’t take him all in, so you used your hand to help. You could see he was losing his mind over this, moving deeper and deeper. You controlled your breathing, doing your best to keep going longer for him and for yourself, because that was making your insides pulse.

“I’m so close”, he moaned as he took it out of your mouth. “But I’m not done yet.”

Pedro fingered you for a couple of minutes, really just to feel your wetness for him. He had pure lust in his eyes, but still, he was sweet and careful with you. You opened your legs wider for him and he positioned his cock at your entrance. He looked at you for a moment, making sure it was okay and you nodded. So he started thrusting, slowly but strong at the end. With one hand, he was supporting his body, and with the other one, he was rubbing your clit. You felt this warm feeling taking over your body.

“Fuck, so wet and warm”, he moaned with pleasure. “And so fucking tight.”

“Please, keep going”, you begged, his fingers doing wonders for you. The feeling starting on your under belly slowly growing.

“Wrappin’ around me so good, baby girl”, Pedro whispered, as he felt you squeezing him with your pulsing core. “Wanna feel you cumming while taking me all in.”

That was it for you, the climax just spreading all over your body, making you collapse. Pedro kept his thrusts, going a bit faster now. It didn’t take him much time.

“Imma fill you up.”

His whisper was followed by his loud moans. You loved to hear him expressing his feelings during sex, it was a complete turn on for you. So you kissed him deeply once he let his body fall next to yours. You were both tired and sweaty.

“Amazing”, he told you, petting your face with his hand.

“Yeah”, you agreed. “My legs are still shaking.” 

You both laughed a little bit. Then, Pedro stared at your eyes.

“Should I stay until the morning?” He asked. You bit the inside of your mouth.

“I guess it’s better for you to go, P.” 

It killed you, but you’ve come to terms with it. It is what it is and it will pass.

“Yeah, you’re right”, he said quietly. “You know, I really wished…”

“I know”, you stopped him. “Me too.”

Pedro gave you a final kiss on the lips and got dressed again. He opened the door to leave your room, but he stopped before exiting.

“I hope I’ll see you around then, princesa.”

The room was dark, except from the crack of the open door.

“Not if I see you first.”

THE END

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[kayssweetdreams]

Love Conquers All

(A tie in story to BBU: The Ballad of Beatrice. There will be some important plot points here, so spoilers to come)

Cotton stared out into the distance of where she and Midnight settled this time. She gave a sigh. It was the anniversary of when she and Midnight first met and fell in love, but due to Midnight's...infamy, they couldn't go anywhere fancy, or even around other animals without them screaming in terror and trying to attack.

A tear rolled down Cotton's face, she still couldn't stop thinking about how their love ended up changing everything...and that terrible incident that caused them to go on the run in the first place. A gentle paw rested itself on her shoulder "Cotton dear? what troubles you?" Midnight asked, his voice bringing Cotton out of her thoughts. The pink sheep wiped her eyes "I-It's nothing, just reminiscing....that's all." she said.

Midnight wasn't fooled by her words "Cotton, my sweet treat, I know you...you never shed tears unless it's troubling thoughts in your head." he said, his paw wiping away one of the sheep's tears. Cotton sighed, she hated when Midnight saw through her. "Oh Midnight...It's just that, I'm remembering the incident. And how it caused us to be like this now..." she said, looking down to the ground.

"I sometimes wonder, if the universe is setting us up to fail. If we hadn't have met, then maybe...maybe none of this would have happened..." she weeped, more tears falling from her eyes. Midnight sighed. He couldn't help but remember that the incident was partially his fault as well, but Cotton had the luxury of walking away scott free, while he was a wanted lion...but she never left him.

He held her hooves "Well...if we never met, I would never have found the sweetest sheep in this world, nor would I have ever learned that love was possible for me...with another species." He said, cupping Cotton's face with his paw. Cotton still didn't stop "But you're wanted! We can't go anywhere without you having to wear a disguise, or hiding." She said, holding his paws

"I would have still been a wanted Lion, incident or not. No accident in the world could ever change that, nor could it ever stop me from loving you." He said, a smile visible on his muzzle. Cotton sniffed, Even though Midnight was hunted around the world, he still loved her...and she still loved him. "Oh Midnight...nothing could ever stop me from loving you either." She said clasping both his paws.

The two of them shared a loving embrace as they gazed out at where they set up shop this time: The Tree where they first fell in love. Where their paths first crossed, and where their hearts became one. "Well, Let's set everything up. Nobody is gonna come here." Midnight said, walking back inside the shop to grab a few items inside.

Moments later, the two of them were having a romantic candlelit dinner under the stars. Midnight had cooked his famous risotto (That Cotton Loves) and Cotton had gone through the trouble of sneaking a bottle of Midnight's favorite champagne into the shop when they had traveled, popping it open and pouring them both a glass.

Just as Cotton went to go and bring out her Estrella cupcakes, Midnight then asked "Remember the first night when we kissed?". Cotton smiled "I remember. We sat underneath this very tree, and you had started to sing for me." She said, setting the tray down. Her ears then perked up when she heard Midnight sing.

If happiness was a tangible thing

It would be you

If you'd have told me the feeling you'd bring

I'd think it untrue

And people search for a wonder like you

All of their lives

You still amaze me after all this time

Cotton felt the tears well up in her eyes again as Midnight bowed and held out a paw, offering a dance to the sheep.

You pull me in like some kind of wind

Mesmerized by the hold I'm in

Leave you here, I don't wanna

I wanna

The two of them waltz in the forest, the lights in the Flora providing them with enough light to see in each other's eyes as they danced through the night

Promise as one does

I, I will protect you at all costs

Keep you safe here in my arms

I, I will protect you at all costs

At all costs

Midnight sang his heart out, his eyes hidden underneath his mane, but Cotton could see love behind it, as she began to sing as well

What's pain when I look at you? No way

I could explain you, even if tried to

I'll never dream like used to do

If someone tried to hurt you, I don't

See how that could happen

I'd fight for you in ways you can't imagine

Felt this, no, I haven't, I hope

It would be all right to stay right here beside you

Midnight could feel his heart soar as he heard Cotton's voice, the song that they sang, many moons ago, but their love never dwindling. The two of them sang together, their voices joining together.

And promise as one does

I, I will protect you at all costs

Keep you safe here in my arms

I, I will protect you at all costs

At all costs

The power of their voice joined together, as the two of them could feel themselves getting weightless, the world losing its gravity as their love lifted them above the trees and into the stars

If you're ever feeling like you're lost

I will come find you

Man all fronts, there's no ocean I won't swim across

To be right by you

And not just once, here and now I swear on my response

I'll remind you

This was the most carefree and happy that the couple had ever felt ever since the incident, it seemed that everything just disappeared, and it was only them that mattered...right there, right now.

And promise as one does

I, I will protect you at all costs

Keep you safe here in my arms

I, I will protect you at all costs

At all costs

Cotton and Midnight smiled as they soared above the air, the moon acting as their spotlight, and the stars their audience, as they gave each other a passionate kiss that lit up the night...

Just goes to show. True Love can conquer all...

Art done by the awesome @robinfollies

@billiebustupofficial @bbu-fan-blog

[tanenigiri]

*punches through wall* OUR DINING TABLE

(Thoughts and ramblings on episodes 8 and 9 under the cut. Some manga comparisons but I don't think any of them constitute as plot spoilers since there's one episode left, but if you plan on reading the manga and don't want the differences from the show to be spoiled, fair warning.)

The corresponding chapter of Episode 8 in the manga is actually where we find out all about Minoru's backstory. We see a good chunk of it here in the flashback in the cafe, when he and Tane first cross paths with Yutaka. But most of the other things we've seen about Minoru's past up to this point in the show - that scene with Nao where Tane spills a drink on her, that flashback scene with young Tane which looks like it just happened right after their mom's funeral, and the general sense of Minoru bearing the weight of being a second parent to Tane - all of that comes to head in this chapter of the manga. I know I've said it repeatedly over my previous posts, but I really have to say it again because it deserves the praise - Minoru's plot arc was handled so, so well in this show, and I genuinely think all the decisions they made to spread and flesh it out was to its benefit.

