#anyways hey! great to see people are alive here! hi again

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU Drabble - The Scheme

I am back!

More RealAgeAU. With the baby <3 Hey @spotaus get in here :D

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*----------------*

Cross walks from side to side “This is bad. This is very bad.” Cross even flickers in and out of view.

Dust holds out an arm and catches Cross by the arm before pulling him to sit next to him on the ground. Nightmare notices what Dust wants and climbs from his lap into Cross’s lap.

Dust watches as Cross snuggles their babybones and relaxes a little.

Dust nods and focusses back on what Error had shared with them.

Only to see that Dream is also close to a panic attack. Great.

Dream tugs on his own hands as he rambles “Fate and Balance are too dangerous! They will try to force Nightmare to change his domain. They already tried with me but with me being so well known and seeing as I already told everyone they knew it would attract too much attention if they made me change…”

Error groans as he sighs “Yes. I know. It is why I called for this meeting.”

The meeting being in some random AU with them, Error, Dream and Blue.

Blue pulls Dream near and puts an arm around his shoulders “Hey it will be fine. Error already hid where they are hiding and only us two know he is even alive.”

Dream shakes his skull “They just need to start checking universes. As soon as they find the right one they will know he is there. And notice Error’s meddling.”

Nightmare shoots Error a worried look but Error just shrugs “I will be fine. Balance already hates me anyway.” Nightmare does not look happy as he glances at Dust.

Dust frowns “They will just know? how?”

Dream searches for the right words “It is a god thing… if we are in a universe we can notice fellow gods or stuff changed by gods. It is why Nightmare and I could always sense each other.”

Killer tilts his skull “Seriously? I thought that was just a twin thing?”

Nightmare shakes his skull “No it was a god thing.”

Killer huh’s and looks off into the distance.

Horror frowns as he thinks “Meaning we can’t just keep hiding?”

Error shrugs as he looks to the side “I changed the universe code and makeup enough to make it unable to be found unless you make a very specific jump. The problem is that sometimes some gods can override bans placed by other gods.” He mutters softer “well… one exception with some very complicated and specific scenarios.”

Dust shoots Error a look “Can we copy that?” If they can do that maybe they can continue being relaxed here. Relax as they watch Nightmare develop his newly developing powers.

Error shakes his skull “Not without messing around with the save files, load files, reset files and save states.” He just shakes his skull at the looks everyone sends him “don’t ask how the guy made that mess work for himself.”

Dream looks at him worried “There has to be something we can do!”

Dust blinks as he feels a tug on his hoody. He looks to the side and sees nothing so he sighs “Cross. Visible please.”

A moment before Cross, and Nightmare, reappear again. Cross looks embarrassed. Nightmare however looks smug “We do what Dream did.”

Dust turns to Nightmare “What do you mean?” the silence around them is loud.

Nightmare nods “Dream says they can’t influence him because they know forcing him to change will attract attention. They don’t like being known. There is a reason people thought Error and I were the reason for all the bad stuff. Because they want us to be the face. They don’t want to be held responsible.”

Dust sees where he is going with this and doesn’t like it “Nightmare… please tell me you aren’t thinking what I think you are thinking.”

Nightmare keeps looking smug “We should reintroduce me.”

The loud and in sync shouting of No’s even surprises Dust as Cross after his own shout just holds Nightmare closer.

Killer sits down next to them “No. Nuh-uh. We aren’t doing that. Ever.”

Nightmare frowns “But we need to? If we don’t Fate or Balance will eventually find us.” He huffs as he crosses his arms “I like my domain but I can’t exactly use it to attack in anyway.”

Cross just holds him close and nuzzles his skull “We will defend you!”

Nightmare frowns “You guys are strong but…”

Error sighs “Fate and Balance are a league on their own… It is how they can just decide and change domains after all.” he sighs and shakes his skull “I don’t meet them a lot but lets say that near the start they made it clear what my domain entitled.”

Dust frowns and reconsiders some things. He never truly considered how Error ended up picking his domain. How Nightmare even knew what his entitled… If there are these much stronger beings around…

Horror must had made the same conclusion as he shoots Nightmare a look “what was your idea?”

Nightmare smiles a tiny bit as he speaks “We start reintroducing me. We start obviously with the safest options first and work from there. Then by the time they find us, it will be too late and old news and changing my domain will be too suspicious for them to do.”

Dream looks unhappy “Who would we reintroduce you to first?”

Nightmare grins with a knowing smile.

----

Reaper frowns as he floats from side to side in the beautiful garden. Careful not to touch anything.

Life giggles “I think you are worrying for nothing old friend.”

Reaper groans “I don’t like this. are you sure about this? I can still change the location and we can skip this meeting.”

Life shakes his face and looks excited “Reaper. Hearing that Dream and Error want to meet us about something very special? With special guests? Of course I want to meet them.”

Reaper frowns as he looks around nervously “If people find out I knew where you were…”

Life shrugs as she makes her tea “Balance already knows either way. She knew before you did. They never told anyone either. Meaning in the end others not knowing isn’t that dangerous.”

Reaper sighs as he floats over to grab his own tea to drink “I still worry…”

Life nods “I know. You worry too much.” She grins at him teasing “So how is your secret beau?”

Reaper shoots her a look “Don’t start.”

Life giggles and hums a happy tune “You can hardly blame me. It is very rare you truly connect with someone.”

Reaper sighs as he rubs his neck “Don’t start.”

Life giggles before both of them look up as they notice the change in the air. New people have entered this hidden space.

Reaper and Life look out and hear a voice which Reaper knows is Error.

“Life generally is in this area by the blossom trees. I can only assume she and Reaper will be there.”

Reaper knows they both are listening for any other voices.

“Life just… hangs around here? Doesn’t that get boring?”

Reaper is still slightly shocked to hear Killer. He knew there was going to be a special guest but still.

Reaper knew that Error knew where Nightmare was and that means that he would knew where the gang is but still… it shocks him.

It only takes a moment before Error walks into view and he grins “See? found them.” and he continues leading the way. Dream is nearby with Blue as Killer walks in after them with Dust and Horror close behind.

Reaper frowns as he notes the obvious absent Cross and Nightmare but well… it is something.

Error leads them over as Life stands up herself with a small smile “It is a pleasure to finally see the faces of those who are the center of much talk around our universes.”

Reaper snorts as he sees all of them look sheepishly away.

Dream rubs his cheek “It is nice to finally get to meet you Life… I have heard much about you… Thank you for allowing us to visit you in your home!”

Killer rolls his sockets and copies his voice but softer and Dream does not even turn around or drop his smile as he kicks behind him and hits Killer’s shin.

Life smiles amused “Oh that is alright. I must say I was very curious about the fact that you wished to meet us.” And she waits.

Dream looks nervously at Error and Killer before looking to the side.

Error raises his brow at Killer and crosses his arms “Well?”

Killer shoots Horror and Dust a look. Dust nods to him and Killer turns to them with a smile “What can I say? We needed some time to relax and figure stuff out but now we are more than ready to continue on! Foremost.” He grins “Cross?”

Silence.

Killer sighs and turns around as he looks into the nothing “Cross I know you are there. Stop hiding the two of you.”

A very unhappy mutter.

Reaper blinks confused. He hadn’t even sensed Cross… How… Reaper glances at Life and Life looks shocked herself.

Reaper can understand him not noticing someone but this is Life’s realm. Her home. Made of her magic. How had she not noticed someone entering?

Killer glares and crosses his arms “Cross. We are here to reintroduce him.”

Cross grumbles unhappily but appears and-

Reaper stares and his mind blanks.

Nightmare is looking up at Cross highly amused before turning to Killer and holding out two arms. Killer easily takes him over before walking closer to Life and Reaper. Cross makes a wounded sound and hurries after Killer.

Killer grins as he proudly holds Nightmare up “Meet! Nightmare! God is restoration!”

Nightmare grins and raises a tiny tiny arm in a wave “hi.”

Oh shit even his voice is young and what even is this?!

Life coos and before Reaper can blink she is suddenly holding Nightmare and holding him close “Oh you are just adorable. No wonder they hid with you and kept the multiverse away from you.” she smiles happily at the panicked looking skeletons “Well? Are you all coming? I will make us a meal and we will talk about all that happened.” She nuzzles the tiny skull with a happy hum “Oh tiny skeletons are just too cute. I will make sure to make something you like. Do you have any favourites?”

Nightmare just stares at her confused as he shoots the other skeletons a helpless look.

Horror walks over and speaks calmly “His magic is still resettling and he can’t always eat everything…”

Life shoots him a look and nods “I understand.” He grabs hold of Horror and pulls him along too as she floats towards another part of her area “I assume you know about his diet? Come along we will prepare some for all of you.” she raises her voice and aims it at the others “Get comfortable! We will be right back.” And they disappear behind some bushes.

Killer slowly tilts his skull “… did that god just steal our mate and babybones?”

Dust looks after where they disappeared himself “I am honestly not sure…” he shoots Error a glare “I thought you said Life would be fine to be introduced to?”

Error huffs “Because she is?” he rubs the back of his neck “I guess it makes sense… she is the goddess of life. Of course she gets excited at the sight of children… I think she will eventually give him back to you guys…”

Cross is glaring into the distance “She better or I will not be held responsible for what I will do.”

Killer and Dust both look highly amused.

Reaper finally finds his voice “Why is Nightmare tiny?”

The others actually look at him and Blue grins widely “You got like two hours? It is a long story.”

Dream laughs and nods “I can only assume we have enough time before Life returns with Nightmare and Horror.”

Cross huffs “You guys explain.” He disappears from view, and Reaper suddenly can’t feel his lifeforce anymore.

Killer grins “Have fun hunting and stalking love! See you in a bit!”

Dust takes a seat in a chair and grins “Ready for a short explanation?”

Reaper nods and gets ready. He has no doubt this will be quite the tale.

*----------------*

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[stoppingo1k]

usually my drawings are notoriously inconsistent, but this time around i'm having a lot of fun building and sticking to stricter ideas of what i want everyone to look like. some agents (and herbert jumpscare) for practice

pushing the pudgy penguin shape can be a little difficult, considering the shape constraint unless you want to go full. whatever CPI did, which i don't personally. but apart from general build, you can get a good amount of diversity out of beak size+shape, feet size+shape, the shape+thickness/thinness of the strip of white that comes from the beak

[buzzcutlip]

hiiii! can I get a request for lip with a shy!reader where they like know each other from school but it’s like later seasons lip like working at the shop or the construction job and she starts to develop a crush on him but he doesn’t think he’s good enough for her so he distances himself and dates other girls and she has to watch from the sidelines until a guy asks her out so she goes for it and lip gets jealous and realizes his feelings. i’m in an angsty pining jealousy mood but with a happy ending still if that makes sense! but honestly feel free to run with it if it’s something you’re interested in writing bc I love your writing! 💗💗

Hi anon! I love this prompt, thank you very much for sending it my way! <3

This is a very first time I'm writing something with our dear boy Lip Gallagher, and I hope I'm not messing it all up.

Lip Gallagher/Fem!Reader Mature 1561 words

You admired Lip Gallagher. He was smart, intelligent, witty, and—alive. Despite the , he made it to college. You didn’t know the details but heard people talking about those nasty Gallaghers. You saw him take his little brother, Liam, to classes, to your study group. The little boy living temporarily in a dormitory made you sick with worry, but it was obvious that Lip took great care of him. You mostly felt for Lip—that he, as young as he was, had to take on his parents' responsibilities. And still, he did so great at school and had two jobs on top of it. He went home for weekends to help around the house. But that life sucked him back in, never giving him a solid chance, as much as Lip fought for it. He left the school, left the crime scene behind, and left an empty space in your chest. You never told him how you felt. Never wanted to, anyway.

Occasionally, you still meet each other at parties he gets invited to—or invites himself to—and you chat easily, sharing a drink or two. You’re happy to see him, to hear about his crazy jobs. Sometimes he brings a girl along and you smile politely at her, shake her hand. The whole school knew about Amanda and Mrs. Robinson. Besides wanting to protect yourself, you don’t believe Lip could ever want more than friendship from you, which makes interacting with him easier. ‘Cause you’re not trying for anything with him. He’s just a good bad boy. Who cares if you’ve had a crush on him since day one?

So what you expect from Lip when you introduce him to your date, Jacob, at one of these lame parties is that he shakes his hand and says hi politely. Which doesn’t happen; he just grumbles something and leaves for the kitchen. You roll your eyes and tell Jacob not to mind. Inside, you’re a bit embarrassed and disappointed. Why? You’re not sure. Maybe because Jacob’s a bit boring and you still keep seeing him. Letting him kiss you and put his fingers in your pussy and never do anything back. Because he doesn’t attract you. “But he’s nice,” your friends say. You say, for Christ’s sake! He is nice but oh so boring. You don’t feel anything, but you don’t want to be alone anymore. And most importantly, you don’t want to think about Lip when you masturbate, when Jacob fingers you, when boys half-heartedly fucked you in the past.

But as much as you want to forget Lip, you see him again. It’s a bar this time. Filled to the brim with a Friday crowd.

“Hey,” someone says behind you, laying a hand on your shoulder, and you know it’s him before you turn around. You smile at him, sucking on a colorful paper straw.

“You still drink that? Rum and Coke?”

“Yeah,” you laugh shortly, looking at the dark brown drink in your hands. “Spiced rum!” you clarify.

Lip leans closer to you, the sudden proximity doing things to you, as always, and you have to bite your bottom lip.

“Is your boyfriend here?” he asks casually, but you noticed him scanning the crowd just a few seconds ago.

“Yeah… Jacob’s here—but he’s not my boyfriend. We’ve been just—seeing each other for a bit.” You don’t want to talk about Jacob with Lip and it’s clear in the way you talk. You’re more focused on your elbows touching on the bartop.

Lip just laughs shortly, doesn’t say anything. It irks you. You frown. “What?”

“Nothing,” Lip shrugs, drumming his fingers on the wooden desk stained with beer and sweet, sticky liquor. He’s lost some of the baby fat in his face. You notice the sharpness of his cheekbones. He tilts his face downward as he blinks at you.

“You never had a boyfriend at school.” He probably wants to say "When I was at school" but that doesn’t interest you that much now.

“So what?” You grow even more irritated by his questions. Why does he care? You never discussed boyfriends, or his girlfriends, for that matter.

You turn your head away, grimacing, but Lip, on the other side, seems entertained. Intrigued.

“Nothing,” he says, smirking stupidly, and doesn’t stop looking at you. “You’re pretty when you pout.”

Your whole face flushes in an instant. Lip never talked like this to you. Never flirted. Of course, at the beginning, you had been disappointed, but you quickly decided that mutual respect for friendship is much better. Safer.

Unsure of what you’re going to say, you tilt your face back to him, but when you look at Lip, he’s not smirking anymore. He reaches for you, hand catching your burning face, his thumb sweeping over your cheek.

It takes you a moment to bat his hand away. “What’re you doing?” you ask, horrified. And shocked. Flustered with your shyness.

Lip shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he mumbles while you’re looking around, all wild, to check for Jacob.

This time it’s Lip who frowns. “You said he was not your boyfriend.”

“Are you, like, jealous or something?” you say only to say SOMETHING, head shaking in disbelief. The silence that follows almost shocks you. You never thought about what you would do if Lip felt the same about you. Never dared to think about that scenario.

Scared to find out what you’ll find out, you peer at him. His face is serious, jaw tense.

“Oh my god, you—you’re jealous,” you whisper, hand going to your mouth to cover it. Your expression must be hilarious—eyes wide, mouth open in disbelief. Lip starts fidgeting with the paper coaster on the bar, eyes flicking all over the room.

Angry tears begin to cloud your vision. “You have no right to be jealous now,” you seethe. “Have you only noticed me now? When I’m seeing someone?” The hurt is unmistakable in your voice. You ball your hands into fists, blinking against the tears welling in your eyes. When Lip doesn’t say anything, you turn on your heel. If you don’t get some fresh air now, you’re going to suffocate.

Once outside, you find a quieter spot away from the smoking people, propping against a wooden table. When you look up you wish you could see stars in the night sky. But the light pollution’s making it impossible. Sighing, you wrap your arms around yourself to protect yourself from the chill. You’re glad that Jacob knows people here too, otherwise you would probably feel bad for leaving him.

Before you get a chance to really sort your feelings, you see Lip approaching you in your peripheral vision.

You sigh, defeated, making a point of not looking at him as he stops a mere foot from you. You’re terrible at confrontations.

“You mad?” Lip asks, and you can feel him studying your face. There’s a cigarette burning between his fingers.

You shake your head. No.

Next, Lip shrugs off his hoodie, cigarette held between his pouting lips, and drapes the garment, warmed by his own body heat, over your shoulders. “Here.”

Suddenly, you’re enveloped in Lip Gallagher. In the smell of tobacco, laundry detergent, and boy. You close your eyes tight against the feeling that’s surfacing from within you. It’s spreading like wildfire, and when Lip steps in front of you, reaching to move the zipper up, up, up, the heat reaches your face, pinks up your cheeks.

Lip leans into you, putting both your bodies into contact, thighs to chests. He slides one of his hands into the pocket of his hoodie, right where your hand’s hiding too, and twines your fingers together. Then he rubs his cheek against your own, as you meet in the middle, and your heart stops. You didn’t know Lip would be like this. That brash, cocky Lip Gallagher with a womanizer reputation treating you with such tenderness.

