#you would faint at the sort of things i don't even blink at anymore over here

[possiblyawesometmblr]

discovered exactly what sort of wavelengths reddit and tumblr are on because my dad's on reddit and asked me if i'd heard of "hawk tuah girl" and told me she's going viral because she told some tiktok guy to suck dick super violently by making a noise that sounded like hawk tuah.

didn't have the heart to tell him i see posts wilder than that on the daily over here

[nightingaelic]

fnv companions + major faction leaders react to the courier telling them they trust them enough to let them in on a big secret. they go somewhere private and courier reveals themself to be an eldritch abomination

"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation, independent, free of all weaknesses. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence."

~ Sovereign, Mass Effect 1

"It's called Gypsum Cave," the courier explained, sliding down the steep embankment of rock that led deeper into the earth. "Or it used to be. Back before the war, scientists would come down here looking for the bones of long-dead species. Wolves, bighorners, sloths... all sorts. Now, it's just another tomb."

They turned to where their companion had settled, on the shelf of rock that overlooked the cavern's twisted ceiling, descending further into the earth. "There was something I needed to tell you, just us two. We've known each other a while now, and I think... hell, let's just get this over with."

The courier held out their hand. There was something in it, but before their companion could properly examine it, it opened itself, revealing an eye staring back at them. It brightened and blinked, and eyes began to open all along the courier's arm, each turning a rapid pupil to its observer before spilling forth a ray of white light. The courier threw their head back, let every inch of their skin open up in ringing silence, let the taste of an unreachable star pour into the emptiness of Gypsum Cave: Bands and beams and wavelengths and spectrums indescribable that each sang with a different longing and an uncertain future. In that silence they stretched their true form once, only once, before they swallowed everything that they were again and leveled the last pair of glowing eyes upon the one who shared their road.

Arcade Gannon: The only thing that crossed Arcade's mind, addled as it was with fear at this display, was a faint self-congratulation that he hadn't screamed. He took a step back.

The courier shrugged, but they didn't pursue him. "I'm still me."

"I don't know who- what you are," Arcade whispered. "But I don't want any part of it."

This answer appeared to disappoint the person he'd thought was a friend- and, until recently, a person. They sighed. "Okay. Too much all at once. Again. Um. I don't know... what... I am either, anymore. If that helps. It probably doesn't, but there it is."

Craig Boone: Without hesitation, Boone whipped his rifle up and fired a single shot into the courier's head. It paired nicely with the scar on the other side of their temple, but it also didn't kill them.

Having staggered back from the blast of the point blank shot, the courier resumed their stance and looked at the sniper reproachfully. "Seriously? I show you one inch of my actual being, and you try to do me in like some Legion patrol?"

Boone's lower lip twitched, but he shrugged. "It was worth a try."

"Ugh." The courier put a hand to their face, and their eyes began to dim again. "You NCR types are all the same."

Lily Bowen: Lily crossed her arms. "Be careful, sweetie. You're looking a little like the Master, these days. And you know how Grandma feels about the Master."

The courier immediately diminished their presence. "Yeah, that's... about what I expected, if I'm being honest. You're something else, Lily."

"We are all something else," Lily replied sorrowfully. "But that doesn't mean we have to be hurtful, or poke at things we shouldn't."

"I know." The courier smiled up at her, back to their outwardly-human self. "You taught me that."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: Raul crossed himself. He hadn't done such a thing since he'd lost Rafaela, but the familiar motion awoke in him, in the face of the courier's secret. "En... en el nombre del Padre, y del H-hijo, y del-"

"They aren't here." The courier's eyes were still glowing, betraying the power beneath their skin. "If they're out there, I've never met them, or they aren't concerned with me."

The careless comment snapped Raul back into the present. "You know, not everything is about you, boss," he said, before realizing he'd just talked back to some cosmic horror.

The commentary only made the courier smile. "Oh, I know. Lo sabría mejor que la mayoría."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "Fucking..." Cass fumbled with her shotgun, but she managed to flip the safety off and unleash two blasts that buried themselves in the entity before her. They absorbed the damage, of course, but the look on their face was one of intense emotional pain.

"Don't you trust me?" they asked, while the gunshots echoed through the cavern.

"I did," Cass said bitterly. "Then you sprouted a million little holes of fire. What are you?"

"Nothing that I could easily explain," the courier answered. Their eyes still shone faintly in the dim setting, but they were pouting like they'd just lost their puppy.

"Then maybe I don't want to know," Cass replied, slowly backing away.

Veronica Santangelo: "Should I b-be... bowing?" Veronica squeaked.

"If it helps," the courier rumbled, in a voice that shook the cavern. They cleared their throat, and the low-frequency distortion went away. "Ahem. Sorry."

"Y-you should be." Veronica couldn't contain the quiver in her voice, even if she managed to bravely cross her arms. "I've read s-some Lovecraft. You're lucky you didn't... didn't melt my brain, Six."

She held a hand out between them and watched it shake with fascination. "N-not gonna be able to fight f-for shit."

ED-E: A cascade of computational errors overwhelmed the courier's eyebot, causing it to shut down all non-essential processes and clear out a space for the new information. It scanned the courier as it had a million times, but none of its sensors read anything beyond what it already knew. Still, they stood there with glowing eyes and a patient smile, looking at ED-E as if they expected it to understand.

ED-E beeped its question, and the courier crossed their arms. "There isn't a name for me. I just... am. But aside from that, I'm still Courier Six. My job hasn't changed."

ED-E, unsatisfied, let out a blat of disappointment. The courier laughed. "I know, I'm sorry. But hey, that's how I know what you're saying. You never found that strange?"

Rex: Rex turned tail and ran. Whatever he'd just seen was beyond him, beyond any of the cybernetics or brain backup systems he'd been given so long ago, and in the face of such a creature, he was just one dog. He didn't stop running until he was back on the doorstep of the King's School of Impersonation, where Pacer opened the door for him with a surprised look.

"Rexie, you're back," the King said with the same surprise. "Something spook you?"

Rex barked once and faced the door. The fur along his spine stood on end. Over the next few days he kept vigilant, growling each time the doorknob turned, but eventually he calmed down. The courier, for their part, never came back.

Benny Gecko: Benny turned white as a sheet and whipped out Maria. He couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger, though: It hadn't worked the first time, so why would it now?

The courier smirked at his apparent panic. "Oh, yes. You found out the hard way that I'm less than amenable to getting put in the ground, didn't you, Benny? You did your best, though. Points for effort, and a few for style."

"S-style was always my thing," Benny admitted, smiling weakly back. "But if I'd known I was about to goose it into Weirdsville, I'd have left House his chip and s-skipped town. What's a bad dream like you want with a turkey like me?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." The courier made a show of examining their nails. "Just a leg up in legitimacy. I've got plans for New Vegas, you see."

Yes Man: As with everything else, Yes Man took the reveal with grace and unbridled enthusiasm. "Well that was an unexpected twist!" he said, rolling his Securitron frame back and forth as if nervously excited. "I've gotta say, I thought maybe you were done surprising me once you managed to kick House out of his own mainframe and install me as the new manager of the Lucky 38, but this blows all of that way out of the water!"

The courier grinned and put a hand on their hip. "Nothing fazes you, Yes Man."

"So now what?" the AI asked. "Nuclear control? Global domination? Interstellar war? I am at your service!"

"Mmm." The courier shook their head. "I was honestly trying to get away from all of... that. Let's just play House's plan out and see what happens. I have all the time in the universe to mess around."

Robert House: "Ahem." The man on the other end of Victor's speakers cleared his throat, in a way that suggested he was mildly shaken. "I wish you'd been more forthcoming with your... talents, courier. One wonders why you failed to deliver me the platinum chip in the first place."

The courier rolled their luminous eyes. "Always about the bottom line for you, House? I'm not beholden to anyone, least of all you. I've been around long enough to know when to share a secret and when to keep my cards close to my chest."

"Now you sound like Benny." The face on Victor's screen was static, but the courier could tell House was smirking. "Were you hoping to use this revelation to convince me of something more important than my current plans for New Vegas? This changes nothing, save a few calculations about the statistical likelihood of intelligent life beyond our planet. Calculations can be adjusted."

Caesar: For all his high-minded plans and hopes of immortal empire, when faced with real immortality, Caesar fell to his knees. "Ancora imparo," he said faintly.

"Always," the courier agreed, approaching the Legion's founder with the grace of a being not tied to the earth they walked. "It's why I came here. Why I sought you out, as you sought me."

"What could I possibly offer something like you?" Caesar asked, looking up at them with bewildered awe.

The courier put a hand out, tilted his chin up familiarly. "More than you'll ever know, Edward. Even after its own fall, humanity adapts and grows, and that is something we just cannot abide."

[the-midnight-feline]

¤¸¸.•´¯`•¸¸.•..>> So this piece is actually part of the Piliin mo ang Pilipinas Collab event hosted by @lumpiang-toge, you guys should seriously check this out since the works posted there are such good reads ❤️️<<..•.¸¸•´¯`•.¸¸¤

this is the first time i've joined a collab, (ngl i thought i was waaay in over my head lol) i'd like to thank a friend of mine, Dylan, (won't tag his blog just cause, loves you for reading it !) thanks so much for the encouraging words ❤️ and of course Mama Rae (@hq-girl-next-door) for the advice on the banner**❤️

**For the banner I did, I took the image from pinterest, if you guys know who the artist is, please let me know so I could properly give credit to them :)

Tags/TW: Mutual pinning-ish, friends to lovers, fluff to angst, Cheating, swearing (I think theres one or two in there)

(A/N: Please don't get too confused /-\, the italic parts is you recollecting the past, it comes and goes (。♡‿♡。))

WC: 3.8k ;-; didn't know it get that long

Pairings: Tendou Satori x fem!Reader

Summary: It all started with a simple crush, you wouldn't have guessed that it'll be more than that, It was a dream come true to loved and be loved by the person you loved, but not all dreams end good, some end as a nightmare.

“You like the Guess Monster, like THE Guess Monster?!?!” your friends shouted in unison, looking at them frantically as you’re in the gym watching the guys warm up for a practice match and the way they shouted had the sounds of balls hitting the floor just below where your group sat, you willed yourself to look at the who were the people below you guys trying repress the blush you feel creeping on your cheeks, swallowing that lump on your throat as you peaked just a little over the ledge and saw his red hair. Internally cussing out your so-called friends, you tired to act like you calm and collected as he was looking up at the bleachers, maybe trying to guess which one in your group, who was also looking over at whoever heard them, liked him, shaking his head, chuckling toward Ushijima and Semi who was already making their way to the court to get this warm up started.

A single tear began rolling down your cheek as you remembered how it all began, your friends’ sudden outburst in the gym gave you the opportunity to talk to the guy you’ve been crushing on when you first saw him in the opening ceremony just something about him drew you to him and you were adamant on getting to, at the least, know him. Sitting on the floor of your shared bedroom, opening the memory box you and your husband made a few months after you started dating.

Semi knew your friend, he actually liked her and from that outburst of theirs at the gym, he 89immediately thought of a way to hit two birds with one stone. “hey, y/f/n, I heard you guys at the bleachers, sooo” scratching he neck out of shyness “which of your friends like our Tendou? Maybe we could setup a date or something?" He really liked your friend and would honestly do anything to get her on a date, she pointed to you, the quiet in of the group, usually the source of rationality and guidance, the one that acts like the mediator of the group. You really always kept to yourself, didn’t really want to attract attention towards yourself. Semi was skeptical at first, you the quiet, shy girl of the class liked that loud ass friend of his? Maybe y/f/n was pulling his leg, she can’t be serious.

A bitter laugh escapes your lips as the memory of your first date comes crashing on you as see the pressed flower from the little hole in the wall café near the school, Semi was the one that found that café and planned every detail of the date.

As you and your friend were walking towards the café Semi told her about, you were itching to just keep hitting your friends back “why the hell did you fucking agree to this?!!” you hissed at your friend, you were practically shooting daggers at her for saying yes on your behalf and you didn’t even know what she agreed to but she told you to get dolled up, silly you, thinking that it’ll be just a girls day out, but peering over her shoulder as your guys walk out of the dorm, you see her texting Semi, thinking maybe it was him asking for notes since they were in the same class. She led you to this small café and you guys sat at a corner booth, making you sit inside by the wall, you really thought nothing of it, until you saw that distinctive red hair bounding towards your booth. Your palms got a tad sweaty, nerves getting the best of you, a million thoughts racing in your mind that you didn’t notice that the Tendou Satori was there taking the seat opposite of you in the booth, the ever infectious smile directed towards you and you alone. Seeing as you and Satori were basically having a silent conversation with just your smiles, Semi and your friend made a discreet exit and left you two be. Little did you know, he often saw you around, he knows you like shounen jump as much as he does since he sees you go to the store he usually goes to, he knows what snacks you liked since he usually goes out at the middle of the night to get some snacks of his own at the convenience store around the corner. He sees you in the library with your nose buried in some book when he follows Semi there just to annoy him. Tendou didn’t tell anybody about the girl he liked from afar, he knew he’d scare you off, no one wanted to date a Monster, or that’s what he thought.

Looking back, that impromptu date was what started the relationship with Satori, a soft sob escapes your lips as tears gently fall on the first picture you have together, he suddenly rang you up and asked you to go to the mall with him. In the picture, he had his arm wrapped around your shoulder while you were hugging his waist tightly, seemingly scared that being with him was a dream you don’t want to wake up from.

Getting out of the shower, you hear your phone ring from under your pillow, confused as to who might that be since it was an unknown number calling you, curious you answered it. “hey y/n! I know it’s kinda out of the blue but, you wanna go to the mall with me?” shock was evident in your body, it was Tendou! Your thoughts was scrambling, you know you didn’t get a chance to give him your number before you guys parted ways on your first meeting since Coach Washijo made Ushijima contact both guys for a weekend practice. You knew the coach was a hot head and would make anymore run 50 laps if they were late and that was a few weeks ago, a worried Tendou called out to you again “uh…y/n? If you have other plans I totally under-“ blinking back to the present “I’d love to go! Lemme get ready and I’ll meet you down” you cut him off midsentence hearing a small chuckle at the other line “don’t make me wait too long ok?” he said in a teasing tone which made you giggle on the line “yes, yes Satori, I’ll hang up so I could get ready ok? See you!” it took every ounce of self-control to not shriek the whole conversation, once he hung up you were practically jumping on your bed out of pure joy, but then you remembered that he’ll be waiting, you quickly snapped out of it and looked through your dresser for a decent outfit for going out with Tendou, you quickly settled with a simple get up of a long sleeved shirt and pants with some sneakers on, you excitedly exited your room, to meet up with Tendou, hoping you haven’t made him wait too long, turning the last corner you see him outside your dorm, almost wearing the same thing as you, even the color of your shoes match, biting your lip to stop a stupid smile from taking over you walk up behind him, gently poking his side, his sudden jump made you giggle as he took in all of you, a smile makes its way on his lips and eyes as he himself lets out a chuckle. “y/n? Are you copying me?” shaking your head, letting a small laugh out “Satori, please you’re the one copying me here” he just shook his out of amusement when he saw the glint of teasing in your eyes before he offended his arm to you like a gentleman would, the small action made you faint blush.

You two spent the day just walking around the mall, just browsing from store to store, having just a blast at all the random comments he makes, the last stop you guys make was the arcade, you guys played all sorts of games, air hockey, tried your luck at a pachinko machine and Tendou even tried the basketball game, which he surprisingly good at that he won a lot of tickets getting you a small rubiks cube, but near the back of the arcade something caught your eye, a purikura, Tendou saw where your eyes went and with a small smile he took your hand and walked towards the machine, and ushered you in the booth, he felt at comfortable around you, he would’ve never guessed that you were a crack head like, random outbursts of ideas and thoughts spouted from you made him laugh as you spent time together. He quickly wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you close to him, a flash went off, that was the first shot, with the blush creeping on your cheeks you hid your face under your hair and hugged him another flash went off, that was the second shot, he tipped you head up, making you look at him, his infectious smile directed at you as another flash went off, and the last shot was of him kissing your forehead. You were left speechless after that whole scenario, seemingly in a dazed as he guided you out and grab the prints of the photos. That’s how you guys ended the date, he held your hand in his all the way back to the dorms, placing a chaste kiss on your cheek as you parted ways.

Rummaging further through the memory box, you see all the mementos you both kept from your dates, a few fallen leaves, a couple of pretty rocks, stickers, napkins, flowers, pictures, the cork from the bottle of champagne you drank at your wedding. More tears fell from your eyes as you dug through all the stuff in the box, who knew you both collected a lot of things in just a couple of years. What made you sob so hard was the acceptance letters you both got when you were selected as the few students for the incoming year.

A few months before graduation, you both got accepted into a culinary school in Tokyo, you were ecstatic as this means you and Tendou could get a place together since your parents already gave you two a small amount to get a place near the school so you two could still practice and create new dishes together, it was really no surprise to your friends or the whole volleyball team that you two would get into culinary school, you’ve always had a thing for cooking, you’d often come their practices with some bento boxes for all of the guys so they don’t have to go out and spend for food, on the weekends, the kitchen was his domain he’d let you watch him bake and oftentimes let you help him out. It’s often that the whole group get together during the weekends, you cooking for them while Tendou makes that dessert. For some reason, they got jealous of how your relationship started, it was as if all the pieces just fell into place at the right time, you two together just seemed right like you two were always suppose to be with each other. There’s always been a carefree air around him, it calmed you down so much that it helped you be more open or that’s how you saw it. You were the opposite of him always worrying, always, over thinking, being overly critical of your actions and how you overwhelmed with everything so you turned to anything that’ll help you divert your mind but once he was in your life it just got easier. He voice would immediately calm the voices spewing negative thoughts I had your head.

Looking around your room, you see pictures of you together, your graduation picture, the picture of you guys on the front of the school, the picture of your guys graduating culinary school, a photo of you two at the restaurant where you two both apprenticed and next to that was the candid shot of his proposal there, a mix of joy and hurt shoot through you as you the memory come rushing back to you.

The way he sheepishly confessed that he asked the manager if he could do his proposal there and invite your family and friends for that surprise. “Hey y/n, come with me, a customer just complained about the sauce you made being too salty, I’m not taking blame for that!” an angry chef came shouting at you, shocked and anxiousness dunning through you, you timidly follow behind him, thinking how you could screw up a simple sauce like that, your thoughts were everywhere, but once you stepped outside the kitchen you noted that the dining area was dimmer then usual, but maybe that’s because you’re used to the bright lights of the kitchen, you hear a soft melody playing, it’s one of your favourite songs ‘I Choose' you’ve always related that song to your relationship. On the far wall you see photos of you together, looking around you see familiar faces, his and your parents, your friends, the Shiratorizawa boys were there even the coach came!

The euphoria you felt from having everyone who had been part of your relationship through the ups and downs just had you in tears, your head was fuzzy with the mix of a dozen emotions swirling in you, through a blur of tears you see him kneeling in front of you, he let out a huff of breath to calm his nerves before asking you the question “y/n, my love, my baby, my better half, my paradise. You’ve stuck by my side through my highs and lows, loved me unconditionally, took care of me whenever I got sick, urged me to follow my dreams, guided me into being a better guy, especially with my chocolate making you supported my dreams like no other can, you, you made my world complete, you made me feel things I haven’t felt in a long time, you gave me your heart to cherish and protect. You made my life whole” the words flowed out of his mouth so freely, every word making more tears come out of you, every word so heartfelt, with shakey hands we presented you a pear cut yellow emerald ring “My Paradise, would you do me the honor of being my paradise for eternity?” no words could express how happy you were nodding your head, trying to stop happy tears from falling a hushed ‘yes’ slips past you lips as he stands to slip the ring on your left hand, pulling you in for a tight hug, whispering endless I love you’s and thank you in your ears as the people around you cheered for the newly engaged couple.

Biting back another sob, you feel fresh tears streaming down your cheeks as your eyes land on your wedding photo above the bed, he loved you enough to marry you, he was yours and you were his, you can’t help but stare at the framed photo, he had that infectious smile of his that made you fall from him the day you saw him. He has you up in his arms as your arms were wrapped around his neck, pecking a sweet kiss on his cheek. You asked him many times if he’d like to blowup another photo from your wedding, he simply shook his head and wrapped you up in his arms “you’re perfect in any picture of us, but in that one you look like the most perfect human being in existence and I’m just lucky to have you in my life” you basked in his love and affection on those simple words pulling him closer and burying you face on his chest, inhaling his sweet scent “I’m lucky to have you Tori, lucky to be called your wife” placing a chaste kiss on his chest as you look up to him with love-struck eyes. This was it you guys moved countries after your wedding to France since Tendou was offered a job at a famous pâtisserie there, all you wanted was your husband happy, wherever you guys may be.

You never really cared where you two were, as long as you were together, you could get lessons on the French cuisine as Tendou works, that was the plan before you guys flew out. You worked hard to learn the basics, you’d often have Tendou taste test all your creations and you’ll you the same for him since he likes to experiment with different flavor combinations, things were great the first few months of moving cross countries, you enrolled in a cooking classes there to build up your repertoire and after a few weeks of learning a few new techniques you've decided to look around for places you could work at just to keep your body busy again. You've decorated the apartment the way you liked it and how you think Tendou would like it, just adding different odds and ends giving it a familiar vibe. This place was your starting ground.

When you got a job at the nearby bistro, Tendou didn’t really mind it, since he’d often come home a bit later then usual saying something along the lines of making things in the experiment lab with the other chocolatiers at the shop to have something new for the upcoming season, in turn you thought nothing of it since you do work nights after getting a gig in a restaurant in town as well, it also means you could still have time to make his dinner and keep it warm for when he gets home. You two actually got into an argument when you got that gig since Tendou was adamant about keeping you in the apartment after the morning shift at the bistro so you don’t work yourself too hard, he wanted to start thinking about getting a kitten to keep you company when he’s out working but you argued back that you didn’t wanna feel like mooching off of him even though he said it was fine, he loved coming home to a warm meal that you made with love and gets more time to spend with you, but he did cave in after a few bats of your eyelashes.

