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athena-is-a-chaotic-lil-shit · 4 years

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Of Ice and Blood

Part 8

Supposedly everything I post consecutively is one part, but I always reach the 250 block limit everytime so I am forced to cut it off! It's all good though, I just hope you don't mind that.

Anyways, enjoy reading! I'll be working on my requests after I post this and the slasher fic in my works.

Edit: Holy sh*t I thought it wouldn't fit but it did! (And I meant the word count you dirty lil thing—) This will be the longest part in the series yet (since 4.3k words fit perfectly)

Pairing: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Fem!Human/Reader)

Word count: 4.3k

Warnings: None :)

Contains: f l u f f (and maybe too much blushing but I have no regrets)

—

You let the student call the police as you tied up four unconscious men using their clothing. You left when you heard the distant sound of sirens and trusted her to explain what had transpired in the alley. You bid her farewell, resuming your walk to your destination. You breathed out your exhaustion, the little energy you got from a short nap earlier got spent punching people again.

"So...that was..."

"Expected." The orc supplied when you trailed off.

"Mm...Yeah."

Expected, both disappointing and frustrating. You did your best not to snap at the kid for it and only hoped she understood and learned.

The sun had already sunk long ago, but there was still a myriad of warm colors. Very subtle, but there. Each passing second transitioning it into a darker shade until little specks of light became visible. The sky...black in a matter of minutes. Street lamps lit your path as shops both closed and opened for the night with people saying hello and goodbye.

"Thank you, by the way. For uh, earlier." You got careless. Too careless than you usually are.

You shivered at the thought of what might've been the outcome.

He only nodded, along with a grunt of affirmation beside you.

"Are you mad?" you whispered. Was he angry at you being a stupid idiot and rushing straight into danger?

"No, just, "—he sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers—"worried." His scent was clearly not just of worry. He was also scowling.

Tai'chi was very worried about you, he always had ever since you met, which wasn't long but he felt a strong need to protect you, even if you could handle yourself well on your own. Oh, but he was angry, enraged within at those men who harmed the poor student, especially at the one who almost stabbed you at the back. If they were in his stronghold they would've been fed to the wargs.

No, he would've torn them apart himself.

You didn't speak again until you arrived at your place, finally. You're not rich and even if you were you have no desire to live in those luxurious and super expensive condos. You preferred to have something homey, small, as long as it had what you needed for comfort and safety, you were content.

It also saves a lot of money for future expenses and emergencies.

"So, uhm, welcome." You said as you unlocked your door after several tries on putting the key in. Tai'chi ducked considerably under it, his large frame barely making it through.

You took off your shoes, placed them on the side, and kept your socks on. He followed suit, taking off his boots, coming out barefooted.

It wasn't smelly, which was pretty surprising.

You headed to your kitchen and prepare dinner for both of you, but a hand on your shoulder stopped you in your tracks.

"I will cook." Tai'chi spoke and you immediately replied, stuttering.

"I-I should be the one cooking for you! It's not right. I'm the host and you're the guest it shouldn't be—"

"Pearl, I will cook." He asserted, his voice deep and confident, you sighed as it made you relent. You'd make a mess if you did anyway, might chop your hand off with a knife or dunk your head in the pot.

"Fine. But next time I'll do something for you instead," you groaned.

The orc grunted once before he stepped past you and into your kitchen while you plodded to your room.

Tai'chi paused for a moment to take in the details of your house. It was fairly small. From where he stood, his head was a foot away from touching the ceiling. To his left was an open way to what he assumed was the living room where he could make out half of a brown couch facing away from him. He also noticed a couple of framed photos hanging on a faded orange wall. Tai'chi glanced in the direction where you disappeared, he could hear the faint sound of the shower going on.

Good.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he started preparing dinner for the two of you, making use of what was present in your humble home. You had a similarly humble kitchen with a simple stovetop and double-door cupboards.

A decent-sized (a/n: everything is small to him okay) refrigerator sat in the corner where he found some meat in its freezer, quite a huge portion for such a small person like you, but then again he witnessed firsthand how much you could eat, and eat like an orc you did. Tai'chi reached inside to grab the meat but met resistance. He subconsciously yanked the frozen thing off, his eyes widened when he realized what he did, nearly topping over the whole appliance. Tai'chi sheepishly adjusted the refrigerator back in its place, before he looked for other ingredients while he carefully moved around to avoid any more mishaps.

You went inside your bedroom, groggy and disgusting as you pulled off your clothes and threw them in a basket just outside your bathroom. You stepped inside and took a long, hot, well-deserved shower to get that dried sweat and blood off of your body. After you rinsed down, you sunk yourself in your little tub, sighing in content as you tried your best not to fall asleep. You shuddered and trapped yourself in a daze, enjoying the hot water around your naked form, relaxing in the aromatherapy you made for yourself as you hummed a tune, letting your thoughts wander.

The precision of that throw was simply scary. But also cool...mm. Awesome.

I wonder what happened to the Silverstones...

Courting, huh...who would've thought I'd be courted by an orc. I wonder what that entails...

Wait, I'll be courting him too, right?

"..."

You got out when the wrinkling started. Your muscles were still aching but less so than before. You used a towel to dry down before wearing a black oversized shirt, you had about 6 of them in your wardrobe 'cause hey, not one to dress up fancy and flashy. Plus blood gets splattered on your clothes a lot, it would be a waste of time and money. You also slipped inside your favorite pair of dark grey joggers, the one you always wore when you were at home. They were comfy!

You let your hair fall over your shoulders and back since it was still damp. When you got out the scent of cooked food engulfed you, wafting from your right.

Oh, how mouth-watering it was.

You tiptoed to your kitchen to peek at what Tai'chi cooked up. Unfortunate when you couldn't see anything with his broad physique was blocking your line of sight on the table.

"I could smell you, you know."

You almost, almost let out a yelp. You wiped your drool with the hem of your shirt.

"I- uh-"

He chuckled, "You must be starving. I—" Words died in his throat when he turned around to look at you.

He gawked.

You surprised him for the nth time today. There you stood before him, relaxed and freshly cleaned up, a whiff of mint reached his nose, your shampoo perhaps, mixed with your scent. You didn't have your mask on, which gave him a full look at your face, your lips were a little chapped, half-lidded eyes showing your exhaustion.

"Is there something on my face?"

"N-No." He stuttered as he tried to get something out. "Ehem, no. You just look... I'm done with dinner, you— we should eat, and then we can talk." Tai'chi said as he moved to take a chair and sat across you. You let that go, in favor of sating your hunger.

His cheeks were a bit darker in shade than his skin, but that slipped away as the dinner in front of you grabbed your full attention. It looked and smelled like pork curry. Was it pork curry? It's like something straight out of a Ghibli movie.

Bite-sized chunks of meat, diced potatoes, and carrots coated with a rich syrupy brown soup together with a modest –at least to both of you– portion of rice next to it. It was simple, but the way it tempted your senses implied that there was something more than what meets the eye, and your nose.

Or it's your gluttony speaking, probably.

You picked up your spoon and wondered if it's as good as it appears to be. You gulped, audibly.

You brought a small portion into your mouth, nearly falling off of your seat as you resisted the urge to make any sound that would outright embarrass you, but lo, as you took another spoonful, you couldn't stop yourself from letting out a moan. Your eyes widened and immediately covered your face with two hands as you felt it heat up.

You chewed and swallowed before you squeaked out, "I-I-I'm so sorry! It- It's just so yummy and tasty and I— it's amazing, and uh..." You trailed off and groaned, at a loss of words in your embarrassment. You risked to part your fingers and peek at him. He met your gaze and you hid again. His cheeks were in a darker hue than before. Was he flustered like you? Oh no, you shouldn't have done that, now he will think you're being weird!

Tai'chi cleared his throat and you removed your hands but refused to make eye contact with him, your face still hot.

"We... We should eat." He said, stiff and trying to seem indifferent. But that sound you made would forever be engraved into his mind, it was both cute, and, well, sensual.

Okay fine, it was somehow arousing, but he has it under control, he will keep his damn urges in check, even if it means jumping out of the window just to make sure he won't scare you away. He's an orc of honor for goodness' sake, he swore an oath, he will keep it.

You ate fast but paused to savor the food, minus any embarrassing noises, thankfully. The curry was rich and a bit spicy, the pork was soft and tender as you chewed at it easily, juicy as it is, along with the potatoes and carrots, both cooked and prepared with obvious care. You almost cried from the combination of flavors you nearly forgot it was just curry you're eating.

But damn, this is the best curry you've eaten your whole life.

It was minutes later when you finished your fourth heaping plate of food. Tai'chi had five. He made a lot which was great, considering how your plates were wiped clean as if they weren't used in the first place.

Damn, you ate like you didn't eat for a week.

With some regained energy, you stood and took the dishes before Tai'chi could even stop you, putting them in the sink and washing them, quick and thorough. Once you were done with that, you went back to your seat, ducked your head, and stared at your lap.

"..."

"I... Thank you for the food. It was really delicious and great and everything! And, uhm, you made the pork curry like a pro and I never tasted anything so fulfilling, —my mother will beat me if she heard that—and it was a simple curry but I, it's just so, so—" you huffed, "mind-blowing!" You were rambling, you knew. You looked up when he didn't say anything.

H-He's grinning...

"Thank you. I pride myself in my skill in the kitchen and I'm happy what I made for you was satisfying." Tai'chi thumped his chest, showing that he was very honoured to hear your words. He's never telling you he almost broke your fridge though.

"It was great!" You exclaimed right after him, throwing your hands up. It was truly great. He grinned even wider at this, that dark shade still present in his cheeks, though you were no better as you could feel the warmth on your own.

"Then I am beyond happy and honored to hear that from you," liga lul, he stated, only saying of the last part in his head.

You smiled at each other.

"Is now a good time to discuss my kind's courting rituals?" Taichi asked after a minute of sitting there in silence.

"Y-Yes, please," you replied. "So, how do orcs court someone?"

He straightened up in his seat.

"We show off to the one we're interested in, basically speaking. Ranging from skills in fighting to proving that we could provide for our...mate." He paused, watching you closely.

You nodded for him to continue. Not gonna lie, that last part made your heart skip a beat. Mate, huh.

"We," he coughed, "we also chase or fight off other suitors, be it threatening them or engaging them in battle. And if they attempt to kidnap or hurt the person courted in any way, they will suffer the wrath of an orc."

"So, they'll...die?"

"Yes, or so that's what it usually was back home. Here, in this city, it's a crime to kill someone just for that reason, but it is law among us. No one would bat an eye if someone gets beheaded just because they were foolish enough to insult the person an orc is courting."

"Oh," pretty brutal but okay. "Is there an option where they don't get murdered or..." You asked, waving your hand around. Killing because of an insult is going overboard, in your opinion, but then again, anyone would be furious if their potential partner gets slandered or taken away forcefully.

"When the courted wills it. It is always up to them to decide the fate of those who tried to harm them, and the orc must take their words into action."

"Oh, good. I really don't want you getting in trouble just because someone called me a freak and all," you said. You looked at your hands, calloused and a little rough from experience. Scars were littered over your body and you hid them well from any curious eye with your long sleeves and pants. Though right now, some of the scars on your arms were visible.

You jerked when you felt his large hand grab your arm and moved along to yours, rubbing his thumb on the back of it, his brows furrowed as he looked at you.

"They are wrong to call you that."

"And everyone's a piece of shit to call you a beast, a savage, or a murderer," you followed up in an instant.

His expression softened, and you smiled, ignoring how your heart hammered in your chest as he continued to caress your hand.

Tai'chi could feel your pulse, beating so fast he was scared for your health. But he was happy to know he could make you feel this way, his own heart was thumping loudly in his chest too.

"As I said before, we would show that we could provide for our potential partners. We would bring to them our best kills from hunts, offer gifts crafted by ourselves if we have the skill, if not, we will buy them tokens and things that remind us of them or what pleases them."

"Wait," you interrupted, "when you insisted on cooking dinner, was that a part of courting?"

He gave you a small smile as he scratched his sideburns, sheepish like a little child caught stealing candy.

"Yes." He answered, rather quiet than his usual booming voice.

"Uhm, I must say, it was really amazing. Your cooking, I mean. And thank you, again."

"The pleasure's all mine," he replied. "Building houses or fixing the courted's current one is also a part of it."

"You're not gonna build me house right away, are you?" You joked, but then he didn't reply. "Wait, you're serious? But we're still studying and—"

"I am serious about building a house for, uh, the two of us," he interrupted, "but yes, I understand our current situation won't allow that to happen...yet."

"H-How long does the courting last?" You couldn't help but ask. He's talking about building you a house someday and you don't even know how old he is! No connection to what you're fumbling about but yeah, your mind is messed up. You are curious though...his age.

"It usually lasts for six months, to give time to get to know each other but also not prolong the courting stage so they could proceed to the next, but there are times when it lasts longer than that. You will have absolute control over how fast or slow we proceed in the courtship. That means it's up to you on when to end it and decide whether you'll...take me as your mate, or turn me down."

"Sounds pressuring but okay." You want to, like, combust right now.

He chuckled.

"Pressuring? No, no, please do not be pressured. Your word is law and I will face death by my family's ax if I disobey your final decision."

"Again with the death thingy!" You were appalled at how extreme orcs were.

"Us orcs are very strict and firmly tied to our traditions, but I can say we are changing. It is slow, but change nonetheless."

"I have a question," you raised your free hand out of habit.

Tai'chi nodded.

"I hope this is won't offend but how old are you?"

There, you said it. Oh fuck, you hoped it wasn't offending. Shit it was— asking his age, seriously?

"How old do you think I am?" He questioned, teasing you, a smirk on his lips catching you off guard.

"What? Noooo that's not an answer! I can't guess, you might get angry."

"I won't," he supplied right after. Why would he be? In fact, he is pretty much enjoying himself just watching you fidget with your ears slightly tinted pinkish. By the gods, he wants to touch them.

You sighed.

You stared at him, avoiding eye-contact as you tilted your head to get a good look at his features. He had a long and narrow scar you didn't spot before, in a lighter green color on the left side of his face. It wasn't noticeable if you stare at him up-front. It went down his neck and ended just above his collar bone. You wondered what caused it.

The orc was rough, his double tusks sharp and intimidating, even horrifying to another set of eyes but to you, he was attractive and rugged, his scent alluring and you only found him more fascinating each passing second. The scars he had enticed your curiosity but you weren't gonna ask about it, yet.

You always thought the standards set by society are rather absurd. You looked back at the time when someone asked you what your type was, along with showing you different pictures of men, human men, which were deemed "hot" (with quotation marks, yes) by most people. You didn't answer because; one, you don't know them; two, you couldn't tell what their personality was because you can't scent them; and three, it only annoyed you. People found you even weirder after that. Ironically deeming you senseless for not having an eye for beauty. No taste or missing out, they said.

But one's beauty wasn't found in sight alone.

You hummed to yourself. His hair was rich black, no trace of graying, so maybe he's not so old? 30s? How fast do orcs grow up? Do they even age? What do they look like when they were children?

You were brought back to the present when he gently squeezed your hand.

"Oh— uh, 35?" You blurted out, a bit panicked. As far as you know no one is as....buff as him in your age— but wait he's an orc!

"Oh no wait that's—"

You were cut off by a loud snort followed by a boisterous laugh coming out of Tai'chi, making you more embarrassed than you already are. His guffaw shook your apartment you swear your neighbors are filing a noise complaint tomorrow with how much he was laughing and you raising your voice.

"No," he said, "no actually, I'm still in my 23rd year. Do I really look that old?" He questioned as he chortled.

"23rd?! But you're— you're," you gestured at him. He's just five years older than you (which isn't long period of time you think) but he's— he's fucking huge! What the hell did they eat up North?

"Yes," he laughed again, amused by your reaction. "Believe it or not I am. Orcs begin training at age 6" he shifted the topic, "The adults would let them choose their desired weapon and craft to pursue, but also allowed them to experience all selections, from swords, battle axes, hammers, and many more, along with skills and crafts like hunting, blacksmithing, combat, construction, even basket weaving.

"I went on my first hunt when I was 12 and brought a stag back home. I tamed my first warg at 15, named him Nadul, Orcish for 'night'."

"6 year old me snuck out of the house during nap time to collect twigs in the woods while you were wielding weapons and—"

"That is correct,"

"And you had a pet warg?" You knew what wargs are, you read about them when you were in high school, along with other animals that fascinated you. They looked like large wolves with the stature of an adult grizzly bear and can carry a full-grown orc into battle.

"Have," he corrected, his fluffy buddy was still very much alive and well the last time he went back to visit his home, which was three months ago. He doubted anything could take down Nadul, not even a Frostbear, he was the one who trained him after all.

"I still can't believe you're 23. You look so..."— you were not gonna say old, no— "mature."

"At a different rate from humans, yes."

Of course they do. You got so much to learn about orcs, and him.

"And you? How old are you?"

"19."

"Oh? You look 13 with how little you are,"

You didn't expect him to be playful like this, but you went along.

"Hey! I'm only small compared to you, you giant!" True, you were a tad shorter than most girls your age but it has its perks! You'd save a lot of money from buying clothes just because you grew rather slowly. "And in fact, I'm still growing!"

"So am I." He grinned, smugness painted all over his face.

"Noooo, if you keep growing you won't fit through the doorway!" You whined, pouting at how much of a tease he was being.

He found it adorable, the way your lower lip was upturned as you looked at him. The sudden urge to pat you rose but he didn't act on it.

"Do not worry, us orcs stop growing in our 25th year," or not. "And I will make sure to feed and treat you good so you'll become taller!" he stated confidently. Tai'chi was about to laugh again, but he froze with his jaw open when you turned real red, your ears tinted and your lips quivered, unable to speak out anything.

That last part, made your face feel like fire just kissed it, twice. Panicked and having no idea what to retort, you let your head fall on the table with a thud. You gripped his hand tight and took silent breaths to calm your thumping heart down.

"Y-Yeah... I..I l-look forward to that, Tai'chi." You were able to say that at least.

He gave a soft grunt as he looked at you on the table.

You were very flustered, he scented. His comment-sort-of-declaration was clearly the reason. But oh, he had no regrets. He will make sure you're healthy and well-fed, and it's just one way of showing off with his skills.

That's only the beginning.

You were in for some Orcish surprises.

You sat in comfortable silence again for a while, just taking in each other's scents, soothing and calming your hammering heart. Tai'chi continued to caress your hand, gentle for such a big orc like him. He could snap your neck with two fingers alone, but he remained careful like he was holding a thing so delicate.

Tai'chi could feel your pulse slow down to a normal rate, your scent shifted to that of a relaxed state and something fuzzy. He can't call you his yet, you just met today but you already got him wrapped around your tiny fingers. First, he will court you and show his admiration, prove his worth. And you, yourself, turning it into love the more you spend time together, he knows it will.

And he'll surely be damned to let this chance slip. Not once did he took interest in getting a mate before, his mind too busy and filled with his responsibilities along with studies in other kind's culture, and taking care of his siblings.

But back then and there, something pulled on his heart, the way your eyes stared into his for seconds that felt longer than eternity itself. An exaggeration, but that's what he felt.

He found you.

You were about to doze off so you removed your head from the table and tried to blink away your sleepiness, the light hurting you a little. You should get to bed soon, your first class starts at 8 in the morning. You stared at Tai'chi, admiring that blue eyes of his, its hue similar to that of lapis lazuli, you thought.

"I should take my leave now. We need to rest, especially you." Tai'chi said when he saw how tired you appeared, you were barely keeping your eyes open. He stood up from his seat, lightly pulling you up with him. You shook your head, rubbing your eyes as you led him to your door.

"Keep safe," you bid once he was ready to go.

"You as well... I will see you tomorrow."

"Mm, g'night."

Tai'chi breathed through his nose before he placed a kiss on your forehead. It was brief, but it sent a pleasant warmth all over your body. You were too sleepy to even bother being shy now, so you only smiled at him.

"Goodnight, lak'mar lul." He gazed at you, sighing before he stepped out of your apartment.

You stood there for a moment before you checked your door and made sure it was deadlocked. You killed the lights off as you sluggishly trudged to your bed. Darkness enveloped your home, a welcome one. You crawled to the middle and tucked yourself under the dark blue cotton sheets.

You were out like a light once you settled down. Much too many things happened right after another, draining you to an exhaustingly low point. You only prayed you'd feel better in the morning.

Your last thought was about how warm the orc was, and how, for some reason, his scent, his presence, felt like a home you never had, which was saying something since you had encountered a lot of scents in your life, both good and bad. You hugged your pillow tight as you succumbed to a dreamless slumber.

—

I'm putting this off for a bit to give time for requests and other WIPs. But if a random continuation pops out I'll have to write it down and set it aside for editing later.

Thank you for reading!

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crookswithbooks · 4 years

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Constellations

Karkat discovers something new about the humans.

“What’s that?”

Dave looked up, pausing his incessant scribbling for a moment. It really was good art. Great art in fact. Maybe even some of his best. He raised an eyebrow at Karkat, who was staring intently at his face.

“What’s what?” he asked, turning his attention back to his drawings. He would have to show them to Rose. Surely she would appreciate his hard work. “If you can’t tell, I’m kind of in the middle of something here.”

“ ‘Something’ being drawing more dicks all over our only source of information on this godforsaken meteor you mean,” Karkat scoffed. “Can’t you keep your perverse fantasies to yourself?”

“Shut up, this is art.” Dave pulled his headphones down, hanging them around his neck. He turned in his chair to face him. “What do you even want?”

