#boy is lonely and doesn’t understand why his brother doesn’t want to hang out just with him smh

[0booboozefool0]

[just-dino-maggie]

could you do 24, 28, and 42 with trevor zegras and the reader is jack hughes twin or something? xoxo <3

Thank you so much for the request! I hope you like it! I did change it up a little bit but I still think it’s cute! I really hope you don’t mind!

Everyone is aged up one year to make this work lol

24. “I needed you.”

28. “I hate you.” “No you don’t.”

42. “I love you and it scares the hell out of me!”

Being the youngest Hughes is a wonderful challenge. I’m 19, a year younger then Luke but the same grade at U of M. I’m so insanely proud of my older brothers and their success but sometimes I feel like I’m a disappointment. They’re all in the NHL and I’m simply a college student. I’m just their little sister, nothing more.

I was 13 years old when I first realized I was in love with Trevor Zegras. He was 16 and barely noticed I existed. I’m Jacks little sister after all. He was sweet with me, always asking me how my day was and making sure the other boys never gave me a hard time. In my eyes he was the perfect guy.

After he was drafted I didn’t see him for a few years. He was off to college in Boston and Jack was in New Jersey. We just never crossed paths. I made sure we didn’t, he was dating and enjoying being a student athlete. If I saw him like that, with those girls, it would have hurt too bad.

From age 15-18 I never really saw him. Until last years summer when a freshly 18 years old Y/n decided that she got to go to the lake house. I was a mess, it was a tough year for me. I was being constantly overlooked by everyone in my life. I was Luke’s little sister, nothing more.

Worst of all, I could tell my best friend Sofia was starting to fall for Jack. She never said anything or did anything about it until I told her to. I want her to be happy but it felt like a stab in the heart.

I did the dumbest thing I think I’ve ever done. I kissed Trevor. I was so lonely and he had looked at me differently that summer. He looked at me like I was something more then I had been before. I thought he finally saw me. But instead he looked at me in my eyes after I kissed him and said “You’re Jack’s little sister, we can’t.” My heart shattered and it has been that way since.

Luke, Jack, and Sofia have insisted that I come to the lakehouse this year. Luke claims that I have to because he’s starting next season with New Jersey. Apparently he’ll miss me so much so I have to hang out with him this summer. Jack says that he really wants me there for Sofia, which I understand. Sofia is my best friend so of course she wants me to go.

I tried to say no. The embarrassment of last year still hung over me but they all had really great reasons. I’ve missed all of them so terribly. Also I can’t tell them the reason I don’t want to go. It would crush Jack and mortify me.

It’s only been a few days at the lake house and ignoring Trevor has been difficult. He tried to talk to me when we first got here but I brushed him off. I’ve been glued to Luke and Sofias side so I don’t have to talk to him.

This morning I wake up early. I immediately wrap my blanket around myself and run to the kitchen to get a drink. What’s better then hot chocolate and sunrises? Half way to the kitchen I run right into someone.

When I look up at the person steadying me, familiar blue eyes hold my gaze. “Will you excuse me?” I ask politely, trying to push past him.

He doesn’t let me go. “Last year you were all over me and now you can’t stand to be around me for more then 5 seconds. What’s that about?”

My face goes red. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t. We both know you don’t hate me.” He smirks for a second, clearly enjoying the fact that I can’t deny him. “What’s going on? Why won’t you talk to me? Is this about last year… I thought we could move past that.”

“I can’t,” I whisper. “I needed you.”

He looks even more confused. He moves his hands off of me to run them through his hair. “You needed me to kiss you?”

“No,” I shake my head. “No I needed you to see me. I needed you to look at me and like me for me; despite being Jacks sister. But you can’t do that. I can’t get close to you again. It hurts to much.”

He holds my face, “I do, I see you.”

“Not the way I want you to.” I finally push away from him. I only get a few steps away before I’m being spun around and pushed up against a cabinet. His lips are on mine. He’s kissing me so hard… he’s ravaging me.

He pulls away quicker then I had hoped. I wanted to be consumed by him for a little longer. To know for sure that the desire is there for both of us. Not just me.

“I see you. I love you and it scares the hell out of me!” I gasp at his words.

I kiss him softly on the lips, “Why does it scare you?”

“In my mind you were just Jack’s sweet little sister. Then I saw you last year and you were so different. I guess 2 plus years changes a person a lot. You were still so sweet but you were grown up. Smart, dedicated, beautiful. I’ve spent the past year obsessing over you. I want you so bad but it could ruin the relationship I have with your family. I don’t know if I could handle Jack hating me, but now I know that being apart from you might be even worse. I’m so scared to lose you guys.”

His voice cracks ever so slightly on that last sentence. I hate that he feels so helpless, like loving me could tear him appart. I’m not sure how to reassure him so I just say, “I love you too Trevor, everything is going to be okay.”

We go outside to watch the sunrise, cuddling together on the outdoor furniture. Everytime I feel unsure I look at Trevor and when his eyes meet mine I know that everything will turn out fine. Because I love him and he loves me and that’s all I really need.

[elvisalltheway101]

-There’s Always Me-

OKAY YALL, no this ain’t a chapter of “There’s Always Me” BUT! This is a little something full of information that I think is gon be useful (?)

First! The new thing I’ve started is called “There’s Always Me” inspired from a song of Elvis’

-Quick info-

So just to keep in mind, this is placed basically “King Creole” time, no cellphones, television’s black and white, but the certain thing I’m taking from nowadays is the high ass prices. (Why am I noting this? Because it’s a trigger, fr 😭)

So just a warning I guess, there’s some crime into this series overall such as shoplifting, stealing, police (idk just thought I should warn that, but nothing like brutality and all that. God no) children, (again, y’all…children are annoying, so it’s gon be a warning for sure), some fighting, and that’s bout it for now. OH! And, just to keep in mind, these chapters won’t be inspired much by Elvis’ songs nor will I probably like tag lots of his songs, but more of what I grew up with that helped me out ♥️.

-Character and Setting-

Soooo, this part I think is gonna be very useful because like…ahem, I just feel it. (I won’t bother for Danny because we all understand why he’s the way he is, and that he’s misunderstood for the sweet person he is.)

👀Where we living? 👀 The reader, her 2 sisters, brother, and mother live in a small home with one bedroom, a living room that’s connected to a small kitchen, in a sketchy ass neighborhood that always got the police running around.

(Here’s a lil sketch to try and make sense of it😭, if y’all need like ya know, furniture placement too, lmk) The dad’s long gone, and left right after the youngest, Evan, was born. They live a few blocks away from their near-future home (the apartment complex where we shall meet Danny and ‘em) until they gotta leave their current place.

•Y/N•

Y/N: Y/N is the reader of course! She’s the oldest of 4 siblings- Junbug, Tom, and Evan. She’s basically the mother figure to them since their Mama is rarely home. Shes working at a diner as a waitress, and a parent at home. -mature, caring, motherly, responsible and loving

•Mama•

I know I’m probably doing the most but I feel it’s best to give an understanding to “Mama”.

Mama is a single mother of four kids, she’s working 2 jobs. One as a janitor at a local restaurant and a cashier at a gas station. She’s doing her absolute best, she doesn’t want to have to work over time and hardly see her kids, but she has to, to manage a roof over their heads. Even through all the overtime and pass work hours, the bills aren’t always up to date and paid. From time to time, or more often now, there’s no hot water, the lights don’t turn on at times, or there’s even nothing on the table. It pains to see this and know that she can’t properly provide for her family, she doesn’t want her kids to suffer like this, so she’s open and continuously looking for better options in both work and home, and she’s more than thankful for Y/N and her help

-troubled, worried, doubter, but fierce and loving

•Junbug•

Junbug, nicknamed for James, is the only boy, and second oldest after reader. He’s is 12 years old. He’s not as payed attention to, and he’s a bit of a trouble maker. Grade’s are okay, but is messing and hanging around with the wrong kids, and under the wrong influence. -Sweet, troubled, lost, and isn’t a quitter

•Tom•

Tom, nicknamed for Tamera, is the third child, and second daughter! Tom’s aged 9 years old, and is a good kid. She’s got alright grades, helps out reader, and her Mama with Evan. She’s a bit of a loner at school, and is a confused, curious one. Without having Pops there, she’s confused on what’s right and what’s wrong for certain subjectsa and lost for how she’s to be treated, and isn’t much of a talker either.

-Generous, confused, quiet, lonely

•Evan•

Evan, short for Evangeline is the youngest of all children. She’s aged 5 years old, and is also a curious one. She’s loud, sweet, and a talkative one (she’s one of ‘em kids who would spill their family’s juice to a random stranger while playing at the park 😭.) She’s nosy, sassy, and basically what every toddler coming of age would be!

-Sassy, cutie, sweet, and nosy

……………………………………………………………………….

hopefully this’ll help when the series come, and I’ll always include the link for this in all chapters for everyone and anyone confused or just curious!

ALSO! PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE, TELL ME IF YOUD LIKE TO BE TAGGED! IMMA DO A TAGLIST SO YA KNOW, LMKKK

oh and feedback, notes, and tips, would be loved and so appreciated!🫶🏼♥️♥️

MTC (More To Come),

Lexi 🥰🥰

[thelostsisters]

headcanons for the hawkins lab kids bc they’re all little meow meows

the older kids have a lot of drama: 002 and 003 are best friends, 003 and 004 are also good friends. 002 and 004 are okay friends; he really only wants to hang out with 003, but he can tolerate 004. 004 and 005 have a close bond as the first two girls at the lab, but 004 isn’t nearly as close with 005 as she is 003. 005 and 006 are best friends, but 005 is extremely jealous of the older kids’ relationship, and she really wants to be a part of their group, so she kind of inserts herself into their posse. but 002 hates 005; she tries way too hard and doesn’t take anything as seriously as he does. 005 can pick up on this, but she tries not to notice because of how badly she wants him and his friends to like her

007 and 009 are best friends, and the only ones who can knock 002 and 003 down a peg when they have to. especially 007. she knows how to get exactly what she wants whenever she wants it

002 is the only kid who knows about henry being 001. he was very young when henry got his powers suppressed, and he didn’t understand the situation, but he knows henry did something to really upset papa, so he tries extra hard to never disappoint the man. this is why he’s so adamant about impressing dr. brenner, and why he feels so threatened by eight-year-old el beating him in a fight in front of papa; brenner treated him as henry’s replacement and took henry’s powers away, so he fears he could be replaceable and have his powers taken from him too

he would never admit it, but 002 loved henry when he first got to the lab. he tried so hard to befriend the boy (kind of like 005 with himself, but way less self-aware), but henry wanted nothing to do with him. henry was about 15/16 when he was brought in, and he was too caught up in being an angsty teenager to care about some little toddler

003 is the true big brother of the group; even though he’s best friends with 002, he’s significantly nicer to the younger kids (but backing up his brother is number one priority—if 002 says they need to terrorize el during her private time in the rainbow room, then that’s exactly what he’ll do) and he’s almost always the one the little kids come to for help

henry didn’t just see himself in el bc she was lonely*, because, really, the other kids don’t completely hate her. she struggles to connect with the others after kali leaves, after brenner separated them, but some of the little kids still look up to her just like with all the older (or older-ish, in el’s case) kids. 018 especially takes a liking to her, as she’s a very empathetic child who always picks up on when the other kids are upset (*this connects to a theory i talked about some here)

the twins (016 & 017) spend a majority of their time alone with each other, but they’re also good friends with 018

006 hates when 005 sucks up to the older kids, because she always ditches him to try and get on their good side. he’s always been more timid and less confrontational than 002-004, so he never really connected with any of them, or most of the kids aside from 005 really

010 like to keep to himself, but he’s well-liked, especially among the younger kids. some of them are convinced he can see the future with how attached he is to his magic 8 ball, and sometimes they’ll ask him to “read their fortune” for them (even though they have no idea what it means; one of the orderlies called their game that one day and it stuck)

010 and 014 are pretty good friends; both are them are pretty quiet and tend to play by themselves, but they both appreciate being in each other’s company at times

many of the younger girls look up to their eldest sister 004 a lot

he would never admit it (and he’d try to kill you if you ever said anything about it) but 002 secretly has a soft spot for 010. because as annoying as all his little siblings are, it’s impossible to hate 010

a lot of the kids share drawings to hang up in each others’ rooms

[s-hera]

He's So Pretty! (1)

Child Sanzu Haruchiyo X Child Reader! (7/8 yrs old?)

~ tags. contains spoiler from ch. 241(?), Mention of blood, Fluff, Angst if you squint, Childhood to lovers!

~ wc. 0.6k

~ A/n. From my Alt Account, I already said that i'm going back on this account and write again for my 115 followers.

One | Two

“Ha-haru? Are you fine?” you asked the boy that's crying in front of you.

“No, Onii-chan gets mad at me again…it’s always my fault, i should stop talking to senju”

“Ehhh? Why? You’re the best big brother!”

“I always get scolded because my brother thinks i’m teaching her boyish things”

“Mhhhh…well you don’t teach her boyish things, right?”

“Of Course not! She’s the only girl, she need to act like a lady”

‘But being boyish sometimes is definitely fine and she hang out with you and your friends…and, and your brother is friends with your friends older brother too”

“Yeah, he always hangs out with shinichiro-kun”

“Senju’s older siblings are both boys too, you should expect her to act boyish, your brother should!”

“He won’t listen to me anyways, i not gonna hangout with senju anymore”

“Then senju would feel lonely, don’t you think?”

“...”

You and haru were childhood friends, both of you attends the same pre-school. His house is just a few steps away from you too, that’s why you two often meet, you haven’t met his friend but you already met his siblings, he always talks about how his past few days went like you two were really the closest friends!

One day you saw haruchiyo…with a bandage on his face, the bandage doesn’t look new at all, the blood almost covers it all, crying right on your face while your mom gives him a warm entrance.

“Haru-chan, what happened?” your mom asked him, but she was treated with a silence.

“Are you fine?Do you want something to eat? Or, or replace the bandage?” you asked panickedly since he was treats your mother with a silent treatment and the haruchiyo you know, the akaashi haruchiyo you know is talkative and loud.

“ ‘m fine mrs. l/n…this, this is nothing”

“No, haru you’re lying!”

“y/n, don’t shout at him, do you want some fruits or something? y/n’s father is going home sooner maybe you want some ice cream or something sweet?”

“Ice cream would be fine, mrs. l/n”

“You’re so polite haru-chan! And stop calling me mrs too, call me aunt or auntie…you were very closed with my dearest y/n, treat me as you mom too, ok?and let’s re-do your bandage, if that is fine with you of course!”

“Please, aunt” he said to your mom while looking like an abandoned puppy…

“Stay here for dinner too, i would be cooking something delicious!”

And the time flies as if nothing happened, but he was there on that house couch, on your house couch looking beautiful, like he always been. With his new bandaged face…but his wounds, when your mom looked at it she was shocked too.

“Do you mind telling us what happened?”

“This is no-nothing, aunt! No worries”

“Are you sure it’s nothing?im worried for you”

Lies, you know it was a lie…you didn’t want to push him or anything, thats why you didn’t bother asking.

And after that, after all of that…time really flies, just like three weeks ago haru was in your couch and now you would be leaving him.

“Im sorry, really sorry…my father got promoted, we need to leave and go somewhere faraway. But- but! Don’t be sad, tey won’t sell our house in here! I promise, im gonna comeback here! And buy ice cream with you everyday”

“I understand, no need to explain that much…” but deep inside him, he was afraid, afraid of being lonely, afraid that he doens’t have a people to call home anymore, he’s afraid you won’t comeback or even remember him, he’s afraid of you and your family leaving.he can’t do anything about it, better just to shut up and be silent.

“Forgot to tell you that, haru your face and scar is pretty! Just like your blue diamond eyes!” things you said before going in the car and leave japan.

© 2022 by s-hera━ all rights reserved! comments, likes, and reblog are highly appreciated. plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

[obsidiancreates]

An Honest Talk

(Got to the episode where Valerie gets the ghost hunting stuff. I just want her to be happy and not Filled With Vengeful Rage so, here's this.)

Jazz sees the whole thing.

Really, Valerie isn't even good at hiding it. As soon as that Ghost Hunter shows up at that school game, Jazz figures it out. Not just because her voice is the same, but because of the insults she shouts while hanging in that basketball hoop. Sure, Jazz is in a higher grade, but she's heard that A-Lister group plenty of times in the hallways and after school.

They're real jerks. But not murderous jerks.

So she decides to do something about it. No-one attacks her baby brother. ... Well, except other ghosts. But Jazz can't always help with those.

This? No problem.

"Hey, Valerie."

Valerie jolts, yelping and almost dropping what is clearly some kind of ghost-detecting device. "Who are- ugh, aren't you Fenton's sister? What do you want?"

