#also peep the b99 reference kind of sort of

[booksarebetterthanpeople]

Running list of my tags

I��m not great at tagging, and am relatively new to trying it out, so my old stuff will most likely not have tags. Sorry peeps. 

bold means it is a tag, underline means it’s a category of tags.

my reaction to the post

wow - things that generally make me say “wow.” i.e., something interesting or really cool. 

right in the feels - things that i can’t otherwise specify but, someone, made me feel emotions very strongly

sad - this post made me somewhat or very sad

lmao - the post made me giggle internally, at least somewhat.

media content

text - the post is either 100% text and/or a significant amount of the post can be understood via the text alone

pic -  the post is 100% pictures and/or the post contains pictures which are important to fully understanding the post 

video -  the post is either 100% video and/or a significant amount of the post can be understood via the video alone

gif -  the post is either 100% gifs and/or a significant amount of the post can be understood via the gifs alone

vine - this post is mostly vines. WOO.

long - the post is pretty long. idk how to specify how long just how i feel about it

fandoms - of note, the tags below are not added only if there is a gif/pic/etc that is from that fandom as a throw-away reference or meme, but if the post is fundamentally about the fandom in some way. there are plenty more than the ones below, these are just the ones that i use more frequently.

magnus archives - what a great podcast.

batman - gotham, batman, batman’s rogue gallery, etc.

b99 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NINE-NINE!)

john mulaney - not just a gif of mulaney, but a persistent reference or post about him

harry potter but without jk rowling -  i don’t like jk rowling, but the universe is *chefs kisses*

gaming - generic gaming of some sort.

aperture science - portal or the aperture science universe

dnd - Dungeons & Dragons, possibly also generic TTRPGs, depending. May just remind me of D&D, also

dnd dice

dm thoughts

animals - the post is about animals. didn’t say i was creative. 

bunnies - i love bunnies so much, they get an additional tag

cats - see above

dogs - see above

other content classifiers

aesthetic - generally an aesthetically-pleasing post. not necessarily always a pic post

spoopy - mildly spooky in aesthetic

horror - Lovecraftian, likely, in nature. 

floral - I love me some flowers. I’m a femme at heart.

art - the post is a painting/visual artwork of some kind

music - the post is mainly music

reference - the post has important information, which can be used now or later, and should be used as a reference 

did you know - the post has interesting information, but not necessarily something that needs to be actively used or to be referenced 

news - anything involving current events or the news

2020 - stuff that pertains to the hellscape that is the year 2020

m-m-m-my coronavirus - posts related to the SARS-CoV-2 (aka COVID-19 pandemic)

classics - a classic meme

meme - a well-known meme (what’s the difference btwn this and classics? hell if i know)

queer, lgbtq, wlw, lesbian - kinda self-explanatory, no?  

i didn’t kill my wife! - a tag for my lovely partner to look at

[marci11e]

I mean...7 is always a classic!! Can’t not do that one lmao ❤️

7. “we’re assigned to this mission in which we have to pretend to be a married couple, but i’m actually really in love with you” // word count: 2k+

“Say it.”

“I love you, Andrew.” A relaxed smile spread over Lance’s face. “You’re the love of my life.” The words come sweet and steady, as if they were coated in sunlight.

Keith faltered at that, couldn’t open his mouth. His mind went all over as he squeezed his assignment file just a little tighter. He’s too good- for this? for-

“And, scene.” Lance took a bow, and stood up. “So, as you could see from that, I’ll be okay in expressing verbal affection.” He held his file to his chest. “Now, are we physically affectionate?”

Keith blinked, and quickly loosened his grip. “I’m sorry?”

Lance cocked his head to the side. “Well, if we’re married, then we should have a sort of rhythm. You know, are we touchy? Do we hold hands? Do we have pet names? Do we kiss in front of others?”

Keith felt like he should be losing years off his life for having to go through this. Curse Pidge. “I see. We should draw a line- no kissing.” Are you sure? His mind supplied. “Yeah.”

“Smart.” Lance tapped a couple of fingers to his temple as he smiled. “So we’re not the type for PDA- would make sense. You don’t seem like the type.”

How would you know? Keith thought, his heart skipping a beat. He’s right, but it didn’t matter. “As for pet names, I couldn’t care less.” He looked off, wondering how in the hell it’d come to this- after so many months of just being around him.

“Really?”

No. “Really.”

“Ok, so babe is okay?”

More than- “Just said I don’t care.”

Lance shrugged. “Just saying- it’s best to talk about this before, you know, infiltrating the wedding. Just so, you know, there are no surprises.” He took a few steps in Keith’s direction, stopping a few steps away. “No falling in love with me as a result of a term of endearment.” Lance smiled a small smile, and gently tapped his file against Keith’s chest.

