#I took a small nap because I was trying to smoosh them into a nap and you know the song and dance

[alittlebitofrainbyyourside]

sometimes conversations in our household are just me apologizing for being dysregulated and mean and my wife going '?????? you're allowed to be dysregulated' in the tone of voice that strongly implies that they did not realize I *was* being mean

and I will never know if this is because I grew up in a household where literally- my mother banned the word 'Sorry' because she thought there was too much *attitude* when people said it and as such, I grew up hyperaware of how my behavior might make others feel and like- specifically- when anything I did might make someone *feel bad*

or if it's because my wife is just soft and has heart shaped glasses on when she looks at me.

[annabethy]

Annabeth making Percy a surprise dinner?

in which Annabeth tries to bake but Percy’s a much better (and entertaining) cook,, percabeth

Percy honestly doesn’t know what to expect at home when his wife stops answering her texts halfway through the day. At first, he chalks it up to her taking a nap, which is understandable considering she’s still recovering from a nasty cold that had her out for a week, but when it stretches hours with no response, he starts to get a bit suspicious.

He goes about his day at work normally, glancing at his phone every couple of minutes in anticipation for a response that never comes. He manages not to get too worried because knowing her, she probably forgot to charge her phone, but it doesn’t stop his leg from bouncing up and down in the driver’s seat of his car.

Percy practically jumps out of the car the second he’s parked and makes his way up to their apartment. There’s not really much going through is head besides him repeating where Annabeth over and over in his head like a broken record. He struggles to unlock the front door, and while he’d like to say it was due to his nerves, it’s much more likely that he is just bad with locks.

When the lock does click open, he is immediately met with the sound of something metal clanging in the kitchen and the distinct smell of smoke.

“Annabeth?”

He shuts the door behind him silently, kicking his shoes off. His footsteps are light against the wooden floor as not to startle her. When he rounds a corner and she comes into sight, there is an image in front of him that makes him want to both laugh and cry.

His kitchen looks like a bomb went off inside of it; there’s flour in every square inch of the room, and he’s pretty sure the counter is going to be permanently stained blue with the amount of food coloring she’s managed to spill. The oven is on, though there’s nothing in it, urging him to believe she may have forgotten she’d turned it on entirely.

Annabeth doesn’t acknowledge his presence, which isn’t a surprise considering the amount of noise she’s making. Percy leans against the wall to watch the scene unravel — Annabeth is wrestling a pile of dough that she clearly hasn’t let rise yet. It’s comical, watching her attempt to bake. She’s never been the best at it so he’s resigned to cooking for the two of them, so when she did take over cooking every once in a while, he couldn’t help but stop and laugh at her in adoration.

She’s with her back to Percy, so he makes to move behind her. If she’s startled when he wraps his arms around her waist, pressing his face between her shoulder blades, she doesn’t let it show.

“Hey,” Percy whispers, pressing his lips right below her ear. The skin is incredibly soft, and he loves the way she smells, so sweet and like herself. “What are you doing?”

She doesn’t answer, instead twisting out of his grasp and smiling innocently. “I’m not doing anything.”

“You mean you’re not destroying our kitchen?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Annabeth looks around the room before looking back at him, as though saying see?

“So we’re not going to talk about your hands stained blue?”

“Uh– no.”

Percy gives her an accusing look.

“I was trying to do something nice for you,” she admits, “but you’re home early and ruined the surprise.”

“Yeah?” He moves to stand in front of her, attempting to corner her against the counter. She protests for a moment before giving in to the kiss he presses to her forehead.

“It didn’t work anyways. I’m not a very good cook.”

“You’re not,” he agrees. Annabeth pouts, and Percy wants to kiss her, so he does.

“Why are you trying to do something nice?”

“Because,” she starts dramatically, slumping into his arms. “You took care of me all last week, which couldn’t have been fun.”

“It was lots of fun,” Percy tells her.

“Absolutely not.”

Percy hums in disagreement. “I get the best snuggles out of you when you’re sick. Otherwise, you’re just mean.”

Annabeth pushes his shoulder lightly. “I’m not mean.”

“Sometimes you’re mean,” he says playfully.

“I don’t think I like being married to you anymore.”

“You love being married to me,” he dismisses, pulling away from their hug. He regrets it a few seconds later, missing the heat of her body against his. “Can I help you finish?”

Annabeth whines. “No. It was supposed to be a surprise, so go do something else while I finish.”

On any other day, he would, but he’s missed her today more than usual. Besides, he’d much rather stay and watch this train wreck unfold in front of his eyes. It’s times like this he loves the most, he thinks, when the two of them get to make a mess with a childlike innocence, just being with one another. That’s what causes him to shake his head and kiss her once more.

“I want to help.”

“You want to help?”

“I love watching you fail at cooking,” he says sweetly, narrowly dodging the flick to the tip of his nose. “Come on. I’ll even clean everything up for you if you let me help.”

Annabeth pretends to think for a minute before stepping onto her tiptoes so she can press a kiss to his lips. “Fine,” she mutters against him, “but the joke’s on you. You were going to be cleaning everything up anyways.”

Percy rolls his eyes, but he can hardly be upset when she’s looking at him with such affection in her eyes.

It doesn’t take long at all before Percy decides to start messing with her. She leans over his shoulder while he begins to mix a bowl of buttercream frosting, and he practically has to shake her off of him. He pretends to be annoyed by the kisses she presses into his neck, the task at hand completely forgotten on her end, but it sends a jolt through him each time she makes contact with his skin. He honestly doesn’t think he’ll ever get enough of this.

“It needs food coloring,” Annabeth tells him.

“Why don’t you pick a color?” Percy isn’t entirely thinking when he says that. Annabeth takes it as an invitation to pop open the cap to a small glass jar and tip it into the bowl he’s mixing in.

Percy chokes, snatching the food coloring from her fingers. “Annabeth!”

“What?”

He sets the jar aside carefully and shakes his head at her, amused. “You’ve just managed to turn our insides blue for a week.”

“I thought you liked blue.” Percy dips his finger into the bowl, scooping a glob of the deep blue frosting up. He glances at Annabeth, contemplating his next move. She’s looking at him with an emotion he can’t read, and so he looks back to the frosting.

“It’s a pretty color, don’t you think?”

Percy laughs. “You think so?”

“I’m surprised you don’t.”

With that, Percy decides to drag the frosting in a line down her cheek before she gets the chance to move away. It leaves a thick trail of blue that’s no doubt going to be stained on her face for the next day, given the way his finger is colored.

“Percy,” Annabeth threatens. She reaches for the bowl in a sudden movement, but he shoves it away before she gets her hands on any.

“You like the color!” he defends. Annabeth starts moving towards him, and he moves in the opposite direction, attempting to use the island as a barrier between the two of them.

Annabeth just stops and stares at him. It’s not particularly threatening, but it’s calm enough to make him sure that she’s about to make him regret it.

Annabeth points at the ground in front of her. “Come here.”

“I’m good where I am.”

It’s then that she starts towards him again, and he stumbles backwards, stubbing his toe on the corner of the counter. The sharp pain distracts him from the fact that his wife is rapidly approaching, and the next thing he knows, Annabeth is jumping on his back. His knees buckle for a moment before he manages to gain his balance.

Her hand splays across his face as she tries to reach across the counter for the batch of frosting, so Percy does just about everything he can to prevent it. He tries to shake her off, but she just grabs him by the entire face and squishes his cheeks.

“Stop moving,” she scolds, tugging sharply on his hair.

Percy desperately doesn’t want to be turned into a smurf for the next week, but he doesn’t particularly want to drop his wife on the ground either, so he has no choice but to let her crawl across his back for the metal bowl.

“Baby,” Percy breathes out, watching her scoop up a glob of frosting. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I think we both know I do.”

“I promise to be a good boy from now on.”

“Your words mean nothing to me.”

“You won’t do this if you love me.”

Annabeth giggles into his ear, and it’s so cute that he can’t even be mad about what happens next.

She slaps him in the face with a fistful of blue frosting, and it goes in just about every hole on his face. Annabeth’s laughing gleefully in his ear when she slides off his back and admires the work she’s done.

“It’s beautiful,” she says.

Percy wipes his eyes so he can open them without the threat of getting sugar in his eyes. He’s met with her bright smile, her dimples becoming prominent, and he falls in love with her all over again.

“You look good in blue.”

Percy lifts the corners of his mouth, wiggling a finger in her direction. “I think you’d look even better in blue.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Before she can protest, he tugs her back into his arms and smooshes his face against hers. She tries to twist out of his grasp, but he just holds on tighter until she’s laughing to the point that she can’t breathe.

“Now you look good in blue too,” he says. She opens her mouth, about to complain, but then he lowers his lips to her cheek, and her words falter. Her eyes flutter shut as he kisses around her face, peppering featherlight touches everywhere he can reach, before ending against her lips.

“I love you,” he says, “even when you cover me in sticky frosting.”

Annabeth rolls her eyes and kisses his nose. He pulls her in tighter.

“I love you too,” she tells him, “even when you ruin my surprises.

“Oh please. I just made this a moment to remember.”

It’s true, he thinks. It’ll be a pain to clean up, but she looks so happy that he thinks it’s worth it. It’s a memory they’ll pass on and recreate. And maybe, one day… he likes to think that there will be kids that they can bake cookies with. Days spent together filled with laughter and endless love.

Percy’s sure he has a soft smile on his face when Annabeth taps him on the forehead.

“What are you thinking about?”

Percy nudges her nose with his. “Us,” he admits quietly, “baking a few years from now, with one or two kids.”

Annabeth’s smile matches his. “Yeah?”

“And…” Percy bites his lip. “Never mind. It’s silly.”

“Tell me,” she says, eyes sparkling.

“You’re laughing at me,” he complains.

“I’m not laughing at you. I want to know.”

Percy thinks for a moment. “I don’t know. I just love you and us and this.”

Somehow, she knows what he means. She doesn’t say anything because she doesn’t need to. Instead, she just smiles and kisses him like there’s no one else but them.

[officerjennie]

I’ve been meaning to write about some platonic pet play for a while, but have officially been encouraged enough by @kalikatze to do so. So! Have some modern aro/ace!Geralt and Jaskier pet play, in the form of a headcanon bulleted list because I really don’t have the time or energy to add yet another fic idea to my WIPs.

(Jaskier is called ‘Julian’ for the first bit of this)

CW: purely platonic pet play, Jaskier being a pet, consent discussion, brief mentions of sex (with other people), mentions of past sexual pet play (with other people)

Geralt and Julian have known each other and been friends for years, and really are closer to each other than they are to anyone else. It’s kinda just natural for them to move in together rather than seek out another roommate, since they know each other’s boundaries rather well and trust each other.

There had been some worries over moving in together, of course. Some people work best as friends at a distance, but as luck turns out they work extremely well in the same apartment! They know how to communicate with each other, their schedules match well, and overall their routines feel natural together.

Though Geralt had mentioned it to Julian several years ago, and it had come up a few times since, he still cleared it up at the start that he wasn’t interested in them becoming anything other than friends - he trusted Julian to respect that as well. And of course Julian did. Julian even promised to keep his own sexual exploits out of the apartment to help Geralt feel the most comfortable.

Cuddling had been a part of their friendship off and on for a while, on nights where they’d stay up late at each other’s places and order food and watch a movie. It had really never been much more than leaning on each other, sharing a blanket, or sometimes having an arm around the other, but it had always been something that Geralt had found so peaceful. To be allowed to be close with someone and not have anything expected of him.

Now that they lived together and could spend a lot more leisure time together, the cuddles happened more often. Sometimes they would just sit on the sofa, Julian hugging Geralt’s waist with his eyes closed, Geralt watching TV or reading a book while he loosely held his friend.

It first came up when Julian was having a particular rough day.

He came over to be held like most days, worming his way under Geralt’s arm and smooshing his face against him. But unlike most days, he didn’t relax from it.

Julian fidgeted, and sighed. And frowned in that particular way that Geralt knew he wasn’t just being dramatic - something had gotten his friend rather Down and Geralt hated to see it.

But as much as Geralt had always been good at picking out Julian’s moods, he’d never been much good at Knowing how to solve them himself. So he simply asked, “What do you need, Juls?”

It took a little while for Julian to be honest, his nerves getting the better of him, but eventually he asked Geralt to play with his hair. So Geralt did. And after a little while of scratching his head and running his fingers through his hair, Julian relaxed against him. 

Though it wasn’t really a habit to discuss every single little change between them (when Julian had started to wash Geralt’s towels for him they hadn’t discussed it, like they hadn’t discussed when Geralt started to make sure Julian always had his favorite tea stocked), this felt different enough that Geralt, though bad at words as he was, wanted them to talk about it.

It wasn’t a conversation that happened overnight. As a matter of fact, for a long while, this was the only change that happened. When Julian had a particularly hard day he’d come back home and worm his way into his spot, and ask for his hair to be played with. And they were both happy with this.

But Jaskier had a lot of friends with a lot of different experiences, and eventually he came across pet play, and it got him thinking.

Geralt wasn’t the first person he brought it up with. He was actually the fourth or fifth, but the first ones...didn’t offer him what he Needed from it. And after some mixed results he decided to bring it to the person he trusted the most in his life.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous about it. He wrung his shirt in his hands as he sat on the sofa and waited for Geralt to come home, wondering how on earth he was going to properly explain what he wanted/needed, wondering if Geralt would be okay with it, wondering if his dearest and closest friend would judge him for even bringing it up

Of course he’d understand if Geralt didn’t want that. He’d understand and accept it, and ask if they could stay just as they were with their cuddles and occasional head and hair pets. But it didn’t mean that he didn’t very very much hope that Geralt would be okay with pet play, even if just a small amount.

And there was, of course, the fear that Geralt might think it was a sexual thing. Actually Julian had tried the sexual part with someone and just...did not care for it. He wanted to be cared for in a platonic way, he didn’t want to be any sort of sexual pet for someone.

When Geralt got home and sat down next to Julian, he at least listened to his friend. Didn’t interrupt him once, didn’t seem to be judging him, and listened while relaxing back against the sofa as if the conversation didn’t bother him.

“I’d like to try that.”

The words were a flood of relief to Julian, and he nodded eagerly when Geralt said they’d have to discuss it more along the way.

At the start, it was little more than what they’d already been doing, just with tweaks here and there. Geralt would sit on the sofa and Julian would hug him or lay in his lap, having his shoulders rubbed or hair played with. It was relaxing for the both of them, to be so close and it mean nothing else.

The more they relaxed into it, the more they were willing to try.

Julian one day mentioned he’d like to have a collar - one with a cute bell on it, and maybe even a bow. Geralt snorted and said it sounded very much like Julian, to want to be flashy and be heard, but he agreed that he liked the idea.

When they got the collar, the idea of a tag came up, but Julian paused when it came to putting his own name on the tag.

“I’d...like to have a different name.”

And so Geralt and Julian sat down, and they both decided on the name “Jaskier”

Jaskier was a cat, though he liked to be called kitten. He liked to have his head rubbed in just the right way, liked to lay on his person. Liked to lay in the sun on some cushions he pulled over to the best patch of it in the house, and be allowed to relax and not worry about anything.

That was one of the big Needs Julian had out of their play, he realized and explained to Geralt one day. He needed to feel cared for and like he didn’t have to worry about small things. That he could simply nap and let someone else tell him when it was time for food, that he didn’t have to worry about talking or explaining himself, that he could be cared for and patted off to brush his teeth and go to bed when it was time.

Geralt, for his part, needed to be close to someone. To be allowed to hold them and give them affection, to feel someone close to his body without fear of them wanting something from him. It worked out well that his kitten loved to be held and squished between him and the back of the sofa.

When Julian had a rough day, it was his one and only job to let Geralt know that he wanted to be Jaskier. It was up to him to bring Geralt his collar, and if Geralt was in the mood. And it was up to Geralt to put the collar on him all snug and secure, but not too tight, to always check and make sure Jaskier would be able to breathe and not feel strangled by it.

They found some things really worked for them, and some things didn’t.

Julian did not care for being on all fours. He felt like it made him small in a very uncomfortable way, and it took him too long to follow after Geralt and to do things. It wasn’t a warm and safe thing to him, so they decided that was not how Jaskier moved around the house.

Geralt was not comfortable with the thought of punishing his kitten for anything. Though Julian was indifferent about it on most minor things, it made Geralt feel cruel - he had always been soft on his own actual cats so he did not want to punish his kitten either. So they decided that there would be little correcting of behaviors beyond Geralt telling Jaskier if he was doing something that might be hurting him (sitting on a painful part of his leg, etc.). The correcting was always done with a kind voice, and though Jaskier might pout he always listened.