“I was trying to ask you what those weird little dots on your face are.”

Dave raised an eyebrow. “Um, dude, what?”

“Those dots.” Karkat moved forward, and without any warning poked Dave’s cheeks. Dave liked to think of himself as a pretty chill dude, sophisticated, put together, but hell if he didn’t freeze up at that simple touch like an intellectually challenged deer in the face of oncoming motor lights. “You have them all over your face. At first I thought it was another dumb human thing, but Egbert doesn’t have them so again I ask, what are they?”

Dave recovered from his momentary lapse and pushed Karkat’s hands away, his face resuming its neutral position. “You mean my freckles?”

“What are freckles?”

Dave grabbed the back of his neck, struggling to think of a way to explain it. “It’s like… little dots on your face caused by the sun.”

“The sun marks your face?” Karkat looked horrified. “Does it hurt?”

“Nah, not really. You don’t even feel it. They just kind of appear suddenly.”

Karkat leaned back, crossing his arms. “How come Egbert doesn’t have them then, if they’re caused by your human sun?”

“It only happens to some people,” Dave explained. “Like, with lighter skin and all that.”

Karkat frowned at him for a moment. His head was tilted slightly to one side, examining him. Dave shifted under his gaze, feeling a bit too much like a science specimen. “What?”

But Karkat didn’t say anything, only stared. The silence was a bit weird in and of itself. To distract himself from it, Dave went back to his drawing. He traced over some of his previous lines, adding in details and shading, and by the time he looked up again, Karkat was gone.

For a while the matter was forgotten. Dave came up with new raps and Karkat wrote his weird fanfiction and the Mayor drew them both into architectural masterpieces involving many cans and several of Rose’s books which said sister in question was less than happy about. Life on the meteor was boring, not a single life-threatening occurrence aside form the occasional ominous HONK from the vents, and while it seemed totally uneventful to some, Dave thought it was kind of nice. They hadn’t had boring in so long. With Jack not constantly on their trails, they could just relax, hang out as friends. Dave spent more time with Rose and even helped her arrange some of her dates and write passive aggressive, euphemism filled love notes to Kanaya (Kanaya herself was not as happy about his involvement as some). He got to know Terezi better and together they honed each other’s skills—Terezi gave Dave tips on some of his drawings and Dave engaged Terezi in many a laborious and dildo-themed rap battle. The mayor was, of course, rad. As always.

And Karkat…

He had never expected things to go the way it had with Karkat. He hadn’t even liked Karkat when he first came to the meteor. The two had been at each other’s throats constantly, so much so that Rose had made many suggestions as to the true color of their relationship. But after a while… he wasn’t sure. Things calmed down. It seemed silly after a while to antagonize each other over things that had felt so important a while ago, but now seemed dumb and inconsequential.

And then the kiss had happened. It had been sudden and unexpected and somehow completely right in the moment. The two of them had stared for a moment, frozen and dumb in the face of it all, and then Karkat had leaned forward once more and everything had locked into pace.

They began dating soon after that. They didn’t have a big announcement or anything, but living on a meteor in close quarters with each other like they were, it didn’t take long for everyone to find out. They were met with raised eyebrows whenever they excused themselves to ‘work on art’ as they called it, and Dave had quickly excused himself from an awkward and graphic conversation Rose had attempted to have with him on whether or not they were using a pail or a condom.

They were comfortable. Dave had never felt so at home with someone, nor had he ever expected someone’s rants to become so familiar. It was nice.

They were on Dave’s bed when the conversation topic finally resurfaced. Dave lay in only a pair of boxers on his side, his preferred sleeping method. He tended to find pants too restrictive. Karkat didn’t understand how he could sleep so exposed but Dave insisted it helped him connect with his body. Karkat had then made a jerking off jab and the conversation had devolved from then.

That particular day, Dave found himself in the comfy stage in-between sleep and consciousness. Karkat’s body was warm against him, and his hair was crushed haphazardly against the pillow. His eyes were closed and was about to fall back asleep when he felt a soft touch gently trace along his shoulder blades.

“You have them on your back too.”

“What?” Dave grumbled, swatting lazily at the touch. Karkat ignored him, continuing to poke and trace his skin.

“The freckles,” Karkat explained. His voice was wondering, a soft innocence as he traced constellations with the spots on his back. “They’re on your back too.”

He drew a line through his shoulder blades and down the curve of his spine, the action idle and curious. If Dave was being honest, a rare occurrence, he found the troll’s interest sort of cute. Not that he would ever say anything.

“They’re sort of everywhere,” Dave explained sleepily. The gentle tracing was doing nothing to help his drowsy state. He drew in a yawn, pressing his face into the pillow. His next words were mumbled as he said, “Can you stop that, it’s super annoying.”

“Make me,” Karkat growled, but Dave had no such intentions. It did feel kind of nice and before he knew it he found himself asleep again, snoring gently. Karkat rolled his eyes at the noises. It was kind of fitting how even in sleep Dave wouldn’t shut up. He continued drawing lines in between the pale dots, connecting them into various shapes.

Sometimes he found it hard to believe they had created the humans. Often this was because the humans were dumb and loud and unbelievably vulnerable to things like death and stabbing, but other times it was because of beautiful things like this that made his breath stop short. He wrapped his arms around Dave, burying his face into the back of his neck and feeling at ease for once in his life.

How could he have possibly created someone like Dave who held the multitude of the galaxy on his back?

#dave strider #karkat vantas #homestuck #fiction #davekat #fanfiction

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oh-for-fic-sake · 4 years

Text

The Neighbors Son

You meet your new neighbors son.

Masterlist

Warnings: Swearing, Mature-ish, angst

A/n: so this is the start of my Clark Kent Imagine series that will sort of run alongside my Bruce Wayne ones, I re-wrote this about eight times so hope you like the final result as for the health insurance I'm British so have no idea how it works I just went along the lines of how car insurance works here.

Taglist: @two-unbeatable-beaters @thatgirly81

The Neighbors Son

Martha chuckled as you sat at her kitchen table grumbling over the papers in front of you.

"You do you lot have to do things so weird?! What the hell is this shit ?And what the fuck does that word even mean. Its not a word that's the fucking alphabet in the wrong order! THEY MADE UP NEW WORDS Martha can you take me out back and shoot me please? At this point I think that's my only option" You grunted resting your head on the table. Martha sighed rolling her eyes at your dramatic display you felt her slip the paper from underneath your head.

"Just whats gotten you so work up now girl..... Health insurance? Well its about damn time! You've been here four months .....I can see why this can seem difficult." She scanned the documents and slapped the side of your head making you sit up.

"Come on up, right this one is the best value but doesn't cover dental or opticians, so you have to pay for them, but it covers illness and emergancey care, if you choose the next one up you’ll get that and it also covers for maternity care." She pointed out the different options, you knew that you’d been lucky in England to have the nhs but until now you didn't know just how lucky.

"Can I upgrade? Like at a later date if I wanna have a one?" The older woman scanned the documents.

"Yes but you wont be able to claim anything for prenatal or maternity for at least six months after adding it to the policy." You nodded you didn't really see yourself accidentally falling pregnant for that you'd need to have sex and you've been on a dry spell since being here. You nodded taking the paper from her."So I will just do that then" you said wanting it over and done with she sighed at you crossing her arms giving you 'the look' that every woman got when she became a mother."How many have you looked at?" You shrunk under her stern gaze and rubbed the back of your neck nervously.

"Errr so far? In total? One" she sighed shaking her head at you, before pouring you both another coffee setting it in front of you,she hadn't realized how lonley she had been once the farm house across the field had been empty not until you had moved in, all the way from England you had bought the house with your inheritance selling most of the fields to others in the area just keeping a small two acres around the house for yourself. She had met you the day you moved in coming over to introduce herself see if you needed help, you both instantly hit it off and it wasn't long before she was looking out for you. It was hard for you to adjust to life here, loosing your dad was bad but she then found out that your mother had caused major problems practically chasing you out of the country, the woman had been unhappy with the will and wanted her 'half' tho it wasn't millions it was enough for you to live comfortably in the end you'd had to move as she kept coming around to the house causing problems and harassing you for money, you'd had to get away far away so settled in Kansas. It was different but a welcome change, slower and laid back sure sometimes you missed not being in the Hustle and bustle but you had everything you need, a comfy house ,decent car and an income from your books, you was an author writing adult books, tales of gorgeous cowboys, dominant business men and mafia king pin's all falling in love with the women of their dreams with erotic twists and scenes that would make a porn star blush. Martha had been a huge help since you got here ,she had taken you under her wing watching over you and you'd become fast friends, always finding yourselves at each others houses helping each other out. You groaned as she shook her head at you knowing the look. There was a lecture coming.

"That’s just silly, you should look around compare prices and policies, it could save you a lot of money in the long run, especially you i mean your a trouble magnet how you haven't already ended up in ER I don't know?" You smiled sweetly at her

"Because a have a kind and loving neighbor to patch me up" you said casting a look to the scar on your arm where she had sewed you up after a nasty fall on some farming equipment in the barn. She huffed at you rolling her eyes kids. And you was a kid only twenty seven years old younger then her Clark, sometimes she asked you why you don't go into town and meet some people your age you'd always cringe and shiver saying that they were to immature or just banged on about marriage and kids, which neither interested you in the slightest you were quite happy with things the way they were. Martha looked up as the dog perked up outside whining and yipping happily before she heard him

"Ma? You here?" She smiled as he entered the house wrapping her up in his arms she hugged him back.

"Clark? What are you doing here?" She pulled back a little seeing him upset she cupped his face.

"Oh god whats wrong? Is everything okay? Whats happened?"

"Its Lois...we had an argument I had to leave her Ma, its over she couldn't see past the super-" Martha quickly shushed him as You stood awkwardly thinking it better to leave not wanting to intrude. The man snapped his head in your direction releasing his mum and you were floored he was stunning, sure she had showed you photos of her son but they didn't do any justice. Tall broad and strong his biceps were fucking huge his chest tapered into a perfect v, dark hair hanging in messy curls atop his head some falling forward just skimming his eyes that were a glistening bright blue you felt your pussy clench violently. Fuck. You was so lost that you failed to notice him staring right back at you it was Martha clearing her throat that snapped you both out of what ever trance you'd both been put you under.

"Cheers for the coffee but I should get back and leave two to catch up, anyway this next chapter isn't gonna write itself..... at this point I don't think I’m gonna write it either." You said with a chuckle Martha turned to you putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh no you don't, your going park you butt right there and stay here to search other quotes" you gaped at her looking to her son he held up his hands staying out of it.

"Don't you go looking to him,he wont help you" you huffed crossing your arms

"Did you just give me homework? It sounds like you gave me home work." She nodded

"Damn right, health insurance is a big deal and you don't just pick the first one that pop's up on the internet" you pouted at her trying to change her mind she just stared you down tilting her head then you threw your hands up.

"Oh for fuck sake, fine I will look Jesus Christ" she nodded smiling not missing the way you and Clark was stealing glances at one another, well you stole glances Clark was out right staring. She slapped him upside the head.

"Don’t be rude son introduce yourself" he stuttered shyly flushing at being scolded before holding out a hand towards you quickly.

"Er Clark Kent nice to meet you Mrs?" You took his hand not surprised by how warm it was I mean this guy was hot, it only made sense right?.

"Miss Y/n Y/L/N but just call me Y/n everyone does....apart from your mum she calls me 'a pain in the ass'" he chuckled

"Then we already have something in common" you laughed as Martha motioned for you both to sit at the table smiling knowingly, she saw how Clark couldn't look away how the sorrow in his eyes disappeared as he looked at you. Clark couldn't tear his eyes away from you he gulped eyes raking over your form his mouth gone dry speechless. Wow. You was very attractive like you walked out of one of his fantasies, a tiny homely looking girl light tan with deep chocolate wavy hair in a short bob twisted in a half up do, tiny bun in the back with a few loose strands framing your small face that had a dusting of freckles from being out in the sun, tho he guessed that some were more permanent as they didn'tstop on your face trailing down into you blouse, his breathing hitched as his eyes couldn't help peeking seeing the tops of you breasts spilling over the cups of your bra as you slouched over the table barely resting your elbow on it due to how small you was. His cock twitched you were very tiny the top of your head didn't even reach the top of his chest, he estimated you to be around four foot nine maybe four foot ten he grunted a little, he did have a thing for smaller women, he loved that he towered over average sized women but you were like his dream girl,fuck if he didn't want to fold you in half and fuck you senseless. His pants tightened at the thought, he bet you'd struggle to take him but given the chance he would find a way to impale you forcing your little body to take every punishing inch he grunted a quietly his stomach clenching. He quickly pulled his eyes away before either you would notice trying to calm his slightly ragged breaths this wasn't like him at all, he had been raised a gentleman but sitting here he felt anything but. Drawing his eyes up to yours. Incredible, he got many compliments for his eye but yours were something else, one a light brown honey colour the other was the brightest green he had ever seen, like someone had captured an emerald with in it, he swallowed dryly again becoming hot under the collar twitching in his pants as he continued to assess you. He wasn't sure what you was doing in his Mothers house but he had no complaints whatsoever.

"S-so Y/n your not from around here." his voice cracked a little as he spoke you shook your head at him a little uncomfortable as Martha pottered about the kitchen busying herself with making a fresh pot of coffee, you moved to help her but she just shook her head at you.

"No I moved here four months ago from England, your mum has been helping me get settled, America is a lot weirder than I had initially thought" you giggled a little nervously crossing your legs trying to fight off the building tension between your thighs, it wasn't every day you sat across for a delicious looking male, already picturing him as the main character in your next book with the amount of fantasies you were sure to come you'd probably have enough material for a whole series. He grit his teeth a little as his cock jumped at the melodious sound of your voice and thick southern British accent, he wouldn't admit but your voice had now become his favorite sound of all, imagining just how high he could get it if you ever gave him a chance.

"Wow that’s pretty far, and you chose Smallville why not one of the big cities?" He asked as Martha walked across the kitchen washing up some dishes in the sink, you frowned she never did that when you was here, she was up to something.

"Well Gotham didn't look to promising and I couldn't find anything in metropolis, I didn't have much time to move and when I saw the farm house I thought why not and bought it now I'm just across the field from your mum. I might get a small place in the city at some point but right now I'm quite happy here"

"You haven't even been to metropolis yet and your already thinking of buying a place there? shouldn't you check it out first? Maybe you could show her around when she does visit Clark? Take her to see the sights she'd like that? Wouldn't you y/n?" Your jaw sort of hung open....was she trying to set you up with her son? You chuckled nervously seeing the smirk on the other woman face.

"Oh Martha he's probably busy-"

"No! No I'm not, I'm not busy at all!.....I-I mean sure I could to show you around." He interrupted you then flushed, Martha shook her head the boy wouldn't know sublty if it bit him on the ass. You blushed sipping more of your coffee.

"Well if your sure... but I need to finish my book I've already postponed the release date once, don't think the publisher will like another one" he smiled as his mother set down a cup and fresh coffee pot he refilled everyone's cups as she took a seat at the head of the table sitting back watching you both fumble around your words blushing and stuttering, there was definitely something going on here and she was a little smug and had a feeling she was going to enjoy this next bit.

"Your a writer? What do you write?" You blushed bright at his question. Oh shit.

"Haha Yeah, well I sort of write books, fiction"

"I don't think I've heard of you tho?" you looked down going beet red your pussy dampening your panties at the idea of him lying back in his bed reading one of your raunchy books.

"I use an alias so I don't get any backlash" he looked a little surprised but it wasn't uncommon even some journalists did this mostly if the do honest reviews of shops and services

"Oh so what type of fiction do you write children's books?" You flushed more at his innocence looking to Martha who was snickering quietly to herself. She was going to be no help here whatsoever.

"No..Not children's books...My stuff is more...Mature" you desperately looked to Martha eyes screaming. Help me!. poor Clark tilted his head a little not understanding why you seemed to be getting so embarrassed

"Oh for teens then?" his mother finally cracked up laughing out right at the face you pulled at him deciding to put an end to to sorry affair, it was painful to watch.

"Oh for god-She writes porn Clark! Erotica, Adult fantasies" Clark spat his coffee not ready for that at all, coughing and spluttering,you got up quickly just dodging the drink sprayed in your direction.

"MARTHA!..Oh shit are you okay big guy?" Patting to poor mans back as Martha sat there sipping her coffee smirking into her cup.

"What? Like I'm wrong? we'd be here all day if I'd let that pan out" You flushed at her words as he finally caught his breath before you sat back down and sunk in your seat mortified she just came out and said it.

"Ah okay then wow I didn't expect that....I mean you look so cute...Not that I don't think you can be sexy and cute cos you are shit I mean er what do I mean?...Its just not what I'd have thought you'd write....But there's nothing wrong with that, I imagine its quite hard NO!no not hard...Not that its easy that's not what I meant just that it would be hard-Difficult! difficult it would be difficult to write." Martha laughed out loud having the time of her life as you both flushed bright red, Clark was trying to talk himself out of his own embarrassment, you on the other hand just Blinked at him as he had a melt down so red he looked like his head was going to pop, finally taking pity on him you interrupted his babbling.

"Its okay...I get what you mean...Sometimes its... Difficult but you just you know keep at it..." Martha smiled oh yes you two definitely liked each other, now if only she could find a way to set you up together. An awkward silence fell over the kitchen as you fiddled with your cup a little and Clark trying to look anywhere but you failing miserably, she decided to have some mercy and change the subject and let you know that he was available all at once.

"So you and Lois are over for good this time?" You leaned back in your seat watching his face drop you couldn't help feel sorry for him.

"Yeah, she just kept pushing, wanting me to be someone I'm not, to play that part all the time I'm sick of it! it started got to the point I no longer had any choice, I'd do what ever for a quiet life even if it made me unhappy" Martha sighed at him she had seen this coming for a long time but had to step back and let him figure it out for himself.

"Clark I'm sorry things didn't work out I really am but she would never be satisfied until everything went her way you knew that"he nodded solemnly sighing you could tell who ever this Lois was had meant the world to him.

"I think I knew deep down she wasn't the one, I just thought if I carried on, if I stuck with it she would see how it was effecting me and change just a little for my sake. Just like I did for her you know?"

"She was never going to son, in her eyes you had become what she wanted so she didn't have to change at all but she forgot the most important thing in a relationship that's its give and take she forgot to be what you needed" Martha held his hand he sighed looking at her nodding.

"Well this happened just over three weeks ago and she is still carrying on like we are together, like nothings changed! showing up at my apartment when she feels like it and throwing a fit when i don't let her in and is telling everyone I'm her date to this party now I'm stuck, I don't want to go with her but if I go alone then she's going corner me." he sounded exhausted and fed up and slightly bitter towards this woman and with good reason you knew how this type of thing could were on someone, you'd seen it first hand growing up.

"Party? what Party?" he waved his hand at his Mothers question

"A staff party celebrating another award and I don't want to go alone, if I do I know I will end up going back to her I really don't want to. So need to find someone else but there is no one shes still letting everyone think we're together! and none of them want to be on her bad side. I just need a woman to pretend to be my girlfriend for one night"

"Now Clark that's not fair on whoever you take, your a handsome boy and anyone you take might really like you it could crush them if they find out your using them. You can't use one women to prove a point to your ex it isnt right your father and I raised you better then that." You interrupted before she could lay into him anymore.

"I can understand what he is getting at tho, sorry to interrupt and if I'm being out of line tell me, but she sounds like my Mother, relationships are give and take, you can't just take and take and expect your other half to put up with it, Clark if you need someone to go with you to make it clear your finished with her I will go with you, no strings attached or hard feelings but women who think everything should revolve and change around them and their needs really fucks me off!! especially when they pull that shit on a sweet genuine person, in the end these women just destroy the men their with. I don't know you very well but Martha raised you so you can't be that bad and that's enough for me." You hissed some of the words it was like your parents all over again. Your mother was spoilt and selfish always demanding that your father change the way he was for her, you had watched as he had given up everything for her but it was never enough, he had to play a part and it ate away at him for years sending him into a deep depression, yet she never did anything in return or tried to help him. In the end, you at seven years old had found him trying to commit suicide. The thought of you being the one to find his body was what broke the camel's back he threw her out the next day then tried divorcing her but she wouldn't sign the papers so instead they remained separated she had nothing so you was left in your dads care, he was happier then ever but the damage had been done he never found anyone else, she hung around every few months trying to weasel her way back in missing the money more than her family, when she didn't get her way she tried to destroy any happiness he found. Luckily he had sense enough to rewrite his will and piddle away the money in the account he had left to her his final fuck you to her was when the executor of the will read out that you was left with the car, house and just over seven hundred and eighty thousand pounds the housekeeper Susanna was left the holiday home in Devon and forty thousand pounds and your mother well she got twenty nine pound sixty seven pence and was aloud to have the expensive china that the Susanna had been instructed to smash after his passing....Yeah your dad was a bastard but it was funny as fuck. That’s why you had to leave she kept coming to the house harassing you for money. The restraining order hadn't worked so you decided to move you had the means to do it so went for it, she would never find you here and couldn't use the fact shes your mother to find you because you wasn't a minor the cherry on top the account that your dad was leaving for your mother was what he used to pay for your college and university. Martha sighed knowing why you got so wound up and you was right Lois was similar to your mother.

"You'd do that? Really?" You nodded to him smiling

"Absolutely I ain't afraid of no American.... apart from your mum shes scary as fuck, but seriously I can handle anything she tries to throw at me and you can show me around town while your at it, I'm guessing its in metropolis? when is it?" Martha sat back a little stumped turns out she wont have to set you two up after all.