There were already a lot of other posts last week that pointed it out but I still wanna highlight it - the silence that pervades this episode was really effective in conveying the conflict Yutaka and Minoru were facing. Giving them all this space to think about it could be dragging for some, but I found it quite necessary for what they were dealing with. This show has always used the quiet moments effectively and I think this episode isn't an exception.

I also wanted to highlight how that whole idea of "things being the same" is important to both Yutaka and Minoru. Before the events of Episode 1, Yutaka was living a very monotonous routine, down to the meals he was feeding himself. And Minoru's life has been nothing but one massive change after the other, so I don't blame him in wanting to find something that he could keep from changing. But, of course, both of them know that what happened between them isn't static, and that the change is something they either have to accept or have to let go of.

Gotta dedicate a bullet point to Ohata, who finally got her one manga-canonical scene in this episode (Hozumi-kun you're so easy to read!), but really her character has quickly become my favorite addition to the series. She's a much-needed confidant for Yutaka in the same way the dad (and his manager at the ramen shop) is for Minoru, and these past two episodes also bring up the fact that she was having relationship troubles with her boyfriend. I guess I can point out how her own issues seemed a little too convenient in terms of giving the right advice to Yutaka to move the plot along, but I honestly don't mind it - partly because I think those conversations also serve to show how far Yutaka's come in terms of breaking out of his shell and partly because I always cheer whenever her character shows up haha. (And can we talk about how she's constantly the best-dressed character of the show? Like I know she doesn't really have much competition but still?? Did you guys see her hair in that last scene???)

Speaking of which, I'm so glad they added that last scene with Yutaka joining his officemates for drinks. This was only mentioned in the manga, but I think this is as big of a deal as the confession in terms of Yutaka's growth. This is the same character who, in Episode 1 (which was only a few months prior to this), was known by the office as someone who would turn down any invite, and the manga even goes further with this in that they wouldn't invite him at all because they know that he would just reject them. Not to mention that the literal first thing we find out about Yutaka is how he doesn't share meals with anyone! Seeing him in the bar with his coworkers is absolutely massive in terms of how much Yutaka has changed, and while Ohata is right in teasing him that it's because of a special someone, I do think it's a testament to how much progress Yutaka has made over the course of the show both because of Minoru and because of his personal growth.

And since I mentioned it, I'm pretty happy with how they translated that playground confession scene into the show. In particular I enjoyed how generally awkward it was because it was very in-character, and I think giving the scene a more laid back vibe instead of a serious one was a really good decision. That whole "you're very important to me" spiel destroyed me though.

It's only recently I realized that the whole "BL male lead running to other BL male lead" is an actual trope that's seen in almost every series and I find that so funny. I've only watched a few before this and they do all have running involved.

Screaming at Mr. Ueda literally dragging his son out of the house and telling him to get it together before the New Year rings in. We don't really get a lot of scenes between the two of them so I'm glad we got this.

Tane-kun takes a bit of a backseat in these two episodes as the plot shifts to Yutaka and Minoru's relationship (the same thing happens in the manga), but the scenes he does get are still really good. In particular I like that once he realizes that Minoru and Yutaka are "fighting," all Tane says is that Minoru should apologize because, for him, Yutaka would always understand and accept their apology.

Ok so I'm of two minds about that scene with Yuuki (Yutaka's adoptive brother), which I was pretty surprised to see as it wasn't in the manga. On one hand, I'm glad that we do get some sort of closure for this, and that at the end of the day, Yutaka does have an adoptive family that cares for him. But on the other hand, I really don't think that the apology was anywhere close to undoing the damage that Yutaka's had to bear all these years? Like, I get that it's a misunderstanding on both ends and that proper communication would've solved it (and this is, in fact, the takeaway Yutaka needed for his confession to Minoru), but I'm not a fan of the implication that just because Yuuki was apparently not that much of a jerk to Yutaka as we thought that he's forgiven for his clearly traumatizing actions? I don't think they're gonna address this further in next week's episode (though I'd love to be wrong), but I dunno - it's not the note I would've liked that plot point to be left on. Sure, put some forgiveness in there, but I guess I wanted either party to acknowledge that while Yutaka could start mending his relationship with his adoptive family, there's still a lot of damage that they need to process? I know that's a pretty big ask for what is essentially a minor plot point, but eh. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it (and on the show in general).

The preview gave me a glimpse of the one other scene in the manga that's in my Top 3 (up there with Yutaka's cartoonified backstory and Minoru taking care of a sick Yutaka) and I am soooo ready to break down because of it. For manga readers who want to know which one: It's the scene without Minoru.

Love this show so much. I don't want it to end and I'm both anticipating and dreading the finale next week.

[raayllum]

A PLAYLIST → Callum realized his stepdad was writing to him about the rune cube Rayla had rescued. He’d always known that cube was important. Maybe now Rayla would start listening to him... and maybe now he could find out how he could use the mysterious cube. (Book Two: Sky novelization)

i. It's in the palm of your hand now, baby / It's a yes or a no, no maybe / So just be sure before you give it all to me ii. All I know, all I know, is that loving you is a losing game iii. Come on, darling / Let's exchange the experience / And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God / And I'd get him to swap our places iv. And games that never amount / To more than they're meant / Will play themselves out / Take this sinking boat and point it home / We've still got time v. But then it's over in a second / Crashed the car into the tree / Yeah, I can see it all happen / You'd rather die than take your eyes off me vi. The world we know turns in the wind / Coming like a hurricane, I take it in real slow vii. He feels the rising of a wave / And knows at once he will not weather it / Like that man / I looked down into the depths when I met you / I couldn't measure viii. For you, I would cross the line / I would waste my time / I would lose my mind / They say, "She's gone too far this time" / Don't blame me, love made me crazy / If it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right ix. A love like this will end in tragedy / You know every kiss suspending' gravity / It hurts like hell to love this well / But no one falls the way we fell / We'll burn alive / Only the lonely survive x. Ain't no compass, brother, ain't no map / Just a telephone wire and a railroad track / Keep on walkin' and don't look back xi. The world was on fire and no one could save me but you / It's strange what desire will make foolish people do xii. Be like the love that discovered the sin / (Lover, be good to me) / That freed the first man and will do so again xiii. Oh boy, it's you that I lie with / As the atom bomb locks in / Oh boy, it's you I watch TV with / As the world, as the world caves in xiv. And the touch of a hand lit the fuse / Of a chain reaction of countermoves / To assess the equation of you / Checkmate, I couldn't lose xv. I don't wanna go, think I'll make it worse / Everything I know brings me back to us / I don't wanna go, we've been here before / Everywhere I go leads me back to you xvi. I'll tell you where the real road lies / Between your ears, behind your eyes / That is the path to Paradise / Likewise, the road to ruin xvii. Who am I against him? / Who am I? Why would he let me win? / Why would he let her go? / Who am I to think that he wouldn't deceive me just to make me leave alone? xviii. The game is on again / A lover or a friend / A big thing or a small / The winner takes it all 

[leoascendente]