One thing they found they both loved was encouragement and spoiling. Jaskier got gentle pets and cooed at for the smallest of things. If he brushed his teeth, he got to be held extra tight and told he’d done so well, and that’s when Julian finally felt like this was it

This is what he’d been after.

“You’ve done well, kitten.”

“Good job.”

“I’m proud of you.”

“Did you finish your food? Ah, good.”

“I’m glad this wasn’t too much - did you want to be held longer?”

“If you sit still I’ll brush your hair in a minute, kitten. Why don’t you bring me your brush in the meantime?”

“You’ve been so good today. Just lay here for me, I’ll take care of dinner and be right back.”

Julian’s mind was always so busy, so full of endless buzzing. Things he needed to get done, people he needed to contact, all of the chaos at his work, the homework that was due that weekend, the songs he wanted to write, the songs he should have written - and so so so much more.

But Jaskier - Jaskier was allowed to be quiet. Allowed to be content and in the moment, to not be asked for anything he couldn’t do. To stay still and quiet and be told he’d done so well even when he’d only done the bare minimum. To be cared for and given physical affection without the expectation of anything else.

And Geralt was allowed to care for someone so deeply, to give them affection and hold them close and love them, without the expectation of romance or sexual attraction blooming between them.

[seoafin]

more physical contact/touch starved hcs with gojo!!! but this time HES initiating the contact. also some of him being a little shit because he’s bored.

if you’re sitting in a chair without armrests and he comes back from an especially exhausting mission he’ll just collapse over your lap, legs and arms drooped on the floor. not the most comfortable position but he craves the contact, and especially relishes when you rub circles on the small of his back to comfort you.

he loves being behind people. from draping himself over your shoulders to grabbing your face from behind you to move your head around like you’re a bobble head... he even will play with your hair sometimes (and puts it in a shit braid or just tangles it). if it’s geto he will instead grab him by the sides of his neck and violently shake him back and forth. shoko just gets him combing her hair with his hands because last time he played with her hair he tangled it so bad it took an hour to get out. she almost killed him.

he also gives “massages” when he’s behind you. its in quotes because he’s horrible at it. for the most part, hes just chopping with his hands at your shoulders... claiming that he knows what he’s doing and you should trust him because “he’s a professional”. he usually does this when he’s bored, and it’s just something to keep himself occupied and plus he likes being in close contact with you all.

you know that scene in lilo and stitch where nani “collapses” onto lilo? yeah he does that a lot... and because he’s heavy and also has limitless... he can do this to ANYONE. he usually does this when you all don’t pay enough attention to him or to quickly deescalate a situation. occasionally you’ll walk past him laying on top of geto in the hallway. geto is completely trapped underneath him and can only look at you with pleading eyes for help.

i wrote in a bit ago about this but kisses kisses kisses. he loves giving and receiving kisses. big fat smooches on the top of your head for the most part, and trapping someone in his arms to give them a big fat wet raspberry on their cheek (favorite time for him to do this is when someone is pissed at him). one time you gave him an idea regarding limitless and without thinking he grabbed you face, kissed your forehead, and ran to the courtyard to try your theory out.

grabbing your hands and lacing your fingers together when you’re standing next to each other, purely to start swinging both of your arms around when hes bored. one time was doing this with geto and they got competitive when it came to how violent they could swing their arms... it ended up with getos elbow smashing into his own face and giving him a nosebleed, leaving shoko to reset his nose before healing it and for gojo with a shiteating grin in the background because he “won”.

when he’s distressed he usually will walk up to you, body slumped and eyes looking downward. this gives you the cue for you to open up your arms, letting him lean into you and wrap his arms around your waist tightly and pressing his nose into your hair or shoulder. he won’t let go for a while... sometimes you have to guide him to the couch so he can instead just lay on top of you. when you have to lay down he occasionally falls asleep on you... and you’re trapped underneath him as if he was a huge cat napping on your stomach. this started when geto first left.

i have so many more of these you don’t even KNOW. touch starved/platonically handsy gojo is one of my favorite headcanons.

something about gojo dropping to his knees and dramatically wrapping himself around your waist while you’re seated on a chair, his face smooshed in your lap is sending me 😭

touchy/clingy gojo who conveys his words through touch >>>>>

i bet gojo’s a child during meetings like he’s always playing with your hands or wrapping your hair around his finger and lightly tugging

and i just know geto and gojo did that thing where gojo bumped his shoulder to geto’s and geto did it back and gojo returned it with x10 force and geto ended up shoving gojo on the floor 💀

you know when gojo wants attention bc he always does that™ stare, blindfold off, that you can’t ignore because you can feel it!!! it’s so unnerving 😭😭

or just the two of you...sitting in silence. maybe you’re reading a book and gojo’s on his phone, head in your lap. or you’re head is on his lap. sometimes while you’re grading, he rests his head on your shoulder until you’re done and then he can annoy you into going out to dinner with him

gojo absentmindedly reaching for your nearest body part and rubbing circles on your thigh or hand or wrist and every time the two of you go out he always likes to have a hand on you, “it’s so you don’t get lost! you know how you get!”

[jobean12-blog]

Rescue My Heart

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader (and Alpine and Bailey dog too :)

Word Count: 1,926

Summary: Bucky works at the local animal rescue center and helps to train the animals to become service animals because it has helped him so much during his own recovery. 

Author’s Note: This is for the HBC’s @the-ss-horniest-book-club Bucky Barnes character appreciation day and recovery!Bucky. I can’t help myself when it comes to Bucky and animals so this definitely got longer than I thought it would. I just love the idea of him being loved by and loving animals and having them as part of his recovery. I hope you enjoy this. Thank you all so very much for reading! Much love always! ❤❤❤

Warnings: lots of super sweet fluffy fluff, animal love, dog noses, cat paws, shy Bucky and happy happy endings! :) 

Thank you to my lovely friend @tuiccim for showing me the amazing piece of art of Bucky and Alpine on the motorcycle from the 2020 comics by Derek Landy and Federico Vicentini (it has been edited and I’m not sure by who but thank you and credit to the person who did! :) Totally inspirational piece! 

Just as you finish filling the food dish you hear the roar of a motorcycle outside the door, both of Bailey’s pointy white ears perking up and his tail thumping loudly against the wall. “Is that your friend back again Bailey baby?” you ask in a sing song voice before scratching his head.

Bailey licks your hand and then dives into his dinner, his tail still wagging when the bell above the door sounds and you turn to see Bucky. He smiles at you and unzips his leather jacket, pulling Alpine from the confines and setting him down on the floor.

The fluffy white cat immediately trots your way and starts rubbing against your legs. You run your hand over his softness and coo at him. Large black boots fill your vision, and you look up, your gaze meeting the most beautiful blue eyes.

“Hey Buck! Back again huh?” you tease lightly, standing and grabbing a treat for Bailey who is waiting patiently. Bucky chuckles and pats Bailey, signaling for him to stay calm and seated while he waits.

“Yea, wanted to see how my boy is doing today,” he replies, eyes on you instead of the dog. You give Bailey his treat and praise him when he takes it calmly. “He’s doing really well Bucky. I think he’ll be ready to be matched up soon,” you tell him excitedly.

“I think so too,” he agrees, keeping his gaze on you. “Has he been walked yet today?”

“Just a short one this morning. We had a litter of abandoned kittens dropped off this morning so getting them checked and settled took up a lot of our time,” you explain. “I was going to walk him soon.”

“I’m gonna take him for a quick spin around the block before we do more training, but I want to see these kittens first,” he says.

“Definitely, let’s go,” you respond, walking toward the back. Alpine has already settled himself on his favorite cat bed by the window and Bailey is laying down by his pen with his favorite toy.

After showing Bucky the new kittens, he takes Bailey out for the walk and you go to the front to check on Nat.

“He’s back again I see,” she states plainly while smirking.

“He’s here to see Bailey, Nat. Don’t give me that look!” you chide, rolling your eyes.

“You mean he’s here to see you. You can’t tell me you don’t see it. He can’t take his eyes off you. You’re the first one he goes to every time and he barely talks to anyone else,” she goes on, nudging your side.

“Well, I’m the one who works with Bailey so of course he’s going to talk to me, and I don’t know what you mean ‘can’t take his eyes off me’. I haven’t noticed,” you scoff.

“Whatever. You like him too. Just admit it,” she prods, continuing to sort the mail.

“He doesn’t like me! I’ve been working here almost 2 months and he hasn’t made a move. I think if he were interested he would have by now!” you correct her.

“I think he’s just shy and he is probably worried about being in recovery. He might be worried you wouldn’t be interested,” she says quietly.

You frown at her. “I don’t mind at all. In fact, I think he’s amazing. He’s doing great and the fact that he trains these animals for other people that need service dogs is just the best,” you tell her.

“Maybe you should tell him that,” Nat suggests before eyeing the door and walking off.

Bucky returns with Bailey and immediately searches for you, his smile brightening when you catch his eye.

“How was your walk?” you ask as he approaches the counter.

“Great! Thanks. He’s did so well,” he beams, affectionately rubbing behind Bailey’s ears.

“Hey. Bucky. So, um. I just wanted to tell you that I think what you’re doing is really wonderful,” you start, and he furrows his brows. “What I mean is. It’s so nice that you’re training these animals to help people and I just think you’re doing great and that I should tell you that,” you finish, inwardly cringing.

He instantly brightens and relaxes at your words, smiling softly. “Thanks. That really means a lot.”

Before you can say more the alarm on your phone signals that it’s time to feed the kittens. With a wave you excuse yourself and head to the back, letting out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding in.

When you’re done taking care of the kittens you come back out and realize Bucky, Bailey and Alpine are gone. You try not to be disappointed, but you find it hard and now you’re wondering if maybe you scared him away.

Nat slides up next to you. “Did you say something to Bucky?” she asks, and your heart sinks into your stomach.

“I did. I told him what I told you. That I think he’s amazing and all that.” You start to pace back and forth, mumbling under your breath. “I definitely scared him off. Now he’ll never come back!”

Nat grabs your arm, leveling you with a glare. “You did not scare him off. In fact, he practically skipped out wearing a ridiculous smile, that’s why I asked.  And told me to tell you he’s sorry he couldn’t say goodbye. Steve’s car won’t start so he went to help,” she explains. “He took Bailey for the night to see how he does.”

Your shoulders slump with relief. “Ok. I really thought I messed up. I just hope you’re right and he comes back tomorrow.”

The rest of the afternoon goes quickly between adoptions and taking care of the new kittens. You’re on the night shift with the babies so you leave early to get some rest before you have to show up again at 12am. Nat winks at you on your way out and you can’t help but feel like she’s keeping something from you.

After dinner and a nice nap, you head back to the rescue center. You’re surprised to find the lights on when you arrive and Alpine sitting in the window. When you take a better survey of the street you see a familiar motorcycle parked nearby.

Your heart starts hammering in your chest and your palms get sweaty. Why would Bucky be here now? The soft purr of Alpine pulls you from your frantic thoughts and you bend down to take him in your arms, his soft warmth quickly calming you down.

The sound of crinkling paper catches your attention, and you look down to see a small note attached to Alpine’s collar. You pull it off and unfold the small paper. ‘Go to my favorite place to nap.’ Chewing your bottom lip, you and Alpine walk toward the window, the small bed smooshed against the glass and a small piece of paper sitting atop it.

You grab it and quickly unfold it, reading, ‘Find Bailey’s favorite toy.’ Rushing past the counter you head to Bailey’s area and find his ratty and chewed up duck toy, another small note attached. Unfolding this one, it reads, ‘Where is Bucky’s favorite spot to hide chocolate?’

At this point you’re grinning from ear to ear as you head toward the back room, stopping by the small cabinet that holds all the bottles to feed the baby animals. Opening it you see Bucky’s chocolate stash on the top shelf and grab the stool. Peeking behind it you see another note.

This one says, ‘Go to the boys favorite place to hide.’ You’re momentarily stumped but then you remember the spot in the back room where Bailey and Alpine curl up in the sun for afternoon naps. You gently place Alpine down and head toward the door.

You can see a light shining out from under it and slowly turn the knob, still unsure of what you’ll find. When you get it open enough to see you’re greeted with the sight of Bucky, a kitten in the crook of his metal arm and a small bottle in the other hand.

“You found us,” he whispers, walking toward you. Bailey lifts his head from the floor and thumps his tail on the ground, his big brown eyes looking to Bucky for approval. “Go say hi buddy!” Bailey jumps up and rushes over to you, sitting down and licking your hands.

“Hi Bailey boy! I missed you!” you tell him, kissing his head. When you start to scratch around his fluffy neck more paper crinkles, and you turn his collar around to see one last note attached. Smiling up at Bucky you start to unfold the paper.

‘Would you like to join us at our favorite spot for a date xo Bucky, Bailey and Alpine.’

You give Bailey one more kiss and then stand up, moving closer to Bucky. “This is by far the best way anyone has ever asked me out,” you confess, resting your hand on his metal arm. “I would love to go on a date with you Bucky.”

When the weekend finally rolls around you find yourself bouncing on your toes outside your apartment. The familiar sound of Bucky’s motorcycle makes you squeal, and you start waving as soon as he turns the corner. He pulls up, an extra helmet in hand, Alpine tucked safely away in his leather jacket and Bailey sitting happily in the safety of his dog carrier.

“Are you still not going to tell me where we’re going Buck?” you ask with a giggle, taking the helmet. He kisses you softly before answering. “Nah. It’s a surprise. Come on!” He secures your helmet and helps you onto his bike, your arms winding around his waist.

The ride is short and when you pull up by the Brooklyn Bridge you give him a squeeze. He stops the bike and helps you off, getting Bailey out and leaving Alpine in his jacket. You walk hand in hand to the waterfront pathway, Bailey trotting nicely alongside Bucky.

“I thought we could go for a nice walk before dinner,” he says, bringing your knuckles up to his lips. “This is perfect Bucky. I love it here,” you say before leaning up to kiss him.

After your walk along the water, you head back to his bike and he pulls a picnic basket from the saddlebag. You find a spot to sit and help him unpack it.

“Bucky this is wonderful!” you declare. Thank you for doing this. I’m having the best time.” You can see the blush creep up his cheeks before his eyes crinkle in a smile.

“I’m really glad I took a chance and asked you out. I’ve wanted to for the longest time, but I wasn’t sure because you know…” he trails off, looking down again.

You lift his chin to meet his eyes. “Bucky, I meant what I said the other day. I think you’re amazing.”

He tilts his head and inches his face toward you, giving you a sideways grin before brushing his lips over yours. Just as he presses closer a white paw swipes out from his jacket and starts to bat at your hair. You can’t stop your laughter as Alpine continues to attack the rogue strand.

“Way to ruin the moment furball,” Bucky playfully scolds, laughing as Bailey cocks his ears back and looks offended. “Not you Bailey! Don’t worry buddy. You’re a good boy,” he tells the big white dog, while still trying to fight off Alpine’s swatting paw.  

@addikted-2-dopamine​ @bugsbucky @book-dragon-13 @breezy1415 @eurynome827​ @drabblewithfrannybarnes @hiddles-rose @ikaris-whore @jhangelface0523​ @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123​ @jewels2876​ @imerdwarf​ @fxckbuckyscoming​ @la-cey​ @loricameback​ @lorilane33​ @lookiamtrying​ @marvelandotherfandomimagines​ @marvelgirl7​ @nano--raptor​ @pinkdiamond1016​ @randomfandompenguin​ @sallycanwait68​ @the-wayward-robot​ @white-wolf1940​ @lizette50​ @skkye​ @whatrambles

[babuis]

Prompt: Matsukawa and Iwaizumi reacting to their short girlfriend preferring to be the big spoon HC’s and short drabbles

Nobody requested this, it’s self indulgent because I am 5′1 and I like being big spoon.

