clean-bands-dirty-stories - Tumblr blog

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

idk if u can do it but can u do Ben x Male Reader where the reader was the little brother of Mal (1/2 years apart) but Ben actually falls in love with Y/N when he ate the brownie bc u accidentally look at him when it was working and he looked at u bc u screamed for Mal and when appear he said what he said and u shut his mouth so he couldn't yell he likes u,and yeah the spell ended after but he just started to feel something about us

I love this idea anon, but I don't have requests open right now. It's been taking me ages but I'm almost done and then I'll open them again. Sorry!

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Hi! I was looking through your reblogged kissing prompts list (was reading one of the older works and checked the request link) and I was wondering if it would be ok if I used the list as well? Thank you :)

Answer: Absolutely! go crazy <3

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Tread Carefully ~ S.S.

Request: “Stiles x male reader, reader getting hurt trying to protect stiles from a werewolf” by anon

Word Count: 1400+

MASTERLIST

Stiles had been harboring a crush on Lydia Martin for as long as he could remember. Even longer than Scott had known about it; and that was ages. So when he actually became friends with her, he'd thought he'd had a chance.

And then she'd dated Allison.

If he was honest, Stiles really hadn't ever considered that before. I mean yeah, he knew about queer people. But every time he brought it up, people had brushed it off and dismissed it. Stiles especially just wasn't - according to everyone. So he had never thought about it, until his old crush became one of his best friends and then she was taking about it all the time. Telling him about how happy she was, and when he asked, about how she'd realized she was into women. And suddenly he realized something he'd never considered before: he'd one hundred percent had a crush on Scott when they were kids. 

He didn't tell anyone for a long time. Well, anyone but Lydia. She was a fantastic confidante and an even better secret keeper. And she was good at keeping Stiles' sexuality a secret... until he developed a crush on her brother.

Y/n Martin was very different than his sister. They were a unit, they always had been, but where Lydia leaned into expectation to make herself popular and as perfect as possible, Y/n had leaned away from it. He didn't have a lot of friends, outside of the kids in the programming club, and some people he'd met over the internet. He was the type that knew high school was stupid, and thought that made him a little bit cooler than everyone else.

Stiles thought he was awesome. Y/n was putting as little effort into school as possible, focused less on college and more on learning to program and prepping himself to just do that forever. He was smart, which meant he knew that school didn't actually teach you anything you needed to know - as long as you knew what you were heading into. He often talked Lydia's ear off about how school was just preparing you to be part of the machine of society, and rolled his eyes when Lydia tried to get him into a "better outfit" or take him shopping.

But that was actually why Stiles liked him. They had math together, and Y/n made jokes under his breath and talked about how stupid it all was, and then leaned over and gave him pointers and help with the work in a way he could actually understand. He never ran out of patience and didn't find Stiles' burst of energy or hard time focusing or burn out annoying. He encouraged Stiles and hyped him up and when he did a good job and Y/n was leaning over his shoulder grinning at him, whispering compliments to him and joking about having to reward him one of these days, Stiles couldn't help but think that all he wanted in that moment was to kiss him.

Lydia picked up on it too fast. She was at first a little hesitant, making Stiles promise this wasn't about her, because her brother deserved better than being a replacement, but Stiles promised that wasn't it. And he proved it too, even if the pining looked the same. He talked to Y/n and became friends with him and fought against werewolves and other big-bads, and they bonded over being the only two just-humans on the team, but Stiles never reached out to him to tell him how he felt. Stiles didn't want anything from Y/n that he didn't want to offer; which was sweet except Lydia wanted to see her best friend and her brother happy.

So what was she to do except play match maker?

Her butting in was helping, too. Y/n was telling her all the time now about how he liked Stiles, how well they got along, all the stuff they were doing together. About his eyes and his smile and his laugh and how brave he was. About how they made so many plans together and learned to trust each other. About how nice his voice was, and how they studied together and often fell asleep late into the night and woke up next to each other.

And yet... it took Y/n almost dying for either of them to do anything about it.

It was a shit storm like all the others they had to live through. A battle, injuries all around, and Stiles and Y/n trying to find each other because this time they'd gotten separated. It was never good when those two got separated, they were both idiots.

Something that showed more than ever when Y/n rushed into the room, saw Stiles being cornered by a werewolf, and screamed at the top of his lungs. It was a faceless beast at this point, mind controlled by a spell that a witch had cast. She was making their lives hell, and this was only the most recent of poor bastards that had been mind controlled and sent their way. The only way to break the spell was to find the object that mattered to them most and destroy it. This worked because the witch had to cast the spell on such an object, and destroying it broke the spell. But she was aware of this, so she often sent her subjects after whoever found or had the object at the moment.

And right now, that person was Y/n.

So the werewolf turned, getting on all fours and shooting after the teenager, who's eyes went wide as he turned sharply and began barreling down the hallway as quickly as he could. It was a ploy to save Stiles' life, and it was a good one, but it couldn't last forever. The werewolf swiped at him, sending him flying one way and the thing he was carrying flying the other way. Derek arrived that moment, having been tied up before, and managed to fight the creature off while Stiles scrambled onto the scene and burned the object.

It was over.

But the damage had been done.

The pack brought them to Deaton, who immediately launched into stitching the poor boy up and lathering something on him to fight infection and help him heal faster. Then they were all left to simply wait and hope Y/n would wake up. He still had a heartbeat, but shock had hit his system and he still might not make it. A lot of blood lost, a really bad concussion...

Stiles of course never left Y/n's side. Y/n woke up to the boy asleep on his little make shift hospital bed, head on Y/n's leg, holding his hand. Y/n smiled, exhausted and sore and feeling like shit, but unable to deny that Stiles still looked adorable when he was asleep. Y/n ran his hand through Stiles' hair and the boy jolted up. "Oh." He blinked sleep out of his eyes, rubbing his face and shaking his head to clear it. "Hey."

Y/n laughed. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty," Y/n joked. His voice croaked from disuse and he flinched. "Jesus I sound like I died."

Stiles' smile withered. "You almost did."

There was silence at that. They couldn't meet each others' eyes, couldn't pass that stiffness and awkwardness. Neither of the boys were good with silence and always tried to scramble to crack jokes or entertain or cheer up, but Stiles' bluntness had shattered that. And it was kind of nice. Vulnerable.

"Stiles," Y/n began. "I... liked you." He sighed, shoulders dropping. "Like, really really like you. And I know it might ruin everything, and I don't want you to say you like me back because I almost died. I don't even need you to say anything right now, just, know I like you. And everyone knows you've always liked my sister but-"

At that, Stiles broke. He caught Y/n's face between his hand and pulled him into a kiss. They both sighed, smiling into it, and all the unspoken things seemed to be understood without any of the words needing to be said. They often communicated like this, with just an understanding, and no need for specifics or long rants. Leaning their foreheads together, Stiles still did say one thing. "I like you too." They both laughed, and all the tension melted away from both of them.

"Maybe next time you two need to talk about your feelings, one of you doesn't need to die for it?" Lydia sassed from the doorway. The boys parted, blushing, as she tackled her brother in a hug. But all of them laughed, and for now all of them were okay, and that... that could be enough. After all, they still had a witch to kill.

-

Male Readers: @ravenpuff-oli @sortzz @fadedver

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Propose ~ S.R.

A/n: I cannot find the inspiration to do this request. I've been battling with it for a while and decided to put it to rest. I apologize to the anon who I promised to do this. Almost done with requests other than this.

Request: “Male reader x Spencer Reid, after a few years in their relationship, Spencer is ready to take it to the next level and marry him” by anon

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Awkward ~ B.B.

A/n: No idea if this is out of character or not but I had fun keeping it short and sweet for once so i hope yall enjoy!

Request: “Bellamy Blake x Male reader, him and Bellamy already having a relationship but breaking up a little bit before they were sent down and reader being cold and not his happy self” by anon

Word Count: 1800+

MASTERLIST

Bellamy counted himself lucky to have met his boyfriend.

Even if they were going to end like this.

It was one of those familiar loves. The kind that take forever to build, and then last forever. The kind that took parts of you and changed them, rearranged them, and left you irrevocably changed. The kind that made a home in the center of your soul, carving the shape of a person that could never be filled by any other person ever again. The kind of love that redefined home. It was a slow burn, but strong. Inevitable.

And then it was over.

Bellamy knew that he would have stayed on this ship with his boyfriend if Y/n had asked... and he couldn't chance that. It was better anyway to leave Y/n hating him so that when he disappeared, his now ex boyfriend wouldn't worry about him or wonder if he was okay. This way, it was better for everyone. And Bellamy kept that resolve as he laid out his plan to get onto the ship with Octavia and all the way down to Earth where they could all be free and happy. If he had to leave his boyfriend, he would. For his sister. She was what mattered.

And then Y/n showed up on the ship anyway.

Bellamy almost didn't recognize him. It hadn't been long, no matter how it had felt like ages, but Y/n was completely different. His style choice had changed, his demeanor, the way he impacted the world around him - all of it was wrong. Once Y/n had been a blazing fire, a bright light. He had been a breath of fresh air, coloring the world with pink and yellow and giving Bellamy a sliver of positivity and comfort in a world Bellamy had for so long thought was too cold and broken to give up anything good anymore. Now...

Y/n was distant, quiet. He faded into the background. He didn't make eye contact with anyone, and if he did then they were quick to scatter and give him room. He was intimidating. Scary. The only reason Bellamy even clocked him was because Y/n had stepped up to side with Clarke as she and Bellamy began to butt heads for who would be in charge. It would have been surprising, if not for their history. And the fact that Bellamy had been sleeping around every moment he had since he'd gotten to Earth,

The problem was that Bellamy had made a promise to himself. Earth wouldn't just be an escape from prison - it would be an escape from life on that god forsaken ship. He came here to be free - really free. Liberated. He wanted people to see all the things this place had to offer and how amazing it was to not have any of the adults to drag them down. He needed to spend every minute convincing people they wanted and even needed to be on Earth by themselves. Completely separate from society.

He didn't want to sleep with these women. He didn't want to lead. He wanted to be alone with his sister and be free and happy, and more than anything he wanted to fall into Y/n's arms and break into tears and tell him everything and get that smile back on his face. Where it belonged.

But he stuck to plan anyway.

Predictably, that decision made everything so much worse.

Bellamy knew he'd maybe gone a little too far, being too protective of Octavia, when she shoved him one day and told him to fuck himself. The next time Bellamy saw her, she was with Y/n and they were talking in gentle, low voices. Y/n had always been better with Octavia than Bellamy was, and now it showed. Even as this darker, more reserved version of himself he still managed to make Octavia smile. She seemed to make him ease in return, but that smile that was so often on his face before coming to Earth still didn't make an appearance. 

As things started to go wrong, it was becoming very quickly more and more obvious that Clarke was the better leader - especially with Y/n as her second. It had happened mostly on accident; there just wasn't anyone Clarke trusted with responsibility... or really trusted at all. Y/n proved himself again and again, encouraging Clarke to trust him more and more - so as she rose, so did he. There was something about Y/n trusting her that seemed to convince everyone to at least listen. Y/n joked that he was big and scary and had scary dog privileges and the fact that she'd 'tamed him' was why everyone was keen on listening to her. Clarke always rolled her eyes at that.

Bellamy didn't find it funny, but Octavia did, and she took every chance to tease Clarke and Y/n for being a match made in Heaven. A perfect duo. The leader of the masses and her loyal guard dog. Y/n and Clarke found it amusing enough so they never discouraged her.

It bothered Bellamy even more.

Tensions began to rapidly build. Y/n and Bellamy were more often chest to chest, nose to nose, staring each other down with malice in their eyes, and only Clarke and Octavia were able to rip the two boys apart. The sheer amount of energy between them delivered some kind of message, and the impression began to grow that there was something between them. Octavia knew, but she wasn't about to out her brother, who had never wanted to come out, or throw Y/n under the bus for getting his heart absolutely shattered by Bellamy.

Unfortunately there was only so much avoiding each other that could happen when a poisonous fog rolled through the forest, horribly killing anyone who got caught in it. In the chaos to scramble, Y/n got shoved and fell. If not for Bellamy stopping and pulling him into a close by little cove, Y/n would have died. It maybe should have prevented the hostility from being as high as it was, as quickly as it was... alas...

Y/n and Bellamy were arguing after about ten minutes. Both of them had forgotten what had started it in another ten minutes, because it wasn't soon before the real issue came out. With no one there to stop them, their back and forth devolved until the source of it all came to the surface.

"I'm sure you'll be overjoyed when this whole thing ends and you can go back to your girlfriend," Bellamy shot at his ex.

Y/n sneered, lips pulling back over bared teeth. This is always what drove Octavia and Clarke to pull them apart: the two boys looks like they were about to kill each other. They'd never fought before, let alone like this, but even now... they wouldn't hurt each other, and that's what even Octavia was missing. At least with their fists. Y/n didn't pull back now as he spat back, "Are you talking about Clarke? God, how old are you? She's not my girlfriend."

"You look pretty friendly." Bellamy rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because we're friends!" Y/n's voice bounced off the walls as it rose into a scream, the increased volume only setting Bellamy more on edge.

"Then why are you constantly following her around like a lost puppy? Did you lose your self respect after we broke up?"

Y/n finally snapped. "I LOST EVERYTHING WHEN WE BROKE UP!" There was a ringing silence after those words. They seemed to hang in the air, and Bellamy's eyes widened as he realized there were tears streaming down Y/n's face. He couldn't move, couldn't even breathe, not knowing he had made Y/n cry. Y/n was the first one to find his voice. "I lost everything when you broke up with me. And I had to take everything I was suddenly missing completely and make something new of hollow, broken pieces. I only chose Clarke because I refused to choose you. Not again - never again. You did this. You don't get to be mad about it."

