#-to have someone willing to climb through the window to be together. someone willing to open the window to make sure he feels welcome. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

noaltbruh · 1 year

Note

hi you should totally do what its like do what its like to live with the bucci gang in a house all together thxx

*Kicks the air, giggles, screams into a pillow, throws up, dies and comes back to life just to write this post*

No bro I don't think you understand, you've just awoken my most unhinged side ever, literally I think about what it would be like to live with this wonderful family 24/h. There is nothing else in my brain, just them doing shit.

So yeah! I hope you enjoy ^^"

Life with the Bucci gang! 🐞🤐🔫🍊🍓⏪🎙 (or rather, a survival guide about living with them)

Alright, the main rule in this house is: "Don't kill each other. If you absolutely need to, at least hide the body well before it starts smelling like Mista"

Any other rule is either ignored, purposely broken, straight up not acknowledged, or only followed because Bruno said so and you don't disobey him.

Congratulations, you just got yourself free entertainment for the rest of your life and at any time of the day. Who needs Tv when you can just watch these guys do literally anything?

What are you in the mood for today? Trish kicking Mista with a shoe because he accidentally ruined her dress? Narancia blowing up with Aerosmith that one spider Fugo is afraid to squash? Giorno turning everything he sees into frogs? Abbacchio trying not to look like a total simp every time Bruno breathes?

With that being said, I hope you're not an introvert, my friend. There's no freaking way in hell they aren't going to drag you on their shenanigans. No, you can't choose, you will take part in whatever the heck they're doing, they're forcefully gonna make you tag along if you were to ooppose.

Buddy say goodbye to your privacy, that stopped existing as soon as you walked through the front door. 99% of the times there will ALWAYS be someone with you. Whether they're actually talking to you or are just in the same room as you doesn't matter. Rest assured that being alone will become a rare occurrence, no matter how antisocial you may be.

Don't try to lock the door of your room, they'll gladly destroy it and then ask Bruno to replace it with a zipper. Alternatively, some of them might even climb up from a window if they're feeling goofy that day.

I advice locking any snacks you may want to keep to yourself in a drawer or another place you know of. If you don't, there's a very high chance that whatever you were trying to keep to yourself will get stolen by the pistols sooner or later.

Another advice I can give you is to write down all important dates related to them, or little things you know they like. It must not be easy to remember those sorts of things when you live with so many people.

Most days you're gonna find Trish practising her singing in either the music room (yes they have a music room) or her own. Don't be shy and ask her if you can listen to her, she'll always reply with a yes :)

They have a very big and well taken care of garden. If you feel like spending some time with Giorno, helping him water the plants is a great idea! Prepare for lots of fun facts about gardening, while you're at it.

I suggest laying there particularly during summer nights. There's always a nice breeze to send the excessive heat away, and the stars look very nice from there. Someone else will most likely join you as well, you can stargaze together!

If you feel like having a conversation that requires more than two brain cells, Fugo's always there for you. He's used to some of the others calling him boring and such, but a nice chat about Latin, Politics, Philosophy or anything alongside those lines is always welcomed. Even if you don't know anything about those subjects but are willing to listen, he'll be happy.

Prepare for Narancia bursting in your room with a new dance, a song to listen to, or cool trick he's come up using Aerosmith, and way too much excitement. The latter one is only allowed if you're in the garden, but try to stop him from shooting any plants while you're there.

Drunk conversations with Abbacchio at 3 am. are a MUST. He'll only ever share his alcohol if he's feeling dizzy already, so wait until he starts getting a bit off and you're good to go. Do you remember anything you talked about after that night? Nope. Maybe you discussed the meaning of life, maybe you just yelled at the Tv watching old races of formula one, or maybe you've found the cure for cancer...But you'll never know.

Bruno is a safe space in the house. If you want to catch a break and take it easy from the others' chaos, he's the most reliable one. You don't have to necessarily do anything together if you don't want to, but his presence alone guaranteed to make you relax.

Don't go into the basement, please. It used to be a nice and tidy place where Bruno kept old stuff he didn't need anymore, but it progressively became more and more messy once the gang came along. Now legends say that old artifacts and mystical objects, such as Mista's hair, ended up there and were never found again.

The house has a lot of very pretty balconies with a wonderful view of the city. A couple of times a day you should go out and take some fresh air admiring Napoli, it's very soothing.

The roof is also a perfect place to if you look for a great sight of the town. If you're brave enough, you can climb up from one of the balconies. If you're not, that's fine: there's a safer ladder that will bring you there in the backyard, and you always have the support of the others if you felt scared anyway :)

Speaking of which...Yes, they may come off as extremely annoying and overbearing sometimes, but remember that once you settled in, you're family to them and there's no changing that.

They will ALWAYS be there for you, no matter what the problem or your reaction to it might be. Rest assured that you won't have to face it nor suffer alone, they'll all there to lend a hand for you and help you through it. Even if you're just feeling sad for no reason, someone will undoubtedly try to cheer you up, and succeed in doing so.

Sure, maybe some of them are not the best at expressing that they care, but they truly do and will show it to you in one way or another, whether it's direct or subtle, they will let you know you can count on them.

Movie and game nights are...Something else for sure! Every time one or two people get to pick what you're gonna play or watch, and since they have very different tastes, you can be sure as you can be that you'll enjoy yourself and have fun.

For example, one week you're watching the most gut-wrenching disturbing, complex and traumatizing movie of all time, picked by Abbacchio just to scare you all for his own amusement. Narancia will be screaming, Trish is acting like she's fine but is actually holding on to someone, Giorno is getting shushed by everyone because he's got a third eye and is somehow predicting the whole plot. A loud "SHUT THE FUCK UP, GIORNO!" from our goth man is gonna be obligatory.

The other week, instead, Mista and Narancia decided you were going to play Smash, and you WILL be playing Smash. Poor Bruno is trying to find the pattern to the attacks and fails to realize that those two dorks just spam random buttons hoping to win. Needless to say, they end up losing anyway. Also, Fugo almost threw the controller and broke the Tv a couple of times, but shhh it's okay they're rich, they can buy a new one.

The sweetest part about these "events", however, is that at the end of the night, you're all super tired. You'll just end up falling asleep all together in the salon, cuddling up against each other to feel warm, without even realizing it. The Morning after, whoever wakes up first usually makes breakfast for the rest, so you all also eat together before actually starting your day ^^

Get this through your system: no matter the time of the day, someone will be up. There isn't a single moment during those 24 hours in which they are all asleep. You'll find Mista sleeping at 3 pm on the living room couch, just to see him stealing salami from the fridge at 2 am while you were just trying to get a glass of water. He won't even let you leave and just ramble about his latest theory about salami.

Yes, your sleep routine is gonna get fucked up too, cope. Also, very often you'll hear noises coming from other rooms, although it's probably just Bruno and Abbacchio banging like there's no tomorrow . When that happens, spend time with someone until you both fall asleep, or get yourself something to block out the noise. (I'd choose the first option, but you do you).

The house has a sort of balcony that acts as an entrance to the garden. On some nights, you may find someone (usually the quietest members) hanging around there. Stop to talk to them for a while, they're weirdly more open about their feelings at that time of the day.

Mista, Narancia and Trish are going to CONSTANTLY ask you to hang out, these guys enjoy the outdoors way too much. Before you know it, you're dressed up to go party in the hugest, loudest, most crowded disco you're ever seen.

Or maybe they're dragging you to a bar and gossip about people all night, OR they're planning to infiltrate in some rich guy's party they only found out about because Trish is famous and knows way too many people.

Don't worry if you get nervous though, they'll stick around by your side to make sure you feel comfortable, and they'll leave if they see you starting get overwhelmed. All of you need to have a good time or it's no fun.

Group reading with Fugo and Giorno. I repeat: group reading with Fugo and Giorno.

Okay, the stuff they recommend might not be the most exciting, but I can guarantee you that if you manage to actually read it, the discussions and conversations you're going to have about it will make up for it. You can basically see their eyes light up and soon as you begin talking and discussing its themes, you'll find yourself carried about by their excitement without even realizing it.

While it's something they usually do alone, sometimes Bruno and Abbacchio will take you fishing with them. It's a complete moment of chill away from the excitement of your everyday life, not to mention that Bucciarati is a great fisherman and dinner that night will be delicious.

If you think these guys are enough chaotic as they are, brace yourself for Holidays time.

Get ready to help decorate the whole house, which, considering its dimensions, is no easy job. The best thing you can do in this case is go with the flow and, most of all, follow Narancia's lead: the two of you will be setting up everything for even DAYS, if it's necessary.

Prepare for constant snowball fights, dudes blasting Christmas music ridiculously loud, alcohol disappearing at an even faster rate than usual, presents flying all over the salon aand lastly...An actual quiet Christmas night where you'll simply be watching a movie together and drinking hot cocoa in front of the fireplace.

Don't be tricked, the next day the extroverted trio is already asking you to go with on them on a Christmas themed party. Good luck.

You guys fight over the best spot under the air conditioner during Summer time, and the winner always turns out to be Trish. Alternately, if someone's able to compromise enough, you'll go get something fresh to change the mood a bit.

One last thing I'd like to mention is that, in the middle of the living room, there is a big frame with all eight of you smiling together. If things ever get rough, look up and remember that your family is always there for you :)

105 notes · View notes

morganski-19 · 7 months

Text

With a Comma After Dearest Part 1

A Ronance Note Passing Au

Robin’s tired. So goddamn tired. Like the soul was physically sucked out of her body and all that was left was this mess of a blob that she had to carry around all day tired. She hates it. Hates the feeling of just getting through the day just to go home and try to sleep, but never succeeds.

It hasn’t been this bad in a while. Not since July. But at least then she had more of an excuse. Then she was taken by Russians and tortured, heard Steve’s screams through the long hallway of the bunker. Now, what does she have to say? She willingly jumped into an alternate dimension portal to save her friend and willingly went back again to kill an evil wizard. She didn’t see the visions her friends did, didn’t watch her friends almost die. No, she came out unscathed, just mild horrors to be seen. The sleepless night shouldn’t be happening.

But they are. Have been ever since that first night after spring break. Waking in a cold sweat, immediately calling her friends to know that they were ok. Resigning herself to only getting the amount of sleep she did or sneaking out her window to go to Steve’s. That way when one of them had a nightmare, they might actually be able to sleep after that. She can’t rely on him as much as she wants, especially if she wants him to have any semblance of a life. But she just can’t help it.

He’s never said anything about it, always willing to drop anything to come make sure she was ok. Not like he was doing anything either, just laying alone in that giant house of his. But now that Eddie’s been released from the hospital, they’ve been spending more time together, Steve helping him through the nightmares. And she sees the way they look at each other, she knows that something’s going to happen between them too, even if they can’t see it yet.

So she has to learn how to do things on her own sometimes. She can still rely on him if she needs it, he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He just might need some space and nights alone, meaning that Robin would have to start being alone. If only that thought alone didn’t terrify her.

She walks into the bathroom and is met with the giant bags under her eyes. Barely having the energy to even get dressed in the morning, it’s not like she has the energy to cover them up. Her mom asks her questions, and her dad gets worried. All she could tell them were lies, that it was just nerves about some test or college applications, and that’s why she couldn’t sleep. She splashes some cold water on her face, trying anything to keep her awake for three more periods.

Slowly she makes her way to her next class and prays that she won’t fall asleep.

. . .

Nancy is walking to her next class when she spots Robin. Hunched over, clutching books close to her chest, and shuffling into the classroom. She looks like she hasn’t gotten any sleep at all, Nancy knows the feelings. It’s not like she’s been able to sleep that well the last few weeks. She’s just had four years of practice to make sure no one knew it was happening. It would go away soon, she knows. Slowly compartmentalizing in her mind until the memories fade away, only to haunt her again when she doesn’t want them to.

But Robin, she’s still new to this. Sure there was the summer, but that was only once. It took Nancy three times around to be able to train her mind to forget the images that plagued her mind. And even then it wasn’t perfect.

There were always people that Nancy could rely on though. Steve and Jonathan when she was dating them, and sometimes even Mike when they both needed someone to talk to. Someone was always there to help her fall back asleep, assure her that she was safe, and that they were okay.

Does Robin have anyone to do that? Nancy assumes she has Steve, but it’s not like they live that close. And they’re not dating, so it’s not like they would spend that many nights together. She can’t imagine what Robin would do, climb out her window and bike all the way to Steve’s, or call him and he then drive over to her. Time spent in panic when someone could already be there to calm her down.

Nancy wants to be there for Robin. They live a lot closer and could have sleepovers on nights when one of them just needed someone to help get them through the night. But she hasn’t had time.

Ever since the “earthquake” the school paper has had endless stories. Student testimonials and memorials. News about the repairs and charity drives. A constant reminder of what they didn’t stop quite in time.

Because of that, Nancy hasn’t had time to think about herself, let alone someone else. The stories are slowing down and life is returning to normal. Meaning that she should be too, or at least trying to. That way she could focus on her future and get through the rest of the year. Finally leave Hawkins behind and start the next part of her life, away from danger.

After the bell rings, Nancy sees Robin again, half asleep wandering through the halls. She wants to go up to her, ask her if she’s alright. If maybe she wants to come over after school and take a nap knowing that someone is there to protect her. It’s what Nancy would want Robin to do, so why can’t she do it herself?

Maybe it’s because she and Robin don’t know each other that well. They hung out a lot during spring break, but how much can you really learn about a person while saving the world? That doesn’t stop her from wanting to get to know her more. Somewhere along the line, she and Robin bonded. Maybe Nancy could have a best friend again, she just has to take the first step.

Robin stops, exchanging a book in her locker before walking through the hall again. Nancy tries to speed up and catch her, but she misses her in seconds. Looking at the locker at her right, she gets an idea. Ripping out a page of her notebook, she writes a note and pushes it through the slits of the locker, hoping that Robin responds.

. . .

Robin,

Hey, I just wanted to check up on you. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to hang out that much, I’ve been really busy with the newspaper. We have so many stories to write about the “earthquake” that I’ve been working overtime just to get all of them edited. Really it’s so annoying, especially since we know what happened. I just want to go back to writing stories about the mystery meat, as much as it pains me to say that.

But anyway. I really did just want to check up on you. Our schedules don’t really align that much but when I pass you in those halls, you look so alone. Not to say that you don’t have friends or anything. But I know that feeling of just wanting to isolate yourself after what happens, and I know you have Steve to help deal with all of this but, I guess I just wanted to make sure that you knew you could talk to me too.

I’ll leave my number on the bottom in case you don’t have it. Please feel free to call me anytime, really. I want to be there for you.

From,

Nancy

(P.S., my locker number is A350 if you want to respond. No pressure though!)

Robin reads the letter that fell out of her locker again, shocked that it isn’t some prank. The first thought that crossed her mind was that it was some jock who just wanted to poke fun at the band geek who looked like shit. Not like it’s unheard of.

