#ha honestly feeling. so unconfident about this right now

[arsenicflame]

shes finally coming together!! still got a bunch of hand work to do on the blouse and corset, and of course, style the wig, but annes gonna be ready for mcm next weekend!

[despazito]

I have conflicting feelings about so called "therapy talk" in animated shows nowadays.

I'm not sure if I like the term in general because i think it's dismissive of the concept as a whole, which I feel throws the baby out with the bathwater. Like to me at least the definition of therapy talk means being extremely emotionally mature, being able to successfully identify and communicate your feelings, and using empathy to do the same with others' feelings. which I think are all good qualities to have in a person, but detrimental to a fictional story if this trait is shared equally amongst the WHOLE cast and that's what bothers me about its overusage now.

People just don't have interpersonal conflict this way!! especially amongst kids or teens. Or at least it's extremely uncommon to have these types of kindcore interactions with others outside of a moderated clinical setting.

Emotional intelligence like that isn't a switch you can flick, characters may repress things or drop a facade to deliver some truths or philosophy to the protagonist but it has to dovetail in with the rest of their character. A character who showed no previous capacity for such maturity just feels unnatural to suddenly act very wise for a scene if it's played completely straight.

For instance, Patrick Star is great at playing this for comedy. His sudden rare bursts of extreme mature clarity are so opposite to the rest of his character that it loops all the way back into the comedic. But then imagine a character like Scrappy Doo busting out a lecture on externalizing his unresolved anger from past experiences without a shred of irony. Or Jesse Pinkman breaking his character of a wannabe gangster drug dealer to deliver a carefully worded clapback to walt about toxicity and gaslighting explaining the deepest mechanics of his personality. It would kind of suck, right? Which is why when Aaron Paul's character in Bojack gets a scene like that as Todd, it's very introspective but still delivered in Todd's voice because the writers know Todd and know the boundaries of what he can articulate.

Characters can gain introspection and learn to understand themselves over the course of a narrative, but it has to feel natural and have some precedent. It's a bit annoying when all the characters resolve emotional conflict like they've taken a class in anger management before.

And i think a lot of it is the writer idealizing relationships and interactions between their characters and a weird obsession with morality in fiction now. We need to be spoonfed why this character is bad or what is currently occurring in a lecture from another character lest someone get the wrong impression from the text, in many ways it comes across as unconfident writing.

In a perfect (or dystopian to some) world everyone can communicate impeccably with everyone’s feelings in mind and people will come away with the exact reading of a text the author implied. and sure it can be good escapism if that’s what you crave. but it just doesn’t make for very interesting stories!!

Some writers will try to hide therapy talk under several layers of meta irony, but honestly those can feel even lamer to me and dare I say lazier in execution. It's quite literally telling instead of showing the audience exactly how a character feels by having them sarcastically voice their internal feelings in the format of a mindfulness diary prompt instead of feeling confident enough in your audience to pick up on those themes themselves through subtler acting cues or interactions. It's the internal conflict equivalent of loudly breaking the fourth wall to shout that motorcycle slide was from Akira, instead of having faith in the viewer to catch a reference on their own.

This kind of self aware speaking about emotions definitely has its place, most notably in preschool programming because many of those shows are about teaching kids emotional intelligence and conflict resolution. But I am getting tired of this trope in other genres for older audiences, let things be messy and ambiguous! Your characters don't have to be perfect people! Let them have misunderstandings and make mistakes in relationships instead of speaking like licensed counselors!!

[sapphic-lottienat]

hiii so I saw this on someone else's acc and I rlly wanted to do this!! I am obsessed with Buffy so here we go~

The first character I first fell in love with: Willow Rosenberg!! I mean, is it really a surprise? I think I saw myself in her throughout the show; we're both awkward unconfident gingers who are desperate to feel needed. I had a huge crush on Willow at the start, and I loved seeing her character arc and all of her romantic partners!! She'll always have a special place in my heart <3

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Probably Giles, honestly. I was young-ish when I started watching Buffy, and I didn't really understand or like his character very much. In the first season, he's just so stuffy and librarian-y. But seeing his character develop and change into someone a lot cooler than his season one self was so amazing. Love Giles <3

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: Please, does anyone even like Xander? Like I get that he can be funny sometimes but I just didn't see the point in a lot of decisions that the writers made for him. He was often misogynistic and inappropriate, and that behavior was almost rewarded by giving him love interests WAY out of his league. I never understood how Cordy, Willow, and Anya could have low enough standards to date that man.

The character I love that everyone else hates: Kennedy!!! She gets so much hate just for not being Tara, and I did love Tara so much, but I don't hate Kennedy because of that. Kennedy helped Willow mature into a self-assured adult. She was always respectful of Willow's past relationship with Tara, especially in 'The Killer In Me'. Aahhh I just love her so much, she deserves none of the hate she gets.

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: Not really anyone, I love them all!

The character I’d want to be like: Who in their right mind wouldn't want to be like Tara?? She's forever my favorite character, and in season 6, is the glue that holds the Scoobies together. She's so sweet and maternal and loving <3

The character I’d slap:Were he still alive (which I think he might possibly be in the comics??), Warren

A pairing that I love: Omg I love so many pairings in this show, but I think romantically it has to be Willow and Tara all the way <3 They're forever my otp in any show ever. Platonically, it's pretty much a tie between Spike/Dawn or Tara/Dawn. Dawn went through so much and is so overhated by the fandom. Even her own sister (although she was struggling with her mother's death too) didn't properly recognise her sister's pain the way that Tara and Spike did. They also both related heavily to Dawn; Spike had that whole conversation with Dawn about not being able to be good, and although it wasn't really shown on-screen, Tara related to discovering that things she had thought about herself were not true (Tara thinking she was a demon, Dawn discovering she was the key)

A pairing that I despise: Willow and Xander is eternally the worst romantic ship of all time. As I said earlier, Willow was WAY out of Xander's league. Also, with Oz, Tara, and Kennedy, Willow had the most impeccable taste. How in the world did she fall for Xander??

[pompadourpink]

Hi mom! I need some advice ! I trust your opinion , im so sorry that this will be a long one ! Im starting my freshmen year at college this fall, after a prep year. I want to open an instagram account , i like taking pictures and i want to keep up with my friends from prep year. The thing is i am a socially anxious person. And when i was in middle school i was made fun of because i had so little followers ( like 25 smthing) and i got sad and closed my account. I was 12 when that happened, i was also being bullied in many other ways. So i am afraid now that people will mock me for not having many followers and they will think im unsociable or uncool or something like that. The thing is i also think instagram is a fake place, but many school clubs announce things there and in college you just want to fit in. Also i was the nerd all my school life, i got no attention from boys whatsoever. I got really insecure, all the people that saw me this year tell me that i have changed so much, now i get compliments about my looks but i still feel unconfident. When it comes to interacting with boys all my friends tell me im too unapproachable. Maybe an ig account will help that? honestly idk. and i know that im overthinking this issue but that’s me unfortunately 😭

part 1

part 2

actually i hate ig flirting? like what does liking a story even mean i hate that kind of stuff. But appearently my generation dont know how to make a move in real life because all the relationships i know of starts online. I cant complain because i could have made a move? but i didnt because im anxious and sometimes insecure because of all the bullying i got in middle school. They made fun of me in unimaginably cruel ways , it still has affects on me years later. I am so desperate for male attention, like i was wearing a tshirt that was slightly wide in the collar and a classmate checked me out , i got really happy! How silly is that! Because i was told that thet were disgusted to even look at me before and they dont consider me as a woman !

Now i go to the best college in the country, i changed a lot physically ( that doesnt matter, i could stay ugly and they had no right) and they are still horrible human beings. Sorry to burden you with all these stuff, it took another turn .

Since i got shit treatment for being ugly earlier in my life, i guess i need validation, posting pretty pictures and being hit on by boys and it sounds silly to me but it is like that.

What do you think about this issue? I know that it’s a bit all over the place , sorry about that! Lots of love ❤️❤️❤️

*

Hello dear,

There is a lot to unpack here so Dr Talks too much is back in office.

Of course, get IG if you feel like it. You were 12 long ago, those people are probably not in your life anymore (and if they are, they should get fired, no one will arrest you). I also have a ridiculous number of followers and don't ever think about it (at least they actually care when I post): that is not what we are here for, numbers mean nothing and anyone who tries to tell you anything different doesn't deserve a place in your life.

You are at an age where this type of desire makes sense. If you want a collage of the things you love to make yourself feel happy and discover yourself, do it. And yes, if people find your account and like it, you could make some friends. And if they don't and mock you, you know who to avoid.

The rant about loneliness is worrying me greatly. If I could go back and talk to my 18-year-old self, I would tell her to drop the boy-obsessed attitude. The truth is that being desperate is a bad look, but also a very obvious one. You can get groomed easily because what you want is flagrant and any guy at least a little bit charming will drive you insane by just maintaining eye contact and smiling. And if a man can be super lazy and still get you, he will do exactly that and play with you until he's bored and dumps you without a care in the world. That is not a compliment. There are too many stories of women who put men first and got fucked over for people your age to try it and think it will go differently. Make yourself the main character of your life instead of forcing yourself to live in the shadow of people who don't even seem to like you.

Now, some homework:

Watch this. Excellent advice from a 20-year-old lady making the best out of loneliness instead of letting it destroy her.

And this. What happens when girls are boy-obsessed. If you have time, watch the show. The entire world agrees that Carrie is the worst character of the series because she's a shit friend, doesn't learn from her mistakes, and can't be trusted.

And finally, worry about yourself. There are billions of men on Earth and many will find you attractive. You have a long life ahead of you. A nice body is not enough to keep a guy and even models get cheated on. Don't date someone because he liked your cleavage. Having low confidence is a curse because it turns you into a people pleaser, and that just makes you a liar and an easy victim. People can't know you if there's no one to know. A great personality is what makes people stick. Listen to yourself, try fun things, find a therapist, and get a couple of hobbies. Get yourself some girlfriends and do things with them, strengthen your circle, make yourself a person worthy of being befriended or dated, and one day someone will say oh, there's that guy I used to know in high school, I think you would really like him. Don't force it. Don't chase. Only accept someone truly happy to be around you, or sentence yourself to have to heal from relationships forever.

Love,

Mum

[mysticdragon3md3]

A long time ago, i broke up with my best friend.

But since i enjoyed being alone so much, I felt amicably ghosted. No hard feelings on my end. I never found out about hers or the why.

Then i happened to walk behind her and her new best friend at a school retreat, where they just shit talked the retreat speaker's vulnerability. And i realized what a relief it was to not have to pretend to be ok with her comments anymore. And i realized how much i had smiled, nodded, tried to see her side of things, and have always been simply in denial. I could never believe in other people NOT acting in their best nature. I had to have faith in people being good...because when in situations or relationships i couldn't get out of, the only way to survive, was for me to honestly believe it could not be as bad as even the slightest bad faith interpretations. I couldn't allow myself to believe a situation or relationship i was in, was bad. I have to nod along, smile, and be in internal denial with myself about my disagreements with others.

I say this, because when i watch myself constantly changing my mind, accepting all foods for thought, and just acting so gullible and easily influenced by every post from the FE3H fandom for the past few years, i feel i should admit that there is a voice in the back of my mind, that IS aware of my own opinions, and is unconfidently hanging on...but i just dont want to believe in bad faith interpretations of what others are posting. I don't want to believe I'm arrogant enough to know more and not need to listen to what others have to say, either. So i smile along with my best faith interpretations of them, and i say that i agree, or at least that i am persuaded. I make posts admitting that i am the gullible type. Because I really do get persuaded, and shove my personal opinions into my mind's back drawer.

Specifically right now, i just wanted to vent about how I've always preferred and headcanoned Dimiclaude as being sweet to each other. Dimitri is the proper, polite, and a little naieve, but later, idealistic prince, who adores Claude and gets the blushies from Claude's more bold demeanor. While Claude is internally fighting against the jaded experiences that the world has proven to him, vs the faith he has to have in humanity, in order to have the Hope necessary to move forward, beyond his trauma, all motivated by an inherently defiant, risk-taking personality he inherited from Tiana. Dimitri's instinctual, altruistic compassion serves as a glimmer of validation to all of Claude's Hopes about people, the world, and thus, his dream. Claude's imaginative practically in striving towards his dream feels wise, insightful, and admirable, seemingly-impossibly breaking through Dimitri's moments of despair. I headcanon Dimiclaude as having a lot of fondness for each other.

I've always had my own interpretations, but i feel like i let others' ideas steamroll thru them. I laugh along when other Dimiclaude shippers post about:

Claude being flirty. (He's playful, not flirty.)

Dimitri and Claude annoying each other. Like confusing Annoyance, for Passion, for Love. Straight out of an "enemies to lovers" plot. But instead of asserting that I don't like "enemies to lovers", i smile along. (Maybe i enjoyed the communal enthusiasm too much.)

Dimitri exasperated with Claude. I know Fire Emblem Engage had to portray all 3 lords as having friction with each other, to justify their bracelet's "Emblem of Rivals" name. But being critical and exasperated with Claude was Edelgard's thing. Dimitri is not like that. He's always been very welcoming, impressed, and had faith in Claude. Even that one time he overheard Claude's schemes for the Battle Of Eagle & Lion, he sounded so genuinely shocked with disbelief that Claude would do anything bad. If Fire Emblem Engage wanted to justify the "Emblem of Rivals" name by portraying friction between the 3 Lords, it's supposed to go: Claude says something jokingly, Edelgard is exasperated with him, Dimitri sincerely believes Claude's words too quickly/literally, then Edelgard critiques Dimitri's naivete. That's even how their relationship dynamics were portrayed in one of their first introductory cutscenes together in the FE3H canon.

All of those things listed above, were funny in the moment. Whether in a fanfic, a posted headcanon, or even in Fire Emblem Engage. And it was fun, jumping in on all the fangirling over those silly moments. But they weren't really indicative of the original Claude and Dimitri FE3H canon portrayals that I fell for. It was fun to fangirl along with the community. But that's not how I really believe Dimiclaude to be. Or at least, not how I personally prefer to see them as. Other people may prefer to see them as flirty, annoying each other, and Dimitri exasperated with Claude. And yes, it's still funny sometimes, even to me. A quick fanart or fancomic of those things are hilarious. But that's not really how I personally see Dimiclaude. I don't ascribe to those portrayals, but at the time, it was fun to laugh along.

But last July (2022), i had had my last straw. The majority of the fandom was fangirling about Dimiclaude just bullying each other and that being peak entertainment. ...Bullying is one of my biggest pet peeves. I have dropped numerous, extremely popular, extremely well-made anime series for portaying too much bullying. I don't find it entertaining. I find it triggering. In fact, it used to make me instantaneously go into an almost-violent rage. It still faintly makes me feel the need to enact physical violence. I don't want Bullying in my Dimiclaude. Enough teasing from Claude to make Dimitri blush, yes. But not them being sharply biting towards each other.

And this was already amid prevalent headcanons/jokes in the fandom about constantly teasing, debasing, and humiliating Claude. Bringing Claude "down a peg" has become others' popular headcanons. Whether being made the fool or the butt of jokes by Cyril, Felix, or any number of characters, it's become far too popular for my comfort to watch Claude so frequently thought of as just the butt of jokes. Someone to reveal as foolish and not as cool as he acts. I've even gotten tired of some headcanons about Dimitri making Claude blush. It was fine when it was for emotionally touching reasons, but headcanons where Dimitri exposes Claude as just a fool and exasperatedly putting up with it, had become common at one point. And I have to start admitting that it wasn't to my tastes.