Matsukawa Issei:

Mans is tall and he knows it

Even when surrounded by tall volleyball players he still kinda towers over them

He also exudes big spoon energy

Plus all the girls he dated before always demanded to be little spoon

Not that he minds it, he likes being big spoon and he’s always naturally been big spoon

But you

You were just so small and cute

So short and Matsukawa really just found you adorable

You were the shortest girl he dated by far and although people would look at you two strangely for the height difference

He loved it

You guys had just started dating for a week maybe less when he found out

Before then, you guys always just kind of cuddled side by side

But you guys were lounging around his room lazily after practice

And Matsukawa was dead tired since Oikawa wanted to practice more serves today which means he had to receive those crazy things

And he was kind of just laying down with his eyes closed

While you were on the other side of the bed close by babbling and talking

He loved hearing your voice

It just made you infinitely cuter

And when he was basically asleep, he shifted so he could lay on his side with his back facing you

You were scrolling on your phone while laying on your side, facing the wall. Your boyfriend Matsukawa had come over practice, and was showering because he claimed the locker rooms were “too dirty” to shower in. 

In reality, you knew he liked using your shampoo and body wash. That was why you had bought more recently, tired of running out too quick. 

Matsukawa came out of your bathroom fresh out of the shower and smiled when he spotted you.

‘Cute,’ he thought to himself.

Because you were turned towards the wall, he had assumed you were sleeping and walked around as quiet as possible.

He wore his loose sweatpants that always hugged his torso perfectly while drying his hair with a towel. After drying off properly, he quietly slipped onto the bed next to you, still not aware that you were awake.

He pouted a little, you had turned the way that was most uncomfortable for him to sleep on so he opted to face the door instead. 

You turned your head to see his broad, bare back towards you and grinned. You had yet to be big spoon in the relationship and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. 

Slipping your phone under your pillow, you quietly turned before attacking, clinging to his large body like a koala. You snaked your arms around his torso and threw one of your legs of his.

Matsukawa, who hadn’t known you were awake, made a noise of surprise at the sudden contact.

“Babe?” he turned his head to look at you, “You were awake?”

You nodded, snuggling into his body for warmth happily, “Mmm.”

Seeing your eyes closed in bliss and your cheeks smooshing against him made Matsukawa grin. You never failed to be the cutest person he knew from your height to your mannerisms.

“If you wanted hugs you could have just said so,” he said, shifting to turn towards you.

However, you made a noise in protest and clung even tighter, “Noo, don’t move,” you complained, “I wanna be big spoon.”

“Babe, you’re like 2 feet tall.” Matsukawa teased you.

“So?” you retorted, opening one of your eyes to stare at him, “Mmm I’m big spoon,” you repeated.

Matsukawa laughed, “You know what? Sure, why not.”

And so he turned back around and you tightened your hold on him. It was a new experience for him, being the little spoon. But he couldn’t say that having you cling onto him felt bad.

You both took a really good nap, and from then on, both of you switched from being big and small spoon often.

Sure, it was a bit strange to see such a small person try and engulf such a large person to other people but to Matsukawa, it only added on to your cuteness.

Iwaizumi Hajime:

Iwaizumi isn’t the tallest person in the world. 

He’s aware of this and it was always a bit of an insecurity for him. 

Which was why he made it up with his raw power in volleyball and louder personality,

So when he met you

Who not only doesn’t care about height

but one of the shortest people he knows

he has one thing on his mind:

Protect

He’s always trying to protect you

Always getting things from taller places for you

Always making sure you’re not getting lost in the crowd

He always feels big and strong with you

He’s overcompensating 

for his height not his dick

dick game good

You made him look tall and you guys fit each other so well

he thought you were so precious

honestly he was your knight in shining armor so you weren’t complaining

but he was always big spoon

because he liked feeling big and strong and he thought you liked it because you were so short

and you did like it

but you also liked being big spoon

You never really brought it up with him, but you always waited for the perfect opportunity

which you got when you came over to his house and he was watching Godzilla and sleeping

You were worried because you had texted your boyfriend earlier and he hadn’t responded in a while. Iwaizumi usually was really good about texting back, so you were worried something had happened.

He was always helping and protecting you so you wanted to do the same for him.

His mom opened the door when you knocked, confused as to why you were panting you ran.

She laughed when you let her know what was going on and shook her head bemusedly.

“He’s just doing another Godzilla marathon.”

Oh.

You blushed and apologized to her for bothering, bowing your head. She waved it off and invited you in.

You went to his room. The door was cracked open slightly so you peeked inside.

Iwaizumi was on his bed, not facing you but the TV. The room was dark and the only light was the TV screen illuminating his body.

You quietly pushed open his door, cringing when it squeaked loudly. However, your boyfriend didn’t even flinch.

You tiptoed to look at his face and sure enough, he was asleep.

You took a quick picture because your boyfriend was just so handsome. His face was all relaxed and it was really cute.

You grinned mischievously because it was the perfect time to be big spoon. 

You crawled onto bed and looped your arms around him. Your legs tangled up with his and you rest your forehead on his broad shoulders.

You were still shorter than him by a lot, so you looked a bit funny as you struggled to fully wrap yourself around him.

But you got it.

Iwaizumi was still sleeping but he seemed to relax more. (Inside his dreams it was suddenly a lot more warm and pleasant).

You quickly fell asleep too and when his mom came to check on you two, she took a picture.

When Iwaizumi woke up, he was confused because why was his back warm.

He looked down to see your small hands loosely clasped together in front of his chest. He turned his head back and saw your sleeping face.

Iwaizumi.exe has stopped working because you were so cute.

He felt a bit embarrassed but forgot about it because it felt nice. He was missing out on this because of his height complex?

Hell no.

He goes back to sleep and when the both of you guys wake up, you talk about it and you let him know that you don’t think less of him for being small spoon because you also like being big spoon.

So from then on you guys cuddle whichever way feels good that day :). 

He will 100% hit anyone who says anything about it

[spacebunnysstars]

Can I please request a scenario with the Bois helping mc sleep? (It's 3 am and I cannot for the life of me fall asleep 😭😭😭) thank you bby 🥺💕

Of course honey 🥺💗 I understand I have such a hard time sleeping so this was nice to write I hope it’s okay that I smooshed Beel and Belphie together and I hope you enjoy them (and I hope you get a better nights sleep soon)💗✨🌸

Platonic sleeping scenarios for the bros UwU

Lucifer

This man has a hard tome sleeping too;; even though he’s one of the most powerful demons in all the devildom he is still haunted by the paperwork on his desk.

He is pleasantly surprised by your knocking on his bedroom door (he’s more so glad that it isn’t because mammon, being the chaotic ass hat he is, has caused trouble again)

He invites you in and offers you some warm tea as you sit on the sofa both in you pyjamas discussing your stay in the devildom so far.

When a small yawn escapes your lips that’s when lucifer decides it is time for the both of of you to get to bed.

He invites you to stay in his bed as he did offer to help you fall asleep it’s not like you haven’t napped on his bed when you wanted to get away from his brothers for a bit.

As the two of you where laying down he’d trace patterns on your back, his touch was surprisingly gentle and even through the fabric of your pyjamas his fingers felt like they where leaving silk trailing behind them.

You soon drifted of to dream land his fingers slowly coming to a stop as he realises you fallen into a deep slumber whispering to himself “works every time.” Proceeding to turn over reminded of sweet memories of helping his younger siblings fall to sleep whenever they where unable to fall asleep on their own.

Mammon

Being the cheeky ass that he is, he was originally intending on plotting out his new money making scheme with you to patch up the holes that his brain left open for disaster to fill.

But seeing the tired look that dawned his humans features filled his heart with overwhelming sadness; knowing he was the cause of their current state.

“Tonight the great mammon is here to lull ya to sleep! Now ain’t you a lucky little human!” Mammon stated in a softer version of his usually snarky tone as a small smile adorned your features.

Mammon leaped onto your bed next to you, rolling around causing the bed to creak as he got comfortable on his side resting his chin on one of his hands wiggling his eyebrows at you.

A soft laugh escapes your lips as you playfully push his chest. “Ya stupid human I came here to help ya sleep not keep ya awake” he mumbled lightly flicking your head.

After a while of your sleepy eyes staring into his blue ones he started to run his fingers through your hair gently scraping at your scalp as he did so. Sinking into the feeling you began to feel even drowsier until you eventually settled into a deep slumber.

Mammon’s face almost angelic as he looked over you sleeping form as he gently ruffled your hair and softly smoothing it back down. Leaning down pressing a kiss as light as a feather to your hair. He then proceeded to get up to return to his room (knowing full well that he is a fidget and will likely wake you) whispering to you as he left “sweet dreams MC see ya tomorrow.”

Levi

Having forgotten how human his true friend is he was upset when you got up to leave to tired to explain yourself “we haven’t finished all 50 episodes yet!! You can’t go!” Levi whined at you having paused the anime the two of you where watching.

After explaining that you needed to sleep Levi understood,, your a human after all you need you sleep to function. You end up walking back over to where the two of you where sat and plonked down resting your head on Levi’s thigh.

“W-w-what are you doing!?” Levi was panicked by you action “I’m gonna sleep here so when the anime is over you can wake me up and tell me all about it” you smiled at him.

Your warm smile relaxed him instantly and he turned the anime back on and continued watching the soft sound of your breathing was the soundtrack the anime needed.

The anime eventually finished and as the credits where rolling he looked over your sleeping form desiring to let you sleep “I’ll tell you all about the ending when you wake up but ahh it was amazing... thank you for staying with me.”

Satan

You where hanging out with Satan in his room, it was late and you where watching a murder mystery documentary. It’s not that it wasn’t interesting you where just tired but with the complete inability to sleep.

Satan quickly caught wind of your tired eyes and turned off the tv getting up and grabbing his jacket whilst tossing one of his jumpers at you. “Come on let’s go out for a walk” he smiles at you.

You climb off of his bed almost tumbling over a stack of books followed by Satan’s soft laughter reminding you to be careful. You both leave his room and head towards the front door. You both popped on your shoes and out the door you went (luckily for the both of you lucifer was too busy with paperwork to even realise you had left.)

The nights in the devildom are surprisingly quiet only the soft sound of the cool breeze and yours and Satan’s feet could be heard, it was a comfortable silence with no need for conversation.

You found really relaxing just to walk at the side of the blond demon letting the wind blow your worries away. The two of you ended up waking into a field of soft grass and small wild flowers, it was beautiful.

Both you and Satan stopped knowing you had found the perfect place to rest your legs. You laid down on the grass staring up at the sky sparkling with stars. Satan watched over you for a moment before joining you.

Being the avatar of wrath you’d never expect his presence to be so comforting and calm, it was one of the qualities you admired about him. Lost in thought about the calm demon laying next to you, your eyes grew hazy with sleep as you felt yourself drifting off.

Satan soon realised the rise and fall of your chest had slowed knowing full well you had fallen asleep. He moved over to you and lifted your sleeping figure in his arms and took you back home.

He took you back to your room and removed your shoes before tucking you into your bed. He sat down on the floor leaning against your bed frame an arm and his head rested on your mattress as he slowly dozed off beside you.

Asmo

It had been a long exhausting day at RAD and you just wanted go to bed; you had stayed late to help lucifer with some student council stuff and it ended up running until quite late. You walk home seemed to take forever; trudging along you felt as though the weight of the world was on your shoulders just to spite you.

Your limbs where achey and sore by the time you reached the front door, with an exasperated sigh you used up the last of your energy to push open the unusually heavy door. On the other side of the door was the usually chirpy Asmodeus tapping his foot with an irritated frown planted on his still beautiful face.

“MC you’re late” he whined turning to look at you the irritation leaving his face to be replaced by a look of sympathy. “Oh honey bunny you look exhausted” he stated as he wrapped his arms around your head pulling your face into his chest as his fingers stroked through your hair.

“Come, let’s fix you up” he smiled taking your hand in his own and slowly walking you to his room. He sat you down on the edge of his bed and like a burst pipe your emotions all exploded at once tears streaming down your face.

He pulled you further onto the bed cradling you and stroking you hair until you wave of emotions had slowed. He gently wiped away the stray tears stuck to your face knowing full well how delicate a tear stained face could be.

“Do you want to talk about it;; I could paint your nails for you?” He offered wanting to help in any way he could. You shook your head and told him you just wanted to rest, and that is what the two of you did as his manicured nail massaged your scalp.

Rather quickly you found asmo’s gentle touch working you into a deep slumber. He eventually removed is fingers and sighed “I guess I should tell lucifer off on your behalf. You really shouldn’t over work yourself even if you are just trying to help.” He gently pet your hair before leaving to give lucifer a piece of his mind.

Beel & Belphie

It was quite late and Beel invited you to the his and Belphie’s room to have some pizza with them. Although it being quite late you happily obliged making your way to the twins room with your blanket wrapped around your shoulders and a pillow in your arms you knock on their door opened very quickly by Beel smiling holding a whole slice of pizza in his mouth.

You step inside to find both of their beds had been pushed together to make a giant extra comfy bed for the three of you to enjoy pizza and each others company of course. You dived on the giant bed and greeted Belphie with a smile, none of you had to say anything mostly because you didn’t have anything to talk about you just enjoyed the pizza and the twins presence.

Being with the two of them was always warm and cozy you felt so lucky to have two absolute sweethearts as your best friends. The three of you ended up having mindless conversation about the most random things and the three of you would laugh together.

You eventually started do feel really sleepy as did Belphie and Beel. You all snuggled up together running you fingers through both boy’s hair. Beel was surprisingly the first to fall asleep, a puddle of drool forming on his pillow. Belphie ended up wrapping his entire body around you resting his head on your chest as he slept.

You felt so at peace with the two of them and you fell asleep shortly after the twins. Little did you know you’d wake up with Beel sucking your thumb and Belphie’s legs on your face. Not that you mind it was always rather funny to wake up to.

There you go! UwU I hope you liked that and if you have any other requests or suggestions/comments don’t be afraid to pop an ask I hope you have an amazing day/night! Stay safe 💗✨🌸

[devintrinidad]

Any spare thoughts and opinions? -

Lol. 3803’s views on the other WBCs features sounds right and good. For some reason I think 2001 would get smug about having the best lap. If she’s napping and sitting in 1146’s lap. 2001 would tease 1146 by saying she doesn’t stir at all while in his lap. 1146 would grumble sorry I don’t have the perfect lap and try to situate 3803 better without waking her up. In all honestly he knows when 3803 was offered one of their laps as a resting spot, she would have preferred 2001’s lap over his. She even had motioned to sit down in his, but 1146 had offered his on impulse and she sat in his instead to not hurt his feelings.1146 really wanted 2001 to stop being so smug in his non offensive yet amused way over being 3803’s favorite in this regard. Also he’s starting to get a little annoyed by how much 2001 enjoys having his all snuggled up to him. Somehow instead of looking awkward or overly intimidating like 1146 does. 2001 instead somehow looks cool and like a king guarding his sleeping beauty who looks like she could slumber forever. Dendritic Cells pops up to take a few pictures (they don’t know why since it’s not embarrassing) and comments which prince will awaken her with a kiss. Cause he’s voting for 2001 (Dendritic cell is cheeky enough to pretend to ship 2001/3803 just to get a rise out of 1146. Who in turn gets a little grumpy because he knows the only reason is to tease him).     

One day 3803 does find out 1146’s darkest secret: he’s obsessed with her cheeks and wants to touch them. 3803 is like =0 That’s it? Her friends like 5100 and others pinch, poke, rub and plump her cheeks all the time without asking her for permission. 3803 plainly tells 1146 it’s not a big deal and he can touch her cheeks all he wants. 1146 hides his face behind his hat and acts shy and embarrassed about it. But if he doesn’t touch them it might be even weirder that he’s making a huge deal out of something 3803 and other’s consider nothing. She stands there with a blank expression while his bare hands hover over her cute cheeks and he’s acting like touching them would burn him. After awhile he admits he can’t do it while she’s looking at him. Exasperated, she sits him down and sits on his lap and asks if this is better. He starts poking her cheeks until he gets more comfortable with cupping his palms around them. Eventually he’s pinching and plumping them and dancing his fingers on her cheeks and losing track of time. His expression is pure oblivious bliss. He snaps out of it when 3803 points out a hour has gone by and if he’s done? His response ’….a few more minutes.’ A few more minutes turns into a half a hour and she finally just gets up to tell him her cheeks need a break. Just her luck she walks right into 5100 who starts pinching and plumping her cheeks because it’s been awhile since she has done it. 

From then on 1146 also starts poking and plumping her cheeks more when they hang out. He does it in privacy though. He doesn’t want anyone to find out his love for her cute plump cheeks, much less let his friends (who do know) know he’s addicted to smooshing them between his two large hands. His touch is big, gentle and cool to feel so 3803 actually likes it when he does it. Sometimes when her face feels tense his cheek smooshing feels like a nice massage. However she’s less amused when he starts pinching her cheeks to wake her up or when he’s worried about her. 

