#but there’s this lab in my neighbourhood. he’s always been kind of a bit much but in a friendly way

[fingertipsmp3]

People need to train their dogs and I’m not asking nicely anymore

[kfaem]

Tied || Sylus Qin Love and Deepspace

pairing: Sylus x MC (Luna Do) cw: child experimentation, violence. future established relationship, spoilers for the chapter 9 (obviously) notes: just some headcanons/theories i guess. i started writing this a while back but never really got to it. im sorry that this kinda sucks. i finished writing this when i was a few drinks in and proper grammar kinda skipped my mind lmao tags per request <3 @iwillpissyourpants @lizzetmv

It was hurting again, that familiar ache in her chest that usually made Zayne tense up. She glanced in the mirror of her lover's bedroom, gently pulling down her shirt to look at the scar right over her heart.

The scar had long since faded, hidden from a far away glance but oh so noticeable when she was looking for it. She always wondered why the scar looked so...unprofessional, like her surgeries were all done in some kind of cheap lab. Grandma would never tell her, just brushing her off and repeating the same line she's heard all her life. "That's what it looked like after the attack happened, sweetheart."

When she met Sylus and his team, including a former researcher who was apart of her Grandmother's team all those years ago, it all came together. The lab that remained untouched on the outskirts of the N109 Zone, the weird, dated technology that was ripped from the walls and thrown all over.

After she gained the Aether Core and memories came to her, she could never look at Grandma the same.

"Josephine, they're not as weak as you think they are, if we keep them linked to the same machine for just a bit longer-"

"This is no longer a medical research trial, we're torturing these children and you know it." Josephine, a woman in her late 50's couldn't bare to see the barely moving heart monitors, the scarce beeping giving her nightmares. "Even if they're bound together- what life will they have?"

Sylus was about 13 years old, newly orphaned due to the wanderer attacks that brutalized his home. Luna was 9 years old and the only survivor from her neighbourhood. Sylus clenched his jaw, wanting nothing more than to rip all the stupid wires off of himself, but then she squeezed his hand, turning her head to him. "Sy?"

"Yes Lune?" He whispered, not wanting to attract the scientists outside the door. "Don't talk too loud remember? They get mad whenever we interrupt them."

"...I know." She whimpered in response, her tiny hand holding his even tighter than before. "Sy?" He hummed. "Are we gonna die here?"

"I don't know, maybe." Is what he considered saying, but he knew better than that now. "No Lune, we're gonna be just fine." He was lying to himself.

The lab door opened and both scientists entered the room, one going towards the desk and the other towards their charts. "We should follow through with the implantations tomorrow while the girl is still in good health." The man spoke with certainty, glancing over at Josephine who nodded. "Have we properly decided on...where?"

"Last I recall, we agreed that the boy was to receive the core in his right eye and the girl in her heart." Sylus tensed, realizing that this man was talking about him and the girl beside him. "However, the girl's implant is significantly more likely to go array, we'll have to line up a suitable candidate if she dies during or after the surgery."

Luna began to shake, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't speak. Not when Sylus told her not to.

"Tomorrow at noon should be an adequte time to begin the girl's implant, the boy will be much easier and shall require less time."

"Sweetie?" Sylus's deep voice pulled her out of her thoughts, she looked into his crimson eyes, and the scar that she never noticed until after her memories came back to her. "You've been staring in the mirror for a while now, is everything alright?"

Luna let go of her shirt, forcing a smile in her reflection. “Yeah, just… thinking.” Sylus hummed in response, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her head. Luna tightly gripped Sylus’s hands, feeling comfort in his hold. “Can we go back to the lab soon? I just… want to see it again.”

His eyes peered up at their reflection, a sudden glaze coating his usually sly gaze. He moved his hand up her body, slipping it under her shirt and letting his fingers run along the scar over her heart. He sighed, closing his eyes. “It took longer than they anticipated, you weren’t responding well to the Aether Core or any medications they were forcing into you. When they brought you back into the laboratory, you were as good as dead.” His chilly fingers continued to touch the scar, and the skin around it.

“Sylus-“ Luna whispered, feeling the slight trembling at his touch.

“They wouldn’t tell me what was happening, I was sedated and taken back for my own surgery. Once I awoke, you were connected to all sorts of machinery.”

“You were… awake?”

“Barely.” His voice turned hoarse as he recalled the long forgotten memories. “I tried calling for you, the one researcher, Eric, decided to separate us.”

Luna held his hand tighter, watching as his eyebrows furrowed. “What happened then?”

“The Evol linkage appeared, a force so strong that the scientists couldn’t break it- break us, apart.” Sylus ran his free hand down her waist, pressing his lips to her neck. "He was angry and expressed the desire to permanently separate us."

"They...wanted to kill one of us?"

"You, specifically." He hummed, "they said you were weak after your surgery, weak enough that they wanted to reharvest the aether core." Sylus turned her around, his arms pulling her to his chest. "But we don't need to revisit those memories, we're here now, together."

"Right," Luna whispered, pulling him closer. "Thank you for staying alive."

"Only for you, my love."

[sunlightandsuffering]

Corruption au Eren cockwarms mikasa once they’re together, he says ‘it helps him remember things’ and then every so often he gives her an orgasm just to keep her pliant against him while she plays with her boobs, he doesn’t do it in a cruel kind of way, it just he wants to pleasure her while doing his work

however when they’re not together, he’s such a sadist about it, he refuses to let her come even after he’s done his hw and is just fucking her, he always leaves when he’s done. Until one day when he starts feeling bad, he lets her come and it absolutely ruins him, he becomes obsessed with pleasuring her and seeing her face flushed pink, and hearing the needy sounds she makes and the quiet sighs, and the way her hands frantically move around until he Holds them together

STOP U GUYS KNOW ABOUT MY COCKWARMING OBSESSION STOP IT 😂😂 omg bless corruption Eren tho, this is my favourite kink for him, its so hot and it fits their situation perfectly.

It starts slow for Eren, to be honest he has no fucking idea when it really started. One day he'd been failing calculus, accepting he wasn't going to pass the year and thinking about maybe dealing drugs as a career path over his previous dreams of doctor. The next he was being forced to study three days out of the week with high school princess, Mikasa Ackerman.

At first he'd hated it, hated her really. He'd never been able to stand her, not since they were little and she'd chosen the dark side of Historia Reiss, bully and mean girl if there ever was one. Historia had sweet innocent baby Mikasa under her thumb. Mikasa followed her around like a dumb fucking puppy and Eren hated followers, they were all the same, no personalities, no aspirations of their own. She had no backbone either. She let all the shit Historia did slide, all the bullying, the holier than thou attitude because her family was richer than god. So very typical of the rich kids from the upper class neighbourhood. Eren would know, he used to be that rich kid, used to live that life. That was until his parents died in a brutal car accident, Zeke had inherited half the estate on the condition he'd take care of Eren and the rest was tied up in Eren's trust fund until he was twenty one.

Big surprise, no one had taken care of Eren and he was fucking lucky Armin and his grandpa had been there to help him out.

Everyone else, all his other 'friends' had given him the cold shoulder upon finding out he was no longer rich for the moment, he'd been dropped like a hot potato. So Eren's hatred of the upper class of Shiganshina had begun.

And Mikasa Ackerman was the pinnacle of it all, the worst the rich had to offer. She was beautiful, smart, loaded, had every opportunity in life, completely innocent and sweet, and the cherry on top of it all she volunteered on the weekend at the pound.

She disgusted him, so prim and proper and all around good girl while she was letting her 'friends' bully him for being poor, watching the injustice happen like a fish in a bowl.

He couldn't fucking stand her.

Of course, she would be the person who ended up tutoring him though, Principal Erwin mandating it if he wanted to graduate. So here he was sitting in the computer lab at five on a Wednesday watching her plump lips move as she explained integrals to him for the third time in an hour.

It's been a few months since they've started this little arrangement and he's gotten used to her presence. He wouldn't say he likes her, thats a stretch but he's not quite as cruel as he once was. He'd be lying if he said he didn't get a kick of watching that beautiful mouth part every time he does something mean though, those little gasps when he pinches her thigh or touches her where he shouldn't.

It's probably the highlight of these sessions.

Today he's feeling bold, maybe he'll push his luck. After all, he's done it before and she's never protested. For some reason or another Mikasa Ackerman has a soft spot for him, and no matter how mean, she lets him get away with murder. "Miki, come here I can't hear you properly." "And then you take the-what?" She looks up, pretty dove-grey eyes wide, sparkling as she explains her favourite subject, fucking math.

"You heard me, get over here." As usual, she takes orders so fucking well, it brings out the absolute worst in him. She's standing up and next to him in seconds and he's eye level with her perfect chest, those tits he dreams about every night, ripping her bra off with his teeth and sucking at those pretty pink nipples of hers. He's only seen them a few times, when he convinces her it's okay, when he's sure there's absolutely no one around, but they keep him awake at night. He pats his lap, grinning as she goes easily, settling into her favourite spot, he knows she loves it just as much as he does. Her thighs always shake and she shudders as his hands find their place cupping those beautiful creamy thighs, head tucked into her shoulder.

Mikasa starts talking again, beautiful lilt soothing him as she launches into a renewed explanation of integrals while his hands move up, up, up and to his absolute favourite spot, her panties. Today she's wearing cotton, he can feel it, must be laundry day and he kisses her shoulder as he feels how wet she is. Fucking perfect.

Lately she's been more partial to fancier underwear and he can't help but wonder if it's for him. He has a feeling it is, because the first month of their little arrangement he'd snuck as many peaks as they could and it was always pink or white cotton with polka dots and pretty bows. They were his favourite, so fucking innocent, so untouched by anyone but him.

He watches as she moves her pencil drawing lines and numbers, a little bit of the alphabet too and he ignores it all in favour of watching her chest, her breath hitch as he slides a finger inside her panties, feeling those velvet lips, it's been a while.

He's been on his best behaviour lately since Levi almost caught them at her house that one time, but he's horny and she's wet and he misses being inside her, misses watching her try to talk through him fucking her, how her voice would waver, change pitch. How many times she'd stumble through her sentences, have to start all over again, because she can't handle how big he is, doesn't know how to deal with the all-consuming sensation of him fucking deep within her walls, just sitting there filling her right up to her cervix.

Fuck.

He can't really be blamed for what he does next, and besides it doesn't matter, Eren's not a stupid kid, he allowed himself to get this far behind in calculus. He'd spent an hour last night going over integrals with the sole purpose of knowing what was going on today so he could fuck with his favourite toy.

He moves her a bit so she's resting more heavily on one thigh and slides his joggers and boxers down just enough expose his heavy cock to the air, already rock hard and waiting. Mikasa gasps a little bit, a breathy sound quick and sharp as she sees him, her eyes transfixed on his dick and he grins, sliding her panties to the side and slamming her down on him before she even knows what hit her. The slide is so fucking easy too, it takes almost nothing and he gets a sick sense of satisfaction that even with little to no prep she can take him, probably better than anyone else he's ever fucked. She takes it all no complaints, as deep as she can and he bottoms out.

She lets out a long moan, that pretty sound he wants to record and listen to on his phone over and over again, her head lolling back uselessly against his shoulder as she takes in the sensation.

"Miki baby you know this helps me remember better right, sorry it just wasn't getting through my head I was too distracted, but now I'm all ears, why don't you continue. What's that rule you were talking about, how are derivatives and integrals related again baby, they're opposites?"

She's breathing quick and Eren doesn't blame her, he's struggling to keep his tone level as her walls squeeze him, warm and soft and he wants to stay buried there forever, she's so fucking tight.

"I-Eren-I-yeah, opposites," she finally manages to get the last word out ending a little broken as she struggles to sit up and make herself comfortable on his cock, she should be used to it by now with how often he does this, but it never fails she always reacts like she's taking him for the first time all over again. He fucking loves it.

"Why don't you explain again baby, I don't think I really understand? And make sure you're clear Mikasa." She nods, still squirming around, every movement shooting electricity up through both of them as she accidentally grinds down, she lets out an involuntary moan and Eren smirks.

Eren takes it upon himself to move her up and off his cock a few inches before impaling her back down, biting down on her neck a little bit as punishment and she whines, teeth coming out to bite down on her lip brutally as she tries to keep quiet.

"Stop moving baby, you're distracting me, just take my cock like a good girl and explain for me yeah?" She replies brokenly her voice soft and struggling with her breaths, "Yeah."

[allegra-writes]

"Bad Together"

Part I: Contact

Peter Parker x Reader

Teen and up

Warnings: language, UST.

"Baby, I'm preying on you tonight

Hunt you down, eat you alive

Just like animals"

Animals - Maroon 5

“Hey kid! Rough night? You look like shit…” 

You sighed, turning away from your door to face your neighbour. Had it been anyone else, you would just have given them the finger and gotten inside your apartment. But not her. Not when she could have information for you.

“Gee, thanks Jess! You do know how to sweet talk a girl.” 

The seemingly -deceptively- fragile brunette’s eyeroll could have rivaled your own signature one, as she kicked away from the wall and crossed the hallway in your direction.

“As if sweet talking would work on you…”

Despite your exhaustion and bad mood, you managed to munster a small sad smile as your mind wandered unbidden to another time, to what felt like another life. 

And to a boy with warm brown eyes and even warmer skin. 

"You'd be surprised…"

Jessica raised a questioning eyebrow, but you just shook your head.

"I have your payment, if that's what you're looking for…"

You said, changing the subject. Her face fell, causing your heart to drop to your stomach. You knew that look. The regret in her green eyes, the pity. You knew what she was going to say even before she opened her mouth. It wasn't really surprising after all: fourteen months without any clues, without any new developments or witnesses? She wanted to drop the case.

"Listen, kid-" 

"No" you cut her off, your voice breaking no arguments, "whatever you're going to say, I won't accept it. I pay you, and you keep on looking for my sister. That's how this works. Let's not fuck this beautiful friendship of ours up." 

You added, only partly sarcastic. You were perfectly aware that, as closed off and damaged as you both were, you were probably the closest thing to a friend either of you had. 

And, for her part, Jessica knew that, if she didn't do the dirty work for you, you would be the one crawling up vents and climbing up balconies, sliding your way into seedy bars and even seedier alleys. You were stubborn like that. And truth be told, she had grown a little protective of you.

She pursed her lips, the wheels turning inside her head. 

"Well then," she finally proposed, "What about you pay me when I actually find something worth paying for?"

It took your drowsy brain a moment to process her words. You were ashamed of the moisture that found its way to your eyes, the knot in your throat that didn't allow you to let out anything more than a weak "Jessica" as a reply. But you were too worn out to be able to keep the emotions at bay. It had been too long since anyone had shown you that type of kindness, gratefulness was not something you were used to feeling. 

"I'm not giving up on the case," she promised, "but I'm not taking your money anymore. At least not until I deserve it."

She was telling the truth, you knew her enough to be able to tell that. If anything, she was going to work even harder to try and get the investigation moving.

"Thank you." 

You really meant it.

"Don't mention it” she shrugged, downplaying it, like every good deed she made. "Now get inside and get some sleep. You look dead." 

You did roll your eyes at that, missing her affectionate smirk as you disappeared through the door, muttering a laconic. "Yes, mom."

The darkness and quiet that greeted you inside your apartment felt like a soothing balm to your over stimulated mind, a much needed respite after your long, adrenaline filled evening. That was why you didn't even bother to turn the lights on as you let your backpack fall anywhere on the tile floor, stepping out of your sneakers and pulling your shirt over your head. 

The cold early morning breeze sent goosebumps along your skin, bringing your attention to the open window. 

You froze. You were always very careful not to let any windows open, Hell's Kitchen was a tough neighbourhood for a spoiled cat like your Selina to be out and about. 

A flash of movement at the corner of your eye was all you needed before your senses went haywire again, instinct kicking in as you jumped high in the air to twirl and land a kick to the back of whoever was in your apartment. But the intruder was expecting it, dodging just in time and turning around to block your punch. Getting a hold of your wrist, the dark figure twisted and pulled you forwards until you fell, back flushed against his chest as he wrapped his arms around yours in a vice-like grip, effectively immobilizing you.

"Easy there, Smokey." A way too familiar voice breathed against your ear, "you're going to hurt yourself." 

You stopped struggling against his grasp. Right. Of course it was him.

"Peter?"

His grip grew tighter for a moment, before letting go.

"Hello, Y/N."

Just like that, it all came back to you: The memories you had tried to repress, the feelings you had tried so hard to bury, washing over you like a flood, a tsunami hitting you hard enough to knock the breath out of your lungs once again. As you took an unsteady step away from him, you prayed that Peter hadn't noticed. 

"What are you doing here?"

"Nice place," Peter ignored your question, choosing to casually pace your living room instead. "Bit of a downgrade from the upper west side, though…"

"Fine," you scoffed, turning to him, "you wanna do small talk? Let's do small talk: what’s with the edgelord look?" You pointed at his tar-black suit. 

"Biotech," the suit retracted from his face and head, reminding you of the nanobots suit he used to wear before Dr. Octopus destroyed it. "Do you like it?" 

You shrugged,

"Stark industries?"

He shook his head. 

"Horizon Lab."

Well, that was interesting. You knew the little, independent company owned by one of his ex-girlfriends had helped him manufacture a couple of special suits developed from his very own webs, after his emancipation from the Starks. But you had no idea they had reached such level of refinement, and you had a feeling neither did Fury. 

