#also every word out of my queen lups mouth

[felicitywilds]

when i changed my url like. six years ago when i first got into taz balance, someone else had claimed “felicitywilds”, leaving me to stick it out as just the singular “felicitywild”. but on a whim i decided to check if theyve vacated, and they DID so now its MINE

[queertazsecretsanta]

A gift for @tobytrashoftrash, created by @primatechnosynthpop!

Some Kravitz/Taako/Magnus for you! Enjoy!

~~

The sun was sinking low in the horizon, casting a dazzling array of soft pinks and purples and oranges across the sky. Down on the ground, a fresh dusting of snow coated the landscape. Although the view of the outdoors was obscured by frost on the classroom windows, it was clear that it was shaping up to be a beautiful evening. Taako's students squirmed in their seats as he ran through the final magic lesson of the semester, and he had to admit that he was getting pretty antsy as well. The sooner he wrapped things up and sent everyone home, the sooner he could finally finish his long-overdue Candlenights shopping.

"…And so you move your casting implement like this," he addressed the crowd of fidgety students, swishing the prop wand he used for class demonstrations. "And just like that, you can whip yourself up a tasty holiday treat! This spell can be a real lifesaver sometimes--like when Susan promised to bring desserts to your Candlenights party and then flaked out at the last moment, just as an example."

He cast a glance at the clock mounted on the wall behind him. The hour hand was gradually approaching the 3, although the minute hand was lagging behind between the 8 and the 9. Eh, what the hell, he thought. Close enough.

"Okay, it's time to head home," he said, clapping his hands together and putting on a big theatrical grin. "Remember what I've taught you and, uh, don't party too hard? Nah, scratch that, party as hard as you want. See you on the flipside!"

At that, he heard a faint whoop from toward the back of the classroom, although he wasn't sure which one of his students it was. With a bemused smile, he tucked his prop wand into his purse, which he slung over his shoulder while his students gathered up their own supplies and jumped out of their seats. He hung back for a moment, giving his students the chance to file out first, but didn't lag behind for too long. He had places to go too, after all.

Immediately upon stepping outside, Taako was caught off guard by just how low the temperature had already dropped. It had been hovering around zero degrees celsius earlier that day, but judging by the way the wind nipped at his ears, that number had significantly dropped since then. Fighting back a shiver, he zipped up the winter coat which Kravitz had insisted he wear despite how dorky it looked and stuffed his hands in the pockets. The hood was a little cumbersome to fit around his ears, but he put it up nonetheless. He then scurried down the walkway away from his school as fast as possible. Kravitz was still at work, which of course meant that Lup and Barry were still working as well, and Magnus was probably out doing some shopping of his own, so this would have to be a solo mission. It was more convenient that way, really; shopping alone meant that nobody could peek at what Taako was buying for them.

A few metres down the sidewalk, his stone of farspeech crackled to life in his purse, broadcasting a loud but muffled voice. Without slowing down his brisk pace, Taako took the stone out and held it up to his ear to hear better.

"Hey, Taako," Magnus's projected voice greeted him. "I've finished carving Kravitz's present, so if you wanted to come home and put some enchantments on it or whatever, this would be a good time."

"Sorry, Mags, it'll have to wait," Taako replied. "Making friends was a mistake, because I've got a billion fucking people to get gifts for and today is the last day before all the shops are gonna be closed for the holidays. I'll get home as soon as I can, though," he added. "Love you, bye."

He turned the stone off and tucked it back into his purse just as he approached the store that would be his first place of interest: HMV (the store name, of course, stood for "Handy Magic Valuables"). Inside, the shelves were looking pretty bare as a crowd of shoppers milled around, filling the shop with a dull rabble that thankfully drowned out the chipper holiday tunes playing over the intercom. He made a beeline for the Kenny Chesney records and selected one he was pretty sure Merle didn't already own, then perused the selection of kid's movies, scanning the shelves for the flick Angus had mentioned wanting to own. The kids' section in particular was already pretty thoroughly picked clean, and for a moment he was afraid that the item he was after was already sold out, but upon glancing one aisle over his eyes landed on a copy of Detective Pikachu haphazardly tucked in amongst a bunch of remastered classic horror movies. While he was looking at that particular selection, he picked out the cheesiest-looking one he could find (something about a ghost shark that looked like it had been made on the budget of two cents and some pocket lint) as a gift for Barry. In the checkout line, he picked out some novelty socks with a rude saying on them for Lup.

After leaving HMV, he headed over to Fantasy Home Depot to pick up some stuff for Hurley and Sloane. On the way, he got another stone of farspeech call, this time from Kravitz.

"Hello?"

"Hi, babe, it's me," Kravitz said--he insisted on introducing himself that way no matter how much Taako made fun of him for it. "The Raven Queen is letting us off work early for the holiday, so I'm calling to let you know I'm coming home a bit early."

"Can she do that?" Taako asked.

"Well, she is a goddess, so she can do whatever she pleases."

"Yeah, I guess that tracks. So," he said in his least suspicious tone possible, "Are you home yet, or…?"

"Not just yet, but I'm about to head home." Kravitz paused, and when he spoke up again, there was a teasing note to his voice. "Why, are you and Magnus planning something you don't want me to know about?"

Taako bit back a string of curses, instead setting for grinding his teeth even though everybody and their goldfish told him it was an unhealthy habit. Yes, in fact, Magnus had set aside a half-hour every day for over a month to carve Kravitz a brand-new piano. Taako, meanwhile, had been scoping out all the local pet stores, planning to surprise Kravitz with a new cat and Magnus with a new dog (in addition to the Candlenights feast he cooked for both his boyfriends every year). Sure, it was a pretty big investment, but Taako's financial situation was better than his younger self could ever have dreamed--and besides, even if that wasn't the case, it would still be worth it to see the looks on his boyfriends' faces. He had no idea what if anything Kravitz was planning for Magnus, and what either of them were planning to do for him; his boyfriends were surprisingly adept at keeping secrets from him, probably because they knew him better than the average person.

"Um, no, we're not planning anything in particular," he lied. "But I'm actually out doing some shopping, so if you want to come rendezvous with me at Fantasy Home Depot, maybe we can pick out some gifts together. How's that sound?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he bit back another even louder string of curses. Shit, no, he can't be with me when I head over to the pet store!

"Um, scratch that," he added before Kravitz could say anything in response. "I actually just remembered that I left my, er, my scarf at the school. So if you could pop over there and see if you can find it, that would be great. Okay, love you, bye!"

