#COMING SOON: Made To Move & The Barbie Look Guides

[c4tluver02]

Can I request a fluffy Steve Harrington x fem! reader long oneshot where reader is pregnant and they are sitting in the living room watching a movie and all of a sudden, reader feels the baby kick for the first time and reader tells Steve and guides his hand to her stomach and Steve talks to the baby and they are just in awe over feeling the baby kick and they talk about how they can’t wait for their daughter to get here?

baby bump

summary: After finding out the gender of your baby things start to feel real. First time kicks and cravings are the new normal!

warnings: mention of pregnancy, r has long hair, mentions of morning sickness (for like a second), mentions of eating more

wc: 1.3k

a/n: i don't know anything abt being pregnant so if this is wrong lets pretend it isn't!!!! thank u for the request <3

It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon, neither you or Steve have anything going on allowing for you both to relax on the couch. A movie is playing on the TV and your head is laying on Steve's lap. His fingers thread through your hair and the feeling makes your eyes flutter shut. The movie long forgotten, simply too relaxed in Steve's presence. He’s been working a lot ever since the news of a baby coming so you are soaking up any moments with him. Last week you both found out the gender, a beautiful healthy baby girl. You couldn’t be more ecstatic and Steve was already thinking of the shade of pink to paint the nursery. 

-

 “Do you think she would want more of a rustic pink or like a Barbie pink?” Steve asks on the drive home from your appointment. You two have red eyes from crying tears of joy. Hearing the baby's gender makes everything feel even more real. 

“I think rustic definitely.” You say nodding. The small picture of your ultrasound in your hand. 

“I think so too, I’ll have to start looking for a crib. Think the guys would help?” Steve asks, thinking about Jonathan and Eddie. The idea of making a whole new room in just a few months now makes him a little stressed. 

“Oh totally and Eddie owes me a favor for eating my cheeseburger the other day.” It was a simple mix up, he ate your sandwich instead of his own. But in the moment tears threatened to spill from your eyes.

“I know Rob will help with the paint and picking out furniture. I still have to call her to tell her the news.” He says giving your thigh a squeeze from excitement. When he found out you were pregnant he told Robin right away. She came over the next day with gifts and candy for you. 

You looked at him with a large grin. Filled with excitement and happiness that you are having a baby and that Steve is Steve. A perfect partner and soon to be dad. 

-

You knew no matter what Steve would be a great dad, but knowing he will be a girl dad just clicks in the most perfect way. Already infatuated with you, he won't be able to say no to your new baby girl. 

Steve was already so great with you. Quick to be by your side when you have any sickness– despite you trying to shoo him away the first time it happened. Too scared he would find you gross you made him plug his ears which made him then yell out for you to ask if you were ok. But the more it happened the more he was there and wouldn't take no for an answer. If Steves gonna do one thing it's take care of you. Any late night cravings you had he would get with no complaints. He truly was perfect. Obsessed with your bump always talking to her, like when she was pushing on your ribs and he asked her so sweetly to move. 

Now you're all laid out on the couch half asleep and you feel a weird pain in your stomach. A little jab that was so quick if you were moving you might not have even felt it. The feeling made you shoot up in shock, a hand on your stomach. Steve looked at you with his thick brows raised, concerned. 

“What? What's wrong? Is she okay?” Steve asks quickly as he grabs onto your wrist. Like he needed to know the answer right away.

He finally took a breath when he saw a big smile appear on your face. You grab his hand and gently place it on your bump in a certain location. “She just kicked me.” You say it almost in a whisper like if you said it too loud she'd stop. 

Steve pressed his hand a little firmer to your belly trying to feel the sensation. His eyes are wide and you look at him as you wait for her to do it again.   

As if on cue she kicks again and Steve gasps. “Holy shit she's kicking!” It comes out in a half yell half laugh and he leans in to give you a quick kiss. Too excited, needing to put his energy into something. 

You're both fully sat up now only locked in on the baby's next move. She gives another kick and this time Steve sees your stomach move and stretch from the action. He scrunches his nose up a little. 

“Does that hurt baby? I can tell she’s using all her force.” The way he says it with a concerned but interested tone makes you giggle. 

“Nope.” You say popping the P at the end. “It feels weird but it doesn't hurt.” Your hand is over his holding it to your stomach and Steve can't help but swoon. 

“Maybe she'll be a soccer player? She seems like she has strong legs.” Steve says.

“Hmm, maybe a gymnast? They have really strong legs.” Steve nods at your response and you both lay back on the couch. 

Steve leans down a bit to rest his chin on your stomach. His hand is still on your belly but now he's rubbing it gently. 

“I can’t wait to see what type of personality she'll have.” He says.

Steve looks so pretty right now. Carefully giving your tummy little kisses and his long lashes flutter. You can't help but run your fingers through his hair and he groans at the action. 

“I hope she has your hair.” You say with a giggle but you really do mean it. 

“I hope she has your eyes, and your nose, and your lips, and your giggle of course.” 

You roll your eyes at his comment in a playful manner. “You're obsessed with me.” 

“I am.” He gives your belly one last kiss before sitting up again. “I am obsessed with you and our baby and I can't wait to have more.”

“More? Stevie, we haven't even finished having one!” You let out a giggle that's so warm Steve thinks it could truly melt his heart. 

“I know but I can imagine us with like 6 little Harringtons running around.” The look in his eyes tells you he's 100% serious and that he's given this thought. 

“Hm and who will be pushing out these 6 Harringtons?” You ask, looking at him with a huge smile on your face. So happy in this moment, thinking about the future you and Steve will have. 

“Sweetheart, if I could do all the hard work, trust me I would. Then I could give you all the babies you want.” Steve slides his hands on your waist which is a little on your stomach due to how far out it is, rubbing his thumb up and down. 

“Let's focus on this one and then we can talk about more, deal?” You ask, putting your hands around his neck. The movement makes you two get closer but the bump creates a bit of distance. 

“Deal.” He responds, kissing your temple. The movie you guys were watching is now rolling the credits, neither of you saw the end but that's okay because in a few months you'll have a daughter.

“Stevie?” You ask but Steve knows the tone in your voice. 

“Yes angel?” The smirk he has on could be one related to the Cheshire cat. All knowing and ready for what you're about to ask. 

“Do you think you could make me some eggs and toast?” The puppy dog eyes you give aren't needed but accepted. It doesn't matter that it's 10pm or that you had dinner a few hours ago. 

“You are a hungry little bug aren't you?” Steve says into your stomach as he kisses it. Getting up to go to the kitchen but not before grabbing your hands to help you up.

“She is, isn't she? I must be growing an athlete in there.” You say, referring to your earlier statements. 

Steve laughs and rubs your back as you walk in front of him. He knows tonight you'll wake him up for more food but right now he couldn't be happier. 

[ofmagicandmusic]

So this is what makes life divine - Donna/Roy

Word Count: 1.1k

Rating: G

Details: Donna/Roy, Lian Harper, Domestic Fluff, Baking, Romance, Slice of Life, Parent Roy Harper, Slow Dancing, Flirting, Kissing, Fluff without Plot, Dancing

for Titans Bingo @titansbingo2022

————————————————————————–

After putting Lian to bed, Donna and Roy share a dance. She is completely smitten.

Read below or on Ao3

“Come on sweetie, it’s time for bed.” Roy said, standing behind the couch where Lian sat in the living room of Titans Tower. She was playing a mix of Jackie Chan with Barbies. A brown-haired doll landed a spinning kick into the other who was wearing a bright pink dress. Roy’s eyes crinkled at the sight.

“You can play more tomorrow.” He insisted. As much as he loved to spoil Lian, Donna knew he had to be an actual parent too.

“But I’m not tired.” She said with a scrunched nose.

“You need your rest so you can grow and be as strong as Aunt Donna.” Roy countered with a grin in Donna’s direction as he picked up his daughter’s toys.

“But dad no one is.” Lian grabbed a stuffed purple monkey in one hand and a doll in the other.

He laughed, warm sound ringing in Donna’s ears. She chuckled at their antics from the kitchen as Roy scooped up Lian and carried her to bed.

It was nice to see him this carefree. After everything the Titans had been through lately, getting this time to relax was pleasant change of pace. Garth had used the lull in missions as an opportunity to visit Atlantis while Wally was still splitting time between the Titans and the League. Donna hadn’t heard from Dick for most of the day and was starting to wonder if she should make the effort to drag him out of the tower lab. But she figured she’d at least wait till her cinnamon rolls were finished baking since they were almost done.

The starry night sky shone outside the window as she tore her eyes away from the cooking timer. She loved the stars, easy to look at in the way the sun wasn’t, billions of tiny lights contributing to the blanket in the sky, just like people. There was a reason she always liked stars on her costumes after all.

Soft waltzing strings carried through the living room, adding to the atmosphere. She realized Lian must have left her princess music on, but she didn’t have the heart to turn it off yet. Soon enough, the timer beeped, and she opened the oven, checking to see if they were done before taking them out.

“Hey beautiful.” Donna turned to the sound of Roy’s voice. He was at the edge of the kitchen, elbow leaning against the counter in a carefree pose.

“They’re still hot, don’t take one yet.” She said, pouring frosting on the desserts. The icing melted in creamy waves, sugary scent filling the air.

“I didn’t come for the food.” Roy said with a smile. “I came for something sweeter.”

Donna rolled her eyes, but his words still made her heart flutter like when they first dated all those years ago. Like she was young again without the struggle of growing up or the loss she had experienced. Things with Roy felt simple--like they could just be Speedy and Wonder Girl again.

She moved closer to Roy, letting her eyes linger. His eyes were glued on her, but he seemed thoughtful. Despite her previous foolishness, she loved him deeper than she ever could explain. Even when they hadn’t been together all these years, the love was still there, beyond kisses and fleeting touches--it was always there.

“Wanna dance?” Roy gestured to the living room and Donna’s ears finally picked up on the music again. She agreed with a smile. He moved closer, a rough hand wrapping around her own as he guided her, crossing the carpet border of the living room.

Roy placed his hand on her waist, pulling them closer. The music seemed quieter now and harder to focus on. Donna lifted her hand to his shoulder, feeling the mass of muscle beneath. Their other hands were intertwined.

Strings faded out as a voice began. She could almost make out the music over the pounding of her heart. So, this is love. Roy stepped forward as she moved back--in sync together in a simple box step, almost waltzing. They hadn’t danced like this before, any place with music was usually a lively club and neither of them had normal enough teenage years to go to prom.

“I didn’t know you could dance like this.” Donna whispered. Roy guided her around in a turn.

“It’s nice to have a reason to learn.” Roy said, finally meeting her eyes.

His green eyes were light like leaves in the sunlight, dotted with flecks of brown. The stubble and length of his hair created a rugged look. It was hard for her to admit it, but she really liked him like this, looking rough around the edges. And for more than just a way to sully her own image of perfection.

They moved in a circle and Donna was intensely aware of the warmth of his body against hers. She leaned in. With their similar heights, his face was inches away. Years of memories flooded her mind, before his shoulders filled out and his arms looked like that; she pushed away the image of how thin he looked during a rough patch. He was here.

She’d known him so long she’d seen the good and the bad. And he’d known her long enough to know all her issues and mistakes.

Donna moved closer, running her hand along his shoulder while Roy’s left hand let go to cup her cheek. Their lips touched. It didn’t feel like fireworks, but she didn’t want to stop; they kept kissing as the music played, slowing fading out as free hands roamed each other’s backs.

Over Roy’s shoulder she could see Dick tiptoe into the kitchen. He glanced at them before grabbing a cinnamon roll and slipping back to the lab.

Donna took a deep breath, closing her eyes and letting Roy’s arms envelope her. No matter what happened things would be alright. In the silence they moved again as Roy spun her.

“I wanna dance too!” Lian ran into the room, now in her pajamas. Donna smiled, moving away as a surprised Roy scooped her up and spun her, swinging Lian in the air by her sides. She squealed happily, waving her hands in feigned grace. There was a twinkle in Roy’s eye.

After Lian seemed nearly dizzy, Roy passed her to Donna who lifted Lian to her shoulder, carrying her like a princess in her throne. Lian stuck her chin out in mock royalty. They walked down the hallway to Lian’s bedroom to put her to bed again, the light of the living room slipping away.

When the door finally shut again, Roy took hold of Donna’s hand.

“Thank you for the dance.”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her fingers.

[theteasetwrites]

The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning

Chapter 64: Responsibilities

❧ Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader ❧ Era: Season 9 ❧ Pronouns: she/her ❧ Warnings: mild swearing, character death ❧ Word Count: 5.4k

❧ In This Chapter: Carol comes to visit the Dixon household, and asks you and Daryl to look after Henry at the Hilltop. Things quickly become complicated when an Alexandrian goes missing, a Hilltop resident is killed, Henry gets himself in trouble, and Daryl takes a prisoner.

❧ A/N: Love writing Daddy Daryl so much! He's going to have a lot on his hands now with both Robin and Henry, but I think he can handle it. Also enjoy the last bits of peace before we get real involved with the Whisperer arc. Things are going to get really complicated from here.

Daryl slept in quite late that morning, as he often did when he came back from those long hunts. The older he got, the more sleep he needed, too, so you let him sleep as long as he needed to while you made breakfast, with Dog sitting at your feet and panting at you, watching your every move as you cooked the bacon.

“Absolutely not, Dog,” you said to him. “No human food.” Of course, Daryl was constantly feeding Dog human food, but you were trying to only feed him dog food, as those cans didn’t seem to have an expiration date.

He whimpered and laid down with his head between his paws, but his ears perked up when he heard little Robin’s footsteps coming down the stairs.

You turned to see the little girl, rubbing her eyes and holding her stuffed rabbit and her fleece blanket, both of which she has since she was a baby. Her wavy hair was a rat’s nest from sleep.

“Morning, baby,” you said. “Where’s your cousin?”

She patted Dog on the head as he sat beside her. “Still sleeping,” she said. “Can I wake up Daddy?”

You sighed. “Let him sleep, Robin. He’s exhausted.”

“Who’s exhausted?” Daryl’s groggy voice spoke out as he entered the kitchen, and both Dog and Robin lunged towards him.

He laughed and picked up Robin to hold her, and pet Dog with his free hand.

“You’re gettin’ big, little bird,” he said to the girl. “Won’t be able to pick you up soon.”

“Daddy, can we play Barbies again?”

You snorted loudly, and Daryl gave you a dirty look. “Tell ya what, I’ll play Barbies with you after you take a shower and get dressed.”

“And after you both eat breakfast,” you added.

Robin pouted as Daryl set her back down on the floor next to Dog, who then followed her to the bathroom. He often would lay himself down on the bathroom floor, waiting for Robin to finish showering. You were sure Daryl had trained him to do that when Robin moved from baths to showers, just in case she slipped.

Daryl watched the two of his “children” scurry off, and then crossed over to you. He settled his hands on your waist and kissed your shoulder, watching you alternate between flipping the bacon and stirring the potatoes.

“Good to be home,” he said, rubbing his thumbs over your hips absentmindedly, entranced by the sizzle of the bacon cooking in the fat.

You nodded. “Feels right,” you agreed. “Only person missing is Aaron… You know he left to meet Jesus yesterday and hasn’t come back? I’m starting to get a little worried. He always comes back to pick up Gracie.”

He rested his chin on your shoulder. “That’s weird,” he concurred. “Maybe I’ll go out for him.”

You shook your head and gave him a stern look. “No. You just got back. He can take care of himself, I just hope everything’s okay. This isn’t like him at all, unless something’s wrong.”

He nodded and chewed the inside of his lip. “Maybe he just met up with Michonne… You said she’s takin’ those new people to Hilltop?”

“Yeah.”

He reached his hand over to gently grasp yours and use it to flip the bacon. He was always a control freak about the meat. “Well, maybe he joined ‘em. Woods ain’t that big. He don’t come back by tonight I’ll go look for him. Me and Dog.”

You shook your head with a smile as he guided your hand and the spatula. “I do know how to cook bacon, you know.”

He raised an eyebrow at you. “Mhm.”

“I do!” you defended, hitting his shoulder with a half-hearted slap.

A brief exchange of playful smacks on the shoulder halted when a knock came at the front door.

“Oh, that’s probably Bev. She said she’d bring over a casserole or something.”

You squeezed Daryl’s shoulder as he took over the stove and you closed your robe before heading to the front door.

The last person you were expecting to see was Carol, with her hair much longer than you’d last seen a few years earlier, and her much older adopted son, Henry.

“Oh my god!” you cried, embracing Carol in a tight hug on the porch, and rocking back and forth in her arms with a wide grin on your face. “Your hair!”

She laughed as she pulled away, her hands still on your shoulders. “Are you saying you like it?”

“I love it.” You turned to look at Henry, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen now you guessed, and much taller than you remembered. “Henry,” you said. “Last time I saw you you were a foot shorter.”

“Yeah, he’s growing like a weed,” said Carol before rustling up his short crop of honey blonde hair. “Smells good.”

Your eyes widened when you remembered breakfast. “Come in! We’re just about to have breakfast.”

Daryl looked overjoyed to see Carol, who he had developed quite a bond with over the years. He saw her as among his best friends, and she was happy, too, though Henry looked noticeably serious, almost annoyed, when he came into your house.

“Where’s the mini Dixon?” asked Carol as she sat down at the dining table with Henry.

You nudged your head towards the bathroom as you set the table. “She’s in the—”

“Aunt Carol?” the girl’s voice called out from the archway. She stood with Dog and Gracie, then rushed over to greet Carol. “Hi.”

Carol held her arms out to hug her, then Gracie. “Hi, girls!” She reached into her pocket to pull out two beaded necklaces, each with a small stone in the middle, one with the letter R and the other with a G. “These are for you.”

“Whoa,” gasped Robin, admiring the colorful beads and seashells interspersed around them. “Thanks, Aunt Carol.”

“Thanks, auntie,” repeated Gracie.

They each slipped them on over their heads as Daryl came up from the basement with two extra chairs for the dining table.

The six of you ate breakfast and caught up on the situations at the Kingdom and Alexandria. Since Michonne had been slowly isolating Alexandria from the other communities, no one in town got much in the way of updates, unless they went out like Aaron did. Though Michonne had no idea, Aaron informed you that Maggie had left Hilltop several months ago to live with Georgie’s group. Indeed, the increasingly isolated state of Alexandria worried you.

“So what brings you to Alexandria?” you asked as you picked up everyone’s plates, and gestured to Daryl to sit back down when he tried to get up to help you.

“Well, we’re on the way to Hilltop, actually,” said Carol. “Henry’s taken an interest in blacksmithing. He’s going to apprentice with Earl Sutton.”

You nodded your head at Henry. “Wow,” you said. “Good for you. That’s an important job.”

He looked between you and his mother, a questioning expression upon his face. “Are you going to ask?” he said to her quietly.

“Ask what?” Daryl replied.

You left the three of them to talk as you took the girls to class, and Carol revealed the central reason for her visit.

“I can’t stay with Henry at the Hilltop,” she said. “The Kingdom needs me there, but I don’t want him there alone.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Henry said through his teeth.

Carol looked at him sternly. “Henry…”

Daryl leaned forward as he pet Dog by his feet. “So you want me to look after him?”

Henry hit the table and stormed out of the house, leaving only Carol and Daryl, who didn’t even flinch at the boy’s frustrated reaction.

“Just for a while,” she said. “You’re the best person for it. I know you’d keep him safe.”

He shook his head and huffed. “I got my own family, my own kid to look after. Can’t ya find somebody else?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know anyone well enough at Hilltop, and no one else here can leave. The Kingdom needs as many people as possible there. It wouldn’t be forever, just until he’s… settled, when I know he can look after himself.”

He chewed his lip in thought. “Nah,” he said after a few moments of silent deliberation. “He’s gonna have to learn like everyone else. Can’t leave… This is my home.”

She lowered her head and sighed. “Won’t you think about it? Talk to (Y/N) about it. We’ll be here for a few more hours, till the horses have rested.”

“I’ll think about it,” he said, knowing full well you’d hate the idea.

To his surprise, when you returned from dropping the children off, you weren’t opposed to it. That is, under the condition you and Robin could go, too.

“It would be a great opportunity to take her outside the walls for the first time, Daryl,” you said. “She could see the Hilltop, learn a few practical things.”

He paced back and forth upon the wood floor of the living room. “She ain’t ready,” he said. “‘Sides, she’s gotta be here for school.”

You sighed. “She’s one of the best students in her class, she’s already bored with the curriculum. Bev even said she should skip a grade. She can afford to miss a little school.”

He kept pacing, with Dog watching as he sat beside you on the couch, moving his head back and forth in intrigue.

“Daryl,” you said, “would you please sit down?”

He gave you that look, the one you knew meant he was worried, before sitting down next to you with a huff. Dog quickly rested his head in his lap, nudging his snout under Daryl’s hand to force him to pet him.

You giggled. “Dog says he wants to go.”

“Does he?” asked Daryl, then looked at you curiously. “Do you wanna go?”

“It’d be nice to leave Alexandria.”

You hadn’t gone beyond the walls for almost a year now, not since you broke your leg out on a run with Bev and Aaron. Daryl nearly had a heart attack when he saw your arms slung over their shoulders as they carried you in through the gates.

“No more runs,” he had said. “Least not until you’re completely healed.”

Well, even after you were healed, he would come up with excuses and reasons for you not to leave, and though you loved your home, and everyone in it, you were starting to feel a little useless.

You knew you could help out there, and you wanted to. Not only that, but you were starting to get… bored. Housewife syndrome, you called it, though you identified more with librarian/part-time teacher. Still, being a housewife/mother was your first job.

“Nice to have a change of scenery,” you elaborated. “And to help Carol.”

He scoffed as he ran his finger through Dog’s soft brown fur. “Dunno why she can’t just let the kid take care of himself. Not like he’s gonna be out in the middle of nowhere. It’s just Hilltop. Hell, I was out on my own most of the time when I was his age. No one gave two shits about me.”

You sighed. “And no one should be on their own like that.” You scooted closer to him and wrapped your arms around his. “Wouldn’t you have liked someone to look after you? To care about you?”

He shrugged and was quiet for a few moments. “Dunno. Don’t matter. You and Robin, that’s what matters—what’s best for my family.”

“Carol’s family,” you replied. “That makes Henry family too. Aaron’s also family, and maybe he’s at Hilltop like you said. I want to find him, make sure he’s okay. It won’t be forever.”

He chewed on his lip as he stared off at the Rossetti painting hanging on the pale green wall above the fireplace. Of course he wanted to help his friend, but he wasn’t going to leave his wife and child again, and he certainly didn’t want them to get hurt outside the walls.

The way he saw it, Robin should never have to leave the safety of Alexandria, and should never have to feel scared, but he knew he couldn’t keep her locked away, or keep the horrors of the world out.

“Sometimes get tired of doin’ shit for other people,” he said solemnly. “Know I gotta, and I wanna, but seems like it’s always gotta be me.”

You rested your cheek upon his shoulder and stroked his arm. “You can’t help it if you’re naturally selfless, and perfect in every way.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, I’m just Mr. Perfect, huh?”

You snorted. “That makes me Mrs. Perfect.”

The silence settled in after a while, only accentuated by the distant laughter of children playing for their recess in the playground across the street. You’d never get tired of that sound, not when you knew there was still some shred of innocence and hope in the world.

“Let’s go,” he said. You looked at him in disbelief. “Could use a little vacation anyway.”

You pulled Robin out of class early to pack her things, and Daryl did some routine maintenance on his bike before joining Carol and Henry on their way to the Hilltop.

