#also just miss having one of my main boys on the top step so this was made to cope

[skitskatdacat63]

2009 Italian Grand Prix - Jenson Button

[notjustjavierpena]

drabble idea - javi and reader at some family/friends party before the kids, maybe engaged already and reader is holding a cousins baby or something. Javi isn’t with her and when he enters the room he’s awestruck. He already knew he wanted kids with her and a family but just seeing her bouncing the baby while laughing at something someone is saying just completely takes his breath away.

Baby (Drabble)

Series Masterpost | Main Masterpost

A/N: This is so incredibly adorable, and of course, I will make this come true for you, Anon. I hope you enjoy 💖🫶

Summary: Javier spots you at a party with a baby in your arms. Suddenly, he knows what he wants.

Pairing: Javier Peña x Reader/You (No y/n)

Tags: Tooth-rotting fluff, baby fever, lovelovelove.

Word count: 1k

Baby

Amidst the lively chatter of a family gathering, Javier looks for you in the living room after having had a beer with his father outside on the terrace.

He passes by several tías who pinch his cheeks and compliment his choice of shirt to which he gives you the credit. They call him handsome, and he charms them back as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“No wonder you ended up with such a catch, Javi,” one of them says, referring to you. She nods in your direction but he still cannot see you for all the people having gathered in the tiny house, can’t hear your voice either in between bursts of laughter and screen doors opening and closing. 

He starts to make his way in your direction, craving your gentle touch when he starts to feel overwhelmed by these kinds of things. On his way, he ruffles the hair of one of his nephews who shows him a stack of colorful football cards. 

“Very cool,” he says genuinely as he looks over the boy’s shoulder. He hasn’t been home in so long that he isn’t up to date with the local team anymore, otherwise he would have mentioned that. 

“I’m only missing a few of my favorite team,” his nephew replies excitedly and it earns him another hair ruffle. Javier continues through the crowd afterward. 

There you are, he thinks to himself, and just when he is about to approach you, all the wind is knocked out of him because you are in the middle of a conversation, laughing at something that is being said, and you have Sofía, his cousin’s daughter, on your hip. 

He stops in his tracks, freezing to the spot to watch you. At that moment, he knows that he wants to build a family with you. It becomes so clear as he observes you naturally talk to the baby on your arm, smiling widely down at her only to giggle when you receive a grin right back. He catches a glimpse of the future and the incredible mother you could be and on top of that, the incredible mother that he wants to make you. 

It isn’t that he has never had the thought of starting a family with you before but seeing you navigate having a child in your arms so effortlessly makes him grasp how real and possible it is that it’ll one day be his child you are holding.

A few children run past him, shouting loudly as they chase each other and the noise pulls him out of his trance. All the other grownups have faded into the background, and it seems that his brain can only think of kids, bedtime stories, coloring books, and parent-teacher conferences. His head swims.

Even more so when the noise also makes you look up and catch his eye. You smile at him and it tugs at something in his chest. He needs to be close to you, taking longer steps than normal to get to you quicker.

“Hello fiancée,” he says when he approaches and kisses you softly. You say hello back but seem busy staring down at the baby in your arms. He turns his attention to the little bundle of joy, reaching out to twist the soft hairs on top of her head until it is standing up in a spiral, “Y hola a tí, Sofía, ¿Cómo estás? (And hello to you, Sofía. How are you?)” 

Sofía gurgles at getting further attention. She swings her little fists. 

“Your cousin just asked me if I could take her for a moment,” you explain with a shy smile, bouncing Sofía on your hip. She smiles widely up at you, squealing with delight as you make a face at her, “And you are so cute, aren’t you? Oh, look at her little tuft of hair.”

Javier adores you. He watches Sofía reach out for your earring, trying to yank on it and you grab her little hand but never once look irritated. Instead, you let her hold onto your fingers instead and say something gentle again. 

“We should make one,” he announces quietly so only you can hear it, leaning closer to you to keep the conversation private. You look up immediately but still tickle at Sofía’s tiny palm. 

“A baby?” You ask with wide eyes. It’s a little louder than you intended, and a few heads turn to look at you. You lower your voice, clearing your throat at first, “A baby?”

“Sí, mi amor (yes, my love),” he snakes an arm around your back to rest his hand on your hip, “A dozen of them actually.”

“We’re getting married next year,” you tut, shaking your head as if he is being ridiculous, “I’m not looking like someone who swallowed a soccer ball in my wedding dress.”

“You could wear an old football jersey and I would still marry you,” he kisses the side of your head, “¿Pero qué no (but why not)?” 

“One thing at a time,” you say with a nervous chuckle. Then you shift Sofía in your arms, “Can you take her? I am so damn thirsty.”

“Sure, bring her here,” he holds out his arms, “C’mere, Princesa (princess).”

The transfer is so smooth that one would think you have done it before. He gets a tiny hand in his face, Sofía feeling his cheek. 

“Be right back,” you say with a sweet smile, “Both of you.”

One thing at a time, you said. However, with the way you turn back to watch him with Sofía in his arms as you head for the drinks table, he knows that this is what you want too.

.

.

.

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[muddyorbsblr]

gestures & rain checks

See my full list of works here!

pre-story author's note: Yes I am very aware that it's been a solid month since Valentine's Day. Yes I am still posting this 🫡

Summary: It feels like your friends are getting plucked away from you one by one as their respective (or in Nat's case prospective) partners make grand gestures to ask them to be their Valentine.

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 4.8k

Warning/s: language (nope still not sorry, Rogers); mentions of alcohol; tooth-rotting fluff; gun use [let me know if I missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: Morgan being a precious beb; himbo!Thor hours; lowkey sad Reader hours; chaotic group chat vibes in the end

You always had a distaste for this day. Valentine's Day. To you, it was the one day a year that you would do everything in your power not to step outside because it reeked of flowers and chocolate marked up to the heavens for merchants to take advantage of last minute gift shoppers hoping to make a gesture big enough that their crush would let them score at the end of the night. Or guys buying extravagant and ridiculously large arrangements to make amends for wronging their partner as if a 10-foot tall teddy bear was gonna magically press some Undo button of him going on Hinge or Tinder and talking up a dozen other girls on the side.

There was one year that you let slip around Nat and Wanda that this day "smelled like a cemetery" with all the bouquets that bombarded you the second you exited the perimeter of the Compound. Hell, the second you left the main section that housed you and the rest of the Avengers. And you stood by that opinion stubbornly, mostly because you'd only ever witnessed flowers being given when someone was desperately trying to glue back together the pieces of a severely damaged relationship.

And also because no one had ever given you flowers in your entire life. Or chocolates. Or a teddy bear. All your past relationships were with men who were still mentally and emotionally boys that believed emojis and gifs sufficed and were as good as the real thing. Nary a single soul had ever actually spent a lick of time or effort to give you something that told you they deserved your time and effort in turn.

And after so many years of being barely an afterthought, the day just felt like this entity that you resented to an irrational degree, where all you wanted was to lay in bed and wait it out until the clock struck 12 and it was February 15th. Then you could go on a hunt for all the overpriced chocolate that suddenly got their prices slashed by 50% or more.

That was the plan again for this year, had it not been for both Nat and Wanda barging in to your apartment and practically dressing you up like you were their own life-sized definitely seen some better days Barbie doll. "Come on, we can go and have a Galentine's Day 2. Maybe hit up a club and get some free drinks…" the assassin trailed off, zipping up your dress and playfully swatting your ass to nudge you forward. "March on, soldier."

The common area was nearly bare and eerily quiet when you all got there, which made perfect sense considering that most of your teammates who were happily committed to someone were off spending their day together, probably executing their own personal twists on those cliched gestures of adoration. Knowing Tony, that would probably consist of a two-storey tall stuffed bunny or a lavish new vacation house as a nice private little getaway spot for him and Pepper when they wanted to have a date night.

Only Morgan and Shaun were at the big dining table by the kitchen, the little girl working on bracelets with the martial artist nursing a cup of coffee while he handed her beads to add to her work. "Whaddup, Ten Rings…Baby Stark," you greeted them, ruffling his hair and pressing a kiss to the top of your goddaughter's head. "What're you two up to this fine completely ordinary day?"

"Oof, I take it you're gonna be spending the day watching a bunch of couples be all extra lovey dovey just like me?" You threw him a look, squinting your eyes at him that had him throwing his hands in the air in surrender. "No need to mentally squish my head, Y/N, we're on the same side, I swear," he chuckled, scooting over to the other seat so you could sit next to Morgan. "How about this, karaoke later tonight? Just us and anyone else that doesn't have a date with dinner and co--" You swatted his arm to get him to stop talking, not so subtly signaling in the little girl's direction. "I mean…adult balloons?"

"Wait how come you have special balloons?" Morgan asked, looking up from her activity book and earning barely stifled chortles from both Nat and Wanda. "Why can't I play with them? I like balloons."

You leaned back in your seat, making a motion with your hands as if you were wiping them clean of the whole conversation. "I'm not helping you out of this one, buddy."

He scratched the back of his head, obviously backed into the corner with his own words. "Eeeeeh…put a pin in that and ask me again when you can order a beer, Baby Stark."

The child pouted at both of you, slumping down in her place at the table and slipping back on her princess pink headphones before focusing all her attention on her activity book again, grumbling something about how grownups shouldn't have conversations around her if they didn't want her to ask questions. Valid enough point, but you still weren't going to be the one to give her her first lesson in Sex Ed class a good decade ahead of time.

"Anyways…" Shaun poked at your side, calling your attention back to him. "Karaoke, ladies? We can pick up Katy and Wong before we head over and sing some Disney duets and gorging ourselves on shots and nachos--"

"Hold up, Wong?" You all turned your attention to Stephen, who'd just walked in to the common area. "This I gotta see. You guys have room for one more?"

"Sure thing, as long as you use your sling ring to help us get into Tony's private stash," you quipped, taking a sip of your coffee. "There's no way I'm getting through this day stone-cold sober."

"Or we could go for the really hard stuff and break into Thor's stash of mead from Asgard before he depletes his supply." He showcased the ring in question with a wiggle of his fingers. "Just a portal away."

"I like the way you think, Strange."

"You can all cease your scheming to pilfer my liquor, my friends," Thor's voice boomed into the area, a bounce in his step as he made his way to the coffee pot. "I would happily supply you all with two barrels if that would be enough for your gathering?"

"That's perfect, Thunder. Thanks." You started to tuck into the breakfast plate served by the Compound kitchen staff, mumbling your next question to the blond god. "What've you got planned with Jane for today?"

"Ah." A wide grin stretched across his face at the mention of his girlfriend, the sight both warming your heart and pinching it at the same time. A bittersweet reminder that in the midst of romantic plans with sentimental or grand gestures, your plans involved getting shit-faced with your fellow single friends. Plus Wanda and probably Vision. "Well, I have employed the aid of Wilson to order an ornate bouquet of Jane's favorite flowers which should arrive this morning. Then for lunch I shall prepare her a meal."

"Lunch?" Wanda questioned, tilting her head to the side. "Forgive me if I overstep, my friend, but aren't the romantic plans usually made for dinner?"

"Well, yes…but Jane has graciously agreed to adjusting our schedule for this day so that I may spend the time after lunch aiding my brother in a gesture of his own." A lump formed in your throat at the words. "It seems he wishes to get into the spirit of the holiday, and I am simply ecstatic that he came to me asking for a helping hand."

"I asked nothing of you, you over-muscled oaf," you heard the raven-haired god call out from the main entrance, two large packages hovering a few inches above the ground blanketed with a glow of green from his magic. "You volunteered when you imposed yourself in my space and hovered over my phone."

"Pfft, semantics," Thor waved off, already making his way over to Loki so that he could do some more apparently unnecessary volunteer work. "Are the flowers in one of your parcels?"

"I like flowers!" Morgan chirped from her seat, bouncing in place with bright excited eyes. "Prince Loki, can I help? Please?"

He let out an exaggerated sigh, a trace of a fond, amused smile betraying his facade. "Very well, little Stark. Come along."

Your goddaughter squealed, skipping over to Thor and placing her tiny hand in his. "Uncle Barbie, tell me who his princess is?" He leaned down to whisper the answer in her ear, making her sprint in place with even more excitement. "I promise I won't say a word."

"Barbie? Like your doll, little Lady Stark?" You could practically see the wheels turning in Loki's head from learning about the nickname.

Morgan nodded her head vigorously. "Auntie Y/N came up with it. She calls him Macho Barbie." She proceeded to talk about how you came to give the blond Asgardian the nickname that bizarrely stuck to him more than "Point Break" ever did, said god looking like he already dreaded the coming days -- maybe even years -- now that his brother knew that little tidbit of information.

Once they'd all made their way up the stairs and you could no longer hear the little girl's chipper tone, realization sat heavy in your heart from her reaction to whatever Thor whispered to her just a few seconds ago. Whoever it was that Loki was going to make this grand gesture for, it was someone that Morgan knew enough to the point that she couldn't contain her excitement finding out who the woman was.

It was someone in SHIELD. Maybe even someone in the Compound.

"You good, Babes?" Nat's tone was cautious, approaching you like you were a wounded animal, teeth bared and ready to pounce if she so much as breathed wrong.

You answered with a terse nod of your head. "There is absolutely no fucking way I'm getting through today sober."

"Y/N, dude, I'm sor--"

Bang

"What the fuck?" All eyes grew wide at the sound, your body stiffening as another shot rang out, reverberating throughout the common area. "FRIDAY? Threat assessment," you called out, already readying yourself for combat once whoever was outside made their way to you in the compound.

"No threats have been detected," the AI answered simply. "There seems to be no living target for the gunman."

You could only manage to repeat your words. "What the fuck?" Shot after shot rang out, an interval of three to five seconds between them. Each deafening bang making you flinch, your head spinning with possible explanations on why FRIDAY didn't deem the supposed attacker as a threat. "Where's the target then?"

"Shots are being fired at the training area, by the track field, Agent Y/L/N." You all started to make your way to the area, everyone still on high alert despite FRIDAY's findings.

"Y/N?!" You shared a look with everyone else in the room at the sound of Loki's voice calling out for you, the god looking frantic as he appeared at the top of the main staircase, a sigh of relief escaping him once he saw you standing at the bottom. "You're alright," he exhaled, hurriedly making his way down. The quickening pace of the gunshots had him squaring his shoulders, stepping in front of you and marching toward the sound.

"We've handled way worse than gunfire, Laufeyson, you don't have to lead the defense," you told him with a touch more bite to your tone than you intended, irrational jealousy coursing through you knowing what he was preparing for before he started charging down the stairs. You sidestepped him and started walking toward the training area, brows furrowing together when you saw that from where you stood, the marks from the bullets digging into the ground where forming some sort of shape.

"It's a message…" Wanda mused, angling her head to and fro to see if she could get the whole picture from the ground. "I'm going up, I wanna see what's worth risking Pepper's wrath with all the lawn work she has to commission now." She held her hand out to you, wordlessly offering to take you up with her, an offer that you gladly took, clapping your hand over hers, both of you giggling as your feet lifted off the ground.

Once you two had risen high enough, it was clear what the message was. The shots had been positioned so that the markings would take on the shape of a heart, and the ongoing shots were creating initials. "N…" you read along, barely able to contain your excitement when you saw that the next letter was an R. "Natasha Romanoff!" you yelled out, the assassin's eyes lighting up with a mix of giddiness and curiosity as she tried to look at where the gunshots could've been coming from.

You did your best to turn your head, trying to see who was behind the gesture, kicking your feet in the air once you saw the gunman. "What? Who is it, Y/N?"

"It's Barnes," you squeaked, giving Rogers a reckless wave when you caught sight of him jogging toward all of you with a megaphone in hand.

"Natasha Romanoff," Bucky's voice boomed through the speaker system, making the usually cool and collected former Russian spy put a hand over her mouth to hide the way she was steadily turning pink from how flustered she was. "I know I have a long way to go to make up for how we first met, but I think you're swell and I'd like to try starting it off with maybe dinner tonight?" Both you and Wanda squealed and held each other tight mid-air watching her nod her answer, running over to her once your feet touched the ground again.

