#feeling silly today i guess. this goes here too

[lucitrius]

this one's for the girls the gays and kaito momota

[hairmetal666]

The note shows up in Eddie's mailbox cubby on Valentine's Day.

It's nothing fancy, loopy cursive handwriting on lined paper:

"I know this is probably silly but I can't go another day without saying it, and today seems appropriate for this kind of confession. Seeing you in the morning is the best part of my day. You're so gorgeous it leaves me breathless. I hope you don't mind if I don't leave my name. Just wanted you to know that you're beautiful."

His eyes fill with tears that he blinks back, a goofy smile stretching his mouth wide.

"You good there, Munson?" Robin Buckley asks.

"Oh, yup, yeah, all good." He laughs. "Just got one of those 'you're my favorite teacher Mr. Munson!' notes."

He squeezes the letter to his chest before slipping it in his pocket.

---

The worst thing about Eddie's new job is that someway, somehow, Steve-fucking-Harrington works here too. PE teacher, JV basketball coach, of-fucking-course. Once a douchebag jock, always a douchebag jock. What makes it all worse is that he's still the prettiest guy Eddie's ever seen.

---

The first week of March, there's a commotion in the hallway that has him rushing out of his room, ready to breakup a fight. He finds Harrington already there, holding Dustin Henderson and Will Byers by their shoulders. Troy Walsh and James Dante stand across from them, wearing matching snarls.

Of course Harrington is picking on little nerd kids; he knew it. But before he steps forwards to break it up, Steve speaks, voice low and angry. "You want to tell me what happened here, Troy?"

"Byers tripped. He really should watch where he's going," Troy says. James laughs.

Steve's glare goes even more icy, more disdainful (it's so fucking hot, Eddie hates it). "You want to take that again? And try being honest this time, or you're suspend from the team."

Troy splutters for long enough that Eddie finally notices Will's stricken face, the sketchpad and snapped colored pencils littering the linoleum.

"I saw you take those things from Will, and unfortunately, I'll have to call your parents and you will be responsible for purchasing a new sketchbook and pencils. You're also benched for the next four games."

The boys shout, but when Steve raises a hand they quiet immediately. "You want to complain more, or do you want it to be five games?"

"No, sir," they answer before scampering off.

Harrington faces Dustin and Will. "You boys okay?" he asks them.

"We're good, Mr. H," Dustin answers.

"Glad to hear it." Steve begins collecting Will's ruined belongings, stops to study one of the drawings.

"This is really good, Will."

Will flushes. "Thanks. It's my character for dnd,"

"Dnd? That's that game that El and Max are always talking about? With the character sheets and the dice?"

"Yeah!" says Dustin. "You know it?"

Steve's smile is a little bashful, and it tugs at Eddie's heart in a way he has to ignore. "Not much. Just from what the girls have said. You want to tell me about it?"

"Really?" Their eyes light up.

"Really. You can stop by the gym during lunch. Only if you want to, though."

"Cool," says Dustin.

He pats them both on the shoulder, and they hurry away, leaving Steve and Eddie suddenly alone.

Eddie should head back to his class, hasn't been needed in this situation at all, really, but before he can disappear, Steve spots him and his eyes widen.

"You need something, Munson?" Steve's cheeks go a faint pink.

He shakes his head, feels wrong-footed. "Uh, that was really cool what you did just there."

"They're really good kids," Steve says. "I know them a little. Used to babysit El Hopper." He slides his hands into the pockets of his khakis and, seriously, fuck Harrington for looking like that in a pair of Dockers.

"Babysitter, Harrington? Never thought I'd see the day. Or that you'd be the one defending a bunch of nerds," Eddie says. He means it teasing, but Steve's face warps into a frown.

"Y--yeah, I guess. I mean. I'm trying not to be that guy anymore, and Robin's really helped--"

"Shit, man, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant, at all--"

"--I feel terrible about all that shit I pulled back in school. That King Steve stuff? I was awful and you didn't deserve--"

"Steve!" Eddie cuts him off. "I forgive you. For everything." He looks down at his shoes. "For all I didn't want to believe it, you really have changed."

They're both pink faced now, avoiding each other's eyes. "Thanks," Steve says. "I should get going, but--for the future-- I really wouldn't mind--um--trying to be friends."

The grin that passes across Eddie's face is huge. "Yeah, Harrington, I'd like that."

Eddie has to run to make it to his classroom on time. He passes Dustin and Will and the rest of their gaggle of friends, rushing them along, but forgets all about it as he steps in front of his third period juniors.

---

He and Steve are...friendly now. They chat, they joke, they share smiles that have Eddie's heart beating too fast even though it's not like that. Turns out Steve is kind and funny (a little bit of a bitch too, but in a way that ties Eddie's stomach in knots), and a hell of a teacher.

---

His freshman are in small groups, peer-reviewing an essays, when Max Mayfield catches his eye. She's one of his favorite students and absolute trouble.

"What's up, Mayfield." He asks.

"Are you friends with Mr. Harrington?" She asks.

He chuckles. "Sure, Max, we're friendly enough. Why?"

She narrows her eyes, like she knows he's not being totally honest. "Oh, nothing. He just talks about you all the time."

He's blushing horribly and Max, and all of her friends, smirk up at him. "He does?" He chokes out.

"Mmhmm," Lucas Sinclair says. "Says he thinks you're really cool."

"Definitely one of the best teachers here," Mike Wheeler adds.

Eddie rolls his eyes. "Okay, very funny, guys. How're your essays going?"

They answer, but before Eddie goes to help another group, Will says, "he really does like you, Mr. Munson. A lot."

El nods earnestly up at him. "It is true," she says. "I know him."

"Thanks, kids. I'll keep that in mind." He gives them a smile, tries not to let their words get to him. When he reaches the next group, though, he notices his hands are shaking.

---

Gifts start turning up in Eddie's cubby. It starts with a bag of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from his favorite bakery. There's a small note that says "from your secret admirer," on the packaging. Every two weeks or so, something new shows up in his little mailbox; a woven friendship bracelet, a yellow rose, Hershey kisses, a delicately painted dnd figure that gives Eddie a small crisis because it's his own bard character, an Iron Maiden cassette, a bag of dice that almost brings him to genuine tears.

Eventually, he gets another note. This one is typed and reads: "I would love to have coffee with you 11am this Saturday at the Cafe on Main Street."

---

He walks into the cafe at 10:50am, wearing his favorite pair of ripped black jeans and a burgundy button-down, his hair pulled into a loose bun. He doesn't recognize anyone there.

Eddie gets in line, studies the menu, and the little bell above the door rings. He whips towards the sound to find none other than Steve Harrington in little wire rim glasses, a butter colored sweater, and jeans the man must have painted on, Jesus Christ. Honestly, the whole thing is enough to give Eddie a coronary (and to, embarrassingly, chub up in his own tight jeans).

"Steve?" He asks. He's overwhelmed with the (stupid, stupid) hope that it's been Harrington all along. "What are you doing here?"

"Henderson asked me to meet him. He around?"

"Uh, no?" Eddie feels heat creeping up his throat.

Steve shakes his head, as though he expected as much. "You alone? We could grab drink."

"I can't believe this." Eddie hides his face in his hands, knows it's gone horrifyingly crimson.

"What's wrong?"

"My secret admirer told me to be here now, so we could meet," Eddie's misery slices through his words. "I'm such an idiot."

"I--your--what?" Steve stammers.

He gathers himself enough to look Steve in his hazel eyes and ask, "I'm assuming it wasn't you leaving notes and gifts for me at work?"

And he expects Steve to say no. To laugh and ask why he'd ever do something like that, but instead, instead he flushes a deep red. "O-only one note."

"What?"

"I, uh," Steve clears his throat. "I left you a note. On Valentine's Day. I--we weren't friends yet, and I wanted you to know how much I liked you. It's --uh--it's pretty silly, huh? Robin's--"

"Steve," Eddie interrupts. He's going to tell Steve that he reads the note often enough that he has parts memorized; that it's the kindest thing anyone has done for him, but what he says instead is, "Dustin Henderson told you to meet him here at 11?"

"Yeah. Said he had something to show me."

Eddie remembers running into Will and Dustin and their friends that day in the hall, the weird conversation in class, the dice and the miniature. Something must click for Steve at the same time because his mouth drops, blush getting somehow deeper.

"Oh my god. Henderson! I'm gonna kill him. They figured out I had a crush on you."

"They WHAT?" Eddie says, loud enough that several looks are aimed their way.

"I'm so, so sorry, Eddie. Holy shit, this is so humiliating. You have to believe me, I had no idea they were doing this. God, I'm really starting to think it is possible to die from embarrassment."

"You have a crush on me," Eddie says instead of any of the dozens of helpful things he could say.

"Um. Yes?"

Eddie takes a deep breath, straightens his spine, and asks, "You wanna have coffee with me?"

"I'd really like that." Steve's return smile is so beautiful, it makes Eddie weak.

---

Eddie Munson is making out with Steve Harrington in the backseat of Steve's BMW. He and Steve spent the day together. They've kissed for so long that the sun has set, both of their lips are swollen, their skin red from stubble, and Eddie is nowhere near ready for the night to end.

Steve breaks away, gently pulling their mouths apart, but arms still tight around Eddie. "Hey, what kind of gifts were they giving you anyway? The kids?"

"Oh," Eddie blushes. "Uh, cookies, a dnd mini, lots of candy, a set of dice."

"Oh my god," Steve says, he pulls a little more away. "Oh my god, I'm going to kill her, Jesus Christ."

"Who are are you killing, sweetheart?"

Steve groans. "Robin. She was helping them. We found a set of dice at this little bookstore and she told me to get them for you, and--" he breaks off with a helpless, frustrated noise.

Eddie doesn't mean to, but he starts to giggle.

"It's not funny!" Steve says.

That only makes Eddie laugh harder. "Your best friend," he squeaks. "And a group of literal children set us up. That's hilarious, Harrington."

Steve's mouth drops and for a second Eddie thinks he'll be upset, but then he's giggling too, his whole face crumpling into it.

Steve pulls Eddie close once the laughter subsides, his eyes trained on Eddie's lips.

"We could pretend we didn't get together," Eddie manages to say.

"What, like, make them think they failed?"

"Yeah. We could tell them I got stood up, but you and I hung out. Had a bro day."

Steve giggles again, and it's the best sound Eddie's ever heard. "I'm absolutely on board with this plan, but you should definitely kiss me some more."

"Oh, yeah?" Eddie asks, his voice low. "And what'll I get out of it?"

"Why don't you get over here and see."

As if Eddie could turn down an invite that enticing. He slides a hand behind Steve's head, drawing him in, and they're kissing like they never stopped. It only been a few hours, but Eddie knows--without a doubt--he's already head over heels.

[sh1-n0bu]

This anon know what is good, i guess i never make a ask so i'm doing now. Can u do that concept with any character (and mc of course) , may a hybrid? Idk, sorry if is confuse, a lil nsfw maybe?

-🍑

✿ 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 ✿

characters: cat!6reeze x nb!reader

warnings: fluff!!!! fluff fluff fluff fluff fluff! also modern au!

notes: wanted to take a break from writing smut and take inspiration from my own fluffy bby for this one. also @junerixi , simping for only one☝️anemo boy is an illness. i hope you recover soon😚 honkai:star rail ver can be read here!

art by Mechodes on twt

oh gods

a menace

a complete menace i say

you know that thing cats do? when they just keep a direct eye contact with you as their little fluffy paw slowly pushes your potted plant or a cup full of drink to the edge of the table while you watch hopelessly bc your hands are dirty or busy doing smt?

yeah, it’s the 5th time the flower shop owner is seeing you this week and your wallet is crying

it’s almost as if you two were sworn enemies in your past life and scaranya is out for blood

doesn’t have that much of a zoomie episodes but when he does oh boy

you better retreat into a safe place but even then you’re not safe from scaranya’s terrifying zoomie powers

he’s literally running and jumping around everywhere

the table, on top of the fridge, the curtains, on top of the washing machine, your little bookshelf - everywhere

scaranya is such a little shit (affectionately)

his preferred way of waking you up is faking puking noises and when you throw your covers off and literally zoom into the living room, he gives you a look as if saying “finally awake, you silly human slave”

sometimes he even jumps on top of your chest harshly but that’s only used if you’re oversleeping with your alarm clock snoozed for the past 20 minutes and you’re running late to work

despises baths with a burning passion

if you’re taking him anywhere a large body of water is, he’s trashing around, kicking, hissing, biting, scratching - the whole pack

after a successful bathing time, with added new scratch marks on yourself, he would not approach you until you fall asleep

after you have fell asleep, he would quietly approach your sleeping figure and give small, shy licks to the angry red scratches he caused as if apologizing for being so aggressive

hates rainy days too, especially the ones with thunder and lightning

jumps up 5 ft into the air if a thunder strikes and runs into your lap, shaking small body curling into himself with all of his cockiness and pride out the window

scaranya appreciates you greatly but he’s just a bit too bad at communicating and so he shows his affection by lapping up the scratches he gave you

“scaranya, aren’t you gonna go out to the back garden and play with the rest? it’s nice outside today”

hmph! what do you mean by play with the rest of the cats? he’s a royal! he’s superior! scaranya has never heard of such bullshit befor- oh! a bird! must. catch!

scaranya and miao gets into fights sometimes and whenever you separate them, scaranya goes to sulk in the corner of the house silently

until you go over to him with a sigh and pick him up gently, he doesn’t even resist - just choosing to simply curl his tail around your wrist

a solid 9/10 kitty if he would just stop being a tsundere

art by Mechodes on twt

miao acts more like a guard dog than a cat sometimes

the smallest out of all the kitties yet also the strongest one. honestly the sheer amount of times miao has taken down a wild dog 10 times his size just keeps giving you more and more heart attack

doesn’t get zoomies, if anything he stops the other kitties’ zoomies if they go a bit too far - which most of the times escalate into scaranya and miao fighting

cleanse the land house through slaughter bug hunting

a sweet baby

miao’s preferred way of waking you up is to silently sit on your side of the bed and stare until you get that feeling of being watched and wake up to 2 piercing yellow eyes just staring holes into your soul

yes, you have yelled and fell off of your bed many times due to that

you found little miao at a dark alleyway, covered in blood and barely on the brink of death with his tiny paws twitching constantly

grew up malnourished on the streets with his 4 siblings dying out one by one, so due to that miao’s body is very small and he’s extremely territorial with you - his one and only sweet human

always leaves his scent on you by rubbing his head around your ankles

miao is indifferent when it comes to taking a bath, unlike scaranya, and he can be very obedient as well

when rubbing soap into his legs and washing his paws he would stretch out his limbs to make it easier for you to wash him - anything to lessen the load of his favorite human

he also seems to like your co-worker, zhongli a lot

one time you came home with zhongli due to a deadline of a great project coming closer and upon seeing him, miao immediately jumped into his lap, purring lowly, rubbing his head on zhongli’s hand

yes your heart broke at the betrayal and yes miao apologized with a dead rat in his mouth

but if it’s any other guests you’re bringing home, then miao would either get on top of the fridge and simply watch or hiss at the guest

oddly likes being in high places

one time, you made him a small necklace-collar thingy out of a few pearls and he wears that with pride, chest puffed out (a replica of his necklace)

loves sleeping on the lower parts of your bed at night. it’s soft, fluffy and he can keep an eye on you and keep you safe so it’s a win-win in miao’s book

