#70 on the thermostat with a heated blanket under me

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for setting the thermostat to 70° and telling my roommate to stop changing it?

Emojis to find my ask: 🥶🌡️

I (he/him) have been living with 5 roommates including J (they/he) and my best friend M (he/him). the entire time we've lived together there has been no problem with the thermostat until J blew up at my best friend, M, over something small and unrelated. this made me, M, and M's boyfriend strongly dislike them. I didn't get involved and haven't said anything to them since this happened.

In the house we live in the downstairs gets incredibly cold (my room is sometimes 64° even with the thermostat set to 70°) while the upstairs gets really hot. I'm one of 2 people who lives downstairs and I'm the only one who's currently here (the person I share a room with is away for winter break). I have a chronic fever caused by my autoimmune disease that makes me very cold. I have to live downstairs because I use a wheelchair so swapping rooms is not an option. In the past, the people who lived upstairs would open the window to let the heat out of their rooms. There was never a problem with the thermostat.

Here's where the problem starts: yesterday I found myself shivering in my room despite being under 10 blankets in bed. I went to check the thermostat and saw it was at 66° which is usually the nighttime temperature. I assumed it was a mistake or just hadn't been turned up in the morning so I turned it back to 70°. When I walked by the thermostat again it was now set to 65°. I turned it back up to 70° because I was freezing cold. Then I walked by again and it was 64°. I turned it back to 70°. The next time I walked by it was 63°. I turned it back to 70°. This was clearly J being petty because they were progressively making it colder and colder every time I changed it.

For the entire following night and morning we went back and forth changing the thermostat.

I eventually got sick of it and decided to message them "Please stop changing the thermostat it is cold down here." They didn't respond and continued changing the thermostat. I told them they were being petty and asked them to please stop. This resulted in them blowing up at me and essentially accusing me of only thinking about myself. They also said they "refuse to pay for my excessive gas usage." I told them that they can open a window to cool their room and that they're welcome to come downstairs but there's no equivalent for me and my room. I also said that I didn't think this was about temperature I thought it was about punishing me for disliking them since this problem only started after they blew up at M and they were progressively dropping the thermostat colder and colder every time I changed it back. They told me that it was about temperature. I said that if that's the case they can open a window or come downstairs. That was the end of the conversation.

My other roommates still don't have a problem with the thermostat being set to 70° it's just them. They're also frustrated with J turning down the thermostat so low because they want to spend time downstairs and it's too cold.

so am I the asshole here?

What are these acronyms?

[lavender-eyed-lies]

My thermostat:

It's 70°F ☺️

Me, in fuzzy pajamas under a fuzzy blanket cuddling my fuzzy cat on my heating pad shivering:

N-No-o the f-f-fuck-k its-s N-NOT-T!

[2dmenenthusiast]

Warmth - a Bakugou x Reader Christmas special

its finally done hhhhhh I love how I was just like “Oh yeah I’ll do a short little fic for Christmas” and then I ended up typing this long ass fic. I mean, its not that long but it took me days to write cuz I lack motivation always so it feels long lmao. Anyways, haven’t wrote for my explodey boy bakugou yet so here it is! Let me know if I gave the reader any specific pronouns or features by accident and I’ll fix it right away! I hope you all enjoy! Please feel free to reblog if you wanna give my fic more exposure, I'd really appreciate it 😚

Summary: You get caught in the middle of a snowstorm, and when you get home, you’re desperately craving the warmth of your exploding, ragey boyfriend. 

Word count: 3.3K

Warnings/other info: swearing, itty bitty reference to sexy times, spoiler for Bakugou’s hero name, just a lot of fluff (you guys are so mean to each other tho lmao)

You hated winter. Actually, scratch that. Let’s rephrase. You hate snow. No, you had nothing against the actual season. Winter brought you cute Christmas movies and catchy songs, as well as the gift-giving holiday itself. However, snow was a demon, and it could fuck right off. Especially when it was blowing directly into your face like it was now, your snow-covered boots trudging through the thick snow as you held grocery bags in each of your gloved hands. Even though you were wearing a thick winter coat and hat, and had your scarf covering half of your face, you felt like you were about to shiver out of your own skin and god you could barely fucking see with all of this snow going directly into your eyes.

“‘It’s right down the street, y/n, just walk there.’ What am I, fucking stupid?” you muttered.

You had figured it would be better to just walk to the store rather than using up gas or spending money on transportation, and fuck were you dumb for making that decision. Bakugou had warned you too, taking one look outside and telling you it would be better to just go get groceries tomorrow. But noooo, you just had to get it done today. And honestly, it looked like the roads were gonna be shitty for the next few days, so better now than later. Speaking of the roads, there were barely any cars driving on them, which was expected. The plow didn’t look like it had come through yet. However, a vehicle slowly came towards you, going under the speed limit to avoid sliding on the road, and you could hear The Christmas Song playing loudly from inside as it passed. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Yeah, the only thing going to be roasting on an open fire was your ass the second you walked through the door. And by an open fire, you meant the heater, which Bakugou better have on full fucking blast, or else you swore you were going to wring his neck.

As your apartment building became closer in view, you doubled your efforts and tried to speed up your pace, but the snow made it almost impossible when it was almost past your shins. Still, you grit your teeth and pushed through, letting out a relieved groan when you walked through the front door of your building and felt heat blast you in the face. Releasing a sigh, your grip tightening on the grocery bags as you traversed up the stairs to your apartment, and when you jammed your keys in the lock and pushed through the door, it was just as you suspected. Too fucking cold.

“He’s dead. He’s a dead man. He knew I was going out in the fucking arctic tundra that is the city right now, but he chose to keep the thermostat at fucking 70 degrees?!” you thought, grumbling to yourself as you set the bags down in the kitchen and marched over to the thermostat.

“Hey, take your fucking boots off, will you? You’re tracking snow.”

You raised your middle finger in the direction the voice came from, not even looking back

at your boyfriend as you turned the dial of the thermostat and watched the numbers go up until you were satisfied. Turning to look at Bakugou with a glare, you said something that he could tell was filled with frustration and anger, but he could barely hear you when you were talking through your scarf, raising an eyebrow as if to silently say, “what the fuck are you saying?” Rolling your eyes, you toed off your boots and hung up your coat, taking off your gloves and hat next before unwrapping your scarf from around your face and neck.

“I said you’re a fucking maniac. How are you not freezing?” you asked, hurrying past Bakugou to your shared bedroom so that you could change into something warmer.

Bakugou just scoffed, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched you change. “You remember what my quirk is, right?”

Slipping one of Bakugou’s large hoodies over your head, you let out a sigh. “Oh right, I forgot that along with the ability to blow shit up, you’re also a walking heat box,” you said, throwing the hood over your head as you turned to your boyfriend with a small pout.

He just looked at you with an amused smirk, a single eyebrow quirked as he looked you up and down. He had to admit, he’d never get tired of seeing you in his clothes. Though he quickly became worried when a mischievous grin appeared on your face, and he had no time to react when you were running forward and slipping your hands underneath his shirt, wrapping your arms around his bare torso.

“Gah! Shit, you’re fucking freezing!” he yelled, trying to push you off of him, but you just tightened your hold as you buried your face in his chest. “Hey! Don’t you get comfy, get the hell off of me.”

“But you’re so waaarm,” you whined, looking up at him with cute puppy dog eyes. You weren’t lying, he was very warm, and you’d be damned if you pulled away from him anytime soon.

Letting out a growl through clenched teeth, Bakugou gripped your thighs in his hands and suddenly lifted you, and you let out a noise of surprise, not expecting your feet to come off the ground as your legs automatically wrapped around him so that you wouldn’t fall. Carrying you back into the living room, he threw you on the couch and pinned you with a glare when you tried to move, not walking away until he was certain you wouldn’t get up from that couch. Once he turned his back to you, you sat up on your knees and looked over the back of the couch as Bakugou walked into the kitchen, bending over the reach into one of the bags, and holy fuck his ass in those sweatpants was downright fucking sinful. As the cool kids would say, he was, “double cheeked up on a Thursday afternoon.”

“It’s Saturday, and stop staring at my ass, you damn perv,” Bakugou grumbled without looking back at you, and you pursed your lips as you raised your hands in surrender.

“Not my fault you’re so dummy thicc.”

“For the love of god, stop watching TikTok.”

