#Second dates

[x-bluefire-heart-x]

Not What Was Expected

Next chapter for this little cute story. I know Rafael might seem a little out of character for this but I would argue that we haven't seen how he would treat someone he was interested in who also showed that interested back so....

Warnings: None. Just once again my attempt at flirtation. Hints towards something spicer.

Masterlist

Prompt List

One , Two , Four , Five , Six , Seven , Eight, Nine , Ten

You were standing at the meeting point in the park waiting for Rafael, one of your light scarves wrapped around your neck to help keep you warm. The weather still hadn’t completely turned but the sun was hidden behind some clouds, and a small breeze was rustling through the trees, bringing with it the promised chill that makes itself known during the night. You had chosen comfort for the day but you had still strived to style your choices. You picked a pair of leggings that hugged your legs rather nicely, and you had paired it with a simple shirt that was slightly oversized with the front tucked in and the back hanging loosely. Over the top you wore a light coat that cinched a little around your waist before flaring slightly. Topped off with a pair of black joggers and your scarf you thought you looked rather cute. You had braided your hair to stop it from blowing in the breeze not wanting it to impede your view of Rafael.

You glanced down at your phone checking the time, it was 12:10, Rafael had messaged letting you know that he was going to be a little late. It was a quick message, and none had come since but you weren’t concerned, knowing the work he did and that even though it was the weekend Rafael would still be busy. You rocked back and forth a little on your heels as you admired the gorgeous view of the trees and the colour their leaves were changing to. It was stunning.

“I am so sorry,” a voice huffed behind you. You turned to see Rafael, his cheeks flushed red as he took deep breaths.

“Rafael,” you smiled. “It’s fine, you aren’t that late and besides you let me know that it was a possibility. Though I must say I am rather…pleased that you were willing to run here.”

Rafael took one last breath as it started to normalise, a chuckle interrupting it at the coy way you spoke. He ran his eyes over your form, taking in your slightly red nose and the few strands of hair that were falling out of your braid. He had hoped that he hadn’t underdressed with his workout gear on with a scarf, although it was going to only be a walk he wanted to be comfortable for it and he was glad to see that you had done the same. Of course he thought you pulled it off better than he did but he maybe becoming a little biased when it came to you. He still found your red nose adorable.

“Well, you are definitely worth running to, Miss Librarian,” he grinned, enjoying the way your cheeks flushed red. He had noticed last night that you did so rather easily, along with how your eyes would skirt away from his when you got shy. “And you look lovely today.”

“Thank you,” you said softly reaching up to brush away a stray strand from your face. “Um, this is my favourite walk in the park.”

“I can see why, it is rather beautiful,” Rafael nodded at the trees as the two of you set off down the path. You both walked close together, shoulders brushing every now and then.

“One of the reasons I love this weather. Spring has beautiful colours of course but there is something about the colours in autumn,” you agreed. “Plus I enjoy being cozy, and that is difficult to do in summer with the heat.”

“Cozy?” Rafael asked.

“Yes, you know bundled up with a blanket, a good book and a cup of tea or a glass of wine, while it’s raining outside,” you nodded. “Wearing thick scarves and coats, drinking hot chocolate after a relaxing walk. Cozy.”

“That does sound rather nice I’ll admit,” Rafael agreed as his hand brushed yours again. He was tempted to take hold of it but didn’t know if you would accept that just yet.

“Hm,” you hummed a little glancing down at his hand that was very close to yours, the backs brushing when your shoulders did. You worried your bottom lip as you looked up at his profile. His strong nose and jawline catching your attention, he was breath taking. You reached your hand out a little, letting your fingers brush against his to test the waters before taking hold of his hand. “Is this okay?”

“One little change I think,” Rafael whispered as he changed the grip you had made intertwining your fingers. “Much better.”

A slight breeze carried a few leaves to float down around the two of you as you walked across the little bridge. It had been silent for a few moments but like at the restaurant not an awkward one. It was comfortable, as you lightly swung your joint hands between you. Rafael found the action adorable his eyes taking the chance to trace over your face as you watched the leaves flutter down onto the water.

“Were you in the office this morning?” you asked curious.

“Yes unfortunately,” Rafael grumbled. “Apparently the detectives got busy last night, I had yet more warrants to get for them as well as trial prep for a previous case.”

“Very busy morning for you,” you said. “I do hope that this doesn’t put you behind on anything.” You didn’t want to cause Rafael any stress in regards to how much work he had to do.

