#And I got lazy looking up the answer for gloves because there were rubber gloves and the disposable ones

[covertblizzard]

me: no goggles... no gloves... was lab safety just not a thing in the 50s?

[misssophiachase]

With or Without You

For Klaroline AU Week - Day 4 - Enemies to Lovers

Rebekah is diagnosed with a virus and sent to the hospital for observation. To help stop the spread, the two people closest to her in the past two weeks need to self-quarantine. The problem is her best friend and her brother can’t stand each other. Forced to live in the same house, will they kill each other or do something entirely different before 14 days is up?

(Please note: I realise this is a difficult time and the subject matter is serious but this drabble is designed to be just a bit of fun during a tough time.) 

“I can’t live with or without you.”

Day 3

“Honestly, Kat, I’m not sure if I can last much longer,” she groaned. “He sings in the shower, badly. he leaves the toilet seat up constantly and don’t get me started on his remote control form. He switches channels that fast I feel like I’m at a rave.”

Caroline lived in Los Angeles with Rebekah Mikaelson, they’d been friends for years. Her brother had shown up recently from London, where he was based, only for Rebekah to develop the virus. She was going to be okay but had been sent to hospital purely for observation purposes meaning they were imprisoned together as a precaution for fourteen whole days. 

To say she wasn’t coping was an understatement. 

“So, you haven’t had sex yet?” She asked matter-of-factly. Even though she was currently staring at Caroline through a computer screen, she still had the annoying ability to cut straight to the awkward part.

“Kat! She hissed, looking down the hall to check he wasn’t listening. “Your inappropriateness knows no bounds even via Skype.”

“The way I see it is the sooner you have sex, the frustration you feel towards each other and the situation will dissipate. And who knows? If the sex is good you’ll not only have something to do to pass the time but you’ll also be getting your required cardio.”

“Seriously,” she growled. “Is sex all you think about?”

“About 90 per cent of the day,” she quipped. “Tell me you have a better idea?”

“Ah, not to sleep with him because he’s an arrogant asshat who thinks the world revolves around him?”

“I don’t think, love, I know,” he called out. Unfortunately, she chose that exact moment to turn around and copped an eyeful.

“Wow, does he work out?” Kat cooed, obviously she’d had the privilege of seeing him too dressed only in a white towel tied low on his hips, his bare chest and six-pack on full display. Caroline felt her mouth go dry and was struggling to form words he looked that delicious. 

“If you use all of the hot water again, Mikaelson, I swear I’ll come in there and..” she paused, realising what she’d alluded to.

“By all means, love,” he murmured, the dimple in his left cheek making an ill-timed appearance. “Maybe that way we can conserve water.”

“You are unbelievable,” she muttered. “Not if we were the last two people on the planet and we had to repopulate the earth.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me, Forbes,” he chuckled, shutting the bathroom door behind him.

“You are so screwed figuratively and literally, ” Kat laughed. Caroline didn’t respond knowing her friend was right. 

She should have hated him, in fact she had since they met eleven years earlier. Caroline had befriended Rebekah during sophomore year at high school. They were both cheerleaders and had bonded over music and drama club. 

Rebekah was new to her school, so too her brothers Kol, Elijah and Niklaus. The first two were polar opposites personality-wise but she got along with them famously. The problem was with Niklaus, or Klaus as he liked to be called.

They’d clashed from the outset. It started with a few stray insults and developed into more insults and pranks. Apparently everyone thought it was a passing phase but it wasn’t ending anytime soon. 

However, being locked up with him in quarantine was doing all sorts of strange things to her. In fact, she was experiencing all these not-so innocent urges. She wanted to blame it on Kat’s innuendo or that fact he swanned around the house barely clothed but there was definitely something bigger at play here.

Day 5

“She keeps making me watch all of these bad movies, only cooks meals with weird and unidentified grains and apparently the living room is her personal gymnasium,” he complained. 

Klaus Mikaelson didn’t do roommates and there was a very good reason why. He liked his space and he liked walking around partially naked but suddenly he was thrown into this quarantine situation which was a complete minefield. 

“I said I’d only take this Skype call if you didn’t complain about Caroline Forbes, Niklaus, but yet here we are again,” Enzo growled. “You two need to get a room and pronto.”

“We have rooms, in fact, we have a whole house of rooms and yet that still isn’t enough distance between us,” he muttered. “I am going to go crazy locked up in here with her.”

“And the best dramatic Oscar performance goes to...”

“You would feel exactly the same way, Lorenzo,” he argued. “Caroline Forbes is nothing but a spoilt princess who thinks the world revolves around her.”

“I don’t think, I know, asshat,” she drawled finding her way into his room while repeating his sentiments from two days earlier. No doubt just to push his buttons that much more. 

What Klaus wasn’t expecting was for her to look so wet doing it. Yes, she was wearing yellow, rubber gloves but her white t-shirt was soaked through revealing a very lacy bra and some rather pronounced nipples no doubt due to the temperature. 

“Holy...” Enzo murmured before Klaus shut his laptop with a bang. He figured it was the least he could do to protect her innocence and it had absolutely nothing to do with jealousy whatsoever. Or that’s what he told himself.

“You’re here in my room...wet,” he mumbled, trying to look anywhere but exactly where his eyes wanted to go. 

“I’m trying to clean up after your lazy ass,” she groaned. “You do realise how germs spread right? Maybe if you took better care to clean up after yourself then we wouldn’t be experiencing our current predicament.”

“I’m aware of our current predicament, trust me,” he shot back. “Since when did cleaning end in a drenching. I know you like me, Forbes, but I can see everything.” She looked down in complete shock, his comment having the desired effect.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered, pulling off her wet gloves and throwing them in his direction before leaving his room, no doubt to change her top. 

“I’m the one who’s spreading germs?” He cried out, attempting to remove the dirty gloves from the bed. 

Klaus and Caroline had never gotten along in the eleven years they’d known each other. Klaus decided from the outset that Rebekah truly was evil bringing her into his life and home. Caroline had this annoying ability to get under his skin and Klaus unfortunately let her.

His friends and brothers told him it was because he liked her deep down. Sure she was hot. there was no denying that, but he’d prided himself on maintaining his distance. Well, that was until he was forced to live in such close quarters for two whole weeks. 

His willpower was waning and Klaus wasn’t sure he could go the distance.

Day 7

“Would you stop switching channels so fast, it makes it a little difficult to see what’s actually on,” she offered, rolling her eyes as she said it. 

They were seated on the couch, the long, uneventful days were taking their toll and the fact they still had another week to go wasn’t doing much for their morale. 

“There’s nothing on so it doesn’t really matter,” he replied in frustration. “I’m so bored! And if you dare suggest cleaning again I will confiscate your rubber gloves.”

“Well, what else is there to do?” She mumbled. “And please spare me from running around the place half naked again, I’d like to keep down my dinner.”

“Come on, you secretly love my naked form,” he smirked. Her tell-tale blush was giving her away instantly. “You know I’m not that bad once you get to know me.”

“Funny, the past week hasn’t unearthed any new or redeemable features that I can tell,” she answered. 

“Just so you know those little insults of yours don’t offend me in the slightest bit so please just give it a break, Forbes.”

“Well, what do you suggest we do to pass the time?” She asked, obviously not realizing just how loaded her question was. 

They were seated on the couch, only a few feet apart, if either of them were to just lean forward they could do something really stupid. Or really fun, depending on who you asked. 

“Fine,” she said, reading his mind. “But if we do this, don’t think this means I like you in any way, Mikaelson,” she clarified.

“The feeling is mutual, trust me, sweetheart,” he agreed. They paused momentarily almost as if they were thinking about the very prominent line they were about to cross and weighing up the pros and cons. 

It didn’t take much consideration as he pulled her greedily towards him so she was straddling his lap. Caroline never knew just how crimson his lips were from this vantage point, Klaus was thinking the same about her blue eyes.

He ran his hands along her cheek, his thumbs rubbing circles over her skin. Her heart was racing and given she was practically touching his chest she knew his was too.

There was no going back.

His lips found hers, slowly at first almost like he was taking his time to discover every inch of her mouth. She moaned against him as his tongue dipped into her warmth. She tasted like a heady mixture of mint and chocolate from dessert and now Klaus had tasted her once he wasn’t ready to give her up anytime soon.  

Caroline grasped his neck, her fingers playing with the stray curls at the nape as she melted into his kisses. Klaus knew it wouldn’t be long given just how much he’d wanted her all these years.

He stood up, and wound her toned legs around his waist, careful not to break contact. They made their way quickly to the bedroom excited for what was in store. 

Turns out the sex continued longer than seven days and also out of quarantine. In fact, the sex turned into dating and the dating turned into an engagement. At their wedding, Kat, Rebekah and Enzo regaled the guests with stories about how they got together when they were forced together in lockdown. 

Who said quarantine was necessarily a bad thing?

[weirdlyokaywithit]

It’s getting hot in here

Firefighter!Bucky x Reader 

Warnings: fluff, some swearing.

Summary: Bucky clears your apartment building and then saves your life from a fire.

It was cleaning day, the most dreaded day of the week, which meant to combat your laziness and not wanting to do anything all day you blasted only top hits through your loft you could jam too. You’d been putting this off for awhile so there was quite the buildup of clutter and dishes.

You danced around your kitchen, bright yellow gloves on with a sponge in hand as you belted the lyrics to “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood. You stopped between breaths to actually scrub the countertops, you were in a giant Patriots t shirt that used to be your dads and panties. It was a warm day so you had the windows open to air out the loft.

“AND I DUG MY KEY INTO THE SI-“ a hand came down on your shoulder and you let out a shrill scream.

You spun on your heel and hurled the blue sponge towards your attacker. It landed square in the face of a very handsome and amused fireman, his blue eyes shocked as he looked down at the object that had just been launched into his face.

Your hands covered your mouth, “I am SO sorry!”

You rushed to pause the music and he laughed, you spun around facing him then suddenly realizing you were only wearing a t shirt and panties.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you doll. We’re gonna have to ask you to evacuate the building as there’s a gas leak.” The cute fireman grinned cheekily at you

Your cheeks engulfed in flames, you nodded but didn’t move from where you were standing.

“I, um, I just need to put some pants on and grab a few things.”

His eyes strayed down from your gaze for a split second before his grin got a bit wider and his cheeks tinged pink. God why did he have to be so damn cute?

“Yeah, doll, it might be a few days before they can clear the building for civilians to be back in,” his voice was gravelly and warm.

His blue eyes were so hypnotizing, the cheeky grin, and that shoulder-length brown hair, god this man was sex on a damn stick. You forced yourself to look away and peel the rubber gloves off your hands, realizing how ridiculous you must have looked.

“Doll?” He asked bringing me back to the present.

“Yeah, um, I’m gonna need you to not look while I run to my bedroom,” You squeaked, not meeting his eyes.

Cute fireman grinned cheekily and then placed a gloved hand over his eyes, you darted for your room and stuck your legs into a pair of leggings in record time. You grabbed your necessities and shoved them into a bag, slid your feet into Birkenstock’s and walked back into the living room. He was still there and he was playing with the interlocking burr puzzle that normally sat on your coffee table, his eyes squinted and his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration.

“You’re still here?” You asked curiously.

His eyes shot to yours and he grinned as he set the puzzle down on the coffee table and pulled out a notepad.

“Yeah, I have to get names and phone numbers of residents so we can call when the building is cleared. I’m Bucky, by the way,” he stuck his hand out.

“I’m Y/N Y/L/N.” You said softly.

When you shook Bucky’s hand, butterflies shot through you at the contact. You forced yourself to let go of his hand and calmly recite your phone number for him, trying not to focus on how nervous he made you.

“Alright, as much as I hate for the live concert to end. Let’s get you outta here, Y/N,” Bucky teased as he led you out of your loft.

“I’m never playing music again,” Y/N groaned, your hand covering your eyes.

Bucky walked by your side down the stairs, other firemen passing nodded at him and some glanced at you curiously.

“No, really, I hated to interrupt the most beautiful rendition of Carrie Underwood I’ve ever seen,” he bumped your shoulder playfully.

You glared at him playfully and bumped him back, cheeks still pink but you were smiling. He tucked some of the chestnut strands in his face behind his ear, and that simple movement was mesmerizing.

“Ya know, technically you owe me ticket money for sneaking into a live show like that,” You snarked as you reached the sidewalk.

His mouth popped open into an mock offended ‘O’ and he placed a hand on his chest theatrically.

“I just saved your life from a gas leak! Call it even?”

You giggled and his grin sent a shot of pleasure through your body as you shook your head.

“Hmmmm, we’ll see about that, Mr Fireman. I’ll think about it,” You teased.

“Alright, doll, I have to go back and clear more residents but we’ll give you a call when the building is clear. You keep that concert going for me alright?” He winked at you before turning back to the building.

You pulled out your phone and called your best friend, Wanda, to see if you could stay with her for a few days. She of course agreed and said that Nat had a few days off of work so it would be like a long girls night. After ordering an Uber you played on your phone as you waited for your ride to arrive, glancing up to see if any of the firemen mulling around were Bucky. None of the ones already outside were Bucky but you could hear them talking about a Captain Barnes being back to his old self.

The car finally got there and you slid into the back seat and got settled, looking out the window as the car pulled away from the curb. You saw Bucky coming out with an elderly man from the third floor, he was carrying a bag for him and helping him into a cab. His smile was kind and his eyes were warm as he teased the old man.

After a few seconds you couldn’t see him anymore and you slouched back into the seat, playing on your phone for the twenty minute ride to Nat and Wanda’s apartment. Wanda was waiting outside for you when you got there, she clapped excitedly when you got out and you rolled your eyes. She had already told Clint, the head of security that she would have a gues for the next couple of days.

You and Wanda bickered on what show to watch before you both settled on watching Friends while Nat ordered Chinese food and poured red wine. When she got off the phone she handed you a glass of red and settled back on the couch.

