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imagineabuttercream · 1 year

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Oli White's Secret

Everyone on tumblr knows that certain celebrities make anonymous tumblr accounts for personal use and to occasionally stalk their fans...and if you didn't know that already, you were about to find out.

You - Could my customers be any ruder?!?

You had finally finished your shift and gotten home from work and tumblr messaged the one person you were always looking forward to talking to. Working as a Barista in a coffee shop should be a job where you get to make people's days better, but you usually just ended up getting yelled at by uncaffeinated grumpy people.

Them (Oli) - Aww, I wish I was there to make your day better.

You - Don't worry, you always make my day better. Even though we live like 8 time zones apart.

Them (Oli) - Glad to hear it. I'd ask you about your day, but I'm assuming that wouldn't help your mood, lol.

You - Haha, you'd be correct. Though, it is Monday so I get to YouTube binge for a bit. I think Jack's new video has Oli and James in it and Oli has a video with Jack and Conor in it!! Double Oli videos today!

Them (Oli) -Go ahead, attend to your fangirling. I'm going to hop in the shower. I should be back by the time you're finished stalking British youtubers.

You - I feel so attacked. It's not like I'm you and actually live in the same city as them! Haha, I have to get my fix from afar!

Them (Oli) -Don't worry. I'm not judging your for your addiction. Enjoy your videos.

Oli didn't start his personal tumblr to stalk fans. The opposite, actually. He liked having a personal page where he followed blogs about writing and blogs about his favorite movies and bands. He wanted a space where he could be himself without actually being himself. He had found your tumblr because you often answered anon's asking for advice. It was more than half of what you posted. Oli had read through over 200 of the asks/replies on your page and had kind of instantly fallen in love with you. You were kind and smart and encouraging and so he messaged you telling you that he loved your page. You guys actually hit it off and now you talk almost every day.

You - I know I say this every time they're in a video together, but Oli and James have the cutest relationship. You - Like, he's going to make a great dad. You - I just know it. You - OMG hurry up! I'm out of videos!

Them (Oli)- You're obsessed.

You - Finally! You - And no I'm not! Youtube is my escape from my normal boring life.

Them (Oli) - I'm pretty sure you're obsessed.Them (Oli) - Plus, you aren't boring. Talking to you is the highlight of my day.

You - Actually, you are too. You - I'm so used to having people come to me for advice that I didn't really have anyone to go to before I met you.

Them (Oli) - Well I'm honored. I can only hope that my advice is half as good as yours.

Like most nights, you talked for about an hour. It was getting quite late in London, but Oli usually stayed up to talk. It had been almost a year since you guys became such close friends, but it had been almost 4 months since you had told him about your obsession with British youtuber Oli White and he had figured out that he now had a huge secret.

Them (Oli) - I think I'm going to fall asleep soon, love. I have to get up early tomorrow.

You - Of course, sorry I kept you up so late. You - OMG I almost forgot! I won tickets to Summer in The City and I think I have enough miles built up to buy a flight! You - Are you going??

Oli sat on his bed completely speechless. What was he going to do? He would have to lie and say he couldn't go or fess up and tell you that he was, in fact, the person you were hoping to meet.

Them (Oli) - I'm pretty sure I'm going.

You - You mean we might actually get to meet!?

Deciding he couldn't lie, he vowed to find a way to tell you soon.

Them (Oli) - Yes! I can't wait, actually. I hope I don't disappoint you. It's always weird meeting people you've never actually seen in person.

You - There's no way I'll be disappointed. I can't wait. Now get some sleep, buddy. <3 Talk to you tomorrow!

Them (Oli) - <3 Later, love.

It was worth the money, even if your miles didn't cover your plane ticket. You decided to book your flight and hotel room tonight. Confirming that both were good to go, you clicked back over to tumblr.

*Tumblr post* SUMMER IN THE CITY

Hey people, Y/n here! I have good news! *insert drum roll* I won tickets to Summer in The City! I cannot wait to visit London and meet a few youtubers. I know a few of you guys are going too, so make sure to message me so we can meet up! In case you guys are going to be there and want to find me, I'm adding a picture to the bottom of this post :) Don't judge me for my lack of make-up, I got home from work and got as comfy as possible. *post end*

Oli woke up the next morning and like most people, immediately checked social media. Nothing caught his attention until he opened tumblr and saw that you had actually posted a picture of yourself. Something you had never done before. And he couldn't believe the completely anonymous person he had fallen in love with was so beautiful. He was both excited and terrified at the same time. How was he going to tell you who he actually was?

He decided to send you an anonymous ask, asking for advice. You were who he went to for advice, so why not?

He waited all day for your response, checking his phone whenever he could get a second.

Anon : Hello, lovely. I am in a bit of a predicament. I am in love. I know the person I love at least likes me because she's told me that she does. I know, I know...what a problem to have. Here's the thing...She doesn't know I'm actually me. We met online, but I'm afraid that if she finds out that I've hidden this from her...Well I'm afraid she'll be mad and that she won't forgive me. I don't know what to do. Being able to actually be with her is worth the risk that she'll be mad, but thinking about losing her friendship because I messed up is killing me. This probably didn't make any sense. Hope you can help.

You had read this over and over. Words of encouragement usually came to you with no effort, but this one had you stuck.

You : Dear anon, This one is quite a doozy, isnt it?I always respond from the heart, so this will be no different. If I were you, I would prepare for them to be upset. Trust is a big deal and I think it would be totally understandable for them to be upset. On the other hand, if you already know they like you, then take the risk. Love is worth the risk. I'm sorry I haven't been much help. I wish you all the best. <3

Oli sat there reading your response over and over again. He was out to lunch with Joe and it was obvious he was distracted.

"Mate, what has you so upset?" Joe asked, concerned for his friend.

"It's nothing. " Oli replied, putting his phone down. "Gotta love girl problems."

"Oi, you've got girl problems? Share, buddy." Joe teased Oli.

Oli hesitated. "No, it's fine." He tried to act normal hoping Joe would stop asking, but when he looked up he was met with Joe's stare and raised eyebrows. "Fine. Dammit. I've been talking to a girl online but she doesn't know she's talking to me. We've been friends on tumblr for a year and I know that she likes Oli, she just doesnt know Oli is me. I'm pathetic and I messed up and now she's coming to SITC and she wants to meet me, but she also wants to meet Oli and I don't know what to do. I'm going to lose a great friend and miss out on love all in one fell swoop." Oli let his head fall.

"Damn." was all Joe said.

"Really? That's all you have to offer?" Oli asked, annoyed. "I bloody spill my guts and I get a 'damn.'"

"Hold on, you Randy. I'm just taking it all in. Don't lose your trousers." Joe reassured Oli. "What do you plan on doing?"

"I have to tell her. I just don't know if I do it online or when she's here." He replied.

"Mate, if you spring this on her when she's here she's going to flip. You have to tell her Asap. Give her time to process." Joe urged.

"I know, I know. I'll catch you later, buddy. I've got to try to fix this." Oli started walking back to his flat.

He sat there for over an hour trying to perfect his message.

Them (Oli) - I'm going to start this message with the words I love you and I'm sorry. I feel like I've broken your trust and I will do anything to make it right. My name is Oli White, I have a little brother named James, I have a few youtube channels, and I started this tumblr account to get away from being Oli White. I met you here on tumblr and I couldn't have been happier. It wasn't until a few months ago that I even knew you knew who Oli White was. I should have fessed up right then and there, but I was afraid I'd lose you as a friend and I didn't want to risk it. I don't even know how to start making this up to you. I want you to come to Summer in The City and I want to meet you because you've become one of my best friends and I'm pretty sure I've fallen completely in love with you. Please, please believe that I never meant to deceive you. I really hope you still come.

You sat staring at your computer screen, not knowing what to believe. If your friend was pranking you and actually thought this was funny, they weren't who you thought they were. If this really was Oli White and he let you fangirl to him about himself, you didn't know if you could ever face him. You didn't know if you were more angry or embarrassed.

You were leaving for SITC in two days and decided not to reply to the message at all. He knew what you looked like and he knew your name. If Oli or whoever you had become friends with wanted to talk to you, they could do it in person.

Oli was over at Joe's house helping him prepare for SITC and Joe could tell that he was still moping around. "Mate, she still hasn't replied?" He asked in a sympathetic voice.

"Nope. Not a single message. The only posts on her page are her responses to anons. She even deleted the one I sent. I really hope she's still coming. I have to be able to make it up to her." Oli replied.

"If she doesn't show up at your meet and greet, you should maybe plan a little speech or something for your panel. I've read some of the messages. She's either embarrassed or she doesn't believe you." Joe said.

"Yeah, I guess. I just wish I had told her right away." Oli sounded defeated.

You had stayed off of tumblr, for the most part, but you had noticed that Oli had tweeted multiple tweets sounding bummed out.*Why does your heart make you do stupid things?**Hey guys, no new video today. I'll make sure to post something soon.**Does anyone really want me to vlog SITC?* He just sounded very....not Oli. You wondered if it really was him that you had been talking to. Were you the reason Oli was in a funk?

Having just checked into your hotel, you pulled up your tumblr posting an update to your followers.

*TUMBLR POST* I'M HERE!

Hey guys, I MADE IT!!!

I'm heading straight out to mingle with everyone, so if anyone wants to meet up I'll be wearing the below outfit. Don't be shy! I can't wait to make friends. *END POST*

Oli saw your post and cheered, scaring everyone in the room with him. "YES! SHE CAME!"

"That's what she said." Jack joked, giving Oli a weird look.

"Wait, her? Like, HER her?" Joe asked.

"Indeed. Maybe I can win her back. " Oli replied, smiling for the first time in a few days.

You didn't go to Oli White's meet and greet. You couldn't get over being embarrassed every time you thought about everything you had messaged your online friend. You decided you could still hide in the audience for his panel, though.

"Everybody welcome Oli White to the stage!" the host announced.

"Hey guys! It's nice to see you all." Oli grabbed a mic and spoke, sitting down on the couch on stage.

"And we're glad to see you, Oli. How are you?" The host kept the interview going, occasionally bringing other youtubers on stage for games and challenges.

His interview was coming to an end and you felt really dumb. Oli seemed fine. Whoever you had been talking to online must have pranked you. It obviously wasn't Oli. You were even more upset that you had skipped his meet and greet.

"Anything else you want to add before we say goodbye?" The host asked Oli.

Oli's whole demeanor changed. He all of a sudden looked very nervous. He cleared his throat and spoke. "Actually, yes. I, umm. I have a confession."

"Oooh, spill." the host encouraged.

Oli stood and adjusted his clothes nervously. "Last year I met a wonderful person online. They were smart and witty and funny and kind and, um...Oh, god. I'm shaking. They basically became one of my best friends. I never told them who I was until about a week ago and I know that she's upset that I kind of lied. I didn't mean to be dishonest, I just didn't know how to tell her. I know that she's here this weekend and I hope that she's here in this room. Y/n, are you here?" the audience audibly gasped and started looking around for someone to stand up or reply.

You were shocked. You couldn't process what was happening. With eyes wide and your hand over your mouth, you slowly rose to your feet. Everyone's eyes were on you, when you heard the host speak.

"Is that your girl?" The host asked Oli.

Oli had a huge grin on his face. "That's her. Can you come up here?" Oli asked. "Please?"

Dropping your bag in your seat, you made your way to the stage. Oli speaking as you walked.

"This beautiful girl has let me vent and complain and obsess and never once did she make me feel bad about it. She always encouraged me and was patient with me." You finally reached the stage and he grabbed your hand and faced you. "She is perfect and I pray to God she forgives me." Oli put the mic back in the mic stand so you two could speak without the audience hearing you.

"Please tell me I can make it up to you?" Oli begged.

"You silly boy. Why didn't you just tell me it was you?" you had tears trying to escape your eyes, but you also had a big smile on your face.

"I don't know, love. I was scared and I messed up. Do I get another chance?" he asked, wiping away a few tears that had made their way down your cheek.

"I think I could give you another chance." you laughed, remembering you were on stage in front of a few thousand people.

"Don't pay them any mind, love. One more question?" Oli asked, looking straight into your eyes.

"Only one, and then we can stop being awkward in front of strangers." you teased. "Can I kiss you?" he placed his hand on your cheek, his cheeks turning bright red.

"I think that would be okay." you replied.

The whole audience stayed silent, gasping as Oli leaned in and captured your lips. That is, until Joe Sugg and the boys cheered from the back of the room "Yeah, Oli! Woooo!" and then the entire room joined in cheering.

"I've never had a panel end quite like that." The host added, joining in on the cheering.

You and Oli made your way back stage. "I'm so glad you showed up." Oli told you.

"Me too." you replied, leaning up to kiss Oli again.

You couldn't wait to log back into your tumblr and tell the story of your SITC adventure.

#oli white x reader #oli white fic #oli white imagine #oli white #the buttercream gang

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zero-insignificance · 27 days

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DND Recap: Where do we go from here?

Cast includes Rose the DM, Alfie (yours truly), Truk, Rayna, and Patrick

We open up in Truk's dream where he is talking to Brick about going back to his home country. Truk is scared knowing that there are people there that would be out to kill him or take him back there by force. Brick tells him to place his trust in his party.

Truk wakes up in the hotel with a headache. "No matter how many times that happens I'm still not used to it."

Then in the hallways he hears a zoom go past.

"What the fuck?" Five minutes pass and he hears another zoom.

He hesitantly gets up and opens the door and waits silently.

He sees a blur of white and black feathers with a red streak zoom past him. Alfie has the zoomies.

Rayna leaves a net out in one of the halls to catch him. Alfie runs past and phases through the net.

The ringing of a loud grandfather clock echos through the hotel. Breakfast is ready. As Truk goes to the lobby he sees Alfie hanging from the chandelier by his tail and he is vibrating. Truk: HOW MUCH CAFFIENE DID YOU DRINK? Me: None. Alfie is uncaffeinated. This is pure adhd chaos. Alastor: Hello, my fine feathered friend! Would you like to come down from there? We have the finest coffee in hell. Rayna: *goes to shoot a tranquilizer dart at Alfie only to see that Alfie has vanished* Alfie is now in the kitchen.

Lucifer has a giant stack of waffles. Patrick has an even bigger stack of waffles and engulfs it along with butter and syrup.

Alfie walks out of the kitchen with two coffees and is drinking one of them. He is visibly calmer now and hands one of them to Truk who has a plate full of venison. Truk downs it. "Do you think it's safe to eat this?" Alfie shrugs "Probably."

Truk eats the raw venison and is perfectly fine.

At some point the party is talking about how most of us have claws or talons and Bob shows up and says that he doesn't have talons.

Alfie asks Bob if he wants to talk to his mother, He hesitantly says yes. So, Alfie asks if he wants him to come with and he says no. "Facing my mother is something I have to do alone." And he walks off. "Make sure you take it easy. No strenuous exercise. And remember you don't have to forgive her for anything."

And Bob goes off to find his mother somewhere in hell.

Truk then calls for the party's attention. Alfie is currently eating a waffle Gollum style, but he is paying attention.

Truk tells us about how he must go to Russia and the party says that they are by his side. Alfie has a bit of unfinished business in Hell. Plus, we need to stop at Carmilla Carmine's place for some angelic weaponry.

Alfie's paternal grandparents are in Hell because they were child abusers. Alfie finishes his breakfast and asks the party a simple question. "Who wants to beat the shit out of some child abusers?

Truk perks up and is already on his way to the door. Angel Dust pulls out his tommy guns. Vaggie readies her angelic spear.

Charlie: No nonono. no violence this is not a part of the healing journey. Alfie: I beg to differ. It can be very... Cathartic. Especially when it's deserved. The party leaves with Angel Dust and Vaggie in tow. Alfie hands out photos of what his paternal grandparents look like.

Truk rolls for perception and doesn't find Alfie's grandparents but Hitler. Brick had given Truk stories of what he did and Truk is about to beat his ass. Hitler is paralyzed in fear and Patrick doesn't know who he is and Truk lists off the horrors that man has committed. Alfie looks at Hitler and gets a read on what kind of man he is.

Rayna gets a 36 and spots Alfie's grandparents and shoots both of them in the legs so they can't run while we add to Hitler's punishment.

Hitler's skull is caved in by Truk's great club. We watch as his body regenerates. Truk: who wants the go next. Alfie: I could use a warmup. I'll go next. Alfie summons every single one of his weapons including ones the party didn't know he had. Alfie has a shot gun. When he is done with him there is just a puddle of blood and viscera. Patrick drags Hitler off to a different room when he regenerates.

And so, Alfie stalks towards his grandparents. "Hello. I have a score to settle on behalf of someone else." They recognize him. "Hello Alfonse." "You have a lot of nerve saying my name like that. You know what you did. I know what you did. I think it's time for you to be the victims."

"What are you talking about?" "Did you honestly think that just because I'm autistic that makes me an idiot?" "Yes."

"Oh, I'm soooo scared-" but before his grandmother, Sarrac can even finish, she is cut off as Truk's great club crushes her with an audible crunch.

Alfie smiles and stands over his grandmother as she reforms.

"You have no idea who or what I am. What exactly the union of Cora and Hurruk has made."

"Who?" "Don't tell me you've forgotten your children's names? I'm talking about your eldest son, Hurruk and his wife Cora Blackstreak." "Our son married a freak?" "You have no idea. Would you like to know why you should be afraid?"

Alfie doesn't even let her respond and Truk drags Alfie's grandfather, Kirierrk away.

Alfie reaches into his grandmother's mind and shows her his true form. This causes her to have a seizure. As she convulses on the ground, he turns to Kirierrk. "Do you want what she's having?" His grandfather looks terrified as he shakes his head no. Truk drags him off and pulls him up to look him in the eyes.

"Do you regret what you did?" He gets no response, and he throws him to the ground. "You are worse than the dirt on my boot."

Truk slowly pushes the tip of his great sword into Alfie's Grandfather's chest. He is then lifted into the air and swung towards Rayna. Rayna bats him back towards Truk and Alfie tosses Truk a baseball bat so they can keep playing baseball with his body.

Bob is walking past and sees what we are doing and slowly shuffles away.

Patrick walks out with two things. Hitler's limp body and a perfectly excavated nervous system. Patrick had placed a series of healing spells on his nervous system to keep him alive.

Alfie smiles and meanwhile in the background Angel Dust is unloading his tommy guns into Alfie's grandmother and Vaggie is repeatedly stabbing her in the head.

Alfie questions if Patrick would like to unload something onto his grandparents and he says that he needs a break after having spent several hours slowly dissecting Hitler.

Truk finally lets Kirierrk fall to the ground.

Alfie hasn't exacted much justice on his grandfather and loudly wonders if we can meld Hitler's nervous system with Kirierrk's nervous system. Patrick gives him Hitler's nervous system and Alfie drags his grandfather into a separate building to carry out this experiment.

Eventually Alfie comes back out dragging his grandfather behind him who looks like he has seen war. "Why don't we see how much these knew nerves make you scream."

And then we see Adam with Nifty in pursuit.

Rayna trips Adam and chops off his legs so he can't escape. Alfie asks Nifty if she has any ideas on how to torment them. "STAB STAB STAB." And Alfie offers her his grandfather. She stabs him so much.

Eventually we run out of ways to kill them. Alfie's grandparents are taken to a special room where they are sentenced to be tortured and killed for the rest of eternity.

Alfie: Alright we need to talk to a Miss Carmilla Carmine? Bystander: Her place is right past the flaming garbage dump. Alfie: Thanks!

And we go off to Carmilla Carmine's place. Rose: You are met with two very large doors. Me: Is there a doorbell? Rayna's Player: I kick the door down. Rose: Roll for strength Rayna's Player: *rolls* 26 Rose: You have broken the door off its hinges. Alfie: RAYNA WHAT THE FUCK? THAT IS SO RUDE! Carmilla: WHY DID YOU BREAK MY DOOR DOWN? Truk: You sell angelic steel? Alfie: Sorry about this! *starts fixing the doors* Patrick: *pulls out two barrels out of his cartoon pockets. One has nails the other has screws* Me: I roll to find the screws I need. Rose: Roll perception. Me: *rolls* 8. Rose: You look for the screws you need, and you've been searching for a while and realize that you've been going through the wrong barrel. Alfie: *groans and quickly finds the screws he needs and starts repairing the door*

Meanwhile Truk is talking with Carmilla Carmine. She knows about his grudge with Betty White and offers to meld existing weapons with angelic steel.

Truk was going to see if they could do that with Radahn's Great Sword but without even turning around Alfie says that it probably isn't a good idea cuz it is very cursed. Instead, he requests she do it to a great club. Any weapons melded with angelic steel gain an additional d10 of radiant damage.

Carmilla: That will be 500 gold and your firstborn child. Alfie: *halfway done with fixing the doors* What if he's childfree? Carmilla: I joke. Only 1000 gold. Rayna gets one of her axes melded with angelic steel. Alfie is halfway through fixing the second door when Carmilla says that she has something Alfie might be interested in. Angelic steel feathers. In flight you can fire them at someone dealing 1d10 radiant damage. Alfie takes those and requests that Carmilla meld angelic steel with his crimson blood blade. Rayna requests a blessed rocket launcher.

Alfie finished up the repairs on the door and finds he is missing a screw upon checking the door's structural integrity.

He checks the ground and finds nothing before summoning the screw he needs and finished the door. "There we go." "Thank you."