You just laughed and stood from the couch, walking into the kitchen and leaning against the counter as you watched your boyfriend put the groceries away. “You don’t have to do that, you know. I can put them away.”

“Nonsense. You were just out freezing your ass off in the snow. Now get back on that couch before I throw you on it again,” he said.

You smiled at the kind gesture. While Bakugou was often rude and uncouth, not making an effort to hide his frustration or disdain for certain people or things, there was a soft spot deep down in there, and you were lucky enough to be one of the few people he showed it too. Of course, it was hardly willingly. You were persistent as hell, getting under his skin the moment you started going to UA with him. However, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like your persistence.

Letting out a small hum to yourself, you leaned over and pressed your lips against his cheek, his skin warming up under your touch. “You’re cute.”

A light pink dusted his cheeks as you walked back to the couch and plopped down onto the soft cushions, grabbing the fluffy blanket hanging over the back and draping it around your shoulders. No, if anyone in this relationship was cute, it was you. With the way you stole his clothes and just seemed to always make them look better, or made him his bento lunch with cute little notes inside that he secretly kept in his desk and would look at whenever he needed a little pick-me-up. You probably didn’t realize how much he noticed every little thing you did, but he did, and it made him fall more in love with you every day. Of course, he wasn’t very eloquent and it was hard for him to express how he felt with words, but he was a believer in how actions spoke louder.

“Hey, dipstick! You almost done? I’m about to freeze my ass off over here and I need my cuddle buddy,” you yelled from the living room, and Bakugou’s eyebrow twitched as he scoffed, running a hand over his face. You just had to ruin it, didn’t you?

“Yeah, yeah, wait a sec, would you? Not my fault your body can’t regulate temperature like a normal fucking human being.”

Your head popped up, looking over the couch at your boyfriend with an incredulous look on your face. “‘Normal?!’ What about you is normal, Mr. I-get-unnecessarily-ragey-and-blow-shit-up? Hm?”

“Oh and you think you’re so normal when you bought fucking ice cream in the middle of goddamn winter,” he said, holding up the tub of ice cream you recently bought on your trip to the store.

“Ice cream is good for any time of the year! And you have no room to judge me. It could be a hundred degrees out and you’ll be scarfing down a bowl of spicy ramen like it’s your last meal.”

“You don’t hear me complaining about it though, do you?”

You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest as you pouted. “Jerk. you know, I hope your quirk just one day combusts and you blow up your own face.”

“Fuckface.”

“Asshole.”

“Dumbass.”

“Mama’s boy.”

Eyes widening, he dropped the last grocery bag on the floor and stomped over to the couch. If you were any normal person, you probably would’ve been cowering in fear just from the pro-heroes intense stair. But you had been with Bakugou for a while now, and what “normal” person would date someone whose first draft of their hero name was Lord Explosion Murder anyway? He placed his hands on the top of the couch, looking down at you as you stared up at him with a shit-eating grin on your face.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

“Oh, I think you heard me.”

“Take it back or I’m blowing up all of your Deku shirts.”

You gasped dramatically, placing both of your hands over your heart as you gaped at your boyfriend before narrowing your eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

He didn’t say anything, simply raising an eyebrow at your challenge before walking towards your shared bedroom without another word. Oh. Oh, he was being serious. Scrambling off the couch, you ran after him.

“No! Nononono, wait. Ugh, All right!”

He turned to look at you, one of your shirts of the Pro hero Deku held tight in his fist and a smirk on his face that meant trouble. You sighed, crossing your arms over your chest as you looked at the nearby wall, not wanting to see that stupid little grin on his stupid face.

“You… You’re- not a mama’s boy,” you muttered under your breath, coughing to make the words more unintelligible.

“I’m sorry, what did you say? I think I feel my hand warming up a bit.”

“Ugh, fine! You’re not a mama’s boy. Happy?”

Grin widening, he dropped the shirt and walked over to you in long strides, closing the distance quickly and placing his hands on your waist. “See? Was that so hard?”

“Absolutely teeth-pulling,” you said, dropping your head on his chest as he chuckled, bringing a hand up to gently pat your head. Of course, there wasn’t a lot about you two that was so different from each other. You both had a mutual hatred for backing down. He then looked over at the bed where the green-haired hero’s smiling face stared back at him, and he scowled.

“Why do you have so many shirts of that damn nerd anyway?”

“I don’t have that many, Katsu.”

“You have like ten. You don’t have any merch of me.” His grip on you tightened possessively, and if he wasn’t aware of it, you certainly were, smiling against his chest before lifting your head.

“Why would I need merch when I have the real life thing right here?” you asked, poking at his abs. “Besides, it’s not like I bought them. They were gifts whenever he had new designs come out.”

“And you couldn’t just refuse?”

“Even if you have some weird tension with him, that doesn’t mean I can’t be friends with him, dummy.” You lightly flicked his forehead and slipped out of his grasp as you walked back out to the living room, and he followed close behind with furrowed brows.

“Weird tension? The hell’s that supposed to mean?”

You just looked at him with raised eyebrows and shrugged, dropping down onto the couch before pulling out your phone. It took him a second to understand what you were getting at, and when he did, he wanted to vomit up his lunch.

“Oh, you’re sick.”

You threw your hands up. “I’m not saying I ship it! Your Twitter followers certainly do, though.”

“Yeah well, they’re all weirdos anyway,” he said, sitting down next to you and throwing an arm around your shoulders, and you immediately relaxed into him, content with the warmth he seemed to produce 24/7. “The only person I wanna be…” he grimaced, shaking his head, “shipped with is you.”

You smiled, looking up at Bakugou as you placed your hand on his chest. “I think people would if we didn’t constantly insult each other while we’re out in public. And you know, if you were actually affectionate with me.”

“I’m affectionate!” he yelled, arm tightening around you. “Those damn extras don’t need to see that shit anyway. Not like it’s any of their business.”

You chuckled and moved to straddle Bakugou’s thighs, hands taking their time as you dragged them up his muscular torso and splayed your fingers over his chest. You admired the man below you with a small smile on your face, his hands moving so that they rested on your thighs, giving them a small squeeze, and you watched his tongue swipe over his bottom lip as he seemed to look at you with that same red-eyed intense stare that he always did. Leaning down, you placed a slow kiss against his lips but pulled away before he could deepen it, and he chased your lips with a quiet growl as you let out an amused huff.

“Would you…” You could tell he was hesitant, never knowing how to properly express what he wanted to say, especially when he was feeling vulnerable. You placed your lips against his cheek, gently holding his face in your hands to try and reassure him. “Would you like me to be more affectionate in public? Would that… make you happy?”

Brows furrowing, your lips formed into a frown as you sat back, hands slipping into his. “Katsu… we’ve been together since our high school days. If I had any complaints, wouldn’t I have voiced them by now?” He opened his mouth, but you didn’t give him the chance to respond, grabbing his face again. “Listen to me for a second. Despite what people think about your rough edges and your unpleasant attitude-”

“Watch it.”

You smiled. “I wouldn’t change a damn thing about you. Your random outbursts, your sailor mouth, your shitty nicknames for all of our friends. Those things are what make you Bakugou Katsuki. Not some shitty tabloid with that stupid headline that’s like “Ten things to know about Pro Hero Dynamight!” or whatever. They’re all bullshit. No one sees the side of you that I get to. No one sees the big softie that you really are.” You lightly poked Bakugou’s chest with a giggle, and he swatted at your hand.

“Hey, I’m not soft, you dumbass,” he grumbled, and you just laughed as you leaned into him and wrapped your arms around his neck, resting your forehead on his shoulder.

“Keep telling yourself that.”

You heard him sigh and felt his arms wrap around you, happy in his strong embrace. There was nowhere you felt safer than in Bakugou’s arms. They were always there to hold you at night, or to pull you into a hug when you were feeling upset. You loved his arms, but you loved him in general. Everything about him always had butterflies fluttering around in your stomach. When he would gaze at you like you were the only other person in the world, or when he’d come home after a particularly rough day, and you’d offer to help him relieve some stress, but he’d insist that the only thing on his mind at the moment was you underneath him while he memorized and tasted every inch of you. Yeah, you were a love-struck idiot, but so was he. Maybe even more so.

You were brought out of your thoughts when the lights started to flicker before going out, and you waited a few seconds for them to come back on, but they never did. Are you fucking kidding me?

“Um… Katsuki?”

“Hm.”

“Please tell me our power didn’t just go out.”

“Our power didn’t go out.”

