#and we have roof holes so it’d be good to give them a proper house before one decides to move into the roof

[monsterbroth]

there’s two possums in the tree out the front window I need to go to bed but I really want to know how this plays out

[neighsleigher]

Blue Man Group Arrives In Nevada, Except It’s Just One Troll

> Equius Zahhak throws away the wax wrapping of his carbonated thin crisps and begrudgingly settles into the leather padding of the passenger seat. A conscious action for a foreigner. 

> He could see his escort from the parking lot paying for their topped-off tank of gas and refreshments with unmarked bills. The cashier, human, was, of course, polite to his patron, and given by their shared expression the two had struck a conversation. Much to Equius’ chagrin.

> They've long since escaped the confinements of civilization,  the last leg of their journey upon them. From this point on it’d be Equius, his escort, the asphalt of the open road and desert sand wisping past and grating sensitive skin.

Equius rests his arm on the window sill. Though grateful for the lack of roof to their vehicle, he can't help but feel like an uncomfortably large sardine in a comically small can.

Those two wrap it up and finally, finally, the door of the store swings open and the escort emerged.  Equius exhaled deeply through his nose and said nothing when the human popped open the driver's door.

“How's your stomach holding up?” he said, before dropping a bag into Equius’s lap. Oh, seltzer water. “Not sure if it'll do it you any good, but it's better than nothing.” The escort starts the ignition while Equius knocks back a quarter of his seltzer as they pulled out of the empty lot and got back on the road.

Already the feeling of nausea is starting to subside. “Thank you.”

“Ain’t a thang-chicken wang,” It’s when Equius raises a brow that the human clears his throat to keep talking. “Out on business huh? Must be some pretty exciting stuff, yeah?”

“I guess,” is all Equius could say.

“And you just returned from- like- space, right?”

“Correct.”

“That’s kinda dope- I mean, that’s cool. Being up in space for that long, I mean. What do you guys even do up there for that long?”

“You’ve gotten awfully chatty considering this is the final stretch of our drive together,” Equius says pointedly, which his escort responds with a shrug of his shoulders. “Clearly we work,” he says while another carbonated thin crisp square is pressed to the trolls lips. “And then we work some more, doing our part to service the Empire.”

His escort, clearly dissatisfied with his answer or lack-thereof, tries to push the subject even further. “Trolls have powers, right? Like mind control, or lifting things with your thoughts. You remind me of the X-Men! Except, you know, they don’t do what you guys do,” he laughs awkwardly. “You’re a blue, right? Can you read my mind, or do you have some other power?”

Crushing heads like a particularly ripe cantaloupe didn’t feel like much of a valued answer. “No.”

“So you guys are just born like that? Sorry, I mean hatched.” This humans attempts at getting friendly were falling flat. Equius isn’t sure if he should scold him for talking to his superiors at all or commend him for the stone sized globes he’s smuggling behind the confinements of his Sunday slacks. Nonetheless, he keeps talking. “Oh- you said you didn’t have any powers? Does that mean you just came out the egg Jack Diesel? A freak with a cause and crazy muscles?” He persisted.

This conversation has taken a hard left and Equius isn’t a fan of the detour.

This man can talk, he is like the Muhammad Ali of talking. If the conversation was an Olympic sport this man would have done a somersault onto the podium and clean house. Bronze, silver, gold- all his, tucked into his grubby little hands and taking everyone for a three-hour drive no one wanted in the first place. The tank is full, his gums are loose and everyone is terrified.

“Yes,” Equius interrupts before this man could even think of moving his lips again. “I was, in fact, hatched with unbelievable strength and gifted physical abilities that your species could only dream to achieve.” The escort opens his mouth to say something else, perhaps to comment on the visible sweat dripping down the troll’s brow. But he would never know for sure as it instead shuts tight.

“Though that is to be expected,” Equius continued. “We are superior, which explains why your planet was so easy to colonize into our mighty Empire. To call it a fight would be to give you more credit than you’ve earned- it was a scuffle if anything.”

“If you want to put it that way, sure, but you’ve got to admit that it was an unfair fight-”

“There is no such thing as ‘unfair’ in a fight,”

“Are you upset because- ”

Equius paused. His face had gone a faint yet noticeable shade of blue.

“Stop the vehicle.”

The escort furrows his brows and gives his passenger a look over. “You okay big guy?”

“I said stop the car.”

Nausea had returned and with a vengeance. The car swerved off the main road and into a clear patch of dirt and rocks, Equius stumbled out with the grace of a newborn deer and into a ditch.

The rest of the drive was smothered with an uncomfortable silence, both escort and escorted now reverting back into their proper roles. The two exchange glances, one apologetic, the other leaning to a close second.

And they leave it at that.

In two hours time, they finally encounter signs of life outside of the average lizard and hungry buzzard, driving past Imperial Military vehicles and the trolls who stood there like sour-faced statues. The Escort stops next to a toll booth and the troll manning it. “Evening boys, you two look like shit. Long drive?”

Neither driver or passenger could take offense to the observations made by the Imperial Soldier manning the toll road of the fenced off area, as they reigned true. Driving for almost several hours- including periodical breaks at Equius’ expense- has that kind of impression on people.

Their destination was finally revealed to be a small district in the middle of the Mojave Desert, Nevada. He hadn’t been given all the details, just to show up at the given coordinates as soon as they were grounded and their personal affairs were situated. No questions were asked; not because they weren’t necessary, but because it would have been unprofessional.

Equius runs the proper procedures. He flashes his I.D, credentials, and the necessary paperwork to prove his placement before taking a beetle to the pad of his index finger. It’s needle pointed mandibles piercing flesh and drawing a healthy sample of blood into its now swollen thorax. It glows a faint, royal blue.

He drops the beetle now full of his blood sample into a metal dish sitting neatly on the desk inside the booth.

The Imperial Soldier doesn’t look up from his flashy military-grade tablet, tapping letters and numbers into the illuminated screen before speaking in the escort’s direction. “You can turn back now.”

The human's jaw tightens a bit and excuses himself quietly, but not before offering Equius a farewell; “Sorry about the tight fit big guy, and uh, everything else.” Most likely concerned that he’d get a mark to his records. And ‘annoyed their assignment vomiting on the side of the road’ sounds like a quick way to lose healthcare privilege.