So i think it's time i assert MY preferred headcanons, instead of just smiling along. I realized recently---after seeing a disillusioned Dimiclaude shipper's post expressing my SAME fatigue with this "gleeful demeaning of Claude" that has become the fandom's fun recently---that i should stop believing in the best in people's own headcanon posts. I need to stop wasting time, trying to convince myself that "they dont mean it as bad as it sounds". I just need to admit that i just have different headcanons from a vast majority of the Dimiclaude fandom, and they are just enjoying this ship in a completely different way from me. I had just wanted to join a sense of communal fangirling. But i need to accept that though we are in the same ship fandom, we are enthusiastic about very different things. Maybe even fans of completely different things that have the same name: Dimiclaude.

Well, actually i love Claude more than Dimitri, so maybe i should start using "Claumitri" or "Claudimi". 💛🦌🏹💛

[janeaustinforevermore]

MY MӨƬΉΣЯƧ DΛЦGΉƬΣЯ (chapter 3)

(Ben is pictured above)

Summary: Alara has a confrontation from an acquaintance, and learns things about herself she never saw coming. (Shorter chapter than usual)

contains: cussing, sexual innuendos, mentions of panic attacks.

1, 2, 3

Three weeks later I was leading crafts when Annie Freeman walked in with her little brother and a look of purpose on her face. 

"Hey, are y'all here for the tie dye session?" I asked while helping one of the littles.

"John, go grab your supplies and get started." She said to him while glancing back at me. For someone so un-athletic she sure can look intimidating. "Alara right? We need to talk." 

"Um... sure, yeah. Just give me a sec." I set down the dye bottle and motioned her to follow me towards the back. 

I hesitated as we stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak. "So what's going on? Oh gods, did Vivienne hook up with your boyfriend? I'll talk to her, I'm so sorry." 

"Actually, me and him are fine. Which is why I'm pissed to find out you were telling Ben to ask me out?! What the fuck Alara?!" 

To give you an image of how impressive it is that she looked scary, I'll have to describe how she looks. Annie Freeman is a 5'4, short haired brunette, almond shaped with hazel eyes, and olive skin. Annie is known for her battle strategy's, and while she's great at fighting in theory, she has almost no muscle mass; despite this, I was still terrified as she glared up at me in her white tee shirt and linen pants. 

"Oh god, did he ask you out?!" I yelled excitedly with my hands over my mouth. Looking back, this was not the best move. 

"YES ALARA. HE DID! AND NOW I GET TO EXPLAIN TO MY BOYFRIEND WHY  A GUY IVE SPOKEN TO ONLY A HANDFUL OF TIMES IS ASKING ME OUT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!!" As she said this I saw others starting to look over in curiosity. 

"Hey, maybe let's do this somewhere else-" 

"NO! YOU DONT GET TO SCREW SORH MY LIFE, THEN IGNORE ANY ACCOUNTABILITY! THAT SUCKS! YOU ARE A LITERAL CHILD OF APHRODITE! YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!" Tears started in her eyes and I felt my face go red in embarrassment. 

"I'm so sorry Annie. I had no idea he was going to ask you in front of everyone, I swear I would have stopped him if I knew." I looked down over at the others, seeing them whisper to each other as I continued. "But I will admit, I may have encouraged him to ask you out? I just saw how much he liked you, and I didn't think of what it would mean for you." 

I saw her face slowly calm as I explained. After a few seconds she looked at me with a face that made me feel like shit. 

"I really like Cole, and I had to fight for him to even notice me. It's not the easiest to get a guys attention when you're as independent as I am." As I said this I watched her tuck her hair behind her ear in an oddly unconfident manner. 

"I'm so sorry. I'll talk to Ben, I can even talk to Cole if you want."

She sighed and shook her head. "No, I know him, he'll be fine. A little mad but I can deal with that myself." 

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved to hear her say that, I don't know crap about Cole.

"Hey, you don't have to answer but, what happened to Ben after he asked?" 

A badly timed question but I needed to be prepared for whatever was coming.

"Honestly I don't know. He approached me at archery and tried to pull me aside but I said no. After a minute he just decided to ask anyway, and then it all just spiraled. I got embarrassed and asked if he was serious and ran off when I saw that everyone was staring. I would feel bad if he wasn't a jerk for putting me in that position." 

"I get it. Hey, I'm gonna go look for him and try to see what's going on. Let me know if you ever want to talk about it. And again, I'm so sorry, it's really none of my business." She seemed to soften as I said this, looking at me with a much gentler gaze than before.

As I ran off to go find Ben I thought of what this might mean for us. Would we keep seeing each other? Would we call it off? Would we stay friends or would we cut each other off? And weirdly, I wasn't sure what I hoped would happen.

I heard a large crashing from the forest as I walked, and went towards it in hopes of finding him. Upon getting there I saw him, in dirty clothing, sobbing smashing whatever he could find with what at the time looked like an axe. 

"Ben?" I called out hesitantly, from far enough back to dodge a straw axe. 

"Lara?" He cried out, throwing the weapon on the ground. 

"It's me buddy. I'm here, I love you so much, you did so good. Do you know that?" I pulled him into my arms as I said this, feeling him shake against me. 

"She- she said no- she said she'd-" he stuttered out before the crying resumed.

"I know baby. I know. M But you did everything you could have. Now it's time to move on. What do you need?"

"I don't- I don't kn-know- I just-" He started to hyperventilate as he spoke, his eyes blowing wider and his chest rising and falling quickly. I grabbed his hand and placed it on my chest as I asked him questions to ground him. 5 minutes later he was calmed down and we were sitting together silently with his head on my lap. I decided to break the silence. 

"So... what does this mean. For us, I mean." I stared out at the lake, scared of what would come next. 

"Um... I don't really know. If I'm being honest..." he sat up and looked at me while he stared at our interlocked hands. "I don't think I can do this anymore." 

And weirdly enough, my heart dropped. I had thought that we had said we didn't have feelings for each other. It was mutual. Apparently, I don't understand the meaning behind mutual. 

"Oh. Okay. Well. Yeah, I- I get it. Let's just be friends then?" I turned my head away hoping he couldn't see the tears forming. 

"Please. I would love that. Friends." I could feel his sad smile as he said this. I felt him squeeze my hand and kiss my cheek before pulling away. 

Two of us got our hearts broken that day. And as he walked away I pictured our relationship in flashes. Meeting him at 16, group hangouts by the fire, him smiling when I told our old group about the guy I'd met. I played back the night we got together, we were both a little drunk, I twisted his curls and told him we were "twins". He pulled me in for a kiss. Then a few more. The next morning we agreed to just stay friends, I'd been rooting for Annie and he knew I was waiting for "the one". At some point along the late night walks, and secret hookups behind the amphitheater, the lines got blurred and I forgot how to keep it separate. But the moment I knew I was screwed was when I hit a bullseye at archery and he spun me in the air with a laugh. I remember looking into his eyes and thinking "so this is now it happens..." I should have ended it then. But as my father always said, "You're a pretty girl, so you don't have to worry about not being smart." I should've known not to take that assholes advice.

As I laid in bed that night and reflected on the day I prayed to my mother, 'Please don't forget me. I want my own love story.' 

And at 1:27 pm, on the summer solstice, my mother answered my prayer.

[smellsfaintlyofvanilla]

YOUR ANNIE FIC “tragedies of war” MADE ME CRY SM :( gosh your writing is beautiful!! can i request smth similar? maybe after annie meets the scouts she reunites with reader and it’s just fluff and stuff 🥺🥺 no rush ofc <33

Honestly, after that one, we all wanted a happy ending version (even me lol)

Home

(Annie Leonhart x Reader)

AU: Canon

Warnings: None

Category: Fluff

Summary: As a sort of divergence from this fic, Annie breaks out of the crystal and immediately goes looking for her S/O.

Words: 1.8K

Y/n.

It was the first thing on her mind when she was suddenly freed from the crystal.

Where is she?

She could feel the effects of time on her muscles - they were stiff and tense, reluctant to move at all.

Just how long have I been in that thing? She wondered. How much time has passed?

After four years, you’d imagine she’d have a wide array of things on her mind. But, in reality, there was only one.

Her girlfriend.

She leaned against the way tiredly before slinking down to sit, folding her knees into her chest and burying her head. She could tell, by some sense unknown to even her, that a lot of time had passed.

She thought of what you’d look like now. Were you happy? Were you getting along with everyone? Had you found out the secret of the walls? Did you find out her secret?

Thoughts raced through her head like a crashing river, never stopping for any order, but still flowing in the same direction. Suddenly, a thought creeped its way up her neck, instilling a seed of worry deep in the pit of her stomach.

Were you even okay? Were you hurt? Did something happen? Did you... did you...

No, she thought, determination struggling to reach past the worry that laced her mind and expression, she’s fine. She’s strong, nothing would’ve happened to her. No titan would ever kill her, she’s stronger than that.

She finally made her way up on unsteady feet, staring around the room absentmindedly.

She’s... she’s okay... The blonde stumbled forward, her legs voicing their complaints painfully, but she didn’t care. She has to be...

...

I have to find her.

---

So, here she was now. The front door of the Scout building, two MPs standing wearily to either side of her. She wasn’t surprised by that, though. It made an amount of sense - she was a titan shifter from Marley, who was the number one enemy of Paradis at the moment. Still, she made it clear her only intention was to visit her girlfriend, and, with much persistence, they allowed her.

That didn’t stop the two MPs from boastfully carrying rifles and folding Annie’s arm behind her back painfully. They needed to make sure there was zero chance of transforming, especially now that she was so close to many important military figures.

An MP stepped forward, pounding their fist on the door begrudgingly. An even more begruntled Levi answered.

“Military Police?” He questioned, cocking an eyebrow at their unannounced presence. He sighed, before speaking again, the tiredness evident in his voice. “What are we being arrested for now?”

“Nothing,” the female MP to her right spoke quickly. “Just a visitor.” She spoke flatly, gesturing to the blonde still restrained in the soldiers’ grasps.

Levi eyes slowly tracked their way from the MP down to face Annie.

“Her?” He raised an eyebrow, almost looking at her with condescension. She wasn’t surprised. She looked tired - after all, those four years in the crystal weren’t exactly a holiday. Not to mention, her face, normally neutral and stoic, was plastered with worry. Eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, as if she was waiting impatiently for some horrid news.

He continued to stare, but Annie didn’t crumple under his concrete gaze. Her eyes were fixed over his shoulder, searching the room behind him for any sign of her lover.

She saw no trace of you amongst the soldiers, and worry began to grow once again, and her heart slowly dropped more and more.

Despite her limited success in finding you, she locked eyes with a familiar face - Armin. He seemed quite surprised to see her, a curious expression painted his face as he marched over.

“Annie?” He said her name, speaking it almost like he wasn’t even sure she was real. “What are you...” He trailed off, confusion evident in his tone.

Quickly though, he regained his train of thought, “Come inside.” He gestured gently, and she stepped inside eagerly.

She scanned the room once again, and there was no sign of you. The seed of worry grew.

“Things have changed a lot, y’know.” Armin started, leaning against the wall. “We made it outside the walls. We know about you and the warrior program. It feels like it would take years for you to catch up on everything that’s happened but-”

“Where’s Y/n?”

She didn’t bother for small talk, or hell, even meaningful conversation for that matter. That didn’t matter right now. She had one thing on her mind.

“Y/n?” He echoed, registering the question for a moment. “Y/n is...”

-

What’s all the chattering about? You wondered, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you woke from your nap. You laid in your dorm room bed, which unfortunately shared a wall with the common area. Given all the noise, you figured there was some type of guest.

You pulled the covers off of your body, and sleepily got up and went towards the door, yawning loudly. You stepped out of the door and into the hallway, and headed towards the commons.

-

“Y/n is...” The blonde man spoke unconfidently, almost as if he was trying to remember your whereabouts.

She paid no attention to what he was saying, though, as movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

A slow shadow slunk against the wall, placing it’s hand on the wall for balance. And it rounded the corner.

She made eye contact. And there it was.

Her world.

You.

You stood right in front of her for the first time in four years. Tiredness and fatigue were evident in your eyes, but you were certainly there. Alive and well. And that’s all that mattered.

“Y/N!!” She shouted, and the light seemed to return to her face. The thousand pound weight on her shoulders had just been lifted, and finally, she could move again. And, although her shocked and worried expression stayed present, you could see the quick buildup of tears in her eyes.

She broke free of the grasp the MPs had on her, adrenaline assisting her in breaking through their hold easily, and pushed her way past Armin, sprinting towards you as fast as she possibly could.

Your hazy mind took a moment to process the blonde mass running towards you, but your eyes lit up in excitement as you finally processed that beautiful face and identify it as your girlfriend, somehow awake from her slumber.

“Annie!” You beamed, opening your arms to allow her in just in time for her body to collide with yours, easily knocking over your unprepared body.

You landed against the wall of the hallway roughly, and you slid down the wall carelessly. Your girlfriend was clinging to you almost desperately, gripping the front of your shirt and burying her face in it, your leg to either side of her body. 

You grabbed the back of her head, pulling her closer into you. You could feel the wetness of tears on the front of your shirt as she sniffled and sobbed into your chest. Normally, she would never let herself get so emotional in front of everyone, but the overwhelming relief she felt just to know you were safe was too much for her to be able to control.

It was all too much for her. The sight of your adorable face, the warmth your body gave off, the scent the was so originally yours engrained into the clothes you wore. It hadn’t hit her until just now how much she missed you, even if she was hardly conscious in the crystal.

She sobbed helplessly into your shirt, finding herself unable to do anything else at the moment. You were relieved too, of course, but you never had to worry about Annie’s safety, which couldn’t be said vice versa. Still, happy tears filled your eyes as you continued to embrace your girlfriend.

You stayed like that for a little while longer, until a loud *ahem* caught your attention. You moved your head up to look (though Annie decided to keep hers right where it was), and were greeted with Caption Levi staring down at you.

“I get you’re happy, Y/n,” He stated bluntly, trying not to make things super awkward. “But this is the kind of affection that can be saved for your dorm room.”

A pink tint flared up on your cheeks, suddenly reminded by the fact that everyone in the commons could see you two.

“A-Ah,” you chuckled. “Of course Captain Levi.”

You placed your hands on the underside of Annie’s thighs, allowing you to hold her as you stood up and walked to your dorm.

You shut the door quickly, locking it for good measure, and laid down on the bed, setting your lover down gently beside you.

It seemed her crying had died down for the most part, thankfully. Even though they were happy tears, something about seeing your lover cry made you so unhappy.

“Annie,” you smiled at her, causing her to move her head up to stare at you. You brushed the hair out of her face affectionately, smiling with happy tears in your eyes. “I’ve missed you.”

The statement only seemed to bring out more emotion in her, as her lip trembled in an attempt to not let any tears fall. “Y/n... I was so worried about you... I thought... maybe... something had happened.”

You laughed warmly at that. Not necessarily making fun of her, but instead creating a warm and enveloping environment around you two with it.

“I would never leave you like that, Annie. I’m strong, you remember?” You grinned, and rolled up your sleeve to flex your bicep, a funny habit of yours that she had taken note of during your cadet days together.

She laughed at your silliness, her face seeming genuinely happy for the first time in years.

She was at home.

“I know...” She sniffled, reassuring herself even more, despite the fact you were already right in front of her. “I just... I was just worried for you...”

She muttered, pressing her cheek to your chest, listening to the steady rhythm of your heartbeat. You wrapped an arm around her gently, using the other arm to pull a blanket over the two of you, before grabbing her hand in your own.

“You need some rest, I’m sure, sweetie.” Your words were smooth and even, lighting a fire under Annie’s heart with every syllable.

“Yeah...” She smiled into the embrace, feeling truly at peace for the first time in what felt like forever. “I guess so...”

She buried her head in your chest once again, the soft sound of your heartbeat lulling her gently as the wave of sleep finally overtook her body.

She hadn’t slept like this in ages. No, this was different.

She was home.