“Not at all, in fact it is a welcome reason to leave my office,” Rafael waved away your concern. “Besides, Liv has been rather good at keeping things off my desk unless necessary.”

“Oh?” you were a little confused. “How so?”

“Normally, my night would have been interrupted by what the detectives did last night but Liv knew I was at dinner with you and made sure we weren’t disturbed,” Rafael smiled.

“That was rather kind of her,” you said. “Please tell her thanks from me? I’m rather grateful that our night wasn’t interrupted.”

“I will pass that on,” Rafael nodded. “Of course she will be smug about it all.”

“You know from what you have told me about Liv, I already like her,” you grinned.

“Yes, I am rather dreading when the two of you meet,” Rafael sighed. “She teases me relentlessly and you have already shown you seem inclined to do that as well.”

“Mr Lawyer, when I meet her?” you asked, Rafael realised how he phrased that comment. He debated correcting himself but he had never been one to do so, especially when he meant something.

“Yes when,” he said again. “If of course you want to, eventually.”

“Well, I would love that,” you said. “I’ve already said I like her, and besides I can’t wait to hear what stories she has about you.”

“I am already regretting this,” Rafael groaned hanging his head as you laughed at his response.

“Too late to take it back now, I’m afraid,” you tapped him on the arm. He grabbed hold of those fingers in a teasing grip, the two of you had stopped walking standing to the edge of the path, hands still intwined. He lifted the fingers he had grabbed teasingly up to his mouth and pressing his lips to them softly, your mouth parted in a small ‘o’ shape, cheeks turning a red to match your nose.

“I must admit to once again being wrong,” Rafael stated, eyes roving over your face. “This weather is rather good for a nice walk through the park.”

“Oh? What made you change your mind?” you asked, a little confused by the change in topic but your mind was still reeling from the kiss he placed on the tips of your fingers. “You said you preferred the summer?”

“Oh I still do,” Rafael nodded. “But how can I completely disagree when you look ravishing in this weather, it truly suits you.”

“You…I…” you stuttered unable to process a response. You had not been expecting that.

Rafael watched with a slightly guarded look, he was hoping that that hadn’t been too much. Rafael was not the kind of man who half hearted things, he always put his all into his cases and his personal life got the same treatment. He wanted to start things off right, he wanted to be honest especially in regards to how he felt and thought about you. He had always been that way, it sometimes worked for the best but other times it had backfired. If it was going to do that with you, he wanted it to backfire before he got too deep, before the budding feeling of attraction grew, which it was slowly doing every minute.

“I hope that wasn’t too much,” he whispered voice a little vulnerable. “I-”

“No it wasn’t!” you interrupted almost shouting. “I mean, I didn’t expect it. But it wasn’t too much, I’ve always rather liked the idea of someone who doesn’t shy away from expressing themselves and their thoughts.”

“Good, good,” Rafael smiled, he started to walk again lightly tugging on your joint hands. “Shall we continue?”

“Yes,” you nodded, your face still incredibly red as you walked beside him.

You caught him glancing at you a few times, his jaw a little tense as if he was clenching it. You squeezed his hand, offering him a sweet little smile hoping to put him at ease. At first you hadn’t been sure how to react to what he had said, people had commented on how pretty you are or beautiful but never had they said you looked ravishing, especially dressed in work out gear with your nose very red from the cold. But once what he said had actually sunk in, well, you became incredibly shy. It wasn’t a common occurrence but this man, this bloody man seemed to bring it out a lot. With his smiles and serious eyes when he says things, that coming from others would be said teasingly or even mockingly but him, him they were said with such a serious tone and the look in his eyes when he said them, you couldn’t take them any other way. And that intensity made you shy.

“How was your morning?” Rafael asked, hoping to bring you back out of the shell you seemed to disappear into. He thought it was endearing, how you could become shy from things he would say or do.

“It was good, didn’t do much honestly,” you started. “I finished the latest book I was on and picked the next one out of my jar.”

“Your jar?” Rafael asked, curiosity peaked.

“Oh yes, I have a lot of books, both physical and on kindle as I love buying books as much as I love reading them,” you explained. “And so it’s sometimes a little tricky to pick which book to read next so, I have two jars, one full the names of the unread physical books I own and one for my kindle, since I read that at work or if I decide to commute instead of drive.”

“That is a genius idea,” Rafael said. “What book did you just finish? Was it a physical one or one on your kindle?”

“It was a physical one, it was the last book in a series, the Ember Quartet by Sabaa Tahir, a rather good one actually,” you said, voice getting excited. “There was a few things I didn’t see coming and I was very happy with the ending.  It was rather poetic in a way I suppose. It has a roman inspired world, with a fascinating magic system and some really good character development!”