But you don’t want to end up as a notch on his bedpost.

“I don’t think I’m your type,” you say simply, looking at the ground, hoping that’s enough for him to let it go. To let you go. Even though deep down, it’s the last thing you wish for. You don’t want Lip to let you go. You want him to do the exact opposite.

Lip scoffs, closer to your ear than you expected, making you jump. “And what’s my type?”

“I mean—” you swallow hard, finding the courage to say the next words, as nonchalantly as possible, “I’m from a functional family. I don’t use drugs, I don’t deal drugs. I’m pretty sure I don’t have any personality disorders,” you list.

“Wow, so you’ve done research on me, huh?” Lip asks drily but he doesn’t move, stays close to you.

You decide to come out with the truth. “You know, I had a crush on you at school, and I think I was not as subtle as I thought I was. I mean, most of my friends knew about it.”

Licking his lips, he says,“I always thought you were cute. I was just—”

You're not letting him off that easy. “Busy fucking through the entire school?”

“I didn’t think it was a good idea to make a move.”

“Why do you think it’s a good idea now?”

“Because I can’t stay away from you anymore.”

[starxanemone]

꩜ⴰ ࣪˖ YOUR FLOOR'S BETTER THAN MY BED

reo mikage x gender neutral!reader — oneshot.

humor. implied romance. slight tension (if you squint). more of a character exploration.

you and reo mikage were two sides of the same coin—two people living entirely different lives within the same planes of this globe.

— aka, you're a broke mf, surviving on a scholarship, and you find it fun bothering the rich kid in school.

note. wrote this bc i'm actually so broke right now lmfao. i ain't eating breaky and lunch tomorrow hahaha life is so great as a broke college student! 10/10 would not recommend : )

When you hear the name “Mikage” the only thing that comes to mind is money. Call it a stereotypical mindset, but it doesn’t matter because everyone thinks of the same thing as you anyway. You don’t even bother to alter the way you perceive the name either.

Fuck being unique and all that, but really, who can blame you when you’re lacking in that department. The thing that makes the world go round and makes the eyes of people go green whether with envy or whether they’re on the greener side of the grass. Doesn’t matter. It’s the thing that keeps your life at the edge of being “fine” and falling off a steep, brittle cliff to poverty.

Money.

You wonder what it’s like to have an excess amount of it.

“Yo, Mikage,” You wink, sending him finger guns as you pass by his usual seat in the near-empty library.

The infamous Mikage Reo that always had an accommodating smile on his face catches a glimpse of you, and instantly, his lilac irises dulls.

“Oh. Hey.”

“Why so glum?” You cock your head to the side, taking the seat right beside him, legs spread wide and elbow leaning against the backrest of the seat.

You lack the air of dignity that most students inhale in this place like crack. It fogs their senses all the same anyway, and clouding their ability to judge. They get caught up in the image too much that they forget that pictures aren’t alive nor do they breathe. And maybe that’s why they don’t like you. “They” including Mikage.

“You’re probably here to shamelessly ask for money again. And I’m already saying this: no.” He grumbles, pressing his cheek against his palm, gazing into your eyes flatly.

Welp. It’s not like you put in the effort to be likable anyway. Understandable.

“Aw,” You pretend to pout in disappointment. “Worth a shot.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Hah?” You raise your brow at his question.

“Have you gone deaf? I said, ‘don’t you have anything better to do?’” He repeats, narrowing his eyes at you.

Truthfully, you heard him the first time. It was just funny to see him annoyed. No picture-perfect genius Reo Mikage. No giant nepo-baby Mikage. He’s just an annoyed Reo.

“I always got better things to do.” You shrug before eyeing him with a raised brow, grinning lazily. “Unlike you.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?!” He stands up from his chair.

Surprisingly, he has a very short fuse for someone who can handle everyone's bullshit.

“Hey, hey, kid,” You raise your hand up in surrender, speaking to him as if he wasn’t the same age or probably even a year older than you. “Relax, I was joking. Sit down.”

With a sigh, he takes a seat again, although the glare was still intact on his face. He grumbles quietly, but it was surely meant to be heard by you with the way he eyes you as he does so. “Don’t ‘kid’ me. At least I don’t waste my time asking people for money.”

“I’m always kidding, Mikage.” You snort at his words, waving your hand dismissively. “Even if you gave me money, I still wouldn’t accept it. What makes you think I’d take stuff from your hands?”

You wrinkle your nose, pretending to eye his hands with distaste. From the corner of your eyes you see him look offended once again and you hold back the urge to cackle.

Being born loved and admired by the people around him—repeatedly hearing songs of praises like he’s some sort of messiah—made him clueless towards teasing and jabs.

“I’m very clean, thank you very much! I’ll have you know that I wash my hands with only the best antibacterial hand wash imported from Italy. What about you?!” He blurts out angrily, bumping the side of his fist against his table.

“Exactly.” You shrug.

You see the anger melt away from his features before it is replaced with confusion.

“You and I,” You lean closer to him and you know he can smell the cheap fruity cologne wafting off the fabric of your imitation uniform. Hakuho was expensive even for scholarship students. “We’re from different worlds, Mikage. And it’s not your fault nor is it mine, because that’s just how it is.”

He turns quiet at this, seemingly mulling your words over inside his head as he eyes the floor blankly.

You tilt your head, releasing a short and awkward laugh. Think you might have made the air too serious. It must be your lunch, or, well, lack thereof. You don’t usually bring the topic (of your lack of money) up with other people, but his question provided you with the opportunity to do so. You took it all too eagerly (carelessly) and it in turn killed the typical playful nature of your not-so-friendship.

“Uh, sorry ‘bout that. For killin’ the mood.” You laugh awkwardly, patting his shoulder. “Uh…”

“What’s it like?” He turns to you suddenly, tilting his head.

“Uh, what’s what like?” You furrow your brows.

“Having no money.”

“Woah, woah, ya didn’t have to phrase it like that!” You joke, crossing your arms and leaning back against your chair with huff.

“N-No, I didn’t mean it like—” He began, glaring at nothing in defense before you cut him off.

“Kidding.” You wave your hand. “You gotta learn how to remove that stick up your ass. I promise you, it feels great.”

He wrinkles his nose in disgust at your choice of words. He’s probably thinking that you lack tact or class.

“You lack class.” He states in distaste.

Knew it.

“Yeah, anyways.” You think over his question for a bit. “Well, I can’t really explain it.”

His lilac eyes dulls as he stares at you flatly once again. “Hah. What a waste of time asking, then.”

“I got an idea though.” You lean closer, grinning lazily as you prop your elbow on top of his side of the table and pressing your cheek against your palm. His face engulfs your perceptions and you can see the non-existent pores on his skin.

Fuck him, his money, and his skin care routine.

“What.” He leans back slightly, raising his brow.

“Come with me later after class. Let’s eat dinner.”

A puff of air escapes his lips as he laughs at your suggestion. A few seconds later, it transforms into full-blown laughing. Each laugh that escapes his lips comes from deep within his diaphragm.

You stare at him expectantly and a little creeped out. You don’t think you’ve ever heard him laugh like that with anyone in your entire life in Hakuho.

“What?” You ask, still spooked.

“Didn’t know you liked me like that,” He smirks, leaning his face closer, breath brushing against your cheek. “If you wanted to ask me to dinner, you could’ve just said so.”

You could smell the slight mint and it tells you that he had just brushed. Figures. Of course he’d bring a toothbrush to school. Of course he actually brushes his teeth during breaks and not spend it fucking around doing nothing unlike you.

“Stop being delusional.” Your face turns blank at his words and you sit properly again. “Anyways, you said you wanted to know what it’s like, right? Come with me later then. We’ll eat what I usually eat for dinner.”

His face turns intrigued. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll know.”

“What is this place?” You hear Reo raise his voice over the surging crowd of people. He had a black mask over his face to hide it from the people because, yeah, he was actually kind of like a celebrity. An A-list individual among A-lists, coming just below his parents and it clearly shows with the Gucci bag he’s sporting.

Now that you think about it…

You eye his bag. “Flip your bag over, Mikage.”

“Huh? Why?”

You point to the pockets of his bag exposed out. “You’ll get unknowingly robbed that way. Flip your bag— okay, yep, nice. Very good.”

He rolls his eyes at your childish praise as he removes his bag to flip it, the pockets now hidden from the public’s view.

“Oh, yeah, we’re eating street food.” You point to the row of street vendors covering the sidewalks. Each stand glows yellow from the string of lights attached onto their walls and the strong smell of varieties of food mixes together in an almost unbearable manner.

You eye the rich kid beside you. He seems to shift a little, standing awkwardly and a little out of place.

You reach out to hold onto the side of his arm. “You good?”

He glances at you and looks back at the stalls as well as the crowd of people he mostly towered over. He doesn't shove away your hand. “Yeah. It’s just my first time in this sort of place.”

You blink at this, intrigued. “What? Really? Well, we gotta eat a lot, then. Your treat.”

He doesn’t protest when you begin tugging him towards the nearest Takoyaki stall.

“Ten pieces, please.” You tell the street vendor, beginning to pull out your wallet. A larger hand stops you from doing so and you glance at Reo to see him already pulling out his wallet.

“How much?” Reo asks.

The vendor eyes your classmate for a few seconds and then the Gucci bag. You hold back a groan. Ugh, you already know where this is going.

“1000 yen.” The vendor answers him, his face seemingly unsure.

Just before Reo could unknowingly pay the tricky vendor, you hold onto his hand, preventing him from taking out his cash.

“What are you—”

“That’s overpriced.” You cut in, eyeing the vendor flatly, feeling disappointed at his shitty attempt to scam people. “I ate here yesterday and it was only 500 yen for ten pieces. You mean to say that you’re charging double now? Do inflation rates shoot up that high in a span of one day?”

At least the vendor looks ashamed. He brings a hand up to the back of his neck awkwardly before bowing. “Sorry. Money’s tight and I thought it was worth a shot.”

You chuckle at this, handing the vendor the sufficient amount. “Been there, done that. To him too. But don’t go scamming other people, ‘kay? Now gimme our order.”

Once you take the order, you tug Reo away from the stall to head over to somewhere with less people. You lean back against the wall and open the container filled with Takoyaki and raise it up to his face.

“Smells good, right?” You watch as he takes the container from your hands and inspects the food curiously. He brings it up close to his face, gazing at the array of colors from the bonito flakes, to the mayo, to the sauce, and to the golden brown Takoyaki.

“It doesn’t look that different from the gourmet Takoyaki I’ve eaten.” He comments, taking a pair of chopsticks before eating an entire ball. As he chews, you see his eyes widen and he immediately begins to devour another Takoyaki just as he had swallowed the previous one.

“Good, right?” You grin cheekily.

He ignores you in exchange for devouring another large piece.

“Hey, leave me some too!”

You took him to different stalls after that, and by the time 8PM rolled around, both of you were already stuffed full with different kinds of food. You can’t remember the last time you had ever eaten to the point where you felt like your pants were going to burst open at the seams.

You eye the empty paper plates and containers laying haphazardly on the plastic table you both found. There were a little less people now. You draw in a breath, the air now lacking the sharp scent it previously held as you had submerged yourself in its presence.

It was nice. You also can’t remember the last time you’ve eaten a meal with someone like this. Having deadbeat parents that spent more time smoking crack out where you don’t know ultimately meant that meals were eaten alone. And, you admit, sharing meals wasn’t bad at all.

Reo heaves out a deep sigh, rubbing his stomach after releasing a quiet (and somehow dignified) burp. “I ate too much. Too much unhealthy food. My diet is ruined.”

You snort at this. “Relax, princess. I promise you’re still pretty.”

He glares at you. “Not what I meant.”

“Uhuh, whatever you say.” You chuckle before trailing off, watching him for a few seconds. You can see him shifting in place again at the length of your stare, seemingly burning holes into the side of your face.

“If you have something to say just say it.” He grumbles out, crossing his arms with a raise of his brow.

“Well, did it answer your question?” You ask curiously.

He looks up at the dark sky for a second before glancing back at you. “Well, the food was good. And cheaper.”

You shake your head at his obliviousness and chuckle. “Uhuh, but the food we ate today? That’s typically how much I eat in a span of one week. You get it now?”

He blinks and goes silent for a few seconds again.

“Don’t you get hungry, though?” He asks after a short while.

You shrug. “You get used to it.”

“It’s not sustainable though. How are you still alive?” He cockshis head, now looking at you with a slight furrow on his brows. If he was worried, then you were flattered.

“Not sure.” You shake your head. “I still do try to get my vegetables in but fresh produce is expensive. Healthy food is expensive. Some people just don’t have a choice, you know?”

“Oh.”

You don’t think it has sunken inside his brain yet. You can’t and won’t blame him. He’s lived his life that he’s used to just like you're living yours. You were two sides of a single coin—two people living entirely different lives within the same planes of this globe. Both built differently and built to handle different things.

“But I’m also curious now, too.” You hum after a while, eyeing him in slight interest.

“About what?”

“What does it feel like to live yours?” You cock your head.

You see him grin and your eyes squints a little at this.

"Maybe we can go to my place next."

[sweetprfct]

Is It Over Now?

Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: Fake dating your flatmate, Joe, should be a simple thing. It meant you get to help get his ex back, and it meant you get to stop your parents' nagging about bringing someone home for once. But what happens when fake dating turns into something unexpected? Now, what?

Author's Note: Here's the end! Thank you all for the support in this story. It's honestly one of my favorites. Anyway, see you all soon with Midnight Rain! I will be planning that out first then I'll be back with a new series soon! Enjoy! :)

Wordcount: 2.7K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five - part six - part seven - part eight - part nine - part ten

The soft breeze blew through your hair as you watched the city of London slowly come alive in front of you. You pulled your jacket closer to your chest as you watched the sunrise reflected through the windows of the tall buildings in front of you. Cars and buses filling the roads and people walking down the streets to their jobs or whatever their destination was. The sound of Elena whispering to herself as she played with her toys in the living room made you smile as you looked over your shoulder and watched her. 

You hoped one day this little girl would grow up and keep the happiness that lit inside her. You hoped that she was able to face whatever fears she had inside of her, and she was able to find love that she deserved. If it was up to you, you would wish she never grows up because this world could be cruel, and it slowly breaks you. 

Your eyes then darted towards Abby and Sara, who were cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Watching Abby feeding Sara with a piece of waffle and then kissing each other on the lips like they were just in their own little world, you couldn’t help but smile. You knew that no matter what, Elena had great parents that would be by her side through everything. You couldn’t help but wish that you had the same thing growing up, but you couldn’t dwell too much on the past now. You couldn’t blame your parents anymore. You could change your own perspective and life. You could change it and make it with whatever you wanted it to be. 

You didn’t know what time you had sneaked out of your flat earlier this morning, but it definitely was too early. It was still dark outside, and the streets were empty and quiet except for the early morning people who decided to wake up and go for a jog.

You have been walking. You didn’t know how long, but you had been walking and thinking. Thinking about what happened last night. Thinking about Joe and those three little words that he had told you. Thinking about his lips on your skin and how it electrified your veins with every kiss he left on your body. How it made you die and brought you back to life at the same time. You thought about how you wanted him, and you loved him but you were too terrified to admit it yourself. 

You just needed some space. You needed some time to think. You weren’t running away this time. You just need to think, so eventually, you found yourself at Sara and Abby’s by the time it was 7am. You didn’t even ride the tube. You walked so much that you had found yourself on the other side of the city, and you didn’t even realize until you were standing on their front steps. 

“I’m sorry.” You apologized to them again.

At this point, you wouldn’t be surprised if Sara and Abby kicked you out of their home for disturbing them so much. They already were too busy with Elena and here you were like a little lost puppy and dumping your problems on them. 

“Hey,” Sara smiled. “I was just about to make breakfast before Abby leaves for work. Come in.” 

Sara opened the front door wider to let you in. Elena, for some reason, was wide awake early in the morning. Sara mentioned how she had been waking up early because she wanted to say goodbye to Abby every morning before work. You couldn’t help but think how cute it was. They truly were such a cute family. 

Now, here you were standing on their balcony, trying to figure out all the emotions that were running inside you. You were trying to scold yourself to stop being so afraid and finally just let all of these fears go. 

“Hey, wanna join us for breakfast?” Sara came up behind you with a cup of tea. 

“Yeah, thank you.” You smiled as she handed you the cup of tea, and you followed her into the dining room. 

“I’m sorry for barging in again. I just… I need to think.”

“There’s nothing to think about, my sweet.” Abby chimed in as she sat on the dining table with you and Sara.

She was in her white shirt, jeans and cardigan. It fit her whole artist vibe, and you couldn’t help but notice how her and Sara were glowing even more lately ever since Elena has entered their life. 

“You love him.” Abby said sternly. “Please stop dismissing it. Let yourself be happy.”

You bit your lower lip as you took a sip of your tea. Your eyes shifted at Sara, who was slicing through her waffles with a playful smile on her face.

“What’s so funny?” You asked.

“You reek of sex.” Sara murmured, taking a bite of her waffle.

Your eyes widened the moment you felt the tea burned through your nose as you choked and coughed, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. You just wanted the floor to eat you up at this point. 

