#dunno when that’ll be though

[iolitemoth]

making an outer wilds au that takes place sometime after the end of the game, can’t wait to inflict it on the world /hj

what i’ve got so far:

-everyone is human(oid. human-like? not sure, still have to iron it out)

-much of the main cast is in college; their field of study mirrors what they specialized in/talked most about in-game (ex.- hal = ancient languages, gabbro = quantum physics, riebeck = ancient cultures + architecture)

-they’re all part of a club called Wild Ventures

-Sunstone + Hal are the newest members

-Gabbro + Sunstone have hazy memories of a life they lived long ago, but don’t recall until one fateful meeting when Sunstone joins Wild Ventures as its’ newest member

-Solanum is there <3 she uses a text-to-speech device and has a walking stick; i considered giving her prosthetics but decided against it

-Gabbro is hard-of-hearing and wears hearing aids; they alternate between speaking and sign

-Gabbro writes poetry

-Gabbro and Solanum are both studying quantum physics

-ironically, Sunstone has a deep distaste for the sun

-like the game, there is like one (1) gendered person in the entire cast (it’s solanum)

. . . . . .

bonus sunstone

[charliemwrites]

Part 2 of Woof Woof Konig

Content: Animal Injury (Non-Descriptive)

The walk back to your home is slow. Johnny stays glued to the new pup’s side - as much as he can given how the other towers over him. Ghost pulls ahead to patrol the path, always circling back to press his nose to your hand.

The new dog is so big that his head nearly reaches yours. He keeps his chin down, though, almost ducked, eyes flicking shyly to you. His eyes are big, one sky blue and the other deep brown.

When you reach the house, you nearly have to push his big butt in the door as he hesitates on the porch. Ghost stands watch behind you while Johnny tip-taps on the other side, and you pat at flanks breathing like bellows.

Finally, he inches far enough inside that Ghost can squeeze in and you can close (and lock) the door. You take a deep breath once you do, feeling the last hour crashing over you.

“Jeez, bud,” you sigh, offering your hand to your newest charge. “What a day, huh?”

A quiet, almost shy “snarf”. You grin and scritch gently at his chin, then flick your eyes to the bloody cut over his eyebrow. You click your tongue sadly.

“Alright, baby. We gotta take care of that. Then you can be done for the day, okay?”

You should probably take him to the vet - big fuckoff sized dog with an injury. But you can’t imagine trying to bundle him into your reasonably sized car. Even getting Ghost in there is a struggle the two times you’ve had to do it.

So you leave the pup awkwardly standing, trembling, by the door and collect the dog first aid. You also grab the jar of dog-safe peanut butter. Even Ghost loves that shit.

When you come back, the dog seems to droop when he sees the kit in your hands.

“I know baby, it’ll be okay. I got something that’ll make it better.”

You approach slowly, carefully, watching for any signs of fear aggression. Issue is, there’s every chance he could snap without warning, but you’re praying he’s not one of those. Your boys would go ballistic.

Thankfully, he lets himself be bribed with globs of peanut butter while you clean up the cuts around his head. There’s a chip taken out of his ear that nearly brings you to tears. And the poor boy only whines every once in a while, pressing his face into your chest while you work as quickly and gently as you can. No aggression, no lashing out.

In the end, you press your face to his neck and scratch gently at his shoulders.

“No one is ever going to hurt you again, honey. Not here, not with me.” You press a gentle kiss to his muzzle. “I take care of everyone.”

You get him settled with some blankets and a fresh bowl of food while you check on your boys. Ghost leans into your side while you cry a bit, whispering that you love him and he’s been so good.

Johnny whines and licks the tears away (smelling a bit like peanut butter of course) when you turn to him, pressing his face up under your chin.

“Such good boys,” you sniffle. “Dunno what I’d do without you.”

They practically baby you for the rest of the evening. One with you, one with the new pup, who’s resting and warming up by the heater, bowl empty. They don’t even bark too much when you decide to order food and the delivery comes - perhaps sensing that you’re too drained for their overprotective antics.

When it’s time for bed, you cross over to your new boy and scratch at his hind leg.

“You wanna come to bed, sweetie? You don’t have to, but I don’t want you to be alone out here.”

He stares at you, mismatched eyes way too big. You make one last kissy noise at him and then head to your room, Ghost and Johnny following as usual. Just as you’re about to turn off the light, a big form lumbers into your doorway.

“Hi bud!” you call softly, patting the mattress. “You wanna try coming up?”

He seems to consider it, eyeing the bed and the space available between you and the other two dogs, before politely walking to the dog bed. It’s technically Ghost’s bed, though he only uses it when you’re getting ready to go out.

“You can sleep there, sweetie. I’m sure Ghostie boy doesn’t mind.”

You glance at him as if to confirm, but Ghost is predictably pretending that you’re not talking. Grumpy boy hardly ever responds once he’s tucked into bed.

You smile as the new dog carefully climbs onto the cushion.

“Alright, good night boys. I love you.” You pause, make eye contact with your new pup. “Even you, bud.”

Late in the night, you could swear you hear voices. The low rumble of men talking. Even dream of someone kissing your forehead.

[incarnon]

laz has ‘i can fix him’ disease but his idea of ‘fixing him’ generally involves just fucking the guy. to his credit it does usually work

[evanpeterswhoresblog]

A Different Kind of High

Tate Langdon x f!reader

warnings: use of marijuana, smut, p in v, unprotected, slight fingering, lose of virginity, slight innocence kink? lmk if there’s any others!!!