This isn’t proofread hahaaaaaaa :)

[zombryz]

★ needy ★ a Frieza story

This is based on a request I got from an Anon - “ Do you think you can do a Frieza X Reader where Frieza feels more comfortable about being around the reader so much that he gets a bit clingy towards the reader?“

This will be a multi-part series. Oh how I do love Lord Frieza  ♡

TW - mentions of anxiety, kidnapping

“Yo!” You hear a familiar voice from behind you. You spin on your heel to find none other than the tall and hunky saiyan himself, Goku. 

“Hi Goku! How are you?” You smiled sweetly at him. He’s been your friend for quite some time now and you’ve gotten used to having him around. His face always lights up when he sees you, as you have a way with people, in this case saiyans. Both him and Vegeta had a soft spot for you and they never really understood why. They eventually just gave in and would do whatever you asked of them, being completely wrapped around your finger.

“I’m great! You ready to do this?” He smirked, making a hmph noise before cracking his knuckles and furrowing his eyebrows downward showing that he meant business. You had invited him over today because you were moving into capsule Corp. He was in charge of moving all your big, heavy furniture. Bulma requested you move in a few months ago but after the whole ‘Beerus almost destroying the world’ thing you decided it might be a good idea to go ahead and finally move in. That way you would always be kept in the loop. You were Bulma’s best friend and you were always babysitting the boys anyways so why not just move in? 

“Where do you want this?” Goku questioned holding your whole couch under one arm.

“Um, you can just put it in the loft! Thanks, Goku!” You replied with a kind smile causing his cheeks to turn rosy. You knew that he would do anything for you so you decided to return the favor by always being sweet to him. Everyone around here always called him an idiot and you didn’t feel that he was deserving of that. 

He had moved everything into your apartment so quickly without even breaking a sweat. Goku walked back down the stairs dusting off his hands as if it was the easiest task the saiyan has ever had to do. You were so thankful to have him in your life. 

“Gosh, thanks Goku. What would I do without you?” You reached up to ruffle his hair causing him to chuckle while he scratched the back of his neck.

“Don’t mention it! I’ll see you at dinner then?” He waved goodbye and took off using instant transmission. You were so excited to have a new place within Capsule Corp. Now if you needed Bulma, you could just walk down the hall instead of having to call her up. You sat on your couch and decided to get a nap in before dinner that evening. 

Later that evening, everyone gathered for dinner on the rooftop of Capsule Corp. It was honestly quite cute to have everyone sit together like a big family. You sat with Lord Beerus and Whis to your right and Trunks and Goten to your left. Lord Beerus also took a liking to you, which you figured it couldn’t hurt to have a destroyer on your side. He took the time to actually learn your name which didn’t seem to be a regular occurrence with him and mortals. After dinner you were playing hide and seek with Trunks and Goten, they always outsmarted you by flying or fusing together. You told them that if you were going to play, flying or fusing was against the rules. They weren't too excited about this but they would go along with it because they were always happy to just be playing with you. You were their favorite. 

After a tiresome game of hide and seek and finding the boys stuck in a tree you decided to head back to get some sleep. You yawned walking back inside Capsule Corp, that's when you ran into Bulma roaming the halls. She looked a teensy bit nervous and you felt the need to ask her what was wrong. 

“Everything ok Bulms?” You approached her slowly placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down a bit without spooking her.

“Oh! Hey, Y/N. Y-Yeah, I’ll be okay.” Her words came off a bit on edge and you couldn’t help but think she was trying to withhold information.

“You sure? You don’t seem okay, you seem a bit anxious..” 

“O-okay fine, you got me.” She shakily put her hands up in surrender and you finally let go of her shoulder to cross your arms together. You raised your brow curious to what she was going to say next. “Both Goku and Vegeta left. They went to train with Whis on Beerus' planet..” she paused. You felt as though there was something else she was leaving out. Your brow remained raised, unsure of where this was going. “….we have no way of staying in contact with them, I-I feel a little… unprotected I guess.” she shrugged as if saying it aloud sounded silly. Your eyes widened. A skip in your heart, earth’s greatest protectors - gone? What does this mean? Is there even a threat to earth? Is there going to be a threat? Your head spun a bit when you realized Bulma was still staring at you, she clearly needed comfort from her friend and not a freak out session. 

“Come here Bulms, it’s going to be okay” you grabbed one of her arms and pulled her into a tight embrace. “We still have Piccolo and Gohan with us. Oh! And the boys. We’ll be fine if anything happens we’ll just call up Tien and 18.” You unconfidently replied, breaking off the hug you held her shoulders in place so that she could see your trying sincere smile. Her anxiety seemed to knock down a few clicks as you helped calm her down.

“You’re right, It’s going to be okay.” She inhaled and exhaled loudly calming her nerves, “Thanks Y/N. Well, I guess I’ll try to get some sleep now. If you need anything please don’t hesitate to come get me, after all I’m only down the hall now!” She winked as she removed your hands from her shoulders and gave you a swift smile and wave before turning back down the hall towards her place. Finally, you can go back to your new apartment and relax. It had been a long day. 

You unlocked the door to your apartment and your living room was pitch black, the only light was emitting from your loft porch. Humming to yourself you walk around your dark room looking for the light switch, it was your first night in your new place and you cursed yourself for not knowing the layout of the room before it had gotten dark. You shuffled around reaching both arms out to feel around the walls for the light switch. At this point you were becoming annoyed, “Ugh” you grunted out loud. You pause for a moment to take a breather and that's when you see them. A pair of what looked like glowing red eyes in the far corner of your living room, they were locked on you and looked like they were coming from behind a lamp that Goku had placed there earlier in the day. You hesitate to scream, figuring maybe it was just an outlet or maybe the boys playing a prank on you. They started to move as if whomever they belonged to began standing up at their full height. That's when you started shaking and you could feel your palms becoming clammy with fear. Whatever it was was charging a ball of energy, the color matching their terrifying eyes. Now would be a good time to scream you thought to yourself, but you were frozen like a deer in headlights. 

Shit, shit, shit. 

Finally, you let out a gut wrenching scream hoping Goku or Vegeta would barge in and save you from whoever let themselves in your apartment. The being disappears from in front of you, in a frenzy you panic and look around not sure where it went. 

“Ah, ah, ah puny earthling.” The unknown creature was now behind you and clapped its large scaly hand over your mouth forcing no more noise out of you. “We don’t want the big bad monkey’s to know that I am here.” It tsked. You were stuck. Trying to calm your breathing you gave in, there was no way you could fight it off. Okay, what now? Still shaking you bring your arms down to your sides not realizing you grasped the hand that was placed tightly over your mouth. “Try that again and I will not hesitate to eliminate you right where you stand, under any normal circumstances you would already be dead at my hands, but unfortunately for the both of us,” a pause, almost as if it was annoyed to say the next part, “I need you to stay alive… for now.”

An understanding, you nodded your head in acceptance and it freed your mouth. All of a sudden the lights came on, blinding you. You covered your eyes trying to get the burn to go away when you finally opened them and saw it, well him? For a lizard man, he was oddly beautiful. He stood taller than you and had ivory skin with amethyst like crystal domes on his head, shoulders, and chest. His figure was rather slender but muscular. Flicking behind him was a long, ivory tail to match. It appeared to be made of pure muscle. He stood with one foot in front of the other showing off his three toed limbs. Wow. You had seen alien creatures before but never one quite like this. 

“Okay, what do you need me to do?” you cleared your throat and pulled at your shirt, fixing your appearance unconsciously.

“Rather compliant aren’t we?” he questioned while letting his head hang low, twisting his mouth to form a menacing and twisted smirk. “I will spare you the mechanics of my grand plan,” He raised his head to look you in the eyes while he spoke, “I have been watching you for quite some time, human.” This caused you to raise your brow in curiosity. Why was he watching you? “The monkeys left, and you see.. That will just not do, will it?” he started playing with his nails as if this conversation was boring him. 

You decided it was best for you not speak unless he asked you to and so he continued on.

“For now, you will be my hostage. My pawn, if you will. I need those infuriating baboons to come back to earth, I will not continue chasing them around the galaxy just to get my revenge.” He clutched his hand into a fist, anger seething through his teeth.

It finally clicked, standing only a few feet away was the ruthless and power hungry emperor, Lord Frieza. You swallowed your fear, not sure how you got here or why but you weren’t going to fight back in any way risking him to deem you no longer worthy to be in his presence. Goku and Vegeta have told you war stories about him. How did he come back? A single tear began rolling down your cheek causing you to sniffle quietly. Frieza must’ve noticed because he reached out and grabbed your face almost crushing your jaw with the action.

“Oh, do not grow worried little one. I will not hurt you…” a beat. “Today.” He chuckled evilly releasing your face. Great, you remembered Bulma telling you that there would be no contact with Goku or Vegeta. How long would you be Frieza’s prisoner? A panic sweeping over you, your head spinning and just like that your world went dark. You were knocked unconscious, Frieza had forced you to sleep. 

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

“Mom! Mom, wake up!” 

Bulma wiped the sleep away from her eyes. She sat up, yawning not sure if what was happening was a dream or not. Finally, fully awake, her eyes focus on Trunks who is hovering over her in a panic.

“It’s Y/N! I heard her scream, I went to check on her and her door was cracked open and there was no sign of her!” The worry in his voice caused Bulma to jump out of bed. 

“Trunks, I need you to go get Piccolo and the others. I am afraid something bad is happening.” Bulma tried her best to hide the worry in her voice.

Trunks left and Bulma started pacing her dark room, she had an itch of who might be involved. “Frieza.” she said to herself sternly, slamming her fist into her other hand. She thought to herself, how the hell am I going to get a hold of Goku and Vegeta?

[starsofatlantis]

Rivals

@sophitz-week day 1: academic rivals

Notes: this was a lot of fun to write and I enjoyed being able to play around with Sophie and Fitz’s dynamic! it ended up a lot longer than I expected but I’m pretty proud of it! hope you enjoy!

Relationships: platonic sophitz, pre-romantic sophitz, platonic sophex, platonic marella x sophie, platonic marella x dex, platonic, keefe x fitz

Word Count: 1986

Warnings: none!

_________________

"I just don't understand the issue," Dex said for what felt like the fiftieth time that morning.

Sophie scoffed. "The issue Dex, is that I am being forced to work with my sworn enemy."

"Sworn enemy's a little much," Dex replied, holding onto his backpack as he gave Sophie an amused look.

"Sworn enemy is perfect!" Marella exclaimed from Sophie's left. "It'll make it even more romantic when they finally confess their undying love to each other!"

Sophie deadpanned. "I can't tell if you're teasing me or just really really blind. There is no way I will ever fall in love with Fitz Vacker."

Dex laughed as Marella looked unconvinced.

"Please Soph, you both have been obsessed with each other since you first came to school in the sixth grade and beat him in the middle school spelling bee. You're like a modern day Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe."

Sophie gasped and held a hand to her heart. "Don't you dare insult my favorite fictional man by relating him to Fitz Vacker of all people."

"Favorite fictional man?" Dex questioned, quirking an eyebrow. "Whatever happened to Fred Weasley?"

Sophie glared at him. "So what if I simp for multiple fictional men? Who are you to judge Mr. 'I would lay down my life for Natasha Romanoff'?”

Dex chuckled. "Touché."

Marella grinned. "Ignoring the part where I said you two were obsessed with each other, huh?"

Sophie sniffed. "I'm not ignoring it. I'm choosing not to reply to something so ridiculous."

"Mhm."

"You're also ignoring the fact you had a crush on him when you first met," Dex pointed out.

"Dexter, my man! Always backing me up!" Marella exclaimed, and the two high-fived.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "A lack in judgment on sixth grade Sophie's part, I promise it will never happen again."

Dex snorted. "Whatever you say."

Marella gasped excitedly.

"Sophie's supposed sworn enemy 11 o'clock," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Sophie's head shot towards the boy in question as Dex just shook his head.

Fitz Vacker was tall and had broad shoulders from all the training he needed for football. His hair was dark and never seemed to fall out of place. He was kind and tutored the younger kids when he had free time. He volunteered with student council (his sister was the president) and as popular as he was, he didn't act like it.

Sophie hated his guts.

He gave her a small smile.

Subdued, she thought. She knew how bright his smile really was and she could only think he was holding himself back, which was odd. Fitz Vacker was anything but unconfident.

She stared back as he passed and out of the corner of her eye she saw his blond friend slap him on the back while chuckling.

"I love a good rivals to lovers romance," Marella gushed as they made their way into biology.

_________________

"You've got it bad, man," Keefe laughed.

"Shut up," Fitz grumbled, shrugging off Keefe's hand.

Keefe held his hands up. "Sorry, but it's way too obvious to not make fun of."

"Thanks Keefe, so grateful for your support," Fitz said, still thinking about the minor interaction he'd had with the girl he'd been crushing on for years.

"I am supportive bro," Keefe defended, "But there's only so much support I can give before the overwhelming need to make fun of you becomes too much."

"I can't stand you," Fitz said turning into his class.

"Aww how sweet," Keefe called as he walked down the hall to who knows where. "Too bad Sophie Foster thinks the same thing about you."

__________________

"Seriously, Marella, drop it. The only reason I'm going over to his house is to finish this stupid project," Sophie complained, pulling her keys out of the ignition.

She stared at the mansion the Vacker's called home, trying to work up to courage to walk to the front door.

"Ok, ok fine, just answer one thing," Marella said through Sophie's phone.

Sophie rubbed her temples as she got out of her car, already knowing this wasn't going to end well.

She grabbed the tray of mallowmelt out of the backseat, holding her cellphone between her shoulder and her head. "What is it?"

"Admit you think Fitz Vacker is the hottest man to walk the planet."

Sophie choked.

"Please, Sophie, be honest with me. I know you can't stand him for whatever reason, but you aren't blind and he's like, the blueprint of your type."

Sophie huffed as she walked up the grand walkway. She thought about his sparkling eyes and how they had always radiated comfort and safety to her, even when they were in middle school.

"I guess he's alright," she grumbled.

“AHA!” Marella cheered, and Sophie could practically hear her throwing a fist in the air. "I'll take it!"

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I've gotta go, talk to you later."

"Ok! Have fun, love ya," Marella said and made a kissy sound before hanging up the phone.

Sophie shook her head exasperatedly, stuffing her phone in her back pocket as she reached the double front doors.

She raised her hand to knock but before she could, the door opened, revealing a slightly flustered Fitz Vacker.

"H-hey," he stuttered.

"Hi," Sophie said plainly before holding out the tray of sweets. "This is mallowmelt from Edaline."

"Oh thanks!" he said excitedly. "My dad will really appreciate this!"

He laughed slightly and Sophie cracked a smile. Fitz's father had been the one to find Sophie her adoptive family when her own family had passed away in a car accident. Her adoptive father and Alden worked together so he'd asked him and his wife to take Sophie in, and they adopted her a few months later.

The two stood awkwardly in the doorway before Fitz started suddenly.

"I- y-you can come in," he said, moving out of the way to let her in.

"Thanks," Sophie replied, clutching her school bag as she walked into the gorgeous house.

Fitz mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'stupid', but Sophie didn't comment on it.

"My room's upstairs and to the left, I'm just gonna go put this in the fridge," Fitz said, gesturing to the tray.

Sophie nodded. "No problem."

She walked up the marble staircase, marveling and somewhat grumbling at the grandeur of Fitz's house.

To say Fitz's room wasn't what she was expecting and was also exactly what she was expecting was an understatement.

He obviously liked the color blue, as his bedspread was navy blue and so was the rug. The walls were white and most of his things were made out of dark wood. Tall bookshelves lined the walls and Sophie found herself jealous of his collection. A glass case on the wall held all his sports trophies, but mostly held photos of his teammates or friends winning something, and Sophie almost laughed at the way they were proudly displayed. It was honestly kinda cute how adorably proud of his friends he was that he hung up photos of their accomplishments in his room. He was like a mother hen.

