#I NEED CUDDLES SO I WRITE THIS

[shijjii]

More than feeling rested

So- I've been trying to work on my dungeon meshi character. I've somewhat built a small story for them but the thing is that I am kind of scared that the lore of them might be a little Mary Sue? I hope not, honestly. I'll probably tweak some stuff around as I try to finish drawing them but I don't really have the energy to draw right now so here I am writing! I hope everyone enjoys it! Pairing: GN!Reader x Chilchuck Tims Genre: I guess kind of fluff? It's mostly cuddling. Though, TW because Drinking and Smoking is mentioned in the story (reader is the one smoking). Also some cussing. A bit of OOC from Chilchuck tho Word count: 1,148 words Reader appearance/notes: Tall-man!Reader

The sun was setting the horizon when the party came out of the dungeon. Laios thinking that he wants to go to the market to buy some stuff that they'll need in the next dungeon crawl, Marcille and Falin going to the inns to rest, meanwhile, Chilchuck, Namari and you decide to hit the taverns and release your chaos to it.

Namari was laughing out loud as Chilchuck tells her a story that happened a while back. You were hanging about while contently drinking your pint of beer. "Yeah, it was so shit quality!" Chilchuck exclaims. As you observe how he explains his story, you notice the bags under his eyes. He looks very tired despite his smiling face.

Namari bursted out in tears as they continued on, as she was doing so, the half-foot's attention turned to you "what about you, ____? What's a moment you'll never forget?" He asks you, eyes filled with warmth and amusement after him and Namari talked

"Accidentally tripping down a flight of stairs and dying is something that's stuck to me-" Both Namari and Chilchuck bursted out laughing "is that why you always stick close to the wall???" The dwarf asks, you nod at her question embarrassed. Downing the pint of alcohol you had and pulling out your pack of cigarettes to avoid looking at them.

"it happened once but it traumatized me a lot, okay?" You tell them but they wouldn't stop snickering at it.

"you know, usually, people die because of monsters" Chilchuck started "but somehow, you died because of your own clumsiness?" He teases you, swiftly taking a swig from his own pint as you huff a puff of smoke and groan at his teasing "shut up" you grumble. Carefully taking the ash tray in the middle of the table and removing the excess ash from your cigarette.

"may I?" Chilchuck asks for your cigarette, if he can have a drag out of it too, while Namari gets her stuff "right, I'm leaving you two here. I'm gonna go home and rest" she sleepily tells them. Both you and Chilchuck wave good bye at her as Chilchuck continue to take a drag from your cigarette "hey now, I know I allowed you to have some but don't forget to give it back" You joke, making Chilchuck throw his head back and bark out a laugh

Apologizing, he gives it back to you and both of you continue to talk with each other as the night progressed on. Topics getting deeper and serious as the two of you drink more.

"yeah well, things happen, and no matter how long we've been, it doesn't change the fact that she doesn't want me anymore" He whispers under his breath, talking about his wife always puts him in a solemn mood but he didn't really know who else to talk about it to.

You hum and ponder what he just told you "While ye might think that yer so old now, you still have life ahead of you. I'm sure ye'll still find sumone you can be wiz" you shrug, words slurring a little bit from all the alcohol, and Chilchuck took notice of this

"I think we should head back to our lodging" You look at the sky and then inside the tavern, seeing what time it was on a clock, both of you would take a lot of time getting back at the inn the other party members are in.

"M'house is somewhere here...." You tell him slowly, trying to regain some of your soberness "if ye want, we can just use that instead'f walking all the way back to the inn" Chilchuck hummed to himself before nodding. "That's a good idea actually" He mumbles, both of you paying for your drinks

"lead the way, ____" He calls out. The both of you walked towards your home. Sometimes, eyes looking up at the sky to see the stars on it, making the two of you smile in content. The cold gust of air hitting your faces making you a little bit awake as you two rounded the corner and see a little quaint house.

You slightly fumble with the keys and open the door "make yerself at home" You tell him before going inside and trying to see where you kept your extra bed for him to sleep on. Thirty minutes had passed and you've yet to find it, your head slowly spinning with the world around you and Chilchuck knew it was getting bad for you.

"Right, this what we gonna do" You start, taking a pillow from your bed and putting it in the middle "this is going to be our divider. That side is yours and this side is mine. Good night" not waiting for his response, you kick your shoes off of your feet and laid down on the bed. The last thing you hear from him is an amused scoff before the other side of the bed sinks unto someone's weight.

The next morning, you can hear pitter patter of the rain hitting against the windows, only a small ray of sunshine peaking through the dark clouds. Despite this gloomy weather, you felt incredibly warm. Delving deeper into the blanket and holding the pillow even tighter than before, you just wanted nothing more but to fall asleep once again.... That was until you hear a small peep from something-or well, someone- your eyes open snap to see a half-foot in your arms, red as a tomato

Immediately letting go of him, he coughs through a clenched fist and awkwardly scratches the back of his head "I'm so sorry" you start, not looking at the half-foot.

"Uh" You give him a little glance as he speaks up "don't apologize. That was uh...." He kept looking at you then at the floor "That was the best sleep I got in a while" He admits, a tinge of redness reaching his cheeks and ears.

"It's been a while since I slept that good" You blink at his confession, not sure what to do. A long silence embraced both of you until you reached out to him and pulled him back into bed. "What are you-" He asks flustered

"This doesn't go out of this room..." You tell him with furrowed eyebrows as you cuddle him in bed "It's still early and it's raining... Might as well make the best of it" He hums awkwardly, letting himself melt into your touch "Might as well" He agreed with you, shuffling a bit to make himself comfortable in your hold and put his head against your head "This is more than feeling rested. Feels like heaven" He whispers against his palm as he feels your hand running through his hair gently.

Both of you enjoy the cold morning by cuddling in bed, promising to never talk about this interaction outside of the room.

[ink-stainedkiss]

This isn't necessarily a request (unless you like the idea😍) but i am WEAK for saiki kusuo being happy and laughing, as ooc as it sounds IDC HES MY BABY AND HES HUMAN THEREOFRE I CONCLUDE THIS BOY CAN HAVE HIS DAILY DOSE OF GIGGLES.

Like, i read the fic you made on saiki finding readers thoughts funny, and i BAJDJSJAJDBS I SQUEALED.

Just imagining him breaking character, or AUDIBLY laughing, is so so sweet bro im not even joking. He'd only ever be comfortable doing it infront of his mom probably, or his close friends. EVEN SO.

Just needed to get it off my chest. 🙂 if you ever make more fics with happy/giggly saiki i might actually marry you. 🙂🙂🙂

This one goes specifically to you queen😍 and No. I’m going to marry you🫵😼

Missing You

Synopsis: Saiki starts to feel a bit weird when you are out and he realizes he misses you. Now to find a way to get you home faster…

Merry Christmas for those who celebrate! I hope you all had a great time because I sure did. Sorry my activity has been a little slow these past days have been busier than expected, so this one’s going to be a bit short. Also thank you all for the likes on my later posts! It feels so amazing to see you guys enjoying my other works. Anyways, please enjoy this tooth-rotting fluff of our beloved Saiki💕

“You on the phone”

“Saiki on the phone”

*Saiki is wearing his telepathy blocking ring in this, so he's speaking normally*

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1.2k

Everyone knew that Saiki was not a dependent person. He was the furthest thing from it. He loved his alone time- actually scratch that. He craved alone time. It was just his luck that he was always surrounded by people that caused him so much mental pain. To Saiki’s surprise, he had found someone he tolerated. Well it was more than that, but you guys were just friends, so he couldn’t say anything. He realized you were the only one that didn’t put Saiki through a problem which he had to solve. There were no long adventures when you talked to him in the halls. No using his powers to fix something you had done. He was able to act perfectly normal around you. Which is why he grew such an affection toward you. He grew so comfortable that he told you about his abilities and like he expected you took it well.