summary: you died a virgin, but that doesn’t mean you need to be one as a ghost…

word count: 1.9k

~~~

“I stole some weed from the newbies, you want some?” Tate asks as he hops up on what used to be your bed.

You’ve been dead for only a few months, living in the imfamous Murder House for a year prior. It was strange being dead, seeing people pass by on the street everyday knowing that’ll never be you again. You suppose this was what you deserved, after all you committed suicide. But never during your life did you think this was what being dead would be like. Trapped in a house with a dozen other ghosts for eternity.

Tate has been your friend since before you died, of course you didn’t know he was a ghost until you joined him on the other side. He’s charming, very down to Earth. You really don’t know much about him, even now. You’ve heard whispers about him being crazy, and you believe it. Sometimes through the night you hear his screams, his murderous laughter. It doesn’t bother you though. You’re already dead, what’s the worst he could do?

“I’ve never smoked before,” you reply.

He chuckles. “Are you serious?”

You turn red. “You saw my parents, they never let me do anything. When I used to go out they’d make me be back by nine. Even on weekends. I always figured they’d know so I didn’t bother.”

“At least tell me you’ve drank.” You shake your head, a small laugh escaping at the face Tate makes. “Have you done anything?”

“I kissed a boy when I was twelve,” you answer honestly.

“Was that your only kiss?”

“Yeah…” You mumble.

“Wow, I can’t believe you’re this innocent, I always thought girls with strict parents did the dirtiest things,” he replies. He grabs the baggie of weed out of his pocket and holds it up. “You’re going to try this, and you’re going to love it.”

You don’t object, and instead watch as Tate begins to role a joint. He does it effortlessly, he’s done it many times before. You know from previous conversations that he’s done drugs much stronger than weed, the main one being cocaine. You had asked him how it felt to do it, to be alive and on a drug so strong. He told you it felt like he needed to run a mile while he was high. He also made you promise to do it with him one day.

When he finishes rolling the joint he offers it to you. “You want the first hit?”

“Fuck it, yeah,” you say.

He gives you a smile that makes butterflies swirl in your stomach. Though the two of you are only friends, you can’t deny how attractive Tate is. Even though everythings only been platonic, sometimes with certain looks and phrases, he makes you feel some special type of way.

You take the joint inbetween your lips, your eyes locked on Tate. He grabs a lighter and lifts it to the other end of the joint.

“I’d usually say take a small hit, but usually it takes a little more to get us high so take as much as you think is necessary,” he explains before lighting the end.

You inhale deeply, the smoke it hot and you know if you were alive it would burn your lungs completely. Thankfully though, it only stings a little. After a few seconds Tate takes it from your lips and you exhale slowly, watching as he repeats your actions. You lean back against the pillows, you feel a little something.

“How long does it usually take to get high?” You ask.

“I dunno a few minutes I guess, why? Do you feel it?”

Your head feels light and the room looks brighter. “I think so, I feel… lighter.”

“Oh yeah, you’re high,” he replies with a laugh.

He lays beside you on the bed, both of you staring at the ceiling in silence. You hear him take a few more puffs of the joint, wondering how he does’t feel anything yet. Your whole body feels electrified, every muscle alive and thriving. You almost feel like how you did before you died, almost. It makes you smile.

“Why did I never try this before…” you mumble, a small laugh leaving your lips. “Fuck I feel good.”

“I know right, it’s pretty great.”

You turn your head and stare at him. “Can I tell you a secret?”

He meets your gaze. “Of course.”

You don’t know where the sudden burst of honesty comes from. Usually, you’re embarrassed to talk about anything you did or more specifically didn’t do in your life. However, as you stare into Tate’s dark eyes you feel the urge to tell him every little detail about you.

“I died a virgin,” you whisper. “Like I never even got fingered or anything.”

You stare at each other for another few seconds before you both burst out into laughter. You don’t know why it’s so funny, but it is. You feel amazing, like you’re on top of the world. But you also feel like every word that comes out of your mouth is hilarious.

“I shouldn’t have said that I’m sorry,” you say as the laughter dies down. “I’m so stupid.”

“Hey, you aren’t stupid. I know a few other ghosts died virgins, like the nurses,” he replies, that stupid smirk on his face.

“God don’t say that!” You exclaim. “At least they chose to die virgins, I tried to hard to be fucked before I died but every time I started to become interested in someone my stupid parents ruined it.”

Tate props his head up on his hand so he’s now looking down at you. “Well on the brightside your parents are gone now so you can fuck anyone you want.”

“Yeah but the options aren’t exactly ideal. There’s really only Travis, but he’d definitely not be the best option for a first time,” you laugh.

“I’m here too you know.”

“What do you mean?” You ask.

“You know what I mean,” Tate answers, his voice quieter than before.

Your laughter stops at his words, and you meet his eyes once again. This time, you can sense something lingering behind his eyes, something you haven’t ever noticed before. You smile, trying to ease the tension that’s filled the room. He’s probably just messing with you. However, he doesn’t smile back at you, his expression stays the same.

You’re in disbelief. Is this real? Is your best friend really telling you he’d take your virginity? This can’t be real, you think. Maybe it’s just because of the weed, maybe it’s doing something to your head. You can’t deny the butterflies that form in your stomach at the thought of it though. Tate would be a good first. He’s experienced, but not with too many people. You find yourself suddenly imaging it, how it would feel, sharing that experience with someone you truly enjoy being around. It wouldn’t be so bad, you decide.

“All right,” You say. You kick your shoes off without breaking eye contact. “Is it going to hurt?”

He smirks and follows your actions. “It usually does the first time.”

You smile and start undoing the buttons on your jeans. You know if you hadn’t taken that puff of the joint you’d be selfconcious getting undressed in front of Tate. He watches you carefully as you remove your pants, your shirt, even your bra. It’s silent, but not an awkward silence, more of a comforting silence. You only look away from him as you slowly pull your panties off and throw them into the newly formed pile of your clothes.

It’s your turn to watch now. Your eyes trail up and down Tate’s body as he slowly undresses. He’s so beautiful, his body is perfect. You can’t stop yourself from reaching over and running your fingertips over the toned muscles of his abdomen. Your eyes meet once again and you almost shiver at how full his eyes have become with lust.

Quickly, he leans his head down and connects your lips to his. The kiss is slow at first, like you’re treading the water. But as you start to understand how it works, you move your lips against his, following his motions. The soft gentle kiss becomes full of passion. You twirl your fingers in his soft blond curls, loving the way his breathing gets heavier as you do so.

He moves on top of you, hit body fitting between your legs swiftly. Your body feels like it’s on fire, your skin feels like it needs to be touched. Tate rests one of his hands beside your head and the other begins to slide down your chest, your stomach, till it reaches the place it was searching for. You feel him smile into the kiss.

“So excited already…” he mumbles.

His fingers run between your folds, collecting the wetness that’s already begun to drip out of you. He circles them on your clit for a few minutes, making you moan from the new but amazing feeling. After that he slides his pointer finger down to your entrance.

“Is this okay?” He asks.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Thank you?” He chuckles. He begins to slowly push his finger inside you and you grab his free arm.

“Thank you for doing this,” you clarify.

“I like how innocent you are, but I can’t lie I’ve always dreamt of being the one to rip that innocence away,” he whispers.

Before you can reply he lowers his head to your neck and begins to leave sloppy kisses along your skin. You can’t believe this is really happening. Once his finger is fully inside you, he starts to thrust it in and out at a slow pace. You moan, your back arching off the matress. He continues this for a few minutes before adding a second, preparing you perfectly for what’s going to come next.

He kisses down your chest until he’s at your breasts. He sucks and licks your nipples, it feels amazing. You can’t take it any longer, you need him. You grab his chin and connect your lips. He kisses you harder than before, biting and sucking your tongue into his mouth. You love it. You can’t get enough of it.

“I’m ready Tate,” you say breathlessly as your lips part. “I want to do it.”

“All right.” He pulls his fingers out of you and you watch him position his hard dick on your entrance. He looks down at you, brushing a piece of hair away from your face. “If it hurts to bad just tell me and I’ll stop okay?”

You nod, and before you can say anything else he starts to move. It hurts, but not too bad. Tate kisses you as he does this, it makes the pain more bearable. You wrap one of your hands around his back, your nails slowly dragging across the skin of Tate’s back. He only kisses you harder. His thrusts are slow, but your thighs still clench around his hips.

After a few minutes he asks if he can go faster, you tell him yes. The pain slowly morphed into a small pleasure that you enjoy. You continue to claw at his back, even more as his pace inscreases. You’re out of breath, the only sounds in the room being your moans along with Tate’s heavy breathing. It’s pure bliss.

The end comes faster than you want, but you don’t mind. You love the way Tate whispers your name as he cums, and how strongly his dick pulses inside you. You hold him close after it’s over, his skin against yours makes you feel alive again.

“Was it okay?” he asks as he lays on you.

“It was perfect,” you answer.

And so it was.

[arctrooper69]

As Iron Sharpens Iron

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" Proverbs 27:17

Beta-read by @dragonrider9905

Chapter 8:

Previous // Next

Warnings: Canon violence. Bad decisions.

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

“Okay, let’s go over the plan one more time,” you said quietly.

Omega nodded, pointing at the layout on the screen. “You’ll set off that crate of detonators right here, just inside the front door.”

You nodded. "Yep, and that’ll trigger an alarm which should draw most of the guards towards me - "

“And that’s my cue to sneak down into the cell block to rescue everybody while you grab the staff from the treasure room!” Omega finished emphatically.

“Good!” You grinned, “Remember to keep your communicator on but only use it to contact me if something goes wrong.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

***

Fifteen minutes crept by slowly.

Omega should be at her station about now, you thought.

You wanted to know how she was fairing, but not hearing from her was a good thing. It meant she wasn't in trouble.

Five minutes later, the communicator chirped quietly at your side.

“The guards aren’t leaving!” Omega’s whispered voice sounded tense, “What do I do? I don’t think that diversion worked!”

You peered around the corner into the treasure room. Most of the guards had left.

Only two here. I could take them if I had to.

You could see the staff with it’s glimmering emerald in a case on the back wall.

That was easy.

You lifted the communicator to your lips, trying to remember the readout on the console sitting one floor above.

“There should be a ventilation shaft right above you,” you whispered.

Silence.

“I don’t see one!” Omega whispered back urgently, “And it sounds like there are more guards headed this way!”

Groaning inwardly, you began to wish you hadn’t thought of such a stupid plan. Omega needed you, and you knew that you should get out of there while you still could.

But the staff, a tiny voice whispered in your head, it’s right there. It won’t take long.

You bit your lip. You shouldn’t. A stupid antique wasn’t worth Omega’s life.

Omega’s a smart girl, that voice continued, she’s plenty capable on her own.

It made everything sound so simple. Get the staff, get the boys - that was the plan, wasn’t it?

Hunter will be impressed. He’d like you again.

Guilt churned in your gut as you lifted the communicator again. It chimed just as you opened your mouth, about to tell her that you were on the way.

“Wait, I see it! It’s on the other end of the hall, though, but I think I can make it.”

“Ok,” you responded, “Do it, but be careful!”

“I will!”

Sucking your lower lip in conflicted thought, you made up your mind. “It shouldn’t take me much longer. I’ll grab the staff and meet you by the cell block.”

“Got it.”

You chewed on your lip again, that guilty dread hadn’t abated. If anything, it had gotten worse. Something was going to go wrong - you could feel it. Something wasn’t right.

You looked back up at the staff.

That’s just the anxiety talking, you tried to convince yourself, everything is still going as planned. Just get the damned thing and go help Omega.

You took a deep breath, feeling the anxiety fade away as you slipped into the room.

I got this.

The crates and boxes stacked haphazardly in the dim lighting made it easy to manouver unseen through the treasure room.

“Crazy about those thermal detonators, right!?”

You froze.

“Yeah man,” came the response, and you could’ve collapsed in relief. You’d almost forgotten about the guards that stood just outside the door.

“Think they were just old?” the guard continued, obviously trying to initiate some kind of conversation with his partner.

“I dunno. Maybe.”

They fell silent again for several seconds.

“Ya know, when we grabbed them from that ship it was kinda cool.”

“Yup.”

“Just uhh…you know. You and me.”

“Uh huh.”

“They never pair us together…”

The second guard sighed, “First time for everything.”

“It was fun though,” the one continued before hesistating, “just sayin’, I think we make a pretty good team.”

His partner shifted uncomfortably, “Look man… I’m just trying to do my job here.”

“Yeah, man. Bro. Sorry….”

They shifted into an uncomfortable silence, unaware that you’d snuck past them quite easily as you quickly moved closer to the glass case that held the staff.

The communicator chirped once again and you froze, hoping that the guards were too distacted to notice. You winced at the noise as Omega began to speak quietly through your earpiece.

“Ok, I see them! They’re in a cell together, but there are four guards in here now and the ventilation shaft ends too far away!” She sounded desperate.

“Hey, did you hear that!?” The first guard stood up straight, glancing around.

“Hear what?” His partner sounded exasperated.

“Uhh… nevermind. I thought I heard something.” He paused, “By the way, what do you think about our new armor?”

“Dude, shut up.”

“Right. Yeah. Got a job to do.”

Ducking out of sight, you pressed the communicator up to your lips.

“Get ready,” you hissed, “wait for my signal.”

“Affirmative.”

You assessed the case and the situation in the room. Once the glass was broken, an alarm would probably go off, sending people to your location. That should take care of Omega’s problem.

Then you could take the staff and get back to her quickly.

Peering around the corner once again, you took a deep breath and steadied your heart.

It’s now or never.

Taking a breath, you rammed your elbow into the glass case, and grabbed the staff. The resulting alarm sounded loudly over the compound, buzzing through your eardrums in a painfully electrifying screech.

Both guards spun around.

“What the - !?” You clocked him in the temple with the staff before he could finish and he collapsed onto the floor. The first guard blinked, staring frozen with his mouth slightly ajar.

“If it’s any consolation, I think he likes you back!” you grinned at the man as he slowly moved to press his communicator, still staring back and forth between you and his fallen friend. Flipping the staff around you smacked the device from his hand, giving him a shrug. “Though, I don’t seem to be the best judge of that sort of thing.”

“Wha…?” The butt of the staff slammed against his head before he even had time to contemplate your words and he collapsed unconscious, joining his friend on the floor.

A clang from the floor below told you that Omega had jumped out from the ventilation shaft and the ever nearing pounding of footsteps told you that it was time to go.

Dashing down the stairs, you slid around the corner and slammed the staff into another guard. He spun around, blaster firing wildly as you kicked him in the chest before pulling your own blaster on him, sending him flying into the wall with a smoking hole in his chest.

That beautifully cocky and euphoric feeling of adrenaline coursed through your veins as you ran down the hall where the purple flash of Omega’s bow danced along the walls.

A loud clatter accompanied the pause of energy bolts.

“Hunter!” She screamed, “Help!”

You dashed around the corner. One guard held Omega tightly in his grip while the other one slid her bow away with the butt of an electrostaff.

“Let me go!” She struggled and kicked at him but it seemed to have no effect on the large, armored guard.

“Omega, no!” shouted Hunter as he slammed himself into the bars that held him, only to be forced further back into the cell as the guard hit him in the chest with the electrostaff, sending blue arcs of electricity through his body before Wrecker caught him.

Oh no you don’t.

Rage bubbled through your chest as you burst from the corner. “Hey assholes!”

The first blaster bolt slammed through the chest of the staff wielding guard and the second hit the control panel that released the rest of your team.

Omega cried out as the first guard tossed her into the wall before pulling his own blaster.

“Wrecker get Omega!” Hunter shouted. Fire blazed in his eyes as he pulled his knife from the offending guard’s throat. “Echo, find us a way out of here. Tech, find out where they’ve got our gear!”

Omega stood, rubbing her elbow as she pulled herself to her feet and retrieved her bow. “Your gear’s in the next room over!” She shouted. Hunter gave a firm nod and motioned for Tech and Wrecker to retrieve it.

You grit your teeth as footsteps sounded down the hall. This was NOT how things were supposed to go.

“Hunter,” you shouted impatiently, “I got Cid’s staff but we gotta go!”

He regarded you coolly, lips pulled into a tight line, Adam's apple bobbing up and down as if debating whether or not to respond. The choice was made for him as Wrecker and Tech rushed back with the gear. He turned away sharply and your face fell.

I kriffed up.

Regret tinged with disappointment sank like a stone in your stomach as you clenched your teeth, anger willing away the tears that pricked your eyes, and the growing lump in your throat.

“Hunter, I’ve got a clear route out but we need to move now!” Echo spoke.

“Good. Let’s get out of here.” He all but ripped the staff from your hand as he strode past. “I’ll hold onto this.”

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

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[swamp-chicken]

distant worlds, ethubs, 2042 words

“You know, I really should have established a timeline for how long I would be your employee,” Bdubs sighs, stocking boxes with enderpearls. “Because I’m sure not doing this forever.”

Etho is sitting at his desk, idly doodling in the corner of his accounting book. “Aw, you’re not?”

Bdubs stretches, cracking his neck. “No! I need to go and build stuff! Make things! I have my own life, you know.”

Bdubs’ pink shorts are riding up a little. Etho tries not to look. “Mmhmm.” he says instead, his go-to when he loses track of a conversation. The doodle on his accounting book is starting to look suspiciously like a series of little hearts. Etho hastily scribbles them out. 

‘You know, you don’t have to sit here and supervise me. I’m not going to wreck your shop or anything.”

“Yeah, but…” But it’s been years since Etho has had Bdubs like this, working at his side. 

Bdubs sighs dramatically. “You don’t trust me?!”

Etho spirals the pen around the page. “You’re a trainee, I gotta keep you on the straight and narrow.” In this case, lying is less pathetic than telling the truth.

Bdubs huffs, but doesn’t argue. They subside back into silence, Etho stifling a smile at the muffled expletive Bdubs lets out when a shulker box closes on his hand. 

The pen travels across the page.

Years ago, a day like this wouldn’t have been so rare. 

 ———

Bdubs was humming and hawing over Etho’s newly-constructed bridge.