"Err Its this Saturday ,you sure you want to come what about your book?" you waved him off

"Its fine Clark I can bring my laptop and work on it in the hotel" he nodded grinning wide suddenly excited about this next week then faltered.

"Don't bother booking a hotel you can stay with me for the week after all your doing me a huge favor its the least I can do to repay you" he chose to ignore his mothers raised brow. She had a few guesses at exactly how he was planning to pay you back and she doubted it was just going to be bed and breakfast.... probably breakfast in bed if the looks he gave you were anything to go by, not that she minded you would be a better fit for him anyway. Call it mothers intuition but she got the feeling that Clark would be around a little more now that you were just across the field.

"Oh no I couldn't! a hotel would be fine"

"I insist I would love nothing more then to have you to myself for the week" Martha tried to bite back a laugh, she never realized how cheesy her son was trying to flirt, no wonder he didn't have much success but she could see you fall for it hook line and sinker as you flushed squirming in your seat a little, he smirked at you from across the table getting more confident, he liked to think that he had already caught you. Prick he new exactly what he was doing as he leaned back man spreading, making your walls clench.

"You could spend the week ,we can catch a train tomorrow afternoon if you like, be back in time for dinner there's a nice diner near my apartment" you nodded a little suddenly feeling like one of the women in your books flustered heart racing a mile a minute as the man of your dreams offers to take you away from the boring daily routine. The question was were you brave enough to follow through with it, hell you'd moved to the other side of the world on a snap decision, spending a week alone with a drop dead gorgeous man should be a breeze, it didn't take long to decide giving him a shy smile nodding as you had butterflies in your tummy. His face lit up

"Great I will check the train times It's Sunday service but there should still be some in the afternoon"

"Perfect! I should go and pack then I suppose,Martha if I leave a key here could you watch the house for me and feed the fish when I'm gone" she nodded quickly excited but anxious at the same time, hoping that you would hit it off with Clark but at the same time apprehensive about how fast you was going, after all you only just met, but you were both adults and could handle yourselves and she knew you'd be safe with him.

"Oh is it formal or what?"

"Oh yes, its theme is Hollywood glam"

"Oooo I've got the perfect dress, any way I'm off and will see you both tomorrow be back around eleven tomorrow morning?" he stood nodding walking you to the door making you swoon inside as he opened the door above you reminding you just how big he was, a gentle giant.

"I-I'll see you tomorrow then Clark" he leaned down to your ear whispering

"Can't wait, sweet dream's Y/n I know mine will be" you gasped as he pulled away winking chuckling at your hot cheeks, he could have a lot of fun making you blush he decided as you turned quickly scampering down the stairs away from the house towards yours, who's roof you could barely see over the crops from this distance. He stayed there leaning on the door frame arms crossed groaning watching your ass sway as you made your way into the brakes in the crops what the tractors used to get across the field disappearing into the high crops.

"So you like her then?" he jumped back bumping into the door frame making it creak a little at his mothers sudden appearance, she giggled folding the tea towel in her hands.

"Wow you must have taken a shine to her if your so mesmerized by her or more specifically her backside, that I can sneak up on you,I haven't been able to do that since you were a little boy." he chuckled embarrassed that she'd caught him staring

"Not that I think you would but Clark? don't play with her feelings okay? shes a good kid and had it tough over the past few years and she doesn't need a heart break on top of everything else" he snapped his head to his mom.

"Ma you know I wouldn't-" she fixed him with a look

"You just admitted in there that you was going to use some poor girl to make a point to Lois and I'm telling you now if you hurt her I wont be impressed"

"I wouldn't do that to her, I wont hurt her I promise, but I would like to get to know her more...see if we could you know" she smiled softly at him

"I'm just saying your a handsome man and she could fall for you easily, don't use her as a rebound." he sighed she had a point but after seeing you all thoughts of Lois died.

"I like her Ma do you-do you think maybe she could like me to? this time have a relationship with me, get to know Clark Kent before Superman? that Clark could be enough this time?" that made her pause clenching the cloth in her hands twisting it, there was something in the way he said that, so unsure and hopeless she fumed inside his confidence was knocked she felt like she was speaking to the shy beaten down preteen he once was. He truly believed that Clark Kent wasn't good enough anymore and there was only one person to blame for that,it was with those words she realized that Lois had hurt him and hurt him bad, she sighed pulling him down kissing his cheek then cupped his cheeks making him look her in the eye.

"Now you listen to me and you listen well. You are good enough and you are loved, I don't know what Lois has put into your head, and for her safety I don't think I should know, but you forget it right this instant! you hear me?" he nodded a little still unsure as Martha searched his eyes for a little glimmer of confidence but her heart clenched when she couldn't find any, that confidence from earlier must have been false bravado. Lois was lucky she wasn't going to metropolis herself she's probably kill her for hurting her baby, tho she's sure Y/n was going to rip her apart in her stead it was a pity she wouldn't be there to see it.

"I think Y/n is already smitten with you and that you'd be good for one another. I've only known her four months but She doesn't try to be anything she's not, she takes people as she sees them and doesn't have time for all the games other women play its why we get along so well. And as a side note she has never reacted like that to any one else's attempts at flirting trust me there have been quite a few try when we've been out and she shut them down....Quite brutally now that I think of it. But if your serious about her give it your all I don't think you will be disappointed I think you'd be a good match." she wiped under his eye as they welled a little with unshed tears.

"Y-you really think she could like me?" he asked in a small voice.

"There’s no doubt in my mind that she already does, you think she'd agree to spend a week with you if she didn't? Honestly if you both hadn't made plans I was going to play matchmaker myself. Now why don't you go have a cold shower? and I can start on dinner"

"Cold shower?"

"You think I haven't notice your problem?" he flushed laughing wiping at his eyes and pulling his top down a little trying to cover the tent in his pants as she walked back into the house patting his back.

"Oh shit! You think she notice to?!" his mother laughed shrugging

"Who knows I mean she was checking you out to" as she entered the kitchen he stood there dumbfounded

"What Are you sure? I didn't notice"

"You wouldn't your a man, now go have a shower you are not eating at the table like that" he groaned shaking his head closing the front door making his way up the stairs to the bathroom.

#clark kent imagine #clark kent x reader #clark kent x you #clark kent x y/n #superman x reader #superman x you #dc x you #dc imagine #dc x reader #superman x y/n #superman imagine

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baroquebucky · 4 years

Text

bad weather

in which you give Bucky house warming gifts

masterlist

a/n: hey guys ! here’s a short little bucky fic i thought of last night its kind of a mess but idc its sweet hehe <3 send in requests for our beefy boy

You finished stuffing the little basket with a couple small things and closed it, smiling as you texted bucky;

im walking over w your house warming gift !! <3

aw doll i could just pick you up :-)

no >:(

You quickly sent the text and headed out the door, a smile on your face as you walked down the street, headphones in. However your music wasn’t loud enough to cover the loud thunder from the sky. You jumped slightly, looking at the sky and noticing the flash on lightning, the sky quickly darkening.

You sped up, hoping to beat the rain, you were only a couple blocks away when the thunder cracked, a flash of lightning lit up the city and rain began to pour. You squealed, cursing yourself for not bringing an umbrella as you continued to rush down the street, taking your sweater off and wrapping the basket in it so your gifts wouldn’t get wet.

You tried taking shelter under a roof for a while but the wind only blew the rain in your face, you huffed, mentally preparing yourself to sprint the rest of the way. By the time you turned the final corner you were out of breath, your side hurt and you probably looked like a wet dog (smelled it too).

You quickly knocked on buckys new door, shaking slightly from the cold water, you envied the basket seeing as though it was perfectly dry since you covered it with your jacket.

Bucky swung the door open, a smile on his face that quickly turned into a frown when he saw your soaked frame. His frown turned back into a smile as he began to giggle.

“I told you i should’ve picked you up” he teased and you rolled your eyes, pouting a little as you let yourself in. “I never said come in!” He joked, closing the door as you stood by the doorway. “I’m soaking wet and I’m cold, dont test me Buchanan” you threatened, unwrapping your now wet jacket from the basket and setting it down on the table.

“oh doll why’d you wrap the basket in your jacket! You’re gonna catch a cold” he spoke, pulling you into his chest. You let out a content sigh as his body warmth radiated onto you. “you sound like a mom” you joked causing him to scoff and push you away, which resulted in you whining and him hugging you once more.

“let me get you dry clothes to change into doll face” he smiled, kissing the top of your head before going to his room. “come look at my new room! it’s so cool” he giggled, grabbing your hand and pulling you along.

As you took in his new room he rummaged through his closet, mumbling to himself as he tried to remember where he put his long sleeves. After a couple unsuccessful attempts he found the right drawer and pulled out a soft long sleeve shirt along with a pair of boxers.

“you can change into these if you wanna, so you aren’t dripping all over my new carpet” he teased and you scrunched up you face, sticking your tongue out causing him to smile. “you’re so cute” he replied, kissing your nose before heading to the bathroom to get you a towel for your hair.

As he handed you the towel he spoke up, “I’ll wait for you outside doll, tell me if you need anything okay?” you nodded, blushing at how respectful he was.

You quickly changed, his shirt fitting very loose and comfy, it smelled like him and it made your heart swoon. You pulled on the boxers and dried your hair a little with the towel, putting it back in the restroom when you finished and walking out with your wet clothes in hand.

Bucky felt his breath hitch in his throat when he saw you in his clothes, a blush on his face when he checked you out. “You can put your clothes with my dirty ones doll, I’ll give them to you when i wash” he smiled softly, and you nodded, tossing them into his dirty clothes basket and going to grab the basket as you set it infront of him.

You looked at him excitedly, eager for him to see the gifts you had bought him. “okay it’s not much honestly, but i just wanted to help warm this place up! i know how brooding you can be” you began to ramble, nervous that he wouldn’t like the gifts you got him.

“brooding?” he looked at you offended, you only rolled your eyes at him causing him to chuckle softly. “okay okay open it!” you urged, a smile on your face as he quickly opened the basket.

After tossing out the tissue paper his eyes first landed on a small planter with an arrangement of fake succulents. A small smile on his face as he noticed the bright blue planter with a yellow sun on it and a heart.

“i painted the planter myself, you always said you wanted a pop of color and you always wanted plants but you can never keep them alive because of your missions but these won’t ever die” you explained, Bucky smile only widened, excited to see the rest of your gifts.

There were a couple more things, a digital clock, some plates, and a framed picture of the two of you, he had tears in his eyes as he looked at all the gifts, each one with an intricate meaning behind them. He felt his heart melting as you had explained everything, always talking about how he had mentioned something and so that’s why you got it.

Bucky had only ever had steve remember little things about him, and now here you were, a basket full of gifts for his new house because you had remembered every little things he had mentioned.

He smiled at you, tears in his eyes as you looked at him to see what he thought. “what do you think?” you chewed the inside of your cheek nervously, “i love it” he chuckled, putting everything down and moving to wrap you into his arms, you smiled and threw yourself into his embrace.

the two of you wiggled around for a moment, shifting so that the two of you were now cuddling on the couch, the sound of the rain hitting the window roughly, thunder causing car alarms to go off.

You helped Bucky arrange your gifts around his place, taking some things out of boxes and setting up the living room while listening to music, singing and dancing around with smiles on your faces. Soon enough the two of you were tired, the living room and kitchen were finally finished and the only things left to unpack were half his clothes and some stuff for his room.

You both threw yourself on the couch, cuddling into each other and turning the tv on, flipping through channels until you found something good to watch. Finally settling on just switching to Disney+ and watching Star Wars instead.

Soon enough you started to yawn pulling your selves over your knuckles and cuddling a little more into buckys chest, he looked at you with a soft smile, pulsing the movie and moving a bit.

“are you tired doll? we cam go to bed if you want” he spoke softly and you Hummers din response, “I kinda don't wanna get up though” you mumbled against his chest, he smiled, turning the TV off and picking you up swiftly.

“I forgot you were a super soldier for a second” you remarked and he shook his head. Soon enough the two of you were cuddled up under the sheets, the soft patter of the rain hitting his window followed by the occasional flash of lightening that would light up the room. You cuddled him a little closer during the claps of thunder, mainly for his sake, you felt the way he would grip you a little tighter.

“goodnight buck I love you” you would mumble, placing a gentle kiss on whatever skin was close to you and closing your eyes. His face would heat up, a smile quickly overtaking his features. “goodnight doll, I love you more” he’d reply, kissing you right back and holding you close, falling asleep quickly to the steady rhythm of your heartbeat.

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fluff #soft!bucky barnes #Bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes x you #soft Bucky barnes

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nad-zeta · 4 years

Note

Yey, this is my first time requesting a match-up! So, I was shy at first, but when I get to know a person, I was like a bundle of infinite energy. I like pranking my friends, and laughing like there's no tomorrow. I love eating anything sweets, napping by the sun, and stargazing at night. I will suddenly distant myself if someone worries me. And I prefer crying alone. Thank you, and please be well 😘😘😘

Hehe, I think I went waaay overboard with this. It tuned out being super long (oops). Thanx so much for the request love! I hope you enjoy it! And I hope you have been staying safe and well! <3

So I match you with...................... Nobunaga

Gosh, the first time Nobunaga sees you all he thinks is, how can so much boundless energy be packed into one person. You continuously jump from one task to the next, even the maids can’t keep up with your fast-paced cleaning and enthusiasm. Needless to say, this definitely caught Nobunaga’s attention. You are a bundle of endless energy, a true fireball. It’s strange how someone so shy can burn so bright. You have definitely earned your name fireball among the caste and its people. Nobunaga is genuinely convinced that you are the reincarnation of a fireball, cause not only are you a boundless source of energy but your face burns up whenever the slightest tease was flung your way.

Nobunaga definitely invites you to his room at night, for games of Go and just so he has an excuse to talk to you and tease you. You had long ago turned down his offer to warm his bed. So now here you were, chatting and laughing about the most random things. You had come to discovered Nobunaga has this boyish charm about him, and the two of you shared the common interest of pulling pranks on people. You have also come to realize he had a crazy funny sense of humor. You can’t help but laugh like there is no tomorrow around him. You’ve spent enough nights playing Go and chatting with him to drop you guard and be yourself. On one night, you were feeling a bit down. He couldn’t stand to see his friend so down in the dumps. When he commanded you to tell him what was wrong and the answer shook him. “It’s been 2 weeks without candy, and I’m dying over here,” you had gone so long without your precious sugar that you started to feel the withdrawal symptoms. Carmine eyes narrowed to look at you, and he gave you the heartiest laugh you had ever heard. You turned to look at him thinking he was going to tease you or pester you with questions about what candy even was. But instead, he walked to his desk draw reached over to the back panel and pulled out a silk bag. He sat in front of you and revealed his own precious treasure to you. Your eyes went wide in disbelief; its CANDY! “if you would like some konpeito from my secret stash fireball, you will have to beat me at a game of GO’. You had never concentrated so hard in your entire life, but the fruits of your labor paid off. It’s true what they say diamonds are made under pressure, and you had finally won your first match against the devil king himself. “Well, then, a deal is a deal.” Nobunaga couldn’t help but give his lucky charm one of his signature smirks. And so, the two of you spent the rest of the evening munching happily on the sugar candies.

Once Nobu had told you that Hideyoshi always hid his precious candies, the two of you made a pact to start pranking him to get even. It was always innocent little pranks like putting honey on the handles of the cupboard where Hideyoshi usually hid the candies. Or putting the empty jar back with a note saying that he should find a better place to hide the candy next time. But the pranks weren’t only limited to Hideyoshi. Oh no, the two of you would prank everyone in the castle. For example, during banquets, the two of you could always be found sitting next to each other, giggling at the results of your newest prank. Unfortunately, Masamune was the unlucky one being pranked as the two of you had swapped out his water for sake! The two of you also had a tendency to give Hideyoshi masses amount of sake just so you could ask him the most random questions to hear is unfiltered most honest opinions. Although the two of you would never prank the ultimate pranking master, you shivered just thinking about how your hair will never feel the same after the kitsune got you back for pranking him, by swapping out your shampoo for honey. Needless to say, it was a sticky mess. Man, when you and Nobunaga were together, it was always a good time filled with laughs and jokes. Obviously, at this point, the two of you stared wanting more than just a friendship

True to any true fireball, you burn bright with a big burst of light and energy, only to burn out and feel incredibly sleepy and tired. You would often remind Nobunaga of a cat. Having tons of energy, playing, and running around but then also being a creature of comfort not being able to resist warm, comfortable naps. On one sunny summer day, you were feeling a little sleepy while cleaning the war council room. It had a big window that streamed in the glorious warm light from the outside. The rays of sunlight seemed to warm the very ground it landed on, and it was all too enticing for you to deny. You curled yourself up on the warm sunny spot in front of the window on the ground and fell into a deep sleep. Nobunaga went to the room to retrieve some documents he had forgotten there when he saw you curled up on the floor. You looked so warm and comfy, and he just couldn’t help himself. He got down on one knee and moved a strand of hair out of your eyes and tucked it behind your ear. He then proceeded to curl himself up next to you, laying his head on your stomach, you join you in a quick power nap. You woke up when the sun had already set, and the ground beneath you was now icy cold. You opened your eyes and couldn’t help but smile at how cute, and unguarded Nobunaga looked. You decided to leave him to sleep while you stroked his hair absentmindedly. When he woke up, he felt so well-rested, in fact, he couldn’t remember sleeping so well in his whole life, even as a child. He was honestly so in love with you, and the fact that he could get such restful sleep next to you just proved to him that you are someone whom he can trust. He sat up and while giving you his signature smile and pulled you into a kiss. And so, your relationship started.

This boy loved you more than any treasure in the whole world. He would do anything to see your beautiful smile grace your face. Especially when you are feeling sad. One day you were feeling super upset, you were having a horrible day, everything was going wrong, and the tears started to prick at the corners of your eyes, you made a break for your room. Halfway there, Nobunaga finally finished counsel and saw you. You brushed passed him before he could say anything. He was so confused, you were clearly upset, the poor boy thought you were upset by him. He came into your room only to see his beloved fireball crying. He demanded you tell him who had caused your tears, cause anyone who even thought about hurting his lucky charm would have to answer to him. You had told him everything about your horrible day. You also told him how you preferred crying alone, and that’s why you avoided him. He kissed away a tear and said,” fireball, I am your boyfriend, am I not, let me comfort my precious fireball when she is sad. It is a boyfriend’s duty after all”. He would then proceed to wrap you in a big warm hug and let you cry and talk it all out. He would kiss all the tears away. And then when you are done, he would start making some jokes just so he can see that beautiful smile back on your face.

Your all-time favorite dates with Nobunaga involved star gazing and drink sake together. You especially loved it when Nobunaga would take you to a vast open flower field so you can view the stars in peace, surrounded by the sweet scent of flowers. He would make sure to have Masa pack the two of you a small picnic basket just so you could have some midnight sweets while stargazing.

Other potential Matches......................... Shingen

I hope you enjoyed it, love!

#nobunaga oda #ikemen sengoku nobunaga #ikesen nobunaga #oda nobunaga #ikesen matchup #ikemen matchup #ikemen sengoku matchup #matchups #nobunaga matchup

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sian22redux · 5 years

Text

A Puppy in the Family-ch 2

Finally! @theycallmebecca has been so patient. Travelling for work this month is done and I can concentrate. This has taken so long it is consolation for her and @nomadicpixel ‘s Bosox and my Indians being out (:( how many injuries can one team take). Here you go my dear. Fenway and Dodger await the big day! Boy are they in for a surprise.

You can find Chapter 1 here. Rated G--for gooey tooth-rotting fluff. (Don’t say you haven’t been warned) and real warning: Mild description of labour pains. Jealousy. Vague comments about new baby poop.

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

It’s really puzzling how they don’t know.

The sloppy ‘brella weather has turned to sunshiny and mostly fair and we’re out for a long, slow waddle as the warm sun rays kiss my fur.

Dodger is trotting on ahead at the end of his bungee leash. I am circling Chris and Y/N stealthily as they walk hand in hand, trying my very best to trap them with my lead because if I do they'll have to kiss. It’s the law.

They kiss twice before we make it back to Lorel home and as I bound indoors I take a good long sniff.

Still happy. Still expecting. Really expecting in fact. Y/N is pink-cheeked and pretty and even, I think, a little rounder in the tummy. She is working from the household today. Usually my mission is to allow as little wurk as possible, but not these days. Chris is home and she wants to be ‘fficient’, keep wurk quick while he reads a top secret Superhero script (for a superhero he sure gets banged up a lot).

I am good. I give her time, and though she says she’ll “stop soon” her wurk must be fun. She talks excitedly on the phone a lot, tapping on the ‘puter. Dodger, who says it’s boring, sneaks up on the big white couch to keep Chris’s bare feet warm. I do have a strategy. I flop over to show my better side and think really hard.

But still she doesn’t get it.

For some weird reason when her smell gets strong it makes her sleepy. Dodger and Chris catch her snoozling after wurk and Chris stands there, hands on hips, brows crashed together. “Babe, you ok?”

Y/N yawns and sleepily pats my head. “Yeah. It’s just a little bit too much right now, you know?”

Chris isn’t sure he knows. He worries. A lot. It’s the job of the alpha dad. “Maybe,” he frowns, sitting down on a sliver of couch to put a hand on her head. “You sure you aren’t getting sick?”

