#frances’ faint ramblings

[ilovepodcastladies]

the irony of my yellowjackets funko pops being lost in transit 😭

[everythingelseisextra]

Love Song (Tommy's POV)

Part Nineteen: No Harm

Part Eighteen out of Twenty-One (Or Twenty-Two, haven't decided yet) Author's Note: Sorry for how short this is, and sorry for not responding to any of your guy's comments on the last part. I did read them, but I've been pretty overwhelmed with work recently and it just felt like Too Much. Description: Tommy formulates a plan. Warnings: language, references to trafficking, and poetic rambling Word Count: 1559 (again, I'm so sorry.) Tag List: @theshelbyslimited  @ttaechi  @weaponizedvirtue  @majesticcmey  @optimisticsandwichgladiator  @zablife  @princesssterek  @mm0thie  @callsignvenus @ay0nha  @mgdixon  @fairytale07 @dreamy-caramel  @ce1iat  @algae-tm @dragonsondragons @trentknd @nothingofsimplicity @babayaga67 @shelbydelrey @globetrotter28 @look-at-the-soul @notalxx @chaengist @cookiez56-blog @skxawngs @h0neylemon

I thought nothing would bring me to my knees like that night. A sapphire on bloodied, pale skin. A gunshot ringing in my ears. Bones cracking beneath my brother’s hands. Glass shattering on the man with the gun. Her weight going dead in my arms. I turn women into martyrs. Does that say more about me or of them? Do we care too deeply for each other, or do we care too little about ourselves that a sacrifice comes easy? 

Once Arthur pulls the bullet from the muscle in my shoulder and once the blood is stemmed, I stand, stagger forward, and almost fall. He catches me with an arm around my back and mutters like a madman, words thick and full of anger. “Where did they take her, brother? Where did they take her?” 

He shakes me to break me out of the stupor I swim in. My gaze stays rapt on the door where I last saw her, where a group of hardened men walked her out. She went willingly and I sat and watched. I did nothing to protect her. 

“I don’t know, Arthur,” I say quietly. “I don’t know where.” 

He shakes me roughly again. “You giving up? You letting that woman get taken by the kind of men who think little girls are all grown up and ready for them? She’s not fucking dead, Tom, use that head of yours and go get her out of there.” 

There’s one person in this damned city who could tell me where to hunt. One person with the knowledge of quiet transportation, stealing someone from their fate, bringing them home or into hell. Whether he’ll give me the gift of his advice and help me take her back; that’s a gamble. That’s the game I have to play, and I know for a fact that he will play it, too, toy with me the way I toy with others. Smart as I am, that man. Smarter, even. 

I nod slowly and Arthur releases me. I pull a cigarette from its box in my pocket and light it, an excuse to take a deep, smoke-filled breath. An expectation lingers in Arthur’s watchful eyes. 

I turn to look at him, faint mirth twitching my lips. “You’re not going to like this.”

—

“Good morning, Mr. Solomons.” Seven hours since they took her. Seven hours since she was walked out of Arrow House and placed in a car and driven off somewhere where hell and earth merge. And I am wasting time with pleasantries, because Alfie has a propensity towards what he refers to as ‘tittle-tattle.’ 

“Yeah, it is.” He meanders from the window over to my desk, placing a hand on it, leaning his weight on the wood despite the cane in his other hand. “You’re lucky I was passing, weren’t you, because you still seem to believe that you are some god from some religion that has the power to summon up Jews of a particular standing.”

I nod vaguely, wait for him to continue, picking bits of information from his phrasing. Confusing man, he is, with a habit of mixing metaphors and twisting his own words. He takes patience, like a stallion who’s learned he’s bigger than the rest. 

“I’ve heard that you took in a girl, didn’t ya, who’s opened her legs to just about every man I’ve met from France! Now, that’s something, now isn’t it? You, a man of some standing, and a girl who used to go from place to place with a collar around her throat and someone begging her to use one of her holes. Now, I don’t know which one she used for you, but word is, she’s got you wound tight. You do know how many of them there are, don’t you? I could get you a man, I could, who would bring you any girl you like. White slaves, and all, you know the like.” He sits down on the chair beside me. Light shines in from the window across from us and plays in his bright eyes, serving to make them almost transparent. “Best thing to do, mate, is to forget about her and stop asking those questions and killing those men, right? You’ve been fucking around with the slavers, now haven’t you, you silly boy?”

I raise my eyebrows and stand, walking over to the windows to stare out at the grounds. “You’ve been keeping tabs.”

“Yeah, well, I was curious, now wasn’t I?” His mouth twitches, not into a smile, but sideways, thoughtful. 

The sentiment hovers between us. That I had stepped lower than my standing to be with a woman who hadn’t a clue about the life I live. He doesn’t realize who she is and how easily her world merges into mine. Basic understanding stays preserved through the horrors we both have witnessed. And now, for the first time, she needs me, instead of the other way around. She can’t protect herself against something as big as the organization she’s been taken by. 

“Then you should know, Alfie, that she can survive it.” I keep my back to him, one hand on the sill, the other in my pocket. 

“Just like you did when you came back from France and like your fucking family did when they put the nooses around their necks. Eh? Just like that, right?”

“Just like that, yes.” I turn to face him, walking forward to put both hands on my desk, looking down at him. “She will survive, and we will bring her home.” 

“Yeah, about that, there’s someth—”

“You will be properly compensated once the job is done, Alfie.” I look down at the desk, working my jaw. Reaching down, I slide a piece of paper towards him. “You’ll find the sum appropriate.”

He pulls his spectacles out of his suit jacket, his hand trembling slightly, and peers down through them at the paper. He looks back up at me, eyes bright. “I do, yeah, I do. Suppose you want a miracle worked, do you?”

“Something like that.” I step back, drawing myself up and taking a deep breath, eyes still on the paper. 

I pay for her life, for her freedom, in the same way men pay for her body and their own pleasure. It brings a boiling sensation to my stomach and my jaw tightens slightly.

“If you asked, I wouldn’t fuckin bring you a woman.” Alfie shakes his head. “Not from them, anyway.”

“I know.” I move around the desk and sit down next to him again. “While I waited for you to arrive, I formulated a plan.”

—

I don’t believe in God. 

I once talked to Him while I stood in my grave. I asked Him to give me a reason and He never could. He looked down on the End and he saw that it was Bad. He turned his back on me, and I turned mine on him. An eye for an eye, like the bible says. 

I believe in poets and I believe in lovers. I believe in soldiers and I believe in hatred. I believe in the innocent and the guilty and the men and women and in-between who fought for the right to their lives. I believe in Her. 

I know we are not soulmates because I can’t feel what She feels, not at all. We will love each other on purpose when this is all over. We will choose to fight for each other like we do now. We will stop sacrificing for the other and start building. 

I don’t believe in God. 

This life, this brief glimpse of heaven on Earth, this is all we fucking get. Not what we expected but what we have, and for Her, I would waste this one life on fighting. I would go back into that tunnel, that birth canal, and I would defuse and defuse and defuse and light and light and light until there were bombs under the men who keep Her and a pathway for Her to crawl through, back through my grave, my mother’s womb, and out into the world. 

I have always had a hatred for Cain. Am I my brother’s keeper? Yes. We are our family’s keeper. It is being human that bonds us together, and to kill kin is to kill yourself. I have tried to do both, accidentally, on purpose, the line blurs. I understand him, though, in a way. If I was not in God’s good graces, I would want to wander. I would want to roam. His punishment was wanderlust and still, there is more to see. Always more, more, more. No place to go but everywhere. 

I don’t believe in God. But I believe in Her. 

A defiant act of creation, both haunted and holy, chaotic mess of joy and fear and memories pounding between temples. She is the reason I get up in the morning, and She is the reason I can sleep at night. Like every beautiful thing, She is poisonous, and I know those who bite into Her flesh will feel Her wrath. 

There is an intimacy beyond sex or love to self-destruction, and I promise to Her that I will not give to it. I will give to Her and only Her. She saw the worst of me and hardly flinched. 

I don’t believe in God.

[balladofthewhitehorse]

🥪💚🧡 for character of your choice!

🥪 SANDWICH — what does your oc's typical lunch look like? do they usually eat lunch?

England eats a simple ham and cheese sandwich for lunch at work, alongside a packet of crisps (Ready Salted or Pickled Onion). He’s not really fussed about lunch entirely - and on work days, England feels as though he’s far too rushed to enjoy it; A satsuma alongside is often viewed as a treat for him on work days, and I think England is very much someone who easily slips into the mindset of efficiency. He usually ends up not bothering with lunch sometimes, making him irritable and tired at times - but at home, England’s far more capable of putting together something more filling; Usually a soup made from one of Scotland’s old recipes when he was younger, or a cheese toastie with worcester sauce. Otherwise, it’s a relatively plain and simple affair for England - in comparison to dinnertimes or breakfast. 

💚 GREEN HEART — does your oc prefer being inside or outside?

Well, it depends. England likes taking long rambling walks through the woods - but he also despises camping outside, much to his brother’s frustration. England loves what inside provides; Showers, Warm Beds and Indoor Heating, but the outside is just as important to him as anything else. It can get uncanny - the notion that the land you walk upon is you - and England wants to look after it well. The Industrial Revolution was a turning point, and his mind slipped from regarding it as infallible - ceaseless, always bountiful - to realising how fragile it can be. When the longbow was used, countless yew trees were chopped to provide wood for the bows and that’s not even mentioning how many oaks were struck down for the Navy’s ships a long time ago. England has seen it all change over time - and while he hates the mud and the prospect of camping, sleeping on the lumpy grass, England finds a sense of peace and quiet outside. His family is with him, outside too. Not Scotland and Wales, but older family; Those who went before him and perhaps if he focuses enough, waits patiently enough - England can hear the faint whisper of the one that they called Britannia on the vales and in the forests of  home. 

🧡 ORANGE HEART — does your oc tend to prioritize family or friends?

Family. Always family. He may have spilled their blood countless times; Might have been a traitor to his own kin, but England loves his family first and foremost. Friends are fleeting and few, but Scotland and Wales were always there. They might not have loved each other all the time - might have struck one another down, and in Wales case - Been struck down, but they are bound together by ties of Earth and Blood and Memory. They remember their childhoods together, and they remember when they were young, fragile and warring; Britons, Celts, Saxons, Angles, Jutes, Norsemen, Roman and Normans - each group trod their Earth and changed their stories bit by bit. England (who resembles his sister so much - almost twins, but not quite) is keenly aware that should anyone have attacked him - who would be next? Wales or Scotland certainly, although England used to harbour grave doubts about them - Particularly towards Scotland, for his relationship with France. Regardless, England knows they’ve all he’s got. They’re stuck together.

