#I wasn't even going to update this for a while but ZAMN

[darwinquark]

The weight of her isolation pressed into the slopes of her shoulders. She’d never realized how few friends she’d actually made since she moved to Riverdale—or at least, how few friends she’d made that she could consistently count on. Aside from Betty and Archie, her relationships with people were shifting and mercurial, conditional upon what the latest headline in the paper was, on what new scandal pitted who against who.

Hell, even her relationships with Betty and Archie could be like that.

Her heartbeat slid up a steady incline as she scrolled further and further down her recent texts, more convinced of her inevitable murder with every passing second, until her gaze snagged on an unexpected name.

The thread was two weeks old.

They hadn’t talked since. She’d barely seen him at school and he’d seemingly stopped coming into the diner.

She bit the inside of her cheek—could she wake him up in the middle of the night for help? They weren’t really those kind of friends. In fact, she wasn’t even sure they were friends at—

BANG.

She hit ‘call’ before she could even blink.

+ + +

Jughead was greeted by two fierce hands grabbing him by the lapels of his Serpents jacket and yanking him through the backdoor of Pop’s.

“Jesus, Veroni—”

“Shhh,” she hissed, shoving the door shut behind him and sliding the deadbolt into place. She leaned forward to peer between the blinds, shadowed frame practically vibrating with paranoia, and for a second he wondered if all the chaos and murder had finally made her lose it.

It was bound to flip someone.

Cheryl didn’t count since she was apeshit to begin with.

After a few seconds, she whipped back around to look at him. “Did you see anything out there?”

“Yeah. Trees. Stars.” Her stare was sharp and unblinking. “A few lizards, so watch out.”

all those fp/hermione jeronica gifs have ya girl in a writing tizzy - chapter dos of those kind of friends is officially in progress and iiiiit’s a fun one 😏

[mazuwii]

Chapter 7 || Stolkhom

Reiner x reader

Previous chapter

Warnings: age regression and violence

Authors note: so sorry for the late update, I got a new tablet and zamn I hit art block so hard it made me a little sad, but here’s the chapter, I’m going to work on the eighth straight away.

Y/n's first paycheck came in after a while. And although she originally needed to pay for a private doctor, she spent the money to buy a gift for Reiner's birthday. Before his memory got damaged, he used to love pottery, or even just crafting something with little Mihai so she had an idea of what to get him.

After the continuous tragedies, his breakdowns began to slowly die down, the nightmares never stopped but at least he was making healthy progress.

"Reiner." She called. Her arm weighed down with the basket of apples she freshly picked. The blond man hand an armful as he mindlessly followed her back to their visible home. "Did you have fun today?" She asked when he caught up.

Reiner enthusiastically nodded. He appreciated her taking care of him and giving him a roof to live under but he did crave some special time with her, a few games or even just helping her out with mundane things since Y/n works almost all week.

"I picked a lot!" He burst joyfully. "I can tell, maybe I should have gotten a second basket."

"It's fine, I can carry a lot."

Y/n fondly laughed at him and leaned over to kiss his cheek, "I'm grateful."

Once they got back inside, Y/n set the basket down on the table and Reiner emptied his arms to reveal slightly badder ones. They seemed to have small defects in them but Y/n didn't say anything since he looked so proud of himself.

"Right, you go wash up, I'll get started." She shooed him off and washed the apples, picking only her ones and leaving his in the basket.

Once Reiner came back with washed hands, she sat him down with her, 2 apples with him and 3 with hers, all 5 peeled by her. She trusted Reiner but she didn't want him cutting himself by accident.

So he had a butter knife and she held the sharp one.

Regardless of helping her out with cooking, he was having a lot of fun. His eyes lingered on hers as she carefully cut naked apple cubes.

"I can see you, you know?" She said, "what is it?"

"Which apples are these?" he shyly asked. "Yours, they were much better for the job." Lying through her teeth suddenly seemed worth it when he gave her the biggest grin ever. His face lit up like an excited puppy.

"I told you I'd be a great help!"

"And you were right."

That evening, Y/n had finished baking and organised her room, the one she shared with Reiner. He stopped sleeping in the room meant for Mihai and stuck to hers. It just randomly happened, when he followed her to her room and mimicked her as she got into bed. She didn't question it and fell asleep. In fact, she kind of liked it.