Gracie would stay with Bev until you found out where Aaron was, and one of your apprentices, Emily, would look after the library in your stead.

Robin sat in Carol’s lap on the wagon with Dog, and you rode rather reluctantly on the back of Daryl’s bike. At least he had finally put a “sissy bar” on the back to make you more comfortable, but you were still terrified of the thing after all these years.

“Slow down!” you yelled over the engine, pinching his side as you usually did when he went too fast for your liking.

He slowed down for a moment, then revved the engine and sped up again. At least he wasn’t doing wheelies. He’d learned not to do that since you went on a tirade about how dangerous it was when he last did it with you on the back, in a failed attempt to impress you, no less.

You pinched him again. “You’re no fun, princess!” he yelled, and finally agreed to slow down to a more reasonable speed.

Upon notice of the Hilltop’s gates, Dog jumped out of the wagon and bolted past you and Daryl as the guards opened the gates.

“Told you he wanted to go,” you said, riding through the gates and taking in the busy atmosphere of central Hilltop.

Upon stopping, you jumped off the bike and jogged over to the wagon where Henry was helping Robin jump onto the ground.

“Can I ride on the bike next time?” she asked innocently. “I don’t like when the horses poop.”

Daryl walked up to both of you as he took off his bandana. “No way,” he said to the little girl. “Too dangerous.”

You rolled your eyes. “Oh, really, Evil Knievel?” You turned back to Robin. “Maybe when you’re a lot bigger, sweet pea. Or we could just get you a bicycle? How about that?”

The girl’s eyes widened when she saw Aaron coming up from behind you. “Hi, Aaron!” she said with an ecstatic wave.

You turned swiftly to see Aaron, in one piece. Well, despite the obvious mechanical arm.

“Hey, kid,” he laughed, wrapping his arms around you, then Daryl. “Thought I heard a bike.”

“Good to see ya, man,” replied Daryl as Aaron bent down to hug Robin and kiss her cheek. “What you doin’ here? Somethin’ up?”

“We were worried about you,” you added. “Thought something might’ve happened when you left.”

Aaron turned serious as he let go of Robin, who was intrigued by the horse Aaron was holding onto.

“We found Rosita outside the walls yesterday,” he said.

Your heart dropped, remembering that her and Eugene had gone outside the walls around the same time Aaron did to do some work on the radio lines.

“Is she all right?” you asked.

“She’s pretty banged up,” he huffed.

“Is she here?” asked Daryl.

“Yeah,” replied Aaron, then looked at you. “And, uh… Eugene’s missing.”

Though you had spent less time with him since he and Bev broke up a few years ago, you were shocked. He had become a good friend, always helping out at the library when he could, and driving you crazy with how many requests he put in for new books.

“We’re headed out to go find him,” he continued, and looked seriously at Daryl. “Could use a good tracker.”

You shook your head. “I’ll go, too.”

“Nah,” Daryl said, turning sharply to face you. “Stay, get you and Robin settled.” He rustled the little girl’s hair as she stood between him and the horse, marveling at its mane. “I’ll go.”

“Then I’m going, too,” said Henry, who seemed to you much more eager to grow up than Carol wanted him to.

“No,” replied Carol. “You stay with (Y/N), your other guardian.” She sent you a trusting smile. “She’ll get you settled, too.”

Robin had a confused look on her clear, unblemished face. “You’re leaving again, Daddy?” she asked, in that tone that always seemed much too mature for her young age. Children had to grow up fast these days, even if you tried to give her a normal childhood.

He knelt down to her height and hugged her tightly, as you spoke to Aaron and Jesus, who were just on their way out when you arrived.

“I’ll be right back,” he said in his soft, gentle voice he reserved for the child’s sensitive ears, so untouched by any anger or malice, as he was always sure to be delicate with her, unlike his own father. “Gotta find our friend, Eugene. He could be in trouble.”

She nodded sadly, her chin resting on his shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut to prevent herself from crying. “Could the monsters get him?”

He sighed and looked her in the eyes, two pairs of the same shade of blue mirroring each other in understanding.

What was he to say? He was told parenting would get easier when the child grew out of their toddler years, but he didn’t find that to be the case. Of course, he didn’t have to change diapers anymore, but Robin was whip smart, always asking questions and absorbing much more than she needed to.

“I don’t know,” he said finally, brushing back her shoulder-length hair, with its subtle wave and familiar light brown hue. “He’s smart, like you, little bird. He could be just fine, but we gotta make sure he’s all right, and bring him home. That’s what friends do.”

She nodded, biting her pouty lip and rubbing her eyes. She whimpered a little as her tears fell, despite how hard she tried not to show her childlike weakness.

His heart dropped, and every muscle in his body told him not to leave the little girl so distraught. Her reddened, contorted face reminded him so much of you, and how he couldn’t stand to make either of you cry.

He pulled her in for another bear hug. “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he said. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

“Daryl!” Jesus called out to him as he and Aaron climbed atop their horses. “We’re wasting daylight.”

He huffed and laid a kiss upon her head, as you rested your hand on his shoulder.

“Be careful,” you said, him rising to his feet to hold you. “Come back to us.”

He nodded and kissed your cheek. “I will.”

You held Robin’s shoulders as you both watched Daryl, Jesus, and Aaron leave, with Dog leading them like the shepherd he was.

You watched Robin wipe her tears on her white rabbit Daryl had given her so long ago, when she was just a baby.

You knelt down and she immediately cried into your shoulder.

“Shhh,” you said, rubbing her back and patting her gently. “He’ll be back. They’ll all be back. Safe and sound.”

After getting your guest trailer set up for yourself, Daryl, Robin, and Henry, you heard the lookouts come through the gates with news of riders on the road.

Those riders turned out to be Michonne and Siddiq with the five newcomers. Somehow, it must’ve taken longer for them to get to the Hilltop.

Michonne was not pleased to know you had left Alexandria for Hilltop. She was convinced you and Aaron were running some kind of “channel” behind her back. Though you understood her paranoia, you were worried she was getting too concerned with isolating Alexandria, and you certainly had your reasons for leaving.

Still, Michonne wasn’t a dictator, and she couldn’t force you to go home, so she didn’t, and you helped cook dinner for everyone, as it was tradition in Hilltop to have communal supper.

As you finally served yourself and Robin, the two of you migrated to the table where Tara and a few other recognizable faces sat, but you quickly noticed the lone Henry sitting by himself at a further picnic table, forking at his food with an uninterested gaze.

“Let’s go sit with Henry,” you said to Robin as she held your hand. “We’re supposed to be his family.”

She huffed, wanting to sit with Aunt Tara. “Do we have to?”

“Yes.” You tugged her along until Henry saw the two of you out of the corner of his eye. “Mind if we join?”

He shrugged, now barely looking at you. “Sure.”

You and Robin sat across from him, and the three of you ate in silence for a while as you searched your mind for anything to talk about with the boy you hadn’t seen in years.

“How’d your first day of smithing go?” you asked. “Saw you working with Earl and Alden, you seemed to get the hang of it from what I could tell.”

The young man was quiet for a few moments. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “It was okay.”

Your shoulders sank as you recognized the attempt to spark up conversation as a failure.

Looking back up at Henry, you noticed a kind of dejection in his face, almost a disappointment.

“Everything all right?” you asked.

He shrugged, and avoided your eye contact. “Fine.”

Several minutes passed, and you felt Robin tug on your blouse when she finished eating.

“Mommy,” she said, “can I go see Aunt Tara?”

You looked over at Tara, who was sitting at the head of another table just a few yards away. You deemed it a good enough distance for you to keep your eye on her.

“Go ahead, sweet pea,” you said. “Just put your dishes away.”

As the young girl skipped away, you felt a little more comfortable prying the teenage boy.

“So,” you sighed, “what’s really on your mind?”

“Nothing.”

You raised an eyebrow. “You know, we may not know each other very well, but I’ve known your mom for a long time. You can trust me, and tell me anything. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m a pretty good listener.”

He was quiet again, stabbing the broccoli over and over again on his plate until he finally looked up at you.

“Promise not to tell anyone?” he asked.

You raised your right hand dramatically. “I swear.”

He shook his head. “It’s just… I was hoping get to know Enid a little better while I’m here.”

You were taken aback. “Oh?”

He nodded, looking down at his plate again. “I was… kinda hoping she’d hang out with me. I, um… like her, but she’s with Alden.”

“Oh,” you sighed, not realizing the nature of Henry’s worries would be romantic. “That’s… that’s hard,” you said. “Well, you know, these things happen… I remember when I was about your age, I had the biggest crush on my history teacher—” You stopped yourself as you realized this was a slightly different situation.

“I mean, obviously I didn’t have a chance, but when I found out he was married, my heart broke. Um… but you know what? I poured myself into my studies, and I got the highest grade in my class. By the end of the year, I forgot about Mr. Turner, and I could pass him in the halls without thinking about how much I liked him, and how sad I was that I didn’t have a chance.”

Henry looked at you with furrowed brows, and you swallowed hard, not used to dealing with teenagers in this way. You could teach them, but you couldn’t have a heart-to-heart with them without being a little awkward.

“You had a crush on a teacher?” he asked, still focusing on that aspect of the story.

You cleared your throat. “Um, yes, but I never pursued it or anything, just kind of… kept it to myself. Don’t develop crushes on adults,” you said. “That’s not the moral of the story. Just… set your mind to something, like your blacksmithing! It’ll distract you from Enid, and it’s a good distraction. Soon you’ll be a great blacksmith, and you can help out at the Kingdom like you want.”

You smiled to yourself, proud of your ability to turn the story around.

He scoffed. “I don’t think I’ll forget about her.”

You sighed, and folded your hands on the table. “You really like her, huh?”

He nodded sadly.

“Listen,” you continued, “relationships are complicated things. You’re still so young, and just because it might not work out with Enid doesn’t mean you won’t find a girl who is as interested in you as you are in her. I mean, I dated a lot of guys before meeting Daryl, and I was about ten years older than you. It’s not the end of the world, even though it feels like it. It hurts like hell, I know that.”

He looked at you with a softer glance, and you felt like you’d finally been able to break the ice a little with the emotional young man.

“Thanks, Mrs. Dixon,” he said.

You laughed. “Call me (Y/N). While we’re on the subject, relationships are overrated. Best thing to do while you’re here is make some friends. At your age, that’s the kind of relationships you should have.” Looking up at the group of three teenagers on the makeshift loft above the pavilion, an idea came to mind. “Why don’t you introduce yourself to those kids up there? They seem nice, and they’ve been looking at you.”

He turned around and looked curiously at the teenagers, two boys and one girl, who waved at him, gesturing for him to come up.

He turned back to you. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Positive. Go on, but be back before nightfall. Your mom wants me to make sure you’re in bed at a reasonable hour.”

He rolled his eyes as he stood up, but smiled softly at you. “Thanks again.”

If you had known Henry would stay out past your curfew and get drunk on bad moonshine with those kids, you wouldn’t have let him out of your sight.

When Tara knocked on your trailer door with a very intoxicated young man about to be put in a holding cell until he learned his lesson, you felt you’d been somehow responsible by encouraging him to make friends, but then, you had no idea those kids were troublemakers.

Still, you had bigger problems on your mind, such as the whereabouts of your brother and husband, who still hadn’t come back yet.

You slept very little that night, with Robin in your arms as she was having trouble sleeping, too.

You had half a mind to go out there and look for him, but you had responsibilities at the Hilltop now, two of which were children, one of whom was in jail for reckless behavior, and the other anxious about her father being eaten by walkers.

Luckily, Michonne made the executive decision to go out and look for them at first light, and when they didn’t come back a few hours later, Tara was planning a search party for the search party.

Though you offered to go, they decided upon sending Alden and one of the newcomers, Luke, to find them.

When they came back, you were instructing Robin in her math workbook, showing her the basics of addition and subtraction (a kindergarten level of mathematics which you understood).

In the middle of helping her with a problem, the familiar roaring of Daryl’s engine sounded from outside.

“Daddy!” Robin cheered, putting down her pencil and strapping on her Mary Janes. You rose to your feet and put your shoes on as well, then the two of you jogged out to see everyone who’d gone out, with the exception of Alden, Luke, and Jesus.

Your eyes trained to Daryl, who was helping remove a limp body draped over one of the horses, who you immediately recognized as Jesus.

Not only that, but there was a dirty, blindfolded young woman, about Henry’s age, whom you didn’t recognize, tied up and breathing heavily in fear as she rode upon one of the horses.

You cried silently, and held Robin’s hand tightly, not letting her run to her father until he wasn’t preoccupied.

After carrying Jesus’ body to the graves for burial, he helped Michonne and Tara take the captive girl to the cellar, where Henry was being kept.

There was no time for him to greet you, not until he came to your trailer an hour or so later, after interrogating the girl with Michonne and Tara.

“Hey,” he said, coming through the door with Dog and watching you work on a puzzle with Robin.

She immediately beamed at him, in all her misunderstanding of what was happening, and leaped into his arms.

“Hi, Daddy,” she said over his shoulder. “Did you find Eugene?”

He nodded as he looked at you. “Yeah,” he said. “He’s all right.”

You were about as in the dark as Robin, only knowing that Jesus was dead, and there was some stranger being held prisoner.

“What’s going on?” you asked.

Daryl let go of Robin and kissed her head. “We gotta talk.”

You sent Robin to play with the other children, watching from the kitchen window in your trailer where you sat with Daryl, cleaning his face and chest as you always did, and patching up any injuries you could find until he got a proper bath.

“Did she kill Jesus?” you asked shakily, wiping the washcloth over the small scar on his face, separated only by his left eye as it descended from his forehead to his cheek.

“Nah,” he said. “One of ‘er people did… Gonna go down there again tomorrow mornin’, try to get some answers outta her.”

“Are there more of them?”

He shrugged. “She said there ain’t, but I don’t buy it.”

You moved the washcloth to his chest, which was covered in grime and dried blood. “I don’t trust anyone who pretends to be a walker, wears their skin… How could anyone do that?”

“Gotta be sick,” he said. “Or followin’ someone who’s sick. If there’s more, there’s gotta be a leader or somethin’.”

“Mmm,” you hummed. “You’ll figure it out. You always do.”

He huffed, and turned his head to look out the window at the children playing hopscotch, with Robin hopping on one foot and laughing at something one of the other children said.

“Jus’ hope nothin’ happens to ‘er,” he said. “Dunno if it’s safer here with that girl, or in Alexandria with Negan.”

You sighed, and moved behind him to wash his back, paying special attention to his scars, as if you could ever wash them away.

“I know, honey. Between her and Henry… Hey, it’s kind of like we have a son now.”

Daryl scoffed. “Yeah, and look how he turned out—in jail for bein’ drunk and disorderly. Real Dixon kid right there, livin’ up to the family name.”

You snorted. “Stop it. He’s just confused. Things will start looking up again once we figure this all out with these… freaks. They’ll get what’s coming to them for what they did to Jesus, that much I know.”

He hummed as he felt your hands massaging his broad, aching shoulders, squeezing and kneading them back and forth.

“I love you,” he said suddenly, his voice soft and buttery.

You smiled. “I love you, too.”

~

Thanks for reading! Likes, comments, and reblogs of any kind are always appreciated!

Series Masterlist Next Chapter ➳

~

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[nikiiwi]

Barbie Fashionistas Guide, Part II

For the dolls that were released between 2014-2016, check out this guide: [x]

Listed here are a few dolls from 2016, and everything released in 2017 (or projected for release in 2018), including the new Ken bodies.

I’m not a doll expert, just a passionate fan. I’ve changed the naming system of the post slightly, since nicknames for individual dolls have kind of fallen out of popular use. The dolls are organized first by body, then by mold. If the mold has a common nickname, I include it. I used this reference guide by Willyssa [x], this guide by Katti’s Dolls [x], and lot of guess work to figure these out. The photos are close-up screenshots of the official promo photos, and some are of better quality than others. 

Please message me if you have any corrections or additional information.

I’ll periodically update the post with minor corrections, but I won’t be doing another overhaul update until Fall/Winter, so please don’t bombard me if a new release happens.

[Correction shout-outs: @ayrtongschm]

BARBIE - ORIGINAL BODY

Millie 

Doll 46, Power Print

Doll 58, Peplum Power

Millie, Closed Mouth

Doll 49, Double Denim Look

Doll 84, Happy Hipster

Doll 71, Pineapple Pop

Neysa (aka. Bambi)

Doll 50, Emerald Check 

New Mold (aka Kassandra)

Doll 87, Sweet & Sporty

Doll 75, Seeing Stars

New Mold (aka Chandra, aka. Kim)

Doll 59, TropiCutie

New Mold (Shares some similarities with Chandra/Kim, but seems to have a different nose)

Doll 74, Rosey Romper

New Mold (I propose we call her Amber, because she reminds me of Amber Rose)

Doll 39, Chic in Chambray

Raquelle

Doll 73, Overall Awesome

Skipper

Doll 72, Teddy Bear Flair

BARBIE - CURVY BODY (These molds have been modified with slightly wider faces to better suit the body frame)

Skipper

Doll 63, Platinum Pop

2011 Summer

Doll 85, Happy Hued

Neysa (aka. Bambi)

Doll 79, Floral Frills - (Again, same sculpt but no dimples.)

Goddess

Doll 77, Purely Pinstriped

Carnaval

Doll 86, Glam Boho

Tango

Doll 65, Powder Pink Lace

Grace (aka. Playline Mbili), (I’m actually not sure if this is Grace or Mbili, I took an educated guess)

Doll 78, To Tie Dye For

New Mold (aka. Curvy), (Some people also refer to this as ‘Curvy Karl’ but I’ve seen that contested a lot.)

Doll 48, Daisy Pop

Doll 51, Polka Dot Fun

Doll 64, Lovin’ Leopard

New Mold ( aka. Zig Zag)

Doll 57, Zig &Zag

New Mold (aka. Smiley)

Doll 66, Beautiful Butterflies

Doll 76, Lavender Kiss

BARBIE - TALL BODY

2011 Summer

Doll 52, Plaid on Plaid

Doll 67, Cactus Cute

Neysa (aka. Bambi)

Doll 69, Blue Beauty

Goddess

Doll 68, Candy Stripes

1990 Teresa (stamped 2010)

Doll 80, Wear Your Heart - (She’s currently listed with the same title as doll 82)

New Mold (aka. Greek)

Doll 55, Denim & Dazzle

New Mold (aka. Smiley)

Doll 53, Lovely in Lilac

New Mold - (This is the same new mold as Doll 74)

Doll 60, Patchwork Denim

BARBIE - PETITE BODY

Millie

Doll 47, Kitty Cute

Mbili

Doll 56, Style So Sweet

Lea

Doll 61, Nice in Nautical

Kira (aka. Oriental), (I don’t know if this is the original or if it has a new stamp.)

Doll 62, Sweet for Silver

Doll 82, Wear Your Heart 

New Mold (aka. Smiley)

Doll 54, Tutu Cool

New Mold, (I think she’s brand new, but she does resemble 2010 Stacie.)

Doll 81, Cheerful Check

KEN - ORIGINAL BODY (A misnomer, this body is different from Playline Ken, and I think it also differs from previous Ken Fashionista bodies. I went ahead and numbered the new molds to keep myself from getting confused.)

Ken - (This Ken has been in rotation since at least 2012, does he have a name?)

Doll 1, In Black & White

Doll 4, Checked Style

Doll 7, Preppy Check

Ryan

Doll 3 , Stylin’ Stripes

Doll 4, Cali Cool

New Mold 1

Doll 10, Classic Cool

KEN - BROAD BODY (I believe these heads have been modified to suit the wider frame.)

2005 Ken (aka. The New Look), (Feel free to call me out here, but I’m 90% sure this isn’t Playline Ken. He could be new?)

Doll 8,  Camo Comeback

Ryan

Doll 12, Chill in Check

1991 Jamal, (Maybe? He’s definitely a Jamal/Steven that I’ve seen before.)

Doll 5, Super Stripes

New Mold 2

Doll 13, Distressed in Denim

KEN - SLIM BODY

Ken

Doll 11, Hyped on Stripes

New Mold 3, (Or maybe Ryan?)

Doll 2, Tropical Vibes

New Mold 4

Doll 3, Cactus Cooler

New Mold 5

Doll 9, Plaid on Point

FASHION PACK DOLLS (These are dolls that were originally assumed to be Fashionistas when photos leaked. They don’t seem to be separately named or numbered.)

New Mold (aka. Kassandra)

[honeypirate]

Just In Case part two

Part one here

The awakening

(Lol that’s kinda dramatic)

Bakugou x fem reader married pro hero au

The first paragraph is kind of a spoiler for season five ep one.

Anyway!! I hope you like this!! I hate angst with not a good ending so I had to make it a good ending with family fluff.

(You went to the hospital as a hero so he uses your hero name at the receptionist)

Kirishima feels like he’s in school again as he races his car from the office down to the hospital except this time Bakugou was in the passenger seat instead of on the hood.

“Can you go any faster? Fuck” bakugou grumbled and kiri laughed once “I’m going seventy in a 45 I think I’m at the limit. Plus we’re here” before he can even stop the car, Bakugou is slamming the door and running. “Lightseeker?” He’s asking the receptionist who seems a little star struck “come on!” He shouts and slaps the counter making her jump. “DynaMight” recovery girl says from the doorway and he’s never moved this fast before in his life.

“What happened? They told me she was gone” his voice is angry, he’s pissed. He’s never been this god damn angry before in his life. They said she was dead but she’s alive! These goddamn doctors don’t know shit apparently.

“We don’t know. She was dead. She was gone. They were about to take her to the morgue but her body lit up with electricity and then she was breathing and alive and screaming for you. We just got out of surgery and she should still be under anesthesia until the morning.”

(Flashback)

The first responders get there and bakugou checks out, they order him to move rubble or move other things and he helps how he can moving immediately. They free your body, one first responder had her hands on your face the whole time already healing what she could and pulling your body back together as the heavy piece of building was levitated away.

He followed behind them and sat by you in the ambulance, quiet and in shock as he numbly watched them work over you. He watched, like an out of body experience, as you flatlined. Watched as they tried to resuscitate you. Watched as the woman’s hands fell from your body and watched as her mouth moved calling the time of death.

He stared at your face the rest of the ride, ingraining your face in his memory. Trying to grasp the fact that he will never see you smile again, never hear your voice, never experience parenthood with you.

That’s what breaks him. Thinking of the half painted pastel green room, flashing back to finding you laying in the middle of the room unsure of the color again (the fourth color you’ve painted it) he laid beside you and you talked about colors and baby names for hours looking around the small room and imagining your future.

He had quiet tears going down his cheeks and he’s only semi aware of the woman handing him a card to the hospital morgue and their grief therapist before the police chief is there wanting a statement.

(Back to present)

He looks through the room window, watching you breathe with the help of a breathing tube. Your right arm was in a cast and your chest was bandaged under your hospital gown.

He was scared, terrified the moment he walks through that door he’d wake up and this would be a dream, you’d be gone.

Recovery girl has gone and he’s by himself but he still can’t go in there. “Hey man” Kirishima says softly “what happened?”

“She came back. They don’t know how”

Kirishima takes in Bakugous state, noticing the worry in his eyes and how he seems frozen to his spot. He decides to take the lead. “Hey y/n” Kirishima says gently as he walks into the room, Bakugou feels panic and follows him quickly.

“I’m glad you’re back. I don’t know how I could have lived without your caramel cake and your sense of humor. No one can put Bakugou here in his place like you could. He’d be insufferable without you so truly from the bottom of my heart, thank you”

Bakugou glares at him, but is grateful for him taking the lead and helping him through his fear.