Idk, 1146 is this big scary ruthless warrior who’s done things he’s not proud of. Yet he’s also the soft innocent dork who’s biggest fantasy of 3803 is how soft and pretty and bouncy her cheeks are and the face she makes when he smooshes them around is pretty funny. 

~~~

Oh my gosh, like I had three separate one-shot thingies for the rest of the WBCs that didn’t get head canons and tumblr crashed... like.. All my progress is gone!

That said, I am definitely going to recreate what I had in mind.

U-4989--His Smile:

3803 looked up at 4989, her eyes considering and her facial features calm. They were seated in a cafe with their respective meals (a cone of glucose and some bacterial broth) as part of their break from their jobs. As they did so, 3803 spotted a little bit of a stain upon her companion’s cheek. 

Without even thinking, 3803 reached into the little pack that she kept at her side and took out a few tissues. She leaned over the table and dabbed a little at 4989′s cheek. As her tissue absorbed the little spot of broth, she sat back in her seat and took a lick of her glucose cone. It was at that moment, she noticed that her neutrophil friend was looking at her with a small smile on his face and an awed look in his eyes.

That smile of his was quite unlike the smile that he would wear while annihilating bacteria. This smile was soft, honest. Small, but earnest in its presence all the same.

3803 liked that smile. 

“You’re amazing, you know that, Little Miss Red?”

3803 cocked her head to the side. “Why do you say that?”

“Because you helped me out whereas other cells wouldn’t do that!”

She laughed, a bit dismissive of the idea, but gave a rebuttal of her own. “You’re amazing as well, Mr. Neutrophil!”

This time, it was 4989 who looked confused. “Why do you say that?”

“Because your smile makes me feel safe and protected, even if others don't see it that way!”  

.

.

.

U-2626--His Eyes:

Running.

They were running together. 

A bacterial attack had occurred at a nearby abrasion located at the left elbow. Although 3803 had promised herself that she wouldn’t get herself entangled in another incident that would include the safety of her well-being, but here she was, running away from an attack. At her side, 2626 guided her to a safe location that housed other red blood cells and made sure that she wasn’t smothered by what appeared to be a forming red blood clot.

“Will you be okay,” he asked. Although his voice remained low and calm, 3803 could clearly see from his twitching fingers and the grim line of his mouth that he was agitated and raring for a fight.

Not wanting to stay in his way any longer, 3803 merely nodded her head. As 2626 moved to get away from the constraints of fibrin, one of the red blood cells accidentally flailed and pushed 2626 over. The action did little to make 2626 lose his footing, but it made him lose his hat. While 2626 did have quick reflexes that prevented his hat from falling, it didn’t stop 3803 from seeing a sight that she thought she would never get to bear witness.

His eyes.

They were so--

A pair of gloved fingers snapped in front of her face.

“Doing okay, Little Miss Red?”

3803 covered her mouth to hide her escaping chuckle. 

“More than fine, Mr. Neutrophil!”

.

.

.

U-2048--HIs Legs:

His dark black eyes looked down at her.

She looked up at him with her golden gaze.

And then--

“Your legs are so nice and toned how do you work out!”

“Your legs are also nice as well! We should totally work out together!”

*cue montage with the Rocky theme as both cells work out their legs*

.

.

.

I’m sorry if someone out there thinks I did U-2048 dirty here. ;; I haven’t been practicing writing him for quite some time... I’ll send the U-2048 love later!!!

[thebibliomancer]

Song of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 5

Song of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee because it’s dinner time!

Last time in book: Kylan and Naia have joined forces with Rian to overthrow the Skeksis. Rian’s plan is to go to the All-Maudra with his claims and a vial of Mira goo. To kill time before dinner with Rian’s family, Kylan reads a bunch of rocks and Naia has a nap.

Chapter 5

Dinner is awkward for everyone. Then the plot comes knocking. Rian, Kylan, and Naia make a game plan.

Oops, this is a slightly bigger chapter that ruined my one week streak! But its also a really good chapter that I quite enjoyed!

Mythra leads Kylan and Naia into the kitchen and introduces them to mom Shoni and little brother Timtri.

Like most Stonewood Gelfling, she had long dark hair, and her soft wings were brown and red, with two large black eyespots accented by other dappleso f orange, gold, and tan.

Shoni pretty.

She stops preparing dinner to greet the guests.

Shoni set down her chopping knife and rounded the table to cup Naia’s face and then Kylan’s. Her hands smelled of spices and carrots. It was a warm gesture that Kylan had seen many mothers do, although he couldn’t remember much about his own mother, and certainly Maudra Mera would never have done something so kind to him.

OH MY GOD

Shoni pls adopt this boy right now!

That’s the relationship I ship, Shoni adopts Kylan.

Because, geez, the more Kylan and Mera’s relationship is expounded on, the sadder I feel.

“Hello, my sweets. I’m glad to finally meet you. Please, sit down. Ignore Rian if he’s cold to you. Rian! Fetch our guests something to drink, would you?”

“I can do it, Mother,” Mythra suggested, but Shoni waved her away.

“I want him to do it. It will be good for him.”

Wow. Savage. Rian is having a bad time in these opening chapters.

So, dinner is served on a stone table that seems to be growing out of the ground, leading Kylan to wonder whether the hut or table came first. Dinner is nuts, spiced peach-berries, and diced root.

I wonder if Stone-in-the-Wood doesn’t eat a lot of meat or whether this family doesn’t. Probably meat is a special occasion food.

Shoni asks about how far they’ve traveled which starts a conversation about Landstriders which makes Kylan feel like crap because he’s bad at all the Spriton things.

[Kylan] didn’t want to tell them about his brief foray into riding, the majority of which involved falling off, spooking the beasts, or a combination of the two. Galloping across the plains was one of the many Spriton traditions Kylan had seen much and done little of. There was that, and spear mastering, and bola throwing...

Geez. Kylan needs a hug. And some self-confidence. And another feel good day full of reading.

Actually, its an awkward dinner for other reasons too. Naia mentions that she’s thankful Kylan was good enough at riding to guide them away from the castle and Rian, grim boy that he is, mentions its good because if they didn’t have a Landstrider they would have been caught by the Skeksis.

“Rian!” Shoni scolded. “Now’s not the time. Can’t we enjoy one meal as a family without mentioning... that?”

“I don’t know, Mother. Can we even call ourselves a family when Father -.”

“Enough.”

o_o

Wow. I guess Skeksis are the politics of Thra and discussion of them will just ruin dinner. That and Ordon is hunting down Rian for the Skeksis. Imagine thats contributing.

Rian just bringing it up like that smacked me in the face though.

Shoni flicked her wings once, shrugging off the little argument

Wiiiiiiiing body language! I loves it!

Shoni switches the conversation to safe small talk and asks what the Drenchen do for fun, leading Naia to an enthusiastic explanation of various fun swamp activities.

Here’s one I like.

“When I was younger and argued with my sisters, my mother used to throw gems into the deeper parts of the swamp and make us find them before they sank into the mud. If we couldn’t find a gem, we had to do chores under Great Smerth, cleaning mites from the roots and such.”

That’s good swamp parenting.

Everyone is getting into the conversation about swamp activities. Kylan thinks that Naia sounds like she’s bragging, but in an endearing way. Even Rian seems to be listening to the conversation.

He jumps in to mention that Gurjin told him about the bola tourneys held and starts discussing comparative bolas with Naia. How the Drenchen bola uses shorter rope so it has more force and less chance to tangle.

And Naia gets into the topic of bolas and tries to bring Kylan in to talk about Spriton bolas.

Kylan shrank a little into his shoulders. He appreciated her attempt to include him, but the truth was, he didn’t know how shorter or longer rope changed a bola, or whether smaller or larger stones would be better in the field or forest. He didn’t know, and a part of him didn’t even care. He shrugged.

“I guess,” he said.

His contribution was so small and green, it almost killed the tiny flame of conversation entirely. Naia was ready with kindling words.

I really like that metaphor. But also, wow, this is like every awkward family dinner smooshed into one.

“Kylan is a song teller, and a dream etcher. A very good one! And even so, he can still throw a bola. He struck skekMal the Hunter square in the face.”

Again, Naia was only trying to help, but to Kylan, it sounded less like an endorsement and more as if she were trying to excuse him. As if being a song teller explained his athletic ineptitude, and his single victory in combat redeemed him.

=(

I don’t know how many ways I can say wow what an awkward dinner. Poor Kylan.

Rian grunts approvingly of Kylan bonking the Hunter and adds that he’d love to do that himself one day.

Then the dinner gets EVEN MORE AWKWARD as Maudra Fara shows up. (Fugitive Rian of course hides while she’s visiting.)

An older Gelfing stood outside, dressed in indigos and greens, her dark burgundy-and-gold wings folded along the length of her back like a cloak. From the beads and ornaments woven into her dark hair, Kylan realized who she must be.

Maudra Fara is also pretty.

But she’s here on business. And for Kylan, specifically. She saw a Spriton on the rise and figured hey, a Spriton. Then she received a note about a Kylan.

She tells him “Before you wonder -- it is bad news.” Just ripping the band-aid off. That’s the Fara I know!

To my maudra sisters:

Take note. Lords skekLach and skekMal arrived early this morning. They sought one of mine, a runaway named Kylan. They say he is a traitor. When they did not find him, they took three others as collateral. If you know of Kylan’s whereabouts, send him to me, and I will take responsibility for him.

In Thra’s song,

Dream Stitcher Mera

aw crap Kylan is a fugitive now too.

(I wonder what skekMal’s title is when he’s not being a serial killer. He can’t go by Hunter because that’s his secret identity.)

Naia gets rightly offended at the Skeksis, pointing out that they’re not even hiding their cruelty and accuses them of taking hostages for snacks.

Maudra Fara tells Naia not to talk like that but out of fear instead of loyalty. When Naia keeps talking, Fara just. Pretends she’s not.

Fara is median cool. She’s clearly not willing to risk her village by sticking her neck out and probably wouldn’t back up Rian if he went to her, just as he feared. But instead of capturing Kylan, she gives him this headsup and a head start.

“If Shoni has welcomed you to her home, I won’t betray her hospitality tonight. But the Skeksi are looking for you, and my duty is to my clan. By the time the suns rise, you must be gone from here. Go to your maudra or do not. Go anywhere but here. I’ve got enough on my hands with Rian missing in the woods we share with the Skeksis. I can’t risk the safety of my people any more. Please understand.”

=(

Kylan understands logically but still feels like a kick in the gut to so suddenly be kicked out. And its not explicitly stated but since he is half Stonewood, Kylan has basically been alienated from both of his homes. If he goes to Sami Thicket, Mera will turn him over to the Skeksis. And Fara has made it clear that she won’t risk her people for him.

Even if he hadn’t chosen to continue the quest earlier, he’d be stuck with it.

This is just a huge bummer of a dinner!

Kylan throws the note into the fire but since the paper was enchanted to resist the heat of dream-etching, it takes some time to burn.

H-hey! A neat trivia about dream-etching!

Naia gets mad on Kylan’s behalf who is too kicked in the guy and worried. But Rian comes out of hiding with a more different take. Or at least acceptance.

“She would have sent me away, too, if she’d known I was here. I can’t fault her for it. It’s her duty to do what’s best for the entire clan, not just one or two, or even three of us... The Skeksis will eventually come here, and they will do what it takes to scare the others into giving us up. The only thing that may save us is if no one knows our whereabouts and if we reach the All-Maudra as soon as possible. We should do as Maudra Fara says and leave. Tonight.”

Kylan is too focused on who the Skeksis took from Sami Thicket and whether attempting to rescue them would be a waste of time. And when he comes out of his musing he’s arrived at a different conclusion than Rian.

Not that they don’t need to leave but that heading to the All-Maudra isn’t a good enough plan. Because the Skeksis won’t stop preying on Gelfling or coming after Kylan and Rian and other Gelfling are going to get caught in the crossfire.

Kylan thinks that they should let all Gelfling know the truth so that they can take precautions to protect themselves. But he also gloomily thinks that maybe people will be unwilling to listen to the truth, like Maudra Fara.

Naia sides with Kylan.

“We will tell the All-Maudra,” Naia announced. “But Kylan’s right. The rest of the Gelfling need to know, too. If we focus all of our efforts on reaching the All-Maudra and waiting for her decision, many of our people could be taken by the Skeksis in the meantime. We have to find a way to spread the message faster, and sooner. Like dreamfasting.”

But even with Naia’s Super Cool Dreamfasting it would take too long. They’d have to touch hands with EVERY GELFLING.

Its just not practical and its not like there’s some kind of fire skype! The Gelfling are still in the courier stage of communications technology, drat it!

Shoni pops in and mentions that they could take the path to the High Hill making Rian groan that Aughra will be no help.

Blowing away Kylan that Mother Aughra, huge figure in Gelfling culture, is just casually an option here.

Aughra who is probably as old as the suns, called maudra Thra, lived through the only two conjunctions, and knew the world before Gelfling existed.

That Aughra. Is casually an option. And just casually lives nearby!

“Her home is near our wood, though few make the trek to see her. Even those who arrive often do not find the answers they are looking for... Some find nothing at all. But I think, given how empty our table is, even a crumb would look like hope.”

A rebellion resistance is built on hope!

I’m intrigued that she appears to not be napping forever in this version which makes one wonder why she hasn’t gotten involved because even at her movie grumpiest, she wasn’t callous. She saved Fizzgig the Fizzgig to no benefit to herself.

So what’s her deal in this continuity? And is she as grumpy?

“She’s nothing but a mad witch spouting nonsense and riddles,” Rian grumbled.

“You’ve met her?” Naia asked, as surprised as Kylan but more practical about how the news could serve them. “So you know the way! We can ask her if she knows how we can send out warning.”

“She won’t help!” Rian snapped, his voice escalating suddenly. When Kylan and the others fell quiet, he tried to settle down. Still, his fingers twitched and his thick brows drew tight. “She’s existed since the beginning of time, and the years have eroded her mind. She’s not interested in us. In the Gelfling. She won’t help and I’m not about to waste my time on her.”

That sounds like there’s history there that I’d love to know.

And sounds like if she’s not as grumpy as in the movies she’s at least as difficult.

Did Rian go to her for help after fleeing the castle to no gain? Or did he have a different reason for visiting?

Aughra wasn’t senile in the movie so I don’t think she’d be senile here so what’s her deeeeeal?

Anyway, Rian argues that showing the All-Maudra the vial of Mira goo is the best plan. And Naia argues against putting all their hope on one plan. So Rian says cool I’ll go alone like I wanted to. And Naia says hey buddy this is a team effort.

And Kylan finally points out that they should split up because they’re both basically saying that but arguing about it.

They should split their efforts and making it harder for the Skeksis to catch them.

“We need to work together, apart.”

Oh, I love that turn of phrase.

Kylan shrugged, in case they didn’t like the idea. They were both leaders, and he was a follower, but they weren’t looking at the big picture. To his surprise, though, the suggestion brought a calm to the room. Naia nodded at Kylan, a flash of respect in her eyes.

This is funny for a kind of meta reason. Rian and Naia are both protagonist but Kylan was a supporting character last book but protagonist of this one and he needs to speak up and protag.

Also, Rian and Naia are a bit in the way of being stubborn.

Rian agrees, insofar as he doesn’t think it will matter because his own plan is going to 100% succeed and it gets them out of his (blue-streaked) hair. He even offers to take them partway to High Hill.

Kylan then decides that they should go immediately.

Though he wasn’t eager to forsake the warmth of the stone hut for the cold wilderness of the wood, he felt it was the right thing to do. He had wanted to rest, but it seemed rest was a luxury for which they would find less and less opportunity. Knowing that Maudra Fara thought they were endangering all the Gelfling of Stone-in-the-Wood -- and that they were under orders to leave -- robbed the warm hut of much of its comfort.

=(

That’s a bummer ending to an awkward dinner party.

[eyeless-cunt]

I was planning on posting the most recent chapter earlier but I forgot and to make up for it here is chapter 4 👊😔

(submission) aka i didn’t write this it was submitted to me uwu 🌸

Witness Protection

You know the drill

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"So why do you look so uncomfortable?" You tilt your head. He remained silent. "Hey, come on, after what just happened I deserve to know something about you,"

"What just happened doesn't matter," He stated, back to using that monotone voice. You huff.

"We kissed!"

"You and I both know it meant nothing,"

"But still-!"

"Dropping the subject now," he shut up. You groan and smack your head against the window. You mutter an ow, sitting up properly.

"Does the radio work?" He shrugged. You reach over and try to turn it on, only met by static on all of the channels before it shut itself off. "Great," you grumble quietly to yourself. You pat a small beat on your lap, the silence driving you mad.

"Stop that," your head rolls back against the headrest on the seat, rolling your eyes and glaring at him.

"Well then do you have any idea what I could do to entertain myself? Don't get me wrong I'm really enjoying these 'chats' of ours where I try to strike up a conversation and you completely ignore me, but I'm kind of going insane," you groan loudly. "There's like nothing for me to dooo,"

"Play a road trip game or something,"

"You need two or more people for those, and you're highkey too boring for them,"

"I'm going to pretend I know what highkey is and tell you to figure out how to do it yourself," You groan again, leaning forward to smack your head on the dashboard space right above the glove box.

"I spy with my little eye, an annoying bitch," you huff, crossing your arms.

"You?" Your eye twitches. "No? Damn. Ok, my turn, I spy with my little eye an annoying little cunt that is going to be gutted and left to bleed out in a river if she doesn't shut her fucking mouth,"

"Lemme guess. You?" He made a 'wrong' buzzer sound.

"Wrong, try again,"

"Me?" you sigh.

"Bingo, now shut up," You grumble some unheard curses and lean your elbow on the weird arm rest thing on the side of the door, resting your head in your open palm. There was a long silence. It felt like it must've been half an hour, at least.

"I'm still bored,"

"It's only been 10 minutes since you told me that," he stated.

"Feels like longer, now entertain me,"

"In case you don't remember, I kidnapped you and am in no way obligated to entertain you,"

"Can't I like, borrow your phone or something?"

"I would be an idiot to let a hostage use my phone," It's becoming painfully clear that he is not going to cave anytime soon. You sigh and stare out the window, watching other cars pass by with a half lidded expression. "Eat or something,"

"Bored eating is how I get fat,"