“Babe!” Abby laughed, shaking her head. 

“Look at her!” Sara pointed her fork at you as her eyes widened at Abby. “They had sex and now, she is denying the fact that she’s actually in love with Joe. This isn’t just pretending anymore. She has been in love with him for a while now, and she thought hooking up with him would make those feelings go away but no—”

“Okay, I think I get it.” You sighed, slumping back down on your chair.

“Do you?” Sara raised her brow. 

You sat quietly in your chair, your head hung low as you thought about Sara’s question. You knew she was right, but it was the acceptance of your feelings that you couldn’t bear to accept in your mind. Your heart was screaming for it. Screaming to love Joe. Screaming to stop being so terrified because you were already here. You already had shown him your feelings last night, so what the fuck was your problem? 

“What are you so afraid of? Joe loves you.” Abby added. 

“I know.” You sighed. “I do too.”

It was the first time you admitted it out loud. Suddenly, the fear had subsided and all you could think about was Joe. His smile, his chocolate button eyes, his voice, his lips on your skin. 

It was everything.

He was everything.

“Then, go get him.” Sara had a wicked smile on her face as you chuckled softly. 

“I’m sorry for being such a pain lately and just barging in here.” You sighed. “I know you two got your hands busy with Elena too and—”

“My sweet, there’s no need to apologize.” Abby cut you off. “You’re always welcome here and besides, we know how hard it is for you to sometimes accept your feelings, especially with what you have gone through before. It’s understandable.”

“Exactly.” Sara smiled, reaching for your hand across the table. “You’re our family too, and you’re always welcome here. We just want you to be happy too because you deserve it.”

“And if that’s with Joe then, you shouldn’t stop yourself from being happy and loved by him.” Abby added. 

“Thank you.” You both gave them a smile, squeezing Sara’s hand softly. “And you know, I’m always one call away if you both need anything.”

Sara and Abby smiled, nodding their heads. 

The thought of seeing Joe as you sat on the tube later that day had let out a jar of butterflies in your stomach. You didn’t exactly know how to start or what to say to him the moment you would enter the flat. You kept telling yourself that you would just wing it. That whatever the situation was, you definitely needed to apologize for running out again. For being so confused and terrified about all of this. 

You sighed and ran your fingers through your hair as you stepped out of the tube and made your way back to your flat. You wondered if Joe was home. You wondered what he would say the moment you entered the flat. You wondered if you fucked everything up, and he didn’t want to talk to you anymore.

You couldn’t blame him if that was his decision. 

Unlocking the front door with a shaky hand, you immediately heard a quiet clattering coming from the kitchen. 

Joe was home.

Kicking your shoes off your feet, you quietly made your way to the kitchen and stood by the doorway. Joe’s back was turned to you as he cooked pasta on the stove. You leaned against the doorway and watched him for a moment, playing with your fingers nervously. 

“Came to get the rest of your things?” Joe asked, his voice was cold and his back was still turned to you. 

So, he was upset. 

You expected that. Who wouldn’t be upset with someone who ran out the next morning after you had told them that you love them?

“N..N…No.” You replied.

Oh, you hated how that came out of your mouth. 

You were stuttering, and you could barely find your voice at the moment. You slowly walked around the kitchen island and stood next to Joe. Your hands were literally trembling, and you immediately shoved them in your coat pocket to hide them from him. Joe’s eyes were still laser focused on the pasta sauce that he was cooking on the stove, and you could tell that he didn’t want to look at you at all. 

Again, you couldn’t blame him. 

It was your fault. 

“I’m sorry.” You apologized. 

There was silence for a moment between the both of you, your eyes never leaving him as you waited for what he was going to say. Though, when he didn’t say anything, you took a deep breath and took another step forward.

“I’m sorry that I ran out again.” You said. “I’m sorry that I keep lying about my feelings for you.”

Joe sighed, turned off the stove and turned to you. The moment his chocolate button eyes caught yours, you couldn’t help but notice how much it really affected him. It was a different kind of look that you have never seen before. Not even when Ivy broke up with him. It was almost as if he looked like he lost someone so special to him. 

“I understand as to why you couldn’t accept your feelings because I know you struggle with that, but I just wished you would talk to me.” Joe shook his head. 

“I know. I’m sorry. I was scared, and I needed to think and I didn’t know what to do because I saw Ivy the other night leaving our flat and—”

“Wait,” Joe cut you off. “You saw her?”

“Yeah, I bumped into her in the hall when I was coming home.” You shrugged, your head hung low. “I… I know something happened between us after that, but I can’t help but think about how it makes me feel like you choose me because she doesn’t want you or whatever it’s going on with you guys…”

“Nothing is going on with us.” Joe replied, taking a step closer to you. “Nothing happened that night. She came and begged to take me back, but I told her that it has been over with us for a long time.”

You gazed up and stared at him with your big wet brown eyes. You didn’t know what to say. You didn’t want to doubt Joe either because he told you he loved you and hearing him confirming about him and Ivy, it made your heart swell. In a good way.

Joe exhaled a sharp breath. “I let her stay for the night because she was a mess. I didn’t want her to go home like that, especially knowing that I was the reason why she was crying.”

You nodded your head in understanding. Then, Joe gently took your trembling hands from your coat pockets and held your hands in his. 

“So… it is over?” You asked. 

“It has been over a long time ago.” Joe replied.

You stared at both of your hands and bit your lower lip. Joe could see that you were struggling to accept all of this, but he could also see that you knew it was the truth. You could see it in his eyes. You have always known that. His eyes always spoke the truth. 

“I meant what I said.” Joe murmured. “And I’m sorry for making you feel like shit. I’m sorry for making you think that you’re just a second choice and for pretending that I wanted Ivy. Most of all, I’m sorry that I kept this agreement going even when I knew that you were the one that I wanted. Even when I knew that I loved you and couldn’t tell you.”

Your heart suddenly couldn’t fit in your chest. It was beating a thousand miles per hour, and you couldn’t breathe. You tried to stabilize your breathing as Joe caressed your trembling hands with his thumbs.

“I’m sorry I kept running away from this. You were right that night, you know?” You said. “I was scared to let someone in. Someone who cares about me.”

Joe cupped your face with his hands and caressed your cheek with his thumb. Your knees felt weak, and you moved closer until both of your faces were just inches from each other. Joe grazed his nose softly against yours, making you grin happily. 

“I love you.” Joe muttered. 

“I love you too.” You finally said before finally pressing your lips against his. 

Joe wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you close as he kissed you deeply. He kissed you as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. You smiled through the kiss and finally let all your fears and insecurities go. You let Joe take them away and locked them up in a box and threw them away in the ocean. 

You finally let go and told yourself that you deserved this. You deserved to love someone and have them love you back.  

“So, does that mean you’re not leaving?” Joe teased you as soon as he pulled away.

“Hm… no.” 

You both laughed in unison as you wrapped your arms around his neck. Joe gave you a soft happy smile as he leaned in again and kissed you. In surprise, you let out a squeal as he picked you up and carried you down the hall towards his bedroom. 

“No.” You said, holding onto the doorframe as Joe paused in his tracks. “My room.”

Joe raised his brow at you, surprised that you had suggested that idea. He never had stepped inside your bedroom because he knew your boundaries but fuck boundaries, right? You wanted to let him inside your life. Inside your private mind where you kept your private thoughts and insecurities. You wanted him to know you. To know every corner of your mind. 

“Are you sure?” Joe asked.

“Absolutely.”

Joe couldn’t help but smile as he walked towards your bedroom. His eyes immediately wandered around the four walls, curious of your private space that he has never seen before. Gently setting you down on your bed, he towered over you as you let out a soft giggle. 

“I love your room.” He whispered, his lips finding your neck.

A soft gasp escaped your lips as you ran your fingers through his curly hair. 

“It’s yours now too.” You whispered as Joe stared down at you. 

For a moment, he studied you as you reached your hand up to brush his cheek softly. He was yours and you were his. You love Joe and he loves you. That was all that mattered right now. You didn’t want to worry about anything else. This was you accepting that this was real. 

No more pretending.

No more acting.

No more fake relationships.

This was all real.

Joe was real and so were the two of you together. 

Leaning down, Joe kissed you softly as he pulled the duvet over the both of you, your soft laughters echoed the room. 

The End. 

Taglist:

@palomahasenteredthechat @sunvick @eddies-acousticguitar @demonsanddemogorgons @joesquinns @mmunson86 @ghostinthebackofyourhead @corrodedcoffincumslut @figmentofquinn @tlclick73 @browneyes8288 @bylermaxmayfield @ali-r3n @ficsbypix @capricornrisingsstuff @missonlypost @ali-in-w0nderland @amberolivia666 @lalalala-melmosworld @niallersfreckles @nanas-lasagna @emma77645 @indulgence-be-thy-name @readergf @ladamari68 @1paire2vans @d4rk4ng3l86 @paleidiot @josephquinnsfreckles

[luimagines]

ALRIGHT SO first meeting but either the boys or the reader let's slip a 'god you're beautiful' or something real nice and cheese like that

🐰

Yes. Yes! Yes! You got it Bunny!!!!!!

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

Legend

If he had to be honest with himself, he wasn't paying attention.

Sure they had managed to walk into the inn of the local town and get themselves from rooms for the night - but then Warrior decided to go to the nearest pub to collect information about their newest destination. Granted, it wasn't a bad idea. Legend just couldn't care less for it.

So as they all ate and drank to their heart content, making conversations with staff and other patrons of the pub, Legend was willing to keep to himself for a change.

"Papa!" Someone called out. A new comer came in, b-lining directly towards the bartender of the joint. They were stunning and Legend poured his drink onto his lap because of it.

He jumped, groaning and instantly annoyed that he was sidetracked enough where that happened. Now it looks like he pissed his tunic. Great. Hopefully it'll dry before he has to get up again. He does not have the patience to deal with explaining himself right now.

Legend looks over to you again, putting his drink on the table for safe measures.

The bartender appeared to be your father and he happily indulged in conversation with you before he caught that Legend was staring. He perked up and shrunk down, embarrassed over being blatantly caught.

He couldn't find the nerve to look up again and keep his gaze to his lip, hoping that he doesn't make a fool of himself.

"Here." You walked up and put a plate of food in front of him. You didn't hesitate to sit next to him. "For you."

Legend felt like he was caught in a trap. The tips of his ears went pink and his mouth gaped softly.

You bite your lip, not expecting his lack of response. You waited a few seconds to see if he'd say anything and apparently felt awkward enough to continue the script in your head anyway. "I know you didn't order anything. It's on the house."

Legend look down to the food. It looked good, but now that you were right nest to him, Legend could make out more details about you.

You laughed awkwardly. "Are you... going to say anything or...?"

"You're beautiful." He whispered.

You froze and blushed a brilliant red color.

Legend coughed and looked away. He can't believe he just said that. Loser. "Hey." He looked to you, pushing the plate in your direction slightly. "Share it?"

You cleared your throat and nodded. "Y-yeah... I'd like that."

Sky

He was dead on his feet.

After relentless travel, spearheaded by the Hero of Time, he was ready to call it a day and end it. But then more monsters attacked and a portal opened and a new person joined in the "fun".

He sighed and tried to focus. He kept to the back of the group so that he wouldn't seem too rude to the new person.

The others quickly started to question everything they could about you. Where were you from? Why did you got through the portal? what do you know about the hero?

He could hear that you had no idea what the Hero of Courage was. You have a little brother named Link. Your brother was five. And you went through the portal in an attempt to keep their brother at home.

Given that the portal had closed behind you, Sky thought it was safe to say that you completed your goal.

He shook himself awake again. Vaguely, he was aware that he was more of less going to have to introduce himself. But he could not be bothered to talk to more people today. It's not the fault of this new person, but he really just wanted to take a nap.

As he expected, he saw each of the others speak up and say their dumb nicknames that he found amusing and slowly (but surely) you made your way toward him.

He tried to put a smile on his face for your sake.

Might as well get it over with, Sky sighed and slapped his face a few times to look alive. When you got close to him, seeming to also want to make your way to the back of group, he stuck out his hand. "Hi there, welcome to the team. My name is Link, but I think you knew that already. You can call me Sky, the others do."

You stare at him. It doesn't seem to register that he's spoken to you.

He tries to keep his pleasant smile on his face. Please tell him that you're not a weirdo... Unless he seemed like the weirdo? He can't do people right now. Can't this be a little easier on his brain right now?

He slowly puts his hand down.

"You have a name, stranger?" He tries again, hoping to end the conversation quickly.

"You're beautiful."

Sky is suddenly very much awake. And flattered. He starts to laugh. It takes him a minute to calm down, his sour mood instantly lifted. He wipes a tear from his eye, not even remotely worried about crazy he might have seemed. "Well, Beautiful, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Given by the way you seem to be horrified with yourself, he can safely assume that you're going to fast friends.

Four

When Four walked through this poor provincial town, he wasn't expecting much. There was a shop here, a school there and the main market place where farmers would sell or trade their harvest and wares.

It wasn't much to snuff at but it was an honest place. He walked around without much of a destination in mind. He was supposed to be gathering information but he didn't want to run the place through and then be left with nothing to do later in the day. Besides, the others were also gathering information. Between all of them, they could cover this town three times over in an afternoon at their rate. There's no need t do that to the locals.

With that in mind, he took to exploring.

Four was tempted to look for the local blacksmith and see if there was anything he could learn or impart of his knowledge of the trade. If he could stock up on a few more personal items, that would also be accepted.

As luck would have it, he was so lost in his thoughts that he wasn't watching where he was going and collided fully onto some poor unsuspecting person, spilling their very hot tea over the both of them.

He's been more happy to wear as many layers as he does.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh. OW. Oh man. I'm sorry." You grabbed your shirt and fluffed it away from your body. Clearly you took the worst of it. You were so distracted by the pain that you didn't even look up to see him. "I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm so sorry. Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Four shook his head, doing the same thing with his tunic. He's going t have to wash this now. "No, no. I'm ok. You should go get some ice or something. That looks like it hurts."

"It was fresh. I didn't want-" You look at him finally and click your mouth shut.

The sudden change startles Four and he takes a hesitant step towards you. "Everything alright? I'm serious you should go change and check that out."

"You're very beautiful."

Four also comes to a screeching halt.

You're both staring at each other as the seconds pass. Fierce lushes suddenly cover both of your faces.

You gasp and look away in horror. "I'm sorry. I just spilled hot tea over the new hot guy. I'm sorry. I'll leave. Goodbye. May we never meet again."

Four blinks and watches you run away. He brain seems to kick back into gear after that. "Hey... Hey wait! Come back!"

He runs after you.

Wind

Wind ran through the portal as fast as his legs could carry him. A new place! A new Hyrule! A new time! It was all so exiting! He couldn't wait to see what was on the other side.

When he sees the world around him, he takes a minute to breath in the area. Then he coughs, choking on the air.

Sure the place looked green and clean, but it smelt like rot and moldy water. Gross.

"Ah- You're not from here, aren't you?" You walk out from behind a tree. The others, who were both in front of him and behind him, turn to look at you. You're around his age, he realizes and very very pretty.

His mouth goes dry and he forgets how to breathe. Wind is star struck. You seem giggle at his face, taking his shock for surprise over your sudden appearance. "Sorry, I hid when the portal opened but you don't seem so bad."

Legend brushes down his tunic and juts his thumbs behind him. "You were already here? Did you see where the big black lizard went? We gotta catch him."

You nod, keeping your hands to your chest. You point to your left. "He went that way."

"Did he see you?" Hyrule asks. You shake your head. "Good. You acted quickly. He's very dangerous. Is he heading into a nearby town?"

You shake your head again. "My village is that way." You point behind you, the opposite way the lizard went.

The group relaxes a little and adjusts their weaponry. Time whistles and gestures for the group to get moving. "Let's go boys. It couldn't have gotten far."

Wind looks over to Time before looking back over to you. You seem to catch on now that he was staring at you the entire time and grow shy. "What?"

"You're beautiful." Wind whispers, smiling. "My name is Link, what's yours?"

You blush and tell him your name. With a flourish, Wind bows. "Then when we come back! I'll meet you first."

He comes up with a pirate's smirk before Warrior starts calling for him. Wind looks to the group and rolls his eyes- but he winks in your direction. "Coming!"

You giggle and waves to him, watching him leave. What a strange boy. But he wasn't so bad, now was he?

Wild

Wild was walking along side Epona as they all traveled through the newest portal.

He, along with the Rancher, did their best to keep calm and to keep her calm. This portal was no different from the others, but there was no telling what was on the other side.

When sunlight finally reached his eyes again, it was blinding. Much different from the darkness of the forest they were coming from. It looks like they were dropped off in the middle of Hyrule field. But the question wasn't 'where' but rather 'when'.

"Howdy!" Someone called out from the distance. The familiar gallop of a horse reached his ears as you rode closer to them. "Did you cause that strange purple thing in the middle of my property?"

"Property?" Twilight echoed. Like the others, they quickly engaged with conversation with you, but Wild found himself stunned.

Wild's jaw dropped at the sight of you. Your hair looked so incredibly soft and shiny. Your eyes were bright and lovely. What a beautiful color. He might have the gem to match it in his sheikah slate if he bothered to look for it. And your nose! He's never seen a shape quite like that before, with the jawline to match to boot.

