#feeling so very garbage about myself on this fine day

[musashi]

.

[ddeonuswhre]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ [END].

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Juyeon x M!reader.

Author's Note: uuuh I don't think I'm okaaaaaaaay, I don't think I'm okay. I honestly didn't know whether to upload it, I feel like it's garbage.

Previously: You're tired of being his last option (being hidden) and you decide to end "things" with him, maybe he'll fix it, maybe he won't.

Genre: Discussions, Against, Fluff (kinda), Drama.

Wrng: internalized homophobia.

"I should have dressed as a clown to make a fool of myself in a better way." You thought.

It was around noon and you had been waiting for more than three hours for what is supposedly your boyfriend. You both had agreed that today you would see each other after a very hard week, exams and projects were driving you crazy. There is nothing better than a whole day resting with the person you love the most so far. At least, that's what you thought when you first arrived at the coffee shop. Where is he? It was your only question for a while now. He didn't even answer your calls. That would have been the last straw, the whole jug. It wasn't the first time he had put you through something like this, but after many conversations, he promised that he would change and you really tried to believe him.

You wanted to continue waiting for him, you wanted to continue hoping for the idea that he would arrive, but the time was approaching for you to be in your first class of the day and since you were also part of the committee, you decided to pay for your coffee and leave without further ado. You felt so embarrassed after paying the girl, you spent more than two hours boasting to her that this would be 'the day' and that after a long time, she would finally meet the boy you've been talking so much about for more than 4 months now, unfortunately things didn't happen—again.

"M/N!" You heard from afar that distinctive loud voice that could only tell you who it was, you were so angry that you decided to speed up your pace to avoid talking to him, however your ways of escaping would have been worthless after feeling his fingers gently sink into your shoulder. When you turned around you began to listen to his great sermon of reasons why he took 'longer than he thought', but as always, everything he said ended with 'sorry, bro' and its characteristic way of messing up your hair.

Ouch, to a certain point you understood that he was afraid to say that he is gay, I mean, he told you before they started dating and you were fine with that, I say you were because you always saw him surrounded by several of his 'girl-friends' and even you saw him hugged by the neck with one in particular. Does he have to do all that just out of fear? I think he also forgot that you also had feelings, maybe he forgot that you were dating and that constantly made you overthink. The only thing you wanted was to be able to hold his hand without him constantly looking around.

ㅡSomething happens?ㅡThe brunette exclaimed after seeing you all the way with your head down and muttering a couple of things that didn't make much sense.

"I was just thinking about the exams. . . and us." You didn't want to get into your feelings any further. It wasn't even the place, and surprisingly, not the person you would want to talk to about this. On the other hand, you only heard a heavy sigh and saw out of the corner of your eye how he only nodded sadly.

"Did I do something wrong? Tell me what I did wrong now, and I'll fix it" You felt a big hole in your chest, you wanted to scream at him right then and there about everything that should change so that you could stop feeling like a shitty boyfriend and he could lose that fear of being left alone just because he had someone of the same sex as his partner, but you only deigned to stare at him and caress his cheek.

In the entire class you couldn't concentrate better because of the laughing session that Juyeon was having with one of his friends at the back of the room, you had finally decided that the best option—for you—would be to end what was still going on between the two of you. You didn't hesitate to send him a random message but you didn't get a response from the boy, you had no choice but to wait until class could finish and talk to him before he went to play basketball.

"Juyeon, I have to tell you something, and I think it will be quick." You told him when he was going down a couple of steps after the teacher was ready to put his things away and leave, when the individual left and there was no one else in the room—so you two started talking about how you felt being there, after several months together; what liked to do most, what didn't, etc. Everything was going so well until some basketball teammates rushed to the classroom door and asked for the tallest one.

Your heart stopped after hearing him say, "Just give me a minute, I'm talking to a friend." Is that what you were to him? It seems that yes, Eric was right. You should not continue being in a place where you were only the couple when he got the chip on. You didn't know that "friends" always spent their time kissing or watching a series while doing nothing but caressing each other or even ending up naked on a bed with only a sheet covering both bodies. It didn't take long for your eyes to be glassy with the amount of tears you didn't want to shed, at least not in front of him, in front of the same boy who broke your heart in the worst way you've ever experienced so far.

You tried to raise your gaze so you could see his eyes and give him a weak smile, you did nothing more than leave a couple of pats on his shoulder before leaving the room. You knew that things didn't go any further after he denied you, who knows how many times he must have done the same thing, that was the real reason why you no longer fought or thought with hate.

"W-wait, what does this mean?" The raven man asked after rushing out of the same place and thus taking you by the forearm.

ㅡWe're done, I don't like going out with friends.ㅡ You said as you let go of his grip and continued walking to the cafeteria, where your best friend was.

The boy, for his part, just stood there stunned in that cold hallway where you left him without even turning to look at him, he was stunned, he couldn't process anything that just happened, he knew he screwed up.

Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic.

[theywantedplayer]

“ it’s okay just breathe” “look at me, please?” you have struggled with an eating disorder and you are scared to tell your boyfriend everything. but he is extremely sweet and helps you and always try’s to understand what you’re feeling. (jamie drysdale)

MasterList

PrompyList

You've always struggled with your relationship with food. you could go from eating to starving yourself in a very short time. You and Jamie have only been dating for around 6 months and you've been wanting to tell him about your relationship with food but you were scared that he was going to find it gross.

 and what if he didn't understand

 you were doing fine until last night, Jamie was out with friends leaving you to watch a movie, but one movie turned into 3 and one bag of chips turned into two then it turned into a doordash order from chipotle. after you saw the empty bags and containers you felt horrible about yourself

 you wish you didn't eat all that food just looking at it made you tear up. it made you feel disgusted with yourself before you knew what you were sobbing curled up on the couch under a heap of blankets.

 the tears were coming too quick you didn't hear the door open or the quick footsteps headed towards you. you jumped at the feeling of a hand over the blankets on your legs. when you turned your head you were met with a worried looking Jamie, you quickly hid your face from his not wanting him to see you

  Jamie was quite worried, he didn't like coming home from a night out to see his girlfriend crying on the couch. he moved his hand to your forearm Giving it a comforting squeeze he tried to move the hair out of your face so he could at least see you it  took him a couple tries cuz you kept trying to move away.;

“What wrong baby?”He asked, kneeling in front of you. you turn to look at him you paused for a second before you lunged into Jamie's arms sobbing. he wrapped his arms around you pulling you close to his chest.

 “ breathe y/n it's okay just breathe” he told rubbing your back when your  cries slowed down you mumbled something into Jamie's neck but he couldn't understand you

“ I hate to say it but you're going to have to speak up” he lightly laughed

“I-i ate so much!”  you cried to him

“ is that what this is about?” he asked you sniffled and did you nodded into his chest

 Jamie looked around and saw two bags of empty chips and an empty Chipotle Bowl.  That's what you were upset about? To him that was nothing.

“ Hey it's okay, look at me’ but when you didn't budge he tried again “Please”You finally gave in sitting back in his lap facing him. you wiped your tears with a palm of your hands

“ you're upset because you think you ate too much?” he asked grabbing your hands and holding them

“ Jamie look!” you said gesturing to all the empty garbage “ I ate so fucking much!!”You cried trying to bury your face back into his neck but he stopped you by holding your face with his hands

“y/n” he softly smiled “ that's okay it's okay to do this once in a while” he comforted rubbing his thumbs on your cheeks but he could still tell by your expression that there was something else going on. you hated that Jamie could read you so well.  “” or is there something else going on?”

 you you took a deep breath biting your lip before you spoke “ I never had a good………. relationship with food”” you whispered the last part out of Shame

 Jamie just stayed quiet wanting to give you a chance to get it out

“ Some days I just won't eat anything and it's not because I forget. Trust me I'm not forgetting to eat, I force myself, then there's other days where it's the exact opposite.”  you said  letting a big breath out “ and now I just can't eat as much tomorrow”

“To even it out?” he asked

 you didn't answer just sat here and bit  your lip, Jamie gave you a soft smile before he spoke

“ tomorrow will be better, even easier” you tried to say something but he continued “ tomorrow will be easier because I'll make it easier,  I'm going to help you” he smiled

 you smiled back a light laugh leaving your lips as you wrapped your arms around his neck hugging him tightly

“ and this is nothing compared to what me and Trevor would eat we would eat double this just for ourselves” He laughed make you laugh back 

[timetoletmyimaginationfly]

Let Me Win Your Heart

Nanami Kento x Reader

(Song inspiration: End Game by Taylor Swift)

You looked at the man in front of you. It was a typical Friday afternoon, but you were surprised that he even offered you lunch at a small cafe at your request. He sat there, almost impatiently and restless. You figured he didn’t like small places like this. Nanami Kento. Future CEO of security who loves his expensive and extravagant life.

“What’s the catch?” you asked curiously.

“My grandfather wanted me to talk to you personally,” Nanami said. “I think you heard about my rendezvous with other women?”

“Who hasn’t? You’re literally number one Casanova of the country, Nanami-san,” you said immediately, an icy tone apparent. Nanami ran his hand down his face with frustration.

“I’m future CEO of my grandfather’s security company and you’re going to inherit your father’s business soon,” he said.

“You’re prolonging, Nanami-san. You usually get straight to the point instead of pointing out already known facts.” Nanami sighed.

“They’re arranging us to get married,” he quickly said. He watched the color on your face disappear. “They want our business to merge. We’d be number one in Japan. And no more scandals from me, which won’t bring negative reputations to their future CEO.”

“What?” You remained calm. You didn’t want to bring too much attention to the both of you. “I—wait—what in the actual hell?” Nanami rolled his eyes.

“I tried to fight it, trust me Princess.”

“Don’t call me, Princess.”

“Fine. Sweetheart.”

“Shut up.” Nanami smirked. He always found it amusing to rile you up. And for some reason, it was too easy for him compared to everyone else. So he took any opportunity he can when you two crossed paths. You crossed your arms and turned away from him. But he caught the slight blush on your cheeks.

“I’ll drive you home,” he offered.

“I appreciate the offer, Nanami-san. But I can bring myself home.” Nanami nodded and stood up with you. He took your garbage and followed you out while throwing away the trash.

“I thought you’ll be bringing yourself home? Didn’t you have a ride or your car?”

“Nanami-san, didn’t you know? I’m new money around here. I don’t depend on drivers. Public transportation doesn’t bother me. Besides, I need a shopping spree before I argue with my father.” Nanami could only smile. “Don’t you have a date to woo tonight?”

“Not tonight,” he said. “But if you don’t mind me joining your shopping spree, I would like to accompany you.”

“You can carry my bags then.” Nanami chuckled and placed his hand on the small of your back as he lead you to the shopping centers. Despite his status and how he is, you appreciate his chivalrous side.

You stared at the engagement ring on your finger. A month passed. Your father was adamant about the engagement, you had no choice but to comply, even though Nanami Kento was the last guy you ever thought of being with.

But you were touched with Nanami’s choice of the ring. You remembered the day he sprung the news on you. You would look at rings and you adored certain styles that you didn’t think he would notice. But he did and you can’t help but let your chest feel warm at the thought.

The engagement was revealed to the public two weeks ago when Nanami gave you the ring. You blushed. You knew he would be the romantic type, but he made it a very intimate proposal. He made sure there weren’t a swarm of paparazzi when he brought you out for a date in a cute downtown setting.

But despite his sweet and romantic side, you knew that he was still seeing other women. At least, you remembered catching him with another woman a few days after the engagement. You remember running up to him and slapping him across the face. And deep down, it irritated you. You quickly fixed your hair before heading downstairs. Nanami stood there with a bouquet of flowers.

“Thank you, Nanami-san,” you said softly.

“You’re too formal, sweetheart,” Nanami said. “We’re are engaged. Kento is just fine.”

“I will call you Kento when I’m ready to call you Kento. Besides, with your rendezvous with women, you don’t deserve the first name title,” you said as you walked to the kitchen to arrange the flowers on the vase.

Nanami followed and leaned against the wall watching you. He wouldn’t admit it to you, but he enjoys every time he gets to have with you. He enjoys watching you arrange the flowers with the serene look on your face. He enjoys watching your smile. He even enjoys your side comments about him. He pushed himself off against the wall and walked towards you. He grabbed the scissors off your hand.

“You might accidentally cut yourself again,” he said softly and cut the ends of the flowers before handing it to you. You blushed, accepting his help. “Are you hungry? We can travel to Korea in my jet. We could have a nice weekend getaway.” You giggled.

“Since my schedule is free this weekend, I don’t see why not, Nanami-san. Should I pack my bags?”

“Nope, we’ll buy new clothes there. Let’s go, sweetheart.”

The moment you two arrived, Nanami brought you to a restaurant for dinner. It was a simple restaurant, which you were surprised. He would usually find a high end restaurant and when it’s your turn to pick, you pick a simple and affordable one. You prefer casual and simplicity.

“I’m surprised you chose this place,” you said.

“You’re not a fan of high end restaurants,” he said nonchalantly as he took a sip of his water. You blushed. “I figured you would like this.”

“Thank you.” Nanami smiled, making your heart race.

“I don’t date other women by the way,” Nanami said. “Ever since you caught me.”

“I honestly don’t believe you,” you said quietly.

“I know.” Nanami leaned forward closer to you. “But I’m going to prove it to you, sweetheart. I’ll win your heart over. And by the way, if Gojo touches you in a flirtatious way again, playful or not, I’m gonna snap his arm off.”

“Do you usually lead to violence, Nanami-san?”

“If it involves you, yes.” You couldn’t help but chuckle. “I like you more than I thought I would.”

“Is that why you chose this restaurant? To show your interest towards me?”

“Of course, sweetheart. You want clothes? I’ll buy you a store. You need a vacation? I’ll buy you the country. Want to go stargazing? I’ll buy a star just for you to stare at all night long.”

“Are usually this romantic too, Nanami-san?”

“No.” You blushed. You somehow can see the truth and sincerity in his eyes.

“Don’t buy me a store, but we do have to go shopping if we’re here for the weekend.”

“Sweetheart, I can make sure the stores stay open just for you.”

“You’re too much.”

“You deserve it.”

“Nanami-san, I was only in middle school when my father’s business bloomed,” you said. “The only thing I like about the success is that I get to run the success. And the shopping, but that’s any female. You want to know why I don’t really take a liking to you?” Nanami was curious. He leaned closer, eager to know.

“Tell me, sweetheart.”

“Maybe I’m shallow for assuming this but, you’re all about money. I’m not. However, I give you a point for the restaurant choice,” you said with a smile.

“Then Gojo?”

“Oh, the man flaunts his money like there’s no tomorrow but we like going to bakeries to eat all the sweet treats around. We’re just besties.” Nanami chuckled. He stood up to walk close to you, leaning in so close that your noses touched, his hot breath touching your skin that made your hands tremble.

“Before our wedding, I’ll win your heart,” he said. “I will do anything and everything for you.”

“We’ll see, Nanami-san.”

Half a year passed, only three months left until the wedding. You were downstairs making sure the wedding plan was up to date and perfect before going to work. You heard the door unlock. You didn’t bother to check. Nanami has been coming over almost every morning that you decided to just give him a key to your home.

You heard his voice, already knowing that he’s on the phone. Nanami kissed your forehead before placing a cup of your favorite coffee on the counter and a brown bag that you could only assume was breakfast. You felt the butterflies fluttering in your stomach. It happened every time with his simple and innocent kisses.

“Yeah, I should be able to leave in a few days. I’ll need to talk to my fiancé about it first,” Nanami said. He gave you a wink and you couldn’t help but blush. Nanami hung up and took the empty seat next to you.