However, when she opened the letter and read it, she smiled instead of balling it up and throwing it away. It’s the first time she’s heard from Nancy in weeks. Ever since school started up again, Robin would see her running through the halls from class to class, and then right to the newspaper room during lunch and after school. She thought that Nancy had forgotten about her, but she was wrong.

The last bell rings for the day and Robin curses under her breath, stuffing her bag full of books before booking it to the parking lot, Steve waiting for her like always.

“No offense, but you look like shit,” he says as she slides into the passenger seat.

“How anyone fell for your charm, I will never know.”

He pulls out of the parking lot. “Eh, after school doesn’t really work all that much anymore. But uh- seriously. Have you been sleeping?”

Robin yawns. “I’m fine.”

“That’s not what I asked. You look like you haven’t slept in weeks. I’m worried about you, you haven’t called that much and you can barely walk to the car when I pick you up. I just- I just want you to know that I’m still here, if you need to talk about it, that’s all.”

“I know. I just didn’t want you to come over as much and I can’t keep biking to your place in the middle of the night.”

Steve turns, taking the longer way to her house as he does every day so they can talk more. “Then call me, we can just fall asleep on the phone like we used to.”

“Aren’t you a little preoccupied now,” She switches the conversation, getting the spotlight off of her.

“The hell does that mean?”

“I mean that you and Eddie have been spending a lot of nights together.”

He pauses, not immediately biting back. “He’s been having a tough time with everything ok, that’s it.”

Robin hums disbelievingly. “Uh huh, sure. Let me know when that changes.”

She digs through her backpack to find her water bottle and stumbles upon the note Nancy left in her locker. If she had another five minutes, she would have responded. Pulling it out, she looks at it, reading through the words again.

“What’s that?” Steve asks as he turns down her street.

“Nancy left me a note in my locker, checking in on me.”

He parks in front of her house. “That’s nice. You going to respond?”

“I think so. It’d be nice to have someone else to talk about all of this, you know.”

“Yeah I know,” he nods. “Call me, ok. Don’t just think you have to go through this alone. No matter what, you still have me, ok.”

Robin nods. “Yeah, I know. And I will. Promise.”

When she gets to her room, she basically falls on her bed, debating if she should take a nap. But it might be the only sleep she gets tonight, so it’d be best to do it later. Looking at the letter in her hand again, she decides to write a response.

. . .

Dear Nancy,

How thoughtful of you to check up on little ole me. I should be the one checking up on you. So how dare you getting to it first.

In all seriousness though, I’ve been ok, I guess. I haven’t really been sleeping, which is why I look like complete shit all the time. But it’ll go away soon. I hope at least. Steve has been spending a lot of time helping Eddie out, so I haven’t been able to lean on him as much as I did after the summer. It’s been kind of weird going through this sort of alone. But I guess I’m not anymore, 'cause I have you.

I figured you were busy with the newspaper. I would see you running through the halls right past me, not even saying a quick hello. I don’t blame you for missing me, not like I was trying to stand out anyway. We should hang out, sometimes. If you have time, that is. I don’t really have a lot of friends, especially those who I can talk to about this. What I’m trying to say is that it would be nice, I think.

So uh, here’s my number in case you don’t have it. We’re the only Buckley’s in town though so if you need to, we’re in the book.

Your friend,

Robin

(P.S. Also, thought it would be funny to greet and sign these letters as they would back then. You know, for laughs and shit.)

(P.P.S I know you already have my locker number, but it’s B102 if you forgot)

Nancy smiles as she reads the letter, immediately pulling out a piece of paper and writing a response.

I will start a tag list if anyone is interested. This will be multiple parts, I'm thinking somewhere between 5-10.

#ronance #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #note passing au #background steddie #steve harrington #mentioned eddie munson #with a comma after dearest fic #part 1 #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #ronance fanfic #getting together #pining #note passing #post season 4

27 notes · View notes

spotsupstuff · 8 months

Note

How is Spore in off-the-strings au? (post asendtion)

worse but also better- so Orion and her got somewhat a little bit together again sometime after the MA, but not really to the same distance as what they used to be. like they don't chat daily, Spore is still sorta kinda uncomfy and restless while speaking to him, she would rather listen and trust Gem n Expiation than him. that sorta stuff

but well, this is their positioning on the map (Expiation is right southeast from the Root)

so whether she wants it or not, the Iterator who will come collect her is Orion

not that she actually Knows what's happening at all. her comms are kinda spotty so she doesn't get the broadcast that Boreas sends into the group disclosing that what's happening (puppets getting loose off of the umbilical arms and retaining consciousness) is a group-wide thing and that everyone shall make their way to the Root (with outer rim Iterators goin first n slowly collecting others along the way). Spore just sorta gets separated from her Hivemind, falls off her umbilical arm and is So shaken up from that separation that she can't move from where she fell and doesn't know how to deal with this. so she's just terrified

then Orion makes it to her and the funny interpretation of the scene is this

and the serious sad interpretation is that he cuts his way through the shroom forest to her structure, climbs all the way up and finally makes it into her chamber and finds her curled into a ball and shaking in absolute primal fear

he slowly comes to her, announcing his presence and she gets both spooked and relieved by it. she had No idea someone was coming. she is So happy to see anyone at all that any bad feels she had against Orion get thrown out of the window and the moment he kneels next to her, she forces herself up, legs limp, and just nose dives into his chest

so they just sorta sit there for a long while, Orion hugging and comforting her to the best of his ability. he then explains things to her, that this disconnect is happening to everyone and that they are expected to meet up at the Aeolus Root

the next cycle they set off on the road, with Ori carrying her on his back since she doesn't know how to walk yet. he helps her learn whenever it's safe to stop and they always sleep in shelters cuddled up together. there is still a blaring pain of loneliness in Spore's mind, right there where her existence as a Hivemind without an Individuality is supposed to be, but her elder brother hugs her tightly and warmly and it's not so bad like it was back in her chamber

this build up closeness on their journey to the Root is why they!

almost constantly stick together in the Root's village n don't have issues sassing each other. they get back to being close siblings, even though both of them are different than they used to be Orion should be technically within the Root with Boreas as the "second in command" while Spore should stay in the house they designated med centre, but Orion doesn't really give much shit about the shoulds when Spore is on the line anymore

anyway, Sparrows arrival made Spore happier! she gets to have a patient again!!!! she adores taking care of her and is honestly willing to come between Spars n Boreas to keep her safe. it feels like having a purpose again

but she's also worst off because Gem n Expiation are hanging around and ofc Gem won't let up on her manipulative bullshit and even when Ori tries to talk Spore out of staying friends with them, he fails cuz Spore is still desperate for companionship

then also she's still infected by the fungi. Sparrows as a Mechanic offers to take care of her and rid her of all that, but again. Spore doesn't want to be alone. so she says no and disregards any logical factual reasoning Sparrows brings up. ofc one day this will be solved and Spore gets cured while staying safe from isolation, but yeah

#spot says stuff #rw #oc tag #this poor bitch was introduced by her death scene and now im So emotionally invested in her actually........ for fucks sake.#Gen 1s just refuse to be Only filler characters i guess. oh no n theres supposed to be 20 of them in the Eo group....#if Aftertaste of Disdain (5th ittie of Eo) ends up kickin my ass emotionally too i might flip a table at this rate #Gen 1s be like: Oh? you want me to not carry an emotional punch??? -takes hand of their buddy Gen 1- fuckin think again #Gem is so far the only one whos keepin away from doin that but thats just because shes overall an ass without any tragedy to excuse her

19 notes · View notes

ronweasleysleftnut · 1 year

Note

angst prompt 9 with jonathan pls 🥺

Prompt:

I need to be with someone who actually wants me. And I know that's not you.

Jonathan byers x female!reader.

Jonathan likes someone else, and y/n can tell.

Liar Liar

It was 3am in the middle of winter. Y/n had her window open, looking out at the now falling snow. She hadn't been able to sleep, so instead she sat up in bed and read. When she saw the snow fall however, she wanted to watch.

Her elebows rested on the windowsill as she looked out past her neighborhood. It was cold enough for the snow to stick to the ground, and so in no time outside stayed to turn white. She had been up restless that night due to Jonathan. They had been together for 2 years now, since their Freshman year, but lately he's been acting different.

He's been distant, and he's been hanging around Nancy Wheeler, a lot. Y/n didn't think anything of it at first, Jonathan was allowed to have his own friends, but as time went on, she started to worry he liked her more than just friends.

She hadn't confronted him about this, she was too scared. She didn't want to be wrong, and end up jeopardizing their relationship even more, but at the same time this feeling gnawed at the pit of her stomach.

She took a deep breath before shutting the window in front of her and turning to her bed where she climbed back in and tucked the covers around herself. She closed her eyes, willing her body to finally fall asleep, to turn off these thoughts that went in an endless circle and just sleep. And eventually, it did.

She woke up the next morning at 6am to her mother calling from downstairs. She got up groggily from bed and slipped on some warm clothes for the now 2 inches worth of snow that accumulated while she slept.

School wasn't called off, it almost never is. And so when she went downstairs her mother had breakfast made, and after she finished, she heard Jonathan's car horn signaling his arrival outside.

He drove her to school every morning, despite anything else that may have been happening between them that always stayed consistent. "Morning", he says quietly, and Y/n can tell he's been experiencing his own insomnia. "Good morning" she says with a small smile and leans over to kiss him. He turns his head however, and she kisses his cheek instead.

"Let's go" he says with an awkwardly and Y/n nods, buckling her seat belt before Jonathan drives down the road slowly.

She sits through school as usual, her and Jonathan only had their last class of the day together, social studies. Despite that however, she can't help but have thoughts of him all day. She tries to confide in her best friend Robin during lunch, but it doesn't go to plan. "I don't know how mens minds work!" Robin said, her shoulders scrunching up as they do when she talks about this type of stuff. "I like women, I don't bother understanding the opposite gender" and with that, Y/n was left hopeless.

And to top it all off, when she went to history, Jonathan was no where to be seen.

After school she went out to the parking lot to Jonathan's car, ready to confront him about his absence, but when she got there she saw that Jonathan wasn't alone.

Nancy was standing with Jonathan by the back of his car, and before they could see her, Y/n went to the car over and listened in on their conversation. "Thank you for today, Jonathan" she hears Nancy say, and she can see the reflection of her smile in the glass. "It was no problem, really" he replied flustered, that smile Y/n loved so much flashing across his face. "So... I'll see you tomorrow?" She asks, and the boy nods.

Just as Y/n thinks she's about to leave however, Nancy goes on her tip toes and plants a kiss on Jonathan's cheek, causing his face to burn a shade of bright red.

Y/n feels tears come to her eyes, but she holds them back. As soon as Nancy is gone, she walks over to where Jonathan stands. He's still so awed by the kiss that he didn't even realize she came from the wrong direction. "Y/n" he said, smiling down at her, although she knew it wasn't a smile for her, it was from Nancy.

"Hey" she replied quietly, and Jonathan took her hands in his own. "Wanna come back to mine tonight?" He asked, and she looked up at him. Maybe she was wrong, maybe Jonathan did still love her? "I'd love to" she says with a smile, and Jonathan bends down and kisses her lightly on the lips before moving to the passenger door and opening it for her.

She gets in and watches as he goes around to the front of the car where he enters the driver's side. He starts the car and turns on the radio, tapping along to the beat on his steering wheel as they exit the parking lot.

Y/n still has hope as they pull into his driveway, however her dreams are crushed soon after.

They get into the house normally, Jonathan taking her coat at the door and telling her to sit while he gets them food. She takes her normal seat on his couch and turns on the TV, waiting for the boy to come back.

When he does, he's holding 2 sodas and a bag of chips. When he sits down, he places the bag of chips between them.

They switch through the channels until they land on some random game show, and Jonathan sits back ready to watch. Y/n however, turns to face him "So, what did you do today? You weren't in History..." she finally brings it up, and he looks over "Oh, uh.. I had other stuff to do" but Y/n isn't going to let go of it that easily.

"Oh" she says, "Like what?" And Jonathan takes a moment before turning his head towards her again, clearing his throat before speaking "Uh... I went out with Nance" he says. Nance. Y/n bites her lip to prevent the tears from forming in her eyes "Oh, so you and Nancy are good friends? Thats nice" She asks as casually as she can, but it seemed as though those were the magic words to make Jonathan open up.

Apparently he took it as an opening, that y/n was okay with it, because he opens up like a book and starts talking about Nancy like it's a middle school crush. "Yeah I mean she's just... she's really cool. And she knows what she wants, and she's determined and so thoughtful of the people around her, and when she's concentrating she does this cute thing where she bites her thumb" he imitates the motion and laughs, however when he looks over at Y/n, tears are openly coming down her face now.

"Y/n" he starts, moving immediately to comfort her. "Are you okay?" But she pulls away, wrapping her arms around herself. "You like her, don't you" she says, and Jonathan hesitates for a moment before responding "what, I no" he says, trying to touch her again but she pulls away and gets off the couch.

"Jonathan I saw you two together earlier!" She says, and his mouth drops "I saw her kiss you, and I saw the way you looked at her and I know that look Jonthan that's how you used to look at me" the tears are coming more than ever now, and Jonathan recollects himself, however he doesn't move to comfort her this time.

"Y/n, this is crazy" he says, motioning towards her "You're not denying it though, Jonathan! Because you know it's true" she responds, wiping the tears from her eyes as she recollects herself. "I love you" she says sincerely, walking towards him and looking him in the eye "But I need to be with someone who actually wants me. And I know that's not you."

Jonathan is left speechless as she moves away from him and towards the door, but at this he finally gets up to follow "Y/n, this is insane just come back we can talk about this" he tries but she shakes her head, pulling on her coat "There's nothing to talk about" she says with a sad smile, "I hope you're happy with her, Jon" and she exits the house, making new steps in the snow as she goes.

78 notes · View notes

say-al0e · 2 years

Note

Honestly just need some tooth rotting fluff for Eddie. Feels like all I find for him is smut. Perhaps it could be them being together after s4 and they’ve graduated finally. Them not worried about what the future has in store for them both and just enjoying moments like these for right now. ( xfemale! reader pls🥰)

Soft fluff with Eddie and reader, under the ‘read more’! Not explicitly female reader (I believe it’s gender neutral, someone let me know if I’m wrong). Right at 1k words!

Eddie couldn’t remember the last Fourth of July carnival he attended.

It was sometime before high school, back when he had buzzed hair and still cared way too much about what guys like Steve Harrington - and girls like Tammy Thompson - thought about him. It was when he still lived with his parents, before his uncle took him in, that much he knew. But specifics from that period were all a blur.

With the town’s general attitude toward him, toward people that looked like him, he tried to avoid large gatherings. It wasn’t because he cared about whatever they had to say, it was more because he just couldn’t be bothered. The attention never bothered him but their whispering could get exhausting.

He knew that if it weren’t for you, he would’ve happily continued avoiding places like the carnival altogether.

However, Eddie Munson had fallen completely, utterly, and irrevocably in love with you. You had him wrapped around your finger - willing to do absolutely anything you asked of him, no hesitation, no shame - and, because of that, he found himself wandering through his own personal Hell.