He had made their bedroom into his own habitat, by hanging scribbly drawings of her and Reiner in a frame and around the room. At least, in his mind, he was thinking of happy parts of his life. Because somewhere in there, was a thin fragment of Mihai.

He awoke before she did one day. And when Y/n woke up, she noticed him staring accusingly up at the ceiling. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the glow of the thick curtains. Her hand held his side, averting his attention toward her.

"Good morning." His voice came out gruff. "What's going on up there?" Y/n lazily smiled at him. "Nothing much, I just had a dream," he kissed her forehead and sighed through his nostrils, "I saw my younger self but I had... different eyes and my hair."

Y/n was delighted to hear the news, as the boy he described wasn't himself, it was his son. She nuzzled herself closer to his neck. "In fact... my eyes were kind of like yours." He said in fond memory, that he traced patterns along her waist.

"Are you sure that the boy was you?" She teased.

Reiner stopped talking for a second and took himself back to the first day he arrived and the picture book of the family and friends. "Little monster..." he recalled.

"That's right. Or... as you called him, bumblebee."

"Where is bumblebee?" He panicked,  "Did the people hurt him too!?"-

"Shh, shh, no of course not, he's safe with Pieck and Zeke right now and he'll come live with us when everything gets better."

"Isn't everything already good?"

"It is... but I just... I just don't want him to stress over us." She propped herself up on her elbow to directly face him. "Everything will get better soon, I'm working towards it

Reiner could feel a sense of pride swell up in his chest at the thought of him being a father. He couldn't fathom that he was given such a big responsibility, it confirmed that Y/n thought of him as a big boy and depended on him. That was all he ever wanted, for someone to look at him like that.

"I believe you.”

Y/n smiled at the drawings and adorable framed paintings at the memory. She adjusted it on her bed side table before going to check on the oven, since the pie they made might've been ready by now.

"Reiner, go wash up." He nodded at her order and intently rubbed soap onto his palm, for a good minute.

≈≈≈

Mihai was told to not pack much, since there was a small chance this was the moment he'd be taken in. Pieck held the excited golden puppy in her arms as Zeke started the car. He was smaller even in comparison to Mihai.

The boy was securely buckled in his seat, the puppy in his arms as Pieck left him to go to the front seat with Zeke. Today felt unreal, like a fever dream. The little boy still couldn't fathom the fact that he was going to finally see his mother and father and could only pray that nothing gets in the way of the journey.

It began to rain mid-way, while Mihai was mindlessly stroking the sleeping puppy. With the loud yet relaxing sound of the pattering rain, Zeke and Pieck having a boring conversation. In Mihai's opinion, it was the perfect ambience for a nap. And as his eyelids slowly got heavier he could only wish he'd have moments like these more often except with his mum and dad.

By the time he woke up, the surroundings had changed. All of a sudden, he was no longer on a bumpy road surrounded by ugly food stalls and rubbish-filled streets, rather, he was in the countryside. The more the car drove the more he could make out horse farms and dozens of sheep occupied behind spacey gates.

The puppy was no longer in his arms, more so in Pieck's lap. His was covered in a small tartan blanket that was originally Pieck's scarf.

"Uncle Zeke..." he yawned and rubbed his eyes, "are we there yet?"

"A bit more till we arrive."

≈≈≈

"Are you sure?"

The blond nodded in response, his usually energised eyes were sulking in fatigue. Reiner had finished playing in the garden and came back feeling sleepy, even though today was a special day. His birthday.

"Right... but I'm going to wake you up in a bit," she ruffled his soft hair. He lazily grinned. "Okay."

"Y/n, are you sure you won't sleep with me?" He pouted with the teddy bear wrapped around his arms. Y/n figured out earlier on that he used her perfume to spray it all over and caught him red-handed. "It's for when you leave me." He reassured, "for work, I mean."

"I wish I could honey, but I have some things to do." She rubbed his cheek. He whimpered at the warmth lulling him to sleep. Y/n continued to perform caresses on him until after his eyes closed and his chest rose up and down in comfort.

She got up and prepared everything for when he'd wake up. The small decorations, the cake and candles, everything else took up her entire afternoon and by the time she was finished, the sun was set, leaving only an orange tip and a beautiful yet dark sky.

