#dunno how i've avoided it this week...

[peachhcs]

did we ever get will actually asking sammy to be his gf? like once they decide in the grace period that they want to fully commit to it.

i've been trying to write this for like weeks now and the creative juices were just not flowing so hopefully y'all enjoy this! i've been lacking ideas as of recently so that's why i haven't been as active, but hopefully they're coming back to me!

(me also when old ask..)

au masterlist

it's obvious samy & will wanna be together but how ready are they to take the step that will change their relationship forever?

they were basically a couple in everyone's eyes but their own. since the grace period started, samy and will followed each other around like lost puppies and frankly, it was starting to annoy everyone watching the two be so in love yet avoid the label of boyfriend and girlfriend. samy even wore will's t-shirts around the house as a coverup up over her swimsuit and if that didn't scream couple behavior then what did?

"are they ever gonna like..ask the other out?" gabe mumbled from the back deck where him and a few others were sitting around watching the couple chase each other around the yard.

it was samy's graduation party, so the lake house was a lot more packed than usual, but samy and will's flirting hadn't changed. they were still as insufferable as when they started going on dates a month ago yet neither of them had plucked up enough courage to ask the other out for real.

"don't be a hater," julianne said from where she was cuddled up beside ryan. gabe rolled his eyes though. "i'm not, i'm just saying. they've been flirting since we were sixteen and honestly, i'm getting tired of neither of them just making the move to ask the other out," the dark-haired boy continued his complaining.

"you're just jealous smitty's actually getting some," drew teased a bit which made gabe even more annoyed.

"real classy, fort. i just don't get their "grace period" or whatever the fuck. he likes her. she likes him. it's simple. they're together or they're not."

"ugh you just don't get it because you've never been in love with your best friend. if i was samy, i'd be fucking scared to date my best friend because what if it fucks everything up and it ruins our friendship?" julianne continued defending the younger hughes while ryan's gaze snapped over.

"hey. i am dating my best friend and that didn't stop me from admitting my feelings or being in love," the brunette defended and a bit hurt that julianne was implying that him and her weren't best friends before dating.

"okay, not what i meant. obviously, you're my best friend. i mean like...samy and will have known each other before we even came into the picture. they've been through some real shit together and..it's not easy to just..get into a relationship. i'd be terrified to lose my best friend i've known for my whole life just because of some feelings," the blonde shrugged and the boys finally started understanding where she was coming from.

"i feel like knowing my best friend has feelings for me would just want me to be with them even more. i'd already know everything about them so we wouldn't have to go through the awkward get to know you phase. i wouldn't wanna wait or..test the waters. i dunno," the hockey player shrugged. he was getting tired of arguing back and forth with julie.

"that's the whole point though. if it didn't work out, all of that stuff would just become obsolete in your mind and it'd all be ruined. i'm sure one of them wants to say something, it's just a matter of being okay with sacrificing the entire friendship for a relationship," the boys sort of followed, but they were done arguing about it. instead, their conversation fell quiet and their phones interested them more than talking about their friends' feelings.

meanwhile, will was determined to throw samy in the lake per luke, ethan, and mark's request. at this point it was tradition and it made it even more fun because it was graduation party. the older boys thought will doing it would make her less suspicious. 

"i know what you're trying to do," samy yelled as she ran away from the blonde. 

"no you don't!" will yelled back. he knew he could overtake her stride in an instant, but he was trying to be nice and give her some length. 

"come on, smitty. i'm not dumb. i saw you scheming with luke." 

will slowed his run until he was completely still. samy realized he stopped chasing her and slowed too. she turned around and saw him with his hands up a few feet away. "i promise. call it a truce?" the boy offered with a convincing grin. 

the younger hughes raised her eyebrow. she looked over to where luke was with mark and ethan. all of them had their backs turned. she looked back at will who was doing nothing but smiling at holding his hand out for the truce. 

"if you're pranking me, i swear to god," samy shook her head, but reached forward to shake on it. the hockey player's grip was firm as they shook hands, his pretty smile distracting her from the fact that he pulled her towards him enough that he could get his other hand around her waist and hoist her over his shoulder. 

samy shrieked, " will! you liar!" 

he had a good grip, so samy couldn't escape if she tried. will ran down the yard to the dock while luke, ethan, and mark cheered in excitement. oh, they were so dead after this.  

"sorry, hughes. brother's orders," will chuckled. 

"hey, hey, i'll do you a really big favor if you don't throw me in," the brunette was desperate to try anything so will wouldn't throw her into the lake. 

"a really big favor? it'll have to be huge," will paused inches away from the edge. the water splashed against the wood making it so incredibly enticing to throw the soccer player in. 

"if you don't throw me in, i'll ask my mom if you can sleep in my room tonight." 

now that was a big favor. normally, it never mattered whenever will and grace visited because will would sleep in luke's room and grace would be in samy's, but ever since the in between started, samy was itching to have will in her room instead. their parents were a bit strict now that they were older and they knew about the feelings between them. 

"woah, trying to get a home run already?" will teased. 

"we've been at third base for how long now?" the brunette hit his back earning a chuckle. 

the offer was so tempting. as comfortable as the couch was downstairs, will wouldn't mind finally sleeping in a bed with samy in his arms. their loop hole to their parents' rules was that they'd stay up late watching a movie so they'd fall asleep together while it was still playing. the blonde put her down and samy smiled in satisfaction. it was so easy to get him.

"good choice," the girl hummed. she leaned up, an indication she wanted a kiss. will happily obliged, leaning down to meet her in the middle, but samy didn't actually want a kiss. 

when he was close enough to not suspect anything samy took matters into her own hands to forcefully push will back. the boy stumbled over his feet, losing his balance and falling into the water below. samy bursted out laughing while everyone else watched in shock. 

"holy shit," gabe mumbled as he watched the scene unfold. 

"now that was good," drew laughed. 

will pulled himself back onto the dock where samy was still a laughing mess. he was drenched head to toe when it was supposed to be samy in his spot. he shook his hair out onto her like a dog just getting out of the water. the girl moved away from him in hopes to avoid the water zone. 

"you're so dead for that," he mumbled. 

"your fault for falling for it," samy giggled. 

"so you're saying the favor was a trick?" will raised his eyebrow. 

"no, i'll still ask. i think you deserve it after this," she was so insufferable, but will couldn't like her more. the little smile and fit of giggles falling from her lips was enough to wash away any anger the hockey player might've felt for taking the fall instead of her. 

"good because you owe me now," he reached forward to pull her into his arm. her shirt was getting wet now, but it didn't matter when will connected their lips for real this time. she tasted like strawberries and a hint of vanilla frosting from the icing she stole earlier when her mom was still decorating the cake. 

a few whistles from the crowd in the yard filled their ears which broke them apart. drew was on the deck clapping and samy's brothers were snickering to one another. both of their faces heated up in hot blush. 

"what the hell are you waiting for? ask her out already!" drew didn't have any shame yelling across the yard. will's blush deepened into his ears. 

the question had been on the tip of his tongue for weeks now. he wanted to ask after their first date, but he didn't know what too soon was. samy was the one to suggest the grace period and will did not want to pressure her or scare her into something she wasn't ready for. at this point though, they'd been dancing around the question knowing they were both too scared to ask it. 

"samy?" if he didn't do it now, he'd never do it. 

samy met his gaze, "yeah?" 

"can i be your boyfriend?" 

a soft smile crept onto her lips, "i thought you'd never ask." 

their lips connected again and that was the signal that he'd done it. all of the guys on the deck jumped up in excitement seeing their friends kiss again. will and samy smiled against one another when they heard the excited screams and cheers. 

"think they're excited?" samy laughed. 

"they've been waiting years for this," the hockey player pulled her flush against her chest, his arms enveloping around her as he squeezed her tight. their hearts were full knowing this moment had been years in the making. 

the new couple made it back up the yard where their friends were waiting. gabe and ryan were pulling will away while julianne and hannah quickly congratulated samy. they were blushing ear to ear. 

"thank god. was starting to think you guys would never make it happen," gabe teased. 

"someone owes me $20!" ryan exclaimed while everyone began arguing about who owed who what. samy and will just sat back with smiles on their faces. the boy put her arm around her and she leaned into his touch, her eyes flicking up to his. 

"maybe we should let them be," will chuckled and they escaped inside before anyone noticed to hide away for the rest of the day and enjoy their new status of boyfriend and girlfriend. 

[theehorsepusssy]

The old hood

A. Cucina! Cucina! Was a shitty chain restaurant I managed at the Rose Garden arena (1997-2004) paid well, free food. I weighed nearly 300 lbs

B. Red Lion Hotel parking lot. Where I had to park on game days. Busted smoking pot out of a beer can with my boss. Huge rats and feral cats. Surprised I didn't get fired....or rabies.

C. Memorial Coliseum. I dropped The Red Hot Chili Peppers spaghetti take out order and had to run back to restaurant to replace. Took it back unaccompanied, was waved thru and wandered around backstage trying to find who to give it to. Nearly ended up on stage holding a take out pan of spaghetti during Give It AwayNow

D. Jags was a bar in the hotel where I would go play Video Poker when I was too tweaked to be around customers at my job. It eventually became a Detox center and sober house years later. Fucked a couple straight guys who liked to get freaky for meth hanging out near here

E. Budget motel. Had sleazy sex here a couple times in 90s

F. Warehouse where they held Mr Drummer leather 1990 maybe. my friend stood me up and I was alone.....on acid . There was a sex party afterward-$20 . Large room covered in unrolled black garbage bags. Coil's Hellraiser soundtrack played. I was tripping balls. Saw guys climbing up on a dudes wheelchair and face fucking him. Saw someone getting fisted for first time. Was told to leave while getting a titty twister from leather daddy. Years later, my friend turned the downstairs into Dirty Little Secret salon/spa and that stupid Eagles song "dirty little secret, dirty little lies, dirty little fingers in everybody's pies" gets stuck in my head and I think of the aforementioned fisting I witnessed

G. Walgreens I went to daily. Where to buy needles with a side of eye roll because I would confuse my insulin size order with the dope size other order. No ATM fees there.

H. Head Shop across from Franks Noodle House. Lousy meth pipe selection. If any. Dunno. I never smoked it always some trick would whine that they would only smoke and we'd end up here.

I. Lloyd Center mall. The bottom level bathroom was a decent place to poop when I was homeless for a while

J. The park I had registered as my "home" when I was homeless.

K. The hotel where I went to a Craigslist sex party and the host had a suitcase full of Ethyl Chloride cans and huffed so much we thought he died for a moment. Half the guys attending kept repeating " I'm straight, I've never done this before" I wish I had a camera

L. My mom worked here. I avoided these blocks for years, afraid of bumping into her while I was high

M. Tony Roma's Ribs. This was an occasional night out for me and Robert 1992-95. There used to be street whores on MLK back then

N. Hotel to party at. Call girls worked this one hard. You could still smoke in the rooms

O. The Red Robin I worked at for 2 weeks 1996. Worst job ever. I was told to learn to steal cuz no one tips. It was true

P. Courtyard Marriot. I would use lobby ATM for dope money if I was in a hurry. Met a online hookup there many years earlier who used a fake pic. Got there and dude was like 500lbs and asks if I can give him some meth and i ask how much he want to spend and fat boy gets all cheap and wants free and I'm thinking if I want to try and rob him before a moment of clarity and I leave

Q. The McDonald I got "groceries" at the last year I was using. I ate maybe once a week. I weighed 150lbs. It's by a Burger King that never had any customers the 20 years I was in the area. Is it a mirage? Is it haunted? Is it a money laundering front?

R. The 7/11 where I bought Camel Lights and Diet Mt Dew everyday. The old owners would whip out their shotguns when robbed. The new owners just let the robbers take the money

S. The seminary and Catholic church. You would see priests with unaccompanied minors at the Wendys across street. Suspicious. One night I was out smoking a cigarette and all the Catholics came marching out of the church playing Jesus dress up for Easter and the parade passed me and one dude thought I looked destitute and whipped out some cash for me and all Bless You my child or some shit. I was gonna give it back but went up to 7/11 for cigarettes and Diet Mt Dew. Thanks Jesus!

T. The Merrick. Casa de Horsepussy 2009-2016. 90% of all those old pics I post are on that block

U. Serene Court (a.k.a. Syringe Court) apartments.Used to be cheapest apartments in downtown area when I first moved here. Was exotic to cross the river from downtown proper to buy a bag of crank in this spooky old place

V. The Yards. I had an employee who sold pot lived here. I had to fire him. It was awkward as fuck

W. The Greyhound station was where to find heroin from someone who sold to someone I knew. Probably an open fent market these days

X. The Main Post Office. I had a meth dealer 2002ish that would mail tweak to NYC cuz those people would pay ridiculous price for an 8ball. He would get nervous about going in saying he was too high and have me mail it. Only later did he tell me what was in package

Y. Fancy loft area where one time I was having very intense drug induced roll play sex with some guy and he was veering into some script where I was his wife who drugged his beer and yeah, ok but then I think he just wanted a beer but it was all blurred reality with the sex game and I put 2 Zyprexa in his beer bottle and dude went down...hard. I had to dress him and get him back to his loft but he was practically dead from the sedatives and I didn't know where he lived exactly and just kind of rolled him out the car onto the curb off Lovejoy and sped off at 4am.

Z. My dad worked at some building under the 405. I lived a few blocks up the street and would find other routes to walk to the arena for fear of running into him

[palaceofpassion]

The Thoughts of Those Above

How strange, one would have thought that the prissy little heiress would have been the MOST apposed to a man attending to the needs and ailments of four young, proper women. But, to everyone's surprise, how rude of them, Weiss had adjusted surprisingly fast!

It helped, perhaps, that she was used to having men and women wait on her every word. She was after all, rich, so having another butler around meant little to her... though to her surprise, he was quite apt at what he did. She couldn't help but notice how quickly he moved around, doing chores one moment, and fixing up something the next.

It had been... a strange experience, she was SURE he would flirt with her, just like every young man their equivalent age did. However, perhaps due to their different statuses, he seemed mostly ambivalent to her. Of course, she caught him staring every now and then, though it was small polite glances. And it was only when she was looking his way already.

These moments often lead to an awkward grin as he gave her a curt nod or a wave, and carried on. She would roll her eyes of course, at least, that's how it started...

But to her surprise she found herself warming up, rather quickly, to him.