"Then suffer in silence," Another silence washed over you, the uncomfortable humming of the vehicle becoming the only thing you could use from drifting off into insanity. The car stopped after a long while, and he climbed out.

"Where are you going?"

"To eat," You raise a brow.

"Why would you need to get out to eat?" He smiled at you, condescendingly. The effect of the meds had worn off by this point, revealing sharpened teeth. You gag, remembering what he had eaten back at the hotel. "Yeah, please do that far away from me,"

"Planning on it, I don't need puke in my truck," He slammed his door shut. It is only five minutes after he's left the truck that you are even more bored than before. Yet another heavy groan leaves you. Patting a small beat on your legs seemed to help, but only barely. You glance behind you, seeing him in the back of the truck. Well, you could only see his back, as he had it facing the cab section of the truck. Should you go out and bother him? One on hand, there was a strong possibility of you vomiting up your lunch from earlier. But on the other hand, he was your only source of entertainment. Your boredom won over your common sense and you unbuckle, trying your door. Child locked, of course. Your gaze flicked to his door. Glancing back out the back window, you sneakily climb onto the drivers side seat, trying the door handle. The door popped open and you felt like cheering. You wouldn't though. If he was gonna be mad about you sneaking out of the car you might as well spook him too by surprising him.

A small tune hits your ears as you step out of the truck, closing the door quietly. Your footsteps fell silently on the dirt as you approached. Granted, the heels made walking uncomfortable, but you'd rather suffer through the curse that is your work shoes than walk around barefoot. Random thought aside, the tune sounded like quiet singing. It was barely audible, barely above a whisper, but pleasant sounding. Your brain caught up with your ears and eyes and quickly came to the conclusion that Jack was singing, very softly. The song was unfamiliar to you, but his voice did sound nice, so you quietly hop onto the bed of the truck, next to him, all while ignoring the empty freezer bags that used to hold what you knew to be some poor man's insides. He paused for what seemed to be an instrumental break, as he nodded his head a little to the rhythm in his head.

"For a murderer, you're pretty good at singing," you comment, breaking the silence. Nothing will ever compare to the joy you felt as Jack's eye sockets shot open, and he squeaked loudly, standing in an apparent flight reflex before almost tripping over the rim of the bed in his shock. However, you did not laugh, for you were no fool. Although it was increasingly tempting as his grey face grew to be a bright red, non existent eyes widening in pure shock, terror, or embarrassment.

"How much," he muttered, blinking with a gulp.

"What?"

"How much did you hear," he elaborated.

"Not much, I've only been here for maybe a minute or so,"

"Too much," he took a shaky breath.

"What?" he repeatedly shook his head.

"Too much," he muttered again before muttering something very quietly to himself.

"Truck. Now," he vaulted himself over the edge. You raise a brow and climb off the bed of the vehicle. He gripped your arm and guided you to your side of the truck, opening the door. "In," You scurry in, clicking the seat belt into place. He seemed… stressed. He climbed in a little bit after, seemingly having cleaned up the remnants of his meal.

"So uh-,"

"Don't- don't talk,"

"But-,"

"Shhhh," he whispered, holding a shaky index finger to his lips to signify silence. With a deep breath, he strapped in and turned the car on, getting back on the road. Despite the radio not working, the clock did, and you stared at it. For an hour. You knew because you had watched an hour pass on the old digital display. Finally, he sighed.

"You can talk now, I guess,"

"What the hell was that?"

"Probably a nice mix of anxiety and embarrassment smooshed together to create a hellish combination of wanting to die,"

"You have anxiety?"

"I don't want to talk about it," you nod slowly.

"You're singing was nice," you murmur.

"Uh, thanks," he muttered. "I don't uh- I don't typically like people listening-,"

"That would be totally understandable if you weren't that good at it,"

"If you think complimenting me will make me let you go, you're wrong," he visibly tightened his grip on the steering wheel, the black fabric of his gloves pulling taut.

"Wasn't what I was going for, but ok,"

"Then what were you going for," he sighed heavily.

"Could you sing something? Like, louder than a whisper?"

"No," his response was immediate. "Absolutely not,"

"What? It's not like I'll be able to tell anyone," he did a small leg bounce.

"Will you shut up about being bored if I sing one song?" A hum and a nod from you give him his confirmation. "Shit…," he sighed under his breath. "Did you have a song in mind?"

"No," he groans quietly.

"Not a single one?"

"No," you shake your head. "Hadn't planned on you saying yes, so just pick one you like," He threw his hand up in what could only be exasperation.

"Fine, fine," he took a deep breath, looking about ready to start. "Do I have to do this?"

"If you want me to shut up," He whined under his breath.

"But-,"

"Stop stalling and you can get it over with," You lean forward to see his face, which is still beet red with embarrassment, but this time with pursed lips.

"Gah, fine," he huffed, defeated. With another deep breath, he began. "I can't get a hold, hold on myself, tossin' and turnin' and screaming' for help. So much to say, so many words, but sometimes, you're lookin' so good that it hurts,'' You blinked slowly, eyes slowly widening. He'd probably stop if you said anything, so you remain quiet and avert your eyes from his head, leaning your head in your open palm again as you listened to the song. It wasn't a very fast paced or high energy song, making it sort of soothing to listen to. Mixed with his strangely superb singing voice, it melded together into a calming melody that was slowly making you relax and be ready for a nap.

"I know I'm not right, I'm messed in the head, so hurt me, desert me, just leave me for dead. I'm thinkin' 'bout thinkin', now my sun is shrinking'. I know I can float, but I'm sinking' instead. I don't wanna lose you, glad that I knew you, don't wanna be in my own head," he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as you were, except he wasn't dozing off like you. As he neared the last few sound effect things that were in the song, you had closed your eyes, breathing slower. In your half asleep state, your brain registered that he had finished singing, but it didn't matter to you as you slipped into unconsciousness, willingly this time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She was out cold and he sighed in relief, leaning his head against the back of the seat. Never again. Never again will he sing like that for someone else. Too much pressure on him to make it sound good, even if he didn't give a flying fuck about her opinion of him. Her sleeping form made him realize just how tired he was and he yawned. He'd gotten a max of two hours the night before, and even then they were the suckiest two hours of his life. This just meant he needed to get to his next hotel set up. He pulled the car over again and pulled out his phone, scrolling through nearby hotels. The closest was two hours away. He groaned silently and checked the bookings for it anyway. There were also no double beds. Peachy. Just peachy. His bottom lid twitched before he smacked his forehead on the broken horn again, sighing heavily in exasperation. No doubt she was going to bitch, but he really didn't have a choice. He needed proper sleep and she'd have to deal. He booked one of the rooms and took a breath to recollect himself before shutting his phone off and stuffing it back in his pocket. If he was lucky this place would have booze or something, it would be great to have a nice bottle of whiskey or something when dealing with this woman. The drive was obviously quiet, her soft snores the only noise to drown out the sound of everything wrong with his truck. In the silence, his mind wandered, as it usually did, which led him to the question of what the hell was this woman's name. It had been on her name tag, probably, but that had been stained with blood and removed earlier that day. Damn, he didn't even know what it began with.

Regardless, he drove in complete silence. Fastest two hours of his life, if he was being honest. With how tired he was, the promise of a nice bed and possibly alcohol made him a little giddy. The parking lot of the hotel came into view and he cheered quietly.

"Yes!" he sighed in slight celebration, pulling into the lot and quickly finding a place to park. He shut the car off and got his pills and took two. He liked to call them 'normal pills' because they made him look, well, normal. Anyway, he climbed out of the car and walked to her side, opening the door and climbing up on the step. The button clicked once he pushed it, and the seatbelt came up to go back to it's weird resting position against the side of the cab. He scooped her up bridal style. He was going to have to sell the dating thing again, not wanting to risk the weird look his mind guaranteed would be sent his way. He shook his head, removing the thought from his mind and hopping off the step, using his shoulder to push the door closed. With a quick grip adjustment, he headed for the door, barely making it through the sliding doors, as he was too impatient to wait for them to open fully. He did the usual checking in process, the person at the front desk only glancing at the sleeping woman in his arms.

"Girlfriend?" They hum. He nodded. "Keep any noise you make tonight to yourselves,"

"What?"

"Be quiet," They clarified. He flushed up at what they had implied, and began to stammer over some of his words. They snort. "Calm yourself down boy," He swallowed.

"S-Sorry," They shake their head.

"Anyway, the pool is that way, the exercise room is right next to it, there's a bar over by the breakfast area. Pool hours are 9 AM - 11 PM, same with the exercise room. Bar is open from 7 PM - 6 AM," They hand him his key card. He nods a thank you and hurries to the stairs. It's more than a few floors up, but he didn't feel like going to find the elevator just yet. The woman stirred in her sleep, but he was too absorbed by his thoughts to notice.

"Jack?" He almost dropped her down the stairs in fright.

"Yeah?" he shook his head, resuming his climb.

"Where are we?"

"The next hotel,"

"Oh… what city are we in?"

"Only a fool would tell his hostage what city he's moved her to," he huffed. "And I am no fool," She grumbled.

"Dammit,"

"Don't pout about that, I've been fairly decent to you so far," She glanced up at him, brows furrowed.

"Yeah, but why?"

"You're more obedient when you're well taken care of,"

"Oh really? And what proof do you have for that?"

"You didn't tell that woman I had kidnapped you," he hummed.

"Because you were right next to me,"

"You've listened to my orders, more so when I'm not being violent,"

"I-,"

"You aren't resisting now, either, especially since you have the chance," That one was a test. He just told her she had a chance to escape. She remained still, cradled in his arms. "You aren't going to even try?"

"The stairs are really steep, I don't wanna risk falling," He nodded.

"Fair," He glanced down. "But I would fall too, wouldn't I?" More testing. He had to be sure she wouldnt run off on him if he had to leave her alone in the room for something.

"Just because you kidnapped me doesn't mean I want you to fall to your doom on a hotel staircase," she crossed her arms, huffing.

"Ok, Ok," he stopped talking. She continued to pout while he made his way up the rest of the stairs, onto their floor. Their room was at the end of the hall. He grunted as he shifted her onto one arm. She grew a bit flustered, probably because she was being held on one arm and that was kind of weird. He pulled the key card out of his pocket.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ok ok ok, yeah, he's pretty cute when he's 'normal' looking. But now he's holding you on one arm. He's fucking strong. Like, really strong. 'Lord give me strength,' You think to yourself. He slides the card into the slot and opens the door, shifting you back so he was using both arms to hold you. He walked in and threw you on the bed.

"Why- why is there only one bed?" you tilt your head.

"There weren't any double bed rooms available when I booked it,"

"So we'll be sleeping on the same bed?"

"I don't care if you sleep on the floor, or the bed, or even the bathtub," he shrugged.

"Bed sounds comfy,"

"Then sleep on the bed, I'm too tired to care," he flopped back first onto the bed, sighing in relief.

"What if we accidentally spoon though?"

"Oh nooo, physical contact, what ever will we dooo??" Sarcasm was evident.

"You know for a guy who panicked when I saw him singing you're awfully chill about straight up cuddling me," He shrugged.

"I'm tired, and tired me just does not give a shit," he rubbed his eyes. "Besides, human bodies are cooler than demon ones, you'd be like the cold side of a pillow,"

"What the fuck," He let out a strained laugh.

"Sorry," he sat up, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm gonna go get my stuff, you gotta promise to stay here,"

"I make no promises," you cross your arms.

"I could always lock you in the bathroom with no means of entertainment, or you can stay out here, in a decent, air conditioned room, with a tv. Your choice," You sigh.

"Fine," a quiet grumble leaves you.

"I'll bring the clothes and toiletries up first, so you can take a shower,"

"Are you saying I need one?"

"We both need one, I'm just saying yours will probably take longer," You mull it over.

"Fine," He gave a thumbs up and stood.

"I'll be back," He left the room. You sigh and crawl onto the bed fully, closing your eyes.

[witness-protection-official]

Today’s chapter art is actually fanart made by Amiy_trash on Instagram! Check her out, she’s really good!

Warning; contains heavy swearing in some parts. Song mentioned in chapter will be linked at the end

Witness Protection- An Eyeless Jack x reader

Chapter 3

"So why do you look so uncomfortable?" You tilt your head. He remained silent. "Hey, come on, after what just happened I deserve to know something about you,"

"What just happened doesn't matter," He stated, back to using that monotone voice. You huff.

"We kissed!"

"You and I both know it meant nothing,"

"But still-!"

"Dropping the subject now," he shut up. You groan and smack your head against the window. You mutter an ow, sitting up properly.

"Does the radio work?" He shrugged. You reach over and try to turn it on, only met by static on all of the channels before it shut itself off. "Great," you grumble quietly to yourself. You pat a small beat on your lap, the silence driving you mad.

"Stop that," your head rolls back against the headrest on the seat, rolling your eyes and glaring at him.

"Well then do you have any idea what I could do to entertain myself? Don't get me wrong I'm really enjoying these 'chats' of ours where I try to strike up a conversation and you completely ignore me, but I'm kind of going insane," you groan loudly. "There's like nothing for me to dooo,"

"Play a road trip game or something,"

"You need two or more people for those, and you're highkey too boring for them,"

"I'm going to pretend I know what highkey is and tell you to figure out how to do it yourself," You groan again, leaning forward to smack your head on the dashboard space right above the glove box.

"I spy with my little eye, an annoying bitch," you huff, crossing your arms.

"You?" Your eye twitches. "No? Damn. Ok, my turn, I spy with my little eye an annoying little cunt that is going to be gutted and left to bleed out in a river if she doesn't shut her fucking mouth,"

"Lemme guess. You?" He made a 'wrong' buzzer sound.

"Wrong, try again,"

"Me?" you sigh.

"Bingo, now shut up," You grumble some unheard curses and lean your elbow on the weird arm rest thing on the side of the door, resting your head in your open palm. There was a long silence. It felt like it must've been half an hour, at least.

"I'm still bored,"

"It's only been 10 minutes since you told me that," he stated.

"Feels like longer, now entertain me,"

"In case you don't remember, I kidnapped you and am in no way obligated to entertain you,"

"Can't I like, borrow your phone or something?"

"I would be an idiot to let a hostage use my phone," It's becoming painfully clear that he is not going to cave anytime soon. You sigh and stare out the window, watching other cars pass by with a half lidded expression. "Eat or something,"

"Bored eating is how I get fat,"

"Then suffer in silence," Another silence washed over you, the uncomfortable humming of the vehicle becoming the only thing you could use from drifting off into insanity. The car stopped after a long while, and he climbed out.

"Where are you going?"

"To eat," You raise a brow.

"Why would you need to get out to eat?" He smiled at you, condescendingly. The effect of the meds had worn off by this point, revealing sharpened teeth. You gag, remembering what he had eaten back at the hotel. "Yeah, please do that far away from me,"

"Planning on it, I don't need puke in my truck," He slammed his door shut. It is only five minutes after he's left the truck that you are even more bored than before. Yet another heavy groan leaves you. Patting a small beat on your legs seemed to help, but only barely. You glance behind you, seeing him in the back of the truck. Well, you could only see his back, as he had it facing the cab section of the truck. Should you go out and bother him? One on hand, there was a strong possibility of you vomiting up your lunch from earlier. But on the other hand, he was your only source of entertainment. Your boredom won over your common sense and you unbuckle, trying your door. Child locked, of course. Your gaze flicked to his door. Glancing back out the back window, you sneakily climb onto the drivers side seat, trying the door handle. The door popped open and you felt like cheering. You wouldn't though. If he was gonna be mad about you sneaking out of the car you might as well spook him too by surprising him.

A small tune hits your ears as you step out of the truck, closing the door quietly. Your footsteps fell silently on the dirt as you approached. Granted, the heels made walking uncomfortable, but you'd rather suffer through the curse that is your work shoes than walk around barefoot. Random thought aside, the tune sounded like quiet singing. It was barely audible, barely above a whisper, but pleasant sounding. Your brain caught up with your ears and eyes and quickly came to the conclusion that Jack was singing, very softly. The song was unfamiliar to you, but his voice did sound nice, so you quietly hop onto the bed of the truck, next to him, all while ignoring the empty freezer bags that used to hold what you knew to be some poor man's insides. He paused for what seemed to be an instrumental break, as he nodded his head a little to the rhythm in his head.

"For a murderer, you're pretty good at singing," you comment, breaking the silence. Nothing will ever compare to the joy you felt as Jack's eye sockets shot open, and he squeaked loudly, standing in an apparent flight reflex before almost tripping over the rim of the bed in his shock. However, you did not laugh, for you were no fool. Although it was increasingly tempting as his grey face grew to be a bright red, non existent eyes widening in pure shock, terror, or embarrassment.

"How much," he muttered, blinking with a gulp.

"What?"

"How much did you hear," he elaborated.

"Not much, I've only been here for maybe a minute or so,"

"Too much," he took a shaky breath.

"What?" he repeatedly shook his head.

"Too much," he muttered again before muttering something very quietly to himself.

"Truck. Now," he vaulted himself over the edge. You raise a brow and climb off the bed of the vehicle. He gripped your arm and guided you to your side of the truck, opening the door. "In," You scurry in, clicking the seat belt into place. He seemed… stressed. He climbed in a little bit after, seemingly having cleaned up the remnants of his meal.

"So uh-,"

"Don't- don't talk,"

"But-,"

"Shhhh," he whispered, holding a shaky index finger to his lips to signify silence. With a deep breath, he strapped in and turned the car on, getting back on the road. Despite the radio not working, the clock did, and you stared at it. For an hour. You knew because you had watched an hour pass on the old digital display. Finally, he sighed.