You smacked his chest. “Don’t be a smartass.”

“Then don’t say stupid shit.”

You let out a groan before whining out his name, and he sighed as he lifted you off of him and walked into the kitchen to grab his phone. It was like you could already feel the cold seeping back into the apartment through the cracks in the doors and windows, and you shivered as you grabbed the blanket from before and wrapped it around your body. Bakugou then came back into the living room, letting out a sigh and tossing his phone onto the couch.

“Some idiot driving in this shit-storm hit a pole and took down a transformer. Power won’t be back until the morning.”

Great. Just magnificent. Who the fuck decides to drive in a snowstorm? Letting out a huff, you stood and went to the kitchen to find a lighter before lighting every candle you two had, hoping they would provide enough light for the night. After making sure at least one candle was in every room, you went back to find Bakugou gathering all the blankets he could and raised an eyebrow.

“What? We both know our comforter won’t be enough to warm your shivering ass.”

“But I have you, don’t I? My personal heater,” you said, rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet as you smiled.

Bakugou scoffed. “Yeah, can’t wait for you to suck all the heat out of me.”

“Oh piss off. You love my cuddles.”

Before he could give you another snarky remark, you turned on your heel and walked to your bedroom, pulling back the covers and immediately tucking yourself underneath them. But of course, it wasn’t warm enough. When Bakugou walked into the room, you stuck a hand out from under the blanket and made a grabbing motion, and he just chuckled at you before throwing an extra blanket on top of you and climbing underneath the covers to lay next to you. You immediately sought him out, desperate for his warmth as you wrapped yourself around him and nuzzled into his chest, and his arms looped around you as he tangled your legs together.

“Christ, you’re fucking freezing,” he grumbled.

“Shut up and hold me tighter,” you said voice muffled as you spoke into his chest, and he did as you asked, his arms tightening around you as you let out a content sigh. 

Relaxing in the silence, you felt yourself begin to grow more tired with each second that passed, and your boyfriend seemed to relax as well, which was rare for him. You both were perfectly content, dozing off in each other’s embrace.

“... So should I get a mistletoe for the apartment?”

“Dear god, shut the fuck up and go to sleep.”

[pillowsickfics]

So.. I kinda sorta wrote this long, self indulgent fic, even while there are still requests in my inbox (which I will get to soon, I promise!). I just really wanted some domestic Marsh and Reese, and I hope you guys like this! ^^;

((Also please ignore typos/inconsistent details, I reread this in a bit if a rush))

•••••••••

Reese knew he was going to be in for a rough day as soon as he opened his eyes. It felt like someone was driving an ice pick through his head as he sat up. His room was dim, meaning it was pretty early in the morning. The shuffling sounds he heard from the kitchen told him that Marshall was up, presumably making breakfast.

He scrubbed at his face, and swung his legs over the side of his bed. His head rushed slightly, but he managed to keep his composure and stand up. God, he really didn’t feel well. There was a dull ache in the pit of his stomach, and a rush of warmth flowed through his body. He was definitely sick.

He padded over to the kitchen where Marshall was already up and whistling his way through making breakfast. The smell didn’t help how Reese was feeling in the slightest and he leaned on the doorway to the living room, much too tired to greet his roommate.

Marshall flinched when he looked over and saw Reese.

“Jesus christ dude.. you can’t do that! You almost gave me a heart attack! Then who would make these immaculate waffles?” He joked, placing two plates down on the table.

Reese didn’t respond. Instead he took a seat and their small table and dropped his head in his hands. Everything felt too warm and muggy, and he could feel himself sweating through his shirt. There was no way he was going to work today.

“Yo Reese.. you okay..? You look pale..” Marshall asked after finally getting a good look at his friend.

Reese just shook his head slowly. “Feel like shit.. can you check if I have a temperature or something..?” He asked, lifting his face from his hands.

Marshall gently pressed the back of his hand to Reese’s forehead, then his cheek. “Yeah, you’re definitely warm.. you staying home from work then?”

Reese nodded, and sipped the orange juice in front of him. It settled in his stomach heavily, but he didn’t think much of it. He instead folded his arms in the table and rested his head in them and let his eyes fall shut. He felt so lethargic and cold. God, he was so cold. Hadn’t he been hot a moment earlier? He was shivering intensely yet he could feel sweat soaking through the back of his shirt. It was horrible.

He must have been at the table much longer than he’d thought because when he finally lifted his head, Marshall was in his work uniform and holding a bottle of pills. He shook out two and placed them in front of Reese.

“Alright, take those and get to bed.. I’ll be home from work as soon as I can, but try not to spontaneously die while I’m gone, yeah?” He said, placing a water bottle next to Reese as well.

Reese huffed a small laugh, and downed the pills. “Alright.. but can you turn on the heat on your way out..? I’m freezing..”

“Reese, it’s like 70° in here.. but okay.. weirdo..” Marshall walked over to the thermostat and turned it up a few degrees. “I’m heading out.. make sure to drink water or something..” He said.

Reese managed a lazy wave and watched and Marshall disappeared behind the door.

After a few moments, he finally forced himself up from his seat and towards his bedroom. Every step was exhausting, and it was pure bliss when he finally collapsed in his bed. He sank into his covers, and it wasn’t long until sleep pulled him under.

-

Several hours later, Reese woke up with a start, and was completely sure of one thing. He was burning alive. He threw his blankets off himself, and jumped out of bed on unsteady legs. His shirt was completely sweat through, and his hair clung to forehead with moisture. He took a moment to breath, but the sudden movement had jostled his belly uncomfortably. Luckily, it was manageable. All he could think about was turning the heat down.

He staggered to the living room and clumsily found the thermostat. With a shaky hand, he lowered it a few degrees and leaned on the wall beside it. That initial rush of adrenaline was wearing off, and the exhaustion sank deep in his bones. His belly gurgled, the cup of juice he’d drank earlier sloshing inside of him. The nausea was becoming increasingly hard to ignore, and he knew he needed a toilet.

He stumbled into hallway, but his stomach decided it needed to empty itself. Now.

He lurched forward with a heave that brought up watery sick all over the carpeted floors. A burp gurgled up his throat, and it brought more vomit with it. His head was spinning and black dots danced across his vision.

Another heave tore from his throat, and the sheer force of it dragged him down to his knees. He couldn’t even move to call Marshall. More saliva and bile clung to his lips, but he wasn’t coordinated enough to wipe it off himself. Instead, his entire frame pitched forward. His vision was swimming but eventually went dark before he hit the floor.

-

Marshall fumbled with his keys and unlocked the door as fast as he could. As much as he was embarrassed to admit, he was worried for Reese. He knew Reese was responsible, definitely more responsible than him, but he still couldn’t help but be concerned. He had looked awful that morning.

He pushed the door open, but he went stiff when the sour smell of sick floated in the apartment. He could feel his heart begin to pound, and every instinct in his body told him to run, but he knew he couldn’t. He had to be there for Reese.

“Reese? You in here?” He called out, stepping into the apartment slowly. He got no response.

“Reese..?” He called out again, starting to feel even more worried. He turned the corner into the hallway and froze. Reese was on the floor, and the carpet around him was dark. The stench was stronger, making Marshall dread what was on the floor.

Marshall wanted to go to Reese, he really did, but he felt like a deer in headlights. His stupid fear was taking over his head, but he couldn’t let that happen. Reese needed him. He took a breath, and shakily stepped forward. He grabbed Reese by the shoulders, and turned him to he was facing up and leaning towards Marshall’s chest. His body was limp, but it was burning. His face was sickly grey, and saliva clung to his lips.

“Reese.. hey.. wake up man..” He lightly patted Reese’s cheek.

Nothing.

“Reese. Come on dude, please..” His voice broke slightly. Now, he could care less about the vomit, Reese wasn’t waking up.

“Reese!” He shouted, giving Reese a slight shake from the shoulders.

He got a soft, sleepy moan in response.

“M.. Marsh..” He managed, his voice slurring. He seemed to be struggling to keep his head up.

“Hey.. hey man.. it’s me.. oh god, you’re burning up..” Marsh breathed, pulling Reese so he was slumped against his chest.

“Don’t.. don’t feel too good..” He murmured, gripping Marshall’s shirt weakly. He could hardly process anything, but he was lucid enough to know that Marsh was warm, and he was freezing.

