#and yeah there’s probably people minding their own business like Van was

[isawaminihorseyesterday]

Okay but like how did Lottie get out of Switzerland and how did she get the money necessary to buy that much land and influence

Like yes I know her family is rich but also I doubt they’d let her leave Switzerland. And if something happened to her I doubt they’d have left her all that money

What I’m saying is there’s another adult Yellowjacket we don’t know about who got her out and set her up upstate

[measuredingold]

to be in love and to be loved

chapter three: unexpected

authors note: finally able to post this chapter! it was a struggle for me to finish and this isn't even all that i've written, i've wrote so much that what i had originally planned for chapter three is going to be chapter four. however, even in the struggle, i'm excited for what i have planned for this series <3 as always please enjoy and feedback is appreciated! this is also entirely in naomi's pov :)

pairing: noah sebastian x ofc x nicholas ruffilo

masterlist / cross-posted on ao3

word count: 8.4k (another doozy)

cw: ~kissing~, lots of angst (your chest might hurt), sexual content (phone sex lol), feelings realization, 18+ (minors do not interact.)

Living in a van for a week was not all it was cracked up to be. This week included being crammed in a tiny space for days on end, getting to know her friends in more personal ways than she ever dreamed of, learning how to sleep sitting straight up and being comfortable, and eating more fast food than she ever had in life. Though, as her mind drifts off to her flight later this evening, she can't help but already miss it.

Yeah, it sounds fucking awful, especially being the only girl in the crew, but there was something about it that Mimi loved. She got to spend a whole week with some of her favorite people in the entire world, and the thought of going back home makes her sick. She’s never liked goodbyes. They've always left her feeling sad, almost empty. Depending on who it is she often feels like something is missing when leaving them, or when they leave her.

It was hard when Noah and Nicholas moved to Los Angeles. She was happy that they were chasing their dreams and doing what they wanted, but she couldn't deny the sadness that crept into her every time Noah brought up their move. The day they left was hard, but the first night was even harder. She truly felt like there were pieces of her missing. 

It’s starting to feel a lot like that right now.

She feels Noah squeeze her hand and looks up at him, but the boy is looking out the window, lips turned down into a frown. She sighs and leans her head against his shoulder. This morning had been... quiet. They all knew what was coming but no one dared to say anything. Even Folio was quieter than normal, giving her a sad smile when she greeted him that morning.

Noah has barely said a word to anyone today, and he hasn’t left her side for one second. He’s not usually this clingy, brief touches here and there at most, but ever since last night he’s been glued to her. He even helped her at the merch table with Nicholas, and when they weren’t busy, he had his hands on her. In retrospect it was nice, but she knew deep down the clinginess is coming from a place of sadness.

Before she knows it, Jolly’s pulling into the airport parking garage. She told them they didn’t have to park and follow her inside, just dropping her off at the door was fine, but they all insisted. It’s quiet when they make their way inside, Nicholas insisting that he carries her things while Noah’s hand clutches her own.

They waited until the last moment to drop her off, per Naomi’s request, because she wanted to spend every last moment with them. She had about an hour before her planed started boarding, and by time she got through TSA, she’d probably only have enough time to get a quick snack and get ready for boarding.

Jolly and Nick said their goodbyes first, pulling Naomi into their arms. She tries not to cry, swallowing down her tears when she lets them know she’ll miss them. They were good friends before her arrival, but after spending an entire week with them, she knows their friendship has strengthened. Jolly even kisses her forehead before he lets her go, giving her a gentle smile before pushing her towards Nicholas who was next.

She turns to meet Nicholas' gaze and she thought she could hold it in like she did with Jolly and Nick, but the second his lips turn into a sad smile she feels herself breaking.

“Come here.” 

She rushes into his arms, slipping hers around his waist as she pressed herself against him. She doesn’t stop the tears and instead lets them flow as she buries her face against his shoulder. He doesn’t say anything, just tucks his face against the crook of her neck and squeezes her to him.

“I’m gonna miss you.” She manages to get out, voice muffled by Nicholas’ jacket. He laughs, but it falls short.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Mimi.”

She pulls away from him to finally get a good look at his face, eyes scanning his features. This time feels different, good or bad she’s not sure, but she’s trying to savor every second she has left with her best friend.

Nicholas leans forward and brushes his lips against her forehead before whispering, “No more tears. We’ll be back before you know it, okay?”

Naomi sniffles before giving him a tiny nod and he smiles, but she doesn’t miss the way his eyes gloss over in his own tears. He pulls her back against him to give her one last hug.

“Take care of him.” She whispers, just low enough for Nicholas to hear. He stills in her hold. “You always do anyways, but I feel like I just needed to say it.”

“I will. I promise.” He whispers, voice sounding strained, and it almost sends her over the edge.

They hold each other for a few more moments before she finally pulls away, dreading to turn around to Noah. She already knows he’s trying to hold it together for her, but with how he’s acted the last 24 hours, she can already guess how hard that’s becoming. Nicholas gives her one last smile before she turns to Noah, her heart immediately crumbling beneath her chest.

He looks… well, fucking miserable. Eyes rimmed red and glossy, but no tears have yet to fall. He’s trying so fucking hard, she knows, and Naomi doesn’t stop herself from rushing towards him. He lets out a whine the second her arms around wrapped around his waist, a pitiful sound, and she feels fresh new tears slip from her eyes.

Leaving Noah was always hard, even when they were just friends, but now it was different. They were together. After her conversation with Nicholas in the van, she went to Noah the next morning and they both finally decided what this was. Noah was hers and she was his and thinking about going back to Virginia and her tiny little apartment she once called home without him has her feeling like her chest is about to rip into a million fucking pieces.

“Can I just come with you?” She hears Noah say from above her, voice muffled from the way his face is buried in her hair. She laughs, sad and wet, and presses herself closer to him.

“They’d kick my ass if I stole their lead singer.” She eventually gets out, swallowing down the sob that wants to escape. She pulls back to look up at Noah and catches the moment a single tear slips from his eyes. She’s quick to reach up and wipe it away, hands cupping his face. “Only a few more weeks and then we’ll figure it out. Okay? I’ll come to you, you can come to me, whatever you want.”

Noah nods and he sucks in a shaky breath, leaning down to press his forehead against hers. “I love you.”

She smiles up at him and leans up, lips brushing against his briefly. “I love you.”

An announcement over the airport speakers has them breaking from their moment, and Naomi pulls back to check her phone, seeing she had about 45 minutes until boarding starts.

“Text me when you get home.” Noah mumbles sadly, pulling her back against his chest. “Right when you land, right when you get to your car, right when you walk into your apartment…”

She laughs, a real one, and lets herself relax in his hold for a few more moments.

“Okay, dad.”

Noah rolls his eyes but laughs along with her anyways, and with one last kiss, she’s making her way towards the security line. They stay until she’s made it to the front, and she sends them a sad wave. She gets through TSA a lot quicker than she expected, which was a plus, and had enough time to get a few snacks and a drink to keep her satisfied on the plane.

The plane ride home wasn’t bad at all. She ended up eating her snacks and falling asleep halfway through, which was nice, because she had barely gotten any sleep the night before, but it was barely enough to satisfy her. She wakes up groggy and walks through the airport almost like a zombie, half asleep trying to find which way she needs to go. She forgets to text Noah when she lands, when she gets to her car, but doesn’t forget when she steps into her apartment. She fishes her phone out from her bag, thumbs dancing across the screen.

i’m home and am missing you already. facetime later? :(

Her thumb hovered over the screen, eyes staring down at her opened messages. Nicholas' name stares at her and without thinking she opens it, thumbs working over the screen.

wanted to let you know that i'm home❤️

Mimi isn't sure why she sent it and why she felt the need to even let him know because Noah would end up telling him, but her fingers move faster than her mind. She locks her phone and takes a deep breath, her eyes scanning over her apartment. Before this trip it had felt like home, and she made sure of it with all the clutter she's added to make it really feel like hers. Now, a deep ache is settling itself into her chest, these four walls feeling foreign to her.

She's starting to think that maybe home isn't a place, but a person.

Or maybe… people. 

…

Life went on how it had before, Naomi waking herself up every day to head off to work, maybe hang out with a few friends after she got off, and then settle herself onto her couch after a long day with one of her shows. Most nights she'd FaceTime with Noah, and sometimes with Nicholas when he would answer, and it was nice, but the ache in her chest grew each time they said goodbye.

Tonight was no different, her phone propped up in her hand as she curled up on the couch, Noah's name flashing across the screen. She smiled to herself before answering, waiting for the connection to kick in so she could see his face. It felt like she hadn't seen him in months, even though she had spoken to him the night before while getting ready for bed. 

"There she is."

Noah's voice instantly brings a smile to her face.

"Hi baby," She hums happily, shifting into a more comfortable position. "What's up?"

Naomi caught his eye through the screen, and he smiled, wide and bright, and leaned back against the couch he was sitting on, holding his phone up.

"Just chillin'." Noah says with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "We just finished setting up for tonight and now everyone's just... doing their own thing, I guess."

"Are you by yourself?" She can't help but frown.

"Nicky was here a second ago, but I have no idea where he went."

Just the mention of Nicholas has her chest feeling heavy, the thought of the boy plaguing her mind. It's not like she hasn't spoken to him since she's been home, actually FaceTimed him the other night when she couldn't sleep, and he just so happened to be awake. But it wasn't... like it normally was. Their conversations were short, Nicholas not saying much while Naomi told him about her day. Even his texts seem to be shorter. It feels almost as if he's pulling away from her, for what reason she's not sure. She thought whatever that was wrong with him the week she joined them on tour was over with, but it only seemed to get worse once she left.

"What's that face for?"

Noah's voice snaps her out of her thoughts, and she blinks at the screen, head tilting.

"What?"

"Your face." Noah squints at her through the screen, his own lips dipping into a frown. "You're pouting, and your foreheads doing that thing where you get lines when you think too hard."

"No, it's not." Naomi says, growing immensely defensive. She tries to relax her face, but Nicholas crosses her mind once again, and her frown returns.

"You're doing it again." Noah's tone softens. "What's up?"

“Is Nicky okay?” She blurts out after another moment of silence, worrying her bottom lip. 

Noah pauses. 

“What do you mean?”

Naomi shrugs, looking anywhere but the screen. “I don’t know, just.” Another pause. “He’s been a little weird with me recently.”

“Weird?”

She sighs. “I don’t know. We just don’t talk as often and when we do it’s… something’s off and I don't like it.”

Noah pauses again and she watches him chew on his bottom lip, brows furrowing. 

"Well, now that you mention it," Noah begins, shoulders deflating. "He has been acting a little weird. He..." His eyes shift to the side in thought. "It kinda seems like he's in his head a lot more recently? Like he's just... not here."

Naomi frowns once again. "Present but not present?"

Noah snaps his fingers, head nodding as his eyes focus back on his phone screen.

"Yes! Sometimes when I talk to him it's like he's not even there, but he's nodding along to whatever I say." It's Noah's turn to frown, and Naomi hates the way her heart drops, settling into her stomach with a heavy feeling. "You know, I didn't even realize it until you brought it up..."

His voice trails off, the sadness seeping through, and Naomi knows exactly what he's thinking.

"Don't feel bad." She's quick to add, head already shaking. "I didn't notice until a few days ago."

"But I do feel bad." Noah murmured. "He's my best friend, I'm supposed to know when he's going through something."

"Only if he tells you." Naomi says gently, the protective feeling she always gets when it came to Noah filling her veins. She squirms around on the couch to get comfortable again, fingers gripping her phone. "Nicky's a big boy, I'm sure he'll tell us what's wrong soon." 

"I guess..." His voice trails off again, unconvinced, and Naomi chews on her bottom lip again. 

She goes to say something else, not really sure what it could be, before Noah's head is snapping to the right, and she hears the door opening and muffled voices in the background - Jolly and Folio. No Nicholas. Her heart drops again, and she tries to swallow the lump in her throat that's been forming this entire phone call. 

"You hungry?" She hears Folio before she sees him. "Me and Jolly found a Denny's. Like a five-minute walk from here."

Noah's once sad demeanor changes in an instant at the mention of Denny's and she can't help but laugh, the worry slowly releasing itself from her body. She'll just tuck it in the back of her mind for now, bring it up again another time. Maybe she could even talk to Nicholas sometime this week and ask him what the fuck was up and finally put an end to whatever this was.

She just wanted her best friend back.

"Oh, fuck yes." Noah exhales happily before his gaze moves back to Mimi. "Do you know how long it's been since we had Denny's?"

"I'm guessing a while?"

"Too damn long." Folio's face finally comes into view, now sitting beside Noah on the couch. "Hey, Mimi. Is it okay if we steal your boy for dinner?"

"Hi, Nick. Of course, it's okay. I need to get up and eat, anyways."

"If you're awake, can I call you tonight?" Noah questions, staring at her with soft brown doe eyes. Mimi smiles.

"Sure. I'll turn on an alarm just in case I do fall asleep."

"Okay, cool. I'll text you." Noah smiles sweetly at the phone and her heart clenches beneath her chest, warmth spreading throughout her body. "Love you."

"Love you too." 

They exchange their goodbyes and Naomi lays against the couch for a moment, her phone laying on her chest. Her mind goes back to Nicholas and she wonders what he's doing. She reaches for her phone again and sorts through her messages, scrolling to find Nicholas' name. She frowns at the last conversation between the two of them, from a few days ago, and the one word replies from Nicholas staring back at her.

She sighs, thumbs sliding over the screen.

miss you and hope you're alright. talk soon? 

Not even thirty seconds later, the read receipt on her message appears and the texting bubble pops up. Her heart races as she waits, but a minute passes, and then another, and the bubble soon disappears, and her heart sinks.

…

A few days after her conversation with Noah, Naomi decided to call Nicholas. She waited a few days because they had back-to-back shows and didn't want to be annoying. It was just bothering her. What had she done? They were fine one day and then somehow the next they weren't. 

She's tried not to think too hard about it, but with how sad Noah had seemed upon his realization, she couldn't help it. Naomi has known Nicholas for over three years now. She knew him like the back of her goddamn hand, and she knew something was wrong. There's a reason why he was so distant, why he was pulling away. Not only from her but from Noah. 

The thought makes her sick, stomach twisting in a way that it's almost painful, and she has to swallow down whatever lump has decided to form in her throat. Naomi missed Nicholas - her Nicholas. The one she could talk to about whatever, the one she could call whenever, and he'd pick up. The one that didn't hide things from her. 

Naomi chewed on her thumb as she waited for her call to go through, hearing it ring three times before Nicholas picked up.

"Mimi?"

"Hi Nicky." She hummed softly. "Just checking in. Haven't heard from you in a few days."

"Oh, sorry. You know how it gets." He responds, almost sounding distracted. She frowns. "Everything's good, though. I'm sure Noah's told you."

"Well, yeah. He's told me." She grumbles. "But it would've been nice to hear from you every once in a while."

He pauses. "We literally talked like... four days ago."

"And it was a hi and bye at best." Naomi can't stop the sigh that slips from her. "We've barely spoken since I left. That's not like us, Nicky."

"I've been busy."

"Right. Yet Noah has enough time to talk to me… Hell, I’ve even heard from Jolly more than you.” She shifts in her seat, eyes narrowing at the wall ahead of her. “If there was something wrong, you’d tell me, right?”

“Of course.” His response comes quick, almost too quick, and Naomi nods to herself.

“Then why haven’t you told me there’s something obviously wrong?”

Nicholas is silent on the other end.

"Exactly.” Mimi spits out, annoyance already eating at her. "You've barely spoken to me. It's like I've done something to you and now you're avoiding me – you literally ignored my text the other day."

She doesn't hold back voicing her thoughts. She's never had to with Nicholas, he always being able to be someone she could always talk freely to, and even though they're in a weird spot she won't stop now. Another round of silence fills her ears, so quiet that all she can hear is Nicholas breathing on the other end. 

"Just..." Naomi sighs, bringing her free hand up to rub at her forehead. "If I did something to upset you then tell me, Nicky. I can't read your fucking mind. Especially when you're a hundred miles away."

"I'm not asking you to." His voice is sharp, and she can't help but flinch, even though she was just as sharp with him moments before. "I'm fine. Nothing happened. Tour is just a lot right now, promise."

"Remember when you said you could tell when I was lying?” He doesn’t respond. “Well, guess what? I can tell when you are too, Ruffilo."

"I'm not lying-"

"Nicholas." She cuts him off, an annoyed groan leaving her. "Can you please cut the bullshit? It's just the two of us. You can be honest and tell me what's got you so pissy."

"I'd rather not talk about it because it doesn't fucking matter, Naomi." Nicholas stops himself from continuing and he sighs. Mimi can already picture him running a frustrated hand through his hair and the image alone has something in her turning. "I know you didn’t call me just to argue so drop it, okay?”  

"No." She holds her ground, grinding her teeth together. "You're going to tell me what's wrong so we can fix this, alright?"

"Why are you so dead set on this?"

"Because you're my best friend!" She says exasperatedly, throwing her head back against the couch. "If there's something wrong, and something I may have caused, I would really like to fix it."

"Well, you can't." He laughs, and her stomach drops at how tired he sounds. Her lips dip into a frown. "I just need to suck it up and get over it."

It's Naomi's turn to be silent, chewing on her bottom lip as she racked her brain. Her mind goes back to the week she had spent on tour with the band and remembers the day Nicholas' whole demeanor changed one day, but she can't really pinpoint the exact reason why. He was fine one second and then not the next. 

What could have changed?

"I can literally hear your brain turning," Nicholas says softly. "I promise I'm fine, well, I'll be fine. I just need some time to sulk, think it over, and then I'll be good as new."

"I just wish I knew what was wrong so I could help." She mumbles, the sadness trickling through her voice. "I hate seeing you like this. I just want to take all that sadness away for you, Nicky."

He swallows. "I wish you could, too."

For some reason she feels nauseous. She hates that she can't help him when he needs someone, and she has to sit on the sidelines and watch while he suffers. Why can’t he just let her help?

"Can you at least let Noah know what’s going on? He's worried too."

"I know." A pause. "I'll talk to him."

"Thank you." She hums softly, and her gaze flicks towards the small clock she had on the wall. "I should probably go. It's late. You have a show tomorrow."

"That I do." He sounds tired and Mimi's chest twists with sadness.

"I'm sorry for being so upset." She quickly gets out before he could hang up. "I just... I care about you a lot."

"I know." Nicholas hums. "I care about you a lot, too. And Noah."

"We know."

Another moment of silence.

"Call me tomorrow?" Nicholas asks softly, hopeful. Naomi nods.

"Of course, as long as you answer.” She teases.

"Oh, fuck off.” There’s no malice behind his voice, and she can almost hear the smile in it. “Goodnight Mimi.”

"Goodnight Nicky."

That night as she laid in bed, trying to sleep, she did her best to ignore the heaviness in her heart as her mind drifted back to Nicholas.

...

The tension from her shoulders fell the second she stepped inside her apartment. A pleased noise escapes her, a sigh most likely, as she slipped her shoes off and left them by the door, padding her way through the apartment. It had been a long day filled with work at the new office, and an even longer night when her coworkers turned friends convinced her to go out with them. One drink turned into two, two drinks turned into three, and three drinks turned into her having to have someone drive her home.

Naomi didn't feel as drunk anymore, maybe a step above tipsy, and all she really wanted right now was to wash this makeup off and slip into something comfier. She'd been daydreaming about the oversized shirt in her closet on the ride home, almost being able to feel the soft fabric wrap itself around her body. She couldn't remember whose it was - maybe one she had bought, maybe one she stole from Noah, or maybe one she stole from Nicholas. Who knows, because she sure as hell doesn’t.

Her body falls into a routine the second she steps into her bathroom, comfy clothes on, and she pulls her curls up into a loose bun, diving straight into her skincare. She couldn't be bothered to do the whole step-by-step routine she liked to do, just a double cleanse to rinse the makeup and dirt from her face and then some moisturizer. 

Her phone ringing in her room has her pausing mid-cleanse, heart picking up from the surprise. 

"It's two in the fucking morning..." She grumbles to herself, rushing into her room to retrieve her phone.

Her heart rate slows down at the sight of Noah's name flashing across her screen, and she instantly relaxes. She forgot he had promised to call her after their show that night, but it might be later than usual. One of the headlining bands promised to take some of them out and treat them to some drinks. 

for being so fucking awesome🤘🏻, Noah had texted her earlier. 

She carefully picks the phone up and answers, immediately switching it to speaker phone.

"Hello?"

"Baby." 

Noah's voice fills her bathroom and the tone in which he used has a shiver running up her spine. She shakes it off, leaving it to the alcohol still coursing through her veins, and lays her phone down on the counter to finally wash off the cleanser still on her face.

"Hi, my love." She hums.

"What're you doing? You sound far away." There's a whine to his voice and she can't help but chuckle, smiling at herself through the mirror.

"You're on speaker phone, I'm taking my makeup off."

"Did you just get home?"

"Mhm." She bends over the sink, splashing water over her face before reaching for a washcloth, gently wiping her makeup off. "What're you doing? Did you guys end up going out?"

"Yeah." Noah hums in response. "I went out for a little bit, they're all still at the bar. I came back like five minutes ago."

She does another cleanse of her skin, just to make sure everything was completely off before dabbing a towel over her face. 

"Why'd you leave so early?"

"Missed you," Noah mumbled into the receiver, and she can hear the pout in his voice. She smiles to herself. "Wanted to hear your voice."

"Missed you too, sweetheart. How many more weeks of tour left?" She asks as if she didn't already know, counting down the damn days as they pass.

"Three weeks." He sounds relieved. "It's been incredible, but I miss my fucking bed. And you. I really fucking miss you."

Naomi laughs, a bit too loud for two in the morning, but she doesn't care. Hopefully her neighbors don't mind too much.

"These three weeks will fly by so quick, babe. I promise." 

Noah hums something in response but she doesn't quite catch it, only hearing the whine in his voice and the slight slur to his words. 

"What was that? I can’t hear you and your drunk rambling,” She teases with a laugh.

" ‘m not drunk. A little buzzed," She hears shifting on the other end and a shaky breath leaving Noah before he continues, "and maybe a little tired, but nothing too crazy. Are you drunk?"

"No. Just a little buzzed and tired like you."

"Can we switch to FaceTime? I wanna see you." There's a slight lilt to Noah's voice, a little more breathy than normal, and Naomi's skin prickles at the sound. 

"Of course, baby. Give me a second." She mumbles, quickly applying some moisturizer to her skin. 

She picks her phone up and presses the FaceTime option, watching her screen load. She props her phone up against the mirror in front of her and reaches for her toothbrush when she hears Noah let out a pleased sigh.

"Mimi." 

That breathy tone he used again has her pausing, fingers gripping around her brush as her eyes flickered back towards her phone.

“Oh.”

The look in Noah’s eyes has Mimi tensing, shoulders squaring as she stared at her phone screen. She knows that look – she’s seen it before, remembers it clearly. The way Noah stared down at her with his wide brown eyes, bottom lip pulled in between his teeth as he tried to hold in his noises in some empty venue hallway while her mouth moved along his cock, heavy and wet on her tongue. Her thighs press together at the memory.

"How long until they come back?" Is the first thing she asks, eyes narrowing at Noah through the screen. He pulls his bottom lip in between his teeth.

"They won't be back for a few more hours."  

There's shifting on the other side of the screen, and she sees Noah's face scrunch up, eyes squeeze shut for a moment. His mouth parts, a shaky breath leaving him. Her thighs pressed together again and heat pools in her stomach at the realization of what he's doing. The only thing she could see on the screen was his face, but she knew that if it was angled just a bit lower... Naomi has to take a deep breath to calm herself.

"What do you need from me, baby?" She keeps her voice soft, light, and she lays her toothbrush down on the counter. Noah makes a noise, almost like something got caught in his throat.

"Talk to me." He breathes out, a slight whine in his voice. "Tell me what to do, I don't know. I just like hearing your voice."

She feels her cheeks flush at the compliment, and also at the fact that in intimate moments like this all Noah wants is to hear her. She smiles to herself before reaching for her phone and quickly making her way back to her bedroom, crawling onto her bed.

"What's got you so worked up, pretty boy?" She questions while getting comfortable, pulling her blankets over her body. She's thankful she likes to keep her room cool, because she knows her body will surely be heating up soon.

He keens at her words. "Couldn't stop thinking about you, or that picture you sent me the other day."

She flushes at the memory of the… risqué picture she had sent him earlier that week. She was adorned in one of his shirts he had gave her before she left the tour, a band shirt she had been stealing from him for years, and a pair a red lace underwear. The shirt was bunched up, barely covering her breasts, and really the only thing you could see were the lace – which was a favorite of Noah’s.  

Nothing too crazy, but it was just enough to drive Noah mad and that’s why she sent it.

“Yeah?” She breathes out, the heat in her tummy already swirling. “I knew you’d like it.”

Noah whines at that, and she sees the muscles in his arms tense as he moves again, and her mouth waters just at the thought his hand – long, tattooed fingers – wrapped around his aching cock. She squirms, wishing nothing more for it to be her hand, or even her mouth.

“I fucking loved it.”