He cut the call off in a hurry as he headed into Fantasy Home Depot. On previous years, this had been his destination when it came to shopping for Magnus, and for Kravitz he had usually gotten some sort of novelty item shaped like a skull. It was amazing how the same goof landed every year; he almost wondered if Kravitz would be disappointed not to receive a skull-shaped drinking glass or lawn ornament or whatever this year.

He had already bought a new compass for Davenport and a glitzy novelty ornament for Lucretia, and Ren had insisted that she didn't need any gifts (although he still planned to prepare a special tray of sweets as a gift for her, that still meant he didn't have to buy anything for her aside from maybe a couple of baking ingredients). Once he had picked up the power tool and canister of engine oil that the battlewagon racers had requested, the only shopping he had left came in the form of two fuzzy little companions for the men he loved.

~~

When Magnus had taken it upon himself in mid November to start carving a grand piano from scratch, he had been pretty sure he wouldn't get it done in time for Candlenights. Two weeks into the project, when it had just been a big old block of wood hidden away in his workshop with what barely seemed like an indent in it, he had made a secretive late-night trip up to the Fantasy Bargain Shop and bought a skull-shaped lamp as a backup gift in case things fell through. Now, though, as he stepped back to admire the product of his work--a flawlessly carved grand piano, varnished and freshly painted black--his chest swelled with the pride of a job well done. Now all he had to do was check on Taako's gift to make sure everything was in order, and they'd be good to go.

Just as Magnus turned to leave his workshop, he heard the distinctive ripple noise of one of Kravitz's portals opening upstairs. He scrambled for a sheet big enough to cover the piano and hastily tugged it into place, making sure the gift was sufficiently hidden before heading upstairs to greet him.

"Hey, Krav! How was work today?" he asked, running up to Kravitz and giving him a clap on the back. "Taako is out doing some shopping right now, so he probably won't be home for a while."

"Yes, so he told me," Kravitz said, a note of something like irritation in his voice. "He also told me that he had accidentally left his scarf at his magic school, but I looked all over the place and didn't see any such thing. And wouldn't you know it…" He swiveled his head towards the dining room; Magnus followed his gaze to see Taako's scarf draped over the back of a chair. "Do you suppose he was trying to delay my coming home for some reason?"

"Could be," Magnus said with a shrug. It was only after he had spoken that he realized that was definitely Taako's motivation, probably to prevent Kravitz from seeing the piano. He repeated his shrug with a little more emphasis, then laid a hand on Kravitz's shoulder and gently guided his line of sight towards the fridge. "So, I was wondering if those liquor candies Merle gave us were any good," he said. "Why don't we get into them and see for ourselves?"

"Your restraint truly knows no bounds," Kravitz said, flashing him a teasing smile. "But I really would like to know why Taako wanted me out of the house so badly."

"Um, could be that he was embarrassed by how dirty it is," Magnus said. "We haven't had time to do much cleaning, you know. So we're gonna be real busy tomorrow if we want to have anyone over."

Even as he spoke he internally winced at how unconvincing a lie it was--if only Taako himself was there to think of a good cover. (Or he could just tell him the truth, he supposed, but that would ruin the effect and he really did want the piano to be a surprise.) Sure enough, Kravitz didn't exactly seem convinced; he crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow at Magnus.

"I live here, darling. You think our boyfriend would lock us out for such a reason? Back when I first met him and he was more guarded, maybe, but even then--"

"Or it could be a different reason," Magnus interjected, blurting the words out a bit more loudly than necessary. "We just don't know! But, for real," he added, "Don't worry about it. I promise you, it is nothing to worry about. On a completely unrelated note, welcome home, but please don't look in my workshop."

"Why, what's in the workshop?" Kravitz asked. "Other than that piano you've been carving, of course. Tell me, is it a gift for someone? Of course you know that I don't play piano, only the violin and the occasional woodwind instrument, but…"

He kept talking, but his words didn't reach Magnus's ears; his brain completely shut down for several seconds upon hearing the piano mentioned in such casual terms. When all of what Kravitz was saying caught up with him, his blood froze over. Shit. Fuck. Goddamn it. He knew about his surprise gift? Had known about it basically the whole time? And what's more, he didn't even want it as a gift--wouldn't have any use for it! Even beyond the matter of Magnus's hard work potentially going to waste, what was he going to get for Kravitz now? (He still had no clue what Taako was planning to get for either of them, so even if he did run out and get something now, it may well end up being the same thing Taako had bought for him and he really didn't want to repeat the fiasco of two years ago, when he and Kravitz had both bought Taako the exact same brand of confectioners' sugar.)

"Um, if you'll excuse me," he interjected, grabbing his stone of farspeech off the coffee table in a swift and hopefully not too obvious motion. "I need to go check the mailbox."

With that, he darted outside into the cold winter air, slamming the door shut behind him before Kravitz could respond. His back pressed against the door, he bent over to catch his breath. The cool air stung at his throat as he panted, and his exhales curled up in front of him in little puffs of white, the same colour as the snow. Once his heart had settled back down into its proper spot in his ribcage, he dialed Taako's number on his stone. Luckily, Taako picked up almost immediately, answering with a casual "Yeah?"

"Oh, Taako, this is bad," Magnus hissed, glancing through the window to make sure Kravitz wasn't listening in. "Kravitz knows about the piano I carved for him, and he says he doesn't want it as a gift! Well, he didn't directly say that, but he told me he doesn't play the piano, so he couldn't use it even if we did give it to him. What should I do? Are you almost home?"

"Oh, shit, that's tough," Taako said, letting out a low whistle. Magnus could picture him wincing and adjusting his hat, if he was wearing it--although a glance inside through the window revealed his signature wizard hat hung up on a hook next to his cloak of the manta ray, so perhaps he was going hatless that day. "Um, I'm still not gonna be home for a few minutes, so hang in there 'till I get back, okay?"

"Wait, babe, don't hang up yet," Magnus pleaded. "He's your boyfriend too, remember? Don't you want him to be happy with the gift he gets?"

"Course I do," Taako replied. "That's why I'm out picking up something for him right now. And listen, Maggie, I'm sure Krav won't hold it against you if you just end up giving him a hairbrush with a skull decal on it."

"You know, that's funny; I was just about to ask if I should give him the skull lamp," Magnus said.