“This is a mission- that won’t be happening.” Keith hoped the pounding of his heart couldn’t be heard. “Now come on- we have to get ready.”

“You got it.”

Some time later, after trying not to stare, Keith headed off first and Lance stood next to him as the elevator doors closed.

As the elevator descended, Keith felt the nausea of it. He shut his eyes, and leaned against the wall.

“Andrew? You okay?”

Keith’s head swam as he opened his eyes. He turned to find ocean blue eyes looking at him, with all the care in the world. He merely nodded- this was the job. He was Andrew Rinton. And next to him was his husband, David Rinton. 

Married three years, dated two. 

Five altogether. 

Five years.

They could do this.

He could do this.

—-

He couldn’t do this.

Standing at the reception, the question rang in his ears. 

How’d you meet? 

“Actually, I tell it better.” Lance swooped in, and without warning, intertwined his fingers with Keith’s. “It goes like this…”

As Lance dazzled the partygoer, Keith let his eyes wander, to see if the target was anywhere. Male, tall, long silver hair. Name: Lotor. Rumored to be with “-and it’s been a dream, hasn’t it, sweetheart?”

Keith swiveled back, hoping it seemed smooth. “Really has.” He smiled, and looked over at Lance. “I love him...so much.” He hadn’t realized he’d paused until he finished. He glanced away, and then back.

“That’s so sweet.” The woman smiled, and cradled her champagne glass. “How do you know the bride and groom?”

Lance was too busy watching Keith out of the corner of his eye to respond.

Keith registered the quiet, for some reason, and met the woman’s gaze. “Ah, went to school with them a little bit ago.”

“Must’ve been quite a time.” She took a sip, and then swirled her glass. “So, what-”

Keith didn’t know if he was imagining it, but he thought, just maybe, Lance was squeezing his hand just a little tighter- 

“Pardon me, but we have to leave this lovely conversation.” Lance nodded, smiled a charming smile, and then tugged Keith away. They pulled through partygoers and eventually came to the outside of the building, a few feet from the corner.

They stood there, and Keith could feel a thudding in his chest. 

“Looks like everything’s in place for the shipment.”

There was the clicking of the briefcase, and some murmuring that Keith couldn’t make out.

“Excellent. See you back inside.” There’s the start of footsteps against gravel, heading out.

Shit.

“We’ll keep in touch.” Lotor laughed, and there was a rustling. Then, footsteps.

Shit, shit-

It was then that Keith registered Lance had a hold on his shoulders, pushing him against the wall. He made eye contact, and-

“Sorry,” Lance breathed, and kissed Keith.

Keith caught a brief glimpse of Lotor passing by, sparing only a glance as he passed. But, his eyes fluttered shut, and for some reason, the kiss lasted longer than it should have. He counted the seconds in his head, and pressed his lips into a thin line once Lance pulled away. 

“Sorry,” Lance repeated, and looked off. “Looks like we’re in the-”

“What was that?”

Lance looked back at him. “What?”

“That?” Keith could feel his heart going wild. “Where you, you know-” kissed me? He couldn’t finish.

Lance pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, and then drew it away. “Cover. Besides, we’re supposed to be married-”

“What was the point?” Keith let it slip, and pressed his fingertips to his temples, as though shielding his face. “Why-”

“Didn’t want them to know we were eavesdropping.” Lance’s voice bled blue in the night. “Now, come on. We should head back and make our report.” He started walking toward the door.

Keith covered his face. No, no. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. This? He uncovered his face slowly, and studied his fingertips. 

It was only ever supposed to be an if. 

But it’s not. Not anymore.

“Lance, wait.”

“Lance? As in Lance McClain, famous spy?” 

Keith stilled, and prepared to spin around when he felt the barrel of a gun press to the small of his back. 

“Oh, dear. Can’t have that, now can we.” There’s a crackle, and the voice spoke. “Confirm that McClain’s here- I’ve got- what’s your name?”

“It’s-”

The loud ringing of a shot interrupted Keith. The person behind stumbled, and the gun fell to the gravel. Keith, in the heat of the moment, felt his stomach, back, checking for the wound- there was none.

He looked at his hands- clean.

There was screaming from inside, and someone came at him and grabbed his wrist. He reacted, and threw a punch. The person let out an “Ow, Jesus!” but held on. It wasn’t until Keith had pulled back his fist that he realized he’d just punched...Lance.

“I-”

“No time for talking. Just run!” Lance threw the words behind him, and moved his hand so that it was holding Keith’s.

Keith didn’t bother responding. He let his legs do the talking.