“Can I see what you’re doing, baby?” She questions, keeping her voice as level as she could.

Noah nods as another whine slipped from his parted lips and she watched as he shifted on the bed, bringing his phone lower. She couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of his cock – red, swollen tip on full display. His chest rose and fell as he gave the base a firm squeeze. She could only see the bottom half of his face but watched as he licked at his lips before biting down on his bottom lip roughly. He’s already almost to the edge and trying to hold himself together, just for her. Her thighs press together again. They’re still learning each other and figuring out what works, but she was quick to find out that Noah loved when she was direct with him, telling him what to do. He’d listen, no questions asked. Noah was someone that typically liked to be in control of almost every aspect of his life, not usually leaving it in the hands of someone else, and the fact he trusted her enough to do this made warmth spread throughout her chest.

“Oh, you poor thing… It looks like you don’t even need my help at all, baby.” She teases, lips tugging into a smirk. “How long have you been like this?”

“Since this morning.” He gasps out, squeezing his cock with every stroke. “I just – oh, fuck. I really couldn’t stop thinking about you. I fucking,” Noah whimpers, hips rolling into his fist. “I fucking can’t wait to touch you again.”

Naomi’s eyes flutter shut at his words, biting down on her bottom lip to try and keep her own noises at bay. She’s not even touching herself and yet his words have her going crazy already, warmth pooling into the pit of her stomach, and she knows there’s a wet patch in her underwear now. She squirms.

“God, I can’t wait.” She breathes out, eyes opening to stare at Noah. “Is that what you want? To touch me?”

“Yes.” He whimpers. “So bad.”

“You can soon enough, baby, just not right now.”

He whines at her words, and he tilts his phone up to where his full face is shown, and she tries her hardest to not gasp at the fucked-out expression on his face. He opens his mouth to speak, probably to say something about touching her, she just knows it, but she shushes him before he could even utter a word. His mouth clamps shut immediately.

“Soon.”

He nods, another whine ripping from deep in his chest and she watches his glossed over eyes focus on her, brows furrowing.

"Is... is that Nicky's shirt?" He pants out, staring at the screen with blown out eyes. Naomi freezes before quickly glancing down at her shirt and then back at the screen.

"Yeah. I think so." 

Something inside of her stirs, the admission raising some kind of panic in her, but Noah doesn't look angry. No, he looks far from angry. The flush in his cheeks deepens and her shoulders relax, releasing the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. He liked it – a lot.

"...You look really good in it."

His hand speeds up, working himself closer to the edge and the small, barely there gasping moans he’s letting out has Naomi’s thighs pressing together, cunt clenching around nothing. She wanted nothing more than to slide her hands down her sleep shorts, press against her aching clit and rub one out, but she stayed still. Her focus was solely on Noah and Noah alone, she’ll help herself out later.

“Thank you.” She hums out, her own cheeks slightly flushed. “You close, sweetheart?”

He nods before his head lolls to the side, another moan ripping out from him, from deep within his chest. She watches as his hips roll and stutter in his hand, chest rising and falling. It doesn’t take long until he’s choking out her name, followed by a high-pitched moan, spilling all over his hand and stomach. Naomi bites her lip to once again keep her own noises down, fingers twitching because she could easily slip two fingers into herself now with how wet she was, but she doesn’t. Instead, she waits for Noah to come down, the rise and fall of his chest slowing down. He blinks when he brings the phone back up to his face, eyes glossed over and her chest twists because she’d do anything to be there right now, but the best she could do is give him a gentle smile.

“Hi, baby.” The corners of his lips quirk up and her smile only grows. “You did so good, my love.”

Noah makes a noise, almost like a whine, and his eyes flutter shut. “Yeah?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” She rolls onto her back now, ignoring the wetness in her sleep shorts. “You’ll need to get up and clean yourself up, okay?”

Noah groans in response and it takes her a few more minutes of convincing him before he’s pushing himself up and off the bed, going to the bathroom to clean himself off. He takes the phone with him and she knows it’s only to know she’s still there while he’s getting ready for bed, because he doesn’t even say a word. He usually didn’t after he’s came down, brain fuzzy and tired, and the ache in Naomi’s chest on tightens even more.

She misses him so, so much.

Her own eyes are fluttering by the time he makes it back it back to bed, snuggling deep into his pillows. She does the same, curling her blanket close to her as she brought her phone closer to her face, seeing Noah’s eyes barely open.

“You should sleep.” She whispers, a yawn following her words.

“Will you stay on here with me?” He asks quietly, peaking one eye open at the phone before letting it slip shut again. “Until I fall asleep.”

“Baby, I’m not that far behind you. I’m one second away from falling asleep with this damn phone in my hand.”

Huffing out a sleepy laugh, he opens both eyes finally, “That’s fine. Just stay on here. It’ll be like I fell asleep next to you.”

She doesn’t stop the slight dip of her lips at his words, heart dropping to her stomach. Sure, the illusion is there, but Noah isn’t. Absentmindedly she stretches her hand out, fingers running over empty sheets.

“I miss you.”

Noah notices the frown, his own lips pursing into a pout. “I miss you, too. I’ll be home soon.”

“I know,” She mumbles, trying to swallow down the lump that’s found its way in her throat. “Just… miss you a lot.”

Noah doesn’t say anything, just gives her another pout before his eyes fall shut again. Silence washes over them and that stupid lump is still lodged somewhere deep in her throat, but she tries to will it away, settling her phone against the pillow beside her and shutting her eyes.

The last thing she remembers before falling asleep is Noah’s gentle voice whispering, “I love you.”

…

"What the fuck are you guys doing?"

Naomi can't help but laugh as both Noah and Nicholas give her a goofy grin from the other side of the screen. She can see Jolly in the back who just rolls his eyes, but his lips are curled so she knows he's not that annoyed by their antics. 

"We missed you." Noah says, laying his cheek against his arm. He's stretched out on his shared bed with Nicholas, laying on his front, and resting his phone on the pillows.

They're in some bum-fuck state in the middle of nowhere, Naomi can't be bothered to really remember where. They had a day off tomorrow, she remembers from a text Noah sent her earlier that morning, and she suspects they went out after the show and had only a few drinks with the other bands. At least, that's what Nicholas told her about an hour ago. She suspects Jolly may have had only a few, but with the Folio is knocked the fuck out on the other bed, and the dopey grins on both Nicholas and Noah's faces, she's gonna say they had more than a few.

"Yeah?" She hums, snuggling into her blanket. Nicholas nods, climbing his way on top of Noah.

The younger boy doesn't even budge as Nicholas practically clings to his back, his chin resting on Noah's shoulder.

"Of course." Nicholas' bottom lip juts out. "We always miss you."

She can't help but flush at that, her skin heating up at Nicholas' words. We always miss you. Such a simple statement has her tummy doing flips, and it should be concerning due to the fact it wasn't her boyfriend who said that. It was her best friend, and she should unpack that, but she won't. At least not now. 

"Cute." She mumbles, bringing her blanket up to hide her burning cheeks. "I always miss you guys, too. It's lonely without y'all here."

"One more week!" Noah exclaims and it's followed by a yelp, a pillow flying at him from the side of the screen.

"Shut the fuck up." She doesn't miss the groggy and very grumpy tone of Folio, and she covers her mouth to stifle her laughter when both Noah and Nicholas look at the screen with wide eyes.

"Sorry," Noah sheepishly says, grunting when he tries to scoot closer to the phone but Nicholas on top of him makes it hard, so he opts for grabbing it instead and whispering, "One more week. I can't wait to see you."

Even in his drunken state she can hear the sincerity in his tone, and her heart swells beneath her chest. One more week and she'll be with her boy again. She's been antsy for the last few days, knowing that soon enough Noah will be with her. He's staying for a week before he has to fly back out to Los Angeles, their upcoming debut album drop date slowly approaching. She hasn't told him yet, but there might be a plane ticket that's sitting in her mailbox that's departing from RIC to LAX during the second week of August. 

She'll sit on that for a few more weeks before surprising him with it. 

"I can't wait to see you too, baby." Her gaze softens at the smile Noah gives her and her eyes move from him to Nicholas. "And you, too. You're staying a few weeks, right?"

Nicholas nods, shifting a bit on top of Noah which causes the boy under him to groan. "Mhm. A few old clients hit me up, so I'm gonna be home for a while."

Home. Just the words falling from his lips has her grinning from ear to ear, chest fluttering with some sort of feeling that she can't explain, and her tummy doing those stupid flips again. Seriously, she should unpack whatever she keeps feeling whenever Nicholas looks at her, whenever he mentions coming home because she knows that it means he's coming back to her. She just missed him a lot, right? She just missed the comfort of not having both of her boys with her, always having one of them at her side. That's all this was. She had just grown used to the feeling of her best friend always being a call away, and since this is his first time back home in months, she's just excited. Right? That's all this is.

The growing pit in her stomach says otherwise, but she can't even dwell on the thought before she's speaking again.

"Think you got time to give me another tattoo? I've been itching for another one."

The words fall from her lips without much of a second thought and the look Nicholas gives her through the screen has her breath hitching. She had gotten a few other tattoos after the one Nicholas gave her, but the peonies on her thigh was the only one he did himself. Memories of that night in the shop fill her mind, and she knows Nicholas is thinking about it too, and she squirms against her bed.

"Of course," He clears his throat, as if he was shaking himself out of whatever trance he was just in before giving her a smile that doesn't quite meet his eyes. "I always have time for you."

She blushes.

"We should all get matching tattoos." Noah says suddenly, snapping both her and Nicholas out of whatever trance they were in. "When we get home."

"You wanna get matching tattoos?" She questions and Noah nods.

"Well, yeah." Noah shrugs - or well, tries to, because Nicholas is still draped over his back - and gives her a smile. "We all got matching band tattoos a few weeks ago, so it makes sense that we would get one, too."

Naomi feels warm all over, Noah's words making something clench beneath her chest. It shouldn't be too surprising, her and Noah are dating, and all three of them have been friends for so long. It was always the three of them, their tiny trio. 

"I'd like to get something to remember the two most important people in my life." Noah continues after a few beats of silence.

Nicholas hums. "I think we should. We could get Vince to do them for us." 

"See! We are so doing this when we get home."

"What would we even get?" Naomi asks, laughing quietly at her boyfriend's excitement.

"Now might be the wrong time to ask us that, Mimi." Nicholas mumbles, leaning his head against Noah's. "Asking two drunk people what they should get tattooed is just asking for trouble."

"What do you mean? My best ideas come to me when I'm drunk." Noah jokes, his laughter mixing with Nicholas'.

"Yeah... I'm sure they do.”

Both her and Nicholas are smiling, and she notices how fond the boy looks, eyes dropping to Noah before flicking to the screen to look at her. Her breath hitches the second their eyes meet but Nicholas' smile only widens, eyes crinkling at the ends. She clears her throat, gaze moving back towards Noah.

"We'll figure it out when y'all get home, okay?"

Both boys nod, agreeing with her that they should think on it and agree whenever they come back to Richmond. Mimi reaches up to cover her mouth with her hand, stifling the yawn that's been threatening to escape for the last few minutes.

"What time is it there?" Noah asks softly. He yawns just seconds later, and Nicholas laughs above him.

"Around 1." She mumbles, snuggling further into her bed. They were about an hour or two behind her, she thinks, maybe more.

"You should go to bed." Nicholas says to her. "We didn't mean to keep you up."

"Oh, hush." She huffs out a quiet laugh. "You didn't keep me up, I wanted to talk to you guys. I miss you."

Both boys flush at her words, sheepish grins tugging at her lips and she has to stop herself from cooing. 

"We miss you so much." Noah hums, trying to keep his voice low. Nicholas nods at his words, head knocking against Noah's. "And we can't wait to see you. One more week."

"One more week." She says back, lips curling. 

"Text me when you wake up?" Noah asks while Nicholas slowly rolls off of him, instead snuggling next to him. He throws an arm over Noah's back and Naomi doesn't miss the way Noah sinks into the feeling of Nicholas pressed against him.

"I always do, babe."

"I know," He whines, pouting at her through the screen. "Just felt like I should ask."

"You shouldn't have to ask." She hums, giving Noah a gentle smile. "I'll text you first thing in the morning, okay?"

Noah nods, cheeks stained red, and her gentle smile only widens as a comfortable silence falls over them. Naomi stifles yet another yawn, eyes fluttering closed, and when she opens them both Noah and Nicholas are already staring at her, softness swirling around their eyes. She brings the blanket up to hide part of her face.

"We love you." Noah murmurs, voice soft and quiet, like he only wanted her and Nicholas to hear.

Something shifts the exact moment her eyes met Nicholas' across the screen, her breath hitching.

She knew there was still something there for Nicholas, something that she pushed so far deep inside of her that she thought she could ignore. It's starting to surface again, her throat tightening up as if it's going to come up that way, and she swallows it down as Nicholas kept his gaze on her through the screen. Even in his drunken haze there's still a softness in his eyes that she knows is just for her... and Noah. He gives her a smile, a dopey one similar to Noah's, and then he's looking back down at the boy. His expression doesn't change, and she has to take a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, biting down on her lip to try and stop it from trembling.

"I love you," She manages to get out, saying it to no one in particular. Her eyes moved from Nicholas' back to Noah's, and she somehow was able to muster up a smile. "So much. I can't wait for you guys to come home."

They both smile, wide and bright and so fucking beautiful, Naomi feels like she can't breathe. it was starting to become overwhelming, this feeling itching farther and farther up into her chest and almost like she was being suffocated. They eventually say their goodbyes, and she even manages to say goodbye to Jolly, who she's forgotten was even there, hair wet from the shower he must've taken while her, Noah, and Nicholas fucked around on FaceTime.

"Goodnight Mimi." He smiles as Noah turns the camera towards him. "I'll make sure your boys are alright."

Your boys. She clears her throat, giving him a tight-lipped smile that he notices almost right away, brows furrowing. 

"You always take care of them for me. Thanks Jolly."

A few more goodbyes from Nicholas and Noah, who seem to not want to let her go yet before Jolly has to physically take the phone away from them and end the call himself, Naomi is met with silence. She lets her phone fall to lay beside her as she rolls over on her back, eyes glued to the ceiling.

That feeling she felt earlier? The one she couldn't explain? The same one she got whenever she looked at both Noah and Nicholas? It's clear as day to her now, slowly inching its way through her. It's in her bloodstream, flowing throughout her body. She can feel it in her toes, to the tips of her fingers, all the way to the top of her fucking head. 

There's no doubt in her mind she loves Noah - she has always loved him. From the second they met she knew it was him. But there was no denying the feelings that she had for Nicholas. They were always there too, and maybe in the beginning it wasn't as intense, but now... Now it feels like there's a ten-ton brick weighing on her chest because she knows that it's serious. 

Naomi was in love with Nicholas Ruffilo, and maybe she always had been, and it scared the absolute shit out of her.

[p-artsypants]

Paint it Black (14) Investigating

Ao3 | FF.net

“Chief Anderson Duffy speaking,” said the voice through the Batmobile’s intercom. 

“This is Batman. I’m calling regarding the investigation you conducted with the missing boys.” 

“Oh! Batman! Right, well, just as you requested, we removed the remains and returned them to those who had families. The rest were cremated. If this is truly the work of Joker and Two-Face as you suspect, we will ultimately leave their capture up to you. I have assigned a team to look into their locations. With a month headstart, I can’t guarantee we’ll find them. They may even be back in Gotham.” 

“They aren’t,” he said definitively. “I have my sources. They haven’t been seen in Gotham in months. I highly suspect they’re still in Jump, laying low and trying to think of a new plan.” 

“Well, we’ll let you know if we find anything, but they did a good job of clearing their tracks.”

“Did you leave everything else where it was?”

“Just like you requested.” 

“Good. I’ll let you know if I learn anything new.” 

“Good luck, Batman.” 

He ended the call, heaving a sigh of relief. Working with the Gotham PD was always a pain, and if Gordan wasn’t on duty, it was damn near impossible. So when Jump PD was so cooperative, it was like a breath of fresh air. 

He assumed their disposition was thanks to Robin. 

The Batmobile pulled up to the building, the address that Cyborg had provided him with. Two dudes were having a smoke on the opposite street. 

“Hey, you Batman?” One guy called. 

Batman just looked at him as he closed his door. 

“Like the real one?” 

“Who wants to know?”

“You the one that’s been catching the petty crooks and leaving love notes?”

“No. Just got into town.”

The guy nudged his buddy. “See, told you it wasn’t Batman.” 

“You guys smoke here often?” Batman asked. 

“Fairly. Live upstairs.” He threw his thumb at the building they were leaning against. “Why?”

“Ever see any freaks come out of this building?” 

One guy, the larger of the two, dropped his cig and stomped it out, and then came closer to Batman so he could talk in a softer voice. “I mean no disrespect Batman, but everyone in this neighborhood makes it a point to mind their own business. It’s not safe to witness anybody coming in or out of any place.” 

Batman grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground. “I’m not asking about other people coming and going. I’m asking about a clown or a man with half his face burnt to a crisp. I don’t give two shits about anything else.” 

“G-got it. Yeah, uh…I definitely saw those guys.” 

Batman set him down. 

“It was a while back. Probably a month was the last time. They were noisy as hell. Always laughing. I heard gunshots a few times.” 

“Do you know where they went?” 

“Sorry, I don’t. But I always knew they were in when I saw a white utility van parked where you are now. Some electric company logo on the side that I can’t remember. Oh, and the license plate started with ‘A’, if I remember that right.” 

Batman gave him a clap on the shoulder. “You’ve been very helpful.”

“Don’t mention it.” He started walking back to his friend. “Seriously. Don’t.” 

Batman went back to the parking space, scanning the ground for tire marks. Several prints came back, so he abandoned that idea. 

Then he went to the backdoor that Cyborg had detailed in his report. It was unlocked, but he had a feeling anyone that tried to loot the building would quickly change their mind. 

The torture room was worse in person. Blood everywhere. Horrible devices spread across tables and hanging on the wall. But no empty syringes, no notes, no journals. Nothing of use. Just enough information to paint a very ugly narrative of nineteen young men finding their doom, and one entering a torturous existence. 

But perhaps the information he was looking for was never in this room to begin with. He scoured the building. Checking every room he passed. 

He did find an office. There wasn’t much that would allow him forward, but there were some documents left behind that would shed a little more light on the experiment. 

Three piles of applications. 

14 labeled as ‘fodder’. This pile consisted of deeply disturbed and highly medicated individuals with conditions such as schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. 

Another pile of 5 were labeled ‘true candidates’. This group had been hospitalized for violent episodes towards other minors or foster families. They all were diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder or Bipolar. 

Then, there was one application in between the two piles labeled ‘Control’. It was Robin’s.

‘This one has a strong moral code, despite his level of depression. He may help or hinder the experiment, but is not expected to last long.’

Batman couldn’t help but snort. Neither Joker or Dent were scientists, and had no idea what they had gotten into. 

It looked like these applications had come from the beginning of the project and that further documents had been taken wherever they had gone. 

Then there was the basement. Those two rooms may not contain anything useful, but he was not doing his due diligence if he didn’t at least check it out. 

It took him a minute to find the ladder that Raven had mentioned, but soon he was able to let himself down to the dark, dank, hell mouth. 

It still smelled foul, even without a body still hanging around. But it was a smell Batman had encountered before and knew how to deal with. A dab of Vick’s in the nose, and he could handle being down here for a little while at least. 

He checked out the containment room first. 

There were some flies, still subsisting off of the putrid puddles on the floor. The Slade bot laid in a heap on the ground, broken to pieces. 

As he moved around the room, he noticed tick marks on some of the walls, as evidently the boys were trying to keep track of how long they had been there. 

He saw Starfire’s name on the wall, written in blood. 

He flipped the unsaturated mattresses, just checking for any hidden messages, but found nothing. 

Nothing but grief. 

So he moved on. 

The room next door had housed the skulls of the other victims. The cards that had labeled the skulls remained in place, while the bones were gone. The knives on the workbench were in the same position as the photo. 

Out of the three drums of sulfuric acid, one was gone. The two remaining were still factory sealed. 

Batman made a call.

“Chief Anderson Duffy,” said the voice on the other end of the line.

“It’s Batman. What information did you glean from the drum of sulfuric acid that’s gone?”

“Oh that. Forensics were on that. Let me see what they reported.” There were some clacking of keys on the other end. “They found trace bone fragments in the acid. Says here that the acid didn’t contain the sludge often left over from dissolving a body, let alone 18. They think that these sickos may have only dissolved a few parts of a small number of bodies, before deciding to do something else with the remains.”  

Batman growled, disgusted, frustrated, and angry. 

These were all boys with full lives ahead of them. Boys that were taken advantage of because of where they were in life. Orphans, sick, vulnerable, impressionable. They could have been helped. They could have—

He tried not to dwell on that. They were gone, and it was his job to find out where they were taken. 

I don’t eat processed meat because I don’t want to accidentally eat human meat.

At first, Batman had foolishly taken the statement at face value. Black said something insane, because that’s what he was. It was shock value, it was delusional, it was paranoid…but now it made sense. 

“I know where the other bodies were taken.” 

“Oh great! Just tell us where to look and we’ll take care of it.” 

“Unfortunately, nothing is going to be recovered. I’m fairly certain they were cooked and fed to the other victims.” 

There was silence from the other line, Batman assumed shock. “...If that’s what you think, we’ll go with it for now. I would like proof though.” 

“I’ll get you either a confession from the Joker or Dent, or a witness account from the survivor.” 

“You found the survivor?”

“Yeah. He’s in treatment. His mental condition is very unstable and he has retrograde amnesia. It might be a while before he’s able to talk about this incident.” 

Duffy was quiet for a while before admitting, “you’ve made more headway on this case in the two days you’ve been here than the four months we’ve been working it.” 

“Don’t beat yourself up, Chief. I know how these two operate, and the clues they left were only going to be picked up by me.”

“Well, at any rate, thank you for working with us. Now, if only we could make some headway in Robin’s case.” 

Batman huffed. “Who do you think the survivor was?” 

“What? Really? That’s excellent! Well, maybe not, considering what you said about his mental state.”

“You would do me a great favor if you closed that case and stopped thinking about it.” 

“Right. I’ll pretend like I don’t know anything. Let me know if you need anything else.” 

“I will.” And he hung up.  

There was a part of Batman that was frustrated with how messy this whole thing had gotten. Of course Robin was going to go undercover when he heard about this operation. Of course the easiest and least suspicious way to do so was to use the identity he used as a volunteer at the hospital. 

He just hated that it led back to his real name, and now that name wasn’t safe anymore. 

He was less concerned that Richard Grayson be linked back to Bruce Wayne, because really, how uncommon was the name? 

Emerging from the basement, he crossed over the threshold to the torture chamber and twitched in surprise when he saw a man sitting in the rigged dentist’s chair. 

It was not the half-faced mask he wanted to see. 

“Ah, so that truly was the Batmobile out front. Interesting.” 

Batman observed this new foe quickly, taking in the armor, the physique, the posture, and lack of weapons. 

“I have no business with you, Slade. But I suppose I could fit time into my busy schedule.” 

“You have heard of me. How nice. My old apprentice mentioned me?” 

“No. My old friend mentioned a psychopath blackmailed him into stealing. I told him not to worry too much about a grown man that gets his rocks off bullying children.” 

Slade’s eye narrowed. He tilted his head slightly, his expression completely hidden behind his mask. “So. What does the great Batman want in my building?” 

“You own this block? I assumed it was abandoned.” 

“‘Owned’ is a…loose term. I acquired it, because no one wanted it. It serves its purpose to me.” 

“Ever rent it out?” 

“No. Which is why I’m here. Heard someone was playing doctor while I was away.” 

“Taking a vacation?” Batman snipped. 

“Something like that,” Slade said casually. “I died. Did some sight-seeing in hell. Did some overtime during the apocalypse and got my flesh back. Then I spent several weeks trying to relearn how to walk.” He shifted so his head rested on his fist. “And now I hear I missed out on a very interesting experiment…but why would that concern Batman so much to bring him all the way here?” 

“Ever heard of the Joker or Two-Face?” 

“I subscribe to Villains Monthly.” 

“Got jokes, do you?” 

“I have a new lease on life Batman. Got a little more…pep in my step.” 

“I hope those steps lead you out of my way.” 

“You’re very serious, aren’t you? I see where Robin gets it from.”

Batman just glared at him. 

“In case you’re wondering, I had nothing to do with whatever happened here. Frankly, I’m rather upset I wasn’t invited. I have clean up to do, since your friends decided to make a mess. So if you wouldn’t mind showing yourself out, that’d be just swell.”   

“Sure,” said Batman. “But before I leave,” he cracked his knuckles, “why don’t I take the trash out?”

—-

Batman returned to the Titan’s tower about an hour later, a limp in his step and blood on his uniform. 

“Sir? Are you alright?” Alfred asked as he entered. The rest of the Titans were sitting around at the table, empty plates in front of them. 

“Fine. Just…had a little altercation. Tore the stitching in my leg.” He slid in next to Beast Boy, and leaned on his arms. 

Raven was quick to go to him, and pressed a healing hand to his wound. “What happened?”