“miao-miao, do you wanna come with me to the back garden to pick up the tomatoes?”

before you can even finish your question he’s already at the back door, staring at you expectantly with his tail thumping slowly against the floorboards

thanks to miao and kazunya your house will never get any bugs, roaches or mouses inside

if feeling incredibly vulnerable and soft, miao paws at your arm to ask for pets bc he just needs the comfort of his favorite human

literally a 9/10 kitty if he would just change his way of waking you up

art by ayon🌿 on twt

heinya is another little shit (affectionately)

he likes to cause trouble and drama here and there

also really enjoys spilling tea to you

it doesn’t matter if you’re waking up and is still groggy or just coming in through the front door, back from work - heinya is spilling all the drama of the shows he watched on the tv while you were away or the different birds he saw through the window - meowing away at you excitedly

another helpful hand

if you’re coming back from grocery shopping then heinya can take some of the smallest and lightest bagged things and dragging them to the kitchen alongside miao, kazunya and nyaether

heinya’s preferred way of waking you up is to make biscuits - you know that cute thing cats do with their paws squishing at their favorite spot over and over - on your stomach or lower back or! he just meows besides your ear over and over until you eventually wake up

the perfect alarm - heinya

he’s such a sweet baby

and heinya really likes watching real life crime documentaries for some reason

at first when you found this out, you couldn’t help but think heinya is going to murder you in your sleep but soon you realized he just loves crime related things

and bc he like crime related things, you bought heinya a cute spy glass shaped squeaky toy

when getting the zoomies, heinya decides to bite and kick at the spy glass shaped squeaky toy - making the toy let out squeaks at every little kick

heinya enjoys spending time outdoors, sniffing at the different scents wafting in the air, tracking down all different sorts of footsteps and paw marks with great interest - you sometimes wonder if heinya was a detective in his past life

loves to bring you all sorts of interesting things he found - an old ripped part of a newspaper article, a weirdly shaped leaf, a flower he has never seen before, a half bitten chicken still warm - wait where’d he get this?

loves to sleep using your hand as a pillow my cat does that to me so rip bc you have been captured by the amazing detective heinya and you won’t be moving for hours on end, let’s hope you had a nice snack and a toilet break beforehand

chose to wear the smooth, black satin you tied around his neck as a collar - either bc he loves to wear soft things or he just loves it bc you gave it to him

heinya is an incredibly affectionate kitty, always meowing for you for pets, cuddles and perhaps his favorite soft wet food? he’s been really good!

doesn’t really mind taking baths as well, if anything he uses this opportunity to shake bubbles everywhere!

for some reason, also loves to groom your hand. maybe it’s just something your kitties all share?

overall another solid 9/10 kitty, if you don’t mind being splashed with water and bubbles while bathing him

art by @bbadtime on tumblr

kazunya, me beloved

literally an angel, how could you ever be mad at him even as he took a whole bite out of your potted plants’ leaf?

another kitty that loves staying in high places like miao and stay outdoors like heinya

joins miao on his duty to cleanse the land house through slaughter bug hunting from time to time

a lazy, sweetheart of a cat that loves to sleep on warm places and the sunlight - you literally had to buy a window sling just for him to nap under the sunlight

another helpful hand!

will drag the lightest and smallest bagged things to the kitchen whenever you come back from grocery shopping - more so if it’s cat food

isn’t a picky eater but sometimes, just sometimes, prefers food with fish in it’s ingredients

kazunya is mostly tasked to wake you up by the other kitties bc he’s the sweetest

wakes you up by purring and snuggling with your face, neck, hands - anything just you in general

soon enough, the small fluff purring and cuddling you wakes you up and as a reward for waking up, kazunya gives you a small kiss - a lick to the tip of your nose - making you laugh

doesn’t meow a lot, only when he has to or if it’s an emergency such as the litter boxes not being cleaned, the food trays being empty etc

always gives you a kazunya kiss as a thank you

a gentle baby, even to the guests

whenever a guest comes over to your house, they always gush about the cute white cat with a small red streak in his fur

kazunya doesn’t get zoomies. even if he does it’s rare like only once a week

always grooms himself to keep himself clean, not to mention his white fur sparkling as well

surprisingly enjoys bath times, would even suggest you to bathe him by tugging on your sleeve then pointing to the bathroom with his fluffy paw!

however there’s just one thing that kazunya does that makes you shiver

it’s that he always, always! brings you dead animals or bugs. birds, rats, mouses, cockroaches, crickets - anything that he managed to hunt - he brings over to you with his tail swishing happily behind him

it’s considered a gift in cat language, you know that! but it’s just a bit dirty especially if he brings over different bugs. the rats, mouses and birds you can handle but the bugs brrr

one time, kazunya proudly brought you a dead wolf spider as you held back a tear and a screech, deciding to take his gift with a forced smile

you never recovered from that

a 10/10 kitty if he would just stop bringing you dead spide - kazunya is that a mf dead tarantula in your mouth?

art by os_Amaniwa on twt

another best kitty!

a sweet kitty that never complains!

helpful, never complains, never picky with his food - a literal angel

however sometimes nyaeather disappears randomly, coming back after a day or so

he always seems to be searching for something - his twin - you soon found out, by registering him and getting his pet password

and so you decided to help him reunite with his twin by putting up posters, articles, news on the internet, tv, radio - anything to make nyaether happy

after a whole half year of dedication and endless search, nyaether’s twin was finally found!

turns out the person who adopted nyaether’s twin was your co-worker, dainsleif, the quiet and mysterious tall man

after talking to him about the situation of the twin kitties, you both have come to an agreement to let the kitties have a play date once a week

when the day of the first play date has arrived an someone knocked on your door, your kitties gave you a confused look

upon taking nyaether in your arms, you walked over to the front door before unlocking it and letting dainsleif inside. as the blond man placed down the catbag and opened it, from inside stepped out a cute, similarly blonde furred kitty with a baby blue colored collar

upon seeing the kitty, nyaether jumped out of your arms and tackled his twin. cuddling her and licking at her face with a teary eyes - you and your co-worker dainsleif couldn’t help but laugh at the adorable situation

since then nyaether had made a silent oath to always be beside you and be your best kitty! you have done a lot for him by helping him reunite with his twin - nyumine - so he would do anything in his power to lessen your load!

nyaether’s preferred way of waking you up is by giving a gentle meow beside your ear and give your cheek three kisses - repeat the process on the other side until you eventually giggle and wake up

another kitty that doesn’t mind taking baths! however he just prefers the water to have a bit of bubbles to soothe his nerves

likes to sleep in your arms since he has separation anxiety like scaranya - due to the incident with his twin

“nyaether, keep the others in check okay? i’m going out on a quick grocery shopping!”

“myaaa!”

such a sweet baby🥹

his meows are higher pitched and not full “meow” like kazunya or miao’s instead it’s a short “myaa!”

a solid 11/10 kitty. highly recommend, get yourself a nyaether today!

art by os_Amaniwa on twt

a little shit AND a menace (affectionately)

very hyper too! sometimes you wonder if nyenti has ADHD but in cat version

it’s like he’s always in his zoomie mode as if to make up for having 2 kitties that barely has zoomies - which are miao and kazunya

his affectionate attitude doesn’t help as well

twirling, rubbing himself on your lap, hand, bageling his way around you - he’s always sticking close to you 24/7

one time as nyenti was rubbing himself on your hand while you were working on your computer for an important document, he tripped and fell on your keyboard - deleting your entire progress of work with a “myeeew!”

yes, you cried that night

unlike heinya, nyenti doesn’t really enjoy being outdoors - he just prefers to stay on your lap, lazily bathing in the sun - as he sometimes meows with heinya about some dramas

another kitty that loves to spill the tea to you

him and heinya meows your ears off with the things they have seen, watched, witnessed and heard - sometimes even adding some dirt on the other kitties such as kazunya eating leaves from your potted plants, scaranya sleeping on your hoodie bc he missed you, miao destroying the pantry during his duty to cleanse the land etc etc etc

nyenti’s preferred way of waking you up is to play with your hair. whether it be grooming at your hair, playing with them, tugging on the ends gently - it doesn’t matter which form - as long as nyenti wakes you up, that’s all

he also doesn’t do much hunting either, preferring to watch from the sidelines as the others chase some bugs and small animals they found

for some odd reason nyenti likes you to put flowers on top of his head or a flower shaped charms as a collar - his most favorite and preferred one being the white lily

cut the flower's bud and place it on top of nyenti upside down like it's a cone hat and nyenti would give you the biggest, affectionate "myew!" while rolling around on the ground, showing you his tummy

a sweet kitty if he would just stop being a little zoomie induced shit

nyenti is another kitty that hates taking baths

doesn't react as aggressive as scaranya but he likes to yell his defiance a lot and i mean a lot

overall, a solid 8.5/10 kitty if he would just stop meowing loudly in your ears everytime you take him for a bathtime, making you more and more deaf

[erwinsvow]

the frustration shy reader must feel bc she’s freaky… no doubt about it, but rafe is like she’s too precious and innocent for that

no srsly.. he thinks shes so fragile because she took some time to adjust to being intimate w him but its like no she was just a shy virgin and rafe is so overwhelming but like when she gets comfortable... its a whole diff story !

"c'mon, kid, hasn't even been an hour," rafe groans, while you crawl into his lap again. you sit right on his dick, moving the way that you know will get you dicked down within the next ten minutes. or at least you thought it would.

rafe's huge hands come to your hips, lifting you up and off, tumbling onto the bedspace next to him.

"m'not a dildo, kid. give it a rest, it's fuckin' tired."

"i bet i can wake it up," you giggle, hand snaking back onto rafe's chest and trailing down. he grabs your wrist.

"what the fuck. are-are you not satisifed. is that what this is?"

"i never said that," you say with a sincere shake of your head and one of your concerned looks. "oh, am i not supposed to want it more? is that bad?"

rafe's not sure what he's gonna do with you.

"no, baby, it's not bad. it's healthy." you look relieved, chest heaving slower while you sink into your side of the bed.

he thinks that's the end of the conversation, but it comes up again a few days later, when he picks you up and takes you out for icecream on the pier. you lick your cone, watching the sunset while rafe stares at you, when ropes from someone's boat catches your eye.

"that rope looks strong," you comment, with another swipe of your tongue. rafe's about to start a lecture on boats when you cut him off, piping in again. "i bet if you tied me up with that i couldn't even move. it would probably leave scars. right?" you glance up from the rope to look at your boyfriend.

"huh?"

"the rope. if you tied it around my wrists and ankles. it would probably leave a mark. and hurt. you think we can take that rope or should we buy our own?"

he stares at you, not sure if you're joking.

"no, no one's tying you up with rope. what the fuck?"

"ugh. rafe?"

"yeah? kid?"

"you want some?" you offer, handing him the ice cream cone.

the next time he's heard enough. he's driving through the woods, a creepy backroad that led him to barry's, where he'd taken you with him since it was late at night. there's no lights, just the moon and the trees.

you stare out the window, he thinks you're tired from the day's activities.

"what're you thinkin' about, kid?"

"i bet if you let me loose in these woods you wouldn't be able to find me." he's a little confused, but sometimes you say odd shit so he goes along with it.

"yeah, that's what getting lost means."

"no, silly, not lost. if you let me run so you could chase me." you crane your neck, looking out the window at the expanse of the forest.

"to... find you?"

"duh, rafe. how else could we have sex in the woods if you don't find me. that's the whole point, you have to chase me. like a predator animal. i wonder if there's bears in these woods."

"are you jokin'?" you turn to look at him, with that same confused expression, sweet and confused.

"no? why?" he slams on the brakes, pulling over.

"get real, kid. you want me to chase you through the forest and fuck you, what, against a tree?"

"no, rafe," you start sincerely, looking concerned. "not against a tree, wouldn't that hurt? maybe on the grass. it just depends how far i get, until you find me, i guess. it looks like just trees here."

he stares at you, and then back at his hands on the wheel.

"rafe?"

"yes?"

"so are we gonna do it today, or..?"

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 琅琊榜/Nirvana in Fire.

Nirvana in Fire is a 2015 historical series best described as either a complicated succession drama set in the premodern Chinese imperial palace, or the story of a man who didn't die a decade ago and has decided to make it everyone else's problem.

And really, I almost feel silly giving my glib little summary, because Nirvana in Fire is so well-known of a property. It's a classic for a reason, and that reason is that it's legitimately very good. This show is what happens when you adapt a solid story, get a bunch of very talented actors, and throw a huge amount of money at it. It's incredibly popular and highly acclaimed, and it earned all of the hype.

Still, while I bet there are few people adjacent to c-drama stuff who've never heard of Nirvana in Fire, I'm sure there are plenty who haven't watched it. After all, it looks like one of those slow, serious shows with a lot of ponderous talking and no joy. If that's the impression you've been given, I could imagine looking at the 54-episode commitment and saying, I don't need that in my life.

I am here to tell you you're wrong. It is a banger of a show. It's tense. It's funny. It's heartbreaking. It’s exceptionally clever. It’s jaw-droppingly stupid. It’s romantic. It’s tragic. It has smart plots and bizarre subplots. And that's not even touching the thing with the yeti.

So in case you're one of those people who's heard of Nirvana in Fire, but has put off watching it for one reason or another, I'm here with five reasons I think you should try it.

1. Epic Shit

Did you like the Lord of the Rings? More specifically, did you really like the second Peter Jackson film? Great, then you're all set for this.

I guess I could have called this Game of Thrones without the dragons, but that's not actually the vibe at all. Game of Thrones is much more sensational and salacious, with all the blood and butts and what-not. The Tolkien comparison is more apt, I think, because Nirvana in Fire is equally about as wholesome as you can get in a property where dudes are still getting stabbed all the time.

This is a show about vengeance. And yeah, justice for the fallen, sure, that's fine too. But mostly it's about a bunch of good people joining forces to make sure the bastards who did wrong pay, with their lives as necesary.

The problem, though, is that these bastards are incredibly powerful, which means that a pure brute-force approach isn't going to work. Accordingly, this quickly becomes a story about the power of smart teamwork to exact retribution on some people who can (and did!) legally get away with murder -- and our heroes are some of the people with their necks most on the line if anything goes wrong.