Eddie was sure you were a sight - him, with his ripped jeans and ratty band t-shirt, cigarette between scowling lips as you wandered the fairgrounds; you, with your pretty pink linen shorts and sleeveless top, lips grinning wide as you took in the sights - but he couldn’t find it in himself to care about the heavy stares he felt.

The near constant smile you’d flashed since climbing into his van was all that mattered and Eddie realized as he trudged on, oversized unicorn plush in one hand and yours wrapped in the other, that he was well and truly fucked. His heart was yours - cradled in your hands, something fragile you could shatter, if you were ever so inclined - but, instead of terrifying him, the realization brought him a startling peace.

For as brave a face as he put on, Eddie spent a great deal of his life afraid. He’d been afraid he wouldn’t graduate, afraid he might go to jail, afraid he might die in some bizarre alternate Hawkins, afraid he might never amount to anything more than a burnout. More than anything, however, Eddie spent a good deal of time afraid that he might never be truly content.

Weed and music made him happy. Sex made him happy. Dungeons and Dragons made him happy. Shitty horror movies and fantasy novels made him happy. But nothing filled the void he feared would one day consume him. He was constantly searching for something, chasing a high he could never quite reach, and it wasn’t until he found himself lost in an alternate dimension - with a group of people he’d never once considered could become so important to him - that he thought it might be within his grasp.

It wasn’t until he found himself curled up beside you, physically and mentally exhausted from battle, that he realized what he’d been missing all along.

Eddie swore that he knew how to flirt, swore he could be considered charming, but all sense of decorum flew out the window when he realized how he felt about you. The crush he’d harbored in high school, a teenage dream shattered by harsh reality, bloomed into love so quick that he didn’t have time to process before he was asking you to see a movie with him.

Immediately - from the moment you gripped his hand near the Upside Down Skull Rock, smile soft and reassuring even as he shook with fear - your presence calmed the too-fast beat of his heart. Immediately, Eddie felt content.

With you, there was no fear.

There was no worry that he might not graduate - with your help, he did; by the skin of his teeth, but he still walked across the stage and flipped off the principal in the process. There was no worry that he might go to jail, no worry that he might die. There was no worry that he might never amount to anything, no worry that he was wasting his life.

With you, Eddie was content.

Eddie squeezed your hand, unable to help himself, and grinned when you glanced at him. “You wanna ride the ferris wheel before the line gets insane?”

Neither of you cared about the fireworks - you’d even promised him a makeout session in his van, hidden away from the kids and Robin and Steve and Nancy and Jonathan, as a thank you for enduring the torture that was a town event - and you knew the line would be unbearable, just for a chance to see them from the top.

From the top of the ferris wheel, you could see the entirety of the fairgrounds. Hawkins wasn’t what either of you would’ve considered beautiful - though, you both had to admit there was a certain charm to it after living through the alternative - but, from the top of the ride, it wasn’t half bad.

Eddie wouldn’t miss it at all when you moved to Indianapolis together in the fall, though.

Before he could voice that aloud, you turned to him with a bright smile.

“Can we get funnel cake after this?” Neither of you needed the sugar - Eddie had a joke about you tasting sweet enough without it on the tip of his tongue - but before he could so much as inhale, you frowned. ”On second thought, maybe not. You’re wearing all black, the sugar might make a mess.”

Mumbled thoughts like that - little acts of consideration, things other people might consider trivial - made all the difference in the world to him. You cared, enough to worry about getting powdered sugar on his jeans, and suddenly his calm made all the sense in the world.

When there was someone to worry for him, someone to care, the burden didn’t feel quite so heavy.

Eddie leaned over, reached for your chin with practiced ease, and pressed his mouth to yours in a kiss that had you seeing stars. Your vanilla chapstick was sweeter than any powdered sugar, more enticing than any carnival food could’ve been, and Eddie hoped the entirety of Hawkins heard as he declared, “I fuckin’ love you, sweetheart.”

He couldn’t remember the last Fourth of July carnival he attended but, when you grinned - repeated those three words back just as strong, just as steady - Eddie knew he would remember this one for the rest of his life.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fluff #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine #v's blurbs

187 notes · View notes

currebunz · 1 year

Text

Ch 8. Don’t scare me like that again!

Buy me a coffee //Parings: Vash x reader, Nicholas x reader It became quickly apparent that the backseat was becoming crowded. With Nicholas in the back too, you struggled to find space. Both Vash and Nicholas had leg space that ate away at yours. Sitting upright and proper wasn’t really your style but there wasn’t much room otherwise.

“Nico make some more space, you are hogging the seat” you scolded him.

“Ha? I’m not hogging. Why don’t you ask needle-noggin to move over?” Nicholas asked.

“He’s already moved over enough” you huffed.

“Calm down you two” Vash smiled as he tried to make more space for you.

Eventually, you three reached a settlement that allowed everyone to have enough space. Granted Vash and Nicholas were turned toward the windows. You found yourself leaning into either of them with each occasional bump. Vash showed a more awkward and shy side, excusing himself despite him not being at fault. Nicholas merely teased you about sitting in his lap.

The truck began to slow as Meryl went over a large dune. There were large pieces of metal sticking out of the sands. At first, it just looked like regular debris. But then the pieces began to look more whole.

“Where are we?” Meryl asked.

“This is a graveyard” Roberto began.

“Graveyard?!” Meryl squeaked.

“Not for people, for lost technology. They say that there are graveyards where some of the ships had broken down or living facilities that broke down were scraped in. You could call it a scrap yard, but no one comes by here for anything” he continued.

“Isn’t lost technology rare?” Meryl asked.

“You’re welcome to look around if you can actually get any of this stuff to work” Roberto added.

The structures you had passed were all destroyed, whether it be upon impact or over time. The area was desolate in terms of life. If there had been skeletons then they had been swallowed up by the sands. It somehow looked even more dead than the rest of the planet.

“You know, some say that these places are haunted by the spirits of the dead. People have gone missing in these parts, only to show up dead if they are lucky” Roberto continued with a haunting voice.

Meryl shivered and made a weak sound, you weren’t phased by the man’s story and simply looked through the front windows. For a moment, you thought you saw someone standing up ahead. You blinked and the figure was gone. You were so perplexed you didn’t notice the truck begin to stall. It slowed to a stop, Meryl tried everything to get the truck moving again but nothing worked.

“The truck won’t start…” she said.

“It must be the ghosts!.....or a dead battery” Roberto said.

Everyone climbed out of the truck while Roberto took a look under the hood. Nicholas lit a cigarette, looking over the place.

“Lovely place for sightseeing, don’t you think?” he mused.

“Looking to scrap your punisher?” you teased.

Nicholas gave you a dry look, not willing to even humor the idea. Vash was looking around, a solemn look on his face. He was staring at a structure that was still put together, more so than the others.

“What’s up? Looking for ghosts?” you asked.

“No, this was a Seeds ship. I never knew one was all the way out here…” Vash said.

It was like he was transfixed on the rubble, he didn’t look away even when he spoke to you.

“A what?” you asked him.

“Oh, it’s just something from a long time ago. It’s not really important, just something I learned about” Vash laughed awkwardly as he finally looked away.

You held his gaze for a moment, staring through those orange-tinted sunglasses and into his blue eyes.

“You aren’t very good at lying,” you said before walking back over to the truck.

Vash watched you go, his lips trembling as he wanted to tell you the truth. He wasn’t sure why he was losing his cool. Was it because of what he had done in the inn room? Or was it because Nicholas appeared? He couldn’t help this overwhelming feeling in him. He took a deep breathe, now wasn’t the time for that.

“Any luck on the truck?” you asked.

“Well, there isn’t anything wrong with the battery or the rest of it, odd that we can’t get it to hold a charge” Roberto explained.

“Nothing seems to work, we can always push it but who knows how long we’d have to go” Meryl continued.

“We should check the place out, maybe we’ll find something good here?” Nicholas suggested with a grin.

You began to search the area for anything that might be helpful. To you, it just looked like junk for miles. There was no telling what you would find out here, you weren’t expecting much. You felt the sand give way and you stepped on a metal surface. There was a part of the ship that had sunken into the sand.

“I think I found something!” you announced.

Vash and Nicholas were the first to come over, looking at the door. It didn't look like it had opened for ages. You tried kicking the door but nothing happened.

“Well that is something, not much considering it is locked” Nicholas whistled.

You ignored his comment as you searched for some way to open the door. Vash slid down to where you were, looking as well.

“There should be a way to open it with a touch,” he said.

He dusted the sand out of the day, finding a smooth surface that was blank. He put his hand against it, but the door remained shut.

“Well, it was worth a shot,” he grinned.

“It’s okay, thanks for trying” you said as you put your hand on top of his.

Vash’s expression turned soft at your touch, he couldn’t help but feel when you were like this with him. You were captivated by his smile, not wanting to move either.

“Ay dios mío, Get a room you two” Nicholas whistled.

You grimaced at him, sticking your tongue out.

“Yeah? Well maybe we will!” you yelled.

“W-We will?” Vash repeated.

Just then, the door you had been standing on opened.

“Eh?”

“Ah”

You and Vash screamed as you plummeted down into the ship.

“Seven! Needle-noggin!” Nicholas jumped after you both, managing to slip in just before the doors shut.

You were still holding on to Vash as you both fell. The darkness made it hard for you to see, but you at least knew he was with you. It was like being in the worm all over again. Your free falling stopped when you hit a large pile of sand, sliding down onto the floor. Vash still held your hand tightly, his eyes wide in shock.

“AAAAHHHHH!” Nicholas came falling after, hitting the sand hard as the punisher landed next to him.

You and Vash dusted yourselves off, waiting for Nicholas to meet you at the bottom. He shook sand from his hair and groaned as he stood up.

“Could you two stop leading me into deep holes already?” he grumbled.

Vash took out his flashlight, shining it around the place. You followed the light, trying to figure out where you were.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me” Nicholas continued as he pulled Punisher from the sand.

Just like the outside, the inside of the ship was run down and covered in dust. It looked untouched for a good decade or two. There wasn’t much down there, a few worms and other insects but nothing to be alarmed about. It was still eerily quiet and haunting down there. The darkness was hardly welcoming.

“We should try and find a way out,” Vash suggested.

“How are you so sure there is a way out?” you asked.

“We won’t know until we try,” he smiled.

There was that usual positivity again. Although, it brought you some comfort. You had an uneasy feeling about this place. There was something about it that put you on edge. As you walked through the area, your head began to ache. Vash and Nicholas appeared to be okay, leaving you to wonder if it was only you.

“I’m not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel here” Nicholas sighed.

It was true, your group had passed by empty rooms and dusty equipment. Nothing looked salvageable and it wasn’t as if you needed anything. You rubbed at your eyes, something white had flickered across your vision.

‘Did you guys see that?” you asked.

“No” Vash shook his head.

“Oh no, Seven’s hallucinating now” Nicholas said.

“I’m not hallucinating, or at least I don’t think so” you argued.

There wasn’t any reason for you to be hallucinating right now. You shook off the feeling as you entered a large area. You couldn’t see past the initial darkness, Vash’s flashlight barely made a difference.

“I didn’t think you were scared of the dark, Seven” Nicholas chuckled.

“I’m not?” you weren’t sure what he meant.

“Then, why are you holding my hand?” Nicholas asked.

You brought up both of your hands, showing that you weren’t holding Nicholas’s hand. He lifted his hand and showed a tendril was wrapped around it. It took you a moment to realize what it was before you all jumped back screaming.

“What the hell is that?!” Nicholas shouted.

“I-I don’t know! It was touching you!” you yelled.

“Whatever it is, it’s coming back!” Vash warned.

A slithering sound echoed in the room as the tendril circled you all. Nicholas unwrapped the punisher and Vash took out his gun. When a tendril came close, the two began shooting. You had your knife ready, cutting at the tendrils that tried to sneak up on you. It was an endless supply of them, more and more coming and forming a wall as they got closer.

“This isn’t good! We don’t have an endless supply of bullets!” Nicholas warned.

“We need a different strategy!” Vash agreed.

You saw a doorway to the left of the room and ran for it.

“This way!” you shouted.

Vash and Nicholas began backing up toward the doorway. Nicholas cleared first, Punisher fitting through. Vash was just nearly there when a tendril caught his leg.

“Vash!” you ran over to try and cut it but tendrils more appeared.

They grabbed his other leg, wrapping up his waist. You grabbed his arm, your hand slipped off his coat so you were now clutching his hand. Even with you pulling, it wasn’t enough to break him free.

“Seven! Let go!” Vash demanded.

“What? No, I’m not letting go!” you argued.

Even with the tendrils approaching, you had no intention of letting go. Vash wore a strained smile as his hand relaxed in your grip.

“No, no! Don’t you give up on me!” you begged him.

Vash’s hand slipped through your grasp as he disappeared into the darkness.

“Vash!” you screamed as the door shut in front of you.

Nicholas had shot the controls, forcing the doors to close. You could still hear the tendrils moving, slowly growing distant.

“Why….Why did you do that?” you asked.

“You saw what we were up against! It was the only choice” Nicholas said.

“But Vash!” you began.

“He’ll be fine! You think that idoita would get killed that easily?” he argued.

“That’s not the point and you know it!” you yelled.

Nicholas clicked his tongue, turning around and pushing you against the wall.

“What are you-” your voice died when you met his eyes.

“What’s wrong with you? Ever since we met back up, you haven’t been yourself” he said.

You couldn’t find the words to reply, it was a worry you had yourself.

“Since we started this job, I told you we had to only look out for each other. Worrying about other people will get you killed. And here you are, going back on everything we upheld up to now. I don’t know what that needle-noggin told you but you need to wake up. The reality of the situation is that we’re still here and he isn’t” Nicholas said firmly.

You hesitated, of course you knew that, the feelings inside you hadn’t changed. But ever since you met Vash, it felt like missing part of you was returning. You grabbed Nicholas’s wrist, holding it tightly.

“You’re right, we’re still here. If you were so gung-ho about leaving him behind then you would’ve grabbed me and ran away the moment the doors closed. You want to help him too” you argued.

Nicholas kept his hard gaze, seemingly unwavering until a sigh left him.

“I forgot how much trouble you could be” he said under his breath.

He let you go, allowing you to stand. You let go of him, trying to calm yourself.

“Okay, we just need to figure out where that….thing is and get Vash. Then we can find a way out, '' you said.

“Well, standing around here won’t get us anywhere. Vámonos” Nicholas had you take the lead as you both set off deeper into the ship.

There were tendrils all over but Nicholas kept you covered. You kept your eyes peeled for any sign of Vash. But you didn’t see him. When you both came to a cross of tunnels, you stopped.

“I don’t see him, how do we know if we're going in the right direction?” you asked.

“We don’t, we need to search everywhere” Nicholas said.

More tendrils appeared, attempting to corner you both. You removed your sniper, taking two tunnels while Nicholas took the other two. It was painfully obvious that you two couldn’t keep them back forever.

“What now? They have us pinned!” you warned.