“My favorite coffee and…is this a blueberry muffin?” you asked.

“Breakfast sandwich,” Nanami said. “However, there might be a blueberry muffin waiting for you for lunch.” You chuckled.

“So, where’s the emergency this time?” you asked.

“France.”

“Can I come?”

“I wanted to bring you along anyway. It’ll be okay with work?” You nodded as you took a sip of your coffee.

“Thank you for the coffee and breakfast, Kento,” you said, finally saying his first name. A wide smile spread across his face.

“You like playing hard to get,” he said as he held your hand. “Do I get to kiss those beautiful, soft lips yet?”

“Nope!”

“You’re killing me sweetheart,” he muttered.

“That’s the fun part,” you commented. “I have to hurry to work though. We are almost done with this project and I want to get this done before France.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The two of you held hands in Paris. You were eating your chocolate filled croissant, feeding Nanami some after your bite.

“Ouch!” you yelped when someone ran and bumped into you, causing you to drop half of the large croissant to the ground. Nanami immediately grabbed the person’s wrist and yanked the stranger towards him.

“Hey! What the hell?” the stranger exclaimed. When he looked at Nanami’s cold eyes, the stranger shook with fear. Nanami nodded his head towards you.

“You pushed my girl and hurt her,” he said coldly. As the stranger trembled, he turned to you.

“I am so sorry, madame!” he exclaimed. You blushed.

“I-It’s okay!” Nanami let the stranger go and he ran away. You gave Nanami a look, but he ignored that knowing look you were giving him every time he did that and looked at your arm.

“You’re not hurt?” he asked worriedly. The worried tone always made your stomach flutter.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay Kento,” you answered softly. Nanami kissed your arm then your forehead. “But now I’m sad I don’t have a croissant.”

“I’ll make the bastard—“

“Kento! Let’s get some street food,” you said. Nanami smiled and nodded. “And tomorrow night after the meeting, I’ll be willing to go to a high end fancy restaurant.”

“It sounds like a date, sweetheart.”

“Is this a date too?”

“Any time spent together is a date.”

“You’re getting cheesy.”

“You lead me up to it, sweetheart. Let’s see how delicious their street food is, grab a drink or two, and head back to rest. You still have a meeting, right?” You nodded. Nanami wrapped his arm around your shoulders. He pulled you in close and kissed your forehead.

You lied in bed alone after your meeting since Nanami was away for his meeting. Your phone rang and rang as you tried to get Gojo to pick up.

“Your fiancé will kill me if he knew I was talking to you,” Gojo said.

“Shut up, you’re over exaggerating,” you said.

“He told me so.”

“He won’t because you and I are besties.”

“What’s wrong though?” Gojo asked worriedly. “Is he back to dating other women behind your back?”

“N-No,” you stuttered. “He—I—well…he’s literally the last person I thought I would like.” Gojo laughed on the other line. “Quit laughing!”

“I’m sorry, it’s just—you actually have feelings for someone,” he said happily and excitedly. “You’re so career driven, it’s nice seeing you giving him a chance.”

“Kento isn’t seeing anyone, right?”

“Nope,” Gojo said. “The man loves you. His eyes stay glued to you. The way he looked at his previous dates does not compare to the way he looks at you. Trust me.” You sighed heavily on the other line.

“Kento’s right. He did win me over.”

“He won you over the moment he got down on one knee. You wouldn’t shut up about the fact that he was with another woman. But Nanami? He fell so hard that he would give up his business for you.”

“Please, that’s over exaggerating.”

“Not at all, Princess. The business is his world.”

You got up once you ended your call with Gojo. You could feel all the hidden emotions and feelings you have for Nanami escape. You decided to shower to cool down and to take your time in getting ready for your dinner date. Luckily you found a beautiful dark blue dress for dinner last night. You made sure your hair and make up was perfect.

By the time you finished, Nanami returned from his meeting. When he saw you, you notice a look in his eyes that you couldn’t describe. Desire? Admiration? You caught it a few times, but it seemed more evident right now than before.

“You look beautiful, my love,” he said and kissed your forehead.

“No more sweetheart?”

“Love sounds better right now. Let me get ready.”

He kept the bathroom door open when he hopped in the shower. You made it a habit of standing by the doorway when he does. You did enjoy making conversations with him because most of the time, alone time with him became scarce. And he was someone who listened to you, even during his showers after a long day of work. It was his patient trait that you highly appreciated from him.

“How was the meeting?” you asked curiously. You couldn’t help but picture a naked Nanami in the room. You started to feel warm under your dress.

“Better than I thought it would be,” he said. “What they thought was a major problem ended up being a small hiccup. We should plan a new shopping center. I have a building area set up and security planning thought of so everything else is up to you.”

“O-Okay,” you answered in a distant tone.

“You alright, love?”

“Yeah! Sorry, just spaced out for a bit.” You heard him chuckle.

“We can go out tomorrow if you’re tired.”

“I’m okay! I promise! I-I really want to go out with you tonight.” You blushed. And Nanami smiled widely.

“Is my fiancé getting shy now?”

“In your dreams, Nanami Kento.” Nanami laughed as he turned the shower off. He appeared in front of you with a towel wrapped around him. You immediately turned away. If you look at him, you might faint. ‘Too much emotions. Too much feelings,’ you thought.

“You sure you alright, love?” he asked curiously. You nodded vigorously. “We could—“

“Please get ready.” Nanami raised an eyebrow slightly at your odd behavior but complied to your request.

You took deep, quiet breaths. By the time you turned around, Nanami was dressed up and was putting his watch on around his wrist. He smiled when you turned around.

“Let’s go, love.”

You and Nanami laughed at the dinner table. Dinner was already done, desserts halfway through, and the wine bottle half empty. Nanami poured you another glass.

“I’ll pay for this dinner, Kento,” you said.

“I don’t let my lady pay,” Nanami said as he took a sip of his wine.

“It’s so pricey.��� Nanami chuckled.

“My love, don’t worry about it,” he said softly. “We’re getting married soon. Remember what I said before.”

“Y-Yeah, but—“

“I want you, remember?” You looked at him with wide eyes. “Even when I win your heart over, I won’t stop. I’ll still adore you as if I’m trying to win you over every single day. Like right now.” Nanami smirked and it only widened as you stayed silent. “I think since Korea, I knew I was going to win your heart,” he said. “But I’m not too sure with you.” He let the fluttery feeling in his body blossom every time he watched you blush especially now. He watched you swallow the lump in your throat before you cleared your throat. You were composed again, face still flushed.

“Am I hard to read, Kento?” you asked with a sly smile. Nanami chuckled.

“Half of the time you are,” he said. He was moving closer to you until your knee touched his. “But I like it. You keep me on my toes. I don’t want to disappoint my future wife.”

He whispered in your ear. You felt your body shiver. You grabbed the collar of his shirt and pull him in for a kiss. Nanami wasted no second in kissing you back while he cupped your face. You forced yourself to pull away. Nanami kept his hands gently on your face, breathless from the kiss. His forehead resting against yours.

“You won my heart,” you said.

“Love, you won my heart a week after the engagement,” he said. “You calling me out was very sexy and no one calls me out on my shit except you. I like it. Your slap was a wake up call.”

“Good. Because if you cheat on me, I’ll kill you.”

“It be an honor to be killed by a beautiful woman like you.” You playfully rolled your eyes.

“So cheesy.” Nanami gave you a soft kiss on your lips. “Kento-kun, after dinner, let’s walk around Paris again.”

“Anything for you, love.”

“And maybe buy me a large croissant again? I won’t drop it.”

“The bastard should’ve bought you a new one.”

“But I want my future husband to do it.” Nanami blushed and his heart was racing while you stared at him with big, innocent eyes.

“You’re killing me again, love.” He leaned in to your ear, his hot breath giving you goosebumps throughout your body. “You make me want to do so many things to you. And every single day, you drive me so damn crazy.” You suddenly felt dizzy and warm from his words. Nanami chuckled, his deep voice coursing through your body. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“H-How much do you love me?”

“I’d give up the world for you. You’re my world now, love.” The way he said it and described it sounded way better than the way Gojo did. Your heart race wildly. “And if that’s not enough, I’ll have to find another way to prove my love for you.”

“I think you proven enough,” you replied. Nanami smiled and kissed your lips softly.

“No excuse to stop though. I think tomorrow there’s a flea market happening in the morning. We’ll go there first thing before flying back home. How does that sound?”

“You hate flea markets.”

“But you love them.” A bright smile appeared on your face. Nanami intertwined his fingers to yours and raised your hand to his lips.

“I love you too, Kento.”

[doumadono]

EMERGENCY REQUEST

Hi, A while ago I used to have a very bad mental health condition, I can't say for sure what I had(i have an idea but i cannot Say they exact things), because even today I haven't gone to a psychologist to get a diagnosis about my mental health, I wanted to send this to see if you could make a request with Izuku and Kacchan with their childhood friend (Kacchan platonic and with Izuku non-platonic if it's not too much trouble) And one day they find out by accident that she went through a mild eating disorder, self-harm, social anxiety, family problems and a toxic need to be a perfect student (They find out about this already in the first year of the UA, this happened to her in the first year of middle school)I would like to read this because when I was in 7th grade I had all this on my shoulders, I felt like garbage and my family never helped, they only made things worse...Reading it would be like being able to feel that comfort that to this day I have not been able to have because although I would like to be able to talk about it with someone, I am unable to open up, I avoid those topics as much as I can.

Thank you so much! And sorry if I haven't explained myself well.

A/N: I'm really sorry to hear that you've been going through such a challenging time with your mental health. It takes a lot of courage to acknowledge your struggles, and I truly admire your willingness to share this. When you're ready, seeking support from a psychologist or therapist can be immensely helpful

EMERGENCY REQS MASTERLIST

Izuku and Katsuki walked back to the UA dormitory, their footsteps echoing in the quiet evening. The day had been filled with training and lectures, and now, as they strolled under the dimming sky, they found themselves in a contemplative mood.

Katsuki glanced over at Izuku and noticed the pensive look on his friend's face. "What's eatin' at ya, Deku?" he asked in his typical gruff manner.

Izuku hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Kacchan, you know our childhood friend Y/N, right?"

Katsuki's eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it. "Yeah, vaguely. What's she got to do with anything?"

Izuku took a deep breath, trying to find the right way to phrase what was on his mind. "I overheard something today, something about her," he began. "It sounds like she's been through some really tough stuff, especially during her first year of middle school. Eating disorder, self-harm, social anxiety, family problems, and a toxic need to be a perfect student."

Katsuki's expression hardened, his usual tough exterior showing cracks as concern flickered in his eyes. "That's messed up, nerd."

As they approached the dormitory, they heard voices coming from the teacher's lounge, where Aizawa and Nezu were deep in conversation. The name 'Y/N' drifted into their ears, and they couldn't help but listen.

"I think we should keep an eye on Y/N," Aizawa said. "She's clearly been through a lot, and I don't want her to feel isolated or overwhelmed here at UA."

Nezu nodded in agreement. "You're right. We should find a way to support her without making her feel exposed or uncomfortable."

Katsuki clenched his fists, anger simmering beneath the surface. "I'll just go talk to her and kick all these stupid ideas off her head."

Izuku, on the other hand, was quick to respond, albeit more gently. "Kacchan, but we need to be careful. Y/N has been through a lot, and pushing her too hard could do more harm than good. We should approach this delicately."

Katsuki scowled but was willing to listen. "Okay, fine, Deku. What's your brilliant idea then?"

"I think we should let Y/N know that we're there for her, no matter what. Encourage her to talk to us when she's ready? We can offer her our support and friendship without forcing her to reveal everything all at once."

Katsuki huffed in annoyance, but he couldn't deny that Izuku's suggestion made sense. "Fine, fine, we'll do it your way then, nerd."

Later that evening, Izuku and Katsuki found themselves in a common livingroom, still contemplating how to approach the delicate situation with Y/N. Izuku sat on a couch, thoughtful, while Katsuki paced around, clearly agitated, trying to finish his English homework. "You really think this is the right way, Deku? I can't freaking focus because of that goddamn girl. Why do girls always have to be so complicated? " Katsuki asked, his frustration evident.

"I do, Kacchan. Y/N's been through a lot. She needs to know we're here for her, and when she's ready, she'll come to either of us."

Katsuki paused, his fiery demanour momentarily waning. He knew that Izuku was right; a more gentle approach was necessary. He sat down on the floor, scowling as he admitted, "Fine."

Izuku smiled, relieved that Katsuki had agreed. "Great, Kacchan."

Bakugo, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, noticed Mina, Kaminari, and Tsuyu observing him and Deku. Irritated, he turned to them and bellowed, "What the hell are you staring at, extras!?" His fiery personality showing no mercy, even to his friends.

The next day, they put their plan into action.

You were in the common room, looking somewhat distant as you read a book.

Izuku approached you cautiously, determined to make you feel comfortable. Kacchan watched him from a distance, pretending to be engrossed in preparing a dinner.

"Hey, Y/N," Izuku began with a warm smile, "How's your day been?"

You looked up, surprised by the sudden attention. You hesitated for a moment but then replied, "Oh, it's been okay, I guess?"

Katsuki chimed in, trying to keep his tone softer than usual. "You don't need to hide stuff, you know. We're your friends, and we're here for you."

Your eyes widened slightly, and you swallowed hard. You weren't used to opening up about your struggles, but the genuine concern made you feel a little safer. "But I'm not hiding anything…" you protested.

Bakugo grumbled from a distance. "Tsch! For crying out loud, it's obvious you're not alright, nerd. Quit with the act, you're a terrible actress, Y/N, damn it!"

Izuku continued, "I… We know that life can be tough. You don't have to go through it alone. When you're ready to talk, we'll be here to listen, without any judgment, okay?"

Katsuki nodded, showing an uncharacteristic patience. "Yeah."

Tears welled up in your eyes as you felt the sincerity of their words. You had been carrying your burdens in silence for so long, and the idea of sharing them with friends was both scary and comforting. "Thank you, boys," you whispered, your voice quivering. "I appreciate your support."

Izuku reached out and placed a hand on your shoulder, offering a reassuring squeeze. "You're welcome, Y/N. We care about you, and we want to help in any way we can."

Katsuki grumbled, but there was a softness in his gaze as he added, "And if anyone gives you trouble, they'll have to deal with me."

Tears welled up in your eyes, and without warning, you leaned into Izuku's comforting arms.

Izuku was a little taken aback by your sudden move, but he didn't push you away. Instead, he embraced you gently, his hand softly petting your Y/H/C hair.

As you nestled in his embrace, you finally opened up about how awful you were feeling. Your voice quivered as you spoke. "I don't know what to do… I just… I feel so lost and overwhelmed. It's like I'm drowning in my own thoughts and fears, and I can't escape."

Izuku held you a little tighter, his own heart aching for you. "I'm here for you, Y/N. You're not alone in this. We'll find a way through it, together, I promise."

You continued, your voice breaking, "I've been trying to be strong for so long, but I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. It's like I'm carrying the weight of the world, and it's crushing me."

"You don't have to carry it all by yourself. You have friends who care about you, who want to help. We'll lighten that burden, step by step. You're not alone, Y/N."

You clung to him, your sobs slowly subsiding as his comforting presence gave you solace. It was the first step in a journey of healing and support. With tears still glistening in your eyes, you raised your head and looked up at Izuku. Leaning in, you placed a tender kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for all of your support, Deku," you whispered, your gratitude evident in your eyes.