"To talk to you," Jazz says in her most empathetic voice. "I noticed you're having kind of a rough time."

"Why do you care?"

"Because my brother does." Cares about not being pummeled, at least. But Jazz is sure Danny hopes the best for his schoolmate, even with the attacks.

Valerie huffs. "Great, pity from the loser kids."

"Come on, it won't hurt to talk about it?"

"Talk about what? That some ghost kid and his dog ruined my life? That we're broke, and all my friends hate me for it? yeah, talking will fix everything."

Jazz sits down on a bench, and pats the seat next to her. Valerie looks away.

But then... she sighs. And sits. "I keep thinking about that five hundred dollar shirt I ruined. Maybe if e hadn't bought that, or I hadn't worn it to school, we'd be a little better off right now."

"It's not your fault."

Valerie grits her teeth. "Yeah. It's that ghost kid's."

"Ghost kid?"

"... You believe in ghosts, right? Because of your parents?"

Jazz nods. "Plus, that thing during the school game,, Kind of hard to deny."

"Heh. Yeah. ... That dog broke into the place my dad was working for. he was showing off what he did for their security, and none of it stopped the dog or the kid. And then they showed up again at the garage sale and wrecked our moving van, and the dog stole my lunch after all my friends rejected me!"

Valerie wipes her eyes, scowling. "It's not fair!"

Jazz hands her a tissue. "It's not, not at all."

"I wanna destroy that kid," Valerie growls. "Like he destroyed me."

"... Valerie... how old is he?"

"About my age, I think."

"And he's a ghost."

"Yeah. And?"

"So... how do you think a ghost kid comes to be?"

Valerie doesn't reply. But after a moment, her eyes widen a little. "Oh... no, no, but... but he's a kid. He can't be any older than me."

"Yeah," Jazz says softly. "So something horrible must have happened to him already."

Valerie looks at the device in her hands. "... But... he still ruined my life." She sounds a bit unsure now.

"Maybe he didn't mean to. I mean... imagine one day you wake up and everything is... different. Suddenly you've got no gravity, and-and no-one can see you sometimes and you're this weird thing-"

God, how scared was Danny when it happened? She's pretty sure by now that it was The Accident that did it, she can't think of anything else that explains it. What was it like for him, waking up as something different?

"It would be tough," Jazz finishes, looking at Valerie.

Valerie still won't meet her eyes, looking at the beeping device. "Then why is he following me around?"

"... Well... does he show up first, or the dog?"

Valerie thinks for a long moment. "... The dog. It's always the dog."

"So maybe he's trying to catch it."

"... I mean, I guess that could be it. But he's been fighting me!"

"And you've been fighting him."

"But-! ... Aw, geez..." Valerie deflates. "What do I do now, then? I can't... I can't keep attacking some kid who... we've barely lived, I can't just make it so that he's barely lived twice."

Jazz stands up and offers her hand. "How about we try talking to him?"

Valerie looks at her. "For real?" She's skeptical.

Jazz nods. "For real. Maybe we can clear some things up."

Valerie turns away again. And then, with a hefty sigh...

Takes Jazz's hand.

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

"Cujo?" Danny calls out. "Cujo! We need to get you back to the Ghost Zone, buddy! Come on, where is he?"

Someone clears their throat behind him, and he yelps as he shoots up in the air.

He turns around, and sees possibly the worst thing he could see right now.

His sister, and his hunter.

"Hello, Ghost Boy!" Jazz calls out.

"Um... hi." Danny waves, still looking startled.

Jazz nudges Valerie, and Valerie huffs. "Hi," she says shortly. Jazz smile at her, though.

"I'm here to mediate a talk between you two," Jazz says, walking closer (and somewhat pulling Valerie along behind her). "I figured there might be more to this story than we all three think."

"Um, you're not- I mean, I'm a ghost, you're just... casual about this?"

Jazz nods. "My parents are well-versed with ghosts, this is nothing."

A straight-up lie. Jazz hadn't even believed in ghosts until she peeled Spectra. But maybe it's to save face for Valerie? Or maybe Jazz recognizes him as the ghost from that day.

"Anyway," Jazz says, "Valerie here has something to say."

Valerie, arms cross and back hunched angrily, glares at Danny. "Who are you, and why are you out to get me?"

Danny floats back down to the ground, standing on it now. "I'm, um... Phantom-"

Valerie gives him a disbelieving look.

"Uh, Ghost Names are uh, different! It's this whole thing. And, I'm not out to get you, I swear. It's all been terrible coincidences."

Valerie scoffs.

"Val, we're here to listen," Jazz reminds gently. "Let him explain his side of things, and then you can explain yours, and we'll come to a solution. Trust me, I read a book about this."

Danny doesn't doubt it. "I don't own that dog, I found him wandering around outside. I thought he was cute at first, and then he turned into the big dog that keeps haunting you."

"And why's he doing that?" she snips.

"I don't know yet." Danny rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed. "I'm trying to send him back to the Ghost Zone, but he keeps coming back out! I'm starting to think it's some cliche 'unfinished business' thing. But until I can figure it out I don't know how to get rid of him. All I can do is try to minimize the damage."

"Doing a great job." Valerie rolls her eyes. "Ruining my father's business, ruining our garage sale, ruining my lunch!"

"I swear, I was trying to help! He's really, really hard to get under control! He's like five times my size!"

"And you can't grow bigger and handle it that way?" Valerie retorts.

"No! I'm only a few months into this, I-"

He cuts himself off at the look on Valerie's face. "What?"

"A few months? ... So... so I could've known you?" Horrified, is the best word for her expression.

Danny shrinks, holding his bicep and hunching a little. "Um, nevermind. I just mean I'm not super powerful."

"No, no, we're going back. Did I know you? Is this a revenge thing?"

"What? No! I already told you, I'm trying to help prevent things from getting worse! And... no. I'm a loser kid, and you're popular."

"... Was," Valerie says quietly. "... All my friends ditched me when I lost my money."

"That's awful."

Valerie nods. "I don't know why I thought they liked me for more than money, looking back. But it still hurts. Being a lonely loser is the worst."

"Tell me about it," Danny mutters. "I mean, I have friends, but sometimes some stuff just makes you feel alone no matter what."

He thinks he sees Jazz tear up at that, but he's not sure. He's distracted by Valerie letting out a sob.

"I don't have anything left," she says, voice quavering. "I don't have the popularity, I don't have money, I don't have the grades..."

"... So you turned to revenge?" Jazz's voice is soft.

Valerie sobs again, and Jazz gives her some comforting slow pats on the back. She looks at Danny, nodding at Valerie.

Danny gets the hint. "You... you could, um, make something, more?"

Valerie gives a somewhat bitter teary chuckle. "What is that supposed to mean, huh? I'm already hunting ghosts. It's... something."

"... You could try to make new friends."

"Oh sure, that's easy. I'm a social pariah."

"So am I. But even just one or two friends helps a lot."

"You got a lot of ghost buddies?"

"... Humans, actually. An if I can make friends with some high school kids as a loser and a ghost, you can make friends too. You just might have to lower your social radar a bit."

Valerie rubs her arm. "... You're really not out to get me, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I want to protect people, not hurt them."

"... I'm sorry I shot those missiles at you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep the dog contained."

"... I'm sorry you're a ghost so young."

Danny snuffles a little. "... Thanks." Sometimes he is, too.

Valerie looks at her hand, and then holds it out to him. "Truce? I won't mess with you. I can't promise the same about that dog if it keeps showing up, but I won't mess with you."

Danny sighs. "So you're keeping the weapons."

"Oh, you know I am. Even if I'm not hunting you, now that I know about ghosts I want to be prepared."

"I guess I understand that." Danny shakes her hand. "Truce."

Jazz grins. "See? Just needed a real, meaningful talk!"

Valerie laughs a little, wiping her eyes again. "Yeah, I guess. But... now what? Who do I blame for this?"

"Probably the boss who decided that Ghosts Suddenly Existing was your father's fault," Danny says.

Valerie's eyes harden. "Yeah. Yeah, I can go with that."

"But," Danny and Jazz say at once. They look at each other, and Jazz let's Danny speak.

"But," Danny says again, "Maybe focus on making some more friends, first. One thing about us losers, is we don't ditch someone just for money reasons."

"... I'll give it a shot." Valerie smiles a little at Danny. "With better aim than the ones I took at you."

Danny chuckles a bit.

They both wave goodbye, Jazz and Valerie leaving Danny to continue his search.

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

"Hi."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker all look up. Valerie is standing nervously with her brown paper bag of lunch. Tucker brightens up, and Sam gives a little, slightly suspicious, wave.

Danny scoots over. "Wanna sit with us?"

Valerie looks over at the A-Lister table. They're all staring, smirking, whispering.

Mocking.

She looks back at the 'losers'.

They're looking at her with... openness.

"Yeah. Sure."

She sits down, and gets out her lunch. For a minute, she just listens to them talk while she unpacks the sandwich.

"Hey, is that peanut butter and honey?" Sam asks. Valerie nods.

Sam holds up a thick roast beef sandwich. "My parents are trying to get me to eat meat again, but I'm staying vegetarian. Want to trade?"

Valerie blinks. "Uh... sure?"

They swap sandwiches. Valerie looks at the sandwich, mentally trying to figure out the carbs and calories and fat content-

She looks around the table. No-one else is analyzing their food. Or, judging hers.

She takes a bite. It's pretty good.

This... is pretty good.

She smiles, and laughs a little at a joke Danny makes.

Yeah. This is pretty good.

[feriowind]

i wrote up a whooole feral luffy AU bit on twitter last night so am posting it here too (slightly cleaned up) hahaha

Feral luffy AU where the basis is that Luffy is the one who, somehow, set sail the day the celestial dragons arrived and had his boat shot down. 

 He's considerably further out to sea when this happens, and when he falls into the water, he's swept away by a strange ocean current. He winds up on a deserted island surrounded by the same strange currents and it keeps him stranded. 

 Ace and Sabo are devastated by the loss of Luffy, as is Garp, Makino, Dadan and the bandits, and later on Dragon and Shanks when they find out, attempts are made to locate Luffy's body but they never find him, the assumption that he sank too far out into the ocean due to his devil fruit. Ace & Sabo grow up significantly less cheerful without Luffy's presence, but their bond to one another is as strong as ever.

 Sabo fakes his death after begging Garp for help, anything to throw off his family from ever finding him again. Garp agrees because his hatred of certain nobility has grown significantly after Luffy's "death", and he can't stand the thought of losing another grandson.

 Luffy meanwhile, adapts as best he can. Surviving in this new jungle is painful, but doable despite the constant near brushes with death. The true hardship is how lonely he is without his brothers. Luffy has always thrived in the company of others, and without any he struggles, but again, Luffy adapts. 

 He manages to befriend some of the animals in the jungle, and accidentally discovers conqueror's haki when he nearly loses his hat to a predator, his one link to something beyond this island.

 The animals can't replace his brothers, but they ward off the loneliness. Throughout this time, Luffy makes multiple attempts to sail off the island with handmade rafts. Craftsmanship has never been his strong suit however, so they crumble instantly in the harsh currents.

 Perhaps due to luck, the currents always wash him back ashore instead of allowing him to sink and drown. Luffy's speech also slowly degrades over time. As much as he loves talking to his animal friends, the inability to hear someone else speak causes his words to slur and distort

 Ace and Sabo still hold true to their promise to set sail at age 17, but decide that they want to sail together instead of separating. When they finally set sail, they decide to take their time getting to the Grandline, exploring more of the East Blue at a leisurely pace.

After roughly a week of sailing, they get caught in a freak storm and are swept away by a giant wave where they too end up caught in the same strange current that stole Luffy all those years ago. The two wind up unconscious on Luffy's island, where Luffy finds them on the beach.

Luffy doesn't recognize them however, only that wow! For the first time since he arrived, there are other humans on the island with him that are alive! It's an exciting occurrence, and Luffy drags their bodies to the jungle where the tide won't reach.

When poking and prodding don't wake the two, Luffy sets off to gather food for his guests. He still remembers how tired and hungry he was when he first washed ashore, and figures they'd feel the same. As Luffy comes back, Ace wakes up in a panic.

Luffy rushes Ace in excitement and babbles. It's nearly incomprehensible to Ace however, especially in his panicked just-woken hazy-brained state. All Ace wants is to know where Sabo is and where this place is, and pushes Luffy away.

That's when Ace notices Sabo is lying just a few feet away asleep. The tension leaves him immediately and he's able to actually pay attention to the stranger trying to talk to him. 

Luffy is young and shorter than what he would have been had he been able to grow up on Dawn Island. His hair is long, wild and tangled, and he's dressed in furs and leathers. As Ace is studying him, he asks if he's the one who saved him and Sabo. 

For a moment Luffy stares silent, mind untangling the words until they make sense, and then he nods exuberantly. He tries to explain that he found them unconscious on the beach along with their boat, but Ace can barely decipher Luffy's speech. It sounds like someone speaking with a heavy accent at lightning speed.

But it’s then Ace notices the faint scar under Luffy's eye, and the strawhat hanging off his back. That in combination with Luffy's excited movements and speech sets off confusing alarms in his head.

Luffy's dead, Ace knows this, but he forces this strange kid to calm down and asks for his name. Again it takes a moment for Luffy to understand, and he replies. There's that same strange lilt to his words, but it's clear. Monkey D. Luffy! and it's said with a wide, proud grin.

Ace's world tilts then. Luffy? MONKEY D. LUFFY? His brain feels like its shorting out, refusing to register this new bit of information. He thinks he chokes a reply of some kind, but his mind feels blank. Luffy only laughs, not noticing Ace's shock.

In broken speech he asks for Ace's name too, but Ace doesn't hear his question, can only stare at Luffy's face. It can't be Luffy, he thinks. Because if it is... IF IT IS... They're only roughly a week's sail from Dawn Island. Just 7 days.

Is this boy trying to tell Ace that Luffy, in these past 7 years, was only a 7 days boat ride away? And they simply didn't look hard enough? He was here all alone while Ace and Sabo moved on? Ace's heart feels like it's constricting as his vision tunnels in on Luffy.

Luffy's finally noticed that this stranger is looking pale and ill, and pats him in worry. Is he sick? Does he need food? Are you okay, he asks. Ace grabs Luffy's arm then and stares at him with a strange expression. Luffy, it's me, he says, voice shaking. Ace.

Luffy's brows furrow in confusion and he tilts his head. Ace repeats himself, voice growing stronger. I'm Ace! he exclaims, and waits (prays) to see the light of recognition in Luffy's eyes.

Luffy mouths Ace's words silently to himself with frown. Ace? ...ACE! Luffy suddenly leaps towards Ace, landing directly on his chest and crushing him against a tree. He's directly on him and he's got Ace's head clasped roughly between his hands as he stares at his face intently

Ace? Luffy asks out loud, and starts repeating it over and over as he studies Ace's face. Luffy's grip is stronger than expected but Ace manages to give a jerky nod. The piercing stare breaks and Luffy's eyes water. ACE! he cries out in joy and it's the only word he can say.

Luffy wildly paws at Ace's face, then shoulders and arms, as if trying to make sure he's really there, and he's laughing and crying all at once. He then suddenly turns to Sabo on the ground and starts patting his body. He looks up at Ace with a hopeful smile and asks, Sabo?

Ace chokes back a sob because oh. OH. It's really Luffy! He was here this whole time and they never knew! Why hadn't they just looked HARDER? Luffy meanwhile crows in joy and triumph that BOTH his brothers are here with him. 

Ace gets down next to Sabo and starts violently shaking him. Wake up WAKE UP, how can he be SLEEPING when the greatest thing they thought they had lost was BACK. Sabo groans awake and is greeted by the pained teary face of Ace and an equally teary, but grinning stranger

 the shock of the scene jolts Sabo upright and he asks what's wrong? What happened? Ace just points to the boy beside him. It's Luffy, he says through clenched teeth, as if he were trying his best to stave off a breakdown. Huh? Sabo replies, what about Luffy?

 it's LUFFY, Ace grits out again, and this time Luffy chimes in with a cheery, Sabo! and leans in close to his face. Sabo is still confused and Ace nearly snarls in frustration. Luffy's ALIVE, Ace growls, and Luffy laughs. Sabo stares at Luffy and understanding slowly dawns.

 Luffy? he asks in disbelief, and Luffy nods excitedly before crowding in Sabo's face even more. Sabo! Luffy says with a smile and starts repeating his name like he had done with Ace earlier. Sabo, Luffy's been here this whole time, Ace says in a pained whisper.