Wales taught him how to fire a bow - how to tell stories and how to survive.

Scotland taught him how to swing a sword - how to patch up wounds and how to be strong.

So if it came down to a choice between friends or family, England would choose family.

[starrrberry]

hii ash what is the phantom of the opera? ive heard of it and it sounds so fucking badass and i am Curious

okay. gonna write a rambly type essay. SUMMARY: so poto is originally a novel written by gaston leroux in 1909 set in france, centering a mysterious masked man, erik (aka the phantom, the opera ghost, angel of music) and a naive, kind girl who's ridiculously brave and selfless called christine. from now on ill be talking about the musical version as i am yet to read the book ! also, the pair have INCREDIBLE music ability - christine has the voice of an angel, and the phantom is incredibly skilled at many instruments as well as have the kinda voice that probably wouldve awoken smth in me when i was ten. -christine is an orphan, her father died when she was.. eight? ish. and shes just very sad and lonely. -when her dad died, he said he'll send a angrl of music to her -erik is super super obsessed with christine and kinda stalks her. but -shes like kinda chill with it at the beginning and she even follows him into his lair? which like okay you go girl or smth. -but then she finds out oh shit !!! hes kinda freaky man. and she faints <3 -if erik had his way he'd probably just force her to marry him, but problem! -another man, raoul, who is christines childhood bestie, is here. and -hes in love with her! christines also in love with him, but imo its only because he reminds her of her father (woop woop daddy issues) -THINGS HAPPEN and i cried. just trust me on this idk how to do summaries. CHARACTERS: erik - MY BOY !!!!!! hes so traumatised and he was abused a lot because he was born with a facial deformity and nobody ever touched him ever. so he just grew into this really angry, resentful but also strangely hot dude. he gets a MILD mild redemption at the end of the movie/musical, and hes the most pathetic silliest sewer man in the world im so so obsessed with him. hes a really complex character and i could get into it but i wont because its 12am. christine - in the musical/kinda movie, shes portrayed as very meek and mild. however shes really brave and kind of a badass! like "this haunted face holds no horror for me now. its your soul in which the true distortion lies" um okay?? callout i love that. shes not wrong, his soul is fuuuucked. poor boy. her mother died in childbirth, her father died when she was young, shes alone in the world apart from a scarily hot stalker whos teaching her to sing, and shes a ballet rat in the opera populaire. ill delve more into different interpretations of her in different media. raoul - pretty rich boy. also christines childhood best friend and suitor. my boy has no thoughts in his head i was him for world book day.

meg giry - christines current best friend! shes so cool in the movie shes a side but shes loyal, brave, and probably a lesbian. also shes cares so sososo much for christine im just. ough. la carlotta - they hate to see a girlboss winning :( shes literally done nothing wrong ever i adore her shes so extra and such a bitch aa <3 there are more but the first three are the most important

DIFFERENT MEDIA: theres a movie (2004) which stars gerard butler as erik and emmy rossum as christine who are both SO OSOSOSOSOOSO PRETTY !!!!!

in the movies, erik is portrayed as quite suave and dramatic, as well as agressive and fiercely obsessive. basically, the same as how he's portrayed in the rest of the media. also ! his name isnt included in both the movies or the musical. its also very aesthetically pleasing speaking of ! theres also a musical which is pretty well known, written by andrew lloyd webber. i would say my favourite actors, but it may be a little doxxy, so i'll refrain. however, i will say that sierra boggess, one of favourite christines is WOW ! she's fiesty and seductive, not as mild as the other portrayals. thats why i love the musical version, one because it is MAGICAL to watch irl and two becuase you can play around witht the characters to fit your eye. theres a book, which gives more insight into erik's past, and also several adaptations of the novel, the most notable being susan kay;s "phantom" CONTROVERSY: i will say that the toxic relationship between christine and erik is heavily romanticised, christine experiences a lot of stockholm syndrome (shes also swedish!) and she just has a Bad Time. however. its fiction and my taste in men is fucked up beyond belief! but many people dont see it that way since erik is a kidnapper/murderer, people are NOT happy that he is shipped and loved by so many people. but like man we know ! if this happened in real life we'd be outta there like a shot, if this was a REAL PERSON we would NOT be doing this! its ridiculous to me that so many people cannot grasp that this is fiction, an escape from the rules of the real world. CONCLUSION: its more than just a romance, its a study of so many different things, like how trauma can affect different people, how growing up in certain types of environments can shape a persons life. its more of a tragedy really, not a romance as much, so if you like media which leaves a hole in you only fanfic can fix this is def for you. if you want to get into it, i recommend starting with the musical or movie, probably the musical. i didnt do it justice with this ramble, honestly its incredible and theres endless interpretations and endings (i havent even mentioned the book!)

also all the songs slap and theyre majority operatic but modern!!!!!!!

[cthezaunite]

Another tag game and beautiful opportunity to ramble away (without seeming too impolite while doing so cause, well, they asked for it ;) 🖤

Vielen lieben Dank für die Einladung /

Thank you for the invite! @lullabyes22-blog

Are you named after anyone?

A french name my mum simply took a liking to, though my family has no connection to France besides living in Mid-Franconia (Bavaria, Germany). I was named after a student colleague of my mum, a tall blond woman with long wavey hair. Funny thing, I just turned out like that.

When was the last time you cried?

3 weeks ago after fainting at my ortho appointment [bad bike accident x bad concussion] - tears of relieve and exhaustion when a dear friend came to pick me up.

Do you have kids?

No, and so far I don't intend to have any.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Why deny oneself the joys of some witty word games and a great copying mechanism?

What's the first thing you notice about ppl?

Your style, your body language / facial expression and the way you express yourself/your voice. How you present yourself. How authentic you are in your presence. If there are certain qualities about you I resonate with.

What's your eye colour?

Colours, I guess. Blue-greenish grey, darker at the edges, transforming towards the middle into a bronze circle around the pupil.

(Story of opposites)

Scary movies or happy endings?

I have no sense for horror (there's enough senseless brutality in the real world) but I do enjoy some good old angst, trauma and characters dealing with a lot of mental challenges. Happy endings are very welcome though, a nice reward for all the suffering and growth (especially when you've suffered so much with them yourself).

Any special talents?

I would describe myself as a creative soul who finds self-expression, love and energy in art/making music/dancing! / style / design /makeup/ (voice) acting /writing.

Ah and I have very expressive eyebrow moves and can squint while one eye moving/rolling independently.

Where were you born?

Conservative countryside in Bavaria (South Germany).

Hobbies?

Current hobbies are singing,

voguing, twirling, twerking, dancing my heart out in the beautifully wild jungle that is the Berlin Club Culture (one of the main reasons why Zaun feels like home),

lifting some good weights in the gym, baking my own bread (very German I know), reading, trying to figure out digital art softwares

Pets?

Would love a cat, but would find it cruel to force her to live only indoors without some green fields and fresh wind in her face.

What Sport do you play / have played?

I used to do ballet (2 yrs), kick boxing (1 yr), and horse riding (11 yrs, miss it quite much tbh)

Atm Body building / gym , dancing

Really bad at all school sports though.

How tall are you?

175 cm

Fav subject in school?

Ethics/ Philosophie, Art

Dream job

That's the big question - still a student, first Philosophie now Politics / Social Science.

Could imagine myself in a NGO with the mindset of anti-rascism/pro LGBTQIA+/ pro postcolonial feminism.

I tag :

@ursawastricked @vitaraven @silcoitus @zaunite-electrical @yeehawsart @cadaverism @frenchublog @word-wytch @yunta0722 @kallielef @karnaca78 @wishfulsketching

[salieri27]

Lies a ValJerk AU Fic re-edit

at an inn called the sergeant of Waterloo the Thénardiers were sitting at a table

Madam Thenadire was weeping while Monsieur Thenardier tried to calm her down

““Calm Down my love we will get Cosette back  said Monsieur Thenardier

Suddenly the door burst open two men entered their names were Monsieur Madeleine and Javert

Madame Thenardier didn’t recognize Madeleine  “welcome can I get y’all anything to drink “

Two bottles of wine please” said Madeleine

Monsieur Thenardier bought out the wine and said ““where are y’all from”

Montreuil” replied Madeleine

Madame Thenardier sniffed and said “ it’s a good thing you mention Montreuil Monsieur  we need your help “

““What kind of help” said Javert

Our adopted daughter was kidnapped by a wicked man he paid 2000 francs for her” sobbed Madam Thenardier

““Have you seen this man before “ asked Madeleine

““No all I know that he’s from Montreuil “ said Madame Thenadire

Mind if I speak to you in private “ said Madeleine

Of course” said madam Thenadire

She lead Madeleine into a room in the inn leaving Javert with Monsieur Thenadire

When was this incident” said Madeleine

“1 month ago Monsieur” said madam Thenardier

“I see” said Madeleine suddenly he started to caress madam thenardiers  hair

Don’t you see you and I would be good to each other” said Madeleine

Madam Thenardier replied “Monsieur what are you doing “

““You are very pleasing Madam” said Madeleine

Suddenly Gavaroch burst into the room he yelled “ I’ve caught you again you monster, mother don’t put your trust in him he’ll betray you as he betrayed me”

Madeleine pretended to give Gavaroch a hug and said ““the poor boy is sick you must give him medicine or he’ll start to ramble nonsense”

“ Already those lying lips are moving what a clever man he his I advise you to keep away from him mother” said Gavaroch

They all left the room and sat at the table where Monsieur Thenardier and Javert where talking

Madeleine spoke “ my friends  if y’all need more help into finding your adopted daughter you know where to find me in Montreuil friends I bid y’all goodbye”  Madeleine and Javert left the inn

Suddenly Madame Thenardier felt weak then she cried out “Ernest I’m fainting “

Monsieur Thenardier helped her up “ what is the matter my love”

“THAT WAS THE MAN THAT KIDDNAPED OUR COSETTE “ yelled madam Thenardier

Suddenly the door burst open a ragged barefoot unkempt girl entered out of breath