Today was one of his favorite days. Where he was able to hang around your home without a care in the world. Whatever his friends were up to outside of your house was not Saiki’s business, nor did he care about it. He had developed a routine when you text him to come over. He would arrive at your house, wear his germanium ring and let his worries wash away. It was the closest thing he could get to being a normal teenager and he was damn sure going to use his time wisely. Whenever Saiki stayed at your home, you would ask to do something, nothing crazy. Something simple like baking a batch of cookies, watching a movie on the couch, or if you were very bored, you would ask to do Saiki’s hair, which he never denied. Because, well, it was you. How could he say no?

Today was a bit different. You had mentioned you needed to run some errands and you promised you would back around noon. Saiki was fine with this since it meant he would have the house to himself. You trusted him greatly so you didn’t mind if he stuck around while you were out. When you left he gave a small nod and then the house was silent. Today was very different because something felt off. He had been reading a book on your shelf out of interest, but for the past five minutes, he had been rereading the same sentence over and over. Something was tugging in his head, but he wasn’t sure what was wrong.

Today was different because he felt so off without you in the same room as him. He checked the clock, realizing I had only been an hour and a half since you left. You wouldn’t be back until later, so Saiki had to find something to distract himself. Today was different because tried to cure his “boredom” with his powers. He turned on your kitchen sink, watching blankly as he made shapes and animals out of the liquid. When that didn’t stop the tugging, he moved onto your room. He felt slightly better resting on your bed and he played it off as being tired, but no. When he kept checking the clock to see if it was any closer to noon, he came to the horrifying conclusion that he missed you.

It was such a foreign feeling. Saiki? Wanting someone to be around him? Well that’s what happens when you sneak your way into his heart. The psychic couldn’t stand it anymore and grabbed his phone, clicking on your contact and placing the device to his ear. The small buzzing reached his ear and he felt a small fragment of relief when you answered after the second ring.

“Hey Saiki, what’s up?”

He sighed, a bit humiliated he felt this way.

“Nothing.”

“Then did you need something?”

“When are you going to be home?”

He said home like he lived here with you, but if you minded, you didn’t make it obvious.

“I should be there in maybe three hours.”

That did not help.

“Can you get here sooner?”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“Yes.”

Might as well since there isn’t anything else getting you here faster. Saiki thought.

A small gasp sounded through the speaker, “I thought you said nothing was happening?”

“Just get here fast.”

And with that he hung up the phone.

—

You raced to your house, hoping you wouldn’t find it in ashes or hit by a tornado. Maybe you were being dramatic, but why would Saiki call you and tell you to come home quickly? It was shocking that you didn’t get pulled over at the pace you were driving home. When you pulled onto your street, you were thankful to not see any smoke, but that didn’t make you slow down. You slammed to a stop in your driveway, panic flooding your veins. You unlocked your door at lightning speed and the second it was open, you called out,”I’m here! What happened?!”

You shut the door behind you, scanning for some sort of danger, but you find your house was still intact. You were so confused. You were expecting some sort of freak accident with Saiki’s powers, but everything was in place.

“Nothing wrong.”

You whipped around, finding Saiki had teleported behind you. You blinked in confusion,”What are you talking about? You told me to get here quick and I-“ “I lied.” Your arms dropped at your side in defeat,”Then why am I here right now?” He gave you an emotionless stare,”Because I wanted you to be.”

Still in shock, you looked around, finding a scattered book on your couch. It was odd because Saiki is always the one to be neat. You turned to the boy, noticing how he was hardly making eye contact with you and he clearly wanted to say more. You recalled his words over the phone, then it all clicked.

“Saiki,” your words were barely above a whisper,”Did you miss me?”

The things that happened next were a blur. In the blink of an eye two arms were wrapping around you and you could feel Saiki’s head in the crook of your neck. He didn’t respond to your question, but this was enough to answer it. Honestly, you were a bit nervous. Was this really the same Saiki? The one who barely let people stand close to him, was holding onto you like a lifeline. You felt a long sigh escape his lips and instinctively you reached one hand up to rest in his pink hair and the other embracing him over his shoulder.

“I didn’t know how else to get you here.” He confessed gently, making your heart melt,”You could have just asked, Kusuo.” He tucked himself more into your neck, almost hiding his face from you,”But you were busy.” You rolled your eyes, “It was just getting groceries, I would have dropped everything if I knew you wanted me here.”

Saiki didn’t know how to respond, instead he used his teleportation to take you both to your room. You let out a grunt as you back hit your mattress, but your attention changed to the boy resting on you. He looked so at peace and you couldn’t believe this was still the same person. (It’s not like you were complaining.) As you softly played with his pink hair, a small idea popped into your head. Maybe I should go out more often if this is what I get to come home too…

[wafywaify]

i hate svsss fics that downplay sqqs (yuan) trauma incredibly.

and not in the sqq pov where hes just an unreliable narrator, no, I mean when the author very clearly did not understand how dramatic what happened to him was. i dont see them very often but every time i do i just sigh and leave it lol.

i doubt this is done on purpose but for those who actually enjoy that uh view of things (?) thats fine, totally cool. kudos to you and everything- but at least put a warning in the tags. im begging.

ive gotten really into some of these fics without realizing and its just so disappointing but i cant just leave it unfinished, yknow? the shen yuan in me wont allow it

like bro literally got half his limbs ripped off by a person with the face he loved and has died for MULTIPLE TIMES. and then was raped..? by that same person??? (not that im blaming binghe, they were both victims) but like. CMON??? oh and dont even get me started on the whole "binghes going to want revenge after i unwillingly had to push him into literal hell, i must prepare" and the entire holy mausoleum arc.. aint no way hes totally chill after that man. for years he was just waiting for death while also mourning white lotus bingbing..

give me more fics of sqq having breakdowns, ptsd, trauma!! he deserves to cry!!! sqq is just as traumatized as binghe!! let the man sob!! preferably in binghes arms!!!

[bluewolfangel01]

Levi: "I don't understand why you like someone as pathetic as me, I'm not that good at anything other then being a nasty useless otaku, (insert more self degrading here)."

Mc: *blank faced, moving sneakily close to Levi and picks him up bridal style*

Mc: "Snake <3."

Levi: *Stunned silent, he doesn't move for a few moments, then his tail curls around Mc's leg, and leans into their touch.*

Levi: "Y-yeah...."

[mediumgayitalian]

Will wakes up sometime around two, stumbling over to Arts & Crafts. He looks so incredibly, adorably sleepy, face creased with pillow marks and hair sticking out everywhere even worse than usual, that Nico can’t help his smile.

“Morning,” he says quietly, shifting over in the bench to make room. “Or, well, afternoon.”

