#Cuddling and Snuggling

[aventurineswife]

Luck Be a Gentle Touch

Summary: After a difficult day filled with verbal harassment and an accidental injury, you return home to Aventurine, feeling emotionally drained and physically hurt. Sensing something is wrong, Aventurine gently tends to your wounds, offering comfort in his own charismatic yet surprisingly tender way. As the weight of the day settles, he pulls you into a warm embrace, proving that even a man who treats life as a gamble knows when to hold onto what truly matters.

Tags: Aventurine x Reader, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with Comfort, Established Relationship, Soft Aventurine, Emotional Support, Tending to Wounds, Cuddling & Snuggling, Protective, Slow Burn Emotions, Subtle Vulnerability.

Warnings: Mentions of Verbal Harassment, Dissociation, Injury (Scraped Hands/Knee), Emotional Distress, Touch-Starved Reader, Aventurine Being Soft (Which might be dangerous to your heart).

Requested by: @avenrose

The moment you stepped into Aventurine’s lavish suite, the weight of the day pressed down harder. Your leg throbbed, the dull ache of raw skin scraping against your pant leg a constant reminder of your earlier misstep. The sting barely registered, though. Not after what happened before that.

Your mind replayed the cruel words hurled at you, the sneering faces of strangers who had cut through your already fragile defenses with sharp, careless remarks. It left you hollow, as if the world had siphoned away your sense of self and left nothing but a vacant shell behind.

Aventurine’s voice was the first thing that broke through the fog.

“Well, well, you’re late. I was starting to think you finally ran off to live a life free from my overwhelming charm.”

He was lounging on the chaise, one leg crossed over the other, golden rings glinting under the soft lighting as he toyed with a poker chip between his fingers. His signature smirk was firmly in place, but the moment his sharp eyes swept over you, the playfulness wavered.

You were limping. That much, he caught immediately. And you weren’t reacting to his teasing—not with a groan, not with a glare, not even with that exasperated little sigh you usually gave him.

You felt his gaze sharpen, his ever-calculating mind shifting gears in real time. But instead of prying, he simply set the poker chip down with a quiet click against the table and pushed himself up. In three smooth strides, he was in front of you, close enough that his cologne—notes of spice and something rich, like aged whiskey—wrapped around you.

“Alright, sweetheart. What happened?”

You shook your head, not trusting your voice. The words sat heavy in your throat, stuck beneath the weight of too much. Too much hurt, too much exhaustion, too much of that sickly, numbing emptiness.

Aventurine didn’t push. Instead, his hand reached out, fingers ghosting just beneath your chin as he tilted your face up. His gaze flickered down, catching sight of your scraped palms, the faint traces of dried blood and grit embedded in the wounds.

“Tch.” His tongue clicked against his teeth, but the sharpness wasn’t directed at you. “You didn’t even clean these, did you? What am I going to do with you?”

Before you could protest, he was already leading you toward the plush sofa, guiding you down with a gentleness that felt at odds with his usual flamboyant arrogance. Then he disappeared into the bathroom, returning moments later with a first aid kit in one hand and a damp cloth in the other.

“This might sting a little,” he murmured, and then, softer, “Try not to hate me for it, hm?”

You barely flinched as he began dabbing at your wounds, carefully cleaning away the dirt and dried blood. His touch was deft, practiced even, as if he had done this a hundred times before—perhaps he had, in one form or another. A man like Aventurine, who danced on the knife’s edge of risk and consequence, surely knew a thing or two about tending to wounds.

He didn’t fill the silence with empty words. No cooing reassurances, no unnecessary questions. Just the quiet, methodical sound of him working, the occasional brush of his fingers against your skin.

When he was finished, he leaned back, inspecting his handiwork with a satisfied nod. “Good as new,” he declared, though his smirk was softer than usual. “Now, about that limp. Let me see—”

You started to protest, but he was already kneeling before you, fingers easing up your leg to inspect the damage. The scrape along your knee wasn’t deep, but it looked painful. His lips pressed into a thin line, a rare flicker of something unreadable in his expression.

“I should start charging for this level of care,” he mused, though his usual arrogance lacked its usual bite. “But since I’m feeling generous, I’ll settle for one thing in return.”

You glanced at him warily. “Which is?”

“C’mere.”

Before you could react, he was shifting beside you, tugging you into his arms with practiced ease. You stiffened at first, but his warmth was steady, his grip loose enough that you could pull away if you wanted.

You didn’t.

Your body slumped against him, exhaustion catching up all at once. Aventurine sighed, his breath ruffling your hair as he adjusted his hold, one hand smoothing over your back in slow, absentminded strokes.

“See?” he murmured. “I’m not just a devilishly handsome strategist. I make a decent pillow too.”

You let out a soft huff, something almost like a laugh. It wasn’t much, but Aventurine caught it. And that, more than anything, made his hold tighten just a fraction.

Neither of you spoke after that. The world outside could wait. For now, wrapped in Aventurine’s warmth, the weight pressing down on you felt just a little lighter.

[warcats-cat]

Frat Boiz

Summary: The first Friday night of every month was pizza and movies night, and the second Sunday of every month was movies and snuggles (aka date night). There were two reasons for the necessity of this distinction of dates, and their names were Apollo and Dionysus.

A/N: Hello my darlings! (hehe) This one is short and sweet; I've been holding onto for a bit. It's actually the second one I ever wrote (and happened to be Halloween at the time, hence the movies) and I've been debating posting it as always, but I want to bring in more Apollo and some of the other Olympian Siblings **kicks pile of wips under my bed** so I do hope you guys like their dynamic. Thanks as always to @lickoutyourbrains for being my lovely beta, although they may not remember this one actually... 😅

Also, the end note will link to my reference for Apollo, which I am using with credit from the artist. Please let me know if I need to add any other tags, and as always, ENJOY!!!

Read on Ao3 Here!

The first Friday night of every month was pizza and movies night, and the second Sunday of every month was movies and snuggles (aka date night). There were two reasons for the necessity of this distinction of dates, and their names were Apollo and Dionysus.

You’d never admit it to anyone, but you really did adore how close Hermes was with his brothers. He played a lot of pranks on the other Olympians, and many of them gave back as good as they got, but the three of them specifically (and occasionally Artemis when she was feeling especially devious) were engaged in a millennia-old prank war. Your apartment, thankfully, had become neutral ground, after an incident involving a beer keg being poured off of your apartment's roof like rain (thoroughly soaking Hermes and missing you by millimeters) and rather upsetting your landlord…

You could still remember Dionysus laughing: “Get it? It's a golden shower!”

But that also meant that that's where the other two wanted to hang out with the ‘middle child’, because Hermes spent so much of his free time with you instead of with them. Which led to “pizza and movies Friday” - your way of keeping the three of them on relatively good behavior when inside your home.

There was a handsome leopard skin coat hanging by your door at the moment, ten different bottles of alcohol on the coffee table, two empty pizza boxes on the kitchen table, and three ethereally beautiful men passed out on the floor of your living room.

You smiled, gently nudging Apollo’s shoulder with your foot. He grumbled in response, otherwise unmoving.

The four of you (Artemis was out with her hunters this weekend on a girls trip, probably bathed in blood by now) had sat down for scary movies for the spooky season; starting with the original Dracula, partially to laugh at, and then moving forward through the years. Scream, IT, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and a bunch of other Halloween movies had all passed by in a blur until it was three-thirty am and you were half on top of Hermes as he had pushed his brothers off the couch so you could comfortably lay down. You’d forced them to take a break about midnight so you could watch Little Shop of Horrors; you weren't a wimp but you weren't really into the gory stuff either, and since it was your apartment and you’d bought the pizza (and three bottles of wine), they had to acquiesce.

Some time around three am they all started speaking exclusively in old Greek. Which was great.

You nudged Apollo again, which he grumbled at some more and rolled away from your reach, onto Dionysus, who kicked in his own unconscious state and almost knocked over the coffee table. Damn divine strength. Hermes was right under the couch, face down. The wings where his ears would be twitched a little as he slept and your smile widened; you loved playing with his hair and - when he allowed it - petting the silky soft feathers. It was so interesting, the way the wings moved with his emotions; especially with you, when he was more relaxed and let them loose instead of pressed tight against his hair.

It was close to ten am, now; thankfully you'd had the forethought to close your window curtains to keep the light out, so none of you awoke to the screaming brightness alongside a hangover. You hadn't drank a lot, but you did have a headache and a bit of a dry mouth to greet you when you woke.

You weren't really sure how Hermes had fallen off the couch, since he had been behind you and cuddling you like his personal teddy bear when you fell asleep. You also weren't really sure why they'd all chosen to just sleep on the floor when there was a perfectly good air mattress in your front closet that they'd slept on before, but whatever.

Who was a mortal to question a god?

Breakfast would be nice, though…

Carefully, you climbed around the couch to get closer to the kitchen, and leave the sleeping gods where they lay. You didn't really cook breakfast that often, usually opting for pop tarts or granola bars as you left for work, but there were a few ingredients in the fridge you could probably use. Hermes left food in there all the time, anyway, and it never seemed to spoil any more.

That was also a big perk of having a divine boyfriend; groceries that didn't go bad.

Rooting around the fridge and freezer, you found a few basics - eggs, milk, cheese, various meats that were probably dropped off by one of the Twins, and frozen toaster waffles. A veritable feast of a hangover cure.

You set about making some scrambled eggs; the simple recipes were always your go-to, and none of your guests ever seemed to mind. While waiting for the pan to heat with a little butter, you popped two waffles into the toaster and grabbed your phone to look at pictures from last night.

There were a lot of terrible, shaky selfies, but also some really cute pictures you would have to print for your walls. You and Hermes cuddled together, reading something from his phone; all four of you making very dumb faces at the camera; Dionysus posing with his leopard skin coat wrapped around his hips like a loin cloth (covering much more of the back than the front,  but with the sleeves draped just so to hide the important part); Apollo and Hermes arm wrestling. One photo you sent to Artemis - the three men laying in a pile, red-faced and about halfway unconscious, hanging off the couch cushions. That was right before you’d yawned and Hermes had made his brothers move.

You heard grumbling as you cracked the first two eggs, thinking you'd might as well make the whole dozen in one go. Anything they didn't eat, you could have later for a lunch or something. The grumbling got a little louder, and you leaned back into the living room in time to see Dionysus elbow Apollo right in the face, making the sun god yell indignantly.

Oh dear. Oh well…

“Food!” You called, hoping to stop a real fist fight before it started. Hermes sat right up, both wings spread out as if on the alert, but his eyes still glazed with sleep.

“Hm?” He looked at you, sort of though you, and blinked a few times. The other brothers had also frozen mid-attack, and were now staring at you; peering from the dark living room into the lighted kitchen.

It was like three raccoons with glowing eyes watching you from a trash can.

“Food.” You repeated, as they stared. A few beats of silence later and you added on, “Scrambled eggs?”

Like the beasts they were, all three perked up, now smelling the sizzling eggs. Hermes was the first in the kitchen, being both the closest and the god of speed, and he gave you a very sweet kiss on the cheek as he began to help you cook. You couldn't complain, he was a better chef than you; and he was a much better judge dealing with the venison gifted by the Twins. Frozen chicken nuggets were more your speed…

Apollo and Dio joined the pair of you only a few moments later. The sun god stretched, showing off his bare chest and various tattoos which looked like etchings of gold set into the marble of his skin. Meanwhile, the god of wine sat at your little kitchen table, apparently having summoned champagne for mimosas.

The four of you made idle conversation; the three brothers now playing gentlemen insisted that you have the first plate of eggs and waffle, and you sat next to Dio as Hermes handed you a bag of chocolate chips from the pantry. You both had a sweet tooth - he knew you so well. Various questions of ‘how did you sleep’ and ‘how many eggs’ were exchanged. It was mostly a warm morning, and you were just happy for the company. With all four of you finally seated with your plates, more focused conversation could begin.