Alfie asks Patrick if he would like a mark of his protection. Patrick: What would that do. Alfie: Let people know not to mess with you lest they incur my wrath. Patrick: What is your wrath? Alfie: You don't want to find out. Do you want the mark? Patrick: Sure! Alfie: What's your favorite color? You can have a rainbow one to match your hair! Patrick: Do you have one that's like a mood ring? Alfie: Yeah, I do. Alfie pulls out a friendship bracelet that turns from purple to blue showing that Alfie is feeling calm and tosses it to Patrick. It coils itself around his wrist and it constantly changes colors but always has a yellow zig zagging streak down the middle.

Me: You can't remove the friendship bracelet. To do so you have to succeed on a d35 strength save. Rayna's player: So, me and Truk are probably the only ones who could remove it. Me: You could ask Alfie to remove it but then he'd be sad.

Outside Alfie sees Bob talking to a blob and knows it to be Betty White. Even from that distance Alfie can tell that Bob is crying as he throws a smoke bomb and walks off to Alfie. Alfie flies up so he's eye level with Bob and cups the sides of his face wiping his tears away.

Alfie: How did things go? Bob stutters and as he speaks more tears stream down his face. Bob: You're very shiny... Alfie: Yeah buddy, I am shiny. Alfie can tell that Bob doesn't really want to talk about it and is clearly emotionally distressed and gives him a bottle of Gatorade. "You want a hug?" Bob sinks to the floor shaking and cries harder. "Yes..." And Alfie wraps his arms and wings around Bob who buries his face into Alfie's chest as he sobs.

Bob's parents never told him they loved him or that they were proud of him before. Bob has grown to genuinely care about Alfie. Alfie has given him the love and care that he didn't get from his parents, the validation that he was denied and a proper friendship that he hadn't actually let anyone come close enough to accept. It's a touching moment of vulnerability.

Then Cherry Bomb shows up having heard that we were beating up child abusers. Alfie fills her in on what happened and when she goes to add to their suffering, she gives Bob a pat on the back which causes him to break out into hives. Bob is very allergic to cherries. The fruit and artificial flavor.

Alfie panics and asks if Bob has an EpiPen. Bob does not know what an EpiPen is. "You gotta go to the hospital for that-" And then Truk places a hand on Bob and says no to the allergic reaction and heals him. Bob keeps crying in Alfie's arms and occasionally sips on the Gatorade before falling asleep.

After a while Alfie picks up Bob (Bob is still hugging Alfie) and says to the party that we need to get back to Finkelberg.

Rayna's player: Please let this be a normal session... Rose: With Bob? No way! Me: With Alfie no way. Patrick's Player: More like with this party no way. Rose: Bob was originally supposed to be the BBEG... Me: But we lored our way out of it. Rose: This campaign is not serious enough for a bbeg.

In the distance we hear the Magic School Bus theme song.

Cruisin' on down main street~

And we see the magic school bus go by. Miss Frizzle: All right kids today we’re taking a field trip to Hell as my war crimes have caught up with me!

Then in the distance Rayna and Truk spot a 1967 Chevy Impala and they both start running towards it. They each feel a large spectral hand wrap around them, and Alfie just looks incredibly tired.

"Are you trying to feel the full strength of my disappointment?" Truk keeps trying to run.

Rayna and Truk's player: Can I make a strength save to escape? Rose: Jazz this is up to you. Can they? Me: No, you can't. There isn't anything physical you can resist against. Rayna's player: I got a nat 20. Me: *surprised* You somehow turn into liquid and slink through what can only be described as a souped-up mage hand. Rayna's player: She keeps running towards the car. Truk: *struggling* No please I want to drive I want to drive- Me: Alfie vanishes the car keys. Rayna's player: She hot wires it. Dean Winchester: NO, I JUST FIXED HER UP!

Alfie teleports back to the hotel with Bob still asleep in his arms and Truk currently restrained and struggling.

Truk: I want to drive I want to drive- Alfie: So, a car might come crashing into the hotel soon... Charlie: WHAT? Alfie: Rayna carjacked someone. Truk: Please I want to drive- Alfie: *goes to sit down on a couch* No, you lost your driving privileges when you crashed us into a wall. Hang on- Brick brick brick... Brick: Sup. Alfie: *points to Truk* How do we get this to stop? Brick: Get the bear.

And Alfie summons the 7-foot teddy bear and floats it in front of Truk. Truk slowly calms down and does the grabby hands. "Gimme gimme gimme- And Alfie sets Truk on the ground and Truk cuddles into the bear.

Then Rayna comes crashing into the hotel, smashing through the door and Alfie uses his magic to push everyone out of the way of the car. It crashes into the elevator, which was just closing clamping the front of the car off. Rayna takes 12 points of bludgeoning damage. Rayna has lost her driving privileges.

Rayna exits the car and goes "WOOOOO!" In the distance we hear a cry of devastation.

Alfie snaps his fingers, and the car is repaired and back with the Winchester brothers. There is a sticky note on the steering wheel that says "Sorry my party members are idiots. Have some pie." and each brother's favorite kind of pie are on the seats of the car. He snaps his fingers again and the hotel starts repairing itself.

Then he starts making small talk with Alastor. Bob is still asleep in his arms. Alfie: So, what landed you down here? Alastor: I was a successful radio host. Alfie: That doesn't send you to hell. Were you a serial killer? Alastor: Yes, I was. Alfie: What was your kill count? Alastor: Alright in the summer of 1925- Multiply by six carry the two... Alfie: I'm talking about your mortal kill count. Alastor: I know! That would be 42. Alfie: Huh. My kill count is higher than yours. Alastor: *slightly offended* Well you're not mortal! Alfie: Those kills were before I found out what I am. 640. Alastor: *impressed*

Rayna's kill count is higher than Alfie's by 10. Truk has the highest kill count in the party. He is a war veteran at 16.

Finally, it is time to leave.

Alfie's parents hesitate. "Come on let's go." And so, we are on the highway to Hell on our way back to the portal. Alfie is floating on his back to make sure Bob doesn't wake up from his much-needed rest. Cora Blackstreak: So, is he your boyfriend? Alfie: *goes pale* No. No no no we are not a thing. Hurruk: We don't care if you're gay! Alfie: It's not that I'm gay, I am fruity as hell, but I have a partner. We've been together for five years. Truk: You've been with the cat for five years? Then Lucifer pulls up next to us. Lucifer: You do realize you could use the portals in Hell to get back to earth, right? Truk: We're not even from Earth. Alfie: We came from the Fey Wilds. The portal we came through is that way. Truk and Rayna lost their driving privileges and I have this *gesturing to a sleeping Bob* so we're on foot. Lucifer: They are banned from driving in Hell. Rayna: What makes you think we'll listen to you? We killed a God. Lucifer: oh. *leaves*

We make it to the portal and step through back in the Finkelberg Museum.

Alfie: Welcome to the Finkelberg Museum! Cora and Hurruk: Wow. Alfie: *points at the painting next to the painting of Hell* Don't go in that one. Hurruk: Why not? It looks very pretty. Truk: That is a portal to the sun. Cora: OH. Dakota Jones: Okay which one of you took Hank? Alfie: *shushes Dakota Jones* be quiet *points at Bob* Patrick: Who's Hank? Dakota Jones: Oh my god. Bob really is a bitch. Alfie: *glares at Dakota Jones with malicious intent* Dakota Jones: *fear* I mean Bob is a wonderful individual who deserves all the love in the world! Alfie: *still glaring* Good. Dakota Jones knows what Alfie is. He knows better than to incur Alfie's wrath.

Patrick pops a memory marble, and a scene plays out on his skin.

A hulking tall muscular man putting on armor. He can tell that that's him. He senses it. But he looks nothing like that. There's an emblem that he's wearing but the details are too fuzzy.

Patrick: Bob, you did give me my memories, right? Bob stirs and Alfie glares at Patrick. Bob clearly needs his sleep. Bob: *sleepy* yes, I gave you your memories. Alfie: *still glaring at Patrick* Patrick: I saw me but- I don't look... like that. Bob: *very sleepy* You've been in the fey wilds for a long time. It changed your form. Alfie: Okay go back to sleep. Bob nuzzles his face into Alfie's chest and goes back to sleep. Hurruk: *whispering to Cora* Are we sure they're not dating? Cora: *whispers back* They'll definitely end up together.

Hurruk and Cora are correct. At least 500 years later Bob and Alfie enter a queer platonic relationship and get married for tax benefits and companionship.

Alfie goes to leave, and Dakota Jones calls out "At least bring back Hank every now and then." "How often?" "Once a year." "Fey years or mortal years?" "Either works." "Okay." and Alfie leaves a basket of muffins on the front desk. "Thank you." "Are you fey born?" "No, I was banished here."

And we leave the museum. Cora: So, when do we get to meet your partner?" Alfie: Not right now, they're probably still hung over. We were drinking a lot a few days ago. Hurruk: What were you drinking? Alfie: Polish rectified spirit. We were trying to break Bob's record. Hurruk: How much did they drink?! Alfie: About 79 shots? Cora: How are they not dead? Alfie: I ask myself that a lot. Hurruk: Where do we stay? Alfie: The tavern is also an inn. Actually, how would you like to have a reunion with someone?

Hurruk looks confused and Alfie wakes Bob.

Alfie: Can I put you down? Bob: *sleepily nods*

Alfie summons a couch and sets Bob on the couch with a blanket.

Then he pulls out the spell book he's had since he came to these realms. Flipping through the pages he stops at the page that shows his adoptive parents Creek and Ollie with a third person obscured by their arms. They are about to be engulfed in flames and Alfie commits that to his memory before flipping back to the page with a certain rendition of the portal spell.

It's how to save someone in their last moments. "Rayna, be a dear and give me Radahn's heart" he says as he pulls out each ingredient from his bag of holding.

He starts by taking a vial of false hydra blood and painting a large spell circle with a diamond whose points intersect with the edges of the circle. He takes the unicorn horn and starts carving runes into the ground with it before crushing it into powder in his hand before placing it on one point of the diamond. It's almost like he's done this before. A glowing circle appears around it, and he does the same thing with the elder brain matter, then the Rum Rum spores, and lastly the heart of Radahn. Placing the book in the center of the circle Alfie places a hand on it and starts muttering words in primordial.

The ingredients are enveloped by a bright white glow, and they swirl around before opening a glowing white doorway through the fabric of time and space.

There's a wide grin on Alfie's face. "I'll be right back." Through this portal there is Creek, a tall white bird folk with long feathers on his head that fade into a rusty red and an eye patch over his left eye. His arms are wrapped around a pheasant by the name of Ollie. Between them clutched in their arms is a figure who is about 2 and a half feet tall. Flames are approaching them and are about to engulf them when they freeze. They open their eyes confused and see a glowing white door with a familiar face in it. Alfie stands there and they can't believe it. "I can get you out of here!" he shouts as he extends a hand. Creek takes his hand and Alfie pulls them back through the portal and a burst of flames comes through the door as it closes behind them.

Alfie's voice cracks as he wraps them all in a hug. "I never thought I'd see you again..."

As he pulls away with tears streaming down his face Creek has a question. "Are we in heaven?" "No. We're all alive. Even them." Alfie gestures to Hurruk and Creeks eyes light up. "Long time no see, little brother!" Hurruk scoffs. "I was born six years before you!" "And yet here you are at 28? I'm 36! That is 8 years older than you!" and Creek gives Hurruk a noogie.

Alfie scoops up the small figure and spins him around. "God damn it, Argot! I have never been happier to see you in a burning building!"

This figure is Alfie's adopted brother, Argot the goblin. He's 8 years old and shorter than the average goblin. "Where are we?" "A whole new universe buddy!" "There's other universes?" "Yeah, welcome to the fey wilds!"

Ollie is chatting with Cora. And Bob wakes up confused. "When the fuck did we get to Finkelberg?" The swear jar appears next to him and he begrudgingly puts one gold piece in it.

Later we are all in the Tavern and Fluffy despite still being a bit hungover manages to make a good impression on all of Alfie's parents.

A drunk guy bumps into Fluffy Scruffington and Alfie immediately starts chewing him out. There are many curses, but this is a taste of what was said. "Watch where you're going, you asshat. You know, somewhere there's a village searching for their idiot. Do you work hard to be such a brainless dolt? Your parents must change the subject when people ask about you. Did you practice being this much of a failure, or does it come naturally to you? I'd insult your parents, but I doubt you know them. Get the fuck out of my sight you mistake of nature-"

He crumples to the ground dead. Somehow Alfie managed to cast vicious mockery. He is not a bard, and he did it anyways. Alfie has to put 30 coins in the swear jar.

Behind him Fluffy Scruffington pulls out a ring that they definitely stole and gets down on one knee.

After this pathetic drunkard has perished Alfie turns around and gasps before shuffling through his pockets and pulling out a box that has a hand-crafted ring in it. They embrace and Alfie spins them around.

With the engagement of Alfonse Redfeather and Fluffy Scruffington the session is brought to a close.

#dnd #dungeons and dumbasses #dungeons and dragons

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wing-ed-thing · 3 years

Text

Modern AU Akatsuki Headcanons

These are more akin to how I personally write the Akatsuki in a Modern AU. I usually like to keep things as close to canon as I can, but I put a little of my own creative flair on these.

For now, we’re going to ignore everyone’s homicidal tendencies and assume that everyone’s a relatively normal, functioning member of society.

Warnings/Tags for Language, Mention of Alcohol, Drinking of Alcohol, Reader Insert

𓆃Deidara (19)

💕Graduated a bit over a year ago from high school and got an average class ranking.

💕His grades were actually better than Deidara, or anyone else for that matter, expected. He took a lot of art classes (which tend to give high scores by default) and he excelled in Advanced Placement Chemistry which boosted his GPA.

💕Isn’t quite sure about secondary education. Took some time off to do art on his own, but he never really put a definitive end on his gap year.

💕If he went to college, he’s ideally enjoy something in pyrotechnics. It’s something that he thinks about from time to time. That’s the only draw for him, but he doesn’t like the prospect of more school, although he does miss chemistry.

💕Works as a barista which got him hooked on caffeine. He makes great coffee but doesn’t like to make a fuss about it (because you should be focused more on his art over the frappe he made you).

💕Gives his friends their drinks for free.

💕An uncaffeinated Deidara is a useless Deidara.

𓆃Hidan (22)

💕Played baseball since he was little up through high school where he got recruited by a college team. That’s where he is now and has no idea what he’s doing after he graduates

💕Frat boy dude-bro, would not have gone to college if he wasn’t recruited

💕Will drink all night resulting in the most wholesome version of “boys will be boys”, will hug you gently from behind and rest his chin on your head (or at least he’ll try to)

💕Hidan will try to bench press you at some point. Doesn’t matter your body type, he thinks that he can do it.

💕Tried to be an English major without knowing how many “boring-ass books” he’d have to read and how many essays he’d have to write

💕Gotta keep your grades up for athletics, so he has mostly shoo in classes

💕Not to say that he’s not good academically, but he just needs his area of excellence. If he doesn’t care, he’s failing, but

💕His history and religion classes are his favorites so he’s majoring in that. He could read and talk about that all day. His essays are a bit all over the place but he has excellent insight

💕Needs reading glasses. His far vision is fine but he has to hold things a foot or less from his face in order to make out any details

💕He plays baseball with contacts in. Hidan likes the colored ones but they’re “expensive as fuck”

𓆃Itachi (21)

💕Full-ride scholarship and early graduation, top of his high school class

💕That wonder-kid that everyone loved but no one really talked to. The kind of guy that answers a question in class and ends up teaching the teacher something as they let him talk

💕Graduated with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree this year by going through a fast-track course. Is currently pursuing a PhD

💕Was a teaching assistant, a residential assistant, and a lab assistant in his undergrad

💕Surprisingly crafty, he made some great door decals for his residents (although you had to give him a bit of help)

💕Kinda socially stunted, has a hard time truly relating to others his age but can win over older people in a heartbeat

𓆃Kakuzu (91, but for the sake of the AU we’ll put him in his late 30s/early 40s)

💕The type who relied on himself, got lucky in life, but calls that luck hard work (although he does admittedly work hard)

💕Veteran

💕Works in finance and has a knack for stocks and trading. Doesn’t mind white collared shirts, but it drives him crazy if his tie isn’t right.

💕Cut off all friends and family as his relative wealth grew. He’s not a millionaire that you know of, but then again he’ll never tell you how much money he has. He’s comfortable, or as he’d tell you, ‘none of your business’.

💕Very cheap, complains over the cost of coffee but has a very nice penthouse apartment.

💕If you ever encounter an emergency and can’t cover the cost, the money will show up but Kakuzu doesn’t want to hear about it. He expects you to pay him back in one way or another. Will take the smallest favors as payment depending on how close you are, how stressed you are, and how generous he’s feeling

💕Cutthroat financial advisor. He loves slashing budgets and reworking large financial projects. Likes firing people even more. His skills ensure him work almost anywhere

💕Drives himself to the point of exhaustion, sometimes just needs someone to sit with him quietly and drink with him

💕Only the best bottles

𓆃Kisame (32)

💕Was really sporty back in his day. He dabbled in swimming, hockey and football before eventually being recruited for swimming

💕Likely would have gone to college even without the recruitment. Studied marine biology and would spend most of his days doing marine labs.

💕Went to bootcamp but didn’t pursue in a military career.

💕He got very aquatinted with the local animal and plant species and joined a few advocacy programs during his time in college

💕After school, he stuck with environmentalism and worked as a personal trainer part time after getting a certification online (he think’s that the course was a waste of money, he took it twice)

💕Currently considering teaching after seeing an open position as a gym teacher. He’s actually very good with children

💕Looking to keep saving up to settle down somewhere nice after bouncing from apartment to apartment. Never really put any effort into meeting anyone, but would like to

𓆃Konan (35)

💕Kinda struck out and lives in the city. She really likes the atmosphere and art scene. Gets takeout often since a lot of the good food places are just a short walk from her apartment

💕Single, still has a hard time after her boyfriend Yahiko’s death. Studio apartment full of canvases and pain. Looks great even in painting clothes

💕Used to work as a waitress and folded the napkins into origami shapes when she was bored. Hated customer service but got recognized for her artistic talent by a local gallery

💕Her first sale got her ecstatic, but she tells you often that she still has things to learn (you don’t quite understand what that means)

💕Recently started submitting more pieces and is slowly profiting off of her good work. You insist on taking her to dinner each time she sells another work, but it takes some convincing

💕Overall quiet and humble, likes nights in picnic style on the floor

𓆃Obito (31)

💕Had a hard time the first portion of his life. Obito was placed into the foster system after the death of his close family in a tragic accident. Spent time in the hospital for lasting injuries

💕Struggled with making connections and expressing his feelings. Spent much of his time in the public library (having no money to go anywhere else), particularly in the maker space working on projects

💕Joined an engineering program for troubled youth under Madara where Obito spent his summers and after school time working on projects.

💕Obito now works designing and manufacturing medical parts and machinery. He donates a portion of his salary to the public library maker space.

💕He likes working in the city and often bikes through greens on his way to work.

💕Has a bad habit of dating younger women in their 20s

𓆃Pein/Nagato (35)

💕Sustained serious injuries during a mugging gone wrong. Has many, frequent hospital visits for his chronic conditions and often has to stay in the hospital for periods of time

💕Still never got fully over the trauma of that night in which his childhood friend, Yahiko, died from his injuries on his way to the hospital.

💕His nurses know him well, but he’s never been the talkative type. They still greet him warmly regardless. He actually enjoys it

💕Has dinners with Konan at least monthly, sometimes the two of them visit Yahiko’s memorial and share a bottle of wine. They’re not super close, but they’ll likely stick together for the rest of their lives in a similar routine

💕Joined a some religious support groups which actually helped him. Actually found a great community of old ladies who keep trying to fix him up with their granddaughters

𓆃Sasori (35)

💕Studied a double major: mechanical engineering and art. Sasori has always been good with numbers and wanted something stable to fall back on/support him as he did art on the side

💕Was featured in many articles, contests, and exhibits for his complex figures which included robotics, puppets and animatronics

💕Currently works with large movie production studios doing intricate props. He quickly became a specialist in realistic, human animatronics and is often invited onto sets for producers to collect his input

💕Has a habit of casually flexing. Doesn’t really care about how much money he has or the fact that he happens to find himself in the presence of A-list celebrities

💕Will casually remark that he was invited the birthday party of some amazing actor but turned it down because you said you desperately needed him to help you fix your garbage disposal

💕Genuinely doesn’t care, prefers helping you fix your garbage disposal

💕Doesn’t know that most of his accessories are designer and will give them to you upon realizing the brand.

𓆃Zetsu (Unknown Age, so I’m gonna have fun and place him in high school)

💕Twins who no one can tell apart, but they don’t really get it. Neither of them think that they look that different.

💕In the horticulture program and they both spend much of their time in the greenhouse tending to the plants, even when no one is there. They like cultivating succulents because they’re easy and have since despised the mass obsession with them

💕Kuro Zetsu more spends his time in the Technology/Engineering Club. He likes to work on cars in his free time and occasionally races tractors.

💕Shiro Zetsu is on the honor roll and on student council enjoys riding horses. He can ride without a saddle.

Thank you to all who liked, reblogged, followed and otherwise supported. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.