“Hey pretty girl” Bakugou says and takes your hand, Kirishima smiles softly and pats his shoulder as he leaves the room.

“You scared the fuck outta me” he said, tears filling his eyes again as he sits in the chair beside the bed. “Never do that again” his voice cracks and he drops his head to the bed next to your left hand which he has clasped between his. Hot tears falling to the crappy hospital blanket that scratches his face. He was so broken, so terribly ripped to shreds when he thought you were dead. And to have himself be ripped to shreds and then tell him you’re alive? Fuck it hurt. He cried harder than he ever had from the pain of losing you to get you back, he didn’t know how to handle the whiplash of emotion.

At some point he must have fallen asleep because he woke up to the sensation of you running your fingers through his hair. His head shot up and the moment he’s looking into your eyes he’s crying again, his eyebrows knit as tears spill from his eyes “you dumbass” he mutters with a thick tongue and you chuckle “don’t cry sweetheart” you say softly and brush his tears away with your left hand, not moving more than that. “I’m right here” you whisper, your eyes filling with tears.

He stands and leans over, pressing his forehead into yours. “Please” he whispers. Not really sure what he’s asking, just knowing he needs you to be with him longer. “I’m here. I’m with you. Right here” you say and press your lips to his in a little peck causing his breath to hitch.

When he relaxes and sits back down, his hand never leaving yours, you tell him your experience.

“I woke up a little while ago as the doctors removed my breathing tube and I made them be quiet so they wouldn’t wake you” he chuckles gently, everything still feeling so fragile, “always thinking of me” he says and reaches out, brushing your cheek softly and you lean into his touch

“I remember what happened” you whisper and he raises his eyebrows “when you died?” He asks in a whisper and you nod “do you wanna talk about it?” He asks gently and you sigh softly

“I was floating in the darkness. I was wondering where you were. I wanted you. All of my favorite memories of you and I together filled that darkness. I saw what our future will be like” you close your eyes as tears start to fall “it was so beautiful. Our family” he feels tears prick his eyes as you talk and his hand tightens around yours.

You look into his eyes and smile “I don’t know if it was real. But she looked just like you, Katsuki. Crazy blonde hair and she had a quirk where one hand is explosions and the other was electricity. She was funny and sweet and she had my eyes” he smiles softly imagining the child “she ran to me and placed her palm against my chest and used her electricity and then I was here”

He lays his cheek against your thigh facing you and closes his eyes “I don’t know if it’s real or just a dream” he says softly “but I’m grateful to whoever it was who gave you back to me”

(Skippy skip)

He’s been so much more open with his feelings after that day and it’s been amazing. You two had gone to couples therapy just to help guide you both through that process and it brought you both closer together.

Healing was bitch. Physical therapy was a bigger bitch. But Bakugou was there every step of the way in your recovery. You’ve never seen him more attentive since you were dating. He got home from his patrol and wrapped his arms around your middle as you cooked dinner “I missed you today. The office is so empty without you” he mumbles against your neck and you smile, reaching up and cupping his cheek “I’ll be back soon” you say and turn in his arms “buuut maybe not that soon” you say with a knowing smirk and he raises his eyebrows “what do you mean?” You pull the stick out of your pocket and hand it to him

He’s quiet for a moment, looking down at the capped pregnancy test in his palm and at the pink line that confirmed his dreams “is this..” he looks up to you and you see the tears in his eyes “we’re gonna have a baby, Katsuki”

(Skippy skip)

He opens the room to the doctors office panting “sorry 'm late” he says as he takes his spot next to you in the bed, your hand taking his and squeezing it. “Right on time” excitement fills your voice and he kisses the top of your head. “I see the feet here” the doctor points out and types into the computer “and here’s the hands… and here is the little face” your eyes are hooked on the screen, so enamored by seeing your little one in your tummy. You hear a sniff and look up to see bakugou crying and it makes your heart swell “and here it is..” she turns to you “do you wanna know the sex?” You and bakugou both say yes at the same time and she laughs “it’s a girl”

(Skippy skip)

You hear an explosion in your house and panic, running to check on your daughter. You bust through her door and find her holding a busted and charred plastic dinosaur. “Sweetie what happened?” You kneel in front of her and she laughs “he was going to eat my Barbie and I had to save her”

Later that evening when Bakugou is sitting down with her explaining her quirk and his, that’s when the electricity manifested and she shot a bolt at your tv making it explode. You stared for a moment then looked at Bakugou both busting up laughing before helping her with ways to control it.

Later that night

“It’s real” you say as you cuddle into his side “it’s her” he hums and holds you close “she brought me back” he fights back tears “my precious girls” he says softly.

[cdreemurr84]

Curtain Call - Chapter 1: Showtime

Blitz found himself lost again. The room he opened his eyes in was small—thick red and white vertical lines were painted on the wall, and a hardwood floor that was so dirty that the dust coated the bottom of his shoes. He looked around for a door of some kind, but the room had no exit. A light bulb dangled from the black painted ceiling, being the only source of light he had.

He was afraid to pull the string and turn it off. He didn’t know what was waiting in this room for him to do that, that once the darkness took over he’d never see the light again. He nearly had a heart attack when the light started flickering, now watching it with fear in his eyes to make sure it didn’t go out. But even with his eyes glued to it, it continued to make him nervous by flickering more. Until finally-

Bzzt.

It went out, Blitz now completely engulfed in darkness. He stood perfectly still, his heart beating rapidly as claustrophobia started to kick in. His breathing was heavy, finding himself curling up into a ball on the dusty floor. It was a defense mechanism, but he felt somewhat safe when he did this.

He heard muffled noises coming from outside the room. Talking. Cheering? He couldn’t make it out.

Footsteps made him stand.

Had someone found him? How would they even get inside? But…what if they were the ones who trapped him in here? What if they were coming to hurt him further?

He backed up against a wall, suddenly feeling it push against his back. His spines felt crushed under it, but he held back the urge to react. For even the slightest sound could let the enemy know he was there—if they didn’t think so already.

The footsteps got louder, the wall pushing Blitz further towards the front of the room.

His back and tail went numb, his feet slipping on the floor as he struggled to fight the wall.

A light nearly blinded him, his arm instinctively going to shield his eyes. But then-

“Blitzo? You ready to go on?”

He opened his eyes and looked in front of him. The front wall had been opened like it was just a curtain, a figure standing in front of it. She was a female imp, dressed like some sort of staff member.

The back wall was gone, the room being reduced to nothing more than a red and white changing tent.

“Well?” She looked at him with a slightly annoyed expression. “The audience is getting impatient.”

Blitz looked down at himself—he was..wearing his old performance outfit? When did he-?

“AHEM.” She cleared her throat rather loudly in front of him, making him look at her.

He didn’t know what to say, but she would most likely get more upset if he continued to stay silent.

“U-Uhm..yeah I’m ready..?” He answered half-heartedly, still confused.

“Finally!” She rolled her eyes. “Now get going.” Her tail swished angrily as she walked away, mumbling something about how she ‘didn’t get paid enough for this bullshit’.

Blitz stepped out of the tent rather quickly, not wanting to get trapped again. The tent seemed to disappear once he did so, leaving him out in the open—a dirt floored, tent hallway.

There were more lightbulbs this time, lining the floor as a guide for him. They blinked in a motion that lured him closer. Cautiously, he walked into the hallway, hearing the sounds from earlier getting louder the closer he got.

He could hear the cheering clear as day now. Something about it made him nervous, like he was about to step into dangerous waters—one wrong move and you could drown.

A loud ‘Whoa’ from the audience made him jump. He could hear people stomping their feet in rhythm to something, more ‘Whoas’ along with the beat.

He felt something grab his arm. He turned to look at it, only to be met with a face he hadn’t seen in years.

Barbie.

What was she doing here?!

She smiled at him, letting go of his arm as she gave him a friendly, light punch in the shoulder. “Ready, Bro?”

“I—I..” He couldn’t speak, his face going pale as he struggled to find the words. None of this made any sense.

She laughed, taking his hand as she led him towards the end of the hallway—another curtain light up ahead.

“Let’s make this one they won’t forget, kay?”

His body stiffened. He didn’t know where she was taking him. He didn’t want to know. “Barbie I-”

Another ‘whoa’ from outside, followed by a familiar voice singing to an audience of thousands. Blitz couldn’t make out who it was, but something about the voice drew him in.

“Ladies and gents this is the moment you’ve waited for..”

Another ‘whoa’. Blitz felt his feet moving closer to the light, Barbie still smiling.

“Been searching in the dark, your sweat soaking through the floor..”

One final ‘whoa’.

“And buried in your bones, there’s an ache that you can’t ignore.”

He stepped closer in tune to the beat. Was it father away?

“Taking your breath,”

Step.

“Stealing your mind,”

Step.

“And all that was real is left behind—!”

He was finally out of the hallway, he and Barbie now inside the main tent. Demon’s eyes were on them like glue, some sort of figure in the middle of the tent. They stood with a bright spotlight on them.

“Don’t fight it, it’s coming for you, running at ya.”

Blitz gulped.

“It’s only this moment, don’t care what comes after.”

He felt Barbie grab his hand again, pulling toward the center.

“Your fever dream, can’t you see it getting closer?”

Lights flashed within the crowd. Cameras probably, he thought.

“Just surrender cause you feel the feeling taking over—!”

The stomping and cheering got louder.

“It’s fire, it’s freedom, it’s flooding open! It’s a preacher in the pulpit and you’ll find devotion—!”

The figure’s eyes were a fiery orange, teeth glowing along with their intimidating grin.

“There’s something breaking at the brick of every wall it’s holding—”

Blitz was suddenly pulled to the center even faster, he and Barbie now on opposite sides of the figure.

“—I’ll let you know…”

In that moment Blitz could see the face of the figure. Once it registered in his mind, blood went cold.

The music paused for a second, leaving the audience in suspense.

The figure’s face—a lion with burned and matted fur, a mane made of flames—leaned over to him, his lips close to Blitz’s ears as he whispered.

“Don’t let me down, Blitzy.”

For some reason, Blitz nodded in response, despite the fear coursing through his veins.

The lion demon turned back to the audience with a big smile, the song resuming.

“So tell me, do you wanna go—?”

The whole circus lit up.

“Where it’s covered in all the colored lights,”

Barbie ran over to him, grabbing his hand once more as she pulled him to another area of the tent.

“Where the runaways are running the night,”

He found himself placed alongside other demons who performed—more faces being recognized the longer he stood there.

“Impossible comes true, it’s taking over you!”

The lion pointed a staff at the audience as they shouted to him on cue.

“OH! THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!”

He grinned at them.

“We light it up, we won’t come down!”

“AND THE SUN CAN’T STOP US NOW!”

Like puppets on a string.

“Watching it come true, it’s taking over you!”

“OH! THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!”

The ‘whoas’ returned. Blitz suddenly found himself holding onto a large silver ring, standing on a platform so high, everyone below him looked like ants.

He saw Barbie on a platform across from him, holding onto a different silver ring.

Shit.

He knew what this was.

“Colossal we come, these renegades in the ring,”

“WHOA!”

“Where the lost get found in the crown of the circus king!”

Barbie took a few steps back, getting a running start.

“Don’t fight it, it’s coming for you, running at ya!”

Blitz felt his legs doing the same.

“It’s only this moment, don’t care what comes after! It’s blinding outside and I think that you know,”

They both jumped off at the same time.

“Just surrender ‘cause you’re calling and you wanna go—!”

Like instinct they both let go and grabbed onto the opposing ring, doing a spin in unison before landing on the opposite platform.

“Where it’s covered in all the colored lights,”

Again.

“Where the runaways are running the night,”

Again.

“Impossible comes true, intoxicating you—!”

“OH! THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!”

They put their hands together the fourth time, spinning around as their tails and legs held onto the rings.

“We light it up, we won’t come down!”

“AND THE SUN CAN’T STOP US NOW!”

“Watching it come true!”

“IT’S TAKING OVER YOU!”

“OH, THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!”

Barbie let go of his hands, both of them now spinning on opposite ends of the tent.

Blitz felt the wind on his face, gliding past the audience and that captivating ringmaster below. That…horrifyingly captivating ringmaster. His voice echoed in Blitz’s ears, throughout the tent.

“It’s everything you ever want,”

Blitz felt like he had the hang of this.

“It’s everything you ever need,”

He closed his eyes.

“And it’s here right in front of you,”

He dangled upside down, his arms spread out.

“This is where you wanna be.”

His tail and legs held on tight.

“It’s everything you ever want,”

Don’t let go.

“It’s everything you ever need,”

Don’t let go..!

“And it’s here right in front of you,”

He heard something snap.

He opened his eyes.

“This is where you wanna beeeee—!”

The music got louder.

The floor got closer.

He panicked.

He was running out of time.

Maybe someone would catch him.

Maybe Barbie would-

THUD.

The song did not continue…one final voice was heard before it faded to black.

“Looks like you let me down...”

—————

“NO! SHIT!” He screamed.

His eyes opened in a cold sweat, falling off the bed he was in. The blankets wrapped around his legs, stopping his head from hitting the floor.

He took a minute to check his surroundings.

He was in Stolas’ room. In bed.

The circus was gone.

Barbie was gone.

It was all a dream.

“Oh..”

He untangled himself from the bed sheets, struggling to get up as he proceeded to climb back onto the bed.

Since when did his dreams become so…vivid? So real? And why did it have to be there? With Barbie and…and..

“Blitzy?”

He flinched at that nickname, but soon relieved to find out it was only Stolas beside him. He turned to see the Owl Prince sit up, looking at him with concerned eyes.

“Is everything alright..? I heard you shouting.”

He didn’t know how to explain it. Or even if he wanted to.

No.

No, he couldn’t.

His tail swished. “Yeah I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Stolas cupped his face gently, surprised when Blitz leaned into it. “Perhaps I could make you some tea or—?”

“No…no I don’t need it.” He took one of Stolas’ hands, closing his eyes as though if he let go of it, he’d fall again.

“Can we just..” He looked up at him, his eyes looking hurt by something. Something Stolas didn’t know. “…go back to sleep? Please?”

The ‘please’ made Stolas even more worried, sensing something was amiss. Regardless, he let Blitz hold his hand as they laid back down together.

“Ok.”

Blitz let out a shaky breath, his eyes starting to close. He was still afraid he’d go back to that dreamscape, but maybe his mind would let him rest this time. It was all he wanted. It was what he needed.

“And Stolas?”

“Hm?”

“C-Can you…” He bit his lip. “..wake me up if I start to..?”

Stolas put a finger to his lips. “Of course I will. Now get some rest, Blitzy.”

Blitz hid the blush on his face, sinking into the oversized pillow. “Thanks.”

Once his eyes closed, Stolas made it his task to stay up the rest of the night. Owls were naturally nocturnal, anyway.

But even so, he couldn’t help but wonder what had gone on in the imp’s head. What sort of nightmare could have been so bad, that even Blitz would be shaken up by it..?

Whatever it was, he hoped it wouldn’t happen again.

(First chapter of Curtain Call! More coming soon!

Also here’s the song used in the chapter:

https://youtu.be/NyVYXRD1Ans )

[professional-benaddict]

No pressure cuz obvs exams suck, but if ur interested, maybe smth with lil!Peter who has lots of food allergies or smth? So his daddies have to make his food from scratch a lot, maybe? Maybe some restrictive ED h/c in the mix, like his daddies encouraging him to just relax & not worry about food stuff, cuz theyll take care of it? I hafta go on an elimination diet (again) & Im projecting cuz is sucky. I can only have like 6 foods atm & it makes ED stuff extra hard. ;-;

hiii darling im so sorry im so late to writing a prompt for this🥺🥺 i hope you are doing good and that your diet is a good one and that youre happy with it💓💓

Daddies Tony and Stephen, +18 Little Peter, eating disorders, strict diets, anxiety, emotional hurt, comfort, fluff, coping mechanisms

“What’s for snack?”

“Peter...”

Stephen sighs softly, but reaches over to ruffle the boy’s curls with one hand.

This is the fifth time that Peter has asked about food today, and Stephen is growing just a bit worried. Maybe even worried, or very worried. But, the boy doesn’t seem satisfied with Stephen’s answer and remains by his side with a pout that tells Stephen the boy really is expecting an answer.

“You’re having some fruit and the crackers I made.” Stephen answers and goes back the laundry that he is folding in the bedroom. He also has a bunch of his and Tony’s shirts that he needs to iron, but depending on Peter’s mood, he might just not finish that today.

“Your crackers are yuck.” Peter states without shame, but Stephen’s pride isn’t bruised. He can make amazing homemade crackers, but that’s when he can use whichever ingredients he wants. As for Peter, both he and Tony have to be very careful with what they make and feed the boy. Hence the not so delicious crackers with few ingredients.

“I know they aren’t super yummy, but they are super good for your tummy. I can promise you that.” Stephen says and puts aside another tshirt that he has folded. There’s also a bunch of Peter’s clothes in the laundry pile, and Stephen picks them out and sets them in a separate pile on the bed. “You want to fold your own clothes? I could use some of your help.”

Heading over, Peter takes one of his tshirts and tries to copy his Daddy’s moves. It’s a bit hard at first, but he quickly gets the hang of it. Sleeves together, straighten the neck, then fold. And repeat. The tactile feeling of the soft and freshly washed clothes and the repeated moves lets Peter’s mind catch a break for a bit. His thoughts slow down, and all the voices in his head get more quiet. Eventually, it’s just him and the clothes. Soon enough the pile is gone, and Peter pauses.

“You know that Daddy and I worry about your food, yeah? That’s because it isn’t good for you to worry about it. It’s our job for a while now till you get better. Yeah?” Stephen says gently after folding the last piece of clothing in his pile. Moving to sit on the bedside, Stephen guides Peter to stand between his knees. He kisses the boy’s cheek, then lifts his chin up with a curled finger.

“Just- can’t not think about it...” Peter admits and avoids looking into his Daddy’s eyes. “Just- happens.”

“I know, baby. You’ve been so honest and brave about that to both me and Sophie.” Stephen says, referring to the psychologist Peter is seeing to help with his eating disorder.

“Cause- what if I don’t get enough? Or I eat too much? And I get-”

“Peter, Peter, honey. Slow down now. Deep breaths, okay? Where do you feel your breath?”

“Don’ know!”

“Yes, you do. Try again. Where do you feel it?”

After two panicked breaths, Peter points to his throat.

“Okay, good. Just focus on how the air is going past your throat. Where does it go from there?”

The flare ups in anxiety are quite frequent whenever they talk about food and eating. Stephen and Tony are well aware, and thanks to Peter’s psychologist, they have all agreed on some coping mechanisms. The breathing exercises work the best when the attacks come suddenly, and after a few controlled breaths, Peter starts to relax his shoulders.

“Good, good boy. Now, shall we bring your clothes to your room, and then play together?”

Nodding eagerly, Peter picks up his folded clothes dutifully and brings them to his room. Once the clothes are in their rightful place in his drawers, Peter turns to his Daddy. He points shyly at his Barbie dolls.

“Of course, baby. What adventures is Barbie going on today?”

Today, Peter wants to play school with her dolls. Barbie is the teacher, and the boy makes sure to dress her appropriately for a teacher. His Daddy praises his choice with Barbie’s outfit, and Peter feels light inside hearing that. His worries about food, his body and everything else goes away, bit by bit. His Daddies will sort that out. He just needs to focus on what Barbie is going to wear, and that’s more than okay. It feels safe, and Peter smiles softly.

[parkhabits]

Movie Marathons {M}

Park Jinyoung x Reader Genre: Fluff / Smut / Drabble Summary: Halloween night and all you wanted is to have movie marathons with Jinyoung instead of being dressed up as Minnie Mouse and at a frat party.  

Word count: 4,546

He was irritated. Annoyed at best. His day was draining, his body exhausted physically and mentally. He always looked forward to home. Loved the quiet and comfort of his space. After long and tiring days he loved being able to shut the world out. Especially tonight of all nights while people were out partying and getting dressed up. He found satisfaction in curling into bed and rest. He was about to do just that until his phone buzzed. 

He could have ignored it. Yet something had been gnawing at him all day. The feeling in his gut poking at him to look at the message. 

Y/N [12:08am]: Jinyugkeeee Can you pleade come get me? 

He stared at it blankly. Debating to ignore it. It was apparent you were drunk. The state of your text message proved it. Deep down he knew why he had been on edge all day and short tempered. You had bragged on and on how you had been invited to Johnny’s house for a Halloween party. In fact, you couldn’t stop talking about how you were ready to let loose and unwind after a week of finals. That alone annoyed him. He never understood the need to party in order to unwind. The need to drink to let loose. There were plenty of other ways people could do that. Some that didn’t involve a house full of rowdy guys. He almost chose to ignore it out of spite, until his phone chimed once again. 

Y/N [12:10am]: please?

He was weak. Within two minutes of the last text message he had already grabbed his keys and wallet and was out the door. Abandoning his sanctuary to get you. Why? Because the thought of leaving you stranded there was enough to form numerous scenarios in his mind that made his blood boil and his foot step on the gas faster. 

The air was humid and thick, every inhale filled your nose with the stench of mixed alcohol. You needed air, fresh air as you pushed your way past the dancing bodies, moving past a drunk soldier and a barbie and ken making out against the wall. Side stepping past the boys dressed as ninja turtles who jumped for joy at the beer pong table until you stumbled outside onto the porch. Away from everyone. Rarely had you come to parties like this. It wasn’t your scene, not in your comfort zone. You pushed yourself though, even going as far by making your makeshift minnie mouse costume. Wearing a red skirt and finding the ears from the local dollar store. It was all in an attempt to try and seek attention from the one you really wanted to spend the night with. You had hoped it would have worked, that if you talked about it enough, the details of what to expect that he may have told you not to go.  Suggest doing something else. You felt foolish to think he’d ask you out. But there had been signs. Obviously you interpreted it wrong. 

You liked Jinyoung. Had thought your friendship with him was progressing to something more. There were moments. The kind that had your heart fluttering, the kind where you internally cheered him on. “Do it. Ask me out already,” or “Kiss me you idiot,”. He never did and it only made you feel like the idiot. You didn’t  have the guts to act on it either. You sat down on the steps, looking at your phone. He had seen the messages. Was he coming? What if he wasn’t? 

Your head felt heavy, your face hot and flushed by the alcohol that was pushed on you. Your minnie mouse ears constantly falling off your head. You knew your limit, why were you stupid enough to go beyond that. You rested your head in your lap, ears sliding down once again but this time you decided to just leave it. Waiting for Jinyoung to come. If he didn’t, then the porch seemed comfy enough to rest until you sobered up. There was a sleepy haze looming over you. 

“There you are,” there were footsteps behind you. It was the guy dressed as Fred Flintstone you met and talked to for a bit. “I’ve been looking for you,” he sat down beside you.

“Just waiting for my ride,” you murmur, head feeling too heavy to turn and look at him. 

“Already? The party’s just getting started,” he coaxed, “Come have a few more drinks,”��

You shake your head and even that requires a lot of effort. “I’m done for the night,” 

“It looks like you need to lie down. Come on, I’ll take you to the spare bedroom,” his hand moves to your lower back, and though you think he does it out of comfort the touch has you shuddering out of unease. 

“I’m fine,” you muster up the words and say it as carefully as you can so not to slur. “My ride will be here soon,” You hoped. You weren’t even sure if that were true. 

“Why don’t you lie down while you wait?” He continues to persuade. 

Annoyed and uneasy you stand to walk away from him. When you do, you feel and see everything around you begin to spin. You lean against the railing for support and without fail he snugs his arm around your waist. Trying to shift your body weight onto him so you’d be against him for support. 