“It’s bad,” Etho sighed.  “You can say it’s bad.”

“No, no, no,” Bdubs chided. “No one’s saying that. It just needs a little… umm…“ he rummaged through his inventory, then brightened. “Leaves! Dude, just add some leaves.” He scattered some across the bridge railing with a flourish. “See? Fixes everything.”

Etho hummed, unconvinced. “And then maybe some… trap doors under those?”

Bdubs clapped his hands. “Oh yes, that’ll do it.”

Etho placed the trap doors and stepped back to take in the full picture alongside Bdubs. “I dunno…”

Bdubs’ hand dropped to his shoulder and squeezed. His touch was distractingly warm. “It looks great! Very rustic.” 

Etho tilted his head. It did look a little better than before. 

Satisfied that today’s job was mostly done, he went to go empty his inventory. Bdubs decided to stick around as he worked. He had been doing that a lot more lately. 

Etho put away the final stack of cobblestone and cleared his throat. “There’s actually, uh, something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Oh, yeah?” Bdubs was tooling around on Beyonc, showing off her elegant lines and five-block jump.

Etho watched them circle the area and tried to breathe through his sudden spike of anxiety.“Remember the game we worked on? In the modded server?”

Bdubs kicked Beyonc into a flying leap that landed her on top of Etho’s chest stack. “How could I forget? All those hours wasted!”

“Well, yeah.” Etho chewed his lip. “I was actually thinking of building something like that here. In vanilla.”

“You can do that? With redstone?”

Etho shrugged. “I can try.”

Bdubs snorted. “Friggin’ genius.”

“The thing is, though…”

Bdubs nudged Beyonc forward and she landed gracefully before Etho.

“The thing is though…” Etho continued. “I actually may need help—” 

“I’ll do it,” Bdubs interrupted, before Etho had even finished his sentence. 

“You sure?” Etho hesitated. “I don’t want you to put you on the spot or anything…”

“Of course!” Beyonc reared and Bdubs sat comfortably astride her. “We’ll do it together. As a team.”

It was Etho’s first time leading a big project, so he wanted it to do things right. He chose the location and dug out the area himself. He even decided to build a worker’s shack where he and Bdubs could sleep and store all of their materials. 

In retrospect, Etho thought as he mapped out the floorplan, marking two separate bedrooms for him and Bdubs, he shouldn’t have been nervous about inviting Bdubs to join. Bdubs was a kind person and they had already tackled several projects together.

Etho paused. So kind that he probably felt like he couldn’t turn Etho down. So kind that he unflinchingly put up with all of Etho’s various idiosyncrasies and insistences. So kind that, any time they had a disagreement, he would capitulate with a laugh, easy and unbothered.

“You don’t have to help,” Etho blurted the first time Bdubs came to visit the worker’s shack. 

Bdubs was standing in the doorway of the bedroom Etho had built for him, but still a glimmer of uncertainty crossed his face. “What, you don’t want me here?”

There was a lump in Etho’s throat. “No, I just…I don’t want to force you into anything.”

Bdubs placed his bed down in the room like a declaration. “There’s no forcing.” He met Etho’s gaze and smiled, so warmly that Etho felt it in his chest. “I’m gonna decorate this place so good.”

Etho had worked with Bdubs before, but he had never lived with him. It was different, not having to say their goodbyes at the end of the day.  Instead, they walked back to the worker’s shack side by side, chattering about everything and nothing. It was different, waking up in the morning and finding Bdubs already in the kitchen, sleep-mussed and cooking, asking Etho how he liked his eggs. 

It was different— Bdubs’ toothbrush in the bathroom, the wet puddle after he showered. The flowers that appeared in the windowsill and the laughter that echoed through the halls. Prepared meals, easy company, warm nights of doing nothing much but enjoying each other’s presence.

It was a different kind of torture, Etho learned, having Bdubs so near and liking him so much. He was too kind, making eggs just the way Etho liked, telling stories that made him laugh, helping unflinchingly with the enormous task of building this arena. He was so kind that Etho couldn’t help falling in love with him. 

Nights were the worst, were the time when Etho felt furthest from any semblance of rationality or self-control. Lying in bed, staring through the darkness, he felt hyperaware that Bdubs lay just a short distance across the hall. So kind that he just might let Etho climb into bed with him. 

Etho rolled over and willed himself to sleep. 

Days passed, and then weeks. Spring was pushing into summer and the days were getting hotter. One particular day the heat was so oppressive that it even invaded the underground bunker where Etho had been doing most of the redstone wiring. 

When the sweat started dripping into Etho’s eyes, he had no choice but to take a break. He stood, wiping sweat from his face with his shirt bottom, and took a deep draught from his water bucket.

Bdubs, he knew, was probably even worse off. He was building outside in the blazing sun. Etho decided to check on him. He felt bad that Bdubs was working so hard on a project that Etho himself wasn’t certain they could finish. 

The end of the season had been announced a week ago and since then they had been scrambling to complete the arena before they had to leave this world and go to the next. There was a pit in Etho’s stomach every time he thought about it. This had happened to them last time, and now it was happening on the project that he was leading— the project that he had roped Bdubs into, that they had spent so much time on.

The worst part, though, was leaving their home. Etho didn’t know when he had started calling the worker’s shack home, but he had. It certainly felt more like home than any other place he had built on the server. He couldn’t deny that was in a large part due to Bdubs’ presence. 

He didn’t know what the next world would hold. He didn’t know if he would find an excuse to live with Bdubs again. He didn’t even know if Bdubs would want to work with him again, especially after this project had turned out to be such a thankless grind.

Etho found Bdubs building on the outskirts of the arena. He was shirtless, sweat beading along his shoulderblades. The sight was so overwhelming that Etho almost turned to leave.

Bdubs was grunting with the effort of building a wall, dropping blocks into place. “You don’t have to push yourself so hard,” Etho ventured once he felt more in-control. “I’m not even paying you.”

Bdubs put his blocks down with a heavy sigh. “You think at this point my ego’s not all tied up in this too?”

Etho snorted and drew near. “Good point.” This close, he could see the smile lines crinkling at the corner of Bdubs’ eyes. “Want a break?” He held out his water bucket and a snack. 

“Golden carrots!” Bdubs exclaimed. “You spoil me.”

He took the water bucket first, though, and drank from it deeply. Etho’s eyes were drawn to his throat as he swallowed, to the sweat droplets that chased each other down his torso. 

“Ahh,” Bdubs sighed, refreshed, and Etho snapped his gaze upwards. “Do you mind?” Bdubs asked, gesturing to the water.

Etho shook his head, confused, but before he had much time to ponder, Bdubs was tipping the bucket over his own head, sending water crashing down around him. 

Etho squawked and hopped backwards out of the splash zone.

“Oh,” Bdubs groaned, “Oh, that feels so good.” His hair was dripping, plastered to his head. Water was still sheeting down his body and soaking into his jeans. His eyes fluttered open and he caught Etho’s shocked gaze. He blinked. “You said you didn’t mind!” 

There was a note of petulance in Bdubs’ voice that wouldn’t have been there a few months ago, before they had started living in each other’s pockets. Before Bdubs—before he was comfortable—

Something inside Etho snapped. 

Bdubs lifted the bucket uncertainly, “I can get more water, I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

Etho carefully took the bucket out of Bdubs’ hands. 

“…Etho?” Bdubs was stepping back awkwardly, falling back on those sloppy forms that had gotten him killed by Etho more than once.

Etho grabbed Bdubs’ hand and Bdubs froze, blinking up at him from under his soaked fringe, eyes soft and worried. 

“You—“ Etho tried. “I—“ His ears burned with embarrassment.

He gave up on speaking and pulled the mask underneath his chin, pressed his lips to Bdubs’ hand.

“Oh,” Bdubs said. So kind that he didn’t pull away.

Etho turned Bdubs’ hand and pressed a lingering kiss to his palm.

“Oh,” Bdubs said again, voice hushed. “You don’t— do you?”

———

Etho wants to reach out, wants to take Bdubs hand, but he can’t. He’s too afraid Bdubs will run through his fingers like water, melt away like he has so many times before.

Bdubs is squirmy that way, surprisingly hard to pin down. One minute he’s swearing his eternal devotion, the next he’s mocking Etho, eyes gleaming with mirth. There’s months and years he’s not even there at all, times when he’s nothing but a sore spot in Etho’s memory. 

That day in the unfinished arena, Bdubs had kissed him. His hair had dripped into Etho’s eyes. Etho hadn’t thought anything of kindness that night when they curled together, Etho’s chin propped on his chest. Bdubs was too busy looking at him like he was a puzzle he had found the last piece to. 

Things change, Etho knows. That world ended, a new one began. Bdubs never kissed him again. 

It can never be like what it once was, Etho fears. Here is too distant from there.

“Done!” Bdubs announces. “Your enderpearls are all sorted. Now can I leave?”

Etho sighs, but he doesn’t have any good reason to keep Bdubs longer. “Yeah, that should be it for today.” 

Bdubs is already packing his inventory. He pauses on his way out the door. “You know, you didn’t even comment on my uniform.”

Etho is caught off guard. “I—I didn’t?”

Bdubs gives a spin. His legs are on full display. “I made it just for you!”

Etho swallows. When he meets Bdubs’ gaze, he winks. “I’ll see you tomorrow, boss.”

[shxtodxroki]

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝙵𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚁𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚘 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚊, 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝙷𝚎 𝙵𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚈𝚘𝚞

Summary: From the moment you met him to now, there have been 4 times where you’ve fallen harder and harder for Rintaro Suna, until he "finally" falls for you as well.

Flufftober Day 5 Prompt: ___ + 1

Warnings: Brief mentions of gore (nothing is described, just a vague mention of a gory/graphic horror movie), reader is depicted as scared/uncomfortable of said horror movie

Pairing: Rintaro Suna x Gender Neutral! Reader

Word Count: 3.5k

Check out my full Flufftober masterlist here!

The first time you meet him is at work, and honestly, you've never seen a guy that hot in your life before.

It's been an incredibly boring shift at work, like all shifts are. You're working the typical high-school student job at your local smoothie bar, your head pounding from the sound of the blenders whirring behind you at full-speed, and haven’t even bothered to look at the door as you heard the bell chime to indicate a new customer. “Welcome in,” You mutter, doing your best to sound somewhat personable as you make your way over to the cash register. “What can I get for you today?”

When your eyes finally glance up at the customers your gaze is instantly drawn to one of the five men standing in front of you, watching in awe as he mindlessly stares at the phone in his hands and waits silently for his turn to order. He is without a doubt the cutest guy you’ve ever met, and you suddenly find yourself wishing your work uniform were just a bit more attractive-looking, though the boy in question had yet to even meet your gaze as he remains entirely focused on his phone.

You take each of their orders one by one, doing your best to smile and act like the perfect friendly cashier to each of the boys in hopes that they won’t notice how your eyes are irresistibly drawn to one boy in particular, though you’re unable to fight off the way your heart rate picks up slightly as he’s the last one left to order.

“Suna, your turn man.” The boy with silver hair nudges your newfound crush, and the boy in question finally looks up from his phone to meet your eyes.

“Oh, I’ll have the peanut butter chocolate smoothie, I dunno what it’s called though.” He mutters, eyes seeming disinterested as he stares at you, though a small smile tugs on the corner of his lips once he begins actually taking the time to observe your features.

“That’s fine, I know which one you’re talking about!” You smile just a bit brighter at him than you did towards the others, though you hope they don’t notice as you put his order into the system. “Will that be all for the five of you today?” You ask, forcing yourself to turn your attention to all of them rather than just the boy whose eyes are now stuck on you. One of the boys nods, pulling out his wallet as he steps up in front of the others.

“Yes, that’ll be it. I’ll be paying for the five of us.” He smiles softly, and you can see the faces of the other four light up in gratitude as they thank him one by one. “Don’t worry about it, it’s my job as captain.” He simply responds to them, before handing you his card.

Once their order has been paid for you direct the group to where the finished orders are called out, telling them to wait there as your coworkers get started on their drinks. Four of them easily follow your directions, with the two identical ones (twins, you assume) bickering as the other two chide them for acting out in a public place. You immediately take notice, however, of the fifth boy still standing in front of the register, your face heating up as you get a longer, up-close look at his undeniably beautiful face.

“...Is there anything else you needed?” You ask after a moment of silence between the two of you, using the same cheery customer-service voice in an attempt to mask how anxious you feel beneath his gaze that you can’t quite decipher. He cracks a small grin at that, before pulling out his wallet as he steps closer to you.

“Not really, I was just thinking…. I just got paid today, and since my drink was already paid for, why don’t I leave a nice tip for the sweet cashier with the pretty eyes?” He says this so nonchalantly as he pulls out a $20 bill, handing it to you with a relaxed grin as if he can’t see the way your heart is pounding out of your chest at his blatant flirting. “Don’t share it with any of your co-workers, though. That’s just for you.”

And with that he walks off to join his friends, not even giving you a chance to respond as you’re left dumbfounded and incredibly flustered in front of the cash register.

A few weeks later, when you return from summer break, you’re surprised (and mildly flustered) to realize that the incredibly cute, flirty boy from that day actually goes to your school, and you’re even lucky enough to have been placed in a few classes with him this year. You have no clue how you haven't noticed him before, stunned that you had missed out on seeing his pretty face for so long. He notices you on the first day, shooting you a cat-like grin as he enters first period late and makes his way to the last seat left open. But you don’t actually get to speak to him again until a few weeks later.

Once everyone’s settled into the new school year and classes are in full swing, one of your teachers assigns you a partner project, and you find yourself lucky enough to be partnered with Suna. You force the grin brewing behind your teeth back as the pairs are read aloud, not wanting to seem too eager, though you can’t help but grow flustered as he saunters over to you after class with the same relaxed grin you always see on his face. “How lucky am I, getting to work with the cutest person in this class?” He flirts as if it's as easy as breathing, and you force yourself not to overthink his words for the sake of the project.

Luckily for you, he seems to take the project fairly seriously, which is a surprise in comparison to his typically unbothered personality. You had been prepared to take on the majority, if not all, of the work yourself, knowing that it would likely sully your opinion of the admittedly gorgeous boy in the process. But somehow he had exceeded your expectations and sent you a suitable set of research for his half of the project well before the due date, giving the two of you plenty of time to prepare and practice your final presentation before the final presentation day. 

You know it would seem rude to outwardly admit how you had doubted him at first. You made a baseless assumption about him, one that would likely hurt an ordinary person’s feelings. Yet as you and Suna grow closer and more comfortable around one another through this project, you can’t help but let your internal monologue slip out one evening as you’re rehearsing your presentation late one night at the local library.

“You know, I’m really impressed with how hard you’ve worked on this.” You admit after running through your presentation so many times that you’ve practically memorized it word for word. Suna raises his eyebrow at your words, a curious smirk on his face as he pushes you for clarification though he's fairly sure he already knows what you mean.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that, you think I’d make you do all the work?” He teases, though it’s clear he’s not upset or hurt by the assumption even if he probably should be. You sheepishly look down at your fidgeting hands upon hearing his words, ashamed to admit how shallow you had been when you had first been assigned to this project with him.

“Sort of…. You seemed so laid back and unbothered all the time, so I guess I just assumed you’d be that way about your grades as well, and I’d end up carrying this project.” Your face is hot again, eyes avoiding his pressing gaze as your voice is soft with shame. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed that without even really gettng to know you.”

“It’s alright, I’m happy to prove you wrong.” He shoots back, keeping the mood light and relaxed as he eases your guilt ever so slightly. Days later once the project is over, however, you go to thank him for helping you to get an A on the final presentation and happen to overhear the boy in question chatting with his friends, their conversation telling an entirely different story than what he had impressed upon you.

“Dude, I can’t believe you got an A! How the hell did you do that?” His blonde friend questions, trying and failing miserably to whisper as you hide behind a corner to remain out of sight as your curiosity is piqued. “You never even turn shit in for that class, so what the hell?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get an A in your life. What gives?” The grey-haired twin adds on, their words only serving to confuse you. Before Suna can get in a response, however, the boy with the grey hair begins to smirk, as if he’s put the pieces together faster than you (and his blonde counterpart) could even begin to understand. “Oh, I get it. You wanted to impress your partner. They were the cute person from that smoothie place a few weeks back, yeah? I’ve seen you flirting with them after class the past few weeks.”

Though Suna’s attitude remains laid-back, simply insisting that he decided to be nice for the sake of your grade rather than his and there was nothing deeper to it, you could feel the butterflies zipping around your chest with more intensity than ever before as you silently made your way to your next class, face beaming in an irresistible grin. You fail to see the barely-there blush that dusts Suna's cheeks at the question, however, or the way he corrects the twins by insisting they use your name that slips off his tongue just a bit softer than everything else.

From there your relationship with Suna could only improve, moving steadily from acquaintances as you got to know each other over the course of the project into a genuine friendship as Suna kept in contact with you even after getting your final grade. He had texted you a few days after the project had ended, simply asking if you wanted to hang out after school with him, and since then the two of you have grown more and more comfortable in one another’s company just for the sake of it.

Days blurred into months, and somehow, you now found yourself walking beside Suna with a stomach full of convenience-store ramen as you made your way back to his house, the newly chilly air nipping at your fingertips and nose as you silently stewed in your past neglect to bring a scarf or gloves.

“Suna,” You start, to break the peaceful silence that had lingered between you two over the past several minutes as you walked. “Do you have Mario Kart? I wanna race you when we get back to your place.” Your question is a simple one, and you don’t expect the way he looks at you with an emotion you can’t quite decipher in response.