Don't let the Middle Earth comparison fool you into thinking this is all epic swordfights. It's not. (I mean, for one thing, as well-funded as this project is, it doesn't have Peter Jackson Money.) The vast majority of the tension in the show comes from dialogue and slow, terrible realizations. The fight scenes are almost a relief from the nail-biting intensity of intimate conversations about getting a letter from somebody's ex-wife or returning a book.

All told, the show has that incredible almost-RPG vibe of going through all the little subquests and cutscenes you find along the way to defeat the final boss. The plot carefully unravels a multi-tendriled mystery told to you by people in incredible costumes. It doesn't get much more epic than that.

(Nirvana in Fire is also a cautionary tale about how you should be very careful with who gets invited to your birthday party.)

2. A chronically ill protagonist

Okay, right in the first episode, it is established that the main character has three whole completely different names and an old nickname. I'm going to call him Mei Changsu for the duration of this rec post, but let the record show that I could just have easily gone with one of the other three.

What you learn in that same first episode is that Mei Changsu used to be a palace insider, the cocky son of a noble family, only now nearly everyone he used to know thinks he's dead. Also, he's not far off from being actually dead -- he has an unspecified terminal condition that's mostly managed, provided he stays in his little mountain hideaway with his handsome doctor bestie and doesn't return to his old stomping ground and start kicking over hornets' nests.

So guess what he's about to do.

I have to make a note of how brilliant the casting is here: Hu Ge is an action actor! He is a kickpuncher of a man! And I think it's great that you can sort of see his frustration, as well as Mei Changsu's, at having to spend the whole series wrapped in countless layers of fabric and/or lying in bed while everyone around him gets to be the badass action heroes.

Mei Changsu's not faking it, either -- he's actually dying. He expends his energy where he thinks it's necessary, and sometimes that means he has to spend the following week in bed. He's constantly frustrated with himself for what he can't do anymore. He's racing a clock, and that clock is his own failing body. If he dies, the only hope anyone here has for justice dies with him.

He gets two love interests that the show treats pretty much equally. One's a lady general who wasn't even a love interest in the book. The other's the handsome prince who was initially going to be his textual romantic partner in same book, until the author hopped genres from danmei to general historical drama. I can't even call this a love triangle, because there's no competition. He just gets a wife and a husband -- in that he gets neither, because circumstances and his own illness keep him distant from them. He lies to both of then about his condition (among other things). He wants to be with them both and knows he can't be with either. And they in turn have to learn to accept what of him they can and can't have.

(Also, Nihuang (her) and Jingyan (him) are both incredibly gorgeous, which is exactly what bisexual genius Mei Changsu deserves.)

Obviously this isn't a perfect representation of life with chronic illness, largely because Mei Changsu is an incredily wealthy man who lives in a universe with what's basically magic medicine. However, I've seen the story's treatment of him and his condition resonate with a lot of chronically ill viewers, so even with the fantasy layer on it, there's definitely something there.

3. Dave

I have already told the story of how Meng Zhi became "Dave," but long story short, he's such a Dave that I legitimately forget his character's real name. He embodies Daveness. He's The Ultimate Dave.

Dave is an excellent fighter, a loyal friend -- and a terrible liar. He's possbly the only straightforward character in the entire show. When he's asked to be duplicitous, he's comically bad at it. Dave will never do a heel turn. I was misled at first by his semi-evil facial hair, but I have seen the error of my ways. Dave is pure lawful good.

And the reason I list Dave as such a selling point is that having a Dave means you always know what's going on. This is because Dave never knows what's going on, and he has no ego about that, so he asks questions, and other characters have to explain to him what just happened, and that is how you figure out what's going on.

It's an incredibly smart move on the drama's part, because some of the (very fun) schemes are so complicated that there's no way for you, the viewer, to understand them just by watching. Without the internal monologues and omniscent narration of a book, the machinations are opaque. You need things explained -- but why would the schemers explain their schemes? Well, Dave needs some exposition, so here you go.

So if you're worried that you might be left feeling stupid by a show where so many sneaky people are hatching so many complex plans, worry not! Like the good man he is, Dave has your back.

4. A Million Amazing Antagonists

If you like bad guys, this is a show for you. This show has brilliant bad guys all the way down. It has bad guys at every turn. It has bad guys for every taste. Welcome to Big Liang's Big Bad Guy Emporium, where we guarantee you'll walk out of here with a bad guy you like, or your money back!

(And yes, this set of pictures is also to say that their costume budget was entirely well-spent.)

Without getting too far into spoilers, I will say that the basic situation underlying the whole series is this: The emperor has done a lot of bad things, and he has enlisted a bunch of people's help in hiding those bad things, so much so that many of those other people have done even more bad things the emperor didn't even know about -- and then everyone has gone to great lengths to cover those up as well. Our protagonists spend the whole series unraveling this colossal shitshow and bringing people to task for their crimes.

So really, if you're going to spend 54 episodes taking down the baddies, they've got to be baddies you love to see taken down. And these are -- in part because all of them have crystal-clear, rock-solid motivations for their actions. Nobody here is a moustache-twirling comic-book-villain baddie. They're all bad for reasons that are very understandable in their individual contexts. And not a single one of them is going to go down without a fight.

5. World's Best Mom

(Sidebar: The fact that four out of five of my reasons to watch the show are individual or groups of characters should be your strongest indicator that this is an intensely character-driven story.)

This is not a Dead Mom Show. Okay, some moms are dead, but mostly this is a Moms Are Alive And Often Cause Problems Show, which is a lot of what makes the palace drama so delicious. But there is one Good Mom who stands out above all the rest: Consort Jing.

Played with perfect grace and devastating politeness by the stunning Liu Mintao, Consort Jing is a skilled doctor and excellent baker who starts the show with a low-level status among the women of the palace. She swallows down all kinds of mistreatment because she's not in a place to oppose it -- and when she can retaliate, it must only be through soft power. She loves her jock son with all her heart, but because of both their relatively poor positions in the hierarchy, she doesn't get to see him all that much. She wants to be an asset to him, while all the time she has to fear becoming a liability.

She is also the smartest person in any room that she's in, unless she's in a room with Mei Changsu, and even then it may be a tie.

There are lots of great characters in the show that I could have highlighted here, and plenty of them are women, but Consort Jing in particular never ceases to impress me. She is trapped in a gilded cage, married to a man who [lengthy list of spoilers that are traumatic to her in particular], and held hostage by how every time she even looks like she's out of line, it puts both her and her boy in danger. She's the most vulnerable of any of our good guys. Kind of like Wang Zhi, she's got to be clever or she's dead.

Consort Jing is not part of Mei Changsu's original plan. She figures out his plan and makes herself part of it -- and entirely remotely, as she and he aren't even in the same room until episode 40 or so. She puts herself in great danger to make sure he succeeds, not because it will necessarily do her any good, but because Jingyan needs him. This woman has been captain of the Mei Changsu/Jingyan ship for like twenty years already.

Oh, and did I mention her outfits?

I love you, Consort Mom.

Are you ready to watch it yet?

Get it on Viki! Get it on YouTube! Get it on YouTube but in a different playlist! (And also maybe get it on Amazon? Not in my region, but maybe in yours.)

I will warn you that it does take off running -- I think I saw someone say it introduces nineteen characters in the first episode? I was worried that I'd be too innundated by situations and flashbacks and names to be able to follow. By the second or third episode, though, I was rolling with it. So if you feel like you're struggling at the beginning, stick with it a bit. See if you don't feel it start to click.

...Man, reading over this post has left me going, oh, but I missed that! and that! and that guy! And yeah, the truth is that there are just so many great things about the show that limiting myself to only five (and being limited to only thirty images) was tough. I'm sure that people reblogging will add their own must-see elements.

Truly, this is a show that deserves its reputation. It may not be for everyone, but if this is the kind of thing that you like, it is a shining example of that thing.

Besides, you have to love a production where everyone was clearly having just a whole lot of fun being big ol' costumed dorks.

[sexyfoxlady]

Missing You📱

Father-Figure!Satoru Gojo x Mother-Figure!Reader

Summary: young!Megumi/Tsumiki wants to talk to father-figure!Satoru Gojo on the phone who is away on a mission

⚠️WARNINGS⚠️ one curse word 'shit' butt other than that nothing 🤷‍♀️ (imk in comments)

"haha...no Toru everything is fine here,you just make sure you get home all in one piece"

Tsumiki perks up after hearing you use Satoru's nickname 'Toru' she didn't know who you were talking to before that because you walked out of your room on the call but now Tsumiki knows it's her father on the other side of the phone she zoomed off her spot from the couch placing the book she was reading on the spot she was sitting, running over to you to speak to Satoru

"Excuse me Mama but I want to say hi to Papa" Tsumiki asked politely and sweetly just like the angel child she is

"Aw of course baby...Toru,Tsumiki wants to say hi...ok here you go" handing the phone to Tsumiki with a gentle head pat to her head before walking into the kitchen to make a light snack for the kiddos

"Hi Papa!"

"Heyo my little monkey how are you, you being helpful for mama, how was school, learn anything new today, miss you guys so much"

Tsumiki giggles at Satoru overload of questions before answering him

"I'm doing good and Mama doesn't let me help as much as I want, keeps saying I do a lot already but I like helping Mama...and school was okay I guess. We are reading a new book though, it's really good so far I can't wait to talk about it in class."

It takes a moment for Satoru to process all the information given to him from his daughter

"Mmmm you know your mom is right you do a lot already and your so cute monkey liking helping your mama out and why was your day just "okay I guess" that's not what I want to hear from my monkey why was it just okay? Do you want to tell your old man about it?"

"It's silly" Tsumiki responds meekly

"It's not silly if it means you can't have a good day because of it, come on tell papa what's wrong"

Tsumiki gives a small sigh before admitting why her day was 'okay I guess'

"It's just I forgot you were away on a mission and when we got our new book for class I wanted to read with you"

"Awww Tsumiki I'm sorry I'm not there I promise as soon as Im home we'll read alllll the books you want, how does that sound?"

"Thanks papa, I'm going to give mama the phone back now, love you, be safe"

"Love you too and I'll be home soon promise"

Satoru feels his heart is about to burst from how much love is waiting for him at home

"Hey Toru you still there?" (Y/N) asked with the phone in one hand while handing sliced apples and bananas to Tsumiki reminding her to share with her brother

"Yeah I'm here gorgeous, monkey was just trying to give me a heart attack with all her love, man she's such a great kid she probably gets it from me"

"HA doubtful very doubtful, what did she say anyways"

"Just that she misses me and how she wishes she was reading with me and how she loves me sooooo much more than you and Gumi"

Rolling your eyes at the obvious lie at the end

"Yeah I'm soooo sure she said all that especially the end part"

"Aw don't get jealous now you know you'll always be my first love" you can basically see Toru sly smile on his stupid gorgeous face

"Well you'll always be my second love" bitting back a laugh from Satoru to hear his freak out to being second especially second in your heart~

"WHAT WHO'S YOUR FIRST LOVE!?" Absolutely appalled that he second to anyone

"My Gumi of course,his is my precious baby boy" when you inform your boyfriend that Megmi is your first love you can hear Satoru's world come crashing down around him

"Why would you say that, just say you don't want me home it would be easier for my HEART" there goes your drama queen boyfriend doing what he does best being dramatic. Hearing your laugh through the phone did not help Satoru in being any less dramatic

"YOUR SO MEANNNN TO ME" basically crying through the phone. You're so engrossed into the conversation with your boyfriend you don't notice right away the tiny hand pulling on your pant leg to get your attention, putting a hand over the speaker to look down at your son to see what the matter is

"Everything okay Gumi did you get some slice apple and bananas from your sister" nodding yes before communicating what he needed your attention for

"Is that Gojo-sensei" looking at the phone in your hand

"Yeah it's Toru you want to say hi?" You asked your normally quiet son but when you did he got embarrassed looking anywhere but the phone and started messing with the end of his children's cartoon graphic t-shirt. Kneeling down before Megumi with your hand still on the speaker of the phone where your boyfriend is still most likely freaking out

"Hey it's ok if you miss Turo you can say hi if you want" Megumi's eyes widen as if you accuse him of something heinous he whipped his head around so fast to correct you

"I don't miss that idiot!" With his arms crossed and a foot stomp its hard to take his dislike for your boyfriend seriously, putting a hand gently on top of Megumi's head letting him know it's ok if he doesn't want to say hi but in his need to show how strong he is on his own, he forgot the purpose he asked you in the first place because he DOES want to say hi but not wanting to embarrass himself even more he almost decided to forget about it but you know your precious boy better then the back of your hand plus you saw how his eyes sadden when you said he didn't have to say hi so you did what a mother does best reverse psychology(🥸)

"Well I know you don't want to say hi to Toru but I know he wants to say hi to you, can he say hi?" Gumi not realizing he's nod to your question was a very excited nod not backing up his last statement in not wanting to talk to his sensei -dad, putting the phone back up to your ear to let him know another one of his children want to talk to him well "not" talk to him

"Hey handsome I have Gumi here like you wanted, to say hi" Satoru not needing any more information than that because this is not the first time Megmi "didn't" want to say hi,before handing the phone to Megmi you tell Satoru 'love you'

"Hey hey Gumi what's up" Satoru cheerfully came through from the other side of the line but nothing came after his greeting but silence

"Megumi? You okay bud?" The concern in his voice showing just a little bit

"Yes...um I" Megumi obviously not feeling quite yet comfortable with whatever he wants to say

"Hey it's okay monkey take your time you can talk to me about anything alright" hoping that Satoru using his nickname that he uses for his sister and himself will give Gumi the boost he needs to say whatever he needs. It takes him about 30 seconds to respond to Toru

"Miss you and be safe" if Satoru wasn't paying attention he would have missed what Gumi had said but he is always vigilant when it comes to his children but Satoru didn't have time to say 'miss you' back before the phone is handed back to you is a hurry

"Toru?" Came your sweet angelic voice not expecting for the call to still be going

"MY HEART!" He practically blows your earphones out with his love

"SHIT Toru my ears" you should have known better than to put the phone up to your ear after he's done talking to his children

"MY BABIES MY BABIES MONKEYS ARE SO CUTE" rolling your eyes playfully because not only are Megumi and Tsumiki too old to hold on him like monkeys anymore but this was not the first and it won't be the last time this call happens it happens every time Satoru has a long mission or sometimes even the short missions

"I promise I'll be home soon I love you. Don't miss me too much like the kids" chuckling a soft 'i love you too' at the end of the call.

