#I am posting on the right day I just got too impatient to wait much past midnight and I'm in the UK

[iztarshi]

Fandom: TMNT multi-turtle crossover. rottmnt centric.

-

Dear Turtles,

Those of us designated outcasts of society though no fault of our own have long dreamed of a place where we can stand tall among our fellow turtles, a community where we would be understood. Now that need no longer be a dream.

In the year 2020 we, the turtles of dimension 872D1, have been able to create a stable portal connecting to that year in multiple universes. You, the turtles of 18R153, are the youngest of the universes we have so far been able to contact. While we were teenagers in the late 80s and early 90s, you are continuing our legacy as teenage mutant ninja turtles as we speak. We are excited to welcome you among us and hope we can provide you with support.

Within this letter you will find four portal keys, one for each of your team. At six o’clock tonight, press the button on your portal key to create a portal and be transported to a place where you will be among your own kind.

Signed, Donatello

P.S. The portal key will still work at any other time, it’s just if you come tonight there’s a welcome party. Please don’t feel rushed to decide. - Leonardo

“We should go,” says Leo, the instant Raph shows him the letter.

“Are you sure?” Raph asks. “They said the invitation’s still open later if we don’t want to come now. Maybe we should wait until we’re over… this whole situation.” The wave of his hand takes in both his own bandaged eye and Leo’s mummified shell.

Leo shakes his head. “The letter said they’re adult versions of us. Like Casey’s senseis. We’ve gotta make a good first impression.”

“Yeah,” Raph says. Because they need friends like that if anything else happens again. Because wouldn’t it be awful to disappoint versions of themselves that are so much more than they are. “Yeah. Raph gets it.”

All the same, it’s awful getting ready. Leo gets excited about picking out clothes, but struggles to get into them without hurting himself. No one mentions the real reason they’re going in full outfits is to hide the bandages on Leo and Donnie’s shells. Raph needs to hide the ones on his shoulder too, but they’re only a small patch and could probably come off. The bandages over his eye are harder to hide. In the end he takes them off and hopes his mask will hide that his eye is puffy and swollen. Mikey wears gloves and holds his hands behind his back so no one can see them shake.

“We all ready?” Raph asks, holding the portal key and watching his phone count down to six o’clock. Three voices answer in the affirmative. “Mad Dogs roll out.”

He presses the key and watches the portal grow in front of him, fading gently to reveal a window into a room with tables full of pizza and a banner in bubble writing saying, “WELCOME TURTLES!!!”

Looking back through it are pudgy middle-aged turtles slightly shorter than Leo with sweet, rounded faces. They’re not wearing clothes, besides their rather pastel ninja bands, but their Michelangelo has a party hat on.

Raphael steps through feeling bewildered, but much less nervous.

“Welcome to the Casa Tortuga,” the Michelangelo says. “I dig your funky looks, little dudes.”

“Little?” says Donnie, taking in this new Michelangelo from head to toe with an efficient flick of his eyes.

Raph shoots him a look. They gotta be polite.

Another portal opening takes the attention away from them. The turtles who step out of that one look far closer to what Raph was expecting. Sure, they’re still short, but they’re buff as hell and they’ve got a serious look like they’ve been through some shit.

“Great, you guys came,” the pastel Donatello says.

The buff Raphael folds his arms like he’s already regretting it, but the Michelangelo grins and holds his hand up for a high three. “I would not want to miss a party run by you guys. Who else is on the guest list?”

“Some other guys we had a crossover with,” Donatello answers. “And the turtles prime but we’re not expecting them to come. And we found these guys!”

He gestures proudly to the Mad Dogs, like they’re a new invention, and Leo responds by striking a pose. “Thank you, thank you, Leonardo, Leon, Nardo, Captain Blue, or Blue Jitsu at your service.”

“Really?” says the buff turtle in the blue mask, his mouth twitching suspiciously at the corner. “I’m Leo.”

The third portal opening once again takes everyone’s attention. The turtles who come out of this one look. Well. With feet that size they’d probably be hard to knock over in battle? Must make it harder to climb buildings without the grippy toes, though. They’re also dressed up, which makes Raph feel better about his group having clothes on. And what they’re dressed in…

“Wow, total Hot Topic vibes,” Leo says, having apparently forgotten about being polite.

“I wouldn’t talk if I was wearing as much fake brand name stuff as you,” the new Raph says.

Leo gives the Raph a look that says his weakness for people who won’t put up with his nonsense is kicking in and tries to drape himself across his shoulders. He gets shoved off, of course, and he almost hides the wince when the shove hits his shell. The Raph certainly hasn’t noticed.

“Looks like everybody’s here, amigos!” the Michelangelo with the party hat says loudly. “Time for food.”

Raph turns his attention to the three tables laden with pizza. They are labelled. “PIZZA”, “WEIRD PIZZA” and “REALLY WEIRD PIZZA”. One of the really weird pizzas appears to be levitating and another is scuttling around on little legs. This might still be less weird than the weird pizza labelled “fudge, marshmallow and anchovy”.

Raph watches his Donnie pick up the scuttling pizza and thoughtfully bite a leg off. Meanwhile the pudgy turtles and the little, freckled Mikey are digging into the weird pizzas and the buff ones are going for normal pizzas. Raph decides to play it safe, while also seeing if staying close to the cool, serious Raph will let him strike up a conversation, and goes for normal pizzas.

Everyone’s loosening up and chatting as the party gets into its stride, but Raph feels awkward. These three groups of turtles know each other, or at least two of them know the third. The Mad Dogs are the odd ones out, no matter how friendly the hosts of this shindig are. Plus, Raph is towering over everyone. There are chairs dotted around in a variety of sizes, including his size, but he still feels like he’s drawing everyone’s eyes. Normally he likes being the big guy, the one who can take the hits and protect but he’s the only Raph this size. And the smaller Raphs don’t have badly injured little brothers trying to hide it. He feels like a fraud, like the friendly punch in the arm and “how much can you bench, big guy?” from the buff Raph would be taken away if this Raph knew that none of his training or working out had let him save Leo from nearly dying.

The others look like they’re doing better. Mikey’s managed to engage the stompy Raphael and the host Leonardo in a conversation about drawing. The Donatellos have congregated into a tight and alarming group. Leo’s being the life of the party, chatting away to anyone who will listen.

Then, just as Leo and the host Raphael are getting a bit too determined to win a pun contest, the Raphael suddenly jumps forward and gently lifts Leo’s arm. There’s blood soaking through his hoodie and dripping softly to the tiled floor.

“Is there a doctor in the house?’ the Raphael asks.

“Uh,” says Leo, trying to pull away.

The pudgy Donatello appears at his Raphael’s elbow. “Should we boil some water?”

“I can’t believe you haven’t learned any more first-aid than that in the last thirty years,” the Raphael laments, shifting to hold Leo more supportively. They both turn to look at the buff Donatello who immediately comes over.

The Raph next to him takes that moment to tip Raph’s chin down and look very intensely into - no, at - his eyes. “Don, I think this one’s hurt too,” he yells.

“No, Raph’s fine.” Raph shoves his hand over his eye and the pressure stings, but he can’t bring himself to pull it away.

Across the room the freckled Mikey pulls up the back of Donnie’s hoodie and says, “Woah, this guy’s super bandaged.”

“Alright, turtles!” their host Leonardo says, in a voice which cuts through the babble. “Herd them into the living room and sit them down on the couch. We’ll fetch…”

“A first aid kit,” says the buff Donatello. “And actually you could boil some water.”

The Leonardo nods and says, in a voice full of confidence, “We’ll do that.”

Raph resists the herding uncertainly. It’s not like he needs checking, although Leo definitely does. Then the pudgy, middle-aged Raphael and Michelangelo catch each other’s eyes, take one of Raph’s hands each and pull like little tugboats with unexpected power. He finds himself stumbling into a room containing a very Raph sized three piece suite just as the buff Michelangelo comes in with Raph’s own Mikey held firmly under one arm.

Someone says, “You were expecting large turtles?”

The host Donatello answers, “We wanted to be sure we could be welcoming to anyone undergoing a super-mutation arc.”

“Huh,” says the buff Donatello. “I doubt I would have been a very good guest when that was happening.”

“We do have a cage as well, if you prefer,” the host Raphael says.

“Thank you, but that was over with a while ago. I’ll just see to the patient.”

Leo, who has been herded into the chair while the rest of them are on the giant sofa, is now squirming at the approach of a Donatello who looks much calmer than his own but even harder to get around.

“It’s fine,” Leo says rapidly. “It’s, you know, we’re pretty tough really. Even if we don’t look that way right now, ha. It’s just a minor injury and it doesn’t really need thiiiiis many turtles.”

The Donatello narrows his eyes while his corresponding Raph takes up a station in front of the door with his arms folded.

“Listen,” the Donatello says, drawing his bo. “We can do this the easy way, or we can test the thickness of that very thick skull.”

“Ah, jeez, why are Donnies like this?” Leo laments.

“Because we spend so much time worrying about turtles like you,” the Donatello says.

The stompy Raph pokes Leo’s shoulder gently. “Just let him get on with it, kid. And next time don’t try to hide injuries like that, I wouldn’t have shoved you if I’d known.”

“Yes,” says the stompy Donnie, currently engaged it trying to get Raph’s own Donnie to stop hissing at him and let him remove his hoodie. “It would very stupid if a turtle made a habit of hiding serious injuries. Wouldn’t it, Raphael?

Raph finds himself converged on by two Leonardos while the third, their host, returns with his Donatello, the first aid kit, and plenty of hot water. He then disappears again to make “medicinal tea” that their Splinter always makes for them when they get injured. Raph isn’t fighting it any longer, it’s actually kind of reassuring, especially seeing a brisk Donatello in his mid-thirties check over Leo. Technically they’ve been treated by Draxum who knows more about their biology than anyone else possibly could, but there’s still something nice about having other turtles do it. Even if some of those turtles are making bets about what caused this in the background. For some reason “window” is the favourite. “Shredder” is coming in second which makes a lot more sense.

The Donatello treating Leo pauses and says, “I don’t know what you’re made of that you survived this, because none of us could have, but you seem to be healing okay. You should stay off your feet, though.”

Leo stops his embarrassed squirming and says, “…Really?”

Raph loses the Hot Topic Leo who slides off the arm of the couch and goes over. “I can do healing hands if it’s that bad.” Then, without waiting, he holds his hands together and starts chanting, moving them as he does. When he touches Leo’s cracked shell there’s a visible difference, small pieces knitting themselves back into place and the bleeding stops.

Mikey sits up next to Raphael, leaning forward as much as the giant couch lets him. “Teach me to do that.”

The pudgy Michelangelo, who has been hovering over Mikey ever since his gloves were removed, reaches out and takes Mikey’s cracked hands between his. “It looks like those hands have done enough for now, little dude.”

“No,” Mikey says. “I’m a mystic warrior! I pulled Leo back from another dimension! There’s got to be more I can do when he’s still hurt or what good is any of it.”

“Yeah,” says the Michelangelo. “I get that. Trust me, I can feel how bright you are, I know you can do tubuloso amounts of stuff. But maybe not right now? We got a turtle who can do it already and that doesn’t mean you can’t, it just means you don’t gotta push yourself.”

Raph puts an arm around Mikey’s shaking shoulders. “Mikey, it’s okay, you can let them…” Mikey’s furious gaze and the other Michelangelo’s knowing one makes him rethink. “We… can let them take care of us.”

Raph lets gentle hands clean his eye, which is sore and dry from the exposure to air, and put a new compress and new bandages over it. Even Donnie has stopped hissing and is letting the stompy Donatello clean his shell.

Then that Donatello clears his throat and makes Donnie tense up by saying, “So, I’m not an expert on softshell biology. But it looks like it’s a very good thing you are a softshell because your shell has torn and bruised instead of shattering despite… uh… what looks a lot like tentacles shoving their way through it?”

“I hacked a spaceship with a biological interface,” Donnie says flatly. He’s pulled his phone out of his pocket and is staring at it instead of any of the turtles around him.

The Donatello’s bandana sticks straight up in the air in alarm. “These went into your brain? Now I’m even more surprised you’re not in a coma. Leo, can we get healing hands over here too?”

“It was an interface, it was designed to work that way,” Donnie says. “The technodrome didn’t do the damage connecting, it was being ripped out when the Krang found me.”

There is an echoing around the room of “the krang?” “the technodrome?” “what kind of krang did you have?” but Raph misses whatever comes next because the echoes keep going, round and round his head, and he feels strange. Familiar strange, like his head is full of hot fluff and the world is slightly to the right of where it should be. Mikey hugs his arm hard and another Mikey, the little freckled one, lands on his lap and reaches up to pat his snout. Raph hears this Mikey say something about “grounding” and “like my alligator friend” but he can’t focus on that now. Instead he wraps an arm around each Mikey and breathes.

He comes back to the host Donatello saying, “Our Krang did have a robot with feet the size of our chests once, but it wasn’t very stable once we took out the molecular amplification unit. Plus, he’s just one person, not a species, and a disembodied brain at that.”

“Wasn’t he a banished member of our Kraang?” asks the Hot Topic Leo.

The Donatello answers, “Only in crossovers.”

Raph’s own Donnie says, “So that’s how you met these guys? Maybe if we’d had another season.”

“Don’t let it bother you, we can make our own crossovers now,” answers the host Donatello. “There’s never enough time to exchange notes during the official ones.”

”What?” Raph asks, wondering if he’s fully back in reality or not.

Donnie buries his snout in his phone again. “Don’t worry about it.”

The smell of pizza makes Raph look around and he finds the unoccupied turtles pulling in small tables and piles of pizza. It makes him realise that if the party is moving in here his brothers — and especially him — are taking up all the seating. Plus, he should really be helping out. When he tries to get up though he finds the buff Raph pushing him back into place.

“You stay off yer feet for now,” he says.

Raph shakes his head. “Raph can help. Raph didn’t get hurt badly like Leo and Donnie.”

“Yer still hurt,” says the buff Raph.

“I should have protected them.”

“I get that. It sucks when you can’t protect your brothers. My Leo’s been in a coma and Donny’s been through stuff he still won’t talk about when I wasn’t there. But hey, sometimes keepin’ em alive is all you can do. They look like they’re gonna heal okay.”

Raph finds himself nudged into looking over at his brothers. Mikey is still next to him, arguing across Raph’s lap with the older Mikey still tucked against Raph’s other side. Donnie is showing off something on his phone to the other Donatellos and Raph assumes it’s tech until he hears the word “pizzasaurus”. Leo’s lost his social flair from earlier and his smile is considerably more shy than sparkling, but he is smiling again, hands waving as he explains something to the Hot Topic Leo and Raph.

“You think you guys will be coming here a lot?” Raph asks quietly.

“Of course,” both the buff Raph and the freckled Mikey chorus.

Nearby their pudgy host Leonardo looks incredibly proud.

[alonetimelover]

pairing: harry styles x polish!reader (fem, she/her)

summary: harry plays a show where one of the most important people in his life attends - his fiancée's granny.

submitted by @otaktomotyl, thank you and i hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it!

a/n: i found polish translations on the internet, i hope they're okay.

masterlist ask, comment, come say hi!

——————————————————————————————

harryupdates

liked by harrysmoustache, harryshoee and 37 201 others

harryupdates HARRY landed in Warsaw. I repeat, HARRY landed in Warsaw.

view all 3 013 comments

harrysmoustache and he's holding yn's hat???

harryshoee yn and harry can finally reunite... 🥹

harrysfan92 do you see his arms???? he looks like a Greek god, god damn

——————————————————————————————

harrysmoustache

liked by harryupdates, stylesbabie and 12 301 others

harrysmoustache HAARY AT YN'S COUSIN WEDDING!!!!

view all 2 492 comments

harryupdates you're so fast with those updates, lyla. im gonna lose my job...

stylesbabie yn be aware, he looks good enough to be THE groom. keep him close

⤷ harryslipstick i think that ring on her finger is saying more than anything

harrysmybestie guys, you know we are so close to see HIM at HIS OWN wedding...

⤷ harrysmylife don't

⤷ harrysmoustache why would you say that?!

⤷ outofstyles am i the only one awaiting that day impatiently??? i wanna see him being all nervous and loving and all of the emotions that people feel at the weddings

stylesislife only harry styles could come to my wedding wearing a tanktop that he also wears to his shows

⤷ hArrysbtch the only man i could forgive AND compliment on looking so fucking good

stylesbabie yn's cousin posted a photo from the ceremony, and you can see yn and harry being all snuggle and touchy 😭😭😭 i love them so much

——————————————————————————————

"What do you mean you're not coming up on stage? Harry, my love, what changed during the last two hours?" YN asked into her phone, anxious Harry being on the other side, soundly biting his nails. "And stop biting your nails, you've got a very nice colour on them."

"Is babcia (granny) here?"

"Mum texted they're close to the gate. Jeff, was kind enough to go there and pick them up so they wouldn't get in any trouble."

"Good, good, good. can- can you come backstage? I think I'd like some ted talk before the show," he said quietly, smile growing on his face. "And some kisses, too."

"Give me 10 minutes, I'll find that kind guard and ask him to guide me. I can't remember when to turn right."

"I'll wait for you. I love you."

"I love you."

Harry got up from the couch and started pacing from one wall to the other. His hands were trembling, getting sweaty. He couldn't remember when was the last time he felt this nervous before start of the show. Not wembley or Slane Castle were as nerve wrecking as Warsaw. He knew it perfectly that it wasn't because of the city or the country. Well, it partially was.

It was YN's home show. But also her whole family was just outside the gates or already walking down the hallways to get to their seats (VIP of course, besides YN's younger cousins that wanted the front row, barricade experiance). And probably the most important guests for Harry - YN's grandparents, especially her granny. A sweet 92-year-old lady that started learning english and using an iPhone to be able to talk and contact Harry. A lady who bought his heart with sweet butter biscuits that no one could replicate. A lady that listened and then learned his whole three albums for this day - the day she would finally see him play live.

So he was terrified to disappoint her.

"What if i mess up the lyrics?" he asked YN when she finally came to the greenroom, he had been pacing in.

"Then she will sing it to you."

"But what if she won't like hearing me live? I mean, it's- it's a possibility. What? Why are you giggling. I'm really stressed here, my darling."

"I'm so sorry." She kissed the crown of his head. "It's just that you're afraid of impossibility. There is no way she would laugh at you or be disappointed in you." YN stroke his hair, gently massaging it, bringing Harry peace.

"You sure?"

"I've never been more sure in my life."

"She'll like it." Harry reassured himself aloud.

"Yes, she will. Not only she loves you like her own grandchild, she's also nervous. This morning she facetimed me to help her pick up an outfit. She bought quite a few things after she saw some pictures of your fans on the internet." She laughed, finding it quite adorable.

"Did she?" Harry lifted his head from yn's lap. "Oh, bless her."

They spent the next few minutes in silence, letting Harry's heart to calm down and steady its pace.

"Wait, did you say that you've never been more sure about something in your life?" Harry eventually broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"So, you had doubts when I asked you to marry me?"

"Oh god."

——————————————————————————————

harryloveontour

liked by harryupdates, stylesmaaan and 21 491 others

harryloveontour first look at harry at tonight's show in warsaw! it wasn't even the first minute, and he was already seen sending kisses towards yn!

view all 6 023 comments

harrysmylife and it was not only for yn!!! her whole family is with her. even her grandparents.