It was perfect, you both were doing what you were passionate about, you two scheduled your offs near each other’s so one could take care of each other after a long day. But there was this weird feeling creeping in you but you simply don’t know why it was there, you and Tendou always kept communication open since you two do work different shifts and that itself puts a strain in the relationship but you two made it work. You loved him. So you would really sacrifice anything for him, he had have a rough childhood, he was bullied cause he looked different, acted different, but he wasn’t like that for you, he never was, even though he had a wicked sense for things which really surprised you, you can’t even hide a gift from him cause he knew what you’d get him or more likely sense what you’ll give him.

You don’t tell him that you swapped shifts with someone so you technically have a day off so you decided to drop by the pâtisserie where Tendou worked with some home made Pan Bagnat since it was nearing lunch, as you were close to the shop you saw his figure near the window placing new confections on display, but something made you stop, another person, a female chocolatier, was hugging him from behind and not in a friendly way, there was familiarity to it, it looked as if she’s been hugging him for so long, like she’s always hugged him, you didn’t notice that you’ve dropped the basket you were holding on the sidewalk, the glass bottle shattering on impact, the sangria spilling on the pavement, the sandwich you made, making a mess, the fruits you packed rolling in every direction. People around gasped at the scene, some tried to help in picking up the fruits that escaped, your mind in thought again, maybe you just interpreted it wrongly they’re just so so close, like a brother and sister kinda way, since they both work in the shop, you simply jumped to conclusions too fast, those thought completely vanished as the next sight you saw.

She kissed him. SHE KISSED HIM!! Your mind played that in your head like it was a song played on a loop. That was what made your heart break, that was the tipping point, he didn’t push her away, it was the opposite, he pulled her closer, the way he held her mirrored how he would hold you when he came home from work, people around you were asking you things trying to snap you out of your trance but you paid no mind to them, your legs moving on their own.

It was as if you were on autopilot, you got home, your mind racing with so many thoughts, how long had that been going on? Is she why he’d come home later than usual, is she the reason he had woken up earlier to get to work everyday? Did he spend his days off with her when you suddenly get shifts? Walking into your apartment, you didn’t know what to think, how to feel, how to make sense of things more questions come into your mind. Does he bring her here? Did they do anything sexual in the place you called home? What places were safe? Did she please him better than I did? You walked into your bedroom where the memory box laid in the middle of bed. It was your first wedding anniversary, did he really forget? Your anniversary was engraved on your wedding rings with your initials on it.

A scream of agony escaped your lips as everywhere you looked at it was all you and him the very place you thought was the safest of all was not. It's tainted with infidelity, your heart broke even more as you took the box from the bed with shaking hands contemplating on whether to open the box or not, he loved you with every part of him didn’t he? You were enough weren’t you? You made sure he was satisfied right? You gave him all the love you could and even more right? Didn’t he promise you that he’d protect your heart? You're still his paradise right? He loves you right?

Maybe opening the box, and finding something that you both placed in there would make him rethink his choices right? With broken sobs and uneven breathing, your fingers shaking as you pulled the pretty red ribbon that held the lid shut, looking at all the things that you both collected that reminded you both that you loved each other you broke even more. Every one of them held the promise of love, of fidelity, of trust. But now, a part of you is doubting every word that passed his lips, every kiss that landed on your skin made you feel dirty, every I love you's he uttered seems like a lie. You didn’t want to feel that way, you love him with every part of your being, you’re THE Mrs. Satori Tendou, no one else but you had that title, just you, it was only you right? You were his paradise for eternity right? Right?

★──────────★───────────────★─────────★

I hope you guys liked this, I actually really liked working on this one(played my brokenhearts plays it nonstop for it) , but I do have another one coming so...yeah!

Song inspiration :Anong Nangyari Sa Ating Dalawa by Aiza Seguerra

Song used in the proposal I Choose by Alessia Cara

[bosspigeon]

zevran x warden “We need to head north.”

He's said it at least once an hour since they left Markham. In the past, Andrael might try to explain to him logically why they can't simply abandon their original plan, and eventually give up and give him his way. But in the past, Andrael was much more nervous, much less confident, and much more likely to be swayed by fluttering kisses to his neck and ears and whispered promises of later favors.

That's not to say he can't be swayed by those things anymore, but at least now it's easier to resist than when he was a starry-eyed, bumbling greenhorn Warden.

"We can't," he says simply, and he keeps walking even as Zevran clings to his waist, all but dragging his feet through the dust behind Andrael's much longer stride.

This stretch of the forest is miraculously quiet, but Andrael is still on his guard. He isn't wearing his Warden blues, just simple, nondescript armor, and he left his preferred staff back at the Keep. He doesn't really need it anyway, and it's better to leave behind any hint of who he is and what he can do.

"But Antiva is beautiful this time of year," Zevran wheedles, and he tries to stretch up, to climb Andrael and reach his neck, but that would require the mage to stop walking, and he knows better than to do that when Zevran is in one of his moods.

"I'm sure it is," he says calmly, "and we can take a lovely vacation there when the sky isn't vomiting nightmares."

Between the trees, he can see the sky above them, cast in a faint, sickly greenish hue Zevran can't see, but he can. There have been too many stops already, between here and Hasmal. There have been too many demons to fight, too many people taking advantage of the world falling apart at the seams, and even if he could give into Zevran's requests, he knows that Antiva is just as shattered as the rest of the land, even if they are better at hiding it.

Zevran stops dead behind him, so suddenly that he starts when he tries to walk forward and the arms around his waist don't budge.

He is not such a spindly little sapling as he was when they first met, but the assassin is still much more athletically built than he is, though he's a head and a half shorter. If he really didn't want Andrael to move all this time, Andrael would not be moving.

Now, it seems, he does not want Andrael to move.

He turns in the circle of his beloved's arms, and looks down to see golden eyes staring up at him, burning with a quiet sort of intensity and lit by the dappling sunlight filtering down from above. He looks beautiful. He looks serious. He looks as if he has come to some sort of decision.

"Promise me that," he says, soft but firm.

"Promise what?" Andrael asks, genuinely bewildered.

Zevran does not look away. "Promise me that when all this is over, you will come with me to Antiva, and you will rest."

The Warden smiles. He hopes it doesn't look as sad as it feels. Before he can even open his mouth, Zevran's hand, warm and dry and rough with callouses, slide gently over it.

"You are going to survive whatever foolishness you get yourself into," Zevran whispers fiercely, "because you cannot leave anything alone if you think you can help, and I love this about you even if it is something that vexes me every day. But you are going to do whatever you think you need to do, and I am going to disagree, because I think you have done more than enough at this point, but I am still going to follow you. And you are going to survive, and we are going to go to Antiva, find a nice, picturesque little inn, and hole up there and do nothing but eat and sleep and have constant, athletic sex. Promise me."

Andrael blinks at him, and then everything about him softens. He leans into the assassin's arms, lowering his head until he can press their foreheads together. Zevran does not remove his hand from his mouth until Adrael kisses his palm.

"I promise," he murmurs. He can't be sure that he is making a promise he can keep. He knows Zevran knows that as well as he does.

But he can promise, no matter what comes their way, to try.

[channoticedmeuwu]

— 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 | 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧

warnings : major character death, hospital mention, crying, helplessness, nightmares, hallucinations

Bud, this is an angst but you could say tad bit of fluff I guess??

Y/n sat up on her bed with a jolt.

She panted, trying to steady herself as the beads of sweat rolled down her neck. She glanced around her room, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.

Everything was illuminated with the faint moonlight from the open window. The shapes were prominent, and still, yet to her eyes, the shadows kept curling into each other and muddling, as if they were colored smoke.

She sighed, reaching for the glass of water on the table beside her bed and raised the glass up to her trembling lips.

Another nightmare.

She let out a shaky sigh. Her hand reached out to the empty side of the bed, on her left out of habit, only to feel the cold sheets between her sweaty palms. She closed her eyes, snapping her hand back.

Gone. Again.

She coughed, and slammed the glass back on the table.

"You're not here," she whispered the words that she kept repeating for the past days, as if they were some sort of chant, "You're not here. You're not here with me. I'm alone."

She glanced back to the empty side of the bed.

She was sure her eyes were playing tricks on her, but the dust and the light from the window curled into something more unpleasant. She could almost swear she could see his resting body, his delicate face facing her, his fragile fingers curled around his own locks, his glassy eyes reading her closely. She could see his soft lips curl into a smile, his eyes twinkling brighter, his glowing tears making way to his cheeks. She could almost smell his scent, she could almost hear his laugh, she could almost hear him sniff. He was almost there, he was almost back.

"No," she slowly sobbed, hugging her stomach, "You're not here. You're gone."

The image of his body flickered in front of her eyes, unmovable, untouchable, unreachable. She wanted to reach out, she wanted to touch his hands, she wanted to dry his tears, she wanted to drown him in her arms, she wanted to night to envelope around them. She didn't want to be bothered anymore.

She sobbed silently, clasping her hands over her face, as if the image was going to be concerned seeing her raw face cry.

"Gone," she whispered, "Gone."

She wiped her face, blinking and patting her cheeks. He really was gone. And so was the image.

Gone.

Alone.

She sighed in defeat, letting the tears flow down her cheeks again. She adjusted herself on her crumpled matress and closed her eyes, the tears escaping through the corner of her eyes onto her pillow.

As if she expected the image to still be around and listening, she whispered in the calmest voice she could manage, with the hot tears flowing through her fogged eyes and her breath caught in her throat, "I'll be okay. Don't you worry. I can do it. Even if I am alone."

Even if she was alone.

Hopelessness flowing through her veins, she let out a cry of pain, curling her knees into her stomach, and hid her face into her pillow. Her heartbeat sounded in her ears loudly.

She took in a breath, sniffing, and exhaled, letting out a groan. She wiped her cheeks.

Alone. Empty. Gone.

His words were ringing in her head, as if it was just yesterday he had said them to her. Under the bleachers of the school yard, he had gave her a hand, years ago.

And before his last breath, his last words, his last smile, his last heartbeat, he still said the same words that would calm her down during her tough times with him.

Find me, yeah? He had said, holding her hands tightly, yet weakly, the heartbeat monitor being the loudest thing in the hospital room, I'm not going to leave you behind.

He didn't. He wasn't gone. He was there.

He was.

He always was. He never left.

Y/n licked her lips and closed her eyes once more. The wind from the night blew in from the open window, the scent of rain curling and reaching the darkest corners of the room. It entered her chest too, as if it was speaking to her. His favorite scent.

The cool air washed over her slowly resting and tired face, drying her tears, holding her, cradling her, surrounding her and securing her, just like he did.

She whispered his name tiredly. The wind felt cooler.

She whispered again. Warmth spread through her shaking body. Her eyes fluttered shut now.

He had smiled one last time at her, he had held her hand one last time. His last words always had made her cry, yet, now they brought her comfort.

Just because you have a lot of stress, he had ran his weak finger over her knuckles, knowing he'll never get to feel them again, it doesn't mean you have to hurt yourself. Talk to me. I'm here. Always. I'll never leave.

And he never did.

stray kids : masterlist

[wonglix]

➺ ᴛʀᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ

⤷ y/n x jeno (+ best friend!renjun)

⤷ you and jeno have been endlessly flirting with each other for months now, neither of you taking the next step of officially asking the other out - and it’s driving everyone around you insane. imagine renjun’s frustration when he gets stuck in a broken elevator with you two lovebirds for hours on end.

⤷ fluff

⤷ 2.0k words

⤷ warning: cursing

"y/n, you're here to visit me, your best friend, not that little loverboy of yours," renjun groaned after you asked him if jeno was around somewhere as well. a small chuckle blew past your lips, and you lightly smack renjun's arm, the boy looking at you with an unamused expression. "he's not my lover boy, injun." he looks at you with raised brows, "but you wish he were, and that's the point you thirsty little shit." you gasp, both of you bursting out in laughter. renjun wasn't wrong, quite the opposite actually: it's clear to most people at first glance that you and jeno are very much interested in each other. no one knows why you two don't just finally start dating; the constant shy glances and flirty conversations getting on everyone's nerves.

"are you two ever going to get together or am i damned to listen to your stupid flirting for eternity?" renjun mumbles out between bites of watermelon, the teasing smirk on his lips aggravating you only the slightest bit. you let out a hum while thinking about it, the question making you think for a bit. shrugging you look at renjun, "honestly? i don't know. i guess we both enjoy the chase. what if it gets weird between us once we start dating you know?" renjun nods and seems to seriously think about what you said, a small sigh leaving him, "you've known renjun for as long as i have, i'm pretty sure you two would fit together quite well," he chomps down on another piece of melon, giving you some time to think about his words. "also, i'm pretty sure the two of you wouldn't turn down other people if it really was about the chase."

you furrow your brows in confusion and renjun takes it as his cue to elaborate, "there were a few people that asked jeno out, and he turned down all of them. well, and you turned down those two guys from your history class too, didn't you? i'm pretty sure if the two of you only enjoyed a good chase, you wouldn't turn down people to mingle with. you two genuinely like each other, i'm sure of that. and as much as the two of you flirting annoys me, i just want you to be happy," renjun finishes, leaning over to steal a few pieces of melon from you. it's like renjun opened your eyes for you, the realisation that you're genuinely, completely, absolutely infatuated with lee jeno making your ears burn up.

renjun chuckles at the redness of your ears and the look of realisation on your face, "now you only need your loverboy to realise the same thing." you blink at him, and suddenly you feel helpless; it has been so easy to enjoy your back and forth with jeno, the flirty remarks and teasing touches always were easy to reciprocate, but now? now that you were aware of the weight of your feelings for him you felt like you've wasted so much time just idling about, so much time you maybe could've already spent in his arms.

renjun had stolen the rest of your fruits at this point, but you couldn't find it in you to care - your fingers were itching with excitement at the prospect of seeing jeno, the thought of spending any more time apart from him making your head spin. luckily for you, you agreed to a movie night with the rest of the dreamies. while you were on your way to the elevator to head to the dorms, you were trying to come up with a smooth way to open up about your feelings to jeno. renjun was rambling on about something you didn't really pay attention to, thoughts of jeno clouding your mind.

it's like fate decided to play cupid for the day because right there in the elevator was standing jeno, the surprised smile on his face quickly turning into a flirtatious one once he spotted you. "well hello there, precious. going up or down?" renjun let's out a whine, pushing past you to get into the elevator. "listen, i don't care what you two do once we're at the dorms, but please, please spare me until then. i don't think i'll survive that disgusting flirtatious bullshit." jeno snorts at that, throwing his arm around renjun's shoulder while you're getting in the elevator, pressing the button to get all of you to the ground floor.

"would you rather i flirt with you, jun?" jeno's voice was disgustingly sweet, and renjun shoved him away from himself, both you and jeno bursting out in small giggles. renjun grumbles annoyed and presses the button, the doors of the elevator closing smoothly. the elevator barely started moving when it stopped abruptly, the lights flickering above you. the three of you stayed silent for a second; waiting for the elevator to start moving again. it didn't.

"uhm..." jeno started, not really knowing what to say. turning to renjun you let out a shaky breath, "what do we do now?" renjun shrugged before experimentally pressing the emergency button, a loud sound ringing through the small lift. it took a few seconds until a voice spoke up, inquiring about the emergency. "yeah, uhm, we're stuck in the elevator." the lady on the other end hummed, faint typing being heard in the background. "alright, there's good news, and there's bad news. the good news is, don't worry, you're safe. don't panic and just sit it out until emergency services arrive," her voice was calm and comforting, though what she said next did anything but comfort you, "the bad news is that it's probably going to take a few hours until you're going to get out of there." it was silent for a second, jeno suddenly piping up, "a few hours? isn't there a janitor or something that can let us out?" the lady sighed, "no, i'm sorry. it's a bit more complicated than that. there's nothing we can do, so i suggest you get comfortable in the meantime. i'll make sure to contact the company that there are three people stuck in the elevator."

here you were, sitting on the elevator floor next to renjun, jeno sitting across from you. you had been talking about whatever came to mind for the past hour, the three of you slowly running out of topics to discuss. "i can't believe we're stuck," you whined for the approximately sixth time, head buried in your hands. "well, at least i'm here. it'd probably be even better without jun, like some prolonged game of seven minutes in heaven." jeno snorted at his own remark, renjun only grumbling out a small "more like hell."

after endless rounds of rock-paper-scissors and somewhat passionate discussions about whether water is indeed wet or not (which it isn't), the three of you reached a point of silence. it wasn't uncomfortable, but you wouldn't call it comfortable either - you were kind of just sitting there, and you were slowly starting to drift off. your head fell onto renjun's shoulder, renjun shifting a bit to make it a bit more comfortable to you, the boy already had gotten used to it over all this time as your best friend.

judging by the deep frow on jeno's face, he didn't seem to know that things like that were quite common for you and renjun. you were long gone at that point, sleep tugging on your conscience and dragging you into a deep slumber while renjun had to hold back from snickering at jeno's unhappy expression.

jeno was nearly burning holes through renjun at this point, "are you really jealous even though you two aren't even dating?" renjun had a teasing grin etched onto his face, jeno not being able to answer in more than a few stammers for a second. "w-what?" renjun snorted at the reaction, rolling his eyes at his friend.

"cmon, id be dead if looks could kill jeno. it's clear you two like each other so please just get it over with, i can't deal with two lovesick idiots at once." jeno was about to protest renjun's teasing until the words registered in his mind. "wait, two lovesick idiots?"

renjun can't help but let out an annoyed groan, "oh please! you can't tell me you're that dense, the two of you are so in love with each other its actually disgusting," you let out a whine when renjun gestures with his arms wildly, the movement momentarily ripping you out of your slumber.

jeno's silent for a bit, his gaze focused on you and your sleeping face; if there's anyone that should know how you're feeling, it should be renjun, right? jeno gulps, his gaze drifting back to renjun, "and...and how should i go about it? just, i don't know, ask them out or-" "YES!" renjun couldn't take it anymore; no one was leaving this elevator until the two of you finally sorted your feelings for each other out.

you're startled awake by renjun's outburst, tired eyes looking around in confusion. your eyes meet jeno's, and he feels his heartbeat ring in his ears, cheeks heating up and without much thought, without any plan on how exactly to go about it, jeno suddenly blurts out: "i like you, y/n."

confusion and sleep were still clouding your mind, so your first reaction was to stutter a bit, a frown on your face. "y-you- you what?" renjun sat next to you awkwardly, his eyes drifting back and forth between you and his friend. jeno cleared his throat, his nerves making his throat dry up, "i-i like you, and-...uhm, and i'm pretty sure you like me too."

you blink at him, a soft blush spreading on your cheeks; the sudden confession catching you off guard. you're stunned into silence, your brain still not working on its full capacity. "come on, answer him. don't make him wait, that's just cruel," renjun chimes suddenly in like some sort of referee, making you blush even more.

"uhm, y-yeah. i do, i like you too, jeno." you spluttered out, renjun mumbling a small "finally" you decided to ignore. jeno suddenly breaks out in the brightest smile you've ever seen and leans forward, his arms wrapping around you as he pulls you over to his side. "now you can sleep on me, where you belong."

"guys please, i got you together so please stop with the disgusting flirt talk or whatever this is supposed to be. please, until we're out of here, i beg you," renjun whined at the two of you, jeno grinning triumphantly as he wraps his arm around your shoulder and pulls you closer.

"jun, come on. did you expect us to stop once we're dating?" "we're dating?" your teasing made the cocky look on jeno's face drop, big eyes looking back at you in confusion. "uhm, yeah? i thought you know since we both-"

jeno was just too cute for his own good at that moment, so you lean forward and interrupt his defensive rambling with a soft kiss to his lips. it shuts him up and makes renjun let out a disgusted groan, small giggles escaping you. "i was joking, jeno."

the boy lets out a sigh of relief at that, elbowing you lightly, "don't play with my feelings like that!" giggling you nuzzle further into his side, "never, jeno."

it took another two hours until you were finally rescued, renjun letting out a giant sigh of relief after finally being able to leave the two of you alone. it's understandable; the poor boy had to listen to you and jeno's new-couple-talk for the last hours, the sweet compliments and cute giggles making him want to throw up. instead of joining the others for the planned movie night, you and jeno decided - to renjun's delight - to retreat into his room to spend some time together and finally take each other up on the flirtatious comments you've thrown at each other for the past months.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

I say, WHO.IS READY. FOR. THE. CHAOSSSS?!?!?!?!?

Jokes apart, enjoy this piece :D

"Why is that guy wanting to talk to us on the first place?" Midorira asked in worry as Mirio glared at his front as well as Aizawa. The three of them walking on one of the many halls of Tartarus.

The blonde had a sick feeling on his stomach at even remembering the name of the villain they fought months ago. What he had done to Eri was unforgivable, he wasn't even mad about his quirk really, all his rage about Chisaki was only because of the torture he put that little girl through and because he was the main responsible for Sir's death.

"The guards around here said it was a emergency as far as I know of." Aizawa muttered under his breath before he stopped to talk with one of the guards as the two teenagers stayed behind him.

"Togata, why do you think he called us here for?" The green haired boy whispered as Mirio put on a thoughtful face.

"I have no idea. Good things coming from that guy is certainly not." He muttered before he say the worry spread on Izuku's face before he smiled "But he cant cause harm to anyone right now! He is behind those cells, right? No worries."

They walked a bit more before the guard stopped to put his digital for them to enter. Telling them they had 10 minutes before he left. Aizawa entered first as the two students trailed behind with a sick feeling.

There it was the man. The ex young leader of the ruined Shie Hassaikai... but he was by far most diferent them they remembered...

The man was absolutely ragged. His amber eyes seemed empty and numb, as if only his body remained here on Earth, not his soul... he had a faint but visible stubble that grew on his chin and jaw as he rested metal arms over his knees while sitting on his bed of his cell.. not even looking up despite the sound of people entering there.

"What... what happened to his arms?" Midoriya whispered in horror, but before Aizawa could open his mouth Chisaki sighed... loudly.