All three would have to leave soon; they all had jobs to be doing, whether that be on Earth or Olympus. You knew Hermes would be starting off somewhere in France picking up a package from Hera in one of her summer homes - most likely another round of Divorce papers which would be responded to with another round of apology letters. Maybe Zeus would show up in person this time.

You laughed as you showed off the pictures you took, “the three of you are worse than frat boys sometimes,” you teased.

Apollo dramatically feigned offense, “I’ll have you know I am the epitome of class.”

You flashed a mildly evil smile; “sure,” you replied, “lots of class from the man who has swirly gold tattoos on his ass.”

This comment made the sun god turn white; Hermes choked on an egg and Dio snorted mimosa right out his nose.

“Who told you that?” Apollo hissed, looking scandalized. He had several lovers who shared his home and time, and you'd met three of them so far. You grinned.

“Hyacinthus may have let it slip.” You replied. In truth, he had scrolled one photo too far while showing you snapshots of different outfits worn to some fancy event (maybe something related to the Olympics?), and you'd seen significantly more of the sun god than strictly necessary; thankfully from the back… You knew there was no malice in Apollo's actions; at worst, Hyacinth would be texting you later that his credit card privileges were taken away for a week. You’d take him out for a massage or drinks or something sometime soon, and that would restore the balance.

Dionysus laughed, his head thrown back and his eyes tearing up. Hermes was laughing as well, but took a minute to kiss you and say softly in your ear, “god I love you.” Apollo pouted, but his puppy-eyes and trembling lip disappeared as you passed him the champagne. You were certain he'd have something to tease you and Hermes about soon enough.

After a little more breakfast, along with a little more champagne and a little more banter, the three were kind enough to help you clear the table (you could deal with dishes later) and begin gathering their things to leave. You grabbed Dio’s coat to hand it to him, and he ruffled your hair affectionately and said, “next time, we’ll show ya how to party on Olympus,” before leaving - still barefoot.

Somehow that felt a little bit like a playful threat. It was certainly an intimidating thought, you were sure his parties were more wild than any college movie could depict.

Apollo smirked, took your hand, and softly kissed your knuckles, once again a gentleman. “Was my offering acceptable, Lord Apollo?” You asked playfully, referring to the eggs and previous night's pizza. He grinned.

“Acceptable, I suppose.” he replied, giving Hermes a light punch on the shoulder and saying something like “see you later, feathers,” before also taking his leave.

“Feathers. I like that nickname.” You said, as Hermes' arms snaked around you. He smiled, bright and loving, and you could see the silver in his eyes glowing just a bit.

“I'm glad you can hold your own against my siblings,” he said, giving you another kiss. You chuckled.

“Well, I have to hold my own against you, don't I?” You replied, sliding your own hands down to his waist and slipping a hand into his messenger bag. Right at the top, just inside a little pocket, was your phone, which you pulled back out and waved for him to see. He only looked proud - proud of himself and proud of you knowing him so well.

“Yes. Yes you do.” He readjusted his bag and leaned down to tighten his sandals, and you took the chance to muss his hair again, make him stay a moment longer. You grabbed his sunglasses from the coffee table while he put on his helmet, and then he was ready.

You had the rest of the day to yourself, the day off from work and no pressing errands. Maybe you would read a book or scroll on your phone. One last kiss goodbye and Hermes was gone, but you knew he would be back soon.

And right on time as you returned to the couch, your phone lit up with a text. Hyacinthus.

Your life was crazy, but you sure did love it.

-----

Check out Apollo's tattoos designed by @bambiilooloo !!! Thanks again for letting me reference your art! I *still* can't get over those swirlies 🤣🤣🤣🤣!!!

Also "three raccoons with glowing eyes staring at you from a trash can" is probably my favorite line I have ever and will ever write (/hj)

[pollyna]

It's an accident, the first time that happens. Mav knocks because he needs sugar and stays over because Ice is watching a new movie he didn't get to catch on the big screen. It's two in the afternoon, and Ice is pleasantly warm against his shoulder.

Slider wakes them up four hours later and laughs because "I only woke you up because I was hungry and Tom promised dinner".

And so the saga of them falling asleep on the couch starts just to end on the bed because four weeks in Ice's back is protesting and he promises Mav is bed is way more comfortable and there are pillows.

(Mav ends up using Ice's chest as a pillow instead. Doesn't matter where they are sleeping.)

((They kiss, just as accidentally, one morning almost seven months in their arrangement when Ice turns around and Mav gives him a pec on his nose, eyes still close and humming satisfied before hiding his face against Ice's necks. Ice kisses his forehead and gets back to sleep. It opens a door to whole other accidents made over a shared cups of coffee and Mav wearing Ice's shirt as pj's.)

[delicatesmilesys]

༘⋆₊ ⊹★🔭࣭ ⭑⋆｡˚ Meteor Shower (Stanford x Reader)

Author’s Note: I don’t know much about meteors showers so this may not be super accurate but I thought you would enjoy it!!!

tags : meteor shower, night-time, crush x crush, person has a crush, sfw, confessing, confession, kissing, sfw, cuddling and snuggling, gravity falls x you, gravity falls x reader, Stanford Pines x Reader, Stanford Pines x You, Second Person POV, Female Reader

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Since he hadn't witnessed a meteor shower in years, Stanford was looking forward to this one in late August. He wanted to bring you along to witness this event, it is the most notable meteor shower in Oregon called the Perseids, which he knows is active from mid-July to late-August and peaks at mid-August. This was important to him and you were going to be a part of it, "Is the blanket all set?" Stanford asked while you brought the picnic basket and you put the blanket on the grass since you wanted to be sure you were ready to see this and you two have binoculars. "Yes, I have everything here." Ford just smiled at you, "Okay, Good." everything had to be perfect for this notable event.

Why he brought you out here still baffles you. He never struck you as the social guy, he would come out of the basement every once in a while, it's not like you didn't like his company. You enjoyed his company and found him handsome. For an old man like him, he never had to worry about wrinkles while you were in the prime of your youth but a part of you just felt old. While you were sitting on the blanket on the grass looking at the night sky. 

“Look, Y/N! The Peresid!” Stanford catches your attention, prompting you to glance through your binoculars; OH, it was so lovely, after all, it was midnight. It featured a variety of colors, including green and purple. It resembled a blaze, a burst of light. This was a special moment, a moment you could never forget.

It seemed as though the night sky was bursting with color, and you were unaware that Stanford was staring at you rather than the meteor shower. As if you were the brightest star in the world, he had to turn away before you noticed the blush on Stanford's cheeks. You were too absorbed in the event itself, and when you spotted Stanford glancing away, you were concerned. "Ford?" You asked with care.

Stanford felt as if his heart was pounding against his chest. He couldn’t confess right now, could he? No, he couldn't. He didn't want to ruin the friendship he had with you. Besides who would want to be with him anyway? His thoughts were about to consume him. 

"I'm okay, just pondering." Ford lied. Lies he told himself. But what stopped him from admitting was the way his eyes kept meeting yours. "Alright, if you say so." You said knowing how socially awkward Ford can be at times so this was expected from him. Besides it was peaceful silent looking up at the stars and wondering what could've been a relaxing night. 

You knew you liked him, but you weren't sure about it. Is it wrong to have sensations like this when you imagine yourself and Ford seated next to one other across the grass? "You know you have beautiful eyes, right?" This caught you by surprise, and you blushed at the compliment. "They remind me of the stars, Is that too much?" Stanford started to scratch his neck nervously. "No, no, I appreciate the compliment." To see the blush on his cheeks. 

"Wow, smooth," Ford thought to himself. He just saved himself the trouble after all and he knew this was too good to be true this was happening right now. Fuck it, I can't hide this from Y/N anymore.

“Uh, Y/N?” You looked intently into his eyes after hearing him say your name. "I think there's something that I've been meaning to tell you this whole time but I just couldn't-." A part of you questioned what was so important, but you wanted him to speak up for himself. "I think I have feelings for you." Fearing rejection, he instantly pulled away and looked away. You didn't know what to say feeling yourself becoming speechless before a smile slowly creaks.

You were completely unprepared for this. Despite the awkwardness, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. But you could not help but smile. “I never expected you to confess like this.” “Yet you managed to give me a warm feeling in my gut that no one else had.” Stanford never thought you would accept his feelings. Since he thought he was too old for you. It didn’t matter to you since you enjoyed his company.

Stanford looked away from you, acknowledging the awkwardness. You began to find it more endearing when he was unable to speak, which you smile more. "We could be more than friends if that is what you want." You spoke as you placed a palm on his cheek pushing him to look at you. "I would like that very much.." You kissed him on the lips, which shocked him, but he returned the kiss like an ocean washed over him. He desperately needed this.

His eyes closed asking for this moment to never end and your eyes were already deeply closed. Being aware that you also didn't want this moment to end. You wrapped your arms swiftly around him as the night sky shone brighter than before as the meteor showered blissfully.

Nothing could stop this perfect moment as holding close to one another. You needed to draw away for air. He was observing you as though you had not changed. However, a sensation of warmth in his chest, the blanket laid on the grass holding each other in each other's arms.

You saw that you two needed to return inside the mystery shack. It was growing late, and the sun was slowly rising to signal that time had passed.

“We should get going." As he slowly released his grip, Stanford replied decisively, "Let me get the blanket and binoculars. You slowly got up and you let Ford grab the blanket and binoculars. And now you two are heading towards the shack, knowing you are going to head out for the night.

You and Ford were both headed towards the shack. He opened the front door of the shack for you. You knew you had a house to go to, but this was different. He stopped before the basement and looked over at you and asked, "Do you want to sleep on the couch or do you want to head to the basement with me?" Ford asked. You didn't want to feel awkward. "I can come down to the basement." You said.

He took your answer and he helped you come down to the basement, the two of you walking down in the basement. He has been sleeping in the basement since he moved back into his home after years of being missing and has done his research there as well.

You were now in the basement as if it was your first time there. You looked about: there were test tubers and papers scattered everywhere, and you noticed a small bed; you were exhausted, so you didn't mind the cramped space around you. It was a better option than sleeping on the couch and you did a lot better in company than alone. "I apologize if it isn't much but I can make things comfortable for you." Ford offered even though you accepted his hospitality.

You lay down on the bed, draping a blanket over yourself waiting for yourself waiting for Ford to join you. Ford walked over to you and laid down on the bed putting the blanket over himself as you were waiting for him.

Ford extended his arms for you. You went within his arms, and he wrapped his arms around you, and the two of you began cuddling together as you laid your head on the pillow right next to him.

This was nice for you, and he was warm as you snuggled up to him. You wanted to stay warm, especially on this cold night, so you began to close your eyes. Ford fell asleep quickly, likely due to exhaustion. You were aware that he always fought to sleep due to him constantly working and trying to overcome his trauma from Bill Cipher and being gone for so many years yet here you are.

Things were changing quickly, and you hadn't intended on settling in right away just to see how things went. You know Ford would never damage you in any manner, he was a logical man but he wouldn't be the type to lay a hand on you, he's too much of a sweetheart to you to think about doing that.

You eventually fell asleep as well. You were in dreamland as if dancing within your dreamscape. You were wondering what Ford was thinking in his dream.

Ford was thinking about you inside his dreamscape, instead as he was peacefully asleep not wanting to wake up for any moment.

It was a serene night throughout, from a night of mystery under the stars to the beginning of a new romance. You weren't sure what you had planned for tomorrow, but you'd figure it out. You always do.