“Let me go. I’m okay,” but you weren’t. You felt so nauseous, felt stupid that you had even got to this point. You tried to push against him but were just met with the solid stability of his body. 

“I’ll take you inside -“ 

“Y/N,” 

You look up to see Jinyoung, two Jinyoung’s actually, walk towards you. You smile, “You came,” 

Jinyoung wanted to curse at you right then and there. His hands were bawled in fists at his side. He doesn’t say anything, only walks to you and the dirtbag who had his arms all wrapped around you. He pushes him off you and you all but fall into Jinyoung’s arms instead. You knew you shouldn’t have, but you couldn’t control it. Your body and mind were disjointed. Though your mind screamed stand up, your body felt like jelly and your legs wobbled. 

Jinyoung sighs deeply. Maneuvering himself to best support you as he begins to guide you to his car. 

“Dude just let her- “ the guy doesn’t even finish his sentence as the ice cold glare Jinyoung sends over his shoulder advised him otherwise. 

“My ears,” you mutter, trying to turn back to get those damn mouse ears. 

“Leave them,” Jinyoung said through gritted teeth. Really? Out of all the things to be concerned about. 

If he had arrived a few minutes later, or worse. If he hadn’t shown up at all. The thoughts sent a rage through him.  If you weren’t so heavily reliant on him for support Jinyoung would have gone back and punched that Fred Flintstone jackass back to the dinosaur era. 

With the world spinning it was finally a relief when you sat down in the passenger’s seat of Jinyoung’s car. Through double vision you watched as Jinyoung rounded his car, saw the furrow in between his brows. He was mad. Maybe you shouldn’t have called him. When he got into the car, he still didn’t say anything. Nor did he even look at you. Your head was still fuzzy, your eyes closing as the silence and the drive tempted you to sleep. 

Jinyoung gripped the steering wheel hard. Focusing his attention to his driving and channeling his pent up anger elsewhere. Images of that guy’s arms around you flashing through his mind. He heard it as he approached the house, that sleaze ball trying to coax you to “lie down”. Whether it was innocent or not that whole scenario didn’t sit well with Jinyoung. From the corner of his eye he glanced at you. Your head was bobbing and he could tell you were fighting  the urge to sleep. Unbelievable. He was angry that you let yourself get to this point. If he hadn’t shown up who knows what would have happened. His blood boiled at the thought, slamming more aggressively on the brake to have you whiplash forward and startle you awake. You glanced at him wide eyed but still he said nothing. Did he have a right to be angry? No. Was it because he was deeply in love with you? Yes. 

“Oh no,” you managed to slur, a bit more alert from the realization. 

“I can’t pull over if you’re going to puke,” Jinyoung said through gritted teeth. 

You shake your head. “It’s not that. I forgot my purse there and my apartment keys are inside,” you explain though you were experiencing some bouts of nausea from the way Jinyoung was driving. 

“Roommate?” 

“Weekend trip with her boyfriend,” you internally curse yourself once again for getting to this point. 

“We’ll get it tomorrow,” Jinyoung says. His temper was too high to turn back. Even the littlest thing, like seeing the jerk’s face could set him off and into a fight. He sighed heavily, “You’ll stay the night with me,” 

You opened your mouth to object. Yet it sounded more like a command than an offer. At least he spoke to you though. Your heart pounded at the thought of staying the night in his apartment. Stomach swirling with nerves, anticipation and alcohol. 

You had been to his place multiple times before. The warm beige walls and chic black furniture. Tastefully decorated for a young man his age compared to the decor you saw at Johnny’s house. During the car ride you thought you had sobered up slightly however the minute you stepped out that proved untrue. The pavement seemed like it dipped with every step, a mix of uphill and downhill. You feel Jinyoung grab your elbow, doesn’t say anything as he guides you into his apartment. 

Suddenly you feel it. The lurch in your stomach. Something you hoped would never come. You push away from him, knowing your way towards his bathroom. As much as it felt like you needed to nothing came as you leaned against his tub for support. The toilet within leaning distance if need be. Now you regretted texting Jinyoung. Just as much as you regretted going out tonight. Your liver probably happy to know that you plan to abstain for a while. You buried your head in your lap, back against his tub as you remained on the bathroom floor. You groan miserably as even the floor seemed to rock, like you were on a boat during the middle of horrible sea storm. 

“Here,” You hear Jinyoung’s voice. His tone is softer now, not as harsh as earlier. 

You don’t want to lift your head for two reasons. First cause you feared any movement would cause the nausea to come about again, and second because you were too embarrassed to be seen like this. 

“Drink some water Y/N,” Jinyoung urges softly. Brushing your tousled hair and taking your hand to hold the glass. 

“I shouldn’t have texted you, but thank you for coming to get me,” you say as you sip the water. You grimace as you do so, your stomach not wanting anymore fluid in it. 

“I’m glad you did,” Jinyoung says as he sits on the floor beside you. 

You look at him surprised, “Are you sure? You seemed pretty mad,” 

“I- uh,” Jinyoung sighs heavily, “Was annoyed at you. Then I was pissed at the guy whose arms were around you,” he explains. 

The feeling in your stomach was good, not alcohol induced. But a giddy, almost excited feeling. “Because…?” you urged for more, staring directly at him. If he let another moment pass then you wouldn’t know what your tipsy self would do. 

“Because I like you. Maybe even more than that,” 

There it was. The confession you’ve been waiting for. Another moment and this time he had actually confessed. “Your timing is the worst,” you groan and let out a laugh as you bury your face in your hands. Jinyoung’s eyes widen. A sense of panic across his face and for a split second he wondered if maybe you met a guy at the party.

“You had to confess to me when I look and feel like crap,” you mutter as you keep your head down. 

“Yeah,” he chuckles and nudges you. “Whose fault is that?”

“Yours,” you tease, “If you would have confessed sooner then I wouldn’t have gone to the party and we could have spent the night in, watching scary movies,  cuddling and making out,” 

Jinyoung cocks his brow, “Well from now on, no more parties, movie nights only.” He smiles. “Very interesting image of a drunk minnie mouse though,” You groan again and Jinyoung laughs. “Come on, you need to sleep this off,” he says. 

“Just leave me here. I can’t move myself without everything around me spinning.”

“My bed’s comfier,” Jinyoung says, and in one easy and quick swoop he lifts you bridal style. 

Your arms wrap around his neck out of reflex as you let out a startled gasp. 

Your back hits the soft mattress. “You’re not gonna stay?” You ask as he begins to tuck you in. 

“I’m a gentlemen who doesn’t get into bed with drunk girls,” Jinyoung smiles.

“Can’t trust yourself?” You tease. 

Jinyoung chuckles, “Can’t trust you,” he pokes. 

You frown, snuggling into his pillows deeper. “I’m good,” you murmur. 

“Sure you are, but I’m irresistible,” Jinyoung kisses your forehead, “Good night Y/N,”

When he left you snuggled into his sheets, your world was spinning. Not because of the alcohol but the elated giddy feeling of having your feelings returned.

There was an incessant ringing. A large buzz pounded away at the already painful sensation in your head. You groaned as you finally registered what the sound was. An alarm clock. Why the hell did you put an alarm for a Saturday morning? Wait a minute, you don’t use an alarm clock. With painful regret you opened your eyes. Your body hurt, your head was a whole other level and the distance of the alarm clock on the nightstand from where you lay might as well have been a mile away. With a groan you reached over and slammed the snooze button before pulling the covers to block out the light. Did you forget to draw your blackout curtains? No, no you didn’t because you weren’t in your room. You weren’t in your bed. You tried your best to recall last night. Halloween, Johnny’s house, the drinks, too many drinks. You sit up immediately. Confirming and registering that you were in fact not in your own room. You winced at the brightness of Jinyoung’s room. Immediately you reach for your phone. 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” You cringe to yourself as you read your message to him. 

You look around his room, the opposite side of you remained unslept. Where was he? Was he mad? More importantly, what’d you do? Reluctantly you dragged yourself out of bed and into his bathroom. “Oh god,” you say revolted at the image of yourself in the mirror. The smudged makeup, tousled hair, probably from having to rearrange those minnie mouse ears all the time. On top of that, the smell of alcohol stenched your clothes and made you nauseous. Where were your minnie ears? You glanced at Jinyoung’s shower, hopefully he wouldn’t mind. 

As the warm water washed over your body, relaxing and cleansing away all remnants of last night’s mistakes you tried to recollect everything else that happened last night. Judging you couldn’t find your purse before the shower meant that it was probably left at Johnny’s, hence why you’re probably at Jinyoung’s. What else Y/N? Then you gasped, covering your mouth in surprise as the hazy memories seemed to come flooding in. 

“We could have had a movie night in cuddling and making out,” You could hear your voice so clearly. Did you really say that? 

Because I like you.

You nip your bottom lip. His voice is distant but did it happen? You curse yourself for two reasons. First, if it was true and Jinyoung did confess you hated that you were too drunk at that moment to know now if it were true. Second, what if it wasn’t and now you were left with disappointment. There was only one way to find out you figured as you stepped out of his shower. After raiding his drawer and finding a pair of his sweatpants and tshirt you slowly open the door, peaking your head out to see if Jinyoung was around. It was quiet, however the smell of coffee tempted you to step out further. Your body craving the hot contents to flush away the rest of the toxins and hopefully clear your head even more. 

“Well, good morning,” 

You startle at the sound of his voice and you’d bet money he said it a little louder than usual on purpose to aggravate your headache. 

“Hi,” you basically squawk, turning around to face him. Hungover or not it didn’t go unnoticed just how good looking he was in his grey sweats and black t-shirt. 

“Funny, I remember you wearing something different to the party last night,” he looks you up and down. 

“I hope you don’t mind me borrowing these,” You tugged at his shirt sheepishly. 

“I don’t,” he grins, walking to his kitchen. “Coffee, water, advil?”

You basically groan as you flop onto his couch. “Yes to all three and if you throw in food I’ll worship you,” 

“I’ve got bagels,” He offers. 

“You’re amazing,” you hum as you sprawl on his couch. 

When Jinyoung comes with hot coffee and a freshly toasted bagel you could have kissed him right on the spot. “It’s official, I worship you,” you say with the first sip of coffee. You set aside your food, “Thanks for getting me,” you say bashfully. 

“Hoping it’s the last time,” he says. You nod in agreement. “Cause movie nights in, cuddling and making out,” he teases giving you a nudge. 

You cringe, “So it’s true. I did say that,” You bury your hands in your face. So did that mean? “Did anything else happen?” You prod. 

Jinyoung shrugs, “You tried puking and felt sick. You don’t remember anything?”  

You nod, feeling the heat rush to your cheeks in embarrassment. There was also a pit of disappointment starting to form. So Jinyoung’s confession must have been your imagination.

“How are you feeling now?” Jinyoung asks. 

Disappointed. “Good.” 

“No nausea? Don’t feel gross?”

You shake your head, “Nope, thanks to the shower,”

“Sober?” He asks. 

“Completely,” you answer. 

“Good, so you’ll remember this.”

For a moment, you think you’re dreaming or imagining things once again. That you were in fact still drunk. But then his tongue traces your bottom lip, grazing and meeting yours as your lips part in response. Lips moving with his. 

This was real. Very, very real and it was amazing. 

His hand moves to the back of your head, fingers tangling in your damp hair. Bringing you closer, the other hand resting on your cheek sweetly. With the slightest tilt of his head he brings the kiss deeper, eliciting the tiniest little moan from you. As the disbelief and first initial shock pass you find yourself wrapping your arms around his neck, inching closer you’re almost sitting in his lap. Before he draws away he takes one last nibble at your lower lip, both your breaths heavy as you pull away only inches from each other. 

“I like you Y/N,” Jinyoung softly murmurs. His nose nuzzles against yours in an eskimo kiss, “And you better remember that now,” he squeezes your side teasingly. 

You jolt, laughing. “So you did confess. Finally,” 

“Finally,” he agrees, taking your hand in his as he brings it to his lips. 

“So when do you think I should get my purse from Johnny’s?” 

Jinyoung lets out a little sigh with his laugh and you see the glint of amusement in his eyes as he pulls you to him to snuggle at his side. “After a scary movie marathon and some cuddling,” 

“And making out,” You tip up to press your mouth against his, warm and returning. There’s a surge in your belly, beyond the initial giddy feeling previously. You pull away slightly and the feeling in your gut still burns with need. 

You let it simmer. Jinyoung’s arm around you as the rest of the day was spent curling on his couch watching the good old halloween classics. There’s a comfortable silence between you two as you watch, settled in comfort. During the fifth movie you knew he was starting to grow restless as he starts tracing small circles along your shoulder. You try to be engrossed in the movie, pretending to ignore the way he keeps glancing over at you. Gradually breaking eye contact from the screen. A smile tugs at your lips and he catches the subtle way you nip your bottom lip. The simmer that you had earlier igniting into a needing flame. 

“Pretty sure the movie is more interesting than my face,” you tease, keeping your eyes focused on the scene in front of you.

“I beg to differ,” Jinyoung murmurs. “I like what I’m seeing more, less scary.” 

This time you look away from the screen and at him. Jinyoung’s smiling down at you, his grin mischievous, playful. His fingers continue to trace tiny circles along your arm, enticing goosebumps along the surface of your skin. 

“I think I want my shirt back,” Jinyoung murmurs, his hand already moving to the hem of his t-shirt you’re wearing. 

The sounds of screaming from the tv are ignored as you lean up to kiss Jinyoung. Feeling the warmth of his lips move in reciprocation against yours. The warmth in your belly ignites in a flame, moving to your core. Soon you’re moving onto his lap, straddling him. Grinding against him. His hands eagerly moving under your shirt to cup your breasts. His hands massaging and thumbs enticing in circular motions against your aroused buds. Your breaths are heavy, your kisses heated. When he pulls his shirt you’re wearing over your body you moan as his mouth immediately sinks to your breast. You moan, sinking your own lips to his shoulder as you nip. Your hips grinding against his clothed lap even more to soothe the ache between your legs. Feeling him hard under you. You’re hungry with need. Peppering his jaw with kisses, hands fisting in his hair as his mouth devours. His thumbs hook in the sweatpants you’re wearing. Bringing the cotton material down a little.

“Wait a minute,” Jinyoung looks up at you as he discovers something. 

“What?” you say breath heavy. 

He brings the material lower over your hips, “No underwear?” 

You shrug, “I obviously didn’t come prepared to spend the night and shower here,” You laugh at the pained groan that comes from Jinyoung’s mouth as he hoists you up to change positions as your back is now lain against the cushions of the couch. 

“If I had known earlier we wouldn’t have gone through five movies,” Jinyoung murmurs. 

“Nothing stopping you now,” You raise your hips to assist Jinyoung with pulling off your sweats. 

“No, no there isn’t,” Jinyoung looks up from his lash line as he trails kisses down your navel. He sinks down to your core. There was a flash of heat the minute his tongue comes in contact with your clit. Yet it didn’t diminish, it only continued to burn into a pinnacle of euphoric pleasure. Even as your hands fisted in his hair he only spread your legs further apart on the small width of his couch. You felt exposed, so open to him in the middle of his living room yet the way his mouth worked your core had you seeking more. Bringing yourself to grind against his mouth as his tongue circles and dives. Un-relinquishing ministrations of his mouth against your hot and sensitive center. You clenched around nothing, yet you felt everything. 

“Jinyoung,” you quiver. You’re at the edge, so close. You just needed the final push. 

As if hearing your inner thoughts Jinyoung slides two fingers and your heat relinquishes as you come around them instantly. Clenching and coming as his fingers curl up into you. The orgasm everything you had been wanting since you first felt his lips against yours. 

Yet it wasn’t over. Not as Jinyoung kneels up and brings his own sweatpants down then he drives into you. Building you up again. You adjust yourself on the couch, giving him more room to move as he begins his strokes. You gasp as he bottoms out in you, your hands gripping his shoulder to brace yourself. You begin to move as you accommodate to his size. Moving in sync with him as the sounds of both your moans drown out the tv. 

“Wait wait wait,” You say between breaths.

“What?” Jinyoung exhales, “Am I hurting you?” he eases off.

“No,” You prop yourself up on your elbows. “I just want to…” You kiss him softly as your hands press against your chest coaxing him to lay down. You straddle him again, this time taking him in you. Slowly you sink down on his length. Jinyoung’s eyes close, hands finding purchase on your hips. Then you begin to move, bowing up then down on him. You begin to ride him. Slowly at first, testing the new position. Adjusting to him from a new angle as you roll your hips. Hands resting against his chest for support. You arch back, and Jinyoung’s hands caress up your body. Hands back to your breasts. Your movements quickening against him as you begin to increase your pace, moving and bouncing on his shaft as you drive both of you to climax. 

“Fuck,” you gasp, falling forward barely able to keep moving as the pleasure becomes to much to bare. Jinyoung starts thrusting in return, raising his hips at the new angle deep into you. With erratic thrusts both of you cum. You sink back down against him, riding out the last of both your highs before collapsing naked on top of him, body limp and completely satiated. Still within you Jinyoung holds you close, catching his own breath. 

“I hope you’re comfortable because I don’t think I have the energy to move,” you murmur. 

Jinyoung chuckles, his fingers trailing up and down your damp back.  “We can stay like this forever I don’t mind,” 

You smile against him, then let out a low groan as you roll off him with reluctance. Jinyoung adjusts and makes room on the couch as he holds you against him. “Thought you wanted to stay like that,” he frowns.

“We’ll need sustenance eventually,” you curl against him. 

The loud scream on the tv startles the both of you, Jinyoung’s arms wrapping around you tighter in reflex. Both of you glance at the tv as the killer approaches one of the main characters. You laugh, snuggling against Jinyoung once again as both your attentions focus on the scene before you. However, five minutes later your attentions are both directed elsewhere again.  

[ericsonclan]

Gallop Into Our Hearts

Summary: James and Jesse get ready to play Barbie Horse Adventures after losing a bet to Violet and Prisha.

Word Count: 1388

Read on AO3:

Jesse and James were silent as they stared at the copy of Barbie Horse Adventures: Wild Horse Rescue. “Well, we have to play it,” Jesse picked up the PS2 controller and handed it to his boyfriend.

“Oh, we should take a picture as proof when we get it set up.” James rummaged around for his phone and placed it beside him.

“Yeah, or Prisha will say we bullshitted this whole thing,” Jesse pushed his long hair behind his head and continued to work on setting up the game on the TV. He couldn’t believe they had lost a bet with Violet and Prisha. Jesse internally kicked himself for betting on the wrong person. He should’ve known when it came to Sophie and Renata getting swept up in a prank that Renata would be the one to get caught.

But he didn’t choose that. James and him bet that Sophie would get caught for the prank. It was a series of pranks against Louis. Minnie had caught Renata in the midst of putting a whoopie cushion on Louis’ chair. It was just Jesse’s rotten luck that Sophie got caught seconds afterwards placing a trap that would make a pie fly forward and hit someone square in the face when they walked into the room. Sophie moved the strings needed and made sure there was extra whipped cream on top of the pie. The redhead had worked to time it perfectly; Louis was set to take his break any moment now but he had gotten distracted by Clementine so he wasn’t the one to trigger it.

Brody had triggered the trap instead. But because Sophie had placed it to hit Louis’ face it flew over Brody’s head and whacked Mitch who had come to surprise Brody with lunch. Brody scolded Sophie before laughing at Mitch’s pie splattered face and rushing off with him to help clean up. James and Jesse had lost the bet fair and square and now they had to play this game. Jesse’s hair fell in front of his face again. He grumbled as he rose and gathered his hair up. Taking the hairband off his wrist, Jesse quickly put his hair up into a man bun and resumed his task. James paused what he was doing for a second, distracted by the sight of Jesse in a manbun. His heart lightly fluttered and he looked down at the controller when Jesse glanced up.

“I think I got it set up,” Jesse pressed the power button then moved back to sit on the couch with his love. Soon the Playstation 2 booted up and the image of a forest in Playstation 2 graphics appeared on the screen. A bunny hopped forward and a happy smile appeared on James’ face.

“Aww, a bunny,” James looked over at his boyfriend with a soft expression. Soon the bunny was startled though as Barbie rode forward on her horse. The birds flew away due to the sound and Barbie charged forth on her steed, jumping over a fallen log. She pulled on the reins of her horse and stopped, smiling towards the camera. Seconds later the title screen appeared.

“Hi, welcome to Barbie’s Horse Adventures: Wild Horse Rescue!” Barbie’s bubbly voice appeared. Jesse looked at the screen with a small frown. He had no idea what to expect but he had to at least try to remain positive. There would be horses in this game and James was beside him. James seemed to sense Jesse’s mood and gently gave his hand a squeeze when suddenly Theodore appeared. The sphynx cat extended his body out with a stretch then reached up and looked for a potential cuddle spot.

“Hey, Theo. Come give Jesse some cuddles,” James patted Jesse’s leg and the cat hopped up and moseyed over. Curling up, Theodore immediately settled down in Jesse’s lap. Jesse gave his cat a few pats then looked back up at the screen. James scooted closer and gently placed his head on Jesse’s shoulder. Taking out his camera, he took a selfie of the two of them then a picture of the TV screen. With a few taps of his fingers, James sent off the text to Prisha to give proof that they were playing the game.

“Okay, let's start our horse adventures,” James excitedly spoke in his whisper-like voice. Jesse gave a small smile and pressed the start button. After a few seconds of loading the screen showed Barbie driving towards the stables with her friends. All of them talked excitedly about horseback riding together. The voice acting wasn’t the best but it didn’t surprise Jesse since it was a PS2 Barbie game. Barbie drove forward and was quickly greeted by the lady of the stables. She had gray hair and reddish eyes.

“Watch, she’s going to be the villain of this game,” Jesse joked and looked over at his boyfriend. James gave a gentle laugh.

“I don’t think there will really be any villains in this game,” James was soon proven wrong, however, when a storm struck and all the horses had escaped.

“I guess the storm was the villain all along,” Jesse commented then felt his heart beat quicken when James softly wrapped his arm around Jesse’s.

“Well, we’re gonna rescue all the horses!” James declared loudly. His boyfriend’s enthusiasm seemed to infect Jesse who smiled and started to get really into the game.

After picking out Barbie’s outfit they worked to design a horse. They ended up with a deep chestnut horse with a long light mane and beautiful dark hooves. After that was done the tutorial was next and both James and Jesse were itching to be done with that stuff so they could go on adventures.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jesse ignored the lady’s instructions and tried to blast through them so they could go on the trails. It took another minute or two before the lady gave the all clear and Jesse pushed the analog stick forward towards the trails. Immediately James and Jesse got caught up in the game. Both of them wanted to check every single inch of the land while galloping on their horse. Jesse quickly shifted and sat at front of the couch to get a bit closer to the TV while James picked up Theo and placed the sphynx cat onto his lap.

“Jesse, could I braid your hair for a little bit?” James whispered in his love’s ear, tickling it.

“Sure, go for it,” Jesse smiled up at James then resumed his quest of collecting all the floating silver heart coins scattered around the area. James carefully undid Jesse’s man bun and began to run his fingers through Jesse’s hair. After a few seconds he slowly began to braid his boyfriend's hair while watching him play the game.

“Oh, oh! Jesse!” James pointed excitedly at the screen where a gray foal was chilling behind a gate.

“I see it, baby,” Jesse guided the horse forward a little ways then hopped off and opened up the gate. Jesse was soon guiding the foal over to a spot for one of Barbie’s friends to pick it up.