You gestured with your hands as you talked, the one still linked with Rafael’s hand bringing his with it. Rafael continued watching as you gushed about the book series, managing to talk about it without giving away any spoilers but still painting the world quite vividly. That light that he saw in your eyes last night when you discussed the importance of reading was back, and he never wanted it to leave. He loved listening to people talk about things they loved, they would always get so animated and he was a little chuffed that you hadn’t let go of his hand. He was content to have his hand moved about in yours as you gestured.

“And it is best not to get attached to any of the characters,” you finished, looking over at Rafael. The look on his face was similar to the one he had last night when you had stopped yourself from rambling. It was soft. Gentle. And almost adoring. He had a small smile on his face.

“That series does sound very good,” Rafael smiled. “I’m a little curious now, do you know if there is an audible version of it?”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure but I can definitely find out for you,” you grinned.

“Thank you,” Rafael’s smile changed to a cheeky one. “Though I wouldn’t say no to you reading it too me.”

“Oh, you don’t want that,” you laughed. “I’d stop all the time to gush about something or another.”

“Commentary as well? Even better!” Rafael cheered, bringing your joint hands up to his lips to place a kiss on the back of it without a second thought. You were thinking that you would need to get use to the easy affection.

“I suppose I could be convinced then,” you teased. “With some…how do you fancy lawyers say it? Conditions and consideration? Is it?”

“Consideration?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

“Yes, I do believe that is something that comes up in contracts isn’t it?” you replied, for a moment unsure that you had remembered correctly. “I do something, for something in return? Like I buy something for money? Or am I wrong?”

“No, not all,” Rafael smiled. “So, tell me, what conditions?”

“I pay for the drinks we’ll be getting in a moment,” you nodded towards the little coffee stand as the two of you came to stop just before it. “And, if you truly want me to read them to you…you’ll come to my apartment for it?”

“I can agree with those two conditions but so far I am only seeing benefits for me,” Rafael nodded.

“Oh don’t worry I was getting there,” you grinned. “You said that your mum made sure you could cook. Before I read, you cook me dinner?”

“Each time?” Rafael asked for confirmation.

“Of course, each time,” you agreed.

“A standing date then,” Rafael finalised. “Shall we try and do it every week?”

“Agreed, Mr Barba,” you hesitated for a split second before deciding it was your time to try and fluster Rafael. You leaned close, shifting your gaze from his right eye, to his left and back again before you lightly pressed your lips to his cheek. As you leaned back you noticed a slight red tinge to his cheeks. Inside you did a little dance happy that for once it appeared he didn’t know what to say. “What’s this Mr Lawyer? Have I finally made you lost for words?”

You unlinked you hand from his to put your arms around his shoulders, moving even closer to him, almost touching him entirely. You bit your lip, a little nervous that you had maybe stepped over a line until his hands found their home on your hips and you saw his eyes darken a little as they flicked down your lips before back up to yours.

“Only momentarily, chica,” Rafael hummed. “Would it be alright if I kissed you? I have been thinking about it since we met.”

“Well, this is the second date,” you jokingly pondered. “And you have been the utmost gentleman…minus some teasing here and there…yes, I do believe you may kiss me.”

“Cheeky,” Rafael tsked.

He tugged you fully against him grinning at your soft exhale at the movement. Your arms linked behind his head as he lowered his lips to yours. You weren’t one to really believe in that sparks with the first kiss trope that your read in your romance books, though you liked to think it was possible. And feeling Rafael gently press his lips against yours again and again before increasing the pressure moving them against yours, you almost believed it. The two of you broke apart, keeping in mind that you were in a public place, Rafael lightly kissed your nose before taking a step back but not letting you go.

“I’ll take all the cheek for kisses like that,” he smirked, watching as you nibbled on your lip, swiping your tongue over your lips. “Keep doing that and I’ll be tempted to kiss you again.”

“An error to tell me that,” you laughed. “I’ll know how to get more kisses from you in the future.”

“Maybe that was my plan all along,” Rafael pointed out.

“Whatever you say,” you laughed removing your arms from around his neck and taking his hand again. “Shall we get a warm drink?” you tugged him towards the stand.

“Hmm, I’d rather more kisses but I will take the drink,” Rafael grumbled letting you pull him along grinning when you turned around to wink at him.

“Trust me to order again?” you asked just before you got to the front.

“I believe so,” Rafael nodded, he privately thought that he may start to trust you with anything.