"You like it?"

"You look… taller," You noted. That wasn't the only difference; his hair was longer, wilder, his shoulders wider, his arms far bigger than you recalled.

"You look exactly the same," he countered, as open as he had always been. "Just as beautiful as I remembered…"

You sighed, tiredly. You didn't have the energy for that — for his charm, his candidness. What was more, you weren't prepared at all. 

No, you weren't prepared for this Peter. Your Peter. Not after what all that Fury had told you…

"What do you want, Peter?"

He leveled you with a look, his whole demeanor changing in the blink of an eye. 

"I could ask you the exact same thing…"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Y/N. Don't play dumb with me, it doesn't suit you." His sudden bluntness surprised you, but it was more along the lines of what Fury had warned you to expect so it didn't completely manage to throw you off. 

You crossed your arms, "I have no idea what you're talking about." 

"Really, now?" Peter took a step forward, towering over you. "You don't? Hanging out at my spots, patrolling my neighbourhood, taking down my thugs?" He enumerated.

"Your thugs?"

"The kingpin is mine," he growled.

"Since when?"

"You fucking know since when!" You tried to hide your flinch at his rising tone, but he must have noticed because a moment later, he was closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, visibly trying to get a hold of himself. 

"I thought Queens was your neighbourhood…" You spoke, trying to diffuse the tension after a couple beats had passed without him moving.

"Yeah, well," he shrugged, opening his eyes, "I relocated."

"So did I…" 

"You did," he smiled. And just like that, he was back at being your Peter. "And you mean to tell me all of this." He pressed a button in his wrist, "isn't to get my attention?" 

A hologram version of Jade's video started to play in front of your impassive eyes. And you might have thought your carefully constructed mask of indifference gave away nothing, but Peter could see right through it. You didn't seem surprised to see the video and that alone was enough proof for him to confirm his theory. 

"Please, Smokey, security footage?" He smirked, "this isn't like you. You aren't this sloppy."

Another click and the video was gone.

"Well, this might come as a surprise to you, but everything isn't always about you." 

"Then what's going on?"

"None of your fucking business!"

Before you could react, the floor disappeared from under your feet, and your back hitted the wall with enough force to rattle the windows. 

"Like hell it isn't," Peter hissed, his weight pinning you upright. "Now tell me, what the fuck did you get yourself into this time?"

As you stared into his stormy eyes, heart racing inside your chest, unsure if the adrenaline coursing through your veins was because of the obvious threat in front of you, or for another reason entirely, you wondered exactly the same. 

Your tongue came out to moist your lips, Peter's dark pupils following the movement.

"It's been over a year," you breathed out, all the fight leaving you. It was too much, his sweet breath fanning over your face, every inch of his hard body pressed up against yours, overpowering you, the slick texture of his new suit against your bare chest… it was intoxicating. You had overestimated yourself. "Why do you even care?"

"I will always care about you," he confessed softly, just as affected by the closeness as you. "I will always want you…"

You closed your eyes, trying to get your erratic heart under control.

"Maybe I don't want you anymore, Peter." 

He pushed you harder against the wall, his forearm against your collarbone to prevent you from moving. 

"Don't do that," he whispered, lips ghosting over yours. "Don't torture me."

"Peter…"

BAM.

You fell to your knees, hard, Peter's body suddenly no longer supporting your weight. 

"Touch her again, and I'll kill you!"

"J-Jess?" 

"Hey, kid. You alright?" Your neighbour barely even spared you a glance over her shoulder as she placed herself between you and a newly irate looking Peter, slowly getting up from the rumble of splinters of wood and shards of glass that used to be your coffee table.

"What are you doing here?" You asked in confusion.

"I heard a noise," she deadpanned, eyes never leaving the dark cladded vigilante. But to your surprise Peter merely raised his hands in surrender, the bulk of his rage vanishing the moment he understood the woman in front of him was only trying to protect you. 

"This isn't what it looks like…" He tried to explain, but Jessica would have none of it.

"Yeah, sure" she scoffed. "Big guy, totally dressed, pinning a half naked girl to the wall in the dark... totally not rapey."

Peter flinched. She was right, he wouldn't believe himself either. 

"Listen, you're Jessica Jones, right?" Recognizing the woman in front of him, suddenly your choice in real state made a lot more sense. "I am- I was," he quickly corrected himself, "Peter Parker. Your friend, Matt Murdock, he knows me… look, I'm not- I'm not a bad guy." 

Even to his ears, he sounded unconvincing.

"Really?" Jess pointed at his black costume, "Cause you definitely look like a bad guy." 

"I… Y/n, help me out here," he threw you a pleading look but Jess moved to the side, blocking you from view.

"Hey, fuckface!" She snapped, drawing Peter's attention back to her, "the only reason I'm not kicking your ass right now is because of Matt. But if I ever see you next to Y/N ever again, I'll break every single bone of your body. Twice. Now get the fuck out of here, before I run out of fucking patience."

"Y/N?"

You sighed, getting up. Away from him, and with Jess there as a boofer between the both of you, you were no longer under the influence and could clearly see exactly how fucked up the situation was.

"I think you should leave, Peter." 

There was a flash of hurt in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a mask of indolence as he squared his jaw and turned away, letting the bio-suit close over his head again.

"I looked for her too, you know?" He admitted, before making his exit through the same window he had come in from.

You had no time to dwell on his words or anything of what had just happened, before Jess was on your face. 

"That was Peter? Your sister's boyfriend, the one you told me I didn't need to investigate?"

You resisted the urge to shrink under her look,

"Yeah…"

"You told me he was harmless. That did not look harmless!"

You couldn't really argue with that, so you didn't. Instead you gestured at her to be quiet, as you reached past her to pick up your phone, your landline phone, the one you had never bothered connecting. 

The one you knew was bugged.

With voice as clear and steady as you were able to manage, you spoke into the mic,

"Contact made. Awaiting further instructions." 

To be continued...

[sweetalnazar]

After an eternity, I updated!

CHAPTER 2: A HOUSE, A SHOP AND A HOME

Summary: After the defeat of the Devil, Aisha and Salim catch up on all they’ve missed, including the fate of the home once shared with Asra

4.3k words. Family Fluff/Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort. Tw for discussions of trauma and abandonment

Lowkey Mine/Asra/Muriel.

Other Notes:

- Mine uses she/they, but only ‘they’ in this setting. Asra alternates between ‘he’ and ‘they’

- 'Foreign' words are generally not italicized, to reflect the multilingual nature of the characters

––––

Chapter 1 || Read on AO3 || Tip Jar 🌟

Their home was no more.

In Aisha’s memory, on her street by the heart of Center City, was the little two-storey house squished between a bathhouse and an apothecary, the place she called home. 

The kebab stall down the street, the scent of smoked lamb drifting through the air as she passed it by on the way to the palace. The neighbour opposite her, who grew a rich garden on her balcony with her wife, and gave Aisha a flower each time they met. The sound of the neighbourhood children kicking balls in the streets and chasing each other in the evenings.

The creak of the door hinges that never agreed with Salim’s oils, no matter what formula he used. The colorful tapestries from their families, a parting gift, that decorated the walls, as well as the numerous paintings, from Salim’s hand, from Aisha’s, and of course, Asra’s. The music echoing through their house in the evenings, the strumming of her qanun and Asra’s little hand beating on the riq, Salim’s beautiful voice accompanying.

All of it, every single bit of the house that held all these memories, had been reduced to rubble and broken brick, just like the rest of their neighbourhood.

There was a year of powerful lightning storms in Vesuvia that had led to fire, and the crowded buildings smooshed together, unprepared for such a hazard, was like kindling in a fireplace. Flames engulfed everything in their path, and when they couldn’t, the burning buildings and structures collapsed on their neighbours, leading to almost their entire neighbourhood being destroyed. 

According to Asra, he and Muriel––one of his partners––had run away to the east docks during the blaze, closer to water where it was safer. When they returned, there was barely anything left of the neighbourhood, much less the house.

Salim gulped his tea down, to the point he started coughing. Aisha thumped him, once, before switching to alternating between patting and rubbing his back.

“T-that’s something, Asra,” he said, the shock still clear on his face.

“Haha, yeah…” Asra stared awkwardly at his own teacup.

“Revani anyone?” Mine interrupted, holding a plate of brown squares, topped with crushed walnuts and pistachios. “I got a really good recipe from Selasi, so me, Asra and Muriel tried making some.” 

Grateful for the interruption, all three at the table took a piece each.

It had been a month or so since the defeat of the Devil, the triumphant return of Asra and Mine, and at long last, Aisha and Salim were catching up on what they had missed since their disappearance almost two decades ago. 

The two of them had asked Asra to see their old home, the very first house they had moved in as young newly-weds ready to start their new life.

Instead, he had brought them to the magic shop.

He had gestured for them to sit in a corner of the shop, where a couch and armchairs surrounded a rickety table opposite the counter. While Salim and Aisha took the couch, he had taken an armchair, the one closer to his mother’s side.

With Mine perching on the armrest by his side, and Muriel––quiet as always––sitting by the counter, Asra began regaling the tale of the house’s fate; from the landlord kicking him out, to new tenants, to its demise.

While the palace had remained constant, almost assuring in how little it had changed, much of the city had transformed. 

The Coliseum cast shadows across Goldgrave, obstructing the view of the arts district and its colorful antics. Red Street, once the pride of the Heart District and the Count, had been abandoned. Meanwhile, the bustling Shopping District had turned sullen and gloomy, the overflowing waterways mirroring its new name of the Flooded District. 

Then there was the little island far off-shore that loomed on the edge of the city, a reminder of darker times. Even the land itself had not stayed the same, the ebony, almost black sands of Ash Beach now bleached gray by the remains of the deceased.

Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but change. 

Old stores and restaurants Aisha and Salim had frequented were long gone, the shops now on their fourth or fifth newest venture.There was almost no trace of the Vesuvia Aisha had come to love, the city she had stepped into for her first big project away from home; when she and Salim had been young, newly married and determined to prove their skill away from their families. 

Or at least away from Aisha’s family, the renowned Alnazar name. 

“Basbousa,” Salim spoke, breaking her train of thought. 

She stared down at the cake in hand. Below the brown crust was a familiar buttery yellow. 

“I thought I recognized the smell!” Salim went on, holding his piece up enthusiastically. 

“It’s a little burnt, sorry,” Mine apologized. “We weren’t sure how hot the oven needed to be, since well, none of us usually bake.”

As Salim and Mine continued making small talk, Aisha took a bite, and her eyes widened. 

“Orange blossom syrup,” she said, surprised.

“Just like you made it,” Asra said. He gestured to the cup of orange blossom syrup to the side. “Pour half the syrup while it’s hot––”

“And leave the rest for serving,” she finished. Her chest tightened, a little, and she smiled down at the small square cake.

“I––I didn’t actually remember the name,” Asra confessed. “People in Vesuvia call it ‘revani’, but I always called it the orange blossom cake. Or the cake with semolina butter.”

Aisha laughed. “I remember! You were always trying to eat the entire butter slab while we were baking.”

“What do you mean ‘trying’? They were halfway through their second slab when we caught them that one time,” Salim pointed out.

“Asra!” Mine exclaimed, staring at them with wide eyes. “You didn’t .”

“It tasted nice when I was little,” Asra shrugged. “I liked how the texture felt when I gnashed the butter between my teeth.”

From the counter, there was a snort, and Aisha could have sworn Muriel mumbled, “...typical” under his breath.

Meanwhile, Mine rose to their feet, taking a couple of cakes on their plate, and went over to the counter, squeezing Asra’s hand before they left.

Salim took a few more pieces, munching happily, and Aisha did the same, placing another square on her plate.

“Back to our original topic,” Aisha said, “what happened to the house after that?”

“Oh.” Asra stopped, putting down his plate and taking a quick gulp of tea. “Well, it was kind of abandoned for a long time. Until Melaka––that’s Mine’s aunt––came along.”

“Then…”

Asra nodded. “That’s right. She built the shop right over where the house was.” He leaned back in his chair, and pulled the shimmery curtains behind him away to reveal the view from the large open window.

At the back of the shop, hidden by the tall storefront and the surrounding walls, was a courtyard. Garments flapped gently in the breeze from the clotheslines in the center, the clothing all different sizes. To one side, there was a collection of beakers and jars, as well as larger rectangular containers. They were all filled with dirt, plants of various sizes and types sprouting from them.

“Is that––” Salim squinted, “––another building back there?”

“That’s the kitchen,” Mine said. 

“Our main kitchen,” Asra clarified. “It’s where we put the ice box and the big stove and everything. There’s a sitting room too, to eat together.”

Aisha blinked, playing over Asra’s last sentence in her mind.

Had that been an invitation?

“Oh, that’s where Lucia and Hayrünnisa used to live,” Salim said. “Nisa would always give you seeds when she saw you, Asra.” 

“Seeds?” Aisha said. “Didn’t she usually give them those little flower crowns and rings?”

Asra’s eyes darted down, looking sheepish.

“Oops, sorry, Asra. It was supposed to be a secret.”

“What was?” Mine said, leaning over the counter, their elbows almost at the edge. Muriel pulled them back, but they stayed standing, bouncing on the balls of their feet.

“I think we’ve heard enough about my childhood,” Asra said, red dusting his cheeks.

“No, we haven’t!” Mine said. “Right, Muriel?”

Muriel nodded. If Aisha hadn’t known any better, she would have said his smile was almost teasing.

“It’s not as embarrassing as you think it was, Asra,” Salim said. “It was very sweet in fact.”

Asra pursed his lips, looking conflicted.

Aisha reached out, slowly taking his hand in hers and squeezing it. Asra snapped his head to look at her, startled.

“Habibi, we don’t have to talk about it if you truly don’t want to,” she told him gently. “But I must admit...I would very much love to hear this little secret of yours.” 

Asra chuckled, squeezing her hand back before she released him. “OK, mom. I guess...it has been long enough.” 

“Tell us!” Mine said, bouncing faster now, the pink-tipped dark curls resting on their shoulders bouncing higher.

“..calm down,” Muriel muttered, almost fondly, as he placed a hand on their rotund hip and attempted to get them to sit.

“Now for the story,” Asra clapped his hands, his face still a little red as he began. “I saw er, Nisa––”

“Aunty Nisa,” Salim corrected.

“Yeah, Aunty Nisa was always giving you flowers, mom, and I, I wanted to do that too. A whole bouquet of flowers that I grew on my own.”

“You wanted to make a big balcony garden just like hers.” Salim shook his head. “It took a while to talk you down too.”

“It’s true,” Asra laughed. “Dad convinced me to start small. He would let me borrow the beakers and jars from your lab. We’d get some dirt and I’d put them on the ledge under my window where you couldn’t see.”

“So that’s where all our equipment went!” Aisha said, smiling at her husband. She placed an arm around his shoulder, pressing herself closer. “And here I was, half-convinced you were melting them down for some explosive new experiment.”

“Aisha, I would never.”

She gave him a knowing look.

“...without telling you first, that is.”

“That is true. I do dislike not being privy to the workings of your beautiful mind, ya qalbi.”

“Of course, ya a’youni. How could I ever do anything without my eyes to guide me so?”

For a while, there was silence, as Aisha and Salim gazed lovingly at each other, lost in the other’s eyes.

Up until Muriel cleared his throat, mumbling, “...Getting mushy must run in the family.”

“Shh, Muriel,” Mine whispered loudly, elbowing him. “It’s romantic . Let them be!”

“Anyway,” Asra said, “So that’s my little secret, mom. I hope you, er, liked it?”

“I loved it, habibi. Thank you, it was very sweet.”

“We should try that again.” Mine bounded up to the chair, settling on the armrest again. “Growing a flower garden. We could get a few more beakers––oh, a proper plant bed maybe? Portia has a great garden, we could ask her for tips and stuff!”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Um, I mean, if you’d like, mom and dad.”

Aisha blinked, confused for a moment, until the meaning clicked. “You want us to garden...together?”

“Only if you want to,” Asra quickly clarified. “It’s fine if you don’t, it really is.”

“Not at all, Asra,” Salim said. “I think that’s a lovely idea.”

Aisha nodded firmly.

Asra smiled, then faltered, looking down. Before either Salim or Aisha could ask him what was the matter, he had pulled Mine close, whispering into their ear.

They bobbed their head, before their attention turned to Aisha and Salim. “We were also wondering if the two of you wouldn’t mind joining us for dinner sometime. Yknow, once in a while, we could sit down around the table and um, just enjoy a family meal.”

“A little get-together sort of thing,” Asra added. “Nothing special.”

“Oh, but habibi, that is something special,” Aisha said. “We, we haven’t really had anything like that in a long time.”

“Y-you don’t have to––”

“We want to,” Aisha and Salim said simultaneously.

“Asra,” Aisha began, “We have missed so much, too much, of your life. Every moment we can share with you, even in the littlest ways, they are precious.”

“We can’t make up all that lost time,” Salim said. “But we are going to try and make the most of our present. We can only spend so long lamenting our losses. We want to move forward...with you, Asra, if possible.”

Asra’s eyes glistened in the soft sunlight filtering through the curtain, and Mine put an arm around him, a reassurance.

“There’s no rush, of course,” Aisha said. “We can go at your pace, as you like.”

“N-no, it’s not, it’s not that.”