Madam Thenardier gasped ““oh my god Cosette what happened to you “

““I never want to go back to Montreuil Monsieur Madeleine is really scary he yells all day and me do chores and made me sleep with his dog in his cage and only fed me scraps from the dogs bowl and he beats me” said Cosette as she burst into tears

Monsieur Thenardier spoke up ““go and wash your face I’ll bring you a new dress “

The Thénardiers  planned to go to Montreuil and give Madeleine a piece of his mind for treating Cosette like a slave 

@catdemontraphouse 

[trainwreckgenerator]

Are most passports not filled with Extremely Patriotic Imagery? Bc thats exactly what one page of a us passport looks like. Also featured is the national anthem, liberty bell, constitution, mt rushmore, statue of liberty, two more eagles, cowboys, a satellite and the moon, a steamboat and a pirate ship. I assumed all passports were this over the top?

no lol thats the most american thing ever. though i imagine there are some other countries with opulently patriotic passports every passport ive ever had has been like.... light beige or grey. with maybe a watermark of a map on some of the pages. all extremely simple and official. im not a proponent of boring passports fwiw but i do believe that identity documents should be legible as possible lmao.. if anyone has a silly patriotic passport for a non america country id love to hear about it tho

[justabigassnerd]

Christmas cookies

Pairing - Tommy Shelby x sister!reader

Word count - 984

Warnings - tiny bit of angst, mostly just fluff

Summary - you teach Charlie how to make Christmas cookies the same way Tommy taught you

A/N - hello y'all here is a Christmas fic a lovely anon requested, it was never specified what the relationship between Tommy and the reader was so I went with sister but if anyone wants just x reader I'm more than happy to do so just be sure to specify :). I'll stop rambling but as per y'all, please send in requests and enjoy!

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

Upon entering Arrow House after a long day in London, Tommy was prepared to just head into his study and get some more work done but to his shock the house was silent upon him entering. Usually there was the occasional creak from someone moving around in the large house, but the silence had Tommy concerned. As he was greeted by Frances, he asked her where you where since you weren’t waiting by the door like you usually were.

“She’s taken Charlie into the kitchen sir.” Frances says, taking Tommy’s coat before he thanks her and heads in the direction of the kitchen. As he approaches, he hears the faint sound of your laughter coming from the kitchen which brings a slight smile to his face. When Tommy enters the kitchen, he sees you covered in flour and Charlie stood on a stool beside you, laughing as you smear some on his cheek.

“Dad!” Charlie was the first to notice Tommy’s presence and immediately called out to him, waving him over.

“What are you two up to then, eh?” Tommy asks, coming over to where you were stood and peering into the bowl in front of you.

“We’re making cookies for Father Christmas!” Charlie exclaims happily, watching as you stir the mixture in the bowl.

“So you are. Alright, y/n, I’m going into my study to finish up some work so once you lot are done, I expect you to clean up and get the pair of you ready for dinner.” Tommy instructs making you roll your eyes. It hardly phased Tommy that it was Christmas Eve, he was always so busy working.

“Why don’t you help us make the cookies, Tom? It’s Christmas Eve I’m sure work could wait a couple of days?” You say, handing the spoon over to Charlie so he could take over mixing while you bargained with your older brother.

“I can’t. I’ve got so much work to do.” Tommy says, a sigh escaping his lips as he speaks. He had to glance away when your face fell slightly, guilt eating at his stomach instantly.

“Come on Tommy, it won’t kill you to take a step back from work for a little bit. If you won’t do it for me, do it for Charlie. This will mean everything to him.” You say, gesturing to Tommy’s young son who is blissfully stirring the mixture, in his own little world.

“Charlie will understand why I need to work.” Tommy insists, glancing at his son before turning to walk away.

“Will he? He’s only little he needs his dad, especially at times like Christmas. Do you not remember when we did this when I was younger?” You say, halting Tommy in his tracks. Before the war, Tommy was a different man, and he started a tradition with you to make cookies for Father Christmas. Most of the time the cookies were hardly edible, but it wasn’t about that to you. It was the fact you got to spend time with your brother who you adored most in the world. After the war you never got to do it again, it didn’t matter that you no longer believed in Father Christmas, you just wanted a bit of normality in hopes it would help your brother feel better.

When Charlie was born, you decided that when he was old enough you were going to teach him to make cookies for Father Christmas. You’d teach him the exact same recipe Tommy taught you. It didn’t matter that Tommy had a large kitchen with a wide variety of ingredients that could be used for the cookies, you were sticking with what you knew, wanting to give Charlie the same joy it gave you all those years ago.

“Where are you in the recipe?” Tommy’s question, paired with him turning around and shedding his blazer so he could roll up his shirt sleeves brought the biggest smiles to yours and Charlie’s faces. You told him what he needed to get to add to the mixture, every step of the recipe etched in your mind. You watched as Tommy fetched the ingredients needed before instructing him about when to add them to the mixture.

As Tommy set the ingredients down on the table, he watched as you took over from Charlie the second you heard him grumble about his arm aching. Tommy was initially worried to tell you about Grace’s pregnancy because he wasn’t sure about how you’d take the news, and you were someone who’s opinion Tommy held in high regard. To his relief though, you took being an aunt in your stride and fell head over heels for your nephew, helping care for him as often as you could and even moving into Arrow House just to help look after him.

“Thank you, Tom.” You whisper over Charlie’s head, smiling at you brother as he helps Charlie measure out ingredients.

“I should be the one thanking you. If it weren’t for you who knows how today would’ve gone.” Tommy says, looking over at you with a gentle smile.

Once the cookies were made, the three of you retreat to the living room to relax as the cookies cool but to Tommy’s shock both you and Charlie practically passed out the second you reached the sofas. Tommy watched your still form curled up on the other sofa as soft snores escape your lips while Charlie was curled up against his side. He was glad he had someone like you in his life, someone to tell him to slow down and to put things on the back burner so he could give his son a childhood. Tommy squeezes Charlie a little tighter before pressing a kiss to the top of his head before allowing his own tired eyes to close, knowing Christmas is the time for family, and he was bloody grateful he had the one he had.

[nonstoplover]

protagonist ~ joe liebgott (band of brothers)

my masterlist  |  my hbo war masterlist

pairing: joe liebgott x female reader

short summary: joe's assigned to search for the perfect house for easy's hq in the new town they'll soon arrive to on their way through germany and finds one with a girl in there who's like the protagonist of one of the comics he's read - courageous, fearless, heroic.

words: 2.5K

a/n: first of all, sorry for disappearing, exam season has started at my uni and i've been hella busy these past weeks (and gonna be for the following few as well,  u g h ).

anyway this fic came around from a conversation i had with the lovely @now-im-a-belieber when i was telling her about an idea i had and she technically came up with the base of this. thank you, Pearl, i love you xx (i hope i did justice to your idea)

oh and let's just say i have no clue if this would have been possible, at least the exact way i wrote it.

taglist: @how-are-those-nuts-sarge @50svibes @pennyllanne @nowinnablewar

gif credit: @basilone

Four loud bangs sound against her front door right as she starts washing the dishes after they finished lunch. With her eyes widening in surprise she rushes back into the room, telling the family of three to hide as she's drying her hands in her apron before making her way to the door.

After taking a deep breath she grabs the handle and opens it. The next thing she knows is being pushed to the side as a figure storms in past her without a word. A gasp leaves her lungs as her back lightly collides with the wall, head turning to watch as the soldier barges in the house.

What is going on? Has someone found out about them?

With a hand reaching behind her back she pushes herself off the wall and hurries behind the man. Trying hard to sound completely calm and innocent she asks him what is going on, but he only barks back something almost inaudible - only a few German words reach her ears.

The soldier is moving with such speed that she hasn't got a single chance to get a better look at his uniform as he's entering every room one by one. Who is he? Worry swiftly floods her veins - more importantly, what is he looking for?

She can only pray the family has had enough time to properly hide.

As he reaches that door, she holds her breath back, repeating her little prayer like a mantra inside her head. The man comes to a sudden halt just as he steps through the doorframe and in an instant fear makes her blood turn freezing cold. She carefully moves closer to glance inside next to his body, not knowing what to expect.

And what she sees makes everything else in her mind disappear - just the thoughts of all hell breaking loose any time now move around inside.

Her best friend crouches on the other side of the room, clearly frozen mid-movement as her body is still half out of the hiding spot, eyes wide as she stares at the soldier, not a single muscle moving. It's like everyone's got frozen in time, none of the three people makes a move.

Liebgott's mind slow to catch up to what he sees - he didn't expect to see that as he rushed through the house. He's only been trying to decide whether it's a good place for Easy's HQ, as he has been ordered to do when Winters sent him ahead of the company.

His eyes then start moving around the room, trying hard to find a good reason as to why that girl is half inside the wall. A book is laying on the table next to the door, open at around the middle. With one glance at the pages he recognises the letters of the hebrew alphabet, and suddenly it all makes sense.

She's a Jew.

His breath hitches in his throat as he struggles to comprehend this new information, and just in that very moment the silence is broken by a voice. And it's not coming from either of the two girls in the room - more like it's coming from inside the wall.

One simple sentence, ending with a Yiddish term of endearment - one he can perfectly understand. It came from a woman, asking the girl crouching facing him from across the room why she's stopped moving.

There are more Jews in there.

His lungs fill with a sharp breath he's taken and he spins around, staring straight at the girl who opened the front door only minutes prior. The question must be clear in his eyes as she starts stammering in defense, her voice audibly shaking.

Joe shakes his head, stopping her mid-sentence. "No, they're Jews, I can see it," he says in perfect German, and the already pale girl suddenly seems even whiter.

He swiftly grabs her arm and pulls her in the direction he remembers finding the dining room in, trying to find a chair for her to sit down on, as she's visibly close to fainting - though the reason behind it he can't find.

(y/n) flinches with utter fear, weakly trying to resist being pulled away - he most probably is now taking her away to kill her, right? He's a German soldier, that's what his job is. But no matter how hard she tries to wiggle away, his grip is too tight around her arm and she can't do a thing.

Just when they arrive to the dining room and he kind of pushes her into one of the chairs is when Joe realises that she's scared of him - she immediately pushes the chair further away from him as soon as he lets go of her. So that's why she's shaking so bad.

"No, wait, don't be scared," he rushes to say. "I'm a Jew too."