"Wild?"

He couldn't even register that he was staring. His hand landed on his sheikah slate but he didn't unhook it. What is he even trying to do? Match your eyes to that gem? Take a picture? Offer you a flower? Would you like flowers? Pretty flower for a pretty person, right? Would that be weird?

"Wild?"

He gulped slightly and found himself unable keep his posture straight and steady anymore. He heart was beating faster. He's never seen someone so drop dead gorgeous before. And your outfit... It hugged all your dips and curves perfectly.

"Champion!" Twilight shook his shoulder. "They asked for your name."

"Your name?" Wild couldn't keep his eyes off of you. "You're beautiful."

"No-!" Twilight groans.

You take it in stride, your cheeks flushing a soft pink color. You repeat your name and smile. "I certainly wouldn't mind you called me beautiful though. Do I all you handsome then?"

"I have no complaints." Wild smiled and held his hand out for you to shake. It doesn't seem to click at all in his head that he's a little beyond typical greeting protocol. "My name is Link. It's a pleasure to meet you."

You laugh and hop off of your horse, shaking his hand. "The pleasure's all mine."

Warrior

Warrior sighed and ruffled his hair as quickly as he could to get the frustration out. They had traveled all day with nothing to show for it. No new information, not new leads, no new portals and there was hardly any infected monsters to at least let them know they were going in the right direction.

He knew, realistically, that sometime these things happen. He was equipped and trained to make the best of any situation and to still win at the end of the day.

That doesn't make it any less annoying though.

He walks into the local inn, ready to check out some room and leave with his wallet significantly lighter.

He sees you there, wiping down the main counter, keys on display in the background. Warrior walks up the entire way. You don't notice him, seemingly to focused on your current job of cleaning with a vengeance. He knows the look. You're stuck in your thoughts, having an argument with something that's never going to see the light of day.

He dings the bell gently. "Got room for nine?"

You gasp and jump, snapping your head to him. He tries to be as disarming as possible, putting on his best smile.

You clutch your hand to your heart and take in a breath. Warrior feels a little bad for startling you but there was little he do if you didn't notice him for that long.

He opens his mouth to repeat his question but you speak first.

"Oh, you're beautiful."

Warrior clicks his mouth shut.

Another beat passes before you seem to realize what you just said. Your face explodes into color and you scramble to remedy the situation. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Ignore me. I've been all over the place today. How many? Just you?"

You dives for the keys, trying to get a room for one.

Warrior puts his hands up and shakes his head. "I'm in a group of nine. I was just curious if you had the room here."

You seem to still be frazzled. "Yes... Yes! We have the room! Do you all want to be in the same place? I can rent you three rooms in a row. Only two of them have three beds, the one on the end only has two. It would be one short."

"They don't have to be connected." Warrior smiles softly, feeling less like his past is haunting him and more like he's caught you more off guard than either of you want to admit.

"Perfect. Perfect. Right. Here." You hand him the keys and look down, both ashamed and embarrassed over your innocent blunder.

He can't help but smile more genuinely. Usually when people comment on his looks, they don't react apologetically.

"My name is Link. What's yours?" He leans on the counter.

Your face burns brighter as you mumble your name. Warrior repeats it back effortlessly. "Lovely. It's a pleasure to meet you."

You cover your face with your hands. "I swear I'm better than this. You've caught me on an off day."

"I could tell. If looks could kill, this counter would have burst into flames long before I ever walked in." Warrior chuckles.

You only seem more embarrassed.

Despite himself, Warrior likes this. He doesn't seem to mind the attention so much if it's coming from you.

Hyrule

Hyrule looked around the market place as the group walked through it. He was supposed to stick close to the group and not get distracted but he couldn't help it.

He simply didn't have places like this back home. There was so many people. So many new smells. So many sounds... Maybe too many sounds- but the trade off made sense in his mind.

He quickly got distracted once more by a small booth that appeared to be selling jewelry and the like. There were metal wraps and wood pieces and some that looked like were made of bone. There was no way he was going to see something like that and not get a closer look.

He kept his bag close to his body, gripping the edges of his tunic tightly. He looked over each item, wondering if it was ok to touch them.

"Oh, good to see you're back!" A voice called from beside him, making itself home in the other spot the booth provided.

"Of course I'm back!" The seller replied joyfully. "There's too much business here to leave this town without my presence."

You laughed and Hyrule finally turned to look at you fully.

His breath caught in his throat. He'd never seen anyone like you. Your eyes rivaled the gems on the table with their shine and hue. He finds himself gulping slightly. "...You're beautiful."

Your laughter dies as you turn to him, finally noticing him beside you. Your face slowly turn to one of shock and a slightly blush.

Hyrule can't register that he's made things awkward. He's too captivated by you. He licks his lips with the tip of his tongue and blinks. The spell's been broken and it's as if his breath returns to him all at once.

Hyrule takes a step back and flushes darker than you. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

He clears his throat and nods to the seller, ready to run away from the encounter. That could not have been any weirder. What's wrong with him? At least he's not staying in this town for long. You would never have to meet again. But he knows this is going to haunt him.

Your arm reaches out before you can stop it. "Wait... Can I at least know your name?"

Hyrule bite his lip. "L-link... My name is Link. Nice to meet you."

You smile softly and introduce yourself as well. "Well, Link, that was might kind of you to say.... You might actually be the first person to tell me that. Thank you."

Hyrule can feel his eyes bulge out of his head. Him? The first? Impossible! You're stunning! He was sure you would have hear dthat all the time.

If anything, this only serves to fluster him more. He covers his mouth with his hand and look away. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize! It just took my by surprise."

Hyrule looks to the seller. They have an expectant look on their face. Hyrule feels like he should do something but he's not sure what. "Um... Do you... want to go for a walk?"

Is he lame? Could he not think of anything better?

You bite your lip, clearly amused. "You know what... I don't usually do this, but I don't seem to mind this time around."

"Cool..." Hyrule looks away, scratching the back of his neck. I smile boyishly. "Awesome, actually."

Time

They had just walked out the newest portal to an unknown land. Time looked around the area with the rest of the boys, taking is as much as he could to try and pin point their current location, even if it was lost to time.

At this point it was standard procedure. Everything was more or less what he was expecting to come from it. What he wasn't expecting was when they ran into you more or less right away.

You had seemingly locked onto him- ignoring the rest of the group as they asked you questions.

Time raised an eyebrow in your direction, silently wondering what was your deal. It seemed to be the wrong move. Your face grew red and you looked away from him for a moment, suddenly remembering that there were other people around you.

You cleared your throat and once again tried to answer their questions the best you could. Your home was nearby but the nearest village was further away. It was just you, your grandpa and your little sister. You haven't heard anything about monsters or their increasing aggressiveness. It seems your life has been peaceful up until they showed up.

Time sighs and whistles, getting the boys to stop hounding you for more information. "That's enough. We'll move on and look for different troubles. No need to antagonize them."

You also sigh and relax a little as the boys back off. Time watches as Warrior does a quick head count once more and begins to take the point, leading them away, apologizing for any undue stress they may have caused.

You wave them off with a pleasant smile.

Time stays behind a little longer. He bows as he retreats and also apologizes. He knows the boys can be enough to fluster anyone. "Forgive them, truly. It seems time on the road can have one forgetting their manners."

You fluster further. "It's alright. I didn't mind it. Yours?"

Time pauses and laughs. "Some. But not all. I'm not that old yet."

"Right. Of course some are yours, you're beautiful- I mean. Right! You're right! Not that old. I guess. Um!" You take a step back, looking about as embarrassed as he feels.

Time coughs, feeling his own face light up. Is that why you were staring at him earlier? You thought he was beautiful?

He smiles and takes your hand, kissing your knuckles. He looks up and gives you a wink. "I'm single."

"O-h." You flush, putting your hand over your heart.

"I'll come back to talk to you more if the heavens allow it."

"...'kay..."

Twilight

A portal opened right next to their camp as they rested for lunch. Hands snapped to their weapons as they all took a defensive stance in the direction of the portal.

They were waiting for whoever was going to come through the other side, not willing to hesitate to attack whatever was about to greet them.

Wild pulled his bow back as the lights within wobbled but a human hand reached out first. Twilight put a hand on his shoulder to hold him from firing.

An arm followed the hand, then the body and their figure.

Twilight as if he was struck dumb in that moment.

You looked around and jumped back in shock at their aggressive profiles. Your hands tightened on the strap you held by your shoulder and gulped. "Um... hi..."

Warrior raised an eyebrow and pointed his sword in your direction. Twilight jerked, as if in motion to stop him. Warrior doesn't see that. "Who are you?"

You state your name with a slight stutter.

"What brings you here?" Legend asks next, also not willing to let his suspicion down. "Don't you know you should walk through random portals you don't know where they go?"

Hyrule coughs and looks away. Wind snickers in the background.

You poke the ground with your toe and blush. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained right?"

Wild laughs and puts his weapon down. "I like you already."

"Ok, we can all calm down now." Sky sighs. "Right?"

"Not quite." Warrior glares harder.

You shimmy in your spot. Twilight walks forward and tries to calm the situation. You watch him cautiously.

Twilight turns to you and can feel himself already getting distracted. How can someone's skin look so soft? Your hair was so shiny. What a beautiful color you have in your eyes... He felt himself being slowly pulled in.

"Twilight?"

"You're beautiful." He says, ignoring whatever they might have been calling his attention for.

You blush harder and cover your mouth with your hand. Many snickers throughout the group are heard and he thinks that Time is somewhere behind him with his face in his hands, but he's still too busy staring at you to register that maybe he shouldn't have said that.

"...Thank you..." You reply in a quiet voice, smiling softly. And oh, isn't that a sight for sore eyes...

Twilight smiles back at you, a little breathless from the visage in front of him. "You're welcome."

[hucowboyification]

Poolverine and 10 please?

10- "We're really going to fuck here? What if someone sees us?"

It'd been an easy job. Get in, stab, claw, and shoot all the fuckers in the warehouse to death, get out. No one was left alive; not even the cleaning crew.

Making a quick getaway wasnt strictly necessary; given how blood-soaked they both were, it probably would've made them more suspicious. But the surrounding area had been terrorized by that group for so long that everyone turned a blind eye to the two mutants booking it down shaded alleyways, and the adrenaline made for great foreplay, so they ran anyways.

Logan pulled Wade down an alleyway, around a corner, and then into a dead end, where a brick building towered over everything.

Deep scratch marks in sets of threes littered the face of the building; hundreds, if not thousands of sets, some clearly much older than the several months Logan had been living in this universe.

"Climb," Logan instructed, lacking anything in the way of real urgency. It was made even less urgent by Logan tugging Wade's mask off and pressing him briefly to the brick wall for a deep, but surprisingly gentle kiss.

Once he was released, Wade did as he was asked. Fortunately, Logan had the forethought to make sure that people with normal hands could get to the roof, though just barely; it was a tough climb, even for Wade, and he had to question if it was really the only way up onto the roof, or if Logan just wanted to watch his ass as he made his way up tedious hand-and-foot-holds.

"Used to love coming up here," Logan sighed once they'd both reached the roof, leaning shoulder-to-shoulder against a boarded-up maintenance entrance. "Quiet. Good views. Hard to climb for most people. Back... back where I'm from, it got torn down years ago."

Wade, using the little good sense he had, didn't pry or crack a joke. He didn't particularly feel like regenerating any limbs tonight, thank you very much.

"But, anyways," Logan continued, giving Wade a sharp-toothed grin. "Thought it'd be a good place to bring you to catch our breath after a job. Be nice to spend an evening together without worrying about waking anyone up."

"Wait, do you mean-" he leaned in close, exaggeratedly whisper-shouting in Logan's ear- "S-E-X?"

"Yes, you goddamn loser, I mean fucking." Logan snorted, bumping his forehead against Wade's shoulder. "Up here, alone, under the stars."

"Aww, Wolvie, that's so romantic! We're really going to fuck here?" Wade gasped in mock surprise, bringing his hands to his face. "What if someone sees us?"

The twitching of Logan's lips gave away his attempts so suppress a laugh. "Who the fuck would see us, moron? It's the middle of the night, this is an abandoned building, and we'd see if anyone came on a nearby roof." Then he grinned. "Besides, what do you care? I always thought you'd be an exhibitionist."

"Oh, I am an exhibitionist, peanut, but you never know. There are cameras everywhere these days.

With a brief, disparaging "Jesus Christ, Wade", Logan dropped to his knees, nuzzling gently at Wade's already hard cock under his suit.

Then, the claws came out, moving towards the fabric of Wade's pants, and-

"Hey, no, no, no! Soft paws!" Wade shouted, swatting Logan's hands away and getting his fingers quite scratched up in the process. "I'm not sewing this up again! God, the knife hands are hot, but can you use your fingers to unzip me like a normal fucking person for once?"

Reluctantly, Logan did as ordered, sheathing his claws and unzipping his pants without ripping them (and Wade's skin, though that was of less concern) to shreds.

If there were cameras around (and of course there were- whatever the dicks at the TVA said, he's the main character here), they'd be getting quite a show.

Send me an ask with a number and a ship!

[its-time-to-write]

Hi y’all! This is my last unprompted angsty fic for a little! Gonna go back to our usually scheduled hijinks that are sitting in my request pile, I wanted to do this one first. I write all these as a way to deal with things that happen in my own life, whether it’s stressing about school and work, stupid romance, great romance, family, health, whatever, and I wanted to say (yet again) thank you for all the support. Sometimes I still can’t believe that you all like what I write but hey, there ya go

It’s funny, because my most popular fics are the ones that have been written directly out of my actual life. The ones that start out hard-to-deal-with, or with real, palpable heartbreak. The endings are often different because real life isn’t guaranteed a happy ending, but I’m allowed to take the past and see what it would be like if things went differently.

My characterization of Jamie is based on the only person I’ve ever really loved, which is why I can write his voice so clearly. I first watched Ted Lasso and was surprised at how similar they were, stupid hair and all. A lot of these fics are my way of archiving our story and immortalizing parts of it, as well as reminding myself that the love was there. It didn’t last and it wasn’t supposed to, but it was there.

Now, what’s real and what’s fiction? I’ll leave that up to you to decide, but I will say that it’s more than you might think and less than you might hope for.

So if you read this current fic and think, “huh, that was a really specific premise,” well I got news for you! It is. I’m in the first part of my journey on this, the early stages, and this story is not the way I want things to go for me. But I’m hoping that by creating a good ending out of a rough beginning, I can better face whatever lies ahead for me whether I approach it on my own two feet or with the assistance of some really sick wheels.

Anyway, enjoy this or skip it, it won’t hurt my feelings!

how to love being alive

Jamie’s at training when he gets the call. He barely registers the words on the other side when he’s cursing something awful, enough to make Roy Kent blush, and saying something about an emergency before speeding out the door. He pauses for a moment to look up an address in his phone, then he’s tearing out of the parking lot in a manner that puts Colin to shame. 

To summarize, he’s not acting like himself. 

He pulls up to a chiropractor of all places and the girl at the front desk must be able to tell who he’s here for because she just points to a door down the hall. Jamie’s pretty sure he’s never moved this quick in his life and wonders if this could translate to the pitch. Sure he’s fast, but he could always be faster. 

He bursts through the door to see you borderline catatonic, staring at the floor while a doctor pats your arm. She looks at Jamie and says, “Let’s chat for a minute outside,” before he has a chance to say a single thing. Jamie can’t tear his eyes away from you as the doctor leads him out and shuts the door. 

“Thought emergency contacts were for like, hospitals and shit,” he says. 

The chiropractor shakes her head. Jamie notes that her name tag says “Dr. Hadley,” and has a vague memory of you mentioning her a few months ago. 

God, it feels like a lifetime ago. 

“We’re not confident she’s in a fit state to get herself home,” Dr. Hadley says. “Her headspace is a little messed up, which is to be expected. Usually people come to these types of appointments with some moral support.”

Jamie asks, “What kinds of appointments?” and Dr. Hadley tilts her head at him. 

“You are Mr. Tartt, aren’t you?” she asks and Jamie just scoffs because he can’t decide between responding obviously, or telling her no, he’s not Mr. Tartt, that’s his father. He’s just Jamie. 

Dr. Hadley knows who he is because she doesn’t live in a hole in the ground, so she doesn’t ask for identification. She takes his scoff as permission to keep talking, so she says, “She’s here for her MRI results. We’ve been in the process of treating a protrusion on her spine.”

Jamie is positive everyone in this office must think he’s on drugs because Dr. Hadley is talking like he’s supposed to know this, but for the life of him he knows you’d never said a thing. 

“Your girlfriend has been in a severe amount of pain over the last few months, and we’ve finally been able to see the extent of the problem. Apparently she thought it would just go away, but it never did. So now she’s here with us.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Jamie says automatically. Because it’s true, innit? You’re not. You’ve been broken up for a month because he couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t take the irritation at attending his matches and the tossing and turning in bed at night and the fact that you were wound so tight that you’d snap at the most minor offenses. 

You hadn’t been surprised when Jamie said he couldn’t do it anymore, it’s over, and at the time he had wished that you’d shown just a tiny sliver of emotion. After all, a year and two months is a long time to be with someone for you to coldly slide him his key and then turn away as though he were a stranger. 