Marshall rubbed a hand up and down his back, still trembling from the vomit. His heart was still racing, but he had bigger problems. “Hey Reese.. I need to get cleaned up.. then I’ll get you to bed, okay?” He offered, brushed a hand against Reese’s forehead. He was absolutely burning up.

Reese nodded groggily, and slumped further into Marshall.

Marshall managed to haul him to his feet, and practically carried him to the small bathroom. He wet a washcloth and carefully wiped the saliva and sweat from Reese’s face.

Reese was finally starting to wake up a bit more, and immediately recognized he was nauseous. He also realized that Marshall had pretty much lifted him from a pile of puke. Something didn’t click, seeing as Marsh was deathly afraid of anything and everything puke related.

“Marsh.. are you.. okay..?” He mumbled, not quite sure how to word the question he wanted to ask.

“Hm..? Oh.. if you’re talking about the puke thing.. I uh.. I’m shaking like hell right now.. but.. you’re really sick.. need to make sure you don’t choke of your own vomit or something like that..” He responded, looking over Reese.

Reese tried to reply, but his body’s sympathy wore out. A burp gurgled up his chest, bringing a retch along with it. He scrambled to the toilet, and made it just in time to heave over the bowl. Thin, watery bile met the water with a sickening splash.

Marshall went stiff again, and backed up. This time, he tried talking himself out of it. Reese is sick. He can’t help it. Nothing is gonna hurt you. You have to be there for Reese, he needs you.

Reese gagged unproductively over the toilet and groaned. His head felt horrible, and he felt horrible for scaring Marshall, and his belly felt horrible and it was all just so horrible. Luckily, he was empty, and his belly began to settle. He pushed away from the toilet, and leaned on the wall behind him.

“M’sorry Marshy..” Reese managed.

Marshall patted his shoulder. “It’s okay Reese.. I’m okay.. I’m gonna get you some fresh clothes, then we can get you in bed, okay?”

Reese nodded, and allowed Marshall to help him up. They shuffled across the hall, and Marshall planted Reese in his bed before fishing through his drawers to find some clean clothes.

He finally found a loose shirt and some sweatpants, and helps Reese into them before lowering him into bed.

“Get some rest.. alright?” Marshall said, placing a bottle of water on Reese’s beside table.

“Yeah.. uh.. Marsh? Thanks.. for everything..” Reese murmured, already half asleep in his covers.

“Yeah.. anytime.” Marshall smiled softly, and flicked off the lights before leaving the room.

[iluvsexyvoltageguys]

Merry Smutmas ~ Genji

Fandom: In Your Arms Tonight (Love 365)

Pairing: Genji x Reader

“You’re like, really pretty.” Genji smiled, taking a sip from the shot of liquor in front of him. “You’re the sexiest reindeer I’ve ever seen,” he added, referring to the ugly Christmas sweater you were wearing, which included a hood with attached antlers to make you look like Rudolph. It was supposed to be a Christmas party, held at a local bar just down the road from yours and Genji’s apartment, but thanks to inclement weather, there were only a handful of people willing to battle the snow, and many of those who came were starting to head home for the night.

Gently sliding the glass out of his reach, you crinkled your nose in amusement at his tipsy state. “You’re getting cut off because we have to walk home, and alcohol plus freezing temperatures isn’t a great combination.”

His face redder than normal thanks to beer earlier in the night, he pouted dramatically. “My girlfriend’s so responsible, I love it.”

The laughter bubbled out of you, leaning your head against his shoulder. “Okay, come on, it’s time to go.”

“Ooh, bossy, that’s hot.”

Rolling your eyes at him, you said your goodbyes to your friends and put on your coat before walking out into the frigid night, Genji following close behind. What had started as a light dusting of snow earlier in the evening had now turned into about six inches, something you were never quite prepared to deal with. It should have been a five minute walk, but the snowdrifts covering the sidewalk turned it into a much more arduous journey. By the time that you reached the apartment, Genji was mostly sobered up.

After opening the front door and hanging your jacket and scarf on the coatrack, you threw yourself on the couch, turning on the tv. Genji quickly joined you, resting his head on your lap and kicking his legs out onto the coffee table. “What are we watching?”

“Elf, that’s the only interesting thing on.” You were fiddling with Genji’s hair as you watched the movie when suddenly the TV and lights went out. “Shit, is that the power?”

Genji clambered off the couch, hitting some buttons on the remote and flipping the light switch, but to no avail. “Yup, it looks like we’re without electricity for the night, the storm must have downed a power line or something.”

You were informed from the electric company that they didn’t expect for power to be restored for at least 24-48 hours. Apparently, the local utility companies were not prepared for heavy winter storms, and so their repair crews were stretched a little thin.

Sighing, you glanced at the thermostat, which luckily was still staying steady at 70 degrees. You both jumped into action, gathering every blanket and comforter from around the house. “Right now, we’re okay, but we’re not going to have heating for a while. Until then, we just have to find other ways to stay warm.” You said.

“Well, I can think of something that will both occupy our time and also keep us warm.” He smirked.

You rolled your eyes at his insinuation, but it wasn’t long until he had you pressed against a wall, hands tangled in your hair, and lips hot on your skin. “You’re so, so, so gorgeous,” he murmured, words muffled by your skin.

“I think you need to work on your creativity with compliments,” you laughed, seeing a flush rise yet again in your boyfriend’s cheeks as you stripped off your sweater and bra.

Genji pulled away long enough to scowl playfully at you as his own shirt joined yours on the floor. “Excuse me, I’m just trying to show my girlfriend how much I love her.”

Quirking an eyebrow at him, you used a hand on his shoulder to lightly push him downwards. “I can think of a better way to show me that.”

As he knelt on the floor, his hands made quick work of your jeans and socks, his lips trailing soft kisses along your hip bones and stomach. He mouthed at your clothed core before letting the fabric fall to the floor, hooking one of your legs over his shoulder to give him the best access. His eyes locked with yours as his tongue danced lightly over your folds, alternating pressure and motions.

Your head leaned back against the wall, eyes fluttering shut as Genji’s tongue traced shapes and letters over the sensitive skin. “Baby, open your eyes, I want to see you looking at me.”

Genji watched as you listened to his request, your eyes back on him. He loved being in this position, between your legs, listening to the soft mewls of pleasure coming from you as he continued to work his mouth against your center. With every swipe of his tongue over your clit, your hips jerked against him, until he had to hook his arms underneath you, holding you steady.

He made a deep rumbling sound in his chest as your hand ran through his hair, yanking a little whenever something felt particularly good. His lips closed over your clit, as you let out a breathy whimper. “Yes, Genji, yes.”

When his tongue flicked harshly against your clit, you felt yourself pushing back into the wall, trying to remain upright. “Please, Genji, I need you.” He looked up from his ministrations, raising his eyebrows a little at you, but he wasn’t planning to stop until you were coming undone on his tongue, doubling his efforts.

His hands came up to grab handfuls of your ass, pulling you harder against his face, the taste of you intoxicating and addicting. You could feel him smile against your folds as your legs began to shake uncontrollably, Genji’s grasp on you the only thing keeping you upright. With your hands desperately trying to find purchase on the wall, arching your back, you came hard on his tongue.

Instead of moving away, however, Genji continued to lick against the soft skin of your folds through your orgasm, feeling you quake against him as he teased your sensitive core. Your hand still in his hair, you tried to pull him back to his feet, but he simply moved back slightly, chin and lips glistening with your essence, and said, “I want you to come at least twice on my tongue, can you do that?”

As desperate as you were to have him inside you, you were even more eager to please him. After all, it was nearly impossible to say no to that face when he was looking up at you from between your legs. Nodding you watched as he buried his face back in your pussy, feasting like it was his last meal on Earth, caring about nothing more than making a mess of you. Genji went down on you like it was for his pleasure, not yours, and tonight was no exception.

This time around, he added his hands, using his thumb to stimulate your clit as his tongue played with your entrance, humming against your pussy and sending vibrations through your entire body. It didn’t take long for you to come a second time, fire pulsing through your veins as you quivered and shuddered, his name falling from your lips like a prayer.

With one leg still slung over his shoulder, you felt your other leg begin to give out, exhausted from supporting your weight. Genji quickly noticed your discomfort and helped you down to the floor, letting you relax momentarily on the pile of blankets strewn haphazardly on the floor as his own pants and boxers were swiftly discarded.