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[bloody-bee-tea]

We have to match

This fic was entirely inspired by by this amazing art by @jjks-dodo

The first time it happens, Suguru doesn't know what to do with the present Satoru shoves into his hands.

“It’s not my birthday,” is the first thing out of his mouth, because it’s the first of December, so it’s actually closer to Satoru’s birthday than his own.

“I know that,” Satoru gives back, bouncing on the balls of his feet as if he’s vibrating out of his skin with excitement.

It’s kind of his default state whenever he does something, though, so it doesn’t really clue Suguru in on what’s going on here.

“What is this, then?” Suguru asks, lifting the present slightly. It’s wrapped, though haphazardly so, and Suguru knows that Satoru must have done it himself.

“If you’d unpack it, you’d know,” he snaps out, slightly on edge so this must be important to him.

Still, Suguru can’t help but to want to know more before he unwraps it.

“I’d like to know the occasion first, if you don’t mind.”

He’s wrecking his brain, trying to figure out if he missed some important date, some anniversary he wasn’t aware of–he wouldn’t put it past Satoru to remember the first time they shared a popsicle or something and then make a big deal out of it–but nothing comes to mind.

“It’s Christmas,” Satoru informs him, and it only serves to make Suguru frown harder.

“It’s really not,” he gives back, because it’s December 1st. Christmas is still far away, and it’s not even as if Suguru celebrates it anyway.

He didn’t think Satoru would, either, what with his family and all but clearly he’d been wrong about that.

“But it’s the Advent Season,” Satoru almost whines out, clearly bothered by the fact that Suguru didn’t open his present yet. “Will you just open it already, goddamit.”

Suguru hesitates for a moment longer, mostly just to annoy the hell out of Satoru, but he sees how the bouncing slows down, sees how Satoru worries the hem of his sleeves with his fingers and Suguru just knows that this is important to him, no matter what is in the present.

It’s important enough to Satoru to make him nervous about this and Suguru doesn’t have it in him to let him wait longer.

“Fine, fine, relax, would you,” he mutters, even as he rips the paper wrapping apart and he momentarily goes still when he finds a sweater.

A Christmas sweater to be precise.

It’s red and green with little reindeers all over and it’s kind of hideous if Suguru were to be honest, but he can’t be. Not when Satoru looks at him with so much expectation written on his face.

“Thanks?” Suguru finally manages to say, still unsure what he’s supposed to do with this, when Satoru suddenly whips out a matching sweater.

“The time leading up to Christmas is the best time and we’ll have to match, so I got you that one to match mine,” he excitedly says, clearly reassured by the fact that Suguru didn’t immediately throw the sweater in his face.

“We have to match,” Suguru repeats slowly, and the corners of his mouth twitch when Satoru nods vigorously, making his hair flop around.

When a strand gets stuck in Satoru’s eyelashes, Suguru reaches out without thought to push it away. He briefly feels panic lick up his throat when Satoru goes still under his fingers, but Suguru pretends as if nothing happens and takes his hand back as if it didn’t mean anything.

“You sure you got my size right?” he asks to break the weird tension between them and it’s enough to jolt Satoru back into action, though he can’t quite hide the faint blush on his face.

“A size  bigger than me, because of your stupidly huge shoulders,” he huffs out and Suguru laughs.

“I keep telling you, if you’d actually train like at least once a weak you wouldn’t be all noodle-limbed.”

“I’m not noodle-limbed!” Satoru huffs and puffs with outrage and Suguru laughs even louder. 

They both know it’s not true anyway; Satoru is good enough at hand-to-hand combat to best just about everyone they know, except, of course, Suguru.

“If you and your stupidly jacked arms rip this sweater apart, I’m not getting you a new one,” Satoru hisses at him when Suguru takes of the shirt he’s currently wearing to try the sweater on.

It’s a nice thought, not having to wear this hideous thing, but Suguru just knows that for all his faked outrage Satoru would be devastated and Suguru couldn’t stand it. So he slips into the sweater and lets out a relieved little sigh when it actually fits him.

He only feels slightly stupid when he turns around and he gives a pointed look at Satoru’s own shirt.

“Where’s yours then,” he wants to know and Satoru lights up like a Christmas tree.

“I have it right here, wait,” he rushes out, magicking out a second sweater from god-knows-where and he slips it on without hesitation. “Now we match,” he laughs out, bright and happy and for that alone Suguru would wear much worse things than a stupid, cute, matching Christmas sweater.

~*~*~

The second time it happens, Suguru is kind of expecting it. He knows Satoru too well to think he’d let something like this go, would only do it for one year and so when Satoru hands him a slightly better wrapped present, he accepts it without complaint.

“Cutting it a little bit close, huh?” he asks, because it’s already late in the night of the first of December and it’s not like Satoru to miss out on even a day of this.

Last year he made Suguru wear the sweater almost constantly, only allowing him to take it off to get it washed and for missions and so for him to almost miss an entire day is uncharacteristic.

“Yeah, well–” Satoru trails off, clutching his jacket more tightly around himself and Suguru narrows his eyes at him.

“What did you do?” he wants to know because it’s clear as day that Satoru is up to something.

“Nothing,” Satoru easily gives back, too fast and too smooth and Suguru’s fingers still on the paper. 

“I don’t think I want this anymore,” he says, shoving the parcel into Satoru’s chest who shoves it right back.

“You have to, though Suguru, we have to match, remember?” 

“I’m not so sure I want to match with you anymore,” Suguru lies straight through his teeth and a painful stab of regret is all he gets for his trouble when hurt briefly flashes over Satoru’s face.

“But–it’s tradition, right?” Satoru asks and Suguru shakes his head.

“One year doesn’t make a tradition, Satoru,” he tells him, though he does get back to unwrapping the sweater.

This one is thankfully only red as far as Suguru can see so far, and so that already makes it better than the last one, at least in Suguru’s opinion.

That thought only holds for as long as he needs to fully unfold the sweater though, because of course it wouldn’t be that easy, not when it comes to Satoru.

The words ‘I’m the naughty one’ are stitched into the front in white and Suguru lowers it just enough to be able to glare at Satoru.

“What the hell is this?” he demands to know only for Satoru to grin brightly at him as he takes off his jacket, revealing a matching red sweater underneath it.

Except his says ‘I’m the nice one’.

“Absolutely not,” Suguru whispers under his breath, even as Satoru laughs right in his face in his glee but he gets the wind knocked out of him when Suguru throws his own sweater in Satoru’s face and then uses that moment of distraction to tackle him to the bed.

“Absolutely not!” Suguru repeats louder this time and starts to wrestle Satoru out of the sweater.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing, Suguru,” Satoru shrieks out, laughing so hard he can barely breathe when Suguru tries to distract him by tickling him but even like this it takes him a long time to finally, finally get Satoru out of the sweater.

“If one of us is the naughty one, it’s you,” Suguru pants out, sitting across Satoru’s legs and looking down at him, his hair falling around his face, bun having come undone somewhere in their tousle.

“But everyone expects that,” Satoru pouts at him, still breathing hard from screaming and laughing and his face is flushed red.

He’s absolutely beautiful.

“And besides, don’t act as if you don’t encourage me at every turn,” he adds and it’s not as if Suguru can even deny that.

Enabling Satoru is a bit of a bad habit of his but not everyone needs to know that.

“Do not,” he says, just to be contrary, and pulls the ‘I’m the nice one’ sweater over his head, so that there’s no chance of Satoru taking it back.

He stills when it settles around him.

“That’s my size,” he says, fixing Satoru with his eyes and Satoru blinks up at him.

“We have the same size?” he tries, even though they both know that’s bullshit and Suguru proves it to him by reaching for the naughty sweater and checking the size there.

“This one is one size smaller, though,” Suguru says and shoves the sweater almost into Satoru’s face.

“My mistake,” Satoru says, still not able to admit that he did this on purpose it seems and there’s only one possible punishment for that.

Suguru flops down on top of him.

“Uff, you oaf, don’t you know you’re heavy as fuck?” Satoru breathes out but his attempts at pushing Suguru off are half-hearted at best.

“I’m also tired as hell,” Suguru easily gives back and dares to nuzzle his face into the crook of Satoru’s neck. “I think I might sleep right here.”

“Hey, hey, Suguru!” Satoru squeaks out, though of course he’d never admit to that and Suguru huffs out a laugh.

Satoru is warm under him and kind of poky with his sharp edges but it’s the single most comfortable position Suguru has been in, simply because it’s Satoru, and soon enough he really gets sleepy.

“‘m gonna sleep now,” he whispers out and the last thing he knows is how Satoru scratches at his scalp as he breathes out a soft “Okay”.

~*~*~

Suguru is already holding his hands out when Satoru steps into the room.

“Let’s see what horrible thing you brought this time,” he says, making grabby hands at Satoru, who seems to have frozen right in the doorway.

“Uhm,” Satoru says, looking down at the present in his hands before he looks back up at Suguru.

He’s more nervous than he was even the first time he did this and it instantly puts Suguru on edge.

“Is it that hideous?” he wants to know, simply snatching the present out of Satoru’s hand, who tries to get it back but ultimately fails because he still can’t best Suguru when it comes to anything even resembling close combat.

“I just–” Satoru cuts himself off, clearly unsure of himself and Suguru fights the urge to soothe his nerves.

He fails miserably, because he always does when it comes to Satoru.

“You want me to give it back?” he asks, offering the present to Satoru, who doesn’t reach out for it. “If you don’t want to, we can skip this year,” Suguru goes on, even though it’s clear that some part of Satoru at least must want because he did get the sweater after all.

“No, it’s just–you might hate it.”

Satoru hasn’t been that unsure since the very first week of them knowing each other and Suguru hates it with a passion.

“Why would I?” he carefully asks but Satoru only shrugs. “Can I unwrap it?”

“Sure. Just remember that it doesn’t–you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.”

Of course I want to sits at the tip of his tongue, but Suguru bites it back. It’s not going to help if he reassures Satoru with meaningless words right now, so instead of saying that he busies himself with unwrapping this year's sweater.

This one is green for a change but by now Suguru knows to wait until he sees the front before he forms his decision on this, so he quickly unfolds it, holding it out in front of him.

In stark white it says ‘Family Christmas’ on the front and Suguru is glad that the sweater is hiding his face for the moment because to think that Satoru was nervous about this hurts him acutely.

“You hate it,” Satoru grumbles when Suguru takes a moment too long to say something. “I knew you’d hate it, that was such a dumb idea,” he goes on, his voice barely above a whisper and Suguru lowers the sweater so fast, Satoru flinches.

“Of course you’re my family, you idiot,” Suguru breathes out, instantly honing in on what made Satoru so nervous because he knows him after all. “It’s a great sweater.”

“It–is?” Satoru wants to know, clearly still not convinced and Suguru doesn’t hesitate to slide it over his shirt. 

“Of course it is,” he vehemently says, because it is. 

Satoru doesn’t quite seem convinced though, so Suguru pulls him into a hug. 

“You are my family, idiot,” he says, more fondly than maybe necessary, but Satoru doesn’t call him out on it and instead slings his arms around him.

“You sure?”

“I’ve been wearing stupid matching Christmas sweaters with you for the past two years, you really think I would do that for just anybody?”

Satoru doesn’t need to know that that really has nothing to do with being family and all with Suguru being stupidly in love with him. At least not yet.

Though a plan is slowly starting to take form in Suguru’s mind.

“I should hope not, actually,” Satoru gives back and Suguru rests his head on top of Satoru’s.

He doesn’t move away, and he doesn’t protest about the hug as much as he normally does–however feigned his protest usually is–and so Suguru knows that this really means a lot to him.

It means a lot to him, too, and so he’s more than content to stay right where he is.

~*~*~

Suguru barges into Satoru’s room at the tail end of the last day of November.