Bellamy scoffed. "I'm not mad about it." Y/n sucked in a breath to start arguing again but Bellamy had had enough. "I'm jealous."

Y/n produced a sound that was half a scoff and half a laugh. "Please. What do you have to be jealous of?"

Suddenly exhausted, all Bellamy had left was the truth. "I knew I had to get on this ship and come to Earth with Octavia. I knew I had to be free, even if it was toxic down here. Even if it killed me. I couldn't be alive in a world where I would always be the one who got to live. Not when she was killed for being born after me. I... couldn't." Y/n's words never came. He just sighed, leaning against the wall with an irritated thud. He had heard the rant before. He knew where this was going. Or, so he thought. Bellamy's next words caught him off guard. "I could never ask you to make that sacrifice. But, if you knew, you'd have agreed. Even if it would kill you. And I also couldn't let my trauma be the death of you either. Not when it was already the end of me and my sister."

Eyes wide, Y/n looked at him. There was something else in his face than that empty gloominess. Something... akin to hope. "You can't do this to me. Not now."

Bellamy closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"No-" Y/n pushed off the wall, shaking his head. "You don't get my forgiveness now. Not after everything! It's not fair!"

Bellamy's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry."

"NO!" Y/n yelled, grabbing his shirt by the collar. Bellamy's lips parted to apologize and Y/n slammed him against the cave wall, face twisted with rage. "Don't. Say. It. Again."

For a moment, it seemed like he wouldn't. Then, ever so softly, he whispered, "I'm sorry."

Immediately Y/n's face crumbled. He searched Bellamy's face, demanding to see anything other than what he was seeing. Regret. Sincerity. And love.

There was only one way to know for sure.

Y/n kissed Bellamy. He was immediately hit with how eagerly Bellamy kissed back. It was like, despite everything, anything that could have ruined this moment didn't matter. People had died, they were losing numbers, going hungry. This place was so much harder than they thought and everything was out to kill them. People they knew nothing about, couldn't even see, or a landscape that crept slowly and attacked when you least expected it. Time and space and heartbreak -

And in this moment it was just them.

When Y/n leaned back, he was smiling. Really smiling. "You're an idiot. I can't believe I love you."

Bellamy melted in relief. He pulled Y/n close and even with how impossible it had all seemed, it had worked out. "I am an idiot," he agreed. Y/n chuckled and Bellamy closed his eyes to hear the sound. The sound he never thought he'd be blessed enough to hear ever again. Maybe if Y/n could still smile and laugh, and Bellamy could still get the boy, anything could happen. Maybe there was still a chance in this ruined world. Even as dire as it seemed... maybe hope could be allowed.

Just a little. Just enough.

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Here, Allow Me ~ D.G.

A/n: Another one check marked :) It's still not the one I promised but uh... I hope that's okay. I've been struggling to write rip

Request: “ZATANNA MALE READER X DICK GRAYSON, they go on a mission together and dick and reader get hurt but dick more so and reader teleports them somewhere trying to keep him alive while help arrives. end it fluffy please” by anon

Word Count: 2900+

MASTERLIST

There were certain things you just had to accept if you were going to date Dick Grayson. One of them was that he would always be in the field. Whether or not he was Robin or Nightwing, or even Batman, the suit would always be apart of his life. Another thing you had to accept: You would have to just keep up.

It wasn't easy to match pace with anyone in the Batfam, let alone someone you were dating. It was a little easier for Y/n though. After all, he had magic.

Everyone associated Y/n was Zatanna, but he had trained with John Constantine first. It was an accidental situation, but expected when a demon with a grudge against Constantine met a young, impressionable kid with a bone to pick with the world. He'd wormed his way into Constantine's life playing as someone born with magic he couldn't control and had gotten training from the man himself. Which allowed Y/n to get more powerful as he learned more and more about his target up close and personally - weaknesses and abilities alike.

Y/n was the only one who'd ever gotten close to defeating Constantine, and almost got killed doing it. But when he revealed himself as a secret bad guy - well, Batman was impossible to fool. He'd prepared for this, seeing Y/n's anger and noticing the way his magic was almost alive - not something inborn, but something almost separate that worked to keep him alive. That was actually how Y/n and Dick had first met - when the Young Justice had come to Constantine's aide and saved his ass. At the time he'd been dating Zatanna, but that hadn't lasted much longer.

It had been rough at first. They'd had to find the demon behind Y/n, and Zatanna had banished it and destroyed the link between it and Y/n, leaving the poor teen completely defenseless. He'd hated the team for it, and hadn't talked to anyone until Constantine offered to train him for real. After all, Y/n still knew a lot about magic, and the deep connection he'd had with that demon had left behind the potential to harness such energies. With the opportunity to remain able to defend himself and a rough home life he was on the run from, the team took him on and Zatanna began to help him along with Constantine. Eventually she joined the League and Y/n was left to stay on the team as the resident magic user.

After a while, Dick Grayson could claim he'd dated two magicians.

Y/n had taken a lot after Zatanna. He used magic by speaking backward as well, and took up the magician aesthetic. They looked like a set... which had been a little painful at first. She'd given Y/n her father's old suit and matching with him like that had been a little startling. But Zatara had approved and eventually everyone had adjusted. Because of all of this, Y/n hadn't been open to Dick's advances at first; he was sure Nightwing was just rebounding on someone who reminded him Zatanna who Y/n was sure Dick just missed.

Because of this they almost hadn't happened, but Bruce was tired of watching his family be alone because of this life they lead, and took a single moment to play a little matchmaker. He'd invited Y/n over for dinner - no masks. Y/n had discovered the identities of the entire Batfam when he had been analyzing them to take them all down, so there was no need for pretenses. Bruce invited the kid under the proposition that Y/n could go to school with Artemis, but that it would require a scholarship from the Waynes and they should get to know each other first.

Everyone knew it was bullshit - Artemis had gotten the scholarship without knowing the Waynes after all. But Y/n didn't, and that was the point. With Bruce's only slight tampering out of the way, he left the rest to the others. Y/n bonded with Jason first, then Tim and then Barbara. They all adored him and seeing him get along with the family was enough to have Dick tripping over himself by the end of the night. When Alfred himself approved of the lad, the deal was done. And with some words of comfort from Barbara, Y/n got over that lingering impression that Dick didn't really care about him.

Dick drove Y/n home, and they had a first date confirmed before they even topped at the cave where Y/n was staying with everyone else who didn't have anywhere to go. 

After that it wasn't hard to get approval to work with the Batfam directly as well as the Team. Y/n was busy a lot, working with Dick side by side and sometimes even without him. They learned how to balance work and relationship and personal life rather well. It wasn't perfect but all of it was theirs, and that was what mattered.

Then Jason died.

Jason and Y/n had always been particularly close. They understood each other in a way the others really didn't. They were both carrying dark pasts on the corners of bright smiles, with the constant yearning for trouble settled in their throats. They'd been horrible pranksters, and not even Dick could always predict them or avoid them. Only Alfred had never been touched. Y/n had been on the mission with Jason when he died.  He'd been knocked out and Jason had been kidnapped... and then had to just sit and wait for Bruce to find his best friend.

Something changed after that. Y/n was darker, angrier. He smiled less. He was still good in the field, but he suddenly got really protective. Dick understood why Y/n felt the need to watch everyone, always run to their aid, but when it almost got Y/n killed he'd had enough.

Their first argument since even the beginning of their relationship had been ugly.

Y/n had to handle a lot more during the relationship than Dick did, and he felt irritated that after all he had taken with complete ease and no complaint, Dick was still asking more of Y/n. And then Dick asked Y/n to retire and...

When the two said they were going on a break, everyone knew that wasn't all. Everyone knew they were due any day for a break up. The Team, the Batfam - they'd all seen Connor and M'gann fall apart in real time and it had looked exactly like this. Y/n began to draw further and further from Dick, and seemed to stop caring about him altogether. He didn't seem to watch Dick's back every second anymore, but he also seemed to lose every single emotion he'd ever had. Batman was seconds away from cutting him off the team forcibly and resigning himself to losing Y/n as he distanced himself from everyone.

The moment never came.

It was a mission like any other. Infiltration and extraction. Y/n was particularly good at staying back anyway, so he had fallen into the role of look out. He had a lot of spells that helped his awareness and allowed him to play support. And with his recent habit of keeping an eye on everyone anyway, putting him on the front lines just wasn't where he was best.

It was Garfield who got spotted. It was hard for him to sneak around, and he could turn into something small for sure but when you're green it's a pretty obvious tell and some people just knew how to spot him.

Everyone was almost out when one of the flying bullets caught Dick's leg and he fell. Y/n didn't even hesitate - he teleported into the fight immediately and began throwing spells, keeping people back to try and give Dick the space to get away. Everyone else had scattered; they didn't even know Dick had fallen. It was up to Y/n, and when all you are is a spell caster there's just not a lot you can do against so many people by yourself.

Dick was amazed. Y/n's focus, the way his eyes took in every single detail. His words and the easy way they formed, even backward. He wasn't as good as Zatanna but he was excellent at the trade. The problem was Dick was losing blood fast, and it was becoming quickly clear that it wasn't just a bullet at all - he was poisoned. He couldn't get out of here without being followed and that would be even worse. So he moved closer to Y/n instead of away, gripping his ankle. 

It distracted Y/n, allowing something large to shatter against his shield spell, shrapnel slicing his shoulder. He screamed, and grabbed it, but it knocked him out of his stubborn decision to stay put and stand tall until he died. It forced Y/n to acknowledge that he was losing, and Dick needed him. Despite everything between them, that seemed to be enough. Y/n reached down, grabbing Dick's forearm, and Dick returned the hold. Y/n spoke quickly, and the pair was teleporting away again.

The second they were alone Dick was arguing with him. "Why didn't you do that immediately?"

"Because you were running away from me and I couldn't get to you without compromising both of our safety," Y/n snapped back without missing a beat. Right back to their forming bad habits...

Dick wasn't satisfied with Y/ns answer. "Why didn't you just teleport closer to me?"

"Because the point was to draw their attention, not grab you and get out! You were supposed to at least bind your wound so you weren't just freely bleeding."

"There was something in the bullet, I could feel it almost immediately. There's... something.." As the adrenaline of the moment faded and all that was keeping him talking was arguing - which, as it rose his heartrate, probably wasn't a good idea - he began to lose strength and collapsed in Y/n's arms. His eyes fluttered closed and he went silent.

Y/n's breathing immediately quickened, growing shallow. "Nightwing," he snapped, slowly lowering him to the ground. He forced himself to work slowly through the panic, checking Dick's pulse. It was skittish and getting slower. Something was wrong. Y/n could feel the panic increasing. He grit his teeth and forced away the images of Jason's broken body in Bruce's arms. He instead grabbed Dick's arm, turning it to access the body monitor all the Batfam wore. 

As he had the thought to get in contact with everyone else, he felt Miss Martian's psychic link restore and he reached out to her, drawing her to their location. He ran down the entire situation and analyzed how fast whatever was effecting Nightwing was effecting him.

M'gann didn't have to tell Y/n that they weren't going to make it to the two and back to the Cave in time. Y/n closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus. He needed to know what was wrong with Dick in order to save him. If he didn't, no one would. And Y/n wouldn't lose Dick. Not like he'd lost Jason. Not him. Anyone but him.

Finally the spells Y/n was casting to figure out what the hell was wrong came with a result. A specific poison, fast acting, 100% fatality rate. Y/n felt his anger rise as his vision blurred with tears. He blinked quickly to clear it, ignoring as the tears fell down his cheeks. He closed his eyes to force his mind to come up with the words he needed.

"Ezilibats mih." His words echoed and Y/n was immediately rechecking his heartbeat and vitals, but his vision was too blurry. He couldn't see anything, couldn't make sense of it. He was out of ideas - if this didn't work Dick was dead. The thought made Y/n crumble and he pulled Dick into his chest, burying his face in his hair. He was begging under his breath, shaking, in shambles. And that was how the Team found them.

At first everyone thought Dick was dead, but when Miss M told them he was fine, Y/n only began to cry harder and everyone exchanged looks but they knew what had happened without even having to ask. Y/n was silent on the ride back to the Cave. Dick woke up there, in their little hospital wing, all healed and completely fine. He was updated on what happened in the mission, and Connor took him aside to tell him about Y/n's reaction to the whole thing. "Just so you understand why."

Dick tensed. "Why what?" He demanded.

Connor pursed his lips. "He quit. The Team, everything. He said he's done and has been looking for entry level jobs so he can buy his own apartment and move out of the Cave." Bruce had given him a secretary job at Wayne Enterprises, and Y/n had been doing wonderfully - even after Jason's passing. If he was looking to get out of the job, then that would mean he'd stop coming to family dinners, stop dropping by for Holidays. He'd be alone and the Batfam would be missing one more member. The Team would lose their friend. Y/n was trying to disappear.

Dick didn't wait and no one stopped him. He was up immediately, only gritting his teeth at his hurt leg but otherwise walking perfectly fine as he moved through the halls at as quick a pace as he could manage while he hunted down Y/n.

He was in his room. Where he had been every free moment since Jason's death. Unsurprising then that Dick looked there first and, upon knocking on the door, wasn't shocked to see Y/n open it. He looked horrible, with heavy lids and bags under his eyes and a slouch to his shoulders. He looked exhausted.

"Before you try and-" Y/n began.

