#I’m going to a farmer’s market tomorrow and will stare in the face of those who have also created and summoned food from air molecules

[corseque]

I want to grow an enormous amount of strawberries so badly it is causing me physical pain. I need a strawberry plant that I can endlessly clone into infinite strawberries right now as soon as possible

[shallowseeker]

Their three-man kitchen huddle is more than a little conspicuous.

“He asks every weekend, though,” Jack is whispering. “It doesn’t seem very nice to keep ignoring him or hiding in the living room.”

“One, it’s the Dean-Cave. Two, no one’s makin’ you ignore him. I mean, didja even friggin like it?”

Jack straightens up, defensive. “I—a little bit.” Dean raises his eyebrows at him, and he feels caught out. “At first.”

Cas clears his throat, and then both turn their attention to him. “I find that the human ingenuity of pyramid schemes wears off after the first stroll around the market.”

Dean nods at Cas and snickers. Then, he turns his attention back to Jack. “See? You can be honest, Kiddo.”

Jack deflates. “I just—maybe Mary will go with him? She’s here.”

Dean and Cas share another significant look.

“Come’mon, kiddo. You spent how many months together?”

Jack flounders. “Bobby, then? Maybe Rowena.”

“Rowena does not like to sweat, nor does she enjoy badly homemade soap and overpriced vegetables.”

Jack huffs. “Someone has to go—”

“Jack!” Sam says, sparkly-eyed and excited as he enters the kitchen. “I’m about to head out to Smith Makers’ Market. Wanna tag along?”

Jack feels panic rise up in his throat. Sam looks so happy about it, but, “I—can’t,” he spits out awkwardly, to which Sam cants his head in confusion.

“Dean promised to take me to-oooo, uh,” he tracks his eyes over to where a commercial for a monster truck rally blares on the tiny kitchen TV, “a monster truck rally.”

Sam’s eyebrows go to his hairline and he makes a disgusted face, but Dean looks overjoyed.

Dean crows. “See? Look at that face. It’s a good thing we didn’t get you a ticket. Lookit that.”

Sam’s eyes track hopefully to Cas next, and Dean hooks an arm around Cas’s neck. “Cas’s idea, actually. He’s driving.”

Sam scowls.

Cas stares. “Yes, Sam. It’s in Salt Lake City, so we have to leave soon to make it in time for the show tomorrow. We can’t go to the Makers’ Market or the afternoon Smoothie Fest, I’m afraid.”

Dean balks at that, and Jack suspects that the lie has probably gotten too complex by this point.

Mary strolls into the kitchen next, and Sam’s eyes light up. “Morning, Mom!“

She freezes but can’t escape the full blast of his puppy eyes.

“I’m about to head out to the Makers’ market,” he prattles on. “Wanna go?”

“The one with the overpriced vegetables?” she squeaks. Her face falls, but she manages to zip up her horrified reaction. “Uh,” she says, sending Dean a mayday signal with her eyes. “Could we…do flea market instead? Hot dogs n’ funnel cakes are more my speed.”

Sam scrunches up his nose. “Really? Those are kinda—I mean—I don’t know any closeby.”

“Maybe Dean will go with you.” Her tone is strangely accusatory, and Dean laughs.

“Dean is taking Jack to Salt Lake City,” he crows, triumphant, and Mary’s eyes seem to beg, ‘Take me with you.’

“Well, we do have one extra ticket,” Cas says fiddling with his phone. “If Sam doesn’t want to come along…”

Dean almost gives the game away with a hushed, “You already bought tickets?!”

But Sam’s ears don’t seem to pick it up.

“I’d love to go!” Mary exclaims, not even knowing what the tickets to Salt Lake City are for.

She looks at Sam, “Unless…you want to go?”

Sam looks like Salt Lake City is about the last place he wants to go. “No, you guys go on ahead,” he sniffs, seeming put out. “That’s uh, no.” He trudges off in the direction of the library.

As soon as he leaves, Jack lets out a gush of air. “Oh, no. Was that mean? It seemed mean.”

“Dude,” Dean whispers, gleeful. “That was awesome.”

“So,” Mary coughs, checking to make sure Sam’s out of earshot. “Where’re we going exactly? It’s a good time for a hunting break, and I’ll go anywhere so long as it’s not the frou-frou farmers’ market.”

Cas punches some stuff on his phone. “If we leave soon, we’ll be there in 12 hours and can do a late hotel checkin. The monster truck rally is tomorrow evening.”

“Monster truck rally?” Mary sounds intrigued.

Dean, on the other hand, buzzes with nervous energy. “Wait, are we really going?”

Cas deadpans. “It’s likely they’ll have hotdogs and funnel cakes in the concessions area.”

Mary pumps a fist. “Sounds great. I’ll have a quick shower and be ready in forty-five. I’ll check one last time if Sam wants to come along.”

Two hours later, all four of them sweep up the bunker steps with duffel bags in tow, deciding to take Cas’s Dodge in case they stop by any stores on the way back. (Mary has been wanting an air fryer.)

Sometime between their huddle and getting ready, Bobby had wandered into the library and gotten cornered by a lonely Sam.

Jack hears Mary lean over to check with Cas, “Oops. I forgot Bobby was stopping by. Were there any seats left near us?”

Cas cringes, punching at his phone. “Unfortunately…no. Not anymore.”

“Too bad,” she whispers, before shooting a cheeky grin Bobby’s way. “We’ll see you later,” she calls. “Probably Monday.”

Bobby looks like a deer in headlights, or maybe a lamb offered up for slaughter.

“Have fun at the farmers’ market,” she adds. “Thanks for going with Sam.”

Then, she ushers them quickly out the door.

The look Bobby gives her is nothing short of murderous, but the one Dean gives her is utterly adoring.

The best part about it all is Cas makes Dean and Mary sit in the back seat. Jack always gets shotgun in the Dodge.

[noxsoulmate]

💞⚾ Noxy’s Tarlos Baseball Fic ⚾💞

Ship: Tarlos | Fandom: 911 Lone Star | Author: noxsoulmate | Read on ao3

Chapter: 1/2 | Word Count: 5390 | Rating: Explicit | Warnings/Tags: baseball, valentine's day, different first meeting, meet-cute, running into each other, coffee shops, farmers market, night clubs, hook-up, baseball player TK, baseball player Carlos, rivals, Red vs Blue (but not the episode), banter, sexual innuendos, flirting, teasing, basically Tarlos uses the baseball game as foreplay, and they don't hide it, implied sexual content, but TK has a dirty mind so the rating is explicit, making out, strangers to lovers, love at first sight | Art made by me

Summary:

The moment he spots him, he freezes. For just a tiny second, he wonders if all his thoughts of Carlos have summoned him. And then he takes in the man as a whole, attire and all – and his mind goes blank. Because Carlos is wearing a jersey as well. And it’s blue. Carlos is wearing the blue jersey… of APD.

~*~

Meet cutes are only meant for rom coms, right? So why is it that TK has a total of four of them with the same stranger in just one day? Besides, Valentine’s weekend is certainly not the right time for him to have his head in cloud nine – not when the annual Baseball game between Fire and Police is on the line. Apparently, Police hasn't lost in years thanks to their pitcher. But now Fire has TK on their team – a paramedic who had a chance to play in the major leagues...

This fic is finished, chapter two will be posted tomorrow.

The biggest, biggest thanks goes out to the amazing @lightningboltreader and @bonheur-cafe. These two spent the past few weeks explaining an American game that seems to have no rules to a European who had zero knowledge about it - and they did it in a way that said European was able to write a fic about it. I bow to you two! They also helped plot out every step of the game - Char, Dalawa, this fic truly wouldn't exist without your help, and for once, that's not just a phrase 😂

💞⚾ Read Chapter 1 on ao3 ⚾💞

Sneak peek under the cut:

TK knows better than to check his phone while walking. He actually has been dispatched to scenarios in which walking while looking at the phone had ended in tragedy in one way or another. So clearly, he should know better.

But that doesn’t stop him from answering Nancy’s text while he’s in the middle of the supermarket, walking along the cereal aisle. The moment he hits send, he’s reminded just why it is so bad to not look where you’re going.

The only thing he really registers is that he smacks into something solid, losing the grip on the few groceries wedged into his arm – because who needs a shopping cart or basket, right? Apparently, he does because right away, everything tumbles to the floor; the oranges roll away and for a split second, his heart stops when he fears the jar of honey will break, but it lands on the jug of milk first so the fall is softened, thankfully. The only thing he can catch is his phone – thank God – and with his heart pounding, an apology on his lips, he looks up.

Only to lose his breath again.

He’s staring into the warmest, softest brown eyes he has ever seen and while that should be a completely boring color for eyes, it certainly isn’t on this man. Those eyes are eyes he could stare into for days and still not get tired. And that isn’t even acknowledging the rest of this perfect face.

“I’m really sorry, are you alright?”

It takes TK a second to realize that the man just spoke – holy hell, what a voice – and he has to shake himself to get his head back online.

“No no, that was all my fault, I’m the one who’s sorry,” TK hastens to apologize before quickly kneeling down to pick up his stuff. The handsome stranger follows, crouching down to help with the oranges while TK starts rambling. “I was checking my phone. I know that’s something you shouldn’t do but my partner just messaged me and she sometimes gets impatient when it takes me too long to reply and I don’t want her to worry. She’s worried about me enough already and–” He looks up to see the man holding out another orange to him, a soft grin on his face. “Aaand I should stop talking. I’m sorry,” he adds one last time as he takes the last orange and stands back up.

Once again, the handsome man follows and for a second they stand and look at each other, frozen in the moment. Until TK remembers his manners.

“Are you okay? I ran right into you.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Also, all of my groceries are safely in a cart,” he adds with a little grin, definitely teasing TK, who huffs out a laugh.

“I only have a few things, no need to bother with a cart.”

“If you say so.”

TK wants to reply – wants to stay and spend hours talking and teasing with this man – but right then, his phone pings with a new message. His eyes fall to the screen.

“Well, uhm, sorry again for crashing into you,” he says with a little smile. “I need to get going.”

“Careful though. No need to run into someone else.”

For a wild second, TK wonders if the man means this in a flirty way. For an even wilder second, he wonders if he should just take a leap of faith and ask for the man’s number – but then he remembers that he’s living in Texas now – has been for over a year, in fact – and that in this place, he can’t just hit on random strangers even when his gaydar tries to convince him it would be okay. The risk of hitting on someone who will take it the wrong way is just too high. So, accepting defeat and the fact that he can’t just ask a random stranger for his number because it would sound weird and crazy and be potentially risky, TK simply smiles and nods.

“I’ll try my best.”

The whole long way down the cereal aisle, TK forces himself not to look back, not even once, not even when his senses try to convince him that someone’s staring at his back the entire time.

💞⚾ Continue on ao3 ⚾💞

Written for the @tarlosweeklyprompts Valentine's Fic Exchange and my giftee @sugdenlovesdingle. The prompt was: TK and Carlos meeting via the police vs fire baseball game when they’re on opposing teams (bonus points for a grey’s anatomy-like thing where they hook up the night before without knowing who the other is and then seeing them at the game).

Dear SugdenLovesDingle, I'm really sorry you get your gift this late, Corona stole a whole month from me... I really hope the story will make up for the wait 💖 I loved your prompt so, so much! I've always wanted to write a coda for Red vs Blue - but this is even better. I'm a sucker for alternative first meetings, so this was just brilliant! I hope you like the little twist I put on your bonus points prompt - I just couldn't decide on the meet cute I wanted for them, so... I gave them all 😂

Bingo square used:

@mfbingo O3: Meet Cute

Noxy’s Tagging List: @chaotictarlos, @detective-giggles, @sgirl18,  @sapphire11, @bubblesandroses8, @firstprince-history-huh, @beautifulhigh, @rangergurlgleek1211, @shadesofdeviant, @otter-love-asl, @ramblingdisaster73, @first-kanaphan, @xtltokio, @lightningboltreader, @buckybarnesalways, @meditating-honey-badger, @mangacat201, @tarlossource

[thatbritishactor]

Secret Santa Fic Exchange for @blanchedelioncourt

Take Me Apart (part 2)

Pairing: Billy Russo x Reader

Summary: Your friends have been trying to set you up with Billy for a year now. Spending New Year’s Eve with him in a remote cabin might finally do the trick.

Type: Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Idiots to lovers, “There’s Only one bed”.

Words: 2,700

Part 1

Take me Apart playlist

My Masterlist

It’s nearly 6 pm when you’re on your second round of long island ice teas. Karen and Frank just finished preparing the desserts for later. They’ve retrieved in the living room while Billy and you prepare his legendary homemade pizzas. You’re on dough duty while he takes care of the tomato sauce and toppings. He’s disposing cherry tomatoes in a bowl when he asks you an unexpected question.

“So, you seeing anyone interesting these days?”

You keep kneading the dough, a smile escaping your lips.

“No” you reply, wiping your forehead with your wrist, looking back at him “Just a bunch of uninteresting people”.

“Shame” he states, his dark eyes glinting. Something pulls inside your stomach when your eyes meet his, and you try to bury the feeling deep, focusing back on kneading.

“What about you, Billy?” you ask, making a ball with the dough before wiping your hands on the apron. Billy watches you, his eyes following your every move.

“Same as you” he answers before biting into a cherry tomato.

“You know, we’re supposed to put those on the pizza, right?” you ask, gesturing to the fruits in his hand. He releases a chuckle.

“I know, but these are so good. Where’d you get them?”

“Farmer’s market” you reply, facing him. You lean against the kitchen counter, putting your hands behind you.

A small silence settles, only disturbed by laughter coming from the living room. An alarm goes off and you jump, looking at the oven.

“The pecan pie” you remark.

“It’s okay, I’ll do it”. Billy slides mittens on. You watch him move, appreciating his precise gestures, the way his grey sweater hugs his toned torso and his arms, biting your lower lip. You check him out when he leans to open the oven, and he grabs the grid, and puts it over the stove. You approach him and look at the dessert, humming appreciatively.

“That smells amazing!” Karen shouts from the couch. You and Billy chuckle and share a glance; you swallow thickly when his dark eyes find yours. You step back and grab your drink, trying to recollect yourself. Frank steps into the kitchen, clapping his hands.

“Time for another beer” he gloats, opening the fridge.

“Still no long island?” you ask.

“Nah, I’m sticking to beer”

“You better drink the champagne I brought, tomorrow” Billy warns.

“Yes, Mr. Fancy Boy” Frank jokes, and Billy throws a tomato at him. Frank dodges it and leaves, laughing loudly.

“What’s about that champagne anyway?” you ask Billy, putting a cloth over the dough, and going to the sink to wash your hands.

“I’ve spent 500 dollars on that bottle”

You stare at him, baffled.

“500 dollars for that rube?” you exclaim, and Frank shouts from the living room.

“Who you callin’ a rube, missy?”

The four of you laugh, and Billy grabs both of your drinks as you join your friends in the living room. You settle on the couch in front of the fireplace, and Billy sits next to you. You try to focus on the conversation rather than the fact that he’s close to you, and that extending your arm would suffice to touch him.

You put your legs under you, and Karen suggests you play a game while the dough rests. After arguing over which game is best, you settle on King’s Cup. You quickly notice that Frank and Karen push Billy and you to partner up, and you’d be upset if you weren’t drunk.

Being tipsy makes you careless, and you appreciate drinking when Billy does, as if an invisible thread is linking the two of you. You try not to overthink and have a good time, something you’ve managed to do for the last year whenever you were hanging out with him. Being around Billy sometimes feels effortless: he makes you laugh; you share common interests and you’ve developed a good relationship. Other times it’s harder, especially when you feel weak and indulge in thoughts involving his hands, his mouth, or every other part of him you wish you’d have on your body.

An hour later, you’re all laughing and feeling relaxed. You take the final card, a ten of spades. You must start a category, and you’re lost in thoughts for a whole minute, unable to decide. Billy starts to pressure and tease you, calling you slow, and you throw the card at him.

“All right!” you shout, narrowing your eyes. “Category is the list of women Billy Russo has slept with” you state, turning to him and meeting his dark gaze. You’re surprised to find them shimmering, wondering how he’s feeling right now. Maybe he’s just drunk. Frank whistles before speaking.

“You know you’re supposed to pick a category we can finish tonight, right?” he jokes, and Billy throws a cushion at him while Karen snorts.

“Alright, I’ll start” you say, straightening your back and cracking your neck. “Stacy the bartender”. You turn to Billy, and he takes a sip, escaping your gaze. It’s Karen’s turn and she replies immediately.