“I’ve got a present for you!” he calls out, throwing the wrapped gift right into Satoru’s face when he’s not quick enough to sit up and catch it.

Nerves are licking up Suguru’s spine but like this he can’t talk himself out of it. Not again. He talked himself out of it so often during the last year–years, really–and he thinks it’s time that one of them man’s up. He thinks he knows what Satoru’s answer is going to be, has seen it in the lingering stares, has felt it in the prolonged touches but there’s still that small chance that it’s all just because Satoru sees him as family.

As just family, and nothing more.

“What’s this?” Satoru wants to know, turning the present in his hands and Suguru rolls his eyes at him.

“If you’d open it, you’d know,” he shoots back, not sitting down next to Satoru because he needs to be able to read Suguru’s own sweater once he unpacked his.

It doesn’t help with the nerves, when Satoru has to look up at him like that, though.

“Is this–a sweater?” Satoru asks, squeezing the package in his hands. “Did you get me a Christmas sweater?” He almost sounds accusing and Suguru raises an eyebrow at him.

“What? You can do it, but I can’t?”

“But I have ours picked out already!”

“Yeah, well, shucks. It’s my turn, this year,” Suguru decides and he closes Satoru’s mouth when it drops open.

“Wow, didn’t know you could be so rude,” he mutters, Suguru’s hand still under his chin and Suguru gives him his best grin.

“I learned from the best. Now, if you would?”

“Now, if you would,” Satoru repeats mockingly under his breath, but he does rip into the paper, quickly unveiling the sweater.

At first glance it’s simply red, but of course there’s something written on the front and Suguru’s heart beats in his chest.

“I have everything I want for Christmas,” Satoru reads out loud and Suguru can see the frown on his face. “That’s not even funny, Suguru,” he then whines out, turning his gaze back to Suguru, who feels as if he could die on the spot.

His mouth his dry, his heart is beating so fast he’s afraid it might jump right out of his chest and the butterflies in his stomach make him a little bit sick.

“It’s not supposed to be funny,” he still somehow gets out as he opens his jacket and shows Satoru the matching sweater he’s wearing.

It’s green and the words “It’s me, I’m everything” are written on the front.

Suguru watches how Satoru’s eyes go wide as he slowly takes in the words and he knows it’s all going to be fine when Satoru blushes a furious red.

“What does that mean? Suguru, what does that mean?” he demands to know, almost shouting out the words in his urgency and Suguru smiles at him.

“Take an educated guess,” he replies, though he doesn’t torture Satoru–or himself–any longer.

He bends down, briefly pressing his lips to Satoru’s to make it abundantly clear just what this all means and he knows Satoru finally goes with the program when his hands fly up to tangle in Suguru’s sweater, keeping him right where he is, keeping him close.

“Does that mean I don’t get any other Christmas presents this year?” Satoru pouts out, though Suguru can see how his eyes shine with happiness. 

He leans in to taste that smile once more.

“Maybe if you’re being good, I have one or two for you,” he breathes out, and this time it’s Satoru who leans in for a kiss.

“But everyone knows I’m the naughty one,” Satoru mutters against his lips and Suguru laughs.

Satoru steals the sound right from his lips.

“Maybe I’ll part with that sweater just this once,” Suguru muses but Satoru shakes his head. 

“Not a chance in hell, we’re never going to take these ones off. I love you.”

Trust Satoru to still be the first one to say it, Suguru fondly thinks as he’s almost drowning in his love. 

“I love you,” he quickly gives back, peppering Satoru’s face with kisses until he’s laughing with happiness.

“I want everyone to know,” Satoru eventually says, once they are cuddled close on the bed and Suguru snorts out a laugh.

“Kind of inevitable if you don’t want to take that sweater off ever again,” he gives back and Satoru beams at him.

“Best way to tell everyone. Best way to tell me, actually, “he adds after a moment and Suguru simply has to kiss him again.

“Thought you might like it,” Suguru nods, pulling Satoru closer. “Glad you like it.”

“Love it,” Satoru immediately corrects him. “Just like I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Suguru mutters, getting sleepy now that all the adrenaline is out of his system and he’s warm and cozy in bed, with the love of his life safely in his arms.

He nuzzles his face against Satoru’s shoulder and breathes one more kiss on his skin before sleep slowly drags him under.

The last thing he hears his a muttered “You think there are sweaters for proposing?” and Suguru falls asleep with a smile on his face.

He really wouldn’t mind a sweater like that.

[atths--twice]

Snow Day

A storm hits Virginia, prompting a snow day filled with fun.

(part 66 in the Family Series)

January 5, 2025

“Sheesh,” Mulder said as he came inside, Bella following behind and shaking, just over the threshold. “It’s really cold out. Smells… like snow.” He drew in a deep breath as he shivered.

“Which you already knew is going to happen, seeing as we saw it on the news tonight,” Scully teased from her spot on the couch, where she was reading a book.

“Weather people are wrong all the time,” he said, taking in another deep breath. “But I know how it smells before it snows. I can feel it.”

“In your bones?” she asked with a smile.

“What are you trying to say?” he asked, turning his head to look at her.

“My great aunt used to say she could feel snow in the hip that she broke, which then became arthritic.”

“Your much older aunt, I’m sure.”

“Than me? As a child? Yes,” she said, turning a page and smiling. “But she was probably only in her seventies.”

“Well, that is old,” he said with a nod.

“Yes. And so much older than sixty three,” she said, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

The door closed harshly, the lock sounding louder than usual, as he turned to stare at her, his eyes narrowing.

“That’s a seven year difference. It’s huge.”

“Weren’t you saying something about your shoulder aching this morning?” she asked, a smile pulling at her lips.

“You mean where you shot me?” he asked, unzipping his coat and taking off his beanie. “Yeah. That tends to aggrieve me from time to time.”

“You mean when I saved your life,” she said pointedly. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“And I’ve thanked you many times over the years, as you well know,” he said, hanging up his coat and beanie on the coat rack. “Must I do it every time it’s brought up?”

“Yes. Every time,” she said, nodding and licking her lips.

The floor creaked and she fought back a smile, keeping her eyes on the book in her lap. The ponytail she wore was grabbed gently and her head was tilted back. When she looked at him, she saw the smile on his lips as well as in his eyes.

“Thank you,” he whispered, before his lips pressed to hers. “Thank you.” Another kiss. “Thank you.” Another kiss and then another, his tongue touching hers briefly before he pulled back. “There. Now I have three freebies to simply nod the next time you bring it up.”

“Two. You didn’t technically thank me tonight.”

“Oh,” he said, bending his head and kissing her once more. “Thank you. Now it’s three.”

“We’ll see. Everything is negotiable.” He chuckled and she smiled, placing a hand on his cheek and then pulling it away. “Jesus, your face is freezing.”

“I was just outside in the soon to be snow filled air, Scully. Of course my face is freezing.” He stood up and released his hold on her hair, running his fingers across her neck as she yelped in surprise. “Sorry, were those cold too?”

“You know they were,” she said, rubbing at her neck as he chuckled again.

“I’m going to go down to the basement and get the container of snow clothes, hopefully everything still fits Faith. We haven’t had a good snow day in a while.”

“Hmm,” Scully hummed, her attention back on her book. “It should be fine, but she has new boots at least. We can put together an outfit of random items if needed.”

“She’s gonna be so excited,” he said and Scully smiled as she listened to him walk down the basement stairs.

Grey jumped onto the couch with a meow and stepped into her lap, purring loudly as she kneaded the blanket covering Scully.

“Hey, you,” she said to Grey, whose eyes were half closed. “You’ll probably want to stay inside tomorrow, it’s going to snow.” Grey began to purr louder as Scully rubbed her ears with a smile. “We won’t be so lucky with Faith wanting to go out and play. But it will be fun. Oh, I wonder if we have hot chocolate. Sorry, sweet girl, but I’m gonna need to leave you without a lap. But you can stay snuggled in the blanket.”

She placed her book beside her and then moved Grey as she stood up. Setting her back onto the blanket, she covered her as she had done when she was a kitten, making sure she was cozy before she went to see about their hot chocolate stash.

Finding two boxes, one with marshmallows and one without, she took down the box with marshmallows and set it on the counter. Checking to see if there were enough ingredients for pancakes and eggs, she then walked over to the door, unlocked it, and opened it.

A gust of cold air greeted her and she shivered, wrapping her long, dusty blue cardigan around her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and smiled.

“Yeah, that’s snow air,” she said, opening her eyes and looking up at the still clear sky. She nodded, knowing it would all change in just a couple of hours.

“Hey, what are you doing with that door open?” Mulder asked and she turned to look at him.

“Just wanted to smell the incoming snow.”

“You feeling it in your bones?” he teased as he set the gray container of snow clothes down.

“No. I’m far too young for any of that,” she said, shaking her head.

“Okay,” he said, nodding as he laughed through his nose and took off the lid to begin taking out clothes.

“It smells so good. So crisp and anticipatory.” She drew in another deep breath and let it out. Shivering again, she shut the door and locked it. “It will be a different sight out there next time we open the door.”

“Good thing school was already closed in preparation,” Mulder said, laying Faith’s clothes on the back of the couch.

“And I don’t have to work. Though I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to make it there even if I did.”

“Nor should you have had to try, as much as I know you would want to,” he said, looking over at her. “We need you safe.”

“Aww. You love me,” she teased, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Eh. You’re alright,” he said, sliding his arms around her waist as she laughed softly.

“Thanks.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, swaying them slowly. She smiled, shaking her head as he winked at her before lowering his head to kiss her.

“You’re alright too,” she whispered, kissing him again.

“Thanks.”

She laughed again and then pulled back.

“Okay. What have we got here?”

They looked through the clothes and took out anything that seemed too small.

“It’s a good start. We can add stuff tomorrow if needed,” she said and he nodded, now laying out their own clothes beside Faith’s. “And we have stuff for breakfast as well as a box of hot chocolate.”

“With-”

“Yes. The one with marshmallows,” she assured him with a smile.

“Yessssss,” he said, punching a fist into the air.

“Who persuaded who to buy that box?” she asked, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows, knowing full well it was him.

“Oh, it was definitely me pushing for it,” he said. “But when she saw it had rainbow colored marshmallows, well… the box went straight into the cart.”

“Nothing but net,” Scully said and he nodded, miming throwing a basketball.

“Three points in overtime,” he said and she laughed, shaking her head.

“Well, we’re ready,” she said, touching the clothes and then yawning. “Just gotta wait for the snow.”

“You head on up, I’ll take care of stuff down here.”

“Thanks, hon,” she said, giving him a quick kiss.

“Warm my spot up,” he said as she started up the stairs.

“And leave my spot cold? No chance.”

“I thought you loved me!” he said.

“When it’s cold like this, it’s every man, or woman, for themselves.”

“My cold feet will definitely be making an acquaintance with yours.”

“Ha!” she said quietly as she continued up the stairs. “I’ll be wearing socks, so good luck with that.”

“Oh, I’ll be trying.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She smiled as she reached the top and stopped at Faith’s door. Opening the door quietly, she stepped inside the room to check on her.

The small portable heater they had purchased recently was keeping the room warm, but not overly so. Covering Faith, she kissed her on the cheek and smoothed back her hair.

“Hmm,” Faith hummed, turning over and sighing deeply.

“It’s going to be so much fun tomorrow,” Scully whispered, kissing her one more time. Leaving the bedroom, she closed the door softly and continued to their bedroom.

Dressed, with long thick socks on, their own small heater shifted to a lower setting, she laid under the covers, waiting for the sheets to warm up from her body heat.

Mulder came up a few minutes later, being loudly quiet as he closed the door.

“The bed warmed up?” he asked, opening and closing drawers.

“Once you get in, it should start to become so.”

“Hmmm,” he hummed as he went into the bathroom.