⤷ stylesbabie omg, they must love him soooo so much

ynandhmyparents they are the sweetest couple i've ever seen, like ever

harrysmoustache is anybody live??? i need to experience this show, i have tissues ready

⤷ hArrysbtch hslotwarsaw is live and it's in such a good quality

——————————————————————————————

hslotwarsaw

liked by harryupdates, hArrysbtch and 21 291 others

hslotwarsaw this is harry's reaction to seeing yn dancing with one of the fans during adore you!!!

view all 3 491 comments

harryupdates omg, his reaction was priceless!!!!

hArrysbtch the way this man said "back off, my friend. she is taken. ring and all. no, no, no." he wa ready to jump from that stage to stop that man from hugging yn!

⤷ stylesbabie i mean, did that guy asked yn if that was okay?

⤷ lovingharry he did, you could see it on the videos that people already posted

harrysmoustache he's like "excuse me, man. that is my fiancée. MY fiancée."

harrysmylife oh, this concert just started and i know it's gonna be the best of all times

——————————————————————————————

lately you've been on my mind

honey, ah ah ah

The whole stadium was singing back to him. He could describe the feeling it awoke in him each time. It was similar but never the same. Especially today, everything seemed to touch him deeper, better, and clearer.

"Someone's stealing your girl, Styles"

Harry heard someone in his earpiece, making him stop singing. He played it cool by putting the mic towards the audience simultaneously looking for YN.

It didn't take him long. She was right where she promised to be. The space designed specifically for her family, not enclosed but clearly separated from the main audience. There she was dancing and laughing with some middle-aged guy.

Harry was a jealous person in nature. In particular when it came to his partners. He wasn't proud of it, and he definitely didn't have any way to believe that YN would sprint after every Tom, Dick and Harry. Every day she showed him how in love she was, there could be no way.

But here he was. Jaw clenched, not singing and glaring towards his fiancée.

"Harry, everything alright?" Again the voice in his earpiece.

YN stopped dancing, feeling that unmistakable eyes almost glued to her. Oh, it didn't look good.

"How you doin' Warsaw?!" Harry finally screamed into the microphone. The squeals, screems and whistles gave him all he wanted - distraction.

And when YN smiled at him so lovingly and sweetly, it was enough to carry him till this moment.

"Your sign says 'help me shoot my shot'. Is this person with you?" Harry asked the fan who was holding the very neat and colourful sign. Somehow he didn't recognise him from just a minutes ago.

"She's here."

"Wow! Your voice is so loud, man. But how do you want me to help you when she's here. She's next to you somewhere?"

And then if it would have been possible, Harry's jaw would touch the floor. That guy shamelessly pointed towards YN. Now he remembered.

People screamed so loudly, because everything was shown on the biggest screen behind the stage.

"Well, back off, my friend. She is taken. Ring and all. No, no, no." Harry tried to play it cool by laughing at the end. "And, as far as I'm concerned, we're not lookin' for the third one in the relationship."

Now the stadium was laughing along with the long 'ouuuu'.

"How did you know you'd be close to YN, anyway?"

"Manifesting."

"Manifesting?" Harry repeated so everyone could know the answer. "Well, you're doing it right, so I suggest betting or playing lottery. And, to be honest most importantly," he pressed. "Not stealing someone else's future wife!"

——————————————————————————————

harryupdates

liked by hArrysbtch, harrysmoustache and 34 201 others

harryupdates harry introducing yn's grandmother at tonight's show.

view all 7 201 comments

hArrysbtch she is the sweetest lady, my god. i love her even though i don't know her 🥹

harrysmoustache "this show is very special to me. here are my future parents in law as well as grandparents. hello, hi!" i still can't comprehend harry being engaged...

harrysmylife "granny, how are you doing? do you need anything? no? you're good? excellent! that's what I wanted to hear. please give it up for granny!" and the way he started clapping both of his hands and the whistling???? and then speaking in polish i think???

⤷ polisharry Yes! He said 'dziękuję, babcia że tu jesteś' which means 'thank you granny for being here

harryfan82 this show is sooo good

outofstyles did anybody see harry constantly looking towards that area, where yn's whole family is?

⤷ harrysmoustache absolutely! i can't imagine how nervous he is, considering it's the first (at least that we know of) time he sings in front of them

——————————————————————————————

hArrysbtch

liked by harryupdates, harrysmylife and 33 101 others

hArrysbtch HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO PLAY MEDICINE BUT THE BAND STARTED IT WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE. I CANT. HES REACTION IS PRICELESS. HES TERRIFIED.

view all 8 101 comments

harryupdates he didn't even started it on cue, thank god the audience was so pumped up for it and sang it!

harrysmoustache "no no no no no. we weren't supposed to play it. sarah!" the fear and confusion in his voice was everything. they got him good.

outofstyles "you're gonna pay for it. all of you." this is so funny

stylesbabie the funniest thing is how when he started singing it, he was all touchy and sexy. it was like he forgot about the problem in the moment...

godstyles "granny's terrified" HARRY YOU DIDN'T PUT THE MICROPHONE DOWN, MAN

⤷ harrysmoustache but they showed granny being all smiley during medicine. i think she enjoyed it just like any other song!

——————————————————————————————

harryupdates

liked by hArrysbtch, stylesbabie and 41 202 others

harryupdates harry smiling while talking to yn's little cousin (yn was translating everything to her and then to harry). she then opened as it was with "harry, I wanna say goodnight to you"

view all 3 201 comments

hArrysbtch i hate kids but that baby was so cute i wish i could squish her cheeks

harrysmoustache he was all smiles and gentle eyes while talking to her, he loves this family so much

styleslove i love when people are so open with their feelings for their partner's family

harrysfan081 so cute

stylesbabie give this man a child already

——————————————————————————————

hslotwarsaw

liked by harryupdates, stylesmylove and 61 201 others

hslotwarsaw harry after splashing water at yn and her family at the end of the show!

and with this photo, we're ending our 'photo-stream'. thank you all for helping us prepare all of the fan projects and thank you for welcoming harry so warmly in our country! till the next time!

view all 8 20q comments

harryupdates you did amazing job!

hArrysbtch yn's granny got so happy at the moment harry decided to threaten her with a bottle

stylesbabie granny had a water gun and threatened harry back with it!!!!! it was soo cute, he run away laughing

harrysfan88 best show so far

harrysmylife "this one of the loudest show i can remember. and i know why. my fiancée's whole family is here. and believe me, they can make so much noise it's impressive!" my friend stood next ro them and confirmed, they were so loud during the whole set list!!

harryshands i can't imagine better way for harry to cope with this amount of pressure. he delivered one of the best performances in his life - sound and entertain wise. truly amazing

——————————————————————————————

"Harry, my sweet boy."

Harry turned 180° from the conversation he was having with Jeff to see the face of the lady with the heavy accent he knew so well.

"Babcia! (granny)" he exclaimed, jogging towards her and ambracing in a tight hug. "How I've missed you."

"You saw me yesterday, you."

"I know." He pulled away, still having his arm around granny. "But it's already been almost 24 hours. A long time, don't you think?"

Granny shook her head with a smile and placed her head on Harry's chest. She was rather exhausted from all the lights, noise, dancing and standing up for almost three hours.

"You wanna sit down, granny?" YN asked, squeezing her grandmothers arm in a way showing her she was nearby.

"Oh, yes. My legs aren't 20 years old as much as I would like them to be."

The three of them sat down on the green couch and talked about the show. Granny was impressed with all the fans having the time of their life, but specifically the ones that seemed to take in the show on their own terms.

"There were those two girls just hugging the whole time and singing softly all the songs. It was so lovely," granny explained.

"It's funny how they were two of very little to not use their phone during the show," commented someone in the room.

And before harry got the chance to defend people taking photos and recording, granny sat up straight.

"Well, in the 60s, my father took me to see The Beetles and I wish i had a camera then. It was such a magical moment that I would want it to be not only engraved in my mind but also on paper. I took so many photos of you, Harry. I need you to print them so I can show them to my friends on the next bingo evening."

YN nodded her head with a smile, not only planning to print the photos but putting the whole concert that harry recorded on the CD. Granny loved watching that type of thing on her telly.

"Harry," granny spoke up after a few moments. "I do have a question however."

"Ask away, granny."

"That song, medicine. What is it about?"

[nouearth]

servicing justice: superman [1]

pairing ; kal-el / clark kent / superman x m!reader. fandom: ; dc, superman. word count ; 2144. series ; servicing justice. genre ; smut. rating ; m. warnings ; bigdick!superman. blowjob. gloryhole. handjob. mouth-fucking. oral (reader giving). sexworker!reader. note ; yeah, okay. maybe i've been watching too much of a certain video genre, ahem. but i hope you guys enjoy my first smut! it's been a WHILE since i've written one, so i know it's rusty, HAHA. looks-wise, i mostly had maws's superman in mind (because the art style is so good and so himbo), but feel free to imagine it with any superman!

it isn’t the most comfortable position to be in. you’ve been kneeling on the floor for quite some time now, waiting for your assigned client. your palms begin to sweat to a minimal but uncomfortable degree. did i fuck up already? you ask yourself as your mind clouds with questions, doubts, and even judgement regarding this new job.

“jesus, what did i get myself into…” you recall the long process it took for you to end up here. the intensive (and ridiculously long) process of reading and signing multiple forms and documents almost had you backing out of this opportunity. though looking back at it, it was understandable since it’s quite unheard of to be… a sex worker for superheroes.

for an incredible pay, your privacy will essentially be stripped away starting from today. all phone messages, calls, and social media activities will be monitored during your venture as a sex worker, and that post-graduate life was not going to pay itself. for the most part, so far everything seemed… great? being driven to work by a chauffeur, having your own personal room and health coverage provided, and most importantly… eating free lunch was not bad at all.

or maybe you’re just naïve.

all you had to do was kneel and suck a few superhumans off. as the newbie, you were told that you’ll be starting on gloryhole duty due to privacy reasons; at least until you built enough camaraderie. though, you didn’t even mind since there would certainly be less strain on your body.

you couldn’t help but snicker at the mere thought of an entire league of superheroes holding a meeting regarding this subject matter. especially since almost everyone in the world, including you, holds these superheroes in such high regard.

“meeting is adjourned until 9 am tomorrow! until then, please help yourself to some delicious food trucks from outer spac-“ your humorous imitation of a noble superhero is silenced when you hear the door opening. within your private booth, all that blocks you from meeting your approaching client is another door with a hole cut through.

your curiosity is piqued when you catch a sight of the man’s physique through the hole. plaid shirt and jeans aside, and assuming he had to underdress, he’s huge. maybe because you’re kneeling right now, or maybe it’s the fact that you’ve never been near a superhero before, but you couldn’t help but be in awe at the size of the man. your eyes complete a full body scan by the time he approaches the door and before you could say something, he does.

“sorry i was late-“ a gentle voice echoes behind the door. contrary to his soft voice, the man’s large hands work aggressively at his belt, unlooping the leather with impatience yet eagerness as he anticipates the mouth that’s been waiting for his arrival. “there was this whole thing with this cat in this tree and then this school bus got hijacked- not my best day, unfortunately.”

“i’m sorry to hear that. sounds like a stressful day, yeah?” your voice is compassionate. you felt bad for the unnamed superhero and a part of you wanted to continue the conversation further, but your job isn’t to listen to their feelings. it’s to pleasure.

“yeah…” a huge sigh of relief expels from the man’s dry throat when he pulls his pants down. frustration stains another one of your client’s sigh, clearly troubled by the restrictive fabric guarding his erection. you watch with parted lips as he couldn’t help but give himself a needy stroke through his tight briefs, fondling his balls then beelining his palm to the very plump tip of his cock. your own cock hardens at this scene, and you find yourself doing the very same. mimicking his impatient hand to tend to the sensitive pressure below, you tiptoe the fine line between frustration and pleasure as your tightening pants and briefs define what it means to be an absolute nuisance. “very stressful.”

it doesn’t take much time before you’re faceful of cock and somehow, you manage to salivate more than you did a minute ago. the man’s throbbing erection is brimmed with thick pre-cum, stress practically leaving his body with every drip. it’s a heavenly sight that’s enough to make you stick your tongue out just in time to catch the substance into your mouth, not wanting to waste a single drop. the salty taste always catches you off-guard yet at the same time, it puts you under a spell. a tantalizing spell that commands you to drag your warm tongue over and back the underside of his thick shaft, completely avoiding the plump glans to have his cock leak even more… stress.

the taste of his musk drives your palm further into your erection, palming at whatever you could as you preoccupy yourself with teasing the man. you almost felt bad for him. contrary to his build, his whimpers are… so small, so weak. you notice his hands grip over the top of the barrier, and it turns you on upon realizing how this supposed hero could become so fragile at the simple taunt of your tongue.

“please…” the superhero whimpers out, needlessly fucking the air in hopes of granting his cock some type of friction. you’re amazed, and a little proud, by how much pre-cum he’s been leaking by now, and it all goes right onto your tongue. the wet muscle follows the natural curve of his cock to meet up with the wet and plump head. his hips buckle into the barrier and feeling it shake, you keep him steady by wrapping your hand around his shaft. you’re addicted at this point. addicted to the salty taste of his pre-cum as your tongue licks and explores into the slit of his cock, while at the same time, your hand works at his large cock in slow, but steady strokes.

“oh christ-“ he breathes out, repeating the same two words under his shaky breath as you continue to pleasure him with your tongue and hand. after a few licks, you pull away to give your tongue a break. in doing so, your grip tightens around his shaft to pace your strokes quicker. when you find a moment where your wrist needs a break, you let your client catch his breath. his cock throbbing more and more with every passing second when your tongue and hand aren’t exploring him, and you bask in the sight of it. you believe you deserve a medal at this point. not for doing a great job (though, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched), but for having control. you haven’t even sucked him off yet, but you’re content on remaining just like this for a while longer. though, that wouldn’t be fair for the superhero.

before he could whimper out another plea, your warm mouth finally wraps around the head of his cock and your ears perk at the sound of his low moan almost instantly. your hand returns to its rightful position around the lower base of his penis as you cycle your tongue over the glans, satisfying your need to taste his musk once more. seconds later, your hand lets go when you push your head farther, taking in an inch more of the hero’s cock. your knees dig into the floor as you push your head more and more, stretching your mouth with his cock until you feel yourself gagging.

“fuck.” you sniffle out when you pull back. perhaps you were challenging yourself too hard. you think to yourself as you catch your breath, using the remaining moment to sloppily jerk him off with your saliva. part of you wanted to challenge yourself to deepthroat him, impress your client on the first day. but you already know you wouldn’t be able to take it… at least, for now.

“you could hurt someone with this, y’know?” for some reason, you thought you needed to crack a joke as if there was an awkward silence that needed to be filled. maybe you just wanted to hear him talk again. his voice is warm and inviting, somewhat fitting for a superhero or even a television host as the moment you hear his voice again, you felt safe.

“i have before- oh god.” you lube up his cock with your spit as you continue to jerk him off, refraining yourself from fucking his slit with your tongue again to concentrate on his words. “which is why i don’t do this much- sex and stuff… it’s all troublesome, really.”

“yeah?” and just when you talked yourself out of challenging yourself, you feel the competitive spark ignite inside of you again. “well, i guess you just have to find the right one. could be anyone, even people you just met.” you try to play it nonchalantly, hoping that double-handing his wet cock would distract him.

he was beyond speechless at this point, moans drawn out by means of your sloppy strokes. you swear you can hear his heartbeat behind the barrier when you lean your head closer to suck him off again. you moan along with him, drawing out every breath of yours as you bob your head up and down, taking more of his cock every time you come down. your hand twists and strokes the remaining few inches that isn’t violated by your tongue and mouth, following your mouth like a reel as your intent to make him cum is fervent more than ever.

it hurts. your mouth hurts by how large your client is and tears brim in your eyes as you hold yourself back from gagging. but you don’t stop yourself because you’ll know it’ll be worth it. your endeavor to please him to the fullest has you drowning out his groans into white noise and you can barely register the fact that you’ve been on paused for a while now. you find yourself in a closer position than before, where your mouth is open, lips fully pressed around the carved hole as the superhero fucks into your mouth, fucks into your gags like you’re his personal flesh light. you didn’t care how dirty you looked, how you had saliva and spittle dripping out from the corners of your mouth and onto the floor. who would see? and you didn’t care that you were too preoccupied to touch your dick right now, because you know you’ll be thinking about this very moment for the rest of your life. and right now, you didn’t know if you wanted to be covered in his cum or to have your mouth be filled with it.

remaining in this position, you glance your teary eyes up at his grip over the barrier again. the strength in his grasp forms small cracks in the material of the barrier and that was the sign you knew you fulfilled your sense of purpose.

“christ, i’m going to come-“ your eyes shut again and you breathe through your noise, bracing for impact. he pushes his cock down your throat and hits that sore spot one last time before unloading his cum into your mouth with a stifled groan. warm, hot seed quickly fills you up and you pull your head back an inch to fully enclose your lips around his cock, ensuring none escape your lips.

in a heartbeat, you swallowed it all. his warm cum coats the back of your throat like medicine and you moan around his cock at the taste, intoxicated. you made sure to lick every inch of his cock clean, calmly slurping any saliva and cum that threatens to leave your mouth as you pull back up with a soft pop, swallowing the remaining remnants of his stress away.

“t-thank you. i needed that…” he pulls his softening cock out, careful in avoiding the hole as he was still sensitive. “did you need a tissue or anything? i think i have one somewhere…” you can hear him rummage through what you can only assume would be his bag and you find it charming, a quiet laugh leaving your swollen lips as you lean back onto your elbows to take a breather and stretch your legs out.

“no, no. i’m okay. i, uh, don’t think i wasted a drop.” you proudly brag, only for him to respond with a shy chuckle. you watch him tidy himself through the hole from a leaned back view, occasionally tilting your head in various angles to see if you could catch a glimpse on who the mysterious superhero is, but the barrier remains an obstruction to your view.

“well then, i… uh… thank you for your service.” he covers up the silence with another laugh and you join in, re-adjusting his pants and belt before turning his back towards you and heading out the booth. “i’ll try not to be late next time.”

© nouearth. please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my works. and if you like this story, please reblog and leave a like!

[jerzwriter]

A Different Fate - Final Chapter

OMG, it took me entirely too long to complete this, but I'm so happy now that it's done! I am so, so grateful to the anonymous (to you, not to me 😉) donor to the Write for Gaza project, who requested I finish this by the end of January. Well - I did it! And thank you so, so much - I can't tell you how much it means!

A Different Fate - Series Masterlist

Book: Open Heart (Post Series)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (past)

Featuring: Tobias Carrick, Sienna Trinh

Rating: Teen

Words: 3,700

Category: Short-Series/AU/Lost Love

Summary: Ethan's first attempt to talk to Casey didn't work out, but now, with Tobias & Sienna's help, will it finally work out? Or will they have to resign and accept their fate?

A/N: When I started this, it was supposed to be a one-off, and now, I'm finally done after 5 parts! It's funny how these things take on a life of their own. I know a few of you have been very anxious for this to post, and I thank you for your extraordinary patience. I hope you find it's worth it in the end! @choicesjanuary2024 Day 23 - Hope Ethan x Kaycee Masterlist | My Full Masterlist

The bus jolted forward the moment the light turned green, jostling its passengers around like dolls—every passenger except for Sienna Trinh. Growing increasingly impatient with her “charge,” she sat firmly in place, arms crossed defiantly before her chest.  

