#I’m bad at reading people so I might have just missed at the signs of him being actually angry

[nightcrawlerzincorporated]

“Charlie left so suddenly without saying goodbye, he must have been pissed off!”

Haven’t you ever been at a party or social event especially for work and the “I must be home right now or I will die” instinct hits so you just leave? The ol’ Irish Goodbye? The Nurodivergent Shuffle? My social battery is completely drained so I’m yeeting myself immediately?

[moonstruckme]

Apple pie with spencer read and qn airport terminal qt midnight

Thanks for requesting!

cw: mention of bad eating habits, mentioned unease around germs

Spencer Reid x fem!reader ♡ 729 words

“Spence.” Your voice is soft, your fingers combing through his hair even softer. Spencer’s head rests heavy on your shoulder. You shield his eyes from the harsh lights with a hand, hoping to rouse him gently. “Honey, wake up.” 

Spencer’s eyebrows furrow. Or, one does, the other already squished towards furrowing by the way it’s laying on your shoulder. You hate to wake him—Spencer tends to have a hard time relaxing at airports, what with all the germs—but your window to get something to eat is closing. 

“Aren’t you hungry?” you ask him, coaxing. 

“No,” he mumbles, but he’s blinking awake, looking up at you with soft, sleepy brown eyes. “Are you?”

You give him a sheepish smile. “A little. Sorry, do you mind if I get up to go look for something? Everything’s closing.” 

“No, don’t be sorry. I’m sorry I almost made you miss dinner.” Spencer sits up, stretching his neck. He pushes his shoulders back lazily, and you can hear his bones crackle. “I’ll go with you.”  

You protest half-heartedly but ultimately capitulate, picking up the heavy backpack before he can and leaving your boyfriend to tow the suitcase. At this time the airport is near empty, the only people to be seen the sad band of vagabonds sitting at your gate waiting for your plane to arrive. You’ve been delayed two hours by the weather. Spencer will have to wake up four hours from when you get home to go to work, you only a half hour later.

You realize as you walk that you may be too late. While the websites you’d checked had said their airport locations would be open until midnight, the employees are already cleaning out machines, wiping down counters, pulling metal gates closed over their entrances. 

Spencer makes a worried oh sound, realizing the same thing.

“There’s an Auntie Anne’s down there,” you say hopefully, starting to walk faster in case they’re closing, too. That glowing yellow sign is your light at the end of the tunnel.

Spencer speeds up with you, but protests, “A pretzel isn’t a meal, sweetheart.” 

“It might be my only option,” you point out. “Also, I saw you eat a bag of salt and vinegar chips for dinner last week. You don’t get to talk.” 

You hear a soft, slightly petulant huff behind you. You might give him shit for it if you weren’t in a rush. 

You try to order as quickly as possible, feeling guilty for making the employee serve you just before close. But then the cup is in your hand, warm and smelling of cinnamon, and you think you probably would have vaulted the counter to get it yourself had she refused you. It’s heavenly. 

You wait until you get back to the gate to start eating, wanting to savor every bite. When you do, you have to close your eyes, forcibly smothering a moan. They’re everything you wanted and more. You shovel them into your mouth faster than is probably safe and definitely faster than anyone’s mother would approve of, and it’s not until you’re more than halfway done that you notice Spencer’s stare.

You give him a wry look. “So now you’re hungry?” 

“What?” He looks startled. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re practically drooling.” 

“No, I’m not,” he says, though you notice him tighten his lips as though checking to be sure. 

You sigh, holding them out to him. “It’s okay. Have some.” 

“No.” Spencer frowns with his eyebrows. “They’re yours.” 

“It’s seriously okay,” you say, more genuinely this time. “I’d hate for you to miss out. They’re really good.” 

He can only resist temptation for so long. He takes one, and his reaction is nearly the same as yours had been, expression going soft at the perfect, delicious warmth of them. 

“In exchange,” you suggest as he reaches for more, “can I take a turn napping on your shoulder for a while?” 

“Yeah, of course,” says Spencer, managing to sound smitten even though a mouthful of cinnamon pretzel bites. He settles back in his chair, trying to give you as comfortable a pillow as possible. 

“Thanks.” You sigh through your nose as you lay your head down, pulling your legs up onto the chair with you and closing your eyes. “I can’t believe we have to go to work tomorrow morning.” 

“This morning,” Spencer corrects you. 

You groan. 

[mitfloya]

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐙𝐚𝐲𝐧𝐞

pairings. Zayne x gn!reader

wc. 7K (yes, I like to torture myself)

synopsis. He was believed to be devoid of emotions, until you unveils his chilling secret. His hidden obsession with you has ensnared you in his icy sanctuary. You were blind to his fixation until it was too late, and now you find yourself trapped in his clutches, unable to escape.

warnings. The following content contains elements of obsessive behavior, yandere thoughts, stalking, possessive behavior, and may include poorly written narratives. Reader is referred to as 'you'. Proceed with caution, as this writing may be unsettling or uncomfortable for some individuals.

a/n. Hello people of the internet! I’m pretty new on this writing community so I hope I bring you guys some good crumbs to munch on! and excuse my horrible grammatical errors, English is not my first language. I may or may not have spend my time throwing up this whole ass detailed (press x to doubt) HC out of my mind, I tend to go overboard with my analysis and writing. Get some snacks and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy making this HC.

p.s. this is a reupload ver. the original of the post is accidently deleted

♡ Please reblog and comment on this post are much, much appreciated ♡

Ah…the ice king himself, known for his emotional detachment and seemingly heartless demeanor. His motives and intentions remain shrouded in mystery, as he builds impenetrable walls around himself. Yet, somehow, you managed to slip through those barriers, like a delicate flower pushing through the cracks in concrete, planting the seed of love without his knowledge.

Does he act upon it? Certainly not at first. He ignores it. Pretend that is was merely a sign you were someone he tolerated.

His acts of kindness are always subtle and unexpected. He treats you in a way that evokes certain reactions.

At first, he might seem out of reach. But you never know that he is always there for you. Always observing and studying your responses.

As you both transition into adulthood, he becomes your primary physician, a role that only intensifies his growing obsession with you. He never considered himself capable of falling in love at first sight, but his feelings for you gradually took root. He is always there with you, from childhood and in adulthood. Fate must have bestowed him with great luck to be your guardian, the one who monitors your health and controls your existence.

The time when you both went on your separate ways before you met again, he feels a void, a sense that something is missing. Maybe you meant more than he thought. The loss of you kills him. But does this heavy feeling affect his daily activities? no.

The thought of not knowing about your health and safety gnaws at him, like a splinter lodged in his mind. Have you eaten yet? Did you eat enough? Did you get enough sleep? Did you stumble upon an accident? Just a single scratch of wound on your skin would infuriate him.

You, on the other hand, dismiss it as the instinctual concern of a physician, and your own health condition made it even more difficult for him to let you go. You were far too precious to be released or, worse, left alone and broken.

Even when you’re away on your mission, he always ask about your being and whereabouts. He just wanted to know how you’re doing and it shows how much he cares for you, not monitoring you! That’s ridiculous, right?

However, whenever you were around him, you never felt like you were in control of your own bodily autonomy. Maybe you’re seeing things but have you realize how much you’re changing your lifestyle?

Zayne intelligence is no joke. You were far too naive to look back over your shoulder to notice he is manipulating you. He wants you to be completely dependent on him. But is it really that bad? After all, he was providing you with a healthier lifestyle, not to mention preserving your beauty. Or so it seemed.

Oh, but when you became his, everything changed. He became more open, more loving and caring, the kind that makes you melt to the ground and swallow you whole. Always attentive to your needs and wants, he has no problem with you buying expensive items, the money isn’t his concern. Your happiness is.

His actions become more evident, sometimes you notice it in the way he always makes sure you’re fully geared up and energized for the day, or the way he tries his best to brighten up your day in rainy days.

And when the time came for you to move in together, almost imperceptibly, it felt natural, that’s when he brings the real authenticity of himself, the carnal desire to claim over you starts to show.

He adorned you with the finest fabrics, adorned you with the most exquisite gems and jewelry that accentuated your beauty without overshadowing it. He always gives you the best and never less.

No one would question how many pictures he has of you around the house, as they simply depicted a man deeply in love with his partner…wait, you don’t remember taking this picture..how did he get this picture? 

Caleb gives it to him. As always he has answers to everything, it makes you think he is expecting that kind of question, which is an odd behavior.

Even the windowsill display those seals and trinkets he has given you over the years, customized to your liking.

You saw it as a preservation of memories and the time he had spent with you, when it’s clearly a growing sign of obsession with the abundance of things of your own possessions, or things that reminded him of you were around the house, to the dark corners of his secret room you were unaware of. 

You don’t realize you were brainwashed, did you? Or maybe because he is telling the truth from the start, he loves you very much and his actions serve as undeniable proof!

Until you try to resist or argue with him. It would be best for you to stay obedient and let him lead, he is the man in the relationship, you are his good girl, right? He never wants to hurt you, he is doing it for the better sake of you.

You learned your lesson when you got your first punishment. Each mistake or letdown adds a droplet, gradually increasing the intensity. When the glass finally overflows, it serves as a stark warning to never hurt or disappoint him.

Your life revolves around him. You want to buy groceries? Wait until he finish work. You want to go to the park? Let’s go together and don’t forget your coat, he doesn’t want you to get cold. You want to have some time alone outside? Sure.

Ah, the innocence of those early stages of dating, when the idea of tracking your partner's whereabouts seemed endearing. Little did you know that innocent app you stumbled upon on a social media platform would become the chains that bind you. In the beginning, it seemed like a cute way to track the distance between you and your partner.

That app, like a digital spider's web, silently weaves its threads around your every move. From the moment you installed it, it became his watchful eye, tracking your every step, monitoring your every move.

How naive and compliant you are, unknowingly making it easier for him to watch over you. 

He doesn’t react much when a guy approaches you, no one will be brave enough, because you will always stay glued to his side. He often uses his sharp tongue to highlight their flaws and insecurities. Give them a judgmental stare at the guy as if he was nothing and brings nothing good in life like a mosquito.

Resorting to violence or criminal acts were never his first choice to get rid of those pesky nuisances, his jealousy always remains hidden and possibly close to nonexistent.

Because he knows, you will always comes running back to him. Even if you manage to slip from his grasp, he holds the power to reclaim you, by any means necessary. In dire circumstances, he does not hesitate to resort to violence, to eliminate anyone who dares to steal you away. He doesn't care if he has to hurt you or isolate you, nobody could ever love you like he did. 

Once you are married and start a family together, your life will be forever intertwined with his. That's the end of you or maybe a better version of you that you never envisioned or hoped for, nevertheless it was all because of your love for Zayne that you willingly let him take control, it’s the best life you could ever live in, right?

You will never leave out of his sight forever.

© 2024 mitfloya — all rights reserved. kindly refrain from altering, translating, or repost my works on any platform without my consent, do not claim my content as yours.

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

Hi lovely, how are you? Is it possible i request something with immense amounts of ✨fluff✨(with any character you feel like writing for because I love everyone tbh)? Like, i need it these past two weeks were absolutely terrible and now i can barely breathe because it feels like im being stabbed in my left side every inhale/movement. Anyway I hope you're doing great 🩷🩷🩷🩷

I apologize that it had taken me so long but still hope this makes your day even a little bit better.

The library

“And this is the library”, Helion muttered under his breath. If only his friends would see him now. He was a mess. Had been. Ever since you walked through the door of the sanctuary, seeking a safe place to stay now that Autumn had been filled with unease and rebellious anger. Yes, he had servants that usually showed every guest around. But there was something about you. And he had been so utterly lonely. Stuck between these white walls.

You let out a gasp as you stepped in. The high shelves hugged everyone's wall. Lush greenery fell from the arrangements in the middle. It felt as if you had stepped into a dream. “You said you liked books during our lunch yesterday”, Helion gently guided you deeper into the room, “So, I thought you would like to see it”. You shook your head slightly, “This is.. magical. I don’t think I have words to describe it”.

A sense of pride bloomed deep within Helion’s chest, “I’ve never let anyone into my private library before”. You turned to face him quickly, “This isn’t the library your court is known for?”, the lord simply shook his head as you gapped at him. you had head stories. You knew that the high lord took pride in his collection but you didn’t know he had a part of that tucked somewhere away just for him. “Why would you take me here?”, you asked only afterward realizing how silly and almost rude the question sounded.

Yes, he had been nothing but kind to you. Yes, he had gone out of his way to ensure that you were safe and comfortable. But he was the high lord and you were just an ordinary from a foreign court. “I won’t be able to repay you for…”, you breathed out and something so sad washed over the high lord’s face. “Do you think I’m doing all this to get something out of you?”, he asked quietly. He was known for his reputation. The flirting. The passion he carried into his relationships. But through the weeks with him, you hadn’t caught a single sign that would lead you to believe that he wasn’t genuine with you.

“I apologize if I came across as desperate”, Helion frowned slightly. “Oh, no! Mother above, I would never think that”, you breathed out, a wave of fear washing over you. “It’s just… bad experience from the past. Autumn isn’t the sweetest of places”, you admitted. Helion nodded in agreement, “It just felt like light calling to light when I saw you”, he breathed out.

“Made me realize that I do not have people close to me, people I like spending time with”, your eyes softened at his words as you reached out for his hand. “I loved getting to know you, Helion. You’ve shown me nothing but kindness”, you smiled up at him. He mirrored your face before turning to the little table, “I picked these for you”, he pulled out a couple of well-loved copies, “Thought you might want to read them and we could talk about them. But only if you want of course”, he said and you could swear his cheeks pinked ever so slightly.

You bit your lip, “Are these by any chance your favorite?”, you asked brushing your fingers over the cracked spines. “Yeah, I’m almost certain that one of them is missing a page or two”, you both churched slightly at his confirmation.

“Well, then I would be delighted to read them”, your eyes met his once more, and the happiness that radiated from Helion was impossible to miss. But he quickly arranged his emotions, opting for a nod. “Maybe after I am back from my work trip we could meet here”, he muttered. You stepped closer, standing on your tippy toes as you pressed a gentle kiss on his cheek, “Yeah, I’ll be looking forward to it”, you breathed, feeling your cheeks heating.

[kitthepurplepotato]

Chapter 8 - Fooling Around with Pro Hero Deku?!

(18+ but half of it can be read by everyone!)

Summary: Sharing a hot tub with the person you love the most can go two ways; it can get really emotional or really hot. This one was both.

Important note: This chapter has 18+ parts but there is a note written in red when the cheekyness starts and then there is a green note where it ends. The chapter has some important information and plot so please read the “safe” bits even if you skip the “action”. Thank you!

Warnings: Sexual content, swear words

First Chapter Master List

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“Are you ready to have a splash with me?” Izuku mutters cheekily as he leads you towards his car. Your whole face becomes a big flashing red sign.

“Your mom is still watching.” You giggle to yourself, as you wave to Izuku’s family for the last time before you sit into Izuku’s badass sports car to be taken home.

“Mom would be thrilled about my evening plans, she’s been bugging me to do something fun for ages.” Deku answers like he’s talking about the weather and not about you two getting naked in a hot tub like two random characters in a bad Hollywood movie.

“You are surprisingly chill about this.” You mumble with your face still red. Izuku only giggles at that.

“Well, we have a common changing room in the agency and it was the same in UA, so I’m not… well, a lot of people had seen me naked. I’m also in a lot of underwear ads. I have no reason to be ashamed of my body as you’ve seen the most of it already. I’m just excited to share this intimate moment with you, get to know you a bit more… yeah. I’m just happy to spend some time with you. I know I’m not the most perfect person body-wise, I have a lot of scars and a lot of freckles and most of them were photoshopped out of the pictures, but I know you won’t judge me. I trust you.” Izuku smiles as he turns right with perfect precision. “Okay, that’s a lie, I am a little bit ashamed and a tiny bit worried, I mean, I have a lot of freckles on my bum and…”

“Oh my god, Izu! Shut the fuck up!” You yell, mortified, but also, somehow amused. Honestly, Izuku having a freckled bum was one of your head canons so you are more than happy to hear it’s actually true; back when you accidentally took a peak at him from your window you didn’t have time to actually access his bits and bobs properly, plus it would’ve been inappropriate to do so back then so you missed this tiny detail.

