#His nap spot on the couch is empty but i still look at it when I pass and wonder where he is

[deadforsevenyears]

loss is hard to comprehend. It's walking into a room over and over and forgetting what you were looking for. Whatever, whoever you needed is gone now. It's not always remembering them, it's feeling a hole like the space after you lose a tooth, raw and hollow. It's feeling your cheek sink in just a bit, you feel the loss itself more than you think you will. You see it, without having to open your mouth. It's seeing over and over, from the corner of your eye, things that aren't there, reflections that are impossible, shadows that freeze you with sorrow instead of fear. How am I supposed to go on? You think about it, and then you don't, and you go on.

[dragonsholygrail]

HI HI HI I LOVED UR PUPPY BF BLURBO BTW- HI ! um food for thought... cat bf? maybe? like the total opposite of puppy but still absolutely needy lmao HI!

When you walk into your home the silence that greets you automatically unsettles you to the bone. While usually your Cat bf is all over you as soon as you walk in the door after you come home, now he’s nowhere to be seen. You close the door behind you, looking around the empty hall.

“Bubba, where are you?” You ask sweetly, even using his favorite nickname as you wonder if he’s upset with you for some reason.

Entering the living room you look around for him, thinking he has to be here. All his favorite napping spots, besides your soft squishy body, are in the living room. Just as you’re about to look behind the couch, a heavy weight pounces on you from behind and you both tumble to the ground.

A mix of soft purring and rough growling echo in your ear and vibrate into your back with your bf’s chest so tightly against you. Your bf grinds his cock into your clothed core, showing you how needy he had grown without you there. You can’t help but moan, arching into the girth of his length.

“You’re late,” your bf grumbles, his tail flicking in agitation before it curls tightly around your leg.

Your breath hitches as you realize why he wasn’t at the door. He is very much upset with you and by his hardness you know exactly why. So as soon as he starts clawing at your clothes and practically shredding them, you immediately help him get them off till you’re bare for him.

He stares at you, his pupils dilating wide at the sight of your glistening pussy already so wet for him. He can’t keep his hands off of you a second longer and he races to grab handfuls of your flesh, kneading them and watching your curves shift deliciously.

You yelp as he uses his hold to finally yank you back against his body. A shaky moan leaves you as his dick slides between your wet folds, catching every drop of your essence he can. You can hear him sigh and his body relaxes almost completely now that he’s about to be inside you.

He leans his chest over till his form is surrounding your large frame. The weight of him is comforting and a smile tugs at your lips at he nuzzles into your hair, taking deep whiffs of your scent.

“Waited so so long for you, it was torture. Weren’t back when you said. So unfair,” your bf whines and you can feel the pout of his lips on your head.

You gasp sharply as his tip rubs into your clit with every rock of his hips and you know it’s on purpose. Your bf wanting to torture you just like you had him.

“L-let me make it up to you,” you breathe out, arching your hips. Prepared for him to finally take you.

Before you can process the movement, your bf is flipping you onto your back, clearly needing to see your face. Trying to gain your senses your bf easily throws your legs over his shoulders and plunges into your wet heat. You mewl, back arching to take him inside you even faster.

“Just wanna fuck you, baby. Can I please fuck you? Wanna feel you clench around my cock and milk me dry,” your bf whines, his cock already fucking up into you with shallow thrusts. You don’t even think he realizes.

“Go ahead, it’s ok, it’s ok.”

With another whine he picks up his pace, his claws digging into your wide hips so he can pound away at your pussy like he’s been waiting to for the entire day. He ducks his head into your neck as if trying to get as close to you as possible. His whimpers quiet in your ear.

You moan, your hands clawing down his back in a way that has him hissing and pumping into your tight cunt with fierce determination. You meet his every thrust, wanting to reach so deep inside you that you feel him in your throat. Your bf’s whimpers grow louder and you try and squeeze his cock in reassurance.

“It always hurts being so far away from you. Just wanna stay with you, stay inside you, please,” he whines, rutting into you so hard the sound of your bodies meeting fills the room.

Your heart aches for your bf, even as your pleasure climbs higher from your mixed desperation to be together. You moan with every snap of his hips, barely even able to talk but you have to try.

“T-then come inside me. Fill me up to the brim so a part of you can stay inside me. C’mon, bubba. Need your cum. Let go,” you beg breathlessly.

Your bf growls and shifts to push your knees to your chest. Ripping a gasp from your throat as he stretches you even further. Your orgasm sweeps over you a few thrusts later and you scream, clenching onto your bf in every way. Forcing him to follow you into ecstasy. His cum gushing into your eager pussy and making you feel even more full.

Neither of you can get enough, your bodies still furiously meeting even as overstimulation begins to set in. When he whines again you relent and you both slow down until he sags on top of you. You stay like this for who knows how long and you know your bf doesn’t want to leave and risk his cum gushing out of you by the way he clings to you.

“How about you get the plug, love? Can make sure it all stays in. Then we can have some more cuddles.”

Your bf jerks up to meet your eye, a bright smile on his face. His attitude completely turned around from when you first walked into the door now that he’s had you. It won’t be for the last time tonight but he can’t resist cuddles for the life of him.

He carefully pulls out before rushing down the hall to your shared room. You watch him with an adoring smile, having hated being home late almost as much as he had.

[sassycheesecake]

Giggling like a lovesick teen, you intertwine your hands with your husband Osamu Miya, as you try to walk up the path that leads to your house.

The black-haired man just shakes his head with a smile at your silly antics, happy to be home after you just came back from a much needed date night, leaving Atsumu in charge to watch your triplets.

As soon as you enter your suspiciously dark house, you flip on the lights and hear a mix between a hiss and a groan.

You and Osamu look at each other and make the way to the living room where you find the babysitter.

You frown in confusion when you spot your brother-in-law, Atsumu Miya just waking up apparently from his nap on your living room couch, the TV still running on a random show he probably fell asleep to.

As soon as the blonde spots you, he stretches on the couch and greets you.

"Hey (Y/N), hey bro. How was date night?" The Setter gets up, stretches some more and makes his way over to you.

"Pretty good. Food was fantastic and wine amazing. How were the little troublemakers?" Osamu asks in return, taking off his jacket and hanging it up over the coat rack.

When Osamu talks to his brother, you’re making your way up the stairs, opening the room slowly to make sure your children are sleeping.

The door opens wider and you expected to hear quiet snores.

You don’t.

Turning on the lights, just to see all three beds empty, you feel your anxiety and fear taking over in your brain.

You hope this is just a bad dream, a nightmare.

There is just no way that Atsumu seriously lost your kids.

Walking down the stairs carefully, each step feels heavy and there’s a silent storm raging inside of you.

"Atsumu." You stand in the entryway of the living room again and Osamu frowns in concern at your panicked expression.

"Hmm?" He puts on his jacket as he turns to you.

"Where are the triplets?" You ask with a hint of fear.

"In bed? As they should? I put 'em down myself." Atsumu states like it should be super obvious.

You try to breathe slowly as your panic starts to settle in, while Osamu comes over to you to hold you.

"I just went to check on them. All three beds are empty. I couldn’t find them anywhere upstairs." You’re completely sober now, panic rushing in like a speed train as you tell Osamu about what you discovered upstairs.

"What?!" The twins say synchronized, both voices filled with panic.

"Keisuke? Kaito? Kaori?" Osamu calls out for your children, looking around everywhere, along with you and Atsumu.

Around ten minutes later, the three of you still haven’t found them. And you’re ready to call the police.

You already have your phone in your hand, pacing around and the number dialed ready when you hear Atsumu and Osamu in a very heated argument.

"Ya seriously couldn’t stay up til we're back?! It’s barely 9 pm!" Osamu begins to yell, when he sees your scared expression and your pacing, he stops his loud voice and quickly comes to your side to calm you down.

"Baby? It’ll be okay. 'M sure they’re okay, I already called sum of mah old teammates they are looking for them." He brushes away some of your incoming tears and his heart breaks at the sight. He can murder his brother later, right now all he should focus on is you and your three missing rascals.

Before your panic attack AND heart attack begin to grow even more, the front door opens and the eldest of the triplets walks in, Kaito looking extremely guilty. Two more familiar faces follow, Keisuke looking extremely tired and one very happy Kaori as she holds the hand of none other than Shinsuke Kita.

"I found them outside on my way home. They were hungry and went to the store down the street." Kita explains calmly as he looks at you and the adult twins.

He looks concerned at yours and Osamu’s expressions, lastly looking at the blonde twin who looks as guilty as his nephew.

When your children see you in your distressed state, they rush over to you. You hug them in a tight embrace, crying with relief that your babies are okay and unharmed.

With one last scolding look to Atsumu, who freezes in fear, Kita leaves your house.

You have calmed down and Osamu breathes out a big sigh of relief and talks to his children in a quiet yet firm voice.

"Up to bed, you three. Mum and I will be up in a few minutes. We need to have a few words with yer uncle."

As soon as Osamu and you see the three figures vanish from his sight, he turns to his twin, fury burning in his eyes.

"Yer officially scratched off the babysitter list." Osamu growls at his brother.

"WHAT? Oh come on! It was just one little mistake! I have been watchin' 'em since they were this big and nothing ever happened!" Atsumu forms his hands into a cat-like-size round shape as he tries to justify himself.

"Ya were sleepin' instead of watchin'! They are only 6!" Osamu steps closer to his twin and you begin to fear that your husband is about to commit fratricide.

"Okay let’s all calm down." You managed to calm down a bit and now it’s time to calm the situation down in general.

"Don’t tell me ta calm down! I am about to murder this asshole!" Osamu sees red as he charges for his brother and you move yourself in between them, protecting Atsumu even though he fairly deserves the beat up of his twin brother.

"Samu. They’re okay. That’s all that matters." You stand your ground even though your husband is fairly much taller than you.

Osamu keeps his furious gaze on his twin and you stay in front of him, not standing down.

"Atsumu, go home. We’ll talk about this another time." You tell the blonde and he doesn’t fight you on it, just leaves in a hurry and is soon out of the door.

Osamu paces back and forth, running his fingers through his raven hair repeatedly.

"Samu."

He doesn’t stop pacing but he stopped running his fingers through his hair.

"Osamu." The chef finally stops and looks at you and you’re shocked to see tears in his eyes. Whether it’s out of relief or anger, you don’t know.

Last time he cried was when you were in labor, having a complicated birth due to having a risky pregnancy by carrying the triplets.

"They are okay. No one was harmed, and Kita found them. They are home with us, calm down my love." You press your forehead against his and the former Wing Spiker shudders at the action, holding you tightly against him and he feels himself relaxing at the sound of your voice and your warm embrace.

"But what if he hadn’t found them? What if someone kidnapped them, or they got lost? Or-" He rambles on, tears running down his cheeks that you wipe away with a cautious but tender touch, as he did for you earlier.

"It’s okay, they’re okay. They’re kids, Samu. They will make mistakes in the future and we’re going to help them. To realize those mistakes and be there for them. Let's have a talk with them now and go to bed. It’s been a stressful evening and all of us now need the rest." You smooth out his messy hair, giving him an encouraging smile.

Osamu returns your smile slightly and agrees with you.

A little bit later after a talk with your children, Osamu lays on your shared bed, eyes open as you sleep deeply.

Kaori, Keisuke and Kaito sleep in between the two of you, spread out like star fish. Kaito is physically closest to his father and the young boy with the same dark black hair as his father cuddles closer to his chest, a happy sigh escaping his little mouth with a smile.

Osamu's heart warms at the action of his son, pulling him closer to let out a happy sigh himself and finally falls asleep with his family of five in bed, a smile resting on his face as well.

[jrow]

May Prompts (28)

Day 27 here. Start from the beginning here. Day 29 here.

Empty

He stares at the empty box.

Sherlock isn’t saying anything.

Sherlock opened the gift a good two minutes ago and still hasn’t said a word.

He watched Sherlock for the first minute or so, and saw only a blank expression. So now, he stares at the empty box because he’s terrified about what that blank expression means.

God, he had been so relieved that this was finally happening. His plan coming to fruition. He wanted to wait until Rosie was having her nap for obvious reasons but the past few hours have been excruciating. To be honest, it had taken quite a bit of will power not to thrust the gift in Sherlock’s face the second they arrived at Baker Street.

The hopeful glances from Molly this afternoon hadn’t helped.

But, he made it. And a few minutes ago, Sherlock removed the paper, opened the box, and pulled out the silent violin, various accessories and case. And then said nothing.

So, John is staring at the empty box. He was wrong, the wait this afternoon was a cake walk compared to this.

Finally, after another minute of silence, he looks up tentatively. He lets out a quiet sigh of relief at what he sees.

Sherlock, standing perfectly still, staring at the instrument in his hand.

This is an expression he’s seen before—back when he asked Sherlock to be his best man. It’s a sort of far away look that means Sherlock isn’t angry or busy thinking of how to weasel his way out of this conversation. It’s a look that means Sherlock has made a deduction he can’t quite believe.

It’s time to force Sherlock to say that deduction out loud. Make it real.

“Happy birthday, finally. What do you think?”

“It’s a silent violin.”

“Yes.”

“Top of the line. The London Philharmonic violinists use these to practice.”

“That’s what I was told.”

“You like when I play my violin.”

“Very much.”

“And Rosie loves it.”

“Yes.”

“So, this isn’t a gift for when you are here during the day.”

“Course not, you have your Strat.”

“And, if there is no one to disturb, I can play my Strat at night.”

“True.”

“Mrs. Hudson can’t hear it from her flat.”

“Hmmm.”

“I would only need a silent violin if there was someone else here at night. Sleeping.”

“Yes.”

“Your old room—it’s Rosie’s now.”

“Absolutely.”

“We made that decision during the rebuild. A child’s room. She naps there sometimes. Plays there a lot.”

“Yes, she loves it.”

“Your old bed and dresser are gone. The room upstairs just has a little toddler bed and that child-sized table and chairs. And toys.”

“That’s true.”

“Plus the bookshelf Mycroft made but pretended he bought. All the books he filled it with.”

“Yes. It’s the perfect room for her.

“We could fit a little dresser in there but not much else.”

“No. That’s all she needs though.”

“You can’t sleep there. Couldn’t sleep there.”

“No, it’s Rosie’s room.”

“You can’t sleep on the couch in here either. It would have been awful for your shoulder before your fall. Now it’s out of the question.”