Sick??? Good grief. <Expecting!!!!!!> I yip, a bit louder than maybe I should but its making me crazy because they don’t know!

This goes on for weeks. Y/N snoozles at funny times and Chris frowns and frets and sometimes he completely forgets to throw Dodger’s frisbee. I don’t know how much Dodger or I can take but finally, finally, Y/N goes into the bedroom bathroom and comes out through the screen.

She’s waving a little white wand (it’s far too small for cooling much) and trying hard to speak through tumbling tears and then Chris is crying too.

“For real?” he asks. He’s brushing the tears off her cheeks and I can smell him panicking and happy and well, everything.

“A baby?”

Y/N just nods cuz her words are watered out. Chris is crying and laughing and hugging her so hard. “A baby! Oh my god this is best birthday present ever!”

It is his birthday-- I know cuz there is cake where I shouldn’t touch. Both Y/N and Chris are talking quick and excited and he spins her faster than even a duper hug before setting her down so gentle and apologizing.

She says it is ok. Dodger and I wag our tails but we are most definitely ignored.

<That’s how it is going to be.>

<Yup. Bitch gets all the attention and extra food.>

He’s right. In the weeks to come it seems they talk super fast all the time. It’s a little exhausting. And mysterious.

I’m not sure why this is, but now there’s a picture of a tadpole on the fridge.

****

Then, we wait.

Growing human puppies takes a really, really long time.

Chris is happy and stressed and angsty a bit like me. Y/N is happy and sleepy and a little loopy. The best thing I can do is watch. I set the perimeter threat to grey and investigate every little thing that moves. Or doesn’t. The grape under the fridge stays there for weeks getting drier and smaller each time I check. It hasn’t moved so I think that it’s ok, but the big yellow floppy moth that infiltrates the household is another thing. It doesn’t seem to want any trouble and I think it may be lonely, so I follow it around, slowly and carefully, waiting to make friends.

Much of the next hot months are spent outside by the pool. I decide that petting lazily with a foot only counts as half so I try to climb onto Chris’s lap (not Y/N’s. I don’t want to squash the puppy).

“Fenway! You great big oaf. You don’t fit!” Chris laughs but I do! It’s magic. Dodger corners a red squirrel in the tree and it chitters down at him from halfway up. I race over to help but I am too big to leap so high. I wave my frondy tail while Dodger almost gets it.

These are mostly good times. The great thing about puppy waiting is that we get waffles more. And ice cream. And cinnamon bunds. The not so great thing is that the hoomans feel angsty and a little confused at times.

Sometimes I will go outside only to realize it is inside that I wanted all along. Y/N’s like that, she doesn’t know what she wants or not. Those nights we are out in the car late at night with Chris. The days she knows—she really knows.

Ice cream is good but not coffee. Or orange juice. And definitely not eggs.

Puppy waiting is Not Quick. 68 days. So many X’s. Y/N gets wider and tireder. She’s sick, and grumpy, and weepy, and there are days we (and Chris) just didn’t know what to do. Dodger and I try to pretend we need to tell a secret and when Y/N leans in close, we lick her ear instead. That makes her smile, but only for a while. Sometimes my snuggles help and sometimes I make her too hot and sometimes I make it worse. I may be bigger (almost full grown!) but my desire to be held is constant.

“Fenway.”

“Fenway!”

“Fenway!!”

When Y’N’s weepy I put my snout upon her lap and wuff out warm happy breath while she strokes my fur. I will look up to be sure it’s working and get confused because it makes her cry more.

Dodger sighs and thumps his tail on the carpet. <Don’t worry, Fenway. It’s ‘mones.>

Oh. The things that Chris says (when we have snuck away to the park) make her grumpy too.

They are very powerful. When she’s grumpy I bring her my squeaky hotdog, and blanket, and then, cuz I am getting really worried, my comb. She brushes all my fur hard and sleeks the feathers in my tail but it never works for long.

I don’t get it and Chris doesn’t either but he keeps trying

I don’t always work but neither do the duper hugs.

One time she even barked at him.

***

The too too hot summer, becomes just hot fall. I have toasted my coat enough. It’s the time of parties and mmmm pumpkin and TIFF (whatever that is).

At the Hello ‘Ween party Y/N the Witch bumps into Jeremy’s back (he’s just himself cuz time) with her tum. She blushes red like a tomato and Jeremy laughs and says

“You’re just like Fenway. He doesn’t know where his body is either.”

(I yip ‘oopsie’ but secretly I am proud.)

***

After that things change really FAST.

Y/N and Chris go out for ‘classes’ and sometimes when they get home, Y/N goes right to bed (it takes energy to make a puppy) and Chris takes his fancy glass and fancy yellow water and sits down on the ‘ounge chair. He looks kinda scared and kinda worried, sighing a little bit, just looking at the moon

I sit down beside and lean in hard as I can, thinking <everything. is going to be alright. Because guess I love you.>

“Thanks pal.”

The second office gets made over into the puppy’s room. It’s white and bright and has lots of small colours everywhere. I knock over a packing box—<oopsie> that holds a tall thing that looks like a robot.

“Yikes,” says Chris. “Better you do that now than when it’s full.

Full? Of what?!

No one answers. Dodger doesn’t know. He’s trying to help by biting at the packing tape and I take the other end.

Y/N is exasperated. “FENWAY you are NOT HELPING!”

I go lie by the door and supervise, crossing my paws cuz i’ figure feeling fancy will make the moving faster.

The Baby’s room has SO MUCH STUFF. There’s a sleeping jail and a travel sleeping jail; bouncing things that make noise, rattles that make noise (but nothing squeaky like my hot dog), cupboards for tiny clothes, tons and tons of tiny sausage covers. I am not sure why Chris and Y/N want their puppy covered like a sausage but they are there, white and green and I think <oh well, maybe it makes them feel comfy like my crate?>

The little socks won’t fit even on my nose.

I wander later all through the piles of stuff getting a little worried.

<Relax, Fenway> says Dodger, where he lies on his side upon the floor in front of the hallway mystery hole. (It’s our favourite place to flop cuz it blows cool air over us. It won’t be not-hot until Santa time.)

< oh yeah.> he says, scritching a sudden scratch. <A puppy can’t howl like I do with Lion. It can’t give licks like you. We’ll be teaching them everything we know.>

<Right.>

Right. I feel better and go back to watching the grape all shrivel up.

-------

Fri Nov 23.

It’s Y/N’s birthday month and we have good times. Chris takes us for lots of walks. Y/N sits everywhere, puppy is heavy and she has no lap. Lots of friends visit and slip us treats—its hard but somebody has to do it

One morning we wake up and there are few X’s left on the fridge. The circled big red X is days away and oh boy Y/N seems extra, extra fussy cause she washes EVERYTHING

(I hide, out of the way under the big front bush. My hotdog tastes like soap.)

Dodger is not too concerned. We trot in from the yard to find Chris pacing, hair sticking straight up and looking really stressed.

“Mom, oh god, do you think this could be it?!”

Whatever Lisa says, it helps. He waits, carefully, while Y/N cleans around and I go sit beside The Bag that’s been waiting excitedly by the front door.

<I’m ready too!> I think to them both but nothing happens.

Two more days. Ugh, two more of soap, and then, Y/N just doesn’t get up??

??!!

I follow Dodger out. Chris is in the backyard and we are pacing with him, round and round, but he’s nearly shaking, talking to everyone on the telephone and not seeming very happy.

Y/N isn’t either. We check. She’s whining sometimes, sitting in the big bed and kinda looking hot but she doesn’t want us near so we go back to the living room.

<We need a distraction.> says Dodger watching Chris pace. He hasn’t stopped and the phone may be growing into his beard.

I offer.

<Naw.. too short.>

<Frisbee?>

<Naw, too tricky.>

Dodger settles for bringing him the slobbery Bosox ball.

“Sorry pal, not now.”

Hoo boy, this is serious.

By the time I get back from burying the ball below the hedge, Y/N is up and they are walking around the back yard-- Y/N in front, Chris behind. We waddle along. I am patrolling in front for intruders and spiders cuz Chris hates them and Dodger has the rear.

We do five circuits and then we are walking shower on the path (even it is really clean) and suddenly Y/N is gasping, bending right over to her knees. (This is really hard with a big puppy up in front). Chris murmurs soothing noises and presses his big warm hands on the center of her lower back. I have no idea why, but it must help because Y’N’s whining is a little less at first, but then it changes. She’s whining and growling and keening.

Whelping sounds like it hurts.

The crisis ends. Y/N flops down on the ‘ounge chair panting hard and I lay my muzzle along her thigh, whining helpfully in sympathy, licking at her hand. I hate to see her in pain. So does Dodger.

“You’re both good boys,” she says through a small half smile.

This happens—walk-gasp-keen-flop—lots of times. We’re getting tired. Chris is getting tired. Y/N is more tired than I’ve ever seen.

Finally the two-bell sounds

Scott and his new boyfriend come right in and the friend (Dirk? why is he named for a knife?) bounces up to us and says hi while Chris carries Y/N through the hall. Scott takes The Bag and puts it in the trunk. Y/N sits up front with the seat pushed way far back, eyes closed and concentrating. She whines and Chris, who is standing in the driveway, whines too, before trying to sit down.

Scott blocks the driver seat, hand out, shaking his head.

“Nope. Give me your keys, man. You are waay too freaked out to drive.”

<You are> adds Dodger, wisely from the front step

Scott glares at Chris until he shakes himself, opens the back door and folds into the tiny backseat.

Y/N would laugh but she’s too busy gasping

Finally the biggest, most leaping, exciting day arrives.

The puppy is coming home.

My feets are a tippy tappin’. I am bouncing and so is Dodger. We know not to trip Chris up but still our hearts are way too full.

“Dodger, Fenway, down!”

We both sit at once. Y/N steps in and she looks very, very tired but so, so happy to be home. Chris has a special puppy seat and is holding it like a glass. There’s a pink blankie, and a cover and we can’t really see.

He sets the seat on the floor and crouches down, one hand in our furs to keep us back.

“Hey guys, say hi to Lily.”

What kind of name is that?

<A flower name> whispers Dodger, <because the puppy is a bitch.>

Ohhhh. It’s hard to see much of anything but pink hat and nose and wrap. I tip toe everywhere, hushed and quiet like a Good Boy, but inside I am all excited. Chris says MomLisa is coming soon, but for now it is our time.

“Hey baby” says Y/N. At the couch Chris lays her ever so gentle on Y/N’s lap lengthwise. I sniff and wiggle in excitement. She smells new and happy and good and…

then the wrappings come off.

Wut?

She’s bald.

And tiny.

And looks nothing the little person next door at Gina’s.

<Is there something wrong?> I ask Dodger anxiously. I would HATE for there to be a problem.

He thinks carefully and cocks his head. <Human puppies look a bit like Hairless Cats.>

They do? Weird. < How do you know?>

Oh. Ohhh. The Book. It is part of Y/N these days.

I am thinking maybe even Dodger doesn’t really know but it’s ok because when she gets bigger she will be our fren, and throw sticks and balls and…

It’s hard to imagine because in the weeks to come she smells milky and poopy and sometimes both.

Chris is being super careful. His hands are big. He trips over Dodger twice; loses where his feet are and we see that he is tired.

Midnight and early morning snacks for all don’t give the hoomans enough rest.

Chris gets so tired one morning he puts kibble into my water. (Actually it wasn’t so bad…so I didn’t say anything.).

Y/N never seems to put Lily down and it makes me angsty.. a bit like she doesn’t want me anymore. Dodger gets to be closer—he’s better at holding himself safe. I watch from a body length away, trying to be soo good, her big brother, littermate, but it feels a little sad.

(I did, when Y/N wasn’t looking, lick one of her little feets.)

Dodger tells me not to worry. They are so happy. There’s soft music and tons of visits and tons of presents and Dodger and I get a picture proudly sitting by her jail-bed.

Sometimes she cries and sometimes she toots and sometimes we go hours without a pat.

I am sad. And worrying. What if she doesn’t like me? What if I can’t hold still? What if she never gets big enough to play?

One day when Lily lies (just like a sausage) on a blankie (and I am near, within what Chris calls the ‘blast radius’??) I can’t take it anymore.

I Woof. Not loud, but real, because I’ve been sooo good and quiet for so long.

No one scolds.

Lily is wriggling like a wriggly worm and giggling and she smells new and fresh and I want to get a better look. I shuffle forward on my tummy, stop near her blankie’s edge where if I stretch my neck I might be close enough to lick.

I woof again. She turns her (bald!) head and looks at me. Blue eyes a little blurry, frowning as she focuses. Y/N and Chris giggle when a little (strong!) hand bops me on my nose, and I blink in surprise.

Pink wriggle-worm fingers have grabbed a hank of fur.

She holds me. Hard. Smiling and cooing. And then I know it.

I am gonna be her fren. Her fren and best protector and biggest brother. And now I am grown and better at remembering I am just right. I will give rides and warm cuddles and snuggles and…

be her everything.

I think that I’m love.

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

tagging: @theycallmebecca @nomadicpixel @pegasusdragontiger @arizonapoppy @mycapt-ohcapt @3Dsaunt @heather-lynn @neutralchaos1

#dodger #fenway #apuppyinthefamily #hefollowedmehome #chris evans #x reader #baseball is life

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cherries-n-rocknroll · 5 years

Text

BUCKET LIST (Roger x Reader) chapter 3

Chapter 1 // Chapter 2

Click here for the BUCKET LIST masterlist // Click here for my full masterlist

Summary: As the sun goes down, and the stars become visible you lay under the stars with Roger.

Warnings: The beginning is super fluffy, but it gets a little angsty towards the end. again…

Word count: 2494

A/N: The link to the song that inspired this chapter [Blanco white - Olalla]. I found it due to the amazing @hiyadarlingirl . It’s a beautiful song, and it gives me such summer night vibes.

As always, feedback is more than welcome💕❤️✨.

————

Chapter 3 ‘Under The Nighttime Sky’

You stepped out of the bathroom, wearing only an oversized shirt that Roger had given you for the night. You could have left, but although Roger was a pain in the ass sometimes, you enjoyed his company. And since you were on a summer break from your job, you decided to stay one more night.

You noticed that the last bits of sunlight were slowly disappearing into the night, but the warmth from the day remained present and it made the air feel thick, like a cozy blanket.

You started walking towards the balcony, following the little puffs of smoke. You watched them evaporate into the air and you weren’t surprised to find Roger laying on the balcony floor, smoking a cigarette. A light breeze of colder air brushed against your skin and it gave you goosebumps. Roger couldn’t help but notice that you were only wearing the t-shirt he had given you for the night. And his eyes lingered on the skin of your bare legs. You came to lie next to him on the tiles. They were still warm from the sun, and the warmth radiated against your spine.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” His voice was low and calm. It was so peaceful, the only sounds that were present were those of the wind and some cars passing by.

“Yes, it’s beautiful indeed,“ you replied softly, not wanting to disturb the silence of the night.

Roger turned his face towards you to blow a puff of smoke into your face. The smell of the tobacco penetrated your nostrils. Usually, you would say something about it. That it was bad for him and that it caused him to smell like shit. It was one of his habits that you hated. But you didn’t say anything about it this time.

“Look, there’s Cassiopeia.” He pointed his finger at the sky and moved his head closer to yours so that it was easier for him to point it out to you.

“Oh, yeah I think I see it.” You whispered. “The ones who make a W shape together right?”

“Yes, that one. In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was the queen of a city called Joppa. She bragged about how pretty she was, and as a punishment, Poseidon sent a huge water wave and a water monster named Ceto to the city.” Your eyes were focused on the sky, noticing the flickering balls of light. Admiring the beauty of its quietness as you listened to Rogers’ voice. “Brian told me.” He added.

“What happened to the monster?” You whispered.

“He got killed by a hero named Perseus.”

“Really? Interesting story professor Taylor.” You said in a sarcastic tone.

“Oh shut up you.” He hissed as he slapped you in your stomach.

“Auch! That hurt!”

“Oh, are we gonna be a little baby? That wasn’t hard.” He growled as he started tickling you all over, that asshole you thought. He knew that you couldn’t handle tickling and that it would definitely make you stop being so damn cheeky.

After Roger had almost killed you with his tickling you two laid down. Your heart was racing in your chest and you could hear you and Roger breathing heavily. Further then that it was totally quiet and dark. You loved the light of the day, but the night always had this calm atmosphere that made you feel so incredibly relaxed. Like you were in your own little universe.

You were still giggling a little bit when Roger asked you a question: “Do you think we’re the only one in this universe?” He took the cigarette that was hanging from his lips and frowned.

“No, I- I, don’t think so, right? It can’t be.” You were quite serious all of a sudden and your eyes were focused on the sky. “It’s so big and we have only discovered a tiny tiny part of it. There’s so much we don’t know.” You rattled. “Maybe we’re the only one of our kind, but I don’t think we’re the only one in this universe.” You paused. “And who would be the others?” Rogers’ eyes were concentrated on your face. You looked serious, although he couldn’t see it very well since it was dark and his eyesight wasn’t too great. “Like, aliens or something? Or bacteria’s? What counts as ‘the others’?” You continued.

He smirked and put the cigarette back between his lips. He inhaled deeply, letting the nicotine enter his body. Roger liked to ask you about this type of philosophical topics. To hear you babble about your thoughts and ideas. It always made him happy somehow.

“What do you think?” You asked.

“About the same, the universe is so big I don’t think we can be the only living thing in it.”

You felt his hand shift to lay next to yours. The sides of your palms barely touching.

“It’s getting pretty cold.” You stated, lifting your arms to wrap them around yourself for warmth.

“Should I get a blanket?” Roger asked.

“Yeah, yes. That would be nice.” You answered. “It’s not very smart of me to only wear your shirt huh? I got a bit too excited about the temperature there.” You chuckled as you looked into his eyes.

“Should I grab you a pair of pants too then?” He asked. If only you knew what that outfit did to him. But although he didn’t like what he asked, he didn’t want you to get cold either.

“Yes. That would be great Rog thank you for being so thoughtful.” You answered, so he stood up to walk towards his bedroom. When he reached his closed he grabbed a pair of comfy pants. And on his way back to the balcony he took a blanket off the couch. He squished the fluffy fabric between his arms and chest and joined you again.

“Here.” He threw the blanket and the pants onto your stomach and you were a little startled, being pulled out of your daze. You had been laying on the warm floor, staring at the sky, eyes almost closing from tiredness. You grabbed the pants and tried to wiggle them on whilst lying on the ground -which definitely wasn’t the most practical position- and then you spread the blanket out over your body.

“May I join you?” He asked as he reclaimed his former position on the ground.

“Of course Rog!” You said. You lifted the blanket, inviting him to come and lay under it with you. And Roger places his arm under your neck like a pillow. You moved into his embrace and when you were settled, your hands came to rest on your stomach. Rogers’ hand laid on your upper arm and his fingers brushed light circles over the skin.

“This is so beautiful, I don’t want to go to bed tonight.” You whispered.

“We can stay here all night.” He spoke softly while he pulled you onto your side. Your head landed on his chest and your hand came to rest before your face. “Have you ever fallen asleep underneath the stars Y/N?”

“No, I don’t think so.” You murmured.

“Well, once should be your first right?” He placed a kiss onto your head and whispered: “Let’s stay.” His voice sounded lower than normal and the vibrations gave you tingles. He looked at the stars through hooded eyes, a soft smile appearing on his face as he let his mind wander. You two laid there, under the stars, in silence. Your hand drew lines over Rogers’ chest, as his fingers kept wandering over your upper arm, bunching up the fabric of your shirt. You were barely touching his chest and It tickled a little bit, it was enough to send little electric shocks through Rogers body.

“This is so great.” You whispered, breaking the silence. You rolled back out of the embrace and glanced at the moon, as Roger glanced at you. The moonlight hit your face, and the white light accentuating your features like it was a pearl colored highlighter. It was beautiful. And You looked like a goddess of the night, Roger thought as he was observing you from the corner of his eyes.

“Do you ever fall asleep here Rog?”

“Yes, I do, sometimes.” He sighed. He liked to bring girls to the balcony sometimes, to stare at the stars. It was very romantic and it just had this amazing atmosphere. A lot of things had happened on that balcony, It wasn’t always necessarily happy. There had been hugs, tears, screaming, fights, and loving late night makeout sessions. And deep down he hoped that somehow something would happen that night. After all the months filled with looks, childish teasing and awkward silences that were in some ways not awkward at all. It created this climate, this bubble, just you and him.

“It’s very peaceful.“ You said in a serene voice and you turned to look at Roger. He had a relaxed smile on his face. And his eyes lit up as your gaze met his for a second too long. His eyes moved over your face -Your skin wasn’t perfect at all and it was one of the things that made you very insecure, but when you put yourself down because of it, Roger would always tell you how beautiful you were. Even with your flaws. But somehow you never really believed him- his eyes landed on your lips and he couldn’t help but think how your lips would feel, on his. They looked so soft, so kissable, so perfectly flushed.

Rogers’ hand had stopped drawing circles on your arm and it was now draped over the curve of your arm. The warmth of his palm penetrating your skin. He had these beautiful hands, they were neither too big nor too tiny and thin. They were delicate in a way, which was quite a miracle considering his 24/7 drumming. Sure, it had made his hands tough, but they still looked gorgeous. He had a couple of veins running along his arms and hands. They got more prominent when it was hot. And you could imagine them being visible when he was on stage, drumming like his life depended on it. It was something you had noticed in the moths you had known Roger. Somehow you eyes always got drawn to peoples hands, and you judged them for having uncared-for hands. It wasn’t a good habit but you just couldn’t help it.