“Mmfh,” Will responds. He sways on his feet, eyes still closed, so Nico has reach back and take his hand, guiding him to the seat Nico cleared for him.

“Still sleepy?”

Instead of answering, Will slumps onto his shoulder. Nico tenses for a moment, but quickly relaxes — Will is out of it. He’s a heavy weight on Nico’s side, and his breath comes out in little puffs; he’s halfway to snoring. He sets aside the clay sculpture he was making, wiping off his hands, and shifts slightly to make his shoulder more comfortable, sliding his hands in Will’s hair. After a quick glance to double check that no one’s around, he cards through the matted curls, carefully untangling the birds nest that sits currently upon his head.

“Night shift was long?”

Will groans, nuzzling deeper into Nico’s neck. Nico huffs, allowing it, turning his half-limp body so he’s practically sitting on top of him. It’s kind of a nice weight, actually. And Will is warm, slumped and half-sprawled in his lap like a freckly blanket.

“Got thrown up on three times.”

It takes Nico a second to decipher the words, mumbled as they are. His finger gets caught in a strand of Will’s hair as he winces, tugging a touch too hard. Will shivers.

“Oof.”

“Mhm. Shouldn’t complain, though. Not Cecil’s fault.” He pauses. “Well, it’s a little his fault. I told him not to mess with Billie’s garden.”

Nico smiles. “You know, it’s not the first time a Hermes kid has been poisoned for their dumbassery. You could’ve left his cabin to handle him.”

“They would do a horrible job. They might actually make him worse.”

“Yep.”

“…I can’t leave him to suffer, Neeks.”

“Hero complex,” Nico teases. “Sounds like a natural consequence to me.”

“Shhhh. I’m sleeping.”

“It’s two thirty in the afternoon, Solace.”

“Pot, kettle, et cetera.”

Nico smiles. “Only dorky people say et cetera when they’re half asleep.” He shifts, accepting that he has a lapful of head medic, now, no refunds or exchanges. It’s still, somehow, very comfortable — he feels as if he’s laying in a sun patch, under a warm, heavy blanket. Plus, Will smells like strawberries and lavender and his sandalwood shampoo. Nico could get used to it.

He does, however, subtly raise a couple skeleton to stand guard outside the gazebo — no need to get anyone gossiping. As cute as a sleepy Solace is, Nico can and will shove him to the ground the second anyone gets too close. He has a Reputation.

(He is a liar.)

“Did I miss the strawberry coffee cake this morning?”

“Yes.”

“Aw.”

Nico hums, untangling the last of his hair. Without anything for his hands to do, he slides them under Will’s hoodie, resting them in his stomach, ignoring his whining and exaggerated shiver at Nico’s ice-cold hands.

If Nico is going to function as his personal bean-bag chair, Will is going to function as his space heater. Fair’s fair.

“Saved a piece for you, though.”

He feels Will’s grin more than sees it, twisted up as they are. He feels his happy little wiggle, too, arms flailing before wrapping around Nico’s waist, thighs shifting before re-bracketing his hips.

“You’re my actual favourite.”

“Hm. I think you say that to all the boys you save you strawberry cake and let you nap on them.”

“Nah.” Will’s breathing starts to slow, body stilling as he rests his head right about Nico’s heart. He can feel his puffs of breath in his collarbone, tickling the skin under his thin t-shirt. “Just you.”

Nico flushes, more pleased than he’s willing to admit, and rests his chin on his head, watching over the strawberry fields. He checks that Will is actually asleep, and when he is, he presses a quick, darting kiss to his still-creased cheek, and smiles.

“You’re my favourite, too.”

[gomzdrawfr]

Every time I draw Ghost and I ask myself, should I make him bigger? The answer is always yes and imagine it’s Father with devil ears sitting on my shoulder that says the yes

[dailyhtfboards]

Day 52

Today’s Board is:

Bugs when you lift up a rock, once again

(From TV episode 13C Autopsy Turvy Double Whammy Part 2)

[psychopomp-namine]

yingdu episode 5 spoilers

ohhh my god this is everything I want from cheng xiaoshi. yes. perfect. sorry, but I'm a cheng xiaoshi whump liker and link click always brings out the best of them in episode 5 of each season.

there's just something cathartic about how when cheng xiaoshi becomes an emotional mess, it's also when he's most disconnected with the people he knows (physically, as he's diving in a photo and his only link to his home timeframe is a disembodied lu guang in his head) but it's also when he's most connected with strangers (when their own personal trauma lines up with his). to me, it's a showcase of empathy and a strange manifestation of his own agency. something about how the disconnect gives him the space to blow up, and the connection heightens it and grants him permission, almost, to express his anger more freely for his own sake and for another person's behalf.

like. listen, okay, I'm gonna ramble now because cheng xiaoshi is my favorite character in this entire show, but listen. sometimes some fans will conflate adjectives to his character that are usually associated with his character archetype, but they aren't necessarily true about him as a character. and I don't mean it in a, "he's not like that because he grows out of those traits" kind of way. I mean it in a, "he was never like that" kind of way.

one of those adjectives, for me, is when people call him immature. he isn't! to me! imo! he's got big emotions, yes, but I personally don't think the presence of big emotions indicates anything about maturity. because you know what? as long as his primary trauma (feelings of abandonment) isn't touched, he is very good at handling interpersonal conflicts, and that's what's interesting to me.

qiao ling hides relevant information from him? he removes himself from the situation to give himself space and sort out his feelings. he tells her he's fine and that he'll be back.

post-earthquake arc? I'll just copy paste what I already said in a previous ask:

what initially got me was when I was first watching S1, I thought the earthquake arc would have devastating effects on [shiguang's] relationship. listen, I didn’t know what I was getting into with link click, but I thought that was expected. it’s ripe for drama! but how do they handle the fight? they put their side business on hold but they still keep being roommates. they still do their day job. they still talk. they’re still upset but they give each other space but not to the point where they can’t stand existing in each other’s spaces. that’s when I realized that oh, they really trust each other. they have a very solid foundation for their relationship that not even the earthquake arc can break. they’re pretty level-headed about this, actually, all things considered? all the doomed yaoi stuff came later, but that’s just the cherry on top. it’s the way they handled conflict and disappointment in S1 that got me.

okay, protect-namine, why go through that whole tangent? BECAUSE! circling back to yingdu episode 5, we finally, finally get to see cheng xiaoshi let out some of his anger. and it's precisely because his primary trauma point was on the table. he can forgive a friend lying, and he can forgive being told not to change the past. because at the end of the day, qiao ling and lu guang stayed. they never left him.

but he cannot handle abandonment. he cannot understand why people leave. he cannot understand why he's been clinging on to false hope this entire time. and more importantly, he cannot understand how someone can be such a hypocrite about it. "a man who'd rather be kind to strangers than face his own son" like fuck man. cheng weimin you fucked up so bad.

it's the disconnect/connect thing again too. thematically, it makes sense. when does cheng xiaoshi blow up? when he's alone, far away from the people that ground him. alone, the feeling he hates the most. he's not even in his own body. he blows up when he's inhabiting a stranger's. he doesn't even get to be angry as cheng xiaoshi.

how fucked up is that. man. I love him so much.