"You two won't be pissed if I take a rain check for tonight, will you?" she cautioned, still a wistful tone in her voice from processing what was happening.

"Absolutely not, you go enjoy your date. More drinks to go around and all that," you told her with the biggest smile. "But tomorrow night we're all staying at my place and you're giving us a full report."

"And remember to wear the red lacy underwear," Wanda teased with a comical wiggle of her eyebrows, earning her a poke to the ribs from both of you.

Nat pulled away from the two of you, walking back toward the indoor gym with Steve walking alongside her, starting to talk about how his best friend had been trying to work up the nerve to ask her out since he got sworn in to the team nearly a year ago. From the sound of the conversation, it seemed that Rogers was divulging some information that Barnes probably swore him to secrecy not so long ago.

"And then there were seven," Shaun spoke up, walking toward  you and the sorceress and clapping a hand on each of your shoulders. "Thor came through and left the barrels in the kitchen for us."

You were about to start talking about the food arrangements when the sight of Wanda's husband flying toward you all with a bouquet of camellias and hydrangeas in his hand. "Wanda, my love, I owe you my deepest apologies."

"Whatever for, Vis?" She broke away from you and Shaun to greet the synthezoid, placing her hands on his upper arms as he pulled her in for a chaste kiss.

"It did not occur to me that you might have wanted to make plans for today until Mr Stark had gone into detail of his own itinerary today for his wife," he explained, handing her the bouquet. "Unfortunately I cannot procure a reservation for us tonight, but I still wish to do something for you. Would you allow me the honor of making you a meal and perhaps watching a movie in the private theater?"

You and Shaun gripped each other's hands like you were high schoolers watching their best friend get asked out on their first big date, shaking and pushing each other over the sweetness of the gesture. "I don't need fancy restaurants or pretty flowers, Vis. Getting to spend time with you, especially after everything that's happened to us, is more than enough. I just need you."

The Sokovian turned back to face you and Shaun, a touch of guilt in her expression. "Rain check? I'll bring extra snacks tomorrow night to make up for it?"

"Don't worry about it, Babes," you reassured her, both you and the martial artist waving off her worries. "Enjoy your evening."

The couple have you a curt nod and a smile before happily flying away hand in hand back to their apartment.

"And then there were five," you and Shaun said in unison, walking back to the common area to load up those barrels that Thor left for tonight's 'festivities'. When you got to the kitchen area, Morgan was adorably sitting atop one of the barrels in question, feet happily swinging in the air with a big smile on her face.

"Off the goods, little Stark, we're not risking you getting drunk your dad's gonna kill us," Shaun said in a panic, already lifting the little girl up and off the barrel and making her squeal and giggle as she giddily exclaimed "I'm flying!".

"If you really think that she can get drunk from osmosis, we have a lot to talk about, sweet little summer child," you joked, walking up to one barrel and starting to push it toward the garage. "Think you can use that ancient mystical ring magic for makeshift wheels so we don't bust out our lungs lugging this all the way to your truck?"

"I can assist you, darling." Your skin bristled at the sound of Loki's voice, taking every ounce of strength you had to not stiffen or recoil at his use of the word. He was only saying it out of habit. Probably a remnant of his upbringing as a prince on Asgard.

He didn't mean it the way you wanted -- more than anything -- for him to mean it.

"No need, Laufeyson, I've got it from here," Strange butted in, conjuring an energy shield with his magic that he slid under the barrels, starting to wheel them toward the garage. "Carry on. Oh and friendly advice, man to god? Your future girlfriend, you know, the one you're making this big gesture for? She might not appreciate you calling other women 'darling', so I highly recommend kicking the habit while it's still early. Avoiding future battles and all."

The god sucked his teeth, the action causing his jaw to clench and sending your thoughts someplace they had no business being. You had no business thinking about another woman's man that way, no matter how hot he was.

"I will remember that. Thank you, Strange," he said softly, making his way back up the stairs.

"Thanks for the save," you muttered, opening the door to the garage for the sorcerer to guide the barrels through. "Don't think I could've gotten away with being on Bitch Mode with him a second time today. Not like I can help it, though. Some lucky Midgardian bitch is gonna be his by the end of the night."

"Pretty sure you're the only woman I know that considers being Laufeyson's girlfriend a good thing."

"Yeah, Y/N, like I know he's on our side and everything but most days he still has me on edge. Like passing him on a bad day's gonna get me a stab in the ribs, not a death glare like normal people," Shaun concurred, nudging your shoulder to hopefully stop your lamenting before you got in too deep. Again.

"I'm really down bad, huh," you sighed, letting out a little yip when a portal to the dark dimension appeared just a few feet in front of you. "The fuck--"

"Hey Strange," a reverberating ethereal voice called out from the portal, and then a tall woman with platinum hair with beauty that you could only describe as 'dark celestial' stepped out. Her eyes trained on the sorcerer next to you. "Heard that today's something of a holiday in this dimension. Figured it might be a good idea to stop by and maybe you could show me around your uh…" She turned to you and Shaun, both your jaws slack on the ground. "What's this place called again?"

"Avengers Compound?" Shaun said at the same time that you blurted out, "New York?"

"Compound York?" She raised an eyebrow at the two of you, amusement coloring her face as she gave you both a once over.

"Eherm…no," you answered her, chuckling nervously and shifting your weight between your feet. "This structure here is Avengers Compound, which is in Upstate New York. New York is a city, but also a region…and a state…?" you drifted off, already feeling a pinch in your head from trying to explain the best you could. You looked over to Shaun. "The more I try finding the words to explain, the more I realize how complicated it actually is. Save me."

Stephen stepped forward. "How about I just take you on a tour around New York, then?" His face stretched out into a wide grin, clearly unable to hide his giddiness over the knowledge that she crossed dimensions to be with him today.

"Is that…New York the city, the region, or the state?"

"The city. New York, New York. There's a whole song about it and everything I can play it for you in the car." He proceeded to drape his arm around the dark sorceress, leading her to his car further down the expansive garage.

"Your little human friend is right, things here are complicated. Downright confusing." She looked back at you and Shaun again as they walked away, hand in hand. "It was nice meeting you both! Stephen speaks highly of you all," she called out, her majestic voice echoing throughout the area.

"You're really pretty!" you blurted out in response, causing her voice to melt into a chuckle, telling her partner how she found you 'adorable'. You threw your head back and groaned toward the ceiling. "I'm a fucking dork."

"At least you're an adorable dork," Shaun shot back, nudging your shoulder and lightly touching the back of your head to get you facing forward again. His phone chimed with a text notification. "Katy. Her shift's over, she said she'll get us a room for eight. I'm texting her now to get a smaller one." He held up his hand, palm facing you. "And then there were four?"

You sighed, clapping your hand against his, your friend giving you a reassuring squeeze once you did. "And then there were four." You jerked your head toward the apartments. "I'll just go change into something that involves 'eating pants' and I'll meet you down here in ten."

The walk back up to your apartment wasn't that long, but it still felt like it with how quickly you slipped back into your lamenting over how your friends had such an eventful day today. Nat had her very public grand gesture. Wanda had her husband trying to cook human food in the name of spending time with her. Strange had his girlfriend literally rip a hole between dimensions to get here.

"And all I have waiting for me are two barrels of mead and karaoke microphones," you muttered, walking through your front door and begrudgingly unzipping your dress from the back. You were just about to half-stomp your way to your closet when something on your bed caught your eye.

Three shiny roses lined with gold, tied together with a gold ribbon at the foot of the bed. A large heart-shaped box of chocolates at the center. And a little teddy bear dressed as a bee with red antennas that had hearts at the end, at its fluffy little feet was an embroidered message. "Bee mine".

"What theeeee fu--"

"Y/N," an all too familiar voice called out from behind you. The air left your lungs at the sight of Loki in a form-fitting forest green button-down tucked into onyx black slacks, tucking his hair behind his ears before smoothing his hands over his shirt. "You're early--"

"What're you doing--Was this you?" you babbled, gesturing at the gifts on your bed. For a second, your heart beat erratically, the thought that maybe this was for you, before reality and logic sunk in. "Okay I think I know what's happening…"

"You do?"

"Yeah, you got the wrong apartment. Gimme a minute to change and I can help you move all this over to--"

The rest of your words died in a little squeak at the back of your throat, the god closing the distance between you two with a few long strides, framing your face in his hands and placing a tender fleeting kiss to your lips.

"Those tokens of my affection are exactly where they belong, little mortal," he murmured against you, tracing up the bridge of your nose with his lips until he pressed a kiss to your forehead. "As am I."

You let out a shaky breath, fighting against the urge to melt in the god's embrace as he snaked his hands around your waist. "The gesture your brother mentioned this morning…this?" He proceeded to press kisses down the side of your face, his warm exhale as he whispered 'yes' into your skin making you light-headed. "This is for me?" you gasped out, whatever was remaining of your logical brain smacking the rest of you with how stupid a question that was.

"Who else would it be for, darling?" He pressed a kiss to your jaw, tightening his arms around you and pressing your body against his. "There is no other in this or any other Realm that could have captured my heart so completely." He kissed the corner of your jaw, making his way down the side of your neck, holding you tighter to keep you up when your knees finally buckled from the sensation. "I did this for you, because I wish to ask something of you. That you become mine as much as I am yours."

"M-Mine?" you stammered. "Y-You're mine?" Since when? How come you didn't get this particular memo? Could've saved you a lot of turmoil and nights spent alone staring up at the ceiling trying and failing to hypnotize yourself out of being into him.

He kissed the tip of your nose, resting his forehead against yours. "I have always been yours, darling."

Your hands traveled up the length of his arms, like you were grounding yourself and trying to tell yourself that this was real. He was really here and he was telling you the words you wanted more than anything to hear for who even knew how long at this point.

He's here, you thought to yourself. And he's mine.

There was only one word that you could muster up in that moment. "Yes." I've always been yours, too.

Karaoke Dreamin' on Such a Winter's Day group chat

myfirstnameisagent: Don't kill me but…rain check?

busboy10: Are you kidding me, Y/N?? You said you'd be down in 5 minutes tops and we're gonna meet up with Katy.

nromanoff: Sweet, now you're gonna have a story to tell tomorrow night, too.

myfirstnameisagent: Actually about that…rain check on tomorrow night, too? I'm kinda not there right now…

busboy10: There?? What do you mean "There"?? How'd you get out the Compound without me seeing you? Or whoever the hot date you're ditching me for is?

imjustwong: Where is everybody? We ordered nachos.

myfirstnameisagent: Yeah…I'm not in the Compound…or in New York…any of the "New York"s. Might not be for the next week. Maybe more. The three of you better not drink all the mead in one go.

busboy10: ??????

thevision: Agent Y/L/N, my wife is showing many signs of distress over her inability to contact you. Your phone seems to be going straight to voicemail.

thewanda: Y/N WHERE ARE YOU I HEARD A BANG FROM YOUR APARTMENT ARE YOU OKAY??

myfirstnameisagent: Babes, I'm fine. That was just the Bifrost.

thewanda: EXCUSE ME??

nromanoff: BABES WHAT--

pointbreakbarbie: My friends, I heard the Bifrost be summoned near Lady Y/N's abode. Is there an emergency? Must I make my way to Asgard to assist?

myfirstnameisagent: Thor your brother said if he finds you here I have permission to stab you, don't even fucking think about it.

thewanda: I REPEAT. EXCUSE ME???

busboy10: Y/N are you in Asgard?? With Loki??

myfirstnameisagent: Yes. And yes. See you in two weeks.

thewanda: He better use that healing magic on your legs so you don't walk funny.

A/N: It took me a whole month to write this because real life was trying TKO me in the work department and also I got sucked in to the worlds of Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Delicious World and I've been too weak to even attempt time management 🤣

I'm working on stuff tho I swear it 🫡 Horny bitches cuts are in progress, stories are in progress…lots of progress 😅😅

Also for reference, this was the lil stuffed bear that Loki gave Reader:

and the roses looked like this:

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @lovingchoices14 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th  @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie @lunarnights95 @superficialdomina @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog @peaky-marvel @lokiified @tom-hlover @dryyoursaltyoceantears

[serendipityandbenevolence]

Tartaglia x Reader (gn) - SAGAU

Another day, another post! im praying that this one is easier to write than yesterdays because i spent nearly 2 hrs trying to write my 1k words. thankfully me and childe are besties (real, not clickbait) and he's also my main so i don't have to read about his personality for a hour on the genshin impact wiki.

Contains - childe being sickeningly in love with you and kinda soft (my boy is whipped) the other harbingers also lowkey hate him, also the yandere behavior makes him ooc so im sorry if hes acting a lil bit goofy, also this fic is a bit more funny and lighthearted then the other two, so let me know if you like this

The previous fic if you want context is here

And the Dottore version is here

So without further ado, I introduce you to...

"Tartaglia?"

The voices outside halt for just a second, before you hear scuffling and harsh but hushed whispers from a number of different voices. Maybe he wasn't there. After all, as the least senior of all the Harbingers, maybe he was not invited to whatever conversation they were having right beyond your door. You strained to listen, but although their voices seemed to be slowly getting louder and more irate, you could only catch tiny snippets of what they were saying.

"-not going-"

"If you-"

"SO HELP ME TARTAGLIA, IF YOU TAKE ONE MORE STEP TOWARDS THAT DOOR, I WILL PERSONALLY THROW YOU OUT-"

You flinched slightly at the sudden exclamation, which was abruptly cut off with some loud crashes and violent curses. As the noises didn't cease, you found yourself shoving off your layers of blankets and shakily getting to your feet. You were distantly aware that you probably shouldn't be moving around this much, considering how weak your body felt and the dull ache in the patched wound on your side, but you chose to ignore it in favor of investigating.

When you reached the door and nudged it open slightly, you were greeted with, not a hallway like you had presumed, but a fancy lounge area, the sort for receiving guests if you were a rich person and couldn't be bothered leaving your quarters. But more interesting than the décor was the two Harbingers fighting rather aggressively in the middle of the room and the other nine Harbingers watching on with various shades of amusement and disgust. They seemed totally oblivious to your presence, eyes trained on Arlecchino as she threw a chair at Tartaglia, before tackling him to the ground. You stood hesitantly in the doorway, not stupid enough to try and intervene, but also genuinely concerned for the safety of both of the Harbingers.

"Oh, Your Grace! What are you doing out of bed?"

You turned to the large group of Harbingers to find Sandrone staring at you with a rather worried expression. Her words caused everyone to stop and turn to you, even Arlecchino who appeared to be currently attempting to strangle Tartaglia. After a brief pause, Capitano turned back to two on the floor.

"See Tartaglia? Your childish actions have disturbed the Divine One. You are hardly fit for your title as Harbinger, causing such distress for our most beloved god."

"I'M DISTURBING THEM?! Arlecchino was the one who screamed at the top of her lungs with no care for Their Grace's slumber, why am I being blamed?"

Arlecchino paled slightly at this and stared at you with an uncharacteristically anxious expression.

"I didn't wake you up, right?"

You felt yourself sway slightly and grabbed onto the doorframe, embarrassed at how quickly your body seemed to be giving out on you.

"Oh no, not at all. I was already awake, I was just listening to you all discuss what's going on with the other nations. That's why I called for Tartaglia, I wanted to ask him some questions about what I missed while I was sleeping."

There was a slightly awkward pause as what you just said sank in.

"Wait, you actually called for Tartaglia? He wasn't hallucinating it? Or lying so he could go in and see you?" Arlecchino asked, an incredulous look covering her face as she got up off the floor.

"Yeah, I didn't mean to start a fight or anything but..."

Your vision blurred slightly and your knees buckled slightly as another wave of pain hit you. You heard a few worried murmurs from the Harbingers, but before they could do anything, you were swept off your feet and carried back into your room.

"Sorry about making you get out of bed for that. Are you feeling okay?" Tartaglia whispered gently as he cradled you in his arms, kicking the door shut behind him.

"Yeah I'm fine. I probably just need another nap, clearly I'm not as well healed as I thought."