“Yeah,” He responds, though the tone of his voice and the way he’s looking at you makes it clear something else is on his mind. “But you know you don’t have to keep calling me by my last name, right? We’ve been friends for months now, just call me Rintaro.”

His words are as casual as ever, he plays them off easily as they fall form his lips with a blank expression though they send your poor, fragile heart into overdrive at the implications behind them. Not only had Suna never called you his friend before, but now he was asking you to call him by his first name, and while you knew that wasn’t a particularly intimate offer, it still had the butterflies caged deep within your chest fluttering wildly about as you did your best to play it cool as the heat on your face starkly contrasted the cool afternoon air. 

You should leave it there, you really should. Pushing his potential boundaries would risk your friendship altogether, and you never want to make him uncomfortable if you accidentally went overboard under the assumption that the two of you were closer than you truly were.

But you’re feeling greedy, even in the eyes of Suna- No, Rintaro- ’s friendly offer. So you decide to test the waters, see if you can take your budding friendship one step further.

“Hmm…. how about I call you Rin instead?” The grin on your face seems so at ease, playing it off as a simple suggestion. You had to act like you wouldn’t take it to heart if he said no, like it was nothing special. But you nearly betray yourself as your legs fall weak upon seeing him nod, watching a genuine smile spread across his face in response to your request.

“Sure, go ahead. I like the sound of my name from your pretty lips, however you wanna say it.” He has yet to cease his playful flirting, though it's less common now that the two of you have grown closer. Before you can get another word in, though, he manages to completely melt you to a puddle as he takes off his scarf and gloves, swiftly placing them on to you as the two of you continue walking towards his house. “Here, put these on. I can see you shivering, you clearly need them more than I do.”

You want to protest, to insist that he keeps himself warm since you were the one foolish enough to leave the house without warm attire, but you can’t find it in yourself to do so when his things feel so cozy, so perfect on your body. So you remain silent, settling with simply shooting him a thankful smile as you make your way to his house with warm hands, a warm face, and a positively burning heart.

From there things seem to stay the same, at least for a while. You’re well beyond the point of being able to plausibly deny your feelings for the man you now call your friend, but you’ve also managed to convince yourself that it’s nothing more than a simple crush that you’ll eventually grow out of as your friendship with him progresses.

Until the day when you realize you’ve lost your heart to him for good.

Your now blooming friendship with Rintaro has led you to develop a surprising friendship with the infamous Miya twins as well, a fact you still marvel at even as the four of you sit together on the twins’ living room couch, a plethora of snacks (and some of Osamu’s positively delectable cooking) laid out on the table in front of you as you move on to tonight’s third movie of the evening, Atsumu's pick this time.

Osamu manages to snag your attention for a moment as he explains to you the simple recipe for the homemade sushi he was kind enough to make for the four of you this evening (a recipe you most likely won’t try to emulate, but that you’re still thankful for nonetheless), so you miss the not-so-subtle wink Atsumu throws a disgruntled, annoyed Rintaro’s way as he chooses what movie to watch for his turn during this movie night.

Before you realize it, and much to Rintaro’s dismay, Atsumu’s quickly presses play on an incredibly gory, graphic horror movie, the sinister smile on his face causing the contents of your stomach to churn as you’re immediately put off by his choice in movies.

“What the hell, Miya?” Rintaro grumbles, unusually perturbed by something he’d typically react all too casually to as his eyes never leave your face which is currently twisting in discomfort. You don’t seem to catch the way the twin in question mouths ‘I did this for you’ to the man beside you, though it serves to deepen Rintaro’s scowl as he reluctantly turns to you.

“I’m sorry, I told him not to pick anything that would weird you out. I know you hate this stuff.” He apologizes, sounding shockingly sincere as he looks at you with a remorseful gaze. He knows that a seemingly perfect opportunity has been presented to him, though, and he can see the anxiety brewing in your stomach, so he chooses his next words surprisingly carefully as he slowly inches closer to you.

…”C’mere, let me try to make you feel a little better.” Rintaro mumbles, simultaneously scooting closer and pulling you towards him until you’re snuggled cozily into his side. The two of you have never been this close before, never genuinely cuddled like you are now, and the affectionate gesture wipes the gory movie completely from your thoughts as the scent of his cologne and the warmth of his skin fills up all of your senses. “If you’re too freaked out, I can kick him out and we can turn this off.”

Neither of you even bother to acknowledge Atsumu’s disgruntled “Hey!” in response to Rintaro's threat, his voice slipping into the ambient noise surrounding the two of you as you stare into one another's’ eyes. The disturbing movie isn’t the slightest concern to you any more, as it’s suddenly given you the perfect excuse to do what your heart has longed for with the man beside you, and you try to hold off a bit before rejecting his sweet offer in feigned nonclalance and reluctance. 

“...It’s okay, I feel better now that you’re here.” You mumble, trying not to sound utterly lovestruck as you tuck yourself further into his welcoming hold. But in that moment you can no longer convince yourself that this is nothing but a simple crush, struck by the forceful truth that you’re falling deeper and deeper for Rintaro every day you spend in your presence. “Thanks, Rin.” You mumble, ignoring the truth as you melt into his warmth and his touch.

“Any time, Y/n.” He whispers back, squeezing your side gently and your heart right along with it.

Though you’ve finally gained clarity on the true depth of your own feelings, Rintaro’s remain just as much of a mystery to you as ever. Since the first day you met him you’ve always assumed his flirting was mindless and playful, nothing more than a physical attraction that didn’t run any deeper for him like it did for you. He had taken root in your heart and blossomed from that very first day, encasing your lungs with infatuation, but you never believed his flirtiness to mean the same for his heart. Your growing friendship only strengthened this belief of yours, as he made no efforts to make a genuine move on you even as you grew closer and closer, and you had long ago let go of any hope of Rintaro returning your feelings as you were now content to enjoy the friendship you two had cultivated.

But then, just like always with Rintaro, New Year’s Eve brings forth a new development in your relationship, one that shakes your world and sends your heart into more of a frenzied fever than ever before and permanently altering the status of your relationship for the better.

He was looking for you, searching for you for quite a while in fact. The New Years Eve party the twins were holding at their house had quickly gotten a bit crowded for his liking, and he eventually found himself searching out the sole reason he had come to this party in the first place: you. At first he was simply meandering around, eyes glancing around for you as he kept on his usual nonchalant mask and made casual conversation with a few tolerable classmates. As the time drew closer and closer to midnight, however, his search grew more anxious, and when it was less than a minute to the new year he grew frantic as he felt the plan he had formulated for the evening crumbling beneath his very eyes without any sight of you.

His eyes widen with dread as his peers begin the traditional ten-second countdown, each number spiking the levels of stress coursing through him tenfold as he eagerly swims through the crowds in search of you. He had wanted to use this night as his chance to finally take the next step with you, but it seems that fate was not on his side this evening, blinding him to you in the mass of people enclosed in such a small space and instead leaving him crashing unceremoniously into a random partygoer, sending both of them tumbling to the floor as his hopes plummet all the way down into his feet.

“Three!” The crowd yells as his eyes fly open, two hearts nearly stopping at once as his eyes meet yours beneath him. Maybe fate hadn’t completely forsaken him after all.

“Two!” A genuine smile, not some sneaky smirk or grin, rapidly takes over his entire face, his minty breath wafting onto your skin as he leans down even closer to you. “Fancy seeing you here.” He teases, his hand fumbling out from under him as he hastily and clumsily cups your cheek in his palm.

“One!” His eyes meet yours as he leans in, seeking for confirmation, for consent that you were okay with this. And when you give him a small, almost imperceptible nod, he hands his heart over to you on a silver platter as your lips meet his for the first time and sparks all around ring in the new year. “Happy new year!” Echoes all around you from dozens of different voices, and it's in this very moment that you realize that Rintaro, your Rintaro, has been all yours from the very beginning, and that he had actually fallen from you from the very first day on, at the same exact moments that you had fallen for him.

Request - ⛄️ anon said: HELLOOO!!! i really hope you're doing well this week!!! i just came to tumblr and saw the flufftober post so i wanted to suggest three characters if nobody have suggested them already??? so, i have in mind suna rintarou (haikyuu!), bakugou katsuki (bnha) and/or historia reiss (snk)??? hope you would write something for one of them but if not that's totally fine!

A/N: Eeeee I was so excited when I got this request, I’ve been obsessed with this man ever since I first saw him and I was stoked to write about him! He’s so pretty omg I see why he’s so popular within the fandom <3 And I’ve always wanted to try writing one of these ___+1 fics so I really had a lot of fun writing this and I think it turned out super cute! :D Also I apologize for posting this way late in the day, somehow my saved post in my queue was deleted and I didn’t notice until way late, so I had to go back and re-edit everything once I got home from school! (This is what I get for proof-reading and editing in Tumblr I guess) Still made it in time though, so yay! I hope you guys still enjoyed this, and my requests are currently open so feel free to send any requests you have my way!

Taglist: @flufftober

If you’d like to be added to any of my taglists, you can fill out this form here! Thank you for your support <3

[mouschiwrites]

Hi!! I wanted to ask a reader with abusive parents and the main 4 reacting to this

Sure thing!

National child abuse hotline: 800-422-4453 / National domestic violence hotline: 800-799-7233

TW for (implied) abuse!!

South Park - Main Four With a Partner Who Has Abusive Parents

Stan

He understands the struggle

Honestly he’d be the best out of the four to vent to about this, he can absolutely empathize

And you can empathize with him when he needs to vent

You also share tricks that you use to avoid the abuse

Whenever it gets to be too much, you both sneak out and meet at Stark Pond

You don’t always talk when this happens, because sometimes you just need some silence and a hand to hold

Oftentimes you’ll vouch for each other in public when you try to hide it

And you’ll help change the subject

“Oh, that bruise? I just fell down the stairs.”

“Yeah, I was there. Okay, new subject—”

But deep down you both know the truth

If/when you finally decide to tell someone about what’s going on at home, you have a pact to do it together

Kyle

He invites you over a lot just to get you away from home

And when he walks you home he goes veerrry slow

He’s constantly reminding you that you can always come to his place whenever you need

When you vent to him, he SEETHES

He HATES your parents

He has refused to meet them on multiple occasions

“Wanna come inside for a snack?”

“Are your parents home?”

“I think so.”

“Then no.”

Will absolutely indulge you in making “hypothetical” plots to violently murder them

He wants you to get help, but won’t push you

He has offered to help you speak up about it though

In the meantime he just wants to always be there for you and offer a safe space

Kenny

He also empathizes with what you’re going through

He knows his house isn’t that much better, but he’ll still invite you over when you need to get away

Goofing off with him and Karen usually cheers you up

If that doesn’t do the trick, Kenny loves to cuddle you while you vent

It does make him sad, but he just holds you tighter and reiterates how much he cares for you

“I’m so sorry baby. You don’t deserve that. You deserve the world.”

The few times he’s been around your parents, you’ve noticed him glaring at them with clenched fists

He really wants to punch them

He won’t though, he knows that’ll just make it worse for you

Whenever you tell him something particularly shocking, he tries to convince you to get help

Gets a little frustrated when you decline, but knows that you’ll do it when you’re ready

He just doesn’t like seeing you suffer :(

Cartman

Out of the main four, he empathizes the least with your situation

Genuinely doesn’t understand why you “let” it continue

“Why do you let them treat you like that?”

“It’s not that simple, Eric.”

“Do you want me to do it for you?”

“…Do what?”

“Kill them. Torture them. Whatever. I dunno.”

“Pfff—”

Unfortunately, he’s more bark than bite; if you agree to let him “help,” he’ll most likely chicken out when he actually meets your parents

When he bosses his mom around, he’ll tell you to take some notes

This both baffles and amuses you

He’ll only ask you to get professional help once; he’ll drop it if you decline

He’ll listen to you vent, but the most he can do in terms of comfort is say “that’s stupid/messed up” and give you snacks

He does use your situation as an excuse to have you over like. All the time

Thank you for this request! And thanks for reading, stay safe guys <33

National child abuse hotline: 800-422-4453 / National domestic violence hotline: 800-799-7233

(divider by saradika)

[sweetnsour1]

9:36:03

Angsty Fluff, Bakugou x fem reader

Part 3 of Broken Collection

Go to the beginning

You glared. Just another Monday stand-off as you tried to smack the coffee maker into obedience. In spite of the risk factor, Mina didn’t hesitate to talk directly into your ear.

“Soooooo we gonna talk about-“She jumped away faster than your hand moved to smack her.

“You know I hate that. And absolutely not.”

“Ugh you’re no fun.” You could hear her dramatized pout, but you kept your eyes on your enemy. It slowly gurgled back to life before sputtering out again.

“You’re actually good though?” You turned towards her now that a steady stream of questionable consistency poured into your mug.

“Mmm probably?”

“Did anything-“

“Nope.”

Mina’s eyebrow could doubt you all it wanted, but nothing had happened. You had mostly clear memories of that night, and while you were still mortified you had shown up at his place…you hadn’t done or said anything worth mountains of regret. You kind of talked and then you woke up to an empty apartment. He was probably called in, so you cleaned up the sofa you had nested in for the night and left a note about returning the sweats after you washed them. Then you left. That was all. Nothing had changed. There was still radio silence between the two of you. Seeing each other for a couple hours a few nights ago hadn’t done anything to bridge the distance that had only been growing the last however many months.

“Hellllo?” You jerked your head back after she tapped your forehead a few times.

“Hmm?”

“I said, you think it’s gonna’ be weird this weekend?”

“This weekend…” had you insanely agreed to go out with them two weekends in a row?

“We’re helping out UA with sports festival security. Remember?”

“Oh right.” You grabbed your mug, pouring out the attempt into the sink before trying again. “Why would that be weird?”

“Oh, I dunno. Maybe because of the other agencies that’ll be there?”

“I’m guessing you’re not referring to Fatgum clearing out the food stalls?” She only rolled her eyes as a reply, waiting for you to take her question seriously. You resumed your battle with the machine to your left, sighing in relief as it poured something actually resembling coffee. “It’ll be fine. Work is work. The other stuff doesn’t matter more than doing our jobs.” You were halfway through cleaning up the counter when you realized the silence was dragging longer than it normally would with the pink hero. You turned, catching an odd expression on her face before she shook her head at you.

“Maybe not more than our job…but don’t forget that it still matters.”

“You sound worried about me.”

“Because I am, idiot two.” You stuck out your tongue as she moved to leave the breakroom.

“Wait, who’s idiot one?”

Mina laughed, swatting your question away as she headed to her office.

Sorry, this one is writing itself quicker than usual.

Masterlist

Next part

[hypnoneghoul]

I just got diagnosed with eds and ill have to pick up some knee braces tmr and im getting sm anxiety bcs I hate the hospital :/

Can I get a rain(and dew maybe?) fic w that exact scenario? I need my brain to chill 😭

i just scribbled something small very quickly in class, didn't want to make you wait, i know the feeling and it sucks. hope you like it and feel better about the whole thing soon. have some silly fluffy raindrop in the meantime

“Droplet?” Rain asked—mumbled—from where he was resting his cheek against Dewdrop’s shoulder.

“Yeah?” They have been stuck in a hospital waiting room for half an hour now. Rain had just gotten an official diagnosis and now the doctor told him to wait to get measured and fitted for knee braces right away. The diagnosis itself, even though a sentence of a kind, was a relief to the water ghoul. To the entire pack. It’s easier to fight back when you know your enemy and the peace of mind once the illness becomes a fact is unmatchable. The diagnosis was good.

But for some reason it was the braces that freaked Rain out.

“This is… weird,” he said, scooting closer to Dewdrop, chasing his warmth. It wasn’t exactly cold in the corridor, it was the hospital’s energy. Rain hated it, it all felt wrong and uneasy and filled him with additional anxiety about the whole ordeal. “The braces– it’s a whole… I dunno, ‘nother level.”

“Yeah, it is,” the fire ghoul agreed as he wiggled his arm from between him and Rain to wrap it around him and hold him close and warm, “but it’s not weird weird. Doesn’t make you weird.”

“I’m not so sure ‘bout that…”

“Would you say that to Zephyr?” Dewdrop asked and Rain bit his lip, his fake accusatory tone causing the water ghoul to smile a little.

“No,” Rain admitted. He brought his hand to play with a loose thread on the fire ghoul’s jeans. The jeans that had seen everything and somehow still were in one piece.

“People are gonna stare. I don’t like that off stage.”

“Exactly! Nothing wrong or weird in all that.” The fire ghoul shrugged, booping Rain’s nose with a finger. It was so cold that a second of contact was enough for Dewdrop to feel it and so he leaned down to kiss the tip of his mate’s nose with his warm lips. “We’re getting you something that’ll help. I am happy about that, even if you have doubts.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Dewdrop confirmed, but there wasn't any worry in his voice. He was confident in all he was saying and he couldn’t have known how much it helped Rain to feel better. “Humans do that, you know, but thankfully I can breathe some fire to take the attention away from you any time.”

Rain snorted at that. “You can’t breathe fire, droplet.”

“Sure I can,” he said matter-of-factly, squeezing the water ghoul against his side. “Besides, with your luck I bet your braces are gonna be the most badass things ever. And with your styling skill you’ll come up with the best outfits for them.”

“I’ll definitely try,” Rain chuckled, not caring about the people walking past them all the time. He leaned his body against Dewdrop’s even more, fully cuddling on the stiff plastic hospital seats.

“What’s that stupid slang thing that Phantom and Aurora use all the time? Oh, I know–” the fire ghoul giggled to himself. “You’ll slay, fish boy.”

“Serve cunt, even,” Rain added as he looked up at his mate and grinned.

“Lucifer, I’m too old for this.” Dewdrop shook his head. They both laughed for a few more moments before Rain’s doctor interrupted them, walking out of his office.

“Ready for the fitting?” he asked.

The water ghoul looked at Dewdrop, received an encouraging nod, and got back to the human. “Ready.”

[dragonnarrative-writes]

GhostGaz Week - sweet talk // missed connection