“This is a stupid idea!” She said, slapping a startled Ethan’s arm across the bus aisle.

“Oww!”

“Don’t oww, me!” She fired back. “You blew my advice off yesterday, and look how well that went. Maybe you should listen to me now.”

“I know,” Ethan droned. “But this is different.”

“Si, I have to agree with Ethan on this one,” Tobias said, his face twisting as he realized his words. “Shit! It hurt more than I expected to say that.”

“Thanks, pal.”

“Don’t mention it,” Tobias smirked. “Si, he can’t do this right now. He’d have to ambush her at work, and you see how well that went. We have a plan in place; it will be fine.”

“Normally, I’d agree with you, but I’m done tempting fate with these two. Something always goes wrong.”  

“Look, the bonehead has put it off eight years. It can wait another eight hours to ensure it’s done right.”

“You know,” Ethan interrupted, “it might be helpful if the two of you wouldn’t talk about me like I wasn’t here.”

Sienna turned to him, brow raised. “It would be great if you didn’t need the two of us here to make sure you don’t blow it!”

“She makes a point,” Tobias nodded, pleased with Ethan’s exasperation.

“Can we stick to the point?”

“The point is, you’ll speak to Kaycee tonight.”

“Yeah, after your date,” Ethan chuckled ruefully. “

“It’s not a date!” Tobias spat. “You know damn well I’m just going to the party with her to get that asshole Douglas off her back.”  

Ethan shot a half-doubtful look.

“Really?” Tobias said incredulously. “I’ve been rooting for you two since she left Boston, and this is how you treat me? Trust me, Ramsey, all Kaycee wants is you, and the last thing I’d ever want is to have you as a metamour.”

Sienna’s nose scrunched. “A meta-what?”

Tobias waved her off with a chuckle. “Trust me, Si, you’re better off not knowing. Now, stop worrying. I’ll take Kaycee to the party, give the creepy doctor a few death stares, and after a drink or two, I’ll mention you’re in town, play wingman, then you swoop in for the grand finale. We’ve got it under control.”

“Yeah,” Sienna rolled her eyes. “With you two at the wheel, what could possibly go wrong?”

~~~~~

“I’m coming!” Kaycee clumsily rushed across her apartment to answer the door, slipping into her silver heels along the way. She opened the door breathless but stunning nevertheless. “Hey,” she smiled.

A grin spread across Tobias’s face; he had forgotten how well Dr. MacClennan cleaned up. With her long blonde curls cascading over her shoulder, barely skimming the bodice of her strapless ice-blue gown, she looked more like someone who spent her day posing for Vogue than saving lives in scrubs.

“What do you think?” she grinned.

“What do I think? If this is how you look for a fake date, what the hell do you do on real ones? How many heart attacks have you been responsible for, MacClennan?” 

“Shit!” She said with a stomp of her foot. “I screwed up! I shouldn’t have brought you tonight!”

“Oh, why?”

“I should have invited Dr. Douglas himself! If I knew cardiac arrest would be the result, well, that would be one way to be rid of him.”

Tobias burst out laughing. “I forgot just how wicked you could be.”

Slipping an earring in, she winked. “I’d feel guilty about it ten minutes later. Not guilty enough to start CPR, but guilty all the same."

"Well, I'm happy to provide a less lethal way of getting rid of Dr. Jackass.”

She grabbed her clutch off the side table and looked at Tobias, casually leaning against the door.   She swore he hadn’t aged a day, still wearing that signature confident swagger as well as he wore his dark, tailor-made suit. She crossed her arms and shook her head disapprovingly.

“What?” He asked, checking his attire to see if something was wrong. “Do I not clean up as well as you?”

“Too well. If word gets out that I’m dating you, no one will ask me out again. They’d be afraid of the competition.”

He chuckled softly, visions of Ethan in his mind. “Well, let’s hope it won’t come to that.”

Stepping to Kaycee’s side, he offered his arm. “Shall we?”

“Let’s go!”

~~~~~

The party was exactly what one would expect to cap off the career of a renowned doctor from one of the top hospitals in the world. The rooftop ballroom’s floor-to-ceiling windows provided a panoramic view of the City’s famed skyline; fairy lights scattered throughout the room illuminated it with an ethereal glow. Warm notes from the piano wafted through the air, competing with the gentle hum of convivial chatter as tuxedoed waiters distributed flutes of  Dom Perignon. Tobias and Kaycee were on a mission and played the part of an enamored new couple so well that they earned envious stares, not only from Dr. Douglas but from several others as well. But as much fun as that was, Tobias couldn’t get his mind off his primary goal of the night: getting Ethan and Kaycee together. He looked at his watch. She only wanted to stay two hours, and they were about to hit that mark.

“Hey,” he whispered, “Wanna take a spin around the dancefloor before we blow this joint? Make this look legit?”

Wordlessly placing her empty champagne flute on a passing waiter's tray, she took Tobias’s hand and led him to the dancefloor. Ironically, finding the most privacy they’d had all night. 

“Dancing was a good idea,” she said. “Everyone knows I wouldn’t leave a party without dancing... and it’s not like you’re a stick in the mud that would refuse me.”

“Kacyee, it would be difficult for anyone to refuse you.”

“Yeah,” she smiled sadly, “You’d be surprised.”

“I don’t know about that. For Christ's sake, you used to get Ramsey to dance back in the day. I thought only an act of God could accomplish that!”

Kaycee’s body tensed, and her feet seemed to forget what they were supposed to do. As she stood still on the dance floor, Tobias looked her in the eye.

“I’m sorry, did I overstep?”

Kaycee shook her head and continued to dance. “It’s been so nice seeing you, but it takes me back, and sometimes, that can be hard, you know?”

“Yeah, I do. It takes me back, too, but is that such a bad thing? We had some good times.”

“Ha! It all depends,” she chuckled. “Do you have a time machine? Because I’d be happy to go back, but only if I could write a different fate.”   

“I can’t do that,” he sighed. “Not the time machine part, but... maybe I can help with the different fate.”

Her brow furrowed. “What?”

“Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “Follow me.”

Kaycee remained silent as they ran down the plushly carpeted hall. But, when they found an empty banquet room, she wanted answers.

“OK, we’re alone now. What’s going on?”

“I want to talk to you about Ethan.”

Kaycee shook her head, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.   

“We did that. We had that conversation at dinner the other night. We don’t need to do it again.”

“Did we have that conversation? Because as far as I remember, I didn’t tell you that he was here.”

“He’s what? He’s here... like in New York?”

“I’ll do one better,” he smiled. “He’s sitting at the bar in the lobby.”

Her eyes narrowed, and Tobias wasn’t sure if he saw shock or anger flickering in them.

“You told me he was in Boston. You said he refused to come with you!”

“He was. Or at least I thought he was. But when I got to my hotel that night, he was there.”

She crossed her arms smugly. “So he came to attend the conference. Right?”

“Nope. He didn’t come for the conference. He came here for you.”

“For me?” Her voice cracked. “He came here for me. Yet he’s been in town for two days and hasn’t reached out to me once.”

“Well... about that. He did. He stopped by Langone yesterday and sort of heard you tell Dr. Douglass that you had a thing... for me.”

Kaycee felt her stomach drop. “No!”

“Yes.”

“No, no, no, no! He doesn’t really think I want you, does he?”

“Hey, don’t act so disgusted!” Tobias said defensively. “Believe it or not, most people would kill to get with this... but Ethan knows you’re not one of them. I can’t give you a time machine, but you can give yourself a second chance.”

She remained silent, her heart beating faster as she stared out the window into the night.

“Tobias, it’s taken me eight years to say his name without crying. To recall our time together and feel whistful, not just sad. I’m content with my life here, and if I open that door and it slams shut once again... I don’t know that I could take it.”

“Kaycee, you’re right. Eight years have passed, and a lot has changed. Like you – you’re not a young, wide-eyed resident anymore. You have a brilliant career that can only be attributed to one thing – and that’s you. No one could dare say you made it because you were involved with him. You love each other. Why keep denying it.”

“He loves me?” She asked. “He used those exact words.”

“Well, he didn’t actually say the words, but... why would he say them to me? Why don’t you give him a chance... to say them to you?”  

“But Tobias,” she said with a quiver in her voice. “What if... what if it doesn’t work?”

“But Kaycee... what if it does?”

~~~~~

Boston and Philadelphia had skyscrapers for sure, but neither city could hold a candle to New York, and right now, Kaycee couldn't be more grateful to the town she now called home. Sixty-eight floors, she thought, taking a tentative step into the elevator. Sixty-eight floors stood between her and the lobby, and she hoped they’d stop at each one.

Standing in the back corner, she relied on the walls to keep her upright as passengers piled in. She needed time. Time to think, to decide what she’d say, to breathe.... sixty-eight floors should have given her the time she needed to center and gain a semblance of composure. But it went by in an instant, and when the elevator doors began sliding over, all she could do was watch in horror.

Her head was spinning, and her mind was lost in a cloud of confusion. Ethan was waiting in the lobby... for her? It couldn’t be real. Tourists and locals alike chatted happily about their evening plans as they stepped out, a direct contrast to Kacyee, who stood frozen in fear. Only the elevator operator’s gruff voice brought her back to reality.

“Ma’am, are you getting out?”

She turned to him, then back to the door, and considered returning to the grand ballroom. But something inside her stirred. Tobias was right; she was no longer playing the part of the ingenue, filled with hope and naivete that were somehow both her greatest strength and weakness. No, she was a big girl now, and whatever happened when she walked through that door... she’d be able to handle it.  

“Ma’am," the man repeated with increased irritation. “Shall I close the doors?"

“Uhm. No," she said, standing upright and dusting off the front of her gown. “No. I’m getting off here.”

The world seemed to move in slow motion as she stepped into the lobby. If this were a movie, Ethan would be waiting across a crowded room, their eyes would meet in an instant, and the credits would roll as soon as they shared a perfect kiss, one that left no doubt that they were destined for happily ever after. But real life seldom ran so smoothly, as Kaycee was about to confirm. She looked all around, to the left and the right, but no sign of him. She walked the perimeter of the room, even just outside, and still... nothing. Tobias said Ethan would be at the bar, so she returned and hopped on a stool to wait and wait. She was patient at first, but five minutes passed, then ten. Her fingers began to rap against the rich mahogany countertop when it reached fifteen, and by twenty? By twenty, she had enough.

Standing up with a weary sigh, she chastised herself for opening that door even a crack. You should have learned by now, she thought as she headed toward the exit. She was almost outside when she saw Tobias coming off the elevator. She turned on her high heel and headed his way. Why lambast herself if she could lambast him? He didn’t see her coming and reacted with surprise when he felt the shove on his shoulder.

 “He’s here, huh? He’s waiting for me at the bar? Well, guess what? He didn’t show!”

“Kaycee,” Tobia started, but she wouldn’t allow him to speak.

“No! Don’t Kaycee me! This is precisely l why I didn’t want to get my hopes up! This is how it always ends with us... either he walks away, or he doesn’t show... and I swore I wouldn’t put myself in this position again!”

“Kayce, if you’d just let me....”

“NO! No, I don’t want to hear what you have to say because all that matters is that he’s not here! He’s not here, and....”

Her breath hitched when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Is that....” she whispered.

“You know,” Tobias smirked. “You might want to turn around.”

She turned around slowly, and just like that, life was imitating art. A feeling of warmth surrounded her the moment their eyes met. He may have aged a little, but she’d know him... she’d know those eyes... anywhere.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, handing her a single red rose. “I stepped out to buy this from a street vendor. I thought it would be a nice touch.”

With her heart racing, she lifted the flower to her nose and inhaled its fragrant scent.

“And that took twenty minutes?” she grinned, putting Ethan at ease.

“Well, I also needed to go to the men's room. It took more than one glass of Scotch to get up the nerve to offer you an apology that could make up for eight years.”

“Ethan,” she whispered, at a loss for words.

“Well, this is the shittiest rose ceremony I’ve ever seen, and I’ve had to suffer through many an episode of The Bachelor,” Tobias observed. He pat Ethan on the back. “Nice touch, a little cheesy, but not bad for you.”

“You can go now,” Ethan grumbled.

“I was planning on it,” Tobias nodded at Kaycee, then looked Ethan in the eye. “You two can take it from here. Don’t fuck this up.”

“Can we?” Kaycee asked once Tobias was gone. “Can we take it from here, or will one of us mess it up somehow?”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” he smiled. “Why don’t we go someplace and talk.”

~~~~~

She couldn’t remember leaving the hotel lobby or how they decided where they would walk. All she knew was they ended up strolling along Central Park West, a comfortable distance between them, as she chattered aimlessly about nothing at all. Anything to avoid an awkward silence or, worse yet, an awkward conversation. While Kaycee faced straight ahead, Ethan couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She was as beautiful as he remembered, perhaps even more so. He was afraid if he took his eyes away, she’d disappear, and he wouldn’t allow that. Then, even in the dim streetlights, he saw her starting to shiver, and without missing a beat, he removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders, bringing her to a stop.

“I’m sorry,” he said, taking a half step back. “You looked cold.”

“Yes,” she smiled nervously. “It is... it is getting cold.” She motioned to a food truck on the edge of the street and smiled. “I’d suggest we get coffee to warm up, but I know that wouldn’t meet your standards.”

“Is that what you want?” He asked. “Go. Go sit on that bench, and I’ll get us some.”

“You’re going to drink coffee... from a food truck?”

Ethan shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips. “I have to start living a little sometime. Tonight sounds like the perfect time to start.”

He walked away, and Kaycee hollered after him. “Wait, you didn’t ask how I wanted my coffee."

He turned around with his hands in his pockets and utter confidence. “At this hour? Decaff. Definitely, decaff with a splash of milk, preferably almond, but if they don’t have that, plain milk will do. And Splenda, two Splenda... even though you know they’re not good for you.”

A slow smile spread across Kaycee’s lips. “You... remember.”

“Yes,” he nodded. “I remember everything.”

“Well, I take three Splenda now,” she winked, and he felt his heart flutter.

“Go sit,” he smiled, and she all but skipped away.

She watched his silhouette in the ethereal light, still attempting to convince herself this was real. But she had to believe it was true when she felt the steaming hot cup in her hand. She watched with anticipation as Ethan took a sip from his cup and couldn’t help but laugh when he tried to contain a grimace.  

“Oh, it’s funny,” he smiled. “Do you enjoy watching me suffer?”

“No,” she whispered, gently taking his hand and placing her coffee on the bench beside her. “No, I think we’ve both suffered plenty, and I don’t want either of us to suffer anymore.”  

The touch of her hand impacted him more than he could have imagined, and he found himself unable to speak. He turned to her with tears in his eyes, just managing to mutter her name before pulling her into a tight embrace. Kaycee buried her face in his shoulder, taking in the warm, familiar scent she used to know so well. One of Ethan’s hands was entangled in her curls, while his other arm pulled her as close as he possibly could. They stayed there a long while, silent and amazed at the reality – both had assumed if this day were ever to come, it would be filled with fireworks. An explosion of passion that couldn’t be felt miles away. But the reality was different. It was warm, safe, comforting, a loving embrace each had desired for so long – it wasn’t fireworks, it was coming home.  

“I can’t believe you’re here,” her voice cracked. “I can’t believe you’re in my arms.”

“I’m trying to believe it myself,” he said, pulling back to gaze into her crystal blue eyes. His hand cupped her chin, his thumb tenderly stroking her cheek. “You’re so beautiful. What kind of fool am I depriving myself of seeing this face for so long?”

Kayce reached up to take his hand, gently placing a kiss on it. “Then, shall we try to rectify that now?”

“We could. If that’s what you want.”

Kaycee sat back with a smile so gentle and warm Ethan didn’t need words to know her answer. She reached up and messed up his hair. “How did we screw us up so badly? I mean, I can blame it on being young and stupid, but you didn’t have that luxury.”

Laughing, he took her hand. “You may have been young, but you were never stupid. You knew so much more than me. I know there’s no fairy godmother that will show up with a magic wand, and I know we will still have things to work out. But the thing I know most of all is that I love you. I love you with all my heart, and I’ve wasted too many years without you by my side. I’m determined to put an end to that as soon as I can.”

“You love me,” she sighed. “Well, that’s good... because I love you. I love you so much.”

Ethan reached over and embraced her, letting out a joyful groan as he lifted them to their feet. She held on tight as he spun her around, stopping to gently put her back down. They stood face-to-face, a world of memories crossing their minds as they gazed into each other’s eyes. Time and distance had done nothing to them; their love remained the same. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, lighting a flame that had flickered but never extinguished. It was more than a kiss. It was a promise, a silent vow that was a testament to their love, which had never, ever died.

“We can’t screw this up, Ethan,” she said as they broke away. “If we’re going to do this, I want this to be forever. I can’t lose you again.”

“Good!” He grinned brighter than she had ever seen. “Because I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Ethan offered his arm, which she gladly accepted, nuzzling her head into his shoulder as they started to walk.

“So, where are we going?” She asked.

“Well, I do have a hotel room nearby.”

Kaycee playfully nudged him. “A hotel room? Mister, I have a whole apartment, and it’s quite nice! You know, your girl did all right for herself!”

“Oh, I’ve kept tabs on you. I know you did.”

“Then let’s go!”

As they walked to her apartment, they passed the café Kaycee had dined in not too long ago, and she told Ethan the story of that night. How two estranged lovers had come together, and he professed his undying love. She relayed how she was trying to listen in on their conversation, but in the end, she didn’t need to since the young man yelled it out for all to hear. The crowd applauded, and she secretly paid their bill. It was straight out of a movie.

“I’m glad you got to see that,” Ethan smiled. “You always loved a happy ending.”

“Mmm-hmm,” she agreed. “And now, I’ve got one of my own.”

(Yep that last part was from Part 1. 😊)

Thanks so much for reading!

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Tagging others separately.

[ourlittleuluru]

Asdfhjkl okay I couldn't wait until I got home to roll!! So I did it... At my work desk (thankfully no one sits besides me... And at lunch... Which i think I totally failed at keeping a straight face 🫠)

So... story time

I decided to try a 10pull early in the morning. I'm still far from pity but... Of course. All the signs were pointing... To me getting c-blocked... By fish boy! D:<

Like even irl (from my previous irl post about getting Raf's badge) and even when I logged into the game, opened the wish page and collected the Galaxy Explorer rewards... It was all Rafayel 😭 but hey... At least I got... A new companion... Right...? 🥺

Fast forward like about 2 hours later...

I was originally planning to just... Go home and roll at night where Xavier usually comes home whenever I pull for Wishes

But it was lunch and I felt just a bit impatient... Why not build pity? Rafayel totally just reset it anyways...

Here comes the kicker.

I return to the game and he's like looking away, to which now, I have to tap on him a couple of times to get his attention.

And he casually dishes out his "No matter how many times it takes" line... But Xavier saying this famous line is super common in this outfit. So I have 0 expectations.

Also Zayne is now the first face I see on the Wish page. So, even lower expections... Until... I see the red flash...