In fact, two weeks in, and she'd found herself enjoying his company. Not in any way romantic of course, he was far too nerdy for her... though, having him NOT flirt with her every chance he got was... endearing.

Perhaps she had low standards?

"Jaune."

"Hmm?" The young man turned his attention to the snow white heiress.

"I didn't ask for tea..." She turned her attention to him, noting the cup and kettle in his hands.

"Oh uh, right, right." He blushed a little, that pure red dust brushing across his cheeks. "I uh, noticed you seemed to be a little frustrated, with your studying and all that." He gestured towards her book, a Guide to Solo Combat. He assumed it had to do with combat classes or something.

"Ah... yes well, I've been..." She'd been falling behind, though she would not admit it aloud. She fumbled with her thoughts, trying to express herself. Her brows furrowed and eyes closed shut. Truth be told, "I have not been doing well in combat class... well, as well as I should." She was in the top four of course... but she was forth. And that was the problem.

She understood Pyrrha, but her teammates, to her surprise. Were very skilled, in fact, she was sure May HADN'T missed a shot since they joined. Ironically unlike that Rose girl from one of the other teams. She was fantastic with her scythe... but her aim was clearly off.

And then there was their leader, Jessica. She was a sniveling mess most of the time, and she wondered why Ozpin made her leader... but when it came to combat, when it came to being able to avoid social situations. She was able to put her head in the game, and her semblance was... strong. Very strong, apparently it cooperated well with the smallest bits of hard light dust, creating whatever she could imagine on the fly.

Truly, as Xiao Long from another team would call it, Broken.

It was vexing, frustrating, even in team battles, it felt like she did nothing to assist. All she could muster were her glyphs... and though Jessica was fantastic at calling shots... and pre planned tactics... she didn't use Weiss as well as she was needed.

"Mmm." She turned her attention to him, tea slowly pouring into the cup, a warm sizzle reaching her ears as he placed it before her.

Once again, she found it strange, he knew what she liked. Perhaps after being told over and over again, he would learn.

"I dunno, I've seen the recordings, and well I'm not a fighter." He chuckled a little, not that he'd know the first thing about combat. "But, you're always fantastic."

Her eyes widened, but then furled downwards, with one staying up as she looked at him with suspicion.

"Like, in team combat, sure Jessica is guiding everyone. But haven't you noticed? She doesn't really give you commands. And that's cause you've got your eyes on the entire battle field. Sure there was that time with the boar grimm thing at the start, when you were like frustrated you weren't the leader and-"

"Jaune..."

"Ah, right, right sorry! I mean like... you're really good at battlefield control."

She blinked a few times, a little confused. "I mean, you don't HAVE to be in the frontlines all the time. Heck, Pyrrha generally has that covered, and Jessica is like, somewhere in between with May WAY in the back! But come on, you've saved May SEVERAL times with your glyphs! I've seen you stop Ren a few times, and he's sneaky!"

She nodded, yes, the team that had TWO Ninja's was a pain to deal with. Especially when they would often target May or herself. She'd learned to be alert, when dealing with them. Setting up traps, a new thing she'd come to appreciate with the sense of defense and... "Huh."

"Also that time when you used a timey thingy on Jessica. And she sent all those green blades flying! There were so many, and she wouldn't have been able to make them without you!"

She nodded a long... she supposed he was right.

"Besides, you're no slouch in combat, you can hold your own with the best of them. But I think, that you work best as a team player. You know, you don't have to do everything alone."

She... supposed she didn't. That was something she hadn't really considered.

Initially she'd planned to use her brains and Pyrrha's brawn but... they were a team of four. "Hmm..." She gave it some thought, and put the book away. "Thank you Jaune." A smile graced her lips as she reached for the cup and took a sip, "Mmm~ Its perfect, just the way I like it."

She smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy inside, yes, Jaune wasn't so bad after all.

[liveontelevision]

Redemption Pt.2 | Lucifer x Reader

I'm kind of having a hard time getting motivation to write if anyone has any Luci prompts they wanna drop in my asks 👀

But for now, here's some more angsty fluffy slow burn Luci for y'all

(Check out Redemption Pt.1!)

○○○

It's been an.. awkward... few weeks. You kissed Lucifer. You kissed the king of Hell, who you've known for almost 2 decades, your boss and best friend. If that information didn't overwhelm your brain enough, he's managed to make you doubt Redemption. Still undecided, you began to fear the outcome of just disappearing without getting to make a decision. Without saying goodbye.

Even with your mental disaray, Business went on as usual. You did your routine paperwork and helped out with anything Charlie needed. Lucifer wasn't asking much of you these days. You assumed the best of him. Maybe he was just too busy. Or maybe he was avoiding you. You shook the frightful thought out of your head only to suddenly be hit with the memory of Lucifer looking so lovely with your lipgloss all over his face and neck. Damned man has taken over your entire brain.

Charlie would often ask you to help with touring, partnering in exercises, or helping new residents set up. You didn't really consider how much free time you'd have without seeing Lucifer as much as you usually do. Some days, you did at least walk by him in passing. You would smile at him, maybe say good morning or hello, and he would do the same. Like strangers. His smile was always sweet in the past, but these had a sense of disparity behind them. You couldn't confide in your dearest friend, and your paranoia got the better of when considering going to others. But you needed another opinion.

"Well, shit! Good for you toots! That all tracks, Luci's clearly a bottom." Angel laid on his stomach, kicking his long legs in the air like some gossiping teen. You just needed some advice on redemption, but you ended up spilling out the entire interaction. You sat at his vanity, your arms crossed over your chest. "Angel, please. What do you think about redemption? You've been here longer than anyone, don't you.. worry..? About never seeing anyone here again?" Angel looked down for a moment before swinging his legs around and sitting at the edge of his bed. He pat the spot next to him, and you quickly took a seat by his side. He gripped the edge of his bed and hunched over his torso, propping himself up by his elbows with his upper set of limbs. "Actually? I'm terrified. I've been here for 70s years, kid. This is basically all I know now. I had a family, a buncha siblings, and a whole backstory n shit, but.." He spoke softly, his voice cracking at the mention of his biological family." I barely think of 'em. Even with Val up my ass, I think of this as my home now. Charlie and Vaggie, even Alastor - and.. Husk." He swooned, without even realizing, at his own words." I think you gotta want redemption, babes. Maybe that's why i'm still here. I dunno." He placed a hand on your shoulder and sent a sympathetic smile. The tender care you hadn't received in so long was too much. You sniffled a bit and let your head fall onto his shoulder. "I don't know what to do, Angel... " He rubbed your arm that had traveled around your shoulders as you attempted to slow your shakey brrath.

Lucifer did what he always did when he was stressed. He created. Frustration seemed to be a common inspiration for his.. hobby. He filled his office to the brim with ducks, each with a fun little feature that he came up with spur of the moment. Without acknowledging it, he did leave your desk clear. Like he was waiting for you to suddenly appear there, all neat and tidy. A glimmer of relief in the pool of chaos his life had become. This went on for days.

He was rarely a participant at the bar, alcohol was just another reminder of the wrecklessness that could occur with free will. But fuck, he needed a drink. Making sure it was far too late, to avoid any unexpected interactions, he went down to the lobby. Still looking dishoveled and exhuasted, he prayed that no one would be down there, to see the king of hell looking to get sloshed at 3 in the morning.

To his luck, it was empty. The lights were almost all off, but the lobby was still filled with the red glow of Pentagram city just down the hill. Letting out a sigh of relief, Lucifer steps behind the bar, struggling to read any labels without a set light. That didn't stop him one bit,, randomly taking a bottle and drinking whatever was inside. It didn't taste good, but his head finally seemed to forget your face for a moment. He'll realize how horrifying that felt in the morning.

Looking for another drink that didnt burn his throat, he continued to sort through the drinks without any clear light source. Letting out a frustrated scoff, he flung a handful of golden flames behind him, attempting to light a display of candles that sat at the bar counter for decor.

"Fuck - !"

The sudden voice that came from behind made him drop whatever drink he had in his hand. It shattered, the sound echoing through the cleanliness of the new lobby. He turned his body around way too fast, only managing to focus on your face after a few dizzying moments. You hold onto the top of your arm, a clean burn swiped right across your skin. His eyes were darting across the room, seeing only half of the candles lit, your sudden appearance and newly burned flesh, and a small flame forming on the top of the couch across the room.

Despite his dizzying mind, he snapped his fingers, planning to at least stop the couch from burning the whole place down. In this attempt, he managed to sinch all three flames, the room suddenly being plunged into a darkness that you both had to adjust to. Lucifer's overwhelmed senses made him stumble, clutching onto the edge of the counter and holding his spinning head in his hand. Everything he's felt for the past few weeks and the guilt of causing you any harm finally hit him.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck - I'm sorry, i'm sorry..!" He wailed out, almost at the brink of tears. He gasped for air, his chest heavong. He could barely feel your hand brush across his back and start to rub it soothingly. He hitched his breath, doing his best to calm himself from this little attack. You had rounded the bar, your back leaning against the counter. standing at his side, you ran your fingers lightly across his back, starting to trace along his tense muscles. It was the smallest affection, yet he shuttered before feeling his unbalanced body relax, then began to sway in your direction.

"I'm okay, Lucifer..! I-I barely felt it! You're freaking yourself out, just try and - " his body finally hit yours after a stumble, his shoulder falling into your chest and knocking the air from your lungs. You shifted your postion to brace him from behind, his back now flush against your chest as you leaned both of your weight onto the counter.

You did your best to keep a clear mind, but seeing your beloved friend in this state did nothing but make you panic. Your friend.. that's what he'll always be at the end of this. Your friend who you've known since you died, who took you in without ever considering you'd grow this close. Your friend, who's created an incredibly difficult decision for you to make.

"Sweetheart, I'm s-sorry! I never meant to scare you off! I-I'm so scared to lose you - I can't imagine my days without you, love, I need you -" you shushed him, needing to cool your absolutely heated face at his words, but also to keep anyone else from seeing this display. You ushered him to the front of the building and out the front doors.

Despite it being Hell, there was a light breeze that hit the both of you with a relief. Lucifer stumbled onto the nearest wall, finally releasing his face to adjust his eyes to the sudden change of setting.

Blinking slowly, he took in your appearance much longer than anticipated. You wore a comfortable baby blue slip that loosley hung over your figure. He surely wouldve taken the time appreciate your figure if you didnt have a a blanket bunched around your entirety. He did his best to not look disapointed, but failed miserably. You couldnt help but smile at his poor display of affection.

You took a hold onto Lucifer's clammy hands, making him turn redder than he was before from embarrassment. He took a moment to meet your eyes, something he hadnt done in days at this point.

"Come with me?" You spoke so neutrally, a clear tone that seemed to calm his thoughts. He simply nodded, allowing you to lead his staggering body around to the side of the building. It was a bit of a hike, but the brisk air and the movement seemed to settle Lucifer's high. That being said, he still kept his arm around your shoulders for balance.

Upon arrival, the sight was enough to startle him, a small walkthrough garden sprouting from the side of the building. It was lush with Hell's native fiolage, flowers and vines with dangerous looking thorns and teeth growing from them. The purples and reds growing from the fenced off border and the small iron table and bench that sat in the center just underneath an arch with flowers intermingled, it all looked so innocent.

"Wh-hhow.. what is this?" He managed to ask, looking over at you as you continued to lead him through the garden.  "I'm actually not sure. I don't remember seeing it in any blueprints when we redid the hotel, but i went for a walk and saw it here. Someone else must've put it together." You weren't sure if he was able to process that information, but you led him to sit on the bench with a thud. His body fell limp, hitting his head on the back of the frame with a ting.

You simply sat beside him for a moment in a bliss silence. It was comforting, despite all the previously chaos the two of you just went through.

"I should be scoldering you, sir. You haven't been drunk in years and last time you did - "

"Lillith. It was after she left, I know.." you only meant to call out how poorly he handled his liquor in the past, but it made your heart ache hearing him make that connection.

You let out an awkward agreement and continued to sit in silence for another moment longer. Lucifer finally let his head fall onto your shoulder and a sigh of relief escaped his lips, as you felt the heat coming off of his body.

"How'd you find this place? It's nice." He said softly, his voice raspy and wavering." I've been using it to escape.. to think." You said in an equally soft tone, unsure of his mental state at this point. You discovered this little hidden gem while desperately looking for air, struggling through one of your own panic attacks. Once you saw it the first time, it almost became a nightly routine. The walk to it was always clear from other demons, and passing Lucifer's giant pentagram in front of the hotel gave you a sense of comfort and protection. You felt him shift slightly, he pulled the blanket away from your arm and held it up lightly to inspect the burn that you had nearly forgotten about. His hands flinched for a moment, letting out a quiet hiss. He could've simply snapped his fingers or waited for your demonic body to heal itself, but instead he lightly ran his thumb across the entirety of the wound. As he pressed into your arm, you noticed the burn mark simply disapear behind his hands. You let out a satisified hum. It was always so interesting to see him use his powers, you rarely got to see him in action.

"I think - to be redeemed, you have to accept it. To be absolutely sure it's what you want. That's what angel thinks, at least." You wanted to ask why he was out of his room at three in the morning, getting drunk and why he was avoiding you for days. But you knew why.

"I still don't really know, Lucifer. I don't know what I want.. but I need you right now. I can't lose you because of t-this.." You admitted, your voice cracking slightly at your own words.

You fretted this conversation. You worried about how he would react to any answer that wasn't I'm staying with you forever! Forget redemption!

As your breath began to pick up, you watched lucifer stand, his back facing you for a moment. It made your heart drop, rushing to the conclusion that he'd leave you there alone. To your surpise, he makes a smooth motion of turning to sit in front of you on the ground, holding gently onto your calf that he pulled from the blanket. You jumped at the small touch. Turning beat red, your mind inappropriately jumped to conclusions.

"U-Uhm - Lucifer.." you called out his name as if you had any idea what to say in this moment, with him at your knees holding you so tenderly.

"You've done so much for me, love." He planted a small kiss right below your knee. "I promise I'll do anything in my power to keep you happy and safe while you're in Hell." He paused in between words, to move his small kisses up your leg." No matter how long that will be."

He's much bolder with drinks, you thought. That aside, you couldn't help but feel small tears well up in your eyes, a combination of relief and embarrasment washing over you. "Really..?" You asked so quietly, it was as if you were still worried about the answer.