As you expressed your gratitude to both of your friends, Izuku felt his cheeks flush with a deep shade of crimson. His heart began to race, pounding in his chest like a drumbeat. The genuine warmth of the unexpected kiss on his cheek left him feeling both flustered and deeply touched. Unbeknownst to you, Izuku had been harboring a significant crush on you.

But before you could say more, a loud voice echoed across the room. Bakugo's angry shout filled the space, "Hey, I'm goddamn here as well, fucking nerd!"

You turned towards Katsuki, a grateful smile forming on your lips. "Thank you too, Kacchan," you said, addressing him. "I appreciate both of you more than I can express."

[thetistaboveall]

The Traveling Ghost

Before Justin could take second admiring his glorious body as he climbs out of bed hitting the floor of his bedroom and stands in the mirror.

A young man’s suddenly appears in the cold stainless steel shining brightly is this guys full form and to his fear Justin starts to back off.

Unfortunately, the man leaps straight from the mirror onto his body tackling him to the floor and is instantly absorbed as the two fight for control.

The body struggles flopping on the floor till it stops a cold flash of blue eyes vanish into nothing else and I assume control rising to my feet.

He stares in the mirror seeing the former man who owns that body in horror as he poses in the mirror and pounds in the glass screen.

The man smirks back at his beautiful, sexy and fine form spinning through the control and he feels his body up and down glory is shining on him.

Justin swoops into his clothes removing all of his clothes I check my statuesque body so tall and refined like no other stark naked in the light.

I exit my room into the hallway with just my underwear I slide across the floor barefoot doing a bit of jingle and dance my way while I make breakfast.

Grabbing the remote I flip the crisp screen television switch on with a single button as the static turns on and I roll my eyes then w enjoy my day.

The lights shine on as I rush up the staircase back to my bedroom holding on to the bar I head into my closet opening it and quickly get dressed.

I rummage past the area finding a blue silky

smooth shirt, a tight pair of dress pants and cacky alligator shoes and I leave my new home.

Taking the keys in my palm the door swings to the side as I walk on to the outside world and I jump into my car driving off to a very fun future.

“What trouble can I find myself in now with this hot body?”

“Give me back my body “

“Fuck you!”

“You can’t take my body “

“Mwahahahahaha “

“Bastard”

“I already have “

“Show some respect”

“You are vessel for me”

“It’s best you accept it “

“For who?”

“You idiot “

“Asshole”

“Jerk”

“Asswipe”

“Fucker”

“I can see your cock growing “

“I feel it too “

“This is my car you are driving “

“My body you are wielding”

“My life”

“Actually know it’s mine “

“Hell no!”

“For as long as I want”

“Don’t worry you will get it back “

“Maybe! After I deplete you “

“If you are still alive “

“Mwahahahahaha “

“You can’t, I won’t let you “

“Who says what you want you matters?”

“It’s does to me”

“Too fucking bad”

“Boohoo”

“I’m in charge now”

“Are you ?”

“Zip it you broken record”

“Husk don’t speak “

“I uuuuuhhhhh!”

“Yeah! I thought so”

“I am about to get sauced”

“Hell yeah!”

“Mwahahahahaha “

Justin blacks out into unconscious land in his mind deep a sleep blissfully unaware of debauchery I performed in his body enough to kill him.

He sighs smelling his hot breath filled with the stench of alcohol, ribs and barbecue sauce and I can’t believe that he thought he was mainly.

His eyes finally pop up as his head bends to the ground holding his mouth and stomach tight as he throws up intensely like a load of garbage.

“Where? Am I?”

“Ok time to get up pretty boi”

“Where are my clothes”

“All you had was a wallet”

“I was naked?”

“You were streaking and causing a disturbance.”

the end

[wachtelspinat]

Hey, I just came across your post about how you’ve been feeling a disconnect from you and your art and about how you feel a mix of guilt for drawing the same fanart for so long….i just want you to know how nice it felt to see someone I have admired for so long going through the exact same thing I am. I have never played Overwatch or anything, but I’ve been following you for years….your art has always been such a source of inspiration. So I’m really sorry you’ve been feeling this way…..but I’m in a very similar boat…so please don’t feel like you are alone. I’ve been drawing Homestuck garbage for years and I also feel that mix of “it’s fine because it makes me happy” but also “you should be doing more”…..it’s not a fun cycle to constantly be battling with in your brain. But being an adult sucks ass, it has honestly felt like a process having to adjust to not having a sense of community like we did in the earlier days of tumblr or whatever else. But please know that your art has meant so much to me and everybody else and that you are not alone in your feelings ❤️ sorry this was massively cheesy….just wanted to give a virtual internet hug lol Also being a part of a “dead” fandom is always very lonely….i feel you on that so hard my guy lol

hey thanks so much for reaching out, it means a lot. i'm sorry to hear that you are in a similar pickle tho...

to give an update on that particular feeling and situation over here, i've been drawing more again, the pace just got adjusted, and i've kind of made my peace with this. doing a deep dive into older fandom bits also brought some sense back into my head... i actively reconnected with the things that made me love my blorbos in the first place again. which feels great. there is some lonliness to this because as current news about the game and fandom tendencies go still make me feel alienated. but i'd rather take this and do my own thing with the few people who also remember the good times than giving up on my boys or trying to bend myself into a different shape and draw sth that i actually don't want to for the sake of staying relevant.

it all actually boils down to "do what you want, draw what you want, write what you want, share if you want". because at the end of the day i make myself happy by just indulging into envisioning them and drawing unspoken interactions and their faces a hundered times from the same angle <3

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not telling my coworker I'm trying to leave my job?

So I (30sF) work as a second tier support in a tech company, and I hate my current employer. I'm a millennial, I have no shame about ditching a company that treats me badly, I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to do so. Here's what I'm worried about. A new coworker (20sF) started at my company 4ish months ago as a first tier support. My company is absolutely garbage about training/onboarding new employees, and it basically becomes a contest of "who can the new kid find who will actually answer their questions" every day as a new hire. (I went through this myself, it's one of many problems with this company). I'm really sympathetic towards new hires because this experience was so traumatic for me, so I kind of took her under my wing whenever she had questions, even if it was for situations/customers/issues outside of my realm of expertise or coverage. We end up getting along really well. I genuinely think of her as a friend at this point, and because of the age/experience gap, we kind of have a mentor/mentee situation developing as well, which I am also totally fine with. She's smart and has strong career potential, and I want to see her go as far as she can.

This whole time I've been looking for other jobs, though not super aggressively, so nothing really had come of it. At the same time, I and this coworker wind up getting paired up together on some issues for one of the company's most problematic customers. Tl:dr; we kind of end up crushing it; she's more customer-facing as level 1 support, I'm more tech-problem solving as a level 2 support, and we honestly make an incredible team. Even better, she's really thrilled about this success, and I can tell she's finally starting to feel confident about her ability to do this job, which is a huge hurdle to overcome. It's really great to see her coming into her own like this. She doesn't really need much more of my support at all at this point. And she's also started talking more about how good of a team we are. There's rumors of us being put on another project together, and she's excited about that too because we like working together.

And, well, wouldn't you know it, a real dream opportunity at a different company just fell into my lap.

It's nothing definite, I'm not through the interview process so I'm absolutely not saying anything to anyone except for a couple close non-work friends. But if I get an offer for this job, it would be a genuinely amazing opportunity. Like, potentially 100% life changing. It's a level up for my career, a better company overall, and the benefits would also be a lot better. I'm really excited about it.

And while I'm not stupid enough to say ANYTHING to my current company about this at all until I have a signed incoming offer, I'm starting to feel really guilty about not even mentioning to my coworker, or at least warn her that I might not be around for long, let alone for this upcoming project. Nothing's definite, so I don't want to jinx myself, and while I definitely don't think she'd do anything to screw me over on purpose, she's also very chatty with other people on our team and I'm really worried she might let something slip accidentally. But at the same time, every time she refers to us doing something together as a future plan, I feel real real bad about not saying anything.

So tumblr, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[boyswanna-be-her]

I'm trying to pull out of another bout of depression, doing ok at it or at least mitigating the worst parts of depression by monitoring my sleep, health, and sobriety and continuing my meds and talk therapy. I'm giving myself time to feel it. There's no way out but through.

Part of it is the time of year. Part of it was the death in November. My dad had a big health scare in December (he's fine) but it was very traumatic for me coupled with the death of my other significant father figure the month before. It has been hard to pull out of that and course correct while still giving myself room to grieve.

Part of it is that the world is garbage and no matter how much I do, I *feel* like I'm not making a difference. I *know* that I am making material differences that matter for people, but there's a difference between knowing and feeling, and in the face of genocide and climate collapse, attempting to go zero waste and helping the unhoused feels like... nothing. Zilch.

I haven't been talking about it because, well, everyone feels this way who matters to me. It's the time of year and the reality of living an informed life right now. So I have the benefit of surrounding myself with empathetic, caring, curious people with the downside that we're all depressed from the, well, exhausting and depressing events surrounding us every day. I don't want to burden people by complaining about shit they're already losing sleep over.

But I also haven't really been journaling or writing it down for myself, and dumping it all into therapy sessions isn't enough, so I'm back to talking into the friendly void here. 🖤

[munsuneddie]

couples costume

summary: eddie munson hates cliches and hates couples costumes on halloween the most. or… does he?

warnings: none, some fluff and angst(?), not my greatest but

word count: 1.7k

pairings: eddie munson x reader. no use of y/n

disclaimer: just pretend the movie was out when eddie was in high school heh

eddie’s never been a huge fan of couple’s costumes, in fact you’ve heard many different complaints from him in the past week as your peers dressed up.

“it’s not even halloween yet,” he rolled his eyes, tossing a few peanuts into the air and failing to catch them. “why does hawkins insist on a spirit week leading up to the actual day? and these “couples costumes”? it’s like-“

“eddie,” steve groaned. “just let them have their fun. besides, aren’t you two gonna coordinate?” he gestured between the two of you and your cheeks reddened when eddie glanced at you before shaking his head.

“uhm, n-no. we agreed not to.” you spoke quietly, a whisper of your own complaint dripping in the air.

you and eddie haven’t been together very long, but halloween was one of your (and his) favorite holiday and it killed you that he didn’t want to do a costume with you. your habit of overthinking kept leading you to the idea that eddie did want to do a couple’s costume, just not with you.

the table had changed the topic and you were grateful to just be able to stew in your own dissatisfaction. eddie kept glancing over to you to check your mood, but you refused to look over at him. you couldn’t be mad: he told you outright that he hated cliche’s and anything remotely close to one, which included couple costumes. but you couldn’t shake the feeling that if he were dating anybody else, eddie would be all up for it.

the final bell rang and you gathered your half-eaten tray of food, dumping the contents into the garbage before briskly walking to your locker. there was an assembly to end the day before the halloween weekend, and all you wanted to do was get it over with so you could go home. but when you’re dating eddie munson, you should always expect the unexpected.

“hey, beautiful,” eddie leaned on the locker next to your’s with a lopsided grin splattered across his face. “where are you headed on this fine afternoon?”

despite the burning bubble in your stomach, you couldn’t fight back your smile as you looked at him over the door of your locker.

“the assembly, just like you should be?” you prompted with a raised eyebrow but eddie just looked at you with a confused look.

“assembly?” he quirked, bringing his hand to his chin to feign confusion and thought.

“yes.. the one right now? in the gym?” you narrowed your eyes at him as you could nearly see ideas processing behind his eyes.

“better idea - and hear me out - we ditch the assembly and watch scary movies for the next 6 hours. uncle wayne’s out of town for the weekend so i have the trailer all to myself.” eddie winked as he slowly closed your locker, his hands finding home on your waist.

the idea he had reminded you of everything else and the burning sensation in your stomach resurfaced. you sighed in defeat and tossed your bag over your shoulder.

“that sounds great eds, but i think i’m just gonna head home.” you offered him a weak smile, hoping it was enough to disguise the hurt you were feeling.

eddie’s face dropped and you felt your heart sink for making him feel like he did something wrong. and maybe you were overreacting a little bit, but was it so wrong to wanna dress up with your boyfriend?

you’d started walking the hallway to the back exit, wanting to sprint but fighting the urge as you felt eddie’s eyes on the back of your head. you made it all the way to your car, about to open the door when your boyfriend had managed to catch up to you, slamming the door shut.

“did i do something wrong, sweetheart?” he was out of breath from running after you, but the sincerity in his voice didn’t go unnoticed.

“n-no, eddie. everything’s fine, really,” you tried not to make eye contact with him because you knew your eyes would give everything away.

and as if he could read your mind, eddie’s fingers gently cupped your jaw and titled your face to his. you tried not to cry when your eyes met his dark brown ones that were flooded with worry, tried so hard.

“baby, what’s wrong? and don’t say nothing ‘cus i can read you like a damn book.” he insisted, pleading with his eyes for you to just spill the beans already.

you took a deep breath, bracing yourself for the rambling nonsense that was about to spill from your mouth.

“look, i know we agreed not to do a couple’s costume because you hate cliches or whatever but halloween is my favorite holiday and i know it’s yours too so i just can’t figure out why you wouldn’t wanna dress up with me. like i-“

eddie immediately softened his gaze even more if that was even possible before cutting you off with a kiss. your first thought was to push him away from you to finish your speech, but it quickly fizzled out when his tongue slipped into your mouth and his hands were all over your waist. he backed you into the side of your car to gain purchase against your body before pulling away, faintly remembering the two of you are in the school parking lot.

“welp, you’ve ruined it, princess,” he mumbled against your lips before pulling back all the way. before you could scream at him in disbelief, eddie continued.

“i had it all planned out: trick you into thinking we weren’t dressing up together just to bring you to my trailer to show you the metal-as-fuck costumes i got for us. was gonna be a surprise, but,” he gestured to you. “clearly not a good one. i’m sorry, baby.”

you were shocked, to say the least. eddie munson - the boy who claims to hate couple’s costumes - prepared one just for the two of you. and he did it all in secret, which is huge because, well, eddie has a large mouth.

“no, i’m sorry for overreacting,” you ran your hands up and down his chest, a sigh of relief erupting from him. “i just got in my head is all. but can we talk about how you kept this surprise a secret? very impressive, babe.”

eddie flashed a triumphant grin and kissed your cheek before opening your car door for you. “right? only person who knew was harrington. which reminds me, i’m gonna kill him for that little stunt at lunch today.”

the two of you laughed at the idea of eddie trying to get one up on steve harrington, before a thought passed your mind.

“does the offer to come over still stand?”

“sweetheart, as long as i’m breathing, that offer always stands.” he winked again, his voice low.

he gave you a quick kiss on the cheek before stepping aside to let you into your car and the two of you parted ways only to reunite at eddie’s trailer a few agonizing minutes later. you had but the slightest idea of what costumes eddie had picked out for the two of you and you were nearly bursting at the seams to get a look.

“c’mon eds!” you urged him to hurry up from the stoop of his trailer as he gingerly hopped out of his van. he knew what he was doing, he just couldn’t help himself.

after what felt like hours to you, eddie was finally unlocking and opening the front door. you glanced eagerly around the living room and the kitchen and much to your dismay, no costumes were found. you looked to your boyfriend who was shrugging off his jacket with a chuckle.

“oh, baby. you didn’t think i’d just leave them somewhere you’d see, did you?” eddie tsked before walking to the closed door of his bedroom. you made moves to follow, but he turned around abruptly to stop you in your tracks.

