#he would flirt with someone just to unnerve them and then be surprised with they did i back

[aemondvelaryon]

obsessed with the idea that cooper flirts with you like crazy just throwing out innuendos left and right but then being utterly baffled when you flirt back or call his bluff

like wait no that wasn't supposed to work

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

Could we get Gaz reacting to reader spreading rumours on base that they're dating for no good reason other than to undermine his authority and piss him off? (Inspired by your reader flirting with Gaz on the job piece) 🙏

tasty tasty tasty.

ok so there is a reason other than undermining his authority. but a pissed-off Gaz is a pissed-off Gaz, right?

26 / 1.4k / comes after flirting with Gaz on the job

...

You're on your way to a briefing, eyes cast down on the paperwork in your hands. You did not do your homework, as usual, so you're skimming what you can in the four minutes it takes you to walk to the meeting room.

Which is why you almost don't see Gaz standing in front of you, arm braced on the wall, blocking your way. To someone else, he'd read as neutral. You know his face too well to misread the stern glower tightening his features.

"Excuse me," you say, trying to sidestep him.

Gaz doesn't move. He also clearly knows he can't be moved. Not by you.

"Late for a meeting?" he asks lightly.

"No, sir, but I will be in just a few minutes. So if you don't mind--"

"Not at all," he says in a voice that implies the opposite. "Since you're about to be late anyway, how about you and me have a little chat, yeah?"

"I couldn't possibly take up more of your valuable time," you say, slipping into the flirtatious tone you so often direct at him. You try to slide past him, but nothing escapes Gaz. "Though I'm flattered you'd--"

He grabs your arm. Not roughly—he never touches you roughly, probably because you’d just egg him on—but firmly enough not to be ignored. "With me, Private."

You're too flustered to resist as he pulls you through the halls and into a different office. Captain Price's office, you notice.

⬇ nsfw, revenge porn

“Have a seat.” He gestures to the chair in front of desk, then sits himself on Price’s chair. The corner of his mouth curls up. That’s unnerving.

You don't sit. "Sir, I appreciate your urgency, but I really must get to my briefing. Shepherd will wonder where I am."

Gaz's stare is steady as a hawk's. You'd love the chance to gaze into his eyes under any other circumstances. But now?

"Then Shepard can take it up with me," he says. "He wouldn't be surprised to hear we're spending time together, after all. Or hasn't he heard?"

You sweat. Oh, shit. "I, um, don't know why he wouldn't be surprised."

His eyes harden. “No? I hear we've been spending quite a lot of time together lately. Funny how I was the last to know about it."

Inwardly, you cringe. "I can explain."

“Yeah?” he challenges you. He crosses his arms, leaning back. "You can explain where the hell you get off spreading grubby little rumors about how you and I are fooling around?"

"I said I can." You fidget with the stapled corners of the packets of paper in your arm, folding and creasing them as your mind runs at ninety miles an hour. "So what did you hear, exactly?"

"What I heard was that we're seeing each other in the least professional way imaginable," Gaz says, voice clipped. He keeps his expression and tone controlled only with visible effort. "That I’m having a cozy little fling with a private. Someone who is technically my subordinate. That could cost me a lot of time and patience if my superiors decided to write me up."

"But Captain Price would never believe that about you, though. Right? I mean, the rumor mill is always churning out something. Last month it was Sergeant MacTavish and the girl from IT."

His expression gets frostier. "You started the rumor about us. I know it was you."

You fight the urge to glance back at the door behind you. You try to weave an excuse together, but it gets stuck in your throat.

Gaz leans forward now. His glare is so sharp it could slice glass. He seems to grow in size as he stares you down. He’s so intense, so intimidating, so… right there. Way too close. You start to get distracted, swimming in his dark eyes, before his voice yanks you back to reality.

"I know because some prick claiming to be your ex-boyfriend confronted me about it. Said you put the idea in his head that I'm keeping you warm at night. Took a swing at me, too." He narrows his eyes. "I don't like being put in a position to defend your honor just to protect my reputation, Private."

You stumble through a litany of excuses--you had to get your ex off your back; you meant a different Sergeant Garrick; okay, maybe that's not true, but you only just told a tiny little fib. Is it really your fault the rumor spiraled out of control?

It doesn't work. In fact, as you babble on, Gaz only takes your flailing as proof of how guilty you are.

You're prepared for him to tear you a new asshole (though not in the way you'd want), but to your surprise, he doesn't. Instead:

"You’re going to make this right."

You blink. "I am?"