“I did a little investigating into that building where Robin was held, hoping for a lead to where Joker and Dent may have gone. Instead I ran into the building’s owner.” 

Alfred placed a plate of Chicken Parmesan in front of him. 

“...was the owner a tough dude?” Beast Boy asked, noticing the blood on his shirt was from his own nose. 

He huffed, annoyed. He didn’t really want to reveal all this to them for several reasons, but they needed to know. “Yeah, tougher than expected. He’s a man by the name of Slade. Ever heard of him?”

Cyborg, who was on his fourth serving, nearly choked on his mouthful of pasta, while the other Titans gasped in horror. 

“But he—” Starfire protested. 

“Trigon resurrected him,” Raven bit. “He was there in the final battle, and then he disappeared.” 

“Apparently, he had to relearn how to walk,” said Batman, shooing Raven away from his leg. “I took care of him. He put up a fight, but I knocked him unconscious and delivered him to Duffy personally. That’s why I’m late.” 

The Titans shared a look, all being slightly embarrassed that Batman had been able to do alone what they hadn’t been able to do together. 

“I can’t imagine this is going to actually stop him, but I bought you some time.” He finally started eating some of his dinner. “And he was tough, but definitely not ready to fight. I think he was still weak.” 

“Still, it’s a little humiliating that you had to take care of our bad guy,” Beast Boy winced. 

Batman smirked slightly. “I have had daydreams about sending that bastard to the hospital. Robin told me all about what happened with that sham of an apprenticeship. Blackmailing him by infecting teens with nanobots that slowly and painfully kill them unless he does what he wants? Sounds like Arkham’s next inmate.” He took a drink of water. “But that’s something to worry about later. How’s Robin—or Black, I suppose?”

“He is unwell,” Starfire looked over to the couch. For the first time, Batman noticed the boy was laying down, but was very still and quiet. “He did not eat dinner, and says…I believe the phrase was, ‘his think meat was thrown against a wall’?” 

“That’s not a real metaphor,” Beast Boy offered. “That’s just his brand of stupidity.” 

“Well, he’s making jokes, so he’s doing alright for now,” Batman argued. “We’ll just have to keep an eye on him. Right, Robin?” He asked a little louder, so he could hear him. 

The other boy didn’t answer for a really long time, but the team was quiet and listened if either Black or Robin would respond. 

Then, in the quiet of the room, with only the hum of the air system and a ticking clock on the wall, he sang. It was in his pathetic falsetto, with a scratchy tone. Up until now, Black’s songs had really depressing lyrics, but he had delivered them joyfully. This time, the song was far too sad. 

“I am…the only one that got through. The others died wherever they fell.”

Starfire floated up from where she was seated and rested on the couch beside him, petting his head gently. 

“It was an ambush…they came up from all sides.”  

Batman set his silverware down quietly and listened very closely. 

“Give your Masters each a gun and then let them fight it out themselves.”  

Beast Boy swallowed thickly, biting his tongue. Black had changed the lyrics. 

“I've seen demons coming up from the ground. I've seen hell upon this Earth.”

Raven closed her eyes as the image of that corpse came to mind against her will. 

“The next will be chemical…but they will never stop.” 

Alfred turned his back, hiding his face.   

Once silence reigned for more than a minute, it was clear that the message was over. 

“He changed the lyrics,” both Batman and Beast Boy said. 

“The song is ‘In Memory of Harry Patch’,” Batman elaborated. “He changed ‘give your leaders’ to ‘give your masters’ and ‘they will never learn’ to ‘they will never stop’.” 

“What do you suppose he was trying to say?” 

“Maybe he thought Dent and Joker turned on each other? Or perhaps they’re going to try this again?” Batman mused aloud. 

Black sat up from the couch, and they could already see the faint veins standing out against his pale skin. “Can I have one of dem Gumby skittles?” 

“No,” Batman said, not blinking an eye. “We’re not giving you any medicine for a while, because we need a clean blood test.” 

Black frowned and turned to Starfire. “You said that if I was ever in pain I should come to you, because you don’t like to see me in pain.” 

Starfire hunched her shoulders, feeling guilty. “You are right, but I cannot give you the medicine you require. Perhaps a shoulder massage will help?”

He stood, stretching. “No. I think I’ll just go lay down in bed for a while, where it’s dark and quiet.” 

Batman swirled some noodles around on his fork. “Alright, we’ll check on you in a little bit.” 

Black nodded in understanding and left the ops room. He only stopped into his room for a moment to grab his trenchcoat, before escaping quickly to the hall, and then to the underground access tunnel. 

Thank goodness for fingerprint scanners.

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

In Name and Blood: Part Two

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1.7k

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there is any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

By the time you got back to the police station, there is news of another kidnapping in the area.

"Hey. What do we know?" Vic asks.

"Woman's name is Claire Thompson. Her husband tried to reach her on the cell phone. When she didn't pick up, he drove to the department store. The car's in the parking lot, but she's not inside."

"Is that the husband?" JJ wonders, pointing to the man inside the station who looks distraught.

"Yeah. JJ, take Strauss with you," Derek informs.

The best thing he could have said by far.

"I had the department store uplink the security footage to your analyst in Quantico. My desk is over here," an officer says, leading your team to his desk.

Just then, Penelope requests a video chat. You lean over and press accept, and her face pops onto the screen.

"Garcia, baby girl, please tell me something I want to hear," Derek begs. "Did you locate the missing girl on the security footage?"

"On it. It's coming your way. Keep me on speaker, will you?"

The video pops up, and you can see the woman on screen looking through clothes and deciding what she wants to buy. Nothing seems out of the ordinary for this woman.

"She doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar," Spencer voices your thoughts.

Just then, a little boy comes into the frame and grabs her attention.

"Look. Who's the kid?"

"Does Claire have a son?" you ask.

"No, a two-year-old daughter."

"It looks likes the kid is lost."

Claire grabs the kid's hand and he escorts her out of the frame where you can no longer see her. You expect the video to change views, but nothing else comes.

"Penelope, this all you got?" you ask.

"That's it. They turned down a hallway without any security cameras, and we lose them."

"I'll get a list of missing kids, see if we can make out a resemblance to any of them," Vic offers.

"Shit," you sigh, thinking about what Hotch said. At this point, JJ and Strauss come back from talking to the husband. "It's something Hotch said. All the abductions and disposals have been timed around school time. We thought the unsub might work in the system. What if this guy's actually using his own son to lure his victims?"

"Then the profile changes, and we need to give it out as soon as possible," Derek says.

"I'll gather my men and women," Vic suggests and leaves the group.

Strauss has a look on her face that suggests she didn't like it when you said Hotch's name. It's like she doesn't want him being part of this team anymore. It worked really well before, why take him out now? Just because Elle went rouge, doesn't mean it was his fault. What happened with Gideon isn't his fault either, so she has no reason to bench him other than showing off that she is the boss of him, and whatever she says goes.

As soon as Vic gathers everyone on the force, your team stands in front to give the profile. Strauss stands off to the side to observe this since she doesn't really know how to participate in something like this.

"Detective Wolynski told us you're trying to single out trucks and vans. That's smart. The unsub is dumping his victims in the business district, so I'd agree with you--he's probably not driving something that would stand out. He may even have some type of company logo on the side of his vehicle as well," Derek begins.

"We know that he abducts the women in Wauwatosa and dumps their bodies somewhere in the third ward. Most unsubs keep their area of control--where they kill their victims--triangulated between the two points. This means that the unsub probably lives in Wauwatosa or the third ward. Somewhere in that area, and the people who live there know the unsub."

"There's no sexual component to these crimes, which means it's more about the unsub making a point. He's cutting their hearts out. It might just be that this is the sickest way the unsub knows to disfigure the women and to throw them out like trash. We can't really know," you add.

"The two most important questions to ask ourselves are: What is this guy doing with these women for forty-eight hours and why is he willing to use his own son to abduct them? If he is truly using his own son, then it's likely that he has what we call borderline personality disorder."

"Now, borderlines think that all relationships revolve entirely around them. When they set their mind to something, there is no gray area. It would also manifest in a way that would be visible to people around the unsub. Intense bouts of anger and depression or problems drinking. He would also be highly sensitive to rejection," Derek says.

"One last thing," you say before the meeting is disbanded. "It's not easy to crack a chest bone. This unsub knows how to work with his hands, and is used to hard labor. He's not afraid to get dirty."

"Thank you."

The officers all go their separate ways, and your team along with Vic meets in the empty conference room to talk about what to do next.

"I'll have triple the patrol in the area, and I've got every available unit recanvassing," Vic says.

"It's tough knowing they're out there and we're still a step behind," Derek sighs.

"You know, it used to be a running joke that if you told people you were from Milwaukee, all they wanted to talk about was Happy Days reruns. Then Dahmer happens and they ask you about it as if it's the same thing. As if it's entertainment, but I was in that apartment," Vic sighs.

You leave out the part where you helped capture Dahmer when you were traveling through the area. This isn't the time to get into that.

"Gideon, one of our bosses, says that there are things that attach to you that you can never wash off," Spencer adds.

"Alright, is it possible we're looking at this the wrong way?" JJ wonders.

"What do you mean?" Strauss asks.

"Well, we're trying to zero in on the unsub. Now, you guys tell me, but if he really is using his son, wouldn't the trauma manifest more clearly on the boy?"

"Can your analyst get a list of all the children in the area that we're targeting?"

"Garcia can get you whatever you want," Derek says.

He reaches for the phone in the middle of the room and dials her number by heart, placing her on speakerphone. You never know what you're going to get with Penelope when she knows that Derek is calling her. This is going to be good, you know it.

"Talk dirty to me," she answers.

You turn to Spencer's shoulder and giggle into it. Derek sighs knowing this isn't going to go well. Vic is just confused that this is how the FBI talk to each other. Straus... isn't amused at all. You smirk and look at Derek who just shakes his head.

"This is section chief Erin Strauss."

"Ma'am, I think it goes without saying that I was expecting it to be someone else."

"I need a list of every grade school in the third ward and Wauwatosa," she gets down to business.

"Yes, ma'am. The third ward has one public grade school, but there appear to be four private schools that draw from that area."

"And Wauwatosa?"

"That would be nine, ma'am."

"How many students?"

"Thirty-two hundred."

"Can you also get me a list of every guidance counselor that deals directly with the student body in that area?"

"Certainly, ma'am. And again, I'd like to a--"

Strauss doesn't care for her apology and hangs up on her, and your smile is lost at her behavior. Why is she acting like this? What stick does she have up her ass to make her so arrogant and rude? You'd like to show her where else that stick can go, but that wouldn't be the wisest decision to make.

"You need to present these counselors with a profile of a troubled kid."

She gives the orders, and you have to follow them in accordance with her liking. You and your team went to every school and talked to every single guidance counselor, but nothing ever came of it. You have so many files of troubled kids from every single one of them that your team now has to digress in order to figure out who might be luring these women to the unsub.

The boy you're looking for is possibly from a single-parent home. He's sullen and withdrawn who may have been caught stealing from the female teachers. He's more than likely clinging to maternal figures in inappropriate settings--hugging the female bus driver or the woman in the lunchroom. His classmates might notice this inappropriate behavior and tease him, which makes the boy incredibly angry.

With all the files matching this very vague descriptions, you have to now look through them with only five people to do it instead of seven.

"Alright, the boy doesn't look like he could be any older than seven," Derek says about the video of the kid taking the latest victim out of the store she was shopping in. "Let's work from youngest to oldest. Start with the worst behavior. Get the names of the parents, and send them over to Garcia. She can cross-check for criminal records. This guy is dumping bodies between 7:30 and 8:00. That gives us a little over twelve hours to make something hit. Let's get it done."

You're about to dive into your pile when you see two people who make your heart flip. Emily and Hotch are here, and they are here to help whether Strauss wants them to or not.

"Look who's here," Spencer smiles when he sees them.

"Hey, where do we start? How fast can you get us up to speed?"

"How fast can you sit down?" JJ jokes with her.

Straus chooses this moment to come in, and from the look of her face and the emotion you're feeling from her, she isn't happy about them being here.

"We're only here to help," Emily says before she has a chance to say something.

"We'll deal with this later."

Your entire team gets to work, going through all of the files, but nothing is coming up. You have one more hour left to keep looking, but by the pace you're all going at, you know that Claire is going to die before you figure out who took her. Another one dead, and you can't do anything about it.

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[abri-chan]

The whole Worick starting sex-work as a teen reminds me of that one Digimon Adventure episode: the kids (group of 9-ish?) return to the human world, and to get to where they need to be they must hike a ride.

First Tai (the main guy with the dinosaur digimon) and the other friend with the seal digimon do try, but no car stops.

Then they make Matt try (Matt being the hot guy of the bunch, sorta); this glamorous woman with an open-roof car stops by: "Hi, gorgeous."

The scene cuts to Tai arguing with Matt, why did Matt say no to the ride? To which Matt replies: "you're an idiot, not all of us would get into that car, don't you get it?"

Eventually the girls try to get a ride, two teen boys stop by; the girls then reveal that their friends (the whole digi group) are coming with them too, much to the nuisance of the boys in the van?, who only wanted the two cute girls to ride with them.

But the Matt scene makes me think if that's exactly how Worick got started into selling his body? As in, maybe when he and Nic first moved to Ergastulum, they mostly mugged people at first, or tried odd jobs like cleaning houses or fixing the sink. And during one of those jobs, some woman struck up conversation with teen Worick: "what do you two boys do, why do you need the money for--yeah she probably can tell it's not to buy a new bike, as these kids with dirty clothes are dirt poor--I can see you have a hard time getting by."

(Not that Worick would reveal his past or anything like that, even though it may be that everyone in the city is aware he's the kid from the Arcangelo murder case, but even if they knew, why get involved? Ergastulum is kept stable by minding your own business and not asking questions you don't want answers to. But even then, he probably can't hide that he and Nic are scraping by, and tell half-truth lies that Nic and him are orphans etc.)

"You know you're kinda cute tho, so next time I can pay you more if you help me with something other than the sink?"

And because the woman hit on Worick, then Wallace, and not Nic, it was Worick that considered maybe starting off sex work as an alternative way of making ends meet.

(I suppose a lot of those women were abused by their bfs, so being on the receiving end they took some pleasure in having control over this kid for once since they can't control their bfs, bc I doubt there's much to get from this 13 year old kid even experience-wise. But I suspect some women were also possibly predatory by default, in that they think it is fun to "change" little kids into men, or teach them ways. Either way, it's fucked up.)

[thealtoduck]

Being Black Canary’s sidekick and Tim Drake becomes your bf…

Tim Drake x Male Reader

Dinah Drake Lance X Male Reader (platonic)

Warnings: superhero violence, implied sexual content…

Y/s/n = Your superhero name

Summary: Dinah introduces you to Batman and Robin and you and Tim fall for eachother…

(Here is part 1: Becoming Black Canary’s sidekick…)

(A/n: I’ve lowkey become a Tim Drake simp… help)

——

After Dinah took you in it was straight to work on training to become her sidekick, which basically meant lessons in 20 different martial arts everyday.

It also unfourtunately meant being forced to work and hang out with Green Arrow, you and him had bit of a rivalry for who was Dinah’s favorite (it’s you) and always make shady comments to each other until Dinah tells you both to shut up.

(Side note of something that happened while the three of you worked together: You needed to get somewhere using Dinah’s motorbike and to fit all three you attached a sidecar but you and Oliver fought who was gonna sit behind Dinah.

You claimed that it was your right to have the seat behind Dinah as her sidekick and that Oliver would have more use of the sidecar considering he’s an archer who would benefit from more range and not have someone blocking him.

Meanwhile Oliver’s argument was literally just ”sidekick = sidecar”. So Dinah being like a tired parent said that you’d ride behind her on way there and Oliver could do it on the way home).

Being Dinah’s sidekick also meant moving around lot since she was quite mobile in her crime fighting, but you didn’t mind as they say home is where the heart is and after all Dinah is the only person you like.

Once Dinah felt you had become skilled enough in martial arts she gave a special choker that basically enhanced your voice giving you your own Canary Cry as long as you wore it.

One day your mobile crimefighting service brought you back to Gotham in seach of people in need of help. The two of weren’t really on somebody’s trail so you just went arond and stopped whatever crime you could.

While chasing some criminals in a van on Dinah’s motorbike another car pulled up beside you and it was immediately recognisable, it was the Batmobile.

The Batmobile used one of it’s probably many weapons to shoot out the tire of the van making it swirl to a halt. The Batmobile stopped Dinah pulled up beside it. Then Batman and Robin got out of the Batmoblie and looked at Dinah and Batman simply said ”Canary” presumably as a greeting.

You both pulled of your motorbike helmets and placed them on the the bike. ”Hey Batman” Dinah greeted back. Batman gaze then shifted to you and he asked ”Who is this?”. ”Batman, Robin, this is my new sidekick, Y/s/n, Y/s/n this is Batman and Robin” Dinah introduced you to each other.

”Nice to meet you” you said a bit akwardly not being much of a people person. ”Come on, let’s go somewhere else, the cops will be here soon” Dinah said and Batman nodded and you got back on/in your respective vehicle and went to find somewhere better to talk.

Once you did Dinah and Batman started catching up and they talked about what you and Dinah were doing in town. Dinah was doing most of the talking and Batman wasn’t making much effort to include you in the conversation so your attention fell on his sidekick instead.

Robin had also grown quite uninterested so he met your eyes. Then Dinah spoke up and said ”Hey kids, could you give us some privacy? League business”. Both you and Robin nodded and stepped aside so they got some privacy.

Then Robin attempted to make conversation and asked ”Last time i checked Canary didn’t have a sidekick, so you’re new, right?”. ”Uh…Yeah” you answered simply and kinda shyly.

”And she dosen’t make you wear a mask?” he continued to question. ”No, i do this full time and i don’t really have an identity in need of protection” you explained and he looked curious. ”Why is that?” he asked and immediately noticed you tensed up slightly at the question.

He was about to apologize if his question made you uncomfortable but never had the chance as Dinah called over the two of you. She explained that she and needed to go up to the watchtower for official league business and that you and Robin would continue patrolling together.

Batman told you two to take the Batmobile and then he and Canary left. So you and Robin went and sat down in the Batmobile waiting for something on the police radio that the Batmobile was tapped in to.

There was an awkward silence between the two of you that Robin then broke by saying ”Sorry if my question made you uncomfortable earlier”. You gave a him a small smile and said ”Don’t worry about, it’s just i don’t talk about my past a lot, so you caught me a bit off guard”.

”But to answer your question, all you need to know is that i ended up on the streets for a few years and a while ago i met Dinah, she took me in and trained me. So she’s the only person who’d my secret identity would protect but she alredy dosen’t wear a mask so it felt useless” you explained and Robin nodded in understanding.

Then you heard noise from the police radio about a robbery and it was time to get back to work. As Robin started the car you said ”By the way, my name is Y/n, if you wanted to know?. Then Tim made an impulse choice and said ”Nice to meet you Y/n, i’m Tim” and then he drove off. But from that night on you and Robin had become friends…

A few months later…

You and Tim were on a mission to protect the queen of Vlatava from her uncle Conut Vertigo who you had gotten intell was sending a mercenary after his niece. It was supposed to be Dinah and Oliver who went on the mission but they weren’t available. Neither was Roy, so you had to give Tim a call for help.

You had to attend some kind of ball were the queen was going to hold a speech, which meant you both had to dress up nicely. You both wore regular black tuxedos to not attract to much attention. Which Tim was used too but you… you were not.

The two of you shared a hotel room and when you both had changed in to your tuxes there was a clear difference. Tim looked like a young and refined gentleman. You on the other hand looked like a five year old boy who hated dressing up, going to wedding.

You hadn’t tucked in your shirt, your tie was loose and you wore sneakers. Tim looked at you in a mix of amazement and amusement. ”What? I’ve never dressed up like this before” you defended as you noticed Tim’s look.

Tim went over to you and undid your tie and said ”I’ll help you” and retied it, while you stared at his hands observing how he tied it. Then he tightend it around your neck and stated ”Much better” and looked up and met your sparkly y/c/e eyes with his own ocean blue ones.

Both of you noticed how close your faces were to each others and you felt that your cheeks started to heat up. You then broke the eye contact and said ”Thank you, have any shoes i can borrow? I get a feeling these won’t be fit anywhere near a queen” gesturing down to your sneakers. ”Yeah, i’ll go get them” Tim said and went to fetch them.

Once Tim had deemed you fancy looking enough for a queen you left the hotel and went to the event. Once you were let in, you split up and started looking for suspicious activity.

After not finding anything you met up with Tim again at the snack table where they had all sorts of fancy stuff. ”Seen anything?” you asked while getting a plate and serving yourself some off the food. ”No, you?” he answered and you shook your head.

Tim then noticed how curiously you looked at the different foods that you had never seen before, not being used to these types of fancy events. ”Sometime, i’ll have to take you to some really fancy resturant” Tim said on impulse.

You smiled at him and said ”Just as long as you pay, i’m broke”. Then you noticed something behind Tim and put your plate down, you saw a guy sneak away in to a hallway.

”Come on” you said quietly and started following the man sneakily with Tim close behind. The man turned a corner and you heard him speaking with someone. ”You ready?” A voice with a greek accent asked quietly.

”Yeah, just need to find a place to set up” a man with a russian accent answered. ”Okay, come on let’s go then” the greek man said and they started moving back towards were you and Tim were hiding. ”Follow my lead” you told him quickly and dragged him out from around the corner in front of the people you assumed were the assasins.

You then tripped Tim and fell to the floor yourself, laughing wildly, Tim had no idea what you were up to but started laughing as well assuming it was part of the plan. The two men had both tensed up at your intrusion which confirmed to you that they were definetely up to something.

You continued laughing and looked at the men and said in a slurred fake drunk voice ”Sorry, me and my boyfriend were just looking for some privacy, if you get what i mean?” which you followed with a small giggle.

”Would either of you gentlemen like to join us?” you then asked in your still fake drunk voice. ”No kid were busy” the russian one said letting his guard down and the two walked past you and Tim as you continued giggling on the ground, while holding hands.

You continued your drunken act until they were out off earshot. ”Smart plan” Tim complimented. ”Thanks, let’s go change” and the two of you went and changed in to your hero outfits. Which made you happy cause suits definetely weren’t your thing.

Tim used his tech to analyse the places they are most likely to set up a weapon in the building. You headed to once that were most likely to be used until you found your targets at a few floors above where the queen would be holding a speech, they had also changed out of their suits.

The russian who you now indentified as Anatoli Knyazev aka KGBeast was wearing red and blue body armour with a bunch of cybernetic attachments, while the greek man who you recognised as Constantine Drakon had simply changed into another suit.

They were putting together a weapon and you interrupted them saying ”Evening gents”. They both turned swiftly to you and Tim.

Drakon turned to KGBeast and said ”Get them, i’ll take the queen”. KGBeast nodded and started shooting his gun towards you and Tim who dodged and found cover. You found a fire alarm and set it off to alert the people at the event.

Tim then came out of cover at threw a exploding batarang at KGBeast’s gun destroying it. Then you both jumped out of cover and started attacking him.

The people were evacuating the building but Drakon had put a sniper together and was trying to find his target amongst the crowd. You noticed this and turned your head towards him and used your Canary Cry to knock him into a wall making him drop the rifle.

Then you got back to helping Tim until the two of you managed to defeat KGBeast. Once they were both subdued and the cops arrived you handed the assasins over to them and they thanked you for your service.

Once you and Tim were back at the hotel he said ”You were great out there”. ”Thanks, you were too” you said with a smile and the two of you started to change out of the your hero costume to something more comfortable.

”My favorite part was when you pretended we were dating and you said we were trying to find somewhere private” Tim stated in a slightly suggestive voice making your cheeks heat up again. ”Oh… yeah, sorry if that made you uncomfortable” you apologised.

”Y/n” he said and you turned to him. ”Yeah?” you answered and turned to him. He walked closer to you and stopped in front of you and grabbed your hand, looked you in the eyes and said ”It didn’t make me uncomfortable, it made me want to ask you if you wanted to go out with me sometime? You know for real?”.

You were a bit caught off guard but a smile spread on your face ”Yeah, sure” and you placed a kiss on lips.

”Just to get it out of the way, Oliver and Roy are gonna give you the shovel talk and then Dinah is going to give you an even harsher shovel talk” you informed him. ”Oliver? Really you don’t like each other why would he give me the shovel talk?” Tim asked a bit suprised.

”We are best frienimies” you answerd simply.

[ssadumba55]

Damsel In Distress (Velma Dinkley X Reader)

Request: how about something with Velma where the gang is investigating some odd happenings at an abandoned amusement park? everyone splits into pairs to explore and she and the reader are paired together, and they eventually end up with the culprit chasing them and reader gets really protective of her. the gang catches the guy but Velma asks why reader was being so defensive, and reader accidentally blurts out that they love her and don't know what they'd do if anything ever happened to her. thanks! :)

“Alright, everyone! Let’s split up and look for clues!”

There was a loud groan from Shaggy and Scooby as the blond male said his signature line. Most of the group didn’t mind being split up, but the two ‘fraidy cats almost always ended up with the monster chasing them. Splitting up was the worst part of investigating mysteries for them by far.