He nodded at that, laying you down silently on your bed before grabbing at your blankets and laying them back over you.

"Sorry for causing you so much trouble, Ajax."

"Ajax?"

You hesitated, suddenly unsure of how he would react to his actual name. But he only smiled, with what seemed to be a slight blush covering his cheeks.

"I had no idea that you knew my real name! I mean, of course you do, but I just didn't think you would take much notice and-"

He paused, seemingly noticing your tired eyes.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'll ramble another time. Please, if you so wish, call me Ajax."

"Perhaps not in front of the other Harbingers though. I wouldn't want to drag you into another spat." You whispered sleepily.

"Don't worry about that!" He grinned widely at you. "I can take them on, call me what you want."

He got up from beside you, with one last sentence before he left.

"Sweet dreams, Your Grace."

Glad to report that this one was a lot easier to write and I was actually giggling a little while picturing Arlecchino trying to beat Tartaglia. I might write Pierro's ending today, just because I have some time and I'm in a good writing mood. The order of the endings so far are Pierro, Capitano, Pantalone and Scaramouche. If you guys want to comment which of the women you want to go after Scaramouche, I'll add them to the list! (also no, I'm not writing Pulcinella)

[steventhusiast]

STWG daily prompt 23/9/23

prompt: summer camp

pairing/character(s): steddie, robin, dustin, will, lucas

CW: robin calls steve a whore but like. in her mind. and then a slut to his (and eddie's) face. but affectionately. they're besties.

-

"Robin, Robin!"

Robin's alone time is very rudely interrupted by a small group of pre-teens running over to her. Being a camp counsellor this summer has been fun, but she very much values her alone time by the lake. What can she say, she enjoys staring at the water and occasionally aggressively throwing pebbles into it.

So she may glare a little as she turns to look at the little terrors.

"What." She says more than asks.

Dustin, Will and Lucas are the boys standing before her, and the only one of them that doesn't wilt under her slight glare is Dustin. In fact, he lifts his head in retaliation and meets her gaze.

"We can't find Steve." He explains, and it's then that Robin notes the worry in the boys' eyes. She sighs, and fully turns away from the lake to focus on them.

"What do you mean you can't find Steve?"

"He said that he was gonna go get a change of clothes-" Lucas starts.

"And we were just gonna wait for him by the treetop course, but we wanted to get changed too-" Dustin continues.

"So we went back to the cabin and he's not there!" Will finishes.

God, this particular group has to be the weirdest group of pre-teens she's ever met. At least the rest of their 'party' aren't here, or the finishing-each-others'-thoughts thing would be a lot creepier.

"Okay, so," She starts, and gets up to start walking toward the cabins, the boys following her, "have you actually looked anywhere else before coming to me, or..?"

They stay silent at her words, and she sighs. The lack of an answer tells her everything she needs to know.

"You know he could have gone to the bathrooms? The cafeteria? One of the other cabins-"

She tops in her tracks as she cuts herself off. He wouldn't. That whore.

Before her precious lake-time, she was on an activity with some other counsellors, including none other than Eddie Munson. AKA Steve's summer camp fling. Who coincidentally also went to get a change of clothes a few minutes before Robin told Chrissy she needed a break and escaped to the lake. She bets he's also missing in action right now.

"Why don't you guys go back to the treetop course? I think I know where he is." She suggests to the kids, who immediately start protesting.

"What if he's hurt?"

"What if he needs help?"

"What if he got lost?"

She rolls her eyes at their worry. It's kind of cute, but so unnecessary. She knows exactly where Steve is (and Eddie, too).

"Don't worry. I know where he is." She says, and when that's not enough, continues, "Besides, if you run around with me you might miss the chance to go on the treetop course."

The kids run off in one direction, and she marches in the other toward the cabins.

Frankly, Steve's lucky the kids didn't think to check any of the other cabins. Especially Eddie's.

When she gets to cabin 5, she steels herself before going in. If they're doing anything nefarious, she's actually going to murder Steve. No. She'll murder Eddie for corrupting Steve. Steve never would have done something like this last summer.

"You better be decent!" She calls out as she loudly opens the door to the main room where the kids sleep. She starts toward the cabin leader's room with equally loud steps.

She just wants to give them as much time as possible to not be in a compromising position because... She does not want to see that.

"Heyyy, Robbie." Steve greets guiltily as she slowly opens the door to Eddie's room.

They're sat together on Eddie's single bed, cheeks flushed and polo shirts looking very rumpled. Eddie doesn't look guilty at all, with the wide and pleased grin on his face.

"Can't believe my alone time got cut short for this. Were you sluts planning on going back to your activities any time soon or were you just waiting for one of the kids to walk in on you?" She asks, one eyebrow raised.

Steve continues to look guilty, and Eddie snickers under his breath. How dare he.

"I'm serious! At least go into the woods behind the cabins!" She exclaims, and then shakes her head at them, "amateurs. Me and Chrissy would never."

[fierycavalier]

Intro to Scouting for Nancy Drew Fans

i love to see Ace's Eagle Scout status come up in fics. Although it was almost a throw-away line, I think it informs Ace's character and fleshes out his backstory well, beyond just knowing knots and navigating the woods. But I see a lot of awkward phrasing, and I see a lot of missed opportunities to bring it up, and it got me wondering if a little primer would be helpful.

Things Ace could say: "I learned this in Boy Scouts." "My troop leader took us out here all the time." "This trail didn't go this way back when I was in Scouts." "Don't worry, they love me here--my eagle project was to clean up this beach." "Don't talk to me about Jared Spriggs-- I'll never forgive him for what he did to my derby car when I was 14."

Eagle Scout is a rank and an honor that he achieved, not a program he was in. The program is Boy Scouts of America (BSA). People familiar with the program will just say Boy Scouts or Scouts. After 100 years of only allowing boys to participate, the program became co-ed in 2019, so it's now called Scouts BSA, not Boy Scouts. Ace would have grown up in the program before then since he turned 18 in 2016.

If Ace started in scouting before he was 11, he would have been in Cub Scouts. At 11, he could move up to the scouting troop. There are ranks in scouting, tied to the number of merit badges you've earned. Eagle Scout is the top rank and must be achieved before the age of 18. It involves a certain number of merit badges, hours of volunteer work, and a main Eagle Scout Service Project that they must plan and execute themselves (with assistance from scout leaders and parents).

I think it highly likely that the Captain was a troop leader or otherwise involved in scouting, especially before his accident. I can see his mom stepping in as well- if I remember right, women could be pack leaders even before 2016.

Although most people work toward Eagle as 16-17 year olds, it's possible to achieve it earlier, especially if you're smart and committed like Ace. So his pot-smoking days could come after he earned Eagle and lost interest in Scouts, or they could coexist. Your call.

Although people assume scouting is about wilderness preparedness, the program's goal is to create well-rounded, responsible citizens. Ace would have the Oath and Law memorized.

Scout Oath

On my honor I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country

and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong,

mentally awake, and morally straight.

Scout Law

A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, Reverent

As you can guess, being Jewish might have been tricky for Ace in a program that's culturally Christian as many 20th century American institutions are. That'd also depend on what his troop was like--was there one troop for the whole town, or maybe his synagogue hosted a troop?

There's a Sea Scouts program. Where I'm from is landlocked so I don't know anything about it, but Horseshoe Bay or a nearby bigger town would definitely have Sea Scouting!

Lastly, here are the current Merit Badge categories: it covers a lot more than knots! Ace often gets into hacking in pre-series fics by hanging out at the library with his mom after school. But what if he was introduced to programming in Scouts? And I'm sure Florence helped him complete many merit badges.

Automotive Maintenance

Backpacking

Bird Study

Camping

Canoeing

Chemistry

Coin Collecting

Cooking

Digital Technology

Engineering

Fire Safety

First Aid

Fly-Fishing

Golf

Indian Lore

Insect Study

Journalism

Law

Mining in Society

Nuclear Science

Photography

Plant Science

Programming

Radio

Safety

Scouting Heritage

Skating (I know we never see him on a skateboard but come on)

Surveying

Sustainability

Swimming (the way Ace is built heavier in top looks like a competitive swimming shape in my experience!)

[etsuven]

uhh totally unbiased but xiao would look GORGEOUS in a skirt. have you sEEN that mans waist holy shit homedawg omg. xiao (〃ω〃)

omg you’re so right <3 anyways here’s smut i need to write about this- sorry that i answered this so late i had it in my drafts for like forever but never finished it until today skhdjsjsksm

rating: smut ofc

this takes place in a modern au maybe??? idk dhskndjddn i just wanna see him in a skirt. also maybe ooc xiao!

there’s a lot of slow teasing in this because i love slow teasing ugh the tension

“this… this is embarrassing.” xiao fiddled with his outfit, staring at himself in the mirror as he contemplated changing before you came home.

around two weeks ago, you had brought up how you thought boys wearing skirts was pretty hot. ‘easy access’ you called it. xiao felt himself blush as he remembered the rant you had.

being someone who wanted your attention more than he dared to admit, xiao decided that the best choice would be to dress in one and let you indulge in your fantasies. but what he didn’t realize was that it would be super embarrassing.

of course, since xiao had told you nothing of his plan, you had no idea what was waiting for you when you stepped through the door of your shared apartment. it was quiet, which wasn’t that unusual, but you still yelled out for him in case he was home. (you didn’t want him to think you were an intruder!)

“xiao, sweetheart! i’m home!” you took your time at the front of the door, doing whatever you needed to do before finally stepping into the main area. a small and muffled ‘i’m here’ echoed through the home, and you found yourself wondering why there was a bit of strain to it. you hoped he wasn’t doing something he wasn’t supposed to…

placing your bag next to the couch, you began to walk towards the main bedroom, your steps slower than usual just in case he had to make himself presentable. you slowly opened the door, expecting to see xiao covering himself up or something…

but instead you were met with a prettier sight.

xiao was sitting on the bed, looking to the side with a furious blush on his face. his hands were balled up beside him, and you found your eyes trailing lower from the cropped white shirt to his waist and the pretty skirt that clung to it.

“xiao, what…” you trailed off in disbelief, trying to ignore the ache that had suddenly appeared in between your legs. your boyfriend glanced at you, his eyes widening as he began to notice the effect he had on you.

“you mentioned something about guys wearing… skirts,” his legs unconsciously closed, thighs squeezing together as the situation dawned on him. thanks to the thin fabric he was wearing, you could do anything to him… strangely, he wanted that. “so i bought one… do you like it?”

with a quick nod, you walked towards him, placing a warm hand on his cheek before leaning down to connect your lips. the kiss started off sweet at first- a simple ‘i missed you’ after coming home from work.

it would have gotten more passionate if you hadn’t pulled away, not wanting to spoil the main surprise for yourself.

“come here, love.” climbing on the bed, you gestured for xiao to come closer, laughing slightly as he weakly wobbled over to you. he climbed on top of you, one leg on each side before finally settling on your lap.

you gave him another quick kiss before leaning over to the nightstand and pulling out his favorite toy, a vibrator that made him plead and beg every time you used it. xiao’s thighs tensed a bit around you, and out of the corner of your eye, you could see the fabric of his skirt twitch a bit. was he even wearing anything under that?…

placing a hand on his chest, you gently pushed him down, taking note of how your lover made sure to keep the skirt down. “i’ve seen you naked many times now…” you commented, a teasing smile on your face.

xiao rolled his eyes, choosing to stay quiet. the blush from earlier was still on his face, though it wasn’t as prominent as it was earlier. suddenly, your hand was on his thigh, and he found himself tensing at the feeling.

“ah, sorry.” you rubbed up and down his leg, occasionally squeezing at the flesh. each time you got closer to where xiao really wanted your hand, but without fail, you would manage to stop just before the area.

‘what a tease.’ he thought.

you always did this, so he should be used to it. even when the two of you first started having sex, you would always find a way to tease the poor man- whether it be edging him before he ever got to cum, or placing lingering and light touches upon him and walking away before anything ever came of it.

not that he didn’t like it, he just wanted you to get to the point sometimes. luckily he didn’t have to wait that long today.

your fingers grazed the hem of his skirt, stopping just before the sensitive skin of his upper thigh. “can i?” and like always, you asked for permission before doing anything else. xiao found himself nodding quickly, his breaths quickening once you finally went past the thin barrier.

the next few minutes went by slower than he liked. while you did end up touching his cock like he wanted, it was only a few strokes before you took your hand off of it and continued with your teasing. xiao felt a while leave his throat, squirming when both of your hands instead found themselves on his pretty waist.

you made sure to slowly drag your nails up and down his sides, alternating between the front and back of his body. he pleaded and begged for you to just touch him, but you blissfully ignored his pleads. for now, at least…

once you were satisfied with your teasing, you flipped up xiao’s skirt, grinning at the cute little gasp he let out. his cock was fully hard at this point, twitching slightly with precum leaking out of the tip. the head was a pretty shade of pink, and you found yourself licking your lips at the sight.

grabbing the vibrator from beside you, you tapped it against xiao’s tip, watching as he flinched at the light contact. “hmm.. you’ve gone a bit far from me, baby.” and indeed he had. during the attack on his waist, xiao had managed to wiggle a few inches away from your body. that wouldn’t do…

grasping his thighs, you pulled him closer to you, laughing at the yelp he let out at you suddenly manhandling him. smiling slightly, you flipped the switch and once again placed the toy against his cock, watching in satisfaction at the pretty arch he made from the contact.

“hah- oh, fuck!” xiao squeezed his eyes shut, his arms flying out in an attempt to grasp onto something. and that something happened to be your thighs that his back was now resting on. little whimpers left his mouth in his attempts to keep his moans in, and occasionally his thighs would squeeze around your hips when he found a particular vibration satisfying.

you watched in awe, eyes wandering around his body. he was so pretty, honestly. pretty lips stuck in an ‘O’ shape, pretty eyes and eyelashes brimming with tears, pretty waist on display for you and only you to touch. goodness, what did you do to deserve him?

“(y-y/n), please! it’s too much, i can’t-!” feeling yourself smile, you glanced down at his hips, taking note of how he had started to grind against you. the thing is- with xiao, vibrators had always seemed to be a bit too much for him. he could handle handjobs and blowjobs, but as soon as it came to using a vibrator, he always seemed to be more sensitive.

but even though he says the toy is too much, he always seems to pick it whenever it’s time for you to play.

“it’s too much, hmm?” xiao flinched at the teasing tone in your voice, forcing his eyes open in order to look at your face. you dragged the vibrator up, brushing it against his tip and watching as he dragged his hips further into you. “it’s too much, and yet- you’re still grinding against me.”

xiao’s eyes widened as he looked away in embarrassment. in his defense, he couldn’t help it! the vibrations were so strong, and it didn’t help that you set it to his favorite pattern. so technically it was your fault! but he knew better than to say that to your face.

“i know but-“ there was a light squeeze at your thighs. you placed a hand on his, squeezing back in reassurance. “it feels so good, and i’m gonna cum!”

removing your hand from his, you placed it on his cheek, rubbing at the soft flesh. they were soft, and even a bit chubby in some spots. you always found it cute. “are you going to be a good boy and cum for me?”

your lover nodded, his dark hair moving slightly- save for a few sweaty strands that were stuck on his forehead. a little noise of acknowledgment left his mouth, and you deemed it enough to finally give him what he wanted.

wrapping your hand around his cock, you began to jerk him off along with the vibrations. xiao began to wiggle again, giving up on holding back his moans. his hand grabbed at your wrist as if he were trying to get you to stop, but you continued.

you took note of his body language as you teased his cock. his lower stomach and thighs were tensing, and his head was thrown back in pleasure. there was an intense blush on his face, and the redness seemed to spread past his neck and down his shirt.

suddenly, his hand flew up to clutch at the sheets beside his head, and his thighs began to tense around your hips. “s-shit, i’m gonna!-” his back arched as he moaned loudly, cum spilling out of his pretty cock.

you continued to touch him through his orgasm, watching in amusement as he squirmed and whimpered at the slight overstimulation. once you felt that you had teased him enough, you turned off the vibrator- which made him let out a sigh of relief.