“Could I get two large hot chocolates please, with some mint?” you asked the vendor.

“Right away, love,” he smiled. “Glad I didn’t start making it with hazelnut this time.”

“Well, it’s not often you have mint,” you cheeked, handing over some money for the drinks. Rafael waited bedside you, enjoying learning something about you, you turned to him with a smile. “Trust me, you’re going to love this.”

“Hm, I think so,” Rafael answered so softly. You sent him a quizzical look, not quite understanding why he responded in such a way but before you could ask the vendor was handing over your two drinks. You both got out of the way of the people behind you, you took a sip enjoying the minty chocolate warming you up. You watched Rafael take a sip, bouncing a little waiting for his response.

“You definitely weren’t lying chica,” Rafael licked his lips savouring the taste. “I take it you are regular here?”

“Oh yes, whenever I go for my walks I tend to come here for a hot drink before I continue on,” you said. “There are some chairs just over there, if the weather is nice I will stay for a little while and read.”

“I hope you don’t mind if we continue walking while we drink?” Rafael asked.

“Not a bit,” you smiled holding out your hand wiggling your fingers. “But only if we hold hands.”

“Twist my arm,” Rafael muttered lacing his fingers with yours again as the two of you continued your walk. You grinned leading the way to the loop that led back to where you had started. The rest of the walk flew by in easy conversation just like the night before. The both of you wanted to drag the date on but Rafael admitted that he should get back to work, at least for a little while longer and you knew that you had to get some more things done before you started work tomorrow.

“So,” you started. “This was…fantastic.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Rafael said his hand reaching up to cup your cheek. “Full disclosure, I may be a bit busy in the next coming week the current case seems to be picking up and I start a trial in three days. But I would like to see you, even briefly when we can arrange it.”

“I would as well,” you nodded leaning a little into his hand, moving just enough to place a kiss on his palm. “I’m more than happy to work around your schedule, as mine is pretty standard not often that I am needed outside my shifts. Plus my lunch hour can be whenever, for the most part.”

“Perhaps we could meet for coffee and/or lunch in a few days?” Rafael asked, taking a step closer.

“Sounds good,” you agreed eyes shifting between his and his lips, wanting to try out the triangle trick. You grinned a little at the response it seemed to elicit from the man as he leaned down to hover over your lips.

“Teasing woman,” he growled lowly just before he pressed his lips to yours again this time he pulled away quicker but not before gently biting at your lower lip. You struggled to hold in the whine at that, following after him a little. “Good thing I rather like that.”

“Good…” you whispered, voice a little breathy before you tried to focus. “Lunch? A few days?” Rafael smirked gently at your short questions, he had heard the start of the whine before you stopped it when he pulled away from your lips and it created a need, a want to hear what noises you would make for him. He forced that heat down, he wanted to go slow with you to build up the desire and tension between the two of you.

“We’ll aim for two days from now. I’ll message you a time and place, once I know for certain,” Rafael answered voice equally soft.

“I can’t wait,” you grinned. “But don’t worry if work gets busy…I could always drop by with some take out. If you want of course.”

“You’d be willing to do that if I have to cancel?” Rafael asked. The few times he had dated in the past none of them had offered to alter the plans to fit into the hectic work hours of his job. And the times he had suggested it some of them did it, though they weren’t necessarily with how many times they had to do it. The rest would refuse, claiming it wasn’t a true date.

“Of course, I enjoy spending time with you and I would like to whenever and however possible,” you nodded, darting in to kiss his cheek again. “So long as it doesn’t interfere with your work.”

“If I can’t make the lunch date I would love for you to drop by the office,” Rafael took your hand to place a kiss on your knuckles. “Message me when you get home?”

“Hmm, sure,” you said face soft and open as you squeezed his hand before letting it go. “I’ll see you in two days, Rafael.”

Rafael was still smiling after you parted ways, the two of you both looked back once or twice until you were out of sight. He was already excited for lunch, and a little part of him wanted it to be at his office so you could see him in his element. If he worked in a different area he would eventually invite you to watch him in court but there was no way he would ever want you to watch one of his trials. He wouldn’t lie about the fact that he is a proud man, and definitely a little arrogant in his regards to his work and the thought of being able to show that off to you, well, it pleased some buried part of himself. He was busy planning what suit he would wear that day wanting to impress you with it. He returned to the office, hoping that if he got a lot done today nothing would interfere with the lunch plans.

The two of you both thought that the next two days couldn’t go quick enough.