“My friend Chelsea” she says, nodding. Frank looks surprised.

“You didn’t... She’s engaged!”

“She was.” Billy mysteriously states, and you cackle before putting your face in your hand. This category is good for you right now: you’re feeling especially attracted to him tonight and resisting the need to get close to him grows harder with each sip of your drink.

“Okay, alright. Madeline Rich” Frank states, and you nod. It’s Billy’s turn. You do several rounds, and Billy’s expression darkens with each name uttered by one of you. You start to feel a little guilty when he starts to fidget on his spot, stroking his eyebrow. It’s a gesture you’ve already seen him display whenever he was feeling nervous, and you decide to end the tour and pretend that you’ve run out of names of women. He seems relieved when you take a sip of your drink, indicating that you don’t have anything to add to the category.

The game ends and you spy on Billy from the corner of your eye, looking for signs suggesting that he feels uneasy or upset.  His smile looks a bit forced, and you find him unusually stiff. Guilt infiltrates your bones, and you want to reach out to him and apologize for making him uncomfortable. You decide that you’ll do it later, preferably when you’re alone with him, unwilling to do it in front of the matchmakers. It would only make them even more unsufferable than they already are.

It’s time to make dinner and you set the table while your friends work on their pizzas. Dinner goes smoothly and you exchange anecdotes, playing the game two truths, one lie. You learn plenty about Frank and Billy, discovering that they were scout sniper specialists, and did several tours in Iraq. They amaze you with stories of war and camaraderie, and it’s a little after midnight when Frank and Karen decide to head to bed, leaving you alone with Billy. You decide to keep playing two truths one lie together, neither of you ready to go to bed yet.

“All right, my turn” Billy states after you’ve made him laugh with a childhood story involving you eating dirt. He puts his elbows on the table, leaning toward you, and makes the serious face he exhibits when he means business. His eyes shimmer when he speaks next, and you try to focus on his words rather than the things you’d like him to do to you.

“I have 134 confirmed kills, I grew up in a foster family, and I’ve never been in love”, he declares. The last affirmation takes your breath away, and you ponder on his words, the alcohol making your mind drowsy. You think for a few seconds, glancing back to him, and he grins. You blink a few times, refusing to be distracted by him.

“I think that the last one is true” you start, and Billy raises his eyebrows, still smiling. You bite your lower lip and keep going. “You growing up in a foster family sounds familiar” you think out loud. “And 134 kills seem like way too much for one person. I think it’s the lie”. You stare back into his obsidian gaze, a smirk forms on his lips.

“Actually, you’re wrong.”

You raise your hands in disbelief.

“Come on!” you shout, “What was it then?”

“I was raised in a foster home” he admits, his eyes wandering over the floor before falling on your face again. “Never in a foster family”.

“Oh.” Is all you say, and you lower your eyes, looking at your hands resting on your lap. “I’m sorry” you add, knowing how he’ll react next.

“It’s nothing” Billy replies, looking suddenly distant. You’ve noticed before that he seems to hate pity.

“You lose” he says, and you take the final sip of your drink.

“134 confirmed skills, huh?” you ask, willing to change the subject. Billy grins, and you sigh, relieved to have taken his mind off your last display of unwanted empathy. You both laugh and a comfortable silence settle, only disturbed by the crackling of the fire in the chimney.

“It’s pretty late” you acknowledge, “We should go to bed if we want to be in shape for tomorrow’s hike.” Billy hums in agreement, glancing briefly at the couch.

“We could share the bed, you know” you surprise yourself saying. Billy’s eyes find yours, and you find shock in his dark gaze. Your heart starts to pound in your chest, your slow mind only just grasping the implications of what you’ve just said.

“As friends” you add.

Billy nods before settling his drink on the table. “The couch is okay. I’ve slept on far worse.”

“I know, Lieutenant Russo” you tease, hitting him with your foot. “Still, we’re adults. We can behave, right?”

You wait for his answer, your heart beating wildly in your chest. The alcohol gave you the courage to be straightforward, but you anxiously wait for him to speak. You have no idea of what just came over you, because sharing a bed with him seems like the worst idea you’ve ever had. Somehow, part of you wants him to say yes, and you know that it’s the one you’ve been trying to silence for a year.

“Fine, I guess” he sighs, and you roll your eyes.

“I was just trying to be nice.”

“So honorable” he teases, and you get on your feet, grab the empty glasses, and bring them to the kitchen. Billy follows you silently, and you put the dishes in the dishwasher while he cleans the table and the kitchen counter. Once you’re done, you share an awkward glance, and you decide to head upstairs, hearing him closely following you. You climb the stairs, your heart sill racing in your chest, feeling adrenaline pulsing through your veins. Your stomach’s doing backflips, and your hands are slightly trembling.

You enter the bedroom and retrieve your pajamas from your bag, grateful that you chose you’re the prettiest set you own for the weekend. You try to breathe evenly and give him another look before heading to the bathroom. He removes his sweater, and you catch a glimpse of his toned stomach, your heart stammering as you turn over quickly and leave the room. You angrily brush your teeth, contemplating your life choices, blaming yourself for asking the hottest guy you know into your bed under the false pretense of friendship. What the fuck is wrong with you?

Why did you ask the guy you’re crushing on to share a bed with you? Are you a masochist? You shake your head, amazed by your own stupidity when you hear soft knocks on the door. Billy enters, holding his toothbrush, and you smile at him before leaving. You’re still trying to control your breathing and fast heartbeat when he enters the bedroom again, and you’ve already changed into your pjs. You slide under the covers, trying hard not to notice that he’s wearing a black shirt that makes him look even hotter.

“I sleep in my briefs, is that okay?” he asks, and you shake your head a hum in a high pitch, unable to control your own voice. You settle on the pillow while he walks around the bed and sits on it, removing his black jeans. You grab your phone and scroll through your messages, trying to distract yourself from the fact that Billy Russo sits half naked next to you.

You focus on your breathing, almost worried you might pass out when he slides under the covers next to you. Thankfully, the king-sized bed is large enough for you to fit in without touching. You sigh and put your phone on the nightstand, wondering if you’ll be able to sleep tonight.

“I hope that I won’t be too hungover tomorrow” Billy comments in a tired voice, and you glance at him to find him lying on his back, his eyes closed. You stare at his beautiful profile, detailing the way his hair falls at the sides of his face, a rare occurrence since it’s usually perfectly styled. You resist the urge to slide your fingers through the dark strands, admiring the shape of his cheekbones, his strong jaw, the beauty spot under his eye and his lashes.

“I know, me too” you reply oddly out of breath, and Billy opens his eyes, his dark irises capturing you.

“D’you want some aspirin?”

“So chivalrous” you remark, shifting on your side to face him, and putting your arm under the pillow.

Billy scoffs “I’m just tryin’ to be nice” he sighs, closing his eyes again, and you chuckle.

“Since when are you nice?”

He opens his eyes to roll them.

“Since always, you just have a lot of prejudice against me”, he replies, looking back at you. You stop breathing when your eyes meet, surprised to find vulnerability in his charcoal gaze.

“I do? Like what?” you inquire, genuinely curious.

Billy shifts from his back to lie on his side, facing you. You watch him move, your heart beating in your ears, and you’re afraid he might hear it.

“You think I’m shallow” he starts, almost in a whisper “Superficial, vain.”

You swallow thickly, your cheeks getting red.

“See, I’m right” he smiles, “You’re blushing because I’m right.”

“It’s not that” you close your eyes to escape his intense gaze. “I just… I don’t really know you” you lamely explain.

“Right, you don’t know me, so why do you think I’m vain?” he asks, his eyes roaming over your face.

You ponder on his question, wondering how you found yourself in this position.

“I don’t know, I guess I thought that anyone as attractive as you would be shallow” you admit, and you catch him grinning, his whole face lighting up, his nose crunching. He looks so much younger like this, his eyes shimmering with mischief, his smile genuine and beautiful, it almost breaks your heart and lures you in, making you unconsciously lean closer to him.

“What?” you ask, blinking. “What did I say?”

“You said I’m attractive” he exults, and you sigh and shift on your back and put a hand over your face.

“You’re a child” you grumble, and he guffaws in response. You glance at him and he’s still grinning like the idiot he is.

“Stop it” you lightly hit him in the shoulder, and he laughs even harder.

“What’s so funny?” you ask, and he puts a hand over his stomach, releasing a satisfied sigh.

“Watching you trying to resist my charms” he replies with the same unbearable grin, and you hit him again before shifting on your other side, your back on him.

“Goodnight, Billy” you say on a dry tone, and you feel him shift in the bed, wondering if he turned his back on you too.

“Night” he replies, and he switches off the lamp on the nightstand.

tag list:

You find yourselves in the dark, your cheeks still burning from the embarrassment, and you close your eyes and try not to think about Billy, his warm body, his stupid face, his dark eyes, or his strong hands, a few inches away from you.

.

.

Part 3

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@hagarsays

@ohsorandomlyme

@stuckysdaughter

@aunicornmademedoit

@bat-revival

@mrs-brekker15

@fuzzymoggle

@sirius-is-hot

@londoneyes-glasgowbones

@vissidarte213

@daddy-firth

@aleksanderwh0r3

@nevertoofarfromivar

[justthehiddleswrites]

It’s Just a Pumpkin | Adam x Charlie

A/N: I finally finished something.  A miracle.  So this takes place a few months after Bleeding Hearts. 

Pairing: Adam (OLLA) x Charlie Bock (OC)

Summary: Charlie is excited for the spooky season and can’t understand why Adam is so against it.

Warnings: mentions of past trauma (night terrors), most fluff, light angst

Adam and Charlie Masterlist

Thank you for reading and enjoying my stories and work.  

--

“No.”

“But it is just…”

“Charlie, no.” His voice growing more terse.

“They were on sale at the Farmer’s Market. I was going to make pie later on.”

Adam stood up and walked to the doorway connecting the kitchen to the living room. His robe open and he hadn’t bothered with pajama bottoms that morning. “I can smell them, Charlie. Those are not pumpkins for eating. They’re pumpkins for….” His lips curled up into a sneer. “…carving.”

Charlie’s chin dropped towards her chest, her brown curls sadly bouncing. “I didn’t think you could tell the difference.” 

Adam rolled his eyes, but only because her head faced the floor. “Well, it’s another note to add to your Adam notebook.” He stood there, watching her. Charlie’s eyes staring at the swirls of dirt and dust obscuring the pattern of the worn linoleum of their shared kitchen. His resolve and anger quickly melting away.

“I’ll give them away at the hospital on my next shift.” she commented, her voice hardly louder than a whisper. “I’m sure they can go to someone who gets to celebrate the holidays.” She shook her head from side to side as she spat out the words. 

Of everything they had ever argued about, and at this point Adam had lost count of the number of things, nothing had left a sore spot with Charlie as much as Adam’s utter and bitter hatred for Halloween. 

“It’s a bastardization of All Hallows Eve in order for the capitalist machine called the American economy to eek out more money for the consumers.” he countered the first time they argued over it. Back in July, when Charlie first brought up the idea of decorating.

“So what?! Maybe I don’t mind that! Maybe I enjoy the one day of the year where I got to pretend to be someone else?! Anyone else besides who I was. It was a night of escape and fantasy, Adam. Of magic.” She plopped down in the chair not too far from him that evening. “Why can’t I have that?” He sighed, holding his head in his hands. Something Adam found himself doing on a more and more frequent basis since he met Charlie. “Because you don’t need it anymore.”

“HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT I NEED?!” Charlie yelled, only to regret it as Adam stood and walked into the bedroom, taking his beloved Gibson with him, without another word. She quietly slipped into bed that night and Adam pulled her close against him without another word.

Now every time she even mentioned “October” or the “holiday season”, he would leave the room, sometimes slamming doors, but usually not. Charlie did her best to chalk it up to Adam’s “moodiness”, his demeanor. But she knew it was something else. And she didn’t dare ask. 

She sighed. “They will be gone by tomorrow, Adam. And until then, I will put them outside, okay?”

He gave a brief nod. Charlie walked towards him and gave his lips a peck. “Now, when is the last time you had a hot meal?” She pulled him towards the couch with a laugh.

-

Charlie snored softly next to Adam as he slipped out of the covers and made his way to the spare bedroom. He sat at the end of the bed, balancing Charlie’s laptop on his knees, while he logged onto Zoom. A familiar face popped onto the screen after he spent about twenty minutes fiddling and curing. 

“Adam.” Simone’s pleasant tone rang out. “It’s been too long since we spoke. Is everything okay with Charlie? The nightmares?”

Adam frowned. “About twice a month, unless she pulls double shifts at the hospital and then every night until she gets proper sleep. I believe you call it ‘self-care’.” He rolled his eyes at the last bit. “I didn’t exactly coin the term, Adam.” Her lips pulled into a thin smile. “This isn’t about Charlie. At least not entirely, is it?”

“No.”

He watched as Simone pulled out a calendar and flipped the page. “Oh, I see.” Her shoulders slumped, and she takes a deep breath. “Adam, sometimes a pumpkin is just a pumpkin.”

He nodded, his face twisting in pain. “I know that, but…” his voice trailed off and he looked away.

Simone tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. “Tell me about your first Samhain together.”

Adam’s head snapped towards the screen, his eyes flashed for a moment and then he slumped to his side. “It was about four months after we met…”

-

Charlie woke up the next evening to find Adam gone. She checked the spare bedroom and then the living room. She heard something hit the kitchen table and she walked in to find Adam’s back hunched as he worked on something. A smile creeped over her face.  “Are you tinkering with the microwave again, darling? Because I don’t want to have to buy…” She walked in front of him and stopped speaking as he set down the kitchen knife.

Adam spun the pumpkin around to reveal a crude jack-o’-lantern face carved into the pumpkin. He twisted his hands on top of the table. “My artistic talents lie elsewhere.” He responded softly.

Charlie smiled as she sat down and took his hand, squeezing it. “You didn’t have to do this. I was willing to—”

“—Halloween reminds me of Eve.” he blurted out. “Particularly jack-o’-lanterns. And pumpkins.” 

She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”

He ran his thumb over her knuckles. “Don’t be. I should have told you, instead of ignoring it.”  He exhaled sharply. 

Charlie smirked at him. “Perhaps you could tell me about it and we could incorporate some of it around the house?” She raised a brow. “Unless Simone already suggested that.”

Adam’s eyes grew wide. “How did you…?”

“You never say you are ignoring your feelings, you just say you don’t have them.” She stood and went to make her evening coffee. “Have you eaten?” Her hand poised on the freezer door handle.

“Not yet, I was busy ensuring I didn’t chop off a finger.” He moved to grab a cordial glass from the cabinet.

Charlie took his hands and counted all ten fingers. “All accounted for.” She laced her fingers with his, pulling him close, wrapping her arms around him. “Love you.”

He leaned down and inhaled Charlie’s scent, her bay rum soap still lingering from her shower the night before. “I love you more.” 

[vemuabhi]

Disney Romance - Cinderella’s Bird - 200 followers special

@littlesniggy​ said : Hey you! Now it's my turn to request something! Kida sad you don't write for Akainu but I can understand 😂 He's an asshole! If it hasn't been requested yet, would you do Mulan/Cinderella with Kid x female reader? I'm super excited which one you choose/ if you choose it at all! Thank you!

A/N : Omg thankyou so much for sending an ask @littlesniggy​ san!!! I am so excited to answer this for you! I loved writing for the grumpy boy. This was really a beautiful experience writing this for Eustass KIdd. Please don’t have high expectations for this.

Warning : A big fic written by me. But has a happy ending.

Word count : 2.7K

I hope you like it!

XOXOXOXO

“Why the hell should I get married now?”, you complained to your Robin who always was beside you, she was a maid but you always admired her and always treated her like a friend not like a maid.

Robin sighed and patted your head as she took the place beside you on the bed. “I should have the choice when I want to get married. Not some jerk who is randomly selected by my parents”, you scoffed and plopped back on the soft burgundy-coloured bedsheets. Robin gave you a sad smile and said, “That’s true. I too believe that marriage should be for Love”

Being a princess isn’t easy. Every girl dream to be a princess but its not as beautiful like the fairy tales are. You are a live example for that. Not once you could decide for yourself. Even the big puffy yellow gown you were wearing was not of your choice. The corset was killing you inside. You wanted to rip it off and throw it out of your window. With language classes, you always had dance classes, tea sessions, music classes. Everything that was chosen by your parents, was practically forced upon you.