@brokennerdalert

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soulmate-game · 3 years

Text

Harley's Plea for Help ch. 6

Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6-- you are here

Yet another night of barely any sleep, but this time Marinette didn’t have the coffee-angel Red Robin at her rescue. No, instead she had to go completely uncaffeinated until she and her class got to Wayne Enterprises. Madame Mendelieve could only sigh as she watched Marinette scamper off to the café as soon as they made it past the initial security of the building. A couple of her classmates chuckled or snorted at her familiar behavior.

It was the same barista at the register as before, but this time Marinette felt too tired to properly order or be adventurous in looking for new flavors.

“I feel like death. I don’t care if it tastes like pure bean oil today. Flavors will take away from the amount of coffee you can shove in one cup, right?”

The poor barista blinked, eyeing the deep bags forming under the poor girl’s eyes. She sighed. “I had hope yesterday that you were just a normal caffeine addict. Now I see we actually have a second Mister Drake,” she said it as if she was mourning at Marinette’s grave before poking a few buttons on her touchscreen order station and turning her head. “One Insomniac CEO, but not for the boss!” She called out. The barista making the drinks paused for a second with wide eyes.

“We have another one?!” He asked, shocked. “Piece of advice?” He turned to Marinette. “Get some sleep.”

“Sleep is for the dead,” Marinette deadpanned back. “I got stuff I need to do today.”

The guy just shook his head and sighed, making the drink as Marinette paid and left a good tip. The drink came out fairly quickly, and everyone behind the counter stopped for a moment to stare as she gulped down the hot drink with no concern for her tongue or throat. A satisfied sound left her as she finally pulled away from the cup.

“This is really good!” She complimented, turning to the Baristas with a still-tired smile. It would take a minute or two for the coffee to have full effect, but she already felt better. “A little too bitter for my usual tastes, but perfect for days like today. Thanks!” She waved at them before turning around and seeing that her class was already gone again. Before she could fully process that though, a hand slapped down onto her head and ruffled her hair.

Surprised (really, not a lot of people could sneak up on her anymore. Just how tired was she?) she let out a high pitched squeal.

“You’re a good kid,” the soft, slightly scratchy voice that said that made Marinette’s shoulders drop and eyes widen. Tilting her head back she was greeted with the widely-grinning face of Jason Todd. He was once again in the uniform of a security guard.

“Wha— Uh,” Marinette couldn’t quite find the right words right away. She was too stunned. Jason just chuckled, jerking his head to indicate the same door her class had gone through the day before and leading the way over there. Marinette scrambled to catch up.

Once they were far away enough from prying eyes and ears, Marinette cleared her throat.

“Um,” she started. “Did… I mean, do you..?”

“Yeah, our mutual friends had a chat with me last night,” he confirmed casually. He sent her a meaningful look even though his grin never left his face. “Like I said; you’re a good kid. And I’m not goin’ anywhere. You’re not responsible for the things your parents have done, you know.”

The girl at his side hummed noncommittally, not fully convinced but also not wanting to argue.

“You’re not,” he repeated firmly, stopping in the middle of the side-hallway. They could see her class at the other end getting checked in, but didn’t make a move to join them yet. “I mean it. The stuff that happened to me, none of that was you. Hell, you were a little kid back then. And there’s nothing you could have done to stop it, either. I’m not gonna hold anything against you just because you’re his child. You didn’t ask to be,” he shrugged. “Besides, I get it. Biological relation doesn’t equal family. Trust me,” his grin was gone and a tired one replaced it. “I know that better than most people.”

The pigtailed girl could only gulp, taking a deep breath as she forced down the tears that wanted to bubble up. She had had this conversation with Adrien a few times, but even then she had been convinced that he just didn’t understand. He was just being nice. But this— Jason’s words were more valuable than gold to her. He had no reason to be nice, so it had to be at least partially sincere.

“Thanks,” she whispered once she was positive she wasn’t going to break. She lifted her cup up and took a long sip of her coffee. The slight burn against her tongue helped ground her. “That means more than you know.”

Jason chuckled. “Nah. The fact that you stood up for me to the Bat,” his grin returned to his face full blast, making dimples appear on his cheeks. “Now that, you have no idea how much that means to me. You must have some serious guts to lecture that guy, too. Is it too late to adopt you for myself?”

That tore a quick laugh out of her, making her classmate’s head whip over to the opposite end of the hallway where she and Jason were. She quickly quieted herself, but her eyes danced with amusement as she looked up at Jason. “You’re too young to be my parent anyway, but I wouldn’t say no to a brother,” she joked. Jason’s eyes sparkled.

“Good, exactly what I was aiming for!” He slipped a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. “That’s my number. Call me if you ever need anything, got it?” He turned to resume leading her back to her class and she quickly slipped the paper into her pocket before anyone saw and got the wrong idea. “And I mean anything.”

Marinette just smiled and nodded. By then, they were close enough for Alya to smirk and ask; “What took ya so long, girl?”

“Oh,” Marinette shuffled a little on her feet before an observation gave her a last minute idea and she straightened up with a wide smile. “We just got distracted talking about motorcycles!”

Jason’s eyebrows raised for a quick second before he settled his expression again and played along. He had figured that not many people knew about her biological family. That part made sense. But she had been a total mess just the day before when she had tried to lie about Paris’ little villain problem in front of Bruce. How was she able to actually come up with a good lie this time around, when she had been just as much put on the spot? He wondered to himself about what was different about this situation to allow her to lie more easily. Maybe Bruce not being there was part of it— she seemed easily flustered by famous people.

Think of the devil, because no sooner had that thought finished developing in Jason’s mind before Bruce Wayne walked into the hallway with a paparazzi-ready smile. Jason rolled his eyes and sunk to the back of the group silently, sinking back into his job and keeping an eye on their surroundings. He listened as Alya laughed softly and elbowed Marinette even as the group turned their attention to Bruce.

“You and your bikes,” Alya teased. “If someone knew enough about motorcycles, I bet you’d marry them on the spot.”

“Nah,” Marinette whispered back. “If they gave me a really nice one though? That’s marriage potential for sure.”

The two girls laughed for a second before focusing back on the tour. Adrien wasted no time making his way to Marinette’s side, silent questions in his eyes. Jason watched with interest as the two seemed to silently communicate with one another. It was obvious that Adrien was calling her lie, and Marinette was essentially silently telling him that she would explain later. It was so seamless and subtle that if Jason hadn’t been extremely familiar with that kind of communication already, he wouldn’t have noticed it. Once again his eyebrows rose a tick on his forehead, and he made a mental note of the interaction. That kind of silent conversation wasn’t an easy thing to do with people. It was most commonly seen in married or otherwise long-term couples, childhood friends, family, or hero partners. The childhood friends and family sections were already ruled out from their background check on her and Harley herself had mentioned that even though Marinette had once crushed on Adrien, she had unofficially adopted the boy as her brother since then. Though, their time as close friends was only documented as having lasted about a year. That wasn’t quite enough time for that sort of effortless silent communication to be possible.

Of course, Jason had his suspicions already. But there was no rush, either. The Clown was on the move and more important to focus on for now. He could focus on the puzzle that was Marinette and Adrien later.

Bruce took over the tour as he had the day before, and the class was instantly riveted once again. If the fact that they were being led through the building by the very man who owned it wasn’t awesome enough to get everyone’s full attention, the man’s personality was. He came off a little carefree and very kind, but there was an obvious undercurrent of just how much he loved his company that showed that he did take it and his job seriously. Just, not too seriously either. And he interjected everywhere he could with personal stories and anecdotes and little bits of his family history that the normal tour guides might not have known. It was not long after he announced that he was going to take them to a lower lab set aside specifically for their class’ tour, so that they could do their first interactive activity, that jason found the opportunity to sidle up next to Marinette on the opposite side from where Adrien walked alongside her.

“So,” he said casually. “How’d you know I ride a motorcycle?” he smirked to show he wasn’t upset as he looked down at her curiously. Marinette blinked, taking her attention away from Bruce to look over at Jason. Once his words registered, she smiled widely and pointed to one of his pockets. The corners of his bike gloves flopped over the edge.

“I noticed those. I figured you’d have a negative reaction that might give us away if my lie was too off the mark, and I do have a habit of saying stupid things if I don’t have a clue or something to play off of. I also had to make it believable for the class, and they all know that my Nonna has played a huge part in my love for motorcycles. I plan on getting a license to drive one when I turn sixteen later this year,” she told him softly. “I tend to gush whenever I see a cool bike, so I knew they wouldn’t question it.”

Jason huffed a little bit of laughter under his breath. It was like the trope of a character looking at random items in the room to come up with a fake name, but somehow it had actually worked for her. She was quick-witted and clever, he had to admit. And observant.

“I was running late, so I must have left them in my pocket when I was changing,” he admitted, unbothered. “Ah, here we are,” he nodded to return the two teen’s (he had noticed Adrien paying close attention as he and Marinette had their conversation) attention back to the tour. Bruce opened the door for the class with a flourish, gesturing for everyone to go in.

“Since these first few days are going to be tours and lessons about working in general, your first activity of your trip is to solve various problems we’ve given you based on real situations that WE employees have been in before. Split up into groups, and choose a table. Each table has a different problem covering a different industry. Reporting, Science— specifically research and development, business management, and entertainment…”

—*—*—*—*—*

“It’s straight,” Adrien assured her, trying to keep himself from laughing as Marinette straightened his tie for the millionth time. “I promise. And you look fantastic.”

Marinette stepped back, nodding at Adrien’s appearance in approval. “I know. We both look great, but…” she fidgeted and then stepped forward to go right back to over-straightening his tie. Adrien snorted, grabbing her hands before she could touch the poor thing again and lowering her arms to her sides.

“Calm down. Like you said, we both look great. You don’t have a single hair out of place, the outfits you made us look amazing, and my tie is at a perfect ninety degree angle to my collar. Take the model’s word for it,” he teased with a lopsided grin. “We look ready for the front cover of a magazine. So just take a deep breath, because we should get down to the lobby soon to wait for the ride he’s sending for us.”

“Right,” Marinette nodded. She followed his advice and took a deep breath. Once she was suitably calmed, she opened her eyes and nodded at him. Adrien smiled and held out his arm, making Marinette snort as she took hold of it gently and let him lead her to the elevator.

Bruce had not specified whether the dinner was going to be casual or formal, but with the fact that his kids were going to be present and it was at his own house, Marinette had a feeling it was going to be more of a casual thing than if they had went out to a fancy restaurant with a black tie dress code. At the same time, this was the Wayne manor they were talking about. She didn’t want to be underdressed, either. Not to mention that it was her design skills that had played a huge part in her winning the contest in the first place, so she felt like she had to show her work again to prove that they had chosen the right person.

A playful wolf whistle greeted the two of them when they got down to the lobby. Alya was, to no one’s surprise, the perpetrator. She stood in the lobby with Alix, Nino, and Max, who all had known about the dinner and agreed to be there to see the two of them off and put Marinette’s worries to rest. The four of them jogged over, Alix smiling and adding her own soft whistle of appreciation.

“You guys look great,” the short skater assured them, taking the time to skate slow circles around them to make sure that nothing was wrong with their outfits. “I think you’ve outdone yourself, Mari! Very cool.”

Alya nodded eagerly, bouncing in place with a wide, beaming smile on her face. “Ah! The both of you look ready to kick ass and woo rich people!” she added. Max pushed his glasses up on his nose with a small grin.

“There is a ninety-five percent chance of your work impressing all of the Waynes,” he said in his own version of encouragement.

“You guys got this!” Nino shot them a thumbs up. “They beat me to all the stuff I wanted to say.”

Marinette beamed, laughing along with her friends as she allowed herself to relax a little. Adrien’s outfit was of her own making, a subtle way for him to rebel since his father had sent him with his own Gabriel brand suit should an appropriate opportunity to wear it come up. Adrien had no plans of ever putting his father’s suit on his body. In an effort to spice up formal men’s wear a bit without making the whole thing white and silver like Gabriel wanted, Marinette had made him a classic silk shirt in black, with short sleeves that fell at that perfect halfway point between his elbow and shoulder. The sleeves had thick cuffs in a dark forest green, with decorative straight stitches on the seams in a bright magenta pink thread. On top of that was a corset-style sleeveless vest with a deep V. The majority of the vest was the same black as the shirt, but with dark green hand-stitched swirls that were just barely bright enough to be contrasted against the black. It created a very subtle pattern that would be hard to see in the wrong lighting, but would make it look that much more expensive and elaborate in the right lighting. The lapel of the vest was in the same dark forest green as the cuffs of his shirt, with a few decorative swirls embroidered on the very corners. The piping of the corset-vest made three curved lines on either side of his waist, curling from mid-rib cage to his waist. It gave him a slightly more feminine twist to his outfit, making his waist look smaller even though it wasn’t actually pulled very tight on him— it was mostly the illusion made by the piping rather than the actual tightness of the garment. The two outside piping lines were done in a magenta pink, while the middle piping line was once again in dark forest green. Unlike most corset-style vests, this one had no buttons or zipper on the front at all. Instead, it was closed only by corset lacing in the back, the laces done in such a dark shade of green that it was almost black, while the eyelets that the laces were threaded through were that same magenta pink as the piping and decorative stitches elsewhere on the outfit. The tie that Marinette had spent so long making sure was straight was almost entirely soft lace, but it was layered in such a way with layers of sheer green and pink lace that it looked like it was a constant swirl of the two colors. If someone got close enough to see the pattern of the lace tie, they would notice that it was a pattern of cats chasing a butterfly.

Underneath the artistic top of the outfit were black dress pants, once again with thick forest-green cuffs on the bottoms. But instead of the decorative stitching, the pant legs flared a bit at the ankles for just a little extra drama. Magenta-pink Oxfords peeked out of the wide cuffs. The green detailing made Adrien’s eyes pop, while the pink accents gave his boyish charm a little more of a feminine touch that almost seemed to highlight his naturally sensitive and charming nature.

In contrast, Marinette wore a sleeveless pink pantsuit. It was the same shade as the pink accents in Adrien’s outfit, and had a built-in corset as well that went only around her natural waist. The corset boning on Marinette was a solid black, while the rest was just the same base pink as the majority of the suit. The black of the boning seemed to flow downwards, changing from boning into thick hand-embroidery in thread of the exact same black. The embroidery flowed down the sides of both legs, in the shape of tree branches and apple blossoms. Pale green accents in the form of swirls at her high neckline and a pale green lace capelet that was the only thing covering her shoulders helped tie her outfit in with Adrien’s. She also wore pale green low kitten heels and her black hair up in a braided bun. With how her pant legs were form-hugging until they flared out slightly at the heel, and the lack of sleeves exposed her toned arms and shoulders and emphasized her strength there without making her look unbalanced or too masculine for the rest of the outfit’s style, she looked ready to rock the business world. Her bright blue eyes clashed with the green details of the outfit just enough to bring attention to them, assuring that people who met her eyes would not be able to easily look away.

The quick snap of a phone’s flash went off, drawing everyone’s attention to Madame Bustier. She was beaming at all of them, and had just taken a picture of her two students all dressed up. She waved her phone happily. “I’m sending this picture to the both of you. I’m so proud of you guys!” she gushed.

Marinette and Adrien both blushed deep red, shifting in their spots. They were confident in their looks, and Adrien was just as proud of his pseudo-sister, but neither of them was very good at handling so much positive attention aimed only at them. Especially not from their extremely sincere friends and teacher.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng?” An older gentleman with a British accent turned everyone’s attention to him. The first thing Marinette thought was that he had kind eyes. He also had soft wisps of white hair on his head, carefully trimmed and slicked back. Of course, Marinette and Adrien also couldn’t miss the high quality and perfect press of his carefully maintained suit. Once he had shown all the proper credentials to Madame Bustier, he introduced himself to the two well-dressed teens with a shallow bow. “I am Alfred Pennyworth, the butler for Wayne Manor. I am to escort the both of you there for supper tonight.”

“Oh! Thank you so much, Monsieur Pennyworth,” Marinette said, walking up and shaking his hand. Adrien was right by her side the whole time, matching her smile watt for watt and shaking Alfred’s hand with just as much enthusiasm.

“Yeah, thank you for having us over. I know it was technically Bruce who invited Marinette, but you’re probably the one that has to do all the work. So, thank you. We really appreciate it,” he told the man sincerely. Alfred’s answering smile was soft, almost fond.

“Yes, I admit I am in charge of most of the work for tonight. But you shouldn’t worry, it’s no different from any other day at the manor,” he said lightheartedly, a little bit of good natured snark shining through his otherwise proper behavior— “Every last one of the Waynes would die in less than a week without me to keep everything in order,” he joked. “Allow me to lead you to the car.”

Marinette and Adrien followed behind Alfred. She didn’t know if it was the calming aura he put off, or if it was the gentle way his eyes sparkled that made her want to look after him. But whatever it was, she found herself wanting to protect this kind old man already. Which is why her eyebrows slightly pinched together. Before climbing inside the luxurious town car he had brought for them, she couldn’t help but turn to Alfred and ask;

“I hope you aren’t overworked. I don’t want to overstep, Monsieur, but isn’t the Wayne family rather large for one person to look after on their own?”

Alfred laughed gently at that, his eyes once again softening. “Do not worry about me, Miss Dupain-Cheng. They are family to me. And though, yes, you are correct in assuming they are a handful, they are also wonderful people. They help me where they can, but taking care of themselves is not their forte. Being able to do that for them is my greatest joy.”

The wrinkles in Marinette’s brow smoothed out and she smiled. “That’s so sweet. You’re making me want to meet them all even more.”

Something about that twinkle in Alfred’s eye made her feel like he was laughing at some joke she didn’t hear. “I’m sure all of you will get along swimmingly.”

—*—*—*—*—*

“I FOUND HER FIRST!”

Alfred had barely opened the manor’s doors to let Marinette and Adrien inside before the chaos started. Or rather, before they were let in on it— it seemed as if the chaos had already been going on for a while.

Jason skidded across the floor in a mad dash, having to grasp the doorframe he was running out of so that he could turn the corner sharply and veer towards them.

“Tell them, Marinette! I found you first, you’re my sister now, don’t fall for any of their Jedi mind tricks!”

Marinette just blinked, a little caught off guard. It hadn’t exactly sunk into her head until right that moment that ‘Wayne Family dinner’ would include Jason. Her mind was still catching up to the fact that she was seeing him out of his security guard uniform for the first time. He wasn’t dressed up at all, in a well-loved brown leather jacket over a white shirt and dark wash jeans. He still had his motorcycle gloves on. Marinette looked down at first herself, then Adrien.

“Are we overdressed?” She asked with a grimace. Jason huffed.

“Of course not, you guys look amazing! But seriously, tell them that I claimed you as my sister first and none of them are half as cool as me.”

Marinette and Adrien traded glances before laughing together.

“If we’re being technical here,” Adrien drawled mischievously as he straightened out his vest. “I met Marinette first, and she adopted me as her brother long before we met any of you,” he pointed out with a sharp grin.

“Ha!” a younger man laughed pointedly, following after Jason. The newcomer was dressed more formally, in a dress shirt under a very luxurious looking burgundy designer sweater. Under that, he wore black perfectly-pressed slacks and nondescript oxfords. His collar showed signs of housing a tie earlier, but he had clearly taken it off sometime earlier. His hair hung slightly long, framing his face with two long locks while the back of his hair slightly stuck up in all directions in natural tufted curls. Like Jason, his hair was jet black and he had bright blue eyes. He was also about half Jason’s size, much shorter and leaner than his adoptive brother. “He’s got you there, idiot,” he snarked smugly at Jason before turning to the two guests. “Miss Dupain-Cheng, Mister Agreste. I’m Tim Drake-Wayne, it’s nice to finally meet both of you,” he introduced himself as he walked over to shake their hands. “And your outfits are amazing! Did you make them, Miss Dupain-Cheng?”

“Marinette,” she corrected with a lopsided grin. “My last name is a mouthful, and I prefer to just go by Marinette anyway. And yes, I made both of these outfits before we left Paris,” she admitted, trying her best to seem professional. She had already ruined her chances of that with Bruce and Jason, but this time she was prepared!

“They are just as impressive as the rest of your work that I’ve seen. And call me Tim, it’s only fair,” and then he smiled.

Damn his boyish grin. He wasn’t someone Marinette had a crush on— he wasn’t her type— but damn he was unfairly charismatic and charming. His smile temporarily short circuited her brain. That was exactly the kind of boyish smile that had started her crush on Adrien, and that she was unfairly weak for. Now she felt a deep-seated urge to protect this boy and his smile or so help her, someone would be sent to the ER if he was hurt and it wasn’t gonna be her. And she didn’t try to dissuade herself from that strong protective urge, her mother had already assured her that all the Waynes were trustworthy and that Tim in particular shared a lot of her bad habits. She could allow this little bit of vulnerability. Hopefully.

“... I’ve only known you for two minutes, but if anything happened to you I would kill everyone in this room and then myself,” she breathed. Adrien elbowed her hard, making her yelp.

“You said that out loud Mari,” he deadpanned. A deep flush immediately came over her face, and she covered her mouth with both hands.

“Oh shit. I’m so sorry— but you— just forget I said anything. Please!”

Tim was visibly shocked, his eyes wide and mouth agape. Jason snorted, overcoming his own brief moment of shock pretty easily.

“Careful there,” Jason chided good-heartedly. His gaze met Marinette’s with a slight weight in it though. “You barely know the guy. He’ll annoy you out of your mind soon enough.”