Then he paused, listening to the background noise on Taako's side of the call. It sounded like he was in a pretty busy shop--of course, all the shops would be busy right about then--but the weird part was that he could hear what he swore was barking. Quite a lot of barking. And maybe some meowing and other noises too? Brows furrowing, Magnus pressed the stone directly against his ear so he could hear better.

"Hey, you're not at a pet store or anything, are you?" he asked.

"Just here to admire the exotic birds," Taako said. "Listen, though, I've really got to stop lollygagging around here at this pet store that I'm not buying anything from, and head on into the other store next door, which sells other non-pet stuff that I'm gonna buy. Catch you later."

Although Magnus grumbled to himself, initially discouraged when Taako ended the call, his boyfriend's words quickly gave him an idea. Tucking his stone away in his pocket, he stepped off the back porch out into the yard, where Taako and Kravitz had hung up several birdfeeders (he had carved some of said birdfeeders himself, and yet the storebought ones always seemed to be the most popular, which plagued him with irritation). It was too cold out for the yard to exactly be bustling--for once there wasn't a squirrel to be seen--but a few ravens were hopping around at the bases of the birdfeeders. Locking his eyes onto one of the birds, Magnus dropped into a crouching position. It was time to put some of his rogue training to use.

~~

By the time Taako finally got home, Kravitz was anxious enough that he jumped at the sound of the doorbell. From downstairs, he heard Magnus yell "I'll get it!" followed by the sound of his footsteps thundering upstairs. In that time, Kravitz had already come to the door; he held it open for Taako as he walked inside without even stopping to kick the snow off his boots first. Taako carried two shopping bags in each hand, and he was balancing a large box with holes in them under each arm. Kravitz regarded his boyfriend with mild concern as he staggered inside and set down first the boxes, with an unexpected gentleness, and then the shopping bags. Stooped over all his purchased goods, Taako's torso heaved with the weight of exhausted breaths.

"Are you alright, love?" Kravitz asked, unsure whether to chuckle or be worried. "It looks like you've done a lot of shopping."

"Yeah, no shit," Taako wheezed. Then, straightening up and wiping sweat off his brow: "So, have you got everybody checked off your list yet? Cause judging by how the shops were looking, you've got about ten minutes before the whole city is completely sold out."

"No, I've already got all my holiday shopping taken care of," Kravitz said (he had given his fellow reapers their gifts at a holiday party the week before, and the presents he planned to give his boyfriends weren't exactly the kind of things you could find at a store). "Do you need help putting these away?"

He cautiously bent down, reaching for one of the shopping bags. Taako made no move to prevent him from grabbing it, so he took it as a sign that the contents of the bag (a large drill tool and a vinyl record) weren't for him. He set about putting the items away while Taako caught his breath. Nothing in the bags was particularly heavy, so he guessed that the heavy things must have been the boxes. He circled back to try to grab one of them, but Taako's gaze snapped up at that and he moved to stand between Kravitz and the boxes.

"Sorry, Krav, this stuff's off-limits right now," he said. Then, glancing over his shoulder at the two boxes: "Although… hmm, how would you and Maggie feel about opening your gifts right now? That's probably make a few things easier."

"Oh, that's a great idea!"

Magnus's exclamation from behind them made Kravitz jump; he hadn't realized he had come upstairs. Turning to look at him, he appeared to be hiding something behind his back, and was hopping from foot to foot with a big nervous grin.

"I mean, only if you guys want to, of course," he added quickly.

An odd noise almost like a squeak sounded from somewhere in the room, although Kravitz couldn't tell where it was coming from--behind Magnus's back? From inside one of the boxes? Maybe even… no, surely not both. Kneeling between the two boxes, Taako glanced between them, making a soft anxious clicking sound. Kravitz raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. He had a building suspicious as to what at least one of the gifts Taako and Magnus had was, but he hoped he was wrong considering what his own gifts to then were. It would make it rather redundant, and more pertinently, they simply couldn't afford to support that many…

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan," Taako said, interrupting his train of thought. "What do you say, Krav?"

"Er, yes, that's fine," Kravitz said, flashing Taako a smile. "Let's get right to it, then."

"I've actually got my gifts for you two right here," Magnus said--yep, definitely hiding something behind his back, and there was an odd strain to his motion as he stepped forward that suggested he was having trouble holding onto it. "I was originally going to give Kravitz something else, but that didn't work out, so I kind of had to improvise, but considering your whole grim reaper deal I think you'll like it."

"Didja get him some skull trinket?" Taako asked. "Cause, hey, that's my job!"

"Huh? No, this is something different," Magnus replied. Neither of them seemed bothered by the fact that this exchange was transpiring directly in front of Kravitz himself. "Anyway, um… on three?"

"Hold on," Kravitz interjected. "I need to open a portal to the astral plane first."

Ignoring the others' bewildered reactions, he summoned his scythe into his hand and swished it through the air in a broad but purposeful stroke. A rippling hole in the fabric of space-time opened up before him, through which he could see the vast expanse of the world beyond. Bending down, he patted his knee and whistled into the opening. Somewhere amidst the inky blackness, two undead being perked up their heads and scampered over towards him. It hadn't been easy talking the Raven Queen into letting Kravitz give his boyfriends undead creatures for Candlenights, but he was certain that the payoff would all be worth it once he showed them the skeletal pets.

"There, now," Kravitz cooed to the skeletal dog and cat standing before him. He gently scooped them up into his arms, then closed the rift so as not to let anything else in or out. "Alright, on three, you said? Three, two, one--"

He turned around, skeletons in hand, to see Taako opening the boxes and Magnus revealing what he'd been keeping behind his back.

There was a beat as the three men stared at each other, their initial expectant grins at each other quickly fading. In Taako's corner, a greyhound puppy waddled out of the box on the left, and a sleek tuxedo cat stepped out of the box on the right. Magnus, meanwhile, held a raven in one hand and what looked like some kind of a strange weasel in the other. He and Magnus both slowly lowered their acquisitions to the floor, where the skeletal animals and the living ones all scampered toward each other and began sniffing each other--aside from the raven, which hopped over to Kravitz without wasting any time. He recognized it as one of the ravens who frequented their backyard; those corvids always had taken as interest in him, and the feeling had been mutual even before Kravitz had begun serving under the Raven Queen. The flesh cat trotted over towards him as well, while the skeletal one gravitated towards Taako and hopped up onto his lap. The weasel-like creature (maybe it was a mongoose?) followed it, albeit with a bit more caution. Both dogs practically charged towards Magnus, and he let out a delighted laugh as they jumped up at him. He fell back, allowing himself to be bowled over; Taako looked up from scratching the skeleton cat behind its spectral ears to give him a fond smile.