‘What kind of lunatic needs to learn how to drink tea?’, you cursed the tea sessions when ever you were being called to it. All you did was brew tea and drink during the whole time. The music classes were always a hectic. You wanted to learn an instrument but when you were given another. Your wishes were denied because who cares about your dreams? In the beginning even dance classes were troublesome, But you tried to put up with all those demands of your parents. In return they are now trying to get you married as soon as possible.

“I’m done with this Robin”, you spoke and got up. “I’ll do whatever I want”, your voice was stern and Robin was curious on what you were about to do.

“Cancel todays classes, I’ll be going to visit the town to relieve my stress”, you announced briskly walking towards the closet.

“Are you sure your highness? But how can you go alone? You must have someone wit-”

“Robin! Its fine. I can take care of myself”, you didn’t let her finish her sentence. Throwing your corset on the floor and dressing up like a maid didn’t take long enough. You made your way towards the secret passage in the palace and exited the palace. Even though Robin was worried, she had to stay back in the castle to make sure no one notices your leaving.

The town and the market were as lively as ever and you walked around the place. As you kept walking, you saw a couple who looked very much in love. You felt a bit envious of them. At least the commoners had the freedom to do what they like. As you were walking aimlessly in the market, you bumped into a tall buff guy.

“Oh I’m sorry”, after apologising you thought of leaving but it didn’t go well.

“Hey! How can you go away like that?” the man started to fight with you. As you felt the very heavy scent of alcohol hit your nostrils, you knew that this man was heavily drunk.

“What? I apologised so what’s your problem now?” you questioned as your dominant hand slowly reached for the sword hidden in your skirt.

“You bitch how dare you speak back to me?” he raised his hand to land a hit on you but just when you were about to take out the sword, his had was stopped mid-air. You then saw a man who had red hair. As soon as the jerk saw that man, it seemed like his senses came back to him again.

“Asshole! Didn’t I tell you this is my shop and never make a scene in front of it”, the man shouted at the rogue twisting his arm. He winced in pain as he apologised and ran away.

The red haired man went into a shop, what seemed like a shop of vegetables and fruits. ‘Was he a farmer?’, you thought and followed him. Looking inside, there were so many fresh vegetables and also fruits in the shop.

“What do you want?”, a sharp voice questioned making you turn towards the owner of the voice. It was the same red head from before.

“Uh, I… I’m here to buy”, you said and looked around again trying to seem convincing. He huffed and sat on a chair fiddling with something which seemed like a machine. Your interest perked up and you asked him, “What are you making?”, moving closer to take a peek at the machine.

“Why should I tell you?”, he spat but as he looked at your face, he noticed that your eyes were sparkling with curiosity and interest.

“Tsk”, he clicked his tongue and explained about the way he wanted to make a machine bird as you listened to him carefully. He kept telling you how helpful machines would be if used in the correct way.

“But, don’t you think, this material you are using to make this bird is kinda… cheap and looks like its gonna break soon?”, you questioned for which he frowned and replied, “Don’t you think I already know that? I… I just don’t have the money”, mumbling the last part.

“Oh! I got an idea. Listen to me, uhh..”

“Eustass Kidd”

“So, Kidd As this bird is still in the beginning process, I’ll bring you the material tomorrow. Till then don’t touch this. Okay now I need to leave. I’ll be taking this basket here”, you said and took a basket of strawberries and tossed a coin to him.

“HEY WAIT!! YOU DIDN’T EVE- and she’s gone”, still with that grumpy look Kidd took his screw driver to continue working on the bird. But he remembered you telling him to wait till tomorrow. So he sat back in his chair and exhaled.

“Its not because she told me to wait. I… I want to continue this tomorrow”, he huffed and folded his hands. Then he remembered about the coin you threw.

He opened his palm and his eyes widened as he looked at the coin. It was a gold coin. A freaking gold coin for a basket of strawberries.

“No way. What the heck is she thinking?”, he carefully placed it back in the locker and thought to give it back to you tomorrow.

At the castle you came back and continued with your remaining day. You should leave tomorrow. So you need to make plans.

“Robin I need you to do something for me”, you explained how you needed high quality metal and also the timings of classes to be shifted. So, it did happen and you had continuous morning classes without breaks but, you were a free after them and it made you to take material Kidd wanted to make the bird. Changing out from your attire of a princess you went to the same shop as yesterday. There you found the man coming towards you as if he was waiting for you all along.

“I got the material you need”, you said as you placed it beside his table where the bird was supposed to be made.

“Were you waiting for me? Sorry I was late”, you said and he instantly replied, “Wha- Who was waiting for you?”

“Ah ok”, you muttered as you saw him instantly looking and taking the material with a faint pink shade on his cheeks. He looked just like a child exited to play with his toys.

“Where the hell did you even get these? These are clearly expensive?”, his sudden questions made your thoughts to break.

“Ah… I got it from the Kings dumpster”, you made the blankest expression trying to hide your lie.

“Kings Dumpster?! The King threw away this metal when it’s like this?”, he asked as his brows raised when you just nodded.

“Tsk… and here I am, trying to get re-rid of rust from metal. Using them for the 100th time”, he huffed.

You both sat opposite to each other and he worked on the bird as you learned about the work he was doing. Helping him with giving the appropriate tool at times, you had more fun than you ever had in your life. He tried to return the gold coin but you didn’t take it and made a deal to take vegetables or fruits in return, for which he agreed. You both fist bumped as an agreement of the deal.

From that day, you made your way out of the castle to meet Kidd. Surprisingly, he always waited for you to come to work on the bird. Meanwhile he somewhere started to call you little lady and you actually liked it. It became a routine for you to take a basket of veggies or fruits every time you left the shop. Sometimes he’d you’d tag along with him to his small farm. He was totally proud of his farm. His eyes showed it. Where you knew you never felt that feeling that he was feeling. Never once in your life you felt you were proud of something you did. He was living a complete different life than yours. You found your heart skip a beat every time Kidd smiled. You liked him.

Kidd was unique. He was terrible in showing his emotions but he was a good person. Every time you left the castle for him, seemed right. You actually felt happy seeing him and working with him. But of course, this happiness didn’t last long. Your parents wanted you to get married soon and told you to pick a groom for yourself in the ball that is going to be hosted next week. Bloody next week.

Because of the ball, you had to take even more classes for walking like a princess and also more fashionistas coming to find the perfect gown for you. Due to those, you couldn’t meet Kidd for 4 days.

Meanwhile, Kidd waited for you staring at the front door of his shop. Whenever the door opened, he met with disappointment because it wasn’t you. He couldn’t even continue on his bird. He had doubts on his feelings for you but now, it was clear for him that he liked you. Your thoughts haunted him. His heart earned for you. Only for you to return.

After a long hard day of work, you sneaked out of the castle in the evening and went to Kidd’s shop. You opened the door and your eyes met with Kidds. You both stared at eachother for a few seconds before he spoke.

“Come in”, you obliged and walked into the shop towards the desk where you both made bird. It was just like it was 3 days ago. “You didn’t continue to make the bird?”, you inquired as he just turned away and shook his head as he scratched the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact.

“Kidd, its late and I have to leave soon so listen to me”, his vision shifted to you as he gulped.

“But you just came, why do you have to leave?” he asked as he approached you and placed his hands on your shoulder.

“Aww did you miss me?” you tried to tease him but this time, he neither denied nor looked away from you blushing. He stayed silent for a while before he said, “I did”

You didn’t even expect that from Kidd. His hands travelled down from your shoulders to your hands. “I did miss you. So much that I couldn’t even touch that bird”, He looked serious. He placed one hand on your chin and looked into your eyes.

“I didn’t… I didn’t think your thoughts would haunt me that much when you didn’t come. I… I didn’t know when, why or how. But I know that, I have feelings for you little lady”, his voice trembled as he spoke the last bit.

“Kidd are you serious?” you asked placing a hand on his cheek. He leaned into your touch and nodded. His eyes looked desperate for your answer. Pulling him towards you, you connected your lips with his. The kiss was gentle and with so much of emotion.

Both pulled away to look into each other’s eyes. “I have feelings for you too Kidd”, you smiled and Kidd’s face lit up making you smile in return. He leaned and touched your forehead with yours and exhaled with relief. “Can I request you something Kidd?”, you asked and he nodded.

“Can you come to the castle this coming Wednesday?”

“To the castle? Why?”

“There is a ball going to be held and I want you to come”, you said and stepped back, away from his touch. “Now it’s my turn to wait for you, I should tell you something. So please come”, the last part sounded more like a pleading and with that you left the shop.

Kidd didn’t knew why you had to leave so early. His heart was beating so fast. Confused whether whatever happened now was real or not. He sat on his chair unable to remove your pleading face from earlier. Kidd looked at the bird which was unfinished and took the screw driver to continue working on it. Its been a while since he alone worked on something. It wasn’t a new feeling for him but still, he preferred to talk and have you around while he made it.

The day of the ball arrived. You wore your outfit and looked out the window at the crowd of people came to the castle. Men and women from so many places arrived there. With the help of Robin you made sure that when Kidd comes, he wouldn’t be stopped by any of the guards. The time was almost running out. The first dance was supposed to be started soon but you couldn’t find Kidd anywhere.

Your parents were urging you to find a partner and start the first dance. ‘So Kidd isn’t coming’, you thought and tilted your head up to prevent the tears falling out from your eyes. You pinched your skin trying to distract the pain away. Stepping on the ball room in your burgundy coloured dress, you walked with a straight face. Then suddenly your eyes fell on a person, who was trying to not be visible in the crowd but, his hair was definitely saying otherwise. You swiftly made your way towards that person.

People cleared way for you and it didn’t take long for you to meet the person with the red hair. He was wearing golden coloured suit and his hair was combed back neatly. He looked different but it was him. His cheeks turned the same colour of his hair. You chuckled and took his hand, pulling him towards the middle of the ball room. You placed your hands on his shoulder and pulled him closer to you. His hand trembled before he placed it on your waist. With that the music played and you both danced, with other people also dancing.

“Why didn’t you come to me?”

“How could I? You are a princess and why didn’t you tell me you were a princess?”

“Would you even talk to me like you did if you knew I were a princess?”

“That’s… true but… now here I am, with the princess Y/N in my arms”, he said pulling you closer. You giggled and pushed back the strand of hair which was on his forehead. You both smiled at each other and continued dancing. After the first dance, he pulled you away from the ball room and you followed. He walked towards the garden where no one was and took out something from under the bench.

“What did you bring?”, you asked. He turned and showed it to you. Your eyes went wide looking at the bird that he brought.

“You made her at last!” you exclaimed as he looked down shyly. “Yeah kind of made it. I wanted to show it to you today”

“I love it so much”, you said as you took it in your hands. It was your memory. The time you spent making it with Kidd. It was precious to you two.

“Keep it. It’s yours now”, he said as he smiled.

“Really?! I will take care of it so well”, you replied and jumped on him making him catch you quickly. You looked at him and leaned in for kissing him again. Now, it was passionate. No one to intrude as you were alone. Smiling you pulled back and leaned your forehead with his.

You now found a grumpy man, who would understand you and would really be the reason for you to smile.

Made with picrew

XOXOXOXO

I hope you liked it. Thankyou for reading.

A comment, Like/Vote, Reblog/Share would be appreciated!!

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[teacupcollector]

The Undead Kind of Love: Part 1

Main Masterlist Series Masterlist

Pairing: Vampire Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: When Y/N’s art project lands her in Romania she is met with very peculiar circumstances. Such as a weird old man speaking mythical nonsense, murders of both people and animals, an oncoming threat to her life, as well as her mysterious yet very hot next door neighbor with a weird obsession with beetroot juice.

You came to the Romanian capital for your college class. Your major was in Art History and you found that throughout your class you enjoyed different types of Folk Art and you enjoyed Romanian Folk Art the most. So you decided to sign a slip to study abroad to a country of your choosing and so you chose Romania. You were tasked to study the art and make your own as well as write an essay on the culture you encountered on your trip. So here you are, in Bucharest sitting at a small park bench, food in hand which had a beautiful view of ‘The Arch of Triumph’ You had your small notepad that you use to take notes on what you see for your essay but as of right now you are doodling with the infamous arch way as the sole subject. As you finished your food you begin to pack up and put your pencil and notebook away then stand up. Your next stop was the “Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum” It is about a seven minute walk from where you are now so you begin your journey.

With your backpack over your shoulder you begin your seven minute trek when something caught your ear. It was coming from ahead of you as you make your way to the entrance of the museum. “Pleacă de aici (Go away!)” A man cried. He seemed out of his mind! He was yelling and touching patrons in an effort to diverge them away from somewhere. “trebuie să pleci acum (You must leave now!)” You weren’t sure of what to do so you just stood there staring. That was your first mistake. He immediately made eye contact with you and charged in your direction. He was spitting nonsense and you couldn’t understand what he was saying. “Părăsi! Părăsi! (Leave! Leave!)” You understand that word so as you go through your imaginary index cards you have for the Romanian language you ask “De ce? (Why?)” The man seemed confused at what you were asking. “Mort! (Dead!)” You look at him even more confused and he sighs angrily “Vampire! Here Vampire!” You look shocked. You knew this man was crazy but not this crazy! He begins to grab on to your arm in a firm grip when he is suddenly ripped off of you. “Destul! (Enough!)” You see a pair of what looked like officers pulling the man away from you. “Atenție! ( Be careful!)” The man cries. “nu ieși noaptea! (Don’t go out at night!)” The police officers are taking him away in the direction of the main road. “Morții merg pe timp de noapte (The dead walk at night!) That was the last words you heard until he was out of ear shot. A wave of strangeness incased your entire body. You felt uncomfortable so you decided to leave. ‘I’ll come here some other time...’ You think to yourself as you find yourself walking back toward the main road and away from the museum and the woods that surrounded it.

Your walk home was unnerving. You wouldn’t say you were a paranoid person or even a believer in the paranormal but the man did strike a fear in you. You use to love vampires when you were a kid. You dressed up as one for three years straight for Halloween. You went through that weird Twilight phase of putting dots of sharpie on your neck and drinking red Kool-Aid in middle school. To say you weren’t a vampire fan would be a lie but that man seemed to know more. I mean you are in Romania so it is to be expected? You sigh as you get closer and closer to your apartment complex. Your backpack seems to be getting heavier with each step you took up the stairs. You enter an outdoor hallway that is connected to the stairs you just went up and look back to the world behind you. As the chill of the Autumn air sets in and you shiver. You turn to your door and take out your keys that were provided for you by the school. 

As you jiggle the lock you hear a door open next to you. You look to your left and see a man step out. He is wearing a brownish leather jacket and a red shirt underneath. He has a cap on top of his head as his umber brown hair surrounds his face. His side profile was a chefs kiss. He had a well defined jawline accompanied with just the right amount of facial hair from what you could see his face stood stern and unmoving until they landed on you. He had equally stern baby blue eyes as he stared into you (E/C) ones. His eyes seem to have a storm behind them. He had an intimidating look to him and the air around him was intense. You felt like you couldn’t breath. His eyes were like a black hole and they were sucking you in but you weren’t sure if you wanted to escape. That brief moment felt like a life time as you are swallowed by those broken eyes. He just looks at you and walks away.