This finally breaks the scaredness - instead her eyes fill with utter confusion. Her forehead wrinkles as she tries to make sense of what he's saying. How can a German soldier be Jewish? It makes absolutely no sense.

With a sudden wave of suspicion she moves her glance down to his uniform, examining every detail she can lay her eyes upon.

Is he not German?!

Suddenly she can see differences - details about his uniform that she's never seen on a German soldier before, and she's seen her fair share of those in the past years.

But if he's not German, who is he and what is going on?

She takes a still shaky breath and looks back up into his eyes - seeing the waiting expression on his face as he's standing there in patient silence for her to say something.

"Are you-" Her voice cracks mid-sentence. It's not good. She clears her throat and tries again. "Are you German?"

All of a sudden he bursts out laughing - so loud, and somehow so dark that her eyes widen once again. She just can't decide if it's from fear again, or only surprise.

A minute or so goes by with nothing but Joe laughing - this must be one of the most hilarious things he's heard in the past couple years. That he is a German.

Then his laughter finally quietens down to slight chuckling and he speaks up once more to confirm the truth. "No, of course not," he shakes his head in amusement. One look in her eyes tells him that somehow she still has no clue about his nationality, so he opens his lips again to give an answer to her question in advance. "I'm American. Don't worry, you're not in trouble for that," Joe points back in the direction of the room with the hiding spot above his shoulder.

A loud sigh escapes her lungs, her shoulder visibly falling a bit as she slumps more into the chair. It feels like years worth of stress and nervousness have just come to an end - it's truly like an enormous stone has rolled down from her chest and shoulders. She somehow feels free again for the first time in years.

Relief completely replaces the worry and fear in her veins as all other thoughts leave her mind. She's not gonna die. At least not today.

"They're Jewish," the soldier speaks again - and it's not a question. More like a statement.

(y/n) nods, unable to say a word as she's still overwhelmed with her new feelings.

"You're hiding them?"

She just raises an eyebrow, and Joe mentally slaps himself - what a stupid question. He could've might as well just asked her the colour of the wall.

"Since when you've been hiding them?" He corrects his question.

"Ever since the whole thing has started," she answers, her voice so quiet it almost disappears in the air between them.

"Wow," Liebgott breathes out before he can stop himself. He stares at the girl in disbelief. She looks so innocent and young - she's probably one or two years younger than him. How could she pull off something such a thing? Such a dangerous and pretty reckless thing?

"Esther is my best friend, she's been ever since we were little kids, they all are like a second family to me, I've spent most of my days with them," (y/n) explains, the relief causing her to ramble and Joe - for about the first time in his life has to struggle to keep up with the German words that come flying out past her lips. "I just had to help them, you know. I couldn't just leave them here."

"Where's your own family?"

"My parents left to France to be further away from the chaos, and my brother joined the Luftwaffe, and since then I haven't heard from none of them."

"Why didn't you leave with your parents as well?" The young soldier keeps asking, moving closer to the table and sitting down on a chair on the opposite side, facing her. Pushing his M1's strap down his shoulder he places the weapon on the table, pushing it only a little further in order to calm the girl more. He knows he probably shouldn't do this - and keep Winters waiting, but he's too curious to stop himself, he has to hear the rest of her story.

"I love this town, I was born and raised here," she shrugs as if it's obvious. "But more importantly, I didn't want to leave and let innocent people like my best friend's family suffer. I wanted to stay and fight back as good as I could."

Joe subconsciously mumbles under his breath before he can stop himself - words that praise her absolute bravery, words that give away his true feelings he suddenly feels towards her - then he has to move his gaze away from her, fearing that she sees the embarrassment in his eyes. He tries hard to think of another question while also trying hard to forget the look of the half-smiling expression that took over her face just a moment before - it does nothing good for his heart.

"Did you make that hidden room yourself?" He asks in the end, thinking back to what he saw in the room.

"Oh," she giggles - and it's the prettiest sound he's heard in a very long time. "No, my father made it when me and my brother were young and often played hide and seek. I just improved it a little so they can fit in more comfortably."

Liebgott hums, not knowing how to tell her - or if he should even tell her in the first place - how absolutely super impressed she left him with every single thing she's told him and what he's seen. It's one of the craziest things he has ever heard, and he had a fair share of unbelievable stories told to him in his life. He simply couldn't even imagine how on Earth this girl could manage to do this - and not get caught. Throughout the whole war.

In that very moment he swiftly decides that he'll go and find another house for the HQ, and that he'll somehow get back to this particular one, no matter what it takes. He wants to get to know her better. He has to get to know her better.

She's the most incredible woman he's ever heard of, read about or met. She's a woman who fits in the stories of the comics he's been reading his whole life - as the protagonist, the hero. He can't leave this town without hearing more about her, seeing her face more. That would be the biggest regret of his whole life, he can already tell.

But for now, he has to leave. It wouldn't be a good idea to keep his officers waiting even longer.

He stands up, fingers reaching out to grab his M1 before looking back into her eyes. Damn, he doesn't even know her name.

"I have to head back to my company, but I'll come back later, if that's okay with you."

Her eyes are already on his, seemingly staring straight into his soul with that intensity that lays in her (y/e/c) orbs. The girl then rises to her feet - still never breaking the eye contact.

Thoughts race inside her head, and it's like an angel and a demon are sitting on each of her shoulders, one telling her to say no whilst the other trying to convince her to say yes.

What if he only wants to use her? What if he only wants to sleep with her? Maybe force her to do so, threatening her with his knowledge of the Jewish family. He might not even be who and what he says he is. How could she know?

But on the other hand, there is this feeling she has about him. A feeling that tells her that nothing she previously thought will happen. She doesn't know what it is, but it's there, right in her chest, and she can't fight it. He seems genuinely curious and impressed, and honest. And she feels a pull towards him. She wants to see him again.

In the end, the devil on her shoulder wins, and she simply nods - right before she could change her mind.

"I'm Joe," the young soldier moves around the table, one hand held out towards her.

A glance cast down and right back up to his face she takes his hand and gives it a shake, holding onto it tightly, as if only to let him know how strong she actually is.

It probably works, 'cause he raises an eyebrow, slightly tilts his head and the corners of his lips curve up into the smallest smirk she's ever seen - but it's there.

"(y/n)," she eventually answers with her own introduction.

A few seconds pass and neither has let go of the other's hand, not yet. They just stand there, staring into each other's eyes, only the small noises of them breathin breaking the silence.

Then Liebgott blinks, clears his throat, pulls his hand out from her grip and instinctively places his fingers upon his weapon hanging from his shoulder whilst nodding towards her as a gesture of saying goodbye without words.

She watches as he turns around and walks out from the room, and after a tiny, happy sigh she follows the sound of his steps.

Just as he opens the front door and moves through it is when she arrives to the hall. Joe glances back over his shoulder for one last time, offering her a small smile, then looks back ahead of him and continues his walk as if nothing has happened. None of the past dozen of minutes.

(y/n) leans against the doorframe and watches him right until he disappears in the distance with a dreamy look in her eyes.

She can't wait until he comes back again.

.::the end::.

(might write a part two if i'll have time and you'd like to read it)

my masterlist  |  my hbo war masterlist

[wanna be added to my taglist?]

[tema-makes-art-sometimes]

How I imagine the nations smell/what perfumes and scented candles they’d have/like.

Because my friend Richie started talking about how nations smell like, I’m thinking about it a lot so here’s my rambled thoughts cause why not. This normally isn’t my dig but why not Im bored.

--N Italy--

Vene smells like happiness- I joke but I imagine he smells just very bright. Like orange peels, and freshly cut grass. Firm pressed designer leather bags too. Not to mention fresh food, like he just left the kitchen after being in it all day. The warring smells of all sorts of spices that linger on his clothes from accidental hand fumbles or just a little too much enthusiastic shaking.

--S Italy--

Romano’s is very sharp, something that hits you when he walks in but not in an unpleasant way. I think he’d smell like a coffee shop. Very warm and impactful. Citrus and coffee, like an espresso romano. Specifically lemon and dark roasted coffee, maybe the faintest hint of caramel or something sweet that you can’t quite place. A gentle touch, just a touch of the ocean too. Just a slight sprinkle of salt.

--Germany--

Germany smells like a bakery, that’s it I wont take critique on the matter. I used to lean oak wood and car oil like his brother but let’s be real this man smells like he’s been sleeping in the bakery for 10 years. He smells like bread and cinnamon and blackberry jam. He smells like turbenado sugar and fresh baked apple pie. Just... warmth. A warm bakery or a kitchen. Filled with laughter and homely vibes.

--Prussia--

Prussia’s is similar to Germany but a bit harsher. There’s the under-hint of sweets but the overtone his oak and mahogany wood and leather. With just a twinge of that sweet hoppy smell of beer. Not too much just on the very edge. Wouldn't be surprised if he has a splash of car oil to his vibe. Just smells like an old man XD. But joking aside its a very homely vibe. Like he just came in from being out in the garage all day working on his car and just came in for a drink and a conversation.

--Japan--

Japan has the most subtle of scents. Cherry blossom is the most obvious but I think he leans more toward warm ocean breeze, faint sea salt and macha tea. Just that warm ocean vibe like youre standing right by the ocean, feeling thew waves on your feet, feeling the salt sting your nose just a bit. Balanced out with the round smell of macha that mellows it just enough for the gentle but pronounced cherry blossom to come through.

--USA--

America sounds like a drive in or a diner. That warm fry oil and seared beef and bacon. And soda, like that tingle of when you first open a soda. Specifically a cherry soda, that sweet, sticky fake cherry syrup smell. That kind of energy. He also smells like worn leather and cut grass, mainly from the his old bomber jacket that he wears all the time. It gives him a more well rounded vibe to him. Like sitting in an old diner from the 60′s with the leather booths and the jukeboxes.

--Canada--

“MAPLE” yeah of course obviously. He of course smells like maple syrup, but also other things. To me he has a forest vibe to him, a cabin in the woods. Like pine trees, moss, half frozen soil, maple sap/syrup. He smells like the halfway point between winter and spring. Where pollen and the vague scent of flowers are starting to appear while the soft scent of fallen snow and salt still lingers.

--UK--

England’s a really easy one for me. He smells like old books, earl grey and black tea and the ocean. He smells like- wet. Even when he isnt. You know the smell when you get soaked in the rain? That vibe. And of course, the old dusty books, ones that have been on the shelf for years and years, whom pages are starting to yellow. Fresh brewed tea with that hint of steam, just wet cool and a bit bitter.