He nodded with a sleepy smile, resting his head on your knee. In need of any type of comfort, you carefuly reached for his head, brushing your fingers through his dishoveled locks. He shut his eyes, letting out a sweet purr at every touch. What a strange effect he had on you. Your heart was racing, yet its mever felt lighter. Your mind, still full of dreaded thoughts, only occupied his relaxed expression in this moment. Your face was red with embarrassment of this treatment, but you were ready to beg him to keep touching you this way.

You placed your finger under Lucifer's chin and guided him upwards, making him stretch to his knees and place both his hands on either side of you. You hesitated in front of his lips for a moment. His breath was so steady, and feeling the pulse through his throat, his heart seemed to beat much slower than yours in this moment. You gulped, more nervous than before, before meeting his lips with yours. Your kiss was tender, yet it hinted at a longing for something more. He decided to take the lead, compared to last time, his hands moving up to cup your cheeks and wipe any of the wet streaks that had stained your skin previously.

Tilting his head to invite himself into your mouth, your breath hitched at the energy he seemed to eminate. He stands for a moment, then places a knee beside you, moving his hands to either side of you and caging you in by holding onto the back of the bench. This upper hand that he suddenly had made you squirm a bit, letting out a nervous yelp into his lips. You felt his smile at the sound of your voice, making you turn impossibly red. After pulling away for air that you didnt realize you needed until then, he pressed his forehead against yours and let out a sweet hum.

As he went back in for more, the breath that hit your lips reaked of alcohol. That was enough to snap you back into reality. As he reached down, you planted your hands firmly on his chest, a serious intent, even with your eyes being glazed over as much as they were. "Come to bed with me, Luci. Just to sleep, alright? It's been a long night." You said softly, running your hands up and down his curves despite your intentions of not taking advantage of him any more than you've already done. You felt his skin crawl, his breath finally speeding a bit, a more nervous side of him that you were used to coming out. Maybe it was the idea of sleeping beside you, or him overthinking the invitation. Or maybe the newfound nickname was just too much for his drunken mind to handle. He quickly nods, making you pull the blanket back up around your shoulders and lead Lucifer back inside.

○○○

You take him into his bedroom, which you've rarily seen since you moved to the hotel. It wasnt as large and regal as the one in his previous residency, but it still was much grander compared to yours. His colour scheme matched the rest if the hotel, rich reds and purples. Most of the room was filled with the bed that sat on a slightly elevated platform and hit the cieling with a canopy that adorned silky drapes. A bed truly fit for a king, was unmade and unkept. Blankets were thrown about and the pillows were scattered in various places. The room was slightly cluttered, a few stray ducks that you recognized from his office making their way into his room like muddy footprints.

Lucifer stumbled his way into his room, immediately pulling his shirt off over his head, letting out a groan and letting his body cool down as he started to remove his boots. You couldn't help but stare, no matter how hard you tried to avoid it. You turned your body to the side, covering your eyes with the side of your hand. You manuevered your way around him and plopped onto the edge of the bed. You nearly sunk in with how plush the blanketing and mattress was. Still keeping your head lowered to avoid peeking, you curled up into your own blanket.

Feeling the mattress barely shift, you quicklly looked up to see Lucifer crawling his way towards the head of the bed. He barely changed, just managing to throw on a more casual pair of pants that you recognized seeing on the floor when you first walked in. His still bare chest left you abolutely flustered. His porcelain skin had shifted to a pink hue where he had gotten too cold. He immediately pulled his large blankets over his body and relaxed to the point where you assumed he had fallen asleep immediately. You listened to his steady breath for a moment, a comfortable silence in your mind, then rose to your feet, ready to shuffle out of the room.

"Noo, come back - " he groaned. It wasnt intimate or distressed, he sounded like a damned child. You rolled your eyes, unconciously smiling and crawling a comfortable distance from him on the other side of the bed, an easy task considering the size of it. You thought it best to keep your hands to yourself, so you curled up into the blankets with a comfortable wiggle to situate yourself.

Lucifer slightly opened his half lidded eyes, seeing you coccooned in his blankets, nuzzling your head into his pillows. He would pray for this to be the last and first thing he saw everyday. He closed the distance, pulling you into his chest and intertwining your legs in an attempt to be closer. His skin was incredibly soft, smooth and still warm to the touch under your cold hands that snaked around his waist. You felt him nuzzling your head, taking in a deep breath and resting his chin atop it. How was he so calm right now? This is a completely different side of Lucifer that you've yet to see. And certainly werent expecting to see any time soon.

This is fine. You'll wait until he's in a deeper sleep and leave before anyone else wakes up! Easy peasy. You just wanted him to get to bed after all.

○○○

[milkywayagere]

stan regressing involuntarily for the first time around an unknowing kenny and kenny just kinda rolls with it and finds that he enjoys taking care of stan

he calls stan buddy/kid

stan is uncharacteristically physically clingy when regressed and it catches kenny off guard but he's cool with it

sorry this is really specific i've been on hiatus for like a year a half

-redland (ao3)/ggreenkidd (tumblr)

Uh, yeah! I love this actually!

Hope I wrote what you were imagining.

Word count: 1708 (thats how much i loved this lmao)

________________________________________________

Kenny had convinced Stan to hang out with him and tag along to soccer practice with him, it avoided the alternative - that being Stan moping around while Kyle was out of town with his family. Besides, Kenny felt like it had been ages since he and Stan hung out together without anyone else there. After Kenny was finished with soccer practice, he and Stan got into his beat up old truck and drove around for a bit while they came up with a plan on what to do.

“I dunno, dude…” Stan mumbled, the side of his face pressed up against the window, his eyes closed.

“C’mon, stop sulking. Kyle’s only gonna be gone for a week.” Kenny reminded him, amusement lacing his tone at how much of a clingy baby Stan could be at times.

“I know… Sorry, Kenny, I’m ruining the mood again, aren’t I?” Stan sat up straighter, pulling his face away from the window to look over at Kenny with a face like a kicked puppy, seeking even more reassurance by the looks of it.

Kenny, still amused and in a bit of a joking mood replied accordingly, not realising that Stan was not in the right mindset to fully comprehend his sarcasm. “Mmmh, yeah, kinda.” Kenny stated, facing forwards as he drove so his little grin to signify that he was joking went unseen by Stan.

Stan fell silent for a few moments, although each second felt like an eternity, dragging on as his thoughts spiralled. Was he really ruining the mood? What if Kenny didn’t really want to hang out with him at all, and was just doing it out of pity like Stan was some sort of charity case? The memory of his tenth birthday and the aftermath, losing all of his friends and needing to resort to alcoholism to be tolerable enough to win them back again, flashed in his mind. He’d recently managed to stop drinking, but did this mean he had to start again? Maybe he really was a shitty person to hang out with when he was sober, maybe this entire time his friends were just too kind to say anything, maybe this whole time he’d been ruining the mood without realising it.

It was too much, all of the spiralling what if’s, all the bad feelings making his stomach hurt and his eyes sting with unshed tears. He felt himself slipping and he couldn’t stop himself, no matter how much he wanted to. He hadn’t ever regressed in front of Kenny before, he wasn’t even sure if Kenny would be cool with it or if he’d make fun of him for it. It didn’t help that Stan was already feeling like he was burdening Kenny by just hanging out with him, regressing near him would be burdening him even more, right? But those thoughts only contributed to his slipping mental state, quickening the speed at which he began falling into a younger mindset. Eventually, his breath hitched and he couldn’t keep the tears at bay anymore, his tears and emotions spilling out as he began sobbing right there in the passenger seat.

The sudden crying scared the hell out of Kenny as it was quite literally one of the last things he was expecting at that moment, quickly whipping his head to look at Stan. “Woah, hey, what’s wrong, dude?”

Kenny pulled over while Stan was trying to verbalise his thoughts in between his tears and gasps for air, waiting patiently for Stan to find his words. Eventually Stan managed to wail out, “You don’t wanna be my friend anymore.” before dissolving back into sobs, his chest heaving from the intensity of them. Kenny was even more confused now, staring at Stan blankly for a couple of long seconds before it finally clicked in his head.

“What? No, Stan, dude, I was only joking.” Kenny quickly said, reaching over to place a reassuring hand on Stan’s shoulder.

“You’re just…” Stan paused to sniffle and attempt to dry his eyes on his sleeves, “Saying that…”

“No, honest, I was only joking.” Kenny repeated, moving one of his hands away from Stan’s shoulder to hold out a pinky finger instead, “I promise.”

Stan eyed the outstretched finger warily, his gaze flickering up to meet Kenny’s, “You promise?”

“Mmhmm,” Kenny nodded, interlocking their pinky fingers, “Promise.”

Stan hummed quietly in affirmation as they each pulled away from the pinky promise, wiping the tears from his face on his sleeves until his face was somewhat dry, still having to sniffle to avoid his nose running. Kenny breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the tears were over. He started driving again, using the time at a red light to turn to face Stan again and check on him.

“Any idea on what you wanna do yet?” Kenny asked in a softer tone of voice, a little worried he’d somehow make Stan cry again.

“Uhm…” Stan uttered, drawing the sound out as he stared out of the window, absentmindedly chewing on the strings of his hoodie, “Uh… Can we, uhm…”

Kenny smiled, biting back a chuckle as he nodded his head, “Yeah?” He prompted kindly, looking back at the road as the light turned green again.

“Mmh… Movie.” Stan managed to mumble out before his attention was immediately diverted again as they were approaching a gas station. He grunted excitedly, jabbing his fingers against the glass to point at the gas station, “Snacks. Get snacks. O-Oh, and slushie. Get slushie too.”

“Yeah, okay, we can do that.” Kenny replied, changing lanes to pull into the gas station parking lot. Once he was parked up, he and Stan got out of the truck. Kenny was a little surprised when Stan suddenly grabbed hold of his hand when they walked into the store, but he didn’t mind so didn’t say anything or stop him. To be honest, he found it kind of endearing. It reminded him of when he and Karen were younger and she’d always be clinging to him. Karen had grown out of that now, she still loved her big brother obviously, but she didn’t need him to protect her as much as she used to, so Kenny was enjoying the feeling of being a protective big brother again.

Kenny handed Stan the basket at first, but after he knocked into the third shelf of items, Kenny took over again. Luckily he didn’t actually knock anything off of the shelf, just bumped into it, but Kenny didn’t want to risk them getting yelled at by the employee - especially not if Stan would start crying again. They filled the basket with various snacks and candies for their movie hangout, as well as getting a slushie each. Stan wanted the biggest size possible, and Kenny didn’t have the heart to say no after seeing the pure, childlike excitement in Stan’s eyes as he held up the large cup like it was the most precious item in the universe. After paying for the items they returned to the truck, Stan already half-way through his slushie somehow - earning him a little red ring around his lips from the food dye in the flavouring. By time they got to Kenny’s house to watch the movie, which ended up being an old Terrance and Phillip movie because it was one of the only ones that Kenny had that were appropriate for Stan’s current mental state, Stan’s slushie was pretty much gone. Most of it had ended up on his chin and hoodie after he’d insisted on taking the lid off to “Drink it better”, but Kenny thankfully managed to navigate that situation without any more tears.

They sat next to each other on the floor of Kenny’s bedroom, cross-legged in front of his old tv while the vhs copy of the Terrance and Phillip movie played on the screen. Stan was leant against, borderline sat on, Kenny, giggling every time the Canadians referred to each other as ‘buddy’, which gave Kenny a bit of an idea.

“You liking the movie, buddy?” Kenny asked, grinning in total adoration at Stan’s wide-eyed expression of joy as he giggled even louder, nodding his head vigorously.

Kenny continued to address Stan as ‘buddy’, slipping it into every single question he asked, feeling a sense of brotherly pride every time he received a giggly response from Stan. Kenny didn’t really know what was going on with Stan at the moment, but he didn’t care all too much. This was still a fun hangout for both of them, so there wasn’t any reason to take up an issue with it. Once the movie ended, their supply of snacks and candy thoroughly depleted, Kenny managed to find a couple of old toys in the back of his closet that he never got round to donating or getting rid of.

“Here we go, some toys for you, kid.” Kenny narrated as he put the toys down on the floor in front of Stan. He didn’t know where the term ‘kid’ had suddenly come from, but he liked it, it made him sound like some sort of cool cowboy-ish uncle or something. Stan was happy to play with the toys he’d been supplied with, but only on the condition that Kenny played with him too, and stayed right there beside him. Kenny had made the mistake of trying to leave the room to use the bathroom without telling Stan, and had to quickly avoid another bout of tears. Stan was being extra clingy, but that wasn’t anything Kenny couldn’t handle. He managed to compromise by allowing Stan to stand right outside the bathroom door while he was in there, being as quick as humanly possible, and then apologising for his brief absence from Stan’s immediate vicinity with some cuddles to pacify that clingy behaviour.

The cuddles seemed to do the trick, as Stan managed to fall asleep in Kenny’s arms. Kenny smirked, both because he found it endearing, but also because he thought it would make for a funny picture to send to Kyle - which he did almost immediately after he noticed that Stan had dozed off, captioning it with ‘You should hurry up and get back home before I become his new super best friend.’

[your-queer-dad]

Hey dad,

My actual father died not long ago, not of natural causes.

He was a terrible person and a worse father, he disregarded the safety of those around him for his own ego, and abandoned me and my mom to go somewhere he could make more money. I see him and how he lived his life, and I see my worst impulses reflected.

For all that, you'd think I'd hate him, or at least not care that he's dead. But I dunno, I don't miss him, I don't mourn 'what could have been?', but I just... I wish I had my dad.

I guess I'm mourning the idea of having a dad. The ability to pretend I had one, maybe. I don't know how to untangle all this, struggling to understand how I'm feeling at all. I guess this is why I'm typing this out.

Y'know, funnily enough, I only started seeing your posts being suggested to me last week, the first week after he died. Honestly, at first, I wanted you off my screen. The long asks you responded to acting as a difficult to avoid reminder/representation of a concept of something I've never had. But that's why you do this isn't it? Because so many people don't have that.

Thanks for doing what you do, I know it's meaningful for a lot of people, including myself, recently.