I'm so so so excited to have participated in @ghostgazweek this year! It's the first time I've done an event like this and it's brought me so much joy. To everyone who has read and commented on my work this week, thank you! I'm so excited to play with some of these concepts some more.

CW: Relationships between coworkers, mutual pining, front of house/back of house relations, Phillip Graves (derogatory), kissing, a taste of dirty talk

“Takin’ my ten,” Kyle tells his manager, pulling his phone from his pocket. Price nods, waving him off and assigning Kyle’s tables to Alex and Nova. He swings into the kitchen with an absent wave as he checks his messages and steps out back.

“’M no’ sayin’ ye have’ t’ declare yer love in front o’ the whole bloody team.”

Kyle perks up at the sound of Soap’s voice, but back-of-house gossip is going to have to wait while he tries to figure out what his off-again situationship is complaining about now. Or not - the meltdown in his messages is not worth dealing with. Just as he’s about the round the corner though, the growl of Simon’s voice freezes him.

“That’ll do, Soap.”

Kyle has to bite his lip to keep from gasping. Simon isn’t the head chef - that’s Farah - but he might as well be her right hand. He’s the glue of the weekend dinner rush. Level headed no matter what, rarely raises his voice above a raspy muttering, huge hands that Kyle has seen split an apple in half without a hint of visible effort. Whoever he dates is going to be envied by the entire front of house. Partially because he’s bloody gorgeous. But partly because he’s just the perfect man.

“Nae, yer gonna listen t’me,” Soap insists. “I promise, ‘e’s interested.”

“’E’s not,” Simon says. “Already tried flirtin’ wit’ ‘im. No dice.”

“Leavin’ a note wit’ yer phone number - in a pile of other notes with phone numbers - is no’ flirtin,” Soap says, and Kyle can imagine the despair on his face just from the tone of his voice. “Do you ken ‘ow many o’ those damn notes ‘e gets in a night?”

“Exactly. And he’s got a bird.”

“They broke up last week,” Soap hisses. “She’s shacking up with her ex.”

Kyle would snicker at how close he sounds to pulling his hair out but…

Kyle’s situationship ended last week. Because she moved in with her ex and Kyle doesn’t want to go through that roller coaster, again. And Kyle’s the flirt on shift, so he gets the most notes and phone numbers on receipts…

“’E’s got better prospects,” Simon says. Kyle hears the flick of a lighter. “Gorgeous, competent, charismatic? Kyle could have anyone.”

“And ‘e wants you, ye daft fucker,” Soap groans. “Steamin’ Jesus the two of ye. Just fuckin’ tell ‘im.”

“Tell you what,” Simon grumbles, muffled by his cigarette. “If he comes out here before my break’s done, I’ll tell ‘im.”

“Then ah’ll go in an- Oh you mother fucker! 30 seconds?”

Simon sounds amused when he says, “Tick tock.”

Kyle probably couldn’t ask for a better dramatic entrance, so he rounds the corner with a, “What’d I miss?”

Soap yelps and clutches at his chest like an old woman. Leaning against the wall, Simon looks about as surprised as he ever does, which means there’s a hunted look around his eyes, but he mostly looks tired and resigned. He settles into his thousand yard stare and takes a long drag.

“Gaz-bear!” Soap exclaims. He circles behind Kyle and shoves him forward. “Simon has something to tell you that is of a very personal nature. Do not let him distract you with talk about the kitchen! I love both of ye and ah’m tellin’ Price to fire both of ye if ye don’t talk!”

And then he’s slamming back into the kitchen, leaving Simon and Kyle alone in the alley.

He could play coy, but Kyle’s a bit giddy. “You like me, Simon?”

Simon grunts, contemplates his cigarette as he says, “Wondered ‘ow much of that you ‘eard. But don’t worry, I’ll keep professional.”

“God no.” Kyle can’t imagine anything wants less. “Tell me when you wrote me that note.”

“Dunno," Simon shrugs. "6 weeks after that shit with Graves?”

Two years ago, before Price took over, Phillip Graves had been the manager. He’d been a nightmare, harassing hostesses and firing anyone who dared to point out he was bad at his job. After the tenth straight day of a front of house person running into the kitchen to cry, pursued by Graves himself, Simon had had enough.

“I c’n make this a much more hostile working environment if tha’s what we’re aimin’ for.” The big beautiful bastard had shoved his knife a good quarter inch through a cutting board. The reverberation of the blade had rung through the painfully silent kitchen. All of the back of house looked to Farah for direction. She'd looked at Simon. Kyle, Nova, Alex, and the girl they’d been consoling by the fridges had all held their breath.

“I could fire you,” Phil spat.

“You won’t. You fuck with this kitchen, you’re losing your job,” Simon had answered. The fact that he had looked and sounded bored had scared and aroused Kyle in equal measure. “So ‘ere’s what’s going to happen - Keller and Garick are supervisors now. Pay them like it. You got a problem with front o’ house, you talk to them. Another girl comes runnin’ in here, then I‘m coming out there an’ you and I are ‘avin’ words.”

Graves had sputtered, looked around at everyone gathered, then spun on his heel and left.

Three months later, he’d gone missing. Two weeks after that, Price had arrived, greeting Farah and Simon like old friends and preparing to make the restaurant the best Kyle had ever worked at.

What did it say about Kyle that rumors that Simon had gotten rid of Graves for good only made him more attractive?

“That was more than a year ago,” Kyle says, sidling his way under Simon’s arm and leaning into him. Kyle’s not a short man, but Simon is tall and broad and warm under his work tee. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Simon takes another drag, and looks down at Kyle out of the corner of his eye. “I’m not exactly dating material. And you had a bird.”

“I would have dumped her in a heartbeat,” Kyle admits, startled when Simon barks a surprised laugh. “I would have! Fuck, I could have been sneaking out here with you for seven months? I’ll break up with her again right now.”

“Fuckin’ ‘ell,” Simon laughs, smashing his cigarette into the wall and dropping the butt into flower pot turned butt bin. He doesn’t move his arm from around Kyle’s shoulders.

“We’re dating now,” Kyle declares. “We’re boyfriends.”

“Movin’ kinda fast,” Simon points out.

“I’ve been in love with you for more than a year. Catch up,” Kyle dismisses. “My lease is up in four months, and I’m movin’ in with you. Now kiss me.”

Simon doesn’t hesitate. His lips are just the slightest bit rough. He smells like cigarettes and spices, and he turns to bracket Kyle against the wall. One large hand finds it’s way to the small of Kyle’s back to pull him in and press their hips together.

“Fuck,” Simon growls when Kyle moans against his mouth. “Pretty, pushy thing. Gonna be this demanding all the time, Gorgeous?”

“I have a lot of time to make up for,” Kyle groans, nibbling kisses along his jaw. “You should let me blow you.”

“Oh, should I?” Simon’s rumbling laugh sends shivers down his spine. “Should let Farah and Price catch you choking on my cock?”

Well, if Kyle was half-hard before, he’s rock hard now. “God, yeah, let me.”

“Not yet,” Simon growls, and that yet sends sparks flying through Kyle’s veins. His next kisses are just this side of too rough, tongue and teeth making Kyle’s lips so sensitive. Finally, he pulls himself away to pant into Kyle’s ear, “Let me take you on a date, huh, Gorgeous? Let me take you out, wine and dine you. Wanna know all about you, wanna talk about something other than work for more than five minutes. Then I’ll take you home and lay you out. Kiss you all over, suck that gorgeous cock of yours, yeah?"

“Jesus,” Kyle hisses. He tries to rock his hips into Simon’s, but strong hands hold him back. “Yeah, okay, yeah. Kiss me again.”

Simon laughs, dips down to give Kyle another closed-mouthed kiss. “Gotta head back in.”

“No,” Kyle pants. “Kiss me again.”

Simon growls into the next kiss and shifts to press his whole front into Kyle. When he pulls back, he presses a thumb against Kyle’s lips. “Be patient, Gorgeous. Gotta get through work tonight.”

He knows he’s pushing it, but, “…kiss me again.”

Simon’s lips are achingly gentle for a moment and then they’re gone as he takes a step back. “’M goin’ inside, now.”

“Thai food after work?” Kyle pants.

Simon chuckles and adjusts himself. “Yeah.” He swoops in for another brief peck. “It’s a date.”

[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

Part 1 | . . . | Part 67 | Part 68

Steve barges inside and shuts the door as gently as he can. “Robs,” he says, then pauses. “Alli. I dunno. Just-” he shakes his head and heads upstairs without another word, missing the worried glance the girls share as they hurry to follow him.

Allison hesitantly knocks on his bedroom door, which he’d just disappeared behind. “Bubba?”

“Yeah,” he answers, but doesn’t open the door.

“Can we come in?” Robin asks.

He huffs an approximation of a laugh. “Since when do you ask?”

She parrots the quasi-laugh and opens the door, plopping down on the floor next to him. “Since it’s your room, dingus.” She nudges his shoulder with hers. “Wanna talk about it?”

He shrugs and brings his legs up to hug. “She’s not coming on this one.”

“That’s probably a good thing-”

“Neither is Jon.”

“And this was-”

“Her request. Yeah.”

Robin breathes out a long, slow breath. “That’s hard.”

“Yeah.”

Alli sits on his other side. “You okay, bubba?”

Steve tips over into her, lets her wrap him in a hug. “I dunno.”

Alli hums. “Sounds about right. Can you think of anything that’ll help right now, in the moment?”

Steve sighs. “This. I just need to get out of my head for a minute.” He tucks his face into her neck with another sigh. “I’m gonna sound like the sappiest person on the planet for saying this, but-”

Robin squeezes his thigh. “I’ll go get him.”

A minute later, a different kind of warmth is settling next to him. “I’m gonna be honest,” Eddie starts, “I don’t really know how to help right now.”

Steve sits up and squeezes Alli’s hand, accepting the forehead kiss before she leaves, closing his door behind her. Without looking, Steve takes Eddie’s hand. He leans his head back against his bed and shuts his eyes with a tired sigh. “Just sit here with me?”

“I can do that,” Eddie answers. “D’you want silence? Or d’you want me to talk?”

“Talk,” Steve decides. “Take my mind off of it. Please.”

“Sure,” Eddie says, shifting up onto his knees, but leaving his hand in Steve’s so he can continue to play with the rings. Steve’s heart squeezes. “But what to talk about? Shall I regale you with the tale of how the illustrious Party defeated the monstrous Vecna? Or perhaps my liege requires a softer tale, such as one from his humble bard’s even humbler youth?”

Steve manages a smile as he looks at Eddie. “You’d tell me embarrassing stories of you as a kid?”

“Woah now,” Eddie smiles, “I never said embarrassing.” He pauses for a minute, then, “But yeah, I’d tell you embarrassing stories of me as a kid.”

Steve bites his lip, twirls a ring around Eddie’s finger, and nods.

Eddie chuckles and gets comfortable, sitting next to Steve, shoulders and arms and legs brushing. “Alright, let me think. Did I ever tell you about the time I tried to tame a raccoon?”

“No.”

“I was probably twelve, or somewhere around there. Way too old to try, I definitely knew better, but I tried anyways. I’d just started living with Wayne and still wasn’t really sure if I belonged, y’know? And there was this raccoon that lived under the porch, y’know that boarded-up place right about where the couch is?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it lived under there. That’s why it’s boarded up, actually, but that happened later. So I decided, in all my twelve-year-old wisdom, the way to lure it out was to offer it food.”

Steve hums. “Bet it worked.”

Eddie snickers. “Well, yeah, but raccoons are smart. Smarter than twelve-year-old Eddie, apparently, because I had the bright idea to hide just inside the door, right? Except I got bored before it came out, and I went to go do my own thing, and I completely forgot about it. And y’know what Wayne found when he got home from work?” Steve hums. “An empty plate. I’m talking spotless, Stevie, that raccoon licked it clean and hid back in its hidey-hole. So I try again the next day. This time, though, I leave the plate of food out there and sit in front of the open door with a book.”

“Oh, I’m sure that worked well,” Steve mutters, smile playing at his lips.

Eddie snickers. “Well, it did work. I did get a chance to see the raccoon, up close and personal. It decided it was done taking food off the plate. It wanted the good stuff, in the kitchen, past the open door, guarded by a twelve-year-old with more ideas than sense and a book.”

“Oh no.”

“Yup. Ran straight past me. Y’know what I did?”

Steve’s grinning now. “What?”

“Hid in my room ‘till Wayne got back.”

Steve barks out a laugh, then covers his mouth, still giggling. “You didn’t!”

“I did! I was sure Wayne was gonna take one look at the mess and kick me out. We had a talk, alright, but he didn’t kick me out, and I never tried that again, I’ll tell you right now.”

Steve giggles more. “You’re crazy.”

Eddie grins, nudges Steve’s shoulder with his own. “Yeah, but you’re feeling better, aren’t you?”

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[toomuchracket]

dearly beloved (ross x reader fluff)

the final valentine's week fic! remember this shy gf one where they decided to get married in gretna? well. this is that. enjoy <3

taking a tentative sip of your tea, you turn as the door to the cottage opens. your friend hurries in, a burst of cold air following her before she slams it shut.  “what a beautiful morning it is,” she sighs, beaming at you as she takes her coat off. “perfect day for a wedding, i’d say.”

you beam over the edge of your mug, cheeks heating up at the thought of what you’re about to do. “yeah? how are the boys?”

“oh, yours is fine. he’s got a brew, he’s fully ready - he looks gorgeous, by the way, if you don’t mind me saying…”

“not at all,” you shake your head, smiling even wider. you wouldn’t expect anything less of ross, especially in a kilt.

“... and mine just cannot stop crying. keeps looking at ross and going ‘you’re getting married! i’m so happy’ and weeping,” she sighs. “like, tell that to your face, matthew, honestly.”

you giggle. “bless him. he’s a sweetie.”

“he is. my sweet little emo boy,” your friend grins. “i think ross is going to cry too when he sees you, though.”

“really?” you tug at your dress, slightly self-conscious.

she nods. “you’re radiant, babe. he’s going to love you even more than usual. and that’s saying something.”

smiling shyly, you turn to look in the mirror. you do look radiant, although you wonder how much that has to do with your gorgeous dress and pretty makeup than it does with the fact you’re marrying the man of your dreams within the hour.

within the hour. shit, you need to get a move on. you turn to your friend, currently shimmying her own dress on. “babe - oh, that’s pretty - when you get a second, would you help me put a bit of my hair up?”

“of course. that reminds me, actually,” she runs to her coat and digs through the pockets, pulling out a little box and placing it in your hand. “i was going to suggest we put that on the bouquet, but we could do something with it in your hair, if you’d like?”

you open the box, smiling at the pattern on the spool of ribbon inside. “macdonald tartan,” same as your husband-to-be’s kilt. “i love it. thank you so much, babe.”

“it was ross’s idea, actually,” she squeezes your shoulder. “needless to say, that set matty off again.”

“i know how he feels,” you smile, tears threatening to spill over your lashline at the tenderness of your man’s gesture. “only thing stopping me from crying is the fear of ruining my makeup, to be honest.”

she giggles. “sensible woman. alright,” she tugs her shoes on, and grabs a hairbrush. “have a seat, and i’ll do my best not to fuck up your hair on your wedding day.”

“my wedding day,” you laugh in slight disbelief, smoothing the skirt of your dress before sitting on one of the chairs by the window. the sun is bright on the scottish countryside, the cold ground glittering in its light; it’s stunning, and your heart soars at how lucky you are to have a setting and day like this for your most special one. “kind of insane that it’s… here. now. and it’s actually happening.”

“a bit, yeah,” your friend gently pulls some of your hair back. “you nervous?”

“nah.”

“really?”

“yeah,” you smile, eyes closing in contentment as your hair is manipulated. “always thought i’d be shitting bricks on the day i got married, if it ever happened, but i’m actually okay. dunno if it’s because i haven’t really had the time to stress about it, or if the gravitas of it all hasn’t just sunk in yet, but, to be honest, i don’t think that’ll actually happen,” you smile to yourself, biting the inside of your cheek to keep from fully cheesing. “it’s just me and ross, after all. i love him. he loves me. and we have you and matty with us, two of the people we love most and who love us most in the world. and there’s no aisle for me to trip on while i walk - how could i be nervous?”

your friend laughs; once she finishes tying an elastic in your hair, she leans down to hug you, and a tear drips from her eye onto your bare shoulder. “god, you’ve got me crying now, too,” she giggles. “thank you for letting us be a part of your day. means the world - i love you and ross, so much. can’t wait to celebrate your love today.”

“nobody else i’d rather have with me,” you kiss her teary cheek. “ribbon time?”

“ribbon time. well, take a look at your hair first,” she hands you a mirror. “i tried my best.”

“it looks amazing!” you exclaim, turning to see the face-framing strands she left out of the pretty half-up. “seriously. you’re good.”

“thanks,” she looks up at you bashfully, nail scissors poised over the spool of ribbon. “it’s cos i sit and do matty’s hair when i’m bored.”

you blink at her for a second, then the two of you collapse into a fit of giggles. “i don’t know why i’m laughing, i braid ross’s like every night to get him to fall asleep.”

she giggles even harder, awwing as the laughs fade. “that’s so fucking cute,” she waves the ribbon at you. “and now you can put this in it and be all matchy-matchy.”

“oh, i don’t know if we’re one of those couples,” you wince, sitting still so she can tie the ribbon around the elastic. “but marriage might change us. you never know.”

“well, not long now until you find out, babe,” your friend hugs you again. “have we ticked off the checklist?”

you nod. “vintage dress, old. ribbon, new. handbag is yours - thank you, by the way - so, borrowed, and there’s sapphires in my earrings for the blue component.”

“fab,” she smiles at you really tenderly. “you know, you really are the most beautiful bride i’ve ever seen. he’s a lucky man.”

“oh, no,” you shake your head, taking a sneaky glance at yourself in the mirror while you do and blushing when you see your glamorous reflection. “i think i'm the lucky one.”

she reaches for your hand, squeezing it gently. “shall we go and meet the boys and find out which statement is true?”

you squeeze her hand back. “let's do it.”

after a few minutes of teaching her how to work your film camera and another few of having your picture taken (always a weird experience for you, so used to being on the other side), you leave the cottage and step out into the crisp december air. across the road, outside the old blacksmith's shop you chose as your venue, you can see ross and matty waiting with the man conducting the ceremony; at the sight of your husband-to-be, resplendent in his kilt and black shirt and jacket, you speed up your walking, desperate to be with him.

matty clocks you first, walking over to greet you. his eyes - red-rimmed enough as is - well up when he sees you and your bouquet, and his fiancée winces when he wipes them with the sleeve of his suit. “hi, darling,” he pulls you into a hug. “you look amazing,” he pats your shoulder before kissing your friend. “and you look alright.”

she slaps him on the shoulder, which makes you laugh. “charming.”

“i'm kidding! you look lovely, my girl,” he kisses her head. “now,” he extends an arm out to you - you take it, and take your friend's in the other. “let's go and get you married, mate.”

the three of you walk towards ross and the officiant, both of whom smile as you approach. the latter steps forward to shake your hand and compliment you, and then it's ross's turn; he brings your hand to his lips, then keeps a tight grasp on it, eyes teary. “hi, love. you look… perfect.”

“hi,” you breathe, also on the verge of tears. “you're gorgeous.”

loud sniffling behind you indicates matty is, once again, crying. ross turns towards him and smiles, shaking his head, before turning to the officiant. “shall we?”

“indeed,” the man leads you into the old building - surprisingly warm inside, for it being a stone structure from the 1700s and it being december in the scottish borders - and directs you and ross to stand in front of the anvil, flanked by your friends. once he's made sure you're both alright, he begins. “dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”