“So, why are you stranded on our couch for a few days?” She asked, taking a sip of wine.

“Gas leak in the building, they’re supposed to call when it’s clear.”

“Wasn’t today cleaning day?” Wanda asked, her eyes glued to the screen.

You flushed, god you did not want to relive this story but you were going to have to tell them.

“Yeah, about that... a very handsome fireman saw me dancing around and belting Carrie Underwood in just my t shirt and panties.” Y/N squeaked, sinking down into the cushions.

Wanda immediately paused the episode and turned to you with excitement all over her face.

“What?!”

“Yeah and then I hit him in the face with a sponge because he scared me,” You groaned, hand over your eyes.

Nat roared with laughter from the other couch, and Wanda seemed to be struggling not to join her.

“It’s not funny, it’s HUMILIATING!” You griped which only made Wanda dissolve into a fit of laughter and Nat literally double over.

You covered your face with a throw pillow and groaned loudly, that was NOT the introduction you wanted to a hot fireman. You removed the pillow and just glued your eyes to the tv, Y/N could admit if it wasn’t you that it happened to you definitely would be laughing.

“What did he SAY?” Nat got out between fits of laughter.

“Well he did say it was the best rendition of Carrie Underwood he had ever heard,” You snarked.

“He was totally flirting with you!!” Wanda exclaimed and Nat nodded her agreement.

You rolled your eyes dramatically, Wanda wanted so badly to find you a boyfriend after her and Vis got together. She wanted someone to double date with, unfortunately for her you self-sabotaged more than anyone else on the planet. Every single date she set you up on you had effectively made sure that they didn’t want a second one, it was more to do with personal issues than anything else. You were terrified of being in a relationship after your last boyfriend.

“Wanda. He was not flirting with me.”

Nat watched Wanda with amusement dancing in her eyes as the girl’s eyes basically bugged out of her head with disbelief.

“He walked in on you dancing in your underwear, belting Carrie Underwood in NO makeup. And you hit him in the FACE with a sponge. But he still managed to tease you. He was flirting with you but go off.” Wanda snarked.

You took a huge gulp of your wine and groaned, this wasn’t gonna end. Nat grinned from the other couch at you, she finally had told Wanda that she wasn’t interested in dating until after she came to terms with some emotional baggage. Unfortunately for you, that’s the only excuse that Wanda accepted and you couldn’t use it.

“I hate you.” You stated and snagged the remote to resume the episode.

“You love me. And you know I’m right,” she huffed.

“Wrong.” You rolled your eyes again.

Wanda made a disgruntled hmph sound and let us get back to Friends, you snuck a glance at Nat who discreetly shook her head at you while she grinned. We loved our friend but she was the absolute worst at meddling.

_______________________________________

It had been three days since the gas leak in the building, which meant three whole days of Wanda pestering you about Bucky. You’d called the landlord to see if it was over with and he said they were waiting to be cleared for civilians.

Finally deciding to do something worth your time, you were tapping away at the keys on your computer working on a report for work. Sam had been bugging you about it for a few days and you finally had the time to work on it.

You hit the green button and answered with a slightly annoyed, “hello?”

“Um, hey, is this Y/N Y/L/N?” A familiar voice asked down the line.

“Yes, who is this?”

“Oh, good, uh this is Bucky. Um, Captain Barnes from the Fire Department. Your apartment building has been cleared for civilians,” his rich voice sounded like silk through the phone.

“Oh, okay. Well thank you for calling! And again so sorry for hitting you in the face with a sponge,” You rambled, cheeks tinging pink even though he couldn’t see them.

“Like I said, most beautiful version of Carrie Underwood I’ve ever heard. I’d love to catch another live concert sometime,” he chuckled and butterflies fluttered in your stomach.

“I’ll consider sending tickets for the next one,” You joked and his snort was the most adorable sound you’d ever heard.

“Anyways, I’ve got another thirty of these calls to make Y/N, so I’ll let you go. But, seriously, keep the concert going dollface.” Bucky didn’t sound thrilled at all about making calls all, you giggled to yourself thinking of all the neighbors he was probably calling.

“Have fun with that, Mrs. Jenkins is a real treat.” You teased and he laughed again.

“Bye, Y/N,” his rich timbre sounding down the line one last time.

“Bye Bucky.”

________________________________

“Y/N,” Sam called.

Your head shot up, you’d been totally zoned out for the last five minutes of whatever conversation you’d been pretending to be involved with. Bucky had not left your mind at all, his twinkling blue eyes, charismatic smile, that fucking boyish brown hair. It was doing a number on you that even you had to admit was embarrassing.

“Sorry, Sam, my mind is elsewhere. What can I do?” You smiled sheepishly at your favorite coworker.

He scoffed and the muttered a passive “nevermind” before leaving your office. It was only mid-morning so you were heavily engrossed in paperwork, one of your biggest clients had a massive family turmoil so they were changing their will so they were taking forever to get everything changed. You were back and forth on the phone, gathering documents and legal questions for you to answer and them change their mind.

The fire alarm started going off, the red light flashing and then the automated voice came over the speaker. You rolled your eyes annoyed, stuck your head out of your office door and yelled if it was a drill or not. Stacy from two office down called back that it was the 25th so it was probably a drill. You sat back down at your desk, and got back to gathering the stuff you needed for your 2o’clock meeting. Ten minutes had passed before you noticed the smoke coming through the bottom of your door.

The smell finally reached your nostrils before you leapt from your office chair and rushed to the door. It was NOT a drill, there was an actual fire on your office. Panickedly remembering the doorknob rule, you held the back of your hand to the knob. Cold. You flung the door open and rushed to alert Stacy, screaming for her to quickly come out.

The both of you rushed to the stairwell and flung it open, it was filled with smoke. It was so thick that you couldn’t see through it. You were on the third floor, it was an older building which meant. One stairwell. The window was your only option.

“We have to try and signal someone from the window,” you dragged Stacy to your office and struggled with the blinds in a panic.

You flung the window open and looked down at the street, you could see firefighters killing around at the bottom.

“HEY UP HERE!! WE’RE STUCK! HELP!” Stacy yelled, her grip on your arm deathly strong.

“HELP, SOMEBODY HELP US! PLEASE HELP!”

No one looked up, it was like they couldn’t hear over the sirens. You waved frantically before you spotted a familiar mop of boyish brown hair, it couldn’t be.

“BUCKY!! BUCKY HELP US!” You screamed as loud as you could.

His head shot up, glancing around before actually looking up and spotting the two of you.

“Y/N?!?!”

He frantically called for someone to shut off the siren and get the ladder before calling back up to you.

“DOLL, JUST HANG ON FOR ME, I’M COMING TO GET YOU!”

The smoke in the office was getting thicker, Stacy was coughing and hacking, her hand pressed to her chest. You moved back so she could get a breath of clean air, you remembered that she had asthma and you couldn’t live with yourself for making her sick or causing a really bad attack. The door was shut but the smoke was still coming through and it was thick. You peeked over Stacy’s shoulder and saw a ladder coming up to the window, you let out a sigh of relief when you saw Bucky on it.

He reached the window and you shoved Stacy towards him, “She has asthma take her first.”

Bucky looked back and forth between the two of you, he looked torn but you weren’t having any part of it.

“Take her, I’ll be fine. Promise.”

His mouth set in a line, he assisted Stacy onto the ladder and lowered them back down. You nervously chewed your lip while trying to breathe as much clean air as possible, unable to keep from coughing. You leaned heavily against the window, it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

“Y/N, DOLL, HANG ON. DON’T YOU CLOSE THOSE PRETTY EYES FOR ME. IM ALMOST THERE.” You could hear Bucky frantically calling but it was like there was a fog on your brain.

It was so hard to breathe and you were so tired, you rested your head against the window pane. You nodded to him but you didn’t know if you could keep them open, he was no more than a couple feet from you. You could hear him swearing and saw him reaching for you. And that’s when you collapsed.

__________________________________________

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

God whatever that incessant beeping was it needed to stop immediately, you thought to yourself. You blinked your eyes open, and realized that not only were you not in your bed but you were in a hospital room. You shot up and groaned almost instantly at the pain that shot through your head, the rhythmic beeping started increasing to a more frantic speed when the door open.

Bucky walked in holding a cup of coffee, whistling quietly to himself. His blue eyes found yours and widened almost comically before he rushed over to you.

“Y/N, doll, how are you feeling?” He asked, ushering you to lay back on the reclined bed.

“I... what happened? I remember telling you to get Stacy but that’s it.” You scratched your head as you squinted.

“You passed out and then hit your head really fucking hard on the window sill in your office, you have a concussion and a few stitches. I climbed in and got you out and brought you here myself.” Bucky explained, his fingers brushing along the top of your forehead. And that explained the pounding headache.

“Great.” You groaned.

“Y/N, you shouldn’t have even been in the building still.” Bucky’s tone was now stern.

You flushed and looked down at your hands, no you shouldn’t have been in the building still but you were an idiot. A massive fucking idiot.

“I know. Me and Stace thought it was a drill so we just stayed up there. And then I noticed some smoke so I ran to go get her and we tried to go down the stairs but I couldn’t even see the smoke was so thick. And so then we tried the window. No one could hear us yelling but then I saw you and so I just started screaming your name.” You trailed off, he had every right to yell at you and so you tensed waiting for it.

Bucky grabbed your hand and caressed the back of it softly, you slowly raised your eyes to his and he was smiling.

“It’s okay, you’re okay. Stacy is fine. She got some oxygen at the scene and got to go home. You got a fun ride in a fire truck with me screaming for Steve to hurry up and fucking drive. Carried you in here. Caused a huge scene. I mean I couldn’t let me favorite singer die on me without giving me a full concert first,” he teased.

You flushed. “Now I really owe you a concert huh?”

He grinned and the heart monitor gave you away as your heart started thumping faster. Bucky winked cheekily at you and you bit your lip, his eyes tracked the movement and he leaned in slightly. His blue eyes flicking back up to yours as if for approval, whatever he saw there was all he needed to close the distance.

His lips pressed to yours and the butterflies in your stomach turned into pterodactyls, you parted your lips slightly and Bucky took the invitation. His tongue swiped against yours and you let out a small whimper against his mouth.

And at that moment the door flung open and a nurse walked in, Bucky quickly pulled back from you.

“Oh!! Sorry I just need to check vitals. Glad to see you’re awake, ma’am.”

She worked quickly and you watched as she checked your vitals and wrote them in your chart before she excused herself and murmured something about the doctor being by shortly.

You and Bucky stared at each other before both trying to speak at once.

“Will you go to dinner with me?”

“I can’t stop thinking about you.”

You both laughed and grinned at each other, Bucky leaned in and pressed his lips gently to yours.

“I have to go back to work, but doll I’ll be back right after my shift is over. And I’m taking you out to dinner.” His lips grazing your forehead.

You flushed and nodded, and watched his sexy ass walk out of the door and definitely catching the cheeky wink he threw behind him.

____________________________

Giant shoutout to @valkyriesryde for helping me get this done. I love you 😍❤️

[vannahfanfics]

Before you read, here’s the previous chapter. New? Start from the beginning!

Daffodils Bloom After Winter

Ao3

Chapter 7: Stubborn Weeds, Stalwart Bloom

The pad of Ayumi’s index finger tapped slowly against her pursed lips as she hunched over, peering thoughtfully into the glass display case. Her breath fogged slightly in front of her nose, partially eclipsing her view of the assortment of raw meats arranged on parchment paper. Beef or chicken? Beef… or chicken? she debated with a slight furrow of her eyebrows. She had a box of noodles that she’d meant to finish off for a few days, and she did buy some green onions on sale this morning, in addition to the other necessities she’d procured on her shopping trip. If I pick up some mushrooms, eggs, and other odds and ends, I can make some chicken tonkatsu ramen, she realized with a small smile. 

“Excuse me! I’d like a pound of chicken breast, please!” she called out to the butcher, who had been chopping up prime rib while waiting for the teacher to make her selection. With a jovial smile and some friendly small talk, he wrapped up some white chicken breast in paper packaging, even throwing in a few extra ounces for “providing such a valuable service to the community.” After bowing graciously several times to him, hugging the chicken to her chest, she hurriedly scurried out of the store to buy the rest of the ingredients. 

As she pushed the door open with her hip and carefully lowered the meat into her shopping bag, a small red ball came bouncing up. It slowed to a roll to nudge against the toes of her flats. Ayumi looked up to see Shikadai trotting up, holding a stick in one hand. 

“Sorry, Miss Ayumi,” he apologized as he swooped down to retrieve the ball. He propped the stick on his shoulder as he straightened back up, eyebrows raised as he regarded her curiously. “Out shopping?” 

“That’s right,” she said as she stepped out of the doorway so as not to inconvenience any other customers. She propped her shopping bag on the nearby windowsill to give her arms a break, smiling down at the boy as she stretched her arms and rolled her shoulders. Carrying around a sack of vegetables and meat puts an ache in your shoulders after a while. “Are you out with your father today?” 

“Nah.” Pursing his lips distastefully, he began bouncing the rubber ball with the end of the stick. She could see that the bark was starting to wear smooth, evidence that this wasn’t an irregular occurrence. “Dad woke up in a bad mood today, so he’s moping at home. I don’t really like to be around him when he gets like that. I was playing with Chocho and Inojin, but they went home for lunch, so I’m out playing by myself.” 

The little boy said it so casually that it broke Ayumi’s heart even more. Shikadai tapped the rubber ball with the stick repeatedly, bouncing it against the sandy village road with lidded eyes. What a sad existence to watch your friends be called home by loving mothers and fathers while you were left to fend for yourself as your one surviving parent battled crippling depression— and what a sadder existence still to understand that was happening but be unable to do anything about it. As he lowered the stick and caught the ball in mid-air, a loud gurgling rumbled from Shikadai’s tummy. 

“Th-that wasn’t me,” he blurted as his cheeks flared pink. Ayumi smiled knowingly and crouched down eye-level with him, though he stubbornly turned his blue eyes away from her gaze. 

