#I realize this isn't really shenanigan-y and more questionable-life-choices but this is what the little gremlins in my brain wanted

[avid-reader12]

What He's Doing About It

My contribution to the May All 4-1 Challenge

Prompt: "You did what now?" "You heard. What are you gonna do about it?"

Rating: T

Warnings: None

Tags: @post-apocalyptic-daydream @leosgirl82 @turtle-babe83 @thelaundrybitch

Donnie jumped off the rooftop, grunting as his feet hit the concrete. He could’ve done that more gracefully, and quietly too. But agility and stealth were not on his mind tonight.

He headed toward Angel’s apartment, speed his only goal. He doubted he’d be seen tonight, even in the city that never sleeps, a three a.m. rainstorm kept people inside and away from their windows. A voice in the back of his mind whispered he should’ve worn a coat; she wouldn’t appreciate him arriving at this ungodly hour, soaking wet and dripping on her floors. He couldn’t bring himself to care, wet floors were just a tiny part of her penance.

He wasn’t thinking about the weather when he dashed out of the lair earlier. He wasn’t thinking about much at all. He had overheard Leo and Raph talking, clearly thinking they were the only ones still up. It hadn’t been his intent to eavesdrop, but he heard her name. He couldn’t resist when she was involved. Then he heard what she had done. Without another thought he dropped his wrench and rushed out of the lair.

He had to hear it from her. He had to hear her say it. He had to know why.

With another grunt he landed on top of her apartment building. He stopped for the first time since hearing the news and clenched his fists. He didn’t share his brother’s temper issues, but the anger coursing through his veins should’ve scared him. He took a moment to breath, trying to calm the tempest inside him before he confronted her.

He expected to find her window dark, curtains drawn. But as he lowered himself down the fire escape, the curtains were wide open, the window cracked and the lamp beside it lit. Clearly, she’d been expecting someone. Maybe Leo or Raph had seen him leaving and warned her.

He slipped inside quietly. The lamp beside him was the only light on in her tiny apartment. He could hear the water dripping off his skin as it hit the hardwood floor below him. He waited a moment to see if she would come out and greet him, like she always did, no matter what time he showed up or what she had been in the middle of. She didn’t.

Maybe that should’ve been his first sign. He never would’ve done this with a clear mind. He would’ve called out to her, announced his presence. He never would’ve stomped through her home soaking wet. But here he was, marching into the shadows determined to get an explanation. There had to be a damned good reason behind this.

He found Angel in her bedroom, just sitting on the edge of the bed in the dark. She didn’t look up as he paused in the doorway, and somehow that pissed him off more. He almost expected her to be bewildered, shocked at his unannounced visit, his reaction. Or maybe she would’ve put up a fight, defending her actions and meeting his anger head on. Her inaction made him realize that it wasn’t just anger he was feeling, it was helplessness too.

“What did you do?” he asked quietly, breaking the silence. His hands started to shake.

He heard her take a breath and brace herself. “Donnie, please-,”

“What did you do?” he repeated, his voice cracking.

She stood up, reaching a hand out for him. “Please don’t be mad Donnie, I just-,”

He turned away. Any other time he would gladly let her touch him, but not now. He worried his anger would burst out of his skin, taking both of them with it. “No.” He hated how low and firm his voice sounded. He took another step back, trying to rein himself in. “I want to hear you say it. I want to hear it from you.”

“You heard.” He hated how her voice reflected his own, so devoid of emotion.

“You’re damn right I fucking heard!” He whirled back around on her. Her neighbors definitely heard him. In the darkness he couldn’t see her face, but he knew his outburst surprised her. Good.

“Donnie, this isn’t how I meant-,”

“You didn’t even have the decency to tell me. I had to hear it from Leo and Raph,” he spat out. He didn’t add that even they didn’t tell him, he just overheard. He squeezed his fists tighter. “You still won’t even tell me. I thought we were closer than that. I guess I was wrong.” All the nights they spent together flashed before his eyes. They meant something to him, and at the time he thought they meant something to her too.

“Donnie, you’re not being fair.” Her voice came out hard. Maybe he’d get that fight he wanted after all.

He scoffed. “Oh, and you are?”

“This doesn’t have to change anything-,”

“This changes everything!” he countered. He paced away from her. How could she say that?

“This doesn’t have to change us,” she finished in a quiet voice.

Donnie stopped in his tracks. So there was an ‘us’ now? What exactly did that mean? And why did that cut him to his core?

He didn’t hear her come up behind him, and her hand on his arm startled him. “Sorry. Let me get you a towel.” Silence was her answer as she left. Towels seemed unimportant right now.

She returned, turning on the bedroom light as she walked in. Under normal circumstances he would’ve taken the opportunity to observe her bedroom, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. If he had, he would’ve seen the stuffed turtle he made her laying next to her pillow, and his old sweatshirt.