“Your freckled bum sounds adorable.” You mutter under your nose with a mischievous smile.

“Yeah?” He mutters back, face red as a lobster. “Okay, now I’m a little bit nervous.”

You can’t help but giggle at that.

“You are so cute.”

~•🥦•~

“So how do you want to do this?” You mumble under your nose with a tiny blush on your face. Izuku’s smile is so full of fondness it makes your heart flutter in your chest; he looks so fucking innocent right now, wrapped in a massive All Might towel like a big burrito while you are still in your clothes, way too ashamed to take them off yet.

“Well… maybe you should get in first. I won’t peek!” He sits up straight, like a good schoolboy. “Then you close your eyes and I come in too. Then we can decide on the rest later. The hot tub makes a lot of bubbles so we won’t see anything unless we want to. Which is fine by me by the way. If you… want to look.” You are not the only one shying away from this now but Izuku tries his best to keep himself determined. You both want to get closer to each other, that’s true, but even as an adult, getting naked in front of someone for the first time is always a bit… well… awkward.

And okay, fuck’s sake, Midoriya Izuku looks like a fucking Greek god, while you are literally a nicely shaped potato. It’s not just about being awkward, it’s about the massive difference between you two. You don’t have a six pack. You don’t have nicely sculpted body, you are just… normal. Not bad, not ugly, but nothing compared to Izuku’s perfect body.

Fuck, you are stressing over nothing. He doesn’t care about that. He never did. You are being stupid…

“Sweets, we don’t need to do this if you are not ready.” Izuku grabs your hand, his finger drawing circles on your skin, his eyes full of worry.

“It’s not that, Izu. I just want… I want you to like me. But you work with all those heroes and they all look so…”

“Stop that. Right now.” Izuku reprimands, his eyes dark and protective. “You don’t know how much I…” He shakes his head to clear his thoughts and the darkness from his eyes. “I thought about you… so much. Every time I touch you, I try to imagine how you look like under all the layers and I think I have a slight idea already… this sounds so creepy but isn’t it normal? Thinking about this stuff when you love someone? Wanting to see them without all the covers, see them raw so you can love every single flaw, every single detail just as much as you love their soul?” Izuku’s hand makes it’s way to your waist, then under your shirt, caressing your side, moving his thumb over your soft skin, mapping out the area with nothing but wonder in his sparkly eyes. “I’m obsessed with you, Sweet Pea. I’ve always been. From the first time I saw you. I’m even obsessed with the way you sleep, with the way you draw, I love your shapes I love your colors… I love you.”

“Izu…” Your whole face is red. His words, his touches… they are scorching hot, they make you burn with desire, the flames licking at your skin as his fingers wander around your sides. You put your hand on his under your shirt and his movement stutters; he looks at you with nothing but worry, like he did something wrong but it’s actually quite the opposite; you move his hand to the middle of your chest to make him feel your heart thudding like a maniac, just after those few words. “This is what you do to me. Can you feel it?”

Izuku only nods, his fingers splayed out completely, assessing, studying the undiscovered area. His touch feels amazing, like tiny sparks of lighting going through your veins with every minuscule motion. The tips of his fingers aren’t soft, they are full of callouses, rough and broken, but they are Izuku’s so it still feels pleasant.

“Can I… ask you for a favor, Sweet Pea?” Izuku mutters, eyes full with want.

“Anything, love.” You whisper, completely entranced.

“Today… I only want to see you. And touch you. Get to know you. Nothing else.” He admits. “If I go too far, can you stop me? Even if… even if it’s good, even if it’s okay with you… I always wanted to do this. To just… be vulnerable with someone, be naked and enjoy each others company without uhm… ending up in the bed. I know it sounds weird, but…”

“No, I understand. I will stop you. But only because you asked me to.” You admit, not able to keep eye contact with him. Damn, it’s not going to be easy to say no when he looks at you with eyes this hungry but if this is what he wants…

“Can you start now? Because I’m really struggling.” Izuku giggles while he nuzzles your tummy. You both start laughing like two idiots while your hand finds its way into Izuku’s curls to play around. It’s not that his words doesn’t uhm… make you feel things but he said that with such an adorable tone you just can’t stop smiling.

“You close your eyes, calm down, then see you in the hot tub, yeah?”

“How am I supposed to calm down when I know what you’re about to do?!” Izuku legitimately whines into your face, his voice needy and so so honest it makes your heart hurt. He’s finally himself right now, just him being a silly and a uhm… horny nerd, not the hero, not the famous guy from the headboards, just Izuku, the young geek from the neighborhood. You absolutely love when Izuku goes all unhinged because it’s so fucking rare to see him like that.

Maybe, after this, he will be able to be like this more and more until all his insecurities fade away completely - That’s what you think about as you shed your clothes right by the hot tub, leaving the clothing nicely folded on the bench next to it.

Okay. You can do this. You have your towel in an arms length, in case you feel like it’s too much. By the look of it, Izuku won’t be able to see too much while the hot tub is on, the bubbles are way too frequent for him to take a good look.

You just need to sit in and wait for your godly boyfriend to join you and make sure he doesn’t… uhm… do anything he doesn’t really want to as per his instructions. Easy.

“I’m coming in!” Izuku announces himself, still in his All Might towel. He makes his way over with big, confident steps but stutters as he takes in the sight in front of him; your naked body hidden by nothing but the bubbles, your arms around your naked chest for extra safety, cheeks ruddy from embarrassment. Izuku swallows hard, his whole face red as he comes closer and sits down on the side of the hot tub, still in his towel. “Hi, Sweets.” Izuku drops his eyes to the floor with a shy smile on his face. He pops his legs into the water, splashing around like a child.

“Hi.” You mutter with a tiny smile. “Want to join me?” You reach out for him, but Izuku starts muttering random, incoherent stuff, clearly about to combust and you can’t help but laugh at that, all your embarrassment gone just from the sight of him.

“Uhm, yeah, I will, I swear I will it’s just uhm… you are… naked… and pretty and uhm… I don’t think I thought this through, oh my god…”

“Izu, just come in. It’s too late to run away now.” You giggle, forcing him to take your hand.

“Stop pulling me!” Izuku yells, his eyes terrified. Did you just attempt to pull the guy into the water? Yes, you just did. “Let me put my towel down, oh my god, Y/N!” Izuku stumbles and falls into the tub, water splashing all over, the sound of it louder than the happy giggles coming from you. “How will I get out now?! I have no towel, Sweets!!!” Izuku yelps, his voice high pitched, his face facing the other way out of embarrassment.

“We can share mine…” You purr into his ear while you snake your arms around his waist to pull him closer. Your breasts bounce back a bit as you push yourself into his back and you swear you can see smoke coming out of Izuku’s ears.

“Sweets, your… your bosom… is touching my back.” Izuku mutters as the blood explodes out of his nose, like in those stupid animes.

“I thought you want to get to know me better…” you mutter back, a little bit embarrassed now that the adrenaline is wearing off. “Sorry, I’ll stop bullying you.” You finally give the poor guy some peace. Izuku takes a deep breath and before you have time to get a good look at his beautiful back muscles, this absolute maniac tears the towel off himself under the water, and throws it to the other side of the garden, almost down into the street.

“Well, I wanted to show you my tattoo properly without flashing anything you don’t want to see yet, but now you missed your chance to see it.” Izuku grumbles with a red face, fake-offended.

“I don’t mind seeing your peachy ass, Izu.” You tease him but apparently, it doesn’t work anymore; Izuku only rolls his eyes with a fond smile on his face.

“Are you sure you can handle the sight? Even Kacchan admitted that my ass is juicy. I’m quite sure Calvin Klein likes my ass more than they like my personality.” The green head sighs. He’s in a sassy mood. You absolutely adore Izuku in a sassy mood. “They have all those fancy suits and shirts and cool trousers yet all I get is underwear. I’m offended.”

“Are you trying to show off, love?” You snicker, slowly sneaking closer your boyfriend, hoping for a cheeky cuddle. He doesn’t lean towards you yet, probably still a bit shy, but that’s fine.

“Maybe? I mean my butt is probably the only part of me that’s not full of scars…” Izuku looks away with eyes full of sadness. You hate when he does that, but you’ll make sure to change his way of seeing himself as soon as you can.

“I love your scars though.” You caress the massive scar around Izuku’s elbow; it’s the biggest one of them all, sprawled through half of his arm. It’s the one he got when he was only 14 years old. “One day, I want you to tell me the story behind all of them while I kiss them all. That’s one of my dreams, really. To do that. I want to kiss your insecurities away because you are the most beautiful human being in the whole wide word, Midoriya Izuku.” You stretch yourself to give your favorite person a kiss, absolutely unaware that your boobs are out of the water now.

(Warning: mention of nipples, boob touching)

Izuku yelps into your kiss and covers them with his hand right away; again, silly mistake, because just as his rough palm touches your sensitive nipple you can’t help but make a surprised noise, something between a moan and a yelp. Izuku moves his hand away with a high pitched “sorry” but you are not having any of that; you take his hand into yours and put them back where they were. “You can touch. If you want. You wanted to get to know my body, so… just… do it.” You stutter, half terrified and half… well… excited.

I mean, fucking Midoriya Izuku, your favorite hero is fondling your fucking boobies in a hot tub, of course you are excited, who wouldn’t be?

“Oh…Kay… thank you, Sweet Pea. I’ll be careful.” The tension in the air is… well… there is uhm… tension. Okay, where did your brain go?! Hello?! Words?! What’s going on?! Who is this?! Where are you?! Why is it so hot in here?!

(You okay to read along for a bit.)

“You okay, love?” Suddenly, Izuku’s hand leaves your chest and caresses your cheek; he pushes some stray hairs out of your face with a gentle smile on his face.

“I think I got overexcited and left this universe for a second, sorry.” You admit sheepishly. “You know, I’m kinda sharing a hot tub with pro hero Deku and we are both naked… my fangirl self is yelling in my head.”

Izuku next laugh is so free and careless it makes your heart melt completely.

“What does your fangirl-self want to do about it?” Izuku teases you back. You can’t help but yelp at how stupid your last sentence was.

“Nothing! Really! Nothing! I’m okay like this! Chilling in the hot tub!” You whine, red faced.

“You want to touch me? Want to feel me up, Baby?” Izuku’s face is right by your ears, his voice deep and husky, his shenanigans followed by a cheeky, innocent giggle.

“Stop teasing me, Mr. Perfect Muscles!” You full on yell into Izuku’s face now, absolutely mortified. He can’t just grumble into your ears like that, even as a joke! Oh my god, that went straight to places where nothing was supposed to go today. That’s just not fair.

“Sorry, I’ll stop. I swear.” Izuku giggles. “Except if you don’t want me too, my favorite little fangirl.” He grumbles again, making a flirty face which looks absolutely like Hawks’s.

“That’s how you wanna play this game, hot stuff? Take this, you flirty little chicken.” Your arms reach towards Izuku’s armpits. He doesn’t have time to defend himself before you start to tickle him menacingly, right where it tickles the most.

“Chicken?! Sweets, stop… haha… oh my god, stop… haha… please I beg you I’m sorry!” Izuku laughs, his eyes pleading but you are on a mission here; you need to show Izuku who wears the pants here! “Okay, if… haha… you don’t stop, I’ll stop… haha… you myself.” Izuku grabs your waist and sends you flying in the air; now needless to say the nerd didn’t think this action through at all because first of all, THIS IS TOO FUCKING HIGH, and second of all… well. You are still naked.

It takes Izuku a few seconds to realize his mistake and he catches you as quickly as he can, even with his eyes closed out of respect; he puts you in his lap, and mumbles sorry then takes a deep breath to calm himself down.

“Stupid nerd…” you grumble, your red face hidden in the crook of his neck. You try to make yourself comfortable, but Izuku puts his hands on your shoulders, his face just as red as yours.

“Sweets, don’t move… I made a mistake.” He mutters; he makes such a constipated face you can barely stop yourself from laughing.

“What…” Something twitches right under your… uhm… well… that. “Oh.”

Warning: 18+ for a bit, scroll down to the green writing to continue, there are important bits there!

“Sorry…”

“No, it’s fine, I’ll…” You try to carefully move away but the friction is just enough for the both of you to feel the pleasure of it. You’ll never forget Izuku’s face when your folds touched his half-hard member; his eyes are dark and clouded, almost watery and he’s biting his lips to not make a sound, to not show how much he liked it, but it’s all in vein; his face says it all as he can’t stop looking into your eyes, he can’t stop drinking the sight in front of him, he grabs your waist to stop you from moving away too far, desperate to feel you, desperate to be touched… “Izu…” You whisper as your body slowly goes back to its original place, right on top of Izuku’s laying member. “You don’t want this, remember?” You mutter into his mouth as you leave open mouthed kisses on his lips. His grips gets stronger, his restraint so close to snapping, but Izuku fights against the urges, even as another wave of pleasure goes through his spine when you straddle the hero’s hips and sit back down.

“I love you. I respect you. You are my everything, Sweet Pea. I would die for you.” You are not sure if Izuku is even conscious by the way he mutters nonsense into your ear; his hips snap forward, the length of his member shimming between your folds without any kind of penetration but the feelings of something so soft yet hard rubbing against your core makes you moan out loud; you look up at your boyfriend, into his eyes full of tears and terror and you stop your movements completely; something is wrong, something is not right, something is…

“Izuku, it’s fine. We don’t need to do anything. But we can also just… uhm… do this? It feels nice, isn’t it? It’s okay to want to feel nice, Izuku. It’s not a sin to have desires. I love you. And I want to see your face all scrunched up from how good it feels. I want to make you happy.” You try to smile at him, your hand caressing his cheeks to soothe him.

“This is so dirty, Sweets. You deserve better than this. I want to cherish you. I want to earn this. I want…” You can’t help but sigh at that. It’s a sweet thought but it’s also so silly; you don’t feel like you are being used for pleasure right now, it’s actually quite the opposite; this position is so intimate, so special, it’s just you and him surrounded by nothing but warmth, holding into each other, loving each other, helping each other to wind down after a stressful week…

“Izuku, what part of this is dirty to you? We love each other, don’t we? Is it a sin to feel each other? To enjoy this closeness? Do I look offended? Look into my eyes and tell me what you see.” You try your best to ignore his twitching member laying under you for a second to prove your point.

“Well, your pupils are really wide. Your eyes shine really beautifully. Your cheeks are flushed. Your lips look really tasty… I mean healthy. You look really beautiful. I love you.” He stares into your eyes like you are the one who hung the starts in the sky. You absolutely love the way he looks at you right now, it actually makes you believe this is real, not just a fleeting dream you are having every night to get away from the reality. You might be a creative person but you would never be able to come up with such a beautiful piece of art as Izuku’s face is right now.

“That’s… not what I asked.” You giggle into his neck shyly. “Can you tell me why you think this is wrong? I want to understand you.” You stop your shenanigans, trying your best to not touch in those places, but even without realizing it, Izuku pushes you right back. You decide not to comment on it and to school your face when the pleasure hits you.

“It’s… it’s dirty. You are so pure, so perfect, I… I don’t want to ruin this with my filthy desires. You are so much more than that to me. I don’t want to use you…” Izuku mutters while his hands caress your sides soothingly, the touch full of love and care.

Green zone, also, this bit is important.

“Izu, do you want to tell me what happened to you… before me?” You move your hand to the man’s cheeks, slowly caressing his ruddy cheek to calm him down a bit. Izuku visibly tenses at the mention, but sighs into the space between you, his muscles relaxing once more. Izuku has a lot of freckles on his shoulders, probably from the sunny weather and it makes his bulky figure loose it’s menacing edge; he’s just a boy, a young guy, lost in his own head, lost in his memories, a young guy full of insecurities etched into his heart by someone in the past who certainly does not matter anymore.