"You can talk now, I guess,"

"What the hell was that?"

"Probably a nice mix of anxiety and embarrassment smooshed together to create a hellish combination of wanting to die,"

"You have anxiety?"

"I don't want to talk about it," you nod slowly.

"You're singing was nice," you murmur.

"Uh, thanks," he muttered. "I don't uh- I don't typically like people listening-,"

"That would be totally understandable if you weren't that good at it,"

"If you think complimenting me will make me let you go, you're wrong," he visibly tightened his grip on the steering wheel, the black fabric of his gloves pulling taut.

"Wasn't what I was going for, but ok,"

"Then what were you going for," he sighed heavily.

"Could you sing something? Like, louder than a whisper?"

"No," his response was immediate. "Absolutely not,"

"What? It's not like I'll be able to tell anyone," he did a small leg bounce.

"Will you shut up about being bored if I sing one song?" A hum and a nod from you give him his confirmation. "Shit…," he sighed under his breath. "Did you have a song in mind?"

"No," he groans quietly.

"Not a single one?"

"No," you shake your head. "Hadn't planned on you saying yes, so just pick one you like," He threw his hand up in what could only be exasperation.

"Fine, fine," he took a deep breath, looking about ready to start. "Do I have to do this?"

"If you want me to shut up," He whined under his breath.

"But-,"

"Stop stalling and you can get it over with," You lean forward to see his face, which is still beet red with embarrassment, but this time with pursed lips.

"Gah, fine," he huffed, defeated. With another deep breath, he began. "I can't get a hold, hold on myself, tossin' and turnin' and screaming' for help. So much to say, so many words, but sometimes, you're lookin' so good that it hurts,'' You blinked slowly, eyes slowly widening. He'd probably stop if you said anything, so you remain quiet and avert your eyes from his head, leaning your head in your open palm again as you listened to the song. It wasn't a very fast paced or high energy song, making it sort of soothing to listen to. Mixed with his strangely superb singing voice, it melded together into a calming melody that was slowly making you relax and be ready for a nap.

"I know I'm not right, I'm messed in the head, so hurt me, desert me, just leave me for dead. I'm thinkin' 'bout thinkin', now my sun is shrinking'. I know I can float, but I'm sinking' instead. I don't wanna lose you, glad that I knew you, don't wanna be in my own head," he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as you were, except he wasn't dozing off like you. As he neared the last few sound effect things that were in the song, you had closed your eyes, breathing slower. In your half asleep state, your brain registered that he had finished singing, but it didn't matter to you as you slipped into unconsciousness, willingly this time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She was out cold and he sighed in relief, leaning his head against the back of the seat. Never again. Never again will he sing like that for someone else. Too much pressure on him to make it sound good, even if he didn't give a flying fuck about her opinion of him. Her sleeping form made him realize just how tired he was and he yawned. He'd gotten a max of two hours the night before, and even then they were the suckiest two hours of his life. This just meant he needed to get to his next hotel set up. He pulled the car over again and pulled out his phone, scrolling through nearby hotels. The closest was two hours away. He groaned silently and checked the bookings for it anyway. There were also no double beds. Peachy. Just peachy. His bottom lid twitched before he smacked his forehead on the broken horn again, sighing heavily in exasperation. No doubt she was going to bitch, but he really didn't have a choice. He needed proper sleep and she'd have to deal. He booked one of the rooms and took a breath to recollect himself before shutting his phone off and stuffing it back in his pocket. If he was lucky this place would have booze or something, it would be great to have a nice bottle of whiskey or something when dealing with this woman. The drive was obviously quiet, her soft snores the only noise to drown out the sound of everything wrong with his truck. In the silence, his mind wandered, as it usually did, which led him to the question of what the hell was this woman's name. It had been on her name tag, probably, but that had been stained with blood and removed earlier that day. Damn, he didn't even know what it began with.

Regardless, he drove in complete silence. Fastest two hours of his life, if he was being honest. With how tired he was, the promise of a nice bed and possibly alcohol made him a little giddy. The parking lot of the hotel came into view and he cheered quietly.

"Yes!" he sighed in slight celebration, pulling into the lot and quickly finding a place to park. He shut the car off and got his pills and took two. He liked to call them 'normal pills' because they made him look, well, normal. Anyway, he climbed out of the car and walked to her side, opening the door and climbing up on the step. The button clicked once he pushed it, and the seatbelt came up to go back to it's weird resting position against the side of the cab. He scooped her up bridal style. He was going to have to sell the dating thing again, not wanting to risk the weird look his mind guaranteed would be sent his way. He shook his head, removing the thought from his mind and hopping off the step, using his shoulder to push the door closed. With a quick grip adjustment, he headed for the door, barely making it through the sliding doors, as he was too impatient to wait for them to open fully. He did the usual checking in process, the person at the front desk only glancing at the sleeping woman in his arms.

"Girlfriend?" They hum. He nodded. "Keep any noise you make tonight to yourselves,"

"What?"

"Be quiet," They clarified. He flushed up at what they had implied, and began to stammer over some of his words. They snort. "Calm yourself down boy," He swallowed.

"S-Sorry," They shake their head.

"Anyway, the pool is that way, the exercise room is right next to it, there's a bar over by the breakfast area. Pool hours are 9 AM - 11 PM, same with the exercise room. Bar is open from 7 PM - 6 AM," They hand him his key card. He nods a thank you and hurries to the stairs. It's more than a few floors up, but he didn't feel like going to find the elevator just yet. The woman stirred in her sleep, but he was too absorbed by his thoughts to notice.

"Jack?" He almost dropped her down the stairs in fright.

"Yeah?" he shook his head, resuming his climb.

"Where are we?"

"The next hotel,"

"Oh… what city are we in?"

"Only a fool would tell his hostage what city he's moved her to," he huffed. "And I am no fool," She grumbled.

"Dammit,"

"Don't pout about that, I've been fairly decent to you so far," She glanced up at him, brows furrowed.

"Yeah, but why?"

"You're more obedient when you're well taken care of,"

"Oh really? And what proof do you have for that?"

"You didn't tell that woman I had kidnapped you," he hummed.

"Because you were right next to me,"

"You've listened to my orders, more so when I'm not being violent,"

"I-,"

"You aren't resisting now, either, especially since you have the chance," That one was a test. He just told her she had a chance to escape. She remained still, cradled in his arms. "You aren't going to even try?"

"The stairs are really steep, I don't wanna risk falling," He nodded.

"Fair," He glanced down. "But I would fall too, wouldn't I?" More testing. He had to be sure she wouldnt run off on him if he had to leave her alone in the room for something.

"Just because you kidnapped me doesn't mean I want you to fall to your doom on a hotel staircase," she crossed her arms, huffing.

"Ok, Ok," he stopped talking. She continued to pout while he made his way up the rest of the stairs, onto their floor. Their room was at the end of the hall. He grunted as he shifted her onto one arm. She grew a bit flustered, probably because she was being held on one arm and that was kind of weird. He pulled the key card out of his pocket.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ok ok ok, yeah, he's pretty cute when he's 'normal' looking. But now he's holding you on one arm. He's fucking strong. Like, really strong. 'Lord give me strength,' You think to yourself. He slides the card into the slot and opens the door, shifting you back so he was using both arms to hold you. He walked in and threw you on the bed.

"Why- why is there only one bed?" you tilt your head.

"There weren't any double bed rooms available when I booked it,"

"So we'll be sleeping on the same bed?"

"I don't care if you sleep on the floor, or the bed, or even the bathtub," he shrugged.

"Bed sounds comfy,"

"Then sleep on the bed, I'm too tired to care," he flopped back first onto the bed, sighing in relief.

"What if we accidentally spoon though?"

"Oh nooo, physical contact, what ever will we dooo??" Sarcasm was evident.

"You know for a guy who panicked when I saw him singing you're awfully chill about straight up cuddling me," He shrugged.

"I'm tired, and tired me just does not give a shit," he rubbed his eyes. "Besides, human bodies are cooler than demon ones, you'd be like the cold side of a pillow,"

"What the fuck," He let out a strained laugh.

"Sorry," he sat up, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm gonna go get my stuff, you gotta promise to stay here,"

"I make no promises," you cross your arms.

"I could always lock you in the bathroom with no means of entertainment, or you can stay out here, in a decent, air conditioned room, with a tv. Your choice," You sigh.

"Fine," a quiet grumble leaves you.

"I'll bring the clothes and toiletries up first, so you can take a shower,"

"Are you saying I need one?"

"We both need one, I'm just saying yours will probably take longer," You mull it over.

"Fine," He gave a thumbs up and stood.

"I'll be back," He left the room. You sigh and crawl onto the bed fully, closing your eyes.

(Song is Alonely by Public)

(I also use this song as a voice claim for Jack)

(Here’s the link)

https://youtu.be/b-MsOr5LCHI

[brainstormingtattoos]

Are You On The Menu - Chapter 4

This chapter is kinda angsty but it gets super soft, promise! 

fic playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/missy325/playlist/1bXq1fWF8UciYpehSaITPa?si=eO5tlqNzSDm880mWfjPi_Q

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18291323/chapters/43930303

It’s been a few weeks of the boys’ normal back and forth. With each date, Eddie got more and more nervous. He had never been with another guy before and he’d never had sex with anyone. He couldn’t help but worry about when their heated make out sessions would turn into more. It wasn’t that he didn’t want it- because he really wanted to give Richie everything and make him feel good. The thing was, what if he wasn’t good? What if he didn’t know what to do?

This, of course, led to him throwing himself into his work at the café. Because if he was hard at work all day, when could he let down Richie? He decided to take open to close shifts every day, making sure he stayed after for ‘planning and organizing’. It was really starting to take a toll on him, and it had only been about 2 weeks.

 Richie noticed that he was more slow and the bags under his eyes were getting deeper and darker. He didn’t want to push, though. So he subtly dropped hints that he knew something was wrong and that he was there to help. He even offered to take a few hours behind the counter so Eddie could take a nap. Eddie always declined, but he couldn’t deny how endearing it felt that Richie cared. And on the days that Eddie really couldn’t function, he noticed Richie would stay in one of the seats near the door, keeping close eye on the sleepy barista. He even slipped little notes with doodles and cute messages to Eddie on those days. Richie made sure to never leave without giving Eddie a caring kiss on his forehead, trying his hardest to let him know it was all gonna be okay.

 ‘Y-you just need to t-talk to him Eddie. H-he’s probably worried y-you aren’t into him’ Bill knew exactly what his best friend was doing. Eddie had a habit of self-destructing every time he had something truly going for himself. It was something he had learned as a child; if he ruined things sooner, they couldn’t let him down- this way he’d have control. Bill hated seeing this and he’d always try to pull him out of it. But he knew this was the real deal, and he really had to fix this quickly.

 ‘It’s better this way Bill. You don’t get it.’ Eddie stubbornly replied, maneuvering behind the counter to scrub the same spot he’s been working at for the past hour. It wasn’t that simple. He knew he was wasting both his and Richie’s time pretending that he was going to be enough to satisfy him.

 ‘N-No. Stop being an idiot. G-go home. Get some sleep. F-fix this.’ Bill snatched the rag from Eddie’s hands. Looking into Eddie’s swollen eyes made him soften. ‘Please Eddie. I-I hate seeing you like this.’

 ‘Fine. But I’ll be back tomorrow. Bright and early.’ He grabbed his stuff, lingering behind as long as he could. He’d go home but he wasn’t going to sleep. There were plenty of things to do at home; clean the bathroom, try new recipes, scrub the windows. He couldn’t think about Richie right now. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, it just hurt too much.

 The second he got through the door he got a text from Richie. Just talked to Bill, said you went home. Can I come over? He stared at the text for a few seconds, trying to conjure up a worthy excuse. He slid his phone into his pocket and started getting ready for the night ahead of him. But he was only an hour in when he heard a heavy knock from his door.

 ‘Spaghett- It’s me! ‘Cmon open up I know you’re in there’

 He couldn’t ignore him any longer, so he opened the door.

 ‘Ah my Eds! How funny seeing you here!’ Richie immediately latched himself onto the boy, completely engulfing him into a hug. Eddie could feel himself grow a little less upset.

 ‘It’s my house, asshole. Why are you here?’ Eddie pulled away from the lingering touches, flinching at how empty he now felt.

 ‘Oh ‘cmon, can’t I just want see my boy?’ Richie reached down to caress his cheek, pinching it slightly before letting go. ‘Mkay, I was worried about ya. It’s okay if you don’t wanna talk, we can just sit and listen to music or something’ He looked around, searching for something to do. No one has ever said something like that to Eddie, and it almost took away all of his fear.

 ‘A uh- some movies? We can just watch some Netflix’ Eddie gestured to his bed, which looked like it hadn’t been made in weeks.

 ‘Now that’s what I’m talking about! ‘Cmere Eddie Bear’ Richie jumped onto the bed, making room for the smaller boy right next to him. Eddie hesitantly joined him, letting Richie pull him flush against him. He becomes so aware of how easily Richie is calming all the thoughts in his head without even trying. He thinks about how safe he feels right here protected by the boy he has been pushing away for too long. Richie smirks when he feels Eddie finally relax into his touch.

 Halfway through the movie, Eddie catches Richie’s attention with some sniffles. ‘Woah woah what’s wrong Eds?’ He turned to fully face the boy beside him.

 ‘Me- I’m what’s wrong. I’m scared ‘Chee’ Eddie tried to wipe his tears onto his shirt. The sight broke Richie’s heart.

 ‘What’s scary? Talk to me- take your time’ Richie tried to spew out every comforting phrase he could, as he pulled Eddie closer to him. ‘You’re not alone- I’m here- You’re okay’

 ‘I’m not en-ough for you’ The words came out in hiccups, and were slightly muffled since Eddie’s face was in the crook of the other boy’s neck. But Richie heard him just fine.

 ‘You’re what?’ Richie pulled them apart, lifting Eddie’s chin so they were face to face. He searched for an explanation on Eddie’s face while he collected himself.

 ‘I’ve never been with a boy before- okay? I’ve never been with someone I really liked this much. I don’t- I don’t wanna mess it up when you wanna go further and I’m not good enough’ Eddie looked defeated as he tried to look everywhere but Richie’s eyes. Richie dropped his hand from Eddie’s chin and grabbed his hands, bringing them up for a few small kisses. Earning a small giggle from him, Richie led the kisses up Eddie’s arm. ‘Rich stop- ‘cmon talk’ Eddie said between giggles.

 Richie shifted onto his knees, and brought his face inches away from Eddie’s. ‘You’re everything to be Eddie. Absolutely everything, okay? We could like- we could never do anything more than makeout and I’d be the happiest boy ever. Sex is just something we can do, alright? We don’t gotta do it right now or in the next year or ever. You make me happy and I wanna make you this happy, too. Please- Please don’t ever think you’re not enough. You’re everything.’ Eddie’s breath hitched at this. He wanted to reach his hands to the back of Richie’s neck and slam them into a long kiss, but he wasn’t sure he could move.

 Richie listened to the look in Eddie’s eyes and finally connected their lips. He brought Eddie into his lap to deepen the kiss. Eddie wrapped his legs around Richie’s waist and tangled his hands into the curls that had been begging for it all night. Richie hummed into Eddie’s mouth.

 After a few seconds he pulled away and brought his lips to Eddie’s cheeks, kissing away each and every tear left. He trailed to the boy’s ears, and down to his neck. Eddie whined in pleasure, squeezing his legs tighter. ‘I’ve got you baby, I’ve got you’ Richie whispered into Eddie’s neck.

 It didn’t go much further than that, but they were both content with the feelings. Richie slept over that night. He insisted that Eddie needed his sleep, and promised it’d be easier with him there. Despite this being correct, Richie just wanted to watch Eddie’s eyes flutter as he fell asleep. Soon enough, Richie fell asleep, too. Both boys were smooshed together chest to chest, legs entangled and all worries put to rest.

[justine-selby]

Renovation Rescue- Belfast edition: the IKEA play kitchen hack

Hello there! So you’ve heard about the IKEA play kitchen hack, awesome! For the sake of sharing my learnings, here is how I DIY’ed this renovation for my little love. A girlfriend had made one before me, so I knew how time intensive and laborious this was going to be... so it sat in the box for almost a year. I mentally prepared to do nothing but this in every nap time and bed time (my house was quite embarrassing during this 2.5 week project!). Alas, at last, here is a mini kitchen to match my big kitchen. I used the same paints that were used on my house and the same copper tones which we have as a theme throughout our home. My daughter absolutely loves her new play kitchen. If you’re about to take this journey on, good luck!  Step 1.  Sanding- make sure you have a firm grip ready before turning the power on.

Step 2: 

Cover the cook top with blue tape (I’ve left the plastic cover on the cook top and put tape around it). Spray the bits and bobs with plastic primer (2 coats- 24 hours between coats). Use the box which the kitchen comes in to prop up the handles etc. I used a screw driver to make the holes. Don’t forget to use a dust sheet underneath everything. I think the trick is to spray lightly, as I sprayed it on heavily and it didn’t adhere well. 

Step 3.

Primer coat of paint. I think I did 3 coats but I wish I’d done 2 to save time. 24 hours between coats. Then repeat with the topcoat paint. Other people paint everything first and then do the assembly once finished. As you can see I’ve done it the other way around to save space as I was in a shed not a garage.

Step 4.

Sand the kitchen top. For safety I always wore a dust mask, dusk goggles & latex gloves while working. 

Step 5.

Wood stain the kitchen top. I think I did four coats with 24 hours between layers. IKEA wood doesn’t absorb the stain like other wood does so do lots of sanding and really rub in the stain (using a sponge like this one).

Step 6.

More sanding and more spray painting onto plastic. My spray paint kept flaking off. It was very annoying! But I was determined to fix it so I kept redoing it. Once I had put the whole kitchen together, some spray paint flaked off one of the handles. I sprayed a little onto a nail polish brush to touch it up and it seems to have done the trick.  The door looks like it is made of cardboard not wood, which would be handy to know in case anyone reading this had planned on wood staining it. 

Step 7.