Before they knew it, they were well in the garden behind the event. There was the murmur of guests, but it kept dying and dying until Keith decided far enough was far enough. He stopped, and disentangled his fingers from Lance’s. “It’s- we can stop now.”

Lance stopped a few feet away, and took quick breaths. “Okay.”

Keith blinked, letting the events beforehand play out again in his head. “Did you shoot the-”

“Did I save your life?” Lance produced his gun, and shook it a little. “Yeah, kind of.”

“Jesus, put that- put that away.”

“No thank you?”

“Can you wait a second?” Keith turned his body away, and he ran a hand through his hair. 

“Uh, not really. Not after you blew our cover.”

Keith stiffened at that. 

Lance, wait.

“I mean, that’s academy stuff, Keith-”

“Shut up.”

“You almost died, okay-” Lance’s voice raised, unmistakably. 

Ignoring that, Keith spun around, and looked dead on at Lance. “That’s not fair. It’s not my-” He gritted his teeth. “Okay, sure. I said your name. But we had the- the rule, and you broke it.”

Lance hooked his gun to his side and groaned. “Look, they would’ve gotten both of us, and then we’d really be in trouble. I mean, we probably already are, but...we’re in less trouble- for now.”

Keith felt his blood go hot. “Wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“You-” Keith pointed a finger, jabbing the air. “You’re-”

Lance held out his hands. “Say it.”

“You don’t get it, do you?”

“I’m not a mind reader, okay?” 

“I’m in love with you!” Keith slapped both of his hands over his mouth right after, the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He cursed himself out in his head, and he sank into a squat. 

Fuck.

The odd quiet of night filled the space between them. There was a gentle wind that skimmed the tops of the hedges, and the sort of sound of crickets. 

Perfect, Keith thought. Just perfect.

The sound of footsteps across the grass stopped right before him. There was a rustling, and a slight gust of wind. “Keith.”

“...You really don’t have to say anything.” He felt like he was burning, and twitched when he felt a hand on each of his wrists.

“Look. Gonna need you to look at me for this.”

Keith sighed a little, and raised his head. He fell back onto the ground when he saw Lance sitting cross-legged in front of him. “Why-”

Lance laughed a little. “What do you mean?”

“Why are you right here?”

Lance gently brought Keith’s hands closer, and brought them to his left cheek. He pressed Keith’s right knuckles to it. “Ah, perfect fit- these are the knuckles that hit me a little while ago.” 

Keith flushed, and as he danced between the decision to move them away, he was too late.

Lance drew Keith’s hands close, and pressed a gentle kiss to Keith’s knuckles.

That’s when Keith moved, and brought his hands to his chest, holding them close. “What was that for?”

“For thinking I wasn’t in love with you when I am.”

Keith froze.

Lance put his hands on his legs. “You want to know something? I’m the one who requested to work this case with you. Maybe even joked about the husbands thing, but Pidge must’ve known more than I thought.” He laughed a little. “But...I think it really clicked when you were held at gunpoint back there.”

And you punching me kind of...just felt like a sign from the universe. Granted, not the best.”

Keith did his best to breathe evenly, and to not blink, as if that would wash away the moment too soon. He felt a swell of warmth in his chest. “It might bruise.”

“Calling yourself strong?” Lance cracked a smile, and looked down.

“It might bruise,” Keith repeated, “so, I should kiss it better.” He smiled, a little. “Right?”

Lance looked back up, almost startled. “I-”

“Why do you look so flustered?” Keith couldn’t help himself- he moved so that he was mirroring Lance’s position.

“Didn’t expect that so...fast. From you.”

Keith laughed a small laugh. “I literally just blurted the worst confession ever known. You know, about being in love with you?”

“Ah- right.” Lance took a shaky breath. “Just...taking it all in.”

Keith cupped Lance’s cheek, and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss on his face. He drew back. “There. Should hold for a bit.”

Lance blinked. “I think I’ve loved you ever since our second stakeout.”

Keith blinked in surprise, then felt a smile spread slowly across his face. “You said that night was anything but a bonding moment.”

Lance turned his head to the side, looking off into the night. “Couldn’t let on. Sorry.”

“You’ve apologized to me several times tonight.” Keith slid his hand under Lance’s chin, and pulled him back. “You could start making it up to me.” He spared a glance at Lance’s lips, and then looked back at him. “What do you say?”

Lance said nothing.

He simply leaned forward, the smallest smile gracing his lips.

Keith couldn’t stop thinking about it as he, Keith (not Andrew), kissed Lance (not David). He smiled at the thought of husbands- something not true at the moment, but tonight was only tonight.

Tomorrow might be something else entirely.