“There was one person. A person I thought I loved but… I don’t think I did. She certainly didn’t love me but it took me months to realize that. Everyone knew, everyone tried to tell me but I didn’t listen. I was too happy to feel needed, to not be a “Deku” for once.” Izuku tenses again so you decide to hug him tight, or as tight as you can hug a person sitting in a hot tub. You touch in a lot of places, but it doesn’t make you feel desire anymore; Izuku’s mental health is so much more important than a few minutes of pleasure. “I’ve always been a bit behind when it came to anything sexual, I was too focused on my hero work, on my notes, on my research to even think about uhm… trying stuff, even alone. This person… didn’t care about me feeling this way and I was too scared to say no but even though it felt nice I felt… dirty. I felt used. I felt like that but I still did it, every time she asked me to but with every single time I hated myself more and more for being so weird about this and she started to make me feel small and useless after a while and it wasn’t just about sex, it was about everything; my clothes, my scars, my body; my legs being too muscly, my freckles, my hair, I was too soft, too boyish…” Needless to say you are halfway between yelling and crying your heart out as you listen to his story. “It took me several months and Katsuki’s constant begging for me to finally realize she doesn’t love me, she just loves the money and my name. I was nothing but a stepping stone for her. We had an ugly break up. She said a lot of things I will never forget. It took me a long time to even be able to look into the mirror without frowning. I thought I’ll die alone. Then you came into my life.” Izuku pushes you a bit further so he can look into your teary eyes with nothing but love. “You turned my life upside down in the best way possible. I still have insecurities, clearly but… they are fading away. You are healing me. Thank you.” Izuku leaves a tiny kiss on your lips and pulls you closer once again, his body flush against yours.

“So what we just… did… well, almost… reminded you of this? I’m sorry for being so pushy… I didn’t mean any harm, Izu…” You finally let go of your tears, let yourself be the vulnerable one.

“No… I mean yes but it’s not your fault. I thought I am being the one using you this time, not the other way around. I see how stupid I was now that my head is clear. I’m sorry for ruining our hot tub date.” Izuku mutters into your hair while his arms tighten around your middle.

“You didn’t ruin anything, love.” You smile. “We got to know each other, didn’t we? We even played around a little bit and it was really nice. You told me something important. I learnt something new. It was a good date, Izu.”

“I don’t deserve you.” Izuku plays with your hair with a lovesick gaze in his eyes, his hips moving just a tiny bit under you.

“Oh, you do. You are perfect. Just what I always wanted.” You mumble into his hair, enjoying the way his curls tickle your cheek.

“I mean, I am the hero you are obsessed with…” Izuku teases, finally back to his old self.

“Hey! That’s not what I meant at all and you know that!” You giggle into his hair then move to his ear to give it a little, reprimanding bite.

“Sweets, uhm…” Izu pushes you away again to look at you. “How… much did I ruin the mood? Would you be uhm… interested in continuing?”

The look Izuku gives you while he says that goes right to your… well.

“Are you sure? We don’t need to. I can wait.” You try to reassure him but Izuku only shakes his head at that.

“Haha, I think… I think I want to fool around with the person I love the most. It’s my off-day. I can do whatever I want.” He says giddily, moving you down again. This time, you don’t try to fake nonchalance.

Warning: 18+ until the end, sexual content, (NO penetration), I don’t know how to tag this?!

“Uhm.” Izuku swallows around nothing, his face scrunched from pleasure already. You move your hips tentatively, shimmy yourself to the side of his length and for the first time since you two have been together, Izuku makes the sweetest voice, high pitched and so-so hot it makes you feel things down there, way past the pleasure of the friction. You try it again, and again, the movement more and more deliberate; your folds hug the length of him as you move from the tip to the end, without penetration, just you massaging his member by moving back and forth on the skin, giving yourself pleasure just as much as you give pleasure to him. “Sweets… that feels really good…” Izuku moves his hips up to help with the friction and you can’t help but choke on your next words, not even sure what they were supposed to be in the first place. “Is it nice for you too, love?

Ahh, Izuku is a guy who needs reassurance and talks a lot. You are not surprised by this revelation.

“Really nice, I love how close I am to you. Can we sleep naked tonight?”

Izuku only giggles at that which becomes a moan as he snaps his hips up again.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea but I can sleep in my underwear again?” You make another move, and another and another, getting closer and closer to your climax with every slide. “Can you sleep without a shirt? I loved the feeling of your… uhm… bouncy bits.” Izuku gets redder and redder as the time goes by, his movements under you careful, soft and so-so loving it hurts your heart. Your hands are in Izuku’s hair now, the curls bouncy under your palm. It might be only your imagination but you swear there are tiny, green sparkles around Midoriya, they look like the sparks of One For All acting out from all the pleasure Izuku’s getting from your shenanigans. You decide to move a bit quicker, with less hesitance, chasing your own sparks that erupt inside you with every move and every touch.

“You can touch them if you want.” You mumble, absolutely out of it and Izuku indeed goes for it; he moves his head towards your chest, leaves tiny kisses around your breast, then pops your bud into his mouth, only for a second and you see stars right away; your grip on his hair tightens and Izuku moans into your breast, needy and impatient as he snaps himself up again, chasing his climax while his mouth wanders from your chest to your neck then up to your lips. The kiss you get next is nothing like the ones you’ve got before; this one is scorching hot, dripping from desire, needy but somehow so full of emotions and unsaid words - Izuku talks to you even when he’s not, every movement full of words he’s too shy to say.

“We should stop, I’m gonna…” Izuku pants into your ear and licks into it, the smallest of moans coming out of his mouth as his movements become more sporadic. It’s absolutely ridiculous how you didn’t even really do anything yet it feels like the best sex you’ve ever had in your life.

“Too late.” You whine, your words followed by a deep kiss and that’s when it hits you; something snaps inside you, makes you feel cold and hot at the same time, your moan muffled by Izuku’s mouth; it takes Izuku a few seconds to understand what just happened and it doesn’t take him long to follow; one look at your blissed out face was all he needed to come, his grip tight on your sides as he comes down from his high together with you.

“This is the cheekiest thing I’ve ever done, Sweets.” Izuku pants with a massive, shit-eating grin on his face. You’ll never forget his blissed out face. Never. Fucking hell, you would absolutely be thrilled to have a second round like… right now. The pink cheeks, the half-lidded eyes, the sparks dancing around his whole body, even under water…

“Do you want to hear something even cheekier?” You whisper into his ear, barely able to conceal your giggles.

“Tell me.”

“We need to clean the whole hot tub. Today.” You finally let your laugh out and Izuku snorts.

“Worth it.”

“Absolutely.”

Spoiler: Both of you almost change your mind about that after cleaning the fucking hot tub for two whole hours.

… Next Chapter!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Potato ramble:

- Honestly? I have no idea how this happened but it felt so right for these two that I decided to keep it even if it feels a bit cringe. Izuku definitely have some issues to sort out, but we love him.

- Also, I didn’t forget about the secret room! I have it planned in already but the reveal is going to happen in the last plot!

- I hope you enjoyed this part, please send me your thoughts! 🥦

TL: @garfieldthomas @porusuniverse @stickygumchewer @sixxze @mily-moo @aei-sedai-moiraine @aymasakusa @katsuari @kenzie-deadly @shiviwrites07 @lukerycyja-reblogs @cloroxisadelectabletreat @coffeent @kisskissshutmydoor @bobcar1 @yazminetrahan @cringefan @ronimacaroni77 @thekookiecorner @dangerousluv1 @emperatris-rinaka @shotos-angelic-whore @angelsdemonsmonsters @norvacaine @rei165 @unofficialmuilover @yao-ai

[johannestevans]

Peace in the New World

Short fiction. Moshe and Yosl discuss life after work. 

2k, rated T. Two Jews talking over tea in late 19th century USA. Bonding over poverty, philosophy, old trauma, that sort of thing. 

CW for mentions of past abuse, although oblique. Adapted from a TweetFic. 

On Patreon / / On Medium.

---

Yosl worked these days down by the docks – he was a very big man, muscular, with very strong hands, and he looks like a dockworker. He never looked out of place amongst them when Moshe saw him at the dockside or walking with the other big, burly men about the streets.

When they’d taken him on as a lodger, he’d been a little nervous of him, had thought he might be brash or a lush, but Sprintze had said that that some of the other dockworkers’ wives spoke well of him, that he was kind, respectful, and Sprintze’s judgement was always good.

He’d still scarcely been able to believe it the first evening he’d come home from his own work and seen him sitting at the table in their small living room, working so delicately with his big hands. He had been the son of a bookbinder, had worked alongside him in his shop before coming to America, and he took on little jobs here and there.

With a lot of time dedicated to his craft and a great care taken with his pens, he wrote out astonishingly beautiful calligraphy on good cardstock, and it took Moshe’s breath away sometimes to glance over at the work he was doing, the art he was creating.

He wrote out fine wedding invitations or little decorative cards, wrote out poems or sections of the Torah, and alongside the fine and lovely lettering, he could draw small etchings, would occasionally add in elements of gold or silver filigree, or splashes of colour.

“Do you miss it?” Moshe asked one evening.

They had been sitting in companionable silence for a little over an hour, Esther already laid down to sleep – she’d been struggling with bad dreams of late, and Sprintze was in with her, perhaps reading or sewing if she wasn’t asleep herself, no matter that it was so early.

“Miss what?” Yosl asked without looking up from his work.

“What it was like,” Moshe said. “The Old Country. You had different work there, work like this, creating beauty. You didn’t have to live as a lodger.”

“No, I lived in a sprawling library from one hill to the other,” said Moshe dryly, and Yosl laughed, looking down into his evening drink and shaking his head.

“I’m not disparaging your work at the docks, I’m sorry if it—”

“No, it’s not disparaging,” Yosl said. “This is fine, educated work, more respectable than hauling cargo at the docks – but work there’s little call for here in America, not enough to fund a man’s life or account for a family. Why shouldn’t I miss the comfort or respect my old life might have offered me?”

“Do you?”

“Sometimes,” Yosl said. “But my father dying, I could not stand it, to live there, in the grief, in the shadows he left behind him. I respect the things he taught me, the skills he carried with me – I carry on his legacy when I do these little things here and there – but to step into his shoes, to take on the whole shop for myself? For people to think of the sign as being my name, and not his?” He shook his sadly, setting aside his pen. “I could not stand it. The Sefer Hasidism warns us against wearing the shoes of the dead – would I not be filling his shoes, to take his place? His memory haunted me, not as an unclean or cruel spirit, but just as so much grief.”

Moshe exhaled, leaning forward and looking at the other man properly as he rested his hands on his belly. “I’m sorry I asked.”

“No, don’t be sorry,” Yosl said, giving him a small, sad smile. “It’s good for a man to speak on his grief to another, I think – my father was a great man, principled, studied. It is that I loved him so much that I could not stand to live in the shadow of his loss. And in any case, as a practical concern, the time a bookbinder can make a living even in Poland, I feel that time is soon at an end.”

“Perhaps,” Moshe said. “It’s beautiful work, what you do, but slow, old. There is not much care for that here in America.”

“No,” Yosl said. “The New World, they call it, but it’s not just here, is it? The whole world is changing – evolving, developing. The old ways, too slow, too old-fashioned, too high-strung, too buttoned-up.”

“People are impatient, demand more speed, more haste, more rush. Why not more beauty?” Moshe asked, and Yosl chuckled.

“One for the rabbi, I think, not for me,” he said, and Moshe laughed as well. “Your father, does he live?”

“No, but we had a great deal of forewarning before his death, he’d been a very ill man,” Moshe murmured, rubbing his knuckles through his beard. “It doesn’t make the loss of him easier to bear, I feel the emptiness he left behind sometimes, the shadow of him, as you say, but at least it wasn’t sudden. We had time to grieve him while he was alive, I suppose you might say – and to share in it with him, which I think brought a little solace.” He felt a twinge of old guilt, as he did from time to time. “Does that sound awful, involving a man in our grief for him?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Yosl said. “What is grief but love at its end? How can it be anything but a privilege to share in it?”

“You’re a very soothing man, you know,” said Moshe. “As good as Reb Levinson.”

“But my mouth doesn’t dimple when I smile like his does,” Yosl pointed out, and they both laughed, taking care to keep it quiet so that the sound didn’t carry.

As Yosl picked up his card and blotted it, setting it aside to dry, Moshe said, “Sprintze said you’ve been teaching Esther. I wanted to thank you.”

“No need for that,” said Yosl. “She’s a good student, a good learner.”

“She’s a girl,” Moshe said, and he watched the shrug of Yosl’s broad shoulders, watched his expression scarcely change at all. “Why teach her? What do you think she’ll do with it, what you teach her?”

It was an experimental question, a test of sorts, and Moshe wondered if Yosl knew that Moshe was testing him, if he was pressing on him. If he did, he showed no sign of it.

“Whatever she wants,” the bookbinder answered simply. “I didn’t make the word, I was only taught it – now, I teach it. What she does with it is her own business. Argue scripture with her husband, if she wishes – teach their children.”

“A lot of men wouldn’t think to waste time teaching another man’s daughter this sort of thing,” Moshe said. “They dismiss a little girl with no thought at all.”

“I’m just one man, not a mean of them,” said Yosl, and it made Moshe laugh again, although he took care to muffle the sound with his sleeve. Yosl’s cheeks didn’t dimple when he smiled, but his eyes crinkled in a very pleasant way.

“You been to the marriage broker?”

“No,” said Yosl. “Why, want rid of me?”

“We need a lodger’s rent – and you have the money for it, but I don’t know what you got it for a wife.”

“Too true.”

“But you don’t want one?”

“I don’t have the money, you said.”

“Still.”

Yosl said, after a few more seconds of quiet, “I could be a husband, I think, but not a father. And I wouldn’t deny a woman motherhood.”

“You teach my girl – but you couldn’t father your own?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“My father…” Yosl began, and then stopped, breathing in very slowly. “He was a bad man.”

“But you said—”

“Principled, studied, a great man, all of those things, yes. I grieve him, I do, but he was not a good man. Your father, you said, was loving, mine was… Mine was not.”

Moshe reached out and touched the other man, squeezed his shoulder, and he didn’t comment on the slight mistiness of Yosl’s eyes. Half-jokingly, he asked, “What happened to honour thy father, eh?”

“I honoured my mother,” Yosl said. “Half the job is enough for me.”

“They must love you at the docks.”

“They do, in fact.”

“Esther loves you too,” Moshe said, smiling. “Sprintze says you dote on her.”

Tension showed in Yosl’s thickly corded neck, in his shoulders, and as Moshe walked past him to rinse out his cup, Yosl turned his head to look back at him. “Moshe,” he said. “Are you angry?”

“Angry?” Moshe repeated. “By God, no. You think I’m angry? My daughter has a mother and father to love her – now another to teach her, and a smarter man than me.”

“I’m just the lodger.”

“The lodger who dotes on my daughter and repaired the stove for my wife before I came home from work.”

“Sprintze’s a dutiful wife.”

“She is, and a very good one.”

“I mean nothing untoward.”

“I know you don’t – she says you don’t look at her.”

“I do.”

“No.”

Yosl didn’t seem to know what to say to that. His brow was furrowed, his expression serious. Moshe and Sprintze had talked a little more about this in private, on nights when Yosl was out overnight.

“He did something awful to you, your father,” Moshe said.

“Things, multiple, yes.”

“Things that would make you…” He didn’t know what words to use. He and Sprintze could use certain words amongst themselves, but even then, he wouldn’t use them elsewhere.

Moshe is hardly the most pious of men, but he’d asked the rabbi’s son for advice on the subject – Reb Levinson himself was too old, would never have known how to approach it no matter his nice dimples, but his son was wise enough.

“Things that would make you unable to be a husband,” Moshe said. “To, er… fulfil your duties.”