"Damn right you are. I did your dirty work for you, and I'm sure as hell not chasing down your ex and apologizing after the rubbish he spewed."

"Then... you want me to tell him I lied?"

Gaz scoffs. "It wouldn't work if you did."

"Then what am I supposed to do? Ignore it?"

"Quiet down. I wasn't finished. There's no use trying to quell the rumors at this point; it'll only fuel them. So here's what we're gonna do."

…

You're not quite sure how this is going to solve the problem. It seemed rational when he explained it. Then again, anything coming out of Gaz’s mouth sounds reasonable to you.

You're sitting across from him at a low-key dinner joint. Not the kind of upscale place you're used to being taken to on dates. Then again, this place wasn't your choice. And technically you're treating him to dinner. He’s the one who’s quote-unquote "breaking up" with you.

When you'd questioned his logic, pointing out that it'd be way easier to just not and say you did, he gave you a half-amused, half-condescending look that made your stomach too fluttery.

"If you're gonna use my name and risk my reputation to be my fake girlfriend, I'm gonna get something out of it," he'd said. So now you've gotta wine and dine him at his favorite restaurant, and then you're gonna have to sit there and be broken up with. As if he hasn't shamed you enough.

That sucks. This sucks. You never even got a real date with him. And with your luck, your ex is gonna find out.

You do try to flirt your way back into his good graces during this fake-relationship-real-date. He just scoffs. Doesn't just no-sell you--he actively bites back and he's pretty damn mean about it.

You're not just a liar, he tells you--you're dense. If you'd asked him out like a normal person instead of flirting with him and then starting stupid rumors, he'd have considered it. When you tell him you had asked him out and he’d turned you down, he scoffs and tells you he'd have split the bill instead of making you pay, at least.

That's as far as he intends for it to go. But then, while you're waiting on the check, he gets a text from an unknown number.

It's a video. Of you.

You doing some very lewd things to what looks like your ex-boyfriend. Blowing him in the bathroom of some club or a restaurant much dingier than this one. If that's where he's been taking you on dates, Gaz can understand why you broke up with him.

Enjoy my sloppy seconds, chud, says the accompanying smug text.

Gaz is also starting to understand why you lied to get your ex off your back.

"What is it?" you ask, seeing the look on Gaz's face as he stares down at his phone.

"Nothing," he says, putting his phone away as the waiter sets down the check. Gaz pushes his chair out and rises, trying his best not to show any emotion, but his words are a little too sharp. "Let's go.”

"Now?" you ask, surprised. "I thought you were going to--I thought we would get our story straight about the, um, the breakup."

"We can figure it out on the way."

"To where?”

"Your place."

...

[part 1] / part 2

more Gaz / masterlist tag

[saltymongoose]

AHH OK CAN YOU PLEASE MAKE YAN JORGE AND CHURCH HCS?

Yes, I can and I shall. Enjoy! ;)

General Yan!Church and Yan!Jorge Headcanons

(TW: Yandere, Obsessive Behavior, Violence, mentions of blood.)

> Church and Jorge are not the types to be hidden in their affections at all. Once they start feeling strong affection for you, it’s obvious to everyone in the vicinity, which is of course how they found out about each other’s “thing” for you. Jorge couldn’t ignore how Church insisted that you were the only one besides himself who could handle his gear or tune his weapons, and similarly, Jorge’s own increasingly affectionate treatment of you was hardly subtle. Even when they started to become a bit more intense in their actions, the heightened focus on showing you their love was mirrored between the two. 

> To everyone’s surprise, this just became another thing for them to sort of bond with each other over, instead of causing the infighting they assumed. In the G03LM’s minds, it made total sense; of course the other would love you, not loving you was just plain stupid. Plus, they operate on the same wavelength most of the time anyway, so their bro liking the same person is fine with them. There’s no one else Church or Jorge would rather share you with, and as it happens, this is what really eggs them on to make you know just how much they both care for you.

> Neither are really the type to do typical romantic gestures like give you flowers they picked or write soliloquies to describe your beauty, but they do flirt with you a lot. You’d swear that “good lookin’” was practically another name for you now with how often Jorge purrs it to you in a greeting, and then there was the rare “sweetcheeks” from Church. They aren’t exactly the most flowery terms of endearment, but then again, neither of them seemed the type to do that to begin with, so you were still surprised.

> In fact, they call you those so often that they almost caught on with other grunts as well. But attempts to make those nicknames a regular thing were quickly stopped by none other than Church and Jorge themselves; it was their thing with you, and only theirs.