And then... His flower... 🥺🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭😭 Xavier may be guaranteed in my next pull but I am not expecting him to come back right away???? My pity was reset afterall??? AHHHHHH!!!

And now he casually levels up the affinity level too! Like!! XAVIER PLS ヾ⁠(⁠*⁠’⁠Ｏ⁠’⁠*⁠)⁠/ my heart can only take so much surprises in a day...!

🍀NOW GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE REST WHO'RE PULLING!🍀 ✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧ May this ⭐star (Xavier)🌠 return home to your sides! And whoever you're pulling for! Go get your man!

[mushiewrites]

Just A Little Bit

well....it's certainly been a minute, hasn't it

but what better way to come back than lee!George week??? If you didn't know (or sleep under a rock), @wishitweresummer is hosting a lee!george week, perfectly named lee!GeorgeSummer (make sure to use that as the hashtag if you contribute)! if you click this link, you can find out all the details about the upcoming week! I got to do my own lee!george week last May and it was the most incredible thing, I honestly am so excited to see what everyone does!

okay, anyway, we're starting off with day 1 - first time!

this idea came to me randomly at 5:30 this morning when I saw a random text post, and it gave me the biggest shot of inspiration, and FINALLY cured my writers block! so much so that I...wrote a pretty long one. ha ha...whoops. aaaanyway, thank you to summer for hosting this awesome week and for cheering me on while you watched me destroy george in the ending, and thank you to my partner in crime @awkwardtickleetoo for listening to me whine about writers block for months, and for supporting me through it all AND reading this before it was posted. couldn't have done this without you both, thank you so much <3

OKAY I promise I'm done rambling, please enjoy the fic! :D

(lee!George / ler!Dream / ler!Sapnap : 4.5K words)

“Dream! Come on, I have to show you something!” 

Dream rolled his eyes as Sapnap called him from downstairs for the fifth time in under a minute, chuckling to himself at how impatient he could be. Despite being annoyed, he was also incredibly intrigued, and so he saved the video he had been editing before standing up to go see what all the fuss was about. On his short walk to the end of the hallway, he could hear George squealing and protesting, though he couldn’t make out what was being said. 

“What is so important that it couldn’t wait until I finished the video?” Dream called as he reached the thin railing at the top of the steps, clasping his hands around it and leaning forward to find where the two boys were. However, his eyes nearly popped out of his head as he took in the unexpected scene below him. 

In the living room was Sapnap, straddling a very squirmy George on the couch. George was screaming and thrashing around while Sapnap was beside himself with laughter through it all. They continued to fight as Dream quickly made his way down the steps, almost losing his balance as he refused to take his eyes off the two as he descended. 

“What are you doing-“ Dream’s question was cut off by a squeal from George, who was throwing his body around so violently it looked as if Sapnap was riding a bull. 

“DREAM! STOP HIM!” 

“Well, what is he-“ Again, Dream’s question was cut off by a scream, this time coming from Sapnap. George had attempted to knee him between the legs, and Sapnap had barely stopped it before it was too late.

“Well now you’re really fucked, aren’t you, George?” Sapnap leaned down close to his face, invading his space with a wide smirk as George’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. He shook his head from side to side frantically, spewing out apologies and practically pleading for his life. 

“No! No nohoho no! P-Please! Sapnap, come on!” George pleaded through nervous giggles as he continued to kick and squirm, attempting to escape the smaller boy in any way he could. But Sapnap held his own on George’s waist, clamping his thighs tighter together and giggling triumphantly when it effectively lessened the squirming.

“Can someone just tell me what’s going on?” Dream spoke up awkwardly, now standing at the end of the couch, unsure of what to do. Sapnap and George immediately looked towards the voice, almost as if they forgot the other was there in the first place.

“Oh, right! So, our best buddy Georgie here is- MHF!” George had successfully slapped a hand over Sapnap’s mouth, preventing him from sharing the information with their third party. Sapnap raised an eyebrow down at George, and no more than a second later Sapnap’s hands lowered onto his ribs. The hand over his mouth immediately dropped as George brought his arms to his sides, pressing them tightly against his body as he threw his head back, eyes screwed shut in what seemed to be agony. 

“George are you-“

“Oh don’t worry, he’s fine! He just doesn’t want you to find out about his little secret.” Sapnap cut him off once again, causing Dream to run a hand through his messy curls in frustration. 

“Shut UP, Snapmap!” George hissed from below Sapnap, articulating the dreaded nickname as he reached both hands up to try and cover his mouth again. Unfortunately for George, Sapnap’s strength was too much for him, and his wrists were scooped up into a tight hold. 

“If he doesn’t want me to know, it’s okay!” Dream blurted out quickly, seeing how panicked George was becoming. Sapnap shook his head as he chuckled, looking down at George with wiggling eyebrows before he turned his attention back to the blonde.

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Sapnap started, his chuckles turning into bright giggles as George struggled harder than he had before to break free. The older boy let out a scream, trying to talk over Sapnap, which in turn only made him more keen on exposing him. George continued to scream every time Sapnap attempted to even open his mouth, and finally fed up with the boy, he placed his hand harshly over George’s mouth. When the noise was finally muffled, Sapnap flashed Dream the biggest smile he had ever seen in their time living together.

“The big secret is that our little friend here…” Sapnap raised his eyebrows as his mouth hung open, pausing for dramatic effect to make Dream laugh. “Is extremely, devastatingly, ticklish.”

Dream felt his jaw drop slightly as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, no doubt looking like a lost puppy as his two friends watched his reaction. George whined behind Sapnap’s hand, squealing when Sapnap released his previously held wrist in favor of roughly squeezing his cheek. The pinching hand was quickly slapped away, but Sapnap made sure to keep his other pressed tightly over George’s mouth. Dream made his way over to where they were on the couch, standing over them and shrugging his shoulders at the two.

“…Really? That’s it?” Dream questioned, not understanding what the huge deal was.

“No, like, Dream. You have to see it. It’s kind of insane how ticklish he is.” Sapnap explained, giggling as George began screaming behind his hand again. Dream looked down at George, purely out of curiosity, and was surprised when the brunette immediately turned his head to face the couch cushions. He chewed on his bottom lip as he turned his gaze to Sapnap, questioning the action, but it went ignored.

“I’m serious! You need to see it! No, wait. Actually, you need to experience it. You need to tickle him, Dream!” Sapnap exclaimed, giggling again when George tried to buck his hips up to make Sapnap lose his balance. 

“No, come on Sap, I can see he doesn’t like it.” Dream spoke softly, craning his neck slightly as he leaned his body forward to try and get a glimpse of George. This only made him lean into the cushions more, now trapping Sapnap’s hand between his mouth and the couch. 

“No no, don’t mind him! He’s fine, Dream! Just scribble your fingers here!” Sapnap poked at George’s lower tummy twice, making George jolt underneath him and causing Dream to jump back at the panicked action. 

“Sapnap, no, we don’t have to-“ Dream tried again, shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot, watching as George fought for his life underneath the youngest boy. Sapnap finally removed his hand from over George’s mouth, successfully opening the floodgates to his screams and frantic laughter. George kept his forehead pressed against the cushions, leaving room for him to continue yelling as he blindly battled with Sapnap’s hands that were actively trying to render his own useless. 

“It’s fine! He loves it!” Sapnap countered through bubbly giggles, his voice growing louder to drown out George’s girlish screams as he finally managed to wrangle the small wrists down against the couch. 

Dream crossed his arms and tapped his fingers against his elbows in thought, trying to find the words to make Sapnap stop, when George finally turned his head away from the couch. This left room for the two to finally make eye contact. It was brief, only lasting a few seconds before George turned back towards the couch, but Dream knew immediately what was really going on. It wasn’t that George was uncomfortable like he had initially thought; it wasn’t because he hated it. 

Dream was incredibly familiar with George’s tells. Like how his nose would scrunch up whenever he tried a new food he didn’t like. The way George would mess with his hair whenever he got tired, always tangling small strands around his pointer finger without a thought. Dream knew that  whenever George would stomp down the steps to steer clear of him until he satisfied his inner hunger-beast. 

And he definitely recognized this particular George.

The deep red in his cheeks. The glassy eyes. The continuous whining through his protests that seemed never ending. Dream knew what this really was. George was simply embarrassed. 

Realizing this, Dream felt all the tension in his shoulders melt away, finally allowing his arms to drop and a smile to form over his face. He took a step forward, his knees lightly pressing into the seat cushions as he leaned his upper body over George. Already anticipating he would hide further into the couch, Dream brought a hand up to lean on the back of the couch to steady himself and used his free hand to run through George’s hair. Dream’s smile widened when George let out a high pitched whine at the feeling, angry at his body for betraying him as he leaned into the touch. 

“Someone’s embarrassed.” Dream stated nonchalantly, sending George into another round of loud protests that had Sapnap in near stitches. Hearing both boys giggle only made George’s blush spread, and he quickly hid his face back into the cushion as his face continued to rise in temperature. 

“Awh, is wittle Georgie embawassed?” Sapnap teased, squeezing his wrists a few times playfully to make George struggle against him more. To his surprise, George wasn’t fighting back nearly as hard anymore. Dream was still scratching lightly at his scalp, and the longer it went on the more Sapnap felt George relax beneath him. Slowly, Sapnap released George’s hands, silently observing as the wrists stayed pressed to the couch despite not being held down anymore. 

“You’re both idiots.” George mumbled quietly into the fabric, bringing his left hand up to cover his ear and the visible side of his face to hide his own smile. Sapnap reached out to grab onto his wrist, ready to pull it back down, but Dream stopped him before he could. Sapnap met his eyes in confusion, only to have his features soften a few seconds later when he understood the silent agreement Dream was trying to make. 

“Oh, come on, George. I can tell you love this. Just let it happen.” Dream suggested, receiving a high pitched growl in response. His hand never wavered from carding through George’s hair as he slowly brought himself down into a kneeling position, therefore freeing up the hand he was using to balance himself against the couch. He brought the hand down the front of the cushion slowly, allowing George time to stop him if he wanted to.

But he didn’t. Just like Dream expected.

“If you need me to stop, just tell me, okay?” George’s nod was almost missed, and would’ve been if Dream hadn’t been watching the blush slowly spread onto his ears. The tips of them were beginning to turn a deep shade of red, and Dream wondered if his cheeks were the same hue. He quickly dispelled the curiosity though, not wanting to make George shy away while in this very vulnerable position. 

“Mh mhhm.” Sapnap and Dream exchanged a quick glance to see if the other had caught what George said, but unfortunately neither did. Sapnap sat back on his heels, providing George more space to breathe as Dream did the same. The only touch left on George was the hand steadily scratching, with Dream’s fingertips lightly resting against the seat cushion next to his torso. 

“What was that, baby?” Sapnap tried to be as soft as possible, understanding the importance of keeping his tone neutral so as to not spook George.

“My…my hands.” 

“What about them?” Dream spoke next, leaning a little closer in to hear the muffled speech. 

“I just. I can’t keep them down once you start.” He practically whispered, bringing his other hand up to cover his face completely as he spoke. Dream moved his hand from the couch to rest it against George’s bicep closest to him, rubbing soothingly over the shirt sleeve with his thumb. 

“That’s okay, angel, if you need to stop me you can.” He reassured George, carding a little more harshly through his hair as a playful gesture with his gentle words.

“Well…it’s not that I want to. I just…can’t help it.” George let his voice trail off into a whisper, obviously embarrassed about his confession. He quickly tried to twist his body away from the two, but was stopped by Dream’s sudden grip on his arm. The older boy whimpered, allowing himself to be returned to his position on his back, facing the ceiling. His hands were still clamped tightly over his face, a poor attempt at blocking the two from seeing his blush. Dream and Sapnap just about cooed audibly at that, but stopped themselves before they ruined the calm atmosphere they were currently in. 

“Do you want me to hold your wrists down for you?” Dream asked. George slowly spread his fingers apart, meeting Dream’s eyes before speaking. 

“No, not you! Sapnap!” He barked, closing the gaps in his fingers when the two laughed at his outburst. “You think I want Sapnap to do that to me? He’ll kill me!” Sapnap sat up on his knees with a hand thrown over his heart like he had just been shot, offended by George’s accusation. 

“To be fair, he does have a point, Sap.” George giggled quietly at the comment, causing Sapnap to poke timidly into his lower ribs with both pointer fingers. Dream watched as George’s body jerked to the side, amazed at how such a tiny touch could produce such a reaction. 

“See! I told you he was bad!” Sapnap playfully slapped Dream’s shoulder when he noticed him looking, further proving the point he was previously attempting to make. 

“Shut up!” George screeched from behind his hands, moving them up his face slightly until he was able to lightly grip some of his hair that draped over his forehead. Dream shot one last warning glare Sapnap’s way before he turned back to George, delicately gripping his wrists and moving them slowly towards Sapnap; slow enough that George could stop it if he wanted to. 

But again, he didn’t. And again, it was exactly what Dream had expected. 

Sapnap took George’s wrists, moving them down until his hands rested against the couch on either side of his thighs. Dream sat up further, crowding a little more into George’s space in order to place both hands on either side of his ribcage. He looked down at George, searching for any sign that he wanted this to stop, that he was uncomfortable, too nervous, but Dream found none. And so, he lifted his hands from the couch and let them touch down onto George’s body, not moving them yet, but resting so he could get used to the feeling at his own pace. 

“Fuck!” George cried out when he felt Dream’s fingers press against his lowest set of ribs, throwing himself upwards as his back arched into the sky against his will. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his face into the couch again, embarrassed by his own reactions. 

“I didn’t even do anything yet, George.” Dream snorted.

“I-I know but, like, I know you’re gonna!” George whined, throwing his head back when Dream poked his cheek to get him to return his head straight so they could see him. He kept his eyes closed, refusing to look at either of them but still obeying Dream’s quiet request anyway.

“It’s alright, Georgie. It’s just a little tickling.” Sapnap teased, vibrating George’s wrists softly into the couch as he spoke. George giggled at that, followed by a deep exhale he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. And after that much needed release, his nerves were finally calming down. 

“I know, I know. But it’s still, like..y’know, flustering or whatever.” George grumbled, peeking out of one eye to see what the two were up to. Just as he decided to do that, though, Dream poked gently up his ribs, directly up to the highest ones, stopping there when George shrieked in response. 

“Plehehease please please! No!” His laughter was louder now that Dream was focused on such a tiny, hypersensitive spot, unable to hold it in any longer. Sapnap giggled along with George as he made sure to keep the squirmy boy down, leaning forward slightly to put more of his weight into restraining George. 

“You’re okay, George. Like Sap said, it’s just a little bit of tickling, right?” It was Dream’s turn to tease him, relishing in the feeling of being the one to make George react like this. He pressed two of his fingers into both sides of his upper ribs, rubbing slightly to see what George would do.

“FUCK NOHOHOHO!” George was howling at that, the sound of heavy thudding coming from behind Sapnap as George drummed his legs against the couch as he thrashed. Dream wished he could whip out his phone and snap a picture of Sapnap, who looked as if he’d just found a goldmine. Technically, it was Dream who found it, but Sapnap’s reaction was just as good as George’s was. 

“Are you doing okay?” Dream asked loud enough for George to hear over his own laughter. He saw a slight nod but decided to pause entirely to make sure, not wanting to overwhelm George. 

“Yehehes, I’m okay, just…please, you hahave to move!” George pleaded as he let his head lull to the side, breathing heavily through his nose as he recovered from the mini tickle attack. Dream rolled his eyes as he watched George’s chest heave up and down dramatically, still surprised at the intense reactions such little tickling was causing.

“Okay, giggly boy, I hear you loud and clear,” Dream began, lifting his hands up and wiggling his fingers over George’s torso. “How about…here?” 

“Wh- NO!” George’s protest came too late as Dream tapped his fingers gently over his lower tummy, kneading gently into it and giggling softly to himself when George squealed in response. He felt his finger catch on the edge of his bellybutton, making George’s laughter jump an octave. Dream ran his fingers over the spot directly under it, back and forth, over and over, until eventually deciding to spider them out towards his hips. Sapnap bounced as George attempted to buck his hips into the air, squealing when Dream’s thumbs found his hip bones and rubbed into them roughly. 

“Oh, there’s good, huh?” Dream commented, looking up to Sapnap for confirmation while George was busy laughing under his fingers. 

“Definitely a good spot. I like to get there when he’s being annoying.” Sapnap answered, laughing when Dream tweaked his hip bones again, causing George to squeal through his hysterics. He noted the spot in his mind and continued his ticklish journey to the spots that made George laugh the hardest. His squeezing migrated up to his sides, eyes widening when George suddenly twisted his whole body away from Dream. Sapnap used his knee to press into George’s hip, trapping his waist down against the couch so Dream could continue tickling up his sides. Dream tested the spot further, letting his hands dip under George’s shirt to skitter cold fingertips along the warm skin. 

“Dohohon’t! Plehease!” George begged as Dream’s fingers continued their venture, making sure to knead over each and every rib as they climbed higher and higher. Sapnap watched in awe as George squeezed his eyes shut tighter, a few stray tears collecting together at the outer corners of his eyes as he continued to laugh himself silly. 

“Please? But I have to! You wanted this, remember?” Dream reminded him, using two fingers on each side to act as if his fingers were actually walking up his ribcage. George squirmed from side to side, as much as he could with Sapnap’s full weight practically holding him in place. 

“‘H-Hold my hands Sapnap! Dream, don’t tickle me too much pwetty pwease!’” Sapnap mocked, breaking out into his own laughter when George let out what could only be described as a lion cub’s roar trying to cover up Sapnap’s teases. 

“Stohop, idiot!” George pleaded through his laughter, kicking harder against the couch as he tried to expel the ticklish energy that was coursing through him. 

“Awh, Dweam, I think the pretty kitty is angwy!” Sapnap pretended to pout, sticking his bottom lip out as much as he could as he looked at Dream for fake sympathy. Dream gasped at the comment, feigning surprise at George’s complaints.

“The pretty kitty is angry?” Dream stopped tickling for a moment, removing his hands from under George’s shirt and bringing one up to rest under his chin as he pretended to think over his options. “Well, I think I have just the thing to help with that!” 

“Wait, no, nonono!” George cried out, throwing himself forward to try and counteract Sapnap’s weight to knock him off balance, but all he accomplished was giving Sapnap more of a reason to make him suffer. 

“You wanna play it like that, baby boy? Okay, I can do that.” Sapnap spoke flatly, stopping his moments for a second before throwing himself further over George, flinging his arms up and over his head, pressing his wrists deep into the cushions as George begged and apologized profusely under him. 

“Noho NO! I’m sorry! I’m sohoho sorry!” George tried to talk his way out of his impending doom, but it fell onto deaf ears as Sapnap leaned forward slightly, dragging his wrists up further until George’s arms were practically straight up over his head. The position had him completely stretched out, not only extending the area of his torso, but more importantly, leaving a very vulnerable opening under his arms. 

“Sorry won’t cut it, George. We want you to be happy! We can’t have our little kitty angry, now, can we?” Dream spoke over the screaming, ignoring the many apologies and threats that were now being thrown their way. “You leave us no choice, pretty boy.” With that, Dream lunged forward, letting his fingers dance under George’s arms with speed and precision that only a ballerina could possess. 

It was an understatement to claim that George lost his mind. 