“Shikadai, would you like to come to my house for lunch today?” 

The corner of the boy’s mouth twitched as he tried to conceal his expression. However, as his stomach yowled insistently for nourishment, his blush darkened and crept up to his jagged hairline. His eyes slowly rolled to peek bashfully at Ayumi through thick lashes. 

“Well, um… Those groceries look pretty heavy. I guess I could help you carry them home, and then you could make me lunch as payment…” Shikadai offered as he slowly turned up his nose. Ayumi had to giggle at his adorable effort to remain dignified. 

“Deal,” she nodded and pushed on her thighs so she could stand back up. Shikadai tucked the ball into his pocket and the stick under his arm before walking over to the windowsill to grab the paper bag of groceries. As he slid it off and its weight sank fully into his body, he wobbled a bit with a surprised yelp. Ayumi playfully raised an eyebrow at him. “Got it?”

“Got it!” he wheezed through gritted teeth. The green onions jittered in the bag as his arms trembled slightly from the weight. Chuckling, Ayumi removed the pound of chicken to lighten his load a bit. He pouted at her, but his arms stopped quivering, so he didn’t openly object to the help. He waddled alongside Ayumi as she finished her grocery run and then walked the short distance home, then carefully navigated the smooth rocks of her garden pathway and her porch steps before bustling into her house. He dropped the bag on the kitchen counter with a loud sigh, discreetly massaging the muscles of his arms when he thought Ayumi couldn’t see. 

As she laid out all the ingredients for lunch, he clambered up into one of her kitchen chairs, sitting on his knees and resting his hands in his cheeks. 

“What are you making?” 

“Chicken tonkatsu ramen,” she responded as she retrieved her apron from a hook and tied it over her sundress. “Is that all right?” 

“Yeah, that’s fine. I like ramen,” he answered shyly, looking away. Ayumi began boiling a pot of water for the noodles, then began cutting the vegetables as she waited for the liquid to heat up and start bubbling. Between the rhythmic chops of the knife blade against the cutting board, she could hear Shikadai tapping his fingers and huffing boredly. 

“Shikadai, would you like to help me cook? Or, if not, I have something else you can do for me.” 

She almost burst into laughter at how fast he slid out of the chair to scurry to her side. 

“What do you need help with, Miss Ayumi? I’ll do whatever you need!” he promised. Ayumi gifted him a sweet smile, setting down the knife and boosting him up onto the counter so he could look out her kitchen window. He balanced himself on his knees on the thin wedge of countertop in front of her sink and grasped the windowsill, looking out with knitted eyebrows. 

“See that empty space over there?” she said, pointing to a patch of empty grass in-between two of her flower beds. “The last flowers I planted there didn’t do so well, but I’m thinking about planting some new ones, ones that will grow over the winter and bloom in spring.” Shikadai turned to look at her with owlish, inquisitive eyes. “But before I can do that, I need to get rid of the weeds! I’ve been too busy to do it myself, so I would be really grateful if a smart, capable young ninja could do it for me.” 

Shikadai flushed shyly as she tossed a wink in with her compliment. He scratched at the side of his neck as he considered the proposal, studying the dandelions and spriggy weeds overtaking the grass by the fence. 

“What’ll you do with the weeds?” 

Ayumi straightened up in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to ask such a thing. He continued to stare out at them, strangely blank-faced. “They’re just tryin’ to grow too. It seems kinda sad to just rip ‘em up because they aren’t as pretty as flowers. Maybe they’re a little ragged and plain, but… I kind of like weeds. No matter how many times you step on ‘em or tear ‘em out, they still keep trying to grow.”

Ayumi felt her heart swell. Such a sweet boy… Like a little weed trying his best to survive in such a daunting environment. No wonder he’s a little protective of them. Well, the last thing she was going to do was call him silly. 

“Well, now, I’ve never considered that before, but you’re quite right. It does seem unfair to the weeds, now, doesn’t it?” Ayumi said, walking over to the now-boiling water to dump the pasta in. As she swirled it around, she hummed thoughtfully. “You know, I have a cracked old flower pot that I’ve been meaning to repair, but if we plant the weeds around it, it’ll make quite the unique, rustic display, don’t you think? I bet if you’re really careful, you can dig up the weeds with the root intact and just move them over there. Then, we can plant the pretty flowers, and the weeds can grow undisturbed. How does that sound, Shikadai?” she asked, smiling at him over her shoulder. 

“Okay!” he grinned and hopped off the counter. Laughing, Ayumi left the noodles to cook while fixing him up with all the gardening necessities— a trowel, some gardening gloves, and a gardening apron. He was a little upset that she only had “girly ones with flowers on them,” so she promised that she would have a “boyish” one for him the next time he came over. The implied promise to let him garden again sent him in such a joyful tizzy that he burst out the front door before Ayumi had the chance to fold over the edge of the apron, so he tripped over it and face-planted across the threshold. He took it like a champ, stubbornly rubbing his reddened nose and blinking the tears out of his eyes and insisting that “as a tough ninja, he could handle it.” 

Ayumi showed him where the broken pot was nestled against the back of her house next to her watering hose before returning to the kitchen, leaving him to his task. She occasionally glanced out the window to check up on him. It was quite refreshing to see the ordinarily lazy Shikadai so engrossed in something; he steadfastly dug up the weeds with the trowel, carefully working around the delicate, thread-thin roots, before gingerly carrying them around the side of the house to the cracked pot. He then scoured out a tiny bit of the dark, damp earth, placed the weed in the hole, and then softly covered it back up. 

Right as she was adding the garnish to two steaming bowls of ramen, Shikadai came tromping into the kitchen. Soil was smeared across the apron and his face; at some point, he’d gotten annoyed that the gloves were slightly too big for him, so he’d abandoned them in favor of digging with his fingers, leaving them caked in the rich earth. He sheepishly smiled as Ayumi raised her eyebrow at him. 

“I, erm… I’m gonna wash my hands.” 

While he spent several minutes scrubbing the dirt from his palms and fingers and out from underneath his fingernails, Ayumi carried the bowls over to the kitchen. She treaded carefully, mouth slightly parted in concentration as the simmering broth sloshed at the edges of the painted ceramic. She managed to deliver both of them without burning herself, though her fingers had pinkened and stung just a little. She poured herself and some Shikadai two glasses of cold, refreshing milk tea. 

“Man, I’m starving,” Shikadai grinned with his tongue sticking out as he climbed into his seat. So starving he forgot to wash his face, Ayumi appreciated while hiding a chuckle behind her hand. He scooped up a healthy amount of the noodles with his chopsticks, blowing on them a few times, before sucking them into his mouth. “Mhmm,” he hummed appreciatively. This time, Ayumi had to laugh at the green onion stuck at the corner of his lip. 

“I’m glad you like it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had guests,” she chuckled as she used a napkin to dab away the bit of minced vegetable. Shikadai looked at her with bright eyes as he continued to chow down on her homemade ramen. 

“So you really just live here by yourself?” 

“That’s right,” she said, swirling her noodles around to soak up some broth before taking a dainty bite. “My parents retired to a remote village out east. My father is handicapped, so they don’t travel very often, and due to my job, it’s hard to make time to go see them,” she explained. 

“And you’re not married.” 

Ayumi snorted at the bold statement, which caused hot broth to surge right up her nasal passages. She dropped the chopsticks as she hacked and coughed, tears streaming from her eyes as the delicate mucosa burned. She shot the boy a glare as he cackled with giddy laughter. 

“Shikadai! There are some things you don’t ask a woman about, and that’s one of them!” 

“But it’s true!” he grinned cheekily as he bit into his boiled egg, sending yolk spilling everywhere. “Yanno, maybe if you didn’t have your nose in a book all the time, you would be married.” 

“Humph!” she huffed haughtily while scrubbing her broth-splattered face with her napkin. “If more men appreciated women who had their noses stuck in books, the world would be a much better— and much smarter— place!” 

“Haha, you’re probably right. Some people are pretty dumb.” 

“Like you, silly boy!” she jeered, poking him in the forehead with the business end of her chopsticks. He yelped and ducked his head away, laughing. “I invite you into my home, and you repay me by teasing me for being single? What about you, huh? Get yourself a girlfriend!” 

“No way! Girls are a drag!” Shikadai objected disgustedly. 

“Uh-huh,” Ayumi tittered with a waggle of her head. “Give it a few years, and you’ll be of a different opinion.” 

“Nuh-uh! Never! All they do is nag and bicker and whine!” 

“What are you trying to say about me, huh?” she grinned evilly, clacking her chopsticks at him. Shikadai gulped, then snatched up his ramen to take off running. “Hey! Get back here!” Ayumi cried and jumped up from the table to chase after him. They tore across her house, spilling broth and noodles everywhere as Shikadai desperately tried to simultaneously eat and evade her, but they were having too much fun to care. She finally caught him back in the kitchen, grabbing him in a light chokehold and jabbing the chopsticks into his back. “Not so tough now, huh?” she laughed as he giggled and squirmed in her hold. “This’ll teach ya to respect your elders!” 

They both froze when three loud knocks echoed through Ayumi’s house. They stood there for a moment, befuddled as they came down from their giddy high until she realized the sound meant that someone was at her door. She swiped some splashed broth off her face and quickly called, “Coming!” before hurrying over. 

She wasn’t sure who she expected, but it sure wasn’t Shikamaru. 

Oh my goodness. He looks awful, was the first thing she thought. He was slouched in her doorway, supporting his weight by leaning against the doorjamb. He’d thrown up his unbrushed, unwashed hair into a messy ponytail, but several loose, wavy sprigs fell down into his face over his dull eyes. Dark, black rings had made a home underneath them, a stark contrast to his pale and sweaty complexion. His eyelashes fluttered as Ayumi opened the door, the dimmest of lights returning to his eyes— like a dead man coming back to life, just barely. 

“Sorry to stop by unannounced.” His voice was thick, hollow— almost like it belonged to a ghost of him and not the real thing. “I asked around for your address,” he explained with a slight cough at her silent question of how he’d managed to find his way here. “I went looking for Shikadai around town, and one of the shopkeepers told me he went home with you.”

“O-oh, um, yes. Shikadai helped me do some work around the house,” she explained lamely. He grunted in response. His dark gaze slid over her shoulder to fixate on his son standing awkwardly in the hall. She glanced back to see the child fisting the dirty apron, eyes wide and lips pinched together as he regarded his father hesitantly. “Sh-Shikamaru,” Ayumi started, whirling back around to look up at him. He gave her a haggard, tired look that momentarily made her lose her words. 

“Sh-Shikamaru,” she began again after a few seconds, wherein all he did was stare wearily. “Please, come inside, take a rest… You look—” 

“Thanks, Ayumi, but I don’t need any help.” Of course he would tell her that— don’t stick her nose in where it wasn’t wanted. But this time… She didn’t feel like it wasn’t wanted. His tone lacked the bite it once had; instead of dripping with vitriol, his voice was devoid of anything at all. Somehow that saddened her more. 

She looked pitifully at the broken man before her. Just the other day, he’d gifted her such a beautiful smile, such a bright and brief ray of happiness. What had happened to it? Why was he rocketing back and forth between highs and lows, unable to stabilize himself? 

What could Ayumi do to help him?

“Shikamaru, please,” she insisted. “I—” Her words died in her throat as he reached up to cup her cheek. His hand was clammy but also warm and careful to touch her tenderly. 

“Thank you,” he repeated softly, “but I really just want to take my son home, okay?” 

Her eyelashes fluttered as she drew in a shaky breath. 

“O-okay.” 

Shikamaru pushed himself off the doorframe to his full height. Ayumi noticed the way his body swayed with exhaustion, though. Shikadai pushed past her thigh through the small gap between herself and the doorframe. When she looked down at him, still in a stunned state, he smiled wanly and held out the folded-up apron. 

“I had fun today, Miss Ayumi,” he said quietly. Robotically, the teacher took the soiled garment and murmured something appropriate in response. She watched, in a foggy daze, as the two Naras walked down her garden path and through her front gate to leave. She stood there even long after they had gone until the scent of chicken broth and green onions finally called her back to reality. 

“Right. I should clean up,” Ayumi murmured to herself. However, as she shut the door, she just collapsed back against it. She clutched the apron to her chest; the scent of earth and grass replaced the ramen smell, bringing a small smile to her lips despite it all. 