“Come on, sit up,” he coaxed, letting you climb into his lap, lowering yourself onto his hard cock as your knees went to either side of his hips. You could hear his loud exhale as he bottomed out, grinding against you. There was no rush in your movements, tonight was about just taking your time enjoying each other’s bodies. His lips traced every line in your skin, skimming across your jawline, down your neck, and across your collarbone.

As his mouth moved ever lower, you arched into his touch, giving him full access. He ran his tongue slowly across the swell of your breast, relishing the way you squirmed and whined under his touch. Burying his face in your chest, you could feel his breath, hot against your skin, which was already burning up with every move he made.

You could feel him speak, the soft vibrations carrying through your chest, but it wasn’t until he lifted his head that you could hear the words. “I love you so much,” he mumbled, lips on yours before the words were even fully out of his mouth.

“I love you, too,” you replied, every word punctuated by a soft kiss. The moon, rising high in the sky, was the only source of light in the room, bathing everything in its soft glow, creating an even more intimate feel to the moment.

You let your hips roll lazily against him, feeling his cock twitch within you as he grew closer and closer, finally leaning you back a little so that he could slip a hand between your bodies, using two fingers to rub small circles on your clit. “I want you to come with me, are you close?”

“Yes, I’m almost there,” you gasped out, as he applied a little more pressure to the small bundle of nerves. With a few more languid movements, you were tumbling over the edge, your forehead pressed to his as your mouth opened in a silent “o.” His groan reverberated through the room as he found his own release, his body just collapsing into yours as you both lay back and caught your breath.

Lying naked on the ground, you both bathed in the warm post-sex afterglow, but it didn’t take long until the chill began to creep into the house, leaving you both scrambling to put clothes back on before diving underneath the sea of blankets.

Genji wrapped his arms around you, keeping you as close to him as physically possible to feel even the slightest semblance of warmth. “If we die of frostbite tonight, there’s no one else I’d rather be with.”

You couldn’t hold back the laughter that left your mouth at your boyfriend’s dramatics. “We’re not going to die! But I do agree that you’re the only person I want to spend power outages with.”

IYAT Masterlist

[tatooedlaura-blog]

20 Questions

My Lord, I am rusty at this … been too long without words …

Not part of the Life series … but just something to get me writing again …

**hugs to all**

&&&&&&&&&

&&&&&&&&&

Six beers apiece, three frozen pizzas, a gallon of ice tea, a knockdown, drag-out argument complete with yelling, swearing, file throwing and roughly 12 hours later …

Snow.

Piled up to the top of the parking meter; deep, heavy, wet, sloppy, icing over snow.

All viewed by a sleepy, blinking Scully who had the minor deluded idea of getting home that night but then a draft wafted over her stocking feet and any idea of leaving evaporated in a heartbeat. Turning around, she debated going in to tell him she was staying but clock glowing 1:43am made her stay quiet and think about going back to sleep.

Problem was, she had been off the buttery, broken in couch just a hair too long and now the leather was frigidly cold, seeping immediately into her soul and making her stand before she fully understood she’d been sitting. Muttering a ‘damn it’, she grabbed an afghan, wrapped it tight and wondered where the thermostat was.

Oddly, it wasn’t in the living room, kitchen or hall, so she headed, sock-shuffle-slide, into the bedroom. It was dark in there, warmer than the living room and without the drafts. She debated whether to wake him up to kick him out of the large bed but given she was a semi-decent person, regardless of freezing status, she finally found the thermostat on the wall beside the door. Touching a button lit the panel up and the voice from the dark made her jump, “you cold?”

Keeping the whisper status of the two-word conversation, “I won’t be once I crank this bad boy up to 80.”

“Won’t help. It never gets above 70 with that thing, regardless of what I set it at.”

Turning towards the voice, her face still bathed in electric blue, profile perfection, mouth half-twisted in shivering debate, “then you either need to move over so I can share or help me dig out my car from the snowpocalypse that occurred after we fell asleep.”

With a ‘pshhht, no way in Hell’ noise, “I am not moving from under these covers so go grab the rest of the blankets off the couch and get in here but so help me God, those feet touch me and I’ll shove you right back out.”

“I love you, too, Mulder.” She went and gathered her armful then crawling under upheld covers, complained in a hissing breath, “it’s just as fucking cold here as the couch was.”

“Jack Frost has made you mouthy.”

Quaking as she spread the blankets over the pair of them, mostly her, well, all over her really because he was already warm and whatever, she couldn’t feel anything below elbows and knees, “two feet of snow, Mulder, while we slept. While you let me sleep. While you went to bed and left me to ice over out there in the living room.”

“In all seriousness, If I had woken you up, you’d have bitten me.”

Her embarrassment nearly warmed her cheeks but not quite, “that’s a very good point, although it would have been very nice to be wearing my pajamas instead of jeans.”

Searching the dark, he poked her cheek, “cranky pants, go to sleep.”

Not warming yet but decidedly on the better side of frozen solid, she moved her foot until it found his leg, “I’m not cranky.”

“Remember I said I’d kick you out of bed if you touched me.”

Turning on her side, facing away, she grinned into the pillow as her muscles unclenched, “like you’d ever kick me out of anything.”

“Very true.” Debating for a moment, “do you want some pajamas?”

“I’ll get them if I need them.”

&&&&&&&&&

“Mulder?”

“Go to sleep.”

“I can’t.”

“Yeah, you can. Shut your eyes and stop thinking.”

To relieve her aching shoulder, she rolled to her back, keeping everything from the bottom of her nose down well under the covers, “we should play ’20 questions’.”

“I’m sleeping, Scully.”

“Your voice tells me otherwise. I can also deduce that you are very nearly as wide awake as I am.”

Mulder, awake mostly because she was within two feet of him, dipping his mattress and driving him mad with that warm Scully smell that wouldn’t stop invading his nose, his brain, his entire God-damned existence, gave in because … well … Scully ..., “animal, vegetable or mineral?”

Next she traveled to her other side, facing him, for the sole purpose of being able to pull the covers over her head as well, warming ears and crown without suffocating in the luxury, “mineral.”

“Of course science-girl picks mineral.”

Wiggling one last time to get properly settled in her concave cocoon, “I’ll give you a hint. It’s clear.”

“Water.”

Hand across sheets for a brief moment, she tweaked his nose, “you’re cold. Get further under and no, it’s not water.”

He buried his head to mirror her, flipping to look at her, “tell me if I reek of beer and garlic, please.”

Because she was his friend and had been for the better part of 200 years, she sniffed and approved, “you’re good.”

“Go me. Anyways, is it shiny?”

“After it’s polished.”

“Is it colored?”

“I just said it was clear.”

“Hey, detail-oriented individuals such as myself know that something can be colored and clear at the same time. See through anyways. I can see the world through a pair of rose-colored glasses or some shit like that.”

This time, she waited until he’d tucked the fringe from one of the wayward afghans away from her forehead, “touche, Mr. Mulder. It is both clear and uncolored.”

He could get to like this nonsense at 3am, “is it rare or common?”

“Common for certain occasions but rare in relation to grains of sand on Earth or stars in the heavens.” He stared at her for so long after this, she began to wonder if he’d frozen solid or died on the spot, eyes still open and studying, “what? Already run out of questions?”

Game forgotten and unmissed, “I love when that poet trapped inside you gets to come out and see the world, even if just for a few moments at a time.”

“It’s not poetry, Mulder, it’s just a description to the question you asked.”

Darkness softened the walls between them faster than any alcohol could, “don’t be flippant about it. Poetry is beautiful and so are you and when you say things like that, I’m surprised I can still remember that we probably shouldn’t be sharing a bed.”

Her previous blush had nothing on this one, toes suddenly on fire, but she held his gaze, “I don’t want to go back to the couch though.”

“Then I should tell you your mineral is diamond and that we should try to go back to sleep.”

“But then you’ll win the game.”

The things he shouldn’t say this late at night were alphabetized, categorized and easily accessible to his lightning fast mind but who really gave a shit when they were snowed in bed with no hope of anyone but Scully’s God and possibly three or four dust bunnies hearing him, “I won it a long time ago, Scully, you ought to know that by now.”

One foot drifted absently over to him, finding a flannel covered kneecap, “we were having a nice, innocent game of ’20 questions’, Mulder, remember that?”

“Not really and you know why?”

She wasn’t stupid, not in the slightest bit, and wondering if she could blame the following confessional already bubbling up her throat on the liquor she’d consumed seven hours ago, “because we’ve never done anything innocent in our lives when the lights are out and we have nowhere to go and no one is listening?”