"Don't waste your breath now Eraserhead. Let myself explain my own misery." He waved his metal hand towards Midoriya, still not looking up at the three, prefering go remain his gaze at the ground. "When you brats destroyed my plan and I was taken away, Shigaraku and the league of the villains appeared and decided to cut my arms, for story short."

At the mention of the blue haired villain, Midoriya widened his eyes and shivered... not expecting that shigaraki would make something like that, even if Overhaul deserved it or not.

"Enough of talk." Aizawa snarled, keeping in front of midoriya (like a father ^^) "You demanded our presence you bastard. Now tell us."

"Trust me. I wouldn't call you heroes if I had a choice.. Despite one of you not being quite sick anymore, isn't that right?" He looked up, but still no change of the dead expression he had on his face at the blond "Lemillion?"

"Why you-" Midoriya felt a arm stop him. Mirio looking at him with a smile telling him it wasn't worth it.

"Just spill it out." Aizawa said nonchantly before yawned "You interrupted our schedule so I at least hope it's worth it for something." He snarled as Kai only blinked.

"Right." He sighed, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall "I know you three have all the reasons to despise me, despite me only trying to cure this hero sickness."

"You hurt a young girl for that!" Mirio shouted as Kai only arched an eyebrow.

"Anyway... Despite what I look like, cruel, unforgiving, a monster, whatever you call... I already loved someone."

The pro hero raised his eyebrows in false shook as Mirio and Midoriya stayed quite in shock. Not quite believing that such a man as Chisaki was even able to do that.

"How romantic." Aizawa muttered, rage taking over him as Kai merely sighed, taking on his metal hand a hidden collar with a ring ont it.

"Before you judge me. It was way before you imagine it... Before Eri even existed." He sighed, looking at the ring with an amount of pain that left all the men in the room suspicious.

"I met her when we were still kids. She was everything that I am could never be... Kind, generous, calm... not sick. With her being quirkless, I was the main one to protect her from this sick world... even from type of people like you." He glared at the three, making Midoriya yelp even.

"One hero when we were teenagers almost killed her from a villain attack. I had to enter that crashing building and use my own quirk... when we got out, the damn hero just snarled at her, telling how stupid a quirkless brat was to even frequent a school... she cried for hours on my shoulder. That day... she gave up on her dream of being a hero, which despite how disgusting that man was, I thanked that she wasn't going to become sick."

Midoriya felt a tinge of nostalgia of only hearing about that part. A quirkless person that wanted to be a hero... just like him was. Not every person was lucky enough to be the next succesor of the All might himself...

"... due to her affiliations with me and her absence of quirk, she suffered so... so much." His tone of voice quivered a bit "And would you believe that once I was given orders to kill her?"

The pregnant silence of the room leaves even the heroes with a unknow some sort of pity for the man.

"But due to how much I loved her, the main leader of the Hassaikai at that time... helped out a bit. Getting rid of her attacker and letting her get on the house for as long as she needed... yet, due to how pure and kind she is, couldn't hurt a fly. A bad place for her was the mafia, yet... she stayed."

He sighed deeply, making a pleading yet infuriated look at the three of them. Scaring the two young boys as Aizawa remained with the same dead look as before.

"Shigaraki. He took her dammit. While you good for nothings were arresting me, (Y/n) was with the old man that the hospital took aND HIS SUBBORDINATES TOOK THE ONLY PERSON THAT MATTERED TO ME!" He punched the wall behind him with so much force with his prothestic arm that made a quite loud noise.

The room went quietly as Midoriya furrowed his eyebrows and Mirio widened hsi eyes that Chisaki was actually in true pain, noticing also the drops of water splashing on the ground.

This guy was capable of feeling?!

"You heroes ruin EVERYTHING." He whispered shouted before frowning and looking at the three "I told this, because SHE isn't involved on this mess. She has nothing to do with the quirk erasing bullets or even Eri, hell I didn't let these two meet for the first place!" He stood up and came face to face behind his cell to look better at them.

"If you truly are heroes, if you sick disgusting people tell you do the good thing. THEN SAVE HER GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!" he shouted between tears as the heroes frowned "please... I wouldn't be here begging if it wasn't for... a person so much important as her."

Would they help him even after everything he had done...?

[obx-snippets]

Chapter 2 ∫ ≈ Ocean’s Siren at the Kegger ≈

Summary: Reina goes to her first kegger in the obx and it’s a lot more than she bargained for.

Warning: Cursing, panic attack, mentions of aquaphobia, drowning.                  S L O W B U R N

Word count: 3.2k

Pairing: JJ Maybank x female!oc

Masterlist

a/n: thank you to those who are showing interest in the series so far! Hope you stick around till the end!  

After long-wearing hours of searching for a suitable outfit, Reina gave herself a pep-talk in the mirror as she sat on the floor, staring deep within herself. If it weren't for Mina and Chris being at work so late, they would diagnose her to be clinically insane.

"It's a party, quit being a pussy."

"It's near water, why the hell would you even go?"

"I mean....you were invited, so it's sort of rude if you don't."

"I don't even drink anymore, so I could bring my own Gatorade."

"Why would you say 'yeah, I know where the boneyard is.' Fucking dumbass, you just moved here yesterday."

"Where are my pills?"

The setting sun was seated on an orange and pink horizon that it claimed as its throne. The breeze carried the ocean's salty scent in the air, tousling Reina's hair that she fought to keep tucked behind her ear. Her flip flops slapped against the hard cement, moving her bike by her side, not yet having the courage to step in the sand as she walked alongside the beach. She could hear the faint sound of pounding music, and as she neared the supposed kegger, the hollering a cheering of teens became clear as day. The lights of burning torches danced across her brown as she stopped just at the beach's edge, her toes only inches from the golden sand. A familiar sensation bloomed in her stomach like a flower that was hidden from the sun for too long. Excitement? Thrill?

A feeling that she hasn't experienced since that night. There was a smaller crowd of teens surrounding a small area of a particular part of the beach, and Reina had to squint her eyes to make out John B holding up a blonde boy by his ankles as he performed the infamous game, the keg stand. Pride tugged at her heart, knowing her past self would have stood up to the challenge of lasting longer. But she stayed put, hugging her body over the soft material of her white oversized sweater that covered a portion of her blue tennis skirt.

Her jaw instantly clenched, and eyes screwed shut upon hearing the water so close. The waves were mocking, tormenting enough to make her breathing ragged and uneven.

A gleeful cheer brought Reina to open her eyes to see John B patting his blonde friend on the back after he successfully lasted thirty seconds on the keg stand. Cheap beer dripped down his contoured chin, his laugh traveling to where Reina stood. She guessed he was one of the other boys in John B's van but wasn't sure what his name was.

Was he Pope or JJ?

His cerulean eyes shimmered under the torch lights, his toothy grin surprisingly contagious. Reina hadn't even noticed she was smiling until a pair of blue eyes latched onto hers, heat quickly radiating up her ivory cheeks. Her lips parted as if to say something but realized how far he was and quickly closed her mouth. It seemed the blonde surfer discerned what she attempted and opted to pass her a nod before stalking away with his arm draped over John B's shoulder.

Reina couldn't comprehend what she felt once she made eye contact with the boy. His ocean eyes. His handsome, chiseled features. That toothy smile that spread to her own lips. That gray muscle tee that made her mind wander. Her bottom lip was tucked between her teeth as she watched Kiara punch another boy on the arm for tossing his red solo cup on the sand.

The one who ordered the sprite.

John B was leaning forward as he sat on a fallen tree trunk, his finger prodding the blonde's side before gesturing toward a gorgeous blonde girl dancing provocatively in a small crowd. It seemed like she was the bait for the night, but Reina wasn't impressed.

"Hot, isn't he?"

Reina let a yelp slip her lip as she jolted away from the smirking girl standing next to her. She was casually drinking her beer; her dyed hair pulled up into a bun with bobby pins holding back stray hairs. She had seen her at the Wreck along with the other rowdy teenagers that occupied too much of her time for just a couple of drinks.

"W-what?" Reina cleared her throat, playing dumb as she wrung her hands to let her sweater's sleeves cover her hands.

The girl glanced at her from the corner of her dark hazel eyes as she gave her a pointed look. "The one you were ogling is JJ." she stated, pointing one of her fingers that held her red solo cup toward the blonde who was currently staying still so Kiara could pluck something out of his eye. "The sweetheart who ordered the sprite is Pope, and you met the rest--oh, and I'm Harlow. Westwick."

Harlow held out a hand, and Reina glanced down at her black painted fingers before shaking it gently.

“Reina Lynch.”

Harlow made a face, “Reina. I like it.”

Reina was surprised when she felt a smile pull at the corner of her mouth. She looked back up at Harlow, a kind expression of her own on her face.

“Thanks,” she replied.

Harlow took a large gulp of her drink, blinking wildly when some of it splashed into her eye, “So,” she started, clearing her throat, “how long you been in the OBX?”

Reina let out a sigh, carding her hand through her hair before tugging her sleeve back over her hand, “not long,” she answered, “definitely still adjusting.”

Harlow nodded her head, shivering from a gust of wind before brushing some of her baby hairs from her eyes, “Yeah, it takes a while,” Harlow laughed, “where are you from?“

“Cali.”

Harlow gaped quickly with a laugh, “Oooh! California, I like it. That’s totally rad, dude.”

Reina let out a laugh, a real laugh. “Nobody talks like that in California, you know?”

Harlow’s pink lips parted, ready to reply to her when the song switched, causing a gasp to slip from her mouth, “I love this song!” she exclaimed, turning in small circles to find a place to set her cup down, “dance with me!”

Reina clammed up immediately, the smile slipping from her face as her eyes darted to the crowd of drunk dancing teenagers. “Oh, no, I-“

“Come on!” Harlow cried over the blaring music and shouting, her dainty hand wrapping around her wrist, “please! nobody else likes to dance to this song with me!”

Reina pondered for a moment, letting Harlow shake her limp arm, chewing on her bottom lip. Worry pooled her eyes, wondering how it would feel to jump back into the party life so soon. She hasn't had a drink, so as long she steered clear of any and all alcohol consumption, one dance didn't seem like the worst thing. Besides, her blue Gatorade was tucked safely on her bike, where she had parked it by a palm tree.  

“Okay,” Reina sighed, itching a random spot on her neck before she touched her regrettable scars and coiled her hand away, a smile touching her lips once she met Harlow's eyes, “one dance.”

She didn't seem like it at first, but Harlow Westwick was a firecracker who's adrenaline had boosted to a hundred by the time she started dancing. Reina couldn't help but laugh anytime the girl poorly busted a dance move that, in her opinion, was killer. Instead of trying to mirror anyone else's movent, Reina gradually let her body sway to the heavy pumping music, her eye getting lost in the darkness and focusing on the song's base. Soon enough, the two had been dancing for an hour, disregarding Reina's 'one dance' policy.

Reina followed the tipsy girl around the boneyard, not bothering to tell her to ease up on the drinking as she didn't see it as her place to tell her what to do. She had caught Kira glancing toward her and passed her a small smile before quickly grabbing Harlow's waist when she nearly fell face-first on the sand. Too occupied with keeping Harlow upright as she marched down the beach, Reina overlooked JJ, John B, and Pope staring at her from where they sat around a bomb fire.

“So,” JJ started, downing the last of his beer, “what do we think of the new girl?”

John B casted his eyes over to Reina, who was dancing with their friend, more trying to hold her up than anything, “She seems cool,” he replied with a shrug.

Pope nodded along, his eyes still on Reina and Harlow down the beach, “She sounded nice, and she’s currently babysitting Harlow, so seems like she could hang.”

JJ tapped his ring clad finger against his plastic cup, his eyes dancing side to side, “Think I could bag her?”

His question sent the other two boys into a groan, Pope rolling his head back and John B tossing a nearby empty solo cup at him,

“Jesus, man! Do you think about anything other than sleeping with girls?”

JJ looked up, pondering, “Weed,” he answered, “spend a lot of time thinking about weed.”

“Yeah, we know,” Pope said, rolling his eyes.

“She could be gay,” John B suggested.

“What makes you think she’s gay?” JJ asked, face scrunched in confusion.

“What makes you think she’s straight?” Pope rebutted.

“Touché, Pope,” JJ tipped his empty cup at him, “touché.”

The wind was nipping at Reina's skin once the music suddenly died down. She had been following Harlow for so long that she just realized how different the sand felt under her sandals. The ground was a bit more firm but squishy at the same time, unlike the dry sand she had been wondering just hours prior. Reina stopped dead in her tracks when the sound of waves broke her from her trance. She inhaled sharply, her smile dropping, and her eyes widening in mild horror. The smell of salt became like a toxin in her lungs, and she stumbled back, her hands balling into a fist. If she knew Harlow would lead her this close to the water, she wouldn't have taken up the offer to dance. The dark sky made the water look like a raging god, calling her to step into its deadly grasp.

Despite the influx of cold wind, Reina found herself sweating under her sweater as she created more distance between herself and the ocean. A flash of a flowy green dress came across her eye when she saw Harlow drunken figure dancing toward the water. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest, seeing her tread dangerously closer to the shallow part of the ocean. The girl couldn't even keep herself balanced on the sand, and the waves would devour her immediately if she got any closer.

"Um, Harlow," Reina's tone was scarcely over a shout, not wanting to scare the girl. "could we maybe head back to the party?"

Harlow flimsily whipped her body around, her pale cheeks flushed with heat as a grin played on her lips. "There's not a pool at the party, Reina!" Harlow stated, her hand's failing to properly set on her hips as they kept slipping off.

"This isn't a fucking pool, it's the ocean. Now could you please--Harlow!

The giggling mess of a teenager took another tantalizing step into the water until she was knee-deep. The waves roughly slapped onto the back of her legs, her body bucking forward, bringing Reina to gasp. Any person with sense would have marched to Harlow and dragged her away from the water to prevent her from drowning. But Reina stayed glued in place, watching the tipsy teen splash water about. Maybe if she called her enough times, Harlow would listen.

Reina bounced on one of her legs, her pleading eyes desperately trying to spot one of her friends in the crowd that seems small considering how far they had traveled. Another loud splash brought Reina to look back at Harlow. Water must have got in her eyes, and she was brutally rubbing her knuckles over her eyelids to cease the burning. Reina's heart stopped upon seeing a wave hurtling toward Harlow, but as her words got stuck in her throat, the water slammed into her back, her body lurching forward face-first into the icy sea.

"Harlow!" Reina cried, taking a hesitant step forward. Her ears keened in on the waves, her eyes adjusting to the darkness to try and spot Harlow but nothing. She prayed that her head would appear above the waves, smiling and breathing. But nothing again. It's as if the ocean had eaten her alive and didn't think twice to bother apologizing.

Reina's breathing became uneven once she realized Harlow wasn't resurfacing as long as she stood there doing nothing. "Fuck me.." she huffed and shook her head.

Without a second thought, Reina was dashing forward down the small hill that led to the water, kicking off her sandals. Her mind was so hellbent on saving Harlow that she didn't focus on how the water felt on her torso, how it tugged on her figure to swim deeper. She knew if she let her mind find out that she was indeed in the ocean, she would surely drown, and both girls would be lost at sea.  

Reina's hair was now wet as she was forced to dive under and let the salt burn her vision as he tried to make out Harlow's silhouette in the darkness. She kicked around, her hands roaming the area until she felt her hand swipe across a clothing material. She instantly heaved the girl's body up until Harlow's face was above water. She was completely unresponsive, and a sting of guilt tugged at her chest. If she hadn't hesitated, Harlow would still be breathing.

She pulled Harlow to the shore with all her strength, letting her body lay on the wet sand. Reina brushed her damp hair from her face and tucked it behind her ears to better examine the girl. "Harlow," Reina called to her urgently, cupping her face in her hand to try and shake her awake.

She had never performed CPR, but this was a life or death situation. Reina pressed both hands on Harlow's chest and began pumping up to thirty. Reina gripped her jaw and plugged her nose to pry her mouth open and started breathing air into her lungs. She repeated the action a couple of times, and just when she lost hope, Harlow's body began jerking violently until she was coughing up water to the side along with some of the cheap beer that she let screw with her mind.

Reina's heartbeat eased as she let out a sigh of relief and sat back on her heels, looking up and letting her eyes flutter shut. Harlow wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before sitting up, her eyes wide with her mouth agape as she stared ahead at the ocean that nearly killed her. Silence loomed over the two girls, both trying to process what had just happened. The only sound was their heaving breathing, the taunting ocean, and the party that was likely to go on until the sun rose.

"We shared our first kiss," Harlow giggled after fleeting silence, resulting in Reina snapping her neck toward the girl.

"W-what?" she muttered, her face reddening as confusion pulled at her brows.

Harlow was beaming, and the wink she sent to Reina made her squirm in place as she stared at the girl stunned.

"Harlow!"

Both girls looked back to see Kiara, JJ, John B, and Pope rushing toward them.

“Holy shit!” Pope examined the girl's soaked state and shivering bodies, “what happened?”

“Had a near-death experience, P man,” Harlow answered as her feet wiggled in the sand, “but God herself over here saved me.”

“Are you seriously cracking jokes right now?” Kie shouted, her features stitched into an angry frown, “you almost died!”

"That's an exaggeration," Harlow quipped with a quirked brow. With shaky hands, Reina helped Harlow to her feet. She looked among the girl’s group of friends, averting her eyes from the ocean beside them.

"I had to perform CPR," Reina mumbled quietly to her statement. But it seemed Kiara and Pope caught on as they're eyes bulged from their sockets.

“Dude, for real, are you okay?” JJ asked, his eyes bouncing between Harlow and Reina.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Harlow sputtered with a shrug as she held her body to find warmth, “never almost drowned before, so I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel.”

“What is wrong with you? You could have died! You can’t just go out into the ocean drunk as shit!” Kie lectured.

“Yeah, Kie, I get it, alright!”

The two girls' voices started to rise as they argued, John B and Pope hurried to step between them, trying to mediate. Reina stood a few steps away from them, biting through the skin of her lip until her mouth filled with the taste of iron. Without knowing what she was doing, her feet started to move her away from the group, unaware JJ had his eyes on her the entire time.

________________________________≈Ω≈___________________________________

Reina's hands were trembling as she unlocked the door to her house, her face blank when she entered the cold living room. The driveway was vacant of any cars, meaning she was completely alone. Alone with her thoughts.

Her worst enemy.

When she took another step across the cold wood floorboard, she nearly slipped. A gasp sounded through her lungs, and her mind found an opening. A door that had been locked for so long that she never dared be this close. But with her soaked hair making a puddle on her feet and her wet sweater weighing her down, the tears that began streaming down her cheeks were inevitable.

Reina tossed the keys toward a wooden table near the door and fled to her bedroom. She had to use the wall as support as she pressed her hand against her chest, trying to even out her breathing. But it was too ragged, and she felt like collapsing. Though her room was large in width, she could feel the walls closing in on her. Like her nightmares had finally cornered her.

A sob racked her throat, and she began to tear off her skirt along with her underwear. She didn't want to feel anything related to tonight's events. She regretted going at all.

Reina finally stripped out of everything until she was bare. Her legs gave under her, and she fell to her knees and shuffled back until her spine made contact with her bed. If ripping her wet hair out was an option, she would do it immediately. From the air conditioning blowing down on her, she knew a stuffy nose was guaranteed, but she didn't want to feel anything.

With her jaw wobbling uncontrollably and her body shaking, she held her legs close to her chest and rocked back and forth.

You're not in the water anymore.

Reina threw her head back, scraping the side of her neck along the pattern of her scars. The tune of the windchime seemed so distant, but yet it was enough.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.

Her heart steadied, the warm tears continuing to flow like a blanket trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, dad."

@pogueszn @mdlyncline @bricksatanakinswindow @ponyboys-sunsets @kaitieskidmore1 @casper17 @moonshinerbynight @cordeliascrown @acvross-the-universe 

[missionkitty]

Obey Me! - Take Care of Me (Leviathan/Reader)

You peered cautiously at your D.D.D as you sat in class at RAD, half-listening to a lecture. You were a bit more concerned about the lack of notifications, specifically from one Leviathan.

He hadn't come to class today, which wasn't really out of the ordinary, but what did worry you was the fact that you hadn't gotten any messages alerting you to any video game raids or plans to watch a new anime series after you got out of class.

You didn't always follow the plots of some of his more complicated games or series, but most of the time you legitimately enjoyed all the different Devildom media he introduced to you.

Because of this, you quickly became accustomed to Levi's constant invitations and demands to spend time with him indulging in his games and other interests.

But today...there was nothing of the sort.

You debated just leaving class early to go back to the House of Lamentation to see if everything was okay. You admitted to yourself that you wanted to have his company anyway, and that you could just grab notes from Satan or Solomon.

You discreetly placed your phone under your desk and tapped out a message to Levi, asking if everything was okay. You checked the message before sending it and then slipped your phone into your jacket pocket.

A quiet sigh escaped your mouth as you looked back up at the blackboard at the front of the room and started to daydream again. You were unsurprised that your thoughts traveled back to Levi, and allowed your mind to continue on that train of thought.

You enjoyed how excited Levi could get about his progress in a game or when he particularly enjoyed the way a character developed in a show. He wasn't always interested in very much, but the things he enjoyed always got his full attention, and  that  was the most special thing for you to see. It sometimes even spilled out of his bedroom, and on some of those rare occasions, the others would get involved too. However, more often than not, you ended up being his only company.

It was sad to see that his brothers didn't usually pay much attention to his interests, not that he made it particularly easy for them, but you had to admit that you were happy to be the only one to share a lot of those special moments with him.

Before you could continue to ponder anymore about Levi, you realized that class was over and the other students were filing out of the classroom.

You checked your D.D.D and grimaced, finding no response from Levi.

You nodded decisively to yourself, making the choice to go ahead and go check on Levi. You would send a message to Satan later to catch up on whatever work you might miss.

The thought of a silent Levi heavily occupied your mind with worry--but if he was okay, you'd come back to your remaining classes, you said to yourself, trying to justify your truancy.

You quickly and quietly left RAD, avoiding the brothers who came to school. As you walked back, you could feel yourself starting to pick up the pace, almost running after a minute or two.