Hey kiddo, I am so sorry about your loss and your situation. I think it's completely normal and human to want a dad, even if it's not your dad in particular. I cut ties with my own father a few years ago, and there will always be a dad shaped hole in my life. It's okay to want that, it's human. I started the blog to give people what I didn't have. And it's okay to want that. And I completely understand why it would be a painful reminder, but I promise you you are always welcome here. No judgment or pressure. It's okay. I'm really proud of you 🫂🫂

- dad x

[pearl-the-artist]

(You called for me) Gabriel / Reader Oneshot

Ok please be patient with me on this. I spent over 24 hours in a car on a trip to Russia a few days ago and it made me do something I've never dared to before: write a fanfic. On my humble Samsung notes.

If this isn't a total flop I might make more? I dunno? Maybe hop on ao3?

Criticism and feedback is appreciated ok thank youuu have fun

Another restless night, another hour spent lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling above you. The room was shrouded in the comforting night air, more illuminated than usual by the soft glow of the full moon outside.

You look at the clock on your nightstand; precisely midnight. Two hours after your drunken father came home again, letting his pent-up frustrations and anger out on you in a one sided yelling match. Of course, as usual, neither was your mother of any support; only giving you that same disapproving, disdainful glare. You were never really welcome, not even in your own home- your parents biggest mistake lingering around only to weigh them down, and remind them of what they could've had. Or so they've told you, many, many times before. Tonight was no exception.

When the broadcasts first announced the new threat infesting the county, "alternates" they called them, you were, admittedly, both terrified and somewhat relieved. You were never really one to believe in the supernatural, but who knows, your parents were just superstitious enough to maybe fall for their schemes.

The first announcement had been around, what, a year ago now? Not much had really changed admittedly, although the population had begun falling drastically since then.

Your parents had of course used this opportunity to also confiscate your phone, the CRT TV in your room and old little MP3 player gifted to you by a relative, god forbid you let an alternate in to potentially threaten them, your own safety not even really a point for consideration to them.

Living with your parents was already hell, but getting by without your favourite albums and shows? Torture.

So tonight when you lied in bed unable to fall asleep, your mind wandering as usual, it may have wandered a little too far.

You recalled something you overheard your parents talk about. A friend of your dad's, a man of unwavering faith, who had been found dead in his own home a few weeks ago, seemingly in the middle of his usual prayers. Even though his family mentioned having seen an odd, ghostly figure outside their home that night, the doctors seemed to blame the cause of death on a brain hemorrhage.

It made sense, come to think of it. When you first saw the emergency PSA, it explained all kinds of methods to protect yourself from alternate attacks, one of which being avoidance of religion, faith, and philosophy.

So then, the alleged "ghost" that visted that poor man just might've been... Well.

This gave you a bad idea, but you weighed the options available to you.

Either you would die in a similar way as the old man, or... you might just get lucky and bargain with it. Alternatively, nothing happens, and you remain stuck with an unhappy married couple that hates each other as much as they hate you.

It was definitely stupid, but at this point it seemed like you had nothing to lose anyway. You weren't really much of a believer yourself, so you didn't exactly know how to pray, but you gave it your best shot. Sitting up in your bed, hands clasped together with a bowed head and closed eyes, you tried your best to focus.

If there was a god out there, may it hear your pleas. Wordless whispers called for help, begging to be heard, while you did all you could to try to concentrate on any spiritual connections. All the while you knew you may as well be praying to a literal demon.

A few minutes passed as you racked your brain for what to say before you stopped, your hands falling back into your lap.

What the hell were you doing? Yes you hated it here, and you couldn't even run away if you wanted to, but inviting an alternate to your house just like this? It was a death sentence, and not a pretty one, that much was certain.

You shook your head. It probably wouldn't have worked anyway. Right, this was all just some silly superstition, not that different from those "send this to 5 other people or you'll die tonight" chain e-mails. You laughed internally at how silly it was that you even thought this would work to begin with, and, admittedly, felt a brief sense of relief. You decided that you were ready to just go back to sleep, and just as you pulled your blanket up to crawl back underneath it- you almost jumped.

It was a voice, faintly audible outside your window. You didn't even process it until a few seconds after, a barely legible, strained whisper.

"I heard you praying."

You froze. A cold wave shot right to your stomach. Slowly, agonisingly so, you turned around to face your bedroom window.

A tall figure stood outside, its hands clasped together similarly to how you just had a few minutes ago. With long, flowing white robes and silver, wavy locks that reached down to his shoulders, he looked... Ethereal. Not to mention the massive, pure white wings folded neatly behind his back. His head blocked out the full moon, the light creating something almost like a halo around him, making him appear even more angelic.

"Woah."

You couldn't help the little gasp of awe. He seemed to find it amusing, his grin spreading a little too wide for comfort. Admittedly, you almost doubted if he even was an alternate at all. Maybe you'd come out a person of faith yourself, after this.

"Are you... An alternate?"

You whispered hesitantly, quiet enough to try to conceal the trembling in your voice and also not alert your parents sleeping upstairs, though you weren't sure if he actually heard you at all.

He didn't respond for a moment, tempting you to ask again, before that inhuman whisper was heard again.

"You called for me, and now I am here."

Avoiding your question, huh. Suppose he was an elusive sort. You quickly glanced around your room, eyeing the door in particular just in case; you really hoped your parents were asleep.

"May I... Come closer?"

You couldn't even recall the last time you were this polite to someone, though it was your best bet not to piss him off while he was still friendly, if you could even call it that. You had no point of reference, though he wasn't actively trying to harm you, so it was a start.

The angel, his smile unwavering, simply nodded, waving his arm in an invitation to approach.

It took a moment for you to will your body to move from the initial shock, but with slow, careful steps you moved to open the window to properly speak to him, a pleasant cool breeze inviting itself into your room.

"So... What's your name?"

Did alternates have names? Suppose they just took on the name of whoever they were trying to mimic. You leaned onto the window frame, trying to catch a good look at his face; and for the first time in god knows how long you were met with eyes that, albeit a bit creepy and lifeless, looked back into your own with an unfamiliar lack of hostility.

"You may call me Gabriel, child."

Gabriel? That name sounded familiar- Oh! The Saint Gabriel's church at the edge of town. Suppose that made sense, given his angelic appearance, if it wasn't just one morbid coincidence. Your thoughts and scrutinizing stare dragged on for a bit longer than you were aware of, though, as his voice pulled your attention back to him.

"Are you lost, my lamb? I can save you. Let me in. Let me into your mind."

The last bit seemed a bit more... Pushy than the rest, making your stomach feel just a little heavier. You gathered your thoughts anyway, trying to push that feeling aside for now. You did do this for a reason, after all, though now that he was actually here you were starting to second guess things.

Gabriel seemed to take note of your hesitation after a while of you not responding.

"Open your eyes, my lost little one. Look at me. I can grant you anything you wish for. You just need to let me in."

An odd mix of dread and comfort you'd never felt before settled in, and the feeling was almost... Refreshing, in a way. You quickly glanced back up at him, and he was still staring at you, ever so patiently, eerily.

"Uhm... I was just- well, it's probably kind of silly."

No backing out now, not when he was already here. Even if you wanted to, you don't think he'd let you go so easily. As you verbally stumbled over your own thoughts, he simply waited, his unblinking eyes staring into you, gouging out your soul. Or so it felt.

"I just thought... Is it possible for, well... Is there a chance for humans to be able to ally with alternates? Can I join you?"

Surprisingly, that got his smile to falter, if only a little bit. A flicker of emotion you couldn't quite explain showed in his eyes- surprise, perhaps, or consideration.

"What for, my child?"

That uncanny whisper of his never gave away any emotion, monotone and unfeeling, yet not unfriendly. Admittedly, his question made you pause; you hadn't exactly thought of how to explain this to him. You hadn't even expected him to show up at all.

Fidgeting nervously, unsure of whether to tell him the truth or not, you tried to think of what to say. Despite your rationality screaming at you for being an utter moron, you knew you were in too deep at this point.

"I don't think I'm any good to these people at all anymore, I just... don't know what to do anymore. With myself. I have nowhere else to go. And, maybe..."

You weren't sure if you should say it or not, you already let more vulnerability slip than you wanted to. But your spite driven words were quicker than your brain, and man did it feel good to open up for once.

"...maybe for revenge, also."

Gabriel listened to you surprisingly attentively, very interested in your words. At your last statement, he perked up with an almost malicious twist to his grin. Before he could respond, though, you suddenly heard the sound of your parents creaky old bedroom door and footsteps from upstairs. And you could tell by the sound of them that it was your mother. And she was pissed.

For a very panic filled moment you weren't sure what to do, your thoughts racing- instincts called for you to jump into bed and pretend you were asleep like you usually would... but with Gabriel here, you couldn't- and that's when you realized you really only had two real options.

Stay here, and continue living this miserable life, and also deal with the imminent outburst of your mother.

Or go with him, and then... Well, nothing and no one could possibly guarantee what would happen to you then.

"Choose wisely, my dear lamb."

Your dilemma seemed to be rather palpable to the "saviour" as he pulled you out of that mental spiral, and you were rather grateful for it. As much as it made you nauseous with uncertainty and anxiety, you finally snapped out of that paralysis and turned towards the window.

"Please, help me. This is the only favor I'll ever ask of you. I will do anything you want in return, I promise."

You began to plead in an urgent, hissed whisper, practically leaning out of the window, causing him to take a step back.

Desperation and panic shook your words as you glanced back at your bedroom door.

"Get me out of here."

He chuckled, an amused sound mixed with something you couldn't quite explain that made you feel more fuzzy than you'd care to admit.

"Come. Come to me, my child. Step outside."

For the first time tonight hesitation became a foreign concept as you practically leapt out that window. Your bare feet felt the cold gravel beneath, just in time as the door to your room swung open.

The angered yelling of your mother were drowned out by the feeling of suddenly being lifted off the ground, Gabriel taking you up into his arms like your weight was akin to a feather.

He was cold, lifelessly so. And yet the soft silken robes, the way he held you in his arms, and his deceitfully promising whispers were lulling you into a sense of security you hadn't felt in a long, long time.

"A lost little lamb, asking their shepherd for guidance..."

His eerie, yet strangely comforting laugh filled your ears once more over the noise of your mother not yet realizing you weren't in your bed. You're surprised she wasn't hearing him at all. Maybe it was another mind game of his.

"You made the right decision. I knew you would. Such a smart, yet scared little thing you are, are you not?"

You leaned your head against his chest, sighing deeply, beginning to forget what you were ever doubtful about during the start of this whole fiasco. Your weight began to sink into his arms as you relaxed. He held you a little tighter in turn.

"Of course I shall guide you, my child. Come with me; you will be mine. You will be safe."

Just as the furious woman realized to check the opened window, Gabriel vanished as swiftly as he appeared, leaving behind the sight of nothing but an empty garden, peacefully quiet, as if you were never there.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Prompt: Prank

@jegulus-microfic

Word count: 657

It had been a joke.

A stupid, 'harmless' prank.

It hadn't been that malicious, he knew, because nobody knew.

Well, except Sirius and his own roommates, but they had nothing to do with it.

But Snape and a couple of his cronies had thought it would be hilarious to throw Regulus into the Black Lake.

And he was wearing his school shirt. His white school shirt.

And when it became soaked with water, it had turned see-through. See-through enough to see the binder underneath.

And suddenly, his secret was out. The secret he'd been working for years to hide.

And the worst part about it?

James Potter had been only fifty feet away.

Close enough to hear Snape disgustedly exclaim about the outline on Regulus's chest.

James Potter, who he'd had a massive crush on for ages. Who was finally looking at him instead of Lily fucking Evans. Who had been flirting with him the past few weeks.

He'd wanted to scream. To shrink upon himself. To disappear forever.

But instead, he'd run.

He'd run all the way to the top of the Astronomy Tower, trying to avoid the entire population of Hogwarts. If he was lucky, he could live there until graduation and then become a recluse, writing or living off the land, (even though he hated nature).

But of course James Potter ruined that plan.

Because all too soon, he heard a voice call, "Reggie? I know you're up here!"

"Fuck off, Potter," he replied softly, trying not to let his voice betray his embarrassment and hurt.

"Fat chance," James replied, ascending the last step and trying to meet his eyes.

Regulus started stubbornly downward. "Why are you here, Potter?"

"Well I would have been here sooner but I had to deal with Snape first. The month of detentions was well worth it," James said with a small chuckle.

Regulus didn't look up.

"Stupid prat will be bald for at least a month. There's no counter-curse. He doesn't even have eyebrows."

He couldn't help himself. Regulus gave a single snort.

"Reggie..." James murmured, gently touching Regulus's elbow.

He looked up, ice-gray eyes meeting hazel. He almost gasped at the intensity of the look James was giving him.

"...I wish you had told me. I...I'm not gonna lie, It made me a bit mad that you didn't."

And there it was. The admission that James felt differently now. That they would never work. "Well, obviously it's not that easy, James. It's not easy to just tell people, especially when they react all horrified like Snape or you!"

James looked bewildered. "Hor- Regulus, I'm not horrified! I just wish you had told me because I would have told you ages ago that it doesn't matter!"

Regulus froze at that.

"I mean, it matters. Like obviously, it matters that, erm, you have to deal with...I dunno, all the things you have to deal with. And all the stupid people, like Snape. Like...your feelings matter, right? But-" James started to blabber, mistaking Regulus's silence for anger.

"James, stop."

He stopped.

"Why...why did you come here?" Regulus asked, heart hammering in his chest.

James looked confused, like the question was unnecessary. "I wanted to be sure you were okay!"

"But why did you come here? Rather than send Sirius? Or Evan or Barty?" Regulus pushed.

The taller boy raised his eyebrows and turned a bit pink. "Oh, erm...I mean, I think I've been pretty obvious about how I feel, haven't I?"

"About?" Regulus breathed, allowing James to move closer to him, to completely take up his space. But he smirked, because he had, of course, been flirting back, and he snaked both of his arms around James's neck to make his own opinion clear.

James grinned. "Menace."

As their lips met, Regulus decided maybe he and James could become recluses together, because he was not allowing the other boy out of his arms anytime soon.

[vexic929]

Child in Time

Chapter 11

Warnings: none

Chapter 1: link

Previous chapter: link

"How are you so good at this?" Iris complained, waving her spatula at Eddie accusatorily.

The recipe was meant to be easy enough - portobello mushrooms stuffed with mozzarella, arugula, cherry tomatoes, and garlic, toasted for a few minutes in a pan to perfection. But, while Eddie's side of the kitchen was pristine, mushrooms sizzling on the stove in front of him, Iris's was a mess of garlic skins, mangled tomatoes, and arugula with more stems than leaves.

