#I meant to say on the house… when can we edit tags ugh

[1driedpersimmon]

Som //Suggestive Sid/Sesame heheee :3c

[raunchyom]

Vices, Not Virtues: Kindness

[ Chapter 3 ]

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A/N: Surprise! Wasn’t planning to have this out on Levi’s birthday, but also wasn’t planning that hiatus. School, amirite? On the plus side, I’ll officially be free by May 1, at which point I can start updating this (semi-) regularly again, so look forward to it! Tagging: @devintrinidad // @dweeb-central

word count: 2.7k || warnings: n/a

Listening to Leviathan rant was pretty much something that came with the territory of being his friend.

Whether about anime, his brothers, video games, anime, school, socializing, normies… oh, and don’t forget anime. There was always something on his mind, and his severely limited social circle meant you were often the recipient of his rants. Today in particular, it spanned a lot of different topics. Your recent absence hadn’t gone unnoticed, and the way he was going on made it seem like he’d bottled up every single emotion over the past few days and shoved them into a box labelled ‘re-open for Mc.’ 

Not that you loved him any less for it, of course. Poor Levi really couldn’t catch a break, and he was so excited to have someone like you who really cared about him-- well, who could blame him for wanting to open up?

Over the past week in particular, he’d been subjected to the usual trauma around the house. Apparently, he’d had Asmo and Satan gang up on him about never leaving the house, even the bookworm agreeing that Levi was too far gone. Mammon had ‘borrowed’ something of his, only for it to never return. Levi knew it was a bad idea every time, but he was too easily won over by promises of his investments being worth it. The last Akuzon delivery was supposed to be a limited edition maid-cafe-style Ruri-chan figurine, that smelled like her bean-cake best friend Azuki-tan-- which, of course, meant that Beel took a bite out of the package before Levi could get there to stop him. Lucifer had lectured him about grades, saying that he knew Levi could do better, if only he stopped playing video games so much-- “as if that’s a compliment!” 

Levi finally stopped pacing, rolling his eyes at the mere memory of it. He glanced down to where you sat, perched on the side of his tub. 

It wasn’t the most comfortable seat in the house, but his room wasn’t exactly made for visitors; you had to make do when you were there for a rant. He’d generally start talking while playing a video game, then gradually pause it, turn around, and eventually stand up and act out his frustrations. It was better for you to just start off seated on the side of his tub, that way he would have an aquarium backdrop for when he inevitably paced in front of you. It gave you a nicer view from the start, and when he wanted to sit again, he could choose to pull up his gaming chair or, if he was feeling particularly bold, sit down next to you.

As if he heard your thoughts, Levi plopped down next to you with a frustrated sigh. “Ugh, they totally don’t deserve to have you helping them all the time.” He grumbled, almost as if talking to himself. “I mean, I don’t either. I don’t know why you spend so much time around some gross otaku. And listen to all my problems, and--”

“Levi, it’s fine.” You assured him, “I don’t mind; we’re friends.” 

Levi glanced at you from the corner of his eye, as if he didn’t believe you. He shifted his gaze back to the fish tank in front of him and continued, “Still, I know I’m always venting to you, and…” 

The lack of eye contact didn’t prevent him from seizing up in your presence. You could practically see the buffering symbol in his brain, mouth wavering as he tried to force the words out. His face was getting red just from knowing your eyes were on him, somehow feeling as if every moment you waited politely for him to continue was a moment of pure torture.

“You don’t ever talk to me.” He mumbled. The words slurred together, as if he could barely convince himself to enunciate the syllables. He fumbled with the cord of his headphones and his stare shifted to the floor. Even eye contact with the fish must’ve been too much.

“We talk all the time.” You sounded much less sure than you felt, probably more out of hurt than anything. Did your friendship not mean as much as you thought it did? 

“That’s not what I--!” Levi frowned harder, tugging more incessantly at his headphones. He huffed out a frustrated breath, knowing what he wanted to say but not how to say it. “You do talk to me, but… you listen to me a lot more…” 

“So… you want me to talk more?” Levi was usually pretty easy to read. Sure, he didn’t say his emotions outright, but they were often written all over his face. In times like this though, when he was stuttering and refusing to make eye contact even more than normal, he wasn’t quite as transparent.

“No! Well, I mean, yes, but not-- I meant-- why don’t you ever ask?” Levi finally blurted out, surprising you both. “...for help? Why don’t you ever ask for help?”

“Uh… what?” Well, this was out of nowhere. You were supposed to be listening to his problems, but now he was upset that you hadn’t brought up yours? Was there some part of his rant that you were supposed to cut into with your own? 

“I notice, around the house, and RAD, and-- and everywhere. You never let people help you with things. You never ask for it yourself, even when you need it.” After a second, his eyes widened. “Not-- Not that I watch you! I-It’s nothing weird like that! I-I’m gross, and an otaku, and-- b-but-- I don’t st-stalk you or anything!” 

It was funny, watching Levi dig his own grave deeper. On the one hand, it was amusing to hear Levi desperately try to explain away any potential misinterpretation, but it was mixed with a fair amount of confusion about what his point was supposed to be. Your face must have portrayed this in some way, or at least one of these two emotions, because a cursory glance from Levi had him forcing himself back on track before he could say anything worse.

“I mean, I get why you don’t want my help. I-I’m just some yucky otaku, who’s anti-social and um, probably couldn’t help with anything anyway.” Levi was really good at kicking himself while he was down. Given, he always seemed to be down, and he always seemed to be kicking himself.

“Levi, that’s not why...” The words fell away halfway through your sentence, having caught yourself before admitting to anything. 

“So why?” You may have caught yourself before admitting anything too damning, but Levi caught it too. He was dense, not an idiot. “No, you don’t have to tell me. I mean, there’s a lot of other reasons you might not ask for help, too. Maybe you don’t want to feel weak, or admit that you need help from other people. Or maybe it’s because it’s hard to ask someone for something, when you’re already annoying them just by being around them. Or…  that last one is probably just me.”

“You’re not annoy--”

“It’s not about that!” Levi cut you off, determined to make his point. “The point is, you can’t do everything by yourself. Even Henry has the seven lords to help him. And Ruri-chan has her friends. In fact, her friends are what make her so--”

Levi took a deep breath, for once stopping his own tirade about anime. “Can you just… tell me why, at least?”

Song references aside, it wasn’t an easy question to answer, even if you wanted to. Levi didn’t often ask for this kind of thing though, which made it hard to turn him down. “It’s a lot of things, like you said. I just want to show that I can. Do things on my own, I mean.”

Levi frowned, unsure how to combat you. He already wasn’t exactly a pro on asking people for help, he holed up in his room too much for that. He had been, so far, basing it off the rare times he left his room. But now you were mentioning something that he could relate to on some level, except… “You… want to prove yourself?”

“I guess.” Not how you’d phrase it, necessarily, but not entirely inaccurate. Or really, it was oversimplifying the issue by a long shot, but it was better to give Levi half credit rather than no credit. His self esteem could certainly use it.

“But why!? You’re-- you’re so cool! You made a pact with every demon in the House of Lamentation! You could make a pact with Diavolo if you tried! You taught Satan to control his anger, you got Asmo to care about someone other than himself, you stood up to Lucifer when he was going to kill Beel and Luke-- and you, too!--, you got Belphie to get along with everyone again, you even died and--” It could’ve been that he realized what he was saying, or it could’ve been that he saw your face when he brought it up; either way, Levi clamped his mouth shut mid-sentence.

“I-I mean, not everyone gets to respawn.” He mumbled, hoping a video game reference would make it less awkward again. After a moment of silence, he reiterated his original point. “You don’t need to prove yourself. You already have.” 

It was heartwarming, hearing Levi sing your praises as he did. But that wasn’t exactly a quick fix for the fact that asking for help meant admitting you were bad at something. Or even just admitting to needing help at all. Lucifer said he had to teach you some pride, well here was a lesson you could skip. This one you knew well: don’t want to swallow your pride and ask for help? Easy, just don’t ever ask!

Levi seemed antsy to fill the silence, but managed to hit the nail on the head when he spoke again. “I know how it feels, when you see someone that’s better than you at something. It’s frustrating. And painful. Especially if you’re supposed to be the best, and then someone else knows more than you do, about a book series that they just read for the first time, and then spoil stuff about the one that hasn’t even been released yet, even though you’re the number one TSL fan and they shouldn’t even have that informa--”

“That was one time!” You protested. Levi let out a puff of air that was somewhere in between a scoff and a snort, but he didn’t seem to be legitimately angry. Then again, leave it to Levi to hold a grudge from the early days of the exchange program.

“Sometimes though, you can use that jealousy. Being jealous of someone can drive you to get better at things, or to learn from them. Or just ask them for help, if you have to. I’m never gonna work out like Beel, so if I need help lifting something I’ll just ask him for help doing it.” He deliberately didn’t mention his past experiences in asking for Beel’s help in getting fit, hoping you didn’t know about the devilgram posts Asmo made about it. You did, but decided to let it go. After a moment of consideration, he added, “I usually have to pay him with food, though.

“We may not always get along, but at least my brothers and I know how to depend on each other. Lucifer may act-- well, be annoyed a lot, but there’s a reason everyone goes to him for help. He helps the people he cares about… even if it comes with a lecture. Everyone knows to go to Satan if they need information, or help studying. Asmo’s so good with fashion that he works with Majolish, and still--” Levi’s chest puffed out a bit as he spoke-- “he comes to me for help in design too, since he knows I’m the best at cosplays.”

“That almost sounded like you were complimenting yourself.” Levi deflated a bit at your teasing tone, both embarrassed and a bit self-conscious. You felt some guilt about the latter, but none from the former. Not when his embarrassment meant his face scrunched up like that, and he floundered to go back on his own claims.

“W-Well, I didn’t mean-- of course I’m good at otaku stuff! A normie wouldn’t understand!” He floundered, clearly at a loss for what to say if he was falling back on calling you a normie. That was pretty much his version of sticking his tongue out when he lost.

“It’s hard to imagine Mammon ever gets asked for help.” You offered, trying to get him back on track. ...and maybe continue to push his buttons just a tad.

“That idiot--” Levi took a deep breath, gritting his teeth as he sought a way to talk about Mammon without including some form of insult, “He gets into trouble all the time, obviously. He’s a moron because of the kind of trouble he gets into, not because he asks for help. At least he knows to come to us for help when he needs it.”

At that, Levi gave you a pointed look. Well, consider that the last time you ever try to help him get back on track.

“Mc, none of us will think less of you. People usually consider it an ego-boost if someone comes to them for help. Especially if it’s y--” Levi fumbled, quick to brush past his near-slip. “If anything, we want to help. If you asked for help with your work and school and things, you’d have more time to yourself; for watching anime and playing games.” 

Levi tried to make it sound like he was being benevolent, but the implied ‘with me’ was hard to miss.

“So, you could try asking for help some more, to lighten your load. If you want. It would make me--  um, make u-us feel better, too.” He seemed content in ending it there, and made an effort to end any potential continuation of the topic. Flipping on a dime, Levi was quick to talk over any potential response. “Th-That’s all, anyways!  Uh, we can just-- go back to, you know. Playing devilcart, or um, we can watch some anime, or--”

“Thank you, Levi.” You had to put a hand on his arm to make him listen, the simple action instantly sending the touch-starved demon into fight-or-flight mode. “I’ll try.”

He swallowed back his nerves and nodded, surprised he had managed to make it through that whole talk. You were too, really, as soon as you realized that this was supposed to be his intervention for you.

As much as you might loathe to admit it, his talk made sense. Or at least it had some aspects of truth to it, and perhaps you felt marginally better about asking the bros for help. Levi made it very clear how he felt about wanting to help you, the least you could do was see if the others felt the same. And hey, maybe he had a point about people wanting you to ask them for help in general, too. Who would’ve guessed it, but so far these demons seemed to know a thing or two about sinning.

---

“Is something the matter, my Lord?”

“It’s been awfully quiet the past few days. I wonder what those brothers are up to?” Boredom generally caused Diavolo’s mind to wander to the Devildom’s most notorious troublemakers, but this week especially. His fellow members of the student council had been quieter than normal, without even a yelling match in days; much less something exciting enough to warrant Diavolo’s attention. Thus leaving the prince here, sighing as he pondered their goings on.

Barbatos poured Diavolo’s tea with a knowing smile. “They have been quite busy this week.”

“Oh?”

“It seems they’re corrupting Mc.” Barbatos spoke as if it were a common occurrence. 

Diavolo chuckled. “Should we be worried?”

“Quite the opposite. They’re working together to get Mc to take better care of themself.”

“Is that so?” Lethargy had caused Diavolo to ignore his tea at first, but the new information made him forget about it altogether. Diavolo sat up straighter, excitement tugging his mouth into a smile. “Perhaps I’ll bring tomorrow’s meeting to Lucifer, and pay the house of lamentation a visit.”

“Of course, my Lord.”

[ofhoneyandrosepetals]

Summer Roads - Chapter 4

Pairing: Sean x Fem! reader

Description: You’ve always been Lyla’s best friend, but since Sean moved you became an inseparable trio. But who could say that, after all these years together, you would start growing feelings for Sean?

Warning: swearings only.

Word count: 1.741

A/N: I really wanted a gif of Sean smiling and that’s the one I could find. Plus, the subtle kinda holds the vibe from the end of the chapter :)

“Ugh, finally, I was starting to think you guys decided to bail on me,” that’s how Lyla received you and Sean.

“Not today, no,” Sean said. You giggled.

“Good to know you’re up to something. I’ll keep tabs on you two.”

“Me too?” You pointed to yourself. “But I didn’t said anything.”

“I’ll. Keep. Tabs.” You hoped this wasn’t true, because you thought if Lyla suspected anything, you would be dead.

“Uh, backyard?” You raised your bag, indicating if you should leave the things there. Lyla nodded.

“I can see you brought some food, too.”

“Not food exactly, it’s more like… things we chew.”

“You want to say chips, don’t you?” Lyla said deadpan.

“But they are…”

“Girls, I really don’t wanna pull that thread,” Sean passed his arms around yours and Lyla’s shoulders. 

“I thought knowledge was always welcomed,” Lyla said.

“Only during school. It’s summer, Ly,” you gave a kiss on her cheek and went outside. 

Starting to place your sleeping bag, Lyla lied on the grass, arms behind her head. Sean sat on the bench, elbows on knees. 

“I have the feeling that this summer is going to be a special one,” Lyla started.

“Why’s that? Sometimes I think that too, it’s my last summer before becoming a freshman. But you’re going to be a sophomore,” you said.

“Hey, I’m going to be a freshman too,” Sean says.

“You guys are so cute. Don’t worry, we’ll always be together there.”

“You putting it like that makes us feel like kids, as if you were some big grown up,” you were too wrapped up on your own thoughts to pay attention to Sean or Lyla. You guessed she was right, but not because of the changes high school would bring. Maybe it was because how the sun rose on the first day of summer vacations, how the morning was cool but as time kept going it got a little warmer. The sun was this shining guiding light hanging on a blue, clear sky, that if you glared too much at you would start feeling lost.

It was easy to get lost when the sky had no clouds.

“Earth calling Y/N?” You hear someone calling you.

“Yes?” You answer both ways, Sean and Lyla.

“I was thinking that, since Lyla can’t stop saying how this summer is special and whatever shit…”

“Hey!” She protests.

“It made me remember she promised me long ago I could tag her wall.”

“My mom is gonna freak,” Lyla said.

“I think it’s a good idea. Maybe Sean could put our three ideas into one.”

“I’m not that much of a pro,” Sean said humble.

“C’mon Seanie, have some faith,” you say. “You’re great.”

“I think I have a board we could tag and just hang in the wall, it’s better this way. I’ll keep my promise and my mom won’t kill me.”

“You’ll keep an edited promise, but that works,” you nod in concordance. 

“Okay, lemme find it.”

“What you have on your mind?” Sean asks you.

“What?” You got caught off guard.

“For the mural. What you have in mind?” He asked with a smile, one you couldn’t take your eyes off from.

“The beach,” you said without thinking first. “I always wanted to visit California, all that coast surf. My brother lives there with my father.”

“Yeah, I remember. It seems like a nice place.”

“Maybe you’re watching too many TV?” Lyla said, a big board covering her. You could only see her hands and feet.

“I don’t think it’s too much different from what they show. At least not from what my brother tells me.”

“Oh, right, he lives there, doesn’t he? I forgot. Well, my idea for this summer is a lot of skating. Sean?” Lyla places the board on the fence, where the paint wouldn’t reach the wall.

“I guess I know what I’ll do. Let the pro work now.”

“I thought you said you were no pro,” Lyla teases.

“Shoosh.”

Sean grabbed some spray can from his backpack while Lyla dragged your ass all the way across the backyard. She started chattering about the summer, the parties and the new year in high school, having ideas of what you three could do and go. She was so excited that she didn’t even noticed you kept your eyes on Sean working, or at least you thought so. You noticed how his hair was starting to grow and wondered if this time he would let it grow through summer.

You followed every movement of his, how his hand held the spray can and how his arm moved around to tag, how sometimes he would get down or be on tiptoe. Eventually you remembered yourself to look at Lyla and nod your head, trying to keep it casual. You didn’t want your crush to be so obvious, or obvious at all.

Watching Sean working made you realize how you liked every part of him, because every part of him made sense. It was… what he was made of.

“Are you guys peaking? I really prefer you to not,” he said loud enough so he didn’t need to turn his head.

“No!” Lyla answers and turns your head to her, grabbing your chin. “You never could not peak on his art, right? You were always so curious,” breathing nervously, hoping like hell Lyla didn’t suspected anything, you shrug.

“Nothing I can do. I like it.”

“I know,” and Lyla started from where she stopped. Maybe this was a good sign, she didn’t paused her plans to try a talk with you on the matter. “Do you think you need anything new for you roller skates?”

“Uhn… no? I guess.”

“You’ve been using them for a while, isn’t time for an upgrade?”

“I take good care of it,” besides, Sean gave me them, you added in thoughts. You had no plans on changing anything about those roller skates. 

“I was thinking that maybe I could work on them.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold up,” you rose your hands. “Forbidden territory. No touch.”

“No fair, you let Sean sketch on them!”

“That’s because he was the one who gave me them,” you said without much confidence.

“I see that favoritism there. It’s unfair, I’ve known you longer.”

“I’m hearing that discussion and I don’t like it, I’m feeling pushed aside!” Sean said out loud.

“You know I love you, Seanie, but it’s not me, it’s Y/N.”

“I’m just protecting my roller skates,” you defend yourself.

“Now I’m offended,” Lyla said, a finger up.

“We all know your skateboard is a deadly machine,” Sean said.

“Artists are not supposed to give their opinion,” you heard Sean laughing. “Seriously, Y/N.”

“Seriously, Lyla. My roller skates are perfect, I take care of them. I keep maintenance,” she puffed. “But I know you always wanted to give my backpack a treat. To compensate you, I’ll let you do it tonight.”

“FINALLY!” Lyla shouts. “Gimme the thing.”

“It’s called a backpack.”

“Gimme,” smiling, you handed her your backpack. Lyla went inside the house for a couple of minutes and got back with a little box. “You’re not allowed to choose the patches.”

“Your responsibility,” you said raising your hands. You watched Lyla work on your backpack, but here and there you would glare at Sean for a few seconds. 

“You’re quieter than usual,” Lyla pointed.

“I guess this afternoon got me tired.”

“Maybe. You do seem a bit off today. Do you miss your brother? I know he visits every summer.”

“I haven’t thought about it, really. Maybe it’s this whole summer idea, it got me dazed,” you throw your head back, hitting the fence behind you. “I do feel kinda off,” without noticing, your look froze on Sean, but you didn’t notice him. Lyla rose an eyebrow. “I just want to have the best time before school starts again.”

“Oh… I know what this is about. Your first high school year. You’re scared.”

“I’m not scared,” you said defensively. 

“You just don’t know it, hun. I felt like that too. But now we’re gonna be together, all three of us. Besides, you’ll always have Sean by your side.”

“That’s true!” He shouted from the distance.

“My guess is that you feel like you’re leaving something behind,” Lyla said and this time you looked at Sean. You were leaving something behind, you felt like it, but you weren’t sure what it was and what it meant to start growing feelings for Sean, your childhood friend, almost like a brother. You smiled.

“I guess so. Thanks, Ly.”

“But I haven’t said anything.”

“You said enough.”

“Well, I do acknowledge I’m a terrific friend.”

“Ladies, I’m done!” Sean announced and Lyla pushed you to the ground.

“I tag your ass!” She ran to see Sean’s work. You got up laughing and when you got to her side you pushed her. “Wow,” you heard her saying before you could take a look.

It was a beach, leading you to assume Sean wanted to represent California. At the beach, in the middle of the sand, was a huge skate ramp, and you could see skaters all around. And, attacking them, coming out of the water, was an enormous squid, its tentacles grabbing the skaters and crushing the ramp. 