 This whole time? And the same realization that Ace had grows in Sabo. Luffy, you've been here, all alone...? And we were so close? Sabo's body moves and wraps Luffy's body in a bone crushing hug. Luffy, I- we didn't know! Sabo stammers but it sounds like a terrible excuse.

 Guilt is devouring both Ace and Sabo but Luffy is only smiling. He's overjoyed that his brothers are here, and with their help he can definitely get off this island now! Things do work out!

 We have to go back to Dawn Island, Sabo says suddenly. We need to take Luffy home and we- we gotta tell Gramps! And Dadan and Makino! Luffy's okay! He's okay! And it's like a dam breaks and Sabo is the first one to break down into a full-body sob.

 Luffy gives a cry of dismay and does his best to comfort Sabo. Ace gives in and wraps both Luffy and Sabo in a hug. Both older brothers are whispering apologies to Luffy responds with just wrapping his arms several times around them both in one of his infamous rubbery hugs.

 like luffy had tried to explain earlier, the brothers' ship is beached on the coast and, surprisingly, only suffering a few minor scuffs. their departure is fairly swift, only waiting for the ideal weather after gathering some supplies and luffy's scant belongings

 Perhaps one or two of Luffy's animal friends joins them, but regardless, with the help of a 3 man crew, a sturdy ship, and an actual navigator, Luffy finally escapes the island, and the 3 brothers head home.

 Now all Ace and Sabo have to worry about is helping Luffy readjust to human civilization........

[letarasstuff]

"I don't wanna leave you, Daddy"

(A/N): This was requested by an Anon and it's based on this concept. I hope you are ready for the feels.

Summary: Hotch's daughter is an introvert. A quiet one. But why does she go even quieter after her mother's death?

Warnings: So much hurt. Angst. Fluff. It's bitter sweet.

Wordcount: 2.3k

✨Masterlist✨ _____________________________

(Y/N) never really was an outgoing person. Even since she was able to walk and talk, she still clung to her parents. She refused to play on the playground when other children were there. Socializing was just not her thing. Her parents were sure that she would never be the person to stand up and perform on stage spontaneously. And it is ok.

This doesn’t really change when Jack comes around. Sure, as he grows older and more capable of things (Y/N) plays with him. But it really seems like he is the only one around her age she is not afraid to befriend.

Aaron and Haley reassure themselves that their daughter will find friends in elementary school. After all this is an institution where many children go to and there also are adults trained for helping them coming along. She definitely will find at least one other kid to hang out with regularly and learn how to be a proper child. Because as of right now (Y/N) is more like a little adult, taking responsibilities, like watching over her little brother, she doesn’t need to do voluntarily. Maybe she will be more messy, rebellious, anything but a perfect child.

But this doesn’t exactly happen. (Y/N)’s teachers are really happy with her. Every parent-teacher conference is about how well and polite she is, always behaving good and following the rules. Sadly, they don’t have any good news regarding her social life. It’s not that she doesn’t get along with her classmates, it’s just that she isn’t able to strike up a conversation or is very good at keeping one long enough that a kid is interested in her.

Knowing that (Y/N) is mostly quiet in her school days, Aaron makes it a habit to bring her more often to the office. She surprisingly warms quickly up to his team and whenever she is around them the girl is an unstoppable tornado running loose around the bullpen.

This is kind of how she grows up until the age of middle school. (Y/N) learns some social skills and makes a few friends over the last few years. Unfortunately these friendships are not as deep as the parents wish, still it’s better than nothing.

Things get difficult when Aaron and Haley start to separate. It never is easy when parents fall out of love and it is not only difficult for Jack to see his father not as often as he used to, considering he still is a toddler needing both parents. Especially (Y/N), who is more of a daddy’s girl than a mommy’s girl, suffers from the situation at home.

Of course it’s hard on her to not see her father for a week or two at a time, but ever since her parents are going on parted ways she sees him at most one weekend every three weeks. This also changes her social life dramastically.

“(Y/N), don’t you wanna do something with your friends? You can invite them over for the weekend”, Haley suggests after watching her daughter not going out with somebody outside of school for several days. For the past two weeks the ten year old just comes home, does her homework and puts her nose in one of the books her Uncle Spencer recommended.

The girl only looks up at her mother to shake her head. “Why not, Sweetie? I haven’t seen William and John in so long. Are you still friends with them?” (Y/N) nods again. “So what is it? Are you guys fighting?” Haley sits down next to her on her bed.

“No, they just-just don’t know about this. I don’t want to tell them. And I want to stay home. It’s ok how it is right now”, she admits. Her mother’s heart breaks at that statement.

In this moment she realizes that anything a parent does has immediate consequences for the children. “I’m sorry, Sweetie. I didn’t know this is so hard for you. Maybe you can talk to them over the next few days about it, I think it’ll help you. Do you want to watch a film with me for now? Jack has a sleepover at a friend’s. We can do a girl’s night. We hadn’t had one in a long time.”

(Y/N)’s eyes light up at that. “With all the candy in the world?” Haley smiles at the newfound excitement. “Of course. Anything you want.”

From only seeing Aaron every now and then it suddenly turns to not knowing when she will see him next. After George Foyet ambushes him and makes his family into the next target, (Y/N), her brother and her mother have to go into witness protection.

The goodbye at the hospital is painful and filled with tears. “But Dad, I don’t want to leave you. I’ll miss you too much. I don’t like not seeing you. And what about you? You will be more lonely and-and I can’t leave you”, she confesses, sobbing into him.

Hotch has to hold his own tears back. He doesn’t want to come over as stoic, but as the strong father figure he always tries to be. “Honey, I know I’ll miss you so much. You have to be strong for your mother. This will not be easy and I know it. I promise to do my best to get all of you back as soon as possible, ok? Please be good for your mother and behave. We all need to work together for you to get back fast and safely.”

(Y/N) continues to cry into his hospital gown. Aaron can’t help it and dissolves in tears himself while trying to calm her down. “Shh, Honey. Everything will be fine. I’m so so sorry for all this. I never wanted something like this to happen. Shh, we will see each other real soon. The team and I will do our best. Just please, don’t cry. Please, it all will be better. I can’t let you go without seeing your beautiful laugh for one last time.”

“I don’t wanna leave you, Daddy. I-I wanna stay with you and Uncle Dave and Auntie JJ and Uncle Spencer and Uncle Der and Auntie Penny and Auntie Em. I’m scared you won’t be fine when we come back.”

It’s needless to say that nobody cracked even a smile that day.

Going into witness protection made Haley worry about Jack especially. He is just four years old and she isn’t sure how much he understands about what’s going on. Surprisingly the boy gets accustomed to the situation pretty fast. Of course he misses his father and his people from school, but he is also quick to meet new ones in the town they moved to.

(Y/N) has bigger problems. New school. New kids. New everything.

“Maybe you can see it as a fresh start. Here is nobody you know. You can be whoever you want to be. I can take you shopping and you can try out a new style”, her mother tries to make the situation sound advantageous to her. But the girl dryly answers: “When somebody doesn’t like me how I am now, how will they like an act?”

Sam Kassmeyer regularly reports back to Aaron about his family’s well being. “Jack is thriving. His teachers describe him as a bundle of joy. (Y/N) slowly gets acclimated to the change. Haley told me she started making friends with a girl in their neighborhood. I already ran a background check and the family is clean.”

Hotch lets out a sigh of relief. He turns towards the image on Penelope’s monitor. “Happy fifth birthday, Buddy.”

A few weeks after that it seems like the events overturn each other.

Foyet coming back. Kassmeyer getting tortured. Foyet finding Haley and the children. Them coming back to their house. The call. Working the case with Jack. The gunshot. The fighting noises. Hotch opening the box and hugging both of his children, relieved to see them alive.

The following weeks are difficult for the now smaller family. They mostly consist of watching videos of happy memories and talking about their feelings. Although it’s more like Jack talking about his feelings, (Y/N) went mostly silent ever since their mother’s death. This worries her father more than anything.

Two months have gone by. “Hey Honey, I’m going into the office today. Do you wanna come with me, stay at home or go to school? Anything is fine by me”, he asks her softly, kneeling beside her chair at the table. The girl is munching on her cereal halfheartedly.

“Can I come to the office?” (Y/N) asks in a hoarse voice. It’s actually the first time in four days that Aaron hears her voice. A small smile forms on his face. “Of course, that’s nice. Aunt Penny is asking me after her favorite Hotchner for days on end now. And Uncle Spencer got a stack of books he has for you to read.”

His daughter nods and quickly gets ready. They are soon on their way to Quantico after dropping Jack off at daycare. “How are your classmates? Do you like the new school?” They decided to send (Y/N) to a different school. She couldn’t bear the thought of only being the girl whose Mom died because of a serial killer.

“It’s fine. There are a few girls who are really nice. I think we can be friends. Mo-” She suddenly cuts herself off. Aaron glances over at her. “Continue, Sweetheart. Just tell me what’s on your mind”, he tries to encourage her.

The girl hesitates before following her father’s advice. “Mom would have liked them,” she mumbles. It’s quiet for a few seconds. Hotch is looking for a suitable answer. After all it’s the first time she talked about her mother since her death. “I’m sure of it, Honey. Maybe you can invite them over and I can get to know them. Think about it, no pressure of course.” (Y/N) nods to indicate that she heard him.

Not long later they enter the bullpen. “There she is! My little Hotchner! How you doing, Baby?” Derek asks her and envelopes her into a hug. But she only shrugs her shoulders. This goes on for the rest of the day. Whenever anyone talks to her, the only answer is given by her body language.

Hotch watches helplessly Spencer trying to engage in a conversation with her. His arms and hands are waving around. (Y/N) though just looks at him without being really there mentally. It seems like she is lost in her own thoughts, like it happened so often over the last few months.

“Have you tried talking to her about it?” Dave asks, sitting down on the chair opposite of him. Aaron looks at him funny. “Of course. But (Y/N) is just not ready to talk about Haley and everybody grieves differently. I can’t force her to speak, Dave.”

The older agent leans back in his seat. “I don’t think she needs to talk about her. This probably is too soon. She needs to talk about you. The changes.” After a short pause, in which the other one still doesn’t get the point, Rossi continues. “That little girl just lost her mother. She is scared to lose her father, the one with the high risk job. I think that is enough to talk about.”

This occupies the agent for the remainder of the day. Aaron was so invested in fulfilling both parent roles, that he forgot that he is just a father. The man his children go to when they have a nightmare. The one, who is more lenient than their mother. He can’t be both ones. He can’t be two people in one.

A kid trusts a mother and a father usually. And he can’t be mother and father at once. Hotch has to accept the fact. The fact that (Y/N) and Jack are going to grow up without a mother. But luckily not without mother figures.

Later that day, after tucking Jack in, Aaron knocks on his daughter’s door. A small “Come in!” echoes back to him. He enters her room and spots (Y/N) already in her bed reading a book Spencer gave her today.

“Hey, do you have time before it’s lights out?” He asks, still wanting to give her the upper hand on this. The girl nods and scoots over for her father to take a place. He lays next to her, pulling his daughter into a hug.

“I know I can’t promise it. Coming back to you every time. You know it as much as I do. But I promise you to try anything and everything in the books. You guys keep me going.” Tears roll over both of their faces.

“I-I just”, (Y/N) moves her head onto his chest to sob into it, “Just don’t wanna lose you, too. I-I don’t think I-I can’t be the girl, who doesn’t have a mother AND a father. C-can you stop that from happening?” Hotch has to wipe his eyes before answering.

“I-I try to keep that from happening, Honey. I promise.”

This is how they fall asleep, squished in a twin bed close to each other. In the morning they both are overheated and got a visitor during the night. Jack wakes them up, asking why they had a sleepover without him.

This morning is the first time Aaron sees (Y/N) smiles since day zero.

Taglist:

All works:

@dindjarinsspouse @big-galaxy-chaos

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl @herecomesthewriterwitch @ash19871962

[asterlark]

ok. samwell college of music au. i wrote all four years let's go babey

eric bittle is this lovely southern tenor (sounds kinda like mitch grassi or ben j pierce) who posts covers (& sometimes originals, but always with neutral or no pronouns because he can't post anything that says he or him ☹) on his youtube channel and has major stage fright but is very talented; he also plays ukulele

he got into samwell college of music on a voice scholarship and his dad doesn’t exactly approve but eric was never the 6′2″ masculine football player he wanted anyway so why not go for his dreams

he auditions for the very competitive samwell men’s contemporary chorus (there’s like 20 choirs; chamber choir, jazz choir, a cappella groups (lax bros do a cappella), combined choirs, etc- smcc does contemporary pop/rock music) and while he’s very very nervous and shaky as he auditions, directors hall & murray see a lot of potential in him (with major grumbling from student director jack)

(the rest of this ridiculously long au under the cut)

the group is small, for a chorus, because the point of the group is not a wall of sound but a focus on all of the very talented guys’ voices coming together in these gorgeous harmonies and basically they’re like one of the best choruses on campus and all the male singers want in

so there’s jack zimmermann, who of course eric knows because everyone knows who he is, he’s the son of bob and alicia zimmermann, both incredibly talented and famous musicians, and basically those genes were in his favor because he’s mega fucking talented

(jack was supposed to sign a recording contract to be in a band with his best friend kent parson when he was 17 but something happened between them and the pressure was too much and jack overdosed on something- there’s so many rumors no one knows what’s real- and kent signed solo in LA & went on to win grammys for his albums about a mysterious ex and jack disappeared for a few years to be a counselor at a music camp and reappears at samwell, knocking everyone’s socks off again like he’d never left, except with a renewed vigor and intenseness that freaks everyone out)

jack is a contemporary writing & production major, freaky talented and sings like a modern day frank sinatra, and he plays like 20 instruments and can read music like breathing air and writes songs like if he stopped he’d die; his music is folksy and mournful and he plays all the instruments on his tracks himself- guitar, piano, strings, drums- it sounds like a full band but nope. just jack. he’s intense

“we all get nicknames in this choir,” justin informs eric on his first day, “we’re those kinda guys.” so he’s bitty, which he finds vaguely offensive (bc he’s not that short!) but still cute, & the rest of the group is introduced to him:

“shitty” knight (voice like colyer) is a musical education major and an enigma of a singer with this awesome, earthy, raspy voice that’s really interesting to listen to and a very.... unique style & look; he writes cheesy but shockingly good raps about social justice topics and he will sing-lecture you if you’ve said something offensive (he also plays banjo)

justin “ransom” oluransi is a music business & management major with an angelic voice you can’t help but listen to; he’s sultry and has an incredible range and does runs like nobody’s business (with a voice like daniel caesar or leslie odom jr UGH)

adam “holster” birkholtz is a voice performance major, wants to be on broadway and it’s all he ever goddamn talks about basically, he’s a belter and has a lot of charisma and starpower and he’ll charm the pants off of you within one note; can also play piano and irritates everyone constantly because his regular volume is like a level 11 (voice like the frontman of my brothers and i combined w/ x ambassadors lead singer)

larissa “lardo” duan is at the local art institute because performing arts is not her jam and she’d much rather paint; she’s a barista at annie’s and supervises open mic nights and keeps the annoying choir dudes from driving away all her patrons

“i’m not even in your dumbass choir,” she says when the group gave her her nickname. holster just told her that she was an honorary member and then started sing-shouting a song at her about how good she is

bitty’s first year is hard because he’s talented and he works hard but he shies away when anyone asks him to sing outside the group and like, he can sing to a camera by himself but being on a stage with everyone looking at you and the sole responsibility of the song on your shoulders is terrifying and no thanks

jack does not. understand this. he’s been performing practically since he came out of the womb and he doesn’t really get performance nerves (what he gets is anxiety about how he did after he gets off stage that follows him home and makes it so he can’t sleep) - so he bothers bitty about it constantly like “you just need practice, you just have to sing by yourself a lot and then you’ll get over it” which like.... that’s true but it’s also hella scary and bitty’s like “no thanks!!!!”