“We did it!” James locked eyes with Jesse and the two shared a smile. Leaning forward Jesse stole a quick, tender kiss then continued to play the game. The two continued to play the game, letting time slip away as they saved more horses, fed skunks to snatch keys and got all the silver heart coins they could find.

“Your braid is done,” James leaned forward and placed a warm kiss on his love’s shoulder. The romantic gesture made Jesse’s heart pitter patter. Quickly the couple’s attention returned to the game as Theodore slept peacefully in James’ lap. Before they knew it evening had arrived and they had to put down the game. Double checking that their progress had been saved, Jesse and James turned off the console and wandered into the kitchen.

“I’ll have dinner ready shortly,” James tied his cooking apron on then captured Jesse’s lips in a soft kiss before turning his attention to dinner.

“I’ll keep you company,” Jesse took a seat and the two began to gush about their favorite parts of the game. Both of them talked happily; they clearly couldn’t wait until they could go on another horse adventure with Barbie.

[imaginesrus]

Kiss Me In The Dark

Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Thank you for the response to my previous imagines. I hope you enjoy this one as well. Also my ask box is open if you would like to leave a request. 😉

Summary: Henderson!Reader is back in Hawkins for her little brother’s wedding. Which means also seeing Steve who she has been avoiding since moving away from Hawkins.

Word Count: 2690

Warnings: a little smutty, nothing too explicit, but it gets steamy

You pulled awkwardly at the garment on your body, wincing slightly at the way that it clung, before examining yourself in the hall mirror again. You tapped your shoulders, still flummoxed that shoulder pads could be that size. You felt like an overgrown Barbie in a bright fuschia colour that should be illegal. You guess it was really true what they said about bridesmaid dresses. 

“You look beautiful sweetie,” your mom said as she walked in placing the bouquets on the kitchen table. 

You gave her a disbelieving look, your mom was sweet, but a terrible liar. You examined the flowers on the table, running your fingers over the delicate petals. They were beautiful and you lifted them to your nose to inhale the scent. Hoping that the scent may calm your nerves. 

It wasn’t just the thought of standing in front of all those people, watching your little brother marry the girl of his dreams. But it was another member of the bridal party who, despite your best efforts, occupied your mind. 

You had moved away from Hawkins as soon as the opportunity had presented itself. Despite the realisation that the town was quite clearly cursed after the events at Starcourt Mall.  A whirlwind summer romance with Steve Harrington had left you heartbroken and desperate for an escape, from a town that only seemed to bring misery.  

You had come back to visit, of course, but had actively avoided the places where the two of you might run into each other. The video store, the arcade, at times even your own house, instead making your excuses to visit Max or El. And as for the parties and family celebrations which seemed to automatically include Steve now, you tried to avoid him, not always successfully. Steve had become a permanent fixture in your brother’s life so it had really been no surprise when Dustin told you that he was a groomsman. 

You had given a tight smile, and lied through your teeth that it wouldn't be an issue. It had been years. You were a fully grown adult now, and you were going to be damned if you let Steve Harrington get under your skin again. Besides it was Dustin's day and you weren't about to let your history with Steve get in the way of that. 

Your mom’s shriek broke your train of thoughts and you looked up to see Suzie coming down the stairs, looking like a real life princess in her flowing white dress, sequins and lace. A smile spread across your face, and you damned the tears welling in your eyes, rubbing them with the back of your finger gingerly, careful not to disturb your make up. 

Your mom was by the stairs in an instant, scooping Suzie up into her arms before fawning over her dress. Suzie’s parents had not approved of your brother, and in turn your family. Your mom had adopted her instantly and she had become a part of the family. 

“You look stunning, Suzie,” you said as you in turn gave her a hug, squeezing her tightly, “Dustin may for the first time in his life be rendered speechless.” 

Suzie gave a small laugh and you released your grip, your mom handing you both a tissue.  

Max and El came down the stairs next, giggling to each other, also dressed in the matching Fuschia bridesmaid dresses. The whole party seemed to have adopted Suzie into the group, as your family had done, embracing her as one of their own. 

“Okay girls,” your mom said, grabbing the camera from the kitchen bench, “Some quick photos and then we better get going. Don’t want to keep the boys waiting forever.”

You cried, of course you did. To see Suzie and Dustin so happy, your mom and dad, hands intertwined as they sat together, the look of pride and love on their faces warmed your heart. 

You met Steve’s eyes from across the hall. He gave you a soft smile, which you inadvertently returned before making a concerted effort to keep your eyes trained on your brother and Suzie. 

You had promised yourself no more slip ups. You were over Steve. He would be over you. What happened at the annual Henderson Christmas Party two years previous was a slip up. Nothing more. 

A moment of weakness under some mistletoe that gotten out of hand. 

"You may kiss the bride," the priest said to a raucous applause as the happy couple sealed their vows with a kiss. 

The couple began their walk out of the church, linked arm in arm, smiles bright and carefree as the rest of the bridal party followed. 

Mike with El, Lucas with Max, Will linked his arm with Sally a friend of Suzie's.

As you approached the walkway Steve held out his arm and you reluctantly linked your arm through, ignoring how good it felt, the closeness of his body, he even smelled good. It was just purely for appearances, you told yourself. It would look odd if you didn’t take his arm. People would talk. 

He didn’t try to talk to you, which you were thankful for as you silently made your way out of the church.

***

The music thundered through the speakers as you made your way to the outskirts of the dance floor. Suzie and Dustin arrived on the dance floor arms still interlinked like they hadn't separated from one another since saying 'I do'. A familiar song played as Dustin gave Suzie a spin, his eyes never leaving her as the first bars of the song began to play. 

Turn around

Look at what you see

In her face

The mirror of your dreams

Of course. 

It was their song, despite the horrors of Hawkins, they had survived, they all had. Some a little worse for wear than others. You could remember your hand linked with Steve’s as the lines of the song played out over the walkie talkie, Robin shooting you both a look of disbelief as you were listening to a 14 year old sing his heart out to his first love, while being chased down by a giant monster made of people. 

“You look beautiful,” Steve's voice whispered in your ear, while you kept your eyes trained on the dance floor in front of you. 

“Please Steve, I’ve seen the dress,” you quipped back, careful not to lean in his direction, taking a sip of the champagne you had been nursing for a while now. 

“I’m not talking about the dress,” he countered, your fingers tightening on the stem of your glass. His hand moved to your waist and even through the thick fabric of the dress you could feel the heat from his skin. 

“Steve,” you warned, but made no move to remove yourself from his grip. His breath ghosted on the side of your neck, sending a shiver down your spine. 

“I’ve missed you.” There was a faint trace of alcohol on his breath. 

“You been drinking?”

“I may have had some nerves that needed steadying.”

“You giving a speech?”

“Please, public humiliation it’s second nature.” He gave a chuckle before his voice lowers.“But seeing you.” 

Rhymes that keep their secrets

Will unfold behind the clouds

And there upon a rainbow

Is the answer to a never ending story

You take another sip, in hope that that alcohol may numb your sense of touch, but his hand only feels heavier on your waist, his breath continuing to send shivers down the back of your neck. Happy couples, family, friends start to make their way to the dance floor to join the happy couple. Even Joyce manages to drag Hopper up, despite his quiet vocal protests to the contrary. 

His hand leaves your waist and you breathe a sigh of relief at the removal of the temptation to fall into old habits. Only to be faced with the object of your distraction face on. His hair has progressively become more unkempt through the night, which you can only attribute to him running his fingers through it, a nervous habit, an endearing one. He gives you a small lopsided smile, that reaches into that part of your heart that you keep swearing is closed off to him, but is easily opened with just that one smile. 

“Dance with me?” He held out his hand, taking a step backwards in a bow. You search our mind for an excuse, a way out, but either you can’t find one or you don’t want one because you take his hand in your own, placing the glass of now finished champagne on the table beside you allowing him to take you to the floor. 

His hand settles again on your waist, your hand on his shoulder, his eyes meeting yours briefly before you concentrate on the wall behind him, focusing on the intricacy of the decorations that adorn the simple community hall. His hand tightly clasped around yours, squeezing a little harder than maybe he means to. He moves you both slowly around the dance floor, body moving in time with the music. 

You suppress a small laugh as you hear him murmur the lyrics under his breath, while he continues to guide your movement with his body. As you continue to maintain a safe distance. He twirls you around, the suppressed laugh leaving your lips as he does so and when you join together again that safe distance is gone. Your hand now against his back, as his trails from your waist to your upper back, pulling your body against his. His fingertips brush against the bare skin of your back where your dress finishes, and his hand splays across your skin, and you can feel yourself melting into his touch. Your head resting against his chest as you lose yourself in the feeling of comfort, of the touch of another. 

“I missed you too,” you whisper, feeling his body still for a moment, before he continues to move again. 

“Does it help if I tell you I’m sorry? That I was an idiot for even thinking -”

“Don’t,” you stop him, looking up to meet his eyes. “I don’t want to go over it again.” Your hand reaches up to cup his cheek. A longing for things to be simple. Like you thought they used to be. 

He nods, and you rest your head again, swaying in time with the music, feeling his heartbeat against your ear, so loud even amongst the sound filling the hall. And then the song ends, applause filled the hall again as Suzie and Dustin bow, before sharing another kiss. 

So happy. 

Steve’s hand tightens around your own, as you both watch on. He gives your arm a tug and you find yourself following without even questioning where he is leading you. There is a storage cupboard down the hallway to the left. You know that because it was where you both found yourself after a town hall meeting. When the town of Hawkins had lied to itself about what was really going on within it’s borders and you both needed to find an escape from that lie and found it in each other, wrapped up in each other’s arms with hushed whispers and affirmations of love. 

He opens the door and waits for you to enter. A last chance to back out. To continue the charade of ignoring him everytime you come back. You enter the darkened space, tugging on his arm to pull him in with you. 

His lips are against yours before the door even closes. His lips move desperately against your own, a faint taste of alcohol on his tongue. His hands lock onto your hips, pushing you up against the now shut door, his lips barely breaking contact as you groan against his mouth at the impact of the solid wood against your back. 

“Sorry,” he murmurs, and you shake your head. Your hands moving to his hair to direct his lips back to your own. Your fingers tugging, a little harsher than you intend in the desperation to have his lips back to where you want them, where you need them. 

But it’s not enough. Your hands move to his shirt, tracing down the crisp material, and the outlines of the buttons. Hesitating, before his lips brushing against the side of your neck have you pulling and pushing desperately at the buttons to get them undone. Your concentration slipping and you fingers following suit as the button falls from your grasp, as he finds that spot that makes your knees want to buckle and he tightens his grip on your hips, at the sound that leaves your lips. 

“Steve.”

You decide to abandon his buttons, for now, instead pushing the velvet jacket from his shoulders, hearing it fall to the floor with a muffled thump. Your arms wrap around him holding onto his shoulders to keep you steady. 

His hand moves from your hip, tracing the material of your dress, before brushing up against your breast, earning him a breathy moan as you lean further into his touch. He grows bolder his fingers tracing across the skin not covered in the constricting material of your dress. His movements purposeful and precise, as if he remembers exactly how you like to be touched and is retracing old memories on your skin. 

“I need,” you stammer out, pressing your hands against his chest. 

“I know Y/N.” His fingers move to his tie, not bothering with the knot, instead yanking it from his neck, before he begins to un do the buttons of his shirt one by one, his fingers trying to catch up with his mind, not working quite fast enough as he groans in frustration, before he manages to wrangle that last one free, pulling the shirt from his pants and you help to remove it from his body. Your hands tracing his bare back feeling his body pressed against your own and the heat radiates from him. 

His lips return to your own as he cups your breast, while his other hand reaches behind you searching for the zip at the back of your dress. The sound of it unzipping filling the room, before his lips are lavishing the newly exposed skin and your hands are back in his hair, pulling him closer, needing more of his touch, his lips, more of him. You had kept this bottled up for so long and now you couldn’t hold back. 

You pulled his lips to yours, your hands moving lower to his belt, undoing it quickly, while his hand slipped under your dress, past your underwear finding you wet and wanting. His eyes met yours, his pupils dilated, your lipstick smudged around his lips, hair a mess and you don’t think you have ever seen someone look so attractive. 

“Steve, please,” you whisper. 

You cling to him as shifts your underwear aside and enters, your senses overwhelmed as he begins to move and you try to keep up. You leg hooking over his hip, keeping him close.

As you both find your release, clinging to the other as you regain your breath. Nuzzling into his neck, his chest rising, as he presses a kiss to your neck. Sweet and tender, in direct contradiction to your previous hurried actions. 

***

The sunlight hits your eyes, as you struggle to keep them open. The curtains left undrawn from the day before, allows the light of the early morning to stream in. You turn to your side in attempt to escape, coming to the realisation that you are not alone in your bed. 

The sun hits his bare back, and you can’t resist the temptation to run your fingers along the muscles of his back, and down his shoulder blades. He stirs and you snatch your hand away, he turns to face you, his eyes opening slowly as a smile spreads across his lips at the sight of you. 

“Hey,” he greets, brushing a stray curl away from your face. 

“Hey yourself,” you answer, allowing him to cup your cheek and pull you in for a kiss. 

Weddings really do bring people together after all. 

[eves-library]

Day Five - Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Every year, only one kid gets a present

Word Count: 2076

Warnings: A sad topic, (orphanage)

A/N: I just came back home today. I logged in to start working on Day 6 and realize this one never posted :(. I have no idea what happened but here it is Day 5. Day 6 will be up soon as well as Day 7

You were currently seated on the couch at the living room from the Avengers Compound, Lily, the six-year-old girl from the orphanage you worked at sitting next to you and on her other side, Steve Rogers. Every year one kid from the Orphanage you worked at was gifted with a day with the avengers when the time from Christmas came around. This year was Lily’s turn and you were the one chosen to go with her and keep an eye on her. This was almost the end of the evening, the movie “Barbie and the Nutcracker” playing on the big flat screen. Other members of the Avengers were there and being honest it was a sight, watching the earth mighty heroes snuggled up between fluffy blankets and Christmas pillows watching a Barbie movie. Not to mention you had to laugh under your breath when Lily had shushed Bucky and Sam because they were fighting over popcorn when the fairies danced for Clara. “Mister Sam, you have to share.” she had said and focus back on the screen.

Throughout the day you and Lily met almost each and every one of the Avengers, first, it was Steve, as he was the one designated to be your guide for the day. Lily had been at awe, meeting one of her favorite avengers in person, she had stuck by his side all day only stirring away a few minutes to share more time with the other avengers. You had then meet Natasha Romanoff and Wanda Maximof, who, after sharing with you guys some of the pancakes they were having for breakfast proceded to show Lily some “fighting movements” Natasha even going as far as doing a small ballet routine when Lily mentioned she had been taking a few classes in the Orphanage. All this happened in an open area in the gym so the next avengers Lily got to meet were Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, they had praised the little girl as she finished the little routine Natasha had made up and Lily bowed to show her thanks as Natasha had taught her, a proud look on the experienced assassin. They proceed to take Lily the terrace, where there was a green area with grass and they taught Lily how to throw and catch a football ball, they even improvised a small match, you playing on Lily’s and Bucky’s team and Steve with Sam. I was all playful but you found yourself in the arms of a certain Blond supersoldier as you passed the ball to Lily and she made another Touchdown while Bucky stopped Sam from stopping Lily. 

Soon lunchtime had come and Clint Barton arrived along with Natasha, Wanda, Toy and Bruce, bags of takeout with sandwiches and sodas. You all ate lunch on the terrace, Steve asking you questions about the orphanage and yourself when Lily was speaking to the rest of the Avengers. When you all finished your sandwiches and Lily has ended her juice Tony declared it was time she hung out with the cool guys away from the neanderthals to which Sam and Bucky let out a huff and a Natasha and Wanda rolled their eyes. Lily promised to see everyone at the movie later in the day as Steve had mentioned before. Then Lily was dragging Steve in one hand and you with the other to where Tony and Bruce were walking. Once at Tony’s lab, you watched like a hawk Lily just in case anything went bad and you had to protect her. Yes, you were at a room with three of the most powerful people in the world but it was still a lab, and although you saw Tony had hidden all the dangerous stuff, Lily was still your responsibility and you would blame yourself if anything happened to her. However, Tony and Bruce only showed her a few experiments and explained how everything worked. Lily even asked tony what would happen if she mixed two different liquids and he just said to go for it, then foam started to flow from the tube the two liquids hade been mixed. and you saw her as her little eyes sparkled. Lily kept asking different questions to both scientists and they answered each and every one of them. You and Steve watching from the side. after almost an hour and a half from different experiments, Lily gave back the now colorful lab coat Tony had lent her to use and thank both of them, “Thank you Mister Banner and Mister Stark, this was fun!” Tony and Bruce high five her and then you were moving with Steve to see the rest of the compound before dinner was ready and then movie time! 

The next stop was the library, it was a big room, the walls filled with bookshelves as lo with a section completely dedicated to books and then a small area for reading. As the room was empty you let Lily dragged you and Steve around the place, “Look Y/N this library is bigger than the one at the orphanage!” she exclaimed and you smiled softly at her. “Why don’t you look at some books?” Steve said and Lily went to look through the shelves and asked Steve if he could reach her a book from the top shelve, it was a copy of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. 

Steve, you and Lily took a seat on the couches on the reading area. Lily was reading with yours and Steve’s help. You guys spend another twenty minutes before Friday let you know that dinner was ready. Lily didn’t want to leave because you guys haven’t finished reading. “Y/N, can I take it?” You sighed and shook your head, “I’m sorry Lily, it’s not your book, maybe we can see if there is a copy back at the orphanage.” She looked down and set the book on the little table. Steve pull you aside as Lily was heading for the door “I don’t think Tony would mind if she takes it Y/N,” “I appreciate it Steve, but we can’t accept. I’m sure we have a copy somewhere, we’ll just have to look.” Lily steps back inside at the entrance, “Are you guys coming?” You nodded and made your way to follow her Steve right behind you.

You guys ate a delicious dinner, courtesy of Tony. Lily was happily telling her adventures of the day and how she was going to tell her friends back at the orphanage, and how Vicky and Emily would be so jealous she had got to braid Scarlet Witch and Black Widow’s hair. You helped Steve clean up the table and dishes as everyone else was with Lily preparing everything for the movie. “How long have you been working at the orphanage?” Steve asked and you turned to look at him. “I’ve been working there for almost five years, I was a kindergarten teacher,” you answered back with a small smile on your face, as hard as it was you loved your work, you hoped that while doing it right, you were helping kids that needed it, making a change. “Why did you choose to change from kindergarten?” He asked as he dried the last dish and you closed the faucet, drying your hands. “When I was working at the kindergarten I was already a volunteer at the orphanage, I organized workshops for kids at different ages, when the English teacher told me she was going to retire. I liked doing the workshops and I thought I could make a bigger change at the orphanage so by the end of the school year I gave my notice and sent my curriculum at the orphanage director, and here I am. I guess I always wanted to be a teacher to make a change and I think that is what I’m doing, exactly where I am.” You finish your explanation and Lily entered followed by Wanda, both of them had beautiful side braids and you kneel as Lily walked closer to you, “Wow Lily, you look so pretty! I really like your new braid!” Lily giggled “Miss Wanda taught me how to do it! Can I braid your hair Y/N?” “Of course Lily, how about you braid my hair while the movie starts?” Lily braided your hair with Wanda supervising so it wouldn’t end up all tangled. 

Half an hour later here you were watching “Barbie and the Nutcracker” Lily fighting sleep as she leaned on Steve’s side. Lily eventually fall asleep, and you decided it was time to get head back. As you tried to pick her up Steve stopped you claiming he could carry her to your car. You said your goodbyes and thanked them for the day, Lily surely had the time of her short life and she’ll be talking for weeks if not months about it. Natasha said she’ll be stopping by to check up on Lily’s progress at ballet you told her the doors were always opened. 

You finally reached your car and help Steve set Lily at her seat in the back, buckling her up and you turned to Steve. “Steve, thank you very much, Lily had a great time, to be honest, I did too.” Steve smiled at you, “I had a great time too, Y/N, Lily is a great child I hope I can see you guys again.” He said and rubbed his neck. You smiled and felt your cheeks heat up. “Just like I said Captain, the door’s always open,” you glanced quickly at the time and decided it was time to leave, “I gotta go, I still got to get her on her bed. See you Steve, and again, thank you for today.” With that, you got into your car and started your ride back. 

The next day you were at the library with Lily, Vicky and Emily looking for a copy of “Christmas Carol” but so far you guys hadn’t found it yet, Lily was telling her two best friends all about her day with the Avengers. She was in the middle of explaining how Miss Natasha had taught her a new movement and that she couldn’t wait to show them at their class on Monday when Clarisse a volunteer at the orphanage came in looking for you, someone right behind her. “Hey Y/N, someone is looking for you.” You glanced up at the mention of your name and you heard a loud squeal before your eyes fall on a certain supersoldier. Apparently Lily had noticed him before and she was in front of him, excited that was able to meet her two best friends. You set the books you had in your hands and approached them. “Lily, remember we are in the library you can’t make this much noise,” you told her in a soft but stern voice and she quickly apologized as she lowers her voice tone. “Hey Steve, what are you doing here?” He smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck and you could almost see a pink dusting his cheeks. “I went on a run this morning with Sam and our way back I found this, on sale,” he took out a book from the paper bag he had in his hands and gave it to you, it was a copy of “Christmas Carol”, it was not a new book, it has been read several times, “I know you said you it wasn’t necessary but I wanted to give Lily a Christmas gift.” You smiled and gave the book back at him, “I actually told the director about getting her the book as we didn’t have one on our records, she said if we couldn’t find it on here we could give her a copy for Christmas,” you explained to him and he made a confused face, “So how about we make a deal, if you help us look around and we don’t find it you can give Lily her Christmas gift.” His smile widened and he laughed. “ You got a deal, doll.”

That day you spent it surrounded by books, three little girls and a supersoldier. Steve was happy you had let him help and he was hoping you wouldn’t mind he spent more time with you and Lily. From that day on he made several visits to the orphanage and the kids were more than happy to have Captain America around.

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 9

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: 6,398

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!

“What’s with the sour face? I know your idea of fun on a Friday night is locking yourself up alone in your room all by yourself, but come on! Going out with a few peeps for a night on the town ain’t gonna kill ya!”

I heaved out a sigh as Anna turned us into the same parking lot we’d just seen Xion’s car go into. “It’s not that, I just… I thought it was only going to be the two of us tonight. We haven’t seen each other since… well, you know… and so much has happened and I just wanted a nice evening, just you and me, talking and catching up.”

“And we can still do that,” she nodded, pressing a couple buttons on her dashboard. As the convertible’s top started to rise and all the windows slid back up, she parked in an open spot right beside Xion’s little blue Prius and powered down the engine. “But now we get to party at the same time! Besides, this way I can meet all of your new friends too!”

Snatching my Ice Palace cap off my head and tossing it into the back seat, I gave a tiny huff. “These people aren’t my friends.”

A couple of loud thuds against the left side of the car made us both jump in our seats before glancing to the source. Roxas and Xion had smooshed their noses up against the door windows, mouths wide open, lips suctioned against the glass and cheeks puffing in and out as they made funny faces at us. Anna snorted then burst out laughing, asking me, “Do they know that?”

“I wasn’t talking about those two. Lea and them are my friends. Well…” I snagged a pale tendril of my hair to twist around my finger as I worried my bottom lip between my teeth. “...sort of…it’s all still very new...” Then I shook my head and tightened my ponytail. “In any case, I meant everyone else that’s going to be at this thing. They’re not my friends because I don’t know any of them.”