“Don’t worry guys, the sooner the monster chases you, the sooner we can get out of this creepy place,” you grinned, hands on your hips. There was nothing like a good mystery for you and ever since you’d run into the gang, they’d become more frequent. Something that Shaggy and Scooby also liked to complain about.

Shaggy crossed his arms over his chest in a show of annoyance, but didn’t say anything else as Fred began splitting the six of you into teams.

“I’ll go with Daphne to check out that creepy coaster Scooby thought he saw something earlier, Velma, (Y/n), why don’t you two head over there?” Fred jerked his thumb in the direction of the other side of the abandoned amusement park. There weren’t many structures still standing in that part of the park, but there was an antique carousel that had you intrigued.

There was something about carousels you loved, and even better, this was a mysterious carousel!

“Like perfect! Scoob and I will check out the abandoned restaurant!” Shaggy volunteered himself. If there was one thing that could get the two reluctant members moving, it was food. Even possibly stale food.

The group split up into the three teams, each wandering off in their own direction. Even though the lot of you knew this would only last for a short while, until Shaggy and Scooby were inevitably chased out of their food comas by some monster.

“You think those kids really saw a monster out here?” You asked Velma, climbing onto the abandoned carousel and moving through the horses with practiced ease. Something about the carousel made you nostalgic, even though you hadn’t really rode them much as a kid. Maybe it was the amusement park as a whole that was making you nostalgic.

You went to plenty of those as a kid.

Velma adjusted her glasses, looking up from her laptop screen with an indignant snort. “You and I both know that monsters don’t exist, (Y/n).”

You shrugged. She was right. In all the time you’d been mystery hunting together, not one had turned out to be a real monster. It was always just some weirdo in a costume. You supposed in a way that was a cruel irony, humans were after all the biggest monsters out there.

Velma went back to studying her laptop screen, she carried that thing everywhere. Even, apparently, abandoned amusement parks. You took the time while she was distracted to study her.

A lot of people would argue that she wasn’t really attractive, but you begged to differ. Sure, she didn’t dress up like Daphne or put on loads of makeup, but the brunette was charming in her own way. She was the smartest in the gang, even smarter than you. You had always loved the way her eyes lit up when she was onto something, how excited she got when she realized she’d solved the mystery.

She was usually the first one too, because she was so smart.

Yeah, okay. So maybe, just maybe you had a crush on Velma Dinkley, but what’s so bad about that? She’s attractive! Her hair is really nice and her eyes shine so bright behind those glasses and the freckles…

“(Y/n)? Are you listening to me?” Her voice shocked you back to reality. Oh god, had she been telling you important information pertaining to the case? And had you missed it because you were too busy thinking about her freckles?

You opened your mouth to respond, already trying to form an excuse for why you hadn’t been paying attention when a massive shadow formed behind Velma. It was huge, twice or maybe even three times the size of you both, with glowing red eyes and long snaking arms that were reaching….

Reaching for Velma!

There was no hesitation from you, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards you, just out of reach of the monster. The long limbs collided grasping onto nothing but thin air, as for Velma she was startled and dropped her laptop. She made a move to go back and grab it but you pulled on her hand, leading her away from the monster.

“No time! We can circle back and grab it later!” You called over your shoulder, eager to put distance between you and Velma and whatever that thing was. Admittedly, you felt foolish as you ran from the exact thing you’d all been searching for since you’d got here. You’d never taken yourself for a runner, which was a good thing because Shaggy and Scooby pretty much cornered the market for that in the small group dynamic you all shared.

Still, here you were running. It was so out of character you almost wanted to turn around and go back. But you needed to keep Velma safe, that was the top priority.

The yells and screams you and your friend were making as you ran must’ve alerted the rest of the group. Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby came running (of course, once they saw the monster, Shaggy and Scooby quickly joined you).

There was a lot of panicked screaming and yelling, at one point Velma and Shaggy ran smack into each other, causing her glasses to fall. She immediately went down for them, bringing you down with her because your hands were still intertwined. You grabbed her glasses and she gratefully put them back on, the two of you laying breathless on the ground as the sounds of Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Fred’s panicked voices filled the air around you.

It was unspoken that neither of you wanted to move. So you just waited until the yelling stopped, then the two of you climbed to your feet and walked over to where Fred had successfully managed to catch the monster.

“Like, what’s with the hands? You guys aren’t still scared of the monster are you? Fred’s got it all tied up!” Shaggy pointed to you and Velma’s joined fingers. Immediately, the two of you flushed and separated.

In order to distract the group from the awkwardness, Velma stepped forward and unmasked the culprit. Who turned out to be the two kids who had told you guys about the amusement park. They explained their plan to the group, but you were barely paying attention.

“We would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for your meddling!” The taller boy huffed after realizing they’d been caught and would be in a lot of trouble for this.

The gang made their way back to the Mystery Machine. Another successful mystery in the bag, Shaggy and Scooby are furthest ahead, ready to get back to their precious Scooby Snacks. Not far behind them, Daphne and Fred walk, laughing to each other about something you can’t hear.

You and Velma bring up the far rear, walking a ways behind everyone else.

“Were you doing that on purpose?” She asked as the two of you walked, finally breaking the slightly tense silence between the two of you. It had settled there after Shaggy had pointed out your hands and hadn’t left the entire time.

You were slightly confused about what she was talking about, then realized. “Oh! The hands- no. I’m sorry, I forgot we were-”

“Not that, (Y/n). You were purposely shielding me from the monster back there,” as the two of you walked by the carousel, she bent down to pick up and dust off her laptop that had been laying there forgotten the entire time, “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m not some damsel in distress. I can handle my own out here, I’ve been doing this a long time, you know.”

You were taken aback by her words. Of course you knew Velma could handle her own, that was one of the reasons you liked her so much. She was the smartest person in the room and she knew it, there was nothing that could get past her. She was also the toughest, not tough in the way Fred was but she was definitely her own kind of tough.

“I know that, I didn’t mean anything by it… I-”

“You don’t take me seriously.” She put the words in your mouth and you felt your face heat up, that was not what you had meant at all!

“Velma, no, I-”

“Then why don’t you do the same thing for Daphne. Or Fred. Or Shaggy.” She crossed her arms over her chest. She was sure she had you figured out, so sure she had gotten to the bottom of this mystery. You almost wanted to agree with her just so you could see that light shine in her eyes as she pulled you back to the van to tell everyone else. Then they’d all never let you live it down.

As you were thinking this through, she took it as an opportunity to keep on rambling. You were tired, it had been a long night. It’d surely be an even longer night, because you probably wouldn’t be stopping again any time soon and Shaggy and Scooby would be hyped up on Scooby Snacks-

“I LOVE YOU, VELMA DINKLEY!”

You cut her rambling off, the words echoing through the abandoned amusement park. Up ahead, Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby froze, turning back to look at the two of you.

For once, Velma was speechless, so you decided to continue.

“And I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I let something happen to you. I know we just met less than a year ago and I know that mystery hunting isn’t a very romantic setting, but despite that I fell in love with you. You’re right, it’s different when Shaggy is being chased by the monster, because I don’t love him. If something happened to you, my world would shatter, it would be MY fault. If something happens to Shaggy that’s just another day out mystery hunting.”

Tears were burning your eyes, threatening to fall. There she had made you say it. She had made you say it all.

You didn’t even realize your hands were balled into fists at your sides until something nudged one of them and you realized Scooby had made his way back to the two of you. He’d seen you distressed and was offering his comfort. You placed your hand on his head to let him know you were okay.

“I had no idea,” the girl dressed in orange said softly from across you.

The amusement park was dead silent. Not even the other members of the team dared to speak and risk another outburst.

After a few tense moments, where everything you’d said hung weightily in the silence, Velma reached out her hand and took the empty hand of yours that wasn’t occupied with petting Scooby. She smiled softly, squeezing it gently.

“I’m sorry you thought that I thought you were a damsel in distress,” you smiled awkwardly as the two of you walked to join the rest of the gang, Scooby at your side.

“I’m sorry I thought you thought I was a damsel in distress,” she smiled guiltily, “I should’ve had more faith in you.”

As the two of you approached the other three, Daphne rolled her eyes.

“Will you two just kiss and make up already, we need to get back on the road or we’re going to miss that show Fred got us tickets to!”

“We can’t miss that! Like, I hear the food there is out of this world!”

“Reah, rout rof rhis rorld!”

You felt your face heat up, looking over at Velma. She shrugged and leaned over. Inches from your face, she stopped leaning forward quickly and pecking your cheek before bolting the rest of the distance to the Mystery Machine. Fred and Daphne climbed in the front as you pushed Shaggy out of the way to follow Velma in.

“Hey! That wasn’t a real kiss! You owe me another one!”

“(Y/n), we’re dating you can have as many as you want.”

[catchperfectamericanpresidents]

Early American Historical Figures and How Well They Cook

( Yes, I am aware that an overwhelming majority owned slaves )

George Washington: It’s not bad, but not exceptionally good, sort of bland. But I wouldn’t mind eating it out of the blue. 5/10.

John Adams: There’s a lot of flavor, is what I’m getting. 7/10. 

Alexander Hamilton: A lot of sweet stuff. The tastiness of it fluctuates greatly. For some reason, he gives the feeling as someone who doesn’t care greatly about the taste as long as it looks pretty. 6/10.

Thomas Jefferson: Most of the time, he purposefully makes everything taste horrible so that people being forced to dine with him can’t use eating as a means to escape the conversation. Expect a lot of new recipes. 3/10

James Madison: Overly bland. The British genes are strong in this one. 2/10

James Monroe: As the black sheep of the Democratic Republicans, he’s actually pretty good. 8/10.

William Short: His taste buds are dead due to repeated exposure to Jeffersonian Cooking. RIP. 4/10

Aaron Burr: Lets face it, he just throws in whatever he can find together and call it a day. Relatable, but no. Depends on the ingredients.  4/10- 9/10 

John Jay: He’s a good person and an even better cook. 7/10

John Laurens: He’ll probably go all out. 8/10

Marquis de Lafayette: He’s french. But he’s also pretty clumsy. But he’s french.  7/10

Benjamin Tallmadge: I’m sure he’s great. I wonder if he’s ever tried to sneak spy code into desserts. 9/10

Nathan Hale: He knows his stuff, that’s for sure. Might be too busy to try anything fancy. 6/10 

John Andre: He’s perfect at everything. Never eaten anything better in your entire life. 10/10

Benjamin Rush: He’ll want to give everyone something healthy. Really depends. 6-8/10

Baron von Steuben: A good, hearty meal. Try not to get drunk. 9.3/10 

Richard Kidder Meade: A human being that tries his best, and receives the best. Would probably be pretty creative with his stuff. 8/10

Tench Tilghman: He’ll probably be pretty considerate and try to accommondate to everyone’s tastes. May or may not succeed.  7/10

John Fitzgerald: He’ll try. He very much will try. But for some odd reason, I feel like he’d somehow end up burning the entire house up in the process but I can’t be sure. 2/10

Nathaniel Greene: Looks like the kind of person to be somewhat absent-minded at times if what they’re doing at the moment isn’t very vital. Might get a rough start. 4/10

Henry Knox:  I have no doubt on this man. 10/10

Robert Hanson Harrison:  A professional kind of person I guess? I think he’s the kind of person for recipes.  4/10

James McHenry: Yeah, he seems like a nice guy. But he’s Irish. 4/10 

Joseph Reed: He just seems like a bad cook, honestly.  1/10

Hercules Mulligan: He gives the vibes. Besides, Hamilton was with him for a while, so I’ll give him some points. Might be too busy with other stuff now to actually pay attention, though. 8/10

John Trumbull:  Guy’ll feed you paint and then boast about how awesome his cooking is and you’ll be too sick to argue. 0/10

William P. Van Ness: SOMEONE had to do it when he and Burr were living together. You really expect Burr to do this? 7/10

James Wilkinson: HE WILL THROW POISON INTO YOUR DRINK AND BETRAY YOU TO THE DEVIL, DO NOT TRUST.-100000/10

Herman Blennerhasset:  You wouldn’t expect it, but I’m sure he can cook something nice. 5/10

Luther Martin: There’d be alcohol. Probably won’t be the best...but it’d sure be interesting. 4/10

Charles Peale: This poor, poor man. Just get him out of the kitchen. 1/10

Gilbert Stuart:  Doesn’t seem like the kind of person to do things half-way. Seems like a perfectionist really. 10/10

John Hancock: I’m sorry, John, but unfortunately, not everything can be solved with money. 4/10

Sam Adams: He’s too committed to being a Patriot to even care about how he dresses, you really expect him to be a world-top chef? -1/10

Paul Revere: He’s a simple man with simple tastes.  4/10

Joseph Warren: Can be a dramatic bitch at times, but it’ll be fun. 7/10

Benedict Arnold: I hate to say it, but… 8/10

Edward Stevens: You’d expect him to suck, but like??? HOW? 6/10

I don’t actually know that much on Washington’s Aides so feel free to correct me.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Angel has Kai’s baby in their 3rd (last) year of highschool and Kai has no idea since she hid her pregnancy so 2 years later Kai breaks up with angel to focus on his “experiments” when Kai is sent to Tartarus the guards tell him that he has a visitor and there’s angel and his child and Kai starts to tear up

"Eh...?" you could only mutter in disbelief as Kai read some papers with an unbothered expression.

"I know you for about five years (Y/n). I know you dont have any issues with your hearing." He muttered coldly before sighing and placing the papers on the desk.

"You... want to break up...? Why? What did I do?" You asked with trembling lips as he stared at your eyes.

"Is more about on what you can't and won't do." He pressed his fingers on the bridge of his nose before waving it in the air "You know I am the future leader of the hassaikai. And having you near would be only a distraction to my experiments to give this place more credit. You would be like a rock on my path to gain some knowledge."

"You're kidding right?" You almost sobbed "You always told me I was like a safe place for you to go. What the hell happened to that? Or the promises you made for me for us to get married?" He blinked before answering.

"I was foolish. We have a life ahead of us and well, having you being clingy on my back would be a nuisance while working."

The ground could swallow you for all you cared... what the supposed love of your life just said was enough to leave you with eyes red and legs felling like they were trembling.

"Please dont cry. You're dropping them on the ground. And I dont even know if you're clean." You gritted your teeth before breathing in and looking at Kai Chisaki for what you swore for one last time.

"Very well. You want to break up because I'm only a bother to your path to greatness oh punny God? So be it." You walked until you felt him grabbing your wrist until you snatched it away from him.

"When the time is right, we can get back together." He spoke like he was in a fucking meeting in a company.

"No." You hissed "Chisaki I loved you, and I gave you everything of me even supporting your ideas. But then you want to break up with out of no where saying I would ruin your plans by simply existing neat you and to top it off you call me clingy and a nuisance?"

You could see a tad bit of remorse on his eyes as he pondered for a second his own words maybe, but before he could speak you sobbed and opened the door.

"Don't ever look for me Chisaki. And for your information..." you hesitated and gulped down the urge to just yell what you had discovered just earlier while clenching your purse where the pregnancy test lied on.

"What?" He asked, now no longer seeing to be bothered by your sadness and outburst.

"... good luck on your life. I hope you're happy with this obstacle getting away from you." You muttered before closing the door and walking out until you cursed and screamed while you ran as the rain started to make an appearance.

Not noticing the germophobic himself running out of the house with an umbrella to give it to you and soaked as well as he watched with a dread expression your figurine run away...

.

.

Ten years later...

.

.

"I swear Kaiyo... you gonna drive me crazy one of these days." You spoke heartedly as the boy with brow hair laughed in embarrassment while scrubbing the back of his head as you caught all the pieces of the broken chair on the ground.

"Sorry ma! I got carried away." You scoffed but soon smiled at his tiny hands and focused face morph the pieces and piece them back together and with a proud face show you the new constructed chair with a 'tad a!'

"Wow. Impressive sweety!" You patted his hair as he "complained", golden eyes shinning brightly at looking at you with a huge smile on.

Life sometimes was cruel to give the child you loved the exact same face as their father which teared your heart at pieces. But your love for your son was stronger than this stupid thing.

Kaiyo was your son. Not his.

"Ne ne ma? Father's day is coming up!" Kaiyo said and you froze for a moment before sighing while washing the dishes.

Here we go...

"Yes it is coming." You muttered as the boy sneak around and looked up at you.

"You know I dont really care about what the other kids say about me having only a mom but..." he rested his face on his crossed arms on the sink while shyly looking up at you "I was just curious... if I am going to meet mine..."

You sighed while placing the now dry plates on their place before giving your son the best smile you could get.

"Kaiyo, your father is just a very busy name. When we were together he had.. uh.. family business to take care of, so that's why we cant see him much." Kaiyo seemed a bit dissapointmented and it tore you apart.

You could have your own issues with Kai but that didn't mean you would make his son hate him...

"Well... Sato's also got a busy dad but.." he shook his head, messy brow bangs shaking along with his head, until he gave you a bright smile "That's okay! I just hope I get to meet him one day! And that he gets back to you and apologize foe being a dork! So us three can live together!"

A child can dream, right?

But you knew that Kai needed to know the existence of Kaiyo... you werent ignorant...

"Yeah kiddo. Let's hope for the best." You carresed his cheek before kissing it "Okay. Enough talk. Time for bed young man."

"Awww already?" He pouted as you giggled.

"How about that? You go get ready and I tell you stories about me and daddy while we were together?"

"Can I get my plushie of mr Nighteye?" You giggled. Something Kaiyo definitely wasn't equal to his father was his fascination with heroes.

"Sure honey. Now shoo! Go go go!" You squished his cheeks as he laughed and ran towards his room on the apartment.

You snorted at sign before preparing yourself for digging the past once again for the sake of your son.

.

.

.

"MOM!" You almost chopped your finger along with the carrot at the shout of Kaiyo before looking at him in worry to se ehkm pointing at the T.V with horror "The heroes-! The green hero with the girl-!"

You immediately went to his side only to widened your eyes at the image in front of you.

Chisaki..?

"Ma! He is a villain! A BIG ONE!"your son whimpered while going for you for a hug while stared in shock... "Ma? Why are you trembling?"

"H-Huh?" You let out until you gasped at seeing this teenager punching Chisaki square in the face...

"Ma?! You're okay?!"

You didn't know what to feel, but surely you weren't expecting tears to fall when this girl hand cuffed your ex boyfriend and the cops and heroes to put him into a van to surely got to the prison. Tartarus you bet.

You felt a hand rubbing your cheek and soon looked at your son wide teary eyes.

"M-Mommy...?" You hugged him close to your chest and holding his head close as your heart almost slammed out of your chest. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I-i... I'm okay honey." You inhaled before looking into Kaiyo's golden eyes to see worry on them. "Hey, mommy's okay."

"Ma...?"

"Hm?"

"That man looked like me..."

.

How long was he here? Months?

Didn't matter. Nothing mattered more... everything was taken from him. Including his own arms. Now he was just as useless as a cockroach.

Worst of all? His own father figurine on a damn hospital because of him...

Pathetic.

'Is funny how things change' is what you used to say... he found himself scoffing while pressing the back of his head on the wall.

He hadn't stop thinking about you ever since the day he made the decision of breaking up with you. He did tried inumerous times to contact you when he took leadership of the Hassaikai... but he just gave up.

"Probably married with kids already... why are you even thinking about her on the first place..?" he murmured to himself as he felt his chest tighten in sadness.

Everything was just... what he deserved.

He sighed. Closing his eyes for just a split second until he heard banging on the door of his cell until a guard opened the window on it to glare daggers at him.

"Get up. You have visitors."

"Leave me in here. I thought your job was to take seriously enough to not make jokes." He spoke on a hoarse voice until the cell opened with two guards already on it.

"I cant understand why you have visitors as well but get your ass up already."

He just blinked until he got up, two guards in front of him and one behind as he walked.

He just hoped it was fast.

He entered the room, mirrors which surely was where cops were hidden as he sitted down on a chair and waited until the door of iron opened by another guard.

"Right here ma'am. And remember the rules please."

"Of course." His eyes widened and he snapped his head up to see if he hadn't got crazy.

But no. You were there.

Gosh.. you didn't change at all... was even more beautiful than what his mind could have remember.

He stood there in shock as you got in but along with you... holding your hand, was a boy. Dressed with clothes but he surely didn't looked content about being in here.

His face dropped at seing the kid... you had moved on.

"One hour." The guard said locking the door as you stood there awkwardly, while the kid holding onto to you was glaring at the ground.

He wanted to say something but nothing came out as he was still in shock at seeing out of all people you decided to visit him.

The heels you wore clicked on the ground as you walked towards the table and sit down and the boy right by your side on the other chair... not even once you made eye contact with him.

"... (y/n)..." he whispered, still looking at you as if you were some angelical creature.

"Hey... long time that we dont see each other right? Chisaki." You spoke... not with a smile but not with hatred.

It was a start.

"You... hadn't changed a... a bit." He spoke, voice scratching at his throat as your eyes finally met his, his heart was beating loudly on his chest.

It felt like he was in high school again...

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"I.. I didn't meant to offend you. Apologies." He bowed his head a bit as you sighed, looking at him with wide eyes out of the sudden.

"Oh God what happened to your arms?!" You almost screamed as the kid also seemed to notice.

"Long story... just.. a business that went wrong." He explained with dread as you seemed to relax a but while nodding.

It remained quiet for a bit only for the sound of the clock on the wall until he decided to break the silence.

".. so.. er.." gosh he was horrible with this "how is your life? Any.. uh.. you got the degree you wanted? I remember how you talked about it..."

You sighed with dissapointment as you looked at everywhere but him.

"No. I haven't... but I see you got what you wanted before being arrested though." You muttered and he let out a bitter chuckle.

"Almost.. yeah." He tapped his foot twice until he spotted the kid glaring at him with similiar gold eyes... "Married?"

"No. I thought it would be a distraction while taking care of my son." You spoke abruptly... as you looked at the boy beside you... "Anyway... I need to give you this."

You showed to him a paper before putting on the desk.

"What.. what is this?"

"Is a DNA test." You spoke coldly "To prove that you do have a son."

His eyes widened at that as he looked at the paper... and then to the boy whose was glaring at him not moments ago...

"Wha... but... "

"Remember the day when we split off? Yeah... was the day I discovered."

"W... why didn't you said something?" He asked in oure horror as you giggled in sarcasm.

"For what? This would only trouble you right?" You said with such venom on your voice that he felt a sting to his chest before you breathed in slowly before exhaling "I'm here because I thought you had the right to know... even after ten years.."

He looked at the kid and soon could tell the similarly between him and the boy... you had to raise a child with his face on it alone and he had broken things because of his own selfishness...

"What... what is his name?"

You pondered for a second before sighing, caressing the boy's hair.

"Come on honey... introduce yourself to your dad..." the boy huffed before opening his eyes and looking at him.

"I'm (L/n) Kaiyo. I cant say is very nice to meet you but my mom told me to say it for respect." He almost cringed at the introduction as he saw you looking at him with anger.

"Kaiyo." You warned as the boy scoffed.

"Dont need to scold him. He is not exactly wrong..." he ended up saying while you looked at him.

"I raised Kaiyo to have respect though."

"Why should I have respect towards him in the first place?" He looked at the dark brow haired kid "Not only he abandoned you ma but he is a villain! A very bad one! That girl on the Tv should be the same age if not younger than me!" The boy gritted with a few tears escaping his face.

"Kaiyo please... "

"Incredible..." you and Kaiyo suddenly looked at him "Despite having my features you are just like your mother... I would be proud of it..."

"... I'm not proud of being a villain's son." He muttered while sniffing "You abandoned us. I know ma hadn't said a thing to you but now I do."

You bited on your lips as he looked at loss of words at what he just heard from a child...

"... I know it doesn't change a thing but... I never stopped thinking about... your mother. About you (Y/n)."

"DONT REFER TO MY MOM AS HER FIRST NAME!" Kaiyo banged his fists on the table before you took him in your arms as the boy sobbed "You never cared! You-You-! Grandpa said you called my ma a bother! You are a MURDER!" The kid cried.

"I'm sorry about that..." you mumbled as you cradled the crying boy in your arms "He didn't take well Mr. Nighteye death..."

"M-Ma-! I wanna go home!"

"But Kaiyo, your da-"

"He IS NOT MY DAD!" he cried in you as you sighed as Chisaki seemed to be dying little by little at each second this visit had.

"I'm... going to go. Another day we will visit. Take care, Chisaki." You spoke before he could hear it and he stood up abruptly from his chair.

"No! Wait-!"

The door closed...

.

Months later

.

"Ma look. Hawk's wings are healing." The kid pointed at the news and you smiled.

"That's amazing! We could use some good news!" You chirped as Kaiyo smiled until both of you heard the door bell of your apartment ring.

"Huh. Weird usually grandpa or grandma visits us on-" you opened the door and you almost screamed at the sign of that same green haired kid on your door but now he seemed so... broken...

"Ma'am.. I'm sorry to bother you, but he said he can crash a bit in here... later cops will come to get him. I'm sorry but I need to go." Your son walked and squealed at sign.

"A hero!" Your son smiled brightly at him and for once, Deku had showed a smile for real... until you saw Chisaki leaning bruised to the core resting on the wall next to your door...