"Ok so we have to pick a book we're required to read by the school district and analyze whether we think it's an educational read and why we think the book is required. I know you haven't read all of the same books as me cause we're in different grades so I thought we could make a list of all the ones we have read and go from there," Fitz said as he walked into his room.

Sophie was a little taken aback by the sudden proposition but nodded anyway. "Sounds good."

She was a little mad he was right about the books though. Sophie was only a sophomore while Fitz was a senior, so he'd been through more english classes than she had.

She went to pull out a sheet of paper when something stopped her.

"I-is that your second place ribbon from the spelling bee?" she asked and he looked up from his own paper.

Fitz scratched the back of his neck, following Sophie's line of sight in the direction of a blue ribbon hanging from his glass case with the worded '2ND PLACE' written distinctly on the front.

"Uh—," he chuckled nervously, "Y-yeah it is."

Sophie turned to him, confusion etched across her face. "Why would you keep that?"

She for one, would never keep anything that reminded her she had lost to someone.

"I dunno." He shrugged. "Guess it just reminds me of something."

"Of what?"

Briefly, it occurred to her this was the longest conversation she'd had with him since he beat her in the relay race at the end of sixth grade.

"Um, I- uh, I'm not sure."

Sophie looked unconvinced and Fitz blushed.

Sophie gave him another strange look before turning back to her bag.

"Why do we not talk anymore?" Fitz blurted out, and immediately had to resist the urge to slap his hand over his mouth and launch himself out the nearest window.

"What?" Sophie asked slowly, turning to fully face him.

Good going, Fitz, he thought. Now she's going to hate you even more and will probably end up starting a petition to send you to Timbuktu so that she never has to see you again.

"Um," he said smartly.

She raised an eyebrow and he sighed.

"Why don't we talk anymore? We used to be friends when we were in middle school."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know. We're rivals, and last I checked you aren't supposed to fraternize with your competition."

"Huh?" Fitz said, his turn to be confused. "Since when were we rivals?"

Sophie me jaw dropped. "Seriously? We've always been rivals."

"Uh no we haven't?"

Sophie looked incredulous and Fitz had the feeling he said something wrong. "Yes we have! You were the one who started it in the first place!"

"What?" Fitz exclaimed. "When did I do that?"

"In middle school? When you were always competing with me?"

"I- I wasn't doing that cause I thought of you as a rival! I was doing that cause I thought of you as my friend!"

Sophie's confusion and slight anger calmed down for a second. "What?"

"Yeah! I never had someone who could match me at everything I did and then some, so I thought it was fun to push myself to beat you. You made everything a challenge cause you were— are! —so good at everything!"

"Trust me, if I knew you'd stop talking to me for four years just cause I beat you in a lame race, I would have lost every single competition we ever competed in against each other."

They stared at each other as a blush formed on both of their faces. Sophie being confused on everything Fitz Vacker and feeling bashful over all he'd just said, and Fitz frustrated at himself for letting Sophie get that ridiculous idea that he didn't want to be friends with her in her head and feeling bashful over all he'd just said.

Sophie took in a quiet breath. "I- I just thought you wanted to beat me because you didn't like me."

"No!" Fitz exclaimed frantically, waving his hands, as if trying to ward her words away from the air around him. "Not at all!"

Sophie laughed slightly, and Fitz reveled in the sound of it.

"I want us to be," he stumbled, "…f-friends. I've always wanted that."

Sophie looked into his eyes, saw the pure sincerity there, and felt herself melt a little bit.

"I think I'd like that too," she said quietly. "Friends."

Fitz smiled brightly and it felt like the morning sun after a long night.

She paused.

"I'm still gonna try to beat you in everything we do though."

Fitz laughed loudly and it echoed around the room.

Sophie never thought she'd be glad he didn't subdue his smile.

[daveed-diggs-imagines]

A Little Illegal: Daveed x fem!reader

Smut! 18+ reccomended 

warnings: rough sex, large age gap, professor-student relationship

Summary: A highschool senior begins taking college courses. She never thought she’d enjoy her new professor so much...

To say you were nervous was an understatement. You had worked hard and kept your grades up to start taking some college classes throughout your senior year to get credits. You had signed up for any government or history-related classes you could get in hopes of filling your mind with as much information as possible before you graduate. You didn’t know many students who had signed up for the same classes as you which only heightened your anxiety. Not to mention the horror stories you had heard from some of the other students who had dealt with some of these professors before. You just hoped if you did the work and kept quiet it wouldn’t be a problem.

The bus that was transporting you and some other students arrived and harshly jerked to a stop. You stood up incredibly unconfidently and grabbed your bag. You shuffled off the dulled yellow ride and followed the small map you had in your hand. Luckily, you weren’t running late and were ahead of what was previously planned by ten minutes. You weave your way through puzzled kids and easily find your room. No one else is around so you nervously turn the handle and walk-in.

The first thing you notice is a tall man with glasses and amazing natural hair. He is not focused on you as he scribbles notes down on a post-it.

“U-um, hi,” you stutter, causing the man to look up. “You are Mr. Diggs, correct?”

“Uh, yeah, and you are?” he asks, a puzzled look on his face. He hadn’t seen you on campus before.

“I’m y/n l/n, it’s nice to meet you,” you say, walking over and reaching out your hand for him to shake.

“Ah, are you new here?”

“Yeah, in a sense,” You laugh, assuming he already knew you were with the high school.

“Well then y/n, come by my office after class and I can give you the rundown of this place, yeah?” he suggests.

“Yeah, that would be wonderful, thank you, Mr. Diggs.”

“Daveed is fine,” he says. “ ‘Mr. Diggs’ doesn’t sound right coming from your mouth.”

“Oh yeah, of course Daveed,” You say, deciding you like the way his name sounds rolling off your tongue. You turn away from him and walk over to the plethora of seats. Damn, she has a nice ass too.

“Sit here,” Daveed says, walking up behind you and pointing towards one in the front row.

“Are you sure?” you ask, not knowing if you want to be right in the middle of everything.

“You seem like you’ll be a great addition to this class and I don’t want to miss your thoughts,” he simply states, watching you sit down and pull out your laptop seemingly ready to take notes.

“Prepared, I like it.”

“Eh, I guess, I’m still pretty nervous though,” you admit, tucking some hair behind your ear.

“Don’t be. I’m always here if you need anything.”

He finishes talking as you hear the door burst open, several people coming in. Most of them rowdy and of the male gender.

“Gentlemen,” Daveed says, nodding at the group.

“Ayyy, it’s Diggs,” one of them yells, slamming his stuff down next to you. A look of irritation forms on your new professor's face at the sound of his voice.

All of the group follows the leader and set their bags and themselves down around you. You’re nervous at their actions knowing that they didn’t seem the most trustworthy.

“Hey, who are you?” one of them asks, leaning closer.

“Someone that wants you to leave them alone.”

“Ooh, c’mon, just play along, yeah?” he smiles, hand now resting closer to yours.

“No thanks, I’m okay,” you tell him, hoping he’ll take a hint.

“Yeah right, you sat right in the middle in the front row. You love this attention, don’t lie,” he concludes, making his friends snicker. You jerk your hand away and sink back in your seat. You figure they aren’t going to stop so ignoring them seems like the best option.

“Aww, c’mon, I just wanna have a little fun,” he says, hand now resting on your knee.

You all hear someone loudly clear their voice and everyone’s head jerks up.

“No means no,” Daveed declares, making direct eye contact with the boy who was previously harassing you. The boy doesn’t have a response as he crosses his arms and leans back.

“Why don’t you go sit somewhere else?” he more demands than suggests. Without a word, the group gets up and moves to a section in the back, far away from any authority figures.

“You good y/n?” Daveed asks, feeling guilty for telling you to sit up front for his selfish reasons.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little startled.”

He then grabs your bag and moves it over to a seat in the lower corner.

“The bulk of people sit in the middle so this way you shouldn’t be bothered,” he explains as you move over to sit down. He stares down at you for a moment.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I wouldn't have told you to sit there if I knew what they would do," he apologizes, running a hand over his hair.

“No, don’t worry, it’s not your fault,” you laugh. “Honestly, you would think they would be more mature.”

“Yeah, you would think.”

You had sat through the whole class and surprisingly wasn't bored to death. Even though most of it was just introductory, Daveed had a voice that was just captivating and you were looking forward to coming back. You shove everything into your bag before getting up and stretching. You begin to walk towards the door when you hear someone call your name. You turn around and see Daveed, having forgotten he wanted to talk with you in his office.

“You still want to talk?” He asks.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Okay, great, just give me a quick second and I’ll meet you in there. You can make yourself comfortable while you wait,” he tells you gesturing towards a door off to the side.

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” you respond, going over and walking in. Everything looks like a standard office. A desk with two chairs in front of it along with a couch towards the wall. Tons of books on shelves or stacked on stands. The atmosphere was romantic with the dim lighting and brown undertones set through the small space. There’s a hint of a woodsy smell that’s more calming than overwhelming.

After waiting for five minutes you begin to grow bored and gaze around from the seat you took in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Nothing new seems to pop out at you but curiosity still gets the best of you and you stand up and walk around the desk to snoop. All there seems to be is essays, not that you were expecting much else. The only thing that interests you is a spinny office chair the was positioned directly behind you. So what other choice is there besides sitting down and well, spinning?

You can’t help but laugh at how childish you must seem as you push on the desk to gain momentum.

You barely have time to enjoy yourself when the chair is suddenly halted to a stop. You looked up to see Daveed looking down at you, holding the chair still, hand right next to your head, catching some of your hair with it.

“Comfortable?” he asks, seemingly growing closer. Damn, he smelled amazing. You sit there and stare up at him, forgetting you were asked a question. You grip slightly onto the arms of the chair, growing nervous.

“I asked you a question, y/n,” he whispers, his mouth now next to your ear.

“Fuck uh, y-yeah, I’m great,” you stutter, clenching your legs. Were you really turned on right now? He’s your new professor who’s probably twice your age and you’re ready to strip right here and now.

“Oh, oh god, I’m so sorry Daveed I-”

“That’s Mr. Diggs to you,” he growls, his lips now grazing over your ear as he speaks.

“O-of course, Mr. Diggs,” you comply, eyes wandering down his body. His shirt seems to show far more muscles than earlier. But you weren’t complaining.

“Tell me to stop and I will,” Daveed whispers, mouth moving to yours to capture you in a kiss. It’s not gentle nor rough but has a sense of lust you'd never experienced before. You don’t even know this man and you were letting him have his way with you in an unlocked room on the campus of a school. You know this isn’t right. Hell, this isn’t even legal but right now you’re thinking with the dampness in your panties not the good judgment in your mind.

He continues moving his lips on yours and pulls you up so you’re standing against him. He walks back toward the couch, mouth not leaving yours once. He still has some of your hair tangled into his hand from when he had stopped the chair earlier. He uses it to his advantage and pulls on it suddenly, making your head jerk back and you’re mouth open. You moan when he slides his tongue in. You’re lowered onto the couch, him starting to slightly lean over you.

He pushes you down completely, straddling one of your legs. You move your knee up spreading your legs a little more and feel something hard graze against you. You know you should stop but you forget about thinking when he starts to reach his hand down the waistband of your jeans. Your breath hitches and you can feel him smile against your mouth.

“Damn y/n, I didn’t know I could get you like this so fast,” he whispers, voice husky.

“Of course you wouldn’t know. You know nothing more than my name at this point,” you pant while beginning to lift the edge of his shirt.

“Well I’d love to get to know you but I’m a little busy right now,” Daveed jokes, struggling to rip off your too-tight jeans. You swiftly remove his shirt as he finally strips you of your only layer of clothing- you decided not to wear panties that day.

“Are you ready?” he asks while undoing the belt holding up his slacks. You give a small moan in agreement as you see his dick nearly protruding out of his boxers. Without notice Daveed drops his remaining clothing and grabs the back of your head, gripping a fistful of hair and pulling. He pulls you closer to him as he uses his other hand to position his cock against your lips. You expect him to let you take the lead and you prepare to welcome him into your mouth. His grip on you tightens. Daveed slams himself into your throat and you let out a gag. This wasn’t your first time but it feels different than before.

You had watched porn scenes like this but never imagined it would be happening today. And not at 18 years old with your new professor. The onslaught continues as you feel his cock stretch your throat with every forceful pound. Your saliva and Daveed's sticky precum are dripping down your chin as you try to swallow. You can barely breathe much less swallow the fluids combining in your mouth. You were in pain what felt like everywhere. Your hair, your neck, your head, and anywhere that was being forcefully moved and penetrated by Daveed. But you loved it. You relished in the sting of your hair being pulled and your face being fucked.

Daveed begins to slow down and releases his grip on your head. You take in a deep breath and wait for the next act. Daveed moves quick, tearing off your shirt and pulling your bra off over your head. He pushes you back on the couch and moves down to your sopping pussy.

“I’m going to fuck your little cunt up so bad,” He growls. You watch as he slowly runs his tongue over his lips before he uses his fingers to sperate the lips of your pussy.

You shudder at the small touch bracing yourself for what’s next. Daveed opens his mouth, consuming your cunt in a sloppy kiss. His tongue lands on your swollen clit as he begins sucking and flicking all-around your sensitive ball of nerves. You try and keep quiet, reducing your moans to muffled groans. You bite the back of your hand as you feel a finger slip inside of you. You had only ever fucked boys who couldn't find a way to please you. This was what you needed; a mature man to make you feel something worth screaming over.

Daveed's finger begins thrusting faster as he slips another inside you. You lay there squirming and whining like a little puppy as the pleasure continued consuming your body. Then He added a third finger. It had been a while since you last had a dick in you and you could feel your pussy stretching to accommodate the new addition. You begin thrusting into Daveed as you feel your body ready to explode.

Daveed senses your body close to climax and abruptly stops. He rips his fingers out of you and stuffs them inside your panting mouth.

“Lick it off, get a good taste of yourself you little slut,” he growls, leaving his fingers in your mouth and gripping your chin to close your mouth. You begin sucking your juices from his fingers and move your hand down to your cunt. You felt so close and you just needed to keep going. Daveed notices your hand traveling down and wastes no time removing his hand from your mouth and pinning your hands above your head. He says nothing as he reaches to the floor to grab the belt he was previously wearing. It all happens so fast you can barely squeak out a word before your hangs are stuck tied above your head.

“Don’t try that again,” Daveed scolds while wiping his hand against your stomach to remove any of your remaining juices.

“O-oh I’m sorry Mr. Diggs,” you cower, showing the best puppy dog eyes you can muster. Daveed stares down at you for a moment before reaching into his discarded pants pocket.

“I’m on the pill,” you inform him, smiling slightly as his face lights up. You were excited to feel all of him raw inside you.

“Good girl,” Daveed tells you. He smooths down the stray hairs on your head and lines up his throbbing cock to your cunt. You honestly weren’t sure it would fit without tearing apart your insides. You didn’t get a chance to prepare yourself before he sinks halfway inside you. You let out a forceful breath, feeling a euphoric mix of pain and pleasure. Daveed lets out a small grunt and slightly pulls out of you.

“Be quiet,” he sternly warns you. You slightly nod and ball your fists as much as you can while tied above your head. Daveed slams back into you. this time forcing as much inside you as he can. You let out a gasp as he begins roughly thrusting his large cock inside you. You let out a moan; this one a little too loud. Daveed doesn’t hesitate as he wraps his right hand around your throat and slightly applies pressure. you throw back your head in immense pleasure reveling in the gentle pain.

Daveed moves his free hand to your clit and begins quickly rubbing his hand side to side against your clit. His intense thrusting continues as you try and contain your moans and noises. You can’t help but let out a small shriek as you feel yourself begin to unravel. Daveed tightens his grip around your neck, this time applying enough pressure to make it hard for you to breathe. You thrust your hips to meet him feeling every nerve in your pussy being abused by his cock. Every part of you tenses and you feel a release coming. Daveed removes his hand from around your neck and groans at the sudden lightening of your pussy.