> (Jorge paused from cleaning his gun when he heard one of the other technicians call out to you with his name for you. He leaned down to them and grinned behind his mask when they shrank back a bit. “Hah, that’s real funny pal. But if you call them that again I’ll crush you.” Point taken.)

> Jorge also lavishes you with praise and compliments constantly, for the most simple of actions and when you least expect it. He’s particularly fond of this way of showing affection to you, and he considers it his mission to make you know how much he loves everything about you. Everything from the way your brows furrow when you’re confused to innocuous things like the precise way you prefer your coffee and the way you look so focused when working. Although sometimes his comments can be weirdly specific. For someone who you assumed didn’t know that much about you, the fact he can list off certain more intimate things he knows about you so offhandedly is a bit unnerving.

> (It’s just because he spends a lot of time looking at you, but you didn’t know the true depth of it. It was easy to keep it secret, with how hidden his gaze is behind his mask.)

> For the record, Church also compliments you, but they’re typically shorter and more blunt. He’ll just state that you’re really pretty as though it’s a universally known fact, which it is in his mind. He’ll also fight anyone who says otherwise, but he’s always itching for a chance to pummel someone on your behalf, so it’s something you’re kind of used to now. It’s weirdly flattering regardless, but you try not to encourage it too much.

> Jorge and Church also give you presents frequently as well; usually weapons and other trinkets as “battle trophies” from grunts they faced in combat, oftentimes still bloody. You’re grossed out a bit by just how much gore they track into the building whenever they find something new to gift you, but seeing them perk up proudly whenever you thank them for it makes up for it. They seem so happy whenever you show an ounce of gratitude for their presents, punching the air and fist-bumping each other when you simply smile at them while holding whatever they gave you. You might even say it’s cute, although using such an adjective for the violent mercs seems a tad inappropriate. 

> (Half of the time you’re not even sure what to do with the things they bring you, but now you have an entire wall full of weapons and armor pieces from them. It’d be useful if you ever need to get into a fight, but you’re just a technician.)

> (Of course, you don’t know how many of those special things are from people who were once threats and were foolish enough to pose a threat to your relationship with them. They really should’ve known better, it’s not like Church or Jorge had tried to hide what you were to them. Hopefully the rest of your coworkers would take a hint from the red they tracked in, and the missing presence of some of the people you shared a shift with.)

> They drop any and every conversation they have just to make you a part of it once you enter the room, including important mission briefings from Sheriff. (Oh well. He just has to get that you’re more important.) You’ll also find yourself physically close to them more often than not; it’s common for you to have to try to ignore how they crowd in on your space whenever they catch sight of you. It’s not like you work with them often - you’re not exactly a mercenary or field worker - so when they decide to spend virtually all of their downtime around you, it’s very noticeable.

> They’re also quite touchy with you; you’re going to be picked up by one of them and bear-hugged at least once every day, and luckily they are very gentle with you, so you never have to worry about being harmed by their armor or squeezed too tight. They’d rather die than hurt you, so their grip on you is always soft, and when they nudge against you with their masked face (their version of a kind of kiss, unbeknownst to you), it isn’t hard enough to cause any damage. If they had it their way, you’d always be in their arms, and they even try to take turns with it just to be fair.

> (As an additional bonus, if you’re snuggled up in Church or Jorge’s embrace, no one bothers them and tries to get you away. It's the perfect way to keep you all to themselves, and their loud purring shows just how pleased they are about this.)

> Church is definitely the quieter of the two, but also the one more likely to rough someone up if they affront you in some way. The other members of MERC know better than to get too close to you now, since attempts to be all buddy-buddy with you (or god forbid, flirt with you) were shut down by the mohawked G03LM’s fists. Literally.

> (With how often Church was around you, he got pretty good at reading you. So when he heard you laugh uncomfortably and snapped his attention to you to find one of the other grunts leaning way too close to you for even your taste, he was quick to get rid of the problem. It’s the least he could do, for someone he adores so much.)

> You’ve had a talk with Church about, well, massacring your coworkers whenever you happened to take an off day (at least he’s polite enough not to do it in front of you), so he’s not likely to hurt them too badly now. But it just so happens that Church also knows that you can cause a lot of damage that doesn’t lead to death all the time, which some might even consider worse.

> (Sheriff is now more concerned than ever about healthcare costs for MERC. Perhaps he can cut another deal with the Nexus Core?)

> Jorge is more the type to just threaten the other mercenaries, but he isn’t above getting physical along with Church to break a few (many) bones if he thinks the situation calls for it. Which happens more often than not, if you’re not in their vicinity.