[dayvan]

from 2014

[inbabylontheywept]

the house i grew up in was a little bit of a fixer upper. for the first 19 years, my dad just sort of slowly fixed it, but pretty early on in college, he came into a large amount of cash and decided to just do the whole thing at once. so he rented a different house for like, 2 months that was just a block down from us, and then got a bunch of contractors to fix original house ASAP. it was kind of crazy, but it compressed many years of work into like, three months.

the sitting in a new house for three months was actually pretty fun. and i shouldnt really complain at all (staying at home while in college is a sweet deal)

but.

but. my parents are fairly hard of hearing, and their bedroom in the old house was in the furthest possible annex from everyone else. wheras in the rental it was just in the middle of the house. so without going into details, i was extremely aware that my parents were having sex like, eight times a day. my dad had just retired and i guess they were celebrating, which is great i guess, having parents that really like each other is way better than the alternative, but also, it did make me envy their deafness. i kept headphones on for so long that year i got literal ear calluses.

at the same time, the house my buddy from the shoe incident grew up in flooded. turbo flooded. they burst like, two pipes at once and the damage was so severe they had to redo all the flooring and all the drywall. his family actually had homeowners insurance, which is either incredible or suspicious for a family that used the drained pool in their backyard to store rusty scrap metal. so insurance was handling the work, but in the meantime, they were crammed into a very small hotel room space. we did the math on it then, it averaged about 80 square feet a person.

so one day i got home, and i was chilling, and then six rolled around, and apparently six o'clock was sex o'clock because my parents decided to flex their cardio. i grabbed my headphones and prayed that god would do for me what he did for beethoven, but that failed to work, and then seven rolled around and my parents were still at it, which again, very impressive, but was pushing me to swap out judas for mozart in those prayers. there's a definitive point where you stop praying to be deaf and instead pray that god could take you to a nice field and pop you like a gore-balloon.

i was about five minutes away from that point when my friend called me and basically said i have been stuck in a 500 square foot space with 6 people and i didn't have many marbles to start but what few i had are gone. please. if we are friends, if we were ever friends, take me out of here just for a moment.

and i was still pretty mad at him, but i had pity on the poor guy. also helped that i was desperate to leave the house. so i drove the chickenshitmobile to the hotel and i picked him up, and then we did our normal hangout activity, which was go to food city and buy produce. his normal house was, on a good day, nasty, and his backyard was, as i stated before, mostly used to store mosquito larvae and rusty metal, so what we'd always done before was just walk to the grocery store a half block away and leer at vegetables.

so we did that and it was like old times again. they had some radishes that were expired, so i could buy like, literally an entire grocery bag of them for about $5. so i did. i really like radishes. he got a coconut because he liked fruit and beating things with hammers.

which probably would've been great except we didn't have a hammer, so instead we spent about 30 minutes stomping itike it owed us money. when it finally cracked we cheered like we just got the winning touchball at the superdome and then he ate some of the flesh, and i ate some of the radishes, and we admired the black, starless sky of the city before i took him back to his hotel room.

and then we got pulled over.

i forgot to turn my lights on because the street all around the food city was ludicrously well lit. so it went from being pretty bright, to pretty bright and flashy, then i pulled into a parking lot and a cop came to ask us for IDs which is where everything went to shit:

i’d forgotten my license at home. 

the cop was was actually kind of chill about it - he said he could get by with just an address. except i did not know my address. i hadn't memorized the new one yet. so i told the cop, my house is getting remodeled, i don't know my address right now. and then he went to my friend, and my friend said the exact same thing. house getting remodeled, staying somewhere else, no address, sowwwwwwy.

now the cop genuinely didn't know what to do. he went back to his car, and i was stressed that i was about to get into HUGE trouble so i started eating the radishes and my buddy started eating more of his coconut, and we actually managed to eat like a quarter of both before the cop came back. we ate enough produce that he could smell something weird in the air, and he asked what the smell was, and i said radishes, and my buddy said coconut, and the cop said which, and then we produced a large bag of droopy radishes and an absolutely brutalized coconut, and the cop was just like

so my buddy tried explaining how he was sharing a 500 square foot apartment with 6 people and wanted a fruit he could fight with power tools, and i tried explaining how i'd actually tried buying my parents like, board games and puzzles and stuff but nothing worked - the only thing my parents seemed to like doing right now was each other, and we both went on long enough and pathetically enough that the cop eventually went:

ok. stop.

and we stopped.

and he said do you know why i pulled you over?