“Yeah… I know” Nicholas sighed.

You hear Nicholas yell and he tossed Punisher down. He ran at the tendrils, grabbing them before they could reach you.

“Nico!” you chased after him.

You grabbed his hand just as they began to drag him away. You tried to dig your heels into the ground but it wasn’t doing anything to slow them down.

“Let go! You’re gonna get pulled in too!” he shouted.

“I can’t do this without you!” you begged.

Nicholas smiled, closing his eyes for a moment.

“Of course you can, Mi corazón” he threw you back, making you land on your butt as he was dragged away.

“Nico!” you yelled as he disappeared.

The tendrils had retreated, seemingly satisfied with him. You sat there for a while, still trying to process what happened. Slowly, you rose to your feet. You walked over to your sniped, loading it onto your back. Then you lifted Punisher, turning the gear to close the gun.

“I….I can do this….” you said to yourself.

You chased after the tendrils, hoping it would lead you to their core. The tunnel felt long as you chased each turn. The occasional tendril appeared but it was no match for Punisher’s gunfire. You couldn’t help but notice they weren’t teaming in numbers like before. Was it that you weren’t worth the effort now? It was frustrating to you.

The tunnel finally reach its end, opening to a large space. Right away, you noticed the surrounding area was much like plant holding areas. Where the plant would be was a large mass of growth. The tendrils appear to be coming from there. Your mind quickly shifted to finding Nicholas or Vash, you needed to make sure they were safe! Unfortunately, you didn’t see them anywhere.

The tendrils soon focused on you again, chasing you through the room as you made your way to the core. You had to stop to fire Punisher, you weren’t as strong as Nicholas. Just shooting it after a while left your hands numb and your arms tired. You dropped the weapon to run, at least they couldn’t keep up with you.

Closer and closer, you came to the mass. Some tendrils started to come out, taking a strange shape. At first you thought it might be human, but the head was different, branching off into petal like appendages. You drew your knife, charging at it with every intent to strike it down. A tendril caught your hand before the blade could touch it.

“Damnit! Haven’t you done enough already?!” you shouted at the growth.

You ignored the tendrils surrounding you, trying to push your blade down on it.

“You took away my friends and now what? You want me too now?! Then take me!” you continued.

The growth touched it’s forehead to yours and everything went white. You found yourself in the same odd state as when you touched the flower petal. Your surrounding had changed, you were in some kind of room. There was technology you hadn’t seen before and lots of liquid in glass tubes.

“Where am I? What did you do to me?” you called out.

“You shouldn’t move so much, you just got better” a soft voice giggled.

You turned toward the speaker, seeing a woman with long black hair. She seemed familiar but you were sure you never met her.

“How do you feel now? Any dizziness?” she asked.

“Who are you?” you asked.

“Good, I was worried you might have side effects from the injection. I was so worried when I saw your vitals” she continued.

It became clear she was going to talk regardless of what you said, this had to be a memory.

But who’s?

“You know, those two were worried about you. They kept coming to your room even though they weren't supposed to. I had to herd them away so they didn’t get in trouble” she giggled.

You refrained from asking ‘who’, knowing she wouldn’t answer you.

“But now that you are all clear, we can go say hello to them again” she held her hand out to you.

You glanced at her hand, hesitating before taking it. You followed her to the door, it slid open slowly as more light poured into your vision.

“(y/n)!” “(y/n)?”

You opened your eyes, looking back at the growth and tendrils. Slowly, they started to uncoil and fall apart. You could still hear the name in you remind as you were lowered to your feet. The room slowly unwrapped the tendrils surrounding it, revealing the metallic interior of the ship. On the walls, Nicholas and Vash were revealed. They fell onto their faces, waking up ungracefully. Vash was the first up, spotting you.

“Seven!” he shouted.

He was up and running over to you, Nicholas stumbling after. Before either could reach you, you stuck out your fists into their stomachs.

“Guh!” Nicholas grunted.

“Ack!” Vash yelped.

The two stumbled back, holding their stomachs as they looked at you.

“What was that for?!” Nicholas growled.

“S-Seven..?” Vash called again, awkwardly.

“You….you two…” your head was hanging low.

They could see your shoulders shake as tears began to fall from your eyes. You lifted you gaze, glaring at them.

“I’m going to punch you both, don’t you ever do something like that again! Don’t you know how much you scared me?!” you began to cry.

Nicholas and Vash let you hit them, although your hits became weaker with each strike. You leaned into them, letting out all the anxiety and stress that had built up.

“I’m sorry Seven” Vash apologized as he patted your head.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad…” Nicholas said in a low voice.

You eventually stepped back, rubbing your eyes and calming yourself.

“If you want to make it up to me, then answer this question” you sniffed.

“Sure, I’ll do anything,” Vash smiled.

“I knew you would use this against me, just not so soon” Nicholas sighed.

You took a deep breath, trying to prepare yourself for what was to come.

“Who is (y/n)?”

#Vash x reader #nicholas d. wolfwood #wolfwood x y/n #Trigun #trigun stampede #wolfwood x reader #vash the stampede #x reader #reader insert

53 notes · View notes

goldeneyedgirl · 9 months

Note

Do you have any more of deaf alice you’d be willing to share? That fic lives rent free in my mind

Deaf Mary-Alice is currently just a collection of Jasper's thoughts as he simps for her and wonders if she truly understands how much he loves her since they made up all the signs when he was emotionally stunted and Too Battle Hardened by Life to Care, and can't find the right words to explain.

The Cullens aren’t at all prepared for Mary-Alice, and it’s kind of fun to watch. There are still three weeks until graduation, and he’s already negotiated a deal with Carlisle in exchange for completing high school once again (“Five years, Carlisle, of no high school.”) But it means that he has to leave her behind every morning, moping on the couch. Except, every day they get home, Esme looks vaguely confused and flustered, and Mary-Alice is up to… something. One day, she’s climbing the railings of the first and second-floor landings, like some kind of bizarre parkouring gymnast - and not the kind of behaviour that Jasper’s sure Esme or any of the Cullens have witnessed or partaken in. But it's no different than her playing in the few trees around Monterrey or swinging from the beams in the roof of the barn. Bouncing off the roof of the mansion, laughing. (She lands on his back, kissing his cheek, telling him he was gone for far too long, her cheek nuzzling against him as she speaks.) Another day, she’s swiped some paint from Esme’s studio and spent the day painting the glass wall in his study with flowers (some of them have bleeding eyes in the centre, and others have tiny bones making up their stems, a casual reminder that she is not as soft and girlish as she might appear). The light through the window throws coloured light around his study. Esme is horrified but trying to cover it up, and Jasper mentally tells Edward that he’ll take care of it, just not to mention it. It’s easy enough to get her a canvas and a pile of sketchbooks that light her face with happiness. (One sketchbook is hidden under the cushions of his couch; quick sketches of visions intermingled with drawings of him and her - some of them are positively indecent, so the sketchbook stays hidden.) There's the deer she manages to herd into the Cullens' garden, even manages to get a flower crown on the poor beast. Deciding to precariously perch herself on the very top of the library bookshelves, a pile of books next to her swinging leg as she pages through any coffee table book with coloured pictures, other book piles scattered around the room much to Carlisle's consternation. There's the fact she's caught touching the piano, sitting on the very top and bending over to press the keys to try and 'hear' it better. (He owed Edward for not pitching a fit of enormous magnitude over that; his brother had had the foresight to simply walk out and let someone else deal with Mary-Alice's investigation. And it had been easy to explain that the piano was Edward's, was special to him. By the time night falls, the piano is freshly polished and set to rights, with a wild daisy left on the seat as an apology.) There’s the day that Esme somehow manages to teach her the basics of sewing, and he comes home to Mary-Alice cutting up some of the clothing she’s been given to Frankenstein new items together. By then, Esme looks rather exhausted and frustrated - communication is still terribly stilted, and the mess of hacked-apart dresses probably looks like more work for her. Instead, Mary-Alice sits there, laser-focused as she puts all her clothing back together, somehow more her than they were when she started. (If she surreptitiously stitches a black gingham star to the pocket of his jeans at some point, it makes him smile.)

#my fic: deaf mary-alice #my fic: stl-adjacent #stl: wholesome-edition #jasper: oh god she's undergone trauma and despair i can never heal nor make up to her #mary-alice: my biggest trauma was being without the major for decades and also that one time peter tore my dress #esme's seriously wondering if she should renegotiate jasper's terms and that he doesn't have to go to high school #he just has to baby-sit his mary-alice #mary-alice isn't stupid; she just knows she can do what she wants as long as nothing gets broken #and everyone is too polite to say no to her #except jasper #he's there with a camera going “you're doing great babe” as mary-alice uses carlisle's books as a staircase to things she can't reach

10 notes · View notes

androgynousblackbox · 16 days

Text

Dead Main Course. 4 [Appleradio, Radioapple]

A03 link

First of all, it wasn't a decision born out of a petty need for revenge after the rejection. The rejection itself was barely a footnote, if ever mentioned at all on the list of reasons why Lucifer had to die. Contrary to what some people might think, he actually was pretty good at taking a no for an answer. It wasn't going to be his first and it wasn't going to be his last either. He was a reasonable adult, not a pathetic bratty child.

But if Lucifer had consciously deleted any other options off their table, then the only role for him to take on in their life, as far Alastor was concerned at least, was another step on his ladder to success. No doubt he was going to keep up the friendly facade and do exactly as Lucifer had wanted, for him to act exactly the same as if nothing had changed at all. With any luck he could actually forget now about what insane impulse had pushed him to make that question in the first place. Or at least he hoped.

In any case, the death of the Morningstar's son was only going to be beneficial for him. He already knew that, but he had only postpone those plans for having his head full with idiotic expectations that, frankly, only he should be blamed for letting continue on for as long as they did. So this decision in fact was nothing but a return to cold, safe, objectivity. Inevitable even.

Proof of that had to be how easy now was to imagine it. That white pretty neck could look even more appealing when opened up with muscles exposed for the taking and the blood dripping down. His beautiful brown eyes opened up in pure terror as he left him alive just enough to feel each cut. The hands that worked so quickly and efficiently would separate nicely under his own knife. He would cut each portion of his fingers and lick the bones clean with a glass of his favorite wine. Maybe he would keep his head intact for a little bit so he could see him preparing his heart with a chocolate sauce, to honor his sweet tooth.

Now that there were some lovely images that were going to help him to get back on track. With those in mind, it was time to start the actual hunt.

It had been a while since he actually took on chasing anyone. Since living in a larger city, acquiring targets has been easier than ever before. So many people who were outside every night, without company, willing to go with someone that talked to them with a big enough smile. There were so many dark corners to find where nobody would pay any attention that only one person with a big backpack came out from where originally two people went into. Frankly, he wondered why he hadn't moved to a place like that before.

But despite the lack of practice, it was rather easy to fall into those old habits. Finding the penthouse of the Morningstars had been a piece of cake. Originally he hoped to find the son through the father, but surprisingly they were both living together, which was only the more convenient for him and he barely bothered questioning why.

According to what he could find online, the Morningstar mother had died a few years ago from a heart condition. With no grandparents, siblings or cousins to talk about, when it comes to direct blood relation, father and son were the only members left of their little family so maybe it made sense they prefer to live together even in adulthood. It wasn't part of his objective to question that anyway.

Like a lot of modern penthouse, a big part of the building was big windows through which to let the "natural sun outside" to illuminate them and give people interested in looking inside an excellent view. Once he managed to decide from which angle it was going to be the best to keep up, he started carrying his backpack to the top of the closest building he could reach, take out his binoculars and make sure he could actually see enough. It took him three attempts climbing a bunch of stairs to get the right roof and it was worth it.

Nobody rich and famous lived there, so nobody cared either if a man with a hoodie just casually made his way all the way to the top. As long as he didn't cause any trouble for anyone, he was in the clear. From there, he could catch Lucifer making dinner for himself and his father, see them talk for a bit before the older man went to his office and Lucifer was left cleaning up the dishes. The only issue was that he did not have sound inside. Most of his nights were as remarkable as that, but he still wanted more information. It somehow felt like he never had enough.

Lucifer Morningstar had turned out to be a more mysterious man than what he had given him credit for. His presence online was almost entirely null. Every social media that he reasonably could believe came from him, rather than someone taking his face from the internet, was practically dead or used for promotional purposes only to the point that it looked more like a bot than a real person. Even pictures of public appearances were all destined to promote the restaurant or some other event made by his father.

The oldest pictures he could find that seemed to come from a sincere place was one of Lucifer smiling next to a tall woman of long blonde hair that had to bend her knees to be at eye level with him. They weren't dressed as if going to a dinner, party or anything special that the whole world would care about. They looked like just two people walking around the city and deciding to take a selfie for fun. The words under that picture read "Going to grab some dinner!", with no tagging name so that woman could have been literally anyone. That alone picture was from four years ago and immediately after was promotion pictures that probably involved a contract somewhere, if not posted directly by some employee.

He cross referenced with the followers or friends he could find, and that alone wasn't that more fruitful. Besides a couple of more recent pictures of Lucifer drinking with people at a party and the odd mention, very little else. Going far back enough at least he could finally identify the blonde woman as someone that had to be an ex. Lilith, who was currently a professor of social studies at some university, single for all he could see.

That was it. Hobbies, fixations, celebrity crushes, spats online, anything that formed the online presence of any other person was entirely gone from his, either by scrubbing hard enough or because it was never there in the first place. Even Alastor had published more personal stuff on his just in case someone went searching for him. He posted about the books he read or a new recipe he tried, nothing too revealing of course but still something. It was the easiest way to appear normal, so why shouldn't we take advantage of that?

It seemed that Lucifer had skipped that lesson and thus forced him to find out about him the old fashioned way, before the internet was a thing. He had no issue doing that. The best hunts were always the ones that required more effort from him to pull off.

A new routine was then formed. During his shifts they both did their job. If they end up in conversation during their breaks, they keep it friendly, a bit of mutual teasing because why not, nothing inappropriate or that it would call the attention of anyone.

The first day right after his attempt at a date had been a tiny bit awkward, but Lucifer soon had gotten back on the rhythm of things when he realized that Alastor truly wanted to move on from the whole experience. Now no one could tell that he was still smelling him every morning for any changes at all on his daily aroma or how aware he was of Lucifer's presence at every second in the kitchen, following his light feet or his quick hands.

Nobody would ever know how his heart stopped for a second and went back on again, stronger than ever, when he managed to hear Lucifer laughing or they happened to brush each other. Nobody would know that he wanted to run away the moment his brown eyes acknowledged him with that soft, comfortable twinkle that regarded him or how much it bothered him when it wasn't there on those first few days as Lucifer tried to avoid looking at him at all if possible.

No, nobody would know, ever.

At night or afternoon, it was back to coming up the stairs, taking out his binoculars and observing the penthouse. From his position he could even get a glimpse of Lucifer's room through his window, although just a portion. On more than one occasion he caught Lucifer just coming out of his bathroom, covered by a towel, and he looked away to give the man time to dry himself and dress up. If he could choose, frankly he would have liked to skip those little incidents altogether. They were not useful for data gathering at all, and then they also left him uncomfortably warm, squeezing his hand inside of a pocket until it was safe to look up again.