> (They’d honestly be offended if you thought they’d forget the way that prick Sheriff just hired was giving you googly eyes. The little twerp just has to learn his place, and as your partners, there’s no one better to teach them.)

> Despite how they will deliberately target the others in your faction when they know you won’t be around, they still want to show off around you. There’s always an open invitation for you to observe their training, and Jorge is always quick to remind you of this. When you do watch them fight, they naturally put a lot more effort into fighting. They already love the thrill of it, but feeling your eyes on them just invigorates them like nothing else.

> If it weren’t for the fact that the two are so dangerous, the fact that you have them completely wrapped around your finger without knowing it would be funny to everyone else. Anything you even mention once will be noted by them, and while they might not be the most efficient at fetching it/completing some task you need finished, they’ll find some way to fulfill your wishes. Even if it means threatening asking someone else to do it for them, or going to the very ends of Nexus City and fighting through hoards of random bandits and zeds to bring back a single tool you’d simply like to have someday, they’ll do it happily. And of course, they’ll be chatting with each other the entire time about how cute you are, and how they can’t wait to see the look on your face when you realize what they’ve done for you.

> Both of them routinely refer to you as their partner, and they mean it in every sense of the word. Ever since they fell for you so hard, there’s no one else Church and Jorge would be willing to go to for tune-ups and other jobs that needed more technical expertise present. But they also mean it in the romantic sense as well. In their eyes, they’d already made it explicitly clear to everyone else that you were together. They just need to go a step further to get you to acknowledge it as well. Plus, you’d never outright rejected their advances before, so they just know you return their affections. Maybe you’re just shy about it compared to them.

> It doesn't matter to them how long it takes you to understand and eventually officially requite what they feel because Church and Jorge are willing to work at this for however long is needed. They're not going to quit when they know they're so close to having you completely and being able to show you all of their love to its truest extent. Besides, they're G03LMs; Church and Jorge can be brought back from whatever form of the afterlife Nevada has for as long as needed. If they can fight off death itself, then no one stands a chance at taking you from them, so your being with them is completely inevitable. That's all there is to it.

[shroomboi67]

Welp i havent posted in a while so lets have some of my headcannons to celebrate the new version of the sexy blonde bioweapon.

Wesker wears his glasses constantly due to his light sensitivity and unnerving eyes he keeps his glasses on even when inside if he needs a break from wearing them he closes the blinds in his office for a momentary reprieve from the metal indents in his nose. If you did go to his house for whatever reason you'll find its rather dark his walls a seal grey with dark oak furniture but its cozy in some retrospecs.

Wesker suffers from chronic insomnia spending nights at his work desk drinking coffee and filing forms even if he does end up going home he ends up cleaning his house top to bottom and over again until he's exhausted all his options and either goes for a walk or goes to bed. Most pills and drugs have little to no effect on the man due to the progenitor virus in his blood stream so no amount of sleep aid helps. He's just glad his glasses cover the bags under his eyes so he's not seen as weak. Small mercies and all that. But if you do want to get him to sleep lay him down gently and lightly run your hand up the arch of his back to his shoulder blade amd back down and that man is putty.

There is literally no startling or surprising this man. Don't even try as its a futile attempt this man is stone cold you can try anything and his face doesnt budge just don't try startling him he'd choke the life out of you in seconds.

This man is an excellent cook he can make you a four course meal effortlessly cooking everything perfectly with a flick of his talented hands his favourite things to cook are wine infused meats. Delicious.

He definately had some previous dancing experience with that slim, hour glass figure, built chest and lithe easily lifted body he makes the perfect partner for an elegant salsa dancer.

Despite how it seems Wesker is awful at romance he can cook you a nice meal, give you a dance but it ends there he cannot woo anyone he can be quite flirty when it suits him but flirt back and this man melts he is so weak when it comes to someone whos interested in him which who would be? An uptight blonde with a god complex? Yes please.

But if he does get into a relationship he is distant at first but you can bet this man is possessive as shit he would kill someone for you always wanting to hold you in his arms, touch every inch of you, kiss you breathless his favourite pass time is to climb on his your lap and just bury his face in your neck inhaling your scent till he's dizzy.

Due to Weskers past of being treated like a weapon and growing up in a laboritory things can trigger him like nightmares or occassional things like needles. He will immediately break down into sobs and trembling limbs. Avoiding and distancing himself from anyone using.. other methods to stablise himself that is less than ideal but with no family he has no one to go to but find ways to ground himself.