Your hand shifted under the blanket and you placed your palm on Roger’s thigh. His breath hitched. “Fuck,” he softly cursed under his breath, hoping you didn’t hear him. He felt himself growing hotter, a bulge forming in his pants. His heart started racing, and his palms got sweaty and cold. This is what you did to him. Only a touch.

You started rubbing your hand over his leg, and Roger bit his lip in an attempt to make it all go away. Looking up to the sky and closing his eyes, trying to think of anything else but your hand, so close. His breathing was unsteady, he wanted your touch so bad. To feel your skin on his, to just grab your face and kiss every inch of your body. All your perfect imperfections. He wanted you. All of you. But he was afraid to ruin what you two had, so he stayed like that. Biting his lip and thinking of anything else but that. But he couldn’t.

Your hand moved away, much to Rogers relief and he let out a sigh. You felt his arm slipping away from under your neck. And all of a sudden Roger was on his side, leaning on his elbow. His hand came to cup your face, the pillow of his thumb moving to the side of your mouth. Your eyes met his, in silence. And he started to run his thumb over the delicate skin of your lips. “Rog, what are doing?” You giggled against his finger.

“Ssshhh…” He hushed, and before you knew it, his lips were on yours, hands roaming over your neck. You didn’t kiss him back, you just laid there, surprised by what was happening. It lasted for only a few seconds until Roger felt that you weren’t moving along, he pulled away and instantly got up on his feet and started to apologize. “I- I- I’m so sorry Y/N.” His voice was shaky. “Shit, sorry I- I shouldn’t have done that.”, “Fuck!” He cursed while looking away and dragging a hand through his hair, his heart was racing in his chest. He broadened the distance between you two and you yelped: “Roger wait! I… It’s…” But you couldn’t find the right words to express what you were feeling. What were you even feeling?

His hands balled into fists out of frustration. He squeezed so hard that his nails dug into pale his skin, forming little red crescent moons. So hard even that his skin started to bleed in some spots. And the pain washed over him for a second, sort of distracting him from what had just happened. In that moment he thought he had ruined everything, he felt embarrassed for misreading the entire situation. You got up and all you wanted to do was to hug him tightly and whisper in his ear that it was okay, that he didn’t need to apologize. But he had already walked off to his room. Leaving you alone in the darkness of the night with your bare feet on the -now cold- balcony floor.

A small part of you wanted to go home but it was too far away to walk, and you had forgotten your wallet on the night of the gig, so a taxi wasn’t an option either. Besides, -you realized- Roger had closed the front door of the apartment and you didn’t know where the key was, So you couldn’t even get out if you wanted too. So that left you stuck at Rogers place in the middle of the night.

You went inside and closed the doors to the balcony and after that, you threw yourself onto the couch. You laid there, thinking about what had just happened. And how you felt about it. You didn’t really know. You felt strange. Not good, but not bad either. Your mind was going crazy. Was this something that had been going on in Rogers mind for months? Since the day you met? Or did it develop over time? You didn’t know. And maybe that was for the best. You let out a deep sigh and eventually fell asleep.

The next morning was strange. You woke up alone in the apartment, Roger was nowhere to found. The door was unlocked, so you figured that he had probably gone out to get groceries or something like that. So you searched for some food, poured yourself a glass of water, -drank it in one go- grabbed your dress and shoes. And left.

————

A/N: Well that ended a little sad, I’m sorry. Don’t forget to like, reblog and/or leave a comment if you enjoyed this. Also, I have finals in May, so I’m not sure if I will be able to update a lot. But when that’s finished I can write as much as I want. No high school anymore woohoo.

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People who hopefully don’t mind if I tag them: @inthegardensofourminds @inthelapofjohndeacon @rogerr-tayylor @drumbanger @imaginesdatany @becky012 @fangirlpterodactylnoises @rebelrebelyourefaceisamess @lonleyredballoon @myhairisamessbutsoiam

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spideyy-girl · 5 years

Text

Let Me In ~ Winter Soldier!Bucky Barnes

Request: Hi!!! I was wondering if I could request a song fic with wintersoldier! bucky x reader? The song is called Lily by Alan Walker, K-391, & Emelie Hollow. I’ve been listening to it nonstop lately. Thank you!!

Song: Lily - Alan Walker, K-391, Emelie Hollow

Summary: Bucky feels stuck with hydra always controlling him, and he can’t quite get a grip of himself. One day he escapes and finds someone that could change his life.

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Warnings: Sad Bucky, HYDRA being a bitch (as per usual), sorta sad but fluffy-ish ending

Word Count: 4526 (12.6 pages) long af

Date: March 31, 2019

A/N: thanks anon now I’m obsessed with this song too lol. Also, I didn’t know which character you wanted to be “Lily”, but I feel like it suited Bucky better with the whole locked in his super soldier mindset thingy. Hope it makes sense? Hopefully this is what you wanted, and if it isn’t, I’d be more than happy to rewrite it to better suit you! Also sorry if it sorta sucks I was running out of ideas :/

This takes place a few months after CA: Civil War, with a little bit of Infinity War reference at the end.

Lily was a little girl Afraid of the big wide world She grew up within her castle walls

Bucky laid in his board stiff bed, eyes baring straight up into the ceiling above him, a dull beige colour with pipes running along it. He raked his mind, over and over again, trying to remember anything he could. Hydra was starting to get in his head, and he had started to think of what had happened before hydra made him who he is today.

A monster, a murderer. A soldier.

Now and then she tried to run And then on the night with the setting sun She went in the woods away All afraid, all alone

He always thought the word was quite a stretch, aren’t soldiers supposed to help people? He asked in his head. Although his commander says that what they do is to help others, he didn’t feel like that was truly the case. But he didn’t dare say that, not unless if he wanted to be strapped down in that room again, tortured until his mind was a blank slate with nothing but kill.

He hated it. He couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted out.

From the little things he could remember of his past life, he feels happiness, laughter rings in his ears. There’s one little blonde guy that seems to appear a few times as well. But those are just flashes. He needed answers. And he needed them now.

He sat up from his position on his bed and looked out the window, watching the sun turning from light blue to pastel pinks and oranges. He looked the opposite way, out the open door and into the empty cold hallway. He saw this as his chance. He stood up with haste, grabbing his gun from its place under his bed and shooting the window. As he was climbing out, he heard security screaming the only name he knew.

“Soldier! Get your ass back in here!” He heard his commander yell at him, before hearing the familiar sound of the loading gun. As if second nature, Bucky lifted up his own gun and shot out 3 bullets, hitting his targets with practised perfection, before slipping out and running into the abandoned woods outside of the compound. He was free. Finally free.

They warned her, don’t go there There’s creatures who are hiding in the dark Then something came creeping It told her, don’t you worry

Bucky walked for what felt like days, looking for anything, anyone. Maybe even someone that might help him rediscover his past. The blonde boy from his leftover memories kept flashing through his head. He must know something. So that was Bucky’s new target.

He continued to wander, thoughts running through his head, crowding his brain so much he couldn’t think straight. He couldn’t hear the sound of quickly paced footsteps, he couldn’t see the shining brightness of the nearing lantern.

“Hello?” the girl questioned again, putting the lantern up as she continued to walk closer. “Sir? Are you ok?”

The soft sound of her worrying voice triggered him, taking him out of the depths of his mind and causing him to raise his gun, merely missing the woman and hitting the light beside her, causing it to go out. “Holy shit!” she screamed, dropping the shattered object to the murky woodland ground. The feminine voice startled the man as well, and he quickly lowered his weapon. She looked from the shattered glass on the woodsy floor up to the soldier's weary eyes, seeing many things in only a matter of seconds.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I scared you," she whispered, trying to get closer to him, trying to help. He looked like he could use some. "I know you must be concerned, lost maybe. I just wanted to help you." Her words were gentle and held an unfamiliar comfort in them, making him let down his guard completely for just a few moments. He nodded, not knowing why, but not questioning his actions either.

"I'm sorry-"

"There's no need for that," she quickly reassured, cutting off his unnecessary apology. She reached out her hand towards him, in a welcoming matter instead of the usual threatening one he received. "Now, I have a little cottage just a bit down. I don't mean to sound... weird or anything, but you're more than welcome to stay the night and I'll get you some food before you continue on whatever journey you're going through at the moment." She said with kindness, a matching smile adorned her beautiful face. He couldn't refuse, so, of course, he didn't.

Follow everywhere I go Top over the mountains or valley low Give you everything you’ve been dreaming of Just let me in, ooh Everything you wantin' gonna be the magic story you've been told And you’ll be safe under my control Just let me in, ooh Just let me in, ooh

Bucky stayed with the girl he met in the woods, whose name he learned was Y/N. She told Bucky that she lived in New York and that she was going back next weekend, and offered for him to stay with her until then. Bucky told her about his blonde friend, and how he was trying to find him. Of course, he refused to tell her about his super soldier past. Bucky felt an odd sense of protection around her. He felt as if he could trust her, like he already knew her for many years.

Bucky sat at the round wooden table, the room was dimly lit by a weak ceiling fan, the only sound coming from the scraping of the metal spoon against the bowl filled with warm soup in front of him. The annoying sound was almost white noise to him as he stared at the girl visible from the other room, presumably the kitchen, preparing for food for him. The girl felt eyes boring into the back of her head, and she smiled and poured out her own cup of soup and took a sit with him. They sat in silence for a while, both enjoying their meals, before the silence was broken by the super soldier.

"It's good," he said, his voice quieter than what he remembered. The girl looked up, a slight hue of red across her cheeks as a smile spread against her innocent looking face.

"So he speaks," she teased, her bowl completely forgotten about at this point. She put her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her hands as she observed him in the (not so) better light. "So, you want to talk about what was happening out there? I thought you had to be on something but.. it doesn't look like it." She told him, observing his mannerism or any other signs that might help her find out what a handsome man was doing somewhere like here. Bucky gave her a quick skeptical look but proceeded with explaining the odd circumstances in which they met.

"I'm... I'm looking for a friend," he said in a small voice, avoiding eye contact. "I'm not sure where I am." She sighed, reaching out to grab his hand, trying to comfort him. He flinched back from her touch but let her take his rough palm in her soft, rather small one.

"Ok, listen," she said, squeezing his hand and rubbing her thumb against the "I can't guarantee that your friend will be in New York, but I may have some friends who can help. I just want to let you know, I'm not trying to hurt you Bucky." She said with a smile. Bucky frowned and took his hand out of her grip.

"How did you know my name?" he said, his free hand gliding down to the hidden knife on his thigh. Y/N giggled, but her eyebrows furrowed.

"You told me, don't you remember?" She said, looking concerned for him. Bucky stopped his movements, shaking his head and offering her an apologetic smile and nodded, looking at the floor. "It's ok, there's probably a lot going on in there. C'mon, I'll show you the spare room, leave you to get comfy. You look like you could use some rest." She got up, the old wooden chairs scratching against the laminate floor, Bucky following in suit going down the hallway and examining his new victorian looking room. He smiled and gave a quick thanks to the girl before closing the door, going to sit on the double bed.

On the other side on the bedroom door and down the narrow hallway, Y/N sat in the small living room, picking up the telephone and dialling a well-remembered number. The familiar deep scruff voice picked up the phone with a 'hello?'. "Steve? I think we found our guy." She stated in a soft voice, so the man she met that day wouldn't hear. "And I think he remembers us."

She knew she was hypnotized And walking on cold thin ice Then it broke, and she awoke again

Bucky woke up to the bright sunlight shining through his window the next morning. He rolled off the bed, his instincts telling him to grab for his gun and get suited up for today's mission, that is until he bumped into the tall dresser, which came tumbling down towards him. Luckily, he caught it, but the insides fell out, creating a large crashing sound. Bucky cringed, before pushing the cabinet back up against the wall and trying to stuff the contents back into it. Suddenly the door opened with Y/N showing on the other side, her hair in a messy bun and an apron wrapped around her waist. She saw the current situation and gave out a small chuckle.

"I make you food and give you a bed to sleep in, and in return you decide to trash my house," Y/N jokes with him, rushing over and helping him clean up. Bucky looked at her with a guilty smile, and she rolled her eyes, her grin only getting wider. "Come on, I made you some breakfast before we head out. I hope you like pancakes?" A confused look came on his face as he put the last of the things away before following the girl outside the room.

"Never had them," he said. As he walked into the dining room he was greeted with the best smell in his life, his stack of pancakes placed neatly on the dining room table. She gasped, before pushing him towards the table and seating him on the chair, placing a fork and knife in front of him.

"I like to think mine are pretty great," she said excitedly, placing a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see the girl beaming back at them, before nodding to the breakfast food. "They're my favourite. Go on, eat up!" She smiled before patting his shoulder and going back to finish packing her suitcase. Bucky ate as if hasn't in months, more than satisfied with the sweet treat. Y/N giggled as she saw him scarf down the pancakes, grabbing a plate of her own and going to sit beside him, starting on her own.

"So, tell me more about your friend," Y/N said as she set her fork down after finishing her pancake. Bucky looked up at her, before swallowing what pancake he had left in his mouth and beginning to talk. A good sign.

"He's small, blonde, umm..." Bucky started, trying to kick start his memory, anything else he knew. He saw Y/N across the table tilt her head, slightly resembling a lost puppy, he couldn't help but think. "Truth is, I don't know much about him. But I remember him, from my past." Bucky tried to explain.

"Your past?" Y/N questioned further, trying not to sound suspicious. Bucky looks down and nods. "Did something... happen in between?" Bucky looked up at her, being cautious of what his next words would be. He didn't want to scare her off.

"You can call it that," he said in a whisper. "I can't remember much of my last few years." He tried to explain, Y/N nodded in understanding.

"Like long term memory loss?" She kept questioning. He nodded his head, his long hair falling in front of his face. Y/N's face changed, her eyes going soft as she reached over and pushed his hair out of the way, startling the boy. He's never been shown this type of affection. She blushed and took her hand away, mumbling a sorry. The room stayed in silence for another few minutes, before broken by Y/N.

"I'm sure you'll find him, Bucky," she said, offering a hopeful smile towards him. He looked up and gave her a small smile back. Y/N stood up and took their plates and cleaned up a bit as Bucky took the extra time to freshen up a bit, before trying to get some research done on what might've happened to him before. Maybe it will give him a hint as of where to go.

The week went by relatively fast, and Y/N did everything she could to help Bucky find what could've happened to him and his friend before HYDRA took him back and brainwashed him once again. Of course, Bucky didn't reveal that certain detail to Y/N. Soon enough, Friday afternoon had reached and Y/N was packing her small buggy car and the two now closely bonded pair went on their way home. Well, Y/N's home at least, or what he was told was her home.

Then she ran faster than Start screaming, is there someone out there? Please help me Come get me Behind her, she can hear it say

Y/N was oddly silent throughout the ride. Music played in the background as Bucky kept stealing glances at the girl beside him, she seemed almost nervous. He pushed it off as normal, thinking that he would probably be nervous taking someone he only met a few days prior to his house. But that's wasn't what was running through the Y/H/C's head.

Y/N was starting to wonder if she should maybe turn back, feeling as if she was selling the man off. Of course, she knew what she was doing was for his own good, which is the only reason why she kept on the crowded highway. But she had made a bond with Bucky, and she was hoping this wouldn't ruin anything that's been growing between them. Especially if the said bond would eventually grow into a more than friendship thing. Hopefully, her colleagues would be ok with it.

"You alright?" he asked, looking at the girl in concern. Y/N shook her head, trying to shake her thoughts out of her brain. She put on a smile and gave him a quick nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little bit nervous." She laughed, though it sounded uneasy. The music seemed to get louder in the sudden silence as Bucky slowly put his hand on her leg, not in a very implying way, just as a sign of comfort. He felt her relax under his touch and she turned her head to give him a smile. Within another few minutes she pulled into an underground garage park of a tall glass building, with a bit of a weird structural design, Bucky thought to himself. Y/N took her suitcases out of her trunk, which Bucky quickly took out of her hands, claiming: "a pretty girl doesn't have to carry her own bags. Just let me be a gentleman."

They got into the nice elevator, which had plenty of levels. Y/N pressed a button closer to the top, and the sliding doors closed and it jolted before smoothly going up. AC/DC came through the speakers, of course, considering the building they were in. After a minute or two, the metal box stopped and the doors slid open again. The first thing Bucky realized when he walked out with Y/N, was that they were not alone, and he realized this probably isn't her real apartment.

At the sound of the elevator dinging across the room, Steve Rogers halted his talking with Sam, Wanda, Natasha, and Clint. Everyone's eyes darted towards the two new people who entered the room. Bucky's eyes widened as he saw the one and only Captain America. He looked between him and Y/N, who was walking over to hug Wanda, a close friend of hers.

"Y/N, what the hell is going on," Bucky asked once Y/N broke apart from the Scarlet Witch, grabbing her shoulder and turning her towards him, but not too harshly. Y/N diverted her gaze and sighed, looking down before meeting his gaze. HEr eyes looked like they were starting to water.

"I'm just trying to help, Buck," she said, reaching for his hand. He pulled it away from her, taking a step back. He looked up at Steve, he knew it was his blonde friend from his almost ancient memories, even though he looked extremely different, he could tell. Actually, he recognized everyone in the room. He doesn't know from where, but he can't deny it. He scanned the room again before turning back at Y/N.

"So you did already know my name that night, didn't you?" Bucky jokes to try and ease the tension. Y/N let out a laugh, sounding relieved, before nodding. A small tear ran down her cheek.

"Yeah, you have no idea how scary that was," she smiled, and he gave her one back. He wasn't mad that she had brought him here like she originally thought. If anything he was extremely thankful. For the first time in his life, he felt safe. Y/N spoke again, raising her hand as if to present the other people in the room. "Well, Bucky, meet the Avengers. Or a part of them at least.

The team went back the large glass table in the back of the room with Y/N and Bucky, to discuss the plan to send Bucky to Wakanda. Steve explained that Y/N would accompany him there, to make sure he stays safe and doesn't go back into Winter Soldier mode again. Bucky was a bit reluctant at first, but with a little bit of convincing from Y/N, he agreed to the plan. The two went to Y/N's room, where she would pack the remaining of her stuff for the trip, and Bucky would pack his new clothes and leftover personal belongings he left there.

"So, you're an Avenger too?" He asked as he neatly folded a t-shirt before placing it in his suitcase. "Got a special power or anything?" Y/N giggled, a sound Bucky had grown accustomed to already.

"Yes I am an avenger," Y/N said, feeling proud. "I can jump through and manipulate space." Bucky looked back at the girl, obviously confused with what she said. She rolled her eyes, a goofy smile coming on her lips. "Basically I can teleport and move objects," she dumbed it down for the 100-year-old man, to which he nodded, an 'ah' coming from his mouth, before looking at her and giving her a smile.

"Sounds pretty badass," he commented, a smirk on his lips as he left his packing for a second to go walk towards her. Y/N laughed at the comment, dropping the jeans she was folding and turning to the taller man as well. She gave a nonchalant shrug.

"I guess so," she said. He smiled down at her, thinking of how cute she was. His hand reached out and grabbed her own, which she gladly accepted with a small squeeze. She glanced at their interlocked hands before looking back up into his brown eyes again, which seemed closer to her than they were a second ago. "I hope you don't mind me going with you to Wakanda. I'm sure you'd rather it be Steve but I'll try and be just as good of a company as he is. I've always wanted to go to Wakanda too, I've heard it's stunning and they've got really amazing technology. I'm sure you'll find it interesting as well. Maybe that might not make up for Steve but-"

Y/N's excessive nervous ramblings were cut off by Bucky, or his mouth did. Bucky's kiss was soft, his hand still caressing the back of her hand as the other one reached up to her jaw. Y/N's hands reached up to his long hair, running her fingers through the surprisingly soft locks. The pulled apart after a few second, foreheads leaning against each other. Y/N kept her eyes closed, but her smile grew slowly more evident on her face. Bucky couldn't help his own grin when he saw this.

"Trust me, I'm more than happy that I'm going with you," he said in a whisper, but just loud enough for the girl to hear. This only increased the growing smile on her face, so much that her cheeks were starting to hurt. But she didn't mind. "I wouldn't want anyone else."

Everything you wantin' gonna be the magic story you’ve been told (Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh) And you’ll be safe under my control Just let me in, ooh

*A FEW YEARS LATER*

Bucky awoke from the bright Wakandian sun shining through the large window. He couldn't complain about his new life, as if he never escaped HYDRA he'd be waking up to the same annoying alarms and slaps on the back by upper officers. Bucky stretched his arms over his head, a soft groan passing his lips.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," he heard a raspy voice coo from his chest. There lay his amazing girlfriend of almost 5 years, Y/N, looking up at him in adoration. He smiled and left a kiss on the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her exposed waist as she cuddled into his bare chest again.

"Morning, darling," he whispered, giving her another kiss on the cheek before meeting her lips. He could feel her smile into it. The cute moment was broken by a knock on the bedroom door, followed by a voice.

"Sargeant Barnes, Miss L/N, they're here." Shuri's voice came from behind the giant metal doors. Y/N groaned before sitting up, followed by her boyfriend as they got changed, exchanging in light conversation and a few stolen pecks here and there. The couple walked out together, meeting Okoye, a fierce warrior and the commander of the Dora Milaje, and T'Challa, the king of Wakanda and a new close friend. As they met, the group walked out of the grand doors to be met by big quinjet and an all too familiar group of people. T'Challa talked to the remaining of the Avengers about what seemed like a defence plan.