“Agreed.”

“If Rosie is sleeping here regularly, I could use the silent violin so I don’t wake her.”

“Yes. Every night.”

“But that means you would be sleeping here too.”

“Of course.”

“You would need to sleep in a bed. That only leaves one option.”

A deep breath. “Correct.”

“Well, two options. But, you would never ask me to move from here.”

“Course not. This is your home.”

A pause.

“People would talk.”

“Good. I’d expect no less.”

Another pause.

“You have assumed I am gay for some time now.”

“Yes. Is that assumption correct?”

“Yes.” A sharp inhale. “I have assumed you are not entirely straight from the beginning.”

“I think that’s a fair way of putting it.”

“You rebuked people when they assumed we were a couple.”

“I did. Years ago. Haven’t for some time now. You said you were married to your work, but that’s not true anymore either, is it?” He knows he needs to push Sherlock, just a bit.

It works. Sherlock shakes his head, as if coming out of a daze. “I … what’s that?”

He blushes. Sherlock has spotted the case. Was that too sentimental? “It’s errr…the case. For the violin.”

Sherlock slowly runs his hands over it. “It’s her handprint.”

“Errr … yeah. I know pink isn’t exactly your thing, but I let her pick.”

“Her hand is so small.”

“Yeah. But soon it won’t be.” He takes a deep breath. “Thought it would be a nice snapshot of how small she was when she moved in. Because I hope we’ll be here for … well, as long as you’re here.” In for a penny. “If you’ll have us. If you’ll have me.” He smiles. “If there’s space for me in the room down the hall. ‘Cause you’re it for me, Sherlock. I think you always have been.” A feeling of relief washes over him. Whatever happens, at least it’s all in the open now. At least the box is empty.

A long pause. “I think I am going to faint,” Sherlock finally says and then promptly crumbles to the floor.

@keirgreeneyes @raina-at @totallysilvergirl @meetinginsamarra @jolieblack @phoenix27884 @friday411 @calaisreno @lisbeth-kk @safedistancefrombeingsmart @momma2boys @helloliriels @dapetty @quimerasyutopias

[nikkento-writes]

After back-to-back-to-back meetings, you finally emerge from your office at home, stomach grumbling, hungry for the lunch you should have taken over an hour ago. You’ve only got fifteen minutes to spare before yet another conference call. Nanami stopped by earlier for his own lunchbreak before heading off to another mission and you’re sad to have missed him. Hoping to hear his voice even just for a few seconds, you retrieve your phone from your pocket, ready to dial his number. Before you can, you notice a few text messages from him that puts the biggest smile on your face.

There’s lunch for you in the fridge. 

Hope your meetings go well. On a mission the rest of the day, so no access to phone. 

I love you.

You open the fridge and see a plate with plastic wrapped over it, covering the tamago sando he made for you, one of your favorites. A little note in his handwriting is taped to it. Enjoy lunch, sweetheart. I love you.You’ll never get tired of hearing it. The both of you have made it a habit to say it often; with his profession as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, there’s no way to predict if it will ever be the last.

Heart full, you devour the sandwich quickly, snapping a quick shot of the empty plate. You send it to him along with a message of your own. No crumbs left. Thank you for lunch, sweetie. Have a safe mission. I can’t wait to see you at home. I love you so much. This is exactly what you need to get through the rest of your workday.

You end up working overtime to finish some deadlines before the weekend, so by the time your husband returns home, you’re still staring at the computer screen, typing away at your keyboard. When you hear him moving around in the kitchen, you start typing faster, desperate to be done with this and to be held in your husband’s arms. Responses to your emails are going to come in soon, but waiting around for them isn’t going to make you feel any better, so you finally get up from your chair to greet Nanami. He looks tired too, eyes heavy with fatigue, hair ruffled, tie loosened around his neck. His job is exhausting, and you always feel guilty complaining about yours when he constantly risks his life for his.

He's sat on the couch, head leaned back, eyes closed as if he’s ready for a nap. When he hears you approaching, he opens his eyes, smiling as soon as he sees you, the weariness in his expression almost disappearing completely. “Hi sweetheart,” he says, patting the spot beside him. “Done with work?”

You sit down, resting your head on his shoulder. He’s warm, always is, and you bask in it, an instant serotonin boost. “Almost. Just a few more minutes. Waiting for some emails.”

He kisses your forehead, wrapping his arm around your shoulder. “I’m sure you can check them on Monday.”

You yawn, closing your eyes without really meaning to. “They might have some questions – ”

He guides you down onto his lap, letting you use him as a pillow, stroking your head gently. “You can answer them next week.” His voice is soft and soothing, like a lullaby coaxing you into the most peaceful slumber. He knows all the ways to put you at ease, to make you forget about deadlines and projects and emails that you think can’t wait but actually can. Because getting to do this with him means he’s home, safe and sound. Alive.

You’re asleep now, already snoring, his hand still petting you softly. The distinct sound of an email notification pings from your office, but nobody budges, especially not Nanami. He smiles down at you, watching your sleeping form, enjoying the way your body rises and falls with every steady breath you take. He gets to sit here and be with you like this. Emails, deadlines, curses, overtime. Nothing even matters but you.

[lilypadlys]

Growing Pains

Mountain does his best to welcome Phantom as he transitions to life in the ministry. It’s not easy though. The touched starved newbie is having trouble settling in, afraid to ask for comfort and physical affection.

Characters: Phantom, Mountain 

Word Count: 4,110

Rating: General Audiences, SFW

Tags: fluff and a little bit of angst, domestic fluff, cuddles, Phantom is a sleepy little guy

Below the cut or on AO3

“Hmm? Oh hey Bug.” Mountain lowers his book to see Phantom standing in the common room doorway.

The new summon looks around the room nervously. Only when he sees that the room is empty, except for Mountain, does he relax a little. “Hey Mount. Mind if I sit with you?”

“Not at all.” Mountain pats the couch cushion next to him invitingly.

“Thanks.” Phantom slips over and perches on the far edge of the couch. He leaves a significant gap between him and Mountain.

The earth ghoul doesn’t mind, just returns to his book and Phantom settles down.

They sit like that for a while. A comfortable silence only broken by the turning of pages. And soft snoring.

Mountain glances over to see Phantom fast asleep. He’s curled into a tight ball, his arms and tail wrapped around his legs, knees pressed to his chest. He lays his head on the armrest.

Mountain just shakes his head and smiles.

This isn't the first time this has happened. Several times before, Phantom has sought out Mountain when he’s on his own. He then generally proceeds to fall right to sleep, curled up in a corner. Sometimes Mountain is in the common room like now. Sometimes he’s out in the green house, sometimes in the library.

Phantom seems to be integrating well. Everybody adores him. He’s sweet, friendly, and energetic. He’s a whiz at guitar and has been advancing fast.

Mountain has noticed another side to him though. Although he masks it well, Phantom gets easily overwhelmed by highly social settings.

He can mesh incredibly well with the rest of the pack. He’s joined in on movie nights, playing video games with Dew and Swiss, baking with Sunny and Aurora. He even let Cumulus paint his nails.

However, as soon as that activity or moment is over, Phantom quickly becomes scarce. The pack usually finds him hours later, napping in some quiet nook or cranny.

As a result, Mountain is happy that Phantom feels comfortable around him. He never asks or pushes. Just provides a quiet presence that seems to make Phantom feel at ease.

Mountain does his best to wait until Phantom wakes again, not wanting to leave him to wake up on his own. Sometimes he gets pulled away by chores or someone needing something. Fortunately today he’s left alone to read and watch over the sleeping ghoul.

When Phantom finally does stir, he quietly gets up and waves goodbye. Then he wanders off to rejoin the rest of the pack as if he’d been there all day.

Mountain just throws out a soft, “see you later”, as Phantom slips out the door.

-----

A few days later, Mountain is laying out on the lawn. It’s a gorgeous spring day; slightly chilly still in the shade, but delightfully warm in the sun spots.

He’d flopped down onto the soft grass after tending to his plants in the green house. Before he knew it, he’d fallen asleep. He wakes sometime later to feel someone nestled up beside him.

Mountain raises his head from the grass to see a fluffy mop of black hair, intersected by a white stripe, pillowed in the crook of his arm. Phantom sleeps blissfully, eyes closed and a slight smile on his lips. Mountain doesn’t remember Phantom coming over and figures the young ghoul must have shown up after he’d fallen asleep.

Mountain can’t resist the urge to reach over with his free hand and gently brush Phantom’s hair out of his face. He swears the quint leans into his hand, though he doesn’t open his eyes. Encouraged, Mountain begins to run his claws down Phantom’s scalp, lightly scratching back and forth. This time, Phantom’s movement is unmistakable as he rolls over slightly.

Mountain curses, figuring he’s about to wake up. Instead, Phantom only scooches in closer, pressing into his side. Mountain sighs in relief and continues combing through Phantom’s hair.

They stay curled up like that for a while. It was late afternoon when Mountain first laid down; it’s got to be early evening by this point. The sun hovers on the far western side of the sky, painting the heavens pink and orange.

As much as Mountain hates to risk disturbing the sleeping quintessence ghoul, he doesn’t want to sleep out here all night. Nor does he intend to leave Phantom out here to wake up alone.

As gently as possible, Mountain eases out from underneath Phantom, and sits up. He admires the sleeping ghoul. Although he normally sleeps balled up, now he’s stretched out in an effort to make as much physical contact with Mountain as possible.

Phantom whimpers softly at the loss of warmth and begins to knead the air like he's looking for the earth ghoul even in his sleep. Mountain redoubles his efforts to bring Phantom inside with him. He slides his palms under Phantom’s back and legs and carefully scoops him up into his arms. When he stands, the sleeping ghoul doesn’t stir. Only nestles his face into Mountain’s chest.

Mountain carries Phantom all the way up the hill and into the Ministry. He awkwardly leans down to grasp the door handle and pull it open, then catches the door with his foot. Once he successfully maneuvers inside, sideways so as to not bump the doorframe, he makes his way to the ghoul wing.

The common room is empty so Mountain settles Phantom down on the couch in his favorite spot, before sitting down next to him. He resumes petting Phantom's head until the young ghoul finally begins to wake on his own.

His violet and milky white eyes blink open and then squint in confusion as he looks around him.

“Have a good nap?” Mountain asks kindly. “I didn’t think you wanted to sleep outside all night so I brought you inside. I hope that’s okay.”

Phantom ducks his head in embarrassment but says sincerely, “Yeah. Thanks Mount. What time is it?”

“About seven-forty.”

“Shit. I didn’t mean to sleep that long. Have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet. If you’re hungry we can go ahead and head over. There should still be some food left.”

“Okay.”

The pair head over to the kitchens, Phantom pressed up to Mountain’s side the whole way. Only once they enter do they separate.

After grabbing food, they meet up with the rest of the pack and eat together. Mountain watches Phantom all the while. Phantom integrates as well as he always does. Laughing and smiling, joining in on telling stories and light rough housing. Underneath it all though, Phantom’s fatigue is just barely masked.

After they’ve all eaten, Aether proposes a movie night. Mountain barely catches Phantom’s frown before his amicable smile slips back into place and he adds his own movie suggestions to the fray. Everyone crowds into the common room and starts to settle in. Before things can get started however, Mountain excuses himself.

“Sorry guys. I’m really wiped tonight. I’ll catch the next one.”

The others tease gently about Mountain’s early bedtime but otherwise bid him goodnight.

Before stepping out into the hall, Mountain catches Phantom’s gaze.

The ghoul is nestled in one of the arm chairs, a smile on his face but the lashing of his tail betraying his discomfort.

Mountain tips his head towards the hall before raising his brow.

Phantom nods pleadingly.

Mountain smiles, makes a beckoning motion, and then heads to his room. Making sure to prop the door open, he settles down on his bed. He doesn’t have to wait long before Phantom pokes his black and white striped mane in.

“Is it okay if I sleep in here with you tonight.” He asks, as if Mountain hadn’t already offered to let him do just that.

“Of course Bug. My door’s always open.”

“Okay.” He chirps, hopping up on the bed and making himself comfortable. Rather than curl into a ball at the far side of the bed, Phantom snuggles up right against Mountain.

Mountain chuffs. “Well aren’t you a cuddle bug.” He pulls his blankets up over them both before wrapping his arms around the quintessence ghoul. “Comfy? Warm enough?”

“Yeah.” Phantom sighs happily.

“Lamp on or off?”

“On if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

“Thanks. Night Mount.”

“Sweet dreams Bug.”

-----

When Mountain wakes in the morning, he’s surprised to see Phantom already awake. Sometime in the night, Phantom had snuggled even closer, resting his head on Mountain’s chest.

“Good morning.” Mountain says between yawns. “Sleep well?”

Phantom looks up and hums lazily. “Yeah.”

Mountain nuzzles his forehead. “Good.” He’d be perfectly content to lay here all morning, letting Phantom use him as a pillow, but somewhere across the abbey, bells begin to chime. Mountain humphs quietly at the reminder that they really should be getting up for Mass.

It’s Phantom who disentangles himself first. “I guess we should get going.”

Mountain reluctantly nods his head. “Right behind you.”

The two separate, Phantom running to his own room to change into his uniform. When Mountain sees him again in the chapel, Phantom is back to mingling with the others exuberantly.

Mountain watches Phantom from afar all day. He expects the quintessence ghoul to need to retreat to nap at some point and he wants to be ready to provide that comforting space.

Instead, Phantom seems even more lively than usual. He’s already spritely and energetic most days. However today, Mountain realizes; Phantom lacks the underlying fatigue that normally tempers his energy. He seems so at home, laughing and chatting with everyone.

Mountain is glad to see it, happy that his pack mate is feeling rested and not hindered by exhaustion. Mountain is sure he hasn’t seen Phantom this cheery in all of his short time at the abbey.

That night, when the ghouls gather for game night in the common room, Phantom still is going strong. He’s playing a lively game monopoly with Dew, Rain and Swiss. The ghoulettes are doing a puzzle and Mountain is playing Uno with Aether.

Mountain means at some point to ask the young ghoul if he wants to sleep with him again tonight, but he gets distracted when Rain plants himself in his lap.

“Hey Rainy? What's up?” Mountain looks down from his hand of Uno cards to the ghoul in his lap.

“I went bankrupt.” He pouts before turning to Aether. “Things aren’t going well for Dew. The board is gonna get flipped soon.”