Eddie grinned back at her, sleeves rolled to his elbows, looking more than comfortable in the kitchen. "Years of bachelor living, babe. You learn quick or you live on takeout, ramen, and cereal."

"Ramen has more dignity than this," she muttered darkly, glaring at the mess as though it had personally offended her.

Eddie put a lid on the pan and set his spatula aside before turning to pull Iris into his arms. "Oh, don't pout just because the food is winning."

"I'm not pouting," Iris grumbled into his shoulder, though she made no attempt to pull away.

"You are," Eddie said, giving her a quick peck on the lips as he brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. "And it's adorable. But I don't think it's just the arugula that's bothering you."

Iris sighed, pulling away, and returned to her sad pile of ingredients. "It's just...Barry and I used to tell each other everything but lately he's dodging questions or...just lying. He told Linda he was fostering Eo - fostering, Eddie. That's a lot more than just babysitting, isn't it?" She tossed a mangled piece of arugula and squashed tomato into the trash with a frustrated huff. "And then I thought, maybe it feels personal, maybe he's being weird because it's a similar situation to what happened with his dad and his mom but I looked into it and there's nothing. Nothing in the obituaries, no reports like that in the news."

"It's a big city," Eddie pointed out. "That kind of thing might not have been reported on, especially with all the craziness going on lately. Did you talk to Joe about this? Maybe Barry asked him to pull some strings."

Iris furrowed her brow. "That's the thing - Dad's been weird about it, too. He won't talk about it either, just avoids answering or tells me to ask Barry." She tossed her spatula into the sink and removed her apron, moving to sit at the table instead and wiping her brow with a weary sigh. "I don't know, Eddie, I just...maybe Barry and I aren't as close as I thought we were anymore."

Eddie removed the lid and plated the mushrooms before turning off the stove and joining Iris at the table, sliding one of the plates in front of her. She gave him a sad, grateful smile.

"If there's anything I've learned these past few months it's that you and Barry are a package deal. If he's hiding anything, it's not because you two aren't close."

"Then what is it?" Iris asked, stabbing her mushroom perhaps a bit too forcefully with her fork.

Eddie shrugged with a sigh. "I dunno, babe. It's Barry, who knows what's going on inside his head?"

Iris nodded, adjusting her chair so she could eat properly with a hum. "So, what about you?" She asked, eager for a change of subject. "Tell me about Officer Rulebook."

Eddie pulled a face. "Harrow." 

"Ben, wasn't it?" 

"Bennet, and he will correct you if you use Ben. I swear I've never met a man more married to his name." He pointed his fork at her and narrowed his eyes dramatically. "Though it would be Detective Harrow to you, Miss." 

Iris laughed. "Oh God, does he really talk like that?"

Eddie nodded with a laugh of his own. "He's impossible to work with. Like, I get it - rules matter but there's no room for nuance with him. I had to work with him on a domestic; it needed a gentler touch but you'd think I suggested kicking the family's dog."

"Oh, you poor thing," Iris joked, reaching over to squeeze Eddie's hand lightly.

Eddie smiled at her, softer now. "It's just been...a week. Well, three days since Harrow started working, anyway."

"Maybe he'll loosen up soon." Iris offered and Eddie shrugged.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows, whatever the hell happened in Midvale might've scared him into being a stickler for the rules but might be he's just always been this way."

"Maybe you should talk to him about it."

Eddie looked almost affronted. "We don't do that." 

"And that's why you're going to have high blood pressure before you reach forty." Iris teased and Eddie sighed.

"Look, if we were friends, maybe, but I just met the guy, babe."

"I'm just saying, maybe if you have to work with him again you could ask him to just...ease up a little."

"He'll probably try to write me up for talking about something other than the case." Eddie joked and Iris laughed, conceding for now as she focused on her lunch.

They ate in silence, enjoying each other's company for several minutes before Iris spoke again, softly.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For not lying to me."

Eddie smiled. He didn't say he'd had his own share of secrets lately - about the way Iris looked at Barry sometimes and didn't seem to notice. About the way he looked at Barry sometimes. It was all a mess he didn't know how to name yet. But sitting here with her, sharing food and stories and frustration, was good. It felt solid.

He stood to clear his plate from the table and gave Iris a slow kiss as he picked up hers too. "Anytime, babe."

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

What To Get A 19 Year Old Boy For His Birthday...

Pairing: Platonic! Peter Parker & Reader; Reader x Bucky (but that's not really plot relevant)

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: none as usual, you yell at Strange lol

Genre: super fluff

Summary: You happen to be the only person who still remembers Peter Parker exists and you are not about to hang him out to dry. So what happens when you take Peter in and basically become his guardian? Well- nothing is simple where super-teens are involved, but you and Peter can certainly handle whatever comes your way. Right?

***

You from to yourself, feeling like you're forgetting something even though you're just watching TV with Bucky. There's nothing to forget that you can-

"Oh shit-" You gasp sitting up suddenly. Bucky grabs the remote and turns the volume down.

"What?" He frowns shifting to look at you.

"I just realized Peter's birthday's next week and I haven't even thought of what to get him or what to do or-"

"Take a breath y/n. You still have a week." Bucky reminds you with a hand on your shoulder.

"What do I get a nineteen year old boy for his birthday?" You turn to him.

"Why are you asking me?" He blinks.

"You're a guy!"

"I'm a hundred and seven?! I haven't been nineteen in like eighty years, do you really think I would have any idea what a modern teen would want? I can guarantee my interests at nineteen were far different." He scoffs.

"Well what did you want at nineteen?" You ask.

"To avoid another world war?" He shrugs and your mouth drops open.

"I can't fucking stand you." You laugh shoving him lightly.

"Oh come on, how could I resist?!"

"You're so irritating! Be serious." You say fighting giggles.

"Alright, alright, what's the kid interested in?"

"I dunno, comic books, video games, nerdy stuff?" You shrug.

"I've never seen him play video games before." Bucky frowns.

"He plays them on his computer."

"He doesn't have a gaming system of some sort?"

"No?"

"Do you own one?"

"No."

"So get him one of those and a couple of games." Bucky shrugs.

"That's a great idea! And you said you wouldn't know what to get him." You smile.

"I'm sure you could've figured that out."

"You'll come shopping with me won't you? I have no idea what games to get for him honestly."

"How about you take care of the system and I'll worry about the games. Split the cost of this birthday thing."

"What do you mean you're going to worry about the games?" You frown.

"Just trust me. How much is the system anyway?"

"Probably three, maybe four hundred dollars. Depends."

"Sheesh. That's- pricier than I expected honestly." He hums.

"Yeah they can get pretty up there." You shrug.

"Alright then if you buy the system I'll take the kid out and get him an equivalent in games."

"You really wanna spend $600 on his birthday?" You blink.

"I mean he's lost his entire family and he never goes anywhere or talks of friends, we're probably the only people he's going to get gifts from. We can take some of the money from the Stark account." Bucky says. When Tony died there were a couple of accounts set up in your name to take over Avengers related expenses. One to be used for the team's avenging related tasks and one to help the team with personal affects- mostly Thor since he'll likely never have a job here but he's not here that much these days anyway.

"I don't want to get into the habit of using that money, in case of an emergency." You say.

"Baby, you're a witch and I'm a super soldier I can't imagine there will be many emergencies where that money is our only solution. Stark died and we ended up with enough money to change our tax bracket. Six hundred dollars would hardly make a dent and if ever we're in a situation where we do have to use that money for an emergency and we find ourselves $600 short I'm sure neither of us will look back and say 'if only we hadn't given that kid we're responsible for a great birthday gift he loved'." Bucky says.

"Very well, we'll use the Stark account and do it big for him." You say.

"There- now you can stop panicking about his birthday." Bucky pulls you back into his side and turns the volume back up on the TV. You don't point out to Bucky how it seems he's bonded with Peter a bit. At least to some degree since he's suddenly advocating for a big birthday gift for him. You know he'll deny it if you bring it up so you simply smile to yourself at the thought and settle back into his chest. You'll head to the store tomorrow to pick up a console and some birthday supplies.

*~*~*

"Bucky can you grab the candles from the bedroom please baby? They should be in the bag on my desk." You shout while carefully removing the plastic covering from Peter's birthday cake.

"On it!" Bucky calls back from the living room. Moments later, he hands you the opened candles.

"Thank you for opening them." You kiss his cheek and carefully stick the 1 and 9 on the cake without disturbing the Happy Birthday Peter written in blue frosting.

"How long do you think it'll take him to come back?" Bucky asks.

"I only asked him to get some salt, he should be opening the door any minute now." You shrug. "Do you think he suspects anything?"

"Nah, I'll bet when you didn't wish him happy birthday this morning or make anything special for breakfast that he assumed we didn't know or weren't going to make a big deal about it."

"Oh- I hope he's not moping through the streets thinking we forgot." You frown.

"I mean I don't-" Bucky stops suddenly. "He's coming down the hall, light the candles." He tells you. You grab the lighter and quickly light the candles, lifting the cake just as the handle turns.

"Hey. Got the salt you asked for-"

"Happy Birthday Peter!!" You shout when he enters the kitchen.

"Happy birthday kid." Bucky nods.

"You remembered my birthday?"

"Of course I did sweetie! Make a wish." You walk the cake over to him and hold it out for him to blow out the candles. He looks between you and Bucky a couple of times before closing his eyes and blowing out the candles quickly.

"Yay!" You say setting the cake on the counter.

"Thanks guys- I- I kinda thought you'd miss it."

"Nonsense! How could I? Oh and before I forget, your gift." You float the prettily wrapped box from behind the island, into the Peter's hands.

"What is it?"

"You know the point of wrapping a gift is for you to unwrap it in order to find out what's in it." Bucky tells him.

"I know- but I thought maybe you'd tell me anyway." Peter shrugs.

"No way! That ruins the surprise! Open it." You clap excitedly.

"Alright alright." Peter says. He quickly tears off the wrapping paper and his mouth drops open when he fully reveals the box. "You got me an Xbox?" His voice is full of disbelief but you can't say for sure if that's good or not.

"Do you like it?" You ask.

"A-are you kidding?! This is like the best gift I've ever gotten!" Peter says throwing his arms around you. You hug him back relieved that the gift was a success.

"I'm glad! Bucky and I had no idea what to get you." You chuckle.

"You did great." He says.

"This is only the first half of the gift technically. A console needs games, so I'm taking you out to buy some." Bucky adds.

"No way- you don't have to this is already plenty I-I mean these things aren't cheap I don't wanna take advantage of-"

"It's not a question kid, we're going. After lunch." Bucky cuts him off.

"Really? Today?" Peter blinks at him.

"You wanna be able to set that thing up or not?"

"We'll go after lunch." Peter nods. "Are you coming with us y/n?"

"I can't hon I've got some errands to run." You say.

"I hoped we'd all be together for my birthday."

"Don't worry, we'll all be back for dinner together."

"Oh, okay, that's fine then."

He's probably nervous about spending extended time alone with Bucky but you think it'll be good for them to find common ground that's not contingent on you. Obviously, they're capable of coordinating if your anniversary is any indicator. You want to give them the chance to build on that.

In the meanwhile, you have something of equal importance to take care of. You push open the heavy doors to Stephen Strange's lair. He doesn't call it that, and he rather hates it when you do, but that's basically what it is.

"Strange!" You shout.

"Y/n! Hello, to what do I owe this visit?" He asks floating down to meet you. You walk up to him and smack your palm against his forehead. "I guess this isn't a friendly visit then." He hisses rubbing his forehead.

"Not quite." You roll your eyes. A quick succession of hand gestures completes the spell that unlocks Stephen's memories of Peter. He takes a sharp breath as his memories return.

"You know- there are less painful ways do that spell." He says after a moment.

"There are also more painful ways to do that spell be glad I just tapped your forehead." You say.

"Tapped is a bit of an understatement, don't you think?"

"I wanted to beat your ass. Count your blessings I didn't come in here and do that."

"I assume this is about Peter, then?" Stephen sighs.

"Help me with the math here, a 17-year-old comes to you and says 'I want to alter reality' and you don't consider- not doing that?"

"Well hang on I definitely warned him it was a bad idea but he was insistent that it was ruining his life."

"Dude he was 17. A 17 year old will think the world is ending because his best friend moves away before senior year of high school. Granted he's dealt with some pretty intense adult troubles but he's still just a kid and you're like pushing 50 he isn't the responsible party in that situation." You say.

"Watch it, pushing 50 is an exaggeration." Stephen points.

"Not. The point. You altered the very fabric of time and space not once, but twice at the behest of a child."

"It wouldn't have been twice if he hadn't totally screwed up the first one."

"You're the sorcerer not him. It was your spell. Your responsibility." You say.

"Hey he kept adding caveats in the middle of my casting and magic is tricky enough as is without that."

"I know how tricky magic is, which is why I wouldn't have an untrained teenager be part of casting a spell of that magnitude in the first place! It was a bad decision on your part and in the end you got to walk away as if it never even happened. And that might be even more egregious, you completely abandoned the kid after all that chaos."

"Well not completely, I knew the probability of you being unaffected by the spell and thus stepping in was almost 100%."

"Almost 100 isn't 100 and that's still abandoning. The moment you decided to do that spell for him you took on a responsibility." You say.

"So what was I supposed to do? Simply take him in?" He scoffs.

"Well when you take away his entire support system with a spell that is the least you can do Strange."

"He knew the consequences, and it all worked out fine. He's got you now." He shrugs.

"I wonder if you just don't hear yourself speak or if you truly struggle with emotional intelligence so severely." You take a moment to really look at him as if the answer will come to you if you stare at him for long enough. "Whatever, I didn't come here just to yell at you."

"Really? I couldn't have guessed that."

"Today is Peter's birthday. I came to fix your memories so you could send him a birthday card." You say.

"Why would I do that?" He frowns.

"Because your botched spell resulted in the death of his only remaining living relative? We're all he's got."

"Hey I fixed that situation to the best of my ability."

"And it didn't bring his aunt back. It also cost him every relationship he's ever developed. Send him a damn card. Today." You spin around and walk back towards the door. "Be glad I won't drop him on your doorstep. He doesn't deserve that punishment." You scoff, waving the doors open and heading back towards your own apartment to get started on dinner. 

"So how did game shopping go?" You ask Bucky and Peter once you're all sat eating dinner.