“Shhh,” you hear whispered into your ear as you explode, your juices combining with Daveed’s. He thrusts into you while you both climax while muffled moans fill the dim room. Daveed quickly pulls out of you and begins undoing the belt still strapping your hands together.

“You good?” he asks. You look up at him still breathing heavily, the events catching up to you. “Um, yeah, I’m just... yeah I’m good,” you reply, not sure how to answer. You sit up and bend down to collect your discarded clothing. You slip on your jeans and the rest of your clothes, not sure if he expected you to stay.

“Come here for a sec,” Daveed tells you, walking to his desk. You follow him unsure of what's coming next. He looks up at you and reaches up and begins smoothing your messy hair. “We don’t want anyone getting suspicious,” he states. He gives you a small kiss on your forehead.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need anything?” he asks.

“No I’m totally good,” you assure, smiling up at him.

“Good girl,” he tells you right as a loud knock comes from the door.

“I should get going.”

You grab your bag and quickly shuffle to the door. You open it to see an older man waiting. He must have been another professor.

“Same time next week?” Daveed asks loudly from across the room.

“Of course!” You say back, smirking as you reach for your phone to put the meeting into your calendar.

[vegetalass]

Hey there! Your RDR2 headcanons are fantastic, and I’m itching for more! I’m not sure if you’re still active, but if you are... Could I possibly request some Arthur, Javier, Charles, and/or Sean headcanons about a tall female/gender neutral reader who is insecure about their height? SFW or NSFW welcome. 💕

hi!!!🥰 Thank you for enjoying my work so much!!! 

I’m not really all that active, but I’m around! I guess you could call it an indefinite hiatus (?), maybe, but I’m not too sure! I mostly just pick and choose the asks I feel like doing if I’m in the mood to write.💘

that being said.... in the words of our lord and savior megan thee stallion... PUT THEM LEGS ON HIS HEAD NOW HE LOVE TALL WOMEN AHHH (she’s talking about all the rdr2 boys)

find me at @ihatebnha... 

enjoy! 

-

Arthur 

This man is fucking stupid 

For all the insecurities he has regarding himself, he definitely isn’t going to be aware about ANY of yours

And he definitely isn’t going to notice anything is upsetting you unless you specifically tell him 

And even then, he’s not really going to understand why you’re insecure in the first place

This is mostly because he doesn’t think you have flaws. If he doesn’t see anything wrong with you, then clearly you don’t either and whatever it is that’s bothering you doesn’t matter and therefore isn’t important or will go away on it’s own 

Honestly, in Arthur’s mind, he has bigger fish to fry than worry about whether his girl is short or tall

If he likes you and did enough to get you to like him back (especially since he has a lot of baggage), then that’s all that matters

If you bring it up with him, however, it’s big dumbass hours

“Arthur, I’m just so… tall! Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Tall is strong. Strong is good.” 

“But… I don’t look like a lady.. Like Tilly and Mary-Beth and Karen and all them other girls… Doesn’t that bother you?” 

“Why would I want you to look like them…?” 

It takes awhile, but if you keep it up it probably does get to the point where he realizes you’re genuinely insecure, especially if he’s been brushing it off for a while and your mood starts being affected

It’s then that he’ll pull you aside and just explain to you that he couldn’t give a damn what you look like, since you’re wayyyyyyy out of his league anyway

Probably does that thing where he talks to you for like an hour about how the lifestyle you live is dangerous and love is fleeting so all that matters is that you have each other and blah blah blah 

And you have to be like …. “Arthur…. hush…” 

Honestly, even when he’s aware that you’re insecure about your height, not much is gonna change EXCEPT he’ll probably try to pick you up wayyyyy more often 

Which would be weird except for the fact he can totally do it no sweat 

(because I mean… look at this dude….) 

You scream and tell him to put you down and he’s like “What? Think I can’t pick up my woman? I’m a lil offended…” 

And then he’ll just wrap your legs around his torso and you have to hold on for dear life because he’s not gonna put you down

Overall, Arthur is too much of an outlaw with abandonment issues to worry about looks. Frankly… he sees woman he likes… he gets boner… It’s pretty simple. 

Charles 

Charles is… both more and less helpful than Arthur 

He definitely takes the same approach of like… “Tall = Strong, which is GOOD,” but he’s so casual about it that it’s honestly not going to be that reassuring 

You try to bring it up once or twice and he just… doesn’t really get that it’s an insecurity and not something that can be solved with a simple, logical answer

He kinda just assumes that since you’re together, you already know he likes how you look 

(Because he really, truly does)

So he wonders why he would need to say anything to you about it other than something like, “you look fine,” if you brought it up

This is okay for the most part… but on the days when you’re more bummed out about it than usual, it can be really annoying

Plus, getting him into the zone where he can talk about feelings is pretty hard

Not that he’s not willing to, I just think he doesn’t automatically know when you’re trying to have a heart to heart vs. when you’re just chatting 

Especially since you don’t have that much alone time at camp and are often focused on missions otherwise

So you would really have to pull him away from whatever he was doing to fully show him that you were serious

He’s great though, because once he truly gets what you mean, he’s going to put in the most effort to mitigate those feelings 

Not only does he fully express in words how much he adores you (height and all) after you explain, he’s gonna try to put more effort into his actions, as well, so you can feel it without him having to reassure you verbally

Holding you from behind, rubbing your thighs, leaning on you more, kissing your ankles etc.

And God forbid anybody make a comment about your height, he’s going to snap their spine

Honestly, to Charles, long as you’re looking healthy and strong and responding to him normally he thinks you look GOOD 

Javier 

He likes tall women. That’s it. That’s the tweet. 

In a relationship, Javier is honestly just happy as long as you’re happy, so the moment you show signs of being insecure, he’s on that shit trying to fix it

Pretty in-tune and open with emotions in general, so it’s never been hard for you to talk about these kinds of things together (much less anything else)

Though he’s another guy who just assumes that you already knew he liked how you looked, he’s definitely not one to shy away from telling you OR showing you if there’s ever moments when you’re feeling extra down about it

(But that’s not often since he isn’t really shy about loving on you) 

Especially if he gets to kiss you and make you smile or laugh while doing it

Whispers in your ear about how much he loves you, hands are always NOT where they should be, creeping up your skirt and trousers, limbs all tangled up when you lay on each other at the campfire, etc. 

Probably the easiest one to talk to about the whole thing, as he’s always willing to listen to you and immediately understands what you mean when you bring it up 

Since I’m sure he sometimes feels like the shortest guy in the group

That being said, since you’re not afraid to be honest about how you feel, you balance each other out very well

And Javier loves knowing he’s the only one who gets to take you down (SPICY!!!) 

If another guy makes any comments about you, expect him to get pretty raunchy about how much he likes you

(For Ex: You wish you were me, bitch!!!) 

It’s both flattering and embarrassing at the same time

Sean 

The fact that you even gave Sean the time of day is enough to make his pants tight, so he is definitely not thinking about your height

There is probably nothing wrong with you that he can actually point out, and probably genuinely thinks that you have no flaws

He honestly doesn’t even figure that there’s anything you could actually insecure about, mostly because he loves all of you, always has, and probably always will 

So to learn you’re unconfident about your height is kinda shocking to him

Especially since he also isn’t shy about loving on you 24/7… 

So for it not to be enough to quell your worries… that must mean it’s pretty serious 

(He’s like: “ARE YA KIDDIN?”) 

Definitely does his best to vocally and physically reassure you all the time (even if you don’t need it)

(He’s not as smooth as Javier is, though)

All his suggestive comments get a thousand times worse, and he’s always at your side or trailing right behind you

Also always wants you in his lap. No matter what. Be in his lap. Aggressively pats his lap until you sit on him. 

Definitely randomly points out you guys are together to whoever is even remotely looking ing your direction

“You see that fine thing? Yea, that one… She’s all mine…” klsdjfalksjd

It probably gets to the point where he starts using embarrassing nicknames or getting in the way of being sneaky and you have to tell him to knock it off

(Unless you’re, idk, into it *wink wonk*) 

But he really just means well  

He just really doesn’t want you to feel insecure about yourself, and would do anything to change that, even if it’s a little overbearing

[dramionediscussion]

Honestly I feel really bad for Ron. His life, not gonna lie, sucks. He’s the last son of his family, the one right before the girl his parents wanted so badly, plus he doesn’t even have expectations to live up to because they’ve all been done by his brothers.

Bill’s been Head Boy, Charlie’s been Quidditch Captain, Percy’s been both a Head Boy and a Prefect, Fred and George run a very successful business. Ron literally has nothing else left that would impress his parents, or has never been done before??

Even at Hogwarts, he goes and makes friends with the most famous wizard ever, and spends the next seven years as a sidekick again. And it’s pretty much a guarantee that people will pay more attention to Hermione than him, because Hermione’s smart, has the sort of personality that makes people pay attention to her, and she’s a woman. Ron, in the media, will be one of those run-of-the-mill guys who hangs out with famous people.

And Ron is a canonically insecure dude. He feels jealous and insecure sometimes, and that’s okay. He wants less out of life than Harry and Hermione, and that’s also okay. Not everyone needs or wants an Ivy League degree and a high-power job, some people just want to eat, hang out with friends, and be happy. Ron’s one of them.

The reason I don’t ship R0mione is more for Ron than for Hermione. It’s not because they’re not “deserving” of each other. It’s because they’re so different. I usually love the very-chill-dude and the type-A-personality girl trope, but with Ron, he’s always going to be behind someone if he gets together with Hermione. First his brothers, then Harry, now Hermione? That isn’t fair for someone who’s so anxious about himself, so unconfident, so self-conscious.

Ron deserves someone who puts him first no matter what. Someone who wants the same things he does, and doesn’t push him to “do more”, like Hermione would. Someone accepts him for who he is, and what he’s done, and is proud of him no matter what.

^^^

[vulearanger]

Pocky! Part 2. Fem! ReaderXLeonardo.

You were standing on the roof, slowly breathing with a fresh air. Eyes hurts a little because of the tears, but with every breath you calmed down. Amazing... You perfectly knew that Leo is not the one, who will betray someone, or cheat. He was a perfect man. You wanted to be with him, and Leos move showed you, that there's a hope for you to be happy.

But memories loves appearing at the "right" moment, waking up the fear and making you fell unconfident about this.

- Do you really think, that i'm interested in this? 

- But...you told me that i'm...

- Oh, about that. Ha-ha-ha! - your ex laughed, and that brokes your heart more and more. - Oh, did you really thought that it's the truth? My dear, just look at yourself! You're a weirdo! Sexy, but weirdo. No one will like you, you should understand this! 

- Then why you made everything of this...for me?.. - tears were falling on your cheeks, your soul was tearing apart with every breath. 

- I was bored of course! - he/she turned around and looked at your eyes with a smirk. - I used you, my dear.

You took another deep breath, swiped tears from your cheeks. It's been two years and this pain wasn't so strong. But it's reminds you to be careful with everyone.

At the meantime, Leo was confused and scared. What happened to you? Did he moved too fast? Maybe you didn't really wanted to play this game with him? He was worried about you but the fear, that he would do everything worse, if he will follow you, paralyzed him. April saw this, she placed her hand on his shoulder and said "go".

Ninja carefully got up to the roof and tried to find you. He breathed in relief when he saw you sitting on the bench. But the tears on your cheeks made his heart ache in pain. He slowly went to you and then both of met each other with a sights again.

- Y/n, i'm sorry, - said Leonardo getting down on one knee in front of you.

- For what?.. - you looked at him in surprise.

- I shouldn't have kissed you and been so persistent... I'm sorry that i made feel so uncomfortable.

- Oh, Leo, no, you made everything...pretty. Honestly. I...i even liked that, - you hide your eyes under your hair, feeling how your cheeks became hotter, and Leo looked at you in amazed, his heart started pounding faster. - It's just... because of my past relationships... They were really awful and there's still residue inside of me and...i just a little afraid.

Residue of past relationships? How? How could someone dare to hurt you and not appreciate your soul? That was a low act and he was sorry that you had to met those people in your life and after rebuild yourself alone.

He couldn't help but take you hand, carefully stroke your hand with a finger and kiss it softly, closing his eyes. Another prove that humans can be awful to each other. Your heart left one beat, but then you smiled and placed hand on his cheek.

- You're such an amazing person, Y/n, the karma will get these guys for making your life heavy, - he whispered, breathing the smell of your hand. - I promise, no one will hurt you like this anymore and anything like that if you will allow me.

- Like a knight?

- Like a knight, - he smiled and looked at you, his blue eyes sparkled under the moon light.

And he was fascinated by you again: the moonlight lit up your face, turning your eyes in a lighter colour. You're the most beautiful creature that he ever met in this world.

You smiled a little wider, looked away from embarrassment and took out of your pocket a box with pocky sticks.

- I... - you opened it. - I'm suggesting to try again our round, - you took the edge of the stick and looked at the mutant.

- It's a pleasure, - he smiled, sat next to you on the bench and places another edge in his mouth.

Your heart were beating faster again, like in previous time, but right now you wasn't afraid. Both of you understood what happened between you and it's mutual. Wen your lips were close enough, Leo placed his one hand on your waist, pulled you closer to him and another hand appeared on your back, you wrapped around his neck your arms, and Leo kissed you more sensually then the last time.

- Told you it's a good idea! - said Mikey, when he got back with April and Donnie in the apartment.

- But Y/n cried!

- Well, we all didn't thought that she would react like that, - Donnie turned off the camera. - Still, the result worths of it.

- O yeah! - Mikey looked at Raph, Vern and Casey. - Get ready your money, boys, i won the bet!

***

Here's the end of this little drabble. Hope you liked it!)

[herohotline]

Wet Clay (P.2)

Shouta Aizawa x Reader

Summary: You finally have your first session when Uraraka comes by your office. Things are steadily flowing in your job now, and you learn a little more about Aizawa as you talk with his students. 

Word Count: 5,000+

Part One | Part Three | Part Four

The first thing you added to your office was a tall bamboo plant- your sister gave it to you a while ago and you never thought it did very well in your house. Then you brought a few carpets, and then some lamps to create a better atmosphere. You even got some candles to sit on top of the miniature bookcase you hauled in with Ectoplasm’s help. After that, you started to bring in the items that were mainly for stimulation: squishy balls, clay, water beads… 

You always liked playing with them yourself whenever your patients left and you were alone. 

Besides introducing yourself to the 1-B class, you haven’t done much in U.A. You were beginning to feel a little restless, but you knew you had to give the students some time before they came to you. 

For now, it was just… boring. 

Today is Wednesday, so it’s officially been a week and two days since you were hired. Nezu came by at one point to admire the progress in your office, but you were ashamed to admit to him that the progress ended there. He didn’t seem surprised, though, so at least you weren’t in trouble with your boss. 

It was strange thinking of a little insanely smart mouse-bear as your boss, but that’s what the world is now. 

But, finally, something happens. You’re sitting at your desk and wondering what you’ll eat for lunch today when there’s 3 quiet knocks on your door. It surprises you so much you almost yell out- but you keep yourself quiet as you rush over to the door. Is it a student?

Opening your office, you see a familiar brunette with pink cheeks. “Oh, uh… Uraraka, was it?”

The girl smiles as she places her hands together. “Yes! I’m glad you remembered!” 

“Me too,” you laugh, opening your door a bit wider. “Would you like to come in?”

“Ah… yes please.” She bows her head respectfully as she enters, and then lights up again when she looks around. “It looks really nice in here!” 

Closing the door, you head over to one of the plush seats and sit on the edge. She slowly does the same thing, sitting on the couch instead. “Thank you, I worked hard to make it homey here. May I ask why you came to me today?” 