"Well," he sighed, "I guess we should've checked with each other first."

"Indeed, this is certainly… well, it's a lot," Kravitz agreed. The cat headbutted his leg as if to agree, or maybe to argue. "Although I must say, I do appreciate the thought."

They looked over at Magnus, who was rolling on his back with laughter and letting the dogs clamber on top of him and slobber all over his face. Taako grimaced at all the dog saliva, and the mongoose (which had now hopped up onto his lap) chittered with disapproval.

"Gonna be hard to look after them all," Taako went on as the mongoose scurried up his arm and onto his shoulder, and the skeleton cat curled up into a ball in his lap and started purring. "I mean, I bought food and supplies for the flesh boys, natch--" He nodded toward the cat at Kravitz's side and the greyhound pup, which was now sitting down directly on top of Magnus and licking him on the nose. "--And I dunno if these bone babies of yours are gonna need much upkeep… but still, it just seems like a lot, right?"

"It is a lot, is the thing," Magnus agreed from his position underneath the dogs. His hands didn't falter from petting them for even a second. "Probably impractical to keep them all, right?"

"Not to mention how dirty the house will get," Kravitz agreed. "Cleaning will be a nightmare with six animals running around…"

He looked down at the raven perched on his leg, and was met with a pang of surprise at the discovery that he was stroking its head. A glance to his side revealed that he was stroking the cat as well, and it seemed to be thoroughly appreciating the gesture; it repeatedly rubbed its head against his leg, purring.

"Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. For sure," said Taako, in the distinctive tone he slipped into when he got distracted. "We really shouldn't… I mean, we messed up, good goof and all, but…"

He trailed off, and they lapsed into silence save for the purring of the cats, the sound of the dogs licking Magnus's face, and the soft shuffle of the mongoose making itself comfortable in the crook of Taako's shoulder. None of them stopped petting the animals even for a second--Kravitz wasn't sure he could bring himself to pull his hands away even if he wanted to. Finally, after what felt like simultaneously the most relaxing and the most stressful two minutes of his afterlife, Taako let out a heavy sigh and broke the silence.

"We're keeping them, aren't we?"

"Yep," Magnus replied without a moment's hesitation.

"Oh, we absolutely are," Kravitz agreed, breaking into a grin at the confirmation that the others were on the same page as him.

Taako grinned too, and although Magnus's position in relation to the dogs blocked the view of his face, he laughed again--less giddy now, but with just as much joy. Moving carefully so as not to disturb the pets, Kravitz scooted forward and laid his hand atop Taako's. Then, holding his gaze with an affectionate smile, he brushed back Taako's hair and leaned forward to kiss him.

"Joyous Candlenights, love," he murmured.

"Aw, geez, Krav," Taako mumbled, lowering his face as a furious blush spread over his cheeks. "No need to get so sappy…" He darted forward to kiss him back, then pulled back with a grin, still blushing even though they had kissed a thousand times before. "But, yeah, same to you, babe."

"Hey, what about me?" Magnus asked in mock offense. He gently lifted the dogs off of himself and sat up, edging over toward Taako.

"Sorry, dear, no kisses for you until you wipe all that fucking dog slobber off," Taako told him, giving an exaggerated shudder. Despite his words, though, he raised himself up off the ground to give Magnus a kiss on the top of his head. "And happy Candlenights to you, too. To both of you."

A great warmth swelled within Kravitz as Taako sat back down between him and Magnus. He looped an arm around each of their waists and drew them in close, smiling far brighter than he normally let any of his emotions shine through. Outside, the wind was still blowing as cold as ever, and dark clouds covered the moon, carrying the promise of a heavy overnight snowfall. Here and now, though, the three of them were warm and safe and happy--or rather, the nine of them. Yikes, that really was a lot of pets, wasn't it? Still, looking between his companions and the animals, Kravitz decided they could handle it. In any case, no matter how things turned out in the long run, this was a night that they were sure to remember for a long time to come.

[luobingmeis]

13 or 19 for the doc Drabble thing, with anyone from taz

i at first wanted to try my hand at some dani/aubrey with prompts but these specific prompts gave me such a taakitz vibe that i had to write these for them omg

13) “Who did this?”

19) “Please don’t let me be alone.”

content: hurt/comfort with a happy end, my first time writing kravitz

It was all rather embarrassing, really, and Kravitz bet that, in just a couple hours, he would be laughing at this over a bottle of wine with Taako.

But it wasn’t a “couple hours” currently; currently, it was “now,” and “now” meant Kravitz trying to find the humor in this entire debacle while also trying to figure out two things: one, if Death could die, and, two, what would happen if he did. He didn’t think there was a grim reaper for Death. He knew that there were still some important people between him and the Raven Queen, but a grim reaper for the Grim Reaper seemed... redundant.

“Now” also consisted of being crumpled in the corner of some dingy basement, pain pulsing throughout his bones while, from a flight of stairs or two up, explosions from Lup and Barry’s own magic could be heard.

Kravitz found that the levels of pain neither bettered or worsened depending on whether he was in his skeletal form or not, so he decided that, if he was to die (which was still giving Kravitz a headache), he might as well look good while doing it.

They hadn’t expected this particular cult of necromancers to be that strong. It sounded like every other bounty they had ever been sent on when the Raven Queen first told them about it: necromancers harvesting energy from the dead to be used by themselves and achieve, perhaps, godhood or immortality or anything that fell into the category of “hubris.”

In hindsight, or perhaps in his waning grip on reality, he almost considered looking lighter on necromancers and liches, for Barry and Lup have proven to be wonderful people, but most people weren’t Barry and Lup.

Like this cult, for instance. A cult that somehow managed to conduct a ritual to start taking power from the reapers sent to detain them. It was almost too perfectly coincidental that Kravitz suspected that divination had to be at play here as well.

Which was delightful, truly. Necromancers who could also see possible futures. Fucking terrific.

Kravitz had gotten separated from Barry and Lup. Actually, last time Kravitz was with the other two, they had all gotten separated from each other. They were outnumbered with at least four necromancers to a reaper which, again, wasn’t typically a problem, but this was proving to be an odd situation.

He last remembered Barry and Lup being dragged away, dragged apart, as he himself was taken this decrepit cellar. He was happy to know that they managed to escape their own rituals and find each other again.