He cleared his throat, wiping at the corner of his eye with his thumb. Mine undid one of the clothknots from their fingers and offered it, which Asra accepted and dabbed at his eyes.

“Muri, come over here,” Asra waved. “I want you to be closer for this.”

“...fine.” 

Muriel shuffled over, chair in hand, before placing it down next to Asra and taking a seat. There was another empty armchair, across from Asra, but it seemed both his partners wanted to stay close to him right now.

Asra took a deep breath, his thumb running over Mine’s knuckles, before he started speaking.

“Mom, dad, I, I spent a long time alone. It was...it wasn’t easy. I had Muri, but we barely got by, especially when we were younger.”

Aisha swallowed, one hand gripping the edges of her hijab as she braced her heart. Neither she nor Salim were not technically at fault, but nonetheless, how could she not feel pain or guilt or grief over what her child, her precious little one, had been forced to go through in the absence of his parents? 

How could she not feel responsible for the pain Asra had gone through?

“We had good times, Muri and I, but––but there were a lot of days that hurt. There were a lot of days that were painful and scary.” Another inhale, Mine squeezing his hand. “...But what hurt most of all was wondering if, if you had left me alone on purpose.”

“Asra,” Salim breathed, the shock in his tone mirroring Aisha’s own. “We would never.”

“I know. I know that now. But when I was little and afraid, I had no idea. You just suddenly never came home, and sometimes––sometimes I wondered if it was me. That I had done something wrong, or if there was something wrong with me that made you want to leave.”

Salim opened his mouth to speak, but Aisha raised a hand, wordlessly gesturing for him to wait. Asra still had more to say.

“For the longest time, I believed no one would stay for me.” Tears rolled down his cheeks, dropping into his lap like little pearls, and his lips quivered as he said, “Because you two didn’t stay.”

Asra closed his eyes, exhaling, while more tears dripped down. Muriel passed a handkerchief to Mine, who promptly wiped at Asra’s cheeks.

“T-thanks, Mine, Muri,” he mumbled.

After wiping away most of his tears, Asra raised his head, meeting Aisha and Salim’s gazes. 

“Mom, dad, it’s not your fault, but it took me a long time to let people in again. To actually let people love all of me, instead of keeping a part of myself out of their reach so I wouldn’t get hurt. I––I’m actually still afraid, of letting people in. What if they get tired of me? What if they don’t want me anymore? What then?”

Asra had every right to be angry, to be upset, but to Aisha’s astonishment, a smile spread across his face, his expression growing brighter with each word.

“But I don’t want to be held back by my fears anymore. Even if I am afraid, I––I still want to try. Mom, dad, I want to try at us being a family again. I know it won’t be easy, and I know there will be a lot of times where things don’t go the way we planned. Despite that...would you still want to try with me?”

“Of course,” Aisha and Salim answered immediately.

“Asra...you’ve been through so much,” Salim said. “I am so, so sorry for what we put you through. I know the situation was out of our control, but not a day goes by that we don’t regret leaving you alone. You were so young, we should have been there to protect you, to help you.”

“But we weren’t,” Aisha said, unballing her fist and letting her hijab fall back into place. “Habibi, your scars run deep, and neither our apologies or efforts are enough to heal each and every past hurt. You can be angry or bitter towards us, we both understand. Regardless, we will always love you.”

Salim nodded. “No matter what. We might disagree with each other, or argue until our voices go hoarse, or even hate each other for a time, but no matter what happens, our love will never change.”

“To put it simply,” Aisha said, “nothing would make us happier than to try together with you, Asra, to be a family again.”

Asra’s hands flew to his face and he doubled over in the chair, white curls touching his knees. 

“Asra?!” Mine and Muriel exclaimed, Muriel jumping to his feet to come closer.

Then, Asra lifted his head, and Aisha understood his reaction.

His cheeks were completely damp, tears flowing freely, along with snot running from his nose. His body quivered with soft sobs he was barely holding in, both his partners hugging him on either side. 

He had been such a messy crier as a child, and some things didn’t change. 

“I––I’m sorry, I’m just...I’m f––feeling a lot of things right now,” he managed to choke out, attempting a wobbly smile.  

“There, there,” Mine said, rubbing his back, while Muriel poured water into his teacup. 

Once he had calmed down, though his eyes were still watery, he continued.

“Thanks, mom, dad. Thank you….for everything. I, I never thought I would hear you say that and I just…”

Mine patted his shoulder. “There, there, sayang. We get it. Go at your own pace.”

He rested his head on their chest. “Thank you, dearheart. And you, Muri, love.”

Muriel grunted. He had gone back to sit down, but his chair had been moved closer, in case Asra needed quick comforting once more.

Aisha smiled. “Seems to me like you’ve certainly found many who love you dearly.”

“And I’m lucky for each and every one.”

“As we’re lucky to have you, Asra,” Salim said. “Thank you, habibi, for being the sweetest, kindest and loveliest child there ever was.”

He laughed weakly. “Dad, stop.”

“It is true though,” Aisha said. “Take my word for it, I’m never wrong.”

Asra chuckled and shook his head, affection clear in the gesture. “Mom, dad...I love you. So much.”

Aisha blinked, her vision becoming watery now. She leaned over, grasping Asra’s hand. 

Together, she and Salim said, “We love you too.”

The hours seemed to fly by as the conversation carried on, the edges of the blue sky starting to bleed orange soon enough. When Aisha pointed it out, Asra stammered out an invitation to stay for dinner tonight, and Mine jumped to their feet in excitement, suggesting all of them could even cook together.

Naturally, Aisha and Salim happily accepted.

When Asra asked what they would like to eat, Aisha took one look at her husband, and in unison, they answered, “Lamb fatteh!” 

In Zadithi tradition, fatteh was a celebratory dish of rice and toasted pita bread, piles of mutton crowning the top and accompanied by savory sauces. Around many parts of the country, it was the Mahrajan dish, for the Mahrajan Qurban, or the Mahrajan Saum. 

Aisha had many a happy memory of breaking her fast to a plate piled high with falafel and fatteh and roasted eggplant, family and friends and loved ones all around her, and she could not help but wish her child could also have such wonderful memories too, even if it was a little late.

By sunset, the shop’s kitchen was a mess of splatters and ingredients strewn about, rice sticking to Aisha's hijab while the dark curls of Salim's fringe had stains of tomato paste. Yet at the same time, there was laughter and chatter resounding throughout the whole building, never quiet for a single moment.

And despite the mess, the fatteh turned out beautifully, looking gorgeous as Salim and Muriel brought it out on its large dish, almost dominating the entire coffee table.

Asra closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. Quietly, he said, “I haven’t smelled this in years. It’s just as wonderful as I remember.” He opened his eyes, turning to his parents. “I could never find the recipe to make it just like yours.”

“It’s the eggplant,” Salim said, brushing the last of the rice off her hijab. “Your mother loves them.”

Aisha laughed. “It’s the best part. My abi would make it like that.”

“My...grandfather?"

She nodded, her gaze becoming wistful. “It’s been such a while since we’ve seen my family. Your family, Asra. We are planning to reconnect soon...if you would want to.”

Asra bit his lip.

“You don’t have to, habibi,” Salim quickly said. “They are your family regardless, but you don’t have to force yourself into anything.”

“I’ll think about it….but maybe, I would like to meet them. Someday.”

Beside Asra, Mine bumped his shoulder, done with tying Muriel's hair back into a ponytail. “Baby steps, love. Take your time,” they said.

On Asra's other side, Muriel nodded in agreement. With his bangs out of his face, Aisha could see the softness beneath his gruff exterior, the love reflected in the green of his irises as he gazed at his partners. Truly, her child was surrounded by such wonderful people.

“Mine’s right,” Aisha spoke. “You can take your time, Asra. Whether it’s finding your roots in Zadithi, or connecting with us here in Vesuvia, your family isn’t going anywhere.”

Asra’s smile was soft and small, but radiant. “Thanks, mom.”

“Speaking of, can we start digging in yet?” Mine piped up. “I’m starving, and this fatteh smells wayyy too good for just staring at it.”

The rest of the table guffawed, even Muriel chuckling under his breath.

“Dig in, everyone!” Salim said

After reciting a tasmiya, they all began their meal, scooping up piles of rice and bread and lamb and eggplant, drizzling their dishes with ladles of tomato sauce and garlic sauce. 

As Aisha was halfway through her plate, Muriel told Asra, “You never did finish the story about the house.”

Asra put down his fork, surprise clear on his face. “Huh? What did I leave out?”

“Why it took so long for this place to be built.”

Asra’s cheeks flushed at this, in a way Aisha was starting to recognize.

“Asra Alnazar,” she said, “what did you do this time?”

“ Nothing ,” he said, though his expression was sheepish. “Things just...took a while. No one wanted this palace until Melaka came along. Once she did, she bought this lot and the one behind, and well, she rebuilt.”

“Despite Asra’s best efforts,” Mine whispered to Muriel, grinning.

“What do you mean?�� Aisha asked, ears sharp as ever, before turning to Asra. “Habibi, what do they mean?

The blush grew deeper, his cheeks aflame, and he looked away. 

“Go on, Asra,” Muriel said, a little quiet, but a small, teasing smile tugging on his usually downturned mouth. “Tell them all about the hauntings.”

“The what ?” Salim exclaimed.

Asra covered the lower half of his face with his hands, his cheeks aflame now. 

Mine cackled. “Go on, Asra. I’m sure your parents will love this.”

With a sigh, he relented. “So, dad, mom, after the landlord kicked me out, I may have been, well, scaring all the new tenants away.”

“With an actual ghost?” Salim said.

“N–no, that was just me, doing some magic. Playing some pranks.”

“Scaring every single resident half to death,” Mine said.

“And sending them scurrying out in the middle of the night,” Muriel added.

“Yes, that.” Asra cleared his throat, continuing in a quieter voice, “And I may have also...committed property damage after Melaka first moved in.”

“ What?! ” Aisha said, her voice going shrill, trying to keep the grin from spreading across her face. “Asra!”

“Don’t forget breaking and entering,” Muriel chimed in.

“Trespassing too~” Mine sang. “I’m surprised auntie didn’t curse you into a toad or something.”

Asra glanced from one partner to the other. “Tonight is just about dredging up my entire embarrassing history, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Mine and Muriel replied.

“And we’re enjoying every bit of it,” Mine said, Muriel bobbing his head as well.

“So what happened next?” Aisha interjected. “Were you caught by Miss Melaka?”

“Yep,” Muriel said.

“I was,” Asra admitted. “And then…”

The night passed with stories of past memories, both the ones Aisha and Salim knew, and those they didn’t. And while a part of Aisha’s heart still panged at how much she had missed, she couldn’t help the joy and delight blossoming in her chest.

Perhaps they could not take back the past.

But to be allowed to be a part of Asra’s present, to be able to learn about the sort of person her child used to be and the person he was now, it was a gift beyond measure. 

And to know that they were still a family, that he still had a place in his life for them after all these years?

It was beyond her wildest dreams.

––––

 Notes Disclaimer: I'm not Middle Eastern or Arab, and much of this is pulled from the internet as well as some of my own basic knowledge as a Malaysian Muslim. Please feel free to correct anything.

Qanun: A type of stringed instrument found across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and southeastern Europe. Riq: A type of tambourine and a traditional instrument in Arab music. It's the national musical instrument of Pakistan Revani/Basbousa: A type of sweet cake popular in the Middle East, and has many names Fatteh: A type of dish that is served differently depending on region. In Egypt, it is a type of feast meal

Abi (ابي): Arabic, from abu (أب)/father, meaning 'my father' Habibi (حبيبي): Arabic, from huub (حب)/love, meaning 'my love' Ya Qalbi (قلبي): Arabic, from qalb (قلب)/heart, meaning 'my heart' Ya A'youni (عيونى): Arabic, from a'in (عين)/eye, meaning 'my eyes', an affectionate petname. *Ya is a word often placed before names/nouns, ie 'Ya Aisha' or 'Ya Habibi'. The closest translation I understand is akin to saying "O Aisha", but not quite accurate

Mahrajan (مهرجان) : Arabic, meaning festival. Eid, the biggest celebrations of the Muslim world, can also translate to festival and in this story, Mahrajan is essentially fantasy!Eid. Mahrajan Qurban refers to Eid ul Adha, while Mahrajan Saum refers to Eid ul Fitri Tasmiya (تَسْمِيَّة): Arabic, a fantasy equivalent to the Basmala. In Muslim tradition, it is common to utter a Basmala before carrying out a task such as before eating

Clothknots: Mine has ADHD and to help with their forgetfulness, they often tie clothknots around their fingers to serve as reminders Sayang: Malay, meaning 'love'. Here, it's used as a petname

[fandom-necromancer]

Finding each other Part 2

This was prompted by the amazing @headfulloffantasy and @downeyjrfreak! Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900 | AU: Soulmate AU [Part1]

The drive home had been more than awkward. Gavin, having hastily loaded his job and the rest of the rescued androids on some unfortunate intern, had short of pulled the RK900 out of the precinct and to his car. And while the android sat on the passenger side with barely any movement, Gavin’s heart seemed to beat with the same rhythm as the engine in front of him. Finally home, they exited the car standing next to the open doors and looked at the small suburban house Gavin only managed to get because half of the neighbourhood was almost deserted. A bit self-conscious, he looked over to the android he barely knew, who apparently wanted to scan every little detail, because he was staring.

‘It’s not much’, he stammered almost as an apology. ‘But it’s mine, home.’ He coughed. ‘Well, ours now I guess.’ He kneaded his neck just to give his hands something to do and looked over. He stared directly into the android’s blue eyes. ‘It’s yours?’, he asked so silent it was almost drowned out by the slight breeze. ‘Ours?’ ‘If you want it to be?’, Gavin shrugged, taken off guard by the surprised tone. ‘You can of course also join the other androids at Jericho. If it’s too fast for you or-‘ ‘I want to be where you are.’ ‘Oh’, Gavin swallowed what he had been about to say. ‘Of course. Then let’s head on in.’

They closed the doors of the car and Gavin took the lead to the porch. Gavin unlocked the door and walked inside, waiting for the android to follow that did so tentatively, scanning what little he could see of the hallway. He closed the door behind him and followed Gavin’s movements while he kicked off his shoes and hung up his jacket. His eyes flew over a few pictures hung up next to the coat rack and Gavin stopped to look at them too. ‘Photo’s of my friends, mostly. A few vacations too.’ He tried a small half-smile, but it did little to chase the awkwardness away that lingered between them.

It was his cat that finally interrupted it, running up to them and weaving through Gavin’s legs to see who that newcomer was. ‘You have a cat?’, the android asked with wide eyes, crouching down and holding out his hand. ‘Yes. Do you like cats?’ ‘I don’t know’, the RK900 answered, completely focussed on the small feline walking up to him just to sniff and headbutt his fingers. ‘I think so, though.’ ‘Right, you never saw one before, right?’, Gavin commented, remembering that the android likely hadn’t been outside Cyberlife Tower until the raid. ‘No, this is the first time. It’s soft.’ ‘I’m sorry. It’s hard to imagine you never did… well, anything really. I think we really should talk.’ The android nodded, standing up again and waiting for Gavin to once again lead the way.

He brought him to the small living room and pointed towards the old cosy couch tucked away to one side of the room facing towards a large flatscreen and a coffee-table in between. Multiple old mugs with dark coffee-stains on the bottom piled on it together with takeout containers and a lone candle meant as decoration. ‘I’m sorry for the mess’, Gavin stammered, even if just to break the silence. ‘I didn’t really expect to… well, to meet my soulmate today.’ ‘I feel the same. I was… Well, your name on my wrist used to be the only thing giving me hope. It made me think I just had to somehow get out of there, once I had managed that there would be a person out there for me that would help me. When I was saved and taken out of that lab… I mean, I still had the name, but how should I even find you? I realised I vastly underestimated how hard it would be to find one human among millions. I was scared for a long time, but the moment I realised that I felt lost, too. Hearing the name in the queue, I thought I must have imagined it. But you had my designation and… I’m just relieved. It’s hard to feel anything beyond that.’

Gavin swallowed hard. It sounded like there was a whole lot of things the android wasn’t saying and none of them would be anything pleasant. Still, he couldn’t help but ask: ‘What did they do to you? If you don’t mind telling. You don’t have to!’ The android looked up at him. ‘I was designed as Connor’s successor. A machine to hunt and kill deviants. And I was thoroughly tested to what extend I was capable of doing that. Sometimes I wished I had been a machine, just so I don’t need to know exactly how it feels, just so I wouldn’t have to reflect on what I did and how it must have felt for the deviant I killed. Even if it was just a simulation it felt real. And I wasn’t a machine. I had been infected when a rogue deviant broke into the lab to get my help. He was killed, but I had his code and the next simulation I deviated. Knowing what they would do to me first-hand though, I did my best to hide it. And I was good with that. They just thought my programming was faulty, not that I was a deviant.’ He paused for a while, looking down on Gavin’s name on his wrist. ‘But because of that they changed me. They stripped away parts of me and replaced them with others. Deleted some completely. I remember existing in some form of a blank slate for an hour because they were on lunchbreak. But no matter how much they changed me, the fact that I never lost you…‘ He nervously faced Gavin again. ‘The fact that I never lost your name on my wrist throughout it all gave me hope. That no matter how much they changed me, you were still out there, and I just had to find a way out. That I wasn’t as alone as I thought to be.’