--France--

While I’m trying to not have all of them smell like flowers because that unrealistic, I’m going all for it here. You can’t tell me this man doesn't smell like a bouquet of roses with an after-hint of that sharp sting yet pleasant and mellow scent of a good red wine. Like that distinct smell of alcohol, surrounded by a vibrant array of bright floral scents. He smells like he walks around with a dozen roses and a bottle of wine in his hands all the time and he cultivates that approachable suave energy with it.

--China--

China smells warm. Just warm. Like I can’t quite specify what it is but I feel like his ambient scent is just warmth. Like cinnamon and star anise, Chinese five spice kind of vibe. Something that when it hits your nose you just feel good. Like he just walked out of a high end fancy restaurant after a big meeting with others. Maybe a subtle hint of peonies. He has that natural vibe that just makes you wanna smile.

--Russia--

I like to think Russia smells like a snow covered forest. That scent and feeling when the air is sharply cold and you can smell the snowstorm coming in, with a bit of pine. Maybe even a hint of a campfire. If I had to pick like a building that he’d have that ambient scent of it would be like a carpentry shop. The smell of a fire in the fireplace, freshly lacquered wood, cut mahogany and pine sap.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Into The Unknown, Part 2

First

Interdimensional travel? Awful. Don’t try it at home. It’s a lot like how one would imagine getting sucked up a straw: you get squished and pulled until you come out the other side a goopy mess.

Speaking of goopy messes: Tim keeled over and threw up.

He ignored the yelling right next to him because, honestly, he couldn’t even bring himself to look up at the moment. The bright light of this world -- apparently it was daytime here, ew -- hurt his eyes even through his sunglasses and he really didn’t want to move from where he had curled up in what seemed to be grass.

But, eventually, he did. He pushed himself up onto his knees and squinted over at her.

Ladybug had detransformed at some point and was now wearing an old t-shirt and some sweats… and she was apparently fighting off a baby. Damian kicked, screamed, and wiggled in her hold as she tried her hardest to trap him in the blanket again.

“... how are you losing to a baby?”

She sent a glare at him and then mumbled a curse as a tiny fist connected with her face and Damian wriggled away from her.

“Let me think about that, Red. What could go wrong if I, a meta used to fighting other metas, tried to use force against a human child?”

Okay, yeah. It was probably for the best that she hadn’t tried anything.

Oddly enough, when Tim walked over and replaced Marinette, Damian started behaving immediately.

He frowned, tipping his head to the side confusedly. He picked up his younger brother and stood up. “Why’d he start freaking out?”

She did the exact opposite of standing up, opting to spread out in the grass and glare at the sky. “I don’t know. He just started freaking out when I tried to put the watch around his neck.”

“Weird,” he mumbled.

“Yeah.”

He took the time to look around properly for once. They were in a park but it must have been a weekday because there was hardly anyone around. The only people that had paid them any mind were a group of teenagers -- probably ditching, he thought -- that were staring at them with wide eyes.

Tim glanced at a street sign to make sure the common language was English before sending them a glare. “It’s rude to stare, y’know.”

The teenagers quickly looked down at their phones. Tim knew better than to believe that they were actually paying attention, they had the same posture that a lot of lookouts did, but whatever. No one would believe them, anyways.

He gave her a few more minutes before he adjusted his hold on Damian and offered a hand up.

Ladybug took it with a faint smile and he pulled her to her feet. She grabbed their discarded suitcase and they started walking aimlessly.

“Okay, we’re here… but we still need a cover.”

“Um… you’re the one that’s good at hacking, right?”

He nodded. Damian reached a hand out of the blanket and began touching his hair. He was too busy wondering what to do to really mind.

“Great. How about… we’re the kid’s siblings?”

“We can pass as his parents. I mean, it’d be a teen pregnancy but it wouldn’t be bad,” said Tim. “We still had him at eighteen-ish.”

She shook her head. “He’s darker than both of us, it wouldn’t make sense. Maybe I had him with some… darker guy and now you’re my boyfriend? No, that feels racist for some reason. I’m his half-sister, our parents died, and you’re my boyfriend.”

Tim frowned. “Why am I always the boyfriend? He’s my brother.”

“Well, frankly, you look nothing like him. He and I, at least, have similar noses.”

He scowled. It made sense but it still annoyed him. “Fine. I’m your husband, though. I want to have at least some rights.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure. Guess that’s good for tax benefits, too. Better get me a cute ring.”

“Okay, but the diamond is going to be fake.”

“Cheapskate.”

“Cheskae,” Damian said, yanking Tim’s hair like the little shit he was.

“See, he agrees,” Ladybug said with a victorious grin.

~

They went up to a hotel (Red Robin had tried to talk her into a five-star one but she managed to bring it down to a two-star when showing him the cost) and tried to reserve a room.

“May I have a name for the reservation?” The nice lady at the front counter said, smiling at them.

Red Robin glanced up from where he was awkwardly bouncing with the baby in his arms to shoot her A Look. It was unfortunate that she had no clue what the look meant. She considered the question for a moment before eventually saying:

“Dupain-Cheng.”

Red Robin relaxed a little so she was pretty sure she had gotten it right.

She hesitantly took the baby from him -- the kid had apparently forgotten about his earlier freakout because he was just as weirdly still as he had been back in Gotham -- so he could pay.

The moment they got into the hotel room she fell back in the bed. The baby squirmed a little on her stomach to get comfortable before joining her in her laziness.

Red Robin sighed and sat next to them, resting his head in his hands. “Okay. We’re going to need supplies for him. Do you want to do a supply run or should I?”

She shrugged a little, much to the baby’s dismay. Have you ever had a baby babble angrily at you? It’s very cute.

“You’re so helpful. Thanks, Ladybug.”

“No problem,” she said as if she couldn’t hear the blatant sarcasm in his tone. Then she pushed herself up to squint at him, the baby sliding down to her lap smoothly. “Wait, are we still going to be using codenames?”

He frowned. “Obviously.”

“... for fifteen years?”

“Obviously.”

She rolled her eyes. “Great, so when we take the kid back we’re going to explain to him that, on top of all the adjustment of moving to a different dimension, he needs to now use a different name for you, and messing up isn’t an option. Also, I feel like people are going to question two random people called ‘Red Robin’ and ‘Ladybug’ at some point.”

Red Robin frowned, clearly thinking hard, and then nodded slightly. He removed his glasses and looked at her with an awkward smile. “This is Damian, I’m Tim.”

She raised her eyebrows because he was looking at her expectantly and she really didn’t know what he wanted from her. “Uh… am I supposed to know you?”

“I mean… kinda?”

She squinted at him for a while before shrugging. “That one guy? Timothy --.”

“Yep!”

“-- Chalamet?”

He looked oddly hurt now. “You think I look like Timothy Chalamet?”

“I mean you both have the same sickly Victorian boy look about you.”

“... for the sake of our fake marriage I’m going to pretend that you didn’t say that. I’m Tim Drake.” She still didn’t show any hint of recognition (probably because she didn’t recognize him) so he groaned and motioned to Damian. “This is Damian Wayne.”

“Wayne? Like Waynetech?”

“There you go,” he said.

She grinned at him. “It’s not my fault you made me guess.”

He huffed a little. “Alright, fine, then who are you, then?”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“... who’s that?”

“A nobody. Like secret identities should be,” she said, giving him a smug look.

He rolled his eyes. “I feel like this is going to be a long fifteen years.”

“Shouldn’t have dragged me into your mess, now you gotta deal with the consequences.”

He stuck his tongue out at her. She returned it. So did the baby.

~

It was decided that Marinette should be the one to go on a supply run since Tim needed to start making identities for them.

… it would be a lot easier if there wasn’t a baby crawling all over him. She’d better get a crib while she was out because he didn’t know if he could deal with a baby smashing the keys for much longer.

“Dami -- no, stop, I -- I swear to god -- you’re a baby okay I can literally just drop you and you would -- please stop --,” Tim cut off his irritated rambling when Damian nearly got them on a good few government watchlists by smashing the keys at the wrong time.

Fed up, he grabbed the kid and set him on the ground. It’ll probably be fine. He only needed to do a few quick things, anyways.

He was shocked to find that there was a version of him in this world. The idea of a Tim who didn’t do vigilante-work was foreign to him. He had apparently stayed with his parents and was now working towards a business degree. This dimension’s Tim wasn’t nearly as famous as he was and the three of them had landed in Texas so it was unlikely that he would be recognized but he would prefer not using the name if he didn’t have to. Just to be safe.

Damian didn’t exist, as far as he could tell, but Bruce Wayne did and he was still famous so it wouldn’t be a good idea to use his last name either.

There was a version of Marinette, too, but she was currently in France helping her parents run their bakery. Very little chance of her getting recognized.

So, he decided to use her last name for all of them. Quick and easy. He’d have to tell her that he changed her birthplace to New Jersey when she got back to the hotel but he doubted she’d have much of a problem with that.

… oh. His phone was ringing. Apparently he could tell her now.

He picked up and wedged it between his ear and his shoulder as he worked at finding them a few social security numbers to… ‘borrow’.

“Yeah?”

“How big is the baby?”

Tim blinked a few times. “... baby sized?”

“No. Like… what size diaper do you think he would use?”

He scoffed. “Do I look like I would know the diaper sizes?”

“Do I look like I do? Just… how old do you think he is?”

Tim looked over the edge of the bed to where Damian was currently shaking Kaalki like she was a maraca. Kaalki, for her part, only looked vaguely annoyed as she bounced around in his tiny baby fists.

“I dunno. Like… a year-ish? Just buy one of everything we can see what fits.”

“Fucking hell I forgot you were rich. You said a year? I’m using that.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay -- OH SHIT DAMIAN NO!”

He tumbled out of bed and raced over to Damian before he could stick his finger in a socket. He didn’t really know if that was enough to get shocked but this was not the way to find out.

Damian was apparently very annoyed about him foiling his attempt at dying because he squirmed around in his grip and yelled incomprehensibly. Tim ignored the baby fists trying to knock his teeth out -- his teeth had faced far worse before -- and scooted across the ground to his phone.

“-- to god, Tim, what happened if you don’t answer I will run over there --.”