The necromancers’ ritual was like a sphere of power; whoever was stuck inside began to have their life (or their essence) stripped from them. Kravitz managed to break out thanks to his scythe and, in a feat that some might call unbelievable (though Kravitz was just that good), take out his set of necromancers, but once they were all dead did Kravitz truly feel the effect of what they had done to him.

They had taken what was making him, well, him. He wasn’t alive, so it wasn’t like they took his life source, but what kept him... living in death was weakened, and whatever power he exerted to fight off the necromancers just made it worse.

Thus, Kravitz found himself pathetically slumped in the cellar. This problem, technically, could be fixed. The Raven Queen could restore him. He just had to get out in time.

And, listening to the explosions upstairs only continue to rage on, the chances of that happening weren’t quite on his side. Which was disappointing. Kravitz did enjoy a good game of wagering bets and chances, but not when the odds were so... morbid.

Which was quite an ironic thing for Death to think, but wasn’t this whole situation ironic, in a way?

Time passed and, in his state, it felt like hours, but Kravitz was a smart man. In his state, he didn’t have hours, so it only had to be minutes. Maybe five. Maybe ten. Definitely not twenty. Lup and Barry would both give each other too much shit if it took them that long to be rid of a bounty, difficult or not.

A non-specific-but-probably-less-than-twenty-minutes amount of time passed and, from upstairs, Kravitz suddenly heard a tear in the rift of their reality, followed by less explosions, as if half the necromancers had been downed and there was now only one other reaper present.

And then, in front of Kravitz, a bright white tear ripped through the center of the room and, as it opened, out stepped Lup dragging a dazed, only slightly panicked, Taako behind her. And then, when Taako’s eyes fell upon him, “slightly panicked” became “holy fuck what the fuck is fucking happening” and Kravitz felt, well, guilty. It wasn’t like he meant to get this fucked, but he still didn’t want Taako worrying about him.

“He was freaking out over my stone of farspeech that we weren’t with you-” Lup rushed out, jutting a finger at Taako. Studying her, Kravitz realized that she didn’t look too pleased with his current state either. “So he’s here now. Barry and I are almost done with the ones up there, so you two, uh, stay put, and we’ll be back in five to get you all good, cool?”

“Extremely,” Kravitz said, forcing a smile. 

Lup, once again, cut through reality, and Kravitz heard another tear open up upstairs, followed by a muffled “oh shit, she’s back” from an unlucky necromancer.

Taako was already kneeling on the concrete floor next to him, his hands ghosting over Kravitz as if he was scared to touch him. “Kravitz-”

Having Taako here, Kravitz felt simultaneously better and worse, happier and even more terrified. Like he could relax with Taako here while, in the same breath, be consumed by the grave reality (no pun intended) that faced him.

“Hello, darling,” Kravitz greeted quietly, weakly.

Taako swallowed thickly and his eyes flitted up to Kravitz’s face before back down his body, checking for wounds. “Who did this?”

Kravitz ran his eyes over the corpses around them. “Look around.”

Taako shook his head, wringing his shaking hands like he didn’t know what to do with them. “This is bullshit, absolute bullshit,” he rambled. “Like, you know that, right? Krav, love, my man, you know this is fucked, yeah? You- you three should take us with you! Like, yeah, we probably don’t want to do shit, but we’ll do it anyway, and-”

“And put you all in danger?” Kravitz asked, quirking an eyebrow. “No thank you.”

“We’ve been through worse!” Taako exclaimed, his voice suddenly loud and forceful and- and the panic in Taako’s voice almost did Kravitz in for.

He had yet to come to the conclusion as to whether or not Death could actually die. Honestly, most signs pointed to no. If anything, his soul would just end up back in the Astral Plane and the Raven Queen would have to come and fish him out and it would all be quite embarrassing. He would probably get a good reprimanding for it, too.

But seeing Taako like this, so close to him and his hands shaking because he’s scared of hurting Kravitz, willingly walking into the base of a necromantic cult because he’s worried about Kravitz... it felt like it might kill him.

“I’m going to be okay,” Kravitz whispered, and he hoped with everything he had left that he was telling the truth. 

Taako took a hard look at Kravitz’s face, worrying his bottom lip, and finally, finally, laid a hand on Kravitz. He gently, carefully, cupped Kravitz’s face, and the sharp breath he took couldn’t be missed. “You’re cold.” Taako’s voice barely reached between the two of them.

“I’m going to be okay, Taako,” Kravitz repeated, more forceful this time, and now it felt more like a reassurance to himself than anything. That was what Kravitz was feeling. Throughout the pain and the exhaustion, there was this heaviness, this heaviness that somehow felt so empty, and of course this was how it played out. He had lost parts of him, parts of him that made him feel so alive, and he was closer to death than he had been in a long time.

Another explosion upstairs. The fighting was quieting down, but it wasn’t yet finished, and Taako looked up like he was trying to see through the ceiling into the chambers above.

“I- I could help them,” he said, his words coming out jumbled and nervous. “We’ll finish them off and then we can help you and-”

And, suddenly, the thought of being alone in this cellar once again sent a spark of something so fearful through Kravitz that, no matter how much it hurt (and, fuck, did it hurt), his hand shot out and grabbed Taako’s wrist and, before he could really think about it, he was saying, “Please don’t let me be alone.”

And, right after, Kravitz actually felt quite pathetic. Kravitz spent most of his afterlife alone. He died a young man in his thirties, and then spent the next couple centuries as Death on his own. He was alone, yes, but he never considered himself lonely. He lived an afterlife so exhillirating that, even if the only other being he consistently came into contact with was the Raven Queen, it was fine.

And then he had a boyfriend and an eccentric pair of coworkers and friends that he hoped lived long, happy, fulfilling lives and, all of a sudden, “being alone” seemed terrifying.

Taako looked back down to him, his mouth slightly agape, and, eyes meeting, they shared between them an understanding.

They had both lived such lonely lives that deserved no repeating.

“Okay,” Taako said, nodding. Nodding a lot. “Okay, yeah, of course, Krav, I’ll stay right here.” Another explosion, and a holler from the two other reapers could be heard. “It sounds like they’ve got it taken care of, anyway.”

Kravitz nodded despite the headache, and pulled his hand back despite the pain that jolted through him again. Taako, who must have seen him wince, frowned. He leaned in and, when his lips were ghosting over Kravitz’s forehead, he whispered, “Is this okay?”