When you got inside you decided to do a little research. Your roommate has yet to return so you decided to use their computer. You go to the local online news paper and begin to look at some articles. You go to the settings in the corner of the screen and hit the translate button. As the site reloads you begin to read. Multiple headlines flash across the screen as you scroll until a specific one catches your eye. “Local Farmer Finds Cattle Slaughtered” You scroll down to see pictures of said cattle. They are strangely skinny and their eyes are sunken in, there is a chunk of meat missing on a few parts of its body -mainly around the neck area- Scrolling down more you see the museum you were suppose to go to. There was a picture of the man you encountered holding onto somebody. Looking closely you can see that it is you! You didn’t realize that you were being photographed. Luckily it was of the back of your head so no one saw your face, but it would be a cool story to tell to your friend later. As you continue to stare at the man you decide to do even more digging. You decide to look up vampires and the influence they have in this culture. What you found was interesting but you weren’t sure if it was accurate. Then again how can something mythical be accurate? You decided to write down the name of a library that is close to your apartment complex and head there tomorrow. You decide to exit and shut off the computer putting it back on the coffee table where it belongs. You get up and decide to see what you have in the fridge. Turns out there was a whole lot of nothing. ‘I really need to go to the market tomorrow...’ You think to yourself as you reach for your phone looking at different take out places. You choose the type of food you wish to eat and made sure to write down the pronunciation of each items on the menu so you can be sure to say it correctly to the best of your abilities. By the time you are done ordering your roommate walks in and gives you a small wave. You wave back to them before continuing to wait for your food. You look out the sliding door of your balcony to see the sky is pitch black. You feel a shiver go up your spine and make your way to the sliding door and shutting the blinds. You take a few steps back and calm your breathing. You don’t know why you feel so worked up over nothing but you guess that your paranoia is getting the best of you. You walk to your roommates room and knock on the door. You hear a quiet ‘come in’ so you open the door. “Hey I just wanted to let you know that I got us some food and it will be here soon.” They smile and nod and you exit the room shutting it behind you. You don’t know how long it has been but you started dozing off on the couch when you heard a knock on the door. You quickly get your wallet and approach the door opening it. You expected your food to be here. What you didn’t expect is the person holding your food in their hands. “Oh it’s you!” You exclaim making the man you saw earlier today flinch. You blush red in embarrassment. “Sorry Uh-” You begin to try and speak some Romanian but the man cuts you off. “Your food got delivered to my place...” You look even more shocked. “Oh right. I’m so sorry!” You pop your head around the corner of the door way looking for the delivery person. “Where did they go?” You ask looking up at him. “They left...” He murmurs. “They wouldn’t have left without payment... Did you pay for my food?” You ask suddenly feeling guilty. He nods. “Why don’t you come i-” “No it’s fine.” He says holding out the bag of food to you. You look between him and the food. As you look closely you can see his hand. His hands look tough, fingernails are well kept with veins protruding and leading up his arm, but the thing that caught your eye the most was how his fingertips and some of his hand was stained red. “Is that your blood!? Are you okay? Did you hurt you hand?” You ask taking the food in which he takes his hand and wipes it on his jeans even though there is no liquid on it. What ever it was you hoped it wasn’t blood because it must have been there for a while to have stained it. “No I didn’t hurt my hand. I spilled some beet root juice.” He says quietly. “Oh... Okay...” You say slightly weirded out. “Well good night.” He says before walking away. You are stood there for a moment before you call out “Good night! How do I-” You hear the sound of his apartment door slamming shut. You were debating on going over there to say something but your thoughts were interrupted by your roommate calling out to you. “Hey what are you doing with the door wide open? Is the food here?” She asks and you sigh “Yeah I’m coming in.” You say as you step back into the apartment and shut the door. A/N: I used Google Translate for the Romanian So I’m sorry if it is off. A/N: This story is for a writing challenge hosted by @lokithealligator A/N: The bolded words is number 46 in a prompt list made by @pitaparka​         -Please check both of them out they are amazing!

[magsthemagnanimous]

Boy it’s been a while since I’ve written a Levihan fanfic (or any fanfic in general) so this is a little shitty. But here goes nothing.

And They Lived

Summary: Against all odds, despite the seemingly unending chaos, Hange Zoe, the fourteenth commander of the Survey Corps, survived. It wasn't long until she found herself living the life she thought she would never have – with one specific person, at one specific place, three years after the war ended.

Mornings never usually thrilled Hange, but as she continuously strolled through the woods, her footsteps leaving little crackles as dried leaves crumbled under her boots, she felt peace she hadn’t had in a long, long time.

The light from the early morning sun filtered through the trees, the air was crisp and fresh and it felt good when it brushed against her skin. When she looked around she could see wildflowers growing in every direction. The entire forest seemed to be a place full of vigor and life – and even hope, and it’s as if it was never a witness to the war that happened almost three years ago, which rendered the world almost completely uninhabitable for the remaining twenty percent of humanity who survived.

Thinking about the war, and even the years before that was almost too much to bear, Hange thought. She lost friends, comrades, family, and if she was being honest with herself she thought it almost possible for her to die, too. She had accepted her fate, resigned to her own death the minute she heard the colossal titans’ footsteps shaking the ground as they walked closer and closer to where she and the alliance were standing in.

But even amidst the chaos and the impossibility of it all, she survived. And to go on living and to finally live the life she wasn’t able to have, it was all that remained for her to accomplish.

Hange took a deep breath and continued her stroll, getting nearer to her destination – her home for the last two years. The basket she had on her hands was heavy but she figured that if she bought more goods from the market today, then she wouldn’t have to go back for the next five days or so, as going to the nearest district to buy necessities was too much of a hassle to do every other day, anyway.

It wasn’t long until she reached the little cottage she called home, and even before she reached it she could already see someone stirring inside from beneath the windows the cottage offered.

He’s awake. She’s kind of hoping he saw her note that she has gone out to the market that morning, as she did leave before the sun was up. He was still sleeping soundly – a rare occurrence, given his state – so she didn’t feel the need to wake him up.

Hange sped up her pace and soon enough she was inside the cottage already, dragging her heavy basket effortlessly and beaming at the face that greeted her when she entered.

“Good morning, Levi! Did you sleep well?” she greeted. Hange walked towards the kitchen counter and dropped the goods she had bought. A variety of vegetables, fruits, meat, and bread tumbled on the table.

“You were gone long, Shitty Glasses,” was Levi’s blunt reply. He rolled his wheelchair across the kitchen, getting to where Hange was messily stacking the foods she had bought. Levi clicked his tongue at the way she was keeping the fruits from falling over the pantry but was miserably failing. “The way you’re going at it, these fruits wouldn’t even last until tomorrow. They’ve got bruises all over thanks to you.” He bent forward and grabbed the oranges which were splayed on the floor, groaning as he did so.

Hange quickly stopped him and grabbed the fruits from his arms. “Don’t bother yourself with this, I can do it on my own. Chill over there, okay?” she pointed to the table. “Have you had breakfast?”

“I am not a child for you to fuss over, Hange.”

She grinned. “I would take that as a no. What do you want, tiny captain?”

Levi stared at her for a moment with a scowl on his face, but after a few seconds he turned his head to the side and pouted. “Fine. Just some bread and eggs. That is, if we have them.”

Hange smiled at him and went on to do the task. She cut a few slices of the bread she had bought, and put them on the pan to toast a little, doing the eggs next. She then prepared some black tea and poured it onto Levi’s favorite cup, the chipped, old thing she had saved from when she visited the headquarters – or rather what’s left of it – after her recovery.

Placing the plates and the cup onto the table, Hange noticed that Levi had busied himself with reading the newspaper she had bought as well from the market. Across the page she could see Her Majesty’s smiling face, along with her toddler and the nameless farmer who fathered her child.

“It says here that the brats have been appointed as diplomats, ambassadors of sorts, for peace talks between the outside world and Paradis,” Levi declared, then took a sip of his tea. His right eye flickered towards Hange to gauge her reaction to his words, then looked back at the paper before him.

Hange hummed. “I should say I’m not in the least bit surprised. They saved the world, after all. If there’s anyone who could broker peace between the Eldians and the world it is them,”

“And you,” Levi fixed her on his gaze.

She looked straight into him in return. “You more than me,” Hange said. “But it’s not our fight, not anymore. I wanted to, you know. To be among those people to put this world back into one piece, but I’m afraid the world would never listen to a useless commander,” she huffed out a chuckle at that.

Levi frowned, his brows furrowed at her words. “You did what you can. Stop saying you were a useless commander, Hange.” He sighed, he didn’t want to go over this matter again. He’s grown tired of it. “Do you think it’s wise to leave the fate of Paradis to the brats’ hands? Are they matured enough to handle it?”

Hange gave him a teasing smile. “You sound like a worried grandpa,”

He scowled at that. “It’s going to be a difficult task, especially after all they’ve been through.” For a moment, there was a look of longing on his face, like he was lost in the memories of smoke, blood, and tears, but it was gone before Hange noticed it. Levi spoke again. “They need you there, Hange.”

Hange had to look down at that. When she looked up, she saw Levi carefully analyzing her next reaction. She adjusted her glasses, checked if her eye patch was still in place, and then softly smiled. “But you need me more.”

Two years living in this forest had sure enough afforded Levi all the time in the world to heal and recover.

But he had to admit it to himself, he’s never the same as before. He had been in the goddamned wheelchair for basically three years, with only one eye working, and a constantly weakened bodily state. But even if he seemed paralyzed and most decidedly living like a broken man, he can swear he had never felt this peaceful in his life. Not even during his time as soldier, not even when he was a kid underground.

As he wheeled himself across the woods, carefully following the trails all too familiar in his mind, Levi thought back of the conversation he had with Hange earlier that morning. He had lost count of the number of times he’d spoken about her being an asset with peace negotiations with nations outside Paradis. He never thought Hange would step out like she did, leaving her post as commander and entrusting the Corps and the negotiations to Armin, being a person keen to her responsibilities as she had always been.

But she chose to stay with him, to care for him, for reasons he didn’t fathom why.

Levi dimly remembered that fateful day in Odiha, when he’d thought her already dead. Even if he didn’t look out the window to see it for himself, he could tell exactly that what he’d been dreading has happened, based on the looks of Armin, Mikasa, Connie, and Jean, and they’d declared that Hange fell onto the ground, already looking unconscious. The titans were fast approaching, but their plane won’t start just yet. Fortunately, Hange was able to take down one colossal titan, and this bought them much time as the other titans tumbled over one another.

Suddenly, when the engines of the plane started to roar and the Alliance prepared to leave, Armin cried out loud, and they saw Hange limping towards them, her brown hair and almost half her body burnt and smoking. They hurriedly took her in, and they left Odiha just mere moments before the titans were upon them.

The rest, of course, was history.

A year after the war ended and she was recovered enough, Hange renounced her title as commander and travelled back to Paradis with a severely injured Levi. She had a cottage built for them right in the middle of the forest where she’d sown his wounds all those years ago, fulfilling a wish – which, now that he thought about it, seemed more like a promise than mere wishful thinking.

This time around though, they wouldn’t need to run and hide. Not anymore.

Levi’s train of thoughts was interrupted when he’d realized where he’s at. He’s come upon a wide clearing, and from a distance he could see lots of and lots of wildflowers and herbs which grew in the area, some he’d seen, and some new to his eye. He wandered around and decided to pick up one specific flower which he hadn’t chanced upon seeing before.

He wheeled himself back to their cottage not long after, following the trails he’d set.

When he came back, Levi found Hange sitting in front of her desk at her makeshift study, scribbling something. Ever since they settled in, Hange had been writing this book, a compilation of her researches on the botany of Paradis, which she hoped would be published someday.

Hange looked up from her work when she noticed Levi at the doorway. She adjusted her glasses, which were already dangling at the tip of her nose. “How was the stroll?” she bluntly asked, then continued scribbling again.

Levi didn’t answer. Instead, he wheeled his way to where Hange was sitting, and dropped the flower he’d picked from the clearing. He wasn’t sure if she’d seen it before, but any help he could offer with her research had been accepted by Hange. Wholeheartedly, even.

This one was no different.

“Where did you find this? I haven’t seen one like this before.” Hange beamed as she brought the red, almost pinkish flower close to her face, carefully investigating, curiosity marred on her brown eye.

“In the clearing, probably thirty yards away from here.” Levi continued gazing at her. She was like a kid beaming at another new find, and somehow seeing Hange like this brought him back to the old times. “You sure it’s something new?”

“Yeah, but I’d need to take a closer look. It might be from an already existing species, but it has a different look to it. The pigmentation and structure, though, are quite the same. I think I’d like to visit the place where you got this to see the kind of environment it grows in to prove my theory right, but that’s a task for tomorrow as it is getting quite dark, after all.” Hange smiled at him, and he felt how genuine it is. “Thank you, Levi. Do you need help with anything? Do you need a glass of water? You must be tired from your stroll.”

“There’s no need for you to bother yourself, Hange. I got it.” was Levi’s only reply.

The stars were beautiful that night, Hange concluded, as she continuously gazed at the dark skies out through the window of her study. The wind was cold to the touch, and she wrapped her arms around her own body when a sudden chilly breeze fanned her way. She continuously marvelled at the sight before her, her research book long forgotten. On her desk, a quill pen rested on a parchment paper, and the candle which lighted the room already half-melted, its fire threatening to die out.

It wasn’t long after she decided to call it a night, though, no matter how beautiful the stars were, she was tired. Hange stacked the papers on her desk, neatly arranging them, then went out of her study. Before making her way to her own bedroom, she made sure that all the doors that would lead out were locked, as there’d been reports of burglars lately, and she wouldn’t risk waking up with all their belongings gone.

When she was sure everything was already in place, Hange made for her bedroom, but she couldn’t help but notice that the door to Levi’s room was slightly ajar, and she attempted to close it.

It was then, though, when she’d heard Levi groaning and muttering softly. Hange was hesitant at first but she pushed the door open, only to see Levi, seemingly sleeping, but he was stirring aggressively on the bed. At the sight, Hange hurriedly went inside the room and went to his side. “Levi,” she yanked him.

He continuously groaned, and Hange was almost hit when he pushed his fists forward.

“Levi, wake up, you’re having a nightmare!” she desperately called out to him, eager to ease whatever unpleasant memories have gotten into his sleep.

At the sound of her voice, Levi’s eye opened, grey meeting brown against the darkness of the room. Levi panted heavily, and sweat matted his forehead.

“I’m here, don’t worry. We’re safe, they’re gone,” Hange reached out and hesitantly cupped his face between her hands. She didn’t know what his nightmare was about or who this time, but she understood. It wasn’t the first time it happened, anyway. Over the last two years she’d often hear Levi screaming in his sleep, and she’d scramble out of her own bed and go to wake him up and comfort him. She always did.

It took a while for Levi to calm down, but he eventually did. He pushed himself up to sit on the bed and Hange waited until he’s settled. He tried to avoid her gaze, choosing instead to simply look at the wall. Moments later, he spoke. “I’m sorry,”

“What for?”

“For waking you,”

Hange had to chuckle at that. “You didn’t. I was just about to sleep, got caught up in the flower you brought me today.” She tried to look into his eye, to search through him, but he was purposefully avoiding her gaze, now looking down on his own lap, as if guilty of her coming to rescue him from his nightmare, again.

She sighed. “I have them too, you know,”

That caused Levi to look up. “What are they about?”

“It’s always the same one. That day in Odiha when I almost died. I saw flames, and I can still feel them against my body. It’s as if I was reliving the moment, whenever I dream about it,” Hange shifted on her seat. Her right hand flew to touch her left arm, feeling the uneven skin there which was the effect of the burns she suffered. “And then the next thing I know, I’d fall onto the ground and when I opened my eyes I’d see our fallen comrades looking at me, as if they were disappointed at my actions being the commander.”

Levi gritted his teeth at that. “If anything, they’d be looking at you with pride, not disappointment, in my opinion.” He tried to reach his hand out and lay it over her hand, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. “Hange, you have to stop feeling guilty for the actions you took when you were the commander. You did everything you believed was right. And at the time, no one, not even Erwin, could have led a charge against a world which was all new to us. You don’t give enough credit to yourself when you should.”

Hange smiled bitterly at his words. “I know… I just… think things could have turned out differently, you know. The rumbling couldn’t have happened, we would’ve saved all those lives. If only I had a decent plan. If only we got a hold of Eren, then things would –“

“Stop it, Hange.” Levi muttered. “I want you to promise me you’d stop feeling guilty anymore. None of it was entirely your fault, it was just the cards we’ve been dealt with and we played them according to how we believed they should be treated.” He displayed a knowing look. “I think the reason why you don’t want to be involved with peace negotiations is because you still think you aren’t capable. You still lacked the confidence. But bear in mind that none of us would still be alive if it weren’t for you forming the alliance and buying us time from those titans that day. So please, Hange, please.” He sighed. “Promise me,”

“I do think that has been the longest speech you’ve ever said to me, Levi,” Hange laughed, then her face grew serious. She contemplated his words, there was already a part of her that wanted to believe every word he’d said, but it would take time for her to fully accept. She still appreciated it though, what he was doing. She reached out to place her hand above his own. “I cannot promise anything, Levi. But… I will try.”

Levi nodded at her, resigning completely.

“What about you, what are your nightmares about?”

He was hesitant at first, but he squinted and started to speak. “Not being able to kill Zeke. It was always about the many fights we had together, but mostly on the one during the rumbling. Sometimes it’s about those many expeditions beyond the walls that we had before.” Levi let out a breath. “It’s a mix, really.”

“I see,” she hummed. “I still hope one day those nightmares would not hunt our sleep anymore. Anyone could wish. But I’ve started to think that they’re part of us already.”

“I’m afraid that’s true.”