“You joined the foot clan.”

His words stopped her. She held out the towel and wouldn’t meet his gaze. He didn’t take it.

She sighed and threw the towel on the bed. Her face flickered as her brow scrunched up, trying not to betray her emotions. She crossed her arms and said, “I joined the foot clan.”

His anger took a backseat to the ice cold dread that settled over him. Part of him wished he had taken that towel, that maybe it would’ve warmed him up and help fight off this anxiety. He knew he wouldn’t be able to function if anything happened to her. Angel was the first thing he thought about in the mornings and he couldn’t count the nights he fell asleep looking at her picture. It wasn’t a question of if something would happen to her, it was a matter of when. And he wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it.

He heard her take another deep breath as he pulled himself out of his thoughts. She met his gaze head on, her face set and determined. Yet her voice wavered slightly as she said, “What are you going to do about it?”

A million ideas flashed through his mind. He could turn and walk out and never see her again. He could drag her back to the lair to keep her safe and out of harm’s way. He could stand here and argue with her until she saw reason, and not take no for an answer.

But he didn’t do any of those things. Instead, he surged forward, his hands moving of their own accord to hold her. Angel met him halfway, the determination on her face melting away into something else, something he didn’t have time to place. Everything was moving too slow for his body but too fast for his mind to keep up. One hand went to the back of her head, tangling in her hair, and the other to the small of her back. He felt her feather light touches around his waist, and saw her stand on her tip toes. His mind raced, trying to get ahead and memorize everything, especially the soft way her lips parted, just as she closed her eyes.

What was he going to do about it? To start, he was going to hold her close, and kiss her. Everything else could come later.

[b0rista]

— 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑.

WARNINGS: light angst & swearing.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: he's one of my ultimate favorite snk characters, and i needed to cleanse my page of the heavy ass warrior content djjfjf.

"you're either a blessing, or you're a lesson. either or, you and i met for a reason."

with all of the gore and the misfortune that comes with your livelihood, it's connie that gets you through it.

as expected, you first fell in love with him for his humor. not for the humor itself, but for how it shed the smallest flicker of joy upon a heaping tower of despair— as soldiers, you needed that. fortunately, he was the one that brought it to the table. even during your days as cadets, connie lived to make you laugh. hearing a chuckle flutter from your core served as a form of therapy for him, and with time, he grew addicted.

with that being said, he does the stupidest shit in order to get your attention. even when you're together, he'll do what needs to be done. for example, one time, he tried to impress you by doing a trick while saddled up on his horse. in an attempt to twirl like a jackass ballerina, the horse decided that it deserved better, and kicked him clean off its back. at the sight of his 5'2 ass being hoisted eight feet into the air, you nearly choked.

prepare yourself, he's a cuddler. after a particularly hard day's worth of work, connie finds solace in bedding up with you, knowing that you're safe, and with him. he asks that you don't tell anybody, but he actually really enjoys cuddling as the little spoon. to have his head pressed against your chest, his ear to your heartbeat, brings him comfort. of course, he'll never detest to being your big spoon, either. he absolutely loves the feeling of you buried within his touch.

^ if you ever want to go an evening without cuddling, he'll be immediately offended. never, ever, ever will the two of you fall asleep back to back. he simply won't have it, it makes him feel as if something's wrong. and if that is the case, nobody's falling asleep until you've talked about it and successfully sorted it out.

at the beginning of your guys' relationship, everyone worried for you. did he coerce you, y/n? are you being forced? has he threatened you, has he threatened your family? nobody could grasp the fact that connie motherfuckin' springer had managed to pull you.

if there's any sort of sour talk regarding you, no matter how little it is, this man will leap to your defense. one time, jean called your bedhead ugly, and connie propelled a moldy roll of bread into his forehead. in the end, a massive food fight erupted, and you were just standing there with your bedhead like 🧍‍♀️

HOWEVER, there was an instance that actually led to a genuine, real fight between you two as a couple. you'd managed to scuff up your leg during the battle with kenny the ripper and his associates, and when it came down to who was and who wasn't going to tag along for the eren & historia rescue mission, connie belittled you to the team behind your back. not because he actually felt that way, but because he'd do anything to maintain your safety— even if it meant hurting your feelings. telling captain levi that your abilities were inadequate for that particular mission hurt him, but he did what he felt was necessary.

in the end, though, levi saw through the charade. to connie's dismay, you came with to save eren and historia. and during the entire journey, you didn't even utter a word to him. of course, though, during the battle, you put your frustrations aside. once you saw your lover's head nearly get kicked in during combat, you understood his intentions, and you forgave him. as expected, he replied to your forgiveness with humor,, his go-to coping mechanism.