Anything else you want me to mention or anyone else you want headcannons for please let me know! Thank you my lovelies ♡

[aceouttatime]

Picking random numbers out of a hat for Shepard asks:

Give me 4, 17, 27, and 34! I have no idea what these numbers correspond to! It'll be a fun little surprise for me.

thanks for the ask daisy <333

4. Shepard wakes up in an alternate universe. What tips them off?

-> Completely depends on what alternate universe we're talking about, but generally, probably the lack of impending doom. Now I'm tempted to rotate around the idea of a no-reapers au and how that would go with him...

17. Have they done any interviews? How did the first one go? And the most recent?

-> As far as job interviews, no. Sylvan was born on Mindoir with a fairly typical colonist background prior to the slaver raid when he was 16. His family owned a ranch, so he has a long history of hard labor growing up. He got picked up by the Alliance after and was practically inducted in; since then, he's worked his way through the ranks.

He only really got political/news interviews after his survival on Akuze, and even then, thankfully, there were few. Official Alliance channels and media people broadcasted the award ceremony, and his very first interview was the night of. The reporter and outlet had strong ties to Terra Firma, and made a strong attempt to pry into Shepard's past on Mindoir rather than focus on the politics behind the attack on Akuze. Now, Sylvan's plenty polite when he wants to be, his parents raised him right and good.

But they also didn't raise a damned doormat.

To say the interview went poorly would be. Accurate. He uh. Walked out about halfway through because it's difficult to interview a war survivor facing you dead in the eye and saying nothing. Also doesn't help that he has the most unnerving damned eyes, even before Lazarus. A little too green. A little too wide when he's staring, like he's looking right through you.

His track record's been similar since. He's got a simple policy of 'respect for respect' when it comes to dealing with the media, and he will gentle parent the hell out of a leading question. 'Now, you didn't mean to ask me that question like that. Let's try it again.' Generally, the only people that get away with talking down to him are the Council, and even then, not for very long.

27. The last time they were rude to someone:

-> Today. It was Garrus in the airlock. He probably poked fun at how Shepard broke a couple fingers biotic-charging a krogan because he didn't wait for his shotgun to cool down. In other news, Shepard also punched a turian today (it did not fix his broken fingers).

It's okay, he knows he loves him. This is how men flirt(?)

34. What was Jack’s first impression of shepard? And now?

-> Jack's first impression of Shepard? Easy. She thought he was a pussy because of how he handled Kuril, and reckless for how he handled the aftermath. The recklessness she respected. Miranda viewed it as a stupid risk, which only further cemented that. After her acquisition mission on Purgatory, he was straight up with her and gave her full access to the files she wanted. At that point, she was convinced he had some underlying motive, was trying to get in her head, get her to lower her defenses. That continued for a long time, not helped by his tendency to try to get to know his crew. He would ask questions, she would push back, and he would nod or call her out on it, either way seemingly satisfied by her non-answer, which infuriated the hell out her. It got her to open up more, just trying to figure him out.

Something shifted when he agreed to take her to Pragia. He brought along Garrus, and by that point, Jack had been on enough missions with the two of them to understand how they operated--the banter, the old in-jokes between them, the quick-action tactical commentary as they watched one another's backs. But, while Garrus responded occasionally to her commentary and narration walking through the old facility, clearly sympathetic to her situation and comfortable enough letting her express her anger, Shepard was content to stay mostly silent.

And he told her, it was more a suggestion than anything else, when she finally had a gun on Aresh, "Let him go down with the ship. You don't have to choose for him."

When she activated the detonator on the shuttle, that was when it clicked. There was no motive. He wanted to see what she'd do. Not because he saw her as an object or as an asset or a liability, but because she was a person on his ship, and he'd be damned if he didn't give her the closure she asked for before plotting a course to hell. He didn't think he knew better for her--he wanted to give her options he never had.

She looked further into his past. She asked him about Mindoir. She asked him about Akuze. By the time they met each other while she was teaching at Grissom, she asked him about Garrus and told him, "If you two haven't fucked each other already, then I owe Cerberus' favorite sex symbol more credits than these kids' parents pay me a year. Put his spiky ass in a wedding dress and get it over with already."

[dragontamerno3]

DS9 S2 E3 - The Seige

I appreciate the "this is going to be bad, so if you wanna leave, you should go" speech at the beginning but what I like more is how most of the crew was looking at Sisko like he was dumb and he should get on with it already. Like, of course we're gonna stay, just tell us what you need us to do lmao

Jake and Nogs hug goodbye! Heart hands for their friendship. I adore them.