also I'm going crazyyyy over the family themes going on in link click. much to say about the show itself across all seasons (the twins, qiao ling and cheng xiaoshi, even the liu siblings), but for this episode... god. okay this is slight speculation territory now and I'll try to keep this very short, because this is only tangential to the post. but. imagine xia fei getting the good parent figure in cheng weimin that cheng xiaoshi never had. and he doesn't know!! he's bitter inside about his dad and he's having hotpot with xia fei and he doesn't know he was in that school!! fuck that's so good. that's so juicy.

okay, sorry, I have a lot of feelings about cheng xiaoshi. he's my link click blorbo of all time, and I love when he experiences The Horrors™ because it's also when other sides of him gets to shine.

on a brighter note:

VEIN AND CHENG XIAOSHI MEETING AGAIN!!! their greeting was so cute. also omg does xia fei know? that his boss is maybe possibly a cannibal? actually, wait, I don't think I'd be surprised if he does know.

ah and finally. finally:

I've been having many thoughts on how yingdu approaches "friendships" and their transactional nature (mostly with regards to liu xiao) but I mostly thought they're headcanon stuff. but now. I'm so so happy that episode 5 is bringing out more of the quid pro quo theme. liu xiao with the gift giving. wang qing's "friends" (bullies) demanding her to cheat on the exam for them. and now, vein and cheng xiaoshi having a friendly greeting but also exchanging favors. so good. so good. it goes along with how there's so much handshakes and handholding this season (not just with lu guang and cheng xiaoshi, but with cheng xiaoshi and the the antagonist trio too, who have all met him by "helping" him in some way). something something trust and favors. probably something that deserves its own post though, but I wanted to point this out because I am soooo here for that. it's goes hand in hand (ha!) with the whole fraud/lies vs innocence/honesty theme this season, and deals/contracts being an equalizer to the two. very good. very tasty.

edit: ooh they also point to this in the YE6 trailer too. nice, nice. if you knew someone's true colors, would you still be their friend?

man, I love episode 5. it just hits all the stuff I personally wanted to see. the only flaw is that we still haven't seen the older version of wang qing, but yeah I kinda expected that they'll hide her until episode 6. they're giving her the liu xiao treatment from season 2. sigh. really wish she'd keep showing up in S3, we need more female characters in this show 🙏

[corpusdiem-seizethedead]

Angel: *pointing* May I sit there?

Husk: That's my lap

Angel: That doesn't answer my question.

[basedonconjecture]

Careful, the chances of that no-stakes fluff scene you’re writing to make yourself feel better turning into a very tender smut scene instead may be low but never zero 😔

[hatsbuckets]

here’s a short idea of mine to distract you, didn’t manage to make it into a small fic cuz brain couldn’t come up with an ending of sort (as always😂) not sure if NikGhostPrice is your cup of tea so you don’t have to answer it if not!

Price with beard oil, Nik recommended him once and he would use it religiously. Keeps it soft, fluffy and smells really nice.

It’s a sort of ritual, either Nik or Ghost would join him, standing close to observe him slathering the oil on himself while Price hums a bit. It’s quiet and it’s comfortable, relaxing and serene.

Sometimes they touch his beard after he’s done, or Ghost looms over and not so subtly sniff him, rumbling in approval.

Other times they’re more hungry and aggressive, pulling Price away and pressing their face into his jaw impatiently while Price laughs.

I like two big guys spoiling our dear Captain with attention :3

hi gomz :) 🤭 I adore NikGhostPrice. Literally so much to unpack with these gruff ass men. Price trying to keep it together, Ghost a walking emotionally constipated cat, and Nik our low-key traumatized Russian who laughs through it. Yeahhhhh I like me some strong emotionally repressed men old man yaoi. thank you thank you <3 i uh took it and ran

Pure spoiled Price fluff ahead

...

The bathroom is warm, thick with steam from the shower that just ended. Price stands at the mirror, towel slung low on his hips, bare chest glistening faintly. His hair is towel-dried and tousled, but his attention is on his beard, neatly trimmed and still damp.

He hums as he unscrews the cap of the beard oil. The scent fills the room almost immediately, sandalwood and something smokey, a hint of citrus. It's clean and grounding. (It sells unscented, Nik added the essential oils.) Nik had given it to him once, with a small shrug and the casual authority of a man who knows what quality grooming smells like. Price had taken to it religiously ever since.

He drops a few golden beads of oil into his palm and begins working it in, fingers gentle, massaging through the grain of his beard, into the skin beneath. There’s care in the way he does it, like everything with Price, measured and thorough.

The door creaks open behind him. No rush. No surprise.

Ghost appears in the mirror first. Shirtless, sweatpants low on his hips, blonde hair still damp from his own rinse, his face clean and fresh. He doesn’t say anything, just leans on the wall behind Price, arms crossed, watching like it’s his favorite show.

Then Nik steps in after him, quieter, bare feet on tile. He doesn’t speak either. Just approaches, moving like a large shadow until he’s just behind Price, close enough to feel the heat rolling off his skin.

Price doesn’t look up. Just smirks faintly and keeps lazily working the oil in.

“Didn’t think you two were so interested in hygiene,” he teases, voice low and amused.

“We’re not,” Ghost rumbles. “Just yours.”

Nik reaches past him without speaking, palm up. Price raises a brow, but drops a few more beads of oil into his hand.

Price tilts his chin up slightly as Nik steps in front, fingertips slick and warm as they work through the lower part of his beard, like scratching an old dog under his chin. Slow. Intentional. Ghost’s eyes are glued to the motion.

“Could get used to this,” Price mutters.

Ghost moves then, silent, sure, and presses in behind him, chest to back, hands resting heavy on Price’s hips. He dips his head and noses at the side of Price’s neck, breathing him in.

“You smell like a bloody forest,” he says, voice low.

“That a complaint?” Price murmurs.

A low chuckle against his skin. “Not a chance.”

Nik finishes with a final stroke, smoothing the shape of the beard. His eyes meet Price’s for a moment. There’s something reverent there. And then his hands drop slow, one curls around Price’s waist. The other touches his chest, fingers splayed.

“You’re spoiling,” Price says softly, grin twitching. “Two bloody giants doting on me like I’m delicate.”

“You are,” Nik answers, pressing a kiss to his throat. “Delicately built for handling two greedy bastards.”

Suddenly Nik’s fingers are digging a bit deeper into his skin, possessive. Ghost’s mouth is open against his neck, breath hot. Price chuckles, but it breaks on a note of pleasure as Nik leans in and licks a stripe along his neck, shameless.

“Oi,” Price says, not moving an inch away. “You lot are animals.”

Ghost growls against his neck. “You smell too good. That’s on you.”

Nik presses his lips to Price’s cheek, slow and deliberate.

Price laughs, deep and indulgent. “Fine, at least let me put a shirt on first.”

Neither of them move.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he mutters. “Greedy, the both of you.”

But He doesn’t sound the least bit annoyed.

...(soft cuddles below. I meant for this to end here, but I needed them 🥺)

They don’t move. Price sighs, quiet, content, and lets his shoulders drop just a little, body easing back into Ghost’s chest while Nik rests against his side. The heat of them wraps around him like a second towel, solid and comforting.

No one says anything for a long moment. There’s no need. The only sounds are the distant hum of the shower pipes settling and the soft inhale-exhale of three steady heartbeats.