His silence is enough to make the escort shrink back into his seat, but it’s Equius’s careful bob of his head that eases him just enough to leave the booth comfortably.

“You can enter, just head towards the collapsible containment shelter- the big white tent a few feet away from the crash site,” The Soldier pointed past the gates and through the crowd, where a white stood proudly above the chaos. “Your overseer should already be inside.”

Equius muttered his thanks and entered the gate that sealed- whatever this was- off from the rest of the world with a chain linked fence and a lot of lethal weaponry.

Imperial Soldiers, Medicullers, and members of the Research Division scattered the sector like ants. Everyone was kept busy, to slow down and to do anything else outside of their job would merit a scolding or a demotion to their ranks. Out of the corner of his eye, Equius could see, judging by the colors of the patches sewn into their shoulders, three olives and a cerulean examining the contents of a body bag.

In the middle of the fray was a crater the size of a small cargo ship, deep enough to drain a lake three times over.

The earth around the edge of the crater that dropped into the pit was scorched and ashen, nothing would be able to grow here again. Equius peered over the ridge to get a closer look, to see if he could catch a glimpse of what could have caused an impact that severe to create such a sizeable hole. But it was empty, save for the trolls collecting dirt samples.

“Zahhak.” A voice, stern and smooth, called out above the crowd.

His attention snaps to look ahead, to now approach the white tent that the Imperial Soldier informed him of with a clawed finger. The voice originating from behind its partially raised entry.

A particularly photogenic tealblood, a familiar face, waited patiently by the tent’s entrance. The overseer’s right hand adjusts her thinly framed glasses that only brought attention to her small, button nose, her long hair now done up in a tight bun instead of flowing freely at her shoulders.

“You’re late,” she scolds and Equius tries not to wince. It had only been by five minutes, but that wasn’t an excuse to waste her time.

“My apologies, but if I may ask-”

“You may.”

Equius bit his bottom lip carefully before speaking again, his voice soft. “Why did you assign to me a human escort?”

Serana stares at Equius blankly, her gaze forcing him to shift nervously where he stands. Their relationship was strictly professional, but even then it wasn’t as if Serana hadn’t made attempts to understand her co-workers on some level.

“Come with me.” She was hard to read at times, even with

Ignoring the dampness on his forehead, she leads him inside.

Despite first appearances, the inside of the tent was fairly spacious, with enough walking room for exactly five adult trolls of intimidating size. On opposite ends of the tent the walls were occupied by bulky consoles, display screens, and workbenches all of organic roots. Healthy, pulsating wires coiled the floor and snaked their way around the legs of every troll and table here, every wire connected to one massive framework in the corner of the tent. Conveying electric currents into the lush purple mainframe.

Serana caught up her skirt and maneuvered her way around the maze of circuitry. She leads her lesser to the far back of the tent, where the wires became more crowded and convoluted. Making it a chore and a half for Equius to dance around so as to not crush anything.

Serana approached the back of the tent, her clipboard secure in her arms. “Sir,” she rose her voice to be heard among the whirring of machines.

The Overseer, Galleo Mercur, was (visually) as one would expect of a sea dweller; clean, neatly trimmed and exhibiting excellence with every graceful poise. His nose was pointed and his jawline regal, like a model, and though he’s already earned sweeps under his belt the man didn’t look a cycle over twelve. He stood in front of a glass display case that Equius couldn’t peer into despite being taller than the man.

The Overseer turned to face Equius with a wide grin etched into his lips. “Zahhak, baby, you mate it!” The man was always so loud, and even when he should have been used to it; Equius jumped each time. “Why so late, I thought you had a grasp on Earth time?”

“His driver was human, sir,” Serana interrupted.

The man rests a hand on his hip, cocking it to the side. “What? Zahhak, buddy, I am so sorry- Serana, how on Alternia did this happen!? You know I don’t trust monkeys behind the wheel.” He makes sure that everyone and their lusus within earshot knows his stance on the miserable road trip that Equius had embarked.

His dutiful assistant let her fingers drum against the back of her clipboard. “I did not arrange for this, sir.” Oh, that actually made sense.

Galleo tilted his head. “Then who did?” That made a lot more sense.

“You did, sir.”

Galleo paused for a moment, lips and brows scrunched tight to scan his mind for whether the accusation proved true or not. “Oh well, mistakes happen. Doesn’t matter,” he dismisses it just as soon as he considers it. Galleo brings up his right hand and waves it lazily; taking this as her cue, Serana carefully takes up space next to her Overseer and the glass cube he stood in front of.

“Zahhak,” Galleo said simply, running a chill down Equius’s spine. Or maybe it was the night breeze cooling the metal.

“Sir?” He responds proper.

Galleo, obviously pleased with the attentive care his employee put into his answers. “How would you feel about taking up a special little assignment during our time here on Earth?”

An assignment straight from the Overseer? “I would feel honored, sir.”

Galleo tossed his head back and laughed, loud and boisterous, like a talk show host from SNL, a program that Equius shamefully admits to tuning in on from time to time to fill the silence in his quarters. “See,” he spun on his heels, and Equius could see the gleam in his eyes behind the yellow tint of his glasses. “That’s why I like you, you’re always so quick to do what I want you to do and you barely waste my time with useless questions,” he crowed.

“Of course,” Equius affirmed. “If you are to just tell me what it is that I am to do, sir, then I will do it to the best of my abilities.” Serving his higherups came first, after all. Even if Equius did take a quick detour to visit Dirk. The Overseer let out another hearty laugh, with Serana fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

“A few nights ago, Earth time mind you, one of our patrol stations were given a heads up about some illegal crash landing activities here in this desert. I’m sure you saw the big hole outside.” It was hard to miss it. “To cut a long story short, patrol was called, they came to check it out, then patrol called us once they realized that this was way out of both their jurisdiction and pay grade.” Galleo stepped to the side; giving Equius a clear view of the mystery behind the glass casing, and the mystery a clear view of Equius.