I'm not sure how I feel about the Miles/Keiko scene about leaving cause it kinda felt like Miles was being a bit gaslighty but I think that might have been a poorly phrased line or two and my sensitivities so I'm mostly ignoring it. Keiko has every right to be upset at Miles, though, even if I do agree with Mile's decision to stay. He's kinda been more married to the ship (Enterprise) or the station than he has to her.

Quark and Odo's goodbye was def flirting. Also Quark totally deserved to be left being.

Also, them hiding in the conduits and having trenches humor was a nice touch. It was both funny and a bit unnerving knowing some bad shit might happen. I didn't have any concern for our named crewed, I knew the only ones that could die would be the red shirts and Li Nalas, but it still felt like the calm before the big battle.

One of my "nerd" obsessions is strategy on things. It's probably why I love TTRPGs so much. I love trying to figure out what someone's next move is going to be. I'm not talking in a fighting sense, though sometimes that comes in handy, but rather the quieter kind. The shady deals to get ahead, the diplomatic whispers, which politicians are in bed with whatever and what they might be getting in return, the ultimate game of who is actually ahead. It's part of what I liked about Dune, all of the political 3D chess going on there. It's what I loved about this episode, too. Specifically, General Krim's attempt to walk through Sisko's mind in this same way.

The second he walked off the ship and saw everything was too calm, he knew something was up. And then, later, when he was confronted by Sisko and he listened, he backed down with such grace. Krim is a fun character and I hope we see more of him. Not needed but a hope.

Day, on the other hand, I knew was going to be the cause of Li Nalas's death, but man was he incredibly ignorant and arrogant the whole damn time before we even got there. The fact that he didn't tell Krim about the Cardassians involvement even to gloat about how ridiculous this concept was did surprise me a bit, though. He seemed the type to spill all the beans cause he thought he knew better than everyone else.

Li Nalas died a hero, but tbh, I kinda saw him as a hero before that. Even if he did fall down a hillside and ambush a bathing Cardassian. The scenario that led to his hero status didn't really matter as he helped save the day in the end, but he saw it as a fumble.

Off the hook after all but hopefully a martyr at least.

7/10

[i-did-not-mean-to]

Best Day of his life

My dear little @fandomfaeryreads has also sent in something. With the help of @laurfilijames who is always my soundboard and inspiration, I've come up with the following...

Words: 1,5 k

Warnings: None

Characters: Kíli x OC

“I truly hope that you’ll find someone to accompany you to my wedding,” Fíli grinned, raking his broad fingers through the soft, golden beard covering his shapely jaw. “We wouldn’t want everyone to be worried about you, would we?”

Kíli shot his brother a doubtful look over the breakfast table and shook his head. “It’s more surprising that you’d find someone willing to marry you, given that you’re boorish, smelly, and an award-winning idiot.”

“Oh, someone is worried, huh?” Fíli teased, leaning back confidently. Ever since his girlfriend had accepted his proposal he was – he had to admit this much himself – a little cocky.

“Never,” his younger brother shot back and pushed aside his half-full plate petulantly.

The unnerving grin on Fíli’s face made him want to punch him, and Kíli was sure that his new sister-in-law would not at all appreciate it if her groom sported a black eye in their wedding pictures.

Stewing in his own annoyance, he threw open the French windows and stalked out into the narrow garden; he still loved the house his mother had raised them in, and he dreaded the moment Fíli would move out for good to set up his own household with his wife.

“Hey Kí,” a soft voice resounded and, instinctively, Kíli turned to the wooden lattice that separated their plot from the adjacent garden.

“Hi Bean,” he greeted and leaned his cheek against a gap so that she could press a giggling kiss onto it. “My sweet saviour! Now that I see you, my day has become 100% better.”

Kíli chuckled; her and her mother had moved into the neighbouring house when he had been a young teenager and – with all the humour of their immature minds – he and his brother had taken to calling the young girl “Bean” on account of her being short and laughably fragile compared to their hardy boyhood.

Over the years, the good-natured witness of their dumbest antics and most grievous accidents had grown into a charming young woman though whose demure beauty had attracted more than one suitor. Kíli had chased them all away in more or less discreet ways.

Unfortunately for him, Bean did not take him seriously when he tried to flirt with her; she seemed to stubbornly mistake his earnest admiration for a callous continuation of his adolescent taunts.

“What happened?” she asked, taking in his sour face and the dark cloud of dismay marring his usually so cheerful visage.