"Chisaki..." you breathed out as your son looked at him in shock.

"I'm sorry. Both of you..." he muttered while looking at the storm outside.

[redrobbingabank]

The Kids are Not Alright

Tommy was in his house when the sirens started. He’d been visiting Shroud. It was a good day. Now, cold, indescribable terror is flooding through him as he sits on the floor, head pressed between his knees. Rocking back and forth, Tommy drags in breath after breath and never registers the oxygen. 

Dream escaped. Dream escaped. Holy fucking shit, Dream escaped.

Sam had promised. He’d promised that wouldn’t happen. Pandora’s Vault was the most secure place on the server, the only place Dream couldn’t get out of. He’d been so sure of it that he’d been willing to let Tommy rot inside to protect its integrity.

He should have known it wasn’t true. 

He needed to get up. He couldn’t get up. He needed to run. He could hardly breathe. He had to get Tubbo and Ranboo out. He didn’t know where they were. The sirens were still screaming, screaming, screaming.

There were tears on his cheeks. “No, no no no no no no no,” Tommy murmured, finally bringing himself to look up at Shroud. The spider was unaffected, watching him from the ceiling. He focused on Shroud, and slowly, slowly, his breathing evened. 

He had to get Tubbo. Dream was probably looking for him oh god Dream was probably already looking for him breathe breathe breathe, he had to get Tubbo and Ranboo and Wilbur thought Dream was good run far, far away.

He shoved himself to his feet, turned on his heel, and ran at full tilt for the tunnel to Snowchester. They had to get away this time. They had to. He couldn’t survive it again.

Las Nevadas was quiet, for a casino town. Tubbo served plenty of burgers, for sure, but today it was empty except for the inhabitants, eating lunch alone despite knowing each other for months. It looked a bit stupid to him, everyone sitting alone at a table with nothing to occupy them but their food, silence reigning.

The exception was Fundy. He sat at the bar, holding a drink Tubbo wasn’t entirely sure he was old enough to serve and ignoring his burger. 

“So you’ve been here for like… what, three weeks?” he asked Tubbo. There were massive bags under his eyes. Tubbo didn’t think he’d ever seen his old colleague look so bad. Well, he guessed they were colleagues again.

“Yeah.” Tubbo shrugged and stole a fry. Quackity wasn’t there to yell at him. “You?”

“Few months.” Fundy sounded like he had to drag every word out of his mouth, slumping to prop his head up with a hand. “I don’t even know how he found me. I was living pretty far away.”

Tubbo nodded silently. He glanced over at the table in the corner, where Purpled was definitely eavesdropping. He was too tense, his head turned a little too far to be normal for someone minding their own business. 

The doors slammed open so hard the glass cracked. Tubbo whipped around, half expecting DreamXD himself to enter, but it was only Quackity. 

Maybe not only. Tubbo’s friend’s face was wild, a maniacal smile fixed on his mouth that reminded Tubbo of that day on the mountain with Dream. He took half a step back. Fundy, who’d flinched at the noise, was eyeing the counter like he had half a mind to jump over it to hide.

“Everyone’s in here, right?” Quackity looked around, doing a quick headcount. “Great.” A scarily gleeful laugh bubbled up. “Team meeting, everyone! Gather round, everyone!”

Fundy, Foolish, and Slime all complied pretty quickly, with varying degrees of bounciness. Purpled and Tubbo took a few moments longer, giving Quackity wary glances before slowly moving towards the center table. Tubbo pulled off his apron and left it on the counter. His hand itched to hold his sword.

Hair had come out of Quackity’s beanie, now resting only halfway on his head. He ran a hand through it, looking around at them all. “So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed––” His voice rang out, echoing off the diner’s walls “––But Dream’s escaped.”

He kept talking, but Tubbo didn’t hear, frozen and listening. His ears were always ringing, ever since the festival. It was an ever-present reminder of the explosions. But as he focused, letting himself hear all of it, the sounds separated. 

There was the ringing that was always there, electric and loud. Then there was the quieter, more distant, more urgent ring of the Vault’s sirens.

Ranboo. Tommy. Michael. Snowchester. 

Quackity must have been too absorbed in his rant, because he didn’t stop Tubbo as he walked, trancelike, out of the diner. The sun hit him hard. He blinked in the direction of the burger van. Empty. Ranboo usually visited Michael around this time. Snowchester it was, then.

It wasn’t hard to leave Las Nevadas behind. Tubbo had never gotten anything from it past a paycheck. It felt empty, a cooperation where L’Manberg had been a family. 

His family wasn’t here. Tubbo needed to make sure they were safe

There was dust on Ranboo’s armor. It was always like that after a mining trip. He’d have to clean it soon, but at the moment he was too tired, and it was time to visit Michael. 

The snow in the Arctic Commune reflected sunlight directly into his eyes as he stepped outside, but Ranboo was used to it. He was not used to the people who greeted him. Techno and Phil stood on the bridge between their houses. Techno and Phil. It had been months since Techno left, and the worry that had been accumulating broke away like a chunk of ice. Ranboo dropped the grass block he’d been messing with.

“Techno!” he called, running through the snow to reach them. His legs sank down to the shins in the drifts.

Techno turned around at the decidedly clumsy approach. He looked like he hadn’t seen the sun in weeks, but when he saw Ranboo, he grinned. “Hello,” he called back. 

Ranboo dashed up the steps and stopped in front of him. “Where were you, man?” he asked, slightly out of breath.

Phil and Techno exchanged a look. “I’ve been gathering intel,” Techno said finally. “I’m gonna tell everyone about it, but we need to get Niki here so everyone can hear.”

“Oh. Alright.” Ranboo started to move back in the direction of the portal. “I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of in the SMP, so, uh…” he glanced at Phil, who knew where he was really going, and finger-gunned in the portal’s direction. “I’m gonna head out.”

“Cool. Oh, wait, Ranboo!” Techno said quickly.

“Yeah.”

“Just, uh. You’ve got problems with Dream, right?” 

Instantly, Ranboo’s skin started crawling. He dragged his thoughts away from the panic room, from Mellohi, from the voice that wasn’t Dream, and the visit Sam said he made. He nodded slightly. “Yeah?”

“Right. Uh, I’m gonna need you to trust me here, dude. When you get to the SMP, someone might tell you Dream’s out of the prison.” Phil looked sharply at him. Ranboo stopped breathing, and Techno held up his hands quickly. “Woah, woah, calm down, it’s fine. He’s not actually out. They just think he is, I promise. I saw him in there myself, okay?”

Did the world feel like it was collapsing in on itself? Yes. But did Ranboo trust Techno to tell him the truth? Yes. 

Ranboo backed down the stairs and picked up a grass block from beneath the snow. He held it close to his chest. “You promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die, Ranboo.” Techno looked him dead in the eye. “Dream is still in the prison.”

“Then I trust you.” Ranboo turned towards Snowchester. “I really have to go now, though.” He had to find Tubbo and Tommy and make sure they were safe. He had to tell them it wasn’t real. “See you.”

Nerves battled with determination as Ranboo started the trek through the snow, then decided it would take too long and pulled out his ender pearls. Techno would explain, but until then, he’d probably stay away from the prison. He didn’t know what the sirens would do if he heard them.

[fortuositywritings]

The Great Animal Rescue

Summary: You should have minded your own business, but try saying no to a little girl who was crying for her cat. Now you are stuck in a tree trying not to embarrass yourself in front of the attractive individual who comes to your rescue.

A/N: This is a Skye/Daisy x reader short that is meant to give some background for them in I Said No

___________________________________________________________________

2:17pm

Y/N where r u??

You are stuck in a tree with no way down is where you are. You should really learn to say no to people. It’s what got you into this mess in the first place. You were on your way to meet your friends at the movies after stopping at an ice cream shop for a cone. You thought, why not walk the way there? It is only a few blocks away and it’s nice outside. 

So you began walking, licking your ice cream happily. It’s nothing compared to the ice cream shop in the small town where your cousin lives, but this one is still pretty damn good. Not two minutes into your stroll, the sound of someone sniffling made you pause. You hesitated to investigate where the noise was coming from, seeing that your cousin’s husband has given you plenty of lectures about stranger danger. You ignored the voice in your head saying he might have a point. He spends a lot of his time in New York; there are a lot of weirdos there. This is LA in broad daylight. The worst thing that could happen where you were at the moment would have been getting run over by an electric scooter. 

Clearly you were wrong.

It turned out to be some kid crying because her cat wouldn’t come down from the tree. You asked her where her parents were. She said they were inside the house and wouldn’t come outside because if the cat could climb up, it would eventually come back down. You told her they were probably right and were about to leave her there on the sidewalk but that was before she gave you some of the most adorable puppy dog eyes and a “please”. 

You asked the girl to hold your cone while you spotted the cat. It didn’t seem to be too far up into the tree. You started climbing up, grabbing a branch and hoisting yourself up. One branch made a on your green sweater, making you mumble in displeasure the rest of the way up to the cat. You should have listened to her parents as well. As soon as you had reached the cat, the damn thing ran past you and ran down the tree like a squirrel. You nearly lost your balance.

The girl thanked you even though you didn’t really do anything and ran inside her house after her cat, taking your ice cream with her. After mumbling to yourself on never falling for some puppy eyes again, you realized how far up you actually were. Your face blanched and your grip tightened around the tree branch keeping you balanced. 

You felt your phone vibrate and it took you 5 minutes to actually take it out to read the message. That’s where you are at right now. Trying to message your friend Ola back, typing with one shaky thumb.

2:23pm

Stuck intr ee two block sway help

Before pressing send, you think it over. Should you message her back? You know if you tell her to come rescue you, she would come with the rest of the gang and they would never let you live it down. Is it worth it? Better that than dying up here, you think.

Going to press send, your sweaty hand loses its grip on your phone and it falls onto the grass below. “Fuck!”

“Fuck!” Someone echoes from below, startling you in return. “Shit!”

You’re practically hugging the tree at this point. The person below you speaks to you, “You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing up there?”

You hesitate to look down but brave the fear of looking down to see the woman talking to you. And what a spectacular view you have. Had you not already been weak in the knees from being so terrified, you would have some now from looking at this gorgeous person. She’s clearly waiting for your reply, so you clear your throat and say, “Rescuing a cat. What are you doing?”

“Walking to my van.” She points to the van across the street. “Where’s the cat?”

“What?” you ask. She raises an eyebrow at you. “You said you were rescuing a cat, but I don’t see any.”

“Very observant of you,” you point out, not answering her question. She narrows her eyes at you. “You’re not like some weirdo trying to peek into someone’s bedroom are you?”

You scoff. “What?! No! I’m one for one on rescuing cats, actually. It went back inside to its house.” You defend yourself. “Besides, you’re the one with the creepy ‘I’ve got candy inside my van’ van, so.”

Now this stranger looks embarrassed. “It’s for work.”

“Who do you work for? The CIA?” you joke, making the woman laugh. “They’d wish.”

It’s your turn to give her a questioning look at the odd response. She ignores it and loops back to you. “So if this great animal rescue went just like you said, why are you still up there?”

“To, uh-get better reception,” you lie. She looks at you unimpressed and you see why when she bends down to pick up the phone you dropped. “You mean for the phone that’s down here on the ground?”

You laugh nervously. She catches on when she notices how tight your hold on the tree is. “Are you sure you’re not just stuck up there?”

“What? Stuck? Me?” you laugh as if what she is saying is just offensive. “No, I just liked the peacefulness the tree provided. I dropped my phone on purpose. Yeah, I didn’t want it to distract me from really appreciating the beauty of the world around us.”

“Yeah, the McDonalds down the road really does look beautiful in the daylight,” she quips.

“It’s the wonder of the golden arches,” you retort, pulling a genuine laugh from the woman. 

“Well, then I’ll leave you to it,” she says. You dryly swallow, afraid that your chance at getting down from the tree will leave with her. She speaks up again. “But before I go, would you like me to send the message to Ola that somewhat reads ‘Stuck in a tree two blocks away help’?”

She smirks and you sigh at being caught. “Okay, truth is I’m deathly afraid of heights. I didn’t realize how high I actually was until I tried coming down.”

“Well, that’s okay. It is one of the most common fears,” she reasons.

“It’s embarrassing. I can’t even look at a plane without feeling nauseous.”

“Well, I think you’ve been doing well so far. Look how long you lasted up there while looking down towards me.” She points.

“That’s only because you’re a good distraction,” you confess. 

She begins to climb up towards you. “Aww, are you trying to call me beautiful?”

You blush and don’t say anything though the silence speaks for you. She finally gets to you. “I’ll take that as a yes. Now, let’s get you down this tree, Robin Hood.” 

“Robin Hood?” you question the nickname. “Is it because of the tree?”

“That. Also, the tights and green top pull it all together. We just need to get you a bow and some arrows and you’ll be set.” The irony at the fact that there are plenty of arrows and bows at your cousin’s house due to her husband’s profession isn’t lost on you. Unfortunately, any joke you could make about it would get you in trouble, so you just smile at the beauty trying to help you down. 

She offers you her hand and helps you get down the tree branch to branch with all the patience in the world. Not once does she complain about the death grip you have on her hand. When your feet feel the ground beneath them, you feel like crying. Instead you just let go of the stranger’s hand and try to get your heartbeat to settle down to it’s regular pace.

“Not too bad, see? Soon you’ll be bungee jumping,” she jokes.

“That’s a big leap from getting down from a tree.”

“Well, yeah. It’s bungee jumping. Leaping is the first half of the process,” she says sarcastically. You roll your eyes at her playfully. Then she smiles at you with a gleam in her eye as if she just had the best idea in the world. “How about we start with something smaller then? What are you doing on Friday?”

“Um, I don’t have any plans yet.”

“Now you do. Friday night, you will be taking the next step to conquering your fear of heights!”

“It’s not bungee jumping, is it?” you ask, petrified. As beautiful as this girl may be, risking your life for the chance to see this girl one more time doesn’t seem like a well thought out trade. 

“Calm down, Robin Hood. I was thinking more along the lines of getting you to ride the ferris wheel at the fair,” she reassures you, making you blush.

“Like on a date?” you shyly ask. God, you hope you didn’t just embarrass yourself.

“Like on a date.” She smiles at you and your heart feels like it’s skipping.

“Y/N.”  You throw out. She looks lost so you explain, “Every Robin Hood has a name for when they aren’t up in trees ready to rob rich people. Mine happens to be Y/N.”

“Skye.” She offers her name and you take it so willingly, letting it ruminate in your mind. “Here.” She pulls your phone out of the pocket she had put it in. She goes to your contacts and adds herself in before handing it back to you. You stare down at it in wonder. 

“Well, I think your friends might be waiting on you, so…” She begins walking backwards. “I’ll see you Friday, Y/N!”

She turns around looking both ways before jogging across the street towards her van. You see her pull into the street nodding at you before driving off. You wave back after the van, dumbstruck. “What the hell just happened?” You mumble to yourself.

****

“You know when you said I would be getting on the ferris wheel, I assumed you meant you would go on it with me,” you grumble, making your way over to Skye who was waiting for you by the exit gate of the ride. 

She reaches for your hand pulling you closer to her. “Some things, you have to learn to do alone. You just have to let the belief that something great will come out of pushing through your fear guide you through that fear.”

“I don’t think any funnel cake we get later was worth that experience,” you pout. 

“Okay, then how about this,” she says before pulling you in to kiss you. It doesn’t last long but you let it consume you for the seconds you have. You open your eyes when she continues, “and a second date?”

“Only if it ends just like that,” you counter. She kisses you again, the second kiss leaving you just as dazed as the first.

“Deal,” she agrees, pulling you towards the funnel cake truck. “Next date, Robin Hood takes on Six Flags!”

“Wait, what?!”

_____________________________________________________________________

So, just a side little thing for some Reader and Daisy/Skye context before she eventually shows up in I Said No. It feels like I’m giving this reader a whole Universe. The world does in fact revolve around Y/N. 

Obviously (or maybe not) I dropped some references to the other fic but really you could read either without needing to read the other (if it truly breaks your heart to see reader with anyone else).

@madamevirgo @marvels-writings @gayarchnemissis @myperfectlovestory @purplemeetsblue @magicallymaximoff @b0mbdotc0m @helloalycia @ironscarletwidowsoilder @cantcontroltheirfear @trikruismybitch @your-my-mission @imagine-reblog @fayhar @idek-5 @causeitswhatjesuswouldfreakingdo @bemyvitamin @musicinourlips @paumxmff @wandamaximoffsrings @yeetus-thyself @lostandsearching @when-wolves-howl @euphoriaszn2 @gingerbreadcookieforlife 

[littlemisslipbalm]

I live in the neighbourhood

When Y/N moved to Hampstead she was unaware of the implications the decision would have on the course of the rest of her life.

or

Harry is Y/N’s eccentric neighbour who sweeps her up in the whirlwind that is his life

this gif bc its maybe my favorite clip of him EVER holy fuck - this is the harry of my dreams this is the harry of i live in the neighbourhood

HEY YALL it’s been a minute and I missed yall so much and I’m just about to be on break so maybe i’ll be back to posting writing regularly but with school its so hard and I think I’ve been working on this for months so yeah <3 lol PLS PLS PLS leave me feedback and reblogs and that stuff bc otherwise my writing just feels...empty and you have no idea the smile i get when even just the tags say like “god this was everything” it can be anything honestly but it keeps my passion up. Thank you again and hope you enjoy.

Word Count: ~10k | Warnings: swearing probably? no smut (yet), rich and famous harry - mentions of Taylor Swif 

-

She considered herself an average young woman in her mid twenties. She liked screaming Taylor Swift and Megan Thee Stallion songs alone in her car and thrifting on weekends. She hated cable because of commercials and when doordash didn’t deliver all of her order. She had asthma when she worked out or the air quality was bad. She had dumb celebrity crushes that her friends and her still laughed over with every new instagram post. She had hopes and dreams she had yet to achieve and she had past trauma that many would never know about, especially at first glance.

Sure, she was successful. She would admit that. How else would she be able to afford even the modest little house she had found in Hampstead? She had studied international business in college and hopped on a plane to London the first chance she got. After a few years of a more than decent paycheck and an advantageous stimulus check from her kind parents, she was able to move out of her starter flat into the suburbs. The definitive push for the move was two-fold. Her parents wanted her to take her dog and her apartment complex was strict on no pets. Then her promotion at work - which included a pay raise - made it hard to wave off taking full ownership of her childhood ten-pound best friend.

So with life happening as it usually does, Y/N first found herself scouring Zillow, then touring homes in the area, and finally standing outside a three bedroom, two bath, two-story cream house in Hampstead. Her house.

The little moving truck she had rented sat beside her as she stared at her future. The realtor had told her they would be there in ten minutes. For the next ten minutes all Y/N had to do was keep herself from combusting, or worse, sobbing.

She felt overwhelmed already. Renting a flat in London was one way to describe herself as independent. Owning a home in Hampstead seemed like a whole new level of adulthood she wasn’t sure if she was prepared for.

After taking a few deep breaths to ground herself, Y/N walked up to the gate that kept her front yard narrowly separated from the sidewalk. She lifted one hand from beneath the box she clutched tightly to her chest to push past the iron-rod gateway. The garden was cute, a little bland, and she thought to herself that maybe she’d develop some gardening skills now that she had her own front yard. The thought made her smile a little, refraining from laughing aloud while on her lonesome, since she had never taken interest in gardening before. But this house. This house. It was a new beginning. It was a fucking unwritten journal. Blank film. Unknown territory. She could be anyone in this house.

She gently placed the cardboard box on the first step up to the front door. There was no porch, but she couldn’t complain. It was gorgeous and she was lucky to get it at the price she did. The house was cream with dark blue accents and a grey shingled roof. Lots of windows. It was classic and it was hers.

After the realtor came with her keys and made sure everything seemed alright, Y/N’s couple of friends, Amélie and Daniel, arrived with their cars filled with items she had needed picking up from various stores. They helped her move her stuff into the house. Thankfully it was already half furnished, meaning she didn’t have to go out and buy beds or couches or any of those big items that are both expensive and a hassle to deal with.

By the time the evening had rolled around, everything was in the house and it actually seemed semi put together. Y/N looked around, sweat apparent on her face and hands on her hips, proud of what she had accomplished. The nerves from earlier had been drowned by pride.

-

The next day, she woke up from her first night in the house. It felt like a dream even though she was sure she was awake.  

She had to navigate her way to the airport today to pick up her dog from his long flight and then mainly settle into the house. Her house sat on Sherwood Avenue, one of the many streets in Hampstead. It’s neighboring houses were much larger. The ones directly next to and across from her weren’t drastically bigger but what she had yet to learn was that next to the house across from her there were two houses that had been joined together by their slightly eccentric owner. A man who would be the match that ignited the flame that was the rest of her life.

This unknown fact quickly became known after Y/N’s first few weeks in her new neighbourhood. The eccentric - more so absurdly rich - neighbor who conjoined the houses was Harry Styles.

The first time they crossed paths she wasn’t even aware of it. It was the day she moved in. He had been out for his usual morning run and was rounding the corner when she had pulled up in her moving van. Once inside his home, he snoopily watched on as his neighbour began to move in. He hadn’t taken note of much about her, just that she was new and that she had a nice pair of jeans on that day.

The second time, Y/N was convinced she needed to get her eyes checked because there was no way that she had just seen Harry Styles key himself into the house across the way from her. There was no way that she had moved into the same area as him, let alone the same street. It seemed far more plausible that she needed a psych evaluation or a strong glasses prescription.

But the third instance of them crossing paths, she was proven wrong. She was on her way back from the neighbourhood park when she saw a guy jogging towards her. With a yellow beanie and a black Columbia sweatshirt paired with running shorts and shoes, he was hard to ignore running straight towards her. The iconic curls, strong jawline, and soft green eyes were dead giveaways this time. After making brief eye contact as their paths literally crossed, she felt herself make a little face of odd interest. Her head quirked and her eyes narrowed, lips pursed with slight confusion. That was definitely him.

After that, she found herself seeing Harry around the neighbourhood a relatively good amount. She’d see him at the park, at the coffee shop, on their street, and more. They didn’t speak. She really didn’t think he would want to be bothered by his neighbours and she certainly wasn’t willing to test the theory. They sometimes gave a small smile of acknowledgement but nothing really friendly. Just ‘you exist and I know that’.

-

Fridays are Y/N’s favorite day. It’s the beginning of the weekend, she never has to go into work and it’s simply a nice day. People are happier, they smile brighter and it just seems like the world is a little better than usual.

Friday was especially amazing today because her childhood best friend, Cate, was arriving at London Heathrow in the evening. Y/N had begged Cate to fly out to see the new house in person and Cate had finally found the time to run away to England for a week.

She shut her front door carefully behind her and placed her headphones in her ears. Rori, that little terrier, who had made a similar flight to see Y/N’s place not too long ago, scampered out the door with her and jumped happily at her legs as she fiddled with her phone. Her coat ruffles around her disturbed from the morning air. It’s blanket-like fabric that consisted of a deep blue backdrop with felt giraffes sewn on it, kept her warm while she walked. With her mind racing with weekend plans and ideas for her and Cate to do both in Hampstead and the city, she crossed the street like usual and began to walk with her dog to the coffee shop for her morning tea.

Unlike usual, she fumbled just as she was putting her phone in her pocket and bumped into something large and definitely not sedentary.

“I’m so sorry!” She blushed and moved backwards from the man who had just been shutting his own front gate to head somewhere.

“S’alright. No harm, no foul.” He looks down at her and her dog. Rori seems excited by the stranger and sniffs him eagerly. A single paw prodding at the man’s long leg.

She grimaces, hearing the voice and stepping back allows her to fully recognize who she had just bumped into. Her neighbour. The runner. Harry Styles.

“Sorry.” She mutters again as Rori continues to prod at Harry’s leg.

She tries to coax Rori away, but Harry simply smiles and leans down to the small dog.

“Hi there buddy,” he coos and rubs the top of the fluffy dogs head, in between his pointy ears, “What’s your name?”

“Rori.” She states easily, Harry’s eyes flickering to her smoothly. Rori makes a smile babbling noise that sounds a bit like a tiny roar - hence the name - and Harry chuckles to himself.

“He’s really adorable,” he finally says and straightens up from his admiring of the dog.

The grimace becomes more of a smile on her face and she mumbles a “Thank You”.

As her neighbour - who hasn’t introduced himself (which wasn’t necessary, but still) or bothered to ask for her introduction - seems to be about to say something new when his phone begins to vibrate obnoxiously. He twitches, his large hands immediately going to his pockets for the important device. He checks the message and looks back at her face.

“Sorry, I have to run...um,” he’s not sure what to say. He really does have to go, but he doesn’t even know his neighbour’s name. He’ll have to make sure to get it at some point in the near future. Especially now that he’s acquainted with her dog.

“No worries,” she smiles completely this time, relieved for the whole interaction to be over. She felt like she was going to explode with each passing moment. In the presence of a legendary musician, c’mon, who wouldn’t be freaking out. All she could think about was how Harry Styles now knew her dog’s name. What the fuck!

-

Upon arriving at the airport, she waited patiently for Cate to walk out of the customs area.