“Dude, that’s rad,” Lyla said. “I loved it.”

“Yeah, me too,” you tapped his shoulder. “But maybe you should let us add something? So it could be our mural?” Sean gave you what you judged to be his biggest smile ever.

“How couldn’t I think about it? Yeah, sure.”

You and Lyla grabbed each a spray can and exchanged looks.

“Is this what I think it is?”

“If you’re thinking about the same thing I’m thinking.”

“Why do girls do it?” Sean mumbled.

“I get tops,” you say. Lyla nodded.

You could see Lyla making little roller skates on some of the squid’s tentacles while you made a giant bow on its head.

“Oh my fucking god,” you heard Sean laughing. “You are creative, aren’t you?”

“We are,” Lyla said proudly and wrote her initials at the corner of the board. You did the same and, after you, Sean.

You noticed your pointer finger was pink and you held it up for your friends to see. Lyla’s was blue and Sean’s had a little rainbow on his.

“To the best summer ever,” Lyla said and you three touched your pointer fingers, as some kind of toast. 

[quarantine-writer]

Why do stray cats follow me? P. 3

I know it doesn’t look like it yet, but this is a (really slow burn) MariChat story. Please don’t hate me.

Part [1] [2] [3]

Adrien’s day had been tired so far. It started at 6 am with Gorilla waking him up.

“Where’s Nathalie?” He said, with his eyes still semi closed.

“... Not coming today.” 

Adrien had a well-balanced, lonely, and healthy breakfast. At 7 am he was already in Pont de Bir-Hakeim for the ‘City Life Collection’ photo shoot of this year. Vincent was talking to the Art Director about locations and special lighting for the shoots when he spotted him.

“Adrien, you’re already here! Go to make up and dress yourself up with combo number 4 first.”

Walking to the dresser he saw Lila with the hair stylist and saluted them from afar. He already knew she was going to be there. For some reason unknown to him, his father agreed on three photo shoots with her. This was barely the second. And because she was good at it, it wouldn’t surprise him that she will eventually sign up for more.

Six long hours passed, and they were done. To celebrate, everyone in the set ate lunch together. Lila was stuck by his side and he didn’t push her off, to be fair, she wasn’t doing anything wrong to anyone that day, so he tried (and failed) to have fun as well. He meant it when he talked to her: they could be ‘friends’ but there was a limit to how much he will be able to endure, specifically if she insisted on hurting his friends. 

"Adrien, do you want to go to somewhere else and enjoy the rest of the day with me?”

“Thank you, Lila, but I can’t”

“If it is because of your father, maybe I can talk to him?”

“I had plans with Nino today, but they got cancelled because Father wants me to practice a new song for an upcoming event. I don’t think his opinion will change.”

“Oh... okay, later then.”

Adrien entered his car without offering her a ride, Gorilla closed the door and Adrien lowered down the window. “Yes, later. Have a nice day, Lila”

“Bye!” Lila said and Gorilla started the engine and the car moved away from her, who kept waving goodbye until they disappeared in the next corner. 

And it was true. Nino wanted to show him how to breakdance and he really wanted to learn, he didn’t specify with his father about the plans, but Gabriel Agreste had a sixth sense when it comes to letting him have fun with friends. Suddenly the day before he was informed that there will be an event host by the Tsurugi family next month and he was supposed to play a couple songs during the evening: “Painted” and “River Flows in You”, both from Yiruma. 

He already knew the second one by heart. It was one of her mother’s favorites.

So, he returned to the mansion and started to practice the first one. For the first two hours he was practicing seriously. The third hour he recorded himself to create a loop that would be played later when Chat Noir went out to play. 

Gorilla appeared at his door around two hours and a half later to give him some food. He returned the empty dishes just before going out. His recording had a very elaborate edit of his very best try, looped three times, and then a couple recordings with errors here and there. If his father came when the errors were being played, he won’t disturb. If he went when the recording was sounding perfect and realize he still was playing, he won’t interrupt neither. Nobody will enter his room in the next 3 hours, probably. It was almost 5 pm.

“Plagg, claws...”

“Wait!” Plagg interrupted him mid-sentenced.

“Plagg?”

“First you shush me because you are recording and now you suddenly transform without saying a word? What happened to your manners kid?”

“Sorry Plagg, but I didn’t have any recording of that song, and I really wanted to go out.”

Plagg was still playing hard. Floating with both arms crossed in front of Adrien’s face “Where are we going today?”

“I don’t know... anywhere else but here.” Plagg was still with his tiny arms crossed, clearly upset for being ignored. “But I’m sorry bud, do you want extra cheese before going out today? Or do you want to stay? We can play video games if you want.”

Adrien would probably never realize how much Plagg loved him. He dropped his arms and decided to go lie down to the blonde’s head so he couldn’t see his face. Adrien moved something inside Plagg with his suggestion to stay home to make him, the God of Destruction, feel better when clearly Adrien just wanted to run away. “Nah, I ate the emergency supplies when you were recording. I’m fine if I got three extra cheeses when we return”

Adrien pet Plagg’s head over his head with a smile “You are incorrigible buddy. Plagg, claws out!”

                            ━━━━━━━━※━━━━━━━━

To be honest, she woke up that morning thinking that her day was going to be exhausting.

But here she was, smiling, hugging Luka’s back on the way home, resting her head on him. Both were on his bicycle, carrying an empty box behind. 

Luka smelled like lavender, probably because of the cloth softener in his house, but it recalled her freedom and peace. And she just wanted to keep hugging him all day.

It has been an awesome day so far. She woke up late but on time to meet Luka. She stayed very late the previous day dividing the gifts by types. Sweaters, scarfs, gloves, hats, everything was also divided by colors. She tagged everything, unwrapped it and put it into bags, and those bags into a box.

Luka gently carried her around Paris to deliver the clothes into a couple charities for homeless. They got lunch together by the Seine. They saw street performers by the Eiffel Tour doing brake-dance and a couple mimes playing with kids.

Luka bought her a smoothie and they walk down the Jardin des Tuileries while talking about everything and nothing at the same time.

When they passed near Notre Dame, he told her he would like to show her his new progress with her melody, so she listened quietly the 2 minutes song on a bench next to him, watching the peaceful Parisians enjoying a sunny and beautiful Saturday. 

Everything was lovely and colorful. So far, no Hawkmoth, no Chloé, no Lila, no stress, no danger. It was like a vacations day and she was up to live it full for what it last. Since the moment she opened her eyes she was waiting for the next akumatized person to show up and change her plans, but it was already 4:00 pm and Luka was successfully distracting her from her own thoughts.

Luka never asked her why she had so much male clothes, and even that small detail gave her peace at mind. He didn’t judge, he just listened. 

There was a moment in which she was startled by a purple butterfly on Notre Dame. He immediately put himself on between them, with a fierce determination. But it was a regular butterfly. They laughed together by the realization but laughs stopped when he hugged her.

“I promise I will protect you with all I have if Hawkmoth dare to attack today”

And Marinette knew it was true, he has already done it after all, jumping to protect her from the bees last time. If Luka haven’t done that, who knows what would have happened to her that day.

It made Marinette immediately sad. It was horrible to know that thanks to Chloé: Luka will never be Viperion again, Alya couldn’t be Rena, Max couldn’t be Pegasus, Kim couldn’t be Roi Singe, Kagami shouldn’t be Ryuuko and Nino couldn’t be Carapace.

Of course, Luka thought she was suddenly sad because Marinette was scared for him. He caressed her cheek. “Don’t be sad, Marinette. If there’s something I’m scared of is not Hawkmoth, but to not being able to cheer you up when you are distressed”

Marinette hid her face in his chest.

“You want to talk about it?” He asked, softly.

“What do you think will happen if Hawkmoth wins?” she mumbled.

“That won’t happen. Paris has the best heroes on earth.”

“But what if” she insisted.

Luka meditated his answer for a couple seconds “Then everybody in Paris will help Ladybug and Chat Noir to get a proper revenge. If Hawkmoth ‘wins’ I’m sure everybody will fight along with them to help them restore everything back. Including us both. Am I right?”

Marinette let a little giggle escape her lips. “But of course, Luka”

“I can imagine you as a hero you know, brave, smart, beautiful”

Marinette blushed immediately “Ugh... stop. Don’t exaggerate”

“I am not!” he said, kissing her forehead. Marinette’s heart skipped a beat. “You will probably overshadow Ladybug. At least to my eyes.”

She didn’t immediately reply to that. She was feeling too many butterflies in her belly and even her neck was probably red right now. She covered her face with her hands and mumbled a quiet “Thank you”.

Luka released her from the hug and got on his bicycle again “Let’s go, I don’t want your parents to think I kidnapped you.”

And really, time flies. How come she already spent 8 hours with Luka without noticing it?

So here she was. In her way home, hugging Luka’s back and smiling while mumbling the melody he played for her a couple hours ago. Since the last battle she has spent countless hours talking to Tikki and the other kwamis, studying, learning about history and her new role responsibilities and thinking about strategies. She had been holding quite difficult discussions in her room lately. And she didn’t even have the chance to talk to Chat Noir yet.

So, it felt good to be able to relax today. She didn’t realize she needed a moment of peace that much.

She also didn’t notice Chat Noir jumping from rooftop to rooftop, but he did spot them and gave them a sincere smile from afar.

“Hey, Luka”

Marinette called him from behind when they were a couple streets from her home.

“Yes? Do you want me to stop?”

“No, just change directions please”

“Change directions? Where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere” She hugged him stronger. “If it is okay. I just want to stay a little more with you today. Just one more hour.”

Luka’s heart shrank and he almost lost control of the bicycle by Marinette sudden comment.

“Do you want to see the sunset from Sacre Coeur?” He asked.

“I would love to”

                           ━━━━━━━━※━━━━━━━━

Adrien arrived home before anyone noticed it and went downstairs to have dinner at the same time as always. His dad was unexpectedly waiting for him at the table. 

“Father? What are you doing here?”

“I have some news to share with you, Son” Gabriel asked him to take a sit with his hand. Someone from the service staff served him a plate with onion soup, toasted bread and a glass of water.

When they were alone, his father started conversation again “As you know, Nathalie have not been feeling well lately”

“Is she sick again?” Adrien was looking at his food with a sad look. Something that was stressing him out lately was how much Nathalie’s condition resembled his mom’s.

“Yes, but there’s good news on that regard” Adrien raised his gaze with a hint of hope. “A doctor found out what was happening to her. She will be out for three weeks for recovery, but she will be cured”

“Really? That’s awesome!” Adrien stood up with energy and a smile from side to side, truly excited for the good news “What did she had?”

“Something related to her inner ear, which explains the dizziness. A minor surgery fixes it”

“Can we go and visit her?”

“She prefers not to. But you are welcome to find a gift if you want, for when she returns” His father kept his gaze busy on his tablet, probably still working.

“I will do it, thanks, Father”

                          ━━━━━━━━※━━━━━━━━

When Marinette closed the door of her room, Tikki flew in front of her with a smile.

“Marinette, did you have fun today?” 

“Yes!” Marinette ran to the divan and laid there hugging a cat pillow, while giggling “Today was great, Tikki. I think I didn’t have this much fun in a while.”

“I’m glad” Tikki sat above the cat pillow.

“But as fun as the day was today,” Marinette sat down, letting the pillow aside and holding Tikki on her hands “We have work to do.” She climbed up the stairs of her bed and pull out the miraculous box out of her hidden spot. 

She opened it and took the panjas bracelet, put it on and Roarr appeared in front of her. “Hi Guardian! Is it my turn today?”

Marinette giggled at the little kwami “Hello there, would you please be as nice as to help me to know you better?”

“I like peanuts!” Roarr answered fast “I don’t like when the weak is abused, I’m very protective” 

“I know you can control the lighting of a place and reflect yourself to camouflage” Marinette was taking notes “I also know you take most of the decisions with Sass back in the box when Tikki and Plagg are out”.

“I have had only 13 permanent holders. Nothing compared to the others, so I’ve stayed most of my time taking care of the world inside the box”

“By what circumstances have you been handled to permanent holders?”

“I was stolen 4 times, 7 times I was needed to hide the order of the guardians, 1 time the guardian of the box preferred my powers to fulfill his job, you know, like Master Fu with Wayzz, and one time the Guardian of the box preferred the Pig miraculous, and give my miraculous to his lover so I can help to keep the box safe with her.”

Marinette stopped writing. “What?”

“What, what?”

“A Guardian share this secret with his lover?! Who was it?”

“It was many, many centuries ago” Roarr jumped from Marinette’s hand to her hair “The guardian was married when he was appointed to the task and he decided that the way to keep his family protected was to share the secret with Abelia.”

“Was it a good idea?”

“Many tragedies overcome his family. I know Abelia didn’t regret any.”

They chatted a bit more, Marinette did a pause to get her some peanuts, she showed her the room and what she liked to do and finally they wish each other sweet dreams after a couple hours of getting to know each other.

It was already after midnight and Marinette was already laid on bed when a noise called her attention.

“Ugh... again?”

She popped her head out and saw a watering can spinning on the floor. It stopped and a little kitty walked out there. 

“What are you doing inside there, little buddy?” It was a brown kitty, smaller than the one she saw the other day, but this time the kitty didn’t run away the moment he heard her. It walked to the watering can again, searching for something. Marinette saw how he started to lick the metal, so she went out and pour him some water in a flowerpot base she saw near him.

The kitty followed her and started to drink water “Were you thirsty little one?” She couldn’t help it and pet his head a little. “Such a cutie”

Part [1] [2] [3]

Gosh I’m the worst... I know this looks like a Lukanette (which I also love) but this is the most realistic turn I can take after that season finale! This is a Marichat story even if I haven’t prove it yet :) (please remember the sloow slowwww burn disclaimer from part 1)

[narukoibito]

charity work bonus snippet

@the-hinny-shipper

Oh my gosh I love this. Probably not, but is there like a part 2 or something? I know that's meant to be the end, but I need to know what happens next.

Thank you so much for the kind words to charity work, my Muggle AU where Ginny is a famous football player who helps Harry teepee and egg his ex’s house! ♥️

I am actually working on a part 2. Harry and Ginny of this world just couldn’t stop chattering in my head, and there’s about 2.5k words thus far. I know what’s going to happen - I just need to write, edit, and pull the trigger and post it... 

But in the meantime, I am sharing a funny little subplot that I wasn’t sure was ever going to see the light of day. It’s a bit of a prequel that I started but then dropped because it didn’t add much to the story...but today I thought, eh, why not share since we can all use some laughs now more than ever. It’s unbetaed, and I’m still iffy on it, but I hope you this will tide you over until I get part 2 posted.

(Also tagging the lovely @isidar-mithrim​ and @blattgefluester​ in case you are interested since you were both so amazingly kind toward charity work!)

Summary: This wasn’t what Seamus had in mind when he suggested Ginny do more charity work.

*

The Prophet landing on the table with a loud thud.

“What’s this?”

“This, Ginny, is the result of your spectacular interview with Miss Rita Skeeter.”

Ginny lifted her chin, pushing the paper away from her and returning to shoveling her porridge down. “So it’s the usual rubbish.”

Seamus pursed his lips, annoyed that once again she wasn’t taking this seriously. “Rubbish it may be, but rubbish that sells.”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “So are you here as my publicist or as a friend?”

“Can’t I be both?” He grinned.

She prodded the offensive article with distaste. “What do they say this time?”

“Well, Miss Skeeter took it upon herself to approach all your exes for an ‘expose.’”

“I like to kick a ball for a living. I don’t understand the obsession with my love life.”

“The all-star player who went pro at your age with your looks?” Seamus winked. Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Don’t let Dean catch you doing that.”

“He knows I’m a hopeless flirt,” he dismissed cheerfully.

She made a strangled, irritated noise. 

“Look, it’s not too bad.” He unfurling the paper with a wince. The headliner, Wonder Girl Weasley Not So Wonderful Girlfriend?, paired with an unflattering photo of Ginny shoving a camera away from her face flashed back at her. “She found some, er, old classmates to go on the record.”

Ginny’s expression darkened. “Record about what?”

“You remember when you stopped people from bullying Luna? And Neville? And when Dean and I got together? Well, somehow Skeeter got in touch with Parkinson, Zabini, Smith... Skeeter may or may not insinuate that you’re…aggressive. Have a bit of a temper.” 

Ginny grabbed the paper and began reading loudly, “Since the early days of her youth, Ginevra Molly Weasley, better known as Ginny, the Wonder Girl Weasley, has been bewitching men to do her bidding. We here at The Prophet have long extolled the many virtues of Miss Weasley, but I, your fearless investigator of truth, uncovered a disturbing pattern in how Miss Weasley wraps men around her little finger. What others thought was wit and charm, I have uncovered may actually be the result of a threatening temper. I dare to ask, should we be concerned with Miss Weasley’s trail of broken hearts and perhaps other broken body parts?”

He bit his tongue as Ginny read the part where Rita expounded on Ginny’s "commoner” country-side upbringing” surrounded by her “rowdy” brothers as the source of her “violent streak.” 

“I only punched Parkinson once, and that was when she poured punch on Luna!” Ginny scrunched up the newspaper and flung it angrily into the bin. “She goes on about some weird sorcery I have with men.” 

“Look, I’ve already called Parvati about getting you on some morning shows, but maybe this time we can agree on some talking points, hmm? And maybe have you do some charity work, show your gentle, caring side. Get some positive press coverage.”

She continued to fume, muttering under her breath, “Skeeter gives witches a bad name.”

“It’ll all pass, Ginny,” Seamus smiled at her sympathetically. “Come back later tonight. Dean’s making roast, and we’ll talk about how to set the narrative straight.”

He sent her on her way, hoping that practice would relieve some of the rage.

*

Seamus’s head emerged from the oven, his face flushed scarlet. “Ginny, you can’t just go meet random fans and help them commit a crime!”

Even after all these years, she never ceased to amaze them. But this - randomly taking an Instagram follower’s request to egg and teepee a house? This was one of Ginny’s more...creative ideas.

“That’s right,” Dean agreed, taking the roast and plating it. “For all you know he could wank to your posters.”

“Well then you’d know he has good taste,” she said, dripping her finger into the cooling gravy.

“Ginny,” they sighed together in exasperation and pushing her away from the kitchen counter. 

“What happened between this morning and now?” 

“You’re always saying I should do more charity,” she said pointedly.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Seamus wagged a finger at her. She folded her arms across her chest, staring them down (which was quite the accomplishment, considering how much taller they were). 

“We can’t let you do this.”

“When has anyone ever let me do anything?” Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Seamus and Dean shared a long look, no doubt both of them remembering that one time she broke into the headmaster’s office to steal back the replica toy sword Ron was stupid enough wear to school as part of his knight costume for Halloween.

“Look,” Dean said carefully, leading her into the dining room as Seamus followed, plates of food laden in his arms. “We know you’re more than capable to taking care of yourself.”

“Damn straight,” she said, but she let him gently nudge her into her seat. 

“But as your friends — ”

“One of whom would like to stay gainfully employed,” Seamus cut in, playing the food on the table.

“—and who would absolutely be murdered by your brothers if they ever found out, we want to make sure you’re…thinking straight.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, we know,” Seamus said, deadpan. “But I really don’t need another article supporting this theory that you’re aggressive. If you beat the bloke up and the press catches wind of it…”

“I’m going. I put this idea into his head. And look at him,” she said, holding up a picture of H-P-Lightening, smiling sheepishly into the camera.

They examined the photo skeptically as Ginny tucked into dinner. Maybe while they were distracted, she could nick an extra bit of roast.

“He’s cute,” Seamus pointed out.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Not the point.” 

"Doesn’t hurt,” Dean said.

“He and I share a similar goal: to serve some much-needed justice in the world. And since I can’t go about egging Michael’s house without it ending up on the Sunday papers, I can at least help someone else.”

“His hair is an absolute disaster, but it somehow works on him,” Seamus continued, ignoring her.

“Those green eyes,” Dean said appreciatively.

“Plays football too,” Seamus said, clicking through to some videos. “He’s fit.”

Now they were both giving Ginny a look with entirely new context.

“It’s not like that,” she said breezily.

“Maybe she’s hoping he wanks to her poster,” Seamus snickered, not believing her for a second.

“He could wind up in trouble if he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

“And you’re an expert?” Dean asked.

“I’m a Weasley.” She smiled wickedly, and they laughed. “Besides, who am I to ignore a gentleman in distress?”

“Okay, fine, if we can’t stop you —”

She snorted.

“—then we’re coming with you.”

“What?”

“We’ll watch from a safe distance,” Seamus assured her, Dean nodding along. “Just to make sure you don’t end up in the papers.”

“We will help you hide the body,” Dean said.