“Oh, Fí is being an ass. Say, what do you do tomorrow?”

“I am going to your brother’s wedding, as are you,” Bean replied calmly, cocking her head in a way that made her hair cascade like a curtain of translucent silk over her slender shoulder.

“Would you like to go with me?” Kíli asked, surprised by the sudden feeling of tightness in his chest.

“I thought you’d share a car with Fí. Don’t you have to be there earlier? Well, either way, I’d be delighted to be of help,” Bean replied with a bright smile.

“Yes. No. No, that is not what I meant. Do you want to go as my date?”

She blinked a few times and then broke into mocking laughter. “Did your former date cancel?”

“I haven’t asked anyone,” Kíli huffed proudly.

“Ah, so I am the last resort solution?” Arching an elegant brow, she crossed her arms over her chest and let him waffle for a few seconds.

“No,” he finally said, “I didn’t feel like asking just anyone. I wanted to go with someone who means something, you see?”

Her smile grew warmer and her narrow, slender hand pushed through the planks to pat his muscular, lean forearm soothingly.

“Sure I’ll come with you. It will be like old times…Oh, that’s my mother calling. I’ll see you tomorrow?” With a last, reassuring squeeze and a sunny smile, she disappeared into the house, leaving Kíli alone in the garden, pondering how he could convince her of the depth of his affection.

When he rang the doorbell of the neighbouring house the next day, Kíli felt his heart beating in his throat.

“See you there,” he heard her call to her mother and then, the door swung open to reveal his childhood friend in a pale blue dress that complimented her sparkling eyes. She looked like a China doll – precious and perfect – but her mischievous grin was still the same as it had ever been.

“Look at you,” she whistled, “you clean up nicely, Kí.”

“Eh, I have to keep up with the prettiest girl around, don’t I?” he shot back with a wink and offered her his arm to escort her to his car; Fíli – much less arrogant on his big day – had already left with their mother, but Kíli was sure that his brother didn’t need another nervous relative breathing down his neck just yet.

“Ah, flatterer,” Bean laughed but took his arm and gave it the usual, comforting squeeze.

“Not at all,” Kíli protested softly, “you look gorgeous.”

“It’s my best dress,” she admitted, a hint of colour mounting into her cheeks.

“I don’t only mean today,” Kíli jumped on the opening, “even though you do look especially charming on this day of celebration and joy.”

Bean didn’t reply to that, she merely looked at him inquisitively with her birdlike head movement and her bright eyes.

The ceremony turned out to be wonderful and – when a few stray tears rose into Kíli’s eyes at the sight of the boundless happiness of his brother – Bean handed him her embroidered handkerchief without a word.

“Ask the girl to dance.” Kíli looked up only to meet his sister-in-law’s sparkling, green eyes. “You’re not usually one lost for words, are you?”

Heaving a sigh, Kíli recounted all the compliments he had already paid Bean over the years without omitting how easily she had swatted his attempts at suave charm and playful flirtation aside at every turn.

“Hmmmm,” his brother’s siren-wife hummed, tapping a perfectly manicured finger against her full, rosy lips pensively. “How about you drop the act and just tell her the truth then?”

Giving him a hearty slap on the back, she drifted away to entertain the rest of her wedding party and Kíli resolved to take her advice.

“Dance?” he asked nervously as soon as he reached the table at which Bean dreamily was sitting and marvelling at the understated elegance of her surroundings.

“Oh, you don’t have to,” she laughed.

“I want to,” Kíli insisted and led her to the wooden dancefloor in the middle of the room. How often had he dreamed about holding her in his arms like that?

“Bean,” he whispered into her ear. “I really meant it all the times I’ve told you that you’re beautiful.”

“Ah, you’re making fun of me again,” she chided softly, but there was a note of exhaustion and genuine hurt in her voice.

“I am not. I know that I might have behaved despicably when I was younger, but I would have thought that we’re friends and that, one day, you’d realise that I’ve grown up and…that you’d finally believe me.”

Her eyes were wet and round when she looked up at him now; Kíli could only stare at the pale oval of her sweet face, illuminated by dancing lights and flickering candles.

“I am flippant,” Kíli admitted, “because it’s easier to say the very serious things in life as if they meant nothing, but I do cherish you deeply and I think you’ve been the prettiest girl in town since the day Fíli had to cut his hair.”

“I seem to remember,” Bean cut in, “that someone had burned his hair?”