.......……….……………...........……………

THATS IT!!!🫰😜

ART/GIFS AREN'T MINE 🩷

Hope you enjoy cool if not don't care or read more if there is more 🙃

[devouringink]

TWST THIRD YEARS ON A SNOW DAY.

cater, trey, idia, rook, leona, lilia, malleus. (no vil because i'm not entiiireeely confident writing him yet, sorry. <3)

cater is absolutely enthused when the announcement of classes being closed goes up on NCR's official magicam account. you don't even get to learn the news yourself when you wake up in the morning, because he's blowing up your phone.

ding, ding, ding!

(TXT.) hey, (nickname.) did u heaarrr?

ding, ding, ding!

(TXT.) we have off! :p ur going to visit me right? <3

you feel like you don't have much of a choice. after all, how often does a school of magic have days off due to the weather? scarf wrapped tightly, you brave the walk to the house of mirrors from ramshackle dorm. however, you manage to come across cater halfway.

"thank the seven," he mutters gratefully. he quickly approaches, wrapping his arms tightly around you. "it's so cold! let's hurry to ramshackle."

"to.. ramshackle?"

"haha! riddle gave me permission to go to you. i figured i'd save you the trip. i guess the snow's messing with your signal.. uh, maybe we actually should go to heartslabyul."

trey doesn't get a lot of relaxed days like this. he figures that it would be a nice day to continue his tradition of snow day cookies. but.. too many people are using the kitchen today, so you offer ramshackle's kitchen. after all, crowley finally provided the funds for a much needed renovation.

trey merrily accepts, and gets right down to business. he catches the way you're watching, and offers to let you help him. together, you roll out the cookie dough and use cutters to make little shapes. it's a silly set from the mystery shop- designed as little bats, wizard hats, and wands.

you're so into it that you don't notice your face being slowly caked in powder until you hear him begin to laugh. trey reaches out, gently swiping a portion of flour from your cheek.

"ha.. hahaha! you should be a little more careful, you know."

shishishi.. a day off? perfect! idia now has more time to grind on his gacha games for more ten pulls! he used to pray for days like thi-.. eh? you want to hang out?!

fine. but know that idia doesn't plan on leaving his room today. he invites you in, letting you sit comfortably in his lap while he games. ..you know, he doesn't trust just anyone to do this!

rook is absolutely fascinated with the beautiful way that the snow cascades from the sky, decorating the ground that was flowing with lush grass only a month ago. you can hear his exclamation of 'magnifique!' from the window.

"..oh. that's just rook." you mutter, shrugging as you continue to wipe the window. "wait, what is he doing here?!"

rook doesn't bother knocking as he enters ramshackle dorm. you're already familiar enough with each other after all, no?

"y/n!" he chirps, strolling over to you as if he did not just barge in. "go ahead and put some warmer clothes on. i'd like to take you on a walk."

"a walk..? now?"

"but of course! the scenery outside is a beauty i'd like to share with you in its prime. go on, now." he gently nudges you along, making you believe you don't have much of a choice.

"alright, alright.."

leona is more than content to spend the day lazing about. but, you. ugh.. you. you had to send him that text about hanging out today. how can the gruff leona say no to you?

he ends up outside of your door half an hour after leaving you on read. honestly, you didn't expect him to even open the message itself, let alone show up at ramshackle!

"..leona." you murmur, pleasantly surprised. "come on in."

leona enters, scooping you up along the way. what? his plans today were to relax. i hope you're ready to spend most of the day watching TV and napping, y/n.

you had, unfortunately, not gotten the memo about school being closed for the day. you would have if your phone was charged, but the outlet suddenly stopped working! the weird thing is, the electricity everywhere else was fine..

you arrive to the school, completely prepared to begin the day. but.. the door doesn't open. you shake around the door handle, but to no avail. lilia, who was watching nearby, begins to laugh.

"l-lilia?" you stutter in surprise, staring like a deer caught in headlights. he likes this expression on you.

"malleus was wondering why you weren't at ramshackle. you know that the school's closed, right? didn't you get the email?"

"what? can't they just.. magic away the snow? -why are you here then?!"

lilia lets out another airy laugh. "silver left behind a book he was reading, so i came to retrieve it." he waves his hand, and the door magically opens. "come with me. it's cold out here."

as much as lilia wants to bring silver's book back, being alone together on campus has too many fun possibilities.. why don't you play hide and seek with him, y/n?

malleus is elated when you invite him to ramshackle. he does not spare a goodbye to anyone around him, and instead instantly teleports to ramshackle.

"child of man," he calls, tiers curved into a smile that you doubt will ever vanish from his lips. "what shall we do on this 'snow day'?"

"why.. don't we make a snowman?" you suggest.

"a snowman?" ah, yes. he's made his fair share with lilia, silver, and sebek. "very well. we'll make the most amazing snowman anyone's ever seen."

with that abrupt declaration, he begins to walk outside. too caught up in the moment, he forgets that you still need to put on your coat, scarf, gloves, and snow boots. when you get outside, you find him pacing.

"..mallleus?"

"-oh, right." he clears his throat. "i will begin to roll snow. find us sticks for the arms."

after spending a few hours indoors, you both decide to wrap up by drinking hot cocoa in doors. you yawn drowsily, leaning into him.

"..today was nice."

"yes, it was."

[leavingsunsets]

"𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗂𝗌 𝗇𝗈 𝖾𝗇𝖽. 𝖮𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝖺 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝖻𝖾𝗀𝗂𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀."

You and Malleus talk while you go for a evening stroll in the forest.

(You kind of take place of yuu in here.)

"The sky is beautiful today, isn't it?"

A hum, before the soft sound of the breeze fills the silence once more.

It was only the two of you, walking down the cobbled path. A comfortable quiet you've both resigned to.

This was a usual routine. Every time the sunset hour starts, you'll see him waiting for you patiently in the bench, right beside the trees. A sight you're fond of, as he's never looked so peaceful doing so.

Then, you approach, exchange greetings, and start the path together.

There was nothing really wrong with it. Both of you preferred the calm, the untold comfort of company. Maybe with the occasional conversations, and little tidbits of rants you'd express to each other.

However, this time felt more different for some reason.

Call it a feeling, maybe just a gut instinct. Maybe it's the small things he did, like how he glanced at you a little too long, or how his eyes were filled with this unknown gaze directed at you, or the way his walk was a little somber than normal, or—

Before you can let your thoughts continue, Malleus speaks up.

"Is something wrong?"

He pauses in his steps, tilting his head at you curiously. "You've been staring for quite some time, child of man."

You, of course, sputter, not realizing that your eyes haven't been as subtle as you thought. "O-oh, uhm. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to.. you know. Ogle at you weirdly." Rubbing your neck, you gesture with your apology, giving him an awkward grin.

But the fae only dismisses your worry with a hand, reassuring you. "Oh, no need to apologize. I was only wondering why you were staring at me. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with my appearance, is there?" he asks, blinking at you in question.

"What? Oh, no, of course not. Nothing's wrong with your outfit."

The previous embarrassment fades away, leaving only a lighthearted conversation in its place. Now, it's got you thinking, why were you staring at him in the first place?

"It's just that..." you trail off, looking at where both of you stopped. You've both strayed away from the cobblestone, settling into a small grassy opening. From here, the view of the sunset is clear, and the breezy air is all that surrounds you.

"It's just, you seem to have something heavy in mind."

Malleus' eyes widen just a fraction, before relaxing. "Hm. I thought I was hiding it well, but it seems you've still seen through it. As you always do."

That elicits a small smile from you, but it goes back down as you turn to face him fully. "Did something happen?"

He shakes his head. "No, not particularly. Everything's doing fine as usual. In contrary, nothing's been out of the ordinary out of late."

His tone turns quiet, as he faces the sunset, sunlight hues framing his face in an ethereal halo.

"I guess, it's just been a persisting thought in my head. It's silly, really, to worry about such a trivial thing." he mumbles, staring off into the horizon.

Meanwhile, you only look at him, curiosity and confusion evident in your expression. "How so? I'm sure it's not something silly if it's something so somber to you." you reassure, stepping beside him to watch the sunset. "And I'm sure that even if it was, it's still good to get it out."

He huffs at this, giving you a glance, a bit longer than it should, before returning his eyes to the sinking sun.

It's silent. The fae doesn't respond, seemingly deep in thoughts. You let him, deciding that whether or not he chooses to disclose his problems, is up to him.

"... Do you sometimes wish things would stay the same forever?"

His voice is still the same. Noble like, proper, and authoritative.

But for some reason, his voice seemed small, unsure, and uncertain. It felt like a question, but not, at the same time.

"To stay forever, huh?"

Those words mull around your mind, as if trying to understand what he meant.

"Like, to never leave, and to always stay the same?" you ask, looking at him for confirmation.

Malleus nods. "Correct."

You hum, turning back to the horizon. "To stay forever..."

It's a complicated thought, that one. For things to always stay the same, that would be nice, wouldn't it? To never lose what you had, to always keep what you got.

It's common to long for things like these, in the haze of fleeting time, where nothing stops for anything.

You stuff your hands in your pockets, closing your eyes as you bask in the cool breeze of the dusk.

"Not really." you reply, tone light.

Malleus turns his head curiously, eyes set in an expectant gaze that almost felt like weights on your shoulders. "Oh, why not?"

"I mean, what's the point?"

It seems this catches him off guard, as he blinks profusely, staring at you with a confused expression. "Well, I'm sure there are many. To never lose the people you love, for example."

You nod, stance unchanging. "Yes, but, losing a loved one does not mean you will never love again. Change is a part of life, and it helps us realize things we never even knew were there."

"Change..." he mutters, as if pondering the thought. "If I could, I'd make sure nothing would ever change."

A glance, and this time, you don't look away. "Why? Change is good. With change, you meet new people, explore new things."

Huffing, he crosses his arms. "I don't need new people."

It's kind of a unique sight, to see Malleus all grumpy like this, in a light hearted way. It's like an undone knot from his heavy aura a while ago, and to have lessened his burden if even just a little bit, is relieving.

And as you take in Malleus' visage, it seems to have reminded you of a deep seated thought you've always had in the back of your mind.

"You know, if things hadn't changed, I would have never met you."

You say this with a sincere voice, soft, and it makes Malleus pause.

At these words, he is reminded once again of your predicament. Right. From another place entirely, you were a foreigner of this world, yet he somehow can't think of you like that at all.

You fit right in, on days like these where it was just the two of you, under the same sky. He can't possibly imagine you somewhere else, farther than he could reach. He couldn't.

The fae is silent for a moment, stunned by your sudden sentimentality. You, however, continue.

"Sure, I still miss my home. Still waiting for Crowley to figure it out, but... I don't ever regret coming here. If I hadn't, I would have never met you. I wouldn't have met all these new friends, these new people..."

A soft breeze, the shining sun.

"I wouldn't have known what it's like to feel all these beautiful feelings, if I hadn't met you, you know."

At this point, Malleus' world just stops, pausing forever in a time he wish he could keep forever.

The sun's last golden rays dye your visage in an ethereal glow, and the small grin on your face, as curved eyes just gaze at him with such fondness his lips nearly part in wonder.

Yes, Malleus sometimes wishes things could stay the same forever.

To keep you by him like this, to never forget your face. To have a moment like this, and a million more.

Yes, he does wish this could stay forever. To be able to envelope you in his arms like this, to have you close to him.

He's scared. Scared that if he lets you out of his sight, you'll disappear, and it'll be like it's never been, even though he knows it's not.

So, for now, he'll have to cherish this time like it's the last, to take up every little bit of you, as you'll take his.

So that even when the sands of time slip through his fingers once more, you've never really left.

You've taken place in his heart, as he has yours,

and he plans it to be that way, forevermore.

[rafferty3207]

not to be impatient or ungrateful but too good to be true part 3 when 😩

its funny you say that today of all days bestie

Too Good to Be True (part three)

warning: fem!reader, passing mention of creepy dude, angst (but only at the beginning dw), then tooth rotting fluff

A/N: I hope you like this ending! in my mind this is done but not over - I will definitely be doing drabbles of this pair in future, but for now I hope you enjoy!

____

part one | part two

“Oi, prick, are you even paying attention?” Roy barks at Jamie, who is sitting staring at his phone.

“Er, yeah, coach, it’s just -just-”

“Just what? Spit it out?”

“How do ya access your voicemails?”

“Jamie. What the fuck are you talking about?”

He holds up the screen to Roy’s face.

You have a new voicemail.

“Jamie, I wouldn’t worry about it, it's probably some berk trying to sell you organic viagra or something. Now please can we get back to the football?”

“I just need to check Coach. To make sure of…something, but I’ve never listened to a voicemail before.”

“Christ you find new ways to make me feel old Jamie.” But before he can make another comment, Roy notices the sad look in Jamie’s eyes. He hasn’t been his usual irritating self this morning, no sassy quips or anything, and he looks like he’s barely slept. “Who are you expecting a voicemail from?”

Jamie looks up at him with those puppy dog eyes. “Oh for fuck’s sake, it’s that girl isn’t it? What did you do now, you silly twat?” 

“I didn’t do anything. I mean I kissed her -”

“Oh my god, that Simone Biles bollocks was about her wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, but it's an inside joke-”

“Hand me the phone.”

“Er, I dunno-”

“Just give it, Jamie.” Jamie reluctantly passes it over. “You dial a three digit number, which will access your number. You’re on the same network as me so-” Roy types the digits and hands it back. “But once you’re done, you’re doing 50 press ups for wasting my fucking time.” Roy goes into another room.

Jamie raises the phone to his ear tentatively. Of course, it’s you.

___

The gallery session had been, in polite terms, a complete shit show. You were late because you couldn’t figure out how to get into the building, then you couldn't find some of the papers with your plan on them, and therefore you spent several hours using what little you have of your phone battery to try and improvise a plan from your memories. You’re finally done, but by this point it’s almost midnight.

“This is your first exhibition, isn’t it?” Simon, the gallery owner looks at you hunched over, shoving the papers back in the bag.

“Yeah, how did you guess? Don’t answer that, that was sarcasm.” You say, continuing to scramble. “So what’s happening PR wise? Are we sending press releases, inviting reviewers, that sort of thing?”

Simon scoffs. 

“What? I get it I'm a nobody, but what about the big Emin retrospective you’ve got coming up in October? I’ve seen posters for that everywhere.”

“That’s pretty much all her team. Besides, when you’re Emin you don’t need the PR really. Of course, we’ll do our best and we’ve got it on our website and social media of course, but our comms person resigned so at the moment we’re a rather limited team. This is such a short period, it’s an interim show. It’s why we could offer it, but you knew that right?”

“Mhmm, yeah, of course.” You say, biting your lip. You don’t know what you expected, instead wearily picking up your bag.

“Right, I best head off, but I’ll see you in two days!” You power walk off while your voice can still sound fake cheerful. Now how do I go back from here? You wonder, pulling your phone out.