It wasn't long before you were inside the House and walking to Levi's door.

As you neared his door, you realized that it was slightly ajar, faint blue light streaming into the hall. That was unlike Levi, to leave his door open in any way at all. Worry continued to gnaw at the back of your mind as you reached his door.

You carefully tried peeking through the crack in the door, but couldn't make out anything Levi-shaped. You pursed your lips thoughtfully before gently knocking on his door.

"Levi?" You said, barely louder than a whisper.

No response.

"Leviathan…?" You tried asking one more time, this time in a normal volume. You gingerly opened his door wide enough to poke your head through.

You first glanced at Levi's computer desk, covered with monitors, but they were surprisingly dark. You slowly led the rest of your body into his room, but froze as you heard a groan.

Your head whirled to Levi's bathtub-bed and saw his purple hair peeking out from the top. Another groan came from the tub as you urgently walked over, seeing Levi laying in a cradle of pillows and disheveled blankets. His messy purple mop of hair was illuminated by the gentle blue light of the aquarium, and he was still in his pajamas. You let out a gasp as you saw his face, unnaturally pale and dark, bruise-like circles underneath his flickering eyes.

"Levi...are you...sick?" You stammered.

He turned his head to you and his eyelids stayed open as he realized you stood in front of him. With great effort, he grasped the sides of his tub-bed and tried sitting himself up. A sightly wet cough escaped his mouth, followed by a groan.

"I started feeling bad last night...but stayed up playing my new game anyway," Levi croaked as he sunk slightly back down into his bed, his head leaned against a portion of blanket.

You sighed and knelt down, placing the back of your hand against his cheek. He tried pulling away from your touch, but was apparently too drained to move. His cheek was burning hot, and you frowned. You gently brushed his purple hair away from his forehead and moved your hand to measure his temperature there.

"Levi, you're burning up!" You said urgently.

"I'm aware…" Levi retorted sourly, pulling at the collar of his shirt.

You looked at him, unimpressed, and pulled your lips into a grimace.

He blinked his orange-blue eyes twice before letting out a repentant sigh.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm just in some pain and I don't feel strong enough to get medicine from the bathroom."

You shook your head, and leaned your arms on the side of the tub.

"Why didn't you let anyone know? I'm sure someone would have brought you what you needed before we left to RAD."

Levi looked away, a bitter expression playing across his face.

"I didn't want to be lectured," he said, petulant. "Everyone was just gonna tell me that I got sick because I stayed up all night. And then they would just keep thinking I'm a lazy, gross otaku. But I don’t need help from any human normie..."

You let out a small scoff, shaking your head again. Being sick apparently put Levi in one of his "moods."

"So," he started after a moment of silence, then swallowed hard. "Why are you here…?"

"I got worried when you didn't send me anything today," you said with a small smile, noticing the shy way his tired eyes flickered back and forth to you. "No raid warnings or plans for the afternoon."

“I don’t always text you to come over…” Levi croaked, his cheeks starting to flush.

“No, you don’t,” you began to admit. “But when you don’t, you’re usually in class. Or you’ve messaged me the night before about whatever you have planned for the day,” you finished, a knowing smile creeping across your face.

Levi glanced at you one more time before looking away and weakly scoffing. He stayed silent, blush still coloring his cheeks.

“It looks like you don’t have much of a choice other than to get help from a ‘human normie,’” you said with a chuckle, taking a small bit of amusement in Levi’s needlessly prickly attitude.

“Sorry,” Levi croaked again, this time peering back at you with a doe-like stare.

“Have you eaten anything?” You asked with a grin, setting your bag down by his tub-bed and taking off your uniform jacket.

Levi shook his head, then slid further down into his tub again, but set his chin on the edge of the tub as he continued to stare at you, like a curious animal.

“You’ll want to eat before you take any medicine, just in case your stomach doesn’t get upset.” You thoughtfully rubbed your chin, thinking of what to make for a sick demon. You also briefly wondered what kind of dosing a demon would take for demon medicine, a pit starting to form in your stomach. You considered for a moment that you might not be the best person to nurse Levi back to health.

Another wet cough from Levi shook you from your thoughts, and you let out a sympathetic sigh as you watched the painful cough scrunch up Levi’s expression.

“Let me go get some crackers and water and we’ll start with that, just so you can get some medicine down…” you said with a sad smile. You turned to walk out of Levi’s room when you heard him groan again, but heard the shuffling of pillows and blankets.

You turned back around to see Levi standing behind you, his eyes downcast and his hands clumsily pawing at each other. Standing there, you got a better look at his pajamas, a loose, white t-shirt with what you guessed was Japanese text across the chest and a pair of loose, black shorts. You couldn’t help but chuckle, Levi looking a lot like a big, bashful child.

He stood there, quiet.

“Do you want to come with me? Or, rather, do you feel like you have the strength to walk to the bathroom and kitchen with me?” You tilted your head to the side as you hunched slightly to try and meet his gaze.

“I...I think I should be okay if I can...if I can lean on you,” Levi replied, stammering the end of his sentence. He was now fiddling his fingers together, but still avoiding your eyes.

You chuckled again, but this time catching Levi’s attention.

“Why do you keep laughing?” Levi asked accusingly. His eyes were still glued to the floor, but you could see his brow furrow. “Is this funny? To see a lame otaku suffering, his only help from a weak human?”

You sighed and scratched your head.

“Levi, I’m not laughing because you’re suffering,” you said, crossing your arms.

He carefully looked up at you, meeting your eyes. It looked like he was starting to shake now, though you weren’t sure if it was only because of his illness.

You quickly stepped next to him, sliding yourself under his shoulder and wrapped your arm around his surprisingly wide torso.

“Come on,” you murmured, not giving Levi time to be shocked by your sudden assistance. “Don’t take it the wrong way, but I’m laughing because you’re…” as you spoke, you paused, rolling the next word over in your mouth.

Had you ever called him cute before? Had you ever said anything remotely like that in all your time in the Devildom to Levi? Would he, as the Avatar of Envy, take kindly to being called cute?

“I’m...what?” Levi asked, your pause taking longer than you intended.

You started walking toward Levi’s door, feeling his slow steps beside you.

You could feel your cheeks starting to burn now. You bit your lip before continuing.

“You’re...cute,” you finally said with a spluttering sigh. You closed your eyes in embarrassment for a moment before trying to shake the thought from your mind, focusing on getting to the medicine cache in the bathroom. You could feel Levi tense slightly, but the only noise after your reply was the sound of your’s and Levi’s feet shuffling across the floor and out the door.

“...Oh,” he eventually responded. You weren’t sure, but for a second, it felt like Levi’s arm tried tightening around your shoulders.

You were grateful that the slow trek to the bathroom and kitchen was quiet, and you guessed that maybe only you and Levi were the only ones in the House. Levi took what you gave him with no resistance and gobbled down a few crackers before taking the medicine you managed to dose out. Thankfully, there were instructions on the medicine, though in hindsight, it was obvious that there would have been.

The two of you shuffled back to Levi’s room, Levi seemingly regaining a small bit of strength after filling his stomach.

“It’ll take a bit for the medicine to kick in, if I read it correctly,” you advised as you led Levi back to his tub. “So if you’d like, we can watch something while we wait.”

Levi looked at you with shock, but it quickly turned into delight as he stepped away from you and shuffled over to his large collection of blu-rays and dvds.

“This one!” He said with a huge smile, pulling a case out.

“I’ll put it in, okay? You get back in bed,” you said, smiling in response.

Levi had chosen a few episodes of TSL to watch while you waited for the medicine to ease his symptoms, and you pulled an overstuffed chair next to his tub while he settled back into his cradle of pillows and blankets.

However, once the disc was in and playing, you found yourself distracted by your earlier comment to Levi.

You’re...cute.

You did your best to stifle your embarrassment with silent sighs and quick glances at Levi as he watched the screen, wide-eyed. Some color had started returning to his face, and not from blushing this time around. You found yourself smiling as he hummed along to the opening theme, and had to admit to yourself that, yes, you did find him cute.

All of him was usually pretty cute. His soft, purple mop of hair that he'd use as a shield if he got embarrassed. His boyish, yet angular face that was incredibly expressive--and the way he'd try to hide those expressions by acting nonchalant. You even found his ridiculous chat-speak responses charming sometimes. At one point, he had pulled you into an enthusiastic hug after the two of you had cleared a difficult level in one of his games. Levi quickly realized what he had done, but you hadn't forgotten his embrace and surprising strength.

A heat started to crawl up the back of your neck as you began to contemplate how you felt about him. Undeniably, much like Henry and the Lord of Shadows, you considered Levi to be one of your closest friends. But in the back of your mind, you knew that you felt something a little more...passionate than friendship for him. But you weren't sure if you should pursue those feelings, content to stay friends with him.

As the images of various characters flashed on the screen, you couldn’t help but steal glances at Levi, whose gaze was slowly becoming starry-eyed.

You guessed that the medicine was finally starting to work its magic on him.

It wasn’t long before Levi’s eyelids were starting to droop and his head began to sway drowsily.

You smiled contentedly as your next glance revealed that Levi was completely reclined into his tub, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling gently. You carefully stood up, not wanting to disturb what looked like his first restful sleep of the day. You grabbed the remote to his television and clicked the player and screen off, the only light illuminating Levi’s room coming from his aquarium again.

You gingerly grabbed for your jacket and bag, still striving for silence in your movements, and turned to leave.

You felt a thick, rope-like cord wrap around your wrist and you quickly looked behind you to see Levi’s black tail coiled from your wrist back to his tub-bed. His purplish horns crowned his head and his orange-blue eyes stared back at you longingly.

“Sorry,” he said, his voice gravelly. “I...it was easier to get your attention this way...so I don’t have to get out of bed.” His gaze fell for a moment before slowly making its way back to your eyes.

“Did you...really mean it when you called me cute?” Levi asked tentatively, nervously adjusting himself in his bed.

Your stomach did a flip as you looked back at Levi. You swallowed hard, feeling your heart starting to burn in your chest.

Levi’s gaze was expectant, his lips parted slightly as if he was going to speak again. Your gaze couldn’t help but travel down his neck, following the path of purple-and-black diamonds down to the loose neck of his shirt.

His chest continued to rise and fall, which continued to lead your gaze slightly upward from his shirt collar to the exposed part of his chest. You forced your eyes back up to his, now wary of the rising feelings in your ribs.

He continued to stare at you, now inquisitively, his head tilted to the side. A faint pink dusted his cheeks as he slowly released your wrist from his tail’s grasp.

You wondered for just a moment if he had been thinking of the same thing you were while you watched TSL.

“Yeah, I meant it,” you finally replied, your mouth feeling dry. Your heart wasn’t racing, but the burning sensation seemed to grip it, making you feel short of breath.

“Why?” He asked quietly. “I’ve got six brothers out there who are actually deserving of that.”

You glanced at his tail, now drooping over the edge of the tub. You scratched the back of your head and let out a long sigh. This wasn’t the first time he had ever said something like that--his brothers being more deserving of some compliment than he was. But this time seemed to be different.

There was some kind of expectancy that remained in his stare. All the other times, he would mope and whine dejectedly, almost like a small child seeking attention.

But now, you stood before an honest Leviathan. There didn’t seem to be any passive-aggressive ploys for attention or self-deprecation.

For once, it was an honest question with an honest hope behind it.

“Because I think it’s true,” you replied honestly. You kept your gaze level with his as you set your bag and jacket back down on the floor. “I’m allowed to think that you’re cute, no matter what you might think,” you added with a note of defiance in your voice.

Levi closed his eyes and leaned his head back, draping his arm over his eyes, his cheeks flushing.

“Do...do you,” he stammered, his voice shaking. “Do you only think I’m cute? Or...do you…” his voice trailed off as he let out a massive sigh. “Could I be…?”

You quizzically tilted your head to the side, waiting for Levi to collect his thoughts. You had an idea of what he was trying to say, but you didn’t want to make an assumption and step on his moment.

“I mean...I think…” Levi slowly moved his arm from his eyes, looking back at you again. His entire face was now flushed. He took one more big breath before continuing. “I think you’re cute too…”

With those words, your stomach tried jumping into your throat and you resisted the urge to let out any noise.

“A-and...it’s not the medicine talking, okay?” Levi quickly added, sitting up. “I...I’ve thought that you were cute for a long time.”

The two of you sat in silence, your gazes wandering around the room before meeting each other again.

“You know...I was secretly hoping that it would have been you to come find me today,” he murmured, awkwardly running a hand across his forehead. He looked up at you from behind his purple fringe, absently scratching his cheek.

You felt a laugh start building up in your chest, which escaped first as a breathy chuckle but then turned into uncontrollable giggling.

“Levi, you are so silly,” you said in between giggles. “Silly and cute.”

He looked back at you, confusion splashed across his face.

“If you wanted me to come take care of you, you should have just said so,” you continued laughing, butterflies now rumbling in your stomach and lungs. You could feel warmth washing over your neck and face as your laughter slowly came to a stop.

You saw Levi begin to smile, his cheeks still dusted pink. He glanced down at his lap for a second before looking back up at you.

“I want you to take care of me,” Levi said with a coy smile. His eyes flashed with something mischievous, and his tail sprung back to life and wrapped gently around your hand this time. “You know I get lonely when you’re not around…” he said with an exaggeratedly hurt tone and pulled you toward his tub-bed.

You smiled and shook your head with a laugh, amused by his sudden confidence.

“Did you get that from a manga series?” You asked with a smirk before carefully climbing into the large tub.

“No, it’s how I really feel…” Levi replied disjointedly, shocked by your sudden entrance to his bed. His cheeks continued flushing harder, but he valiantly tried to stay composed as he released your hand from his tail.

You paused, feeling your cheeks burn intensely.

“Is...this okay?” You asked sheepishly, backing up into the other end of the tub.

Levi’s gaze dropped into his lap again.

As you waited for his answer, his tail carefully slid behind you and gently wrapped around your back.

“No...I think...I want you closer,” he replied, looking up at you from behind his bangs again.

It felt like every organ in your torso shifted places as you registered Levi’s response and accompanying stare. A goofy smile crawled across your lips as you let yourself be guided closer to Levi by his tail.

You soon found yourself pressed against his chest, which was more broad than you anticipated, and his arms wrapped around you. You slid your arms around his torso and gently laid your head down on his chest. You could feel his tail snaking around your stomach in a serpentine embrace.

You wondered if he was always this warm, or if it was just from his breaking fever. You didn’t let yourself think of it for much longer before nuzzling his chest and letting out a loud, contented sigh. You had never really imagined how comfortable Levi would have been while playing video games or watching anime with him, but now that you were here, it would take a lot for you to leave the comfort of his arms.

“You’re mine now...okay?” Levi murmured, pressing his lips onto the top of your head. “And...and I’m the Avatar of Envy, s-so I get jealous really easily, okay?”

A breathy laugh escaped your throat and you squeezed Levi’s torso.

“Of course,” you replied, feeling butterflies crash around your stomach. “I’m yours, and only yours.”

A deep, goofy laugh rumbled in Levi’s chest as he pulled you tighter against him.

"This is like a scene straight out of a manga I read, but...you know what's weird? I can't seem to remember what it's called," Levi murmured as he tenderly ran his fingers through your hair.

"That's a good thing, I think," you replied, shivering as his fingers grazed your neck. The butterflies in your stomach pushed you to start sitting up, carefully straddling Levi. He looked back at you, his eyes wide and cheeks almost crimson. He slowly sat up further in his bed, trying to keep his face level with yours.

His tail unraveled from your torso and began tracing circles up and down your back. You smiled as his bashful gaze wandered to the pillows stacked and squashed around you.

Levi's lips pulled into a small smile, which sparked a flash of desire in you, and you quickly stole a kiss from his lips. He stared back at you, dumbfounded.

You sheepishly looked at him while his orange-and-blue eyes appeared to be rebooting from your sudden kiss. It didn't take long for his eyes to focus on you again, but a curious smile crept across his mouth.

"That's not fair...I wanted to kiss you first," he said with his exaggeratedly hurt tone again.

You smiled triumphantly at him, but Levi quickly abandoned his play-pout and furiously pressed his lips against yours.

You were pleasantly surprised at his passion as he kissed you, and you answered his furious kissing with an equal amount of fervor. For someone who was sick, he had one heck of a second wind.

There was hardly any restraint as Levi took your face in his hands to steady his attack, his kisses somehow wild and controlled at the same time. For a self-proclaimed otaku, he certainly seemed to know what to do. He quickly introduced his tongue, which swirled deftly past your lips and around your own tongue.

You both let out a content moan as you continued to kiss, your hands now tangling in his hair, brushing against his horns every so often. His tail tangled around you again and pulled you closer against his body. You could feel his body jolt every time you ran your hands through his hair, and he would quietly moan every time you started the process again.

He slowly eased his kisses, so you took a chance to escape from his lips and moved to graze his neck with a kiss. As you pressed your lips against one of the diamond markings on his neck, Levi shivered and moaned and you could feel the tip of his tail wiggle on the back of your neck. You giggled, his tail tickling you, and you involuntarily moved backward.

"D-don't stop," he murmured weakly, grasping at your wrist with his long fingers. You looked back at his orange eyes, wide and pleading. "Please…you said that you would take care of me."

A powerful warmth rushed from the bottom of your stomach to your fingers and toes, filling you with static. Levi continued staring at you, his gaze silently begging for you to continue. He leaned back again, tilting his head to the side to better reveal the markings on his neck. You could hear his breathing start to shallow, betraying what you guessed was his racing heart. You felt his tail gently push you toward him, and quickly took his invitation.

You leaned forward, sitting on his lap, and delicately kissed the highest marking on his neck. You continued downward, relishing his warmth on your lips. His tail was draped over your shoulders, and you could feel it shiver with every kiss you placed on his neck. You wanted to see what would elicit the strongest reaction from his tail, and pondered for a moment while you kept your lips pressed against his neck. You felt Levi tangle his hands in your hair again, his thumb stroking your head.

You smiled and kissed his neck again, but instead of moving to another diamond marking, you focused on the spot you were on and gently dragged your teeth in a slow biting motion against his skin. He let out a gasp and his tail slithered rapidly against your neck and back, then pulled on your arm.

You pulled away to see Levi's face now colored beet-red, his expression some mixture of surprise and what seemed like forced anger.

"Did you really think I'd like that?!" He spluttered, a smile trying to pull at the corners of his mouth.

You smirked, recognizing this line from when you had surprised him with something he was particularly fond of. Usually, he would have his hand pulled up in front of his mouth, and now you knew what he was hiding when he did that.

"Your tail seemed to say otherwise," you said with a laugh and pressed your cheek against the part of his tail draped over your shoulder. Levi gasped again, giving a betrayed look to his tail. "But if you want me to stop…" you added devilishly with a shrug of your shoulders, starting to move from his lap.

 "Ah, no, I'm sorry!" He blurted out, reaching for your arm again. His tail pressed against you as well, keeping you in place.  "Don't stop!"

His orange-and-blue eyes were doe-like and pleading again.

Your stomach did a somersault as you swore you could see his lips start to tremble. Like lightning, you found yourself showering his neck with kisses, nibbling gently every so often.

His moans got louder every time you drew your teeth across his skin, his tail expressing his excitement as well. That prompted you to bite a little harder and suck gently on his soft skin. This drew a whining moan from his lips and he quickly wrapped his arms around you, burying his head in your hair.

"That…was...how did you know I would like that?" He asked with a loud, disbelieving giggle.

You looked up at him, feeling his heart pounding in his chest against yours.

"Just a lucky guess," you said in a low voice. "Though your tail has been a pretty good indicator of what you like, too." You threw a glance at Levi's tail, which was further draped over your shoulder.

Levi let out a low laugh in response.

"Maybe I should start trying to figure out what you like, then?" He asked, carefully drawing a finger along your jaw. He bashfully pulled his finger away, seemingly embarrassed by his touch.

"That depends on if you still feel sick or not," you murmured.

His sheepish expression, colored with pink, made him look rather angelic despite the dark markings on his neck and his horns. His face flushed a shade darker as he opened his mouth to respond.

"I'm-I'm not com-completely better yet," he stammered, looking away. "I think...I think that you still need to take care of me," he finished, shyly looking back at you.

You smiled and laughed quietly.

"Well, then...where should I start?" You asked mischievously. You brought your hand up to his tail and slowly stroked it, eliciting a surprised moan from Levi, who looked at you with excited shock after his moment of pleasure ended. His tail quivered along your shoulder, echoing the look on his face.

You slowly brought your lips to his tail and kissed, taking in the smooth feeling of his scales.

Levi tried stifling an excited moan, but his face was lit like a neon sign as a whine escaped through his pursed lips.

"Oh...this should be some good news for you," you giggled as Levi struggled to keep his composure. Your smile widened as you took in Levi's blushing face. "You wanted to figure out what I liked?"

Levi nodded, his eyes curious.

"I like seeing you this way," you murmured, gently brushing his shaggy purple hair out of his eyes. Seeing him soft, no prickly or cold barriers up to protect himself. You liked seeing the expressive demon who didn't feel like he needed to hide.

He nodded slowly, seeming to understand what you meant.

"I think I like being this way, too… With you, anyway," Levi said quietly. "So...let's keep this up." He slid his hand onto your cheek, his fingertips gently grazing your neck.

You smiled and nodded, leaning in for another kiss.

[lillotte17]

Words to Fill Space

Whelp, I’m not going to finish this since the literal creator of the show sort of pulled the rug out from under me. (bless) But I liked what I got down, so I figured I might as well toss it out into the void. 

~

Catra knew who was on the other side of the door before it even finished opening. After all, she had hardly given her a moment to herself since rescuing her. Not that Catra minded the abundance of attention, exactly.

She didn't know how she felt about it, if she was being honest.

Any of it.

When she had been trapped on Prime's ship, some tiny quaking voice inside her had hoped against hope that Adora would come for her. That her inherent need to play the hero would override all the anger and resentment she must hold for her now. That a single shining thread of the promise they had made to take care of each other was still binding them to one another across the vast reaches of space and time, bitter words and bloodied hands.