“It’s fine. Just get… you know the things that cover electrical sockets? Make sure to get some of those,” he said, tipping his head back to rest against the bed so he could kind of relax despite the ball of anger in his arms.

Marinette groaned. “Fuck, you can’t just scare me like that.”

“Yeah, you were the one that suffered the most during that.”

She scoffed but he swore he could hear a tiny laugh hidden under her mumbled ‘shut up’.

He smiled a little.

She didn’t hang up, probably expecting to ask him something else soon, so he listened in idly as he tried to calm Damian down enough to start working again.

She mumbled to herself while she looked for things. Some of the speech was normal but most of it was pretty much as incomprehensible as Damian’s babbling (admittedly, it probably didn’t help that he was only half paying attention).

“... tty trai… now?... oh... alright… oh, great, does she work here?” She murmured to herself. Then, louder: “Hey, lady --!”

“We’re in Texas,” he reminded her. “People are expected to be more polite down here.”

He was too late. Someone started yelling on Marinette’s end and, if the tiny sigh of annoyance was anything to go off of, it wasn’t her.

The yelling lasted approximately five minutes before someone intervened.

He heard her speak in rapid Spanish to the employee and, to his surprise, he could actually understand every word of them talking shit about the lady who had screamed at her. He didn’t know what to think of this outside of pulling the phone away from his mouth so he could try and roll an r. He was delighted to find that he had gained that ability as well. He continued rolling his tongue.

Damian stopped his squirming and gave Tim a confused look… and then he started to giggle. He twisted around in Tim’s lap and started trying to mimic the sound.