Dick pushed through the door and pulled him in a hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't thank you, thank you. Thank you for all those years ago, choosing to let us help you instead of turning away. Thank you for loving our family as much as I do and becoming apart of it. Thank you for giving Jason a best friend - he really needed it. Thank you for joining the team and saving so many of our lives so many times. Thank you for letting me love you. It was the best time of my life and I will always treasure it because you're an amazing person. Thank you for letting me know you."

Y/n was silent for a long time. He didn't move, didn't even seem to breathe. But then, just as Dick was losing hope, ever so slowly, Y/n's arms moved to wrap around Dick and hug him back. They melted into each other and Dick could feel the material of his shirt get wet as Y/n cried on his shoulder. 

"Bruce was right, I can't do this. I need to take a break." The words were a relief to hear.

"Okay," Dick agreed. He held his boyfriend tighter. They hadn't broken up yet, and he tried to hold onto that in this moment. It might be his last chance to think that.

Y/n seemed surprise at the lack of a response. "I won't be able to fight with you anymore - maybe ever again. We'll have way less time together, I won't be able to help you with cases. You'll have to face so much more on your own and we'll come to resent each other eventually. It'll fall apart like it always does. No time, no energy-"

"If you think that I'd ever resent you for prioritizing your needs, you're an idiot." Y/n's words died. "I will always love you for doing this. You should. You shouldn't keep going if you can't. I just can't lose you completely. I need you to be some part of my life. Everyone will miss you; the team; the family. Everyone. Promise me you won't quit at Wayne Tech. Promise me you won't disappear because you feel bad about retiring."

A shaky breath came from Y/n then and he held Dick tighter, burying his face in Dick's shoulder. They hadn't hugged this long in ages and it was what they both desperately needed. Y/n sighed, shaking his head. "Okay. I promise."

Dick leaned back and Y/n let him, even as Dick raised a hand to wipe away the remaining tears and pulled him into a kiss. They both lingered, and after a moment even relaxed. melted into each other. Dick didn't go far when the kiss ended, resting their foreheads together. "I don't want to break up with you. I want to give it a shot. I want to try, I want to fight. I don't want to fade from each others' lives - if it ends ugly then that's how it ends. I want to hold onto you."

Everyone knew how Dick's relationships ended. It was fire and joy and passion that slowly dimmed and faded into professionalism and business relations. They grew distant, but the fondness remained, and they parted on mutual, good terms. Dick always wanted to avoid ugly break ups, wanted to preserve relations as much as possible. The fact that he was willing to throw caution to the wind meant a lot.

Y/n chuckled, sighing a second time. "You're impossible, Dick Grayson."

Dick smiled. "Impossibly in love with you."

For the first time since Jason had died, Y/n laughed. Loud, with his full chest. His head fell back and he pulled Dick closer. The moment was warm and bright and all of the darkness and heaviness that had been plaguing them fell away completely, leaving them free and light. One thing was certain: they'd succeeded. They'd made it out the other side.

At least for now, they'd be alright. 

-

Male Readers: @ravenpuff-oli @sortzz @fadedver

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Habit ~ E.O.

A/n: This felt the way eating something for the first time in a longen time when you are it a lot as a kid? Does that make sense? Idk I just love it

Request: “...Enoch O’Connor x Male I beg of thee” by anon

Word count: 2200+

MASTERLIST

Jake was the most annoying person Y/n had ever met.

The problem with a boy shaking the very core of the way Miss Peregrine's Home worked, is that there was a set routine. Not just the same day, every day. Not just the same clothes. Not just the same activities and expectations, but also the same people. The same dynamics. Everything was clear and simple and predictable - as it was supposed to be. It was Enoch and Horace and Olive and Fiona and Claire and Emma and Millard and Bronwyn and Hugh and the twins and Y/n. They all had their chores, their meals, and their rooms. Wake up, do the exact same thing, reset the day, go to bed.

In some ways, Jake changing everything was nice. Emma was happier with him, and they were safer now. They'd always be safe now. Miss Peregrine didn't have to deal with her imperfect day, and they had lots of new friends.

Change was hard though, and unpredictable. Emma and Jake, and then Fiona and Hugh. And then suddenly everyone was a lot less okay with Enoch and Y/n pining for each other but never doing anything about it.

Enoch and Y/n had always been like this. They avoided each other despite everything, somehow having pulled it off for decades straight now. Anytime they did talk, the room seemed to go still. They were insatiable, starving for each other. Every look was too long, and yet too short. Every conversation saturated with so much emotion neither boy could handle it.

Being a teenager was hard.

But for decades, everyone had left it alone. At some point the distance and awkwardness and desperate yearning had become a part of the routine. Wake up, do what you did everyday, glance over the way Y/n's breath caught, a smile tugging to his face when Enoch brought something to life, ignore the way Enoch's eyes lingered when Y/n began to chat with a bird or squirrel or worm.

Even Fiona was good at it, and she was Y/n's sister. They had always been far more concerned with their own relationship as siblings. Two halves of one whole - a plant gift and an animal gift. Flora and fauna.

But now she was busy with her own crush, and without her there to fill Y/n's time, it was more and more obvious how ridiculously in love he was. Olive had met a girl in the other loop they'd joined who had wings, and the two had been having a ball flying around together - which meant Enoch was more available than normal as well.

Of course they ended up in the same space more often than they usually did.

The new kids weren't used to the pining. It wasn't routine, they hadn't learned to ignore it. And the more they pointed out that the way Enoch and Y/n acted wasn't a just-friends-and-family feelings kind of situation, the more the other kids acknowledged it too. Suddenly everyone was looking at the boys expectantly, and with all those eyes on them... it was hard to ignore their own situation even more.

This was especially hard on Y/n. He had always known he wasn't going to end up with some epic love like in the books. Even before the loop, everyone had marked him as insane and weird. His little sister could make flowers grow in the palm of her hand, and her older brother knew all the town secrets because the pets could talk to him. But after the loop? The options were so limited and he was gay - it wasn't going to happen. No way in hell that with one person he could even possibly end up with, who he liked, liked him back. That sort of thing was difficult to find even with several options. But one?

Not to mentioned he hadn't really come to terms with the fact that he wasn't straight. Everyone knew he was into Enoch, but outside of that they had no idea what was going on with his sexuality. He'd never opened up about it, and flat out denied anytime someone had asked. Even Fiona had nothing to offer in terms of information - he hadn't told her anything either. Which was weird, because they knew a lot about each other. She was his confidante.

He'd never even admitted it to himself.

That wasn't good enough for Leroy and Sofie though. They were two of the kids from the other loop, and they were determined to play match maker between the two boys. It was how a harmless game night had gone so terribly wrong. They had convinced Jake to talk about all the silly, immature party games he had heard of and to "experience the culture they were missing out on" all the kids from both loops had been dragged into several different rounds of truth and dare and spin the bottle and seven minutes in heaven. Nothing happened for most of the people, who only fist bumped or took the opportunity to info dump in a space where the other person had no option to listen.

And then Enoch and Y/n got picked.

For the first ten minutes, both boys were completely composed. But Enoch had a very good understanding of time and as more than seven minutes passed, he grew agitated. "It's been long enough, let us out," he called.

When all that came back from the other side was giggling, Y/n got irritated too. Being this close to Enoch was bad enough without there being a foreseeable end in sight. "Guys. Guys!"

"Talk about your feelings!" Sofie called back, and a dozen pairs of feet could be heard on the stairs, leaving Enoch and Y/n. In a closet. Locked for who knows how long. Alone in an entire room, in the basement.

Miss Peregrine would put it together and come and get them before dinner, but... even that was a long way away.

It was quiet a long time, but eventually even Enoch couldn't handle it. He broke first.

"Are we just going to wait for Miss Peregrine?"

Y/n shrugged. "They all left, so... It's not like even if I did anything here they'd let us out."

"Did anything?" Enoch scoffed. "Did what exactly."

"I don't know," Y/n snapped. Both boys were rather hot headed and tended to interact with each other through biting remarks and snarky banter. These snippy words were familiar to them.

Enoch rolled his eyes. "I'm not just going to sit here that whole time. At least tell me what they think we need to share feelings about?"

Y/n shrugged. "Beats me."

Another king quiet and then Enoch seemed to soften. He had changed a lot since Jake too. He had been so defensive of Emma before, but now he saw the flaw in that. Emma and Jake were happy, and more than anything he... envied them. He wanted that. And he had wasted enough time keeping himself from it. If Emma could open her heart to getting broke to risk love and succeed... maybe he could too. "Y/n."

"What?" He was gorgeous. That withering look and unwavering attitude. Enoch loved that he could always keep up, matching any sass off or sarcastic comment. Often beating Enoch at what he had always considered as his own private game. A game he never lost at... until Y/n. Y/n who found his homunculus fascinating instead of disturbing and never scared at even the worst of Enoch's attempts. Y/n who was so awkward and brash with people, but so gentle and calm and caring toward animals. Y/n, who was his best self out in the woods with no shoes on and a smile on his face as he closed his eyes and listened to the wind through the trees, the birds singing, the bugs buzzing...

"Do you want to play Twenty Questions?" It was another of Jake's silly games. They had planned to play it after Seven Minutes in Heaven but, well, now they were locked in a closet.

Y/n shot him a withering look, cocking an eyebrow. "No."

Enoch's lips almost twitched into a smile. "Come on. Since when are you more of a buzz kill than I am?"

Y/n sighed. "Fine. Whatever." He looked at Enoch again and couldn't help but soften. They were both like this. Hard to touch, impossible to get close to. Rough and snappy. Except for those select few. For Enoch, it was the girls. Fiona and Claire had it the easiest; Olive had to work for it; Emma had gotten under his skin after Abe. For Y/n, there was no one who had worked their way into his good graces as well as Enoch had. He of course had softness for the kids, always taking to children who needed someone to have their back - even if they wouldn't admit it - but Enoch was still special. He always was.

Enoch swallowed a smile, matching Y/n's casual energy. They both leaned against the wall, Y/n crossing his arms over his chest and Enoch slipping his hands in his pocket. "You go first," Enoch encouraged. There was something playing in his eyes, so bright it shone even in the low lighting.

Y/n raised an eyebrow, unsure. "Okay... what's your favorite color?" It was a dumb question - he already knew - which meant that if Y/n wasn't going to try neither was Enoch.

"Triangle." He smirked, then leaned forward. "Do you like men?"

There was a long silence in the closet. It felt... horribly fitting. Suffocatingly on point. "Why do you ask?"

"That's not an answer," he shot back.

Y/n's face burned. "That's a dumb question! You've never cared once in our decades of friendship and now you do? Why?"

"Because of Jake." Y/n almost began going off about how annoying Jake was, but Enoch cut him off. "I thought everything was set in stone. He were the group we'd always been. Abe proved it to me. We can get smaller, but never bigger. But then Jake came along and left behind everything for Emma. And I realized, maybe that's what love is. Maybe it's giving up what was for what could be. Because it's worth it. And if I made a leap like that, I won't even have to give anything up. All I have to do is take the first step."

His voice was so soothing, but his words were like shots of ice through Y/n's veins. It was a startling contrast. "Enoch..." He frowned, pursing his lips. He couldn't look at the other boy. "What would you do if I asked you that? You can't expect me to-"

"I do. I like men."

Y/n's jaw dropped. He snapped it closed after a beat, eyes trained on Enoch. The other boy seemed... excited. Genuinely. "And you're telling me this... for a reason. I assume?" Enoch just nodded. He wasn't just excited; he was nervous too. To be fair, so was Y/n. "Because you like me?" He asked, even more softly.

Enoch hesitated. Then nodded. "I... have. For a long time."

Y/n sighed, head falling back against the wall. A part of him wanted to argue, wanted to fight it. Wanted to stick his head in the sand.

But a much larger part of him knew that this had been coming for a long time.

“I thought when I told you I was into men it would be scarier.” Enoch laughed at Y/n’s confession, and it was only a split second before Y/n joined him. It was completely bizarre and borderline ridiculous. They’d been denying their feelings so long it had become habit. First out of hesitation. You never know exactly how someone would react to something. And then it was friendship. They were so close, and they’d gotten into a pattern of thought. They were only friends - nothing else was possible. But as everything around them changed, pattern had no room in their life anymore. So habit had taken over.

And now…

Y/n rested his head on Enoch’s shoulder, hesitantly taking his hand. Enoch sighed, squeezing back. Reassuring him.

“I like you specifically,” Y/n piped up.

Enoch’s smile was small as he tried to fight it, but the blush across his cheeks gave him away. “I like you too.” Y/n chuckled again, and Enoch echoed him. Like their energy was bouncing off of each other, growing. Becoming simply by the existence of the other.

“I don’t want our first kiss to be in here,” Enoch sighed. The closet was too much a metaphor, but even more-

“I don’t like that everyone’s forced so much onto us,” Y/n agreed. “Thank god they did, but-“

Enoch huffed with amusement. “But I don’t want them to have everything. Some things are just for you and me?” Y/n nodded and Enoch smiled, leaning close and pressing his lips to Y/n’s forehead. Y/n sighed, content. They stayed like that until the close door was opened, several pairs of curious eyes staring in at them.

“Are you together now?”

Y/n and Enoch exchanged looks and then scrambled to their feet, both shouldering the door open and slipping out. Everyone was laughing - even the ones who tried desperately to lock the pair back in the room.

And so the boys were out of the closet.

They took each others’ hand again when they settled onto the couch together, an everyone had to agree: that could be enough.

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

XX ~ S.S.