Blue tape and instead of sanding with a power tool, I’ve used a small sanding block. The point here is to just take the shine off so the primer can get a good grab. Primer x 2, top coat x 2 (I was getting impatient hence the 2 not 3 coats). 24 hours between coats.

Step 8. More sanding and more spraying... 

Step 9.

Assemble bottom half of kitchen. Drill 3 holes to make way for cute knobs which I purchased from Homebase. Everything else I had purchased from B&Q.

Step 10.

Woo! New knobs to function the oven. The tricky part was making sure they measured well before making holes. My father in law brought his drill over and made the holes. To make sure the knobs are in the right spot, turn them around and put the centre screw over your pencil marking. Try opening and closing the oven door to be sure they fit. 

Step 11. 

I was so over spray painting in the middle of the night by this point!

Step 12. 

Primer coats and top coats. Because both sides had to be painted, I painted both sides with the primer and leant the wood into the wall resting on blue tape. This was to save time. When it came time to do the top coats, I left 12 hours between coats and did one side at a time. I’ve propped the wood up on some of the cardboard packing materials which came with the kitchen. 

Step 13.

After attempting to use a hand saw to cut the ply wood for my back splash, I swiftly jumped into the car en route to B&Q. Jim (pictured) used a panel saw for free and cut it to size. They are open late which is awesome for mums and dads who find it a pain to run errands with their little ones. 

Step 14.

Back splash I’ve used a sponge to smoosh the wall paper onto my plywood (smooth side only- it will not adhere to the bumpy side). I found the sponge unnecessary, for a house yes get one, but for a play kitchen I think your hand or a tea towel is enough. I recommend finding an adhesive paper that sticks directly onto your backsplash (that’s what I though I had- doh). 

Step 15.

After my drill bit broke in half, I decided to use nails to install the back splash. 

Step 16.

I used the small IKEA nails.

Step 17.

I put three nails on the top and on both sides. If you were a professional you’d likely put a groove for the bottom of the ply wood to rest in place- not me :) 

Once the last nail was in, I think every muscle in my body took a sigh of relief. My wide grin wasn’t as flattering so I’m posting this pic instead :)  

Finished! Now my beautiful kitchen had to stay hidden for 5 days (some say 7 days is recommended). The reason is something to do with the paints settling in. 

Accessories I love the Melissa & Doug brand- my daughter loves to use them, I think because they are wooden and “real”. The food groups, crates and also the cleaning station is by Melissa & Doug. The tea set is also wooden and called the “Hape tea set for two”. The pasta supplies are wooden and felt- they were a gift so I’m not sure where they were from.  The kitchen utensils, pots and pans, and vegetables are IKEA. 

Notice the little foodie themed artworks on the left. One pictures an onion and the other a strawberry. 

One very happy and entertained little imagination learner! 

Beep! I should have put a button on the microwave. My daughter presses an imaginary button every time she uses it.

“ahh, wow, wow, wow, wow” - mission accomplished <3  

[sitkowskiryan]

secret keepers. dix-sept.

i'm a bit sad so here is another chapter with my daddy long legs (and daddy big dick) dallon <3

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

To say Olivia was upset about Tyler was an understatement. She sobbed as if someone had cut her foot off and refused to cooperate with the nurse who was trying to make her comfortable. She would only ask for Tyler and usually Josh would feel a bit upset that Olivia wasn't happy with just him, but he reminded himself that it wasn't just him anymore.

She had a second parent now and seemed rather upset that Tyler wasn't allowed back with her. Josh would be asking the actual doctor if it was possible to bring Tyler back here, even if it just meant so he could hold Olivia. She had practically cried herself hoarse and her face was puffy and Josh would rather break his foot then see her spend this entire time without Tyler.

Plus he didn't like the idea of his boyfriend sitting on in the waiting room by himself. He had been allowed to stay in the children's one, but that would not stop any of the drug addicts from messing with him if they really wanted to. No, he wanted his boyfriend back here with him.

Josh looked up at a knock on the door and smiled sheepishly as the doctor poked his head in with a soft smile.

"Olivia Dun?" The doctor asked, Josh nodding his head while the injured girl hid in his side. Josh rubbed her back, shushing her softly when she asked for Tyler once more.

"I'm Dr. Weekes," Josh leaned forward to shake his hand, "You got a nice set of lungs on you, young lady," Dr. Weekes joked, but Josh just blushed in embarrassment.

"My uh-partner wasn't allowed back and he makes her feel safe," Josh avoided mentioning that his daughter got attached to his boyfriend so fast because of her shitty mother. Dr. Weekes clicked his tongue before crouching to be eye-level with the five year old.

"Who is Papa, Olivia?" Josh watched as his daughter whimpered and simply ask for Tyler once more. Josh rubbed her back and looked at Dr. Weekes pleadingly. Tyler would make this a lot smoother for all of them.

"His name is Tyler and it would mean the world to me if I could go get him? All of this will go a lot more smoothly and I worry about him," Josh rambled, blushing when Dr. Weekes held up a hand to halt him. The tall man stepped out of the room and was back in no time.

"My head nurse is going to go get Tyler and in the mean time, can I take your temperature, doll?" Dr. Weekes asked gently, Olivia shyly nodding her head. Josh could tell that her crying was catching up with her and she would pass out soon. Dr. Weekes went about doing his check up. Before too long, a knock sounded on the door and Tyler entered, biting his lip nervously.

"Papa!" Olivia's small voice made Josh and Dallon jump, the girl already reaching for Tyler. The man chuckled softly and walked over towards Josh, letting the girl latch onto his fingers while his free hand reaching around behind Josh's head and tangled into his pink curls.

"I'm Dr. Weekes," the doctor introduced, not reaching for a handshake given the Duns' grips on Tyler. Josh had tangled his own fingers into the back of Tyler's shirt and held one of his belt loops tightly.

"Tyler Joseph," Tyler nodded, grateful that the doctor didn't make Tyler let go of his little family.

"Now let us take a look at that leg, okay Miss. Olivia?" Weekes carefully removed the skates, not even needing Josh or Tyler to point out which leg. Her right ankle was swollen and a leaning a bit to the left. Tyler winced, clutching Josh's head closer to him protectively out of instinct.

Dr. Weekes conducted a couple tests, some that had Josh growling when his daughter cried out in pain from the doctor's touch. Tyler tried to sooth his boyfriend, but he was just as upset.

"It is very likely a fracture by the looks of it, but we will not be sure without an x-ray," Weekes concluded, looking at the two men. Tyler nodded, Josh would have too if his face wasn't smooshed into Tyler's side by the grip the younger had on his hair.

"Since she is so young, we can get her up there now if you'd like, only one can come with her though and she'll have to go in the room by herself," Tyler looked down at Josh, knowing the obvious answer.

"Flower, who do you want to come with you?" Josh asked gently, the girl already reaching up for Tyler, non-verbally picking him. Josh smiled softly, patting his boyfriend's back and carefully standing up from the bed and letting Tyler take his place.

"You sure you don't wanna come up?" Tyler asked, feeling very new to this experience. Josh should be the one going not him.

"I'll be fine baby, need to call my parents and Hayley anyways," Tyler nodded, lifting his feet off the ground and pulling Olivia into his chest as they were wheeled out of the room. Josh watched them go, already pulling his phone out to call his parents.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"Hey man, I was wondering if I could get a wrap for my wrist? It kind of hurts." Josh had just finished talking to his mother on the phone, Tyler and Olivia still gone, and finally noticed the pain in his wrist. He figured the nurse wouldn't mind just giving him a wrap and he could figure out how to do it real quick. He had asked the head nurse after all, the one who had gone to get Tyler.

"Yeah, sure, Josh?" The pink haired man stiffened, coming face to face with a man he hadn't seen in almost four years. Brendon Urie. His ex-best friend...

"Shit man, how are you doing?" Brendon's smile was large, getting up to embrace Josh as if what had happened between them never happened. Then again, Brendon was probably doped up at the time and currently hopped up on the shit. Josh took a step back away from his hug and bit his lip at the sad look on Brendon's face. Brendon had been his best friend once upon a time.

"What are you doing in the hospital?" Brendon asked, eyes flickering over the list of names on his desk, most likely searching for Josh's and the reason why he was in the hospital. He didn't find Josh, but he found Olivia, which only made his eyes widen.

"Wait is O," Josh was quick to cut off Brendon.

"No. You don't get to call her that." He hissed, his fingers trembling and wrist aching even more. Brendon's face flashed with anger for a brief second before focusing back on the situation.

"Have you called Sarah?" Brendon asked, Josh growling slightly.

"No and I don't planned to. Sarah hasn't been Olivia's mother in a long time," Brendon's face fell at the words, anger morphing onto his face. Josh didn't care because he knew it was the truth.

"Doesn't matter, that is still Sarah's kid too and she deserves to know she is in the hospital." Brendon huffed at Josh, irritated because he wasn't getting his way. As always.

"That is my daughter and she doesn't need a crack head, abusive mother when she has two functional parents already," Josh spat, snatching the wrap from him and planning to go back to Olivia's room.

Brendon's hand latched onto Josh's arm and the pink haired man quickly flipped the grip, pressing his nails into Brendon's flesh causing the other man to let out a whimper. Josh noticed blue bruising along his wrist where his scrubs had risen up. Was Sarah hurting Brendon too?

"Two parents? You are dating someone?" Brendon questioned, yanking his wrist from Josh's grip and cradling his wrist against his chest, pulling the scrubs down over his arm once more.

"Yeah, now leave me - and my partner and child - alone," Josh said with a sense of finality, heading back to Olivia's room. He bumped into Dr. Weekes as he was leaving. The doctor updated him on how it went with the x-ray and MRI and quickly wrapped up Josh's wrist for him. Josh could feel Brendon's eyes on his back, but he ignored him and headed into the room. The lights were off and his two loves were curled up together on the bed, Olivia's foot elevated and simply wrapped for the time being.

Olivia herself was passed out, but Tyler was lightly dozing and had startled when Josh sat on the free side of the bed, wrapping his arm over Tyler's shoulder so Olivia was nestled between them.

"Left you alone for twenty minutes," Tyler mumbled, reaching over to tap Josh's wrapped left hand curiously. Josh smiled gently, leaning over to press a kiss to Tyler's forehead.

"Bit longer than that honey. Now take a nap, you look really tired," Tyler mumbled something under his breath before he too was out like a light. Josh sat in the dark, arms wrapped protectively around his family. He would not let anyone hurt Tyler or Olivia again. He would keep her safe this time.

Word Count: 1,547

 ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

i hope you like this <3 more drama coming soon! and maybe some smut?? but shush

what's your favorite color guys?

until next time,

stay alive sunshines <3

[my-autistic-things]

Top Surgery Post Op

Hey guys so this post is old and the original bit is under the keep reading.  I wanted to keep a record for myself mainly, but oh well!  Today is 9-5-18. As a quick update because I didn’t give any other updates since forever ago: 

-I’m still numb

-I still have swelling

-I still wear my binder, but it’s not uncomfortable anymore because there's nothing to smoosh

-My doctor said that I don’t have to wear my binder, but since there is still swelling it would be beneficial if I could continue to wear it

-I don’t wear my binder at night/at home, but when I go out I still always wear my binder just because I feel more comfortable with it on

--I feel better with my binder because 1, pressure stim! 2, I’m not flat.  While I look the same as any other chubby cis guy, I’m still uncomfortable and it will take a really long time for me to get to where I am comfortable to just wear a shirt

-My incision sites have healed to just a little dark pink lines (~1/2 inch) and the drainage tube holes have healed also to dark pink dots (honestly they are way more noticeable than the actual incisions)

Ok that's it!  I might remember to make another update, but probably not for a while.  Below is my recovery from day 0 if anyone is interested.

I wanted to make a super extensive post, but, I didn't. Now I'm going to summarize the key points if my recovery bc I still really want to keep record of it and share a timeline of when things happen.

If you're interested in my top surgery story illustrating the whole day of surgery, here is that post!

Day 0; Thursday, day of surgery:

When I came home from the hospital I just slept. My mom woke me up to take my meds (prescription pain killer and antibiotics) and then I went right back to sleep. I couldn't roll on to my side so sleeping was pretty miserable but I pulled up pillows so I was half sitting up which helped me get comfortable. The drains were super annoying and I was trying to be super careful with my chest, but, I was fine.

Day 1; Friday:

I have no idea what time I woke up or what time I took my naps, but I basically lived off of naps (I didn't sleep longer than 4 ish hours at a time). I didn't have overwhelming pain, but I definitely has surgery. I was nervous when draining the tubes of my drains bc you have to squeese out the tubes. I was scared that I was going to just pull the whole thing out. But I didn't! I think I pulled it a little once on Sunday, but they are about 1 1/2 inches in so it didnt come out at all.

I had my first post op scheduled doctor appointment at 11:00am. I recorded my drainage amount only that first day, then my doctor said I didn't have to again. Just make sure to drain them the night before my next appointment so he can see the amount when I come in to take out the tubes.

That was my first time I got to see my chest post op. Honestly, I looked exactly the same except bruised. There was SO MUCH SWELLING that I had about the same, if not even a little more boob. My doctor assured me that on the table I was completely flat and that everything was just swollen.

I was also cleared to shower! One day post op, and I could shower!

Day 2-4; Saturday-Monday:

I was draining such a small I was so happy. I didn't need to worry about dumping the drains every 12 hours exactly and actually only did it maybe once a day.

The Vicodin pain meds, I figured out, don't work at all on me. I ended up taking the oxycodone I was prescribed by the hospital instead of the Vicodin my doctor prescribed (there was a mix up and I got 2 meds for one surgery). Still, though, the oxy didn't help that much. I mainly was taking it because it made me high to forget the pain/ache and help me just sleep my way through my recovery. I still wasn't even taking it every 4 hours like I could have. Maybe like twice a day, 3 times at the most.

I showered once on Sunday because I felt like I should. I tied a string around my neck and clipped the drains to that so they wouldn't be hanging. It was weird and awkward to shower, but completely doable and having a break from the binder made my pain decrease.

Day 5; Tuesday:

I had my second post-op appointment. I think my drains drained like 1cc of fulid each side at the most. It was so minimal and I was so proud of myself haha. My doctor took the tubes out that day and I FINALLY felt like I was healing. I felt so free oh my God it was one of the most freeing experiences of my life!

Taking the tubes out didn't hurt a single bit. Like at all. I felt 0 pain whatsoever. Again, the tubes we're about 1 1/2 inches in, and there was one stich holding them in place. I was 100% numb around my chest for the most part so I barely felt my doctor's hands as he took the tube out. I heard people say getting the drains removed are sooooo painful, but idk their type of surgery and such so maybe only with lyposuction it doesn't hurt because it kills your nerves for a while?

Day 6-7; Wednesday and Thursday;

I felt so much more comfortable without the drains on. I could move so much more freely and almost all my sharp pain went away and only the dull (ish) ache of feeling like I'd been lyposuction was left. I stopped all the oxy on Wednesday, and only had some ibruprophen Wednesday and Thursday night. After that I was pain med free.

I had a gauze bandage over the drains and I didn't want to deal with changing it so I didn't shower (from Sunday) until Thursday afternoon. I felt like I should do my doctor a favor and showever before my Friday appointment. I showered, then changed my bandage into a bandaid because the holes werent draining anymore, just open.

The hospital medical surgery tape put iver my actual incision looked like it was coming off a bit in the shower and I was worried about that, but I left it alone and let it dry good and it still stuck on like it was never wet.

When I took of my shirt to take off my binder to take a shower. Oh my God! I glanced down slightly and this GIANT purple thing caught my eye. I still had my binder on so I didn't think it could have possibly been a bruise, but it was! It was around my hip (gravity sucked stuff down there) and it was about as big as my hand. With my hand over it, it was about 1/2 an inch shorter than my hand and a little bit wider. It was huge. Purple. And quite impressive. It didn't hurt at all, though, because it was just pooled old blood that was dragged down there instead of actually the place I was hurt.

Day 7; Friday:

I went to my doctor's appointment not knowing what was going to happen next. The drains were out and I didn't think I had stiches in my incision (bc of the tape) so I didn't really know what to expect.

Apparently I did have one stich in my incision, and the tape plus the stich was taken out. I was told not even to put a bandaid on and to take the bandaid off of the drain holes too.

The tape comming off hurt to be completly honest. I'm a baby when it comes to taking off baindaids and tape. I was 90% numb in that area, but it still had that feeling of pulling off sticky stuff like I was ripping my skin off. The stich came out with 0 pain. I was so surprised how thin the thread was. It looked thinner than sewing thread and it was blue which was cute. I finally got to see how big my actual incision was, and it was about 1 inch.

Day 8-13; Saturday to Thursday:

Idk, man, there's not much to say. I'm sure if I did this post and updated day by day I'd have stuff to say, but I don't. I have a fractured/severely bruised rib from the binder being so tight. Well, it's not exactly the binder, but the binder band. It hurts a lot, but I can't do anything about it anyways.

My giant bruise is getting lighter every day and everything is just healing and improving every day.

Day 14; Friday:

That's today! Well, same as the past week. Every day there's less pain and more movement ability. I didnt have much of a limitation of movement even one day post op, but I can still feel a difference. I can comfortably raise my arms above my head now and I was able to bend over to pick stuff up without much chest pain (I got joint and muscle pain anyways so it hurts, but not specifically because of top surgery lol)

I put on my old binder yesterday because the hospital one seems so loose and oh my God! How did I survive?!?! It's so tight! Even 2 weeks post op I'm shocked with how tight of a thing I wore semi comfortably before. To be fair, it was my tighter binder, but it was still not too much tighter than my normal everyday one.

I feel not compressed in my chest and Im worried that the binder isn't squishing my chest down enough. I need to keep my chest flat and squished so when it heals everything will be flat so my skin will shrink down flat instead of being baggy and like empty boobs.