and i said, because of my headlights, and my friend (who is hispanic) and the cop both looked at me like like i was the dumbest person in the entire world. and then the cop said no. that's why i'm allowed to pull you over. i checked your car because this neighborhood has a terrible sex trafficking problem, and i pull over every car i can to make sure no one is buying or selling sex. and you two are obviously doing neither. now i could give you, like, four tickets right now, but that would do nothing to make this area safer, so just turn your lights on, go home, drive safe, and try to be less stupid in the future.

and i said okay but i was thinking, you know, damn, this is just how i live man, i don't have a hidden third gear i can shift into. people can't just get smarter because it would be convenient. it's always convenient to be smart. i am literally trying my best.

but i didn't say anything because i was, slowly, learning how to filter what i said. instead i nodded and the cop left then i dropped my buddy off, and the last thing he said was said he owed me for responding to his SOS. I said he owed me for a lot of things, and he agreed that was true. then i drove home with my lights on, 5 under the speed limit, and arrived to a peaceful quiet home. I could’ve wept with relief but instead I went to bed.

the relief was short lived. i was woken up at 6 am by my parents. i swore, and then i prayed, and when i did not explode, i swore again. then i got up to make breakfast before my first class.

[zephyrchama]

[Thoughts about an MC who gets periods]

Getting periods in the Devildom must be pretty rough. Demons probably don’t get them, and the number of humans freely wandering around has to be incredibly low. If MC takes the form of a sheep then they likely don't have to deal with it immediately, but eventually that's going to wear off and they'll revert back to a human. Does the Devildom even have pads and tampons for sale?

MC might have to sheepishly ask Barbatos if he can acquire some in bulk from the human world. Barbatos would remain professional as always when inquiring about the use of these products and their role in daily life. He'd have to report it to the prince. They're both aware of what periods are, but only in a vague "oh yeah, humans do that" kind of way. (Perhaps in the future, Lucifer could use his secret Akuzon account to order more?)

There's surely some plant or potion that prevents them, but they're not meant for long term use. Probably tastes nasty over time and covers human skin in a weird oozing rash if consumed too often.

A month or two into the exchange program, MC might have to call up Solomon for aid.

---

“Can you help me with something?”

Solomon, not too interested in MC yet, agrees just to be amicable with his fellow human exchange student. They must be scared! They must be missing humans! “Is something on your mind?”

“You know how to do magic, right?”

What a silly question. It’s almost refreshing to hear. “I do.”

“Do you know… like, uh, smell…? Reducing magic? Something to cover up smells? Without being obvious, I mean. I feel like I stink and I was really hoping you could help me figure something out.”

How cute, he thinks. He can’t quite remember the time when he smelled fully human anymore, and he can’t really smell the distinct odor on people that demons can, but he knows demons can easily sniff out a human from afar. “Oh, don’t worry about that. It should go away on its own as you spend time here.”

MC isn’t convinced. “I don’t think it will…”

“Trust me. How are you finding Devildom cuisine? I know you’re not used to it, but eating more will help you adjust. I can whip up a few simpler dishes for you to try if you need help.”

MC is silent for a bit. Solomon thinks his job is done until they say quietly, “that’s not the problem.”

“What?”

“I’m pretty sure the brothers I live with can smell, uh, my cycle.” No use being coy about it, better get straight to the point. “They stare at me when I’m on my period. I think - no, I know - they can smell the blood. I’ve seen them sniff the air when I’m around. It's weird. And I can’t exactly stop it from happening every month.”

“Oh.” Now it’s Solomon’s turn to be quiet. He’s embarrassed and surprised, a little humbled, and also really interested in this problem. It’s not something he’s ever thought about before.

MC continues, “I think they can tell when I’m ovulating too, Asmo started lingering around more often, and Lucifer looked scarier than usual, and they all stare more, and-”

“I think I get it.” Solomon can’t stop his face from turning pink. Despite his usual grin, he doesn't think he’s ready to listen to the rest of MC’s sentence.

There should be an easy solution, but it’s something that warrants testing if MC doesn’t want the brothers noticing a sudden spell cast upon them. It could get mistaken for something malicious. Solomon says, “I might be able to help. Can you come over today?”

[lil-vibes]

attempting to bonding with the disciples + narilamb cuddles for the heart

+close up on scritches !

[deadsetobsessions]

Danny no longer has a haunt. So… he decides to find another one. And while he technically has a whole world (other dimensions aren’t an option because he’s going to stay near where Jazz’s grave is, damn it) there’s only a couple of other places with enough ambient ectoplasm to sustain him. Nanda Parbat, Tokyo, and Gotham.