At first he sees himself in a red tint, the glass surface of the foreign object reflected everything within a ten-foot radius. It was sphere shaped, smooth, and reminded Equius of a glass marble. It couldn’t be no more than thirty- no, thirty-five inches in circumference and looked heavy for any human or rustblood to carry on their own. The sphere glowed an intense color of red, specks of orange and yellow danced and mixed together with the red backdrop like small explosions in a sea of maroon.

“If you think that’s obnoxiously intoxicating, check this out.” Galleo, all too excitedly, reached for the latch that separated the orb from the rest of the world and yanked it free in one swift motion. Serana took a step away from the glass containment and Equius made sure to follow her example.

The lights began to flicker and the mainframe hissed in what can only be properly described as agony, the wires coiling in on themselves while the biomechanic consoles shook in their placements.

A gutteral rumble predated the crack-flash of energy that was pulled from their electronics. The once striking red color of the orb then shifted into something angry, telling. The explosions of orange and yellow bloomed inside of themselves, spreading out to all corners of the orb like thin veins. Trolls, now dangerously aware of what had been released onto them, relinquished their stations and hurriedly exited the tent save for three. Equius shielded his vision with his forearm, a crack of electricity licked the flesh of his arm and he cried out in pain and anger.

The vibrations beneath their feet had been growing, now even more intense than it was seconds ago. All the electricity that was being pulled from their equipment were now being drawn into the face of the orb.

Serana, now the troll of reason, saw an opening and jumped on it the second it was wide enough for her to squeeze through. Dodging wild and uncoordinated ropes of energy to slam the glass lid shut, and let go of a relieved breathe she had been holding on to. The orb hissed and sparked little snaps of energy, but other than that it lied as dormant as it was before.

When the excitement finally died down, Galleo noticed a smudge of navy blue on the toe of his shoe. He grimaced openly, muttering to himself about how these were ‘imported’ and ‘suede’. Letting Equius pick himself up from the ground while he fished for something on a nearby bench.

Equius held his wound in his free hand, while Galleo offered to him a file tablet. “I want you to take home a sample of this thing and run some tests while I tend to business. Paperwork and such, nothing interesting.” Carefully Equius took the so far only non-damaged piece of equipment in the room. “Give it a look over, fill out a report, and you have until we’re due for another departure mission.

Equius nodded and gingerly accepted the digital file from his Overseers hands. The wound would just have to wait, he’d have to secure some samples before anything else.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

DOTW 32 - Christmas chapter... how is this so short? I was thinking I should split it... before we get the really good Christmas ang... love going