you don't really take in a word the man says, to be honest, bless him - you're too busy looking into ross's eyes, those pools of warmth you've happily drowned in time and time again. but you hear ross when he confirms that you're going with traditional vows for the ceremony, throwing a loving dig at your friends and saying “we'll leave the writing to those muppets behind us” (most likely to get them both to laugh instead of cry), as well as matty's heartfelt “love you, guys” when he presents the rings at the appropriate moment. in all honesty, you're not sure how long you stand there and wait in excited anticipation to officially become ross's wife - time seems to bend in on itself, simultaneously running fast and slow, so it's impossible to be sure of numbers and minutes and seconds. all you're sure of is the feeling of ross's hands in your own and the way he's looking at you adoringly, and that's enough for you. forever.

and then, of course, once you've both said “i do” and slid the complimentary silver rings onto each other's left hands, you're sure of the feeling of his lips on yours; soft, warm, familiar. he pulls back, smiling, and the world opens up to you again - your friends cheering through their tears, matty snapping pictures on your camera, and the officiant clapping and congratulating you both too. but ross is still at the centre of all of it, hugging you, murmuring “my beautiful wife” against your hair.

once the hubbub dies down a little, the officiant gestures to your friend to step forward. “the first act of marriage - the quaich ceremony,” he says, as she places a lovely wooden box on top of the anvil and lifts the lid. you and ross peer in, as the man continues to talk. “husband and wife share a drink, to symbolise the blending of their families, to seal their union, and to represent the sharing of love and happiness throughout their marriage.”

you knew this ceremony was happening, but you didn't know about the ornate silver two-handled cup engraved with your and ross's names and the wedding date, nor the vintage bottle of macallan whisky next to it. wide-eyed, you stare at your friend, who winks. “wedding present from me and matty. surprise!”

ross laughs. “you two are mental. thank you, though.”

“anytime,” she grins. the officiant directs her to pour some whisky into the quaich for you and ross, and she does so enthusiastically. “oh, that’s too much. sorry.”

your husband (!!) scoffs. “no such thing.”

“typical,” she rolls her eyes, while everyone else laughs. “anyway, let me toast.

“strike hands with me, the glasses brim,

the dew is on the heather.

for love is good and life is long,

and two are best together.

bless the union of these two,

eager for marriage, eager for love.

may they begin life together,

live that life together

and come to the end together.”

ross takes a handle of the cup. “ladies first, yeah?”

you grin, taking the other side; together, you carefully lift the quaich to your lips, and let the whisky pass through. the amber liquid is warm as it flows down your throat, and you can’t help exclaiming in satisfaction. “oh, that’s bloody good stuff,” you smile, moving the cup to ross’s lips. “you’ll like this, darling.”

“yeah?” ross takes his requisite drink, and his eyes widen. “oh, absolutely. worth getting married just for that, i reckon.”

the officiant laughs. “and with that… congratulations, mr and mrs macdonald. if you’d like to follow me to this table, we’ll sign the marriage certificate.”

“of course. but first,” ross necks the rest of the whisky and kisses you quickly - matty cackles and cheers in the background, while you blush. “sorry. couldn’t resist.”

you laugh, kissing his hand as you walk. “i love you.”

“i know. you just married me,” ross grins as you roll your eyes, pulling your chair out for you and kissing your head as he sits down beside you. “i love you too. d’you want to sign first, my love?”

“alright,” you sign as directed by the officiant, and pose as directed by matty and the camera, then it’s ross’s turn. “look at that - legally stuck together forever.”

“nowhere else i’d rather be, love.”

[scarlett-vixen]

Never Let Me Go

A/n: This...became slightly self indulgent I'm so sorry. I have a lot of love for this boy and he deserves to be happy :( Also i highly recommend reading Satan's part before this!! It sets up this chapter basically. As always I hope you guys enjoy.

Tw/Cw: Heavy angst, death, blood, description of Mc's body post lesson 16, a slightly unhinged Mammon, a very onesided fight between brothers, depression, selfdoubt, self blame, starvation, sleep deprevation, nightmares, extreme guilt

Summary: You finally find out what exactly Mammon went through, how he discovered your body and the fight that occured after. Can you find him and put his broken heart back together? Or will your dynamic forever be changed?

Word Count: 7k

The Soundtrack The Fight: Vicious The Apologies: Beelzebub, Satan Asmodeus, Leviathan

"So take care what you ask of me, 'cause I can't say no to you"

Something didn’t feel right.

Twenty minutes ago you had set out in search of Lucifer, hoping to patch things up and set your differences aside, why weren’t you back yet? Mammon was starting to get worried, he tried to bring your extended absence to the attention of his brothers but they told him he was just being jealous.

“Nothing is wrong, you just don’t like them being alone with Lucifer.” His brothers had teased. Normally they would be right however, this felt different.

Something felt off.

The others had been lost in conversation so Mammon took the opportunity to slip out of the room and search for you, he quietly shut the door behind him and started off down the hall towards Lucifer’s room. If you had found his older brother, chances were the two of you had gone to his room to talk, and that better be all you were doing.

Mammon pressed his ear against the door, not too hard though in case his brother had cursed it, no noise could be heard from inside the room, not even the sound of Lucifer’s favorite record playing. Nobody was here. Slightly annoyed that he had been wrong, Mammon headed downstairs to check the first floor, maybe you guys had gone to the living room to talk.

To his dismay, the living room was also empty and so was the kitchen, the laundry room, the library, and your room. The strange feeling inside Mammon’s stomach was growing, twisting itself into a knot, he decided to head back to the second floor and try again. Maybe the two of you had slipped past him while he was searching the library or maybe there really was a curse on Lucifer’s door so he couldn’t hear what was happening on the other side, either way Mammon headed back to the staircase in the main entrance to try again, but slowed his pace when a strong scent hit his nose.

“Hello dear brother, surprised to see Lucifer doesn’t have you strung up from the ceiling for once.”

Mammon stiffened and stopped dead in his tracks, that voice didn’t belong here. He snapped his head up towards the top of the stairs and was met with more questions than answers.

“Surprised to see me as well?”

“The hell are you doin’ here? Ain’t ya supposed to be up in the human world? And what are ya doin’ with yer horns out? You know Lucifer has a strict rule on demon forms in the house!”

There, at the top of the stairs, stood his youngest brother. Belphegor. The Belphegor that Lucifer had forced to go to the human world as punishment for disagreeing with Lord Diavolo. Mammon’s mind was starting to clog with confusion, how was he here? Where were you and Lucifer at? What was that smell and why was it so strong? What was all over Belphie’s arms?

“I have a feeling that’ll be at the bottom of the list of reasons why Lucifer is pissed at me,” He gave a smirk. “where is he anyway?”

“Dunno, that’s who I’m lookin’ for. Well…him and someone else.” Mammon wrinkled his nose; he knew what the smell was now.

“Someone else?” Belphegor raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, our exchange student. A human that got sent down here around the same time you left, they went to go look for Lucifer a while ago and never came back, I’m gettin’ worried.” He shifted his weight and put one hand in his jacket pocket. Why did the main entrance smell so strongly of blood?

“Worried? About a human?” Belphegor furrowed his brows and sneered at his brother. “Why would you worry about some dumb defenseless human? All you’ve ever cared about was money and the quickest way to get it.”

“Hey! They ain’t dumb and they ain’t defenseless! My human is a lot smarter and tougher than most of those flimsy humans up there! Don’t talk about ‘em like that when you don’t even know ‘em!” Mammon felt his cheeks start to burn and didn’t care if his little brother could see them turn a light pink. He would defend your honor any day no matter who it was.

“Your human? What do you mean your human?” Belphie gave him a disgusted look.

“I- well, ya know… Lucifer put me in charge of ‘em when they first got here so they’re my responsibility…and our pact or whatever I guess.” Mammon rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, he felt his face grow hotter.

Belphegor watched as his brother became bashful and started muttering nonsense down at his shoes, a wicked grin grew on his face and he started to laugh.

“Well, I have to disagree. They weren’t very smart and they weren’t all that tough.” He watched as the second born looked back up at him once more in confusion.

“What do you mean by that.” Less of a question and more of a statement, Mammon felt his heart jump in his chest, he feared that he knew the meaning.

“I mean,” Belphegor reached down at his side and picked something up, an arm or a leg possibly, whatever it was had blood all over it. “they might have gone searching for Lucifer but they found me instead.” In one swift motion, Belphegor lifted the object in his hand slightly and then tossed it in the direction of his older brother.

Mammon’s stomach dropped as he realized what his brother had picked up, as he watched it tumble down the stairs with a larger bloody mass attached to it, his heart nearly stopped as he watched it hit every step on the way down.

It was you.

“I guess they did put up some kind of a fight, I’ll give them that.”

Belphegor’s words fell on deaf ears, Mammon stood frozen as your limp body finally stopped and laid motionless on the marble floor in front of him. He could hear noise coming from the top of the stairs but couldn’t make out any real words, his heart was racing and felt like it was about to burst, there was a loud ringing in his ears, his mind was a whirlpool of emotions: fear, sadness, guilt, rage. It was getting hard for him to breathe, his chest was growing tight and with every breath he inhaled that strong smell of blood, he felt like throwing up. The tears began to pool up in his eyes, this couldn’t be real, he wanted to scream but the best he could do was whisper your name.

He dropped to his knees beside you.

“What did you do?” he managed to ask while looking at your bruised face.

“Simple,” Belphie scoffed “I proved that humans are nothing but an inferior species and Diavolo has no business bringing them down here. Unless of course, he plans to add them as a new menu item.”

That was it.

Something snapped inside Mammon, he felt his wings fly out from his back, and before his brother could process what was happening Mammon was at the top of the stairs.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Mammon grabbed Belphie by his shirt collar and slammed his back against the wall leaving a large dent. “YOU’VE BEEN GONE FOR MONTHS! YOU SHOW UP OUTTA NOWHERE! AND YOU FUCKIN’ KILL THEM?”

Belphie gasped for air after having the wind knocked out of him before speaking.

“Why the hell do you care so much about a stupid human?” He placed his hands on Mammon’s wrists, attempting to loosen his grip.

“THEY AIN’T STUPID!” Mammon practically snarled at his brother “You don’t know a damn thing about ‘em! They’ve been down here helpin’ us! WHAT DID YOU DO?” The tears were streaking down his face now. Glancing down Mammon caught sight of the youngest brothers arms, his sleeves were stained with blood, through the various holes in his jacket he could see tons of scratch marks still freshly bleeding. Looking back at his brothers face he could see a gash on his neck, a desperate attempt to get him off you it looked like, the blood from that wound was starting to dry but ran down his neck and soaked his shirt collar.

You had fought like hell.

“Oh, I see what happened.” Belphie managed to say as Mammon pressed him harder into the wall; he gave a smartass smirk before continuing. “You got put in charge of the dumb thing, you spent time with it, and like the idiot you are you went and fell in love with it didn’t you?”

“Shut up.” Mammon hissed through clenched teeth.

“Let me guess: They were nice to you? Did they make you feel good about yourself? Did they try to convince you that you aren’t a scumbag?”

“SHUT UP!” Mammon screamed before hurling Belphie over the railing of the staircase.

Belphegor felt his shoulder dislocate on impact, his body rolled and slid across the floor below, he winced as he attempted to sit up. Since they made fun of him so often, most of the brothers were quick to forget just how strong Mammon was when provoked. He looked up to where he had recently been standing and his eyes grew wide as he saw Mammon falling from above about to land on him, Belphie quickly rolled to the right just barley dodging his brother, Mammon’s foot landed directly where Belphegor’s throat had previously been and left a crack in its place.

Belphie watched as his brother rose slowly, his wings twitched slightly, his eyes held golden flames inside, Belphie knew he needed to run but he was too stunned to move. He knew even in his most powerful state he was no match for the second oldest, he kept an eye on his brothers horns knowing they were deadly enough to injure him with one good blow.

Mammon’s arm reached out and grabbed ahold of his brothers shirt again and pulled him in close, his body was shaking with anger, all logic had left his mind.

“You better be careful Mammon; Lucifer will be upset if you break something important.” Belphie joked but got no response, he shifted to a more defensive tone “So I killed one dumb human, what are you gonna do about it?”

Mammon looked his little brother directly in the eyes. ‘One dumb human’ that’s all he thought you were? No. Belphegor took away more than that, he took away the one person who had been able to reconnect his brothers, the one person who had no problem standing up to Lucifer, who let Mammon hang around all the time and listened to his stories. Belphie took away the one person who had treated Mammon like an equal, like he actually mattered, he took away a friend. Belphegor took away his human. Brothers be damned. Mammon pulled the youngest demon in as close as he could and spoke directly into his ear.

“I’m gonna kill you.”

An instant later and Belphegor was tossed through the air, his back made harsh contact with another wall, leaving a demon shaped imprint in the foundation, before dropping to the floor below. Mammon prepared to launch himself at the avatar of sloth, ready to destroy him for what he had done, but just as he was ready to unleash his fury he heard a noise.

“Mam…mon” The name came out broken and barely audible, but he heard it.

His name.

In your voice.

His head spun back in your direction, your body still in the position it had been but this time he saw your chest move slightly. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as he rushed over to you hoping that his mind wasn’t playing a cruel joke, as he knelt beside you again, he could see your labored breathing. Somehow, despite the severity of your injuries and being tossed down a flight of stairs, you were alive. Mammon whispered your name like a prayer, he wanted to grab you and hold you, he wanted to help you, but he was so scared of hurting you more.

“Mammon?” your hand closest to him moved slightly. He placed one of his hands on top of yours, his voice caught in his throat for a moment before he could respond.

“ ‘S alright, I-Im right here. Ya don’t have ta worry, ‘m right here.” He gently placed his other hand on your cheek. He wanted you to look at him but realized one eye was completely swollen shut, the other was extremely bloodshot, he wasn’t even sure if you could see him.

“Can’t…move…” You gasped for air between words and Mammon could hear your chest rattle as you did. His heart broke even more as he watched a tear fight its way down your face and mix with the blood still dripping off you.

Mammon couldn’t stand it anymore, he carefully scooped you up in his arms stopping briefly anytime you cried out in pain, once you were in his lap he could tell just how bad your condition was. The bruises on your body were a deep purple and sickly green, your nails had blood, fabric and what he assumed to be bits of Belphegor’s skin under them and he was almost certain humans weren’t supposed to bend their leg that way.

“You’re an idiot you know.”

Mammon forgot you two weren’t alone, he snapped his head towards your attacker, he raised his wings to shield you from any further harm. His anger had subsided while he was looking you over, but it was quickly returning.

“Even if they’re as great as you think they are, it’s too late, you can’t save that worthless human. Just let it go already.” Belphegor had sat up now, trying to pop his shoulder back into its socket, with that wicked look in his eyes still.

Mammon wanted to lash out again, to finish what he started, to make the seventh born suffer like you had, but he couldn’t let you go. He looked back at you, your face pressed against his chest, your breathing becoming shallower with each passing minute, he could feel your pulse fading. He knew what he had to do. He filled his lungs with as much air as he could and squeezed his eyes shut.

“LUCIFEEER! HELP!”

The second born screamed as loud as he could hoping to reach every corner of the accursed house, Belphie was right there was nothing he could do, Lucifer on the other hand could fix anything. So many times before when things had gone wrong, when he found himself in deep trouble with a group of witches, when his brothers had accidentally unleashed some creature in the house, when he had been in trouble with Lord Diavolo even, Lucifer had always been there to make things right.

Back in the Celestial Realm Lucifer had taken care of them, if one of them had gotten hurt he was always there to help them, and that carried on even after the fall. If Lucifer could heal an angel then he could fix you, he had to. Mammon held you closer to his chest, his head fell back as he choked on his sobs, he didn’t want to think about losing you.

He needed his older brother.

“What exactly is going on?”

Mammon knew that tone all too well. Lucifer had appeared and was taking in the half-destroyed entrance hall, the crack in the marble flooring, the numerous paintings that had fallen off the wall, the blood the covered the floor, the sculptures and vases that were now shattered on the ground. Mammon watched the eldest brother survey his surroundings, his gaze landing on the one thing that didn’t belong in the room, he watched his brother stiffen and a light flicker in his eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

Belphie smirked, this was just the reaction he had hoped for.

“I brought you a gift, but you’ll have to pry it from Mammon’s greedy hands as usual.”

Lucifer turned to the second born in confusion.

“What is he talking about Mammon?”

Mammon’s mind was racing, his chest hurt and his eyes burned from crying, he tried to tell Lucifer what happened. He tried to tell him Belphie had attempted to kill you, that you were hurt, that he had lashed out and attacked the youngest. He tried to say it all but nothing would come out when he opened his mouth, so he said what he could.

“Lucifer… help ‘em… please…” Mammon took a deep ragged breath and slowly moved his wings back, revealing your mangled body to the first born “ya gotta help ‘em… please!”

Lucifer jumped at the sight, his first instinct was to yell and to scold his brother, he knew better than that. It was clear what had happened, he knew who was responsible for the damage to the room and he knew who was responsible for you, he knew Mammon had snapped. Lucifer stepped closer and fully took in your injuries.

He knew he couldn’t fix you.

Lucifer tried to console his younger brother, to offer him some type of comfort, before explaining that there was no saving you. Mammon burst into tears, clutching on to you as if it would prevent you from leaving, he buried his face in your neck, his body shaking as he sobbed violently. He heard other voices, several gasps and a sharp scream, the others had found their way to the scene. He didn’t care about them, he didn’t care about the argument that was happening between Lucifer and Belphegor, he didn’t care about anything anymore.