Ginny looked from one to the other. They were grinning at her, half eager and half earnestly. She didn’t need them to come. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. But, suppose this turned out to be something she wasn’t expecting…

“Fine, but —” she added quickly when they started to wiggle their eyebrows at one another “—the moment, and I mean the very moment I give you the signal, you better make yourself scarce.”

Dean and Seamus beamed across the table. “Whatever you want, luv!”

*

“You can’t stay if you’re going to be this obvious.” Ginny growled.

“Obvious? We’re perfectly inconspicuous,” Seamus bristled.

“You brought binoculars,” she said dryly, placed her hands on her hips. “And a bat."

“Told you she wouldn’t like that,” Dean said.

“I won’t use the bat. It’s just in case we need to scare him off.”

Ginny and Dean gave him a look.

“What? This person could be tricking us!”

When Ginny’s glare made his back hair stick on end, Seamus relented.

“Fine, we’ll cross the street,” Seamus said, taking Dean by the arm. When they turned around, Ginny was still scowling, whipping out her phone and texting them furiously.

You are going to have to HIDE.

There’s nothing strange about us being here! Seamus typed back.

You’re two random, loitering blokes, ready to stalk or bean someone. If you’re going to stay, you’re going to hide. Ginny over at them critically. Behind those bushes.

“Ugh,” Seamus groaned, crouching down and behind the bushes with his boyfriend dutifully following. He swatted at a twig that was unpleasantly digging into the side of his bum.

Happy? he texted her back.

Delirious. Remember. You both better leave when I give the signal. Or else.

A shudder went down his spine, knowing very well what Ginny was capable of.

“This isn’t what I imagined our cozy Friday evening being.”

“You don’t really mind,” Dean said, smiling knowingly.

Seamus huffed and peered into the binoculars rather than reply. Yes, he was worried about this blowing up in his face (things often did), but he couldn’t deny he was a bit curious. He had never seen Ginny look that way at a photo before.

“You just want a front row seat,” Dean teased.

“Shut — oh, I think that’s him!”

They watched with anticipation as a lanky, bespectacled bloke with tousled black hair ascended the train station steps. He seemed to be deeply brooding as Ginny approached him. Through the binoculars, Seamus watched as this fellow, Harry something-or-other, looked up, eyes wide, and nearly tripped over the last step.

“They seem to be hitting it off,” Dean said as Ginny and Harry laughed before she handed him a hoodie.

They began walking, and Seamus scrambled to follow. “Come on.”

He kept an eye out for anyone else who might be around, but there didn’t seem to be anyone who recognized or followed Ginny.

“I think we can leave the bat.” Dean chuckled, swiping the binoculars for a closer look himself.

They trailed the other couple from across the street, doing the best they could to be inconspicuous. Ginny and this bloke looked good together. He looked oddly charming with his wild hair and glasses, but it was really the way he looked at Ginny at set Seamus at ease. They kept talking, laughing, smiling at one another. Seamus hadn’t seen her laugh so much since…he couldn’t even remember.

Was that — was Ginny Weasley blushing?

After several minutes, Seamus and Dean stopped and looked at each other.

Ginny had completely forgotten about them. 

“Do you think if we leave now, we can still catch the last half of the game?”

“Yeah,” Seamus said, taking Dean’s hand as they headed home.

Maybe their Friday evening plans could be salvaged after all.

[alagalaska]

Sneak Peek of ‘It’s On!’ Chapter Two

Hey guys, as it is taking so much longer to finish the second chapter than I had expected, here is a little sneak peek to keep you all going! Sorry updates have been so slow. I had been hoping to get them out a lot quicker now I’m at home 24/7 but I’ve had some commissions on the crafting side of things, which is great, but has slowed things down a lot in terms of writing. 

Anyway, so you can get a taste of things to come, the warnings for this chapter will include: swearing, smoking, underage drinking, drinking in general and some slight sexual references *winking face*

Aesthetic by the wonderful @nottherightseason​ 

My Masterlist // Series Masterlist // Chapter One

Word count: 1,580

EDIT: Ok, so this is actually way more than just a ‘sneak peek’ lol but I felt bad about not posting in a while, so enjoy! Please let me know what you think!

 ------

Over dinner, your mum keeps glancing at you across the table as you push your food around on the plate with your fork. You don’t feel very hungry. You’ve been trying to think of a way to bring up Heather’s plan without it sounding suspicious. What if she knows you’re lying?

“How was school?” your mum asks. 

“Hmmm?” You look up from your plate distractedly; pulled from your thoughts. 

She takes a long sip of her red wine, looking at you over the top of the glass. The almost empty bottle sits in front of her on the table.

You take a moment to process her question. “Yeah, fine,” you shrug. 

Oh yeah, it was great, you think sarcastically, letting your eyes fall back to your plate. You make a point of spearing a piece of cold broccoli and chewing deliberately slowly. 

“And how’s basketball going?” 

Someone’s talkative tonight…

“Yeah,” you say, not even bothering to look up, “great.” Where would you even start with that one? 

Well you see, Ma’, because the new boy’s captain is an inconsiderate jerk, we’re having to practice outside in the cold; as a result half the team now hates me and I’m pretty sure Ashley’s trying to overthrow me as captain. So yeah, it’s going great! 

“Have you got much homework to do over the weekend?” She asks, putting her glass down and picking her knife and fork up again to continue eating.

You pause with a forkful of pie halfway to your mouth. 

“Actually, yeah,” you say, taking the opportunity she has unknowingly presented you with. “We got given an English assignment. I was going to ask, would it be alright if I stay at Heather’s house tomorrow night?” 

Your mum glances up at you, like she’s about to say something, but you continue. 

“I know she’s in a different class, but we got the same assignment and we thought we could work on it together.”

She watches you carefully as she finishes her mouthful of food. Please buy it, please say yes. 

“Will her parents be there?” She finally asks.

You almost want to laugh, because you had been expecting her to ask that; but you quickly suppress the urge. 

“Yes.”

“Then that will be ok, yes.” Yes! “But Y/N,” she pauses, checking that you’re listening before she continues. Your stomach clenches nervously as your eyes meet hers.

“Make sure you each do an equal share of the work; don’t let her just copy you. You’re much brighter than she is; you know what I think, she’s always taken advantage of that, that Heather.” She’s picked the wine glass back up now and is pointing at you with the index finger of the hand holding it. 

You want to defend Heather and say that’s not true. You hear Mr. Kaminsky’s words from earlier in the day, repeating in your head, ‘I’ve noticed your grades are slipping.’ 

If only you knew, you think at your mum.

“Uhuh,” is all you say, shovelling the forkful of pie into your mouth to stop yourself from saying anything else. 

The pair of you sit in silence, finishing your dinner. 

I can’t believe I’m going to the party! you think excitedly to yourself. That was so much easier than I had expected! 

You have to remind yourself to chew slower, trying not to seem too eager to leave the table. You can’t wait to tell Heather. 

When you’re both done eating, you stand from the table and collect up your plates. You start washing up, your back turned to your mother as she remains seated at the table. You can feel her eyes watching you. 

“You know I’m proud of you darling, don’t you?” she says suddenly. Her voice is thick, speech slurring around the edges slightly. 

You turn around slowly. She’s cradling her empty wine glass in her hand, watching you with sad eyes. 

You wipe your wet hands on your top, meeting her gaze for just a second. But that second says it all. 

Are you, really? You can feel your eyebrow almost twitch upwards at the remark. 

“Are you done with your glass?” you ask, avoiding her eyes once more. She continues to look at you and you can feel the hurt protruding from her.

You reach for it, “I’ll wash it up if you are.” Give me the glass, you don’t need any more wine.

She seems to gather her composure, then she takes hold of the wine bottle, sniffing loudly. She tilts it to see what contents remain at the bottom then pours the rest into her glass and places the bottle back down on the table. She stands swiftly and retreats into the living room, without saying anything else. 

For a moment, you stand at the sink, staring at the empty bottle on the table. Then, with a sigh, you turn back round and finish washing up; your elation about the party, temporarily smothered. 

When you’re done, you grab the bottle off the kitchen table. You rinse it quickly under the tap then take it outside to the recycling. You stare down into the plastic tub, full of empty wine bottles, placing tonight’s on the top of the pile. Then you go back inside and call Heather from your bedroom to tell her the good news about the party.

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

The following evening, you’re standing in front of the full length mirror in Heather’s room, trying to decide what to wear to the party. You’d brought a choice of outfits with you, stashed at the bottom of your overnight bag, covered carefully with your pyjamas and the English textbook you wouldn’t need. 

Heather sits cross-legged at the end of her bed, offering her opinions as you hold up each outfit in turn against yourself and show her in the mirror. 

“Which do you think Billy will like best?” you wonder out loud.

She considers you carefully for a moment, a big smile spreading across her face.

“What?” you ask, seeing the way she’s looking at your reflection in the mirror.

“I’ve never seen you act like this over a guy before,” she says. 

“So?” 

“Don’t get me wrong,” she starts quickly, “I’m thrilled. ‘Bout time we got you laid.”

“Oh my God, Heather!” you gasp in shock, reaching out to smack at her arm lightly. “I’m not planning on sleeping with him!”

She holds up her hands in front of her, laughing, “Hey, I’m not judging.” 

You bite your bottom lip, smiling gently as you continue to check out your current outfit choice, Heather’s words filling your head. You’d been thinking a lot about what Billy’s invitation meant- if that’s even what you could call it.

‘It’d be cool if you came.’

You notice that Heather is still smiling at you, but it’s softer around the edges, more thoughtful than before.

“What now?” you ask her, exasperated, but in a jokey way.

“Nothing,” she says, shrugging, “It’s just nice to see you happy.” Heather’s words fall upon you with more weight than you think she intended and you huff out a laugh to try and mask the sudden aching in your chest.

“You’ve been in a bad mood all week,” she adds. “I’ve only seen you smile when you’ve been talking about Billy.”

“Yeah, I know,” you sigh, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her. “I guess it’s this shit with the boys’ basketball team still not being resolved. It’s just bothering me is all.” 

“What? But I thought you went and talked to the new captain this week?”

“I tried,” you explain, “I went to talk to him after practice on Thursday and they weren’t in there. Turns out he booked the space but they didn’t use it.”

“What? That’s so annoying!”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” you grumble.

“So what are you gonna do about it then? What if he tries to book it again next week?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” you sigh, fiddling with the edge of the bed covers, “I don’t really want to think about it right now. I just want to have fun tonight,” you look at her pleadingly. “I could really do with just having some fun.”

Heather nods in agreement, then starts laughing like she’s suddenly thought of something amusing.

“Well, maybe Billy can help you with that!” she says suggestively. 

You can’t help the snort of laughter that escapes you. 

“Not what I meant, Heather! Ugh!” You roll your eyes at her and gently shove her shoulder so that she has to grab hold of the edge of the bed to avoid falling off it. You stand and turn back to the mirror to hold up one of the outfits in front of you again. “What about this one?” you ask. 

She composes herself and moves off the bed to stand next to you, looking you over in the mirror. She places her hands on your shoulders. 

“That’s it. That’s the one,” she smiles at you, leaning her head against yours. “Now, come on, hurry up or we’re gonna be late,” she let’s go of you and starts rushing around the room, gathering up her own outfit and then settling down at her desk to do her makeup. 

You check your chosen outfit one last time, then sit yourself on the floor in front of the mirror to start on your face too, bubbling with a mixture of excitement and nerves.

------

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[annzybwrites]

Truth or Dare: Coming Out Edition (Chapter 1: Information Time)

Read on AO3 | Donate to my Ko-Fi if you like | Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6

A South Park Fanfiction Relationships: Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak, Kyle Broflovski/Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick/Leopold "Butters" Stotch Characters: Craig Tucker, Tweek Tweak, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, Leopold "Butters" Stotch, Token Black, Clyde Donovan, Jimmy Valmer, Timmy Burch Additional Tags: Established Relationship, mentioning of underaged sexual acts but nothing explicit, Swearing, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Comedy Summary: Tweek does NOT want to attend the annual sleepover that his boyfriend and eight other boys have every winter, because he does NOT want to play Truth or Dare. He knows he’ll be dared to do so many embarrassing things!! But wait, wait, wait… the attention ISN’T on him? It���s on some of the other boys?? No way - there’s other gay couples in the school??

Chapter 1: Information Time 

To say Tweek was nervous was an understatement. He’d chewed all of his fingernails down to the bed, pulled out three buttons on his shirt, and even ripped out some of his hair today, and still he couldn’t get rid of the shaky, quaking sensation in his stomach as he thought about tonight. Tonight, when he was attending a sleepover with nine other boys from school, including his boyfriend, Craig. It was a big sleepover they had tried to plan every year since sixth grade, sometime around Christmas. They were in eighth grade now, and Tweek had managed to get out of it for the past two years - the first year with a fake illness and last year with a real one. Don’t get him wrong, he’d love to have a sleepover with everyone, but he knew what would happen if they did.

He knew they’d play Truth or Dare.

And he knew that everyone would dare him and Craig to do embarrassing couple things! Or ask them embarrassing questions about their relationship!! And he really didn’t wanna be forced into that!!!  

The only reason he was going this year was because of Clyde. He had said he didn’t care if Tweek was sick this year and that he’d just shove a face mask over his mouth and drag Tweek to Token’s house himself if he had to. Plus, Craig had looked so sad when he asked Tweek to try and be healthy enough to come, and there was no way Tweek wanted to see that look on his face again.

Currently he was finishing packing up for the night. Craig was laying on his bed with Stripe while Tweek was trying to fold his outfit for tomorrow, but shaking too much to do it right. “Ah!” he screamed in frustration and threw it on the ground.

“Tweek.” His bed creaked as Craig got off of it and walked towards him, Stripe resting on top of his hat. “I’ll fold, okay? Go grab your bathroom bag.”

“Right!!” Tweek shoved his clothes at Craig before walking stiffly to his bathroom. He didn’t want to do this! He didn’t want to sleepover!! He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of everyone just for their amusement!!! Yet here he was, preparing for a sleepover he didn’t even want! He didn’t understand why Craig wanted to do it either! Surely he had already been asked embarrassing questions at the last two sleepovers! Why would he want to be asked more?! He groaned to himself as he opened up his bathroom mirror and grabbed his little travel bag of toiletries. He always kept a little bag filled with a travel toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, and deodorant. You never know when you’ll need to leave in a hurry.

When he came back to his room, Craig had everything else folded and packed up neatly in his little duffel bag, and Stripe was back in his cage. “Got it, babe?” he asked, his own sleepover bag slung over his shoulder. His face was as neutral as ever, except for the excited little rise in his eyebrows. It made Tweek relax a little. If Craig was saying it’d be a fun night, he’d try and believe him.

“Yeah, I got it.” He hurried over and shoved it in his bag before zipping it and standing up. “Let’s go.”

“Sure you got everything?” Craig asked, holding out his finger to start counting off. “Pajamas, change of clothes, underwear, White Elephant gift -”

“I got it, Craig!” Tweek huffed, bumping their hips together. Well, bumping his hip against the top of Craig’s thigh, but it was the same thing. “Let’s just go to this stupid thing already.”

“I don’t want you leaving the sleepover to pick up something you forgot,” Craig told him simply, the left corner of his mouth dropping every so slightly into a frown.

“I didn’t forget anything!” Tweek promised, looking away. “Can we just go?!”

Tweek could feel his blood pressure rising the longer Craig just stared at him.

“Stop staring!”

“Sorry.” Craig sighed, shoving his free hand in his pocket. “It’s just… I know you didn’t want to come to the sleepover for some reason.”

“What?” Tweek snapped his head over to him, eyes wide in alarm. “Why would you think that? I was just sick the last two years -!”

“Yeah, what a coincidence.” Craig rolled his eyes. “Tweek, just tell me why you don’t wanna come, okay? I wanna know.”

Tweek bit at his lip, looking down at the floor. His first reaction was to argue that he did want to go, but what was the point? Craig would just get mad at him if he kept lying. “All right, fine!” Tweek shut his eyes as he rattled off, “I just don’t wanna be asked stupid couple questions, all right?! I don’t wanna be asked how much we kiss or if we’ve talked about sex!! Or, or be dared to kiss you, or sit in your lap, or whatever they dare couples to do during truth or dare!!”

When Tweek opened his eyes again, he was surprised to see a slight pink tinge in Craig’s cheeks, his eyes widened about two millimeters all around. “... Oh.” It was obvious he hadn’t even thought about that. “Fuck, you have a point.”

“Of course I do!” Tweek hissed. He groaned and covered his face. “God, I don’t want to do this!!”

“It’ll be okay, Tweek,” Craig promised, stepping over to place a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think the attention will be on us tonight.”

“Why wouldn’t it be on us?!” Tweek yelled, throwing his hands back to his sides. “We’re the only gay couple in the school! And Clyde is fucking obsessed with us, I swear!!”

“... Okay, we might have all of Clyde’s attention,” Craig admitted, “but I promise that’ll be it.”

“How can you be so sure!!?”

“Just trust me,” Craig spoke cryptically as he squeezed Tweek’s shoulder. “You’ll see what I mean when we get there.”

“You better be right, Craig,” Tweek mumbled, his left eye twitching.

Craig did his little frown again and kissed his forehead, dropping his bag to the floor. “Close your eyes.”

Tweek already knew what was coming and sighed. “Craig, I’m fine -”

“Please, honey?”

“Nnngh!” Tweek made a sound of complaint, but complied anyway and just closed his eyes, his left lid still twitching. He tried to keep his breathing even as he felt Craig dig his fingers into his hair, cupping the back of his head, yet he still jumped when he felt it: the slightest pressure of Craig’s thumbs against his eyelids, trying to relax his twitching with touch. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as Craig gently rubbed his thumbs from side to side, as if trying to smooth out a bed comforter. He was never quite sure how to feel about this. The touch did calm him down, Craig wouldn’t be doing this if it hadn’t proved effective before, but Tweek was still just so used to letting his twitches pass, or trying to calm them himself, that it felt strange to let someone else calm them.

After only a few moments, Tweek’s eye twitch was gone, and Craig finished his little relaxation technique with a kiss to both of his eyelids. That was Tweek’s favorite part, ever since he had read that a kiss on the eyelid meant “deep affection.” His whole face felt tingly after getting one.

“That was completely unnecessary,” Tweek mumbled, opening his eyes slowly as if he expected those lips to come in for another kiss. He felt heat on the back of his neck as he took in the small grin on Craig’s face.

“Maybe I just wanted to touch you, babe.”

Tweek knew he was blushing now as he pushed at Craig’s chest. “Ugh! Let’s just go already!! You know you can’t do stuff like that at the sleepover, right?!”

“I’ll behave,” Craig told him, chuckling as he slipped his hand in Tweek’s and picked up his bag again with the other. “Don’t stress about tonight, honey - you get three passes during Truth or Dare if you really don’t wanna do something.”

“Really?” Tweek brightened, already feeling better at the prospect of being able to skip something. “Sweet!”

“Yeah, sweet.” Craig nodded in agreement, and without another word they were walking off.

Tweek was always fascinated with how they walked together. Since Craig was almost a foot taller than him, really they shouldn’t be able to walk hand in hand so easily. But, since Craig had long, slow strides, and he had small, fast ones, he was able to take two and a half steps for every one of Craig’s, so it worked out pretty well. It always filled him with pride when Craig said that he was the only short person he knew who could keep up with him.

Pretty soon they had walked all the way to Token’s house, and Tweek’s nerves returned tenfold as Craig rang the doorbell. “Oh, god,” he muttered, causing Craig to squeeze his hand tighter.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered. “I promise.”

“You better be right,” Tweek hissed just as Clyde answered the door, smiling ear to ear.

“Well, if it isn’t the lovebirds! So nice of you to join us, Craig, Tweek.”

Tweek shivered and looked away from Clyde’s accusing gaze, stammering nervously. “Yeah! I f-felt good enough this year!”

“Fuck off,” Craig told his best friend, flipping him the bird. “Leave Tweek alone.”

Clyde whined and latched onto Craig’s arm, not caring if his middle finger was pressing hard against his face. Since he was only six inches shorter than Craig, he was able to stare into those cold blue eyes much easier. “No way! I won’t have my best friend all to myself tonight - of course I’m sad!”

Craig rolled his eyes and pulled his arm back just so he could wrap it around his shoulders and give Clyde a one-armed hug. “You were the one who threatened to drag him here.”

Clyde latched onto him immediately, making Tweek smile. It was always funny to him how Craig had an emotional best friend and boyfriend while he himself was so emotionally bland.

“Because!” Clyde was exasperated. “I knew you’d just mope if Tweek ditched us for a third year in a row!”

Tweek exchanged a glance with Craig, who was a little embarrassed. “I wouldn’t mope -”

“Clyde!” Token’s voice was heard from somewhere in the house. “Who’s at the door?”

“TWEEK AND CRAIG!” Clyde yelled back, making no move to stop hugging Craig.

Token waited a good five seconds before calling again. “Aaaaaand are you letting them in?”