Soooo. Taking care of things with Armin for Eren, might not have been exactly the way his boyfriend had in mind. He'd blocked Armin on Eren's account and deleted his messages, after sending himself that photo of Eren as a kid... before messaging the alpha himself. Without trying to divulge too much about his boyfriend's life, he explained who he was and who he was to Eren, and that he would like to meet with Armin to hear him out. Eren would be furious, but the idea of getting his boyfriend something of his mother's... he couldn't turn down the chance. With his work schedule it'd been two weeks since he'd contacted Armin before he could finally set a time meet with the man. Eren was Christmas shopping and decorating with Hanji, which gave him pretty much the whole day to meet with Armin, then do a little shopping for Eren. He'd tried to ask Eren what he wanted for Christmas in every way possible, that wasn't straight out asking him. The only problem with this was the fact Eren was adorably dense about it all. He'd casually asked Eren what he thought of a toaster he'd in some junk mail catalogue, Eren had then asked him why they needed a new one when the one they had worked just fine. His brat was perfect like that, he just needed him to not be quite so perfect. Walking into the small cafe, he was still dressed for work having come straight off his shift. His safety boots, and thick paramedic jacket completely out of place with the hipsters in their ugg boots and beanies. This definitely wasn't the kind of place he'd ever set foot in alone. His fingers itched to clean everything on sight and to give the damned "distressed" furnishings a proper coat of paint. A glance up the menu above the counter confirmed he never wanted wanted to set foot in here again. What the fuck was a beetroot latte? Why did people feel the need to fuck with classics?! It did his fucking head in. Casting a second glance around, he didn't see Armin. The blonde man hadn't arrived, which mean awkward sitting in this hell hole as he waited for him. Fuck. They better make a good cup of tea, or someone was definitely going to require medical attention. Served by a cashier who couldn't comprehend that he wanted a large black tea. Which was just tea. With no milk or sugar or anything fancy. And no, he didn't want a fucking environmentally friendly cookie shaped like a fucking reindeer... but he bought two for Eren, because Eren would have found them cute. He wasn't impressed at all as he took the first seat he could find that didn't look too hippy-ee. For a generation that was all about free will and complicated fucking names, they certainly loved shoving their own suggestions down people's throats. Nursing his tea, Levi would almost rather be at work than sitting in the cafe... even if December was the worst month for them. Other than people falling off their roofs while decorating, December had the highest rates of suicides. The month had only just begun and they'd already been called out to three... it was why he hated December, that and because of his birthday. Being born on Christmas Day meant his presents were always combined with his birthday... no one thinking that maybe two smaller presents would be better than one large combined one. Armin left him waiting for half an hour. It was easy to tell who he was the moment he walked through the door. The large box in his arms had "Eren" printed neatly on the side. Rising to his feet, his frown deepened when a black haired woman followed the tall alpha in. Armin hadn't said he was bringing anyone with him... and even if the logical jump was that the woman with him was the same girl from the photo, it still would have been polite to give him a heads up. Catching sight of him, Armin walked straight over "Levi?! It's nice to finally meet you. I'm sorry about the coffee shop, I just had no idea where would be best to meet" "It's fine. Why don't we take a seat?" Sitting and making sure the cookies were safe, Armin slipped into the seat opposite from him, the woman pulling a chair over from another table. Sitting down, she scowled openly at him, as if he'd done something wrong "Mikasa, you're being rude" "I am not. I haven't even said anything" "You're glaring at Levi..." "Stop acting like you two are friends" She definitely did not like him, at all "You, Levi. Where is Eren?" "Mikasa!" "Eren was like a brother to me, it's been 9 years since we heard anything about him!" "Eren was like a brother to me too, and Levi is his boyfriend. Levi, I'm sorry. I'm sure you must understand how hard it's been. Eren was a huge part of our childhood before he disappeared. Finding him again, I didn't mean to upset him. I was just so, so very relieved to finally find him" Oh great. The pair of them were already grating on his nerves. Armin seemed desperate to reconnect with Eren. Eren was desperate not to reconnect with him, and Levi was just desperate to get his hands on whatever was inside the box, and then get the fuck out. * Eren had no idea the headache Levi was suffering, instead he was Christmas shopping with Hanji. He'd already been warned that due to an incident between Titan, a Christmas tree and a set of lights... leading to a teeny tiny, slight electrocution, they couldn't have a Christmas tree in the apartment. Something he'd chosen to ignore. They could have a tree, but they didn't have to have lights... he liked lights though. Sometimes he'd see them through the windows while he walked to work. Then, on Christmas Day, he and Zeke woukd spend Christmas together. They'd watch bad movie, while cuddled on the sofa with popcorn. Zeke would give him some kind of practical gift, while Eren would give him money for something he wanted for himself, he'd always show him what he'd decided to buy the moment he got home after buying it. Eren wouldn't gift Reiner or Bertholdt anything, as they knew better than to give him anything either, Zeke wouldn't allow it. With Hanji pushing the shopping trolley, Eren had a partner in crime. One white Christmas tree, with shatter proof baubles and tinsel, took up nearly all the room, but he was ok with that. Christmas with his boyfriend was going to be different, especially since Hanji said they would be spending most of the day at her house for her familiar Christmas party. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with Hanji, Moblit and Erwin, he'd just planned something special for him and Levi. These plans had been completely crushed when Hanji had even informed him of the fact that Levi's birthday was Christmas Day, something his boyfriend had neglected to inform him about, so instead of stressing over one present, he was now stressing over two. Hanji had insisted he was fine just combining Christmas with Levi's birthday, but to Eren, it definitely wasn't fine. He wanted to celebrate both Christmas and his boyfriend's birthday with him. As two seperate events, on the same day. He knew exactly what he wanted to do with Levi, he just needed to find exactly what he was looking for, and thankfully Hanji needed frequent bathroom breaks... otherwise he would have died of embarrassment over picking out the right Christmas outfit. Hanji might be wise about many things, but no way in hell did she need to know he was picking lingerie out. He didn't even know if Levi would like it... he just... he wanted to be intimate with Levi again. He'd talked to Krista about it, and she'd said if it was something he wanted, and he was in the right mental state, then he should go for it. Of course she'd been much more delicate in her word choice, and she'd given a him a table looking thing to record his panic attacks on. He was kind of proud to say it'd been 10 days since he'd had a panic attack, and the last one Levi had calmed before it had even got all that severe. So, really, he hadn't had a major panic attack since hearing from Armin, and Levi had dealt with him. To him, it meant that maybe being intimate with Levi wasn't that far out of his reach. Even though she was pregnant, Hanji was still up for a little mischief. He hadn't been feeling too happy with the insane crowds in the shopping centre, yet he was having fun watching Hanji acting more like an omega than alpha, clinging close to his side and crying over everything adorable. Pregnancy really agreed with her. Her bump smaller than Marco's had been at the same time along in his pregnancy, but she'd assured him everything was ok, before starting to ramble about the few times she and Marco had met up a coffee without him... Hanji had talked about it like he'd known about it, but Marco had said nothing to him. At all. No invite. Nothing ... he was definitely on the outer circle now of the "mummy club" he definitely wasn't part of. Everyone had their own lives, and all he had was Levi. No. That wasn't the right way to say it... he was grateful to Levi, and he loved him, so it didn't matter that the only person he went out with these days was Levi... he'd thought he'd be spending the day in bed, because Levi was busy today with staff training after his shift, so Hanji had sprung all of this on him when she'd broken into their apartment this morning. He'd been wondering how he was going to find a gift for Levi when he was always with his alpha, so he just had to keep it all together for a little longer, than he could back home and surprise Levi with the Christmas tree. Levi was a practical alpha. Almost everything he owned had some kind of practical purpose, so Eren wanted to find something that wouldn't be practical. Something the alpha wouldn't buy for himself. He'd thought about buying his alpha a blanket