“c’mere, sweetheart…” you placed your hands on his hips, helping him sit up and lay down next to you. he was panting softly, covering his pink face with his hands. your eyes trailed down his body. there was cum on his stomach, and some of it had even managed to reach the hem of his shirt.

the thought of cleaning him up in a certain way graced your mind, but you figured that he had had enough teasing for the day. “you okay?” you began to run your fingers through his hair, smiling as he leaned into your touch.

“i’m fine, just a bit tired…” he whispered, unconsciously nuzzling into the crook of your neck. usually he was too embarrassed to do something like this, but maybe his mind was too foggy from the orgasm to really rationalize what he was doing. either way you didn’t mind.

you laid a small kiss upon his shoulder before sitting up. xiao grabbed at you, a whimper leaving his mouth at the loss of warmth. you resisted the urge to aww at him, instead comforting him with your words. “i’m going to get something to clean you up with, okay? i’ll be right back.”

once xiao acknowledged what you were doing, you went to grab some materials. a wet cloth to clean him, a bottle of water, and a change of clothes. you came back a minute or so later, taking the time to make sure he was all clean and changed before laying back down next to him.

he once again buried his face in your neck, causing you to laugh at the feeling. you stayed quiet for a bit, not wanting to break the comforting silence paired with the sound of your lovers soft breathing. but then you felt lips moving against your neck.

“…love you…”

your eyes widened in shock. xiao usually wasn’t the type to say things like this first. you were normally the one to initiate things. a soft laugh left your lips, and you grabbed at xiao’s hand, intertwining your fingers and squeezing slightly at his hand.

“i love you too, xiao….” the two of you then continued to lay in silence, wrapped in each others arms as you finally fell asleep…

[ice-cream-writes-stuff]

Twst Mirable Madrigal

"Damn it.." You curse underneath your breath, noticing the small tear in your bag. Remembering the previous day before, where Ace had set it aflame on accident with his magic. Then Deuce using his unique magic to try to get back at Ace. Which still had your bag be covered in flames. You were just glad Kalim was around and doused out the flame.

You were surprised for it to still be in tact and not a pile of ashes. The bag now only looked like it went through hell, twice.

The tear was.. A bit big, you were thankful the bag wasn't coming undone. But you still had to walk all the way back to the campus with the fear of the fabric finally meeting its end.

Why did Sam's supply of Tuna have to come in shipment tomorrow!?

Grumbling at your luck, you try to think of quick solution.

Buy a new bag?

No, you only brought enough mora for tuna and maybe a snack for yourself and Yuu.

What else-

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a loud collision.

"Sorry-!"

Turning your head, you notice a guy accidentally bumping into another person while holding tons of bags in his arms. Teetering back and forth as he tries to waddle forward.

A small bag that was placed on top of the mountain of things he held fell to the ground next your feet. Picking it up, you watch the teen carefully go on about there day. Unknown to them one of there items were missing.

Picking up the bag, you call out to them, quickly striding over as they paused in their steps.

"Oh! Thank you!" You hear them cheer, but couldn't make out their face, mostly due to it being hidden because of the items.

"No problem.. Do you want me to help you carry some of those things? They look pretty heavy." You ask politely, feeling bad for the poor boy and his arms.

"Nope! Don't worry! I got it." He huffed, maneuvering past you.

You watch him walk off as more items fall. You sigh in agitation, reminding you of your vice-leader, Yuu.

You follow after them and pick up the fallen items as the two of you reach the main destination.

The entrance to Royal Sword Academy.

"Uh-oh.." You whisper, as the pile of items the male carried started teeter back and fourth before finally landing on... You, apparently.

With a squeal of fright, the items buried you as try to move away.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" He yelled, helping to dig you out of your soon to be grave. When your head reached the surface, your suprised by a unhappy face that greeted you.

"Why were you following me and are you okay?"

After explaining what happened, he thanked you as the two of you pick up the fallen items.

"What's your name?"

"{Twst Mirabel}," he stated, pushing up his glasses with a bright smile while picking up a bag unfamiliar to him. "Aw, this poor bag. What happened to it?"

"That one's mine, my friends messed it up." You state, picking up the last bag.

"So, where do we drop these off?"

"Let's head up to my dorm room, we can place the bags there."

-

"Oi! (Y/N)!"

"What's up Grim?" You ask, patting down your apron as Yuu pulls out the bread in the oven.

Grim, who was looking at the bag of goodies he received from your trip stares at you and Yuu. Before looking back at the bag.

"There's a mini Yuu and you in this bag, and the great Grim himself. Plus someone I've never seen before." The firey cat questions, pulling out the small dolls from your freshly stitched and embroidered bag.

"That's from friend of mine, you can play with them after dinner, but don't burn them."

-

[I know it's a year late, but here you go ya'll! Get ready for more ideas! Also, I appreciate comments and asks!!]

[thechaoticdruid]

The Spawn Vs The Ascendant (2) [Sneak Peek]

Note: This is not finished. It may be altered when the full chapter comes out. Also 18+ this part has some steaminess. Nothing seriously graphic tho.

Possible Trigger Warnings: Blood, sexual content, death, Ascended Astarion, Toxic vampire master and slave relationship.

First Part

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[Savegame 2: About a month after the defeat of the Elderbrain.]

Tav walked into the brothel, hugging himself with his arms as his ruby colored eyes flicked back and forth around the room nervously. The robe he wore while indeed quite useful revealed far too much of his thighs for the young man’s liking. 

“Something troubling you, little love?” His partner smiled, looping his arm around the shorter male’s waist.  

“I’m fine…I just….feel a bit exposed…” Tav shivered a bit. Though it was his own idea to put on this accursed robe to delight his partner for their night out he was now realizing he maybe had been in over his head. 

“Well aren't you a beautiful little lady.~” A tall and  slightly drunk sounding half-orc stumbled across the room as he looked Tav over with a lustful gaze.

“Don’t you worry, my treasure. If anyone lays a hand on you without my permission I'll rip out their throat.” Astarion tugged the spawn against his form before planting a slightly aggressive kiss upon Tav’s cheek. Tav gave a small smile and leaned into Astarion's embrace before the two of them headed upstairs. 

“LADY!?” All of Tav's bashfulness faded away as his expression turned to anger. His fangs were bared and his fists were clenched.  “I'm a boy- er..man! I'm a man!” Tav huffed out with a wolf-like growl.

The half-orc blinked a bit, looking Tav over. Tav's androgynous looking appearance was confusing the brothel goer.  His soft facial features and long eyelashes did make him look rather feminine. That along with his short stature and current attire definitely did not help.  

“But you're so pretty," the half-orc said, his words slurring as he took a step closer towards the short vampire spawn. "You look like a woman to me.”

Astarion watched as his little spawn shook with rage. 

“Oh dear.” He sighed, looking down at his nails for a moment as his pet proceeded to stomp towards the much larger male. Astarion's little love did have quite the vicious temper at times. 

 He raised one clawed finger after another counting.

One. Two. Three. 

The sound of a scuffle could be heard, followed by crashing and wolf growls all the while the vampire lord started looking over his nails. A slightly off-key hum leaving his lips as a few screams from the half-orc were heard. After a few moments there was a thud before Tav walked back over towards his lover. 

“Sorry, I may have got a little distracted.” Tav rubbed the back of his head. An unconscious and severely bruised body laid behind him. 

“I'm a little disappointed you left him alive, but I am eager to get on with tonight's main event so let's not waste anymore time.” Astarion held out his hand allowing his lover to take it before the two of them continued up another set of stairs. Tav's little scene had caused a few heads to turn though no one dared to get involved.  

They entered a dark room on the top floor. The sweet scent of lavender hit Tav's senses as he and Astarion entered the room.

“Back again already?” A seductive voice rang out. 

A female drow stepped out and wrapped her arms around Tav just as a second male drow moved in and did the same to Astarion. “Did you miss us that badly?” The male purred. Tav's shivered a bit before he looked down at his feet. 

“How could we not? The service last time was….mouthwatering.~” Astarion turned to face the drow behind him, “wasn't it my treasure?” 

“Ah….y-yes….it was really nice..” Tav stuttered, if he could still blush his face would be on fire right now. He bit his lip, his left fang drawing blood.