‘Way to set high expectations’, Gavin chuckled humourless. ‘But hell, that really sounds bad. I hope I can help you. Usually I’m not the person people would come to for that.’ ‘I escaped, and I found the person fate decided was perfect for me. I am safe. Most of my life that was my only goal. Right now I think I just need a place to stay and get used to… learn what it means to actually live I guess.’ ‘S-sure, you can stay here for as long as you want’, Gavin offered, unsure what else to say. He had spent so much time worrying whether his soulmate actually existed, that now that he sat right in front of him, he didn’t know what to do. ‘Cyberlife took a hard blow to their image and lost most, if not all of their power. I don’t think you have to worry about them ever again.’ ‘Thank you’, the RK900 whispered, brushing his thumb over his soul mark just like Gavin had done countless times in the past.

‘What about you?’, the android asked then. ‘I doubt not having a name on your wrist had been easy for you.’ Gavin huffed, finally prying the wristband away and showing the black letters and numbers openly. ‘No, it wasn’t. But no comparison to your story either.’ ‘Please, do tell me’, the android insisted. ‘You are my soulmate and I know nothing about you.’ Gavin leaned back and sighed deeply. ‘Hell, where would I even begin? Everyone thought it was a glitch. Everyone thought I would be someone without a soulmate but fate glitched out and I ended up with this keysmash basically. I wanted to believe it wasn’t and there was some reason for these numbers. Was bullied for them in school and was caught between wishing them away just not to be the weirdo and clinging to your name because it meant there was someone out there. Hid it in the end, but that didn’t help making finding friends easier. It only got better when I met Tina during police academy. She has the same kind of mark. She is destined for a ST300. When androids were released to the public, I must admit I started to really hate my mark and androids with it. I thought that it was an insult to be considered such a bad soul only a lifeless android could fit to me. But with deviancy you basically became persons and my view gradually changed.’

‘So you are not ashamed of having a different mark than other humans?’, the RK900 wanted to know. ‘What? No. Never really was to be honest. I was angry. I felt betrayed being told there was someone for me but having to always doubt myself. Living with the possibility it had all been just a glitch, that I would end up with a mindless machine and then after seeing the RK800 be released, having hope again, just to lose it once again after the revolution. But I was never ashamed of it.’ ‘Why did you lose hope to find me after the revolution?’, RK900 asked. ‘Well, there were no new androids being produced. If your line ended at the RK800, then suddenly the glitch possibility was there again. As was the thought that maybe I would have met you if the revolution wasn’t successful.’ ‘But then the name would have vanished, hadn’t it?’ ‘I don’t have the slightest idea how these things work, tin-can’, Gavin sighed. ‘I was desperate for some explanation at the time. Because I was terrified of staying alone all my life. Always told myself there are a lot of people out there happy living their life without any romantic relationship, but somehow that never sat right with me. And with my soulmark evident, hell, who in his sane mind would date me? I wanted you to exist. Wanted nothing more than meeting you one day.’

‘Maybe we do fit together then’, the android concluded with a calm blue spinning LED. ‘Both desperately wanting the other to exist and be there.’ ‘For vastly different reasons maybe but yeah. You’ve been through a lot more shit than I have.’ ‘I wouldn’t say that’, RK900 disagreed. ‘You had to live with it for thirty-six years. I only for about half a year. I can’t imagine how it must have been for you.’ Gavin nodded a bit uncomfortable. In his eyes his struggle wasn’t even remotely similar to the android’s, but comparing suffering was likely a bad idea in the first place. ‘Well, it’s over now’, Gavin concluded, defeated and feeling tired suddenly. ‘It’s over’, the android agreed.

‘What do we do now?’, the human asked after a few moments of silence. ‘Can I hug you again?’, RK900 asked. ‘It felt really good the last time.’ Gavin smirked at that and shrugged. ‘Sure.’ They scooted closer on the couch and the android put his arms around Gavin, who did the same. Leaned against each other like this, holding the other they barely knew and yet felt completely safe with, a comfortable silence settled around them for the first time. Gavin’s cat joined them after a while and Gavin himself gradually lost all of his tension. ‘I waited far too long for this’, he mumbled already sleepy and settled against the android in a more comfortable position. He felt how RK900 in his back looked down on him by the way his chest angled itself against his shoulder. Then he returned to his resting position and a gust of warm, slightly stale air hit the side of his head. ‘Me too.’

[stilinskitpose]

Pining over him // Peter Hale

Pairing: Peter Hale x female reader

Warnings: nsfw , smut , slight daddy kink, hair pulling, choking, unprotected sex, tonnnn of dirty talk and just a lot of sexy sin (plotless kind of)

Characters: Peter, Derek, Stiles, Scott, implies pack, y/n

Summery: The young reader has been fantasising about the feeling of being with a real man for a while now, a real man being no other than the notorious Peter Hale. However, it’s hard to be taken seriously when Peter thinks you are no more than an annoying little teenage girl.

Word Count: lost count it’s a ton

Authors Note: This is my first time posting on tumblr, let alone posting a smut imagine soooo I don’t know how this will turn out. I’m just going with the flow of my hormonal teenage instincts ;)

➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿

“Y/n, did you even listen to a word that I just said?”

The deepness of the voice made you snap out of you staring at the entertaining spider that was crawling up the corner wall of Dereks loft, which caused you to jump suddenly on your squished position on the coach, trapped between two clowns, Scott and Stiles.

The quiet yelp you let out made Stiles stiffle a snort causing you to elbow him in the shoulder. The fucker deserved that. You let out a content sigh and an evil smile when you heard a sound of pain from your annoying brother from another mother. What can I say, the pain he feels makes me wither in complete pleasure. I snort at my chain of thoughts and look up to see a confused Derek Hale.

"Yeah sorry, I was just-", Trailing off mid sentence thinking of a viable reason for not listening to the former Alpha. Thinking it would be funny to tell them about the entertaining spider that just crawled under the crack of the wall on the other side of the spacious loft.

“There was a spider” You answer timidly, grimacing at yourself for sounding so stupid in the room full of your pack. Derek looks at you quizzingly, you giving him the most innocent look you could muster, he sighs before letting a small smile come across his features from your utter randomness.

“I was just telling you how we need to keep you somewhere safe incase the Darach decides to pay you a visit” Derek says quickly, you sigh in annoyance hating being treated like a defenceless little girl. You understood that you weren’t anything supernatural or anything but you would think Derek would have a little faith in you since you were so handy with a frying pan from being in a near death experience with the twin Alphas not so long ago. You chuckle subconsciously at the memory.

A mutter of agreements are heard from around the loft from your oh so fellow pack members. Betrayed and defeated, you try voice your opinion on the matter.

“What? No” You probably looked like a kicked puppy. You definatly felt like one. You continued “I’m not some helpless human Derek. Stiles is more helpless than me!” You whine flicking Stiles in the head which he repeated the action harder on me causing me to poke him in the ribs.

“Why has this suddenly turned into bash Stiles day? You know I have feelings too” Stiles offendingly says, his arms spazzing at his sides to try and prove his point.

“When am I ever nice to you” you scoff jokingly earning a chuckle in agreement from him before he went back to listening to the arguement infront of him wishing he had a bowl of popcorn to go along with it.

Derek ignores Stiles and resumes telling me that it’s for my own good. Blah blah.

“Where will I even go anyway? It’s not like I have a line of people waiting to protect me from the looming and pending doom of death itself” You replied, words laced with exaggeration.

“I’ll look after her, it’s not like I have anything better to do”

The husky voice came from the corner of the room shadows dancing across the body of the person that is wanting to ‘look after her’. What am I, a dog? Y/n replied in her head afraid to reply that response out loud since the deep voice belonged to a man she have been shamefully harbouring a crush on for some time now. Peter fucking Hale.

It’s not like she was afraid to converse with him, it’s just that she was terrified of making a fool of her self by stuttering out a few syllables before halting and staring at his piercing blue eyed that made her legs buckle submissively from the dominance they give off. She doesn’t know how he does it, makes her feel like her skin is on fire whilst her heart pounds faster than humanly normal. Without even meaning to aswell. It’s like he was a complete natural at turning her into jelly without even noticing. It riles her up to no extent.

Your eyes widen in shock and your heart beat began to rise much to your dismay, knowing that he probably knew the effects he had on you, since he had spectacular werewolf senses, made you want to crawl into a ball and wither away in embarrassment. But he never made any indication that he knew either from being completely oblivious or because he wanted to salvage that slither of pride you had left for yourself. You prayed the first. But you doubted it since Peter isn’t exactly known for being the nicest human in the planet.

You knew you were probably over exaggerating and stressing about this whole situation way to much but you just couldn’t comprehend what you would do if Peter found out the way you feel since he is abit older than you, being still only a junior in highschool yourself and him being a fully grown mature man that you wanted to pounce on all the damn time. Jesus I need to get laid, preferably by the man invading my dreams at night but desperate times cause desperate measures.

“Look after me? I’m not a child, I don’t need watching over, I have things to do like watching the last season of The Vampire Diaires even though I’m shitting scared to because Stephen dies” You ramble a butt load of word vomit wanting to shut up but your nerves were your worst enemy in situations like these.

“Hey don’t aim your anger on me I’m just volenteering to keep the weak and innocent out of harms way, that’s character development if you ask me” Peter replies smugly as his gaze burns into the your own. You muster up a harsh glare at Mr Hottie before pivoting to face Derek who was evidently waying the little options he had.

“Your not seriously considering this right? You hate him, everyone hates him” I bitterly state, relunctanly turning around to meet Mr Hotties patronising gaze. The evident smirk plastered on his handsome face tells me that he’s enjoying being the cause of this conflict. Mockingly sending a small wave as if proud of the past he has with the pack before him.

Everyone once again agrees with my statement causing Peter to let out an annoyed sigh before saying “I thought we all got over this anger that has been directed towards yours truely, It will give you wrinkles if you frown at me like that sweetheart”, he humours the situation by sending a wink in my direction. Ugh.

“It’s not like we have a lot of options right now y/n, as much as I don’t like it we need as many people focused on defeating the Darach. It will only be for a few days at the maximum. I promise. Please?” Derek had is puppy dog eyes displayed making it very hard for me to deny him, so I bit my tongue and agreed.

➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰

Derek had dropped me off at Mr Hotties apartment with my bag laying heavy on my shoulders ready to stay for a few nights. This whole situation is bitter sweet if you ask me. Bitter because you didn’t know if these few days will hold a wave of awkwardness between the two of you and a lack of communication since the both of you have never had a proper convosation other than yesterday when he offered to keep you hostage in his apartment. And sweet because you’d have eye candy for a while. I was not complaining. It’s a win win situation.

You stroll around the apartment amused “I’m not going to lie I have always wondered if you lived in a secret lab or in an underground network of tunnels or something like that but this will do I guess ” you snickered and joked. Peter lifted an eyebrow and smirked saying “I’m not a complete animal darling”. My stomache filled with butterflies at his statement and I cleared my throat looking around the apartment once again.

Peter leaned on the doorframe and cocked his hip against it whilst his arms were crossed. Damn. He gave me a once over eyes lingering on the exposed area where my mid thigh length skirt lay. “Aren’t you a little young to be wearing that?” I frowned and looked up at his defined features past his broard strong shoulders.

“I’m nearly 18 I can wear whatever the hell I want” I scoffed. Peter held his hands up in mock surrender before strolling into the kitchen with his back facing me. I could see the defining back muscles from the outline of his green v neck and the way his bisceps flexed when reaching into one of the cupboards for two mugs. His hands. Oh holy Jesus his hands. The muscular and veiny hands gripped onto the coffee mugs send a wave of arousal downstairs. My mouth turned into an o shape as I imagined all the things those hands could do to me. All the filthy things. A girl can only take so much! As my eyes began to travel down the werewolf in front of me I started to bite my lip at the way his jeans hugged his cheeks as they clung amazingly against his thick legs that held rippling muscle. I have got to ask him what his leg day routine is.

A hand started to wave across of my face as if trying to get my attention, I averted my eyes away from the goodies to see Peter staring at me with a wide smirk along his smug face.

“Are you okay there y/n? You look a little flustered. Something on your mind?” He walked towards me untill I could feel his lips skimming the top of my ear. I gulped in suprised as my eyes widened and started stuttering out an excuse.

“Oh u-um I was just— nothing” I hung my head to look at my feet awkwardly as they began shifting from nerves.

“Hmm okay let me show you where you’ll be sleeping” he his voice rasped against my ear which sent shivers around my body.

➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰

He knew exactly what he was doing. I mean how couldn’t he? It was like we were playing a game of cat and mouse. More like werewolf and human. I snorted out a chuckle at my pathetic joke as I lay down on the bed in the spare bedroom that Peter allowed me to use. Glancing down at my lack of clothing, an oversized t shirt that said ‘bugs life forever’ and a pair of white lace panties I let out a heavy sigh clocking my head untill it reached the my phone saying it was 2:45am. My throat was dry from overthinking earlier with Peter, how he got so close to me, pressing his body against mine. Why would he even do that? He thinks I’m an annoying teenager. A child.

Wanting to wet my parched throat I hopped towards the kitchen quietly, attempting not to wake Peter from his room and not bothering with putting on sweatpants as I didn’t suspect anyone to see me in this state. I reached my arms out to the highest cupboard in the kitchen, straining my arm at the height of it and huffed when I couldn’t reach it. A deep voice made me freeze in my position and slowly turn around.

“Did I say you could use my kitchen without my permission?” I gasped as I saw his shirtless form, rippling muscle clouded his chest with light scattered chest hair in the centre that led towards the waistband of his sweatpants. Atleast someone thought about wearing sweatpants.

Holy Jesus for I have sinned. “I didn’t think you would have a problem with it since you offered to imprison me inside the walls of your apartment” I muttered angrily starting to once again reach for the glass that I am determined to get. Little did you know that Peters eyes wandered past the hemline of the oversized sweatshirt you were wearing that was hiked up from you stretching to reach the glass, this eyes lingered on the exposed skin of your thighs and the white lace panties that hugged the underline of your firm ass. Having these sudden dirty thoughts that clouded his mind from his previous dream feels wrong since you are much younger than him. But Jesus did it feel so right to him.

The feeling of someone pressed against you from behind startles you. You move to spin around when a deep voice interrupts you. “I’ll get it for you, don’t strain yourself darling” Peters voice seemed strained as if he was trying to keep himself together as you let out a choked sigh at how close proximity you both were to eachother. As he reached up to grab you a glass and handed it to you, your response make you regret the day you were born. Started from your hands brushing you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.

“Thankyou daddy” Both his and your eyes widen at your statement.

Oh my god. Did I really just say that out loud? Judging by his expression, I’m pretty sure I did. Shit. What the fuck is wrong with you? Someone please just kill me right now. A werewolf could come up to me right now and kill me and I would say thankyou.

This is why I shouldn’t be allowed to mingle with others

As he was about to say something but you step back abruptly and close your eyes from shear embarrassment.

A husky voice made you jump on the spot, “ say it again” His eyes glazed over in pure hunger as he watched me like I was his prey and he was the predator.

“I-I don’t know w-what your talking about” my voice sqeaked in pure humiliation

“Say it again” he repeats himself before stalking his way towards you and wrapping his hand round your throat as he squeezed lightly sending an electric feeling of pleasure towards your core. You whimpered at the contact and threw your head back at the sight of this heated haze that bore into yours and so he could reach more of your exposed throat.

“Yes, you do. Say it again. I won’t ask a third time.” He growls and you can feel yourself begin to dampen at his forceful tone.

“Thankyou daddy” You coo.

Fuck.” He curses before lunging forward and taking your lips with his. You immediately open your mouth to his probing tongue and moan when it brushes over yours. Peter pulls away from your wet lips and traces his tongue down your throat as his lips begin to suck along the side of your neck surely leaving marks as he does it making you whine and shudder in pleasure. His impossibly enormous hands glide their way to my chest before capturing my breasts through my sweatshirt starting to kneed and pinch my nipples as he held intense eye contact with me.

“These-” he stopped to grasp them harshly before tearing the fabric of my sweatshirt off making direct contact with them this time with his warm and inviting hands that made me choke a whimper as I was being dominated by the man that I have pined over for as long as I have known him. “Are mine” he finished with a growl flashing his blue luminous eyes. His lips began to assault the hardened nipples, swirling his warm tongue round the bud then biting them teasingly.

“Say it, say that you are mine little girl” he demanded as his hand reached down to cup my pussy through my white lace panties.

“Oh god- oh god yes! I’m yours” I managed to stutter as I became a moaning mess as his magic fingers circled around my clothed clit before he moved them aside and plunged two fingers inside my tight walls.

Barely forming a grammatically correct sentence from the immense feeling of pleasure that I was going through, I reached down bravely to palm his prominent bulge that twitched under my palm.

He growled as his hands ran down your back, grabbing your ass between his hands touching outline of your pussy through your thin lace panties. He pushes you back into the kitchen until you feel your back hit the kitchen table. Peter pulls back away from your lips and flips you around, bending you over the table.

Shocked from the turn of events you let out a yelp, “What are you doing?” you moan and cry out as his hands pull down your panties, kicking your legs open with his feet.