“Because tonight you are a poet and I huddle at your feet in awe that you didn’t try to escape when you had the chance.”

“Like the choice ever occurred to me.” Her fingers, having shifted of their own accord, met his jaw, playing with the underside of stubbly chin, “we have a problem with the dark, you and I.”

“Not when we’re together in it, we don’t. In fact, it’s one of my favorite places to be with you.”

She watched him not-so subtly sliding towards her and instinct beat sense to fucking dust as she let him, “why?

He stopped a good six inches from her, bunches of blankets impeding his travels and she was glad to have the barrier, given her resistance had dialed down to nil, “because you are poetry in the dark.”

Shifting blankets out of the way, she sidled closer, closer, closer until she felt his arm slide over her back, “but you can’t see me in the dark.”

His hands itched to feel more, to know more but instead, he relaxed into her, “the feel of you is enough.”

“Sometimes I don’t think it is.” She let that hang over them, weighted world above, blankets around, heat between, “Mulder?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t make me leave this bed anytime soon, okay?”

He would have laughed had it not been such a serious question, requiring a well thought out, well-versed response, “if I could manage it, neither of us ever would.”

Her warm hands found his back, under his shirt, dipped in his spine, “I retract my statement … our problem isn’t the dark … our problem is thoughts in the dark.”

“Are your thoughts becoming a problem?”

Shivering despite the overwhelming warmth of her around him around her, “thoughts are always a problem.”

Hands under her shirt, finding the clasp on her bra and unfastening, “how the hell can you sleep in that thing?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think about it I guess.”

With a grin, he kissed her forehead, “exactly.”

The universe breathed deep with Scully shaking her head and shifting all the way under the covers, head and all, “back in a second.” There was some wicked wiggling and two grunts and one elbow in Mulder’s stomach but before he could smile again, she was back, whipping the bra across the room, “I hate that thing.”

“So do I.” The look he got did things, “now I can sleep in peace.”

“Have we moved on from poetry in the dark?”

Snuggling back into him, “I will not be held responsible for the compromising position we will find ourselves in in the morning as well as the compromising positions we go through to get there. Poetry in the dark writes itself sometimes without our knowing and I’m not going to fight it because in the morning, the curtains will still be closed and this room will still be dark and we will not have a damn thing to do or a damn place to go.”

“Why didn’t you take your shirt off along with the bra?”

“Because I’m suddenly very comfortable and a little bit tired.”

“You are very dangerous in the dark, Scully.”

“I’ll be more dangerous after I’ve had a nap.”

Letting his hands drift further down than normal, “do you remember who won the argument last night?”

“The dark doesn’t care, Mulder and neither do I.”

[honeybee-babe]

Dialogue prompts 2 for Luther pls!! "Don't leave me" "Please stay" "I'm lonely" And number ~53, the one where Luther would be saying sorry for being sick and then being delirious bc of the fever. Thanks!!

Hey babe! Finally cracking down on these! As per our agreement, I’ll do separate fics for all of them. This one ended up WAY too long and the other ones will be way shorter, I promise. I felt like I had to explain all my headcanons which is a big part of that. Now that they’re listed here I won’t need to explain them again in later fics lol.~

ALSO: This fic is a sequel to the Lunya hug fic I wrote last week, so I would recommend reading that first. It’s really short.

I couldn’t really remember how the saying sorry one is supposed to go (I can’t find the prompt list cause it’s buried on my blog) so this might technically count for that, but I’m not sure.

Anyway here is a WAY TOO LONG response for “Please Stay.”

~

Vanya was worried about Luther. The day after he told her his news, he skipped out on dinner for the first time in a month. Klaus reassured everyone not to worry, Luther was probably just having a rough day and wanted to isolate himself (still a coping mechanism for ). Klaus had met a lot of people with eating disorders during his various stints in rehab over the years.

But when Luther didn’t come down for dinner the next night either, suddenly Klaus’ argument switched to the “relapses are normal” argument, and Vanya felt the panic hat had dissipated two nights earlier come back full force in her chest. She went to bed worried about Luther.

But when she woke up sweltering just an hours later, her was the farthest thing from her mind.

Fever was the word that flashed through her mind as she kicked the blankets off her body and changed out of her sweatpants into a tank-top and shorts, stumbling blindly into the bathroom, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She wondered how she’d missed the signs. She’d always been pretty in touch with her body, and this didn’t make any sense.

She’d been a little sick two days earlier, but it was just your standard cold: a stopped nose, a bit of sneezing. By the time dinner rolled around, she’d felt completely fine. She didn’t even tell her siblings about the illness. She preferred to stay out of their hair when she was sick, and besides, it was just a little cold.

Or, so she’d thought. But now she was standing in the bathroom with the thermometer under her tongue, hoping she didn’t have a fever more for the sake of not having to tell her siblings to stay away from her than for the sake of her own health.

When it beeped, her brows raised at the perfect 98.6°F displayed before her. Huh. That made no sense. She was wearing a tanktop and shorts and still sweating. And it was the middle of the night, in October. There was no way it was this hot in the house. Unless…

Shaking her head, she stumbled back into the hallway, and checked the thermostat.

“What the fuck?” she mumbled to herself. Who the hell had set the thermostat to 78°F? WIth a little huff she turned it back down to the 70°F she was used to; the way dad used to keep it, anyway.

Her first thought was Klaus – he always felt cold to the touch anyway, he probably felt cold, too. She’d text him in the morning, reminding him of the existence of blankets. For now, she’d go back to her room, and wait for it to cool down a bit so she could fall back asleep. But she was stopped in her tracks by a sound from down the hall.

“Huh’KSCH-NXGTchiew! HIhhh…Hh’NXXT! HhrrENXGT-chu!”

Vanya flinched, and then immediately frowned. The tired, congested-sounding sneezes came from Luther’s room, but that wasn’t the way he usually sneezed. That was the way he sneezed when he’d already been sneezing for a while and didn’t have the energy to hold his violent explosions back anymore. And instead of his normal two, it had been four.

Shit.

Vanya had only even thought about Luther’s sneezing so much because she’d heard him sneeze about a thousand times in the past seven months. Luther had been sick five times in that time, and two of those five times, he’d ended up in the infirmary with a high fever. The last time Luther was sick, Five hadcome to the conclusion that he was immunocompromised from isolation on the moon for so long. Isolation at the hands of their father. The same thing he’d put Vanya through all her life. Hearing that made her feel sick herself.

She’d felt oddly protective of him ever since. She’d always viewed him as strong and stoic, never putting his feelings into perspective. Never been able to think of him as fragile. Now she felt like he might break.

And as she walked down the hallway to his room, stopping on the way to grab and disinfect the thermometer, she cursed himself for not thinking to warn him about her cold. And for automatically assuming he had only missed dinner because he was relapsing. She needed to put more faith in him, he really was trying.

“Luther?” she called out softly when she reached his door, knocking gently.

“Come in,” came a hoarse voice from inside.

She pushed open the door tentatively, face falling when she saw the sight before her.

“Oh, Luther…” He was buried under his comforter, curled up in a ball, and barely fitting on his bed. A giant human burrito, only his head stuck out of the blankets. A thin sheen of sweat coated his flushed face. “You look awful.”

“ ‘m okay,” he mumbled, voice gravelly and barely there.  “Dn’ worry about me.”

“Did you turn the thermostat up to 78 degrees?” Her tone was a bit more accusatory than she’d intended.

“Yeah, cause it’s freezing,” Luther mumbled, hugging his blankets tighter around his shoulders. He shivered violently underneath the covers as if to prove his point.

“No, Luther, it’s really not.” Vanya sat on the end of his bed. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah. Js’ tired.” He punctuated the sentence with a wheezy cough, the beginnings of something wet rattling in his chest.

“Yeah, right.” She gently reached out a hand to feel his forehead, which was unsurprisingly burning. He shivered profusely when she touched him, but didn’t make an effort to move. That was not a good sign. “How long have you been feeling shitty?”

Luther’s shoulders shrugged under the blankets, making the whole burrito move.

Vanya reached for the thermometer. “I think you just have a fever. Will you let me check?”

“No, I don’t. ‘M okay, don’t worry.” Nonetheless, he made no move to stop Vanya from putting the thermometer in his mouth, nor did he try to stop her from reading the results.