“In a minute!!” Clyde pretended to huff like one of the goth kids. “God, mom!”

“Don’t take that tone of voice with me, son!”

Tweek started laughing and put a hand up to cover his face. Their insistence to assign a “family roll” to everyone in their friend group was so ridiculous, but kind of endearing. “Oh my god. Who’s the dad, again?”

“Jimmy, obviously,” Clyde replied as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. He grinned and squeezed Craig as tight as he could. “And Craig’s my older brother!”

Craig smiled softly and ruffled Clyde’s hair. “The best older brother you’ve ever had.”

“Hell yeah!”

“Do I have a role?” Tweek was curious.

“Other than being Craig’s husband?”

“Clyde.” Craig shoved his friend’s head away before pulling Tweek into the house, the latter almost tripping from the sudden movement. “Shut up. Tweek can be...” Craig had to think for a moment. When he couldn’t come up with anything he decided to flirt instead. “Tweek can be the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Tweek blushed and looked away, squeezing Craig’s hand to let him know he appreciated the sentiment.

Clyde, on the other hand, just snorted. “Yeah, so your husband.” He slammed the front door shut as if to enunciate his point.

“Do you see any rings?” Craig pointed out logically, holding out his left hand for Clyde to see.

“We’re way too young for that!!” Tweek agreed, scrunching his face up as he thought about it. God, that was way too much commitment for an eighth grader!

Clyde sighed and came up between them, wrapping his arms around both sets of their shoulders. It was a little awkward for him because of the height difference between Tweek and Craig, and because the couple’s hands were still linked together, but he made it work. “Oh, you two. Just accept the future already!”

“That’s not ominous at all,” Craig snorted, knocking his and Tweek’s hand into Clyde’s stomach so he’d back off a little. “Come on, Tweek - let’s find dear old mom and dad.”

“They’re in the Entertainment room!” Clyde exclaimed excitedly, running off ahead of them. “And I have dibs on the left recliner!”

“Literally only you care about that.”

“Whatever, I still have dibs!”

Craig exhaled sharply through his nostrils in place of a laugh, which is how he usually laughed anyway. He glanced at Tweek, squeezing his hand to get his attention. “You okay?”

Tweek nodded. He liked how thoughtful Craig was to him. He knew Tweek didn’t want to be here, so he knew that this social situation would drain him more quickly than others, so he was checking up on him. It was nice. Just another reason he was glad they were together for real now. “Yeah, I’m okay.” Craig started taking off his shoes, so Tweek followed suit. “Ask me again when Stan’s group gets here.”

Craig did his short, silent laugh again, this time accompanied with a grin. He enjoyed it when Tweek got snarky. “Come on, you like those guys.”

“I know!” Tweek was distracted, adjusting his duffel bag over his shoulder as they walked. “But they still always get into major trouble! Just last week they brought live grenades to school - who does that!? Where did they even get them from!!”

“I think Stan’s uncle.”

“Why would he give grenades to children!?”

“Because he’s an idiot?”

“... Ugh !” Tweek pouted at him. “Always logical, huh?”

“Just call me Mr. Spock.”

Tweek snorted and bumped his hip against Craig’s leg. “I’ll call you Captain Dork instead.”

“Nah, that’s you.” Craig argued, smiling just a little more.

Tweek rolled his eyes, but he was also smiling as they made it to the Entertainment Room. And by “room,” think “theater with red carpeting.” One of the walls was completely covered with a giant television, minus the small shelf it was perched over that contained literally every game console on the planet. The opposite wall was a bookshelf full of DVDs and video games. The other two walls were a rich, red color with dim lights lining up the sides; one held a popcorn machine, soda fountain, and candy display case, while the other wall had a long, white, ornate counter that you could place whatever snacks you wanted on it. In the middle was a fancy, red-leather couch, two recliners, and a few bean bag chairs.

Clyde, Token, Jimmy, and Timmy were invested in an intense game of Mario Kart at the moment, but each of them greeted them with distracted grunts when they arrived. Token was laying on his stomach on a purple bean bag, Clyde was in his favorite recliner, Jimmy perched himself on the middle of the couch, and Timmy had his chair, of course.

“Where do you usually sit?” Tweek asked Craig, wondering how this room stayed so clean. He couldn’t imagine Token’s guests being very careful about not leaving stains.

“Here.” He pulled Tweek over to the other recliner, which was just small enough to ensure their sides would be comfortably pressed against each other. “We’ll fit.”

Tweek resisted the urge to smile and fell back into it, Craig following suit soon enough. “Lift our feet up, long arms.”

“Of course.” Craig snorted and pushed the button on the side of the chair so it would slowly bring their legs up. He started making a low, little “ooo” sound affect as it did, and Tweek had to cover his mouth as he started to laugh.

“Knock it off !” He buried his face against Craig’s shoulder, still laughing a little. “God, you’re so weird.”

“But you like it.”

“Hey, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,” Token called without looking away from the TV. “Your flirting is distracting.”

“I told you they were more mushy in the evening. Augh!” Clyde threw the controller down when his kart fell off the track and he had to be picked up by the little cloud.

“Timmy!” Timmy laughed and turned to give them a grin that made Tweek’s insides melt into his socks.

“Aw, come on, guys,” Jimmy spoke up, “leave them al-l-lone. We should be ha-appy for them.”

“I call next game,” Craig interrupted. His strategy was usually to act like all of his friends weren’t commenting on his love life when they all ganged up on him like this. Tweek smiled a little and snuggled into his side more, appreciating how level-headed Craig could be. “You know, when Clyde inevitably comes last.”

“Hey!” Clyde started to tear up as he glared at his best friend. “Why do you assume I’ll come in last!”

“Well, you are in last right now,” Token pointed out. “And it’s only the first lap.”

“You’re pr-pretty bad at this, Clyde.”

“Timmy.”

“Fuck you guys.” Clyde tossed his controller to Craig preemptively.

“Wise decision.” Craig nodded in approval before taking the controller and expertly making his way through the track.

Tweek was fascinated with the way Craig had mastered the drifting maneuver. He was up to sixth place by the second lap. “How often do you play this??”

“Not that often.”

“Craig,” Token argued, “this was like the only thing we’d play when you came over, remember?”

“Then why isn’t Clyde any better at it?”

“Because you’d always knock me off the track you jerk!” Clyde screeched, getting up from his favorite chair to go by the popcorn machine instead. “When are the pizza rolls going to be ready, mom?”

“You’re welcome to go to the kitchen and find out.”

“But that’s so faaaar!” Clyde complained as he scooped up popcorn into a bowl. “Someone come with me.”

“We’re in the middle of a game.”

“Tweek’s not playing!”

“What?” Tweek jolted when he was addressed, one of his eyes twitching at Clyde. He had been so absorbed with watching Craig race that he tuned out everything else.

“Come with me to check on the pizza rolls!”

“Oh!” Tweek started to slide out of his shared seat. “Sure, Clyde.” He was starting to feel hungry anyway. “What flavor?”

“Cheesy Taco!” Clyde grinned and wrapped his arm around Tweek’s shoulder as they walked. “The superior flavor, obviously.”

“I don’t know,” Craig argued, eyes still glued to the television. “I kinda like Macaroni and Cheese & Bacon.”

“Get outta here with your trash taste, Craig.”

“I like that flavor, too!” Tweek argued, nudging Clyde with his elbow as they walked.

Clyde grinned and nudged Tweek back. “You’re just saying that because he’s your boyfriend.”

“I am not!” Tweek huffed. “I have my own opinions!”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Clyde snickered and nudged him again.

Tweek glared and “tazed” him - or, rather, poked his side with two fingers to make him flinch away and laugh. Most people were ticklish in that spot. He quickly blocked his own sides with his hands so Clyde couldn’t retaliate.

“No fair!” Clyde pouted and tried in vain to move Tweek’s hands off of his sides. “Let me poke you back!”

“This isn’t Facebook - don’t poke me.”

“You started it!” Clyde puffed his cheeks out. He looked like a squirrel pouting with his cheeks full of nuts.

Tweek started laughing and shook his head. “You look ridiculous, man.”

“Whatever.” Clyde sighed and ran ahead since they were close to the kitchen. “What?!” Tweek heard him whine as he turned the corner. “There’s still five minuuuuutes!” He slumped his head down on the top of the stove.

“Don’t do that!!” Tweek pulled him back with a nervous crack in his voice. “You could turn it on and burn your face!!”

“Oh, geez.” Clyde paled and took a step back, staring at the oven as if it would burst into flames right then. He put his hands over his cheeks, whispering dramatically, “My pretty face doesn’t deserve that.”

Tweek sighed in relief and let go of his shirt. “So, we’ll head back now?”

“In a second.” Clyde grinned and looked both ways, making sure no one was spying on them. He leaned in, putting his hand up to shield his mouth from non-present prying eyes. “Has Craig ever told you about when he first fell in love with you?”

“... What?” Tweek could feel heat pooling in his cheeks. His eye started twitching again in confusion and nervousness at the weird turn this pizza roll adventure had taken them. “What are you talking about?!”

“He hasn’t, right?” Clyde grinned and dropped his hand. He still whispered, though. “You wanna find out?”

Tweek took a step back. Clyde’s whispering voice made his ears feel like ants were crawling around them and biting the insides. “You’re being really weird!!”

“It’s a great story. Surprising, anyway.” Clyde chuckled and crossed his arms. “When we play Truth or Dare, I was gonna make that one of his truths; ask him “when did you realize you loved Tweek?””

“Why?” Tweek swallowed, his mouth dry as he looked away. His stomach started flipping around like a gymnast. “I’m sure C-Craig would tell me if he thought it was important.”

“Not if it’s embarrassing.”

“Why would that be embarrassing?!”

“You’ll find out,” Clyde grinned, “if you ask him the same question! He can only pass so many times, you know?”

“Clyde!” Tweek frowned and started tugging at his hair lightly. He quickly let go and switched to grabbing his fingers instead; Craig had been trying to get him to stop grabbing his hair ever since he accidentally made his skull bleed that one time. “I don’t - ngh - wanna ask Craig something that will make him embarrassed! Gah! I’ll just, just ask him in private later!! Why do you even care about this?!”

“Because he’ll probably never tell you!” Clyde pouted like a squirrel again. “I think the story’s cute but he thinks it’s lame. You’d think a sap like him would love it, too!!”

“Whatever, man.” Tweek turned and started heading back to the Entertainment Room. He didn’t like what Clyde was conspiring. If Craig didn’t want to tell him when he first “fell in love” then fine! Whatever! They both knew how each other felt now so who cares when it happened? Tweek supposed he was curious, but if Craig was embarrassed about it like Clyde was saying then he didn’t want to force him. Craig never forced him to do anything he didn’t want to do, he could at least return the favor. Especially when it involved a stupid game of Truth or Dare.

Clyde raced ahead of him so he could crash into his favorite recliner, leaving Tweek to walk much slower into the room. As soon as he crawled into his own shared seat, Craig whispered, “Are you okay?”

“Ah!” Tweek jumped. He should have expected the question; he knew he was twitching thanks to Clyde’s questions and instigating tone. “I’m f-fine!”

Craig creased his eyebrows together and turned to Clyde. “Hey, take your controller back.” He tossed it over to him, whacking him on the shoulder with it.

“Ow!”

“Sorry. Just play.” He wrapped an arm around Tweek’s shoulders and pulled him closer, letting his blonde head rest on his shoulder. “What happened?”

“N-nothing…” Tweek grasped for Craig’s hand while he chewed on his lip. “Clyde was just being really weird! He’s going to ask you some “embarrassing” question during Truth or Dare and wanted me in on it.”

“What question?” Craig looked confused. “I’m never embarrassed.”

“Nnngh…” Tweek squeezed Craig’s hand over and over, treating it like a stress ball. “He wanted both of us to ask about when… when you fell in love with me.”

“...”

“Craig?”

“That little shit.” Craig looked away, but Tweek could still see the blush on his cheeks.

Tweek felt his stomach churn unpleasantly. Why was this story so embarrassing for him? It was obvious they were in love, so why did he not want to talk about when it happened so vehemently? Tweek started to feel a nervous insecurity, his brain trying to say that Craig didn’t want to answer because he wasn’t in love with Tweek. But that wouldn’t make any sense because Clyde had said he thinks the story is cute. Not falling in love isn’t cute!

“Tweek?” Craig spoke up, turning his head back to look at him with a small frown. “If you wanna know, I’ll tell you. I just really don’t want to talk about it in front of everyone.”

“I get that!” Tweek insisted, squeezing Craig’s hand tighter. “You don’t have to tell me tonight. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that I’d be uncomfortable,” Craig insisted, his blush more pronounced as his eyes shifted away from Tweek’s. “It’s just… that would probably be the one thing that would make me embarrassed.”

Tweek felt a painful lump in his stomach. “Why?!”

“What do you mean, why?” Craig creased his eyebrows together. “Wouldn’t you be embarrassed to tell everyone about when you fell in love with me?”

“No!” Tweek shook his head rapidly, keeping his eyes closed when he was done. “You can’t help when you fall in love with someone!”

“When did you fall in love, Tweek?” Token asked curiously, turning to look back at the two as he paused the game.

“Yeah!” Jimmy grinned. “I’ve never h-heard this story!”

“Tim my ~”

As everyone turned to stare at Tweek with their big, judging eyes, he had to admit that this was a little nerve wracking, but he wouldn’t call it embarrassing. “W-well, I guess… ngh…” He scratched at his neck, eyes cast down to the floor as he thought of how to say this. “It was about after a month of fake dating - you know, after that whole yaoi thing with the break-up and make-up?”

Clyde started snickering until Craig gave him an especially scathing look.

“We were g-going for a walk by the park,” Tweek continued, looking between Clyde and Craig nervously. Why were they looking at each other like that?! “A leaf fell in my hair and I started f-freaking out because I thought it was a bomb or a mutant bug or something, and Craig… just pulled the leaf out and talked to me calmly, telling me everything was fine, and we continued our walk like nothing happened.” Tweek smiled softly and reached for Craig’s hand, glancing at his eyes. “And it just… hit me how much I really did like him. And it meant a lot to me that, that’s he’s so accommodating to me and my anxiety, but still treats me like a person.”

It was silent among them for a moment, Craig’s entire face more pink than it was before as he stared back into Tweek’s large eyes in disbelief.

“Wow,” Token broke the silence first. “That’s… really sweet.”

“Gross,” Jimmy spoke next, “but sweet.”

“Timmy!” He stuck his tongue out and crossed his eyes.

“Timmy’s right,” Clyde snorted. “You’re both so sappy you should open up a waffle house.”

“Shut up, Clyde.” Craig swallowed and looked away before he kissed Tweek in front of everyone. “I really liked that story, honey, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Tweek ducked his head down, noticing that his heart rate had increased immensely. Guess he was more nervous than he thought talking about when he fell in love.

“Craig’s turn!” Clyde chirped gleefully. “Come on, you have to tell us now!”

Craig opened his mouth to no doubt argue with his best friend, but then the doorbell rang.  

“Looks like the troublemakers are here,” Token commented, getting to his feet to go answer the door.

“Now the real party can b-begin,” Jimmy joked.

Tweet groaned and curled up even more against Craig. “Oh god, I don’t want to do this.”

“Look on the bright side,” Craig whispered as he rubbed Tweek’s back. “At least fatass isn’t included anymore.”

Tweek snorted, a small grin appearing on his face. “Yeah, I guess that’s something.” About three years ago, Cartman finally got shipped off to some military school to teach him discipline. He still hung out with Stan’s group for a bit in the summer, but during the school year Butters takes his place as their fourth friend.

“Hey, dudes.” Stan was the first one to walk into the entertainment room, carrying a large box wrapped in red with a green bow on it. “Where should I put this?”

“Daaamn!” Clyde whistled, coming over to help him with it. “What the hell did you get?! This is bigger than Token’s gift!”

“Trust me, it’s not that exciting.” Stan sighed. “You can blame my dad.”

As the two of them carried their gift to the back of the room, Tweek realized that he hadn’t grabbed his own present out of his duffel bag. “Ack! We should put ours over there, too, Craig!”

“Oh, right.” They both started rummaging in their duffel bags for the gifts they had brought for the exchange. The used Christmas bags instead of wrapping paper, because neither of them were that good at wrapping presents.

Tweek looked up when he heard Clyde snort. “Wow, Kyle - nice wrapping paper.”

“Shut up.” Tweek turned to the redhead, seeing him glaring at Clyde as he held a long, rectangular box in his hand, wrapped in blue paper decorated with gold menorahs all over it. “You do this every year, God - I don’t have Christmas wrapping paper! Get over it!”

“Yeah, but it makes it so obvious to remember which present is yours which basically ruins the point of a White Elephant!” Clyde whined.

“Craig’s the only one who bags his present and you don’t complain about that!” Kyle snapped right back.

“That’s not true this year!” Clyde grinned, bounding over to wrap Tweek up in a tight hug. “Tweek brought a bagged gift this year!”

“Oh.” Kyle blinked, his glare melting into surprise. “Right. I… forgot you were coming.”

“Y-yeah, well,” Tweek smiled weakly and waved, his eyes travelling to the room entrance as two familiar blondes walked in. “I’m here.”

“Coffee bean!” Kenny greeted, voice muffled as always, but now by a brown bandana rather than his parka. “You made it!”

“It’s great to see you, Tweek!” Butters chirped, smiling adorably as always. It was no wonder he won the ‘cutest blonde’ award in sixth grade, even if Craig insisted that should have gone to Tweek. “You’re gonna have a great time, I promise!”

“I hope so!” Tweek’s voice cracked, so he quickly rushed to carry his bagged gift off to the back of the room with the others, Craig following close behind.

“You should pick my gift,” Kenny said, holding up a white box that had Christmas-type symbols crudely drawn all around it in red marker. “I think you’ll like it.” He winked, which cemented in Tweek’s mind to not pick that gift.

“You’d like mine, too!” Butters held up another white box with red, Christmas symbols all around it, though his drawings were more bubbly and cute compared to Kenny’s shaky, blocky style.

“Aw, they’re matching again,” Clyde cooed, clasping his hands together. “When’s the wedding?”

The question made Tweek jump a little, but Kenny seemed unbothered as he countered: “You still haven’t proposed, Cookie,” before brushing past him to drop his gift off with the others.

Butters following behind him with a roll of his eyes. “Come on, Clyde - Kenny and I are just good friends!”

Clyde blew a raspberry and waved his hand down in disbelief. “Yeah, okay.”

“Timmy.” He seemed to agree as he copied Clyde’s hand motion and rolled his eyes.

Idle chatter continued, but Tweek tuned most of it out and stared at Craig with wide eyes. It didn’t take long for Craig to pull him a little away from everyone and ask, “What’s on your mind, honey?”

“Kenny and Butters??” Tweek hissed, glancing over at the two who did seem to be standing a little closer to each other than usual. “Are th-they -?”

“Clyde highly suspects,” Craig interrupted with a simple shrug. “But, then again, he basically ships everyone in this school with somebody, so that’s not that surprising.”

“Didn’t Butters just break up with that girl from France?!”

“That was three months ago, babe.”

“Already!?” Tweek deflated a little, looking down at the ground. Where did the time go? It definitely hadn’t felt like three months since the time Butters cried through an entire school week.

“Yeah.” Craig reached over to rub Tweek’s hair, trying to soothe him. “It’s okay. Time moves weird here, I swear. But he’s super over her now, which is just fueling Clyde’s belief that he and Kenny are secretly dating.”

“No way…” Tweek felt hope rising in his chest. “So there might be another gay couple in the eighth grade?” That would take so much pressure off of them! God, it was always annoying and creepy to have adults take random pictures of them whenever they were on dates!! But if there was another gay couple in middle school, it would be more normalized and maybe they could just live their fucking lives! And, more immediately, maybe they wouldn’t be asked so many embarrassing questions during Truth or Dare if the attention was off of them! This was amazing!

Craig thought for a moment, shrugging and staring into his eyes as he admitted, “There might be two gay couples, babe. They’re just in the closet.”

“Are you SERIOUS??” Tweek yelled once more in shock and joy - though mostly shock.

This time Clyde bounded over to check on them, placing each of his hands on one of their shoulders. “Heeeyyy, what’s the happy couple doing over here?” he glanced between them in concern.

“Nothing!” Tweek smiled at Clyde to show everything was fine. “I’m just excited to be here!!”

Clyde blinked at him owlishly, and Token even walked over in surprise. “You’re excited now?” the rich kid asked.

“We thought you hh-hated being here,” Jimmy added, moving back towards the couch to sit down.

“Yeah, dude,” Stan nodded, hands in his pockets. “Why else would you have ditched us the last two years?”

“I was sick!!” Tweek squeaked, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, because we all believe that.” Kenny chuckled, his bandana hanging loosely around his neck as he stuffed his mouth with pizza pockets. Oh, they must have finished cooking while Tweek and Craig were talking.