He could have sworn there was a glimmer of tears in your eyes, but they’d looked that way for a bit now so maybe it was just allergies. There’s no reason for you to have been in the verge of tears for the entire month before the breakup, right?

Right. 

But he can’t think about that now because Dr. Hadley is frowning at him in a way that so comically reminds him of Roy’s sister that he has to bite back a laugh. 

Everything’s all twisted. 

“I certainly hope your split was amicable,” Dr. Hadley says. “You’re the only one listed as her emergency contact. She needs someone to get her home safely.”

“Right,” says Jamie. “Yes. Fuck. Right. Um, what exactly is wrong with her?” 

Dr. Hadley shakes her head. “That’s her personal information to share with you at her prerogative. And we should probably go see her, I’m sure she doesn’t want to be alone for long.”

Jamie snorts at that. This doctor doesn’t know you at all. If you’ve received any type of bad news the last thing you want is people hanging around. 

Jamie used to pride himself on being the only one you’d let into the bad-new bubble. 

You don’t count with those other people, you’d said once while wrapped around Jamie so tight he thought he’d have to call Ted to bring a crowbar. You said, I don’t have to pretend around you. I don’t ever get tired of you.

Jamie bitterly thinks that that statement turned out to be a lie, but he shakes it off because you’ve only been separated a month, and apparently he’s still your emergency contact for a doctor he didn’t know you had been seeing and fuck if you didn’t look like the most pitiful thing he’d ever seen. He’ll pretend it’s ok for as long as it takes to get you home and comfortable, and then he’s calling this office to get his number switched off. 

So he follows Dr. Hadley back into the room as she softly says your name in order to break whatever trance has you studying the carpet like your final exam is in ten minutes. 

You can barely look at her as she whispers something about going home and being gentle, to which you nod and finally look at Jamie. 

He wonders if you recognize him, because the stare you have is so vacant that you might as well be looking at a stranger. 

“Is she on drugs?” he asks because it looks like you’re on drugs. 

Dr. Hadley shakes her head and holds out her arm to help you up. “No, she’s just in a lot of pain. And emotional distress. It’s a killer combo, and she’ll need extra gentle handling for a while. No sitting for too long, no bending, no lifting. There’s a back support at the front desk for you to take.”

Jamie thinks he hears something pointed in the way Dr. Hadley says, extra gentle. What, like he doesn’t know how bad an injury can take you out? He’s in the Premier League for fuck’s sake. He knows how to deal with a strained muscle. 

Dr. Hadley transfers your arm over to Jamie’s so smoothly that he barely understands what’s happening as she ushers you both out the door, thrusting a small foam roll into Jamie’s free hand. 

“For lumbar support,” she says. “Won’t help much, but it’s better than nothing.”

Jamie’s pretty sure he’s said thanks as you climb in the car and then he’s in the drivers seat and it’s dead quiet. 

“Right,” he says to the silence. “What the fuck.”

You’re picking at your nails something fierce. Jamie has to fight the urge to take your hand in his. A month of separation is not long enough for this shit. 

“Can you just drive?” you ask in a broken voice. “I don’t want to be sitting for longer than I have to.”

There’s a new pitch in your voice, one Jamie’s never heard before, so he doesn’t argue. He doesn’t turn on the radio or a playlist or a podcast or anything, just drives in silence. He knows if it’s quiet long enough, you’ll talk. 

He’s the opposite. He doesn’t need time to crack wide open, just a kind touch or a soft glance and he’s an open book. He was always shocked how early into your relationship you’d figured that out. A soft, “What’s on your mind, Jaim?” and he was unloading about whatever stress or fear he had. 

He’s two minutes away from your flat when you break the silence. “I have gradual onset paralysis,” you say in a voice devoid of emotion. “‘Gradual onset’ means it happens over time. Paralysis means, well…paralysis.”

Jamie can hear what you’re saying and he understands it, but what catches him is the way you’re like nothing more than a hollow body. Not cracking a joke, not picking a fight. Just- empty. 

Jamie says a long and drawn out “Fuuuckk,” because what else can you say? It’s not really his business to comfort you or to pry, except he’s the one the doctor called, so he allows himself one question. 

“How did it happen?”

Last he knew, you were healthy as a horse. 

“Two disks in my spine popped,” you reply, still in that same awful emotionless voice. “They’re not really sure how, could’ve been any number of things. Anyway, it got into my nerves. And my spinal cord. And it’s messing things up and it’s only going to get worse. The scans were to see if they could operate, because sometimes you can remove the shards. Or whatever it is. But I guess they can’t, because if they tried I’d definitely be paralyzed. So all I can do now is be in pain and wait for my legs to shut down.”

Jamie doesn’t know how to respond to any of that but he’s saved from thinking of an adequate response because he’s at your flat. 

It was smart of you not to sell it when you’d moved in with Jamie. He wonders if you knew the breakup was inevitable. 

He hops out and opens the door like a gentleman, offering his hand like he’s some Mr. Darcy-type shit, except you had both agreed that Roy was Mr. Darcy and he was Bingley. So it doesn’t fit at all except as soon as you’re done clutching his hand so you can get out without unnecessary pain, his hand flexes itself like he’s in that damn movie. 

It wasn’t even a conscious choice, just a thing his hand decided to do, and he definitely thinks he’s going to have to talk to Ted about this. Or maybe Sam. Sam knows shit and is good at empathy. Maybe he’ll know what to say when your ex-girlfriend tells you she’s not going to walk ever again. 

Jamie follows you to the door as you fiddle with the lock and push it open with a sigh. For a moment he doesn’t know if he should go inside, but it smells like honey and cinnamon because it’s the beginning of fall and he thinks that he should at least make sure you’ll be alright. 

He notices you’re moving weird. All stiff, like. You’re trying to get an icepack out of the freezer but you can’t maneuver in a way that’s comfortable so Jamie grabs it and hands it to you. 

You mumble, “Thanks,” and Jamie catches a glimpse of the perpetual glimmer in your eye. 

“D’you need me to call someone?” he asks. “I can get Keeley down here. Or fucking… Ted. Or Colin.” He doesn’t say Sam, because he needs Sam. He can’t talk to Sam if he’s here with you. 

You shake your head. Jamie wonders if it hurts to talk, but he remembers how much you hate the sound of your voice when you’re crying. 

You take a slow, shallow breath to collect yourself. “I’m ok,” you finally say. “Not much anyone can do, and you’ve got training. I- I didn’t know they’d call you. I still have to switch your number with someone else. I’m probably going to ask Keeley since my family’s still far away.”

“Right,” Jamie says. Not much else to say. Except- 

“You were seeing that bone doctor when we were together, and you didn’t fucking say anything?”

It’s accusatory and he knows it, but he can’t for the life of him say it kinder. Ted’s always on about communication and shit, and that is not communication. 

You shuffle over to the couch and use it to help you lay face down in the floor. The icepack is precariously balanced on the small of your back. 

“Didn’t know how to tell you,” comes your muffled voice. “Least, I figured out how to tell you too late. What was I gonna say, ‘Sorry I’ve been a complete bitch to you for four weeks, I’ve got shit floating around in my spine that makes me hurt so bad I want to die?’ Sounds fucking stupid.”

Jamie wants to say, Swear jar because it’s a long-standing joke, but he catches the words right before they reach the tip of his tongue. 

“You could’ve said something,” he replies instead. “Chronic pain’s shit. It’s really shit and it makes you act like shit to the people you care about. It’s not an excuse, but it’s a reason.” As the words are coming out of his mouth, Jamie is reminded of a time when the roles were reversed, and you were giving him the “excuse versus reason,” speech. 

You’d said, You’re dad’s an abusive prick, Jamie. Makes sense that you’d have a lot of negative emotions. 

Fuck, if only you’d said something sooner. Maybe this would be something that you’d be cracking jokes about, or Jamie would be holding your hand, or he’d be laying right next to you as he runs his fingers through your hair. 

But your muscles spasm so that thought gets banished as you bite on your forearm in an effort not to yell. 

“Fucking hell,” Jamie says. “I don’t think you’re sorted on your own. I’m calling Ted.”

He walks to the other room so he can pretend he can’t hear your protests. 

—

Ted leaves training to Roy, Beard, and Nate. What’s the point in having four coaches if one of ‘em can’t leave for family emergencies?

Sure, you’re not actually family, but that’s Ted for you. He doesn’t do casual friendships. 

Jamie is out the door like a shot as soon as Ted knocks with a “Sorry, coach,” that Ted barely has a chance to wave off. 

Ted doesn’t say much once he’s inside, just rambles on about training and Kansas and Henry. He’s clattering around in your kitchen and you can’t find it in yourself to care what he’s doing so you just keep laying on the floor, willing your back to stop hurting. 

Finally, he comes over and sets down a smoothie in a short glass with a straw. 

“It’s so you can drink it without moving,” he explains. 

“I don’t think I can do this,” you say more to the couch legs than to Ted.

He sighs from where he’s crouched down next to you. “You don’t really have a choice, darlin’. You have to do this. The question is, are you gonna go through it alone?”

You shrug as best as you’re able. 

“Wrong answer,” says Ted, standing up. “You’ve got a whole crew of people here who are gonna root for you and support you with whatever you need. All you got to do is ask, sweetheart.”

Ah, fuck, you’re crying again and Ted can definitely tell because your shoulders are shaking. He’s pretty sure you’d want to save face so he stands up and says, “Beard’s coming over after training. Says he wants to figure out how to modify your house for a wheelchair or something. Thought I’d make us all dinner so we’re not so hangry when he mentions taking an ax to anything.”

The mental image of Coach Beard chopping down your stairs is enough to make you smile a little through your tears.

—

Waiting is really shitty. Like, really shitty. Every day is the same thing: tingly legs, shooting pains, phantom cramps. The worst was when Dani and Richard were over and you stood up to get something from the fridge, and your legs decided at that moment to lose feeling. You panicked with your arms held out for balance as you swayed back and forth for a moment, willing your feet to fucking move. They did, but not before Dani and Richard were on you in a flash, ready to catch you if you fell.

“Well that was weird,” you joke in an effort to cut the tension. They laugh, but you still catch their worried glance.

“You do not have to put on a brave face for us,” Dani says. “If you want to joke, we will joke. But if you want to cry, we will cry too.”

“You can cry,” Richard says, “I will just pour more wine.”

You laugh. There’s been a steady stream of Greyhounds at your flat for the last week and a half. Everyone and their mother (quite literally) has come by to see you. Your own parents were coming in a week to stay indefinitely while you sorted things out.

You wonder if it’s easier to lose control of your legs slowly or all at once? On the one hand, you at least have notice. But on the other hand, the long, drawn-out waiting feels like slow torture. Every day you wake up from restless sleep and experimentally wiggle your toes. Every day, you check off one more box on your mental calendar as you count down to a date that doesn’t even properly exist.

The only person who hasn’t visited is Jamie. You don’t blame him, though. Keeley’s come round almost every single day and has been successfully switched to your emergency contact. She’s the one you’re calling as soon as you discover you can’t move.

You’re pretty sure it’s getting closer. Your legs fall asleep more frequently and things are all numb. It’s like you know you’re in pain, but it’s not quite registering with your nerves.

It fucking sucks.

—

You don’t believe in intuition like spirits and all that, but you believe in it in that your brain can pick up things that you couldn’t if you were actually trying.

That’s why you’re pretty sure this is it.

Walking is pretty much a no-go right now, so you stiff-leg yourself to the couch and sprawl out as comfortably as you can.

You call Keeley, and she’s over in no time.

“Hi babes,” she says as soon as she’s through the door, “Can I call Rebecca for girls’s night?”

“Sure,” you say, “Might as well live it up.”

Keeley replies, “Great! She’ll be here in ten minutes,” and you laugh, really actually laugh, because of course Keeley’s already called her.

Rebecca swoops in all smiles and no sympathy which is great because if one more person pushes their lower lip out at you, you’re going to scream. She’s brought drinks and Keeley’s pulling out snacks and you’re going to talk and giggle until you fall asleep, ready for what the morning has.

“Is Shandy making a move on that one player?” Rebecca asks Keeley from the couch. 

“Nah,” Keeley calls back, “He said he wasn’t interested right now. Still hung up, I think.”

“What player?”  you ask. You know what Shandy’s like, and you feel for the poor guy.

Rebecca and Keeley are silent before Keeley says, “You wouldn’t know him.”

“Bullshit,” you reply. “I know everyone on that team and I know you haven’t signed anyone new recently. Is it Colin?” 

Rebecca shakes her head and gives Keeley a look. Keeley shrugs. “You’re the one who brought it up, babes.”

Rebecca turns to you. “It’s Jamie,” she says. “She’s been trying to bag him ever since Zava showed up.”

You shake your head. “She’s not right for him. He deserves someone better than that.”

Keeley’s back from the kitchen and scrutinizing your expression. “And what exactly do you mean by better?” she asks.

You laugh. “Oh no, not me. I wasn’t talking about me. No, I’m not- he needs someone different. Like, I don’t know, Roy’s sister, maybe? She’s great and a doctor to boot. Very caring too.”

“You’re caring,” Keeley says slowly, “And anyway, Molly doesn’t like him like that. They’re just friends.”

“Hang on, are you putting yourself in the same bracket as Shandy?” Rebecca interjects.

You shrug. “I was a complete bitch the last month we were together. There’s no excuse for it. I’m just surprised he lasted as long as he did.”

“You were in fucking pain!” Keeley exclaims. “You said you weren’t sleeping and everything fucking hurt and you couldn’t even think straight.”

You grab a handful of candy from a bowl. “Keels, I appreciate the sentiment, but I majorly fucked it. Like, there’s no going back. So he can date whoever he wants as long as it’s not fucking Shandy. Can we please, please move on?”

Rebecca’s eyes are narrowed but they both acquiesce. “Keeley, what about your love life? I’m sure it’s boring as usual.”

Keeley shrieks and smacks her with a pillow. “Fuck off,” she replies. “I’ll have you know it’s going very well…”

—

You were right. You wake up still on the couch tangled in Keeley’s arms, and the standard toe-wiggle just… doesn’t happen. It’s quiet, the early morning type, the kind where the sunlight isn’t so harsh and birds are chirping softly and all of Richmond hasn’t quite got up to begin their day. 

As you look at your unmoving toes, the first thing you feel is a rush of relief. The waiting’s over, you think. 

You look over to the wheelchair that’s been leaning patiently against the wall all this time. Here’s the first day of forever. You’re in no rush for it to start, so you let Keeley’s little snores and Rebecca’s heavy breathing lull you back to sleep. 

—

It’s definitely a learning curve. And it’s frustrating. And if one more person catches you crying out of sheer rage, you’re going to start throwing things. But like Ted said, you don’t really have a choice. 

Your mom said, “The only way out is through,” then grinned at the murderous glare you shot her way. She opened her phone and pulled up a picture of you, age three. “Same lovely expression as always,” she remarks cheerfully. That cracks your frown. You always were a funny kid. 

It takes a while to figure out how to get places. Keeley (the absolute angel) volunteered, but she’s busy with the PR firm and quite frankly, a little too delicate to help you into a car. You made the mistake of saying this exactly one time and because subject to a rant about how she’s “not weak, just PETITE FOR FUCK’S SAKE!!”

Roy had punctuated her argument with a couple “That’s fucking right, babe"s all while rolling his eyes behind her back. It made you giggle. 

The general consensus was that at any given reasonable hour (or unreasonable if you’re Richard or Bumbercatch) a Greyhound or coach would be able to get you where you’re needed. And today, that place is Nelson Road. 

“How often does Jamie come visit?” Jan Maas asks, straightforward as ever. 

“Um, never,” you reply. “We broke up, remember?”

“Right,” agrees Jan Maas. “We all know that, I just assumed you had gotten back together.”

You laugh. How absurd. “And why on earth would you assume that?”

“Because he talks about you all the time,” comes his prompt reply. 

Huh. That’s interesting. You haven’t received so much as a single emoji from Jamie, but hadn’t thought a thing of it. But this, this is strange. This does not fit into your idea of how broken up people act. 

“Weird,” you say. “Wonder what the fuck that’s about.”

Jan Maas shrugs and moves to lift you from the car. 

—

It’s weird to be at Nelson Road, number one because it’s been FOREVER, number two because you’re eye-level with all sorts of things you’d never noticed before (ahem, part of the wall Roy kicked that no one cared to patch up), and number three because the last time you were here, it was as Jamie Tartt’s girlfriend. 

Jan holds open the door as you roll in, ready to face whatever lies in wait. 

It turns out whatever is a very excited Ted and Beard as well as a neutral Roy who present you a coaching jacket and a whistle. 

“You’re coaching with us today because that little rat bastard Nate went to the dark side,” Beard says. 

You remark, “Tell us how you really feel,” earning a snort from Roy and a chuckle from Trent Crimm. 

“Oh yeah,” Ted says, “this is Trent. He’s writing a book.”

“Cool,” you say, “but you do know I know jack shit about coaching?”

Beard shrugs. “Neither do we. Worked out pretty well so far.” That earns another snort from Roy. 

“Right,” you say. “Well, I guess I’m up for anything.”

“You mean ‘down,’” says Ted. “Oh I’m sorry, is it too soon?”

“Never,” you reply. “It’s never too soon to make trauma-related puns and this world, it’s either laugh or cry. So fuck it, I’m going to laugh.”