“I had fun today, too…” 

~~~~~~~~~~

The gravel crunched underneath Shikamaru’s feet as they walked silently down the road. As they strode, Shikadai bounced a red rubber ball beside him with a stick. For a while, that was it— just crunching footsteps and the smack of rubber against the ground. 

“Did you eat?” Shikamaru asked finally, side-eyeing his son. Shikadai nodded without looking up. 

“Yeah. Miss Ayumi made me lunch.” 

“That’s good.” 

They fell silent again. Shikamaru ran a hand through his sweat-slicked hair and whistled through his teeth, marveling at what a hot ass mess he was and wondering how in the hell he was supposed to keep himself together. They said nothing all the rest of the way home, not until Shikamaru collapsed back on the couch and slung an arm over his eyes. He could feel Shikadai milling about in the living room. 

“She lives there all by herself,” the boy said suddenly, quietly. Though Shikamaru did not lift his arm, his lips tightened a little into a slight frown. 

“Does she?” 

“Yeah. It’s so sad.” This time, Shikamaru did lift his arm a little to peer thoughtfully at his son. Shikadai was standing near the slightly-ajar sliding door, peeking out into the golden afternoon while holding the red rubber ball. “She’s so kind, but… I can’t help but get the feeling she’s lonely— like a flower struggling to bloom in soil that’s not good for her.” 

When did my son get so fucking poetic? Shikamaru thought wryly as he flopped his head back down and covered his eyes against the golden light spilling into the room. 

“A flower, huh?” he echoed, his voice just a whisper. If Ayumi was a soft, beautiful flower, he and Shikadai were weeds— two prickly thistles struggling to cohabitate the same space. Shikamaru can tell from the way the wood creaked that his son had turned around to look back at him. “What does that make us, then?” 

“I guess that makes us weeds.” Shikamaru had to grin at how alike he and his son were, though they shared a wavelength less and less often these days. “That’s okay, though.” Again, Shikamaru peered out from underneath his arm to see his son smiling down at the dirt smudged on his palm. “The good thing about weeds is that they’re tenacious. They always bounce back.” 

Shikamaru gawked at him in stunned silence, not sure how to respond. “I’m gonna go study,” the boy decided and disappeared into the back of the house, able to at least occupy the same building now that Shikamaru’s mood was a bit less gloomy. Shikamaru stared at the space the young boy had been, turning his comment over in his mind. Finally, he flopped back down against the couch with a wry smile. 

They bounce back, huh? God, I hope so. I don’t know how much more this weed can take, he thought as a few tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes and smudged his sleeve. As he considered the striking metaphor, his mind began to gravitate to another train of thought. He wondered what kind of flower Ayumi would be. 

What kind of bloom could ever do her justice?

Enjoy this story? Here’s the next chapter! Please consider perusing my Table of Contents.

[starkatana]

Noir, Charcoal, or Onyx?

Summary:

You’re dying Dabi’s hair. Full of fluff and cute feels. A soft Dabi.

It’s not long, and it’s not much, just some light reading for a lazy day.

Dabi x Reader

“Is this for you?”

The cashier scans the boxes of black hair dye, followed by the color care shampoo and conditioner.

“Yup.”

“You have such pretty hair!”

“I just have too many gray hairs.”

The cashier nodded in understanding, “Well, don't dye it too much, it's bad for your hair.”

You laugh. “I won't. I just have to hide my age.” You joke.

She laughed and waved it off. “You're plenty young don't worry about it.”

You smile; finish paying for the hair dye, and head home.

At home, Dabi was in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and reading a book.

“Hey, I'm home,” you announced. “They didn't have ‘black’ they did have ‘noir,’ ‘charcoal,’ and ‘onyx.’ So, I brought one of each to let you have a pick.”  You place the boxes on the counter so he can choose.

“Whatever you don’t choose we’ll just save for the next time.”

He picks up each box to ‘carefully’ inspect each box color.

“Hm, tough choice, think we’re going to have to go Onyx this time.”

“Perfect. I also got you some color care shampoo and conditioner, so it lasts a bit longer."

“Thanks, Doll Face. You ready to do this?”

You sigh. “I don't have a choice, do I?”

“You always have a choice,” Dabi said, standing in front of you cupping your face in one hand then giving you a soft kiss on the forehead. You hold his hand in place, sinking into his warmth and smell.

“Thank you,” he whispers to you.

“You're only nice because you don’t want to do it yourself!”

He cocks you a sly smile, “I would just prefer your help.”

“Okay Stitches, sit down and let's do this.”

He wraps a towel around his shoulders, sitting back in the kitchen as you change into one of your crap shirts. This wasn't your first rodeo dying Dabi's hair. As you get the dye kit ready and get the gloves on, Dabi brushes his hair and applies Vaseline to his hairline. Once situated, you part his hair and begin the dying process. You work on different chunks of his hair, working around his head in sections making sure to get all parts, the last pieces you dyed were his roots, hairline, and behind his ears.

“I find this incredibly relaxing.” He sighs.

“Good.”

“Thanks again for doing this.”

You laugh. “If it was any more often I'd make you do it yourself, but it's kinda fun to get down and dirty sometimes.”

“I have to shower after this if you wanna get down.” he purred.

“Oh, Stitches if only you always got what you want.”

He lets out a small laugh that you can imagine the smirk on his face. You smile and continue to work through his hair. It was nice being together like this; it wasn’t often. He usually was too tired to do anything, or he’d be home late. But being together in this moment, even just doing something monotonous like dying hair was a nice change of pace.

“Okay, you're done.” You take the leftover containers of dye and throw them in the trash. “Just let it sit for 30 minutes, then rinse off in the shower. Use the conditioner, and you'll be done and be sure to use the black towels pleeeaaassseeeee.” You finish by snapping the rubber gloves off.

“You ask so much of me.”

“I have to otherwise you don't listen.” You playfully toss the gloves at him.

“I do!” he answered, catching them.

You look him dead in the eyes and exaggerate an eye-roll, waiting for him to respond.

“Sometimes.” He shrugs.

“That's right. Black towels.” You give him a stern finger point. “Otherwise you do laundry.”

“Black towels.” He agreed.

[vidkid20ssimblrlair]

Episode 19: The Stranger

I looked out the window in my room. I could see the backyard from here and my mind instantly went back to that day. That horrible night that Grace Wallace met her end. Her screams still echoing in my mind. Screams of agony. Screams of fear. I had only fallen asleep for a few seconds, but that was all that was needed for me to be too late. Too late to save her. Too late to do anything, but yell for help and watch her helplessly. Out this very window.

“Vince would kill me if he saw me still sitting here like this,” I thought. He had told me to get out and do something today. I must admit I was spending a lot of time moping under the covers these past two days. Barely sleeping, but anchored here by an invisible ball and chain from the sheer trauma of seeing what I saw that night. If I was to ever heal or "move on", I would have to get up and put one foot after the other. Walk back out into a world where the stuff of nightmares became real. What a hopeless existence.

I had considered laying back in bed for a moment as I sleepily stared at the posters DJ has plastered on the wall, but I forced myself off the bed and stumbled slightly out the door. Staying in bed had made my legs feel like Jell-O, but I pressed on. 

I headed down the stairs towards the kitchen. There I found Aaron sitting at the table alone. Only a cup of joe kept his company as he sported a sullen expression on his face.

"Good morning, Ms. Anderson," he mumbled upon seeing me.

"Hey," I said sounding pretty lackluster myself.

I slid down in the chair beside him and he remained staring off in the distance. I looked around for evidence of breakfast, but the table was barren and there seemed to be no signs of breakfast even being prepared anywhere.

"So did I miss breakfast?" I asked genuinely confused.

The doctor chuckled. "No. There is no breakfast. Scraps. We're low on supplies right now."

"Well that's sucks," I murmured. "Is that's what wrong with you? Are you hungry like I am?"

"No. Well, I could use a bite, but that's not what's wrong with me," he said. "It's just I have a bad feeling about today. Your companion Vince, Matthew, DJ, and Nathan went out today and I can't help but worry. I wanted to express my concerns last night, but no one ever listens to me."

"Well, I'm sure there be fine."

"Maybe, but I'm barely ever wrong about these things," he sighed. He then flashed me a small smile. "Anyway, I can make you some coffee if you like. Do you like coffee?"

"Not really. I sort of hate it."

He laughed softly lightening the mood. He took a sip of his own coffee cringing a bit. Suddenly, he looked up and gasped. I looked over to see Nathan now standing in the stairwell doorway. The doctor jumped up from his seat, ran over to him, and hugged the statues man.

"You didn't go? I thought you went. Oh, thank God," he said deepening the hug.

Nathan didn't reciprocate though. He seemed distracted. He looked over Aaron's shoulder as if looking for something.

"Where's Lin?" he perplexed as he pushed the doctor away. He looked over at me. "Have you seen her? I saw her this morning and then she suddenly disappeared.  Looked everywhere for her."

Aaron immediately looked insulted by the brush off. He frowned and sat down looking downcast. I shook my head no, but Wade then entered the room answering the question immediately.

"Damn Lin ran off with Matthew, DJ, and that delinquent," he growled walking over to the sink. "Damn woman got me doing dishes."

Strangely enough, much like Lin most mornings, he had an apron and rubber gloves on. A frilly apron to boot. All three of us couldn't take our eyes off of him. Any other guy could pull it off maybe, but Wade was a sight to see. He suddenly looked back at us with a wild look in his eye as if he had woken up from a trance. It took everything in me not to laugh at how ridiculous he looked. Even Nathan and Aaron looked amused.

"What you looking at?" he spat in his country accent. "Wipe those smiles off your faces. I know I look stupid."

"I'm glad you finally admit it," Aaron said under his breath snickering.

"So you're on dish duty?" I said stifling my laughter. "Did Madison go too?"

"No. Just Lin," he huffed. "I told her not to, but does she listen to me? No. Instead, she got me here washing dishes. Doing her job!"

"Anybody can wash dishes, Wade."

Nathan sighed. "Well, I was supposed to go. She must have slip pass me."

"Yeah, but you didn't did you golden boy?" he fumed. "Lazy good for nothing!"

"Wade. Give him a break," Aaron moaned reverting back to his pitiful state. He then scowled. "I'm sure Ms. Wu can take care of herself if she's so special."

Nathan furrowed his brow. "What you mean by that?"

The doc cut his eye at him and rolled his eyes. "Nothing Parker."

Nathan glared at Aaron and stormed off into the hallway. The doctor's mood seemed to sour from there and Wade was well Wade. It seemed like it was time for me to go. I got up from the table and went over to Wade who was slaving over dishes now. He glanced over at me as I did.

"Are you going to make something for breakfast? I'm sort of hungry," I whispered hoping he would offer me a snack before my departure.

He rolled his eyes. "Nope. We're running low. You can have that can of spam over there."

He pointed to the left to a can on the counter and I grimaced. "No thanks."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"So Madison didn't go? Where is she?"

"Out front." He then whispered. "In my opinion, I think she's lost her marbles. Been out there since last night."

He went back to washing dishes mumbling to himself. I headed towards the front door and I could hear Nathan arguing with Madison just outside.

"I'm doing your job for you," Madison snarled. "Go back to sleep."

"Madison, now we know that's not how this works. Matthew wouldn't allow it and I'm here now. Let me take over."

"Sorry, but you should have been here this morning like you agreed. Not sleeping in!”

He shouted back. "I overslept! It's not like I meant to!"

"No, but you did and you jeopardized our safety by doing so. Someone could have easily snuck in here while you and Wade got your beauty sleep. Besides I thought you were supposed to go with Matt and DJ this morning. Skip out on that too?”

"Yes, but...!"

She sighed. “I heard enough, Nate. Just go back to bed or something."

I jumped out the way just in time as Nathan came busting through the door. He looked angry, but soften when he saw me. He gave me a nod and small smile before hurrying away. I then exit out the door and was greeted with the sight of Madison in full camo. She looked like she was ready for battle. She wore camo pants, a black shirt, and face paint with a rifle on her lap.

"Hey, there," she said greeting me as she looked out a pair of binoculars. "How you feel?"

"Ok, I think. Everyone seems to be acting weird though. Well, weirder than usual."

"Huh? What you mean?" she said looking at me through her binoculars.

"Nevermind."

"What you doing out here? Isn't Nathan supposed to be on watch?"

"Yeah, but I fired him. Him and Wade. Lazy bastards."

"You 'fired' them?"

"Yeah. I found Wade sleep last night while he was on watch. Then Nathan was a no show this morning. Decided it was about time I stepped up and do it the right way."

"So you have been out here all night!"

"So?" she said lowering her binoculars and shrugging. Looking closer I could see bags under her eyes. "I'm fine though."

"But all night?"

"I'm doing this for our safety. I know it sounds crazy, but something or someone is watching us."

"Yeah. Zombies or whatever you call them... walkers."

"No. It's something more than that. I know it! The message at the gas station said as much. Someone is watching us and we can't let our guards down," she exclaimed.

"Ok. Ok. Well, do you mind if I join you?"

I sat down on the bench beside her without hearing her answer. She flashed me a small smile and continued her watch. It almost seemed like she was looking for something specific. I squinted my eyes looking through the shrubbery for any sign of movement, but I saw nothing. Everything seemed to be the same as any other day. I sat there for a while though. Partly watching. Partly daydreaming. Boredom settling in, but a nice soothing calm washed over me. Maybe it had been good to get out. I would probably have nodded off, but then I saw something. I really saw something. I thought I was dreaming, but what I saw was real because Madison saw it too. A woman.

A red-headed woman in white from the looks of it. There was something mystifying about her. Otherworldly even. Her red hair looked like flames and her dress flowed behind her as she ran towards us. She almost looked angelic, but her dress was not untouched by the horrors surrounding us though. Blood decorated it much like blood decorated most things nowadays. It made her look a little ghastly. Like a fallen angel. Actually, the more you looked at her the more she looked frightening. I wasn't entirely sure if she was alive or dead. She hurried towards us silently. Her eyes focused on us and the house. Madison rose up immediately. She stood there almost frozen in fascination as well for a moment, but as she drew closer she snapped out of it and drew her gun.

"Help... me. Please help me," she said straining her voice. Her voice sounded almost inhuman.

She rushed over to the stairs and Madison aimed at her. She then flung herself on the steps submissively as if holding onto a life raft. She spoke again in the same dry horsed manner, but louder. "Please help me."

"Who are you? State your name!" Madison shouted looking down at her.

"Water....please. Water," she whispered.

"No. Name first."