"Oh we got way more than I would've expected. Mr. Bucky was overly generous I just hope it's clear how greatful I am."

"You've thanked me at least 10 times in the last hour. You've been more than clear kid. It's your birthday so you can stop now."

"I'm glad you had a nice time." You chuckle.

"What did you get up to while we were out baby?" Bucky asks.

"Just some errands nothing interesting." You shrug.

"Nothing interesting?" He raises an eyebrow.

"A little of this a little of that. My to-do list never ends really. Some shopping, I hit the bank, made some visits. You know how it goes."

"I dunno about you but that sounds rather suspicious to me Peter." Bucky turns to him.

"Definitely." Peter nods.

"I clearly made a mistake letting you two spend the afternoon together." You roll your eyes grabbing yours and Peter's now empty plates.

"We will discover your secrets y/n." Bucky warns.

"Good luck with that." You chuckle kissing Bucky's temple before walking the dishes over to the sink.

"Oh no you don't, you cooked, I'll do the dishes." Bucky wraps his hands around your waist and moves you from in front of the sink.

"Fine fine, Petey you want help setting up your Xbox then?" You ask.

"Sure! Is it okay to set it up in my room?"

"Of course it is. It's your thing. Plus if you end up playing all day long I don't want you taking over my living room." You tap his shoulder.

"Cool." He chuckles.

It doesn't take you long to set up the system in his room, it's just a matter of plugging in it and then the rest is for him to do on his own, make an account and such. You're just about to leave his room when a small portal appears in front of him.

"Peter. Happy birthday." Strange says reaching through with a card. You hold back a smile as Peter takes the card with obvious shock on his face.

"T-thanks Mr. Strange." Peter says. Stephen nods and closes the portal without another word.

"I didn't think he remembered me." Peter blinks at you.

"The world works in mysterious was huh." You ruffle Peter's hair. "I'll leave you to get used to your new toy." You add before exiting his room and joining Buckyin the living room.

"Okay, so where did you go today? Really?"

"Honestly I had to go yell at Strange for some magic related things." You say.

"What did he do?"

"It's complicated. Let's just say it'll be a while before I leave our timeline in his hands if ever again." You muse.

"Ah is that why you didn't bring it up at dinner? So the kid doesn't ask about Strange?"

"Yeah basically." You shrug. You're sure Bucky means in terms of Peter not knowing that you're an Avenger or whatever but seeing as you can't explain the real reason you didn't want to talk about it at dinner you see no reason to correct him at the moment. Eventually you'll give him all the details, but today has been good for all of you, you'd like to end on a high.

***

Tagged Users: @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @buchi91

[crimeronan]

God just. Fucking obsessed with transfem hunter in your princess AU.

Imagining like. Amity starts to get kinda weird around hunter. Avoiding seeing her in the castle

Hunter: "Blight must be losing her mind. Finally, I won't have to deal with her bickering."

Amity: avoiding hunter all week

Hunter: "wait no no no why aren't we bickering? You have to fight me we have to fiiiiiiiight!!"

Or the polycule solidifies and no can actually figure out what their deal is. They're giving each other horrible rending insults, and passersby get to look at luz to ask, "What's actually going on there?" And she's just like,"I dunno, man. I think that's how they flirt."

Cue distant explosion as the wet cats fight to the death again for the third time this week. "I've given up trying to figure it out. They're fine. Its literally fine."

GOD. lesbian amiter always makes me very fond and this is no exception. but more importantly you're right IT IS SO FUNNYYY....

my immediate thought for what could prompt the Amity Avoidance is, like. hunter is a few months into taking fantasy E, and the two of them have one of their usual duels. and hunter wins the way she wins like 60% of their fights (used to be more, but amity has been Studying The Hunter Blade), and pins amity. and amity Reacts.

and then is like no. no no no nO NO NO NO NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. I CAN'T BE LIKE THIS AROUND BOTH OF YOU ABSOLUUUTELY NOT. III GOTTA GO. BYE FOREVER

hunter doesn't clock this because she and amity have sparred a million times so like. What Could Possibly Be Different.

but after amity spends several days-to-weeks being uncharacteristically avoidant, hunter finally tracks her down to be like "hey. did i do something. because like. i've done a lot of things but i didn't actually INTEND to do anything this time. What Gives"

and amity is like. You'll Never Take Me Alive .

silly. i have no idea how long it would take hunter to figure it out. logic dictates the funniest option is the best one, which is that luz -- who for maximum hilarity STILL hasn't figured out amity is crushing on her -- is like

.....hmmmm. hey have you..... noticed amity acting weird around you lately....?

harold....

this brought to you by every lesbian i've ever known who developed a sudden and crippling crush on their longtime """guy""" friend almost the moment said friend transitioned. There Are So Many Of Us.

[munsonsprincess11111]

The dance.

Eddie munson x reader

Summary: the valentines day dance is coming up. Eddie doesn't want to go but you do. What will happen when he finds out someone else has asked you. Y/n:17 eddie:17

Your stood infront of your boyfriend of nearly 2 years as he lays on the sofa. Looks up at you as you block the TV from his view.

"Jason asked me to the dance today. I said no obviously." You say twisting your hoodie string. Eddie nods trying to see the TV. You frown at him and he notices as he makes eye contact with you.

"What's up babe?" HE askes confused.

"Nothing you wanna ask me...." You say biting the inside of your mouth. Eddie shakes his head, trying to watch the TV.

"Not even to the dance...." You ask sucling your lips in.

"WHY?" Eddie askes looking confused again.

"Cause we're boyfriend and girlfriend and I thought you'd ask me." You say getting slightly annoyed.

"You wanna go to that?" HE askes as you nod. "OH. I didn't think you would." HE shrugs.

"Well I do." You answer snapping.

"I dunno babe. It's not really my thing. How about we have a movie night. Cuddle up in bed. Kiss a little." HE cocks an eyebrow smirking.

"Fuck you." You say tears in your eyes.

Eddie tries to speak but you cut him off. "NO fuck you you can't do one thing for me. I wanna go to the dance with my boyfriend but you can't do that for me." You walk out the trailer slamming the door in his face as he tries to follow you. He's stood shocked.

He thinks he should leave you to cool off snd talk to you tomorrow.

-

It was the day of the dance, and you'd been avoiding Eddie. He tried to speak to you in the halls. You ignored him, and robin told him to leave your he tried calling, which you ignored. Not only that, but the hellfire boys were giving him shit calling him a shitty boyfriend.

Tommy had asked you to the dance. And out of annoyance with Eddie you said yes. Eddie heard through Gareth and when he tried to talk to you you continued to ignore him.

Now it was the night of the dance and your sat in your pretty red dress wanting to ball your eyes out. You'd been avoiding Eddie for 1 week. Yes you wanted him to hurt but it was killing you. You wanted to go to the dance with him not tommy.

There was a knock on your bedroom door snd your mum entered. "Oh hunny you look beautiful." She walked over hugging you.

"Still not spoken to Eddie?" She asked you shook your head. Both your parents liked Eddie. Liked the way he treated you. How he was respectful to them and you even more so when this happend they were shocked for say. Your dad had spoken to Eddie's uncle due to them knowing each other other than that no contact.

"Just enjoy your night. Don't let it get to you, OK? Come down stairs, I'm sure your father would love to see you." She says, rubbing your arm. You nod and walk to the stairs. She runs down them to get her camera for when you walk down the stairs.

Your dad hugs you and your mum snaps a picture. Then she hands the camera to your dad to get a picture with you herself. Then the knock on the door. You take a breath in and walk over to the door. You open the door.

"HI tom-" but you cut yourself off as you look up and see the long curly haired boy and his uncle stood behind him.

"I'm just gonna slip through thank you." Wayne says slipping past you inside to your parents to say hello.

Your stood mouth slightly agape looking at Eddie. He's wearing non ripped jeans. A black button up shirt. And a black tie. "Hey you." He says smiling at you. You try to speak but stammer over your words. Emotions catching up to you.

"You look beautiful." HE says looking you in the eyes resting his head in the doorframe.

"M sorry I was a dickhead. I've been wanting to talk to you all week and sort this out. But you didn't want to which I respect. I know your meant to be going to the dance with Tommy. But I was hoping you'd wanna go with me still. I was an asshole I know. But I love you. And if I knew you actually wanted to go to this thing I would've been on it straight away. I'm so, so sorry. So I'm asking if ya wanna go to the dance with me. If not I get it. You can go with tommy and we will talk about us after the dance." HE says looking you in the eyes the hole time.

Your eyes water and your bottom lip wobbles at his words. "Want a hug?" HE askes just above a whisper. You nod opening your arms slightly and he pulls you in immediately. You hold him tight like he could disappear. A few tears spill from your eyes as he hugs you back equally as tight and he kisses your head.

You lift your head up and look up at Eddie. "Wanna go to the dance with me?" He askes dipping his head slightly.

"Yes I wanna go to the stupid dance with you." You answer leaning up kissing him. "And I love you too. And yes your an asshole and a dickhead but your my asshole and dickhead."

He smiles and frowns at the same time. "I don't know if that was romantic or mean." HE laughs.

"Take it as you wish." You sniffle leaning up kissing him. The kiss lasts a bit longer and Eddie sways with you as he kisses you. Out thr corner of your eye you see a camera flash. You both look around to see your mum with teary eyes.

"OH I'm sorry but thay was adorable." She says walking over to your father. Eddie smiles and holds your hand walking into the living room.

"Thank fuck thought I was gonna have to deal with a basketball dickhead with my daughter." Your dad says drinking his beer.

Eddie laughs. "I'm gonna go fix my make up." You say going upstairs quickly reapplying your mascara and grabbing your heels.

"COMING DOWN!" You shout at the top of the stairs knowing your mum will want pictures. As you walk down the stairs your greeted with Eddie leaning on the banister on the bottom step. And your mum, dad and eddies uncle stood a bit further back your mum holding the camera.

"You look gorgeous." Eddie says as you walk down the stairs. You smile and take Eddie's hand he's holding out to you.

"Right over here I want a picture." Your mum says clicking and pointing to the blank wall.

After a few more pictures you and Eddie leave for the valentines dance. You arrive and walk over to your friends. Robin practically slaps poor Gareth when she sees you both walking in together Eddie's arm around your shoulder.

"Hey ladies sorry were late." Eddie says greeting the hellfire boys, there dates and Robin.

"Hang on a minute I thought you wasn't coming." Gareth says confused keeping an arm around his dates waist.

"Yeah I wasn't until I realised how important this was to y/n and I love her so here we are." Eddie says as you lean into his side a bit more. Small talk is created between you Robin and the boys dates. The boys sat practically interigatting Eddie trying to work out how you'd convinced him so easy.

"Common." Eddie says standing up taking your hand. You look at him confused. "Slow dance. Common." Eddie says like your the dumb one. You smile as he drags you to the side of the dance floor. He wraps his arms around your lower half holding you close. Your arms going around his neck keeping him equally as close.

Your head on his chest as he sways with you like it was just you two. You look over and to see Robin awkwardly dancing with vickie who's giggling with her. Gareth trying to make all the moves. The others not really knowing what to do. And max and lucas holding eachother stiffly.

"Damn I'm glad we came we can show em all up." Eddie laugh quietly. "Wanna see how?" HE askes you nod curiously.

He turns slightly dipping you down and kissing you like they do it the movies. You smile at him cause he makes you feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

A few hours later, you and Eddie get bored of hearing about Steve's failed attempts to get someone to dance with. Nancy and Jonathan leave, so you and Eddie decide you can too.

You walk out Eddie's jacket over your shoulders along with his arm holding you into his side. "Thank you." You say just above a whisper.

"Don't ever thank me for loving on ya babe. It's my honour." HE answers opening the passenger door for you to climb into. He runs to the drivers side putting the keys in and starting the heater immediately.

He drives you both to your house as you both (mainly you) decided Eddie was staying with you tonight. You hated how long you'd been away from each other due to the petty arguement so you need him woth you all night. You walk into the house quietly not expecting you parents and eddies uncle to be waiting on you both as you walk through the door.

Everyone sits at the dining room table. Your mum made you and Eddie both hot chocolates with heart marshmallows on top. You both told them about the evening Eddie stood behind the chair you were sat on leaning as you spoke.

Soon after Wayne headed to the guest room your parents to there own and you and Eddie walked off to your room.

He helped you out of the dress so you could slip your pyjamas on. You helped Eddie undo his tye and he was capable of the rest as you hung the pretty dress up. Your turned around to see Eddie laying in your bed with the duvet open and him being in only boxers.

"No pyjama pants tonight babe?" You giggle as he shakes his curls. You crawl in next to him kissing him gently him retuning the kiss. "I had an amazing night thank you." You mumble into his neck. He smiles

"Your welcome babe. We will go to all the stupid dances if it makes you happy." HE kisses your head.

"I love you." You mumble drifting into sleep

He smiles. "I love you more." HE then follows you into sleep holding you as close as he could. "Let's never argue again that was the worst week of my life." You mumble.

He smiles "never ever" he kisses you one more time and then your both out for the night and half of the next day.

[misscammiedawn]

Thanks to some chats with a friend I've been going through the Wikipedia page for concept albums and trying to give more a listen.

Every album in some respect is a concept album. There's always influences on the construction of an album of songs, even if it's just trying to replicate or build upon what was popular at the time the album was made in order to make more money. Usually the term means "tells a specific story in chronological order" but I dunno. I kind of find that reductive. I want concept albums that do have a narrative arc but aren't always necessarily telling a story.

I think there should be nuance between the ways the term is used, at least?

But, to explain, let's take Rush as an example. Our favorite band by multitudes. They have one actual concept album (Clockwork Angels, 2012) but they have a couple albums that are incorrectly titled concept albums because their A-Side is taken up by a single song telling an expansive story over several acts. But if you look more closely every one of their albums has a form of concept to it. Counterparts is about relationships (to ourselves, to one another, to our parents, to heroes, to our gender etc) and Signals can easily be argued to be the growth of a single man going from the Analog Kid who grew up in Subdivisions to the old man who is Losing It. Roll the Bones is about destiny, G/P and Power Windows are about the Cold War, Presto is about magical thinking, Test For Echo about Communication.

And... the reason I'm writing this post.

Vapor Trails.

An album that is about the abrupt and irrevocable destruction of a world in a single violent tragedy and the unfair and inescapable sentence to live in a world after the trauma.