Hange started to get up. “Well it’s getting pretty late, and we’ve got a big day tomorrow. Onyankopon had mentioned that they’d be paying us a visit, together with Armin, Jean, and Connie, and I don’t know who else, and we’d better look like we’ve been getting decent rest here, lest they insist for us to take residence in one of the districts.” She chuckled at that. “I’d rather the two of us just stay here.” Hange turned her back to leave. “Good night, Levi.”

“Hange,”

She looked over her shoulder and eyed him, carefully analyzing his face. “Yes?”

“Stay,”

Hange took a deep breath, then slowly turned to face him once again. It was one word, just one word she’d spent the last two years waiting for him to say.

She’d be damned if she said no to what he wanted.

[lookforanewangle]

sweet child o’ mine || spn || 2.5k || ao3

tags: canon typical mentions of violence from the slice girls, brief mention of blood

a/n: throwing this out into the void before I inevitably get sucked back into dc stuff tomorrow, so. here you go: a quick bundle of scenes of dean and emma, and a little deancas, and a little dean and jack. takes place around a year?? after the end of s15 (minus the finale because we don't accept that as canon in this household) title is from, you guessed it, sweet child o’ mine by guns n’ roses.

also! brief mention of the leviathan takes inspo from @/demenior’s fic series the love it takes which you all should go read asap 👀

*

Emma shows back up on a Tuesday.

The scuffle from the direction of the War Room draws Dean’s attention away from the long list of house listings he and Cas have been going through. Find a Fixer-Upper, Cas had said. We can make it our own. Dean was all for that, but finding their house, thee house, was taking longer than he’d like.

He thought nothing of the noise at first; Eileen may have come over or Sam may have been moving around artifacts again, or maybe Cas was back from the Farmer’s Market.

At Sam’s sudden shout, however, Dean goes running.

He whirls around the corner, gun whipping up to aim at whatever threat lay ahead. Sam is on his knees, blood dripping from his nose, and there’s a girl holding a blade to his throat. There’s something familiar about her, but Dean can’t place it. He doesn’t waver in his stance.

“Who the hell are you,” he demands, “and how did you—”

Dean falters, then, memories flooding back from a one-off hunt years ago. A one night stand, a sudden surprise. He pales as her face finally clicks.

That's his daughter.

“Not another step,” she snarls, fingers fisting tight in Sam’s jacket to hold him in place. Sam shifts his hand towards his pocket, and Dean pulls himself back to the present. He moves his supporting hand away from the gun and up to the side, placating, as he slowly lowers the gun to the ground.

“Woah, no no no, hey, no one’s gonna hurt anyone,” he rushes gently, catching Sam’s gaze with a look. Don’t. He turns his gaze back to hers and sets the gun on the floor. “I’m putting the gun down. Just let him go.”

“He killed me!” she spits, blade pressing deeper against Sam’s neck. “I can still remember the look on his face, and you had a gun on me too.”

“I know,” Dean says, chest twinging at the memory, “and I regret how I acted, Emma. It’s— it’s Emma, right?”

At the mention of her name, her fingers loosen on the knife and she inhales sharp and quiet. Dean takes that as a promising sign. He exhales.

“You...you remember?” she breathes. Dean can only nod.

“If I could go back and change that day I would,” he says. He risks a half step forward. Emma straightens and retightens her fingers.

“Don’t,” she warns.

“Emma,” he says, hands still up and placating. He fights not to lunge forward and tear the knife from her grip. He takes a breath. “Please. Let him go.”

“And why should I?” she demands. “So he can kill me again?”

Sam wisely stays silent.

“He won’t, I promise you. He was pretty messed up the last time you saw him. We both were, really. But I need you to trust me,” Dean pleads. “We...we’ve changed. I know you won’t believe that, but it’s true.”

Emma says nothing, but she gazes at him intently, as if looking for the truth behind his words. Dean slowly lowers a hand out to her, facing up.

“Just give me the knife,” he continues, palm open and waiting, patient. “Please.”

She searches his face a moment more. Dean waits.

“Fine,” she says finally, and Dean can hear the tremor in her voice. She shoves the dagger hilt into Dean’s palm.

“Thank you,” Dean says, soft.

He closes his fingers around it and moves it away, placing it on the map table. Sam stands and steps out of reach, coming to a rest just to the side and behind Dean. Dean and Emma just look at each other, assessing.

"Sam, why don't you go see if Cas is back," Dean says. There's a pause. Dean can feel Sam leveling him with a look.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Dean says and spares him a quick glance and a nod. "Go on."

"All right," Sam says, hesitant. He glances between them, unsure, but he leaves them be.

"Take a seat," Dean says once Sam is out of earshot. He lowers himself into his own chair, hoping she’ll follow suit. "We have a lot to catch you up on."

“Where the hell am I?” Emma bursts, hands fisted at her sides. She doesn't sit. “What even is this place?”

“Home,” Dean says, lips quirking for a moment. He can hear the tell-tale flutter of Cas’s wings in the kitchen, arriving back from the farmer’s market, the low timbre of Sam’s voice as he speaks with him. Dean’s fingers itch for Cas, restless and wanting.

“You’re home.”

*

“You’re locking me up?”

“Listen, kid, I'd rather not do this, either, but you did try and kill us last time you saw us. And again today,” Dean says matter-of-factly, leaning against the doorway, arms crossed.

“I was ordered to slaughter you, and return with your hands and feet,” she says.

“Well, that’s gruesome,” Dean says.

“I didn’t have a choice,” she whispers, glaring at the room as if it’s a prison sentence. She doesn’t take a step forward.

“You always have a choice,” Dean counters, insistent. “Maybe not then, but you do now. We made sure of that.”

Her brows furrow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“We...might have killed God,” he confesses, shrugging helplessly. “He was a dick.”

She stares at him.

“You killed...God.”

“Yup,” he says, popping the ‘p.’ “It was a whole thing. Don’t worry about it.”

They stand in silence, glancing looks at one another in turn. Emma doesn’t step into the room. Dean doesn’t push. When he was younger, he may have forced her in against her will, locking the door behind him until morning and walking away from her desperate pleas to let her out. He’s grown, though. Changed. They’ve all changed, him more than most. His dad’s voice still rages in his head from time to time on the worst days, about how he’s grown soft, and wouldn’t last a day in the field.

But he’s made it this far. Their little rag tag group has beaten every adversary they’ve come across, even God, and over time they’ve all grown. They’re family.

Emma, however briefly they’ve known her so far, is family. Or she will be, if she wants to be.

Dean sighs, and strides in alone.

“Change of plans,” he says, tugging on the corner of the mattress. Emma watches him from the doorway, confused. “Help me with this, would you?”

*

“I don’t like this plan,” Cas says with a grumble after dinner, eyes squinted in distrust as he watches Emma from the far side of the doorway. She’s perched at Dean’s desk, flipping through the various papers and books with mild curiosity.

“I'm not locking her up, Cas,” Dean murmurs, chest panging. “We didn’t do right by her the first time around, and I’m not going to treat her like we did before. We’ve learned since then, and I’m— I’m not—”

“Dean,” Cas interrupts, reaching out to grip his fingers. Dean squeezes back. “I trust you. If you think it best, then we’ll go with it. But I will be listening in case anything goes wrong.”

Dean’s chest warms.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” he answers with a smile, leaning over to peck Cas’s cheek. Cas’s free hand drifts upwards, catching Dean’s jaw to tilt him down into a full kiss. Dean hums.

“Love you,” he murmurs against Cas’s lips. Cas mimics his response as he presses his nose to Dean’s and vanishes in a flutter of wings. Dean opens his eyes to Emma’s face screwed up in disgust, cringing in the chair.

“What,” he asks, challenging.

“Gross,” she comments. “Why do you kiss if you’re incapable of copulating?”

Big words for a...shit how old is she? Dean muses, brain stalling out. One? Two? How many years is that in Amazon years?

“Because we’re in love, kiddo,” he says finally, shutting the door behind him and collapsing onto his bed with a sigh. Sam will be by to lock it before bed.

“Gross.”

Dean just laughs.

*

“Are...are you awake?” Emma whispers into the dark, hours later. Dean shifts, turning his head towards her voice up on the bed. He refused to let her sleep on the floor, regardless of the fact they’d both be on a mattress. She doesn’t have memory foam. She deserved to experience it at least once.

“Yup,” Dean whispers back.

“Oh,” she breathes. She pauses. “I, um. I’m hungry, I think.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes,” she answers, hesitant. “Sorry. I know it’s bad timing.”

“Nothin’ to worry about,” Dean answers, raising himself onto his elbows to find her. She’s sat up against the headboard, knees pulled to her chest. She looks so young.

Dean’s chest pangs.

“Luckily for you,” he continues, standing and heading to his desk, “I happen to be one of the best at picking locks.”

He rifles around in the top drawer for a moment. Eventually he finds what he’s looking for and turns around with a smile, lock picks in hand.

“Have you had those the whole time?” she asks, not moving from her spot on the bed. Dean shrugs.

“Didn’t want to give you the chance to do something you may regret,” he answers. “Clearly that wasn’t something we needed to worry about though, unless you’re faking right now?” he asks, eyebrow raised in suspicion.

“No.”

“Well, good on that then,” Dean answers. He waves the lockpicks in his hand.

“Ever been on a jailbreak?”

*

“I saw you once,” she says over a bowl of strawberry ice cream, “in Purgatory.”

“Oh,” Dean says, memories flooding back of the horrors from that long, long year. He tries to remember ever spotting a young girl in the vast, grey-colored woods. “I never saw you.”

“Good,” she says, corner of her mouth lifting up in tired amusement. “You weren’t supposed to.

“I got very good at hiding,” she continues, stirring the melted soup of her ice cream around her bowl. “I may have been bred for fighting, but some monsters are... too much for one girl to handle.”

“I, uh. I know what you mean,” Dean answers, setting down his spoon as his stomach churns at the thought of her scared and alone in Purgatory of all places. He’d seen how terrifying some of those monsters could be, the sheer magnitude of the Leviathan in particular. He’d had Benny, at least, and eventually Cas, but her on her own…

“Were you on your own the whole time?” he asks carefully. She doesn’t lift her gaze from her bowl. Dean waits.

“For the most part...yes,” she answers. “Making friends in Purgatory is, um.”

“I know,” Dean rasps. They sit in silence. Dean’s not hungry anymore.

“There were other Amazons,” she says after a while. Dean glances back up. She carefully doesn’t look at him, stirring her ice cream around and around her bowl. “We didn’t necessarily see eye to eye.”

Dean doesn't know what to say to that.

“I don’t want to be like them,” she says in a rush. She clamps her mouth shut, eyes wide with terror in her gaze, as if Dean would react poorly to her statement. Something about her fear strikes a nerve in him, reminds him too much of a little boy trying with all his might to please his father.

Dean wants to go kill a few more Amazons.

“You don’t have to be,” he reassures her. He reaches out and places a comforting hand on her wrist. She flinches at the contact, but doesn’t pull away. Dean holds. “Emma, you can be whoever you want to be. Family shouldn’t dictate who you decide to be.”

“Wasn’t your father a hunter?” she asks, wary.

“He started hunting when I was little,” Dean answers carefully, “and raised me into that. Just like you, I didn’t have a choice, then. But things have changed. They’re complicated, for sure, but I— I am not my father. You don’t have to be like your mother or sisters. Or, uh, like me either,” he says. He rubs his free hand across the back of his neck, self-conscious. He clears his throat.

“The point is,” he continues, “is that whatever you want to do and whoever you want to be is entirely up to you. You’re welcome to stay in the Bunker, if you’d like, or uh, head out on your own, I guess, if that’s what you want. I don’t want to keep you trapped here. We’re gonna get you a phone first, though, if you decide to leave. You may have shot up like a weed, but you’re still a kid, just like Jack.”

“Jack?”

“Long story,” Dean says, waving his hand as if shooing away the conversation, “you can meet him later. I just. I don’t want you to be alone, again. Not when you don’t have to be.”

“I’d like that,” she says, slow and careful, mulling over her words, “to...to stay here, I think. At least for a while.”

“Yeah?” Dean asks, stress sliding away. “We’re a pretty rag-tag group of fellas. Though Eileen comes by often; you’d like her, I’m sure.”

“Yeah,” she answers with a shy smile. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

*

She ends up in the room just down the hall from Dean. He takes her shopping the next day, much to Sam’s hesitation, but Cas only offers a knowing smile and turns back to his crossword of the day. Dean figures Cas been where Dean is now, both with Claire and Jack, to an extent. He’s gone through many similar struggles.

Now it’s Dean’s turn.

*

Jack confesses to being the one to bring her back.

“Almost everyone else from our family got a second chance,” he explains when Dean finally corners him later, bribing with peanut butter cookies, “I figured she should get one too, even if you barely knew her.”

“That was sweet of you, Jack,” Cas says from over Dean’s shoulder, hand slipping beneath Dean’s jacket to rest comfortingly at the small of his back. Dean leans into the gesture.

“It was,” Dean agrees. “Thank you, Jack.”

Jack beams.

*

When they find their fixer-upper, Dean triple-checks that there are enough rooms for everyone. One for him and Cas, one for Jack, one for Claire, one for Sam and Eileen whenever they come to visit—

And one for Emma.

She disappears for a while a month into staying with them, heading out with Claire to help figure herself out. It’s not until her first hunt (against Dean’s best wishes) where she kills for the first time that her rapid aging kicks in. She settles somewhere in the mid-twenties range; Dean doesn’t know for sure. It’s a bit too reminiscent of Jack, but they’re all used to weird magic things by now, and no one questions it.

She leaves often, these days, coming into her own over time, but Dean is proud of who she’s grown into the past few years since Jack brought her back.

She always returns home, though, and Dean welcomes her with open arms every time.

***

tagging a lovely emmanatural advocate: @borntodiedean

if you’d like to be tagged, just lmk! <3

[chaoticpuff17]

A Dangerous Game

part 3

Masterlist

To say that Y/N was relieved to survive her second encounter with RM was an understatement.  A part of her had been convinced that the Mafioso would kill her. She was after all a potential nuisance to him. But the man didn’t seem to have any interest in her death, at least not yet. If anything, he seemed to find her amusing, and she wasn’t sure which was worse RM wanting her dead or his continued interest in her.

It was at this point that she decided that it was time to tell Eun-Ho what had happened. Perhaps he’d have some insight on what she should do as she was far outside her depth with this. Marcus had been bad yes, but RM was worse. Marcus was a brute, but RM was suave and smart and he unnerved her on a very deep level.

There were different kinds of criminals. There were the low level schmucks, middling grease balls, and then there were the higher ups, the king pins. RM was above them all. He was something she hadn’t encountered before.

“I’m serious, Eun-ho ssi.” She hissed glaring at the officer who seemed so unbothered by everything she had just told him.

“It’s going to be fine.” He assured her sipping at his cup of instant coffee. “It’s a little strange…”

“A little strange?” she shrieked eyes wide. “This is more than a little strange.” She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. “I don’t like this. It’s not normal, and you all promised I would be safe when I came here.”

“You are safe!” the poor young man looked almost affronted by the implication that she was in danger.

“The man knows where I live and has dragged me out of my home twice in the middle of the night.”

“I’m sure it will be okay.” He gave her a smile as though that would pacify her. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”

“But it could.”  She insisted. “This isn’t normal. When things like this happened people end up dead.”

“You’re not going to die.” He promised giving his attention to his computer once more. “And if this continues or escalates, we’ll send you home. Look, why don’t you take the day off tomorrow? You can explore Seoul.” He offered.

“Exploring Seoul is going to make this better?” she asked crossing her arms under her chest and leveling him with a look that clearly conveyed her displeasure.

Eun-ho sighed turning back to her. “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“You could try to do something about it!”

“There’s nothing we can do. We don’t even know his name, Y/N.” he dropped the honorifics really catching her attention. Eun-ho never dropped honorifics. “We don’t know who he is or where he took you. He didn’t hurt you either. We have nothing. Take tomorrow off. Relax. We’ll get him eventually. And it could be good for us that he has an interest in you. You could find new information on him. No one else even knows what he looks like.”

She stared at him unable to believe what she was hearing. Eventually. They’d get him eventually. But in the meantime they would use her as live bait. They were hoping that he would meet her again and all the while she would be looking over her shoulder hoping that he would leave her alone. But there was little hope of that with his parting words. “Until next time”.

She knew full well that he was already planning their next meeting. He was a man who was always ten steps ahead in the game, and she was still trying to figure what game they were playing because he made her feel like it was an entirely new game. He was running circles around her, and she was just trying to keep up.