Nik lifts his hand again, thumb brushing under Price’s eye like he’s memorizing the lines there. He doesn’t speak. The silence is one Price has learned to read in touches and glances. Right now, it says: You are here. You are safe. And you are mine.

Ghost’s hand shifts slightly, from hip to stomach, slow and splayed. He presses his face into Price’s neck, breath fanning over damp skin, his eyes shut. Nik's hand finds Price’s again, fingers lacing.

It’s quiet again, but the weight of them is there, pressing in just enough. Price lets his eyes close. Leans his head back against Ghost’s shoulder. Nik shifts only to press a kiss to the back of Price's knuckles.

“You lot keep this up,” Price mutters sleepily, “I’m gonna fall asleep right here on the bloody tile.”

Ghost snorts. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Nik’s low chuckle is like velvet. “Bed, then.”

It's more like a suggestion that’s already halfway to a command. But Price feels the tired in it, the weight in his chest, and he turns in Nik’s arms slowly, lifting a hand to cradle Ghost’s jaw for a moment before nodding.

Price never gets that shirt.

The lights stay low. The covers don’t matter at first, because they’ve got each other.

Nik sits against the headboard, Price is pulled back against his chest, broad and solid and always warm. Nik wraps around him like armor. One arm drapes heavy across his stomach, the other resting across his chest, hand curled gently over one shoulder. Price exhales, soft and low, letting the weight settle into him.

Ghost settles in last. He moves without words. He crawls up into the space between Price’s legs and chest like he was made to fit there, bigger than he should be for curling up like this, but he makes it work. Nik moves his hands to make room and hold him too. He presses his face to the center of Price’s chest, nose to skin, arms loosely around his and Nik's waists. Like a fucking cat.

Price huffs a quiet laugh and cards a hand through his damp hair. “You’re too bloody big for this, Simon.”

Ghost just grunts. His voice is half-muffled, lazy.

Price rolls his eyes, but his hands are already moving, one over Ghost’s back in slow circles, the other resting atop Nik’s where it lies on Ghost's back now. His eyes slip closed.

The three of them stacked together like puzzle pieces, breathing each other in, fitting around one another in the stillness. It’s the softest part of their day. The safest.

Ghost shifts just enough to press a kiss to the center of Price’s chest, then sighs. Nik’s breathing slows behind him, steady and even. Price lets himself relax, lets his body go slack.

The room is quiet except for their breathing and a hum of a fan.

And when sleep finally finds him, it’s easy, like slipping beneath water, held and warm and wanted.

[thetomorrowshow]

when you had nothing to say ch. 5

more of my fic where Jimmy is Deaf! this time featuring the bad boys

~

The Bad Boys become, and that is really, really nice.

It’s early yet in the game. They share one bed on the roof of the woodland mansion, though they each tend to roll out at some point during the night, the space as limited as their lives.

They don’t even need a blanket, despite the chill of the nights. They’re so close that they’re practically wrapped around each other. Usually Jimmy’s on the right side (also the side closest to the edge), and Joel squishes himself onto the left side and grumbles at him all the while, his legs entwined with Jimmy’s and his arm over his chest, and Grian just sort of flops on top of both of them, his elbows jabbing into Jimmy’s stomach and his head shoved between theirs where there isn’t room.

It’s sweaty and suffocating and uncomfortable, and Jimmy wouldn’t trade it for the world.

The only problem with such close and exposed quarters is that Jimmy doesn’t really feel safe with putting his hearing aids anywhere. They’re liable to get crushed in the cuddle pile, but he doesn’t want to put them on the mansion roof in case it gets windy or rains or something and they break.

These are only temporary conditions, thankfully, so soon enough he’ll have a bedside table or any surface at all and he can put them there. Until then?

Well, until then he just isn’t taking them out.

That’s not the best idea ever. For the most part, wearing his hearing aids for an entire day will leave them kind of sore, let alone several days and nights in a row. But other than the soreness, it’s actually kind of convenient—he usually forgets to turn them off, and Joel and Grian like to randomly say stuff as they’re trying to fall asleep, so Jimmy isn’t left out, which is nice.

And then when Grian starts to snore, the right window-rattler that he is, Jimmy can turn them off and imagine that the vibration of his snores is a cat purring.

Sure, his ears hurt. Every so often when he’s alone and collecting resources or something, he’ll turn them off and put them in his pocket to give his ears a break, but he’s rarely alone without getting paranoid that someone might come up on him without him noticing. The last thing he wants is to be caught by a boogeyman without his ears on.

Which brings him to tonight.

Jimmy’s ears hurt.

This should be their last night in the shared bed. They’ve been living on the mansion roof for over half a week now, but they’re sending Jimmy out tomorrow to steal wool from someone (probably Scott, seeing as he always has his life together) so that they can have actual individual beds.

Secretly, Jimmy hopes they’ll push the beds together anyhow.

That’s tomorrow, though, and right now his ears hurt worse than they have in years—which isn’t too bad, sure. He isn’t screaming in pain, or even making any noise, and it isn’t like it’s the only thing he can think about, but it is bad enough that he can’t get himself to close his eyes, afraid that it’ll leave him with nothing to distract him.

They’ve kind of been hurting the whole time, but it really started to ramp up last night, and it’s been getting worse all day today. He wants to go to sleep, but it feels impossible.

Jimmy’s usually the kind of guy to sleep on his side, but he hasn’t been doing that with his hearing aids in, so he’s been on his back most nights. Tonight is no different; he’s staring up at the starry night sky, Joel’s ankle hooked over his legs and his head on his shoulder, Grian starfished atop the both of them with his head resting on the inside of Jimmy’s right arm.

He’s pretty sure they’re both asleep, but Grian’s a fairly light sleeper, so Jimmy moves with the utmost care.

He shifts—just slightly—to tilt his head to the side, his nose buried in Joel’s hair. For a moment, the position feels better, but soon enough, the burning ache in his ears grows, stronger now in the left ear.

Jimmy bites his lip as a wave of pain washes through his head, waits it out, then shifts again, turning his head to the other side.

The same sensation—momentary relief, followed by worsened pain in the right ear.

He wants to get up—but then again, he really doesn’t want to get up. He doesn’t want to leave his Bad Boys.

Jimmy’s been basking in the casual touch of his two close friends all week. He gets hugs from other friends, sure, and the occasional handshake, but between these games there aren’t a lot of opportunities for prolonged contact. In fact, this is the first time it’s been this intense: sure, he and Scott spent a lot of time together, and there was that one sleepover pile in the Southlands, and Tango isn’t shy about lifting him up and spinning him around, but there hasn’t been anything quite like this before.

This week, Jimmy’s discovered that he really likes cuddling. This week, Jimmy’s discovered that he would rather suffer in silence than disrupt their cuddle pile. There’s no way of knowing how long this will last. Maybe next week, they’ll build separate bases. Maybe tomorrow, Grian and Joel will each claim rooms in the mansion and he’ll be on his own again. 

So can anyone really blame him if he just ignores the pain in exchange for this one last night?

He moves again, slower than slow, carefully twisting his body to the side but leaving his head staring straight up. This position has been his favorite, letting him sort of sleep on his side while maintaining the cuddling, but he already rolled to his back tonight when the pain got to be too much and he doesn’t have high hopes that—

Someone not-so-gently pats his head. Less of a pat, really, more of a pat-pat-pat, like a cat smacking a toy. Jimmy opens his eyes (he’d closed them, trying to trick himself into sleep) to find that Grian has lifted his head, leveling a sleepy glare at him.