Aether chuffs. “Haha okay.”

Mountain and Aether resume their game and manage to get a few more turns in before shouting and laughing come from the corner of the room. Sure enough, the game board, little houses, cards, and player tokens go flying, and a grumpy fire ghoul comes stomping over.

“C’mere Firefly.” Aether waves, tossing down his cards. Sorry Mount. Guess I’m done for now.

“It’s fine.” Mountain smiles, dropping his own cards. “Now I can do this.” He lowers his hands around Rain’s waist and proceeds to tickle him.

“Hey! Stop it-haha!”

“That’s what you get for sticking your tail up my shirt, you little shit.” Mountain laughs. Before the game had been interrupted, Rain had been teasing Mountain with his tail, sneaking the spade under the hem of his shirt and running over his chest.

Distracted by the impromptu wrestling match with Rain, Mountain misses as Phantom slips by and disappears down the hall.

-----

Mountain ends up spending the night with Rain; their tickle fight turning less than innocent, before they both fall to sleep exhausted. Only at breakfast the next morning does Mountain realize he forgot to check on the young quintessence ghoul. He winces as he sees Phantom.

He’s seated at the ghoul’s kitchen table. He’s making conversation and laughing, but his fatigue is back. His posture is slouched and he has the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes. He keeps having to fight to stifle yawns. When he notices Mountain’s eyes on him, he waves cheerfully but Mountain can’t help but feel bad.

Mountain sits across from him, the seats either side of Phantom occupied by Swiss and Aether. Rain settles in next to Mountain, leaning into his side. When Mountain doesn’t reciprocate with an arm around him or a purr, Rain looks up and paws at the earth ghoul’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” He mouths.

“Bug.” Mountain whispers back.

Rain glances over at the quintessence ghoul then back to Mountain with a concerned expression.

“Is he sick? He doesn’t look well.”

Mountain considers how to explain the pattern he’s noticed with Phantom’s napping habits when he’s interrupted by Cumulus announcing that the pancakes are ready. He has to wait until after breakfast before he’s able to pull Rain aside in the hallway.

“So what’s wrong with Ant?” Rain asked worriedly. Over breakfast, he’d picked up on the fatigue plaguing the quint ghoul.

“I don’t think he’s getting enough sleep.” Mountain explains. “You know how he’s constantly napping?”

Rain nods. “Yeah, I found him asleep in the practice room storage closet once. He said he was looking for spare guitar strings but then he didn’t come back for like half an hour. I found him curled up in the back corner, out cold.”

“He’s always falling asleep during the day, and in the oddest places. Whenever we go looking for him, he’s never in his room.” That was indeed the case. After about the first week of Phantom’s time at the abbey, everyone gave up checking his room when looking for him. He was simply never there during the day.

“Do you think he’s not adjusting alright? He hasn’t said anything but he’s shy and pretty new so he might not feel able to speak up for himself”

Mountain hums thoughtfully. “I think you’re onto something.”

“So what do we do?”

“We help him whatever way we can. I’m going to go check on him and see if I can get him to open up and tell me what’s wrong.”

“Okay. I’ll let the other’s know and see if they’ve noticed anything. I think I saw Ant slip away after breakfast so you might have your work cut out for you finding him.”

“Alright. I’d better get started then.”

The two ghouls split, going about their respective tasks. Mountain can hear Rain heading into the common room and talking to the others. The earth ghoul heads away from the noise and begins to sweep every quiet nook and cranny of the ghoul wing. When he doesn’t find the quint, Mountain widens the search radius to the rest of the abbey buildings and finally the outer grounds. It takes the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, but he eventually finds him. Phantom has wedged himself under a work table in the green house.

The ghoul is sitting in his normal sleeping position, knees pressed to his chest and arms and tail wrapped around himself. Mountain expects to find him asleep but instead he’s wide awake. And crying. His bunched up frame shakes as he sobs.

“Oh Bug.” Mountain coos. “What’s wrong?”

Phantom startles, his head jolting up before cracking into the underside of the table. Whimpers of pain add to his sobs as he scrunches up tighter, rubbing his head.

“Satanas.” Mountain grumbles at causing the ghoul more pain, even if it was accidental. He sinks down to his knees so he’s level with the crying ghoul and tries again. “I’m sorry I startled you. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Phantom slowly raises his head. His eyes are red from crying and his cheeks tear stained. Without a word, he shuffles out from under the table and presses himself up against Mountain’s side.

“Hey love.” He purrs. “Need a hug?” Mountain has barely opened his arms before Phantom is crawling into his lap. He presses his face into the earth ghoul’s chest.

“It’s okay, Bug. Let it out.” Mountain rubs his back and scratches gently at his scalp. “I’m here.”

Phantom’s sobs slowly begin to ebb. His tense frame relaxes and his breaths become slower and deeper. Mountain looks down and realizes that the young ghoul, worn out from fatigue and crying, is fast asleep.

Like he did a couple nights before, Mountain gently carries Phantom back to the abbey, this time opting to bring him to his room. He settles the sleeping ghoul on his bed and curls in next to him. Once Phantom is settled he sends a text to Rain.

Mountain: Found him. Bug was in the green house. Brought him to my room.

Rain: Okay, on my way over.

Rain knocks a few minutes later.

“Come in.” Mountain calls softly.

Rain enters and carefully shuts the door behind him. “How is he?” He whispers.

Mountain gestures down at the sleeping ghoul in his arms. “Better now I think.”

Rain nods before coming over to the bed. As carefully as possible, he slides under the covers and curls up to spoon Phantom’s back. The two of them hold the quintessence ghoul, as they speak in hushed tones. Mountain tells Rain about how he found Phantom in the greenhouse.

“Poor thing. I checked with the others and yeah. They noticed something was up too but didn’t want to push. He’s always so skittish whenever anyone asks how he’s doing.”

“I don’t want to force the issue either but we need to know what's going on so we can help.”

“Yeah. Let’s let him rest for now though. He needs it.”

“Okay.” Mountain agrees. Soon though, they would be getting to the bottom of this.

-----

When Phantom wakes up, he seems slightly surprised to see that Rain is also present. He doesn’t say anything though. Just shyly thanks Mountain for coming to check on him, assures them both that he’s fine, just tired, and he disappears out the door. Mountain and Rain let him leave but they watch him closely for the rest of the evening. The rest of the pack does as well, clued in.

Phantom is smiling and laughing like usual. However, his underlying fatigue is so undeniably present that everyone wonders why they didn’t notice or say something sooner. In response, they all try their best to be gentle with him. All pet names and gentle touches. Just trying to help him even if they don’t know how.

Mountain is finally the one to bridge the uncomfortable subject when Phantom curls into bed with him that night.

“Hey Bug. Are you adjusting to life topside alright?”

Phantom blinks at the question no one had yet to ask. He goes to wave it off. Say he’s fine and doing great. But the look in Mountain’s face; full of care, and love, and concern. He can’t lie to him.

“I-I…I don’t know.” He says quietly. He can’t make eye contact, staring at the rumpled sheets instead.

“It’s okay if not. There’s nothing wrong if-”

“I can’t sleep.” Phantom interrupts suddenly. His eyes go wide as he does but he can’t stop.

The dam breaks.

“I can’t…I can’t fucking sleep!” He sobs, tears welling up. “I have these nightmares. And I hate being alone but I also can’t find the energy to keep up with everyone. I-I…why me? Why did they summon me? Sooner or later they're going to realize I’m not good enough and-and…I don’t want to go back.” He gasps and hiccups, tears falling freely now. “I don’t want to go back. I…I…please?” He grips fistfuls of the sheets as if they’re the only thing keeping him grounded.

“Oh Bug.” Mountain’s heart breaks as he wraps his arms around the little ghoul. “No one is going to send you back there. No one. I won’t let them.” He growls protectively, holding Phantom tighter.

“Bu-but-”

“No one.” Mountain can’t help but snarl, anger building at whatever happened to make Phantom feel this way.

Phantom flinches at the sound and Mountain winces immediately softening his tone to a purr. He begins to rub the quintessence ghoul’s back and brush the tears off his freckled cheeks.

“You’re here because you’re meant to be here. You’re a part of our pack now and that’s not going to change. I’m so sorry we weren’t there for you from the beginning. That’s our failing not yours. But we’re here for you now. Whatever you want or need, we’re here. We all adore you so much because of who you are. No one could ever replace you.”

Phantom sniffles. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Of course Ant.” Both ghouls look up to Rain standing in the doorway. The door is pushed further ajar.

“I’m sorry we didn’t check on you sooner sweetheart.” Swiss files in.

The ghoulettes follow close behind and dog pile Phantom. “We love you so much!” Aurora says as Cirrus, Cumulus, and Sunny nod and chirp their agreement.

“And if anyone tries to doubt you, I’ll make them regret it.” Dew promises as he and Aether bring up the rear.

“He will too.” Aether chuckles. “You’re amazing Ant. Not just on stage, which you're spectacular at by the way. But just for being your wonderful self.”

Phantom wants to shrink under the sudden attention. He hates that everyone has to see him like this. Deal with him like this. He must be annoying them. Inconveniencing them. But then, would they be here if they didn’t care? He fights to catch his breath enough to speak.

“T-thanks you guys. I love you too.” And he means it.

Even with the stress of filling Aether’s shoes on stage, sleepless nights, and his whole world getting literally turned on its head. His time with the pack is the most alive he's ever felt. He’s only known them for a few months but he doesn’t know what he’d do without them. To know they feel that same about him. To know they love him just as deeply. It doesn’t make all his insecurities disappear but he can ignore them for a while.

The pack scoops Phantom up, blankets and all, and brings him to the common room. There they all curl up with him at the center, surrounded in warmth and love. That night, he has one of his first truly restful nights of sleep topside.

-----

Waking rested is still a feeling Phantom is getting used to. He loves it though; not spending his days in a half asleep haze, sneaking in naps if and when possible just to function. If anything, he’s become even more rambunctious than anyone thought possible. Nobody minds though; more than happy to see him finally thriving.

Everybody immediately gets to work helping make things more comfortable for him. They start with his room. Phantom admits that the reason he’s so tired and can’t sleep is that he hates his room. It’s too dark, and bare, and lonely. He feels too isolated in there. The immediate fix is for Phantom to room with the other ghouls, swapping rooms every night. It allows everyone to spend quality time with him one at a time and really get to know him without the noise and commotion of everyone all at once.

As he rotates rooms though, Mountain gets to work on making Phantom’s room into a comfortable safe space. Enlisting Copia’s help, as well as his access to the Ministry’s credit card, Mountain organizes a trip to buy furniture and decorations for Phantom. Copia is more than happy to help, similarly ashamed he wasn’t there for Phantom earlier on. He personally escorts and supervises Phantom, Mountain, and Rain in their shopping as well as helping assemble the furniture and decorating.

To Phantom’s delight, in the couple of days it took to convince Phantom to go furniture shopping and then to complete the purchases, Aurora, with the rest of the ghoulettes help, has painted a gorgeous mural over his bedroom ceiling of a starry night sky, complete with glow in the dark paint for the stars. He can’t stop thanking her for several days afterwards.

With new furniture and decorations, Phantom has to agree he feels much more at home. He appreciates though, that each ghoul takes turns rooming with him now to help break in the new space. The scent of all his packmates in the room is comforting and makes him feel less alone. With time, he’s able to see his room as a quiet sanctuary from the noise and chaos of the Ministry.

He’s also gained enough confidence to ask for comfort when he wants or needs it. His favorite place to sleep is still the common room in a ghoul cuddle pile, but his room no longer feels so lonely. It takes time, but he finally feels at home.

[mochamvgz]

put your head on my shoulder

; the only thing in your mind while getting on the bus is sleep when you bump into yang jungwon.

; yang jungwon x reader

; genre: fluff, non idol au, friends to lovers (?)

; warnings: mention of reader being sleep deprived, exhaustion, the phrase "half-assed" used once

; 0.5k words

; tags: @inkelea @bunreis @sobun1est @kbookshelf

you heaved a sigh as you got on the bus, eyes roaming to look for an empty seat. you'd had a long, draining day and all you wanted to do now was flop on your bed and go to sleep. or the couch if you were too exhausted to make it to your bedroom. it felt like there were a hundred bricks weighing on your each of your shoulders and your back was stiff.

you spotted an empty window seat, the rest of the bus was packed. ‘perfect’, you thought, you preferred them anyways. then your sight wandered to the person sitting on the aisle side of that very seat you had locked your gaze on. (that's what it's called right?)

‘uh oh’

it was yang jungwon, your… sort of(?) friend whom you might have a teensy weensy crush on. ‘this cannot be happening right now!!’ strands we're sticking out of the low ponytail you'd hastily put your hair and you really weren't in the mood to socialise right now.

you looked around once again, hoping against hope for another seat to miraculously empty itself. but of course, nothing happened of that sort. meanwhile, jungwon seemed to have noticed you and waved at you, that adorable smile of his making itself at home on his face which caused his dimples to show. he pat the empty place next to him as if to beckon you over.

‘too late now’ you internally grimaced but waved back with a half smile in his direction. you went over and he stood up to let you sit on the window seat and settled back down in his aisle seat after you sat.

“long day?” he asked, he had probably spotted your dark circles which were the result of your lack of sleep. all you had to offer was a half-assed nod.

“you should probably catch a nap.”

“yeah I was planning on it.” your voice came out raspy. the bus was quiet during the end of the day. everyone was most likely going home from work so no one talked much. it was peaceful. the cool night breeze pouring through the half-open window was soothing, despite the fact that it made you shiver slightly and wrap your zip-up hoodie tighter around yourself.

you took off your glasses and put them in the empty water-bottle pocket of your backpack. you then leaned your head against the window pane, ready to doze off when you felt a hand on your shoulder. it was jungwon. you turned to look at him with your eyebrows slightly furrowed.

seeing that he had your attention, he patted his shoulder. “put your head on my shoulder, you’ll feel vibrations if you keep it over there which would be annoying.”

you couldn’t make out his expression that well in the dim lighting of the bus but his words made your cheeks flush a little despite your tired state. “thanks.” you mustered up a smile to show him you were grateful for his offer. you rested your head on his shoulder, a bit uncertainly.

his light scent filled your nose and it felt oddly comforting. you felt like you could get used to this. if only…

exhaustion swept you away to dreamland like a tidal wave.

you managed to catch a few words while you were still in between being awake and asleep but your brain didn’t register them right then.