“Fine. That’s fine.” She huffed standing up and collecting her purse.

“I didn’t mean leave now!” he called out after her as she left the station.

Taking the time away from the station had done nothing to calm her nerves. Though it was nice to have some time to herself and pretend that this was just a vacation even if it was only a lie to make herself feel better if only a little.

It also gave her the opportunity to visit some of Seoul’s street markets. She had always loved open markets ever since she was a little girl and had first been taken to the farmer’s market for the first time. There was something exciting about them. They were always fresh and exciting, and the markets here were all of that and more. It was buys and bustling with the ahjummas selling everything from clothing to sweets even pets were sold within the market.

And it was a lovely day to be out and about. The sun was out and there was a lovely breeze. The weather and the exploring of the market had put her in a good mood. And for the first time in days she wasn’t looking over her shoulder. But perhaps she should have been.

The feeling of an arm wrapping around her waist had her nearly jumping out of her skin. Whirling around and throwing offending arm off she was faced with a sight she would have rather not seen.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed eyes wide as he smirked down at her looking just as perfect as ever though far more casual than either of the previous times she had seen him. This man had no right to look as good as he did. “Don’t you have other things to do than stalk me like I don’t know running your criminal empire?”

His smile widened at that. “I received word from one of my men that you were wandering the city without any of your police friends.”

“And?” she snapped glaring up at him.

“I wouldn’t want for you to get lost. It’s a big city.”

“Really?” she asked quirking a brow. “That’s really the excuse you’re going to go with?” He shrugged looping an arm around her waist once more much to her displeasure. “If you’d like to keep that hand, I suggest that you remove it.” she hissed though her threat only seemed to amuse her companion.

“And how do you think you’re going to do that?”

“With a very big knife thank you very much.” she sniffed shoving his arm from around her waist once more.

“Then I’ll be sure to keep you away from knives.”

Y/N released a growl of frustration. It was both infuriating and incredibly creepy that he was here, and it also told her that there were men watching her, and that he most likely already knew that she had told Eun-ho about their late night rendez vous.

“Let me take you for coffee.” He suggested tucking her hand into the crook of his arm instead of wrapping it around her waist. They both knew it wasn’t really a suggestion though.

“And if I say no?” she asked testing the waters to see just how much trouble she was in as she moved on from the stall she was looking at when he arrived. People were looking, and she preferred to keep this low key or as low key as possible when you were dealing with an international crime lord.

“It would be very rude to refuse a friend’s invitation for coffee especially when I came all this way to see you.” He made a point though. Both of their previous meetings involved her being brought to him. He had never come to her before, and that was almost as intriguing as it was worrying.

“It’s also rude to spy on people.” She reminded him giving him sideways glance as she perused the booths around them.

“I’m not spying on you. I’m simply keeping an eye on you, making sure you’re safe.”

She stopped in her tracks slipping her arm away from him as she did so. “And why would you want to keep me safe?”

“Why shouldn’t I want to keep you safe?” he asked tucking her hand in place once more as he moved them through the market. Just as she was about to push him away once more he tightened his grip and hissed into her ear. “You’ll cause a scene if you keep pushing me away. The ahjummas are already looking.”

She glared at him but allowed the contact. It would do no good to cause a scene here not when she didn’t actually know what he wanted. “I’m here to tear down your criminal empire. If anything you should want me gone. Protecting me seems counter-productive.”

He chuckled looking down at her fondly. “Why would I want you gone? You are far too intriguing to send away so soon.”

“I think we could both sleep better at night if I went home.” She scoffed. “You realize that every time we meet like this is a danger for you? I know what you look like now.”

“Perhaps I have other plans in store for you.”

She stiffened her whole body going rigid. “I don’t like the sound of that, but I do like the look of those earrings.” She pulled away from him and moved toward the stall that held the earrings that held her interest. It was a good excuse to pull away from him even if he trailed behind her as she moved.

“I’m beginning to think you don’t like me, Y/N –ah.” He sighed giving her a look that could almost be described as a pout, but that was impossible. Men like RM did not pout.

“Whatever gave you that idea?” she asked rolling her eyes slightly before giving her attention back to the jewelry missing the way that RM’s jaw tightened at her dismissal. “I know my place in this game. I’m just a pawn.”

“A pawn?”

“Yeah. I go where you tell me and do what I’m told. Isn’t that what pawns do? I’ll play my part, and then they’ll send me home.” She wanted to go home more than anything just about now. Home was peaceful. Home was safe. And as far as she was aware home did not have criminal megalomaniacs popping up everywhere she went.

She wasn’t stupid enough to believe that she was on the same level as RM in this game. She was in a strange country without any real knowledge of the language or any friends. This was his home field, and he had all the advantage, and that was more unnerving than anything.

He paused taking a moment to look her over. “Who decided that you were a pawn?”

“I did. I shouldn’t even really be here.” Just then a thought popped into her head. “By the way, do you have men on the police force?” the look he gave her clearly conveyed the answer and that she should have known it without having to ask. “I mean like people in the department I’m working with.”

“Trying to root out my spies, Y/N?”

“Always, but I really am curious.”

“Why?” he asked looking over the jewelry with her placing a large hand on the small of her back despite the way she flinched under the touch. “Don’t trust your officer Choi?”

She scoffed at that pulling her cardigan slightly tighter around her as she did. “He’s not my officer Choi. Why would he be?”

“You can never be too careful of the company you keep.”

“Says the criminal mastermind.” She murmured sarcastically. “You’re clearly the epitome of good company.”

The air around them grew tense as his smile turned from amused to sharp, a front for his annoyance. “I can be a very good friend to have.”

“I don’t need any more friends.” She sniffed moving away from the stall.

“You can always use more friends in our business.” The smile he gave her was far more threatening than it was comforting.

“And why do I need friends in your business. All of this will be over for me when I go home.” She huffed almost marching towards the exit of the market with RM trailing behind her at a more leisurely pace.

“Is that really what you want?” he asked his tone suspiciously silky.

She stopped and turned to him confused by the question. “Why wouldn’t that be what I want?”

He stepped closer. “Despite all that you did to disentangle yourself from this world, here you are.”

“And with any luck it won’t be for much longer.”

There was no mistaking the way his jaw clenched this time as the atmosphere went from tense to almost dangerous. He took another step closer. “Oh, I know. I received a very interesting call yesterday.” Her eyes were like saucers as she stared at him. “Running away so soon, jagiya?”

part 4

[ofstarsandvibranium]

It’s A Match!: Part 3

Fandom: Marvel (Tinder AU)

Pairing: Chubby!Bucky x F!Reader

Summary: You’re back home for Spring Break and you’re swiping through Tinder in the middle of the night. You come across the profile of your high school history teacher that you may or may not have had a slight crush on. Throwing impulse control out the window, you swipe right. Lo and behold, you’re shocked to find that you matched.

Part 1 | Part 2

You were dressed in black leggings, a tshirt, and a denim jacket. It wasn’t very cold. The sun was up, providing warmth and a soft breeze blowing through. You roamed around the farm where the market was held. You had a basket in hand and your phone that had list of things you needed to buy, provided by your parents. 

A notification then popped up from tinder. You tapped on it and immediately smiled when you saw that Bucky messaged you. 

Bucky: Just arrived to the farmer’s market. Are you already here?

You: Yup! Right next to the fuji apples!

Right when you pick up an apple, you hear a, “Hey,” which startles you to the point you drop the apple.

“Ah jeez. Sorry!” Bucky picks up the apple and then sets it back on the stand, “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

You turn to face him and give him a soft smile, “It’s okay. But hi! Good morning! It’s good to see you!” you step forward, wrapping your arms around him in a hug. 

He chuckles and hug you back, “Good morning. Good to see you too. See you got started already,” he gestures to your basket, “Got a long list?”

You shrug, “Not much. Just some fruits and veggies that my parents wanted me to get. What about you? Have anything in particular you need to get?”

“Some potatoes, bell peppers, asparagus. Some fruits too, I suppose.” he murmurs, stuffing his hands into his pockets and follows you as you pick out more apples. 

“Sounds like you’re on your way to making something delicious,” you shoot him a grin as you place three apples into your basket. 

Bucky then grabs his own basket and picking his own apples. He shrugs, “I have some steaks that need to be cooked. Figured those would pair nicely with the vegetables.”

“Ooohh! Yes. Those sound amazing!”

He nervously licks his lips, “Wanna come by tonight? I can cook for ya.”

You give him a sorry expression, “Not tonight. I promised my parents I’d help make dinner tonight with them. Hence why I’m out getting the groceries. I’m free tomorrow? That is, if you’re not sick of my company by the end of today.”

Bucky grins, looking down at his shoes shyly, “Don’t think that’ll happen any time soon.” his words had quite the effect on you, causing butterflies to erupt in your belly and making your heart soar. But you’re only friends! Calm down!

______________

After you two continued to chat and pick out your groceries, you put everything in your respective vehicles. Bucky told you to meet him at the new cafe that opened up across town and you proceeded to follow him. 

He was already waiting outside for you and led you inside, “Wow. When did this place open up?” you looked around. The walls painted white, plants hanging from the walls. Local artists’ artwork hung around everywhere you look. It was very modern chic. 

“Maybe a few months ago? This has become my new favorite place to do work when I don’t feel like being at home. They have some pretty good food here too.” 

He stood in line and you right next to you. He watches as you stare up at the menu, your lips pursed and brows furrowed with concentration. You looked absolutely adorable. 

“What do you recommend? I’m not too picky.” you look at him curiously. 

“Hmmm...are you looking for something sweet or savory?”

“Sweet.”

“Then the crepes are good choice. I like the banana and strawberry crepe with chocolate syrup.”

Your eyes immediately lit up hearing that, “That sounds so good! I think I’ll have that!”

Bucky grinned and chuckled, “Okay, so do you want anything to drink?”

“Hmmmm...” you read the menu and zero in on their latest creation, “That tiramisu latte sounds amazing.”

He snickered, “You got a sweet tooth, don’t ya?”

“You have noooo idea, Bucky! Back at school at the apartment, I have a stash of candy in our kitchen that says ‘Y/N’s Candy. Don’t touch.’ and everyone knows to always ask me if they can have some of my stash.” you say this all with a smirk. 

“What about you? You like sweets?”

“Every once in a while. I’m more of a savoury person, myself. Their ham and cheese crepe is pretty good and my personal favorite.”

When you get to the front of the line, Bucky says his order, following yours and pulling out his card quicker than you could blink. You frown at him when you both grab a table, “I was going to pay, Bucky.”

“I asked you to hang out, Y/N. It’s only fair that I pay.” he softly smiles at you as he sits in the chair across from you. 

As you and Bucky continued to talk, Bucky found himself completely focused on you. On how you spoke, what you spoke about, the mannerisms that you do. Everything about you was so cute and end-No. Stop it. Friends, Bucky. Just friends. 

He needed friends. He just got divorced. It’s too soon to jump into another relationship. Just enjoy your company and don’t let your feelings get involved. Just. Friends. 

_________________

It’s almost 3pm by the time you and Bucky have decided to part ways. He accompanies you the short distance to your car, again, looking adorable while he stuffs his hands into his pockets and looking completely shy, “Thank you, again, for agreeing to meet up. It’s been a while since I’ve been in someone else’s company that wasn’t Sam or Steve. I love the guys but they’ve been hovering a lot since the divorce process started.”

You reach out, grabbing Bucky’s hand from his pocket and lightly squeezing it, “Bucky, I’m telling you right now that I’ll be here whenever you need me. I’m just a text or call away. Sure, I won’t be here-here after break is over, but you can still hit me up to talk. That being said, gimme your phone so you can have my number.”

“Smooth,” he said teasingly and handed you his phone. He watched as you typed in your name and number, then handing it back to him, “So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

You nodded, pulling him in for a hug, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” and then, out of impulse, you leaned in and pecked his cheek, “Bye Bucky.”

He croaked out a “Bye,” and watched as you got into your car and drove away, his fingers, grazing along his cheek where you kissed him. 

[utapriyanderes]

Yandere Sub AU (Fairytale AU) - Otoya Ittoki ver.

    Otoya was a happy orphan boy in the village he grew up in. Despite the loss of never knowing his parents, he still chose to be happy and shine his smile at people to lighten up their day. He was the town’s special ray of sunlight that they wanted to keep for themselves. So Otoya was never allowed out of the village where he could get hurt or taken away. He was a captive to the people of the village.

    Growing up in the village was pleasant for the boy since he knew he was needed. He helped out when he could and grew a fondness for music from a woman who was like a mother to him. That woman would always bring him to the best spot the village had to offer, the sunflower field. There Otoya was continuously happy. All up until the day the poor lady died. 

    After she died there was continuous rain. So much rain that the fields flooded and damaged the crops the farmers planted. The town’s people grew angry at the boy. They despised him and wanted him gone. The boy with no other choice left the village, all on his own with nothing to protect himself. Now an orphan once again he had to carry his burdens by himself. With no one to help or support him he grew into a man that was constantly gloomy, with dark clouds always following him.

    One day he found another village. He decided to go in to get his necessities as usual then be on his way. As he made his way through the market he noticed the sparsity of crops the farmers had to sell. Then he heard a voice which took him out of his thoughts.

    “It’s horrible. We haven’t had rain in weeks. Crops are dying and there’s nothing we can do about it. If it keeps going like this I’ll have no choice but to sell the farm.” He glimpses up at the person and is amazed by how beautiful they look. He finds it hard that someone like them would be doing such hard work. After debating with himself he decides to go up to their stall.

    “Ah! Hello miser! Is there anything I can offer you?” Their smile is radiant. It’s completely directed at him. He looks back down as soon as he feels heat rising to his face. The boyish man picks out a few things that the farmer gets prepared. He notices them throwing in a few extra vegetables and fruits.

    “Hmm, I didn’t ask for those?” He barely recognizes his own voice. Normally he just points at things or nods and shakes his head. With that it’s no surprise that his voice cracks in saying just those few words. Yet the farmer looks up at him and continues to smile.

    “It’s no problem. I’m giving them to you for free. You look down so it’s good to eat to make you feel better right?” The young man is amazed at how they could treat a total stranger with kindness. He takes the bag from their hands and gives them the required amount of coins. He then continues on his way through the town. Getting everything he needs he stands at the outskirts of the village. He continues to think about that farmer. Which then leads him into an inn that the village offers.

    That night the red headed wanderer replays what the farmer was saying earlier. He thinks to himself.

    If they have no rain, then they’ll have to sell their home…

    Him knowing full well what he can do with the rain clouds above him, starts to think of things he chooses to push away. He forces everything to come back at full force. A thunder bolt could be heard just right outside, following with a downpour of rain. The span of the rainstorm stretches out into the farmer’s fields. The dry ground is now being moistened so the crops can grow once again.

    This continues night after night for a week. The people in the town seem happy for the rain. Especially them. He checks on them every morning when he can. Relief always floods through them with each night of rain.

    “There you are mister!” The gloomy man turns towards the voice. It’s the farmer. He tilts his head to the side.

    “We’re so lucky to have you here! Once you came it seemed like all our drought problems disappeared!” Their smile makes him turn away.

    “You really think it’s because of me?” Heat rises to his face. The farmer nods, “Mhm! You’re like a good luck charm!”

    The man is honored that you think of him so highly. No one has ever thought of him like that in a long time. Maybe the two of you were meant to find each other?

    “U-Umm, if it’s alright… I can help you if you need-”

    “Yes! Even though you’ve already helped out so much… It would be nice to have some farm help!” They continue to beam at him. The young man looks back at the farmer. A hint of a smile reaching his lips.

    From that day he helps them at their farm. It’s just them as most of the farm help left the farm because of the drought.

    “Aah, thank you so much! Let’s work hard again today too!” They give him a firm nod before they go off to do their work. The young man enjoys his position. He can stare at the farmer work and yet he feels as though this distance is still too far away. He wants to be much more closer, but focuses on his task so he doesn’t disappoint.

    At the end of the day, they come over to look at your work.

    “Wow! This is amazing! You did even more than I wanted you to!” They’re amazed expression and praise makes the man feel... happy? Joyful? A feeling he hasn’t felt in such a long time that it’s hard to place it. Yet he knows it makes him feel light as a feather, and he wants more of that praise.

    The next day he works just as hard. Even harder than yesterday. He needs your praise, he craves it. Then that night he gets exactly what he wants.