Marinette caught the hint, wincing and changing the subject. Jason could see that she had done exactly as her mother had warned— she had gotten attached to Tim almost immediately. And while he wanted to believe Marinette when she said that the same wouldn’t happen with Joker, that she was not going to repeat her mother’s mistakes…

He couldn’t help but worry. Joker was a slippery bastard, and good at getting past people’s defenses.

Tim eventually led them all to the dining room, where several people were already sat waiting for them.

“We decided it would be best if we didn’t all swarm you at the door,” Tim explained, grinning at her kindly. “Take a seat wherever you want, Alfred is probably going to be done with dinner soon.”

Marinette and Adrien both nodded, going to sit by each other’s side. Adrien put his hand on her knee when they sat down, and traded a meaningful look with her.

“Calm down,” he whispered. “We’re not in Paris. And if you slip, I’ll catch you. Promise.”

Marinette’s shoulders relaxed a little. Yeah, she could trust Adrien to make sure she didn’t slip up too much. Get too careless. He’d watch her back like she did for him. She’d be okay. They’d both be okay.

“Thanks, Adrien. I needed that.”

—*—*—*—*—*

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multi-fandomfuckboy · 3 years

Text

Coffee Confusion (Steve x Reader)

A/N: First time writing in a while. I have a real throwback for you guys, taking it all the way back to Captain America: the Winter Soldier. I hope you like it! REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

Warnings: mentions of mugging, anxiety

(This takes place after the events of CA: The Winter Soldier)

Prompt: You go to the same coffee shop after getting off the night shift at the hospital all the time. Now, for some reason, there is a blonde haired, blue eyed, muscle man glaring daggers at you. Maybe it's your uniform?

The pain in your lower back was steadily growing to be unbearable. You didn't think that being a nurse would include so much charting. In reality, it was 80% putting things into a computer and the other 20% was getting yelled at by patients. But, you loved it.

Sighing, you glanced at your wrist watch. Five minutes until 7am. You had already given report to the day nurse and you just had to make a note in a patient’s chart before you could leave. Sometimes you have no idea how 12 hours can pass so quickly. Finishing your note you logged out of your computer and quickly began packing up your stuff into your nursing bag. Groaning, you stood and stretched your arms above your head, gently leaning back until several pops rolled up your spine.

“Oooo, I felt that one.” Sherral, your station buddy, laughed packing up her own spot.

“I wasn’t built to sit in front of a computer, it kills me.” you bemoaned, throwing your bag over your shoulder.

“Well, if you could chart faster than a snail, maybe it wouldn't take as long.” She responded, raising an eyebrow. Placing a hand over your heart you feigned hurt.

“That cut deep Share, I thought we were friends.” you shake your head, exaggerating your frown. You both laugh lightly before you turn to leave. “I’ll see you on Tuesday!” you say giving her one last wave before you exit the unit doors.

The drive home was always the worst. You normally ended up leaving at around 7:30 in the morning which was prime rush hour. Not trusting yourself to drive in New York traffic uncaffeinated after a 12 hour night shift, you had gotten into the habit of stopping at the coffee shop just down the street before going home. Sometimes you would wait a little while for all of the morning commuters to get to work before leaving. It was nice after being at the hospital all night, to just sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee, maybe even read a little. A small moment of peace.

Leaving your car parked in the hospital lot, you made your way to the shop. It was a short walk but there was a slight chill in the morning air. You were thankful when you stepped into the shop and were enveloped in the warmth and aroma of fresh coffee. It always smelt so good, pleasantly warm, with the music always being the perfect mix of calm and upbeat.

You walked over to the short line that had formed in front of the counter. There were a couple of people in front of you. Most of them in business suits, glancing at their watches and phones anxiously watching the time, hoping not to be late. The man right in front of you was dressed casually, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with a tan jacket. You weren't entirely alert, but you did notice that he was over 6 feet tall and appeared to be very muscular, his blonde hair cropped short. You couldn’t see his face, but you were willing to bet that it was handsome.

The man glanced around the shop but when his eyes landed on you they widened slightly. Then his eyebrows drew together and his eyes darkened, his face setting into a grim scowl. He quickly turned his gaze back to the front of the shop.

You were confused. He looked at you with such anger, it was terrifying. For a second you wondered if you had somehow offended him. Checking your scrubs, you made sure you didn't have anything on them. You were standing a respectful distance away from him. You quickly brought your hand up to your mouth to check your breath. Nothing. You had no idea what could have sparked that kind of reaction.

Clutching your nursing bag tighter, you tried not to let it bug you. As the line moved forward you thought that maybe he was looking at something behind you. You listened as he ordered three coffees giving his name as ‘Rogers’ before paying. He moved down the counter to wait for his order.

You stepped forward and gave the smiling barista your name and order. After you paid you turned to move down the counter, but you stopped in your tracks. The Blonde man was glaring directly at you. There was no mistaking it this time, he was looking right at you. When his blue eyes met yours he looked away, but the deep scowl remained.

Swallowing past the lump in your throat, you went to stand behind him, hoping to avoid his glare. Your exhausted brain couldt even begin to understand what you had done to deserve such a look.

“Rogers!” The barista called out. The blonde man stepped forward taking his coffees and placing a couple dills in the tip jar. When he turned you pretended to look at your phone to avoid meeting his gaze again. When you heard the bell of the shop ring, signaling his exit, you released a breath you were holding.

“(Y/N)!” The barista called. You retrieved your drink before taking a seat at one of the small tables next to the window. Trying to forget about the piercing glare of the stranger, you pulled out your book and attempted to enjoy the rest of your morning.

---------

Unfortunately, that would not be the last time you would encounter the glare of the blonde stranger. When you walked into the shop after your shift on Tuesday (so Wednesday morning), the stranger was there. He was already in line and when his eyes turned to the sound of the door opening his eyes narrowed on you. Your heart pounded as you went to get in line. Luckily, there was a businessman separating the two of you, even though you avoided looking at him it was hard to ignore the hateful stare he watched you with.

You felt so anxious, it was terrible. Your palms were sweaty and you tried to wipe them on your scrub pants. The feeling in your gut was sickening. You didn't know this man. He could be dangerous. Why was he here at this shop again? Was he waiting for you?

Your mind began to spin out of control, coming up with all kinds of crazy scenarios and explanations.

This time as you waited for your order, keeping your distance and your eyes on your phone as your mind swirled with theories. You vaguely heard the barista call ‘Rogers’.

“If Fury wanted to keep an eye on me again, the least he could do is change it up. The whole nurse thing is getting old.” A voice said next to you. You nearly jumped out of your skin. The man had stopped on his way out the door to address you.

“Excuse me?” you asked in a voice that you hoped sounded brave. The man almost seemed to chuckle rolling his eyes.

“Okay, play dumb if you want.” he responded before turning to exit.

Now you were even more confused. This guy must have mistaken you for someone else. Either that or he was crazy. For some reason instead of feeling afraid like you had before, all you felt was angry.

Who did this guy think he was?! Staring you down like you killed someone when he didn't even know you. it was completely uncalled for. As you went to retrieve your drink, you made the decision that the next time you saw him you would set the record straight.

--------

After your shift on Friday you walked to the shop like always. Your charting had taken longer than you expected, so you thought that maybe you would have missed him. But when you walked in the door he was seated at one of the small tables near the back. He was drinking a coffee and reading the newspaper. Meeting his eyes over the paper, his face formed the now familiar glare. This time though, you met it with your own.

Taking a deep breath you pushed past the fear climbing up your throat. Clenching your fists you walked directly towards him. Seeing you coming, he set down his paper. When you reached him, he opened his mouth to say something but before he could, you cut him off.

“Alright mister, I don't know who you are, but I have had enough!” you began, struggling to keep your voice at a reasonable level with your heart pounding in your ears. “I come here after a 12 hour shift taking care of sick and dying people. The last thing I need is some muscle head glaring at me while I am trying to have a MOMENT of peace!” The man watched you. His face morphs from anger to confusion to shock. “Now, the way I see it, you can either fix your attitude towards me or I am going to have to find a different place to get coffee.” He sat there for a moment his eyes wide as he stared up at her. When he didn't make a move to respond you let out a frustrated huff crossing your arms across your chest.

“Well?” you prompted. He blinked, seeming to shake himself back to reality.

“Uh… I-I’m sorry.” He stammered, looking away from you. You were not expecting that. You thought that at least he would be a little upset. Instead, he looked incredibly remorseful.

“T-thank you.” you said after a moment recovering from your own shock.

“I really am sorry.” he repeated looking back up at you. “It won't happen again, I just thought that you were… someone else.” he admitted rubbing the back of his neck. You were suddenly disarmed. Uncrossing your arms you ran a hand through your hair.

“It’s okay. Honestly, it just scared me is all. I thought you were going to jump me or something.” you laughed lightly, but he seemed to look even more woeful, even ashamed.

“I’m so sorry.” he repeated again, a slight blush turning the tips of his ears pink. Smiling sheepishly you shrugged your shoulders.

“I’m just glad I said something and worked this all out. I really didn't want to have to find a new coffee shop” you said. “This one is too convenient. I probably would have had to fight you for it.” you chuckle at your attempt to make a joke. It did get a slight smile out of him. Without the scowl he really was handsome.

“I’m Steve.” He said, extending his hand.

“Rogers, right?” you asked. His eyes looked surprised for a moment before you added “That’s what the barista calls for your order.” you blushed suddenly realizing that might have been creepy. But he only smiled up at you. “I’m (Y/N).” you told him, reaching for his hand.

He smiled up at you as he shook your hand. Any trace of anxiety you had walking into the shop was suddenly gone.

“Well Miss (Y/N), I think it’s only fair that I buy you a drink.” he said, releasing your hand and standing up.

“I can’t say no to free coffee.” you joke, following after him to the counter.

“And what about free food? Maybe dinner?” he asked, the blush returning to his ears. Your heart fluttered for a moment before you answered.

“I think that would only be fair.” a blush of your own crawling up your neck.

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abarbaricyalp · 3 years

Note

hi. you still taking prompts? sambucky meet cute: the lobby of some kind of really tall building and they both have to get to the to top floors. bucky gets to the elevator first, pushes the "door close" button cause he's in a hurry even though he sees sam rushing towards it, but sam gets there just in time. he saw what bucky did so in retaliation he just pushes every single button to make bucky late. now they're stuck in the longest elevator ride, having to stop at every floor

Friend, this is not a meet cute. This is full on meet ugly 😅

AO3 link in the reblog

Push All My Buttons

Bucky was being haunted. That was the only logical explanation for how someone followed him from Brooklyn to Manhattan, mostly on foot. He’d seen the same guy on two trains, across approximately a thousand city blocks, and in the dumb cafe that Bucky squeezed into five seconds after it opened.

And now, the same handsome young black man was standing in the middle of the Stark Tower lobby, looking lost. Bucky quickly hit the close door button of the elevator that he blessedly had to himself. Apparently, he hit it too loud because the guy’s gaze snapped over to him and recognition lit on his face.

Bucky hit Close Door again.

“Hey! Could you hold that!” the guy called, jogging across the lobby floor and avoiding milling people. The fucking tourists on the ground level were killer.

Bucky was not letting a stalker into the elevator with him when he had 91 floors to get up. He hit Close Door for a third time.

Finally, the guy seemed to realize what Bucky was doing and he scowled before tossing his army bag towards the closing doors. They hit the bag and opened up just in time for the guy to jog over, grab his bag, and step inside.

“You’re kind of an asshole,” he said as he slung the duffle over his shoulder again.

“I’m late to a meeting,” Bucky said, which was true. Mostly what he wanted to say was ‘don’t kill me and wear my face as a mask’ or whatever someone who’d followed him over three boroughs would want to do.

The man looked over at him from the corner of his eyes, looked at the highlighted 91 and then reached over to smooth his hand up every single button on the machine. 2-93 lit up.

Bucky stared.

The man crossed his arms. “Now we’re both late.”

92 and 93 unlit themselves. Those were Stark’s personal suites. 2-91 remained lit.

“You fucking asshole,” Bucky groaned and dragged his hands over his face. “Why would you do that? I’m meeting with Stark. I’ve got his-his-his fucking coffee. Jesus.”

“Because I’d rather be late and piss you off than be on time and let you get away with trying to close the door in my face.”

“What was the point of following me all the way around the city? Are you trying to make my life difficult?”

Now the man fully turned to look over at him. The elevator stopped on the second floor and no one was waiting. “I’m not following you. I don’t even know who you are.”

“Are you kidding?” Bucky asked. “You’ve been on my ass since Lloyd’s, in Brooklyn.”

The man frowned. The elevator eased up to the next floor. “Why would you stop at Lloyd’s if you were coming all the way in here?”

“I like to eat on my commute, that’s not the point! You followed me!”

“Pal, I dunno how to tell you that anyone coming from Brooklyn to Stark Tower’s gotta take a pretty similar route.”

“It’s Bucky, pal.”

“Sam,” the guy said and then honest to God offered his hand out like he wasn’t actively ruining Bucky’s life.

On the fifth floor, someone stepped into the elevator, looked at the buttons and stepped back out. Bucky shook Sam’s hand with a resigned sigh.

“Where’d you get that piece of machinery on your arm?” Sam asked around floor eight.

“It’s not on my arm,” Bucky answered. “It is my arm.”

Sam rolled his eyes and punched the door close button. “Fine, where’d you get that piece of machinery on your torso?”

“It’s not Stark tech,” he answered because he knew that was actually what Sam was asking about. He let his eyes slide over Sam’s body quickly, trying to discern if Sam was here for a prosthetic. The bag on his shoulder and the silver ball-chain around his neck gave away that he was military. Stark Industries had a veterans program, so there was a good population of soldiers walking around the building at any given time. Sam was wearing pants, so Bucky couldn’t be totally sure he didn’t have a bad leg, but he hadn’t clocked any limp or awkward gait since Brooklyn. “You here for a prosthetic?” he asked anyway.

Sam snorted and shook his head. The door opened again and someone got on before reaching to press the ground level button.

“Shit,” the woman said, upon seeing everything else lit up. She quickly hit the door open button and jumped back out. “You know, if you two wanted extra time together, having the doors open on every floor was probably a bad idea.”

“That’s not what we--” Bucky started to argue, but the doors slid shut in front of him.

“Anyway,” Sam started again. “I’m not here for a prosthetic. I’m here with Colonel Rhodes.”

“Wow, big man on campus,” Bucky said drily.

“Oh, right, you’re so unimportant, going up to the 91st floor,” Sam shot back.

“I work here,” Bucky said. He held up the quickly cooling coffee in his hands. “Glorified secretary most days, but I’m supposed to be an engineer.”

“What kind of machines do you work with?”

“Not the planes or the suits. Military tech, mostly. I try to stay away from weapons when I can.”

“Did you serve?” Sam asked.

Wish I hadn’t, Bucky wanted to say. “Nah, actually I lost my arm when Stark flew into an uncaffeinated rage and threw a saw at me.”

“Whatever, man. There’s a thousand ways to lose an arm. It ain’t gotta be out in the desert.” His cheeks didn’t quite color, but he crossed his arms and stared ahead.

“Mountains,” Bucky corrected. “Special OPs.”

“Oh, right, but I’m the big man on campus,” Sam said, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

“Rhodes is a big deal around here. You think Stark’s letting him out of his sight for just anyone?”

“The Air Force is testing a new gadget. Rhodes is involved ‘cause Air Force. Maybe you worked on it.”

“Yeah, maybe. It’s a big program. Stark’s got a lot of things going on all at once. Lots of engineers and designers.”

The elevator stopped on the 25th floor and Sam and Bucky both said, “We’re going up,” at the same time to keep the group of suits from crowding into the elevator with them.

Sam kicked his bag into the corner and sat down heavily in front of it, leaning back and closing his eyes. “So you’re a soldier who works for Stark Industries but didn’t get your prosthetic from him, even though he’s the cutting edge of prosthetics and has a full-paid program for those injured in duty.”

Bucky gave up and sat down too. He cradled the coffee cup between his legs, which was probably a bad idea, but this whole morning had been bad. “My story’s a little more complicated than that,” he said. “A lot more twists and turns. My arm is still high tech, though. I asked for a flamethrower, or at least a saw hand but I didn’t get it.”

Sam laughed and, for the first time all morning, Bucky thought maybe he wasn’t so angry at him anymore. Sam laughed like nothing had ever hurt him before, which made it feel like maybe nothing had hurt Bucky either. “Well, there’s your problem. Stark would’ve definitely given you that, from what I hear about the man.”

Bucky grinned over at him and dropped his head back against the wall. It was uncomfortable and the jostling of the car every few seconds rattled his brain, but it beat standing up, or keeping his eyes on Sam for too long. “You’re still in the service?”

“Well, not all of us are so lucky to get a medical discharge on our first tour.”

“Oh, yeah, real luck of the Irish, me. And it was my second. I wasn’t SpecOps until I finished my first stint in the army.”

“Right, right,” Sam said. Then, “You joined up young.”

“So did you. I mean, I assume you’re on your second or third tour too, if you’re being asked to work with Rhodes.”

“Second. I took a long leave to do some school stuff.”

“Oh, so working with Rhodes and you’re smart. You really are the whole package.”

“I’m working with Colonel Rhodes because I’m smart,” Sam corrected. “I could probably take your job. I’m real techy.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t. I’m fond of my apartment and I definitely can’t afford it without being here.”

“Right, I assume you make buck working for Stark.”

“Eh, he’s still a multi-billionaire, he could pay us more.”

“What’s that say about the military then?”

“I’ll drink to that, bro.”

Sam chuckled again and opened his eyes to glance over at Bucky. “How does someone go from losing their arm in a SpecOps mission to working for Stark Industries.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. It’s at least a three course discussion.”

The elevator dinged on level 39 and paused, though there was no one there.

“Almost halfway up,” Sam pointed out.

“You are good at math,” Bucky joked just to see Sam roll his eyes again, which he did. “Why Air Force?” he asked when the doors decided to shut again.

“It’s gonna sound so stupid, but I’ve been dreaming about flying since I was a little kid. I wanted to be an astronaut and a lot of astronauts were in the military. So, air force. Figured if I never got to space, at least I spent years in the air anyway.”

Bucky didn’t think that was stupid at all. “You’re right, that’s pretty dumb.” Sam flipped him off with a laugh. “Are you a good pilot?”

“Pal, I’m one of the best out there.”

“God, you chair force guys are all the same,” Bucky said. He squawked as Sam leaned over to tackle him down. “Coffee, coffee! Sam, if you spill Stark’s coffee I’ll make you explain it to him!” he threatened as Sam pulled him away from the cup that had managed to remain upright by an unlikely bout of luck and physics.

Sam was fucking strong, wrangling Bucky down and holding him still. Sure, he was on his knees and Bucky’s legs were mostly trapped under him, but still. Bucky wasn’t a small guy and the prosthetic wasn’t light either but Sam had tugged him out of the corner anyway.

“Oh my God, seriously?” a guy asked on the next floor.

Bucky took the moment of distraction to dig his knee into Sam’s ribs and flip them over as the doors shut again. He locked his fingers around Sam’s wrist and held it to the floor. Sam tugged at the hold futilely.

“Shit, what’s that made out of?”

“That’s another three course answer.”

“At this rate? No chance,” Sam said and got his foot braced against Bucky’s shoulder before shoving him off. Bucky sat back and made sure the coffee was still standing. Sam leaned up against the wall by the doors. They both took in heavy breaths.

“What are you doing with Rhodes?” Bucky asked at floor fifty, when he was pretty positive they weren’t about to leap at each other again.

“Maybe that’s a three course answer,” Sam responded with a small smirk.

“I didn’t know Stark was working on planes with the Air Force.”

“Did I say plane?”

“Helicopters, whatever,” Bucky amended with a wave of his hand. “What do you fly?”

“I’m pararescue.”

Bucky let out a low whistle. “Shit, that’s more impressive than working with Rhodes, maybe. You a doctor?”

“I’ve got triage training, but I’m not, like, ready to walk into an E.R. as soon as I get home or anything.” Sam ran his hand over his buzzed hair and Bucky suddenly wanted to know what it looked like grown out, or if he’d ever kept it long. How he styled it and if he had facial hair and what he was hiding under his shirt and Jesus Christ, he needed to think about anything else.

“Well, from what I’ve seen, your beside manner probably sucks.”

Sam kicked out his foot lamely, missing Bucky’s by a mile. “You ain’t hurt. I don’t gotta give you no bedside manner.”

“What floor do you want off on?” Bucky asked after a glance at the rapidly dimming lights on on the button panel.

“85.”

“Right, yeah, Rhodes works there. We’re at 70 now.”

“What’s it like? Just offices?”

“Nah, he’s got a whole training floor. There’re a few offices, a reception area, but there’s also a gym and some space for simulated battle, sparring rooms. It’s pretty cool. You’ll have a lot of room for whatever he’s doing.”

Sam nodded and looked over at the gaping doors with the first look of unease he’d had all morning.

“You nervous?”

“You would be too,” Sam answered. “If you knew what I was doing. But, hey,” he looked away as the doors shut, “my partner’s already up there, so I can’t make any more of a fool of myself than he probably already has.”

Bucky grinned and shrugged. “I dunno about that. You seem pretty incapable,” he said sarcastically.