Feedback - first i wanna say she is absolutely a sweetheart and amazing, if you consider doing a reading with her? Do it. SHE IS AMAZING! And have amazing skills, on to the feedback- yes there have been delays in my love life I just don't like to talk to men in general like they don't give me feelings, I have been through a heartbreak which was my fault too, after that I have been on healing journey , and reflecting on my mistakes etc. ohh! That's interesting I might have crossed paths with him!! I wonder who he can be, because I don't really remember if i have 😭it's really good to know he will think of me someone he can move forward with, he honestly sounds really sweet tbh, I do have impatience I will try to take your advise and follow my gut and be patient, the funny thing is, he sounds like me really, and even the intimate detail, about him and me resonated! He sounds like me loyal trustworth, loving, i am glad to know he sounds like a good person fr. I see I may meet someone with those qualities, forcing, and I guess what I have learnt now will be tested !! Trusting my gut I got it , I will try to let go of any control issues too because tbh I do that try to control something or situation and even being impatient. I also wanna thank you for so much detailed reading you did for me and all of it resonated so much with me , you really connected with my energy I felt emotional and happy with the reading. I really feel restless sometimes , idk like something is missing and I wanna cry type of feeling, I will do that meditation and grounding exercises you have mentioned, yes right now I don't have anyone I am literally focusing to heal myself, and the female person can be my mum, she is a leo. the way you describe he seems my type, and the fact a relationship with him will be worth it, even the months you mentioned sounds nice, and yk there was a psychic and reader who told me near water at night I will meet my fs, so I literally feel he might be my fs, and something unexplainable and magical things will happen so it can be sign. oh man, wow, i will go with flow and focus more on myself. and my career, kali Maa indeed have a importance on our culture, I am so excited about that I wonder what it might be! I will be very happy my psychic abilities grow!! I am glad I will heal my root Chakra with help,got it I will be careful and take care of my energy, thank you and you are so special!! OH MY F GOD JAJA ! Full moon those previous reader also said I might my fs on full moon I am getting sure the vision is from him, I am drawn to mermaids or just believe in them like feel like they exist, I will investigate and work with water element, I like dragons ! I will wear something for protection, thank you so much for telling me the stones, it's funny because my fav stone is rose quartz 😭, the songs calls me for some reason it's def a confirmation. AND thank you so so so much for this much detailed reading I appreciate you a lot 😭 you guys she is amazing don't hesitate to buy a reading from her ❤️

I feel so grateful with this feedback, thank you so much 🫶

I wish you the best my dear 🥰💖

[viii-the-strength]

Tarot Tips!!

I was asked to give some tips about tarot and even if I am no expert I thought I'd share some.

- How to start tarot as a beginner?

First of all I'd ask myself what is tarot and what do I wanna use it for. Here you can get a bit of an introduction, it is a divination tool, it connects us to the divine.

Then you need a tarot deck. There are lots of cool ones out there but I'd say start with one that has the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith style. I think it's best to start with the original symbolism.

After that you have to learn about the cards meanings. You can start with these videos:

I recommend writing everything you learn in a notebook so you can look at it when doing readings. Do not obsess over mastering and remembering all the meanings, the best thing you can do is practice. At first you will always be looking at the meanings and that's okay. Seeing the major arcana and the 4 different suits as a story helps. When you get the different cards it means you are in the different parts of that story.

About reverse cards some people read them (so when a card is reversed it means the opposite) but some don't (so even if it's reversed they just read the usual meaning). Try different methods and do what's best for you.

Same with your ritual for reading. Some people like dim light, others ask spirit, tapping on the deck, parting and shuffling a specific number... Just do what is natural for you. The only important thing to me is be in tune with yourself, a quiet space is useful.

I think having a practice around them is important. I do weekly and monthly readings, as you can see in my masterpost. I like these videos about different tarot practices too:

But sometimes you will want to do specific spreads or ask some questions. One of the most popular spreads is the celtic cross but you can google others. I am subscribed to The Simple Tarot newsletter and they give lots of free spreads instructions.

About the questions I am gonna leave this text Sahara Rose wrote for her A Yogic Path Oracle:

[Alt: Asking a Question.

The beautiful thing about this deck is that it will reflect back what you put into it. The more mindful you become, the more mindful answers you will find. Being in the right environment, mindset, and mood is essential to receive the responses your soul is seeking. Your guides are working with you through these cards; therefore, your role is to tap in to allow your consciousness to choose the right cards to deliver the exact message that is seeking to come through for you.

The purpose of these cards is to empower you to come up with your own answers. These cards provide you with the reflection and space needed to tap deeper into your soul. They are not the be-all and end-all. Sometimes we don't understand the deeper meaning behind the card until months or years later. The cards provide you with the opportunity to gain further insight on topics that are near and dear to your heart so you never have to look outside of yourself for the answers. The best questions you can ask the deck begin with what and how.

For example:

What messages do eny guides have for me?

What should I be more mindful of?

What should I be focusing on?

What is the best action to take?

What should I do about xyz?

What is the lesson behind this situation?

What can I do to be more of service? Hose should I approach this situation?

How can I be a better partner?

How can I open myself up to receive?

How can I attract more abundance?

How can I manifest x-y-z?

How can I connect with my spirit guides?

These questions allow the cards to offer insight without taking away the opportunity for your own contemplation.

Who questions, such as, Who is my soulmate? will not work with this deck, unless your soulmate happens to be Krishna, Shiva, or another deity.

Where questions won't work either, because the answer will always be your consciousness.

When questions aren't going to fly, because time doesn't exist in the higher dimensions.

Why questions can make sense but be very careful with them, because they often bring you back to victimhood, such as, Why did this happen to me? Why didn't he choose me?

A positive reframe would be, What have I been awerlooking that will allow me to understand this situation better? This puts you in an empowered position and gets to the core of the question. If you can ask a why question without getting into victimhood, go for it, but I encourage you to begin with what or how to keep you empowered.

Cards cannot predict the future. Only you can. The future is being written every moment with your thoughts, beliefs, and actions. There are limitless possibilities you can take, it is up to you to decide. Allow these cards to deepen your understanding of the present so you can pave a clearer path for the future.

If you don't have any questions, start with something simple such as Show me something about myself or What message do you have for me? Begin practicing with these cards to get comfortable with them. The more in-tune you are with your energy, the more spot-on the answers will be.]

- How to intuitively read a card? How to start describing a story intuitively looking at the cards in any reading?

These are the hardest questions. I still struggle with this. Some days you will be more connected than others. Another thing I noticed is I am better at describing a story when it is another person asking me for a reading. When I do it for myself I am worse. So keep that in mind too, read for friends or people online.

But keep practicing. Practice practice practice. Practice makes perfect as it is said, but you don't really need to be perfect. Release the desire for perfection and just connect with your higher self.

I hope any of this can serve you. Happy readings!!

[romatique]

hi lina! i sent jes a message ab a day ago and it's all ab astrology. if u have time and it doesn't bother u, i hope u could give ur two cents ab it ^^

my bestfriend for 14 years, know nothing about ATEEZ [ i just found out that she won an ATZ album to a "BTS ALBUM GIVEAWAY" so she's not completely unaware of them ] recently gave me her birth time and out of curiosity, I put it up with my bias' (hwa) chart and in my interpretation, if these two meet— idk... IM A FAN

8h mars overlay

1h mars overlay

7h vertex

11h moon overlay

6h moon overlay

virgo-juno conjunction

juno-juno conjunction

asc-sun conjunction

moon-sun conjunction

mars-moon conjunction

mars trine moon

mercury trine venus (both ways)

mars trine venus

*attached below is a pic of their composite chart*

these r the placements that i feel are very strong and important to relationships. but idk, i could just be reaching and maybe im just a delusional bestfriend and fan but im not even kidding when i say she *almost* always match the seonghwa ideal type and fs readings VERY WELL that it almost always creep me out and even question my sanity bc it was just so random (somehow).

so yeah, that's basically it. im actually not so very much deep into astrology YET. i already asked her ab her thoughts on this, and she just said "everything will workout if it's meant to be" then followed it up with "or baka masyado ka lang oa sa interpretation, baka kapag nagkita kame niyan pumikit pa siya heheh POGI-POGI NIYAN" implying that she doesn't think it's impossible for them to cross paths but also doesn't believe that there would be something, that he's too good- looking, and that I AM JUST REACHING LMAO

I HOPE I DIDNT BORE U BC OF THAT LONG ASS MESSAGE LMAO. this is me asking for ur 2 cents btw lol i just want to know if i am interpreting things properly or... im just reaching.