“Don’t eat them all!” Clyde ran over to grab five from the plate Kenny was holding.

“Clyde, relax,” Token told him. “We have more cooking as we speak.”

“Yeah, dude.” Kenny held his plate over his head. “This is the most food I’m going to have all month.”

Tweek noticed Butters’ smile drop into a sad frown at that, but he just turned away and didn’t say anything. Why would he looked like that unless they really were closer than just friends? Wait, what was he saying - it was normal to care about your friends a lot, that didn’t automatically mean anything! Ugh, great, Tweek was going to be hyper aware of both of them and overanalyzing all of their interactions all night, wasn’t he? He sighed and tugged Craig back over to the reclining chair, starting to feel drained already. This was going to be a long sleepover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[queencatherynerhys]

Stuck With You - Chapter 1

Summary: Neal Caffrey had met his fair share of interesting women over the years. Once or twice he thought he had known what love meant. But he learned what being in love was like when he met her. Now he must face a future without her. How will he survive?

A/N: I didn’t have time or energy to fully edit this chapter. I hope I got most of the grammar errors. I apologize in advance for any mistakes. I hope you enjoy. Don’t forget to like, and please comment if you do. Let me know if you want to be tagged for future updates.

Disclaimer: Most of the characters aren’t mine. They belong to the creators of the wonderful show, White Collar.

Tags: @kacie-0156

Four days earlier…

Earlier in the week, the FBI caught wind of an unidentified man that came into the city in the hopes of selling a stolen Rembrandt painting in New York. It sparked their attention because the particular piece hadn’t been seen or heard for at least two decades. The storm on the Sea of Galilee went missing in 1990 and now it has resurfaced.

Peter and Neal followed the trail of clues and they managed to set up an appointment with their mystery man in Gramercy Park. As per protocol, the FBI staked out and waited for their man to show up from the confines of a worn utility truck parked two blocks away from the meeting site. Peter, Neal, Jones, and Diana all took a screen of their own and watched for anyone suspicious to show up.

“There,” Neal pointed on his screen as an anonymous man sat down on one of the benches. He was a young man in his late 20s to early 30s with brown hair, but what caught Neal’s eye was his demeanor. His knee was bouncing up and down, his fingers were fidgeting, and his eyes kept glancing and looking around nervously. This man was no art thief. He was just a young man. He looked at Peter to tell him, but from the looks of it he already knew what he was going to say.

“Guys, I don’t think this guy is our man. Just look at him. He doesn’t even come close to the profile of an art thief. I don’t think this guy can steal a candy bar from a gas station. I think we are looking for another guy. This guy is just a middleman,” Peter told his team.

“I agree, boss, so what’s the plan?” Diana asked.

“We send Neal in to find out what he wants, and go from there,” he answered. He watched as Neal stood up, fixed his tie and suit, and flashed his signature, smug smile before exiting the van.

Neal confidently walked towards the bench the man was sitting on, but before he could even come near him the young man glanced at him, ducked his head, and appeared as if he whispered something to an earpiece. Guess that confirms the theory of this guy being just a patsy, but now Neal knew he’d been made. Without showing realization, Neal kept walking acting as if he was just taking a stroll through the park.

He made a big loop back towards the van and informed the others when he got there that the still unidentified knew who Neal was and he informed his partner, or employer, of him through the use of an earpiece.

“By the looks of it, he knew who I was. I don’t think this plan is much of a plan anymore, Peter,” Neal said.

Peter had his thinking, planning face on. Then, a brief look of hesitation flashed on his face. No one else would have caught it but Neal was a master at detecting facial expressions, subtle or otherwise. He saw it. When Peter turned to him, he saw it in his eyes. He beckoned him to talk outside the van so he followed.

“What’s up, Peter?” Neal inquired.

“I was thinking. This guy came to New York out of the blue to sell a valuable, stolen painting. What does that tell us? He’s desperate to get the piece out of his hand, so he needs to find a buyer fast. What if we put a middle man on the table?” Peter explained.

“A fencer?” Neal questioned although he knew it was the right answer. “Where are we going to find someone good enough to act as an art fencer? Diana? She’s good, but I have a hunch this guy is going to need someone more well-versed in the world of fine art. I would suggest Mozzie but he’s been…occupied…since the Cape Verde fiasco. So who else is there?” Neal explained.

Peter looked at him with a look of hesitation with just a dash of regret. It dawns on Neal why he was looking at him that way.

“Oh, no. No. No, Peter, No. You are not bringing her into this,” Neal began to object to his friend’s idea.

“Neal, listen, she’s the only chance we have of catching this guy. With her background in situations like this, who could be more perfect?” Peter tried to persuade. Neal was still not convince. He did not like this at all. Not one bit. Peter had one more card to play to try and get Ryne to do it.

“Well, how about we ask her opinion on it?” Peter slowly asked. He had come to know the young woman well in the year and a half she’s been in Neal’s life. He knew if anyone could change Neal’s mind, it’s her.

Neal had always been the romantic. Peter had seen him fall too easily and get heartbroken and dealt with loss no one should ever have to go through. He truly thinks that Neal loved them in his own way, but not the way he loves Ryne. Of all the women he’s seen come and go, Kate, Alex, Sara, even Rebecca, in his friends life she’s the only woman he was the most protective about. He could admit that seeing his friend care about someone the way he cared about Ryne gave him hope that Neal could have what he has with Elizabeth. A home, a family, love, happiness, contentment on where he is and what he has.

“Fine. Come by the apartment later,” Neal gave in and walked away but not back to the van.

“Where are you going?” Peter asked him.

Neal turned around and a flashed a bright smile, “To make my case before you show up.” He arrived at June’s house and as he does everyday since he moved in he went to say hello to his beautiful, kind landlord before making his way upstairs. He looked everywhere on the lower floors for her, but he figured she currently wasn’t home so he headed upstairs to his apartment.

The rich tones of a lively piano music being played gradually became louder as he ascended the narrow stairwell. A grin began to form on his face as he remembered the animated conversation they had about bringing getting a piano to his apartment.

“Come on, babe. It’s all I’m asking. Everything else in the apartment is yours. I just want one thing that’s for me. My own mark on Neal Caffrey’s perfect apartment,” she said in almost whiny, but endearing voice.

“Ryne, I just don’t see the practicality of having a piano in here. Do you know how hard it will be to get it up here? And where would we put it?” Neal reasoned while tying his tie in front of the tall mirror beside their bed . He turned around to face her after he finished fixing himself.

She sashayed toward him slowly, enticingly, until coming to a stop in front of him to fix the lapels of his designer jacket.

“There’s plenty of room in front of the bed,” she suggested, almost pouted, and looked at his blue eyes with her big, hazel one pleadingly. The only thing missing was batting eyes, but she was not a little girl begging for candy. She’s was a sophisticated woman who knew that the man in front of her would give her the world if she asked for it. He couldn’t resist her, and she knew it.

“Ugh, fine, you can have a piano in here,” he gave in and laughed when she jumped for joy at getting what she wanted. “The great Neal Caffrey tamed by big eyes and pouty lips. What have I become?” He looked down and shook his head with feign disappointment.

She lifted his face by the chin and flashed the brightest of smiles before she closed in and gave him a passionate kiss. One of his hands held the back of her head while the other wrapped around her waist to bring her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and threaded her fingers through his brown locks.

Had he no plans of meeting Peter, he would have gladly had his way with her on the apartment they now shared. Funny, even though Sara lived in his apartment for a brief time he never considered them sharing his home. It was always his, and Sara was there conveniently due to circumstances at the time they were dating. That’s not the case with Ryne. She’s different. He wanted to share everything with her, to be with her, to spend every waking minute of his life in the comfort of her arms. It was at that moment he realized he wanted to be hers forever.

Neal Caffrey was smitten with her. He knew he had never felt like this with anyone before. Sara had been close to capturing his heart, but she demanded a life he couldn’t give her. With all the women that came to his life, she’s the only one that didn’t want anything from him. She didn’t demand him to change, to be less the conman and more the honest-living-type-of guy. She encouraged and loved that he needed to live an almost free-spirited life. She simply loved him, Neal Caffrey, and all his facets, no more and no less.

“I love you, Ryne Beneventi, more than anything in this world, more than the finest art or jewelry. If you would have me, I want to be yours forever,” Neal proclaimed as he pulled away from the kiss and looked deeply into her eyes. He held her closer to him. Neal had never in his life said those three words to anyone but her.

Kate knew he loved her, but he never said the words aloud. It was always implied, assumed. Alex was a spontaneous relationship. They had something, but not enough for those words. With Sara, he came close. He realized he fancied the “domestic” life with her. He cared for her perhaps a bit more than the others. He even proposed to her as part of a job they were doing. Rebecca, she, was a different case. A loose canon not worth mentioning.

But Ryne, she was the light in the darkness. She was his compass when he felt torn on which direction he should go. She was the breath he needed to live.

“I love you, Neal Caffrey. And I am yours as much as you are mine. Forever,” she replied with a bright smile as she caressed his cheek softly with a warm, soft hand. He leaned to her touch and kissed the back of her palm before pulling away.

He would have loved to have stayed with her the whole day, but almost in cue his phone began to ring. His leash beckoned.

In the present, Neal shook the memory away and proceeded up the flight of stairs towards their apartment. He opened the door quietly as to not disturb her. He leaned by the doorway mesmerized by the picture painted in front of him with Ryne lost in her world of music simultaneously filling him with joy and contentment he never knew he could feel

[doubletriplepowerbomb]

Caveman part 4

part 3

we’re back! are you shocked? I’m shocked. Okay enjoy part 4, parts 5 and 6 will be out later this week!

Warnings: none... yet 

Words: +4700

Tags: @jenn0755 @zappyzoodle @disturbthepearls @lost-in-the-stories @lithesxx @racingandreigns @rocketgirl2410 @vebner37 @therianfurry46 @littlelunaticfringe @finnbalorlover21 @winged-time-criminal @mrsnegan25 @xfirespritex @wefunloveruniverse @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk@buckyaboveall @scuzmunkie

Two weeks went by like this. We’d study at school, sneak looks at each other in the halls, and then makeout at my house. I hated it. Well, obviously I didn’t hate the parts where we were together. I hated the parts where we weren’t together. Or when I saw girls surrounding him in the halls. That part isn’t new, they've been doing that since middle school. I hated feeling jealous, I hated that I couldn’t go over there and touch him. I couldn’t claim him. We kept the friends with benefits thing quiet and everyone seemed to forget about our kiss. I wished they didn't. Maybe then the other girls would keep their distance.

Currently, I was having the worst day. I was walking to the library to meet Roman and I was so excited, I finally get some time with him. He was coming over tonight too, I’d finally get to kiss him again. When I got to the library though, I felt my smile fade while jealous fire consumed me. 

Five girls stood around him at our table. All of them were mercilessly flirting with him. Everything blurred together. I couldn't even make out their faces. I finally decided that I had enough of him not being mine. 

I made a beeline toward him and the girls. One of them was sitting in my seat, MY seat, her hand on his bicep, the bicep I always touch, laughing stupidly at something he said. I bet it wasn’t even that funny. I pushed through the girls standing around him and dropped my backpack on the ground at their feet. After shoving one of them out of the way, I plopped onto Roman’s lap, wrapped my arms around his neck, and placed my lips on his, all while making direct eye contact with the one in my seat. I could hear the scoffs and the comments coming from the girls as they grabbed their bags. I saw the dirty looks as they walked away but I didn’t care. I could feel eyes on us but I didn’t stop. 

Then, I blinked. I wasn’t on Roman’s lap. I never kissed him. The girls were still there. I was still standing by the entrance of the library, I never actually went over there. The only thing that was different from when I walked in was that Roman was waving me over and the girls’ eyes were on me.  

I shook the image of me finally claiming Roman out of my head and walked over there. He looked relieved to see me. That made me feel better. He wanted me to be over there. 

I walked around to the girl sitting in my seat and dropped my bag right at her feet. Her eyes slowly scanned me up and down, she looked so inconvenienced by me. She glared at me before getting her bag and getting up. It felt kinda good to watch all the girls walk away. What felt even better was that Roman’s hand was holding mine under the table. 

“Thanks for that. I kept trying to tell them to leave but they wouldn’t go. I don’t know what their problem is.” Roman said before squeezing my hand and letting go. 

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. “You don’t know why they were standing here?” I asked. He looked at my with genuine eyes and shook his head no. Oh my god he’s adorable. “It’s cause you're hot. Every girl in this school throws themselves all over you.”

“You don’t.” He said quietly. 

Cause unlike me those girls don’t want your heart, they want your dick. I, however, want your heart AND your dick. “I’m not like other girls.” I said in a sarcastic voice and he laughed. His laugh was loud enough to cause people to turn their heads and stare at us. Those five girls rolled their eyes at us and I felt satisfied. I didn’t technically claim him, but I kinda did. 

I made sure to look up at the girls every once in a while. Make them look away first, claim your territory. “Earth to Lindsey.” Roman joked while waving a hand in front of my face. God I hope he doesn’t know what I was doing. “You know you don’t have to claim me. I don’t like those girls.” 

He knew exactly what I was doing. “I was just… uhm. I don’t know honestly.” Liar. 

“As you can see the female nerd gets very territorial over her dumb jock. But never fear, the dumb jock isn’t attracted to the girls who’ve been all over him since middle school.” I felt my face redden at Roman’s words. I knew it was a joke, he even gave his little monologue in a Bear Grylls accent, but I couldn’t help the blushing. 

We didn’t get much studying done. We kinda just talked for the whole period. It was exactly what I needed. That was the first time it really felt like maybe he was mine. 

But I knew that he wasn’t. 

Every time I start to come to terms with the fact that he isn’t mine, he says dumb shit like that and I loose it. He called himself “her dumb jock” not the dumb jock or a dumb jock, HER dumb jock. My dumb jock. 

But, don’t worry, I know that’s not what he meant by that. 

-

God I hope she noticed that I called myself her dumb jock. 

Whoever made Lindsey an over thinker -cause I know she is one- please help me out and make her overthink this one. 

-

The rest of this week was a drag. I fell into a vicious Roman-oriented cycle that I couldn’t find my way out of. I’d try to come to terms all day then he’d come over after school, be all touchy and cute, then leave abruptly. Leaving me alone with my thoughts. I’d beat myself up about allowing myself to think that maybe this time it would be different. Maybe this time Roman won’t leave. Maybe this time Roman will ask me out. Maybe this time Roman will realize that this friends with benefits thing is putting a strain on my heart. I’m getting close to snapping and ending this all together. 

But I know I never actually will. I’d let that boy treat me this way for the rest of my life. And I hate myself for that. Roman isn’t a dick. I’m sure he doesn’t know this is killing me. I don’t think he’d do this to me on purpose, but then again, I’ve been so blinded by love for so long, maybe I’m wrong. Boy would that suck. 

I’m not big into parties. I don’t get invited to many but that doesn’t offend me. I normally don’t go even if I do get invited. But when I got the text about the party Tyler Breeze was having after the football game, I knew I needed to go. Roman was gonna be there. The theme for this week's game was blackout. Usually I just go for shorts and tee shirt but I had to really do it up. Drunk girls go to those parties, I wanted to be the only girl Roman looked at. 

After struggling for half an hour on FaceTime with my friend Becky- she’s the only person, other than Baron, that actually knows about my situation- I settled on tiny black Nike shorts and a black tube top. I put my hair up, then took it back down, then put it back up again. Ugh what do I do with it? Leave it down. I put on my black Nike’s and looked at myself in the mirror. 

My eyes scanned my whole body and stopped on my chest. Fuck wait. I pulled the tube top off and switched bras. What? Come on I got a super cute lace bra from Victoria’s Secret. I was claiming Roman tonight, I had to make sure his eyes were on the right girl. 

I heard Becky honking from outside and I ran into the bathroom one last time to look at myself. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail at the last second and ran out of the house. 

“Damn girl you really did it up. Did… did your boobs get bigger?” She asked as she handed me vodka in a water bottle. 

“New bra, Becks. And I gotta take pictures I can’t be drunk yet.” 

“Oh yeah I forgot.” 

At the game, I could feel eyes on me the whole time. I knew Roman saw me on the sidelines. I could see him sneaking looks at me during huddles. I even got a few pictures where he’s looking directly at me. I couldn’t wait for this party tonight. 

But Roman wasn’t the only one, there were plenty of other eyes and other voices too. 

“Do you ever see her wearing that shit?” 

“She’s such a hoe…” 

“She’s so hot…” 

“Oh man if Roman wasn’t fucking her I would.” 

“Roman is not fucking her!”

“Wait is Lindsey fucking Roman?” 

I didn’t care though. In a few short months I had really become a topic of conversation around Lakeside. At first, I hated it. Hated the attention, hated the spotlight. But now, I don’t care. No press is bad press as long as they spell your name right. My grandma used to tell me that. I also knew that Tyler’s regular party girls were not happy about me being the newest edition to the guest list and, honestly, I was proud of that.

-

I didn’t expect her to be there, she came late with Becky. So when she got there I was drunk. Drunker than I would’ve liked to be. 

I was in the living room talking to Dean when I saw her come in. “Holy shit. Gimme a sec dude I’ll be right back.” I didn’t even wait for his response, I just walked away. 

She had me under her spell, I hated when she did that to me. I swear that girl is a witch. 

I stopped short in the kitchen, excuse me for drooling, her shorts and small top showed off so much of her tanned skin. And that shirt teased me with so much cleavage. She turned around to start taking shots with Becky. And those shorts with so much ass. 

I couldn’t believe I was still just standing in the doorway looking at her. A group of people had even formed around me to talk or some shit. But I wasn’t listening, I pushed through them and made my way over to Lindsey. She still wasn’t facing me when I got to her so I did what any drunk and horny man would do. I grabbed her hips and pressed myself against her before leaning down to speak. What turned me on even more was that she didn’t seem shocked. She knew it was me. I don’t know why that got to me, but it did. “What are you doing here, sweetheart? I thought parties weren’t your scene.” 

-

I knew it was him from the moment I felt his hands grab my hips. He was drunk, he didn’t know what he was saying. But the way his words rolled off his lips was starting to do something to me. His voice was deep and smooth like normal and it usually was enough to turn me on. But his tone tonight was just so dirty. Like every word he said was an innuendo. I still couldn’t feel the alcohol but I acted like I did. He’s drunk, Lindsey. This isn’t the time to get nervous. 

I turned to face him and grabbed his biceps- I love those biceps- his hands were still on my hips. I could feel the heat from the vodka settling in my stomach. I looked up at his face, that gorgeous face, and I smiled. I knew I was gonna see him tonight, but I couldn’t help how excited I was. 

Look, Roman Reigns is tall as hell. 6’3’’... hot right? I wanted to say something to him but he was too far away. I looked around and realized we were still in the kitchen so I did what any short and sensible person would do. I asked Roman to lift me onto the counter. He shot me the most attractive smirk lifted me with ease. Holy shit. 

Once I was on the counter, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “You’re really good at that.” I whispered before softly biting his earlobe. I guess the alcohol hit, sober Lindsey wouldn’t do that. 

As I bit down, Roman’s hands slammed onto the counter, keeping me in place. “Answer my question, sweetheart. What are you doing here?” Normally, if I heard those words, I would think he wanted me to leave. But his tone told me something different, he wanted me right where I was. His tone wasn’t angry whatsoever, it was hot. Just his voice was turning me on. 

Instead of speaking, I kissed him. Roman didn’t seem shocked; his lips moved with mine. Roman’s tongue entered my mouth and I didn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss- I wanted more. I kept one arm wrapped around his neck and I got up on my knees. Roman was able to stand up straight and hold me against him. His hands started on my hips but had made their way up my back to press me as close to him as possible. 

-

I moved my hands back to her hips before breaking the kiss. She groaned at me but wasn’t disappointed after she felt me start kissing up to her ear. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would’ve reserved a room for us.” 

Oh okay, so it’s Lakeside football tradition to have a party after every game. The whole football team, the hot cheerleaders, and a bunch of other random people come. It’s also a tradition that the upperclassmen on the team get to reserve bedrooms. Tyler has been having these parties every Friday night since freshman year. No one knows where his parents are… ever. 

-

What were you planning on doing, Roman? “You’re a big shot around here, aren’t you? Can’t you get us one?” My voice sounded so innocent. I wasn’t going for the tone that came out, but Roman seemed to like it. His mouth was now on my neck and my hands were tangled in his hair, twirling his gorgeous black locks around my fingers. 

After definitely leaving a hickey, Roman pulled away from my neck to look at me. His face was practically inches from mine and his hands were on my hips, keeping me on the counter. His eyes widened with life after I said what I did. “Really? You want me to get us a room? Cause I totally can.” I smiled. He’s so cute. I nodded my head and Roman pressed his forehead against mine. “I’m gonna talk to Tyler. You stay right here. I’ll be right back.” Roman’s large hands moved from the counter to cup my cheeks and he crashed his lips into mine again. Even a drunken kiss with him was perfect, his soft lips hypnotized me and I watched him run out of the kitchen. 