Sam kicked out his leg again and then stood up and grabbed his bag from next to Bucky. “You work here every day?”

Bucky nodded and took Sam’s hand when he offered it down to him to haul himself up. “9 to too late.”

“Well, I’m around for a few weeks. Maybe we could walk together instead of around each other next time,” he suggested.

Bucky ignored the swooping of his stomach. “Yeah, if you can keep up.”

Sam jostled his ribs with an elbow. “I can keep up. You’re the one with the machine on your arm.”

“Yeah, and what about it? I could hand-walk faster than you could run.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Sam snorted. The door opened on floor 80 and Sam’s mouth screwed to one side briefly before he looked at Bucky. “Maybe you’ll get my number out of all of this eventually.”

“Maybe I don’t want it after this stunt.”

Sam placed his hand on Bucky’s metal shoulder solemnly. “You want it.”

With a grin, Bucky shrugged Sam off and shoved him forward. “Get outta here, Wilson.”

“How’d you know--?” Sam asked, taking half a step back to the doors.

Bucky reached over to trace his fingers over the name patch on the other side of the bag. “I’m just a good guesser.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. What’s your--”

The door shut between them and Bucky sagged back against the wall with a sigh. His heart was racing like he was a teenager again and his head felt cloudy. This meeting was not going to go well at this point. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to focus on anything but Sam’s smile or the way he looked in boots or the weight of him above Bucky’s body.

When the elevator dinged on 91, he grabbed Stark’s coffee and let himself off and then almost immediately ran into Rhodes.

“Oh, hey, sorry. Hey, I was just on the elevator with your meeting,” he said. “Sorry he’s late. I hit a bunch of buttons on accident when I got in,” Bucky lied as he passed the coffee to Stark.

“No harm, no foul,” Rhodey said easily. “Clearly I wasn’t even down there. I was actually waiting on you.”

“Me? What for? I’m not working on anything military.”

“You’re not?” Stark asked around a mouthful of coffee. “You assigning yourself projects now?”

“You didn’t say anything about the wings being military. I mean, how would that even work? It’d put a soldier in the air bare.”

“Yeah,” Stark agreed sarcastically and clapped a hand down on Bucky’s metal arm. “What kind of soldier runs around without full body protection.”

“What are you calling the project?” Rhodey asked, guiding the discussion back to where it was supposed to be.

“EXO-Falcon,” Bucky said. “I was modeling it after some of Stark’s EXO-skeleton suits, but it’s much more compact, situated on the back with all support sitting around the chest and ribs.”

Rhodey nodded. “Can I see them?”

Bucky quickly dashed to his work bench and came back with the wings in their case. “They’re carbon fiber, which makes them a little more flexible and keeps them a little lighter weight. I had thought about doing interlocking plates like my arm, but it wasn’t working. I took some of the more basic structures of my arm and modeled a folding mechanism out of it instead. The wings retract into and out of the case.”

He pulled the jetpack on and stepped away from the other work spaces before clicking the wings open. They snapped out behind him, grand and proud. Not unlike how Bucky was feeling at that moment.

“And the jetpack? Is that ready to go?” Rhodey asked.

Bucky shifted from foot to foot. “Well, in theory. I haven’t tested it out yet ‘cause I’m not trained to do things like that, but I’ve put DUM-E into the air and nothing blew up.”

“Well, the Air National Guard guys here today will be thrilled to hear that,” Stark said. “Shall we?”

“You don’t wanna test the jets before you put it on someone?” Bucky asked, a little strangled. He trusted his design. But he really, really hadn’t put as much time into the whole human safety element as he did the ‘up and running’ element.

“We’ll strap a crash test dummy to them in over the mats. It’ll be fine. The fire suppression system on 85 is better than up here.”

“No it isn’t. It’s just further from your suites,” Rhodey said.

Stark shrugged and tossed a piece of pastry in his mouth. “It’s my building. I say we go down to 85.”

“Well, that’s where I left your trainee or whatever too,” Bucky said as he shrugged off the pack and packed it all back up. “Do you want me to grab the other pack?”

“No worries, I’ve already moved it,” Stark said. “I knew Rhodes was coming by. You’re welcome, those things are heavy.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t have DUM-E move it,” Rhodey teased. He made his way over to the elevator and Bucky followed with Stark on his heels. The ride down to 85 was much faster than the ride up to 91. It was a miracle what not hitting every button could do. They stepped out onto the floor and made their way to the training mats, where two other people were already standing.

“Barnes, I’d like to keep you on the Falcon project,” Rhodey said. “No one knows the wings like you do. That being said, you’ll be working with live test subjects now, so it’s a little more critical.”

“Hey, you don’t have to say it that way!” the blond man in the middle of the room said. “Call us, like, Top Guns or something.”

“You don’t get to choose your nickname around here,” Stark called over, propping himself up on a stack of sparring mats to watch from afar. “Ask Manchurian Candidate. He definitely didn’t choose his.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Barnes, this Sergeant Wiatrek and Sergeant Wilson.”

Fuck.

“It’s Barnes, huh?” Sam asked, smugly crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh, Sammy, you didn’t hook up with this guy already did you?” the blond asked in teasing horror.

“Screw you, no. I met him this morning.”

“Ah,” Rhodey said with a grin. “This was the meeting you made late,” he said to Bucky.

“Yeah, we met this morning,” Bucky confirmed with a raging blush. How was this his life?

“Well, good, you can get right to work on the wings,” Rhodey said. “Let me go find a crash dummy.”

“DUM-E,” Stark called as Rhodey started away.

“I’ll find that doll first,” Rhodey challenged.

Bucky turned from their bickering and looked at Sam, then the blond next to him.

“It’s Riley,” the other man said and offered out his hand. “I’m better conversation than this one.”

Bucky doubted it. He shook the guy’s hand and then held out the briefcase like a shield between him and Sam’s teasing gaze. “Do you wanna see the wings?”

Riley nodded eagerly and Bucky moved to another stack of mats to open the case. Riley and Sam stood on either side of him. As Riley pulled the jetpack free, Sam pulled out his phone. Bucky thought he was going to film his friend inevitably crashing, but instead he turned on the auto-help.

“Hey, where’s the nearest three-course restaurant?” he asked without looking away from Bucky, without his grin faltering.

Bucky dragged his hands down his face as he looked at Sam. Riley yelped behind them after the tell-tell whoosh of the jet pack, but Sam still didn’t look away. Bucky couldn’t either.

#sambucky #sambucky fanfic #sambucky fanfiction #sam wilson #bucky barnes #the falcon and the winter soldier #the falcon #the winter soldier #fanfiction #fanfic #writing #i answer things

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shadowgeist-stars · 3 years

Text

Ren x Gakushu: Nightmares

Ren was standing in the Chairman's office, watching the man pace around him, Araki, Seo, and Koyama with practiced, measured steps. His words were almost entirely unintelligible, but his voice was just like always. The same eerie, low tenor that made his skin try to crawl off his body, like he suddenly had some kind of flesh-eating disease.

Suddenly the monster struck. A huge fleshy mass with eyes so big that they overlapped one another on its face. A mouth so wide and sharply fanged that it could swallow anyone whole and shred them apart in its jaws anyway. Before he knew it, there was an agonizing sting at the back of his head and the better part of his back. Ren was somehow thrown against the wall, pain tearing against his sternum and surrounding ligaments making it nearly impossible to breathe. The others were no different, as if they were flung just as woefully unprepared into the same MMA fight that he was in.

Then he realized all of their bodies hadn't even moved.

For all intents and purposes, their minds had been violently punted from each of their bodies, leaving them as empty shells that did nothing but chant an insatiable desire to kill E-Class. If Ren didn't have trouble breathing before, he was all but suffocating now. It only got worse when Gakushu reentered the room, only to call out to Ren and the others in horror. The mix of anger, disgust, and outright fear with which he stared at his father and his pet beast nearly wrenched his racing heart clear out of his chest.

“Gakushu, please… I'm right here…”

He forced his ghostly form to stand up. Dizziness spun his vision every which way. His shaking feet didn't feel anything close to steady as he tried to stumble toward his friend. The monster over the principal's shoulder only pounced again, painfully crushing his throat in its clawed grip as he could only face that menacing, unnatural grin. Darkness was beginning to dot his vision as it blurred with tears. He reached helplessly for his best friend with whatever vanishing strength he had left, as it all went cold and dark and --

Ren's eyes shot open with a gasp, heart pounding and breathing as if he'd just endured one of Gakushu's soccer games. He lay frozen and tense in his bed, clutching his bed covers and staring at nothing but his own bedroom floor as he slowly willed himself to calm down.

After he finally deemed himself calmed from the nightmare, (and telling himself that No, panic-brain, my blazer that I keep hung on my door is not a monster that's here to kill me) he sat up in his bed and checked the time on his alarm clock.

Only a few minutes after 3 o’clock, in the morning.

Ren grimaced to himself, running a hand through his stupid bedhead. Either Seo or Koyama would probably laugh about some kind of joke related to the time that he’s almost certain he’d rather not hear. However, he just thought it was too darn early to be up, even with something like a very graphic memory/nightmare to blame.

The principal monster from his nightmare flashed behind his eyes, in its own twisted "speak of the devil." What better way of being told by one's own brain that going back to sleep at that moment was not an option?

…Maybe a cup of tea or something warm (and uncaffeinated) would settle him down enough to help.

With a sigh, he got out of bed, pulled on a shirt, and headed to the kitchen.

He knew the house well enough that he didn't have to turn on the lights. He knew every place where the floors creaked, exactly where to stick to the walls and where to simply keep a light foot. The tiny nightlights in the halls kept it just visible enough that one didn't have to stumble around in complete darkness.

Many years ago, traversing his house at night was a game to Ren. One where his eyes sported beams of light to help him see. A game in which the dark wasn’t a monster to fear, but his playmate.

When he reached the kitchen, he breathed a soft sigh of relief. He grabbed a mug from the dish cabinet, but before he could do anything else, he noticed a light.

Light that was coming from the living room TV, partly shadowed by a figure on the couch.

Ren had a feeling he knew who that was. Guess I’m not the only one having a rough night.

With that in mind, he grabbed a second mug before pulling the jar of dried chamomile from the back of a different cabinet, fixing some tea with it.

The person on the couch didn’t respond to any noise he made, which meant one of two things: he was either quite aware of his presence and simply waiting for Ren to reveal himself, or he was out of it to the point of somehow not noticing the brunette was even there.

With someone like Gakushu Asano, there was no in-between with those two possibilities.

The moment the tea was ready, Ren poured it into the two mugs, a small voice in the back of his mind reminding him to put some sugar in Gakushu’s mug. He likes his tea sweetened a little. It’ll help him calm down more easily if he’s tense or had a nightmare, and right now he's possibly both.

He glanced at whatever he was watching on TV, which was turned down so low he couldn’t quite hear it. A documentary: his go-to for calming down from a bad dream. Crime or historic ones usually mean something relatively tame. But this one’s a nature documentary; he only goes to those things when it’s really bad.

The taller boy took a deep breath before heading over, humming a familiar tune and making sure to seek out the one floorboard he knew would creak. A word of advice from a friend, so as to not scare him once in his line of sight.

The redhead made an almost unnoticeable jolt before bright purple eyes met his. (So he really was out of it to a point he didn't know I was there, or at least hyperfixating on the TV.) He was wrapped in a throw blanket and had his legs laid across the length of the couch; he was probably planning on sleeping there if he was able to calm down enough.

“Ren… How long have you been up?” he asked, shifting around to sit properly on the sofa.

He chuckled, setting down the mugs on the coffee table until he was sitting down beside his boyfriend. “Obviously not as long as you.” His smile became a frown when he got no snarky response. “Nightmares keeping you up, too, huh?”

The shorter boy only nodded once, taking his mug when it was offered. “I hoped to be able to sleep again, after getting my mind off of it… And I didn’t expect to be discovered."

Ren hummed, sipping his own beverage. "…It was the brainwashing incident on my end… Araki saying it felt like an out-of-body experience was pretty accurate."

The ginger didn't seem too surprised. "…It was partially that exact incident for myself… and also the immediate aftermath of the pole-toppling match. I still find it hard to forget how badly Kevin and the other exchange students were injured, because of him… it was so severe that they all had to return to their home countries, once they'd recovered enough to do so."

The others didn’t hear much of that when it happened beyond when the paramedics showed up at the school. At the time, they all knew better than to ask while the wound was still fresh. Then again, it wasn’t like he would’ve been coherent enough to elaborate on the situation anyway, given how he fell asleep on the ride home.

"Least they don't have to worry about him hurting them again now…" he replied finally, "or anyone, to be honest. Especially not you." He pulled the strawberry blond boy into his side. "I think you remember well enough… how worried I was when he hit you in front of everybody."

The shorter boy’s exhale reverberated with exhaustion as his head drooped on his lover’s shoulder, followed by the sound of him emptying his mug. “Not as much as I wish I did… but at the same time more than I care to admit. It’s exhausting just thinking about it.”

The brunette smiled sadly at the sheer amount of fatigue in his tone, giving his shoulder a squeeze before finishing his own drink. "All the same, we can say that we're safe from him, and that in itself means a lot… By the way, I would've been alright with you coming over to my room after you woke up from your nightmare."

That only earned him a sleepy, yet sour look. "Why would I do that? I'm not a toddler, Ren."

The brunette snickered, using a thumb and index finger to get the other to face him. "Maybe not, but it's not childish to be afraid or need someone else, even for just a little company. Haven't you felt any better since I came out here?"

Gakushu tried to avert his face. "I suppose you could say that…"

Begrudging victory; I'll take it.

He smiled as he leaned in to kiss the shorter boy. He slipped his tongue in easily, tasting the chamomile's aftermath and practically feeling the remnants of Gakushu's tension and traces of his own nightmare disappear into the documentary's white noise. The ginger all but melted into his arms, the long and lazy kiss bearing down on his eyelids with sleep in a wave of honeyed warmth. Pulling away showed a pair of hazy purple eyes struggling to open again, on an adorable, blushing face.

“I love you, Gakushu; sweet dreams.”

The shorter boy gave a slow, cat-like blink, snuggling further against the taller boy. “Hmm… love you too… Ren…”

Ren chuckled at his slurred speech as he took Gakushu's empty mug from his hands, placing it and his own mug on the coffee table. Afterwards he turned off the TV, pulling Gakushu along as he shifted them around, until they were now both laying sideways on the couch, with a red-haired head on his chest. He managed to resituate the throw blanket over them both, draping long arms over his beloved; one settling across his waist, the other scratching his scalp in rhythmic circles.

He leaned into the crevice between the couch cushion and backrest with a contented sigh. With the weight and warmth of his boyfriend in his arms and the steady whispering breeze of breath in his ears and over his chest, the image of the former principal and the big-eyed monster was nothing more than a fading memory. They were both safe here, in this homey little bubble. Pressing a final kiss to his boyfriend's crown, he laid his own head down and closed his eyes, letting sleep carry him away on a far more welcoming cloud.

It wasn’t the first time they had such nightmares, and it may well be far from the last, but for now, they could sleep without fear, and that was enough.

#assassination classroom #gakushu asano #ren sakakibara #ren x gakushu #rengaku #asaren #asano gakushu #sakakibara ren #ansatsu kyoushitsu #i like rarepairs okay?

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scholarlypidgeot · 2 years

Note

assumptions: you have a caffeine addiction, like tea but drink coffee daily, were a teacher's pet in high school but not middle school cause you got distracted easily, get super obsessed when you start a book series, and prefer typing on a laptop over a desk computer

1: Yes! It was worse in college, but it's still bad.

2: I only like certain types of tea, and always uncaffeinated. The coffee thing is spot on though.

3: technically no, because I was homeschooled from 3rd grade on; however in college I was kind of a teacher's pet for some of my professors, if that's a thing that can happen with adults. And in middle school I was very easily distracted, that's true. I did become good friends with one of my professors though.

4: Yes. I get super invested when I get started on anything but a story above all else.

5: correct. Let me bring my tiny computer dammit.

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unfunny-quips · 4 years

Text

Snippets from The 22 Deaths of a Fool (an akeshu fic that I’ll eventually write more for).

Makoto’s week started far too early Monday morning with a call about a body being fished out of the bay.

It was supposed to start with a nice breakfast with Haru. Makoto had been looking forward to testing the latest scone recipe her wife had come up with for the cafe and enjoying the freshly roasted coffee Haru had made special just for them. Their schedules had been hectic recently, not leaving them with much time to see each other outside of curling together in an exhausted heap on the couch for a bit before shuffling off to bed.

There was no helping it, unfortunately. Between Okumura Industries’ newest restaurant branch Grand Opening pulling most of Haru’s time not spent at the cafe and the precinct being critically understaffed there was little time left for each other. Makoto’s captain had promised that at least a few more detectives were going to be pulled in from other precincts around the city - and apparently one all the way from Osaka - but until they actually were transferred Makoto was stuck handling the casework of three people. She didn’t even have a partner anymore to share the workload with since her last one had quit to pursue a career in writing romance novels.

She couldn’t even be mad. Not really. Himura’s novels were a delight to read and Makoto had bought every last one he’d written over the past three years and even had him sign them for her. He never seemed so happy as he did the day of his retirement party when he was loudly recounting all the time he would have to focus on his next series.

So, overworked and underprepared, it was to the bay she went. Dark circles under her eyes from not enough sleep and her wife’s coffee on hand as she trudged her way through the chill autumn morning. Haru had been nice enough to drag herself out of their warm bed and make a thermos for her while she showered and got ready. Makoto didn’t know what she’d do without her. Probably walk into traffic in an exhausted, uncaffeinated daze.

She arrived at the scene almost awake just as the body was being carefully zipped up and placed on a gurney, the coroner finishing up her notes as Makoto donned the last of her appropriate crime scene gear and carefully picked her past where the the forensic techs were scouring the area for evidence and towards the perpetually hunched form of the coroner.

“Dr. Ito.” Makoto greeted, only just managing not to yawn. The Coroner worked nights and by all rights should have already gone home by now rather than dragging her exhausted self to an early morning crime scene. She didn’t need Makoto yawning to remind her of how long she’d been on shift.

“Detective Niijima. Nice to see you this beautiful morning.” Ito said flatly, looking more dead eyed and exhausted than usual. A feat in and of itself, especially with her wild mess of hair tucked back under the hood of her clean suit and her tired eyes half hidden behind a pair of safety glasses. Ito nodded towards the bodybag now being loaded up onto the transport. “Won’t be able to tell more til I get him back to the office, but so far it looks like you have an interesting one on your hands this time.”

Makoto tilted her head, “Oh?” She asked. Ito was good at her job, exceptionally good, but had an air of apathy to her that rarely was shaken. Makoto had come to learn over the past few years that the coroner wasn’t actually indifferent to the victims she encountered or the cases she helped work on, but rather just worn out. Fifteen years on the job could do that to a person.

That Ito looked so interested now spoke of one thing for the case: trouble.

“Yep.” Ito said, “The call reporting the body came in a bit over three hours ago from port security. Me and the techs have been on the scene for about two hours.” Ito jabbed a gloved finger over her shoulder towards transport, “Everything I’ve seen in the report so far shows sightings of our victim drifting around since 2:06am. That’s four hours. And it’s very likely based on what the tech’s told me about the currents here in the port that our friend was probably pushed in from the bridge over the course of several hours,” Ito spread her hands wide, “So in the water probably since midnight and yet our victim looks fresh as a daisy. Barely any sign of decomp on him at all. Hell just you and me talking and not official? Looks like he could have died minutes ago.”

Makoto blinked. “That’s….”

Unsettling. To say the least.

“Yeah, I know.” Ito nodded, “Like I said, I won’t really know for sure until I get him back at the office and really start digging into things. But that’s not all.”

Unease pooled in her stomach at that. A faint warning at the back of her mind she couldn’t quite name just yet. Frowning behind her face mask. “What else is there?”

Ito glanced over her notes, “For the most part he looks fairly normal. Male. Black hair. Appears to be in mid to late twenties in good shape. 175cm tall. No apparent injuries or cause of death. Then there’s the tattoo.” The coroner pointed up at her covered head, “Right dead center of his forehead he has two Xs. Like roman numerals. And that’s not even getting to his eyes. Never seen anything like it before. Bright gold.”

“Gold?” Makoto found her mind, still a bit foggy at the edges, snapped wide awake at that. “What do you mean? Like contacts or?”

Ito shook her head. “I checked and nothing. I thought it was a trick of the light first but my assistant confirmed it and we double checked the pictures the photographer took.” Ito shifted, “Certain diseases can be known to cause a copper ring in the eye, I’m thinking it might be something similar. Certainly will make it easier to identify him.”

“Right,” Makoto said, feeling far away from her body. She watched blankly as Ito finished up her notes and climbed into the coroner’s van.

Golden eyes.

Apprehension crept at the back of her neck, a faint dread she couldn’t quite explain settling on her shoulders as she thought of a world long gone to her. A world of shadows and monsters and gods. A world of golden eyes.

A world that shouldn’t exist anymore.

—

Ren Amamiya stood still and quiet in the doorway of Sae’s office, eyes hidden beneath a tangle of dark bangs as he stared at the floor before him.

Sae hadn’t even noticed him arrive, so intent on making sure she didn’t drop the oversized pile of paperwork in her arms as she hauled it over to her desk. She’d just made him out in her periphery as glanced down, and nearly jumped out of her own skin as she did so. She very nearly flung the files in her arms across the room - which would have been a nightmare to gather back up and get back into order.