THANK U IN ADVANCE, LINA!

hello sweetheart! you didn’t bore me at all~ i absolutely adore jes and i’m happy she sent you to me.

i know a lot of people have that “delusional” concept in their heads. i’m ngl, i’m lowkey like that too, i try to stand on a realistic ground, especially for readings. but i do believe that, in some way, celebrities could end up with potential fans aswell.

someone (i don’t quite remember who rn, i’ll make sure to check after i post this) posted once that bangchan’s fs is also a fan, for example. that happens more often than we could ever imagine. some celebrities even prefer it that way (let’s say they like the attention, not in a negative way, they just like being cared for)

in astrology, not everything’s perfect, of course. so even if their charts don’t match perfectly, that’s still a good sign. if you never bleed, you never grow and etc. it’s important to have a few negative sides to every relationship, as long as it’s not abusive! cause if not, how will we know what works and what doesn’t?

so, i read your whole message and the chart you sent as well. and i LOVE the earth energy right here. stable, grounded, and there’s also an open-minded side to the relationship with the gemini mars in the 10th house. could mean a foreigner, someone who’s into literature, or has an academic life, opposite to seonghwa’s which makes sense since he’s a cancer moon conjunct rising. he NEEDS that, haha.

i’d say: you’re completely fine on having your own opinions on it! she seems like she has her own life to handle so i believe that this won’t get in her way. as she said, if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.

don’t worry, you’re definitely not crazy haha. i was like this with my boyfriend before we started dating. but i just wanna let you know to not live like your life depends on it, just let it be~~ who knows? maybe someday their paths could cross, maybe not. let’s wait and see 🫶🏻

thanks for the ask again, love 🥹💞

[21witnokidz]

IN THE GHETTO

Chapter 12

“John! If Mike had 3 apples and ate 2. How many more apples does he have? Actually think about it”

“Uhh. Three?”

“No!”

Arthur forced three of John’s fingers up and held them there.

“If Mike had three apples THREE. And he at TWO-“ Arthur forced two of John’s fingers down and held the remainder one up. “how many more apples does he have?”

“Oh two!”

Arthur pulled his gun out and aimed at the boy’s legs.

“If little John had 2 working legs and I shoot one of them. How many legs would he be able to move?”

You walked around the corner and put your hands on your hips.

“Why do you find so much fun in terrorizing that boy?”

“Me terrorizing him? He’s terrorizing me! Bessie told me to teach him how to count and he’s driving me crazy!”

“Ok I’ll try”

You bended down to John’s level and spoke to him.

“If I had 6 bullets in my gun and I shot 2 of them. How many bullets would be left in the chamber?”

“Four!”

“Oh ok so when I try to give you a much easier and simpler problem you want to act all dumb and clueless?” Arthur said angry.

Hosea came up behind you. “Seems to me like little John is just ready to learn how to shoot”

“It’s about time he learns. Then he can finally go out and make some money”

-

You all followed Hosea into the woods and he already had some target practice set up for John. He gave John a basic starter pistol and told him the basics. John shot at the targets and got all of them, only using 8 of his bullets.

“Alright John! You’re a natural. Way better than what y/n did when she started out. What makes it even funnier is that she was older than you she first started out” Arthur patted him on the back.

“Yea! Pretty soon I’ll be better than you”

“Woah now boy- watch yourself”

John laughed and turned to you. “You gonna teach me to pickpocket now?”

“Might as well. You know I’m the best pickpocket here. Only because I have small hands which is good for you because you too have small hands”

“Wait you said you was gonna go fishing with me later y/n what about that?” Arthur said disappointed.

“Oh that can wait this is much more important. Now let’s teach John how to rob people successfully”

You pulled Arthur’s wallet out and showed it to John. “You’re gonna try and steal this wallet from Arthur okay?”

Arthur and John looked shocked. “When the hell did you steal my wallet?”

“See John? He didn’t even notice it was gone”

You put Arthur’s wallet back in his pocket and ordered him to start walking towards you. You crossed Arthur’s path and bumped his shoulder and while he was too focused on the impact of the bump you slipped your hand into his pocket to grab the wallet.

“See? That’s a really basic pickpocket skill but effective against dimwits”

John had his go at it and grabbed the wallet successfully. He was ready.

-

You and John made your way to Armadillo and stood near a saloon.

“Ok the first rule is to look for the right victim. You wanna go for someone dumb enough to not know what happened but not too dumb because then they’ll most likely not have anything valuable. Also look for fat people too”

“What about rich people” John pointed at a man with a gold monocle.

“Yea he’ll do. But make sure to run away as fast as you can when you rob him because if he gets the law on you they’d want to help him even more since he looks to be an important man. But we’ll do things a little different ok?”

After explaining your new plan to John, you went up to the man and bumped into him.

“What the hell’s your problem?”

“Sorry sir, my mistake”

While the altercation was happening John pulled out a fountain pen from out the man’s pocket. The man was too busy antagonizing you to even notice.

“Excuse me sir have you seen my mother?” John asked.

Before the man turned around, John tossed the pen to you so that the man wouldn’t see that he stole it. You caught the pen in your hat and put the hat on your head to hide it.

“Why would I know your disgrace of a mother? She couldn’t even keep you clean”

Then you slipped your hand into the man’s pocket to pull out his wallet. After that you poked his shoulder. Before he turned around you tossed it to John.

“That boy over there just stole your wallet sir”

The man over turned around but John already bolted off.

“That gremlin! Don’t worry sir I’ll retrieve your wallet from that scoundrel and bring it back to you at once” You said in a noble voice and took off to follow John into the woods.

“Man that was a good plan y/n. It was fun too!”

“Sure was. Now let’s get you a reward”

After you bought John a drink and let him have his first taste of liquor you guys made your way back to camp.

“How was it?” Arthur asked, chewing on some beef jerky.

“He was great actually. Better than you of course”

He just rolled his eyes and turned around.

You and John sat around the fire and grabbed some food Pearson had cooked.

“We sold a wealthy pen for 50 dollars and got a wallet with a hundred in it” John said proudly.

“Yea well I bet y/n did most of the work so don’t hype yourself up” Arthur said in an almost jealous tone.

“Go fuck yourself Arthur” John said

Everyone erupted into laughter and started patting John on the back and giving him praises.

“You tell him John that’s right! Here take this!” You gave the boy 10 dollars. “You deserve it. Don’t take shit from no one”

“Yea Arthur go fuck your horse or something!” John carried on.

Everyone’s laughter got even louder.

“Yea go let Bill push you off a cliff and watch you die and call you a bitch and spit on your grave then we’ll see who’s talking yea!” John laughed at himself and looked around to see if anyone else was laughing only to see everyone was dead silent. “Or something like that I don’t know...”

“More food anyone?” Pearson spoke up.

“Yea I’ll take some” You said passing him your bowl.

Arthur shot up from his seat and grabbed John’s arm.

“You know what let’s go fishing. You don’t know how to fish yet do you John?”

Arthur dragged John down to the river and picked him up by his ankles and held him there above the water.

“Arthur stop! It was just a joke I’m sorry!”

“No hard feelings here, John! You can just steal my girl and humiliate me in front of my people and it wouldn’t bother me none! In fact since you’re so good why don’t you try learning to swim on your own?”

Arthur let go of John’s ankles and dropped him into the river.

“Come on you got it! Kick your legs and move your arms you got it!”

John was struggling in the water and that’s when Arthur finally realized.

John can’t swim.

[justmywritingstuff]

Speechless Changes~Number 5

Summary:

When you always have done whatever it takes to get your goals, it's very hard to change or surprise people--even harder to leave them speechless.

In other words, the six firsts of Shadybug and Claw Noir's relationship that left someone speechless.