Of course, it dies at that very moment.

“Shit!”

___

You eventually manage to navigate home, although the walk takes three times as long especially after one man seems to walk right behind you for ages until you get to the high street and the tube stops running mid way through, so you have to persuade a nice older woman to look up the bus route on her phone. As you walk into your house and flop onto the couch, you remember.

Jamie.

Fuck. You hoped he didn’t take your note the wrong way. You plug your phone in and sit huddled until the screen turns back on.

11 missed calls. 13 messages.

hey Simone xoxo

out at drinks at the moment but I’ll be back asap xoxo

theres a cocktail i think you’d like here  xoxo

on my way home now! xoxo

where are you xoxo

u alright

u ok???

Where are you??

Just let me know ur home safe (or dont if u dont want to)

Im not asking to be creepy sorry if it came off like that

Im sorry if i scared you off

i shouldn’t have kissed you

Lets just forget it happened

Sorry again

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Let’s just forget it happened. You felt sick to your stomach. You picked up the phone with incredibly shaky hands and pressed the dial button.

_____

“Er, hey Jamie, it’s me. Sorry to leave you a voicemail, it feels old school doesn’t it? I don’t even know how to listen to my own voicemails, not sure why I’m sending you one. Well I do, I’ve rung a few times and you’re not picking up and everytime I try and say what I want in a text it comes off wrong - ugh, sorry I’m rambling. Anyway, I’m sorry I didn’t reply, my phone has been dead the whole way home and I had to try and find my way back and the tube is shit and buses are shit and all I wanted was for you to come and pick me up in that ugly orange car of yours but I couldn’t. So that’s that. Did you get my note? I completely forgot but I had the exhibition planning session today and everything that could possibly go wrong did and it’s been a fucking nightmare and to be honest Jamie, I don’t know why I’m doing it anymore. I thought this was my one chance to finally become a big shot artist but it turns out I have to market it basically all by myself and I have no time and know barely anyone so let’s be honest, no one is going to come and it will all be forgotten about and I will prove once again I am the failure my father thinks I am.”

Jamie hears a shuddering intake of breath.

“Sorry, I’m rambling again. I’m sorry Jamie. I really did mean to wait for you. I’ve still got your shirt and everything. It’s just, I’m so stressed and I need to finish these paintings but also why should I finish these paintings but also I want them to be perfect and - and - and I don’t want to do this over voicemail but I don’t want to forget about us but also I have so much work to do and I’m so fucked -”

Jamie listens to you choke down a sob, before sniffing.

“I have to go, but call me back or something. Or maybe I could see you at the exhibit? You’ll probably be the only one attending. Goodbye, Jamie. Sorry again.”

Jamie’s heart was breaking, but not in the way he expected. You were so strong for him but all the while there you were, clearly dealing with your own shit and struggling and he hadn’t even noticed. He hated the idea that he had made things worse.

Now, he knew what he had to do.

___

It is the opening night of the exhibit and you are adjusting your hair for the fiftieth time. The gallery had extended their publicity to a small private view with a few glasses of wine and bottles of beer, but that was it. So you had spent the last three days painting almost non-stop, sending the invitations to everyone you know and barely sleeping. You just hoped your makeup would cover the dark circles under your eyes. You had worn your favourite dress and done your hair especially so you would at least feel like the real deal, but that was quickly waning. 

It had been fifteen minutes and not one single person had showed up. The one event staff was already looking at you as if to ask whether they could go home early. You started to look at your phone while downing the glass of wine in your hand. Still not a word from Jamie. You hadn’t heard from him since you sent the voicemail and you felt embarrassed just thinking about it. It seemed like you were going to need more wine.

But then, a man enters. He is wiry, with a blazer and a glorious grey and black shoulder length mane. He is holding a notebook and looking around keenly. You have no fucking idea who he is.

“Can I help you?”

“Ah yes, I’m Trent Crimm.”

“Are you sure you’re in the right place?”

“I’m here for the exhibit Everything In Its Right Place.” You nod, dumbstruck. “Ah, great, don’t mind me.”

You watch him as he looks at each painting before scribbling in his notepad. That was strange.

After him walks in one of the most beautiful women you have seen, followed by a small man wearing glasses.

“Hello, welcome to the Private View!” You say a little bit too loudly, and you worry that the wine may have gone to your head. The woman leans over to you and of course she smells beautiful too. “Hello, I’m Rebecca. Is it alright if some of my friends come in too?”

“Absolutely, the more the merrier!”

A couple more glamorous women file in, as well as some fancy looking older gentlemen in suits. Behind them is a colourful blond haired woman with an Essex accent and a very fluffy jacket, talking about how her PR firm which is on the hunt for new talent. You made a mental note to talk to her later, and as you do she looks over at you and winks, which makes you feel flustered. 

The events staff comes over.

“Are they on the guest list?”

“Oh yeah.” You keenly nod, hoping they are not paid enough to grass you up.

And then walks in a very familiar moustachioed man.

“Why, you must be the modern Louise Bourgeois our Jamie has been speaking so highly of.” You don’t expect the honeyed Southern twang and you find yourself blushing. He’s more handsome than the small picture by Jamie’s bed gave away.

“I wish! Although Jamie knew who Louise Bourgeois was?”

“I mean, I think he is more of a Georgia O’Keefe guy. But I love old Lou Lou. Art is a guarantee-”

“Of sanity. Very impressive -?”

“Theodore Lasso, at your service ma’am. Although my friends call me Ted.”

“Are we friends?”

“I sure hope to be. Jamie will not stop going on about how great you are, so I thought I best see it in person myself.” He offers a hand and you feel yourself go even redder.

“Well, it is lovely to make your acquaintance, Ted.” 

You see Trent’s head has whipped around this point and he is striding towards Ted.

“Ted you’re going to love these paintings -” Trend hooks his arm in Teds and Ted waves you a goodbye as he is quickly dragged off. 

You see all of Jamie’s teammates file in after Ted, including Roy who gives you a little nod. They have all brought people with them, including some women who you swear might be famous models, and before long the room is densely packed. You can’t believe it. You even have a few people come up to you to ask for interviews, and once the Trent man has sufficiently shown Ted around the room several times over, he asks if you want to be profiled for one of the big papers.

“I’ve always liked highlighting promising new talent in any field, and I feel you’d be a great match.” He smiles at you and you feel your stomach start to fizz. The one waiter who has been frantically pouring drinks for the last half hour runs over to you.

“A couple of people want to buy the paintings, are they for sale?”

“All the ones without red dots are, yeah.”

“How much do they cost?”

“How much are they willing to pay?” The waiter runs off and comes back, handing a long list of offers. Your eyes boggle at the amount.

“Fuck me.”

“Someone said they wanted to snap you up before Satchel did or something?”

“I assume they mean Saatchi.” The waiter shrugs. “Call Simon, he’ll help with the sales.

“I don’t think he’ll pick-”

“Send him a picture of the offers. He’ll definitely pick up.”

The waiter hurries off and you stare at the piece of paper. You can’t believe all this is happening. But you still check your phone.

Are you coming?

No reply.

“Ted? I don’t suppose you heard anything from Jamie did you?”

He smiles and taps his nose.

“I’m afraid I was sworn to secrecy.”

You get back to your wine. That would be a weird response if he had told Ted he never wanted to see you again. But the whole day was starting to feel very weird. You decided to pop out for some fresh air.  However, as you walk outside you see a very familiar orange car parked outside. In the driver's seat is Jamie in a suit, holding flowers, staring at his phone.

“You know, I didn't order an Uber.”

Jamie jumps.

“Jesus woman, you nearly scared the living daylights out of me!”

“I could say the same of you. Can I come in?”

He gestures to the seat next to him. You walk around and slide into the car. 

“You look stunning.” Jamie says, looking over you and you suddenly feel very naked in this dress.

“Thanks. It’s certainly an improvement from when you usually pick me up.” You fiddle with your hem. “So can you tell me why you’re sitting outside my exhibit instead of going inside? You’re the only person here who is actually on the guest list.”

He looks back down at the flowers.

“I dunno. I guess I was worried you might not want to see me after, y'know" He nods his head towards you. The kiss. Before you can reply, he starts talking again. "That’s why I got everyone else here first.”

“This was all you?”

He looks out the front of the window.

“I mean the boys wanted to come anyway, but I spoke to Rebecca and Ted and Keeley. It was Ted’s idea to invite Trent, because he knows lots of people at papers, and Keeley knows people through her firm and Rebecca knows loads of rich guys because I dunno, she’s rich and fit -”

You reach over and gently touch his arm.

“Thank you Jamie, this means a lot - ”

“Any time. I just want you to be happy, you know?” You grip his arm a little tighter.

 “But you didn’t have to do any of this. I would have been happy if you were the only person who showed up.” Jamie finally looks at you. You just stare at each other for a moment, saying nothing. At this point you reach over and tenderly place your lips on his. He doesn't resist, immediately putting his hand on the side of your neck. Your hands start wandering down his torso before he pulls away suddenly.

“I don't want you thinking I'm trying to buy you or something. Me and Roy watched Pretty Woman the other week but I swear-"

"I know Jamie. Besides, you haven't even bought a painting yet." You try to laugh him off but he holds you firm.

"I just want you to remember you earned this. You are really, really talented, it's just - it's just everyone needs help sometimes"

You are suddenly struck silent for a moment, your eyes watering.

"Ah fuck, I didn't want to make you cry again!"

You sniff. "This is good crying though, I swear! I just never realised you were so wise."

"Oi you cheeky mare, I'm trying to be nice!" You both laugh, before he reaches over and threads his fingers between yours. "I think I’m in love with you, you know?"

He looks up at you, uncertain. Your stomach is fizzing, but in a way that makes you feel like you could fly. You smile.

"I know. The thing is, I'm in love with you too, Jamie Tartt." You stare at each other, before your lips crash into each other, your hands crawling all over your torsos and necks, your breathing becoming more ragged before Jamie pulls away again.

"Now come on you, this is your big night, remember. We better get inside before we have to go right here in the back like a pair of teenagers."

You place a hand on his thigh. "I mean, that sounds good to me."

""You are gonna be the death of me, I swear." He opens the car door. 

"Actually, to be fair there is one painting I think you should see."

The two of you stroll into the gallery holding hands.

"Fucking finally." Roy exclaims, before patting Jamie on the shoulder. "Now don't fuck it up Jamie, I like this one." You and Roy share a smile. You felt like you had something to thank him for, but you weren’t sure what.

"I see you met Jamie." You turn around to see a small old woman in colourful clothing.

“Sylvia? What are you doing here, I thought you weren’t back for another week?”

Sylvia gestures to a handsome older gentleman in the corner “Of course I had to see your exhibit darling! Now don’t worry darling, I’m staying with one of my good friends.” She winks before leaning in conspiratorially. “You’ll have the flat all to yourself.”

“Sylvia!” You swat her arm.

“What? Your mother told me you were going through a dry spell. I’m just so glad you and Jamie finally got to meet.”

Your mouth is agape. You said that months and months ago -

“Jamie darling, it's so nice to see you again!” Sylvia airkisses Jamie, before swanning off. You lean into the crook of Jamie's shoulder. You’d say you hate how natural it feels, but you fucking love it.

“Do you think Sylvia set this whole thing up? Between you and me?”

“Well, she did keep telling me she knew the perfect woman for me, with a fantastic arse-”

“Jamie!” You poke his cheek. “Although speaking of fantastic arse, let me show you my painting!” You drag him over to the biggest painting in the room. It is rich and vibrant and while somewhat abstract, almost definitely a nude. “What do you think?”

“I think it will be perfect in my living room. Well, almost perfect.”

“Almost? What else could be more perfect than this?” You gesture to the bum cheeks.

Jamie rolls his head as if mulling it over.

“You?”

You roll your eyes. “Oh my god Jamie Tartt, where did you pick up such a naff line? You’re lucky you are very handsome.” You reach up to kiss him, your fingers brushing his neck and jaw. and he leans to whisper in your ear. 

“You know, now you’re gonna be a famous artist now, someone may actually try to kidnap you. You might need some form of security.”

“True. Do you know anyone?”

“No.” You laugh. “But I do know an excellent driver. And he does know a lot of excellent private spots.”

“How soon can he start?”

“How about right now?” You take his hand in yours.

“Sounds perfect to me.”

---

Ah hope you all enjoyed this two silly billys in love! Pls send me requests of any headcanons/drabbles you'd be interested in seeing that I can bash out while working on this new juicy Roy Kent fic!!

@thebookwormlife @taytaylala12 @eugene-emt-roe @skewcherries @okkkkkkkksure @beingalive1 @gothicwidowsworld @atjamesbbarnes @e-mmygrey

[vodika-vibes]

Hello, Vod'ika. I couldn't resist and came here with another request. Most of the time music usually gives me a lot of ideas. I was listening to “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye when a prompt came to my mind: “Do you know what can help me get better? Sexual healing.” I was tempted to ask this with Hunter, but I thought it would be fun for a Fives x shy F! reader (with an established relationship) where he comes back to her exhausted after a battle and she takes care of him, you know? Prepare a bath, etc. It's up to you if it's going to be NSFW or just a make-out session. Xx

Love Me Like Only You Can

Summary: Fives has been gone, deployed, for months now. But he's coming home tonight and you want to surprise him.

Pairing: ARC Trooper Fives x F!Reader

Word Count: 1395

Warnings: Spicy, but not smutty. Reader spends part of the story in her underwear.

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: I hope I got the general vibe you wanted with this request. Fives wasn't being agreeable for me, but it turns out that Crosshair was junking up the writing pipeline, so I had to flush him out first, lol. I also made a divider for this cause I needed something to do, I guess.

You have been dating Fives for close to a year now, and while it’s true that he spends less time on Coruscant than a lot of people would be able to tolerate, Fives goes out of his way to make sure that you know that you’re always on his mind.

It’s surprising, really. Fives stands out, even among his own brothers. Loud and boisterous and so very clever. Not to mention funny and charming. 

The fact that he chose you out of all of the women on Coruscant is still surprising to you, even a year later.

Sure, you chose him back, but you choosing him is much less surprising than him choosing you.

After all, at the time, you didn’t even know that he knew you existed.

And yet, somehow, as if he has a sixth sense when it comes to you and you alone, Fives always manages to find you in a crowd of people. Even when you want to blend in. Even when you’re trying to blend in.

His gaze always finds you, and a bright smile crosses his face, and he’ll sweep you into a hug-

You love him. You love him more than you’ve ever loved anything in this world, or any other, and he feels the same way. He’s never hid that from you.

Which is why, since you know he’s back on Coruscant and you know he’s going to come straight to your home as soon as he’s done with work, you want to surprise him. 