She should have never let Tae talk her into watching that horror movie the other night, she’d been jumpy ever since.

Swearing under her breath as she realized just who it was lurking there she sighed, “Ren, god, you scared me half to death.” Adjusting her hold on the folders in her arms she added, “I always thought Makoto was exaggerating when she said you needed a bell on you. Here, give me a second to put these down.

Turning away from the boy in the doorway she dropped the files onto her desk, glancing at the clock that ticked away next to her computer, the soft clicks of the mechanism turning slowly turning the hands the only sound in the still office. Last minute before midnight, no wonder she was so wired. The files could wait until morning when she could recruit the legal secretary to help her pour over them.

“What are you even doing here so late?” She asked her unexpected guest absently. Her attention was on shuffling the file folders into a neater pile - exhausted or no, there was no need for clutter. Once some semblance of order was in place she looked up at him with a small smile. “Don’t tell me you need a lawyer.”

Ren was no longer in the doorway. Only empty air and the reception area beyond with it’s expansive windows that overlooked the glittering city beyond.

She paused, brows furrowed in confusion. She hadn’t heard him leave. Well, she supposed she hadn’t heard him arrive either - and something buzzed faintly at the back of her mind at that thought. A warning that she’d missed something.

Frowning she shook it off and strode across the room to the open door. Knowing Ren, he’d likely seen the chance for a prank after seeing how spooked she’d been earlier. Maybe even had come in the first place for that exact purpose, Sae had mentioned he’d swung by the clinic recently. Sae didn’t doubt the doctor and the thief might hatch up a plan together to try and rattle her in the wake of the horror movie debacle.

The reception area was empty when she leaned out, no sign of Ren at all.

She frowned.

While her office only had her desk lamp on, lengthening the shadows and giving her eyes a rest from the fluorescent overheads, the reception area was still brightly lit. There were now dark corners for Ren to hide behind, and from where her office was she could see behind the reception desk. The other offices were locked up tight, and though she didn’t doubt that the thief could open one and slip inside in the sparse seconds it took her to cross the room, she doubted that he would just to pull a prank on her.

“Ren?” She called, leaning to see if he had tucked himself behind one of the plants by the elevator. He wasn’t there. Her frown deepened. Had she imagined him there after all? She hadn’t thought so. For all Ren tended to blend into a crowd when he wanted to go unnoticed, his presence was a difficult thing to ignore once you knew him. He had that kind of charisma, even back when he’d been in highschool. Bruised, beaten and drugged half out of his mind and still able to convince her to help him. He’d only grown into himself more in the ten years that followed.

There was no answer to her call. Her frown deepened.

She’d call him, she decided. If he was playing a prank on her, whatever cheerful sugar-pop ringtone Futaba had set him up with this week would give him away. Mind settled she turned -

And came face to face with Ren, a scant few inches behind her.

With a swear she jumped and stumbled back, catching herself on the doorframe so that she didn’t tumble to the floor entirely.

Ren didn’t make a move towards her, no attempt to reach out and help her, no offered apologies for scaring her so badly. Just stood there, still as a statue with shoulders hunched awkwardly up around his ears. His head was dipped down towards the floor, chin nearly to his chest. His face was obscured by the odd angle and the wild mess of his dark hair. His clothes, too, were wrong. A frayed and thin jumpsuit, black and white stripes, a shackle on each wrists as they hung limply by his sides. There were heavy chains hanging from them, pooling at his bare feet.

Something was wrong.

The thought settled coldly in her stomach, made the hair at the back of her neck prickle and heart hammer in her chest. She felt cold, looking at him, her hands shaking and fingers numb. Ren wasn’t speaking, wasn’t moving, wasn’t breathing.

That gnawing thought from before, that sense that she missed something from just moments ago. Seeing Ren now, awkward and strange and wrong, it made the pieces click in place.

She hadn’t heard the elevator. Hadn’t heard the squealing of the stairwell door being pulled open either. Ren had always been light on his feet, a cat’s grace with the same tendency to get in trouble, but even then he would have had to slide in through a window in order to not have been heard arriving on the floor. A tricky thing to do twenty stories up.

“Ren?” She asked, cautious, voice wavering slightly in the sudden stillness of the room. Her throat felt tight.

A distant echo at the back of her mind, some ancient instinct shivering in warning. Not of danger, per se, but of something. She felt as if she was something very small and very helpless standing in the shadow of a giant about to collapse. Rooted to the spot despite knowing that the crash of the colossus might kill her.

Something dripped from his face to the floor. She thought, for the briefest of seconds, that it was a tear. That Ren might be crying but as her eyes flicked down she saw that no. Not tears. Blood. Thick and dark, sliding from his hidden face and collecting in a horrible constellation at their feet.

“I’m sorry.”

Her body trembled at his voice, cold fear icing her veins. Soft and thready, more whimper than whisper. It was not his voice that made her shake, not exactly, but something in it. A high clear note she couldn’t identify that made her ears ring and her bones throb. She felt it in her chest, felt her breaths struggle beneath the weight of it. She thought that her knees might buckle beneath the weight of it.

His head, slowly, began to lift. The movement was wrong - it was all wrong - too slow, too fast, too at odds with the way a human’s body was supposed to work.

She saw his eyes first.

Gleaming and golden, shining all the brighter against the dark blood that covered his face. No, not covered. His face was simply gone. The flesh around his eyes torn away grotesquely, it looked almost like a mask.

Her feet were rooted to the spot, body locked in place by the horrible desperate expression he held. She wanted to run, wanted to flee, but her body wouldn’t obey. Even as he took a shambling awkward step, body still not moving the way it should, the way someone as graceful and languid as Amamiya Ren was meant to move. He shambled and stumbled, hands raised - and they too were red, fingernails torn and hand stained, god it looked like he’d torn his face off. The thought made her want to scream, everything about the situation made her want to scream.

“I’m…I’m so sorry.” He collapsed into her, hands - cold, cold, cold - desperately clung to her. She felt the chill of his skin down to her very bones, felt the weight of fear and oddly grief choking her. Not her own, not entirely. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”

He whimpered it like it was a prayer. His words looping on each other again and again, apologies she couldn’t understand crashing over her, drowning her. That sound that tainted his voice worsened, making her head spin and her stomach churn. He sagged into her hold - when did she move? When did her arms reach up to catch him, when did she become the one keeping him in place? - and they both collapsed to the floor.

She was crying. Cold tears sliding down her cheeks and landing on his torn and tattered face. His eyes were so wide, so frightened that she felt sick as his terror crashed and entwined with her own.

And then she felt the solidness of his body give.

His shoulders, his back, crumbling beneath the weight of her hold as if he was no more than wet paper. Inch by inch he collapsed into himself, black cracks appearing over him - not just his skin, but his eyes and even his clothes - the splintering spidery lines of cracked porcelain. Where he’d already crumbled was only black ash, flaking away and falling apart in her hands.

His mouth, half deteriorated already, opened.

“I’m so sorry.”

Sae jerked awake at her desk, nearly knocking over the cold cup of coffee at her elbow. Her heart pounded in her chest and she panted as her gaze darting around the dark corners of her office.

A dream. Just a dream.

She’d fallen asleep while pouring over her files and had another nightmare from the horror movie Tae showed her. That was all.

She’d should just go home and try to get some actual rest, maybe watch a comedy to settle her mind. And tomorrow, tomorrow she’d call Ren and see if he wanted to meet up for lunch. Just as a reassurance, just to see a friend. And maybe - Her hands stilled where she’d been gathering up her things, eyes wide as she stared.

The clock read midnight.

There was ash staining her fingertips.

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 3 years

Text

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid 192

192

Holding Keith’s hand in public felt nice. Walking from the hotel to the restaurant, Lance found himself watching families of all types as they walked. He couldn’t help it. A smile coming to his lips as he watched kids nag their parents, or listened to them as they played. His hand sitting on his stomach while his mind substituted the kids for their twins, and the parents as Keith. Keith would be such a good dad. He absolutely knew that for certain. He’d worried when Keith had spent most of the night sleepless, the walk seeming to invigorate him as it wore away Keith’s energy. Keith needed his coffee pronto, lest a server cop his boyfriend’s uncaffeinated anger loaf rage.

Leading Keith into the restaurant, it had a kind of rustic charm. Heavy oak logs made the walls, with all kinds of memorabilia stuck to the walls, including a giant stuffed fish with a plaque that red “Billy Bass”. It appealed to his tacky side in all the right ways. Sending Keith to find a seat, his boyfriend slouched off to throw himself into the only available booth. Lance giving a shake of his head affectionately. He really loved that cranky werewolf. Waddling over to the counter, he forced himself to remember to look and act like a girl. Keith didn’t know he was terrified of the same kind of comments made at the petting zoo being repeated. This trip had to go as well and as smoothly as it could. Picking up the menu, he knew instantly he wanted more than pancakes. Everything smelt vaguely appealing, and Keith would eat like there was no tomorrow.

“What can I do you for, darling?”

Jumping at being unexpectedly talked to, the woman behind the counter cackled at him

“Sorry, love! I didn’t think you’d be lost in thought over a menu”

Lance flashed a smile, careful of his teeth. He kind of wished he’d worn a set of glasses. The more he stood in the restaurant, the more he heard and the bigger the world suddenly seemed to be

“Sorry, everything sounds so good I’m not sure where to begin”

The woman chuckled

“I remember those feelings. How many you got in there?”

“Two. I guess I do look pretty big”

“And carrying low, you’ll be in labour no time, love. Now. What do think?”

No. Nope. No labour for him. Not unless he was comfortably set up at VOLTRON... he’d hold his legs together for as long as possible if their twins dared to think of coming this soon

“I think I’m famished. Can I please order two sets of pancakes and two sets of the bacon breakfasts? Ooooh, and I’ll grab a fruit salad, two of the largest coffees you have, aaaand... I think I’ll have a green tea latte... and a fruit salad. Yeah, that’s all, thank you... oh! Do you guys have soy milk? I don’t want to gas my boyfriend”

The woman behind the counter ogled him fo a moment, shaking her head and laughing again

“I don’t know where you’re going to fit all that... We have soy, almond, and regular. None of that skin stuff”

Lance blushed. He couldn’t help that he didn’t exactly know what he felt like, but food seemed like an amazing idea

“It’s for me and my partner. Soy will be fine, thanks”

The woman slapped his arm gently with the back of her hand

“I know that, love. Just an old woman teasing”

“You don’t look that old”

She looked about the age he should look... her name tag reading “Dae”, the white tag almost lost in the red of her bright red shirt

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day. Now, darling, cash or card?”

“Card please”

The woman rang up there largish breakfast bill. Lance paying as he was trapped into small talk

“So, love. Are you here for our Easter markets? Or you one of those passing through?”

“Oh, my boyfriend and I are spending a few days here. We’re meeting up with some friends”

The woman printed him a receipt without him asking

“I’m sure you’ll find this quite boring compared with the cities around here, but we have own charm. Now, can I get a name for this order?”

He’d been prepared for that. He’d made kind of a mental story for himself. He and his photographer boyfriend were driving up, stopping in small towns as Keith built up a portfolio in the hopes of turning to selling prints online

“Lancella... my, uh, parents were hoping for a boy”

“I’m sure they love you at any rate. We can’t help our names. You go take a load off and I’ll bring your coffee over. Take my advice, love, take a look at the markets while you’re here. They really are something else”

“Awesome. We might just take your advice. Thank you”

Siding, barely, into the booth opposite Keith, Keith was glaring at the menu in his hands. Tugging it free, his boyfriend huffed as Lance set the menu back into its holder

“Your coffee’s coming”

“Good”

Keith should have perked up at the thought of coffee. The scent was strong enough that Lance’s stomach was threatening to turn traitor right there at the booth

“Babe?”

“It’s nothing. You looked like you were having a good conversation, Lancella”

Lance rolled his eyes at the name

“I’m a simple man. The best lies have a kernel of truth in them”

“It pisses me off that you have to lie. You’re you. If people don’t like that, they can go play in traffic”

There was his grumpy little anger loaf. He’d also realised something that was likely to make Keith grumpier

“You can’t just put them in traffic. You know, we’re going to be in trouble”

Keith sighed deeply

“What for now?”

“I’m starving... and all that food has to come back up. Plus, apparently I’m going to pop soon”

Scowling at him, Keith sat back and crossed his arms. His voice firm and joke free

“There’s no way you’re allowed to even think about giving birth in this crappy town. Don’t even think about going into labour”

Sometimes it was scary how in tune they were. He didn’t want to give birth here, yet he couldn’t hate this town

“I don’t know. This town isn’t that crappy. This is the town you were born in and you’re not crappy. Maybe crabby... but not crappy”

“You’re fucking hilarious”

Lance shot his boyfriend double finger guns

“I try. But seriously, I’m starving...”

He’d also forgotten to do his shots before leaving the hotel room. Keith coming out with the bath mat around his waist had driven away the thought. His boyfriend hadn’t questioned why he’d packed heavier than usual. There was a whole suitcase of towels and bedding, waiting to be unpacked. His new plan was that after breakfast they’d unpack a little more, and he’d look up the directions to the cemetery where Keith’s dad was buried. The vampire knew his own pain from having now lost both his parents, yet that was nothing compared to Keith losing his dad at such a young age. Making the comparison seemed really shitty and like it lorded the fact Lance had had his parents for so long, that’s why he’d never say it out loud.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the coffee and the latte. Keith sliding both mugs towards him as Lance thanked “Dae”. Wrapping his hands around his cold drink, there was kind of a happy peacefulness as Keith took his first sip of coffee. This was nice. Them having no real schedule. Not rushing around. Kind of on a date, but not at the same time...

“Stop staring”

Chuckling, Lance moved his hand up to take the straw between his fingers, stirring his latte as continued to stare

“What are you going to do if I don’t?”

Kicking him under the table, that was Keith’s great comeback

“Really, babe?”

“Fuck you. Fight me”

It’d be soon long since he’d heard that one. The second they found out he was carrying, he had to behave himself and training went out the window

“I could beat you, but we both know you’d liked it”

Delivering the words slowly and purposely, Lance succeeded in making Keith choke on his coffee. Placing the mug down, his boyfriend coughed into his hand

“Fuuuuck...”

“Still want to fight me?”

“Keep this up and I’ll beat your arse so hard you won’t be able to walk for a month”

“Do you promise?”

On the back of choking on his coffee, Keith choked on air. His hand fanning his face as he shook his head

“You deserve to be punched in the dick for that”

“Nah. You love me too much for that”

“God. I fucked that one up”

Lance knew Keith was teasing, yet he felt himself automatically tear up. Apparently he could dish it, but his ego was too much of a diva to take it. Dropping his gaze to his drink, he felt awful for how he’d reacted

“Babe?”

“It’s nothing”

“You know I love you, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I guess my hormones are being silly. It’s ridiculous”

Keith wisely decided not to agree with him, changing the topic

“What did you order?”

Raising his head again, Lance shot him that fake smile that hadn’t come out in so long that he wasn’t sure he was doing it right

“Pancakes. Eggs, tomatoes, bacon, sausages, and fried onion. Coffee for you. Tea for me, and fruit salad”

“You think that’s enough?”

Now he was feeling self conscious over how much he wanted to scarf down his food

“I figured you’d eat what I didn’t...”

Keith playfully kicked him under the table again

“Great. Now I’m the garbage disposal unit”

Shit. Why had his mood plummeted so much? Now it had, his ego was getting riled up. He was starting to feel vulnerable over being pregnant and into a strange place, where people he didn’t know could easily target him, or Keith. He couldn’t scent anyone like them in the place, yet he’d been so care free when they’d come in, he hadn’t thought to. The sudden shift to extreme vulnerability by his ego threw him off. They were a goddamn vampire. Had he been so inclined, he could easily take every single human on in the restaurant... Why was he suddenly so spineless? And why was his ego not propping his mood up with its usual douche attitude.

“Babe, you’ve gone pale. And you’re shaking. What’s wrong?”

He was shaking? He hadn’t noticed...

“Sorry. My ego... just went funny...”

Keith stared at him in confusion

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know...”

He didn’t know. Was it not sure keith could protect them? No. Keith could and would go beyond them. Then why did it want him to run? All he wanted was a nice breakfast with Keith, so Keith wouldn’t be so stressed about what was to come...

Leaning across the table, Keith’s confusion grew. Cocking his head, he drew back slowly

“You feel like... you’re pushing everything away. If there’s something wrong...”

“I don’t know what’s wrong. I’m sorry”

Trying to let his ego flare a little, the instinct to run grew with it. Lance quick to force it back down. Maybe he’d been too focused on being home of late? No one had made any kind of threat towards him

“If you’re not feeling well, we can go back to the room”

“That’s not it. All of a sudden I got a spike of fear and I’m not sure why”

Keith pursed his lips, shook his head, then suddenly decided to move to sit next to Lance, a little too fast for Lance’s liking. Taking his hand in his, his boyfriend squeezed softly

“You don’t need to be scared”

Having Keith close should have calmed him, yet the spike of fear had spiked his anxiety over not knowing why he was kind of internally freaking out

“I know. All I wanted was a nice breakfast”

“We can still have a nice breakfast...”

“I’m so sorry. I know you’re stressing badly. This has to be so much all at once”

The restaurant was loud, despite it being breakfast time. Too many people seemed way too awake

“The glasses help. Do you want them?”

Yes. And ear plugs. Someone dropped something in the kitchen, Lance flinching at the sound as he shook his head

“No. No... it’s okay. I’ve been doing this longer than you have”

“Are you sure?”

“Babe, I’ll be okay. It’s just weird... I don’t smell anything... bad. Maybe I’ve spent too much time hermitting”

“Or maybe people just suck?”

“Careful, babe. Your grump’s showing”

Keith huffed with a pout

“I’m not being grumpy”

“Fine, your lack of people love is showing. I hope breakfast doesn’t take too long”

“You need to eat more. You’re all skin and bones”

Lance’s ego chose to take the wrong way. He ate. Keith knew he ate. He couldn’t bring Keith’s mood down any further

“I’m going to. Your babies are demanding it”

Bring their hands to Lance’s stomach, Keith rested them there

“Already causing so much trouble. You two better give your dad a break”

“That’d be nice. I think the first thing they’re getting when they’re old enough is a trampoline”

“Why do I feel like you’re the one who’s going to be spending more time on it than them?”

“Because it’s nice to lay out under the stars?”

They hadn’t done that in so long... Maybe they’d get a chance while they were here?

“I wonder what sex would be like?”

And there Keith went stating the real reason he supported getting their kids a trampoline

“I’m not conceiving any future siblings on a trampoline”

Keith bumped his shoulder lightly

“There goes that idea...”

“I’m going to put you in a time out if you don’t get your mind out of the gutter”

“But without the gutter, my mind would be homeless”

Without missing a beat, the werewolf had him groaning

“Who taught you that one? They need to be shot”

Keith grinned, Lance kind of envious that no matter how upset Keith was internally, he was keeping his ego well under control. He should be proud. No. He was proud. He just wished his would perk back up

“Pretty sure I learned that from you”

Great. He couldn’t exactly shoot himself... though he’d definitely shot himself in the foot in the metaphoric sense

“You don’t want to listen to me. I’m going crazy in my old age”

“You’re not even that old”

“Older than you”

Keith put on that bad southern drawl that never failed to work on him

“And twice as pretty. A pretty little thing like you should be careful. A big bad wolf might just gobble you up”

“Nah, my boyfriend takes care of all the scary things out there”

“I could take him. They don’t call me the Mullet for nothin’”

Oh lord. That was terrible. That was terrible and Keith knew it was terrible

“Is it because you’re kinda fishy? A bit limp all dead eyed?”

“Why, miss. I’ve been told I’ve got the perdiest eyes around”

Lance let out a long groan of defeat. He didn’t feel safe, and as much as he didn’t want to feel amused, Keith’s stupidity was kind of turning his frown upside down

“Alright. No more. I get it”

“Do you feel any better?”

No...

“Yeah. I’m still staving, though”

“It won’t be too much longer... hopefully”

Keith kept a careful eye on Lance once their breakfast finally arrived. Lance noticing, and responding by eating despite the lack of interest in the pancakes he’d wanted. It was hard to pretend to be happy. Everything felt too much for him, and having it all feel too much for Lance threw him.

Holding it together, the walk back to the hotel was brisk. Lance tried to shake him off to go to the bathroom alone, but Keith wasn’t having it. As Lance “threw” himself down to vomit, he slipped behind him, tugging off the annoying wig so he could rest his chin on Lance’s shoulder. His boyfriend was shaking, his skin felt a little colder than its above barely warm natural state. Having played breakfast over in his mind, he still didn’t know why Lance had spooked, or why his ego had drawn in. The only thing he could think of was that that woman’s words brought up Lance’s fear of giving birth soon. No one had said anything to his precious mate. No one had barely looked their way. No. Everyone else was too busy fucking chewing like a herd of cows. The noise infuriating now he’d noticed.