“she looks so adorable when she's sleeping...”

; a/n: my first fic for a member of the maknae line!! yayy!!! i had the idea while i was on the bus on my way back home from school on the day of my last exam and i just knew jungwon would be perfect for this! ik i said something about a forbidden love trope fic and it's on the way!

© mochamvgz on tumblr | all rights reserved | do not plagiarise, translate or repost

[starrydixon]

Restless

*Requested from this ask :)*

Era: Prison Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader Pronouns: She/Her Word Count: 2.2k Warnings: language, anxiety, nightmares, brief descriptions of typical twd violence/gore, comfort-fluff!!

Summary: After another nightmare startles you awake in the middle of the night, you find it hard to fall back to sleep. Your boyfriend Daryl comes to the rescue when he senses your spot beside him in bed is empty. 

“You should be sleepin’.” Daryl drawled as his gravelly voice sounded from the doorway behind you as you stood outside on the bridge that connected one cellblock to another. 

“I’m sorry for waking you.” Your voice was barely above a whisper, mental and physical exhaustion making you too weary to sound any louder.

Although you didn't directly wake Daryl up when you snuck out of your shared cell, despite him being a notoriously light sleeper, the archer seemed to have a sixth sense about you and only awoke when his subconscious didn’t feel you beside him anymore. Daryl wasn’t surprised when he rolled over and only felt a cold mattress under his hand after blindly searching for your figure in the dark. 

“Don’t gotta be.” Daryl quickly dismissed as he shuffled over so he was standing beside you. Wordlessly, he handed you a cup of water that he knew you needed. You always got cottonmouth after being awoken from a nightmare, and often neglected the task of getting yourself some water so you could relieve the dryness in your throat.

“You rarely sleep, and I woke you up.” You insisted after taking a few gracious sips of the refreshing water. Your head ducked in shame and your posture slumped in defeat when you thought back to the image of Daryl’s sleeping figure snoring into his pillow only a few moments ago. 

“Was probably gonna wake up anyway from my own hellish mind, so I should be thankin’ ya for sparin’ me the trouble.” Daryl glanced over at you as a half smile lifted one corner of his mouth. He was unsure if his attempt at comforting you worked, judging by the worry line that only seemed to deepen between your furrowed eyebrows.

A bittersweet silence fell over you both as you looked out at the darkened landscape of the prison yard and shadowy trees that lined the woods in the distance. Through the holes of the wired fence in front of you, your gaze would occasionally skim over the darkened outlines of the lifeless walkers as they stalked around the most outer fence. If you strained your hearing just enough, you could make out their groans and snarls. You tried to ignore their burdening presence as much as possible. 

“What was it about this time?” Daryl lightly prodded; not wanting to upset you and make you even more uncomfortable than you already were, but still wanting to give you the chance to open up if you chose too. 

“Those dead assholes over there.” You scoffed while pointing an accusing finger at the walkers that lined the fence. “I’m pretty sure I was just about to get torn to bits before waking up.” 

Before the end of the world happened, going to sleep was a way for you to escape from the daily stresses of your once domestic life. Although it wasn’t the healthiest coping mechanism, it worked for you. After coming home from a particularly demanding work shift, you’d often take a nap the second your head hit the pillow of your couch. If you had the type of day that required you to be on your feet all day, you’d look forward to the moment you’d be able to sleep the stress away in the comfort of your bed.

The escape that sleep once gave you was now taken away, thanks to the apocalypse. The horror, anxiety, and daily stress that came with living in a corrupt world didn’t leave you even when you slept. It haunted your consciousness during the day, and infiltrated your dreams whenever you managed to get a couple of hours of shuteye. Your dreams were no longer filled with weird scenarios that often made you laugh for the few moments you could remember them whenever you awoke in the morning. All you knew now were nightmares that seemed far too plausible for your liking. 

Some nights you’d dream about your new found family getting eaten by walkers: hearing their pained and desperate pleas for help that your dream prevented you from giving them. Other times, you’d dream about their walkerfied corpses chasing you, trying to tear your flesh apart in order to satisfy their indefinite hunger. Most nights though, you’d dream about the Governor. His voice haunted you as he spoke of his bloodlust for your family. You could vividly see him breaking down the protective fences surrounding the prison as he came back for vengeance. Just before you awoke, the last thing that would be engraved in your mind’s eye would be the bloodbath the dictator would leave in his wake. 

The gruesome and haunting images of walkers and the Governor isn’t what scared you the most, it was the fear of losing the ones you loved.

You would often fight sleep for as long as you could, just so you could avoid those poignant dreams. This resulted in you volunteering to take the nightly watch shift. You took as many shifts as you could, which was a lot since a majority of the people who lived in the prison were more than willing to give their shift to you. That coping mechanism got shut down before it even had the chance to start, since Daryl quickly caught wind of your extensive nightly shift-load. In a rare move, the archer had personally reported to the board to demand that they restrict the number of shifts you could take in a week. 

Daryl didn’t push matters, as he often let you come to him when you were ready to talk about whatever it was that was bothering you. However, he cared about your well being tremendously and grew concerned when he began to notice just how dark and heavy the circles and bags under your eyes were getting. You couldn’t be mad at the archer for too long, since his attentiveness was quite endearing. 

Whenever you did manage to fall asleep, a distressing nightmare would commonly wake you up with a start a few hours later. Much like tonight, your eyes would dart around every wall and dark corner that made up your tiny cell like a ritual, and you would struggle to differentiate between what was fiction and reality due to the disorienting fog that clouded your brain. 

From the cold sweat you had accumulated while you slept, your mismatched pajama set stuck to your body like glue; drenched and causing chills to wrack through your bones. Your body would still be in fight or flight mode, adrenaline surging through your veins and causing anxiety to keep you from finding sleep once again.

Daryl didn’t know how to respond. Everything he thought of saying would only make him sound like a broken record. You knew you were safe within the prison walls, and that walkers wouldn’t get to you unless you ventured outside the protective fences. You knew that Daryl would do everything in his power to protect you from harm if it ever came your way. You knew that he, Michonne, and yourself were going above and beyond to try to find the governor and take him down once and for all. 

The only thing Daryl could do was wrap his arm around your shoulders and pull you into his warm chest. You practically melted into his touch, your achy muscles going limp as you basked in his comforting embrace. No words had to be said between you two during times like these; his presence was enough to calm you down and make the looming aftershocks of your nightmare become still once again.

“I wish it got easier…living like this.” You admitted in a whisper as your gaze drifted back towards the dark prison yard.

Daryl could relate to what you were feeling, he felt it too. It was hard not to. A pang shot through his chest in empathy. “It ain’t supposed to be…if we don’t feel it, then we’re just as bad as those assholes out there.” Daryl expressed earnestly after a few moments of stilled silence had passed.

You didn’t respond. Instead, you pried your eyes away from the looming figures of the walkers that swayed in the distance and hid your face in Daryl’s chest.

“What do ya wanna do?” Daryl asked gently as he adjusted his chin against your head. His large hand rubbed soothing strides up and down your arm before moving to your back.

“I don’t know.” You admitted with your eyes closed. Your body was practically screaming at you to go to sleep, as the exhaustion was threatening to forcibly knock you unconscious. You didn’t know if you were ready to reface the daunting shadows that made up your tiny cell and practically suffocated you every time you laid down for the night. 

Swallowing the lump that was beginning to form in your throat, you lifted your head up from Daryl’s broad chest just enough to look at his moonlit face. “Would you make fun of me if I lit a candle?”

“What, like a nightlight?” Daryl raised an eyebrow as he glanced down at you. His heart simultaneously broke and swelled at the sight of the pout that contorted your fatigued face. 

“Sort of.” You mumbled in embarrassment while ducking your eyes from him. Letting out a chuckle, Daryl tightened his arms around your body. 

“Nah, I won’t make fun of ya…at least not tonight.” 

Groaning in embarrassment at his goading, you weakly whacked Daryl in the chest with your open palm. You could feel heat rush to the tips of your ears and the apples of your cheeks at your rather juvenile request. With your head still laid on Daryl’s chest, you turned so your gaze fell back onto the darkened prison yard for one last lingering glance.

“Alright, let’s go.” 

Daryl kept his arm wrapped over your shoulders as he led you back into the cellblock and into the dank and small cell you now called home. Although you avoided looking at him as you struck a match to light the candle that sat on the nightstand, you knew Daryl was smirking at you; and most likely having hundreds of teasing remarks burning the tip of his tongue. 

With a sigh, you slipped out of your slippers and set your hunting knife back on the nightstand before getting into bed. Daryl already had an arm open for you, waiting for the moment you’d scoot yourself into his side and rest your head on his chest. The archer didn’t mind when you spent the next few moments squirming around beside him, struggling to find a comfortable position that wouldn’t flare up your sensitive anxiety. When you did find that sweet spot, your muscles relaxed as you let the feeling of Daryl’s soothing heartbeat settle your heightened nerves. 

“Thank you.” You murmured into the material of Daryl’s cotton black t-shirt after a few moments of comfortable silence had passed.

“For?” Daryl was genuinely unsure about what you were thankful for as he couldn’t recall doing anything within the last twenty minutes or so that was worthy of gratitude.

You felt the pads of Daryl’s calloused fingers trail up and down your spine and occasionally massage your scalp, not only bringing you comfort, but for himself as well. Your fingers traced random designs on the expanse of his chest as you thought of a way to accurately express what you were feeling and thinking.

“For helping me.” You stated simply before lifting your head up slightly so you could peer up at him. Daryl scoffed lightly at your notion before tightening his arms around your frame. Your eyes closed as he placed a kiss on your hairline. 

“Told ya it’s nothin’,” Pausing, Daryl looked down at you and raised his hand to gently sweep a few strands of loose hair from out of your face. “It don’t matter what time of day or night it is, I’ll always be here for ya…you know that.”

You didn’t know if it was the sleep deprivation, the crash that followed the adrenaline rush you had, or both, but your eyes began to pool with salty tears that stung the corners of your eyes. Daryl’s thumb caressed over your cheek and you found yourself melting into the comforting touch. Nodding your head in acknowledgment, you leaned forwards and placed a gentle kiss on Daryl’s lips. The archer found himself holding the back of your neck more securely so he could deepen the kiss as a way to wordlessly express to you how much he meant what he had previously stated.

Soon, when the kiss you two shared had simmered down, you settled back down against Daryl’s chest and watched the dim light of the candle flicker against the concrete walls that surrounded you. Daryl’s hand resumed its soothing motions on your back. The longer you laid like that, basking in the safety that Daryl’s arms gave you, impending sleep began to loom over you. 

When you heard Daryl whisper the three words that always filled your heart with warmth and caused your stomach to flutter, you allowed sleep to overcome you with a smile uplifting the corners of your mouth. 

-

-

A/N: Thank you to the anon for this request! I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!❤️

[leafyaa]

Chapter 11

Days flew by and you grew accustomed to your new daily routine. Kunikuzushi took you every day to work with his car which you strangely appreciated. He also tried going out with you but you refused everytime.

Maybe you still despised him, maybe you still hated him or maybe you were too nervous to do anything with him that involved having fun.

It was pretty obvious that you would look down and avoid his gaze whenever he tried to ask you out for a friendly date. He already guessed that you would decline his offer, but still, he kept trying each day.

"Y/n, do you want to go grab a bite?"

"Sorry, I already ate..

"Y/n, do you want to go on a walk?"

"I'm really tired.. I don't want to go Kunikuzushi.."

"Y/n, do you-"

"Kunikuzushi."

Kunikuzushi froze as you called out his name on the phone.

"I appreciate your efforts.. But I'm genuinely tired.. I just.. Don't have the energy.." You half lied, sighing as you laid on the couch. You looked outside to see the children happily playing and giggling and felt slightly worse.

"I see.. Can I ask one more thing then?" Kunikuzushi replied hesitantly.

"Fine.. Just make it quick"

"Can I cook for you?"

Cooking for you? You hesitated to answer no immediately, instead you waited a bit to think about his offer.

"I'll also do the dishes and help you around your house if you want that as well.." He added, sounding as if he was begging to be near you.

"I.. You know what sure.." You replied, not caring at the moment.

"You sure? I'll come to you right now then..!" Kunikuzushi sounded happy, it made you smile hearing his cheery voice.

"Yes I'm sure.." You replied, slightly smiling to yourself.

"Alright, I'll be there in an hour!" He said and hung up.

You placed your phone on the coffee table and rested your head on one of the pillows on the couch.

If only that entitled woman didn't keep screaming at Rina and Miya you wouldn't have that headache right now.

You groaned in annoyance as you thought back at how you had to be patient about getting her out of the cafe. She really tried to fight you too and almost hit you when Thoma came to the rescue and peacefully escorted her out.

Actually maybe you shouldn't think about it if it worsens the head ache. So you decided to take a short nap. You would most likely be awake when Kunikuzushi would arrive so it would be fine.

But as you were getting ready to close your eyes, you heard a knock on your door. You groaned again and stood up to walk to the door.

"No way he's here already, right? He said he would be here in an hour.."

You opened the door and to your surprise a man dressed in a delivery person uniform stands there with a package.

"Hello miss.. Your neighbor isn't home at the moment so I was hoping you could temporarily keep the package and later give it to her when she returns?" The man nervously talked.

"Of course.. I'll take care of it." You smiled, hiding the sleepy expression on your face. The man handed you the package and wished you a nice day, you returned it as well and closed your door.

You quickly put the package on the ground next to the door and headed back to the couch to take your nap. Slowly falling into a slumber...

After a while the bell rings. Kunikuzushi arrived and you hadn't woken up before that from your nap.

You yawned and quickly got off the couch to walk to the door and open it, still looking sleepy.

"Hi Y/n." He awkwardly said as he held a bag with groceries in one hand and a small bouquet of fresh flowers in his other.

"Hello Kunikuzushi, come in." You said with a tired smile and grabbed the bouquet, then tried to grab the groceries as well. However he held it away from you, wanting to put it on the counter himself.

You look for an empty vase while Kunikuzushi starts preparing the ingredients. When you also found a spot in your living room you removed one flower from the bouquet and took it with you to a room.

You quietly unlocked the door to Hikari's bedroom and placed a fresh flower in a vase where several other flowers are. Some withering, some already dead, yet you still kept them there.