"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Molaje, and..." T'Challa stopped speaking and motioned towards the pair walking towards them.

"A semi-stable 100-year-old man," Bucky said as he walked towards them. Y/N kept beside him, Bucky's hand placed on the small of her back. He removed it to go over to hug his old friend, as Y/N took the chance to say hi and give hugs to the rest of her team, her family.

"How you been, guys," Steve said as he hugged Y/N, She happily gave him a tight hug, as Steve was like a brother to her. Y/N returned to Bucky's side as he wrapped his metal arm around her waist protectively

"Uh, not bad," Bucky said as he looked down to the incredible woman beside him. She looked up at him as well, offering him a smile as she briefly leaned on his shoulder.

"For the end of the world, at least," she finished, causing Bucky to roll his eyes, though a smirk was still on his face, and Steve let out a chuckle. The reunited team head inside to speak of how to get Vision's stone out of his head. Bucky and Y/N soon departed to go with the Kingsguard to speak of a gameplan. Bucky and Y/N suited up, getting ready for probably the biggest battle of their lives.

"You sure you'll be alright?" Bucky asked her, slightly worried as he saw her practising her spatial jumps around the room. Y/N teleported right in front of him, a smirk coming across her lips.

"Might I remind you, I am a former Avenger and all-time badass," she joked, wrapping her arms around his neck, to which he automatically put his around her waist. Bucky laughed.

"You remind me at least twice a day, Y/N," he snapped back. The girl feigned a hurt expression, before letting out a laugh. Bucky let go and reached for his gun and soon, an alarm went off from Y/N' kimoyo bracelet, signalling the threat has finally arrived. Y/N sighed, looking over at her partner, and gave him a soft smile.

"Time to go," she said quietly. Bucky gave her a sad smile, not wanting to think of what might happen to either of them out there. He grabbed her face and kissed her passionately. Y/N quickly responded, her hands going up to his hair and his shoulder. He pulled apart before resting his forehead on hers.

"I love you, Y/N," he whispered to her, his hands still on her jawline. She smiled up at him, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "So much."

"I love you, too, Bucky," she said, a tear slipping from her eye. Bucky wiped it off with his thumb and Y/N sniffed, parting from him as she stood up straighter and grabbed her knives. She grinned at Bucky one last time before the terrible events that happened during the Battle of Wakanda. "Now, let's go kick some alien ass."

Follow everywhere I go Top over the mountains or valley low Give you everything you’ve been dreaming of Just let me in, ooh Then she ran faster than Start screaming, is there someone out there? Please help me Just let me in, ooh

#bucky barnes x reader #infinity war #avengers #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #songfic #lily #bucky barnes #requested #winter soldier #winter soldier!bucky barnes #winter soldier!au #au #avenger!reader

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the-opalite · 7 years

Photo

Waiting for inspiration like..🌸 . . . . . I’ve been a work slave for the last few days and it’s really starting to grind me down. I’m not complaining, I NEED money.. But mentally the wear and tear of shitty thoughts is just not good. All I can think about when I stand for countless hours, running and slipping all over the place cause it’s so busy, is cool. Awesome. This must do WONDERS for my fucked up knee... Or the other super great thought process I have is when it will be sunny outside and warm and beautiful... and the second I get off work it’s gotten shitty outside. The sun goes away. It gets cold. Dark and sad. Or it will be sunny all the while I’m working , and then I’ll finally get a day off to enjoy something,... and that entire day will be rainy. ITS SO HARD TO ENDURE SHIT WHEN ITS THE ONLY THING YOU NOTICE. Sure all those things really do suck. But aren’t the end of the world. Am I doing what I should be doing for my knee to keep it strong ? No Am I doing my physical therapy and icing regiments? No Will it be sunny all the fucking time soon? Yeah Life’s fucking rough. It really is. And when your support circle isn’t as comfy as you wish, you really are one of the only people you can rely on. I can’t get mad at life when I’m not even taking care of myself the way I know I should. So it’s all just empty complaints from a potato at this point. It hurts yeah, but it will get better. It all depends on me. . . . . . . . . . #journaling #deardiary #vessel #aries #bodylove #bodypositive #selfie #spring #namaste #nature #oregon #live #loveandalliscoming #pnw

#selfie #live #oregon #pnw #bodypositive #spring #bodylove #namaste #vessel #journaling #loveandalliscoming #aries #deardiary #nature

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italicwatches · 6 years

Text

Laid-Back Camp - Episode 12

Alright, the last hurrah. One last camping trip with these girls. Let’s see how it goes. It’s Laid-Back Camp, episode 12! Here we GO!

-We begin…In a possible future. Rin’s camping ways have continued, and she’s taken more after her grandfather, with a cool motorcycle and sweet boots. She arrives to a campsite to find the others already waiting for her. Chiaki’s become the new Toba-sensei, treating all camping trips as an excuse to get her booze on…Well, I said the others, but Nadeshiko is a ways out still. In this fantasy, Nadeshiko didn’t just keep camping…She now owns a camping gear company, bringing American styled equipment to Japan. Also, Aoi still hasn’t lost her fang…

-And Nadeshiko arrives…On…

-Good.

-Fucking.

-God.

-She’s in the flying tent from the opening.

-So obviously this is our title-card shot. As much as I love all the other shots of the girls all grown up…I mean, come on.

-And this is all Nadeshiko’s idea of what it’ll be like when they’re all grown up. Which explains a lot. And Rin’s gotten back with stuff! Yayyyyy.

-Opening! So here’s the magic question for you: In Nadeshiko’s possible-future, did she imagine herself and Rin being married?

-Episode 12: Mount Fuji and the Laid-Back Camp Girls

-So doggo has to go. He’s picked up by Ena’s family to go back home to warm bed, while the others scrub their dishes and ask the question of who’s gonna take advantage of the actual baths first. Well, Toba-sensei is out.

-In the end, Aoi, Ena and Chiaki end up in the bath, in an actual proper hot bath no less. Which leaves Rin and Nadeshiko to stay warm around the fire, and they end up asking Toba-sensei if she doesn’t mind being out here all alone instead of with her lover…

-…That was her sister she was with, you dorks. Anyways, all of this gender and romance confusion has Nadeshiko so off-tilt that she ends up outright asking Chiaki if she’s a girl or not when the others get back. Do you want to die?

-So round two of the baths, chatting with Toba-sensei. Who has a camping history not entirely dissimilar to Rin’s, though hers is more group-oriented. Her dad was a huge outdoorsy type when she was a kid, so the whole family would practically be out every weekend in the summers. Her sister picked up the bug full-force, and she tags along.

-Also speaking of camping, Rin still doesn’t know what that thing she saw in the darkness was. It was your teacher. Aaanyways, by the time they get back from the bath, everyone’s done their hair up in a Shimarin Bun. Nadeshiko is surrounded by Shimarins and it’s wonderful! Rin is quietly a bit mad at that name.

-So Nadeshiko has enough hair that she gets the true Shimarin treatment: Having Ena do something ridiculous to her head. Which she doesn’t see until they take a selfie together. Alas, Nadeshiko. But now they’ve kind of used up their tasks, but it’s too early to sleep…

-So Chiaki has a treat. You know outdoor film festivals, and vintage American drive-ins, and all that? (GOD I wish I could justify using that shot of Anime To the Future) Well Chiaki just signed up for a data plan and streaming services for her tablet! It’s not quite a grand projector, but they can just dive deep until they forget what time is!

-Eventually they’re all tapped out…Until everyone else is asleep, and it’s just Nadeshiko and Rin with their heads poking out of Rin’s tent way off on their own, looking up at the stars. They end up talking about all the shows and stuff they watched, and possible journeys, and New Year’s plans, and just…just talking. I’m not sure if Rin will do these big group trips very often, but I think it’s clear she’ll be doing a lot of these little trips with Nadeshiko.

-And they doze right off, as quiet comes over the campsites…And all is peaceful…

-Until the first alarm goes off. It’s 5 AM Christmas day, and Rin wakes up next to Nadeshiko, just the two of them. I’m not saying they’re a few months at most away from one of them suddenly realizing “FUCK we’re a couple when did that happen crap crap crap what’s the anniversary is it the day we met WHAT DO I GET HER”, but it was aliens.

-Also Nadeshiko you promised to make breakfast so get out of that mummy bag and make with the grub.

-Of course, Rin ends up helping…And by the time the others gather, it’s a truly traditional meal. Some grilled salmon, a miso soup, rice, even natto. Exactly what a certain hungover teacher needs to clear her head. And as they all get their grub on…The sun tips over the horizon, and it is just magic. That first light, when your eyes have adjusted to the pre-dawn, is so overwhelming, and just…Amazing.

-Of course, then comes the end of the trip. The loading of gear, the packing up of campsites. Daily coming to pick various folks up, and of course, one last photo of them all together before they scatter.

-Cut to a new day at the bookstore. Rin’s just hanging out behind the counter…And she’s thinking she wants to go somewhere for New Year’s…Which is when Ena shows up, buying a magazine on winter camping.

-Over at school, Chiaki leads the crew on a full cleanup of their club room! …That took like two minutes. Until they get Rin or Ena to actually sign on, it’s the cramped storage room for another semester. And tragically, they’re both working through the New Year’s holiday, so they can’t even go camping together…Well, except for Nadeshiko, who can’t find work.

-Cue Rin texting with a PLAN. Ena got a temp job printing and delivering new year’s cards and they need more warm bodies. It’s only a week or two of work, but Nadeshiko’s super excited at getting some cash to turn into camping gear.

-And at last, the credits song plays, as we montage over a quiet calm for all involved with the sun low in the sky. Rin’s scooter dutifully parked by her humble home. Ena’s doggo wrapped up snug in his doggo bed. Nadeshiko’s sister after another road trip to a picturesque sight. Rin’s grampa watching the sun set from his latest campsite. Nadeshiko’s folks coming home with groceries. Toba-sensei’s sister setting up camp, and she herself wrapping up a day of teaching.

-And in that little storage hall, a few more photos added to Nadeshiko’s wall…Including the one magical shot that started the series, of them all together…

-Aftercredits! And not a skit, either. It’s post-New Years, the back end of winter turning into spring, and Nadeshiko’s pedaling her humble little bike, with its rack and her bag both full of kit, to a certain campground…It’s a hard ride, but she finally makes it, checks in, and finds herself nearly alone at a pristine lake. The very place where she met Rin, damn near the exact same spot, as she dutifully puts together her setup. Her tent, her little table…And her own little treat, the gas lantern she saw in the shop that day. It’s a perfect, gorgeous setup…

-When Rin texts asking if she’s working. She’s actually out on the road, and just got to her campsite! And thus they get talking, both of them out camping solo, as Nadeshiko hides where she’s gone, until she sends the photo…And Rin’s comes in…And she’s not even a hundred feet back. They both had the same idea and came to the same place. These adorable precious girls.

And that’s a wrap.

I…Damn, this one somehow feels way heavier than it should. The show’s just so warm and comfy that I don’t want to leave it. But there’s no more left(unless they do a second season COME ON YOU COWARDS), and thus there’s no choice.

I mean, except for the fact that I obviously have already made bookmarks for the manga to chew on.

It is no mistake that this show caused a lot of people to want to go camping. This was…Damn, this was real close to perfect for me, and quite frankly the only things that would’ve made it better would be trading some archetypes around to pander to my specific tastes, rather than actually doing anything objectively higher quality.

And that fucking ending. That last shot. That was just…Pretend your favorite meme image of a chef’s kiss is here, because that was perfect.

So what’s coming up now that we did that? A hard pivot to the exact opposite of this warm comfy slice-of-life stuff, and also me trying blatantly to build my presence Tumblr-side with a big-pop. You’ll see. Wait for it!

#where I watch #recap #anime #laid-back camp #yuru camp

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twilight-alchemist · 7 years

Text

Shelter chapter 4

chapter summary: tragic backstories unlocked

Ao3- http://archiveofourown.org/works/10885116/chapters/25001652

The clock by Genos reads 4 a.m. She’s drifted a bit, but not slept. A sleep aid didn’t help, and she considers manually overriding herself into sleep mode, but that can cause sleep paralysis. She shudders at the thought and decides just to get up. She tries to be quiet, but the dwelling is old and creaky. Genos wants to clean, so she starts in the kitchen and working her way upward. Cleaning is the same pretty much everywhere, and once she finds Saitama’s cleaning supplies under the sink it’s an easy task. There’s a satisfying layer of dust on everything, as she has no cleaning bots to contend with. She fiddles with the radio and gets it plays music on low. She likes the music on a station that says it plays ‘rock’, but she doesn’t understand the similarity of the music to a stone. By the time she’s in the last bedroom upstairs the sun has been up for two hours and her sensor informs her that Saitama's getting out of bed. Genos goes outside to incinerate her impressive collection of dust bunnies and puts away the cleaning supplies, pleased with how much cleaner everything is. She can hear that Saitama is in the shower and realizes she probably won't be down for a bit. Genos decides to try making breakfast. Cooking in such a primitive kitchen shouldn't be any challenge.

Saitama is lying awake in bed. She’s tired even though she just woke up, and she shifts around in bed trying to get comfortable. She knows that she should just get up and start the day, but she doesn’t want to. She’s not even hungover; this is just a typical morning. The bed is warm and comfy and she’s tried and numb. Usually she can’t get up until she knows the sheep need to be fed. Sai leans over to check the clock and sighs when she realizes she has another two hours. Rover is pressed up against her back where he’s sleeping and his presence is soothing in its familiarity. She dozes off for a bit, only to wake up again feeling even more tired.

‘Sleep is such bullshit’ she thinks, kicking a pillow off the bed in frustration. She really has to pee. Still no motivation to move though. She dozes some more, and she can hear Genos moving around the house. Her footfalls are surprisingly light for someone so heavy. Eventually she drags herself out of bed to the lure of a hot shower. She has to wash the dance club grime off. Saitama pauses for a moment in the hallway, hearing the local rock station playing downstairs. Genos must have figured the radio out. The shower is hot and makes her feel less like death warmed over. It feels good to wash off the sweat from dancing last night, and the lingering smell of alcohol. She’s just washing the conditioner from hair when an alarm starts wailing.

Saitama jumps out of her skin and hauls ass out of the shower and down the stairs, standing naked and dripping in the living room staring at Genos fanning away smoke from the smoke detector. “(Shut up! Shut up!) Shut up!” Genos is shouting at the smoke detector. Rover is jumping and barking, excited by all the commotion. “I took care of the fire! It’s gone! Stop yelling!!” Genos pleads, pausing when she sees Saitama in the living room.

They stare at each other. Saitama starts snickering as she walks over to Genos. “Saitama, your fire alert bot is broken, it won’t deactivate” Genos frowns.

“Pick me up Optimus Prime” she says. Genos lifts her as instructed and Saitama pulls the batteries out of the smoke detector. The wailing stops and they both relax.

“I hate alarms.” Genos sighs, putting Sai back down on the ground. “Who is Optimus Prime?”

“What? Oh he’s like a robot hero. You kinda remind me of him. You're both so serious.” Saitama says, peering into the kitchen. There’s something bubbling merrily in a pot on the stove. “Besides the smoke it smells good, what happened?”

Genos points to a charred pan in the sink. “I think I had the heat on too high. I’ve never really used a 'stove' like this before.”

“It’s okay, it happens. It’s sweet of you to make breakfast.” Saitama stretches and her back cracks loudly. Genos stretches in turn and there are several loud pops.

Saitama cracks her knuckles and Genos raises an eyebrow. “Is this a competition?”

“Maybe” Saitama smiles, loudly cracking her own neck. Genos reaches her arms forward and rolls them back sharply, getting a nice chorus of pops and snaps from all the machinery folded in her shoulders. Her dorsal boosters lock back into place and make a satisfyingly loud click.

“Ok you win for now. I’m going to go get dressed before I catch a cold.” Saitama says as she runs upstairs, Rover at her heels. She runs back down wearing baggy sweatpants and a red and white hoodie. Genos can’t translate the word on it.

“Saitama, what is oppai?”

“Oh, it’s Japanese for boobs.” Saitama snorts. “Isn’t it funny? Because I’m wearing a hoodie that says boobs and has an image of boobs over my boobs. It’s super redundant.”

“I don’t know what a boob is.” Genos says, pausing as Saitama starts giggling. Saitama wonders now how she had a hard time getting out of bed that morning, she should have just thought about hanging out with Genos.

“Oh man, you don’t know all the good words. You read a dictionary and like three nerd books.” Saitama laughs. She pulls her hoodie up and points to her chest.

“These are boobs.” She drops her shirt back down. “Now I’m about to teach you the most important word in the English language.”

“What?” Genos asks.

“Fuck.” Saitama says.

“Fuck.” Genos repeats. “What does it mean?”

“Literally it means sex, but people use it as a curse.”

“You curse people with sex?”

“No! It’s like… hm. Like for emphasis. Just learn by listening to me use it ok?” Saitama says. Her stomach growls and Genos smiles.

“I think the food should be ready now.”

Breakfast is good, some kind of pureed soup Genos threw together with things her computer identified as similar to home world ingredients. Genos says its flavor is a bit off, but she’s happy with how it came out all things considered. Sai thinks it tastes like a mix of butternut bisque and french onion soup. Saitama gets up to put their dishes in the sink and stares at the completely clean kitchen. “What…” Saitama looks around. Everything is clean. “Genos did you clean my whole fucking house?”

“Yes?” Genos says, suddenly realizing she might have miss-stepped.

“Dude you’re awesome” Saitama smiles. “You must have been up early.”

“I didn’t sleep.” Genos admits. “Cleaning has always been soothing for me, so I don’t mind.”

“That sucks, but you can always take a nap later. I have to go feed the animals, want to come out with me?” Saitama says, already pulling on her winter layers. Genos nods and reaches to fix her hair, which was falling out of its bun.

“Here, let me braid it for you.” Saitama says, reaching up to try and grab for Genos’ hair. She’s too short on her tippy toes and she does a few little hops that make Genos smile. Saitama huffs and gives up. “Lean down you giraffe I can’t reach.”

“Okay. What’s a giraffe?” Genos asks as she leans over.

“They are the tallest Earth animal. Imagine Moon but really tall and with a really long neck and legs.”

“That’s a little terrifying to imagine.” Genos says, watching Saitama’s deft fingers as she quickly braids her thick hair.

“It’s ok, they’re plant eaters so Giraffe’s are pretty laid back.” Sai says, letting go of Genos’ hair and admiring her handiwork. The simple braid looks good on her, and she wants to try French braids next. Saitama steps outside and holds the door open for Genos. The air is bitterly cold but there’s no wind or clouds today, so the sun is just the tiniest bit of warmth on their faces. Saitama sharply inhales air that smells like snow and pine, reveling in the little head rush from the freezing air. Genos steps into the snow and shivers. “Is it always this cold Saitama? It’s been below freezing for days now.”

“Oh, it’s just winter. It’ll get warmer once spring comes.” Saitama says. “I hope it gets a little warmer soon, because we’ll have lambs in a week.” Saitama pushes open the barn door and picks out the 4 sheep she’s looking for. She leads them into a smaller pen so she can keep them indoors where she can keep an eye on them the upcoming week, since these are the sheep due to deliver first. They are comically round at this point. Saitama lets the rest of the sheep out and doles out hay and grain to the animals. She gives the chickens some extra cracked corn as a treat and leaves a bowl of cat kibble out for Boros. Genos watches all this with rapt attention, asking questions occasionally. Saitama catches her staring longingly at the chickens and scoops up one of her more mild mannered hens. “Want to hold her? She’s a good girl.” Saitama offers. Genos looks nervous.

“She’s fragile, I don’t want to hurt her.” Genos says, though she does reach a hand out to oh so gently touch downy feathers.

“She’s tougher than she looks.” Saitama says. “Her ancestors where dinosaurs after all. Just hold her butt on your palm with her legs between your fingers so she feels secure.” She hands the hen over without preamble, and Genos tenses. She relaxes slowly as the hen settles calmly in her arms.

“Does she have a name?” Genos asks.

“Paprika, since she’s red.” Saitama says. Genos is fascinated with her feathers, running her hands over the bird again and again. Paprika seems to be enjoying the warmth Genos is giving off and shows no signs of budging. Saitama cleans up a few things quickly, thinking about how she should do a deep barn clean before the lambs get here. She groans at the thought, but she knows it’s necessary. She has a few sheep left to trim too, and Pudding will be having her calf in 3 weeks. It’s going to be a busy month. “C’mon Genos, let’s go.”

Genos puts Paprika back in with the other hens and follows Saitama out of the barn. "What are we doing today?" Genos asks asks she catches up to Saitama.

Sai claps her gloved hands together. “The only plan right now is that we are going to Mumen's house for dinner. We should go out for a walk after lunch, it’ll be a little warmer then. You should really see the forest, it’s one of my favorite places."

Once inside Saitama makes herself a cup of coffee and turns the TV on. It’s all fuzz and she groans. “Something’s wrong with the antenna.” Saitama goes outside to look and Genos follows after her. Saitama gets a running start from the ground, leaping up the two stories and grabbing hold of the gutter. Who needs ladders anyway? She hauls herself up onto the roof and immediately sees the problem: a big tree branch fell onto the antennae and it’s broken. The big maple tree next to her house is good for shade in the summer, but this isn’t the first time it’s caused trouble dropping limbs. Last time it happened a branch took out a chunk of fence and it took her half of the day to round up all the escaped sheep.