“be my good girl and wait in the living room, ‘kay? i’ll be quick, promise.” he bent down to capture your lips in his before he was walking away again, and you slumped to the couch to wait.

a few minutes had passed and eddie still hadn’t emerged from his room, and just as you were about to give up the waiting game and barge in there, you hear the door click open. you weren’t entirely expecting him to come out in his costume, but you could guess that’s why it took him so long. and it was definitely worth the wait.

eddie was wearing a long, tattered black cloak with his infamous ripped jeans underneath, a pair of black leather gloves, all paired perfectly with the ghostface mask. he’d even splurged a little bit and got the mask that can drip blood with a button and a retractable knife.

he did a full body turn with his arms up to let you see the whole thing. “so? what d’you think, baby - pretty fuckin’ metal, right?”

you grinned at your boyfriend as he struck mildly inappropriate poses at your expense. “absolutely. where’s mine?” you asked, unable to contain your excitement any longer.

eddie held up a finger before quickly walking back into his room and came back out with your sidney prescott costume. which didn’t take too much to achieve, but he wanted everything to be perfect so he’d gotten a few different options for you to choose from. the wig eddie bought was the selling point in your opinion. you stood up from the couch and bridged the gap between you and him, lifting the mask from his face just enough to crash your lips into his.

when you pulled away for air, eddie removed the mask and set it atop his head so he could really look at you.

“what d’you say, sweetheart? be my final girl?”

and it was so utterly cheesy, so cliche, that all you could do was nod your head so sternly that eddie feared for your life.

and when you were both dressed, you’d decided to go to steve’s house for his yearly halloween party, cheers and laughter coming from robin and nancy when they saw your costumes. although sometimes you would have to explain who you were when eddie left your side for a brief moment, it was all so worth it to be there with him.

[scoops-aboy86]

what would Steddie be like wine tasting?

Okay okay okay, I am totally tipsy wine tasting myself and I love getting asks I LOVE GETTING ASKS

So imma try and answer this all in one go. 

Steve has been around wine his whole life via his parents and knows all about wine tasting

He learned to walk in a tasting room and as a child viewed them as the best place to get free saltines or crunch bread sticks.

So he deffo has a wine snob side even though his actual wine knowledge is fairly superficial 

He is okay at food pairings but mostly because he remembers to ask in tasting rooms and then remembers the answers, rather than being able to rely on his own palate 

Eddie doesn’t know the difference between fine wine and two buck chuck, he would drink either out of a jam jar with ice on a hot summer’s day, it makes Steve threaten to weep sometimes

Mostly Eddie is there for the snacks, boy can power his way through a charcuterie board or two like nobody’s business, he doesn’t really get wine but he is a garbage disposal during these outings he will consume anything you give him

He tries to keep pouring himself water, and he is pretty good about it but sometimes he loses track 

They keep having to ask for more charcuterie boards because inevitably he finished off something on the plate (again) before Steve could try some and Steve is a stickler for trying a bite of everything with each pour (even though if pressed he would not be able to tell you the difference beyond “I liked this better than that”

Steve: “I like this one better than that last pour.” Eddie: “I don’t remember the last pour. This tastes a little like apple juice.”

Eddie ends up sunburnt, drunk, and full; he can handle his beer or spirits but there is something about wine that genuinely knocks him on his ass every time

He wants to be present, for Steve, but he’s so tipsy and extra-easily distracted

Eddie: “How many more pours, is this the last one?” Steve: “There’s one more.” Eddie: “Oh Jesus H Christ, I’m going to die.”

He tries to pour himself a glass of water and misses, Steve has to help him

Steve ends up with a tan, because nothing can burn that guy short of literally visiting the sun

Steve is fine to drive, officer (no he really is, his metabolism is crazy and he’s guzzling water as we speak, he is genuinely fine and a very responsible driver)

Eddie can’t feel his face and wants McDonalds

In this moment I am both Steve (re: tasting room upbringing, omg what if his parents are in marketing and/or events in the wine industry) and Eddie (cannot feel my face, need more crackers or maybe a sandwich to soak this up jfc, my partner is like “Just eat more crackers” right now 😂).

[rmtndew]

Come Home to Me 

Summary: A weekend with Walter, Fiona and Faye as their little family grows closer. 

Pairing: Marshall and OFC Fiona

Word count: 6,802

Rating: PG

Warnings: Mentions of a panic attack

I wasn’t sure what had happened. The day had started out fine. Walter and I had gotten to see each other for a little bit before we both left for work, which wasn’t always the case. We had coffee and breakfast together. I snuck extra snacks in his lunchbox while he was out warming up my car. It was a good morning. So where it went wrong, I couldn’t quite say. All I knew was that at some point in the afternoon, my anxiety started getting the best of me. 

I ended up locking myself in the bathroom at work and having a panic attack, then feeling bad that I wasn’t actually working and the guilt just made the attack worse and last longer, which just continued to fuel the guilt. It was a cycle that kept feeding itself. I finally managed to get myself under control enough to go back to work but Darcy knew something was going on and she sent me home. 

When I got in my car, I was feeling like garbage and needed to hear Walt’s voice, so I called him. I knew he might be busy and not be able to answer, but he did after just a couple of rings. 

“Hey, love,” he said, his voice instantly making me feel better. “Is everything alright?” 

I leaned my head back against the headrest of my seat. “I’m having a rough day.” 

“What’s wrong?” 

My teeth sunk into my lip as I chewed on it for a moment. “I don’t know,” I finally admitted. “A panic attack hit me out of nowhere. Darcy’s sending me home but I feel terrible that she has to do without me just because my stupid brain decided to have a random meltdown on Friday afternoon with literally no trigger.” 

“Hey, do not talk about yourself like that, young lady. I won’t have it,” he said, his voice taking on a very fatherly tone that he’d never used with me before. “Your brain is not stupid. Do you hear me?” 

I smiled. “Yes, bear, I hear you.” 

“Good. Now I want you to come home.”

I raised my head up from the headrest. “Come home? Not go home?” I questioned. “As in, you’re already there?” 

I could faintly hear him laugh. “I’m meant to be the detective in this family, Miss Sparks. Not you,” he teased. “But yes; I’m already here.”

“What are you doing home so early?” 

“We were able to connect our murder to similar ones in different states so we had to hand it over to the FBI. We’ll work it alongside them but for today, there’s nothing else I can do. Not until they review it. So for now I’m at home. I was going to surprise you with dinner when you got off work but I’ll have to find something else to surprise you with, unless you want dinner at two in the afternoon?” 

I laughed. “No. I just had lunch not long ago. I’m good. But you don’t have to surprise me with anything. Getting to spend the day with you is a good enough surprise.” 

“Then come home to me, darling. Let me hold you.”

I felt myself grin. “I’m on my way now. Love you.” 

“Love you, too, Fi. Be careful.” 

When I got home, Walter greeted me outside on the doorstep. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants with socks. His perpetually tired look seemed packed away for the moment and strangely enough, he looked actually, well…rested. It wasn’t something I saw very often. 

“Hiya, handsome,” I said, smiling at him as I walked up the steps. 

He returned my smile. “Hey,” he said as I reached him. He pulled me in for a short kiss. “How are you feeling?” 

“I’m alright.” He gave his little grunting-humming sound as if he didn’t believe me and I laughed. “I am alright,” I said. “I’m tired from my panic attack but just because it feels like I’m dying at the time, it doesn’t mean they can actually hurt me. So I’m okay.” 

“Would a cuddle make you feel better?” he asked, the corner of his mouth ticking up in a slight smile. 

My own smile couldn’t be bothered to play it cool. It spread across my whole mouth as I nodded. “Yeah, a cuddle would definitely make me feel better.” 

“Good.” 

He kissed my forehead, then took my hand and led me into the house. Inside, I stopped short in the entrance as I was greeted with the sight of the biggest blanket fort I’d ever seen. It was in the living room and made from the couch and kitchen chairs. Sheets were held to one another with heavy duty plastic clamps and draped across the whole thing, and inside I could see that it was stuffed with blankets and pillows. 

“What’s this all about?” I asked. 

He shrugged a shoulder as he looked a bit bashful. “I couldn’t surprise you with dinner but I thought this might turn your rough day around,” he said. “If it’s too childish -” 

“Shh,” I said, cutting him off. “Sometimes childish is good. I could definitely use a break from being a grown up for a little bit.” I kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” 

As much as I wanted to crawl right into the fort, I wanted to get comfortable first. I changed into a pair of leggings and one of Walter’s shirts, happy to do away with my bra. Then I pulled on some thick, cozy socks and padded back out to the living room. Walter was already inside. I could see his feet sticking out and noticed that there was a hole in the bottom of his sock. I made a mental note to toss it and buy him a new pair. He must have heard me because he started moving around, then pulled back one of the sheets that was draped down over the front. 

“There’s not quite so much room as I thought there’d be so it will be a bit of a squash and a squeeze in here,” he warned. 

I smiled. “I was planning on squashing and squeezing you anyway, so that’s fine.” 

I bent to my knees at the ‘doorway’ and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back as he laid down. The sheet dropped, covering the entrance to the fort and dimming the light inside. I gave Walt a final kiss, then lay my head down on his chest and wrapped my arm around his thick waist. He rubbed my back and ran his fingers through my hair, playing with strands of it.

“This is exactly what I needed and I didn’t even know it,” I said, rubbing my cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt. I could feel the texture of his chest hair beneath it. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome, my love,” he said, then kissed my forehead. 

My hand strayed from his waist, making its way under the hem of his shirt. “Can I touch you?”

He hummed. “Of course. But if it goes past that, we’ll have to take it out of the tent.”

“Afraid you’ll pull a muscle in here without more leg room?” I joked. 

He laughed. “No. I ran out of blankets to put down under us so I borrowed Faye’s. I can’t do that to her stuff,” he said. “But also…pulling a muscle is a possibility.” 

“I’ll behave myself then. On both accounts.” I slid my hand under his shirt and ran it across his stomach. He hissed and sucked in for a moment. I looked up at his face. “Sorry.” 

“It’s alright. It just always surprises me how cold you are.” 

I smiled. “That’s because you’re always so warm. Everything and everyone feels like an ice block in comparison.” 

He laughed, his fingers dancing up my spine. “That’s true.” 

I buried my fingers in the patch of hair on his stomach and let my hand warm up before moving it up to his chest. There was something so comforting about touching Walter. About feeling his skin against mine. He was warm and his hair was soft and I felt safe with my hand laying against his heart, feeling it beat underneath my palm. I kissed his chest through his shirt. “Thank you for loving me, bear.”

“Hey,” he said softly and I looked up at his face. “You never have to thank me for that. I’m honored that I get to love you.” His hand stilled at the back of my head, cradling it. “I never thought I’d be in love again. I thought I screwed it up with my marriage and that was it. But you gave me a second chance. And I know that I’m by no means perfect, and I know that I’ll manage to screw things up down the line somewhere, but now I know how important it is to try everything I can to make it work.” He brought his hand around to my cheek and stroked it with his thumb. “I’m not an easy person to love. I know that. But you never let me see how difficult it is, Fi. You don’t know how much I appreciate that.” 

I smiled. “I find you exceptionally easy to love, Walt. I’ve been in relationships before and I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you,” I said. “It breaks my heart to know that you have felt this way and you had to watch it fall apart even while you were trying to fix it. It hurts me to know you thought you’d never feel this way again.” I lightly scratched his skin through his chest hair. “But I am so happy that I get to be your second chance.” 

That weekend was Walt’s weekend to have Faye. Typically he’d pick her up in the afternoon and bring her home. But on Saturday, I picked her up instead. My cousin Mel had invited the two of us to go to the mall with her and her daughter Juniper. One of Faye and Juniper’s friends was moving soon and she wanted to buy her a going away present and asked Faye to help. I was tagging along just to spend time with them. And to also get a cookie from the cookie shop. 

“Didn’t this place used to be like, a big deal when you were our age?” Juniper asked Mel and me as we walked through the very empty shopping center.

“Oh, it was hopping back then. Saturdays were crazy and it would have already been packed by now,” Mel said. “But Fridays?” She looked at me. “Fiona and I were mall rats on Friday nights.” 

“Ew. What’s a mall rat?” Juniper asked. 

Mel and I both laughed. “It was someone who spent a lot of time at the mall,” Mel answered.

“What did you do here?” Faye asked, looking around at the closed stores.

“We’d just hang out,” I said. “We’d eat at the food court and walk around. Back then, there was a store in every part of the building and sometimes there were booths and kiosks set up in the center or walkways, too. It’s hard to picture but there was a lot more to look at than there is now.”

Mel nodded. “Which was good because Fiona and I had very different tastes at the time so there were stores for both of us.”

“Different how?” Juniper asked. 

“Well, I was more concerned with buying push up bras from Victoria’s Secret and tube tops from Wet Seal, and she was wanting to buy American Eagle jeans and tank tops from Aeropostale,” Mel said. “We always agreed on the music store, though. We’d hit up F.Y.E. and look at CDs for hours.” 

“What kind of music did you listen to?” Faye asked. 

“At your age? Boy bands,” I said. “There were a lot of arguments over who was better: Backstreet Boys or NSYNC.” 

“You listened to boy bands?” Juniper laughed. 

“Yes, squirt. We listened to boy bands on our Walkmans while skating around the neighborhood together. And it was the best,” I said. 

“It really was,” Mel agreed. “If we’d only known then.”

We walked through the mall, letting the girls take their time as they tried to decide what to buy their friend who was moving away. Nothing seemed to spark their interest until we came to the Build-A-Bear store. There was a cute stuffed penguin in the window that they seemed to spot at the same time. I guess their friend Lexi was a fan of penguins and collected them and making one for her seemed like the perfect gift to them. I thought it was sweet. And it reminded me that they were still young. Still innocent enough to want stuffed animals and to want to give them to each other. That time didn’t last long. With high school, boys, stress, anxiety, and everything that came with growing up, it would eventually wear that thread down and separate them from the things people deemed childish. But right then? Right then a stuffed penguin was the most genuine thing they could buy their friend to remember them by.

They wanted to do it on their own so Mel and I bought coffees and sat at a table just outside the shop where we could see them inside but they had the freedom to do it on their own like they wanted. As they moved to a different part of the store, Faye saw me and waved. I smiled and waved back, then she and Juniper disappeared behind the big machine with all of the stuffing inside it. 

“She’s a good kid,” Mel said. “And you both seem to get along really well.” 

“We do. I never thought this is where I’d end up. You know that. When did I ever picture myself with a guy who had a kid? Especially a teenager?” 

She shook her head. “Never. And honestly, it was a surprise when I found out you were dating him.”

“It could have gone so bad. She could have hated me. I mean, I remember being fourteen. I remember how angry I was at that age. And I had basically a perfect life. If Mom and Dad had gotten divorced and I had to watch some odd, gangly lady hit on Dad? I would have hated her.” 

Mel laughed. “You’re not an odd gangly lady,” she said. “And I know for a fact you weren’t ‘hitting on’ her dad in front of her. You don’t even know how to flirt so you definitely weren’t forcing that with his daughter around.” 

“You know what I’m saying, though. She really could have hated me and no one would have blamed her for it.”

“I’m sure she was worried you might hate her, too. Juniper has friends who’s step-moms want nothing to do with them. Faye probably knows the exact same girls.”

“That’s something I never understood and I understand it even less now that I’m with Walt,” I said. “Why would you ever get into a relationship with a guy who has kids if you don’t want anything to do with them? And why would you want to be with someone who could abandon their own kid that easily? I just…” I shook my head. “I don’t get it. Honestly, I don’t.”

“I don’t get it, either, Fi. Some people are just selfish, I guess.” 

It took the girls close to an hour to do their thing. Mel and I talked and people watched while they did, occasionally catching glimpses of them in the store. Finally we could see them get in line to pay. Once I saw they were nearly done, I drank the rest of my coffee and took my and Mel’s cups to the trash. I was walking back to the table when Walt called. 