And while you could make him his favorite dinner, and dessert, you feel like that’s something that he’ll expect. Because you’ve done it before, and you know that he loved it, based on the wide grin and the soft way he looked at you, you want to do something different.

Something a little outside your comfort zone.

Which brings you to your present for Fives.

Your gaze drifts to the gauzy material of the lingerie set you bought specifically for today. It’s sheer and lacy and a shade of pale purple that Fives loves to see you in…and it’s so far outside what you would normally wear that even looking at yourself in the mirror is kind of embarrassing.

Personally you think you look a little silly, like a child playing pretend, but you have a feeling that Fives will love it.

You make a face at yourself, and then turn away from the mirror to finish pulling on the dress you bought specifically for tonight. It’s the same shade of purple as the lingerie you’re wearing, as to not ruin the surprise too quickly. Though it’s also shorter than you would ever wear in public, the hem of the skirt hitting at about mid-thigh.

And then you run your fingers through your hair, letting your curls topple around your shoulders. Then, and only then, did you leave the bedroom to head into the kitchen to make Fives’ favorite dinner.

It’s nothing fancy, nothing that your parents would expect you to make if they ever deign to visit you on Coruscant. A simple stew, something hearty and filling. And something that you learned to make specifically for Fives.

And, before you know it, your apartment door is sliding open, and the sound of familiar footsteps, heavy only due to the armor he’s still wearing, reaches your ears.

You give him time enough to remove his armor, and then you poke your head into the hall, a warm smile on your face, “Welcome home, Fives.”

He glances at you as he sets his boots on the shoe rack, and a bright smile crosses his face, washing away the exhaustion that was there, “Well, don’t you look pretty.”

You step into the hallway properly, your smile widening. You give a small spin, allowing the skirt to flair around your legs. “Do you like it?”

“Ah, cyare,” He sets his duffle bag on the floor and walks over to you, sliding his hands around your hips, “You could wear a burlap sack, and still be the most stunning woman on Coruscant.” He leans in and bumps his forehead against yours, “I didn’t know you owned something so short though.” He adds as his fingers brush against the hem of your skirt.

“I wanted to try something new.” You reply, “Is it too short, do you think?”

“Mm, I think it’s perfect.” Fives replies, “Well, unless you want to go dancing around my brothers, in which case I’d have to blindfold them.”

You laugh, “They’re not allowed to look at me now?”

“Nope. They don’t deserve to look at you,” He tilts your head back with a gentle finger on your chin, and he kisses you quickly, “I barely deserve to look at you, but I’m definitely not going to stop anytime soon.”

You laugh again, before you slide your hands up his chest and wrap your arms around his neck, “I like you looking at me. It makes me feel pretty.”

“You are so much more than pretty.” Fives murmurs, his lips hovering just over hers, “So, so much more than just pretty.” He trails his lips from the corner of your lips down to your jaw, and then up to your ear, “If I spoke every language in the galaxy, I still wouldn’t have the words needed to describe your beauty.”

Your face heats, but you’re unable to tear your gaze away from his. “The things you say to me sometimes,” You whisper.

“You doubt my words?”

“Never.” You reply softly, “Never ever.”

Fives hums softly, “I missed you, mesh’la,” He whispers, “It was…such a long time to be away from you.”

“You’re home now.”

“I am,” He murmurs, “I missed you. So much.”

“If you’re exhausted, you should rest. Dinner will hold.”

“I bet you could give me some energy, cyar’ika.” He holds your gaze with a teasing little smile, “You know what would make me feel better? A little sexual healing.”

Your face heats a little more, “Wouldn’t you rather take a nap? Not make yourself more exhausted-?”

“No, I really would rather make myself more exhausted. ” Fives replies with a teasing little smile as his hand moves to the strap of your dress. “Because it’s you. And it’s me. And nothing else matters.” Slowly, painfully slowly, he drags the straps of your dress down your shoulders, and allows the material to pool at your feet. 

Only then does he tear his gaze from your face, to look down to make sure that you’re not in danger of slipping on the thin material.

And then Fives stops.

He blinks. Once. Twice. Three times.

And then he exhales slowly as his fingers slowly, reverently, trace the lace of your lingerie. “This is new.” He breathes out.

“I wanted to try something a little outside my comfort zone.” You explain, your voice hushed so as to not break the atmosphere of the room. 

“For me?”

“You make me want to do things like this,” You whisper to him.

“Oh, ner cyare,” Fives breathes out, “I need your hands on me. I don’t care how.” He lightly rubs the thin material of the lingerie between his fingers, “but I really want you to keep this on for a bit longer.”

You smile shyly, “How about a massage?”

Fives lifts you, just enough that he’s able to kick the material of your dress out from under your feet, and then he walks you backwards into the living room. 

He pauses only long enough to strip his shirt off, and then he flops on the couch, “Come here, cyare.” Fives pulls you down and positions you so you’re straddling his hips, and then, once he has you properly positioned so you’re both comfortable, he pulls you down to crash your lips against his.

His hands are everywhere, caressing and squeezing and tracing, even as he coaxes your lips apart with teasing nips and soothing swipes of his tongue. You tangle your fingers in his hair, trying to pull him closer and closer.

This is what you missed the most about Fives being gone. This closeness, this connection. The feeling that everything will be alright so long as his hands are on you and his lips are against yours.

And then Fives releases a quiet moan as you pull his hair a little too roughly, and you’re lost.

[sl-newsie]

The Secret Ingredient (Willy Wonka (2023) x Fickelgruber Daughter) Chapter 1: Mystery Man

Today is different. I don’t know why, but ever since I woke up there’s been something different. I don’t know what’s in store for today but there’s no doubt that something’s coming.

“Dear, I need you to run down and fetch me the paper.” Father calls lazily from his lounge chair.

I feel my heart leap. “Really? I can go downstairs?”

“Be quick! Don’t make a scene!” Father barks as he sips his morning cocoa.

Before he can reconsider I rush to the staircase and am about to slide down the railing-!

“And act ladylike!” Father calls from behind me.

I stop in my tracks and remember who I am. “Fine,” I grumble under my breath. My life’s been dull as dishwater until now anyway. Why change?

My name is Charlotte Fickelgruber, daughter of one of the most powerful chocolatiers in the world. But do not let that fool you. Just because my father’s a chocolatier doesn’t mean life is fun. 

After taking forever to walk slowly and ‘ladylike’ down the stairs I fight my giddiness and strut towards the door. Father hardly ever lets me go downstairs, let alone leave the building. The usual display of chocolates is still plain and dull since father saves the best chocolate only for ‘upscale business,’ which basically means upperclassmen and bribery. The shop opens at 10am as usual and also as usual there are few customers here due to the usual chocolate. Today there’s a fair amount of foot traffic buzzing around outside in the Galeries Gourmet and it’s all I can do not to venture out and see what new chocolates are being sold.

“Morning, charcoal,” two voices taunt in unison.

I groan and turn to face two girls in matching mint mint green dresses. “Morning Cindy, morning Mindy. For the last time, my name is Charlotte. Not charcoal, not Charlie, Charlotte. If you both want to keep your silly job of greeting customers with fake smiles I suggest you treat the heiress to Fickelgruber chocolate with respect.”

They both snicker and walk off to the back of the store, more than likely to check their makeup for the tenth time. Such rudeness.

“Here you are, miss!” The paperboy sprints up and waves our daily paper up for me to grab. 

���Thank you, Timothy!” I hand him the change (with a special tip, of course). “How’s the world out there?”

He shrugs and shuffles his feet. “It’s alright, I guess. Starting to get cold!” He grips his bag and rushes off.

“B- Bye!” I wave as he disappears into the crowd. “See you… later?”

And so goes another failed attempt to make friends.

“Everything alright, Miss Fickelgruber?” Our maid Lottie asks from behind.

I give a heavy sigh. “Charlotte please, Lottie. You know how much I hate being a Fickelgruber. It’s torture to spell and even worse to hear. It’s just…” I glance up again to look out at the passerbys. “I’m so tired of being alone. Dad’s too embarrassed to have me be too social. He can’t expect me to stay tucked away upstairs forever!”

Lottie shakes her head and puts a hand on my shoulder. “It’s not my place, miss. But if it gives any comfort-” She takes a quick look to make sure we’re alone and whispers: “I could try to sneak you out one day.”

My pulse skips and I hold up my hands to keep her from saying more. “No. No! I can’t let you do that! You’ll get fired. Last time I tried to sneak out dad nearly flipped out! He hates it when I’m even on the same ground as the ‘poor’ people, let alone trying to associate with them!”

Lottie nods in silent agreement and goes about with her load of laundry, leaving me to keep looking outside. All those people, all the sights and smells I’m missing out on…

“Ladies and gentlemen!” 

A cheerful voice across the room catches my attention. It’s surprisingly animated for the Galeries Gourmet. I take a deep breath and, in a hasty moment of courage, walk out the door to search for the voice’s origin. I see people gathering towards the front near the empty lot. What on Earth-?

That’s when I spot him. At first all I can see is a brown top hat. Once I get closer a better view presents a lanky, boyish man wearing a tattered magenta overcoat, olive-colored waistcoat, brown scarf, tan trousers, and worn brown boots. I can’t quite make out his face…

“Step right up! I’ve got just the chocolate for you!” 

He’s standing on a simple crate with nothing more than a jar of strange-looking chocolate. The crowd drowns him out and I can’t squeeze past-!

“Well, there's chocolate.

And there's chocolate.

But only Wonka's makes your eyes pop out their sockelets.”

Singing? What an unusual way of advertisement. And what’s- Oh my! The chocolate is flying! Literally flying over my head!

“Put your hand into your pockelet,

Get yourself some Wonka chocolate!

Come now, I insist!

You've never had chocolate like this!

No, you've never had chocolate like this!”

Through the gathered crowd I see people pluck the chocolates from the sky and- fly? They’re flying! Light as a feather!  

“Oh my goodness!” My jaw drops. “How’s that even possible…?”

“Charlotte!”

I spin around at the sound of my name. By now the commotion has caught much attention, including my father’s. 

“Go inside now! What have I told you about walking about with-?”

“With our customers?” I ask. “Father, I wanted to see-”

“Go, now!” He barks and points to the store as he goes to follow the other chocolatiers. “I must go see what all this racket is about.”

And there they go. The big three: Fickelgruber, Prodnose, and Slugworth. I’m the only heiress of any of them but as of now there’s been no talk of me getting to help out with the family business. Father always waves it off and keeps saying ‘when you’re older,’ so I’ve got no clue what to expect. 

I sigh in defeat and walk away from the excitement. Just when I thought this day was different. Back inside, I mope over to the window to see-

“Jeez louise!” My mouth drops open.

There, just above me, is my father. Flying! Just like the others! I pinch myself and shake my head to see if I’m awake and still see him levitating up to the ceiling! 

“Lottie are you seeing this? It’s amazing!” I look down and relocate the man in the top hat, and I’m overcome with a sudden urge to meet him. He doesn’t look like a high-class highbrow. How is he making everyone so happy?

I forget all about being ladylike and slide down the railing, rushing to find the mystery candy man before he disappears.

“Out of the way! Coming through!” The chief of police barges through and the cops spread out.

“But he didn’t do anything wrong!” I complain.

“He’s disrupting business,” Officer Affable informs me.

“It’s the hoverchoc,” the man in the top hat explains.

Hoverchoc? I’ve never heard of-

Just then, father storms up and ushers the officer to go after the man. “Come, Charlotte.”

“B- But I wanted to-”

“Such nonsense!” Father ignores my pleas and starts mumbling to himself.

“Father…who was that? Did you just fly? I could barely see from the window-!”

“He is no one,” father states clearly. “He is a fool to think that he can even try to compete with us! I do not want you going anywhere near that boy, Charlotte. He’s bad news.”

We get back to the store, but before I’m dragged back inside I sneak one last look at the mysterious stranger. Who is he? Will he be able to survive dad’s competition?

[the-s1lly-corner]

creepypastas of your choice being new parents (reader can be included or not, or the reader can BE the kid. either works)

Eyeless Jack, Slenderman, and Jeff as dads/dad figures

getting silly with it. last request in the inbox, might write some other stuff later today for myself but idk we'll see, admins feeling a little sleepy RAAAAAAH no real mentions of reader i think, just the characters being dads but there might be vague mentions of partners so you can imply that is reader. shrugs. i tend to write these notes before actually writing the post this was originally going to have laughing jack but then i got bummed out when i realized that jack would not make a good solo parent simply because hes too chaotic accidentally swapped from saying "the kid" to "you" midway through writing this but im too tired to fix it so uhuh im making it everyone elses problem/j

SLENDERMAN:

by default i think slenderman can be an okay dad and im purely basing this on the fact that i grew up on the 2010s era of the fandom where quotev quizzes and fics for the fandom were peak. i think in the beginning he would be a little lost, especially if hes going to be raising the kid alone. i mean hes a solitary creature that rarely connects with others, he knows knowing about raising a human child. and thats assuming the kid is even human. if he has a kid with a human reader, are they more human or more... creature..? are they a hybrid? how much of slendermans genetics carry over? can he even have children since admin personally thinks he was made by zalgo like all other demons in this timeline? many questions. protective and strict dad, makes sure the kid does their work and chores, but makes sure he doesnt raise a pushover... definitely hostile towards anyone who harasses the kid, be it bullying or generally just being a douchebag. i think if hes the sole parent he raises them in the woods and teaches them things himself. doesnt bother with putting the child through schooling, theyre a child of the woods now babey!!/hj

look at it this way the kid is really self sufficient and can survive in the wilderness for an extended period of time and they know how to kick butt, assuming they also grow up with his proxies. yeah.. thats going to be interesting... would they see them as uncles or as sibling or family friends? its anyones guess. bonus father figures!!