Yosl’s expression softened, and he exhaled. “Not in the way I suspect you’re imagining,” he said quietly, with a glance toward the door, but there had been no sound from where Sprintze and Esther were settled in bed. “But yes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s a shameful thing.”

“I don’t see the shame in it. You love, you teach, you write. You honour your father no matter his sins, his cruelties toward you.”

“How would you know shame, Moshe? What have you got to be ashamed of?”

“I’m poor, ain’t I?”

“Pah. Only in money.”

Moshe grinned at him, and Yosl smiled back. He wasn’t a big drinker, but when Moshe took down two glasses from the shelf instead of one, he didn’t make his customary protest. He took the glass as offered and stared down into it, at the strong spirit Moshe poured within.

“L’chaim,” Moshe said.

“I’d say l’chaim and v’l’vracha,” Yosl said, “but I feel pretty blessed.”

“What, we’re rich enough to be turning down blessings now?”

“We?” Yosl repeated wryly, but he smiled as he clinked their glasses together, and they knocked them back as one. “You should take one in for Sprintze,” he said – Moshe’s hand was already on the bottle, and they had to stifle their laughter to keep from waking up the whole building when their gazes met.

* * *

Sprintze took the glass when Moshe stepped into their bedroom, and she held it in her lap as she watched him undress, easing off his clothes. She had been sewing, Moshe supposed – her needlework was now set aside, but the lantern was still lit, albeit dimmed.

“That man is a blessing, you know,” Moshe said.

“I’ve been saying, haven’t I?” she responded softly. “L’chaim,” she murmured, and drained the glass, setting it beside her sewing.

Moshe leaned over Esther’s sleeping form to kiss her on the head before climbing into bed beside his wife, banding an arm around her belly.

“We should get a bigger bed,” Sprintze murmured.

“You don’t want a bigger apartment first?”

“You didn’t say no.”

“S’pose I didn’t,” said Moshe. “He’s gonna be working all night. He was picking up another card to start on when I came in here.”

“Whichever of us wakes up in the night first, tell him to bed down,” she said.

Moshe couldn’t see her well in the dark as she turned off the lantern, but he could brush their noses together, and he kissed her lips, stroking his thumb over her cheek.

“Deal,” he murmured. “But if I tell him and he argues—”

“I’ll come out and whip you both,” she finished, and Moshe muffled his laugh this time against her neck.

FIN.

[spoonsock]

Starbucks love

Gwen Stacy x reader

Synopsis: Ever wondered what would the one and only Spider Gwen order from Starbucks? Me neither but take this anyway.

Warnings: Idk none I think. Not proofread. Writing this at 2am no joke what is wrong with me. Also DUDE. This is kinda similar to Intruder like wtf am I really that not creative. 😭

Also, fun fact, I’ve never been to Starbucks so if I got something wrong pls lemme know.

You didn’t really mind having a part time job at Starbucks. It wasn’t that bad. All you had to do was take orders, make them, write names on cups with your best handwriting. Sometimes kick customers out. Sometimes maybe serve Spider-woman.

Yup that’s right. It all started yesterday.

It was supposed to be a normal day. You clocked in early and mentally prepared yourself for what awaits you ‘cause you never know what might happen. God, what a good decision it was to say a few positive words before the day started.

Around 10 AM, the shop is not even that filled with people yet, three guys barge in, all of them with a gun in their hands. One of them points the gun at you and then at the register, while the other two guys walk around the people sitting at their tables.

“You empty that thing right now or Imma blow your brains out”. The guy says pointing a gun at your face and you freeze. You don’t move an inch, just stare right at him. Your eyes are not wide, you are not hyperventilating or anything. You are panicking, but not showing any signs of it.

The more you stare at the guy, the more impatient he grows. “What are you? Deaf? I’ll fucking kill you if you don’t take the damn money out this fucking moment”.

As soon as he finishes his sentence, the door of the shop slams open and (literally) twirling in comes, the one and only, Spider-woman. The armed men immediately turn to her and point their guns, but she slouches and puts her hands on her hips, looking at them unfazed.

“Seriously, you guys aren’t gonna make this easy for me, are you?”, Gwen asks and receives no answer. “…Alright then”

Before you can even blink, she hits one of the guys in the face, grabbing his gun and throwing it at the other guy. You watch as the the third guy tries to throw a punch at her face but narrowly misses and she succeeds to grab his arm and twist it, before kicking him in the stomach. She easily webs all three of the unconscious men up and the people from the shop clap. She bows jokingly and makes her way over to you.

“Hey, you okay? They didn’t take any money, did they?”, she asks but you are unable to answer. When the masked guy pointed the gun at your face, it triggered something in you. Pushed an “off” button in your brain and turned everything into blurry stop-motion pictures.

For the record, you’ve never been held at gunpoint. Well, until that day, but you hoped it was the first and last time. You didn’t know why it caused you to act like that. To just freeze and zone out. I mean any normal person would start sweating and fearing for their life, visibly shaking or something but you? It turned you off.

Whatever. Whatever it was, you zoned back into reality when you saw a white hand move in front of your face.

“Helloooo? Earth to..”, Gwen stopped and squinted to read from your name tag. “Y/N? Earth to Y/N! You there?”

You quickly took in your surroundings before pulling yourself together and nodding. “Yeah yeah, I’m. I’m fine. Everything is fine. Thank you. For helping. And for asking. I’m fine”, you stumbled across your words and even behind her mask, you could see Spider-woman hesitantly furrowing her brows at you. She didn’t believe you, obviously. You were a terrible liar.

“Riiiighht, well I’m gonna go then”, she stretched out her words before slowly turning around, picking the masked, armed guys off of the floor and exiting the shop.

Honestly, you thought that was going to be your last encounter, but oh boy, you were wrong.

Because she came back in the very next day.

“Oh, hello?”

“Hi”

“I didn’t really see any thieves or villains in our shop today, but uh, how may I help you?”, you ask, unsure of what was she here for, kinda scared that something bad might happen soon and she’s just there to try to prevent it.

“Uhhh actually I came to see you. A-and to get a vanilla latte. And a chocolate chip cookie. But I’m mostly here to see you”, you felt your cheeks heat up at her words. The famous friendly neighbourhood superhero, Spider-woman, came in Starbucks in which you worked just to see you. Strange.

“Um. Okay.”, you didn’t really know what to say to that. What do you even say in a situation like that??

“Soo, hi. Are you okay? You uh didn’t really look the best yesterday? I-I mean you can’t really look the best after being held at gunpoint anyway. Not that you look bad! You don’t! It’s just that, it must have been traumatic, obviously. Not just for you, I guess for everyone in the shop but-“

“I’m okay”, you decided to stop her rambling. “Thanks for checking”, you gave her a shy smile and she smiled back, you guess, but didn’t say anything. You two just stood there, in comfortable silence, until someone coughed behind the masked superhero and tapped their foot on the ground impatiently.

“O-oh um you uh are you going to order orrrrr….?”, you asked, remembering suddenly that you were at work. Where you are supposed to do your work.

“Oh ah yeah I-I’ll have uuuuuuuuhhh a short vanilla latte and a chocolate chip cookie. Please.”

“You’re seriously going to order the most basic white girl drink?”, you chuckled before you’re eyes widened. “NO. Please tell me I didn’t say that out loud”, you thought. But judging by the silence you were met with and the “o_0 expression” (if you could call it that) your friendly neighbor super hero held, you were wrong. “Oh fudge”, you furrowed your eyebrows before giving her the most sympathetic look you could make.

“I did not mean to say that I am SO sorry. I mean I didn’t even mean to think that it just kinda came outta nowhere, I’ve never said anything like that out loud ever. Or not out loud. I’ve never even thought something like that, honest! I seriously don’t have any idea where this came from I mean I would never ever guess your race- it’s none of my business! And it’s not like race has anything to do with the goddarn drink. It’s a drink! Anyone can order it! I have no say in that and I am SOO-“

“IT’S OKAY”, this time, Gwen interrupted your rambling (finally, it seemed like you could go on and on), “you can uhhh make up for it by, I dunno, maybe, givingmeyournumber?”, she was nervous, but you were oblivious unfortunately.

“Oh. OH YEAH I can do that..I’ll just go get your drink. And you cookie”, your ass has never left a place so fast. “SPIDER WOMAN. WANTS. MY NUMBER”, you squealed in your head while preparing her order.

You returned to her in a few minutes, a cup in one hand and a cookie in the other. “For here or do you want me to put it in a bag?”

“Can you put just the cookie in the bag?”, Gwen asked shyly and you nodded packing the cookie in the paper bag. Taking a sharpie that stood on your side of the counter, you wrote on her cup of latte “For Spidey ♡ by Y/N”, scribbling your phone number underneath and handing the bag and the cup to her.

“Thank you for your visit. Enjoy!”, you said what you always say to your customers and she jokingly gave you a two finger salute, turning around and exiting the shop.

The whole day after her visit, you’d check your phone every two seconds waiting for her text. At this point, you were already at home, watching a movie you picked out randomly to distract you from constantly glancing at your phone. Unfortunately, you were a person who constantly keeps their sound off and the movie actually intrigued you to the point you somehow forgot about the happenings of yesterday and today, at least until the movie ended.

And then it hit you.

You opened your phone to see four new notifications from unknown. FROM AN HOUR AGO.

You could barely contain your excitement. Spider woman. Asked you. For your number. She had your number. And she texted you. You have Spider woman’s number. And you’re about to answer to her texts. Holy quack.

Unknown

Today 20:14

hey, this is spider woman

wow that felt weird to write hahah

anyway thank you for the drink

and your number

You smiled at your phone. Who would’ve thought that she would be so awkward while texting.

Unbeknownst to you, an hour ago, Gwen was panicking hard. At first she didn’t know what to say. She spent 10 minutes just writing and then deleting and writing and deleting words. Eventually, she decided to muster up the courage and send whatever first came to mind.

The moment she clicked on the “send” button, she regretted it. Then she sent another message, to try to fix the situation she put herself in. Only to realize she is just digging her grave deeper. Before she knew it, she sent you four messages, then threw her phone as far away as possible without damaging it too much, to stop herself from sending another text in attempt to “fix the previous”. She grabbed her mask and pulled it over her head, hiding her face from no one in particular.

After a few minutes, she heard a ding from across the room and scrambled from her bed quickly, tangling herself in the covers, getting her leg stuck in them and managing to fall face first on the floor.

Groaning, she reached for her phone from the very position she fell into, expecting to see a text back from you.

“Iphone storage full” was the only notification she received. Gwen placed the phone to where it was, continuing to lay on her bedroom floor with her Spider mask on.

“This is going to be a long night”

[1wn8ure]

Meeting Minutes

Taken By Ranboo M. Beloved Minutes Man, New L'manburg Administration

10:02-The president is calling the meeting to order.

10:06-The president has made 4 deez nuts jokes. The vice president has made 2.

10:07-The president told me to write down his deez nuts joke. I would but I have already forgotten the context so instead I will just write that it was very funny (I think)

10:08-The president is wearing his green tie today. I like it more than his blue one. He always has to tug at the blue one- I think it is too small for him.

Gift ideas: 

A new blue tie

More green ties

Flowers maybe? I don’t know wha

10:17-The vice president started shouting. I missed what happened but the president does not seem very happy. He looks tired.

Oh, he’s shouting about Techno again. That makes sense. He’s usually shouting about Techno.

I should probably be writing down what he’s saying, but Quackity speaks very quickly. And they never look at these notes anyway.

The president asks me to read them sometimes, but not usually.

10:24-The president looks like he would rather be anywhere else but here. 

His forehead wrinkles when he’s thinking really hard. Or when he’s annoyed. It’s wrinkled right now but I’m not sure which one it is. 

10:26-The vice president is standing now, which means the president is also standing now. He’s still so much smaller than the vice president. I think it bothers him.

10:33-The president is slamming his fists on the table, which means it is a Bad Day. Everybody else is yelling. I think they have forgotten about me.

To Do:

Bring the president dinner (He’ll tell you he wants chicken, but his favorite is rabbit. Chicken is just cheaper. Ignore this, bring rabbit.)

Buy the president a gift (Christmas is soon)

Tell the president he looks handsome today

Tell the president he did well today

Tell the president a joke

Get the president to smile

Tell the president you

10:46-They’re looking at me. The shouting has stopped. The president looks very tired. The vice president just looks angry.

10:48-I think the meeting might be over for today. 

10:51-They asked me what notes I took. I told them the same notes I took every time.

The president laughed. The vice president didn’t.

10:57-People are getting up from the table now. Meeting adjourned, I guess?

I hope there’s less shouting next time. 

I hope they don’t ask for these notes.

Maybe I should write new ones, just in case.

Signed, Ranboo M. Beloved Minutes Man, New L’Manburg Administration

[philaet0s]

Celebrity/Social Media AU - Part 23

Previous Part: Part 22

Simon

The bell at the door rings as I’m counting the cash drawer. Dammit. This is going to make me lose count. Can’t people read a ‘closed’ sign anymore?

“Sorry, we’re closed,” I say as I look up.

And I freeze.

“I know. I thought I might still come in. Or should I wait for you outside? It’s raining, I’d rather not,” he says. His voice sounds tired. He always sounds tired when he comes home. He shouldn’t come home if it exhausts him more than his tour…

I’m so glad he came home.

I put the stack of banknotes in my hand down and jump up. He’s standing still –he’s an idiot, he should know he can come to me. It doesn’t matter I come to him instead. I want to hug him but the front of the shop is all windows. So instead I take his hand. No, not his hand. I loop my pinky around his. It feels more intimate, somehow.

He smiles at me. God, my kingdom for that smile.

“Hi, love.”

“Hi. Why’d you come back?” I ask, a knot already forming in my throat.

Because I know why.

I wasn’t alright. Missing him was becoming painful, and he knew it. I told him.

So he came home.

But he doesn’t say that. He never would. He’s gentle on my heart, he knows I wouldn’t like him admitting he traveled all the way home because I was feeling down. (I do need to talk about my struggle with being vulnerable to my therapist, the bastard’s right about that)

“I missed Mordelia’s birthday, I thought I’d make up for it somehow. Would you be okay heading for Oxford tonight? I can’t stay in the UK for very long…”

I try to ignore those last few words and the weight that fell on my stomach upon hearing them. He only just arrived. I have no reason to think about when he’ll leave again yet.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I just need to head home and get a few things. How long do you want to stay there?”

“Pack enough for three nights, okay?”

I nod.

“Good. Now, do you want help closing?”

…

I settle comfortably in the passenger seat, smiling as Baz sits behind the wheel. I love it when he drives, though I always do it if he’s not feeling up to it. He almost crashed his car once because his leg decided to act up while he was driving. He’s been very careful ever since. Everyone around him –me included, if I’m honest– advised him to rely on a driver more often, but none of us argued for very long. He loves driving too much. I didn’t know him then, but he had to give up on a lot of things after he injured his leg. It feels cruel asking him to give up on one more.

Though he could be a little more careful…

“Where’s your cane?”

He tenses.

I almost take back my question, but I don’t. It’s something that’s been bugging me for a while. Since Las Vegas. He used his cane the whole time he was home before the beginning of his US tour, but when I saw him in the US, and then again in France, he wasn’t using it.

I kept quiet about it until now, but seeing him drive is pushing that concern at the front of my mind.

“I try not to use it when I’m on tour.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. That’s when you need it the most. You’re doing more physical effort than usual.”

He sighs. He takes a turn and drives a few seconds in silence, so I think he’s decided to sulk, but then he says; “Are you wearing your contacts today?”

“Uh, yeah? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Say you hadn’t put them on this morning, and had just gone about your day without them. Would you have the impression of seeing better than if you took them off right now and finished your day without them after having them on for hours?”

…I see where this is going.

“Yes, but that’s completely different! I don’t even need my contacts all that much. My eyes are decent.”

“My leg isn’t so bad. I can walk fine without the cane. I can drive, I can exercise.”