“Fuck yes,” grunts Roy before turning on his heel to yell at the team to GET THE FUCK ON THE PITCH YOU LITTLE PRICKS!

—

You don’t do much except sit there and watch as the coaches yell and point and run drills. It’s a chore to remind yourself not to check out Jamie’s butt as he runs by so you start thinking not yours, not yours, like a mental mantra. 

He’s not looking at you so you won’t look at him and you’re sure it won’t be a problem because there are so many people to look at and talk to, except lunch rolls around (haha) and you sit at the head of a table and Jamie’s on the bench right next to you. So. There goes the no eye-contact plan. 

You take exactly two bites of your sandwich before thinking fuck this and pushing yourself back so you can roll away. You can just take the elevator to see Becca. 

You’ve made it a good way down the hall when you hear Jamie calling your name while saying, “Wait,” so you move a little faster. 

But it’s still new and you’re painfully reminded that arms are not legs so he catches you with ease. 

 “The fuck are you running away for?” he asks, and you want to point out that technically, you weren’t running. Metaphorically though, he’d be right. 

“I’m not running,” you reply. “I was just going to see Rebecca.”

“Bullshit,” he says. “I know you, and that was running. Is it because of me?”

“No,” you say, and you realize how much you’ve been looking up today. Your fucking neck needs a break so you rub it and look straight ahead, past Jamie at a life-size decal of O’Brien on the opposite wall. 

“Why would I be running away from you? You’re not- I’m the shitty ex in this situation. I’m the one who fucked things up, Jamie, so… you don’t have to like, pretend that it’s your problem. I actually think it would be better if you were just mad and avoided me instead of whatever the hell is currently happening.”

Jamie rubs his jaw. He should be exasperated, he should, but instead the gears in his mind are turning. A few words stick out to him and then it’s like the final puzzle piece has clicked into place. 

“Hang on,” he says slowly. “Hold the fuck up. Did you mess things up on purpose?”

The moment the words are out of his mouth he wants to take them back and apologize, because there’s no way they’re actually true, except you have a look on your face that can only be described as guilty. 

“Fuuckkk,” Jamie breathes out and you hurriedly interject, “It wasn’t intentional! At least, not at first. It started because I was irritable because I hurt a lot, and then I convinced myself that I was faking it so I got mad at myself for being a little liar. And then I couldn’t sleep because I hurt so bad and everything was making me uncomfortable so I started snapping at you. I noticed it pretty quick so I figured I’d get the pain checked out and sorted because I didn’t think pulled muscles were supposed to last this long. And it turned out that it wasn’t a pulled muscle but some of my disks were all weird, and then one day in between physical therapy and the chiropractor, I fell on my back and jostled everything wrong and it fucking popped.”

Jamie thinks he knows exactly when that was. He remembers you saying something about falling while walking to your car after work and him asking if you needed ice. It was at the tail end of things, and he’d taken your stiffness figuratively as opposed to literally. Like, you were acting all cold because you hated him, not because you couldn’t move. 

“So,” you continue, “I just leaned into it. I mean, Dr. Hadley was only one of my doctors, but she’s the one who told me I- you know, could end up like this. She said if things popped and it got into my spinal cord or fluid or whatever and they couldn’t get it out, it was only a matter of time before it messed everything up. They only way to stop it at that point would be to not move so either way, I end up stuck.” 

You half-sob, half-laugh. “I didn’t know how to tell you and I could tell you were already annoyed with me so I just decided to let it happen. You’re better off without me, anyway. I hate asking for help and I hate when people give me empathetic looks or what-fucking-ever, and I was going to have to ask you for a lot of help. You don’t even fucking have time for that, Jamie.”

Jamie is at a loss for words, and you’ve run out of things to say. 

You stare at each other in the hallway by the elevator, breathing heavily. You’ve both triggered each other’s fight-or-flight response, and it seems you’re both down for a fight.

“Right,” Jamie says finally, “ok, yeah, ok. You didn’t tell me because you didn’t want me to have to deal with this?”

You nod. 

“Right,” he says again. “That’s fucked up.”

You don’t respond and he looks at you closely. “You know that’s fucked up, yeah?”

You shrug. 

“Jesus, babe.” Jamie runs his hands through his hair. He’s going to have to fix his headbands. “Alright,” he says yet again, “look. Dr. Sharon and me- we talk. And, you’re supposed to be able to talk to people about shit like this. Like, me playing football isn’t supposed to mean I don’t have time for the people I love. And if you’re feeling that way or if you’re hurting, you have to tell me so I don’t think you’re being all pissed off because you hate me. That’s the whole point of love, babe. You take care of each other’s shit.”

“Jamie, I can’t get places easily anymore. I can’t drive and I can’t go up steps. I will never be able to storm the pitch to kiss you or walk with you in Brazil. I get mad really easily because everything’s so fucking frustrating and I just want to punch something.” You shake your head. “You don’t deserve any of that. You need someone who can be there for you and isn’t a total pill to be around.”

“Are you fucking trying to push me away?” he asks.

“Yes!” you exclaim. “Obviously!”

“Well fucking don’t. You almost had me the first time, but good luck getting rid of me now.”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

“For fuck’s sake, just kiss,” groans Will, walking by with an armful of laundry. 

“Fuck off, William!” you both say in unison and then Jamie’s on one knee, eye-level with you and brushing a thumb across your chin. 

“Fucking hell, love,” he breathes. “You have to remember that you can talk to me, yeah? Just promise you’ll remember.”

You nod, unable to speak. 

“Good,” he says. “We’re giving this another go. And if you can’t kiss me on the pitch, might as well do it here, yeah?”

[bleucommelhiver]

look alive, ulric

nyx ulric week 2024 | day 3: teamwork RATING: T for language because it's Nyx and Pelna c'mon now WORDS: 1126 SUMMARY: On the day of the signing, the only people Nyx and Pelna can trust are each other.

The feeling of unease that’s been gnawing at the edge of Nyx’s consciousness since yesterday morning hasn’t let up. Today’s the big day. After today, he’ll put in a request for some much needed leave. Bring Crowe’s body back to Galahd, with Libertus if he’ll give him the time of fucking day, give her a proper burial. Check out the old haunts. Pay his respects to his lil’ sis and to pa. Finally see ma. Maybe you’d come along too.

He just needs to fucking get through today.

At least that’s what he keeps telling himself.

But as he makes his way past the crowds and barricades to the roundabout at the foot of the Citadel, the quietude of the day has him on high alert. Something deep in his gut is waiting for the metaphorical pin to drop.

The comm from command buzzes in his ear: “Niflheim contingent has left the hotel. Less than three hours until the ceremony. Bolster the Citadel Guard.”

Great. Looks like the circus is about to begin. Time to look alive, Ulric.

His comm buzzes again, this time it’s Luche on a private frequency. “Nyx, is the Princess with you?”

What kind of asinine question was that? Luche knows full well the captain’s relegated him to every form of grunt work since the last mission. Chaperoning the princess on the historic day of the signing was, apparently, out of the scope of his duties.

Nyx answers anyways, curious where Luche’s going with this. “No, I’m on duty at the Citadel.”

“Well, the Nifs just left for the ceremony. And she wasn't with them.”

The fuck? He was relieved from princess duty last night by Sonitus. Why’s Luche radioing him about it? The sense of unease in the pit of his stomach deepens.

It’s none of his business. He’s part of the Citadel Guard today, and all he needs to do is to get through today. It’s none of his fucking business, but his captain’s words echo in his head anyways: “Your orders are to protect her. Not to look, not to listen, not to think.”

Fuck.

Gods-fucking-dammit.

Nyx abandons his post and makes a beeline for his apartment. Along the way, he taps his comm, ready to test a theory.

“Hey Pelna, Luche says the Princess is missing.”

“No shit?” His surprised response comes quickly. “Today of all days. Real convenient.”

“Yeah, seems like the Nifs got us running about like rats.”

There’s a brief pause before he replies, “No shit.”

As Nyx rounds the corner to his apartment, his phone begins to buzz. He mutes his comm piece before picking up.

“Trust no one, huh, Nyx?”

“Figured if there’s anyone left in the Glaive that Crowe’s warned, it’d be you.”

“So, what’s the plan, hero? Off to rescue the princess all by yourself?”

“I got you, don’t I? The Robin to my Batman. Or would you be Alfred in this case?”

“Fuck off, asshole,” Pelna laughs. “How can I help?”

Nyx throws open the door to his apartment and grabs the watch from where he left it on his desk. Its face is displaying a steady 35:2720 and -13:0318 instead of the dance of numbers from earlier this morning.

“I’m running on a hunch here, but I’m going to send you some coordinates from Crowe’s watch. Can you pinpoint the location?”

“Yeah, hold on.” Nyx can hear the rapid-fire click of keys as Pelna logs in his credentials. As he inputs the coordinates, Pelna asks, “You hear from your other princess?”

Nyx sucks in a breath. “No. Not since yesterday.”

“My texts haven’t been getting through to her, thought you might know something about it.”

Nyx pauses. He was beginning to think that all his undelivered texts were some short of glitch with his phone: first Crowe, now you. Fuck, he doesn’t have time to dwell on this. It’s got to be a coincidence. You should be in Altissia now, far away and safe from whatever shitshow is taking place today. Regardless, you’re more than capable and he knows you’re fine. You have to be.

“Don’t worry about her Pels, she’s safe.”

“Right…” Pelna doesn’t sound too convinced, but Nyx doesn’t blame him, he’s not privy to your whereabouts. “It’s twenty miles south of Insomnia — outside the Wall. What the hell was Crowe doing way out there?”

“No, no, they sent her to—” Nyx catches himself. “I need another favor Pels, pull those coordinates up on the radar. What do you see?”

“Shit. There’s a whole fleet of airships sitting at that spot.”

“Niflheim.”

“Yeah, and from the looks of it, not the celebratory committee.”

Nyx runs a hand over his face in frustration. He should’ve known the armistice was bullshit; should’ve known the Nifs couldn’t be trusted. What’s the play now? If he alerts King Regis and mobilizes the troops, there’s a good chance the Nifs would catch whiff, especially if their ranks have truly been infiltrated. With the malcontent that’s been brewing from the protests on the streets to the soldiers in the barracks, he’s not confident any attempt at clandestine movements wouldn’t be immediately exposed.

So what? Does he just stay in the Crown City, pretend there isn’t a war fleet knocking at their door, and just…monitor the situation? Forget about the missing princess?

‘You’re not to look, not to listen, not to think,’ Captain Drautos’ words echo in his head again. Yeah, well, guess the King can count his lucky stars that he’s always been kind of shit at following orders.

Speaking of…

“Where’s the captain?”

“Should be on escort detail at the Citadel.”

Nyx doesn’t remember spotting the captain earlier. He scans the frequencies on his comm again, but it seems like their captain’s still AWOL.

At his silence, Pelna asks, “You thinking…?”

“Can’t be sure. Can’t rule it out either, but I need you to ready the Glaive for action.”

“What? You planning to deploy without the captain’s orders?”

“No.” Nyx dons his armor on over his uniform, pulling its zipper up and buckling its fasteners to secure the leather pauldrons in place. As he checks his weapons, he explains, “There’s no point bringing everyone along for a wild goose chase. As long as the Wall remains standing, their fleet has no way of reaching us, but if Crowe’s right, we need to be on alert for something inside the Walls.”

“You going dark?”

“Yeah, I’ll recon and assess. Low chance I won’t need to engage, but keep this to yourself for now. Give me an updated SITREP when you can.”

“Affirmative. I got your six.”

“Yeah. You always do, Pels.”

With that, Nyx ends the call and sets off.

Looks like getting through the day just got a lot more complicated.

NOTES: Please accept this excerpt from ch. 9 of Wayward Children as tribute, since as per usual, I've somehow deluded myself into thinking I'd be able to work on multiple pieces at once :)

[mishapocalyse]

You must be slammed with Soldier boy stuff buuut-

Consider: Soldier boy’s supe sweetheart (real not for the camera) from back in the day is still alive and when she joins him and the boys she becomes a mother figure to the group

<3

Back To The Good Ole' Days

Description: Without all the publicity stunts, the spotlights, the cameras, Soldier Boy found his way back to you. The same woman he fell in love with all those years ago.

Pairings: Soldier Boy x Reader// (platonic!)The Boys x Reader

Warnings: Soldier Boy is his own warning, Language, Soldier Boy pining over the reader.

Note: GAHHHHHH ya'll are way too damn sweet. I love the requests! This is another favorite of mine. I am excited to have written this! Also! I am loaded with Soldier Boy, and I do not care how many requests for him I get because hot damn...I love that man with all of my being, and he is a super big comfort character.

"Ben?" You hollered through the house. "Is that you?" Peering from the staircase, you shuffled down the steps in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Your eyes widened, standing in the middle of the front doorway stood the man you thought you would never see again.

"Ben!" You cried out, as he caught you in his arms. Giggling while he spun you around.

"You look the same, sweetheart." Ben cupped your face in his hands.

"So do you. Wow. I don't know what else to say." You stuttered, just holding him close to you was the happiest moment in your life at the moment.

"I know. I'm still getting used to the times. Which is why I'm here. I need you to come with me. I need your help with something." You pulled away from him, a worried expression on your face.

Your first couple of months with Butcher, Ben and the Boys was all in all the most chaotic mess you could have ever agreed to. It was exceptionally great, some of the most interesting people you had ever come across. They were your family, and reuniting with Ben was top notch.

"Butcher, don't forget, I hung your jacket up to dry on the clothesline. " You called after him.

"Oi! Thanks, love." He replied to you.

"Hughie, do you want something to eat? You look hungry." Hughie shook his head no.

"I'm going to make you something anyway. You're too skinny, boy." You laughed .

Soldier Boy watched as you doted on the others. Something he rarely got to see from being gone from your life. He took to cleaning his shield after partaking in his normal array of pharmaceuticals. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize that your were standing in front of him.

"Hey baby girl." He cooed, lowering his shield to the ground to wrap his arms around your waist. He pressed his face firmly against your stomach.

"Hey Ben. I made you some lunch. Your favorite." He let you go to look up at the plate you held in your hands.

"Oh honey. You didn't have to." He took the plate from your hands setting it on the table.

"I wanted to. I always made you food when you came home. I mean, when you were home that is." You brushed your fingers through Ben's hair as he pulled you in closer to sit on his lap.

"Well-I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon." He reassured you with a feathery kiss to your lips.

"Oh how I missed you, Ben." You whispered loud enough for him to hear you. His grip tightened on your hips.

"We've got time to catch up. Don't worry sweetheart. I love you."

[stevesbipanic]

so I was thinking about what if eddie is friends with robin before she meets steve. Eddie knows that robin is a lesbian and robin knows he is gay, so they start fake dating to keep people shut (mainly robin's parents). But then steve starts working at scoops ahoy, and when he becomes friends with robin, he also meet eddie, and he feels so guilty and confused for feeling attracted to his friend's bf

I hope this mess make some sense

I can totally see them being friends already. Eddie was for sure a band kid before he quit since it wasn't his kind of music. Plus we know he's a drama kid since that's where the list said he might be and he clearly had access to drama props just look at his throne. Anyway here is an idea of how the rest of your ask could go.

-------------------------------------------------------

Steve felt like shit.

He finally had a friend his age that wasn't an asshole and was actually a good person and he was fucking it up like he fucks up everything. Robin was great, she was funny and didn't take shit from him. Conversations felt easy with her and for a moment he thought he might get a crush on her until, "Who was that you were talking to?"

"Eddie? He's my boyfriend," the answer seemed simple but felt off somehow but Steve brushed it off crushing any embers of a crush on Robin. "Oh cool, you should introduce us next time, how am I supposed to be your work boyfriend if I'm not friends with your real boyfriend." Robin had laughed at that.

Soon Eddie was coming over a lot, cracking jokes with Robin and he got over his distaste for the old King Steve when he was given the Robin Buckley seal of approval. Steve had warmed at that, felt that he was actually improving as a person if Robin and Eddie could see he had changed. Eddie would even visit when it was just Steve on shift, bringing tapes to educate Steve on real music or to steal free samples and cool air away from the summer heat.

Soon though it had all come crashing down. Eddie had started using nicknames for Steve but he had called him sweetheart the last time he visited and Steve had blushed. It had started a spiral for Steve, he didn't understand his emotions and feelings, questioning if he still liked girls, if he'd ever liked girls. But worst of all he felt like he was betraying his new best friend by crushing on her boyfriend. Robin and Eddie deserved their happiness and didn't deserve Steve ruining anything. He hadn't had the chance to talk to Robin about it, to confess his shitty friendness to her before it happened.

Before the Upside Down happened.

Now Steve, sitting in a mall bathroom, bloody and blue, felt so much guilt. Guilt for his feelings for Eddie, guilt that he might never see him again, guilt that he was lying to Robin, guilt that Robin had been dragged into this. Maybe that's why he had practically volunteered himself to be tortured over her. He could keep her safe and if he died she could get out and be happy with Eddie.

Maybe that's why he told her, too much guilt and no filter left.

"You OD over there, Harrington?"

"I'm sorry, Robbie."

"What's wrong, Steve, we're ok, we're going to be ok."

"No, no, I'm sorry you're even in this mess."

"Hey, the kid's right, you die I die ok. You're my best friend, Steve."