“Um…listen,” he said with a sigh after we’d greeted each other. “I know we both loathe socializing but…my cousin called. He lives out of state and we rarely get to see one another, but he’s been away for holiday and he’s having a layover here and wants to visit. I told him he could.” 

“A cousin? I finally get to meet another branch of the Marshall tree? I’m very intrigued.”

He did his grunting-humming thing. “Before you get your hopes up, he’s not like me. He…talks. A lot.”

I laughed as I joined Mel back at our table. “Are you saying your brooding nature may not be genetic?” 

He chuckled. “No. That’s the English coming out in me. But you’ll see soon enough. I’m heading to the airport to go get him now,” he said. “I thought instead of cooking tonight we could go out for dinner. Do you and Faye want to meet us when you’re done?” 

“Yeah, that sounds good. Just let me know where you’re going after you pick him up and we’ll meet you.”

“Thank you, love. See you soon.”

I hung up as Faye and Juniper were coming out of the store. Juniper was holding the traditional Build-A-Bear gift box that looked like a house and Faye was holding a plastic gift bag. They came and sat at the table with us and Juniper showed us the stuffed penguin they made. It was pale blue and wearing a scarf and ice skates. It was adorable. I didn’t know their friend Lexi but I couldn’t see how she wouldn’t love it. When she was done, Faye showed us what was in her bag. I had assumed it was something that would go with the penguin, but I was wrong. She pulled out a teddy bear with dark brown fur that was dressed in jeans and a blue sweater. 

“Aw, how cute!” I said. “Did you make it for yourself?”

“Actually I…made it for you,” she said, her mouth twisting off to the side in a worried look that reminded me so much of Walter. She held the bear out towards me.

“For me?” I asked, taking it from her. She nodded. “Faye, that was so sweet! Thank you!” I didn’t know why she’d made it for me but I couldn’t stop smiling as I looked him over. After a moment, I saw that there was a police badge clipped to the side of his pants and suddenly it all clicked for me. “Wait…” I looked back to her, grinning. “Is this your dad?”

She nodded again but smiled properly that time. “The sweater looked like one of his and when I saw the police badge I thought it would be fun to make him for you. You know, since you call him ‘bear’.” 

“It’s perfect. I love it! My own little Walter Bear for when he’s not home.”

“I thought maybe he can be friends with the monkey and hedgehog that Dad won you at Naples.” 

My face hurt from smiling so wide. “Yes! He’ll make an excellent friend for them. Thank you.”

She leaned over and hugged me and I hugged her back tight. I couldn’t imagine trying to push Faye out of the picture. She was an extension of Walter and if I loved him, then I had to love her. She wasn’t a burden in our relationship; she was a bonus.  

Once they had their penguin, the girls were done with the mall. Faye and I said bye to Mel and Juniper and then we went to my car. Walter texted as I was getting it warmed up and said that he and his cousin were going to a diner that was about midway between the airport and the mall and sent me the address. When we got there, I saw Walter’s truck. He and his cousin were standing at the tailgate, waiting for us. There wasn’t a parking spot beside it but there was one directly across from it. As I parked, Faye turned her head to look at Walter. 

“Wait, who’s that with Dad?” she asked and I realized that I’d forgotten to tell her about her cousin. She unbuckled so she could peer through the back window better. Then she gasped. “Is that…? It is!” She flung open her door and started clambering to get out. 

“Watch for cars!” I told her. 

I watched her go across the short distance to Walter and once she was safely there, I turned off the car and grabbed my purse, then joined them. Faye was being swallowed up in a hug by their cousin who I was surprised to see was bigger than Walt. They seemed to match each other height wise but he was broader. After he released Faye, he looked at me and I could see the family resemblance. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought they were brothers. Walter’s cousin had shorter hair than him but they shared the same brown curls, they sported the same thick beard, and their eyes were practically identical. And when he smiled at me, he even had the same lines that crinkled around them just like Walter’s. 

“You must be Fiona,” he said, his voice surprising me with the thick southern accent. 

“I am.” I held out my hand and he shook it. “You must be one of the Texas cousins, right?” 

He laughed. “Yes, ma’am. I’m Sy. It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said. “Walter ain’t much of a talker but I knew you had to be something special because he won’t shut up about you anytime we do talk.” 

I smiled. “I hope he doesn’t bore you too much.”

He shook his head as he let go of my hand. “Not at all. I’m happy for him,” he said. “And I appreciate y’all letting me visit. I know it was last minute but I hadn’t been planning on coming this way until my flights got mixed up heading back from vacation and I ended up here. Then my layover got extended until later tonight and I figured if I didn’t come by now, it’d be a while before I got the chance to again.”  

“Of course. I’m excited to meet you. Walt has already met a lot of my family but Faye is the only one from his that I’ve gotten to meet in person so far. I’ve spoken to his parents and Charlie on the phone a few times but that’s it. So it’s nice to put a face to a name now.”

“Same,” he said. “Although, for me it’s putting your voice to your face because Walt sent me your picture not long after y’all started dating. Told me he was going to marry you.” 

“Stop,” Walter ordered as I laughed.

“What? You don’t want her to know how love sick you are?” Sy teased. Walter gave him a stern look but Sy just grinned at him before clapping his hand on his shoulder. “I bet you wished you’d ignored my call earlier, huh?” 

“I can still send you back to the airport,” Walter said. 

Sy laughed. “Yeah but you won’t.”

“You have far too much faith in that.”

“If you do, I’ll call your momma and tell her what you did.” 

Walter crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ll call Mum and tattle on me?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Like we’re twelve again?” 

Sy gave another laugh and nodded. “Yep. Just like that. I ain’t got no shame about it.” 

“You don’t have shame about anything.” 

I saw Sy’s face do the same frowning-smile that I’d seen Walter do before. “You’re not wrong.”

“I rarely am,” Walt said

“Can we go inside? I’m freezing and I want a milkshake,” Faye said. 

Sy laughed. “That makes sense. You’re cold, so let’s drink something frozen.” 

“It makes as much sense as drinking coffee when it’s hot outside. It’s like a hundred degrees in Iraq in the summertime and you were there for ten years, did you not drink coffee at all in the summer?” 

“Coffee is what keeps people alive. It’s different.”

“And milkshakes are what makes being alive worth it.”

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I can’t really disagree with you on that one, kiddo,” he said. “So let’s go get us a milkshake.” 

“Banana and peanut butter?” she asked, looking up at him.

“You and your daddy can keep that one for yourselves. I’ll take chocolate.” 

Walter grabbed my hand and gave it a light squeeze before he began walking towards the diner, leading me with him. I turned and pressed a quick kiss to his shoulder and before I could move my head, he kissed the top of it. 

Once we were inside, we didn’t have to wait long for a table. Walter and I sat together and Sy sat next to Faye. She borrowed a pen from me and flipped her paper placemat over and started doodling on it. “You said you were coming back from vacation,” she said to Sy. “Where did you go?” 

“I went to Florida with some of my old army buddies.”

“Was it fun?” 

“It was alright. They seemed to enjoy it,” he said. “Me personally? I’ve seen enough sand in my lifetime, I don’t have any desire to ever set foot on it again.”

“Are you still in the army?” I asked. 

He shook his head. “No, ma’am. I retired a few years ago. I felt like I needed to be closer to home,” he said. “I’m a firefighter now.” 

I smiled. “Did you and Walter ever consider jobs that weren’t superheroes?” 

He laughed. “There was a minute where I thought I might want to be a chef, but that was it. I was stuck on being in the army since I was a little kid. As a matter of a fact, when Walt and his family would come visit us, me and him would usually be out in the woods playing army men or SWAT team. It didn’t surprise anyone when we both ended up going that way with our careers.”

“Walt went on his first SWAT raid since we’d been together last week and I was a nervous wreck until he called me and told me he was safe after it was over. I don’t know how your families handled you both being in dangerous fields like that.” 

“We put them through a lot, that’s for sure,” Sy said. 

“You longer than me,” Walter pointed out. “I’ve stayed relatively safe in homicide. You jumped out of the frying pan into the fire with your job change. Quite literally.” 

“I did but you know I couldn’t have done anything else. I mean, can you imagine me in a suit every day going into an office and selling…insurance or something?” Sy shook his head. “There’s not a lot of civilian jobs that would’ve worked for me,” he said. “Same for you. If you left homicide right now, tell me that you could take a job where you didn’t have a gun on you twenty-four-seven.”

“You know I couldn’t.”

“Exactly,” he said. “Coming home didn’t have nothing to do with being safer or not putting my life on the line for other people. It just meant doing it closer to my family. I get to see them more. I don’t miss out on stuff like I used to. And if I die doing this, they don’t have to wait for a casket to be sent home so they can bury me.”

“That’s depressing,” Faye said, looking at him. 

“But it’s the truth.” He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. “We won’t talk about it anymore, though,” he said. “Tell me what’s been going on with you? How’s school?”

“It’s…meh.”

“I heard it was a little more than ‘meh’. I heard you broke a boy’s finger a few weeks ago.” 

Faye looked at Walter. “Dad, you told him?” 

“Did I tell him that my daughter stood up for herself when a boy put his hands on her? Yes.” 

“Why?” she asked. 

“Because he was proud,” Sy answered for him. “In our day, girls were taught that if boys were mean to her it meant he liked her. The moment your daddy found out you were going to be a girl, he was determined to make sure you knew that wasn’t true and you knew how to take up for yourself. Not just as a kid but when you get older, too.”

“Especially when you get older. It doesn’t get better, it’s just different,” Walter said. “Because no matter the age, men are -” 

“Pigs, yes,” Faye said, shaking her head. “I know.” 

“He’s right. And he should know all about it,” Sy said to her. “Because cops are pigs, too.” 

I didn’t mean to laugh but I couldn’t help the snort that came out. Walter looked at me. “Really?” he asked, with a raised eyebrow. 

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. 

“If they call cops pigs, what do they call firefighters?” Faye asked Sy. 

“Heroes.” 

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing that time. Walter watched my face and shook his head at me before looking back to Sy. “You’re paying for this meal,” he said. “And I’m getting pie afterwards.” 

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

I liked having dinner with Sy. He and Walter playfully bickered throughout the whole meal and it was nice to see Walt joking around with someone. And Sy wasn’t intimidated. Even when I thought Walter may have said something that crossed the line, Sy would just laugh and dish it right back. They clearly loved each other, even though it didn’t necessarily always sound like it. 

After we ate, Walter and Faye went to the front of the diner to look at the dessert case and I stayed with Sy. “You’re good for him,” he said. “I haven’t seen him this happy since…well, I don’t know when. But it’s been a long time, that’s for sure.” 

I smiled. “He makes me happy, too.” 

“I wouldn’t say this in front of Faye but Walt never had with Angie what y’all seem to have,” he said. “I know he loved her at the time but that’s not always enough.”

“Despite what the Beatles say?” I joked. 

He laughed. “Yes, ma’am. You need love but love isn’t all you need,” he said. He was quiet for a moment but I could see it was because he was thinking so I waited. “He told me how you said you were proud of him. Proud of what he does, who he is.” 

I felt a little taken aback that he would mention that but I nodded. “I am. I’m incredibly proud of him.” 

“See…you’ve got to understand that Walt doesn’t hear that much. He never has. His father is the typical Englishman and keeps all his emotions buttoned up. He didn’t brag on him or Charlie ever. Not out of meanness but just ‘cause that’s how he was raised. And his mother, my aunt, she’s sweet and she made sure Walt and Charlie knew she loved them but it was still done with her husband’s English mentality of only a few words,” he said. 

“Then when he met Angie, she never liked him being a part of SWAT. She wanted him to change to something less dangerous. He held his ground until she had Faye and then he changed over to being a detective, but it still wasn’t what she wanted.” He let out a breath. “The point is…he’s always tried hard and it’s never really been acknowledged. At this point, he does it because that’s just who he is. He runs himself into the ground to do his job. And you are the first person who’s just flat out told him you’re proud of him like that.” 

I remembered the night I’d told Walter how proud I was of him and he’d cried. I’d just thought he was exhausted but hearing Sy talk about it brought a new light to it. Especially knowing it had meant enough for him to tell Sy about it. “I’ll make it a point to tell him more often then.”

“Whether you know it or not, that man takes everything you say to heart. The amount of times we talk and he says, ‘Fiona said this’, ‘Fi said that’, is more than I can count, honestly. And I don’t have a problem with it. Because everything he tells me is something good. I just…I know he’s not great at opening up so I know he probably hasn’t told you what it meant to him but…it meant a lot.”

“Thank you for telling me,” I said. “I’m glad he has you to talk to.” 

“I’m glad I’ve got him, too,” he said as Walt and Faye began walking back towards us. Sy shook his head at me. “Just don’t tell him I told you that. Far as he knows, I only like to call and agitate him.”

I smiled then mimed zipping my lips. “I won’t say a word about it.”

We stayed at the diner probably longer than the staff would normally be happy about but despite Walter’s quiet, introverted nature, Sy was loud and outgoing and made friends with our waitress fast. He explained the situation about catching up with family while killing time - two birds with one stone, he said - and the woman, who looked old enough to be his grandmother, told him to take all the time he needed. For every ‘sweetheart’ and ‘honey’ she called him, he flashed her a grin and made sure to use all of his manners. I could hear Walter quietly groaning at his antics, but I found it fascinating. They looked so much alike and were clearly close but they were so different from one another. 

When we finally left the diner, it was dark out. The already cold air had grown almost frigid and even with my coat on, I was shivering. So we didn’t linger with goodbyes. Faye gave Sy a hug, then huddled next to Walter for warmth. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side. Sy turned to me then. 

“You alright with a hug or is it too soon?” he asked. 

I smiled. “No, I’m alright with it. I feel like I’ve known you longer than four hours.”

“It feels like six at least, right?” he joked.

I laughed and nodded. “At least, yeah.” He opened his arms and pulled me into a big bear hug and I noticed that he ran warm just like Walter. I hadn’t realized that ‘human space heater’ was an inheritable trait until then. “It was really nice meeting you, Sy. If you were going to get stuck somewhere with a delayed flight, I’m glad you got stuck with us.”  

“It was good meeting you, too,” he said. He released me from our hug and took a step back. “And I definitely could’ve gotten stuck somewhere worse. Like the airport Quiznos.” 

“That would have been much worse,” I agreed with a laugh. “Next time you’ll have to come back on purpose and we can cook for you at the house instead of you paying for us to eat out.”

“That sounds like a deal.” He looked at Walter then tilted his head towards the truck. “We better mosey on down to the airport.”

Walter gave Faye a hug, then gave me a kiss goodbye, then he watched the two of us get into the car and leave the parking lot. Once we got home, Faye and I both changed into pajamas then made hot chocolate to drink while we watched a show about baking fails in the living room while we waited for Walter to come home. But she fell asleep about half an hour into it. I did my best to make her comfortable there, carefully placing a pillow under her head and covering her up with a blanket and tucking her in. Then I made sure the doors were locked and sent Walter a text telling him that I was getting ready for bed and to try to be quiet as he came in because Faye was asleep on the couch. 

After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I went to our bedroom. I saw Walter Bear in his bag and I took him out, spraying him with some of the real Walter’s cologne, then put him on his side of the bed before turning out the lights and laying down. I had a hard time sleeping on my own anymore so I was awake when Walt came home. He was trying to be quiet but he was so heavy that his boots made a clomping sound as he came down the hall towards our room. He carefully pushed the cracked door open, allowing himself inside before closing it completely. 

“Hey,” I whispered to him. 