As you quietly closed the door of the bedroom Kunikuzushi stood behind you, making you scream in surprise.

"Oh my god Kunikuzushi, never do that again ever." You sighed.

"Sorry.. I didn't mean to scare you. Though I'm curious, what's that room for?" He asked, pointing at Hikari's purple colored door.

"It's a private room." You answer calmly as you lock the door. Shoving the key in your pocket.

"Well what do you put in there?" Kunikuzushi asked, almost sounding like he was pushing for a clear answer.

At this point you started to get a bit irritated. A visible scowl was on your face and you walked towards the kitchen.

"Nothing that concerns you."

Kunikuzushi had the urge to glare at you but decided not to. He was clearly getting agitated from the situation as well.

"I see.. Well I'll begin cooking then.." He says with a fake smile and starts to chop the vegetables somewhat loudly.

It wasn't like normal chopping too, it was sounding like he was chopping meat but without any care. Almost comparable to the serial killers in the movies who chop up their victims.

At some point you heard the counter tremble because of Kunikuzushi's ridiculously loud chopping, so you walked over towards him again and grabbed the knife from him.

"What?" He scoffed, looking away from you.

"If you want to stay here, at least act decent. If not, I can just kick you out and cook something myself." You stated, glaring at him.

"I'm acting decent."

"Oh really?" You said, unconvinced.

"Just give me the knife back."

"No Kunikuzushi-"

"Give me the fucking knife back."

It's dead silent. Kunikuzushi raised his voice at you. Something he promised himself to never do to you again.

"You know what.." You said slowly as you put the knife back on the counter. "Cook something for yourself, asshole."

You walked towards your bedroom while trying to hold back tears. Kunikuzushi immediately tried to go after you but you slammed the door in his face and locked it.

"Y-y/n! Please open the door! I-I'm sorry!" He stuttered as he banged on your bedroom door.

But you continued to ignore and hid under your blankets, feeling so exhausted because of his attitude.

You guessed dinner for tonight is not an option anymore.

⇠ previous ⭒ masterlist ⭒ next ⇢

Notes:

Omg I'm back from the dead?? Anyways idk what happened tbh I was really motivated last summer to write this fic and then I went on vacation for 5 weeks, then school began, now I'm kind of failing school but uhh yeah I'm still going to try my best to get up my grades bc I wanna pass!!

I'll try to update because I do in fact have like 9 chapters written already but I still need to edit them (check for grammar and stuff) and I also want to at some point edit my previous chapters bc I've written this chapter in the past tense again (I previously wrote it in the present tense).

Also you might see some changes in the fics, maybe I'll start giving the chapters titles idk, but you'll see in the masterlist bc I mostly prepare to have a space ready to link to the (future) post.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully I'll post soon!!

Summary:

You've dated Scaramouche in your high school and college years but just as you wanted to announce your pregnancy to him he broke up with you without any reason. He left you to be a single mom for 7 years. But now that your daughter has been missing and abducted for a year and you've not been doing well and out of a sudden he showed up into your life again trying to apologize for his past mistakes..?

Taglist:

@swivy123 @kichiyosh1 @wwwrizchan @k1t0 @killumeo @pinkdreamerbailifflawyer-blog @samarill @xiaotopia @aqualesha @eattingshits @omoriaddict @mave-in @sketcheeee @xiaossocksniffer @elernity @ohmyfinggod @izukusshuu @kunikissr @meadowofdarts @kaoriee @scaramochies @ekriis @rizakari @ahseya @lovingveliona @magica-ren @hikaru-exe @theflatdoorkicker @lazy-sanns

[eclipsedrgn]

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·. Pair: Bay!Donnie x reader Summary: You survive the accident, but unfortunately you lost an ability that changes your life forever. Note: DC crossover lol

YOU REMEMBER waking up from your coma feeling cold, your lips dry from lack of liquid and your tongue dry. You look at your surrounding, noticing the white color ceiling and the annoying beeping by your left ear, you sighed realizing your at the hospital. You turn your head to look around for anyone only to spot Casey by the couch with his eyes close, pressuming he's taking a nap, you try to get his attention.

"Casey?" you whisper, your voice hoarse from lack of water.

The vigilante snorted out of his sleep as you threw the pillow, painfully, at him. Casey turned to you, mouth wide before running out of the room yelling for the nurses that you awoken.

A nurse comes running in, she greeted you with a smile. "I'm Kaylee, your nurse, how are you feeling?"

"I-I'm a little confuse" you whispered, "How did I get here?"

"You were shot by a cop by accident" your nurse explains, "Do you need anything?"

"W-Water" you said coughing.

The nurse took a cup filled with water and gave it to you, as you chugged down the liquid, you felt relief at the feeling of your now moist throat. Then the doctor walked in, Dr. Todd, he gave you a sad smile as he opens the folder he holds in his hands.

"Ms. (L/n), I understand that you were shot?" Dr. Todd asks gently, you nodded hesitantly at his reaction. "We were able to successfully take the bullet out, fortunately there was no vital organs hit"

"That's good" you said, gaining strength.

Dr. Todd smiled sadly, "Although it was a successful surgery, we weren't able to save your child..."

"My child?" you asked confused, "You must have mistaken- I'm not pregnant"

"You were 11 weeks pregnant" Dr. Todd replies, "The baby wasn't able to handle the stress your body was feeling, you miscarriaged in the ambulance. I am very sorry for your loss"

You teared up at the news, in disbelief, you couldn't even talk. You hear Casey thanked the doctor and walk him out the door. Casey took his phone out to text April when you called out his name.

"Who else knows?" you asked shakingly.

"Just April and I, we figured you'd want to tell Donnie about it" Casey says.

"N-Not a word, Casey Jones" you said harshly, not accepting the reality. "I need time to think about it"

"Of course. I'm gonna let the guys know your okay" Casey says.

You nodded. As the door shuts, you quickly take off the blanket, carefully peeling the needles off your body while setting the machine to as if it was still in your body. You quickly change into your leggings and tank top, wincing at the wound, you opened the window and climbed out.

As you ran across the rooftop in the daylight, you tear up at the thought of your unborn child as you sobbed. You stealthfully hitch a ride, as you hid yourself. Passing by the designation board, you see the letters of entering your home.

Gotham City.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

Casey walks in the hospital room as he talks to April, only to drop the phone at the sign of an empty bed, he quickly alerted the nurses and pressed the emergency signal for the turtles.

Casey placed the phone to his ear as one of the guys answered, "What the hell happened?"

"They're gone! I walked out to let you guys know and I come back and they're gone"

"Casey, what do you mean they're gone?" Donnie asks, in an eerily calm tone.

"I'm sorry Don, but (Y/N) just up and left. Where? I'm not sure, but you guys can't-" Casey winces at the crash across the line, Donnie's scream and then a dial tone.

Casey shook his head as police from the police scanner on his phone say your description.

Why would you run?

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

Eight months later.

You sighed as you watched your youngest brother chase his older brother with a katana. You slam the book shut and leaned forward, "Damian Al Ghul Wayne if you do not drop that katana right now, I will take it and your bench for tonight"

"But sister-"

You gave him the infamous batsis glare, the one that all brothers are terrified of. Even though your the middle child. Your brothers are more immature than you.

Damian, the youngest, huffed in annoyance. "Fine. But only because you have asked"

Bruce Wayne, their father, marches out of the household announcing to have a meeting. You look at Damian and Tim, the second youngest before following Bruce to the cave. Upon walking down, your heart stops at the sight of four mutant turtles standing there talking to Babs like their catching up and Dick who's more socially than others ask them questions.

"We are all here" Bruce announced, "Now, tell us why the sudden visit?"

Visit?! You thought to yourself, you stood behind Jason who stood at the far corner with his arms crossed.

"We believed that the Foot are at it again with your villains, we just don't know which one" Leo reports, showing Bruce the proof.

"And I assume you want intel on our villains?" Bruce asks, reading the files in the manila folder.

"Yes. And of course, your help. It is your city"

Bruce nods, "We appriciate that. Red Robin, Donatello your in charge of city search, see if you can find anything suspicious. Red Hood your in the streets, use your persona. Nightwing, Robin and I will be patrolling regularly just to throw off the villains, make sure your not suspicious Hood"

"Got it" they all respond.

You were about to turn to go back up the stairs when you hear your name being called, you take a deep breath and turned to see the orange clad looking at you with glossy eyes.

"Hi Mikey" you softly replied.

"You were here. The entire time?" Mikey asks loudly catching his brothers attentions.

Donnie who barely glanced at you is now fully looking at you, his hands clench in anger at the thought of you running away and his nightly search for you coming to nothing. Turns out he doesn't know much about you.

"I do live here" you smiled, "I can explain"

"You better" Raph responded, "Where the hell- why did you come all the way here? You woke up from your coma and you just-"

"What coma?" Tim asks, now fully turned to his older sister.

You bit your lip, "Can we talk about this later?-"

"Why?" Donnie asks harshly, "So you can run again?"

"Donnie..." you whimpered, "I'll explain but we need to focus on the matter first"

Donnie scoffs, "Avoidance. Should've been the first red flag"

You take a sharp breath as you felt pain in your chest, anxiety spiked up as you placed your hand on your belly rubbing slowly. You turned quickly and ran up the stairs, passing Alfred and to your room.

You let out a sob as you paced around your room, your hands combing through your hair and gripping tightly as you yell out a heartbroken sob. You collapsed onto the ground as you remembered the reason, the reason you never recovered, why you never bothered becoming Batgirl ever again, the lost of your child. All trauma piling up on you.

You sniffle as someone knocks on the door.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

As you ran up the stairs, Donnie's face softens as he saw your mannerism when you get anxious.

"Shit" Donnie curses as he runs after you.

After asking Alfred for directions, he excuses himself from the group and went up the Manor. He follows the direction which led to a hallway of bedrooms, the farthest door he sees is a double door, probably the masters where Bruce is and the other doors have different decorations which tells him which brothers room is who.

He stops by the neon pink stickers decorated door, about to knock when he hears a heartbreaking sob.

Donatello hesitates, but he knocks anyway.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

You dry your tears and take a deep breath as you opened the door, your eyes widen seeing your ex standing there. Is he technically your ex? You didn't exactly break up, but you shake that out of your thoughts for now.

"Can we talk?" Donnie softly asks, itching to reach out to you to calm yourself down.

"Sure" you said, opening the door wider.

You guys stood there awkwardly until you move to the bed to sit, Donnie took it as a sign to follow.

"I'm sorry" you spoke quietly, "You didn't deserve the hurt I gave you"

"But why did you?" Donnie asks, fiddling with his hands.

"I wasn't suppose to go for so long, I was gonna come back... everytime I felt a trauma I always run home to my family, my brothers because they're my safe haven" you explained.

"Did... Did we really know you at all?" Donnie asks, standing up. "When you left, it gave me time to think things through. You barely mention your family, you have so many scars, and you blank out on certain subject. I should've known"

"Would you really?" you asked, "I didn't tell you of my past because I didn't trust you. I didn't tell you because I couldn't accept it"

Donnie finally looks at you, soaking up the figure in front of him, he licks his bottom lip gesting you to continue.

"I'm not normal, I'm not just a civilian Don" you said, "I was expose to things a child shouldn't have, I experienced death, I-"

"Death?" Donnie exclaims.

"I'm Batgirl" you confessed, "I've been Batgirl since Jason became Robin... when Jay..."

"Take your time" Donnie says kneeling in front of you, "Take a deep breath, your okay"

You nodded, "Jason Todd died in the warehouse that exploded by the Joker. The news spread like wildfire. Batman's sidekick, dead"

"I remember, Mikey and Raph was upset"

"What they didn't know is that (Y/n) Wayne died that night, in the explosion as well" you confessed, "Batgirl died, trying to drag her brother out of the warehouse when it exploded. I was unrecognizable"

"What..."

"Dad never knew because one of his lovers took me and dipped me into this pit called the Lazarus Pit. I recovered and was revived. She never tend to keep me to train me, she kept me to raise Damian because she knew she couldn't" you explained, "Talia wanted the best for Damian, mentally and physically, so I practically became his mom. That's also why I'm always angry, the pits madness within me is controlled but I can only do so much"

"You... you raised the little kid back at the cave? Did I tell you he almost killed Mikey?"

You laughed, "That's Damian. I only raised him till he was 7. Talia thought I was making him soft so she dropped me off at Gotham where my family discovered I was alive"

Donnie nods silently.

"I found out that Jay was alive and tried to bring him back as Batgirl but everytime I put on my uniform, I get flashbacks of Joker and fire. I couldn't do it anymore. So I became (Y/n) Wayne, or (L/n) to be more normal with you guys"

Silence.

You sighed, "The day we fought about the ooze is when I found out that Damian was dropped off at the Manor. I was peeved I couldn't come home because of the Kraang. I took my anger out on you"

"And when you woke up from your coma, you took the chance to come home?" Donnie confirms as you nodded.

You grabbed his hands, as you sobbed out, "I-I'm so sorry"

"Baby" Donnie coos, "It'll be alright. I'm sorry I didn't consider-"

"I was pregnant" you sobbed out, "When I was shot I was pregnant. I lost our baby Donnie"

"You... you were pregnant..." Donnie sighs out sadly as he engulfs you in a big hug. He kissed the top of your head as you kept sobbing. Donnie, letting a few tears out, finally knew why you ran.

The pain.

The trauma.

You couldn't handle it anymore.

So you just ran.

[writtenmarauder]

Home (Kaz Brekker x Fem!Reader)

Summary: Kaz and Y/n enjoy their normal life with their kids and found family.

Warnings: None? Perhaps a warning for being pregnant?

Requested: yes: kaz and y/n have kids (taking place years and years later) and we just get family fluff with the crows being amazing uncles and aunts

Masterlists: Master of Masterlists/ Grishaverse Masterlist.

It was early summer and the first warm nights had rolled in which meant little to no sleep for the former ghost of Ketterdam. After a lot of tossing and turning, she sighed and sat up. The little one in her belly started kicking. She smiled and rubbed her hand over her belly.

“I know little one. I feel you.” She whispered.

Her eyes fell on the empty spot in the bed. It wasn’t unusual for Kaz to be up in the middle of the night, but tonight she missed her husband. Slowly she got up from the bed, throwing on one of his shirts. The house was very quiet, not a floorboard or plank moving due to the heat. Y/N krept through the hallway to Kaz’ office. The light was out. She sighed not feeling particularly keen on entering an empty room. She placed her hand against the nearest lightbulb. It hadn’t been on for a while, but it had been on tonight.  