"I'm a shit friend, Robs, you deserve better."

"You're not shit, Steve, you saved me."

"Should've died down there, Dad says all us queers should be dead anyway, maybe he's right, you deserve better than me."

Robin was quiet. The bathroom was dead quiet.

Eventually, although it felt like an eternity, Robin pulled herself under the stalls to Steve.

"Steve? Look at me."

Steve slowly looked up at her, ready to hear everything she had to say about how he was disgusting and that he should've died.

"Eddie isn't my boyfriend." That's not what he was expecting to hear.

"W-What?"

"Eddie isn't my boyfriend. He just says he is so that no-one knows that I like girls, only girls."

"Holy shit."

"Holy shit. So no, I'm very glad you're alive, and I'm very glad you're my best friend ok. You die, I die."

Steve started crying now, quiet sobs pulled out from inside him as he fell forward into Robin, holding her tight.

"I don't know what I am, I think I still like girls, I liked Nancy, but, but, there's this guy I really really like, Robbie, and I don't know what that makes me."

"It makes you, Steve, and that's perfectly ok, we'll figure out what you are later. I think the guy you like likes you too, so let's make sure we get out of here to see him again yeah?"

Robin had a knowing smirk and Steve had never felt more seen. He fucked his head blushing again.

Through the blur of the blood and the screams and the glass shattering, Robin and Steve didn't seperate, didn't even seperate when they were sitting in the back of an ambulance as Steve got his head checked out.

"Robin! Steve!"

They both looked up as they heard their names frantically screamed. The paramedic gave them the all clear and let them out, they looked around to see who was calling them. Strong arms crashed into them pulling them towards their body.

"Fuck you're ok."

"Eddie? What're you doing here?"

"What am I doing here! Robin the mall is on fire it's all over the fucking news and I knew you two were on shift since I was coming over later and fuck I thought you were dead, the shop's phone wouldn't pick up and I just, I—"

"We're ok, Ed's. We're ok."

Eddie carefully ran his fingers over Steve's bruised face, the fear still clear in his eyes.

"I can't lose you guys, I can't lose you, Stevie."

"Wowww Eddie not too worried about you girlfriend?" Robin said smirking again.

Eddie's eyes widened, "I um I mean of course I was much more worried about you, babe."

"EW never say that again, don't worry, Eddie, he knows."

"He knows?"

"Mhm turns out dingus here has another thing in common with us."

"Oh."

If Eddie held Steve's hand all the way home, that was between them and Robin, just as it should be.

[wyvchard]

I'm only doing this for me.

Idea from this prompt by @annablogsposts

Content warnings: mentions of beatings, humiliation, blood, traumatic flashbacks, implications of conditioning, poison, implications of death and murder

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Stupid. Absolutely stupid." I grumbled as I grinded the grain as punishment. "Just one wrong spell and you're stuck in some kind of backwater world with revolts."

It has been a month since I've been thrown into this world as punishment for blowing a crater in the spot where the sheep hang out. She also suppressed my powers to "only use them for emergencies".

Yeah, right! I got dropped right in the middle of a freaking revolt! This is an emergency but nooo, I gotta survive without most of my powers as punishment.

Thankfully, my farming skills really came in clutch. Not so thankfully, I get a wonderful view every morning.

The former prince, dethroned during the revolt, is just outside my window, broken as ever. They threw away the rotten eggs at him once again. Sheesh. Why did they have them in place anyway? I could have used those eggs for a snack days ago.

I'll never understand these people. They're beating him once again like it's his fault. It's not. There are a whole host of factors in place for this to happen. A lot of which is arguably out of his control.

Seriously, if you're going to have a revolt, at least end the lives of every person involved. You aren't any better if you-

I sighed, only pausing when I finally noticed blood on the mud.

... I can't stand this.

I continue with my chores, making sure to keep an eye on the prince every time I could. As much as I'd want to help, I'm not an idiot. I'm here to blend in, not stand out.

At least, that's what I hope my assignment is. Playing house with people is not my strongest suit.

I watched the tiny sparks from my palm as I went as far as my range can allow and casted healing magic on him.

But I won't get rid of the injuries fully. It has to just be enough to keep him hanging on. It'd get him into more trouble and pain if they noticed.

That or kill him. It could go either way. Both are equally bad.

So, I'll have to wait for a much later time. And try to gain reputation so I can "play" with him (ugh) without anyone saying it's unfair for me to do so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's late at night. Perfect time for my plan. I sighed, making sure to wear my ring so people would overlook me much easier.

"Hey, punk. Still alive?"

"...What do you even want?" His voice was weakened, as if conditioned to submit. Just what did those people do?

"Hold still." I cupped his face, tilting it from side to side. "Yeah. That does look pretty bad." I took a breath. "You don't mind if I check the rest of your body for scars, yes?"

He trembled, causing me to have a far lower opinion of the ones I'm living with.

A bunch of sickos.

"Don't worry. I'll find a way to shove you down in my basement. Instead of this dingy place." I grinned, trying to reassure him.

The fear in his eyes told me that I chose my words wrong. Dang it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The month drew by quickly. Well, as quickly as you could. Doing chores, watching the poor prince get "punished" all over again, pretend to ignore it, sweet talk everyone else, sneak in once every few days when I can, and heal the damage while making sure the scars stay "visible".

This town deserves to be burned. Both the deposed leaders and the "free" people are the reason I still have misanthropic tendencies.

But still. For his sake, I'd play the part they want. I need to get him outta here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The blacksmith beat him bloody all over again. Great. I'd be running out of bandages at this point. Don't you know how expensive bandages are?

It's late at night. I see his curled up form, whimpering and trying to stop his sobs. His hair has been matted, his body smelling as you would expect. If I open another light, I'd probably lose sleep from what I'll see. And it will make people know I'm here.

I came with a water basin and a wash cloth. Even with healing magic, it's a danger if he gets infections.

"Y-you're back." He shivered as I washed his limbs, holding tightly so he doesn't flinch away. "... I thought you wouldn't."

I paused, noting that he was probably referring to the other one visiting the cell, the reason why he trembled when I checked for scars. Poor thing gets beaten more after some sicko checks how badly he was hurt.

... I'm glad that dirt found its way back to where it belongs. Below the ground. No one seems to have noticed the small prick of poison that took away its life.

"Well, I'm sorry. They're probably angry at you because a villager died and they think it has something to do with you."

"Maybe they're right." His tone remained broken. I can see it in his eyes. The hesitation, the fear, the distrust.

He wanted to come with me. But I suppose it would make sense. I wasn't that proactive in trying to save him.

"Why do you want to see me anyway?" He looked away. "... Is this some kind of sick game to you?"

"Maybe. I don't understand it either." I paused when he flinched after I touched a particularly nasty bruise, continuing after a few seconds.

It was silent once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey! Why are you so... I don't know. Passive? You're clearly just too busy to do chores to spend time with everyone. You just talk, that's it. Aren't you at least a little bit angry? They exploited us."

I looked at my fellow villager. "I just don't see the point." I adjusted my grip on the crates I was holding. "You see, I'm a jealous person. If I wanna have fun, I want it to be something only I can do."

The prince flinched at my words; he was standing there and forced to listen to the insults everyone was spouting right outside.

"I'm really... not the type to share. Whatever I decide to do with him? No one else can participate."

"... You're actually scary if you want to be."

"Eh. That's why I try to shut up." Otherwise, I'd probably cast a spell to destroy this awful horrid place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you just here to have fun with me? Is taking care of me some kind of sick game to you?" He was lying on the floor of the attic once again. Tears were threatening to fall down his face.

"I have to admit, there is some sense of satisfaction seeing your state." I approached him with a potion I made. "Take this. You lost a lot of blood over the past few days."

"W-what if I don't want to?"

"... Did someone poison you?"

The silence was all I needed to know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To whoever is in charge of whatever forces out there. How is it so hard to convince people to let me keep a single person with me for a night?!

I sigh. It's been 3 months since I came to this world. 2 since I began to sneak in to make sure the prince is alive. And 1 since he figured out I can make "medicine" that help him feel better.

I can't tell him I'm magic. It gets messy. I have my limits too.

The prince is laying on my lap as he tried to sleep. He had been whimpering at the sound of the heavy rain.

"... It sounds like screaming." He muttered, forcing his eyes to close. "It feels like every crack is the gate being broken down."

I pulled him up, handing him a cup of water. "Here. You'd been crying too much like a baby." I patted his head as he drank the water. "I don't like criers."

He laughed. He finally laughed. "I guess you don't like me too much, huh?"

I merely smiled as I finally see a sparkle in his eyes as he clung to me.

We stayed that way for a while until he finally fell asleep.

"Are you ready to return?"

I turned my head up and saw my master's magic on the ceiling.

"No. I have unfinished business."

"Do you need help?"

"... Yes." I am an expert in escaping alone. But not with someone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do you want to get out of this rundown place?" I asked him as I was treating his wounds. "With me?"

"... With you? What if you get hurt became of me? I don't want that."

"That wouldn't happen." I smiled. "They can't hurt me."

"So you were the one helping him! I should have known you were a sympathizer!" The blacksmith shouted, leaving us trapped as the only safe way out is behind the scoundrel.

"... Oh no." He muttered. "No. Nonono. No. I-i-i'm sorry." He was shaking before trying to push me away.

But I refuse to budge.

"And you were the one who poisoned him. I should have known." I crossed my arms while using my magic to tug the prince closer to me.

"Why would you stick with that disgusting freak? He's nothing but a parasite in this world! He'd bleed you dry just like the lords before him."

"Step aside. I don't need to answer to you." I hooked my arm around the prince while I prepared my spell to carry him.

"You do. Outside this attic are the villagers who will also beat you up."

"If you can catch us."

"What?"

"If you can catch us." I grinned, showing my fangs when I took my ring off my finger. I used my magic to blast a hole in the attic. "Come on!"

He didn't need to think for a second when he took my hand and jumped with me.

And then, we were flying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"... So that's what happened." My master furrowed her brow as she saw us back in her abode. "Well, take responsibility and take care of him."

"I will." I sighed. "... Sorry. I... didn't think things through. You'd never be able to go back home ever again."

"... I don't need to. That place isn't my home. Not anymore." He smiled at me, wearing clothes befitting of his status now, not the rags they forced him to wear. "I got you."

"It's only out of a whim. Don't expect me to protect you. Once you feel better, you're going to have to earn your keep here." I sigh. Why do I have to make things harder for myself? If only he wasn't so... pitiful.

"I'm grateful. Really. So I wanna pay you back. For everything." There was a small blush on his cheeks.

"Uh-huh. Well, you're a prince so you're quite educated, yes?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I am."

"Good. I'd probably need an assistant to deal with my responsibilities here."

My master mere chuckled. "What a lame excuse. Well, that's settled. I have something else to do."

She left, leaving the two of us alone.

"... I had a feeling you weren't ordinary." He fixed his posture on the plush chair.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Your eyes. They're the most beautiful shade of blue I'd ever seen."

"Well, thank you. But you can't sweet talk your way out of helping me."

"I don't plan to." He smiled. "I want to help you the same way you helped me."

"Well, you're going to be making up for it a lot. You should start by being healthy. I don't accept subpar work."

He only laughed hard.

At least he's finally happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[callmehere-iwillappear]

may have written Another cmh/dw crossover listen i j. i love them. uh. enjoy @remedyturtles

-

Leo doesn’t know how he got here – or why – but he would like it on record that he hates it. For one thing, no one can see him. Oh, sure, the Donnie here has goggles, but he hasn’t put them on once. Never mind the fact that he has no reason to, without knowing Leo is here. It’s not his fault – Leo knows it isn’t. Hell, it’s not anyone’s fault (besides whoever or whatever dropped him here without so much as a ‘have fun, I’ll pick you up in an hour’, and thanks for that, by the way).

But regardless of fault or lack thereof, it just… it reminds him too much of a time he’d rather not think about. When his family couldn’t see him, when they didn’t know he was there, when he was stuck watching them grieve and unable to do a thing about it.

It doesn’t help that he has to watch them interact with this universe’s Leo knowing that he doesn’t have that and never will again (even once the body is ready, it still won’t be the same). Oh, yeah, did he mention that? This universe also has a Leo. Which, to be fair, he should’ve expected going in, but it’d still come as a surprise to him when he walked into the living room to see another him just. Sitting there. 

Other-Leo can’t see him either, by the way. And yeah, again, he should’ve expected that. But some part of him had still hoped (irrationally, he knows it was irrational, he knows) that being the same person would grant him an exception.

Okay, they’re not actually the same person, not really. Versions of the same person, sure, but… there’s too many differences for Leo to say they’re the same. Other-Leo is missing an arm, for one, but more importantly… he’s still alive. And Leo’s glad about that, really! He is! He wouldn’t wish something like this on anyone else (okay, maybe a few people – or aliens – but shut up, that doesn’t count). And he wouldn’t be so selfish as to wish he could trade places with other-Leo. He just… wishes he was still alive, too.

Well. You can’t always get what you wish for. He knows that better than most. 

Anyway. He’s having a great time (no, that’s not sarcasm, why would you even think that) providing a running commentary to other-Leo and getting absolutely zero response back, when – something changes. Leo has no idea exactly what, but there's something different about other-Leo. Maybe it’s the way he holds himself. Maybe it’s the expression on his face. 

Or maybe it’s the way he almost seems like he's looking at Leo now, rather than through him. 

“Huh,” says other-Leo. “Am I hallucinating?”

Leo blinks. Looks behind him, then back at other-Leo. Blinks again, and points to himself questioningly. Because – what else would other-Leo be talking about? There's no way he should be able to see Leo without the goggles, but also, there's literally nothing else in this room he could be referring to. 

“Yes, you,” other-Leo says, and Leo's mouth drops open before he can stop it. “You definitely weren't here last time I was out.”

… What??

Leo has no idea what that means, but hey, more importantly – “You can see me?!”

He realizes a second too late that hearing might not be included in whatever fucked up package the multiverse has decided to give him this time, but other-Leo nods, so either he can in fact hear Leo or he's just really good at reading lips. 

“Should I… not be able to?” he asks, seeming genuinely confused.

“Uh. No??” Leo feels like he might be panicking. Just a little. He – look, he wasn't expecting to be able to interact with people here! “What – you couldn't before, why can you now-?”

“How long have you been here?” other-Leo asks, completely ignoring Leo's question. Maybe he can't hear Leo after all. Or maybe he's just being rude. 

“Like… a few hours,” Leo says anyway.

“Huh. Okay. I couldn't see you because you weren't here, then.”

And, sure, okay, that would make sense, except for the small fact that – “You couldn't see me five minutes ago, though!”

Other-Leo's eyes widen in realization. “Oh, right. I forgot not everybody knows about that. Yeah, that's because that wasn't me.”

And. 

HUH????

Leo gestures wildly, absolutely baffled, and other-Leo snorts. 

“I mean, I'm still a Leo. But this isn't my original body. I'm sharing it with this guy.” He raps his knuckles on his own forehead. “Not sure why I can see you when he couldn't, though. Oh – you can call me Sensei, if you want. Everyone else does.”

The word stirs up some – feelings in Leo, but he pushes them down. He doesn't know if this is. Well. That ‘Sensei’. Mr. Greatest Ninja That Ever Lived, Mr. Led An Entire Resistance Through The Apocalypse. And he could just ask, but. Well. Something in his gut twists at the thought, and he's not sure why. 

… Okay, maybe it has a little to do with the fact that asking would confirm whether or not the invasion happened in this world too, and maybe he doesn't particularly want to think about that and everything that’s implied along with it. Or maybe it’s that despite the talk he had with Casey, he still kind of feels like he could never possibly measure up to future-handsome-amazing him. But, y’know. Who's to say?

“So why were you so surprised that I can see you, anyway?” other-Leo – Sensei – asks. “Can most people not?”

Leo tries to think of a way to word it politely, before remembering that this is (sort of? Technically?) another him, and he probably doesn't need to sugarcoat it. 

“I mean. No? I kind of died. So. Surprise, ghosts are real, don't tell Mikey.” He grins awkwardly and does jazz hands. 

Sensei's face drops for a second, but he quickly picks it back up with a slightly strained smile and does his own jazz hands. Well, hand. “Ah, hey, me too. Bet that's why I can see you. Ghost solidarity or something.”

Leo would just like to reiterate, once again:

HUH???????????

“But – but everyone else can see you and interact with you!” he says, gesturing at Sensei's everything. Does he have some secret knowledge Leo doesn't? And if so, can he please share? Or maybe it's something exclusive to this universe, in which case, rude – but that still doesn't explain why Sensei can see him and other-Leo(????) can't – 

“No, I – okay, I explained this badly. This guy –” and he raps his knuckles on his forehead again. “Isn't dead. I am. It's how I ended up in his head.”

“Oohhh,” Leo says, like that makes literally any sense at all (spoiler alert: it doesn't). How does Sensei being dead equal being in other-Leo’s head? How come he didn’t end up a regular ghost like Leo? Or, y’know, a Hamato spirit?

“Who’re you talking to?” asks Sensei, dragging Leo out of his thoughts, and – what? He opens his mouth to say you, duh, but Sensei cuts him off again.