Mammon continued to sob into your neck, he had so desperately hoped he wouldn’t have to face this possibility, he had been so sure he could save you and keep you here with him. He thought about how scared you must have been, how hard you had fought back, how much pain you must be in. He started whispering in your ear, telling you how strong you were and how much you meant to him, if he was going to lose you, if he had to let you go, then he wanted you to know exactly how he felt.

“Mammon…” Your voice softly whispered in his ear. The avatar of greed pulled his head back to face you one last time, a soft smile on your face, a single tear rolling down your cheek, even in your current condition you were still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

You parted your lips to speak but nothing came out, Mammon knew you were in pain, he knew his time with you was running low and there was nothing he could do to save you, he knew he was watching the final embers of your fire burn and he dreaded how cold his world was about to become.

The second born did his best to smile back at you in a pointless attempt to look strong in your dying eyes. He felt your hand brush against his, his heart broke as you gently squeezed it with what strength you had left, he knew that was your goodbye.

“You were the best human a demon could ask for ya know?” his voice wavered as he fought his way through the sentence. You gave the faintest laugh before closing your eye, your head rested perfectly against his chest, smile still on your face, your chest rose one final time and then your body stilled. Mammon buried his face in the top of your head as silent tears streamed down his face and dampened your hair. “I just hope I was a good demon for you.”

You were gone.

Before now, Mammon felt like he had all eternity to spend in your light, your arrival in the Devildom made his world so much brighter. Everyday he looked forward to talking to you, to spending time with you, to having you sit next to him during class and at dinner. Even on his worst days you always made it worth getting out of bed, you were his best friend, you called him out when he needed it but you also supported him more than anyone else. Belphie was right, you made him feel better about himself. But you just left, and you took his light and will to keep going with you.

The second born always knew how he felt about you, even if he pretended not to, but he never truly knew how you felt about him. Now he never would.

“No way… is that?” Leviathan’s voice cut through the tension in the room, drawing everyone’s attention to the top of the staircase.

Mammon only looked up when he heard one of his brothers call your name, his heart skipped a beat, this had to be a sick joke. There you were, standing on the stairs looking down at them, as perfect as always. His eyes locked onto you, afraid that if he looked away you might vanish, how was this possible?

He was lost in thought while his brothers tried to put the pieces together. How could this be? How could you be standing there without a scratch on you? The air was still thick with the smell of your blood, he had felt you take your final breath, he was still holding your body. Or so he thought.

Mammon’s arms suddenly felt lighter, the pressure on his legs from the weight of your body was decreasing rapidly, he looked down at your mangled form. He could see his arm through your shoulder, his lap becoming more visible through your torso, his worst fear was becoming reality. You were vanishing from his life, he tried to hold on as best he could but his hands passed right through you, slowly but surely your lifeless body disappeared.

*******************************************************

Mammon’s eyes flew open, he glanced over at his alarm clock, this time he had managed to sleep for seven whole minutes. He wanted to sleep so badly, part of him wanting to never wake up, but every time he drifted off that same nightmare would replay in his head. This was the longest he had slept so far.

Four or five days had gone by since the big dinner disaster, he wasn’t sure how many days had passed honestly, time didn’t really matter anymore. Nothing did. You had ripped open a wound that he had tried so hard to stitch shut, you made him face the reality that he had been avoiding, you had reminded him of all the awful things he saw, heard, and felt that day.

The room was pitch black, same as it had been since he retreated from the dining room that night, dirty clothes covered the couch, half drank water bottles occupied the nightstand and floor below. A few plates of untouched food sat on his coffee table where they had been placed days ago, fresh at some point but now starting to mold, this was by far the worst his room had looked in centuries.

In his bed, buried under his comforter and bedsheets, was a very broken demon who had not slept in days despite never leaving the bed. Mammon had been in the same spot ever since you tore into them, he had cried himself to sleep that night from guilt, and when he woke the next morning he couldn’t find the strength to get up and go down to breakfast. Your words were etched into his thoughts, every time he considered getting up your face would flash in his mind, he would remember how angry you had been and he would lose all motivation.

Lucifer had been surprisingly understanding, he had checked in on him the first day to make sure he was okay, he would bring food by in hopes that Mammon would actually eat but it was to no avail. The second born was used to his older brother punishing him for skipping class, he had expected to have his door kicked in on day three for missing so much, but no punishment or lecture ever came. Instead, the avatar of greed had been left alone with his thoughts and memories, two very dangerous things to be left with.

At the time he had been thrilled to have you alive and well, but as the days went by he started to think about how you were not the same version that he had held in his arms so tenderly, you were not the one he had confessed his love to finally, and he had mixed feelings about that. Aside from his own confused heart, he was also being consumed by guilt and blamed himself for everything.

“None of you heard me screaming?? Where were any of you!”

These were the words that had sent him over the edge, your voice laced with rage and eyes full of hatred. He had done his best to silence himself as he cried there at the table but you had caught him anyway, that wasn’t why he felt so guilty though. It was the fact that even in the middle of your brutal scolding, you had shifted gears and started to defend him, you demanded that his brothers stop picking on him and they had all listened.

You had always been the only person to defend him, you shut his brothers down anytime they tried to make him feel shitty, you came to his aide when he was being blamed for a situation he had no hand in. Ever since your pact was made you had always been there for him.

But he wasn’t there for you.

Not when you needed him most, not when you were being brutally attacked by his youngest brother, not when you had been screaming for help. The guilt was eating him alive, his stomach twisted into a tighter knot at the thought of you scared for your life, had you called for him? While his brother did his worst, had you screamed his name? Had you tried to summon him? Had your strength been far too weak to do so?

Mammon’s eyes burned harshly as the tears started to form once more, he had been assigned to watch over you when you first arrived, yet in your greatest time of need he had failed to protect you.

He’d never forgive himself.

He couldn’t handle facing his brothers, he knew what they say about him, that it had been his fault you had died. So, he stayed in his room locked away from the world, from the harsh reality he didn’t want to deal with, from his brothers, and from you. He kept his door locked so that no one could bother him, not that they cared enough to check on him, only Lucifer could enter when bringing by another useless plate of food. He knew the counter spell to open the seal Mammon had placed, out of respect or pity one Lucifer always resealed the door on his way out, but even perfect demons are forgetful sometimes.

“Mammon?” He tensed up hearing his name called into the silent room, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, he squeezed his eyes shut and cursed Lucifer in his mind.

Why did your voice always have to sound so damn sweet?

*******************************************************

Satan told you the full story from beginning to end, about how Mammon had disappeared from the group, about how he and Asmo had gone out to search as well, about how Asmodeus had walked in on the fight between brothers.

He knew there was only one demon who could stop Mammon in a blind rage like that, Asmo had done well to stay out of Mammon’s line of sight, he had bailed first chance he got and rejoined Satan in complete terror, they tried calling Lucifer on his phone but just as he had answered Mammon’s voice rang through the mansion.

You had done your best to focus on your project with Satan in the library, but your thoughts were plagued by images of the second born discovering your broken body. The avatar of wrath could tell your mind was elsewhere and offered to end your study session early, you thanked him as you gathered your things before rushing out of the building.

Now you stood in the doorway of Mammon’s room, pitch black inside and a foul smell emitting from the empty void inside, you grew anxious. You had called his name but received no response, you peered further into the room and saw a demon sized lump on his bed, you stepped into the room and closed the door behind you.

Using the glow of your phone as a guide you made your way over to his bed, along the way you stepped over the piles of dirty laundry and discarded bottles, you also discovered the rotting food which was giving off the nauseating smell. Reaching his bed you spotted the lamp sitting on his nightstand, you turned it on and tried again to get his attention.

“Mammon? I know you’re under there.” You moved a dirty shirt out of the way and sat down on the edge of the bed near his stomach. By the state of his room you could tell he hadn’t left in days, Mammon was a lot of things but a slob wasn’t one of them, he was in a very bad place mentally and it hurt to know that.

“Go away…” You felt your heart break a little at both his words and the crack in his voice. It had been days since you’d heard him speak, for seven months he had done nothing but talk your ear off, now after five days of silence you would give him all the grimm in the world just to hear his voice again.

“Mammon please, you can’t just shut me out…” The blankets covering his face pulled in closer, his way of telling you yes he could. You hated this. Mammon was the happiest demon you knew, full of excitement, constantly wanting to hang out and go new places. Seeing him here like this, trying to disappear from you, it was making you miserable. “Fine, don’t talk to me, but I’m gonna talk to you,” you felt a slight sting in your throat, why did he always make you so emotional?

“I know about what happened…between you and Belphie. I know that you found me before the others, that you beat the shit out of him for hurting me, I know you called for Lucifer to save me.” Your eyes started to water but you wiped away the evidence. “It wasn’t your fault Mams…you didn’t know. If you had known? I know you would have protected me no matter what. You’ve always been there for me, you’re the first demon I became friends with, the first I made a pact with. And I know my first is always going to have my back…but it’s killing me to have you avoid me.”

The bedsheets started to rustle, slowly the white-haired demon emerged from his nest of blankets, he sat up against the headboard. You were filled with both sorrow and excitement at seeing him finally, he was a sight for sore eyes, but he looked like a wreck. His hair was a mess, bangs glued to his forehead by dirt and sweat, his eyes bloodshot with dark bags underneath, you half expected most of that but you didn’t expect him to be shirtless.

You felt your face flush due to his exposed chest, he avoided looking at you but you gave him a gentle smile anyway, you wondered if he knew just how pretty he was even when he was like this. He closed his eyes and you watched him take a deep breath before speaking.

“When I told ya that if I couldn’t save ya,” He starts, voice low and shaky. “That you better die…I didn’t actually mean it.”

Your heart shatters completely, it was getting harder to fight off the tears, you vividly remembered him telling you that back when Leviathan had charged you after the stupid trivia game. While he had been busy bandaging your sprained wrist, he had told you he was the only one allowed to save you, you assumed he was just being jealous of Lucifer but it meant more to him apparently.

“You were mine to watch over, Lucifer assigned me to take care of ya back then. I did my best but I always seemed to screw up and one of my brothers had to save ya. I was supposed to protect you, it was my one job but I couldn’t even do that right. I let ya get hurt…I let ya die.” You heard the guilt in his voice, a gentle stream of tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Mammon I—”

“No, lemme finish.” He lifted his head to look at you finally, the tears rolled a little faster, his bottom lip started to quiver but he continued. “When ya first got here…I figured ya’d be like everyone else. I’d have to listen to ya call me names, tell me I’m scum, that I’m just a garbage demon. Ya never did though,” He choked on his words slightly, hands gripping the bedsheets. “You were always so nice to me, I never understood why, hell ya been nicer to me in the last seven months than my brothers have been in the last thousand years.” He sobbed and wiped the tears from his eyes, only for them to be replaced by new ones.

“I should’ve been there for ya, but I wasn’t…you shouldn’t have to put up with me, I understand if ya wanna sever our pact…” You were lost for words, the fact that he thought you would ever do that to him? You were frantically searching for the right words to say, you took too long though, Mammon’s face contorted and he began to sob violently.

Without a second thought you pulled him into you, wrapping your arms around him as he buried his face into your neck, holding him tightly as his body started shaking. You did your best to soothe him, assuring him that you would never sever your pact over this, you gently stroked his tangled hair as he continued to apologize against your skin.

You were never that good at consoling people when they were upset but for some reason it came naturally with him, maybe it was because of how close you had become, maybe it was because Mammon always brought out the protective side in you, or maybe you just felt guilty for yelling at him along with the others. Whatever the reasoning, you continued to try and calm him, one hand still running through his hair while the other gently rubbed his back, eventually you felt his arms snake around your waist and his breathing started to even out.

“It wasn’t your fault Mammon, I don’t blame you and I don’t want you to blame yourself anymore. I don’t want you to think I hate you, and I would never sever our pact alright?” You pulled away from him slightly to see his face, the tears had stopped and in their place was a light blush on his cheeks. “You’re gonna have to try a lot harder than that to get rid of me.” You teased, the second born scoffed and looked away, but you caught a glimpse of that goofy grin he always had when being bashful around you.

It was nice to see him smile again, to see him in general honestly, you realized how lonely it was without him around to make you laugh. You knew he had missed you just as much by the way he clung on to the bottom of your shirt, you had known for a long time that somewhere along the way he had fallen for you, and regardless of your feelings towards him he was your best friend above all else. You loved seeing him smile, you loved the way he laughed at all your stupid jokes, and you loved how he always made sure you felt included.

You looked at your first man, a title he was so proud of even if it sounded inappropriate, and you suddenly thought about Mammon, not the one in front of you but the one you had left behind. The one that never even got to say goodbye, in fact the last thing you had said to him was “If I die, I’m totally coming back to haunt you!” the memory made you sick to your stomach.

Did he know?

Had Barbatos known you wouldn’t be coming back? Is that why he and Diavolo wouldn’t allow anyone to go with you? If he did, did he also know you die in this timeline? Did he tell the brothers?

You felt your own cheeks become laced with tears, Mammon had been so anxious about you leaving, it pained you to think he might still be waiting for you to return. Was the Mammon you left behind just as torn up right now as the one sitting in front of you? Did he blame himself for letting you go alone? Was he still standing there at the door you walked into, patiently waiting and hoping for you to step back through?

“Hey, come on now, don’t you start cryin’” You were snapped out of your thoughts by his voice, you didn’t realize your tears were now falling off your face and into your lap, Mammon reached up to wipe your cheek.

“I’m so sorry.” You meant to say that at full volume but all you could manage was a whisper. Mammon froze, his hand still on your cheek, his face went bright red as he searched yours for an explanation.

“What are ya sorry for? I’m the idiot that screwed up and let ya get hurt!” You shook your head and sighed. Explaining the timeline ordeal would just give you a headache and possibly throw him into another spiral.

“I should have come looking for you sooner. I was stubborn and angry, I didn’t think about how that day affected you also. I’m sorry you’ve been suffering alone like this. I miss having you around.” You placed your hand on his wrist gently and looked into his deep blue eyes. In typical Mammon fashion he couldn’t handle it and turned away from you.

“Geez, why ya gotta say somethin’ mushy like that huh? I mean of course ya missed me, I am—”

“The Great Mammon.” The avatar of greed whipped his head back around to see you with the dorkiest smile on your face; he couldn’t help but smile too.

“See, you humans do catch on!” You rolled your eyes and laughed; Mammon felt his heart swell a little at the sound. “H-Hey…MC…”

You gave him an inquiring look before he pulled you into a hug.

“I missed ya too…Promise ya won’t go leavin’ me like that again alright?”

“I promise.” You hugged him a little tighter before letting go. “Now, why don’t we get you out of this room? I’ll take you to Hell’s Kitchen, your treat?” You smirked and pulled out the most coveted item that ever existed from your jacket pocket.

“Goldie?? How did ya— Why do ya have—” Mammon looked at you in awe. You couldn’t help but giggle.

“I have my ways.” You teased. He didn’t need to know that Lucifer had given you the card almost six months ago, in hopes of hiding it from the mischievous over spender, instead you’d let him think you were some kind of God for pulling a stunt like this. “So? Wanna go have some fun?”

“I guess I can go out with ya, since your askin’ me and all!” That familiar look returned to Mammon’s face, the one he got whenever you invited him to hangout even if it was just to watch tv all afternoon.

“Great! Oh, but first…will you do something for me?”

“O-of course, you know I’d do anythin’ for ya.” The blush on his cheeks returned. You placed a hand on his leg still under the comforter and smiled politely.

“Take a shower first?” His blush deepened and he ran a hand through his hair.

“Guess I did let myself go huh?” He shifted uncomfortably on the bed, taking a look around his dimly lit room, finally seeing how bad it was.

“It’s okay, we’ve all been there,” You tried to ease his embarrassment. “One time I took what was supposed to be a casual thirty-minute nap and it turned into a twenty-two-hour depression nap. When I woke up, I had a chip stuck to the side of my face…I wasn’t even eating chips at the time.” Mammon laughed at your dumb little story.

“Hurry up and get ready! It’s late and I’m hungry!” You stood up and made your way to the door, you turned to look back and saw a fretful look on Mammon’s face. “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll be in my room waiting.”

“Promise ya won’t leave without me?”

“I promise,”

For a brief moment everything around you disappeared, it was just you and him. You thought about what he had done, what he had seen. You thought about the other version of him somewhere in a different timeline, you couldn’t go back and tell that version you were safe, but you could do everything in your power to comfort this one.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Tag List: @asexual-levia-tan @demonablack83 @jockallensworld @ari-shipping-stuff @hamiltonwrite12 @spookyyarn @ice-cream-nekogirl @deppressed-bixch-number2 @undead-dante @paulowniatormentosa @shamrockfish @drakaena @321clockworkangels @obeymemammoney @saeranthot @frankpanioncube @callalillie15 @magic-forever-and-after @midnightbluebell @thegreatiroko @crackheadbbb & @yaboihack (you didn’t ask to be tagged but I know you enjoy Mammon :) )

✨Reblogs much appreciated! ✨

[spoilmesweetieforficssake]

This Is Kinda Nice Too (2)