EYELESS JACK:

also does not know what hes doing. i think i wrote somewhere that jack would put the baby in a carrier and walk around with them in the woods. maybe even showing them different animals and plants even if he knows that the kid cant understand him. definitely a case where hes going to need someone else to help him, be it his partner if theyre still around, or someone else... naturally its going to be harder to find someone to help him if his partner is out of the picture for one reason or another. main reason because that jack is... oh you know, literal man eating demon who sometimes goes into blind feeding frenzies if he gets hungry enough + he tries to put off feeding for as long as possible because it literally means taking a life and he still has his humanity in there. not going to say it out right but i think you guys can put two and two together and understand why jack is wary about having a small child hanging around his cabin. also he wants the kid to be able to grow up around other people. its unlikely, since the other person is likely going to be another creepypasta character because any normal person would rat him out... but he might also want the kid to have a 'normal' upbringing. lots of feelings here for him. kind of like a tired dad, between juggling the child and the things going on with him is really going to do a number on him. giggling at the idea of him trying to get slender to help him esp since i hc they have weird territorial beef going on

JEFF THE KILLER:

actually has a decent grasp of how to treat them but thats because he had liu/was an older brother. the dynamic is less father child and more so older brother younger sibling. probably lets you have a fair amount of free reign; he doesnt really strike me as a strict guardian. probably forgets to pick you up from soccer practice/j ....actually wait no i can kind of see him actually doing that on accident. tries to make it up to you by giving you treats because he does kind of feel bad for leaving you behind. you remind him a lot of his brother. im still torn on whether or not liu is still alive in my silly au but imagine hes not and he kind of. tries to raise you good and treat you well to make up for everything that happened. jeff with some level of mental clarity after the height of everything hits me in a weird sad way i can quite describe. like dont get me wrong hes still the knife wielding dude hes usually written as, but hes a little.. just a tiny bit mellowed out. just a tad.. side note i fully blame the idea of jeff being remorseful over murdering liu from a fic that had a chokehold on me in middle school so oooo... you probably know/interact with ben through jeff since theyre good friends. jumping into my personal hc/au jeff carries ben around in a phone since bens usually confined to electronics and they grew up together. obviously jeff outgrows ben because. you know ghosts dont grow up. so imagine you start becoming best friends with ben and ben is just. SPILLING so much old stuff on jeff, mostly dumb stuff jeff did and him being a jackass. idk i just think thats funny. its like when you suddenly get dad lore but instead of getting it from your dad you get it from dads ghost best friend

[landinrris]

A snippet! Now that I'm finally editing the Witch! AU, I wanted to share a bit of Lando and Carlos meeting properly for the first time. The events as they happen in this 1.1k don't really spoil anything plot-wise. I humbly present, Lando as a witchy shop owner and Carlos as a human tourist stumbling into Lando's shop while on vacation for the second day in a row.

Around ten, Lando looks up as the motion detector chimes and almost chokes on the air he’s breathing. Because Sober Guy is there. Standing in front of him. A hesitant yet hopeful expression on his face if Lando didn’t know better.

He can’t hope for that.

It takes a lot of Lando’s Professional Adult ability to smile normally and greet him. “Oh, hi. Is there something I can help you find?” That’s a normal, professional response, right?

Sober Guy’s smile morphs into something more relaxed— Lando has to be dreaming. There’s no way this is real life.

Unlike yesterday, he isn’t dressed strictly for the beach, but rather in something much worse, in Lando’s humble opinion. No, today, Sober Guy has on a pair of running shorts that ride up a bit higher on one of his thighs and a workout shirt that’s damp to match his hair. He has running shoes on as well, proof that he’s decided to stop back into Lando’s shop along his morning run for whatever reason.

Lando wants to scream at him, ‘You came to the beach and you brought workout clothes?’ He doesn’t, but he could. It would be so easy to.

“Oh, uh no, I’m not here for anything specific you sell.”

“No? Is there something else then?” Lando had thought he’d seemed normal enough in the few minutes they’d more or less interacted yesterday— certainly not one to come and stand in the middle of a shop and stare. Maybe George and Oscar had been right after all.

Sober Guy rubs a hand over the back of his neck and steps closer to the counter. “I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Carlos, I was in yesterday with a group of people. They were a bit drunk. I just wanted to apologize for them again. Make sure you knew we weren’t just another group of annoying tourists.”

It’s a silly thing to say the world shifts upon learning Sober Guy’s name. Carlos. It’s the perfect name for him. Lando suddenly feels like he can breathe easier, like he’s just cleaned his glasses for the first time in too long.

Lando thinks he only misses a beat before responding. “Yeah, I remember. I’m Lando, nice to meet you, Carlos. Your friends were fine, honestly. I’ve dealt with far worse. They had you looking out for them. Someone had to be better at holding their alcohol,” he tacks on, trying to make it sound like he wasn’t watching Carlos too closely. Carlos probably wouldn’t appreciate knowing Lando thought about him all afternoon and night.

Carlos just smiles. “Ah no, I wasn’t drinking, actually. Designated sober person and all that.”

“I guess that would explain how you’re up without them exercising. I’d ask if you’re sure you’re not a local, since who the hell goes on holiday and exercises— no, no, runs— but you’re down here, so I guess that answers that.” Lando allows some of his normal snark to come out, desperate to keep Carlos standing in front of him for even a few minutes longer.

He takes it as a positive sign when the smile on Carlos’ face morphs from something polite to properly amused— like Lando joking with him puts them on a more level playing field. “What, you don’t like to run? But it’s so great— feel the air in your lungs, the breeze in your hair. You wake up early enough and then you have the whole day in front of you.”

The thrill that sings through Lando’s body is pathetic. “More like burning fire in your lungs, sweat dripping into your eyes, and your calves on fire.”

Carlos actually laughs at him, and Lando has to hold himself back from actively preening. “Do you not get a lot of runners who come through here? Maybe they are clearly using a better running area that I should know about.” Lando swears there’s a hidden ‘for next time’ that goes unsaid but can’t figure out why it would be there.

“If only ‘cause all the people I know who live here use the trails in the parks that are around here a lot more. Run into fewer tourists that way. I guess if you’re staying down here though, it doesn’t make as much sense to go all the way out to them.”

“Yeah, we’re just here at the Harbor. It’s nice even if I think some of the amenities are wasted on me for such a short time. The girls like them though, so it could be worse.”

“Are you like the fifth wheel on this trip or something?” Lando doesn’t necessarily mean to blurt out that he’d been watching them that closely, but the words leave his mouth anyway, lulled into a false sense of security by their ease.

Sure enough, Carlos’ eyes go wide, a laugh at least close behind.

Before he can speak, Lando hurries to apologize. “Sorry, I didn���t mean to like, call you out or anything. I just noticed that it didn’t seem like you had a girlfriend or anything. Unless the others weren’t also together. Talk about just assuming.” Lando’s about to magic his own fucking mouth closed so he’ll stop talking even if Carlos doesn’t look mortified.

“No, no, you’re right. You just took me off guard a bit. I have been their fifth wheel for a bit of an embarrassingly long time, I’m afraid. But I don’t mind. It gives me more time to myself.”

If they knew each other better, Lando might reply with something like, ‘forcing yourself to run, even in the May mornings, is not proper time to yourself.’ But Lando is capable of not saying everything that comes to his mind, so he settles on something more mundane. “Oh, well that’s good, I suppose. Hopefully, they’re not too irritating and in your face about it while you’re here.”

Carlos goes to open his mouth when his watch lights up with an incoming phone call that must also vibrate against his wrist by how he startles and turns his wrist to look. Lando can’t read the caller id from here, but he figures there are only so many people it could probably be on a Sunday morning.

“And that would be my friends wondering where I am.” Carlos sighs like it’s the worst possible outcome— a reaction Lando tries and fails not to attribute to himself as the reason. “I should probably go. It was really nice to properly meet you, Lando. Good luck with everything.”

Lando tries to keep the melancholy out of his voice. This will probably be the last time he sees Carlos, and it’s worse now that he actually has a name to his face. “Yeah, you too. Try not to run into a car or anything. They’re not really used to people running voluntarily around here.”

Carlos gives him one last bright laugh that turns Lando’s insides to jelly, and then he’s gone.

[fuctacles]

in love and war finale

Spicy Six Challenge by @thefreakandthehair, part 1 here, part 2 here, you know the drill

T | 2466 | pre-relationship | they are confused gay rookies in the 80s | sick-fic I guess?

“Why aren’t you in bed? Or the couch at least?!’

“He has a point.”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

“Well I’ll let you know I moved the phone and I’m sitting in an armchair wrapped in a blanket.”

“Who are you talking to?!”

Steve is glad for Dustin’s irrational fear of his viruses, because it’s the only thing stopping him from ripping the phone out of his hand, maybe pushing him back to bed too.

“Tell him I said hi.”

“Eddie says hi.”

Dustin starts hyperventilating.

Thankfully his mom came to the rescue with a steaming cup of tomato soup.

“It’s great you boys are keeping your spirits up but you shouldn’t be sitting on the floor, Steven. Maybe we could move an armchair for you?”

And thus with their leave, Steve had a cozy station next to the phone, piled with blankets and pillows. Not dissimilar to Eddie’s on the other end, whom he called as soon as the Henderson’s left.

“So, you were saying?”

“You know this stays between us? This is the most intimate Eddie Munson knowledge that you’re not to share with anyone else.”

Steve laughs. Just hearing him joke was helping his body recover and he feared he'll be ready to go back to work soon.

“Tell me your dirty secrets, Munson.”

“So, this dungeon I’m working on is a cursed tomb of an overthrown mayor…”

Steve likes a good story. Everyone does. He was never that much into fantasy, but the fact that one of his favorite people came up with it made it a thousand times more interesting.

“Ah, I guess it’s my turn for the kid’s visit.” Eddie interrupts himself about fifteen minutes in. “Do you also feel like you’re on a deathbed, visited by your grandchildren in hopes they'll be in the will? He’s getting the dice anyway...”

Steve snorts.

“Now that you mention it…”

“Are you guys still on the phone?!” Dustin’s voice is so loud Steve hears it clear as day on his end.

“Yeah, sorry babe, I’ll call you back.”

The line goes silent. 

And Steve knows he’s joking with the pet names, teasing in the silly way that he does but the more he hears him in his ear, the more he realizes he wants it, wants to try. He hopes Eddie wants it too.

His cold lets off faster than Eddie’s and he’s anxiety-cleaning as soon as he feels the strength to do so. He cleans the pj’s and sheets at boiling temperature so instead of sweat and sickness they smell like ‘provencal dreams’ which he thinks means lavender. The pills and syrups scattered on the coffee table get into the medicine basket. The armchair though, stays by the telephone. He’s waiting for Eddie to wake up and call him (so he can call back not to put the enormous phone bill on him) like he’s been doing for the past two days. Being sick together was almost as bonding as fighting evil. 

When the phone rings he runs to reach it and is almost embarrassed to do so, so he takes a second to breathe before picking up.

“Hello?”

“You don’t have to call me back.”

“Ah, sorry, the reception is shit, I can barely hear you. Let me call you back in a second.” He grins to himself when he hears Eddie’s resigned sigh. He dials the number from the emergency list above his phone immediately. 

“Hi,” he says, smiling like a fool.

“Well, someone sounds chipper today” 

“Yeah, I think I'm good to leave the house, finally. Also, this guy I like keeps me company in my misery.”

“Oh? He sounds like a nice dude.”

“He is,” Steve smiles, sitting down and pulling his legs up onto the seat. “He cares about his friends, saves the world sometimes, and hosts this dorky game for a bunch of nerds on the weekends. A true samaritan.”

“You think so?” Eddie sounds quiet on the other side. 

“Yeah. That's how I see it, at least.” He frowns, fingers twirling the cord anxiously, worried he stepped over a line. That’d suck because he had planned to step over some more today. 

“Thanks. I think you’re a nice guy too.”

It was the simplest compliment he’d ever gotten, but it made something in his chest tighten.

“Yeah?”

“Duh. You jump into demonic waters head first and ferry around a bunch of ungrateful kids.”

Steve snorts.

“That I do.” And then, before the conversation gets even further away from him, he adds, “Hey, listen. Since I’m feeling better, I’ll probably be back at work tomorrow.”

Eddie made a disappointed grunt on the other side.

“So I was wondering if I could visit you today? Maybe take over Dustin’s soup delivery?”

Eddie makes a sound that he’s unable to interpret.

“If you don’t feel up to it, it’s okay-”

“Shut up, I’m thinking.”

So Steve presses his lips together and waits.

Eddie sighs. 

“I’m feeling better, I guess you can visit if you don’t mind a sick person mess.”

“I just cleaned up mine today, no worries.”

“Yeah, okay. But about… the other thing…”

He trails off and Steve is one step away from biting his nails off. Or the phone cord in half. 

“You’re still sick and thinking about it, I-”

“Steve! Let. Me. Speak.”

He makes a noise of agreement into the receiver. 

“Like, I think I need to see you. Because I know you are hot, objectively. But do I think you are hot? Does my dick think you’re hot?”

“Eddie-”

“I’m speaking.”

Steve bites his lips with a smile. He can feel himself blush.

“So I have some things to verify. Come over, Wayne’s not home.”

Steve can’t help it, he bursts into hysteric giggles over Eddie’s attempt at a seductive voice with his clogged nose.

“Hey, now-”

“No, no, I’d love to. Should I bring protection? Like a face mask?” He manages between giggles. 

“Oh, you little-!”

He doesn’t remember the last time he had so much fun flirting. He curbs his amusement to manageable levels and looks at the clock. 

“I’ll call Ms Claudia if she has any special deliveries for us today. I could pick them up and be at yours in an hour, maybe two.”

“Sounds great.”

“Want me to pick up something?”

“I’d kill for a can of coke.”

“Got it. I’ll bring a movie we could watch too.”

Eddie hums his approval.

“Something light that my sick brain can process, please. I’ve had enough fever dreams about war and Russians. Never again letting Wayne pick the movie when I’m sick.”

Steve snorts.

“Okay, noted. See you soon?”

“See you soon, Steve-o.”

Claudia isn’t thrilled by his plan to visit Eddie, but a mother’s disapproval hasn’t stopped him before and certainly wasn’t going to now. He accepts the jars of soup, kisses her on both cheeks, and lets her tuck him up for the short walk from the door to his car. 

The drive is shorter than he expects, even with the partially shoveled roads. He feels completely unprepared for whatever might happen at his destination but he pushes on because the uncertainty might make him sick again. 

A tiny note on the inside of the window tells him the door is unlocked so with little hesitance, he pushes in. He knocks on the door, looking around.

“Eddie?”

“Over here!”

His voice sounds way better in real life than it did over the phone and Steve locks the door and unties his shoes to follow it. Eddie is sitting on his bed, wrapped in at least two blankets, and there are books and notebooks surrounding him. 

“Welcome, welcome!” he grins at him, which lights up his face prettily despite the unmistakable traces of battling the flu. His nose is red and dry from constantly wiping it, his face pale and his lips chapped. There are bags under his bloodshot eyes and the little hair peeking from under a blanket hood looks greasy.

Steve wants to give him a hot bath, wash and condition his hair, and moisturize his whole body, which is a weird thought to have about a romantic interest, even for him.

“Did you bring the goods?”

Steve holds up the plastic bag in his hand, making the jars inside clink. If only Ms. Henderson could see the sparkle in Eddie’s eyes at the sight of her soup, and how he brushes his hands together happily.

“Let’s go to the kitchen, then.”

Steve shakes his head.

“You can stay here, I can do it.”

But Eddie is already up, shaking his curls back at him. 

“And burn our new trailer to the ground? No thanks. The stove is a bitch and only the chosen ones can operate it without injuries. I’ll show you how to work it.”