AO3

Warnings: language, panic attack

Word Count: 6.9k+

Author's notes: Hi! Sorry this one took a bit longer with work and the holidays and everything, but this part is at least a bit longer to make up for it. It's going to start as a little fun but then it's going to be a very quick tone change. Also a slight look into how I picture some of the other characters in this universe that probably won't really come up in this series. It came out a little choppy, but I really like it--I based some parts of it on something that really happened, so it's a little different. Lots of POV shifts in this one, so remember a line break means a shift in POV! Enjoy!

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

Number 5: Alya (first time they find the words for what they are)

Adrien is not off to a great start today. His photoshoot this morning was a complete mess and he no doubt would probably get an earful for his behavior later, nothing new there, but it threw his plans for the rest of the day for a loop.

He’s running late because of the stupid photoshoot and it’s very important to him that he manages to finally befriend Nino as Adrien with a ridiculous movie, if it works, it’s well worth skipping his Chinese lesson today. He’s tried several times already but something always happens, one of the Supreme’s minions starts terrorizing the city to get his and Shady’s attention, he got the address wrong and couldn’t ‘accidentally’ bump into Nino, he did something embarrassing and would rather die than be in public.

Why is this so hard? He’s just trying to coincidentally bump into Nino right when he’s walking home from school at the street by the movie theatre and coincidentally have tickets to see Nino’s favorite movie on the day Nino just so happens to be free because Adrien memorized his schedule…he’s aware how creepy it sounds when he says it like that, but that’s literally his most logical and least fucked up route.

Since he can’t join Nino and Marinette’s school until the next school year, he needs to improvise a way to meet Nino that isn’t ‘oh hey, you should be my fucking friend because a me from another universe told me we’d make great friends and I have shit social skills, so I really want that! Wanna see a movie I know is your favorite with me?’ Yeah, no, that isn’t an option, that’s how he gets sent to a mental institution and never sees his Bug again—even Plagg agreed that was a terrible idea.

He considered for a bit asking if maybe Marinette could find a way to stealthily introduce them to each other, but she’s just as socially inept as he is and is trying to do something similar with Alya—granted she’s made more progress than he has, but still not a great option for this.

Today is the day that it would finally work if he could just get to the right spot in time. His plan is perfect, he’ll literally bump into Nino by ‘accident’ and drop his movie tickets, Nino would pick them up and they would start talking and then he would casually mention that he had an extra ticket and invite Nino and wa-la! Friendship!

At least, that’s what he keeps telling himself as he’s run-walking to the spot he’s supposed to ‘accidentally’ bump into Nino. If his stupid photoshoot hadn’t run late, he would have had time to get there on time and not worry about missing his chance.

He turns the corner, seeing the street he plans to cross to look more casual when running into Nino—cross the street, turn to the right, walk right into Nino’s walking path and into Nino because he’s checking his phone, he’s gone over the plan in his head hundreds of times. He hopes he doesn’t say the wrong thing and embarrass himself, he might die and crawl into a hole if he fucks this up.

He sighs in relief as he sees Nino walking the way he walks every day, distractedly looking at his phone like always. He takes a deep breath and crosses the street putting his plan in motion, this is going to work.

He turns to the right and pulls out his phone and the movie tickets, but right as he does so, a pigeon flies into his face.

He leans back in surprise, trying to get away from it, and loses a bit of balance. His nose starts to itch and he sneezes so hard it hurts, and the momentum from his sneeze propels him forward—falling face first to the ground in the most ungraceful, embarrassing, and ridiculous way he ever could.

He prays to every divine entity in existence that Nino didn’t see that. If he did, he’ll never want to be Adrien’s friend because Adrien is too much of a dumbass. If he’s lucky, Nino will just keep walking because he was too busy on his phone to notice and Adrien will take his idiocy to his grave—Nino never needs to know that it was Adrien.

—

Nino isn’t doing anything today, normally he’d go meet with Betterfly or hang with Alya, but Alya is helping Marinette with something and Betterfly didn’t need him until later, so today is a do-nothing-and-play-videogames-by-himself day. Maybe he should make more friends he can hang out with for days like this?

He got along fine with his classmates, but he didn’t really spend time with any of them outside of school. Neither did Alya, really, they’re both always so busy working together with the resistance that friendships were kind of harder to keep. He hopes that she and Marinette might be good friends, Marinette has always been quiet and kept to herself (which he couldn’t really blame her with everything with Chloe), but she had been a bit more receptive of other people lately and her and Alya could probably get along pretty well. Nino, however, didn’t really have any great options to consider in that department. Nathaneal is completely antisocial, Ivan is too cheery and always with his scary girlfriend, Kim is a jerk who tries to hang with Chloe, and Max is always busy with his robot death matches.

He sighs as he walks home from school about to pass by the movie theatre. He just wants some dude who will chill with him and watch a dumb movie or something every now and then.

He puts his phone away and looks up to see some guy on his phone that looks incredibly familiar walking toward him. Is that…Adrien Agreste? The angry model dude?

Before Nino can be sure of that, a random pigeon comes flying directly towards the guy’s face. The guy leans back like he’s terrified of the thing and then sneezes so hard he’s pushed forward, falling face first into the concrete.

On the one hand, Nino should make sure he isn’t hurt or anything, that should probably be his first thought as someone who fights with the resistance for hope and all that. On the other hand, though, that is the funniest thing he’s ever seen. So, laughing his butt off is what he does first.

“Dude,” Nino says as he closes the distance between them between laughs, “I’m s-sorry. I’m trying really hard not to laugh. Dude, are you…are you okay?”

The guy groans and slowly raises his arm up to give a weak thumbs up, causing Nino to laugh again.

“Here, dude.” Nino says, finally calm enough to speak. “Let me help you up.” He grabs the guy’s arm and helps to pull him up. Now that he’s face to face with the guy, he’s certain it’s the model guy, Alya is gonna have a field day with this when he tells her. “Hey, aren’t you that Adrien Agreste guy?”

Adrien’s face turns a deep red and he nods. He grits his teeth and turns around, sprinting away at full speed.

“Huh.” Nino says to himself, confused at whatever just happened.

He looks back to the ground and notices the guy had dropped something. He kneels down to pick it up and sees that it’s two movie tickets for next week to his favorite movie that Alya refuses to watch with him.

“Weird guy.” Nino says. “Great taste in movies…maybe I can meet him next week to give him back his tickets.”

Nino puts the tickets in his pockets, hoping the guy is okay and will still come to the movie theatre next week so he can give them back to him. Nino did say he’d like someone to see a dumb movie with…maybe this Adrien guy would let him tag along?

—

It was a terrible, horrible day, the worst day that Adrien’s had in a long time. It was the kind of day where one bad thing happened after another, each worse than the last. He lost his temper at a photoshoot that went longer than it was supposed to, he missed one of his lessons, he had badly embarrassed himself in front of Nino when he tried to invite him to the movies, and to top it all off he had to follow his embarrassment with Nino immediately with a long difficult conversation with his father.

Truthfully, the other stuff was bad, but talking to his father is what really pushed him over the edge.

Before the other universe, he would deal with a bad day with incredible violence or screaming matches with Shady, anything he could throw his anger at really. Now though, whenever he has a bad day, all he wants is to spend time with Marinette and just be around her—whether as Adrien or Claw, he didn’t care as long as she’s there. If she’s there with him, then that’s all that matters and he could be okay.

He thought that being contacted by Betterfly at this time at night would mean exactly that, that one of the Supreme’s minions is running rampant and he and Shady could go beat someone up then she would sit with him, and they would talk or kiss for hours and the world would feel less shitty because he was with her. He was excited for some super-powered person to be out and about fucking shit up, he wanted that. Is that a fucked-up thing to want that to happen? Yes. But, that’s his life, he has to find happiness or whatever somewhere. So, that’s what he was hoping for when Betterfly contacted him.

This, however, is not what he wanted after the day he had.