“Kaz?” No response. Y/n made her way down to the living area, but no sign of her husband there either, “Who knew my grumpy husband would be hard to find.”

She walked back up the stairs, wondering where he could be. The last step groaned under her weight. Suddenly soft giggles were heard. The twins, of course. Her lips curled upwards as she approached the room.

“Ssssshhht, Mommy is coming. Hurry!” “Quickly pretend you’re asleep.”

Y/n was waiting in front of the door, trying to contain her laughter. She cracked open the door and saw the twins in their beds, giggles still ensuing. Kaz was laying on the couch passed out. She shook her head and walked in.

“You two should be asleep.” “Sorry, mommy.” Jess smiled. “We couldn’t sleep and Daddy was reading us a story. Then he fell asleep before us.” Jordie smiled. “Really?” “Yes mommy. Look he fell asleep!”  “Shhhht, I can see that baby. He must’ve really wanted to stay.” “Will you stay too?” Jordie asked putting on his best puppy eyes.

When Jess joined him, her heart melted. How could she say no to the 4 year old twins who conquered her heart the moment she led eyes on them. She remembered Kaz needing a little push from Nina to hold them. He had never looked happier holding the warm bundles of joy in his arms.

“Alright I’ll stay, but you’ll have to move over.”

The two were more than happy to follow out this order. They both chose a side to lean up against. It was very cramp, but the trio made it work.

“We also listened to Unca Jesper and put a tiara on daddy. He’s a pretty princess now!” Jordie chuckled. “How about I invite over your aunts and uncles tomorrow?” Y/n chuckled. “Really?” “Do I ever lie to you?” “All the time!” Jess responded. “I do not. Saints you two.” She smiled and tickled them.

Their laughter filled the air as they were enjoying the attention. The baby kicked again. She stopped tickling and tried to sooth the baby by rubbing her belly. Jordie jumped up a little when the unborn baby moved again. It was a perfect outline of a foot.

“Mommy mommy look it’s baby sibling.” he beamed touching her belly. “Indeed. They are turning. Getting ready to meet you two.” “Woah that feels so weird!!” Jordie beamed. “Inside voice, my darling. So we don’t wake daddy. He’s probably very tired.” “Like this.” he whispered. “You’re doing incredible.”

The three of them stayed cuddled up till the sun crept through the curtains. Besides short naps the three didn’t get much sleep. Jordie let out a big sigh and held on to his stuffy.

“Mommy, can we make breakfast for Daddy?” He asked, with Jess immediately backing up this plan.  “Of course we can, let’s put our best sneaking shoes on okay?”

They made their way down the stairs as stealthily as possible. Before they could get started she sent the Dreg, that came by with information, to gather the crows for a little party. He would be rewarded generously for his endeavours.

”What compensation are we talking here?” “100 kruge now and 50 more when you bring them here. Do we have a deal?” “Consider it done, Ma’am.” “Thank you so much.” “You have a good day Ma’am.” “You too.”

Jordie and Jess were waiting impatiently for her to start breakfast.

“Alright. Now that your Aunts and Uncles are on their way. What do we want for breakfast?” “Waffles!!!” They cheered. “Of course. Let me guess neither one of you knows how to make it, do you?”

They shook their head and she let out a sigh. Next thing to do was to find the waffle recipe. She flipped through the cookbook Nina gave Kaz, when she was bedridden. Waffles had to be in here.

“We’ll have to ask, Auntie.” “I can make waffles.” Y/n exclaimed. “Yes, but they might be different than auntie’s waffles and we love those.” “Saints, Nina, what did you start?” “Nothing. Except I make them realize that waffles are the best thing ever and the solution to all your problems.” “Auntie Nina!” The twins shouted and ambushed her with hugs. “Fear not, my loves. I will help with the waffles, but I will need some help, Jess will you help me?” “Yes!!” She cheered.

Jordie kept standing by the door and when Y/n tried to pull him back to the kitchen, he spoke up.

“Auntie, where is unca Matts?” “Oh, he is being a sleepyhead. I think he’s a bear who sleeps through summer.” “Bears sleep through winter!” Jordie laughed. “Very good, little one.” Kaz smiled, leaning against the doorframe. “DADDY!!” The twins shouted and ran up to him. “Careful, my leg is hurting from sleeping on the couch.”

He knelt to the ground and hugged them tight.

“Thank you for staying with us daddy.” “Anytime. I promise to finish the rest of the story tonight. Okay?” “Thank you Daddy!” Jess cheered The door swung open revealing the most envied couple of Ketterdam. “Saints, don’t you look precious, Boss!” Jesper laughed. “What on earth are you talking about?” Kaz looked at his reflexion and saw the tiara, “Who did it? I’m not mad, I just want to know.” “I did it.” Jess smiled proudly. “Oh really? How about I tickle you!”

Jess ran away, laughter filling every corner of their small house. Kaz tried catching up with her and eventually laid down on the ground dramatically conceding the chase. The twins ran to his side and pretended to be healers.

“I feel much better, thank you. Now help an old man up.” Kaz joked. “Oh god, please don’t say you’re old I’m older than you.” Jesper groaned. “I guess that makes you ancient.” Wylan joked. “Wylan, so glad you could make it!.” Y/N smiled. “Hi, how are you?” “Tired, but good. Can’t wait to let this one out of here.” “I can imagine. What like 3 more weeks.” “Yeah, something like that.”

Nina poked her head out of the kitchen, like she was trying to sense something. Y/n felt the room spinning and closed her eyes in an attempt to refocus her body.

“Jesper help Y/n to the couch, now.” Nina commanded.

Jesper spun around just in time to catch his friend. He tried getting a response, but besides a faint one nothing coherent came out. Wylan and Jesper helped her lay down. Kaz sat down and laid her head on his lap. His fingers stroking through her hair. A tense feeling building in his chest. 

“No worries people. Waffles are here to save the day once more.” Nina smiled bringing out a stack of warm pancakes.

She had never been more popular. Jesper handed Kaz a plate with two waffles on them.

“Thank you.” He uttered and helped his wife nibble on the waffle.

Nina quickly came by to check in on her friend.

“Low sugar?” Kaz asked concerned. “Just like last time. So don’t you dare worry. She’s in wonderful hands.” “Please don’t be twins like last time, though.” Inej smiled. “Inej, you made it.” Kaz smiled. “I wouldn’t miss seeing my favourite troublemakers for the world and a little birdie told me there was a party.” “You’re right in time.” Nina smiled brightly pulling her best friend along to the kitchen to gossip and make more waffles.

Everyone was enjoying the waffles Nina made. Some like Wylan and Kaz were taking it slow like they were trying to savour every little moment. Whilst others like Jesper and the twins inhaled it like it was water on a scorching day. Jordie made his way over to Wylan like he was on a mission.

“Unca Wy?” “Yes?” “Will you play something for us, please?” “Of course, Jordie. It would be an honour. to play for you.” “Yaaaay!” “Unca Jesper, will you dance with me?” “But of course! How could I not?”

Kaz smiled at his found family and felt at ease. Y/n sat up and snuggled into his side as she too enjoyed the music Wylan was now playing. Kaz held her protectively.

“You’re still wearing the tiara.” She smiled. “All is as it should be.” Kaz said. “You’re going soft?” ���I went soft the day you finally kissed me.” “Finally? You sir were the one calling the shots remember?” “I do remember. You were my personal saint.” “Oh god that was so cheesy.”

The duo laughed and turned back to the group. They were all dancing or making music. Jordie was sitting in Jespers neck to be the tallest dancer and Inej was dancing with Jess. They were happier than ever.

“You know, Kaz, how I used to dream of finding a home?” “It was your biggest dream.” “I found it.” “Home.” Kaz smiled.

Jess wiggled her way to freedom and tried pulling Kaz along.

“Dance with me, daddy!” “Only if you’ll dance with me.”

Jess cheered and the party was a grande succes. It wasn’t provoked with wealth it wasn’t corrupted by rivalry. It was home.

[chuuyasheaven]

“ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴏɴ, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ?~ɪ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ɪᴛ sᴏ ʙᴀᴅ,ʙᴀʙʏ.”

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ; Drunk! Chuuya is horny. His sober girlfriend is gonna help him out.

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ(s); drunk!Chuuya, Fem!Reader, We ask for consent first ofc, pet names (angel, baby, darling), drunk!Chuuya is basically needy!Chuuya oops, Porn with some plot! (breeding kink if u squint hehe)

ɴᴏᴛᴇs; Feeling horny oops...anyway, enjoy my Chuuya brainrot hehe!

To your surprise, Chuuya is already home. He's on the couch, napping maybe? You don't know to be honest.

But then you noticed the wine in front of him.The bottle was empty.

You took off your shoes and walked towards him. You sat down beside him, looking if he was awake. He indeed did open his eyes just the second you sat down.

“ Oh, sorry Chuuya. I didn't mean to wake you!” you said. Meanwhile Chuuya was smiling at your presence.

“It's...it's ok, baby. I wasn't asleep, anyway. I missed you..” he said, you assumed that he was drunk from all the wine he drank. He did reek of wine a little. “Chuuya, how was your day, babe?” you asked him, Chuuya looked at the ceiling before answering.

“ Fine, i guess? It wasn't too shitty, but it wasn't so fun either. I just missed you a lot!”, you looked at him with a little smile on the face. “I missed you too, Chuuya.” you said while giving him a kiss on the cheek, Chuuya turned to you, to give you a kiss on your lips.

You would lie if you didn't taste the wine. You would say the taste was kind of intense, but that slipped your mind when Chuuyaʼs Kiss kinda got more sloppy. After letting go, he looks at you, he looked...with need and lust into your eyes.

“I...missed you, baby. I missed your touch, your smile, your angelic voice, oh fuck...” he repeated it, again, how much he missed you. Now you were growing desperate. The way, his voice got more raspy at his words..the things this man let you feel, they were incredible.

“Fuck, i need you, angel. So...bad.” Chuuya whispered against your lips as he kissed you again, with more need and hunger.

He made you even more desperate than before. Needing more of it, you climbed onto Chuuyaʼs Lap. You could feel him smiling, but also his hard dick.

This turned into a make out session, a really hot one. So hot, you started to grind on his erection. But then you remembered something, he wasn't sober. You stopped grinding. Chuuya stopped kissing you for a second to see what happened.

“ Why-...did you stop?” he asked with a pout. “Chuuya, as much i want to do that, you're not sober and i don't want to hurt you.” you said with guilt. “Baby, i want this. You're not gonna hurt me, i missed you so much lately, i need this..please.”

“ Are you really sure?” you ask again for reassurance, he looks at you with a smile. “More than anything right now. I give you my full consent.” after making sure, you continued where you stopped.

Chuuya grew more needy after each kiss. He moved onto your neck to prep some kisses there, still, he wanted more of you.

He separated from your lips to breath real quick and then tell you about his needs.

“ Oh fuck, i need you so...-so bad, baby..i want to feel you..~” he said seductively, you knew that you felt the same way. “Then let's go to the bed-” “Fuck the bedroom, let's do it here on the couch..”, thats what you ended up doing.

You took off your shirt and unclapsed your bra. Chuuya grapped one of your tits and played with your already hard nipple. His cold hand on your nipple sent you more arousal than ever. You helped Chuuya unbutton his blouse, and saw his work of art chest. You did the same as him, playing with his nipples a little with your cold hands.

He slightly moaned as a reaction, growing impatient, he takes off your undergarments to see a damp spot on your panties.

Now you changed positions, Chuuya was on top while you were under him. You let out a suprised moan, feeling his thumb press lightly against your clothed clit. Chuuya pressed slightly harder and strated caressing it a little.

“ Chuuya...- more..!~ i want m-more...” you managed to get out. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't growing more impatient by each second..he was painfully hard, too.

“More? You want me to fuck you hard, baby? Is that what you want..?” he teased. You nodded, you wanted him to fuck you dumb, you wanted him to show you how much he missed you.

“ Ngh..!~ Fuck, angel, i wanted to tease you but when you look like that..and your begging for me..F-fuck it..!” he cursed, while starting to unbuckle his belt. How can he deny you like that? When you beg so nicely, when you look all sexy and hot while you do it?

He needs you, now.

Chuuya is taking your panties off so aggressively, while he lines up at your cunt. As he enters, you both felt so much bliss. He started thrusting, low groans and slight moans leave him, while you're over here moaning how good he feels.

“Mhm...you feel so good..!~ Fuck, angel, you're so fucking tight..” he panted. You kept on moaning his name, when he suddenly sped up his rhythm slightly.

“ You see what you do to me, baby? You're so hot..f-fuck!~ keep moaning like that, and i might cum right inside you..god, i love you so much, angel..” he praised you, his dirty talk made you clench around him, making him whimper quietly.

Noticing this, Chuuya continues to praise you. “Hm? You like when i talk to you like this?,” he gripped one leg of yours to place it on his shoulder, letting him fuck you from another deep, deep angle.

“Oh fuck..! Doesn't this feel good, darling? When i fuck my cum deep into you..or when it spills out? Would you like that, angel? Hm?” he lowkey moaned,he was so attractive like this. Only a few thrusts later, and you came. “Ah! Ch-chuuya..fuck!”

“ You came already? Well, let me speed this up, baby, alright?” he said grunting.

And indeed, he did cum after a few thrusts.

Collapsing on top of you, he snuggled up on you. Not even trying to pull out, but still, he wasn't sobered up. So you didn't blame him for being this exhausted, of course. After some minutes, he pulled out. A few little strings of both of your cum mixed connected the head of his tip.

You got up to get Chuuya a glass of water. Afterwards, you got up and brought new clothes for the both of you. Since it was late, and Chuuya asleep, you brought an blanket for the both of you and this night you slept on the couch. While cuddling with each other.

You kissed Chuuya on his Forehead and said “i love you” before (trying to) drift into sleep.

Happy new years btw! Remember, AFTERCARE IS IMPORTANT. Bye y'all 💗

[writingseaslugs]

Savanaclaw: Reader Who's Scared of Storms

Ahhhhhh I’m starting to see a trend…just cuddles. They solve all the world problems and I refuse to be silenced on this matter.