but jack’s annoying and intense so he makes bitty do open mic with him every saturday night and it’s going okay and bitty loves his choir and loves his school and these new friends he’s making and he finally feels comfortable enough to come out to them during his second term

then during their spring choral showcase at the end of his freshman year bitty has a solo and he’s worked really hard on it and he’s feeling good- okay he’s completely freaked out but he’s trying to feel good- but when he gets up on stage there’s so many people and the stage lights are so hot on his face and he flips out a little and maybe he passes out from anxiety and stress right on stage and it’s terrible and he’s so embarrassed and ashamed that he ruined their set at the showcase

of course jack blames himself because “we shouldn’t have given you a solo before you were ready, i misjudged it, i’m sorry” - and they all feel kinda bad bc holy fuck they didn’t know his stage fright was that bad like they didn’t know someone could pass out just by being anxious to sing

he practices all the time over the summer and goes to his local open mic at jack’s insistence and it actually helps a lot because instead of a sea of strangers judging him it’s a bunch of people he knows and they’re all smiling at him and when he finishes his song they cheer for him and it boosts his self-confidence a lot

his sophomore year they have three new members- chris ”chowder” chow (voice like ieuan), an excitable music education major with impressive rapping skills, derek "nursey" nurse (frank ocean or leon bridges type), a songwriting major who can also play violin and guitar, and will ”dex” poindexter (like tom west), a production & engineering major who tried out with chowder bc he needed moral support and didn't expect to get in but impressed the directors with his voice

the year’s going pretty good, bitty’s still pretty scared of singing alone but more confident now and the open mic nights with jack haven’t stopped, so he’s getting better. and one night they’re hanging out at annie’s after closing waiting for lardo to be done so they can walk her home, and bitty suggests that jack sing with him one of these nights, and jack says he doesn’t know any of bitty’s songs and bitty says they can write one together half jokingly but then jack is like “yes.” with that Intense Look

SO they get together a couple days later in jack’s room at the house they all live in together (bitty moved in at the beginning of the year after previous smcc member john johnson called him- how’d he get his number?- and told him he could take his room if he wanted), jack with his guitar and bitty with his ukulele, and it’s a little awkward until bitty says jack should play him one of his songs

and, okay, he doesn’t really know what to expect because the only music jack ever released to the public was that one single he did with kent parson when they were 17 so bitty doesn’t even know if he has anything to play him, but he does- he starts playing these soft, sad notes on the guitar and opens his mouth and sings about being lonely and scared and unsure, about false starts and shaky ground and not knowing where you stand with someone, about expectations and lying awake at night and wishing so hard you were someone else, and bitty watches him sing and just kind of... realizes he’s head over heels for this boy and internally Freaks Out a little

he tries to put that aside and they start to write this song, at first it’s weird because jack’s like “all your songs are love songs i can’t really relate to happy love songs” and bitty’s like “listen... i’ve never even had a boyfriend i just write a bunch of sappy love stuff because it’s not about me it’s about whoever’s listening to it, they’re gonna project their own experiences on my music anyway so it doesn’t matter if it’s my real life or not” and jack’s like “alright while fake af that’s smart and i respect you” (what bitty doesn't say is that he writes about what he really wants which is to fall in love & be in a happy relationship)

they say they’re just gonna write this kinda vague sad song but they both secretly write lines about their actual lives so it ends up being really personal and real and raw for the both of them

they sing the song at open mic that saturday and the crowd at annie’s is never that big but they’ve never got a standing ovation here before, and some girl shouts “MAKE AN ALBUM” (it may or may not be lardo) and they both blush furiously and bitty’s like “... that was really nice, jack” and jack’s like “... yeah it was good good job you’re really getting some confidence out there nice work” (bitty: “THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT AAAAH”)

around this time jack’s really thinking about what he’s gonna do when he’s done at samwell, talking with his parents and his agent and looking into different record companies and deciding if he wants to sign with anyone or possibly start his own company- the head of a small company called falcon records in rhode island has been talking to him a lot, and jack talks to bitty about how he thinks it’d be nice to start small, and the record exec georgia and the producer marty had both been really nice and welcoming, and bitty’s so happy for him but also just... sad that he won’t be around jack every day after he graduates

THEN at a haus party celebrating their win of a local choral competition, who shows up but none other than pop star kent parson to Ruin The Fun

bitty sees the way jack pales when kent walks in, notices them disappear upstairs together and feels a little sick worrying about jack but chalks it up to the highly alcoholic concoction shitty and lardo had cooked up but nonetheless decides he’s sick of the party and goes up to his room and hears.... a little too much

and YIKES he’s standing right there and kent parson, pop star, two-time grammy winner, is looking a little rumpled and staring right at him and he puts his hat on and clears his throat and snaps at jack- “hey. well. call me if you reconsider. but good luck with rhode island. ...i’m sure that’ll make your parents proud.” and jack’s shaking, and bitty doesn’t know what to do but jack goes back into his room and bitty’s just kind of standing there like What The Fuck

so.... he kind of stews over winter break but tries not to think about it too much and he and jack text a bit and jack tells him to practice and bitty’s like “oh, you” and jack’s like “im serious” and bitty’s like “>:( it’s christmas”

spring semester starts and they're doing well in competitions and they go to semifinals and then finals for a prestigious collegiate choir competition and the pressure is mounting but they all are so optimistic and really feel like they're on the same page and bitty’s confidence is better than ever and then.... they don't win

jack especially takes it very hard, but then he also has signing to worry about, which everyone helps him with and he decides to sign with falcon records and start work on an album after graduation

speaking of graduation, shitty and jack graduate and it's hard for them but harder for bitty who feels like he's losing jack in a way, he knows how intense jack gets when he's making music and it doesn't feel like he'll have any time for bitty anymore so when they say goodbye bitty goes back to the haus and listens to his and jack's song and just cries

but, like in canon, dadbob has words of wisdom to impart and jack has an "oh" moment and races across campus to kiss bitty

they get together and the next few months are spent with jack working nonstop on his album (which tbh, he'd had many of the songs written already so it's mostly recording and producing) and texting bitty constantly and coming to visit him and playing him demos of all the songs

jack also asks bitty if they can record the song they wrote together & have it as a bonus track on his album & bitty says of course, so when jack visits they set up an impromptu studio and record vocals in the guest bedroom and this deeply personal song they wrote before they were ever together means so much more to them now

and bitty is so happy but so scared and sad too because jack is playing him these songs telling him "they're all for you bits, & a lot of them are about you" and he just doesn't know how he's going to keep all this love inside even though it feels like jack's career is at stake

he tries to shove it down and stay strong though, especially since he's now an upperclassman and they're taking on new members- connor "whiskey" whisk (voice like finneas or the male singer in valley), a music business/ management major who seems to hate bitty's guts and tony "tango" tangredi (like chaz cardigan), a jazz composition major who astounds everybody with his endless questions but also his ridiculously impressive composition skills & naturally perfect pitch (he can also play saxophone??)

i want ford in this au so fuck it she is a composition major with dreams to write scores for musicals and she stars training as a barista at annie's (aka training to corral the smcc)

the pressure of it all proves to be a lot and bitty and jack have their hi, honey moment where bitty's like i can't be this deep in the closet!!! and so they tell the smcc and also jack's label that they're together and that eases things a bit

jack's album comes out to much critical acclaim and shouting in the groupchat ("#1 ON ITUNES BRAHHHHH!!!!!!!!") and several months later, when smcc has already been eliminated from choral competition in an earlier round, jack is nominated for SEVERAL grammys including best album, song of the year, and best new artist

when the time comes he takes his parents and bitty on the red carpet which, everyone keeps being like "who are you here with jack?" and he's like "my family and my good friend :)" and yes it is awkward

jack wins... all three awards. it's the comeback everyone is stoked to see and when his third win is announced, he and bitty are so elated that they kiss before he goes to accept the award

his speech is basically just "um... wow. thank you. i just kissed my boyfriend on live tv. this is amazing and i'm so humbled. i'd like to thank my boyfriend and georgia and marty and my parents and my friends and my boyfriend"

obviously the press has a FIELD DAY with this but bitty & jack are honestly vibing and so happy that it doesn't matter untiiiillll bitty's mom calls and he has to tell her "mama i'm gay and i'm going on tour with jack this summer okloveyoubye"

the last few months of bitty's junior year pass quickly and he's voted student director which is a huge honor considering how much he struggled with stage fright and confidence & how he'll now be stepping into ransom & holster's shoes

r&h and lardo all graduate (the smcc basically crashes the art school graduation and all scream when lardo gets her diploma lmao), which is a bittersweet occasion and they all do a bit of tearing up

that summer bitty goes on tour across the u.s. & canada with jack and his touring band (snowy is a bassist, tater is a drummer and poots does backing guitar, he also brings nursey to play violin on a few songs) as well as georgia who's there to manage logistics

and tour is so fun & chaotic with many bi and rainbow flags in the audience that end up thrown on stage and draped around jack's neck and they spend so many nights in the bus drinking and laughing and fooling around on the guitars and bitty's uke and exploring new cities bitty has never been to before and it's the freest bitty has felt in a long time

summer ends though, and jack leaves for the uk/europe leg of the tour, and with the new school year brings a few new members- river "bully" bullard (voice like gregory alan isakov), a music therapy major who draws his own cover art for his songs, lukas "louis" landmann (like jr jr), an electronic production and design major with a penchant for EDM, and johnathan "hops" hopper (like keiynan lonsdale), a film scoring major who wants to write music for movies and video games

bitty meets and befriends some of the other student directors- shruti, sd of the women’s contemporary chorus; sharon, sd of the chamber choir; and edgar, sd of jazz ensemble (even chad l., sd of the all-male a cappella group)

senior year passes similarly to the comic; coach visits and sees one of bitty’s competitions, jack comes to madison for christmas, smcc does well in competition and goes to regionals etc

however… bitty keeps putting off and putting off gathering the songs for his senior recital

he has a hard time doing that because he’s so focused on the group and making sure they’re performing well and as they advance in competition, everything else starts to fall away

eventually the rest of the smcc has to lock away his uke and change his youtube password and FORCE him to choose songs for it and start preparing because he cannot graduate without doing this recital and doing well on it

he chooses (of course) a beyonce song, a few of his own songs, an ellie goulding song, and an adele song

with all that his breath hitches and his hands shake before he goes on stage, he does really well and his voice instructor prof atley tears up a little in the audience as does his mom

meanwhile smcc goes to semifinals, then finals, of the national collegiate choral competition they participate in

and i imagine bitty faces somewhat less homophobia in this au because i mean, he’s in the performing arts, but i think it’s still there and he also faces a good amount of classism from richer students and performers who think they’re better because they had the resources and money to be performing professionally from a very young age, and he has been practicing via filming himself on a shitty camcorder and posting it to youtube

but they still get there! and the national finals are fucking HUGE and a big deal and a little overwhelming

bitty’s stage fright is Present because this is the biggest stage and the biggest stakes he's ever had and he has a big solo in one of their songs so if he fucks up, he fucks up a national championship for his whole group and school

luckily though, when he steps on the stage with his best friends and sees his boyfriend and family and smcc alums in the audience and they perform their first song, a high-energy pop medley that always gets the crowd going, everything seems to melt away and it's just him living in this moment and singing his heart out

when it gets to the next song and his solo, he forgets to be nervous and belts it out, getting screams of approval from the audience when he finishes

(dex and nursey do have a duet together that they had to practice for many long nights in the practice rooms alone but that's neither here nor there)

their time on stage seems to last both hours and no time at all and then they're done, the crowd gives them a standing ovation and it's at least 30% r&h & shitty's hooting and hollering and jack's enthusiastic clapping that makes bitty & the others beam with pride

then it's just waiting, giddy and nervous beyond belief in their green room, for the judging to be over

after what feels like forever they're back on stage, arms linked together waiting and hoping for their name to be called and it is, they win and it feels like years have built up to this moment, and bitty tears up because years ago when he was fainting from anxiety at having to perform in front of people he never could've imagined that he'd do this, that he'd be the student director that led them to a championship

they get the trophy and a ridiculous amount of flowers from their loved ones and they all are just in giddy disbelief that this is happening, they're national champs!!! they are the best choir boys in the nation!!

they come home and the rest of the school year passes by so quickly that it's very suddenly graduation and bitty can't believe his college career at samwell is over 😢

(he and ollie and wicky take pictures together, o&w talk about how excited they are to devote full time attention to their band & wedding planning and bitty's just like wait you're gay??)

bitty got plenty of offers from record companies but he likes his freedom of creativity and he has a built in fanbase from doing youtube all these years so he decides to make an album independently (jack helps him produce & master it 🥰)

when bitty's album comes out about a year later, full of bops about being gay and in love and having struggled but come out the other side more confident than ever, it doesn't get any grammy nominations- and he didn't expect or need that.

what it does do is it resonates. it makes the rounds in youtube and queer internet circles; people his age reach out to him saying this is the music they wish they had as a kid and kids reach out to him saying he's a role model and they're so glad to have his music to listen to. his album is written about as an underrated gem that shines with queer brilliance and is sure to start a party when it comes on.

his parents may not fully understand the road he's chosen for himself but they're still so proud and promote the album as hard as any of his loyal fans (especially the one country-inspired song on the album that he wrote and dedicated to them).

and jack, jack who saw this album from its infancy to its release date, who took the film photo that ended up being the album cover, who worked with bitty to make sure his vision was realized exactly how he wanted it to be, is proud beyond words.

jack starts using his semi-abandoned twitter again to tweet "stream [album name]" every day and bitty retweets them sometimes, with just a "this boy. ❤"

and they're happy. they're good. they have come so far and they are reaping the rewards of all the hard work they put in to make the music that they truly love.

the end :)

[clouds-rambles]

Im not even gonna go anonymous anymore. Arghh asking for another request makes me feel guilty knowing you have an essay due so i'll just present you a little prompt!

Being immortal and outliving people you love, you know the drill. It must be sad and lonely. But you know what i feel like would be devastating? Just imagine Teyvat in a time loop. Meeting your friends for the first time, getting know them, hearing their plans and ambitions, sticking with them through dark times, falling in love... Reader just happens to be the one to witness all of it over and over and over again.

Don’t worry about it! I’m horrifically avoiding it right now. I’ll probably have some lunch and do some more of it after lunch. I’m talking about things I enjoy so hopefully it wont take up too much of my brain and we’re going to ignore the graphic novel I have to create in 2 weeks too lmao I’m a professional procrastinator

I have a bit of an idea with this so I hope you don’t mind it being platonic and with the Mondstat guys either. I’m going to reference a previous set of headcanons where you’re the leader of the winds. The two writings aren’t related relationship wise though.

Pairings; (Platonic) people of Mondstat x reader

Warning(s); angst

Keep reading under the cut!

You had done this cycle millions of times before. Before you even became the leader of the winds, when you were just a small spirit. Much like your friend Barbatos.

And while the archon of this land could sleep for thousands of years at a time you had elected to protect his people from the dangers that the god of freedom was too asleep to do anything about. And in fairness you can understand why Barbatos has been asleep many a time to avoid his brain contaminating with similar ideals to Decrabain. You can’t blame him really...

But you’re so horrifically lonely. And it’s not like you’re surrounded by an absence of people. In reality you often find yourself over compensating for your loneliness. Nights are often spent in the tavern conversing with mortals that you can’t quite understand.

You half wish you could ascend to Celestia, at least there you can be merry with fellow immortals and not have the constant threat of losing a friend dear.

You have known the Ragnvindr family for many generations. It’s not like they are hard to notice. Bright red hair and, more often than not, a sweet, bubbly personality. Not many of the Ragnvindr’s have been blessed with visions, but they all make their way through life the best way possible. And while they seem to show similar thought processes to the previous anemo archon, especially considering the fact they basically own the alcohol industry in Mondstat, and more recently Teyvat in her entirety. But when you see the family treating their employee’s so well and with a great wage you can’t help but think maybe humanity can move past the age of dictators. Or at least the humans of Mondstat.

The newest Ragnvindr, Diluc had always caught your eye. You had helped babysit both him and his brother while you weren’t busy reminiscing in memories of old mondstat and slaying monsters of your home. The air of change hangs heavy on the air when you’re around them, it seems like the winds you lead are trying to tell you something that you can’t yet decipher.

Until the day comes when you can. Seeing a broken, sobbing Diluc shut you out of his home not only made you sad. But, it infact reminded you that you shouldn’t get too close to mortals. For, like your friend Crepus’, mortal life is fleeting. 

You’ve seen many stories over the years, but there’s only so many times you can hear the same story before they all meld together.

Take Amber for instance, decided to become an Outrider because of her Grandfather. How many times had you heard that story? Someones grandfather joined the knights and inspired them? Too many to count. And as much as you want to remember Ambers story, you already know, like all the others, her memory will meld with the others. 

Kaeya’s story isn’t one you’ll forget quickly, especially when the deeds of  Khaenri'ah weigh heavy on your mind. Though you have seen a small handful of changing of alliance stories in your lifetime his is probably the one that’ll stick the most. Especially when the memory of him crying in your arms after the man he considered a father died. 

There’s this one young girl you remember from centuries ago. She reminds you of Barbara a lot. Carefree, loves the people she works for. Just this girl was born a few millennia too early. She was apart of the Windblume resistance alongside the bard Barbatos fashioned himself after. You had attempted to smuggle the girl out the fortress many a time yet she always wanted to help. 

Sometimes when you watch Barbara sing you can’t help but cry over a girl you considered your first friend after becoming leader of the winds. Barbara is under the impression that you hate her because of how you avoid the girl. But being constantly reminded of someone you couldn’t save in the end makes you so sad. You’re not sure how Barbatos copes with donning the face of a friend when you can barely look at the face of someone who reminds you of a lost friend.