Steve is listening to him, but he’s also very fixated on the bat pattern of his pajama bottoms and the fluffy green socks he’s wearing. One of the blankets he kept on flows behind like a cape.

“Okay, but I’m doing it,” he insists, following behind and just a tiny bit unmoored by the conversation. He was expecting something less… Normal. More awkwardness, confessions, and hurt feelings. That’s what he’s been preparing for.

“Of course, my shiny knight, of course,” Eddie assures him, reaching for a pot. “Will this be big enough?” he asks, eyeing the jars Steve’s putting on the counter.

“Think so.” He shrugs, eyeing the pot and opening the jars. 

“Okay, come here.” Eddie motions him closer and Steve obliges, standing right next to him and the heat he’s radiating. He smells a bit sweaty, which is understandable, but he can smell the minty toothpaste on his breath, meaning he brushed his teeth before Steve’s arrival. He tried not to think about the implications of it. 

“Okay, so never try to light the right top burner…”

He listens closely to all the instructions and shoos Eddie away as soon as possible to operate the stove under his watchful eye from one of the kitchen chairs. He goes through three matches to get the fire going under the pot but he gets the soup on the burner without much more damage.

“Do I get the Chosen One title yet?” he asks as he idly stirs the soup.

Eddie snorts.

“Don’t get cocky before finishing, dear Steven.”

“Fine,” he huffs. 

The silence settles between them and he doesn’t know where to go from there. But he told himself before coming that he’d wait patiently for Eddie’s answer and simply bask in his presence without pushing. Maybe turn up his charm if it feels right but that’s all. 

“What have you been doing stuck at home?” he asks, the need to break the silence overwhelming. 

Eddie hums, his eyes unfocused on the heating soup.

“Read Hobbit for the eleventy-first time, polished the postponed campaign, and planned for the next one already. Though, with these little bastards, it was probably a waste of my time. Rewatched a couple of movies?” he adds, voice tilting like it’s a question. When Steve hums in interest, he continues. “Paid extra attention to the actors. Turns out, Harrison Ford? Kinda hot.”

Steve snorts, taken aback, and when he turns, Eddie’s grinning at him sheepishly. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I might be into dudes, after all.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.” He smacks his lips obnoxiously and sucks in a breath. “You know, last time I tried to ask someone out, she said she was not interested at all, in anyone, and skipped town.”

Steve whines sympathetically. 

“Shit, man. I’ve never chased a girl out of town.”

“It did numbers on my self-esteem, I’ll tell you that.”

“I promise to stay in town if you ask me out.”

“Would that make me the guy?”

Steve cocked his head and studied Eddie for a while. He never thought about the dynamics of a same-sex relationship. Would he like to be ‘the girl’? Wooed and treated gently, gifted with flowers? Kissed on the neck, and spooned to sleep? He felt his cheeks grow hot at the imagery.

Unfortunately, Eddie noticed and his smile grew.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

Steve shrugs, turning back to the soup.

“Aww, you’d like to be my princess, pampered with gifts and kisses?”

Steve made a point of focusing on his task and hiding his face. 

“So what?” He bristled. “What if I do? Would it be… Is that bad?”

“What? No! Why would it be bad?”

He shrugs. He doesn’t know why but something in his gut keeps telling him it is.

“Why would wanting to be cared for, be bad?”

“Uh, well…” Steve focuses his stinging eyes on the soup. He’ll have to turn it off soon and won’t have any excuses not to look at Eddie.

There’s a shuffle behind him and soon a warm body presses against his back, hugging him from behind. Eddie’s still wrapped in a blanket so they make a slightly awkward bundle against the stove.

“Besides, Princess Stevie sounds waaay better than King Steve,” Eddie presents his final argument and Steve lets out a surprised snort.

“You’re such a fucking weirdo, I swear.”

“Well, it worked on you, sooo…”

“And I still have no idea how,” he sighs dramatically. He squeezes the arms around him gently and turns off the stove before nudging Eddie away so he can pour the soup into bowls. They sit down to eat and when he hands Eddie a spoon he ignores it and slurps the soup straight from the bowl.

“Savage.” Steve rolls his eyes but can’t fight his amusement at his antics. Eddie smacks his lips loudly and grins.

“So, anyway…” He drums his fingers against the bowl. “Do you wanna go out, whenever Wayne gives me the all-clear to leave the house?”

Steve grins, watching the loud man be hesitant for once.

“Are you asking me on a date, Munson?”

His already red nose gets even redder.

“We don’t have to call it a date, we can just hang out, just the two of us.”

“Nah, I’d rather call it a date.”

Eddie inhales and a smile spreads on his face.

“Okay. Let’s do it then. Arcade? I feel like cinema dates are such a cliche.”

“Yeah, but there’s this new movie I’d like to argue with you about.”

“Is it The Fly? Or The Little Shop of Horrors?” Eddie prods with excitement. Because a heated debate on the first date sounds utmost alluring.

Steve extends his leg under the table, nudging softly at Eddie’s ankle. He nudges back with a grin and they rest their legs against each other. A simple touch they can settle on until Eddie gets better, until the date they plan in the cramped kitchen over bowls of soup until the sky turns dark.

[ncis-nerd]

The Writer, The Artist and The Mediocre: Chapter 2

November 3rd, 2023 Natasha Romanov

7:00 A.M. (Artist)

୧ ‧₊˚ 🍵 ⋅

It’s my first day at this new school, I’m so excited! I have mixed feelings though, I painted my nails this morning. It relaxes me. It also prevents me from picking at my nails. One of many bad habits. Anyways, I can’t wait to make some friends. I heard this school has a badminton club. I love badminton! I made each finger a different color, thumb is orange, pointer is green, middle is pink, index is blue and pinky is yellow.

Most of my clothes are stained in paint but that's okay. It’s my own personal touch. I’m currently waiting in the office for my schedule. I hope I get art history, that class seems interesting. “Natasha Romanov!” a voice called out. I stood up and went to the desk. “That’s me!” I said eagerly. “Here’s your schedule, hun.” The lady hands me the paper. She smells like grandma perfume.

I have economics first period. I need to find room 10E. 20B. 13 C. Where is it? “RINGGG” the bell rings. Oh no, I’m running late! A girl with bangs and a green hoodie bumps into me. I fall to the ground. “Oof” I groan. I look up to find her staring at me, she reaches out her arm to help me. She pulls me up, shooting me an apologetic look. “Thanks for the greeting to my new school..” I say.

She continues walking in a rush. Wait, why don’t I just ask her for directions. “Hey, do you happen to know room 10E is?” I exclaim, running to catch up to her. Silence. She continues walking. “Excuse me??” I speak. She looks at me after a moment and points to a door that reads 10E. “Thank you!” I exclaim before rushing in.

She follows behind me. She must have this class too. “Thank you ladies for joining!” The teacher speaks. She has red hair. The girl in the green hoodie goes to her seat, she sits in the middle of the classroom. “Everyone, this is our new student Natasha Romanov. Natasha, you can take that seat next to Y/N.” She points to the girl who ran into me in the hallway. Huh, this will be interesting to say the least.

The whole class is packed so this is the only empty seat. Wow. “I’m Natasha. But you probably know that since the teacher already said that.” I reach my hand out to shake hers. She shakes back, saying nothing in response. “Wow, this class is so full. Back where I come from the classes were as small as 16 students. Here I can see at least 34.” I ramble, looking around and scanning the room. “Okay class, pull out your textbook to page 193.” The teacher instructs. I don’t have a textbook. I raise my hand.

“Ms…” I spoke, realizing I don’t know the teacher’s name. “Oh, silly me! I didn’t introduce myself. Sorry! I am Ms Maximoff. Your economics teacher. Welcome to the class” She smiles. “Ms Maximoff, I don’t have a textbook.” I said. “Right, well we don’t have any more in the room so I can get one for you tomorrow but today, Y/N, you mind sharing with Natasha?” Ms Maximoff asked the girl next to me. She nodded in response, pushing her textbook so it was between the two of us. “Thanks” I whisper.

I noticed her book was filled with annotations, highlights and little notes. Guess I've found my study buddy. "So.. you like badminton?" I whisper, looking at the girl beside me. "Girls, quiet." Ms Maximoff's voice echoed.

୧ ‧₊˚ 🍵 ⋅

au masterpost

[devils-dares]

untitled soft matt fic

summary: you and matt both have bad days, but you're there to pick up each other's pieces.

pairing: matt murdock x gn!reader

warnings: mentions of blood and matt being hurt, bad days :(

word count: 1400+

reblogs and comments appreicated!

-----

Your day was… hectic to say the least. You ended up eating lunch in your car, just for a moment of peace. Checking the time, you saw that Matt would be on his lunch break so you gave him a call, wanting to talk to him.

“Hello?” You hear his voice through the phone speaker, and the sound of papers rustling in the background.

“Hi, Matt.”

“Hi darling. How’s your day?”

“I’m exhausted, and it’s only lunch.”

“Sounds like a busy day.”

“How has yours been?”

“Slow, surprisingly. I guess people not needing legal advice or counseling is a good thing, but we could use the business.”

“Sounds like a dream right now.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to hear your voice.” You check your watch and see that your lunchtime is almost over.

“I gotta go, Matty.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

You sit in silence for a little bit after hanging up, trying to prepare yourself for the rest of the day. You push your head back into the headrest and take a deep breath.

-----

Today sucked, and driving home you could just imagine having a glass of wine and unwinding. Walking up to your shared apartment with Matt, you could practically taste the air, imaginary thoughts of your favorite meal filling your mind as it felt you were floating up the stairs as if you were in some silly cartoon. Opening the door, you found that the comforting scent you imagined was not your imagination at all, but your boyfriend home early from work in front of the stove. The sleeves on his button up were rolled up to his elbows, apron tied tightly behind his back. A glass of your favorite red was poured out next to his glass.

“Hi.” He says sheepishly, “This was supposed to be done before you got here.”

“What are you doing?” You ask incredulously.

“Slow day, I told you. Thought I’d come home and surprise you. Oh! I drew a bath for you. Go relax, I got the rest of this and then I’ll meet you there.” You couldn’t say no to his tempting words, so you set your bag down and made your way to the bathroom with your wine, where a steamy bath awaited you. Ridding yourself of your clothing, you step in, the perfectly warm water soothing your body. A few sips of wine later and you truly feel relaxed, body sinking a little further in the water until it reaches just below your chin. The door quietly opens, and you hear Matt’s socked feet pad in. Gentle fingers meet your cheek, dragging down to the tip of your chin and turning your face to meet his unfocused eyes. You smile, tilting your head to press a kiss to his palm, watching a smile grow on his face as well.

Finishing off your wine, you hand the glass to Matt, who places it on the counter before taking his spot behind you after shedding his clothes. You rest up against him, head resting against his shoulder as his chest presses against your back.

“Relaxed yet?” He asks, and you smile again.

“Mhm, thank you, Matty.”

“Anything for you.” You sit in silence a little longer, until the water goes cold and your fingers turn wrinkly. He helps you out and quickly wraps himself in a towel, telling you to wait for a second. You take that time to dry off and he comes back dressed with sweatpants and a t-shirt in his hands, both of which are his.

“I- uh, dropped them in the dryer so they’d be warm for you.” You smile and plant a kiss on his cheek, which causes a dark red blush to flush his face. After getting dressed, you make your way to the dinner table, where a steaming hot plate of food is waiting for you. You try to pull your chair out but a “wait!” yelled by Matt makes you pause.

“Let me.” He pulls your chair out for you and presses a kiss to your neck once you sit down. He pours you another glass of wine, and you dig in, the flavors of your favorite comfort meal melting on your tongue. You let out a groan, letting yourself fall back into the chair, Matt lets out a chuckle across from you.

“What is it?” He asks with a smile on his face as if he already knows your answer.

“It’s so good.” You say with a mouthful of food. He lets you finish your food and then takes the plates to the sink, washing them and not allowing you to participate in any of the cleanup.

The clock strikes ten o’clock as the two of you cuddle up on the couch, with you drifting in and out of sleep with Matt supporting your weight.

“Hey, let me take you to bed.” You nod wordlessly and he huffs out a laugh, scooping you up in his arms and taking you to your shared bedroom, where he pulls the blankets back and lays you down, tucking you in and kissing you on the forehead.

“Going out tonight?” You ask sleepily.

“Yeah, I’ll be back before you know it.” He steps out of the room to change but before he could tell you that he loved you, you were already asleep. He shakes his head, not able to rid himself of his near constant smile that you caused, and pulls his helmet on.

-----

Tonight did not, in fact, go the way Matt intended. He entered the apartment through the roof access, trying to keep his pained groans to a minimum so as to not wake you. That did not go according to plan, as he slipped a step and groaned loudly, clutching his midsection at the searing pain.

“Matty?” He heard your sleep-ridden voice ring out.

“I’m fine, bug.” But he can tell from your heartbeat that you didn’t believe him, consciousness coming back to you quickly. You exit the room and peer up at Matt, who’s still a few steps up and clutching his stomach in one hand and the railing in the other.

“Take the suit off and sit on the couch, I’ll grab the kit.” He nods and follows your directions, ridding himself of his top while you grab the metal box from the bathroom. Wordlessly, you begin cleaning him up, stitching what needed to be stitched and bandaging up the rest. You kiss his scarred skin here and there, making sure he felt as loved as you did. Once you finished, you got up to return the box and wash your hands. Coming back to Matt, you grab his hands but he pulls you into his lap instead.

“I’m sorry I woke you.” He mumbles.

“It’s okay, you took such good care of me earlier, let me do the same.” He nods. You grab a pack of peas from the freezer and warm up some leftovers from dinner. Pouring the food in a plate, you let Matt eat while you hold the frozen peas to his bruised shoulder. You sit in comfortable silence with him as he continues eating, observing a darkening bruise on his jaw and a new split in his lip.

“I can feel you staring, y’know. I’m fine, just a rough night.” You hum, not believing that it was ‘just a rough night’ but you knew Matt didn’t want to talk about it from his body language. Once he finishes and puts the plate down, you sweep his hair out of his face, kissing his forehead, sticky with sweat.

“Do you want to go to bed?” He nods.

“Alright, why don’t you go get ready and I’ll clean up.” He protests but you were quick to shut him down.

“You did the same for me earlier, without complaint. Let me do something for you once.” He nods again and silently makes his way to the bathroom to wash his face. You clean up the wrappers from the bandages and wraps, pop the peas back in the freezer, and wash the plate. After cleaning up a little bit of blood that had dripped from his body, you head to the bedroom, where Matt was already laying. He beckons for you to lay with him, so you do, his arms immediately pulling you into his warm body.

“Love you so much, bug.”

“Love you too, Matty.” You wait for his snores to spill from between his lips before letting sleep take you, a smile on your face as you stay wrapped around Matt.