Nanda Parbat had a weird old musty immortal that kept trying to summon him and exchange power for the ability to “take a worthy body and rain as much destruction” as he’d like. As if Danny would need a body to bring the world to its knees.

Tokyo… it’s too far from Jazz’s grave. He could ask Wulf or even open his own portal but when Danny tried it out, Tokyo was too peaceful. Obviously there’s crime, but nothing… nothing big like Danny’s used to.

Danny ends up picking Gotham, even if the sewer zombies and the weird group of rich fruit loops with an adoption problem creeps him out. So, he destroys the portal, packs up his parents’ house and sells it, and hauls ass to the cesspool calling his name. His family’s stuff is stored respectfully in a vault located on the deepest parts of his personal haunt in the Infinite Realms.

And honestly, he’s doing better. Sure, he’s got a shitty apartment near another revenant’s almost-haunt and he feels like he’s drowning all of the time, but Danny isn’t in danger of turning into Dan, he’s catching up on royal paperwork, and he’s got like a job as a barista. In his own coffee shop that paid for using his parent’s money (who, despite their hazardous everything, made a crap ton of money off of their more normal inventions).

Gotham’s got some pretty interesting local gangs, most of which respected the sanctity of Danny’s cafe. Sure, they tried blowing it up and tried extorting money from him in the form of “protection costs” but after three months of failure, they gave up.

(Really, the local gangs gave up when they saw him take three shotgun shells to the chest and continued to work.) (They didn’t know it never hit him. Intangibility is extremely useful.)

The Rogues, on the other hand, just gave Danny flashbacks. Their gimmicks are different, sure, but after years of Box Ghost, Skuller, Lunch Lady, etc., Danny’s more than done with costumed villains. They don’t bother him either. Some of the reason is probably due to Harley and Ivy, who had walked into the cafe and (because they were bruised and scratched up from a fight) triggered Danny’s mother hen tendencies. They were promptly fed and watered and caffeinated and their hyenas were also similarly taken care of. They declared the cafe under their protection and that was that.

Red Hood stops by, and begins to interrogate him. But when Danny met his… helmet eyes? The crime lord paused, paid for his coffee, and sat in a corner table of the cafe for the rest of the day.

And he kept coming back?

But Danny figures it’s because Hood was a revenant and people who had come close to death tends to feel more comfortable around him.

(Considering this is Gotham where people almost die every other day? Yeah, he’s pretty much friends with everyone. Or at least, less likely to get shot.)

(Hood does stay because of the King’s presence and the Pit calming itself, but also Danny’s hot and he’s got a sleeper build and Hood definitely did not imagine himself in the place of the heavy box he saw Danny lift effortlessly onto a table. No.)

But of course, the peace couldn’t last forever. But by then, Danny was so antsy, he welcomed the trouble with open arms.

It starts with a clown. Danny knows who he is. He knows who Danny is.

So, Danny has no idea why the clown thought it would be a good idea to aggravate the owner of Gotham’s official neutral grounds. See, Clovkwork? Danny’s learned how to gauge his own political importance!

“HAHAHAHAHA! COME OUT, DANNY-BOY! LET ME TELL YOU A JOKE!”

Danny comes out and grabs a chair, and with a flat expression, says, “you’re not funny and I hate clowns.”

And then he swings and slams the chair into the Joker’s face. Over and over again until Danny’s sure the clown won’t get back up. The thing about Gotham’s outdoor chairs is that they’re mad out of steel and are bolted down to the ground to prevent undedicated thieves (dedicated thieves can and will steal the bolted down steel chairs). The Joker’s hired muscle just watched this scrawny twenty-something year old yank the steel chair and take some of the fucking ground and the bolts with it and beat the fuck out of their boss who is the literal Joker.

They surrender on the spot and is taken to jail. Danny just smiles at the officers who come by and since he’s got pretty privilege and they don’t want to mess with the guy who, again, owns one of Gotham’s official neutral ground and also beat up Joker without breaking a sweat, the officers just lets him go with a warning.

And then the bats comes, and wow, Danny’s playing mentor to a formally dead person again!

But before that, the Red Hood asks for an autograph on the Gotham Gazette article with a picture of a tired Danny standing over Joker’s prone body. Then Hood stammers through asking Danny out (which Danny said yes to because he’s tired, not blind, and Hood is built like a brick house and HOT).

Batman interrogates him. Danny, who can tell that this man needs therapy and is Sad TM, tells Bats that Danny’s died before and that’s why he’s like this. He also calls Batman a furry, but like in a nice way. And then he kicks Batman out with a coffee and a file on Nanda Parbat.