George screamed out, high pitched and desperate as Dream’s fingers made circles under his arms, zoning in on the very centers. His laughter was hysterical, having no choice but to lay there and take whatever tickles Dream decided to make him endure. There was a brief pause, just to let George take in a quick gasp of air, and then Dream was back to the torment.

“Surely it can’t be that bad, George.” Sapnap chortled, watching as the small body below him writhed in ticklish agony. Dream took this opportunity to shove his hands inside of George’s shirt sleeves, using his two pointer fingers to gently scribble at the outer parts of his armpits, watching for every tiny jump and twitch from George as he did. 

“Yeah, I’m sure I could be doing something much worse,” Dream smirked, looking up at Sapnap with raised eyebrows as he began to spider all ten of his fingers under George’s arms. “Something like this, right? That’s worse?” 

“Wh-wait, wa-AHAHAHAIT! NOHOHO!” George was full on shrieking now, squirming and thrashing and throwing his body every which way to try and escape the torturous feeling. As Dream continued the tickling, George quickly lost his ability to speak, just blurting out little half pleads here and there whenever he got a second to breathe. His head was titled so far back the two thought he might snap it off if he leaned it back any farther. The tears that had been clinging to his eyelashes finally fell, rapidly descending down each side of his cheeks, right over his ears, that were burning hot from all the laughing. 

“Okay I think- woah! What- Sapnap!”

Just as Dream had noticed the tears and decided to put an end to George’s torment, Sapnap had other ideas. He let go of George’s wrists, allowing him to fling them down, nearly decapitating Dream in the process, in favor of reaching behind him to squeeze the inner part of George’s thighs. His laughter refused to go any higher, and so it went silent as he pounded his fists against Sapnap’s own thighs. 

“Okay, Sap, that’s enough. We’re not trying to kill him!” Dream reached behind Sapnap, quickly putting an end to Sapnap’s vice-like grip on George’s thighs. Sapnap rolled his eyes with an overexaggerated sigh, annoyed that his fun was ruined before it even got started. 

“I guess you’re right.” Sapnap pouted again as he climbed off of George, picking up his legs and placing them over his own thighs as Sapnap sat on the couch next to him. He rubbed at the sore muscles, giggling when bubbly laughter exploded from George at the action. 

“Y-You were supposed tohoho be nihihice!” George weakly pointed a finger in Dream’s direction, causing the two boys to laugh along with him when he pointed the complete opposite way of Dream, his eyes still closed as he took in quick gasps through the leftover giggles to try and steady his breathing. Dream slid his arms under George’s torso, picking him up and maneuvering a very limp George into his lap as he climbed up onto the couch next to Sapnap. He draped George’s back over his thighs, using his arm as a headrest for George. 

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s just hard not to get carried away when I’m tickling someone this cute.” Dream smiled down at him, bringing his thumbs up to rub the tears away from under George’s eyes. A moment later, George’s eyes fluttered open, his hands coming up to rub his knuckles harshly into them as he got used to the light again. 

“Yeah, yeah. Remember that when I get you both back, later.” George threatened, giggling up at the two when they exchanged nervous glances. “Yeah, that’s right. And don’t think you both will team up on me again. You’re both too smart for that. You’ll turn on each other, just wait.” 

Sapnap and Dream turned towards each other, smiles slowly fading into determined looks. Suddenly George was on his back on the floor as they both scrambled to run out of the living room, trailing each other up the steps, shouting threats and cursing each other as they made their way to their respective rooms, slamming the doors behind them. Not even a second later, George heard his phone vibrating like crazy on the couch cushions above him. He picked up his phone, smirking when he had messages from both boys, detailing each other’s weaknesses and vowing to make amends with him to take the other one down. George giggled to himself, standing up and walking over to where Patches had been sitting on the other end of the couch, snuggling up with her.

He had them exactly where he wanted them. 

(you can find this fic on ao3 here!)

[ryuichirou]

RYU YOUR RECENT LILIA/MALLEUS ART ON TWITTER JUMPSCARED ME I WAS AT WORK AND COULDN'T SCROLL PAST IT AFTER UNHIDING IT FOR LIKE A SECOND I WAS SO SCARED MY COWORKERS WERE GONNA SEE IT FROM MY PHONE

But I gotta thank you for the lovely food, I was literally waiting hours to be able to look at it in a more appropriate setting (not kidding it took 5 hours) and my goodness gracious me like always there's so much to the illustration to appreciate I'm a sucker for your LiliMal art 💕💕💕

(In other news I know you did LiliMal headcanons a bit ago but anything else hot n spicy sex specific you also got in mind for the two?)

I already replied to this ask about a week ago, but I promised to get back to it when I have headcanons to share, so today’s the day! I feel like some of the things I’m saying in this post are kind of similar to the ones that I mentioned in my previous one, but I tried to elaborate on those if that’s the case. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you very much for your kindness once again, and thank you for asking about these two <3

So, here are some more spicy LiliMal hcs~

When comparing the way Malleus behaves with Lilia and with other potential lovers, there is a clear difference: he allows Lilia to be a bit more disrespectful to him. Malleus tends to be provoking and teasing in general, but with Lilia he is straight-up bratty sometimes, and Lilia is the only one who is allowed to tame him, to grab him and even to punish him a little bit. It’s because Lilia knows exactly when to stop not to sour Malleus’ mood. So it’s not unusual for him to grab Malleus by his neck, his horns or his tail, to bite his skin as a warning or to even smack his butt (the last one is pretty rare though). Also, Malleus is more clingy with Lilia than with anyone else: to Lilia it’s very obvious that despite being powerful and proud, Malleus still desperately craves his attention.

Sometimes there are situations when they argue very passionately and end up having sex. Usually it happens either because Malleus enters that pouty and capricious state that could only be fixed by Lilia kissing him and pacifying him with affection, or because Lilia gets genuinely irritated by Malleus’ selfish and stubborn nature and just wants to teach him a lesson.

Malleus is very used to his lover being small but agile, and he loves the fact that Lilia’s bites are subtle but stingy, and also quite unpredictable. And being a powerful fae that he is, Malleus could’ve easily healed all the marks that Lilia leaves on him in seconds, but he doesn’t do it all the time. When he is alone (especially when Lilia used to get very busy and disappear for weeks), he likes to admire these marks and smirk to himself, remembering how Lilia was all over him, touching and biting him everywhere like a tiny predator. Malleus’ beautiful pale neck is usually the part that suffers the most from Lilia’s little vampire moments.

There are times when these two get way too passionate and intense. Sometimes they find themselves having sex mid-air, bumping into the ceiling, breaking walls + Malleus starts shooting lightnings at some point just because of how aroused and overwhelmed he is. They completely ruined an abandoned building once… “I am too old to do something this irresponsible” Lilia said that day, with absolutely no remorse in his voice – it was too much fun.

Lilia adores Malleus’ tail. He loves it when Malleus thumps his tail on the ground when he’s a bit irritated due to sexual frustration and impatience. He loves that Malleus is so well-trained by him that he pulls his tail up and exposes the sensitive spots when Lilia touches him. And Lilia knows all those spots even better than Malleus does: he always triggers all the right nerves that make Malleus’ lower half of the body shiver. At the same time, when Malleus is either playing hard to get or just changed his mind about wanting to have sex, he slaps Lilia’s face with his tail and pushes Lilia away with an annoyed expression on his face.

Malleus does suck Lilia’s dick sometimes, but it’s an unusual occasion: he doesn’t really like how it feels, especially when he touches Lilia with his teeth on accident. It kind of hurts his ego a little bit… But it’s all good, because he squeezes Lilia’s dick with his breasts instead, and Lilia loves it even more~

[tomurasghoul]

SHIGADABI MARRIAGE

includes: post-canon, fluff, a sprinkle of todoroki family angst, kurogiri and shigaraki having a father-son relationship, magne is alive, everyone is alive and happy yippee!!

-

It's been a few years since the war, and the League of Villains had inevitably split up, though they're still friends.

It may come as a surprise, but Shigaraki and Dabi have really found eachother. They've stuck together ever since the war ended. Though their relationship has been complicated in the past, they're a couple now.

'How does Touya Shigaraki sound to you?' Dabi asks.

They were sitting on the couch, both minding their own business, when the question ripped Shigaraki out of his thoughts.

'What?' He answeres dryly.

'How does Touya Shigaraki sound to you?' Dabi repeats himself.

Shigaraki was not sure what to make of this. Is this a joke he doesn't get? Is he really being proposed to right now?

'Are you proposing to me?'

'I suppose I am.'

Shigaraki had to take in what just happened. He just sat there, looking out into the distance with wide eyes while Dabi was waiting for his answer.

Before he started dating Dabi, Shigaraki had never really thought about relationships. He was always too busy being All For One's protégé to pay any mind to it; but now he was being proposed to.

Meanwhile, Dabi was getting impatient. He considered the two of them as good as married already, so why was Shigaraki so shocked? Did he not want to marry him?

He got the sudden urge to explain himself as to not look ridiculous.

'You know, I just thought... since we already live together and have been dating for a while- you don't have to of course, but, like...'

He felt even more ridiculous than before.

Shigaraki scooted closer and put his head on Dabi's shoulder.

'I would love to marry you.'

Throughout the next few days, they immediately started planning their 'wedding.' An official wedding would be out of the question for ex-villains like them, but Mr. Compress said he'd prepare a speech and act as the officiant, and Toga and Magne already claimed their spots as groomswomen.

When Shigaraki told Kurogiri about their upcoming wedding, he couldn't help but shed a tear. He was so proud to see the person he thought of as his son get married.

Dabi, however, has not been having such a great time the past few days. Of course he was happy that Shigaraki had agreed to marry him, but he couldn't help but wonder wether or not to invite his mom, Natsuo and Fuyumi to the wedding.

The entire reason as to why he wanted to take Shigaraki's last name, was because that would be the closest thing to completely cutting ties with his family he can get, but he knows that deep down, Endeavor and Shoto are the ones he really hates.

Dabi doesn't know much about healthy relationships, but he does know that he never wants to treat Shigaraki the way Endeavor treated his mom. So, he decided it was best to ask Shigaraki for his opinion on the matter, since that seemed like the most healthy and responsible thing to do.

"Tomura..." Dabi knocked on their shared bedroom's door.

"What do you wa- I mean... Yes, Touya?" Shigaraki was still trying to break the habit of snarling at people.

He was laying on the bed, not doing anything.

"Do you think I should invite some of my family to the wedding?" Dabi laid down next to him.

"Well, they're your family, but in my opinion, you should only invite people you're sure you actually want at the wedding." He hesitated for a moment. "But you probably shouldn't be asking the guy who killed his family for advice on this stuff."

They we're both quiet for a few minutes until Dabi finally spoke up.

"You know what? I won't invite them. It would only cause tension and our wedding is supposed to be a happy day. Plus, you're the only family I need."

Family. He sees him as family.

Shigaraki couldn't say anything. Instead, he just laid his head on Dabi's chest and hugged him tight.

Shigaraki is not the best with words, but with small actions like these, he still showed that he loves Dabi just as much as he loves him.

Their wedding didn't take much planning, since it would be a small event at their apartment with just the former League members attending. So, a few days later, everything was set.

Mr. Compress had finished his speech and Magne and Toga had picked out the perfect suits for the husbands-to-be and matching dresses for themselves.

As Shigaraki was getting ready, he noticed himself getting oddly nervous. It wasn't even an official wedding, but everybody was dressed nicely and was taking the whole thing very seriously.

The moment he looked in the mirror and saw himself in the navy blue suit that was picked out for him, everything felt even more real.

He sat down on the bed and tried to calm himself down without scratching his neck.

What he didn't know, was that whatever was happening outside the door, was what he really should be worried about.

Dabi was nowhere to be found.

The wedding was supposed to start in half an hour, and Dabi was gone.

"Quick! Somebody go stall Tomura!" Toga said while they all frantically tried to call Dabi.

Mr. Compress carefully opened the door to the bedroom.

"Oh, dear! You almost made me faint!" He said while dramatically pretending to faint. "You look magnificent!

Tomura ignored his antics and looked at the clock.

"What's the hold up, Atsuhiro?"

Mr. Compress still desperately tried to distract Shigaraki while Dabi was still nowhere to be seen.

In the meantime, Dabi had realized that he forgot to pick up the wedding gift he got for Shigaraki, so he quickly went out to go get it.

He just didn't think about the fact that the others might get worried.

When he came back, Toga punched him in the stomach for making everyone worry and for almost being late to his own wedding.

The only thing they had to do now, was wait for Shigaraki to come out.

Everybody got to their places and Mr. Compress was ready to give his speech.

Kurogiri went into the bedroom room to tell Shigaraki it's time to start, when he saw him struggling to tie his tie.

He looked kind of embarassed when Kurogiri saw him struggling with such a simple task.

"It's okay, Tomura." Kurogiri said as he helped him fix his tie.

He was actually happy that his help was still needed sometimes.

When Shigaraki finally walked "down the aisle", Dabi was is awe. He was only walking from the bedroom door to the living room, but the fact that that was his soon-to-be husband made it much more special.

When Shigaraki had taken his spot across from Dabi at the makeshift altar, Mr. Compress bagan his speech.

He was talking with lots of emotion in his voice and theatrical hand gestures, but Shigaraki and Dabi barely heard a word he said. They were both just staring at eachother, checking eachother out in their matching suits.

Even though they were wearing the exact same thing, they both thought the other looked much better in it.

After 15 minutes, Mr. Compress finally said the words they were both waiting to hear.

"You may now kiss the groom."

They didn't hesitate for a second and immediately slammed their lips together in a passionate kiss, not even caring that everyone was watching.

Toga and Magne giggled and squeeled excitedly. Kurogiri cried.

The newlyweds finally let go of eachother, and Dabi felt it was time to bring out the wedding gift.

"We may not have enough money for expensive rings, but I atleast wanted to give you something."

When Shigaraki opened the box, a puppy jumped out. A Corgi.

Even though he can control his quirk now, he still put his hands up as to not touch the dog.

"How long was it in the box for?" He asked concernedly.

"Relax. He was only in there for a little bit."

Dabi noticed that Shigaraki was on the verge of tears when looking at the dog.

"Wow, you care more about the dog than me? You never cry when you see me."

"Don't worry. I wouldn't trade you for the world."

Shigaraki and Dabi may not exactly be your typical picket fence family, but they had exactly what they wanted. Eachother.

[welldonekhushi]

Don't Blame Yourself..

Summary: Arjun meets a presence that feels.. too familiar.

Note: First post of 2024, as an OC fic! I apologise for how I started this post as an angsty story.. but if you all were wondering what tragedy changed Arjun's life completely, read to know. Hope you like it! <3

Arjun gently opens his eyes, waking up and find himself in a strange place. Something which he had never seen in his entire life before. The light clouds around his eyes were blinding his vision, but as soon as he got up on his feet, he could now finally see where he actually was.

The place was empty. The area had a color of aqua mist, the cold breeze filling his ears softly, with the white clouds in the air as if it was foggy. Arjun wasn't sure if he was dreaming, or someone dragged him into this. But when he was in it, he could feel.. peace and content.

Aside from that, Arjun made sure he wasn't the only one here. "Hello?" He waited for a response, but he could only receive an echo of his own voice.

He takes a few steps forward to examine the location he was in, since his thoughts revolved around many queries that started to fill inside of his head. This could never be a real place on the Earth. "I hope I am not drunk or I'm just.. having a bad dream." He stressed his forehead, groaning.

But suddenly, all his doubts washed away.. when he heard a voice.

"Arjun?"

Somebody called out his name. His eyes widened in surprise, him turning over everywhere to find the source of the sound. He heard it again.

"Arjun, kidhar ho tum?" (Where are you?)

Why did that voice sound too familiar?

Arjun started feeling impatient, his urge to know the person who called him out, made the Captain want to look around a bit more. A few minutes had passed, but with no success. The man's vision was already blinded by the clouds, as if they were hiding a secret.

The route ahead of him was covered by a fog from a distance. He wiped his eyes and looked at it for a while, not sure if anything was going to erupt out of it. He then could see a figure, slowly walking out of the fog to reveal itself. As the individual walked out, and showed who it really was, Arjun's heart dropped. His eyebrows furrowed. All his pressed emotions came out in an instant, the moment he saw the man, now standing in front of him.

He wore a uniform, just like his.. with two stars on his shoulders, signifying his rank. He was a soldier.

It was the soldier that Arjun meant dear to, ever since his beginning days in the army. The soldier who made him become what he is now. The soldier that Arjun always thought about him being alive if it were for the Captain to be more careful that one day.

He smiled at him, feeling grateful to see Arjun. "Long time no see. I missed you all so much, even you, my dearest brother."

After a brief silence, Arjun finally spoke, the shock still wearing on his face. "Lakshya?"

He didn't want to break in tears.. and for some reason, he couldn't believe it. Was he really dreaming? Or did he reach Heaven just to see his fallen friend? He couldn't even move a muscle, his own mind trying to refute everything he saw. But, it seemed too real. His own friend looked too real, and it warmed his cold heart.. just by seeing his friend.

Arjun didn't even mind if he ended up here with him. He only wanted to see Lakshya okay. But, as the Captain drowned in his own excitement and walked towards him, Lakshya started to speak again.

"I know Arjun. You always think about that day, right?" Lakshya furrowed his eyebrows, talking to his friend. Arjun grew confused.

".. w-what are you talking about, Laksh?" Arjun asked, gently.

"When I proudly gave my life to the Motherland.. I said before leaving, that I'm giving my soul to you. Because I didn't want you to give up on what you wanted to become." Lakshya continued. "I had no family.. but you had. And it was the only way."

Arjun listened to Lakshya's words in utter confusion, as he blinked his eyes a few times, not sure what he meant by saying that.

"You've become stronger.. powerful. Determined and responsible. Which makes me proud of you.. but I also know, about how many times.. you've blamed yourself. Hurt yourself. That it should have been you and not me. Isn't it?"

When Lakshya said that, Arjun was left speechless. As if he was revealing something which the Captain never told to anybody. The guilt he carried on for a long time still hung onto him like a noose choking him.

Though, Arjun didn't let that affect him, and took responsibility for his actions by being a more serious presence among others from now on. But sure, at times he felt attacked by those memories which prevented him from being focused. He shook his head, trying to contemplate his thoughts.

"Brother.." Lakshya said, as Arjun looks back at him. "A soldier's duty is to give itself for the nation, not because he feels like it, but he knows that it's for the greater good. You came this far Arjun, and I want you to go even further. Even if I'm not here, I'll still look upon you, feeling grateful that I met such an amazing friend like you in my days of glory." He smiles at him heartily, as it sooner dies down when Lakshya becomes prepared to say the next words.

"But.. I am only here, to tell you one thing." He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Everyone back there needs you, and I trust by my heart that you'd do everything to protect them.." After that, Lakshya began to walk away from him, but stopped midway, as he remembered something else which was left to say for him.

"And also.." Lakshya said as turned around to talk to him again, but from a distance, giving a smile. "It's okay, Arjun.. it's not your fault."

"Huh?" Arjun replied in surprise. As the Captain could process whatever he said, he heard the sounds of beeps from Lakshya's uniform inside of him, with the red light blinking inside of it. Realising that a bomb was ticking inside of his uniform, Arjun's mind immediately clicked, his instincts acting upon in an attempt to save Lakshya from dying.

"LAKSHYA!" He ran towards him, screaming out loud in response but before anything could happen, it was too late..