Catra had hoped, but she hadn't really thought it would happen.

And yet, Adora was here, standing her the doorway with what seemed to be an armful of blankets and pillows, grinning from ear to ear like an idiot. 

She wasn't sure what feeling the image instilled in her, but it was more than a little overwhelming. Everything that involved Adora seemed to be like that. Too big. Too bright. Heart hammering behind her ribs.

"What do you want this time?" Catra grumbled, curling into herself on the thin mattress at the center of the room, hiding her face in the crook of her arm, "I apologized to Entrapta, and I played nice with your friends at dinner, what else do I have to do before you let me get some sleep?"

"I remembered that you get cold easily," Adora explained, not at all put off by the less than cordial greeting, "The ship only has a few bedrooms, but we found a bunch of extra blankets and things in storage, and I figured you might want some of it."

So saying, she tossed a blanket at Catra's head, burying her face in soft stifling fabric. Catra hissed, flailing at the unexpected darkness for a moment before managing to tug herself free. Adora snorted.

"Gee thanks," Catra snarled, "Now can I go to sleep?"

"Well, sure, but…um," Adora began, suddenly looking a bit sheepish.

"Yes, what else do you want?" Catra heaved a sigh, rolling onto her back and flinging an arm over her face.

"There aren't enough bedrooms to go around," Adora admitted, "The rest of us all agreed to double up, but we knew that you were still having a hard time adjusting to being around everyone so… It seemed like I was probably the best choice to send in here with you? After all, it's not like we've never shared a room before…"

Catra moved her arm just enough to take a long look at Adora's face. There was something unbearably soft about it. Uncertainty dancing along the fringes of hope. The dim lighting painting her pale blue eyes the color of storm clouds. Her mouth teetering on the edge of a smile.

"That was a long time ago," Catra reminded her, shifting her gaze away.

"It wasn't that long ago…" Adora insisted quietly, "We don't… You don't have to talk to me or anything. I'm just going to bed down on the floor."

"Do whatever you want," Catra replied with a huff, "It's your ship anyway. It's not like I could kick you out even if I wanted to."

"…do you want to?" Adora wondered.

"…no."

The mumbled admission was apparently enough consent for Adora to move fully into the room and start arranging her makeshift bedding in one corner, tucked up against the wall.

After a minute or two of shuffling around, Adora seemed to settle. The only sound in the room afterwards was the faint sound of even breaths. She smelled a little different than Catra remembered -probably some kind of fancy princess soap as opposed to the regulation bars the Horde passed out- but beneath all that, she was the same. A light honest scent, with the faintest tang of sweat. The smell of safety and trust, and home.

For the first time in ages, Catra felt something inside her unclench, just slightly.

"Do you ever wonder what would have happened…if you had let me come with you when you went back for the sword?" Carta asked, her voice low, and her eyes fix firmly on the ceiling.

The was a long stretch of silence, and for a moment she thought Adora might have already fallen asleep.

"Not anymore," Adora replied, soft and remorseful, "I used to, back at the beginning of all this. I drove myself crazy trying to think of what I could have done differently that would have made you change your mind and leave with me. How I could fix things between us so we could be friends again. But then…"

"Then I opened the portal," Catra guessed, sounding bitter, although mostly at herself, "And you gave up on me."

"I never gave up on you!" Adora insisted, sitting up from her pile of blankets to fix her with an intense look, "You just… You wouldn't let me help you! You wouldn't listen to anything I had to say! You kept hurting me, and my friends, and everyone around you, and then trying to push the blame somewhere else when things went wrong. We grew up together, I know you better than anyone else in the whole world. I always knew you could be better than that. I've seen you be better than that! But it's not like I could just punch you into being a good person, you know? I tried! A lot! You had to want it for yourself first. What else was I supposed to do for you, Catra?"

"I…I don't know," Catra whispered the admission into the dark. She felt her heart sinking in her chest. The same bleak helplessness that had been dogging her for months stealing back into her thoughts. Despair and shame and regret. Knowing that, once again, no matter how hard she worked for it, no matter how far she stretched out her hand, the things she wanted were still beyond her grasp.

"It…It's never going to be the same, is it?" she asked thickly, choking down all the other things she wanted to say. Not even having the words for half of them. "Between you and me?"

"…Probably not," Adora sighed.

Catra made a quiet strangled sound, biting back tears. She was so sick of crying. Sick of losing and being lost. Being left. But she didn't have it in her to lash out anymore.    

Her ears twitched at the sound of shifting blankets and bare feet padding across the room.

Adora sat at the foot of her bed, her expression uncharacteristically hard to make out. Catra sat up and stared back at her, trying to mask her own upset. After a few moments of contemplation, Adora finally reached out and touched her hand. Brief and gentle. Comforting.

"We can't go back to the way things were before," she said, "But maybe that's for the best. I don't think either of us were as good at being friends as we thought we were. The Horde wasn't really a great place to learn anything that didn't involve hitting things and yelling. We both made mistakes. We both hurt each other. Unintentionally, and…less than unintentionally, too. I don't want us to be like that again."

"I…understand," Carta replied. Her shoulders were shaking. Adora covered them with her hands, warm and steadying.

"But maybe, we can make something better?" Adora suggested, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.  

"Better?" Catra repeated dumbly, momentarily at a loss.

"Yeah. Better." Adora confirmed, a full-blown smile blooming across her face this time, crinkling the corners of her eyes. The low-lit crystals in the room seemed to all agree to pool their light withing her gaze at once, making her eyes shine like starlight.

Catra almost wanted to cover them with her hands. She felt like Adora could melt her from the inside out with those eyes. Even without She-Ra's powers.

"I'm…not sure I know how to do that," she admitted instead, trying not to let out a very telling sniffle.

"Me neither," Adora huffed in wry amusement, "But I'm willing to try if you are."

"And you really think all your princess friends in the Rebellion are just going to accept that?" Catra wondered, disbelieving, "Accept me? Like nothing happened?"  

"Well…probably not at first," Adora conceded, "You did send an awful lot of bots and soldiers to shoot us. But they accepted Scorpia, and they forgave Entrapta, why should you be any different?"

"I've done a lot worse things than either of them," Catra pointed out.

"Alright, that's fair," Adora sighed, "But there's no way you've done worse things than Shadow Weaver, and she's part of the Rebellion now. I mean, nobody likes her or trusts her at all, but she's still there. Nobody tortured her, or suggested sending her off to Beast Island or something. The Rebellion isn't like the Horde; people who make mistakes can have a chance to fix them. It'll be hard, and I can't promise that all of them will like you, or decide to forgive you for what you did, but I know they'll at least give you a chance to try and make things right."

"Shadow Weaver never flipped a switch that nearly ripped the entire planet apart," Catra scoffed.

"No, you're right," Adora agreed, rolling her eyes, "She just spent twenty years or so helping Hordak manipulate orphans into destroying their own planet just to get back at the Sorcerer's Guild for throwing her out. She also poisoned Plumeria, tortured Glimmer, tried to wipe my mind, and almost destroyed Mystacor. And I mean…that's not even getting into everything she did to both of us while we were growing up."

"You don't have to try and make excuses," Catra said, looking away, "Shadow Weaver wasn't half as good at running the Horde as I was. I'm not sure if that says something impressive about me, or pathetic about her, but I don't think any kind of comparison between us is flattering. I'm not exactly proud that I was better at being awful than she was."

"You aren't?" Adora blinked.

"I know, right?" Catra chuckled dryly, "It surprised me, too."

Adora snorted. She caught her gaze again, and the air settled in silence between them for a few heartbeats. Not in anger or frustration or resentment, but something almost comfortable. Almost like friends.

Almost.

Adora smiled at her again, soft this time.

"You know, there is one huge thing you did that Shadow Weaver didn't," she said.

"Oh yeah?" Catra drawled, trying to act nonchalant, but feeling a touch apprehensive despite herself.

"Yeah," Adora continued, her smile curling up into more of a grin, "You said you were sorry."

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 25

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 5,952

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

Feet? Pacing a hole in the floor.

Teeth? Chewing my thumbnail to the bloody nub.

Hair? Down and in open rebellion, unwilling to be braided even if its very life depended on it.

Door? Rapping with a soft knock from the other side.

Probably should go answer it.

Crossing my bedroom, I threw it open to find Lea standing there. I frowned up at him and said in complete and totally one hundred percent seriousness, "Let's run away together, right here, right now."

"Guh…" he blinked down at me, eyes wide, face seemingly still a bit red from all that sun he'd gotten out on the yacht earlier today. "...uh-huh, yeah, okay."

"Good!" I spun around and walked away, leaving the door open behind me for him to come in. Wringing my hands together and eyes darting about wildly, I went on, "We're going to need snickerdoodles. Lots of them."

"Snickerdoodles. Sure," he said slowly as I heard the door click shut. "Quick question: Why?"

My dress swished about my knees as my pacing resumed and my trembling fingers went back to my hair, once more trying to braid it. "They're Kai's favorite. Obviously."

"Oh obviously," he nodded, standing off to one side, hands on his hips as his eyes followed me, back and forth, back and forth. "Remind me again, Kai is…?"

"The butler. Keep up." My braid snagged. It was all wrong. I furiously tugged my hair free and started over again. "He'll be the first to come looking for us, so we need to take him out."

Lea pursed his lips to one side, eyes squinting. "...with snickerdoodles. A butler's one weakness. Like a moth to the flame, powerless to resist."

I stopped in my tracks, narrowing my eyes up at him. "...are you making fun of me?"

"Who, me? No, I would never!"

Holding him with my scowl for a second more, I at last relented with a nod and a huff before going back to patrolling the length of the rug. "Good. This is very, very serious business and is not to be taken lightly."

"Absolutely, the most serious," he agreed in earnest. "So the snickerdoodles…?"

"Will be used to leave a trail like breadcrumbs to lure Kai into my wardrobe where we'll then knock him unconscious, tie him up and lock him inside, giving us a good head start before anyone else realizes we're gone."

He was rubbing a curled finger over his lips, doing his damnedest to keep a straight face. "Right, sure, sure. It's so clear now, I dunno why I didn't think of it myself. I mean, c'mon, it's the only sane thing to do."

"Exactly!" No, no, that braid wouldn't do at all, it was a crooked mess! Growling, I yanked it out and started over yet again. "Then we can escape out my window. There's no trellis or anything to climb, but the drop's not far. Only thirty, maybe forty feet."

"Psh," his hand batted the air, "that all? No sweat."

"Then we can just hop in your car and- gah!" Seriously, what was wrong with my hair?! Why wouldn't it braid?! Was it broken?! I snarled, raking my clawed fingers through it over and over again, threatening to rip every last damn strand from the very roots and-

"Woah there, easy now," Lea said calmly, catching my hands in his and forcing them to be still. His firm grip was warm and soothing. "Why don't we just take a breather for a sec, huh?"

Glaring down at my feet, I just answered with a noncommittal shrug. Good enough for him, it seemed, for he was now guiding me over to my bed where he took a seat on the edge, drawing me down to sit beside him. Still holding my hands and tracing light circles along their backs with his thumbs, he tucked one leg up beneath him so he could turn to better face me.

"Now before ya rip yourself bald, why don'tcha just leave your hair to me while you tell me all about whatever it is that has you ready to book it for the hills?" Setting my hands down in my lap, he started to bring his up but they faltered midway towards my face, fingers curling slightly. "...may I?" he asked quietly.

I hesitated for a heartbeat before giving a single nod and turning away from him, sweeping my pale platinum locks back over my shoulder. There was a brief pause before I felt it. His long fingers stroking my hair, slow and gentle as they combed through it, carefully smoothing out whatever tangles I'd worked it into in my anxiety and frustration. It made my scalp tingle pleasantly and my eyes fluttered half closed.

"So talk to me. What's up?" I heard him ask.

His breathing, low and soft behind me, had a comforting rhythm to it and I swear I could feel a faint warmth radiating from his nearness. It settled my nerves somewhat as the nice little tugs and shifts to my hair continued. Tucking in my lower lip, I muttered, "I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Do what?" he pressed gently.

"Any of it!" I blurted out with a grimace. "My parents. The talk with them. This… this unbearable wait for the talk with them. My grandfather. The silent, angry death rays he keeps shooting out his eyes at me." The words were tumbling out of me faster and faster. "Anna. The way she won't talk to me. Why won't she talk to me?! What could possibly be wrong? What could I have possibly done? And then- and then there's the party! It's going to be a nightmare! A disaster, a-"

"Shh, it'll be okay." His voice was tender. Just hearing it loosened the knots in my stomach somewhat and eased my shallow breathing. His hands continued to thread my hair and I felt the bend of his finger brush against the base of my neck, causing a weird feeling to creep up my spine and making me shiver. His hands stilled momentarily, but then they set about their task once more, his tone even softer now, "Just… one lil party. Nothing to worry about. No big deal."

I puffed out a shaky breath, "But it is a big deal! Because it'll be a big party! Huge! Ginormous! So many people are going to be there, and I don't do people. I don't, I just… I can't! And these aren't just any people. Oh no, these are my relatives. Relatives who were at my wedding. You know, the one that didn't happen because I snuck out a window? They're all going to be staring at me and… and talking- no, whispering about me and treating me like some sort of, I don't know… freakshow. And just… what does one even wear when they're the friggin' social pariah of the soirée? What do they do with their hair? Their stupid, stupid hair that won't even-"

"Breathe," Lea told me.

A command, but a gentle one at that.

I scrunched up my face, but inhaled deeply and held it for a few seconds, closing my eyes and instead focusing on the sensation of his hands in my hair. Why was I even letting him do this? I hadn't even questioned it. But... it really was quite… pleasing, I'll give it that. I couldn't remember the last time I'd let someone touch it like this. Surely, not since I was a child. Surely, it'd been nice then too, but not quite like this. Not in the same way. This… I couldn't quite put a name to this… to the small tickle of a feeling blossoming inside my chest…

Sensing I had relaxed somewhat, he spoke again, "First of all, your hair's not stupid. In fact, pretty sure it has a PHD and graduated valedictorian. And I already told ya I got you covered in the hair department, so just put that outta your head, 'kay? Don't even think about it. Second of all, you'll wear whatever the hell you want to this dumb party and look like the goddamn belle of the ball and if anyone tries to talk shit, I'll knock their teeth out, got it?"

That earned him a tiny snerk from me.

"We don't even have to stay long," he said as his delightful ministrations to my hair continued. "We'll drop in, make an appearance, give gramps his birthday spankings or whatever, then ditch the place. Third of all, your sister will talk to you when she's ready. All you can do is let her know you're there for her. Fourth of all, your gramps and those lil death glares of his? Can go fuck themselves. Fifth of all-"

"How many more of these 'of alls' do you have?" I felt one corner of my mouth quirk.

"Shush, I'm on a roll here. Now where was I...? Ah! Fifth of all, this talk with your folks? That's all it is: a talk. Just words. They have no power over you, not anymore. And I'll be there to back you up the whole time. Anna too, I'm sure. No matter what's going on with her, she knows you need her. And if you don't like what your folks have to say and if they won't listen to you, then that's it. We can just leave. End of story."

I rolled my eyes with a flat, "Simple as that, huh?"

"Simple as that," he murmured, sounding a little distracted by his task. "Sixth of all… hm… never mind, there is no sixth of all. Covered everything with the first five. Any questions?"

My nose crinkled as I bit back a grin. "...would you really knock one of my relative's teeth out?"

"In a heartbeat. Send those pearly whites flying so high n' fast, they'd be like shooting stars across a night sky."

I pressed my folded fingers to my lips, muffling a little laugh. "Well, I suppose brutally assaulting other guests is certainly one excuse for ducking out of the party early."

"Good point," I could hear the smirk in his voice. "I'll keep that in my back pocket in case of emergency."

Just then, another knock came at my door. Gosh, I certainly was popular lately. I don't think I'd ever had so many visitors to my bedroom as I'd had over the past two days. I stood up to go answer it, hearing what suspiciously sounded like a small, almost inaudible sigh from Lea as my hair slipped free of his grasp.

Pulling the door open, I smiled when I saw who it was. "Mattias. It's been too long."

The man was tall and had friendly brown eyes lined with faint crows feet. His hair was short, frizzy and black that was just starting to show the first signs of greying, with a matching goatee to frame his grin. Bending at the waist into a tiny half bow, he greeted, "Little Miss Elsa. My, how you've grown."

Smile widening, I turned to find Lea had joined me at my side. "Lea, this is Mattias. He works for my grandfather." I actually had no idea what Mattias's exact job title was. Was he Grandfather's personal assistant? His bodyguard? His driver? His privately owned assassin? Okay, I was just joking about the last one… I think. Maybe he was all of the above. Or maybe none and he was actually something even more secretive and mysterious. All I knew was that Mattias had been under Grandfather's employ since I was very little and whatever it was he did or didn't do, he'd always treated me with nothing but kindness.

"Ah," Mattias breathed as his gaze shifted to Lea, eyes crinkling as he offered his hand, "and you must be the new paramour I've been hearing so much about."

Lea shook it, one side of his mouth twitching up. "All good things, I'm sure."

"All… verbose and fervent things said with great gusto," he tactfully replied.

"They usually are when it's me those things are about," Lea snorted.

Tipping my head to one side as I regarded Mattias, I asked, "Was there something you needed of me?"

His hands clasped behind his back. "I was actually looking to borrow your young gentleman here with regards to tonight's festivities."

"Oof, sorry man, I'm flattered, but already got a date for the evening," Lea said as he slid an arm around my shoulders.

"He's funny," Mattias declared brightly. "No wonder your grandfather is so… opinionated about him. But no, I meant I'm here to take you out in preparation for the ball."

Lea cocked an eyebrow. "...oh! You mean 'take out' as in get me snazzy new duds so I can get all dolled up for this lil shindig?"

Mattias's face fell suddenly stoic as an eerie calm came over him, "Or 'take out' as in make you disappear, never to be seen or heard from again." His hushed words were punctuated with a long, uncomfortable stretch of silence where I began to wonder if I actually hadn't been too far off with my assassin guess. But then he abruptly burst out into booming laughter, making both Lea and me jump. "I'm just kidding! My wife Halima says I need to lighten up and joke around more." Now he seemed to become a bit bashful as he asked hopefully, "How am I doing?"

I exchanged a brief glance with Lea, who then gave a weak chuckle. "Great! You'll have 'em all rolling on the floor during amateur hour at the comedy club." Reaching for the doorknob, he slowly started pushing it shut between Mattias and us as he called out a chipper, "Now, I'm just gonna close this for a real quick sec here, be right back!" As soon as it clicked shut, Lea gripped my arm as he hissed, "Do not under any circumstance leave me alone with that guy!"

Scoffing, I crossed my arms, "You're being silly, he's a very sweet man."

"Oh yeah, seems real nice for a psychopathic killer who could probably murder me seven different ways with a Tootsie Roll."

"He said he was kidding."

"Precisely what someone trynta off me would say," he muttered, glowering at my door.

My eyelids drooped, "Also precisely what someone who wasn't trying to off you would say. Besides, it's a good thing Grandfather sent him to assist you with this. I was so busy stressing out about myself, I completely forgot you probably had nothing to wear for tonight. What would you have even done, just shown up in jeans and a t-shirt?" I shook my head in amusement.

To that he just looked down, scratching a spot behind his ear with a soft, "Heh."

I stared blankly at him. "Oh my god, that's exactly what you were going to do."

"In my defense, it was gonna be one classy t-shirt."

"...the kind with a cartoon tux printed on the front?"

He grinned big, "Yeah! How'd you know?"

My finger pinched the bridge of my nose as I released a grumbling sigh. "Just go with Mattias so you can get fitted for a nice suit. Please."

"What about you?" he reached over, lightly rubbing my arm. "You all good now?"

"I'm… better now," I hugged myself with a small nod. "...you always seem to know just what to say to help calm me down. Thank you." I turned away, heading towards my vanity, "And thanks for-" I stopped as I looked in the mirror, my hand going to my blonde strands. My reflection frowned back at me. "Wait… you didn't even do anything with my hair." I narrowed my eyes on him, "Were you just playing with it this whole time?"

"Er…" he grinned innocently, rubbing at the nape of his neck and averting his gaze. "...no?" I fixed him with a dull look. "Seriously! I braided it!" One of my eyebrows arched. "Then I… unbraided it. But only to try a few other things with it, honest! Purely for research purposes! And it all led me to one conclusion. The results are in and it's unanimous: you should wear your hair," he rapped his fingers along the edge of my vanity in a drumroll, "down!"

I tilted my head slightly to the left. "...down?"

"Mm-hm! It's simple! It's bold! It's-"

Once again, a knock sounded at my door. "You two do remember I'm still waiting out here... right?" came Mattias's muffled voice from the other side.

With a tiny huff in my throat, I started pushing Lea back towards the door. "Will you just go with him already? He won't kill you, I promise."

"Fine, but if ya haven't heard from me in an hour, you come and rescue my sorry ass, got it? Oh, and El?" he dug in his heels, stopping us both as he brought his hands up to squeeze my shoulders with a smile. "About tonight, just… you do you. Whatever makes ya comfortable. Forget about what anyone else might say or think, 'kay?"

I stared back at him, searching his eyes for a second before looking away as I bit down into my bottom lip. "...I'll try."

Seemingly satisfied with that, Lea reached out to twist the doorknob and pull, greeting Mattias with, "Alright, cowboy, let's get this over with." Trailing his fingers down my arms to my hands, he took them both in his and raised them to press a kiss to each one, murmuring, "Until this evening, min kjæreste."

...I really shouldn't be surprised at this point that he had yet to run out of pet names.

I'd have to ask him what that one meant later.

Which, you know, was a totally crucial and vital piece of info to have before adding it to the ever growing mountainous stack of vetoes.

With that, he stepped out into the hallway where Mattias grinned and gave him a hearty slap on the back, forcing a grunt out of Lea as he closed the door behind him. I snorted quietly before moving back over to my vanity mirror, absently running my fingers through my hair as I stared at my reflection once more.

...down, huh?

...I think I could make that work.

"Well, well… don't you look a vision?"