"considering how sexy i looked on the battlefield, i knew you wouldn't be able to resist."

whenever his hair starts to grow out, you're the one that gets to cut it back down! he's able to do it himself, but he really likes it when you do it. you're typically propped up in his lap, sitting face to face as you file down his edges. he always loops his arms around your waist, intently staring you in the face— seeing you so concentrated on his hair, he can't help it.

you wouldn't expect this from connie whatsoever, but he likes it when you read to him. pick a literature of your choice and let him kick back and rest his head onto your lap, pleasE. he'll close his eyes, and for the first time in forever, stay still. the only time he and books ever coexist is when you're reading one to him. he'll also make fun of you whenever you stumble over a sentence,, so get ready.

the day you realize that this motherfucker is nearing six feet tall, you're ready for the holy spirit to whisk you away. literally, you measure his height on the weekly once you realize he just keeps gaining inches. that, and when he starts growing more into his face? lawd, take you now.

"connie, you're getting seXY-"

"what the hell does thaT mE A N-"

many, many proposals. none are meant to be taken seriously, which the both of you know. still, there are far too many proposals between the two of you. one time, you killed a fly midair, and he thought you were the baddest bitch on the block.

"marry me."

another time, he swooped you into the air with his maneuvering gear, and as you held onto him for dear life, you looked him dead in the face: "marry me, you baldheaded bastard."

it can be a reel, how many times the two of you say that bullshit. somehow, it's cute.

he doesn't really take basic boundaries into consideration. like, one time, you caught him using your toothbrush because he couldn't find his. it wasn't fun, you had to give him a serious talking to.

he is, without a doubt, constantly prepared to lay down his life for you on the battlefield. during his time as a soldier, he's grown significantly strong— and once he fell in love with you, he's felt even stronger. not only do you give him drive, but you lend him strength. with that being said, you're somebody he'd die for without even an ounce of hesitation. and knowing him, he's probably made that more than obvious.

when connie's village was destroyed and it was discovered that his entire family was turned into titans, you were one of the only ones to actually comfort him. you were absolutely enraged at how nonchalantly your lover's loss was set aside, and although he'd tried his hardest to conquer the grief alone, it was you who sat at his bedside at night, cradling him in your arms as he wept. never in your life had you seen him so distraught. after that period of time, your relationship with him only deepened in its seriousness. 

as expected, you and sasha spend quite a bit of time together! after all, that's your boyfriend's best friend. given her easygoing nature, it didn't take long for sasha to absolutely adore you. naturally, she wonders how the hell you manage to operate with a boyfriend like that, but she tries not to ask questions.

speaking of the wonder twins, they love getting you in trouble. whenever the two of them think up an astonishingly moronic shenanigan, there's a solid 50/50 chance that you'll be looped into it, too. one time, they purposefully dulled jean's razor, and when he went to shave, it only ended in him splitting his face open due to placing too much pressure. as a joke, those two jackasses carved your initials into the handle. when jean decided that he'd murder you, connie tried playing the hero, lEapiNg to your defense. it was stupid, and it didn't work. you still laugh about it, though.

there have been several jokes regarding starting a family and growing old together— secretly, though, connie doesn't want them to just be jokes.

he stole a stray cat for you. yup, yes he did. the two of you were walking about the city, and you saw a gray-haired sleeping beside a trash bin behind a local vendor. you compared its fur to the color of his hair, calling it cute. out of impulse, connie went back to that exact same vendor later on that day, trapped the cat in a box, and brought it to your doorstep.

his forearms and fingertips were covered in claw marks, but to see your face light up the way that it did, any amount of pain was immediately worth it.

after the nickname that shadis had given connie on the first day of cadet training, you named the kitty q-ball. 🥺

during the season four era, the two of you share a house. at first, captain levi argued against it— "put a pair of horny teenagers in a home together, what do you think is gonna happen?"

y'all said fuck it, and lived together anyways. it's you, him, and your lovely child, q-ball. occasionally jean, too. some nights, he doesn't want to be alone.

eskimo kisses. during the prepping of every single mission, you'll get eskimo kisses. it's a small, loving gesture the two of you do before heading into the battlefield. as a sign of your love, you'll press your foreheads together and rub noses, weapons holstered and ready for combat. it's a serious tradition, and it'll never be ignored.

and after a mission, connie has this habit of pinching your cheeks immediately after rushing towards you. it isn't to be cute, either. it's so that he can scan you, and check you for any harm. basically, it's him squeezing the life out of your face while bombarding you with questions.

expect supremely cheesy pet names! bae, biscuit, buttercup, baby thing, sexy bitch, and so on. if it were anyone else, he would 100% make fun of them. but it's him, therefore adorable.