“Please,” Kravitz said, and Taako pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

“You’ll be okay.”

“Yeah.”

“Besides, you look too good to die in a shitty basement. This would be a bullshit way to go.”

Kravitz laughed, and it was tired and quiet, but it still stirred something warm in him. “That would be a fun way to cheat death, yeah?”

“Yeah, and- wait, do you, Death, have a grim reaper?”

“You know, I was wondering the same thing.”

--

“But, Taako, listen,” Lup said for about the fifteenth time the next night, tilting her wine glass in her hand. “We didn’t expect these guys to be so fucking strapped!”

“Yeah, usually our hunts aren’t all that difficult,” Barry, leaning back in his chair, added on. “Like, what was it that one time, with the pirates? We took down, like, a couple ships, yeah? There was maybe twenty people yesterday.”

“And they had us pretty fucked,” Kravitz said, an arm slung around Taako’s shoulder, their chairs pushed together.

“Well, I’ll say,” Taako said, taking a sip from his own glass. “I show up to the scene and Krav looks like he’s one magic missile away from hanging out with Magic Brian and Jenkins and Barbara and everyone else that we’ve killed.”

“Which is a lot,” Kravitz interjected.

“The rituals they had going were fucked, too,” Lup said. “Like, I’ve obviously seen and dabbled with some necromancy in my youth-” Kravitz scoffed “-but this was some next level shit.”

“Still, it would’ve been cool to study-”

Kravitz pointed a finger at Barry. “Listen, Bluejeans, no magic that almost kills me is cool.”

Lup smirked at her husband over the rim of her glass. “Yeah, come on, Barold, get your shit together.” She took a sip. “Hey, if you did kick it, is there a grim reaper for you?”

“That’s what I asked!” Taako exclaimed over Kravitz’s own exclamation of, “Fuck if I know!”

[rbtlvr]

a start to that johavi fic?

taz anon, i am not deserving of your ideas but i hope it’s ok if write about them! here’s a snippet i just wrote up on that johavi prompt that yes did make me tear up a little darn you taz anon. also this is not finished so it ends abruptly and the formatting is really weird sorry:

Time lost meaning when you were dead, it seemed. Coffee with Julia and Magnus every, what, six months? Or was it six days? Johann would always ask Kravitz the time when he passed through, watching the reaper flick through a few watches (each for a different plane) before he got the time, the date.. the decade. Lup sometimes showed up with new battle scars and crazy stories about Taako’s new business gigs, which always seemed to be changing, never stable. And she’d always return to her lich form, never staying too long. So most of Johann’s time was spent understanding these changes, composing pieces based on the world he watched below, through a blurry yet reflective sea of water. He saw Angus growing up, he saw Magnus growing old. He saw Magnus die some years ago, and as much as it hurt.. he was happy now. And Johann had a small house near Magnus and Julia’s place, so that was a plus. But the one change Johann the Bard never prepared himself to face was an 80 year wait. It was a wait so long that the knock and the news shook his pale, thin frame to the ground. The words from Kravitz’s own mouth as he passed through the plane, skeletal and dark, the news that Avi had passed on. That Avi, his Avi, was coming back to him. The past two minutes were a blur of tears, and of quick movement. Befofe the astral pool even opened, Johann was booking it. His violin was tucked under his left arm, and he could feel his heart pounding even in his right wrist. His legs never did move that fast in life, he never felt this alive when he was. But the water began to ripple, and his eyes sprouted new tears just the same. Halted in his tracks, the bard watched the portal start to glow as it once had for him, and for Magnus too. And there.. there he was. How simple it seemed. Avi, no longer old and brittle but as the man he once knew. Tumbling dark curls, thick eyebrows, his dark skin just as soft and freckled and.. he looked just as perfect. Johanns body moved without hesitation or meaning, but he ran forward and grabbed onto Avi for dear life, something so fragile yet beautiful. He cradled himself in the mechanic’s arms, sobbing out his name, and for once not trying to stop the floodgates. He felt those arms grip him back, felt tears that weren’t his own, heard his own name muttered like a prayer in Avi’s quiet voice. The two stood like that for what seemed like hours, no, months, until Johann finally spoke with his low and shaky voice: “Thank the gods you humans have short lives. I just..” He swallowed, wiping his eyes. “I just couldn’t wait any longer to see you again.” “Me either, me either.” Avi leaned down and caressed Johann’s cheek, his soft hand running circles into the bards back. “You’re so beautiful, Johann. God, babe, I.. I love you so much, I missed you so much, I-“ the mechanic began to list just as quickly as his tears fell. Yet he was was cut off by shaky hands and a firm tug, two pale and nimble hands pulling him down into an equally firm kiss. Johann began to run his hands up through Avi’s hair, while a pair of tanned hands found their way to the bard’s slender shoulders. The sound of a rosewood violin clattering to the floor rang barely audible, as they grabbed one another like a life raft, lips and tongues intertwining in some dance that seemed to never end. Each time one stopped to breath, another few words of love would fill in the gap. By the time they seemed done, by the time Avi was rocking with Johann gently in the embrace, another form came running up to them, much taller than both and with two dogs in tow. “Magnus..!” Avi began to cry again, not daring to let go of Johanns tender hand as he hugged his long lost friend. Magnus seemed to be tearing up too.. it always seemed that way at reunions. “Avi, it’s so good to see you again.” Magnus rested his calloused hands on the shorter man’s shoulders, his tired eyes sincere. “I told my wife all about-“ “You have a wife?” “Yeah.” Magnus smiled proudly. “My wife, Julia. I told her about you when I told her everything. And I’m still finding things to tell her. Avi, you made such an impression on everyone who came to the HQ, and- and Johann?” He turned “I’m so happy for you. Avi.. I can say for sure that since I got here, Johann hasn’t stopped loving you for a minute. He wrote songs and, and poems, and hymns.” Burnsides turned to the bard, smiling. “Johann kept your memory clear as day for me.” “That’s.. god, I..” Avi clasped a hand over his mouth, eyes tearing up as Johann nodded and slowly picked up the rosewood violin. His hands naturally formed a chord, he breathed deep. Avi watched his love play a few note tune that seemed familiar, far too familiar, and a wave seemed to crash as he remembered why. This song, this progression of chords had been in Avi’s dreams for decades. Without images, without words, just the singing of a violin that awoke him each time with tears. This song was a message that never left him- that Johann had never left him. As Johann pulled away the bow, he gazed at Magnus and whispered a quiet, shaky ‘thank you’ through a sincere, inspired gaze. Avi repeated those same words, as he sobbed and ran towards Johann. His body wracked with sympathy and empathy and sheer thanks, it felt as though these floodgates were no longer gates, but a door that would never lock again; he was broken but useful. It seemed now, even now, that they were all that way. Magnus turned with a full heart during this exchange and began the quiet walk back to his house. Julia was already gazing out the window, waving a cloth in her right hand and laughing with pure joy. Avi saw this figure in the window, and gazing at the two houses, he spoke quietly: “What’s this?” “Magnus is calling it Refuge II. He.. he built me that smaller house. With his bare hands.” Johann smiled. “He built us a house, and he’s making a room in his own for well.. for Angus, when the time comes. He’s making a place for everyone.” “How is that even allowed? So many different kinds of people in one plane- isn’t there a place we each go?” “Yeah, I thought that too. But the Raven Queen’s in a tough spot here; she’s got three people she knows who saved the world and she owes them a little something.” Johann took Avi’s hand and began the walk back to his humble home, before one word nearly stopped him then and there: “Four.” A voice came from behind, cockney in accent and deep in tone. Kravitz, coming by to close the portal. “What?” “Four. She has four people who saved the world. Lup, Barry, myself, and you, Johann.” Kravitz smiled, his scythe disappearing into thin astral air. “Without your music- no, without you- no one would’ve been able to carry on the fight.” “I guess.” “No, there’s no guessing.” Avi pulled him forward, kissing his cheek. “No guessing at all.” At that point, a voice far too recognizable yelled from the barely opened portal. Taako, of course. Who else would it be, yelling at Kravitz through a planar rift which it was probably dangerous as hell to be near. “I told you they were into each other! You owe me ten bucks, bubeleh! And tell Maggie I say hello!” The voice laughed, before Kravitz groaned and ripped the portal once more, going skeletal as he passed through with wallet in tow.