"Please. I just want water. Please," she moaned. She turned her attention to me. "You. Will you give me water? Please?"

Madison scowled. "No, she won't."

"A sip of water. That all I ask," she pleaded.

"I can get her a cup," I said trying to defuse the situation.

"We don’t know this woman!” Madison fumed.“Let’s say we give her water. Then what's next? Food? Housing? Our deaths?"

“Well, a few weeks ago you didn’t know me either.”

She paused rubbing her temples and then sighed. "Fine. Go ahead. Give her a glass, but then she talks and if she's lucky she can leave without a bullet wound."

I ran into the house before she changed her mind, grabbed the nearest cup, filled it up with a bottle of water, and was out the door before Wade or anyone could say a word. When I returned both women were still in their same positions. Madison looked down at the stranger and the woman's pale anguish face looked up her.

I gave the woman the cup and she took it hungrily. She downed the whole thing without taking a breath and wiped her mouth. Then she suddenly lunged and grabbed my hands. Madison rushed forward and aimed the gun right at her head, but the woman seemed unfazed. She looked up at me and smiled.

"What is your name sweetie?" she asked. Her voice sounded smoother now.

"None of your business!" Madison spat. "What's your name?"

"I just wanted to thank my savior," she said eyeing her. "But since you insist, it's Gemma. Gemma Ryan. Nice to meet you despite the harsh circumstances."

"Audrey. It's Audrey." I mumbled cutting my eye at Madison expecting her to stare daggers at me.

She looked, but she didn't seem angry. Instead, she shrugged and stated her name. "Madison. Just Madison for now."

"Well, thank you, Audrey. Thank you, Madison."

She turned over on her back and slid down to the ground sitting. She held on to the cup and traced her finger around the rim. Something about her seemed almost childlike now. She peered up at me smiling again. "You got any more water? Still dying of thirst."

"No. I'm not done with you," Madison snapped. "Where you come from?"

"What do you mean?"

"You couldn't be traveling alone. You had to come from somewhere. You were also in a hurry. Why?"

She frowned and cocked her head eyeing Madison now. "I was running from what we all run from now. From the rotters." She fiddled with her fingers. "Thought that was obvious."

Madison scoffed. "I didn't see any of the dead after you and you still haven't told me where you come from."

The woman rambled on. "I lost them luckily. Seem like they’re getting faster, but I managed to lose em. I had been running from a large pack for a while. Then I saw your house. I was happier than a clam when I saw you living and breathing humans."

She continued laying her head back on the steps as if sunbathing. "Anyway, me and boyfriend got split up. I lost him a few miles back on the road. We got caught up in a herd of them and he told me to go on while he distracted them. He could be dead for all I know."

Madison smirked. "Well, you seem really broken up about it. Seem like you made a miraculous recovery too."

"What you mean by that?" she shot back. She then buried her head in her hands and began whimpering. "Of course I'm worried about him, but I haven't had time to let it sink in you know? I've been running for my life this whole time."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I don't know where I'm going to even stay," she cried.

"Where did you stay before this?"

"In a car on the side of the road. I barely slept."

"Then you should go back there. We can't you help here," Madison said coldly watching the woman closely.

"But I can't go back," the woman said appearing frantic now as she climbed to her feet. "Those things busted the windows. It's not safe anymore."

"Nowhere is safe anymore. I'm sure you'll find somewhere else to sleep for the night though." She cocked her gun. "Now please leave the property. We're done here."

"Wait! You promised me another glass of water," she pleaded. She reached out for me again, but I backed away. "And maybe some food."

"I did no such thing, but we don't have enough anyway. Now please go away," Madison growled.

I intervened. "I'll...I can give her some more water. We did sort of insinuate we were going give her some more."

Madison was officially irritated by me now. She glared at me as I ran to get more water, but she didn't stop me. When I returned, Gemma was sitting down again with Madison looming over her menacingly. I quickly gave the woman the cup. She drunk it much slower this time. She glanced up at Madison as she did.

When she finished I took the cup from her and she buried her face in her hands again. Madison came closer and stuck the gun in her face. She looked up with teary eyes.

"You don't understand. I can't go back out there. I'm pregnant."

"What?"

"You can't put a pregnant woman out there with rotters can you?" she said staring up at us on all fours now. "I found somewhere safe with real live people and now I have to go out there again? To die? Me and my defenseless baby sent back out there to die."

Madison looked furious. She grabbed the woman's arm and forcefully pulled it up on her feet."You didn't say anything about being pregnant," she seethed.

Surprisedly, the woman smiled. "I wasn't sure if I should. Especially since I'm not showing yet."

"You're lying!"

I stood back unsure what to do or what to believe. Then I saw Wade appear on the porch. His eyes widen at the scene.

"What the hell are you doing?! Who the hell is she?!" he roared.

"No one. Dead if it's up to me," she fumed.

"Now now, Ms. Madison," I heard Mr. Jones bellow from the porch now beside Wade. "I think we can handle this without violence."

"But...!"

"I don't know exactly what's going on, but from what I hear we have a new guest and the disagreement you're having can be discussed in the house."

"But...!"

"Ms. Madison. Please. Let's be civil."

He approached us slowly. Madison let the stranger go and Jones, the calming force had our attention. Even the woman.

He smiled. "I heard a very beautiful voice. Who are you, ma'am?"

"Gemma Ryan. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. Why don’t you come right on in."

Been waiting to write for this new character for a while. Things about to get real interesting and scary.

P.S. Matthew and co. at the dump next.

Previous Episode

All Episodes

[welcome-to-my-daydreams]

Man in the Storm 14

Summary: It’s rut season at the compound. Omega Reader plans to ride it out alone, locked in her room away from any unwanted Alphas. But she finds that to be a lot easier said than done when the team’s strongest Alpha pays a visit.

Pairings: Alpha!Thor x Omega!Reader

Type: Series (A/B/O Dynamics)

Warnings: Manliness

Word Count: 2,237

A/N: I don’t know shit about boxing, I don’t know shit about MMA, I don't know shit about throwing punches and I don’t know shit about how men bond with each other. So, that being said. Enjoy! 

Part 13, Part 15

Masterlist

champion-ofthe-sun >> welcome-to-my-daydreams

Thor woke to the buzzing of his alarm clock. Groaning at the sound, he slowly reached over to shut it off. He was unable to fully untangle his limbs from yours, so he took moment to just lay there with you. It was only 2 in the morning and it pained him to leave the warmth of the bed you shared. But he had something to do. 

He slowly got out of bed, kissing you gently on the forehead before heading to the bathroom. He freshened up and changed into some workout clothes, being careful not to wake you in the process. 

In a few minutes he was making his way to the elevator, which he then took to the main level of the compound. On the way down he started thinking about how to go about the whole situation, but quickly decided that he’d just wing it. 

After all, winging it usually worked out for him. 

He knew that this situation with James Barnes could be resolved, but he was going to have to get on Barnes’ level. And he had an idea what that might entail.

As he walked down the hall towards the gym Thor saw that the lights were on and he could hear someone inside. 

So far, so good. He thought. 

Thor entered the room to find Bucky pounding on the punching bag in the back corner. He was immediately impressed by the power behind his punches as his fists made contact with the rubber material.

He walked across the room, watching Bucky’s technique. He was strong, but his right hook was a bit off. Due to the weight difference between his flesh arm and his metal arm, I imagine. Thor pondered to himself. 

Bucky stopped when he saw Thor come into his peripherals, letting out a low growl as the Alpha invaded his personal space. 

Breathing heavily, he took out his headphones and tried to hide his annoyance at being interrupted. “Never expected to see you down here at this time, Your Highness.” he greeted his Alpha plainly before going for his water bottle. 

Thor chucked. Reaching up to the chain of the punching bag and leaning his weight against it. “Yes well, I’ve heard that the gym is a great place to go when you’ve got something on your mind.” He answered. “And it’s Your Majesty.” He winked. 

Bucky couldn't help but chuckle at Thor’s response. He was a cocky son of a bitch, that was for sure. He turned around to face the Alpha again, “I’m guessing you want to talk about the other day?” He asks with a slight distain. 

He knew he was due to be reprimanded for his behaviour in the briefing a few days ago. Steve already gave him an earful and Natasha only just stopped giving him the silent treatment. It was only a matter of time until Thor came to collect his apology.

“No, not particularly.” Thor shook his head and began to walk around the small padded area of the and gym checking out the equipment around him, circling Bucky in the process. “Just...can’t sleep.”

Bucky wasn’t exactly falling for Thor’s act but if he was being honest with himself, he didn't have the mind for any more arguing. This was the only time of day that he could truly keep his mind at ease. So decided to just go with whatever Thor was doing. 

Thor continued circling the room until he eventually came across what he was looking for and picked them up. They were two boxing pads and he put them on.

“Are you serious?” Bucky asked him, realising that this wasn’t going to be a quick visit. Thor smiled and held up the pads, “Come on, you’ve already got the glove on.” Thor said nodding his head towards to open mats in the middle of the gym. 

This wasn’t exactly what Bucky was expecting and he wasn't used to sparring with anyone but Steve. But he couldn’t really say no, could he?

They walked onto the mat and when they were both in their positions, Thor held his hands up. “Shall we?”. Bucky nodded, unsure of what kind of test Thor was putting him under, so he hesitated on this first punch. When the hit landed on Thor’s right pad it was like hitting a vibranium wall. 

“I hope that’s not all Sergeant.” Thor teased. “You do know who you’re sparring with don’t you?” he laughed. Bucky smiled and shook his head. “Alright Your Majesty, but you asked for it.” 

Bucky threw his second punch with his metal arm. It landed on Thor’s left pad but the god barely moved. Not even so much as a step backward. 

Bucky paused for a moment, admiring the Alphas strength with a slight bitterness. Normally he had to tone it down when training with the team, even with Steve. Especially after that whole mishap with Stark a few years ago. He was terrified of hurting any of them.

He gritted his teeth and repositioned himself. Preparing to give Thor his all. 

The two men continued sparring for a good 10 minutes. Bucky quickly realising that getting a step ahead of Thor wasn’t about the strength of the hit, but about the footwork. Thor enjoyed the Alpha’s persistence. He had never fought a Super Solider before, he never had a need too. But he could tell that Bucky’s way of fighting was much less controlled than Cap’s, and much more powerful. 

“You’re lazy with your right arm Barnes.” Thor said between hits. “You’ve got a lot of weight on your left side but you shouldn't let that affect your balance.” 

Bucky stopped and shook his arms out, “What? I’ve never heard that before...” he said looking down at each of them. “That’s because no one has ever told you.” Thor answered. “Look, it’s the same as when a soldier fights with a shield in hand. Not like Steve’s, his shield is lightweight. More like my soldiers back home.” He continued, holding his arm up to mimic holding a giant, heavy shield. 

“Take advantage of the weight, use it for your swing and hit me here.” Thor instructed, pointing to his chest.

“You want me to hit you?” Bucky asked, confused. Thor nodded. “Come on Barnes! You’re far from the biggest I’ve fought”

Bucky sighed and rolled his eyes a little before repositioning his feet and resetting his shoulders. He tried focusing on the weight between both of his arms. As he prepared to throw the punch he made sure to swing his metal arm higher than usual, throwing his shoulders back before pushing forward into Thor’s chest with his right fist. 

When the punch landed Thor staggered back a few steps. He followed up with thunderous laugher. “Good Barnes. Again!” he yelled this time, manoeuvring around the mats. Bucky hit him again, this time with even more momentum. “Another!” Thor yelled out.

Bucky continued to hit Thor again and again. Each time improving on his technique. After a few more minutes went by he actually found himself with a smile on his face.

Thor could see that Bucky’s defences were down. So he took the opportunity to open his intended conversation with the soldier. 

“How long have you been with the pack Barnes? Nearly 4 years now?” He segued perfectly as the two continued with their drills. 

Bucky nodded. “About that much, yeah.” He answered, missing his target as Thor faked to the right.

“You’ve accomplished much in such a short period of time.” Thor continued. Bucky gave him a puzzled look, not quite knowing what Thor meant. “You went from Stark’s mortal nemesis to leader of the pack. In four years.” Thor shook his head and smiled. “That’s impressive.”

“I guess...” Bucky answered. The conversation was throwing him off, so he tried to focus on on his swing again. But Thor wasn’t finished. “When we founded The Avengers the pack was much smaller than it is now. We all sort of just...fell into our roles. But you, you worked your way from the bottom up. Not many others here can say the same.” he continued. 

Bucky stopped for a moment to catch his breath, “It wasn’t easy.” He shrugged, taking a moment to drink from his water bottle. Thor joined him, taking a sip as well. “I know it wasn’t. That’s why I’m thankful to have you here Barnes. You clearly want to be here. You fought to be here.” Thor said excitedly, giving Bucky an animated pat on the back. “It’s good to know that the pack has an Alpha like you to watch over them when I can’t be here.”

Bucky let out a tiny huff of laughter, giving Thor a suspicious look.

“It’s true!” Thor insisted. “The truth is you know this pack more than I do. And they know you. You’ve earned your place here. There is no doubt in my mind about that at all.”  

Though he would never admit it, Thor’s approval meant a lot to Bucky. He had been feeling so unsure about his place in the pack since the Alpha’s arrival that he had stubbornly shut himself away from everyone. Little did he know he was just looking for some acknowledgement, and now that he got it he was feeling much more at ease.

He took a deep, considerate breath. “Thank you, Thor. I, I appreciate that.” He said, not exactly ready to look him in the eye while he said it. 

“Of course.” Thor nodded.

“About the other day. I shouldn't have challenged you. I-”

Thor cut Bucky off by waving his hand in the air. “It’s water under the bridge James. Do not worry.” He began un strapping the boxing pads from his wrist. “Let’s switch.”

The two Alpha’s return to the mat. This time Bucky wore the boxing pads and Thor was throwing the punches. He opted not to wear the cloves, saying they would just get in the way. 

Thor steadied himself and settled his feet in place. He’d have to go easy on the solider, of course. He could punch him through the wall if he desired, but he didn't. He hit Bucky with a double cross combo, noting how his metal arm absorbed the impact and adjusted his movements accordingly. 

Bucky was startled by the weight behind Thor’s punches. He could tell he was holding back by the way he carried his shoulders. 