Staying with Lance until his stomach settled, his boyfriend wobbled on his feet as he stood. Keith had spent the time giving Lance belly rubs and trying smother him in his scent to calm him down. His own ego was rattled by their mates strange actions, making it almost mad at a situation where no one was to blame. Rinsing his mouth out, Lance stared at him in the mirror. He looked exhausted

“I’m sorry”

No. Lance had nothing to be sorry for

“Babe. Hey, it happens”

“I’m supposed to be the one in control here... and I freaked out for no real reason”

“It’s okay”

Lance didn’t know he was semi echoing Keith’s earlier movement as he kicked the basin cabinet lightly

“No. No it’s not. You’re stressed. You’re in a new environment. You’re being forced to go out with me when I look like this. And I couldn’t even keep my shit together long enough to enjoy being out to breakfast with you. It’s fucking pathetic. I should be past all this shit”

“You’re overthinking things again”

Sighing deeply, Lance went to grab his toothbrush out the toilet bag, only to knock the contents out. Sensing the impending tears, he turned his boyfriend towards him, gathering him against him

“Babe. Hey. It’s okay. I’m not mad and you haven’t done anything wrong”

Lance shook his head again

“I’m sorry... God. I feel so fucking incompetent”

Lance wasn’t incompetent. Keith ego saddened to hear their mate talk about himself like that. He wanted to make Lance smile again

“You’re not. Didn’t Dae say something about a fair?”

Again, Lance shook his head

“Sorry... I think I want to lay down for a bit... and I really need to pee. Can... can you get the blankets out the suitcase? They’re in the black one”

“And you’ll be okay?”

“I’m going to pee, then I’ll be out”

Kissing Lance’s hair, Keith found himself more anxious over Lance than the thought of seeing his father’s grave. Maybe Lance was more tired from the day before than he was letting on

“Alright. I’ll be waiting”

When Lance came shuffling out the bathroom, he made straight for Keith. Keith having covered the top of the hotel bed with their three blankets, the bottom one acting as the sheet between them and the crappy bedding below. Lifting the corner back, his boyfriend climbed in beside him. Shoes and all. Lance had to be dead tired to not fight him over his shoes, which had kind of become part of Keith’s daily job. Laying himself against him, Lance rested his head on Keith’s chest, arm snaking around him. Somehow the feeling that came to mind was akin to missing that bottom step and terror flooring you for a moment as your stomach dropped. When Lance started crying, Keith could only let him cry it out. He’d gotten used to Lance having more emotions than he thought possible for a vampire. Lance’s motto seemed to be “sometimes you just need to cry it out”. Still. It sucked. They were so far from their friends. So far from home... and the hard bit was yet to come.

Falling asleep Keith, Lance carefully pried himself off his boyfriend. He felt safer for being in the hotel room, and disoriented from how hard he’d seemed to nap. Creeping to the bathroom, then back into their room, Lance mentally sighed to himself over his emotions. He was being so dumb. Keith needed him... None of this... he couldn’t break down now. Taking his phone off the bedside table, the vampire crept back into the bathroom. He’d already talked to Keith, explaining that he didn’t get what was going on at all... Yet he wasn’t sure that Keith believed him. His people hating boyfriend had offered to take him to the markets on for Easter. That wasn’t Keith’s thing. That was Keith grasping at straws and trying to find a way to make him happy again.

The call took a long time to answer, Krolia’s voice happy as Lance wondered if he was annoying her

“Hey, Lance! How are you?! Did you and Keith arrive safely, I swear that boy never thinks to let me know he’s okay”

They’d sent a message to group chat, and that was about it. With some small unpacking, they’d both been too tired for phone calls and any form of in-depth conversation

“Sorry, Krolia. Yeah, we got here okay. If this is a bad time, I can call back”

“No. Not at all. Is everything okay? I mean, I’m thrilled you called, but I’m confused as to why”

That stung a little. He hadn’t spoken to Krolia all that much since Keith turned...

“I won’t keep you long. I have a question, and I think you’re about the only one who understands what it’s like to be pregnant”

He would have turned straight to Mami if she’d been alive. He felt like he really needed that maternal support right now. Hearing her voice would have driven home she was safe and she would have teased him for being hopeless

“Shoot away! Are my two grandbabies giving you grief already? I can have a stern talking to them, if they are”

He wanted to reach through the phone and hug Krolia. Keith was absolutely amazing with him, yet he couldn’t fall pregnant. A small snort escaped without him meaning for it to

“They’re fine. Using my bladder as a trampoline and wriggling around in there. I... uh... I was wondering if when you were pregnant with Keith, if you ever felt... scared for no reason”

There was a pause. Lance grateful Krolia was taking the time to think about it

“Sometimes, yes. Especially in the line of work I do... Did something happen?”

So Krolia has only experienced fear when thinking of vampires and werewolves...

“We we’re having breakfast and all of a sudden I got scared. There was nothing there to be scared of. No one else who wasn’t human... but... I feel like I was too care free lately. I didn’t guard my scent. I didn’t think about what would happen had someone caught it. I didn’t think about bringing Keith here and what if there was someone like us here... I didn’t think about it... and I feel... like me not thinking about it is the same as me thinking Keith... is... something less than he was”

Starting to cry, he felt really very stupid for his tears. He treasured Keith. But he’d been running around trailing his scent after him without a thought of the impact. All he’d wanted was to get things done and settle his ego

“Lance, you love that idiot son of mine. I’m sure at the first hint of danger you would have reacted. Is Keith there with you?”

“He’s asleep... I’m sorry for calling... I would have turned to Mami, but...”

“No. No. I’m glad you called. I want to be there for the both of you. Yes, I was scared. But nothing like Keith’s father. The slightest thing and he wanted to rush me off to the emergency department. You’re under a lot of stress. Have you been...?”

Lance shook his head, then remember Krolia couldn’t see him shaking his head

“Not yet. I freaked out and Keith had to take care of me...”

“You’re nearing the end of the pregnancy. Fears happen. I know that all too well. Especially how the insomnia can play on your mind. You’ve both been through so much, and I heard from Curtis that you were looking forward to some alone time with Keith. My opinion is that you let Keith take care of you. He’s strong”

“He’s not that strong when it comes to his dad”

“No, but keeping it in will only make him worry more. He loves you. If anything were to happen to you... well, I feel sorry for whoever crosses you. I believe both of you would sense actual danger”

“How am I supposed to know the difference?!”

“You’ll know. Take these feeling of fear and ignore them. Push them aside. They’re useless. Focus on you and my grand babies. You should be safe there. Coran didn’t mention anything about anyone living there that you should be wary about”

Lance sniffled. Krolia hadn’t given him much of anything useful and it sucked... but she tried in her own way

“Thanks, Krolia. I’m going to go back to Keith now”

“No worries. Let me know how everything goes. You can call me. Anything you two need...”

“Yeah. I will. I... thanks for talking to me...”

“Anytime. I’m your mother too. You can come to me”

Coming out the bathroom, Keith was awake, meaning he’d heard some, if not all, Lance’s side of the phone call. Stopping a few steps into the room, he expected Keith to be angry at him for admitting he hadn’t thought of his precious boyfriend’s safety. He hadn’t thought of anything much when it came to the more important things he should have been almost paranoid about

“Babe... come here”

Holding his arm out, Lance caved instantly as he moved to climb into bed with Keith, his emotions getting the better of him as he started crying again. Krolia wasn’t Mami. She didn’t give advice like Mami did. The vampire craving that maternal touch, that Krolia had only taken the point off of

“That’s it. I’m here... I’m here, let it all out”

“I’m sorry”

Keith gentle ran his fingers through Lance’s hair, hushing him softly

“Shhhh... I’ve got you. I’m okay and you’re okay. It’s okay”

“I miss Mami”

“I know you do, babe. I know. Let it out... let it all out”

He was such a selfish boyfriend, yet Keith loved him anyway. He didn’t deserve the love he felt from Keith, but he did notice that together like this, the fear had mostly gone away. There really was no substitute for cuddles with Keith.

#once bitten twice stupid #oncebittentwicestupid #ashratherose #klance #mpreg #pregnant lance #werewolf keith #vampire lance #two halves of the same idiot

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seokiloquy · 4 years

Text

Red Pens Pt 2 - Tsukishima Kei

AU: T.A → Co-workers

Word Count: 1.3k

*Same rules apply….I have no idea how teacher’s assistants work so if you do then suspend your belief for a bit

Pt 1 | Pt 2

You have grown to hate all types of writing utensils. Pencils? Evil. Markers? Devils. Pens? The spawns of satan. You haven’t written this much since you were in university and even then it would only be exams.

You glanced over to Tsukishima, who was rubbing his hand.

“You know this is your fault.”

Tsukishima smirked, a small laugh escaping his lips. “What’s my fault?”

You raised your hand and stretched out your fingers towards him, showing him the unseeable pain. “My hand pain. Your hand pain. It’s all your fault. Why can’t you just let them hand in their work online like everyone else? That’s why people made programs for this type of stuff.”

“Computers miss things that the human eye doesn’t.”

“Computers catch things that the human eye doesn’t,” you countered, walking over to his desk.

He offered you your own desk, like his own, a few weeks after you started being his teacher’s assistant and realized that you weren’t going to quit and he had no reason to fire you. But you like this small desk that was at the end of the first row of desks that the students sat at, it was only a little way away from his desk and made you feel like you were a part of the class.

Plus, the small walk helped you believe that you were getting some sort of exercise. (Which you weren’t)

Also, you liked the way you would still learn from his class even if you already knew most of the material. You liked the way he would glance over at you every now and then, and the way you would smile at him and he would give you a small smile in return, followed by a shake of his head.

It was a nice little dance that only the two of you knew the rhythm too.

“Most professors don’t even look at the essays once they put it through the computer,” he complained, pushing his glasses up. “I like reading what my students have to say. A lot of them put so much effort into their work, spend hours, days or weeks putting it together. The least I could do is give back that effort.”

He paused and rubbed his hand. “It’s worth it in the end.”

You stared at him for a second. Despite how much your hand hurt, you understood what he meant and knew that he meant every word that he said. Maybe that’s why his classes are always full and that there were waitlists for some of them.

You wanted to teach as he did.

“What?”

Your eyes snapped up. “What?”

“You were staring at me,” Tsukihima said, taking another pen from the holding and clicked it. “It was weird.”

You rolled your eyes. “My hand still hurts.”

He smiled and his eyes went back to the paper in his hand. “You can complain when you’re done.”

“I only have a few more weeks as your T.A,” you said, clicking your pen on and off. It was mostly to annoy him because you knew if you did it long enough he would take it away and would call for a break. “You’re soo going to miss me. I basically do all of your work for you.”

Tsukishima looked up. You were marking tests this time which were much easier, so you had the time to annoy him. “You’re not the worst teacher’s assistant.”

You rolled your eyes and continued to click your pen. “I’m an amazing teacher’s assistant. I get all the work done on time, I stay extra late to finish, and I get us coffee even though I know it’s not in my job description. You’d be uncaffeinated without me.”

He got out of his chair and walked towards your desk. Once he got close enough, he snatched the pen out of your hand. “Stop clicking the pen.”

“Does that mean I can take a break?” You smiled, already getting out of your seat.

“You can go get us coffee,” he said, walking back to his desk.

“That’s what I meant. Getting coffee is the best type of break.”

You grabbed your bag and started towards the door.

“(Y/N)?”

You turned around.

“I’m happy that you’re not going to be my teacher assistant next year,” he said, not looking up from the papers in his hand.

You deflated. “Really?”

“Yes.” You stood in silence for a minute. Maybe this time you’d take your time getting coffee. Slowly, he placed his pen down and looked at you, his face blank, like his answer was obvious. “Yes, when you stop being my teacher’s assistant and you become a professor, then I can ask you out.”

1 Year Later

You were marking essays, a blue pen carefully balanced between your fingers. Unfortunately, this one was riddled with marks and your hand hurt. Your teacher assistant didn’t show up and hasn’t shown up for almost two days, so you’ve been marking over a hundred essays by yourself.

You understood why Tsukishima fired so many of them before you. Maybe you should fire yours.

Why couldn’t they give you a good one?

You closed your eyes and leaned back into the chair.

“Meditating?”

Your eyes shot open, the blue pen falling from your hand onto the floor. Tsukishima leaned against the door frame of your classroom, his hands behind his back and a smug look on his face.

You narrowed your eyes. “Are you here to mock my hand pain?”

“Not really,” he admitted and walked towards your desk. He bent down and picked up your pen, carefully placing it on the desk. “That feels more like a Monday thing. Today’s Friday.”

“I’m glad that you know the days of the week. I think I should be concerned if you didn’t.”

“Not marking by computer? You complained about it a lot. I thought you would switch over once you got your own classroom” he said, taking another few tentative steps closer to you.

You straighten up in your chair. “I tried, but I think I like marking by hand better. It’s different and I’m kind of used to it thanks to you.”

He smiled. “I have something for you.”

“Wow! A present for me? Maybe I should have quit being your teacher assistant if I knew it led to presents.”

He rolled his eyes and brought a box from behind his back. It was wrapped with red paper. You unwrapped it

It was a box of red pens. The same brand that he used and the same ones that you went through multiples of marking things with him. There was a sticky note attached to the back of the clear plastic container and you turned it over.

Written in red pen, it wrote:

Will you go out with me?

You looked up at him. He was, quite literary, towering over you. He had always been taller than you by a lot, but with you sitting down, he seemed larger than life itself. Something was different in the way he looked at you, but it seemed so familiar.

“I want to hear you say it,” you said, putting down the box of pens and standing up. “I want to hear you say it.”

“Will you go out with me? Someone who is not my teacher’s assistant and as someone who’s a teacher not breaking any rash rules made by me.” He paused. “Someone who I waited a really long time to ask out.”

You smiled and took a step closer to him. “Hmm….I don’t know. Can I think about it?”

“Seriously?” He said, but a small grin played on his lips.

“It’ll just take a second,” you said, tapping your chin, pretending to think. After a moment, you said, “I’ll take it under consideration. I have a lot of essays to mark.”

He grabbed your hand. “Come on. We’ll get something to eat and then I’ll help you mark them.”

You grabbed your jacket. “Such a hot date.”

“You know it.”

You headed out of the classroom with Tsukishima’s hand in yours, throwing out the blue pen as you did.

You’ve always liked the red ones better.

I know that you probably won’t get a job a year after, but it would be weird if I did like “5 years after” cause Tsuki would probably ask them out by then and wouldn’t wait that long….

Here’s the part 2 as promised!! I hope that you enjoyed it! This was actually really fun to write and didn’t take that long to write which is weird. I think it liked this one better than the first one lol. Stay safe everyone - Kiwi

Posted: 03/07/2020

#Haikyuu x reader #Tsukishima kei #tsukishima x reader #Haikyuu #x reader #oneshot #oneshots #haikyuu oneshots #haikyuu reader insert #reader insert #aus #haikyuu aus #fluff #haikyu #anime x reader #anime #manga x reader #manga

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johannstutt413 · 4 years

Text

(requested by calligomiles)

“Hmm hmm hmm-mm-hmm hmm-mm-hmm-mm hmm~” Gummy was looking through her stores before breakfast when she realized something concerning. “Hey, Matt? We’re running low on eggs and bacon. I’m gonna go see if Logistics can get us some more before tomorrow, but...”

“We’ll cover the early birds and put up a notice until you get back.” The Forte already had the sign in hand.

She gave a quick, “Thanks!” before slipping out the back and making her way to the Logistics office, sidestepping the occasional uncaffeinated Operator as she moved at her highest speed setting - which, considering she was a Defender and not a Guard, was surprisingly high. Eventually, she found herself at the office and stepped across the threshold. “Good mor- oh, Rosa, hi! You’re working the early shift today?”

“Good morning, Gummy; it’s always nice to see you, especially at the start of my day.” She yawned. “How can I help you?”

“We need more eggs and bacon in the kitchen as soon as we can get it. Could you put in an order for us?”

Rosa nodded. “Of course. Although...yes, I see we actually have some more eggs and bacon in cold storage, delivered not that long ago. I’m guessing you didn’t have space for them last week?”

“No, we didn’t, but...I don’t remember getting a notice from anyone, either.” The chef shrugged. “Oh well! Is there someone that can help me take them back to the kitchen?”

“It’s rather early, so I’m the only one here at the moment, but I can certainly help. I’ll take you down there now.”

Gummy waited for her to get up before dashing to give her a hug. “Thank you!”

“Ah, um, well I’m simply doing my job.” She was just tall enough to set her chin on the chef’s head, which somehow made the moment sweeter. But, as much as she might’ve wanted to let it last a little longer, they had work to do…“We should get going so you have supplies for breakfast.”

“Right, right. Lead the way!” She let go, happy that Rosa had hugged her back (unlike, say, the last time she’d asked Istina for one), and followed closely behind her as they went to the loading docks where the cold storage was.

Once they were down there, the harpoon-hauler checked a terminal before continuing on. “We need to be careful while we’re down there. Your phone is on, yes?”

“Mmhmm!” She frowned. “Wait, why do we need to be careful?”

As they approached the door, she tapped on it twice. It rang like a bell. “This door is difficult to open from the outside, so only one of us should be inside at a given moment. I’ll get us some carts, and then I’ll load them up while you stay out here to make sure I don’t get locked in.”

“I think we’ll only need one cart in the kitchen for now.”

“Ah, but then I won’t be able to make as large of an order.” Rosa smiled at the chef’s face as that clicked with her. “So I’ll get a cart for each of us.”

Gummy nodded. “Okay! I don’t need a code or anything to open the door, do I?”

“No, just hit the button when you hear me knock. I’ll get the carts and then come right back, okay?”

“Yes ma-” She kicked herself mentally. “Sure, Rosa! I’ll be here!”

The smile on her face cracked a little as she walked off to where the carts were kept. ‘She caught herself, at least, but...am I really that distant from the others now that she’d think to call me ma’am? Not Nat, or even Natalya...ma’am...hmm. Well, maybe there’s something I can do about that after work today. For now, let’s not dwell on it over-much and help Rada get ready for breakfast.’

“That was quick!” As always, the chef was quick with a word of encouragement as her friend returned with the carts.

“Thank you.” Rosa parked one just outside the door and took the other by both hands. “Would you get the door for me?”

Gummy hit the button and pulled it open. “There you go! Do I need to close it after you?”

“Yeah, otherwise it’ll get too warm. I’ll knock when I’m good, o-*yawn* okay?”

“Okay!” The chef made sure she was inside and on her way before closing the door behind her. Then, she took a seat on the other cart, and she waited.

About ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door; she opened it, and out stepped Rosa with a full load of bacon. “There we are! I’ll grab the eggs, and then we can take them up to the kitchen.”

“Sure thing!” Gummy took control of the bacon-cart. “Wow! I forget sometimes how strong you are!”

“Carrying my cannon around certainly has helped...Alright, I’ll be right back, okay?”

She nodded. “I’ll be here!” And she was...for several minutes...until she realized something wasn’t right. The chef opened the door, jammed it open with the cart, and called in, “Natalya! Everything alright?”

“...Rada? Oh! Sorry!” Rosa came running down an aisle with the cart in front of her loaded. “I uh...I kinda fell asleep.”

“In the giant fridge?! Are you having trouble sleeping, Natalya?”

She shook her head. “No, I...No, I suppose I am still. I had hoped it would get easier as time went on, but it hasn’t improved as quickly as I would like.”

“Hmm...Let’s get out of here, and let’s get this food to the kitchen, and then...” Gummy nodded to herself. “Then we’ll get you some breakfast and have a talk.”

“A talk?”

The chef nodded, pushing the door behind her open. “We haven’t talked in a while, and I miss you! Come on, faster we get these up there, the faster we can get to catching up!”

“Al...Alright!” Rosa followed out as Gummy held open the door. “They’ll be okay with that in the kitchen?”

“Matt told me I should take a morning off soon; this is as good a day as any! Oh, but I’ll message Bagpipe so she knows ahead of time...”

After a quick call to Bagpipe (as the chef remembered that she wasn’t exactly the best with technology and might break her phone trying to use the messaging function), they made their way back to the kitchen, where along with Matterhorn they stowed away the recovered food. Gummy set to work on making Rosa (and herself, while she was at it) a proper breakfast before surrendering the grill to Bagpipe. Food cooked, stores refilled, coffee poured...all seemed right.

Except for one thing. “So...You have nightmares, too?” The chef asked her comrade once they’d sat down to eat.

“Hmm...yes, quite frequently.” Rosa munched on some bacon, finding it rather difficult to think negative thoughts with Gummy’s cooking in front of her. “I usually get enough sleep for it not to be an issue, but every so often...You seem to have an answer to it, at least.”

“Kind of? Anna and Sonya are pretty close by, so when things get really bad, I can ask them to stay the night. Maybe it would help if you had someone with you?”

She had to set her fork down to process that properly. “That sounds rather scandalous.”

“You think so?” Gummy cocked her head. “I don’t see why it would be. People know we’re friends.”

“That would likely make it more noticeable...but at this point, if it works, I’m willing to handle some curious glances.”

The chef chuckled. “Nat, the people we work with aren’t that nosy.”

“You’re probably right.” She was blushing nonetheless. “I need to go back to work but...tonight, will you come to my room?”

“Can I bring my nightlight?”

Rosa nodded. “If you need yours specifically. I also have one in my room.”

“You do?” She nodded gravely. “This is more serious than I thought. I’ll get back to the kitchen, then. See you tonight, Rosa!”

“See you tonight.” ‘When she says sleep with me, does she mean sharing the room, or sleeping in the same bed? What do I wear to platonically sleep with someone? Or...Do I want to share it platonically? Urk...We’ll figure it out...’