Part Four: Rush (Final)

A/n: This is a separate request but I combined them (This prompt list). This has been sitting in my drafts for AGES so very close to completion and I got a final boost from @mmmalakai so this one’s for you bestie <3

Request: “22 for Seb? 👀”

Word Count: 3800+

MASTERLIST

~ Kiss in a rush of adrenaline ~

The Warblers ran into a problem when competition season rolled around. They had essentially been cut in half, and that meant they were working with significantly less people than normal. Adding on top of that the rivalry he was brewing with New Directions and... well, it wasn't ideal.

Y/n got an earful every evening after glee rehearsals. Blaine was apparently up Sebastian's ass, playing some form of protective older brother for Y/n. He had made it clear time and time again that he didn't approve of Sebastian, and his boyfriend Kurt was only too happy to support this endeavor. Predictably, Kurt had been most on board for it when Blaine had told him of Sebastian's initial flirting and move making. It made Y/n wonder if Kurt was in it to protect Y/n like Blaine was, or if he was in it for his own personal revenge.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be where the struggles ended. They had enough people to compete and so did Noteworthies - but only one team could compete from one school. Which meant that on top of push back from Blaine and Kurt, and the dance they'd been having with all of New Directions, there needed to be a pre-competition face off to see which Dalton Glee club was going to compete.

Which was strange to talk about, when they were technically opposed team captains, but also had been spending as much time as they could together again. They'd wanted to perform together again and neither could come up with a reason to. They were busy practicing for all the face offs and performances they had coming up, which meant they didn't have much free time. With the stress increasing, the need for peace and quiet got worse until their routine became shit talking everyone else in the car and then going back to Sebastian's, cleaning up and changing, and then just doing homework in absolute silence for hours and hours, cuddled up until dinner. Dinner was the best part of the day because they would be recharged from everything else and would put the homework away and just talk. Or watch something. They didn't talk about school during dinner, or Glee. They'd talk about music or the thing they watched or anything else. Sometimes Blaine and Kurt, but never New Directions.

It was so strange to find themselves on opposing sides when school came around at the beginning of every new day, especially when their mornings were spent getting coffee where Y/n and Blaine used to and tormenting the New Directions people who were there if they happened to run into each other.

Y/n didn't even feel bad about it. He had tried to stop Sebastian at first, but then Blaine had ruined that.

The day had started cool, which was nice because the Dalton blazers were always a little warm on the body. Adding coffee to that usually meant feeling a little warmer than one was usually comfortable with. But not that morning. Instead, Y/n and Sebastian were in line to get their coffees, Sebastian going on and on about a wild encounter he'd had in Paris when he was still living there. Y/n had been sent into a fit of laughter, face turning red and wrapping his arms around his stomach. "You did not get that drunk at 11 years old," Y/n accused.

Sebastian was grinning. "I absolutely did. My parents were mad, but it wasn't as big of a deal as you'd think. The problem was that I had stolen all the cream puffs. There were three heaping plates made for everyone at that party and I had eaten them all by myself. I was sick for two whole days, and still couldn't eat chocolate without feeling sick for another week." Y/n peeled into giggles again and the room seemed to get brighter, warmer. Sebastian watched him with so much adoration on his face that the people around them all smiled.

Well, almost everyone.

"If it isn't my favorite Dalton boy." An arm looped around Y/n's shoulder, and he looked over to see Blaine. Immediately, the joy started to seep out of him and Sebastian watched in irritation as he put on the mask that he always did. The calm and the patient and the gentle. Not that Y/n wasn't all of those things, but more that he only ever allowed himself to be those things specifically when certain people - like Blaine - were around. The more time he spent around Sebastian, the more he allowed himself to express all of the different sides of him, but it was slow coming. It was easier with the Warblers and most of the Noteworthies, but harder with Lyran and anyone from McKinley. It bothered Sebastian immensely.

"Hey," Y/n greeted with a soft smile.

Blaine positioned himself to cut Sebastian off from the conversation and immediately Sebastian's jaw locked. He tried to play as nice as possible with Blaine - he meant a lot to Y/n. And even if Sebastian didn't get the appeal (he had flirted with the man once before actually getting to know Y/n, and now he just about laughed out loud at the thought. How could be have gone for stick-in-the-mud, goody two shoes Blaine when Y/n was right there?) it wasn't about him, so. Whatever. The move from Blaine was an affront though, and he barely managed.

"I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"

Kurt shot him a look and Sebastian purposefully ignored it. His eyes were on Y/n, who suddenly seemed uncomfortable. It seemed he has picked up on Blaine's actions - and Sebastian's reaction to it as well.

"Fine," the boy eased, sliding fluidly from Blaine's hold to pick up something off of a nearby shelf, tilting it as if considering if he was going to get it. He put it down and turned back to the other three. It was a well masked attempt to include Sebastian again, and a well appreciated one. Well, appreciated by Sebastian. Blaine's smile got a little tighter.

"I heard you started a new acapella group at Dalton," Blaine picked up again. There was something very awkward about him trying to start small talk, and Y/n shutting it down with one word responses instead of expanding in the least. An awkwardness that was showing in Blaine's tone.

"Yeah," Y/n nodded, and the tension grew.

Sebastian swallowed a smile when he saw a hint of his Y/n. The hidden shade he was masking so well with innocence and softness. It wasn't cruel, more unsure. Y/n didn't know how to show Blaine that finally, he had changed too. In the way that Blaine had become more a team player, flourishing with a bunch of people who challenged him and treated him like a normal person instead of some music sex god, that Y/n had bloomed in the same way.

Under Sebastian's pressure and fire, he had grown to something infinitely more beautiful: Himself. Not filtered to be more palpable, or fit the vibe someone else was setting. He was himself - both soft and hot to the touch. Soothing at one point, and agitating the next, depending on what he had to rise to the top to meet. And there was a whole new side to him too - one that didn't just react, but set expectations and then kept them going. Who established a mood and then continued it. One who knew control and patience and could balance firm grips and gentle nudges.

Blaine missed it all. He hummed in such false amusement that it was so obviously just irritation.

"Seems you're spending a lot of time with Mr. Competition over here then." It was light and airy, easily dismissed unless you already knew he was trying to shove a wedge between Y/n and Sebastian. Which they all did know.

Y/n seemed to consider that. "Competition drama and interpersonal relationships are different things. At Dalton we try to keep it clean - nothing personal, no dirty play." He shot a pointed look at Sebastian. "These days at the very least."

Sebastian felt himself warm, flaring under Y/n's attention. "The whole point of a game is there are always rules. I set some, you set some. They must all be followed or people stop playing."

Y/n snorted. "Very good job Bas, you're learning so well."

Blaine seemed uncomfortable with the easy banter between the two, and he tended when Y/n used a nickname. "Y/n-"

"Listen," Y/n cut off. "I've tried to tell you before but you refuse to listen so I'll be very blunt with you. I'm a different person now - a better person. This is a good thing, and if you can't see that and accept that people change I don't want to be friends with you anymore. I know you have beef with Sebastian. It's a good thing you're not the one who has a relationship with him." He turned without another word and made his order, filling in Sebastian's as well without thinking. He had been correct to the T so Sebastian let it slide. He relished Y/n stepping in to stop Blaine, and he especially loved that Y/n was so easily showing how well they knew each other and how much they meant to each other. It was delicious.

Blaine stumbled over his words for a moment at the display from the boy who used to be so close to him. "What happened to you?"

Y/n's irritation slipped. "What happened to me is that I finally got a life outside of you. I'm in a glee club that isn't revolving around you. I have other friends. I developed a personality based on myself and not you and your standards and expectations, and found people who like what I have to offer. If the only way you want me is folded nicely so that you can have me at your disposable for you and your irritating ass boyfriend then you don't want me." He slapped money on the counter and grabbed the two drinks before walking away. "See you around Blaine."

As they left, Sebastian's face twisted with a smirk. Not the teasing or biting one he usually donned, but one filled with admiration and adoration.

Something bubbled under the surface of his skin and he shivered. Then decided to ignore it for now. Y/n started a conversation about how bagels sounded good for breakfast and that was the end of it.

For now.

-

It was decided that a face off would be held to decide who was going to competition of the Dalton glee clubs.

It wasn't a shocking conclusion, but still needed an official announcement.

When the day came, Sebastian thought the Warblers had it in the bag.

Then the Noteworthies went.

Whatever the group had accomplished in the past, they had surpassed themselves several times. They were completely in sync, switching out and weaving through each other like it was second nature. They kept a certain energy between them that truly was contagious, like before, but also tangible. An energy that flowed through the air. Not a performance, or a show of any specific person. No call to attention or vie for spotlight, but a conversation between them that became increasingly interesting to follow.

They sang songs and it seemed like words. Banter between friends, or inside jokes. Stories that weren't all the way told yet. Secrets on the cusp of being spoken into the world. It was a sleep over or a camp out, telling stories in the dark and trying to scare each other. It was a safety net that if anyone crosses a line, you could stop and it would be okay. It was a breath of relief, or the first day of Summer vacation. Full of possibilities and mischief and energy and wonderment with all the stability of not having quite lost your sense of time. Youthful. Bright. Fun. But also accepting and gentle and understanding.

Of course the Warblers lost.

Y/n had been right - a group that worked as a unit far surpassed a ring leader surrounded by people to make them look better. And after the challenge, Sebastian lost even more Warblers.

He was losing the game, and he realized he had been for a long time.

Fascinating.

He swallowed his smile when Y/n met him at the car. Y/n rose an eyebrow. "What is it? You're not mad we won are you? And I swear I'm not trying to steal anymore of your Warblers-"

Sebastian shook his head. "Please. It's like you said - we've far surpassed taking things personally and lashing out."

Y/n rose an eyebrow. "So you're not going to be petty?" Sebastian was surprised to realize Y/n was being sarcastic when he asked the question.

Y/n knew him so well...

Sebastian's smile finally made it through as they got into the car. "Perhaps just a little." Y/n laughed and suddenly Sebastian didn't feel bad at all anymore.

-

"Oh I love this song!" Y/n shot to his feet, pushing homework aside for a moment to grab Sebastian's hand and force him to follow. They were dancing together before Sebastian could even complain.

He did it while they were up instead, despite the fact that he didn't sit back down even when Y/n let go of his hands. "You promised you wouldn't get distracted if we played music today. We need to study."

Y/n rolled his eyes. "We do homework all the time - my grades are better than they've been in ages. It can wait for a single song." Y/n stepped close, something mischievous in his eyes. "Or two."

Something bubbled in Sebastian's stomach, worming it's way up to his chest. Words were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't quite pull them out or place what they were so for now he let them be.

And the two danced.

The second song was slower, and Y/n tried to do a funny bit by using choreography slowed to half speed, his facial expressions even changing at a snail's pace, which did get Sebastian to laugh. But then he reached out and pulled Y/n against him, chest to chest, and grabbed his hand and waist. "Slow dance properly or skip the song," he chided.

Y/n snorted but didn't pull away. "Of course the rich boy is particular about slow dancing," he teased. "You know how to waltz I assume?"

Sebastian's eyes shone. "Would you like me to teach you?"

Y/n grinned. "Fuck yes." So Sebastian did. It was the first time they'd danced that it wasn't competitive or teasing. There was fire here too but it was quieter, calmer - familiar. Sebastian grabbed his hand, then his waist, and stepped closer. He spoke softly, giving directions and telling him when and where he was stepping and the directions he was going.

It was easy to follow him. Sebastian was excellent at leading, both with his steps and his words. At one point he spun Y/n, slowly to allow for him learning, and Y/n giggled. When they were face to face again they were both grinning.

"This is fun," Sebastian noted. He didn't speak as loudly as he usually did, keeping that soft directional tone he'd been using up to this point.

Y/n felt his face warm up. "It is. Maybe we should make this a regular thing. You can teach me everything you know."

Sebastian's smile grew a little teasing, and seeing that peek out now only made Y/n blush worse. "Je crois que je t'aime."

Y/n's eyebrows came together when Sebastian spoke in French. "No fair! I don't know French."

"If I teach you everything I know," Sebastian reasoned. "You will one day."

Y/n narrowed his eyes. "Okay," he eased slowly. "What did you say though?"

The deviousness crescendo'd as Sebastian chuckled. "I'll tell you one day." He slowed them to a stop, spinning Y/n outward and catching his wrist. He brought the back of Y/n's hands to his lips, leaving a kiss. "You're a wonderful dance partner."

Y/n raised an eyebrow. "You need to be dubbed an official Disney Prince with all this charm you're using on me."

There seemed to be something Sebastian wanted to say, but he chose not to.

A new side to him.

Instead he cleared his throat, covering up a laugh. "Let's get back to homework." Unsure of how to get him to divulge information when he was so often readily offering it and not hiding it away as he was now, Y/n was forced to let the interaction go.

For now.

-

Noteworthies killed it at competition, putting Dalton in first place for the first time since Sebastian had started coming to school here. When they were announced as first, Sebastian's eyes went wide and he couldn't stop smiling. He was in the audience, but he was quickly out of his seat and rushing backstage. When Y/n was off of that stage, he was quick to close the distance. Y/n was surprised, but laughed as they met in the middle, getting caught up in the kiss immediately.

It was the first time they'd been explicitly affectionate in public, and it was wonderful. Especially as Lyran smiled to themself, watching the two.

"Finally, am I right?" they whispered to one of the other boys who laughed, all of them heading to the changing room to leave the pair alone.

When the two boys separated from their embrace, Y/n was blushing. "What was that?" he asked.

Sebastian shrugged. "Probably... adrenaline." He chuckled, finding himself a little breathless. No one had ever made him this soft before, taken him so completely. He felt a little silly and completely ridiculous and stripped entirely of his power-

And he loved it.