Uraraka lets out a nervous breath, still smiling as she fidgets in her seat. “Honestly, I just wanted to see what this was like… I know everyone’s pretty wary to come, and I wanted to see for myself.” 

Ah, that makes sense. You tried hard to make a good impression the first day, but teenager’s trust isn’t gained so easily. 

“Well, I appreciate you coming to me, Uraraka. You’ll see that I’m not very scary, I just want to help you have a shoulder to lean on. But we don’t have to talk if you’re uncomfortable.” 

“I… want to try,” she says. You admire her for her bravery and you silently lean back in your seat, giving her time to think of what she wants to say. With the look on her face, you can tell she’s trying to concentrate and you don’t want to break it. “...Sometimes I feel a little selfish.” 

She stops there, so you take that as your cue. “Why do you think that?” 

Her hands fidget in her lap nervously, wringing her skirt. “I want to become a hero to help my family. I want to make money so they don’t have to work as hard, but… becoming a hero for my own needs seems…” 

“Selfish,” you finish for her and she nods her head. You take a minute to think before reaching under your coffee table, pulling out your basket of goodies and setting it on top. “You can use any of these if you're nervous. I personally like the jumble ones, they act like knots,” you grab one of the toys and use it yourself. 

Uraraka hesitates, but eventually, she grabs one of the balls and gives it a firm squeeze. 

“Uraraka, you’re not selfish. You’re selfless. You love your family and you’ve decided to become their hero. Loving your family and wanting to take care of them doesn’t make you selfish- it makes you kind.” 

Your voice comes out low and soothing, the way you find it best to talk when you’re dealing with unconfident people. She looks up at you nervously, still squeezing the ball in her hand. “Are you sure?” She asks and you give her your best smile. 

“Very. Your parents are very lucky to have a thoughtful daughter like you, and I’m sure they know it, too.” 

Uraraka seems to lighten up, just a little bit. 

——

You and Uraraka continue to talk for around half an hour before she notices it’s time for lunch and she doesn’t want to miss it. You write her a slip in case she’s late to anything- and then you notice how she’s still squeezing the ball. 

“I have one more question for you before you go, Uraraka.” You stand up and she follows you. “Does squeezing that bring you comfort at all?” 

She looks down at the toy with wide eyes, her cheeks a little more pink than usual. “O-oh! I didn’t notice I still had it… I guess it does.” 

“Then you should keep it,” you suggest and she wildly shakes her head. 

“I- I couldn’t! This is yours!” 

“Don’t worry,” you smile at her and walk to your office door, opening it widely. “I have plenty. If it makes you happy when you’re anxious, I want you to have it. That’s what it’s meant for.” 

“Y-you’re sure?” She keeps looking at you unsurely as you slowly nudge her out. 

“Very.”

And then, surprisingly, she rushes back to you. Her arms envelop you in a hug, catching you completely off guard before she’s suddenly a few feet away from you again. “Thank you for today, ____!” Uraraka bows rather harshly before she’s running far, far away from you, down the hall and around the corner. 

You watch her with a big smile, your heart feeling just a little lighter- and you don’t think it’s because of her quirk. You’re still grinning as you lock your office and head down to the convenience store outside of U.A for a much-earned lunch- it’s like you can’t stop. But who can blame you? 

You’re finally doing your job, and it felt good. 

——

“Hey, what’s that?” 

The class is in the middle of a group project when Ashido points out Uraraka’s stress ball, placed firmly in her hand. 

“Oh! ___ gave it to me! It’s a stress ball…” Several of her teammates perk up in interest- Momo only sighing as she could tell that they weren’t going to work on the project for a bit. 

“You went to see them? How was it?” Jirou asks.

Uraraka flushes. “It was… really nice, actually. I was able to just talk for a while and have someone listen and not judge me for it. And ___ is really nice, too.” 

“Really? I’m glad you liked it…”

From a few desks away, Aizawa sits in his desk chair as he watches the students do their work. His ears perk up when he hears Uraraka talking about you, and his eyes drift down to the stress ball in Uraraka’s hand. 

How about that? Aizawa sighs, peeved that his students aren’t paying attention but glad that they’re finally getting help. He knows you’ve been sitting alone in your office for a while now- it’s good that someone finally went. They could all use it. 

Eventually, he has to get up and scold his students to get back to work, but he makes sure to pat Uraraka on the back as he walks off back to his desk. 

——

The next student to visit you was Yaoyorozu, then Asui (who insisted you called her Tsuyu, and you did your best to remember), and a few girls from class B. You’re not at all surprised that the girls were the first to come over to your office, but it made you wonder who your first male student would be. Teenage boys seem to be very headstrong, especially in this school, so it will probably be a while until one of them admits to wanting a little counseling. You’ll just have to wait, like usual.

Today you don’t mind waiting. Getting out of bed was a bit harder than usual, your feet dragging wherever you went. You know that you should probably eat to get some energy, the only problem with that was… you didn’t have any energy. You’re alone in your office, basically lying down on your desk when you suddenly remember an image you saw once. Apparently, a radish gives you enough energy to walk 28 feet- but the next radish was just one more foot away and a skeleton lied on the grown trying to reach it. You were that skeleton today. So close… but no cigar (or, in this case, radish). Silently you laugh to yourself about how ridiculous your head was being. 

“What’s so funny?” 

Uh-oh. You snap your head up from your desk to see Aizawa standing in the doorway. “Oh, hey-” your sentence breaks as you yawn uncontrollably, your body slowly sagging back on your desk. “...Hey Aizawa.” 

“Not all of us have access to a couch, you know. If you’re that tired you should use it.” 

“Mm… can’t. Then I’ll really fall asleep,” you chuckle and you force yourself to sit up, stretching your limbs out as far as you can. “I should get my work done.” 

Aizawa just hums, entering the office and leaving the door open behind him as he lounges over to your couch. You watch him fall against it with a chuckle. “What?” He eyes you as he shimmies to get comfortable. “You’re not using it.” 

“No, you’re absolutely right. It’s all yours.” 

A silence falls in the office then, but you don’t mind it. You get to work as Aizawa lounges, trying to be as quiet as you can while you fill out papers and put them in their respective files. Every now and then you let yourself peek at him, but he never moves. A part of you wonders why he suddenly decided to hang out with you- but it might just be because of your couch. Which is reasonable. 

Another yawn escapes you before you can stop it, making your eyes tear up. 

“Can’t be Plus Ultra if you come to work like this,” Aizawa murmurs and you roll your eyes before rubbing them free of tears. 

“You’re one to talk, sleeping bag. My body just isn’t used to working so much, but it’ll adjust eventually.” 

“Are the students keeping you busy?”

You laugh. “No, not really. They’re coming around, which is nice, but I still have my old job. Because of my school hours I either have to work in the evening or weekends.” The files you were sorting through were actually from your other job- just recently you had started researching Gender Studies for one of your patients that was questioning their identity, and needless to say, it took a lot of work. 

Aizawa finally sits up from his spot, still lounging on the couch but more upright as he leans against the armrest. “I didn’t realize you kept your other job.”

“Well, you still have your hero job, don’t you?” You smile up at him. “It’s the same thing. I worked hard to get where I am with my patients, I can’t abandon them now.” The hero hums in response, a thoughtful look crossing his face before he stands up. He groans as he stretches. 

“Have you eaten?” The random question throws you off a little as you stare up at him from your desk. 

“Uh… not really.” 

“Let’s go. Teachers get free lunches from Lunch Rush.”

“Oh- well-”

“I’m leaving.”

“But the radish…”

“What?” 

Your face flushes red as you realize what you just said and you quickly stand up from your seat, fumbling for your bag and wallet. “I said, ‘coming’!!” 

You could definitely use the food. 

---

It’s been another week at U.A, except the atmosphere is a little different than before. You heard from Yamada that exams for hero licenses just passed, so the students were buzzing from that energy. You assumed all of them had passed since you didn’t hear any different until the day that Todoroki came knocking on your door. 

He was rather blunt in his behavior, you could tell from how he entered your office and immediately sat down on one of the chairs that he knew what he was here for and he had a goal in mind. Which was good in its own way… but you have a feeling that this session is mostly going to be about getting him to relax. 

You start off small. “Where would you like me to sit, Todoroki?” 

He hums. “I don’t mind.” 

“Can I sit next to you?” You approach the chair next to him and you can see how he tenses- something you don’t think he’s aware of. Instead, you move to the couch across from him, putting a reasonable space between you. “That’s fine, I rather like this couch. Are you comfortable?” 

He’s silent. 

“You can be honest, Todoroki. It’s okay if you aren’t.” 

He’s still quiet. There’s a sigh building up within you but you press it down, not wanting to offend him in any way. Your mind is already coming up with ideas- one of them has you lighten up as you stand and move to your bookcase. “I have something I think you’d like. Would you help me?” Todoroki doesn’t stand but his eyes follow you as he silently nods. You smile back at him and take out an unopened box from the shelf, bringing it to the coffee table. On top of the box is a cup and you hand it to him. 

“While I open this, I’d like you to put ice in that cup. Is that okay?” 

The student seems baffled but he does as he’s told, putting shards of ice in the cup until it’s half full. “Great! Hey, have you ever tried making shapes with your ice?” 

Again, he’s baffled, but he finally answers. “Not really.” 

“Well, that might be something you can look into. It might be fun- with a quirk like yours, I think it’s nice you can experiment with it. That’s just me, though,” you break open the cardboard and slide out the plastic inside. “Alright, now if you would be okay with it, I’d like you to turn that ice into water.” 

You’re inadvertently asking him to use his fire quirk, which you know based on the information you got on each student is a sensitive spot for him. But he doesn’t look offended, just curious, as he wordlessly puts the cup in his left hand to warm up the ice. “Why?”

“Because this is one of my favorite activities, but it requires some water.” You pull out the hunk of grey clay before looking at your coffee table. “Actually, could you hold this?” 

You quickly hand it to him before rushing to your desk and pulling out some paper towels in one of the drawers. “I’ll have to clean up anyway, but this will help with the mess.” You place the towels on the table before sitting back down, asking for the clay back which Todoroki hands to you. You put it on top of the towels before breaking it in half, placing one part in front of you both and then grabbing the water. “Have you ever used clay?” 

“I haven’t,” he picks up his piece curiously. He puts it back down once he sees you roll up your sleeves and does the same thing- removing his uniform coat once it gets in the way. 

“So, we both put some of the water on the clay. Then it becomes slimy but moldable. With the clay, we can make shapes. I have some other tools we can use to make details, but we’ll start like this.” Todoroki watches you as you pour half the water he made onto your clay. It molds and squishes in your hands. 

“...It’s messy.”

You laugh, “it is! But it’s a nice activity to focus on. Will you try?” You begin to pick apart your clay and make various shapes. 

“What are you making?” His hands are on the clay, but he hasn’t moved for the water yet. 

“Just a flower. Kind of like a daisy, since it’s easy. I made the middle, for the head where the pollen is,” you place a single petal on the circle and use the water to mold it in place. “And now I’m making the petals.” 

Todoroki hums, still watching you before finally he moves and gets to work. He seems to have an idea already, his hands moving with purpose. It’s successfully gotten his mind off of whatever was bothering him, you can tell by how his shoulders relax and his eyes soften. The rest of the time spent sculpting is spent in relative silence, until you can’t help but ask, “what are you making?” 

“A rose.” He says. Suddenly all the shapes he had made make sense and you go ‘ooh’ under your breath. You continue to watch him as your comical daisy is already finished. 

“I should buy more colors,” you murmur as you watch him. Todoroki has started to put all the petals together now in a circular pattern, much like a rose. It’s a slow, delicate process, but you think he likes it. 

“I like gray.” 

“Oh,” you perk up and smile. “That’s good, then.”

Once the rose is nearly put together, Todoroki finally speaks about what was bothering him. He’s not looking at you- all of his attention is on the clay, but he still talks, slow and even. “...I didn’t pass my license exam.” 

Ah. 

“Neither did Bakugo.”

Oh, boy. You wonder how Bakugo is taking it… Todoroki was clearly affected enough to come to you, and you bet Bakugo is the same, but you doubt he’d ever willingly come through your doors. You just hope Aizawa has a handle on it. 

“I see. What did you learn?” 

Todoroki finally takes his eyes off the flower, meeting your gaze with a hum. You smile and begin to clarify for him. “You didn’t get your hero license. But you still went to the exam, you learned what it’s like there. Did you learn anything about yourself in the process, or what being a hero is like?” 

“Oh.” His flower is finally finished- it’s rather beautiful, and very neat, especially for someone who’s never used clay before. He sets it carefully on the table. “I learned that I’m different. I was a lot colder at the beginning of the year.” 

“What made you realize that?” 

“There was a boy… he hated me.” Todoroki’s face shifts into discomfort, clearly affected by the boy’s feelings for him. “I don’t blame him. I think he’s okay with me now, but…” 

“Do you regret something?” You can read it all over him. He nods, his hands moving to his lap before he hesitates- they’re sticky with clay. “Oh!” You grab a spare paper towel and dip it in the water that remains in the cup- which isn’t a lot, but it makes the towel damp as you hand it to him. “Sorry about that.” 

“It’s fine. It was fun.” He softly cleans his hands before unraveling his sleeves and putting them back down his arms. Then he grabs the cup again, once again filling it with ice and then melting it before he hands it to you. “...So you can clean your hands.” 

“Thank you, Todoroki,” you smile gratefully and get your own paper towel, wiping yourself off. “Your quirk is very useful in a lot of different ways.” 

“I’m beginning to realize that,” he murmurs and you smile at him again. It’s then that the school bell rings over the speakers and you look up, surprised. 

“Oh! I guess the next class is starting.” And you were right in the middle of getting him to open up, too… “Would you like to stay or go to class?” 

“I should get going,” Todoroki says with a shake of his head as he stands, putting his uniform coat back on and buttoning it up. You suppose that’s fair- Todoroki doesn’t seem like the type who wants to miss class, especially now that he’s behind in his exam. He heads right for the door but you quickly stand up, trying to stop him. 

“Todoroki!” You walk over to him- he’s still a child, but he’s almost your height, which is a little upsetting for you. “Listen, I’m very glad you came to talk to me today. Don’t be afraid to come back, alright? And if you do,” you point over to your desk, “I’ll have your clay baked and maybe we can paint it.” 

He eyes the flower that he made- and surprisingly- he smiles. “I’d like that.” He tells you, honesty in his voice and you grin. 

“I’ll see you then. Have a good day, Todoroki.”

“...You too.”

---

The successful session with Todoroki has you buzzing with energy. This was good- great progress. If things keep going like this, you could successfully decipher what U.A needed and hire even more therapists for the entire school. If you could get these kids to open up, relieve their worries and help fix their problems, you could die happy knowing you made a difference. 

You rush into the Teacher’s Lounge after school, a pep in your step as you hold a small box in your hands. Inside is yours and Todoroki’s flowers. There are only a few people in the lounge- Yagi, Aizawa, and Yamada. Thankfully they’re all in the same corner so you rush over with a ‘hey!’

“Hey hey! What’s got you so pepped up?” Yamada grins, his voice is as loud as ever. You smile back. 

“I’m afraid that’s confidential,” Yamada deflates and you laugh. “But I was wondering if any of you have an oven? My apartment doesn’t have one and I need to bake this clay.”

Yagi looks at your little box. “Clay?” He scratches his chin, frowning. “I don’t have one, unfortunately.” 

“None of the teacher’s rooms have one, either…” 

“You can use mine,” Aizawa finally speaks up, tearing his eyes away from the computer he’s typing on. “When do you need to use it?” 

You think for a minute- you have no idea when Todoroki will come back, and you promised that it would be done when he does… You may have made a flighty promise. “Uhm… As soon as possible? Whenever you’ll let me, honestly.”