“But it causes you pain. Don’t try and tell me it doesn’t because I know it does.”

“You get headaches if you read too much without your contacts,” he argues.

“Baz, that’s not the same thing. It really isn’t. And I… I didn’t mean to upset when I brought up your cane, it’s just, well, I want you to feel good. As best as you can. I’m not sure than going about your day every day without your cane when you do several shows a week is something that makes you feel good.”

“Well, I’ve been alright so far, haven’t I? I suppose I’m not as crippled as you think.”

“Baz, I never said that, and you shouldn’t say that either. You’re not… You’re disabled.”

I shouldn’t have talked about the damn cane. We’ve had this argument so many times. How many more times will we have it? It feels useless…

“I’m also the one who’s living in my body. So I know how I’m feeling. And how I’m feeling is fine. I’m not fucking stupid, alright? Besides, I have a doctor checking in on me. You know, someone with actual proficiency in the medical field. If she says I can go on as I am, then I can go on as I am,” he answers in a cold, biting voice.

I throw my hands up in the air. “Well, sorry for worrying about you! Really, how dare I care about your health!”

“You’re my boyfriend not my mum. I don’t need you… fussing over me like I’m a stupid kid who needs an adult to take care of him.”

“Fuck off, Baz. Seriously. You’re being a dick for no reason.”

“I’m just so fucking sick of you treating me like a fragile little thing because of that damn leg! I’m not incapable!”

“I don’t… Oh, you know what, I don’t even want to argue anymore. It’s useless,” I say, shaking my head.

Then, in a very mature gesture, I turn to the side to have my back on him, my eyes staring out the window stubbornly.

He turns on the radio. That means no more talking.

…oops

[doctorgerth]

a/n: Ngl, this piece had me kicking my feet ahhh I’m down so bad for Smoker 🥰 He’s such a grumpy gus when he’s in love <3 Not sure if I really captured Smoker/Tashigi’s relationship well here, my apologies! Read to find out if Smoker gets a lil lip action or not! 😉💕

pairing: Smoker x GN!Reader

word count: 1.6k

candy heart prompt: Miss You — Missing the Other

SMOKER + MISS YOU

You’d been away on your mission for a few days now and Smoker wasn’t handling it well.

The Marines were uneasy, sensing their Commander’s own unease taking over the entirety of the base like a thick fog. Most avoided his presence unless directly commanded by him as they noticed he was grumpier than usual, enforcing mundane tasks out of frustration and rebuking his subordinates for even the tiniest of mistakes. One person was able to place Smoker’s discontent, and she only gently teased him about it.

“It seems a little gloomy without (Y/N) around. Don’t you agree, sir?” Tashigi spoke up in the quiet office as she organized a drawer in one of the filing cabinets.

He only grunted, not even bothering to look up as he continued scanning documents, scribbling notes, and signing his name. Tashigi spent a lot of time organizing papers that could keep her superior distracted enough to lessen his fussing at Marines undeserving. He preferred seclusion anyhow, that much she understood. What she failed to understand was that she was encroaching on said seclusion. Especially as she kept pushing the subject of you. Wasn’t the point of all this to keep him from thinking of you?

“I hope (Y/N) is okay. I wonder how the mission is going. Do you think they’ve met any interesting people?”

The idea of you meeting people, both dangerous and friendly, left a bitter taste in his mouth. He was fully confident in your capabilities, he wouldn’t have signed off on your mission otherwise, but the fact that he was not there to ward off anybody with any sort of ill intentions towards you made his gut twist. Smoker didn’t even want to think about the friendly ones. Who was making you laugh, keeping you company, who you might be interested in. He’s always felt a sense of protectiveness towards his subordinates, but there was something entirely different in his sense of protectiveness towards you. He’d never felt jealous in regards to his other subordinates, to put it plainly.

Tashigi was rambling while Smoker’s thoughts were once again riddled with you. Your name curved easily along a signature line meant for him as your name slipped past his mentee’s mouth in every other sentence. He mentally cursed and balled up the paper, throwing it at Tashigi’s forehead to shut her up. She gasped as it bounced off her glasses, making them crooked in the aftermath, and landed on the floor with a soft thud.

“What exactly are you trying to do here, Tashigi?” he growled. If she said your name one more time…

She glared at him as she straightened her glasses and picked up the paper, unfurling it much to his horror but he remained stoic as her eyes lit up with pure amusement upon reading his penmanship of your name, “Just trying to get you to realize that you miss them. That’s all, sir.”  

“And what good do you think that will do?” he barked out. He was painfully aware that he missed you from the moment you stepped off base. It wouldn’t bring you back any sooner, and it wouldn’t make him feel any better by coming to terms with it.

“Have you told them how you felt?” she pushed. Always pushing.

Could she see the red heat he felt creeping up his neck? “I’m not having this discussion with you. You can either leave my office or I’ll have you fired for inappropriate conversations in the workplace.”

Tashigi pursed her lips, muttering under her breath, “Well, in that case you should be fired for having inappropriate feelings in the workplace.”

“What was that?” Smoker bellowed as he stood from his chair, nearly biting his cigars in half. He felt his right eye begin to twitch and he had half a mind to throw another paper ball at her. Maybe enough paper balls from the entire stack of the piss-poor distracting paperwork.  

Tashigi waved her hands in front of her in surrender, “Nothing! What I meant to tell you is that (Y/N) is…”

“Stop saying their name!”

“I’ve only been gone for five days and you two are already bickering?” Your voice echoed down the hall and he wondered if was imagining your voice again. Yet there you were, standing in his office, not a scratch on you as you sported that comforting smile on your face he’d missed so much. He felt his shoulders relax as he exhaled the breath he’d been holding since you left.

“Returning today,” Tashigi finished, turning to you with a salute, “Welcome back, Captain.”

“It’s great to be back,” you grinned, keeping your eyes trained on the tall, speechless, white-haired Marine officer standing stiff behind his desk, “I missed the G-5.”

After a quiet moment of longing stares, his body finally began working as he discarded his cigars in the ashtray and his boots echoed heavy as they approached you. Such a simple thing, but you missed the sound of them. Now that he was standing before you, towering over you, you realized you missed the smell of smoke too, along with the warmth he constantly radiated when standing so close. Your body reacted to every sense of him. You missed him dearly.

Tashigi quietly slipped out, gently closing the door behind her as she left to finally give her superior the privacy he’d wanted.

“Didn’t miss me too bad, did you, Commander?” you teased, stepping closer, an unseen force pulling you closer to him. That same force tugged consistently at your heart for the five long days you were away.

He smiled, a notion reserved only for you, as he pinched your chin between his thumb and forefinger, “Only a little, I suppose.”

There it was, that tension between the two of you that only grew stronger with each moment you were alone. It felt near suffocating after your time apart. You knew he didn’t speak to anyone else like this, didn’t stand so close to anyone else like this, didn’t look at anyone else like this. You were something else to him, and he to you. Something beyond Marine rankings and camaraderie. As shameful as it was for a Commodore to pursue his subordinate, you weren’t sure how much longer you could hold your feelings back. You’d hoped your mission would have cleared your head, but it only drew you closer to him. Made you crave his affections even more.

Intimate touches have been exchanged in secrecy between the two of you as feelings were realized, but you needed to feel his lips against yours. To know for sure that he wanted this too. You wanted so desperately to make this agonizing yet exhilarating tension tangible. The way he continued to hold your chin up, brown eyes reflecting the loving stare you offered him, forehead colliding softly with yours, it felt as if the pieces were finally falling into place.

His eyes were first to flutter close, making your heart do somersaults in your chest, and as you followed suit, you felt the ghost of a kiss along your lips before the echoing purururu of his Den Den Mushi made the two of you jump.

Smoker’s eyes opened, staring down at you as if he was seeking your approval to ignore the call. He could care less if the entire world was ending. All that he wanted was standing right in front of him. He didn’t want to lose this moment.

“You’d better answer that.” Your hand caressed his cheek, thumb grazing across his stubble as you reassured him, “I’m not going anywhere.”

He groaned loudly, like a child throwing a tantrum, and stomped over to his desk, answering the phone with distinct annoyance, “What the hell do you want?”

Silence. His furrowed brows softened, face slackened.

“Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you.”

You grew a bit worried, unable to read him as he hung up the receiver with a quick gacha. Smoker ran his fingers through his hair, making you feel overwhelmed with adoration and anxiety as you waited with bated breath.

“Is everything okay?” You were almost afraid to ask.

Another long beat of silence. You were sure you weren’t breathing at all, until he finally relayed the message with a smirk on his face.

“I got promoted to Vice Admiral.”

The happy sound you emitted was sure enough to alert the whole base as you threw your arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. Smoker squeezed back eagerly, cherishing the feeling of having you in his arms. He was unable to express it, but he hoped you knew that he was glad you were the first person he got to tell; that you were by his side when he got the news. Climbing the ranks to increase his ability to act freely has always been his goal, but the promotion felt a bit sweeter having you to celebrate with.

Tashigi returned to the room out of concern, coughing awkwardly when she caught the two of you still locked in an embrace. When Smoker shared the news, passers-by overheard and entered the office with almost hesitant congratulations. Soon enough, his entire office was full of subordinates all congratulating their new Vice Admiral. Pride swelled in your chest as he shook the hands of his subordinates and offered light smiles of thanks. So many smiles in a day — was it possible to fall even harder for him?

When everyone was preoccupied in their own conversations, Smoker bent down and whispered in your ear, “They’re hosting a banquet for all who received promotions at Headquarters. I want you to come with me.”

As if your heart couldn’t feel any fuller, you were sure to burst as you grinned from ear to ear, whispering back and squeezing his hand discreetly, “I’d be glad to.”

a/n: Soooo close! But still some happy moments here! This ending was almost entirely different (and lamer tbh) but the idea of Smoker finding out he was promoted to Vice Admiral with reader seemed like such a special moment to me and one that doesn’t *entirely* ruin the missed smooch moment. That’s another one safe until Round Two! Perhaps our next character won’t be so lucky…or will, if you consider a kiss pretty lucky. ❤️

[callsignmercy]

No fear - Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky.

Prompt: Tom Kazansky has no fear. But maybe almost losing you can change that.

Words: ~3k

Warning: Iceman being a dick, crying, near death experience, language? Happy ending, fluff, Charlie being nice.

Note: Happy 100 followers to me! Thanks you everyone. Here’s an Iceman fic for you! Still having a writer’s block but hopefully I can get rid of it soon. Highly unedited. English is not my first language. Sorry for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar. Please do not republish translate or do whatever to my work.

Y/C/S: your call sign

Your RIO’s name and callsign: Jack/Sunset.

————————————————————————

Lieutenant Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky has no fear. He flies fast, with precision and never misses the target. As they say, ice cold, no mistake. And you resent him with every fibre of your being.

He’s so obnoxious and arrogant, always sure of himself. Everything that you are not. You’re cute and nice and kind and you wish you could show that side of your personality but in the field you’re in it’s impossible. Unless you want to be stepped on. You’re a woman, which doesn’t help your case in the first place, but being nice on top of it? No way. So you fake a mean attitude all the time, as well as a confident personality and you try to not take shit from anyone.

It’s hard but you manage.

The Top Gun class of ‘86 welcomed a woman for the first time in history and you wanted to make women all over the USA proud of it. You had fierce opponents like Maverick and Iceman but you wanted to prove them all that you were fit for the task.

They had all pretty much tried to flirt with you since the beginning of the week but you didn’t pay them any mind, not wanting to be affiliated with any of them. People might think that you were trying to get points by flirting with the others and you didn’t want any of that, so you stayed away from them.

The only one that didn’t come after you was Iceman. You didn’t really know why considering his RIO even asked you out, but you were grateful that at least one of them had a little decency.

He was polite and said hello to you whenever you passed each other in the halls and smiled at you but nothing more.

During a night out at the bar that you were mainly spending alone as your own RIO had decided he was gonna try his luck with one of the girls there.

Sitting at the bar you were nursing your cocktail, paying no mind to anyone, trying to have a little fun but not really succeeding in the task. The sound was too loud for your liking and the bar was packed. You couldn’t turn without bumping into someone. You really hated this kind of atmosphere but you played the part, not wanting to be considered dull for not enjoying yourself.

Your RIO kind of forced you to come, so you had to fake having fun but you would rather be in your room, reading a book or watching a movie right now.

Iceman noticed you sitting alone at the bar and walked up to you. “Having fun round here?” He asked. “Best time of my life.” You said sarcastically. “I can see that. Why are you sitting here alone?” “I don’t feel like talking to anyone or just being here altogether but Sunset kinda forced me to come, so here I am.” “You don’t like parties?” “No, I do, it’s just that it’s too packed and too loud for my liking and I don’t have any friends other than Jack and he just left to go see some girl so I’m on my own.” You answered.

“Do you want to get out of here?” He asked, which surprised you. “I wouldn’t want to make you miss the party or the opportunity to get home with a girl. I can stay on my own, don't worry. You should go back out there.” “It’s alright I don’t feel like it tonight, do you want to go get some food?” “Really?” “Yeah.” He smiled. “Alright.” You bit your lip. “Let me just go tell my RIO and I’ll meet you at the door.”

He nodded and you went to see Jack to tell him you were leaving. A few minutes later you met Tom at the door and you walked the few metres that separated you from the diner.

You spent the evening talking and laughing with Tom. It felt easy and nice to be able to talk with someone other than your RIO. You didn’t feel like he was trying to flirt with you which felt nice for a change.

After a few hours you both went back to base and he bid you goodnight before going back to his own dorm room.

You went to sleep that night with a smile on your face and the feeling that you had made a new friend and didn’t feel so lonely anymore.

As you headed to class the next morning you harboured a soft smile on your face which differed from the hard look you usually had. When you entered the classroom all the guys were already here smirking at you. Your smile disappeared as you felt this couldn’t be a good omen.

You decided to sit down next to your RIO, as usual, without paying any mind to any of them but they kept smirking and shaking their heads.

“What’s happening?” You whispered to Jack. “Apparently you slept with Iceman last night.” He murmured. “Excuse me?” You said, louder than expected.

You turned your head to Iceman. “Care to explain?” You asked him with a cold tone. “It’s okay sweetheart. I asked where he went last night and he told me he left with you and he didn’t deny when I asked him if you fucked so…” Slider answered for him. “Why are you lying to them? You know nothing happened between us.” You exclaimed, still looking at Tom, ignoring the others. He shrugged, unphased and you scoffed, shaking your head before facing the board in front of you as Charlie came through the door.

You tried to focus on the course Charlie was teaching but knowing that nobody respected you anymore because of a simple lie was destroying you inside.

You knew people would assume you really did it, and that you did it to get in Ice’s good favour and score more points like this. And on top of everything, you knew that if it were to be known by any superiors, you might be dismissed and removed from the program for it, ultimately penalising your RIO as well. The image of women in the navy and in any army corps would be worsened and they wouldn’t be taken seriously anymore as everyone would assume they were all like you.

You almost cried in the middle of the classroom that day, thinking about what you had done. Which, in the end was, well…nothing. And yet, men won again.

So that day you decided that for the remaining of the thirteen weeks of the program, you wouldn’t talk to any of them, unless absolutely necessary, and keep any communication to the bare minimum.

And you had never felt so lonely in your life.

You weren’t the nice, kind and cute woman you were before entering Top Gun, or the stern, emotionless woman you appeared to be at the beginning of the program. Now you were just plain empty. Neutral face on, at all times, no more smiles, no more charisma, no more hellos and goodbyes to your comrades. You didn’t speak a word to them anymore, you didn’t smile at them, didn’t participate in class, nor volunteered for anything. Everything felt dull.

Jack, your RIO felt it too, even though you still spoke to him, he felt like you weren’t your usual self. He knew the real you, the cute and kind you, the always nice and polite you but now this part of you was gone.