-

“Hey I have a question.” Things had changed since the kiss back stage. They weren’t playing this maybe-friends-maybe-not thing, they were definitely more than friends. Things had gotten as casual as Y/n ending up in Sebastian’s bed for no other reason than better cuddling positions as they watched Netflix all day. That was their Saturday routine. They only got out of bed to make food, and then they’d play music and dance together or tease or kiss…

It was domestic.

But they’d never made anything official.

Sebastian had waited for Y/n to give him that staple look people always did when things got a little too serious. Usually that was when he’d run away, but with Y/n he was sure he’d have drifted into a relationship blissfully. No one could keep up with him and change the game like Y/n could - who could ever even keep his attention after this boy?

But Y/n had never asked. It had never come up. And once again the rules were different than Sebastian had expected. It wasn’t Y/n asking about their relationship that day. It was Sebastian. His hair was soft, dried post shower, and he had only bothered with the bare minimum necessary to be comfortable. Y/n had lost his shirt at some point, stealing one of Sebastian’s even though there were clothes just here that were Y/n’s at this point. It felt intimate in a weird way. Different than sex, but maybe on the same level as it.

Y/n looked at the boy, smiling. “Ask away.”

“Are we together?” Sebastian asked. “Like, boyfriends.”

Y/n’s face light up. “I thought you didn’t do labels, Hot Shot.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “If you don’t want to-“

Even if Y/n could throw him off, Sebastian was good at catching up. The dynamic shifted as Y/n gently caressed his cheek, leaning in to kiss him to get him to stop. “No, it’s okay. I’d love to be your boyfriend. And to have yours as mine. Please.”

Sebastian grew warm. “Okay.” There was that thing… that thing just under the surface…. But he let it go.

Not yet. He couldn’t handle two huge leaps in character in one day. Something told him that Y/n wouldn’t want him to anyway.

-

It happened, ironically, after they decided to hang out because Y/n’s parents were getting a divorce. Maybe that was actually what made it perfect timing. They were tangled together on the couch, Sebastian soothingly running his hands up and down Y/n’s back. They hadn’t spoken in a while but Y/n’s mood seemed to slowly, steadily, improving. Sebastian could feel that feeling that was growing more and more impossible to ignore. The words that were getting closer and closer to slipping between his lips. They were getting less and less scary - easier to say. Easier to accept. He knew that they would escape any second now.

“I love you.” It was Y/n who’d spoken.

Immediately Sebastian sighed. “Of course you managed it before I did.” He sounded only amused.

Y/n laughed. “To be fair, you were the one who made the relationship official. You started all of this. I think I can get one thing on you. If that’s okay.”

“No. It’s not. Take it back.” At Sebastian’s words, Y/n laughed again. Sebastian left a kiss on his boyfriend’s forehead. Lingering. Then his lips parted and-

“Don’t say it just because I did,” Y/n interrupted.

Sebastian sighed. “I wouldn’t say anything I didn’t mean. If I didn’t love you, I’d run. I always do.” He scoffed. “But… I do love you. And I can even say that foul word. You’ve completely ruined me. I’m so young how could you do this to me?”

Y/n shrugged, and his smugness was so gorgeous Sebastian had to kiss him. When they parted, Y/n whispered, “Can we be different than everyone else? Can we just… not deal with all the bullshit? And work together and communicate and not fall apart? Or even worse - stay together forever even though the relationship is cannabilizing itself. Can you promise me we’ll never stop talking?”

Sebastian hummed, sighing. “I can promise I’ll always try.”

Y/n nodded. “That’s enough.” And it was. Everything else could fall apart. Their family, their relationship with Blaine. School could end. The Warblers could get usurped. It was all temporary. And maybe this was too, but it was also worth it in a way. Especially because it was temporary. Even if all they had was this week, or if it was for the rest of their lives… they had each other. What more could one person ask for than that?

-

Story tag list: @romanthesleepylizardking @taintedmaroon @shydinosaurcandy @clawzzz

Male readers tag: @ravenpuff-oli @sortzz @fadedver

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Rough Waters ~ P.P.

A/n: Added a little bit more than what the request asked for. Hope you like it!

Request: “Tasm!peter x male reader, where Pete and reader been having a rough time in their relationship to where Peter asks if reader wants to break up” by anon

Word Count: 1700+

MASTERLIST

"Where have you been?"

Peter frozen, mask in hand as he heard his partner's voice. He turned slowly - like a teenager caught coming home past curfew. He hesitated, analyzing their expression and body language to try to grasp whether they were anxious or angry. What time was it? He was in costume - they knew exactly where he'd been, which meant the problem was something else. Had he forgotten an anniversary or birthday? A performance? Had he stayed out too late and forgotten to message his boyfriend?

There were too many possibilties.

Y/n was especially hard to read tonight, which meant he was even more upset than usual. Peter braced himself. "Out."

That was not the right thing to say. Y/n's face turned a light shade of red as he tried very hard to keep calm and talk slowly. Calmly. "Okay. I'll give you that one." His eyes dropped to Peter's suit and for a second the most visceral rage crossed his face, before he smoothed it out again and met Peter's eyes. "I'm assuming you forgot then."

Peter shrugged, defensive. Always defensive. "I've got a lot going on Y/n, I forget."

"You forget," Y/n scoffed. The words curled from his lips like they were almost laughable, almost offensive. "I know you forget Peter. You forget, a lot."

He swallowed, wringing his mask. He felt cornered and he never responded well when he felt cornered. "What did I forget? Don't just leave it up in the air."

The calm coming from Peter seemed to make Y/n angrier. "No. I'm not going to remember everything for you. And don't you dare-" He rushed as Peter went to argue again, cutting him off before he could. "-start with me about how busy you are. I know you are busy Peter Benjamin." Ooh, middle name. This was very bad then. "If it was something I at least cared about I'd let it slide. I'm more than used to that. But May?"

His words hurt, but nothing knocked the breath out of his lungs like thinking he'd let May down. "What? Y/n you can't hold this from me, what did I forget?"

Y/n scoffed, turning away and heading further into the apartment. He seemed done with the conversation.

Peter wasn't though. He chased his boyfriend, his own anger growing. This wasn't something they could work through together - May was waiting for something from him. Y/n was holding him back from doing something for his aunt. This wasn't a small thing - this was huge. May didn't know Peter was Spider-Man. Had Y/n given him an excuse again? Was she okay? "Y/n-" He reached out, grabbing his boyfriend's arm in a desperate attempt to get him to stop.

Usually Y/n would pull away from him, spin around and start going off. Reprimand him and tell him everything and then they'd argue and after a while maybe cry and then they'd hold each other because it felt like their relationship was falling through their fingers. They did it every time anything went wrong - it was habit. Easy to play out. Every step was expected. Pre-written.

Except Y/n just stopped walking away. He froze, feet together, still looking away from Peter. It was so unexpected, so cold and far away, that it made Peter panic more than he'd ever panicked in their relationship before. He was stiff solid for a beat before he was falling forward, feet tripping to keep up as he made his way around Y/n. The man's eyes were blank. Empty. There was no anger on his face anymore, just... emptiness. He look exhausted.

"Y/n-" Peter began.

"It was May's birthday."

There was a long silence. It went on maybe even too long as Peter's will to fight suddenly left him. It was immediately gone - like a light switch turned off. He had been forgetful recently, scattered and distant. But.. surely he wouldn't forget that. Not something so important. He'd always rushed to keep himself busy. Work, Spider-Man, relationship. Or... arguing. Fighting. Had that really been every part of his life recently? Sure he did other things -

But, no. He couldn't think of a single other thing he'd done. Sleep, eat, shower, brush teeth, work, Spider-Man, come home and argue. When had arguing become part of the routine? When had the days started to blend together, every single one identical to the last? How had so much time passed without him even realizing it?

How long had they been like this?

He looked at Y/n, a horrible feeling sinking in his skin, settling in his rib cage. An ache. "We're not working anymore, are we?" He knew why Y/n didn't fight this time. Why he'd given up. There was nothing to fight for. Not when all they did was argue.

Y/n didn't even sigh, or shrug. He just sat on the bed. No hands through his hair. He didn't seem angry of frustrated or even sad. Just tired. It was more of an answer than he could have ever given with words. "We haven't worked for a very long time, Peter."

Peter sat on the other side of the bed, mask still in his hands, dangling between his legs. They sat like that for a very long time, backs to each other. It seemed silly, but he had to ask it out loud. "Do you want to break up?" His voice sounded heavy, hollow. It didn't even shock him. He realized it still hurt... but he'd seen this coming for a long time. That was why he was avoiding it, after all. He didn't want to address it. He had always been one to bury his head and pretend nothing was wrong.

This time Y/n did sigh. "Yeah." No argument. No fight. Just one, single word. It was so final, Peter didn't say anything else. He didn't even look up as the weight on the bed lifted and a few sounds here and there began to be made. A zipper, drawers opening and closing, a few doors opening and closing. Until - "You were worth it. In the end. I'm glad we got the time we did." A pause and then, "Peter?" When he didn't say anything, Y/n went silent. Then the bedroom door closed, and the apartment door opened, and then closed again.

The rest of the night was silent.

-

The daycare was loud. Peter was only here because May had asked him for a favor. Her neighbor had been caught up with something and needed someone to pick up her son. The first time had been a few months ago, and he had volunteered to pick the kid up for her as often as he could since then. It helped her out and... and...

Y/n was helping Michael - the child Peter was supposed to pick up - with his jacket. Y/n had kneeled down, and was laughing at some story Michael was telling. He looked breathtaking. All the weight from his shoulders gone, seeming to have slept very well. Brighter than before. He looked up when Peter approached, and not a lick of recognition was in his eyes. Peter thought back to the other world, with the two other Peters and the villains they'd fought together. The spell that would send everyone home and make everyone forget about Peter Parker.

Everyone.

He swallowed, forcing himself to collect himself. Y/n's eyes light up in the way they always did when he was looking at something he found wonderful. Or someone attractive. They'd seen each other from a distance so often. Y/n was usually busy with one of the other kids who favored him, a little girl with green eyes that always begged him to help her get her shoes on. Today she was with one of the other teachers though. Peter tried to dismiss the thought that Y/n might have arranged this on purpose.

"Hey little dude," he greeted Michael first, grinning as the toddler waddled up to him, hands reaching up. Peter scooped him up. Michael launched into a story about play time where they'd pretended to be Spider-Man. Peter felt his heart warm. He'd only been back from the other world for a year - and undoing his tarnished reputation had been hard work. But some people saw the old Spider-Man, and they were slowly opening up to him again. Glad to see him doing better. Some people didn't - but some people never would have in the first place, so he didn't hold it against himself too harshly.

In the middle of the story, Y/n chuckled. "Right?" Michael asked the teacher, as if remembering he was there for the first time. "You got the bad guy!"

Y/n blushed. The way Michael had been telling the story, Peter had assumed the boy had been playing Spider-Man. But, in that moment, it clicked that Y/n had been playing the hero, leaving the mischievous villain to the youth. "Spider-Man always gets the bad guy. That's what heroes do." Peter's breath caught. he hadn't heard Y/n call him a hero in a very long time. His unknowing ex looked over, suddenly sheepish "Sorry, I know- um- not a lot of people approve of Spider-Man. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," Peter was quick to reassure. "His mom is a fan of Spider-Man. But even if she wasn't, I wouldn't rat you out." He winked, as if they were conspirators, and he watched Y/n's face turn red. It was so easy to pick up on all their little hints and expressions - they were still so familiar to him. He hadn't forgotten a single detail of them, even after all this time. He had gone to another world, cleaned up his act, and even started therapy.

Maybe a second chance wouldn't be too out of the question. He could do it better this time.

"A trust worthy guy," Y/n mused. "Does he keep his promises?"

Peter thought on it. Y/n had said something similar the first time he had flirted with Peter too. He'd follow it up with, 'maybe you can promise me dinner then?' or something. But it was a real question - one Peter hadn't taken seriously enough the first time it was asked. "I try to."

Y/n's face light up with a smile. "Maybe you could promise we a coffee and if you succeed keeping that one, we can make a few more after that."

It was better than last time, so quickly on a better foot already. Peter smiled. "Yeah. I'd love that."

Y/n had been right the night he'd left. Peter was glad they'd met, and their love was worth all of the mess they'd gone through to experience it. This time, Peter would try harder though. This time it would work. He was sure of it.

-

Male Readers: @ravenpuff-oli @sortzz @fadedver

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

i'd love read that Benny x werewolf bf story of yours if you make it in the future

I'm absolutely still going to write it! I did a Peter Parker story first in an attempt to get my writing mojo back (it'll be out on Friday!) but I'm hoping to get through the other requests soon as well

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Pick a WIP

Did this before and completely forgot about it just now, so I’m going to do it again and then pin it to my page so O don’t forget!

Here’s the deal. The rest of my requests aren’t especially calling to me. So while I work on Dick Grayson with a magic boyfriend, I’m going to ask y’all what request you want me to write after I finish. Once I finish that request I’ll set up another poll. See you on the other side!

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Space ~ B.A.

A/n: LOVE touching on the way Iris and Barry create their relationship by high key sabotaging every other possibility bc they feel inevitable... great shit.

Request: “Barry x male reader, reader and Barry been having issues so reader goes to stay with Kara for awhile.” By anon

Word Count: 2,000+

MASTERLIST

"So... are we going to talk about that?"