“So this is how you get to know them,” she grinned, nudging her shoulder into mine. “Come on, sis, this’ll be fun! I promise!”

“Don’t go making promises you can’t keep,” I grumbled.

Just then, we watched Lea go sliding across the hood of Anna’s Porsche in one smooth motion, bringing him to my side so he could open the car door for me. He bent into a half-bow, sweeping one arm out with a smile, “M’lady.”

Anna giggled. “Ooooo, such a gentleman! I don’t believe I’ve gotten your name yet.”

“Lea,” he leaned into the car, stretching across me to shake hands with her. Once again, I caught the faint whiff of cinnamon and had to resist the urge to squirm at his closeness. He smirked at her and winked, “Also answer to Mr Hottie-With-A-Body.”

...so he had heard that.

Great.

Just dandy.

My kingdom for a rock to crawl under right now.

“And you would be the sister, I take it?”

She grinned, “Anna. I’m thinking I like you already, Mr Hottie-W-”

I discreetly pinched her arm, shutting her up.

He didn’t seem to notice as he looked past her to where the other two were still making like a pair of pufferfish against the glass. “And those gremlins out there are Xion and Roxas. They’re harmless, just don’t ever feed ‘em after midnight. Hey!” he raised his voice so they could hear him. “Knock it off already, twerps!” They both pulled away, Xion hiding a snigger behind one hand while Roxas razzed his tongue. Shaking his head, the smile returned as Lea at last backed out of the car to straighten up again, “Well then, shall we?”

To my credit, I only hesitated for a second before exiting the vehicle, tugging at the hem of my skirt slightly as I stepped out onto the asphalt. Ugh, I hadn’t even had a chance to change out of my work clothes before getting sucked into all of this, so I didn’t even have the small consolation of being dressed comfortably. My eyes followed Xion and Roxas as they ran ahead to 7th Heaven, or so the gigantic, yellow neon sign hanging above the door proclaimed.  It was a rustic, wooden building with a small set of stairs leading up to the wraparound patio. There was a warm glow coming through the fogged windows and muffled music could be heard from within.

Anna pushed a button on her key fob and the Porsche beeped as all its doors locked. Then she latched onto my arm, practically skipping as we made our way to the entrance. Lea dashed out in front, taking the steps two at a time and holding the door open for us. As we climbed up onto the deck as well, I could now hear the murmur of voices and laughter coming from inside as well. I gulped, my stomach sinking.

If it weren’t for Anna clinging to me like a two ton anchor, I’d probably have made a break for the hills by now.

And she knew that, which was exactly why she was doing it.

Traitor.

And so it was that I, with little choice or say in the matter, was dragged by my sister into the dreaded bowels of El Diablo.

...I’m not sure what I’d expected to hear upon descending into the terrifying Underworld, but it certainly hadn’t been the perky pop beat of Barbie Girl.

A strange, but oddly fitting soundtrack for eternal damnation.

The music was coming from a small stage all the way in the back of the place where some young woman was badly singing karaoke under spotlights. Between us and her was a massive, dimly lit room packed with tables and people cheering her on as they drank their presumably alcoholic beverages. Off to one side was a long bar, crowded with customers and tended by a brunette who, ahem… could only be described as the very epitome of the term ‘one busty babe.’ The wall opposite the bar was lit up with flashing lights from a row of retro pinball and arcade machines.

“We usually stake out one of the back corners for ourselves and spread out from there,” I barely heard Lea say over all the noise. I glanced back at him to see him squinting as his eyes scanned the darkness before his face brightened and he pointed off to our right. “Over there! Follow me.”

Anna gave my arm a reassuring squeeze and I replied with a thin, shaky smile.

There were just... so… many… people.

We navigated through the throng behind Lea, his blazing hair like a guiding light in the shadows, showing us the way. With every step we took, the knots in my gut pulled tighter and my knees grew numb.  This was it. It was time…

...to mingle.

(Shudder.)

The three of us came to a stop at a large table. Half the people seated were all still in their work duds too, making me feel a little better about my attire, but not by much. Everyone looked up to warmly greet Lea before all eyes turned to me and I resisted the urge to shrink behind Anna. “Hey guys!” Lea shouted over the roar of the pub. “This is Elsa and her sister, Anna! El here is the newest scoop slinger at Ice Palace, so you’ve probably already seen her around.”

“So you’re the fresh meat,” one woman smirked at me. I recognized her from the greek food place that was Ice Palace’s neighbor. “Pleasure. Name’s Megara. My friends call me Meg.”

“Tiana,” the girl sitting next to her in a cute green dress smiled.

“She’s a server at that lil Cajun grill also in the food court,” Lea supplied before cocking his head at her. “Boyfriend couldn’t make it tonight?”

She immediately frowned and averted her gaze. Meg gently pat her on the back, shooting him a tiny scowl, “Smooth move, ya knucklehead. They broke up.”

“Oops,” he chuckled awkwardly. “Hey, don’t sweat it, Tiana. You know what they say - gotta kiss a few frogs and whatnot.” Crickets from the table. “Heh, get it? Cuz you work at… aw, too soon?” He cleared his throat, “Oookay, moving on! Next, I’m sure you’ve seen these three over at Lucky Cat.” He waved a hand towards a familiar blue-haired chick, her stocky coworker with slicked back, chocolate locks, and what I was guessing was Roxas’s doppelganger, not Roxas himself. Lea pointed to each in turn, “Aqua, Terra, and Ventus.”

“You’re the place with the super sweet tabby I got to cuddle earlier!” Anna said excitedly.

Aqua laughed, “That’s Chirithy, Ven’s pet. He likes to bring him into work sometimes. The cat’s so well behaved, management doesn’t mind.”

Ventus scratched the back of his head with a lopsided grin. “Yeah, I’m lucky. He’s sorta become the unofficial mascot of our café.”

“Then Grumpy-Pants over here is Squall and-”

“That’s Leon,” a guy with a scar slashed across the bridge of his nose corrected with a growl into his beer.

“Riiiiiight, forgot you were rebranding,” Lea snerked. “He works over at Buster’s Swords, the replica weapon shop in the mall. And last but most certainly not least, this little one here is Naminé,” he indicated a petite blonde sitting between Ven and Leon, who gave a shy wave. “When she’s on the clock, you can find Nams at The Crayon Box for all your art supply needs.”

“Lovely to meet you both,” she nodded at us. “We’re currently rooting on our friend Ariel,” she pointed to the stage. It was only now upon second glance that I recognized the girl up there currently murdering Barbie Girl as the redhead from the fish store. 

Lea winced as a particularly bad note was hit before he snorted. “Girl’s usually got a voice that’d put mythical sirens to shame, but she’s just getting over a cold. Couldn’t talk for three days. Now that she’s started getting it back, there’s no keeping her away from the mic. RIP eardrums.” Then he clapped his hands together once, “Alrighty, on to Table Numeros Dos!”

...numeros dos?

As in more than one? As in this wasn’t it? As in more people?

If I survived this night, it’d be a miracle.

At least the first table hadn’t been too bad. Everyone else had done all the talking, which was a-okay by me.

...unless… crud, did they think I was boring now? Or worse, that I was sticking my nose up at them? Well I wasn’t! Trust me, there was absolutely zero nose sticking up going on here! My nose was down! Way, way, way down! So far down, it was past the secret civilization of mole people and halfway to China by now!

Dammit, only five minutes in and pretty sure I was already screwing everything up. And I hadn’t even done anything yet!

Lea shifted a couple steps over to an adjacent booth against the wall and Anna followed, tugging me into a stumble after her. Grabbing the attention of this new group, he announced, “Yo, everyone! I’d like ya to meet-”

“Elsa?”

I locked eyes with a golden gaze I knew all too well at this point and blinked. “Rayne?”

She scrambled out of the booth to hurl herself at me and I staggered to stay upright under the sheer might of her hug. Then I heard her gasp, “Anna too?! Get in here, girl!” I grunted as Anna dogpiled into the embrace. “Haven’t seen you since you were an ankle biter at summer camp! What are you doing here?! In fact, what are you both doing here?”

“What are we doing here?” I repeated incredulously as we all pulled apart, my eyes flicking down to her belly then back up. “What are you doing here? Did you forget you’re, uh… drinking for two now?”

A squeal from Anna, “Oh my gawd, Ray-Ray, your friggin’ preggers?! Congratulations! Who’s the lucky stud who knocked dat fine ass of yours up?”

My sister, ladies and gentleman. Ever the classiest of dames.

Rayne turned, yanking her husband out of the booth and onto his feet beside her. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she smiled smugly. “This is Riku. Riku, meet Anna, Elsa’s little sister. And don’t worry,” she turned her attention back to me, rolling her eyes, “all my drinks are virgin.”

“Though Ray is what you might call an empathic drunk,” Riku snerked, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

I quirked an eyebrow, “A what?”

“The more people get liquored up around me, the drunker I get without sipping a single drop. It’s an odd phenomenon, I don’t do it on purpose, but not complaining either. All the perks of intoxication, none of the hangover!” Then she furrowed her brow at me, “But no, seriously, what are you doing here? This ain’t exactly your scene.”

“I kinda kidnapped her,” Anna hummed out a tiny, evil laugh. “She’s my hostage tonight. She’s gonna have fun whether she likes it or not!”

I was firmly in the “or not” camp.

Rayne grinned at her, folding her arms together, “Then that brings us back around to what you’re doing here… where did you even come from?”

As the two of them began to catch up while Riku listened in, Lea snagged my elbow, pulling me over closer to the booth once more. 

Oh. Right. Socializing. I’d almost forgotten.

Ahhh forgetting. T’was a better, simpler, blessed time. Now, as I was presented with another small horde of new faces, I felt my heart rate spike and my chest tighten as the butterflies battled for dominance in my stomach again.

So be it. Once more into the breach! Come on, Elsa, you can do this!

“Now then, before I was so rudely interrupted-”

“Shove it, Red!” my roommate snapped.

“Screw off, Raindrop!” He stuck his tongue out at her, then sniggered to me, “Remember, verbal abuse says you care! Anyway, I’m sure you’re already very familiar with this mall rat we all know and love, given he’s almost a big an ice cream junkie as I am.” Sora beamed up at me from his seat. “But have you met this half-pint’s amazing, intelligent, beautiful and might I add way out of his league girlfriend, Kairi?”

He was gesturing to a pretty redhead dolled up in pink who smirked around the straw in her drink as she glanced out of the corner of her eye at Sora beside her. “Any comment to that?”

He shrugged, leaning back as he laced his fingers behind his head and his already impossibly huge smile somehow managed to get even wider. “Can’t argue facts!”

“She, like her boy here, is also a local mall rat, but we take pity on these poor schmucks who have nothing else in their pathetic, empty lives and let them hang out with us cool kids whenever we all get together like this,” Lea teased.

“Hey now, ex-mall rat!” she harrumphed before proudly puffing up her chest. “You’re looking at Mickey’s newest hire as of today!”

Lea arched an eyebrow, “No shit, really? Congratz, princess! Welcome to the crush of the daily grind. It sucks! Enjoy!”

Kairi snorted. “Please, it won’t be all that terrible. I’m gonna work a counter in the jewelry department. I can already tell my favorite part’s gonna be helping customers with the charm bracelets. Look!” she jangled the band she was wearing around her wrist before lifting up one of the little trinkets dangling from it. “This one looks like a thalassa shell star from my home, Destiny Islands!” Then she narrowed her eyes at Sora, one corner of her lips quirking up. “Now if only this lazy bum would get a job too, we’d be set!”

“Gimme a break, Kairi, I’m working on it!” Sora half whined, half laughed.

“Uh oh, do I smell trouble in paradise? We’ll leave the two lovebirds to it then,” Lea then turned my attention to a slender chick with short black hair sitting next to Kairi, who waggled her fingers at me with a crooked grin. “This is Yuffie! She works with Squ- ‘scuse me, Leon over at Buster’s Swords.” He lowered his voice to a whisper behind his hand, “She likes to steal the merch for her own personal amusement.”

She scoffed, “You shut your whore mouth, I don’t steal! I just… borrow for quality testing! I’m doing a community service here, really!”

He shook his head, “Uh huh, sure, whatever you say. So what’s on the menu for today?”

Couldn’t tell from where exactly, but she suddenly pulled out a pair of ninja stars as her lips curved wickedly. “Shurikens!”

“Nope!” Leon pressed one hand to the edge of his table, leaning his chair back onto its hind legs so he could stretch an arm across the booth and snatch the weapons from her grasp.

“Hey!” she lunged after them but only ended up faceplanting into her own table. “Give those back, jerkface!” He ignored her, just taking another swig from the bottle in front of him. “Wow, rude much?!”

This place was an absolute madhouse.

 “Oof, that’s rough! Better luck next time,” Lea consoled her before pointing to the next person wedged into the booth, a girl with a blue bow tying back her brown hair. “And here we have Belle! Total bookworm, so no surprise her nine-to-five’s at Enchanted Castle Books.” She didn’t acknowledge us, just stared dreamily off into space while absently stirring the liquid in her glass with a straw. Lea sighed, “Yeah, she’s a real head-up-in-the-clouds sort.”

“I got this,” Yuffie chimed in before using a hand to shade her gaze as she raised her voice, “Hey, is that Gaston I see?”

Belle snapped out of it, eyes round in horror as she gasped, “Where?!” before ducking down to use the table for cover.

As Yuffie cracked up, Kairi swatted her in the shoulder, “Mean!”

“Gaston’s the local musclebound, meathead neanderthal who’s set his sights on Belle as his next conquest,” Lea explained.

“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Yuffie’s eyes gleamed as she produced a third metal star. “I’ll make sure he never bothers you again.”

“For the love of- another one?!” In a quick blur of movement, Leon had once again confiscated her toy, much to her dismay.

“Finally,” Lea jumped in once again, clapping his hand down on the shoulder of a carrot-top sitting on the end with giant purple headphones covering his ears, “this regular chatterbox is Neku, who gets his paycheck from Towa Records, the lil music store around the corner from the food court.”

Yuffie huffed, “I dunno why Orangeylocks even bothers to show up to these things since,” she leaned across the table to lift up one of his hulking muffs and yell into his ear, “he never bothers to take the stupid ‘phones off!”

He slapped her hand away with a glare and said nothing, simply crossed his arms and slouched further down into his seat.

Still I hadn’t said a word to anyone besides Rayne. Partly because all the anxiety was squeezing my throat shut - trust me, the terror was real. But even if I had been brave enough to actually make small talk with this pack of total strangers, it was impossible to get a word in edgewise. It was all just happening so fast. But hey, maybe I could get away with the whole not talking thing. This Neku guy seemed to be and he was getting along just fine. Maybe the secret was in the headphones.

Note to self: look into the possibility of purchasing ear buds with first paycheck in the hopes of avoiding human interaction at all costs.

“Okay, almost done, just one more table to go,” Lea chirped.

Hearing that was both a relief and a minor heart attack all rolled together. The good news: one more table, woo! The bad news: one more table, ugh!

As Lea led the way once more, I snagged Anna by the elbow. It was her fault I was in this mess, so there was no way I was letting her abandon me. She was my security blanket, dammit! She managed to get out a hasty “we’ll talk more in a minute” to Rayne before staggering along behind me. We were brought to the neighboring booth which took up a corner so it was slightly bigger. Thankfully, that didn’t equal a larger group seated here. Even better, I already knew two of the faces.

“Rox! Xion!” Lea grinned down at them. “So this is where you guys got to. Was beginning to think I might have to send out search parties. I-”

“Kristoff,” the name escaped my lips before I’d even realized it as I locked eyes with my coworker.

Make that three faces I recognized.

His eyelids drooped before he looked away with a harrumph, taking a deep drag from his mug.

Well fudge. Guess he was still mad about the phone.

This night just kept getting better and better!

“Brr, did it just get a few degrees colder in here? Ah well, forget it, just leave Lord Sourpuss here to his brooding,” Lea snerked with a roll of his eyes. “For the rest at the table who haven’t already had the pleasure, this is Elsa, the Ice Palace newbie, and her sister Anna who tagged along for funsies.” 

He tossed a hand towards a guy with amber eyes, messy raven hair, and was the poster boy for goth fashion. “That ray of sunshine over there is Vanitas - living, breathing proof that all our moms were always right: your face really can get stuck like that. Wow, misery really does love company, huh? Just look at those identical scowls.” Both Vanitas and Kristoff looked highly unamused with Lea. He responded with a smirk, leaning down to bring his face closer to Vanitas, “What’s with the pout, widdle man? Did one of the other kids steal your binky?”

“Bite me, jackass,” he deadpanned.

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” Lea waggled his eyebrows as he straightened back up. “Anyhoo, as you might’ve already guessed by just taking one look at the edgelord, Vaniboy here works at Halloween Town.”

“Halloween Town?” Anna echoed, tapping a thoughtful finger to her lips. “Isn’t that the line of shops that are kinda like Hot To-”

“Say that knock-off, poser, wannabe of a store’s name and die,” Vanitas sneered.

Lea said, “Don’t mind him, he’s just cranky cuz he missed out on afternoon naptime.” Vanitas flipped him the bird, which went totally ignored as Lea shifted his gaze to the other side of the table. “Woah, talk about a mismatched set. What are you two doing hanging out with Mr Negativity here?”

He was now addressing a sweet-faced brunette with bright green eyes and the boy beside her with sandy blonde spiked hair, a skull and crossbones printed on his shirt. The girl chuckled, “Oh come on, Van’s not that bad.”

“Yeah, once you get past his personality,” the guy sniggered. Vanitas just looked away with a soft tch.

“Meet Olette and Hayner. They- wait...” Lea glanced around the table a second time with a frown, “There’s usually one more of you. Where’s Pence?”

“Couldn’t make it,” Olette sighed, plopping her chin in her palm. “Had to finish his programming project for his Computer Sciences course. Said he’ll be at it all weekend.”

“Bummer,” Lea shrugged. “In any case, these two plus their missing amigo wait tables at Le Grand Bistrot, this hoity-toity restaurant on the opposite end of the mall from the rest of us. Though didn’t you guys get shut down recently for a rodent infestation?”

Hayner banged a fist against the table, “Ugh, will people stop talking about that already? We didn’t get shut down, it was one rat and it was just that klutzy garbage boy’s pet, got it?!”

A snort from Roxas. “Sounds fake, but okay.”

“Can it, pizza boy!” Hayner shot back.

“Touchy, touchy,” Lea tsked before his eyes made one more sweep of the surrounding tables. “Anyway, looks like that’s everyone! How ‘bout it? Got it all memorized? If not, don’t sweat it, it was a lot. And even more might show up later, who knows, these things are always sort of a random grab bag but that’s half the fun! In any case, feel free to take a seat.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “I’m gonna go order a drink from the bar. Did either of you want me to grab you anything while I’m over there?”

“Is this a menu?” Anna picked up the glossy, colorful sheet of plastic from the table, looking over the list printed on it with a low hum. “I think a basket of the Cactuar Fries would be good for starters. As for drink, hm… Ooo, the Golden Chocobo sounds amazing! What about you?” she tilted it to give me a better look.

I shook my head, “Just water for me, thanks.”

Her tongue blew a raspberry, eyes returning to the menu. “That’s no fun. Lessee here… aha!” She smiled up at Lea, “She’ll have a Shiva, heavy on the rum.”

“I will most certainly not have a-”

“Got it!” Lea darted off across the room, cupping a hand to his mouth and calling out, “Oh, Tifa!”

Anna then proceeded to flump down into the booth next to Kristoff, giggling as she peeked up at him. “Hi! You’re cute!”

He blinked at her, all traces of the previous doom-and-gloom wiped clean off his face as it reddened slightly. “Uh…?”

She wiggled in closer to him, which seemed to fluster him more as he scrabbled over into Vanitas, who elbowed him back hard for making him almost spill his drink. Oblivious to the domino effect she’d created, Anna whipped her head back around to me and patted a hand on the space she’d freed up at the edge of the booth. “Whatcha waiting for, Sis? Sit!”

I stared blankly at her. She beamed back at me. I glanced over to everyone else. Everyone else watched me expectantly. I then flicked my gaze down to the open seat. It just lay there, being a cushion.

...psssst, dummy. Her telling you to sit? Was your cue to actually sit!

Still my feet didn’t budge an inch. Instead I looked over my shoulder back towards the door leading outside. So close, yet so far.

Clearing my throat, I took a small step backwards and held up a hand, “A-actually, you know what? I think I, uh... left something... back in the car! Yeah, that’s it! So I’ll just, er… I’ll go get-”

“I said sit!” Anna grabbed my wrist and jerked me down onto the plush bench beside her.

Well then. I guess I was sitting.

I suddenly felt a light brush of something against the back of my head and I twitched away, looking behind me. Rayne was leaning over the divider between our two booths, hands outstretched, apparently with the intention of petting both Anna and me.  “Pretty,” she cooed in delight. “Pretty, pretty hair. So soft!”

From somewhere beyond the separator, I heard Riku mutter, “It’s starts.” His voice was muffled. I suspected due to facepalm. Taking a small bundle of my hair and tucking it between her palm and two little fingers, Rayne then set the other three fingers and hand to work unraveling one of Anna’s pigtail braids.

Anna didn’t seem to mind, instead just turning her gaze to the rest of our booth and flashing a smile big enough to rival one of Sora’s. “It’s so great to meet everyone! This is super exciting! Isn’t is just so exciting?” she asked me. I opened my mouth, but Anna was already gushing once more, “And oh my gawd, so, so, so, sooooo much fun! I’m already having a blast! Are you having a blast?” Again, this question was aimed at me. Again, I didn’t even get so much as a peep out. “Aaaah, lookit her, she’s having a friggin’ blast! This is awesome! So how long have you guys all been getting together like this? Who started it? Was it just a small group at first? Were you guys always friends even before these Friday nights began? Do you ever change it up, get food and drinks somewhere else? Or is it always the 7th Heaven? Why is it called the 7th Heaven anyway? What’s the story there? What’s the food like? No, what are the drinks like? Did I pick good ones? I hope I picked good ones! And I just love that they have karaoke here! Anyone else going to be singing later? Ooo, here’s an idea! We could all go up and sing one together!”

Typhoon Anna had struck again, leaving round eyes and silence in her wake.

I was guessing most everyone else at the table hadn’t even caught half of that, the torrent of words had been coming out in such a rush.

The hush over the table stretched until Vanitas at last broke it with a flat, “Yeah, no, I’m out. I’ve had about all the pep I can stand from that pack of idiots,” he flicked a wrist towards the half the table taken up by Xion, Olette, Roxas and Hayner, “without having to deal with… this,” he cringed, gesturing to Anna. Then he downed the rest of his beverage. “Later, losers.” And with that, he vaulted himself over the table, shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and slinked off.

“So…” Anna dragged out the syllable, “...he’s pleasant!”

Certainly one word for it.

“Vani bail early?” Lea rejoined us. “No shocker there, he usually does. He's always been more of a lone wolf. Make room, Fun-size!” he looked down at where Xion was seated at the opposite end of the booth from us. She scooched to clear a spot for him and he plopped on down, setting a full, opened bottle on the table in front of him bearing a red label that boasted the title Ifrit Amber Ale. “Ladies, your drinks n’ fries are gonna need another minute. Someone’ll be by to drop them off when they’re ready.”

A small smile braved my lips, “Thanks, how much do we owe you?”

Or rather, how much did Anna owe him? Since A, she was the one that’d ordered it all and B, I’d yet to earn a single cent to my name.

Soon though. Payday was coming.

He batted a hand, “Don’t worry about it, my treat. And, uh,” he snerked, “you might want to keep a closer eye on what Raindrop's up to over there.”