He didn’t want to listen to Betterfly lecture him and only him on all the things he’s trying to be better at. He didn’t want to listen to how much hope can make things better and what a great job he’s doing. He didn’t want to hear this man who is good and kind and cares about everything tell him how much he worries and cares about him and all the things he’s noticed while they fight for a better world. He didn’t want to hear a stranger tell him how he’s doing a great job when his own father just spent all his time ignoring him and tried to lecture him on how he was worried about him making mistakes and hoping that he would change for the better. His own father ignored him and ignored the pain he felt about his mother then had the gall to look him in the eye and tell him that he wanted him to change because of a stupid Chinese lesson.

Before speaking to Betterfly, he would have dealt with everything he was feeling like it was anger. But with the way Betterfly is almost saying the perfect opposite of what his father told him, what he’s feeling is starting to feel more and more like pain.

How could he sit and listen to a stranger that reminds him so much of his father go on about how much he’s improved and changed when his own father had told him how disappointed he was that he hadn’t? That thought in itself is too much, he can’t do it.

“I can’t be here.” Claw growls in the middle of Betterfly’s sentence. He stands from the chair across from Betterfly in the debriefing room.

“I’m sorry.” Betterfly says. “Did I say something insulting? I swear, I didn’t mean—"

“You didn’t.” He answers with clenched fists.

He knows it’s not Betterfly’s fault, he knows it really isn’t and that Betterfly means well. But, he can’t help but think of his father around him and right now he can’t be here because of that. He can’t think of his father right now, he can’t let himself get dragged down that rabbit hole. This isn’t anger, this is him about to fall apart into a shit ton of broken pieces and that can’t happen—not here.

He grits his teeth and walks to the door.

“Is something wrong?” Betterfly asks, sounding genuinely concerned.

He can’t be here, he can’t deal with this now. The longer he stays and listens to Betterfly complimenting him and saying things he wishes his father would say, the harder it is to breathe.

“I can’t be here.” He says again as he steps out the door, barely holding it together.

He doesn’t know where he’s going, but he just needs to leave.

He bumps into someone in the halls of the resistance headquarters as he’s trying to keep his feet from giving out under him, but his vision is starting to blur so he pays no attention to whoever it is. His breathing is picking up and he doesn’t know what this is, but he just can’t focus, he needs to get away to somewhere, away from everyone. Before long he finds himself in a secluded room in the resistance’s headquarters, one that led into the sewers nearby.

His hands shake as he grabs his baton from behind him, he can hardly see what’s in front of him but it’s like his shaking hands are working on their own as they use his baton to call the one person he needs to see more than anything.

“Hey fleabag,” Shady’s voice answers. “What’s—”

“M-M-Marinette?” He barely croaks out.

“Stay where you are.” She responds immediately. “I’m coming.”

He nods, even though he knows she can’t see it, and slides his back down the wall. He hugs his knees to his chest and covers his ears with his hands.

Everything is so loud, even the silence is deafening, and he can feel himself shaking as tears form in his eyes.

He hates it. He hates himself for losing it. He hates that his father’s voice is always in his head. He hates that his father ignores him. He hates that his mother is gone. He hates that he feels so alone and empty sometimes. He hates that this feeling never really goes away.

His chest feels tight and for a moment he’s afraid he’s having a heart attack, or maybe the disease from overusing his powers is coming back. He doesn’t know what’s going on, he just knows that everything feels wrong.

—

Marinette needs to be Shady tonight, she needs an escape from the day she had. It wasn’t the worst of her days, but with Chloe and her parents, it was definitely a long one and she needs some fresh air. She isn’t expecting Adrien to join her as Claw, though she certainly is hoping he might, she just wants to see where the night will take her.

Her yo-yo vibrates and she smiles, seeing Claw’s familiar face on the screen. She’s excited he happened to be out at the same time as her, maybe they could have a relaxing night together just the two of them until sunrise since she hadn’t seen him all day like she desperately wanted.

“Hey fleabag,” Shady says, answering her yo-yo. “What’s—”

She’s interrupted by a barely audible croak on the other end from Claw, “M-M-Marinette?”

“Stay where you are.” She responds immediately. “I’m coming.”

She checks his location on her yo-yo and immediately starts jumping over rooftops and sprinting to get to him faster than she’s ever gone before.

She and her partner aren’t normal when it comes to a lot of things, whatever it is that they are is one of those things that can’t really be explained to anyone else. So, to pretty much the rest of the world, the things that they both did or said weren’t easy to see the meaning of. To her, though, her partner is a puzzle that only she can put together, a book she knows how to read.

One thing that has always—always—been a big part of their ‘more’ situation is that their real names are never said lightly, even if they aren’t in the costumes, they always use one of their hundreds of nicknames for each other. She never questioned it, it’s just one of those things they never really needed to talk about. But the unspoken rule between them has always been that the use of one of their real names meant it’s time to be serious, time to be a bit vulnerable together, time to be honest, or that something is very very wrong. Hearing her partner’s broken voice saying her name like that…she knows that something is wrong and she doesn’t know what, but whatever it is, she knows she has to get to him fast.

She finally yo-yos her way to the resistance’s headquarters and into the secret entrance. She checks his location frantically as she runs down the halls, running past Betterfly, Nino, and some of the other members. She crashes into Alya for a moment, which brings them both to the ground.

“Hey!” Alya says.

Shady doesn’t answer, she’s already getting up and continuing her sprint to find her partner—she’s so close and she’s already taken way too long to find him. She couldn’t stand the thought that something is terribly wrong and he’s all alone.

She turns down several different halls at full speed until she finally finds herself in a secluded room that leads to the sewers where Claw is against the wall, shaking with his head against his knees. She’s never seen him look so broken, so vulnerable.

She sits beside him and pulls his head against her heart, holding him like he might slip away.

He takes a shallow breath and slowly wraps his arms around her, still shaking—he seems like he might be crying, but if he is, she wouldn’t dare comment on it.

She gently pets his hair as his grip tightens. She can feel him sobbing against her chest and every inch of her body is screaming at her to help him, to stay with him forever.

“I’m here.” She whispers. “Stay with me. Breathe.”

She’s never seen him like this before, which, unfortunately means she doesn’t know the right way to help him. She would give anything to take away whatever is wrong, she’d take it all on herself if she could—there isn’t a thing in this universe or any other for that matter that she wouldn’t do for him. She doesn’t know what happened or why, but she hopes the words she tells herself when she falls apart on her worst days are enough to calm him down too, that’s all she can do for him.

“I’m here. Stay with me. Breathe.” She repeats with a slight squeeze to show him it’s true.

His breathing slows down, getting less erratic, and he starts nuzzling into her chest as he seems to calm down.

“I’m here.” Shady says as she pets his hair and kisses his head. “I promise I’m here.”

Shallow breaths against her chest send vibrations through her whole body as she lets him rest in her hold. She couldn’t tell you how long they stay like this, it could be seconds or hours or days, but she doesn’t care—she would stay like that for months or even years if it meant that her partner would be okay.

As Claw’s breathing finally evens out, he hugs her tighter like she isn’t close enough to him. She couldn’t blame him, when she sees him after she breaks down it feels like he’s never close enough…not even when there’s nothing between them but skin.

“I-I’m not fucking crying.” He says into her chest.

“Course you’re not.” Shady answers.

They were taught by the Supreme and everything else in this fucked up world that crying meant weakness, and despite the fact that they both know now that isn’t true in the slightest, it’s hard to unlearn things like that when it feels like the whole world is falling on you. So even though she knows that he is crying, she would never dare contradict him if he says otherwise and God help anyone else that fucking dared to comment on it.

Claw hums and nuzzles into her chest again. He presses his ear to her heart, listening to her heartbeat as she sees him close his eyes.

She takes a deep breath so he can feel her chest rise and fall, so he knows that she’s there with him and he isn’t alone.

“…You haven’t asked.” Claw whispers after a long bit of silence, his eyes still closed as he leans against her.

“Do you want me to ask?” Shady whispers back.

His lip quivers and he tightens his grip on her.

“…No.” He says weakly.