“Perhaps we should continue on from last time then?” The female drow said, lips dangerously close to Tav's ear. 

~~~

Nearly thirty minutes had passed. Lustful cries and groans echoed throughout the room. Once everyone was spent, Tav found himself snuggled up in his master's lap, his head pressed against his chest as he listened to Astarion's heartbeat. 

It was strange to think that not too long ago these roles had been reversed. The sound was comforting even if the person it came from became less and less so these days. 

“Pet.” Astarion spoke quietly as he noticed the two courtesans had drifted off into a slumber. 

“Yes?” Tav glanced upwards.  

“You haven't fed in three days.” 

“I'm not hungry…” Tav lied, he could feel the gaping maw deep inside him crying out as they spoke, but he did his damndest to ignore it. He'd only ever really allowed himself to feed from Astarion since his turning, which did not happen often. ‘Too much may drive you mad.’ His master would say. Perhaps that was possible, but knew it was more likely that Astarion didn't want to risk giving him his freedom back.  

“What have I said about lying to me?” Astarion gripped his spawn’s face, pinching Tav's cheeks between two fingers and making him return his gaze.

“I'm sorry.” Tav replied.

Astarion thought for a moment before glancing over at the sleeping bodies besides. Tav's eyes widened in surprise. “No, Astarion, please don't make me-” 

“Feed,” was all his master said, glowing red eyes bore into his soul before his body began to react on its own. He moved over to the male drow slowly, his teeth grit together and deep inside feelings of utter disgust and pure delight waged war against one another.  Shakily Tav placed a clawed hand over the male and turned him so that his neck was exposed.  His eyes grew wide at the sight of the grey skinned male’s jugular, his tongue instinctively flicked over his fangs. 

Finally he bit down, sinking his fangs into the mortal’s flesh. Warm blood dripped onto his tongue, sending a feeling of euphoria coursing through his body.  Tav moaned barely even noticing his master petting his head before Astarion sank his own fangs into the female drow, not wasting a second to begin feasting upon her life force.  It only took a few moments before both courtesans were sucked dry. Tav breathed out heavily, blood dripped down his chin, his hands shook as he looked down at the lifeless body in front of him. They didn't need to die. They had never done anything wrong to him. This was sickening.

“That's a good boy.” Astarion's voice rang out, breaking Tav from his trance. “Now come here.~”

The Vampire Lord pulled his spawn back into his lap, possessively draping his arms around him before locking their lips. Tav hesitantly returns the kiss allowing his master's tongue inside to claim and dominate his mouth. “Mmm…” Tav moaned, feeling Astarion pull him flush against his bare body, leaving no space between them as blood and saliva mixed. The spawn wrapped his arms around his master's neck feeling Astarion's nails dig into his back slightly. The vampire lord pulled back a bit, taking in a breath of air before forcing his tongue back into Tav's mouth, his hands gripping his ass as he began to grind against him.

Feelings of guilt and shame were forgotten for now as Tav allowed himself to become lost in his master. 

[slightly-warmer-hibiscus-tea]

My Touchstarved MC / OC time

Because I've been saving it for today^-^

[Warning: long rambling, and possibly no editing]

I have come to the point where I view the main LI's as my side characters to my silly little cannon divergent lore. So everything is completely made up, and also I'm going to rewrite my MCs to fit the actual game when it comes out. so there is my disclaimer before I head off into Lala land.

I've made different MCs based on the three backstories you can choose when you enter the game.

The Alchemist (Naudedel)

Hound (Hound)

Unnamed (Noble)

Each is still cursed but each curse takes on a different form or is gained at a different time along the journey to Eridia.

Noble is the one with the original curse from the game. They corrupt the minds of those they touch. Except on rare occasions...

Hound is a by-product of Nobel's hands. Hound is (till they reach Eridia...) the only one who can touch Nobel without punishment. Though she seems to have still retained her sanity, there is one man who refuses to deny the golden veins running under her skin.

Naudedel was an experiment gone rogue. An attempt to create an artificial God gone wrong. Turning his back on his creator, but still tries to reach for a false heaven on his own.

In my little headcanon world, they are all traveling together as a found family. Hound acts as their guardian, Noble is the oldest, Naudy is the weird middle child, and then there is Cetcher, who is a stand-alone OC who was adopted into their little family.

| And here is a little family photo/reference sheet :D - I'll explain the designs later |

Also, designs aren't finalized completely!! (which is why Hound is missing the prosthetic mentioned below)

The General BackStory: part I

Hound meets Noble when they are around six and takes care of them along with the help of her then-husband Cove. The two worked as mercenaries till taking Noble in as their own. The young couple promised to watch over Noble as they travel to Erida to try and find a cure for their curse. Along the way Hound and Cove hit what they called... a rough patch. Which resulted in Cove severing Hound's leg, not before she could take his good arm. Though Hound can't remember much of their life before that fight. She does know that he is still out there, and looking for them. But a swordsman without his dominant hand isn't much concern for her so she pushes on with the child at her side.

That is when they find Naudedel. The prodigy son of a mage who lived at the top of the hill in the remains of a small standing town. The mage was an older woman, but hospitable to the young mother and her child. She was also very taken by Noble after learning about their infliction. And wanted to help them in their journey to Erida seeing she had ties there from her past. This is where Hound was given her prosthetic, fueled by alchemy and mechanics. Noble took a liking to Naudedel despite his moody disposition and the two (to Naudy's dismay) were stuck at the hip during their stay. However, things didn't stay pleasant for long. As if the air changed in the small town, dire truths flowed with it. Hound and Noble soon learned about the true nature of the boy bound to the hill. The 12th experiment, the 12th body that surprisingly hadn't been dropped in one of the many pre-made graves that ran along the hillside yet. "What a resilient boy she's found!" was the last macabre expression Hound was willing to put up with from the townsfolk before marching up that damned hill only to find a darker twist in the doorway. Naudedel was the one to free himself. The one to kill his mother and step off that hill in his own shoes. Hound just happened to walk in front of him. Or at least that's how he is allowed to tell the story.

The now trio continue their journey, arriving in one broken small town to the next. Around the time the young ones are teenagers and Hound is theoretically pushing late 30s yet every familiar face they meet on the road swears she hasn't aged a wink, They start a town riot...

...

However, that's a story for another time. Anyways, the kids adopted Cetcher as their new baby sister. Cetcher worked as an assistant for an apothecary in town. Though assistant is more of a stretch, servant or pet would have been more fitting. The man running the shop treated the child less than an errand boy and refused to elaborate on where he got her. So Naudedel made it his mission to run off with the kid with the ever-so-graceful help of Noble. After convincing Hound to take her in, the glossy-eyed baby joined their one-wagon caravan. With surprisingly great help from Naudedel, Hound taught Cetcher how to read and write, which might have been the start of her greatest joys, at least in the moment.

But they were on their way. And spent another 5 years on the road before getting close to the city. But that was where they would part ways for a year. Naudedel had found a lead to possibly undoing Noble's curse. But it would be out of their way and a possible goose chase. And Due to an unfortunate run-in with a certain swordsman wielding his signature longsword in his non-dominant hand. They needed to get on the move fast. The plan was for Naudedel and Cetcher to go off the path and for Hound to watch over Noble and make it into Eridia safely. This was the plan, but of course, things would never go accordingly. Here we are in the current day, Noble alone in Eridia left in Leander's care, Hound presumed dead, Cetcher lost in the Fogfall, and Naudedel making contracts with deities he is too proud to admit are over his head.

:)

But yes, my cornerstones of my silly found family.

[elvisabutler]

phila

summary: he was a frat boy. you were not a sorority girl. could i make it any more obvious. or how you fall for a frat boy and an incident happens that makes you realize how much he cares for you and just how much his friends do too. fandom: austin butler rating: m but not because anyone has sex more for rough content. pairing: austin butler ( frat boy ) x female reader word count: 2823 warnings: talking shit on fraternities and sororities. mild insecurity. a bit of misogyny. frat bros being heinous human beings. non consensual drug use. violence in the form of a drunken brawl. roofies being mentioned and used. dudebros being assholes. beer bottles being thrown. implied undressing while unconscious done by a trusted person. completely averted attempt at sa/sexual assault. author’s note: y'all can essentially blame @prompted-wordsmith for this one because they're the one who put the little nugget in my brain back when we talked about this. heed the warnings, please. i didn't tag this as austin's main post tag because i know it deals with a sensitive topic but it's also probably— the last frat austin piece i might write unless anyone has something they specifically want to see. same goes for my tags for all of you. which, truly i refrain from tagging when it comes to things i feel most of you would prefer not to read and this is no exception. i believe i put all the warnings but feel free to tell me if i missed any. hope you enjoy if you read and thank y'all for your support. also i know not all chapters of SAE are like this but they are known to be a— bad frat so to speak.

Going to frat parties is not your idea of fun. It's a fact that Austin knows and will usually acknowledge and allow you to just skip them with promises that he won't do anything funny with any other girls. Not that you don't trust him, but you know how touchy he can get while tipsy, and you know as well as anyone sometimes touches can be misconstrued. There are lone exceptions, though, the parties that Austin begs to have you at so he can show you off and tell everyone how much of a genius his girlfriend is. They're always held at other frat houses, and every so often, you start to wonder if you're being dragged around like a trophy only to realize that's not the case at all. If anything, it's him trying to prove to everyone that you're kind of settling for him and that you could get better guys. It's a silly notion, you think, but it is what it is and you go along with it for Austin's delight only to remind him when you're safely in each other's arms in bed that he's the only one for you. Besides, what sort of girl is supposed to go for the premed and theater guy, hm?

Tonight is one of those nights where you're in a simple black and white jumpsuit and Austin is in what you like to call party causal. Or a step up from his normal tank tops but not full formal or business wear, but it involves jeans that make his ass look flawless so you're pretty sure you're winning just because of that one sole fact. It's easier to hitch a ride or just walk with Austin when it comes to heading to these parties and tonight is no different with you sitting in the passenger side of his car as his hand interlocks with yours.

"You're going to have to let go of my hand, Austin. Pretty sure no one is going to let us live it down if we get into a car accident because we both know better," you laugh, pulling his head up to your lips to kiss it as he shrugs.

"I can drive one handed." He attempts to defend his actions only to earn a look from you that has him sighing. "Hitting the curb that one time doesn't count."

A laugh erupts from your mouth as you finally move your hand away despite his pout with those plush lips of his. "Right. Do I have to call Darce and them to get more proof or do I win this argument just because you knew I was going to mention that?"

Austin pauses and looks for a moment like he's going to present a defense worthy of a brilliant lawyer before, "I think we're at a draw."

There's a moment where you look like you're going to playfully argue before you just smile. "Drive, Butler."

Normally Austin has a tendency to stick close by to you at these parties, not because he doesn't trust you, but because he- despite being a nice and trusting person knows better than to trust a lot of the frats on campus. Most of the time any thing that happens are just rumors but he knows through the grapevine that there's a few people who shouldn't be on campus but have Daddy's money to help them avoid getting kicked out. But this particular party has some pledges he lost out on and likes to check up on from time to time. You're a big girl, though, and he knows you'll be fine. He knows if anyone tries anything they're in for a world of hurt before he even knows there's a problem.

In hindsight, he should have known better than to leave you alone at this particular party. The time before the party had been a little rushed and your normal preparation of having enough to drink ahead of time was left by the wayside. It meant this time around you were nursing a coke trying to be the designated driver at a house most people know better than to have open drinks at. You try to mingle as best you can, attempting to use this to build some connection to someone knowing that despite everything this frat is one of the richer and thus more connected ones and it shows in the talk you hear among some people. Your eyes instinctively seek out Austin more than once and are relieved that he's close enough to you that no one would dare try anything until you find yourself face to face with a guy you've met before.

"Y/N! Fancy seeing you hear. AB finally let you out?" The guy— Jackson, you think his name is— smiles, his canines being exposed when he does. He reminds you of a wolf in all the worst ways.

"Jackie," you mockingly croon, setting down your drink for just a moment. "Cute how you think Austin can tell me what to do like that. Andrew let you run around off the leash?"

You watch as a muscle in Jackson's jaw twitches and you want to laugh but you stop yourself when you see him start to open his mouth. "Funny. AB knows how to pick his bitches. He sent me over here to talk to you actually. Said he wanted to mend bridges between our two houses. He knows Aussie's a little mad about that—"

"How you sniped the kids you called charity cases in your pledge class? When everyone knew they were shoo ins for Phi Kap. But little Andy got it in his head they needed to SAE boys. Yeah, I heard the story." The words come out more vicious than you intend them to but strangely Jackson doesn't react. "What?"

Jackson laughs and for some reason you feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up almost as if to warn you of something. It's then that you remember you set down your drink and pick it back up. As you're picking it up, you miss how Jackson smiles. "You really are something else. Shame you settled for the poor white trash surfer boy. When you get tired of him, you'd fit right in here, Y/N. Fucking mean enough."

With that Jackson walks away and you find yourself wondering what just happened as you take a sip of your Coke. Austin catches your eye from across the room and winks, smiling at you before turning to talk to the freshman he was already talking to.

Austin knows that two things are wrong when he looks up thirty minutes later after catching up with multiple Freshman and being interrupted by some asshole whose name he didn't even catch. You're not where you've been for almost the entire party which wouldn't be strange except he can't really find you anywhere. He pulls out his phone to see a missed call from you, a voicemail and a text message that looks like the ones you send him when you've fallen asleep with your phone in your hand. That alone worries him and has him listening to the voicemail only to hear your voice sound wrong in a way that has him seeing red. It doesn't take him long to find one of the upperclassmen— Trey, he thinks? Maybe Trevor, Austin honestly doesn't care as long as he has some idea of where you went.

"Did you see where the girl I came here with went? My girlfriend— She—" Austin trips over his words, suddenly reverting back to that shy boy he once was when he was younger unable to order his own food. The man rolls his eyes.

"The uptight one? Dude, she went to where the bathrooms are. Maybe the bedroom?" His hand motions in the direction of a hallway and Austin shoves his way past multiple people to the third bathroom where he hears something that sounds like you groaning. Austin doesn't waste another second before he's against the door saying your name and somehow you manage to get the door unlocked.

Austin finds you on the floor near the toilet and all he thinks is that you look exceptionally out of it. Your eyes barely focus on his face and when trying to reach him you decide the under the sink counter door is his leg. "Aus—" You start before trailing off. "Why'm I in the bath'oom?"

Part of why Austin likes you— loves you as much as he does is how well spoken you are so hearing you like this makes him so terrified that he's grabbing your hands and yanking you up with a grunt. Your body practically melts into his before you hear another knock at the door and see some of the boys from Austin's frat looking at the scene. Kelvin's the one who speaks first.

"Did they—Aus, man, you know what this looks like."

Austin's grip tightens around your waist and you look up at him and press your nose into his shirt, inhaling his comforting scent even as your mind jumps and swirls and does everything in between being normal. "Tight. Too tight."

Everything feels too tight, your jumpsuit, your bra, his arms but you can't figure out how to get out those words as Austin's grip loosens just a hair when he turns to look at his friends. The boys he'd trust with his life and with yours. "I— I don't know how the fuck they did this but find whoever did it. Fucking— she can barely stand up and she wasn't drinking. You guys know that. Who does this— I'm just here to talk to the newbies not to— Not to put my girlfriend in harms way."

It's then that Austin watches Xavier and Adam already leaving the doorway and after a moment he hears a crack of a beer bottle breaking.

"Who did it to Y/N? We just want to talk, man! Take you so you can see your handiwork!" Xavier's voice silences the crowd before there's a rush of voices and cursing that has Luke joining the fray only for you to hear him shout,

"Where the fuck did you get a beer can like that?" It's a valid question but one he says while grabbing a foldable chair and brandishing it in his hands as someone— Trey? Trevor? Alexander? Someone tries to run off after laughing at the scene.

"She deserved it," he mocks as Luke steps closer to him chair still in hand. On your shaky legs Austin starts to try and lead you back to his car before Luke does something you never thought was possible outside of pretend WWE matches. He throws a chair on top of someone's head. Your ears faintly hear the cracking of wood and you wince against Austin before he holds you tighter to him.

"You're fine. They're— They're not gonna hurt you." Austin whispers against your hair and you can smell the faint traces of alcohol on his breath. "I think they're gonna hurt all of the upperclassmen of SAE but not you."

As if on cue there's a bottle that flies by Austin's head and shouts that sounds like multiple of Austin's friends trying to tackle someone.

"Fuckin' tryin' to knock him out?" "Already messed with his girlfriend!" "Your balls that small Andy??"

In another time and place you'd be laughing and while telling the boys it's not worth it but honestly you can't right now. Truthfully if you could right now you'd be joining with them, getting in hits just the same as the rest of them. It frustrates you to not be able to but at the same time there's a warm feeling in your chest unrelated to whatever is circulating in your system at knowing these boys are willing to do this for you.

Someone throws another bottle at Austin's head and it barely misses you before there's another set of shouts and more cursing and general ruckus. Austin pulls you closer once more and starts to head to the door as you hear Tom's bellow to Austin.