It wasn't that the body of Lucifer was disgusting in any way. He was brave enough to recognize that at least. Or that he couldn't handle imagining himself licking the droplets of water out of his neck as he would press one of his arms on his back, right before breaking it up as a warning. He had something that adults liked to refer to as autocontrol, thank you very much.

No, the reason he turned away was simply because he wasn't a pervert. He could be watching Lucifer during hours of the day without his consent or knowledge, until the point the man turned off his light for sleeping, but he still had some standards to preserve his own dignity. He would not stoop so low.

Besides, he could watch his body all he wanted on top of his table once he was dead. There was no reason to rush any of that. No matter how much his mind wanted to go in that direction.

The one piece of information that surprised him on his investigation was finding out that the Morningstars were out to church on Sundays in the morning. Not from the father, anyone in less than five minutes googling his name could have found out that was the kind of man who would assist on a nice suit to listen to his pastor. But Lucifer was another story. He could have maybe believed that his coworker was just that discreet with his beliefs and didn't think it was anyone's business to know about them, if it wasn't because on each of those mornings Alastor could clearly see his lack of enthusiasm across the street. He moved like a mere robot going through the motions rather than any man sticking to his faith.

Maybe he went just so his father wouldn't feel alone?

And yet, he still woke up earlier than his dad to prepare breakfast for the both of them. Still dressed up in a suit that was as boring and inoffensive as his dad and somehow managed to look absolutely stunning once he had fixed his hair. Although, to be fair, Lucifer could probably go with a trash bag and still outshine a majority of people without any effort. Objectively speaking, of course.

For a brief period, Alastor imagined himself "accidentally" bumping into Lucifer to take out the key to his apartment and have a look around himself before bugging it. But the idea quickly dissolved because the Morningstars were out and ready for their car and it took him a couple of walks outside to see at least two security cameras in the exterior, plus another three on the hallway in the elevator to the other floor. If the security was so tight from the start, then surely they had to have a camera inside the elevator and in front of each door. Who knew if Morningstar wasn't the kind of paranoid that also had cameras inside of their living place? Even if he covered his entire face and body, that was still far too risky.

Now he truly regretted having listened to his meal and invited Lucifer to a date when he did. If he had waited a little longer maybe he could have made up some excuse to visit him at his home and have a great chance to investigate further. As things turned out to be, he couldn't imagine that Lucifer was going to accept any casual visit just like that.

Ever since that day, he has been repeating the whole scene in his head trying to understand what went so wrong. Lucifer had seemed genuinely scared. The only conclusion that he had come to is that he had done nothing worth deserving such a reaction. If Lucifer was ever truly afraid of him then he would have seen the signs already. Some relief when he was outside of his personal space, an unexpected tension when he was. Avoid him in every way that he could unless it was necessary. Outside of those first awkward days, there have been nothing of the sort. He had to assume that either Lucifer had an actually perfect control over himself that he could hide his fear so perfectly that not even his trained nose could catch it, or whatever it was that scared him had nothing to do with him directly.

On one hand, coming to that conclusion had brought him some comfort back, since he was afraid that he had let his guard down enough to reveal something unwanted. In the other, it made it all the more annoying to know that his plans had been ruined prematurely by something outside of his control.

Lucky for him, the solution to his issues fell completely by chance on his lap. Not as ideally, it came in the form of the Manager coming up behind him and patting his back while he was brewing a cup of coffee for himself in the breakroom.

“Hey, Alastor, are you busy this weekend?” asked the man, as usual, not paying any mind to the way the chef stuffed up like a piece of cold iron.

Alastor combated the impulse of bashing the head of the man with the hot coffee pot. Truly, he should be receiving a raise for not making some pretty splatters every time someone puts their hands on him. These people had no idea how lucky they were he still wanted this job.

“I might be” answered with tight politeness, keeping his options open. “Why the curiosity?”

“Well, you didn't hear it from me” The Manager got even closer to him and Alastor absolutely hated the smell of his hot breath, still tainted by the cigarette he had taken outside before coming in. Just for that Alastor would touch his meat even if somehow could get away with his murder. He probably tasted awful with those bad habits, “but this weekend is Luci's birthday and the boss was asking me to look for someone capable of catering. I would do it myself, but I have a family party the same day. My niece finally got her degree and so we are all going to celebrate as it should, going out to her favorite restaurant to spend whatever she used to get, know what I mean?”

“Where is the party? For Lucifer” clarified, before this man thought he had any interest in his plans. God forbid.

“At their condo. It's going to be a really small thing with a few friends of Lucifer. I think the boss said they were going to be 7 people in total, including both he and Luci, so it shouldn't be that difficult of a task. Do you think you can do it? If not, I can ask someone else. The pay is going to be good though.”

The pay wasn't the reason why Alastor smiled sincerely at the Manager, for the first time since they met.

“I think I can do it.”

The assistant of the Morningstars contacted him as soon as the Manager passed along his agreement, sending him a list of recommended foods, another of forbidden ones and a rough budget for everything. Alastor made a menu based on those conditions and then sent it over to be approved. The whole arrangement seemed to go exclusively through Joseph Morningstar because on the days that followed Lucifer not once acknowledged the catering service he was going to be given. Nobody had told Alastor to keep it a secret, but he did it anyway just to see the kind of face his coworker would make.

The night before the party Alastor finalized preparing all the ingredients he would need and set them up on his bag to carry. He could have hired some extra help if needed, but for the first time he was about to share his special recipe he wanted to be the sole responsible of its handling. In the afternoon, he went to the penthouse and called the number the assistant gave him to alert he was already there. In the lobby itself he counted four security cameras, three on the hallway and one on the ceiling of the elevator as he made his way up. No blindspot anywhere.

There were two other cameras outside of the Morningstar's residence. He knocked on the door and waited. A couple of minutes later, Lucifer opened up the door and Alastor gave his best customer service smile as he appreciated the way he was clearly caught off guard. It had definitely been worth the wait.

“Good afternoon, Lucifer. Hope you are having a lovely birthday.”

“Thanks, uh…” Lucifer looked at the bag hanging from his shoulder and still took him a moment to process the reason why he was there. He looked so adorably confused that Alastor lamented when he finally made himself to a side. “Come on in.”

“With your permission” Alastor nodded as he made his way inside. No security cameras that he could see. Good. “Where is the kitchen?”

He knew, of course.

“Here” Lucifer closed off the door and guided him to the kitchen. Alastor left his bag full of ingredients on the counter to start taking it out. This was the same place where Lucifer cooked everyday for himself and his father, though. “I didn't know that father had hired you” commented Lucifer after hesitating.

“You didn't? Oh, here I was assuming you didn't mind at all and that is why you weren't saying anything at the restaurant” Alastor started to pull in his chef coat, before washing his hands and starting turning on the oven. “My bad, then. I should have probably said something. I just needed some extra money and this seemed like a good opportunity, you see.”

“No, no, it's okay” Lucifer brushed his hair back. He still hasn't taken his shower or done anything to prepare himself, noted Alastor. Those droplets of water would fall without no one to appreciate them. “Figures that father would prefer a chef he already knows, I suppose. Are you going to be fine by yourself? You aren't bringing anyone else?”

“No, it's all me” Alastor took out the tupperware with all the meat cuts that he had made. “Don't worry, providing for 7 guests is nothing I can't do.”

“What kind of meat is that?”

“Pork” was the easy, automatic answer. “I have a friend with a farm that provides me with the best he has for the right price. Apparently this one was an especially lively one right before it was his time. ”

“Oh, neat” Lucifer looked over the food before he noticed the time on his watch. “Oh, shoot, I need to get dressed. It seems you have it all under control so I will leave you to it. There is a bathroom at the end of the hallway if you need it.”

“Understood” Alastor continued working as he heard Lucifer moving in the direction of his room. One guest bathroom, two private ones attached to the bedrooms of the Morningstar, reminded himself. He needed an excuse at some point of the night to enter Lucifer's and implant the bugs.

The main dishes were already about to be finished when the guests started to come in. Their voices could be heard from the living room all the way there. They all wished Lucifer a happy birthday and seemed genuinely happy to see him. Alastor took out the freshly made appetizers from the freezer and put them on a silver plate, preparing to go serve.

As soon he came out to the living room, his mind was already doing a recognition of the faces there. Asmodeus Lafayette, an important fashion designer for whom Lucifer had modeled during his brief career. The tallest of all guesses, he would have to recline his head to enter into any room. The significantly shorter man hanging from his arm was his favorite supermodel of the moment, Fizarrolli Santoni, usually referred to only by his first name. Beatrice Lumier, nicknamed Queen Bee in all of her official social media, had the most colorful hair that Alastor had seen in real life. A music producer and occasional performer herself that had made a considerable amount of hits that sounded on the radio. The buff man at her side, Vortex, was just a normal bouncer for what he could gather, not big on being in the spotlight given he had only accompanied his girlfriend on a couple of events. Al Mammon, a TV and movie producer that, as far Alastor could discern by critics, made mostly commercial trash to enjoy “with the brain turned off.”

Alastor smiled as he offered them the appetizers and let Lucifer make the presentations.

“So that is the Alastor guy you talked to us about?” Alastor could hear Asmodeus talking to Lucifer as he was serving a glass of water to Vortex, the designated driver for the night.

Unfortunately he couldn't hear what Lucifer said in response without making it obvious he was listening, but did reach to his ears the laughter of Asmodeus. He kept his face fixated on the polite setting intact until everyone had grabbed something to eat and then retired himself to the kitchen, allowing himself to internally freak out as he took out the drinks from the freezer. What did Lucifer tell them about him? What was there to talk about that could be so funny? Did everyone at the party know about the attempted date? Was that the funny part?

If Lucifer had been laughing at his back like that, then by all means Alastor was going to take his time making a nice dinner out of him. When he had a bunch of cups filled out, he came out again just as Joseph Morningstar was opening the door.

“Lili, girl, where have you been?” greeted Bee, taking a glass and running up to greet the blonde woman by squeezing her hard. “Bitch, I haven’t seen you in so long!”

“I know, I know. I have been terribly busy lately.”

Alastor side eyed the woman as he made his round, not missing the way that Lucifer stayed a little bit behind until Lilith was fully inside the living room and unable to escape from. The eyes of her light up.

“Lulu!” Lilith went up ahead to give Lucifer a kiss on each of his cheeks. European or pretentious? Both, probably both, decided Alastor. He tried not to think how seeing those two together made sense, as if they both came from the same universe, despite their obvious height difference. She was beautiful, no doubt about it, but to Alastor she couldn’t have been uglier as she offered up a wrapped gift to the birthday man. “I am sorry for coming late, it took me a while to find the place. Happy birthday, dear.”

“Thank you” Lucifer took the present and his smile wasn’t as light as it used to be. “Thank you for coming anyway. How have you been?”

“Oh, you know, buried in work and no time for anything fun. But it’s so worth it for the things we are managing to do…”

“Appetizers? Drinks?” offered Alastor, holding both plates in front of her.

He paid attention to the way she looked at him. No sign of recognition or curiosity anywhere. To her he was just the catering service, nothing else. A sense of relief washed over him. Whatever Lucifer had been spreading about him to his friends, at least it hasn't reached this woman. If all their empty excuses were anything to be believed, they weren’t as close anymore. He didn’t miss either the slight smile of gratitude that graced Lucifer’s face for a second.

“I will take the food, thank you” Lilith accepted the napkin offered to her before grabbing one of the smallest portions. “What is that delicious smell that I am feeling in the air?”

“Apple sweetened pork chops, miss. It should be ready in a few minutes.”

“Lilith, this is my co-chef at the new restaurant I am working at. Alastor, this is Lilith.”

Alastor gave a small bow with his head as Lilith laughed courtesy.

“Oh, please, no need to be so formal. If you work next to Lulu, then you must be quite the chef already. I can already tell that the food is going to be to die for.”

Hopefully, thought Alastor. But no, no. That was for later, when they were alone, in private. Although, of everyone at that party, Lilith was the one with the lowest social profile. Could he really make her disappear without causing too much buzz? He comforted himself with that idea. Her neck wasn’t as pretty as Lucifer’s, but all blood shone the same under the moonlight. Her meat would be tender, he could tell. Usually he avoided targeting women, but there was a first time for everything.

“You flatter me, miss. I can only hope to provide the kind of service worthy of Morningstar.”

“You definitely know the right words” Lilith smiled in that obnoxious way that Alastor wasn't sure what it meant before she recognized Asmodeus, going up to him not without giving a pat to Lucifer's shoulder.

The contact didn't make him any happier. Well, that was something at least. A bad break up then. Maybe Lilith wasn't going to be his target of the night after all.

"If you excuse me, I have to return to the kitchen. '' A little more relaxed, Alastor made his way back and stacked up on plates for the pork chops, taking them out to the dining room. He was in the middle of decorating each plate with a napkin rose, when he heard the voice of the TV producer.

"I can't believe the old Joe actually brought her in. Again."

"Mmm" responded Bee. They were both talking near the wall to the living room. Alastor pretended to double check all the silverware to buy himself more time. "Like, I like her a lot and she is cool, but I don't know who is he kidding with this. It's like he won't stop until Lilith has her own ring from someone. As if she wasn't the one who broke up with Luci."

"Right? At this point just buy your own ring and catfish yourself to get the old man off your back, lady."

"Couldn't she also just like to see an old friend?" suggested the voice of Vortex.

"I don't know what concept of old friends you have, mate, but mine doesn't include one in which we ate each other's junk. No matter how many years it has been."

"Mammon, shut up, you are so gross" Bee was still laughing, making her protest not seem that genuine.

"Oh, sure, when the chicks talk about their private bits is cool and modern, but when a guy does it…"

Whatever the reply of Bee was, Alastor had already lost interest in the rest of their conversation. Once the whole table was ready, he went to the living room, doing his best to ignore the three gossipers, and knocked on the wall to call everyone's attention.

Lucifer was sitting on the couch, between Asmodeus and his own father, another glass of wine that seemed to have been refilled since the last time he saw him. That would make three whole glasses, if he haven't missed another one, during the night, and the results of his could be clearly seen on the blush of his face, the slow blink of his eyes like a little frog. Was seeing his ex really such an unpleasant surprise? He truly hoped so.

"Everyone, the main course is about ready now. If you could all move to the table, please" announced with a tad too satisfied smile, turning around to take on the bottle to serve anyone who wanted it.

When Lucifer moved his glass asking to be refilled, Alastor didn't waste any moment. Whatever the birthday boy wanted, he could have it. And if he got to be a funny drunk, then at least he could take that memory with him. Definitely it was getting him looser, even though still didn't do anything for how fluent his speech was. Clearly an impressive feat. Lilith had sat down next to Bee and Fizarrolli, a little off to be in front of Lucifer. Sometimes she looked at him to make conversation and Lucifer responded in kind, but Alastor noticed he was looking into her. Repressed feelings? One-sided attraction still left over? Oh, how he wished that a hatchet to the head was everything necessary to know what thoughts were actually ruminating around someone's head. Then he would not hesitate to kill Lucifer that way and drink up his secrets, his shames, just as much as he would drink his sounds of pain.