    “Even better today! You’re really getting the hang of this huh? I should reward you with something I feel like.” Upon hearing of a reward he starts to wonder. Anything will do, but it’s going to be something from you!

    “Oh! I got it! How about one of my apple pies? I just made some today for the market tomorrow, but you can have one!” The man feels something light at trying something they cooked. Yet a small nagging feeling comes to him at the thought of others eating their cooking as well.

    After that day the next few days went by splendidly. The dark clouds above the young man’s head were getting smaller and smaller. He even found himself smiling every so often once again.

    “You know, you really do have a beautiful smile.” The farmer was looking at him as they said so. The smile on the man’s face turned into a look of confusion. The farmer ended up looking away with a small dust of pink on their cheeks once their eyes connected.

    “W-Well, umm, it’s just… your smile, looks bright like the sun.” These words struck the young man. He never thought he would hear someone say that to him again. Suddenly this feeling came over him. He knew what it was, true happiness. The last of the dark clouds went away. Light shining once again.

    The young man felt so many things. Happiness, warmth, love. All this time he knew, but the lingering darkness kept these feelings safely away. All of it was because of this person right in front of him. It was them that made him happy again. Working at the clouds blocking the sun and finally shooing all of them away.

    They were the only one they needed to remain happy. They would never cast them away like the people of his past did. They were his hero, his precious leader. He has to make sure nothing happens to them. That no one or anything could take them away. They were meant to be his.

    So he’ll hide you away from the outside world. Just like he once was. Always being loyal to the one who saved him, and the one he loves.

    You were his sun, and he was the sunflower always looking up and smiling, following you wherever you went.

(Side Note: So I’m going full forward with this AU since I want to expand this AU a little more by having Sub AUs. This is the first one I’m introducing to all of you and will be doing all 18 boys. Originally I was planning on doing three posts (One per group). Though already this one turned out to be long despite me just wanting to do two-three paragraphs per boy, but considering that didn’t happen, I am going to be posting one boy at a time then a master post per group. Then an ultimate master post for all three. When all their basic plots are down. With this you can request for this AU as I go and if you want to see a boy’s plotline sooner than other then feel free to request it, but or else I’ll be going in order.

On another note I’m going to still try to get asks out too, so I won’t be ignoring any asks that come in or are currently in and will continue to get to them! So don’t hesitate to send in a ask if you are thinking about it!)

[petri808]

Hauntober prompt Cauldron

Nalu requested by @rougescribe

Lucy never knew the life of a witch could be so... busy. People came from far and wide to her for potions to fix everything from illnesses to money, a more prosperous garden, or finding true love hence the latest mix of ingredients bubbling in her cauldron. It was a never ending stream of people willing to pay top dollar for quick fixes and the love potions are a number one seller. And why not? Everyone wants to find love.

The fall season brought an influx of buyers tired of spending another cold winter alone. Lucy couldn’t begrudge them for it because it was very lonesome, hold up or snowed in with only fur blankets and a fire to warm you up. Imagine, a nice hot body to cuddle up with and pass away the long dreary hours... She sighs, stirring the brew as those longing emotions interrupt her concentration.

It’s been awhile since she’d had a boyfriend. A flirty warlock when life was free and settling down was the furthest thing from her mind. Loke was a lot of fun, but now Lucy wanted more than just a relationship built on sex. Someone to come home to, maybe have a family together, and grow old with. But to use your own potions on yourself broke spiritual laws, for such a selfish act was bound to backfire.

Sigh, “I wish I had time to find love...”

But there wasn’t time right now and Lucy needed to get this potion finished and bottled to restock her supplies. She adds the final stabilizing agent and utters an activation spell.

Brew thine hearts entwined

Of love that lasts for all of time

Reveal to bearer a match to be

A soul that is meant for thee.

The bubbling liquid began to glow, signaling to Lucy that the potion was being activated. She turns away momentarily to grab her ladle, when a loud boom and flash of red light catches her off guard, propelling her to the ground. “Oh, no!” Had she messed up the spell?!

When she looks up, a vision was poised in the cloud of reddish smoke hovering above the cauldron. It was of a man with pink hair and a bright smile wearing the clothing of a typical farmer in the area. Who was this male? Lucy doesn’t remember ever seeing him before. Perhaps her heart had triggered the spell... for her?

No, she shakes her head at the thought. It couldn’t be. That was merely the spell to activate the love potion not trigger it. All her thoughts of love and longing were playing tricks with her mind. Or maybe even a cruel tease. Yeah, that’s it, it was taunting her. She would never knowingly violate sacred rules. Lucy puts it out of her mind and goes back to dolling out her potion into vials for would be buyers, letting the whole incident slip away like a melting frost.

A week later, the witch ventures out of her home on a chilly but sunny morning, ready to purchase goods and supplies. The local market square was bustling because of the break in the weather, which was nice to see so many people taking advantage of it. Magnolia really was a quaint trading town and she was glad to have chosen it to settle down in.

Lucy picks up a few loaves of bread at a bakery, along with vegetables not found in her own garden from a couple of the stalls. She chats with the vendors briefly, always one to make conversation and keep up a friendly air about her to ensure a later customer base. Her patronage was also reciprocal when they’d send new customers her way. Being a trading town, passerby’s were welcomed and through word of mouth is how her potion business flourished.

The last stop is to a meat merchant which tended to be less stable because it depended on their hunting or fishing yields. One never knew what they might find day to day at such stalls, but Lucy hoped for a nice dry-aged meat like venison or even salted hare. There was a crowd of giggling women around the stall. No surprise there, brawny hunters always attracted the ladies.

While she waits her turn, Lucy sees a friend named Cana and starts up a conversation. The barfly worked at her fathers tavern in town which serviced many of the sailors that came to port. She dabbled in the psychic end of magic, giving out fortune telling and card reading by request. Cana was also great for passing along new customers in the market for potions with a hey I see love in your life, check out my friend for a love potion.

“Solstice is almost here, so I need to prepare...” Lucy’s words die away the moment her eyes land on the meat merchant. She stares forward in disbelief, glued to the man. “It can’t be!” She whispers.

Cana waves a hand in front of Lucy’s face. “Stop drooling. You didn’t know? He’s the new guy in town.”

“No... I-I haven’t been here in a week.” Pink hair and dashingly bright smile. The man was even more handsome in person. Lucy couldn’t believe her eyes. “I saw him in a vision.”

“Oh? I didn’t know you were practicing precognition.”

“I’m not, it happened when I was brewing the love potion.”

“Well in that case, go say hi!” Cana shoves the woman forward, giving Lucy a go get ‘em wink before walking away.

“Hello,” the man smiles at Lucy. “What can I interest you in today?”

‘You...’ “I um, do you have any venison?”

“Darn,” he taps his chin, “not here, but I do have some at home that should be done curing.”

“Oh, so tomorrow?”

“Well, if you’d like I could deliver some this evening after I close my stall for the day.”

Lucy blinks in surprise. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

The man smiles causing her breathing to falter. “Yeah, it’d be no problem.” He sticks out his hand. “My name’s Natsu by the way. Just moved in a couple weeks ago with my brother Zeref.”

She smiles back, her heart racing with an excitement she hadn’t felt in a long, long time. “Lucy, it’s nice to meet you.”

[katymacsupernatural]

My Favorite Scent

Dean Winchester x Reader

1200 Words

Written For: @spngenrebingo

Square Filled: A/B/O

Summary: Y/N has given up hope on finding her mate. But walking home from work one night changes all of that.

Warnings: Subtle mentions of A/B/O. mentions of alpha, mate, scent. 

The sun was just starting to sink over the main street shops as you closed yours up for the day. Tucking the key into your purse, you began walking down the sidewalk, the summer air still hot and sticky against your skin.

As if the heat of summer wasn’t enough, you could feel your next heat start to settle in. The heat inside you, the tightness of your belly, the irritability you had flashed at multiple customers. Even your suppressants hadn’t taken off the edge, and you were slightly worried about this one. 

Sure, you were getting up there in age. Most of your friends by now were mated with pups of their own. Telling you to settle down, to find an Alpha you were compatible with. 

But this was a small town, and most of the Alphas were taken. Those that still roamed free were from the shady end of town. They smelled of stale beer, tobacco, and grease, and you stayed as far away from them as you could. Wishing that just someday someone would come strolling into town that would take one look at you and utter the word mine. Someone that was handsome and mysterious, but would love you all the same.

You had been told time and time again that you would know them by their scent. That it would be the most intoxicating smell that had ever tickled your nose. Something that was so perfect it was like coming home. But for years now, no Alpha’s scent had done that for you.

Trudging along the sidewalk to your small little house at the end of the street, you mentally went down your to-do list, knowing that tomorrow’s farmers market would mean that you had to be prepared. Add the stress of your upcoming heat and you were definitely not looking forward to it.

At first, you almost missed it. The welcoming scent of whiskey that always burned slightly at your nose. It was faint, but there, and you glanced around, wondering if some drunk had left a bottle laying around.

Layered above the whiskey was the scent of freshly baked cherry pie. Your absolute favorite. Sweet but with that slightly salty taste of the crust. It had your mouth watering but left you confused as well. No one was around. Most of the shops were already closed, people at home getting their little ones ready for bed. But that scent was coming stronger now, from the back of the butcher’s shop. 

It was mixed with blood as well, and the rational part of your brain wanted you to turn tail and run. But the wild, omega part of you that was slowly taking control with your heat rolling in had you walking forward, following that scent that was so welcoming. 

Your hand was on the door before you knew it, and you were pulling the heavy metal door, surprised that it was unlocked. The storage room was dark, but your eyes quickly became accustomed. There was a man tied to a chair in the middle of the room, his head drooped to one side. 

The intoxicating scent was coming from him. So much stronger now, it wrapped around you, comforting you even though you knew you had stepped into something shady. “Hello?” You whispered, looking for the other men that surely had to be here as well. 

None of the shadows moved, and you curiously stepped forward, wanting to see the man who had finally captured your interest. His jeans were caked in blood, as was his flannel shirt. He had a nasty gash on his forehead. His shoulders were wide and strong, his thighs lean but sturdy at the same time. He was handsome, and being this close to him sent shivers straight down your spine.

“Hey,” you whispered, lightly tapping his cheek. He immediately came too, his head snapping up, his nostrils flaring wide as he took in your scent. 

“Who...You smell so good,” he mumbled, his eyes searching your face before reality hit him. “Please, you need to leave.”

“Why?” You asked, reaching down to undo the ropes holding him to the chair. Sure, he was the one tied up, but you had this feeling he wasn’t the bad person. “Who did this to you.”

“Vampires,” he explained, which wasn’t an explanation at all. Your hands froze on the knots as you stared up at him, wondering if this man hadn’t gotten a concussion. “You need to go before they come back.”

“I can’t leave you like this,” you insisted to the man you had just met. Quickly you untied the remaining rope when the door slammed open and three men strode inside, eying you curiously. 

“Who’s this delectable piece of meat?” One asked, his lips lifting. You watched in shock as teeth, sharp pointy teeth, filled his mouth. Maybe the man behind you wasn’t that delusional after all. 

“Just a strange girl,” he muttered. “Let her go. Your beef is with me.” Your strange mystery man stayed in the chair even though you had undone the ropes enough for him to be free. 

The main vampire, you still weren’t’ sure you believed your eyes, stalked you, his fangs still protruding. “Nah, I think she’s just an added bonus. I can’t wait to taste her sweet blood.”

“Move,” the amazing smelling man whispered, just loud enough for you to hear. Before you could blink he was out of his chair, pushing you to safety and decapitating the first vampire with ease. 

As you crouched behind the storage cabinet, the other two vampires quickly lost their heads as well. You could see the man breathing hard, holding the machete tight in his hand. “Are they...are they gone?” You asked, and instantly his entire demeanor changed.

“They’re gone,” he assured you. “Are you okay?”

You nodded as he came around the storage rack, the machete tucked into the back of his pants. Within an instant, he pulled you into his arms, his lips crashing down on yours. You melted into his embrace. It felt like you were coming home, that this is where you had belonged all along.

“I’m Dean,” he finally introduced himself as he slowly pulled away. 

“Y/N,” You answered, wanting nothing more than to have his lips against yours again.

“It was torture,” he admitted. “I could smell you through that door, and I wanted nothing more than to rip those ropes off and find my mate.”

“I...mate?” You choked out, the word surprising you, but it shouldn’t have. You had both been drawn to each other, and the legend had been true. 

“We have a lot to discuss,” he continued. “Why don’t we find a place that serves pie, and we can sit down and talk.”

“My place,” you automatically answered, knowing that nobody did pie like you. “I have a fresh-baked cherry pie.”

“You’re absolutely perfect,” he exclaimed, wrapping his arm around your shoulder. “I knew this hunt was a good idea.” 

Dean/Jensen Tags: @acortez82 @acreativelydifferentlove @adoptdontshoppets @a-girl-who-loves-disney @akshi8278   @bi-danvers0  @cap-just-said-language @colette2537   @deansgirl215  @flamencodiva @hamiltrash1411 @its-not-a-tulpa @jerkbitchidjitassbutt @justanotherwinchester @just-another-winchester @karouwinchester @keikoraventeller  @krys198478 @librarygeekery @magssteenkamp @misspygmypie @mlovesstories @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk​  @mrspeacem1nusone @nothinbuttrouble2 @ria132love​ @ruprecht0420​  @screechingartisancashbailiff​   @sortaathief​ @superseejay721517 @squirrelnotsam​ @team-free-will-you-idjiot​ @thing-you-do-with-that-thing​ @torn-and-frayed​ @tricksterdean​ @wonderfulworldofwinchester​ @woodworthti666​

Forever Tags: @aditimukul​​ @alexwinchester23​​ @algud​​ @amanda-teaches​​ @andreaaalove​​   @artisticpoet​​ @atc74​​ @be-amaziing​​ @camelotandastronauts​​ @caswinchester2000​​ @cpag7​​ @chelsea072498​​  @closetspngirl​​ @deanwanddamons​​ @docharleythegeekqueen​​ @emoryhemsworth​​ @ericaprice2008​​  @esoltis280​​   @foxyjwls007​​ @gh0stgurl​​ @goldenolaf25​​ @growningupgeek​​  @heartislubbingdubbing​​ @heyitscam99​​ @hobby27​​ @horsegirly99​​ @imsuperawkward​​ @internationalmusicteacher​​ @iwriteaboutdean​​  @jayankles​​ @jensen-gal​​ @justsomedreaming​​ @just-another-busyfangirl @karlee-fay-my-wayward-son​​ @linki-locks11​​ @littleblue5mcdork​​  @lowlyapprentice​​   @mersuperwholocked-lowlife​​ @mogaruke​​ @monkeymcpoopoo​​ @musiclovinchic93​​  @nanie5​​   @percussiongirl2017​​ @plaid-lover-bay25​​   @roonyxx​​ @ronja-uebrick​​ @roxyspearing​​  @samanddeanmyheroes​​ @sandlee44​​ @shamelesslydean​​ @simonsbluee​​ @sillesworldofwriting​​ @sgarrett49​​ @spnbaby-67​​ @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester​​ @spnwoman​​   @superbadassnatural​​ @thatcrazybookwormgeek​​   @thewinchesterchronicles​​ @vvinch3st3r​​  @whimsicalrobots​​ @winchester-writes​​ @zombiewerewolfqueen​​

[bowl-of-shortness]

A Journal?

Overthrown AU

——————————————

Day 599

Date: X̴͉̪̓̀̿̒̄͋̎͘͠X̷̨͖̙̥͎͓̀́X̸̧͇̫͙̫̣͇̼͍̩̀̈͗X̸̛̺̦͇͙̐̃̎̅̐ (it’s scratched out)

Time: 6:00 am

Bright and early per usual, I threw on my favorite pair of boots and overalls before heading downstairs for breakfast. Mom made some hot chocolate along with pancakes this morning, a nice little treat, I having a feeling today is going to be pretty good! Pancakes and hot chocolate in the morning, yum.

Time: 7:30 am

Did some small work on the farm before the bus for school showed up, just pulled out some pesky weeds that were bothering the crops, I bet they feel a lot better now! Anyways, on my way to school. The bus ride is always a bit long since I’m all the way out into the country but I don’t mind. I just put some music on on my scroll and daydream about a characters adventure.

Today, this character is fighting an evil king that’s been terrorizing his town, by the end of the bus ride, he’s beaten the evil king and takes his place.

Time: 8:00 am

1st period started, I always struggle to keep myself awake in this class. My teacher just goes on and on and on in this monotone voice and it’s SO BORING UGH. I hate science class, at least 2nd period is fun.