“Giving you what you want baby” He husks as his hands pull down your shorts, kicking your legs open with his feet. You hear him unbuckle his belt before shoving his hand between your legs. “Your soaked” he groans before shoving his cock deep inside your pink and wet pussy.

“ Did you not think I’d notice how you feel about me baby? Your arousal always in the air for me to smell all the damn time I’m around you baby girl, you don’t even realise how hard it was to resist the urge to fuck you everytime I saw you” You purr in content at his sinful string of words.

“Peter please” you beg. He slaps your ass hard causing you to let out a loud moan. “That’s not my name” he glares. Realising what you meant it took you no time before pleasing him again.

“Daddy! O-oh fuck yes!”

“That’s a good girl, I’m going to fucking ruin you” he growls in your ear making you whimper. His dirty words only spurring how turned on you are.

“Please don’t stop what your doing” your desperate gasps are all that he needed to fuck you untill your screaming his name.

He begins to ram his cock in and out of your pussy as you let out a stream of loud and sinful moans, pounding you into the table, making the table legs squeak against the hard floor. He reached round to grip your hair as the other slings around your throat holding you in place as he begins to whisper dirty words into your ear that makes you eager to feel your pussy pulsate around his hard and thick length.

“Who knew you were such a naughty girl y/n? Desperate to feel my cock inside you, I bet you like it when I fuck you don’t you? Huh? Rough and hard?” You managed to humm before it turned into a stuttered moan as you felt yourself beginning to quiver and your legs to shake he continued to pound you with his cock.

Suddenly the feeling of a knot forming below your stomache makes you stutter out a moan “ holy shit, yes, yes!” You scream as you come undone around him as he continues to pound you through your orgasm. A stream of grunts follow after yours as he came inside you, milking your walls with his hot cum.

“Wow, that was unexpected” you grunt as you try and catch your breath, leaning against the kitchen table.

“You started it, calling me daddy and all” he teased whilst he send you a smirk.

“Well I’ll call you daddy as much as you want next time” you reach out to pull at his short hair leaning to give him a subtle kiss on his lips that lingered.

“Darling, next time I plan to fuck that warm little mouth with my cock” he growls.

That can definitely be arranged

[casualmaraudering]

Do you have any hcs on Lyall and Hope? I’d love to know what your personal characterization of them is.

Hope comes from a very big family - she has three sisters and three brothers, and she's the youngest of the bunch. kind of chaotic with so many people at home, so she's been out and about the neighbourhood and the woods ever since she was little

Lyall has an older sister, but they're not really that friendly. they are friends, it's just usually they do their own thing without interacting much

they met when they were in their young teens and Lyall hated Hope at first

she was a bit of a troublemaker, she had a skateboard, she was bold and very much out there. Lyall was a quiet boy who very much kept to himself and he didn't appreciate the noise that came with her

ofc that didn't last long. sooner rather than later Lyall would look forward to that noisy girl driving on the pavement right below his window. and Hope loved to throw pebbles at his window just to annoy him

they started dating when Hope was 16 and Lyall 15, and they had Remus about a year, year and a half after that (shit happens, whoops)

Hope actually didn't know Lyall is a wizard until she was pregnant. he kind of panicked and whatnot. she took it well tho (and she took advantage of him having magic, of course. she came to really love that just a flick of a wand did the dishes)

despite being very young parents without much of a plan, Hope was very optimistic about the situation. they lived at Lyall's parents (Hope's family wasn't very happy about her having a baby without being married. they'd only get around when Remus is a couple years old) and yeah it was a bit cramped and a bit confusing, but they were happy together

Lyall took a job with the ministry, and Hope started studying magic theory. not something muggles would usually do, but she couldn't find anything better to do and she didn't just want to sit at home and take care of the baby

and she was quickly very brilliant and the theoretical aspect of magic. Lyall got her books, and was her lab rat in case she needed someone with magic to test her theories, but she was really good at understanding everything. she became very successful at spell creation and modification - kind of a private profession, people would come to her if they needed her services, you know the deal

they had a little secluded cabin in the woods. not that much space, but it was cosy. they had enough money to pay the bills, they weren't exactly Comfortable, but it's not like they cared. they had each other, and that was important

any money to spare, they'd put away for when Remus would be older

Lyall isn't really that good at expressing emotions. he's very much what boys were brought up to be - stern, quiet, doesn't know how to express positive feelings or love. He'd take care of Remus when Remus was a baby, yeah, but Remus would run to Hope first if needed a hug or cuddles or whatnot

but still, he's not a bad dad, he's doing his best ok. he sometimes took Remus to the ministry with him to show him around, and he was always the one to check for any monsters in the closet or under the bed. After the werewolf incident, Remus was afraid of the dark, so Lyall made him a little handmade magical lap (basically lumos in a little cute jar - & Remus added some glitter in there too)

and of course, no matter what, they both really love Remus, he's their pride and joy, despite any hardships

Hope got a motorbike from one of her siblings when Remus is around 5 years old. she loves tinkering with it, riding it (Remus and Lyall were both scared of it) - her dad is a mechanic so she loves cars and bikes. said bike will, one day, be given to a certain boyfriend of Rem's 🤔

Lyall was taught how to knit and sew by his mother and sister, so he's usually the one to fix or alter clothes. (and he'd make baby clothes for Remus sometimes, as a side project)

Hope and Remus are basically best friends. they live in the middle of nowhere so Remus has no one to talk to but his parents, so if he's not out in the woods, he'll be with his mum and dad. when it comes to Lyall, their little activity to do together is being in the woods and trying to catch fairies (usually frogs, but sometimes they'd spot some fun magical creatures)

Lyall is much more distressed about Remus going to Hogwarts than Hope is. the werewolf thing and whatnot, and he's worried Remus won't make friends, and also Remus is a part of their life and now the house will be so quiet and sad.

Remus sends them both letters, though. Hope answers for them both but Lyall keeps Rem's letters and rereads them a lot, especially during the fulls

and they're still quite young, so they also travel a bit when Remus is at school. ofc there's not much money to travel to exotic places, but even just taking hiking trips around the country, or walking through the woods

they buy a dog when Remus moves out. it's huge and white, it sheds like crazy, it barks a lot, but at least it helps a little with the void that is their son being an adult

(the next bit is more specific to my personal rem hcs - trans bi remus - so this is just free real estate for those who like that)

they don't really bat an eye when, after second year, Remus comes home with shorter hair - it's not quite down to his shoulders, but almost there. Remus very excitedly tells them about his friend, Lily who helped cut it. then he asks to be taken to the barber and get it cut shorter - "like a boy's". they don't mind either, it's just hair

Remus never grows his hair long again, and after he's back home before 4th year, he tells them everything. says he doesn't like his old name, that Remus is what he wants to be called, that he doesn't want the girls' uniform or the summer dresses.

Lyall is a bit confused at first - he slips sometimes, but he tries his best. and Hope smacks him if he happens to use the wrong name

Hope goes all out, ofc, she's just that kind of person. within a few weeks, Remus's name is officially changed, all of his clothes are replaced (most of his old ones, he gives to Lily). no matter what, she wants her boy to feel loved at home

Remus dates Lily in sixth year - Hope and Lyall can't be happier. they've both met her plenty of times, she's a lovely girl, would make an excellent daughter in law, all that. sometimes, before going to sleep, they'll jokingly talk about little ginger grandkids

in seventh year, though, Remus dates a boy. Sirius Black, who has long hair and dresses like a punk and has a tattoo and bulky combat boots. he's loud and brash and walks around with far too much confidence in his step

Lyall doesn't like him

and Hope adores him

Sirius, sooner than later, becomes a permanent addition to their little family. Remus makes it clear that they're together for the long run. Lyall doesn't like him any more than at first, but he tolerates him. Hope treats him as her second son, gives him her old bike, jokes about marriage to Remus any occasion she gets

there's plenty of times Hope and Lyall will sit in the lounge, or the kitchen, or talk before bed, and share their worries about Remus. there's just so many hardships for this boy. his identity, being a werewolf, and now dating another man. they sometimes wish there could be something to do to protect him from the world. whisk him away to their little cabin, where no one can hurt him again

but they can't do that. so they just try to be a steady support for him, no matter what he decides to do or who he is

also as much as Lyall doesn't like Sirius - he's enamoured when him and Remus have kids. Sirius has good genes, the babies are adorable with their bushy black hair and Remus freckles and stubborn little chubby faces. you can't not love them

[misssquidtracy]

Noble Intentions (Part 3).

The end of my slightly belated contribution to Gordo’s FabFiveFeb week. I finally managed to snap a leash on it before it could breed any more  🙌🏻

All credit for FabFiveFeb goes to the gorgeous @gumnut-logic 💚

Prompt: You did what?

Genre: Humour.

Characters: Gordon & Brains.

Part 1  Part 2

-x-

“Magnificent!” Brains cooed, peering out the window of the Helipod at the forested slopes of Bogota’s Eastern Hills, “What a t-truly remarkable place!”

Gordon smiled and tightened his grip on the yoke, “See, Brains? Wasn’t this worth getting up early for?”

The scientist twisted his head to gaze out the opposing window and peeped in delight when a flock of colourful finches zipped past, “Absolutely! Though while the views are stunning, it’s Dr. Gabriela I’m really looking forward to meeting. I can’t believe she’s one of just a handful of senior ophthalmologists investigating the link between vision restoration and gene t-therapy. I’ve never felt defined by my eyesight, but I’ve always wondered whether a t-technique exists that could reduce my reliance on corrective lenses. I went to a clinic specialising in photorefractive keratectomy and refractive lens exchange a couple of years ago, but nothing ultimately came of it. I’m excited to see if Dr. Gabriela has any suggestions. How lucky for me t-that you were able to get me an appointment at such short notice!”

“Yeah…” Gordon bit his lip and tried to ignore the guilty sensation that was holding his conscious hostage. He’d been up all night researching various scientific phrases he could throw at Brains in an effort to persuade him to tag along to Gabriela’s charity event. While his initial sales pitch had been enough to convince the engineer to abandon tinkering with his hatch deployment actuator, the little reading that Gordon had done on eye health hadn’t prepared him for the barrage of questions Brains had thrown at him.

“Does Dr. Gabriela have access to a VT 3 vision screener? And how up-to-date is her femtosecond laser?”

Sweat started to bead on Gordon’s forehead as he fought the urge to start making words and phrases up, “Oh, everything she uses is top of the range, Brains. Top of the range I say.”

The engineer made a noise of contentment similar to the one he’d made after Scott had given him permission to butcher the stray GDF R.O.BOT that had ended up in Tracy Island’s hanger.

-x-

Five short minutes later, and Gordon was ushering Brains through a pair of automatic doors that led into a gymnasium of sorts. While the scientist was content to admit that he’d never been to a South American country before, the layout of this so-called ‘private clinic’ was definitely not what he’d been expecting.

It wasn’t long before the discomfort of being in unfamiliar surroundings began to eat away at Brains’s composure. Thankfully, he had the ever sociable Gordon for backup, “Is this the w-waiting room?”

“Yeah…kind of,” Gordon replied, waving awkwardly as several people doddered past and began setting up easels, “You know what, let’s save Gabriela some trouble and start getting things ready for her. I know she’s a very busy woman, so any time we can save her will be a win for us.”

A peep of shock forced its way out of Brains’s mouth as he was bundled off towards a corner of the room that was obscured by a curtain of sorts. He’d done some preliminary research on Bogota’s economic health and was aware that the area was seismically sensitive and had suffered extensive infrastructural damage as a result of said seismic activity. Even so, he’d expected something markedly different when Gordon had bleated about how ‘top of the range’ this place supposedly was.

“Okay, you need to strip off,” Gordon instructed, shoving the scientist behind the safety of the curtain before politely turning away, “All new patients have to undergo a full-body CT scan to check for any underlying health conditions. Unfortunately they’re out of gowns, so you’ll have to do it in the buff.”

Any preoccupations Brains had with the decor of his new surroundings flew out the window quicker than Scott on an amphetamine at the bluntness of Gordon’s statement. Stripping off for an invasive procedure was to be expected, but for an eye exam?

Something didn’t add up…

“Oh, and you can’t wear your glasses during the scan either,” Gordon announced, inserting an arm through the curtain and popping the lenses neatly off the engineer’s nose, “Metallic objects can interfere with the final result. Now, chop, chop! Gabriela is waiting.”

Eager to avoid anything that could cause social awkwardness, Brains set about hesitantly disrobing. He’d never had a medical experience quite as…rustic…as this one, but reminded himself that not everyone had access to the same resources and technology they had back on Tracy Island.

Plus, he trusted Gordon.

-x-

“Is he here?” Gabriela asked, clattering towards Gordon like a giraffe on stilts, “Because I’ve got seventy people who’ve paid good money to put a member of International Rescue on their canvases.”

“Relax,” Gordon soothed, jerking his head in the direction of where he’d left Brains, “He’s getting ready now. How long will the whole thing take?”

A cloud of noxiously sweet perfume wafted through the air as Gabriela ran to consult her diary, “The entire class is three hours long, but guests are encouraged to take reference pictures during the first few minutes. Obviously, we can’t expect a model to pose for so long, so we generally ask for them to sit for just the first hour. Most people should have finished subject studying and underpainting by then.”

“He won’t last that long,” Gordon sighed, jolting when John suddenly issued a rescue order for a couple of stranded hikers on the Nepali slope of Everest. Thankfully, Scott picked up the call before enquiries could be made about Gordon’s whereabouts.

“Fifteen minutes, minimum,” Gabriela clinched, aware that her guests were starting to twiddle their brushes in impatience, “I just need him long enough for photos to be taken. I know it sounds tedious, but photographic shots are necessary for shading and contouring. Plus, guests can refer back to them if they don’t finish in the allotted time.”

Caramel eyes narrowed to slits as Gordon calculated the risk of further hoodwinking his blind colleague.

“Okay, fifteen minutes,” the aquanaut affirmed, striding back to where he’d left his charge, “You done yet, Brains?”

“I t-think so,” came the uncertain response, “But how am I going to get to the radiology clinic in t-this condition? Surely it would have made more sense for me to ‘prepare’ myself in the same room as the scanner?”

“Oh, it’s a portable one that can scan you from a distance in any position,” Gordon blabbed, throwing Gabriela a thumbs up as he gripped the curtain and prepared to yank it back, “Top of the range, remember?”

“If you s-say so,” Brains stammered, blinking like a mole that had just emerged into the sunlight, “I t-trust you.”

The hand that was about to rip the curtain back paused, it’s owner reflecting on the depth of the three words that had just been uttered.

Sure, if Scott hadn’t threatened to ground him, then Brains would be back in the safety of his lab and Gordon himself behind the curtain. And the entire event was funding a very worthy cause with numerous far-reaching benefits…

…but was it all worth humiliating a friend over?

Everyone who had the pleasure of meeting Gordon always described him as an uncommonly kind man. He had an almost innate ability to see life through other people’s eyes. Though it was emotionally exhausting at times, it was the driving force behind his desire to make people happy. He soaked up emotions like a sponge, and had learnt over the years that the best way to keep himself light and fluffy was to project as much positive energy into the people around him as possible.

Despite being disoriented and confused, Brains had willingly put a healthy chunk of his dignity into Gordon’s hands. And now his ass was on the line. 

Quite literally.

Gordon sighed. Noble intentions or not, no impulsive decision was worth a friend’s modesty.

“Change of plans, Brains,” the aquanaut informed, “Gabriela’s got an emergency telephone consultation, so has referred you back to your usual guy in Sydney. You can get dressed and come out. I’ve popped your glasses down by your shoes, so don’t tread on them.”

Of course, the life of someone in Gordon’s line of work with Gordon’s personality meant that for every battle won, another was lost. While the moral dilemma over Brains’s involvement in the event was over, there was still the issue of Gabriela and the roomful of impatient artists she’d amassed.

“Hey, Brains? I’m just nipping home real quick. Tell Gabriela I’ll be back within the hour with a fully-fledged International Rescue operative for her…um…thing. This neighbourhood isn’t the safest place on the map, so don’t leave the compound by yourself. See you in a jiffy.”

The partially dressed Brains had less than a second to formulate a reply before Gordon bolted out the door, a metaphorical trail of fire blazing in his wake.

“I really must talk to Scott about a p-pay rise...”

-x-

One hour later…

MAX beeped seductively as he stretched his robotic limbs across the chaise lounge he was sprawled across.

“Draw him like one of your French robots,” Gordon suggested to a dark haired woman who had been studying her easel for several minutes, the hilarity of his own joke causing a snort to break forth. The woman remained impassive, her eyes fixed on the contours of MAX’s storage pod. Titanic references were clearly neither wanted, nor appreciated.

It hadn’t been the event anyone had expected. There had been no naked emergency responders, no naked engineers, and by extension, no naked calendar. Thankfully, MAX’s delight at being asked to participate in a human activity, combined with his enthusiasm for arts and crafts had gone some way towards placating some of the slightly miffed attendees.  

“Well, we hit out target,” Gabriela announced, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “Plus, MAX managed to rake in a fair few tips. That should cover the cost of food for the day.”

A sad series of beeps sounded as MAX dropped his gaze to the floor. He’d hoped to use the human money he’d earnt to buy his own easel, since Virgil was getting tired of him constantly vandalising his. Maybe he could ask Scott to pay him every time he emptied the dishwasher, just like he did with Alan…

“Chin up, MAX!” Gordon cooed, loading as much leftover food into the Helipod’s storage bin as was physically possible, “I’ll pay you twice what you earnt in tips for your time today. How does that sound?”