Damn, he thought to himself. 

He was able to fake the god out every once and a while. Faking left then right and scooping down. He needed to stay fast to avoid being over powered. Eventually they got into a pretty comfortable rhythm.  

“There is one person you do need to apologise to.” Thor spoke up, adding a little more weight to his punch as the words left mouth.

Bucky knew immediately who Thor was talking about and he knew that it was the honest truth. 

“I know...” He replied, shame in his voice. “I don’t think she even wants to speak with me.” He continued, losing his focus which made room for Thor to get a shot at his chest. blowing him back a few steps. 

“She will.” Thor assured him. “(y/n) is stubborn but she’s not cruel. Give her the explanation and the apology she deserves and everything will be fine.” 

Bucky nodded and tried to focus on the sparring session. The mention of your name gave him an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He was so ashamed over how he spoke to you and the ridiculous reasons behind his petty behaviour. 

The two fought in silence for a while. Thor slowly increasing the intensity of his punches, knowing Bucky could handle it. Bucky eventually broke the silence, deciding that he too had a question for the King of Asgard.

“Do you love her?” He asked Thor earnestly.

“I do.” Thor smiled.

Bucky nodded in acceptance. He was happy for you, he knew you’d never believe him if he told you. But he was. He could see why you chose Thor. He could see that he had everything you wanted in an Alpha. Everything you deserved. 

“Good.” He said with a smile.

The two Alpha’s finished up their work out and cleaned up the equipment. Thor felt positive about his conversation with Bucky and the air between them was already much lighter. 

Bucky felt better too. He realised now, why the entire pack was so charmed with Thor to begin with. 

Before shutting down the gym for the night Bucky turned to Thor, with a curious look on his face. “Hey,” He started. “Can I see the thing?” Thor turned to Bucky with a concerned look of his face. “What thing Barnes?”. Bucky Laughed at his wording. “No, I mean... you know. The thing you do. with all the sparks.” He tried mimicking lightening with his fingers.

“I’ve never been in the field with you before, I’ve never seen it.” 

Thor left our a thunderous laugh and looked around the room. “Stark will have my head if I damage anything in here.”

“Come on!” Bucky urged. “This whole corner is padded, hit this thing, it’s rubber. Nothing will happen.” He continued, dragging the free standing heavy bag over to Thor. 

Thor sighed. “Fine. But you and that arm need to go far over there. I will not be to blame for your death.” 

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[muddy-stereo]

Hat Armor

mudsaw

“Phew! I’m beat…” A young boy said as he leaned on his mop, wiping his forehead. He looked up and out the window, the sound of pelting rain grabbing his attention, “Ugh…It’s been raining all day! I hope it’ll stop soon…I don’t exactly…want to fly in the rain…” He looked at the floor, there were a couple of smudges on the floor from patrons entering the shop earlier. The boy sighed “And I’m tired of cleaning up all the mud and water that THEY bring in…” He straightened up and dipped the mop back into the bucket of water, he then lifted the mop and placed it in the wringer and pulled the lever, wringing the mop of all the water. The Boy quickly stood up as he felt a couple of drops of dirty water hit his face “Ugh…wonderful…” he quickly wiped his face with his glove and continued to clean the floor. “Oh man,…it’s gonna feel so good to shower after this!” He picked up the pace and began humming a cheery tune. It had been a busy day, but he always liked working there. It was such a weird shop, with weird customers, who would buy weird things! Mainly potions and spells, they were treated as novelties by some but others would use them seriously, it was strange. His boss was equally as weird but he wasn’t so bad. His face is a bit off putting at first, kind of like being forced to stare at an old man with a lazy eye, but after a while, he grew to accept what he looked like and it no longer bothered him, in fact, it was normal. Besides, he had agreed to hire him in his time of need, even though he had no need for an employee so he didn’t have it in him to scrutinize his boss.

“Chance darling~?” The voice of his boss interrupted his thoughts “Let’s pick up the pace dear! It’s almost time for you to go home!” “Yes, sir Mr. Smiley Sir!” Chance answered back. “Ah, and don’t forget today is payday! Besides your money I’ll let you pick out a potion today for free!” Chance quickly perked up after he heard the last part. “Y-Yes, sir!” He quickly scrambled to clean up the remaining smudges all while grinning really hard to himself. “I can’t believe I forgot that today is payday!” He finally stopped and looked around inspecting his work. “Mwah~! Everything is spic and span!” He turned to the sound of beaded curtains opening, it was his boss Smiley. “All right dear, time to finish up~!” Smiley said as he floated to the front of the shop. “HEY! HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT??” Chance pointed at his boss who was floating a couple of inches from the floor. “Hmm?” Smiley looked to where Chance was pointing “Ah that!” He then proceeded to turn off the lights in and around the shop “Well, I didn’t want to walk on the floor that you just cleaned. So I took a little sip of a flight potion! It’ll wear off eventually!” He then flipped the sign on the door, locked the door and drew the curtains all while floating gracefully through the air. The bottoms of his feet left behind little sparkles that disappeared behind him. He looked back at Chance, his mouth hanging open, he smiled “You…seem surprised…for one who can already fly naturally that is…” Chance snapped out of his trance “Huh? Oh well, I just think it’s really cool! And I can’t really fly naturally….it’s all thanks to my broom!” Smiley gave him a thoughtful look “Your broom huh? Are you really certain about that?” Chance cocked his head and look at him questionably “Huh? What do you mean by that? I’ve always been able to fly because of my broom!” Smiley’s turned and looked away “Yes…of course, you have…” Chance stared at his boss unsure of what he was getting at when he noticed he was starting to fall slowly to the ground “Hey boss! The potion! It’s wearing out!” Smiley quickly snapped out of his thoughts and looked down “Ah! Thank you for that!” He quickly floated back to the beaded curtains “A-anyway, finish up in here and make your way to the back room asap dear!” “Oh uh yes sir!” Chance rolled the bucket to the broom closet and drained all the dirty water into the drainage “I wonder what he was thinking about…” he wrung the mop one last time and placed in the empty bucket. He then locked the broom closet and made his way towards the back room.

Chance stepped through the curtains “Hey boss?” he asked as he looked for Smiley “Over here deary~!” He was at his desk writing the check for Chance. “Annnnd…done!” He dotted the last line on the check and handed it to Chance “Here you are love~!” Chance grabbed the check and looked at it, it was a check for $920. “Hehe! Sweet! Thank you so much, sir!” Smiley then stood up from his desk and headed towards the closet “No problem deary~! Now come with me.” Chance obediently followed Smiley. They stopped at the closet’s entrance, Smiley pulled out a key with a little Calavera on it from his pocket, placed it in the lock releasing it and opened the door. He stepped inside the closet and flipped the switch beside the door, the fluorescent lights turned on one by one illuminating the large closet. Smiley looked back at Chance and smiled, his face was full of amazement and wonder~! He had seen the closet plenty of times but it was always so satisfying to see him so amazed. Even his paychecks could never make him smile that hard. Smiley then gestured with his arm “Well, go ahead~!” Chance literally hopped up and down in place “Hehehe~! Thank you thank you~!” He then darted past Smiley and started looking around the area, looking at all the potions on the cabinets and shelves and so on. Smiley shook his head and chuckled “Take your time dear! But not too long!” He then looked at the clock right outside the closet “I don’t want you going home really late dear~!” “I won’t be long~!” Chance answered back. Smiley then grabbed a seat and set it next to the closet door. He sat down and sighed “What a day…it hasn’t been this busy in a long time…”

“Oh gosh~! What should I get? What I should I get?” Chance said to himself as he glanced all over. His eyes stopped on a clear potion “Okay that was an invisibility potion but I already tried that two weeks ago…” His eyes then settled on a baby blue potion “That’s a shrinking potion! but it…was not such a good idea…I didn’t think mice would be so mean!” He then spotted three potions in a row “Okay…those are a love potion, a sleeping potion, and a luck potion…I could just buy those at a discount…” Chance jumped up and down repeatedly “Ugh! I can’t choose!” He quickly stopped when he felt himself bump into a potion, knocking it off the shelf “Oh nonononono~!” He quickly got it before it could fall to it’s shattering doom “Phew~!” Chance sighed as he placed the potion back in its place.“Okay…I need to be more careful and more studious~!” He then turned and eyed a couple potions, he carefully took the labels in his hand and read the description “‘This potion grants you the ability to float’ This must be what my boss used! But I can already fly so I’m good!” He looked at another potion next to it “'This potion turns you INTO A DRAGON??’ Eesh! I think I’ll pass on that one…” He continued on to the next potion “'This potion allows you to glow in the dark’ Hmm…..That’s silly! But…it might be fun? Maybe some other time…” Chance sighed and leaned back “Hmm….none of these potions are really doing it for me…” He then turned and looked at the adjacent cabinet “Maybe there’s something here…” He scanned the bottles, curiously, none of them had any labels on them what so ever.

“I don’t mean to rush you deary, but it’s getting rather late and I don’t want you going home so late~!” Chance jumped startled after hearing Smiley’s voice “Oh! Uh..okay, sir! Sorry, sir!” He turned back to the bottles with no labels. “So weird…why don’t they have labels…” He finally stopped on a bottle that was glowing with a white-blue light, inside were sparkles that glowed even more brilliantly! “Ohh~! This one is pretty! I wonder what it does…” He stared at it for a good long while, it was so beautiful, he couldn’t describe it’s beauty. “I think I’ll take this one~!”

Chance stepped out of the closet and saw his boss passed out on the chair, he gently shook him awake “Psst! Hey, boss~! I’m done picking out my potion~!” Smiley let out a startled snore “Eh? Wha-?” He looked at Chance who had finally stepped out of the closet, he let out a yawn “Ah~! Chance my dear! Are you all set?” “Yeah, I found a potion! But…” he then showed the potion to Smiley “It has no tag or label…” Smiley took the potion and inspected it “Ah yes! There’s actually an entire section of potions and spells that I have not labeled yet because I have yet to test its effects on any living specimens….” Chance tensed up a little “You mean…you don’t even know what that potion does?” Smiley looked up and saw the worried expression on his face “Oh well, this particular potion that you picked; I do know what it does! It’s the other ones that I have no idea what they do…I must’ve just forgotten to label this one….” Chance breathed a sigh of relief “Okay so what does it do?” Smiley got up and started walking towards the cauldron “This is actually not a potion but rather a spell! It’s a protection spell to be precise!” He then handed the bottle back to Chance as he started digging out equipment next to the cauldron. Chance opened the bottle and sniffed it. “Mmm~! It smells really pleasant!” He then leaned his head back and took a sip of the potion. Smiley continued rummaging through the cabinets “Yes it certainly smells nice! Just be sure not drink any, it’s not a consumable!” Chance eye’s widened, he quickly spit the potion back into the bottle. “Ugh….so you can’t drink it?” Chance said with his tongue hanging out. “No, It is a spell, it’s meant to be cast, not consumed.” Chance eyed the bottle questionably “So…it’s a protection spell….it should go on my body right?” Smiley stood up wearing a pair of massive rubber gloves while holding some blacksmith tongs “Actually….this spell is for your clothing…” Chance cocked his head “My clothes? How would that help? Why would I want to protect my clothes?” Smiley handed him a pair of welding goggles “Go fetch your hat and I’ll demonstrate!” Chance took the goggles and placed them on his head “My hat? Uh..okay..”

Chance quickly went back to the front of the shop and picked up his hat hanging from a hat rack, he quickly grabbed his broom while he was at it and made his way back to the back room. Smiley was fixing a welding mask to his head. “Tell me Chance, do you like video games?” Chance smiled “You bet I do!” Smiley chuckled “Well, you know how in some games you can buy and equip your character with various clothing or armor and it will grant the character numerous effects? Like one piece of equipment can increase defense while another piece of equipment can grant fire immunity? And so on and so forth!” Chance nodded at everything “Yeah! yeah! I do that all the time in some games!” “Well, this potion is the same! It goes on your clothing and it will grant you protection!” Smiley reached out with his hand “The bottle please!” Chance handed him the bottle “All right! Goggles on! This is very bright!” Chance quickly placed the goggles over his eyes while Smiley lowered his mask. He then grabbed the bottle with the tongs, he then slowly poured the spell bottle in the cauldron. The cauldron let out an intense white light, the goggles weren’t enough to truly block out the light as he shielded his face. He slowly removed his hands from his face and looked around, everything was whitewashed. There was not a hint of color anywhere. Everything was washed in a white light! Smiley placed the empty bottle down “Chance! Your hat! It’s going in there!” Chance snapped out of his thoughts “Huh? What? Will it be okay?” Chance asked a little worried. “Of course it will! But we have to hurry!” “Uhh..okay…” Chance handed him the hat. Smiley grabbed with the tongs and positioned it over the cauldron “All right, be ready it’s going to flash again!” “Okay!” Smiley then slowly inserted the hat into the cauldron the solution flashed and sparked with a powerful white light. Chance once again had to shield his eyes as the goggles were not enough to stop the blinding light. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted as much as he could past the light. The solution in the cauldron started to go down as it was steadily being absorbed by the hat itself. Finally, the bright light began to diminish “All right you can take off your goggles now!” Chance eagerly took off his goggles and peeked into the cauldron. Smiley then slowly pulled out his hat, it was glowing like a hot iron over fire except it was completely white and glowing brightly! Smiley then placed the hat into a separate cauldron of water. The hat let out steam and smoke and white brilliant sparks. Chance bit his nails a little, worried about his hat. Smiley finally pulled it out of the water and set the glowing hat on a nearby table. Smiley then removed his mask