Disclaimer: All characters in this series is aged up. For more information about my version of this world and the type of reader you can expect, please do a quick read of THIS post.

Heartslabyul | Savanaclaw (You’re Here) | Octavinelle | Scarabia | Pomefiore | Ignihyde | Diasomnia

Reader Who’s Scared of Storms

Leona Kingscholar

The Spelldrive game that you were planning on going to was canceled due to weather complications. Leona was annoyed since he was prepared and was going to just mope around in the gardens when he noticed you hiding behind some plants. You clearly weren’t expecting a storm to be hitting anytime soon and were grabbing alchemy ingredients when it all happened. Due to the garden area having a greenhouse aesthetic, you could see everything and became scared instantly and crouched down. Leona took five seconds to put two and two together.

He says it’s a stupid fear to have, but he will still pick you up and take you away from his favorite napping spot. He’ll bring you to one of the empty and dark classrooms. It was better than nothing, and you couldn’t really see much of the storm there anyway. He’ll just lay down with you still in his arms, trapped and squished against his body. It’s like a weighted blanket, and you won’t think too much when one of his arms is pressed over your ear as he falls asleep like that. Better to just sleep out the storm than try to stay conscious and deal with it.

If you call him and he picks up, he’ll be annoyed, judging by how it’s the middle of the night. He’ll suggest you just come to Savanaclaw since he is already in bed. Eventually, he’ll give in, especially if he hangs up and you keep calling him. Expect a grumpy lion to be crawling into your bed while telling you how troublesome you are. He’s the big spoon that night, and you’re just gonna have to deal with it. At least he’s warm, and his snoring will block out some outside noise.

Ruggi Bucchi

Ruggie got this far in life by being able to read people like a book. He’s going to notice how tense you are when it begins raining on campus. It’s not even a storm, just rain, but he notices it’s almost like you’re preparing for the first crack of thunder to go off. He’ll be snickering as he comes up beside you and asks if you’re really scared of storms. Don’t act too surprised; it was obvious…or so he says. Once you admit it, he’ll tell you to head inside because your body’s instinct was right, and a storm will blow through in the next hour.

Ruggie is basically a big brother to every little cub where he’s from, so he’s more than used to dealing with people scared of storms. Not to mention his home was never really sturdy, and any small noise could be heard…almost like Ramshackle. So he’ll be trying to make you laugh the entire time, maybe using his signature spell to make you do something silly. He won’t stop until you're clutching your stomach from laughter and more relaxed with the storm.

His ringer is on for you and Leona only, so he’ll receive your text in the dead of night and roll over to read it. He doesn’t even prepare to go over; he just goes. He’ll show up at your doorstep, dripping water and asking for a towel and something warm to drink. Dragging you to the couch with him as he sleepily drinks tea and possibly falling asleep while cuddling with you. If you manage to get to bed, he’s asleep as soon as his head touches the pillow.

Jack Howl

After classes, you were just walking back to Ramshackle when Jack paused and looked off into the distance. That’s when you hear him comment that he hears thunder in the distance and you guys should hurry back to the dorms. Then he’ll see how scared you look and know right away what the cause is. He’s pretty intuitive to you and will offer to go back to Ramshackle with you, so you weren’t deal with it alone. He won’t make fun of you at all; he’s well aware that everyone has to be scared of something. He still sees you as one of the bravest people he’s ever met.

He knows that being picked up can be calming for someone, so anytime there’s a storm, he’s lifting you into his arms and going off somewhere, so you don’t have to worry about stumbling whenever you see or hear something. He’ll be sitting with you the entire time, maybe telling you stories from his childhood or of the great seven. He’ll also offer to watch movies with you, telling you he’ll be staying with you until the storm is over, no matter how long that’ll take.

A good boy who hears a storm rolling in and is preparing to be with you. Ramshackle is more comfortable for you since it’s your home, and he’d rather the people from his dorm not see you in such a frazzled state. He’ll be at your doorstep and be ready to cuddle up with you for the night. He’ll even grab the thickest blanket and throw it over the two of you, hiding under it with you. Even if he overheats a bit, it’s worth it if you can manage to fall asleep.

[captainnameless]

Do you think there's any time where little Oscar is a bit rude?

i think in general Oscar’s quite the polite little guy. he needs his sleep though, and when he doesn’t get enough sleep he can get a bit cranky which in turn might make him a little less polite.

They’re having lunch with multiple drivers and personnel there, Oscar’s been snappy and has barely touched his food.

Fernando’s already been giving him looks, which Daniel has quietly received as he keeps an eye on Oscar.

He doesn’t intervene until someone from McLaren comes over with a request and is answered with attitude and Oscar sounds two beats away from breaking down.

It’s enough for Daniel to start packing up his stuff, stand up out of his chair and point to the spot next to him while he has Oscar’s attention. “Let’s go.”

Oscar’s facial expression is a hard read; somewhere between relief and worried. “But-”

“Oscar,” Daniel starts, watches Oscar a go a bit paler as the relief starts losing the battle against looking worried so Daniel changes his tone, giving him some “in need of nap- grace”. “Buddy, we’re going. You’re not in trouble.”

Oscar doesn’t seem too convinced, lower lip trembling slightly as he pushes himself up, taking a shaky breath.

Daniel puts a hand on his lower back to guide him out, noticing the way Oscar has to fight himself from curling into him. “I’m sorry.” Oscar whispers.

“You’re not in trouble, buddy.” Daniel repeats, gently squeezing Oscar’s hip before he’s quickly sneaking them into Oscar’s drivers room, shutting the door.

“Danny, I’m sorry.” Oscar whimpers, hands balling into fist to rub at his rapidly filling eyes.

“Muffin,” He breathes, gently guiding Oscar to sit down on the small leather couch crouching down to start working on Oscar’s laces. “You’re okay. You just need a nap, huh?”

Oscar nods, blinking wet eyes at Daniel as his hands drop back down sucking in a shaky breath. “Yea.”

The agreement is a nice break, Lando usually needing a lot more convincing and when Daniel slides off Oscar’s second shoe he gently pats his thigh. “Do you want me to lie down with you?”

Oscar’s not always in a cuddly mood and Daniel still wants to give Oscar the option, despite sort of knowing the answer if the distressed look on his face is anything to go by.

“Yea.” The boy whimpers.

“Okay.” Daniel soothes, pushing himself up and toeing off his own shoes, emptying out the backpack to snatch up Oscar’s giraffe and a blanket that gets packed with it, gently helping Oscar up so he can fit himself onto the couch before pulling Oscar with him, draping the blanket over the boy as Oscar’s takes the giraffe from him burying himself into Daniel’s chest.

“You’re ok.” Daniel repeats gently, arms wrapping around his fellow Aussie. “Everyone needs a nap sometimes.”

[lonesome-witching]

That's My Fiancée

Another prompt from @rabbitofdeath-atcastleaarrggh. This one is somewhat of a follow up to Engagement Talks but can totally be read independently.

You can read my previous prompts or send me some new ones.

Robin priced herself lucky that she wasn’t often scheduled to work with Keith. In fact, she never really was. But unfortunately he was still her manager and once every month he would supervise one of her and Steve’s shifts. And today was that day.

So far, all Keith had done was nap on the breakroom couch and flirt with female costumers. It was annoying enough. But at least he had stopped hitting on her.

“Do you think I could get away with drawing a mustache on his face while he sleeps?” Robin asked, leaning against the counter

“Probably,” Steve replied without looking up from his magazine.

Robin chuckled. “Do you have a marker?”

“No.”

“Well, shit. There goes my afternoon entertainment.”

“Bring your own markers next time.” Steve turned the page of the magazine.

Maybe she would have been annoyed with that reply on any other day. Just like she would have been more annoyed with Keith. But today she couldn’t be bothered, today all she thought about was the diamond ring that she had put on Nancy’s finger.

The bell above the door echoed through the nearly empty store. Robin turned around with the shadow of a smile still present on her face.

“Nancy?”

Steve looked up. “Hi, Nance.”

“Hi,” Nancy replied as the door to the breakroom opened.

“Nancy, how can I help you today?” Keith pushed his way in front of Robin and Steve.

“I can help her,” Robin interjected.

“No, no, that is fine. You and Steve can shelf the returns and the box of new releases that’s in the back.” He waved his hand at them.

“But—”

“Robin, go shelf those movies.”

She nodded her head with a soft groan. Begrudgingly she walked around the store, pushing tapes into their rightful spot. It was a tedious job, but she didn’t mind it. What she did mind was Keith grating voice.

“You know, Nancy, I am single at the moment,” Keith said. He was leaning on the counter.

“Good for you, I’m not,” Nancy replied, looking over his shoulder at her girlfriend. At her fiancée.

“Well, I was hoping we could grab some dinner. I’m free tonight.”

“I’m afraid I can’t. I have plans and I’m in a relationship.”

“Maybe this Friday?”

“Keith, I’m not going to go out with you.”

“Oh, come on, Nancy. We both know you want me.”

Nancy’s polite smile fell off her face, her eyes searching for Robin and finding the other girl looking at her.

“Keith, I really don’t.”

He reached out, his fingers grabbing Nancy’s arm. “Come on, Nancy.”

She pulled her arm back. “Please stop.”

“Your boyfriend doesn’t need to know. He’s not here.”

Robin dropped the tape she was holding. Her blood was boiling, and this boy may be her manager, but he was not going to get away with this. She took the few steps to the counter.

“Actually, Keith, that’s my fiancée,” she said with a tight-lipped smile and daggers in her eyes.

Nancy bit her bottom lip as she held up her hand, showing of her diamond ring.

Keith had the decency to look mortified. When he looks back over to Nancy, she is flipping him the bird with a bright smile on her face. He pushed his way past the girls and out the store.

Steve stood looking at them for a second. “You’re engaged?”

Robin couldn’t even get a word in before he pulled them both into a hug, squeezing them close.

“Yeah, we are,” Nancy said as Steve let them go.

“I’m so happy for the both of you. And the way you handled Keith was incredible. I wouldn’t be surprised if he never set foot in this store again.”

“What can I say? That’s my fiancée.” Nancy leaned to press her lips against Robin’s cheek.  

[bellysoupset]

Halloween Saga - Part 7

Final stretch!

Leo felt like he had hit the mattress to sleep and his phone had started to ring right away.

It wasn't true, his alarm telling him Marisa should be arriving soon was set to three hours from the moment they got back into bed, but fuck if that wasn't what it felt like.

He groaned, rubbing his eyes and sitting up, glancing worriedly in the direction of his boyfriend in case the alarm had woken him up... And found an empty spot. Leo frowned, Jonah was the one who was supposed to be asleep.

Out of the two of them, he had been the one who was running on nothing but fumes, since he had worked during the morning of the Halloween party and then everything had been so convoluted since that he had barely summed three hours of sleep with all his short naps put together.

"Jon?" Leo rubbed at his neck, turning his head around until he heard a clicking noise and then he got up from the bed, walking out of the room, "Jonah?"

"Here," Jon called from the living room and Leo raised his eyebrows as he took in the scene before him. Jon was curled up on the far end of the couch, with JD sprawled on his lap as he scratched her behind her ears.

"I thought you were going to sleep, babe," Leo frowned, coming closer and smoothing a hand over JD's pale fur, smiling as she tried to grab his hand.

"Couldn't sleep," Jonah looked a mess, his eyes were deep in the socket and his face was a sickly shade of grey, "I'm super nauseous."

"Nerves?" Leo guessed and his boyfriend hummed in agreement, looking absolutely defeated.

"I called Bell's mom," Jonah mumbled, grabbing JD when she attempted to move to Leo's lap and pulling her to him, avoiding his boyfriend's eyes, "I got her a hotel next to the hospital, but she's going straight to the ICU."

"You did... I thought she was going to stay with us," Leo said, confused, "Jon, this isn't right-"

"I can afford the hotel," Jonah said calmly, "and it would be best for her to be close to her daughter and I really can't deal with guests right now, Leo."

Leo's mouth snapped shut. In his haste, he hadn't really given Jonah any thought. He hadn't considered what having a guest they didn't know would mean, especially in such a messy moment. At least JOn didn't look offended or wounded, just really tired.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"No," Jon shook his head, "you did the right thing. Luke's got tunnel vision right now, but Bella would want her mom. You're a great friend, baby... I just can't-"

"It's okay, I got you," Leo yawned, moving closer and squeezing Jon's knee, "do you wanna come back to bed? We have the rest of the day off anyway..."

Jonah rolled his eyes, "off work maybe, I have so much of the university stuff to do-"

"Jon," Leo glared at him, "no. Just no, okay? Take a damn break, you look like death warmed over."

The corner of Jon's lips lifted up in an amused smile, "pot calling the kettle black here, baby. Did you take your meds?"

"I did, I'm fine," Leo rolled his eyes, Jon always brought up his medication whenever he wanted to imply he looked like hell. As if missing one dose could be spotted so clearly, "really, I'm alright... No news from the hospital?"

"None," Jonah leaned his head back, gulping down, "Vince is still there and Wendy left just now, to go to the station... I should be with her. I should be doing something..."

"You did everything you could, Jon," Leo reached in, twirling a tight curl around his finger, "and no news is good news, right? You said it yourself that these surgeries take time..."

"...I know, I just hate sitting here, feeling useless."

"You're just a man, Jonah," Leo leaned in, planting his forehead to Jon's and squeezing the back of his neck, "come to bed and get all the sleep we can get, you know tomorrow is going to be chaotic, because the surgery will work and Bella will wake up, okay?"

"Okay," Jonah nodded, then slumped forward, pulling Leo into a hug and buried his face on the blonde's neck, "let's go back to bed."

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

"Are you absolutely certain you don't want me to come with?" Vince's softness from before, the pulling down on the corner of his lips in a sad pout, had vanished. Instead Wendy was looking at his brows furrowed in an annoyed manner, his lips pressed in a stern line.

"No, I need you to stay and let us know about Bell... And I need to do this alone," she shook her head, "I love you, but I need to figure this one out on my own."

"You still haven't made up your mind?" The disdain tinged his words for a brief second and Wendy flinched. She knew damn well what Vince thought of this whole situation, his fury had only been made worse by the fact that Bella had gotten hurt in the fight.

However, Wendy was not going to be strong armed into sending a guy to prison without evidence. She was adamant on keeping a clear head, not let her feelings get the best out of her and end up accusing an innocent.