“103.1. Jesus, Luther. Why didn’t you-” she cut her rant off when she saw how miserably he was, looking up at her with those big, sad blue eyes. She brushed back the sweaty hair clinging to his forehead. How was his hair even long enough to do that? 

“You should have said something sooner, Spacey.”

Luther just looked down at his blankets. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

Vanya sighed and stroked his cheek gently. “Well now I’m even more worried!”

Luther turned his head away from Vanya’s touch and buried his face into his pillow. “I’m sorry.”

Vanya bit down on her lip when she heard him sniffle. “Luther?” When his breath started to hitch, she put a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon, Lulu, don’t cry-”

“Hh’GNKtchiew! Hahh-nXXGT! Hihhh! Hih… hih!”

Oh.

Vanya couldn’t help but giggle, so loud she didn’t even notice the third budding buildup. 

“Bless you. I thought you were-”

“Hh’kTSCHIEW!-ugh, sorry…”

Vanya brought her hand to her chest. “Goodness, bless you! Nearly gave me a heart attack!”

Luther finally turned his head back around and blinked tiredly at her, flashing her a sheepish little smile. His nose was running like a faucet. She reached for the tissues on his nightstand and dabbed at his upper lip.

“Thanks,” he muttered, and wheezed, which quickly dissolved into a coughing fit.

Vanya pat him on the back until it was over. “You poor thing,” she cooed. He really did look pretty run down. “Let’s get some medicine in you.” 

She got up to leave, when she felt a hand on her wrist, pulling her back Even sick, Luther could easily restrain her. It was a feeling that still struck panic in her heart, even after all these months. She turned back to look at him, eyes alert. “What?”

Luther was giving her those big sad blue eyes again. His grip on her immediately slackened.

“Please stay.”

Vanya softened again, all her anxiety fading into tenderness as she bent down so she could be at eye level with him.

“I’m not going anywhere, Lu.” She brushed his hair back from his forehead again. “I’m just gonna get some things for you, and then I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Promise?”

She booped him on the nose. “I promise.”

Luther scrunched up his nose and buried his face into his blankets, cupping them over his mouth with his hands. “Hhh’GNK-Nn’XXT!” Vanya giggled at his reaction, and even more so at the little glare he shot her when he finally lowered the blankets, snot dribbling down his chin now. She wordlessly wiped at it again.

“Okay,” Luther mumbled with a thick sniffle after a moment’s repose. “But be quick.”

Vanya pulled an extra two blankets up to his chin before she quietly slipped out of the room.

When she returned, he was already half-asleep, just barely coherent enough to accept the medicine before he opened up his arms for his little sister to climb into.

Uncomfortable as she felt surrounded by the heat that was radiating from Luther’s body, Vanya felt satisfied when she felt his arms stop shaking around her frame, relaxing into the sleep he so desperately needed.

She waited for the sound of his congested snoring to be sure he was really asleep. Then she slid easily out of his arms and out the door, making sure to ruffle his hair once for good measure and pull the blankets up to his chin one last time before leaving him for the night.

[themiddlelayer]

It Comes in Waves...

The recognition of all the little things about my life before Tampa that were ‘normal’ and expected of me that were SO not normal or okay. This one comes with another dose of the ‘fuck you if you decide to read this’ to MM. 

Our home is never under 70 degrees. As a matter of fact most days Tampa is the one to turn the heat up because I’m still so conditioned to just wear another layer rather than risking the house getting too hot. 

MM was prone to dropping the AC into the mid-60′s in the morning because he got too hot while showering and getting dressed in the morning. There were days that he forgot to change the thermostat before leaving the house. He slept with a cooling pad on his side of the bed and the bed jet while I did the cliff-hanger thing in leggings and long sleeves, wrapped in extra blankets... shivering so badly that I struggled to fall asleep some nights. 

I love the smell of lavender and would occasionally use a lavender sheet spray when I changed the sheets... but only if MM wasn’t home and I had time to air out the room because he didn’t like the smell. Tampa washed the sheets yesterday because he bought us a heated mattress pad. He put lavender oil on the wool balls in the dryer because he loves the smell. 

We have a pretty standard hallway set up where there’s a switch at each end for the light. I turned that light off one night recently and realized that off was the “up” position outside our bedroom door. MM would walk across the house to ‘fix it’ if I turned the light on/off and left it in the ‘wrong spot.’ 

When I cook one of my vegan meals, Tampa just makes himself ‘bachelor chow.’ That’s it. He just feeds himself and is okay eating something different for dinner when he doesn’t want what I’ve cooked. He never asks me “What’s for dinner?” 

I made french toast for breakfast and twisted the bread closed, tossing the clip in the trash before instinctively cringing. MM’s mother used to beat him with her cane while making him close and re-close the bread with the clip with one hand. That’s fucking sad, but that doesn’t make it okay for the loss of the bread clip before the loaf is gone to be something that stressed me out. 

There are so many little things that became normal. I was so used to being the only one with any flexibility to the point where things were just done ‘his way’ because of how he would freak out if I didn’t. I have lived with Tampa for around 3 months and I still whisper to myself “There is no wrong way to load a dishwasher” whenever I clean the kitchen. 

This left me without a gauge of what’s normal... what’s okay... and when I’ve got the right to actually be angry. I’ve spent a good chunk of the day in a ‘therapy session’ with Cookie where she had to remind me that I’m not crazy and I have every right to be upset about the former sub/stalker sending Tampa a picture of her new vibrator while he was at the table with us yesterday. I have every right to put my foot down and tell him that I’m flat out not okay with him having any communication with her because he may have told her when she’s pushed a boundary, but she keeps doing it. Last night he also told me that she called him “Sir” recently. He told her she was not allowed to do that ever again, but that should have been it. And it wasn’t. He gives an inch, she takes a mile. He may take that inch back, but that doesn’t change what’s happening and how she’s trying to work him. 

And I’m not crazy for wanting Tampa to cut out his best friend’s widow. I shouldn’t have to not get on Facebook in order to avoid seeing her react and comment on everything he posts. After he “gave her hell” for listing them as ‘in a relationship’ last week she called him ‘babe’ in another comment. I told him that I may have promised to not contact her that day, but that if she pulls anymore shit that I can’t promise I won’t message her myself. But I shouldn’t have to do that. I shouldn’t have to deal with women that ignore the fact that he’s in a closed relationship and send him inappropriate pictures. Period. 

I have every right to be angry. Not hurt... ANGRY. And I need to learn how to do that because my face is so swollen that it hurts to blink right now. There is too much good in my life to cry like I did today. 

[lolablackwrites]

Private Beach - Zig x MC

Summary: When the heat goes out in their apartment, Zig and MC (Lydia) make plans to keep warm.

Notes: This a fic requested by @shirinalshabra. I’m a little rusty after taking some time off, but I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the request!

To those of you who have requested fics, I’m working through the requests I have in the order in which I received them, so if you requested one but I haven’t written it yet, I promise it’s coming! Thank you for your requests! ❤️

Fanfic Master List

The cold wind stung Zig’s cheeks as he hurried through the parking lot towards the apartment building. He was anxious to get inside where it was warm, especially as the precipitation began to fall, somewhere between snow and rain that bit his skin on impact. Zig ran to his door, frozen fingers fumbling with the key before it finally crunched in the lock and let him into the apartment. Zig sighed with relief as he kicked the door shut behind him, but then stopped. It began to dawn on him that the temperature inside the apartment was only slightly better than it was outside.

“Lydia?” Zig called. He flipped the lightswitch up and the entryway flooded with light. So the power was on, but the apartment was still an icebox. Zig leaned over to examine the thermostat, which was set at 70 degrees.

“In here,” Lydia’s muffled voice called from the bedroom. Zig followed the sound and found the blankets cocooned around what he assumed was his girlfriend.

“Is that you?” Zig asked, smiling at the sight of her.

“Yeah.”

���What’s going on with the heat?”

“Heater’s broken. I called the super, but he said he probably wouldn’t be able to get to it for a couple hours,” she said. “I would’ve gone to Zack’s, but I wanted to be here in case the super got here early.”

“I’m surprised you can hear anything under all those layers,” Zig said with a smirk.

“You can’t see me, but trust me when I say I’m flipping you off,” Lydia replied as Zig bent down to untie his boots.

“Well at least let me into your fort, it’s freezing out here,” Zig said as she shrugged off his jacket, rubbing his hands quickly over his arms to keep some feeling in them. Lydia finally unraveled to reveal herself in fuzzy pajama pants, thick socks, and a hoodie cinched down over her head. Zig crawled under the blankets beside her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him.