Y/n's jaw worked as he mulled over Kara's question. He couldn't expect her not to ask questions after all of that. She was a good friend, she worried. And Y/n didn't want to spend this entire trip running from his feelings. It would only make things worse.

On the other hand he really didn't want to talk about it.

But that may have been him trying to run from his feelings. Like usual. How well did that ever go?

He looked at her, taking in her barely contained curiosity and anxiety. The last time she had run into Barry and his boyfriend the two were newly in love after ages of pining and beating around the bush. They were full of relief at being able to hold hands and use pet names, and got borderline ridiculous if they ever kissed. Kara had joked they were the goal; the base line. Someone would look at her that way someday.

Now the two men were cold and distant, and when they'd gotten Kara the help she needed and Barry went to go back to his own world Y/n had asked to stay? In an entirely different universe where Barry Allen didn't even know who Y/n L/n was. Had never even heard of him. They were complete strangers in this world.

Sighing, Y/n leaned against the desk behind him and Kara tried not to grin as she realized he was about to talk about his feelings. Y/n never did such things no matter how many times she prodded and begged - but this was not a situation that called for smiling or teasing. She listened instead as Y/n began, "Barry and I have been having problems."

Kara raised an eyebrow. She was hesitant to push such a delicate string of luck but it seemed Y/n was about to stop and he really hadn't said much yet. "Problems?"

Once he started he couldn't stop. "First it was the newspaper with Iris' byline. I mean, he's been in love with her for near his entire life and everything was screaming that she would choose him back eventually. Eddie died, Patty and Linda didn't work out for several reasons - mostly because he couldn't open up to them. But that's not-" He closed his eyes, realizing he was going off on a tangent. "The point is," he began again slowly. "Barry and Iris are like, soulmates? Or something? And it started with the newspaper but then there was Earth 2, and the fact that they always know each other everywhere we go - even if vaguely. Like they're drawn to each other. Inevitable. There are worlds where I don't know Barry Allen and he doesn't know me, but they always have each other."

Slowly, Kara asked, "You're jealous of Iris?"

Y/n scoffed. "I'm not just mindlessly jealous. It wouldn't bother me so much if the name on the by line of the newspaper had changed. If it said Iris West instead, or Iris soemthing-else. But it doesn't. It still Iris West-Allen. And I feel like... a filler." His shoulders sagged and his face twisted with agony. "It doesn't help that he started to drop our plans to hang out with her. And I realized that actually he always prioritizes her. Our plans never overlap, like he's desperate not to have to choose, and then they do and he chooses her. And it's fine, she's family, but I thought I was too. I thought we'd at least be equally as important. And then Savitar comes and he goes after Iris - still. Iris and Barry weren't together, but his life falls apart if she dies. Like-" He blinked tears out of his eyes. "Like she's his whole world. Cisco can't save him, or Caitlyn."

"Or you," Kara realized, her face crumbling as it fully settled in.

The man shrugged. "Or me. And I tried bringing it up to him but he refuses to acknowledge it and scrambles to avoid the topic and I feel like he knows he's in love with her but doesn't want to admit it. I feel like I really am filler and he knows it, that his very atoms are waiting for her and it's just this unspoken inevitability. I'm only here for now and that's it and I'm not supposed to address it, I'm not supposed to see it, but I do and that really sets him on edge. Or- something does at least. I don't know! He won't talk to me!"

Immediately Kara pulled Y/n into a hug. Y/n let her, curling into her comforting warmth and knowing he could fully collapse and she would be fine. "Would it help if I helped you work through what other options there are? Discussions are hard to have if you have one out come stuck in your head, and then often turn into arguments that accomplish nothing."

Chuckling, Y/n wiped his face. "You're so smart Kara." And he meant it so genuinely she couldn't even joke that he was full of it. He seemed relieved to be able to talk about it, talk through it. She believed that truly was the case. "Please," he sighed. "Please tell me there are other options than what I think there are."

Kara hummed, tightening the hug for a split second before leaning away so they could meet eye to eye as they spoke. This was a conversation where he needed to know she was being absolutely truthful and genuine. "Well, first of all he could have the exact same fears as you. He could truly and deeply be in love with you and be scared that it'll all be for nothing. Fate and knowing your future - it';s a terrifying thought. Especially when no matter what you do, it never changes."

Y/n nodded. That was a perfectly logical option. "Anything else?"

She was ready for the question. "His life has been really difficult. He's constantly losing people, and being a superhero is extremely hard on a person. It's demanding and draining and leaves no room for even a single mistake. You're gambling with the life of every single person. Their happiness and stability. It's not a reason to treat anyone badly but I could understand if his work life and super hero life being so complicated and dangerous doesn't leave a deep desire for a normal, more straight forward life. Maybe he got it in his head that things with you were supposed to be easy and now... they're not. And he's too burnt out or anxious to address it."

Oh. Very quickly Y/n was calming down. Hearing all the other alternatives were very grounding and loosened the pit of doom in his stomach. "Anything else?"

Nodding, Kara continued. "He may not be taking your emotions seriously and either isn't realizing how your emotions are affecting you, or thinks they're some kind of accusation. He may even not understand that when you bring this up its concerning how you feel about it and not necessarily about him or anything he's doing at all. It's a pile up of things that all point your brain in one direction, and the way that makes you feel may be irrational or very rational, but either way he isn't the person who chooses Iris. And he may be one day, or he may not, but if he thinks you're accusing him of some sort of cheating when he couldn't imagine ever doing something to you?" She shrugged. "Like getting mad at someone for doing something in a dream. And it still means something to you but he isn't clocking that - all he can see is you blaming him for something he didn't do."

Y/n actually had the audacity to smile. "We would argue over me feeling insecure and it making him feel like I hate him. Or doubt him." He rolled his eyes but there was a little fondness there and Kara felt hope surge through her. Not all was lost yet. "We would end up arguing like we are over both of us just being insecure and not communicating it int he way we need to." He sighed, long and laboriously.

Kara just decided to skip to another option. "Or he's being an asshole and he does know it upsets you but he just doesn't want to acknowledge it or take it seriously."

They looked at each other for a second before slipping into soft, breathy laughter. It was weak and quiet but Kara wrote it down as a win. The idea that Barry would be so harsh and cruel truly was laughable. Maybe another Barry, another universe, but not this one.

After a second Y/n deflated again. Not as broken down but definitely exhausted. "What do I do if he won't talk to me? I can't just not know."

"Tell him that." When Y/n seemed doubtful, kara shook her head. "I'm serious. Say it even before you start the conversation. No warning, no chance to shoot you down or change the subject. Lay down the law. If you need this, you need this. It doesn't matter what he's feeling about the situation - you need to talk about this. This is a need for you; a deal breaker. If you break up you break up. He doesn't deserve you if he can't get over himself for an hour to talk to you and give you something you actively need."

Y/n melted in relief, eyes wet. "You're an amazing friend Kara."

The compliment, bursting with appreciation that could not be put into words, made Kara grin. "You deserve a good friend. Come on - we can take a few days before you have to go back."

So they did. A little less a month passed before Y/n went back. neither of them had meant for it to go on quite so long but Y/n's powers that were so often utilized by Barry were perfect for the threat Kara was facing and beating the bad guy was the last step. They had to go through so much before they could do that. It kept them. 

When he did go home, there was something different about him. He got to see more and experience more. He realized how much pressure he was putting on Barry and codependent he'd become. he seemed finally completely at peace with whatever happened - whether or not they broke up, he knew he'd make it through - but was also ready and willing to fight for it.

If only Barry would fight too.

In the end Kara had been right. Her very first guess had hit the nail on the head, and it had all come undone the second Y/n set a hard boundary. He needed this and Barry delivered. Their relationship was important enough to the speedster to put aside fear or pride and face it. They had a long talk about the whole situation and how out of control they both felt. How that scared Barry even more because he didn't want such a future. Because he wasn't allowed to be out of control like he was now or people died. Y/n clarified his feelings not being a reflection on Barry as a person and the kind of person or partner he was, and that seemed to help too. They decided at the end of it all that no matter what happened they loved each other and nothing could get in the way of that. That even if Iris and Barry did end up together, it wouldn't be the Barry that was now.

That Barry was Y/n's.

For the first time neither of them felt the need to check to see if Iris' surname had changed on the byline. It was Cisco instead who came crashing into the room, eyes wide with worry. He pulled up the article and pointed out the byline.

Iris West.

No Allen attached.

The article was the same, with a missing Barry, but the byline was different.

Barry and Y/n looked at each other, eyes opened for the first time. It was almost a slap in the face to realize that Iris and Barry ended up together in this world only if they thought they did. That the anxiety of the felt inevitable could destroy all of their relationships, and that the second they decided it didn't - it didn't.It was beautiful in a way. And suddenly they both felt that they could do so much more... 

And they did. Together.

-

Male Readers: @ravenpuff-oli @sortzz @fadedver

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Theoretically ~ P.P.

A/n: And another request!!

Request: “Male reader x Andrew Pete, After a long day of thinking about it and wondering if he and Peter were ready, reader proposes?” By anon

Word Count: 1800+

MASTERLIST

It had started slowly, but Y/n had realized after it had been going on for a while so it had felt sudden and startling.

First there had been the exact moment kisses between them had become casual. They weren't startling and didn't make him jump, heart racing. Peter would be on his way out the door and would say goodbye, leaving a kiss on Y/n's mouth very quickly before dipping. And that felt right. He'd sink into the feeling, his chest warm, but it wasn't buzzing and burning like it used to be.

Then it was the increased PDA. Peter had always been repressed and reserved, hating attention and confrontation unless he had his mask on. But they'd gotten slowly into the habit of having little to no personal space, and being generally touchy. One day, Peter didn't take Y/n's hand just "to show him something" and then drop it when someone looked over. Another day Y/n stared lovingly as long as he wanted and Peter never made a joke about it. After that, Peter lay his head on Y/n's shoulder on the subway and sighed, relaxed. When they kissed, grinning, on the side walk waiting for the light to change for them Y/n knew it was okay to do that more often.

Those were followed by the casual way Peter referred to Y/n as his boyfriend. Even spoke about "his boyfriend." Before he'd said "partner," brushing it away that he was dating someone of the same gender. He wouldn't use Y/n's name even when people knew who he was talking about. And then one day he introduced Y/n as his boyfriend - something he'd heard later from MJ.

The day it clicked was when Peter got caught up in an especially rough back and forth with Doc Oc, who had kidnapped Y/n in an attempt to hurt Peter. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and the panic afterward had been tangible, but Peter didn't implode like he so often had. He was focused on Y/n, tending to him and reassuring him he was safe. And he didn't blame himself or hate on himself or push Y/n away. It was... startling, honestly, when Peter wrapped around him instead and whispered a simple, "I'm sorry this Spider-Man stuff caught up to you."

Y/n ran his hands through his boyfriend's hair, and realized that he was home to Peter, the same way Peter was home to him. That they couldn't have denied each other even if they wanted to. Even if they'd have tried. They both knew it.

And he smiled, realizing that maybe they hadn't said it yet, but this probably meant they were in love after all. And they'd been in love for a while, so much more than a young romance. They'd be together for a very long time.

"I knew what I was getting into, Peter," he reassured softly. "I know we'll always figure it out. Together." He sighed. "Plus, now you know how I feel every day."

Peter nodded. "That's fair."  And that was it. No argument, no anger, no spiral.

The confession of love had followed soon after.

When Y/n got a succulent and Peter started calling it Jimmy, and referring to them as Jimmy's dad, something settled deeply into Y/n's chest. He wanted to do this forever. He wanted to be with Peter for the rest of his life.

That was a terrifying thought.

Peter had been getting better. A little more grounded, and much more experienced. Every day he was softer with himself. Every day he opened up more, and let Y/n help when he could. Every day he smiled more, laughed more. Every day he showed Y/n off more, being proud they were together and being loud about it too. They moved in together, and after that everything was theirs - not individually Peter's or Y/n's. Like they never had to worry about moving out or going separate ways or breaking up. Like this space was theirs and it always would be, even it it was a different space.

It was the teasing look in May's eyes as she grinned at Y/n over the cup of tea she was drinking that was the last straw. She put her cup down and in a gentle voice, began, "You want to ask me something?"

Y/n blushed. "You saw through me then."

May raised an eyebrow, her smile teasing. "In the years you've been with Peter, your worst fear as been time and again proved to be imposing on me. You only ever come by when I invite you, with Peter, or explicitly to help with something. I've never seen you ask to come over completely unprompted with nothing else in mind but spending time together." She leans back in her chair. "Not that I'm complaining."

Rubbing the back of his neck, he got sheepish. "I'm sorry May. I don't mean to be around so little."

She waves her hand back and forth, and if to scatter the words in the air. "Don't he silly. I don't take it personally. You should come over more often though." She took another sip of her drink. "But that's not what you're here to talk about."

Y/n swallows hard, interlacing his fingers so he can hold onto something as he begins. "You know Peter so well," he began. May nodded; Y/n had come to her asking advice several times now. "I was thinking... maybe..." He cleared his throat, nervous. Once he said this to May it was in stone. Was he ready? Was Peter? "Do you think Peter is the marriage type?"

May froze, eyes wide. Y/n went solid and still as stone, only breathing again when May's shock flipped to glee. "You're thinking of proposing."

Okay. This was a good sign. "I was thinking about it," Y/n said slowly. "But I don't know if Peter would... want to. Or if it's too soon. Or if there's too much going on already with the whole Spider-Man thing." He shrugged, running his hand through his hair.

May nodded again, mulling Y/n's concern over. Every day Y/n thanked god she actually considered things rather than just jumping to "I want to see my boy married" like some aunts had before. It was a relief to know he could trust what she would say next.