hey thanks im crying??? this is really fucking good like. holy shit thank u for writing this??? and sending it to me??? holy fuck

also so ppl can see, bc submissions are weird like that, this is by @astronomutual, who... for some reason its not letting me @ but. yeah. go check em out

[stillpartofthisworld]

Don’t Let Go-TAZ

Guess who wrote a Blupjeans fic in the first week of school???? Haha I’m so failing

Yes of course it’s on ao3

Plz pray that I will be able to writee more than 2k words before burnout

Fic under the cut

It was two forty seven AM when Lup got her body back. She was used to staring at her imperfect form through the long hours of the night, inspecting it from all sides to see why, exactly, she wasn't able to inhabit it yet. A missing bone here. A patch of flesh there. She watches her body, night after night after night, sewing itself back together from a mere kiss. She is still perplexed by the intricacy of both the magic and machinery that must have went into the construction of this thing. When she finally had a body, she thinks, she would break it down and figure out how it ticked. (Around 3 months later, she gets a strongly worded letter from the Raven Queen, telling her that no, she could not figure out how this machine worked and replicate it because it went against the laws of life and death, which was everything she stood for. Also, a century's pay would be cut.)

But for now, she busies herself by staring, if not at herself then at Barry, asleep on the bed that Magnus had made them (even though only one of them could actually use it). The cottage they had picked out for themselves was small and manageable, considering the fact that they were in Barry's old cave most of the time, finishing up projects and getting ready to move into one of Lucas Miller's labs that wasn't a form of aerial transportation (they were both, at the end of the day, still huge nerds.). After that...well, they were reapers, baby; it would probably be time to take the job more seriously. As of now, she was torn between looking at both herself and the love of her many lives, who was quietly snoring as he lay face up, sprawled on the bed (He used to sleep on his side, one arm draped around a shoulder she didn't have anymore, sometimes a leg pushed in between her own, wait, she didn't have legs anymore, wait) Barry's body has grown thinner while she was away, worry and work having sculpted him into a rather muscular man, something that she persists to tease him about ("My nerd does even lift!" "Shut up, Lup, please."). Since he sleeps shirtless most of the time, she's able to see his abs rising and falling with each breath. She wishes she could run her hands along them, watching the way his breath hitched and his muscles tightened as he stares at her in embarrassment and pleasure. She wishes but the only thing she can do now is wrap her robe around him, telling him that she's still here as he grips her robe, trying to breathe in her very essence as a substitute for her hands, her lips, her body- She feels a tug in her soul. She spins to see that there's a flashing green light on the console next to the pod, and she doesn't need to get closer to read the script under it to know was this means. She floats over, the hood of her robe level with her own head, and she pushes a bit of herself through the glass, testing to see if she's actually able to get in, to have a body again, finally-

She sees a bit of shadow, a hint of magic permeate through the glass and float up to her partly opened mouth, which twitches. It occurs to her that she should probably wake up Barry but she's too excited, too impatient, too Lup to actually think of anything else but crashing through the glass, surrounding her body in magic and mist before feeling her soul constrict and her senses collapse, then expand as she fills this body, this vessel this Lup, and she, for the first time in twelve years, at two forty seven AM, takes a breath. Which is a bit hard to do when you're surrounded by green liquid. She grabs onto the edge of the open-topped pod and pulls herself up, feeling the sensation of muscle and bone working in harmony, of liquid splashing and sliding against her skin and as she perches on top of the pod, staring at the ground seven feet below. She nearly loses her balance because she can actually see, not sense but see with actual eyes and hands and body and for a second it's all too much. She closes her eyes and breathes in, out, in, out, focusing on her lungs expanding, her heart pumping at a regular pace until it trips up because she hears someone call her name. "Lup?" Barry has woken up, and is now reaching for his glasses as he struggles to see what looks to him to be a coloured blob on top of the pod. "Barry," Lup leans forward at the sight of him, she can finally see him and he looks beautiful-"Babe, I'm...!" She lets out a yelp as she slips from her perch and crashes to the ground, landing on top of her robe which does nothing to cushion the jarring pain that traveled up her spine (even this part she enjoys, because pain means that you're alive and she's alive, well and truly alive but ow-).