He froze by the bed. “Hey,” he whispered back. “Did I wake you?” 

“No. I was too lazy to get my weighted blanket and without it or you, I can’t sleep,” I said. “Did Sy get on his flight okay?” 

“Yeah. Thank you for letting him join us, by the way. I know it wasn’t what we had planned for this evening.” 

“We were planning on having dinner with Faye to celebrate your weekend off, that’s what we did. We just had an extra guest,” I said. “One, who, is quite entertaining, by the way.” 

My eyes had adjusted to the dark and I watched him shake his head as he walked to his dresser. “Don’t ever tell him that. He will take it and run.”

I smiled. “I like him. He’s nice. And really funny. I loved the stories he told about you two as teenagers.” 

He groaned as he began emptying his pockets. “He embellishes things, by the way. Not all of those were true,” he said. “But he liked you, too. Though you are far more likable, so that makes sense.” 

“So I have his seal of approval?” 

He turned towards me as he pulled his sweater over his head, followed by his t-shirt, then tossed them in the clothes hamper. “You do.”

“Did you really tell him that you were going to marry me after we met?” 

He let out a sigh as he kicked off his boots. Then he unbuckled his jeans and tugged them off. “Not that soon but…yes, I told him that I wanted to marry you fairly early on,” he said. “Does that bother you?” 

“Bother me? No. I think it’s sweet.” 

He came to the bed and pulled the covers back but stopped short of climbing in beside me. I didn’t know why until he held up my teddy bear. “And who is this?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. 

I smiled as I took it from him. “This is Walter Bear,” I said. “Faye made him for me today.” 

He looked confused as he finally lay down beside me. “She made you a stuffed animal version of me?” 

“Yeah, because I call you ‘bear’,” I said. “It was really sweet of her. They’re not cheap. So I’m tasking you with somehow funneling money from me back to her without her knowing that I’m paying for it.”

He laughed and shook his head. “No you’re not.”

“She paid for it with her own money.”

“And I will give her an extra allowance or something but you’re not paying for a gift that she gave you.”

“I can bring her extra cookies home.” 

He did his frowny thought face as he squinted. “You could bring me extra cookies home and I’ll funnel the money.” 

I laughed. “You’re easily bought, mister.”

“Only by you, Miss Sparks.” 

I reached out and put my hand on his cheek. “When we get married, are you still going to call me Miss Sparks or will you call me Mrs. Marshall?”

“You still want to marry me?” he asked, his voice quiet. 

I smiled and nodded. “You’re the only man I’ve ever wanted to marry.” I brushed my thumb against his skin softly. “Most girls dream about their weddings - my cousin Mel even had this big binder full of things that she ripped out of magazines that she wanted for hers - but I never did that. I never pictured myself in that position,” I said. “Even now, I don’t think in terms of a big wedding. I don’t see colors or a cake or a reception. I see you and me. Exchanging rings, or having a first dance, but that’s it. Everything else is hazy and in the background. The only thing I see clearly is…you.” 

He was quiet for a moment then softly nodded his head against his pillow. “I see you clearly, too, Fi.”

[bomberqueen17]

a week

hoo boy it has been A Week.

i keep thinking that i haven't worked all that hard this week really, but then i think about what's been going on, and like, yeah ok, i have done a lot. i've been really really tired every night. i've had almost no free time. i thought about going to see the barbie movie since everyone is, but i really truly simply just did not have time. behind the cut is just me sort of loosely recounting this week, minus the hospital adventures. (My finger is healed, if weirdly itchy in one spot, and I've got four more days of antibiotics about it?)

i spent time every day over at dude's aunt's house with his mom. i hadn't thought she'd need me thursday but then she texted to ask when i was coming, lolsob, so i got my laundry hung out and went over. i just hadn't asked, and i had assumed she'd mention it, and had built it up that i was going to get stuff done for myself that day. but then i didn't. i only went over there for a couple of hours, but it wore me out.

today we were only there for maybe an hour, not quite, and dude came too and we got a bunch of stuff removed. i keep not quite believing there's more. but there's more. there's always more.

i spent thursday afternoon and all but about an hour and a half of friday cleaning my own basement. and my own basement is not nearly so good. it's awful actually. there's so much shit that i put away not very carefully and it's wrecked now and honestly why was i keeping it anyway, and i need to just-- get rid of it, and i don't.... know... how... it's exhausting.

and i know, I know! what would make it so much easier, is that so much of the shit I have hoarded, not to put too fine a point on it, is stuff I want to use to make things, and if I just had like. IDK like maybe a week, let's say. During which I could just. Lay out and work on a bunch of projects with no other obligations. I know what would happen is I would realize that a lot of these carefully-hoarded things I've set aside to craft with are garbage really and my time would be better spent working with better materials. And then I'd throw them out! I know this sounds like wishful thinking but it has actually happened several times, I think I'm finally good enough at the things I want to do as hobbies that I feel able to let go of things that haven't worked, let go of things that aren't ideal, etc. We found out where all the textile recycling places are while clearing out Auntie's dragon-hoard of fabrics, and now I know, and I could let stuff go to that, I know I could. They take old shoes! I could do it.

I just don't have the time, which is frustrating. And so a lot of the cleaning I did is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. but those deck chairs are rearranged now, and the crucial thing is that when the movers come to take away our broken dryer and poorly-functioning washing machine, and give us Auntie's working ones instead (her washer is even OLDER than my nearly-unusable one from the 70s, it's kind of amazing, but ilke, you know what, why not, it would be amazing not to have to stand there holding the knob down the whole time it fills) they will be able to get in and out easily and we won't be paying them $225/hr to shimmy around my piles of junk. The front of the basement is now just like. Well I even mopped the floor, ok, so, if that means anything.

It doesn't, except to me. But there it is.

I am so tired. We got the guest bed taken apart; we're getting a fold-out couch in there instead, from Auntie's house, so that the room is more usable as an office. We'd been discussing that change for a long time. I was dreading to find out what's under that bed but it turns out almost nothing, refreshingly. Two strange boxes that contain things my sister left there when she lived in that house in 2007, but apart from that, just a whole lot of dust. Now that that's cleaned up, probably Dude's allergies will be better actually.

I knocked off work at 4:30 pm and took a shower and then we went out to dinner, and I made dude come for a walk with me around a local park, to do a Pokemon Go thing. He was amused. I asked him if he was having fun and he said "I have put myself into a place where I am enjoying this" which is familiar, honestly; I do that all the time. I realize a thing is just what's happening so I decide that I'm going to enjoy that however I can manage to, and usually it works.

I did get a tiny bit of writing done this morning, too, so there's that. But mostly this week was spent going through things and clearing out Dude's aunt's house. And that's what it is.

I'm headed back to the farm tomorrow. I need to work out how to cram things into my car effectively. I believe in myself. It'll be fine.

I'm so tired, and it's a chicken week coming up so I need to get my shit together. It'll be fine. I'm fine. God I could really use a whole day just-- mostly in bed. Wouldn't that be something! No I'd get too anxious. But a day reading. OMG Martha Wells put a new book out like a month ago and I haven't even bought it. Haven't even read an excerpt or summary. Haven't even looked at it. What would it be like to have time for that!

Someday.

[fanartandfanfiction]

HUMBLE Chapter three

A Charlastor fic. Find it on AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54165058/chapters/137156539#workskin

Summary: Charlie and Alastor spend some time together and Charlie's dinner companion causes a stir...

Alastor didn’t sleep much, so he was up with the sun. He dressed for the day and headed to the kitchen to put on some coffee. He saw the light on under the door as he approached. Of COURSE she’d be up already. Some sort of obnoxious song was playing and she was singing along. 

“ The best thing about beeein a woman

Is the prerogative to have a little fun!

WOAH OH OH!”  

He silently appeared in the kitchen, not wanting to risk her seeing the door open. He leaned against the breakfast bar, resting his chin on his hands and smiling. She was preparing a bowl of something and had no idea he was there.

“ Man! I feel like a wo- “ she turned around and shrieked. “FUCK! You’ve gotta wear a bell or something!” 

“But then I wouldn’t get the joy of seeing that expression!” He grinned. 

“Jeez, thanks for the heart attack, Al. How’d you sleep?”

“Wonderfully! I got a full two hours.” 

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” She sat her bowl down and sat across from him. 

“Charlie, dear. WHAT are you eating?” 

“Um, cereal? They’re hell-o’s.”

“They’re garbage.” He snapped his finger and made her bowl disappear.

“HEY!” 

“I cannot sit idly by while you ingest that sugary sludge. I’m going to fix you a proper breakfast.” 

“I LIKE that sugary sludge.” Charlie grumbled as she poured a large cup of coffee. He watched in horror as she added more and more scoops of sugar. Her eyes flicked up towards him. “Don’t you DARE take my coffee.” 

“Fine, I’ll just watch you ruin perfectly good coffee.” He grimaced when she added creamer. “Charlotte, you’re killing me.” 

“So get your own cup of coffee and don’t judge mine.” She smirked and sipped it. She closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh. 

He took the time to really examine the princess of hell. Her massive amount of hair was piled on top of her head and resembled a bird’s nest. She seemed to be bright eyed and bushy tailed with no trace of the downtrodden girl he’d glimpsed last night. She seemed to be wearing an oversized shirt with no pants, a fact she either wasn’t aware of or didn’t care about. The shirt went down to her thighs. His eyes widened when she turned around and reached for something off the top shelf and he saw a glimpse of bright pink underwear. She turned back around and saw his shell shocked expression. “What?” 

“I don’t know about you, but i was raised to wear pants to the table.” He smirked. 

“Oh!” Her cheeks flushed even brighter. “Oh god, I’m sorry. I’m always here by myself. Angel and Vaggie won’t be up for hours. I didn’t even think about…” she blushed and sipped her coffee. 

“Quite alright, dear. I thought perhaps you had a rather strange policy and I’d be forced to abandon mine as well.” 

Charlie choked on her coffee and laughed. “No! Oh god, I’m sorry. This is mortifying. I’m not making a very good impression.” 

“No, but you’re making an interesting one.” He smiled. “What ARE you doing up at this hour?” 

“I’ve always been an early riser. This is just a part of my routine. I come down here and have a quick breakfast and go over my plans for the day.” She gestured towards a bulky planner beside her. 

Alastor grimaced. “What is that thing? You’ve stuffed it to the gills!” 

“Oh! That book basically contains my life. It’s my planner, diary, scrapbook…proooobably shouldn’t have told you all that.” 

“Don’t worry, darling, I have no desire to read your innermost thoughts. I imagine it to be quite frightening.” He rolled up his sleeves and began getting ingredients out of the fridge. “How do you take your eggs?” 

She blinked at him in confusion. “Um…cooked?” 

“I mean scrambled, sunny side up, fried…” 

“Oh! Um…I don’t really know.” 

Alastor banged his head against the refrigerator. “You dear, sweet child. I don’t know whether to pity you or throttle you.”

“Excuse me?!”

“How do you not even know how to cook an egg?!” 

“Because I never had to! I grew up in a freaking palace! And that’s where I lived until I bought this place and moved in a couple years ago. No one ever taught me anything because they just assumed I’d have it brought to me on a silver platter. Do you know how embarrassing it was to not even know how to wash clothing?! So forgive me for not knowing how to cook a fucking egg!” 

Alastor grinned widely at her. The little demon Belle’s horns had begun to sprout and her eyes glowed red. “Oh my! I’m tempted to continue riling you up to see what happens.” 

Charlotte’s eyes widened and she immediately shifted back. “I’m sorry, I have to go.” She grabbed her book and bolted for the door. He managed to get to it with his shadow before her and keep her from leaving. “Alastor, let me go.”

“Forgive me, Charlotte. We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot this morning. I didn’t intend to upset you. Can we start fresh and have a civilized breakfast?” 

Charlie’s arms were crossed and her face was scrunched up in the most adorable way. “Are you going to stop being a dick?” 

“I make no promises.” He grinned. 

“Fine. But only because you stole my breakfast and I’m hungry.” She sat back down at the counter and huffed. 

“If you’re good, I’ll make you a special treat I just know you’ll love!” 

“Can we stop with the condescension? I’m not a child. I’m MUCH older than you. I’m not a silly little girl or a puppy to pat on the head. Got it?!” 

A red swirl of magic had surrounded him, coiling like a snake. He grinned widely at Charlie. “Didn’t think you’d be into tying people up, doll!” 

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand, vanishing the magic. “God, you sound like angel dust.” 

“Only teasing, sugar. It was an impressive little display.” 

He turned his attention to cooking, which Charlie was grateful for. GOD could he be obnoxious! She had not had enough coffee to deal with him this morning. She downed her cup and turned to grab the pot. When she turned back around to refill her cup, it was already sitting there waiting for her. She blinked at it and glanced at Alastor, who was still working away at the stove. She smiled and sipped her coffee. It was exactly how she took it. A peace offering. 

Charlie was completely absorbed in her planner when a plate was set down in front of her. She jumped and looked up in surprise, having completely forgotten that Alastor was there. “Oh! Thank you.” 

“What’s on your busy schedule today?” He sipped his coffee and smiled. 

“Weeeeell I was hoping you’d have some time this morning to go over some of the business stuff with me, as well as plans for the hotel. After that I’ve blocked off a few hours to finish cleaning out the attic, and then I have a dinner meeting with a potential investor!” 

“Oh? And who would that be?” 

“His name is Vox, the demon with the tv head?” 

Alastor’s head snapped up and loud crackling and static filled the room. “ No.” 

“No what?”

“We do not need to associate with that grandstanding buffoon!”

Charlie raised her eyebrows. “Sounds like someone has some beef with Vox.”

“He’s an arrogant narcissistic asshole who is only interested in boosting his reputation and fortune.” 

“Sure, sure, you don’t seem personally invested at all. Well, you don’t have to join us for dinner.” 

“Absolutely not, Charlotte. We cannot trust that overlord!” 

“Do you REALLY wanna lecture me about trusting overlords, Alastor? Because your reputation is far worse than his.” 

“Surely you could find someone else to be an investor! Let me use my connections and set up a meeting.” 

Charlie sighed. “Alastor, we can’t afford to make an enemy of the Vee’s. I’m not going to agree to anything, sign any contracts, or make any deals. We are simply having dinner to discuss the hotel.” 

Alastor was silent. “I suppose I can’t stop you from going. But I think this is a bad idea.” 

What could Vox possibly want to do with the hotel? What would he gain from investing? What would he be getting out of this? He got his answer when Charlie came down the stairs that evening. She was talking to Angel as she fastened her earring. “I should be back in a couple of hours. Are you sure I’m dressed alright?” 

“Are you kidding?! You look smokin’ baby!”

“Thank you, but that’s not what I meant. I want to look professional and classy. Of course he picked a fancy restaurant.” 

“Let’s get strawberry’s opinion. Well? Is she a classy looking lady or what?”

Charlie was dressed in a deep blue cocktail dress that hit just above the knee, with sapphire earrings and tall heels. Her makeup was soft and her hair was curled neatly. 

“You look lovely, doll. Do you require an escort to your destination?” 

“No, thanks though! He’s sending a car.” 

“Remember, Toots. Confidence. So put on a smile, push up your tits, and win him over. Seriously, do those go any higher? Maybe you got a wonder bra or somethin’?” 

“Angel!” Charlie hissed. 

“C’mere, let me help.” He yanked her into the tiny office behind the counter. 

“ANGEL!” Charlie shouted. 

“It looks better!” 

Charlie came rushing out of the back, cheeks burning brightly. Angel just looked smug. 