When she did, the two young women began jumping up and down excitedly, Y/N squealing only slightly. They hugged and began chattering intensely, catching up on lost time that generally occurs when you live an ocean apart.  

Finally, one comment rings through the constant back and forth and Cate stops.

“Wait, what did you just say,” she questions as they begin walking to catch an uber back to Hampstead.

“I think my house might be haunted?” Y/N’s voice raising because she’s unsure if that’s what Cate was talking about.

“No, no, the thing after that. I think I must’ve misheard you.”

“Harry Styles is my neighbour?” Y/N’s brows raise as she looks over at her best friend, curious to know what she will say.

“Yes! Explain. Now!”

“It’s not really a big deal. It’s a nice neighbourhood, it makes sense that celebrities of his caliber want to live there.”

“That is not explaining. You have to introduce us!”

As they climb into their uber and settle in for the short ride back to Hampstead, Y/N sighs and tells Cate everything she knows.

“We’ve only just spoken today and I’ve been here for a couple weeks. He lives across the street and down one, I guess. I just see him around, it’s not like he knows who I am. He didn’t even get my name today, just Rori’s.” She laughs lightly, still finding it funny that Harry knows her dog’s name.

Cate nods, leaning in slightly to her best friend, hardly able to contain her awestruckness from the story and baffledness at Y/N’s calmness. “So, like, when do I get to meet him?”

“Girl, I don’t fucking know. Never, if you’re going to act wild. I don’t want the neighbourhood to think I’m not chill.”

“Sometimes…” Cate starts and leans away from Y/N jokingly, “I hate you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

They both smile, bumping elbows silently. The song on the radio fading in louder as their words die out.

-

The next day, Y/N took Cate to the local park. It was expansive and connected to the football fields that local teams would play at. The park section was a luscious green that was maintained with copious amounts of watering by the township.

She and Cate settled on a patch of grass near a slender tree that would offer some shade if the sun’s rays became too harsh. The quilt they sat on was something her grandmother had made her when she was maybe 8 years old, meaning it was torn in places and completely worn in a different shade of pink than it had been initially.

They set up their picnic and played music, enjoying the sunny day. Something rare and fleeting as the fall began to creep up on Hampstead.

They eat and catch up on life for about an hour. Basking in the sunlight, Y/N had laid on her back and was staring up at the clouds passing along the sky. Cate was carefully watching their surroundings, simply taking in her friend’s new home, but possibly for another reason too.

“Hey, isn’t that…” Cate trails off, trying to subtly nod in the direction of an approaching figure.

Y/N sits up, her hands holding her up from behind her. Her hair fails in front of her shoulders slightly and it’s a little disheveled from being mused in the grass. She looks discreetly in the direction of Cate’s nodding and then looks at her friend and rolls her eyes.

“Yes, but don’t say anything, he might not even notice me and I’m certainly not calling out to him.”

‘Illicit Affairs’ by Taylor Swift is playing off her speaker and as she’s about to change it, Cate turns it up slightly. They share a glare with one another before trying to act casual again, even though both of their eyes kept flickering to the man who seemed to be continuing closer and closer to their set up.

It became clear that Harry was approaching them after all and Y/N tried to carry on an unbothered conversation with Cate, which was hard with the constant nudging of Cate’s foot on her shin.

He stops a mere foot away from their blanket, beaming at the two young women lounging on the ground. He makes an attempt at a casual wave, his large hand splaying his fingers quickly, before opening his mouth to speak.

Cate beats him to the punch. “Hello there!”

“Erm, hi!” He says nicely to her and then looks at Y/N.

“No Rori today?” He inquires.

“No,” she smiles, slightly blushing at the fact that he remembered her and her dog. “He’s napping.”

“Ah, I see,” He pauses, “I feel like I need to apologize.” He continues.

“For what?” She questions and Cate watches on anxiously, mesmerized by Harry and dying to see what happens next.

“I ran off before I could even ask for your name or introduce myself. It was terribly rude.”

“Oh,” she can’t stop smiling, “It’s nothing to apologize for, I’m sure you’re busy. Besides I had to get my day started, otherwise I would’ve been late picking her up.” She points to Cate who smiles sheepishly, still internally screaming over the fact that her friend is able to talk so easily to a celebrity.

Harry nods and looks at Cate again, “Just visiting I take it then?”

She nods quickly, words escaping her. Y/N chuckles under her breath and swoops in to save her friend any embarrassment. “Cate’s my best friend and she’s been kind enough to take time out of her extremely busy life to come look at my new house.”

He hums, still standing a respectful distance from their set-up. “Nice to meet you, Cate,” he says very kindly. Then he laughs, but in a way that is like he’s beside himself. The two women both quirk their heads at him. Y/N squints her eyes slightly, trying to understand the guy she is talking to and connecting him with the man that is all over the news all of the time for his musical genius.

“Now I know your dog and best friend’s names but still not yours. At this point, I’m begging you to tell me.”

They all laugh and Y/N feels nervous for the first time since Harry had walked up.

“You first,” she smiles slyly.

His eyes widen slightly in surprise, but then go back to normal. Harry was very smart, she likely knew his name, but one, she was trying to be funny and two, she was also trying to be courteous. He preferred to introduce himself rather than just be told who he is, even if people already knew. It allowed him to maintain some normalcy.

“‘M Harry,” He says with a smile.

“Alright.” She says and then remains quiet.

Harry’s lips quirk up in a faint smile, amused at her expression.

“I thought it was a ‘show me yours and I’ll show you mine’ type of situation or was I mistaken?” He finally asks when she remains silent still.

The two young women laugh and Y/N bites the inside of her cheek, both feeling flustered and completely in control at the same time.

“You weren’t mistaken, I was just thinking.” Then she pauses again and Cate thinks Harry is about to combust and Harry thinks he’s going to as well with all the anticipation that has been built up over his neighbor’s name, even though he was pretty sure he’d heard it in passing at one point or another but had forgotten quickly afterwards.

“It’s Y/N.”

Harry releases a facetious sigh of relief, “Oh thank god! Finally!” His words quickly turn into an infectious laugh that is paired with a shining smile and she feels like she’s swooning right then and there. The control has gone out the window and she’s taken with her neighbor. He’s wonderful in that moment and she forgets about Cate or the park or anything. It’s just Harry and how it seems like he’s smiling just for her.

“Now that I’ve gotten your name,” he smiles pointedly at her after his laughter has faded away. The smile doesn’t leave his face though, his eyes still crinkled, his dimples still showing.

She nods, encouraging him to continue. Cate feels like she’s watching a movie unfold in front of her and she wishes she could record the entire interaction.

“I can finally ask you, Y/N, where did you get that fabulous coat I saw you wearing yesterday?”

She twitches further upright, eyes bringing themselves directly inline with Harry’s gaze. “Oh,” she inhales, “The giraffe one, yeah?”

He nods.

“I got it from a Goodwill years ago. It’s some vintage company that used to only make sleepwear. I looked up the tag one time and it doesn’t exist anymore. Super cool, though. Wish I could buy more.”

“Yeah,” Harry says eagerly, even taking a step towards the women, “It was so intriguing. Maybe, if you didn’t mind of course -” he falters, losing his courage for a moment, “you could bring it over and my stylist could check it out. I would love something similar and I’m sure he could figure it out.”

She shrugs. It wasn’t crazy, especially not for Harry - she assumed. She was certain he often found things he liked but there was only one of them so he would just order his own. She couldn’t help the pride that was swelling inside her though it that moment. Harry Styles liking her jacket so much he asked where it was from and then wanting his stylist to look at it. She’d jump for joy when she was in the safety of her private home later tonight with Cate.

“One condition,” she says and Harry’s brows quirk amusedly at her.

“You are a very tit for tat person,” he muses.

“Fair’s fair,” she shrugs again and then looks around her quickly, “It’s simple so don’t get too worked up over it, buddy.”

He laughs slightly again and tries to figure out what she’s looking for. When she extends a scratched up, sticker-covered point and shoot film camera he smiles.

“Can you take a picture of Cate and I? It’s always just the two of us so we never have anyone to take pictures of us together.”

Harry grins at this and her sincere face. Cate is a little taken aback, because while it’s technically true, it’s not entirely factual. They have plenty of film pictures of them - maybe not recently though. And she wasn’t going to question Y/N right now. It seemed like she knew what she was doing.

Harry takes the camera and begins to look through the viewfinder. The women scoot closer together and Cate wraps her arm around Y/N’s shoulder. She leans in to press her cheek against her best friend. They smile up at the camera and Harry crouches slightly to get a better angle.

“Alright,” he mumbles, “Ready?...Cheese!”

Their smiles stay hung on their face as they listen for the click and when the faint sound befalls their ears, Cate laughs and Y/N pulls away. She reaches forward for the camera, her hand easily brushing Harry’s large one.

Their smiles meet each other and Cate can’t help but notice how they grow as the two of them look at one another.

“Thank you,” Y/N says sweetly and pulls back to retake her seat on the blanket.

Harry straightens up, his grin falling back into that signature smirk. “No problem.”

“So-” He begins but she cuts him off.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll see you around, yeah?”

He clears his throat, feeling thrown off. “Yeah, sure. I guess next time I see you we can talk about when a good time would be for your jacket to come over?”

His voice raises at the end of his question a little more than usual, he’s trying to get her to bite, but she doesn’t seem like someone who is easily thrown off. He is trying to read her and she’s been completely cool the entire time. It’s intriguing. Even more so than the jacket, even though he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like it, it wasn’t really his focus when he walked across the park to her and Cate.

“Yep! It was nice finally meeting you Harry.”

He feels the cue to walk off and says his farewells. As he walks off, back on course to his intended destination, his head is filled with questions. Most important of them being when he would see her again.

Cate and Y/N watch him walk towards the football fields. They see him meet with a group of men and it seems like they’re there to practice or play a game. Y/N couldn’t be sure.

“He likes you!” Cate finally bursts out.

Y/N rolls her eyes, “Stop trying to make me take the piss. That’s a fucking lie and you know it.”

“It’s not! He likes you and you obviously like him, I mean, but we been knew.”

“Having a crush on the famous Harry Styles when you’re 17 is different than me liking my neighbour Harry.”

“But you like him don’t you? He’s even better than he was when he was 19. Now he’s all grown up and established and more your style anyway.”

“Shut up! He could hear you.”

“He really couldn't, he's yards away, you’re just paranoid.” Cate continues to tease and ridicule her best friend over Harry and Y/N is just about ready to up and leave, but she also can’t help but laugh it off.

“I’m literally gonna kick you out if you keep talking,” Y/N says between laughs and the women feel like they’re back in high school losing their minds over the stupidest joke ever.

“Okay, fine. But all I have to say is I will hold this over you when you end up together.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure, whatever. Just be prepared to wait forever because I can promise you Harry Styles and I are never ending up together.”

--

Two Weeks Later

Y/N walked to her door after hearing the doorbell ring and opened it to find her neighbour standing with his arm raised ready to knock.

“Hey, Harry,” She greeted easily, but not entirely sure why he was here.

They hadn’t really seen each other since their official meeting in the park. It hadn’t bothered her and it hadn’t really bothered Harry either. It seemed like they both had extremely busy lives that they didn’t plan on throwing out the window because they had said they would meet up at some point. She liked that.

Harry had come over because he finally had a break in his schedule and was hoping to talk about the jacket and anything else really. He was interested in getting to know her and he didn’t care to hide it.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go get a coffee or something?” He asked, leaning himself against her door frame now.

Her eyebrows raise and her eyes widen a little bit, not completely sure she heard him correctly.

“Right now?!” She asked incredulously.

She was wearing an oversized grey sweatshirt and black bike shorts that peaked out from underneath the sweatshirt hem. One of her socks was shoved around her ankle while the other was pulled up flat to touch the base of her calf. She didn’t think she was looking the most presentable at the moment. She had been basking in her day off by simply laying on the couch watching hours of Netflix.

He nods, his smile growing on his face. Her flustered expression only made him happier. She was always so nonchalant with him, he wanted to see her a little more antsy.

“Unless you’re busy,” he adds seriously, not wanting to bother her, just wanting to spend time with her.

“No, no. I’m not...I’m not busy. I just wasn’t expecting any plans where I would be required to go out in public. Let me just...um, come inside and then give me five minutes.”

“Sure,” Harry smiles again as he steps into her home.

Her smile is sheepish and much less genuine then the one Harry holds on his face as he takes in her abode. She tells him to make himself comfortable and then runs to her room to try and possibly fix her state in under five minutes.

She tears around her room, heaving off the frumpy sweatshirt and grabbing a long sleeve striped v-neck top she had hanging out half out of her hamper, a sign known to her that while it was clean enough to wear, if she happened to do laundry she should wash it. Slipping it over her head, she walks to her dresser and leans over to open the bottom drawer and unfolds a pair of dark wash oversized jeans. There’s no holes in them and she throws them on the bed so that she can slip out of her current pants. Next, onto the socks, she swaps out the current ones for a fresh black pair and finds her tortoise print boots to flick on. As she just about runs into her en suite bathroom, she zips the two boots up between steps. A quick comb through her hair, deodorant, two spritz of perfume, her eyelash curler and mascara and she’s running back to where Harry is waiting in her living room.

He blinks surprisedly at her promptness, usually giving people more time then what they say they need. She had indeed gotten ready in five minutes. He thought she looked breathtaking. And she felt like she was at a lack for breath in any case.

“It’s a bit cold out,” he glances to the window.

“Isn’t it always?” She smiles, finally catching her breath.

He chuckles and then nods, a smile appearing on his face as he feels a warmth in his chest at her wit.

“Ready?” He checks in.

She nods, grabbing a coat she kept hung by the door.

“Just the coffee shop down the way?” She inquires as they exit the house and she locks the door behind her.

Harry hums, waiting down a step for her to turn around and walk beside him. It was so strange to her, this felt all too normal with him. Like he was just a friend who had come to pick her up for coffee, her neighbor, nothing more.

“Did you hear the new season of the Crown is coming out soon?” Harry asks as they walk shoulder to shoulder (technically since her shoulder wasn’t in line with his).

“Really?” She looks at him, “I love that show!”

“Me too,” He looks at her and smiles happily.

“That’s amazing,” she breathes mostly to herself, half about the show and half about how Harry watches television and that he watches one of her favorite shows.

There’s silence. The brisk air pricking their cheeks as they walk down their street. Their puffs of breath create a slight mist of white ahead of them and then quickly dissipates.

Her eyes flit up to Harry’s chiseled jaw and face and she watches him as his eyes carefully and meaningfully take in his surroundings. Was it her turn to take a stab at conversation? It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence but she just wasn’t sure what was going on.

“You play football right?” She says finally as they turn onto the next street that would bring them closer to the café they both frequented.

She remembered seeing him there on several occasions. The tips he left were always overly generous, which she assumed you could do when you were exorbitantly rich. He always smiled when he ordered and knew the baristas by name. His order rarely differed and she hated to admit but she knew his two regulars. His actual “regular” was a 12 ounce black coffee, dark roast, no cream and no sugar. The other, his “I’ll actually have”, was a 16 ounce iced green tea, no cream and no sugar.

She couldn’t help that she was observant and that when ‘H’ was called at the bar she looked at what was pushed out, patiently waiting for him to come snatch it up with a smile and nod to the workers before he left. Sometimes he’d even smile at her over the lid of his drink as he exited the establishment. It was warm and inviting and she felt good about the twinkle in his eye that never seemed to waver no matter the day.

Now they were going there together and she’d have to pretend like she’d never noticed what he got as a drink.

He responds to her question with another glance at her and a simple “yes”. His hands shove into his pockets and one side of his pink lips quirk up. He continues, “I’m on a local team with some mates. We’re in a little competition with our league. The final match is coming up this Sunday actually...You should come.”

He says it so casually it almost doesn’t catch her off guard. Harry inviting her to his football game, maybe this was going to be her life now. Going to her neighbours football match. Going to Harry Styles’ football match.

“Sunday…” She sounds out, choosing to look out into the distance instead of at him. “What time?”

“Eight.”

“P.M. right?” She responds quickly, worried since she never wakes up that early and rarely before 10 a.m. on the weekends for that matter.

“Of course,” he chuckles.

They’ve come upon the café and he’s quick to grab the handle to open the door and let her go before him. She can’t stop the blush and smile that spread on her face as she ducks her head into the warm and cozy shop. Men had opened doors for her before and she really thought of herself as a strong woman who didn’t need a man for anything, but something about Harry’s action felt especially, and specifically, chivalrous. Why, she had no idea.

Neither of them stop to look at the menu. They were regulars and they both knew that about each other as well. He gestures for her to go first and she mutters her thanks before turning to the patiently waiting barista. She orders and is about to hand over her card when Harry suavely steps in and says, “Don’t worry about it. I invited you with me, I’ll pay.”

It was both completely unexpected and expected at the same time. Knowing she’d never win this fight, she thanked him again, glanced at the man taking her order and then stepped aside. Harry orders his own drink and then pays for both. Today he leaves double the amount he usually leaves for tip, she assumes since it’s two drinks he was paying for.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know?” She says quietly to him once they’re in a corner of the café waiting for their drinks.

He stands slightly slumped against the wall, closer to her height right now. He only shrugs, his good natured smile not once leaving his face since he entered this place.

“I wanted to,” he said simply right as the drinks were ready since it wasn’t particularly busy on this random Friday afternoon.

They glance outside and see that it’s begun to drizzle while they’ve been inside. She sighs, having hoped to walk around a little after being inside all day.

Instead, they sit at the corner table in the café, across from each other. She moves on from the paying thing, knowing it was simply how this guy probably operated most of his life.

He got a black coffee today, the cold and rain likely contributing to that choice.

As one pop song fades out, slightly under the sound of the coffee machines, she’s about to tell Harry she’s pretty sure she can make his final football match when ‘Cardigan’ fades in. It’s the second time a Taylor Swift song has been playing while she’s been in the presence of Harry and they were conversing. She tries to ignore one of her favorite songs at the moment. Harry doesn’t seem to pay much mind to it. His foot is tapping against his other, but it’s been tapping like that since they sat down.

“I think I could probably make it to your game,” she says finally after a pause and a sip of her own drink.

Harry grins at the response and launches into how great it will be if they win and how happy everyone will be. She smiles along and doesn’t notice the slight head swaying to the song that she’s begun.

“Fan of Taylor?” Harry inquires and Y/N’s face drops, eyes widening cartoonishly.

She stutters, a nervous laugh leaving her mouth before she can actually say something. How does she respond about liking Taylor Swift to a man who counts her as an ex. She’s at a loss.

“Yeah, uh,” she finally starts.

Harry watches her curiously, obviously noticing her discomfort as his question.

“I used to not really consider myself a fan. I don’t really follow her just because I don’t really follow...um...musicians,” she chokes out the last word realizing Harry fits that category. “But, after folklore, I don’t know, this album really spoke to me. I also really like Lover and...uh” she pauses again, sticking on 1989, an album she has argued with her friends about how it’s basically a tell all of the man before her and Taylor’s relationship.

He nods, hoping she’ll continue. He wanted to get to know her and he kind of liked seeing her squirm. “1989?” He finally supplies.

Her blush isn’t able to be covered this time. If her hair didn’t fall in front of her ears she was sure they’d be flushed with blood.

Then she draws out of her own self stress and looks at the smooth man before her and grows calm. He was amazing at winding her up and she didn’t want to seem like some young, impressionable fangirl to him. So, she squared her shoulders and straightened up in her chair.

“Yes, it was pop perfection as one of my college friends liked to say. I’d always listen to it at the gym.” Then she pauses, taking a measured breath, gaining her confidence back. Her eyes meet his, “Is there any songs off it that you particularly enjoy, Mr. Styles.”

He chuckles, mostly because of her emphasis on ‘Style’.

“Shake it off?” He asks.

“Oh fuck off!” She laughs and he joins in with her.

When they catch their breaths from laughing, they simultaneously take sips of their drinks and settle their eyes back on one another. Exes and songs written about oneself weren’t exactly the topics Harry had in mind for the coffee outing he had asked Y/N out on, but talks of exes had never been this funny with anyone else. He was grateful for her playfulness, her demeanor.

“Can I ask you something personal?” She asks quietly and seriously.

“I think we’re past that question, love,” he responds.

“Yeah, I guess,” she pauses and just about whispers, “Pretty much all of them are about you right?”

He shrugs again, his felt coat rustling around his seat. “We never really talked about every single song.”

She leans forward at the ‘we’ Harry is using about himself and Taylor Swift.

“But when I listen to the songs, I hear us in just about every one but a few.”

“Wow,” she breathes and sips her drink. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lived through something that intense and then someone commemorated in a masterpiece.”

“Do you have a favorite on that album?” He asks, moving on from her revelation.

“I love ‘I know places’, it has a cool sound. But I also really love ‘Wonderland’. They both have kind of dark sounds, yet it still is like what you have is so special that the bad bits are worth it. I don’t know, it just seems like a tv show. I don’t think my life could ever be that crazy or dramatic.” She doesn’t notice her use of ‘you’ because she had meant it as a form of analyzing the song theoretically as she had done hundreds of times with her friends,  but this time the ‘you’ is literally the ‘you’ the song is talking about.

“Love can turn anyone’s life chaotic.” Harry muses.

The green eye’s that flashed at Taylor throughout that album look at Y/N from across the table and she feels a flip in her stomach at his tone.

Maybe he notices her mild discomfort, maybe that’s just who he is. But after a beat, Harry’s onto the next topic on his mind. He launches into how he’s just returned from Scotland for a shoot for something so undercover he can’t even divulge to her, much to his dismay. She’s taken aback since she didn’t consider her someone Harry would divulge any of his private matters to, but it seemed like he already considered her a confidant. Just not for that. He wants it to be a surprise.

She smiles and listens attentively. She wonders as he goes on about his interesting yet absurdly lavish life whether he even knows what regular life is like anymore. Or if he’d even enjoy it if he experienced it.

Sure, coffee and football were plenty part of regular life . But the football league was something novel to Harry. He had just gotten to do it and he was thrilled by its normalcy.

She regarded him carefully, unsure what the next step was in this budding friendship. Was it dangerous to get involved with someone’s life which seemed to be filled with whirlwind rigor and constant change.

She liked her chaos, don’t get her wrong. She felt like she often was the odd one out in life. Always thinking differently than the ones around her. She often was the one to suggest spontaneous late night trips around town or exploration of an abandoned building known for spooky stories. She liked inviting friends over for themed parties for no specific occasions and she liked taking film pictures of friends like they were models even though it was only for her and her memories. She thought of herself as silly and fun, but what Harry described as his chaotic fun actually was regimented tight schedules of constant travel and work. Interesting experiences came out of that constant travel and work, but didn’t seem like something she necessarily wanted to get herself wrapped up in.

After coffee, they leave the café and it’s pouring now. Instead of going home, Harry insists on walking her to her place. She relents, realizing, once again, that Harry wasn’t someone who took ‘no’ for an answer. She then invites him in because it’s the polite thing to do. And Harry being Harry accepts.

“Want a dry sweatshirt while you wait?” She asks as she slips off her wet shoes and jacket in the entryway. Harry follows suit, his knit sweater being pelted with rain for the last eight minutes left him feeling cold and shivery.

He nods as he toes off his shoes and ventures back to the living room she had him wait in a few hours ago.

“Here,” She says as she tosses a grey sweatshirt in his direction. She believes it's her one from earlier, an innocuous pullover with ‘London’ in collegiate lettering on the front. He catches it as she rounds the corner to turn up the heater.

Her mistake was being so careless to not look at the sweatshirt before handing it over to her neighbor. Anyone else, maybe they wouldn’t have questioned it. But Harry, how could he not.

“What’s this?”

“A sweatshirt,” she doesn’t spare him a glance on the coach as she fiddles with the thermostat.

“It’s one of my sweatshirts,” Harry says and she can hear the smile on his face.

“That’s impossible, I’ve never borrowed-” Her brows had raised at what he said but now her words fall short.

He didn’t mean one of his personal sweatshirts that she possibly borrowed if they were better friends. No. He meant his merchandise.

“It was a gift,” she sighs as she turns to face him. He’s now wearing the sweatshirt proudly and grinning up at her smugly.

She rolls her eyes when he gives her a knowing smile.

“I didn’t know that it was the one I was handing you. Honest!”

“I thought you didn’t “keep up” with musicians,” Harry says playfully, his fingers making quotes appropriately.

“I don’t.” Her tone is serious as she plops on the couch beside Harry.

“I enjoy your music from time to time. Is that a crime?!” She finally exclaims when she can’t handle Harry’s knowing smirk.

“No it’s not, you could have just told me you were a fan!” She tries to stop him and protest that she wouldn’t consider herself a fan, but he continues, “I still would have wanted to have been friends.You’re one of the liveliest neighbors I’ve got. Everyone else on the street is rather dull.”

She chuckles, remembering finding out quickly that the street wasn’t a lively bunch.  

“I just wouldn’t say I’m a fan,” she presses and sits across from him.

He continues smiling like he knows the truth.

“I don’t think you’ve met an average person in awhile, Harry.” She finally says after they sat in silence for a few minutes because they were both too stubborn to be the first to talk.