“Are you alright?” Charlie asked you one day at the end of a class as the last of your comrades walked out the door. You put on a fake smile and nodded. “You don’t have to lie to me, you know. I can see something is wrong. Also Maverick told me.” She admitted. Your smile faded as she spoke the last words. “Then you already know the answer.” “You know, they’re still boys in their head, they don’t understand that we feel emotions differently than them and they don’t know how such lies can affect our lives. They believe it’s pointless, that nobody will pay any mind to it but they’re wrong. Maverick and Goose know it, if it can make you feel better. They know you didn’t do anything and it was just a lie. They feel sad because you don’t talk to them anymore, they really enjoyed your company the first few days before it happened. They told me that you were really nice and that they enjoyed talking with you and Sunset.” You gave her a small crooked smile before thanking her and leaving as well.

—

At the end of the thirteen weeks Iceman and Slider won Top Gun with you and Sunset coming second. You didn’t really mind that they won, you managed to make some people proud and you hoped women would be more considered now that you had proven you were capable.

Everyone was having a really nice time at the party. You were conversing with Jack when you saw Iceman approaching you both. You turned your back to him, still not ready to face him nor talk to him. You knew he wasn’t going to apologise for anything.

You didn’t see it, but his expression saddened when he saw you turn your back to him. Jack saw it too and understood your move. He got up to approach Iceman in order for him not to get too close to you. “I just wanted to say congratulations to you both.” Iceman said. “You did a really great job together.” “Thanks man, we really appreciate it.” Jack answered, shaking Tom’s hand.

Iceman’s eyes wandered above your RIO’s shoulder, seeing you were still ignoring him. He smiled at Sunset again and left with a small sigh.

“Thanks for this.” You told your RIO. “I’ve always got you, you know that.” You gave him a small smile. “Why do you still not want to talk to him? It’s been like twelve weeks.” “You don’t understand the power a small lie like that holds. It can literally ruin my career.” “How so?” He asked kindly. “Well first of all, he lied to everyone, it’s something everyone believed I did, and after that everyone was going to think that I slept with him to get an advantage on the ranking. Second of all, if it were to be known by any of our superiors I could have been sent back to our squadron, and you would have too, because we’re a team here. Ultimately losing any opportunity we had to finish Top Gun and humiliating every woman in the navy because I couldn’t keep it in my pants so every man would assume we were all like that and not give us chances anymore.” “Wow, I didn’t really think about all that.” He said, stunned. “Yeah, well now it’s done so let’s just go back to our lives and hopefully not see any of them again.”

Your hopes were cut short as you were immediately called for a secret mission along with Maverick and Goose and obviously Iceman and Slider.

As you were getting ready to go on the mission the next day, Iceman came up to you. “Hey, can we talk?” You jumped at the sound of his voice. “Jesus, give a girl a warning.” You replied coldly. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you, I just wanted to apologise.” “Okay, but I do not forgive you.” His expression dropped at your words. “Understandable.” Your face remained stoic while looking at him. “I don’t know why I did what I did, that was really stupid of me.” As you didn’t reply he kept going. “I really liked you, still do actually. And I realised how stupid of me it was to have lied like that.” “Then why did you do it?” “Honestly I don’t know, it was just supposed to be a joke and then Slider told everyone and it escalated and I’m sorry.” “You know I really liked spending that evening with you, I thought we were friends and then you screwed me over for no reason.”

“I know I’m sorry.” He replied, head low. “I wanted to ask you out on a real date.” “Well it’s too late now isn’t it? You’ve wasted every chance you had. And you know what? I think I would’ve said yes, because you were the only one that didn’t hit on me and the only one with whom I felt truly happy being with. But you’ve wasted this. And maybe I could’ve been happy right now, instead of being sad.” You say gripping your bag and walking out the door.

A few days later you were risking your life along with your RIO, and four of your Top Gun comrades trying to shoot down enemy MIGs. Maverick managed to shoot down three of them but one was following you and you didn’t seem to be able to lose him.

That’s when you felt it. Bullets shot through your F14 and you started losing altitude. Being unable to control your plane you quickly got closer to the ground. “Eject Y/C/S! Eject! Eject!” You heard Iceman scream through your helmet. Panic came over you as you were trying to recover your plane and not kill yourself and your RIO in the process. “For the love of God Y/C/S eject!” He shouted and you almost felt like you heard his voice break.

As Iceman saw your plane get closer and closer to the ground his eyes welled with tears. “Y/N!” He couldn’t help but scream. And as you nearly crashed on the ground you managed to restart your aircraft and shoot up to the sky. A sigh of relief could be heard from everyone through your helmet. “Why the hell didn’t you eject Y/C/S? You and Sunset could have died!” Maverick was the first to speak. “I went through something like that before, I knew I could escape and save my plane.” You replied. Iceman didn’t say a word, he was traumatised. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened to you and how he would have coped with it. It was all too much for him.

You managed to shoot down an enemy plane after that and complete the mission. The three aircrafts landed on the carrier. You didn’t want to think about what could have happened up there so you got down your plane quickly, followed by your RIO. “I’m sorry I put your life in danger, I shouldn’t have done that.” “It’s alright, I knew you’d either save the plane or we’d have to eject. I was waiting for your instructions, I trust you with my life.” You give him a soft smile and head to the office to debrief the mission.

On the other side of the carrier Iceman is stuck in his plane, not being able to move. Slider gets up from his seat and looks at his pilot. “Hey, you alright man?” Iceman’s head shoots up. “Yeah, uhm yeah, I’ll meet you inside.” He replies.

It took him a few more minutes and a mechanic to get him down from his plane. “You okay Lieutenant?” The mechanic asked. “Uhm, yeah sorry.” Tom replied and got up from his seat.

He headed towards the conference room walking at a slow pace, trying not to think about you. As he got up the stairs and opened the door to enter the premises he was surprised to see you sat down behind it. You were hugging your knees, holding your helmet and tears made their way up your eyes but didn’t seem to go down your face yet. You quickly wiped your face when you heard the door open and hurried to get up on your feet. Only to see that it was Iceman standing in front of you.

He looked at you for a few seconds before speaking. “You scared the shit out of me, you know that?” He said quietly, hurt evident in his voice. You looked down. “Is it going to become a habit? Breaking each other’s hearts like that?” He said and your head shoots up to look at him. “I could have lost you today and I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened. Because now I can still pretend you’re going to forgive me for what I did and I still have a chance to be with you but if you had died then there would be nothing giving me hope anymore.” “Do you really believe what you said?” “Of course I do. I would never be able to apologise enough for what I did but I hope one day you can forgive me and my stupidity and actually go on a date with me.” He said hopefully.

You take a look to your right and left to see if anyone was there and grab Tom’s collar and pull him to you, crashing your lips on his. He was surprised for a second but quickly returned the kiss and pushed you softly behind an electrical panel so no one could see you. You break the kiss, gasping for air and smiling like a high school girl kissing her crush. He smiles back and kisses you again.

Now Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky only has one fear, the fear of losing you. But the joy of loving you is stronger than anything.

[thatmexisaurusrex]

I love love love your denial-verse series. I really enjoyed your characterization of Tommy, Buck and Eddie in them.

I’m also so glad about the way you wrote Taylor. People tend to villainize her in fanfics but you wrote her so well. She was my fav LI other than Tommy. She wasn’t a good fit but the show gave her something other than being just a LI.

Speaking of character who are just LIs in the show, I even loved the way you wrote Marisol. The show never really gave her any characterization and you wrote her so well even her not being such a good person was well written. There were so many signs that both Tommy and I missed.

Can’t wait to read whatever you post next.

Oh my gosh, thank you so much 🥺 The Denial-verse series is a labor of love and it's been such a bonus and a joy to know that other people love it too.

Now, this is more like behind-the-scenes, craft stuff, but I will say that I'm not actually a huge fan of Taylor Kelly. But I also believe that part of what you should do in writing is find what inspires you about a character and let that shine and live with that in order to create the well-rounded character you can write with them. And, you know, I like Taylor Kelly much more after writing her than I did before. While she's not a good match for Buck, it is a little disappointing that she doesn't have a once-or-twice-a-season cameo or a seasonal mini-arc with her involved as a frenemy reporter who might shine a good or bad light on the LAFD.

And, people can use death of the author here, but I wrote Marisol here to feel like a friend. Someone likable even if they're not perfect. And there are a lot of people out there who have her same red flags. Many of them can figure themselves out, grow out of those bad thoughts, reframe how they view the world for the better, become those better people; and many of them don't. I feel that what makes Marisol hurt the most is the possibility of goodness in her and her sheer denial of wrongdoing; her inability to look past her perceived reality and grow into someone who can live with what happened without lashing out in harsh and unfair ways because her life isn't what she thought it was. I like Marisol. I don't like Marisol in the show, more because they treated her like a sexy lamp more than anything, but I liked this Marisol. And that's why she hurts so much when she sours - because people you think would be kind to you can be, sometimes, crueler than anyone else.

I'm sorry. I'm talking your ear off here. But I just wanted to say thank you for loving the series. Thank you for reading. The Denial-verse is, for the most part, a character study in loneliness, belonging, what it means to be and feel loved, and what steps it takes to finally believe one can have happiness, and it truly blows me away that people have been enjoying it as much as I've liked writing it.

Also, the fourth story within the Denial-verse,  The Fire is Inside the House, is out now if you'd like to read the first chapter.

Thank you again for this magnificent ask. I hope you have a spectacular morning, day, or afternoon wherever you are!

[whatsinmypen]

Starter Fountain Pens 

(that aren’t the Pilot Metro or Lamy Safari) 

(So you never have to ask me for recs again)

New to fountain pens? Long-time enthusiast? No matter, you’re probably sick of hearing about the Lamy Safari and the Pilot Metropolitan (or Pilot MR in certain markets) and their respective merits as beginner fountain pens. It feels like every other day someone asks for suggestions for their first fountain pen, and inevitably the recommendations for either of those two come flooding in.  

It’s not without reason. I’m guilty too—the Lamy Safari is still one of my favourite pens of all time (and I will still recommend it), and the Metropolitan is just about the safest bet you can make on a fountain pen when you’re just getting started.  

That being said, there are a ton of other pens out there, and I feel like newbies sometimes miss out on pens they might like better. So, to help further our collective horizons, here are 22 OTHER fountain pens for absolute beginners.  With links!

All under $30.  

1. Pilot Varsity ($3.30 or $21.25 for assorted 7-pack)

Afraid of commitment? Looking to dip your toes before diving in? No problem--just try out a disposable fountain pen! For a pen designed to be disposable, the Pilot Varsity writes pretty well and comes in 7 fun colours. Just mind the paper you're using--it can bleed through pretty easily, as it is one-size nib only (and that size is medium).

2. Platinum Preppy ($6.00)

Not quite as "disposable" as the Pilot Varsity, the Preppy has a few advantages: multiple nib sizes (though they're all pretty fine), a wide assortment of colours, and can even take a (proprietary) converter if you so choose. They do crack pretty easily, especially at the cap and grip section, but they're still a solid choice for a fountain pen newbie.

3. Jinhao 993 Shark ($3.95)

Not only are these pens adorable and affordable, their (hooded!) nib is exceptionally good considering the low price, though medium is the only nib size you'll get. Don't feel too bad though, because this pen comes with a converter included! I honestly have zero complaints about this pen, it's an awesome, quirky buy.

4. Jinhao x450 ($9.90) & x750 ($9.99)

Now these look like fountain pens. Pull one of these out at a meeting and you'll definitely get a couple of questions (or perhaps encounter a pen friend out in the wild!). Metal construction, medium (& somewhat gushy nibs), and a converter included? Sign me up! They might be a little heavier than what you're used to, but otherwise make for a great starter pen.

5. Paili 013 Vacuum Filler ($9.95)

Pro: a vacuum filler pen for under $10?? Yep. Forget those cartridges and unleash the power of bottled ink with this surprisingly reliable fountain pen!

Con: If you're a newbie, you're likely unfamiliar with this filling mechanism, so it might be a little daunting. But I promise there's no mystery, and YouTube is your friend!

6. Platinum Prefounte ($11.00)

Another Platinum, this time a little dressed up but still fun! The Prefounte comes in both fine and medium nibs and takes either proprietary Platinum cartridges or converters (sold separately, unfortunately). This pen is also pretty forgiving if you end up forgetting it in your drawer: Platinum's Slip & Seal mechanism can keep the ink from drying for quite a while (allegedly, up to a year). Keep in mind, Platinum pens tend to have a little bit more feedback (read: scratchy feel on paper), so if you don't like the feel of writing with pencil, for instance, maybe opt for a medium nib.

7. Luoshi Labyrinth ($12.95)

If you want something striking and unique, this Luoshi might be right up your alley. The Labyrinth is an all-metal pen with a surprisingly smooth medium-fine nib. It might be a little too weighty for those not accustomed to hefty metal pens, and some people have complained that the cut out labyrinth design adds some discomfort to lengthy writing sessions, so keep that in mind!

8. Pilot Kakuno ($13.50)

If you've heard good things about the nib on the Pilot Metropolitan but wanted something cheaper/quirkier, boy have I got good news for you! Marketed for children in Japan, the Kakuno has the same nib unit as the Metro, making for a superb writing experience at a considerably lower price point. They come in a ton of colors and take proprietary Pilot cartridges or converters. Nibs of different sizes come engraved with different smiley faces for extra fun.

9. HongDian Black Forest Series ($16.95)

This pen is just cool. Matte, all metal finish? Check. Cool colours? Check. Converter included? Check. Matching colour nib? Check (on a couple of them, at least). Though this pen is metal, it is pretty slim and comes with a textured grip, making for a pretty comfortable writing experience (unless, of course, you don't like slim pens!)

10. Kaweco Perkeo ($17.00)

I call this pen Kaweco's Kakuno, because... well, just look at it. Then go back up to #8 and see that I am right. Regardless, this pen is a solid choice for a beginner, with different nib options (all pretty smooth) and a great assortment of colours. It also has a triangular grip, which will help you hold the pen in the correct position--though some people find it uncomfortable, so keep that in mind!

11. Platinum Plaisir ($17.60)

Pros: Aluminum body, several colours to choose from, different nib options (fine & medium), and Platinum's magical sealing cap to prevent your ink from drying.

Cons: Converter (proprietary) sold separately. Boo.

12. TWSBI GO ($18.99)

This little pen (the most affordable TWSBI iirc) has quite a few things going for it. It comes in several colours and has a bunch of different nib sizes (from extra fine all the way to a 1.1mm stub). The filing mechanism (a simple spring loaded piston) is very practical and easy to use, though it may be a little unfamiliar to most beginners and will require bottled ink (so go ahead and add to cart while you're at it!).

13. ONLINE Slope ($19.00) & Switch Plus ($20.50)

Smooth writers with ergonomic grips (i.e., triangular) to keep you in position when writing. Both the Slope and Switch Plus are made of plastic with stainless steel nibs that come in both medium and fine and write pretty smoothly. They're a great choice for a beginner, but maybe skip these two if you're not a fan of the triangular grip or if you like heavier pens.

14. Delike Mojiang Pocket Pen ($19.95)

If you'd like to give pocket pens a try, maybe start with the Mojiang. This little pen is all-metal, which gives it a nice heft despite its small size. It only comes in fine, but writes more like a medium. Though it takes standard international converters and cartridges, watch the size--some converters might be too long to fit! Furthermore, smaller pens usually mean smaller ink capacity, so if you're writing in long sessions you may have to refill more frequently.

15. Moonman M2 Eyedropper ($21.95)

If you want a large ink capacity and want to see it slosh around your pen as you write... well, look no further! Though this pen can take cartridges and converters, it was designed as an eye dropper pen, meaning you fill the body of the pen itself with the ink of your choice with... you guessed it, an eyedropper (included!).

16. Wancai Mini ($21.25)

Same as the above, just. Teeny tiny!