I blinked. I had been feeling a faint tingle in my scalp as Rayne had continued to play beauty salon back there this whole time, but I’d just been ignoring it. Now both Anna and I turned to discover she’d weaved locks of our hair together into one thick, auburn-and-platinum braid.  “I made a pretty!” Rayne giggled, punctuated by a hiccup.

Biting back a grin, Xion called, “Hey Riku! Control your woman!”

A hand shot up and grabbed Rayne by the scruff of the shirt. With a squeak, she disappeared behind the booth separator.

“So,” Olette shook her head, one corner of her lips tugging up, “how are you liking it over at Ice Palace?”

...shoot, she was talking to me, wasn’t she?

I was so not prepared for this.

Glancing up from where my fingers had already begun disentangling the braid Anna and I shared joint custody off, I pursed my lips to one side. “Hmm, well… it’s pretty good actually. This is my first job ever, so I was a bit anxious.” Understatement of the millenia. “But it’s been going well. And I like the people I work with and get along with them and uh…” I eyed Kristoff out of my peripheral, who still seemed rather dazed by Anna and the apparent lack of the phrase ‘personal boundaries’ in her vocabulary, “...and they like me and are very kind and welcoming and… certainly not mad or anything at me for, oh I don’t know, hypothetically lobbing and busting their phones, like I would ever do something so silly as that, why would I even mention such a thing, that’s so random,” the jumble of words finished in a weak chuckle.

It was beginning to become clear to me that the tendency to babble might run in my family.

Only mine was of the nervous variety, whereas I don’t think Anna had a nervous bone in her body.

At last sensing my gaze on him, Kristoff shook himself out of his stupor and looked back at me. Then he frowned, narrowed his eyes and stared down at the table, nursing his drink once more.

“Oh yeah,” Xion snorted, “I can definitely feel the love simply overflowing from that side of the table.”

“Sounds like a sweet gig,” Hayner chimed back into the conversation with a smirk as he crossed his arms. “But then, anything’s gotta be better than working at some lame dump of a pizza place.”

“Ouch, shots fired.” Lea cocked an eyebrow, “What’s with the drive-by, my dude?”

Roxas snickered, “Ignore him. He’s still just sore about the whole rat thing.”

“There wasn’t a rat thing! I told you already, it was just some dumb pet so it doesnt count!”

“Sure,” Roxas sighed, “Just keep telling yourself that, man.”

“That’s it!” Hayner snarled, slamming both hands down on the table as he rocketed up to his feet. “It’s time we settle this like men!”

Olette groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Tell me you did not really just say that, you total caveman.”

Hayner stabbed a finger towards Roxas and growled, “You.” Then jerked a thumb into his chest, “Me.” He pointed at one of the arcade machines, “Struggle 9000. Loser buys rounds for the table for the next five Fridays.”

“Come on, you two,” Olette interjected, “is this really-”

Lea clamped a hand over her mouth, one index finger held up to his lips, “Shush, I want free booze.”

“You’re on!” Roxas shot back, eyes flashing. Then the both of them were ducking down and crawling under the table to exit the booth before dashing over to where the video games awaited them, elbowing each other the whole way.

“Wanna go root the boys on?” Olette asked Xion.

“Pfft, root nothing. I’m taking on winner and curb stomping his ass. Play my cards right and I’ll have them both buying our drinks for weeks to come.”

As Lea slid out of the booth so the two of them could get up and leave, Olette laughed, “Oh, I bet Hayner would be simply thrilled by that prospect.”

“Please, you think that bonehead’s gonna come out the champ?” Xion scoffed as they walked off. “Rox has got him beat, no contest.”

“Wanna bet?”

That was the last thing I heard from Olette before a happy shriek barely an inch to my left drowned out anything else that might have been said.

Gee thanks, Anna. Really, who needs hearing in both ears anyway?

Our order had arrived, which apparently was what had gotten her so excited. A heaping bowl of shoestring fries now steamed in front of us, covered and smothered in some chunky green sauce. Anna’s drink started out orange at the bottom and faded into a yellow at the frothy top where in the absence of one of the standard teeny decorative umbrellas, it was instead garnished with a fluffy, yellow feather. My drink was a chilly, neon blue color and served in a tall, skinny glass with wafting mist and a frosted rim.

“Bottoms up!” Anna singsonged, clinking her beverage to mine before chugging down half of it in one go. I pulled a face at her, scrunching my nose with a grimace. She puffed out a content sigh as she put the glass back down at the table. “Ah, that’s good!” Then her eyes darted between me and my drink a couple times. “Well? What are you waiting for? Get your drink on, gurl!”

“No thanks,” I nudged the Shiva away with a fingertip. “Someone has to drive us home, so I guess that someone’s going to be me.”

“Pssh, details,” she waved a dismissive hand while she tested out one of the fries. Eyes lighting up, she shoveled a couple more in her mouth before pushing my drink back towards me. “C’mon, one sip won’t kill ya! Besides, you’re hurting Lea’s feelings over there, he spent his hard earned munny on it just for you!”

“Nah, it’s cool,” he shrugged and grinned. “You do you, El!”

“Dude, work with me here! You’re supposed to back me up on this, I-” Anna cut herself off in a gasp. Seemed there had been a lull in the karaoke, so someone had kicked on the big vintage jukebox off to one side, which was now pumping regular tunes out of the overhead speakers. “I love this song!” Her hand clamped down around Kristoff’s wrist, “Dance with me!”

“Wha-?!”

I was all but shoved out of the booth as Anna bolted off, dragging a wide eyed and stumbling Kristoff behind her. I watched her go, shaking my head with a tired smile. Anna would never change. But then, who’d want her to? She was kind of perfect the way she was, chaotic energy and all. Sighing, I took a seat again and looked up.

That’s when I froze.

Because that’s when it hit me.

Somehow, my booth had gone from being packed to being empty. Well, almost…

There was still me.

And there was still a certain redhead.

And to be fair, my plan had been to spend the evening with a redhead. Just said redhead was supposed to have been petite, female, and my sister. The redhead before me now? Checked off none of those boxes.

So instead of the night of sisterly bonding like I’d been looking forward to, I’d somehow wound up in a bar. 

At a table. 

With Lea. 

By ourselves. 

Just the two of us.

Alone...

Help! SOS! Frantic smoke signals! I was not mentally or emotionally equipped to deal with this situation!

Commence cardiac arrest in three… two… 

Author’s note: Hi, yes, welcome to Cameo Palooza, where we got references coming out the wazoo! This chapter and events in next chapter were originally all supposed to be one chapter, but the references just kept going and going… I honestly didn’t expect them to go on for as long as they did, but here we are xD Not gonna lie, I took an odd amount of pleasure in giving Lea and Elsa drinks to match to their respective elements/summons. Also lil fun fact: There are real alcoholic beverages out there called the Shiva and the Golden Chocobo, just google it if you’re curious and I think the recipes should pop up like the did for me! Also, there are in fact green Cactuar Fries out there in the real live world too - I’ve seen foodies post pictures!

Next chapter… how will Elsa deal with this latest challenge in human interaction she’s come face to face with? Will this be one step closer to strengthening the bond of her new friendship with Lea? Or will it all end in utter catastrophe thanks to her awkward penguin ways? Will we ever find out the secret of the Cactuar Fries’ green ooze? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to any new followers out there (howdy! :D) and to those of you who’ve liked and reblogged previous chapters, seeing that always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

[the-end-of-art]

Children open doors

The Open Door

Sometimes it takes a neighborhood—and a new kid in your life—to show you who your friends are.

by Marie Howe

About ten years ago, I moved into a railroad apartment in the West Village: five flights up to a long, narrow space that my sisters, who live in houses, might call a hall. When the apartment was swept and uncluttered, tulips standing on the table, it looked like a sliver of a country house. As long as you didn’t move. This place is so peaceful, friends would say, so serene—and it was, unless the neighbors were home. I nodded on the stairs, but I had no desire to know the people across from me: two adults and one young daughter living in a space too small for even one person. I’d come to New York to escape the white affluent suburbs, to live with different kinds of people, but this was just too close. Their language, their cooking, their shouting: Everything they did seemed foreign and loud. I closed the door; they came through the wall. The man’s snoring woke me. “Stephanie!” I heard the mother call to her daughter so many times it was a song stuck in my head. When the family’s friends came over, their conversation and laughter drove me from my desk, forced me to walk the streets. Then the worst thing happened.

They had another baby. And that child cried for twelve to sixteen hours, day and night. I banged on the door. I called the landlord. Who were these people? Why wouldn’t they move? At that time, I was trying to conceive a child with the man I loved. Inches from my neighbor’s snoring we would be having the industrious sex people who are paying for rounds of fertility drugs have—and then the baby would start crying. And crying. Come on, honey, he’d say, we have a job to do. But by then I’d be sobbing, too, curled up in a fetal position under the sheets, my hands over my ears as the baby screamed.

We broke up, and I was single again. As the baby next door grew into a toddler (“Sabrina!” the mother endlessly called), I began the long process of adopting a child from China. Finally, I received the photograph of my future daughter, a sturdy, sad-looking 3-year-old girl named Yi-Nan, and it was time to go.

Three weeks in three Chinese cities (bicycles, smog, scorpions, SARS, an appendicitis attack), Yi-Nan sobbing throughout the fifteen-hour flight, and we were back in New York, slumped in a cab speeding through the rainy night. As I lugged my new daughter up my building’s five flights of stairs, I began to hear voices, and then I saw them: Stephanie and Sabrina; their mother, Maria; and their father, the snoring man, Carlos. Everyone had crowded into the stairwell to greet the little girl who pressed against my shoulder. It wasn’t until the next morning that I saw the blown-up color photographs of Yi-Nan—I had no idea who had gotten them or how—pasted on the walls and doors with WELCOME HOME crayoned beneath them.

I hardly noticed, in the blur of those first weeks, how the presence of my next-door neighbors began to comfort me. Maria and Stephanie would coax Yi-Nan (whose name had morphed into Inan) up the stairs as I staggered behind. Then gifts began to appear: a child’s baseball hat hanging from the doorknob, two or three laundered dresses neatly folded, a large Tupperware container of plastic action figures.

I was a 52-year-old working woman, living alone with a disoriented 3-year-old who spoke only Mandarin. I was barely coping. Although my friends cheered me on, they didn’t live with me; my neighbors did. One day, Stephanie stood in my doorway as I put away groceries. Another day, both Stephanie and Sabrina came in. Soon they were stopping in regularly to teach Inan numbers and letters and who Barbie is. When I struggled to get my stomping, crying daughter dressed, they materialized snapping their fingers and singing “You can do it” as they danced around. They charmed her, they calmed her; they made her laugh and learn English. And they taught me how to teach her, they taught me to have fun.

Not only our next-door neighbors but the whole building rallied to my support. Our landlords threw a baby shower. Will and Peter, who lived below us, carried up groceries and very often Inan as well. Soon doors were opening each morning like little windows in an Advent calendar as our neighbors called out “good morning” to the little girl counting “one, two, three” as she walked downstairs.

I don’t remember when Maria and I began keeping the doors between our apartments open. I crossed into her kitchen one evening to see Inan sitting with the kids and eating spaghetti. “It’s okay?” Maria said. “Yes,” I said, “if it’s okay with you.” Inan looked up, smiling, her mouth smeared with sauce.

When I was sick, Maria took Inan next door and fed her. When Inan was sick, Will took time off from work to babysit. And when Inan’s fever reached 105, Maria showed me how to wrap her in cold towels. Back from the doctor, we found coloring books waiting for her.

Our doors were open almost all the time now. The children ran back and forth, and Maria and I walked into each other’s homes with only a knock on the woodwork. Stephanie and Sabrina and Inan decorated the little Christmas tree we’d carted home in the stroller (Peter carried it up). And on Christmas Day, when Inan had been in New York nine months, and a group of us were opening presents, Will and Peter brought us a Christmas breakfast of eggs and ham and blueberry muffins. It was the happiest Christmas of my life.

Children bring blessings, an old friend, a mother, once told me: Children open doors. Inan and I had come all the way from China to find the people who would make our new life possible: our generous neighbors, who had been there all along.

(http://nymag.com/urban/guides/family/living/features/feature_neighbors.htm)

[littlemisssquiggles]

Hello! I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but have you watched the Alita Battle Angel movie? If not, the synopsys is that an old doctor finds a cyborg bust in a scrapyard of trash that is dumped everyday by the floating city above, called Zalem. In your latest musing you mentioned something about trash being dumped from Atlas. What would you think if Upper Atlas were similar and it would dump trash in a scapyard, in Lower Atlas? And the workers there making use of it however they can?

‘SupYellow.Always a pleasure to hear from you so no worries there fam. Unfortunately I have notseen Alita.But I definitely want to since I’ve heard positive things about it; both themanga and the recent film adaptation. Despite knowing jack about the series, Ido like the idea you present here. 

It wouldn’t surpriseme if something like that were possible with Atlas. It’s funny. Folks keepreferring to Atlas by Upper and Lower. Wouldn't Upper Atlas technically be just Atlas while the lower sector is the remnants of Mantle?

That’swhat I assumed it was. The lower city being Mantle below, unless I am deeplymistaken. I like the idea of Atlas dumping their trashinto Mantle with the People of Mantle living the life of scavengers;only managing to survive due to their resourceful nature by crafting workingmachinery and equipment from whatever scraps of and parts they managed tosalvage and/or pilfer from the junkyards dumped from Atlas.

It’dbe interesting if Atlas has become rather snobbish and discriminatory towardtheir Mantlese brethren over the years to the point that they don’t even donate their broken or unused materials to Mantle’scitadel, only granting them use of whatever they can scavenge from the massivepiles of junk they dump into their kingdom periodically. Like the rich andelite only granting charity to the poor by allowing them to take what they canfrom their trash bins for the week and considering that an act of generosity.

Imagine if … the Atlesians are the typeswho have grown so spoilt from their riches that they no longer see worth in their products anymore. To Atlas, it’s allabout advancement.Forwardever, backward never and when theold outdates the new, the old is disposed of so that the new can rise up andthrive. Take over even and lead them successfully towards a bright future. Itwouldn’t surprise if that is the mantra of Atlas because that is precisely whathappened with Atlas and Mantle’s history. Atlas rose up to the point that it overshadowed Mantle and rather than aid those left behind intheir predecessor kingdom, it seems that Atlas has lost all touch with itsroots.

Allthe more reason why I’m digging the concept of the People of Mantle being scavengers—thegood kind who see worth ineverything around them, since their generations have been forced to survive onso little for so long and thus become more adaptive and more appreciative ofwhat they have and cherish.  And becauseof that, they are able to make wonders with what bit they can use from the UpperWorld.

Thisalso makes me think of a really cool hunch I have concerning Penny Polendina’sfather/creator. For the sake of my musings, I’m going to refer to him as Dr. Japheth Polendina until his official canon name is revealed. If mymemory serves correctly, Gepetto isthe Italian form of the name Japheth whichis a name of Hebrew origin meaning ‘expansion’.  

I think Japheth is afitting pseudo-name for Dr. Polendina since my assumption is that he is a greatand well-renowned scientist and inventor in Atlas whose inventions hascontributed towards the kingdoms’ advancement. Makes sense, right? Beyond that,another theory I have is Dr. Polendina is unlike a lot of Atlesians . Itwouldn’t surprise me if Dr. Polendina, like many from his generation (MariaCalavera and Nicholas Schnee) was born after the Great War and contributedtowards Atlas taking over from Mantle.

Howeverunlike other Atlesians who seem to have discarded theirMantlese heritage and traditions, Dr. Polendina still holds stubbornly onto his.I like the irony of Dr. Polendina being old-fashioned despite being the inventor of so many creationsthat helped Atlas move forward. I think that could be a cool contrast to hischaracter. I like the idea of Dr. Polendina being a smart yet modest and humbleold man (maybe even a lil cuckoo for coco puffs), who doesn’t just create foradvancement but rather help humanity because he genuinely sees wonder and value in everything around him. Despite it being a traditionhis younger associates don’t understand and have tried to beat out of him foryears, y’know since they all mostly consider him a fossil and only keep himaround for his unique genius. Nonetheless Dr. Polendina sees worth in everything—includinga lifeless robotic husk he treated and loved like a daughter. That’s my theoryfor Dr. Polendina if you or anyone who were ever curious.

Ithink an anon-ninja once asked me what elements of Gepetto/Pinocchio I think will be incorporated in V7. Well I thinkthat’s one of them. I’d love to think that Japheth also shares a history with Arthur Watts.I can’t help this nagging hunch I have that Arthur Watts was probably the formerapprentice of Dr. Polendina who he loved like a son.

Inthe Pinocchio tale, Geppetto was an elderly woodcarver whoseemed to not have any former children of his own hence why he createdPinocchio and wished for him to be a real boy.

Imagine if it was the same for Dr.Polendina. Whatif… Japheth was a man who had dedicated his life so much toadvancing Atlas that he never got the chance to have the thing he wanted morethan anything—a family or at least someone to love him like one. Picture Japheth living a depressing life where he losttouch with his former family in Mantle and the closest thing to a family he hadin Atlas was a former apprentice who he cherished like the child he never had whoended up betrayinghim before disappearing entirely,believed to be dead (i.e. Dr. Arthur Watts) and lastly, Penny—the android heloved like a daughter but also ultimately lost.

Ican go on and on about my theories for Dr. Polendina but that’s the theory Imainly wish to share here. As you brought up Alita, it made me think ofsomething interesting. I have this Penny-centric theorywhere as soon as our heroes arrive in Atlas, they soon discover, much toRuby’s shock and disgust that Penny was made into a line of sentient service androidswho was being mass produced and sold to the People of Atlas.

Picture Detroit Become Human but with just Penny asthe sole android series. RWBY Chibi S2 kindof teased the concept of Penny being sold as a doll. So what ifthat will be the case for V7? What if…in current Atlas, Penny is now a popular brand of service androiddolls sold to the Atlesian public to perform many different roles insociety. Picture Penny being like the Barbie Doll of Atlas exceptthat she’s a life-sized sentient machine. Picture all kinds of Penny models beingsold each programmed with a series of different functions tailor made to fitwhatever role her user/buyer bought her to perform.

Imagine Ruby standing in acity populated with different Pennies—-Waitress Penny, Nurse Penny, Traffic Cop Penny, TourGuide Penny, etc.—who all look and sound just like Ruby’s Pennybut isn’t her. And what’s even more horrifying to Ruby is what Penny’s legacyhas dissolved into. Back in V3 I believe, Penny told Ruby that she wasoriginally made to protect Remnant. She was made to be a hero. The first of her kind tobe used to protect humanity.

Imagine howmuch of an insult it would be if this is what Ruby finds out Atlasdid to her friend after she was murdered. Not remember her as a hero butbasically a living toy to beused and abused as her consumers feel.

That’sinsane!Which is all the more reason why I want this theory to come true. I was askedlong ago by a FNDM fam about how Ruby would feel if she saw Penny locked away insidesome pod inside a laboratory. I never got around to actually answering that questionbecause Tumblr buried the original response post I was going to edit. If thatuser happens to read all of my answer posts, here is my answer to your questionnow.

Rubyreacting to a rebuilt Penny being locked safely inside a pod? Ahahaa! How about I giveyou something grimmer?

Ontop of Atlas mass producing Penny and treating her like a plaything rather than the heroshe was meant to be, you wanna know my theory for what they did with originalPenny?

Myhunch is that originalPenny is put in the trash. Meaningthat after her body was returned to Atlas, there was a meeting between themembers of the Atlas Council debating on whether or not the military projectPenny was born from should be terminated or not. Even though Ironwood is the mainauthoritarian from Atlas that we’ve met so far, I’d like to think there is another topleader calling the shots whoIronwood actually serves under.

Ifthe Atlas Council is anything like Vale’s, then there are at least threemembers on the council governing the Kingdom. From what I remember back in V4,Ironwood says he holds two seats on the council. This leaves the third and lastseat and it’s here where I think we’ll have a new authoritarian character who Ironwoodlistens to.

Basicallyit was this Atlas Council Member introduced and signed off on the idea ofturning Penny into a doll to be sold to the public.  I don’t know of any puppet masters in any knownfairy tales but perhaps this Councilman, as I’ll refer to him in mymusings, could be based off of the Coachman from Pinocchio. In the 1883 book TheAdventures of Pinocchio, the Coachman was a villain who kidnapped children tobring them to Toy Island in which the bad children turned into donkeys.

IfFNDM fam thought General Ironwood was a cross due to his deep authoritarian waysand leadership then imagine someone worse than Ironwoodbut lacking the compassion. Picture… the Councilman being the type to make ajackass out of the General Ironwood since Ironwood generally has torun everything by him and the Councilman has Ironwood wrapped around his pinkie,especially now that he hasn’t been well—psychologically. I actually kinda digthis idea.

Sothe Councilman convinces Ironwood that the best way to dissolve the mess the Vytalescapade left on the military and the People of Atlas following Beacon is to turnPenny into a doll series—allowing her to fulfil the purpose she was made for.Serving humanity by serving humanity as a service doll. There are even Penniesbeing used by the military.

WhileDr. Polendina wouldn’t sign off on something like this—imagine it being oneof those uncomfortable scenarios where one’s hand is forced because they arebacked into a corner by people trying to either bullyor manipulate them. In the case of Japheth, it was both theCouncilman trying to bully him into doing his job for the military and Ironwood,though sympathetic towards the doctor and his loss, still trying to somewhatemotionally manipulate the man into doing as he and the Councilman ordered byusing Penny and the reasons she was made in the first place as his motive.

It’snot a nice game but in the end, against his wishes, Dr. Polendina had no choicebut to hand over his research and the original body of Penny and concur as themilitary—mainly the Councilman did what they pleased with her.

Andin the end, once they were done, they didn’t even have the common courtesy toreturn Penny to her father. Instead, like many things in Atlas, Penny wasdiscarded and her remains ended up in the junkyards near Mantle. I even have away RWBY canincorporate Monstro into the Atlas Arc. You know how in Pinocchio,Gepetto got swallowed by the giant whale?

Wellwhat if…at some point, the heroes visit Lower Atlas on their voyage towards Mantle. Mytheory is that at some point during the Schnee Family Affairsstoryline of the Atlas Arc, Weiss will go in search of her missing grandfatherNicholas Schnee and her searches will take her and her friends down from Atlasinto Mantle’s depth. During their voyage, the group end up in the junkyardsbelow.

Apparently,people aren’t allowed to go in the junkyards. Part of it is due to Atlas being stingy towards Mantle even with their junk and anotheris for the reason that there is a massive Grimm known to roam the junkyards.That monster is GrimmMonstro—a colossal land whale type Grimm that burrows undergroundand swims through the sea of garbage in the junk piles looking for anyunsuspecting victims to rise up and swallow.

I have this idea where Ruby andOscar are swallowed alive by Grimm Monstro and it’s in the belly of the Grimm where Ruby discovers Penny’s originaldestroyed body. Perhaps…as a better alternative, that’s how she and Oscargot swallowed in the first place. Ruby spots OG Penny while in the junkyard.Goes off on her own to retrieve her despite Oscar’s initial warnings that somethingfelt off about the junkyard however Ruby ignores hisadvice. Ruby makes it to Penny’s body in time for Grimm Monstro to rise up.Oscar jumps in to rescue Ruby. The two try their best to outrun the giant Grimmbut end up getting swallowed alive. That could be FREAKING EPIC!

Little Red Riding Hood and PrincessOzma working together to escape Monstroand save themselves plus Pinocchio is a future RWBY episodeI’d love to see for Atlas. YES PLEASE! Sign my ass up!