“Huh, you really can’t see him, then,” Sensei says, and Leo is about to be even more confused when he realizes – oh, right. Body sharing. The first bit must’ve been other-Leo, then, which means he still can’t see Leo even though Sensei’s there with him.

… God, Donnie would have a field day with this. Leo makes a mental note to tell him all of this when he gets back, because data collection. For now, though, he just watches Sensei-slash-other-Leo, who seem (seems?) to be zoning out now. He waits until their (his??) eyes focus again, looking at Leo – okay, still Sensei, then.

“Uh,” he says finally. “What was that about?”

“Talking with Leo,” Sensei says. “Er – my Leo, I mean. We should probably figure out a way to differentiate, actually, if you’re going to be sticking around.”

Leo shrugs. “No idea. I dunno what dropped me here or how long it’s gonna keep me here, so. Probably? I can take the L – heh, get it – since I’m the visitor here. Uh… I can be Leon, I guess?”

Sensei nods. “Works for me. Anyway, it seems like he can’t see you even when we’re both fronting. He actually thinks you’re, uh. Not real? But if I was gonna hallucinate someone, I don’t think you would be who my mind conjured up, so.”

… Okay! Leo – er, Leon – is just going to steamroll past the implications there and never think about them ever, actually. “Uh – yeah, yeah, makes sense. Can confirm I am 100% real, though not 100% tangible. Or. Y’know. Any percent tangible.”

……. Leon is also going to ignore the way his brain screams not real not real at him because Sensei is literally looking right at him and TALKING TO HIM holy shit can he NOT do this right now –

“Mhm, I figured,” Sensei says, voice softened, and god Leon really hopes Sensei didn’t catch his brief existential crisis because how embarrassing would that be? “Like I said, it’s probably some kind of ghost solidarity. That’s my guess, anyway.”

“Probably,” Leon agrees, pasting his grin back on. Though, if anyone would be able to see through it, it’d be another Leo, so it might be pointless anyway. But still. He has an image to maintain, okay?

“Sooooo,” Sensei says, and even if they aren’t the exact same person, Leon knows himself well enough to recognize the spark of mischief in his eyes. “Wanna take advantage of that fact to mess with him?”

Leon’s grin turns real, and he nods. “Oh, hell yes.” 

[lucy-dulap]

The downed human

< Previous _ Index _ Next >

"Good morning, child of Solomon." The blue haired doctor(?) greated Gamigin with a soft voice that hid excitment. He looked overjoyed to see Lucy waking up, but he still made sure that they wouldn't get hurt.

"Hey, hey, don't get up! You're in Paradise Lost, the country ruled by my big brother, his majesty Lucifer. Oh, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Gamigin." He spoke swiftly like he was trying to get Lucy caught up on the basics so he could get to the good part.

The excitment on display repeled Lucy. Who was this? Why were they still alive? They were supposed to be dead from 3 causes at this point. This Gamigin fella was too loud and the intensity of his voice was making them uncomfortable. Gamigin didn't seem to notice this and just stared at Lucy with a grin.

"What's a child of Solomon? No judging or anything. Nobody in Paradise Lost is trully a devil. I'm a dragon, his majesty Lucifer was an angel, Morax is... actually, I'm not sure what he is. The point still stands. I don't know what what that is and I'm so curious."

Lucy just stared back at him puzzled. "I'm... a human." Was all they could say before Gamigin gasped and squeeled so loudly that the sound of the bells of his staff were overided by them. Gamigin was jumping around the room before he tackled hug Lucy. "A HUMAN?! IN THE FLESH?! HERE?! I MUST TELL THE OTHERS!" But before he could rush out the door, Lucy grabbed him by the shirt to try and stop him. The last thing they needed was more Gamigins screaming in their ear.

"W-wait! I want to... um... tell the others myself." It was a dump argument, Lucy wanted to die not to have to introduce themselves to these peoples. Especially if their reactions ranged from sexual assault to yelling.

"I'll just bring them here and you can tell them you're a human." Gamigin might have been oblivious to Lucy's distress, but he wasn't as dump as they expected.

"No! Please just... don't. I don't want to." Lucy was too tired to try and argue or lie like they used to in the human world. Whenever people older than them would drag them to places they didn't want to be in or demanded they do or say something. Maybe if they just asked, they could make the devil understand.

"Ok. If you're not comfortable with it I won't make you. You look tired anyways, I must have exhausted you... sorry. You should try to go back to sleep. When I got you here you were dehydrated, malnurished, you had a fever of 39 and of course, you were unconcious." Gamigin puts a hand over their forhead. "Your temperature seems to have evened out, I'll go bring your evening meal. Be right back!"

What was this guy? Lucy had to pintch themselves to make sure that they weren't dreaming. Was he just... overexcited? A little quirky even during the day? He was just so... strange. Lucy couldn't help but be intrigued. Even their previous thoughts of death seemed to have died down, eclipsed by the sheer fascination for this strange dragon.

Gamigin breaks into the cafeteria and rushes to grab a platter. Even when he was running into people or stepping on their feet he would apologise and continue running around. The young dragon was known for being ditzy, but this rushing was strange for him. His brothers looked at him with worry, anxious that he might have substituted his tea with coffee again.

The three of them blocked his way and started questioning him. "What did you drink this morning?" "Why are you in such a hurry?" "How many patience do you have right now?" Gamigin who was practicly up and down unable to tell his brothers about his excitment. He just giggles and beats around the bush until he's able to move past them and hurry back upstairs.

"Brought you food! I don't know what humans eat so I got you a little bit of everything. I got you some smashed potatos, salad, tiny tomatoes, I think this is some sort of jelly. I'm not sure it's edible though... I don't get a lot of patients since I tend to get very attached to them and Lucifer doesn't want my reviving powers to get leaked to the other nations." As Gamigin was speaking he got a spoonfull of smashed potato and tasted it before extanding it to Lucy's mouth.

"My smashed potato racipe is much better, but I guess this one can work for now as well. I promise you that from tomorrow onward I'll feed you the way I feed all my patients! I'll probably ask Furfur to watch over you at night, though I won't tell him your secret! I'll go home and prepare some amazing food for tomorrow."

Lucy didn't even like smashed potatos that much, the food was cold and tasteless, but Gamigin had a way of making them lower their defences almost instantly. It was like watching a really good video while eating. He kept going on and on about this and that and they just listened with interest.

After they ate Gamigin left and told them they had to relax and he'd come over again for a night check-up. As he was about to leave the hospital to rush home, he got stopped by an intimidating figure.

"Gamigin, we have to talk." His voice was silky, beautiful but tired, like a man that's seen the world burn and now he was just going through the motions. Gamigin followed his friend happilly in his office.

"Brother Lucifer, you won't believe it, but the child of Solomon is a human! Can you believe that?! A human! In hell!" The dragon squeeled and the bells of his staff made his laughter more melodic than it already was.

"I know... that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." Lucifer walked closer to Gamigin and protectively put his hands on Gamigin's sholders. "Be careful. Humans are... a distinct bunch. We cannot know what they're like until we get to know them better. Protect them, take care of them, but do not trust them blindly."

"Yes, sir!" Gamigin laughed and hugged Lucifer. "I will be the best healer ever."

"You already are." Lucifer whispered and stroked Gamigin's hair. With an affectionate kiss on the forhead, Gamigin was left to go outside and retrieve everything needed for the best dinner ever.

[mamawasatesttube]

you are so so right to forget that cis people exist… obviously core4 have powerful gender there is no need for tags.

anyway- “I could never forget you.” ficlet prompt for timkon or cissiecassie?

inspired by @batgirlfriends's post and our talk about it last night. because i am still laughing ♥

"—up, Kon. Hey. Conner. Can you hear me?"

Kon freezes.

Reality settles back into place around him with sick, lurching relief. He can see the outlines of their bedroom, photos and posters plastering the walls, and dark curtains drawn over the window. The bedsheets are rumpled, wrapped around his legs like ropes; his TTK is tugging at them uselessly, clawing at the blanket, desperately clutching at Tim's—

Tim.

Kon falls two feet back down to the mattress with a thump.

Tim wraps an arm around his shoulders, pulls him into his chest, and cradles his cheek in one hand. His hair is hopelessly mussed from sleep, but his eyes are sharp. "That must have been some nightmare," he says.

Kon buries his face in the crook of his neck and inhales slowly. He can smell Tim's stupid basic generic men's shampoo; as much as he likes to rag on it, it's grounding. "...It was," he finally admits, head still spinning. "It was... weird."

It left him with a leaden ball of grief still sitting in the pit of his stomach, one that's slowly dissolving with every beat of Tim's heart. You're safe, that heartbeat says. I'm here. You're safe.

"Wanna tell me about it?" Tim's voice is gentle, his arms firm and protective around Kon's shoulders. He always knows what Kon needs when he's in distress, often even before Kon himself knows.

Like a hug, to reassure him he's real, he's here, he's alive. Kon supposes he does have weird dissociative dreams when he's stressed, but... man, that one takes the fucking cake. He sighs, curling his fingers into Tim's shirt, and blinks a few times; his eyelashes brush the little freckle on the side of Tim's neck.

How does he even begin to explain that dream? It's already fading, and as he settles back into the waking world, it feels stupid to have been so distressed. It wasn't even like it was that bad...

Okay, it was really bad.

"Everyone forgot me," he mumbles. The warmth of Tim's body radiates through the thin cotton of his shirt; Kon presses a little closer to him. "Some of you remembered. But most people forgot me. You—you did remember, but not... everything. And you had a whole other life I was never part of, and I just—there was no place for me, and I was just... I was so fucking sad about it." He sighs. "Sounds dumb as hell now that I say it out loud, though."

"Yeah, that's ridiculous," Tim agrees—Kon tries not to let the stab of hurt show. He didn't expect Tim to agree with him—but then he continues, his nose wrinkled, "I could never forget you."

Oh.

The hurt dissipates as fast as it arose, and Kon huffs out a soft laugh. A little more tension drains out of his shoulders, and he curls closer into Tim, nuzzling his neck. His TTK loosens around Tim's waist, spreading up along his ribs and down to his hips, and Tim lets out a pleased sigh and rubs Kon's back.

"You okay?" Tim presses a kiss into his hair. "Seemed pretty intense, all the same."

"Eh..." Kon waves a hand in a halfhearted gesture before he drops it back to Tim's side. After a second, he slips it up Tim's shirt to rest against his bare skin, just for the simple comfort of that extra bit of touch. His fingers brush over the ridges in Tim's spine. "Yeah. It... wasn't great, but... s'better now."

"Good." Tim rubs another big, slow circle into Kon's back. "Do you wanna go back to sleep?"

Ah. Yeah. Sleep. Belatedly, Kon's TTK slips into the tangled sheets and smooths them out, spreads the blanket out neatly again, and fluffs up the pillows, too. Then he heaves another sigh. "...Too wired still, I think." He barely staves off a sorry.

"Mm." Tim nods, kissing his hair again. "That's okay."

He scoots back to lean against the headboard, letting Kon snuggle up between his legs to lie on his chest. Kon curls into him, his ear right over Tim's heart, and wonders how it's possible that one man makes him feel so safe, loved, and warm.

"I got you," Tim murmurs, as if reading his mind. "Hm. Want me to tell you a story? 'Cuz it just hit me that I don't think I told you about the thing the Riddler tried the other day..."

When Kon does finally drift to sleep again, it's to the low sound of Tim's voice, and the cozy feeling of its vibrations in his chest.

♥ angst/fluff prompts ♥

[ambiguouspuzuma]

Tempers fugit

She was nose-deep in a book when Tephan sauntered into her study, as self-absorbed as ever, all misplaced confidence and mislaid tact. There was no knock: he simply strolled through the door like he owned the place. Which, in fairness, he did. He and his brother had inherited the whole Duchy on the passing on their aunt, from the throne room to the quarters where Sanje slept. In a way, they'd also inherited her.

"What is it, Teran?" Sanje lowered her book, A Field Guide to Mundane Fungi and Their Uses, which didn't have nearly enough pictures for its content. She was used to these interruptions, but that only meant she'd long since burned through her reserves of patience.

"Woah, is that any way to greet your Duke?" He protested in mock offence. Sanje wasn't sure that any insult could actually penetrate his hide of puffed-up adoration, but that hadn't stopped her from trying. "After he's come all this way to see you?"

"Forgive me, my Duke," she said, with as much disdain as she dared. The late Lady Jaside had truly been her Duchess - the sort of woman she'd been proud to serve. Her nephews, Tephan and Kase, were her Dukes in title only. "But come all this way to see me for what?"

"Hey, we'll come to that. There's no great hurry." He looked around the bookshelves, as if deliberately hoping to find a distraction, some reason to waste even more of her time. "Pretty flowers, by the way. How do you keep them all alive? The ones we get wither straight away."

"I don't," she admitted, closing the book and letting Tephan have the floor. This might go more quickly if she let him work this tangent out of his system. "They die, but then I help them remember what living flowers feel like. All the ingredients are still there, you see; they've just forgotten the recipe."

"Oh that," Tephan said dismissively, as if magical intervention was easier than just watering them every now and again. "Necromancer stuff."

"Not necromancer stuff. Magic."

It was a common bugbear. Since the age of Chronos, Father Time with Cronus's scythe, the Grim Reaper, people had loved to conflate time and death. But as a tempomancer, she could only reap what had already been sown. She worked not with death, but with life; restoring wilted flowers to full bloom, reminding wounds when they were whole, and reversing the ageing of her own body, so that young men like Tephan could continue to treat her with such flagrant disrespect.

"Magic is all about memory," she explained, for the dozenth time, and not blind to the irony. "Reminding mountains of when they were molten, or rivers of a time they took a different course. Yes, I can remind a corpse of its ability to move, but I could equally return living limbs to the impotence of the womb."

"So it's like... localised time travel."

"If it helps you to think of it that way." That was the best she was going to get. "Why are you here, Tephan?"

The Ugly Dukeling shifted under her glare, and turned back to inspect the shelves. "Kase needs you at the stables."

"Kase knows where to find me, just as you unfortunately do."

"That's why I'm here. He sent me to fetch you."

"Errand boy to the real Duke, is it?" Sanje tried to sow discord at every opportunity. If could get them bickering between each other, the theory went, they would spend less time ganging up on her. "Is that how power sharing works? He does the ruling, you do the dishes?"

It was such a shame. Their aunt had been a good Duchess, before the wasting sickness took hold. Sanje almost wished that she'd saved her: at the time she'd vowed not to meddle with a ruler's old age, preserving another unnatural life well into the centuries, thinking only evil could come of that. But bad things had come anyway. She'd left herself cursed to live through successive generations of up-jumped aristocracy, each less bearable than the last.

Lady Jaside had died, and her nephews had been made joint Dukes of Rhúnwald, joint Protectors of the Mark, and the joint banes of Sanje's life. They had formed an uneasy coalition: the two brothers had a friction of their own, and they'd inherited their aunt's previous counsellors, including Sanje's seat at that table. The old guard were losing that fight. The numbers seemed to dwindle by the week, having been of a similar age to their Duchess, and she wasn't looking forward to babysitting on her own.

"No way. He's just busy."

"And what's so urgent that he couldn't come himself?"

"Hang on, let me think."

"You don't know?" Sanje certainly wouldn't be breaking her vow for them. The moment they took even the slightest sparring injury, requiring muscle to remember a life before the swords, she resolved to be nowhere to be found. She'd restrained herself from regicide, which would also be a worrying precedent, but she wouldn't stand in nature's way. She might even puppet Tephan's corpse, until he learnt what necromancy was.

"No, I did, of course I did. I've just momentarily forgotten." He continued to look around the shelves, as if something there might job his memory. "Everybody does that, right? You walk into a room, and can't remember why you're in there? It's funny, just a moment ago it was on the tip of my tongue..."

"I'll see what I can do," Sanje said.

"Wait-"

But she was all out of patience. Sanje froze the rest of him into place, and watched the rapid convulsion of his lips with interest, trying to gauge where they would land. Tempomancy wasn't an exact art. Memory was measured in moments, not minutes - and some were more momentous than others. In this case she needed his mouth to remember its last conversation, in the hope it would be more enlightening than their current one.

"...a threat to our rule," it was saying, as she let it land. Too far. Or not far enough, she wondered. That excerpt seemed worth hearing the start of.

"Magic will always be a threat to our rule."

Intrigue turned into full attention. Sanje stood up, focusing as she pushed him just a few more moments back into the past.

"I'll lure the necromancer, make up some pretence for her to come rushing into the trap. It's about time we docked her claws. You're absolutely right. As long as we allow it to continue, magic will always be a threat to our rule."

She could only listen to one side of the conversation, and imagine Kase's equally dreadful voice in response. But it was enough to tell her everything she needed to know. Sanje could recognise a snake from front or back: she knew the clang of a headsman's axe, without waiting to hear its echo.

She brought Tephan's lips forward again, then back, then forward, until they were roughly back where he'd left them. "Funny, just a moment ago it was on the tip of my tongue."

"Well, take your time," she said instead, replacing her book for one on defensive spells. Sometimes her own memory needed to be refreshed.

"Oh, that's it," he said, watching her return the volume on fungi. "There's something the gardener thinks might be magical. Some sort of toadstool, I think. You need to come and look at it."

"Of course," Sanje agreed, for once the picture of obedience. "Please, lead the way. I'll be right behind you."