17. Diplomat Magnum ($23.20)

Despite its lofty name, the Diplomat Magnum is pretty slim, not to mention super light. It has a nifty little ink window so you can keep an eye on your ink level and comes Diplomat's soft touch stainless steel nib (in sizes extra-fine to medium) for a super smooth writing experience. This is another pen with a (less pronounced) triangle grip, and comes with a converter included.

18. Pilot Explorer ($23.60)

Pilot at it again with the superb nibs. Like the Kakuno and the Metropolitan, the Explorer also features a frankly incredible stainless steel nib (in both fine and medium). It comes in several colours and Pilot even deigned to include a converter with this one (though it's a squeeze converter that 1. might be a little unfamiliar to some and 2. kind of sucks in general, so maybe stick to the Pilot cartridges with this one).

19. Faber-Castell Grip ($24.00)

This pen is literally designed to be a beginner fountain pen, but it still looks pretty sleek, imo. It does feel a little plasticky/cheap, but that Faber-Castell nib writes super smoothly. It only comes in fine, though it writes more like a medium. No converter included with this one (boo-hoo).

20. Kaweco Sport ($25.00)

Another German pen, and another pocket pen! I love Kaweco nibs (from EF to medium, though you can buy other Kaweco nibs separately), and the Kaweco Sport is a great introduction to pocket pens. They come in a ton of colours and are pretty reliable, though they only take short international cartridges (and a short converter, which, you guessed it, is sold separately). There are several colour and material variations, but the classic has a plastic body and stainless steel nib. Maybe skip if slim writing utensils are not comfortable!

21. Pelikan Twist ($26.00)

OK, this pen may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I had to add it. It's super funky and the nib (medium) is pretty good. All in all, it's a pretty nifty way to try out a Pelikan, and if you're into the design (and the triangular grip) it can be a fun and reliable daily writer. Converter sold separately (askjdbaklsdjb)

22. TWSBI Swipe ($26.99)

This pen may not look like it goes over the top, but let me tell you, it does. The TWSBI Swipe boasts no less than four different ways of filling it. You can use your regular cartridge. You can use the (included!!) traditional converter. You can then swap that converter out for a piston converter (also included! what?!), and if you're not happy, you can just eyedropper the whole dang pen. It might be a little too much, too soon for complete newbies, but the learning curve is not very steep, and it's a great way to try out all of these methods on a single pen. Like the TWSBI GO, nibs (stainless steel) go from an extra-fine all the way up to a 1.1mm stub.

[lizard-shifter-noms]

Still Subject to Change Chapter 24 (NEW)

——————————————————————————-

Hello everyone! i decided to repost arc 1 of SSTC

(the chapters were way too long and had a bunch of typos but hopefully this will make reading easier)

this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.

if there are still any grammatical errors i’m sorry.

——————————————————————————

I was actually glad that Norrin was leading the way as I would already have gotten lost in the countless hallways that went who knew where.

How did anyone here even know where to go?

After rounding a corner I could see a big door that was painted white with the medical symbol on it, a snake winded around a staff with a round thing on top, an orb maybe?

I briefly wondered if it was inspired by a magical staff but discarded the thought as soon as I got it, Now was not the time to dwell on such things.

Norrin had already Knocked on the door and someone who I believed to be a nurse opened the door a crack.

“Can I help you?”

Norrin nodded briefly.

“Is Nea here? Or have you seen the ginger boy that was with her?”

The nurse glanced back into the medical wing before looking back at Norrin.

“Nea is here, yes, making a fuss as usual, as for the red headed young man we sent him to go scrub off all of that dirt he was covered in.

We can’t have that much filth in the medical wing so he was sent down the hall to the bathrooms and clean it off”

“Thank you miss, and send Nea our regards for a fast recovery”

The nurse nodded then closed the door again, and I could actually hear a faint cursing coming from somewhere inside.

Yep definitely Nea, she was probably cussing out whatever poor soul was tasked with helping her.

Since the nurse had said that Robin was just down the hallway that’s where we went.

We came to a stop before the last door in the entire corridor that Norrin informed us housed an actually heated bath big enough to fit ten people!

Still, to not be rude he knocked a few times but there was no answer.

He knocked again but there was still no answer, Was he even still there?

He might have left already and gone who knew where.

Pushing past the taller man I knocked on the door myself,

a bit harder than Norrin did.

“Robin? Are you there? Were going to open the door now”

Pushing the door open revealed a lot of steam for one, as well as a bunch of messy shelves that contained a lot of weird smelling stuff that assaulted my nose with a mess of different scents.

There were also a lot of basins laid into the ground with an elevated rim, separated by curtains, some of them emitting the steam that was everywhere in the room and a bunch of water filled buckets strewn about.

Going around one of the strange smelling racks I found Robin sleeping and half lying in one of the warmer basins whose water for whatever reason was completely lilac.

There were also a ton of bubbles everywhere and it smelled strongly of lavender, he’d messed with the stuff on the shelves no doubt.

“Found him, he fell asleep half buried under bubbles”

A blonde head popped up from behind another shelf, and Arthur leaned over to take a look.

He seemed quite amused at the sight before him.

“That’s not too bad of an idea, but i don’t think so much soap is necessary”

Rikaad also appeared from behind Arthur, making him jump a bit.

He glanced at Robin once and then turned back to face us.

“Since we found Robin I am now going to go and take a look at all the papers my predecessors have signed, i’ll rejoin you later”

I was a bit confused that he didn’t even want to get rid of the mud first but then again he’d barely had any on him, somehow.

While he went to do that with Norrin I decided to take a look at the stuff on the shelves.

There were a ton of things I did not recognize, such as various oils and grainy pastes that smelled strongly of a variety of flowers.

There were also a lot of pale, hard bars that smelled strongly of apples.

I picked one up to examine it as I had never seen something like that before, it was a bit slippery and I almost dropped it.

Raising it up to my face I wondered if it was edible, it smelled like it was at least.

Eh, one bite wouldn’t kill me.

Before I could sink my teeth into it however, I heard Arthur call over from the basin he crawled into clothes and all, only his shoes discarded next to the water.

“Don’t fucking eat Soap! What the hell are you doing?”

“This is what soap looks like?”

I stared at the bar again, I had expected soap to have a more soft composition, like fat.

It was made from fat as far as i knew so i really had expected it to be softer than this if not a more liquid form.

“What do you mean that’s what soap looks like??

Have you never seen soap before?”

“No? Remember i was a street rat, and a Bastard one at that, so why the fuck would i ever have had access to this?”

He looked baffled for a second.

“Ah yeah right, sorry, but still don’t eat that!”

“Now that i know its soap why the fuck would i do that?

I’m not keen on getting sick”

His amused face at me trying to eat soap shifted into something else as he looked at his soggy mud covered top.

He threw it off next to his boots without much thought, and I could see the manticore scar again.

“I have to say the mud is even worse than your spit, the mud is way harder to wash out”

I felt my ears heat up, right, I did eat him.

With us being about the same height now that was very easy to forget, And it had been a week or so ago since that happened, and neither of us mentioned it ever since.

At least he didn’t seem to take it badly.

Also I probably should get rid of the mud on me as well.

Taking off my rather run down boots and setting them to the side of the basin.

Climbing into the tub that was next to Arthur’s I also took off my own shirt and tossed next to my boots.

Then I took a moment to look at myself, or more specifically the area where my pouch was.

There was no outward sign of the stab wounds but I could feel them well enough.

The annoying itch was still there and I knew exactly where the stab wounds were so it was kinda freaky to not see any outward sign.

But that was probably a good thing, if there actually was any outwards sign it would be way worse for sure, maybe even deadly.

The only thing I could see was the scar from the time I lost a kidney.

“Hey you forgot your soap! Catch!”

I whipped my head around to Arthur who had pulled me out of my thoughts.

It took me a few seconds to register what he had said but by then he had already thrown the soap.

Since I was not prepared to have anything thrown at me I failed to catch it and it hit me square in the torso.

Or more specifically the area where my pouch was located.

I doubled over in pain and just about managed to not land completely in the water with a strangled whine.

“Oh fuck! Donovan, are you okay?”

Arthur had jumped out of the water after he saw me fall over and then just awkwardly stood there not knowing what to do while I tried to get back up.

“my pouch hurts, you hit it right in the middle”

I wheezed out, holding the area that had been struck.

“Is it still hurting? Are you okay? I’m so fucking sorry!

I didn’t mean to do that!”

“I’m fine gimme a minute, i wanted to ask Oakley for help anyway”

He didn’t look convinced, and neither was I about what I just said, but he didn’t do it on purpose and I wouldn’t hold that against him.

“Wha’s goin on?”

Robin had woken up, likely from Arthur’s loud voice.

Oh dammit, and now he was standing there in a pair of soaking wet pants and absolutely covered in bubbles looking rather concerned at me.

I was still half lying on the floor so I sat up completely if a bit hunched over.

“Im fine don’t worry, Arthur threw soap at me and hit the stitches, but it’s okay just surprised me”

He still looked concerned, well as much as he could with bubbles covering everything but his face.

“Maybe you should go to a doc? Maybe they can at least give something against pain?”

I shook my head.

“No, I mean how the hell would I explain that?

My anatomy differs quite a bit from that of a human, besides I don’t think telling anyone why exactly I have those stitches on the INSIDE would go over well, I’ll ask Oakley later as soon as he’s back, okay?”

He didn’t look too happy about it but said nothing else to the matter, Instead he took a handful of bubbles and threw them at Arthur.

Arthur then retaliated by jumping into the basin and splashing water at Robin.

Since I already felt better than just a moment before, which I blamed the soap for just hitting a nerve, so I decided to grab one of the buckets and splash both of the other young men.

Robin dodged with a squeal and Arthur got the entire brunt of it.

“COLD!”

In response to me throwing water he grabbed a bucket that was filled with soapy bubbles and threw that at me.

Since I was still sitting on the floor I had no way to avoid it and got covered in the lavender smelling liquid.

Pain temporarily forgotten in favor of adrenaline it grew into a full blown water fight in mere minutes.

On the plus side that did get all the mud off, and it was way more fun than just sitting in a bathtub.

It was a wonder nobody else came in while we splashed water absolutely everywhere but I was not complaining.

I never in my life had this much fun before!

After who knew how long we stopped and sat out of breath on the floor.

So that’s what it’s like to have fun with friends.

I realized I never had that before as every parent kept their child away from a bastard like me.

Also the fact I lived on the street probably didn’t make that better at all.

While I sat there the adrenaline slowly wore off and I could feel my pouch hurting again.

I hunched over a bit and tried to disguise it as just being out of breath.

It seemed to have worked as nobody said anything about it.

Robin was making bubbles by cupping his hands weirdly and blowing air into a soapy membrane that formed between his fingers.

They even floated for a bit before slowly falling down to the ground and popping.

Arthur was just poking the floating ones with his finger to make them pop prematurely, and I decided to join in from where I sat.

“Maybe we should leave soon? We made a hell of a mess and i’d rather leave before we get found in the middle of this chaos”

Arthur had a point, it looked as if the entire room had been a flood victim.

I decided to go and dip myself in one of the not-soapy basins to get the oily feeling of and then search for my shirt and boots.

In the heat of the water battle I had forgotten where exactly I put them.

In the end I found them around the corner near Arthur’s shoes.

Grabbing my shirt and wringing out the water that got splashed onto it I shook it out and fumbled for the bottom of it so I could put it on.

Putting my arms over my head proved to be a mistake however.

It hurt, like something had snapped in my pouch and I realized that I must have ripped one of the stitches.

I was proven right when I tasted something metallic at the back of my throat and spat it out.

It was a tiny bit of blood, not much and certainly not enough to be extremely worrisome.

Still, I should better check if Oakley has come back.

And I better not mention this to Arthur and Robin, they would probably blame the water fight for it and feel guilty.

Powering through the throbbing pain I put my shirt back on and poured the water from my boots.

I really needed new ones, These were just a few millimeters from losing their sole.

Washing the blood my body had ejected away with some water I stood up and went back to the other two.

Looking around the corner again I could see Arthur tossing towels onto the floor in front of the door.

Probably a good idea, otherwise the water would leak under the door.

Robin used the only dry towel left to dry his hair, making it stick in all directions from static.

He almost looked like a dark orange thistle.

Still, my pouch fucking hurt and i wanted to see if Oakley finally came back so he could help me.

“Let’s go look if Oakley has come back, the stitches are itching and its so fucking annoying, im sure the winged fucker knows what to do”

At my words Robin tossed the towel next to the ones Arthur had used to stop the water from spreading, and Arthur opened the door which caused some water to pour out regardless of the towels.

“Aww fuck, i hoped that would work, lets just hope nobody complains about it”

To avoid just that we all quickly walked down the halfway again before we came to a split in the corridor.

I looked down both of the halls but couldn’t really make out a difference,

Maybe the other two had remembered where we came from?

“Uh, does anyone remember which way we need to go?”

I was met with incomprehensive stares.

“No, sorry I’m really bad at directions, you Arthur?”

Arthur also shook his head.

“Eh fifty fifty chance to get it right, let’s just go trough one and we’ll find our way somehow”

He randomly chose the left tunnel and me and Robin trailed after him, trying to find anything that was familiar.

There was nothing I recognized, Then again I had not been paying much attention when we came in.

After a bend we could see a ton of doors laid into the walls, yeah this was not the way we came from,

and the windows were gone too.

“Where the hell are we? Maybe we should backtrack?”

I received a bunch of nods at my suggestion and we turned back around.

Only to find that there were two possible ways we could take as there was a fork in the hallway.

“Im sorry, but what the fuck? Who builds a castle like this?”

Arthur complained and I had to silently agree with him, How was anyone supposed to find whatever room they were looking for?

“So which way do we take now?”

None of us knew the answer to Robin’s question.

Though it would help to find a window or something, just to see what side of the building we were on.

“Well i say we should look for a window, maybe we can see where we are that way?”

I really hoped we would find an exit, and that as soon as possible.

I needed to find Oakley, my pouch was hurting like crazy and I did my best not to show any outward signs of it.

Still, I’d like to solve that as quickly as possible as I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep this facade up.

Since we went left to get into this hallway we chose the one on the right this time, hoping that this was the one we came from.

Robin was idly looking around.

“I wonder how the people that live here find their way? Do you think they have tiny maps of just the palace to orient themselves?”

I had to smile at the mental image of someone using a tiny map just to get around a building, a big building though.

“I doubt that, they probably are just used to it”

After wandering around aimlessly a little bit longer we came to a dead end.

The place we ended up in was circular with decorative stone benches attached to the walls, and best of all a big window.

Arthur immediately went up to it and stuck his head out, only to get back inside really fast again with a pale face.

“Nope, not that way, lets go search for another exit”

Out of curiosity both me and Robin stuck our faces out the window and looked down.

And even more down until there was only water very far below us.

I could even see some stalagmite like stone pillars poking out of the saltwater.

The ocean, right, the castle was built right on top of a giant cliff.

I pulled my head back in, Arthur was right there was no way out unless we wanted to fall who knew how many meters to our death.

I pulled Robin back inside by the back of his shirt as he was still staring at the waves crashing against stone far below.

“And how do we get out now?”

He asked after I let go of his shirt and put him back on the ground.

Arthur looked down the hallway we had come from.

“Maybe we can find someone and just ask how to get out?

There’s a lot of doors in some of the other hallways, someones bound to be there”

He was right, we had wandered aimlessly around for who knew how long now and clearly didn’t know the way.

And I wanted to get out already, I needed to find Oakley and ask him for help.

So knocking on random doors it was until someone opened that could tell us how to navigate this place.

I really wanted to punch whoever made the design for this place.

After finding the corridor with the ton of doors again, At least I assumed it was the same, We just started knocking on the doors.

It was after about five minutes that someone opened the door we knocked on.

In the doorframe was a soldier, a scruffy looking man that was not wearing his helmet, Nea would probably punch him for that, and behind him were some more soldiers that had apparently played some card game up until now.

Tha man gaze swiveled over us and i noticed he seemed to be slightly inebriated, was he drunk?