Genos lands easily behind her and looks at the antenna. “Is it broken?”

“Yeah, I guess no TV for a while. I’ll have to get a new one when I have some extra cash.”

Genos lifts the tree limb off the roof and tosses it to the ground. She squats so she can touch the antenna and fuses her left hand to it. The tech is very simple and easy the fix. It barely counts as interfacing. Finished, her hand returns to its usual shape and clicks free. Saitama squats next to her to stare in awe at the repaired antenna.

“Dude that’s radical.” Saitama says. “You get to pick what to have for lunch now.”

“Can we have blueberry pancakes again?” Genos asks.

“Sure we can.”

Once they are back inside Genos fiddles with the TV, trying to figure out if she can enhance the image quality. If she's got to be stuck in this backwater place she wants to watch entertainment in something approaching HD. Saitama is trying to watch an episode of Dinner at Julia’s that she hasn’t seen before, but is more distracted by the way Genos’ hand seems to have melted into the TV. The screen flickers and shudders and goes black. There’s a crackling sound and the screen flicks back on a moment later, the image clearer.

Saitama blinks in surprise, reaching out to touch the static-y screen.

Genos shudders when she pulls her hand from the TV. Ending an interface is not a bad feeling, just a weird one. “I’m out of practice, but I managed to enhance your primitive screen.”

“How did you do that?” Saitama finally gets out. She takes Genos’ hand and runs her fingers over it, but it seems completely unchanged from before. There’s a mark like a scar on the TV.

“The closest thing my translator is offering is that I ‘interfaced’ with your TV. My body interacted with it in order to fix it and improve its performance. It’s something all Solarian’s can do, though it takes practice. Those who are the most skilled can fix nearly anything and have a higher rate of healing than normal.” Genos thinks of her mother and feels memories pull on her. She’s not sure of the moment it happens, but suddenly she is no longer in the living room.

When Genos hasn’t moved for nearly a minute Saitama squeezes her hand. “Hey Genos, you’re drifting a bit. Why don’t we start lunch early? Come help me cook.” She tries to pull Genos up by the hand, buy the cyborg is rooted to the spot. “Genos?” Saitama asks. She’s not sure what’s wrong. It’s like Genos stopped working. Can cyborg stop working? Was it too much work for her to mess with the TV? Saitama rubs Genos’ arms, trying to bring her back. “Genos? Genos you’re starting to scare me a bit.” Genos is still staring straight ahead, eyes unfocused. She’s breathing evenly but slowly. Saitama sits and keeps holding her hand. Julia Child chatters in the background, but Sai pays the TV no attention. Another minute passes and Genos blinks a few times. Her eyes refocus and she looks owlishly at Saitama next to her.

“You okay?” Saitama asks.

Genos nods. “I’m sorry.” She offers no explanation, and Saitama decides not to push.

“You don’t have to apologize, it’s okay.” Saitama realizes she’s still holding onto Genos and lets go. “Are you up for helping with lunch?”

Genos shakes her head minutely. “I’m not really hungry anymore.”

“We’ll just watch TV and make lunch later then.” Saitama says.

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

The entrance to the forest gives Genos a strange feeling. The trees are tall and close together, and it seems like another world under their branches. An ominous world. Genos stares up at the deep green canopy and gets the bizarre feeling that the forest is watching her. Saitama is already stepping ahead of her onto the trail, seemingly at home in the strange environment. She’s ridiculously bundled up in warm clothes so she bears more resemblance to a marshmallow than a human. Genos is wearing several layers as well on the off chance they bump into someone, but according to Saitama she’s dressed more appropriately for fall. Rover bounds off down the trail but Saitama seems unconcerned. Genos rushes to catch up with her. It’s colder and dimmer on the trail, and it reminds Genos of a cave.

“If we keep walking down this trail we’ll get to the ocean in about an hour.” Saitama says. “It’d be a lot faster to run, but I don’t feel like it.” Rover runs back with a stick and Saitama throws it so far that it disappears into the woods, Rover off after it like a shot. “Did you have forests on your world?”

“No, the only plants we had were cultivated for food or medicine.” Genos says. “This seems very uncontained.”

“Yeah, it’s nature. It’s just wild and doing its thing.” Saitama says. “That’s the best part.”

They walk for a while in quiet, Genos absorbing the sights and processing this strange new place. Now that she’s getting used to it she’s starting to see the appeal. She likes how the sun breaks through the trees in spots to create bright sunbeams, and how when the wind stirs the forest drops of frozen water drizzle down from the tree branches. Saitama hums to herself and throws the stick for Rover, who has yet to tire of playing fetch. The stick is progressively more chewed up and spitty each time he brings it back.

Saitama is in an odd mood. She’s definitely sad, but for once she actually wants to talk about it. But she doesn’t want to burden Genos with her problems and sad stories. Then again, maybe it would be good for Genos to open up too. Maybe it’d be good for both of them. She doesn’t know how to start though.

They walk and walk, Rover trotting by Saitama’s heels when he’s bored with fetch. They stop at a fork in the trail and Saitama looks over at Genos. She looks introspective, lost in her own head. She’s been like that most of the morning. Saitama nudges her side and Genos blinks at her. “Let’s race the rest of the way to the beach.”

“What does the winner get?” Genos asks, perking up at the prospect of a competition.

“Winner gets bragging rights. And the last fudgesicle in the freezer.” Saitama decides.

“What’s a fudgesicle?”

“Like frozen hot chocolate.”

“I accept your challenge.” Genos says.

“Okay well get ready to get your butt kicked blondie. On the count of three” They both drop into crouching positions, and Saitama’s heart is beating fast in her chest. “One… two… three!!”

Saitama keeps pace with Genos at first, but Genos quickly pulls ahead. Saitama thought she was fast, but Genos is clearly on another level. Genos reaches the ocean and stops, not quite understanding what she’s seeing. Before her is a vast expanse of gray water unlike anything she’s ever seen before. The water stretches all the way to the horizon in every direction in front of her, as though she stands at the edge of the world. It makes her feel very small, not quite unlike being in space. She watches a wave far below dash itself on the rocks with a crash, then recede like something alive. The air smells like brine and negative ions. She hovers at the cliff side a few more moments, then turns and runs back to Saitama. Sai’s clearly out of breath but it still running at a dead sprint.

“I won!” Genos chirps.

“You’re too fast kid. It must be your long ass legs.” Saitama huffs between breaths. She collapses at the end of the path, laying splayed out on the frozen ground and sucking bitterly cold air into her lungs. Her muscles are burning but it’s a pleasant feeling. “I must be getting out of shape. I used to run 10k every day.”

“Why’d you stop?” Geno asks as she sits next to her companion. Rover flops down next to Genos and pants, and Genos reaches over to rub down his back.

Saitama sits up and stretches, looking out at the ocean. “That’s a long story” She sighs. She throws a rock off the edge of the cliff and watches it hit the waves far below.

“We have time.” Genos encourages softly. Saitama meets her eyes and Genos stills at the sadness held there.

“Yeah, we do have time. You go first Genos.” Saitama says. “I can tell you’ve been thinking about stuff all morning. It’s good to get it out there, you know? Not that I ever take my own advice.”

Genos picks up a rock and crushes it in her hand, watching as the sea breeze scatters the dust. “I lived a normal life with my family on the moon of a gas giant called IB-5452. IB-5452 was the bluest thing I’ve ever seen, and it was always huge in our sky. Our moon was officially IB-5457, but we called it (Faeorn). It was a barren and cold place, but inside our cities it was bright and warm. I grew up happy, because there was no reason to be sad. Everything was well. My father worked at a university teaching anthropology, and my mother was a high ranking military official. Our military was just for security; we hadn’t fought any battles in nearly a century. My brother wanted to be an artist when he was young, but realized he liked it better as a hobby than a job. He was going to school to be a medic.”

Genos looks up at the sky, which is such an alien shade of blue that it makes her momentarily forget her train of thought. Her HUD calculates where Faeorn would have been in this sky, if it still existed. Now it was just rubble lost to the forces of space. She’s suddenly painfully aware of just how many light-years away she is from the twin stars she grew up with. “My people’s greatest mistake was our curiosity. A team of explorers found an ancient cyborg floating in a field of debris and brought it home. They were excited by their discovery, and hoped to reanimate it so we could learn about an era forgotten. It was repaired, but by the time they realized the function of such a massive cyborg, it was too late. Those explores had brought home a monster. The Mad Cyborg broke free and destroyed everything in its path. It killed with intention, and left no survivors. The alarms had only been sounding for a few minutes when my father and brother were killed in the chaos.”

Genos paused to gather herself. She did not want to cry. “My mother took me and ran. We did not get far. She fixed an emergency pod for me, and fought the cyborg. She was considered one of our strongest, but even she did not stand a chance. She died to save me. The pod destabilized not long after I’d cleared the atmosphere, and I wondered if I was meant to be the sole survivor of this massacre only to die in space, utterly alone. My body must have gone into stasis mode, because the next thing I remember is waking up to Dr. Kuseno prying the pod open on his ship. My body was badly damaged from exposure. I remember feeling frozen, but mostly horribly numb. I was dying. The doctor interfaced with me and saved my life.” Genos lifts her coat and shirt to show a faded scar on her side in the perfect shape of a handprint. Saitama wonders how she seems detached from the story she’s telling, as though it isn’t hers.

“I was the only survivor. Faeorn was destroyed. Once I found out the Mad Cyborg had survived, I begged the doctor to help me get stronger so I could seek revenge. He tried to convince me to go live a normal life on another Solarian world, but I became obsessed with revenge. I could not live with the guilt of surviving if I did not avenge my people and my family. I could not let the mad cyborg roam free and destroy another world. The doctor accepted, and I was upgraded to an experimental military grade. I trained tirelessly for two cycles with Dr. Kuseno and underwent countless upgrades. It was painful, but it was worth it. Now I’m stronger than any other Solarian alive. I left the doctor to hunt the mad cyborg and I’ve been searching for 3 cycles now. It was lonely, jumping between space stations and traveling between worlds. I only got a lead after the Mad Cyborg destroyed another moon. Luckily it was only a space station, and not a fully populated world. I got close enough to him to be able to lock onto his signature before he disappeared. I’ve been tracking him ever since.”

“The last cycle I traveled through a vast and empty region of unexplored space. There was no life, and no space stations to stop at. I would not give up chase. I slowly began to starve. I feared I was starting to lose my mind. Just as I approached your world, and my left booster broke. I had to land, and I crashed here, in this forest. Then you found me.”

“I’ve been saved three times now. I don’t know how to pay back my debts.” Genos shudders, emotion finally clawing up her throat through the numbness.

“You don’t have to pay me back. I saved you because I wanted to, so you don’t owe me anything” Sai says. “You don’t save people for the favors, you do it because it’s whats right. Your doctor and your mother saved you because they wanted you to keep living.”

They are quiet for a while and the only sound is the waves and Rover snoring softly. “You’re a tough kid Genos.” Saitama says. “You were able to channel your grief into something amazing, but I haven’t done anything with mine but let it kick me into a long ass depressive episode" she sighs. Genos turns to look at her.

“It’s your turn Sai.” she says.

Saitama cracks her knuckles and fidgets with her layers, stalling. “I grew up with just my mom, and we were poor. We barely made ends meet and that was hard, but we were happy. When I was 17 I came out to my mom as a lesbian. It had always just been the two of us, watching out for each other. I thought she loved me just as much as I loved her. She kicked me out without a second thought though, so I guess she didn’t.” Saitama laughs bitterly. “I learned the hard way that for some people, love is conditional. I was scared. I felt weak and vulnerable and alone, and I hated it. Mumen took me in, and her parents let me sleep on the couch for an entire year. If it wasn’t for Mumen I probably wouldn’t have graduated high school.” Saitama pauses to throw a rock off the cliff.

“I had a best friend in high school named Ace, and we got our black belts at Bang’s dojo together. Right before graduation he told me he was moving to New York City and wanted me to go with him, and it was the best idea I’d ever heard. We could get out of the boonies and go find our community. We wouldn’t be the only two gay people in a conservative one horse town anymore. The day after graduation we pooled our savings and got the hell out of here. I looked out the back window of that bus and promised I would never come back to this place. I wanted to forget every bit of hurt from my mom abandoning me. In the city we lived in a shitty little apartment in an even shittier little building, but we loved it. We loved that the apartment was our own, and that all our neighbors were gay, and we loved that this little borough was our safe place in a world against us.”

“We met Theo when we were out dancing one night and adopted him into our little family. He fit just like he was always meant to be there. He was a starving artist hoping from couch to couch, so we let him stay a few days and never told him to leave. We had so much fun, Genos. We worked our day jobs and we’d come home and get high and talk for hours, about anything and everything. Theo would write his poems and Ace would play his songs, practicing riffs on his guitar that got us noise complaints. Sometimes they’d write things together. They were connected souls, I think. It was like they were always on the same wavelength. They joked that I was about as creative as a brick, but said I had more than enough heart to make up for it.”

“We’d go to Ace’s shows and I’d dance and hit on girls, and Theo would try to play wingman. He was pretty bad at it though. He also had two left feet when we danced together.” Sai smiles at the memory and leans into Genos. “We were so alive, and we felt so much. Theo had so much wonder, and Ace was always a spitfire. We felt unstoppable together.”

“They were both chasing their dreams, so I decided to chase mine. I’d always wanted to be a hero, so I decided to be a firefighter. I got turned down immediately, because they thought a girl would never be able to pass the test. I decided to prove them wrong. I was tired of being weak, and I wanted to be strong. So strong that no one would question me just because I was a girl, so strong that I would never have to go back in the closet out of fear. I started training. Every day I ran 10km, and did 100 push-ups, 100 sit ups, and 100 squats. It was exhausting, and I was sore all the time. It was worth it though; after a year I started getting pretty strong. I was preparing to take the test when Ace got sick.”

Sai stops talking and stares out at the ocean for a long pause. She can feel herself choking up already. “We didn’t know what was wrong at first. It was like he had a flu that wouldn’t go away. It turned out to be AIDs. They’d just given it that named, acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Before that they just called it gay cancer. Ace had been given a death sentence. There was no treatment. There was no help. No help at all.”

“Theo and I took care of him, but soon Theo wasn’t well either. He started throwing up a lot, and had night sweats. His hands shook so bad he could barely write. He got diagnosed with AIDs only two months after Ace. The doctors said it would be a miracle if they lasted a year. It hit me that my best friends, my found family of four years, were going to die. I didn’t know what to do. I decided to just try and make them as happy as I could. I got Rover because Theo had always wanted a puppy. He was a spark of life that helped us smile when we felt hopeless. Theo loved Rover so much. Ace loved him too, but pretended not to, the bastard.”

“We spent all of our money on experimental treatments and medications, none of which helped. We got high a lot to dull the pain. I watched my boys waste away. They were so thin, Genos. They were always cold. They were constantly hurting. I did everything I could to keep them comfortable. They died on the same day, only a year after Ace had been diagnosed. I haven’t trained since.”

Saitama rubs the tears off her face. “I thought about killing myself. But I couldn’t die after they’d tried so hard to live. I hurt so bad that I went numb. I just stopped feeling. Rover kept looking for Theo and Ace, sniffing their clothes and crying at the door. The only thing that kept me going was caring for that stupid perfect dog. I didn’t go to my job, I just laid in bed and missed them. I was broke. I got an eviction notice, which meant I was going to be homeless. I sold nearly everything I had left just to get enough money to get a bus ticket back here, to this place I said I’d never come back to. In 1982 Brenda Berkman became the first female fire fighter in New York City instead of me.”

Saitama sighs and wipes more tears away. “It’s a sad story, but it was a happy one, once. We had good times. It’s hard to think of the good memories without the sad ones though. It’s like they’ve been tainted.”

Genos stares out at the gray ocean. “I understand too well.” She releases a puff of fire from her blasters, as though she could let go of her frustrations along with the flames. Her flames are orange, not like the brilliant blue of her mothers. They curl through the wind and disappear into just a ghost of warmth on her face and hands.

Saitama is still achingly sad but she feels lighter, like she’s let go of some small piece of suffering. “I talk to Theo and Ace a lot. Do you talk to your family too?”

“How could I talk to them?” Genos mutters. “They’ve been dead for 5 years.”

“You know, talk to their souls. Souls don’t die.” Saitama explains. She’s long since given up on organized religion, but this something she still firmly believes in.

“Is this an Earth belief?” Genos asks. She’s reading her translator definition of ‘soul’, but it’s not making sense. “When Solarian’s die there is no more. We return to dust.”

“Maybe it is an Earth thing but you’re alive, right?” Saitama asks. “That means you have a soul. That means that your family has souls too. Sure bodies turn to dust eventually but souls go on forever. They’re still existing, just somewhere we can’t sense… like heaven, if you believe in that. And I believe they can hear me.”

“Souls don’t die.” Genos repeats. The possibility that her family isn’t completely gone was never an option, and now Saitama so easily says that they are somehow still there. She trusts Saitama so thoroughly for someone she’s only known a few days, but she’s afraid to trust her on this. If Sai's wrong she’ll have hoped for nothing. But Saitama’s eyes are full of such certainty. It's that sharp look again, Saitama's expression confident and breathtaking. Genos starts to shake. “Souls don’t die.” She repeats again, and she feels tears fall. She’s sobbing, and Saitama is hugging her close. Sai’s arms are strong around her, and Genos rests her head on top of hers. The sobs Saitama’s been holding back are breaking free and she gives in and cries. Rover tries to smush between them to check on why his human and cyborg are making such pathetic sounds.

They run out of tears eventually, but don’t let go of each other. Genos feels like Saitama is her anchor to this new reality, and if she shifts the connection will break. Saitama's spiky hair is tickling her nose and sticking to the salty tear tracks on her cheeks. She stares out at the ocean, not really seeing it. “I feel… lighter” Genos says after a while.

“Let me check.” Saitama says, lifting Genos off the ground. “Nope, feels the same to me.” She snickers, and Genos cracks a little smile at her joke. Saitama is practically in Genos’ lap now but doesn’t budge. They sit for a while tossing rocks off the cliff and thinking to themselves.

Saitama stands and shouts, startling Genos out of her thoughts. “Ace! Theo! I love you!!” she yells to the ocean and the wind. “That’s why I’m still hurting, I still love you fucks! One day it’s not going to hurt as much anymore! One day this damn depressive episode will end! I hope you’re doing well wherever you are!”

Saitama nudges the cyborg as she sits back down. "You try Genos." Genos stands, her legs stiff from sitting on the cold ground too long.

“Mother! Father! Zenith! If you can really hear me… I love you! I miss you! I’m safe on Earth with Saitama, and soon I’ll head back into space to find the Mad Cyborg and destroy him! Maybe then we will finally find peace!” Genos shouts. The wind pushes and pulls her at the cliffs edge, and she screams. She screams until her voice box aches and she’s short of breath.

Slowly, she sits next to Saitama, not sure what came over herself. That wasn’t a Solarian thing to do. Saitama pats her on the back. “Good old cathartic screaming” she says. “Sometimes you just got to let it out. I’ve done my fair share of screaming at the sky here.”

“Saitama, let’s talk about happy memories” Genos croaks, her voice scratchy. “It’s been so long since I’ve thought of my family for any purpose other than revenge against the mad cyborg. If their souls really are listening, I want them to hear good things.”

“You go first Gen.” Saitama says, scooting so their shoulders are pressed together.

“When he was 14 my brother Zenith kept fusing a knife to one of our cleaning bots. It would roll around the house sucking up dust and clipping people’s ankles. Every time my mom removed it he would find another knife and stick it back on. He said ‘knifebot’ was for reflexes training.” Genos laughs. “When dad as too busy to cook mom would take us to get takeout because she couldn’t cook for her life. She always told dad she’d made us the food though. Dad knew we got takeout but would pretend mom had cooked it anyway and would complement her impressive cooking skill.”

“Now I know where you get your dry sense of humor.” Saitama laughs. “Oh, I have something. Theo and Ace would compete for who had the most ridiculous hook up stories. They were pretty obviously over embellished, but neither of them cared. They always claimed I was winning the competition even though I never hooked up with anyone, the little shits. Ace called every inconvenience homophobic. The electricity bill was homophobic. The broken lock was homophobic. The neighbor’s barky dog was homophobic. If I told him he needed a damn shower because he was stinky I was homophobic.” Saitama smiles at the memory. “He was such a dick. I wouldn’t have had him any other way though. Theo would let me read his new poems because he said having someone else read them aloud helped him edit. I think he just liked my voice, but I liked getting to be the first person to read his work. It meant a lot.” Saitama runs out of things to say and they lapse into quiet again. The peaceful feeling after a good cry is still soothing their nerves, so they remain still.

Genos speaks up after a few minutes of listening to the waves. “When I was very little we were at some crowded place, I forget where, and my mom asked me what I saw. I told her I saw ‘lots of knees and butts’ and she laughed so hard that she cried. Ever since then my parents would often carry me around on their shoulders so I could see things besides people’s backsides.”

Genos pauses and turns to Saitama. “Wait! Is your mother still here? In this town? I’d like to punch her in the face.”

Saitama absolutely cackles, imaging Genos decking her mother. “Nah, she moved out years ago. She could be anywhere by now. I don’t care, fuck her.”

“Fuck her.” Genos repeats. Saitama laughs and then shivers, cold from sitting still for so long.

“Let’s head home, I’m frozen.” Genos’ body makes a hissing noise and Saitama jumps at the sounds, but relaxes when she feels warm air on her face.