When he slipped into bed a few minutes later, he pressed flush against her, his arm going around her.

“Hey! No stealing my warmth!” she said, trying to move away.

“I’m not stealing it, woman. I’m adding to it. Just stay still,” he said. “I’ll even keep my feet away.”

“Mmm,” she grumbled, frowning as she resituated in her spot, his body pressed even closer. “No funny business.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he chuckled near her ear. “There are far too many layers for that at the moment.”

“Mmhmm,” she agreed, as she relaxed into the bed. “Just warmth tonight.”

“Agreed.”

“Good.”

He sighed as she closed her eyes, her arm over his as they lay close together, the small heater humming and filling the room.

Blinking her eyes, she woke slowly, the sun just beginning to light the day. Closing her eyes and attempting to sleep longer, she remembered the snow. Opening her eyes, she pushed the covers back and stood up. Mulder mumbled in his sleep, turning onto his side as she walked softly across the room.

Stepping into the cool bathroom, she looked out the window and sighed happily at the blanket of snow on the ground, watching as it continued to fall.

“Absolutely beautiful,” she whispered. Breathing out, she steamed up the window and drew a heart. “It’s gonna be a cold but fun time out there.”

She used the bathroom, washed her hands and face, and then brushed her teeth. Walking back to the bed, she got back under the covers and moved closer to Mulder, wrapping her arm around his waist.

“Hmm,” he hummed. “No stealing warmth.”

“Adding to it, remember?” she whispered, kissing between his shoulder blades, his shirt soft under her lips.

“Hmm,” he hummed again, the heater hissing softly as it kicked back on.

“It snowed,” she said, kissing him again and then pressing her cheek against his back. “It’s actually still falling.”

“A lot on the ground?” he said in his sleep graveled voice.

“Enough for a fun day.”

“Well,” he said, clearing his throat and squeezing her hand. “Let’s not waste any of it.” She laughed quietly and nodded against him. He pushed the covers away and sat up with a small groan, then stood to his feet.

“Sure the cold won’t bother you?” she teased and he turned around with narrowed eyes.

“Just watch it, woman.” He pointed at her as he walked backwards to the bathroom and she laid on her back, staring at the ceiling with a grin.

“It’s more than I thought,” he said, coming back to the bed a few minutes later and standing at her side. “I think we can make a few snowmen.”

“Ahem,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“And women,” he said and she nodded.

“No aliens? Or Bigfoot? Or any other monsters?”

“We’ll see how the day goes,” he said, holding out a hand to her. “Come on. Let’s go wake up our girl.”

She took his hand and he pulled her from the bed, kissing her before they walked hand in hand to Faith’s room, opening the door quietly.

To their surprise, she was standing at her window, inside the curtains as she stared outside.

“Oh, you’re already awake, love,” Mulder said and Faith turned to look at him, pushing the curtains back, her smile huge.

“Daddy! It snowed! Did you see? There is so much!”

“I did see,” he said, walking over to her and looking out the window. “Wow. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Can we make snow people?”

“We can, my love,” Scully said, coming over and smoothing down Faith’s bed head. “Right after breakfast we can go out.”

“Yay!” Faith shouted, jumping up and down. “Can we have pancakes?”

“It’s like you read my mind,” Scully said. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“Yay!” Faith shouted again, spinning around happily.

“Come on,” Mulder said, scooping her up and causing her to squeal and then laugh. “Let’s eat and head out to play in this winter wonderland.”

“Pan-cakes! Pan-cakes!” Faith chanted from his arms, her own raised in the air. Scully laughed as she followed behind them down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Mulder took Bella out, intent on going to find the sleds out in the shed, if they decided to go sledding down the big hill.

Faith helped make the pancake batter, carefully measuring out the flour and baking powder.

“I’m getting really good at helping you cook, Mommy. I like to do it,” Faith said, grinning at Scully as she started to carefully mix the ingredients.

“You are, my love,” Scully said, kissing her on the head. “Makes it taste better when you help make it, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Faith agreed with a nod.

After they each had a full stomach and had been to the bathroom, twice, they dressed for their morning outside, the snow still falling softly.

Bella bounded outside when the door was opened, barking as she ran down the stairs and into the snow.

“It’s so pretty,” Faith said quietly, standing on the porch and staring out at the yard.

“It is,” Mulder and Scully both said, smiling at each other.

“Let’s go play in it!” Faith said, walking carefully down the stairs.

They followed behind her and walked through the powdery snow in their boots. Faith laughed as she spun around, snow falling down upon her. Tipping her head back, she stuck out her tongue.

“I caught one!” she shouted, looking at them with a huge grin.

“Yeah, you did. Try it again.”

She did with a laugh and then fell back into the snow, making a snow angel. Scully pulled out her phone and took pictures of her, smiling at the happiness she exuded.

“Daddy make one with me. And you too, Mommy. We can make our family.”

“Oh, I can’t say no to that,” Mulder said, lying next to her and making an angel. Scully put her phone away and then laid on the other side of Faith, raising her arms up and down and her legs open and closed.

When they were done, they got up carefully, smiling at the snow family they made. Scully took pictures and then they moved on to making snow people.

They had two done when Faith grew bored and Mulder suggested sledding.

“Yes!” Faith shouted.

“How about you guys play out here for just a bit longer and I will get some snacks ready for us to take along,” Scully suggested. “Unless you need to use the bathroom, Faithy…” She looked at Faith and she shook her head.

“I’m okay, Mommy.”

“Okay. How about you two make a snow cat and before we leave for the hill, we all go to the bathroom?”

“Okay!” Faith agreed. “I want to make a Grey snow cat!”

“You got it, babes,” Mulder said. “Let’s get cracking.”

Scully left them and went inside, only taking off minimal clothing as she packed a backpack with snacks and water, saving the hot chocolate for when they came back.

After they trooped back in to quickly use the bathroom, they left the house with two sleds and set off for the big hill. Faith sat in one of one of them and Mulder pulled her along the empty snow filled street, Scully carrying the other.

“Mush! Mush!” she called to him, waving her arm in the air. “Faster, doggie, faster.”

“Your bones will be tired tonight,” Scully said, side eyeing him.

“Pfft,” he expelled through his lips, shaking his head. “Faster you say, Squatch? I can do that.” He pulled the sled faster and Faith laughed happily, passing Scully and leaving her behind.

“Goodbye, Mommy!” Faith called, looking back at her and waving.

“Bye, love,” she called, waving back at her as Bella barked and chased after them.

Taking a deep breath, she readjusted the backpack and sled, looking around.

Jafadine, the large wooden giraffe at Violet and Denis’s house, was covered in snow, looking out of place for an animal from such a warm climate.

“Jafadine,” Scully said as she walked past, Faith’s laughter echoing back to her. “You’ll be needing a coat. It’s going to snow again soon.” She smiled as she continued on, the silence around her feeling different in the snow.

“Scullllaaaaayyy!” Mulder called and she snorted out a laugh, shaking her head.

“Well, the silence was nice,” she said to herself, looking up to see them, standing and waiting at the bottom of the hill.

“Come on, Mommy!” Faith called, waving her arms back and forth.

“Coming, love!” she called back, walking a little faster, dropping the sled and pulling it behind her.

Bella ran up to her, her whole body wiggling happily. She licked Scully’s hand and then started running back to Faith, who giggled as she caught her. Scully smiled at them, catching Mulder’s eyes as he nodded.

“Okay,” he said as she reached them. “Let’s start up the hill.”

“To the top?” Faith asked, looking up, snow falling softly onto her face.

“Maybe just to the middle? See how the walk is for you?” he suggested. “Walking through snow is a little more work.”

“Can you pull me up?” she asked.

“Yeah, can you?” Scully asked, looking up at him and smiling.

He looked between the two of them, taking in a deep breath.

“Let’s walk first and see how it goes. Snow is more work, like I said, for all of us. Adding your work to my own work makes it harder for me each time,” he said, Faith staring intently at him. “So, let’s do our own work and then if you need me to help you, I will.”

“Okay, Daddy. I’ll walk on my own. Can I hold your hand?”

“You… you absolutely can,” Mulder said, his voice a little shaky as Scully felt tears prick her eyes.

He held his hand out to Faith and she smiled as she took it, their mittened hands holding tight. Shaking his head as he looked at Scully, she rubbed his arm and smiled.

“Okay,” he said, letting out a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

“Yay!” Faith shouted and they began to trudge up the hill.

It was work reaching the middle of the hill, but flying down together, all of them laughing as Bella chased after them barking excitedly, was more than worth it.

Only on the last trip up, did Mulder give in and pull Faith up the hill as she lay on her back in the sled.

“So, I’ll be tired tonight,” he admitted to Scully, his breathing a little ragged.

“Me too,” she said, her hip feeling sore from tipping out of the sled.

“We have bags of frozen peas, right?”

“And carrots,” she laughed.

“Good. Good,” he said, moaning as he continued to walk up the hill and Faith sang Jingle Bells quietly.

Thirty minutes later, they walked through the front door, all of them pink cheeked and chilly.

Clothes and boots were shed, leaving them in their long underwear and socks. Hot chocolate was made, the rainbow marshmallows floating on the top. Sitting down at the table, they rehashed the day, discussing what they liked best.

Scully watched Faith smile and laugh, a hot chocolate mustache on her face, her legs swinging as she talked about how it felt to fly down the hill in the sled.

Not for the first time, she felt the pang of what was missed and what they had been denied. But that pain that sometimes felt like a heavy weight, was made lighter as Faith reached over and squeezed her hand three times- their silent way of saying I love you.

Squeezing back four times, Faith smiled at her before letting go and scooping a pink marshmallow from her mug with a spoon.

Mulder cleared his throat and Scully glanced at him. His eyebrows went up asking a question without speaking, and she nodded with a smile.

Reaching for her mug, she raised it up.

“A toast,” she said. “To snow days and sledding down hills.”

“To snow days!” Mulder and Faith shouted, lifting their own mugs.

Clinking them together, Faith giggled as she then took a big drink, her chocolate mustache deepening.

[samanddean76]

A Leap Of Faith

After having given up all hope, Gabriel finds himself miraculously rescued from Asmodeus' vile clutches. But he is far from healthy and whole, and he can barely care for himself. Gabriel knows that he needs the help of another, but he finds the words almost too painful to speak.

Sam knows some of what Gabriel endured at the hands of a monster. And he also knows that he could never permit another to linger in darkness when there is something that he could do about it. He agrees to Gabriel's reluctant request, and then proceeds to show the archangel that anything is possible, if you only have a little faith.

I am so happy to have been paired up with @midnightsilver once again, so that we could bring you this wonderful story. Written for the @spnsabrielbang it was inspired by a gorgeous piece of art that showed Sam caring for the recently liberated Gabriel as they grow closer than they ever have been before. Please check out the mildly-NSFW art that was at the heart of the story, along with several other pieces that were created once everything fell into place. 💜🦄

Rated: Explicit | 5.8K words | Pairing: Sabriel

Story: AO3

Art: AO3

[buddie-fic-recs-this-way]

never known comfort like laying next to you

—if you love soft buddie, this one's for you!

author: thelikesofus | rated: g | words: 2.6k | ao3 link

summary:

“It's okay, I'll go home and I'll come back first thing in the morning to make your panca—.”

“Stay with me.”

“Huh?”

OR

A long shift ends with a quiet pizza and movie night within the walls of the Diaz house followed by a quiet confession beneath Eddie’s duvet

—kels reasons to read—

them being soft and domestic is my favorite thing

they're so in love it hurts

buckley—diaz family my most beloved

@the-likesofus

[amypihcs]

One drama queen quoting another one in the (cuddly) aftermath of devil's foot.