Time: 9:15 am

Now THIS is one of my favorite classes, P.E. I get to run around and play stupid games with my friends, what’s not to like? We’re playing dodgeball today, and I’m gonna be the KING!

Time: 9:18 am

I think I accidentally just hit my classmate in the head. Oops... let me go make sure she’s ok.

Time: 10:00 am

Math. I’m decent at it. Nothing really to mention about it, just working on geometry.

Time: 11:30 am

WOO HOO! LUNCH TIME BABEYYYYYYY! I love this time so much because I get to eat food and talk to my friends, and also maybe daydream about what I was daydreaming about earlier. I love this time. This story is getting intense! The old rude king comes back to challenge the new king, he luckily loses and runs off with his tail tucked between his legs ha!

Time: 12:35 pm

Phew! One more class, My classes change everyday so unfortunately I won’t have P.E. Tomorrow :(. Anyways I’m in history right now, I also really love history, it’s so interesting hearing about and thinking about those time periods. I hope I get to live through a historical event some day!

Time: 1:45 pm

Sorry for not writing, I got caught up in harvesting this years corn for the farmers market. I always love the farmers market, so many things to do and buy. It’s also fun to see how much money my family and I can earn, maybe I can ask mom if we can buy a cake for pops. Ol’ pops isn’t doing so well, he got sick a while back and hasn’t been getting better, I wish I could help him...

Time: 3:30 pm

Once again, got busy. This time mom put me in charge of looking after pops, she said no to the cake. Pops seemed extra bad today, why do I have the feeling this day is gonna end terribly? Just gotta keep my head up I suppose.

Time: 6:00 pm

I’m outside right now, mom and auntie are fighting about pops. Auntie wants my mom to stop taking care of him, “he’s gonna die anyways” she says. I hate auntie, she’s a jerk. Gold digger just wants pops’ money. I think I’ll stay out here for a while longer, maybe go on a walk, there’s a nice breeze right now. At least that’s good.

Time: 7:45 pm

I’m back outside, not by my own will though. Auntie stuck me out here, said “if you like running off like that then you can stay out of the house.”. I hate her so much. Earlier I thought I heard rustling in the field, probably the wind, it’s starting to get cold and it’s picking up. I hope mom lets me in soon. This day started out so great, why did it have to go wrong?

Time: 8:00 pm

I saw something. Just now. Out in the field. It looked like a person I think, I couldn’t see it’s face cuz it had its back turned to me. Tall, all black, pointy looking things on its head (maybe a crown?), looks like it’s got a cape of some kind.

Time: 8:02 pm

Mom let me back in the house finally. She’s mad at auntie. Why do I have a pit in my stomach suddenly, like something really bad is gonna happen?

Time: 8:10 pm

That figure is still out there. I wonder what it’s doing, it’s just, standing there, and the meadow grass looks like it’s dying around it? Maybe I should close my window...

Time: 8:11 pm

It turned around and looked right at me with these bright green eyes. It’s just staring at me, I’m gonna text mom about it. This guy is creepy...

Time: ?

It smiled and laughed at me. I know. I know. I know. I need to tell mom, we need to leave now.

Time: ???

I can’t find them. I can’t find any of them, mom, pops, or even auntie. I looked back outside, the figure is gone, I feel like I’m being watched.

Time: ??!!!??!!?!!?!!???!!!?????

I heard screaming and came downstairs, they’re all ash now, I don’t want to breath. I don’t want to breath them in. He’s here. Oh gods he’s here. Inside my house. Him. Help me please. If someone reads this please help the rest of my village, please. I ran back upstairs, I heard him laughing.

Time: !

H el p—_ *the page is covered in ash and fingerprints*

[henry-cavill-baby]

To Study (Insects) │ 1

Pairing: Clark Kent (MoS) x Original Female Character

Warnings: None 

Word Count: 3k~

Summary: Connie and Clark, two peas in a pod. She didn’t know if it was his soft blue eyes or his Mother’s sweet blueberry pie that had caught her eye, but boy howdy, was she caught. 

A/N: Nothing! Enjoy!

The best thing about living in Kansas was that nothing ever happened.

There was a mile wide sprawl of corn that was breathtaking to few; it had started out as nothing much but rows upon rows of dirt that now bore sprawls of golden richness that could truly blind any tourist with its beauty.  Most of it was picked and sold—Kansas was full of rural farmers and farmers markets, but some just stayed for show.

And the Farmers Market typically consisted of stay-at-home mothers trying to sell their overpriced sugary sweet lemon bars to any sucker who would pay seven dollars for four measly pieces.

Most of the teens at the local high school got rides home from their parents, but Connie Mayfield knew that you couldn’t pay her Father, Walter, to pick his daughter up from school. If he did, then he’d no doubt miss a rerun of Baywatch, and that simply couldn’t happen.

A tune that rivaled the airiness of a flute flew from the 14 year olds mouth on her long walk home. Connie Mayfield whistled a nonchalant melody as her uneven pace took her closer to home. 

The young girl had a lot on her mind; there was a test on Friday that was covering another form of division that looked to confusing to follow, and Alice’s birthday party was on Saturday and getting a gift for the little girl who had everything was harder than it seemed. The years of gifts consisting of dolls and bright hairbrushes were long over. Maybe she’d like a new bracelet or a set of earrings.

An irregular rock bumped against the tip of her shoe and she grinned, lobbing it off into the cornfield, a little thud echoing through the golden maze. 

It was tempting—the idea of taking the not so short shortcut through the tall stalks, if just to feel a little more free for just a moment, but the sounds of distress just up ahead had her little sneakers speeding up. She turned to the bend and grew furious at the sight of three boys throwing around her friend.

“Hey!” she bellowed, running closer before screeching to a halt in front of the teen holding up her friend by the lip of his shirt, “Leave him alone!”

Isaiah Matthews grinned with his fist still clutching the younger boy's shirt, “Oooo, is this your girlfriend, Kent?”

Clark Kent sneered up at the taller boy, fists clenching in rage. 

“Leave her alone,” he grit out, watching Isaiah sneer with confidence.

“I didn’t take you for a pussy, Kent, but I guess I was wrong.” He dropped Clark with a grin and sauntered to the near growling girl. 

“Connie, right? My dad says you Mayfield’s are trailer trash, and I can see where he gets that from.”

His eyes gave her a visible up-and-down, “No wonder only a freak would like you.” 

The words had barely left his mouth before Clark launched himself onto the back of the bully, pummeling him to the ground with hateful eyes. The two other lackeys ran, but Connie went and pulled Clark back before he did something he’d regret. The two of them fell away from the older boy, watching him with guarded eyes.

Isaiah spat at ground near their feet, “Fucking freaks.”

Connie waited until he was out of sight, turning to Clark and frowning at his disheveled appearance. “You know, I’m not always gonna be here to save you, Clark.”

He wiped away the sheen of dirt and sweat covering his upper lip, refusing to meet her eyes. “I didn’t need your help. I could’ve handled it.”

“Oh yeah, you totally had it under control,” she mocked with pursed lips.

He frowned at her sarcasm and picked up his dirtied school bag, looking down the path home. It was a quick walk to the farm, and mom had probably already started dinner, which is why it made no sense when he turned and muttered, “Can I walk you home?”

Her eyes went wide at his question, upper teeth nibbling on her pink lip, shrugging, “Sure, if you want.”

They both nodded and started a slow walk to the Mayfield’s. Connie’s fingers twitched at her side while different conversation starters nearly passed through her lips every few seconds. The urge to ask why he never fought back, why he let people call him a freak raced through her mind, but only silence hung between them. It was almost annoying that he never stood up for himself.

There was something mysterious about Clark that intrigued her 14-year-old brain; no one had ever let him live down that time he’d locked himself in a closet (and torched the doorknob till it was bright red). 

He was just the guy who kept to himself most of the time.  

And still she kept on eye on him the entire time, watching his own twitching fingers pick at the loose lining of his jeans, lip biting in a matter similar to her own, brows furrowing in thought, though they always did that. He looked cute when he was deep in thought.

Cute? I think Clark is… cute?

A deep redness flooded her cheeks and her lips pursed into a thin line, trying not to visibly speed away from the other boy, but Clark noticed everything. There was something keen about the way his mind worked; almost predatorial. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, the cute furrow in his brow deep as she faced him while willing away the redness of her juvenile cheeks. 

She nodded but didn’t meet his blue eyes. They were like oceans—I’d swim in Clark’s eyes if he’d ask—and her stomach always fluttered when he looked at her.

She expected them to fall back into silence, now halfway to the Mayfield farm, but Clark piped up, “Are you excited for the field trip tomorrow?”

A flutter of excitement rang through her veins, but she held back and simply nodded. “It’ll be a nice change from sitting inside all day.” Clark nodded along with her running words, “I heard the museum has a section on insects and their habitats, and I hope they have a butterfly display. Or—or maybe a real entomologist will be there.”

Now bugs- those were cool. Anything from crickets to butterflies to beetles, each one more interesting than the last…except arachnids. You could keep those eight-legged freaks as far away as humanly possibly.

Clark slowed their pace but kept his distance, “Is that what you wanna be when you grow up?”

She grinned and tried to slow the internal monologue of bug talk.

“I think when I grow up, I’ll leave this place behind and follow my dreams.” She said.

“And I guess those dreams do include insects of all types. They really do get a bad reputation sometimes. I think they’re just as delicate and interesting as humans.”

“Really?” Clark wrinkled in his nose, “My dad sprays the fields for bugs in the summer.” She hit his shoulder as he let out a snort, “I think I’ve squashed a few flies for mom too.”

She shook her head and couldn’t see Clark staring at her golden locks as they shined in the sun. “You’re the worst, Kent.”

The both chuckled and came to a halt in front of the Mayfield farm. It was more run down than the other houses in the area and the roof could’ve been mistaken for caving in, and she knew it looked worse on the inside. The moldy green color of the roof had seen better days, and the porch could barely hold the old rocking chair that her dad liked to sit on in the mornings. Clark would never know how the inside looked even worse.

“Do you know what you wanna be when you grow up?” She asked with a soft smile, taking no offense as Clark tried, once again, not to meet her eyes. The swoop of his brown hair was nearing the tops of his eyes, but she knew he wasn’t inclined to cut it. He didn’t buzz his hair like the other boys.

“I…” He paused, foot kicking the uneven dirt under his shoes. He bit his lip lower lip and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, met her honey eyes.

“Yes?”

He took a deep breath and lightly shrugged, “Sometimes, I feel like I don’t know who I am. I think I wanna figure that out first, ya know?”

No, she didn’t know but asking Clark to explain how he felt could feel like pulling teeth. Golden honey stared into the aquamarine sea, two sets of young lips wet and wanting, and Connie picked at her pants, nails bending with surprising force.

The door to the Mayfield hold slammed with a grotesque force, and the two teens jumped away from one another as Walter Mayfield grunted his way to them, to Clark.

“’Thought I told you to stay away from my daughter, Kent!” Walter bellowed, nearing the fourteen-year-old clear-eyed boy who showed no sign of backing down with his head held high and chest jutted out. 

“I don’t want you lookin’ at her, touchin’ her—“

Connie finally yelled, “Dad!” and stood between him and Clark, protecting her friend from the unjustified anger of her dad. She felt Clark’s fingers grip the back of her shirt and tug her closer, just as Walter stood over them with beady eyes and steam shooting from his ears.

“Get in the house, Connie.” Her dad growled, never looking away from Clark.

But she shook her head and pushed against her dad’s chest, ignoring Clark’s fingers still gripping the back of her shirt. “We weren’t doing anything, go back inside, please.”

A startled yelp left her throat as her dad’s strong fist lurched her forward by the front of her shirt, throwing her to the ground and out of Clark’s grip. The air left her lungs and the dirt felt dry under her fingertips, watching as Clark seemed to vibrate in place, glaring deadly at Walter.

“If I ever see you ‘round here again, Kent.” He spat, “I’ll make you wish you were never born. Are we clear?”

The threat hung between the adult and young teen, and Clark tightly nodded and stalked off down the dirt path, not once looking back at Connie, never seeing the tears in her eyes.

Walter stared down at his daughter with a sneer, “Get inside. I won’t say it again.”

The dried dirt caked under her nails as she scrambled to stand and bolt inside, not taking note of the woman asleep on the couch that she’d never seen before, or the beer bottles covering the kitchen counters. The stairs creaked as she fled upstairs and shut her bedroom door, clicking the latch in place. A heaviness sat in her chest as her backpack thumped to the floor.

Beaded tears fell down her thick cheeks and light cries sounded through the room.

“—I want that boy away from my son!” the mother of Peter Ross screeched from the Principal's office. “Am I the only one who understands the situation? That boy lifted a bus from a lake. A bus! What kind of monster are we allowing to walk with our children?”

The meek father of Alice pepped up, “But—But he did save them, right?”

“It doesn’t matter, Martin. I don’t feel safe with him here, and neither should any of you.”

Martha Kent hung her head and left the Principal's office, ignoring the calls from the desperate parents. There was nothing else she needed to hear from them, especially insults about her son. The door shut with a click, and her heels clipped the floor with each step.

She did her best to smile at Clark, but he’d always seen right through that. He sat up straight and looked her in the eyes, his soft voice rivaling his posture, “How did it go?”

She knew Clark had heard every word already and that lying would only make him defensive. “About as well as you’d expect, honey.” She patted his shoulder and ushered him to stand, “C’mon, let’s go home.”

The car ride was silent aside from the tapping of Clark’s blunt nails on the fabric of his jeans, and the shaking of his leg. He was such a nervous boy—her Clark—and it pained her heart to see him to try to hide how this whole thing was tearing him up inside. They normally played the radio, Clark usually flipped stations and rarely settled on just one, but silence was all they heard.

Jonathon Kent watched his wife pull up, and frowned as Clark bolted from the passenger seat and fled into the backyard. He stepped outside just as Martha shut off the car and gingerly stepped out, walking into her husband’s arms with a deep sigh. Exhaustion ran deep in her veins, and Jonathon wished he could take it away.

“That bad, huh?” He muttered into her brown locks, feeling her nod into his chest.

“Talk to him.” She begged, trying to keep the tears at bay, “I think…I think it’s time he…” They both turned to face the barn with heavy hearts, knowing this would be for the best.

Jonathon nodded and released Martha, shooting a thin-lipped smile her way as he made his way to the backyard. His heart thumped as he eyed his son, whose legs were hanging off the back of his pickup, shoulders hunched in his blue hoodie. As he got closer, he could hear the sniffles from his son.

“Clark.” His son turned and wiped away the wetness on his cheeks. “I just want to know what happened. I’m not mad, I promise.”

Jonathon sat next to his son and watched his boys lip quiver. His words came out with a thin veil of pain, “I wasn’t thinking, Dad.” A hiccup escaped his throat. “She was so scared… I just couldn’t let her die."

The water was rising too fast—it was cold and soaked the kids instantly— and Clark watched as Connie grew frantic in her efforts to open the window enough to crawl out, or maybe she was trying her best to keep the water from flooding the already half submerged bus. Cries and screams rang through the drowning bus, and Clark swam, trying his best to make it to Connie

“Connie!” He yelled, reaching forward to snag her shirt and pull her away from the stream of flowing water.

“Oh god, Clark! We’re gonna die!”  Her screams were shrill and almost hurt his ears, but the smell of her fear mixed with the smell of tears and piss coming off the other students had him looking for a way out.  

But the water was nearing the top of the bus, and all he could hear was her cries.

“Son, I thought we talked about this.” He started, patting his own thigh, “We have to keep what you can do a secret.”

“They were all going to drown, how could I have done nothing? They didn’t deserve to die.”

“Clark, I just—“ Jonathon paused, watching the sunshine across the cornfield that spanned miles upon miles. It was an array of reds that shined upon the old graying barn. 

“I just want to protect you, son. And sometimes, when people see something they don’t understand, they get scared and lash out. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you.”

And finally, Clark asked the question that Jonathon had known would always come.

“Why am I like this, dad? Why am I so different from everyone else?”

Memories of finding their son, raising him to be the young man who sat at his side—through all the times he’d been different than the other kids, and knowing all of the hardships that were yet to come. It was almost enough to make him cry.

Almost.

Jonathon stood up from the truck and stood in front of his son, placing both hands on his small shoulders. “I’m going to show you something, son, and it may make things make a bit more sense. But no matter what—“ He pressed his palm to his sons chest and smiled,

“You are my son.”

Part 2