“I would hardly call you average if that’s what you’re implying, Y/N.” He nods her way and he shifts on her plush couch, his legs adjusting themselves on their own accord. “And I know plenty of average people,” he adds huffily.

“I normally wouldn’t either, but compared to who you seem to surround yourself, I very much am. And that’s not meant to be a jab at anyone involved.”

His right hand sneaks up to his head to scratch at the base of a particularly perfect curl. His eyes squint a bit as his mind processes her claim.

“What are you trying to say exactly?”

“I’m just curious to see if you’d actually like me in your life. It seems like you want to be friends with me and that’s great, but realistically I don’t know how much I would fit into it.”

Harry scoffs, “That’s literally bullshit, just relax. I’m so chill you won’t even know what to do with me.”

Now it’s her turn to scoff. “Chill?!” She asks incredulously. Harry nods with a seriousness she hadn’t seen before.

“When’s the next time you’re flying off to another country for work?”

Harry pauses, “Um...the day after the final match. I’m beginning to film a movie, so I’ll be there for a month.”

“Busy bee,” she muses and they both chuckle.

There’s something about the somber look Harry is giving her. His eyes twinkled in the coffee shop and with playful winks she was excited to be in his presence. But after she mentions when his next trip is, he seems saddened. There’s skepticism behind his eyes and maybe he doesn’t like being challenged about who he is from other people, especially those who are new in his life.

But that’s who Y/N is, she’s straightforward and doesn’t lie to someone. If Harry was now her friend, she was going to tell it like it is to him. That personality trait she worried wouldn’t make her long for his world.

“So the cardigan? Do you have it here?” Harry changes the subject, clearly not wanting to actually consider a realistic friendship together instead just charging ahead with no hesitation. Whatever happened they would deal with it as it came. Maybe she should just go with the flow, let herself be swept up into his madness. Maybe it would be easier than fighting it.

“No.”

“Oh?”

“I do, I was joking. Where else would it be?” Her tone is light, trying to get back the shine she had seen Harry exhibit before it had vanished.

Maybe that was Harry’s effect on people. He was vibrant and like an Elton John song. You never wanted that shine to go away, never wanted the song to end. Never wanted him to stop shining his light on you. She felt this happening in just a few hours with him. When he was happy so was she and when he wasn’t entirely shining she wanted to do whatever she could to get it back.

A smile curls on his face and his green eyes narrow slightly. He’s trying to figure her out, know what she’s all about.

“Do you want to go and grab it?” His voice sweetening, almost like a tease. Maybe he means to bite his lip, maybe he doesn’t, but the effect on her is nonetheless earthshaking.

She pops up and smiles back, happy to have made him happy. As she walks out of the room to go get the cardigan that had started this all, her head tilts and she furrows her brow wondering why she felt such a sense of pride just for making him happy.

Would this man cause her to finally put someone else’s wishes ahead of hers?

-

“Are you on your way?”

She listens to Harry’s slightly worried voice crackle over the speaker of her phone as she shuts her door with the hand not holding her phone to her ear. His voice is raspy and muffled. She assumes it’s from the cold air of London at night and the scarf he is likely got wrapped around his neck.

“Yes! Jeez, I’m on my way. Walking over right now.”

It’s the final match for Harry’s football team and if they win the game then they get a trophy and it’s all Harry has been talking about since they got coffee and she handed over her cardigan.

Harry huffed an “alright” on the other side of the line and she called a “see you soon” before hanging up.

He was both eager for Y/N to come and possibly meet some of his teammates and a few of his close friends who he had invited and for her to arrive so that she wasn’t walking out late at night alone. He hadn’t known her for long, but he felt a certain protectiveness over her. She was relatively alone here, only two friends at work that she had mentioned and everyone else lived far away. She said she didn’t mind it, but Harry had a hard time understanding it since he surrounded himself with his friends as much as he could and was constantly either traveling or having them travel to see him.

He had even contemplated inviting her to come to Los Angeles with him for a month, but knew she would remind him of her ever important job that she couldn’t just randomly take a month off.

He’d have to ask her what exactly she did because every time he tried to remember, it always slipped his mind.

When her figure came into sight below the fluorescent lights, he breathed a sigh of relief. A grin spread on his face as she beamed at him and waved a bit. He didn’t understand how she couldn’t see how special she was. Every time he saw her he felt himself straighten up and feel a bubbling in his chest. Her smile was infectious and the way her eyes glittered when she looked away quickly and then returned eye contact made him want to stay in her presence forever.

“You made it!” Harry said and scooped her up in his arms, not realizing just how happy he was to see her, swinging her around in a half circle.

She laughs in surprise, but appreciates the warmth Harry’s hug offers her. She’s not quite sure they had ever touched each other before this moment beside shoulder brushes and hand touches. Nothing so...purposeful.

“I made it,” she confirms and pats him on his broad shoulders.

Questions in her mind raced as she questioned whether it was normal for friendships to happen like this. She knew in college friendships could happen this quickly. And that’s when it dawned on her, she really hadn’t made a new friend since college and that was why everything with Harry was so odd to her. She had forgotten what new friendship was. She needed to stop questioning everything and just live in the moment with a person she really liked being with.

Harry’s hands move from her waist and one stays to lead her forward so he can introduce her to some of his mates, as he had promised.

She felt at home in that moment. His hand on the small of her back, his heat radiating off of him and her hair swept behind her ears and her cheek pressed to his shoulder staring up at him sweetly.

She meets Charlotte, a member of Harry’s band who lives in London, her boyfriend, Mitch (who had just happened to find himself in Hampstead this weekend), Ben, and a few more people she couldn’t remember all the names of.

Harry’s team wins the game and Y/N’s not sure if she’s ever seen someone so happy to win an adult league football match. There wasn’t any official trophy except the one Harry had made himself and said he would even give to the other team if they won. It was engraved with the words “The World’s Greatest Football Team of Stars Ever. October 22, 2020”. It doesn’t even make sense but she’d been holding it for the entire night as he played.

He goes down the line of his friends who have been watching and gives them all jubilant kisses on the lips. When he reaches Y/N she holds out the trophy and he grins and gives her a kiss on the cheek. His lips are surprisingly soft and his scratchy stubble tickles her and she swiftly pulls back, a smile on her face and blush on her cheeks nonetheless.

Charlotte and Mitch share a look between the two of them and Ben’s eyes narrow slightly at the interaction. His eyes narrow just as they had when Harry had strutted over to the group with Y/N before the game. He had happily named everyone and she had shaken all of their hands with a warm smile on her lips. Ben had regarded her warily and she had shaken it off as the chill of the night air. But there it was again, not quite trusting of the neighbour girl Harry had just randomly befriended a few days ago.

The team and the friends of the team decide they deserve to celebrate this win, mostly at the request of Harry.

Y/N tries to find a time to leave, to return to her place so she can prepare for her day at work tomorrow. But no excuses will be heard from Harry and she has a hard time saying no to his sparkling eyes and gorgeous grin that she’s growing far too accustomed to.

She’s ushered down to the closest pub with the rest of them and finds herself chatting with Charlotte’s boyfriend. He’s the most...normal. She’s not sure how to explain it, but he doesn’t seem to be regarding her as different, unlike every other one of Harry’s friends. They were all perfectly nice and cordial with her, but she just felt like she wasn’t a part of their group, their world and she didn’t know how to explain it.

Charlotte and Mitch are rather nice too, but they’re more reserved with her. They’re musicians, like Harry, and they somewhat have that air of awareness around them that Harry sometimes gets. She thinks it’s from the fame, having to constantly be wary of who is around you, what everyone is doing, what is happening next. She doesn’t mind it, it’s just not something she’s used to.

She wishes she could just throw back some drinks and she could allow herself to be more...well just be more. More of a presence, more of herself, but she has a job she has to get to bright and early. Tomorrow was Monday and for her that meant work. So she sips a beer that Harry insisted be on his tab and she makes small talk with Charlotte’s boyfriend about how he’s been helping her produce her first EP. Charlotte occasionally pops in when she hears her name, but mostly is conversing with Mitch over something silly. Y/N knows because they keep laughing.  

Harry is going around to just about everyone in the party and she watches as he happily talks with every one of his friends. He’s ecstatic and she wonders if she’s ever experienced happiness like he has.

At midnight she attempts to make a French exit, as her mother always called it, and slip away with little to no farewells, but Harry spots her before she can.

“You’re leaving already?” Harry asks loudly, the euphoria of winning his silly little game and drinking a fair amount of pints has him at his peak boisterity.

“I have work tomorrow,” she says warily, slumping slightly from the weight of Harry’s arm slinging around her shoulder.

He turns serious and straightens up slightly, his green eyes looking especially dark in the pubs dim lighting as they look her dead in the eye. “Let me walk you home.”

“I can get home by myself,” she laughs, shrugging off his hold. “Plus, the host can’t leave his own celebration.” She gestures to everyone else happily celebrating on a Sunday, somehow not bothered by the beginning of the average week.

He steps closer, his brow furrowing for the first time that night. One of his large hands raises to his tousled hair and he runs it through the tresses. He even nibbles at his lower lip as he contemplates his decision. Then quickly and suddenly, he makes up his mind,

“No, I’ll escort you. Can’t have my neighbour walk home this late alone. I’ll just leave my card with Mitch. He’ll settle up the tab.” He smiles at his perfect plan and she grimaces feeling slightly embarrassed that he would leave his friends to walk her home. “Won’t you Mitch?” Harry calls as he grabs his coat from the wall next to the door. Mitch simply nods and Harry yells his farewells, Y/N waves meekly.

“That was...interesting,” she mulls over her words as they walk through the cold night air outside of the pub.

“Amazing, right?” Harry speaks over her less enthusiastic voice.

“You have a lot of friends,” she mused, trying to sound less disheartened than she had in her last statement.

Harry only hums and shivers slightly from the cold. His breath comes clearly out in puffs in the cold night air. Y/N’s is muffled by her scarf wrapped tightly up to her chin. She’s tucked his face as far into it as possible but her nose won’t stop from freezing as they walk.

Her hand goes up to it and she rests her palm to the tip of it. The motion grabs Harry’s attention and he looks directly at her curiously.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m freezing,” she muffles out, “This helps my cold nose not be so..cold.”

He chuckles and wraps his arm around her shoulder and she easily folds into him, welcoming any warmth right now.

After another moment of silence and them enjoying each other’s warmth and slight smell of whatever perfumes they had chosen earlier that night as well as beer and wood of the pub, Harry nuzzles his head above hers and then asks her something.

“Was that overwhelming for you?”

She’s quiet, thankful his eyes can’t reach hers right now. He was too powerful with those things.

“I, um, a little. I just...I just realized today that I haven’t made a new friend since college outside of work and it was overwhelming just hanging out with you. So all of your friends as well, yeah, it was a bit much for me.”

Harry looks out at the empty street ahead of them and sighs in realization. In his excitement, he hadn’t accounted how she might have felt tonight until just now. He wanted to kick himself for not thinking of her feelings, but other’s feelings slipped his mind so easily sometimes.

They round their street corner and she nuzzles back into his side.

“I’m sorry, love.” He rubs at her outer arm, “I didn’t think about it like that. I was just so excited for my plan to come together. Maybe next time, it’ll just be a couple of them rather than so many?”

“Sure,” she says quickly, wanting to make him happy, knowing how much he cared about his friends. “I feel like we need to hang out more with just you before I osmos into your friend group though if I’m being honest.”

“Well that can definitely be arranged,” he says and reluctantly lets go of her body. They’ve arrived at her door.

“I also want to see the inside of your house at some point.” She tugs at one of his hands before it can disappear into his warm coat pocket. “Houses,” she corrects.

“That can also be arranged,” Harry smiles with his lips closed. Pink lips and rosy cheeks extra bright from the cold. He plays with her fingers as the two stand close to one another, happy for the alone time and chalking the proximity up to heat sharing.

“You leave tomorrow right?” She finally asks.

His head falls and he sighs.

“Yeah…”

“It’s just a month,” she smiles, trying to stop Harry from being so dramatic. Especially when there was no logical reason for him to be so upset over not seeing his neighbour - she keeps telling herself.

“Are you sure you can’t quit your job and just fly out with me?” He pleads.

She throws her head back in laughter and shifts closer to him, her front porch light illuminating and shadowing every perfect place on Harry’s gorgeous face.

“Not even a chance.”

“That is a shame,” he takes an experimental step closer and she feels his breath fan across her cheeks at his last word.

She wrinkles his nose at the smell of his last beer, even though coming from him it was endearing.

Just as she feels him being to shift his head closer, she steps forward and gives him a tight hug.

“Goodnight Harry,” she whispers into his ear, “Safe travels.”

Then she’s stepping back and swiftly unlocking her door. She moves it slowly so as to not wake Rori and then Harry’s left alone and dumbfounded on her doorstep.

He definitely preferred being with her alone, but now he didn’t even have that chance until next month. And nonetheless she had just sidestepped his kiss with such ease he’s not even sure if he meant to kiss her. It had felt right, but why? Because it was cold and picture perfect? Or because he was enchanted by her and liked her as more than a new friend?

She slumps in her kitchen and fixes an Emergen-C to stave off the chill of the night and any germs that might have been lurking around the pub. She hopes when she walks to her bedroom she can check the front porch and see that Harry has gone home because she would hate to turn the light off on him.

How could he have expected her to kiss him just then? They’ve only just met each other a few weeks ago? And he’s Harry Styles and she just lives in the neighbourhood. What the actual fuck had happened to her life?

[portaltothevoid]

Foolin’ (15/20) // eddie munson x ofc

Summary: Kat gets into a fight with her aunt and confides in Robin, Steve, and Dustin about what she should do regarding Eddie.

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: mentions of abandonment, internal struggling, angst, angst, angst

Taglist: @munchabunch @madaboutmunson @michele131 @riffcrusader

Kat abruptly put her car in park. All she wanted was the quiet solitude of her room. The only thing she wanted to do was surrender to a slumber where she didn’t have to remember anything that happened in the past two days. Eddie was going to try and talk to her. So many different scenarios filled her head with any and all of his possible reactions. As much as she was running away from him, she longed to run to him too. The hangover she had wasn’t the only thing splitting her head in two. 

For once her aunt was actually home, which was to be expected as it was the one time Kat wished she wasn’t. She went into the house, hoping Linda would be distracted enough to not notice she was home early. “Kat? Is that you?” She heard her call from the kitchen. So much for that. 

“Hey, Aunt Linda.” Kat hoped her voice just sounded more tired than anything.

“What are you doing home from school so early? Everything alright?” She asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I just have a killer headache. I made it through my English test and there wasn’t anything important for the rest of the day, so I thought I’d head home early.”

“I’m making bacon cheeseburgers. I’ll save you one. It’ll probably help when you wake up. Here, have some water though.” She said as she poured then handed Kat a glass of water.

“Thanks,” Kat said quietly, taking a big sip. She was surprised at how thirsty she was.

“Kat, before you go upstairs, and since you’re here, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Yeah?”

“Sherri, you know from across the street? Well, she informed me that there’s been a beat up van parking outside the house. Is that a friend of yours?”

Kat tensed up instantly. She already didn’t like where this was going. “Yeah, it’s my friend Eddie’s. We meet here and take my car. Why? Is that a problem for Sherri?” Her tone became increasingly defensive. 

“It’s just… It’s rare for cars like that to appear in this neighborhood. She was concerned.”

Kat scoffed. “Oh, concerned? Concerned about what? Having a temporary eyesore across the street? Should just tell her to mind her own goddamn business.”

“Kat! What is this about?”

“You know, Eddie gets enough shit from the people in this town. Now I have to hear about ‘Sherri’ being just as judgemental as everyone else, just because of his stupid van?” The heat started rising in Kat. Her anger simmered throughout her. She needed to get this under control.

“Wait, are you talking about the Munson boy?” Linda questioned cautiously.

“Yes? Don’t even–”

“Kat. You can’t be friends with him! He is not good company to keep. His family, they are definitely not good people. Can’t say I’m surprised, you’d gravitate towards this town’s main derelict. Please, Kat, you can’t keep repeating the same patterns. I am just trying to look out for you and your own good!” Linda rushed everything she had to say, hoping to get it all out, hoping Kat would understand she was just concerned for her niece.

A quiet stillness befell her and she could only stare at her aunt in shock. She really thought her aunt was not just like everyone else in this stuck up, pretentious town. In reality, it didn’t surprise her upon this realization. Linda was her mother’s sister after all. Just because she couldn’t keep up with the Los Angeles socialites, didn’t mean she didn’t harbor their prejudices. All the while, Kat was seething.

“Have you ever had a conversation with him?” Kat asked too calmly.

“Well no, but his family has a reputa–”

“Then shut. Your. Mouth. I’ll have you know he has been the only person who has stopped at nothing to want to get to know me, for me. I haven’t met anyone kinder or more understanding than him in my whole goddamn life. You have no idea of the shit he’s been through. You don’t know the first goddamn thing about him! Does my opinion mean nothing to you? Do you hold the town gossip that high?” Kat’s voice crescendoed more so than Eddie’s did in the lunchroom. The storm that had started inside her earlier was about to be unleashed as her anger came to a boil. Her fists were balled up by her sides. She could feel this current of electricity pulsing through her. Linda was absolutely shocked by this outburst.

“Do not ever speak to me that way again. Do you hear me? You are under my roof. It is because of my kindness that you are even here! You do this again–”

“You’ll what? Ship off me somewhere else? Oh, because that has never happened before! Figures you’d be just like the rest of them! I ruffle a couple feathers and away I go! Make me someone else's problem, right?!” Kat yelled and then laughed maniacally.  It felt like the electric current of fury was radiating off her. She was too enraged to notice that the lights were starting to flicker. 

Linda started backing away from her. Her eyes darted around to all the lights as a look of absolute horror became painted across her face. “Oh no. It’s– it’s happening again,” Linda said softly to herself. “Kat, I… I’m sorry. Look, why don’t we finish this conversation later, alright? When we’re both in a better frame of mind? I didn’t mean– I didn’t want to upset you. Please, know I would never send you away from here. I couldn’t do that to you.” She hoped speaking in a compassionate tone would be enough to at least bring Kat down a few levels. 

Kat tightened her jaw. At some point, she had relaxed her hands during her last mini-rant, but she eyed a couple soda cans left on the counter. She looked at them, then at Linda, and back at the cans. She brought her hand into a fist again, the cans simultaneously collapsing in on themselves as she did so. This exerted enough energy from Kat that she simply shot Linda a look that could practically kill before she turned and dashed up the stairs to her room. Kat thought she had closed her door as she walked by it, but halfway into her room, she simply waved her hand behind her and it slammed shut.

Linda let out a heavy sigh once the door shut and the lights stopped flickering. She immediately went over to the phone. “Hank, it’s– how bad are things going to get for Hawkins? … Yes I know you told me not to worry and you had it under control there. … Hank, listen! It’s happening again! She…We got into an argument. Her power…It– It’s only grown. She has no idea. … The lights flickered. She looked at two soda cans and they crumpled! Two of them, Hank! At the same time! Not even 011 could do that. Well, that we know of. The energy was palpable. She had to do something to get it to stop. I told you she should have gone to Lenora! … I can’t for another two weeks. We need to keep the trip as scheduled. … Hank, I have been working doubles. I have to put my time in, so they don’t question it. You know this. … Alright. … Yes. Yes, I’ll keep an eye on her. I’ll let you know if anything else happens.” She hung up the phone, casting a worried glance up the stairs. 

Meanwhile, Kat immediately went to rapidly thumb through her records until she found the one that would channel her emotions the best. She had yet to stop seeing red. Everything was catching up with her. All the emotions she had repressed to make it through school flooding through all her senses. After putting her stereo at an almost obnoxious volume, she fell back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. The sounds of Slayer’s album, Hell Awaits, blocked out the storm inside her enough to keep her at bay. Eventually, she drifted into a dreamless sleep, exhausted from all of today’s events.

When she woke up, the house was silent. It was almost dark. She glanced over at her clock, seeing it was just about half past four. Luckily her headache had mostly subsided, but her stomach was growling. 

Still completely dressed, she went downstairs to see if there was anything in the kitchen. Catching sight of the two soda cans she crushed without even touching then, she got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Guilt wrapped itself around her, not because of the way she had spoken to her aunt, but only because of how harshly she had said it. She wished she could have just told Linda how much she loved him, but how could she tell her that when she could barely even admit that to herself? Nevertheless, her point stood still, although she could no longer stand to be in that house. Her backpack had been dropped on the floor earlier, so she reached in, grabbing her wallet, then keys off the table in the foyer, before she headed out in search of dinner. 

Winding up at a McDonald’s, she scarfed down a Big Mac with extra pickles and extra Mac sauce, fries, and a Sprite. Afterwards, she drove around town. While she knew where she was, she felt completely lost. All she wanted to do was run to Eddie and tell him what had happened, but what if he wanted nothing to do with her? He easily could have been walking towards her to tell her to leave him alone, that she was too much, too forward, or that he already had enough to deal with what people said about him around town and that he couldn’t take on the gossip about her too. Deep down, she knew that was not true. He did promise her he would never abandon her; however, that promise was made after a night of partying. The disbelief that someone would stick by their word when it came to her had clouded her judgement. 

She looked around, taking in where exactly she was in Hawkins. Upon realizing she was less than ten minutes away from Family Video, she decided since she couldn’t run to Eddie, confiding in Robin would work just as well. In the event she wasn’t working, she hoped maybe Steve would hear her out, assuming Robin talked to him about everything. Then again, she vaguely knew that Eddie confided in Dustin, and Dustin confided in Steve, so chances were good that if she had to settle for him, he’d have an idea of what she needed to sort out.

Thankfully, at this point everyone had gotten their movies for the evening or had gotten them yesterday for Halloween as the store looked empty. She saw a kid with curls billowing out from under his hat emphatically talking to Steve and Robin. Recognizing Dustin immediately, she let out a surprising sigh of relief that all three of them were there.

“Steve, he was acting insane. He yelled at Nancy. Well, not at her, but he was like ‘How ‘bout a cover story?’ and making this huge scene. I mean he acts up a lot, but never like that.”

“Clearly your new best friend really likes–”

“Kat! Hey! Hi! I was so worried about you today. I wanted to check on you, but I couldn’t find you anywhere, and then you weren’t at lunch, and…How are you doing? Are you okay? Do you need to rent E.T.? I’ve noticed you do that a lot. I’m guessing it’s a comfort movie. Not that I remember in a weird stalker way, just I notice repeats with a lot of customers.” Robin interrupted Steve with her nervous rambling as she saw Kat had walked into the store. Dustin and Steve exchanged wide eyed looks at each other.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was walking in!” Dustin whispered harshly at Steve who just waved his hands around in an exasperated expression. 

“Because I was… ugh.” Steve shook his head and dropped his hands to his sides, giving up trying to explain it to Dustin.

Kat laughed for the first time that day. “I know what you mean, Robin. No, not sure I’m gonna get a movie today. I’m, uh… Well, I needed to talk about some things that happened last night, because I’m just…I’m really confused and I don’t know if I fucked everything up and…” Kat confessed, almost getting choked up from keeping everything to herself all day. Once she started she couldn’t help everything from spilling out. 

Robin could see the tears welling in her eyes and gave Steve a panicked look. “Oh, um, oh no. Crying. Kat’s crying. I don’t do well with heavy emotions. Um, yeah, just… We’ll listen. We can talk about it, um, it’ll…be…okay?” Robin and Steven both moved from behind the counter to attempt to somehow console her. Dustin, seeing as he was the closest to Kat, rushed over to give her a hug. This snapped her back to the present moment, keeping the tears at bay for now. “Aw, Kat, don’t cry!” She smiled and returned the hug as she really needed some comfort.

After the hug, Steve said, with concern in his voice, “Alright, Kat, tell us what happened. Because from what I heard they were out for blood today.” 

“So, these girls were talking shit about me and Eddie outside of the bathroom. Maybe I had too tight of a grip on their shoulders and told them to keep our names out their mouths. Like, there are totally worse threats I could have made. So then, Eddie and I left. I was drunk, like really drunk.”

“Yep, we saw that,” Steve nodded.

“Right. Also, sorry Steve if I was mean to you defending Eddie.”

“Wait, what did you say about Eddie?” Dustin questioned Steve.

“It doesn't matter. What else happened, Kat?” 

“Ok, well, I might have been a little…touchy? Not in a gross way. Just…I cried a little. And sort of begged him not to leave me? I guess. I don’t know. I have abandonment issues. Anyway, then those girls with their stupid boyfriends saw us and one fell into a bush. So like, that’s all fine. Um, but, it was really hitting me when we got back to my house. I sort of… I kind of kissed him? But he broke away and I don’t remember if he said we couldn’t or shouldn’t, because then I ralphed and he held my hair back and then I passed out. So, um, yeah. And I couldn’t face him today, because what if he wants nothing to do with me anymore? And he’s like my best friend here and I just– I don’t want to be miserable anymore.” Kat exhaled after getting all of that out in the open. She looked worriedly at the others, hoping that the fact she had used some kind of jedi-mind-power tricks to get the jocks to shut up for once wasn’t that pertinent to the whole story.

“So, do you like him?” Steve asked her.