With a bit of maneuvering to get his right hand free, Jimmy clicks on a hearing aid, wincing as the moment of feedback feels even spikier than normal. What? he mouths.

“Stop moving,” Grian whispers. “You’re gonna throw me off the bed.”

“Sorry,” Jimmy whispers back. Grian rests his head again.

Then Jimmy tries to stop moving.

And promptly forgets about it, because a gust of wind feels and sounds way too loud with his hearing aid now on and he shifts, trying to press his head closer to Joel and use what little bit of the pillow he can to block his ear.

“Dude, stop.”

“I’m trying,” whispers Jimmy. “I can’t sleep.”

“Close your eyes and stop moving. That’s the first step.”

“I already tried that. Didn’t work.”

Grian lifts his head again. Even in the dark, it’s clear that he’s scrutinizing Jimmy’s face. “Are you all right?” he asks.

Jimmy grimaces. “I’m fine,” he whispers. “My ears are sore, is all.”

Grian’s brow furrows. “Wait, you’re wearing your hearing aids,” he says slowly, as if he’s just realizing it. “Aren’t you supposed to take those off at night?”

Jimmy shrugs. “Don’t have anywhere to put them.”

“Dude.”

Grian rolls off of him and out of bed, dusting his knees off. Joel snorts awake, eyes squinted shut.

“Oi, Grian, you kicked me,” he grumbles. “Is somethin’ happenin’? Do we need weapons?”

“Jimmy’s an idiot, is all,” Grian says. “Sit up, Tim.”

Jimmy clicks on his other hearing aid and obeys, biting the inside of his cheek when his ears throb. Joel sits up as well, then stumbles to his feet on the other side of the bed, scratching his side and yawning.

“Joel, get me a torch, would you?” Grian asks absently. He takes Jimmy’s head between his warm hands and tilts it to the side, brushing his hair out of the way.

“What’s happening?” Joel pops open their chest and pulls out a torch, then a flint and steel to light it. He stumps over to the bed, the torch spilling flickering yellow light over their bed.

“Closer.”

“I’m fine,” Jimmy tries to say, then flinches away when Grian touches his ear. It doesn’t hurt, exactly, but he definitely doesn’t want anyone touching it.

“Take out your hearing aids,” Grian commands, his left hand held out.

That seems unnecessary, and Jimmy folds his arms. “I’m fine,” he says again. He really doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it on their last night sharing a bed, especially since there wasn’t another option.

Joel comes around to Jimmy’s front, frowning. “What?”

Grian’s still waiting, one hand on Jimmy’s head, the other outstretched.

After a moment’s standoff, Jimmy acquiesces—he always does. With a roll of his eyes, he turns off his left hearing aid and eases it out of his ear, gasping as it feels like his very eardrum pulses in pain. He doesn’t hand it to Grian, though, just keeps it clutched in his closed fist.

Grian motions Joel to come around to Jimmy’s left side. “Hold the torch—not quite—there, yeah. All right, let’s . . . look. . . .”

Jimmy tries not to move as Grian tugs at his ear, holding it as open as possible, but it hurts. It really hurts, enough that he bites his lip to keep from making some embarrassing noise.

There’s a couple of muffled sentences said at his side, then Grian lets go and moves to the right side, Joel following. Reluctantly, Jimmy removes that hearing aid too.

They spend longer on that side. Jimmy watches out across the world, trying to think about anything but the pounding pain in his ears.

When Grian comes back to his front, it’s with a grim expression on his face. Jimmy moves to put his hearing aids back in, but Grian stops him with a hand on his wrist and a shake of his head.

He stands there for a moment, typing out a message on his communicator, which he then turns around and shows Jimmy.

Ear infections.

Jimmy’s heart sinks.

Right. That’s why he wasn’t supposed to sleep with his hearing aids in.

He’s got to be the biggest idiot on the server. Of course leaving his hearing aids in 24/7 would lead to ear infections, why wouldn’t he think of that?

“Last time I got an ear infection, I lost most of my hearing,” Jimmy tries to joke, sure that it falls flat.

The other two don’t respond. Well, Grian might, he’s moved around to be behind him. Jimmy just can’t hear it.

Joel’s staring at him, utter confusion written across his face. Jimmy checks behind himself—Grian is digging through the chest—and returns his hearing aids to their proper place in his ears.

It really does hurt way more than just some soreness. How did he not notice that something was wrong? He’s usually so careful about any kind of sickness.

“I didn’t know you were Deaf,” Joel says incredulously.

Jimmy blinks.

Okay, he deliberately didn’t tell Martyn. And Scott was just chance. Tango was weird, sure, but not impossible.

But Joel?

How does Joel not know?

“We’ve been friends for years,” Jimmy says, just as incredulous. “How did you not know?”

“I—you never told me!” Joel accuses. “How am I supposed to know things about you if you don’t tell me? Like, I’ve never told you about the mole on my right shoulder—wouldn’t it be absolutely ridiculous to expect you to know about it?”

Jimmy stares back, increasingly bewildered. “I do know about it. I saw it when we went swimming together. Actually, I took my hearing aids out to swim. I asked Gem to put them with my stuff. You were there.”

“Gem knew before me?!”

“Jimmy, hearing aids out,” Grian admonishes, moving to stand in front of him again, tossing Jimmy’s shoes onto the bed. “I’m calling a pause and taking you to get antibiotics. Come on, let’s go.”

“I want to come, too,” Joel says loudly. “Our conversation isn’t over. Did everyone know about Jimmy being Deaf except me?”

“You’ll have to have it over text, then. Get your shoes on, let’s go.”

An ear infection is pretty scary, but after hours at a hospital, the doctor doesn’t seem concerned that Jimmy will lose more of his hearing. He’s prescribed a ten-day round of antibiotics and he isn’t allowed to wear his hearing aids until day seven, and even then only in incremental stages. Joel is awkward about the whole thing, clearly not entirely sure how to interact with a Deaf person.

But when they fall into bed the following night, Joel holds him even tighter than before.

The stars above are bright and beautiful. Some nights they take him far away, to smokey battlefields and achy nights in trenches, but tonight they don’t.

Tonight he feels safer than he ever has, Joel and Grian wrapped so firmly around him.

Tonight he looks up at the stars and smiles.

[naptimepng]

red

Pairing: Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavish x F!Reader 

Rating: G

Word Count: 1.2k 

Warnings/Tags: period cramps, implied toxic relationship in the past, johnny being so dreamy and offering to wash the sheets, domestic softness, protective johnny, spooning. some pretty hardcore shit 

Summary: You know before you’ve tapped on the little icon that it’s your period. It has your throat tightening up before a warm, dry hand presses to your cheek; Johnny, sleepy and slow, but alert enough to see the panic in your eyes. 

A/N: self indulgent fanfiction WILL continue until morale improves

You’re somewhere in light sleep when you wake with a cramp splintering through your tummy, making you wince as you struggle to read the time on the clock across the room. Rubbing at your eyes and sucking in a hiss through your teeth as another burst of pain snaps through you, punching a pained noise from you as you whimper. Johnny begins to stir behind you, his mouth sliding warm across the back of your neck as he murmurs, “Y’alright, hen?” Rousing fully now at the urgent movement of your twisting as you reach for your phone to check your tracking app. 