“Then I won’t.” She answers.

She keeps petting his head, trying to give him as much comfort as he needs.

If he wants to tell her, he’ll tell her when he’s ready, if not then she’ll still be there to keep his head out of the water no matter what. The two of them are anger, violence, always have been and maybe always will be. What people often forget she figures, is that also means they’re angry and violent to themselves, so they break harder when they hit the ground. She knows that’s how she’s always been, it’s how she keeps going—she’s so broken that she breaks all at once over everything instead of all the time. People like her and Claw…one small thing could break them into millions of pieces because they spent so much time trying not to be broken. She’s never seen Adrien like this before, so she knows something set him off that broke the dam. Whatever happens or happened, she’s there and would never leave him to deal with it on his own.

They both stay quiet for a long time as she comforts him and he calms down.

“I-I missed a lesson today.” Claw finally says.

“Oh?” Shady answers, letting him speak on his terms and only answering to show him she’s listening intently.

“I get angry a lot…have a nasty reputation for it.”

“Hmm.”

“I cause trouble and chaos sometimes.”

“Yeah?”

“But I’m trying. I’m trying so fucking hard.”

His voice comes out scratchy at the end of his sentence and she leans her head against his.

“I know.” She says, and she did, she knows how hard it is.

“He-he can’t stand me.” He chokes out. “All of that and all he cares about is that I missed a lesson…that I’m going down a bad path and need to be better.”

“Oh.”

“And then Betterfly…he-he’s proud of me and…and…” Claw trails off and squeezes Shady again, clearly fighting fresh tears.

Shady grits her teeth and tightens her grip on him, realizing what set him off.

Betterfly had pulled him into a lecture about how much he improved and was doing good…which in itself, would probably be whatever on a normal day. But he missed a lesson today, which meant that likely sometime today before Betterfly lectured him about the good he is doing, his dickhead father had lectured him about how he needs to change and be better.

How could he not see how hard Adrien is trying? Marinette definitely isn’t the best person for advice with a parent—she couldn’t even bring herself to talk about the issues she has with her own—but when it comes to Gabriel Agreste, she wishes she could just grab him by the shoulders and scream in his face ‘Hey fuck-head, your son is a fucking masterpiece work of art who’s doing his best and you’re an asshole for ignoring him. Stop being a fucking dickhead.’ It broke her heart to know that this man could make her fearless partner crumble so easily and didn’t even think for a second that he was doing it—it’s enough to make her want to cry.

“Maybe he’s right to ignore me.” Claw says. “Maybe I’m not worth knowing.”

Oh, hell no. At that, her heartbreak turns to rage and protectiveness. Shady is not letting her partner think something like that about himself for a single second.

“Hey, listen to me.” She says as she grabs his cheeks to bring his eyes to hers. “You are amazing exactly as you are, if your father doesn’t see that, then fuck him.” She leans her forehead against his. “You are the reason I can see the world getting better, the reason I’ve come this far. You are incredible, and if the rest of the world can’t see it, then screw the whole damn world. You’re trying to be better and you’re making a difference.”

“But I’m a—" He tries but Shady cuts him off with a kiss to his lips.

She pulls back a bit so she can look him in the eyes so he knows how badly she means it.

“What you are is my partner, my best friend…my everything more and inbetween.” Shady says with determination. “You are so important to me, and I love you more than anything, so know that I’m here at your side no matter how shitty things get because I’m with you no matter what.”

He blinks at her, taken aback by her sudden bluntness. He leans back into her chest and pulls her into his lap so she’s straddling his hips, holding her in his arms. It’s something he’s done before, usually when his lips were on hers like they were animals and things were about to get incredibly heated, but this time she knows it’s just because he needs her close—nothing more and nothing less. He moves his head up to her shoulder, resting his face in the crook of her neck like he’s trying to memorize her scent.

“Hmm.” He says into her neck, his voice scratchy from crying. “You always smell like fresh bread…it’s how I know I’m home.”

She hums in response, melting into his arms. They had never said that out loud before, it had always been another unspoken thing between them—for them, home would always be a person and though they don’t know when it became the case, they both know that home is each other.

He’s calmed down enough that now all he wants is to be with her, just have her close to him—it’s the clingy protective side of him that comes out when the lights are low and their voices are silent, the side of him that pulls her closer when they sleep next to each other like he’s afraid he’ll wake up and she’ll be gone, the side that no one but her gets to see.

She moves a hand up to the back of his neck to scratch his head comfortingly and a low purr rumbles from his chest. She smiles, she already knew that he purrs sometimes, but he isn’t always aware that he’s doing it. Normally, she might tease him about it when he stops, but given how he’s feeling today, she decides to let him do anything he pleases without any remarks as long as it helps him.

Claw takes in an uneasy breath and nuzzles his nose into her neck.

“That’s the first time you told me you love me.” He whispers like he might start crying again.

She blinks, suddenly realizing what she had said to him. She didn’t even realize it…it had just slipped out. She could deny it, say she meant something else in case it was a mistake, but then that would be a lie because she meant every word. As frightening as saying her feelings out loud is, when it comes to Claw, she thinks he deserves to hear it—even if he doesn’t say it back.

“Yeah, I guess it is.” She says back.

“Did you…did you mean it?”

“…You know I did, Cat.”

He sighs and she can feel the slight smile he has against her shoulder.

“I love you too, Bug.”

She lets out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding in.

They always had trouble saying how they really feel, they left so much unspoken and were so unsure of themselves that direct communication like this is rare. This isn’t how she pictured this…she always figured they would say something in the heat of battle or when one of them got hurt. She never would have thought it would happen when he had been crying into her chest and it would just slip out as easily as a hello. She’s relieved he said it back, but there’s no fireworks, no dramatic declarations, no big emotional ‘I love you, I love you’s. It simply is and was, as nice as it is to hear it, she didn’t need that and she didn’t think he did either—they both already knew.

They stay like that in silence for a minute, content just to be.

He hums a tune she doesn’t know then pulls back from her shoulder, resting his forehead against hers as her hands move to his chest.

“That’s what we are…you are.” He says, breaking the silence.

“What?” She answers.

“I’ve been trying to put words to what we are, but nothing seems to fit for how much we mean to each other. I call you my partner but…girlfriend, lover, friend…none of those feel right for what we are, but what you called us? That sounds perfect to me.”

“What?”

He looks down and moves one of his hands from her back to her hands, entwining their fingers as they both look at them.

“My everything more and inbetween.” He says as he meets her eyes.

She smiles at him and pulls his hand to her lips, gently kissing his knuckles.

“Yeah…” She says, “I like the sound of that.”

—

“Hey!” Alya growls as Shadybug crashes into her in the Resistance headquarters.

Shady doesn’t answer, she’s already getting up and continuing her sprint to wherever she’s running to so panicked.

Alya huffs in aggravation and quickly gets up, following after her. She can’t be up to anything good to be running like that in their headquarters.

Despite what Nino told her and the fact that he’s suddenly very supportive of Claw Noir and Shadybug being a part of their team, Alya is having a hard time believing that the two former villains could ever be anything but evil. After whatever happened when Nino was alone with them in the debriefing room, he’s been cheering them on and acting like their advocate. He keeps trying to tell her to give them a chance, that they’re just teenagers like them that are trying to be better—though they’ve been helping the Resistance, she hasn’t seen anything to point to them being more than murderous brutes.

She follows Shadybug down several different halls, barely keeping up with her. Shadybug finally stops in a secluded room and Alya stays by the entrance, trying to catch her breath and not let Shadybug know she’s there.

Alya expects to stumble on Shadybug meeting with one of the Supreme’s minions or find her with a beaten hostage or see her dragging a dead body or some other terrible villain thing that would explain why she was running to get here. The last thing she expects to see, however, is Claw Noir against the wall, shaking with his head against his knees. She blinks, not sure if she can trust her eyes, he looks so…broken.