"B, get her outta here! We got this! Just get us some rides!" Rides home is what he means but he's interrupted by someone trying to climb on his back. "Now what the fuck are ya doin' bruh?"

Austin takes that as a cue to rush out, only stopping for a moment to shout something about not getting arrested before getting you both in the car. He knows he's not supposed to drive after he's had any sort of liquor but you're in no state to drive yourself and he doesn't trust that his car will stay in one piece if he leaves it here. The second he starts the car your eyes start to droop down and he frowns looking at you.

"I'm so sorry, babe."

You wake up the next morning to Austin on the phone sounding more agitated the more words are spoken. It's a strange thing to see but even more strange is how you're in a pair of pjs you've left in his room at the house with no recollection of how you got in them.

"I know it goes against the code of— they drugged my girlfriend. I think when comparing the two we have the moral high ground. I'll take— I'll take punishment for some of them but you're not shutting down our chapter. I'll handle— yes I can handle it!" His next words are a little incomprehensible and you just sort of stare at him while pulling a blanket tighter around you until he hangs up and realizes you're awake.

"Hey. You— How're you feeling?"

You pause before answering and sigh. "Like shit. I don't— What happened last night? I remember bathrooms and beer bottles? And a chair?"

"I— I'm not really sure. You were where you were at one point, then you disappeared into the bathroom after you drank something? I don't— I really don't know. I found you when I realized and when I did. The boys and I realized you were— uh— that you had something in you that was definitely not something you took willingly." Austin moves to sit on the bed next to you and pulls you close to him. "I got you out of there and— there might have been a few injuries? Involving fists and chairs and bottles. General mayhem."

A silence falls over the two of you before your eyes widen. "You mean they— Did you just tell me I had a bunch of frat bros fighting for me?"

Austin can't help the quiet laugh that leaves him as he nods. "And I didn't even ask them to. They saw you and some of SAE said some— very stupid things and yeah. Tom shooed me out before a bottle hit us. They're in a lot of trouble right now but no one got arrested which is a— It's surprising but I don't question the charm of some of us."

"What about the whole frat—" The words die on your lips as soon as Austin's hand touches your cheek and he shakes his head.

"We'll be fine. Fighting with another frat is bad but not nearly as bad as members drugging someone on purpose considering I think— I think they singled you out specifically. Or at least figured you'd be a fun target. I don't— It doesn't matter. We look better in comparison." Austin explains, watching you bite your lip. "It's fine, babe. I promise. Honestly, they care more about you and if you're okay. Just like me."

Which is to honestly say, stop worrying in Austin's roundabout way. You don't speak for a good five minutes, choosing instead to listen to Austin's heartbeat before you finally move to try and get up. Austin quickly puts a stop to that even as you frown. "Austin, I'm fine just let me get up."

"Future doctor's orders. You're staying in bed today just so I can keep an eye on you. Promise you can do whatever tomorrow. Just— please, babe."

After a moment you move to crawl back into bed and glare a bit at him. "Go get me food, then. I'm— I think I'm so hungry I'm nauseous? I don't know just— food." You stare at the door and swear you hear someone walking by it. "And I guess send in the guys? Are they being creepy at the door?"

The answering yell of no has you and Austin laughing as he opens the door to find Tom chilling against the door, before barging in. "They sent me for recon. Ya good?"

You share a look with Austin as you nod. "Yeah, go tell them I'm good. And that next time try and defend my honor a little more subtly. And tell Luke he's got to show me that chair trick."

taglist: none for this.

[mandos-mind-trick]

Here's To The Future - Part 4: Rampage

Summary: The war’s over. That should be cause for celebration, except the wrong side won. Things begin to change quickly, and it doesn’t take long for Midnight to realize something’s not right among the clone army. She should be glad the war is over, but the threat of her losing her boys is all too real. She did swear she would do everything she could to keep them from being separated when the war ended.

She’s not going to give up on that promise. Even if it kills her.

Pairing: The Bad Batch x reader (no clonecest)

Warnings: Some violence, mentions of slavery, a brief mention of blood and injuries.

A/N: Takes place during episode 5. Not much plot wise, mostly just a filler to get to the next part which will be sort of the build up to the climax of the story. Also an excuse to have Midnight and Omega interact a bit more.

Also I am still looking for a beta reader for this one, so if you’re interested…

< Previous | Next > | SERIES MASTERLIST | MAIN MASTERLIST

“But she looks so peaceful! I don’t want to wake her up!” 

“She’s been asleep almost sixteen standard hours. While she likely needs the rest to catch up on her missed sleep, oversleeping any more may inhibit her cognitive abilities, awareness, reaction time-” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever that means. I’ll wake her up.” 

She’s already mostly awake by the time large, calloused fingers trail along her cheek. Though the noise in the ship isn’t anything new, it was usually dampened by her door. It’s a lot louder in the bunks with nothing but a privacy curtain to keep the sound out. Sure her room is now uninhabited, but she can’t bring herself to leave Crosshair’s bunk yet. Not while it still smells like him. 

“It’s time to get up, cyare.” Wrecker says softly, a vast contrast to his previous volume. 

She leans into his touch, groaning quietly. “Five more minutes.” 

“Tech says you have to get up.” Wrecker counters, gently stroking her cheek. “Something about cognitive whatever.” 

“He’s not my mom.” She pouts. “Lemme sleep till we land.” 

“We have landed.” Tech says, appearing next to Wrecker. 

“What?” Midnight sits straight up, narrowly avoiding smacking her head on the top of the bunk. “When? Where”

“We landed moments ago on Ord Mantell. We’re investigating the contact Echo knows about.” Tech says, offering a hand. 

Midnight ignores it, sliding out of the bunk with a groan. Wrecker catches her easily, keeping her from falling face first onto the floor. She rubs her eyes, trying to blink life back into her body. “How long was I asleep?” 

“Sixteen standard hours.” Tech answers. “Though you have caught up on some missed sleep, by my calculations you need at least five days of nonstop sleep to recover completely.” 

Midnight blinks at him, her sleep drowsy brain trying to process his words. Had he been keeping track of how much she was sleeping? It’s not that unusual for him, he knew the ins and outs of every member of the squad down to weird little habits they didn’t even notice. The fact that he was paying so much attention to her is touching. 

“Aw, Tech,” She wraps her arms around him, resting her cheek on the hard plastoid of his chestplate. “You’re so sweet. But I need a lot more than that to make up for a lifetime of poor sleep.” 

“Hmm.” Tech adjusts his goggles. “Well, I’ll have to do more calculations...” 

Midnight stands on her toes, kissing his cheek. “You do that, my sweet nerd.” 

She makes to walk away, but a disappointed groan stops her. She turns back around, finding Wrecker standing there with a pout. “Well, what about me?” He asks. 

“I can’t forget you, Wrecker!” She grins, stepping up to him. She stands up on her toes, cupping his face. She traces the scar on his cheek for a moment before she pulls him down, pressing her lips to his in a sweet kiss. 

“Better?” She asks, pulling away. 

He nods, sneaking back in for another kiss. “Better.” 

****

Ord Mantell city reminds her a bit of home. Or, at least this part of it does. It’s brighter than the lower levels of Coruscant, and a lot cleaner, but if she hadn’t known better, she would have assumed they’d returned to Coruscant. 

Despite their missing member, Midnight takes the spot in the middle between Tech and Echo once more. It’s still natural for them, even after all this time. 

Omega walks in front with Hunter, their leader grilling her a bit on the rules he had laid out since their last mishap. 

“Remember the rules?” Hunter asks Omega.

“Don’t wander off, keep my eyes and ears on my surroundings, and trust no one but my squad.” Omega says. 

“And if you get into trouble?” Echo asks. 

“Use my comm and give my location.” Omega says confidently. 

They make their way down an alley, Echo taking the lead. 

“This is the place.” He says, stopping at a flight of stairs leading down to the entrance of a bar. 

“Charming.” Tech snarks.

“I’ve seen worse.” Midnight shrugs, following them down the steps. 

The bar is dimly lit, and mostly empty aside from an Ithorian and a Weequay arguing over a gambling table, and a Trandoshan. 

“Which one of them is Cid?” Hunter asks Echo. 

“I couldn’t tell ya.” Echo answers. “I only heard about Cid. Never actually met him.” 

“That would have been information to share earlier.” Tech says. 

Hunter approaches the Trandoshan. “We’re looking for Cid. You know him?” 

“Cid, huh?” The Trandoshan says. “Nope. Doesn't ring a bell.” 

“What about them?” Hunter nods at the other two who were now getting into a physical fight over whatever they were arguing about. 

“Was I not clear? You’re in the wrong place.” The Trandoshan taps Hunter with the wrench in her hand. “So unless you’re here to spend money, get lost.” 

“Great plan, Echo.” Wrecker says. 

Midnight watches the Trandoshan sit at the bar, narrowing her eyes. She moves closer, leaning up against the bar. Omega plays with the buttons on one of the dejarik tables as the others argue. 

“You know, it’s a bit odd.” Midnight says. “This place is called Cid’s. So unless that name was picked at random...” 

“You’re Cid.” Omega finishes for her, stepping up closer to them. 

The Trandoshan turns, crossing her arms. “You’re both sharper than your friends over there.” 

Omega activates her comm, the sound echoing in the close quarters. “I found Cid.” 

The other four turn to look, Midnight leaning against the bar with a smirk on her face, Omega pointing up at the Trandoshan behind her. 

***

“I had a good thing going with the Jedi.” Cid says as she leads them into her office. “They valued my insights. But now that they’re all dead, the demand for my services has declined. Thanks to this new Empire.” 

Midnight leans against the wall near the door, the others looking around Cid’s office. 

“Times have changed...for all of us.” Hunter says.

“No kidding. I never had clone deserters come to me before.” 

“Yes, well, we separated due to a fundamental difference in ideology.” Tech says. 

“That’s cute, you thinking I care.” Cid cuts him off. “Cut to it and tell me what you want.” 

Echo plugs himself into the scomp, bringing up an image of the bounty hunter. 

“We encountered this woman on Pantora.” Hunter says. “Do you know who she is?” 

“No.” Cid shakes her head, staring at the holo of the woman. “But I know a bounty hunter when I see one.” 

“Can you find out who hired her?” Echo asks.

“That depends on what you boys do for me.” Cid says. 

Hunter and Tech share a look, Midnight rolling her eyes. They were still very new at this.

“Are you fresh outta the tube? You pull a job for me, and I get the information you want. That’s how this mercenary thing works.” 

“Mercenary?” Echo asks. 

“Not too quick, are ya?” Cid asks, moving behind her desk. “Clearly the kid and cover girl back there are the brains of your operation.” 

“What kind of job?” Hunter sighs, asking exasperatedly. 

“A rescue.” Cid says, sinking into her chair as they move closer. “There’s a nice bounty on a kid named Muchi. My sources say she was taken by Zygerrian slavers who are holed up on the other side of the planet. Bring me the kid and I’ll get you your intel.” 

“Well, who collects the bounty?” Wrecker asks. 

“Oh look, it talks. We split the bounty 70-30, my favor. Take it or leave it.” 

“Grab a kid from a few Zygerrians?” Wrecker says, moving towards the door. “We can do that in our sleep.” 

“Looks like we have a deal.” Cid says, tossing the puck to Hunter as the others file out. “Details of the bounty are on that. Don’t screw it up.” 

****

“What do you think?” Hunter asks as she leans up against the side of the pilot’s seat. 

Midnight shrugs. “I don’t trust anyone. But, if she can make good on getting this information, she might be useful to have around.” 

“And if she can provide us a way to make credits...” 

Midnight sighs. “We don’t have to-” 

“Keep your credits.” Hunter cuts her off, already knowing where this is headed. 

“Why?” She presses. “I have more than enough.” 

“I want you to keep them.” Hunter says, his tone telling her he’s done arguing this point. 

Wrecker groans, clutching at his head, really finishing the conversation for them. Midnight moves to the empty seat, plopping herself down. 

“You all right?” Hunter asks Wrecker, watching him. 

“Yeah, yeah. It’s nothing.” Wrecker nods, getting up from the copilot’s seat, leaving the cockpit. 

“According to Cid’s intel, the Zygerrian slave traders are hiding in the ruins of Old Ord Mantell city.” Tech says as Echo and Omega enter the cockpit. 

“What’s a slave trader?” Omega asks, taking Wrecker’s abandoned seat. 

“Someone who buys and sells people for credits.” Tech explains nonchalantly. 

“People can be sold?” Omega asks in surprise. 

“They don’t have a choice.” Echo says. “They’re captives treated like property.” 

“That...doesn’t seem right.” 

“It’s not. And we are going to stop it from happening to that kid.” Echo says. 

“As well as earn a decent amount of credits once the job is complete.” Tech interjects. 

“Yeah, that too.” Echo says before exiting the cockpit. 

“Don’t worry, Muchi. We’ll rescue you.” Omega says, holding her trooper doll. 

They land a distance away from the city, making their way to an overlooking cliff. Sure enough, there’s a ship sitting in the city, and several Zygerrians roaming around. Omega, Tech, and Wrecker scan the city with binocs, looking for the captives. 

“I have a visual.” Tech says. “I only see one child.” 

“Poor Muchi. She looks scared.” Omega says. 

“I’m clocking two dozen hostels.” Tech continues. “Multiple entry points with minor fortification.” 

“Simple smash and grab like that time on Kuat.” Wrecker says. “Easy enough.” 

“I’m in.” Omega says. “What are we waiting for?” She makes to move forward, but Hunter stops her. 

“You get back to the ship.” He orders her.

“But-” 

“That’s an order.” 

They leave Omega behind, sneaking their way down into the city. Tech leads the way, all of them careful not to make too much noise. 

“Echo, you’re the eyes in the sky.” Hunter says as they stop. “Wrecker, Midinght, draw the Zygerrian forces out. Tech and I will grab the kid.” 

“Not a problem.” Wrecker says. 

They move further into the city, waiting for Echo to get into place. 

“Echo, sitrep.” Hunter asks, ducking behind a piece of rubble. 

“Two roving patrols on speeders. First guard checkpoint dead ahead.” He goes quiet for a moment. “Hang on. I think I’ve got company.” 

“Well, take care of it. Quietly.” Hunter says. 

There’s a yell and Echo falls from the building, hitting the ground with a thud. A Brezak flies out of the sky, narrowly hitting them. It lands, hitting Wrecker with its tail, throwing him into a rock. Tech, Hunter and Midnight fire at the Brezak, but it flies off. They find themselves surrounded by Zygerrians, one of them firing an electric net at them, knocking them unconscious. 

***

Midnight leans against the fountain, glaring down one of the Zygerrian guards. He’d been the one to chain her up, being a little too touchy for her liking. Once they get free, she’s going to smash his head in. Her arms are cuffed behind her, the position not exactly comfortable. She supposes it could be worse, though. 

“It’s getting looser.” Wrecker says, tugging at his collar, trying to get it off discreetly. 

His body suddenly jerks, being electrocuted by his collar. 

“Do that one more time and you’ll be-” Echo is cut off in his threat by his own collar electrocuting him. 

“Save your energy.” Tech says from next to her. “We are going to need it.” 

The Brezak that had attacked them flies overhead, landing on one of the tallest buildings. Midnight can just make out a figure standing at the top, looking down at them. That must be their leader. 

The Brezak roars, the three people that had been there before shrinking back in fear, the child whimpering. 

“Relax, Muchi.” Wrecker says. “We’re the cavalry.” 

“What are our odds out of this, Tech?” Hunter asks. 

“I am not certain.” He replies. 

“So much for being smart.” Wrecker snarks. 

Tech sighs. “This is not a standard military operation, and seeing as how we’ve never been tasked with rescuing a child from slave traders before, there’s no data I can compare it to.” 

“We need to signal Omega before their scouts find her.” Hunter says. 

“Except our comms are over there with our weapons.” Echo says, nodding at their pile of gear. 

Tech looks up, eyes widening before he turns back to Hunter. “We won’t need a comm to signal her.” 

Hunter turns, looking up at the roof of a building. Midnight glances over, seeing Omega there. 

The door to the building slides open, the lead Zygerrian coming through. Midnight hates him immediately upon first sight. He walks with his hands behind his back, holding himself upright with an air of arrogance and self importance. He reminds her a bit of Admiral Tarkin. 

“Look at what we have here.” He says, walking closer to them. “Five new slaves to add to my collection. “Strong ones too. You should fetch a nice price.” He steps in front of Midnight, grasping her chin in his hand. His grip is tight, his claws threatening to break her skin. “This one especially.” He smirks at her. 

She’s not sure what possesses her, but she leans her head back, spitting right in his face. He releases her, wiping it off of his fur before rearing back and slapping her. Her head snaps to the side, her cheek burning. The others shift, rattling the chains. Midnight turns back to face him, glaring at him. She can feel the slow ooze of liquid sliding down her face. He’s caught her with his claws. 

“You’re going to regret that.” She says, as threateningly as she can. 

He smirks, chuckling. “Even the most defiant of slaves can be broken.” 

“The Republic outlawed slavery.” Echo says angrily, trying to draw his attention from her. 

“We’re not in the Republic anymore, skug.” He says, turning and walking away. 

“You’re lucky we don’t have our gear, because this would go very differently for you.” Echo says, trying to direct Omega discreetly. 

Midnight shifts slightly, wiping some of the oozing blood onto her armor. It would be easier to clean off that than if it gets into her clothes. 

“Are you alright?” Tech asks her quietly. 

Midnight rolls her eyes. “I’ve been hit by men before, Tech.” She turns to look at him, the look on his face cutting off her breath. 

His brows are furrowed behind his goggles, eyes narrowed. There’s a dark look on his face, his eyes full of anger. She’s never seen him look like this before. At least, not up close. 

Something falls off to their left, drawing everyone’s attention. Omega must have knocked something loose in her attempt to get down to them. A couple guards begin walking in that direction, but Wrecker kicks a rock, knocking the feet out from under a guard. Midnight bites back a laugh, but is quickly sobered as another guard ignites his electro-whip, whipping Wrecker with it. 

“We can make do with one less slave.” The leader says, turning back to them. “Maybe I’ll feed you to my pet.” The Brezak roars in response. “As for the rest of you, you will be part of a new beginning. With the meddling Republic gone, we can return to Kadavo and rebuild what was taken from us. Under this new Empire, our operation will flourish once again. And if you do not comply... the person next to you will pay the price.” 

Midnight resists the urge to roll her eyes. She hates monologues, especially given by assholes who think too highly of themselves. Thankfully the leader is distracted by something, one of the guards carrying over a struggling Omega. 

“I found her sneaking around the cage.” The guard says. 

“I wasn’t sneaking.” Omega says. “I was unlocking.” She holds up a bolt. 

The large cage begins shaking as something snarls inside. The Zygerrians run to try and close it back up, but the doors fly open, a rancor bursting out. The Zygerrians fire at the Rancor, but only succeed in making it angrier. 