"Thank you, Mattias," I smiled softly, resisting the urge to self-consciously hide behind my bedroom door. "You're looking rather dashing yourself."

He stood a little straighter, his hand smoothing the crisp lapel of his suit. "I do what I can. And I got your young man looking quite dapper as well, if I do say so myself."

"Speaking of, where is Lea?" I looked about the corridor, but it only further confirmed that Mattias had come to greet me at my door alone.

"I left him to await you in the foyer." He offered me his arm, "Shall I escort you, my dear?"

Taking a quick glance back into my room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, I then nodded and closed the door behind me as I stepped out into the hallway, tucking my hand into his elbow. "Please. Lead the way." As we began to walk, I told him, "Thank you, by the way. For getting Lea ready and presentable for the evening."

"Was only doing as your grandfather asked of me," he brushed off. "I suspect he doesn't want him drawing anymore undue attention to himself than absolutely necessary."

I hummed a small laugh at that, "I think that may be a lost cause there."

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, grin widening. "...that boy of yours really won't stand a chance, you know. He'll be a goner the second he lays eyes on you."

"Stop, you're embarrassing me," I ducked my head to hide the faint blush creeping into my face as my fingers idly twisted at my diamond fringe earrings. Wearing them may have been a bad idea in retrospect as they were too tempting to fidget with in moments of anxiety. They dangled all the way down to my shoulders, which were bare in my floor length, high neck halter dress that was backless and a shade of midnight blue with subtle shimmers in the bodice - another garment that, like my beachwear, had just been left behind to gather dust in my wardrobe here long ago. My hair was sideswept, cascading down in loose curls in front of my right shoulder.

"If memory serves," Mattias was saying conversationally, "I don't believe you ever went to such lengths to look even half so stunning for your last suitor."

My face grew hotter as I muttered, "You must be mistaken."

Why would I put any more effort into my appearance for tonight than I had any other previous outings that had been with my ex? I had no reason to. Not for Lea. Not for the guy who was only a friend and merely just pretend dating me as a favor to help me out of a tight spot. Of course, Mattias wasn't privy to that last bit.

"Perhaps," he said lightly, falling silent for a few steps. Then, "Or perhaps it is just another small piece to the big mystery surrounding why he is your suitor no more."

The corners of my lips turned down. "...he and I weren't right, Mattias. This life, this world," I gestured to the expensive dress I was wearing, to the mansion walls around us, "...none of it was right. Not for me, anyway. I tried to pretend it was, tried to play the part for years. But I couldn't, not anymore. That's why I had to leave." I hesitated, eyes downcast. "I… don't really know what is right for me. I'm still trying to work that part out… but I feel like I'm much closer to figuring it out now than I ever was before when I was only living to please my parents."

He didn't respond right away, seeming to ponder my words for a moment. At last, he glanced over at me with a warm smile. "My father used to have a saying: Just when you think you found your way, life will throw you on a new path. Don't give up, take it one step at a time and just do the next right thing." Mattias pat my fingers curled around his arm, "It may take a while, but I know you'll sort it all out. You're now on the path you were meant to be on. In time, I'm sure your family will understand that as well."

I returned his smile with a tiny one of my own. "I hope so… thank you, Mattias."

"Of course, my dear." We at last came to a halt at the top of the stairs. "Now I leave you in the care of your gentleman caller who should be just at the foot of the-" he faltered mid-sentence as he looked down into the foyer, eyes growing round. Then he heaved a sigh, dragging a hand down his face as he grumbled, "...I swear he wasn't like this when I left a moment ago."

I followed his gaze to spot Lea on the bottom step. He was leaning with one elbow propped against the banister, eyes lowered as he inspected his (still pristine) black nail polish, so he hadn't noticed us yet. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail and he was wearing what looked to be a very nice black tux, so he should have made quite the debonair picture. Key word: should. However, his tie was undone and draped loose around his neck, his suit jacket was off and slung over his shoulder by his free hand, and the sleeves of his white button-up were rolled up to his elbows.

The cherry on top? Brace yourself, because there were actually two. The first was there was a small white stick poking out of the corner of his mouth as he sucked on something. Was that a lollipop? Pretty sure it was a lollipop. A friggin' lollipop. Why? Just… why? As for the second, I'll give you a few hints: they were pink, made of cheap plastic, perched on the bridge of one's nose, and utterly ridiculous. That's right: the heart sunglasses were back, making their encore performance on Lea's face.

Somehow, I got the feeling Grandfather would not be amused.

Just a hunch.

"Good luck with that," Mattias told me under his breath with a low snort as he walked off, presumably to go on ahead to the party.

My eyes fell on Lea once more, my fingers coming up to brush along my grin before I started to descend the stairs. "No," was all I said, though a laugh bubbled out of me before I could stop it.

He glanced up at the sound of my voice, eyebrows bouncing as he smirked around the lollipop, surely with some cocky wisecrack just at the tip of his tongue. Instead however his gaze met mine and he froze, his eyes widening as all that came out was a, "Nnn…?"

I think he might have been trying to echo my 'no' there. But apparently a two-letter word was one more letter than he could currently handle.

I reached him, stopping on the step just above the one on which he stood. Fighting my grin now, I lifted my hands to remove the heart-shades and folded them shut. Then I held them up before his nose as I reiterated a firm but gentle, "No."

Lea just continued to stare at me, lollipop dangling from his slack-jawed gape and this close to falling out. "Nnn…"

My, how articulate he was this evening.

With a small huff through my nose, I set the glasses aside on the banister. Then I reached to take hold of the ends of his tie, flipping them up in front of his face with another, "No." With that, I set to work tying it for him. To be blunt, I actually kind of hated that I knew how to do this. It was just such an archaic and outdated practice, the woman fixing the tie for the man. But someone had to do it and part of me suspected Lea wouldn't even have the first clue how.

I could sense his eyes on me as I folded and looped the strip of fabric. I did my best to ignore it along with the heat I could feel creeping up the back of my neck now. What didn't help was when his hand slowly drifted up to start toying with the curled tips of my hair. Hitching my chin and stubbornly avoiding his gaze as I put all my focus into the tie, I murmured, "You know, you can quit it with the goofy lovestruck act. Mattias is gone, there's no one here to see it."

Coiling a pale tendril around his finger, he didn't speak right away and for a second I wondered if he had even heard me. Then came a hushed, "...you're beautiful..."

My heart jolted and my grip faltered, fumbling the tie and screwing it up. My eyes darted up to meet his, which were soft but also mixed with… something that was too intense and I quickly looked away again. With a little scowl, I started over with his tie, muttering, "Fine then, keep it up. See if I care." Hastily finishing the bowtie in silence, I hazarded a second, more cautious glance back up at him, frowning now. "...wow, you really fried out there on the yacht today, didn't you? Ever hear of sunscreen?" I asked, reaching a hand up for one of his super red cheeks.

He snatched it just as my fingertips had barely brushed along his skin. Then he blinked, finally knocking it off with the dazed routine as he released my hand so he could instead rub at the nape of his neck with a small chuckle. "Nah, I… I'm fine. I think it's just something funny with the, uh… the lighting in here, making me look burned when I'm really not. Yeah, that must be it!"

I gave him a dubious squint before looking down at my palm. Odd… I looked just as pale as ever under this light. Shrugging it off, I then stretched a hand out once more, this time to pluck the lollipop from his lips, accompanying it with yet another, "No." I caught a whiff of a very familiar scent and both eyebrows shot up my forehead as I looked at the candy. Then I held it up to him, "Is this why you smell like cinnamon all the time?"

His head rocked back slightly, one corner of his lips slowly turning up. "And how, pray tell, are you so intimately aware of what I smell like?"

My shoulders stiffened as just about every last bit of blood I had in me rushed straight up to my face. "I… well, I wouldn't say I'm intimately- I mean, that is... well, you're always hugging me and just, you know… i-it's kind of hard not to- It's not like I'm trying to- Not on purpose anyway, it just sort of… I just…"

The wicked curve to his lips widened further. "Yes? Do go on."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "Nevermind. Where did this thing even come from?" I asked, scrunching my nose up at the lollipop before looking for somewhere to get rid of it. I settled on tossing it into one of the two large urns decorating either side of the base of the staircase. Shh, no one would ever have to know.

He shrugged, still not wiping that stupid grin off his face. "We stopped at a place on the way to the tux fitting."

"And Mattias let you? He should've known better," I sighed, now tugging one of his sleeves down to his wrist with a tad more force than necessary and buttoning it.

"What can I say? I can be very persuasive."

I just gave a noncommittal "hm" as I straightened and fastened the other sleeve as well. Then I snagged his folded jacket from where he held it slung over his shoulder, lifting it with one more lightly chiding, "No." I began helping him shrug back into it.

A little tsk escaped him. "You're certainly a fan of that word right now."

Concentrating on getting his left arm into the other sleeve, I deadpanned, "And you're certainly a fan of finding every way imaginable to make me say it."

He snerked at that. Then, "Huh. Guess there's a first time for everything. Usually the ladies are trynta take the clothes off me, not the other way around."

My gaze snapped up to meet his with every intention of giving him the full blast of my withering stare. Instead I froze, expression blank at the sight that greeted me.

That of a lollipop stick once more jutting out the side of his tiny smirk.

I blinked. Then looked to the urn. Then back at him. My eyelids drooped. "Just how many of those do you have?"

His smile stretched from ear to ear. "Picked me up a whole pack! Gotta feed the addiction!"

I sighed, shaking my head before eyeing him up and down with a frown. "...where are you even hiding them all?"

Lea bent forward, the tip of his nose brushing against mine as his eyes hooded and he whispered, "Care to search me and find out?"

An icy grin pulled at my lips and I told him, "No." There's that word again. Confiscating this lollipop as well, I struck it up in front of his face and continued on in a deadly sweet tone, "If I catch you with another one of these tonight, I'll make you choke on it."

"You promise?" he waggled his eyebrows at me.

I scoffed, flinging the candy into the other urn. There. Now my parents had a matching set. My attention returned to Lea as I tipped my head to one side, giving him a final glance over now that I had him all put back together. "...you actually clean up rather handsomely. You know, when you're not being a total clown."

"Hadta do it," he puffed up his chest and tweaked his bowtie. "If you had been struck by the full might of my studliness in a tux right from the get go, you would've straight up swooned and come toppling down the stairs. Hadta ease ya into it for your own safety. You're welcome."

"How thoughtful," I rolled my eyes with a soft snort. Then I retrieved the heart-glasses from the banister once more, slipping them into a pocket on the inside of his jacket. "Now I'm giving these back to you since I know they're your new favorite toy and I'm trusting you not to put them back on at the party, okay?"

"Scout's honor," he chirped, holding up three fingers pressed together.

"Good," I smiled, straightening his lapels and smoothing my hand over his button-up to clear any creases. "Your shenanigans the other night in front of my parents and grandfather were one thing, but this party is something else entirely. You can't just-"

"El," he interrupted me, bringing his hand up. I almost thought it was going for my cheek, but it seemed to hesitate and shift over at the last second, giving my shoulder a squeeze instead. "I'll be on my best behavior. Count on it."

I nodded. "...thank you." I realized my hands were still smoothing, even though any wrinkles there may have been in his shirt were long gone.

Jesus criminy, Elsa, stop pawing at the man's chest already!

Quickly retracting my hands, I cleared my throat as my smile turned a touch awkward. "Right. So then… to the party?"

"Absolutely," he grinned, taking my hand and tucking it into the crook of his arm. He then led me down the last couple of steps and over to a corridor off on the left, striding with confidence.

I followed him wordlessly for a few steps. Then, "Do you have any idea where you're going?"

"Not a damn clue!" he said brightly.

With a tiny laugh, I informed him, "It's back the other way."

"Going the other way!" he announced, flipping us into a u-turn and marching off in the opposite direction.

Once we were on the right course, it wasn't hard for Lea to figure out where the ballroom was. He just had to follow the sound of the classic string music and murmur of voices drifting from the party. It wasn't long before we were approaching a massive set of double doors beyond which all the merrymaking could be spotted in glimpses.

That's when I started to hear it. The blood rushing in my ears. Every step closer to that entrance made my insides shrivel tighter and tighter, my breathing more rapid and shallow. Just outside the threshold, my feet stopped moving altogether.

Lea halted beside me, looking over at me in concern. He brought up his other hand to cover my own that was clutching at his arm, not saying anything. I didn't need him to. I just needed a minute to steel myself. Closing my eyes, I forced air into my lungs in one long, slow inhale through my nose. Then I released it just as gradually, feeling my nerves settle somewhat.

Was I ready for this?

No. Not even close.

But this was about as ready as I was ever going to get.

I looked up at him with a small nod. With that, we made our way inside.

Author's Note: I was originally going to put this build-up to the party AND the party itself all in the same chapter, but it just got TOO long for a single chapter - and that's coming from ME of all people, so that's saying something! So hope ya'll don't mind this slightly shorter update chocked full of fluff xP Anyhoo, Mattias made his cameo this chapter, yay! He was one of my faves from F2, such a sweetheart with his own moments of awkwardness :3 Minor fun fact: I had just finished playing TWEWY for the first time before I started writing this chapter and had been introduced to Koki - a character in that game that's basically an Axel-clone, at least in the sense that he's a redheaded kinda-sorta villain that's bursting at the seams with snark… guess which TWEWY character turned out to be fave xD Anyway, Koki is never seen without a lollipop the whole time, so the stupid thing with the lollipop this chapter got its inspiration from that xP Other minor fun fact: Elsa's dress is very, VERY loosely based on her dress from the Olaf's Frozen Adventure short - just get rid of the fur, sleeves, and back and turn it into a halter top and presto! Beautiful xD Also, her hairstyle is based off of some early Elsa concept art by Brittney Lee for the first Frozen movie (I’ll reblog it here some point soon!) and I just think the art is gorgeous and I had to use the hairstyle cuz oof… Ice Queen is pretty, yo!

Next chapter, Gramps' B-day Bonanza is officially in full swing! What new lil misadventures might the night bring? Who else might make an appearance? Will everything go smoothly or will there be trouble brewing at the ball? And just where IS Lea really hiding all those damn lil lollipops? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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watch and learn: chapter 3

[ Read on AO3 too! ] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 2 ] [ You are here! ] [ Chapter 4 ]

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 Chewing on his lip, Mumbo looked down at the floor, choosing his next words carefully. Grian was right- he couldn't waste time thinking up the questions themselves, but what else could he do?

This suspicious figure he'd unintentionally spotted had seemingly been following him, watching him...

 Of course it would be a bit hard to pick his words.

Grian's icy gaze seemed to watch his every precise movement, narrowed dangerously.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Mumbo sighed, grasping his hands together to keep them warm, and raised his head, locking eyes with the winged being.

  "What... are you?" He muttered cautiously. "Humans don't have wings."

  "Straight to the point, are we?" Grian tsked, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "I'm simply an observer; a spectator... A Watcher." He hummed in amusement, a polite smile growing on his face once more.

  "That doesn't exactly answer my question," Mumbo huffed in frustration. "Are you some new- new mob or something?" He guessed.

  Grian laughed loudly, covering his smile with his hand.

His laugh sounded hyper and mischievous- sounded as if it belonged to someone who was watching the world explode.

 That laugh sent shivers down Mumbo's spine.

  "Oh- no, no! I'm not a mob, do you take me for some mindless monster? That's so silly. I answered your question- I am a Watcher." He chuckled, his laugh quieting down. "Though... I used to be human, you know. I was the owner of a server, too." He mused, a strange softness in his eyes.

  "You were human?" Mumbo questioned, the tension from his shoulders slowly fading. "How can you suddenly not be a human anymore? What happened?"

  Grian's smile fell from his face, an icy cold returning to the room once more. He did not look mad, per se, but rather, he looked melancholic, and bothered.

  "Don't you think there are more important questions you could be asking?" He replied flatly, before an amused smile was plastered on his face. "You can't unlock my secret backstory until my 7th side-quest!" He joked, snorting to himself.

  Despite the unexpected answer, Mumbo snapped his mouth shut, unease settling in his gut.

Though, if there was some way to turn a human into... whatever it is that Grian was, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

  "Well- alright, then..." Mumbo stuttered, rubbing his arms as the room grew colder still. "How... How did you come here? Did Xisuma whitelist you? He never said anything about a new hermit coming."

  "...Ah." Grian hummed, pulling a face. "I'm actually not so sure myself. I think we just... Can. Not so sure why- though, we Watchers are some sort of otherworldly entity and such."

  "You don't know how you were able to enter the server?" Mumbo asked, dumbfounded. "-Wait, 'otherworldly entity'?"

  "Yes, yes, I just said that," Grian sighed, rolling his purple-hued eyes. "And yeah, Watchers live beyond the Void, which technically makes them 'otherworldly'. Maybe that's why, actually- the Void connects to all worlds, after all..." He mumbled, furrowing his eyebrows.

  "That's... O-okay, then..." Mumbo muttered, pulling on the collar of his dress shirt- he was talking to some sort of alien, then? "Why... Why are you here? You said you had a 'task' to do. What is it?"

  The corner of Grian's mouth twitched, and he glanced to the side for a quick second- usual signs that belonged to a liar.

  "Well, if you must know..." He sighed, quickly plastering a smile on his face. "It's a Watcher's duty to keep an eye on worlds. Make sure it's not falling apart, or that nothing gets corrupted... Oh, and we help with updates, too." He explained, tapping the table with his finger mindlessly.

  Mumbo's eyes narrowed in confusion and hesitance.

 He remembered Grian's earlier statement, if it was that hard to believe he wasn't here to hurt him... And while it was not even ten minutes ago, suddenly it felt as though, just maybe, Grian didn't seem so bad.

 (Though, of course, something about him still left him with a sense of unease and uncertainty.)

  "So..." Mumbo began, his lips pulling into a thin line. "You're like... A guardian of the world? Then... Why are you so against me telling anyone you're here?"

  Grian frowned, the tapping on the table growing faster and painfully louder as the seconds quickly slipped by.

He was silent, eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared daggers in Mumbo's direction, the room suddenly feeling like a freezer. The ice patterns on the walls ever so slightly grew out towards the ceiling and floor, the air chilled and foggy...

  "Didn't I mention it before?" Grian muttered, annoyed. "Watchers are not supposed to be-"

  Suddenly, his eyes widened, and the familiar warping effect of an enderman flashed around him- within a second, he was gone.

 Mumbo's eyes were wide, and he stood up abruptly, shivering still and tightly hugging onto himself. Nearly instantly, a firework was heard, and after that, several more. Before long, a figure flew in through the window, nearly tumbling into him.

  "MUMBO!" Stress yelled, stumbling onto the ground and taking ahold of his shoulders. "How could you be four hours late to a meeting?! It's nearly-"

  Mumbo couldn't hear the rest of what she was saying- his eyes had drifted to the side. On the table where Grian had sat, there were faint carvings on the tabletop, of which appeared to be strange symbols and markings: Galactic writing.

Before long, Stress had noticed he wasn't listening, halting her speech and following his gaze.

  "Oh, hey," Stress hummed, hands slipping off of Mumbo's stiff shoulders, her fingers tracing over the symbols. "Isn't this Galactic? Have you been practicin' writing it or somefing?" She wondered, turning to look at Mumbo with wide, innocent eyes.

  "I-" Mumbo began, blinking rapidly. He felt a slow pit of guilt return to his gut as he carefully planned his next words. "...Yes, I- I have been. It's a... nice pastime. Rather than redstone, I mean." He stuttered, wringing his fingers together almost in shame- he hoped he was better at lying than he thought.

  "Well," Stress huffed, eyes narrowing playfully. "Next time don't carve it on our table! Now I've got'a go replace the damn block... What's it say, anyway?"

  "Oh-! Um, it-it, says..." Mumbo stammered, face flushing red in embarrassment. Why'd he have to go and make up an excuse that he himself couldn't go with?

 (Though, more adamantly on his mind, why was he making an excuse for Grian, anyways?)

 "Wait, wait, don't tell me! I've been learning a bit myself too, you know! Helpful when you're enchantin' stuff, 'n all that." Stress grinned, eyebrows furrowing as she looked down at the carvings once more. "Ot... No, that's an A... At the... 'At the dragon'? What is that s'pposed t' mean?"

  Slowly, the dread Mumbo had been setting aside came back to him full-force, his face paling and his eyes widening ever-so-slightly.

"At the dragon". Grian had carved that out, hadn't he?

  "Um..." Mumbo began, swallowing as his throat suddenly felt dry. "Don't... Worry about it. I was just... writing down random stuff." He rasped, looking off to the side and forcing a grin onto his face. "Sorry for, erm, missing the meeting, too. Didn't sleep too well, I guess."

  Stress' eyes softened, and she offered Mumbo a comforting smile- one that seemed much more genuine than the polite, porcelain smiles Grian had on his face constantly.

  "Oh, forget about all that, luv. Why don't you go get some more rest, then? You look a little pale," She hummed, placing a hand on Mumbo's shoulder gently. "It's awfully cold in here, too. I'll bring by some hot cocoa later, how's that sound?"

  Mumbo smiled exhaustedly and gratefully, shoulders drooping.

  "That... sounds lovely. Thank you, Stress," Mumbo mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. "I think I will go and do that- rest, I mean. I'll see you later, Stress..." He hummed, grabbing his set of rockets and waving a quick farewell before leaping out of the window, and stumbling into the air towards his base.

  He tried not to think too much about the cryptic message Grian had most definitely carved onto the table- with his finger, too.

 Though, of course, curiosity did kill the cat.

 "At the dragon"... What exactly did that mean? The first thing that came to mind was Stress' faux ice-dragon that curled around her winter-themed castle in Hermitville.

Other than that, there were Tango's dragon towers (which weren't even complete yet), but that seemed like the less likely option. Though, was there something inside the dragon? Did Grian want to meet up with him there?

 ...Should he risk meeting up with him?

 Grian still wasn't exactly a friendly entity, even if he claimed that he was watching the server as it's- what, protector?

But still, Mumbo couldn't risk leaving Grian alone and letting him do whatever he pleased- he still had questions that needed answering, too.