for his ruts, something he could smother his scent in, to ease Levi's pain... but that might have been too cheesy, besides, there were plenty of blankets in their apartment that smelt like him. He wanted something that would remind Levi of him, without being too possessive or overbearing. He was his boyfriend, his partner. He didn't want to shackle Levi down. He wanted his alpha to always be happy. That was how he found a watch he really liked, while wandering around like a lost kid. It was kind of cheap, though expensive for him, but with its silver band, hands, numbers and trim, and emerald green face, it seemed perfect. With, Hanji having to pee again, he didn't have to listen to the pros and cons of buying Levi a watch. He decided to gift it to Levi for his birthday, rather than for Christmas. After hours, they finally finished their gift shopping. Swinging by Hanji's car to drop it all off, he then had Hanji come food shopping with him. He wanted to make Levi a birthday cake, though he'd lied when Hanji asked him why he was buying cake mix. Feeling self conscious enough as it was, Hanji didn't notice, filling the trolley with random things while telling him not to worry about it, as she always made Levi's cake. She might be their friend, but he was Levi's boyfriend. He should be the one making Levi a birthday cake. He wanted to. He wanted things to be perfect for Levi's birthday, before they headed over to Hanji's Christmas party. Getting a few more things to sell the lie that he was going to make a cake sometime in the near future, he was absolutely done with people by the end of it. The queues had been soooooo long when they'd entered, and seemed even longer once they joined. Given his size, and Hanji's own height, he knew they weren't invisible, yet because he was a lowly omega, people thought they would walk all over him, knocking into him with trolleys like he wasn't there at all. That was until Hanji started yelling at everyone around them. The pregnant alpha causing enough of a scene that everyone made themselves busy pretending that the pair of them didn't exist. Hanji's yelling might have been in his defence, but she could be fucking scary and despite how hard he tried to hold it in, fine tremors ran through his body. When the young guy serving them politely asked how their day had been, Eren could only squeak out something completely unintelligible, before clamming up completely while Hanji started talking a million miles an hour, leaving the poor guy looking like he regretted opening his mouth. He wished he had her confidence to deal with people in crowded situation like this one. With Hanji feeling tired, they headed back to the apartment. With their arms loaded with shopping, he was surprised to see Levi wasn't home yet, as the pair of them dumped everything on the sofa gracelessly. They'd spent hours shopping, and even allowing for the few hours overlap where Levi was still on shift, he'd expected his alpha to be home. Hiding the things he didn't want Levi to find in his bed, under the sea of blankets. He'd been avoiding looking inside his wardrobe since Levi had fixed it for him. Fixing it had been covering the whole inside of the wardrobe with wallpaper. The omega felt bad for his boyfriend. Levi didn't have the time to be wasting it on wallpapering, only for him to avoid his wardrobe completely. So maybe Krista's table would have been fuller if he'd been living a little more normally, but if he knew he couldn't currently handle it then wasn't it a good thing he was avoiding it? Making sure his bed still looked nicely made, Eren hummed to himself before heading back out to the living room. Sprawled across the sofa, Hanji was talking to Titan as if he were a baby. The fat cat glaring her right into the eyes "He's going to claw you" "He wouldn't, he's too fluffy and cute" Eren rolled his eyes, sitting down in Levi recliner and gathering himself up. Being on the recliner, he had no idea how Hanji was possibly comfortable. The Christmas tree box was getting crushed under Hanji's weight, as was the food shopping, yet he was more worried about her comfort... because she couldn't possibly be comfortable "Why don't you sit up properly?" "Why don't you tell me what you were smuggling into your room?" "I wasn't smuggling anything" "Mhmm, don't think I didn't notice those extra bags. Spill. What did you buy without me?" "Nothing" "So you wouldn't mind if I went and took a look?" "It's just some shopping for Levi and for me... and you know, you and the baby" Hanji lowered Titan, squinting at him suspiciously "I didn't see you get me anything" "Because you had to pee every five seconds" "That's not my fault!" "Is too! You could have waited" "Then you would have known what I'd bought for you" Hanji released Titan, brushing his fur off her stomach "Fiiiine. I'll forgive me if you feed me. Seriously, not having you around and helping out has sucked sooo much. Levi better be appreciating you" "You'd have to ask him about that one. And if you want to cook you something, you need to get off the food" "But it's comfy!" "Hanji, get off the food, or I won't cook at all" "You're so mean. I'm going to have to talk to Levi about this. Making a pregnant alpha move..." Despite her grumbling, Hanji was still smiling as she pushed herself up, freeing the food "Now I have to pee again... see, this is why I didn't want to move" Eren grabbed the bags of his food shopping out the pile "I thought it was because you were comfy" "There's that too" "Just go the toilet already..." "But the effort" Why was he friends with Hanji? She was completely mental... "Do you really want to explain why you wet yourself on Levi's sofa?" Pushing herself up, Hanji giggled "You'll protect me from him, won't you?" "Nope. I like the sofa, I'd rather it not be peed on. We had to deal with that from Titan" "It's hard being fat and floofy. You just wait until you're pregnant and have to climb up like every five minutes" "Titan's a boy cat. He can't get pregnant like an omega" Hanji waved her hand at him, walking off into the bathroom while Eren carried everything into the kitchen. Levi finally came home while Eren was cooking omelettes for Hanji. Hanji had insisted on throwing all kinds of things in them, leaving them too oily to form properly. It was more like scrambled eggs. Joining him in the kitchen, Levi wrapped his arms around him "Aww.. you two are so cute" "Shut up. Don't think I didn't notice that Christmas tree on the sofa. You know how I feel about them" Eren's heart dropped. He'd thought Levi might be open to it, given it was their first Christmas together... yet his boyfriend sounded pissed. He even smelt pissed... "Don't look at me shorty. That was all Eren" "Eren..." "Do you want eggs?" "What? No. I already ate while I was out. I bought you back something to" His anxieties decided to his him hard. Levi was made and he'd just said "out" instead of "at work", he didn't think Levi would lie to him... but maybe his boyfriend had found someone better... nuzzling his shoulder, Levi quietly asked "Eren, are you alright?" "I'm sorry... I didn't think you'd mind the tree without lights" He mumbled his reply, forcing his stupid tears to stay down "It's ok... I don't like Christmas trees, but maybe this year will be different? It is our first Christmas together" "What are you two whispering about over there? It better be about the eggs, because me and this little bean are starting" Levi sighed against him, his alpha releasing him to move over to Hanji "Eren's about to serve your damn eggs" "That's because Eren is awesome. He let me Christmas shop all I wanted, not like you" Levi and Hanji usually went together? Had he intruded on that? Was he supposed to have told Hanji no? Fuck... his anxieties were really starting to rise. He'd been shaken by shopping, but determined to keep it in. Now he was home in the safety of the apartment, his frayed nerves seemed determined to make him fall apart completely "When you're shopping you get in and you get out. You don't spend hours wandering" "If you don't spend hours wandering, you miss all the best bits!" Plating up Hanji's eggs, he couldn't stomach the idea of eating the small extra amount he'd made himself. He would have fled to Levi's room, but Levi was home now "You're not eating?" Hanji pouted at him "I'm not feeling great" Levi was by his side in an instant. Placing his palm on Eren's forehead, his boyfriend frowned "You don't have a fever" He should have lied or just said he wasn't hungry "Do you have a headache? Or do you feel all nucky in your tummy?" Levi shot a glare at Hanji, before looking back to him, waiting for an answer "I'm just tired. Sorry, Hanji. I think I want to lay down" "You did have a big day, sweetie, and Levi's here to annoy now. Go have a nap" Levi went to kiss his cheek, but Eren dodged him, fleeing to his room and away from the two stupidly medically trained alphas. Couldn't he just say he felt sick? Why did they have to ask what kind of sick? He was sure there were times when they'd just felt gross or didn't really want company, so why'd they have to make him feel even more anxious about everything. Locking his door, he toed off his shoes as he crossed to his bed, flopping down on the blankets before remembering he'd stashed stuff under them. Given none of it was breakable, he curled up on the covers feeling stupid. * Hanji decided to stay and annoy him for about an hour even he'd gotten home. Having spent more time with Armin and Mikasa than he'd intended, he now had precious few hours before his next shift. The pair had a never ending stream of