Razor sits fondly on your mind. He reminds you of the people you did actually save in old Mondstat. You remember checking in on a handful of refugees that you had to hide in old caves and how easily they had climatized to foraging for food. Whenever you see Razor you’re reminded of another young boy who went missing millennia ago who was later found to have been raised by bears. 

Through the centuries you’ve become good at pairing up couples. You seem to be able to point out people who will later enter a marriage. You’re not sure if soulmates and reincarnation exists, but that’s your only explanation being able to point to couples so easily.

You wonder for an immortal like yourself would be blessed with a soulmate. Especially considering you weren’t originally in a humanoid form. Maybe there’s some thousand wind out there for you that you’ll never be able to meet and fall for because of this form.

Your mind stretches to Barbatos whenever you think this but you never let yourself linger on it for too long. Lord Barbatos doesn’t like commitment, and you’re very much content with that, yes sir. 

Your eyes often linger on Rosaria as you often ponder if she thinks she’s the only nun to have strayed from typical nun doings. You remember telling a small Rosaria tales of Decrabains nuns and how they helped with the resistance against the tyrant. You wonder if that’s what gave her the idea to stray from typical nunnery. 

You smile upon Lisa fondly, a bright young woman with aspirations as high as the stars. Much like Rosaria you remember telling a young Lisa about alchemy and sorcery. She had such a knack for it, and seeing the woman return after only two years of study was a little disheartening. But you’re sure there will be people after her who will have similar aspirations with better outcomes. It’s not unlike you’ve seen people scurry their lives away in the pursuit of knowledge. You can understand her want for a different life.

As much as it hurts you in the end most, if not all, the people of Mondstat have buried themselves in your heart. And like you have done countless times before you’ll have to move on from them once you’re dead, no matter how much it hurts. Your mind ponders to Adeptus Xiao of Liyue. He’s under a similar curse to you. The curse of being alone while being surrounded by people. You wonder if that’s why Xiao has distanced himself from mortals.

And as much as you feel like you should take a page out of his book, you find yourself falling in love with Mondstat’s citizens over and over again.

[meowthefluffy]

Ghost AU plot !

Premise: it’s a lot easier to solve a murder when you can actually talk to the victim, less so when they have amnesia but we’ll get there when we get there

so it all starts with Virgil moving to a new town (specifically his parents old hometown)

Virgil is nervous but Is greeted with a lot of excitement from the rest of the kids at school

A few weeks in one day at lunch as a initiation ritual he gets dared to go into the school basement

V is confused because he didn’t see a basement door on his tour of the school or in the days since it

The kids don’t explain at all and hands him off to the kid with a key to the basement

Enter Remy! He’s big tall and kinda intimidating and Virgil is thoroughly unsettled

And it definitely doesn’t help that after Remy tosses him the keys they threaten that if V loses them he’ll be skinned alive

Virgil is very uncomfortable but feels like he can’t back out now so he goes inside

He fumbles around in the dark for a while before finally finding a light switch

He flicks it on and is immediately greeted by a very dusty and gross basement storage room

He pokes around for a bit, passively notices that it smells weird in there and starts moving to the door to leave

Then BOOM all the lights go out and the door back out slams shut

Virgil startles backwards and bumps his head on the wall on the way down

Virgil scrambles for the flashlight attached to his key chain and when he turns it on he’s in for one heck of a jumpscare

Virgil jumps back, hits his head yet again and passes out

He wakes up to a kid he’s never seen before panicking to himself

Virgil tries to help the kid calm down but they’re demeanor immediately changes once’s Virgil addresses him

The kid then perks up and starts talking very excitedly about something Virgil couldn’t quite understand

Once Virgil’s head clears a bit he starts piecing together what the kid is saying when a specific section catches his attention

“ -I mean I didn’t even think it was possible for people to see me and-“

“ hold on, why wouldn’t I be able to see you?”

“Cause I’m a ghost duh!”

The kid proceeded to roll their eyes as if it was obvious

And honestly it was, Virgil just wasn’t paying attention to the very obvious blood marks, bruises, and uncomfortably yellow skin tone

The kid notices Virgil’s obviously fear and chimes in “ oh where are my manners, it’s lovely to meet you! I’m -“

Then they pause “ huh that’s funny…”

“Whats funny?”

“I don’t actually remember my name…”

“Oh-” Virgil Isn’t totally sure how to respond “that’s a bummer I guess ?”

“ yeah I guess it is…. We’ll anyway! What’s your name?” The ghost perks back up immediately

Virgil introduces himself

Then the two engage in small talk before Virgil mentions he should probably go back up to class

“WAIT!” The ghost says

….

“Before you leave can you please let me out? I’m kinda trapped here?”

“Why?”

“Dunno! I just know I can only leave this room if someone lets me out!”

“ I don’t know that sounds like a pretty good way to get cursed.”

“Oh please please please???”

“Nope not taking that risk”

“But it’s so lonely down here! If you let me out I’ll be your friend for forever and ever and help you with school and-and- uhhh”

“Okay okay!” Virgil just wants this weirdo to leave him alone so he can pretend it was all a dream

So against his better judgment Virgil let’s him out

And The ghost true to his word follows him through school all day, giving him solutions to hard math problems and being really encouraging when they can’t help

And then they follow Virgil home, and things start getting weirder

The ghost will not go away, and they keep bumping into stuff and he has to keep explaining away the mess to his parents

Finally Virgil snaps and asks the ghost why he won’t leave

“ I can’t “

“What do you mean you can’t???”

“I can’t leave if I have unfinished business!”

“So then finish your business? “

“ I can’t because I don’t know what it is? “

“ oh, that’s rough I guess …”

“ yeah :(“

“ what if we figured out who you were? Would that tell you what your unfinished business is?”

“ it probably would!!! “

“ then let’s do that so I can get you out of my hair “

And this is where the mystery would start! Here’s a few highlights of things that I think would happen

They do a bit of research on the jacket the ghost is wearing and figure out that from The years 1982-1984 the school colors changed to red and white, then back again to Green and purple after backlash from parents, that means that Roman probably died around that time, but it could also just have been passed down to him

Virgil’s parents started high school around 1984 so he thought he might be able to find his ghost in the older grades

He doesn’t expect it to be that easy tho and is shocked to find that a boy with an exact resemblance to his ghost not only was at the school in their same freshman class

Turns out his ghost is Roman Marigold, A boy who mysteriously disappeared in his second to last year of high school

And with a little more digging through his basement he finds a small shoe box shoved in a corner

Inside he finds yet another twist, his Parents, (Patton and Janus) didn’t just know Roman, they were best friends with him ( they find all the other yearbooks, with pictures of the three of them, and two other kids, hanging out together, and the final memorial spread for Roman, which mentions an older brother that he needs to look into)

Now things are starting to fall into place, but Virgil isn’t quite sure he like where this mystery is going….

Oh yeah, Virgil and Roman a also fall in love in a sad tragic way

[pennylanewrites]

I got seven different asks about the College AU so here are some headcanons I have about them! (imagine aiura is in the picture I couldn’t find a good one with all of them)

I definitely didn’t mean to make this so long but I can’t help it I love them all so much<3

~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~

Saiki Kusuo

→ marine!!!biology!!!major!!!!!!!!

→ doesn’t need to study but he still does bc he finds marine life so fascinating

→ read all of his textbooks on the first day bc he was so excited eeeek

→ always wears his germanium ring in class so he can stay hashtag focused

→ him and aiura have to bail toritsuka(didn’t go to college) out of jail once a month

→ speaking of aiura, she somehow has convinced him to go on a date on five different occasions

→ i think after high-school he realised he didn’t mind a kind of casual not-relationship with her

→ lets her hug him to greet him and sometimes he hugs back bc college boys stare a lot and he is just worried for her okay?

→ maybe I’m just projecting bc I kin aiura

→ does not go to parties unless he absolutely has to

→ if he does go to a party he’ll drink something quietly in a corner, just watching the crowd

→ a perv laced Teruhashi’s drink and almost lured her up the stairs so of fucking course Kusuo sprinted to help her, holding her on the way home bc men are drawn to her like bees to honey

→ she didn’t let him live it down ever

→ he rented a studio apartment and keeps it super clean, minimum clutter but enough to look lived in

→ cooks amazing food that Nendo smells from upstairs and next thing you know, they’re all bringing chairs to Kusuo’s apartment and have dinner

→ nothing excuses the fact he makes at least eight servings every time–

→ such a dad to everyone honestly

→ usually studies at a library or teleports back home if there’s a big test

→ mrs. saiki was banned from visiting every two days but she still ends up there somehow

→ not that he minds bc he’s the biggest mama’s boy ever

→ probably graduates a year early

→ doesn’t move away even though he got a job at the aquarium at the other side of the city help–

Kaidou Shun

→ fine arts major you can NOT change my mind

→ doesn’t do good in theoretical subjects but mans can draw some good bowls of fruit

→ wears those stained from the paints t-shirts all the time bc ‘no they’re not dirty it’s art!’

→ him and aren have small designated spaces in their apartment so they can focus on their hobbies/studying

→ his corner at the living room has newspapers on the floor to protect it from the splattering paint, some canvases propped up on the wall and a lot of unfinished projects

→ hides all of them when Nendou comes over

→ can not cook or clean to save his life

→ so he calls his mum to help clean up when Aren is at work

→ got over his 8th grader syndrome at some point

→ still wears red bandages bc he’s edgy

→ volunteers at the neighborhood exhibit centre

→ got asked to showcase his own works for a night and hasn’t shut up about it since

→ goes to yumehara for relationship advice and braids her hair as a thank you

→ couples sleepovers with Yumehara and Teruhashi (yes they’re dating shut up)

→ always makes something for Aren at special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries etc)

→ at first he went back home every saturday bc he missed his family :(

→ Aren helps him get over it though!!!!

Nendou Riki

→ got in on a sports scholarship

→ we already know he couldn’t be accepted in a college otherwise

→ in the chiropractic major bc he wants to be one of those athlete doctors

→ has failed way too many exams and classes

→ Hairo helps him so much though!!!

→ the last one in the group to graduate but somehow gets a job first (excluding Saiki)

→ him and hairo get up at 5 am for jogging or to hit the gym

→ and then he goes and gets noodles bc ‘if noodles aren’t for breakfast why do shops open at 6 am?’

→ hasn’t stepped foot in class in months

→ he gets decent grades after failing the first semester and it’s totally not Saiki’s doing

→ he ends up signing up for way too many clubs

→ attends all of the meetings and has so many friends through them

→ I would be his friend too in college honestly

→ a fraternity wanted to get him bc he’s so good at sports

→ he declined bc he does not understand how fraternities even work

→ is the life of EVERY SINGLE PARTY change my mind you can’t

→ whatever you do don’t imagine nendo surprising his boyfriend with flowers after every practice

→ *dies cutely*

Kuboyasu Aren

→ SOCIOLOGY MAJOR

→ idk I just think he would enjoy Marx’s Capital

→ debate club? hell yeah

→ gets in philosophical conversations at the school yard for HOURS

→ kaidou has to drag him away

→ only shops at thrift stores and makes coffee at home bc “capitalism is not accepted in this household”

→ rides his motorcycle to college even though he lives five minutes away

→ grew his hair out in a mullet again and he looks *chef’s kiss*

→ thought he would be moving too fast if he asked Kaidou to rent an apartment together

→ aiura convinced him it was fine

→ cooks kaidou’s favorite foods every day

→ participates in student rallies, human rights protests etc etc

→ comes home with bruises and kaidou thinks he looks so hot but still yells at him

→ Aren’s favorite place to study is his balcony or at a coffee shop

→ always with kaidou! cute boyfriends who do everything together!!

→ gets so drunk when they go out

→ drunk karaoke with kokomi yes yes yes

Hairo Kineshi

→ did someone say Athletic Training?

→ does every single sport and is amazing at it

→ will cheer for his bf if they have a game at the same time though

→ it was his idea to move in together bc ‘hey we’ve been dating for three years now might as well’

→ volunteers at a nearby elementary as a coach for the kids

→ SO GOOD WITH KIDS

→ wants to be a P.E. Teacher and he’s going to be great at it

→ does everything he can at campus

→ helping random clubs, making posters, cleaning up the hallways, helping the cheer squad with their new routine

→ dances ballet as a hobby even though he’s so good at it that he could be a professional

→ makes everything a competition with Nendo so they never get bored

→ once made everyone get up to jog with them and they ended up sleeping on random benches while Hairo and Nendo were halfway across town

→ will punch someone if he sees them catcalling a girl

→ doesn’t drink at all and eats super healthy

→ designated driver for the group’s outings downtown

Aiura Mikoto

→ THEATER MAJOR

→ is so good at stage acting it’s unreal

→ lands the lead role almost every time

→ is also an amazing singer so she gets great roles in musicals as well

→ doesn’t have to get a job bc she gets all her money from doing readings on campus

→ gets coffees and pastries from all the coffee shops around campus and sits Kusuo down so he can taste them

→ they have a little taste-testing date in his apartment until they decide none of them are as good as the ones at Cafe Mami

→ she totally doesn’t make him teleport there every morning and he totally doesn’t listen to her

→ moved in with chiyo bc they wanted a nice place that they couldn’t afford on their own

→ teruhashi told them to move in with her but they already loved their little place

→ aiura’s bedroom is the most comfortable and cozy room ever

→ their apartment is also the hang out spot for the group bc it’s just so homey

→ hangs out with her theatre group a lot, especially after class

→ they can’t compare to her friends though:(

→ everyone goes to her when they’re worried and she loves it bc she’s the mummy of the group

→ she makes everyone coffee and their comfort food before big exams:)

Yumehara Chiyo

→ psychology major one thousand percent

→ you know how they say that people choose psychology bc they don’t know what major they want?

→ that’s exactly what happened except she fell in love with it immediately

→ such a good student!!!

→ always does her assignments on time and still manages to have a social life

→ teruhashi asked her out at the end of their first semester and that’s the first time chiyo missed a deadline

→ practically lives with teruhashi, insisting it’s just to leave aiura alone

→ she’s just IN LOVE OKAY?????

→ would want to be a sorority girl at first

→ changed her mind when she realized how much shit they all talked

→ her and kaidou drink wine and talk about their relationships and studies

→ she’s so sleep deprived it’s unreal

→ she doesn’t need sleep anymore though

→ coffee is her best friend

→ makes asks Aiura for readings twice a week

→ brings all her psychology friends home and they analyze their textbooks

→ once she got the hang of it, she decided to examine Kusuo

→ she told him he needs actual medical evaluation

→ he almost threw her out the window when she offered some Xanax for his nerves

→ chiyo is a neat freak one hundred percent

→ hates when Aiura throws everything on the floor, but she loves cleaning

→ opens her own office after school

Teruhashi Kokomi

→ PRE-MED

→ lesbian doctor :)

→ just wanted to get away from her perv brother at first

→ she always wanted to be a doctor though, preferably a neurosurgeon

→ she’s super duper smart and hates when she gets good grades bc of her good looks:(

→ makes it her goal to show her professors that she’s more than a beautiful girl

→ hasn’t failed a single exam

→ helps everyone with their studies even though she’s drowning in work

→ drops the perfect girl image at college and decides she should try and aim for something normal

→ gets invited to every single party

→ in a knitting club bc it would get disbanded without one more member

→ knits!!!matching!!!sweaters!!!for all of her friends!!!

→ asked Chiyopipi out while drunk

→ never regretted it though

→ her and aren get so drunk when they go out with the group

→ it’s honestly unreal how much they can drink before passing out

→ has to get carried home

→ wakes up after getting drunk and runs to her class before remembering it’s Sunday

→ her penthouse has the perfect view of the sunset and sunrise and is all she could ask for in life

→ does get lonely so she’s practically living with Chiyo and Aiura

→ once she realized she didn’t like boys she made it her goal to get Saiki and Aiura together

→ people wonder how she has so much time to play matchmaker and volunteer while she’s in premed

→ does her internship at a hospital

→ ends up working there as a neurosurgeon after her Doctorate degree

~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~

[soft-solitude]

Tommy Innit Is Not Fine (tw: angst and slight mention of s*icide)

“So...how’s Tommy?”

Tubbo’s words were shaking in his throat, almost as badly as his hands were trembling as he forced them into the pockets of his coat. Wilbur’s old presidential coat, actually. He’d been building up the courage to utter those very words for weeks, now. Tubbo had cooled down from the events of the exile by the next morning, and he quickly came to the conclusion that he felt completely alone and completely miserable without Tommy.

Tubbo knew he had no right to say that, though. If he was lonely, he could barely even imagine how Tommy was feeling.