 As Mumbo landed on the roof of his spherical base, he looked down at the familiar scenery of the ocean.

The ocean was big, nearly endless, filled with life and wonders- Mumbo loved the ocean more than anything; save for redstone, of course. The salty smell of the ocean was comforting in a way, a reminder of what was around him.

 Mumbo stayed on the roof of his base for hours- snacking on golden carrots, messing with redstone parts, and enjoying the smell and scenery of the ocean and the gentle wind that blew past him.

The sun soon began to set, and by then Mumbo had made up his mind.

Dusting off the redstone on his hands, Mumbo fired a rocket and flew down, down to the bottom of his base and through his nether portal.

 Distantly, on a sculpted ice dragon, someone lay within the opened jaw of the non-organic creature, waiting...

  Watching.

 ---

 Stress drifted slowly to the floor of Mumbo's base, making a u-turn for his room, two mugs held in her hands and a bright smile on her face.

She couldn't help but feel giddy- it had been a while since she had hung out with Mumbo, after all! And what better way to spend time with a friend than to enjoy a tasty mug of hot cocoa?

Pushing the door open with her elbow, Stress glanced down at the chocolate and buckets of milk in her inventory, whispering into the room as to not cause a startle.

  "Hey Mumbs, I brought the-" She began, stepping into the room completely.

  She faltered, the smile on her lips slowly falling.

The room was empty and dark- it didn't look like anyone had been inside for hours.

  "...Mumbo?"

 ---

[halfbloodglader]

A Heavy Burden - Gally

Gally x reader - 2,708 words

Request; hey! can u write a gally fic where he likes the reader but is too shy to tell her...some of the other gladers find out and in order to stop them from saying anything gally makes a deal of some sort where he gets beat up every night? It goes on a while but the reader finds him?

lol this one is kinda long. Poor Gally awh man. Just tryna be happy and protect other people

Nothing made sense to him—why he was so angry all the time, irritated by the most minuscule of things and thrown emotionally overboard every time he tried to sleep. Gally wondered if he'd ever feel normal. Though, he also questioned if normal was a thing a person could feel because ever since showing up here three years ago, it certainly wasn't something he'd ever experienced.

Gally walked in the shadow of his peers. He followed in their footsteps, seemingly a mile behind, always calling out to them but nobody ever heard him.

Walking in that empty space between the other Gladers and himself was Y/N. The one person here Gally had fallen in love with at a distance without saying anything. In complete silence, he'd fallen for the kind, selfless and mischievous glader. She herself had reached out and said more hellos to Gally than he'd been brave enough to wave across the Glade back at her. The few conversations they exchanged were short, awkward and blunt. That didn't stop her from always being caring toward him, though. Somedays, she'd bring him water. Others, she'd spend her evening staining the wood he never finished during the day.

Sure, she did these sorts of things for lots of other people. But she was the only one who did those sorts of things for him. The only one here who treated him like he was human.

Maybe, he was completely swept off in his own imagination. He had hopes and dreams that were more than likely beyond unrealistic. What else though, was he supposed to do with these feelings? He was trapped in a stone box with no memory of his former life or hope for a future. Escaping into his imagination and having one single positive part of his day, or person, to think of made life bearable.

Said life though, had gotten a lot worse the past few weeks.

Gally's biggest current regret was not having gone to find Y/N that day she had called out for him. He'd been a coward and hid in the deadheads from her instead of going to find out what it was she wanted him for. Staying in those woods landed him in a far worse situation than he could have ever imagined.

That day, instead of going after Y/N, he hid in the woods with some paper and a pencil. He hid amongst the trees and found his peace in the silence and cold from the fading sun. Of all things to keep his mind off of its own ongoing war, he drew Y/N. Simple drawings, pictures such as the girl with a soft smile crossing her features. Or, her helping Newt in the gardens.

Harmless sketches of this girl who he hardly spoke to on the daily but the thought of her held off that heaviness on his heart. Everyday, the impossibly strong grasp someone or something had on his heart which tried to bend him over forward into to the dirt got stronger. But the few hours of peace he'd spend alone drawing were the moments he felt as if that force dragging him down took a slight break.

That night, Gally was shaken to reality by the sound of boys whispering and trampling over leaves and twigs. They were close. Too close. In a panic, Gally tossed the papers on the ground and kicked as much dirt and debris over them as he could. His efforts probably weren't enough and he knew it.

"Gally!" One of the guys gibed. "We were wondering why you weren't a dinner!"

The builder raised his brows and took a breath. "Don't kid yourselves, you didn't even notice I was gone."

The boy and his fellow slicers snickered.

"Well, he's not wrong." Another added.

Gally rolled his eyes and went to walk away. These slicers had always been out to cause trouble and they weren't worth his time. He wanted out before something boiled up.

"Woah man," The loudest, most aggravating of the boys called out to Gally. "What's this?"

He plucked the papers out of the dirt with stringy fingers and held them up in the dim light. A disturbing smile smeared the moment he recognized the face on the paper. Then, he looked up to Gally and the builder knew he was done for. That heavy weight in his chest completely went away and was replaced by a sickness in his stomach.

Sauntering toward him, Gally felt like he stood in place for hours. His heart was trying to escape.

"Now Gally, I want you to be honest." The boy smirked and flipped the paper around so Gally could see. "Are you an artist and none of us knew? Or is this something you stole from someone else because, y'know, you needed it for something?"

His friends laughed. "Or, maybe both?" He eyed Gally up and down.

The gaze burned at his skin. It was painful. His lungs were creaming and heart was sobbing.

"Fine, I draw. That's it." Gally snapped, his voice breaking. "Now forget about it."

"Oh!" The slicer howled. "You think we're just gonna let you off? What do you think, should we tell her? Show everyone your little secret? How do you think Alby will feel?"

"I don't—"

Stepping closer, the slicer held up the paper right to Gally's face and pointed to Y/N. "I bet she'll be scared as hell of you now."

Gally closed his eyes. He never wanted this to happen. All he wanted was a break for his soul. And sure, drawing someone without their permission wasn't the best way to go about dealing with his problems, but it was all he knew.

"Don't tell anyone." Gally pleaded. "I'll do anything."

"Anything?" The guy questioned, surprised. That was a bold move, even coming from Gally. "There's a lot I would ask, but I don't want trouble with Alby..."

He thought for a while. He conversed with his friends. Ultimately, he decided.

"Alright," He shoved the paper against Gally's chest. Immediately, he put it in his pocket. "I want to see how long it takes to break the toughest looking guy here. Every night, you're going to meet us here. We're going to beat you to the ground."

Gally took what he was saying as fact. As part of his life now. It was his only way out.

Stepping closer, the slicer picked up a large stick and swung it back and forth. "Don't worry, we won't leave bruises on your face. Only where they can't see."

"...Don't say anything, and we won't say anything either." He looked to Gally questioningly.

"Deal." He quavered.

Gally braced himself for the first hit.

That began three weeks ago.

He thought about what had happened that night as he lay on the burning cold ground. It burned because his skin felt like it was on fire from all of the hits it had taken. It felt cold because the ground quite literally was cold, seeing as he'd been here all night and dawn had just broken.

His body couldn't be brought to its feet this morning. He'd been getting beaten up for three weeks straight. But, he had to keep to his word and not let anyone know. They couldn't know. It would destroy how everyone here perceived him and his reputation. The reputation that made everyone else keep their distance was something he wanted to keep.

"Oh shit!" A quiet voice snapped as the faint footsteps Gally was hearing came to an immediate halt.

The fear of a body laying unmoving the woods at dawn apparently wasn't enough to stop this person though, because they came rushing to his side. He knew who it was the moment they crashed to their knees right in front of his eyes and put their hands on his face.

"Gally! Are you okay? What's going on?" She shuddered as she felt his forehead for signs of illness.

Unable to speak or move, Gally was just able to lift his arm enough to gently point to his side. His eyes were glued shut from the agony of moving his arm and all he hoped was that she caught on. If anyone were to find him like this, he wasn't exactly enthused it was Y/N, but he needed help and he knew it.

Carefully, the girl lifted his shirt to find a black and blue bruised body. There were wounds new and old still seeping blood. His breaths were shallow, so it was evident he had broken ribs.

"Oh shuck. Don't move. I'll be right back." She sprinted off fasted then he'd ever seen her run. That said a lot because she was fast.

Between the time she'd run off and now, Gally had passed out, probably for the better, and been moved to the medjacks. He'd just woken, but chose to keep his eyes closed for a while longer. He wasn't yet ready to face the world again.

"This doesn't look like it happened just last night. These wounds are layered, some of them a couple weeks old at least." Jeff muttered to Alby.

Alby ran a hand over his head. "Could he have been hurting himself?"

"No," Jeff shook his head. "These couldn't be self inflicted. Someone did it. Someone has been hurting him for a long time."

"Let me know when he wakes up." Alby demanded. "I'm going to find Newt."

Knowing he'd left, Gally slowly opened his eyes. The sun was evidently now fully risen as the medjack hut was well lit and warm. He blinked a few times and the headache crushing his skull was so overbearing he could hear himself blink.

When he turned his head to the side slightly, he was met with a wide-eyed, speechless Y/N. "You're o—"

Y/N's face suddenly fell. "Who did this?"

Her expression changed extremely quick. It went from relief to vexation in a split second.

Gally didn't want to answer that to her. What he could do though, was reach down for that crumpled paper he'd kept with him since the first night. He agonizingly grabbed it and held it up for the girl to take. That one single move required all of the energy he had inside of himself and was more painful than he'd hoped.

At this point, he didn't care anymore. He'd been trying to keep it a secret and was afraid that if Y/N found out how he spent his free time, she'd be disgusted and afraid of him. Besides, he tried to tell himself, that if he really knew the real Y/N, there was no way she'd judge him for this. Y/N wasn't that kind of person.

The girl took it gingerly and unravelled it. A small smile, one Gally knew all too well, lightened her features as she scanned over the paper. "Gally, you're amazing."

The next she looked up, Gally's eyes were already shut and his breathing had steadied. He'd fallen back asleep. For now, she had to let him rest. When he woke though, Y/N was going to be a part of finding out who had done this to him.

Alby and Newt fell into the medjack hut just a little too late. Newt sighed in agony when he saw his friend.

"Did he tell you anything?" Alby asked, putting a hand on Gally's bed.

"No," Y/N shook her head. "He gave me this though. It might have something to do with it."

Newt took the paper and smiled. "Who would've guessed he was such a good drawer." He then passed it off to Alby.

"I think I know who did it." Alby grimaced at the paper. "A few weeks ago, I heard some of the slicers talking about some 'stupid drawings' and then they mentioned Gally over dinner."

Vexed, Alby gave Newt back the paper and turned on his heel as fast as he could.

"Woah!" Newt called out. "You're not going to accuse some boys of a bloody mess like this before we hear it from Gally first. We wait here until he wakes up."

With a deep breath, Newt continued. "He's safe here until then."  

Hours had passed before Gally found himself waking again. The medjack hut had begun to cool off and Gally felt the hair on his arms raise from the chill running down his spine. He wanted to get up, move and finally get some food. No injury or illness in the world could stave off Gally's hollow leg.

Slowly, the boy raised himself to a sitting position. He felt lighter despite the fact his body was close to disintegrating. Curious, he lifted his shirt to see the massacre that had been committed on his body.  It was just as bad as he'd guessed. The past few weeks, he'd refused to look at it but now was the time. The sight made him sick but the moment he let his shirt down, he forgot about it.

Taking a few deep breaths, Gally prepped himself to stand. He was going to get up and out of this cramped room and face whatever it was outside of that door. Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to do it alone.

Just as he swept his legs over the edge of the bed, a pair of soft eyes peered around the corner into the room Gally was in.

"Hi." She whispered.

Gally smiled sadly. "Hi, Y/N."

"I thought you might be getting cold," She said as she stepped into the room with one of Gally's hoodies. "And thought you might be starving, so I came to ask if you wanted to have dinner with me?"

She paused. "I mean, come get dinner. With all of us. The normal. I don't know what I'm saying."

"That sounds good to me," He tried to laugh but stopped himself from the ache in his ribs. "I'd like to have dinner with you for once."

Y/N smiled awkwardly and handed Gally his hoodie. And though he tried, there was no way Gally was getting it onto his body. In sympathy, Y/N finally reached out and took the pile of fabric back. She reoriented it and then put it over his head and guiding it over his shoulders. By that point, he was able to get his arms in the sleeves and stand himself up.

Slowly, Y/N helped him out of the medjack hut. The air hit him in the face with a startling force. This was the time of day he'd normally head off to the deadheads to meet his nightmare. Y/N noticed him tense.

"You okay?" She asked.

Gally looked down to the girl and blinked a few times. "Yeah."

Y/N locked her arm with his to help hold his balance. "You don't have to worry, alright? There's a bunch of people looking out for you right now."

Gally walked alongside Y/N at a deathly slow pace. Partly because it really did hurt that much to walk and because he wanted to make this moment last as long as possible. "What did Alby do? How much does everyone know?"

"He hasn't done anything yet, me and Newt made sure of that." Y/N explained to dampen his worries. "No one else knows. Alby told them all you came down with a nasty bug. We're going to make sure this stays between the few of us and that's it."

"Thank you, really." Gally said. "It almost feels like you guys know me. Know I wouldn't want the others to find out."

Y/N stopped walking for a moment and made Gally look at her. "It's because we do know you. You're our friend, Gally. And we respect how you feel."

"You think I'm your friend?" He questioned self-consciously.

"Are you crazy?" Y/N scoffed. "Of course. It sucks we don't spend more time together."

"Well, I had a reason for the past few weeks." He admitted. Y/N nodded in agreement with that. "But maybe we can change that now? Once all of this blows over."

Y/N smiled lightly and Gally took that as a yes. He still had a lot to worry about as this whole situation got sorted out. Now though, he realized that he did have people on his side. People he could trust.

[iwhumpyou]

I love your writing. I was perusing the masterlist and came across the 'Miscommunications' one. If you don't mind, I would love to see your take on the guilty aftermath of one such altercation. One where A can't forgive B, the one who caused it, the one who didn't understand what they did until it was almost too late. A sort of 'It's better to suffer alone, than deal with you anymore' kind of thing. And B utterly miserable at knowing they only have themselves, and their stubborn pride to blame.

I’m glad you enjoy my writing!

As I think the trope mentioned, I do love miscommunication and it is a theme present across many of my universes - in particular, you might enjoy Injection and Wergild if you’ve not read those already!

Now, moving on to your prompt…. (rubs hands together gleefully)

Masterlist.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Nadia woke up to pain.  She processed it silently, not daring to move a muscle as she shook off the remnants of the dream.  Death and fire.  It was the same every time now.  Someone would make a mistake and everything would crumble because of it.

Pain was radiating out from the hollow between her neck and shoulder.  Damien bit in the same place every time, and she didn’t know how long it’d been, how long she’d been stuck in this nightmare, but it was long enough that the purple-black bruise throbbed viciously with every breath.

She waited, because Moreau never took long to appear after she’d woken up.  She remembered the sight of his smirk in her blurry vision, asking the same question every time.

“What does my future hold?”

She refused to answer.  Even as Damien mauled her neck each time, draining just enough blood to leave her woozy and on the edge of dreams.  She would slip away, and dream of destruction and misery and hopelessness, and then she would come back and it would start all over again.

No one was coming for her, she knew that.  Part of that was her fault, she knew, for getting so frustrated in that awful fight that she threatened to leave.

But she had just been angry.  She hadn’t meant it.  And maybe it would be a sufficient excuse for not looking for her at the beginning, that first day, before tempers could cool.

Nadia couldn’t keep track of time very well, between her visions and the blood loss, but it was long past the time where her disappearance could be excused.  The only way they wouldn’t realize she’d been kidnapped was if they didn’t care - if they didn’t check her room to see if she’d left anything behind, if they didn’t call to make sure she was okay, if they didn’t bother to do the most cursory of checks to make sure she left willingly.

But of course they didn’t care.  Nadia had only ever fooled herself into thinking they did.  She was just a tool to them, like she was to Moreau, and the moment she’d dared to express an original thought, she’d been cast aside.

The frustration welled up in her, but she didn’t have the energy to sustain it, and she slipped back under, dreading her dreams.

~#~

She woke to the smell of lavender.  It was odd - a familiar scent.  Freya used to decorate the nursery with it.  She opened her eyes warily, wondering what fresh hell Moreau had designed for her today.

The wardrobes looked familiar.  As did the painting on the wall, a mermaid sunning herself on a rock with corpses floating beneath the water line.

Nadia’s first thought was to wonder how the hell Moreau had managed to get that painting.  The second was a bewildering mix of emotions - hope and rage and fear and disbelief and wariness, tangled up in home.

She surged upright - and immediately regretted that, freezing and falling back onto the bed as her shoulder violently protested the action.  Hissing through gritted teeth, she curled on her side and forced herself up more slowly.

Her head was spinning, vision fading in and out, and she sat there, head hanging, until movement was no longer accompanied by a sickening wave of pain.

There was a glass of water on the bedside table, and a small box of cookies, and she reached for both.  She sipped the water even though she wanted to drown herself in it.  The cookies tasted like ambrosia, melting on her tongue and lifting the fog.  She ate the whole box.

The sugar helped immensely, and she felt awake for the first time in…days?  Weeks? Months?  The imprint of fangs on her shoulder served as a throbbing reminder of the half-lucid, mostly-dreaming nightmare state she’d endured.

But now she was home.

Nadia slowly stumbled upright onto shaking feet.  The sugar helped, but not that much, and she felt like she was falling with every step.  Finally, she grasped the door frame.

She cast a glance back at the room.  Her room.  Nothing had been changed, even her sheets were the same.  There were two books on the nightstand she didn’t remember reading, one was Shakespeare and the other was definitely a children’s book, big letters and bright colors.

Did she remember hearing snatches of a soft voice telling a tale of dragons and mice?  Or was that a dream she’d locked away?

If this was a dream, she would cry.  If this was Moreau’s sick, twisted idea of how to break her, it would work.

There was no one in the hallway.  She followed a low murmur of voices through it, down the stairs, to the large, open-plan living room.  She hovered in the shadows, because she needed to see first, to gather the information before she made a decision.

It was her team, not Moreau.  It was Freya and Richard and Wright and Jasmine, not Damien.  It was Vi gurgling from the bassinet in the corner.

Nadia had not realized how desperately she needed to see her goddaughter until she was halfway to the cradle, her heart in her throat.

The conversation broke off abruptly, but Nadia didn’t care.  She heard the hushed stillness, but she was reaching a trembling hand into the cradle and nothing else mattered.

Vi looked up at her, blinking large beautiful brown eyes, her teeny tiny fingers wrapping automatically around Nadia’s index finger, and she smiled.

Nadia broke.

She barely remembered crumpling to the floor, but her head was pressed against the side of the cradle and she was taking in huge, gulping, heaving breaths.  There was still something warm wrapped around her finger and Nadia shuddered - in relief, because she was here, she was home - in terror, because nothing that Moreau or Damien had ever done to her could compare to the thought of losing that fragile grip.

Someone’s hands were on her shoulder and she flinched - the pressure disappeared instantly.  There were voices around her, but she didn’t have the energy to care.

“Nadia,” a soft one broke through the dullness, “Nadia, can you make it to the chair?”

There were hands on her elbows as though they were going to lift her - going to touch her, move her body like it was a ragdoll, like what Moreau had done over and over because she was too woozy and weak to lift a finger.

Nadia curled up further, gripping the edge of the bassinet and getting up on her own power.  She didn’t look at them, she couldn’t look at them.  Not yet.

She gently tucked her hands beneath Vi and slowly lifted her up.  Vi hummed at that, before kicking her legs in glee.  Nadia held the squirming baby carefully as she located the nearest armchair and sank down into it.

Vi squealed happily into her ears and Nadia tried not to cry.

With Vi in her arms, both comfort and shield, she lifted her gaze to consider her once-friends.

Wright had been the one to talk, his hands hovering in the air like he’d intended to catch her if she fell.  Freya was vibrating in place, her gaze fixed on Vi.  Richard was watching her, his arms crossed.  Jasmine looked pale and wan, like she was about to faint.  Nadia didn’t know where the others were.  She didn’t particularly care.

“How long?” she asked, ignoring the hoarseness of her voice.  They all flinched when they heard it, but she sat there patiently, waiting.

“Three weeks,” Richard said finally, his voice twisting, like he wanted it to be an apology but didn’t know how.

Three weeks.  She’d been Moreau’s prisoner for twenty-one days, until her dreams had blurred so much she could barely distinguish between reality and her nightmares.

Something tugged on her hair and she looked down to see Vi’s fingers wrapped in a tangle of curls, looking up at her and giggling.

“It took you three weeks to find me,” Nadia said flatly.  She didn’t have the energy to sneer the words, to twist them, to hiss with the undercurrent of poison.

It didn’t matter.  She could see her words sink in like daggers to the heart.

“You were being held by Moreau,” Freya replied defensively, “His place is a fortress, it wasn’t easy -”

“How long before you realized I was taken?” Nadia asked, because she didn’t need to hear their excuses.  She’d heard so many of them already, she could fill in the blanks.

Richard and Wright looked at each other, expressions shifting on both their faces.  Jasmine was staring at the floor.  Freya’s face was splotchy red.  Richard looked away, and back to her, opening his mouth.

She cut him off.  “The truth,” she said, “Not whatever lie you just came up with.”  Her gaze was hard.  She saw the future, not the past, but was she saw was real and truths could not be hidden for long.

Richard and Wright looked back to each other, and Nadia wasn’t very good at reading expressions, but all four of them reeked of guilt.

She felt her heart drop, hollowing out her chest and vanishing into a pit so deep she would never hear it break.

“You didn’t,” she said, and she couldn’t meet their gazes, couldn’t keep looking at expressions that fell to shock and shame and remorse.  She stared instead at Vi and watched as the little girl played with a lock of her hair, seemingly fascinated.  Even that wasn’t enough to numb her grief.

“You came for Damien,” she said hollowly, as the pieces fell into place.  “How disappointed were you when you found me instead?”