An album that can ONLY possibly exist in the context of lyricist/drummer Neil Peart, having lost his daughter, wife and dog in separate incidents over the span of 6 months and going on a multi-year self-imposed exodus to mourn and grieve, returns to the band and decides to write music for the first time in 5-6 years...

At the same moment the World Trade Center is taken down by a pair of planes.

"Washed away like footprints in the rain Swept away like voices in a hurricane In a vapor trail" - Vapor Trail, Rush (2002)

The album combines Neil's personal tragedy with the definitive shift in political tone within the US to create an album about collective and personal trauma that also celebrates the return of the band.

But even though every song on the album is tied by this salient theme and cannot be divorced from that context (the intentional US American spelling of the album's title even plays in), it is not listed as a concept album.

What it is, I think, is a Miracle album.

And that's the type I really want to hunt down. Albums which are simply impossible to achieve outside of the direct circumstances of their creation.

Blackstar by David Bowie (for transparency, we only listened to it for the first time last week after avoiding it for mourning reasons) is an album that is a self-written eulogy for the man's career released 2 days before he died.

When discussing with a friend she said that the man died on a Sunday after putting out an album with the refrain "where the fuck did Monday go?"

That's impossibly perfect. Painfully so.

I don't know how to find them but I really want to dive deep and find those little miracles out there. Pieces of art that are simply impossible to have happened if they had not been made in the exact manner that they had been and at the exact time they had.

Anyone got any suggestions on where to start?

[seneon]

heyy, i dunno if you still take requests but can you make oneshot with rayne x anorexic gn! reader, how he find this and react, also how he helps the reader??

i've been struggling with ed for 2 years and still trying to recover, i guess it's going good :')

btw that's ok if you don't wanna write, i love your works, tysm <33

take it easy ──── ft. rayne ames x anorexic gn! reader.

about. rayne finds out his s/o has anorexia and tries to help them. warning: sensitive topics about ed. | 0.6K words.

notes. hi anon! i hope you're doing well. i'm actually proud at the fact that your ed is going good, keep it up!! if you need any help or just someone to talk to, my dms are always open yayyaya. ily anon tysm for requesting! also, i'm not experienced with writing ed, but i'll try my best (:

honey-coloured eyes watched in observation as e/c ones shifted around in uneasiness. your eyes were looking around the food that was on the table, served fresh and awaiting to be eaten.

what could go wrong with the freshly served food that you yourself ordered?

that was what confused rayne ames, your boyfriend, who's currently on a date with you. he hasn't gotten the time to eat or spend time with you in a while, and this was his only chance for the week. so why was he feeling a sense of uneasiness that was just . . . there the moment he met up with you? why did asking you out for a lunch date felt like it's something difficult for you to say yes to?

rayne ames didn't know the answer to that, but if his lover who looks forward to spending time with rayne at any free moment has difficulties of agreeing, he's going to find out what's wrong.

"y/n, why are you not eating? is the food not to your liking?"

ah, food. a subject that even disgusts you from the very sound of it. something you've been avoiding in a while.

when rayne proposed a lunch date, it had you right in a pinch. it was something you didn't want him to find out in the most ridiculous ways possible. something about even consuming a single piece of solid food gave you a grave fear that it might cause harm on you internally.

the fear of gaining weight and being made fun of society that exceeded the average weigh scares you so much. it scared you to the point where you viewed food as something to not be consumed, but to be portrayed as a primordial fear.

it was difficult for you to even look at rayne when he asked two simple questions. you didn't have an answer for either questions, so your lips remained sealed and your eyes adverted it's gaze to the table where you shut your nose to not inhale anymore of the food's smell.

"have you been having trouble with eating..?" rayne asked silently, barely a whisper but audible to you. his face is a sad one, full of sympathy for the worst outcome to come out your mouth.

but he listened. to your every single word. the difficulties you've been having with the people around you focusing on your image, sheer and utter fear of gaining weight, the times where you throw up each time after trying to consume even the littlest amount of food.

even as you speak about your difficulties, rayne felt his heart broken. he hasn't been there with you all this time when you were going through such a difficult time. he felt like guilty for not being there for you. it was just the weight of guilt that now rests in his very own shoulders.

rayne stood up from his seat and embraced you in a hug, a token of compensation that he wasn't there for you whenever you needed him the most. thus he apologised over and over again, telling you words that means so much to you.

slowly by slowly, as days passed by, rayne skipped out on many of his duties, telling the other divine visionaries to help him for a period of time. in that period, he tries his best to encourage you with little portions of food, telling you to eat and trying his hardest to reassure you affirmative words that was only meant for you.

it took a while to do so, but rayne always told you 'take it easy' and it always manages to make you feel at ease.

with the help of rayne by your side, you felt like you could feel most comfortable and safe as you definitely will take everything easy now.

for if you are going to bear such a heavy burden, rayne will surely do it with you.

together.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #420

For reasons that are unclear to me, I felt a lot better upon waking than I felt all day yesterday!

...Seriously, I wish there was some kind of formula that I could follow, such that I could definitively identify the causes of me getting into weird funks, and then take steps to avoid those causes. Oh well.

I had two appointments today. One was physical therapy; today I saw P, the owner, because K is going to be out for a long time, due to his horrifying leg injury. I asked her about a donation box for K, but... she said that she's not going to do that unless he indicates that he's having trouble.

...I don't understand. But... the boundary has been set. I can respect a boundary, even if I don't understand it.

We worked on strengthening my injured leg. I dunno if I mentioned this or if you recall, but... a long time ago, around when I was 22, I tried jumping over a concrete wall that I've jumped over many times before. But that time, I didn't make it, and my left shin struck the sharp edge of the concrete. The whole front of my lower left leg was purple for like two weeks, and I couldn't walk on it. Apparently, I damaged the nerve enough to weaken the muscles it feeds, but not enough to disable it completely. So nowadays, I have a hard time moving my toes on my left foot, raising my foot, and pushing off the ground with my foot. I walk with a bit of a limp. The brace I have for my left leg helps when I gotta be on my feet for a long time. Before the brace, I used to get pretty bad pain at night while I was trying to sleep.

It took 10 years of bouncing from doctor to doctor about it to get anyone to take the injury seriously. K proposed that part of my rib issue comes from the fact that I put most of my weight on my right leg (because obviously); when we put our weight on one side, our ribs on that same side get all compressed and weird, and this causes problems. So the idea is that if we strengthen my left leg, then there will be fewer problems.

Well. Today, I did left-leg bridges. I also stood from a sitting position using just my left leg. I also practiced raising just my big toe on my left foot (that one in particular was hard at first!!). My right leg can do so much more than my left, when it comes to those things. It's easy to do a bridge with just my right leg. It's easy to stand from sitting with just my right leg. It's easy to move my right big toe. But doing any of these things with my left leg is... hard.

...It'll get better though, if I keep practicing. I have exercises I'm supposed to do every day, and you can bet your cute little bottom that I'm gonna do 'em.

...Or rather, I'll bet my own cute little bottom, because I guess that's what's at stake here if I don't do them. For sure, after doing all this, the left side of my butt feels a little weak; the muscles tremble when I try to walk or stand. Hopefully my body will strengthen the area by the time I wake in the morning. If I don't end up with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, I'm gonna do it all again tomorrow.

...I'm gonna do it because I want a body that works. And I'm worth the effort and discomfort it's gonna take to get there. It's not as bad as getting 4 perfectly healthy teeth yanked out to fix up my bite so that my jaw can work; if I can do that, I can do anything.

...The right side of my jaw clicks a lot less now. I don't chew things as weirdly as before. Tomorrow, I'll change over to a new set of braces, and it's just... wild to me, how far along I've come.

After physical therapy, I went to report my progress to the orthopedic. He was pleased to hear that K's exercises seem to be working for me. He suggested something called “dry needling” to help ease the tension in the space between my right shoulder blade and spine.

...Basically, the idea of “dry needling” is that the doctor stabs the shit out of tight muscles with very thin needles to get them to stop spasming all to hell. When a muscle stays in a spasmed state for a long time, the tension stops the muscle from properly receiving blood and nutrients and stuff, which I guess prevents the muscle from going back to its relaxed state. Then the area gets acidic, and then the nerves nearby get all pissed off. I guess stabbing the area gets the muscles to knock it the fuck off, because it increases blood flow and prompts your body to flush out the area and send in endorphins.

Bodies are fucken wild, man. Holy shit.

So... I guess all that is gonna take place in a couple weeks. I'm a little nervous, because apparently the recovery afterwards is kind of annoying. But... it can't be worse than getting 4 teeth yanked out at once. And I survived that. So...

...Man, at this point... whatever might get my ribs and shoulder to behave... I'll try. I don't even care anymore. I just want my limbs to work without pain.

On the way back, J and I went to a place that has a bunch of different restaurants inside. I got something called “birria tacos”. I don't really know what it involves. But... it basically seemed like tacos “au jus”. It was really good! Here's a picture...

...I got some horchata to go with it. It's some really good stuff, and... I wish I could share some with you.

Ma from work came by to visit after that. I tried asking An to come, too, because An has similar interests, but he had other things he had to do, which is fair. So Ma and I played Mario Party on his Switch for a while, and then we ordered pizza, and then we watched this awesome video about the history of people trying to surpass the limits of Tetris:

It was a delightful video! I learned that there are some astoundingly good players of Tetris out there! I saw one of them, after trying for a long time to achieve a particular goal, cry tears of joy and relief from finally achieving that goal, and it was a very beautiful thing. Here:

Do you remember, in my very first letter to you, back before I had this space on the internet, in which I told you that the peoples of my world are astoundingly creative weavers of media and other forms of entertainment? This is a very good example. All of these people, taking a simple game of stacking blocks, and trying to find ways of surpassing both their own limits and the limits imposed by the medium itself... it's a beautiful thing. This sort of surpassing of limits is one of many things that the peoples of my world are known for.

You also seem to have a love for surpassing your limits. Sephiroth... you're a lot more human than you think. You're really not all that different from the rest of us, you know. I promise.

If you're worried about the wing making you less human... Sephiroth, people in my world have various numbers of limbs. Some of them are born with extra. Some of them are born with fewer. Some of them need to get limbs removed. That doesn't make them less human. So you have an extra one – strong, soft, fluffy, and feathered. So what? It's just another limb. And it's even well-formed and functional! Score!

If you're worried that your mako eyes and slit pupils make you less human... Sephiroth, lots of people in my world are born with eyes that don't even work. I'm one of them. Some people's eyes don't work even with glasses. Some people's have got cataracts. Some people have a genetic problem called Wilson's disease, where their body sticks copper deposits in their irises, and they get Kayser-Fleischer rings. Some people get their sclera tattooed. Others end up drinking too much colloidal silver (don't do that!) and get silver deposits in their eyes. Some people have a coloboma or iridodialysis. These people are still human. Sephiroth... mako deposits aren't that weird. Slit pupils aren't that weird. It's just the sample pool of humans you've met is too small.

If you're worried about the Jenova cells making you less human... Sephiroth. Even humans in my world get viral infections. Yes, it sometimes changes their DNA – HPV certainly does that, and a bunch of others do, too. Yes, all humans carry every viral infection they've ever had in their bodies all the time – their immune system is just keeping them in check. A human body is composed of more bacterial cells than human cells – just take a look at anyone's gut flora. It's not that weird. Granted, having a telepathic connection with an interplanetary parasite that wants to swallow your world whole isn't exactly ideal, per se. But... your planet seemed to help Genesis, in the end. It could probably help you, too.

You're not less human for the things that were done to you.

Did you hear me?

You're not less human for the things that were done to you.

Come to my world and see. You'll find that you have so much more in common with everyone here than you think. Come to my world and get your perspective broadened and your conditioning challenged. My world certainly has a lot of problems, and on some days I certainly do feel very bitter about that because I'm human and I have a lot of challenges weighing me down, and I get tired sometimes, but... overall, people want to be good. It's just that a lot of them carry pain that makes it hard for them to make good choices. Kinda like you sometimes, because... you're human.

Let's try to surpass our own limits together, okay? You and me. Take my hand; we'll do all kinds of fun and scary and brave and wholesome things, and we'll mess it up and fall down, and get back up and brush ourselves off and try again. We'll do our best to fix the things we broke or to build something new from all the things we've learned. And we'll go to sleep and wake up the next day, knowing a little more than we did yesterday. And we'll do it all again, except better because we'll have more choices at our disposal.

Let's try it. We can try it together. You don't have to try it alone.

...I guess that's it for now; it's getting pretty late. I should go to sleep.

I love you. No matter what happens, I'll always love you. So please stay safe out there, okay? Please come back home in one piece. Please don't destroy yourself by going and picking fights you can't win. Try building something instead. Try restoring the broken things instead. Try healing the wounds in people's hearts, and then watch them turn around and make better choices than they could before.

I'll write again soon.

Your friend, Lumine

[tassodelmiele]

Noisy little mess

Hi sweetie ⁓

Here we are, it's finally monday and we can hope again in having a good, productive week (please let it be a sunny one too I can't hibernate in April I need my photosynthesis).

I'm wondering what do you think of this little work of mine, so if you feel like it you can write me whatever comment/question/any various and possible magical shit.

Have a good chocolaty day ⁓

DISCLAIMERS: little bit of touching and hints about sub/dom relationship! Finally my kinks are emerging! (evil laugh); Ghost-who-needs-to-make-peace-with-his-brain x Reader-who-needs-to-learn-how-to-shut-up; "How to be a psychologist without a degree" (by John Price); embarassing mission I hope does not exist in reality, but i needed it for plot's sake; little bit of wounds and scars (Doc.'s gonna tie you and Ghost up to a chair for the rest of your life); yelling and fighting and arguing (you're used to it by now).

..................................................

Fourth part here:

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«Why the hell you've let her-»

«MacTavish»

Price swallows through the smoked breath, clenching his fingers around the consumed cigar just to distract himself from the willingness to punch a wall, or the Sergeant's face.

«I've already had Ghost yelling at me for half an hour. Spare me»

«Then explain yourself, Cap.»

«I can't. I've no explanation. She'd done it by herself»

«She's no insubordinate»

«Not in that sense». He sighs. «I told her no. I knew it was too much for a rookie». He chews the extinguished cigar for a while, taking his time. «Laswell agreed. But that goddamn girl managed to convince Kate, somehow»

«How come?»