@widevibratobitch, i challenge you to find the quote, my fellow Aramis de Vannes enthusiast!

Holmes at times TRULY drives Watson crazy. Not that Watson is too sorry about it!

Hope you liked it loves!

@i-dont-talk-for-days-on-end @fruitviking @cackled0g @kimgmac63

@tyrannosaurusnacks @usergreenpixel @louieclamlent @friday411

@rudbeckiasunflower @rainbow-person @skyriderwednesday @blistering-typhoons

@sadieb798 @yulagrandeur @angryducktimemachine @eisenkrahe

@geeoharee @r2y9s-notartblog @jeremys-come-to-bed-eyes @somethingintheforest

@neverquiteeden @gooolabatooo @fluff-cember @haedraulics

@calaisreno @its-notlupus @a-candle-for-sherlock @dontsmokedontdrinkfuck

@pizza-hats-of-the-world-1882

[baldurs-writers-3]

Cuddling: A Baldur's Gate 3 Rec List

This week, we have Cuddle fics!  Check under the cut for five fics that include a lot of snuggling and cuddling and all that soft stuff, and as always, comment and kudos if you like them!

Waking by julekisms (500, General) Warnings: None Pairings: Wyll/Tav

Giilvas wakes from a nightmare; Wyll comforts him.

Reccer says:The writing style is gorgeous, and it's a very short but sweet piece that gives you a lovely snapshot into their relationship.

All It Cost Me by HydieMurderBabe (27535, Explicit) Warnings: None Pairings: Astarion/Durge

Two traumatized nubbins heal from their pasts. Lots of sex and violence ensues.

Reccer says: This fic is hella planned. It has plot--several plots, a large cast, arson. But it is so goddamn fluffy. They're so cute with each other, Hydie and Astarion, and if you just wanna see these nubbins cuddle and heal together, this is for you. Also the smut is very hot.

Softness by DraconisRuthren (1463, Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Astarion/Tav

Couple days after the teifling party, the group camps for the night to avoid the rain. Astarion is still adjusting to the idea of cuddling.

Reccer says: Very soft and sweet

Task Failed Successfully by Gally (8106, Mature) Warnings: None Pairings: Astarion/Karlach

Karlach's engine is fixed and now she can touch people! Astarion goes into a bit of a spiral about it, though Karlach doesn't take long to reassure him

Reccer says: It's communication and non-sexual intimacy and people caring about people and a vampire being vulnerable and I adore it

Thermal Equilibrium by fantailsock (1953, Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Astarion/Karlach/Wyll

Astarion is freezing. He figures seducing Karlach might help warm him up, but then she has a different idea

Reccer says: I absolutely adore Astarion trying to seduce people only to be blindsided by non-sexual intimacy in all the best ways

The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ!

Next week, we’ll be back with fics about god’s favorite princess, Shadowheart!

[crimsonwolf715]

Getting to Know the Family

(Part 2 of Resident Evil 2 Family Stories)

{Hi, y'all. Somehow, I forgot to post this one here when I posted it on Ao3, so the people following this series on here get two parts tonight. Whoopsie, probably won't happen again. I do not know, if in canon, Leon has a dead sister. Funny story, I didn't do any research before starting this series and have still not done it because I don't want to. Canon is my sandbox and I can do whatever I want. (Not to bash people who stick to canon, I do it too sometimes.) Shout out to my beta-reader for reading over this (and also shipping Cleon with me)!}

(Claire) 

Claire and Sherry are in Leon’s room, getting their things in order when Leon comes in. 

“Are you staying with us?” Sherry asks excitedly. 

“No, pull-out couch,” Leon answers, “I’m just getting some stuff.”

Claire nods. 

“Goodnight, ladies,” Leon says after grabbing a pillow and a blanket. 

“Goodnight,” they both echo. 

After a moment of putting the bed together, Claire turns back toward Sherry. She’s pulling a Hello Kitty blanket out of a box on the floor of Leon’s closet. 

“Hey, where did you find that?” Claire asks. 

“It was coming out of the box and I wanted to get a closer look,” Sherry says, “It’s really fluffy.” 

“Do you wanna go ask Leon if you can use it?” 

Sherry nods, then runs out of the room. Claire looks at the contents left in the box. All of it looks like it belongs to a small child. Small clothes, kid toys, books with an early reading level. The theme of everything is Hello Kitty, Disney Princesses, or Barbie. 

Why would Leon have this stuff?  

Sherry runs back in, “Leon said I can use it!” 

“Great, let’s get you settled,” Claire says, deciding to push the box out of her mind. 

They get settled and Sherry snuggles up to Claire. Claire puts an arm around her and closes her eyes. Sleep comes quickly due to the lack of it recently. She wakes up to Sherry aggressively shaking her. When she looks at Sherry, Sherry gets up. 

“Where are you going?” Claire asks, sitting up. 

She follows Sherry downstairs, where Sherry starts shaking Leon. 

“Sherry, he’s asleep!” Claire whisper-shouts. 

Leon groans, then turns toward Sherry. 

“I thought they got you,” Sherry whispers. 

Leon repositions a little, then offers for her to sleep there. Sherry snuggles up to his side. 

“If you don’t want to go back upstairs, you can join too,” Leon says, moving the blanket for emphasis. 

Claire hesitantly joins them. She ends up staring up at the ceiling, trying to figure out how the hell she ended up here. An arm wraps around her and Leon gently pulls Claire against him. She puts her head against him and she could have sworn that she heard him sigh in content. She smiles, but forces herself not to laugh in fear of him hearing it or it waking Sherry. The steady rising and falling of Leon’s chest and the faint sound of his heartbeat lull Claire to sleep. 

(Leon)  (The Night Before) 

Leon walks down with the building, then starts pulling the pull-out bed. Fred grabs it and pulls it fully out. 

“Take this with the entire cup of water,” he instructs, offering both to Leon. 

“That obvious?” Leon asks as he takes the pills and water. 

“Only for someone who knows you well. Which arm?” 

“Left shoulder, but I’m handling it.” 

“Mhmm. Get some rest, your mother’s coming tomorrow.” 

Leon nods, then gets settled. Sleep comes quickly, but is riddled with nightmares that leave him restless. Shaking wakes him up and Sherry’s there. 

Her voice is tight and breathless, “I thought they got you.” 

Leon moves and Sherry settles down, resting against his side. He looks at Claire, moving the blanket. 

“If you don’t want to go back upstairs, you can join.” 

Claire hesitantly climbs in beside him, seeming tense. After a minute and against Leon’s better judgement, he pulls Claire against him. She relaxes and he sighs in relief. He ends up falling asleep due to the warmth and calm breathing. 

(Next morning) 

Leon wakes up with a warm heat pressed against him. He blinks his eyes open and sees a little bit of light coming in from a crack in the curtains. He turns his head and almost jumps. Claire’s there snuggled up to him and he’s got an arm around her, his hand above her waist. He contemplates getting up, then realizes there’s no way to do that without messing with his shoulder. 

She stirs, so he closes his eyes. It takes a moment, but he feels her shift and gets up. He waits another moment before squinting his eyes open. Claire’s standing by the couch, putting up her hair. 

“ ‘Morning,” Leon mumbles, so he doesn’t scare her. 

She turns and gives him one of her sweet smiles. “Good morning. Thanks, for last night.” 

“Anytime,” Leon promises, the words coming out before he has a chance to think about the implications of them. 

Claire laughs, “I’ll hold you to that, Kennedy.” 

Leon’s turn to laugh. He smiles at her and she returns it. She teasingly blows a kiss at Leon before going to the kitchen. Leon sits up and takes stock of his shoulder injury. 

Better than before at least.  

He gets up and hears voices in the kitchen. He goes in and Claire’s talking with Velma, his mom. Leon nods to the two before going to make coffee. Once it’s done, he heads to the back porch. Fred and Sherry are on the swing, talking about her parents. Leon feels a tinge of guilt at the mention, his mind flashing back to killing William and Anette being left in the facility to die. 

(Claire) 

Claire watches Leon, then looks back towards Velma. She quickly turns to do the dishes, but not before Claire sees the tears in her eyes. 

“What?” Claire asks, “Did something happen?” 

Velma shakes her head. Claire keeps trying to pry out of her what’s wrong, but she refuses to engage. Claire finally gives up and heads outside to talk to Leon instead. She stands beside Leon, who’s watching Fred and Sherry. 

“There’s clothes upstairs you can have,” Leon says. “We can go through them whenever.” 

“Something going on with you and your mom?” 

Leon doesn’t look away from Fred and Sherry, just nods, “Yeah, but I don’t really want to talk about it.” 

“Okay, can we go look through those clothes? I need a shower.” 

“Yeah.” 

The two head inside and Leon leaves his mug on the counter, then takes Claire up to his room. He notices the box slightly pulled out of his closet. He kicks it back into the closet, then pulls a box down from the top. He puts it on his bed, so Claire starts looking through it. He puts a second box down next to the first one. 

“Why do you have these?” Claire asks as she slips on the cut shirt over her tank top. 

Leon smiles, but Claire can see the sadness in his eyes as soon as she looks at him. “They belonged to my sister… She passed away last year and I kept them to help cope.” 

Claire pulls the cut shirt off and tosses it on the bed. “Why are you letting me have these then? I don’t think I can take them.” 

“I was planning on getting rid of some of it. Better if I can give them to you then donate them. Can you tell Sherry that she can have the stuff in the box she pulled out? It was stuff Cassie kept so she could give them to her future kids.” 

Claire holds her arms out, not wanting to hug him if he doesn’t want to. He goes over and wraps his arms around her. She rubs his back and he puts his head on her shoulder. 

“Gosh, where were you when I really needed this?” Leon mutters. 

“Probably at school,” Claire answers with a small laugh. 

Leon chuckles before letting go of Claire. “I’m gonna leave you to try those on and see if my dad needs any help making breakfast.” 

“Okay.” He gets to the door before she finishes. “Thank you, for trusting me with these.” 

Leon gives her a smile and a small nod before heading out. She starts going through the second box and finds a lot of hand sewn clothes with lots of personality. 

I would have liked Cassie.  

(Leon) 

Leon goes downstairs to find Fred and Sherry in the kitchen. 

When Sherry hears him coming, she turns, “I’m the sou-chef.” 

“I’ve been replaced by the cutest girl in the world,” Leon replies, giving Sherry the biggest smile he can muster. 

Her smile gets bigger and brighter before she turns back toward the bowl on the counter. 

Fred turns towards Leon and signs, “Do you actually feel replaced?” 

Leon shakes his head, then notices that his coffee mug is gone. “Where’s my mug?” 

“Your mom put it in the microwave so you could heat it up when you came back down.” 

Leon checks to make sure the mug is in there, then starts it. Guilt gnaws at the corner of his mind since he knows that she did that because he didn’t properly address her earlier. 

“Look, I made a Mickey Mouse pancake!” Sherry exclaims. 

Leon thinks back to when Cassie did the same thing a couple weeks before she died and the guilt almost completely vanishes. He continues watching Fred and Sherry make silly looking pancakes. He hears the shower start, then heads into the living room to look at the paper. He’s looking over the real estate portion when a hand grabs his shoulder. He looks up and Claire’s there, her wet hair braided and wearing Cassie’s Green Day shirt. 

“Whatcha looking at?” 

“Looking for an apartment. Don’t want to overstay our welcome,” Leon answers, showing her the paper. 

“Apartment hunting?” Claire echoes. “We just got here and we have no plans.” 

“I figured that you could stay with Sherry until you’re up to looking for your brother again, then I’ll stay with her until you find him. After that, we can work something out.” 

Claire seems a little surprised by the offer as she takes a seat next to him. “I go to school out of state.”

“Okay. Sign a shorter lease and I can move out there. Most of the time, places are always in need of cops,” Leon replies. 