You know before you’ve tapped on the little icon that it’s your period, the dull throb between your thighs and the damp sheets confirming it as you push them back.

Shining the light of your phone onto the red mess of it. It has your throat tightening up, shame and embarrassment and panic making your palms grow sweaty and your heart vibrate in your chest before a warm, dry hand presses to your cheek. Johnny turning your face to him, his expression concerned with the thick knit of his brow and his slight pout as he regards you carefully. 

“Hey, hey - look at me, yer alright, I’ve got ye, hen.” The words spoken soothingly in a low, gentle tone as he murmurs to you. Your bottom lip is still trembling as you stare up at him so he presses his thumb into the plush of it and fixes you with a stern but kind look, his eyebrows raised. 

“Yer a’right, mo ghràidh,” he tells you, brushing your hair back from your face where it’s sticking to your cheeks with your tears. “These things happen. ‘S a’right.” 

He wipes your tears and kisses the salt tracks they leave before sending you into the bathroom with a soft kiss to your temple while he tasks himself with starting a wash, making you some tea, and changing the sheets before you’re out. At your sceptical look, he flashes you a cheeky grin. 

“I’m a military boy, love. I can work with a tight schedule.” 

It’s easier then to let him have it, stepping under the hot pressure of the water and feeling it soothe the cramps while he bustles around the bedroom, bundling the sheets into his arms. 

*** 

The hot water has made you sleepy when you step out of the shower, your skin warm and smelling of milky sweet roses, and it’s lovely for a moment before a cramp twists in your belly and your eyes well with tears again. There’s a soft knock on the door and a gentle murmur, “Ye alright in there, babe? Can I come in?” 

At your mumbled assent, he slips inside and clicks his tongue soothingly at your red eyes, stepping into your space to wipe your tears from your cheeks with the pad of his thumb. “Hey,” he coos, “let it out if ye want, hen. I’m here. I’ve got ye.” 

He holds you there for a minute, strong arms tight around you as you clutch his sleep shirt in your fist. Nose pressed into his chest, breathing him in. Shoulders trembling, sucking in little gasps of air through your sobs until eventually you run out of tears. Too exhausted to do anything but stay where you are, sniffling like a baby. 

He smooths his hand over the back of your neck, rubbing gently there as he guides your head up to meet his eyes. Your eyelashes stick together as you blink up at him, your eyes rimmed red. He smiles down at you, strokes your cheek with his thumb before kissing your forehead and murmuring, “Brought ye some new jammies.” He holds them up and offers, “Want some help?”

“Yeah,” you whisper, bottom lip wobbling again at how lovely he is. Johnny kisses your cheeks and pulls the t-shirt over your head. Pats your hair down with a fond chuckle. He gives your hand a reassuring squeeze. Stepping around you to cup your cheeks in his palms. 

“There we go,” he smiles, smoothing a thumb over your cheek. “Problem solved, aye?” 

He gathers you into bed then, tugging the duvet closer to you and fluffing up the pillows around you to keep you warm and cosy. 

“Made tea fer ye, jus’ how ye like it, extra sweet.” 

He presses the warm mug into your hands, crossing his legs as he settles himself beside you on the bed. Watches quietly as you drink, resting a hand on your thigh, rubbing in slow, soothing motions. Smiling at the way you swirl the last dregs of tea and sugar around, and hum as you enjoy an extra sweet last mouthful before pressing the still warm mug to your belly. 

The heat soothes the cramps as you collapse against Johnny’s chest, feeling his fingers gently pry the mug from you to set it on the bedside table before replacing it with his hands, hushing your quiet whine with a kiss to your temple.

Johnny has always run hot. It can be terrible in summer with his constant complaining about the heat, his insistence on wearing only embarrassingly short shorts on every shopping trip. Lovely other times; in winter, to tuck your perpetually freezing feet under his thighs, cuddling close to him on cold park benches. And now, when you’re bleeding and in pain, he presses his warm, dry hands to your navel, massaging gently at the soft flesh with the flat of his palms. 

“That alright, babe?” He asks, his chin hooked over your shoulder, voice soft in your ear. Your mumbled response is unintelligible but he thinks it’s good with the way your hands reach blindly for him when he goes to turn off the bedside lamp. 

Moments later, you’re sagging against his chest, your breath gone slow and long as you slip into sleep. He contemplates letting you sleep like this, half-crushed to his chest, legs folded at an awkward angle. You’ll be comfier lying down, he thinks, but hates himself the moment he stops his hands, moving them to gently ease you onto your side, when you clutch at him, your fingers wrapping around two of his. 

He hushes you quietly, peppering kisses across your face as you curl closer to him, tucking your head into the warm, soft skin of his shoulder, fitting a leg between his to keep him as close as possible. He likes this, likes that you need him as much as he needs you. Loves being the source of your comfort in the same way he forgoes collapsing on the sofa in place of wrapping his arms around you after a mission, breathing you in, feeling the soft fat of your hips between his hands, the taste of your skin, your smell. 

He breathes you in now, noses along your hairline as you let out a long sigh, settling now into deep sleep, the furrow in your brow loosening as he presses a light kiss there. He feels a fierce burst of affection in his chest. Wanting to keep you safe and warm and cosy and feels a prick of anger in his belly, remembering the panic in your eyes as you saw the blood earlier. None of that. No more anxiety prickling down your spine, no more taut shoulders or pinched brow. He’ll keep you safe.

[forgetme-eternally-blissfully]

Coming up with a new heart wrenching fic idea for LCF and damn I can't wait to write it when it isn't time for me to sleep

[rosaacicularis]

thinking strongly about them* right now

*scarian cuddling in the apartment in the scarland castle scar mentioned like one time

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello love, how are you?

I know you have done a couple of this already, but may i ask for one where Thena is suffering because of her period and Gil is being a good boyfriend and taking care of her, pretty please.

Also thank you for all your works they are amazing 🩷🤍.

"Thena?"

He didn't get any response as he cracked the door open even further. Which, he wouldn't under any normal circumstance. But not only was this bathroom at an end of the school that no one ever used, he had gotten an inside tip.

"Babe, I know you're in here," he broached carefully. She wasn't in here for no reason.

"Get out."

There she was. But it didn't have her usual sharpness. Plenty of acerbic distaste, certainly, but it had a kind of morose undertone to it.

Gil pressed the door closed behind him, "come on, sweetheart. Sersi sent me."

There was a stall door between them, but he could hear the look of betrayal on her face. "That little-"

"Hey," he assuaged, pressing his palm to the painted steel. "She's at the mall with Dane--who I know damn well you wouldn't want knowing about this, too."

"Whom," she corrected him, although even that lacked her usual gusto. "And that doesn't mean you were the acceptable alternative."

"Thena," he attempted in a sweeter voice. He looked down at the feet under the stall's gap. He had some sympathy; he didn't think of it as nearly so big a deal, but there were probably few things more personal to a girl than this. "Is it bad?"

She took her sweet time answering him, and even when she did, it came out as a miserable little warble. "I can see it a little."

A little would be enough. Especially if she was wearing white jeans.