-

“Yo Ty!” I screamed as I shoved through the living room. Lindsey wanted me to get a room for us. I’ll finally ask her out. Finally make her mine. All mine. 

“What’s up dude.” He asked me. I saw the girl he was talking to adjust her bra when she saw me coming but I wasn’t interested. 

Lindsey’s tits were perfect. They even looked bigger than normal tonight. 

“I need a room, bro.” Tyler raised his eyebrows at me as I spoke. 

“You finally getting that girl you’ve been obsessing over since September?” He asked me. I smirked and nodded my head, warranting a cheer from Breeze and the other guys in the room. Tyler’s drunken words slurred together. “Yeah go for it, man. Take my parents room. Woo her with the master, little brother.” With that, he slipped a key into my hand. 

I squeezed the key in my hand, my heart soared at the feeling of the cold metal. This key would make her mine. “Thank you.” I get to take her to the master bedroom. No one is allowed in the master bedroom. It’ll be perfect. 

When I finally made my way back to the kitchen, I was expecting to see my perfect girl waiting for me on the counter. But that’s not what I saw. Lindsey was still waiting on the counter, but this asshole was standing between us. Some guy thought he could talk to my girl. Mine. I could see how uncomfortable she looked, the room went red and my vision went blurry. I felt my heart racing against my chest and I could hear it pounding in my ears. Jealousy spread through me like wildfire, I could feel it pulsing through my veins. I was gonna kill this kid. 

“You know I got a room, wanna go up?” I hope for this kid’s sake I didn’t actually hear that. 

-

“She’s not going up with you, dickhead.” I recognized that voice and that tone anywhere. Roman was back and he was mad. I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. Those beautiful eyes of his weren’t full of life like they were earlier. They were cold and dead. His eyes looked like they did when he was benched. He was so angry that night. He almost hit me, but he didn’t. I had a feeling he wouldn’t spare the kid who pissed him off. 

“And who says she’s not?” The guy slurred as he turned around. I looked at Roman with telling eyes. He’s so drunk. Don’t hurt him, Roman. 

“Me, douche. Why don’t you just leave.” Roman moved so now he was standing between me and the guy. I stood up on my knees again on the counter and grabbed his arm. 

“Roman… lets just go.” He didn’t hear me though. His pure anger drowned out my whispers. The other guy wasn’t helping his situation out at all. 

“Why don’t we just share her? You take her from the front and I’ll take the back.” He said with a smirk. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. Was he really stupid enough to say that? Roman was more pissed than shocked I guess. He yanked his arm from my grasp and I almost fell off the counter. 

-

“... You take her from the front and I’ll take the back.” That shit sent me over the edge. Who the fuck does this kid think he is? I shook my arm from whatever was holding onto me and I blacked out. It don’t know if it was the alcohol or the anger. I wish I could say I’m not the type of person that gets so angry that they black out, but I can’t- I’m am that person. 

-

Roman yanked his arm from my grasp and, with the newly freed arm, knocked the kid in the jaw. Corey Graves’ (I found out his name a couple days after but I figured for story’s sake I’d put it in now) momentum had him heading face first into the wall but he stopped himself in time. He turned back to face Roman and I looking disoriented. But, he’s a hockey player and I figured he’d been slammed head first into plenty of walls so this shouldn't be too hard for him to deal with. 

I was honestly hoping Roman was done, but I’d soon learn, that he wasn't. Roman took one step and was standing toe-to-toe with, the now re-oriented, Corey. One-on-one I knew Roman wouldn't have trouble, but I knew Lakeside hockey guys. They always traveled in packs, and they hated our football team. I honestly don’t even know how they got in here. I guess when so many people are in your house, you just lose track. 

Corey made a motion like he was gonna throw a punch but his drunkenness slowed him and Roman was able to react. Wanna know something scary? Roman is fast when he’s sober and even faster when he’s drunk. For the normal human, alcohol slows down your reaction time. But for Roman Reigns, he becomes some superhuman with spidey-senses and an awfully short temper. Roman ducked under Corey’s arm and hit him square in the temple. Corey’s body reeled backwards and crumbled against the counter. 

Shocked, and a little scared, I jumped off the counter and ran over to Roman. He was still facing Corey, who was now completely unconscious sitting on the floor with his body propped against the counter. His head hung down toward his lap and I knew his team mates would be coming soon. 

“Roman, we should go.” I said softly while putting my hands on his chest. The alcohol still buzzed through me, and it was getting more intense by the second. 

-

I remember coming back to the sound of her voice. It rang through my ears and subdued the pounding in my head. Her silhouette was the first thing I was able to make out as my vision unblurred. I didn't know how long it had been, but I definitely did much less damage than I would usually do when I got this angry. I was sure this was the fastest I’ve ever gotten “un-pissed off.” When the red blurs and black dots cleared from peripheral vision, I was able to focus on her. Her lips were moving and her eyes were locked on mine. 

“Roman, we should go.” She said. Her words weren’t a whisper anymore- they sounded panicked.

My hands found one of my favorite parts of her to touch, her hips. “Why? You deserve to enjoy your night.” I answered, lowering my voice. 

“You deserve to enjoy your night too, Rome. But at any moment a swarm of drunk bumbling hockey dudes are gonna come in here looking for a fight.” The pounding began again, slowly it got louder and faster as my mind raced. I ruined our fucking night because I couldn’t control my temper. I’ll never be good enough to date her. I’ll never fix this. How will I ever take her out? I can’t control my temper, I’ll get jealous when the waiter looks at her. I’ll get angry when people talk to her. I’m not good for her. I’m not good for anyone. 

Her voice rang through my ears again, stopping the pounding and my thoughts. Her hand on my chest lit my body on fire. I love her. 

What? 

No.

 Run. 

part 5 and 6 coming soon

[theacerbicprince]

Answering Harry Potter Tag Questions

So my darling @xweofmanyfaces answered this in video form but I don’t do videos because I don’t know how to edit and stuff. Really, all I can do is type and prance so I’m going to type out my answers to these questions. It may be long, I apologise in advance. If there are any other questions you’d like to ask me that I haven’t answered then let me know. 

What house are you in?

I am a Gryffindor which surprised me initially but if I think about it makes a lot of sense because I am very loyal to the people I care about and I don’t think I’m brave but I know people who would disagree with me just based on the challenges in my life. 

What is your Patronus?

My patronus is a white stallion according to pottermore. I read up on what it meant on the lexicon and it was amazing how similar it was to me. 

What is your wand?

My wand, as on pottermore, is Pear wood with phoenix tail feather, 13 and 3 quarter inches, slightly yielding flexibility. According to pottermore, there has never been a recorded instance of a pear wood in possession of a dark witch or wizard. 

Favorite book?

I liked the Deathly Hallows because it gave us so much and it wasn’t as badly paced as some of the other books were and it moved me emotionally, very much so and it revealed so much of my darling boy. 

Least favorite book?

Probably the Chamber of Secrets if I’m honest. 

Favorite movie?

From an aesthetic point of view, the Half Blood Prince. Overall favourite movie in terms of soundtrack is the Deathly Hallows Part 2 but overall, tying everything together would probably have to go to Order of the Phoenix. I live for Imelda Staunton in that movie and ugh, just that bit where Alan manages to inject that much snark and sass and condescension into the one word ‘obviously’. 

Least favorite movie?

Goblet of Fire, I think a lot of people might agree with me on that one, it’s not universally that well received. 

Is there a movie you preferred over the book?

The Chamber of Secrets movie is better than the book for me. I actually feel very emotional about the ending of that movie probably because of Chris Columbus to be honest and some of the shots are amazing and the music too, John Williams excellent. 

Favorite quote?

I love this so, so fucking much. 

“It is good to see that six years of magical education haven’t been wasted on you Potter; ghosts are transparent.” 

Favorite character?

Severus without a shadow of a doubt. He’s my boy even when he’s being a total jackass and he just brings so much joy to me because he makes me laugh so much. 

Least favorite character?

Ron. I hate getting on the ship in that sense but yeah, I don’t like Ron as a character although a lot of that comes from the fact that I just don’t see him ending up with someone like Hermione. This does not mean I don’t want to write with Ron because Molly loves all of her children regardless of their flaws but I don’t personally like him. I like him even less in the movies because they took away some of his kinder, more human moments and he was like 95% jackass. 

Favorite professor?

Minerva is an absolute boss, always, that never changes. She teaches the kids so much and she’s so supportive but at the same time she doesn’t take any shit. I will always have to defer to my home boy though because he’s an amazing teacher even though he is a giant asshole about it. He is multi talented because he can teach more than the one subject and he can teach them well. He fully understands his subjects and he takes them both so seriously, more seriously than his other professors I would say. He doesn’t express it the right way but he cares a lot about the welfare of the students. There’s a reason he loses his shit when Neville fucks up so badly at Potions that Severus is practically apoplectic, because the boy is dangerous and he doesn’t want to be responsible for a death or severe disfigurement. 

Favorite villan?

Bellatrix Lestrange. She’s a great villain in that she is so unstable and you don’t know what she’s going to be doing next really. She is the sort of villain where you are constantly on edge around her and we actually get to see her in action properly and we get a full, real sense of why she’s so terrifying. A lot of that was missing as far as it went for Voldemort because we didn’t get to see much of him or how he earned his reputation. 

Favorite weasley?

Molly, she is my girl but she is also super strong, super loving and she has dealt with so much in her life and so deals with it all with barely any complaint. She is so giving to everyone, she takes everyone in and is so welcoming and approachable and it’s not something that she thinks about doing, it’s just natural to her. 

Favorite marauder?

Remus because he isn’t a giant douche. Remus is also the one that seems more understandable to me. I think we’ve all been there at one point or another where we have seen an injustice and we have to decide what we are going to about it. He didn’t actually want to kill anyone, he didn’t take a savage delight or really any delight in what was going on and he’s apologetic about it. He doesn’t come up with excuses for his actions or lack of actions, he accepts the responsibility of what he’s done. 

Are there any characters you felt differently about in the movies versus the books?

Gilderoy Lockhart and that is just because Kenneth Branagh is just amazing, he is a stunning actor and I admire him greatly as a professional and he made Lockhart far more likeable.I actually enjoyed watching him in the movie whereas I hated reading him in the books. 

Which character do you think you’d have the closest relationship with?

Probably Molly if I’m being honest, we are quite similar in some senses. Severus would struggle to tolerate me but I think he still would put up with me. 

Which class would be your favorite?

I am a huge history fan so yeah, History of Magic would probably be quite high up on my list. I think I’d like DADA too, combat you know. 

What would your boggart be?

My daughter (from my dreams) desperately wanting my attention because she needs me but I’m too out of it to be able to help her, my darling Penny with my health conditions. Oddly specific I know but it is a massive fear. 

What position would you play in Quiddich?

Seeker probably, I have good eyesight and good hearing too. 

Would you be a pure-blood, half-blood or muggle born?

I would be half blood, just makes sense for me. My mother is Scottish and my father is English so it makes sense that I’d be half and half magically. 

What job would you want to have after leaving Hogwarts?

It really depends on what my specialisation would be to be honest. I might teach for a while, I really enjoyed being a tutor (which was my job up until September last year). 

Which of the Deathly Hallows would you choose?

The invisibility cloak. I don’t need great power in my life and my loved ones would drive me insane because I would want to see them so often, to touch them and I couldn’t. The invisibility cloak is remarkably useful. 

Which spell would be the most useful to learn?

A healing spell of some sort, always useful. 

Do you have any unpopular opinions about the series?

MY HOME BOY IS A GOOD MAN! It is not creepy that he was in love with Lily for that whole length of time. Stop having a go at my man, he’s not a creeper. 

Either or/if, would you rather:

Wash Snape’s hair, or listen to Lockhart ranting about himself for a day?

Do you even have to ask that question? I would massage that scalp aaaall day.   

Duel an elated Bellatrix, or an angry Molly?

Angry Molly would be terrifying but an elated Bellatrix is guaranteed to torture me to the point that I am desperately crying out to die. 

Travel to Hogwarts via Hogwarts Express, or a flying car?

Hogwarts Express, you can get up and walk around the train, stretch the legs which is good for me because of my nerve damage and pains in my hips etc. 

Kiss Voldemort or give Umbridge a bubble bath?

Kiss Voldemort, I do not want to see Umbridge naked. 

Ride a Hippogriff or ride a Firebolt?

Probably the Hippogriff, I think it’d be far more comfortable and I could actually talk to the Hipprogriff and not feel like a lunatic. Who talks to their broomstick eh?

Hallows Or Horcruxes?

The horcruxes are a fascinating and interesting concept especially when you look into the whole process and splitting the soul. Is the soul split every time that you kill? 

If you could own one of the three Hallows, which one would it be and why?

Invisibility cloak, this was addressed earlier. 

If you could bring one character back to life, who would it be?

This motherfucking question right here. I’ve been thinking about this question for hours, honest to Lords hours. You’d think I would want to bring Severus back to life but there is one person in particular who comes to mind because it’s just so tragic and I would want to change it so badly and that is Tonks. I want Teddy to grow up with his mother and Andromeda to not have to deal with the loss of her daughter as well as her husband. 

[tintedglasses]

anna’s fic recs: june 2019 [non-winterhawk edition]

i split up my fic recs for june into winterhawk fics and then all other ships. you can find the winterhawk version here!

again, these are fics that i read in june, not ones that were written in june. i am fairly new to the fandom so some of these might be well-known and everyone has already read them, but oh well!

1. A Safety in the End series by CloudAtlas (@cloud--atlas) Fics range from T to E, 95k total  SHIP: Nat/Clint/Bucky

Summary: Won't you settle down baby, here your love has been.

The relationship adventures of Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton and James "Bucky" Barnes.

My review: I LOVE THIS SERIES. I THINK ABOUT IT LITERALLY ALL THE TIME. I think my two favorite fics in the series are Here Your Love Has Been (You can't just say "I scored us a potential threesome" and then not text me back.) and When Your Eyes Are All Painted Sinatra Blue (Bucky has some confessions to make to Steve.). listen. LISTEN. the sex scenes in these fics are mind-meltingly hot. i absolutely love the dynamic between them, with clint and nat taking charge of the situation and bucky being so into it. but then the non-smutty fics in the series are so packed full of emotion and so heartbreakingly beautiful. IT’S THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.  (also you should check out their other Nat/Clint/Bucky fic because it’s wonderful, too)

2. I Really Think We Should by YourPalYourBuddy (@ivecarvedawoodenheart / @weneverfreeze) Rated T, 6k  SHIP: SteveNat

Summary: They fall into this pattern without talking about it. A mission, a whispered conversation in his house, her fingers on his pulse. Her shirt on the floor and his hands on her waist and breasts and her lips on his. Cracked veins from her mouth on his neck that disappear within thirty minutes.Steve’s started taking his time in the kitchen, taking longer when he hears the floorboards creak in the morning. He’d never been one for breakfast food, or cooking in general, really. On a whim he tries his hand at omelets and imagines, while the window slowly slides open in the next room, that if he just perfects them that she’d stay.

SteveNat, post TWS. Steve's POV :)

My review: syd is such a beautiful writer and i always know that i’m going to love whatever she posts, but when i saw she was posting a SteveNat fic, I ASCENDED STRAIGHT INTO THE SKY. she has such a way of like creating these themes for her fics and carrying them all the way through and it’s such a joy to read. this is a story of people trying to adjust to a world that is unpredictable by trying to create routines and forge connections and it doesn’t always work but sometimes IT DOES and its LOVELY. this fic deserves so much love.

3. make my body come alive (i’ve got a right to hurt inside) by notcaycepollard  (@notcaycepollard) Rated M, 3k   SHIP: Sam/Bucky

Summary:  The body is weak. The body is hungry and soft and human. He looks at himself in the mirror, the bones of his shoulders, his cheeks hollowed out from hunger, and he thinks, gentle, you didn’t deserve this.

My review: this fic is so beautiful. the writing of it itself is just amazing but then the actual story is just so poignant. i love recovery fics so much so when i saw the tags on this, i knew i would like it, but it really just really exceeded my expectations. this author is so freaking gentle with bucky and does such a good job showing the ways that he’s struggled but also allowing for him to make it through to the other side of those struggles. gahhhh, it’s so tender and lovely and i want to read it over and over.

4. Targeting series by queenmab_scherzo (@queenmabscherzo) Part One is Rated E, 150k and Part Two is Rated M, 23k  SHIP: Stucky

Summaries: 

Part One:  Steve and Bucky end up playing for rival college football teams.

Part Two:  Steve and Bucky figure out how to play in the NFL and how to live 800 miles apart.

My review: i don’t know if i ever talk about this here but i LOVE football and above all i love COLLEGE football. this is such a good representation of it; it’s unflinching in its criticisms of football but still has these moments where you kind of sit back and revel in the glory of a hard-fought win. i think what’s most impressive about these series is how these are definitely AU versions of Steve and Bucky but at the same time, you can clearly see the connections to canon. its so freaking satisfying. the emotions in this (especially the second part) left me literally breathless at times and i couldn’t put it down. also, the secondary characters are amazing, too. 

5. Deep in the Heart of Me by Finely Honed (@finely-honed) Rated E, 255k   SHIP: Stony

Summary: There were days when the realization that he was someone’s father made Steve's head hurt, but mostly he was grateful that he could trust his instincts, because apparently Peter was what had been missing from his life. Yes, he still had lingering, unresolved issues from his time in the Army, and sure, he had what Bucky annoyingly referred to as a criminally untapped ass, and no life outside of work and Peter, but Steve was okay with how his life had turned out because of trusting his instincts.

Unfortunately, those same instincts had straight up betrayed him by going absolutely haywire upon being exposed to Tony Stark.Veteran single dad Steve runs a tattoo shop. 

For his 40th birthday, Pepper arranges for Tony to get that tattoo he always wanted, and he winds up with the mother of all crushes instead. Jumping out of airplanes is one thing, but falling in love is something else entirely. Steve struggles with the idea of actually letting someone into his life. Tony is left trying to keep his heart from being broken while Steve figures things out.

My review: i’m going to be honest, i originally read this because i wanted to read the winterhawk counterpart to it, but little did i know i would absolutely fall in love with this fic. god, this fic hurts so much at some points and people make horrible decisions that make you want to shake them, but you can understand the motivations behind all of it because everyone’s background stories are so well fleshed out. its not angst for the sake of angst, but rather a story of someone who is really struggling and how difficult it can be to be a support person, but how worth it it is to stick by someone’s side (if they are willing to put in the work too of course). this is the found family trope to the max and KID PETER IS SO FREAKING ADORABLE. (doing these recs have made me realize that i love well developed secondary characters and this one has it in spades)

6. All These Burning Hearts in Hell series by Dira Sudis (@dsudis) Rated M or E, 217k total   SHIP (Kind of spoiler-y): Tony/Bucky, Stucky, Steve/Tony/Bucky

Summary (from Part One):  This is the night Steve is stolen by Tony Stark, whose slaves disappear in industrial quantities. This is the night sex slave #32557038 is given to a new master and finds out what is expected of him. This is the night Tony saves two slaves and doesn't tell them any comforting lies like "You're free now."

My review: i have such feelings about this whole series. its a dystopian kind of fic, which typically isn’t my jam, but it’s so well done that i can’t help but be into it. sometimes its difficult reading about the things that bucky went through as a slave but the amount of care that tony treats him with just makes me want to cry. i just want bucky (or threetoo as he’s called here) to have all the softness and gentleness and blueberries and plants that he wants. he is such a wonderfully caring boy in this and i love it so much. ugh and then steve! STEVE! and sam! they’re all so good!!!

7. some days (i wish i wasn’t myself) by notcaycepollard (@notcaycepollard) and roga (@peppersheart), Rated M, 5.5k  SHIP: Sebastian Stan/Chris Evans

Summary:  The problem, Seb never meant to say out loud, has always been that if he got Chris Evans’ dick in his mouth it would definitely end up making the story.

My review: basically, one day in June, i decided to peruse the RPF tag and i came across THIS and it was so good. it’s based off of a chris evan’s GQ article (which is amazing in and of itself) and i was like ‘no one could be like this’ and YET i read the articles and chris was exactly Like That. there are so many hot little moments that made my skin tingle and then there;s some juicy miscommunication and very tender hearted boys with inadvisable amounts of alcohol. idk man, i just really liked this a lot and would recommend this for anyone who wants to have some emotions about two soft but cocky boys. 

[cooperjones2020]

Second City, chp. 12

Summary: Sometimes she worries she’s settling — for a smaller job, a smaller city, a smaller life than she’d promised herself — but that was before she found out Jughead Jones lives in Chicago. That was before she found out the final secret of Jason Blossom’s murder.