The bomb finally exploded, pushing Arjun far away from him. The explosion evaporated Lakshya's body, leaving nothing. The Captain's eyes widened in pure shock, grief and regret. Those final words of Lakshya ringed inside of his head.

"It's okay, Arjun.."

"It's not your fault."

Arjun's eyes then open back to reality, waking up on his bed, panting heavily with sweat covering his forehead. He found himself laying on his bed, with the room he slept in. He sighed in relief, finding out it was all just a dream. He rubbed his hair and checked the time with the watch on his nightstand, and saw it's one o' clock.

He groaned, and placed the watch back, going to bed again. He looked at the ceiling, thinking about that dream where he saw Lakshya. Arjun knows he cannot forget the sacrifice, and the things he did for him and others, but maybe he saw him because it meant something else..

For him to not worry about him. For now that he was safe in the arms of Mother India. And believed that Arjun would change the course of history by being a part of the campaign. And if it weren't for Lakshya, Arjun wouldn't have done that. Never.

But still, as they say.. a part of you dies when that "one person" leaves. And that one person made you for who you are. As long as Arjun keeps Lakshya's legacy.. he would be alive in the nation's hearts, forever.

Arjun kept his worries aside, and laid himself on the mattress, resting his head on the pillow, closing his eyes and sighing, knowing he had to wake up again after a few hours, leading his team.

Art version! 👇🏻

[ntyfool]

The one, Neteyam.

Neteyam Sully x Gn!Omatikaya!Reader. part2.

Left unspoken. Angst. Kinda open ending? SFW.

Summary: You could never tell him, and you didn’t.

hi guys! this is the second oneshot i write and actually post ever and i’m really nervous about it, english is not my first language and i’m not experienced so please be patient with me. i hope you enjoy this and really recommend listening to The 1 or August by Taylor Swift while reading (there are lyrics of both songs included). comments and constructive criticism are always welcomed, thank you! <3

Neteyam Sully was your secret. You can’t really tell when your feelings started, having known the oldest Sully since childhood, the two of you never got too close, keeping a safe distance, leaning on rare moments alone and exchanges of looks that you hoped to carry some meaning.

Your courage was never enough for you to express what you felt, Neteyam carried multiple obligations as a future leader, one of them being choosing a partner that would be the next Tsa’hik, something that, in your opinion, several clan members could do better than you.

So you buried the words you most wanted to say and promised that one day this love would be gone. It didn’t, but it was just yours, and as selfish as it seemed, it was enough.

Neteyam was sitting while you patched up his wounds, his eyebrows furred, seeming lost in though. This would usually be a moment where you two shared a comfortable silence, but something seemed wrong. He arrived much later than usual and didn’t say anything since.

“What is bothering you?” He looked at you for the first time, eyes full of an emotion you couldn’t quite read.

“It is nothing.”

“Please, I know there is something. You can talk to me.”

But how could he? The truth is that Neteyam had just came out a conversation with his parents, receiving the news that he was now promised to another woman, the best hunter in the clan. It was excepted to him to be already mated, and since people were growing impatient it seemed the best solution. He felt his stomach drop, his face loosing color, but couldn’t say anything. Getting out of there as fast as possible and running to you.

Neteyam adored you. No, he loved you dearly. You were the one person he felt most comfortable with, the one he knew that would accept him for who he is and that didn’t expect him to meet any impossible and tiring standards. Every memory you shared meant everything to him. He collected your interactions and details as treasures, always trying to memorize your likings, fears, dreams, looking for you in every room he entered and hoping to one day verbalize a feeling that made his chest feel like it was going to explode. Waiting for the right moment made him loose his chance, and now he would never know if you felt the same. His eyes watered, avoiding your gaze, feeling your soft hands now resting in his shoulders.

“I am promised.” He let out as a whisper, somehow hoping that you wouldn’t hear.

Your ears turned, tail switching nervously. Focusing now on finishing the bandages and trying to seem indifferent.

“It is decided?”

“Yes. Both families agreed. I was informed today and don’t know what to do.”

“Have they set a date yet?”

“Next month.”

Your breath hitched, hands now trembling nervously and vision blurred by tears you tried to avoid. The air thick with all the unspoken feelings that both didn’t dare to expose.

“I see. I-” You opened and closed your mouth, not knowing what to say, instead focusing in finishing everything quickly and quietly, not talking at all. Then mumbled “I have to go, we can talk later.” as you ran out. Leaving a heartbroken and confused Neteyam.

A few days have now passed since your last meeting. You were avoiding Neteyam but trying to be discreet about it, giving him quick greetings and fake smiles. Waking up was painful and everything felt like a blur in your mind. How could you miss something, someone, that was never yours? He wasn’t yours to lose.

Maybe you should go back, maybe you should scream your lungs out and tell the world how you have always wanted him. But you couldn’t, you shouldn’t. Neteyam gave his life trying to be the perfect son, the perfect leader, and he would be. You weren’t going to take this away from him.

You looked blankly at the sky while preparing to do your chores. Taking a deep breath and trying to accept what happened. Knowing the kind, caring and responsible boy you once had with you is now out of reach.

If you only knew that Neteyam Sully wasn’t sleeping or eating either, wondering if he could be selfish for once. Fighting the urge of storming into your tent and pouring his heart out. Knowing that he would prefer a life alone than one with someone that wasn’t you. Feeling ready to go against everything he taught himself, to maybe disappoint everyone and fight for his happiness, to be brave. However, you wouldn’t even look at his face anymore, completely distancing yourself, did you finally grew tired of him? Perhaps these were feelings he was destined to bear alone, cursed to always love you from a distance. And maybe if one thing had been different, then everything would be different today.

“But it would've been fun,

If you would've been the one.”

[turtletaubwrites]

if it's not too personal i'd love to know where your name comes from. does is come from the german "turteltaube"/"turteltäubchen"?

Omg, I have been WAITING for this day. Thank you so much for asking me this question 🥰🙏 My username has the most ridiculous story 😅

My partner is German, and he moved to the states when he was a teenager.

But no. That’s not where it came from.

Silly Turtletaub origin story below the cut (I'm sorry! 😅)

(tumblr is weird about sliding cut lines around on ask posts, so if you see text below this line, it's not my fault, lol!)

About 10 years ago, we were watching a show together (Jericho - it was cancelled). It was very dramatic, both of us would be tense.

At the end of every episode, the executive producer’s name would pop up on the screen.

Both of us would compulsively mumble the last name, “Turtletaub,” and then giggle, the tension from the dramatic show released.

We’ve got that neurospicy echolalia, so of course we started saying, singing, and yelling it randomly.

It then morphed into a series of silly pet names and noises, some of which we still use to this day.

"Twisty tubey turtle taubs"

"Tube taub"

We would just bellow "TAAUUBTAAUUBTAAUUB" like some demonic mantra

"Tube hole"

We still call each other “tube” more than any other pet name (even more than our original, “nugget/nugs.” We occasionally do a “nug tube,” or a “tube nugs”)

Pretty much daily, one of us will yell from across our open floorplan, “how’s my tube?” “Are you a tube?” "You tubin' over there?" “Hey, tube hole, want anything from the ‘Up World?”

Neither of us remember when/how "taub" got turned into "tube," but it has stuck with us.

When I first got invited to Ao3, I didn’t think I’d ever write or post anything, so I just picked the first thing I thought of. I was going to try to change it, but I was too impatient. I wanted my first fic out immediately, so I just went with it.

Partner and I still giggle pretty regularly that it’s my username. Whenever I show him one of the amazing comments y'all gift me with (tysm! 😭) that refer to me by the username, he mumbles it the way we did on that shitty old couch, and then I mumble it back until we dissolve into the sillies for a couple of minutes.

When I'm at my desk he often asks me, "are you turtletaubin' (or "tube holing" - again, sorry!) over there? You writing the smuts for all your tubes?" (Yes, you are all my tubes now, and I am so sorry!! Please forgive me 🙏🏼)

It feels so ridiculous, but it has made us laugh for a decade now. I don’t even remember much of that show besides the fact that it was tense, and dramatic, and we loved it.

So it has nothing to do with turtles, or turtle doves, or German words.

Just a couple of giggling weirdos watching a stressful show, and then being obnoxious with each other for 10 years 😅😅😅

Now you know.

Now you may all yell these silly noises with me.

Now you are my tubes (*said with the highest of praise and affection, I swear!!)

edit: just now realized that we haven't even been spelling it right, lol

[usmsgutterson]

The Axiom of Equality- T.S x gn! reader

all right! I don't know if there's much of an audience for tommy shelby fics here but I'm going to write this anyway because I've been daydreaming about it virtually daily since the idea first came up and if I don't get this out of my head I might just cry a little bit

Fic type- this is post-war hurt/comfort!!

Warnings- the war and being drafted into it are mentioned a fair amount

Dear Tommy,

This letter won't be the best thing to return to after the war, but it's what I need to do and I need in turn for you understand that. I know that you probably won't but I am asking you to and I have to believe that such is enough.

I probably won't be in Birmingham upon your return. You've been gone for six months now, and I miss you everyday, Tommy, but I just can't stay here.

Every time I walk through Birmingham, it feels as though you are all I am capable of seeing. It is inescapable and I am in dire need of an escape plan.

I love you, Tommy, and I have stood by your side throughout the course of our entire lives, but I just cannot do this anymore. Find me when you're home--Ada will know an address, but so too will Polly, and I guarantee I will want your company at some point. Even now, I yearn for your presence.

All the love in the world and the deepest apologies to accompany that,

Y/N

-

Tommy had read and reread the letter since Ada had given it to him when he returned from the war. He'd not yet asked her for the address, even a year after his return because all he could do was mull it over.

He kept thinking about you and about the fact that you'd left, how much he'd missed you and the reluctancy with which he approached the acknowledgement of that.

There was to be no denying it, though. He couldn't deny he'd missed you simply because he had. At the mention of your name, the remembrance of any singular part of you, Thomas Shelbys heart shattered, and he was left scrambling to put it back together and remain composed for the sake of keeping his family from shattering as he had.

Eventually, sometime in autumn of 1920, he found himself searching for Ada. He'd heard from Arthur that she was at the Garrison with Freddie Thorne and when he found her, she met his gaze and she grinned like she knew why he'd come looking, let alone at eight on a random weeknight.

"Let me guess," she said. "You want an address? Particularly to a neat little flat just a thirty minute walk away from the Eiffel Tower?"

Tommy gave a rather impatient nod in spite of himself--so much time had passed since he'd left for the war and you'd left Birmingham to escape him. All he'd been able to think about since he returned had been you, and he doubted you'd found yourself in a similar predicament, but he still hoped.

"I am indeed," Tommy said. Ada laughed.

"You two were together how long, exactly? Five years, six?"

"Eight," Tommy said. "From October 31st, 1906 to the day I left for the war."

"And you love them wholeheartedly?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," Tommy said, running a hand through his hair. "Give me the address, Ada. Please--I've started to worry I'll go mad if you don't."

Ada grinned. "Yeah. Freddies got it on a slip of paper in his wallet."

Freddie took the slip of paper out of his wallet and passed it to Tommy, giving him a grin.

"They might be gone," Ada cautioned. "Maybe they remembered 'oh, yes! I fell in love with a criminal and left him in 1914. Don't want that life, so I'll leave him behind, move somewhere nice like...Canada, perhaps.'"

"I know," Tommy said. Ada could've been right, and you could've been gone, and Tommy could never have hoped to see you again, but the twenty-four year old who had helplessly loved you and couldn't wait to see you upon his return from the war had taken hold of his heart, and it was reaching out to yours, and there was nothing to be done other than to go. "But you've gotta understand, Ada. You, of all people."

"I do," she said. "Now, I'm sure you can buy a train ticket and make it to Paris in time to see them. Go."

And, in spite of himself and with the address from Freddie tucked into his palm, Tommy Shelby ran out of the Garrison like the eighteen year old boy who had spotted you approaching from the window and had felt his heart set itself alight with the joy he oh-so-rarely experienced.

Thomas Shelby was thirty, though. He was not the eighteen year old he had once been and you were not the eighteen year old who you had once been. Things had changed, and no matter for the giddy feeling in his heart that made Tommy feel like the boy he had once been, he was not that boy anymore. If you wanted to be left to your own, Tommy would respect that of you. If you had moved on, Tommy would respect that. He was not the person he had been before the war, and you weren't, either.

But still, Tommy went home. He packed as efficiently as possible, kissed Pollys cheek in goodbye and told Arthur to keep himself in check as he headed for the train station, his feet, his heart, and his mind dragging him on an impulsive trip to France.

-

The trip from Birmingham to Paris was a lot less difficult than Tommy had expected. Seven and a half hours on the train where Tommy read and made sure that his French sounded even slightly passable, and Tommy was at the train station in the heart of Paris for half past three in the morning.

The next hour was spent trying to locate a decent hotel to stay in for the week or so he'd planned to stay, and when he found one it was nearing five in the morning. He collapsed onto what turned out to be a bed that was almost decent but still a little off, and woke up at noon.

He showered to avoid smelling like cigarettes even though the smell of tobacco had never really bothered you and he knew he'd end up smoking one anyway, and then he was off to the address he'd been given at just after two.

What he found was not a flat. It was nothing of the sort--it was a quaint home by lakeside and one that was definitely a bit longer than a 30 minute walk away from the ever so infamous Eiffel Tower.

It was exactly the kind of home you'd described wanting to live in before Tommy left, exactly the kind of thing that you would've felt the most at home in from the outside. The acknowledgement of such made Tommys heart swell.

He was a very, very different person in 1920 than he had been before leaving for the war in 1914. He couldn't help but wonder just how much of a difference it would've made to you, the person who had once vowed to love him for the rest of your life, for the rest of his.

It gave him pause, made him hesitate as he walked up the front steps to your home and stopped him before he could knock on your front door.

What if you had remained unchanged and Tommy had done a full 180? What if you hated the person he'd become? There were too many variables, and, had he thought over it for more than approximately eleven seconds, Tommy would've done it all so differently.

He never lead with his impulse.

He never made rash decisions, not when it came to you.

But he supposed he could allow himself one rash decision a decade, and deciding to go to France on nothing more than a written address and a whim was definitely rash and impulsive enough to last him through to the 30s.

He approached your door. Knocked once, twice, a third and final time for the sake of politeness.

"Esmeralda? Is that you?" Your voice called. "I wasn't expecting you with the tea leaves until Sunday! Come in!"

Tommy didn't respond, only rested a hand on the doorknob, a rare surge of fear grabbing hold of his chest. It had been two years since he'd gone back to Birmingham. Six years since you'd last seen each other, with not a moment of contact through letter writing to bridge that gap. How much would you want to see him, really, if you wanted to see him at all?

"I'm going back to Birmingham this week! Esmeralda, darling, if thats you, please bring the tea in! Polly wrote that she wanted some and I figure I'll see her before I find Tommy. She'll be furious with me if I don't have them after I've promised to bring them along."

Tommy opened the door just a bit. It was unlocked--had you been expecting visitors?

"Esmeralda?" You asked for a third time. "Esmeralda Monroe, I don't care that you're in your eighties now, if you're playing a trick on me--" Tommy stepped into the house, tried to find even the slightest hint you were there outside of your voice.

The house was nice. It opened from a foyer into a lounge, one with a seemingly comfortable couch and a working fireplace. Through a small doorway, he caught your frame in what must've been the kitchen.

"My name isn't Esmeralda Monroe, but I would pity her if she were here," Tommy said. "What's this mess about you comin' down to Birmingham?"

"Come into the kitchen," you said. "I am unwilling to abandon my bread to see your face. Perfecting this recipe has taken Esmeralda and I weeks. She's eighty-six, so that time is precious time indeed."

Tommy gave a low laugh as he took off his coat and his hat, hanging them both on the coat rack to the right of the door. He walked through the lounge and into the kitchen, grinning the moment he saw your face.

"Hello," Tommy said. "Been a bit, hasn't it?"

You glanced up from the dough that had held your focus. "Quite a long time. I'm sorry I didn't go to Birmingham sooner--I wanted to the moment Ada wrote and said you were still alive, but I didn't. I couldn't get the time away from work, though I nearly did quit on the spot when I was refused."

"You would've come back sooner?" Tommy asked. "I came down here to tell you I'm sorry that you had to leave at all."

"It wasn't your fault," you said. "I was yearning terribly and I made a cataclysmic mistake. I would do it over if I could. I would've gone round to the Shelby home and asked Pol to talk a bit of sense into me."

Tommy laughed. "I'm apt to think she would've told you to go," he said. "Always did say I didn't deserve you or your love for french pastry."

You laughed, flouring the clean countertop in front of you and laying your dough on it so that it could be kneaded. "She might've, but I dunno that I would've listened. If I'd stayed, we could've resumed things. There wouldn't be a six year gap between our departure and our reunion."

"We wouldn't've become different people," Tommy said.

"The war would've changed you, Tommy. Seems like it did as is," you said. "But I don't fault you for that. Fighting in the war changes people--I've gotten to know a couple of people who were nurses. They don't seem right either."

"And you don't--the fact that I may have changed leaves you undeterred?"

"There's an axiom that Esmeralda introduced me to," you said. "The axiom of equality. It's a mathematical principle but I like it better as a statement."

"What is it?" Tommy asked. He'd not been much of a math person, and while he had no doubt that someone like Polly would've known what it was, he hadn't a clue. "I've been too busy legitimizing stuff back home to read up on mathematical principles and ideas."

"The axiom of equality states that x=x," you said. Tommy, in a bit of a mood to help, located a cabinet with a bread pan as you talked. "It states that x must always equal x. Esmeralda told me that the principle of the principle, when applied to people, is that the person you were in the past will always be the person you are in the present."

"Are you insulting me?" Tommy asked, grabbing the crisco shortening from the spot you kept it in the pantry. "I'm feeling rather insulted."

"That is, in fact, not my goal," you said. "If I were insulting you, I would doing so with an air of flirt in the hopes of winning a kiss. You still probably taste like tobacco, but I've never minded that."

Tommy greased the bread pan, shaking his head. If you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask.

"The point of bringing up the axiom was just to tell you that it doesn't apply to everyone," you said. "We're human, Tommy. We're not a variable in mathematics, and as such, I'm pretty sure I would be able to learn how to love you if you came back someone completely and utterly changed."

"I have," Tommy said. "I am not the person I was in 1914."

"I'm not the person I was then, either," you said. "I've changed, even if it doesn't look it. I know I still look twenty four."

"Twenty six, at best."

"Thomas Shelby!" You shouted, placing the bread into the bread pan and grabbing a kitchen towel. Tommy dodged it as you thwacked it at him, laughing at the whole ordeal of the thing.

"I look a minimum of thirty-one, so you're better off than I," Tommy said. "And even as such, you're still the looker I fell in love with."

"Oh, if Ada were here, she'd have taken your head!" You laughed, and Tommy laughed, and oh, Tommy had never thought he'd have gotten so lucky as to heard the sound of your laugh again. "I would've watched--you are a real prick, Tommy!"

"A prick with whom you were once deeply in love," Tommy said. "One who you once kissed under a willow tree, and drank with, and sang with, and--"

You laughed, pressed your forehead against his shoulder. "I've missed you, Tommy."

"I've missed you more," Tommy said.

"How long are you to stay?" You asked.