But...Dream was keeping Tommy company, right?

Right?

And Dream would visit with Tommy and head straight to L’Manburg immediately after. He’d treat Tubbo like a little brother, offering him praises and gifts and favors. Sometimes, it made Tubbo’s skin crawl. Other times, Tubbo felt so desperate for the affirmation that he paid no attention to the guilty, traitorous feeling sinking deep into his gut.

“Tommy?” Dream asked. His nose wrinkled slightly as he pondered his next chess move. (They played almost everyday, now.) “You want to know about Tommy?”

Tubbo didn’t actually know why Dream seemed surprised. The latter should’ve been expecting that. Of course, Tubbo wanted to know about Tommy. His Tommy.

Of course, the instantly clear answer was that Dream wanted Tommy off Tubbo’s mind. Wanted him to forget about his younger friend entirely. Wanted him to realize that they were better apart.

“I just want to know...” Tubbo began hesitantly. It was times like this when he was forced back into the reality of Dream being Tubbo’s only enemy, and one that would kill him without a moment’s notice. “Wanted to know if he’s alright, I guess.”

Thankfully, Dream only shrugged. He didn’t answer Tubbo yet, but he wouldn’t push Dream. It was quite obviously against his best interest.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tubbo caught a flash of color. Red and green, and some black and white as well. Ranboo, Tubbo decided instantly. He didn’t turn to look at the other boy. If Ranboo needed to speak, he would.

What seemed like ages later, Dream had dragged his queen a couple squares away, and then let out a dramatic sigh, drawing all the attention back to himself.

“Tommy’s fine,” Dream answered. Immediately, Tubbo noticed Ranboo tense, before his body began glitching rapidly in an out of existence. Ranboo was extremely riled up by that statement, apparently.

“He’s good, actually. Maybe even great. Liking the peace and quiet, I’d say. Plus, Wilbur brings him things every now and then. We hang out everyday. He considers me a friend. You have nothing to worry about, Tubbo. Tommy’s fine.”

And Oh, Fuck. Sincerely, Fuck. Tubbo barely even registered Dream’s words. He could only focus on the way he was trying to channel calm energy into Ranboo, who was barely holding onto this time frame. The half-enderman teenager tended to revert to his monster-like tendencies when scared; angry, or just generally overwhelmed. Tubbo had never seen Ranboo quite this out of control. But he didn’t want to take his eyes off Dream.

That is, until he was given no choice.

“Fine?” Ranboo asked, in a tone that made Tubbo’s throat sink straight through his feet. “Tommy...is fine?”

And Dream...

The look on his face was one Tubbo had never been on the receiving end of. He’d barely even seen Dream use it. (Just once, on Tommy, and Tubbo had been far too angry to understand the full extent.) Currently, it was focused on Ranboo. But when Tubbo finally turned to see the physical extent of Ranboo’s anger, he noticed that he the ender boy seemed completely unbothered by Dream’s manipulative mechanisms.

“Fine. Okay. Let me tell you how fine Tommy really is,” Ranboo spat, and Tubbo’s stomach, if possible, sank even further.

“Is he fine when he doesn’t even fight you when you take and destroy what he’s rightfully earned? Fine when you laugh in his face as he watches it burn? Every day? And is he fine when he sits in his bed at night, alone, wondering what he can do for his friends to come see him? As if it’s his responsibility. Is he fine when you have to pull him away from the edge of the nether bridge? What about after, when you try to convince yourself that he’s fine? That he wouldn’t actually do it?”

Dream wasn’t smirking anymore. Instead, he looked as though he might tear Ranboo to pieces.

Tubbo’s limbs felt frozen. He couldn’t even move.

“Is that enough? Or should I continue?” Ranboo was not asking. “Maybe you’re referring to Tommy being fine when the only piece of home he has is a map of the place he can never return to? Or maybe he’s fine when your presence alone turns him into a scared, submissive child when we all know it’s deteriorating his entire being bit by bit?”

“Oh, I know,” Ranboo cooed, and Tubbo never really would’ve been prepared for what came next. Ranboo turned his frankly murderous glare on the president. “You think he’s fine when he finds himself wondering what he did for his best friend to leave him rotting in the dust.”

And that.

Looking back, that is what broke Tubbo. That is what sent him absolutely spiraling, dizzy and confused, unable to see straight. He’d been fighting with those own thoughts himself, and he would’ve had to be incredibly stupid to have convinced himself that Tommy wasn’t. But hearing those words out loud sincerely shattered some part of Tubbo that he was not entirely sure would ever grow back.

“To answer your question, Mr. President,” Ranboo finished, backing away with a swagger and anger-filled walk. “Tommy Innit is not fine.”

[fanmoose12]

Levihan week 2021

Day four: Childhood

Summary: Levi goes to kindergarten. Kuchel worries.

Up, then down, again and again, her leg was moving in frantic, jerky movements that were becoming faster and faster with each tick of the clock.

Kuchel glanced at it, biting her lip. Shit, it was only eleven in the morning. There was still five hours left.

"Oi, sis," a heavy hand fell on her knee, stopping the nervous bouncing. "How many coffees did you have this morning?"

"Two cups," she answered, flicking hair out of her face. "Maybe, three. Or four. I couldn't fall asleep last night."

"Jesus," Kenny sighed. "Nothing will happen to that little runt, stop going crazy over it."

"It's his first day in the kindergarten, Kenny, how can I not go crazy waiting for him?" Kuchel couldn't quite understand how Kenny managed to be so calm. Sure, as a mother, she worried a lot more, but Kenny was as relaxed as ever. Was he actually not nervous at all? Was he not worried for his nephew? "So many things can go wrong! He can get lost or injured! Kids may start bullying him, he may not like the food or the teacher! Or maybe he's feeling lonely and abandoned and scared and—"

"Sis," Kenny squeezed her shoulder, interrupting her tirade. "You know, I'm the first one to give shit to your brat, but he's not an idiot. I'm sure he's doing fine. He's old enough, after all."

"He's only four."

"But he's not that helpless. Relax and enjoy your time without him."

"How can I enjoy my time if Levi's not here?"

"For fuck's sake," Kenny rolled his eyes. "Then get used to being without him. He'll leave you one day, whether you want it or not."

"You're an asshole," Kuchel punched his arm, hiding a smile. As rough as her brother's manner of speaking was, it actually helped to ease some of her nerves.

But just as Kuchel was mentally ready to stop staring at the clock, wishing the point would start to go faster, her phone started ringing.

After glancing at the screen, she froze, the anxiety returning.

"Kenny," she said quietly, forcing words past the lump in her throat. "Kenny, the teacher from the kindergarten is calling me."

"Well, take it!" he urged. "Or do you want to me take care of it?"

She threw a dark look at him, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She was anxious, yes, a little bit panicked, perhaps, but she didn’t need her big brother answering the call instead of her. Resolutely, she grabbed the phone, accepting the call. Taking a long, deep breath, she put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

“Good day, Miss Ackerman, it's Levi's teacher. Please, don't worry,” how could she not after words like that? “It's a standard procedure, but can you come to see me? You see, Levi has gotten into a fight—"

Oh. Not even her wildest fears involved Levi, her gentle, kind Levi getting into a fight. She exchanged a look with Kenny, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," she promised and hanged up.

Okay, maybe, deep down, she was a little girl who needed her big brother from time to time.

She turned to Kenny, showing him her terrified eyes.

"Goddamn it," he ruffled his hair and rose to his feet. "C'mon, I'll give you a lift."

___

The whole ride to the kindergarten, Kuchel felt like she was sitting on needles.

"Do you think Levi is the one who started the fight first? Do you think he's hurt? Do you—"

"Kuchel!" Kenny slammed his hands on a steering wheel, throwing her an exasperated look. "It's a fight between two children, how serious can it possibly get? The teacher called just as a formality, I'm sure the runt is perfectly fine. Calm the fuck down already."

Kuchel sighed, forcefully unclenching her fists. She knew she was overreacting, but how could she act any differently? Levi was her son, her dear baby, how could she not worry about him?

"Do you want me to go with you?" Kenny asked, his voice softening ever so slightly.

"No, it's fine," vigorously, she straightened her skirt, as Kenny smoothly parked just outside of the kindergarten building. "Thanks for the ride."

"Good luck out there," he smirked, tilting his hat. "Don't bite off the head of the other kid's parent."

"I'll do my best," Kuchel grinned back, feeling that much calmer.

However, her calmness vanished the moment she passed the threshold to the classroom. Her eyes shifted from one corner of the room to the other, searching for the mop of dark, neat hair. Levi was sitting in the corner of the room, next to a brown haired child, who was whispering something to him and holding his hand. The sight confused Kuchel, but before she could get to her son, she was approached by a teacher and another woman, who, as Kuchel had guessed, was the parent of the child who got into a fight with Levi. Anger sparked inside her as their eyes met.

"Thank you for arriving so swiftly," the teacher smiled, leading both women to her desk. "Miss Ackerman, this is Mrs. Zoe, Hange's mother," Kuchel gave another woman a tight-lipped smile, wondering which one out of dozen kids in the classroom was that Hange who dared to hurt her son. "Like I said, this is just a formality, you have nothing to worry about. As you can see," the teacher continued, gesturing to the corner where Levi was sitting. "Your children are alright, and, I think, the conflict is already resolved."

With her eyes widening in surprise, Kuchel stared at Levi and his new friend. That was the kid he got in a fight with? The same kid who was now holding his hand and animatedly talking with her quiet, surly son?

"So..." Kuchel fidgeted with the sleeve of her dress, a little unsure. "What was the fight about?"

"Let's ask the children," the teacher called out to them, beckoning to come closer.

They did, still hand in hand.

"I'm sorry," Levi mumbled, casting his eyes down. "I shouldn't have pushed four-eyes down."

"No!" Hange exclaimed, puffing her cheeks and stomping her feet. "It's me who should be apologizing! Levi told me not to touch him with my filthy hands but I still did it!"

Was that the core of the problem? Kuchel wasn't sure if she should scold Levi or laugh at his habits.

“It looks like the conflict is truly resolved,” Mrs. Zoe chuckled, ruffling Hange’s hair.

“You can take your children home, if you wish to,” the teacher offered. “But I called you just to make sure that both of them are alright and unharmed.”

“Mom, I’ll stay, okay?” Hange asked, smiling toothily.

“What about you, buddy?” Kuchel kneeled next to her son, caressing his chubby cheek. “Want to stay? Or we can go home, I’ll buy you some ice-cream.”

“No,” Levi shook his head. “I’ll stay too, mom.”

Oh. Kuchel didn’t expect this. She was so afraid that Levi would have a hard time connecting with the other kids. But it seemed like he had already found a friend, even if the start of their friendship wasn’t all that smooth.

“Then I’ll come for you in the evening.” Kuchel kissed his cheek, smiling when she saw the light blush on his face. Was her boy truly growing up? “Have fun.”

Out of the corner of her eyes, Kuchel noticed Mrs. Zoe walking out of the classroom. She wanted to follow after her, but just as she stood up, she felt a tug on her skirt. Turning around, Kuchel saw Hange. The kid looked worried, her brows furrowed.

“Please, don’t be angry with Levi,” Hange whispered, careful not to let anyone else hear. “He was so afraid that you would get upset with him. I’m sorry I got him into trouble. I didn’t mean to! I just wanted to be friends with him.”

Hange shifted her weight from one foot to another, wringing her fingers. Kuchel stared at her, her chest tightening. God, what an angel of a child. And to think that she wanted to be angry with the kid who got in a fight with Levi. But how could she be angry with Hange?

“I’m not mad at him, honey,” Kuchel gently patted her hair. “And I’m not mad at you as well. You did nothing wrong, don’t worry.”

“Oh,” Hange grinned toothily, her eyes sparkling. “Alright then! Bye, Miss Ackerman!”

Instantly, the kid darted away, running to Levi who was waiting for her all this time, staring at them inconspicuously.

Smiling, Kuchel left the children be, catching up with Hange’s mother.

“Sorry for my Levi,” she said, falling into step with another woman. “He’s a good kid, but can be… a little rough.”

“No harm done,” Mrs. Zoe assured her. “My Hange was just as much at fault there. I told it to her a thousand times, but she keeps forgetting that not everyone is as friendly and open as she is. I guess she’s too young to understand what personal space means.”

“Doesn’t look like Levi cares about it,” Kuchel jokes, turning around to watch her son walk around the playground, tightly holding Hange’s hand in his. “It seems like they’re already friends.”

“I’d sleep easier if it turns out to be true,” Mrs. Zoe huffed. Catching Kuchel’s baffled look, she tensed. “Sorry,” she said hastily. “I know it may not look like it, but it’s hard for Hange to make friends. She’s… too intense.”

“I’m surprised Levi managed to find a friend so quickly,” Kuchel confessed, patting Mrs. Zoe’s shoulder in a comforting manner. She rather liked Mrs. Zoe. Not just because Hange seemed like a very nice kid, but her mother appeared to be very pleasant, as well. She didn’t ask why Kuchel was Miss Ackerman, and she didn’t seem to mind her less than new and shiny clothes. “He’s a quiet kid, so I was worried he’d feel lonely.”

“Well, looks like our children found each other then,” Mrs. Zoe smiled, offering her hand for Kuchel to shake. “I have to go now, but I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“Let’s just hope that the circumstances will be a little different next time,” Kuchel shook her hand, smiling back.

She waved at the other woman and headed to the car, where Kenny was waiting for her. Before she got inside, she threw a last look at the playground. Levi was on top of the slide, Hange by his side. Both children had a stick in hand, waving them at something in the sky. Levi didn’t seem as enthusiastic and excited as Hange, but he was smiling, more openly than usual.

And his smile was enough to calm Kuchel’s heart. Hopefully, this was the first and the last time her Levi got into a fight.

___

Unfortunately, her worst fears confirmed just a week later, when she was called to the kindergarten once again.

As she was driving to the kindergarten, Kuchel kept wondering what had happened. During the whole week, Levi seemed so happy, coming home every day with a new story about his adventures with Hange.

If he got into a fight with Hange for the second time… Kuchel would give him an earful for hurting that sweet, adorable child.

But when Kuchel entered the classroom, there was no sign of Hange’s mother there. Instead, there sat a black-haired man, who had his arm wrapped around a blonde boy with bloodied nose. When her eyes fell on Levi, Kuchel felt a sense of deja vu. He was sitting in the corner as the last time, and, just like before, Hange was beside him, whispering something into his ear. In comparison to the other boy, Levi seemed uninjured, except for his hand that was wrapped in a white handkerchief.

Kuchel cursed under her breath, slowly approaching the teacher’s desk.

“I’m sorry,” the teacher smiled sympathetically. “But this time, the fight was a lot more serious.”

Kuchel nodded, seeing the evidence of it on the blonde boy’s face.

“Levi!” the teacher called, gesturing to him. “Come here, dear.”

Levi did, with Hange following after him. The teacher sighed, shaking her head. “Hange, I didn’t ask you to join. Please, go and play with the others while we talk.”

“But—”

“Go, four-eyes,” Levi gave her a light push. “I’ll be fine.”

Hange didn’t look all that convinced, but she complied, and, after giving the blonde boy a look that was a little too vicious for the four-year old kid, she went to the table with the coloring books.

“This is Mister Yeager, Zeke’s father,” the teacher explained to Kuchel. “Zeke, would you like to tell us what has happened today?”

“He punched me,” Zeke mumbled, gingerly holding an ice-pack to his face. “Two times!” he added, showing the exact number with his fingers.

“Levi…” Kuchel admonished softly. “Why did you do it?”

“He knows why.” Levi said, his eyes dark with anger.

“Would you tell us what Zeke did then?” the teacher asked.

“No.”

After Levi’s curt answer, there was a beat of silence, as three adults struggled to come up with a solution to this conflict. Tentatively, the teacher tried again.

“Would you apologize to Zeke, at least?”

“No.”

“Levi,” Kuchel whispered. “Please, apologize.”

“No.”

“I’ll buy you an ice-cream.”

“No.”

“I’ll allow you to watch cartoons until midnight.”

“No.”

“I’ll bake your favorite cake.”

At that, Levi seemed to hesitate. But a moment later, the stubborn expression returned to his face.

“No.”

Kuchel sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Perhaps, she should have let Kenny deal with all of it.

“Well,” Zeke’s dad chuckled, a little awkwardly. “Not all conflicts can be resolved. Besides, what happened has already happened. There is no use for apology, if it won’t be sincere. Let’s just hope that this accident won’t repeat again.”

“Levi?” the teacher looked sternly at him. “Do you promise not to hit Zeke again?”