“You would do that?” 

Leon nods, “I care about you two, so whatever’s best works for me.” 

Claire shakes her head with a small laugh, “You’re insane.” 

Leon shrugs. “Maybe.” 

(Claire) 

“Breakfast!” Fred calls out. 

Leon gets up, “We can talk more later.” 

Claire nods, then follows Leon into the kitchen. Fred and Velma are setting the table while Sherry’s pulling cups out. 

“What can I help with?” Leon asks. 

“You can help Sherry make drinks,” Fred answers. “Claire, can you bring some food to the table?” 

Claire nods, then starts taking food to the table. The table finishes getting set and drinks are finished, so everyone sits down. They make plates, then start eating. 

“Well Claire, what do you do for work?” Velma asks. 

“Oh I work a little at the campus store sometimes, but I spend most of my time going to school. Thankfully, I got a scholarship so I don’t have to work too much.” 

“How did you meet?” Fred asks. 

Leon and Claire exchange a look. 

“We met on the road to Raccoon City,” Claire answers. “We met Sherry in the city. Her parents…” 

“No need to go into it further, I understand,” Fred says. 

Claire nods, grateful. 

“Do you guys have any plans?” Velma asks, trying to change the mood. 

Claire shakes her head, “No. We need to talk things out since I still have to find my brother.” 

Conversation flows naturally after that, Fred and Velma telling stories from when Leon was younger. While he looks embarrassed to have the spotlight pointed at him, he doesn’t try to stop them until they try to tell her about his first girlfriend in first grade. Claire laughs as Leon tries to explain why he doesn’t want them telling that story. Sherry seems fascinated by the whole scene playing out before her, smiling widely the whole time. 

Once breakfast is over, Leon and Claire clean up while Velma and Sherry put away the leftovers. Leon washes the dishes and Claire dries them. They do this in comfortable silence until the task is done. After that, they go about the day.

[pollyna]

One little routine they take with them since post-86 is having massage oil around, generally something with a not too strong sent, because Ice likes to rub Mav's hands after a long day behind the cockpit.

They soon found the best position to indulge in this little ritual of theirs is with Mav resting against Ice's chest, both of them already in bed and comfortable to the point that, if one or both of them fall asleep, their backs won't hurt when they wake up all tangled together.

(It's not a one way street because Mav loves to spend hours massaging Ice's wrists even if he didn't write a single word all day.)

[bloody-bee-tea]

Beetober 2024 Day 15 - Knock knock

Katsuki checks his phone for the hundredth time that day, but there's still no new notification. Shinsou still hasn't even read his damn messages and it's unusual enough that worry curls in Katsuki's stomach. Shinsou is glued to his phone when he's not on a mission and his replies are almost always instantly, so the fact that he hasn't heard from him at all is worrying Katsuki more than he'd like to admit.

Even if Shinsou had to leave for a mission—which, unlikely on this short notice—he'd have found a way to inform Bakugo about it, because he always does.

But Shinsou hasn't read his messages, hasn't replied and he didn't open his door either.

Katsuki tries not to worry too much, because it's not as if they made plans for today and considering that it's his birthday he could just be out. Doing things. With other people.

People like his parents, for example, Katsuki thinks and decides that he'd rather face Aizawa and Yamada than worry for a single second longer about Shinsou, so he makes his way over to the apartment of his former teachers.

He shuffles on his feet as he waits for them to open the door and he does not cower under Aizawa's glare when he finally does.

"Where is he?" Katsuki demands to know when Aizawa simply raises a questioning eyebrow at him and Katsuki simply shoulders past him into the apartment.

He's been here more times than he really likes to think about, considering that this is the apartment of his former teachers, but it's where Shinsou lived for the longest time until he got his own apartment and Katsuki was not about to be cowed by some adults.

So he knows his way around and he knows that he's always welcome, anyway. Yamada had said so.

"Hello to you, too, Bakugo," Aizawa almost lazily says, following Katsuki into the living room that is suspiciously Shinsou-free.

"Where's zombie face?" Katsuki demands to know, questioningly inclining his head towards his room, but Aizawa shakes his head, just as Yamada appears in the doorway.

"How dare you?" he asks with an outraged gasp, clutching at his chest for good measure too and Katsuki can already feel the headache coming on.

"What?" he bites out and Yamada seems close to tears now.

Good thing Katsuki knows that it's mostly just for play because Yamada is one dramatic asshole, but tears have always made Katsuki uncomfortable, no matter if they are real or not.

"How dare you call my son that? I demand more respect!"

"Right," Aizawa snorts out behind Katsuki, saving him from having to come up with a reply that is at least a little bit respectful. "Because you're being such a good role model."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yamada demands to know and Katsuki stays very quiet, hoping they just forget about him until their banter is over.

"It means that you're one to speak. May I remind you that you call me 'your little hobo man' all the goddamn time? So you're in no position to complain about how Bakugo calls Hitoshi at all."

At that, Yamada splutters and Katsuki tightens his grip on the container he's carrying around with him.

"Excuse you? That's a fond little nickname I have for you, because I love you so!"

"So it's just the same. Loud, aggressive blondes with a knack for atrocious nicknames is clearly the way to go in this family. Like father, like son, really, it's sad. I thought I taught him better," Aizawa sighs out and now Katsuki can feel himself going red in the face.

"Oi!" he yells out, because it's not—they are not like Aizawa and Yamada, who have been disgustingly in love the entire time and married for more years than Katsuki cares to remember.

Shinsou and Katsuki are nothing like that because they are not even together to begin with.

Yamada and Aizawa both turn to look at him now and it only makes Katsuki flush harder.

"It's not like that," he grumbles out because it fucking isn't but neither of the men seem to believe him.

"Sure it's not. That's why you're here with what looks like a homemade cake," Yamada finally relents and his words just make everything worse.

"Shut it," he snaps. "Where is he?"

"Not here," Aizawa tells him.

"But it's his birthday," Katsuki says, confused now because if Shinsou isn't here and he isn't at home and none of their friends know anything then he's effectively missing.

"Hitoshi doesn't do birthdays," Aizawa sighs out and Katsuki watches how Yamada's face turns all sad.

"Sometimes I forget that you two haven't been—whatever you are for that long," Yamada gently says. "It's the first birthday you're doing with him, right?"

"And what if it fucking is?" Katsuki wants to know, because it certainly feels like a lot longer to Bakugo, but it only makes Aizawa roll his eyes at him.

"It just means that you don't know and of course Hitoshi wouldn't have said anything."

"Don't know what? Would it fucking kill you to give me a straight answer for once?" Katsuki can feel his control slipping because he's just so fucking on edge and he doesn't like the way Aizawa and Yamada are looking at him.

If they make him explode the cake he made for Shinsou he's going to explode them, too.

"His birth parents abandoned him on his birthday," Aizawa finally, blessedly, explains. "Hitoshi doesn't celebrate his birthday. He always picks a random day in the next month to do it, but he never ever celebrates his birthday on the actual day."

"What the fuck," Katsuki breathes out because what kind of shitty parent doesn't just abandon their kid but also picks their birthday to do that. "That fucking sucks."

"Yeah, you can say that again," Yamada huffs out. "No matter what, we couldn't get him to celebrate it, not even after the adoption went through."

Yeah, that makes some twisted kind of sense, Katsuki thinks, because of course the fear of being abandoned on this day sits way too deep for Shinsou.

Well, fuck that, Katsuki thinks and briefly salutes Aizawa and Yamada.

"Thanks for telling me, or whatever," he tells them and simply marches back towards the front door.

He has a guy to bother after all.

"Hey, hey, what do you think you're doing?" Yamada calls after him but Katsuki doesn't grace him with an answer since it should be kind of clear what the fuck he's going to do.

Aizawa trails after him to the door and Katsuki expects him to lecture him, to respect Shinsou's boundaries or whatever the fuck and Katsuki has already decided that he’s not going to listen to a single word he's going to say.

It comes as quite the surprise when Aizawa simply drops a key into his hand instead of saying anything and Katsuki might not be the most subtle person, but even he can understand a hint like that.

It's basically as good as Aizawa giving him his blessing and Katsuki has no clue why that makes his heart beat so much faster.

"It's a spare. I think it's safe to say that you can keep it," Aizawa tells him with a smirk and when Katsuki looks over his shoulder back at Yamada, he too is smiling way too brightly at Katsuki.

Stupid meddling parents, Katsuki thinks to himself, but of course his fingers tighten almost tellingly around the key. He leaves before anyone else can say something and soon enough, even after he detoured to get some groceries, he finds himself back in front of Shinsou's door.

Katsuki freezes for one moment because what the actual fuck is he even doing, barging in where he might not be wanted, but the warmed metal of the key reminds him that at least Shinsou's parents think he might be wanted here even though it's not as if Katsuki needs any kind of permission to bother his—friend.

Yeah. Because that's what they are.

Katsuki knocks on the door, loud and annoyingly, and to absolutely no one's surprise there is no answer. So he does it again. And then, because he can, again.

But three times is all the warning Shinsou gets from him so next instead of kicking the door down like he wants to he simply uses the key he was given and barges right into Shinsou's apartment.

"Knock, knock, fucker!" Katsuki calls out as he ventures deeper into the apartment.

He doesn't spot Shinsou in the living-room or the kitchen and of course the idiot has hauled himself up in his bedroom, because where else can you properly mope but your bed?

Katsuki lets out a sigh, briefly stopping in the kitchen to put away the groceries he'll need later today and slicing up the cake, neatly laying out a piece for both of them before he takes the plates and makes his way over to Shinsou's bedroom.

The door there is shut almost all the way but not quite and so finally Katsuki gets his wish of kicking a door in, even though he makes sure it doesn't completely fall off its hinges or damage the wall.

Really, Katsuki is being real considerate, all things considered.

Just like Katsuki expected there's a lump under the blankets in the middle of the bed and Katsuki deposits the plates on the ground before he pokes he lump.

"Go the fuck away," Shinsou's muffled voice comes out and Katsuki only pokes him harder.

"Not fucking happening. Move your carcass, you're taking up all the space," Katsuki demands and pokes and pokes and pokes until Shinsou lets out something close to an anguished wail but shuffles around until there's at least a little bit of space.

"I fucking hate you," Shinsou mutters when Katsuki slides into the bed behind him and he lets out an amused huff.

"Tell that to someone who fucking cares," he shoots back. "Now, you wanna be a difficult bastard or do you want to eat something?"

There's a brief pause.

"Did you make it?"

"Of course I fucking made it," Katsuki gives back because Shinsou really should know better.

Katsuki has never shown up with anything but self-made food.

"What is it?"

"Cake."

The lump stiffens again at that but Katsuki couldn't care less. He made cake, big fucking deal. Doesn't even have to be a birthday cake if Shinsou doesn't want it to be.

 "Go fuck yourself."

"Do it yourself, coward," Katsuki shoots back immediately and that, at least, prompts something akin to a laugh from Shinsou.

"Maybe later," he decides and Katsuki does not go hot all over. "What kind of cake?"

"Your favourite, what else?"

"You're being real mean to me."

"Say that again and I'll give you something to complain about. I brought the cake, I can take it away again, too."

That gets the lump to wriggle around until a head sticks out from the blankets. Shinsou looks unhappy, stressed, and Katsuki very pointedly does not mention how red his eyes are.

He's not here to really antagonise Shinsou after all and drawing attention to his clearly emotionally vulnerable state is not the way to go.

"Why the fuck are you here?"

"Because you went MIA on me without even being in action. You really should know better."

"How did you get in?"

"Your dad gave me a key."

"You've been to my parents' place?"

"Thought you were hiding away there. No luck, obviously."

"They told you."

"They sure as fuck did," Katsuki admits.