"Have you talked to him about it?"

And sometimes Y/n wished she wasn't quite so good at what she did.

"Well-"

May cocked an eyebrow, her expression turning into something akin to 'you know what I'm going to say.' And it was true. Y/n did. He let her say it anyway. "I can't speak for my nephew, Y/n."

"I know," he sighed. "But I don't want to go in blind or jump the gun or scare him away-"

May chuckled. "That boy has seen more than I could even imagine." She paused for a second. "Normal things do scare him more than any villain in a suit could. But he's better about it than he used to be. And if you eased him into it, or took your shot, and we're ready for some possible rejection and not take it personally, it could be fine."

And there it was. The real reason Y/n was stressed. Because sure, Peter might not be ready, but if he wasn't and he ran and Y/n was crushed it could lead to the end of their relationship. They could both react very poorly...

This would mean Y/n would have to do it somewhere privately. It would have to be very low pressure, open minded. Understanding. Gentle. And it was a little heartbreaking that was the case. Y/n wanted to be a little loud, a little dramatic. And he would have to let that go.

May reached over, taking Y/n's hand. "It also doesn't have to be now. It should be when you're ready. The moment will come, and you'll know. You should only do it then." Her gaze was so soft and patient that Y/n could only absorb what she was saying directly into his soul. "Don't try to make a perfect moment. Let one come."

That advice stayed with Y/n until the moment came. He thought it had a few times but then it wouldn't quite pan out, or something would interrupt them or they'd need to stopper what they were doing and table it for later - when they moment was gone. But one day they were laying in bed, out of breath and grinning after Peter had stolen Y/n’s favorite jacket and Y/n had tried to take it back by force. Peter was much stronger than Y/n of course, and had plenty abilities to overwhelm him, but decided to play fair and shenanigans had turned into raucous laughter that had stolen both of their breath away.

Y/n looked at Peter and something warm and sweet touch him. May’s words came back to him full force in that moment and he was stunned to realize-

This was the moment.

“Will you marry me?” Peter turned, eyes wide, and immediately Y/n panicked. “Maybe not know. We don’t have to say now. But maybe one day.” His voice got dry when suddenly Peter took him by the face, kissing him.

The kiss was king and deep and passionate. Y/n felt something wet ion his cheek and realized Peter was crying.

When it ended, Peter pressed their foreheads together. “You’ve been so patient with me. I know you have. I know I’m not… easy. But I’m yours, and that was always enough for you.” He chuckled, seeming near giddy. Y/n felt his throat close with how much hope swelled in his chest. “I would love to maybe you. We can figure exactly when and how. Is that okay? If we don’t know exactly when?”

Y/n melted, raising a hand to run over Peter’s jaw. “I would marry you anywhere, any day, in any way that we could muster. Even if no one was there. Even if no one knew.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “You cheese ball.”

“Your cheese ball.” Y/n beamed. “For the rest of our lives?” It was timid, hopeful.

Peter sighed. “For the rest of our lives.”

Neither would ask more than that.

-

Male Readers: @ravenpuff-oli @sortzz @fadedver

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

I hope y’all are appreciating my hustle because my Peter Pan (ouat) brain rot is STRONG but I’m focusing on requests for you guys 😭 I hope you’re enjoying the content!!

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Babbling ~ P.P.

A/n: Sorry for missing Monday, but here’s this <3 Another request done :)

Request: “Tasm!Peter x male reader where reader gets invited to a party and brings Peter as his plus one or whatever and Peter getting drunk and touchy and confesses and saying how he wants to be with him and spend the rest of his life with him...” by anon

Word count: 2700+

MASTERLIST

Peter Parker and Y/n had always been a story for the ages.

It hadn't been life long friends, and their meeting hadn't been all that important. They'd had a class together and as both of them engaged with the content and asked questions and did reports and read out loud, their faces became familiar with each other. Then Spider-Man had gotten caught up in a fight and his mask had come off. Y/n had been stunned to see the big brown doe eyes of the cute guy in his AP bio class.

It had been the most anti-climactic thing, truly. Y/n had discovered a sight dedicated to "fangirling over Spider-Man" except that they didn't do much discussion or giving of content. However, when Y/n went through the internet looking for pictures with Spider-Man's face, there was a startling very few available. For how many hungry reporters and shocked civilian or eager tourist was here and with how often Spider-Man lost or destroyed or just straight up took off his mask, there should be more.

When he found that there were images, they were just unavailable, he deep dove it and used his skill witch coding to figure out what happened. And what he uncovered was stunning - the website "dedicated to fangirling over Spiderman" was either a cover, or they believed that the best fans were dedicated to keeping Spider-Man's secret identity a secret. Peter Parker was New York's little secret.

It made Y/n so curious to meet the man. So of course they had to.

Asking for notes or a pencil or complimenting a sweater or giggling at his jokes that he said under his breath turned into lunches together for convenience and then studying together and then suddenly they were friends. Exchanging phone numbers and inside jokes and nicknames.

It was obvious that he was Spider-Man if you knew what you were looking for. His poor excuses and his sudden exists and late entries. Cancelled plans right when Spider-Man was needed, and all for a job that didn't even pay that well.

Peter was fairly good at hiding it. He was a disaster - a mistake waiting to happen - but he had a whole city behind him so it was okay.

It made Y/n fall in love with Spider-Man even more.

And maybe Peter Parker too.

There was something about the boy though. Something darker that he shook off when he had the mask. Something heavy that was easy to miss when you couldn't see his facial expressions. There was a distance when Y/n would jokingly flirt or be physically affectionate. He offered to take Peter to meet his folks once and Peter had seemed... to not like that. He had squirmed and wriggled, desperate to get away. When he came up with an "emergency" and Spider-Man stopped a mugger and got a kite out of tree Y/n knew that he shouldn't bring it up again.

It was obvious that Peter had lost someone, so Y/n tucked away any realizations or feelings and let them stay casual friends. Not best friends, not truly close - always at an arm's length. But friends.

Until, of course, Peter got drunk.

Peter never wanted to go anywhere or do anything. Y/n was pretty sure he was depressed. Which had driven him to try and get Peter out more, to find him hobbies and past times. Peter had come to the parties and gatherings and slam poetries and walks and clubs Y/n had dragged him to, just like tonight, with the understanding that if he needed to leave he could at any moment.

It didn't seem that moment would come tonight.

At some point Peter had put down his phone and walked away after having a few drinks, getting looser and more relaxed. He never went far from Y/n but seemed to have a hard time sitting still or staying in the same place. They paced or walked in circles and that seemed to do the trick. Y/n had noticed the other man put down his phone after checking the time and walked away again, so Y/n had snagged it for safe keeping. He would give it back tomorrow morning.

It took a lot or drinks for Peter to get proper wasted, but it happened. It seemed to be absent minded and on accident. He kept talking and walking, keeping his voice above the music in the room, and Y/n found himself trailing after in a love sick haze. Peter was gorgeous on his own, but the way his face light up and his hair got messier and messier... he was breathtaking when he went on rants, and Y/n was more than pleased to listen.

So he didn't stop Peter from drinking. And to be fair, neither did Peter.

Y/n knew they'd both made a mistake when Peter stopped walking, leaning against a table behind him and sighing. Y/n came closer to check on him and Peter reached out, fingers wrapping around Y/n's waist and face pressing into his shoulder. Y/n's body blossomed with heat and something akin to a buzzing, making him tense but giddy.

He tried to ignore that.

Peter sighed, leaning against Y/n, and the more sober of them gave a little chuckle. "You okay, Pete?"

"You're so comfy," was all Peter had to say. His voice was soft and airy, almost sleepy. But he had no problem mostly keeping himself up, nor did he seem to sway or buckle. He was just... drawn to Y/n. Like a magnet.

Y/n blushed. "Thank you."

Peter stared, for a long time, not saying anything. Y/n got nervous, shifting. The look was full of adoration and warmth. Admiration simmered at the edges, a sappy smile smearing across his face. "Did I ever mention that you look really attractive when you get all..." he tilted his head, searching for a word. "Blushy." He giggled. "Shy? No. Not just shy, but reserved too. Nervous." His face flitted briefly into a scowl, but when he went from trying yo grasp the word in his mind to admiring Y/n again, the smile came back. "I'm glad we met."

Y/n couldn't get the courage to look at him. "So am I." He cleared his throat, melting under that gaze. Under those words. "Perhaps we should get home."

Peter nodded. "I don't want to be here anymore. Let's go somewhere - just us." He took Y/n's hands, taking longer to do so as he traced Y/n's fingers and sighed blissfully at the contact. Like he was relieved after so long wanting it. Like how Y/n did when he felt the touch.

"Yeah. If that's what you really want." Y/n closed his eyes, chastising himself and forcing himself to stay focused. "Tomorrow. Tonight you need sleep." He began walking, keeping an eye on if Peter needed help walking, but he didn't. Not surprising for the same Spider-Man that could balance on a string that seemed thin as hair, or cling to any surface.

Peter whined and Y/n had to hide a smile with his free hand. "Not tomorrow," he begged, tugging on Y/n's hand. It was almost like a child begging for candy in the store, but less dramatic and much mote desperate. The thought of leaving Y/n seemed to genuinely upset him... Y/n didn't know how to feel about that. "I'll go to bed if you spend the night."

Now that was dangerous.

Y/n only hummed in thought, actually considered it. Drunk people were hard to handle and even if he didn't, he would need to lie to Peter to get him home. If the superhero genuinely didn't want to go or decided that messing around with Y/n to prolong their time together it would he near impossible to get ahold of him again...

They got all the way to Peter's door before he spoke again. "Are you staying?"

Y/n gave him a sideways look as he pushed the door open, having snagged Peter's keys from his pocket. He'd thought he's gotten away with it after such a long silence, but it seemed Peter was eternally patient even drunk. He sighed as they moved into the apartment, Peter always snatching Y/n's hand the second they were free. "Why does it matter so much to you that I stay, hm?" He pulled himself away from the drunk man again, closing the door and putting the keys away. Pulling Peter's jacket off and removing his shoes and grabbing a glass of water and Ibuprofen for tomorrow morning, setting it on the table at Peter's bed. It was only when he seemed finished, about to head out again, that Peter caught him.

Holding one of Y/n's hands in each of his, looking deep into his eyes, Peter didn't just seem genuine, he seemed raw. Exposed. "Y/n. I've been punishing myself for so long... always alone. For so long." He closed his eyes, pressing their foreheads together. "It's suffocating me, the loneliness. And you make it easier to breathe. So... stay. If you want." He swallowed before adding a breathless, "Please."

Y/n's heart was ramming in his chest. "If you need a friend tonight, I can of course stay." He added friend on purpose this time - to remind himself.

That seemed to upset Peter though. "Don't call yourself that. Please, please don't-" he closed his eyes tightly. "I know we're friends. And I'm goad we're friends. But don't remind me we're friends when I want to kiss you so badly. Please."

Y/n's breath caught. "Pete-" He stopped himself. "You're drunk. You don't know what you're saying."

Peter chuckled, shaking his head. "Drunk words are sober thoughts. That's a popular saying for a reason."

Oh god.

"You- I-" Y/n's face was burning and he was running out of reasons to go. Ways to deny it. Peter was Spider-Man. There's so much Y/n still wasn't supposed to know. They'd been friends for a while now, and they were just getting close. There was still that gap though. That space that Peter kept.

Now he was throwing all of it away.

Peter didn't wait for Y/n to form thoughts. He let go of Y/n's hands, reaching up for his face instead. Peter's face trailed Y/n's jaw. "Can I kiss you? I... I've wanted to kiss you for so long. If you felt the same way. The way your heart is racing, I thought you might."

Y/n's eyes widen. Of course he can hear heartbeats. The world wouldn't be as unfair as it was if he couldn't.

But also, how could be lie now? When Peter knew he was? And maybe it was selfish, and he'd get his heart broken in the morning, but Peter was begging and god if Y/n wasn't just as eager.

"Okay."

There was no hesitation after that. Y/n had expected raging fire, or fireworks, but there was none of that. It was relief, cool to the touch like a breeze on a sweltering day, or a breath after drowning. It was laying in bed after a long, exhausting day or drinking something warm and sitting by the fire after a day of ice and snow.

Y/n did more than just stay over. It happened so fast, each kiss getting more and more desperate until their hands were wandering and they were falling back onto the bed and Peter didn't stutter a single second. He didn't stumble or hesitate. He had seemed to drink so much but all his words came easily, any slur he'd had before completely gone. He seemed sober.

Y/n was an idiot.

He tried to leave, but Peter had gripped onto his arm and begged him to stay. So Y/n woke up next to him in the morning, slipping out of bed and wandering into the living room.

Okay so that had just happened.

He felt like a villain. He felt like a moron. Peter had been drunk. FUCK he was a horrible person.

Out of part guilt and part anxiety, Y/n tidied the living room and kitchen before beginning to make breakfast. He couldn't in good will just leave Peter alone that morning, but he also couldn't stay in that bed. See Peter panic when he woke up and realized what had happened.

Would he panic? Would he be angry?

He would be justified to feel angry.

Y/n jumped when a set of arms wrapped around his waist from behind, a face burying into his shoulder. "Smells good," came Peter's muffled voice.

Y/n wordlessly finished the food, plating it and turning off the stove before turning to Peter. The brunette seemed weirdly unphased, taking each thing and making two plates, then wandering into the living room to set them down on the clean table, plopping onto the couch. He smiled. "And you clean? I'm spoiled."

Y/n crossed his arms over his chest, a little confused and a little annoyed. "Peter. We need to talk about last night."