“Hi,” he said with a grin, kissing her.

“Hi,” Lydia said, pressing herself tightly against him. “God, it’s so cold in here that I don’t think I even remember what it feels like to be warm.”

“Maybe we need to go on vacation,” Zig said. “Somewhere tropical.”

“Oooh, yes, please,” Lydia said, burying her face in Zig’s neck. She inhaled deeply, pulling in the scent of him into her lungs. “Somewhere with warm sand and sunshine.”

“On a private beach,” Zig added.

“Why private?”

“So that way we won’t get in trouble when I can’t keep my hands to myself,” Zig murmured as he ran a hand up her leg to her hip. Lydia kissed him, her tongue just finding his when Zig slipped a hand under her sweatshirt to touch her lower back. She squealed and practically leaped away from him.

“Oh my god, what?” Zig asked, concerned. Lydia yanked the blankets away from him, thrusting him into the frigid apartment air. “Hey!”

“Your hands are like ice!” Lydia exclaimed, already trying to cocoon again.

“I’m sorry!” Zig laughed as he tugged at the comforter, trying to cover up again. “Stop hogging all the blankets!”

Just then, Zig heard a knock at the door.

“Maybe that’s the super!” Lydia called hopefully from under the blankets. “Will you get the door?”

Zig had already reached for his jacket and put it back on as he stood up.

“You know, that wasn’t fair to steal all the blankets,” Zig joking admonished her.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” Lydia said, wrapping the blankets even more tightly around her. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“Oh yeah?” Zig asked, pausing before he went to answer the door. “What do you have in mind?”

“Once the heat is fixed, we’ll crank it all the way up and pretend like we’re on a private beach,” she called out from within her cotton sushi roll. Zig grinned.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he said. There was another knock at the front door.

“It only applies if our heater gets fixed!”

Zig laughed.

“I’m going, I’m going,” he said as he zipped his jacket and headed for the door to let the super in.

“Love you!”

“Love you, too, gatita.”

[thlpp]

I'm about to go home for about two weeks for the holidays, and I would leave my baby boa here and have a friend check up on him, but he's about to shed :c I don't think he'll be able to do it on his own because of moisture issues. Should I take him on my trip so that I can keep an eye on him?

To answer a question you didn’t ask: Go to a WalMart or a Home Depot or some such, and spend $7.99 on a 40 quart latching tub. On the way home, stop by a pet store and get a heat mat big enough to cover half the bottom of the tub, and a thermostat ($15 and $25 respectively). I recommend Zoo Med products. They cost a touch more, but they last, and also I haven’t seen any of them develop hot spots. Which is important!

When you get home, melt 10 or so holes in the lid or the sides of the new tub (soldering iron works best, but if you don’t have one, you can probably use an awl or a long nail that you hold with pliers -- you can heat that on your stove, and be careful please!).

Now flip that tub upside down. Stick your brand new heat mat on the bottom, to one side, so that you have two temperature zones in the tub. Then tape your thermostat probe to approximately the center of that mat, on the bottom. Aluminum tape is great for that, but any tape will do.

Now flip that tub right side up. I set mine on a folded up blanket to keep the heat in. Manufacturers advise against that, but they assume you won’t be using a thermostat with their product. Even if you set your thermostat to 95F (your body temperature), the heat mat should not be able to get much above say 97, which is still waaay too cool to melt the plastic. But you know, you’re leaving home for a few weeks, so maybe don’t. Maybe just sit the whole thing in your (dry) bath tub or shower if you’re worried about things catching fire.

Now measure the hot spot temperature and set the thermostat so you have the right temperature (90F) on the bottom, inside the tub, right over where you stuck the heat mat. Use one of those heat guns, you may have one already. If not, add that to your shopping list. Walmart and Home Depot both should carry those.

Now put some paper towels, empty tissue boxes, toilet paper and paper towel rolls etc. in there. If you have something to offer your boa to perch on, give them that thing too. Their hides, fake leaves, the whole nine.

And give them a large water bowl. Large, diameter-wise. To increase evaporation. Like, 6-8 inch wide. Fill it with no more than an inch of water. Put it NOT on the hot spot. Done.

Now put your boa in there, latch the bin, secure the lid with bungee cords, binder clips, or some straps, and you’re set. No more humidity issues.

Now you can take off on vacation, and your friend can change your baby’s water when they check on him. They can also lightly mist the enclosure, although that should not be necessary if you follow the steps above. The humidity should stay at or above 65-70 percent easy. Probably more like 80.

He’ll shed like a champ.

To answer your actual question -- please leave him home. A snake in shed is so much more easily stressed, and there’s no way that he’ll have better husbandry on the road than he already receives at home. Snakes die from stress. Like literally, after a few hours in a car, they up and die. So no, don’t take him.

Even if you don’t follow the steps above and don’t set him up in a plastic tub. Still, leave him home. I have no idea what your setup is like, so can’t make suggestions how to optimize it, but I’m sure something can be done. Humidity needs to be fixed, not just for when he’s shedding. I have this general snake optimization guide you can try, or you can send me some pictures of your setup (like, via chat or submission), and I’ll do my best to help.

I am positive whatever needs to be done, can be solved for under 100 bucks, long-term. Probably less.

Good luck and best of wishes to you and your precious boa beb.

[waywardwinterfics]

Bucky/Mayday One Shot

Based on this prompt : “TOUCH ME WITH YOUR COLD FEET ONE MORE TIME!!!”

Pairing: Reader (Mayday) x Bucky Barnes

Shit, you thought, waking up shivering. The heater is broken again. You swung your legs out of bed and padded to the thermostat. Sure enough, it was set to 65, and sure enough, warm air was nowhere to be found. You banged on the heating unit a few times, to no avail. 

“Babe, that never works. Why are you fighting with the radiator again?” A voice called from the bedroom. 

“Because it makes me feel better.” You gave it one last good hard kick, and went back to the room you shared. He was waiting for you, snuggled up under the pile of blankets, cozy as ever. Body heat didn��t seem to escape Bucky the way it did for you; half the nights he was up and prowling around the apartment shirtless despite the cold, night sweats and agitation brimming over, but the man slept like he was dead on the occasions when he did sleep. Tonight was one of those nights. You climbed in beside him, settling down and trying to get warm. 

“I’ll call the landlord in the morning.” He threw an arm haphazardly over you and soon his breathing evened out. You were about to fall asleep too, but you were so damned cold. You curled your stockinged feet up under yourself, pressing them against his solid thighs. He’s always warm, he won’t mind...

“Jesus Fucking Christ!” Bucky jolted nearly a foot off of the bed as soon as your socks touched his bare thigh. “What the fuck Mayday!?” You pulled your feet away quickly, half shocked, but unable to contain a small giggle at his reaction. You clapped your hand over your mouth. 

“Holy shit. Your feet are like ice cubes. Are you that cold?” He put a hand to his forehead, calming down.

You nodded. “Yes. It’s freezing in here and I weigh a solid eighty pounds less than you do. I don’t know how you’re sleeping in your fucking underpants.”

He rolled over, shaking his head. “Ok. Ok. Try again. I’ll try to warm them up.” The look on his face was like he was bracing for a firing squad.

“Oh Jesus, Bucky, don’t be so dramatic.” You pulled your feet up and once more snuggled them up against him, this time accidentally inching too close to his crotch. He lurched away, nearly falling off of his side of the bed.

“Oh my god. Nope. NOPE. Abort mission. NO.” He pushed your feet away as you tried to get them closer to him once more. 

“Come on, I’m so cold. It’ll just take a second to warm up. You’ve got the body heat of an animal.”

“No way, put on more socks or something! Your feet are so cold, I’m having flashbacks to Russia and falling off of trains. Your feet are so cold, I’m gonna wake up in 70 years and think I’m Captain America. You’re feet are so cold, I’m-” He was interrupted by your feet once more trying to find a warm spot, this time up near his armpit. “Gah! Mayday! No! Bad Mayday! You touch me with your cold feet one more time and I will shove you in a military sleeping bag and make you sleep in there all night!”

You sighed, pulling your feet away. “Fine. Be a weenie about it. Leave me wanting. Let my toes freeze. When I walk with a limp I’ll tell everyone it’s your fault.”

“Do you want me to go get you some more socks?” He asked, kind of sort of genuinely concerned. 

““Nah. My feet warmed up while you were whining.”