Levi glanced at Zeke, his frown deepening as their eyes met. The hand, wrapped in a handkerchief, clenched into fist, but momentarily relaxed, as Levi got ahold of himself. “I promise not to hit him, if he promises not to do the things he did.”

“I promise,” Zeke muttered, just as moodily as Levi.

“If that’s all,” Mister Yeager rose to his feet. “Then I shall take Zeke home.”

As soon as Zeke and his father left, Kuchel turned to Levi.

“Well?” she asked, rather strictly. “What was that about?”

Levi avoided her gaze, staring down at his feet. “The bastard got what he deserved.”

Kuchel winced at his choice of words. Kenny and his damn influence.

But that was probably a conversation for another time.

“And what did he do to deserve it?”

“He… he was throwing rocks at four-eyes.”

Oh. Well, that certainly explained Levi’s anger then. Now, Kuchel even felt bad for scolding him. That Zeke boy did deserve that punch.

“Baby, what you did…”

Was wrong, a good parent would have said. But, perhaps… Kenny’s influence was affecting her as well. Or it wasn’t Kenny’s influence at all. Perhaps, it was her Ackerman’s blood. Whatever it was, but she couldn’t just lie to her son like that.

“Levi,” she said, caressing his hair. “Next time someone hurts Hange or you… make sure no one sees when you hurt them back.”

She winked at himm and Levi relaxed, showing her a small grin. “I’ll remember that!” he promised.

Kuchel grinned back, relieved that her son was feeling that much better already.

“Now go. Someone is waiting for you,” she pointed at Hange.

Levi nodded happily and scurried towards his friend.

Kuchel watched him go, a smile still playing on her lips. She was so worried about Levi having troubles connecting with his peers and finding friends.

But, thankfully, her son was lucky to meet Hange Zoe.

[fantasmalresplendent]

Dean died at the ripe old age of 85.

In his lucid moments during the days leading up to his passing, in which Dean was just as sharp and as bright as he was fifty years ago, he remarked that people must think he’d robbed the cradle with a “hot piece” such as Castiel hanging around him. 

“You don’t mind that I’m a wrinkly, senile, crotchety old bastard?” Dean had asked, more than once, but he had always said it with a smile. And Castiel would smile back, replying with the same answer the answer many times, in many ways:

“You’re not senile.”

“Old, but not a bastard.”

“I thought I was the crotchety one.”

“I don’t mind.”

Then Dean would smile, and it would light up the room, and Castiel would wonder again how he came to deserve the focus, let alone the affection, of such a man.

“It’s not about deserving, Cas,” Dean had said, half-whispered in the middle of the night a few short months after they had begun to share the bed they laid in. “It’s… fuck, well I don’t know what it’s about. But people don’t get what they deserve, not most of the time.”

Castiel frowned, furrowing his brows. “They should,” he grumbled.

“Well if people got what they deserved, they’d… I don’t know, Sam would’ve actually become a lawyer, stayed in school. Jo, Ellen, Bobby, they’d all still be here. I’d get mauled by a werewolf or something, go out with a bang, and Baby,” Dean said sternly, as though chastising the universe itself for such an injustice, “Would never get so much as a scratch on her.”

“You think that’s what you deserve?” Castiel’s voice was soft, not wanting to disturb the still of the night, but steely as he considered even the possibility of Dean’s violent end. 

Dean registered that, swallowing, “I don’t know. I guess I just never thought I’d even make it this far. Hunters have the shortest lifespans of any human subspecies,” Dean cracked a smile, but his heart wasn’t in the joke. Castiel knew Dean was doing the math in his head. He knew Dean was mentally recalling how long it had been since Bobby left for heaven. Tallying up the number of people who were gone because of self-sacrifice, mistakes, pure dumb luck. Counting exactly how many years he had outlived his own mother. 

Castiel had wrapped his arms around Dean then, embracing him, surrounding him, and they curled into each other completely. Burying himself in Castiel’s neck, Dean had never felt so close to him, and yet so far away. “You don’t have to follow the same patterns if you don’t want to, Dean,” Castiel stated, as if it were that easy. “Do you want to?”

“Want to what?”

“Get mauled by a werewolf?”

Dean sniffed in laughter, and that was answer enough.

Castiel found himself stroking Dean’s hair, an action he felt suited him. He thought for a moment in the stillness and in the space between their breaths. “Maybe it’s idealistic of me, but I still think people should get what they deserve. Even- no, especially you.”

Dean took his time answering, opening his mouth several times before actually saying, “Sometimes I don’t think I know what I deserve.”

“I guess we’ll just have to figure that out together then. We have time,” Castiel kissed Dean’s forehead and he sighed at the touch. “We have plenty of time. Heaven will wait for you, no matter how long.”

Dean looked up at him then with a pout, “You sound pretty confident in that statement for a dude who hasn’t shown up to heavenly chorus practice in a few years.” 

Castiel smiled, “I’d rather be here with you. Always have.”

The man blushed. “Well, if I go… I mean, wherever I go… Where will you end up?”

“I could go with you.”

“Where?”

Castiel closed the distance between them fully, thumbing across Dean’s cheek as they kissed. “Anywhere. If you want me there, I will be there, whether it’s here or heaven. I’ll be there.”

“For how long?”

“For however long you want me to be.”

Dean kissed back, his fingers tangling in Castiel’s hair. “Yeah. Okay.”

  Sam went not long after Dean. It wasn’t a surprise; it was his time as well. His children were grown, his grandchildren almost grown, Castiel knew they’d miss him but that they’d be all right. And they knew to call on “Uncle Cas” if they weren’t, even the little ones who didn’t understand exactly how they were related, or why Great Uncle Dean's husband was only about as old as their parents.

“I mean I love the little gremlins,” Dean had said, cracking open a beer after a long few days of babysitting Sam and Eileen's girls while the expecting parents were in the hospital. He was exhausted, they both were, but beaming from meeting the newest member of the Winchester clan: a healthy baby boy named Robert. “But have you seen Sam’s house? Goddamn mess in there.”

“You… don’t want to have some of your own?” Castiel had asked carefully, taking the beer Dean held out for him.

“You’re making them sound like trading cards. I don’t know, I- I guess I never thought too hard about it.” Castiel could tell this was a lie by the way Dean didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Wouldn’t know what to do with a kid if I had one.”

“Do you think you’d be a good father?”

Castiel had met John Winchester, in Hell. Well, he hadn’t exactly met him. He had really only passed by John’s cell, stole a glance at the infamous hunter on his way to retrieve Dean’s soul. He’d never told Dean what he saw, they were not close enough at the time. He wasn’t sure if Dean would even want to know. Castiel had almost spoken about it many times, but whenever Dean talked about John, “Dad,” a look crossed over his face, sometimes for only a second. A furrowing of brows, a tight smile, a quick transition to happier subjects.

The same look crossed over Dean’s face as soon as Castiel had asked the question.

“Wow. Um, loaded question there, Cas.”

He waited for Dean to meet his eyes before continuing, “I think you would be.”

“Do- wait,” Dean shook his head, trying to understand where Castiel was going with all of this, “Do you want kids?”

“I want you to live a normal life, Dean. I want to be able to give you what you want.”

“Okay, lots of stuff to unpack here. First of all, a normal life isn’t and never was an option,” Dean leaned back against the counter, “I think we can agree on that. Second of all, you didn’t answer my question.”

“...And third of all?” Castiel prompted.

“No, second of all first. Do you want kids?”

Castiel sighed, taking a swig of his beer, considering his words. “I’m an angel, Dean-”

“Is that so!” Dean raised his eyebrows, then squinted as if in deep thought, “Weird, somehow I never noticed.”

That deserved a well-placed eyeroll, but Castiel still had a point to make. “We don’t- I’m just trying to…” he set his beer down. “I don’t know. But that doesn’t matter, what matters is that I would love and care for a child, if it were ours. If we decided that was something we wanted, I would be so happy to raise them, with you. I’d be terrified,” Castiel admitted, “At the enormous and important responsibility, but I would love doing it, if… if it was with you. I just want you to know that, I guess,” Castiel shrugged, “I don’t want you to think it’s not an option for us, if you want it to be.”

“Okay…” Dean was thinking, swirling the beer around his glass. He pointed the mouth at Castiel, “You’re still avoiding my question,” Castiel really rolled his eyes this time, “But I don’t really think it’s for me, all that white picket fence stuff. If you really wanted a kid, I would definitely hit the library and read all those, I don’t know, fucking parenting guides, and take the Mommy and Me classes, whatever. And I think you’d be a good father, better than me, I’d just let them eat gummy worms and shoot slingshots.”

“Children love gummy worms. They listen and will behave better when offered gummy worms,” Castiel knew this for a fact from very recent personal experience, “I don’t see how gummy worms could pose an issue. Slingshots, however-”

“Okay so maybe I’m overestimating your abilities a little,” Dean held up a hand, “But still, I… I like this,” he gestured to the space between them and around them, “I like us. I like waking up to a clean kitchen and sleeping in on weekends. I like not having to ask more than one person whether or not I can take a drive by myself or crank my music really loud at midnight. And I fucking hate Paw Patrol.”

Castiel smiled.

“Sam and Eileen always need babysitters. That’s good enough for me right now.”

“You’ll tell me though, if this is something you really want,” Castiel insisted, “If you think about it and decide something else.”

“Sure.”

“Promise.”

“Okay, fine, I promise,” Dean took a step forward and leaned in for a kiss then. Castiel could taste the beer on Dean’s tongue and sighed. Dean smiled against Castiel’s lips, lowering his voice to a comical level, “We could, uh, you know, try and make some babies,” Dean waggled his eyebrows and Castiel pushed Dean’s laughing face away, but grabbed his hand, turning towards their room.

They hadn’t spoken about it again, not seriously anyway. They got a dog. Dean opened a vintage car garage. Castiel learned how to bake. They took long road trips to the beaches in California, wandered through roadside attractions like Carhenge in Nebraska and Cadillac Ranch in Texas. They bought decidedly way too much merchandise at Oklahoma’s National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. And maybe they killed the occasional vampire, the wayward poltergeist, but the occasions became less and less. There were younger, more spry hunters on the road now, always welcome at the bunker to look through their library or ask advice on a particularly troublesome spirit. Sam even coerced Dean into holding what became a yearly “conference,” “What are we, a tech startup?” for the next generation of hunters to learn from the legendary brothers.

So maybe they spent more time at home than on the road, but home suited them. Routine suited them like Castiel never could have predicted it would. It wasn’t a white picket fence, but it wasn’t a lonely highway either. Dean would joke about how “boring” they’d become, but Castiel reveled in the repetition. The three hundredth time Dean brought Castiel coffee in bed was just as lovely as the third. The five hundredth time Castiel cooked dinner passed without fanfare, though Dean hugging him from behind, chin hooked over Castiel’s shoulder as he whisked, felt like fanfare enough. The one thousandth kiss they shared was in their bed, lazily breathing each other in as the first beams of sunlight shone through the window after a week of straight rain. Home, a thing he and Dean had never known in their youth, held the majority of their most precious, most banal memories. But still, Castiel always looked forward to those moments speeding down a desert highway when Dean would reach for his hand, turn his head to meet Castiel’s eyes, and smile.

Time took its time with them.

It seemed the opposite with Sam’s children, who grew up faster than Castiel could keep track of. And as they grew from waddling toddlers to full-fledged human beings, Castiel was fascinated, enamored, but Dean was simply proud. He attended their tournaments, their decathlons. He went to their graduations, weddings, barbecues, and Castiel went with him. They took the kids to concerts and movies, parks and shooting ranges, and Castiel never got tired of the smile on Dean’s face when they threw their small arms around Dean’s neck and called him their “Cool Uncle.” “Hear that, Cas? That means you’re the No Fun Uncle. The No-Funcle.”

And as the crowned Cool Uncle, he teased Sam mercilessly about his minivan and his “#1 Dad” mugs, but Castiel knew how proud Dean was of him too. How glad he was that Sam got the future he wanted, and how grateful he was that that future included him.

The brothers still fought. They still bickered, pranked, and glowered. Sam complained that Dean let his kids use power tools too young when they visited, and Dean complained that Sam’s kids were too old to have never heard “Stairway to Heaven.” The usual, the routine, many times over. But they never lied to each other, at least not about the important things, not anymore. And Castiel was welcome in Sam and Eileen’s house and lives, an honor he felt he didn’t deserve, but as Dean said, maybe it wasn’t about deserving.

It was Eileen who noticed Castiel first as he entered the hospital room the day he'd been informed that Sam Winchester was finally coming home. He didn't have to tell Eileen; she saw it on Castiel's face. They’d already spoken, he’d prepared her for the eventuality a few days prior. Eileen smiled, looking back at her husband, teasing him lightly, but Castiel knew she was holding back on her usual snark because Sam looked, well, tired. Turning away from Sam, Eileen signed, “Are you here for him?”

Castiel shook his head. “No, but someone will be here soon.” 

“You mean they haven’t given you reaper duty yet?” Sam joked from his horizontal position, speaking and signing with his usual quick wit, but not with his usual articulation. Castiel had seen him argue with Dean for fifty years like it was his job, he was accustomed to the precision with which Sam had always wielded his words. Not today.

“I don’t think I’d be very good at it,” Castiel stepped closer so that Sam wouldn’t have to crane his head, “I’m not very persuasive.”

“No kidding,” Sam shakily clasped Castiel’s hand and grinned. “I’m surprised Dean even went with you.”

“It took less persuading than you’d think.”

“How is he?” Eileen asked, but she was smiling, so she knew the answer.

“He’s good,” Castiel smiled back, “Getting what he deserves.”

Sam smirked, but his head sunk back into his pillow as if relieved. “And I bet he’s complaining about it non-stop. Asshole never knew how to take a vacation.”

“Neither do you,” Eileen levelled her husband with a fond look.

“We’ve taken vacations!”

“You always wanted to go somewhere exotic and then you’d just end up in the library. Remember Berlin?”

“They had… well I wasn’t going to find those editions in America, and-”

Sam and Eileen bickered for a bit, and Castiel did end up backing Eileen’s points more often than not, so eventually Sam recognized that he was outnumbered on this particular case.

Castiel bid his goodbyes just in time as the nurse entered the room to check Sam’s vitals. Her tone was cheerful, but Castiel could tell that she too knew what was coming. 

“Well… I’ll see you soon, buddy, huh?” Sam smiled at Castiel as confidently as he could muster for Eileen’s sake, but Castiel knew behind those laugh lines Sam wasn’t so sure of himself. Castiel supposed that worry wasn’t to be unexpected from a chosen one of Hell, Lucifer's vessel, the boy Castiel had once called an “abomination.”

But Castiel smiled, giving Sam’s shoulder one last firm squeeze. “You will.”

  When Dean died, at the ripe old age of 85, he knew what to expect.

He’d visited heaven before. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Not an exciting place, but exciting wasn’t necessarily good. Hell had been exciting, and he was in no hurry to return there. Purgatory had been exciting in a different way, years later he swore the stench still lingered on his skin. Sometimes, when he would lose himself in his “senior moments,” he thought he was back in that bloody in between. Or back in hell. Or had gone to heaven. “Times and places are difficult to navigate when your brain’s turning into gummy worms,” he told Cas once. He didn’t remember saying this a few hours later, but that didn’t make it any less true.

His brain was sure full of them gummy worms now as he clung to his body and to his life. He wasn’t completely sure where he was. Bobby’s? The bunker? His childhood home? Sammy had come to see him earlier, at least the kid had looked like Sammy… No, fuck, that was his grand-nephew, Cas had reminded him of that. Sam, his brother Sam, was in the next room. That's right, he’d told the asshole to give him some space, stop smothering him. He sort of wished he was here now though. And Cas, Cas was here, he knew that, but only because the angel was right in front of him. Cas, his friend, was holding Dean’s hand, talking about what their grand-nieces and nephews were doing in school. Dean could swear he already knew these things, but they still sounded new when Cas said them.

Dean looked over at him, and Cas was smiling.

He tried to speak, but the words stuck in his throat. Cas helped him swallow some cool water. Dean cleared his throat, “Bet you’ve been waiting for this for a while.”

Castiel cocked his head, the smile fading. Fifty some odd years and he still had that same confused look. “Waiting for what?”

“Me to beef it, finally. I know this hasn’t been easy, watching me… seeing me like…” Dean took a shallow breath. “No matter where I go next, at least I won’t be a senile senior citizen.”

“Dean,” Cas said, rubbing the back of Dean’s liver spot-covered hand, “Please listen to me very carefully.”

“Got my hearing aids in, go ahead,” Dean joked.

Cas smiled softly again. “It has been the greatest privilege of my life, my existence, to watch you grow old. I feel honored that you allowed me to experience that. Time’s different for me too,” Cas kissed Dean’s hand, “Space and time were never precious to me, not in the stretch of infinity. Not until you. Not until I was able to see you live your life and live it well.”