questions over Eren and his life, while Levi had pretty much none of the answers. He didn't even know what his boyfriend's favourite colour was... Trying not to explain all the shit Eren had been through, he could only give them vague answers, which pissed Mikasa off. She and Armin were both ultimately disappointed and upset over Eren not wanting to meet with them. He didn't close the door completely on them, simply explaining that with the death of Zeke, no wasn't the right time. He was sure there would come a time when Eren would want to reconnect with the pair of them, and it was clear how much they'd cared for their friend. No normal person would spend 10 years looking for a missing friend, not when they probably couldn't even remember Eren properly. When he'd parted with the pair, Armin had handed over the box and Levi had forced himself to wait until he was in his car to check the contents. There had been a photo album at the bottom of everything and that had made the whole headache inducing ordeal worth it. Now he just needed to deal with the next issue... the Christmas tree glaring at him from the sofa. Titan loved Christmas trees, to the point when he'd lay in his back, swatting at baubles like nothing else existed in his world for hours upon hours at a time. For such a lazy cat, the effort he went to when it came to trees was kind of impressive. For a while he had a small tree forced upon him by Hanji, until he was woken one night to Titan almost screeching and found the Christmas tree light cord chewed. After finding the tom hiding under his bed, and glaring at the tree as if it had betrayed him, he'd simply decided no more trees for them. He loved his cat, so it'd been an easy enough decision. Besides, they were messy. The small bits of plastic leaves always fell to the floor, and when you swept under it, more would fall... like some never ending cycle of torture. But on the other hand. This was his first Christmas with Eren. Eren was probably missing Zeke more than ever, and he'd probably had some kind of tree while living with his brother. He intended this to be the first of many Christmas's with his boyfriend, so many it was time to just go with the flow? Eren didn't but any lights, so there was no risk of Titan electrocuting himself, and no risk of fire... it was just... The messy... plasticy... never ending snowing... plastic. If or when they had pups, he didn't want to be the dad that banned trees. Levi felt himself jump at his own thoughts. Did he want to be a dad? How did one even "dad"? He wanted a future with Eren, and Eren wanted kids... and he wanted kids with Eren... so yes? He wanted to be a dad? Feeling slightly overwhelmed, he left the Christmas tree box on the sofa and fled into his own room. He didn't know what warm families did for Christmas. Thanks to their jobs, Hanji's Christmas party ran from the time she got off work, all the way through to the following morning. That was everyone could stop in at some point for food and company... this year, he had to work but was working the day shift Christmas Eve, then Christmas night, giving him plenty of time to fuck up Christmas for Eren. With each of them caught up in their spiralling emotions, they spent the day locked away in their respective rooms, Levi only finding a few hours sleep before it was time to get up and get ready for work all over again. * Work had been horrible. Levi exhausted and irritable from it all, yet when he came home to find the apartment cleaned thoroughly, as well as dusted and Christmas tree free, he felt that irritation turn into sadness. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Eren about the Christmas tree issue, and seeing it gone from the sofa made him feel like a dick. He'd already decided this Christmas would be different. He wanted to make it special for Eren. It was time to form new Christmas traditions, and he was starting with the reinstatement of the Christmas tree. Clearing a space in living room, next to the sofa, he laid out a white towel. Eren had purchased a white tree, so the plastic mess it made wouldn't be quite so obvious. With no lights, there would be no trip hazards, and if the tree was to fall due to Titan, it wouldn't take anything out in its decent. Now it was time to find Eren. Usually his boyfriend wandered out on his own, but as he hadn't, the omega was probably sleeping in their bed. Deciding to shower before waking Eren, his boyfriend was sleeping in his own bed. Titan was pulled up against his chest, the pair of them spooned up and snoring. In the corner of Eren's room was the Christmas tree box, as well as what seemed to be a box of decorations and tinsel. Carrying it all out into the living room, it was finally time to wake Eren. It honestly felt like they hadn't talked in weeks. Work had been horrific, and not just from a lack of sleep. Two shitty alphas had gotten into a fight in the middle of a department store. One breaking the others nose... after being stabbed with scissors by the other one. Christmas always brought out the worst in people. Crawling into Eren's bed, Levi wrapped his arms around Eren. His boyfriend letting out a sleepy yawn before wriggling back into him. Kissing Eren's bare shoulder, the his boyfriend yawned again "Sleepy?" "Mmm... not anymore. How was work?" "Long. All I could think about was coming home to you" "I missed you too... I cleaned" Rolling in his hold, Titan meowed as he fell from the bed, but Eren was already snuggling back into him and didn't notice the cats rapid eviction "I noticed. Are you awake? Or falling back to sleep?" "Awake. You're just really warm and comfy" "If you're awake then, I've got a surprise for you" "A surprise? What did I do to deserve that?" "You put up with me" "That's not hard" Nuzzling into his neck, Eren was in no hurry to move. Pulling Eren up and rolling them over so his boyfriend was straddling him, Eren flopped down against him "Sleepy" Tickling his sides, Eren shot back up, laughing as he did "Ok! Ok! I'm awake" "That's better. I want to do this with you, before I fall asleep" "Do what?" "You're about to find out, hold on" Lifting Eren and carrying him out to living room wasn't nearly as coordinated or sexy as he'd hoped. He'd nearly tripped over his own feet trying to get him out of bed, before nearly smacking him into the doorframe. Finally making it to the living room, he dropped him down the sofa, where Eren let out a yelp "What was that?" "You try working a 12 hour shift with fuck all sleep" "Then why aren't we still in bed?" "Because I have something to ask you" "Yeah, what would that be?" Levi took a deep breath, trying to appear as serious as he could, as little revenge for Eren sitting there shirtless "We've known each other for a year now, and I could never have imagined how much you would come to mean to me. So I'm asking you, will you, Eren Yeager, please do me the honour of putting up this Christmas tree with me?" Eren gaped at him, before starting to laugh "You have no idea how happy this makes me. Yes, Levi. I would be honoured to put this Christmas tree up with you... but I thought you hated Christmas trees" Sitting down on the coffee table, Levi looked to the box "I was thinking that maybe it was time for a change. Time for some new traditions around here, for the two of us" Reaching out, Eren took his hand in his "I was really worried I'd fucked up... you seemed unhappy about it" "I was, until I thought about this all. It's our first Christmas together, so I want to do it right" "That means you're not mad?" "No, Eren. I'm not mad at all. Why don't you show me what we're working with" Eren had worked with a dark metallic blue/green, white and silver theme for the tree. He'd expected the omega to have selected every colour under the sun, but as the slowly decorated the tree, it came together beautifully. More over, rather than placing the baubles up randomly, Eren carefully placed each one, soothing Levi's need for things to be in just the right location. Once they were finished, Eren placed the silver star he'd chosen atop the tree, before wrapping his arms around Levi and kissing his temple "Thank you... you have no idea how happy this makes me" Having witnessed how intent Eren had been on making everything perfect, he had a fair idea. Eren had even scolded him when he'd draped tinsel around his boyfriend's neck, as it belonged on their tree, and not around him "It looks great" "It doesn't look great, it looks perfect" Snorting Levi returned the hug "You did a good job" "I know. So did you..." The cocky little shit... still, he couldn't help but smile. Maybe this Christmas was a sign that things had definitely changed for the better? He had a wonderful boyfriend. A cat safe tree, and someone waiting for him at the end of each and every shift "We should get a photo before Titan gets to it" "Mmm... let me just hold you a little longer" He might hate the Christmas season, but his heart swelled with love for Eren. He wanted to give his omega the whole fucking world "Photos, then bed?" "Mmm, as much as I'd like nothing more than to climb into bed and snuggle up with my alpha, you haven't eaten anything since you came home. I'll heat up dinner, while you take the photos" "Are you telling me what to do?" "I am, when it comes to your health. You work so hard to support us, I just want to show you how much I care and how much you mean to me" Maybe this was what a warm and loving family felt like? A tree decorated together, a happy alpha and an even happier omega. If he could spend eternity in one moment, it'd have to be this one. In the loving arms of his boyfriend.