Now, Danny’s got a date to prepare for and he realizes that maybe this is what Jazz wanted for him- to be happy and mostly safe and happy. (Or, happier, he thinks. It’s been a long time since he’s been truly happy, but this might be a good start)

[impidimp]

You know, regardless of Buddie and queer Eddie and all of that, I just really need Chris to tell Eddie he doesn't need a new mom

[sp0o0kylights]

We often see Robin focused on her own love life (or lack thereof) while Steve collects more You Suck tallies on the board, but imagine Steve does find a girl he dates that he hits it off with?

He aces dates 1 through 5 and suddenly he's around a little less, his new relationship looking serious, and Robin isn't jealous but--

She is worried.

That's her best friend. Her platonic soulmate!

She doesn't think Steve would ever stop being those things--Her dingus has a soft squishy heart under all that hair.

Problem is, Robin's seen this play out before.

Had band friends drift away because someone's dating someone else and suddenly they're all wrapped up in each other's lives, friends pushed to the wayside.

She doesn't say anything though. Knows how lonely Steve is. How much he wants (and deserves) a relationship.

Then the worst possible fucking thing happens: Steve's new girl telling him she isn't comfortable with Robin.

That she doesn't believe girls and guys can be "just friends" and would Steve please stop seeing Robin so much? Please?

Her friends even saw him taking Robin out to lunch yesterday and thought he was cheating!

Of course she knows Steve isn't cheating. He'll prove it to her, right? By letting Robin know they can only be coworkers? And their friendship?

Robin hears all this at her and Steve's next shared work shift, and she feels the floor of her world give out beneath her.

Fear and hurt crawling up her throat because of course Steve can't tell whatever her name is why Robin will never date him.

Of course this chick clearly isn't taking Steve's regular excuses as an answer, and--oh God, what if Robin is losing him, isn't she?

Then Steve's done talking, clearly expecting Robin to say something, and oops she may have been panicking and not listening there at the end but she manages a very choked up;

"I mean if you think shes like, the one..." because what is she supposed to say!?

And Steve, the only person Robin's met who craves a relationship as much as she does if not more, frowns at her with a bitchy little twist to his face and says: "What part of "so I told her that was ridiculous and we broke up" didn't you hear?"

Robin gasps a breath, the world stable once again. She doesn't know when she started crying but she does register Steve's panic when he clocks it, panicking and pulling her into a hug.

"Oh my God did you think I'd agree with her!?" He says and he sounds a little hurt about it, she'll have to fix that, but presently all Robin can do is cling to her best friend and sink deep into the knowledge that he really won't leave her.

Even for the things he wants in life the most.

[petricorah]

🍃 couldn't decide on which of jin's hairstyles i liked best so i combined them [id in alt]

[doctorsiren]

the doodles I did while flying back home today

[xeemaee]

I see your fem wlw labru and raise you butch wlw labru (they look nearly the exact same as canon but they both use she/they and have tits)

Look at these two, believe in your heart they are butches looking at each other, go insane with me

[fantastic-nonsense]

got a message out of the blue about that 'why Batman doesn't kill' explanation I left on someone else's post like two years ago but it was just "wait is Alfred dead????" and I sort of forgot that most of tumblr Batfam fandom doesn't actually read comics and so largely has no idea that Bane killed Alfred back in 2019 and he's stayed dead since

[minced-mangoes]

I love the idea of Mammon and MC being touchy with each other. They cling to each other constantly. It starts off pretty early on in knowing each other. Probably from MC hiding behind Mammon at one point, or Mammon deciding you're his and he's not letting anyone touch his stuff. You both end up playing off of each other, and soon enough you're stuck together like glue. It gets to the point that he gets separation anxiety from you. When you're not at his side he can't help but worry. Where are you? Are you alright? Are you with someone else? Do you still love him? Of course you always return fine, and reassure him that he's your first and you love him, but the worry is always there. I'd like to think that the rest of the brothers grow used to it and actually get surprised if you aren't with Mammon, whether purposefully or not.

Do not separate. Mammon will cry.

Sometimes a family is a pink sparkle sheep and a manfailure.

[courfee]

it's been exactly a year since the last chapter of Operation Walburga's Arbitrary No Kissing Ever Rule and I still miss it. This scene is probably one of my favourite things I've ever written and I've wanted to draw it for forever, so now seemed like an appropriate time

[daily-nightcat]

watcher #35 / 190 days remaining

[venriliz]

Claudia.

flipping you off in the name of god