"A week," Tommy said. "We can travel back to Birmingham together, if that sounds like an idea you fancy?"

You lifted your forehead from his shoulder. "That sounds wonderful," you said. "I'd really, really like that."

"Would you ever consider moving back?" Tommy asked. "I'm not asking you to if you don't want to, but if you'd consider..."

"If I were proposed to by a certain Birmingham native, I might consider it," you said. "Of course, this Birmingham native would have to fit six years of flirtations and kisses and casual signs of affection into just a week if such was his goal."

Tommy laughed. "I think he could manage that," he said. "Especially considering that he has a ring already--he bought it six months before he was drafted."

Your mouth opened in shock. "You were going to propose?"

"The plan was to do so the week I was drafted--sunset, perfect look out spot, everything was going to be amazing--but then I was drafted and proposing seemed to null itself out a little."

"You were going to propose and I left you in the dust? I am the worlds worst partner."

Tommy shook his head. "There are worse people," he said. "People who cheat on their spouses, namely. You only left because you missed me and it was so intense you couldn't handle the pain."

"When you put it that way, it sounds rather romantic," you said. "Less like one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made."

Tommy laughed, and he took your hand, and all he could think was that he was glad for the impulsiveness in his heart that'd dragged him onto a train for seven and a half hours, a shoddy hotel room for seven hours, and an additional hour spent trying to get rid of the scent of tobacco, chewing mint gum to rid it from his breath.

Tommy leaned in, and your arms found his shoulders as his found your waist. You closed the gap, and Tommy was kissing you for the first time in six years. He was kissing you for the first time in two thousand days.

He kissed you like a man starved and when you pulled away, wanted to kiss you again but managed to refrain.

"Missed that," you said.

Tommy gave a breathy laugh. "Ditto," he said.

Though the two of you were not the people you'd been before the war, you found it incredibly easy to love one another still.

"Well," Tommy said. "I would think I've got two weeks to cram six years worth of affection in to get you to come home, which means you'll probably grow sick of being kissed like that within the next bit."

You shook your head. "I would never," you said.

Tommy just laughed, pulled you in for another kiss and found his heart floating away from him, overtaken by love and joy and content, the rarely experienced emotions that always came into full effect whenever you were so much as in the same room as he was.

"I'll take your word for it, then," he said against your lips, laughing as you pulled him even closer, the both of you starved for one anothers touches.

And he would do as he said, let himself get lost in how you felt because the feeling of your touch was borderline intoxicating.

[illudens]

my little guy has arrived and i am insane so im making a whole post about it

for those who dont know i just bought a matoro bionicle like a few days ago and ive been waiting VERY impatiently and posting about him a lot. and hes finally here. so.

i wanna show u guys :3

added a readmore because this is gonna be a LONG post

i woke up late and checked my phone and BAM hed been delivered. so i ran to the mailbox... and here he is :3

...okay yeah hes just a bag of parts at this point. i had to assemble him myself (very fun however a little bit difficult- because i am stupid) and while i dont have a good photo of him right afterwards heres one i just took:

(better photos in better lighting another day dw)

anyway after that i booted up splatoon and played that with him for a while

then i went out to do some errands and brought him along with me.. i bought a drink that he seemed to enjoy very much when we got back home (it was blue soda with strawberry popping pearls btw, so very tasty)

then we took a break to watch some fanmade bionicle movies, my guy got to see himself on the big screen!!

then i decided to go on a walk outside, he decided to chill out in the safety of my pocket (poked his head out to watch the world go by)

stopped me so he could bask in the sunlight for a while!

and then wanted to go on the swings

anyway... once we got home we sat and chilled out for a b- OOPS NOPE JUST KIDDING more errands actually. i brought him along again of course! he wanted me to buy cookies

anyway he scampered off to the cold foods section... probably reminded him of ko-koro!! he relaxed by the ice for a while, though also hung out by the icecream (which was just as sweet as him!)

and then after that we got home and ate cake (no photo... sorry i forgot...) and i started writing this post!

and thats been it... matoros very busy and very fun first day in existence :D thx to anyone who actually read this far i hope u enjoyed me being insane over my fictonal blorbo!!!! also if any1 wants to see more posting about this guys adventures I MADE A BLOG FOR IT!!! @matorowhereheshouldntbe (though ill also post plenty of photos of him here too heheh)

[jerzwriter]

Any day...

Book:                   Open Heart (Post Series)

Pairing:                Tobias Carrick x F!MC (Casey) Feat: Bryce Lahela

Rating:                 Teen

Category:            Fluff

Summary:   Casey & Tobias share a simple morning as they wait for their first baby's arrival, which is only a short time away.

Words: 797

A/N: ME: Work on your WIPs only. You have a zillion WIPs out there. ALSO ME: OMG, My pretend people's baby is going to be born a week from today! I need to write something about this! And here we are. lol | @aprilchallenge - Family, Love, Kiss

It was 7:00 AM on an unseasonably warm Boston morning; the mercury was already reaching the low seventies. If these were normal times, Casey would have blamed the heat for waking her at such an ungodly hour on a day she didn’t have to work. But that wasn’t what had her stirring today, and normal… that was about to take on new meaning. She wrapped one arm protectively around her belly as the other pushed against her bolster pillow for support.

“There,” she gasped with relief, reminding herself that, very soon, getting out of bed would no longer require a plan of action.

She wondered where her husband was for a moment, but then the scent of butter and cinnamon filled her senses, and it seemed to elicit a kick from the alien that had invaded her body. With a soft chuckle, she lovingly rubbed the spot that had just been pummeled. 

“So, do you like French toast too, little one?” she asked. “I figure you’re going to either love it or hate it since Mommy’s eaten so much these past few months. I’m sure Daddy’s sick of making it, even if he won’t admit it.”

She cautiously descended the stairs, startling her husband, who was preparing a breakfast tray in the kitchen.

“Case!” He blurted. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“You expect me to stay up there when it smells this good down here?” She winked. “Do you even know me, sir?”

Tobias tilted his head with a smirk. He found her utterly adorable, even when he was about to give her a tongue-lashing.

“I was about to bring it up to you, wise ass. Now, you’re a brilliant doctor, Casey. So what part of bed rest did you not understand?”

“I’m an exceptional doctor! So outstanding that I know bed rest is a relative term, dear.”  She plopped into a chair at their kitchen table, motioning for Tobias to bring her the delectable breakfast he had prepared. “And you know that, too. The doctor said partial bedrest, not all day, every day.”

With a sigh, Tobias placed the breakfast before her, “You can’t fault me for looking out for you and our baby.”

After he sat beside her, she gently touched his wrist to reassure him. “I know. And you know I won’t do anything to endanger us either.”

“I know,” he squeezed her hand with a grin.

“I can’t believe I’m on bed rest!” Casey pouted. “I wasn’t planning on this. Then again,” she chuckled. “We hadn’t planned any of this, did we?”

“No, we didn’t. Just like you and I meeting was unplanned, what did that card I gave you on the night of our elopement say?”

“You’re the best thing I never planned,” Casey beamed.

“That’s right. Life happens, but we’ll face it together. I don’t love you being on bed rest, but everything else has been pretty awesome.” He bent over and kissed Casey’s belly, then moved up to tenderly kiss her lips. “I know you’ve got to keep her cooking in there a little longer, but I really can’t wait to meet her.”

“She’s going to keep us on our toes,” Casey smiled, nuzzling her head into Tobias’s shoulder.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he simpered. “We’re going to be all right, you know.”

Casey looked up at him with joyful eyes, more at peace than he had seen in her in some time. “I know,” she said confidently. “It’s you and me.”

“Do you think the baby will wait until her due date?” She asked.

“If she’s as impatient as her Mom and Dad, not a chance. That reminds me, I have to talk to Bryce. He’s starting the birth date pool at work. They won’t let me bet because I have insider knowledge. Can you imagine the audacity?”

“And he wonders why he’s not Godfather?” Casey laughed.

“Yeah, but we should make him Godfather for number two. You know, to make up for you destroying his washing machine.”

“Me!” Casey hollered. “If I remember correctly, you were at least fifty-percent responsible for that, Dr. Carrick.”   

“Yeah,” he chuckled, “but it was fun, and he did get a new washer out of the deal.”

“That he did,” Casey nodded.

“Now let’s finish your breakfast before it gets cold, then back to bed, or I’m calling your doctor to rat you out.”

“Ugh, you would,” she teased, shoveling the last of the French toast into her mouth. “You know, we’re going to be OK, T.”

They looked at each other for a long moment, taking the time to enjoy the simple perfection of it all.

“I know,” he said, kissing her forehead. “In fact, we’re going to be better than OK. We’re going to be amazing.”

Permatags: @a-crepusculo @animesuck3r @annoyingmillenialnewbie @crazy-loca-blog @doriopenheart @differenttyphoonwerewolf @fayeswiftie @gryffindordaughterofathena @genevievemd @inlocusmads @jamespotterthefirst @jennieausten @kingliam2019 @liaromancewriter @lucy-268 @onikalover @openheartforeverinmyheart @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @secretaryunpaid @socalwriterbee @sophxwithers @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction @jerzwriter-reblogs-asks @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

OH: @annfg8 @binny1985 @coffeeheartaddict2 @mysticalgalaxysstuff @ofmischiefandmedicine @peonierose @youlookappropriate