Alastor let them have a moment to acclimate themselves again before bringing the biggest tray. The noses of everyone stood up in attention and he could see mouth water as he laid it on the center of the table, before serving everyone.

"Please, enjoy it. Locally sourced meat of the best quality I could find for this special occasion" said when all the plates were full and gave a short bow, waiting for anyone to give the first bite, to deliver the first feedback.

"Oh, mate, this shit truly hits the spot!" It was Mammon, with a cruder language he would have rather to, but a positive effect on his ego all the same.

From there, all the compliments started to trickle down like an avalanche and congratulations were in place. The cashier he had caught in the parking lot of the supermarket had done at least one good thing with his life.

"Thank you, you are all welcome. Enjoy the meal" Alastor let them resume the dinner as he moved to the kitchen. His own dinner was a sandwich with the meat he had brought, not sweetened by anything, but instead rather spicy. Who could have thought such a bland man could leave such a impression on anyone's mouth? If only he could have appreciated it.

While eating with one hand, with the other he started preparing the dessert. Mixed berry compote was a quick and easy one that would do nothing at all to avoid Lucifer getting wasted, so he didn't even bother toning down the brandy on the recipe.

Once the concoction was ready, he put it in the freezer to wait until it was time to be served. The head of Bee popped out from the corner of the door, making sure that he wasn't extremely busy before deciding to speak.

"Hey, sup" she said, coming inside. "Vortex wanted some soda, is there any?"

"Of course" Alastor opened the last drawer and took out a bottle, passing it along to the woman. "Is everything okay?" asked when she took it, but made no movement to turn away.

"Yeah, yeah, totally fine, dude, don't worry" Bee sat up against the counter, apparently taking his question as permission to keep the conversation going. "You know, Luci told us so many times about how good of a chef you were that I was a little like, really? He couldn't be that good, could he? But then you actually came along and you might be even better than he sold you out as."

Oh, well, he wasn't about to turn down an impromptu compliment rain. Even though the warmth on his chest felt as unwelcome as it always did. Lucifer had said good (true) things at least. That was a relief to know.

"I appreciated it, but I would never sell Lucifer's cooking skill for short either" said, because she could too repeat those words back to Lucifer if she wanted to.

"I know, right? I myself love the part of eating stuff, not so much cooking. Vortex does most of that at home. I only manage to do simple stuff like pasta or whatever, you know?" Alastor nodded, wondering when this woman was planning to go to her actual point. She started balancing the soda bottle over the table by playing with the top. "It's kinda weird that he ended up like a super good chef. Did you know that he was a model for Asmodeus?"

"Really? Well, isn't that an interesting path career."

"That is what I am saying!" Bee smiled big at him and he felt a little disarmed by how honestly charming she was. "He was like a super good violin player too, as if he would have us listen to him practice almost every day until he had filled his quota since we were like this small" She put a hand to a point lower than her hip."We all know each other since we were little, our parents were business partners, that kind of stuff, and just kept the contact over the years. Me and Luci even dated once in primary school, but it was weird because it was like dating my younger brother, even though he is actually older for two years so we only lasted, like, three days?" Alastor kept his smile the same, wondering how many times she said the same thing to people for her to believe anyone cared.

"He even ended up playing with some symphony" continued Bee, without needing more participation from Alastor. "They were all seriously good, although totally not my style, but you have to recognize talent where there is. Then he just got bored of it, I guess? Got into that fancy cooking school and now that is all he does. Ever since the Adam thing…"

"Babe? Everything good?" Vortex appeared, completely ignoring that finally, finally, after all of that rambling Alastor was finding something worth listening to.

"Oh, shit, yeah! I was just talking with Al here and got distracted" She grabbed the bottle against her chest and gave Alastor another one of her winning smiles, the kind that probably made all of her friends lose their minds. "Sorry, man, I will leave you to it. I don't know if old uncle Joe will like it, but you can come hang with us if you want when you are done."

Alastor wanted to grab the woman by the shoulders and demand who the fuck was Adam and what did he had to do with Lucifer, but kept his smile in place and nodded, letting them go. As soon as they were back in the living room, he pulled out his phone. Adam and Lucifer, Lucifer and Adam. There had to be something about it, right?

But no, nothing. Just a bunch of biblical references for one name and then the translation for Lucifer's name on the other, but no actual pictures, no posts, nothing connecting the blonde chef he knew to someone named like that.

Truth be told, he could be anyone. Someone on that symphony he didn't get along with and contributed with Lucifer making the change on his career. An old mentor or apprentice that was so disappointing that he alone made all music lost anything attractive about it. Even just a friend that they separated ways with or could have even suffered a tragic death.

That was all good and fine, until he started thinking about the giant gap of personal posts from Lucifer from when he dated Lilith to the present. Did he really have lost all interest in participating on social media like the rest of the population or he had scrubbed the entire thing clean intentionally to avoid a bad memory?

Where the fuck was that mind reading hatchet when someone needed it?

A few minutes later, he came back to the living room to pick up all the plates. Lucifer was giggling with the red extending to his ears, officially drunk. In theory, if he could get him alone maybe he could get him to talk about Adam and Lucifer would be none the wiser the next morning. The issue was to get him alone with how much his friends insisted to be around him and laugh at shared memories and update about each other's lives. The worst part is that Lucifer was responding back with as much enthusiasm, prolonging the interaction.

He presented the dessert, serving to each guest a cup with the compote and a single ball of vanilla ice cream, with a little leaf on top of a dollop of whipped cream. He bowed his head once again before retiring to the kitchen, starting to wash the containers that had served to bring the cashier to the party. Besides Rosie and a few other friends that had his same hobby, he hasn't really fed other people that kind of meat in a long time. Logically speaking, there was never going to be any way for most people to notice any real difference if they weren't already plenty familiarized with that human flavor. If they were told that it was pork, they had no reason to doubt it. But getting outsiders to enjoy his dishes without them knowing what it was a whole compliment in itself.

Of course it would be even nicer if he could tell them and they still liked it rather than try to throw it up right there, but that was the difference between dreams and reality.

When all his containers were clean and put to dry on the side, Alastor waited for someone to come pick up the cake that was already on the refrigerator with its candles settled on top. He had no idea from where they got that cake or what flavors it had inside, but he just knew it was going to be too sweet for him, like everything Lucifer loved to get his violinist hands into to bring into his model lips.

If they offered him any out of pure courtesy, then he would respond in kind with a single bite and excuse himself to the bathroom, slip into Lucifer's room and set up the devices while everyone was concentrating on eating it. In the end, Asmodeus was the volunteer accompanied by Morningstar senior.

"Is it here the cake for the birthday boy?" asked the tallest man with a smile as Joseph went looking for a torch to turn on the candle.

"Should I help you with it?" offered Alastor, just because he should offer, even though he knew they weren't going to accept. If anyone should be able to carry the whole thing completely on his own, it was going to be the fashion designer.

"Nah, it's all good. But thank you, man, really appreciate it" Asmodeus opened up the freezer and took out the final dessert just as easily as if it weighed nothing for him. "Did you find the fire, uncle Joe?"

"Here, I got it" Joseph grabbed onto the torch to turn on the two candles, a shiny golden 3 next to a shiny silver 4. Alastor almost found it fascinating how his old boss looked so like an actual person while preparing this little detail for his son. A person that could smile, joke around and enjoy the time with others instead of just ordering them around or else they were fired. Here in his own habitat the lion had no reason to exert any dominance, it was implied already. "Alright, let's go."

"Bee, turn off the lights. Bee!" called Asmodeus, walking slowly back to the dining room.

Once the lights turned off, everyone started singing the happy birthday song as Asmodeus made his way in. Alastor followed with the plates on hand just behind Joseph, the man looking a proper grandpa just happy to be there.

If there was one thing he could say about a drunk Lucifer, is that not even all the wine of the world had dissolved his natural charisma as he looked endearingly embarrassed and touched by the attention of all of his friends. Bee was recording everything on her phone as Asmodeus put on the cake right in front of him and Lucifer straightened up.

"Don't forget to make your wish, mate" said Mammon, patting his back.

"Yeah, man, make a wish!" encouraged Bee.

"And don't tell it to anyone or it won't come true" added Asmodeus, winking an eye.

Lucifer looked like about to protest for a second that they weren't kids anymore, but either having no energy for it or thinking it better he chose to shrug. His eyes darted across the room and for a moment they stopped on Alastor, not connecting directly with his eyes but recognizing his entire persona. The candle lights made his expression look unbearably softer for a moment before he smiled and stood up a little bit to blow the candle, for the joy of everyone. Alastor clapped his hands too, as part of the ritual.

Lilith turned on the lights again and then went up to Lucifer, giving a simple and chaste kiss on his cheek. Lucifer scratched his neck and giggled without separating his teeth.

"The chef is having some too, of course. After all of the hard work he did today" said Asmodeus, confirming it with Joseph that he wouldn't mind and completely missing that Alastor was just about to disappear in the kitchen again.

To make matters worse, Joseph nodded his head.

"Absolutely. Alastor, you have been a good sport all night and there is no way we are finishing this entire thing among ourselves. You can come grab a piece."

There was no way to refuse such a generous offer from the lion in his kingdom.

"If you insist, sir. Thank you."

Asmodeus cut up slices for everyone, first for Lucifer and then the rest of the guests. Alastor was the last one and had to repress his natural disgust at the chocolate ganache between the different layers. No way in hell would he eat something like that on his own, but to not appear ungrateful he did take a piece into his mouth and forced himself to swallow without letting it infect his whole mouth with all the intensity of its sweetness.

Everyone was back on talking among themselves, enjoying the cake, so he took the chance to take his slice to the kitchen and dump it out of the window above the sink. Someone was either going to have a surprise hat out of nowhere or stomp on something they didn't expect, but either way it wasn't his issue to deal with anymore.

When he came out to the hallway, he knew to find Lucifer's room. Just five minutes, eight tops, and he could come back to the kitchen as if nothing happened. But as soon as he handed over the door knob, a voice called from behind.

"Oh, are you looking in the bathroom?"

Alastor's neck almost cracked with how quickly he turned around to see Fizzarolli standing there.

"Yes" answered with a frown, as if confused. "Is this not the one?"

"That is Luci's room. The guest bathroom is further ahead. Use it first if you really have to, I can wait."

"Oh, there isn't any bathroom here for me to use then? You would think such a big place like this would have more than one."

"Yeah, but it's okay, you can go ahead."

Fucking stupid useless tiny airheaded piece of shit model, I bet Lucifer was better than you in any runway with those gangling stick you have for legs, you couldn't even feed an anthill with those…

Alastor smiled, regrettably making his steps to the actual bathroom. After turning on the water, he counted up to 60 seconds, just as much to make it convincing for the man waiting outside as to persuade himself from grabbing that man to drown him on the toilet. He briefly considered putting some of his devices there, but that would surely mean hearing way too much he ever wanted to about Joseph or any future guests that came to the place so that was out of the question.

New strategy was then: wait until everyone else was gone, delay it as much as possible to not just receive his pay and go, and slip into Lucifer's room when there was no one around to pay attention to. What other choice did he give?

He scrunched up a piece of toilet paper on his hand and threw it into the toilet, pressing on the button at the side to make the twirl before he opened up the door again.

"Thank you, I really needed it" Alastor made himself a side for Fizzarolli to come in.

The other guest had moved from the table to the living room. As Alastor picked up the used cups for the compote and spoons, Joseph Morningstar was the first to say goodbye for the night. Next was Lilith, saying it was a lovely time but she had to grade a lot of work before Monday and better to start early for it. Mammon was next, excusing some recordings for a show.

Alastor made extra time serving more drinks, frankly amazed that Lucifer even then was still able to form any words at all. For being such a tiny man, he was truly holding on better than many others that he had seen.

The moment that Bee yawned, Vortex announced that it was late for them too. Alastor was washing up the plates in the kitchen, scrubbing with as much dedication as he could, his ear attentive to any other changes that could happen. Eventually, thankfully, the door opened up and closed after what he could only imagine had to be Asmodeus and Fizarrolli. When he returned to the living room, the fashion designer had the grace to turn down the lights as Lucifer laid on his couch.

"Lucifer?" called Alastor very softly. When the blonde didn't stir at all, he decided that was good enough and moved on to his room, quickly closing the door behind him.

It was the first time that he saw the entire place at once. Now he could see some pictures of what he had to assume was Lucifer's mom holding a teenager Lucifer and a group picture of his group friend on what looked to be a snowy retreat. He was pleased to see that at least there was no trace of Lilith on that one.

The first bug he installed under the bed and another behind the drawer of his desk. For that one naturally he had to open the drawer itself and if he ended up taking a look at its content, then who could really blame him? There was a small book of puns that made him chuckle. At least he had a good sense of humor. But the sketchbook that was underneath was a lot more interesting. How many talents did those tiny hands could actually hide? Many of the sketches were taken from real life, mostly flowers, a couple of attempts at building that Lucifer clearly lost interest in shortly after starting it, and even some animals. The portraits of real people were rare, but they were there, old people with sweet smiles that wrinkled their eyes or adult men doing ridiculous over the top expressions that he could imagine had Lucifer giggling to himself as he was doing them.

An entire page occupied by two drawings of his face. One was a profile look, a soft neutral smile on his face, and the other one was a side eye view of his face with an expression as if in the middle of teasing the viewer. Three different dates were scribbled on the top. Did that mean that Lucifer had been working on these for several days? All the shadows were there. His hair seemed to have been done with all of its highlights in place, his glasses looked like actual glass on the paper.

After that, there were other sketches where he could still recognize the shape of his hair or his eyes and how Lucifer interpreted them, but those weren't as detailed. They still kept appearing on the margins like a infectious disease that just wouldn't leave the book, no matter how Lucifer tried to doodle something else.

Alastor closed it off and put back as calmly as he could, before he did a truly stupid thing like ripping those pages off to store them in his pocket, where no one else could see them. He took a couple of deep breaths, almost wishing he could stab his own heart without dying just so it could stop trying to break the containment of his rib cage.

He felt like vomiting as he brought a hand to his face to cover his mouth, feeling it uncomfortably warm. Maybe he was the one with the disease. Wouldn't that be so much better than any other alternative?

Damn it, Lucifer. Alastor saw his hand shake for a moment, so he shook it harder and forced himself.

No matter. That didn't change anything at all. His decision had already been made. He finished installing the last device behind the bookcase, barely reading over the titles. When it was all done, Alastor activated them with a control on his pocket and came out slowly, ready to excuse confusing the door for the bathroom again to anyone that could question him, but the whole hallway was entirely empty.

Good thing he had been paid in advance. With his mission finally done, he could get back to the kitchen to prepare his bag. On the way to the door, he heard Lucifer stirring on the couch that was back to him.