He tried to hide his smile as the two of them kept making r sounds at each other. He didn’t think he’d succeeded at keeping his face relatively neutral, but he didn’t really mind.

~~~~~

Next

@nathleigh @peachmuses @unoriginalmess

[ilovepodcastladies]

The Magnus Archives 2: Magnus Scrotocol

sasha what have you done

[headingalaxys-spicy]

Yandere America x Reader X Britain p.2

So, I got carried away with this and made a part 2 and I'll likely add an America Ending and a Britain Ending.

If you're looking for Part 1

(Writing has kinda of been taking the edge off of work for me so yeah.)

Enjoy the ramblings of a person who has def lost their sensibilities.

“You’re right, I am.”

Words you couldn’t hear. But, you felt a disturbance in the relatively calm atmosphere that you had created for yourself. There was an energy shift within your shop about 15 minutes after Jones and Kirkland had left. But, as usual, you put on your Alpha mode aura and did your best to contain yourself. You knew that showing fear would lead to your demise if you didn’t want to become like so many others who were a part of the system as servants.

You had to survive.

Arthur smirks deviously to himself. “That fae is mine. They’re too pretty to hand over this time to those lazy elites.” Alfred side-eyes Arthur with malice.

“Yeah sure bro. I’ll let you have them.” He pats him mockingly on the back hard enough to where he almost knocks his ancient family spell book out of his hands.

“Careful you imbecile! Why for the love of God would I ever just hand over a fae like them to you anyways? Besides I’m the one who is better at magic and have been doing it for way longer!” Arthur loathes the idea of having Alfred take the one darling that suits his impossibly high standards.

“Because you suck at life dude. They’re MINE.” He glares at Arthur in disdain.

Just as they were about to start physically fighting they were interrupted by France.

“Oh come on you two. We actually have to catch zehm first before you can argue who gets to keep zhem. Last I checked you two got your asses kicked by the witch last week and the week before that mermaid darling almost drowned the both of you. The only way we can stop these Class S darlings from getting away is by achieving zome team harmony.”

“I hate to say it but the Frenchie is right.” Arthur relents. “I’m actually going to need more manpower so this spell can be expedited and be more potent.”

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

You began to notice that there were more people outside of your usual clientele. There wasn’t an event going on nearby either. And that they were keeping a keen eye on you and your staff a little more so than usual. Or maybe ….it was all in your head….. you hoped.

“Remember (y/n) you have to keep, calm, cool and collected. No showing of any weakness. Unless you want to be questioned.” You repeated to yourself in your mind. You were just a tad bit nervous. Even though you had up your facade, there were still cracks within it was ill-fated that one of Jones’ agents caught on to its faint crack. The slight hesitation you showed on your facial expression when your lips twitched ever so slightly at the sight of one of his agents was all they needed to further confirmed that you were one of the loose fae’s. The elusive flicker of fear in your eyes also didn’t help your case either.

But so you persisted through the rest of the day, in your endeavor to cover up the fact that you were a Class S Darling.

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

As you began to finish up your closing tasks with your evening shift with Class B darlings and a few Beta’s you tried your best to ignore a few figures outside that seemed to never leave the view of your shops window.

Just as you were about to lock the front door. Jones and Kirkland saunter in with a few other men in tow.

“Oh shit.” That was all you could think of as they all brush past you and block you from being able to close the shop.

All the men were clothed in either black suits or elaborate sorcerer outfits that read to you as the highest-ranking there were. You knew you were in trouble.

“(Full Name)” Alfred says in a loud voice that catches the attention of the rest of your staff. It basically could have been thunder by the way he exclaimed your name loudly. They all freeze from doing their duties and turn their attention to the scene that was about to unfold before them.

The men surrounded you in a circle. There were nine of them all of them having an intimidating aura to them. An Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Canadian, Frenchman, and the two you saw earlier the American named Jones and the Englishman.

Even though you were presented with an impossible situation. It wasn’t enough to make you give up your freedom that easily. As someone who’s played the role of an Alpha for so long you were going to fight like one too.

“What can I do for you gentlemen?” You hiss out the last word in annoyance. You clearly just wanted to go home and be done with this entire situation. You crossed your arms to try and prove that you were going to remain in control.

“We have reasonable evidence to prove that your actually a fae… a Class S darling. That needs to have an elite Alpha, to abide by.” Alfred pulls out a file and begins to walk towards you like a lion getting ready to pounce on its prey. He stops short of one foot in front of you and reads out damning evidence that you’re not the Alpha that you’ve been pretending to be.

“(First name) passing our Alpha test when you were 20 by using your ….magic…. Such as casting a strength spell to up your muscle and a forgetfulness spell so your observers would miss other questions and tests that they were supposed to ask of you.” He leers his eyes up and away from the file to take in your full reaction to the accusations. Alfred’s blue eyes pierced into yours practically challenging you to deny his claims. Your (e/c) were beginning to brim over with fear and anger.

You try to concentrate on your getaway spell but for some reason, your mind was clouded and unable to process much of anything that was going on anymore. That’s when you vaguely realized that the Englishman from earlier was chanting an Experimentum optimum verissimum, a spell that allows the caster to use their magic against them.

“They came prepared for this?!? That spell at least takes a few days to prepare!” That was all you could think of before trying to summon your flame sword to protect yourself from the nine frightening men that had overtaken your store.

However, Alfred sees this and effortlessly kicks your weapon out of your hand and pins you to the floor with his strength. You could tell by how swiftly he moved that he was way stronger than he was perceived to be. His muscular frame held you in place and the other eight men brought out their crystals to siphon off your powers and crush any hope you had of using your powers to save yourself.

“Get off me!” You yell and try to kick him off. However, with each passing second your body grew heavier and heavier it was as if someone attached bricks to your limbs. Your head was spinning as if you had spent the last few minutes taking shots of alcohol. You were beginning to lose consciousness.

Alfred’s eyes gleam with triumph. He chuckles a little as he gazes at you. Just before you fully blackout you hear him say in a macabre way:

“It’s time you get with the program (Y/N), as my darling.” He watches you as you fade into the dark spell that had engulfed you.

[aquagirl1978]

To New Beginnings - Lovestruck AU Fanfic - Various Love Interests

A/N: I thought I was done with the original trilogy, but Antares returning brought a fourth chapter out of me. In this chapter, the group gathers to say goodbye to the LIs that are returning for new routes. I was inspired by @aliboo's amazing artwork in where she created "glam" portraits of some LIs (permission granted by @aliboo to repost)

Credit to @violettduchess for creating this amazing AU where all the retired LIs continue to exist - her story can be found HERE.

Warnings: None

Tagging: @mcira @enchantedlovestruckfan @otakufangirl-12 @fan-girl-2 @remys-lucky-franc

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

"Here you go, Nikolai. Just as you asked," she said with a wink as she pressed the martini into his hand. "Shaken, not stirred."

"Niko, you've truly taken to the notion of the masquerade party, completely transforming yourself into your chosen character," Remy announced as he swept into the room. He sat across from Nikolai in a plush velvet lounge chair and crossed an ankle over his knee. "Aeryn, is my tea ready yet?" he asked, a faint Russian accent slipping into his voice.

Nikolai peered at Remy over his martini glass, his brows furrowed. "Now who are you supposed to be?"

"Why you, of course!" Remy exclaimed, his green eyes sparkling with joy. "Onyx was kind enough to find me some turtlenecks. You remember your phase years ago when all you wore were these things?" Remy tugged at the neck with his fingers. "How did you do it, these are dreadfully constricting?" When he noticed Nikolai's mouth agape, with no words coming forth, Remy continued, returning to his French accent. "Anyway, I thought you'd be flattered I chose to dress as you, Niko."

"I'm not sure flattered is the word I would choose. Perhaps, instead..."

"He's flattered, Remy," Aeryn interjected, placing a gentle hand on Nikolai's thigh. "He's just not there yet."

"Oh no, no. Not more of this!" Nikolai shouted when Jett and Leon entered the room. Jett was dressed in a crisp white shirt and tailored black suit jacket. Leon was sporting a plaid button-down shirt and black suspenders.

"When Remy told us who he was dressing as, we thought we'd join in the fun," Jett said. "I also never thought I'd ever get Leon to wear my suspenders."

"How much convincing did he need?" Remy asked.

"Not nearly as much as you'd think," Jett replied, gently elbowing Leon in the ribs. "It suits you, Daddy," Jett added with a smirk.

Leon's cheeks immediately turned pink. "Stop. Just stop."

"Don't you two look cute," Sevastian snickered, leaning lazily against the wall.

Nikolai nearly dropped his glass. "Now who are you supposed to be?" His face was blanched; Nikolai looked truly terrified by the wicked prince.

Sevastian pushed himself from the wall and made his way to the nearby mirror to fix his hair in the reflection. "Dave...something?"

"David Bowie!" Jett shrieked in Nikolai's ear as he plopped down next to him on the couch.

Nikolai arched an eyebrow. "I assume you had something to do with this?" Nikolai gestured towards Sevastian.

"I think you look great," Aeryn offered, ignoring Nikolai.

"You think so?" Sevastian asked sincerely to which Aeryn nodded. "Do you think she will come?" he whispered, speaking only to her.

Today was a special occasion. Normally, this group of retired LIs celebrated when an LI joined them when their route ended. But today...today they say goodbye to some of their friends. Antares, Nova and Aurora were leaving them to start new adventures with new MCs. To mark this momentous occasion, some of the current LIs and MCs were coming to bring them back.

Sevastian, of course, sent word to his MC, inviting her to join him at this party. He went as far as to tell her he was dressing up, and with Jett's help, gave her an idea or two of who she could come as.

"Yes," Aeryn replied, smiling. "Of course, she will come. And I'm dying to meet her!" Sevastian brightened, a small smile forming on his lips.

Remy stood and clapped his hands. “Let’s go mingle with the others. Can’t hide here in our little corner all night,” he added with a chuckle, winking at Nikolai. The group stood and followed Remy to the party. Nikolai begrudgingly joined them, Aeryn’s hand clasped firmly in his.

“How’s this all going to work…an LI paired with a new MC?” Jett asked as they entered the main room. The party was in full swing, with some of the partygoers dressed in costume and others remaining in their regular clothes. Unlike parties of the past, the music was not loud and booming, but rather somewhat subdued. There was a sense of sadness lingering in the room; usually these parties were to welcome a friend, not say goodbye to one.

“It’s cheating, if you ask me,” Leon replied, grabbing a glass of champagne from a nearby tray. “I would never want to return with a new LI.” Leon smiled at Aeryn as he spoke, his eyes twinkling with love.

“I agree with Leon. I would never want to come back with a new MC,” Nikolai added, placing a sweet kiss on the top of Aeryn’s head.

“I would gladly come back,” Remy interjected.

“That’s simply because you only got 4 seasons,” Nikolai said with a smirk. Remy scoffed, mock affronted.

“Oh look,” Aeryn said while grabbing Nikolai’s arm, an obvious move to change subjects. “Look at Atlas! Is he --?”

Nikolai peered over Aeryn’s shoulder, observing the pilot in the distance. Atlas was wearing a shabby black vest over a plain shirt that once upon a time might have been white. His MC was with him, her hair in a style he could only describe as appearing to be cinnamon buns. Atlas was, much to Nikolai’s shock, positively glowing. His cheeks were a ruddy red and he was roaring with laughter.

“He is most definitely plastered!” Jett snickered.

“He’s just excited the Emperor is leaving. Means more time with his MC,” Sevastian noted wistfully.

"Where's Antares, Nova and Rory?" Remy questioned.

"Nova and Rory said their goodbyes last night. Antares early this morning," Leon answered. "They wanted their final moments to be private. As they should be." The group murmured in silent agreement.

“Speaking of MCs…. shouldn’t the others be here by now?” Aeryn asked, glancing around the room. Off to the side, Aeryn spotted Darius chatting with Cal and Wrath. Only Darius was dressed up in a leather jacket and, for some unknown reason, wearing sunglasses indoors. Aeryn couldn’t put her finger on who he was supposed to be, but knew he was trying to be someone.

“Slater,” Nikolai groaned painfully, “please tell me you were not responsible for that.” Nikolai pointed an angry finger at Sascha. The entire group cringed as they watched Sascha dance dramatically around the room, dressed all in black, his face covered in black and white markings.

“Bloody hell,” Jett uttered. “No. Absolutely no. I had nothing to do with that.”

"Does anyone know who that is?" Aeryn points out an attractive brunette dressed in a maroon off-the-shoulder jumpsuit.

"She's kinda cute," Remy leered. Nikolai rolled his eyes at the Frenchman.

"She reminds me of my race car driving days, but I don't know her from anywhere," Leon reminisced. "Maybe she is..."

"They're here, they're FINALLY here!" Onyx's voice rang throughout the room.

Sevastian nervously glanced around the room, his fingers fidgeting by his sides. They're here; she is here. That is, if she came. What if she's not here? What if she wanted to, but couldn't come?

Sevastian was so preoccupied by his rambling thoughts that he didn't notice Aeryn approached him until she was under his nose. "You won't find her standing here," she said softly, urging him to search for his love.

With a smirk, Sevastian turned, and headed towards the crowd. Please let her be here, please, please, please. He thought it was her when he spotted a flash of red in the crowd, but it was only Cecelia. And he ran into Darius again. He stopped and began to seriously fret that perhaps his love just couldn't come. And then he felt it.

It hit him so fast; their connection had laid dormant for so long that he almost didn't recognize it. He didn't need to see her to know she was there, he felt her. Their connection tugged at his heart as a sense of serenity washed over him, stilling him to his spot.

A pair of hands slid over Sevastian's eyes as a familiar voice tickled his ear. "I almost didn't recognize you." Krystal felt his body slump against hers in quiet relief. He moved her hands from his eyes down to his lips, where he brushed a kiss on the inside of her wrist, before finally settling her hands around his waist. "So warm," she teased, as she soaked in his scent. He huffed out a small laugh as he intertwined his fingers with hers, enjoying the press of her body against his.

He shifted in her arms, unable to wait even a second longer. He had to see her, taste her, feel her. He cradled her face in his hands; his eyes gazed down upon her, admiring her like she was his own special gem, while his thumbs grazed her pink cheeks.

“I missed you.” Her lip trembled as she whispered the words. Krystal looked up at him expectantly, her turquoise eyes full of love, shimmering against the lights of the party. His thumb brushed against her lower lip, causing Krystal to sigh and shiver against his taut body.

With eyes closed, his mouth found hers. He buried his hands in her hair, pulling her closer to him. Breathing in her sweet, floral scent, the scent he gave her, he deepened the kiss, his tongue twisting and twirling around hers. They soon parted, both panting, foreheads still touching.

He eventually pulled back, curious to see how she looked. His breath hitched when he saw what she had done to herself – her fiery locks were teased, curls spilling down past her bare shoulders, and on her face, her skin was adorned with sparkling jewels and gems.