His glassy stare came to a stop on my pointy ears and I could see his entire demeanor shift from relaxed to high alert.

Before I could react he drew a dagger from his belt and aimed to stab me, yelling loudly.

“FAELING! INVADER!”

The man raised the blade over his head and let it swoop down, aimed at my face.

Arthur managed to pull me back in time and the dagger hit only air.

“HEY! FUCK OFF, HE’S NOT AN INVADER!”

It did not look like they believed him, and now the other three soldiers that had spied on this one’s cards shot up and also grabbed sharp looking things before standing behind what I now assumed to be their leader.

That was not good.

Apparently not all of the castle’s staff had been informed about what happened and that I was not a foe.

The first soldier now aimed for Arthur who was in a defensive stance.

Suddenly Robin grabbed my arm and tugged me away from the door and I realized what Arthur was doing.

The soldiers couldn’t get out of the room if he was standing in front of the door, he was intentionally putting himself in the way so we could get a head start.

I let Robin lead while Arthur punched the guy that had threatened me right in the face.

I could swear I even heard a crack as his fist collided with the soldier’s nose.

We went around a bend and ran face first into another person, in my adrenaline fueled brain I thought we had run into even more soldiers but as I looked closer I realized that it was the gardener.

He was carrying an empty flower pot with him that he set on the floor after we ran into him and then he looked both of us right in the eyes.

“What are you doing here young lads? Ah i see you’ve found your ginger friend”

Right the last time I saw him I told him I was looking for Robin, but last time I was in Ardua form so how did he know that I was the same person?

My train of thought was interrupted by a shout from behind us, Arthur came running down the hall with a bruise on his cheek.

The soldiers he had pissed off were right behind him though so I tried my best to hide.

There wasn’t anything to hide though so I tried to squeeze myself into one of the wall decorations.

Since it was rather small, that was not effective at all.

Arthur came to a stop next to Robin and held his sore jaw looking confused at the Gardener whose name I didn’t know.

A few seconds later the four soldiers that were pretty intent on cutting my lifespan short also came around the bend and stopped when they saw that we were basically hiding in the wall behind the gardener.

The Gardener did not budge, he had no weapons or anything and while he was buff he stood there relaxed as if nothing was wrong.

This guy had a lot of guts to just calmly stand there while he was being charged at by four angry and armed men.

They stopped right in front of him though.

“Barsen! Get out of the way! You are standing in front of invaders! And a Faeling! Move so we can do our job!”

The Gardener, who was apparently named Barsen, did not budge.

“Your job? I thought these days you just drank and played cards? And i have to inform you, as you clearly missed it,  that these boys are friends of the new king, so i think you should leave before this escalated even more”

He spoke like he was talking about the weather but the soldiers looked horrified at this piece of information, their gaze going over each of us and lingering on Arthur’s bruised jaw and my pointy ears.

“But he’s a fa-”

“He is a friend of the king, and i’m pretty sure that some of the old laws are going to be changed now that there is a new ruler”

He interrupted the stammering soldier firmly but gently.

The Soldiers looked at each other and then turned tail back to the room they had played cards in, and in the distance I could see one of them holding a bleeding nose.

Barsen then turned back to look at us.

“Are you boys alright? Should I bring you to the infirmary?

I’m sure they have something for that bruise on your cheek young man”

That was probably a good idea, the infirmary was at least somewhere we knew and maybe someone we knew would show up.

that and maybe we’d get to talk to Nea if we went with him.

Arthur still held his bruised jaw but nodded and I nervously looked back the way those soldiers had gone, holding on to Robin’s tunic so as to not lose him.

“Yeah, i think that’s a good idea, i don’t want any other people that didn’t get the message to try and stab me”

He nodded and picked the flower pot up again and I noticed that while it was as big as my torso it was not empty, It was filled with a lot of dry dirt.

No wonder he was buff if he carried stuff like that regularly.

PREVIOUS / NEXT / OVERSIGHT

[mcalhenwrites]

Seasons - excerpts of current WIPs and abandoned side stories

Some of these I’ve shared before, others I have not. There are spoilers for Seasons ahead, so if you haven’t read it, it might be best not to proceed.

[“Cold”]

Vivian’s house is too large, too quiet. It once represented a perfectly oiled machine, the cogs of his magic always spinning to keep his family sheltered.

Now that it has broken down, Vivian sees the signs of wear and tear, of severe neglect.

[“Little Autumn’s Ninth Birthday”] [El’s POV] (Note: The conversation takes place between El and Howie.)

“Jacy’s been restless and keeps looking for you.”

He nods, smiling. “I wouldn’t miss her birthday! How many times does someone turn nine?”

I narrow my eyes, which only makes him laugh, though it seems short. Forced. The bitterness has faded with time, but it hasn’t completely left him.

“When she turns twelve, you can make the same joke.”

“Don’t start, Howard.”

“I’m not starting anything.”

We’re interrupted by a shriek and the running of feet across the floorboards, muffled only by the entryway carpet when Jacy reaches it.

[Untitled, but “Bee” as a placeholder]

The little spring child is sitting among flowers and watching the pollinators. Not just the many bees, but the variety of wasps and other insects that never get associated with their role in spreading plant seeds across the landscape.

Beau—or Bee, as most refer to him—is fond of wasps in a way others aren’t. He appreciates them where others only feel fear.

Some are bright red. (Bee likes that color. He was born from a red tulip, after all.)

[“Opposite of a Mistake”]

What’s the opposite of calling someone a mistake?

“I’m glad you exist.”

“I’m so happy you were born.”

“I love you.”

Shannon says them all in his head or out loud, even as the four-year-old wakes him up at too-early hour, a wide toothy grin lifting his chubby cheeks. Curls halo Jasper’s pleased face.

Jasper doesn’t want his hair cut—cries if anyone suggests it—so Shannon watches as it grows more and more with each passing day.

Shannon brushes some off his son’s forehead as he remains in bed, too willfully tired to get up sooner than five minutes from now. Dawn spills between the curtains, reminding him that he could sleep in for a bit if he didn’t have a child. Wouldn’t need to sleep in if not for that same child.

And that’s fine.

[Untitled, placeholder is “You have a brother”]

“Did you know,” Sophronia begins in a whisper, lips almost pressed to El’s ear, “that we have an older brother? His name is Shannon, and this is his season.”

Summer reminds her of him. It doesn’t matter how much time passes. The memories fade but never disappear. The strong scent of rain-soaked earth or the sweet smell of the rosebuds on the bushes in the garden always bring back her fondest times with him.

Then he did something bad—so bad, her parents couldn’t tell her the details—and she couldn’t even be left alone with him.

“He’s dangerous, Sophie,” Papa would tell her.

“Why?”

“He did something horrible that hurt a lot of people, and I don’t want him to hurt you.”

Her parents never let her ask more questions after that.

She still doesn’t understand why Shannon is a taboo subject and she’s not even allowed to mention he exists. She is the oldest child, and summer is no more.

But summer is now, the cicadas loud in her ears, the sun strong enough to require a parasol. It’s unmistakable that she once knew a skinny young boy with features similar to Papa’s whose hair was as golden as the wheat swaying in the field down the road. He was always warm enough to snuggle in winter beneath the wools and furs.

[Untitled, placeholder “Shannon stuff”]

“Papa, please! Please, don’t leave me in here—”

The sound cuts as Vivian waves his hand impatiently. One snap of the wrist, and the noise—filtered through the cellar and laundry room doors—mutes behind the barrier he has cast.

Vivian sighs and leans back in his chair. It’s a temporary and inauthentic peace, but it provides him with enough time to calm down. If he’s lucky, the boy will as well.

Graham should be home soon. They’ll have to move again, and it needs to happen quickly, before the townspeople arrive to knock down their doors.

It’s all that child’s fault.

Bailey peers up at Vivian as she huddles against the back door. When there’s yelling, she always avoids him. Her tail sits between her legs, ears back, snout down.

Graham returns within the hour, carrying in a freshly snared rabbit for supper. He scares Bailey from her spot, and she slinks off to Shannon’s bedroom—presumably to hide beneath his bed.

The mood of the home is palpable enough that Graham pauses. Vivian sits stiffly at the table, eyes rimmed with red and mouth set in a grim line. His hair is disheveled, like someone tried to pull it from his scalp.

“What happened?” Graham glances around as he sets the rabbit on the bench where he skins and prepares meat. “Where is he?”

Vivian rubs at his face. “Cellar.”

Graham lifts the rabbit back up to slam it down again. “Vivian, we’ve talked about this!” He makes a beeline for the laundry room.

“We have to move. Tonight.”

Graham turns, uneasy eyes falling on Vivian. “What happened?”

“That insolent little fool blurted out something while we were in town. Made a comment that I could just cool myself off with my magic if I was hot. People overheard him.”

“He’s only eleven. He forgot.”

“Don’t make excuses for him. He knew better—he’s always known better! I might never take him into town again. He can stay in the cellar until he’s an adult. Let’s see how well he fares when it’s his magic they’re after! If he gets any magic. I hope not.”

“You don’t mean that—any of that.” When Vivian doesn’t answer, Graham grimaces. “Please tell me you didn’t mean that.”

“I don’t know what I mean, except that it can’t go on like this.”

“How long has he been down there?”

“Two hours, maybe?”

“Vivian!” Graham glances at the laundry room door before turning back to his husband. “He’s so quiet.”

They both are aware of how hard Shannon screams when he’s put down there. How he bangs on the door until his knuckles are bruised. How he scratches at the wood with his nails until they chip to bloody stubs at the quick.

Graham turns to Vivian, eyes narrowed. “I can’t hear anything at all.”

“I used a sound barrier.”

Graham closes his eyes, nostrils flaring with every angry breath.

“I liked living here,” snaps Vivian. “We could’ve eked out a living here for another year or two—maybe even longer, if we were careful. He ruined everything.”

[“Avoiding Guilt”]

Shannon stomped through the tall grass and sniffed at flowers. He chased grasshoppers, marveled at cicada shells, and caught a frog in his little hands.

Vivian followed behind him. Emitted cool air and sighed when it did nothing. Offered smiles he did not feel in his heart when Shannon showed off captures.

“Put them back, don’t hurt them,” Vivian told him.

Shannon listened. Dashed off on his too-quick feet.

[“Summer in Distress” chapter 10]

Shannon drifts on like a breathing specter, living through days he doesn’t want to live, dreaming through nights he doesn’t want to dream.

He survives through decades. His mental health rises and falls like a winding road through hills, and there are times he’s grateful to Phineas, who holds all the credit for getting him through his lowest days.

[“Cosmos” chapter 1] (Note: this is a backstory about Vivian, and he doesn’t have a name at first.)

The boy is four—unbeknownst to him—with grubby hands that clench the hem of his over-sized tunic. His fierce stare is full of a level of hatred no child his age should know. The bruises wrap around his ribcage, the coloration a time-line of different beatings.

Some of his scars and bruises are from his parents’ children, some from his parents.

[“Seasons”, new chapter to insert (the new chapter 20)] [Vivian’s POV]

My children have begun to make a habit of disappearing from my household. First Howie left with the intention of following me to work, then El went into town to track his sister, and now Howie has decided to run away.

I should have anticipated this from him. He has pushed at the seams of my magic and my patience, wandering into territory I warned him not to go. The other boys back off, but Howard refuses to heed my warnings.

This second time leaving the property appears to be an attempt at running away.

Graham is angry at me and can barely conceal it. This, he claims, is all my doing. Now he fears for Howie’s safety, as if my own concerns aren’t equal to his.

[“Seasons”, possibly the new chapter 22] [Vivian’s POV]

No summer. No foul summers, hot and humid and screaming…

[ladyantiheroine]

She Has My Eyes

Summary: Renfield has a second chance at family after Rebecca brings a familiar-looking girl to his apartment.

Requested by @kpopgirlbtssvt

“Robby?”

Renfield heard Rebecca’s voice and her knuckles rap on his apartment door. He dropped the book he was reading and stood up from the couch.

“It’s open,” he said.

Rebecca peaked her head inside.

“Hi,” she said. “Are…busy right now?”

Renfield shook his head.

“No,” he said. “Just got back form group. Going to make dinner soon. Are you hungry?”

Rebecca shook her head. She kept the door closed enough to only reveal her face, like she was hiding something.

“I’m good, thanks,” she said. “I um….I have someone I want you to meet.”

She opened the door and stepped inside. Following her heels close behind her was a young girl, wrapped in a burgundy coat that was just a little too big for her. There was a white wool cap on her head, with little brown curls sprouting from the bottom. She shyly looked away from Renfield as Rebecca closed the door.

“The police found her wandering around alone a few days ago,” she said. “She hasn’t spoken a word sense. We think…something bad must have happened to her parents.”

“Oh, poor thing,” Renfield said. He slowly kneeled down and gave the child a small smile. “Hello, little miss. My name is Robert.”

The girl looked at him for a long moment. Wide, pale, almost familiar blue eyes. Then she turned her gaze away. Renfield turned his attention back to Rebecca.

“Poor girl seems awfully scared,” he said. “But I must ask…why did you bring her here?”

Rebecca pursed her lips.

“When I saw her,” she said. “I thought she looked…kind of familiar.” She paused for a moment, considering how many details to say with the child presence. “Basically, we found two people who might have been her parents.”

Might have been. Those words sent a cold rush through Renfield’s body. He looked down at the young girl. Whatever happened to her parents, it must have put her in a traumatic shock.

“We had to run some DNA tests to make sure they were really hers,” Rebecca said. “The evidence confirms it. But…” She bit her bottom lip. “I compared the girl’s DNA with yours too, Renfield.”

Renfield furrowed his eyebrows.

“How did you get my DNA sample?” he asked.

“Some of your blood was still on one of my shirts,” Rebecca said. “From our…last visit to your old friend.”

Right. Renfield had managed to go a long while without thinking of Dracula, a sign he took as progress.

“I managed to scrap enough out, isolate it, and test alongside the girl’s,” Rebecca said. “And…Renfield, it matches. I matches really, really close.”

Renfield was stunned for a moment. He looked the girl again. As he looked at her features, a wave of deja vu hit him. She had his eyes and dark hair, but she had his wife’s nose and heart-shaped face. Features that managed to survive centuries.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gone behind your back to do it,” Rebecca said. “It’s just…I saw her and it was like…I couldn’t not think of you. You two look so similar.”

“It’s okay, Rebecca,” Renfield told her. “I just…”

If it was true, if this young girl was a descedent of him, then…it means his wife and child were okay. Despite his betrayal, despite running off with a vampire lord, his beloved managed to go on without him. She raised their daughter, and his daughter had a child, and that child had a child, all the way to the girl standing before him.

The girl was even the same age as his when he left. It was like looking back in time. A photograph brought to life.

Renfield’s thought were interrupted by a beeping sound. Rebecca pulled out her phone and groaned.

“My sister,” she said. “I need to take this.” She looked down at the little girl. “I’m going to go out in the hall for just a minute. Stay with Mr. Renfield. He’s nice, I promise.”

The girl gave a tiny nod and Rebecca ducked into the hallway. The little girl brought her eyes up to Renfield. It had been to long since Renfield was in charge of a child, and yet it felt…familiar. Suddenly all those fatherly instincts from centuries before came rushing back, and it warmed Renfield to think Dracual hadn’t beaten them out of him.

Maybe…maybe this was a chance to try again.

“I’m thinking of having pancakes with eggs and bacon for dinner,” he told her. “Have you ever had breakfast for dinner before?”

The girl was quiet for a moment, but then shook her head.

“Well, I certainly have enough for all three of us,” Renfield said.

A small ghost of a smile briefly glimmered on the girl’s face. She looked him right in the eye. Two identical pairs of baby blues looking into each other.

“Are you my new daddy?” she asked.

Renfield’s heart squelched in his chest. The first words the girl must have spoken ever since being orphaned. He thought he would start weeping.

“Well, I’d have to speak with Miss Rebecca,” he said. “But…it would be an honor, if you would allow me.”

Then, the girl smiled.