“I’m tellin’ ya, Charlie. You’ve got a hot body. Use it! What good is it to look like that and not use it to your advantage? Take it from me, my tits have gotten me plenty of advantages. Actually, this is just chest fluff, but if I make it look like tits, I’ve got idiots drooling all over me.” 

“Charlotte does not need to use her body to succeed!” Alastor’s voice crackled. 

“Calm down, grandpa, I ain’t tellin’ her to sleep with him! Though it would help…” they both jumped as the static increased. “Jeez you’re uptight! I was kidding. Cool your jets. I’m just saying, I know Charlie can give a fantastic pitch, it just doesn’t hurt to put it in pretty packaging. Your car’s here, toots. Where ya havin’ dinner?”

“Chez Mal. Oh boy. Wish me luck!” Charlie walked out the front door of the hotel. 

“What’s the problem, strawberry? Feelin’ jealous?” Angel batted his eyes at him. “Because if you’re lookin’ for some company-“ Angel was stopped in his tracks by a shadow wrapping around him.

“Let’s get one thing straight, my effeminate fellow. Charlie may put up with your crass behavior, but I will not. You will speak to me with respect and I shall extend the same courtesy to you. Do you understand?” 

“Ooh, harder, deer daddy!” Angel grinned. 

“What's going on here?!” Vaggie said as she entered the hotel. 

“Just having a conversation, doll.” Alastor smiled. 

“Let. Him. Go.” 

“Calm down, Vagatha.” He released Angel. 

“That’s not my name. Where’s Charlie? I’ve been out all day passing out flyers for the hotel and doing the weekly shopping.” 

“She left for her meeting.” Angel replied, examining his nails and looking bored. 

“What meeting?” 

“The dinner meeting with Vox.” 

“WHAT?!” 

Angel blinked in surprise. “She didn’t tell you?”

“No she didn’t fucking tell me! Because she knows I wouldn’t have let her go!”

“Sorry toots, but you don’t own her and you can’t control her. No matter how much you want to.” Angel smirked. 

“And you! You know Vox is an asshole! You let her go?!” She snarled at Alastor. 

“To echo the spider, I don’t own her. I can’t control her. I did try to talk her out of it.” 

“Fuck! I don’t trust any of the Vee’s.” 

Alastor had an idea. “I coooould send my shadow to keep an eye on her. For a price.”

“I’m not selling you my fucking soul.”

“And I’m not interested in possessing it.”

“Forget it. I’m not making any deals with you. I’ll just go find her myself.”

“And do what, exactly? Drag her out of there? Scold her like a child?” 

“Fuck you! I can’t believe you two.” She headed upstairs and began calling Charlie. 

“Ignore her. She’s just bitter cuz she can’t get Charlie on her team.” Angel snorted. 

“I’m afraid I don’t follow?” 

“Vaggie is a taco eater. Charlie, while eating the occasional taco, prefers the sausage.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“She’s a lesbian! And Charlie ain’t!” Husk raised his head from the bar where he’d been passed out. 

“Oooooh. I see. Now I understand her behavior.” This was an interesting bit of information to have. “And does Charlotte know?”

Angel laughed loudly. “Charlie wouldn’t know someone was hittin’ on her if her life depended on it. She just thinks everyone wants to be her friend.”

Oh dear. That could be a problem. Because someone like Vox would absolutely use that to his advantage. Angel finished his drink, and when he turned around, Alastor was gone. 

“Charlotte! You look breathtaking this evening.” Vox helped her out of the car and kissed her cheek. 

“Thank you! I wasn’t sure what to wear, I don’t go to places like this a lot.”

“That, my dear, is a shame. A woman like you should be spoiled! Come, we’ve got a reservation for the finest table in the place.” He offered his elbow and Charlie took it, feeling a bit self conscious. He led her inside and pulled out her chair for her. She thanked him and tried to remember the pitch she’d prepared. 

A waiter appeared and poured them each a glass of wine. Charlie looked around and felt confused. It seemed to be an awfully romantic place for a meeting.

“Something on your mind, darling?” He smiled at her.

“I was just admiring the view. It’s lovely, you can see the whole city from here.” She smiled as she looked out the large picture window.

“Yes, the view IS stunning. I could stare at it all day.” Vox was smiling at her and laying on the charm. 

My god, Charlie WAS oblivious. Alastor slapped his palm against his face. He’d gone to the restaurant in case he needed to make a quick rescue, but for now he was outside and letting his shadow do the spy work. 

“I bet you can see the hotel from here!” Charlie grinned. Vox’s face (screen?) fell as he realized his flirting had gone right over her head. “I’m super excited to tell you about everything we have to offer! I even brought a binder you can take with you full of information about the project.” She snapped her fingers and a hot pink binder appeared.

Alastor laughed hysterically upon seeing Vox’s expression, making the other demons on the street scatter. Clearly he’d thought they’d put business aside and it would be a romantic evening. He’d underestimated Charlie.

They all did. 

45 minutes later, Charlie reached the end of her presentation and smiled widely. “Well?” 

“That was…thorough.” He smiled.

“You can take the binder with you to show the other Vees. I highlighted the important parts!” She shoved the binder at him.

He flipped it open and frowned. “It’s all highlighted.”

“Yep!” 

He shut the binder and gave her a tight smile. “Thank you for this. I’ll have to give it some thought.”

“That’s all I’m asking for!”

“Perhaps we can put business aside for the evening?”

“Oh, of course! I’m sorry, once I get turned on it’s hard to turn me back off!” She giggled. Vox choked on his wine. Alastor laughed hysterically. 

“Are you alright?!” 

“Yes, sorry about that.” He gave her a charming smile. “I have to say, Charlotte, that I find you quite enchanting.” 

“Oh you can just call me Charlie!” She smiled. 

“Charlie…you have a beautiful smile.”

“Aw, thank you! I think the fangs take away from it.” She giggled. 

“Not at all. You’re a vision, Charlie.”

“You’re so sweet!” 

“And it’s not just your looks, though they are stunning. It’s your personality, your drive. Your…passion.” He reached across the table and took Charlie’s hand.

Surely to GOD Charlie would pick up on it now. No one could be that oblivious.

He was wrong.

Charlie smiled brightly and put her hand on top of his. “It means so much to hear you say that. I’ve felt pretty discouraged lately. A lot of people hate my guts. Sometimes it builds up and takes a toll on me.” 

“How could anyone hate an angel like you?” He leaned closer. 

“Oh believe me, plenty of people do. Either because of my personality or my dad.” 

“They’d be a fool not to see how wonderful you are.” 

Ugh. Alastor hated Vox even more now. 

“You’re sweet. Thank you for tonight, this was great! I needed to get out. I live and work at the hotel so there’s days I never leave it.” 

“Well then, I suppose we’ll have to do this again.”

The bill came and Charlie reached for it, but Vox handed over his card. “I’m happy to have made you smile this evening.”

“Fine, but the next one is on me!” 

They headed outside and Alastor was right behind them. “Could I interest you in a nightcap?” Vox asked, his hand on her lower back. Alastor quietly steamed.  

“Oh, thank you, but I should really get back to the hotel.”

“Surely they can manage without you for a bit longer.”

“It’s just, we have some new residents, and I feel bad for taking off on them.” 

“Your devotion to your guests is wonderful, Charlotte. But is anyone devoted to you?” 

“I mean, I know I can count on my best friend Vaggie. We’ve been through soooo much together.” 

“But does anyone hold your heart?” Vox stepped closer, placing a hand on her waist. 

“Whaaaat’s happening?” Charlie asked, completely confused. 

“Someone should be devoted to you, Charlotte. Worship and adore you.” He brushed a finger across her cheek. Charlie was frozen in place with wide eyes. 

“I’m not…really the worshiping type…” she really wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Men should be falling at your feet just to earn one of your smiles.”

“That’s kind of dramatic.” She whispered it since he was moving closer. Uh, what the FUCK?

“Charlotte…” he cupped her cheek and leaned forward. Charlie was in full panic mode. 

“THERE you are, doll! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Alastor’s voice made them both jump. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?! Stay back, Charlie.” He stood in front of her. 

“Weeeell! Aren’t you noble! But that’s unnecessary. Charlie and I are partners.” He grinned.

“Partners?!” Vox looked stunned. 

“Right…I mentioned that I just took on a new business partner…” Charlie was anxious. This could be very, VERY bad. 

“You’re working with the RADIO demon?!” Blue lights flickered across his screen. 

“Sooort oooof?”

“Sort of? Why, we signed the papers this morning, didn’t we, doll?” Alastor slung an arm around her.

“Charlie, you shouldn’t be working with him. You have no idea what he’s capable of.” 

“I’d be HAPPY to demonstrate!” Alastor grinned. 

“NO!” Charlie stood in front of him. “Al, we talked about this.”

“AL?” Vox gaped at the pair. 

Charlie turned around with a bright forced smile. “Thank you for a LOVELY evening-“ she shoved Alastor’s hand off her shoulder. “And I’d love to continue this conversation another TIME-“ she removed his other hand. “And I hope that my association with ALASTOR-“ another smack. “Won’t influence how you feel about me or the hotel.” She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as Alastor placed both hands back on her shoulders. 

“Of course, Charlie. Let’s talk about this again. ALONE.” 

“Thank you, Vox.” She removed herself from Alastor. She leaned forward and kissed Vox’s cheek (or where a cheek would be) causing his screen to flicker. “Goodn-“ was all she got out before Alastor grabbed her hand and took her back to the hotel. 

“WHAT THE FUCK, ALASTOR?!” Charlie screamed at him, her horns growing and her eyes blazing red as they stood before the hotel.

“It was a rescue, doll! I could tell you didn’t want that waste of electricity to kiss you!”

“What were you even DOING there?!” 

“Keeping an eye on things.” 

“Alastor, we have to have boundaries! That was not ok!” 

“So I should’ve let him force himself on you?”

“He wasn’t going to force himself on me!” Their shouting had drawn the others out of the hotel. 

“Really? Would you have stopped him on your own? You looked like a deer in the headlights!”

“I WOULD HAVE HANDLED IT!” 

“CHARLIE! What the hell were you thinking?!” Vaggie stomped over. 

“I cannot deal with both of you right now, Vaggie.” 

“But-“

“PLEASE.” Charlie pleaded. Vaggie nodded and retreated. “Alastor, you’ve potentially ruined a HUGE opportunity! And over what?! And I swear to GOD if you say entertainment, I will kick your ass so hard that you’ll have to search all nine circles TO FIND IT!” 

Alastor was stunned. And pleasantly surprised. But he was the one in control here. He stepped closer to her and looked down on her with a smile. “The only opportunity I ruined, sweetheart, was the opportunity for him to get in your pants. He had no interest in your hotel. He wanted to fuck you. And if you cannot see that, you are even more gullible and naive than I thought.” 

“Ooooooh shit.” Angel whispered, watching the pair with wide eyes. This was either gonna get really good or really bad.

Alastor prided himself on always having the upper hand. He was always in control, and always prepared for anything. But what he wasn’t prepared for was Charlotte’s fist slamming into his face, knocking him to the ground.

“YOU DON’T THINK I KNOW THAT?!” She sobbed. “That’s how it ALWAYS is, Alastor! No one will ever take me seriously because of the way I look! You and everyone else believe that I’m a naive little girl, but guess what? I’ve been around longer than all your lifetimes combined. This is nothing new to me. There will ALWAYS be people who just want to use me, but it is up to ME to handle it! You have NO IDEA about ANY of the shit I have dealt with!  And I’m still here. So I don’t need a fucking knight in shining armor. I don’t need a guard dog. And I don’t need you.” Charlie turned and pushed past the other residents and went inside. 

There was tense silence. “We’re all gonna fucking die, aren’t we?” Angel finally said. 

Alastor was still on the ground, a large grin on his face. He was absolutely stunned. He was enraged. He was…

Aroused?

He teleported back into his room. He touched his cheek where Charlie had punched him and smiled wider, causing an ache in his jaw. For the first time in DECADES, someone was able to touch him. To keep him on his toes. To potentially kill him. 

FANTASTIC!

That was the first time he’d truly felt ALIVE in years. And if he wanted to keep this feeling, he needed to fix this. He knew exactly how. 

Charlie was furious. How DARE he show up and act like a jackass?! She would’ve handled it. She would’ve politely told Vox she was only interested in a business partnership. It would’ve been awkward, sure, but at least diplomatic. The Vees would never consider working with them now. 

The part she was the most upset about was that she had been a bit naive. She’d truly hoped it was a business meeting. But as soon as she saw the romantic setting and the way his eyes were glued to her, she knew it wasn’t. She’d hoped by being seemingly oblivious that he’d take the hint. He took that as being too subtle. 

What a terrible problem to have, right? Being TOO pretty? Well it fucking sucked. It had been this way her whole life. She remembered the first time she’d been told she was just a pretty face. She was still a child. 

“Charlotte? Come here a moment.” Her mother had called her. Charlie was about ten at the time, and reaching puberty for demons. Her body was already beginning to change. 

“Yes, mommy?” 

“Come here and sit beside me.” Her mother patted the spot on the bench next to her in front of the lighted vanity mirror. Her mother smiled at her in the mirror. “Tell me what you see.”

“Um…us?”

“Yes, of course. But do you know what else you’re looking at?”

“What?”

Lilith held her face between her hands. “Your most powerful weapon.” 

“I don’t understand?”

“We have a gift, Charlie. We have the gift of beauty. And men are such fools for beauty. They’ll wage wars and bow before you just for a scrap of your attention. This is a very powerful tool, Charlotte. With a pretty face, you can get whatever you want.”

“I still don’t get it.”

Lilith sighed. “Men will desire you, Charlotte. And if they think they have a chance to bed you, they’ll do anything you ask. You just have to give them a smile and a little bit of hope that you might pity them enough to sleep with them.” 

The next “lesson” she had was in high school. She sucked at math and needed help. She’d gone to her teacher and asked for assistance. He said he’d offer it, for a price. She saw the lust in his eyes. The way his gaze flickered across her chest. She thought of what her mother had said. She could probably just ask for a passing grade.

But that’s not who she was. 

Her high school was scrambling to find a replacement after their math teacher suddenly left with no warning or explanation. How odd!

She could think of hundreds of times she’d experienced things like that. And she thought about her first love, the one she’d given her virginity to. 

Seviathan.

She’d loved him so much. He made a lot of empty promises and always said the right things to string her along until he got what he wanted. Then he was gone. He told her that there really wasn’t anything between them. She was just a pretty face and a nice piece of ass.

Charlie sat in front of that same vanity she’d sat at with her mother and cried. She’d changed into her pajamas, intending to go to bed, but if she didn’t brush out her hair, birds would be nesting in it by morning. 

There was a quiet knock on her door. “Go away, Vaggie.”

“It’s not Vaggie, dear.” She heard Alastor reply. 

“Oh. Fuck off, Alastor.” 

“I’d like to apologize.” 

“I repeat, fuck off, Alastor.” It was quiet and she thought he’d given up. She should’ve known better than that. He appeared behind her in the mirror and she wheeled on him. “Jesus fucking CHRIST, Alastor! Do you have ANY boundaries?!”

“Not typically, no.” He smiled.

“I will ask you politely one time to get out of my room. After that, I will not be polite. Do you understand me?”

“I brought a peace offering.” He held up a plate of something.

“I don’t want your peace offering. I want you to leave.” She returned to her seat and began brushing her hair again. 

“It’s a sugary baked good…”

“Leave.” 

“Charlotte, please.” 

“Alastor, I am NOT in the mood to deal with you right now.” She put her face in her hands and groaned. She froze when she felt her hair being brushed. She looked up at him in the mirror and for once he wasn’t smiling. “Uuuuuh what the fuck are you doing?” 