[lineffability]

In Every Living Thing #5

“In every living thing there is the desire for love.” ~ D. H. Lawrence

Nalu | Sculptor/Greek Myth AU part 5/7 read: all | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | on FF.net words: 2000 rating: T

Yes, it’s been more than a week since I last updated this. Yes, I am both sorry (that it took so long) and proud (that I wrote it at all). Yes, it is an actual update! I can’t believe it either!! 

moon ii.

Old romance might have failed, but modern romance surely wouldn’t.

At least that’s what Lucy thought when she signed Natsu up for online dating. 

“But Lucy,” Natsu whined, “Do I have to?”

“Absolutely,” Lucy huffed, “The best way to learn about love is to be in love, so that’s what you have to do in order to be able to stay here; I told you. Got that?”

“I guess,” Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

It had been a month since he had become part of the lonely Heartfilia household, and what he had contributed, mostly, was life. Life and the unexpected, but more frequent company of not only Wendy but also Gajeel, who seemed to slowly but surely grow more accustomed to being more than just the guy who left Wendy at the door and disappeared.

Change had come slowly, and it was still happening, but it had not gone unnoticed.

The fact that Natsu had decided that romance wasn’t for him and he’d rather hang with Lucy and Wendy to play video games and listen to their stories wasn’t exactly helping Lucy’s love mission along. Especially not her new plan of making him fall in love, instead of merely talking about it and continually failing to explain.

“You promised me!”

“Right, right.” Natsu sighed theatrically. “I’ll go and try to love her! But only for you.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, giggling softly. Then she faltered and pursed her lips. Something about his words, and the carefree way in which he said them, touched her in odd places, but then… What was it about them that bothered her? She wasn’t quite sure, but there was an unpleasant feeling in the very back of her stomach, rearing its head, and it sat there quite uncomfortably.

Shaking her head, she looked back at the screen. “Look, this girl is perfect! Good-looking, nice smile, has a proper job… likes reading! Natsu, you’re taking this one.”

“...sounds more like you wanna go yourself.”

She glared at him with pursed lips, producing a dismissive smacking sound. “Trust me, you’ll be going on this date, and if it’s the last thing I do.”

“You’re cruel, Lucy.”

“You’re living under my roof. My rules.”

And however more of his feeble protest he tried to plead to her, there was nothing he could do.

Rarely had an evening ever been this long.

And it had only been an hour since she’d dropped Natsu off. She’d given him some of her own precious money before leaving him in front of her favourite restaurant, where he would meet the date that would hopefully turn out to be the love of his life.

But why could Lucy not find it in her to be happy about this great plan of hers? She sank deeper into the couch, hoping it would swallow her up. She just couldn’t stop thinking of the two.

“Lucy, is something wrong?” Wendy looked at her with large, worried eyes, and Lucy immediately felt guilty. This was Wendy’s time, she shouldn’t waste it away with thoughts about someone else.

“Oh no, I’m fine,” she was quick to deny with a weak laugh.

“She’s not fine,” Gajeel grunted, and both girls turned their heads. “She’s pining like a schoolgirl.”

“I’m not!” Entirely scandalized, Lucy gaped at Gajeel. She was not! The bundle of fur currently sprawled out on her lap raised its head and yawned. Lucy pouted down at the little cat, who began purring.

“See,” Wendy giggled, “Even Happy agrees.”

Lucy puffed her cheeks. When even the cat teamed up against her, maybe she should be giving Gajeel’s words more thought. But she refused stubbornly. What did he know! Did she really have feelings for a guy who wouldn’t know love if it slapped him in the face? No way! Huffing, Lucy rearranged her legs, and Happy jumped off her lap to tip-toe over to Charle’s side. She promptly moved away. Lucy smiled.

If her home had become more lively with Natsu’s appearance, then the cats were just the cherry on top of the cake. Fondly, Lucy recalled the day the four of them -- Wendy, Natsu, her, and even a very grumpy Gajeel -- had went to the local shelter to adopt a cat for Wendy’s birthday. One. Singular. How exactly they wound up with three, she still wasn’t sure.

She should have known that Natsu would be awfully excited inside an animal shelter, but when even Gajeel had wordlessly handed her a large, black cat with only one eye she’d actually considered if she’d ended up in an alternate reality.