Tears welled in the corners of Dean’s eyes. He furiously tried to blink them away, but Cas was already there, dabbing carefully with a handkerchief. “I’m… I’m scared, Cas. I know I shouldn’t be, I’ve seen it all. I’ve beefed it a few times already. But maybe that’s why I’m scared? Because… I know what comes next. What could come next. And this is it, right? No more resets?”

Cas nodded.

Dean took a deep, shuddering breath. “If I don’t end up in heaven-”

“You will.”

“If I don’t, that’s fine, maybe it’s what I deserve, and that’s fair. But… will I see you again?”

“Dean,” Cas said sadly, but with his trademarked firmness, “You are going to paradise. And if for some reason, a completely incorrect and insane reason, you don’t? I dragged your soul out of the flames once, I will do it again. I would do it as many times as I needed to.”

Dean shook his head slightly, “Not fair.”

“It’s not about fair. It’s about the truth. Whether you believe it or not, ET goes home.”

Dean chuckled weakly. He was tired. He didn’t want to let go. He wanted to let go so badly.

He felt the bed move as Cas climbed under the covers with him. The angel curled around him, enveloping him. Dean could swear he felt the brush of feathers cradling him and pulling him closer, but he couldn’t muster the ability to reach for them, stroke them like he used to. “Sleep, Dean. I’ll be here when you wake up. Wherever, whenever here is. That’s where I’ll be. Wherever you go, I’ll go with you.”

“Swear?”

Castiel kissed his forehead. “I swear.”

  Dean opened his eyes.

The phrase, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” popped into his head, but he suspected, greatly, that he was, in fact, in Kansas. The blowing fields of wheat tipped him off to that.

No, wait. That wasn’t a field, it was a… sandy beach. It looked kind of like that beach he and Cas had stumbled upon driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, what was it called? The one where they’d had to hike down from the lookout point? The one where after they’d trudged back up the trail, they’d sat in the car and looked out over the sea as the sun set? The one where Castiel had smiled at him and the light glinted in his blue eyes and Dean had kissed Cas for the first time ever because he just couldn’t stop himself?

Muir Beach, Dean remembered, blushing at the memory. 

But just as soon as he’d reached the end of that thought, it wasn’t the ocean anymore. It was a lake. On the lake was a pier. He’d seen that pier before, couldn’t remember exactly where though.

Then without warning, but without alarm, Dean saw someone standing on the end of the dock. A young man with light brown hair and a sweet smile Dean would recognize anywhere.

Jack waved, walking up casually, “Hey, Dean.”

Dean grinned and pulled him into a solid hug. “Jack. I missed you buddy, how have you been? Where, uh… are we in…”

Jack chucked, “I think you know where we are.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know know, this could… I could be dreaming or some shit, and I guess even in a dream you could say whatever I wanted you to say, so-”

“Dean,” Jack stopped him, “This is heaven. You are in heaven.”

A relieved but small smile spread over Dean’s face. “Cool…” 

“I’m not usually here to meet people who pass on, but we weren’t going to miss your arrival.”

“We?”

“Hello, Dean.”

Dean turned around. There was Cas, beaming at him.

“Cas…” Dean reached to embrace him too, only now noticing that the hands that reached out were not as wrinkled as they’d been when he last saw them. He hugged Cas tightly, relieved more than he wanted to admit. “You’re here.”

“I’m here,” Cas’s hand went to Dean’s cheek, holding him in a kiss. They separated, foreheads resting against each other. Cas’s eyes twinkled, “We had an appointment.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean took a step back, seeing Jack grinning out of the corner of his eye. “Is, uh… is anyone else coming? Or is this the welcoming party?”

“They’re all waiting for you,” Cas put his hand down, and as he did, it was stopped mid-air, as if resting on something solid. Dean blinked, and there was Baby, new as the day she was made, parked on a long, long road that stretched far out of sight. “Any time you’re ready,” Cas tossed something in Dean’s direction, “we can go.”

Dean caught the keys on instinct, they jingled on the simple ring. 

Any time you’re ready, we can go.

He twirled them around the end of his finger a couple times, a thought itching at his brain. Or a couple dozen thoughts.

Cas gave him a look, then turned to Jack, “Could you give us a moment?”

“Yeah, I’ll go get everything ready,” Jack blipped out. 

“Get what ready?” Dean asked.

“Dean,” he turned around to face Cas whose brows were knit in worry, bright blue eyes narrowed, “Are you okay?” Dean realized he hadn’t seen Cas clearly for a few years, not since before the cataracts. He’d never gotten completely used to that piercing gaze. 

Dean blinked. “Yeah, I… I just… I’m here. Really here.”

“Yes, Dean.”

“And… you’re here.”

Cas gave him that look like he was being patient on purpose, “Yes, Dean.”

“And… fuck,” Dean stood at sudden attention, “I left Sam down there, is he okay?”

Catching Dean's hands in his own, Cas rubbed comforting circles into Dean's skin. "Sam is fine. He was there when you left. That's why I was a little late, Eileen had only just gotten home and I didn't want to leave before she could be there beside him.

"Okay," Dean took a deep breath, concentrating on the physical contact, grounding himself in Cas’s movements, "Okay. I mean I know he's gonna be fine, he was always fine without me," Dean said, almost to himself.

"And you'll see him soon."

The abrupt return of Dean’s panicked look made Cas smile a little, shake his head, "Not that soon, Dean. Don't worry." 

"Right. Of course, yeah,” Dean looked around, down the road, the back to his car, out past the waving grain that had returned inexplicably. “Well,” Dean flashed what he thought was a very convincing smile, letting Cas’s hands go as he tossed the keys once and caught them, heading towards the car, “Time to hit the road, huh?”

"Wait,” the suspicious squint was back as Cas caught Dean’s arm, “Something else is bothering you."

Dean turned around, and the ocean was back. The ocean he’d taken a trip to see, had selfishly insisted Cas come along for the ride for.

He sighed. "I just…” Dean ran a hand through his hair, “I don't know, I guess it just don't sit right that I’m… I'm gonna see Mom and Bobby and Jo and Charlie and… everyone. How am I going to look them in the face and not feel guilty that I got decades that they’ll never have? And what did I do with that time, sit on my ass? Judge local car shows? Go to freaking baseball games?"

Cas nodded slowly, simply listening. He then hopped up and sat on the hood of the Impala, shoes and all. Dean shot him an offended look.

“She’s a memory of a car, Dean,” Cas rolled his eyes, “She isn’t going to dent.” He patted the spot next to him.

Dean hesitated, but under Cas’s stare, relented. When he was settled, Castiel laced their fingers together.

“I’ve been trying to convince you for all the time I’ve known you that you’re worthy. That you deserved to be saved. That you deserved to rest.” Cas looked down at their entwined hands, “I don’t think I ever really succeeded.”

“Sorry,” Dean muttered.

“You don’t have to apologize. I know you’ve been doing a thankless job ever since you carried Sam out of your burning home. Shit, even before that,” Dean cocked his head, Cas hardly ever cursed, “you were always trying to be the hero for your mother. Some people are at fault for that,” Cas’s eyebrows furrowed briefly, “but it’s human nature to be hard on ourselves and praiseworthy of others. You, in your limited experience, could not possibly know all of the things that you’ve done that have made a difference. But we’re-”

Jack suddenly blipped into existence, giving Castiel two big thumbs up, then blipped out again.

Dean turned, looking from the space Jack had stood back to Cas then back again, “What-”

Cas shook his head with a smile, “I could never tell you exactly what you’ve meant to the world. But we had a, uh, few volunteers that wanted to show you.”

“Cas, could you quit monologuing for a second and-”

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw movement. The endless sea became endless plains which became endless trees, the landscape changing at a rapid rate.

Dean looked back to Cas in confusion, but he didn’t look alarmed. He gave Dean a timid smile, kissed him behind his ear, and whispered, “Just watch.”

Dean watched. For a moment, the scenery couldn’t seem to decide what it wanted to be. Then, it decided not to decide. Grains of sand took the form of towering trees, a picnic table, a bench. Green lake water formed the shape of a small boy, hunched over and scribbling on the table. Lastly the wheat twirled and spun and became an all-too-familiar-looking young man wearing a jacket too big for his frame, walking over to the bench and sitting down across from the kid.

Lucas. The name came to Dean from deep in his memory, he was that quiet kid who drew Dean pictures of the ghost in the lake. The grain animated Dean’s smile as he talked, the figure of Lucas showed Dean his sketches. Their forms dissolved as the scene changed and Dean's form was pulling Lucas out of the water, the sheriff having paid his due.

The figure of Dean left, but Lucas stayed and was joined by his mother, Dean remembered her too. They embraced, and the figure of Lucas grew, changed into a young man, a husband, a father. Soon a half dozen figures were standing there, waving to Dean, and then they disappeared, melting back into water. Lucas was the last to go as he was the first to arrive. He signed a phrase to Dean, and Dean knew the words: Thank you, Dean Winchester.

Then the sand reformed into a schoolgirl, the shapes in the green water plaguing her with images of mirrors and Bloody Marys until Dean stepped in front of her, holding a mirror of grain in front of the cruel, refracted specter. It dissolved, and Dean’s form bade goodbye, but the girl remained. She grew too just like the boy did, becoming a professor, graduating with honors, writing dozens of books, and changing dozens of lives. She smiled, and waved, and dissolved as well.

The shapeshifters appeared next, the sand in the form of Sam’s friend Zach, his sister Becky, and even Dean’s false shifter form, but the true form in the too-large jacket blew them all away, leaving Becky waving goodbye. She too welcomed a family that appeared by her side, and they all looked so happy and grateful to have each other.

Again and again the scenes changed. Green waters showed the cities he had passed through, the homes that were kept from destruction, entire communities that were healed. The water formed and reformed into smiling faces and waving hands. Some of the people, Dean had known on Earth. Many of the places, Dean had remembered driving through. Most of the people and places, however, were foreign to Dean. He lost count of the number of strangers who appeared, the cities he’d never been to. He struggled to keep track as they cycled faster and faster, as numerous as the grains of sand and droplets of water they were made of. It seemed that a whole generation of people, all over the world, would-be victims of an apocalypse they never even knew was happening, knew him. Through words and cheers and song, they retold the tales of Dean and Sam Winchester, the tales they had only learned once they had passed on. 

Throughout all of this, Cas pressed his shoulder to Dean’s, his presence grounding but not distracting. Dean’s grip on Cas’s hand grew tighter and tighter. Cas did not let go. 

Eventually, the images and figures departed. The sand blew away, the waters swirled and dispersed, and the landscape made its final decision. Only a simple field of golden wheat remained, waving and rippling in the wind.

Only in that newfound silence did Dean notice he was crying. He shook his head, wiping the tears away furiously.

“Dean,” Cas whispered, and Dean turned to face him, vision blurred, Cas looking at him pleadingly. “You sacrificed so much for so many for so long. You don’t have to be strong right now. You don’t have to be strong ever again if you don’t want to. You have done enough.”

Castiel wiped an errant tear from Dean’s cheek, holding his face between his hands firmly, tenderly.

“You are, and always were, enough. Your job is done. Let. Go.”

Dean did.

Cas silently pulled Dean into his shoulder as he sobbed. Dean didn’t even know why he was crying, didn’t know what for. Maybe he was happy. Maybe he was grieving. Maybe he just felt… relief. He wasn’t sure the last time he felt such relief. He wasn’t sure he ever had truly felt it.

After some time, longer than he’d like to admit, Dean sniffed, wiped one hand over his face, and raised his head. Cas was waiting for him, looking at him with care. With love.

“I, uh… I don’t gotta sign any autographs, do I?”

Cas smiled, and pulled Dean in for a kiss. They stayed like that for a bit on the hood of the car, feeling the breeze, breathing in the fresh air. Dean thought he could hear music coming from somewhere, realizing that it was the car’s radio playing softly from the cab. He knew that any time he wanted, he could hop down from the hood of his car, slide into the driver’s seat with the love of his life on the passenger’s side, and carry on his wayward way. Down the road, through the endless fields, towards the ones he had loved and lost. But not yet, not quite yet, because he had time. Maybe in the end, time was all he had ever really wanted, even if he could never allow himself to ask for it. 

Infinity stretched out in front of him like the fields of grain. It wasn’t an exciting infinity, but it was his. It was a long road, a family that waited for him, a shoulder to lean on. It was, at long last, a place to lay his weary head to rest.

[georgiapeach30513]

how long did Frank & Ari's fallout last? a patch drabble please. I don't like those two not getting along, Frank really has no one in his corner besides his wife I guess, someone who is willing happy to hangout with him.

Eventually Frank realized how unfair he had been. They will patch things back up, after a couple of years of Ari and the rest of the Everett-Levinson's have been living in Delaware, but it isn't until coming back to Boston that they fully get to talk things out and flesh things out. Eventually, Arleigh and Beau will be getting together, so they'll have it figured out by then. And Ari really isn't the father that Beau has to worry about...

The Boys always ask Frank to join them, and sometimes he does. Frank really isn't into big crowds, or a lot of people. So when Ari comes back they will start hanging out randomly just the two of them.

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Everyone Needs Friends

Summary:  Frank and Ari have a drink

Pairings:  Frank X Ari

Rating:  mild

Warnings: vague mentions of Frank’s past, 18+ ONLY

Word Count:  700

Desperate Lives AU Masterlist

Ari & Frank Masterlist

Ari walks into the warm glow of the bar.  He hadn’t been here in years.  With just moving back home, and making sure all the kids were off doing their thing and well taken care of in college, he finally took the time to meet with Frank.  While Frank had apologized, and they had come to and understanding, things just hadn’t felt the same.  

This was a new beginning for the two of them.  Frank gives his older brother a hand wave, and Ari walks on over.  The two holding each other in a long and overdue embrace.  “How’s it going?” Ari asks, sitting down across from him.  

“It’s good.  Look, thanks for taking Beau on.  Kid’s been having a tough time.  He likes to keep to himself,” Frank takes a long drink of his beer, and his fingers tap at the table.

“He’s like you in ways,” Franks shakes his head.  “I already talked to them, the Drysdale’s.  Curtis gave me a bit of a rundown as well.  I’m sorry.  He seems to be a good kid.  Was going to put him to helping out with James Rogers in the smaller builds.  He’s become a master at tiny houses.  Doesn’t like...he loves people, can’t work with a lot, too much noise, triggers him.  But he gets lonely.  Beau will be a good fit.”

“He’s going to annoy the shit out of Beau,” Ari gives a deep belly laugh nodding his head.  “He’s a good kid though.  Don’t want him to end up like me.”

“Eh, you turned out all right considering.  Got that pretty little wife, and the cute bakery that my princes loves.  She’s made me and Curtis gain a few pounds,” the two brothers go back and forth awhile.  Just catching up and laughing over stupid things.  Leaving everything in the past in the past.

Too many years went by with the two of them not speaking.  Their own children hardly knowing one another, not just with the distance, but the awkward relationship between the two.  “I like this,” Ari admits.  “I took it to heart what you said.”

“I know.  Let me just say, there was a part of me that was looking at you and them like what Andy and I did,” Ari inadvertently lets out a growl, and Frank puts his hands up in surrender, “I know, it’s nothing the same.  I see you three together, it’s weird and doesn’t make sense, but it’s beautiful.  I don’t know how you three work, but you do.  It’s very late but congratulations.”

“You too.  You had a rough life Frank.  And in the midst of it, you found a way to make things work with the Drysdale’s and Iris, and you found a woman that accepts you, accepts the multiple chrildren by multiple different women,” Frank gives him an eye roll.  “No, I know it’s gotta be hard for you with Iris.  That’s your daughter, and you did love her.”

“Yeah.  Always will, not,” Frank sighs, “Laurie and I were young, and it was like young love.  She and I were, well it was my first love.  It’s different.  She’s a good woman, and gave me kindness I didn’t deserve.”

“That why you don’t do the nights out with the boys?” Frank shrugs.  “Yeah, she told me about that.  Wants you to join them more.”

“I don’t fit in.  They judge me.  I feel it’s a pity invite sometimes.”

“Everyone needs friends.  Me you and Curtis, lets do our own boys night out.  I got another guy around town, he’s real cool.  A bit ditzy at times, but he means well, Thor,” Frank nods.  It isn’t the first time he’d heard that name.  It’d come out at the guys turns to watch the kids when they were little.  He was there acting like a big kid.  Even Beau had enjoyed him.  “He’s got him a good woman.”

“Wasn’t a quick spur of the moment marriage?” Ari nods his head.  “She puts up with him, she’s gotta be something.”

“Ransom’s Kitten thinks so.”

Masterlist