A/N: Alright, so. It's been seventeen months since I updated and my life has been turned upside down several times since then. I never intended to abandon this fic, or writing in general, and I still don't intend to but it's probably best to consider it on hiatus until further notice, as I can't promise it won't be another seventeen months before I update again. I actually had this chapter mostly written and was just sitting on it, but all further chapters are in much rougher shape so who knows. Same goes for NNK - nothing is anywhere near publishable for that one, sorry. 

I do want to say how much I appreciate all of you who kept reading and commenting and checking in with me here. It does mean so much to me and I think about you a lot, even if I don't show up and do anything about it.

Also, hopefully it goes without saying but, this fic is canon compliant through season 1 only, so Hal is not the Black Hood--none of that happened.

ao3–>https://archiveofourown.org/works/11409360/chapters/40956119

All previous chapters of Second City and Nobodies Nobody Knows under the tag #second+city and on the Who Sings Heartache to Sleep series page on Ao3

12. In which Nancy Drew discovers modern technology

Jughead doesn’t approve of her plan, but he doesn’t have any better ideas to offer her so they go with it. Neither of them really has any experience investigating cold cases, and it’s not like she has the kind of technology available to her that she had at her old job — or that any evidence exists that such technology would catch.

After he’d surprised her last night, they’d gone to Pop’s. Of course. He’d come straight to her mom’s house from the airport, barely stopping at his own to drop off his bag, so by the time he got her out her front door, he was practically foaming at the mouth.

“Jug, why didn’t you eat before your flight?”

The look he gives her is so incredulous she barely restrains her smile.

“Betty, why on earth would I eat the soggy grey hockey pucks that try to pass for burgers elsewhere when I know I’m within, like, five hours of Riverdale.”

She realizes that his detour to her basement likely added an extra hour or so onto that ETA, that Jughead Jones willingly remained hungry longer than necessary to find her, but she pushes that thought firmly out of her mind.

Now, she’s in the Blue and Gold office of both past and present, pulling old editions of the paper they wrote out of an ancient filing cabinet — thankful at the miracle that they’re still there in the time warp that continues to be Riverdale. A freckle-faced kid who insisted he was a junior but looked alarmingly young had logged into the computer for them, so Jughead is behind her, looking for digitized copies. The kid didn’t know where the records from 2017 were, so they are left attempting to cover all bases.

The office hasn’t seen many updates since she’d last been here. They’ve replaced the computers, but even these models are several years out of date. They did get rid of the microfiche reader, though. So that’s something.

Betty Cooper, who spent her freshman year pining after the wrong boy, her sophomore year solving a murder, her junior year in a fog of depression, and her senior year learning how to be a person again, never intended to come back here. But somehow, here she is. Wherever you go, there you are. Like all adages, that one is also annoyingly true.

After an hour or so of fruitless searching, Jughead sighs and comes to stand behind her.

“What are we looking for, Betts?”

“The articles we wrote.”

“I know that, but why? What will they tell us that we don’t already know?”

“Something we don’t remember. I don’t know. It was a decade ago — there could be some detail that seemed insignificant at the time but now might help point us at my father, at what he might have been up to.”

She doesn’t know what kind of records there’d be anyway, but she’s determined to look.

“Betty, we know what we wrote. And even if there’s something that was insignificant then, I’ve read reread these editions until my eyes crossed in the course of book research. I’m pretty sure I have them all memorized at this point. Hell, there’s copies back in Chicago. I could have Mike or Mary overnight them to us if you wanted.”

“I just want to be able to check the facts. I want to make sure we have all the information we possibly can.” She tries to keep the petulance out of her voice. Her success is questionable at best.

Because, truthfully, she knows Jughead’s right. There’s nothing to find here. If anywhere, whatever there is to be found must be in the remains of her father’s office, in the crypt that is her childhood home, the crypt where he mother continues to cling to the memory of the Coopers pre-Jason Blossom, pre-Jughead Jones, and pre-Betty’s “rebellious streak rearing its ugly head.” Alice would never admit to it, fond as she is of her grandchildren, but Betty would bet that that last summer before the first time their lives all turned upside down was the last summer in which her mother was truly happy and her life was something under her control.

It’s becoming increasingly clear to Betty that this can only end in a showdown between her and her mother. That Alice Cooper may be the gatekeeper of the truth — a potentiality she both dreads and wishes for as, if not, she’ll have to confront that thought that maybe there is no truth to be had.

Hal Cooper is dead. All of this might turn out to be in vain. And she can’t — she won’t — accept that.

Jughead sighs again behind her, pulling her back out of her head.

“Okay, then let’s take a break before we go see Keller. Your brilliant mind won’t do us any good if you’re totally burned out when we get there.”

Last night, with the shock beginning to wear off and the pungent grease that seems to float in the air around the diner receding behind them, Betty tried not to watch Jughead walking beside her out of the corner of her eye. At least, she tried not to whenever his head was turned toward her. The sound of cicadas slowly overcame the buzz of neon as the trees lining Elm St. enfolded them in a hazy almost-darkness. Just as she was about to give up scanning his face for signs she’d told herself she’d forgotten how to interpret, as dusk stole the details of the moles on his cheek and threads of his expressions, she heard a rustle of foil down near his hands and he popped a square of gum in his mouth.

She narrowed her eyes at him and extended her hand. “What, you don’t think I should get to escape the fate of onion breath?”

He raised one eyebrow as held the package up for her to see — “Nicorette” just visible in the fading light.

Oh.

Huh.

“I…didn’t realize you’d quit.”

“Yeah, a few weeks ago.” He scraped his hand over the back of his neck and then forward to ruffle the waves of his dark hair. “So you’re welcome to a piece if you want, but you might not like how it makes you feel.”

She shook her head and they kept walking a block or two. Then her mouth opened of its own accord, “Freshman year of college, after some insipid party at which I stayed sober — I don’t remember why. Antibiotics, maybe? — the guy walking me home persuaded me to try one of his cigarettes when I told him I’d never smoked. After nearly hacking a lung out, I got the hang of it well enough to not totally embarrass myself. But when I got home, I puked for an hour. Ugh. It was worse than the 2023 Spring Break tequila incident.”

For a moment it was silent beside her and she felt herself begin to blush — what had motivated her to share that utterly useless memory? — Then Jughead burst out laughing, doubling up and gripping his stomach and guffawing so hard she thought he’d choke on the stupid gum.

But it was catching, because soon she was laughing too, careening into the hiccups that had always signalled the fraying of the tether of her sanity.

“He — he must have thought..” Jughead dissolved into giggles again. Jughead Jones. Giggles.

“Oh Betty.” She managed to swallow a hiccup and looked up to find soft eyes on her and all of her mirth suddenly evaporated. It was a look she just wanted to sink into and wrap herself up in, to push away the reality of what they were doing here.

She shoved his shoulder then, telling herself it was because he’d laughed at her. But the flat of her palm against the soft, gray jersey of his t-shirt ignited another sizzle in her abdomen she resolved to ignore.

They try not to talk about it, this giant thing sitting in between them, preventing them from reaching each other. Or, at least, Betty does. She’s not sure if it’s a conscious effort on Jughead’s part or if they’re just totally out of sync again.

But, still, it slipped in. At dinner, he’d made an offhand about Southside High and she said, “I get it, Jug, I do. You didn’t have any chips to play. And while I wish you would have told me, so we could have figured out something together, even if that something was our breaking up, my dad held all the power. The threat to FP— to your family — was bigger than our high school relationship.” She realized she meant it. Maybe she could forgive him after all. Maybe she already had. Maybe their friendship is still intact.

He kept glancing at her and then away again while they searched, as if he expected her to break down, but by that point in the night, she had no room for anything else but undirected anger. She’d let it carry her back to the basement after dinner, where she resumed digging through boxes and poking through excel files looking for passwords or safe combinations or financial records or something.

Anything.

Many hours later, when Betty went upstairs for a glass of water and was surprised to see the house cloaked in darkness, her eyes drifted to a handful of photos stuck in cork board illuminated by the under cabinet lights. A photo of the twins in the Blossom maple grove last winter shot an arrow straight through Betty’s brain.

Glass of water forgotten, she raced back down the stairs and barely caught herself from having to hurdle over Jughead’s head.

She did it. Jughead heard the click and looked up.

“It was—it was the date that Grandpappy Blossom killed Grandpappy Cooper.” He nodded but didn’t say anything as he pushed himself up and crossed behind the desk, to join her in her corner of the floor.

Beneath passports and birth certificates, manila folders containing the deeds to the house and the Register office and bills of sale for the Whyte Wyrm and other properties her parents had acquired and discarded over the years, Betty found a handful of newspaper issues her parents had saved. She handed them, one by one, to Jughead, who scanned headlines before stacking them neatly in piles beside his left hip.

When she picked up the next issue from the stack she’d pulled into her lap, her breath caught and she felt Jughead’s eyes land on her. The cover story was a copy of her Jubilee speech from that year. She remembered her parents justifying their decision to print it in the Register, not buying her arguments about special treatment because she’s their daughter — her dad had insisted.

Rereading it, she finally felt the anger and her energy begin to ebb away, leaving behind hurt and confusion and love for her father. She couldn’t help wondering what he saved this paper for — it it was a message and if so, for whom?

Eventually, she was forced to admit that the safe, too, seemed like a dead end. She sighed and set the newspaper and manila folder for the Whyte Wyrm transactions aside before locking the safe back up. Jughead returned to his side of the office, across the DMZ of the desk and beyond any arm-span that would have allowed her to reach him.

Sheriff Keller’s secretary had headed her off earlier in the week, but today she and Jughead get in to see him, down the long hallway lined in dark wood and seafoam green tile she’s seen so often, in real life and in the dreams that still sometimes creep in. Jughead remains in the doorway, but Betty hovers while Keller makes himself a cup of coffee. When he finally sits down, sighing as his bones settle, and she takes the rickety folding chair across from him, Jughead comes to sit beside her, folding his own long legs around the legs of his chair.

“I don’t have any new information, Betty. This case has been closed for years. We examined all the footage, from both cameras. Your dad never left the bar. Clifford entered and exited through the back door. There’s no evidence your dad even knew he was there.” It’s not unexpected, but still it sets her teeth on edge.

“But why would he just go into the Whyte Wyrm for fifteen minutes at 2:30 in the morning on a night it was closed. He wasn’t doing business stuff, he never even went into the office. And how could he not have heard the shot?”

“He said he didn’t. We had no reason to doubt him. Betty, your father was a good man.” It’s obfuscation wrapped up in a pretty bow of trying to make her feel better. What Sheriff Keller is saying is that Hal was one of the right kind of people. He owned his own home and his own business, had a picture-perfect family. What Keller is saying is that he didn’t do his job.

Betty feels herself begin to vibrate with anger again and a dozen years of repressed emotions and she can feel Jughead’s eyes on her, wondering if she’s alright. “And you just bought that? That he was in the bar but couldn’t hear the shot? You didn’t ever think to test it?”

The set of his jaw tells her Keller is getting annoyed with her now. That answering questions on done-and-dusted murder investigations was not how he’d planned to spend his Wednesday afternoon. “We have Clifford Blossom on tape, we didn’t need your father for the case against him.”

As usual, Sheriff Keller totally misses her point.

Jughead speaks before she can. “But you never thought that that might be too much of a coincidence? That a man who never frequented the Whyte Wyrm, except to check up on the accounts and always during the daytime, just so happened to be in the bar at the exact moment a kid was shot. A kid he was so upset about dating his teenage daughter that he literally sent her away. You never thought they could have been together before entering the bar and then split up so you couldn’t prove it?”

Keller stares at him, bushy eyebrows drawn down over his eyes. “Then why would he let himself be caught on camera at all?”

“I don’t know, maybe he was drunk and forgot all about the cameras. Hell, maybe, in the best case scenario, he and Clifford were together when Clifford got the call from Mustang and Hal didn’t know Clifford planned to kill his own son. Maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But you truly believe he didn’t know that gun went off? He didn’t spend months trying to hush it up only to swoop in as the white knight for my dad as soon as I found the proof he was there?”

The sheriff’s chair squeaks as he leans to one side and then the other, scans his eyes up to the ceiling and back down to a spot on the table where the decades have left a rusty mug-shaped ring.

“Jones, what’s the point of all this? Your dad’s out and Hal Cooper’s been dead for years — sorry, Betty.”

She doesn’t understand, has never understood, how her sweet and morally uncompromising best friend can have such a troglodyte for a father.

“The point is apparently Riverdale is just as corrupt and morally bankrupt as it always was. My God, how the hell do you keep getting elected? Let’s go, Betty.”

She lets him lead her out of the police station. Her mind still whirring with the sheriff’s incompetence as yet another roadblock, yet another of the same roadblocks as they’d encountered so many years before. So she gives Jughead the keys and lets him drive her back to her house.

It’s almost alarming how quickly they slip back into old habits, old ways of being comfortable with each other she thought they’d long since forgotten. They’re in the basement again, Betty going through more boxes and Jughead trying to crack the encryption on her father’s old external hard drive when it comes to her. “Juggie, we can test it!”

“What?”

“We need to know if my father heard the gunshot. We may not be able to prove whether he knew what Clifford was up to or if they were together beforehand, but we can prove he knew the gun went off and didn’t do anything about it. We can test it.”

“You want to set off a gun in the basement of the Whyte Wyrm?”

“Why not? Your dad runs it now, right? We can do it before they open for the night so no one will freak out. I know my mom still has as gun around the house somewhere. It might not be the same caliber though. Do different gun sizes discharge at different volumes?” Betty is absorbed in her own monologue, mind jumping ahead to all the variabilities of ballistics she can remember from a lifetime of watching too many crime procedurals.

“Betty, stop. We can’t just shoot a gun in the middle of a building. What would we even shoot it at? That’s gotta be against the law and after today, I don’t think Keller’s gonna be too willing to give us the benefit of the doubt. And he definitely won’t give FP the benefit of the doubt.”

She’d begun quickly re-boxing all the papers from her parents’ refinancing in 2011 but at Jughead’s words she freezes and feels herself deflate. “I guess you’re right. Never mind. I just — I thought it might be something after all of this nothing.”

“Wait. I have an idea. You’re a genius.” He kisses her forehead and runs out before she can ask him what he means.

[lostinthe-pines-blog]

Fate Doesn’t Write My Stories pt. 2 - A Best Friend

This is a multi-chapter story about MC, and Chris finding their way back together after years of being separated post graduation. Chris’s career takes him to Boston, a city he’d promised was her territory. But it’s not just Chris, fate has seemingly brought the entire Hartfeld crew back together.

NOTE: This is a fictional story based on Pixelberry’s Choices App. *Books The Freshman, The Sophomore, The Junior. I am not affiliated with Pixelberry nor do I own the rights to their original characters.

Tags: @jared2612

Traveling with children was not something Abbie would recommend, but she truly had no choice. Her job at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art was paying for her to fly crossed the country to negotiate a deal with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The deal an attempt to partner the coasts and work to display sister exhibitions in the future. The timing could not have been more perfect for Abbie as her best friend was finally returning stateside for a string of concerts along the East Coast. Abbie used this as an excuse to put her entire family on a plane and travel to the historical city. Tyler, finally able to cash in his vacation hours was happy to join knowing he’d be able to watch the twins while Abbie worked.

“You know I saw a post yesterday, I think Chris Powell just moved out to Boston!” Tyler said buckling his three year old twins into their soft plane seats. “Wonder if he even knows about Kaitlyn’s concert?” He looks a cross the aisle of the plane to his curly haired wife. Who smiles back at her small family.

“Maybe the two of you can meet up, I’m sure he’d love to catch up maybe you could invite him to the concert.” she smiles. The pair had drifted the furthest from their friend group after college. Leaving their dramas behind them they wanted to start a new life, and they had. Tyler was a video game designer working for Blizzard Entertainment and he was making a decent salary. More than enough to provide for their twins; both girls, who’d inherited their mothers dark skin but their fathers thick straight hair.  

“I’ll shoot him a message when we land” Tyler added before responding to the cries next to him. The girls were fighting over what movie to watch on the TV in front them. It was no secret that this would indeed be a long flight for the whole family.

-

A familiar patterned knock at the door breaks MC out of her trance. Spending a lot of time in the last 24 hrs staring at walls continuously lost in thought, her stare is finally broken.

“Zack!” she beams rushing to the door and wrapping her arms around him before his bright eyes even had time to focus on her. “Well hey!” he laughs returning her hug feeling tension rising off of her. The pair of them had remained the closest out of the small group of Hartfeld friends. “Good to see you too!” he kisses her cheek. After a long moment she leads him inside. Leaning against the kitchen counter Zack stares at his friend of 8 years as she jumps to sit up on the granite counter top. His heart worries for his friend, her demeanor not as bright as it was on his last visit only months before.

“Aren’t you excited to be stuck with me for the next 6 months?” he winks hoping to return his favorite smile to her face. “I’ve rented a small apartment just down the street!”

MC’s eyes widen and the sweet smile Zack longed to see creeps out. “Explain again what it is that brought you here?”

“A construction project out in Dorchester. Kind of a neighborhood “revamp”” he says using air quotes on his hands “It needed a leading architect and I’m happy to accept it as my first leading gig” he smiles blushing in pride.

“How’s the love life?” MC pushes playfully

“Completely nonexistent” Zack laughs “But it’s a good thing because now I’m open for a Bostonian to come and steal my heart. Maybe I’ll even find a Harvard grad.” Zack finishes dramatically arrogance and mockery in his voice “But enough about me, how is Carter! And you said you got a promotion? Tell me everything!” he inquires noticing instantly the change in her body language.

MC’s face still smiling but her body is closed off “Carter is good” she says simply. Instantly noticing the arch in Zack’s eyebrow. “Ugh, I hate to say it but I’m just getting bored. I know it sounds bad but Carter is almost too perfect! I feel like I’m always the one with insecurities and fears. While he helps me through them I feel guilty for always taking and never giving. He’s a well oiled machine that never breaks or even shows stress.” she uncomfortably changes the subject answering more of Zack’s questions “As far as the promotion I get to write... finally. It’s what I’ve been working toward the past two years.” she looks down now “But my two years of hard work is not what got me the position. Tonya my superior, she found my articles from college, the ones about Chris and the Knights. They offered me a position to write and edit in Sports.” her head hangs but she moves her eyes to catch Zacks stare.

“I see the problem” he nods but does what he does best and finds the light in the situation. “MC you’re getting to in your head about something that was four years ago. You love sports! Especially football! Maybe it wasn’t your goal to write about them but it won’t necessarily be that hard for you! And I’m sorry if I’m being blunt but last I checked in Chris was working with the Seahawks. Which puts him in Seattle on the other side of the country. So cheer up MC and let's celebrate! The rest of the year will be a win for both of us!” he cheers pulling her off the counter. “Kaitlyn's concert is next week, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with-” he is cut off as their gaze turns to the door the lock turning. MC’s roommate peering inside.

Molly Lorde a 27 year old with a tall and yet petite frame, pale skin and vibrant green eyes. Her wavy hair always seemed to land perfectly. She’d used her good looks to build a social media empire. Popularity and money had never been an issue for her, but she didn’t act like it. She was humble, and kind.

Four years ago MC had desperately moved to this new city only because it was her first option out. Becca had mentioned her cousin Molly a few times and offered the open lease at her apartment in Boston when she saw her friend desperate to leave Hartfeld behind as quickly as possible. 

As Molly opens the door she sees him, the one person who threatened her current title as MC’s best friend; Zack.

“Zackary! Come to steal my title?” she chimes “Or here to surrender!” she says pointing some very serious finger guns at the slender brunet.

Zack laughs and shoots finger guns back at her. Molly dodges the imaginary bullets and runs through the house Zack chasing her “You can take cover and hide but you’ll never have my title! MC is mine FOREVER!” as he yells he tackles her onto the couch the two of them laugh in unison.

“Not that i’m not flattered but, aren’t you both getting a little old for this?” MC smiles wedging herself between them on the couch.

The three of them catch up on life events, Molly and Zack recalling the first time they met in person. Having seen each other only over FaceTime calls they recognized each other instantly at Becca’s wedding 10 months earlier in Seattle. MC had chosen to send an expensive gift and letter to the wedding with her blonde roommate, out of sheer fear that going meant she might have to see Chris. As they talked about the wedding and memories MC tunes them out getting lost in the idea of what it would have been like if she’d been there. She writes the visual in her mind, the large ballroom pillars covered in gaudy white fabrics and twinkle lights. She sees herself in her favorite cream and blue dress standing with her friends sharing moments of laughter. Not going to the wedding was one of her biggest regrets especially after she found out Chris hadn’t attended at all.

The stories continue throughout the evening until Molly gets ready to head out again. Checking the time MC rolls her eyes knowing exactly where Molly is off too. She’d been making late night calls to a coworker's house for weeks now. Molly promised it was only for pleasure and nothing more, but last week Molly had gone three days without returning home. Zack yawns seeing this as a good time to leave. He offers to walk out with Molly to head back home leaving MC alone now to her thoughts.