The only cat who took up permanent residence was the odd one Natsu had named Happy, and while Lucy had declared the kitten was his responsibility alone, she found herself stealing him from Natsu more often than not. She’d always considered herself more of a dog person, but she had to admit she was entirely smitten with the little thing. But nobody loved Happy more than Natsu…The duo of doom, she’d dubbed them.

Lucy looked at her watch for the hundredth time, caught herself doing so, and grumpily sat on her hand to hide it from view. Really, what was wrong with her?! She was sure everything was going fine. Otherwise he would’ve called her on his emergency phone, she’d made sure of that.

Or what if… everything was fine? Absolutely fine? What if it was going great?

Lucy fidgeted nervously. “So this is a fun movie,” she said a little too loudly, trying to keep her mind from wandering, “”Who do you think she will end up with?”

But her question never was answered.

“Yo, Lucy!”

“Natsu?!” Lucy almost fell off the couch. His entrance was s sudden, for a second she wondered if she’d fallen asleep. “You’re back already?”

Gajeel shot her an incredulous look. As if she hadn’t been checking the time frantically all evening. But Lucy didn’t notice. Her attention was on Natsu.

“Natsu!” Wendy chirped, a large smile on her face, and he smiled back as he peeled himself out of his jacket.

“Was it not good?” she asked, wondering if she sounded too hopeful.

“Oh, yeah, it was nice! But I got bored.”

“Natsu! Don’t tell me you… ditched her?”

“Oh, nah! I invited her along.”

“Wait, what?!”

All blood left Lucy’s face as she forced her gaze away from Natsu and leaned sideways, her terrified eyes landing on a small woman who stood awkwardly in the doorframe. Lucy recognized her face from the dating website.

“Oh my god,” she wailed, “I’m so sorry! My friend, he’s-- well--”

“Oh no no, it’s alright!” the other woman quickly rescued her, waving her hands as they both tried to overplay their embarrassment. “Natsu was actually really nice! It was uh...fun?”

“But we can’t go back to that place because, apparently, I stole food.” Natsu informed Lucy, looking rather annoyed.

“What?!” Lucy felt like evaporating. Why had she ever thought letting Natsu leave the house on his own was a good idea?? “Natsu, that was my favourite restaurant! I can’t believe you stole from them!”

“I didn’t! I just tried some food that wasn’t on my plate… didn’t know that was such a bad thing.”

Helplessly, Lucy fixed her eyes on the unfortunate date, who just shrugged and then -- to Lucy’s amazement -- proceeded to giggle.

“It was kind of funny, you know…” she recalled, holding a hand to her mouth as her laughter became more frequent.

Poor thing, Lucy thought, probably wanting nothing more than to disappear into a hole in the ground. And she was so nice! Really, this Natsu… (But again, there was this part of her that felt oddly relieved to find him back, at home with her.)

Remembering her manners, Lucy scrambled off the couch and strode past Natsu, pointedly ignoring his offended expression, and held out a hand to the woman. “It might be too late for a proper introduction, but hi, I’m Lucy. You must be Levy.”

The words left her lips and immediately Lucy could have slapped herself. Levy’s brows rose, but in amusement rather than affront.

“Checked me out, have you?” she said with a little grin, and Lucy grasped the lifeline and laughed in relief. “It’s okay; this whole blind date thing wasn’t my idea anyways. I figured it’d be a disaster.”

“No offense,” she quickly added, but Natsu just grinned and put an arm around Lucy’s shoulders.

“I knew you’d like her!” he said to Lucy, and then leaned forward towards Levy with a conspiratory air, “I told ya, she would’ve liked to go out with you more than me.”

“Natsu!” Lucy yelped, her entire face turning red. Now everyone was laughing. “I’ll go and make you some tea!” she called towards Levy, already halfway out of the room, and then waved at the empty place beside Gajeel. “Please, take a seat!”

Gajeel, who had been curiously eyeing the newcomer, quickly turned his face in another direction, acknowledging her presence beside him only with a curt nod. His cat, Lily, promptly nudged her leg. It did not escape Gajeel’s attention.

Natsu made himself comfortable on the ground, where Lucy joined him after she’d brought in a big jug of camomile tea for the company. Levy fit in surprisingly well, and soon it felt like she was an old acquaintance rather than a spurned blind date. Lucy could have sworn Gajeel was taking a special interest in her, even if he was trying his damn best not to show it.

She grinned to herself, but Natsu was the only one who saw. He leaned in closer, and she became acutely aware of his presence beside her. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing,” Lucy replied quietly, and with a smile, “But maybe you can soon learn more about love from these two.” She chuckled at her own little joke. Natsu turned to look behind him, but was stopped by an elbow to his side. “Don’t!” Lucy warned.

“You’re really weird, you know,” he grumbled, but then suddenly grinned at her. “But it’s more fun that way. The date was okay, but I just wanted to go back home and hang out with you, Lucy.”

Lucy’s heart jolted. Did he even realize the kinds of things he was saying? Did he even realize what his words were doing to her? Oh, this was not good.

She was beginning to realize just why she’d been so nervous all evening. Why her heart was suddenly doing weird things to her when he looked at her with so much fondness in his eyes. Oh, this was not good at all.

This should not be happening. This wasn’t part of her plan!

Carefully, she snuck a glance at Natsu, who seemed absorbed by the movie. But he noticed her look and smiled at her before returning his attention to the screen. Lucy’s chest ached.

It was so like her to fall for a supernatural man without a proper understanding of the most important of human emotions. To him, how could she be anything more than a friend?

She had created him. It was her duty to look after him and to do everything she could to make sure he could stay here in this world, whether he chose to stay with her or not.

Lucy hadn’t expected to feel what she was feeling now.

It would make things so much more complicated.

Biting her lip, she carefully leaned her head against his shoulder. She had done this before, but today her heart skipped a beat, and a part of her disliked it. But then Natsu leaned against her, just slightly, and all her worries went to hell.

Natsu looked down at the top of Lucy’s head with a smile. His right hand was busy cuddling Happy, and his left was trapped between himself and Lucy, but he wouldn’t have moved an inch. He felt content and warm, and more at ease than anywhere else.

If there was one thing Natsu had realized in his time here, it was this: There was nowhere he’d rather be than by Lucy’s side.