“Nadia, no,” Jasmine said roughly.  She sounded on the verge of tears, voice cracking.  Nadia did not look up.  “We’re so so sorry we didn’t come looking for you, but we’re not disappointed - we’re glad we found you, Nadia, we -”

“Are you?” she asked, looking straight at Freya.  Freya opened her mouth.  And then closed it, pressing her lips into a thin line.

That’s what she thought.

Wright opened his mouth, presumably to soften the blow, but Nadia shook her head.  “I don’t want to hear it,” she said quietly, lifting trembling fingers to tickle Vi under her chin.

“But, Nadia -”

“No.”

“You have to -”

“No.”

“Please, Nadia, just -”

“I don’t want to hear it.”  Nadia knew that there were tears rolling down her face, dripping silently to be soaked into Vi’s cute little shirt that had a yellow sun and bouncing green frogs.  Vi laughed and cooed, her tiny arms moving like windmills.

The tears dripped faster.

~#~

“What the hell was that, Freya?” Wright hissed, furious, as they relocated to the next room.  They could still see Nadia, curled up on the armchair with Violette in her arms.  Jasmine sat on a nearby couch, watching them both silently.

Freya itched with the urge to go back in there and snatch her niece from Nadia’s shaking hands.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Freya said through clenched teeth.

“Really?!” Wright snarled, “You just told her that you wished you got Damien out instead of her!”

“Damien is my brother,” Freya retorted, spinning around to glare at him, “Did you want me to lie?!”

“We would’ve appreciated it if you didn’t treat Nadia like an annoying pest you’d almost got rid of,” Richard said quietly.

“I don’t wish that we got rid of her,” Freya snapped, “And I don’t see how you can stand there and lecture me!  We all thought she left!”

Richard and Wright both flinched, spasms of guilt crossing their face, and she knew the words had hit.

Wright sighed, and dropped into a chair, burying his head in his hands.  “We haven’t found Damien,” he said listlessly, “And we’ve lost Nadia’s trust.  We have no idea what futures she’s given Moreau.”

“We can just ask her,” Freya responded, still feeling needled.

“I’m sure that conversation will go over well,” Richard said dryly, “Or do you want her to actually leave this time?”

Freya didn’t respond, because she wasn’t sure.  Sometimes, it felt like the seer caused more problems than she solved.

“I’m surprised, Freya,” Wright said, looking at her, “I thought you wanted to be a part of Vi’s life.”

Freya froze, heart hammering.  “What does Violette have to do with anything?” she snarled more than asked, glaring at Wright.

Wright didn’t seem phased.  “Nadia’s her godmother,” Wright said, and Freya realized the chilling implications.

“I’m her aunt!” Freya protested, but Wright ignored her.

“Marie’s dead, and Damien has lost his fucking mind.  Who did you think had custody of Vi?”

Freya turned away from him, balling her hands into fists, because he was right.

“Fine,” she snapped, “I’ll play nice with Nadia.”

“I’m not sure that it’ll make a difference,” Richard said quietly.  He was peering into the living room, at Nadia’s tear-stained face and painful smile as Vi giggled at something.

“I’m not sure she wants anything to do with us anymore.”

[stephenkohlbear]

The Assistant And The Comedian

Genre: fluff, slight angst if you squint

Word Count: 1,812

Summary: you're Stephen's assistant and it's the first day of the Late Show. Before the show, the two of you share a tender moment, but Stephen has trouble coming to terms with his feelings.

Being Stephen Colbert's assistant was both tiring and sort of fun. For most parts, you can get anything from other people in the blink of an eye just by mentioning his name. Paperwork can get done and filed with ease, But just because your work-life was easy, didn’t mean that your personal life was any different.

Your boyfriend, Robert, viewed your job as an inconvenience. He couldn't comprehend how you were able to "tolerate an idiot like Colbert." He brought it up every chance he could, making you feel guilty about your job. The last argument you'd had resulted in him admitting his jealousy. 

He scoffed, "I mean seriously, Y/N, he's so full of himself, for goodness sake, he has a building with his own name on it!" 

"You have absolutely no idea what he's like, Robert!" You hastily continued to shove your clothes into a bag. 

"Of course I do! I go with you to every one of those damn parties he throws! The man is such an asshole," he threw his hands up, "everything he does, he does to spite me. All the dinners, parties, and late nights. Who the hell needs to work late to discuss guest appearances!" 

You abruptly stopped your shoving. "Are you suggesting I'm sleeping with my boss?" 

"Yes," he snapped, "I am."

You sighed heavily, "Can anyone tell me where Stephen is?" 

Today was the beginning of a new chapter in Stephen's life, and everyone who worked for him. After 5 months of being off the air, he was returning to TV as the host of The Late Show. 

Of course, you were thrilled for what lie ahead, yet you worried about how the public would view Stephen. For the first time in ten years he wouldn't be behind the mask he'd always worn. He'd be himself, the real Stephen Colbert, the one you've always known.

Paul walked by, a mic and props in his hands, "Check his office." 

You listened to him and made your way to Stephen's office, only to find him sitting at his desk. 

"Stephen," 

He raised his hands in defense, "I know, I know," he sighed, "I'll be out in a minute," he stood up to walk over to the window, admiring the cars below, "just first day jitters." 

You set the papers in your hands down on to his desk before walking over to where he stood. You stood so closely that both your shoes touched, like they always did. You and Stephen had been like this for years.

Neither of you minded your bodies accidentally brushing against each other; you barely dodged him anymore when it happened. 

You didn’t mind the occasional touch on the shoulder, on the arm, on a thigh even. You would lean over and dab a runaway drop of sauce off each other one’s face and think nothing of it. 

You hugged to celebrate. You hugged to console. Sometimes you just hugged for the hell of it. The concept of personal space was almost entirely lost to the two of you. 

Everything felt heavy, weighed down by the tension in the small office. Stephen glanced down at you. Never before did you feel this feeling that was currently rising in your chest. 

There was just something different about Stephen that you couldn’t quite place. Perhaps it was his sharp and elegant appearance that had you at a loss of words. Possibly his grin, or even those dark brown and beautiful eyes of his.

The glass windows showcased both your figures, standing inches apart from each other. Stephen loved moments like these. He loved admiring you, even if you weren't interested in him, he cherished you, he always had. 

He was in love with you. 

He was in love with you and planned to be in love with you for the rest of his life, if you would let him. Stephen had always said there was no greater testament than love itself. 

To him, love was in every sense of the word to offer his entire heart and place it on someone's bare hands, in this case your hands, despite knowing that you might crush it before his very eyes.

Your eyes sparkled in the night as the street lights from below hit them. He noticed all the things you didn’t, all the things you couldn’t.

He hesitantly opened his mouth to speak, "Oh thank God! Stephen where have you been?" The moment was interrupted by Paul, "we need you in hair and makeup for touch ups, we have an hour until show time." 

Stephen brought his right hand to his temples, rubbing them dubiously, "Paul, please I'll be right there, just give me a second," he stared at his best friend, a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

He seemed to have gotten the message and quickly exited the room, "alright, alright." The door shut softly.

Stephen turned to you again, smiling weakly, "I was going to say something," his smile faded," but it looks like I don't have much time." He glanced at his watch

Your eyes fell to the floor, "it's okay."

Stephen brought a finger to your chin, slowly lifting it, "Could my lovely assistant help me with my tie before I leave?" He's almost shy, speaking with an air of delicacy.

“Anything for my favorite comedian,” you jest, moving to fiddle with the black silk, “Windsor knot?”

"Y/N you know me all too well."

The moment is quiet, and you take your time to make the knot even and clean, your fingertips grazing the hot skin of his neck as you flip up his collar. His aftershave is heavy, dark and very Stephen. You find yourself feeling a little small under his gaze, as it burns into you.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Stephen says, his voice lilting with something sweet, “just admiring the view.”

You laugh, your current choice of clothing was nothing to swoon over. You'd chosen a plain pearl dress shirt, black dress pants, all to be topped off with a pair of Vans. Needless to say you were a mess. 

Stephen’s eyes widen, and his lips part, confusion flashing through his eyes as he glances at you, “Hey!” He pouts, brows furrowing. "You're breathtaking.” 

You avoided eye contact as you laid his tie down, flattening it. "Thank you, Y/N." You nod.

You can't see it, but he smiles tenderly, wishing he had the courage to admit his feelings, to say what he'd been dying to say since he'd hired you. 

You smile, looking up at Stephen’s pretty visage. His office light casts a dim shadow on his face that insinuates his long, model-like eyelashes, showing the faint redness in his cheeks.

He holds back smiling like the fool he is. Admittedly, he is a hopeless romantic at heart, although the pursuit of pure heartbreak looms over him, almost taunting him. 

You brought him back down to earth, when everything feels as if falling apart or moving too far away. One look at you, and his breathing was steady. His heart rate picks up a bit, and his hands are clammy. Not because he’s scared, but because you make him nervous. 

You touch his soul so deeply, to the point where he is completely, and utterly vulnerable to your grasp. 

He loved the conversations you two had late at night, as you both forced your eyes to stay open a little bit longer. They were energy-filled with debates about love, adoration, knowledge, truths, and so much more. He wanted more of it, more of you. 

As he stands there, in the moment, admiring you as stand before him, he wishes he wasn't so terrified of loving you. Given his past relationships, forming a fresh new ache and vulnerability, for yet another person frightens the fuck out of him. 

"Y/N," he breathes heavily, "thank you, for everything," he leans down to place a gentle kiss on your cheek, "I'll see you after the show." He exits the room, leaving you alone in his office. 

"That's a wrap everyone! Thank you all so much for a great first show," Stephen raises his glass, "and here's to many more!" 

The entire staff is smiling and cheering, yourself included, at Stephen, who currently stood on the roof of the theater. The after party was in full swing.  

After his toast, everyone went back to partying, which left Stephen to himself. Stephen bobs his head and chews at his lip. His smile is anxious, despite the elated, conspiratorial expressions on everyone else. They’re all too distracted by their own excitement to notice that the man who gave it to them isn’t all there. 

He's too distracted by the thought of you. 

Hastily he jumped off the roof, and on to the floor, not acknowledging your presence. You cleared your throat, hoping he'd hear you over the noise currently being emitted from the partygoers. 

"Hey," he beamed, "I missed you." You blush at his comment, still flustered by the kiss from earlier. 

Slowly he makes his way to you, “Can I have this dance, Y/N?” He holds his hand out to you, kneeling in front of you as if you are royalty. You play along and give your best royal accent.  

“Of course.” You place your left hand softly in his right, his eyes glisten under the light, making you smile. He pulls you closer to him, one arm securely around your waist, while your arm rests on his shoulder, playing the curls at the nape of his neck. 

You both swayed to the rhythm of the music, completely ignoring the fact that some of the staff was watching. In this second, in this minute, it didn’t matter. 

As you dance, time felt slow. Together, you danced to the music, feet in perfect sync to the beating of your heart. As the song progressed, you felt relaxed as you let the words of the song tell each other how you feel. You allowed a small smile to form on your lips, and he reciprocates.

His eyes are deep and irresistible, but never leaving yours. He leans in and places a soft kiss on your lips, causing your heartbeat to accelerate. 

The warmth between the both of you grows more powerful by the second, as you get more emotional with the song. Your heartbeat was growing steadily along with it. 

Stephen decided to let go. Let his worries, his pain, and sorrow go. Right here, right now, he was living. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore, except for you. 

You continue to dance until the song ended causing you to fall into his arms for a hug. You feel him kiss the top of your head, with a smile still lingering on his lips. 

“Guess what?” He mumbles into your ear, causing you to look up at him. 

“What?”

"I love you."

[allthetonyships]

Hi Liz! First off, I just wanted to thank you for making this blog and writing for us all! Secondly, may I request an IronFalcon road trip au? Like the two of them for some reason they don't get along and they were tricked into going on a road trip by the others because they were tired of all the fighting. Thus, getting some actual conversation btwn them and some bonding moments?

‘’This wasn’t my idea,’’ Sam says. Tonyignores him, as he steers the van in the dark of night. There’s no othervehicle to be seen anywhere on the road. They’re on their way back to New York,but they’re not nearly there yet, which would explain why it’s so silentoutside. When they’ll get close, Tony knows the roads will be full of traffic,no matter what hour it is.

‘’To be honest,’’ Sam continues, ‘’Idon’t know how you didn’t see this coming. Aren’t you some sort of genius?’’

‘’Sorry for believing Steve,’’ Tonysays. ‘’You’d be nagging at me too if I’d refused him.’’

They’re on their way back from a missionon the other side of the country. Their teammates – probably Natasha – havetaken their phones, and while they’d gotten into a jet to get back to theCompound, they’d left Sam and Tony in the van to ‘’kiss and make up’’. Tonycould figure out a dozen other ways to get home, but he knows Steve well enoughthat he would figure out an even worse way to make him get along with Sam, sohe’s going along with the forced road trip.

Besides, it’s sort of a vacation. Evenif it’s with a guy that loathes Tony.

Sam crosses his arms. ‘’You can’t tellme you don’t know another way to get home,’’ he says, echoing Tony’s exactthoughts.

Tony huffs, and takes a turn to theright. ‘’Right. And get Steve mad at us for not even trying this thing. Look,just sit there and listen to the music, and they will stop trying to force usto be friends once they see it’s not going to work.’’

‘’It’s not my fault you hold grudges,man,’’ Sam grumbles.

Tony looks at him for a second beforefocusing on the dark road again. A small red car passes them. Tony wonderswhere its passengers are going, and why they’re in the middle of nowhere atthis time of the day – well, night. ‘’My fault?’’ he repeats, but then sighs.‘’Sure. Whatever you say. Look, I’m getting tired. Do you want to take thewheel, or should we go take a nap?’’

‘’I can drive,’’ Sam says curtly.

Tony pulls over, and they wordlesslytake each other’s places. Tony can still feel the warmth of Sam lingering inthe car seat, his faint smell all over it. He closes his eyes as Sam starts upthe motor, and falls asleep.

~*~

The daylight is what wakes him. Tonyblinks against the sun, looking up at Sam, who’s still driving. There’s morecars on the road, now, as they’re out on the highway. ‘’Finished your beautysleep?’’ Sam says, without looking at him.

Tony sits up straighter. ‘’Where arewe?’’ he asks.

‘’Not anywhere close to New York yet,’’Sam answers, ‘’but we can look for breakfast in one of the cities we’re goingto pass soon. You hungry?’’

‘’I could eat,’’ he answers, curiouslylooking at their environment. A huge black car passes them. ‘’I can take overafter, if you want.’’

Sam looks over at him, and Tony has somedifficulty reading him. ‘’Yeah, great.’’

~*~

‘’Here, I got you something,’’ Sam says,throwing two sandwiches at him. They’d agreed previously that Tony can’t goshopping while they’re on the road, as he would get recognized too easily. Samis pretty well known too, as an Avenger, but he’s less likely to get overrun bystar-struck fans.

‘’Thanks,’’ Tony says, taking a bite ofthe first one. It’s pretty good.

They munch quietly on the sandwiches fora while. It’s comfortably warm in the van, as the sun shines on them, but Tonyitches to get going again. He’s never been very good with sitting still, and hedoesn’t have his phone anymore. He could get a new one, but he thinks Sam wouldoppose him.

‘’Look,’’ Sam says eventually, whenthey’re finished eating. Tony looks over at him, surprised. They haven’t talkeda lot since they got started. He knows Sam doesn’t like him, and he can’t forcehim to. He’s accepted that long ago. ‘’We’re obviously here because everyoneelse thinks we can’t get along. I’m not saying we have to be best friends, butmaybe they have a point. Maybe we should make an effort? It’s going to take usa few days to drive back, so we may as well give it a try.’’

Sam looks somewhat uncomfortable as he’ssaying it, and Tony looks out of the window. ‘’Don’t worry about it,’’ heanswers easily. ‘’No one’s going to hold it against you if you don’t like me,Sam.’’

‘’Well, why don’t you like me, then?’’Sam says. ‘’We can start there.’’

Tony raises his eyebrows, looking overat the other man. ‘’I like you just fine,’’ he shrugs. ‘’I’m just saying, don’tworry. You don’t have to like me in order for us to be a team. I know half ofthe team doesn’t like me, and the other half just ignores I’m there. They’llget it, it’s hard to be civil around me.’’

‘’Why?’’ Sam demands.

‘’Why what?’’ Tony returns. ‘’I know youthink I’m an annoying billionaire who thinks too highly of himself and doesn’tlike playing in a team. Look, I’m just saying, don’t get out of your way to dosomething barely anyone can do, which is being my friend. A lot of people havetried and failed.’’

‘’I don’t dislike you,’’ Sam counters.‘’I thought you hated me.’’

Tony laughs at that. ‘’What for?’’ hesays. ‘’Everyone on the team loves you, Sam.’’

‘’The Civil War,’’ Sam says softly.‘’Rhodey’s accident. I thought you were mad about that.’’

Tony is silent for a long while beforehe speaks again. ‘’If I held a grudge for everything that was said and doneduring that period, I wouldn’t be here right now,’’ he says eventually.‘’You’re pretty tight with Rhodey. I know he doesn’t hold it against you, soit’d be hypocritical if I did.’’

‘’Well, you’re his best friend,’’ Samshrugs.

Tony looks at him. ‘’Sam, I don’t have aproblem with you,’’ he says earnestly. ‘’Honestly? I think it’s a great thingyou joined the team. You’re fun to be around and you’re a good addition to anymission we’ve been on. All of us value you.’’

‘’But you don’t like me.’’

Tony leans back in his chair. ‘’That’snot true,’’ he says carefully. ‘’Look, I’ve been here since the Battle of NewYork. I was here at the start of the team, but sooner or later, there’s goingto be enough members for me to step out. I’m just trying to – not get attached.I’ve done it my whole life, so don’t take it so personal. You’re a great guy,and I know I’m not.’’

Sam stares at him. It feels personal,the two of them sitting there in the small space of the van, in the middle of avillage they’ve never been in. Tony sighs. He knows his worth, but it seems Samhas never seen it like this.

‘’Tony –‘’ Sam starts, but Tonyinterrupts.

‘’We should get driving,’’ he says,opting for a cheerful voice. ‘’It’s still a long way out to New York. I’ll takethe wheel, you can take a nap.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Sam says, and they switchagain. Tony purposefully ignores the looks his teammate sends him as they startdriving again.

~*~

The day is very uneventful. They switchdrivers a few times, and stop to get gas, but they don’t say a lot except toverify the direction they’re going. Sam buys two pizzas from a shady pizzeria,and they eat the greasy food in the van at the side of the road while the sunsets.

‘’Maybe it’s a good idea to just sleepin the van tonight,’’ Sam says, as he’s on his third slice. ‘’Get rested reallywell. The napping works, but I’d prefer a good night’s sleep for a change.’’

‘’Sure,’’ Tony says. He’s used to onlynapping, because he doesn’t think he’s had a full night’s sleep since he wastwenty, but it may be nice to lie down in the van instead of sleeping in aseating position. He’s not as young anymore, and it really is uncomfortable forhis back and neck.

‘’What do you think Steve would say ifhe saw us like this?’’ Sam says unexpectedly. ‘’Would he make a snobbish remarkabout how bad pizza is for your health?’’

Tony laughs. ‘’It’s his fault we’re hereanyway,’’ he remarks. ‘’Steve isn’t that bad. I’ve seen him eat three pizzas ina row.’’

‘’Yeah, but he can take it. He’d make usrun three laps to make up for it,’’ Sam says. ‘’We’re just regular humans whowill get fat eventually, after all. Well, I am, at least.’’

‘’Steve’s given up the hope I ever willrun laps,’’ Tony says. ‘’But hey, I’m just a regular human, too. Nothingsuperhuman going on here.’’

Sam smiles at him, and Tony looks away.‘’I do like you, you know?’’ Sam says. ‘’I don’t think you’re an annoyingbillionaire. I think you’re smarter than I even can imagine, and that you’rewitty, and I like that you can be so passionate about things. You’re generousand kind, but you don’t want people to see, so you’re sarcastic to hide it.You’ve been through a lot, and you’re still here fighting the fight. That makesyou a really strong person, Tony.’’

Tony doesn’t say anything, mainlybecause he doesn’t know what to say. Sam puts down his pizza, standing in frontof him.

‘’I’m not,’’ Tony just says. ‘’I’m justme.’’

Sam tilts his head, slightly. Tony hasto look up a bit to meet his eyes, so he stands up straighter, even if Sam getscloser. ‘’You deserve to be liked,’’ Sam says. ‘’I’ve seen other people, whowere so convinced that they weren’t. But you really are. More than anyone elseI know.’’

‘’If I’m so likeable, why was everyoneso convinced we needed to go on a road trip to be able to like each other?’’Tony says, heart beating loudly in his chest.

Sam’s face is so close that he can counthis eyelashes. Tony pretends not to notice. ‘’Maybe because they don’t see whatI see,’’ he says softly. ‘’But that’s on them. Maybe they did see, and wantedme to. You’re great, Tony. Anyone would be lucky to befriend you.’’

‘’I think you’re pretty great too,’’Tony says, trying not to take a step back. ‘’Sam?’’

‘’Yeah?’’ Sam answers.

Tony kisses him, and as Sam presses himcloser, he thinks the other man is pretty okay with that.

~*~

Tony listens to the sound of the carspassing by as he lies in the dark. Sam’s breathing pretty regularly beside him,but he can’t sleep. He keeps thinking about the odd turn this road trip hastaken, but honestly, it’s going unexpectedly well. He knows what kind of man Samis, and that kind is one of the best. They may not know each other very well,but they know enough.

Perhaps, he thinks, this is a goodthing. There’s plenty of time to get to know each other really well, on thisroad trip. Maybe they can even take a somewhat longer route. If Sam’s notopposed to that, of course.

Sam mumbles something, and then turns,encircling Tony in his arms. ‘’Stop thinking,’’ he murmurs, pressing a sloppykiss to Tony’s head. ‘’Sleep.’’

Tony smiles softly, and snuggles intoSam’s embrace.

He’ll have to thank Steve, when they gethome.