"Do you know when it started?" he asked, in he thought was a pretty calm and cool way--logical, as his girlfriend would most appreciate.

She sighed (heavily). "After, or maybe even during practice. I managed to slip away from the team."

Gil frowned. Wasn't it, like, girl code not to leave one of their own in this state of distress? "You didn't wanna ask one of them-"

"I wouldn't say I'm that close with any of them," Thena spat. He didn't think she had any real dislike for them, either. But then again, his girlfriend didn't excel at vulnerability, and maybe this was too much for her to even turn to her fellow woman.

She had texted Sersi in blind hopes that her sister was close at hand.

"Okay, here," Gil sighed, pulling up the bag he had with him. He looked up, and then down, "do these doors have hooks on the inside?"

"You think our school has the luxury of something like that?"

Okay, yeah, she had a point. He huffed, "well, I dunno, so you don't have to put your bag or purse or whatever on the floor?"

"I'm not saying it's not a good idea, Gil, but no, they don't have that."

She really was feeling like absolute shit.

"Okay," he gave in easily. He set the bag on the ground and used his foot to slide it in to her. She did snatch it away from his gaze eagerly. "Sersi didn't say which one you liked, so I got a little pack of both, and-"

"Thank you--out."

He sighed again, but there wasn't much more he could do for her at this point. "Okay, okay, but I'm gonna be right outside the door."

"You don't have to, Gil."

He made a face at the stall door again, not that she could appreciate it. "I'm not gonna leave you like this."

"You could, though."

He didn't even really have anything he could compare it to--what she must be feeling at the moment. And for someone who struggled to talk about her own discomfort like she did... "I'm sorry, Thena."

It was so, so quiet. But he caught it--the little sniffle. The telltale sign that her misery was not just mere anger or frustration.

"There's no need, Gil," she tried to dissuade him again, more genuinely and less angrily this time.

"Babe, you know I've eaten you out, right," he commented rather dryly, "it's not like I can get freaked out by your period."

"That's-!" For however strong it started, it gave way to her misery not a second later, finishing in a whimper, "different."

She was right, it was different. But he was trying! He just wanted to make her feel better.

"I'll be outside," he reaffirmed to her door, pressing himself to it as if she would know he was trying to comfort her like that. "And I'm not leaving without you, so don't even try it."

"Fine."

Gil pulled himself away from the door slowly. He lingered, in case she was going to change her mind and tell him to stay. But she made not even a sound, which wasn't even that easy to do with the crinkly plastic pharmacy bag he'd brought in.

He had even had the wherewithal to ask them to double bag it, for privacy reasons! He thought that was a pretty smart move, on his part. He had gotten both tampons and pads, which maybe was a little overkill. But he didn't want her to get stuck with one if she was more comfortable with the other. And he'd thrown in some pain meds and some chocolate, just for good measure.

Gil leaned against the wall outside the bathroom door. They were at the very end of the hall, by the door that led straight to the fields. Now that all the practices were over, no one would be down here until teachers left or cleaning staff came to do their thing.

His heart ached for his poor Thena, imagining her discovering the blood and too uncomfortable around her teammates to ask for help with it. He wasn't entirely sure where her ire with them started, or if it was for Thena reasons or something else. But the fact that she had slipped away from them to endure the misery for herself spoke to how solitary a creature she really was.

He stood up straight as the door opened and Thena emerged with the bag in the crook of her elbow. She was staring straight down at the ground. "How do you feel?"

"Humiliated."

Gil smiled down at the top of her head as she headbutted him right in the chest. He didn't mind. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her hair.

His first instinct was to say something to lighten her mood, maybe a joke or something. But he felt the faint but real little spots of warmth in the cotton of his t-shirt. He rubbed her back, "it's okay."

Thena had never, ever, cried in front of him. Not even when she told him about Ikaris laughing at her for being a virgin. He was still determined to kick that guy's ass one day.

She pulled away, rubbing her eyes to erase the last of her woes for herself. "Thank you."

"Of course," he frowned. Like he was doing some great thing by helping her out with this? It was pretty basic boyfriend stuff, he was pretty sure. "You know I mean that, right?"

"I know," she grumbled, and there was some of his Thena starting to emerge. She stepped away from him, her arms wrapped around herself.

"You want me to, uh," he tilted his head, "check if you're good?"

"I would rather die."

He chuckled; now that was his Thena.

"Just," she mumbled out, embarrassment written all over her. "Give me your sweater.

He did so in an instant, pulling his black hoodie off his shoulders and wrapping it around her. She extended her arms on her own, threading them through the sleeves smoothly. He made sure it sat on her shoulders and then gave the bottom a tug to verify that it did indeed cover well beyond her (cute) butt.

She looked at him as she started pushing the sleeves up.

"Lookin' good," he grinned at her with a wink.

She rolled her eyes at him, but the way she let him take her hand told him she was still feeling a little shitty about everything. "Take me home?"

"You got it," he assured as gently as he could. As much as he wanted to offer to take her out and do something fun, it wasn't about what he wanted. And if she wanted to wallow in her misery for the night he would ask and beg and plead to join her in that misery. "You know-"

Thena didn't even turn her head, just gave him one hell of a side eye.

But he smiled, braving on for the love of his young life. "As I keep reminding you, I am in this for real, babe. Like, real deal, long haul-"

"Yes, yes, you have said," she sighed, although he could see her starting to smile again.

He gave her hand a squeeze. "It's not like I was never gonna be around for...something like this."

It showed on Thena's face just how much she appreciated his delicacy with it, even after the fact.

"It's not a big deal--not to me, at least," he shrugged, hoping he was saying the right thing. All he could hope was that she was really hearing him and getting how much he meant it. "And if you ever needed help like this again--just call me, okay? Text me, email me if you have to."

She laughed at the suggestion, but all he needed to see was that cute smile, showing off her teeth. She had a cute laugh, too.

"I'll be there, Thena," he finished, pouring his heart into it. "In a heartbeat."

"I know, Gil." Well, that was the end of that. It wasn't up for discussion anymore, and he would be pushing his luck to try and continue it.

But he happily let her release his hand, only so she could wrap her arms around his one and press her face into his t-shirt sleeve. "You gonna let me carry that bag for you?"

"No."

"Okay, fine," he chuckled. Whatever she wanted--needed. Anything at all. He looked down at her as they continued down the hall, taking their good, sweet time. "Thena, I-"

"I hope," she prefaced, giving his arm an extra squeeze, "you're not about to say something I wouldn't want to hear on arguably the worst day of my life."

Okay, so not the time for an I-Love-You. Their first, he had to keep reminding himself, no matter how many times he had already imagined saying it to her.

"Yeah, no, totally," he mumbled, resigning himself to keeping it in again.

"Just-" Thena pressed herself even closer to him. "Just wait a little longer."

He looked down at the top of her head again (since she wasn't up to looking at him yet, apparently). But she didn't have to ask; he was going to wait for her until the day he died, he had already decided.

It wasn't even really up to him. Somewhere along the way, he had fallen beyond the point of no return, and he would do anything - literally anything! - for her.

Thena let him kiss her forehead as they continued shuffling along, the hum of the fluorescents and the crinkling of the bag offering a soundtrack to their quiet moment.

"Y'know, I heard baths are good for cramps. We could-"

"Not a chance, Gil."