~~~~~~~~

I'll try to keep this updated especially after my next appointment on Tuesday and then when I don't have to wear the binder anymore (in 2 weeks). Plus, if anything exciting happens of course I'll add that! I'll probably edit the post and reblog it so it's all together in one piece so if you see this post reblogged its been updated under the keep reading. Lies lol

[smartchicken]

Hi I show up every time you post which is haha, so funny, but I just wanna know if you've figured out that I'm a desperate bitch yet and if not, I'm a desperate bitch and I like your stuff. You're cool (also what're your thoughts on a road trip AU featuring young!Tony with a lot of trauma under his belt alongside honourably discharged Bucky who's forgotten how to live but they meet in the middle and it becomes a little easier to breathe)

-chokes-Oh manFirst off, i really would like to encourage people to just randomly describe themselves in my inbox.SECOND this is the first time I've replied to an ask with the mobile app and i don't understand why it's not automatically double spaced, it's really fucking with me, but I'm about as likely to do something about it as i am to tell my phone to auto-capitalize "i". I just Don't CareTHIRDLYROADTRIPokay first off I've had a very few good roadtrips and only one was "Long" (~18 hours) BUT i have great stories from those and now i am picturing not only a young Tony maybe on the run or just trying not to be home, and poor Bucky who got an honorable discharge but got fucked over because that's the American way, but all the avengers because the best roadtrip is when there's two cars and by about halfway through you're straight up enemiesSo like, car 1: Rhodey, Nat, Pepper, Bucky, and Tony. Car 2: Steve, Clint, Phil, and Sam. Because those are who i currently feel like giving a fuck about. Car 1 starts with a disadvantage because 5 people in one car always sucks but like, ride or die bitchesSo I'm sort of imagining this as BlackPepper combining their friendgroups in a fucking into the fire way like sink or swim love each other or else. Because it's that or awkward lunches for six months and they clearly don't have the time for that. I assume there is plotting going on because we all know it plotting redheads, but they probably lost control of the situation at one point because roadtripLike I'm imagining a college au so get in that mindset. I feel like Pepper immediately put her foot down about Tony, who's the only teenager there even though he acts like an old man. Pepper is just like okay Tony HAS to be with me or Rhodey at all times or I'll fuck everyone up Nat i stg i will kill your friends to death if they look strongly at my precious baby and Nat looks a this stubborn little asshole who is at once fearless and terrified and she's like, fair enoughBut Bucky, right? I know I'm a Tony fangirl but I'm not forgetting about Bucky. Cause Bucky went into the army at 18 and he came back three years later a different person. Steve didn't go with because a) he's a twiggy artist and b) Sarah would have murdered him after she destroyed the entire us military tbh. Bucky's a freshman, the only one in the group even though he's older than most of them. He's been back for like 6 months now and probably shouldn't even be dealing with college life but he's Bucky and lbr he's not gonna cut himself any slack. But by golly his friends love him and will absolutely fight everyone for him, even himself. So while Pepper's like "protect my son" Nat is like okay let's try to make sure Bucky's with Steve because they're kinda codependent but we're letting that happen for now because we have bigger fish to fry, but on the dl because currently Bucky won't admit to any issues under penalty of death.So day of the roadtrip. I dunno where they're going probably tourist shit they're just like get in the car we'll head for such and such and go from there. My only frame of reference here is Florida so I'm picturing them having to drive at least five hours before they have any reason to stop.Oh! Yes so first stop is gonna be a spring or river or some sort of water shitSoGetting ready to go is Hell they have to fit enough shit for nine people into two regular sized trunks. So they've gotta clean literally everything but the spare tire outta those("Fuck it, leave the tire," Clint suggests. He's packed all of a backpack and, incomprehensibly, his bow with three arrows and he's absolutely going to reek in about two days and probably didn't bring any shampoo or a toothbrush. It's probably like, a t-shirt, some boxers, and swim trunks. He'll wear the same shorts for a month he doesn't care. "If we get stuck on the side of tree road, I'll feed you to buzzards for sport," Pepper says pleasantly. She knows him a little better than most of Nat's friends because her and Clint half live together. They get along fine but Pepper progressed to threats much quicker than Clint is comfortable with. He thought about telling her it was hot but decided he liked his balls intact. "Just shove over the duffle," Bucky said. Tony's being quiet but he's got a toolkit packed in case anything goes wrong; there'll be no stuck-on-the-roadside on his watch. )So they get the trunks sorted and there's a couple bags in the backseats but it's good enough. Then Phil shows up (when did he leave???) and stuffs some blankets and pillows into both cars. "My family likes roadtrips," he says. His eyes are dead. Phil is not including himself in his family here. Phil tried to beg off but Pepper couldn't get Happy and Nat couldn't get Scott etc etc for various missing people and Phil agrees to come because, ultimately, these socially-challenged morons need a voice of reason and that's not Pepper or Nat OR Sam, no matter what they think(The truth is they're all reckless idiots and Phil's no exception but combined they can keep each other safe-ish or at least get in trouble together)((Tony didn't want to come either but more because he doesn't want to get underfoot. But Rhodey and Pepper made the mistake of trusting his "I'm fine" and leaving him alone for a few weeks at school exactly once. Pepper had hugged him and said "Pretty please?" and Tony's no good at turning down requests, especially from his few, beloved friends))(((Nat took a different approach with Bucky, who didn't want to come either. "If you don't come Steve won't come and then you'll have to say at Steve and Sam's wedding that it was delayed all because you skipped out on the best roadtrip ever.""It is going to be awful," Bucky said. Nat gave a particularly Russian shrug. Bucky sighed and gave in. He didn't exactly wanna spend a week in the dorms alone anyway.)))And then they really just wanna get going what the fuck guys it's already evening should we just wait til morning no fucking way shut your mouth we're going n o wPepper and Nat manage to be together, and they manage to pay Tony and Bucky special attention, as intended. But uh. Oops?It's Rhodey driving with Pepperi the passenger seat, mostly out of habit; they've done short road trips a lot at this point and it's always Rhodey driving to start, Pepper up front so Tony can nap in the backBut uhTony's in the middle in the back, with a pillow and a tablet in his lap. He's putting on a good show of being Totally Fine, but he's clearly tense. Bucky's smooshed against the door as much ash can, broadcasting discomfort like a cat in the rain. Nat leans against the door too, trying to be considerate, but Pepper starts texting her urgently( TOUCH HIM!!!!!hes so tense wtfNat I love you trust me and touch him a littleAnd Nat shifts over just a bit, so her legs are against Tony's, and for a second he freezes, and then he finally loses some of that tensionTOUCH STARVED?????? Nat texts Pepper, alarmed for this kid.His dad sucks, is Pepper's take, and Nat scowls and gets comfortable, pointedly touching Tony without pushing into his space.)MEANWHILE Phil is the odd man out but he's driving so it kinda works. Clint's in the passenger seat because Clint is a no good dirty cheater, and also has very stern, specific instructions from Nat. Steve and Sam are the most comfortable of the entire group, and within an hour they've got their feet a little tangled, not cuddling but not-not cuddling, and Steve's dosing a little cause he took a motion sickness thing and it always makes him a little sleepy"So Pepper seems terrifying," Clint says to Phil as an opener. They probably should've hung out at least a little before this because Pepper and Nat are the only things he can think of to talk about (and maybe it's not helping that Phil is weirdly hot and serious and he's seen him smile a couple times and he's trying to figure out how to see it up close but it turns out it's not hard cause right away Phil grins and chuckles a little and Clint thinks he's maybe having a heart attack)"So does Natasha. Or is it just Nat?""Sometimes it's Natalia," Clint says automatically, which isn't very helpful. "Uh. What are you studying?" Which is stupid and cliche but Phil manages to turn it into an actual conversation and in the backseat Sam's texting the whole thing to Bucky, who keeps sending back strings of emojis that aren't always sensible but like, Sam totally gets it. And then Sam gets a text of the top of a head of messy dark brown curls and a string of panicking emojis. There's a suspicious blushing emoji in there though and Sam snickers to himself. Steve wakes up with a little "hm?" which is too cute for words so Sam just passes him the phoneTony started off working on his tablet but he hasn't slept in...a while and he's been stressing about this but now he's in Rhodey's familiar car and Pepper's got classic rock going kinda quiet and Nat snuck her toes under his leg and he fights it for a while, but eventually he slumps over, and he doesn't even notice himself sliding towards the warmth that smells like machine oil and leather. Tony looks small and sweet and quiet and Bucky likes to watch him sometimes, when he can, even though he feels like a creep. It's just that Tony seems so alive in a way that Bucky can't really capture. Like he's so tired but so full of life and fire and maybe that's optimism he's not sure but he thinks it might be. Everyone always seems tired on campus, or young and stupid, or just so unrelatable. And it's not that he can relate to Tony so much as he wishes he could. Like watching the moon in the surface of a lake and being afraid of the ripples. Bucky slowly relaxes, lulled into it by Tony's quiet breathing, and Nat gives him a very obvious thumbs up, with a certain look in her eyes, and he catches Rhodey's eye in the rearview mirror, so he slides down a little, slowand quiet, tucks an arm around Tony and lets himself relax, puts down three phone and stares out the windowThey stop at an all-night walmart when Clint suddenly realizes they don't have SUPPLIESWATER SUPPLIES!!!Bucky and Tony go in, with Clint and Phil, to get Supplies, while everyone else stretches their legs or texts demands for snacks.They grab a bunch of stuff, everything that looks even mildly amusing, Tony sleep-fuzzy and relaxed from it, and in line him and Clint attack each other with pool noodles, earning a few glares from other shoppers, but they're laughing too!much to care. There's not really room in the cars for everything but they make it work and they're all wide awake then, everyone chattering for the last two hours before they realize they should've arrived by now and then Rhodey stops (he was the one leading) and there's dogs barking and they're in a trailer park andPhil calls him just to ask, "What the fuck Rhodes."They all get out their phones and they're yelling directions at Rhodey and they're lucky he loves them because seriously they deserve death at this point. They pull up to the park at 5am when they should've been there at, oh, 1 or so no one's sure how they got so turned around but they made it yaaayAnd then "Fuck," Pepper says. "Tents."And that's where I'm leaving this for now cause I'm tired of typing on mobile but tbh i wanna write a college roadtrip now. I'm just imagining a lot of cuddles at this point everyone gets maximum hugs plz. Also i can't tag this??? So thanks mobile