"Mmmm, Ozzy?" called the blonde man. "Did you forget anything?"

Seriously, how was he managing to talk after drinking two bottles of wine almost entirely on his own? Alastor was debating whether to correct him or say anything at all when Lucifer took the decision by him, continuing on anyway.

"You were right after all" Lucifer let out a tired, sad chuckle that felt like stab wounds on his back. "Not that I thought you were wrong either… He didn't bother to invite Adam. But I got Alastor for a moment. That counts for something, right?" Another sound, like a choked up start of a sob drowning on itself. The happy talkative drunk Lucifer was nowhere to be seen. "I… I actually kinda really hated you seeing Fizzie today, Ozzy. It's not fair, you are both my friends and I hate that. But why do you get to have a boyfriend and I can't? That is not fair either, isn't?"

Alastor waited a moment, then another, just in case Lucifer turned around or added another word, but it seemed like he had come back to sleeping. Alastor pulled on the doorknob when the voice of Lucifer alerted him again.

"I hate… this…"

When a clear snore finalized his sentence, Alastor took that as a sign to leave.

#appleradio #radioapple #duckiedeer #lucifer x alastor #hazbin hotel au #dead plate au #human au

3 notes · View notes

hellcatinnc · 1 month

Text

Collar x Malice (Kei & Mineo) Review

Will Include Spoilers

So I decided to go ahead and post my review of Kei & Mineo since the game is about alot of death I'm taking a break and will come back soon and play the other 3 routes for now though Kei is still my favorite even in Mineo's story Kei is still great.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kei Okazaki

The moment I first saw him climb through the window I thought he was cute. He originally was my second choice of guys then he started talking and seemed like a pure idiot I questioned if he would be so good after all. I am glad however I went with him because he grew on me fast. The longer I looked at him the more I could say he was drawn so damn pretty, I could look at him all day. He liked to show pda holding hands and that was so damn sweet. Then to find out he is against women being hurt and his loyalty to take care of a special person in his life that he would die for them this really caught my attention about him. His possessive streak was adorable and I loved every time he made comments like only let me in your house, or let me only walk you home, or don't make things for the other guys or when he snapped at Shiraishi told him not to pick on you as well as said he will never give permission to allow it.

He isn't the best with stuff like house work, cooking and such but he will bring flowers, hold hands, snuggle up and watch movies well horror movies with you. He is so sweet that even when you like him he is flirty a bit but the moment you tell him you want him to keep doing it dominant mode kicks in. This I wasn't expecting in him pinning you to the floor or when he makes it clear he wants to be super close to you he is definitely a naughty boy with his partner. He will always jump in front to protect you when anyone tries to harm you, he likes to send cute texts with emojis and call you cause he misses your voice. Honestly these are all the little things that made him such a great guy and my favorite so far.

Only downfall and I know people are wishy washy on is the fact as the mc you also find out he wanted to die all along but for a special person so it was a death worth dying for. I know people question if he ever really loved her until the very end because he was using her. I feel like Kei is naïve, and not the best with common sense at time however a great at his job anything else outside that he lacks. However that being said I think he was in love alot longer than the end he just didn't know what to call it. I mean come on you can't tell me all the times he got jealous as time went on where he didn't want to share his time or even little things like being the only guy in her apartment or snuggles with the movies. I mean even when he was very clear to Shiraishi when he told him to knock off picking at you unless he says its ok then he makes it clear he will never give his say so.

The pinky finger thing and the fact when it comes to crying when he hurts he shows his pain loud and clear. Yes he was just a hurting soul that needed someone to show he was valued and loved also that he deserved to live. He held a grudge in himself cause his partner died protecting him this made him a sad boy. I mean he didn't even understand why your mad at him until you truly have to show him what he is missing. Then the fact your willing to die for him and he almost loses you it bout kills him as he thought your last words was going to be I love you, it about breaks him. Sadly in the bad end it does break him and he wants to die but promised you he would live so he tried even though the bad guy kills you anyways. Honestly its not hard to love him if you love sad boys like me. If I had to compare him to someone I put compare him to piofiore a cross between Dante, Nicola and Leo together. This mans pain brought me to tears in the good and the bad ending his pain is deep and its hard not be suffering with him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mineo Enomoto

At first I thought he would be cool but he was annoying pretty fast and even after about a chapter in his very presence annoyed me. However after I got to his route I really thought he ended up quiet sweet. The blushing idiot type haha but no seriously he is younger than Kei and you can tell it for sure. Like I love how he blushes and gets shy I'm a sucker for these men however Mineo blows it out of proportion at times its not the shy guy part its the annoying practically screaming at you if you call him out on it. Like most shy guys you tell them you know they are into you and they blush harder and get more quiet he is the opposite so after some time it does get to you. He is cute his mumbles as he goes along like when he was drunk and he practically proposes to you the next day, or tells you as you take rice off his face that its what he always wanted a lover to do. These things and the fact he will beat the shit out of someone who tries to hurt you. He shows that when he comes across the guys in the alleyway that are trying to make you strip.

He is a big brother type to his little sister and is absolutely adorable about how he dotes so much about her. Then he has that protective daddy feel to him when he talks about her making me think he would make a good daddy if you could even get this boys virginity in the first place. Its nice he works at trying to get your brother to stop being dick to you, which is so needed. I do like the outcome of your brother and you by the end of this route. I love Kei is still a sweetie even in this route and loves to bust Mineo's balls. He tells Aiji what he sees when Mineo's drunk and yet the way he says it makes it sound like more than what it is. Even to the point later in the game he asks if he was announcing marriage after that. When Mineo practically screams and denies everything, Kei's charm kicks in and tells you to call him Kei as he calls you by your name, this makes Mineo jealous and starts asking you to call him Mineo. Then this dynamic gets weird cause he tells you to call his name again and when you do he wants more I swear dude was getting off on this or at least excited lol.

I really would say he is a bean in the end just has alot of growing up to do. His story with his old mentor getting killed was sad but I'm glad as time went on he was able to heal from that. Also unlike Kei Mineo was not all nice in the beginning he was kind of a ass and when your walking home alone he tells you he won't walk you. That being said when he does care for you he will come back and get you and make sure your ok. He is like a walking contradiction I'm learning that if he loves you or is interested then you have his interest to care if not he doesn't give a rats ass about you. He is a romantic and will take a girl on a date and doesn't mind paying if she wants a nice place to go. I tried to play his route late at night in my house and I either had to wear a headset or mute it cause he was so loud in his route with his screams and freak outs. I would suggest you not play his route anywhere you need to be quiet.

There were moments he was serious like when he confesses his love to you there is no blushing guy no overly loud bullshit just sensitive sweet Mineo that you know is underneath. I do like him but I just can't deal with the constant screaming even when you tell him you love him he seems to think your lying or he is dreaming. I feel like the MC really could see herself falling for Kei I don't think she could see herself falling for Mineo I think she even second guessed herself alot. Even his bad endings weren't really sad per say like I cried nothing and really didn't even feel much the endings. They seemed to be worse endings for the MC not as much Mineo. I hate at one bad ending she loses her brother and goes on a killing the killer. Then the one that was the saddest was when she killed the bad guy but yet fled the town to leave Mineo yet he understood he did it to protect him and he forgave her yet she couldn't forgive herself I felt bad for him only then still no tears though.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#collar x malice #mineo enomoto #yuzuru saeki #kei okazaki #reviews #review #otome #gaming

2 notes · View notes

littlemissagrafina · 1 year

Text

Contentment Creeping In

@comfortember Comfortember Day 13. Losing Track of Time + 28. Quality Time

@call-me-coley for you, boo

Summary: Tony paused where he had been dicing goji berries for some smoothies and stepped near the window, watching with a grin as Peter and Morgan jumped from the dock again and again, swimming and climbing out before jumping back in; they did a different pose each time and most of them Tony couldn't make heads or tails of what they were meant to be.

Read on AO3

Ten years ago, if someone had told Tony where he would be and what he would have, he would have laughed in their face. Not just from disbelief, but from not believing that having a family was something in the cards for him.

But here he was, a house full of family and a day planned with nothing but being together and enjoying the summer sun. Something that Morgan and Peter were already doing, if the splashes and delighted laughter coming from the lake was any indication.

Tony paused where he had been dicing goji berries for some smoothies and stepped near the window, watching with a grin as Peter and Morgan jumped from the dock again and again, swimming and climbing out before jumping back in; they did a different pose each time and most of them Tony couldn't make heads or tails of what they were meant to be.

An arm wrapped around his waist and Tony leaned into Pepper, kissing her softly. "Hi, Pep. How's everything looking?"

Resting her head on Tony shoulder, she stared out the window with him. "Rhodey and Happy are arguing over the correct way to turn the patties on the grill and May is watching it all unfold. But otherwise good, were just waiting on the meat to finish and then you can call the kids up."

Tony hummed, kissing Pepper again before pulling away and going back to the berries. "Great. I'll finish up the smoothies and go grab them."

He made short work of blending all the ingredients together, pouting them, and setting it in the fridge for when they were ready to be set out for everyone. He cleaned up quickly and ambled out to the patio.

"Honey Bear! Eta on the burgers?"

"Ten minutes tops, Tones." Rhodey answered, snickering at the sloppy salute Tony waved at him.

Wandering back inside, Tony made a detour for the linen closet, grabbing two swimming towels for Peter and Morgan who had no doubt forgotten to take any down to the dock with them.

He left the house, walking down the path and stopped on the dock, just out of splashing range.

"Hey, Rascals, up and at em. It's munch time." He called to Peter and Morgan.

Peter pulled himself up onto the dock, reaching down and helping Morgan up too. "A little longer?" He asked with a borderline pout, Morgan bouncing in with her own puppy eyes.

Tony shook his head even if it was a bit of a battle of wills. Damn his kids for being so cute.

"Nope, but I promise you guys can come back down and swim as much as you want after you've eaten and let your food settle a bit."

Peter and Morgan both grumbled but brightened when they heard they could go back later.

"Now here." Tony dumped the towels on top of their heads. "You forgot your towels again so dry up and we can go eat. We don't need any water walked through the house. Again."

Peter immediately started drying himself off, Morgan looking up at him and copying him. Once they were dry, they laid out their towels to dry in the sun and the three of them meandered up to the house, settling out on the patio with everyone.

They all converged on the table, filling plates and passing bowls and utensils back and forth between everyone. There was laughter and chatter, glasses clinking, and a general hum of contentment in the afternoon air.

Tony sat back in his chair and took it all in.

Rhodey was telling May about the time that he made Tony dress up as a Llama thanks to a lost bet during the MIT years.

Happy and Pepper were debating over the benefit of a security increase at one of the Taiwan branches.

Pete and Morgan were trying to decide on who had made a bigger splash when they had been doing cannonballs.

And Tony? Tony listened.

Everyone ate, conversations mixing and blurring together but Tony wasn't content to just observe. Plates were emptied, seconds dished up, glasses refilled, and still he sat.

He let it all wash over him and he just… stopped. He didn't need to rush off to get anything done in the lab, there was no crisis that needed him, nothing.

So Tony sat and let time slip by as the afternoon drifted into evening and they eventually all drifted inside, gathering on the couches and sharing cakes and sweets between them while they watched a movie. Quiet talking occasionally broke out over the movie, or someone inevitably got kicked or poked with an elbow when someone else decided to change the way they were sitting.

And if you had told Tony that years ago that this would be one and his favourite ways to spend a day, he would have scoffed and moved on.

But now? Now he was happy, he was content.

Everyone was.

#tony stark #peter parker #pepper potts #morgan stark #comfortember day 13 #comfortember 2022 #comfortember #ironfam #iron family #irondad #fanfiction #may parker #james rhodes #rhodey #happy hogan #family #fluff #domestic fluff

27 notes · View notes

scienceoftheidiot · 10 months

Text

Find the word tag

My words were : sun, clouds, wind, rain, lightning

Your words if you want to do it : leaves, field, wildflowers, scent, dirt (I like the idea of keeping a theme !)

I am keeping the OPEN TAG.

Please anyone who sees this and write, do it and tag me !!! We don't have to be mutuals or have interacted. It's fun to read what people get with those words !!!

Stole this from @residentdormouse 's open tag 😝 I am mostly working on two (Royai) fics these days, "dismissed Roy" and "1923", but one other has popped there and once I'm done with these two absolute monsters which are going to be SO. LONG. I'll probably go back to this one. Everything is riddled with pain and angst and hurt/comfort there, I'm sorry, I guess that's all I do (continued under the cut).

I want to state that I will NOT tag anything I write as "whump" even if I tend to really torture poor Roy and sometimes Riza too, mostly because for me whump isn't what I do. To me the point of pushing them so low through angst or pain and often both is most of all to have them overcome or deal with whatever, one way or another, together or alone, by themselves. Even if I can be awful there is always some kind of hope for them in the horizon, and that hope is the point, the fact that they carry on, too.

Here, end of disclaimer. 😅

Sun - WIP codename "Stop the cavalry"

The drop of sweat finally fell into her eye, blurring her vision, the salt stinging. She wiped it quickly. And indeed, as she was moving ever so slightly, Mustang, as far away as he was, seemed to catch the reflection of the sun on her lense. He squinted, his gaze looking for her in the distance, and she could see him frown. Hawkeye swore under her breath. She couldn't allow herself to be sloppy. Mustang, his eyes finally stopping still on her, or rather on where he knew she was, blinked slowly, then returned to his own duty.

As the war progressed, she had spied on him this way less and less. Over the months, she had seen his face harden, the glint in his eyes fade and disappear, while the circles under them grew darker. It was… a little scary.

Riza wondered if, could someone else see her the way she could see Mustang through her sight, she would look the same. Aged. An old, tired soul in a body that had not yet reached its prime. More than probably. But that was a price she was willing to pay. She told herself so every morning.

Clouds - WIP codename "dismissed Roy"

“Where are you?”

“I’m at the window, sir. The sunset is especially beautiful this evening.”

Roy walks to the window, guided by Hawkeye's voice. He likes that she doesn’t shy away from telling him when she’s got interesting things to look at. He’s noticed a reticence in most people. It’s irritating.

Hawkeye isn’t. He knows he is sometimes irritating to her, but she’s never to him. Never has been.

“Oh. How so?”

“Hum.”

He’s close enough now to hear her breath, and his shoulder brushes against hers.

“I’m not very lyrical, so, I’ll try, sir, but I’m not sure it’d do it justice.”

“Try anyway, Lieutenant. Please,” he smiles. He was politely curious, but now he’s also interested in the way she’s going to tell him.

“The sky is this very pale blue, almost a light turquoise, but really bright. There’s big, long clouds… their underside is lit by the sun, and that makes them bright pink, when you can see the top is already in the dark, making them a striking dark purple against that bright sky. It’s really such a show of colours… I haven’t seen one like that in a while.”

There's a short silence, during which Roy's memories stir.

“I think I remember one. When I was at your place, actually.”

Hawkeye hums again. She sounds pensive.