The hero sighs, closing his eyes as he scoots his chair back before standing up and popping his back. “Let’s go then.” 

Aizawa’s neverending deadpan behavior never ceases to amuse and surprise you. 

“Right now?” 

He’s already headed for the door, not saying anything else and you take that as your cue to follow. Quickly waving goodbye to Yamada and Yagi, you dash over to Aizawa, who’s already walking toward the doors. “Would it kill you to wait up?” 

“Yes.” 

For a nice guy, he really seemed to like keeping you on your toes.

---

Aizawa’s apartment is simplistic and minimalistic- you weren’t sure what you were expecting, but you’re not surprised. You bow as you walk in, toeing off your shoes at the door. Aizawa removes his capture weapon- which you hadn’t seen him without before- and then he walks down the small hallway and disappears when he turns to the left. 

As you’re left alone in the hallway, you suddenly realize how personal it is to be in his home. You still don’t know a lot about your co-workers- you feel a little guilty to barge in like this. 

When you follow Aizawa’s path, you find him in his kitchen. It’s tile floors are a clean white color, the walls the same. He’s bent over the oven, reaching into its bottom drawer before pulling out a cookie sheet and setting it on top of a counter. “Is this good?” He looks over to you, his hair in his face as he’s still crouched and you nod.

“Yeah, it’s great! Thank you a lot for this.” 

Aizawa just hums, backing out of the kitchen. “Feel free to use it however you want- I’m getting out of these clothes.” He disappears right after that, leaving you alone in his kitchen. 

You place the box on the counter next to the cookie sheet and roll up your sleeves. Okay, time to get to work. You haven’t baked clay in a while, but you think you remember how to do it. The first thing that needs to happen is to preheat the oven and you do so- you notice that the thing looks sort of high tech, so it shouldn’t take long. 

...What do you do now? 

You hear padding footsteps from behind you, and when you turn around- wow. Just wow. 

You burst out laughing before you can stop it and you slap a hand over your mouth. “Shut up,” Aizawa sneers, “I don’t have a lot of clothes left here since we moved to the dorms.”

“It looks good!” Your laughter doesn’t really help with that statement, but it’s true! The pink sweatpants that he wears really give him a cuter look than usual. Your burst of laughter is thankfully gone now- thank god- and you calm down with a few more giggles. “Where did you get those?” 

Aizawa rolls his eyes. It’s only now that you notice that he’s tied his hair up, making his expressions a lot more animated now that you can see his entire face. “Kayama.” 

“Of course,” you grin. The oven behind you beeps, startling you for a second before you realize that it’s telling you it’s done pre-heating. “I’m envious of your place. It’s really nice here.” Aizawa walks up to your side, peeking at the clay you made before you pop it in the oven. 

“I miss it. It’s better than the dorms.” He sinks to his knees as he looks in the oven again and you shoo him away with your foot. 

“No looking! This is therapy work in the making!” 

“Did you make the daisy?” 

“...I can’t tell you that.” 

“It looks awful.”

“BUH- Hey!” 

Aizawa grins- a Cheshire cat grin- as he rises to his feet again before walking off to the living room. You realize he just tricked you into telling him that the daisy is, in fact, your project and you huff. “That was a dirty trick.”

“Yeah, well.” He flicks on his television, affectively showing that he doesn’t care, before taking a seat on his couch with a sigh. “How long does it take?” 

You hum, the irritation quickly fading away. “I’ll have to check on it in 15 minutes, and after that, it’ll either be done or need a bit longer. Thank you again for letting me into your home.” 

“Thank you for taking care of my students,” he says bluntly, catching you off guard yet again. His eyes are watching whatever news channel popped on but he spares you a glance. It lasts a single second before he looks back at the television. “They’re definitely doing better. I’m glad Todoroki came to you.”

“How do you know that?” You would have thought he’d keep something like that quiet. 

“After he failed his exam, I told him to come to you,” Aizawa says. “I’m still working on Bakugo.” 

“I figured... He told me about the exam, so I can only imagine how Bakugo is handling it. I want to talk to him more than anyone else, honestly, but it’s going to be difficult.” 

You finally decide that talking from across rooms is silly, so you move into the living room with Aizawa and take a seat on the other end of the couch. “Why Bakugo?” He asks and you snort, leaning on the armrest. 

“You’re his teacher, I’m sure you know. He’s been kidnapped, of all things! His behavior is loud and defensive- he’s always angry. Anger is a secondary emotion, you know. There’s always something that triggers it.” 

Aizawa hums, his fingers tapping on his thigh. It catches your attention for a split second before you realize you’re looking at his thighs and you quickly look away. “If you’re going to try to help Bakugo, you’re going to need to talk to Midoriya first. They’re basically rivals.”

“Oh, really?” 

Aizawa laughs. “Oh, yeah.”

You deflate a little bit and groan. “Maybe I should come to the classes again and observe or something. I still don’t know a lot about them.” You would have never guessed Midoriya would have a rival. 

“It’s not a bad idea. We can schedule something soon.” 

The oven dings again- has it really been 15 minutes? You scramble up from your seat and check on the clay from the glass- they look perfect. “Where’s your uh, your,” oh, you’ve forgotten the word, “Your.... claw hands?” 

“My oven mitts?” Even from across the room, you can see how his eyebrows shoot up as he snorts. “In the drawer next to you, on the right.” 

“Right,” you hiss through your teeth in embarrassment, your cheeks overwhelmingly warm as you grab the oven mitts and take the cookie sheet out of the oven. Thankfully, none of the clay has cracked, which is perfect. 

“A rose?” Aizawa’s voice comes up from right behind you and you jump in surprise, almost hitting him in the jaw as you do. 

“Fucking- Christ! What are you, a ninja?!” You place a hand over your heart as you stare up at him. He’s laughing at you again- which is honestly a really handsome laugh, but you don’t care because you’re kind of pissed. 

“It’s my job to be quiet.”

“Yeah- well!” You guess that makes sense. Not having anything else to say, you turn back towards the clay. You didn’t hit it, thank god. “And no, you may not ask why Todoroki made a rose.” 

“Do you even know why he made a rose?”

“Shut the fuck up, buddy.” 

You didn’t.

[potatopossums]

Insecurity and Boundaries: A Necessary Coexistence

Content Warning:

This post includes discussions / mentions of:

bodily insecurities, explicitly including dysmorphia, dysphoria, and implicitly including but not limited to eating disorders, weight

childhood trauma including shame, humiliation, fear

coping mechanisms, both healthy and unhealthy, including anxious avoidance, projection, masking, reflection

mentioned references to all of the above through lenses of morality, cis white feminism and sexualized body positivity

adhd

—

Author's Note:

Written through the lens of adhd, anxiety, depression, queerness, transness, nonbinaryness, aromanticism, alterous attraction, and as always, questioning.

—

Ngl I've had the opportunity to date/"be with" (in whatever capacity) several quite attractive ppl, and the last couple have been great examples of something that actually kind of triggers me / turns me off.

I didn't really know what to make of it then, and I felt bad about it then too because I thought I was just being judgy. Not saying some of that isn't potentially still there, but i think i understand better now.

It honestly kind of scares me when I have the opportunity to have close relationships with people with bodily dysphoria/dysmorphia or strong insecurities. My brain has a really bad habit of being reflective when I'm feeling vulnerable. I just match people. It's a way of masking while relating to people. It's a defense mechanism. But it feels quite real in the moment and i often don't realize it's happening until it has already happened.

But as a nonbinary person who gets misgendered a lot at work, I've spent a lot of time now very acutely aware of my own body (as if i wasn't already). I don't tend to hate my body in a vacuum. I actually enjoy my body. I like how it looks in certain clothes; I like how I can trick the eye and make it look another way with other clothes, and then surprise, it's a different body underneath! I like how my body feels when i masturbate, i like how my body feels in the warm sun, i like how my body feels when i self-soothe. Even when I'm in pain, in some of those moment, i like that my body exists because I know something is happening inside me, something systematic and programmed, something beyond me that does it's evolutionary purpose, no matter how flawed. I've always had a curiosity about bodies in general (gender and sex completely aside). So when i say i love my body, i mean that.

Does it mean i don't struggle with dysphoria? Of course i struggle. And it makes me feel like shit.

Sure, I've got that Cis White Feminist Self-Loathing Intervention Voice in my head that says "all bodies are beautiful" (and she really means all women are beautiful but I'll co-opt her lines to fit my agenda). That voice is problematic because like. I like being beautiful, but why do I want to be beautiful, and what happens when I'm not beautiful? How do I guage whether I'm beautiful at any given moment? Isn't that largely subjective even with an overarching cultural & social standard? When I feel "ugly" — my cowlicks sticking up, teeth unbrushed, i feel too short, i feel i look too childish, I'm afraid my boobs are showing in a way i don't want to be seen, etc. — who's to say that someone else doesn't find some of those things attractive? So attractiveness is a poor method of confidence, despite how influential it still is on my brain and personality. That influence is fear based.

All that in mind, when I hear other people struggling with their bodies, especially in a Trans/Non-Binary/Dysphoric way, it really scares me. I mean, any bodily struggles scare me because I have my own insecurities to deal with. And when I'm in that state of really wanting to keep a connection because abandonment trauma + adhd, my vulnerable brain says that in order to impress someone, I must reflect relatably. So that has me digging back into my bodily insecurities. And I explore them as if I should be feeling them.

Let me unpack that. I'm avoidant with my anxieties. I don't talk about them, and I don't think about them much if I can help it, because when I think about them, that result can be largely painful, dramatic, and too emotionally volatile for me to handle. I always want to look put together, I want to feel secure enough to not need to ask for help, because those few times it went badly when I asked for help still stick with me (regardless of how long ago those moments were, and regardless of how many good times I've had where received actual help since). I remember the embarrassment and humiliation, the shame, the fear, the guilt. I remember wanting to make myself smaller, and how crushing that felt to do. I remember how little I understood of these wild and complex emotions, and all I knew was that I felt violated and disgusting. And I turned that inward. Because I had no external support.

So me saying that I explore my anxieties "as if I should be feeling them" is multi-pronged. It's Cis White Feminist Body Positivity, it's all those family members who modeled and normalized self-hatred for me from a young age, it's bodily dysphoria/dysmorphia at being misgendered, it's me trying to convince myself that my body truly is okay and that my negative inner voice doesn't know what it's talking about due to it's poor influences, and it's me ultimately not being able to reconcile all that on my own (or fast enough, thanks adhd) and resorting to anxious avoidance of my insecurities as if that solves them.

And then, when I hear someone I might kind of want to be intimate with start to talk about their insecurities, my brain panics. It says, "If you go in there, you will lose it. You will fall into the same hole they're in. You will have to suffer just as much for them, and for yourself. You will lose all your energy and you will start to hate yourself. They will treat your body the way they treat their body. You will be made to hate yourself."

And even though I know plenty of people with dysphoria/dysmorphia and other bodily struggles absolutely won't do those sorts of things, I also know that projection is a thing. And considering how poor I am at boundaries and how I tend to adopt unhealthy relationship dynamics due to my avoidance, I know that it would just start a bad cycle for me. Even with all the empathy and understanding in the world, I simply cannot root myself in a situation that would cause me to loathe myself.

And again, in case this wasn't clear: this is absolutely not a statement about people with bodily confidence issues as a whole. I am not trying to villainize or demonize or moralize their experiences. That is markedly the opposite of what I intend here.

But it took a long time for me to get to this point in my self-awareness. And i wanted to share it because i want other people to be able to reach an understanding of themselves too, whatever that understanding might entail. Yeah, it's a little cliche, but our projections and fears about others can have a lot to do with our fears about ourselves. It's important to be self-aware, even if that doesn't immediately solve the problem(s).

I tend to really like confident people because of this. That attraction has it's own roots in confidence issues, and its own potential flaws. And until I can change my own avoidant anxiety, I'm going to find new ways to project my avoidance and shame onto others, regardless of whether they are confident or unconfident, dysphoric or not.

But, just because I'm projecting doesn't mean that I'm unworthy of boundaries. Even if my behaviors are unhealthy, even if I do need to work to change those things (and even though I actively want to change those things), it is still healthy for me to know my limits. It's healthy to know what triggers me. It's good for me to realize these things and step back, even if the relationship I'm leaving/not starting is arguably "good." (And that assumption is a whole other topic for another post.)

So, along with whatever other epiphanies you might have received from this read, here's my major takeaway that I want to leave you with:

Your boundaries are okay. Even if they're based in anxiety, even if they're based in unhealthy coping mechanisms, even if you want to change your unhealthy behaviors/mindset. Your boundaries do not need to pass any social justice or morality tests in order to be valid. Your boundaries do not have to "make you grow." Your boundaries are not bad, even if you feel like they keep you from being the best version of yourself.

The only way you can actually grow is if you respect yourself enough to respect and enforce your boundaries. The only way you can feel comfortable and happy and healthy is if you respect your boundaries.

So please do that for yourself. Please respect your boundaries. I know it's very hard, especially for people-pleasers. I know it's hard for you avoidant types. I know it's hard for those of us who mask and reflect.

But please, just a little bit at a time, respect yourself. Even if that means disappointing or hurting others with a "no."

And please, please, please surround yourself with people who respect your boundaries and stand up for you. Of all the work I've tried to do alone, nothing compares to the effectiveness and growth I've experienced when I've been around radically affirming people — people who fought for my right to say no; people who defended my boundaries no matter what they entailed; people who stood up for my pronouns at work; people who validated my life experiences, labels, queerness, and questioning. It can be difficult to find people like that in real life, but please stay in the company of people who do that for you. Even if they're online. Stay near people who model self-respect for you. They will help you practice how to treat yourself.

—

[star-spangled-steve]

His New Partner

Chapter 38: The Shower Of Affection

Series Masterlist

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Words: 3805

Warnings: Smut, vaginal sex, fingering, nudity, showering together, a ton of body insecurities, a lot of unconfident!Reader, cussing, Avengers: Endgame spoilers.

A/N: Not going to lie, I feel like this chapter kind of sucks. But I hope you guys can enjoy it anyways!

Tony Stark arrived back on Earth about three weeks after the snap. All of the remaining Avengers had thought that he was a victim to it, just like so many other of their teammates, friends, and family, but were pleased when the found out that he was still alive. Things were always better with Tony.

Steve had been the first to run to the ship as it landed, eager to see who Carol Danvers had brought back. He, just like everybody else, was happy to see Tony, though was just a bit nervous because of what had happened the last time they were together.

And let’s just say, his nervousness was justified.

Y/N had been there when the godfather and namesake of her deceased child told off her husband. She watched as Tony got right up in Steve’s face, pouring out all of his emotions and hard feelings that had been building up over the past two years.

“I said, ‘We'd lose’. You said, ‘We'll do that together too’. And guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren't there. You weren’t there for a lot of stuff. So much stuff that I’m surprised Y/N is even allowing you to be in this same room as her. Especially now that us not being together as a team has cost a lot of people their lives; caused us to lose. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers.”

Y/N could still remember the shattered look on Steve’s face as one of his closest old friends went on and on about how untrustworthy he was. What hurt Steve even more was that he knew everything Tony was saying was right. Steve had felt untrustworthy. He had felt like a coward.

But now all that he felt was sorrow and utter disappointment as he strutted back into the Compound, still in the stealth suit that he wore during his old S.H.I.E.L.D. days.

The Avengers had gone on a mission to the planet where Thanos was currently residing, wanting to take the Infinity Stones from him and reverse the snap. And judging from the way Steve hung his head as he walked towards his wife, she guessed that it hadn’t gone too well.

“Honey?” She questioned, stepping closer to meet him in the middle of the room; the common room, it was. Y/N had been waiting there for the majority of the time the team was gone, wanting to see Steve as soon as he landed. It was his first time going to space, so she was obviously a little worried about his safety.