"Then why. Why come here anyway? Is it too much to want one day of peace?"

"It is, actually, at least on this day. I get why you do it, but hiding yourself away like this is not going to convince you that nothing bad is going to happen today."

"Yeah, well, ten years of therapy haven't convinced me, so I'm real curious to know what you're going to do," Shinsou bites out, his eyes narrowed at Katsuki and Katsuki lets out a deep breath before he reaches out and pulls Shinsou half on top of him.

"Well, first of all, I can't leave if you fucking trap me here, right?" he then offers and it only takes a moment before Shinsou's hand tangles in his shirt, holding on for dear life. "Second, you're just going to have to trust me."

"Right, because that's so fucking easy in the face of trauma," Shinsou snaps out but Katsuki isn't bothered.

"It's not going to change if you don't do something. But that doesn't seem to be up your alley, so I'm going to do something for you."

"Like what?"

"Like eating cake with you. Like dragging you out to the couch so we can at least watch some of your trashy shows. Like cooking dinner. Like not leaving until tomorrow."

Shinsou's grip on Katsuki tightens almost painfully at that last part but Katsuki doesn't mention it and simply slings his arm around Shinsou's middle.

"Does any of that sound good to you?"

"Who are you and what have you done with my prickly, loud, aggressive Bakugo?"

Katsuki doesn't think too much about that 'loud, aggressive blondes' comment Aizawa had made earlier, or the way Shinsou just called him his because that way lies madness so he concentrates on something that's easier.

"I can always bully you out into the living-room for the cake, too, if you'd prefer that," he cheerfully says and Shinsou presses himself deeper into the mattress.

"No," he petulantly says and yeah, that's about what Katsuki expected.

"Then take the fucking nice version, it's a one-time offer."

Shinsou moves at that, just enough to be able to prop his chin up on Katsuki's chest and Katsuki's stomach does something that's dangerously close to swooping. His heart, the traitor, also picks up its pace.

"I'd take a year-long abo on the cuddling," Shinsou mutters, a faint flush on his face and Katsuki can't do anything but thread his fingers through Shinsou's hair.

"Eat some cake and I'll consider it," he finally says, though he can't quite find the strength to take his hand back.

"Tempting," Shinsou mutters, leaning over Katsuki to look at the cake. "Really fucking tempting, gimme that," Shinsou then decides, making grabby hands at the cake like the spoiled brat he is and to his absolute horror, Katsuki is not above indulging him it seems, because he leans down to get Shinsou his plate.

"There you go, you annoying prick."

"You like me annoying," Shinsou says around his forkful of cake and Katsuki is almost horrified to find that, yes, he actually does like him like that.

"Fuck off," he grumbles out but there's no heat behind his words and going by the smirk Shinsou graces him with, he damn well knows it.

Shinsou eats his cake in silence after that, though he does offer the occasional bite to Katsuki, who simply takes what's offered to him and by the time his plate is cleared, Shinsou seems more relaxed than before though that quickly dissipates again when Shinsou works himself up over something.

"What?" Katsuki demands to know and Shinsou hides his face in Katsuki's chest.

"Are you really not going to leave?" he asks and his voice shakes around the words.

"I'm really not going to leave," Katsuki quietly promises him, lightly scratching at Shinsou's scalp. "I'm going to stay right here with you."

"Throw in a swear word and I might even believe you," Shinsou mutters, though he does go lax again.

"Ex-fucking-cuse me for trying to be mature or whatever," Katsuki snaps out and he feels way too accomplished when it makes Shinsou laugh.

"There you are," Shinsou mumbles and Katsuki sighs.

"I'm not the one who went away," he then says because Shinsou's been the king of avoidance today but he softens his words by scratching his scalp again.

"I'm just—" Shinsou doesn't finish but Katsuki can take an educated guess anyway.

Scared is what he doesn't want to admit, but Katsuki knows it anyway.

"Yeah. The brain is a bitch like that."

"You're going to stay?" Shinsou asks and on a normal day Katsuki would chew him out for asking redundant questions but not today.

Today he indulges Shinsou as best as he can.

"I'm going to stay."

"For today?"

Katsuki hesitates a moment before he speaks again, but when he does it's nothing but raw honesty in his voice.

"For however long you want me to."

"Mh," Shinsou hums out and slings his arms more firmly around Katsuki in the same breath.

It's all the answer Katsuki needs, really, so he goes back to what is quickly becoming his favourite thing to do: scratching at Shinsou's scalp.

Katsuki doubts that today will stay as relaxed as it is right now, not with what he learned about what happened to Shinsou all these years ago, but for now everything is good, perfect even, and no matter what's going to come along their way, Katsuki will make sure they deal with that, too.

And even if they can't, then he'll simply hold Shinsou through it, because Katsuki really does intend to stay.

Preferably forever.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1111: Cuddling Hedgehogs (Sonic)

11:16 a.m. at Amy's House's Living Room.......

TV: Oh Sasuke~ Just come back home soon, will ya?

Amy: (Cuddling Under a Blanket With Sonic While Sitting on the Sofa Together, Rolling her Eyes) Who wanna bet he he'll be gone for a month this time?

Sonic: I'll him two to three months tops.

Amy: (Turns to her Boyfriend) Oh come on, who would be that cruel and crazy enough to leave for THAT long? ('Sigh') Then again this is Sasuke we're talking about, so its possible.....

Sonic: Yep. That Sakura chick could've done a lot better honestly.

Amy: Right!? She has so many options and yet she chose to marry SASUKE of that people?

Sonic: (Shrugs) The guy been having good looks since his academy years.

Amy: (Starts Pouting) Good looks doesn't mean jack-squat when you go out betraying everyone you know in the village and try murdering your teammates more than once!

Sonic: (Speaks in a Sarcastic Tone) But Amy, Sasuke was their dear friend and teammate! And he's been through soooo much trauma too.

Amy: AND!? Naruto has been wrongfully hated by the entire Leaf Village ever since he was little boy, but you don't see him going around joining the Akatsuki to destroy it! That jerk should be lucky Naruto care enough not to put him behind bars for the rest of his dumb life.....

Sonic: Or have him exiled altogether. But yeah, Sakura should've married someone else. Like, Lee for example.

Amy: Oh my god, YESSSS! I don't care how bushy his brows are, Lee is such sweetheart and hard worker. (Looks Up at Sonic With a Smile on her Face) Kinda like you in a way.

Sonic: Seriously?

Amy: (Happily Snuggles onto Sonic) Yes, seriously!~ I mean, besides you being more lazy in comparison-

Sonic: Hey, I can be just as hard working as he can thank you!

Amy: (Forms a Teasing Smirk on her Face) Yeah, when laying around napping and eating chili dogs all day aren't involved.

Sonic: Taking naps are essential for having a relaxing day and don't you dare insult the exquisite masterpiece that are chili dogs

Amy: How are hot dogs covered in chili exquisite in any capacity?

Sonic: They looks and taste good obviously. And they're the town's favorite, so there! (Crosses his Arms With a Satisfied Smirk on his Face)

Amy: (Sighs While Rolling her Eyes) Anyways, while you can be such a lazy hog at times....(Smiles Softly) You're just as sweet and helpful as Brushy Brown was. And it's all the more reason why I've fallen over heels for you~ (Kiss Sonic on the Cheek)

Sonic: (Chuckles Lightly While Blushing a Little) Well, I'm glad I'm able to live up to the expectations with the handsome devil himself!~ (Grabs his Chin While Thinking) Speaking of which, you I would look good in that green suit of his or....nah?

Amy: I think so. (Starts Smirking Seductively) Not sure if you know this by now, but I just so happen to be fond of men in uniforms~

Sonic: (Smirks Back) Really now?~ Are you also fond of men giving you kisses all day long?~

Amy: (Giggles Softly) Yes please~

The couple leans forward to kiss one another on the lips, until the sudden sound of a ring tone startled them both.

'Follow me inside! Outside! Through the Stratosphere!~'

Amy: (Sighs Heavily While Pinching the Bridge of her Nose) Great........The meetings about to start.....

Sonic: (Raised an Eyebrow in Confusion) Meeting?

Amy: Remember that whole Resistance group me, Knuckles, and the others form a long while ago? Well, since then, we've been attending their meetings for some time, discussing how we keep the city safe from Eggman and other word level threats and most of which lasted for way too long that it makes me want to die!

Sonic: How long are we talking exactly?

Amy: Three to four hours. Five, whenever a heated debate starts. And the meeting is supposed be every Mondays and Wednesdays. What day is it today?

Sonic: Uh....Tuesday?

Amy: Exactly. So, tell me why we're having another today when we JUST had one last night!?

Sonic: Last night, huh? So that explains the bags under your eyes......

Amy: Yeah, hated how noticeable it is. ('Sigh') But there's really not much I can do right now, but to ao and-

Sonic: (Already on Amy's Phone) Wassup, Wassup! Sonic's the name, speed my game! And you've reached the house of the cute and awesome Amy Rose, who is not available at the moment. So please, be cool and leave her a message after the beep, will ya?

Knuckles: (On the Other Line) Sonic, what the hell are you-

Sonic: BEEEEEP BYE! (Quickly Ends the Call Before Letting Out a Relived Sigh) ('Phew') (Makes to Finger Guns With a Smirk on his Face) Piece of cake.

Amy: (Surprised by What Just Happened) Sonic, what did you just do!?

Sonic: Saved you from wasting three to five hours on another meeting. Now you get to spend the rest of the day relaxing and watching TV with yours truly.

Amy: You did all this for me?

Sonic: (Smiles Brightly) Of course! Now, i know it wasn't professional of me to up amd lie to them like that, i couldn't have my own girlfriend getting tired over some boring city meeting- (Immediately Gets Hug Tackled by his Girlfriend) -Oof!

Amy: (Happily Snuggles onto her Boyfriend) Ohh my sweet, darling, Sonic, I'll never forget this!~ Thank you so much!~ But you do realize Knuckles is gonna eventually kill the both of us, right?

Sonic: (Shrugs) Eh. We can deal with Knucklehead some other time. (Gives Amy a Seductive Smirk of his Own) In the meantime, don'tcha think we've got some unfinished business to start on right now?~ With only to the two of us can handle~

Amy: (Smirks Back) Come to Momma Rose~

The couple continues their cuddle session by snuggling and kissing one another on the kiss. For a moment it was a start of a very relaxing day for the both of them. That is until it came into screeching halt with a loud knocking sound.

'KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK'

Knuckles: (Outside on the Doorway) SONIC! AMY! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!!

Sonic: Or we can deal with him now apparently......

Amy: ('Sighs in Defeat') So much for our free time.....

Knuckles: QUIT MESSING AROUND AND OPEN THIS DOOR NOOOOOOOW!!!

@theweebmaster31

@keyenuta

@cyber-wildcat

@caleb13frede

@albion-93

[dadupbuck]

Title: the sound of love astounds me

Written by: fleetinghearts

Rated: T

Warnings: None

Category: M/M

Relationships: Buck/Eddie

Tags: Pre-Relationship, Feelings Realization, Cuddling & Snuggling, kind of

Words: 1864

Summary:

“All the more reason to sleep,” Eddie presses.

Buck looks at him, blinking tiredly. “Okay,” he says, suddenly amenable, rounding the couch and climbing onto it. He drapes himself across it, settling on his back and shoving his head into Eddie’s lap with a contented sigh. Eddie sits frozen, book in one hand and the other hovering over Buck’s chest.

or, there’s not a lot eddie wouldn’t do for buck

My notes: I originally wasn't going to make any posts until I'm done writing for whumptober but this fic is SO FREAKING ADORABLE!!!! And it doesn't have a lot of tags so it's easier to make this post. GO READ THIS NOW PLEASE!!! Its soooo sweeeet!!!!