Shady sits beside Claw and pulls his head against her heart, holding him gently like you would hold a kid. He takes a shallow breath and slowly wraps his arms around her, still shaking—he seems like he might be crying.

Alya blinks, confused. Shady wasn’t running to hurt someone or deal with something she did…she was running to Claw. She…she cares about him? How could that be?

Alya thought they hated each other, even with the weird incident with Nino, she couldn’t see them NOT hating each other. Not even two days ago she saw them screaming at each other before Shady had tackled Claw, she left before anything else happened, but she imagined things got very violent. But with the scene in front of her…maybe Nino has a point?

She watches as Shady gently pets Claw’s hair and he sobs against her chest. It seems like a private moment that she shouldn’t be there for, but she’s never seen them look so incredibly…human. She can’t bring herself to look away and poises her ears to listen, the reporter in her needing to know more even though she should probably leave them be.

Claw’s breathing slows down, getting less erratic, and he starts nuzzling into Shady’s chest as he seems to calm down.

Shady says something in a whisper, something Alya tries and fails to hear.

“I’m here.” Shady says as she pets Claw’s hair and kisses his head—at normal volume now, so Alya can actually hear. “I promise I’m here.”

Claw’s breathing finally evens out.

“I-I’m not fucking crying.” He says into Shady’s chest.

“Course you’re not.” Shady answers.

She hears Shady take a deep breath, then more whispering she can’t hear.

“…No.” Claw says weakly, loud enough that she can hear it but soft enough that she has to strain her ears to do so.

“Then I won’t.” Shady answers.

Shady and Claw stay quiet for a long time as she continues comforting him and he calms down.

Alya doesn’t know how long she watches them sit in silence, and frankly, she really should go. This seems like something incredibly private, and even if the two of them are supposed to be these ruthless and crazy villains, this seems like something that comes from pain and Alya can’t help but feel a bit heart broken at the sight of a broken boy who looks like his world is crumbling. She should leave, she really shouldn’t eavesdrop on them in a moment like this, but she can’t bring herself to move from behind the wall she’s watching them from.

“I-I missed a lesson today.” She hears Claw say after awhile.

“Oh?” Shady answers.

“I get angry a lot…have a nasty reputation for it.”

“Hmm.”

“I cause trouble and chaos sometimes.”

“Yeah?”

“But I’m trying. I’m trying so fucking hard.”

His voice comes out scratchy at the end of his sentence and Shady leans her head against his, his scratchy voice pulling at Alya’s heart strings like a kicked puppy.

“I know.”

“He-he can’t stand me.” Claw chokes out. “All of that and all he cares about is that I missed a lesson…that I’m going down a bad path and need to be better.”

“Oh.”

“And then Betterfly…he-he’s proud of me and…and…” Claw trails off, clearly fighting fresh tears.

Alya’s heart breaks a little more at that. What is this poor boy dealing with at home? Is that why he’s so angry all the time? Because of what his civilian life is like?

If Claw is dealing with this kind of thing, maybe Shady is too, maybe that’s why they’re always at each other’s side, because at least they have someone who slightly gets it. Before, Alya tried not to admit it, but Shady does sometimes remind her of Marinette, her new friend. Marinette is a bit socially inept and has a temper, but Alya could tell that she was dealing with something that puts her in a bad place (Alya assumes it’s the pressure of working for her parent’s bakery way more than she should), and she’s been trying really hard lately to come out her shell—like how Shady might be trying to be better, to be good.

She sees Shady grit her teeth. Shady must have a really good idea of what he’s dealing with at home, maybe that’s why she fought so violently sometimes—she’s protective. Actually, thinking about it…all the times Shady got too violent against one of the Supreme’s minions, Claw had gotten hurt or hit. This is dangerous, seeing them like this, seeing them in such a human way. Alya’s already starting to doubt what she knows about them, it’s dangerous to let her guard down so easily.

“Maybe he’s right to ignore me.” Claw says. “Maybe I’m not worth knowing.”

Oh, now that’s messed up. Is he talking about his dad? Before Alya is able to think about that, she sees Shady’s face flash with anger.

“Hey, listen to me.” Shady says as she grabs Claw’s cheeks to bring his eyes to hers. “You are amazing exactly as you are, if your father doesn’t see that, then fuck him.” She leans her forehead against his. “You are the reason I can see the world getting better, the reason I’ve come this far. You are incredible, and if the rest of the world can’t see it, then screw the whole damn world. You’re trying to be better and you’re making a difference.”

That doesn’t sound like something you’d say to someone you hate. That almost sounds sweet enough to be a confession of affection. She’s comforting him and building him up, even if it is a bit intense, she seems so angry that he would talk about himself that way. Maybe she’s starting to genuinely care about him?

“But I’m a—" Claw starts to say but Shady cuts him off with a kiss to his lips.

WAIT. THAT WAS A KISS. Alya just watched the two people who hate each other more than anything KISS. Was Nino right? Are they dating?

Shady pulls back a bit and looks Claw in the eyes.

“What you are is my partner, my best friend…my everything more and inbetween.” Shady says with determination. “You are so important to me, and I love you more than anything, so know that I’m here at your side no matter how shitty things get because I’m with you no matter what.”

At that, Alya’s mouth opens completely and she’s gaping at them like a fish, completely speechless as they don’t even really react to the bombshell Shady just said that’s taking a wrecking ball to Alya’s brain.

Claw blinks at Shady and leans back into her chest, pulling her into his lap so she’s straddling his hips, holding her in his arms. He moves his head up to her shoulder, resting his face in the crook of her neck.

“Hmm.” Claw says into her neck, his voice scratchy from crying. “You always smell like fresh bread…it’s how I know I’m home.”

Claw whispers something Alya can’t hear. Not that it really matters, her whole world view is shifting as she witnesses all of this.

Shady hums and says, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Did you…” Claw hesitates. “Did you mean it?”

“…You know I did, Cat.”

Claw sighs and says, “I love you too, Bug.”

Alya blinks, finally snapping herself out of it.

Nino was right…they, they’re together. More than that, they’re in love. They aren’t the crazy vicious villains (okay, maybe they are a bit a crazy and vicious, but not as much as Alya thought) that Alya knew them to be. They’re just two people who are messed up because of their lives and who are trying their best. And they love each other, maybe just starting to feel each other in something new and complicated that they don’t understand. Whatever the case—new relationship or not—they genuinely care about each and that in itself meant there’s more to them than just being evil murderous villains.

Claw hums a tune Alya doesn’t know then pulls back from Shady's shoulder, resting his forehead against hers as her hands move to his chest.

“That’s what we are…you are.” Claw says, breaking the silence that had Alya’s mind reeling.

“What?” Shady answers.

“I’ve been trying to put words to what we are, but nothing seems to fit for how much we mean to each other. I call you my partner but…girlfriend, lover, friend…none of those feel right for what we are, but what you called us? That sounds perfect to me.”

“What?”

Claw looks down and moves one of his hands from her back to her hands, entwining their fingers as they both look at them.

“My everything more and inbetween.” Claw says as he meets her eyes.

Oh. Wait. Oh no.

Shady smiles at Claw and pulls his hand to her lips, gently kissing his knuckles.

“Yeah…” Shady says, “I like the sound of that.”

Oh God. Oh no, no, no. She shouldn’t have heard that. They’re not dating, no, that’s not what they are. They’re existing for each other like there’s no one else in the world, like nothing matters without the other.

Alya turns around with a blush on her cheeks, anxiously trying to leave the couple without either of them noticing.

How is Alya supposed to look them in the eye knowing that they’re the most beautiful thing together? She’s in love with them as a couple, freaking ‘everything more and inbetween’. Who says something like that after having a breakdown? How is she supposed to cope with the fact that the two most violent bloodthirsty people she’s ever known make a couple so sweet she wants to cry?

And just like that, Shady and Claw go from being two people Alya could never trust to becoming the two people in a relationship that Alya is determined to protect.