“Good job Chance~!” Chance wasn’t too sure what he was being complimented on but it didn’t matter. He stared at his glowing hat. Over time the hat ceased glowing and it looked as ordinary as ever like it was never dipped into a magical cauldron. Chance turned to Smiley “Uh..may I?” Smiley nodded “You may!” Chance quickly grabbed the hat and placed it on his head, it felt the same as ever. “It doesn’t feel any different…” Smiley put the tongs and gloves away “Really? Well, why don’t you step outside and see?” Chance looked at Smiley “Outside? Really?” Smiley nodded. Chance opened the back door but quickly stopped when he saw the rain. “Aw man, it’s still raining! Do you have an umbrella?” Smiley shook his head “There is no need! Just step outside and see!” Chance sighed and stepped outside as he closed his eyes and braced himself for the droplets of rain to hit him. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at his arms “Did it stop raining?” He then looked up as he heard little splashes of water hit something invisible on top of him. “Whoa! What? What’s this?” Smiley chuckled from the door “That’s the protection spell working it’s magic!” Chance looked around him in awe. His hat was creating an invisible barrier bubble. The only way you could tell it was there was because of the rain droplets hitting it on the outside. “Whoa! This is so cool!” Chance then grabbed his hat “I wonder…” He then removed his hat and quickly regretted as the barrier disappeared and he was pelted with the cold rain. “Ah!” He quickly placed the hat back on and barrier reappeared “Wow…this is amazing!” Smiley chuckled once again “Well I’m glad you like it!” Chance then turned back to smiley, the barrier turning along with him “So…what else does it protect against?” Smiley placed a hand on his chin “Well….remember how I said that most of those spells in the closet don’t have labels because I don’t know their effects?” Chance nodded “Well it’s the same with the protection spell. It’s a protection spell at face value but I don’t know to what extent it will protect you…I guess you’ll have to test it for me!” Chance frowned at him “So you want me to put myself in danger?” “ I didn’t say that! Just….if you ever feel like you’re in danger….put your hat on! Think of it as… a good luck charm that will protect you wherever you go!” Chance looked down a bit “Yeah I guess…” Smiley then extended his hand “I can always remove the spell if you don’t like it…” Chance then straightened up and grabbed his hat “Uh no! It’s okay! I really do like this! It’s just…I can’t shake the feeling that all of a sudden I am in danger….” Smiley looked up at the sky “I understand…if you want…I can escort you home at least.” Chance perked up again “Is it that late already?? I’m so sorry….” Smiley then handed him his broom and began locking the door behind him. “It’s all right, it’s no trouble.” He then grabbed the small potion bottle from his necklace, popped it open, and drank it whole. He then began to float off the ground. “Are you quite ready?” Chance hopped on his broom “Ready! I’ll race you!” He then took off at high speed into the stormy night sky. “You’re on!” Smiley then took after him hot on his tail.

Chance gently landed on his front door and Smiley landed right behind him. He then turned to Smiley. “Well, thanks for taking me home!” “Not a problem dear~! I’ll see you in two days so have a good weekend!” Smiley said as he turned to leave “Ah wait!” Chance quickly went over to him, gave him a tight hug, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek! “Thank you so much!” Smiley’s eyes widened, he returned the hug and blushed “You’re welcome…now go on get inside~!” Chance giggled and skipped inside “Bye!” Chance said as he closed the door behind him. Smiley waved, he then turned around and took off flying. He placed his hand over his cheek where Chance had kissed him and blushed. “Good kid! He just needs to ask better questions…”

-End-

[rileywrites-parker]

Saying Things

Peter Parker x Reader

So this is for the precious, most adorable person @dej-okay because she deserves only good things.

Summary: You’d lost count of how many times you’d thought of kissing him. You had never let yourself imagine that maybe, he thought of it, too.

“Or how badly I’ve wanted you like this,” and he didn’t have to explain what he meant...”

Warnings: None. Just A LOT OF FLUFF AND CHEDDAR CHEESE. Words: 3.6k

“Parker,” you cautioned as he not-so-gingerly picked up the beaker that was mostly full of blue liquid that resembled and even smelt a little like Windex, shaky hands bringing it over to your side of the lab table, mixture sloshing around the insides, goggles beginning to steam up around his eyes from how heavily he was breathing, tiny rogue hairs from fallen waves at his forehead fluttering as warm puffs of air escaped from the spaces between funny eye wear.

It had taken the two of you nearly half an hour to mix the contents in said beaker just right, waiting for the telltale appearance of that crystal blue to color the glass and signal the correct chemical change.

You’d both laughed excitedly as you’d watched with anxious eyes, two pairs of goggles level with the table; forgetting that you were still holding glass tubes and going in for a high five, catching yourself with a sheepish expression just in time. He’d offered an air five instead.

“Peter, carefully,” you urged when the clumsy boy caught a sneakered foot on the corner of the table, neon blue peeking at the edge of its container as it swayed inside, nearly raining down on top of the shiny black below it.

“I know, I know, I’ve got this,” a tiny smirk following his words, and you found yourself believing him despite the sound of glass clanking together as he began pouring that blue liquid into the compound you’d just finished mixing up. The puffs of air fogging up both of your goggles stopped as blue hit green and you held your breaths, the whole feel of him changing when that red precipitate formed in uneven clumps at the bottom of the beaker. Bubbly laughter spilled from his lips in a rush of air as the tension released from his lungs and the smile that lit up the whole of his face kept you from doing the same, kept you from breathing, and you weren’t sure if you would ever be able to bring yourself to draw air into tingling lungs again if he were going to smile like that around you, at you.

Because he was looking at you with the sun in his eyes and happiness making up the whole of his features in a way that warmed your heart entirely and made your body feel sluggish and uneven like the mess of chemicals in that beaker. The longer you looked, the more aware you became of how the color of your cheeks must match the color of that clump, and oh, but his eyes were glowing, and you were glowing, and his lips were pink and stretched prettily across white, mostly-even teeth in that charming way that only his lips could.

And that was the first time you realized that Peter Parker was someone that you could kiss. Peter Parker was someone you wanted to be kissing.

“Look, the nerds got it right,” Flash’s voice broke through your thoughts, your eyes ripping away from the sun to look at the group gathering around your lab table, every pair holding a various shade of blue or green between them.

“Go team nerd,” and this time your hand met with his, palms and fingers slapping together beneath rubber gloves, bright smiles and fluttery lashes hidden beneath hair and goggles too big for your face as he started filling out the lab sheet in his neat, even handwriting.

Peter didn’t notice, but Flash certainly did. And it was strange, to see that the boy who regularly lashed out at him, chose this particular moment, this observation, and you suspected, this shared feeling, to offer you a small, secret smile behind the back of a sweatered Peter Parker.

Peter had been blowing up your phone for the past two days, texting you at all hours, constantly checking in on you since you had fallen down the stairs in your rush to get to class. He’d actually been the one to find you at the bottom, tears welling up in your eyes and a tear in your jeans where you’d hit and skid across the tile, twisting your knee and shredding the skin.

He’d surprised you with his strength, and then again when he’d delicately tucked you into his chest, lifting you up from the ground with careful arms behind shoulders and a rapidly bruising knee, taking you to the nurse. You’d nearly laughed out loud, laughed at yourself when your body reacted to his closeness even after taking a tumble; the way your body felt pressed into the lines of his, the fluttery tingling you felt between nerves that were burning, how soft his voice had been as he’d uttered feathery words like: “It’s OK, you’re OK, I’ve got you.”

“Please, please don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll cry, and I don’t have any tissues, so you’ll have to wipe your nose on my sleeve, and it’ll just be one big mess. We can’t have that, can we?” His face had been inches from yours, concern painting his eyes as he looked down at you.

“No, we can’t. No snot for you,” giving him a watery smile, face tight as you’d tried to get up from the floor; his hands were quick, and warm, and sweet as one wrapped around your shoulder, fingertips brushing at the bare skin of your neck, a calloused thumb hovering over a delicate collar bone, the other tethering your thigh to tile.

“No, no, let me, your knee looks bad, it’s already changing colors,” his brown eyes were asking permission and his cheeks were flushing with color, funny eyebrows raised and waiting for your answer.

“Y-yeah, OK, t-thank you, Peter,” without even thinking your nose had pressed into the crook of his neck as soon as he had you in his arms and off the ground, drawing in the scent of the heated skin there, all sunshine, honey, and musky rain clouds, “I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t hurt like hell.”

“I-I kn-know,” words stumbling out of him as your breath puffed against fine hairs, tickling, moisture teasing, unbeknownst to you, leaving smatterings of goosebumps over tensing arms and an excited heart, “almost there.”

He’d stayed with you in the office, elbows on his knees and a pointy chin in his hands with caramel-flecked eyes that watched your every move as you lay there, knee propped up on a stack of pillows, pack of ice balancing precariously where it was most swollen. His sweater had come off at the first sign of a shiver from you.

“Please?” His fingertips brushing past yours as he passed it to you.

“Thanks, Parker,” brushing hair out of your eyes, using long, shy lashes as blinds, avoiding what rested beneath his own for fear of giving yourself away.

“Yeahyeah, no problem.”

He surprised you again when on the third day of your absence he was there, knocking at your bedroom door and peeking a head covered in messy brown curls past the frame. You moved quickly to cover your legs with your blanket, self-consciousness immediately kicking in at the sight of him so close to the bubble of your safe space, at the thought of him seeing your legs bare, at seeing you in a tank top, at seeing you in your bed in your room where his eyes had never been before.

“P-parker, what are you doing here?” He hadn’t pushed the door open yet, careful eyes scanning your face, eager fingers peeking past the wood.

“Can I – Is it OK that I come in?” You were nodding before your brain had time to process that Peter Parker, the boy who constantly blinded you with dazzling smiles and a heart made of the sun, who was secretly strong but always gentle, was entering your world. It was strange that it felt such a big thing, like it was important, like it should be noted, even though it was happening now with no ceremony, no bells or whistles, just rattling nerves and shaky smiles.

“Yeah, yes, enter at your own risk,” sweaty fingers pointing up at the sign hanging above his head. When he walked past that threshold and into a new world where Peter suddenly existed where you did, and his shoulders shook as he laughed, eyes crinkling and cheeks pushing at baggy, tired puffs of sleeplessness, your heart settled and you released a breath, deciding that this was good and you very much liked him here, with you.

Even when he stood in the middle of your room, hands stuffed in pockets, backpack hanging off of one shoulder and messing up the plaid collar peeking from under a grey sweater. Even when those chocolate eyes scanned over the little secret pieces of yourself, secret pieces that weren’t a secret to him anymore, and a lazy smile had found those lips. Even when he finally turned to you and stared, words lost, like perhaps he too was beginning to realize the step he’d just taken.

“I like your room,” he managed, “did you do those?” He pointed to the push board you had decorated with sketches of flowers, the moon, famous faces, your childhood home, and him. You were praying he hadn’t noticed the one of him. You nodded, trying to rein in the panic and prepare yourself for the embarrassment when he did.

If he saw, he was gracious and kind, as he always was and said nothing, “They’re amazing. I had no idea you liked to draw.”

“Sometimes,” your eyes followed him as he moved to take a seat at the end of your bed, dropping his backpack at his feet, “it’s all about inspiration.” You didn’t miss the pale pink coloring the tops of his ears as he took your words in. Of course he’d seen. His eyes focused on his hands, tracing the lines of his palms, as seconds turned into a minute, maybe two where you just watched him and he worked studiously to avoid your eyes. His silence was too much, he was too much, pink ears, dark eyelashes, and fidgety fingers were too much, so you broke it.

“What are you doing here, Parker?” Curls jostled, settling over too-big ears and temples as he whipped his head towards you to catch your voice and offer a sheepish smile.

“Right, sorry,” unzipping his bag, he pulled out an old, ratty looking quilt that smelt overwhelmingly of him, passing it over to you with this vulnerable look on his face and in his eyes, “I wanted to bring you this, you-you know, for comfort. To help you, with your knee. It’s mine-well, is mine now. It was my uncle’s before, you know,” Before you could say anything, before you could tell him in so many words that your heart was now a sopping puddle of adoration full of the heaviness of his gesture, he was already talking again, silence having been broken, he was now a bundle of nerves, an open heart, and a blur of words.

“Anyway, here’s all of the homework you’ve missed. I took notes for you, and I thought that I could, um, maybe go over them with you, h-help you with your make-up work and studying, or whatever,” he was digging in his bag again. Your fingers traced over swirling patterns and faded colors as you watched the way his mouth moved around the sounds, lost in thought, lost in all of the walls crumbling and the feel and smell of this new world you existed in, lost in that feeling you’d had many times since that day in chemistry where you realized how much you wanted his lips to know yours, too.

“Oh, and I got you these,” you looked up to the crinkling plastic of your favorite snack and a nervous smile, “I know you like them. I’ve seen you with a bag almost every day at lun-” you cut him off with a kiss to the cheek, too afraid of what else would change if you’d pressed at his lips instead, if you’d thanked him where your eyes always hovered, lingering, trying your best to convey everything you were feeling through the warmth blossoming where bodies were connected by blushing cheeks and blushing lips.

“Oh,” he whispered, like he’d clued in, like he was smiling, like he was singing.

“Thanks, Park-Peter. Peter.”

“Yeahyeah, no, uh, no problem,” he whispered again, eyes wide and full of the sun. Your fingers were pacing over fabric again.

“About this homework -”

“Right, right, so in Physics,” and he was a blushing mess as his fingers shuffled through the papers he’d brought you, smile on his face that brought that feeling right back, lips unsated, lips wanting more now that they’d stepped into that known world of his skin.

“You-you’re,” his answering laugh was uncomfortable, gloved hand rubbing at the back of a masked neck; gesture helping to ground your shocked heart because it was so familiar, “Peter, you’re telling me that you’re the Spider-Man?” There was doubt in your words where there was none in your heart. Looking at the shape of him and the way he held himself,  hearing him, that voice and his laugh, smelling him; that mix of sweetness, spring-time, and musk that was wholly Peter, you knew it was the truth, that maybe, perhaps you’d always known that Peter was more.

“That’s what I’m telling you,” the lines of his jaw and too-big ears hiding beneath red lycra nodding as he took a step closer to where you sat, where he’d told you to sit when he’d shown up at the time and place where he’d wanted you to be, yellow light from the lamp post above your heads casting shadows, accentuating the lines of him that you knew so well even beneath the disguise.

“Ok then, Peter, let me see,” shaky fingers pointing up at his masked head that he was already shaking in response.