Brains smiled and self-consciously adjusted his glasses, “Thank you G-Gordon. We both thoroughly enjoyed our time here today. I must say, everyone did an excellent job at capturing MAX’s likeness. I think the canvas I p-purchased will look wonderful next to Kayo’s picture in the lounge. Of course, we’ll have to shift the r-rest of you up a bit to make room.”

Gordon gave a distracted nod around the sandwich he was chewing, his own small reward for a day chock full of hoop jumping.

After watching his creator disappear outside to chat to Gabriela (who was in the middle of a well-deserved smoke break), MAX wheeled over to the bag containing the portrait Brains had bought and carefully extracted it, his eye widening in awe as he drank in the masterful brushstrokes that came together to recreate him.

There was just one thing missing...

...a moustache.

-x-

Present day

"Uh, Gordon?" Virgil's voice was low and gentle, a stark contrast to the shrieks of delight Mandy was emitting, "Do I need to remind you about what happened last time you signed up for something like this?"

Gordon most certainly didn’t need reminding. He still hadn’t fully recovered from the tongue-lashing Scott had given him after discovering the portraits out of whack and MAX’s canvas next to his launch station…or the follow-up tongue-lashing that had come about after he’d learnt the reason behind the portraits being out of whack.

Hopefully an expensive bouquet of flowers on top of one of Scott’s ‘fat-ass cheques’ would keep Mandy from hunting him down and gnawing off his toes while he slept…

It wasn’t all bad though. Scott would never admit it, but Gordon’s previous display of charitable benevolence had warmed his heart enough for him to disclose to John the one person they could all freely bare their naked asses to if they so wished.  

The Hood. But on two conditions:

1. He had to be en route to a prison cell at the time.

2. The phrase ‘kiss my ass’ would have to take on a literal meaning instead of a metaphorical one.

FIN

[thisismyhell]

Bodyguard (Part 1)

I’m giving fanfiction a try! this is my very first one, and i think itll become a series. 

Reader x Loki

Summary: Reader works with the Avengers as a research Biologist, and receives a worrying text from a toxic ex boyfriend. Loki enlists himself in watching out for reader, and fluff ensues. 

Warnings: mentions of stalker/toxic ex boyfriend, fluff

Since living in the compound, you were accustomed to not only high security, but constantly being surrounded by Gods, Monsters, and people who could kill with a look. You happened to fall into the cracks of these people, weaving your way into each basket briefly before moving on.

Since you lived where you worked, spending time late at night in a meeting, your office, or in the gym wasn’t out of the ordinary. You thrived in this environment since you could spend all your time doing your work without having to take travel time or traffic into account.

Tonight was one of those nights. You were working in your office, deep in concentration on your recent research proposal, when a notification from your phone almost gave you whiplash. You caught your breath, and reached for your phone, noticing that it was an unrecognized number. Not thinking much of it, you unlocked your screen, when your stomach dropped.

“Hey (Y/N), it’s been a while eh? Wanted to let you know im in the neighbourhood, and wanted to get drinks some time with you. I can pick you up at the compound. -K”.

Your ex-boyfriend. How did he manage to get your new number? You shouldn’t even be surprised, considering how easy it was for him to insert himself into every aspect of your life when you were together.

Months ago, you started to notice how jealous he became at every little thing. You wanted to go out with friends? He insisted on either coming or giving you a curfew. Weren’t home on time to his liking? He would track your phone and show up unannounced to wherever you were, loudly declaring to everyone around you that you must be cheating on him. He had horrible trust issues, and sometimes you wondered what he would do if you stopped giving in to his words. Would be become forceful? Would you be in physical danger? Thankfully, you mustered up the strength to call it quits before you found out, but who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t?

You blinked back into reality and took in your surroundings. You were surprised that you felt so alone suddenly. Usually you have no problem with staying up late like this, even if you were the last in the research building. You began to quickly pack up your belongings, clutching your phone, swiftly exiting into the hallway. You knew you were just being paranoid, but you looked down both sides of the hall before racing to the elevators. Once it arrived, you jumped in and pushed the button incessantly until you were safely inside. As you listened to the dings of each floor pass, and watched the lights switch to each level, you began to calm down. You felt ridiculous. Why would you be scared of your lazy ex boyfriend over a text message? Maybe it was someone sending a prank text. Maybe he wasn’t even in the city. And lord help anyone who tried to break into the compound without getting tackled by security. You were fine.

The elevator doors slid open and you gained back your confidence; stepping out onto the main floor when all of a sudden you hit what felt like a brick wall, sending your things flying, and dropping your phone to the floor. You gasped, shoving yourself against the wall and throwing your forearms in front of your face. Someone grabbed them and tried to move them down but it wasn’t working. “(Y/N would you relax?! It’s just me.” Loki. That monster. You opened your eyes and pushed back at him, your fear being replaced with anger and frustration. “LOKI I AM GOING TO KILL YOU I SWEAR TO GOD WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING IN THIS BUILDING YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS-“. His laughter brought you back to reality. “(Y/N) what is wrong with you? You really have terrible reaction times to your fear, we should work on that”. Through all the commotion and stress you didn’t realize it but you began to cry. “Love, are you alright? I didn’t scare you that badly did I, what’s wrong?”.

You slid down the wall and haphazardly began to collect your things. You picked up your phone, and handed it to Loki, who looked at the message on the screen. “(Y/N), is this who I think it is?”. You nodded. Once you packed your bag, Loki helped you up. “Is this why you were so scared? You thought I was him?”. You nodded again, catching your breath.

The two of you began to go outside, walking along the garden pathway back to the main building where you all lived. “I haven’t heard from him in months. Not since I ended things. He took it horribly but I never thought that maybe it wasn’t over for him. He seemed like the type to be mad, but then move on to some other girl once he had the chance. I can’t believe he found my number again.” Loki listened to you as you walked in the dark, illuminated only by compound streetlamps and the fireflies of the gardens around you. “(Y/N), I’ll be honest, I find it highly unlikely for someone to forget about you that quickly without remorse. I know the two of you were not together for that long, but he seems to still be struggling with the thought of letting you go.” You felt a bit surprised. “What, so I had this text coming to me? I should have known he would want to make contact again?”. He realized what he had implied. “No, I’m sorry. What I mean is, I am not surprised that he would want to have this influence you. Forgive me, but maybe his skull is too thick to get that through.” You laughed and he smiled down at you.

________________________________________________________

You and Loki had clicked almost immediately. You were a researcher hired into the Stark company, bringing your useful knowledge of biology and mechanics. Since there were now Gods and Aliens on the team, Stark thought it would be quite useful to try and bridge the gap. So he went through universities around the world, not sure what exactly he was looking for. But when he walked into your lab by accident, you had yelled over to him for an extra hand in helping tie some stem cells together. He noticed your focus and lack of ick-factor and interviewed you on the spot. Well, more like allowing you to crack open his gadgets and listen to you go on and on about how you think human properties could be incorporated into his technology. He was instantly hooked.

He brought you back to the compound and introduced you to the team the next week. Loki noticed how you weren’t flinching at any of the information being thrown at you, and even began to ask questions to your team members about their own worlds. He noticed that you were already acting like a team member, without needing the blood bond. You were gung-ho the minute you set foot on the property. And he respected that.

The two of you became closer after you expressed interest in reading some Asgardian texts that you were useless in deciphering. Loki agreed to be your partner in your research adventure, offering a better look into each others lives.

 ________________________________________________________

As you looked back up at your friend, you realized how thankful you were that he had almost scared you to death. If he hadn’t, you’d be all alone out here in the dark, probably looking over your shoulder at every snap of a twig. Although the compound was quiet and secluded, there were still the elements. The two of you came to a stop outside the main entrance doors. “Are you feeling alright now?”, “Yes, thank you. I’m glad I didn’t have to make that walk alone. Usually I’m fine, but that text message really threw me off”. “I can see why. What kind of idiot jus announces their desire to ambush you like that? He doesn’t seem like the strategic type.” He smiled down at you, trying to lighten the mood. You reciprocated, letting him open the door for you.

The wait for the elevator and the ride up to your rooms was passed with asking each other about your work days and if you had evening plans. Neither of you were good at keeping an honest sleep schedule. As the two of you were saying goodnight to each other in your hallway, he stopped you before entering your room. “(Y/N), I know you can hold your own, but if you ever need someone to walk you home again, you know how to contact me”. You reached up and gave him a hug. “Thank you Loki, I appreciate that. And you know the same always goes for you”. You let him go and as he walked away from you, you called out to him once more; “By the way, what were you even doing in the research building today?”. He stopped and turned to face you, “I saw your office light on from outside. I was hoping to run into you before you left for the evening. Unfortunately I ended up frightening you rather than enticing you”. You raised your eyebrows, “Loki, you know you always entice me”.

He walked away, and you entered your room feeling a wave of comfort and relief wash over you.

[haileyyanneupton]

❄ small - one chicago au ❄

Hailey Upton and Adam Ruzek have been friends for as long as they can remember. When Hailey leaves her prestigious private school to be with Adam in her junior year, she’s introduced to a new group of people who feel strangely like home. 

pairings

jay halstead x hailey upton adam ruzek x kim burgess kevin atwater x vanessa rojas kelly severide x stella kidd

masterlist | series masterlist

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄

❄ one ❄

Hailey let out a loud huff as she hung upside down off of Adam’s bed one afternoon. She had been at her new school for two weeks and so far, she had spent one lunchtime locked inside a toilet cubicle, two in an empty classroom, three wandering the halls with a sandwich in hand and the rest in the janitors closet. She had attempted to talk to some people in her biology class but when they had ditched her in the hall, she had been too embarrassed to search for Adam and ask if she could sit with him. In the end he had managed to find out anyway — Hailey wasn’t very good at lying to Adam — leaving him to insist that she meet his friends.   

“Are you sure they’re not going to mind, Adam?” Hailey asked nervously, her hair strewn across the ground of his bedroom floor. “They seem really tight knit and —“ 

“You need to stress less, man,” Adam chuckled, glancing down that the girl from the head. “You also should probably sit up before all the blood rushes to your head.” 

“But hanging like a bat is fun.” 

“So is being conscious.” 

Hailey sighed loudly as she pushed her legs off of Adam’s bed and instead starfished out on the ground. She was nervous, but covered well — if she wanted to make Adam’s friends to like her, she was going to have to. Adam had always spoken highly of them, making Hailey worry that maybe they were too good for her. After all, she was just Hailey Upton. Plain old boring Hailey Upton. A knock sounded at Adam’s door as his mother pushed it open far enough for her to poke her head through, a warm smile on her face as she looked between Adam and Hailey.   

“Are you two hungry?” Pamela asked gently, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. “I can fix something for you both if you want a snack or something.” 

Hailey looked to Adam who shrugged, his eyes tearing away from the textbook he had been pretending to read for the last hour. “I mean if you’re making something, I don’t think we’d be opposed.” 

“Well what do you want?” Pamela had an amused smirk on her face as she tutted playfully at her son for a moment. “Hailey?” 

“A hash brown.”

Pamela chuckled, nodding her head up and down. “Hash browns. I can do hash browns. What about dinner? What do you both want for dinner? I’m in a good mood today, so I may be inclined to make you whatever you want.” 

“Actually — I can’t stay for dinner tonight, Pam,” Hailey interjected with yet another sigh. “I promised my mom I’d help her this apple pie that she’s found the recipe for. She’s really excited about it — it’s kind of adorable.” 

Pamela smiled, though Hailey could see the fondness mixed in with worry in her eyes. They didn’t address it — they never addressed it — it was more of an unspoken fact at this point. In their neighbourhood, when things happened everybody locked their doors so that they could have plausible deniability — nobody wanted to get involved directly. Adam’s family had been the first ones to ever offer up a place of solace for Hailey, who was now the only child left at home after her brothers had left for college or to go and work — the first ones to ever actually acknowledge that something was going on. Hailey didn’t know if it was because Bob was a police officer or if it was because they were nice people breaking away from the sense of conformity that had been forced upon everybody on the street, but either way she didn’t mind. She liked it at Adam’s house. Hence why she spent most of her time there. Hell, she even had a key hanging off of her keychain for the Ruzek’s residence — she was family. 

As Adam’s mother went off to put on some of the frozen hash browns she had in the oven, Hailey pushed herself back up and off of the floor and made her way back up onto Adam’s bed as she picked up her math textbook and stared down at the problems on her page. They were just that — problems — problems that Hailey wanted to set on fire so that she didn’t have to deal with them. Unfortunately for her however, she had been informed by her mother earlier that week that apparently that wasn’t how pre-calculus worked.   

“Sometimes this stuff makes so much sense, and other times I feel like this sigma guy is going to try and eat me,” Hailey huffed angrily as she skimmed over the page and answered the very few problems she knew how to do. “Look! See? Doesn’t he look like he’s going to jump out of the page and try to swallow me whole?“ 

Adam chuckled at Hailey. “You’re doing better than me, at least. I’ve been staring at these chemical equations for days and if I don’t get them done tonight, Mr Ramirez is going to kick my ass. All I’m seeing is a bunch of letters — they mean nothin’ to me.” 

“Let me see.” Hailey peered over at the boy’s book, using her finger to scan over the words. “Those are easy. Give ‘em here, I’ll do them.” 

“You’re the best, Hailey.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Hailey grinned up at her friend. “I’m disappointed that it took you this long to work that out, doofus.” ❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄ 

The next day back at school, Hailey waited anxiously out the front of her English classroom for Adam to come and find her and bring her to his friends. She drummed her fingers against her thigh as she looked around for the boy, about to chicken out and retreat to the janitor’s closet for yet another lunchtime when she saw the face of her best friend walking alongside a brunette girl. Hailey vaguely recognised her but couldn’t seem to put a name to the face, waving a hand politely in their direction as she pushed herself off of the wall. “Hailey, this is Kim. Kim, this is Hailey.” 

Kim grinned widely, waving hello to the blonde. “Hi! Sorry it took us so long to get here — Adam got himself locked in the lab and I had to come and rescue the idiot.” 

“Of course he did.” A small smile of amusement came onto Hailey’s lips as she rolled her eyes playfully. “Where — uhm — where are the others?” 

“They’re waiting in the art room,” Adam answered, putting an arm around Hailey as they began to walk, the man squeezing her into him comfortingly. “Quit being so nervous.” 

“Wow, Adam. I’m cured.” Hailey quipped back monotonously. “Thank you so much.” 

Adam smiled back at Hailey with an over-enthusiastically proud smile as Kim snickered from the other side of the man.   

“I like you already, Hailey.” 

As the three of them walked into the art room, closing the door behind them, Hailey was faced with a group of people all staring over at her. She instinctively moved a little bit closer to Adam as her heart skipped a beat, the girl clutching her books to her chest as she forced a smile. They seemed nice — they seemed really nice — would that mean that they wouldn’t like her because she didn’t always come across the same way? They seemed really close too, which worried Hailey. She wasn’t the type to gossip and she for sure wasn’t ever going to be able to have people over at her house in the situation that they’d want to hang out there. What would she tell them if they asked to have a study date at her house? Would any of them— 

“Hailey,” Adam hummed in the girl’s ear as she snapped out of her oncoming vortex of overthinking. “I promise they won’t bite.” 

Adam gave the girl an encouraging smile as she stepped further into the room, following Kim who naturally fell into place between another boy and an empty spot that Adam soon filled.   

“Guys, this is Hailey,” Adam introduced lightly as she found a spot on top of one of the tables, her books being placed down behind her as she smiled shyly. “She’s got this crazy idea that you guys aren’t going to want her around.” 

Kim gasped dramatically. “What? No! The more the merrier, girl!” 

Hailey’s smile remained but her gaze dropped to her hands which were sitting in her lap as she tried to make herself seem less rigid. It had been so long since she had really tried with anybody that she had forgotten how to, the prospect overwhelming her just a little bit. She was used to accepting that things usually didn’t work out — she really didn’t want to get her hopes up.   

“This is Kevin,” Adam pointed to the boy beside him as he gave a friendly nod. “You know Kim. Then there’s Jay, Kelly, Vanessa and Stella.” 

Hailey noticed that she was beside Vanessa who held a hand up for a high-five which she happily returned, her smile widening just a bit further. On her other side was a dark haired boy with green eyes that were impossible to miss, the colour of his shirt only bringing them out more — she was pretty sure she had caught his name as Jay.   

“I gotta go wash my hands in the bathroom,” Stella announced suddenly, looking at Vanessa and Kim who immediately stood up. “You wanna come with us, Hailey?” 

Hailey nodded gently, she too rising to her feet as she glanced back at the textbooks she had placed on the table. “Yeah, sure. Um — Adam, can you —“ 

“Don’t worry.” Jay placed a hand on the books, nodding once in the girl’s direction. “I’ll watch ‘em for you.” 

Hailey smiled gratefully at the boy before following the other three girls out of the art room and down the hall to where the bathrooms were. To her surprise, they were relatively empty — that was almost unheard of — with just the few freshman walking out after touching up their lip gloss.   

“Ugh,” Stella groaned as she turned the water on and ran her hands beneath it. “Man, I love Hot Cheetos but they stain my fingers so badly.” 