"Oh shit, Lup!" Barry's at her side in an instant, crouching down and inspecting her for damage, his human eyes squinting and struggling to see in the dim light. “I'm fine, I'm fine,” Lup winces but laughs all the same, feeling the hearty rumble of it starting in her chest and shaking it's way out of her in a fit of wonder and joy. He looks up at this, and she turns to look at him and they both freeze, staring at each other as if meeting for the first time; the same way they looked at each other on the Starblaster, on the planet of the robots, in the Legato conservatory so, so many lives ago. She sees herself in his eyes, hair cascading down her back and covering part of her small face, her upturned eyes, her pointed nose, her small mouth that parted slightly every single time she looked at him just as it was now, and it's all she can do to say "Damn, I forgot how good I looked." Barry blinks, and a small smirk appears on her lips as she says "I'm about to smooch your heart out, babe." There's a small pause between them, these two people who have been together for a century because for a minute, they forget how it was to actually touch each other, to hold and grasp and kiss because it's been twelve years since both of them were corporeal and together. Even now, crouching beside each other in the dim light of the cottage they're apart, his knees are just barely brushing her thigh, her shoulder just missing his own. And so there's a pause. But then Barry cups his hands on either side of her face and Lup automatically moves her own to his wrists, and they lock eyes. Barry looks at her with questioningly, asking her, always asking her May I? and her answer is always Yes, please, yes. He bends down, and she closes her eyes as she feels his lips brush the top of her forehead, the sides of her eyes, her nose, just relishing in the sensation of skin on skin. She concentrates, and soon she feels the light swipe of his lips barely touching her own, his own mouth parting in the realization that he was kissing her, actually kissing her, for the first time in twelve years. The swipe becomes a firm press, and now her arms are around his neck and his arms have moved to circle her hips and legs as he stands, carrying her small body. She sighs and leans against him, deepening the kiss, and for a minute she forgets that she's naked until the back of her knees are hooked around his forearm but that just makes the sensations all the more real, so much more realer than all the times he tried to hold her in her Lich form. They don't let go of each other even as he sets her down on the bed, climbing in with her and throwing the duvet over their heads. She can still see in the darkness, but chooses to close her eyes as their lips meet again, feeling tongue on tongue and teeth on lips. She can taste (finally, she can taste) the chamomile in the tea he had an hour ago, the chocolate he had hidden away for midnight snacks and all she think about is him, him kissing every part of her face and whispering her name like a prayer.  And her hands wander down his body, touching his neck, his chest, faltering at the quickstep she feels when her palm lies over his heart. And her hands continue, nails raking across his abdomen. His response is just as she dreamed, and he pulls away from her just as his breath hitches and his muscles tighten. She can feel his eyes on her, even though he can't actually see as he says "I love you,", and even though he's said that a thousand times a day for the past year it's somehow so much more meaningful now, right here, under the duvet of the bed Magnus made them because she can feel his heart pounding madly in his chest, keeping time with her own heart (oh, yes, she has a heart now-). She opens her mouth, feels the vibration of her vocal cords as she says "I love you too," and pulls him in for another kiss, tangling her hands in his hair, leaning into his arms as they trace circles on her waist. She feels his mouth stretch into a smile under her own, and as she moves closer to nuzzle his neck when she feels something wet brush against her cheek. She pulls away and brings up a hand to swipe her cheek, raising her fingers to her tongue. Salt.

“Barry?”

A muffled sob escapes her lover, and her hands find his face and his hand which he is using to cover his mouth. “Barold, what's wrong?” She feels the first stab of fear enter her body, a feeling that she was well acquainted with. It pierces her heart and mind, but she chooses to ignore her thoughts and focus on Barry, Barry who has always been by her side who is now crying even though she's back so she asks again.

Barry lets out a huge sigh before answering. “Nothing, it's just...Lup, I missed you so much.” She murmurs something positive and he shakes his head slightly. “No, no, I know you missed me too but, Lup, every time I would get my body back, I would forget all about you. I’d forget and, even though it wasn't as bad as Taako, I...I’d lose a part of myself every time. And it was horrible.” She wants to tell him to stop, that she understood and that it was hell for her too, trapped in that small chamber but he keeps going and she keeps listening, caressing his cheek and his hair as he breathes. “I was always alone, always just following the instructions that I gave myself and it always felt like I was missing something or someone and, and it was just lonely, God, I was so lonely!” He chokes back a sob and her arms go around his neck again and he pulls her towards him, pressing her against him as if she could protect him from the past, from memories that couldn't be erased. He continues. “And even when I was a Lich, I couldn't find you, you don't know how hard I looked for you, I thought that something had happened and you couldn't become a Lich when I saw Taako with your staff and I nearly lost control-”

She remembers that part, seeing Barry beginning to spark and twitch and unravel at the very seams when he saw her staff but not her in it. She remembers stretching herself out, throwing everything she had at the dark curtains that kept her from everyone, that kept her from him even as he screamed and raged and unwound right in front of her and she remembers the fear, that bone chilling fear that he was going to leave her alone, the aching loneliness that came after he had calmed down and disappeared.

She feels a pain in her chest. At first, she's confused-there was no wound there. And then the pain travels to her throat and a ragged sound rips out of her, and it's only after Barry’s thumbs wipe her face that she understands that she's crying. She lets the tears fall and she tells him about being in the umbrastaff, the anger and fear and anxiety she felt while trapped in that hell of a chamber for a complete decade. She tells him how she kept sane by remembering him and Taako but mostly him, about the relief and concern she felt when she saw him in Lich form and her pure frustration at the fact that she couldn’t touch him or anyone else for the past year, and that she loved him, she loved him, she loved him. She tells him this and more as she cries and he comforts her, running his hands through her hair and down her back, whispering nothings and catching her tears with his lips, telling her that he loved her, he loved her, he loved her and they stay like that for a while as she composes herself, pulling back again and opening her eyes to look at his tearstained face with Darkvision.

She takes a breath, now all cried out and heaves a breathy laugh. “Dammit, Bluejeans…” her voice sounds hoarse and full of emotions that she was barely capable of processing a few minutes ago. “It’s literally been five minutes and we’re both crying.”

Barry laughs at this too, even though his voice was just as worse for wear as her own. “Aw, babe, did you miss me?” He teases and she sniffs, flicking his nose before kissing it. “Of course.” He wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her forehead, placing his chin on her head. She sighs and leans back into him, her ear resting right on top of his beating heart.

There are some jags of crying, comforting and kissing, but for the most part they lay there, caught between sleep and wakefulness as they hold each other close, hand in hand.

And they don’t let go.

Constructive criticisms is much much much appreciated!! I’m a science nerd I don’t take writing classes