The smile faded off of his face and it happened so easily that Y/n was stunned to realize it had been more fake than he'd realized. "I'm sorry."

That came as a shock too. "You're sorry? You? Peter, I'm sorry."

Peter looked up at that, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "I'm the one who was pushing you into-" He looked away. "You obviously regret it, and it was stupid, and I'm sorry I just-"

Y/n scoffed. "Peter, you were drunk. You were more honest than you usually are. That isn't a bad thing. But you were drunk, and I wasn't, and I completely took advantage of you and-"

Peter tilted his head. "I wasn't drunk."

Y/n froze. "What?"

Peter blushed. "Well- I was drunk at first." He looked away, fiddling with a couch pillow. "But by the time we got here I was pretty much sober. I have some what of a healing factor, so-"

Y/n's eyes widened. "You have a what?"

Peter looked back, his expression dripping with amusement. "Y/n, I'm not good at keeping secrets, and you're not good at it either. My mask is hanging up on the hook by the door and you hung up my keys next to it and didn't even blink."

Y/n's head whipped around and - sure enough - there was the mask.

Damnit.

He looked back sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I... just..."

Peter laughed, standing from the couch. "It's okay. I... appreciate it, honestly. Most people demand explanations or details or ask an overwhelming questions. When I realize you knew?" He shook his head. "How long have you known?"

Y/n pursed his lip, shrugging. A... while."

Peter snorted. "Since the beginning then."

Y/n winced. "Not the very beginning."

Peter laughed again, this time closing the distance between them. "I don't know what you were beating yourself up for but I hope you realize that you don't have to. I was drunk, and that made me much more affectionate than I usually am... but, it was the affection itself that drove me insane.  It was likeI'd been starving." He shrugged. "I probably was. But kissing you..." He smiled sweetly.

Y/n blushed. It was quiet for a moment before he asked, “So you’re glad last night happened?”

Peter grinned. “Yes. I am.” He shuffled, as if he wanted to ask something but felt too silly to do so.

“I’m glad it happened too,” Y/n eased. Peter melted in relief, his expression blooming with adoration - so close to the way he had looked at Y/n last night. Y/n took his hand, tracing the bones and veins. “Do you… want to be my boyfriend?” He cringed - it felt so silly to ask. Like he was in middle school all over again.

A chuckle came from Peter, but his answer didn’t follow in the form of words. Instead he reached over, catching Y/n’s chin and leaning into a kiss. They sighed blissfully at the same time, and Y/n divided that was answer enough.

-

Male Readers: @ravenpuff-oli @sortzz @fadedver

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Fanfic Request Etiquette

Hello everyone! I’m going to make a slightly uncharacteristic post about a complaint I’ve heard among writers. I want to start off by saying if you do anything I suggest against in this post, I don’t think you’re a bad person or necessarily wrong. These are just complaints I’ve heard or shared that I want you to see from the perspective of other writers.

Have you read any request rules/guidelines?

There is no excuse for not reading these—they are usually linked or noted in a bio, pinned post, or ask box.

On a similar note, you should avoid requesting NSFW or other triggering material unless the author has voiced a desire to write that (explicitly stating they will accept smut, or implicitly through prior works). Even then, some authors only make exceptions for personal ideas or requests from close friends.

Have you read through the writer’s Masterlist?

I understand some of us myself included have way too many damn fics. But each of those fics, I promise, we put our heart and soul into. When I get duplicative requests, it can be kind of disheartening, because it tells me that you haven’t read the work I’ve already put out.

Also, it’s just less likely we’ll accept/prioritize a fic if we feel we’ve already written it. Which leads me to my next point…

Writer Tip: Include a brief description of your pieces so people can easily see if one might match their request.

Have you included an idea for a plot?

This isn’t always required. Some writers love the freedom of a super vague request, but some writers don’t know what to do with that. Especially if you’re an anon and we can’t run ideas by you. We want to make you happy! Which reminds me…

Don’t send us multiple messages asking when it’s coming/why we haven’t written it yet/spamming us with the same request.

I’m sad this needs to be said, but it does. Most of us will queue a request in a number of ways if we’ve accepted it. I usually post mine on my Masterlist. I personally would prefer a DM asking if there is ambiguity. Remaining on anon and sending multiple messages is a great way to make us feel unappreciated and pressured.

This is especially true when a person has a long waiting list for requests.

We can’t turn on our writing bug and inspiration at will (how fuckin’ cool would that be?) and if we force ourselves to write, you probably won’t like what comes out. Be patient and understanding; we are doing this for fun, not as a job.

If you really want us to feel inspired, try sending us ideas or commenting on our previous works about what you liked. I promise, flattery will get you everywhere! We are all people with lives outside of writing fic.

Also, this should go without saying: If someone says no to your idea, ask someone else. Don’t pester them about it. That’s messed up. It takes a lot of energy to write an idea; there are loads of reasons why we might not want to.

Have you sent this request to someone else?

This doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t ever send a request to two people. But if you do, keep in mind many of us talk to each other and will recognize a duplicate request. If you choose to send it to multiple people, please consider doing a few things:

(a) TELL US. Tell each author you are writing to that you are requesting this from multiple people. Some people might do it anyway.

We don’t want to compete with each other. I would hate to put out a piece and then find out another author was writing the same one, and we end up in this weird competition for whose is “better.” Don’t pit us against each other, please.

(b) Change it up. Alter the plot or characters so if we both do write it, they aren’t the same story.

© Message the first writer before you request from a second author. I promise you we do not bite. If you message me (OFF anon) and ask where on my queue/how far along a story is, I will tell you. This might get you a finished fic faster (from the original writer or someone else) and will take the stress off overburdened authors.

When requesting a spin off or extension, did you read the Author’s Notes?

I’ve said in multiple posts and pieces now that I don’t accept requests for Part 2s, but continue to get requests for them. Please read author’s notes! I’m not just talking to myself.

So that’s it. Basically, please be nice and considerate with the writer’s on this site. We all want to have fun. We love you all for supporting us! Thank you for everyone who has ever sent a request, a comment, a reblog, or a like! You make my day and I’m so privileged to get to hear back from you.

Stay safe & happy 🥰

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Hold Still ~ X.T.

A/n: Gender neutral pronouns were used, so gn reader for this one! Pure fluff after the last angsty fic <3

Request: “Xavier x werewolf!reader where R gets into a fight with another student that Xavier pulls them out of and helps patch them up. R is still drunk on adrenaline(or like mildly concussed lmao), and they keep being annoying trying to steal kisses from him while he’s literally trying to help stop their face from bleeding.”

Word Count: 1500+

MASTERLIST

Xavier had gotten there too late to see how it had started, but it was quickly quite clear how it was ending. Y/n wasn’t shifted at all, only their eyes glowing as they went to town on the person underneath them. Xavier had only managed to slip through the crowd and hook his hands under his partner’s arms, hefting them up and away. They had fought, and though Xavier was taller they were stronger and they almost got away. If him not groaning as their foot came in contact with the sude of his leg and them recognizing his voice, they probably would have gotten away clean.

Distracted by Xavier though, their focus changed quickly as they turned from the guy that Xavier didn’t even recognize - except that they weren’t from Nevermore. Which made no sense because they were at school. The town people never came here on their own.

He focused on his partner as their hands ran over his shoulders and down his arms, eyes scanning for injury.

Despite himself, Xavier smiled. “I’m okay.” Of course they had the time and energy to be worried about him when they had a forming black eye, split lip and bloody nose.

Xavier was a little proud to say the other guy looked worse though. Y/n had handled him well.

Not that he should he encouraging that.

Weems was on the scene in the next breath, leaving no room for further discussion. Her eyes ran over something before her worry turned cold and hard as her eyes landed on the boy still on the ground. No one had even tried to help him up, which confused Xavier even more.

Then he saw it.

When Xavier’s art in town had been painted over last year, Weems had given him permission to do something at the school. He had put all of the effort he had into this one, absolutely sure that it would be safe inside the school at the very least.

The wall he’d had his second painting was white, the paint only on enough to cover what he had worked so hard on, underneath. Over the white was splattered, “Monster” in big blocky red letters. At the bottom of the scene on the wall was an open and prepped bear trap.

Xavier felt himself go pale.

The trap was a message of course, the boy probably hadn’t meant to actually catch Xavier or anyone else. But it would have been easy not to see it if you were lost in a book or practicing some practical magic or in regular school stuff - even if you were in a hurry on the way to class. There was a corner that someone could turn around and completely not see the trap at all.

This kid had not only ruined Xavier’s portrait, he had put every single person at Nevermore in very real danger.

No wonder Y/n had gone for the throat.

Weems leered at the boy at her full height and the boy on the ground shrunk into himself. “You won’t press charges, or spread word on what happened here. If you try to I will expose the instigating actions and very illegal trespassing and assault you’ve done. Don’t even get me started on the physical safety threat you’ve made.” It wasn’t totally accurate, but it would he only too easy to play off if anyone tried anything.

Weems had grown a backbone. That was nice to see.

The boy nodded and, once dismissed by Weems, scrambled to freedom. She then turned to Y/n. She didn’t reprimand them as expected. Her gaze simply softened and she sighed. “I know things have gotten difficult for you since getting arrested,” she said softly to Xavier. His eyes fell to the ground, unable to look at his ruined painting.

For the second time now.

“Make me something for my office instead okay?” She asked.

Xavier nodded, looking at her as she kneeled down to check on how Y/n was doing. “Thanks, Weems.”

The woman smiled. “Of course. Now go get your partner patched up.”

Xavier smiled softly, helping Y/n to their feet. The pair left to Xavier’s dorm. Usually they’d be sneakier or at least get some light hearted joking teasing from teachers or reminders of curfew, but today they just walked and everyone left them alone.

Y/n had stepped up for Nevermore ajd taken hits for it. They could have this one.

Once inside, Xavier sat them down on his bed (It smelled like him and he knew they’d like that). Then he got a wet rag, disinfectant and a few bandages. He sat next to Y/n, reaching over to hold their chin as he used the rag to softly dab and wipe the blood away, cleaning the cut.

They hissed, leaning away on instinct. Xavier shot them a half amused look. “We love a knight in shining armor but now I have to patch you up like the good boyfriend I am. So please stay still.”

Y/n did a little pout. “Can’t you just kiss it better?”

Xavier chuckled. Then he sobered a bit as he realized their eyes were dilated and their gaze seemed a little unfocused.

Shit.

“Hey, are you feeling anything abnormal other than the pain from the bruising and cuts?” He asked, trying to move their chin so their eyes would meet his. They seemed to struggling with the task.

Y/n just shrugged. “My head hurts a little. He got like, two good hits in. But only in the beginning. I landed on the ground before he got on top of me and then I sort of flipped us over and-“ They shrugged again.

Xavier frowned. “Did you hit your head?”

Y/n laughed at that. “Several times. Between his fist and the concrete I got a few good whacks.”

Xavier bit back an angry comment. That wouldn’t help them right now. He would chide Y/n for being reckless and apathetic with their well being another time. “Y/n, you have a concussion.” He raised an accusing eyebrow.

Y/n grinned. “Not surprised I got a bit roughed up falling for you.”

Xavier snorted, rolling his eyes and dodging his partner as they went in for a kiss. “You cannot flirt your way out of this. You should have told me that you hit your head. I could have made it worse.”

Y/n sighed, leaning against the end of the bed, first pushing a pillow behind him so the post didn’t dig into his back. “I’m sorry Xav I just. Tired.” They nestled into the bed and closed their eyes, as if to sleep.

Xavier pulled them into a sitting position, heart swelling when they whined. They were so adorable right now…

He had go focus.

“You can’t fall asleep when you have s concussion darling we don’t know exactly how bad your concussion is.”

Y/n rolled his eyes but conceded. “Fine. Continue your treatment Doctor Thorpe.”

A smile ghosted at his lips again, unable to help himself. “Okay sit still and I’ll try to get the rest of your face.”

“Not my face,” Y/n groaned. “My money winner!”

A chuckle bubbled from Xavier as he was caught off guard by the near drunk way Y/n was acting right now. He seemed to be able to focus more easily now and wasn’t slurring his words, and he seemed to be keeping his balancing sitting up fine enough so Xavier was unworried enough to be able to enjoy the shenanigans. “Whatever, Y/n.” He reached the rag forward to wipe more of the blood away. Y/n ducked the rag and leaned in again for a kiss. This time they got a peck before Xavier ducked out of the way. “Y/n,” he chided.

The put on their best pleading face. “One kiss and I’ll sit still?”

Xavier sighed, taking a second before conceding. “Fine.” They made a squeaky noise of celebration before puckering up, leaning in. Xavier chuckled before shifting his hold from their chin to their jaw, leaning in for a long and deep and sincere kiss. When he leaned away they whined and he found himself suddenly sickly in love. “Please let me finish?”

Y/n hesitated, eyes locked on the details of Xavier’s face, drinking in how he was looking at them right now. They pursed their lips. “Xav. You know you’re not a monster, right?”

Xavier felt something warm settle in his chest. Y/n was always so aware and caring of him, even when they were concussed.

God he was lucky. “I know.” His thumb brushed across their cheek, expression soft. He was melted to the floor in love with them.

They smiled. “Good.” They settled into a single spot, lifting their chin and offering their face for cleaning. Xavier went back to work, thanking whoever was listening above that even though people were cruel and mistakes haunted you even when the mistakes weren’t yours - that despite all the bad in the world, Xavier had Y/n. Someone so good they single handedly balanced everything else.

He could paint another picture. They were worth that.