Kim chuckled lightly at the girl as she made some witty remark that earned another groan out of Stella while Hailey and Vanessa leaned up against the wall. Hailey had a leg propped up as she pulled her phone from her pocket, searching for something to do so that she didn’t feel so — uneasy. 

The feeling of someone kicking her foot lightly bought her attention back to the girl standing beside her. She had a warm smile on her face as she looked up at Hailey with a knowing look, her arms folded loosely together.   

“I get it, you know,” Vanessa started, causing Hailey’s eyebrows to knit together curiously. “I’ve been the new kid before. Twenty four times to be exact.” 

Hailey’s eyes widened in shock. “Twenty four times?” 

“Yeah,” Vanessa nodded with a light chuckle — it was obvious to Hailey that she had expected that reaction. “I’m a foster kid. Been in so many different homes at this point that I’ve lost count.” 

“That’s rough,” Hailey’s voice was light and sympathetic. “I’m sorry.” 

“Nah, don’t be. It’s alright. I just mean — you don’t have to be so nervous with us.” 

Hailey shot the girl a smile as she settled slightly, feeling better about the whole situation now that she had connected with Vanessa. By the time they had gotten back to the art room, the boys were throwing skittles across the room and trying to catch them in their mouths like idiots.   

Hailey resumed her position beside Jay once again, snorting lightly to herself as Adam nearly ran into a table after tripping over his own feet. When a skittle was thrown in Jay’s direction, he missed catching it in his mouth but instead managed to catch it against his chest with his hand, grinning as he turned it over. 

“Green,” Hailey observed, her lips curled upwards. “My favourite.” 

A certain sparkle could be seen in Jay’s eye as he held the skittle up by Hailey’s mouth, chuckling as the burst of flavour bought a beam to the girl’s features. As the rest of their lunch break came and went, Hailey felt much more at ease. For the first time in years, she finally had someone else she would be able to smile at in the halls — someone to say hello to in class. Even though she had only known them for an hour, she could tell she wanted to stick around. Besides — she could see how happy Adam was having all of his friends in one place.   

Maybe it was about time things started getting better for Hailey after all.

tag list: @ruzek-halstead @lissethsrojas @sammywiths @butterflies44 @upsteadheart @shawnscheeks @puckluck28 @karihighman @thetwit @azu1ang3188 @juu-series @justanotheronechicagofan @stinaax @stayupton @fullwattpadmusictree

[patriciasage]

because you are my heart

Author: Patricia_Sage

Fandom: The Adventure Zone - Balance

Summary:

Barry goes down to the lab every morning. One rainy day, about two and a half weeks from the initial implantation, he comes up the stairs with an excited expression on his round face. “I’ve got some news –”

He doesn’t get the chance to finish because Lup is already sprinting past him. They hear the sound of shattering glass. “It has a latch...” Barry mumbles, his head in his hands. They would have to go to the black markets to find another tube, now.

The footsteps on the stairs sound much more solid coming up than they had been running down. The door is kicked open and there’s Lup in her corporeal form.

posted in full under the break but you can find me on A03!!

Lup is incredibly impatient to get her body back. She rambles to Barry over their post-Hunger-battle celebratory dinner about how they could alter Taako’s DNA. But her boyfriend interrupts her, red-faced and mumbling something Taako can’t hear. He hears his sister’s reply, though.

“Babe, that is so creepy. I love you so much.”

Taako kicks her boot from across the table. “What?”

Her white-toothed grin glows from within the black, wispy shape of her face. “Barry saved a lock of my hair like an absolute weirdo.” Barry flushes with embarrassment as everyone turns to listen. “But you know what that means – mama’s gettin’ her body back!”

Magnus cheers from beside Taako, raising his glass of mead in a single-person toast. “How long will it take to grow?” the wizard asks.

Barry takes off his glasses and cleans them, something he does about ten times a day. “I’d say about a couple weeks.”

“Fuck yes!” the twins say in unison.

Magnus, being the rustically hospitable man that he is, allows them to use his basement as a science lab. He’s the only one besides Merle who has a house. Lucretia still lives on the moon; Davenport is traveling; and Taako has a small apartment in New Phandalin. Lup and Barry have a place in the Astral Plane, but they had a feeling Kravitz would lose his mind if they start growing a body in his neighbourhood. It’s already stressful enough for him to look the other way when they do necromancy shit here.

Lup and Barry need to be there to monitor the experiment but there’s no real reason for everyone else to stay. However, Magnus’s table is full of friends while Lup’s body grows in his basement. The kids are with Hecuba, so Merle invites himself over. Taako can’t bring himself to leave. Days turn into weeks; a few sleepovers turn into a strange vacation.

Kravitz visits often, gently convincing Taako to go out for a walk or an activity with him, but never pressuring him to go home to his apartment. He kisses the wizard goodnight on Magnus’s porch. “Keep me up to date on that thing I don’t know about,” he says, then disappears into the darkness with moonlight shining off of his skull.

“Bet your boyfriend has a bone to pick with me,” Lup winks when her brother enters the kitchen.

“Nah,” Taako replies, “he’s chill.” He grabs Magnus’s apron off of the hook next to the door. It’s warm yellow with strawberries embroidered on it. “I’m thinking dumplings tonight, what about you?”

Cooking together was what they always did. When things got tough, they lost themselves in a recipe and the warmth of each other’s company and forgot about the world. “Sure,” Lup replies. But things are different now. She can’t taste any of the food. Her hands are cold when he passes her a dish. Instead of filling the room with a comfortable fire, her physical presence is dark and damp. And Taako has trouble ignoring that, although he wouldn’t trade this time for anything.

Lup teases him about the garlic. They used to double the amount in any recipe that called for it. In retrospect, Taako thinks maybe a hidden part of his mind created thirty garlic clove chicken because of this. But he uses barely any now. The smell of it brings him back to the sound of choking, the sight of dropping bodies, and panic flooding his veins.

He tells her this. She knew about Glamour Springs, of course, but she didn’t know about the recipe. “Shit, Taako, I’m sorry, babe.” She hugs him and he appreciates the gesture, but she’s cold and weird and not quite solid. He pulls away.

“Taako’s good, don’t you worry, sis.”

They cook, the boys eat, and days pass sluggishly. It’s kind of nice being together like this, and everyone knows that Magnus loves a house with a crowded table. Taako teaches him how to make churros. Merle teaches Barry how to garden. And Lup watches, wringing her shadowy hands together and wishing she could fully join them. Sometimes Taako hears a noise from the basement, but it’s only Lup – pressing her hands to the tube and shouting at her body to “hurry the fuck up!”

Barry goes down to the lab every morning. One rainy day, about two and a half weeks from the initial implantation, he comes up the stairs with an excited expression on his round face. “I’ve got some news –”

He doesn’t get the chance to finish because Lup is already sprinting past him. They hear the sound of shattering glass. “It has a latch...” Barry mumbles, his head in his hands. They would have to go to the black markets to find another tube, now.

Taako watches Barry closely, looking for any sign of stress. Besides the general air of exasperation he always has, he seems relatively calm. Taako tries to take some deep breaths in the silence. This feels exactly like when he was standing on the deck of the Starblaster, watching Lup and Barry rise up from their bodies in their lich forms for the first time. Anxiety squeezes his heart with an icy hand.

The footsteps on the stairs sound much more solid coming up than they had been running down. The door is kicked open and there’s Lup in her corporeal form. She’s dressed in the clothing Taako had bought for her – a black crop top with a pair of skeleton hands over the breasts and a pair of leggings covered in rhinestones. She’s smiling wider than she has in weeks. Taako thinks about Lup in her lich form, how he could recognize his sister in the shape of her ears and the way that she moved. But looking at her now – the softness of her shoulder-length hair; her dark, freckled cheeks; the angle of her nose – he’s overwhelmed.

Taako isn’t even aware that he’s crying until he realizes he can’t see. Lup crashes into him like a tidal wave on the beach planet. She holds him close and he presses his face into her shoulder. She smells a bit like Barry’s lab, but also achingly familiar and so very real. She no longer feels cold and misty; she’s warm and strong and alive. There’s something about it that slots everything into place for Taako and suddenly he’s consolidating everything in a way he hasn’t been able to before. He grips the back of her shirt tightly and cries for the ten years she was trapped and alone, for the years he lived wandering and scared, searching for something that felt like home.

When he pulls back, Lup is sniffling too. Taako wipes her tears away and then just holds her face in his hands, squishing her a little like he used to when they were young and she needed cheering up. They’re exactly the same height now that she’s not floating a foot off the ground anymore. She laughs. Her eyes are shining.

“I missed you, Lulu,” Taako says.

“I never left you.”

“I know.”

The others can’t seem to hold back anymore, and they join the twins, invading the bubble of space they had given them. Taako feels Merle hug him at the hip and he feels Magnus’s big hand on his back. Barry presses his face into Lup’s hair. He’s also crying. Lup gives him a big, wet kiss. “Gross,” Taako protests half-heartedly.

Of course, Magnus is crying too. Even Merle wipes his eyes when he thinks no one is looking. It’s squishy and messy and way more emotional than Taako would usually be comfortable with. But he just looks into his sister’s eyes (a honey brown, no longer glowing red) and lets himself feel safe and warm.

They clean up a bit and sit down in the living room with a fresh pot of coffee. Merle makes a group call on his Stone of Farspeech to the entire I.P.R.E. crew. His voice echoes from the foyer where everyone else hung up their coats. Taako takes his Stone out of his pocket and calls Kravitz.

Lucretia takes a canon down from the moon base immediately, and everyone is delighted and surprised to see Davenport with her as well. He had just returned from a trip and had been visiting Lucretia when they got the call.

Kravitz arrives soon after. He’s initially very concerned at the sight of everyone’s tear-stained faces, but then he notices Lup’s corporeal form and his face softens into happiness. “You look wonderful,” he tells her.

She shoots finger guns at him. "You're just saying that 'cause I'm his twin." He laughs easily, as he always does.

Taako leaves to make a new pot of coffee and his boyfriend follows him into the kitchen, enveloping him in a cold but comforting hug. Taako presses his face into Kravitz’s neck and tentatively acknowledges that this is the happiest he’s ever been.

A rainy Thursday morning turns into a celebration full of tears, hugs, and reminiscing. Taako and Lup cook supper together and she takes charge this time, very excited to be able to eat again. They make arroz con pollo, their aunt’s recipe, and this time the smell of garlic and chicken summons fond childhood memories alone.

They’re back – Taako and Lup, Lup and Taako.

He’s whole again.

[ton-e]

Okay wowowow brain rot time but small little X Man fam facts bc the storyline is moving sjsjsj

Originally, Kitty was born and raised in San Francisco, but while she was still living with her parents, they moved to a small, picket fence, cookie cutter town in Kansas. The kind where it was mandatory to attend church if you wanted to exist in the elusive community of he wash up up, boring and bland who make plastic mannequins seem real. The only upside of it is being able to chase the jerk who tried to peek under her skirt with a rifle in hand.

Bobby is from Houston, not having stepped foot much outside his hometown. The furthest he's been from home was running away from the baseball field he grew disdain for when he realized he was the only one who remember it was just a game. He hitched a ride to the next town, somewhere between Angletown and Bay city before his father found and made him walk home beside the car. He doesn't like baseball anymore after that.

Jubilee lived in a crime reeking neighbourhood in Seol, SK, cornered by people who thought it was painfully interesting that a 6 year old could do what she did.

Despite growing up in the Mansion, Charles always made sure to tell Kurt that his roots can always be found in Berlin, in case he ever wants to explore his past. Sometimes, when he was little, Kurt would teleport in Logan's room to play with his old army equipment, his favorite items would be the steel plates with the German map on it. Logan sat through him painting every town, village, and city, because Kurt was excited about the possibility of finding his parents.

Laura's origins seem similar to the ones she had in Logan, - her birth place may have been Eden Labs, but she seems to be very knowledge about Spanish. My take on it is that the nurse who sent Charles and Logan the message in the movie smuggled as many kids as she could to Mexico before she was caught.

Despite Logan saying "I know parenting 'bout as much as Charles knows about track racin' " it's an unspoken rule that every problem or issue linked to the kids is linked to him. Scott will always give him a hard time,- at this point, it's all they know and all they can. Logan is impulsive and rash and curt, too untamed, too aggressive and too little of what Scott respects for them to bond properly, but he will never criticize Logan on how he is around kids, nor will he let anyone else to.

Nightmare or night terror or a school affair, superhero insecurity, being alienated for their x gene or general bigotry, - They can all help with those, but the kids ( Storm deliberately calls them Logan's kids and no one is looking to contradict her) actively seek him out, not because they trust them less, but because they trust Logan the most as he just? Knows what their specific needs are, understands that it's both an isolated and individual incident, tip toeing across the line of mutant and human. He just Knows.

Logan of course freaks out about having been seen as a father figure-- The man should barely be seen as a person figure, let alone a pillar of discipline, protection, security and guidance. Storm and Charles don't really know how to break it to him that when he drives the kids to the mall, movies, park, buys them stuff and makes them eat and take breaks and just generally not die,, it's a bit top late to say he doesn't want to be a dad JSJSJSM

Bobby is the oldest, Laura is the baby

Bobby is 17 (May 12th), Kitty is 15 (August 11th), Kurt is 16 (December 31) Jubilee is 12 (July 4th) and Laura is 7 (November 12th)

[thebirdandhersong]

a list of favourite encounters with people I’m unlikely to ever meet again

just a list of interesting people I’ve met/been friends with :) I was thinking of a few of them today and thought it probably would be interesting to write them down.

I had a friend in our children’s choir called Elise(?) who had silky blonde hair, very cool glasses (can’t remember the shape or colour but I remember thinking they were cool), and who smelled very distinctly like grape juice. We smiled at each other during rehearsal once (we were both new!), sidled up to each other, and she asked me if I wanted a Starburst. I said yes please. Instant friends. Never saw her again :(

brisk, stressed-looking lady at our favourite noodle shop; ALWAYS looked stressed so my dad always made a point of telling her that the food was very good

one of my church’s youth leaders (who moved away a long time ago). He was one of the few people who took me seriously in middle school, and actually talked to me about books. He had the cutest little girl with the curliest brown hair, and would often raise his eyebrows wryly when people commented on his bald head. I remember asking him about The Girl Who Could Fly and whether or not The Golden Compass was worth reading, and he answered my questions very seriously.

another one of my former youth leaders, this twenty-something German student called Linnea. I thought she was one of the prettiest people I’d seen. She was very friendly, very outspoken, and talked to me about choosing to follow Jesus one youth night. I really liked her, and I also really liked that she told us we could talk to her about anything. She left before I had the bravery to open my mouth, though.

I had a childhood friend called Lucy and we shared a secret hideout. It was very exciting. Once she came over to give me this gigantic rock that had a plant growing in a little hole. She moved away before I could say goodbye, and before I moved out of that neighbourhood, I used to drop by our secret hideout to make sure it was still there.

speaking of childhood friends: one was called Lisa. She had gorgeous black hair (very long) and always came to church in the prettiest dresses. She was very good at art and once showed us tiny flowers she’d sculpted out of clay. She could speak fluent Chinese (she was part of the Chinese service) and I really liked her. Unfortunately when I last visited my hometown, she didn’t remember me at all. It was a very awkward conversation.

my third grade teacher was the BEST. She was a comfortable looking woman with black hair and blue eyes, and reminded me of both Marilla and Mrs. Lynde. We had mandatory knitting hour every day and went for runs in the forest every week. She had a little wooden book cabinet with glass doors, and I would borrow books from them every once in a while. She chose Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux for our novel study unit, and read both of them out loud to us. (She read the whole of Winn-Dixie in a very convincing Southern accent.) Every single one of us had our own set of knitting needles, ball of yarn, and knitting bag (she and another elementary school teacher made knitting bags with drawstrings for each and every one of us). She was the only teacher I had in that school who could calm down the restless kids, and who showed the ADHD/ADD kids compassion. When she gave you That Look you knew you had to settle down and behave. I went to visit her many years ago and found out that she’d gone in for chemotherapy - I heard later on that she’d fully recovered. I hope she’s doing well.

my fourth grade teacher (part 1). I can’t remember his name, but I remember he was VERY tall, Caucasian, and wore a sweater and a name tag on his first day. The first thing he did with us was sit down on a desk and ask us our name and something interesting about ourselves. I told him that I really liked books. He asked me which ones. I said Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Narnia. He asked me about my opinion on other Roald Dahl books. He listened to ALL of us very intently, and we warmed up to him very quickly. At the end of our introductions he went around and repeated all our names and our interesting facts. I had never felt so understood before.

my fourth grade teacher (part 2). The first one switched schools after one or two weeks, and we had Miss Payson come in. She was also comfortable-looking, with short brown hair and purple glasses. She had a purple knitted hedgehog, and spoke very kindly to all of us. We had a mandatory creative writing session every week, where we would go to the computer lab and type for around an hour. I asked her permission once to write a story about her hedgehog, and she said yes. (I was VERY happy for the rest of the day.)