So I know I have requests to be working on - and I am - every request I currently have has a plan sketched out for it, I just need time to get them all written up.

In the meantime, however, I couldn't get this little idea to continue a previous request out of my head, so here it is. Part three may or may not make its way into being.

Can be read alone, but best read as as the follow up to the below (also if these inserted links look odd I'm sorry but it's the only way I know how atm)

You’re not a morning person at the best of times, and a night on a lumpy, creaky camp bed certainly hasn’t changed that.  You studiously ignore Janine’s chirpy ‘good morning’, making a mental note to apologise later once you’ve been properly caffeinated.

Speaking of which, there seems to be a distinct lack of a fire going and so currently no boiling water to make the dream of a cup of tea into reality.  Not bothering to ask for help or wait for anyone else, you move as quickly as you ever do in the morning to set a new fire going. 

You’re making decent progress when a gentle hand lands on your shoulder and a steaming cup of tea is brought into your line of vision.  The rumours really were true when they said Barb was a Saint.

“How?”

“There’s an electrical outlet in the little cabin I’m in,” she smiled, settling herself on one of the camp chairs closest to the fire, hands cradled round her own cup of coffee.  “I called ahead to check and packed a little travel kettle.”

“If you weren’t already married I’d be proposing right now,” you tell her as you take your first sip of tea.  It’s perfect.  It’s too perfect.  It’s your exact morning tea precisely how you take it.  Barbara Howard has never made you a cup of tea in your life.  You frown as you lower your cup, meeting Barb’s knowing smile.

“Melissa made it,” she offers by way of an explanation. 

You’re not quite sure what to think about that, but it makes you smile.  A few moments later the mysterious red head herself appears out of Barb’s tiny cabin, her own mug of coffee in hand.  The Kindergarten teacher had the only ‘cabin’, after trying to get out of the trip saying she was too old for camping.  Cabin was perhaps a strong word for the small wooden hut, but it did at least boast running water and electricity.  The smaller wooden camping pods laid out around it weren’t quite so luxurious, but they were at least wind and watertight.    

“I hate to say it, but I think I might be too old to sleep on a camp bed,” groans Melissa as she stretches. 

You chuckle.  “I don’t think anyone is young enough to get a decent night’s sleep on those beds if yours is anything like mine.”

*

“Ava, this is not breakfast,” Melissa says flatly as she looks dubiously at the small packet she has been handed by the Principal.

“Of course it is,” the younger woman snaps back.  “It says ‘breakfast bar’ right there on the front.  Besides, gotta have portable snacks so we can get our scavenger hunt on!”

This gets a collective groan from the group.  Ava ignores this and proceeds to fetch a folder. 

“Okay, now everyone come get a sheet and take a pencil. The pencils have numbers on them that’ll tell y’all who you’re paired up with.  Now remember, it’s not just about collecting all the items on the list, it’s about getting to the end point in the quickest time.”

You end up with Barb and Jacob.  Could be better, could be worse, you figure.  You look over to see Janine with a look of genuine worry on her features as she looks from her numbered pencil to Melissa, who’s eyebrows are hiked impressively high on her forehead.  There might be one less member of your little Abbott family around the campfire tonight if her murderous expression is anything to go by. 

Barb, ever the peacekeeper moves forward.  You expect her to offer to swap with Janine, so what she says next comes as a surprise.

“Oh Janine, I was hoping you’d end up in my little group.  I thought it would give us time to talk.  We haven’t had a chance of late with school being so busy,” says Barb.  She moves to take your pencil from your hand.  “You wouldn’t mind swapping, would you?”

“Course not,” you say, because really, what else are you meant to say?  You move to stand next to Melissa, who is now shooting an odd look on Barb’s direction.  “I can swap with Barb if you want?”

“What?  No!” she quickly reassures you.  “I was just wondering if she’d actually lost her mind volunteering to take those two.”

“Oh come on, they’re not that bad,” you reply, admittedly rather half-heartedly. 

“You really wanna swap with Barb?” she asks, eyebrow raised.

“Hell no!” comes your immediately reply.  “I definitely got the better deal one this one.”

*

“There’s a shortcut coming up.”

Melissa frowns, looking at the map Ava had provided.  She turned it to and fro, not sure where you were seeing any shortcut.

“It’s not on Ava’s map,” you add, coming to stand next to her.  You point to where the marked path takes a long, meandering loop.  “It’s just here.  It leaves the path and cuts out that big loop.  It’s a bit steeper, but-“

“You saying I’m too old to take the short cut?”

Your eyes go wide at her words and you immediately start to back track.  “That’s not what I said!  I said it was a little steeper, that was all!”

She chuckles.  “I was just messin’ with ya, kid.  So, this shortcut takes some time off, huh?”

“Should do,” you nod.  “I only know it’s there because when I first came here it was after seeing pictures on Instagram of the view from the top.  There were hints about making the hike quicker in the comments.”

“You think it gives us a shot at beating Ava?” Melissa smirks.  The Principal had practically dragged Gregory off at a run at the start of the scavenger hunt.

“It just might,” you grin right back. 

“Then I say lets go.”

*

“Shit!”

“What?  What happened, are you okay?” you ask, quickly turning around to inspect the red head.

She waves off your concern with a hand.  “I forgot about the list of crap we’re meant to find.”

“Oh that?  Don’t worry about that.  I found half the things we needed before we even left camp this morning.”  You take the list out of your pocket.  “We just need a feather, a Y shaped twig and a heart shaped rock.”

Melissa shakes her head, looking at you with a fond smile.  “You got this all under control, huh?”

You hope the blush that creeps up your cheeks can be passed off as the exertion of your hike.  You’re helpless under her soft gaze.  “Didn’t think you’d let me live it down if we came last.”

Her smile turns positively wicked.  “You know me well,” she says as she starts the uphill climb once more, treating you to a rather glorious view of her rear.  You’re quick to chastise yourself for your blatant staring and fall into step behind her. 

*

“Oh, wow.”

You look up at the softly uttered words to see that Melissa has reached the viewpoint ahead of you.  She has a soft smile tugging at the edges of her lips as she takes in the view.  You remember feeling the same sense of wonder the first time you saw the landscape falling away before you.  Like you were on top of the world. 

Abandoning your search for a heart shape stone, you force your legs to take the final few steps to bring you level with the red head.  You take a moment to breathe, looking over the expanse of green below you before turning to look at the other woman.  Her cheeks are flushed from the effort of the hike, her hair in windswept waves around her face.  She looks beautiful.  She always does, to you. 

She turns to look at you and you immediately duck your head, aware you’ve been blatantly caught staring.  That’s when you see it, right in front of your boot.  A heart shaped stone.  Bending to pick it up, you hold it out to her.  “Looks like we ticked off our list.”

“And made it to the top first,” she grins smugly.  She proceeds to open the small rucksack she had been toting, shaking out a picnic blanket before producing a bottle of wine.  “A little drink to celebrate?”

*

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so relaxed.”

You open your eyes, turning your head to look up to where she sits next to you on the blanket.  “I tend to be more relaxed when I’m away from things…people,” you finally reply.

“I’m not people?” she asks, her tone more curious than accusatory.

You pull yourself up until you’re sitting next to her, your knees drawn up to your chest as you look out over the view.  It’s easier to talk when you’re not looking at her.  “You’re different.”  You get nervous around Melissa, yes, but it’s not the same anxiety you feel around others.  “You don’t make me feel self-conscious about being me.”

“You know something, kid?” she breathes.  “I think that’s one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me.”

You feel an arm slip around your shoulders, pulling you into her side.  This is why you fell in love with her, you realise.  This acceptance of your quirks, your anxieties and your oddities without question.  You’ve never even had to explain them to her.  She just gets you. 

You’re not quite sure you can recall when it started, her understanding, you falling for her, but there is one night that stands out in your mind.  Ava had organised staff drinks.  It was a bar you’d never been too and it was busy and loud.  It had taken having a quiet word with yourself to even make it in the door.  Standing barely two steps inside, you had scanned the room, looking for a friendly face, your anxiety rising when you couldn’t find one.  It was stupid, you knew, to think that anyone thought you looked out of place for simply taking a moment to stand and search for your friends, but you couldn’t shake the feeling. 

It was then that you heard a familiar voice and saw Melissa cutting through the crowd towards you.  Her hand found your own, and she offered you a smile before leading you through the busy room to where your Abbott family were gathered.  It had been a good night, but as usual, you had struggled to find a way to leave.  You knew you were an adult who could leave whenever they wanted, but somehow, you always seem to end up the last to leave out of some misplaced notion of it being more polite than leaving before the night was over. 

Melissa had given you an out, seeing you were flagging and offering you a lift with her and Barb.  She was forever giving you an out, it felt like.  And yet she never made it feel like a burden.  You shift until you can lean your head on her shoulder, in almost a reverse of the night before. 

“How the hell you beat us?”

You both jump at the sound of Ava’s voice behind you, turning to face her.

“We practically speed walked!” she shouts, dumping a bag beside you clearly containing the contents of the scavenger hunt list.  “Ya’ll must have cheated!”

“How?” Melisa questions.  “We all left at the same time.  You saw us.  If I remember rightly, you practically took off like a sprinter out the blocks!”

Gregory appears behind Ava, looking slightly winded.  He looks just as surprised to see you as she had.  “How the?”

“Skills,” smirks Melissa.  “Some of us just have them.”

*

You jerk awake at the creek of the door of your little hut, squinting in the dark. 

“It’s just me,” comes the hiss of a whisper.  

Melissa.

“Scooch over.”

“To where?” you grumble, acquiescing all the same, and moving as far to the edge of the small camp bed as you can without falling off.  The frame squeaks in protest as the red head joins you on the too small bed.  You huff as she manhandles you into a comfortable position, her arm around your waist and her head on your shoulder. 

“First you call me old, now you call me fat!” she chuckles as she shimmies in an attempt to get more comfortable.

“Did not!” is all you can manage.  “You know I wouldn’t.”  You feel her smile against your neck.  Yes, the line has definitely been crossed.  By both of you.  Baby steps to many, it may seem, but giant leaps for awkward lesbian-kind. 

“I know I’m just teasing,” she says quietly. 

You hum in reply.  “One of your many skills.”

“You like it.”

“I like you,” you say quietly, too sleepy to worry too much about your words.

As your eyes drift closed, you feel her lips smile against your skin.  “I like you too.  This is kinda nice, too.”

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

Splinter celebrating a birthday with the turtle tots

Here you go!!

@phoebepheebsphibs

@daboyau

Splinter looks down at the wide eyed tot staring up at him.

Leo couldn’t get to sleep that night. Usually, he’d just crawl into bed with one of his brothers and wait it out so he wouldn’t be alone, but he caught his dad up as well. The movie he had on looked interesting so he made his presence known and demanded uppies.

Splinter knew well that insomnia doesn’t mess around, especially not for Blue, so uppies were gladly given and they cuddled together on his chair. The movie he had on was an anime one about a boy who would live with different family members every year. It focused on the birthdays he’d have since none of them celebrated it the same way.

“That, my son, is a good question.” Splinter answers.

He didn’t like celebrating it without his mother. Even when he was famous and having extravagant birthdays, or just going out to dinner with Big Mama, he’d lie and pick a different date than what it actually was.

He can hardly remember the real one anymore.

“Why don’t you know? You know our birthdays.”

“That’s because I wrote yours down.” Splinter smiles.

“Why didn’t you write down yours?”

“It wasn’t as important for me to remember.”

Leo looks back at the screen.

“You don’t want a birthday party with cool toys and food? I won’t mention the cake because you eat it all the time anyways.”

Splinter chuckles.

“Not everyone celebrates birthdays with presents and food. You see how they watch movies together when he’s with his aunt and uncle? How his grandparents take him fishing? Sometimes it’s just about doing what makes you happy. I do things I enjoy every day.”

Leo hums slightly.

“What’s your favorite thing to do? Sit on the chair? You do that a lot.”

Splinter lifts him up.

“I do plenty of other things!”

Leo giggles and wriggles around.

“Like what?“

“Like…..becoming the tickle monster!” Splinter begins tickling him with his tail.

Leo squeals and giggles more.

“Okay! Okay! You do other stuff!”

Splinter slowly stops and hugs him close again.

“You don’t need to worry about my birthday, Blue. It doesn’t upset me to not know it.”

Leo snuggles into him more.

“I like my birthdays.”

Splinter smiles.

“I always want you to.”

They continue watching the movie until the both of them knock out. Leo wakes up first, getting himself down from the chair. He knows that he’ll stay asleep for a while.

Leo makes his way to Mikey’s room first. He’s the least angry when he wakes up. Leo pokes his cheek.

“Mikeyyyy. Wake up. I need to talk to you!”

Mikey sleepily opens his eyes.

“Mmmmm…..bout what…?”

“Dad. We’re gonna make him a birthday.”

Mikey’s eyes open fully and he hops straight up.

“Birthday!?”

“Shhhh! We have to keep it a secret!” Leo insists, putting a finger over his lips.

Mikey smiles and copies the gesture.

Leo takes Mikey off the bed and carries him like a dangling cat. They make their way to Raph’s room next. He gets pretty grumpy when woken up, unless it’s Mikey.

Leo places Mikey on top of him. Mikey leans down and pats Raph’s cheek. Raph grumbles. Mikey grabs his cheek more. Raph grumbles louder and opens his eye, calming down when he sees his chubby cheeked little brother with a big smile.

He sits up and hugs him.

“Watcha doing up early, goober?”

“Dad’s birthday!”

Raph tenses up.

“He’s got a birthday!?”

“Noooo, not yet! That’s why I want to give him one!” Leo comments.

“I dunno, does he want one?”

“He said not to worry about it but I think he’d like it! We don’t even need to make a cake! I have a plan, it’ll be so cool!”

Mikey looks at Raph with eyes as big as he could possibly make them.

“Pleeeease, Raphie?”

Raph’s eyes sparkle as he hugs Mikey closer.

“Alright alright, I’ll help. We’re gonna have to get Donnie up though. That’ll be the hardest part.”

“Leon’s got it! Just watch and learn!” Leo boasts.

Raph carries Mikey this time as they all head to Donnie’s room. Leo is the only one to enter as the other two stay at a safer distance.

“What? Dad brought green glowing stuff? I think that’s what Donnie keeps asking for!”

Donnie shoots out of bed, nearly face planting after getting his blanket stuck around his leg. Once he escapes, he grabs his glasses and whips his head around.

“Where!? Where is it!? Give it to me, you don’t know how to properly store it!”

“Okay, so mayyyybeee dad didn’t really bring any-“ Leo gets knocked to the floor by a pillow tossed with the strength of an upset, mutant toddler.

“Never lie about uranium!”

Leo slowly sits up, pulling the biggest frown any of them had ever seen as the pillow slips down from his face. His brothers all start panicking. He never really cries because he gets physically hurt, emotionally though and he can throw a tantrum that rivals even Mikey’s.

It takes forever to calm him down too.

“Leo! It’s okay! Donnie’s going to apologize, right Donnie?” Raph looks between them both.

“…..I don’t want him to yell, but it is his fault-“

“Donnie!”

Leo keeps frowning and tears start pricking at his eyes.

“What do we do!?” Raph continues to panic.

Mikey leaves Raph’s arms and rushes over to Donnie, pulling him by the jacket sleeve closer to Leo.

“Hug.”

“I said I don’t want to apologize-“

“Hugs aren’t sorry. They’re hugs.”

Donnie sighs and kneels down, hugging Leo and patting his back.

“There there, don’t cry and have a meltdown.”

Leo hugs him back close.

“I just wanted to have you help with the birthday party!”

“What? Who’s?”

“D-Dad’s. I’m making one up for him….”

Donnie moves Leo away slightly, gripping his shoulders.

“Why didn’t you lead with that!? This is the perfect way to get some approval! You’re a genius, Leo!”

Leo’s mood changes immediately.

“Of course I am! Now we gotta hurry and be way more quiet than we have been so he doesn’t wake up. Everyone ready?”

They all nod.

“Then let’s get started!”

Splinter jerks awake at a crashing sound coming from the kitchen. He half expects to hear crying as he rushes there. What he sees instead of hearing surprises him.

His boys have pulled out the party supplies, they were sloppily decorated and plastered everywhere.

VHS tapes of different Lou Jitsu and Jupiter Jim movies littered the floor. There were also different toys and board games alongside them. He notices the fake fish hook and plastic fish specifically.

Raph is holding a kitchen drawer that accidentally got pulled too hard and came off it’s rollers.

Donnie is holding a paper plate while Leo is holding their bag of cookies and Mikey is placing the birthday candles they reuse on the plate next to poured out cookies.

“What….is going on here?”

“Happy birthday?” Leo smiles awkwardly.

After the contents of the drawer are cleaned up and the bag of cookies is put away, Splinter sits down with his sons.

“Can you explain what you were doing?”

“So….Leo wanted to do a birthday for you! We helped! He said you fish and have toys for birthdays so I got those!” Mikey smiles.

“Raph got down the party stuff so it would look all nice. I also got movies for us to watch. I tried to help get the candles.” He says shyly.

“You eat cake a lot so….” Leo starts.

“…..we wanted to give you cookies instead. We can’t use fire so we just put them there.” Donnie continues.

“Blue, I told you not to worry about my birthday.” Splinter sighs.

Leo taps his fingers together.

“You do birthdays for us because you love us. We love you too so I wanted to too.”

Splinter’s heart nearly bursts hearing those words. He’s spent all this time thinking about how birthdays made him feel and never considered that it might be different for them. They have no idea what he went through. All they know is that their birthdays were fun and nice and they wanted him to have that.

He pulls all of them into a hug.

“I have such wonderful and sweet boys. Thank you for this. Since you took the time to make this for me, we should have the party.”

The four tots cheer.

All of them spend time watching movies, eating the birthday cookies, playing with toys, and fake fishing.

As they near the end, Donnie sneaks off then comes back with a poorly wrapped gift.

“I made this, but Mikey wrapped it, Leo taped it, and Raph cut the paper so some credit to them I guess.”

Splinter smiles and takes it, opening it up.

“A photo frame! I know just what to put in it. Come together, boys.”

They do as asked and wait as Splinter brings out an older looking camera. He sets it up on a tripod and timer, then joins them.

They all smile before the camera goes off.

“Daaaaaad, how long are you going to stare at that old photo?” Leo calls from the kitchen.

Splinter sets it down.

That moment felt just like yesterday, but it was now many birthdays ago. Wonderful birthdays, set up by his sons.

They didn’t seem so bad anymore.

“I’m coming!”

He goes to the kitchen, it’s filled with a lot more people than previous years. It’s not even the same kitchen as before. Twice destroyed, things have changed. It’s lucky that the photo survived.

It’s even luckier that their family has gotten so big. Casey SR, JR, April, all there together.

A happy “birthday” indeed.