“A rampaging adolescent rancor is not the distraction I was anticipating.” Tech says. 

“That’s their problem.” Wrecker says, bracing himself against the fountain. “We’re getting out of here.” He snaps the chain holding all of them in place. 

Echo works on removing their bonds, Omega coming up to the child. 

“It’s okay, Muchi. We’re here to take you home.” She says. 

The older Falleen points at the Rancor, speaking in Falleen, but none of them need to understand to know what he’s saying.

“The rancor is Muchi?” Echo asks. 

The others grab their gear and weapons, Hunter tossing Echo his as the rancor runs through the city, tossing Zygerrians as it goes.

“Gear up. We have to go after Muchi.” He says. “If we don’t capture her, we don’t get our intel from Cid.” 

They follow Hunter who tracks the Rancor, running through the city. The other captives follow, barely managing to keep up as they stop for a moment. 

“What about them?” Omega asks, motioning to the Falleen and the human. 

“Omega and I will get them to safety. You find Muchi.” Echo says. 

“Right. Go for the speeders at the south entrance.” Hunter says. 

Tech translates for them as they head off in their own direction. The others follow the path of bodies, finding Muchi surrounded, but easily taking out the Zygerrians. 

“She’s doing fine on her own.” Wrecker says, impressed. 

Midnight is impressed as well, silently cheering as the rancor takes out Zygerrian after Zygerrian. That excitement quickly ends, though, as Muchi turns on them, having taken care of the rest of the Zygerrians. 

Of course. How exactly were they going to convince a rancor they’re the good guys? 

Wrecker and Tech draw their weapons, but Hunter quickly puts his arms out to stop them. They need Muchi alive, and as unharmed as possible. 

A roar sounds behind them, the brezak swooping out of the sky with the Zygerrian leader on its back. They turn and fire, barely missing getting taken out by it as it lands. The brezak turns on Muchi, the Zygerrian lifting his electro-whip, but Hunter tackles him off the brezak before he can hurt Muchi. 

Muchi turns and runs, the brezak following after her. 

“You’re going to pay for this, skug.” The leader says to Hunter. 

“I’ll handle him.” Hunter says as Wrecker, Tech, and Midnight run up to him. “Go get Muchi.”

They run after the rancor, following the sound of the fight between the brezak and the rancor. Muchi must have won as the brezak flies off, leaving them facing down the angry rancor.

“Any ideas how to stop that thing?” Wrecker asks Tech. 

Tech pulls out his datapad, typing away. “Rancors adhere to a social hierarchy. You have to challenge the alpha for authority.” 

“Oh that I can do.” Wrecker says, tossing his blaster aside before he runs at Muchi. 

Tech and Midnight watch as Wrecker and Muchi fight, beating the piss out of each other. Hunter joins them soon after, watching as they begin to slow down, getting tired. 

Echo rides up on a scooter with Omega, Wrecker and Muchi barely swinging at each other now. 

“How long’s he been at this?” Echo asks as they hop off the scooter. 

“Too long.” Tech answers. “He’s losing his touch.” 

They weakly swing at each other one more time before Muchi flops on her side, falling asleep. Wrecker leans against her, gently patting her head. 

“Aw. She’s kinda cute up close.” Omega says, stepping up closer. 

“Nicely handled, Wrecker.” Hunter says. 

Wrecker grunts indistinctly, giving him a thumb’s up. He’s going to sleep really well tonight. 

***

They eventually get Muchi and Wrecker roused again, transporting them back to the city. Omega rides happily on Muchi’s back as they make their way towards Cid’s. 

“Aw. That’s a good rancor.” Wrecker says, patting Muchi’s head. 

A male Twi’lek comes out of Cid’s, approaching Muchi happily. He speaks to Muchi in Huttese, hugging her face. Cid pushes past the two Gamorrean guards, looking at Hunter in disbelief for a moment. 

“See, Bib? All is well.” She says. “Now, about the matter of payment.” The Twi’lek snaps at one of the Gamorreans and he hands over some credits. 

Omega slides off the rancor, the Twi’lek and Gamorreans leading Muchi away. 

“Bye, Muchi.” Wrecker says. 

Muchi turns, roaring happily at them. 

“Gotta say, fellas.” Cid says. “I wasn’t sure you could pull this job off.” 

“You could have told us we were going after a rancor.” Echo says. 

“Hmm. Must have slipped my mind.” Cid says. She points at Hunter. “You, dark and broody. My office.” 

Tech turns on Midnight as Hunter makes his way into the bar with Cid. He tilts her head back, looking at the scratch marks on her cheek. They’ve stopped bleeding, but the skin is still burning. 

“They’re not very deep.” He says, studying them. “But they need to be cleaned.” 

“I’m fine.” She says, trying to push his hands away. “What’s the worst that could happen? My skin falls off?” 

“Yes.” Tech deadpans. 

Midnight gives him a horrified look. “Okay. When we get back to the ship you can clean them.” 

“Good.” He takes her face again, poking at the cuts. “They shouldn’t scar. It doesn't appear to have broken too deeply into the dermis. Bacta should clear them up rather quickly.” 

Midnight tries to bat his hand away, but he’s insistent on poking her face. 

“Do they hurt?” Hunter asks, appearing out of nowhere as he steps up to her. 

“They do when someone’s touching them.” She tries to push Tech’s hand away, but he’s insistent. 

Something comes over Hunter’s face as he stares at her, his eyes hardening and the look darkening. She looks up at Tech, finding a similar look behind his goggles. She looks past Tech at Echo, his eyes narrowed. 

“Oh.” She says lamely, letting her hands drop to her sides. 

“I hope you gave him what he deserved.” Wrecker says, stepping closer. 

“I did.” Hunter says, his voice dark. “Come on.” He puts a hand on her back. “Let’s get back to the ship.” 

***

Midnight changes clothes, stretching out her limbs now that they’re free of the armor. Her skin itches a bit, the bacta gel having absorbed quickly after Tech applied it. The cuts are already healing, hardly more than raised bumps. By tonight, there’d be no sign of them even being there. 

She had protested the use of bacta on them, seeing as how they weren’t that bad and they’d probably heal well on their own, but after seeing the looks on their faces, she had quickly given up. She hasn’t seen them that protective in a long time. 

It makes sense, though. 

They’re entirely on their own now. They don’t have the GAR to fall back on. If something happens to one of them, they only have each other to fix it.

She slips some credits into her bag before tossing it over her shoulder. She leaves her room, making her way towards the ramp. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Hunter asks, stepping in her way. 

“Supply run.” She answers simply. 

“By yourself?” 

She gives him a look. “Uh, yeah. That was the plan.” 

“You’re going to wander around an unknown city by yourself.” Hunter lifts an eyebrow at her. 

“Yeah.” She shrugs. “We need to stock up on some things.” 

“She is right.” Tech says, stepping up behind her. “We are running low on medical supplies, as well as hygiene products.”

“Not that any of you use them.” She murmurs. “Plus if we’re going to be spending time here, I’d like to get to know the city a bit better.” 

“Let one of us go.” Hunter says. 

“Uh, no.” Midnight says, Hunter giving her a taken-aback look at her outward defiance. “I’m going. I am the least recognizable of all of us.” 

“She has a point.” Tech says from behind her. 

Hunter stares at her for a moment before his shoulders slump and he sighs. “Don’t wander too long.” 

“Can I go?” Omega asks, all of them turning to look at her.

Midnight looks to Hunter, shrugging. Hunter looks down at Omega before sighing. “Fine. But stick close to Midnight and don’t wander-” 

“Keep a close eye on my surroundings and trust no one but my squad. And I’ll use my comm and give my location if I get into trouble, I know.” She says. 

“Quick learner.” Midnight smirks. 

“Be careful.” Hunter says, wrapping an arm around Midnight’s waist. 

“Usually am.” She murmurs as he leans down, kissing her softly. 

“Keep an eye on her.” He murmurs, kissing her again. 

“Two eyes.” Midnight says. “Don’t worry. Think of this as a learning opportunity.” 

She kisses Hunter one more time before slipping past him and heading for the ramp. She heads down the steps, Omega skipping happily after her. 

“What was that you were doing?” She asks before they even make it out of the landing bay. 

“What was what?” Midnight asks. 

“You and Hunter. I saw you and Wrecker doing it earlier too.” She says. 

“Oh.” Midnight blinks, trying to figure out how to explain it. “We were kissing.” 

“What’s that?” 

Midnight lets out a long breath. “Well, it’s something you do when you love someone. It’s one way to show it.” 

“Oh.” She says, going quiet for a moment. “What’s love?” 

Midnight laughs. “That’s a complex conversation for another time.” Midnight puts a hand on Omega’s shoulder, stopping her at an intersection. “Keep close. Don’t stare at anyone too long, and try not to make eye contact. We’re trying to be discreet.” 

Omega nods. “Right.” 

Midnight pats her shoulder. “Come on. This way.” 

She leads Omega down a street, walking slowly as she looks up at the sky. It’s visible between the buildings, starting to go yellow with the setting sun. Midnight smiles softly, dropping her gaze back to the street in front of her. “Reminds me a bit of home.” She says, skirting around a drunk weequay on the street. 

“Where are you from?” Omega asks, looking up at her. 

“I’m from Coruscant. Born and raised there.” 

“Is it a nice place?” Omega asks. 

Midnight laughs. “Well, depends on how you look at it. The entire planet is one big city.” 

“Wow.” Omega breathes. “There must be a lot of people there.” 

Midnight nods. “Close to three trillion, it’s estimated. Though, most of them are very poor and live in the lower levels. There’s lots of crime down there, since the police can’t and don’t bother to help. I grew up so far down, I didn’t see the sky until I joined the GAR. Spent my whole life in artificial sunlight. I’d never seen dirt or a real tree until I got off Coruscant, either.” 

“You’re like me.” Omega says. “I spent my whole life in a lab on Kamino. I didn’t get to wander often. I didn’t really want to, either.” 

Midnight snorts. “I don’t blame you. Some of those regs had some nasty attitudes.” 

“Yeah they did.” She laughs. 

They walk in silence for a few moments. “How did you know about me? When you approached us on Kamino, you knew my name.” 

“Well, you’re sort of famous.” Omega says sheepishly. 

“I am?” Midnight asks in disbelief. 

“Yeah. You’re a member of Clone Force 99 and you’re not a clone.” Omega shrugs. “They talked about you all the time. Tarkin asked about you too.” 

Midnight grimaces. “I’m sure he did. He really wanted me to join his squad.” 

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Omega says. “They really care about you a lot.” 

Midnight nods. “Well, we’ve been through a lot together.” She nods. “I care a lot about them too.” She nudges Omega gently. “And you.” 

“Me?” She asks in disbelief. 

Midnight nods. “Of course. You’re part of the squad too.” 

Omega smiles. “I’ve never had a sister before.” 

Midnight blinks in surprise. Of course, the boys would technically be her brothers, as they were all clones. Even though Midnight’s not a clone, she had integrated herself into the squad rather successfully it seemed, to the point Omega had known who she was. 

“I haven’t had one either.” She says, slowing as they reach the shop selling medical supplies. 

She leads Omega inside, making quick work of grabbing what they need. They head on to the next store, picking up more personal items and some hygiene products, not that the guys would use them regularly. 

“We should get some food.” Midnight says as they pass by a few food vendors. “I know the guys have to be hungry.” 

Omega stares wide eyed at all the choices. “These look so much better than rations.” 

Midnight smiles. “They are.” She wraps an arm around Omega’s shoulders, leading her towards one of the stalls. “Maybe someday we’ll get to eat food like this all the time.”  

“Really?” Omega asks, blinking up at her. 

Midnight nods. “Someday when we can put this bounty hunter business behind us and find somewhere nice to settle down.” 

“That sounds fantastic.” Omega says dreamily. 

Midnight nods. “It does. It really does.” 

Taglist:

@amyroswell, @dangraccoon, @hunnythebee​, @lokigirlszendaya, @kriffingmeshla, @storm-breaker7  

[respectthepetty]

Hi RTP! 👋 big fan.

I'm watching We Best Love: Fighting Mr. 2nd (and I think I like it more than the first season???)

Anyway, I've seen your color post about them, but in S2 specifically I've been noticing reflections, mirrors and glass barriers are a thing a lot? I'd love to hear your thoughts, if you're willing.

Peace and love! 🖤💙

Anon, you like the second season of We Best Love more than the first season?!

You like this

over this?!

I won't fight you because both hold a special place in my heart and on my Top Taiwanese BLs list since Taiwan finally delivered me a color-coded BL TWICE (which I missed the first time around until @gillianthecat asked me about it! - Look at Zhou Shu Yi give Gao Shi De his heart while they wear their respective colors! )

So I'm thrilled to answer this ask, but know I won't be mentioning the second or third pair. That's too much! I gotta focus on the main couple.

I also will be writing about how the show used space in general to reinforce the narrative. I'm unsure if you have finished watching the second season, so let me warn you that there will be spoilers ahead.

SPOILERS!

We started the second season with a flashback to how it all went sideways for the boys after the first season ended, and the aftermath gives us the first reflection of Zhou Shu Yi who is heartbroken and dismayed.

After this, Zhou Shu Yi is closed off emotionally AND physically. He lives in a concrete house!

And even though the entire workspace is an open concept with glass offices,

The main office they argue in has the shades down on all the windows, so people can't see inside. Even when Zhou Shu Yi is riding in the car with his friends, the windows have curtains to block out the world.

While Gao Shi De's house has plenty of sunlight streaming in from the windows, and he tends to talk outside, out in the open.

We only see Zhou Shu Yi's emotions in reflections because mirrors show us the truth (mirror, mirror, on the wall and blah blah blah).

So even though Zhou Shu Yi claims he is over Gao Shi De and continues to hide his emotions behind shaded windows, concrete walls, and barriers, the mirrors and the colors don't lie. Since you read the colors post, you know that no matter what Zhou Shu Yi does, he is always surrounded by Gao Shi De's blue, just like he was when they were in high school, but now he is staring at a shattered image of them.

However, both guys pick up a trait from the other. After their sexually charged back-and-forth in the shaded office, Gao Shi De's reflection in the BLACK table shows he is quickly breaking down due to Zhou Shu Yi's animosity.

And Zhou Shu Yi decides to step outside and speak openly about his lingering feelings for Gao Shi De while wearing a BLUE stripe across his shirt.

But both their issues finally come to the surface when Zhou Shu Yi learns about the lines Gao Shi De and his father crossed without his consent. We visually see those barriers being crossed as well.

This forces Zhou Shu Yi in a box, alone and isolated.

And the two who are responsible for their own predicaments are forced outside to clear the air to get rid of the barrier between them.

Because everything is out in the open now, Zhou Shu Yi's world starts to brighten up, and we see him near the windows since his feelings are no longer being repressed.

Even when he gets sick, he ends up in Gao Shi De's blue car that has windows without the black-out curtains.

Zhou Shu Yi might still be upset at Gao Shi De, but he is willing to forgive him, so they are now in the glass box together since their feelings are completely out in the open.

We get a call back to the bed scene from season one, but this time, Zhou Shu Yi 's eyes are open and the light is shining through because there are no more secrets.

And this honesty transfers to the office. We now see the boys in the glass office together, without all the shades down.

We also see Gao Shi De trusting Zhou Shu Yi marked by him standing in front of the open blinds, while Yu Zhen Zuan, standing behind the closed blinds, does not trust Zhou Shu Yi.

The guys are stronger together now that everything is out in the open, and they revisit the bridge from the first season where they laid everything bare and confessed to each other.

Because even though they have to be secretive to find the person who is responsible for the company leak (which is why they have to go back into the shaded office)

They remain in their own open glass box of honesty.

The only remaining barrier is the one between Gao Shi De and Zhou Shu Yi's father, who still wants to keep secrets from Zhou Shu Yi.

Gao Shi De speaks with him in front of the window acting as the divide, but since it is a window with no curtains and the blinds are open, we already know that Zhou Shu Yi's father can no longer allow his secrets to be the barrier between him and his son's boyfriend.

With everything finally settled, the boys enjoy their glass box of honesty over dinner with the light shining on them.

And the series ends with their friends getting engaged, and them coming back to to where it all began - in the openness of the blue water, which is the biggest reflection of their love.

Thanks for this ask, Anon. I'm making a separate post of two more color items I noticed while collecting a few images for this post. Our Blue Boy, Gao Shi De, had a blue cell phone and blue chopsticks when talking with and eating with his Black Brooder boyfriend, but I never noticed that, so once again, thanks, and I hope I answered your question!

[jenyifer]

Found Family

So had a conversation with @burnsuncomet about found family and how that effects the main 3 boys in Only Friends. I am going to warn you up front this is based on my own queer Journey and those I’ve seen. Everyone has a different experience so I might be talking out my ass.

Mew has a different found relationship to Boston and Ray because they were raised in a lgbtqia household. My ex was lucky enough to grow up as the youngest child by a lot in an extremely accepting family her older brother transitioned and her family was there for him every step of the way. My ex’s family attends prides and events proudly they always have. She is aware of found family but to her it doesn’t mean much. She finds it boring… why focus on that? Mew has the same problem. When you are loved so much by your family there is no reason to have a deep relationship with your found family. It doesn’t mean the same. Mew liked the idea of having a found family that’s why we see his photo of the group in his home and all of his fantasy books which often have non romantic groups of people coming together for a goal. Mew idealizes a family but it just doesn’t mean as much to him. He’s never had to rely on it solely. We see him half heartedly trying to keep the group together. Ultimately his found family wasn’t as important as his relationship with Top.

Meanwhile Ray and especially Boston needed a found family. Ray because his dad neglected him after his mother passed away and didn’t care about his queer label. Boston because his parents divorced and he has to be in the closet towards his parents. Boston keeps a photo of Mew, Ray, and Cheum in his bedroom because they mean so much to him. Boston and Ray have such a close relationship because they need eachother but unfortunately they can’t fully understand one another thanks to both of their separate mental issues. But they try. That’s why we see Ray being conflicted over kicking Boston to the curb he knows what Boston looks like when he’s hurt. Boston has been there for Ray in the past in some capacity. Boston kept trying to keep his facade up being a loyal dog for his friends because their bond was so important to him. He talked to Atom in the first place for Cheum. He had talked to him many times because Cheum is his family. We also see Ray suffering because Cheum says she isn’t willing to put up with Ray’s selfishness. He’s in pain because he’s realizing in that moment his actions have ripped apart his found family forever.

To me found family is so much more than friends or my actual family. My actual family can never accept me. I watch their kids and when I suggest maybe a tutor for a kid or activities to try with them I hear “how dare you talk about my kids you will never be a mother. You are going to hell.” And then I have to except the apology those people are my family. With my found family they let me make mistakes. I have internalized queerphobia and I have to keep learning. My found family support me challenge me genuinely care for me even though we aren’t blood. When I compare my experience to my ex I can see I tend to reach out to fellow queer individuals 1v1 trying to understand them. While she is willing to go out to pride and do events charities. Community on a large scale. Unafraid. We need that too. But it does mean we view friendships very differently like MewBostonRay.