Instead of replying in words, the man just wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck. Y/N felt wet tears against her skin, and the emotion of worry quickly distracted her from how hot and powerful he looked in that goddamn stealth suit.

“What happened, Steve?” She questioned, returning his embrace by stroking her hands up and down his kevlar clad back. “Did everyone make it back okay? Did-Did Thanos do something else?”

Steve slightly pulled back so that he could meet her eyes and shook his head sadly. “Everyone’s fine. It’s just... the stones. They’re gone. We can’t reverse it, they’re gone.”

The girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “Wha-What do you mean ‘they’re gone’? They’re Infinity Stones. Aren’t they like the most powerful things ever? What could happen to them?”

“Thanos used them to destroy each other so that nobody could ever undo what he did.” Steve spoke in between sniffles. He watched his wife’s face fall in the realization that the dusted would never come back, and it broke his heart even more. He hated feeling like he let her down. “I-I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. A.J.’s not coming back, love.”

Tears began to fall from Y/N’s eyes now as well, and she felt him wipe her cheeks with the tips of his thumbs. “D-Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. I wasn’t expecting him to come back anyways.”

She buried her face back into his neck, wanting to be held by him again in this moment of loss. Even if she wasn’t expecting the return of her son, it didn’t mean that she wasn’t hoping for it.

Steve rocked their bodies back and forth for a couple of minutes, hoping that it would calm the both of them down.

“Wanna’ go to our room?” He suggested, his freshly shaved chin leaning on the top of her head. The loss of his beard was something that had shocked Y/N when she first saw it, and she honestly didn’t know how to feel. On the one hand, his beard made him look extremely sexy. But on the other hand, the clean-shaven look reminded her more of the Steve that she fell in love with so many years ago.

“Uh huh.” She nodded against his shoulder. She knew that their room would be a way more comfortable place to release their emotions.

Steve grabbed her hand before they began to walk down the hall, back to their humble abode. The whole way there, the couple was mostly silent, the only sounds being from Y/N’s sniffles and Steve’s heavy combat boots thumping against the floor.

He opened the door when they arrived at their room, ushering her in first and closing the door behind himself after. He watched as his wife flopped onto their bed and released a heavy sigh into the air, wishing to just take all of that stress and sadness away from her somehow. He hated seeing her like this.

“You gonna’ be okay, doll?” He asked, placing his hands on his hips.

Y/N gave him a small, dry chuckle. “I hope so.” She spoke gloomily, staring up at the ceiling. In all honesty, she had no clue if she was ever going to be okay again. With all that she lost, how really could she?

The sound of material being undone quickly gained her attention, and she leaned up on her elbows to get a quick glance. What she saw made her mouth began to water, and she hated that her response was to be aroused in a time like this.

Steve was taking off his glorious stealth suit, starting with the top portion. The girl’s eyes roamed the broad expanse of his chest, all the way down to his abdominals. When he shifted his body, she could even peek at his strong, defined back. Man, how badly she wanted to dig her nails into it as he slammed into her above, making her feel things that she hadn’t felt in so damn long-

“Baby?” A smug voice broke her out of her trance, and she looked up to see her husband shamelessly grinning. She quickly averted her eyes, pretending to check out their bedside lamp. Steve chuckled. “It’s okay, you’re allowed to look.”

She turned her head back, watching as he placed the removed part of his uniform on their chair. “I know, I’m sorry.” She sat up on the bed and gave him a small smile. He could tell that it was forced, though.

“What are you sorry for?” The man asked, stepping closer to her.

Y/N shrugged. “I don’t know. My emotions, they’re just... all over the place. One minute I’m happy, one minute I’m worried, one minute I’m sad, and the next minute I’m horny.”

Steve let out a laugh, watching as a small giggle escaped her lips too. At least it sounded authentic this time. “Well, this may be a bit presumptuous, but I’m about to take a shower. Would you care to join me?”

She glanced up and saw the hopeful look in his eyes, hating what she was about to say. “I don’t think I will, Steve.”

She watched as his face slightly fell, though he tried to hide his dissatisfaction. Unbeknownst to Y/N, the man had been wanting to make love to her for the past few weeks, but was just nervous to ask.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, honestly.” She continued. “It’s just that... well...”

“You don’t have to explain yourself, N/N.” Steve stated. “I respect your decision.”

“No, it’s just...” she sighed, “if we were to have sex, I know that you’d be disappointed with what you saw.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh? How would you disappoint me?”

“Honey, a woman’s body changes so much after she’s been pregnant and given birth.” Y/N told him, trying to make him understand where she was coming from. “I-I’ve been trying to work out, make it go back to normal, but I still don’t look exactly the way that I used to. I just don’t want to... gross you out.”

“‘Gross me out’?” Steve sounded almost offended. “Baby, you could never.” He sat down on the bed next to her, still in his uniform pants and boots, and placed a comforting hand on her back. “Listen to me, sweetheart. I didn’t start a relationship with you because you looked a certain way. I got with you because I loved who you were on the inside. That’s never changed.” He watched a small smile break out on her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Now, I understand your decision of wanting to wait. We can do that. We totally can. I just want you to know that I’ll never think of you as anything besides perfect. Okay?”

Y/N nodded, truly content with his response. “Thank you, Steve.”

He shook his head. “No need to thank me. I’m just being honest.” He got up from his spot on the bed and took off his combat boots, deciding to finish undressing in the privacy of the en-suite washroom. He didn’t want to feel like he was invading her boundaries by getting naked right there. “Alright, princess, I’m going to take a quick shower and I’ll be right back. You just sit there and look pretty while I’m gone.” The man shot her a wink, and she giggled at his dorkiness.

Y/N watched the bathroom door close behind him, wishing that she could be following him in there. Even though she felt insecure, it didn’t mean that she wouldn’t enjoy the intimacy. After all, it had been so long since she’d last felt a connection like that, and she could clearly use some cheering up at the moment. Though Y/N just sighed, getting comfortable on the bed. ‘Next time,’ she told herself.

As Steve shampooed his hair, his wife’s words wouldn’t leave his mind, continuously playing over and over again like a mantra. ‘I just don’t want to... gross you out.’ He truly couldn’t understand how she could ever think that. Didn’t she realize that she was gorgeous? That to him, she was the most precious thing in the entire world? His beautiful angel?

The man wondered what he had ever done to led her to believe this. He told her that she was pretty basically everyday. Yes, he understood that carrying a child had some side effects, but he was never with her for her body. He was with her for her golden heart... well, and that adorable little smile of hers, of course.

A light knock on the shower door broke Steve out of his thoughts as he finished rinsing his hair, and he hesitantly opened it, being careful to only reveal his face. What, or rather who he saw on the other side looked just as surprised at their own actions as he was.

Y/N stood there in her pink fuzzy robe, looking nervous as ever as she stared at her feet.

“Hey, doll.” The man spoke, still trying to hide his man bits from her field of view.

“Uh... hey. Uhm...” she stuttered, not being able to find the right words, “i-is the offer to join you still standing?”

A grin quickly spread on Steve’s face as he nodded his head. “Of course it is, N/N. Always.”

She let out a shaky breath. “Oh, okay. Good.” She stood there hesitantly for a couple of seconds more, before beginning to undo her robe, letting it carefully drop to the bathroom floor.

After she had stepped in the shower, Steve closed the door behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, feeling her slightly jump at his touch. “Babydoll, don’t feel like you have to be in here for me. If you’re not comfortable, you can get out. I’ll get out with you.”

“I don’t wanna’ get out.” She stated softly. “I just-Goodness, I’m sorry. I’m kind of on edge right now.”

“No need to be.” Steve spoke fondly, eyes running up and down her exposed body. “I mean, look at you. You’re stunning.”

Y/N felt herself blushing at his words. “Honey, stop.”

“Hell no. I’m not gonna’ stop. Not until my wife realizes how perfect she is.” He continued with the compliments.

“Steve-”

“Can I touch, baby?” He questioned, watching as she hesitantly nodded in response. “Awesome.”

Y/N closed her eyes in pleasure when she felt a warm pair of lips snaking their way down her neck and chest, all the way down the line of her sternum. The girl’s breathing became heavier with all of the anticipation of where he was going to place them next, and she nearly gasped when she felt him press a kiss to her lower belly; the area that she was ashamed of the most.

She opened her eyes to see him kneeling on the shower floor, eye level with her biggest insecurity. “Steve-”

“Shhh.” He interrupted as he continued to peck her tummy, gradually making his way to her hip bones. “Calm down, you’re beautiful.”

“Please don’t.” Y/N insisted, shaking her head. “Please don’t humour me.”

Steve looked up to meet her eyes, giving her his greatest ‘don’t test me’ look. “I’m not humouring you. I don’t even know what you think is wrong here. You’re just as gorgeous as before, N/N.”

She scoffed. “Oh, please. You know that I look different from the last time you saw me naked.”

The man stood up to his full height. “So maybe you do. But not by much, sweetie, I swear. And even if it were, I’d still find you beautiful, doll. I’d still want to make love to you, no matter what shape or size you were. So please stop beating yourself up over something that’s not even your fault.”

A single tear streamed down Y/N’s face at his words, mixing with the other droplets of water on her wet body. “Thank you, Stevie. I think I really needed to hear that.”

“Anytime, darling. Anytime.” He smiled, stroking the side of her cheek. “Now, you ready to let me take care of you? Make you feel real nice?”

The girl giggled, nodding her head. “Yes, honey.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” Steve grinned before leaning down, pressing a loving kiss to her awaiting lips. She quickly wrapped her arms around her neck and his own fell against her waist, holding her tightly to him.

Y/N opened her lips and felt his tongue slip right in between, kissing her in a way that she hadn’t been kissed in so long. She whimpered into his mouth and this only made Steve more turned on, to the point where she could feel his hard erection poking against her stomach.

The water from the shower began to get cold and the girl shivered, causing her husband to break the kiss. “You okay, princess?”

“It’s just kind of chilly now, that’s all.” She explained.

Steve immediately turned off the water before lifting Y/N up, causing her to yelp as she quickly wrapped her limbs around his body.

“Careful you don’t slip.” She spoke, not really in the mood to get injured right then.

“Relax, I won’t sli-” The man’s words were cut off by his foot, you guessed it, slipping on the shower floor. They were about to crash down but he saved them by gripping the shower wall, but one thing that he couldn’t be saved from was the pointed look from his wife. “You saw nothing.” He told her, making her break into giggles.

“Sure, Stevie, sure.”

The man finally got them out of the shower, more carefully this time, and led them back into their bedroom. He placed Y/N down onto their bed and got on top of her, not really caring that they were still soaking wet.

He began to leave kisses down her chest again, this time spending more time on her breasts. He gently brought one of them into his mouth and massaged to the other, taking enjoyment in hearing her moan.

“You like that, sweetheart?” He asked, gently pinching her nipple with his teeth.

“Y-Yes, Steve.” Y/N practically whined, arching her body into his touch. She was clearly desperate for him, and Steve absolutely loved it.

He brought one hand down to her womanhood and began to softly stroke it, teasing her entrance with his fingers before slowly pushing one in. He started to thrust it in and out before adding another, grinning in satisfaction at how well she was taking him. “Look at that, baby. Look at how well you’re doing for me. My beautiful girl.”

Y/N could only mewl in response, too sensitive to his touches.

Steve scissored his fingers inside of her to get her ready, before pulling them out and licking them clean, groaning at the homey taste. Man, how he’d missed that. “You taste so sweet, Y/N.” Though when he dipped his head down in hopes for more, he was stopped by a hand to his hair.

“Later.” The girl spoke. “I just need you right now, please.”

The man nodded his head before walking over to his bedside table and opening up the top drawer. “See, I found these in the closet when we were organizing the other day.” He smirked, lifting up the box of condoms so that she could see.

Y/N chuckled. “Well then hurry up and put one on.”

“Oh, someone’s eager tonight.” Steve said with a snicker as he opened up a condom and put it on, heading back to position himself over top of her.

“Ya, well someone hasn’t had sex in two years.” She quipped, wrapping her arms around his back.

“Alright, fair.”

He started to slowly push in his length and Y/N brought her legs up around his waist, making it easier for him to enter her.

“Fuck, you’re tight, Y/N.” Steve groaned as he bottomed out. He carefully began to move inside of her, starting slowly and gradually building up speed.

“Oh my god, honey.” She sighed in delight, moving her hips with him. She felt her husband begin to suck on her neck and she shifted to give him better access, moaning when he found her special sweet spot.

Steve moved one of his hands down to her clit and began to rub circles around it, knowing that he had to make her cum soon because he wasn’t going to last long himself; she just felt too amazing.

“St-Steve. D-Don’t stop, please don’t stop.”

“I’m not gonna’ stop, baby.” He grunted, his thrusts becoming deeper and more powerful each time. “God, you feel good, baby girl. So fucking good.” He pinched her clit, smirking when she cried out in pleasure.

“Honey,” Y/N spoke, “I-I’m gonna’ cum. I’m gonna’ cum.”

“Cum, babydoll.” Steve instructed, so deep inside of her that he was now hitting her G-spot. “Do it. I’m right behind you.”

And with that final encouragement the girl let go, cumming around his cock and triggering his own release.

“Damn, N/N.” The man groaned, spilling out into the condom.

The couple laid there panting for a minute before he slowly pulled out, taking off the condom and throwing it in the trash.

“So,” he said, coming back down to lay next to her on the bed, “as good as you remember?”

Y/N nodded. “I’d say better, honestly.”

Steve chuckled, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I love you.” He spoke softly, stroking the side of her face. “You know that, right?”

She nodded once again. “Mm-hmm. And I love you too.”

“Exactly.” He smiled. “And two people that truly love each other don’t care about the superficial things such as shape or size or figure. Right?”

Y/N sighed, realizing that he was going to turn this into some type of a lesson. “Yes, Steve. I know that now. Thank you for making me feel better, honestly.”

“You’re absolutely welcome. I just need one more thing from you.” He stated.

The girl raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

He cleared his throat. “Repeat after me. Say ‘I Y/N...’”

“What?” She laughed at his antics. “Steve!”

“Hey,” he stopped her teasingly, “I said repeat after me.”

She sighed dramatically. “Fine.”

“‘I Y/N...’”

“‘I Y/N...’”

“‘solemnly swear...’”

“‘solemnly swear...’”

“‘to never, ever, ever say anything mean about myself, ever again.’”

She scoffed. “Steve-”

“Say it!” He playfully demanded.

“‘Solemnly swear to never, ever, ever say anything mean about myself, ever again.’”

“‘And if I do...’” The man continued.

“‘And if I do...’”

“‘my darling husband, Steve...’”

“‘my darling husband, Steve...’”

“‘has every right to spank me on the bum at many times as he pleases.’”

“Steve!” Y/N was full on cackling by now. “There is no way I’m saying that.”

He tsked. “Then I guess I’ll just have to spank you right now.”

“Alright, fine, fine. ‘And if I do, my darling husband, Steve, has every right to spank me on the bum as many times as he pleases.’” Y/N repeated, shaking her head when she saw the cheeky grin on his face. “Within reason.” She added.

“Fine, within reason.” He pressed a peck to pouted lips, knowing that in reality, she loved this little game he was playing. “Great job, sweetie. Time for bed.”

As the two of them turned off the lights and got snuggled under the covers, Y/N couldn’t help but feel glad that they had this small moment of normalcy together. She hoped that there would be plenty more of them in the future, as for the first time in weeks, the death of her son wasn’t weighing down on her mind.

The only thing that she was really thinking about now was the shiny gold wedding band that sat in her bedside table, untouched for two years. She had been meaning to give it back to Steve, but no time had ever really felt right; it hadn’t felt like he’d deserved it yet. But right now, after how amazing he’d been tonight, and how incredible he made her feel inside and out, she knew that it was time. She knew that they were truly ready to be a couple again.

Next Chapter

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