my fifth grade teacher (part 1). The first was an Italian lady with black hair to her shoulders and a matter-of-fact approach. The restless kids who liked to talk back got her riled up on several occasions, but most of the time she was very calm and practical. She taught us to write comparison essays (I did one on wild vs. farmed salmon and it was a horrible essay.) She told us she was going to get married in the summer. Are you going to invite us? asked one of the boys. No, she said, and laughed. Once, a boy in my class took Jesus’s name in vain (she told us right off the bat that she was Catholic) and a steely look entered in her eye. She told him very quietly that she didn’t want to hear any such language in class, and he apologised to her immediately, rather chastened. I did some creative writing with her, and she was the first teacher to tell me that she looked forward to seeing my name on a bookstore shelf one day. I will never forget that.

my fifth grade teacher (part 2). The second was a lady from Ghana who had two children she loved telling us about, and had a very bubbly and passionate personality. She read to us in class, was VERY good at math, and often directed a certain look at us I now call an ironic glance. 

this wisp of a girl with long brown hair and a slight nervous look called Valentina. She always looked nervous and a little unhappy, and I never got the chance to ask her why.

a friend from middle school with short red hair (very wild! very beautiful!) and freckles. We were both into The Hobbit when it came out, and collaborated on a novel for NaNoWriMo in 2013(?). It was a bit messy and we never really finished it, but I remember how insistent she was that we help the main character realise that the world was still a beautiful place. (I loved her for that.)

my old band teacher in elementary school, back when I could actually play clarinet. He was British, wore the same black earrings every class, was very tall, very thin, and very kind. He never once yelled at us for playing badly, or for getting distracted. Band was so much fun with him. I can’t tell you how many times we practiced King Arthur’s March, but I can tell you that it was a LOT.

someone I saw when I got off the train one day. I was on the way home, the train doors opened, and I saw the most beautiful pair of eyes I had ever seen. I don’t remember his face at all (I don’t recall any other features of his) but I do remember that it was late afternoon, and the sun struck his brown eyes. I could see the gold in them. It was an enchanting experience.

a whole GROUP of people I dearly wanted to be friends with: this boy who I thought must be some sort of fairy: rectangular wire glasses, very floppy dirty blond hair, angelic smile, insisted on wearing a pageboy cap and clunky boots, played violin like it was as natural to him as breathing. He was a very friendly person. His sister, who also had short hair and glasses - the kind of person whose enthusiasm is contagious. (When she talks to you, you can’t help but smile.) Also another of his possible relatives (I don’t know... they were both blonde, tall, and had similar hair): this slender, elf-like girl with a pixie cut who had black combat boots, and an endless supply of flannel shirts and dangly earrings. She was into Lord of the Rings and Doctor Who (I was always at the edge of my seat, wishing I could chime in with an “I love them too!” but I was never quite brave enough). Another girl was always dressed in black (with matching purple lipstick and ALSO black combat boots), and talked about the books she liked and didn’t like (Brave New World wasn’t worth reading, she said one day). A younger girl with bouncy blonde hair and these GORGEOUS blue-green eyes. I didn’t know that people’s eyes could actually sparkle until I saw her. She was the life of the party, and was incredibly charming because she didn’t seem to be aware at all how charming she was. OH and a girl who looked like she’d walked right out of the 1940s: red lipstick, curly ginger hair, beauty mark, with an incredible singing voice. She was in love with La La Land and Phantom of the Opera (very valid) and was the darling of the group (you could definitely tell why: she was well-spoken, bright-eyed, generous). And a very tall, very quiet boy with dark curly hair who was very talented at any kind of art. Very fluent in French (French was part of the vernacular in this friend group... they sometimes slipped in and out of it and I would just sit and smile, somewhat confused). Also very kind. I remember he once asked to look at my sketchbook (I was vibrating with nervousness the whole time. You know when you’re in middle school, and want validation SO much? Or maybe that was just my social anxiety) and when he finally handed it back, he said something nice and smiled. I instantly felt more at ease. He was also a friendly person, the kind of person you could sit with for a long time in silent companionship. Also very, very kind - and more of an action person than a talking person.

[finecole]

Peter Parker x Stark!Reader - ’’Stark can’t fix doorbell’’

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader Word count: 2076 Note: In honour of our favourite bean returning to the MCU, I decided to finally finish this. Hope you like! 

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

‘’I swear to god if you stupid machine blow up again I am going to throw you off of the empire state building,’’ you mumbled under your breath as you took a step back from the desk, observing the little bionic arm. You held your breath as you took the tablet from the table behind you and pressed the start program button for the fourth time on that lovely Friday evening – the previous three times had ended up in spasms and sparks.

The arm started the simple procedure, raising its hand at first and then counting down from five fingers. The pinky went down, the index finger followed and even the middle finger cooperated. The ring finger, however, decided against its programming.

Frustrated, you ran a hand through your hair, throwing the tablet down on the desk. Pathetic, you thought, (y/n) Stark can’t even get a bionic arm to function. ‘’Well, at least it didn’t fucking blow up this ti-’

Too soon, sparks came from the first phalanx, followed by a small bang and the fourth small fire of the night. Unshaken by the mishap, you asked Jarvis to put out the fire, after which a small functioning arm appeared from the table top and put out the fire.

‘’Miss Stark, might I remind you of Flash’s party at 9?’’ Crap. A quick glance at the clock told you that you had approximately 20 minutes left to get ready. So, closing up the lab behind you, you took a quick shower and made work of your face and hair and put together a semi-decent outfit, not really in the mood to play dress-up tonight.

One kitchen-pitstop later, you entered the lift taking you down from the top of Stark Tower, a leftover sandwich in hand. Pepper and dad were out of town for some business at MIT, so you had had the paradise to yourself. Now, any sane teenager would have thrown a party, but those sane teenagers didn’t have a Jarvis lurking around.

In typical New York fashion, the streets were clogged by cars, so you decided you’d walk to Flash’s house, not to keen on taking the subway. It was an unusually cold autumn night; people, unprepared for the cold, hid their faces in their thin scarves and stuffed their hands into the pockets of their way-too-thin-coats. You followed suit, and to avoid as much of the cold weather as possible, you decided to cut through some alleyways, only to find a surprise waiting for you.

You turned a corner, accidentally bumping into someone as you entered the – quite shady looking -alleyway. Thrash and containers lined the walls, but aside from some rats and stray cats the alley was void of life. Despite that, it felt as if someone was watching you, so you turned around, only to be met by the sight of the opposing street.

You turned back around, a sudden voice startling you. ‘’Hey (y/n)!’’

You let out a scream and composed yourself, ready to fight – just like Nat had taught you - as a figure dropped down in front of you.

He put his hand up and took a step back. ‘’Hey hey sorry it’s me!’’

‘’Damnit Parker you scared the living hell out of me!’’

He pulled the mask of off his face, revealing his sweaty face and messed up hair. ‘’Well that was kind of the point,’’ a laugh escaped his lips.

‘’You do that again I’ll make sure to program a nightmare into that suit of yours next time my dad updates it,’’ you sighed, relaxing your body and forcing a faint smile onto your face. That fake smile didn’t go unnoticed by Peter; the two of you had been best friends for years now and he didn’t need his Spidey senses to tell him something was off.

He extended his arm and put his hand on your shoulder, eyes meeting. ‘’What’s wrong? I’m sorry for scaring you if-‘’

‘’No,no that’s fine – I’m fine, just,’’ apparently you couldn’t even form a proper sentence today. You looked down at the ground sighing, ‘’it’s just not my day.’’

Peter nodded slowly, deciding to drop the subject when he saw you look away. He’d ask later, he thought as he turned around and pushed one of the dumpsters aside, revealing a backpack webbed stuck to the wall.

‘’My party outfit,’’ he smirked, looking back at you before pulling the backpack off.

‘’So, did you plan for me to take a shortcut and ambush me or was it just destiny huh?’’ you inquired, rolling your eyes playfully as you walked up to him, looking at the clothes in his backpack.

He wiggled his eyebrows playfully, drawing a circle with his finger telling you to turn around.

‘’Oh well sorry of course - it would be a sin to see an exposed chest before marriage,’’ you laughed, not forcing it this time. Peter had always managed to make you feel better, simply by just being there. His presence alone felt like a warm, fluffy comforting blanket.

He got dressed and soon the both of you were en route to the so called ‘party of the year’. You walked in silence – well, that was until Peter’s stomach started making whale-mating-calls.

‘’Did you eat anything today?’’

‘’Oh no, I was out being a ‘’friendly neighbourhood spider-man’ all day after school, told May I would pick something up from Delmar’s but I just got side-tracked.’’

An opportunity. ‘’Well we can still get some food if you want?’’

‘’No, it’s fine I’m sure Flash will have something.’’

‘’No really Peter we should go get some food,’’ you rambled. ‘’No alcohol on an empty stomach, right? And what if Flash doesn’t have-‘’

Peter stopped in his track, taking your hand into his own and using the other to lift your chin so that you would look him in the eyes. ‘’(Y/n) stop. Please tell me what’s wrong.’’

You just looked at him, mouth opened, waiting for something to come out – but there was nothing. Tears suddenly building up in your eyes told him enough.

‘’Okay you know what? Screw the party. Let’s go to Delmar’s, stock up on a whole load of unhealthy snacks and go watch a movie at my place. Pretty sure May even had some cake left over – I can’t guarantee you that it tastes good though.’’

You nodded, blinking away the tears that threatened to spill as relief washed over you. That, sounded much better than Flash’s party at the moment.

---

Two bags filled with snacks and sandwiches in hand, you reached Peter and May’s apartment. Peter fumbled with his keys, trying to find the right one when May suddenly opened up.

‘’Hey there!’’

‘’Oh hi May.’’ The both of you said at the same time.

May stepped aside, letting you in. ‘’I thought you were going to a party?’’

‘’Meh, not in the mood.’’ Peter said as he put the two bags down on the kitchen table and took of his jacket.

‘’We thought we would watch a movie instead.’’ You said.

‘’Oh, that’s fine! I’m heading off to a friend of mine, okay Peter?’’ Peter nodded, already stuffing the chocolate chip cookies into his mouth. ‘’I’ll be back in a few hours.’’

She took her purse that was sitting on the kitchen counter and said her goodbyes, leaving the two of you alone.

You quite liked the Parker residence. It was small, sure, but that was part of its charm. You were used to living in a large penthouse, and since it was just Tony, Pepper and you, sometimes it would feel like you were home alone for days. The small apartment was cosy, and May’s obsession with blankets and pillows probably helped as well.

Peter closed the blinds and threw a few bags of chips on the couch before he plopped down on it himself, inviting you over next to him and offering up the other side of the far too large blanket.

You got cosy, and without even saying a word the two of you decided to watch one of the Star Wars movies, but half an hour into the movie and you still couldn’t get into it. There was too much clouding your mind: why were you not able to get that stupid arm to work? You had made far more complicated things together with dad.

Dad. That was it. You just couldn’t get anything done without his help. Where you that stupid? How where you going to get into MIT like that, or any college of your choice for that matter. You couldn’t go through life holding your dad’s hand now could y-

‘’(Y/n)?’’ A hand on your shoulder shook you from your thoughts.

You looked over and were met by a concerned pair of eyes. Peter reached out and wiped away a tear that you didn’t know had fallen. ‘’Please talk?’’

You bit your lip, what were you supposed to tell him? You didn’t want to sound pathetic – but then again, this was Peter, your best friend. He wouldn’t care.

‘’You know that robotics project we are supposed to hand in on Wednesday?’’

He nodded, now completely turning on the couch to face you.

‘’Well, I tried – like four times, but I just can’t do it. And now, I realise, I’ve never done anything by myself. I’m always putting things together with dad, and what if I can’t do it - ever, by myself. What kind of Stark would I be? That would actually be the most pathetic thing, can you imagine the tabloids? ‘’(Y/n) Stark can’t fix doorbell, is Stark industries safe in her hands?’’ I really want this, Pete; really want to be able to do the things my dad can – imagine what I could do? I could actually help people, like dad. But now it all feels like some very, very far away dream. What if I just can’t do it?’’

You laid your head on your knees, looking away from Peter. The minute of silence felt like eternity.

‘(Y/n)… you are one of the smartest people I know, and I’m not just saying that to calm you down. Remember when I burst into your room in the middle of the night, suit torn and face beaten up? You fixed up everything, all by yourself because Tony would have killed me if he knew that I went after those criminals – who were definitely way too dangerous to take on by myself in hindsight but hey, you were the one that fixed up my suit. A million-dollar suit, made by your dad, and you – once again, you, (y/n) Stark fixed it. So what that stupid bionic arm thing isn’t working out today. You’ll try again and it’ll work. I promise.’’

You looked back at him and he gave a comforting smile.

‘’And the (y/n) Stark I know wouldn’t shed a tear about this, ya know?’’ he added, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

You threw the nearest pillow at his face, laughing, ‘’Hey!’’

Peter dodged it, of course, but you had a started an all-pillow fight, almost smashing aunt May’s favourite vase. Laughter and screams filled the room, and the movie was already halfway done when Peter’s spideysenses abandoned him for a second and he tripped, falling on to you as you both came crashing down on the couch.

You both said nothing for a moment as you realised what position you were in and the laughter slowly died.

Peter licked his lips, ‘’we’ll call it a draw then.’’

‘’Hey no - I obviously won that!’’

Peter imitated a shocked look, making the both of you dissolve into laughter again.

He was so close, his brown curls falling over his forehead framing his face like a crown. His chocolate-browns stared into yours, and as you drowned in each other’s eyes everything around you seemed to fade.

‘’Thankyou… for today.’’ You managed to produce as you seemed to sink further and further.

Peter nodded, lips parted as he hummed something, lowering his face slowly – sinking as well, until your lips met.

A thud split the two of you up, and Peter was on his feet in no time - only to notice that it was just aunt May’s purse which she had set down on the table.

A borderline evil smile crept up on her face as she looked at your rapidly reddening faces. ‘’So, tell me, how was the movie you guys?’’

[studiopoprocks]

Hi sis, so I was thinking about some headcanons with the reader being a millionaire and Overhaul (Bnha, obv), that finds that out just when they invite him at their place, and he's like shocked because from her looks (kind of tomboy-ish and not that casual) he tough that they were just your average reader. Sorry if it's too specific😅

One in a Millionaire

Kay so it’s 2:30am, I have a lab report due tomorrow, a ten page essay on Tuesday, and exams are coming up, but I just wanna write this cuz it’s been in my inbox forever and I’m a terrible person... or at least that’s what I said when I started this...

Ship: Chisaki Kai/Overhaul x Reader (kinda)

As a millionaire, you tended to keep things pretty clean. You have housekeepers/servants who are always on top of everything, which included your laundry. So it was no wonder Overhaul took a liking to you.

Plus you were cute and had good fashion taste so he liked beign around you.

Honestly, he just thought you lived in a small house with a mom who was really stict about washing cloths and good personal hygiene. A woman after his own heart.

“Oh shoot!” You groaned, patting down the pockets of your jacket, “I left my phone at my place, do you mind coming with me?”

He couldn’t deny that going over to your place wasn’t intriguing.

He hadn’t gotten a lot of time to get to know eachother. Villainy doesn’t usually start of with a friendly game of 20 questions... unless it’s an interigation.

You had suggested taking a taxi, but your partner said it was “too filthy”. And with you’re phone being left behind, you couldn’t call your driver.

So you guys ended up walking. With the breeze, you were thankful that you weren’t wearing a skirt like the girl who had just passed by. Pants were much better.

And with your more tomboyish look, it was no surprise that when you stopped walking, Overhaul just kept going.

“Ahem!” You cleared your throat

“Geez, we can rob the house later if you want to so bad.” The man said looking over his shoulder, “for now let’s just get your phone.”

Ignoring him, you walked up to the gate, letting yourself in. It was the biggest house in the neighbourhood, probably even in the city. Your parents didn’t want to go overboard so it didn’t stick out too much amoung the others. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t impressive.

Watchig you make your way up to the mansion, Overhaul begrudgingly followed behind. You could easily handle yourself, but he may as well tag along.

It was a mansion after all, so there would be something worth stealing. That is if you don’t get caught.

You waited on the front sept for him, as he gave you a look that said ‘what the hell are we doing’ which quickly turned to a ‘are you crazy’ as you knocked on the door.

Your butler Sebastian immediately opened the door, welcoming you home.

If you could see Overhauls mouth, you were sure it would be dropped.

Sebastian clamly took your coats and went to go hang them up, as you quickly asked, “do you know where I left my phone?”

“No im sorry, i believe you were in the library this morning so I could check there if you would like me to.” That was one of the biggest downsides of having such a big house. Things get lost easily.

“No thank you Sebastian, I’ll go get it.” You smiled.

Overhaul had been silent the entire time, not daring to say a word in case this was all some sort of facade.

It was pretty funny having such a feared man walking behind you silently like a little puppy. You couldn’t help but make a joke.

“That was a lot easier to break in then expected uh?” You laughed pointing at all the things you could steal.

“Ha ha very funny.” He rolled his eyes, “so when were you planing on telli me that you were some sort of millionaire?”

You innocently looked back at him as you entered the two story tall library. “I though it was obvious. Can’t you tell by my spotless, two thousand dollar frilly pink dresses?”

His eyes held a smile, a rare sight that you took with full stride. Continuing to joke together as you walked around the walls that were covered head to toe in paper and stories.

“Oh!” You said walking over to the side table, “found it!”

(Btw this is my first time writing Overhaul and although I know what’s happening in the manga, I haven’t been reading it so I’m sorry if he’s a bit OOC)