“What? I didn’t say that. I–”

“Kat. You cried telling him not to leave you and then you kissed him when you were drunk. I know for a fact you, sober, would never do that, but clearly after some drinks your true feelings came out. And I told you, he is so into you.” Robin reiterated to her.

“Well, does it even matter now?! He probably just wants to be friends and I made it weird.”

“Do you wanna know what happened at lunch today, Kat? Do you wanna know what Eddie did?” Dustin asked, leaning back on the counter, putting his hands together.

“Oh no. What did he do?” 

“First off, he was in rare form today. He was extra snappy. Almost thought he was gonna slap Jeff for saying…uh, assuming things about last night. I talked him down from that ledge, until some girls were saying something about you. At least, I think that’s what set him off. He got up in front of the whole cafeteria, basically yelled, asking if anyone would like an interview to talk about what actually happened. That was when he brought up Nancy, asking about putting it in the school paper. Then he just stormed out of there. From the time I’ve known him, he would not do that for just anyone. So, you, Kat, mean a whole hell of a lot to him. I mean there’s that and the fact he talks about you all the time. I can’t even tell you how long he’s been trying to figure you out.”

Kat’s eyes filled with adoration at Dustin’s retelling of today’s lunch. “So, it’s okay if I remember everything from last night? He won’t… You guys don’t think he’ll push me away?”

“You mean, like you’re doing to him? No, he won’t. There is no way. Kat, seriously. Steve and I have barely spoken to the guy. We know he feels something for you.” Robin reasoned.

“Seriously. Seeing you two at that party, if I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought you two were an item.” Steve revealed.

“Please, please trust me on this Kat. You guys are fine. If anything, he’s probably pacing around right now worrying about you! Just go see him.” Dustin encouraged her.

Kat looked at her new group of friends. She threw her arms out and enveloped them all into a group hug. She was becoming a lot more affectionate lately. “Thank you, guys. So much. I really needed this.” She said as she hugged them tighter.

“Well, what are you waiting for! Go!” Steve waved his hand towards the door with a smile on his face. Even if he wasn’t the greatest at love, he sure was a sucker for it when he saw it.

Kat waved goodbye and turned to hurry back to her car.

“I expect a full report on Monday! Be safe! Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!” Robin called after her. 

Feeling much better, she reached into her box of tapes, shuffling them around and blindly picked one out. She tried to open it without looking and let fate decide her music. It started playing right in the middle of “Die Hard the Hunter” by Def Leppard. Kat, content with her mystery selection, hummed along as she made her way to Eddie’s trailer. Before she knew it, the tape flipped. She froze when she heard the opening chords to track six off Pyromania.

“Foolin’,” was one of her favorite songs, possibly of all time. “Oh, I just gotta know, If you’re really there and you really care, ‘Cause baby I’m not, F-f-f-foolin’.” It touched on her past abandonment, the uncertainty of her future, and the struggle she had within – was she fooling herself into thinking Eddie cared? Or was she fooling herself thinking that he didn’t? Hearing the song’s outro, she finally had a realization that hit her like a Mack truck to the heart. 

She needed to stop fooling herself that she wasn’t irrevocably in love with Eddie Munson.

[goosemixtapes]

ok i’ve elected to just Make The Damn Post My Damn Self because i need something to link back to when i inevitably get into arguments about this because i have run-my-mouth disorder. so. slightly-more-generally-applicable companion piece to this post:

“but how can lesbians use he/him pronouns???!?1???”

1: pronouns =/= gender.

one of the arguments i see a lot with this topic is “pronouns = gender, & saying otherwise is transphobic.” i GET this, because pronouns are important & often correlate with gender, but saying pronouns = gender is oversimplified. pronouns are a method of gender presentation - same as clothing, name, & so on & so forth. society genders all of these things, but names & clothing do not prescribe gender. a man, cis or trans, who decides to wear a dress does not become a woman because of the dress; a woman, cis or trans, with a traditionally “masculine” name (ex. bailey, taylor, cameron), does not become a man because of the name. closeted trans people, if they must use names and wear clothing correlated with their agab, are still trans & are still the gender they are.

yes, most binary-gendered people choose clothing & names that “match” their gender, but some might not! think of butch lesbians -- they are women, just deliberately gendernonconforming women. pronouns are the same way -- the majority of men use “masculine” pronouns, & the majority of women use “feminine” pronouns, but this is because pronouns are a form of gender expression/presentation.

“pronouns =/= gender” does not equate to “i can misgender whoever i want.” pronouns should always be respected.

2: nonbinary people can use whatever pronouns they want.

this follows from #1. yeah, i’d say the majority of nonbinary people use they/them pronouns. but not all nonbinary people dress totally androgynously; some present more feminine or more masculine. the same is true for pronouns. nonbinary people may use she/her or he/him pronouns as part of their presentation - think of jonathan van ness (uses primarily he/him) or rebecca sugar (uses she/her along with they/them). this isn’t even getting into neopronouns; that’s a whole different post. the point is that restricting nonbinary people to they/them pronouns really misses the point of identifying as nonbinary: it’s not a third slot in the gender binary; it’s the general state of existing outside or partially outside of it.

(note: cis people can also use whatever pronouns they want. some cis lesbians use he/him; i’ll get to he/him lesbians a few slots down, but i just want to make it clear that sometimes cis people also use pronouns to express gender nonconformity & that’s their business & the same idea!)

3: lesbians can be nonbinary.

nonbinary =/= totally genderless. sometimes, for some people, it does mean that! but not for everyone. see #2 again, on trying to make nonbinary a strictly defined third gender.

(note: this doesn’t only apply to lesbians. this honestly applies to anyone. i’m just talking about lesbians because that’s My Lane.)

lesbians in particular often have complex relationships with gender, & have for literal decades. as womanhood is to a large degree constructed in contrast to & in relation to manhood, lesbian gender has kind of taken on its own thing since we just... are never in relationships with men, ever, which muddles the whole thing up. (also, womanhood is often a generally uncomfortable and muddled thing because of, you know, misogyny, so there’s that.) thus, a lot of lesbians feel disconnected from “womanhood” as an idea.

a lot of people like to protest nonbinary lesbians by saying “but a lesbian is a GIRL who likes GIRLS!!!1!!” yes. we... we know. the thing is, though, that if any nonbinary person identifies as a lesbian, they are probably close enough to womanhood to count as a wlw! the term “lesbian” automatically brings “women who love women” to people’s minds. if a nonbinary person is uncomfortable associating with womanhood at all, literally why would they use that term. it stands to reason that the people who DO use that term feel at least a tangential connection there.

a lot of lesbians define their gender solely as “lesbian.” in my own experience, the ONLY connection i feel toward womanhood is liking girls in a gay way. the attraction i feel toward women is gay attraction - i am attracted to women who like women. i do not want to date a straight woman who sees me as a man. if i didn’t like women, i wouldn’t have this connection & would probably identify otherwise - but i do like women & as it is that’s pretty much... what my gender is. (this is why people may say their gender is “butch” or “femme” -- it’s the same idea of a gender defined by attraction & the way you relate to women!)

for some people, nonbinary does mean totally genderless. for others, it just means anything that isn’t strictly binary. hence why some lesbians may consider themselves nonbinary - not entirely woman, but woman enough to be a lesbian. an example in layman’s terms: you know how “berry” lacroix tastes like it maybe saw a berry, once, from a distance? my gender is lacroix and the flavor is woman.

4: lesbians can thus use whatever pronouns they want.

i think this one is like... a geometry proof. #2 (nonbinary people can use any pronouns) + #3 (lesbians can be nonbinary) makes this one pretty simple. while the rest of this post will be about he/him lesbians, because that’s what i see the most “discourse” about, lesbians can use she/her or they/them or he/him or it/its or xe/xem or Any Other Pronouns They Want. Any.

5: “but why would a lesbian ever want to use he/him pronouns?”

people who ask this are usually asking one of these more specific questions:

“but if you use he/him, aren’t you a man?” see #1.

“but why would lesbians want to use masculine pronouns when lesbianism is about women?” i don’t know. why do butch lesbians dress masculinely? why do they often use masculine names or nicknames? it’s about the deliberate gender nonconformity, something that has been central to lesbian communities for literal decades. pronouns are another form of presentation (see #1); using pronouns other than she/her is another form of nonconformity.

“masculine clothing and names i get -- but why pronouns? that feels a little much.” i do get this! i used to feel the same way! but the criteria for being a lesbian is like... 1) not a man 2) a woman or at least sort of connected to being a woman (see #3) (yes, this includes trans lesbians, who are not men) 3) attracted to women and not men. that’s the criteria. that’s all.

& i would like to think that some of you have the best intentions. but i would really, really caution you away from trying to disqualify people from iding as lesbians because of the pronouns they use. saying “well, clearly lesbians can wear masculine clothes and have masculine names, but the pronouns are a step too far” doesn’t make any sense -- where do you draw the line? at what point are you trying to define when someone is “too masculine to be a lesbian?” and why do you feel the need to do that?

this goes double for nonlesbians. i’ll repeat: really, honestly ask yourself why you feel the need to do that.

(note: butch lesbians aren’t the only lesbians who are gender nonconforming and they aren’t the only ones who use he/him pronouns! but i’ve found this is very common among butches, more so than other lesbians, + it’s another space where i can speak from personal experience.)

6: “wait but this feels kind of TERFy. are you saying trans men can be lesbians?”

oh no. oh god no. lesbians = not men. trans men = men. (& trans women = women, & TERFS can choke.)

i think there is a misconception among some trans men (especially transmedicalists) that he/him lesbians are trying to tell trans men they aren’t “real men” & thus undermining their identities. the idea is that we’re saying, “hey, look, lesbians can use whatever pronouns we want! thus, you don’t need to transition :) you can use he pronouns and still be a gay woman :)” to which the obvious response is “i’m not a woman and this is transphobic.”

but i... honestly truly have never seen a he/him lesbian say that. we aren’t the same! even if we use the same pronouns, even if we may take some of the same steps to feel gender euphoria (ex. wearing more masculine clothing, binding/going on T for afab lesbians), we are not the same! trans men = men. men cannot be lesbians. he/him lesbians = people who are not men, but have a complicated relationship to womanhood. thus:

he/him lesbians =/= trans men.

there is no correlation.

(note: i lied. there is one correlation. the correlation is friends and allies. trans men i’m on your team and i hope you’re having a good day. my right to exist is not mutually exclusive with yours; we’re fighting similar battles.)

7. “okay, i guess, but i still don’t really get it?”

that’s okay!! gender is confusing as shit (plus this was a long & slightly repetitive post, because i wanted to make sure i covered all my bases). here are some things you can do if you still don’t understand:

a) talk to more he/him lesbians! maybe my explanation doesn’t really do it for you, but someone else’s will! (if you’re interested in lesbian history, i can recommend stone butch blues, which can be downloaded as a PDF from leslie feinberg’s website. the main character’s relationship to gender isn’t quite the same as the one explained in this post -- jess has to use he/him & pass as male to stay safe -- but it’s still a good read that gets into the complexity of lesbian gender. the lesbian mc participates in butch/femme culture, gets top surgery, & later has a relationship with a trans woman -- so, basically, corroborating what i’ve said about how lesbians can do all of these things & still be lesbians.)

b) if you don’t have the time/energy/desire to talk to more he/him lesbians, that’s fine! just respect us. respect our pronouns. don’t misgender us; don’t call us men or say we aren’t lesbians. you don’t have to get it to accept us.

c) here’s a secret. if you still don’t understand, but you are no longer seeking help understanding & you’ve decided to just vibe and respect us without totally Getting It - that is totally fine. you don’t need to tell us this :) saying “hey, i don’t really get it, could you help?” is one thing. saying “hey, i still don’t get it. not asking for help, just letting you know” is uh. is like. um. okay thanks for informing me?? i guess ??

i understand that not everyone will Get It. but if you’re using my pronouns & respecting my identity, i do not need to hear that you don’t actually get it because my gender is super complicated. it is a little, er, how you say, impolite. (again - not the same as asking for help! i’m totally open to answer any questions anyone has.)

_______________________________________________________________________

source: i am a he/him lesbian.

you are allowed & politely encouraged to reblog this post.

if anyone would like to add to this post -- particularly other lesbians and/or trans women (as i’m tme and don’t want to overstep) -- feel free!

if anyone would like to ask me to elaborate on something, feel free to ask in the reblogs, replies, or in my inbox/dms!

if anyone would like to clown on this post and say some lesbophobic or transphobic bullshit without reading what i wrote, please block me, log off, & go trip over something <3

[creatingnikki]

What 2020 has taught me

1. Those things that seem like content for sci fi or pure fiction are actually things that can happen. To the entire world. Like a pandemic. And to you. Like a seizure.

2. Everyone is sad. Everyone is struggling. In different ways and in different measures. Makes no one special. But you still get to feel sad for yourself and be compassionate towards others. But it's also okay to draw boundaries because you're everyone too. Remember, not special? You're sad and trying to deal with it too.

3. Every job you have will not add value to your life. It will not teach you new things or give you people you'll want to stay in touch with. Sometimes some jobs will only be a season of your life. Even if the season lasts for over a year. It's okay.

4. You know how you thought picking a college and picking a major and picking your first job and picking a specific industry were all the career decisions you had to make? Yeah, no. It's never a one time thing. You could have a job as a marketing strategist for two years and then want nothing to do with it. And then you'll have to make another decision and work towards it. So I'd like to call it moves. It's like chess. You always have to make a move. And it always has to be strategic, yes. But the truth is in your 20s it probably won't. Even if you try. And as long as you're trying, you'll be fine.

5. You may have different sorts of friends like the one you only talk to about kdrama with or the one you met when you went book shopping alone and the friendship is all about books really. That's normal. But irrespective of why and how you became friends with them, if you consider them a friend then there has to be this basic sense of care, respect and empathy for each other. I don't care what people want to say. If you're faced with the worst trauma of your life, the least your friends can do is check up on you regularly. On text. And if they don't even do that then guess what? They aren't friends. They are acquaintances. Social media and quick promises make everyone seem like your friend. But they are not. They are just nice people who will be nice to you for specific periods and then wander away like you are a speck of dust floating in their journey.

6. You speak a lot and write and you express yourself and you’re emotionally mature but oh my god. You still hold in so much. You’ve known that at a subconscious level and over the last year people - experts - have told you that. You have also realized that you make your pain and sadness about pettier things because dealing with them, admitting about them, sharing that with your friends, is easier. You do that so that you don’t have to deal with the real stuff. Because it’s so damn painful. And you don’t know how to do it. Yet. Acknowledging is the first step anyway right? I know you’re confused about how exactly to let go of all this pain and sadness and feel lighter, and you know that talking to people really isn’t the solution, but I also know you’re smart enough to figure it out. 

7. Talking about being smart...you know you’re different than others. Better. Special. Smarter. None of these are the right words. And you never voiced this out until this year because you knew it would make you come across as narcissistic. Some would say it’s because you’re an INFJ. But my mother once said that this may be the first time we are consciously living life but our souls are old and so our instinct and the things we know but can’t explain are because this isn’t the first time for our souls. The connections we feel with certain people, the reason we are so different from our siblings who grew up in the exact same environment with the exact same opportunities, our sense of right and wrong...it’s all because our souls learn and grow with each time and that’s why we are who we are. I think that’s probably how I can explain what I have always felt. That I am living in a different universe than everybody but I have to pretend to be in this one and dumb my emotions and thoughts down. Maybe that’s because my soul has lived through thousands of years while most around me are living their 100th life. Or maybe I’m just narcissistic, who knows?

8. You shift between talking in first person and second person but that’s because that’s how you think in your head and talk to yourself and live your life. You ask yourself things and you accuse yourself of things and you apologize to yourself and you comfort yourself. I think that seeps into your writing and the changing of the voices. 

9. You always genuinely thought that you’d not be afraid of dying. And then what happened this October proved you shockingly wrong. I know it’s not so much being afraid of dying but the unbearable pain of knowing what that would mean to your family. So you have to be more prudent and less reckless with your life and the choices you make. 

10. Regret is not something that plagued you but this year the realisation and pain of giving away your favourite books from your own personal collection to people you care about as a show of affection and them turning out to be ass holes or losers has hit you so hard. So, yes. No more of that shit. I really fucking want my copy of The Perks Of Being A Wallflower back. UGH. With the childhood picture of me inside it! 

11. Sleeping at 5 am in the morning stops being fun or romanticised when you realise just how much harm it does to your body and mind. Literally every single disease and disorder can be traced back to a shitty fucking sleep schedule. It’s not just the hours you sleep but also the quality of sleep and the time you sleep at. So yes sleeping for 8 hours is healthy but not if that 8 hours is from 5 am to 12 pm. ‘Not a morning person’ is just another construct of capitalism and you don’t realise how many industries profit from having you believe that and staying up late or all night. Entertainment. Food. Alcohol. Pharma. Biologically and naturally you are a bloody morning person. And you don’t need 3 cups of coffee to begin your day or your phone notifications to get you to open your eyes and brain to wake up. 

12. Sometimes you really have to stop taking people so seriously. I know the idea of treating people as casual friends or entertainment makes you want to fight that concept but you know what? Some people like Pineapple are ever only going to be good for that. No matter how much they ‘grow and change’. So keep them in the background for whenever you want some entertainment or drama. But please don’t clear up your busy schedule to meet them or send them gifts on their birthday. 

13. If you don’t have the fruit juice or green juice within half an hour of making it then you are losing out on its most optimum health benefits. Or when you remove the white stringy stuff from oranges. That’s where all the actual nutrients are.

14. I am privileged and so are most of the people I interact with. The global pandemic has been hell for a lot of people around the world. Health wise. Financially. Losing people they care about. But I was blessed enough to be safe at home and have a job that I could smoothly do from home and not have a pay cut or 4-hour long Zoom meetings. So honestly when my friends tell me 2020 has been bad I have to stop and ask them why? Yes, the crippling uncertainty and anxiety is not something that can be undermined. But most people I know had very great positive life-changing milestones this year like moving away to another country for college or taking their first solo trip or getting married. So I have to ask them. Because I am not going to agree that everybody’s 2020 and pandemic narrative is the same. 

15. Money gets spent really quickly. When I left my job earlier this year because of personal issues, I thought I had enough savings to last me a year. Full disclosure - I mean to last my personal expenses because I live with my parents. But it didn’t even last me 3 months. And so to use money wisely and buy things that provide utility than instant gratification is something to follow. Also buying one pair of really expensive but quality shoes is better than buying 5 pairs of affordable but low quality shoes that will have a very short life and force you to buy more. I know that higher price doesn’t always mean better quality but sometimes it does. And as an adult now I want to do the whole quality > quantity thing even with things and not just people. 

16. Everyone in their 20s went through a crisis of what they should do with their lives and their careers and it’s not unique to the 21st century and the challenges of today. Whether it was Vincent Van Gogh in the 19th century or Sylvia Plath in the 20th, every single person, as brilliant as them went through the torture of making these decisions and living with their consequences. You may think I picked wrong examples for they both killed themselves but you know what? They were the people who really want to live more than anyone. They knew what life meant. And maybe if mental health help was more accessible back then their lives would be longer and more peaceful. 

17. Telling people everything is overrated. You don’t have to talk about every single thing that’s on your mind or that’s going on in your life. The good and the bad and the mediocre. You have to be mindful about how much of yourself you’re giving away. 

18. Re-watch Suits when people at work feel intimidating because the confidence + negotiation tactics that they show can actually work irl cos at the end of the day no matter in what position you’re dealing with people who have emotions and fears and insecurities and desires. You understand how to leverage that nobody can get the better of you. 

19. You belong to yourself. No matter how much you love someone or how much they have done for you or how much you owe them - you belong to yourself. You can’t live your life for someone else. Everyone belongs to themselves first. No relationship, no promise, no circumstance should make you feel like you have to give up your life and make it all about them. If and when the time comes to die for them, go ahead. Take a bullet. Donate that kidney. Write them in your will. But live your life for yourself. And let them live theirs. 

20. Twenty three was a challenging year. When it started you claimed the age 23 sounds boring and insignificant. Guess it proved you wrong. It hurt so much now. But that only means you’ll look back on it later and see how it added so much wisdom and resilience to your being. It doesn’t mean that it makes all the bad things that happened to you okay. Or that you should be grateful to them. Fuck no. It means that you should be kinder to yourself because at the end of the day, your mind and body find it in themselves to deal with whatever is thrown their way. They have your back. It’s time you learn to sit straight. 

[killmebythebeach]

That one Dream mindreader post by @lilyvines cuz it hasn't left my head (no pun intended)

...

Please. Just. Something.

...

Dream smiled. He had this war in the bag, 100%. Not only was he way more competent than any of them, he also had a traitor planted, and not to mention his mind reading.

He was on top of the black stone wall. It would be impossible for the revolutionaries to not notice him, he definitely saw Tommy and Tubbo look up at him, but they knew it would be futile to chase him out.

Dream peered down, looking into their run down van. He dug into their "president's" mind, hoping to get an edge in the upcoming war.

My... oh gosh I'm tired. I should go talk to Tomm- do I really want to talk to Tommy right now though. I should check up on them though and make sure they don't die. Or fight Dream he'll get all pissy about that. Is... I can't tell if that's new or not and I don't want to ask. Eh. Maybe I will ask just so I can make fun of it-

Dream shook his head, unteathering his mind. YIKES. While learning nothing important, at least whatever that was boosted his confidence. Okay then, he should check Tommy's mind. While loud and annoying, there must be SOME reason he was the "general's" right hand man.

Dream instinctively covered his ears, even if he knew it wouldn't block out a brain's noise, at the sound of some awful "music". He couldn't tell if it was a mix of string instruments of flutes or both but the high notes pierced his ears and the low notes just didn't sound good. Dream gritted his teeth and dug deeper, refusing to leave without SOMETHING.

Oh my gosh I am going to- what am I going to do- I'm going to scam! Oh I need to talk to Wilbur (Wilbur!) Oh and Tubbo! Tubbo Tubbo oh what is he doing I'm going going to go and... gah. Okay who's someone I can antagonize with no consequence uhm Sapnap wouldn't care too much but that's boring hmmmm...

Dream felt his eyes blurring as thoughts whipped around in his head. He was almost in awe of the pace Tommy talked at, he wondered how much got filtered into his mouth not because the boy had a filter, but simply due to the aerodynamics of his brain.

Maybe Fundy had something? Surely Wilbur would tell his own SON something. Anything. Please, just anything.

Dream jumped at the electronic sound of Fundy's brain. Like a TV fizzing out, loud beeping and static. He could almost SEE the white and grey and black fuzz.

Why we're they like this. At least he could see how someone was dumb enough to try and fight him, none of these people have ever had a coherent thought.

I've got my shovel and my trousers and my hat and da- Wilbur's in the van... would he want to see me? Should I tell him about my dream or about my new invention or- no he doesn't want to see me maybe I'll go hang with Eret yeah Wil's busy with planning and stuff-

Ugh. Dream could FEEL the daddy issues leaking off of the tinkerer. The best part to Dream was that Wilbur could DEFINETLY use a break from his own thoughts, and also definetly wasn't doing any war planning.

He peered down at the idiots, and not that he would ever admit it, begging for any valuable information.

There! Eret was over by the lake, laying down in the grass like a corpse. He specifically asked them to gather info, they were his mole, after all. Even if they couldn't root and burrow through minds, Eret must have picked up SOMETHING through their observations or even verbally.

Okay I got to think of something cool to say, do fish spawn in this water? I kind of want to say hi to- what was that song I heard earlier that Fundy showed me... I'll remember it eventually and ooh! Can't wait till I'm king I'm gonna have such a cool outfit and castle and crown and hehe hehe what would I even do as king actually would I have to put it through Dream? Probably. Maybe I should...

Dream groaned. WHY DOES NO ONE IN THIS "COUNTRY" HAVE SECRETS TO EXPLOIT?!?!

Dream paused, considering for the first time that any time they had anything on their minds they WOULD just say it out loud.

The van door creaked as Tubbo went up the rickety steps. Tubbo!

Surely- SURELY- Tubbo knew something. Easily impressionable Tubbo, very clever but never spoke on any of his ideas. Dream might have considered him a threat in another world if he had any motivation to finish projects or didn't just follow around the others like a lost puppy.

Like they said, crouching moron hidden badass. There was no way Tubbo wouldn't have something. Dream leaned forward, digging into Tubbo's mind.

I should make a bee house what's a bee house called... like an aviary but bees and... maybe I should ask Wilbur he knows a lot of words or Eret but how would I make it I need glass and oh my gosh what is Tommy doing! Tommy Tommy Tommy! He's about to do something stupid that's going to be funny- oh gosh what if I'm doing something stupid right now and everyone's thinking the same thing and-

Dream jumped out of the boys mind before he got stuck in the spiraling thoughts.

There was. NO WAY. These were the people he was fighting a whole ass war with. HE ENLISTED one of these guys, and this was their peak performance. Middle of a war. Bees, songs, and executive disfunction on the brain.

Dream spent a good minute up on the wall, contemplating his life, before jumping off and walking home.

Sure he had the war in the bag, but now he was more concerned for the L'manburgians than anything.

Well, at least HE didn't have any planning to do.