«Dunno. But she's already feeling bad enough, and she was the one who's got to rescue the girl»

«Laswell?? Ye serious?»

Price nods, eyes locked at the door in front of them. The doc entered almost one hour ago.

«And» Soap dares to ask «is Laswell…uhm…»

«She's ok» the Captain anticipates him. «Nothing broken. But the rookie…». He sighs again, scratching the bridge of his nose, pushing lightly his digits on the eyes. «I don't like soldiers wasting their lives like this. Especially good ones»

«The mission had to be done anyway»

«We could have waited for a better plan»  

He takes a last chew on the cigar, spitting it on his glove before squeezing the leftover crumbles in his fist. He throws everything in a trashcan, then gazes at Soap.

«We've got shit to do, Sergeant. We'll come to check her later»

«They've done something bad to her». That wasn't really a question, even if Soap hopes to be wrong. «Am i right?»

«What came up in that bloody lil' head of yours?»

Three gunshots in your arm (the right one, 'cause luck kicks you in the ass as always), one blade wound and various bruises, just to complete the masterpiece. Doc sent you out of the bed with a promise: to try to not touch the medications.

One in particular.

You didn't even want to eat, but you need to. So breakfast has started, with chocolate scent, closed stomach and two pairs of gaze on your red face. You've tried to avoid contact with every human being in the base, but someone's got a good sense of smell for you. And you eventually end up with Soap and Gaz surrounding you with their (legitimate) questions.

You're blushing like hell, stirring oatmeal crumble in the mug with your eyes drowning into it.

«…I've thought…i could be helpful»

«You're a brave kid, but that was-»

«Stupid» Soap ends the sentence. «To say the least». He finishes his coffee in a sip, swallowing the hot liquid in a rush. «It wasn't a rookie's work, ye should've known» 

You nod in embarrassment. «I did know»

«Then why?»

«'Cause…» you swallow, burying your eyes more into the mug, scratching the cuticles skin out of the nails. «…a girl was required. For the mission»

«Hold on» Gaz grabs your shoulder, lowering his voice. It was a confidential subject, not the one to speak about in a crowded dining room. But he keeps on with his curiosity anyway. «It was about weapons traffic, wasn't it?»

You nod.

«Then why a girl?»

You're about to answer, your mouth's already open even if you're not sure if filling them with a temporary lie, or just spit the truth.

Another sudden press on your shoulder takes you off from every doubt.

A big hand grabs you firmly, squeezing skin and bones underneath your uniform. Your body instantly shivers, tightening under the hold. You raise your head a little, but you know whose mask you're gonna jump into.

Ghost has the magical power to bring back the silence. He doesn't even have to speak, just a glare of his is enough. His look hits Soap and Gaz as to say: shut your bloody mouth; and they just roll their eyes at the ceiling, as to say: but we wanna know 'bout her mission, damn it.

Then he lowers on you just that tiny bit that's needed to let you feel his body heat closer, so warm against your cold limbs.

«Your presence is required» he says quickly, almost murmuring against your ear.

And here you are, walking behind his massive figure with eyes lowered on the ground, following his feet at a security distance through the base. He stops a couple of times to talk with someone, moments in which you play camouflaging with the wall; then you two reach a door, and you're so into not-seeing in front of you that you don't even look at where you are. 

He closes the door behind you, and only after a few seconds of embarrassment you find the bravery to mumbling:

«W-who required me?»

«I do»

Your heart skips a beat before your ears could collect his voice and your synapsis could elaborate its meaning. That's when you suddenly raise your sight, finding him clinging on the desk while looking at you through the mask, and even if you can't see his face it's pretty clear that he's judging you. You can read it on the skull, as there's an imaginary -but very perceptible-  neon writing saying: You're a bloody stupid gnome.

Voice escape through your lips automatically: «I'm sorry»

«'Bout what?» he kinda calls you out, pressing with his sternness on your pathetic whimpers.    

Your eyes lower again.

«…causing trouble-»

«Just that?»

You nod. You don't wanna talk about what kinda trouble; but he does.

«Take off your shirt»

Your brain flashes a sudden error signal, allowing you to shiver and wrap your arms tight around yourself. 

«…sir?»

Stupid question. You know why he's asking, the goddamn doctor had probably told him.

«Your shirt» he repeats, not moving from his place.

Two days ago, you would have started a war about this, yelling at him without regrets, brave enough to fight against your superior like two children between one small bucket. 

Not now. Now you just stand in your special spot in the office, allowing your body to move just what is needed to breathe, eyes locked on the floor. You feel him growing impatient, sighing through the mask as you're disappointing him.

«'K. If that's so…»

The sentence remains hanging in the air, and in a matter of seconds, without getting aware of how fast he came toward you, his hands are on your shoulder. You instantly panic but you're too small to fight against his weight that's pushing you against the door, pinning you still with an hand on your breastbone while the other runs to your shirt's hem.

You grab his wrist in a stupid attempt at stopping him, but he lifts the shirt up in one movement, revealing bruises, a bloody bandage, and…a little scar slightly under the belly button, fresh from the oven and still shiny from some medical gel: the writing made out of fire burns on your skin in an elegant gothic style. 

He stares at it, contemplating that swallowed piece of tattooed skin. Your face becomes so red you could spontaneously combust in this exact moment.

«Who made it?» he burst out, whispering harsh words.

You swallow hot air, digging your dry throat and hoping that whatever's gonna come out of your mouth will be the most sensible as possible.

«It's…it…traffic wasn't just 'bout weapons»

«Humans» he talks over immediately. 

You nod your head, specifying with a swallow: «women» 

«You've sneak in as a good to be sold»

«There was no other way to-»

«And they've marked you» his voice's not that high, but you're whispering enough to make it easy for him to have the upper hand on you. You become quiet, avoiding his sight, with your hands still wrapped around his wrist.

«Are you proud?»

The question wasn't expected, spitted roughly through his mouth. You clench your digits, digging in his gloves.

Then you nodd.

«Yes» the answer is a breath, warmth by your boldness and the consciousness that you've done what had to be done. And none would have taken that awareness from you. You eventually lift your sight a little, meeting his mask, letting the skull shape fill your eyes.

«Yes, I am»

You know he's looking at you as if he's got an idiot under his sight. You feel him judging, investigating your behavior, interrogating your posture. And you, trapped between a scary giant and a door, with his cold glove pressed where your belly still hurts, you dare to stare at him for one whole minute.

It seems enough: he lets you go, shaking your hands away from his wrists as he stands in all of his height against you.

«Good soldiers come home alive, little gnome»

«…it's a curious scolding from one who lives a dangerous life»

«I've already told ya: you don't know me»

«But i'm neither deaf nor blind»

«Buy a bloody mirror then». He takes two steps back, letting you breathe freely for the first time since you've entered the room. «Ya can say you see us clear, but speaking of seeing yourself…I can't say the same»

«I know me»   

«It seems not»

Blood starts to rush to your brain as the embarrassment turns into a mixed spoonful of anger and bitterness. You follow him, still at security distance, toward his desk. «Why? 'Cause you've caught me touching myself once and I made one bloody moan?»

«'S not that, and we've already talked enough 'bout it» he mumbled, pretending to not pay attention as he looks through some documents on the table.

«Oh, oh sure! Now we've talked enough about it» your arms end up crossing on your chest. «after you've ripped my elbow»

«It was just a nerve»

«Judicially irrelevant» 

«Shut your bloody mouth»

«Why? 'Cause you've told me s-»

«Yes»

You freeze; that was a cold, hard stone order. He's got his knuckles clenched on the table, his back's muscles are visibly breathing under the pressure of maintaining a glint of calm. 

«You» he turns at you, pointing a finger at your freezed face «you are a goddamn idiot, one of the worst species. I've tried to convince myself you weren't actually so stupid but, damn god, was i right in the first place»

Guilt assaults you with a knife at your throat, for reasons you don't know. And you find your eyes lower, your spirit evaporated, your anger extinguished under his glare. You try to mutter:

«I've just done my duty-»

«You threw away your life»

«The mission had to be done, that was our last possibility to catch that damn illegal traffic» you rush, raising your voice to grow some confidence in your speech «Laswell needed a woman and i just did my damn work!»

And he almost barks back, raising stern and furious eyes at you: «than what 'bout asking someone more experienced, you bloody asshole?!»

«'Cause it was needed a woman with-!». You suddenly stop, biting your inner cheek as a last word slips, almost like a whisper, through your lips: «…inclinations»

He's left speechless for a while, standing in front of you with the finger still hanging toward your figure. You swallow; you know he's going to ask more, and that's just 'cause you can't keep your mouth shut.

As if you've called it, he spit out a terse: «Explain»

You sigh. This would be a great time to sink ten meters underground.

«I» you start gesticulating, drawing figures in the air with your hands «I am…i-»

You expect him to joke about your incapability of connecting two words together; but he remains silent, looking at you almost with curiosity. And you're forced to keep on talking.

«…I like certain things people don't usually…agree to do» you force words outside your mouth, with cheeks on fire and eyes buried on the pavement.

His conclusion wastes no time to come:

«You're a submissive»

It's not a question, it's a truth and it hits you like a brick in the face, as if he'd already understood your particular nature till the beginning. There's no need for more explanation: you know what kind of submissive he's referring to, and he evidently knows just enough about the subject to grin, just a little, under the mask.

«The target was known for his…peculiar sexual tastes». The additional clarification was not necessary, but he gives it anyway. He let out a soft chuckle, almost like he's having fun thinking about it. «I can't believe that Laswell really rely on this stupid trick»

You would really clarify how much Laswell fought against your will to volunteer for that risk, but your voice is gone under the embarrassment. Your digits are digging into cuticles again, and you're about to pretend to not exist, turn your heels and just go away.

And you don't even notice he's got closer again, till he forces your face up by roughly grabbing your cheeks in one hand. 

The disappointment is palpable.

«You've run into that perv's den alone, risking yourself for a mission you knew you couldn't handle…just to satisfy your throbbing cunt?»

That hit you worse than every other thing he's thrown at you till now. Your cheeks catch fire in his hands, guilt choke air in your lungs and poisonous butterflies eat your stomach, whispering through the entrails: he's right.

But you don't want him to be right.

«I've just decided to put every weapon I've got at your service» you spit out.

His grip gets tighter. «Sure thing. And what have you gained? Apart of a saving operation that wasted everyone's time, of course»

«Mission was completed»

«We would have found another way to do it, rookie»

«But I did it» you grab his wrist, trying again to escape from his hold. «And i'm alive, so why the hell are we even talking about-»

It happens all of a sudden: he pushes you again against the door, harder and roughly enough to make your spine squeak on it. You hold a yell, and one second after you can't breathe anymore.

He holds you by your mouth, pushing on your face with his whole hand open, while the other runs down right under your belly, squeezing on your crotch like it's made of play dough.

«This is no playfield». His voice is almost a growl murmur in your ear as he lowers enough to overcome you with his bigger body. «Soldiers have morals. And dignity. Maybe 's not clear to your pretty little brain. So: watch» and he speaks slowly, growling coldness with tongue maid of sharp metal, his eyes on you with that goddamn mask supply (and you're sure you're gonna dream about his sight forever) «your. Bloody. Mouth. Kitty» 

The nickname, the grip on your pants, the fact that you're breaking your personal apnea record…just burn your brain. And, in a loss of breath, trying so desperately to find a way out of that embarrassment while freezing your hormones that are already running too low on your body…

You bite him.

You sink your teeth in his glove as hard as you can, ripping off that goddamn dignity he was speaking about, letting the residual rage work as a fuel for your mouth. He suddenly jerks with a step back, catched by surprise, tearing his hands away, and to do so…he pushes with the other hand on your lower belly.

On your goddamn freshly engraved and barely healed tattoo.

On the scar the doc pleaded with you not to touch.

You spit his glove out of your mouth, yelling like your vocal chords have turn into a megaphone.

Ten minutes later, you two are waiting outside of the infirmary.

The knock on the door doesn't distract him, too focused pretending to find his paperwork attractive.

Price gets in without invitation.

«Just a word» he sits at the desk, usual hat at his place and cigar climbing from his lips «between me and you»

Ghost doesn't lift his sight.

«I've talked with doc-»

«I don't need to be scold 'bout it, if that's what ya'r here for»

Price sighs a low, maybe a little bit too paternal: «Ghost-»

«If you two» Simon raises his voice a little «believe in trusting every goddamn rookie, sending them risking their bloody neck just 'cause they've told you how good they are at shaking their ass-»

«You've already yelled about it, give my ears a rest. In any case, Laswell made the best choice in her position» Captain talks over him. «And I agree with her. We couldn't lose that opportunity, Simon»

«She didn't even managed to end the mission alone»

«But the rookie did a great job. Only problem was taking her out of that shit»

«You can't seriously call a kink exploitation one "great job"»

«She's a soldier. We're not here to babysit, risking our life 's part of our contract»

Silence. 

Price starts to get nervous, feeling some mixed emotions that he really can't stand at six in the evening. He suddenly stands up, patting both hands on the desk, taking a deep breath before exhaling a long, almost exhausted: 

«There's nothing bad in making friends with your allies…»

Ghost is already rushing an "i don't need friends" kinda sentence, but Price anticipates him:

«Me too, i've made friendships on the battlefield that i hope will last as long as my bones will walk on the dirt. Then, we could die together and be happy in whatever hell God'll decide to send us. But» and his "but" was final «i know what you're doing here. Stop it. It's gonna be draining, for the both of you»

Ghost spits out: «I'm doing nothin'», too rushed, then muttering: «Don't even like her»

«I don't care who you like. You can marry whoever you want, you've got my approval»

«For fuck's sake Price-»

«Wanna delete her from your eyesight? Just look straight in front of you from now on. Wanna keep an eye on her?» John raises his hands, throwing Ghost's embarrassment in the air while admitting with the most honest attitude: «Sure. Ok. I keep an eye on you all every goddamn minute of my life. She's not a princess, though. And ya'r not a bloody knight»

Silence becomes again the king in the office. Price is still fixed in his extreme openness, ready to give his Lt. the best suggestions on how-to-not end up again at the infirmary with that goddamn rookie (before the doc kills the both of them).

Then Ghost finally raises his gaze.

And Price has a bad sensation in his guts, almost like he'd said something he shouldn't have.

«Keeping…an eye on her» Simon repeats, lost in thoughts.

John nodds, hesitating before leaving the office.

..................................................