“Yes. I think I remember some like that in the East, indeed. We had the most beautiful sunsets, from home.”

“I’m glad they still can be beautiful.” On a whim, he lets his hand climb up her shoulder. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

Wind - WIP codename "dismissed Roy" (lots of this one since it's now over 50K. Arghh)

No matter that their little party was out of uniform, they stayed soldiers, even Roy, and they kept silent as they walked further in, while the bigger part of the escort stayed outside, the number of footsteps echoing on close walls reducing to half a dozen pairs. He had not needed Falman to precise they were getting inside – it was logical, and before they did he could already feel the wind had disappeared. Half a minute later, the warmth of the sun was replaced by a coolness that made Roy happy he'd kept his coat on.

The town hall felt empty. Roy couldn't really pinpoint what told him so – the cold, the faintly stale smell of dry dust and slowly decaying furniture, the sounds that echoed, hollow, being only from them and from nothing that was already inside. Falman didn't tell him anything about this, and yet it struck him so powerfully he felt empty himself. An old ghost walking ruins of his own doing. Even if this one had not been specifically his.

Doors squealed on rusty hinges and they stepped from the corridor into a bigger room. Or at least something that sounded different. It was probably set under the half collapsed dome Falman had described earlier, for Roy's hair was suddenly ruffled by a gust of warm wind and the sun was back on his skin, heating the dark coat on his shoulders.

"You'll excuse us for the state of our meeting room. Someone dropped a bomb on the amphitheater." Scar's voice drew away, his footsteps seemingly inaudible.

Rain - WIP codename "Stop the cavalry"

"Private Hawkeye !"

The incredulous bark came from a very known voice, this time. Luckily for the soldier, she didn't startle, she didn't think. In an almost too quick to be seen gesture, she stored her gun back in her holster, turned around, and clicked her heels in a salute.

"Major Mustang, sir!"

"What the hell, Hawkeye ?" Now Mustang’s tone was furious, and not one bit incredulous anymore.

"Sir, she -"

"Didn't ask you, private." Mustang gave the darkest of his looks to the soldiers. "Any of you harmed ?"

"No sir, but -"

"Then you better go back to your side of the camp. Now."

The soldiers exchanged a look, and seemed to decide that following the Flame Alchemist's order was the safest option.

"Yes. Sir."

They too, clicked their heels, and left. Rather quickly.

"With me, Hawkeye."

This didn't warrant any answer.

She followed him in the maze of tents, her gaze fixated on the back of his head, in the raven black of his hair. He didn't turn around even once. Finally, he slipped his head into a tent that was slightly remote from the others, and gestured for her to follow.

"It's empty. Come in."

It was a storage unit. Piles of ammunition and explosives in wooden boxes were stacked under the fabric roof, protected from a rain that would never come. She entered. There were still no thoughts in her mind.

Lightning - WIP codename "1923" (lucky me !!! That's the only occurrence of it and I wrote it YESTERDAY)

Roy carefully gets rid of the cigarette's butt on the table – at least the smoke hides the smell of the ointments and rubbing alcohol and his own sweat that fill this room constantly – and dozes off, turned to the window. His eyes close over the occasional flashes of blue in the angry skies.

As long as he's fully awake.

Clash of thunder. They're onto them. Roy startles. He needs to find shelter, and ensure the safety of his men.

Roy's pulled back into reality by a searing, mind wiping pain in his side.

And the steel grip of a hand over his mouth.

He's still dreaming. That's a boche, who snaked in their trench, a knife in his hand, ready to gut him and slaughter his –

Roy opens his eyes wide and another flash of lightning shows him it's not a German soldier but a tall, square man, with a bushy light brown beard, his blue eyes gleaming. There's no knife in his hand, but a pillow. It takes a while for him to understand what the intruder says, through his thick accent and the blood thumping in Roy's ears.

#find the word tag #writing #wip #royai #open tag

8 notes · View notes

eternal-love-song · 2 years

Text

Hour To Midnight

A months after a bad breakup and at a New Year's Eve party she didn't want to attend, Maki ends up with company that she did not expect. After commiserating over his own bad break up, Kokichi proposes that they start the new year off together, with a kiss.

[Maki/Kokichi]

[Non despair AU, Aged Up Characters, Hurt Comfort, Post break up, Drinking, Maki POV, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Kiss]

@dr-rarepair-week-blog

It was an hour to midnight. The ticking clock was making her irritated. She kept playing with her hair, pulling it out of her pigtails just to put it back again so that she had something to do with her hands. She was reluctant to leave because she'd have to pass through the main room and someone would see her and ask her why she was leaving and what was wrong and a thousand other irritating questions that she didn't want to deal with. So instead she was just... waiting. Counting. Lingering in the most empty hallways and hoping not to get cornered.

The party had been going well enough at first. No one had annoyed her too badly, the music wasn't at an ear splitting volume, and she thought that she'd escape the night with a renewed hope for the coming year.

And then he had showed up. Maki hadn't seen Kaito since they'd broken up months ago and she'd been stewing in regret ever since. Even though he was always wrong when he tried to read her, and she never really knew how to talk to him, and it had always felt a little more awkward than romantic when they went on dates... Even with all that, Maki had missed him. She regretted that they hadn't spoken since, but she'd never been good at talking about her emotions and she didn't know what to say, so she just... didn't.

And then he had shown up tonight and he wasn't alone. Even worse, he was with Kaede. She didn't even know if they were together or had just arrived together, but they looked so happy and comfortable around each other, and it reminded her of everything she wasn't and it just... Well, Maki had always been a coward when her emotions were involved. She ran. She wouldn't lie about that. Maki had fled the room and now she was counting the minutes to midnight and agonizing over whether Kaede and Kaito would kiss.

Pacing in the hallways got old fast and was growing staler by the moment. She decided to cut her loses and sneak out the window. She would be leaving her coat behind, hung up in the front closet when she'd first entered, but that was a price she was willing to pay.

Maki went to the bathroom, opened the window, and carefully climbed out. She hesitated, wondering for a moment if she was really going to sneak away from all her friends an hour before midnight on New Year's Eve just to avoid an awkward meeting with her ex. Then she heard the door to the bathroom open, left unlocked so that it wouldn't be closed off after she left, and she firmed up her resolve. She dropped down into the backyard from the second story, hoping that no one looked out the window to see her.

To her surprise, she wasn't alone. When she rose up out of her crouch she found herself looking straight into the eyes of the person she hated most, Kokichi. Well, it was a bit dramatic to say that she hated him. They were friends, in the way that her friends were friends with him and so they often ended up in the same spaces with the same people. Friends in the way of people who never got along and always argued, but she would still punch a stranger over if the occasion called for it.

"Fuck," he said, blinking rapidly at her. "Have I had too many shots or did you fall from the fucking heavens?" he asked.

"Second story," she corrected him. "Anything more and I might have risked spraining my ankle."

He stared at her a moment longer before reaching beside him, pouring himself a shot, and downing it instantly. He locked eyes with her again afterwards. "Why the hell did you do that?"

She crossed her arms, irritated that she wasn't able to avoid annoying questions after all. "None of your business," she replied with a glare. The glare didn't seem to affect him much, maybe because he had been drinking. Then a thought came to her and she turned the question around on him. "What are you doing out here?"

Maki looked him over more carefully. There was a bottle of something alcoholic beside him, along with a small collection of shot glasses. He was without a coat despite how cold it was and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked uncharacteristically bad.

"Getting plastered," he answered with a deadpan stare. "What does it look like?"

"It looks like you haven't slept in weeks." She answered honestly even though she knew he didn't want an answer.

Kokichi glared. "Like someone who had a bad break up and then ran straight into their stupid, well meaning ex?"

Maki blinked at him in surprise. Thinking about it, she did recall that he and Shuichi had ended up breaking up, though she couldn't remember why. Shuichi hadn't wanted to talk about it and she hadn't wanted to ask. "I..."

"You know something about that, right?" he asked. She scowled at him, but he didn't seem to be poking fun at her, just pointing out the obvious. He poured himself another shot, downing it almost just as quickly. "Unless you jumped out a second story window for fun. Wouldn't put it past you honestly."

"I didn't ask for your opinion," she snapped.

"And I didn't give it." Kokichi held up the bottle and shook it with a grin. "Want to join me? Makes the cold easier."

"I came out here to leave," she said. But her hands went to her hair, tugging at it as she had been doing earlier.

"Half an hour to midnight and you want to bail?" he asked, tilting his head. "At least wait until after the countdown so you can pretend to be normal and well adjusted and not at all affected by a bad break up."

"You're projecting," she told him.

"I'm drunk," he replied. He shook the bottle again. "You could be too."

It was tempting. Very tempting. If she left now, someone would eventually realize when they found her coat. The last thing she needed was someone asking her why she ran away or if she was okay. She wasn't and she didn't want to talk about it. Was there any real benefit to leaving now if no one knew where she was anyway?

Sighing, Maki sat down beside him on the cement steps of the patio. "Fine, but pour me two. I need to catch up to you."

Kokichi grinned. "You got it Makiroll."

Her expression soured. "Don't call me that." There was too much Kaito tired up in that name. She didn't want to be reminded of him.

"Well, what else am I gonna call you?" he asked with an eye roll. As if she didn't have a name that he could call her. Though if she were honest, she couldn't remember the last time either of them had called the other by name.

Kokichi held the shots out to her. She downed them one after the other without flinching. "Ohh, like a professional! Never knew you had it in you."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Kokichi." She said his name purposefully, smirking at him as his eyes widened in surprise. She took the bottle from his hands, pouring herself a third shot and knocking it back just as casually. She welcomed the pleasant feeling of being tipsy that began to spread over her.

"Color me surprised, Maki Maki!" He grinned at her again, looking more loose and relaxed than she had ever seen him in her presence. "We'll start together next time so that I can see if you're really on pair with me."

Next time. Would there be a next time? She had never hung out with Kokichi alone and if she had been asked before now, she would have said that she never would. He was proving to be bearable when he was alone though. Or maybe it was the fact that he had been drinking that made him easier to be around.

"I'm pretty good at holding my liquor," she told him.

"And I'm pretty good at bullshitting, so I'd like to see how long it would take you to find out that I'm drunk," he said happily, leaning toward her. She surprised herself by not wanting to push him away when he leaned his head on her shoulder.

"Even drunk, you're a liar," she sighed.

"I'm always a liar, even when I'm honest," he told her. "My core character doesn't change just because I tell the truth sometimes." Maki was surprised by the suddenly somber mood. He looked so serious, staring off into the distance at something she couldn't see. Was he lost in his own thoughts or reliving memories that she didn't know? "I'm a liar. I can't just turn it off whenever."

If she hadn't been drinking, she probably wouldn't have asked. Three shots in made her lips much looser though. "Is that what came between you and Shuichi?"

She expected him to lie or to lash out like she was used to. She didn't expect to see his eyes turn watery. He took a deep breath, taking the bottle from her hands and pouring himself another shot. He took this one much more sedately. "What about you? I thought the idiot was head over heels for you?"

He was. That might have been part of the problem. They weren't very compatible and she didn't know how to fix it, but the way he always looked at her made her feel warm and special. She looked away from him as she mumbled, "Yeah. He was."

Kokichi laughed, rough and full of pain. "Yeah. It hurts more when they love you."

Maki clenched her hands around her thighs, not wanting to keep pulling at her hair. She closed her eyes, feeling like she was tensing her entire body. She thought she might pop. She kind of wanted to.

"Ten minutes to midnight," Kokichi said softly. "Almost over."

"Yeah, almost," she agreed. She wasn't really looking forward to the new year, but she hoped that it would be better than this one.

Kokichi put the bottle down next to him, lining it up with the shot glasses. "Hey Maki." He spoke softly, almost too softly to hear. She tilted her head toward him, watching him closely but staying silent. "Wanna start the new year with me?"

'What do you mean?" she questioned.

Kokichi chuckled. "Don't tell sober me I said this, but you really are cute sometimes."

Maki felt her face burning as she stared at him. "I... what?"

He smiled, turning to face her fully. "It's almost midnight," he reminded her. "Almost a new year."

"Yeah..." She wasn't sure where he was going with this.

Kokichi rolled his eyes. "Kiss me at midnight," he said plainly.

Maki felt like she'd been hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat. "Huh!"

He took her hand and squeezed it. "Might as well start the new year off with something new, right?" His thumb stroked over her wrist and he was watching their hands, not her. "It's supposed to be good luck, right? Kissing someone at midnight. I'm not sure about you, but I could use a bit of good luck."

Maki wasn't sure what to say. The thought of kissing Kokichi wasn't one that she had ever considered before. She was surprised that the idea wasn't... unappealing. Maybe it was because the conversation between them had been relatively smooth and painless. Maybe it was the fact that she felt like she understood him for the first time since meeting him.

Maki must have taken too long to answer, because Kokichi pulled away from her with a rueful smile on his face. "Shouldn't have asked that, huh? Sorry, we were having a nice time and I just.."

"Shut up," she said instinctively. She needed to think and she couldn't do that with his unneeded apology clogging up her brain. He surprised her by doing so, looking at her warily. "You didn't... I don't mind it," she eventually settled on.

He smiled at her. It was small, but sincere. The kind of look she had only seen him giving to Shuichi. She looked away from him, feeling the burning in her cheeks again. He leaned his head on her shoulder once more. "Maki Maki's kinda cute when she's not threatening anyone."

"Shut up!"

He laughed, rubbing his face in her arm. He checked his watch but the noise from inside increased near the same time. They were counting down. One minute to midnight. Kokichi tilted his head to look at her. "Sure you wanna do this?"

She puffed out her cheeks. "Don't want to kiss me?"

He smiled. Not a wide grin like earlier, but softer. Warmer. It made her heartbeat a little faster. "I want to," he admitted.

They were counting down from ten now. Maki decided to take the initiative and take his face in her hands, but after that she froze. He smiled at her kindly, pressing one hand over hers on his cheek while the other went behind her head, pulling her closer. She closed her eyes as he pressed their lips together. Soft, chaste, and warm. Her heart was thumping in her chest. Her friends were cheering inside. The moment dragged on for longer than she expected it to and she enjoyed it similarly. Kissing Kokichi was exceedingly pleasant. Part part of her thought that she wouldn't mind doing so again.

Then the moment was over and Kokichi was pulling away. When she opened her eyes, he looked just as shocked and spellbound as she felt. "That was..." It was rare that Kokichi was at a loss for words, but she felt exactly the same way.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It was."

He leaned close to her, pulling her head back down so that their foreheads touched. "I wouldn't mind... doing that again? Some time?" The question was hesitant, soft. Safely tucked into the space between them like it was a secret. She liked the feeling.

"Yes," she breathed out. "I... would like that."

It was the fist day of a new year and Maki felt surprisingly hopeful.

#Oumaki #ELS Writing #Danganronpa V3 #Kokichi Ouma #Maki Harukawa #V3 #Fanfiction #genre: hurt/comfort #Danganronpa rarepair week 2022

62 notes · View notes