“You’re ridiculous.” She slid her hands in the open cut of his shirt, resting her palms on his bare chest, his heartbeat quickening under her touch. “A very sexy ridiculous, but still…” She rose on tiptoe and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “Ridiculous.”

“And you, my love, are magnificent.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, nudging her closer, and kissed her again. They stood there, embraced in one another’s arms for what felt like both an eternity and a split second. “I have some friends I’d like you to meet,” he murmured tentatively into her hair.

Taking his hand in hers, Krystal looked up at his, smiling brightly. “I’d love to.”

After introducing Krystal to the group, everyone gathered by the bar for a much-needed drink.

“I see he is still having fun,” Leon pointed to the pilot, who was surprisingly still standing after all this time.

“Let the lovebirds have fun, Leon!” Aeryn chided.

“I agree,” added Krystal. She nuzzled against Sevastian as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Leon, Jett and Remy all look down into their drinks and groaned in unison. Nikolai shared a knowing look with Sevastian, winking at the Winter Prince. It was good to see him smiling again.

“What does someone have to do to get a drink around here?” a voice from behind called out arrogantly.

“Spoiled by your private bar, eh, Emperor?” Atlas called out from the other side of the bar. Antares sighed and shook his head. He glanced over by the pilot, and saw his MC.

His face immediately fell, and he awkwardly adjusted his necktie. “Stupid blasted costume,” he muttered to himself. “Should have worn my uniform, would have been happier…” Antares looked over at his MC again. She was holding Atlas’ hands, leaning into every word he was saying. Probably regaling her with some stories about his days with the Union. Antares scoffed. Antares had stories, many more left to be told. Only now they will be shared with a new MC.

He picked up his glass of honey wine and before he could take a sip, he noticed everyone staring at him. “Yes?”

“Let’s make a toast,” Remy announced. He held his glass up and the others followed. “To new beginnings.”

“To new beginnings,” Antares whispered.

[hetalia-has-a-secretary]

America, England, France, Russia, Prussia, Italy, and Romano when their s/o drunkenly rambles about much they’ve never loved anyone so much and how they can’t wait to start a family with them?

All the bonus points if their s/o is being super cuddly and kiss-y during this

Cute, kissy, and adorable are all my middle name!

America, England, France, Russia, Prussia and the Italian Bros with a drunk and Kissy S/O

America:

He's blushing but grinning ear to ear from every little kiss!

His hands are most certainly on their thighs or waist the whole time.

He's really just watching them as they go off on their little rant, letting them fantasize.

His heart skips a beat when he hears them talk about starting a family.

It's going to keep him up that night, and he wonders if they actually mean it

Is going to be feeling like a high school girl with a crush for a few days after

England:

He's a hopeless romantic so his heart is probably doing acrobatics at the moment

Part of him is absolutely flattered, and the other part of him is shocked they felt like that, more than happy to give them kisses and hugs back.

Wait- what about kids?

The thought makes him feel faint, but not because he's embarrassed

He's just so overwhelmed by his lovers confession, it's making his head spin!

Thinks they'd have had enough to drink and to bed they go!

Not that he's going to be sleeping that night.

France:

He's probably the reason they started the rant in the first place. The kisses and nuzzles were a bonus

He won't kiss their lips but is peppering them on their hands and cheeks

It's a back and forth thing and anyone in ear shot is getting cavities from how sweet and wholesome the moment is.

France freezes when they say something about starting a family

He's never thought about it, and doesn't have the heart to tell them he's slightly scared about it.

He knows that if and when it happens it'll be a HUGE change and he's worried it might effect their relationship

He's nervous he won't be a good role model, but for now he'll indulge in their daydreaming

Russia:

Well, if his S/O needed a way to make Ivan know they'll never leave him, this is certainly a way to do it.

He believes in the whole "A drunk man, is a sober heart" saying. Sometimes with a grain of salt, but he himself is an emotional and honest drunk so-

Is watching his lover with starry and loving eyes, not fully paying attention to what they say, and more focused on giving nuzzles and head pats!

He's just so? Happy? To hear them say anything nice about it

His face goes from a smile of bliss to dread at the mention of starting a family.

The thought is really nice, but it'll take some time for that thought to sink in

(and I mean it's going to take him a week to be comfortable about it because I Headcannon him to have a thing for domesticated stuff like cooking, cleaning, having to chase little babies around when they draw on the wall...)

Prussia:

Germany is going to beg Prussia's lover to stop BOOSTING BIS EGO!

Then again Germany hasn't heard his brother talk about anyone else more than himself before-

Prussia has been sent over the moon and out of our Galaxy with how happy their making him.

Even in their drunken state they seem to genuinely love him and he's just so soft about it

After all he really loves learning about his S/O, and this is just a bonus!

Doesn't really know what to do about all the kisses though

He just let's them do whatever and holds them.

LOVES the idea of tiny Prussia's running around, and it's the first thing he's going to bug them about when they sober up.

Bonus points he's already shopping for clothes

But won't be dissapointed if it turns out kids aren't an option (He just loves kids, and his S/O so why not both?)

Romano:

Flustered and has a visual error screen on his face (metaphorically speaking).

He's hearing what they say, but in no way shape or form did he ever think he's hear it.

Even if they said it sober he'd feel a little... Overwhelmed.

Especially with the added physical affection.

But now he's trying so hard not to think about having kids with his S/O

Day trips to the beach, buying clothes- yeah, he's pretty whipped as the kids say.

Is pretty much speechless until he's had enough and begs them to stop

Too many gushy feels, he needs to process!

Italy:

He's not going to cry, he's not going to cry-

Starts crying and hold his S/O

He won't get over this, like ever.

They just made him so happy and he just knows it'll be worth the effort

Pretty much felt the same since day one.

They guy knows what he wants, and BABIES!

He's all for it!

Will want to start a family immediately at the news... Once they're not drunk

Might get a little sad if he's told to wait or finds out kids won't be a thing, but he's going to bounce back from it quickly.

If they can't have kids, pets count right?

He just wants his S/O happy, and know he's going to be there for them no matter what!

[voleurdesoleil-archive]

The things you feel inside

Fandom: Haikyuu!

Characters: Ushijima Wakatoshi, Bokuto Koutarou

Word count: 1.7k

A/N: this was a gift for my pe, and I didn't plan on posting it here but I'm really proud of it so here you go

read on ao3

-Wasn't the captain's reunion supposed to be today?

-It is.

-Then why are you still on your phone?

Ushijima stares at Tendou's text, he doesn't know what to answer. He’d like to tell him that it’s because he’s not here with him, but Ushijima knows he can’t say that, it wouldn’t be fair to his husband. He knows Tendou would be capable of giving up his store and buying a plane ticket if he sent that, so he keeps it for himself and lies. He tells him the other captains went out to order food when Kuroo is actually in the kitchen, on the phone with some fast food place, ordering for all of them, while the others are playing video games with Kenma.

"Hey!"

Ushijima lifts his head from his phone as Bokuto flops himself next to him on the couch.

"You're quieter than usual, are you okay?" Bokuto asks, concern seeping through his voice.

He's not. He wants to say it out loud, but Ushijima knows that if he does, it will only result in more questions and he isn't ready to open up. Not yet.

So, when Ushijima's answer doesn't come, Bokuto adds: "You know I'm here if you need to talk. "

Ushijima nods. They aren't close but ever since they met Bokuto always made sure all of them felt at ease or that no one was feeling left out during their meetings. People often seem to mistake MSBY's ace for someone careless or egotistical, but Bokuto has proven on multiple occasions that he is someone with great empathy who cares deeply for people he loves and Ushijima really admires him for it.

Ushijima's attention is drawn away as his phone lights up with another text from Tendou.

"How's Tendou doing?" Bokuto asks as Ushijima types a reply to his husband. "I saw him in a food magazine the other day. He looked super cool with his chef's hat and all!"

"He is doing great. His chocolaterie has been getting a lot of success thanks to social media. He says people really like his "vibe", although I'm not quite sure what he means by that. And-" Ushijima starts rummaging through his photos, until he finds pictures of Vabo-chan and other volleyball related figurines that he shows Bokuto. "-he's been trying to create a volleyball collection, but his colleagues aren't really up for it."

"Wow man! They're awesome! You should put them in the groupchat, the guys would love them!"

Ushijima nods as he gets another text from Tendou telling him he's going to open the shop soon and urging him to have fun.

"You miss him, don't you?"

"I do…"

"Must be hard. I'm lucky that all my partners live around here, but Kuroo and Kenma often have to go away for work and I miss them a lot when they do. So I can't imagine how hard it must be to be so far away from Tendou…"

Ushijima doesn't quite know what to answer to that so he stays silent as his heart clenches a bit tighter in his chest. Bokuto's deduction is correct. Of course it's hard being away from Tendou, harder than what he thought actually.

When Tendou left after high school it was only supposed to be for a couple of years - he had gotten an internship with a renowned pâtissier, he couldn’t let the opportunity go away, so he took it - and he did come back after that. They lived together for a few years, bought their first house together. They even got married.

But last year Tendou decided he wanted to have his own chocolaterie in France, so Ushijima let him go. It was only for a few years, until Tendou could expand and open a chocolaterie in Japan too. They had done it already, so Ushijima thought it would be easy. But this time it was different. Harder. Simply because they had shared a home.

They had learned to live together, to appreciate each other's company. They had cared for the other when he fell sick. They had prepared the other's favorite meal just because they wanted to surprise him. They got used to coming back to the other after a long day at work or after practice. Ushijima got used to trying Tendou's new recipes just like Tendou got used to seeing Ushijima bring home plants on the verge of death to revive them. They got used to each other's quirks and routine.

So it is hard. Coming back home to an empty house. Not having to open the windows because of a funky smell coming from the kitchen. Waking up in an empty bed. Not being able to touch each other. Saying he misses Tendou terribly would be an understatement.

And what's not helping is the fact that he hasn't seen Daichi in a while either. Because in addition to missing his husband, he now also misses his boyfriend.

Until this morning, he thought that he would finally be able to see him but that was only when Kuroo wished Daichi a happy anniversary that Ushijima remembered his boyfriend wouldn't be here tonight as he was taking Sugawara and Asahi out to dinner for their anniversary.

"Do you want to cuddle?"

"What?" Ushijima blinks, thinking he misunderstood.

"I know it's coming out of nowhere, but Daichi said you're a pretty cuddly person and I thought, maybe, it would make you feel a little better, but if you're not comfortable I totally get that, I mean we don't really know each other that well. I just wanna help and you do look like you give the best cuddles…did I say that? Sorry I'm rambling. "

Trying to hide his embarrassment, Bokuto lifts his arms to rub the back of his neck and gives him a sheepish smile, causing Ushijima to let out a chuckle.

He takes a moment to consider the idea. He indeed has been craving physical affection, so Bokuto’s offer sounds appealing. On the other hand, although Ushijima loves to cuddle, it takes him a while to get comfortable enough around someone to even just consider cuddling with them and, as MSBY’s ace stated it, they’re aren’t really close. So Ushijima doesn’t exactly know why he answers:

"I would love that Bokuto"

"For real?"

"If you didn't change your mind, yes."

Bokuto almost throws himself on Ushijima but stops midway. "Wait, how do you want to do this?"

"I don't know?"

"Okay, first maybe we should- can you stand up for a sec?" Ushijima does as he is told and watches as Bokuto folds out the sofa bed to make more room for them. MSBY's ace then runs out of the room to come back carrying way more pillows than they need. "We'll be a little more comfortable like that." Bokuto says before letting himself fall in the mountain of pillows.

Ushijima pushes aside a few of them to make space for himself beside Bokuto. They stay still for a while, facing each other. Ushijima isn't particularly uncomfortable but Tendou often is the one who initiates their cuddling session and while Ushijima has been working on being the one to initiate them with Daichi he still hasn't fully worked out how to.

Bokuto must sense Ushijima's hesitation because he opens his arms and softly says: "You can lay on me for starters, or maybe you'd be more comfortable spooning, you tell me."

Ushijima takes in Bokuto's reassuring smile, which reminds him of Daichi's the first time they cuddled together - they have that same gentle smile that instantly puts you at ease - and finally dares getting closer to him. He hesitantly drapes an arm across his waist and checks on Bokuto's expression to make sure he's comfortable with this before laying his head on his chest. Bokuto's arms instinctively find their place around him.

"Would you like me to play with your hair?"

"Please…" The word comes out of Ushijima's mouth as barely more than a whisper.

This is awkward at first but, as Bokuto slowly runs his fingers through Ushijima's hair, brushing aside the stray hair lying about his forehead, his whole body relaxes and he makes himself more comfortable in Bokuto's arms.

The ace's embrace is tight around him but offers just the right amount of give, so that Ushijima can escape if he ever feels the need to. His own hold on the ace's waist becomes less stiff and Bokuto shifts slightly so that their bodies fit together more naturally. Their legs tangle together and a faint smile makes its way on Ushijima's lips.

He remembers the first time he and Tendou cuddled. They weren't together yet at the time and, just like today, Ushijima had been getting overwhelmed with his feelings. He remembers how grounding and soothing Tendou's feathering touch had been at the time. How all the stress he had accumulated had melted away when, with a simple touch, Tendou's brightness enveloped him. And right now, subject to Bokuto's touch, this is exactly how he feels.

Almost as a way to prove him how vulnerable he is, Ushijima's breath catches in his throat as Bokuto's thumb starts rubbing up and down the small of his back. Daichi once mentioned that one particular detail about cuddling with Bokuto and Ushijima now understands what he meant when he said that felt heavenly as that small movement sends shivers down his spine.

"Is this okay?" Bokuto asks.

Ushijima nods against his chest and mumbles a soft "yes" as his breathing catches up with Bokuto's.

Ushijima hears the door open behind him but he doesn't look back to see who has entered the room. Whistling fills the room and Ushijima has a hunch Oikawa is the one who entered the room. Bokuto's hand leaves his hair and he intimates to the other captain to stay quiet before combing through Ushijima's hair again.

When they're alone again, he brings MSBY's ace a little closer and, basking in Bokuto's warmth, Ushijima closes his eyes for a second and the ambient noise slowly fades until all he can hear is the steady rhythm of Bokuto's heartbeat. He feels safe.

___

Later that night, Ushijima is on the bus back home when he gets a text from Bokuto.

It's a picture of them both, asleep, cuddled up on the couch.

-Kuroo took it

-Look how adorable we are!

Ushijima can't help a smile to grow on his face. He's so glad they're friends.