Whatever-was-his-name was the third blonde in a group of five. She had been asked to identify him and since her memory from the party was splotchy at best Wendy had been worried, but she shouldn't have worried.

The minute her eyes laid on him, she knew it.

He wasn't as tall as the guys in her friend group, but he was buff, with a greasy blonde bob, the tips dyed green. Deep sunken eyes, with a dead stare.

Wendy took a step back when he stepped forward in the line and the officer frowned, "Ms. Marshall?"

"That's him," she wrung her hands, trying to ignore the prickle of anxiety as the memories returned with a surprising vivacity.

Jonah with an arm wrapped around Bell's shoulders as she dragged him away. Wendy frowning at the bottom of her drink, finally tasting the salt. The whole room feeling stuffy and starting to twirl around her, her legs barely working as she made her way to the balcony area to catch some air. Those sunken eyes with droopy eyelids staring at her, hands on her arm, brushing over the side of her boob as he said "Let's go for a walk..."

Her trying to shove him off, mouth refusing to obey as she tried to form the words "no, stop touching me."

Leo grabbing her arm with such a force it'd leave a bruise, shoving the guy off of her and practically growling, "she's drunk, get your hands off of her." Bella jumping... Wendy's knees folding down as Jonah cradled her head... Bella's head slamming on the ground, as the guy grabbed her by the hair, Leo jumping in the fight with fists first...

"Ms. Marshall?"

"I- I need a second, just a second," Wendy said hurriedly, rushing out of the room, a hand pressed to her lips and nose as she suppressed a retch. She stumbled into the women's bathroom and beelined to a stall, shoving off the lid just in time for all the bitter coffee she had been drinking all day to come back up.

Her eyes stung, heart racing and ears buzzing. She didn't need further evidence of the night, not when the memory was so clear, not when she knew for a fact had him been the responsible for drugging her or not, he had for sure tried to take advantage of her. He was for sure the cause behind Bella fighting for her life in a hospital bed now.

He'd for sure do it again, if that dead, unresponsive stare was anything to go by.

Wendy sat back down on her heels, panting over the soiled water for a minute more, until she stopped feeling her heart in her throat and the horrible acidic mess trying to crawl up. She flushed it, walking out of the stall and to the sink and scowled at her reflection.

These past twenty hours had put her self-control to test. She hadn't felt this weak and vulnerable since... Since she was sixteen.

"Fuck this," Wendy scoffed, leaning in to wash her mouth and splashing cold water on her face, dabbing it away with some paper towels. She opened her purse, grabbing her little necessaire and fishing out her make up, forcing her hands to steady as she wiped away the smeared mascara and reapplied it on her bottom lashes.

She was not going to allow the moment of panic to get to her, it was not some greasy predator who was going to undo her.

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

Bella opened her eyes to a bright, stark white. Wherever she was laying down, it was freezing cold. Her head was hurting, throat burning when she tried to make any noise.

This was scary. She couldn't turn her head at all, only stare at those bright lights-

"Hey, sweetie," a familiar voice said, then a shadow loomed over her, "Bella? Can you hear me?"

"Yes..." She couldn't raise her voice above a whisper.

"You're alright now, honey," the shadow said, calmly and Bell felt a tear slide down her cheek. She couldn't move her arms, couldn't do anything.

"Am I dying?"

"No, of course not, you're not," the figure reassured her again, then pulled back. Bright white lights blinded her and then Bella was out once again.

She woke up anew to a different voice, now in a fully dark room. She couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. Sounded like an older man, saying "on a scale of one to ten, how much does it hurt?"

"I wanna go home," Bella whispered, heart hammering away.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"N-no," she choked up, trying to move her body. Was someone holding her down? Her arms felt impossibly heavy, "I want Luke, where's-he?."

"Dear, what is your name?"

"I - I don't... Isabella," she tried turning her head, tearing up again. Her neck cramped, her cheek got pressed on something, "I wanna go home..."

"You're alright, Isabella," the voice told her, "Lucas will see you soon, we're gonna move you to the room."

"...Room?" Bella asked, but the voice didn't answer her anymore. She blinked against the exhaustion, trying to stay awake and communicate just how scared she was, but it was to no avail.

She opened her eyes to another dark room. This one was mildly illuminated and Bella licked at her dry, chapped lips, eyes darting around.

No longer she was in the bright place or the dark one, she was... In a hospital bed. Surrounded by flowers up to the ceiling.

Bella tried to move, only to feel the pressure holding her down once more, but when she looked down, she realized it wasn't that she was tied, but that Luke was holding her.

He wasn't asleep by her bedside with his hand holding hers, like she had seen in movies before, but slumped forward, cheek meeting the side of her mattress, top of his head touching her hip, one arm thrown over her waist.

"Luke," she tried to call out, hoping he'd wake up, but her voice was too weak, her throat too dry and raw, "Lucas."

He didn't even twitch and she let out a frustrated huff, glancing around the room again. Bella had never seen that many flowers in her life, not even when they had broken up and Lucas had been gifting her all sorts of things to get her back.

She closed her eyes, already exhausted just by being awake for thirty seconds and when she opened them again, the room was much lighter, although it wasn't fully morning yet.

Luke had moved just enough to press his cheek to her thigh, facing her now and Bella dizzily blinked, struggling to put him on focus. Everything felt hazy, her body was completely disconnected from her brain.

Bell reached out, then poked his cheek, right where she remembered there being a black hole last time she saw him. He frowned in his sleep, then opened his eyes and Bella let out a relieved sigh as she met them.

Then Luke's eyes widened and he jumped up, straightening up so fast that the armchair almost tipped back with him, "Bella!?"

His voice felt like someone had just yelled right in her ear. Bella let out a groan, grimacing as his shout echoed in her head and Lucas' snapped his mouth shut, moving closer, eyes wide.

"Bell?" he whispered, "Bell, oh my god, you're awake..." his hushed voice broke off and Bella watched his eyes tear up, whole face turning red as he tried not to cry and failed, "you're awake, I- I thought-"

"Luke," just saying that hurt and she grimaced, causing him to sniffle and shake his head, wiping away the tears.

"You-You're in pain," he sounded distraught still, hitting the button right next to her bed, "I-I can fix this, I can-" he pressed the button again, before reaching in, shaky hand cupping her face, "hi baby..."

Bella wrinkled her whole face as she felt her eyes sting, from pain and exhaustion. She let out a shaky breath, trying to communicate just how much everything hurt, how scared she was... How relieved she was Luke was there.

"Lu, I'mscared..." she slurred, words scratchy and barely making out and Lucas shook his head, leaning in even more and pressing his lips to her forehead, right over her left brow.

"You're alright now," he said, voice rough, thumb wiping the tears that were leaking out her eyes, "I got you, I promise. Nothing's gonna happen to you."

Bella let out a sob and then whimpered when it made her head throb even more. It was too much, the pain and the confusion all getting jumbled together, Lucas' fleeting touches both soothing and overwhelming.

A nurse burst in the room and Luke pulled back, but still whispered, "she's awake and she's in pain, can you give her anything?"

"I already paged the doctor, Lucas," the nurse said and stepped closer - a guy, mid thirties, with a head of curls.

"Hi Bella," he said gently, "I know you're scared, but we're taking very good care of you, alright?"

She tried to nod, only to find that she couldn't with how stiff her neck was, so Bella only let out a small noise, throat hurting like she had swallowed glass shards. Her vision started to grey at the corners.

"I'm going to get you some ice chips, they'll help with your throat," the nurse said sympathetically and stepped out of the room, returning less than a minute later with a paper cup filled with ice pallets. He handed it to Lucas, then busied himself with the other monitors, jolting down her vitals in the clipboard.

"Here," Luke whispered, holding a plastic spoon to her mouth, "it'll help, Bell."

The ice was a shock once it touched her lips and she shuddered, but obediently opened her mouth just enough for Luke to feed her the ice pallets. The soothing was immediate and Lucas opened a huge, relieved smile as he heard her let out a sigh.

"Better?"

"Better," Bella croaked, opening her mouth again for more and feeling slightly more awake, "what happened?"

"You tell us," the nurse responded, before Lucas could speak. He snapped his mouth shut, "what do you remember, Bella?"

She racked up her memory, only for a headache to spring forward. Until then the pain felt like she had hit her head, but the hard thinking felt different. Worse. There was a hole in her memory and it ached like a mental bullet wound.

"I... I don't remember," she looked at Lucas', alarmed, "Luke, I don't remember, I don't-"

"Shhhh, it's okay, it's okay," he was once again all over her, hand stroking her cheek, keeping her from moving, "it's alright, baby. You hit your head, it's normal."

New black spots danced in her vision, but Lucas kept chanting reassurances, a hand rubbing her arm up and down. He was so warm and she was freezing cold...

"I don't like this," Bella whined, head lolling to the left, cheek meeting his hand, "Luke..."

"The doctor's gonna be here in a second, Bell. The pain will pass soon..."

Her eyes felt so damn heavy, it wasn't fair. She wanted to stay awake, to understand what the hell was going on... But sleep was painless and it sounded more and more alluring.

Bella closed her eyes, "I want to go home..."

Over her head, Bella vaguely heard Luke worriedly asking if she was allowed to sleep, if this was expected...

When she opened her eyes again, there were more people in the room. A tall man wearing a white coat, was standing before her bed. Lucas wasn't near her bedside anymore, her mother was.

"Mom...?" Bella groaned, more lost than ever and her mother let out a choked out sob, a big smile opening on her face.

She said something and Bell frowned, eyes darting around the room in confusion and zeroing on Luke. He was leaning against the opposite wall, having just looked up once she spoke and he smiled at her.

"Bella, you're with us?"

"I'm... Yeah..." she turned to look at her mother again, confused, "mom, I don't understand you..."

Her mother looked up to the doctor, alarmed, "she no longer knows Spanish!?"

"She's just drowsy, Ms. Martinez," the doctor chuckled, "give her a minute. Hi Isabella, I'm Doctor Sullivan. How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Bella answered honestly, yawning, "my head hurts."

"From one to-"

"A six," she said quietly, looking away when Lucas scoffed "that's a sixteen" from across the room.

The doctor smiled at her, "alright, you're a tough one, Isabe-"

"Bella," she corrected, frowning and he nodded in understanding.

"Bella," the doctor stepped closer, "I need to examine you, Bella, is that alright? I'm going to touch your head and ask a couple questions so we can understand the extension of the damage."

Bella gulped down, looking nervously from the incredibly tall man, to her mother, then to Luke.

"Do they have to be here?" the words fell out of her mouth and her mother let out an offended gasp, while Lucas sighed, pressing his hands to his face to shield a frown from her.

The doctor shrugged, "no, of course not," he looked between the two visitors, "if you'd please step outside..."

Marisa grumbled something in Spanish at being pulled away from her daughter's bedside and planted a kiss on her forehead, her lips too strong, causing Bella to wince. Luke hesitated, holding the door open for his mother in law and looking like he wanted to do anything but leave.

"I'll be right outside," he said, then stepped out, shutting the door gently.

Bella's shoulders dropped and she sank back against the pillows, the doctor looking at her curiously.

"That's new," he said softly, "most people would want the opposite," he moved closer and Bella shrugged, wincing as it pulled on her neck.

"They worry too much," she glared at his hands as the doctor moved closer, clicking on a button on her bed and making it sit up slightly, "you were in the dark room."

"In the post op," he smiled at her, "you remember that?" then he continued "tell me if it hurts" and started touching around her head gently.

"I thought you were Death..." Bella grimaced and he let out a hearty chuckle.

"Death? Now, I'm old, but that's just mean..." he teased, then his fingertips ghosted over something that caused Bella to let out a cry and curl on herself.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm not touching anymore," he said, planting a steady hand on her shoulder, "I hope you like sleeping on your stomach, Bella. That's a nasty cut you got in the back of your head."

"Your work," she groaned, breathing through her mouth and staring at her lap. The hospital blankets were a baby green and she felt queasy as all hell.

"No," Sullivan shook his head, "the ones we made are right here," he lightly touched over her ear, finger ghosting on a her tender scalp, "you feel that?"

"Yes," Bella swallowed the nausea on the base of her throat, squeezing the blankets, "the other one...?"

"My guess is as good as yours," he gently pushed her back against the pillows, "hurts when you lie down like that?"

"Just a little," there was a rushing in her ear and Bella gulped down, "so the questions?"

Dr. Sullivan let out a snort at her attitude, but he didn't make any comment, getting to the task at hand. Certain things she got right, Bella could tell from the wrinkle on his cheek that appeared whenever he was suppressing a smile. Her age, her full name, the date, how much was 2+2 and how much was 16 divided per 4. Other things, not so much, such as a logic puzzle: Imagine we're playing Russian Roulette. I'm going to put one bullet in a six chamber gun and then shoot. Empty. Do you want me to spin the chamber again before shooting or not?

"...How is this a fucking question?" Bella groaned, rubbing her temple and the doctor smiled at her.

"Luke said you're good with numbers, Bella."

"Uhm... Not today," she yawned, "I don't know."

"That's alright, we'll try it again some other day. Can you tell me what happened the night you got hurt?"

Her heart dropped. She hated the holes in her memory, they made her feel... Exposed, as if she was lying through her teeth as she told him about a Halloween party and then... "My friend got hurt," Bella frowned, "where's Wendy? Is she alright?"

"You mean Dr. Marshall?" the man cleared up, "she's fine, don't you remember her? In the room?"

"The death room?"

"The death room," he chuckled, "she fought with her supervisor to be let in. You have a nice group of friends here, Bella."

"Family," she corrected, smiling, "can I see her?"

"I'll ask Dr. Marshall to come up as soon as we're done here," then he raised an eyebrow, "if you're not too sleepy."

"I'm not," Bella blinked, forcing her eyes to remain open, despite feeling like she might just fall asleep any second now, "I've just woken up, I'm awake."

"Alright," he wrote more down in his clipboard, then glanced at the door, "we're done here, unless you want me to know anything else. Do you need more pain medication?"

"When can I go home?"

He rolled his eyes, "let's get you through today, first, how about?"

"Uhm..." She leaned back, "okay..." she fought hard to keep her eyes open as Sullivan moved to the door, opening it, but much to Bella's frustration, her energy was slipping between her fingers like water.

She was just drifting off when she felt Lucas taking her hand in his, squeezing it and intertwining their fingers.