By this time, Reiner was still fast asleep. All she could do was stare at the descending sun from her kitchen window. However, something moving in the background caught her eye. A car. Specifically, Zeke's.

But what were they doing here?

As the car doors open and shut, Y/n made her way to the front. Half excited and scared.

The second she opened the door a small body lunged at her legs, arms tight around her thighs. Y/n let a soft gasp escape her lips at the sight of her tearful son. "Mihai!"

She lowered herself to his level and securely hugged him to her body, the blond boy's cries muffled against her chest. It had been too long since she's been able to finally hold him, to take in his clean scent.  "I missed you so much." She mumbled against his shoulder and planted a kiss on it.

"Mummy..." Y/n scooped him up onto her hip and hoisted herself back up to properly face the adults while Mihai nestled himself in the crook of her neck. He didn't know this was how he'd react to seeing his own mother again, but he couldn't help the overwhelming joy the second he got even a peek of home.

"You guys..." her eyes trailed down to the excited little creature in Pieck's arms. A golden retriever puppy happily wagging its tail at the sight in front of him. Y/n awed at it yet wordlessly moved aside to let the two in.

"We got your letters, hopefully, everything calmed down."

The door shut behind them, "Yeah. Thankfully, I think I'm almost financially stable for a private doctor." She smiled as she expressed the good news, the two visibly relaxed at her joy, they hadn't seen her make such a face the last time they had seen her.

With the boy in her arms, they all sat around in the living room. Y/n had made them tea and left Mihai to play with the puppy in the extra space connected to the living room.

"So," She said as she set the tray down, "What's with the dog?"

"Oh. It's a gift."

Y/n almost choked on her tea, giving them questioning looks. "Well, it is Reiners birthday... and we figured you could use the extra company."

"Yes but that little guy must have cost so much..."

"We used the money you sent us. Y/n why would you?" Pieck sighed, "You know that Mihai is not a burden on us." Zeke agreed, "We love having him around."

"Yes, but- I just feel like an awful mother." Y/n's eyes wandered to the little boy giggling at the puppy pouncing on top and licking him. "Leaving him like that."

"Oh come on Y/n, you were only trying to protect him." Pieck took her hand between hers. "You won't have to keep him away for any more time, Zeke found a doctor." She turned to the bearded man.

Adjudging his glasses, he smugly cleared his throat, "Correct, though he isn't cheap, he's the cheapest I could find."

Y/n's chest rose in anticipation, knowing he wasn't joking but still wondering if this was a dream. She could jump in Zeke's arms and kiss him all over but she stuck with a relieved grin. "Thank you, guys! Really!" She shakily exhaled. Pieck rubbed her back with a kind smile. "Take it easy, yeah?"

Before Y/n could reassure her, the room door creaked as it widened to the sleepy man. Zeke and Pieck gazed in shock. His oversized sweater messily hung low and his short blond her was dishevelled. "Y/n... what's going on?" He yawned. 

Just as she would respond, Mihai's attention snapped towards the voice, his heart pumping at the sight. He couldn't contain himself as he sprinted towards him, leaping onto him. "PA!"

Y/n gaped in horror, making a mental prediction of what could go down. Pieck held her arm out in front of the woman and shook her head as if to tell her to calm down and see.

Reiner stared in confusion at the boy wrapped around his torso and neck, unsure as to how he jumped so high. He gently took Mihai from his armpits and held him up to his face, as if scanning him. It was the boy from the dream, he looked exactly like him! Reiner could only think back to what Y/n told him.

Mihai stared at his father with pride, as if he couldn't sense a change in him at all, at least the man he used to know would spin him around and kiss his face all over if he hadn't seen him for that long. Alas, he was just glad to see him.

"Bumblebee?" He finally spoke. Mihai's heart exploded at the name, his eyes flashing with joy. "Yes!" he gently kicked his dangling legs in excitement. Reiner didn't know what it was but his stomach twisted in joy at the sound of this boy's voice, taking him back to a time he wished he could remember.

Gently, he lowered the boy to his chest and hugged him tight, eyes closed and lips curled in happiness. "Hi." he mumbled against him. Mihai let out a small giggle of joy and wrapped his arms around his father's neck. Finally, he could see that he was alright, that there was no reason for his mother to cry, or for him to keep himself up at night wondering if his father had lost body parts, contracted a incurable disease- or even died!

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