I’m sure Boston will take the opportunity to return to his found family given the chance. He misses them. He loved being able to be himself with them. I think he underestimated what it would take to destroy his found family. He is so confident in himself Boston thought he’d be able to ride the storm and Mew and Ray would value him the same way he valued them. While that’s been proven to be untrue Boston still loves them even though he’s now aware the only one who cares for him is nick. Even though I feel like he shouldn’t forgive them I understand his need to have his friends back in his life before he leaves. They are still his family even if it’s one way. At some point they were all he had and the only time he could be himself. Ray also is recovering from his alcoholism and has to come to the conclusion is problems lie within himself and he’s the one who has to change. He may miss Mew and Boston but he’s recovering so I doubt he can look beyond himself but when he does I think he’ll ache for his found family again. A relationship is just not enough. It’s wonderful but having someone who understands you at your side while you struggle with your own family or relationship is something people like Ray needs.

[x0401x]

It's kind of... funny, actually.

I mean it. Everytime I read something from the Tsunagari no Issha fanbook, it's like reading a detailed record of everything the show gets wrong about the novel. It's so easy to pinpoint all the things the director fails to understand, his caricature-like way of portraying Minato and his blatant bias towards Seiya and Eisuke. But even then, the character highlights section is really something.

The vehement refusal to see Minato as a human being is evident in the way they approach his feelings during the regional tournament. He can't be mad that Eisuke is shit-talking Shuu! That's not positive! Minato has to be Positive TM all the time! Maybe this was also a conscious decision to make Eisuke look less shitty, because that's also one of Yamamura's main goals. To give spotlight to characters that he likes, forget making sense of the protagonist. Minato is selfish all of a sudden now and no longer cares about team harmony.

Speaking of team, while I do like that Kaito and Seiya's relationship wasn't ignored in S2, it's hilarious to see it being described as a "president and vice-president" thing in the fanbook. Because since S1 doesn't even get to portraying them as proper friends, it's still awkward to try and define them as such even now. It's hysterical to see the fanbook saying that they "balance each other out" when the anime doesn't really show it. Like, yeah, that's how it's supposed to be according to the novel, but it's just... not really happening in the anime, lmfao. The fanbook really went, "that's how it is, don't worry about it" on this one. But even more hysterical is the fact that they go "Kaito is the only one who notices Seiya goes overboard with Minato". Like, no. Everyone can see it. Only the blind wouldn't. It's just that Kaito is the only one who confronts Seiya about it.

And Seiya. Oh, Seiya. There's so much delulu going on about him here. The choice of words is interesting when it says he "obtained enough skill to be able to line up with Minato and Shuu in a short time". Like, sure, he was lining up with them in team competitions, but he was on their team, lol. That doesn't mean he was on the same level as them at all. Even now that Seiya has, in the novel, achieved a non-stop hit ratio at the regional tournament, although by a much smaller margin than before, he's still below Shuu and Minato in "skill" (between quotes because that's not really the word that should be used, given that skill isn't what matters in kyudo). For the record, Shuu himself is also a little below Minato, because although they have the same achievements, Minato does everything uncosciously. By Zen standards, he comes out on top because of that.

On the topic of Shuu and Minato, I'm losing my mind at how the fanbook addresses them as people who "aim for the top". That's not really what they're aiming for. They don't really care about the tournaments themselves. What they want is to draw the bow with their friends and each other.

Above all, it just becomes very evident that the anime misses the point of what this story is about in general when it concentrates so much on getting personal with what goes on inside the boys. It forgets the rest, the outside influences on what happens in the circle, and how they all got there in the first place. It kind of puts too much decision power in the hands of these kids who don't really get what archery is just yet, because nobody does at that point. It's almost like they know exactly what to do, for the conflicts barely give them any doubts and answers come all too quickly. Every step they take is very linear because of that. In turn, the journey feels robotic and very much... fictional.

The Tsurune novel is a story that feels real, no matter how fantastical and mythical it gets sometimes. Everytime I see kids on their way to school or kyudo practice here in Tokyo, I'm reminded of the novel and how those boys are such a faithful portrait of them. It feels like I'm reading about real children. Meanwhile, the anime, rooted as it is in realism, is a story that feels exactly like that. Like a story. All because of the very obvious decision to take focus away from the very essential figure of the master.

Masaki has been put in his own category since S1, where he's placed as far away as possible from these kids he's supposed to guide, while in the books, he's regarded by them as, quite literally, one of the boys. The "let's leave Masaki to the sidelines" game got super real in this season, since he barely shows up and even more barely interacts with these little dudes who are his pupils but don't feel like such.

I just wonder what's gonna happen if there's ever a sequel. Masaki's backstory is the only thing that resembles a plot in volume 3. Other than this, it's all the usual training and the usual tournaments. Ayano has really driven KyoAni into a corner with that one, but they've managed to dodge Masaki like a bullet until now, so I feel like they'll be able to do it again if they want to.

Maybe it's contradictory of me, but I hope they don't do that. If there's one thing I've learned with the anime is that I'd rather see Masaki's story being reduced to an out-of-character fraction of what it originally was, as has been done in in S1, than see him fading into the background like in S2. I thought his character being butchered was enough of a disservice, but seeing him out of the picture? That was true pain.

[adriannamunson]

Little Miss Perfect

Eddie Munson x F!Reader

Summary: The Hawkins’ High School President, AKA, you, was paired with Eddie “the freak” Munson a couple a weeks ago. It is now a week before the deadline and your partner has not been helping at all.

A/n: My main account @eloisegrant is bugging out, so here is an Eddie story.

Warnings: tension, just a few swear words and fluff implied, Eddie is a simp and an Enemies to lovers trope.

Word count: 2.5 k

This was fucking unbelievable. You continuously chased after him after every school day, begging him for a couple hours to work on your project.

Some days he’d comply and do some work at school, but most days he’d make an excuse and go off to his hellfire club.

So you had enough, once the bell rang you prepared yourself and pushed down the goody two shoes in you. Trying to make sure you have every vulgar thing on your mind. Even though you were raised as a conservative girl you were not anything like what your parents perceived you to be.

Sure, you were the president of the school, constantly getting praise from your teachers and your peers. ‘Miss Perfect’, they would call you. But, that just wasn’t the case—

Because you were far from it.

I mean, your closest friends knew the true you, just not the whole community of Hawkins. It was kind of fun being the good girl that has never been caught.

You could not count the amount of boys you teased, flirted and toyed with throughout high school. However, one thing you never did was talk badly or mean to someone.

It just wasn’t in your DNA.

Oh but, if that someone was Eddie Munson, who had an incredibly uncooperative attitude, you were surely going to say something.

I mean he was a gorgeous sight to look at, pretty brown eyes, deep sultry dimples with a flurry of hair on top of his head and the confidence that he constantly emitted was hot as hell. Even enough to attract anybody.

You gotta admit, you did have a bit of a crush on the freak of Hawkins; but it just wouldn’t work out, you were Miss Perfect and he was… well gorgeous yet troubled.

Despite his looks, there are no limitations to how much a person could be a dick. And you were not going to be completing the project without his help.

So you followed Munson to the room him and his club posse scurry into, every day. You practically slam the poor door open, scaring Gareth, who was setting up their game. While also nearly causing Dustin to drop the bag of chips he was passing around.

“MUNSON!” Your voice was so displaced with the way you looked. Who in their right minds would expect the beauty wearing a pretty lilac skirt, long sleeved jumper and knee high white boots would just barge in like that.

Your cute fluffy hair wasn’t helping and honestly Eddie was in awe with the way you were approaching him. All fumed up and totally out of character. He stands up from

his makeshift throne to theatrically greet you “Why if it isn’t Miss Perfect-“

“Zip it, Munson.” You reach him, looking up to eye him down. He raises his hand playfully, as you point menacingly at him. “We have A WEEK to finish this goddamn project, WHICH BY THE WAY, If you fail, you won’t graduate!” You continued stepping towards him, causing him to back up until he was pressed against the wall.

Compared to Eddie, you were short. So as the Hellfire boys watched it all unfold, they passed each other the chips and murmured to one another. It was a fascinating sight to see their leader get intimidated by someone who looked like they would never hurt a thing.

“SO!” You stomped your boots in between his legs, making him instinctively spread them in shock. “…I suggest you come with me, we head back to my place… AND DO! THE FUCKING! PROJECT!” Your hand poked repetitively on his chest, pushing him onto the wall harder. Damn, if he wasn’t so eager to graduate, he’d ask you to do this on a daily basis, privately.

He could get used to this dominance you were exhibiting. The flush of your cheeks, the fumes escaping your ears and your vulgarity.

“Well, princess.” He grabs your hand gently and removes it from his chest, gaining the space to stand back up properly. “If you wanted me alone, you could’ve just asked.”

“Munson I swear-” You point your finger again, not in the mood for his pointless games. He grabs your finger again, carefully, before nodding while shushing you.

“I was just kidding…” You still had a death glare painted all over you delicate features, and Eddie was digging it. “Man, Miss Perfect has a very tasteful way of motivating me to study, doesn’t she boys?” He raises both arms and gains a collective laugh to erupt from the boys.

With a squinted and angry gaze back towards the boys, they shut up immediately.

He couldn’t help but notice you were still being serious once your deadpan gaze looked back up at him. “Alright, alright, don’t worry… No matter how hot that just was, I’ll ignore it. In the meantime, let’s go finish that darn project, hm?” Eddie scrunches his nose, before booping your nose with a verbal ‘boop’ escaping his lips.

You wanted to slap his pretty fucking face but you refrain. Also, did he just call you hot? Or something like that? Damn, you couldn’t think clearly.

All you could do was nod and head back out to the school grounds, while Eddie rushfully followed. Ordering the boys to continue the game without him, which caused uproar and excitement to ensue. They really wanted to lead the game, you thought to yourself.

The cold evening air hits you as you stood there by the school parking lot, waiting for Munson to appear. “I’m assuming we take my van?” You get broken out of your thoughts when gestures his keys infront of you, pointing to his va.

“See, you say van but that’s what I call a health hazard” You banter with him. The van was a bit rickety and old but it wasn’t as bad as you described. You just enjoyed teasing him quite a bit because you had to admit— snarkiness was kind of hot.

He groans, holding his hand over his chest to act like he was heart broken. “I’m offended, that is my baby.” He runs to the van, carefully caressing its side.

“You’re weird.” You try to hold down a smile from peeking through your lips as you open the passenger side, sliding onto your seat as Eddie does the same on the driver’s seat.

“Oh you love it.” He winks at you as he twists the key to the sputter of the van. “See? What I tell ya, my baby.” His fingers traced the steering wheel and it was fucking hard to ignore the way they moved.

The intricacies of his veins, the way his rings were wrapped around those fingers and even the way he was playfully massaging the steering wheel. He definitely knew what he was doing.

You just couldn’t help but think… What else could those fingers do? How nice would those hands be against your neck? Damn it, you gotta snap out of it.

“J-just drive.” You stuttered, facing forward as you adjusted your seatbelt. Eddie knew damn well you were looking at his hands and it was not just because you liked his rings. But, he simply ignores it for now, following your orders to drive to your house.

————>

Opening your front door was easy for you. But for Eddie, he felt so out of place. You lived in such a big and pristine house, it was wild that he had the opportunity to enter there. You notice his wide look at the sight of your house’s frontage and tap his shoulder.

“Munson, come on.” You open the door wider to let him in. He got distracted again with the pictures along the walls. Like each wall was dedicated to a child. You had three siblings and all of them have gone off to college, they had some pretty nice achievements.

But of course, nothing stood close to their star girl who had the best wall ever taking the entire length of the stairs.

Eddie got distracted by a picture of yours, you were about 8 probably. A pretty bow on top of your hair as curly strands framed your face. Your hands formed a v underneath your chin.

“Well looky here!” He stares at it, crossing his arms.

You blush and curse yourself internally, you had too many pictures here that you wish he would not see. “Oh god, I was just 8 so please don’t judge.” You stood next to him, practically pushing him up the stairs so he could not focus on the pictures and awards.

“Cute pictures… Little Miss Hawkins? Little Miss Photogenic? OOO Little Miss Congeniality! So freaking adorable.” His compliments, although embarrassing, were making you blush. You had reached halfway up the stairs before bumping into your mother.

“Oh, y/n, baby I didn’t hear you come in-” Your mom fixes herself as she spots you and… this boy she has not seen in her lifetime. The sight of Eddie was enough to cut her off, mid sentence.

Her eyes widen at the sight of Eddie, his hair, the devil on his shirt, the many dark accessories and his tattoos. You catch on that your mom was panicking, out of all the boys you could have brought home why did it have to be someone who looked like he could murder?

“Momma this is Eddie, he’s my project partner.” You step up from behind Eddie and adjust your messy hair that was due to pushing him up the stairs.

“Oh thank goodness…” She blurts out in relief. You furrow your brows at the fact that your mom had no filter whatsoever on the fact that she didn’t seem to like Eddie. On the other hand, Eddie didn’t care, he was used to freaking people out. So he just decides to play along.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Y/l/n. Your daughter tells me you make amazing cookies.” He extends his hand out which makes your mom hesitantly shake hands.

“Oh she does? You’re too kind and, yes I do.” Your mom smiles at the compliment and nods off to Eddie, before stepping down the steps to head to the door. “Well, I’m off to the supermarket. There are some juices and snacks in the fridge.”

And with that, she goes off. Opening and shutting the house door. You look up at Eddie, “cookies?” With a tilt in your head and a lift in your eyebrow, you question his sudden compliment.

“Hey, listen, I just tried to fit in.” He follows you up the stairs, watching every move you make. Your room was at the far end of the hallway. It was nice to have your siblings away because you get to pick whatever room you wanted. And so, you picked the corner room.

“Not too shabby, Miss Perfect.” He smiles upon entering your room, he closes the door behind him. It wasn't girly, It was just very organized. From the books on the shelf to your dresser, or to your bed. Again, he felt out of place.

You couldn’t help but notice his little nickname he gave you, “Why do you keep calling me that?” You spoke with your back turned as you fixed your desk to situated both of you.

“What? Oh you mean Miss Perfect?” He teases again, hands behind his back as he playfully skips to you.

With a quick turn, you eye him down and roll your eyes, “Yes.” The desk was finally set to sit two across from one another, so he takes a seat as you do the same.

It was by the window, so your face was being beautifully framed by the sunset’s rays. “Because… well…” He lingered on his words as you flipped through your notebook. Too focused to even realize Eddie’s lovestruck gaze on you.

The sun was certainly making sure he would fall for you. With the way you looked with the rays all over you. “I mean, just look at you.” He whispers, half praying you didn’t hear him, half praying that you did. And goddamn you did.

Slowly, you lifted your gaze to look at him. The orange hues of the sun reflected on his features too, and it was a sight to see. But you were still not engaging. Trying hard to hide the blush on your face.

Looking back down to your notebook you spoke, “Not much to look at, Munson.”

He wanted to grab a mirror and pinpoint every single beautiful thing that you had. From the way your hair was constantly, perfectly styled. Or your perfume. Or your smile. Or your eyes. Or your giggle that could spark anyone’s faltering heart back to life. Or even the way your eyes squint when you focus, just like right now.

“Are you kidding me? Have you seen yourself?” He was not going to let this down. He places the palms of his hand on the table, making you look at him. “I and everyone else in this shithole town have the honor to witness such an aphrodite, like you, Miss Perfect.”

There was no way you could control the smile that was forming across your face. And Eddie notices. “There! Right there! Look at that!” He forms a frame with his hands as he closes one eye. As if he was trying to capture a picture.

“I mean, Mona Lisa is fucking jealous right now. THE GREAT LEONARDO DA VINCI wishes you were his muse!” He flails his arms around, which was such an adorable sight for you that you just couldn’t help but giggle.

“And the angels sing in chorus as God tells tales about your beauty!” The dimples on his cheeks deepen as he explains himself. Practically putting on theatrics, as he does, with the way he spoke.

“Eddie please…” You try to cover your face, hiding the smile and redness across your cheeks. But he reaches over the desk and softly pulls your hand away.

“Miss Perfect, I call you Miss Perfect because that is what you are- Perfect.”

You guys locked eyes for about a minute, you never noticed how insanely long his lashes were before now, but having him this close was different.

He clears his throat to ease the tension. “So uh… Yeah…” His eyes blink erratically, as if he was trying to calm himself down. “Don’t question my nickname for you.” He awkwardly plops back into his seat, smiling a thin line.

He did not know what came over him to suddenly burst out with those feelings. But, it was just a trait he usually did. He just didn’t expect to do it to you. Now you probably think he was weird.

And don’t get him wrong, he was already known as a freak. But, he didn’t want you to think he was a creepy stalker or something like that.

“I certainly won’t.” You were left speechless at Eddie’s words and a bit breathless from the way he made you blush. Did he mean what he said? Or was he just sarcastic?

Anyway, you shake the situation away and he did the same. You flipped to the page of the project instructions and sighed loudly. “Alright, so… let’s start?”

~~~~

Part 2