Moving to the kitchen she plays some music as she cleans the dishes left behind. She allows Zack’s advice -to celebrate her promotion- to take over. She begins dancing and singing, completely off key. Feeling complete joy she continues to clean for the next hour before heading straight to bed. She plugs in her phone by her bedside. Playing quieter music now she stands in the dark stripping down and climbing into her welcoming sheets. She reaches for her phone to check her alarms one last time when she is greeted by a text from a name she hadn’t seen in years. She feels her chest tighten as she sits up startled staring at the text to afraid of opening it. She closes her eyes tight and tapping on the message.

“MC, I don’t know if this is even your number anymore. I felt it best that you know my job has brought me to Boston for at least a year. I wanted you to hear this from me and no one else. I hope life has treated you well. All my best. -Chris P.”

MC screenshots the message and only seconds after reading it has already been sent off to Zack. Once it’s delivered she goes back to the daunting words reading it again and again. Chris Powell had forced MC out of his life in an alcohol influenced moment of anger and pain from an injury that stole his career from him. MC spent a year mourning him before even approaching the idea of dating. She had not only lost the man she thought she’d love forever, she also lost the vision of her future. MC chose not to respond tonight. She was too tired and she had to be at work early to receive her first assignment. She drifted to sleep quick but her overly stressed subconscious only chose to bring up memories of years before. Real life memories turning to nightmares.

[theofficialcunt]

Adore & Bianca spend their first Christmas together at Bianca's house (with Sammy and Dede of course) [ idc if it's nowhere near December, I love Christmas lol so pleeeease do this Prompt 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻]

It’s fucking August but if y’all want a christmas fic, I’m gonna give you one! ❄️☃️🎄🎅🏼 (I may or may not already be planning a christmas playlist for christmas morning 😂) Just a shit ton of fluff. I mention a fur coat in here, I don’t personally wear fur (and I don’t believe BDR does either, but the plot called for it as a certain celebrity used to wear it) so I just want to clear that up before we go on. Merry Christmas! 🤣 Enjoy! 

“Ugh, do we HAVE to spend Christmas in New York, B?” Danny groaned as he drug him through LAX.

Contrary to popular belief, Danny absolutely dreaded christmas. Every year as a child, his dad would refuse to get him what he wanted - a doll or makeup usually - which would eventually end up in him and Bonnie getting into a fight. Boys can’t wear makeup, he would say. Boy if he saw him now, he would be shocked - his son an androgynous vision in flannel.

Every year since he had passed, his mom would try her best to make it up to him. But it never worked. She would get so stressed out that she would project her frustrations onto Danny, and when Danny turned 16 - they stopped celebrating it all together. Sure, they would exchange the obligatory merry christmas text message but they never pressured themselves to do anything more.

Roy however, was hell bent on celebrating christmas.

“You haven’t experienced Christmas until you’ve experienced it in New York.” Roy chimed happily.

Roy loved Christmas. He loved giving his family gifts and watching their eyes light up. He spoiled his mom every year by sending her 100 red roses, a maid to clean her house for a week, and a diamond necklace. He gave Lola an American Girl doll with custom made doll clothes, as well as all of the clothes you could possibly buy for it. She had screamed when she opened up her gift, and never forgot the sweet gesture since.

But this year was different. It was even better because this year, he gets to spoil Danny and for once they aren’t on tour - or on opposite sides of the country.

“I’ve spent christmas in many places around the world at this point Roy, I don’t think it’ll be that much different.” Danny scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Leave the scrooging to the professional. Negative Nancy.” Roy teased.

“Maybe I’m a pessimist.” Danny said, the corners of his lips curling up.

Roy smiled at the subtle reference.

“Danny, I promise this year Christmas will be good. Just give me a chance.” Roy pleaded.

It was really important to him, Danny thought. It obviously meant a lot to him, so for his benefit he decided he’d do his best to go into tomorrow’s small celebration with an open mind.

“Okay.” Danny finally agreed.

————————

“We’re going to make a stop before we go to the apartment. Is that okay?” Roy asked as they sat in the back of the Lyft.

They had arrived to New York very late, it was 11:30 at night and Danny was exhausted from the day of traveling. He nodded his head sleepily as he rested it against the car window.

He must have dozed off for a little bit, because soon he heard the car door shut softly and then heard Roy unloading the trunk of the car. He then opened the door for him, feeling the biting cold of New York for the first time.

“Ah, it’s cold,” Danny whined, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he stepped out of the car. “Why did we stop?”

“Look.” Roy smiled excitedly, his eyes bright. He was like a little kid in the candy store, pacing impatiently for Danny to see what he was gesturing to.

“Wha- Oh.” Danny stopped breathless, staring in awe.

Out of all of the times he had been in New York City, not one time had Danny actually stopped to look at the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. Of course he had seen it in all of the iconic christmas movies over the years, but never once in person. He was speechless.

It was so much bigger in person, and it emitted a heavenly ivory glow from all of the lights. The star at the top was brighter than he imagined it as well.

It was truly magical.

“Do you like it?” Roy murmured, holding his hand in one hand and their suitcases in the other.

“I- I love it.” Danny stammered, huddling closer to him. He felt like he was in one of those cheesy hallmark christmas movies, it was just too perfect.

And then the snow began to fall.

And it would’ve been perfect, just like the movies in fact- if Danny wasn’t dressed in ripped jeans and a black tank top.

“You’re going to turn into an icicle out here.” Roy said concerned. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Danny smiled and let Roy hold him as he ordered another Lyft for them. As they waited, Danny couldn’t help but worry that maybe today was too perfect. There had to be a point where Roy fucked up Christmas somehow.

And he had to be prepared so that he wasn’t let down, yet again.

——

“Close your eyes.” Roy ordered, as they arrived at his New York apartment.

“Wow, you’re really getting into this christmasfantasy aren’t you?” Danny snorted. He obliged to his rules, trying not to let himself get too excited.

“No peeking! Or I’ll take away your present.” Roy warned.

“I thought we agreed on no presents!” Danny exclaimed frustrated. He wanted to be the one to get Roy an over exuberant gift this year. He had purchased a black fur jacket at an auction in LA that had been worn by the late Joan Rivers. Danny knew it would fit Bianca because shit, B was tiny.

It was the most expensive gift Danny had ever gotten anyone, including his mom. But he had wanted to show Roy how much he cared about him. What better way to do that then get him something worn by his idol?

“You know that we’re never gonna follow that rule.” Roy grumbled. He set the bags down in the entry way, before taking Danny by the hand and leading him into the apartment.

“Okay, open.” Roy said, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

Danny opened his eyes to glamorous winter wonderland. The apartment was decked out in all gold, black, and silver christmas decor. The tree was huge, reaching all the way to the ceiling and adding a nice focal point against the wide windows on the wall. Sammy and Dede barked loudly, scurring across the marble tile towards him, eager to see their second favorite owner.

“Oh hi babies!” Danny exclaimed excitedly, jumping about and exciting them more as they howled. They ran a couple of laps around him before they settled on the stark white couch by the fireplace.

The curtains were sheer, and partially open so you could see the lights New York City below. There was one single present under the tree, wrapped in matte black wrapping paper and-

“Did you fucking have your assistant make hot chocolate in the crockpot for me?” Danny exclaimed, smelling the rich smell of dark chocolate.

“You got it bitch.” Roy smirked, with a satisfied gleam in his eye. “Would you like some?”

“Please.” Danny asked, suddenly feeling very parched.

Once Roy poured them both a glass of the homemade hot cocoa, they sat down next to Sammy and Dede both sitting in silence lost in their thoughts.

“You know, it’s technically Christmas.” Roy hinted, wiggling his eyebrows.

“What are you getting at?” Danny asked, already knowing the answer.

Roy stood up, walked a few paces to grab his present from under the tree. He set it on his lap gently, and Danny grabbed it and shook it. It was light, only a small rattling on the inside. He looked at it perplexed, incredibly confused.

“Oh my god you are such a kid.” Roy facepalmed.“Just open it.”

Danny tore away the luxurious paper, sipping on his hot cocoa slowly as he uncovered a small black box. Lifting the lid slowly, a cd laid inside of it face down. But he instantly recognized it by the tracklisting on the back.

“Bleach by Nirvana, thank you.” Danny said, pecking him softly - slightly confused. Was he losing it? Roy knew that Danny had the vinyl edition mounted on his wall back in Seattle.

“Flip it over.” Roy deadpanned.

Danny did what he was told and stared at the cover in disbelief.

“Is this real?” Danny asked, voice getting higher as he examined the cd.

Scrawled on the bottom, was none other than Kurt Cobain’s signature. This had to have cost Roy a fortune.

“I can’t accept this.” Danny said tearfully. Nirvana was his favorite band ever, and no one had ever given him such a thoughtful gift.

“You’re keeping it.” Roy asserted sternly.

“Thank you baby.” Danny said, pulling Roy in for a kiss. Roy moaned in delight, and pulled Danny into him as he deepened it. They spent the next few minutes making out, enjoying each others company.

Sammy eventually barked, breaking the two of them up.

“I think Sammy is reminding me that I have a gift for you too.”  Danny smiled coyly.

“You shady bitch.” Roy chuckled, shaking his head.

Danny ran to his suitcase and grabbed the neatly folded garment bag out of it. He unzipped it, making sure the coat was folded neatly, and had no gunk stuck to it from traveling before he brought it back out to the living room.

Roy raised an eyebrow at the garment bag, crossing his arms annoyed.

“Oh, is my drag just not cutting it for you? I can buy my own drag Danny.” Roy snapped.

Danny rolled his eyes. “Will you just shut up snd open it?”

Roy stuck his tongue out at Danny before unzipping the bag, revealing the long fur coat.

“Oh wow, this is beautiful Danny thank you. And.” Roy sniffed, examining the coat closer. “Huh. Weird. This smells like the perfume Joan Rivers used to wear.”

“Because it was hers. Look at the tag.” Danny said gently.

Roy’s face went from irritated to shock within 2 seconds. It was priceless. His eyes grew wide as he looked inside the coat at the tag. Attached to it was a certificate of authenticity, and all of the times Joan had wore the coat.

“How-”

“Don’t worry about it. Merry Christmas baby.” Danny soothed, hugging Roy close to him.

Roy pulled him into his chest, kissing his chin softly.

“Merry Christmas, Danny.”

[geek-gem]

Health Kicked

2:16 pm I’ve just watched the new Loud House episode. Also I didn’t have to go to my blog to start making this I saw.

Yet so I’m gonna talk about this again spoilers man.

It was a nice episode and I think it’s the last one since we had two episodes on Monday. Which makes up for five days but no new episodes tomorrow.

But again I really liked it. Or some shit like that will say it was honestly funny.

So the story is cause Clyde’s dad’s are very healthy and they want to be around for a long time when Clyde’s older. It causes Lincoln and the other Loud kids to get worried. But when they convince their parents to be more healthy and other things. It’s a bit too much as the kids now start going with them. It ends up with the kids tricking them and the parents going to this contest and they have to tell them the truth. But mainly it’s alright in the end. Such as now still exercising but not too much. With them running for the ice cream truck.

Now random bullshit also yesterday’s episode is on, “Change Of Heart” another ha almost left food…but another good episode almost put sorry and had rearrange left and put ha…sorry and fixed out to put.

Yet random bullshit it was a nice episode. About the funny parts Clyde’s parents Harold and Howard just the concept of them actually pulling a car showing they are really committed to that fitness thing it was funny.

But also said lazy ass in my head about Rita when she doesn’t wanna walk the dog. Yet I’m a lazy ass too…ha man…sorry meh.

Including Lynn Sr such a wonder to see in the show. I honestly like him and he made me laugh quite some times. Even the whole ice cream truck joke. Also during the whole thing where they are trying to do things that can give their parents exercise. Seriously Lynn Sr made me laugh. That mud wrestling scene too man.

Also I kind of thought it was going to happen I was also thinking are they gonna go with the route where they are exercising so much it’s killing their parents. But they went with the route where the parents are overworking them with exercising.

To be honest why the fuck do I keep expecting one or more of the kids to back talk and say they are done with this shit. No not swearing but actually talking. It makes me wonder including the concept I remember reading from a post about that Steven Universe special about Steven’s uncle how a kid can’t take them selves away from a relationship. Yet going the route with how to make it more comfortable I’m not an expert man.

Including these are kids yet Lori’s almost 18.

Really I am noticing just how I feel like about these. Also if they went that route the more mature route. Then we wouldn’t have the finale which is still very nice.

I just changed the channel to mtv2 I don’t wanna leave that Welcome To The Wayne show on I noticed it was on when hearing it man.

Including the whole thing the show is aimed towards younger audiences. Yet if it has some more fans even older people that’s pretty okay as long as their is no harmful effects or trouble. I wanted to mention that cause of some shit that goes down in the Loud House fandom. Including if the show the writing isn’t meant for younger audiences. Some stuff even older people would like.

Also the fact of the representation this show is doing is great man kick ass ha sorry man.

Honestly for some reason I don’t know why think I’ll talk about this part. That Loud House movie in 2020 just why do I feel like the show is gonna end soon. It’s just because that I think Twitter post Chris Savino confirmed whatever site ha almost shit and sit ha…sorry man but he confirmed that their will be no birthday episodes and the last episode if that ever comes to light will be Lori turning 18 and leaving. Honestly Chris Savino is 26 years older then me and has more experience with family since the show is kind of based upon his family life as I know ha…

Seriously why do I feel like it’s gonna end soon. That’s just my thoughts and I was a bit ha…bothered by that confirmation man almost left mail ha sorry dude…

Normal to smile even now. Yet this other thing seriously that Loud House movie kick ass stop…why do I want Jessie Eisenberg in that movie as the main villain or some shit……..

I swear to God I don’t know why just his performance as Lex Luthor in Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice still remains in my head of just how unpredictable he was.

Including a story idea I had and me making jokes with @fangirl20 okay deleted 0 and put it back ha sorry normal to smile ticks man.

Yet theirs this story idea of it’s like those Rugrats movies. I liked them even Rugrats Go Wild where their was some crazy stuff almost left craY yet the story and themes felt kind of deep almost left seep.

The stories they dealt with weren’t too crazy and fit with the show. Dealing with themes of family. Their is this story idea where the main villain is someone and I thought of this someone who is basically the anti Lincoln no not a legit or as Lori would say littertly or litterial almost left nor.

But someone who turns out if Lincoln was never compassionate with his family or he never loved his family and they never loved him back. He would basically turn out to this person if he never cared and if no one else cared…..

Some fan fiction idea yet it’s something I feel…..hey Jessie Eisenberg did have some voice roles in those Rio films. Also yeah remembered now if theirs any rumors or leaks about this ha…sorry please do not believe them I actually said that and almost left belong ha.

I’m sorry I got distracted but again I liked the episode. So I guess last one, another week of good episodes. Didn’t like the first one much yet enjoyed the rest mostly ha man it’s normal to smile. So got tags down so…thanks Fangirl20 and your friend who’s username is really long I’m sorry forgive me or some shit. For liking these posts cause you kept liking them ha sorry normal to smile dude…..

Also my God Jessie Eisenberg has been in my head Jesus it’s unbelievable man

edit sorry yeah felt weird but almost left byt ugh forgot this dude 2:44 pm

[misguidedsims]

“sink” chatter & replies

hey, hey. 

so i’m not sure if i’m too tired to attempt loading the queue for tomorrow. i think i probably am -- it was crazy hot today and it zapped all my strength. in any case, there’s some lazy-man’s replies under the cut. 

(here have this outtake of briar and desi that never happened bc i’m the worst person ever and briar’s dead) 

i wanted to say a couple of things about sink first though. i meant to when i started gen 3, and i’ll probably go back and edit the “cover” image post to include some general info/trigger warnings at some point. but my organizational skills are horrible lately, so... here goes.

while this is a continuation of the pope legacy, i obviously am doing things a bit differently than i was before. this is mainly because it got too character heavy for me to keep up, so i needed to limit the perspective/pov when i was posting things. this will allow me to condense how i tell the story (so the gen doesn’t go on for years like gen 2), without dropping all the characters. i also am trying to improve my pacing, so that things are happening more. i feel like that’s my biggest weakness in writing. so hopefully i get better at that! 

now some important things to note about sink in terms of things changing... 

as everyone knows, tumblr has implemented it’s own censuring tools. a lot of sims 4 posts get marked (and obvs everything rn) as nsfw even when it isn’t. my blog is no different. i do go through a request review, but the process is slow. so if you’re under 18, just know that i do my best to keep up with that but i’m sorry. 

that being said -- a lot more of my posts are actually going to be nsfw this gen. 

because my teens will be tackling some heavy topics. i’m just going to tell you there will be some serious trigger warnings 

[[ HEY -- SPOILERS LAY AHEAD ]] including eating disorders, teen sex, teens talking about sex, so many sex references listen... i think sex is all these guys plan to talk about i’m srs, teen pregnancy, suicidal tendencies, mood disorders, violence, sexual preference bashing, bullying, drugs, alcohol, terrible parental units, possibly child abuse... those are the things that i know about. [[OKAY SPOILERS ARE BEHIND ]]

i will use trigger warnings and nsfw tags. i will also try to make a warning post the week or day (depending on how i load my queue) beforehand. 

but if any of this scares you... well... the best i can tell you is we’re not in kansas anymore. so if you don’t like oz, hey no hard feelings... i can’t keep doing the popes the way i was doing it before, it was making me yawn a little. i love you guys as my followers, but also i gotta like loading this queue or it’ll keep going dead so ^_^ 

hopefully, you enjoy what’s coming. i’m excited for it. thank you guys for reading, liking, following, commenting... all that! 

replies under the cut.

darkhunters13 replied to your photoset

I was hoping Desi would inherit the blonde hair but she is still so beautiful 

sweetchocolateysims

replied to your photoset

“when no one answers, chlesea pauses flipping pancakes to glance over...”

Did Desi make it??

yes! she looks like some kind of tiny super-model, idk what to do with myself honestly. she’s crazy adorable! 

sweetcocoberry replied to your photoset

LISTEN HERE! How could you... how could you bring these tears out of my body. These tears should never be outside this body.

nvaleee replied to your photoset

Why are you breaking my heart????

darkhunters13 replied to your photoset

I'm not crying, it's just raining. Inside my house

malyenoretsev replied to your photoset

HOW DARE YOU

darkhunters13 replied to your photoset

I'm crying

malyenoretsev replied to your photoset

How dare you though

pretty much all of sink is brand new eyes (plus every other sad paramore song ever) so... you know... prepare to die. i mean... it is called “sink” so... i kind of warned you??? 

sweetchocolateysims replied to your photoset

Getting a very OG Liam and Chelsea vibe and I'm loving it! Most definitely looking forward to see what happens to the two.

yes, this is very much so the case. when i planned grace, i knew she was a lot like chelsea. evan’s not a lot like liam though (well he is but... well you’ll see liam now and the liam you knew are so not the same, so). anyway! i’d buckle up, it’s gonna be a long ride lol

darkhunters13

replied to your photoset

“yeah? what kinds of things are important to you?” evan asked. he had...”

Dump him

about ashley & evan ... yeah. they get better, i think. but they get worse too. so, you know, you’re right. but ashley lacks the self-esteem and self-respect to heed that advice, so. yeah... she’s not gonna. unfortunately for all of you. and all these teens too, bc i think they’re all over ashlevan already. 

sweetchocolateysims

replied to your photoset

“dylan: “if you try to make my new life difficult, i will destroy you....”

Huh, well that kinda answers my question. But I'll ask anyway. Would Dylan ever kill the kids? Even his "daughter"?

you asked this forever ago, but hey! hi! i think dylan would do anything to protect himself (so yes, if he had to) and unless he has some serious character development that’s not likely to change. but, also, i love character development. so maybe it will get better. but also, allison -- sadly bc she’s gorgeous and her storyline is awesome -- does not  have a huge role in my outline rn for “sink” so... probably we won’t find out.

simpyre replied to your photoset

no, seriously. wtf. bringing Akira back to their place? you WANTED to get caught, didn't you?

ugh. i had an entire side story for akira and like his criminal adventures but i just don’t think i have the time. to my eternal disappointment. also, there was a whole scene i cut out (i cut out a whole lot of ronan and reese scenes in gen 2 bc there was too much else to tell, sadly) of ronan’s where akira shows up there to say goodbye to him bc he’s leaving town. and that’s why he was at the apt. but also, yes, ronan wanted to blow up his relationship. that is also true.

i’m sure there were many things i didn’t reply to. but this was mostly bc by this point i think events have replied for me. i’m always saying i’ll get better about replies, so i just won’t even lie to myself! i’ll try! do know i always read your replies though and love them. so much.