Andif all that comes true, we could even get Ruby and Oscar working together to revive original Penny.

Ifmy theory about Oscarawakening his inner mechanic and inventor comes to fruition, imagine Ruby begging Oscar to help her revive her formerfriend using his skills. Knowing and fully understanding how much this means toRuby, Oscar accepts and the two rosebuds get to work together. I would lovethis so much!

Ithink this could be really cool especially if after Penny gets successfully restoredthrough Oscar’s know-how, she starts calling Oscar ‘brother’. I’ll give you three veryimportant reasons why I love this idea.

Firstly,I’ve seen some fans comparing Oscar to Penny so me, being the proud Pinehead and Polendiva (Penny Polendina fan) that I amstarted to dig the idea of Penny and Oscar having a brother-sister dynamic.Like after Oscar helps rebuild her, Penny starts treating him like he was her big brother.Not father since Dr. Japheth is her father.

Secondly,I like Penny calling Oscar ‘brother’ because of the obvious, very on the nosecall back to FMA. Come on! You know how much I love those.

Andlastly, I love this idea because it appeals to another Pinehead headcanon I have where Oscar becomes an apprentice under Dr. Polendina anddevelops a father/son bond with the old inventor. I did say I wantedOscar to have a godmother type character who adopts him in Atlas. Perhapsinstead of a fashion designer, it’s an genius inventor who acts as hisgodfather.

Penny andDr. Polendina both adopting Oscar into their family = HELLA FREAKING YES.

You know my mantra. #EverybodyAdoptsOscar

I’dlove to expand more on this idea some more but I think I’ll save it for anothermusing. This response post is long enough. But for what it’s worth, I hope youlike my answer Yellow.Let me know what you think if you can pretty please. Would like to hear yourthoughts on my thoughts.

~LittleMissSquiggles(2019)

[writethiswaymaam]

Love Undone

CHAPTER TWO

Summary:  Andria finds comfort and solace at a Mayan's party, but her interaction with the club causes tensions to rise between her and Antonia. 

   Andria looked at the time on her phone before punching her pillow in frustration. She had been home for almost a week and sleep still evaded her. She rolled on her back looking around the guest room at her sister’s house. Her sister’s wife, Katrina, had went full on Joanna Gaines with this mother trying to make Andria feel welcome, and Andria had never felt more uncomfortable. She would much rather be back in her childhood home sleeping on a thin, worn out mattress on the floor with the cracked and peeling plastered ceiling than atop this Egyptian cotton covered pillow top mattress while staring at freshly painted walls that felt like they were closing in on her.

    She wished she had the strength and stamina to go for a run right now, but her leg and side were still too far from healed. Even the light exercises at physical therapy left her in close to crippling pain. So short of popping a sleeping pill or maybe drinking herself into oblivion, there was little hope of sleeping tonight. Andria dreaded the idea of another night of counting down the hours until it was acceptable to exit the bedroom without drawing suspicion. Her mind began to wander back to her time spent overseas. She never struggled with sleeping in a combat zone. The continual physical stress and exhaustion with the added security of being around her brothers and sisters in arms often meant that Andria could sleep anywhere, in any position. A fact that often made her the butt of many jokes among those she served with. She missed them. She missed never getting the chance to be alone. This house left her entirely too much room to be with herself.

    She sighed looking at her phone again. It was 2 am on a Saturday night. The only reason people were out this late was to party and most of the bars and clubs she would even think about going to would be winding down at this time of night. Unless…. The Mayan’s parties usually lasted till dawn. But it would be disrespectful to show up uninvited. The only women that did that were las mujerzuelas, and that is not what Andria had in mind. But, the idea of loud music, good food, and the general chaos of a bunch of drunken bikers sounded appealing. This house was way too quiet to drown out the noise in her head.

    With that thought she soundlessly got up and got dressed. Running a quick brush through her hair and not bothering with makeup, she padded silently through the house and out the front door undetected. Starting Antonia’s or Katrina’s car had the potential of waking up her sister, but it was a risk she had to take, because there was no way she could make the trek on her bum leg. She reasoned that if she was taking the chance of pissing Antonia off anyways, she might as well drive the Lexus. That’s how she ended up parked in the road in front of the gated club yard, leaning against the expensive silver car, debating her next step. She could probably call Bishop and ask for an invite, but that could come with questions, or even worse, the possibility of interrupting his bedroom activities with one of the club’s putas. That did not sound appealing. That’s why when she heard a deep voice asking her if she was okay, she sent a silent prayer of gratitude into the universe, and turned with a smile on her face, “Hey EZ, I’m good. You?”

    He took a moment studying her face before a look of recognition crossed his, “Andria Pena? A.P. Physics class, senior year.”

    “Yep. I see that photographic memory of yours is still serving you well,” she laughed.

    “It has its moments. So, what are you doing here?” he motioned to the yard behind her as he took a spot leaning on to the Lexus next to her.

    “Couldn’t sleep. My hours are still all turned around from the time difference, so I decided to take a drive. You caught me having the inner debate of ‘should I take the chance of making an ass out of myself by walking into a club party uninvited, with the sole intention of eating a ridiculous amount of food’, or if I should just go back home.”

    A smile spread across EZ’s face, “I think I can solve your dilemma. Come on,” he said with a nod of his head, “consider yourself invited.”

    Andria followed him, both making a beeline for the buffet once they entered the gates. He placed his freehand on her back guiding her to the bar where he set down his plate before grabbing them drinks, then sat down on the barstool next to her. They barely talked while they shoveled food into their mouths. “Hmm, I hope you’re not judging me right now,” Andria said after downing half a beer, “I haven’t had real Mexican food in such a long time.”

    “No judgement here,” EZ said between bites, “so how long have you been deployed?”

    “I enlisted straight out of high school. This last stint was my longest, a 3-year deployment,” she shoved her fork into the rice and beans, “or, at least it was supposed to be. This med leave cut it 6 months short.”

    “Are you planning on going back? After your recovered, I mean?” EZ pushed his now empty plate away.

    “To be determined,” Andria sighed, “I’ve got to get med clearance before they would redeploy me with my unit. The way this leg feels, I’m not sure that’s going to happen anytime soon, and the Army isn’t known for its patience.”

    “What would happen if the leg doesn’t pass snuff,” EZ turned in his seat.

    “They’ll send me where they can use me. Training maybe, possibly recruitment, or a medical discharge,” she scooped the last forkful forcefully into her mouth.

    “You don’t seem very excited about any of those options,” EZ looked at her inquisitively.

    Andria took a moment to gather her thoughts, slowly peeling the label off her beer bottle, “It would be very difficult for me to admit that part of my life is over. I’m very good at what I do. I’ve built my entire military career proving that. I just…I want it to end on my terms, you know?”

    She met his gaze and he nodded his head, “I definitely get that.”

    Just then Bishop and Tranq walked out of the templo in the middle of a conversation headed toward the bar. Bishop stopped short at seeing Andria and EZ together, his brows furrowing before he yelled out, “Yo prospect, looks like the bar needs restocked.”

    “Yes, sir,” EZ stood making himself scarce as Bishop came up to Andria.

    “Hola Preciousa,” he said wrapping her in a warm hug, “what brings you here tonight?”

    “Honestly? I think this place feels more like home than Antonia’s Barbie Dreamhouse,” she looked around at everyone laughing, dancing, and drinking.

    Bishop looked at her with a knowing smile, “You know you’re always welcome here,” he kissed her forehead before sitting down in the bar stool EZ just exited.

   His smell engulfed her. Leather, whiskey, and cigarettes surrounding her like a comforting a blanket. She really had missed the steadiness that Bishop seemed to exude over her life.  Even her mind seemed quieter with him around. Bishop took swig if his drink, a smirk crossing his lips, “Barbie Dream House, huh?”

    “Dios mio, what happened to my sister, Bishop?” she asked laughing, “Do you know they have a weekly game night with their neighbors? Fucking Monopoly, Bish. MONOPOLY. And don’t get me started on the ship lap.”

    He laughed as she ranted. Her hands moving wildly as she described this new life she had been dropped into, and how often she humorously struggled and failed to fit into it. Just when they had finally reigned in their laughter, a woman approached them. It was clear that all this woman’s attention was on Bishop. She was dressed in a low-cut, blood red top and black leather pants. Her eyebrows were thinly painted on, along with a lip liner that was two shades darker than her lip stick. She was the epitome of a Mayan puta. Completely ignoring Andria’s presence, the woman pressed her body against Bishop, placing her hand on his chest, and leaning in to whisper something in his ear. Andria turned back toward the bar, downing her third beer and motioning a man they called Chucky for another. Bishop was a grown man who could do what or who he wanted, but Andria couldn’t help but feel a little disgusted at how desperate putas got around bikers. They’d spread their legs to anyone in a cut, just hoping to be one of the chosen few to stick around. Being El Presidente and unattached made Bishop a frequent target for las putanas. Antonia and Bishop had gotten in plenty of fights back in the day over women just like this, even though to Andria’s knowledge Bishop had always been faithful. It was still hard to see someone you love to get constantly hit on by other people. She spared a glimpse back over to Bishop, as he grasped the woman’s hand and brought it to his lips. Andria rolled her eyes thinking that she was about 5 seconds away from getting the blow off when she heard Bishop tell the woman, “Not tonight, sweetheart. I’m catching up with an old friend.”

    If looks could kill, Andria would certainly be dead from the scowl the woman gave her before she stalked off. Probably in search of another biker for the night. “She seemed nice,” Andria deadpanned taking another pull from her beer.

    Bishop just shook his head and laughed lighting another cigarette, “What about you, princesa? Got a special someone?”

    Andria snorted, “Ummm, no. Turns out I’m pretty terrible at relationships, or so I’ve been told.”

    Andria started peeling the label of her beer bottle again. “Whoever told you that sounds like a real pendejo who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about, princesa,” Bishop tapped the ashes off the end of his cigarette.

    “Eh, he wasn’t completely wrong. I was really focused on my career, and he never quite measured up to my idea of what the perfect guy would be,” she swiveled in the bar stool, absentmindedly running her fingers through her hair.

    “Well, you’re still young. You’ve got plenty of time to find a guy that checks all the boxes,” Bishop finished his whiskey, “Speaking of age, I think I’m going to call it a night."

   She stood gingerly, the prolonged sitting making her leg cramp and stiff. Bishop held out his hand offering assistance, but she shook her head, "I'm good. Just takes me a minute to work the kinks out."

    "Do you need help getting home?" he asked wrapping his arm around her.

    “Nope, I can handle it. Goodnight, Bishop,” she hugged him goodbye.

     “Goodnight, princesa,” he kissed her hair keeping her tucked to his side until she reached the door.  

     She walked, rather stiffly, out to the car in relative solitude. The music had died down along with the dancing. Most of the people still awake were huddled around bonfires talking quietly or amid a sloppy-drunk, far-too-handsy-for-public-consumption make-out session. She smiled to herself. “Did you have a good time?”

    EZ fell into step beside Andria. “I did,” her smile brightened, “thanks for inviting me.”

    “Anytime,” he smiled back as he started walking to his trailer and she continued toward the Lexus.  

    “Hey Andria,” he called, and she turned back to him.

    He looked like he was going to say something and then changed his mind, “Have a goodnight.”

    “You, too, EZ,” she gave a slight wave before climbing into the car. She blew out a deep breath before starting the engine and driving back to Antonia’s.

    She pulled into the drive and got of the car. She was still smiling to her herself when the front door flew open, and she came face-to-face with a very pissed off Antonia. “Where have you been?” Antonia questioned in a harsh whisper.

    “I couldn’t sleep so I went for a drive, ended up at the Mayans party,” Andria shrugged walking past her.

    “With my car?!” Antonia’s voice raised slightly in anger.

    “Is that a problem?” Andria asked turn toward Antonia confused.

    “YES! It’s a problem. Alexandria, I am the mayor now. What do you think my constituents would say if they saw my car parked outside an outlaw motorcycle clubhouse all night?” Antonia seethed.

    “I’m guessing the answer you’re not looking for is ‘good for her?’” Andria snickered.

    Instead of diffusing the situation like Andria had hoped, Antonia was even more angry, “You think that’s funny? You come here, and I do everything I can to help you, and you just mierda mi vida like it’s nothing?”

    “If me going to a party on a Saturday night with some of our oldest friends is the equivalent of shitting on your life, I don’t think staying here is going to work out for either one of us,” Andria exclaimed, “I want to respect you and the life you have built Antonia, but I’m sure as hell not going to live my life by the rules you have set for yourself. Bishop, the club, that life might be part of your past that you want to keep buried, but you don't get to make that decision for me.”

    “You’re right, Andria,” Antonia threw her hands into the air in exasperation, “this isn’t going to work out. I think you should leave.”

    “Well, look at us, finally agreeing on something. Here’s your keys back. I’ll go pack my stuff,” Andria angrily hobbled her way to the bedroom.

    Antonia stared down at the keys in her palm before following Andria to the bedroom. She took a deep frustrated breath. “Shit. Look, Andria, I’m sorry. You don’t have to leave tonight. We can talk about this in the morning and try to find something that works for both us,” Antonia tried to reason as Andria hastily threw stuff in her bag.

    “I think we just need to realize that we’re too different now for this to work, Antonia. You’re the mayor, you’re married, you have a baby, and play Monopoly on Wednesday nights, and that just isn’t me. I don’t know what I am anymore, but this isn’t it,” she walked back to the closet grabbing a stack of neatly folded clothes.

    Antonia rolled her eyes, “The only reason you hate Monopoly so much is because I always win.”

    “Yeah, well you cheat,” Andria zipped her bag and put her hands on her hips the fight leaving her frame.

   “I do not,” Antonia halfheartedly argued.

    Andria sat on the bed, “The last time we played you offered your wife a sexual favor in exchange for Park Place.”

    Antonia sat down beside her, “I already had Boardwalk. I like to think of it as an effective gaming strategy.”

    “I wonder what your constituents would think about that,” Andria quipped.

    “Ugh. I’m sorry,” Antonia laid down on the bed, “there’s a lot of outside pressure with my job right now, and I’m just trying to be extra careful. Sometimes it feels like this life I built is hanging together by a thread, and there are so many people pulling strings, it would be nothing for them to take it all away.”

   Andria laid down next to her, “What kind of outside pressure?”

    Antonia sighed again, “How much do you know about Miguel Galindo?”

[mrs-livvy]

My Funny Valentine

Hey everybody! it’s ya girl Livvy here with a Black Panther fic, for With Love From Wakanda. I am honored to be able to collaborate with you this group of lovely Queens. Hope you all enjoy it, feedback is greatly appreciated and i will be sure to follow you all as well. Thank you to @hoopshoney and @purple-apricots for this amazing opportunity!! 

My prompt: “Did you just call me, ‘my love’?”

Warnings: heated make-out session, nothing too bad.

Relationship: M’Baku x Zoya 

Word count: under 2k [1,892 to be exact, i got a bit carried away]

Translations: ngelosi; angel

What was the purpose of bachelor parties anyway? It all seemed extremely boring to M’Baku at this point. Going out to a strip club with his friends, he used the term loosely, to celebrate T’Challa’s engagement to Naomi.  

The club was Erik’s idea of course, but none of them impressed M’Baku in the slightest. He was on his 3rd glass of Hennessy, and it don’t phase him one bit.   “Ayo, Baku!” Erik approached the Jabari king with a swag in his step. Looking him over and rubbing his chin, he snickered.   “Why you look bored? There are plenty of honeys to choose from. Have some fun and get outcha head.” M’Baku glanced at his gold fanged friend and scoffed a bit.   “None of this fun to me. They are all gorgeous, yes, but not my cup of tea.” “Man you trippin trippin. Imma go have fun with T’Challa, never thought I’d hear my damn self say that. Talk to ya later.”

To say he was in a funk was an understatement. What caused it? How I would’ve wrote it: It was probably the fight between him and his lady friend, Zoya, that caused them to not speak for weeks.

The fact that it was Valentine’s Day didn’t make it any better, seeing as how he had the week planned out months before the fight. To say he was whipped over Zoya wasn’t a lie. She treated him no different, and saw

him for who he was. Not just the king of Jabari Land, but M’Baku. “I’m gonna go back to the hotel. I’ll see you guys later.” Upon departing from the group to head home, he got a text that made his heart beat like a djembe drum in a tribal dance.   {Come by my hotel, the Manhattan. We need to talk. Room 214}

He thought long and hard about how to respond. Once he got his bearings together, he replied.

[Oh? So what do I owe the pleasure of gracing the queen of my presence?]

{I don’t need the sarcasm.} she replied. {Just get your ass here before I change my mind.}

“At least I can get away from the party.”

[Fine. I’ll be there soon]

Catching a cab to clear his thoughts a bit, he replayed the fight in his head.

[several hours earlier]

“You can’t even take one day off. One day off to spend time with me.” The ruby red haired queen huffed at the tall Jabari king. They had been at it for hours.

“I am a king. My duties are to myself and my country. Not some whiny little-“

“Finish that sentence. I dare you. One more word I will feed your ass to your tribe. All I’m asking from you, is spend a little time with me that’s all.”

He had, had enough of their arguing and needed to breath. The elongated sigh left his full lips, as he rubbed his face.

“I can’t be at your beck and call every minute of the day, Zozo. You know that.”

“You sure did spend a lot of time with that other chick at the bar, a few times this week I might add.”

“Are you jealous of Megan? She’s our guide around New York. I can sense something these in you Zoya. You want me. Don’t you?” The smirk shone on his face with pride. He knew just how to push her buttons.

“Hell no. Go enjoy your little Little Havana Barbie Doll, of a guide. Any of the Avengers could’ve given y’all a tour.” She rolled her eyes in annoyance and prepared a bath for herself.

“That’s it!” He exclaimed and got in her face. “Until you come to your senses about how you feel, I’ll be with the boys.” Leaving her there to contemplate what just happened, she growled lowly full of rage.

“I could ask you the same damn thing!” Zoya exclaimed in fury as she heard the door slam after M’Baku’s departure.

[Flashback over]

What flower shops are open this late? Maybe her favorite ice cream will do? The process to make it right and apologize for what he had done, was in full swing.

Fifteen minutes alter, after gathering that items he needed, he felt the hairs in the back of his neck rise due to anxiousness. Knocking on the door waiting with anticipation, it opened to a glorious sight.

“Zoya. I just-“

“I know. Come in before you draw attention to yourself.” Pulling him inside the room, she checked for any onlookers.

The room was dimly lit; held electric candles all over the place, soft jazz music playing, his pride and joy in front of him in a crisp white lace lingerie set and a matching silk white robe.

“Dear Hanuman you look good enough to eat.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of her for one second. The white lace looked as if it were painted on her skin, making it rove seem envious of what it was on.

“Oh I know. I’ve been blessed with a glorious purpose.” She began, and smirked slyly up at him, before putting the flowers in whatever she could find in the kitchenette of the room.

“And that purpose is to apologize for how I’ve been reacting towards you.”

Taking his hands in hers as the moved towards the couch, she sat on her knees and breathed evenly.

“M’Baku, it doesn’t take much to make me feel good. And yet you do the bare minimum and it means the world to me. I shouldn’t take your kindness for granted and what we have, I don’t know what to call it at all.”

Her palms were aching; heart pounding against her chest at rate that felt like a jackhammer on the pavement.

“ngelosi. What are you saying?” The tone of M’Baku’s voice was unwavering. He didn't know to expect next.

“Please don’t call me that unless you’re being truthful.” She sniffled at the thought of possibly losing him for what she was about to say.

“I am being truthful here. Where are you getting at?”

“What am I to you?” The words rushed out of her like a bullet train and caught M’Baku by surprise.

“I don’t want to just be your fling whenever, you or I, need to get off. I know this was the arrangement but it’s getting less fulfilling. I don’t want to be a fuck buddy, when I know I’m wife material.”

The tears that slid down her high mocha sunkissed cheekbones, fell into her lap. All the while, sniffling slightly while avoiding eye contact. Feeling a warm gentle hand, lift her chin up to look him in the eye, he spoke with sincerity. 

“Zoya. My love, I was afraid to tell you how I felt. I truthfully only thought you’d want this arrangement, after all was said and done. The first time was magical of course but, as it continued I finally saw the woman I want by my side.” Lacing their fingers together, he kissed the back of her hand.

“I want this to be more than just a fling between us.” Resting his head on hers, looking into her eyes softly, he was being sincere.

Was she hearing him correctly? Did he want her for real. The tears that shed this time, were happy one's, as she let out a sweet chuckle.

“Wait, wait. Did you call me, ‘my love’?” She was in awe and shock. “M’Baku, are you sure? Am I even fit to rule?”

“My love,” he repeated with a smile and caressed her cheek gently. “Without you, I am nothing but an empty shell of a man. With you, you make me better; stronger even. Beside every great man, is an even greater woman.”

All her bottled up emotions, that she held in for so  long over the last four years, were rushing out with pure happiness.

She didn’t know how to respond. Not sure what to do, letting her body do the work, she kissed him with so much love and passion. This kiss felt real and not forced; it was genuine and filled with heat.

His soft, thick lips engulfed hers with an intensity like no other. Tilting his head to the left slightly, to deepen the kiss, he held her face in his strong hands. All the while of taking in her sent, that was like fresh oranges infused with vanilla. It must’ve been the perfume he got her for her birthday, because it was heaven on earth to him.

The kiss itself was hotter than ever before. Dragging her nails down his firm chest, moaning shakily against his lips as it intensified even more, she had a thought. Upon breaking the kiss, she was caught off guard, by his lightning speed reflexes.

“M’Baku..” Zoya groaned softly as his lips trailed down her neck in ecstasy, causing her heart to beat faster in want and need. Feeling a little daring, Zoya draped her left thick thigh across his lap, while M’Baku caressed it and tugged at it. Of all the times he's been in between them, he’s taking his time to enjoy it more than ever.

“Yes my Queen?” He was too focused to on her pleasure to even talk.

“You didn’t ask me to be yours. You simply implied.” Her elegant voice stopped his motions, gazing into her eyes once more and pulled her closer to his chest that’s as just as burning in desire as her own.

“Zoya Janelle Okafor,” He began, as he picked her up and locked her ankles behind his back, caring her to the bathroom that she had set up for them.

“You’ve thought this out haven’t you?” He loved the gesture wholeheartedly.

“I did. Because kitten felt bad, for how she treated the gorilla.” The elegant smirk that was etched on her face, as she rubbed her nose against his affectionately.

“The gorilla loves this, just as much as he loves you. Yet, I have a proposal to ask of you.”

Placing her on the counter; watching in amazement as the candles illuminated her heated skin, to give her a golden glow, he was at a loss for words. Then found them again.

“My love, will you be mine? For all eternity, in all the possible realms that are out there? I don't have a ring yet, but there might be one in the future.”

“Yes M’Baku. I’ve waited long enough.”

With the finale words leaving her breath, she pulled him closer to her body and kissed him with everything she had in her. Gripping her hips just as rough, and rolling his into hers. The white lace, that graced her supple hips, were soon ripped from her and throw behind him without a care.

“I just bought this!” She whined but was cut off by a sudden slap to her voluptuous backside.

“I’ll buy you more than your hearts desire.” His deep baritone voice awoken the chills in her body, biting her plump bottom lip as she unbuttoned his shirt.

“You’re lucky I love you.” She whispered ever so lightly, against his lips, pulling his pants down as well.

“I love you, too.” He responded softly and went backing to kissing his future Queen. Holding her close as much as he could, with the sound of the city drowning out in the background.