Tobias Only: @icecoffee90 @kyra75

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Forever

Pairings: Syverson x OFC (Adele), Sy x OFC

Warnings: Fluff. Just pure fluff

Word Count: 1,356

A/N; So I wrote this story for a creative writing college class. I was listing to my country music playlist while I was thinking about what to write and “Traveling Soldier” by The (Dixie) Chicks came on and this story just popped into my head. So after 8 weeks of critiques, editing, rewriting, and all but pulling my hair out, here it is. @just-chirpin I told you I would tag you when I finally posted this. Class is over and I got an A on this so I am super proud of this!

~~~~~~~~~

Fear. It was a feeling that felt so foreign to Army Captain Jack Syverson but as he sat in the Charlotte airport, impatiently tapping his foot while waiting for his final connecting flight to Savannah, Georgia, it was the only feeling that he was aware of. A gold ring felt like lead in the pocket of his dark blue jeans. The light grey Henley he had on over his muscular chest and arms felt a half size too small. He wondered if she would even recognize him after eight years.

Without thinking he nervously scratched at the short, thick brown beard on his chin before his hand moved up and brushed across the buzz cut he had done after washing years of sand and bad memories off in the shower. The smooth textures beneath his fingertips changed as his hand moved down to the brace on his knee to adjust it subconsciously. He resisted reaching into his tour stained desert brown backpack to pull out the stack of letters he had long since memorized; the ink was starting to fade and the pages had become fragile along the creases from folding and unfolding them, he didn’t want to risk them falling apart like her very first letter had. Those two pages were safely tucked in their envelope, taped together as carefully as his thick fingers could possibly manage.

“Now boarding flight 1721 to Dallas/ Fort Worth at gate D5.” Sy glanced up at his gate number, D2, at the mention of his hometown airport and the fleeting thought of if he was doing the right thing crossed his mind. When he had booked his flight, the only thing he could think about was the gorgeous smile of the stranger he had been writing to for years. The young girl with a bow in her hair didn’t know him from Adam when he sat down in her section at Clary’s Cafe in Savannah the day before he shipped out to California for boot camp. A tour book had recommended the quaint landmark where he was oblivious to the Formica tables and historic prints on the walls and enthralled by his waitress instead.

Her sparkling brown eyes were forever burned in his memory when she agreed to him writing to her while he was deployed. Her French braided, waist length, light brown hair swished freely across her tanned back as she casually led him through the historic squares of her hometown. Etched in his mind forever was the cute, purple with white polka dots bandana wrapped around her head in an impossible attempt to keep the tiny fly aways that framed her face tamed. It was tied in a bow just above her left eye, complimenting her vibrant eye color. The memory of her smile was what kept him going in the desert though. He was forever grateful that he allowed an extra day in Savannah before the last leg of his bus trip to Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Sy saw that smile every night in his dreams and recalled it during tough times when he sent a fallen or injured soldier home. His thoughts would drift to it during chow, and he could picture it across her pretty face when he would read the detailed letters she sent twice a month. He reread these same letters whenever he needed a pick-me-up when the war got to be just too much for even him to handle. He had long ago memorized the line she had written, “I was never lonely on my walks through the squares until you left,” until it was ingrained on his soul. 

Her smile was the reason he got through officers training. Her freedom was what he was fighting for. That is, it was what he was fighting for until he blew out his left knee breaking up a fight between two blow hard privates that let the desert heat get to their heads. The weeks he spent in the hospital were something he had zero intention of mentioning to her. She had worried enough about him these past eight years to bother her with something so trivial. In his last letter to her he had casually lied and said he was going home to Decatur, Texas in two weeks instead of admitting he was going to surprise her in Savannah.

There went that fear again. Fear that she wouldn’t recognize him when he sat down in what hopefully was still her section at Clary’s. Fear that if it wasn’t, that she would be walking the same route through the squares every Sunday morning like she used to. Fear that he would never be able to find the pen pal that he had fallen in love with. He recalled her comment in a later letter that she “feared the instant connection they had shared many years ago would be gone”, which only added to his anxiety. He hoped to get his feelings in check before his last connecting flight from Charlotte to Savannah. 

Sy’s hands made another pass through his beard, over his head, before scrubbing his tired blue eyes that were most likely blood shot from the sleep he had lost worrying about this trip he was making. The trip where he would finally come face to face with the woman that he loved and yearned to hold. The woman who referred to their one and only day together as the best day she had ever had. In her letters she had claimed she felt like she had always known him.

“Final boarding call for flight 1721 to Dallas/ Fort Worth at gate D5.”

“Wait! Please wait!” a woman cried, catching Sy’s attention. He looked to his right to watch her sprinting through the crowded Charlotte terminal, her long, curly brown hair tied up in a loose bun on the top of her head, and a purple with white polka dot bandana tied as a headband at the front, trying to keep those little fly aways back.

“Adele?” he asked himself as he carefully stood up and grabbed the strap of his backpack. His heart pounding, he limped as fast as he could as she breezed past, dodging an elderly couple that were walking just a bit too slow. “Adele!” She came to a screeching halt, her black Converse sneakers squeaking loudly on the white linoleum floor. She found him instantly in the crowd and all the fears he had been stressing over simply melted away.

“Sy?” she breathed, but they both knew what she was questioning. How was the scrawny boy she met in Savannah now the six foot one, muscular man before her? With the slightest bob of his head in confirmation, she bolted back into his direction and took a flying leap of faith into his arms.

“You’re here,” she whispered with tears in her eyes as they clung tightly together, shocked to find each other in the chaos of Charlotte’s connecting flights. 

“I love you,” was the only thing he could say as he gently leaned back to see her gorgeous smile. He searched her tear-filled eyes as he carefully set her down on the ground and reached into his pocket for the ring that now felt like a brick. “And I will never leave you again. Will you…”

“Yes,” she gasped with a violent nod of her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes as quickly as she could. “I love you, too. I have for years…”

“Me too,” he replied as he slid the band onto her finger. She caressed his scruff covered cheek in her small hand and confirmed her feelings with a gentle kiss. The sights and sounds around them slipped away as they held on to their whole world in that moment. 

“Come home with me.” She whispered when she pulled away to search the sweet blue eyes that she had seen nightly in her dreams. “Please tell me you are coming home. I can’t bear another minute…”

“I’m coming home.” He confirmed with a smile that made her feel whole again. “I’m coming home with you forever.”

[asleep-in-the-keep-sideblog]

Asleep In The Keep: A DP x BNHA fic

Summary: A tired hero goes to a café (and some other stuff happens)

Word count: 5149

Chapter 20: I Need Some Coffee...

20/?

There was a new person working at Shouta’s favorite coffee place. This wouldn’t be unusual in any other establishment, but the old man who ran it was very particular about who he let in the back.

A few years back, the place was under investigation for possible ties to the black market as well as aiding vigilantes. A customer reported that they saw a well-known local vigilante go through the back entrance of the store, and a few days later, the same one was seen with new gear. There was other circumstantial evidence as well. Background checks revealed that all the baristas were past vigilantes that had already been caught and processed. However, the owner, Tanaka Masaru, a “quirkless” 67 year old, had a clean record, too clean, not even an overdue fine. There was no doubt in Shouta’s mind that the identity was fake. In the end, Shouta wasn’t able to find any concrete evidence on the coffee shop, and since all they had was circumstantial evidence and 1 eye witness, the case fell apart and was closed. The police department did not pursue it after that since there hadn’t been any vigilantes pop up in that area. Well… except for one.

Shouta has been coming here since then, it was on the way to school and they (surprisingly) made really good coffee. The owner was eccentric as well. Sometimes, Shouta could see him in a corner making little figurines and dishes, mumbling and laughing to himself, which ruined the peaceful atmosphere of the shop. Shouta wasn’t mad about it though, more of slightly annoyed whenever it happened. There was a tall shelf covering a wall that was home to the figurines. Most of them were past vigilantes, little animals or regular customers and staff (Shouta even had one up there). The ones on the top were the oldest and most intricately made, while they got less and less detailed as the shelves went down. The store also sold cups and mugs that were in a similar fashion. They were really expensive, but the craftsmanship was worth it (Shouta even had one or two at home). 

Recently, a kid posted on social media about the place, and since then it has become a trendy spot with the youths, at least that's what Shouta heard. Fortunately, it was 5 AM and so no kids were even alive yet. Shouta could enjoy the quiet atmosphere while he waited for his coffee. He probably shouldn’t be having any more coffee today since he just finished up a long night’s search. Last night (or earlier this morning if you wanted to be technical), was the first lead he got since he started his investigation. Phantom was a tricky one, and his quirk was great at quick getaways, but he was young and one day he’ll make a mistake. But Shouta doubted it was gonna be today. He may as well listen to his husband and actually catch up on sleep. His schedule was still clear since his kids were still at internships. He heard Midoriya had even gotten out of the hospital a few days ago. Problem child…

Shouta’s fingers tapped impatiently on the table. All fantasies of sleep washed away like soap. He needed coffee. Shouta had entertained the notion of quitting before in the past. He has had so much coffee in his life that he suffers withdraws without it. He has been considering buying patches, but he loves the taste and ritual too much to stop. That’s what he said about smoking too. It first started after Oboro died, a way for Shouta to slow time and try to breathe it in. In the end though, it only made things worse. Now he drinks coffee. 

He looked over at the new barista as he made his coffee. His order was simple and always the same; a simple black coffee. Impossible to mess up, but amazing when done right. The kid, whose tag said Tommy , looked to be struggling and Shouta could smell burnt coffee beans from past orders. When the kid checked him out, he gave one look at Shouta before saying that he didn’t have to pay anything. Shouta was shocked to say the least, but he didn’t argue. Free coffee tastes better than bought coffee, that's why he wasn’t worried about the smell. He wondered why the kid didn’t charge him, maybe he just recognized him and was a fan or something (it doesn’t happen a lot, but it does still happen). He severely doubted it.

It wasn’t just the anticipation of getting coffee that made him keep looking at the barista. “Tommy,” what a strange name in Japan. Despite his height and young age, he seemed to carry himself with a sense of steadiness that you only get after experience. Whenever he did seem to slip or mess up, it had seemed intentional, like he was trying to direct your suspicion away from him. The fact he was even working here was cause enough to run a background check. If it had been just those things Shouta would (probably), but of course, there was more.

The final nail in the coffin, and the real reason that Shouta was even studying the boy so intently, was sitting on the table in front of him. The manilla folder that Detective Tsukauchi gave him held the description of a suspicious boy that was seen before the Phantom sighting. Tall & lanky, pale skin, and blue-green eyes, which could describe a lot of the population. Again, if that was the only information provided then Shouta would look away, but then the file listed the most prominent feature of the suspect, black hair with a white stripe. Some minor but still important details were how cold and lifeless the boy was. He apparently had given the other heroes quite the scare. It was obviously the same kid. Whether or not he was also Phantom was left to be determined. 

They had no understanding of his powers, except for the general ghost theme, and even that wasn’t consistent. What type of ghost is able to use ice like that? In horror stories the most ghosts could do was drop the temperature a little bit, not form glaciers able to stop explosions. Shouta had his own theories. Perhaps Phantom’s original quirk was a ghost mutation quirk, but AFO overloaded it with so many enhancement quirks (along with some new ones) that it created this tonally confused mess. If that were true, why couldn’t he have also given Phantom some minor shapeshifting quirk? 

He looked at the boy again. If he was Phantom, he’d be really dumb. The café is a 15 minute walk from the alley. It will only be a matter of time before the Hero Commission checks here. Shouta rubbed his temples… Not unless he told them otherwise. The Hero Commission had no reason to believe that he would mislead them, except for his affiliation with UA. Fortunately, Principal Nezu had the foresight to set Shouta up as more loyal to the Commission than UA in the years prior. Shouta wasn’t proud of the things he’s done, but he couldn't argue with the results. 

Suddenly, he heard a loud shout behind him, and the wet sound of someone spitting on the ground. 

“What the hell is this shit?!” A large man with really nice hair in a uniform blasted out. He marched over to the counter that divided him and Tommy, and yelled even louder , “You can’t expect me to drink this garbage?! I paid 1,304¥ for this and I demand a refund!” That's way overpriced, Shouta thought . What idiot buys a cup of coffee for that much?

“I’m sorry dude-” The teen held his hands up in a placating manner. He looked nervous. 

“Dude?!” The man had become red, and his hair changed colors and hues to match like a fire. 

“Sir!” The kid quickly corrected, “but could you tell me what was wrong with it?” The kid looked down at him, confused. He was tall, maybe 6 '1 while slouching, and easily towered over the Uneri hair spray model. It was like Shouta observed before, the kid was purposely making himself seem less like a threat.

“What’s wrong with it? What isn’t wrong with it?!” His hands started moving like crazy, spilling some of his coffee, “It was scolding hot when I first took a sip of it, it even burned my tongue!” He stuck his tongue out to prove this, it looked fine. He started ranting again, “Then when I took the next sip it was freezing cold! Honestly it was a wonder of science that that even happened-I think this should be donated to science and you with it! Imagine the kind of foreign and new technology that could be discovered?!” 

“I’ll give you the refund and make you a new coffee if you like?” he tilted his head, “It will be a little wait since I’m backed up right now…” He looked around the shop which only held the three of them. Truly a master of his craft. 

Shouta clenched his fists. He knew the kid could handle it on his own. A bratty customer must’ve been a vacation compared to what the kid had been through before. It was probably better to stay out of it. He didn’t want to cause a scene or alert Tommy to what he was doing and what he knew. He really shouldn’t get involved…

“It’s time for you to stop-” no later than when the final word left his mouth, had the man flung his coffee at the boy. It splattered on the boy leaving him soaked and confused, rage and a green glow in his eyes. 

Shouta had a similar reaction. In no quicker than a blink, his capture scarf wrapped around the prick. He pulled it tight, and the man fell down at the ankles, hitting his head on the counter. Good. 

By this point the kid had backed deeper behind the counter, staring anxiously at the rope. This is exactly what Shouta didn’t want. Too late now. He pulled the asshole along the ground, careful to make sure he bumped into every chair leg or corner. His hair dragged behind him, sweeping up dust and dirt and getting knotted. His hair was gorgeous, every wave of his head reflected the warm light of the café that gave it the illusion it was changing colors. Deep blues, vibrant reds and crisp yellows that reminded Shouta of his husband, it was honestly a sight to behold. Too bad the guy was such a dick. He yanked harder when they reached the door frame, making sure he hit his head on the door stopper. Shouta released him out of his tape as if he was flapping dirt out of a rug. The dick-bag looked back at Shouta with a rage clear on his face. He started marching towards Shouta, but he thought it was time to show off his own hair. Like a cobra raising it’s hood, Shouta’s hair flowed menacingly at the man below him. He sneered and spit at Shouta, but walked away, grumbling to himself. 

Shouta let his hair back down and sighed. He was no longer angry, just tired. He turned back into the coffee shop and sat at his original table. Luckily the folder was still there. Shouta had to be more aware next time. Tommy, now recovered from the display, walked over to hand Shouta his coffee. The kid looked awkward and suspicious all at the same time. 

“Thank you…for that…” Tommy was looking away and gave Shouta a short bow. Clearly he wasn’t used to it. That could be because he was isolated from a young age and so never had to learn proper manners. Shouta was 92% sure the kid in front of him was Phantom.   

“Anytime kid.” Shouta nodded at him, and he went back behind the counter. He must’ve felt Shouta’s eyes still on him since he grabbed a random cup and pretended to start cleaning it, still looking back and forth at him. Shouta turned his gaze down. This is the kid that freaked out Mount Lady and Kamui Woods? Shouta almost laughed. 

No. Although he may seem like a kid, he was still an unknown. Of course he wanted him to join UA and get a chance at a life he clearly never had, but Shouta had to be ready for the very real possibility that he could still side with All For One. He couldn’t let himself get attached. 

Still-Shouta was glad the kid was alright, customers can be such assholes sometimes. And despite the turn of events, Phantom didn’t seem to distrust him. He could use that. He was already a regular but now he had to be extra aware to come in when he was on shift. He really wanted Phantom to go to UA, not just for the Principle. 

He took a sip of his coffee and then immediately almost spit it out. Phantom’s head whipped towards him, but he was able to get it down and smiled (although it probably looked more like a grimace). Only after the boy turned around again did Shouta unclench his jaw. How do you mess up black coffee that bad? It was thick like tar and had an overwhelming burnt taste, Shouta would rather drink liquified coal. 

Shouta looked up to the heavens trying to summon however much strength it would take to finish it. That strength came in a little flask he kept on him (for the hard days), and he poured some of its contents inside. He took another swig and was almost able to convince himself the sharpness came from the whiskey. After he was done, he walked up the bin to put the dishes in and laid it down like a body into a grave. The cup didn’t deserve that…He nodded towards Phantom, Phantom nodded back, and left the café.

Maybe he should switch to patches.

Zzz

After he left the café, Shouta went back to UA. He had already messaged Principle Nezu about his encounter with the suspected Phantom. The maniac responded instantly and said that he would be waiting for him at his desk. Shouta always had the theory that Nezu lived there, in his office or some hidden room in the school, maybe both. 

Luckily, the school was only a 5 minute walk from the café. Phantom was really considerate of Shouta’s routine, he now didn’t have to waste 5 hours a day scouring the city for him. Maybe Phantom wanted to go to UA and that’s why he was so close, Shouta laughed to himself sleepily. The coffee from before didn’t help at all. Another thought bubbled to the surface. Or maybe he was stalking the school. It was important to see both sides. The reason Shouta chose not to believe it was stupidity. An old but still meaningful quote rang in his ears, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity" And the kid was also working at a coffee shop that was a short walk from his crime scene. If he did join UA, Shouta would have to teach him to be better aware of his surroundings. He smiled at the thought.

He made it through the building without any hassle. Some teachers liked to be there early even without the kids there. If Shouta wasn’t mistaken, they still had 2, no wait it’s a new day, 1 more day of internships left, then tomorrow to recover. Shouta would never admit it out loud, but he had started to miss the little shits, even Kaminari and Midoriya. He was about ready to expel them both for their stupidity. Midoriya because he’s always breaking something and Kaminari because just last week, he had to send him to the nurse’s office for stuffing hot sauce packets up his nose. Again. He hadn’t even used his quirk that day. Shouta was half convinced that the boy just used his quirk as an excuse. He’s been wanting to talk to his parents about making him wear a rubber helmet so he doesn’t fry the last few brain cells he has left. Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose at the prospect…

He passed by Power Loader’s workshop. The door was cracked open a little, letting smoke waft into the hallway. Students liked to blame Mei for all the accidents in that room, but Power Loader still has his mishaps. He says that mistakes lead to innovation, maybe that’s why Mei was so unrestrained in her learning. Power Loader was sitting at his work bench behind a fan drinking coffee. It was one of the rare occasions Shouta got to see more of his face. Even in work meetings he had something covering it, either his hair or a helmet. They nodded to each other, and Shouta went on his way. He had never been close with the man, seeing him more as a co-worker he was friendly with rather than an acquaintance, but the lure of coffee was tempting. He couldn't of course since he had news for Principle Nezu. 

None of the other faculty members stopped him. Like with Power Loader, Shouta was pleasant with them but had no more than a working relationship with anyone in the office, except of course his husband and Nemuri, who he couldn’t escape from. 

Although Yagi has been trying to get closer to him for some reason, he even brought him lunch one time. Shouta thinks it’s so he can get more information about Midoriya. He would be stupid not to notice the connection between them. Their ‘secret meetings’ weren’t so secret with Yagi shouting everything. Fortunately, he was able to lead any perked ears away from their conversations. He was pretty sure Midoriya was the next user (but he wasn’t supposed to let Yagi know he knew that). Before the pair had started at the school, Principle Nezu had informed Shouta of Yagi’s condition. He didn’t tell Shouta anything about the boy though, so it was either Nezu himself didn’t know or it had yet to happen. 

Shouta was pretty sure some of Midoriya’s classmates had also noticed the connection, Bakugo and Todoroki being the main ones. Todoroki fortunately interrupted it as Yagi being Midoriya’s father, which was its own can of worms, but easy to sort out. Bakugo on the other hand seems to suspect the actual connection between the two. He was a smart kid, way smarter than people gave him credit for (Shouta just wished he used those brain cells to read a self-help book). He has recommended therapy or counseling to his parents before, but his mom seemed offended that Shouta brought anything up in the first place. Shouta would just have to help guide him like he has been doing. 

He walked past one of the teachers' offices and a familiar face caught his eye. It was Nemuri. She was hunched over a stack of papers, probably old assignments from students that she forgot to grade. Today was one of the last days before the students returned and would be expecting those grades. She wasn’t the best at balancing hero work with being a teacher, but the students loved her. She scowled at the pile through her glasses. 

Shouta walked faster, but he was too late. A pair of arms pulled around him from the back and wouldn’t let go. 

“Shouta!!!!” She squeezed tighter around him and wiggled. Shouta grabbed her arms in an awkward hug and patted them. She let go after a moment and Shouta turned to face her. “How’ve you been? You haven’t been answering any of my texts, I mean, you usually don’t but you at least text back one word after a few days.” she teased. 

Nemuri had always been a lifeline to Shouta. She pulled him out of the darkness more times than he could count. Early in Shouta’s hero career, he failed to save someone for the first time. He locked himself in his room and kept going over what happened, trying to find some way he could have saved them. He also kept thinking of Oboro, which only made things worse. He had stopped eating and not even Hizashi could pull him out of it. One day, Nemuri kicked down the door and dragged him out by his scarf. She, with the help of Hizashi, washed him up and untangled his hair. Shouta just broke down crying in the shower, wet and covered in suds. She just held him as he cried like a child. After he got washed up, she got him his favorite food and they all just sat in comfortable silence. She also convinced him to start therapy and even recommended someone. Shouta could safely say he might not be here without it. 

“I’ve been doing patrols, as usual,” he responded simply. Nemuri laughed and elbowed him in the ribs.

“Oh come on! I’ve heard you’ve been training that kid from class 1-C, What was his name?” she put her finger on her chin in a dramatic pose.

“Shinso Hitoshi” Shouta walked into the office to find the coffee pot and she followed after him.

“Ah that’s right! He was the one who had the mind control quirk right? He lost to Midoriya in the 3rd round.” 

“Brainwashing actually, and yes. He has a lot of potential and I think he would fit in 1-A, plus we have the same for it,” Shouta still has no idea how that one kid got into UA in the first place. Shouta expelled him the first day when he tried to peek into the girl’s locker room. That behavior was not appropriate for a hero and if he did manage to succeed, he would use his power to control women, and Shouta didn’t want that on his conscience. “I just have to find the right time to introduce him. The sooner the better before the gap is too wide, I can only do so much on our one on one time. I thought after the internships would be a good place, but then the testing got rescheduled and I don’t want to throw him into the deep end on his first day…” Shouta was thinking aloud to himself. This is a topic that has been cycling through his head for several days.

“That and I hear that your classroom is gonna get a major change soon” she winked. Of course she knew. When Shouta didn’t answer her, she continued, “Does it have something to do with your secret project with Principle Nezu?” Shouta signed. 

He grabbed one of the cups by the coffee machine and poured some in. It was a green liquid and it smelled sweet. He looked over at Nemuri and she shrugged. 

“I drink tea over coffee, you know this.” Shouta groaned and handed her the cup. “How generous, thank you” and she took a sip. 

“I have to go talk to Principle Nezu…” He mumbled and stalked out of the office.

“Make sure to keep me updated on your class! ‘Zashi can only tell me so much!” She called after him.

Zzz

Without any more distractions keeping him, Shouta finally made it to Principle Nezu’s office. Nezu sat at his desk with his signature smile and his hands folded on the table. He was stock still, like a stuffed animal, but Shouta had gotten used to how the Principle acts to pay it much mind.

“Ah, good morning, Mr. Aizawa.” He greeted.

“Good morning, Principle Nezu” Shouta didn’t sit down, instead making his way to the coffee machine by the wall. There was a fresh cup waiting for him. He took it and eyed Nezu, who still smiled, then he sat down in front of him. “Sorry it took so long, I got distracted on the way here.” 

“No worries at all. I never said a time to meet, just simply that I’ll be in my office.” Empty words. They both know the sooner the better for this kind of thing.

Shouta took a sip and gagged, decaf. It was still better than nothing. He took a seat across from Nezu and placed the coffee on the table and reached into his pocket, grabbing the manilla folder and the small baggie with the dirt he collected from the scene. Nezu took them both gently with his stubby arms.

“Detective Tsukauchi has already delivered me the folder, but this,” He held up the bag, “I had no clue of.” Shouta took a sip of his coffee, too ashamed to have kept the info from him, even if it slipped his mind. 

“I collected it from the scene. It was in a dent away from the fight. It looked fresh. According to the report, Phantom was hovering over it before they attacked him.” Shouta’s fist clenched at the reminder. He wished he had found the boy first. 

“And the bag itself?” Principle Nezu asked.

“I didn’t have anything else on me.”

“Very well. I shall run it through our lab to see what comes up. I can follow your line of logic in thinking that this could’ve had possible significance to Phantom, but it’s best to remain critical.” Shouta nodded.  

“Of course. Now to move on to the other matter…” Principle Nezu’s back straighten even more, if that were possible, “After I completed my patrols for the night, “Nezu didn’t correct him that it was now morning, “I went to my usual coffee place where I saw a teen who looked a lot like the description of the boy from page 45, the one who ran into the heroes before the altercation.” 

Nezu Hummed, “So you think this boy is Phantom?” It was rhetorical but Shouta still answered.

“I do. The way he moved and acted was also suspicious. It was clear that his clumsiness was intentional, and during an altercation between a customer-”

“He fought a customer?” Nezu questioned, his eyebrow quirked. 

“No, I fought a customer.” Shouta stated. “He was being rude to Tommy, the name of the barista and suspect, and then splashed coffee on his face, at which point I intervened.”

“You seem more tired than usual, Mr. Aizawa”

“I wasn’t able to enjoy any coffee.” He took another drink of the miserable cup in front of him. 

“Of course, whatever it takes to get you through the day,” Nezu teased. He had also tried to convince Shouta to stop drinking coffee so much. “Can you tell me anything about the interaction between you and ‘Tommy’” 

“Our conversation at the start was quick, just me ordering a coffee,” Shouta thought for a moment, “although it was strange, he didn’t charge me for the cup.”

“Perhaps he recognized you? Or maybe he already feels a connection with you.” Nezu let out a small laugh.

“Doubtful. If he was truly raised by All For One, I would imagine him to be more disdainful or at least distrustful of heroes, especially after what happened last night. Although perhaps he also looks up to the heroes because of his father. He is a vigilante after all.” Shouta hasn’t had the time to think too deeply about what that could mean, but the more he did, the less he liked.

“Who knows,” Nezu definitely knew something and was hiding it. He would tell Shouta if it became important enough. 

“I digress, shortly after I sat down the customer started harassing Phantom. At first it was just yelling and general insults, but I stepped in when it got physical. I dragged him outside and kicked him out.” Nezu nodded, “However, after the man spilled his coffee on Tommy, I noticed the boy’s eyes glow green, not unlike what it detailed in the reports with Phantom. That’s when I was convinced they were one in the same. Of course, there is always the possibility that the two are separate, but I do not think this is the case.”

“I would have come to the same conclusion myself.” Nezu agreed. 

“After the altercation, Phantom handed me my coffee and thanked me. He seemed awkward about the exchange, though. I left shortly after and came here.”

“Thank you for your report, Mr. Aizawa. I hope I’m not asking you too much if you could write this all out for me with any other details you can remember. Even the most minor thing could be important.”

“Consider it done.” Sensing the meeting was over, Shouta stood up to leave. “I just have one question Principle Nezu.” 

“And what's that?” His eyes gleamed.

“How many quirks does Phantom have?” The Nomu’s were no longer human after just 3, and this kid has displayed far more than that. They could be on a timer to save the boy before he was lost forever in himself. 

“I do not know.” Nezu stated. Ice spread through Shouta and a weight settled in his gut. Even the principle doesn’t know? Shouta’s hands clenched into fists again. As much as he wanted to save the kid, he had to remember he was an unknown. He couldn’t let his emotions get in the way with that.

“You should probably get some rest, Mr. Aizawa. We both have a long few days ahead of us.” and with that, the meeting was officially over.

Shouta slowly walked out of the room trying to process the whole conversation. The Principle had clear faith that Phantom would indeed join UA, and so Shouta just had to trust him until proven otherwise. He hoped to whatever god that becomes a reality, for both Phantom’s and his sake. Until then, he would do his best to build his trust and extend a hand to the boy. It was his choice whether he would take it or not. 

One thing was for certain, he would try to save the boy until he begged him to stop, even then he might push.

When Shouta got home, the house was empty. Hizashi was still at the studio for the morning radio. He was kind of relieved he was gone. He wasn’t ready to talk about the day he had yet. Still so many unorganized thoughts in his head. He collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to change his clothes or taking off his shoes; it was laundry day tomorrow after all, or was it today? Time had lost all meaning to Shouta a long time ago. He closed his eyes and thought about Phantom again. He will save him, even if he loses an arm in the process.

He closed his eyes and thought about Phantom again. He will save him, even if he loses an arm in the process. 

“Damn it” he cursed into the still air.

He got attached.