“Attempting to undo the tangled mess on the back of your head. I don’t know how you deal with so much hair.” 

The radio demon was brushing her hair. BRUSHING HER HAIR. This was super weird. “Alastor…you know it’s weird to just start brushing somebody’s hair, right?” 

“Mhm.” He replied while continuing to work. “You may find this hard to believe, but I don’t typically interact with people. I work alone, and I have no need for companions. That’s the way I’ve always been, even when I was alive. So I realize now that, in my efforts to be helpful, I have overstepped and pushed your boundaries.” 

She stared at him in the mirror in thought. “Sorry, I don’t buy it. You were intentionally riling Vox up, admit it.” 

“Sharp as a tack, my dear. I was a fool to underestimate you.” 

“Why? And don’t you dare say entertainment.” 

Alastor sighed. “We have a personal history. He was once very cruel to someone I cared for very much, and that’s all I’ll say on the matter.” 

“Fair enough.” She watched the surprisingly gentle radio demon in the mirror. “Honesty works best with me, Al. And if we’re going to work together, I need you to be honest with me. I’m not asking you to tell me your secrets or bare your soul. I’m just asking you to communicate. You could’ve said ‘hey, I have a very personal problem with this guy. I’d rather not work with him.” 

Alastor’s eyes flickered to hers. “You have no idea how difficult that is for me to do. How difficult THIS is.” He gestured between them. “I don’t DO this.”

“Brushing people’s hair? I’d hope not.” She smiled. 

“Talk about personal things. It’s not my style, doll.” 

Charlie was thoughtful for a moment. “You can, you know. You don’t have to be the radio demon all the time. Sometimes I get tired of being cheerful Charlie. It’s a lot of pressure wearing a mask all the time. Sometimes you need to be able to drop that mask and rest. So even though I’m still mad at you…you can always talk to me.” 

Alastor froze mid stroke with the brush. He was silent for several moments. “Thank you, Charlotte.” 

“I think my hair is fine now, Al. Thank you.” She stood and smiled, taking the brush from him. He was still frozen in place. “Uuuuh Al? This is creepier than you smiling all the time.” 

He seemed to wake up and put his bright smile back on. “Sorry, sweetheart, lost my head for a minute. I brought you a peace offering, I think you’ll be very pleased with it.” He picked up the dish he’d brought and removed the cover. “They’re beignets. Sort of like a French donut covered in powdered sugar.” 

Charlie’s eyes lit up. “Oooooh!” She picked up a beignet and bit it. She closed her eyes and made an absolutely SINFUL noise. “Alright, I accept.” She smiled. 

“Good. I’ll get out of your hair now.” 

“Not so fast. I’d like to make a deal.”

He turned around quickly. “What?” 

“Make a deal with me. No more coming into my room unannounced and uninvited. In return, I will not punch you in the face again, because I still feel really bad about that even though you totally deserved it.” She smiled. 

“Hmmm. No dice, doll. I might need a good punch every now and then and you’re the only one that can throw it.”

“Alright. What do YOU want?” 

Alastor drummed his fingers on his chin in thought. What could he ask for? He smiled as it came to him. “One hour of your time each week. An uninterrupted hour of your company.” 

Charlie looked surprised. “Really? Why?” 

Time to try the honesty thing again. “Because clearly I need to work on my people skills and spending time with a blonde chatterbox should be helpful.” 

“Does it matter what day or time? And do I get to choose or do you just snap your fingers?”

“I know which one I’D prefer, but I’ll let you choose.” 

Charlie gave him a small smile. “You will stop popping up in my room unannounced and uninvited like a jack in the box. I will give you one hour of my time each week, which will be mutually decided on by both parties.” 

“Do we have a deal?” His grin grew as his palm glowed green. 

Charlie took it with a smile. “Deal. Now can I get some sleep?”

“Of course. Goodnight, Charlotte.” 

“Goodnight, Alastor.” She shut the door in his face once again.

He was beginning to like that. 

He turned around and saw the little moth girl gaping at him. “Goodnight, Vagatha!” 

“What were you doing in Charlie’s room?”

“That, my dear, is between me and Charlie. I’d suggest you leave her be for now, she was going to bed.” He hummed as he walked down the hall to his room, leaving Vaggie in stunned silence. 

Once he got to his room and shut the door tightly behind him, he fell apart. What the fuck was THAT?! What was wrong with him?! He didn’t TALK to people, and he CERTAINLY didn’t brush their hair. Even he knew that had been weird. But he was overwhelmed with the desire to touch it, and it might buy him an opportunity to talk. It did, mostly because she was too confused to be mad at him. He was mesmerized by the golden waterfall that was her hair. He enjoyed the silky feeling between his fingertips. 

And then he just COULDN’T SHUT UP. He told her way more than he meant to. He’d intended to go there and say something along the lines of “sorry I ruined your date but Vox is a jackass so I made the executive decision to end it!” Not ramble about not knowing how to interact with people.

It was true though. Even as a child, he didn’t know how to play with the other kids. He didn’t know how to engage with them. And that never improved. And then in his afterlife, he was a feared overlord so it’s not like anyone was lining up for a chat (he would’ve killed them if they did)

He enjoyed the look of fear in their eyes. He loved making them scatter just by showing up. It made him feel untouchable.

Until tonight. 

Yes, that must’ve been the problem. She’d socked him in the jaw so hard she’d knocked a screw loose, and that’s why he acted like an idiot. Now it made sense!

[broken-clover]

Solaxl Week- Day 3

Ooookay so apparently I completely forgot to put up day 3...woops. Suppose I should have double checked. At least it means I can post back to back!

Not much in the way of notes on this one, I'm just very certain that in addition to their musical nostalgia Sol and Axl are also annoyingly fond of 80's movies and think there hasn't been anything better since. Also slightly poking fun at myself for the fact that I always confuse Footloose and Dirty Dancing for each other

3. Pirate AU, Domestic, Movies

-

Axl had quite literally dropped in, as he was prone to do. One minute, Sol is content with his evening plans of drinking beer and doing fuck-all, the next he’s playing host. How things play out depends on his mood at the time. Axl’s gotten good at pacifying his bad moods, but not perfect. One wrong step has him getting thrown out to bother someone else.

To compensate, he’s gotten pretty good at bringing the party favors.

“Chiiiiiief~” Sol could hear the smile on his face, even if it was hidden. There was an armful of something burying the lower half of his head. “Lookit what I gooooot!”

A mix of intrigue and pity had the man lighten his uninvited guest’s load. Stacks of something hard and plastic, rattling when shaken. Just unfamiliar enough after a long stretch of time that Sol wasn’t certain he was looking at what was right in front of him.

“Are these…DVD’s?”

Axl’s grin was even bigger after he wasn’t drowning in video cases. “Hit the bargain bin while I got stuck in Nevada! Classics ‘re classics, but you can get ‘em cheap. I know yer a softie for old music, how’s about old movies?”

Well, he supposed it beat drinking alone. Again.

But of course, they couldn’t just immediately jump into it. Accidental or not, Axl had made one of his better choices crashing into Sol’s emporium of tech garbage. Buying up a heap of cheap movies was all fine and good in the turn of the millennium, not a century later. Heck, they would have been pushing it even if it had only been twenty years after the fact. Re-releasing barely-changed tech every other year that only worked with specific hardware for the sake of selling more units, that fun little facet of capitalism was still fucking them over even a century and a half later. The two of them were stuck spending the better part of an hour sifting through parts.

“Does this bit go to a CD or a DVD player…? Bleedin’ hell, how’m I supposed to tell the damn things apart??”

“Mph. I got the wrong kind of connector. Lemme see if I got something upstairs…”

Even if he wasn’t the most enthused at first, having to go to all the trouble just to watch it made movie night feel like much more of a reward. Sol turned over the cases individually, trying to determine what to watch first.

“Gah, you’re takin’ too long! Y’know we can watch ‘em all, right?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Sol replied. “Fine, let’s start with ‘Back to the Future’...uh, that ain’t gonna hit too close to home, will it?”

Axl found a spot on the nearest comfy seat. “Aw, pish. If anything, it makes me feel seen, y’know?”

He did not, but he chose not to pursue that conversation further. That sort of thing could easily turn into an hours-long ramble. Instead, Sol settled for putting the disc in their newly assembled reader. After a few thumps on its side, the machine began to hum.

“Damn, honestly impressed, here.” Axl watched as his companion found another spot to sit close by. “Wasn’t sure we’d be able to pull it off. Gah, this is awesome! Can’t think of a better way to spend an evening with ya-”

Sol picked up the remote and spiked the volume. “At this rate, I’m not even gonna be able to hear any of this. You’d better not talk over the whole damn thing.”

Despite that, once the plot had started rolling, Sol found himself more amenable to conversation. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a movie night. Couldn’t remember the last time he’d done something so mundane with friends. The memory was so close yet so distant.

Axl had made himself more than comfy in his chair. While his legs draped over one armrest, he propped himself on the other with both arms tucked under his ribs. Were Sol to try and describe it in words, the first thing that came to mind was ‘a very smug cat-mermaid.’ Yeesh, the guy had awful posture. Maybe Sol shouldn't have passed judgement on other people’s habits, but other people didn’t have Gear cells to make up for their shitty spinal health.

“Man…” Axl half-muttered, untucking one arm to balance his chin on his palm. “The eighties had some good flicks.”

“Guess you made a good call after all. Are all of these from then?” Asked Sol.

“Eh, most of ‘em.” Replied Axl. “Figures that’s prolly what you grew up on, thought I’d get nostalgic- ‘n yeah, before you ask, I did get ‘Flash Gordon’ too. Knew you’d like the Queen songs”

The Gear made a noise of approval. “Not bad, Low. Guess I owe you one for that. Been listening to the same recording for decades, might be cool hearing a different one, even if it’s the same song. Kids these days dunno what they’re missing.”

The two went quiet as the Delorean slowly drove out of the truck and into full view for the first time. Axl whistled. “Still love that bit. I dunno, though, chief. I mean, not like we didn’t have some shit movies, too, y’know?”

“How’s that?” Sol said, taking his eyes off of the screen for the first time in a while. “Guess there was some schlock, the real cheap stuff-”

“Not even the cheap stuff! Like, ‘Dirty Dancing.’”

“...what?”

Axl shrugged. “‘Dirty Dancing’ was trash. Sorry, chief, but I gotta be honest-”

“Shut up. Are you kidding me?” The movie playing was well and truly out of his thoughts as he gawked. “I figured even if you thought the plot was crap, you’d think Jennifer Grey was hot enough that the story didn’t matter.”

“Which was she, was she the lead? Eh, doesn’t matter. Like, look, I can excuse some real corny shit, but like…’ohhh, we’re gonna ban fuckin’ dancing because it’s too sinful, that’s just dumb. I got limits, too.”

Sol was continuing his staring, but a new emotion had joined it. ”...Are you sure you’re thinking of the right one?”

“Yeah, remember? That’s why it was called ‘Dirty Dancing.’ The reply came with gestures for emphasis.

“No, it was called that because they were a bunch of scruffy-looking jackasses. Pretty sure the one you’re thinking of’s ‘Footloose.’”

“No way, chief! Footloose was the one with Costner, wasn’t it?”

“No, that was ‘Dances With Wolves.’”

“For real? Nah, you’ve gotta be fucking with me. You’re fucking with me, right? Great, and I didn’t get ‘em, so it’s not like I can check-”

A noise made both men turn to the neglected screen. Marty was stumbling out of the crashed van in the barn, undisturbed by the audience’s squabble.

“Ugh, damn it, we missed one of the best parts.” Sol picked up the remote and put the film in reverse. “Can’t remember where we were, haven’t seen this movie in too long. Gonna just skip back to the bit with Einstein.”

Axl readjusted himself in his seat, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes. “Why were there so many eighties movies about dancing?”

[copperbadge]

Hi Sam! (If you have the time/spoons!) What did you do to get ready for Dearborn and Polk to arrive in your home? I am adopting cats for the first time as an adult and I am so nervous about not having the right stuff for them and not being prepared.

Even if you could point me in the direction of decent resources, I would really appreciate it! As a fellow ADHDer, I am hoping you might have some more neurodiverse friendly advice and I've seen how well you take care of the cryptids so I feel I can trust your judgement.

You're awesome either way! 🧡

Eyy, congratulations on your upcoming adoption! I felt very similar, like I was unprepared and nervous about it, even though I did my best. Just be ready to do some extra spending in the first few days after they come home -- buying supplies you didn't think of or extras of stuff they really like. You really have to get to know them first. And give yourself permission to not be perfect (for example, my cats eat junk-food kibble, but it's what they'll eat and they're so tiny that any way I can get food into them is good, so Meow Mix it is).

I think the most important thing really is to start with the bare bones to find out what your specific kitties like. For example, I got two beds, a nice soft plush fluffy $20 bed and a Sulk Gourd made of like, $2 felt. Guess which one they wouldn't go near! I ended up using the fluffy bed to keep them off of furniture I didn't want them to jump on because they avoided it so hardcore. So I'd start out with really basic stuff -- a couple of toys, 2-3 kinds of cheap bed, basic food/water dishes, and see what your little ones prefer.

I do want to point out that I didn't know I had ADHD when I adopted the cryptids; it wasn't even on my radar yet, as it would be a year or two later. That said, I still had coping mechanisms. I did look at cat ownership and think "What are the most unpleasant parts of this going to be?" and tried to mitigate those -- I know myself and I know it would be hardest to do the unpleasant parts, so I wanted to make those parts as easy as possible. I wanted to be sure I could give them the care and love they deserve.

For me, there were two major concerns: I didn't want them eating anything they shouldn't, and I was worried I'd forget to scoop the litter, or avoid doing it because it's stinky. For the former, I just went through the house and picked up anything I thought might hurt them; I bought a few containers and put stuff like sharp objects, string/thread, plastic, etc in the containers. I kept an eye on them when they came home to make sure they wouldn't chew any wires (Polk tried, but I wrapped double-sided tape around it and that stopped her).

For the latter, the "how often can I make myself scoop the litter" concern, I bought an Omega Paw "rolling" litterbox. You just roll it onto its lid, roll it back, and pull out a tray where all the poop ends up, which you can dump into the garbage (I have a bin specifically for dumping litter, which I double-bag and empty about once a week). This was fine for a while, but they both love to "garden" in the litterbox, so eventually I replaced it with a vertical box (they have to jump in through the top) to cut down on how much litter I had to sweep up. It's actually less work to scoop it every night than it was to sweep up litter constantly, and I'm spending like $20 less a month on litter. (You are supposed to have one litterbox per cat plus one spare, but mine are bonded and prefer to share litterboxes, plus my apartment is small, and so are they.) If this is a concern for you I might also suggest something like the Kitty Poo Club that sends you a new box with litter crystals in it each month; it didn't work for me because again, the litter got kicked everywhere and those little crystals are FUCKING SHARP, but it's an option.

Lastly, because I knew it might take them a while to feel safe, I deliberately left spaces in my home where they could hide -- they have a whole labyrinth under my bed where they can run around between storage boxes, there's space behind one sofa, there's some little cubbyholes in the bathroom, etc. I wanted to be sure that if they felt scared or unsafe they could go to ground somewhere that I controlled, rather than trying to, say, squeeze behind the stove or something, where they might get hurt. They didn't use them often, but once in a while something would scare them and at least this way I could see where they hid. And so I could leave them alone until they were ready to come out again. 

Good luck with your incoming cryptids! Get a bonded pair if you can -- they're sweet and they keep each other entertained. :D