“Does that help?” Genos asks.

“Yeah, feels nice.” Saitama sighs. They stand together at the edge of the cliff and look out to the ocean, and Saitama feels like they both managed to leave some of their sadness here. The ocean will take it with the tides.

Genos turns back towards the trail and Saitama sticks close to her side where it’s warmer. The walk home seems shorter than the walk there. Maybe it’s just because every step feels just a little easier. It’s not long before they’re standing on the porch and shuffling inside. They help each other out of all their layers, Saitama laughing when Genos gets the last piece of clothing off and shakes herself like a dog. Genos reverts her colors and takes a moment to appreciate being her preferred colors again.

She pulls some snacks out of the pantry while Saitama munches on a banana. “Ah!! Genos! Don’t eat that together!” Saitama yells, flabbergasted at the cracker-sardine-peanut butter monstrosity she is seeing Genos put in her mouth. Genos chews and shallows, making Saitama want to gag.

“Why? It tastes good and is high in protein and minerals.”

“Dude your taste buds must be messed up.” Saitama says, reaching to snag the peanut butter jar from her roommate. “You eat peanut butter with things like bananas, not fish.” To emphasize her point, she puts some peanut butter on her banana and takes a bite. Genos leans over and takes a bite too.

“It’s good” she agrees, eating straight sardines out of the tin now and licking her fingers. “These are better. What about bananas and fish?”

Saitama makes a face of absolute disgust. Rover sniffs around the kitchen floor for crumbs and Genos drops him little tidbits while Sai pretends she doesn’t notice. They’re lounging the living room later when Saitama comes downstairs with an armful of her comics. “Hey Genos I want to show you these, but promise you won’t rip them.

“I promise.” Genos says sincerely.

“Okay, here.” Saitama drops the pile in her lap and points to the first one. “Superman’s sort of my favorite, so I have most of these are his comics. But I’ve also got Spiderman, X-Men, some Avengers annuals, and a few Guardians of the Galaxy volumes too.” Genos opens the top comic with something like reverence and starts reading, immediately captivated. Saitama sits next to her on the couch and rereads a few from the bottom of the stack. A train goes by and rattles the house, but otherwise all is still as the pair are absorbed in their reading and Rover naps.

They pass some time like that until Genos pokes Saitama’s leg. “Sai? Why do all the bad guys look like me?” she asks. “Lots of these villains look like me, but most of the heroes look like you.” Saitama looks at the Uncanny X-Men comic Genos is holding, and yeah that cyborg sure is murdering some mutants.

“Yeah, I guess a lot of the villains are cybernetic, but there’s some heroes too. Saitama digs through the stack. “Ah here we go. Cyborg, part of the Teen Titans. One of the good guys.” She holds the comic out for Genos. “One of those books you tore apart was an old sci-fi, right? I think there was a hero cyborg in there too. And there's the Autobots, but maybe they don't count as cyborgs.” Genos nods and starts reading the new comic, X-Men temporarily forgotten.

When she finishes it she pokes Saitama again, getting a light kick in the side in return. “Kid, I’m reading.” Saitama huffs, but she puts her comic down anyway.

“Don’t you still want to be a hero?” Genos asks.

“Not really. What’s the point of being super strong when I couldn’t even use it to save my family? It was just a silly dream Genos. All these comics are fiction, there’s no real heroes. There’s just people with bleeding hero complexes who never do anything worthwhile or go get themselves killed trying to make a difference.”

“But if you were super strong you could make a difference and not die.” Genos points out.

“That’s true, but I’m only human Genos. We kind of max out in strength at a pretty low point. And I’d have to train again. It’d be hard to start again without a really good motivation though…” she looks up at Genos and has an idea.

“What if we trained together?”

Genos raises her eyebrows in surprise. “I don’t mean to offend you Saitama, but I don't need to train.”

“It’d be decent practice though right? I bet you’re rusty after traveling through space for so long.”

“I’m not rusty” Genos says, a little offended. “I’m just worried I could injure you.”

“You held Paprika just fine right? You know your strength.” Saitama’s getting excited now. “We could do my old regimen together.”

Genos isn’t sure about this idea, but she can’t say no to Saitama’s smile. Now she’s thinking, and curiosity wins out over her reservations. “Can we spar now?” Genos asks. “I’d like to test your strength.”

“Now? Sure yeah let’s do this.” Saitama pulls on layers so fast that she puts her coat on backwards and inside out and has to fix it.

They go to the one of the empty paddocks and stand knee deep in the snow. “What are the rules?” Genos asks. She’s not even in battle mode, confident she take Saitama out without engaging it. The snow is cold under her feet and she’s thinking of how it will slow Saitama down more than her.

“Basic wrestling; mostly because I’m pretty sure if I landed a hit on you I’d break my hand. Whoever gets pinned to the ground for 5 seconds loses. No biting, hair pulling, or scratching.” Saitama says. “Ready?”

“Yes!”

Saitama launches herself at Genos, grabbing around her neck and throwing her weight down, hoping to pull Genos to the ground. It’s a pretty classic judo move, something Bang taught her years ago. She’d forgotten to consider that Genos weighs four times as much as her, and the cyborg barely budges. Genos drops forward and pins Saitama to the ground easily. Sai tries to buck her off to no avail, but just barely manages to wiggle free before Genos counts to five. Genos goes to grab for her and Saitama ducks, tackling Genos’ feet out from under her. Genos falls back and Saitama goes with her, trying to hold her down.

Genos rolls over easily and pins Saitama on her back, counting to five with a smug grin on her face. “I win.” She says. “Let’s go again.” Saitama replies, and Genos catches a flash of that sharp look again. Genos is barely exerting herself, but her breath is coming fast now. Something about witnessing Saitama give it her all is exciting her.

The next match goes similarly, Genos simply too powerful and heavy for Saitama to pin. Genos is almost supernaturally fast and her grip is incredibly strong. Saitama’s not used to being the weak one and it’s throwing her off. She can tell Genos is holding back, which only makes her want to try harder. She throws herself around with all her strength, and she manages to get Genos down a few times. The snow cushions their shenanigans and soon it deescalates to the point where they are just chasing each other around, throwing snowballs and screeching. Saitama gets Genos in the face with a big snowball and runs away at Genos’ murderous expression. She climbs a tree when Genos comes after her with a snowball the size of a beach ball and refuses to come down. Eventually they call a truce and head inside for tea.

Genos, it turns out, isn’t well equipped to handle caffeine. Sai had made chai with milk and honey, and she’s pretty sure Genos’ eyes aren’t supposed to be that dilated. She’s vibrating in her seat on the couch. “Never have coffee.” Saitama says, and Genos nods.

“No coffee. Am I dying?” Genos asks. “I feel a little bit like I’m dying.”

“No, you’re not dying. Just caffeine high. It’s probably making you anxious.” Saitama hums to herself. “Guess you’ll have to stick to herbal teas. I thought you said your body was advanced and stuff?”

“I’ve never had caffeine before, so my body did not interpret it as a nervous system stimulant and filter it appropriately. Why do you regularly consume a psychoactive substance?”

“I don’t know, it tastes good? Makes me less tired?” Saitama says. She gets Genos a cup of water. “Drink this, go pee, and drink another cup, it’ll help. You do pee, right?”

“Yes. Not as often as you though.” Genos says, downing the water and getting up to drink more. Four glasses of water and bathroom trip later, Genos seems to be feeling better. Saitama decides to be a little more careful about what she feeds her.

Saitama digs the promised fudgsicle out of the freezer and gives it to Genos, and they watch cooking shows on PBS. Genos bolts up the stairs when Mumen pulls in so she can put on some clothes. “Can’t believe I live with a nudist.” Saitama tells Rover as she goes to get the door. “Ace would’ve thought that was rich.”

Mumen shuffles into the kitchen still in her uniform and looking tired. “Long day?” Saitama asks.

“Yeah, but at least it’s over now. Mom’s making shepherd’s pie for dinner.”

“Nice. I’m ready to go, Genos is just getting changed.” Genos runs down the stairs and stops just behind Saitama. Saitama notes she looks softer again, big human looking eyes blinking back at her. Between her all black outfit and having her mane of hair down she reminds Saitama of Stevie Nicks. She’s always been a little gay for Stevie Nicks.

“Hello Miss Mumen.” She says, still a little shy. Saitama wonders if she should try to get Genos out of the house more, but she’s basically a hermit herself.

“Hi Genos.” Mumen says. Her smile is tired but warm. “I’m glad you’re coming over for dinner, mom’s always telling me to bring new people over.”

They walk out to the car, Genos in the front and Saitama in the back. Genos turns her recorder on, wanting to log this event. She’s accrued enough earth data now that it has its own folder in her databanks. Genos looks out the window the entire ride, fascinated by what she sees. There’s lots of weird houses like Saitama’s. This confirms her theory that humans just build their houses in the wild and live there, which is crazy. There’s so little control that way. They drive by a field of cows and Saitama talks about the milk quality of Holsteins verses Jerseys. For a while it’s just rolling hills and forest as they bump down the dirt and gravel road. The road bumps to pavement and more houses start popping up. Genos spots a group of people and is surprised to see that while some of them look very similar others look quite different. Not that different than Solarian’s, she figures. Mumen’s home is an old brick townhouse on the edge of downtown. They pile out of the car and up to dark green front door. Mumen knocks twice and the door clicks open, a petite red-headed woman with a face covered in freckles inviting them in.

“Come in! I was wondering when I’d finally get you over here for dinner! I feel like I haven’t’ seen you in ages!” Saitama gets squished in a hug that reveals the strength hidden in her little frame. Mumen’s mother Magnolia is five foot nothing and still manages to seem like she could kick your butt if she wanted to. Saitama knows she’s kind, but has never taken bullshit from anyone. She and Mumen are a lot alike in that sense.

“It’s only been three weeks Mags.” Saitama defends. Magnolia leans around Saitama to look at Genos.

“Hello dear! You must be Genos. Mumen didn’t tell me you were so pretty! Are you a model?”

Genos shakes her head, looking around with wide eyes. “I’m a writer.”

“Oh, well you should be a model. Look at those legs! And your groovy hair! Is that natural or a perm?”

“It’s natural ma’am” Genos says.

“So polite! Some people just get all the good looks.” Magnolia laughs, winking at Genos. “Dinner’s almost ready, I know Saitama’s always famished when she gets here.”

Saitama pauses where she’s got her hand in the cookie jar. “What? I heard my name.”

“Point proven.” Mumen snorts, reaching in and handing Genos a peanut butter cookie. Magnolia herds them out of the kitchen, saying they’ll ruin their appetite if they keep eating snacks. Genos wants to explore this new place. It’s cozy and crowded, and definitely different than Saitama’s house. There are plants in every corner and it smells like old linens and sunlight. Saitama sits upside down on the couch with her legs up the wall and eats her cookie.

Genos sits on the floor, wary of breaking any furniture, and nibbles on her snack. Mumen disappears upstairs and returns in casual clothes. She flops down on the couch on top of Saitama.

“Rude.” Saitama huffs, trying to wiggle out from Mumen. “Is this how you treat your guests?”

“You’ve lived here, you don’t count as a guest anymore.” Mumen says. Mumen gets her fingers under Saitma’s hoodie and Saitama squeals.

“Jesus Mary and Joseph your hands are cold oh my god Mumen stop! Genos! Help!” Mumen cackles and continues her onslaught, only to gasp in surprise when Genos lifts her easily off Saitama.

“Oh wow, you really are strong.” Mumen says. “We should go to the gym together sometime.”

“You’d have to pick her up Mum, she can’t drive.” Saitama says as she smooths out her hoodie.

“I could do that” Mumen hums as she sits back on the couch.

Movement catches Genos eyes as a beautiful longhair tabby emerges from one of the side rooms. Genos clicks at her like Saitama does to the sheep and the cat pads over. “Does she bite?” Genos asks when the cat softly butts her arm with her head.

“Nah, Gingersnap’s mellowed out with age.” Mumen says.

“Yeah, she’s a lot nicer than Lady Boros.” Saitama says, reaching out a hand to the tabby. Gingersnap ignores her and lays down in Genos’ lap, purring like a motor.

“I have no luck with cats.” Saitama sighs, and Mumen pats her back in false consolation.

“Dinners ready.” Magnolia calls and Saitama beelines for the kitchen, cat issues forgotten for the time being.

“I can’t move” Genos says with dawning horror, looking down at the cat on her lap.

“I have to feed her dinner anyway.” Mumen laughs, scooping the large cat up into her arms. “Ginger, you’re fat!” She says to the cat, who only purrs in response. “She’s like a big sack of potatoes” Mumen laughs as she carries the cat into the kitchen and doles her out some food.

Genos sits very slowly at the kitchen table, but luckily the chair is quite sturdy. She and Saitama let out twin sighs of relief. Genos inspects the plate set before her. The food doesn’t look particularly good, but it smells amazing.

Magnolia sits herself at the head of the table and clears her throat, bringing her hands together in front of her. “Lord, bless this meal we are about to receive. Bless my home and my children.” Genos frowns, not sure what’s going on. Saitama’s sneaking food into her mouth while Mumen and Magnolia have their eyes closed in prayer. “Allow your light to guide us and protect us from harm. Through your son Jesus amen.” Magnolia says, doing the sign of the cross in front of herself.

“Itadakimasu” Saitama says, Mumen and Magnolia mimicking her. Genos is even more confused now. What does that mean? Are these some kind of pre-meal rituals? Magnolia and Mumen are acting like this is standard procedure and start eating. Genos gives up trying to figure it out and digs in. The food is good, buttery and savory. Genos quickly finishes her portion and goes up for seconds.

When she sits back down at the table it strikes her how long it’s been since she’d eaten dinner like this. The food feels heavy in her stomach, and she feels herself drifting. This reminds her of her family. Of all the innocence before everything fell apart. Saitama’s hand is rubbing her thigh, and she blinks. The conversation at the table has stopped and everyone’s looking at her.

“You alright hon?” Magnolia asks.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” Genos says. She eats the rest of her food, but she barely tastes it now. She wonders if she’ll ever feel like her past isn’t haunting her. She helps Magnolia clean up so she feels like she’s doing something. Magnolia praises her helpfulness and asks Saitama teasingly why she can’t be more like Genos.

“I’m lazy.” Saitama whines.

“I made cobbler.” Magnolia says, and Saitama jumps up. Mags laughs good naturedly. “Lazy until there’s food or sales. I’ve seen you in the grocery store with your coupons.”

“Mom’s got your number” Mumen laughs as she grabs out some dessert plates. Saitama sticks her tongue out at her but Mumen only smiles wider.

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

They have to walk down the street a bit to get to Saitama's truck. Genos notes that it’s kind of… rusty. She’s not surprised when the engine whines before it finally rolls over and starts. Genos at least appreciates the extra leg room compared to Mumen’s smaller car. She watches the streetlights flick by until they are off the main street and plunged into darkness. The headlights seem dim in the deep expanse of the night.

“That was okay right?” she asks. “Mags really seems to like you.”

“Yes. I had a good time.” Genos says. “I’m ready to sleep soon though.”

“You and me both buddy.” Saitama sighs. “It’s been a long day.” She turns on the radio and Stevie Nick's crooning voice fills the car.

"The clouds never expect it When it rains But the sea changes colours But the sea Does not change So with the slow graceful flow Of age I went forth with an age old Desire to please On the edge of seventeen

Just like the white winged dove Sings a song Sounds like she's singin' Whoo, baby, whoo, said whoo Just like the white winged dove Sings a song Sounds like she's singin' Whoo, baby, whoo Said, whoo

Well then suddenly There was no one left standing In the hall, yeah, yeah In a flood of tears That no one really ever heard fall at all When I went searchin' for an answer Up the stairs and down the hall Not to find an answer Just to hear the call Of a nightbird singin' (Come away) (Come away)

Just like the white winged dove Sings a song Sounds like she's singin' Whoo, baby, whoo, said whoo Just like the white winged dove Sings a song Sounds like she's singin' Whoo, baby, whoo Said, whoo

Well, I hear you (well, I hear you) In the morning (in the morning) And I hear you (and I hear you) At nightfall (at nightfall) Sometime to be near you Is to be unable to hear you My love I'm a few years older than you (I'm a few years older than you)"

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

Saitama feeds the animals dinner with minimal effort and takes a hot shower. She’s decided she’ll do the barn deep clean tomorrow, since it’s supposed to be above freezing most of the day. Saitama pulls one of Theo’s old band shirts and the first pair of clean panties she finds to sleep in and grabs her bong off the dresser, pausing when she notices Genos is dozing on her bed. She’s got her lion cuddled in her arms and it’s really cute. She nudges her with her foot and plops down on the bed. “Hey Genos, if you don’t want second hand smoke you might want to move.”

“S’fine, I’ve got filters.” Genos mumbles sleepily. Saitama shrugs and lights the bowl. The taste of smoke is a Pavlovian call to relax at this point, and Saitama feels like she’s comfortably settled in her body before the high even hits her. A few more hits and she blows a smoke ring just to impress Genos.

“Can I try?” Genos asks. Saitama tenses at the question and it makes her cough.

“Um I don’t think that’s a good idea kid, you barley managed caffeine. This is... what did you call it? Psychoactive? A psychoactive depressant.”

“Does it help with nightmares?” Genos asks.

The question takes Saitama by surprise, and she can’t help but remember the night when Genos had woken up screaming and glowing like hot embers. The burns on her arms had already peeled away to leave new baby skin underneath. She’s fairly certain she’s had sunburns that were worse. “It depends on the person. Weed’s always helped me sleep like a rock, but it would give Theo weird dreams and wake him up at night. Some people get paranoid when their high, and other people get really happy. It makes me happy. It’s so hard to feel happy when I’m sober.” Saitama huffs. “My brain chemistry’s not so good.”

Genos reaches for the bong and Saitama moves her hand away. “You can try, but lock that battle whatever first.” Genos nods and manually disables battle mode. She has to manually disable some of her air filters as well, which takes her a while as the doctor’s AI tries to dissuade her. Genos uses the small torch in her pointer finger to light the bowl and inhales. The smoke is thick and she fights the urge to cough, blowing the smoke out in a rush and swallowing a mouth full of saliva. That wasn’t as pleasant as Saitama made it look. Her mouth tastes gross and her lungs feel a bit sore. Why do that? She feels the start of a warm sensation creep through her limbs, and she finds herself smiling. Oh, that’s why. She feels happy.

“Wow, pretty good for your first time. I coughed like a bitch.” Saitama says with begrudging respect. “Do you feel okay? Want some water?”

Genos giggles and oh that’s adorable. “Yes please.” Genos says and when Saitama gets up Genos tries to ignore the way her yellow panties peek out from under her black shirt. She must’ve spaced out because suddenly Saitama is pressing a cold glass into her hands. Genos watches the two square ice cubes bounce around in the water. She takes a slow sip and somehow it’s the best water she’s ever had. Saitama giggles at the cyborg’s expression.

“No more for you, that was a pretty big hit.” Saitama says, putting the bong back on her dusty dresser. There’s wrappers and dirty tissues scattered around, and a forgotten mug of tea from a week ago has created its own ecosystem. It’s been a long time since she’s cleaned her depression cave. Now that Genos cleaned the rest of the house, it seems extra dirty in here by comparison. “I should clean up in here soon.” She mumbles to herself.

“I can clean tomorrow” Genos chirps. “I like cleaning. I like helping.” Genos breaks out into giggles, wigging a little on the bed. “These blankets are really soft. I like your bed. Can I stay with you? I don’t want to be alone.” All the words just slip out, and Genos can’t be bothered to care.

Saitama thinks over the request, her thoughts processing at half speed. Genos looks big on her queen bed, but there’s still enough space. She’ll just have to not sleep like a starfish for once. “Sure, sleepover. You better not kick me in your sleep though.” A thought occurs slowly to her high mind, and she pauses. “Is that why you didn’t sleep last night? You were lonely?”

Genos nods, clutching her plushy tighter. “I get nightmares. Sleeping with you seemed to help before.”

Saitama pulls the comforter out from under Genos so she can spread it on top of her. “Scooch over. Oh wait, where’s Rover gonna fit? Guess he’ll figure it out.” Saitama yawns hugely.

“Why do you do that?” Genos asks, pointing at Saitama’s mouth. She misses and pokes her cheek.

Saitama pokes her back, surprised by how soft Genos’ face is. “What, yawn? I don’t know. It feels good but I don’t do it on purpose. Everyone does it. Even Rover and the sheep do it.”

Genos yawns, and stares at Saitama in confusion. “I don’t see the appeal.”

Saitama whacks her in the face with a pillow and Genos laughs. Rover jumps up onto the bed and curls up between Genos’ legs and the edge of the bed. Saitama gets under the blankets. Genos is warm, and her body heat makes Sai feels like she’s sleeping next to a space heater. It’s… really nice. Back in the studio there’d always been one of the boys in the bed with her, the other on the pullout couch. Benefit of the pullout couch was that you had it to yourself, but it was lumpy. The bed was comfier but always shared. Usually it was Ace on the pullout, because he kicked and stole all the blankets and was generally a menace to restful sleep. Memories of her and Theo cuddling before bed stir up and make her want to reach out for Genos. But Genos is already asleep, a peaceful look on her face where’s she’s tucked under the heart patterned comforter. Saitama settles for tangling their legs together and drifts off to sleep.

#opm #one punch man #genosai #saigenos #rule 63 #f/f #genos #saitama #mumen #mumen rider #shelter

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