“I can’t, not here,” he took a seat next to you, scratchy costumed thighs rubbing against the sides of softer ones as he leaned into you, shoulder burning as his pressed into yours, white reflective eyes peering, pleading with the last bit of disbelief gleaming in them, “but you know, I know you know.” Hesitantly, he placed a hand on your knee, warmth of him spreading through your limbs from that point, like he knew that touching you would be the punctuation mark you need for the questions you’d had swirling in your mind. He watched as your eyes traced over red fingers and the ways they molded around you.

“I do, I know,” you were looking at him, looking at those hazy white shields that hid chocolate brown eyes, “you’re so good, of course it’s you.” Warm fingers squeezed and you heard a sigh push past lips, sound muted through tight weaves.

“But, Peter, what you’re doing, it’s so-so dangerous. Why?” You were asking, but in your heart of minds you already knew the answer to that question, the words were still bouncing around your chest: because he is good, strong, gentle, kind, and warm. You remembered that day months ago where he’d picked you up from cold tile and carried you; the ease and grace he’d done it with surprising then, making sense now.

“Because I can, so I should,” the words were simple, but the weight of them pressed down on the red and blue of his back like the moon did the ocean. And suddenly there was that feeling again, only this time you didn’t just want to kiss him for yourself you wanted to do it for all of the times no one had, you wanted to leave hundreds and hundreds of ‘thank yous’ on his skin like craters, for all of the ‘because I cans’ and ‘so I shoulds.’

Instead, you wrapped your arms around the broadness of his shoulders and curled your hands around the back of his head, pulling him to you and holding as tightly as you could; indebted, giving him all of the worry that no one knew they should be feeling for the boy behind the suit, giving him the warmth and unspoken words of gratitude that no even knew to package and label ‘Peter Parker.’

But you knew, so you held him and whispered with your arms and heart.

Your lips kissed at where his ear poked through fabric, at his temples, lips spelling out everything for the boy who could, so did.

“You have got to stop,” your hands were linked together behind his neck, a few fingers twirling around loose, toffee curls, forearms resting comfortably on firm jacketed, shoulders. His hands were warm, holding on to your hips, steadying himself as you swayed with him, bodies brushing against each other as you moved.

“I have to stop what?” His eyebrows were furrowed, but the grin on his face told you that he knew. He knew what your heart whispered in that secret space inside your chest. His heart had heard it, had answered many times; had encouraged him to ask you to Homecoming. The last Homecoming.

“Saying things,” forehead leaning against his collar to hide your face, the look of him under the stars, dressed as nicely as he was, with that knowing look in his eye and that stupid smirk on his face too much.

“You want me to stop talking?”

“Yes,” you spoke to the flower pinned at his chest.

“So,” his hands were wrapped fully around your back now, pulling you flush with him, bodies humming and veins swimming with sugar and honey and syrup, “I can’t tell you how pretty you are?”

“Peter,” you whined, face, neck, and chest as red as the rose on your corsage.

“What about,” he paused, drawing out the sounds of his words to tease you further, your heart hanging on every syllable, “how you make my heart feel like its stopping and starting again all at once?” Your ear was pressed to his chest and you could hear it, hear what he meant, how that thing in his chest was flying like a bird does on a clear day. One of his hands had worked its way up your back and into your hair, fingertips sculpting warmth where they touched and pulled at your jaw, pulling your face up from the safety of his chest to look at him. You shook your head with fine, delicate brows furrowed and scrunched, a pout on your stained lips.

“Or how badly I’ve wanted you like this,” and he didn’t have to explain what he meant; that he had wanted to touch you, in all ways, to have your lines blurred, to share in breaths and warmth and feelings, worlds and secret pieces.

It wasn’t so silly to think that his lips probably begged to be with yours in his own secret place, too.

“Peter,” you whispered, that feeling that was always there now, the one that begged you constantly to just embrace his lips like your heart had all of him, was boiling over and you weren’t entirely sure you could keep yourself from it any longer. Not with those words and this night and the way the little points of light above you in that inky blackness were reflected and dancing in the warm, earthy honey colors of his eyes as they took in the sight of you so wrapped up in every part of him.

“I’m going to stop using words now, OK?”

His hands were cradling your face and all of the stars, save for the ones he was made of, disappeared when lips begged no more and instead started to sing.

They kept singing for a second, a third, a fourth, and for all times to come as he kept kissing, kept pulling and pushing in all of the ways you’d wanted to for months, years; the shape of his lips changing as he smiled, happiness leeching into happy kisses. Happy kisses full of bright light; of hearts colliding and a new Universe forming blazed through your body, your soul, when his lips finally blended with the world of yours, a new feeling blossoming as his lips and your lips, your lips; two lips now one, embraced and danced together in warmth, across new terrain and unexplored but well-mapped territory in a land with winds that breathed Peter across mountains, rivers, valleys, and oceans of emotion.

He was still hovering over wet, swollen lips when he found his words again, “Ok, wow, thank you,” thin lips stained a shade darker from the way you’d painted his, eyelashes fluttering over rosy cheeks.

“Really, what sort of dork says ‘thank you’ after a kiss like that?” You were laughing at him and taking in his face, the face of Peter stepping into a new world where you and he existed and kissed each other.

“Umm, the sort of dork you like?” And the way he said it warmed you further.

“And excuse me, but I wasn’t thanking you. I was thanking the Universe, because I was definitely dying tonight if I didn’t get to do that,” and the way he said it was magnetic and pulled your lips to his again, the sound of your lips pulling apart new and exciting and a sound you wanted to hear again and again because it was yours.

“Peter, you are the Universe.”

He smiled that smile that was made of sunlight, pressing those warm, moist lips to your forehead, lingering in that heat pooling where two points of crackling, sparking souls met and spun.

“You need to stop talking now.”

Let me know what you guys think. Feedback is always appreciated.

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[eene-fangirl]

The Bloody Nose [An Ed, Edd n Eddy Fanfiction]

Note: I know I have posted and reblogged this about a thousand times but this piece will be going in with my creative thesis. If you could please read and leave a review that would be awesome! This is one of my favorite eene stories that I have written.

Eddy didn’t want to be in school that day, not like he wanted to be there any day of the week. Edd forced him out of his house that morning by sending Ed in on him and dragging him to school against his will. He should have just faked being sick to get out of the math test he was obviously going to fail. The day dragged with its usual slow pace. It was finally lunch time. He wasn’t able to enjoy this break as Edd was on his back trying to get him to study for the upcoming test. “And here is 5 divided by 75. Can you figure out this problem, Eddy?” Edd pestered. “Doubt it.” “Come on, Eddy. You set the problem up. Put the five outside the divided box. Now how many times does five go into seven?” Eddy stared at the problem. “How should I know? Seven’s bigger than five.” “Very good, Eddy. Now put a zero here. Now add 7 and 0 and now you can…” Eddy crumpled up the piece of paper. “This is useless! Why are teachers teaching us this stuff?”

“Eddy, that was easy. Just tell me what the answer could have been.” “Oh, oh, I know, pick me!” Ed yelled raising his voice into Edd’s ear. Edd wiped off the saliva from the side of his face, but still gave Ed a warm smile. “Yes, Ed, what is the answer?” “15!” Edd looked startled and calculated the problem. “Why, Ed, that was brilliant! How did you figure that out?” “Figure what out?” Ed dumbly laughed making his two friends roll their eyes. Much to Eddy’s dismay, the bell rang for next class. “I shoulda just faked being sick.” Eddy said on the way to class. “Now, Eddy, if you at least studied for tests you could get through this in a breeze. But,  don’t cheat your way out of this.” “Cheat? When have I ever cheated?” Eddy said oblivious that he was already in the room. The teacher gave him her glare as he walked past to sit in his desk. Great, now he was going to be watched the whole time. The test was handed out. It had three pages. The teacher was expecting him to pass this? What a joke the school system was. Eddy scribbled against the paper, filling in random number. Guessing got you the correct answer once in a while. He slumped against his desk. Not even ten minutes went by. Something slid down from his nose. He wiped his hand against it. Eddy’s eyes bulged when he saw blood smeared on his hand. His heart pounded as he blocked the blood coming out. “Double D, you got any tissues?” Eddy whispered to his friend. Edd at first looked concerned, but then his look changed to being annoyed.  “Really, Eddy? A fake nose bleed? That’s a new one.” “I ain’t foolin’, just get me…” “Shh, get back to work or the teacher will be angry.” Eddy turned to Ed, but didn’t both asking when he saw him shoving tissues through his nose and out his ear. “I’m a clown, Eddy.” Eddy felt his breath catch in his throat, feeling as if he couldn’t breathe. He waved his hand rapidly to get the teachers attention. Her face was hidden behind a magazine.

A drip of blood slid off his finger and landed on his test paper. In a second, Eddy ran out of the room. Edd shook his head. Why did Eddy have to do this? He was a smart kid, he was too lazy to show it.

The little red puddle caught Edd’s attention though. He used pretty convincing fake blood.

A realization came into Edd’s mind. Edd put on a rubber glove and dabbed it in the red puddle. He inspected it through his magnifying glass and sniffed it. Edd slumped in his chair. It was blood. Eddy was telling the truth. “Excuse me, may I use the restroom?” he asked.

Edd walked out into the hallway. “Eddy?” How could he mess up this big? He should know whenever Eddy was in trouble. He had that rare scared look in his eyes. Edd needed to find Eddy and fast.

Eddy burst through the door of the bathroom and yanked a paper towel out and threw it under his nose. He had to calm down. It was just a nose bleed. ‘You gonna give me that last cookie?’ 'No, I got it first.’ The blood was seeping all over the towel. He got rid of it and ripped another one out. 'Did you just say no to me?’ Yeah, what are you going to do about it?’ Blood dripped on his shirt. Eddy’s heart pounded even more as he tried to wet his shirt and tend to his nose at the same time. Eddy ripped one paper towel after another with no sign of his nose bleed coming to an end. 'Same thing I do to every kid who say no to me.’ 'uh… mom…” 'Mom and Dad are gone…“ Eddy felt as if he couldn’t breathe and for the fist time he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked as if he was in a horror movie. Blood dribbled into his mouth and it was the most awful taste ever. 'Now, did you learn you lesson about saying no to me?’ 'My nose…” 'Don’t worry, this is the best way to learn the hard way.’ Eddy reached for the last paper towel. Kevin stole it from him. “What’s wrong, Dorky? Spring a leak?” Eddy’s fingers gripped the counter. He didn’t have a paper towel to block the blood from coming out. The bottom half of his face slowly began to get covered in blood.

Blood dripped into the sink. Kevin saw this as a second chance to get back at Eddy for making fun of his fear of shots a week ago.

Kevin forcefully bent Eddy’s head down making him watch each drip of blood hit the sink. “Just keep holding your head down, dork. It’s better that way.” Eddy could see the vile smile, but then looked through the mirror and his image resembled his five year old self. “Drip…” Kevin taunted. 'What’s that, I hear a car in the driveway…’ “Drip…” 'Welp, I’m off, hope you learned your lesson, pipsqueak.’

Edd came running around the corner. He stopped upon noticing a blood stain on the door. “Eddy…” “Drip…” “Kevin!” Edd shouted appearing in the bathroom. “Can’t you see you’re traumatizing Eddy? Out, now!” he yelled only making Kevin chuckle to himself. Edd threw a new batch of tissues under Eddy’s nose and instructed him to hold his head back. “Calm down, Eddy. Everything is alright.” Edd said to Eddy. Edd put Eddy’s hands under the water so he could rinse the blood off. Eddy was barricading the tears in his head. He was being such a baby, overreacting about a dumb nose bleed. But, it was all over his shirt. He watched as the blood swirled around with the water and disappeared down the drain.

Edd held Eddy up when he noticed his friend becoming dizzy. “Come on, Eddy. let’s get you to the nurse.” Edd said guiding his friend into the hallway.

Almost everything was a blur to Eddy after that. The nurse tended to his nose for the longest time and never left his side. He answered questions about how long his nose bleed for and if he was dizzy or not.

His head hurt and his legs felt heavy whenever he stood up. He almost felt sick to his stomach. His heart continued to pound. He stumbled his words as his hands continued to shake.

Edd stayed by his side the whole time. He refused to go back to class wanting to make sure his friend was okay. He talked about how Kevin taunted Eddy in the bathroom. The chance of Kevin being in trouble made Eddy feel a little better.

Eddy stared up at the ceiling in the little room. His brother hitting him happened when he was five and yet it would never leave his mind. He lied on the floor for almost a half hour before his parents came in the door. That was weeks before his parents ordered his brother out of the house. Edd entered the room with his belongings. “Here are your belongings, Eddy. Your mother will be here soon.” “My mother?” This was the fist time Eddy said something. He noticed how frightened he sounded. “The nurse doesn’t believe it’s a good idea for you to stay in school. You lost a lost of blood. This is only for safe precautions. Eddy felt relieved that he got his wish, but he didn’t want it to be this way. "Would you like a glass of water, Eddy?” Eddy wasn’t able to keep the glass steady. Edd patted his shoulder. Eddy didn’t know what to say. He noticed how they’d been fighting a lot lately. Edd was a true friend through the ups and downs. If only he could have been there during that time when his brother… Eddy didn’t want to think about that because the tears were creeping into his eyelids. “Sorry, I made you miss your test.” He said to Double D. “It’s no trouble, Eddy. I can finish it after school.” Just then Eddy’s mother showed up. She showed deep concern when she looked at Eddy. “Oh, Eddy…” “I’m okay, mom, really.” The nurse had Eddy’s mother step into her office to talk while Edd helped Eddy put on his coat. “Now just go home and get some rest. Don’t do any physical activity or you’ll only make your nose…” “Hey!” Eddy interrupted making Edd jump. His rambling was making Eddy more annoyed, especially in this state of mind. “Thanks.” The two friends stared at one another. It was rare whenever Eddy thanked him. “You’re welcome, Eddy. Ed and I could come by after school if you want us to.” Eddy smiled and he left with his mother.

It was a quiet ride home. “Eddy, if you need to talk to me about what happened, we can. I know nose bleeds have a…” “Mom, I’m fine. I just want to forget about it.” Eddy curled up in his pillow and closed his eyes. With sleep the day’s events slowly began to fade. He knew everything was better once his friends jumped on his bed to cheer him up.