#arknights #rosa (arknights)#gummy (arknights)#this one was stalling me so i snipped it short #potential for a part two #but i'm like a shaaak #can't stall or i might die #arknights fic

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teejaysnow · 4 years

Note

Here's a fluffy prompt! Breakfast in bed on a chilly morning :)

Thank you very much a lot - you helped!! <3

(also, this turned out a lot longer than expected...)

Do you want toast with all that cheese?

Isak was not happy. Not with the world, not with the temperature outside (which was way too far below zero for happiness anyway), and not with the landlord who ”wouldn’t be able to fix the heating until tomorrow - sorry, boys”. There was a small space heater noisily blowing warm air towards a very limited area of their combined dining room/living room/bedroom, but the kitchen was a complete no heat area and the floor’s arctic climate laughed in the face of his knitted socks. So no, Isak was not happy.

And who in their right mind had their birthday in February anyway? What was wrong with a nice, clement June birthday when their boyfriend wouldn’t have to freeze his bollocks off while preparing breakfast in bed? Not that Even was expecting breakfast in bed - or breakfast anywhere else for that matter. Even was much too familiar with Isak’s very reluctant acquaintance with mornings and was happy enough to make breakfast for both of them, birthday or not. Which was the reason that Isak had had to get up at fucking arse o’clock in the morning to make the fucking breakfast before his boyfriend woke up and ruined the surprise. (Did I mention that Isak wasn’t happy?)

Isak glared at the scrambled eggs (and yes, Even, he had remembered the spoon of sourcream, thanks), willing them to cook faster so he could finally get back into bed and warm his cold feet on his hot (heh...) boyfriend's toasty warm legs. The breakfast tray was already decked out with a red rose in a small vase, two badly wrapped presents, and two mugs full of wonderfully warm coffee. The toast was toasting along while the scrambled egg scrambled, and Isak was just about to get the small cake - that he’d somehow managed to keep hidden from his annoyingly nosy boyfriend - out of the refrigerator when a hand on his lower back and a chin on his shoulder made him start.

“Breakfast?” Even asked, still sounding half asleep. “Also, fuck, it’s cold!” he added as an afterthought.

Isak hummed in agreement with both those statements - as well as in appreciation of Even sneaking his arms around Isak’s waist, his nose finding its favourite spot just at the junction between Isak’s shoulder and neck.

They were interrupted by the toaster spitting out two more or less unburned pieces of bread and Isak turned around and shoved petulantly at his boyfriend’s chest.

“Move over, arsehole! Why are you awake already, anyway? Except for spoiling your surprise, obviously,” Isak complained.

“The bed was too cold without you,” Even said with a small shrug, grabbing at Isak’s waist and pulling him into a tight back hug. Isak rolled his eyes, the toast burning his fingers as he transferred it onto the tray.

“And you thought it would be warmer in the kitchen? Really?”

“Noooo, but I’d rather be cold with you than warm without you...?”

Even leaned in over Isak’s shoulder and twisted his head to the side so he could flutter his eyelashes up at him, but Isak only wrinkled his nose and gave Even an unimpressed look.

“And do you perhaps want toast with all that cheese,” he scoffed.

Even kissed him on the cheek and removed the frying pan from the hob.

“Well, I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me.”

“Oh God, please just go back to bed without saying another word,” Isak begged, turning his head to give Even’s cheek a quick kiss before turning back towards the scrambled eggs and distributing them onto two plates.

“Aww, it’s like you don’t love me anymore.”

Even sighed mournfully, eyes widening into the expression of an unusually hurt and confused puppy. This time Isak turned his whole body around and leaned his head back so he could look up at Even with heavy-lidded eyes.

“I’m sorry, this was not the way I intended you to find out, but… yes, there is someone else. Sorry.”

Even put a hand to his chest in feigned shock, collapsing - cautiously - against the stove.

“Whaaaaat? Why? What’s he got that I haven’t?” he asked, taking a step back to flex his biceps in a feeble attempt at muscled manliness.

Isak couldn’t keep his grin under control any longer so he leaned over and gave Even another quick kiss, “Well, first of all, he stays in bed when his boyfriend tries to do something nice for him. So… why not be more like him and maybe I’ll grow to love you again? Now, fuck. off. back. to. bed!”

Even grinned back and repaid Isak’s kiss with two hard kisses on the mouth and a third that was originally aimed at Isak’s cheek but hit him in the eye instead.

“What the fuck, you uncoordinated giraffe,” Isak protested as Even quickly scurried off and threw himself headfirst on the bed.

“Sorry, can’t hear you, I’m in bed, sleeping. Waiting for my wonderful boyfriend to bring me breakfast in bed,” came the unrepentant reply and Isak smiled fondly down at the plates of scrambled eggs he was holding.

“Your wonderful boyfriend just has to butter the toast and then he’ll be right there,” Isak promised, fetching the cake from the fridge and stabbing a birthday candle into it, actually buttering the promised toast, and then remembering to grab the bacon slices peacefully degreasing on a paper towel, before carefully carrying the tray towards the bed.

He was met with loud (and very fake) snores from his boyfriend - who in the short time between leaving the kitchen and Isak’s arrival at the bed had managed to turn himself into a very well wrapped burrito. Isak kneeled on his side of their bed and placed the tray between them before leaning over and kissing Even on the nose.

“Happy birthday, baby. I love you!”

Even opened his eyes and grinned up at Isak before trying to force his expression into something that could, in a good light, be described as shocked. Possibly.

“Oh, you remembered! I have never been so surprised, like, ever!”

“Idiot,” Isak muttered, slowly stroking his index finger down the small part of Even’s cheek that wasn’t covered in duvet.

“Your idiot,” Even agreed, turning his head so Isak’s finger got better access.

“Mm, yeah,” Isak hummed before abandoning Even’s cheek in favour of burritoing into his own duvet, only sticking out a hand to grab a fork. “Now enjoy your surprise before it gets cold.”

Even quickly unburritoed and sat up to cross leggedly enjoy his meal, duvet loosely wrapped around his shoulders.

“Best breakfast I’ve ever had,” he complimented after a few mouthfuls, happily chewing on a slice of bacon. “How have you managed to get the eggs so moist? That’s Gordon Ramsay quality right there, that is.”

“Old family recipe, you know how it is,” Isak replied with a shrug and a toothy smile. “I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you afterwards.”

“Still worth it, I think.”

“Well, in that case…” Isak flopped over so he was back on his knees, leaning up towards Even, eyes flitting between Even’s eyes and lips, “The secret is…”

“Yeah?” Even whispered back, licking his lips as his eyes followed Isak’s every movement.

“...a tablespoon of… shit!!”

Isak quickly replaced the coffee cup the right way up and pushed Even’s presents out of the way - the toast not faring quite as well as it met with a swift but wet coffee related death.

“‘Shit’ is the secret? Really?? I would never have guessed.” Even’s voice sounded muffled as he tried to look like he wasn’t laughing at his irate boyfriend.

“You suck!” Isak informed him on his way back from fetching paper towels to clean up the mess, his temper not helped by the floor still being just on the warmer side of zero degrees.

“Mmhm. Just let me finish breakfast first,” Even agreed, thus significantly improving Isak’s mood.

Dropping the now coffee drenched paper towels on the floor beside the bed, Isak crawled back under his duvet and pushed one of the gifts towards Even.

“Can’t wait, baby. Now go on, open this!”

“Still eating,” Even protested, taking a careful bite of a small piece of still uncaffeinated toast.

“Don’t care. Open it.”

“Fine.” Even looked around for somewhere to dry his hands but couldn’t find anywhere. Reluctantly he dried them on his pants before reaching for his gift. “What is it?”

“You’re really not up to date with how this whole birthday gift thing works, are you?”

“Open it and find out, huh?

Isak nodded.

“Open it and find out,” he echoed.

Even fought a losing battle against the tape until Isak impatiently handed him a pair of scissors.

“Jeez, how many tape rolls did you use wrapping this thing?” Even wondered out loud.

“Less complaining, more unwrapping,” Isak huffed back, his fingers trembling like he was itching to help, only relaxing when Even finally uncovered the gift.

“Umm… thanks?” Even gave the bottle of beer a puzzled look. He knew that Isak was fond of beer, but… the enthusiasm that he’d shown over this bottle had been slightly more than Even thought it deserved.

Isak giggled at Even’s bewildered expression.

“It’s a hint for the real gift, okay? Any guesses?”

Isak was more or less bouncing on the bed now and Even quickly moved the tray to the floor before another accident happened.

“Beer tasting?” he hazarded, none too excited with the prospect.

“Beer tasting? Really? That’s what you think I’d get you? Oh, Even...” Isak shook his head in mock disappointment. “I mean, what kind of beer is it? Maybe there could be a clue in that?”

Even looked back at the bottle. London Pride? Not his favourite beer to be honest. Pale ale. Red label. Fuller’s. Nope. Nothing.

Isak sighed, “Good thing you’re pretty, baby... Now open the other one!”

This time Even reached straight for the scissors instead of battling it out with the tape.

“Gin? Do either of us even drink gin?” he mused, even more confused as he eyed his second birthday gift.

Isak was still basically vibrating with pent up excitement.

“We can give it to Magnus, he drinks anything,” he shrugged. “It’s just another clue for your actual gift, get with the program here.”

“We’re giving my present to Magnus?” Even asked, feeling more confused than ever.

“We are not giving your present to Magnus. We are giving Magnus this bottle of gin because we two have standards when it comes to getting drunk - but the gin is just another fucking clue for your actual gift, okay?!”

“Okay.” Even kept staring at the bottle. Beer and gin. B&G? Well, apart from his boyfriend spending too much money at Vinmonopolet, there wasn’t too much information to be gained from that, was there? London Pride. Beefea… what the... “We’re going to London?” he asked hesitantly and Isak nodded, smile wide enough to almost reach his ears. “Really? We’re going to London?!”

“We’re going to London,” Isak confirmed.

“Really?” Even repeated, excited but not quite daring to believe it yet.

“Yep. London, baby!”

Apparently Isak’s grin wasn't letting up anytime soon.

“But… how? When? And can we actually afford it?” Even’s brain was multitasking hard, partly already planning what to do in London, partly worrying about the state of their bank account.

Isak let his hand skim down Even’s arm, intertwining their fingers when he reached Even’s hand.

“We can afford it,” he assured him. “As for when… how do you feel about celebrating Pride in London this summer?”

Based on Even’s bright smile, Isak decided he was probably feeling pretty good about it.

“Wow. I’m… this is just… I mean, London!?”

“So what pretentious movie locations have you already decided we’ll have to visit?” Isak asked fondly, pulling at Even’s hand to encourage him to lean over and kiss him.

“Well, we have to visit Notting Hill and take a photo in front of the blue door!”

“‘Have to’, huh? You’re using those words again. I don’t think they mean what you think they mean,” Isak teased him.

“And we have to go to 84 Charing Cross Road, because that’s the most epic non-love love story there is,” Even continued, ignoring him. “And I guess we’ll have to do the 221B Baker Street thing, which… ugh. Oh, and we have to go to Leadenhall Market, and the Harry Potter studio tour, and…”

Isak let go of Even’s hand in favour of pulling at his t-shirt hard enough for Even to topple over into Isak.

“We already have tickets for the Harry Potter thing because I’m the world’s best boyfriend,” he stated, combing back Even’s hair and kissing his forehead. “The rest we’ll just have to fit in where we can.”

Even shoved at Isak and crawled up to lie face to face to him where he’d let himself fall.

“World’s best boyfriend,” he whispered reverently, cupping Isak’s cheek and looking into his eyes for a few long seconds before wetting his lips and leaning in to kiss him.

Isak hummed encouragingly into the kiss, dragging his boyfriend closer so he was half lying on Isak’s chest. They could continue the argument about who had the world’s best boyfriend later anyway - but Isak was pretty sure it was him.

#skam fanfic #the cheesiest cheese to ever cheese #my shit #thegirlnooneknows5

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citrineghost · 3 years

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Can we stop romanticizing caffeine addiction?

I’m not saying people shouldn’t enjoy coffee. By all means. But, can we stop normalizing the reliance on caffeine to get by day to day? Can we stop pressuring other people to use caffeine to get by? I feel like this is something that has slowly become pervasive in, at least, American society.

I have a lot of important stuff to say on this, but I want it to be clear that it’s mostly observation and based on things I’ve heard with no source. I skimmed some articles for this to check if I was off-base, but most of them were about chemical effects, rather than social effects. If you follow me, you know I tend to have a lot of opinions about sociological matters, and that’s what this is. I don’t have a degree. I’m not a chemist or a doctor. Take what you read with a grain of salt. If anyone has further information or sources on these topics, I highly encourage you to reblog and share them, both for my own research and for others’ education.

Before reading, please consider taking this survey I made to further study how people consume caffeine. Every response helps! If I get enough survey responses, I’ll create an addition to this post with a breakdown of the information I’ve gathered.

Analysis under the cut

It’s treated almost like how young people treat alcohol.

You’ll see teenagers and college students who go out drinking every day they don’t have school the next morning, take shots on weekdays, and drink alcohol from water bottles when they’re stressed. As long as they’re not drunk 100% of the time - as long as they aren’t a 40 year old surrounded by empty beer bottles and a stack of divorce papers, they can’t be an alcoholic, right? While a lot of people might grow out of their abuse of alcohol, all of those teens and college students who don’t end up growing into those miserable middle-aged people that they felt so separate from - so superior to - as young adults.

The same way alcohol is treated as a solution to stress, caffeine is treated like a solution to fatigue. Again, I am NOT saying that drinking some coffee when you’re a bit tired is some kind of moral dilemma. What I am saying is that, while it doesn’t have the same effects as alcohol, caffeine is an active substance that affects how your body functions. It increases your heart rate. It makes you feel more alert. It is a stimulant.

To get an idea of how caffeine affects the body and mind, consider for a moment that people with ADHD frequently self medicate with caffeine without realizing that’s what they’re doing. The stimulant effects of caffeine do very similar things to what amphetamines do. For someone with ADHD, this can be helpful in focusing. Ask someone with ADHD if caffeine energizes them and many will tell you that it actually feels calming. I know, as a teen, coffee was a before bed treat for me. That’s because, with ADHD, the brain is understimulated and overcompensating for it. By stimulating it, it stops working overdrive and chills out because it’s getting the stimulation it should be producing by itself.

However, when non-ADHD people drink caffeine, it amps them up. It gives them energy and they become chemically dependent on it - i.e. addicted to it. You can see evidence of caffeine addiction by stopping drinking it. If you drink coffee every single day, try going without it for a week. You’ll probably start getting aching, throbbing headaches.

Don’t forget that caffeine is an addictive substance, even if it’s normalized.

“Oh, it’s just a caffeine headache. That’s normal.”

Caffeine headache. Do you know what that is? That’s the normalized term for withdrawal from caffeine. As in, the kind of withdrawals someone with a chemical addiction has.

Most things can be used safely in moderation. That’s the exact reason amphetamines, like Adderall, are safe to use in controlled doses, but methamphetamine is dangerous and becomes immediately addictive. For that reason, drinking caffeine and reaping the benefits of its stimulative properties can be fine if you’re doing so every few days to pick up some slack from a late night or to keep you alert during a roadtrip. However, when you get to a point of using caffeine every single day, or multiple times a day, you are reaching a point of abusing it.

Obviously, abusing caffeine is not the same as abusing something like alcohol or hard drugs. However, it does have negative impacts on the body and psyche. For one thing, your addiction to caffeine makes you dependent on it. Instead of being able to wake up and shake off a little bit of tiredness in the morning, you suddenly feel sluggish consistently until you ‘have your morning coffee.’ Your body has become so accustomed to having its stimulation delivered to it out of a mug that it has stopped doing the work to keep you awake on its own.

Your morning coffee turns into morning coffee, lunch break coffee, Starbucks on the way home, and an extra shot on days where you’re feeling a little extra tired. Again, this isn’t about shaming people for liking coffee. Coffee tastes great. Starbucks is delicious.

The point I’m trying to make is, are you consciously aware of what you’re doing to your body and mind? If you are, it’s your decision to make. But, I know there are doubtlessly countless people - teens especially - who copy mom and dad, buy coffee for the taste and don’t think about the caffeine contents, or rely on energy drinks to get through finals. For those who haven’t really thought about the extent of the effects of caffeine, I want to provide an opportunity to realize that it might not be just a fun, cool thing. It might actually be doing you harm.

How does caffeine cause someone harm?

When I say that caffeine can end up causing you harm, I don’t mean it’s going to cause liver failure or something. I mean that the way we have normalized caffeine addiction is inherently unhealthy. The way it has become something a large percentage of people have, rather than those who might genuinely need the assistance of caffeine and find the minor addiction worth it, is not okay.

Caffeine addiction causes harm by slowly reducing a person’s ability to sleep, long-term. There are some studies that suggest people with caffeine addiction can develop an inability to get the sleep they need over time. This may be caused by waking up too soon due to the body’s craving of caffeine or it can be caused by difficulty falling asleep from the residual caffeine effects.

Caffeine addiction causes harm by creating a disruptive habit. Consider: do you feel good about the fact that you can’t function without caffeine? Do you get frustrated by the fact that you have to spend money on your lunch break to top up or risk crashing in the middle of work or class? The fact is, the average person doesn’t need to rely on caffeine every morning - they have only grown to rely on it due to a routine that became an addiction.

Caffeine addiction causes harm by amplifying certain medication side effects, which makes getting a proper medication dosage impossible without the side effects taking over. This is true of stimulants, like those used to treat ADHD, among other things. Rapid heart rate, anxiety, and psychosis can be developed or amplified when taking both stimulants and overdoing it with caffeine.

Caffeine addiction causes harm by amplifying existing conditions, such as anxiety, psychosis, insomnia, and so on. If you have any symptoms of mental illness, you are likely making them more pronounced by drinking caffeine.

Caffeine addiction causes harm by permeating social environments. Back to what I said above about people treating caffeine the way young people do alcohol. There is a massive amount of peer pressure surrounding caffeine. And no, I don’t mean coffee in general, I mean caffeine itself.

People (in the US, specifically - idk about everywhere else) will mock people who don’t like coffee.

Teens form brand loyalty to energy drink companies and pressure friends into drinking the same things as them.

If you don’t drink coffee every morning, people act like you’re not really a working adult. There is something about coffee and caffeine that has become synonymous with maturity in our culture.

If you like coffee, but you opt for decaf or half-caf, people treat you like you’re pretentious, childish, or weak in some way, even if you do it for reasons other than an aversion to caffeine dependency. (like medical reasons)

If you go to a coffee shop with friends and order tea or something else uncaffeinated, you may become the butt of jokes. (“What’s the point of going to a coffee shop if you’re drinking hot chocolate?” /scoff/)

Teens are pressured by peers to drink coffee in the morning just like adults do. If your parents don’t let you drink coffee, or you just choose not to, your classmates think you’re lame for it, or some kind of goody goody.

The parallels to alcohol use are startling. Reread that list and imagine it’s talking about alcohol. Every bulletpoint in the list can be translated perfectly.

This social stigma around caffeine and the choice not to consume it is harmful to a person’s psyche and can lead to caffeine dependency that otherwise would not have developed.

And the ultimate question: Why do we feel the need to become caffeine dependent?

Is it all peer pressure and the joy of a hot cup of coffee? I don’t think so. If we take a look at the bigger picture, like most things, it can be blamed on living in a capitalistic society. Caffeine consumption is largely caused by the desperation to rid yourself of exhaustion - to give yourself an energy boost.

Why do we need to do that so much that we form an addiction and become reliant on caffeine? It’s simple: we are overworked, pushed too hard in school, and are forced to take on a fast-paced, stressful schedule just to keep on top of bills. Coffee becomes one of the only reprieves from a life of fatigue and burnout. If we don’t have the energy to spend three hours on that paper, we fail out of college and lose out on thousands of dollars in student loans - lose out on the opportunity to get a job that will pay enough to live on. If we don’t show up to work with a smile and a spring in our step, we get fired for not representing the company positively enough.

We aren’t allowed to be tired. We aren’t allowed to rest. It drives us to self-medicate with caffeine so that while we’re working ourselves into an early grave, we can at least ignore the exhaustion that comes alongside it.

The takeaway: Are you actually happy with how you consume caffeine?

Take a moment to ask yourself, do you drink caffeine because you need to to sustain your lifestyle (working night shifts, traveling long hours very frequently, etc.), or do you drink it because you started and you don’t know how to stop? If the answer is that you like the taste of the drinks or you’re not really sure, it’s time to consider healthier-for-you alternatives. You can:

Drink decaf coffee, decaf teas, decaf sodas, and replace energy drinks with something else carbonated that isn’t based around caffeine consumption

Give yourself a withdrawal break for a couple months to allow your body to get back to normal and then limit caffeine consumption to once every few days or less

Find other drink alternatives that don’t generally have caffeine to begin with

If you’re drinking caffeine to survive the type of life you’re forced to live under late stage capitalism, it might be time to start pushing back so that you can remain energized and happy without having to resort to self-medicating. We shouldn’t have to do that. We should be able to live happy lives without caffeine.

#ghostpost #caffeine #coffee #tea #bookblr #starbucks #winter #soda #energy drinks #monster #survey #research #opinions #food #substances #addiction #addiction mention

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