“Irrelevant,” Kíli waved her interjection aside. “What I want to say is…I’ve been in love with you for longer than I can remember and, even if you don’t reciprocate these feelings, I’d be thankful if you couldn’t just dismiss them out of hand.”

He took a deep breath; it felt good to have verbalised all the doubt and the compounded insecurity he had dragged through the years, too afraid to confront them and too enamoured to let them go.

“Oh, you fool,” Bean chuckled and pushed herself onto her tiptoes.

“I swear, if you kiss my cheek like a good sister now, I will scream,” Kíli moaned; they had been like this for too long – him saying dumb stuff and her forgiving him instantly – for her to even hear how much he wanted her to change the way she saw him.

“You’ve always talked too much,” Bean sniggered, caught his face in her soft, warm hands, and pressed her lips to his.

Kíli forgot about the dance and about the people looking on; he simply lifted her into his arms and melted into that first kiss he had fantasised about for years.

This truly was the most blessed day of their existence.

@fellowshipofthefics here's the second one for today :D

Lots of love from me <3

[silvfyre-writings]

Patty cake, patty cake, bake me a cake (BSD Fanfic)

Crossposted to AO3

In the many years that Yasui’s known Ranpo, he’s gotten used to the man’s many strange habits. Not being able to take the train, having a very strong penchant for candy over anything remotely nutritious, and ultimately not giving a shit about what others thought of him. All things that he’d since adapted to and is no longer bothered by—not that he’d really been bothered by them in the slightest before—which supposedly makes the two of them friends, much to the chagrin of everyone he works with, considering his new job as police commissioner means that whenever work comes by that Ranpo invites himself into, he’s not there to play the buffer.

There’s been a lot of complaints since he was promoted, which just amuses him honestly. You’d think after twelve years, that the police force of Yokohama would have some idea of how to handle their resident genius, but apparently not.

Well, except for Minoura, but really, he saw that coming a mile away, which is why he’d recommended the younger detective as his replacement in the first place. He hadn’t quite expected the two to get so involved with each other so quickly, but then again, this was Ranpo; he’d flirted with Yasui on their very first case together.

He’s not surprised.

The same way that he’s not surprised when he opens the door to his apartment to find another set of shoes that very much don’t belong to him, already in the doorway. It’s not the first time that he’s come home to find the genius that he considers to be one of his closest friends already here, and it certainly won’t be the last. Although it has been a while since he’s last seen Ranpo, considering his job keeps him busy, and the Agency too, is swamped with work, especially after the whole terrorist plot that they’d found themselves wrapped up in—in which they’ve since been proven innocent.

Thank god, because if he’d had to track down Edogawa Ranpo to try and arrest him, he would’ve lost the last of his sanity.

Yasui pulls off his own shoes and places them beside Ranpo’s before stepping into his apartment. The fact that it’s quiet unnerves him, because quiet and Ranpo simply do not go together—the two are like oil and water, destined to never mix together no matter how hard one tries for them to be. It could be a simple reason in that perhaps Ranpo is asleep, which happens far more frequently than Yasui thinks it should, or it could be far more complicated and involve him needing to help his friend pick apart his emotions again, or it could be something completely unrelated.

And it looks like it’s going to be that third option when he walks into the kitchen to see Ranpo sitting at the dining table, head on his arms and seemingly dozing, with a plastic bag on the table in front of him. Yasui raises a brow and steps over to peek into the bag to see it is that Ranpo’s brought over, looking into it to see flour, and eggs, and—

Oh.

Ranpo’s brought over the ingredients needed to bake something. Now that’s a surprise; he can’t remember the last time that Ranpo tried to bake something, and he’s curious of the why.

So he reaches over and pokes Ranpo square in the forehead, grinning when the younger flies upright, eyes flying around the room until they land on him.

Naturally, Ranpo pouts. “You work too much now.”

“Only because a certain someone decided to try his hand at being a terrorist. We’re running a little behind schedule.” Yasui says, crossing over to the fridge to grab a couple of drinks. He shuts the door and holds one out to Ranpo.

Ranpo takes the offered drink and cracks the can, taking a few mouthfuls before saying anything. “You still work too much. I’ve been waiting hours for you to get home.”

“You have my number, you could’ve called.”

“Hours, Yasui, hours.” Ranpo repeats, spreading out across the table, kicking his feet like a child throwing a tantrum. On anyone else it might’ve been, but this was Ranpo, and Yasui knew it was anything but.

Yasui rolls his eyes fondly and reaches over to ruffle Ranpo’s hair, the younger preening at the attention. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. You broke into my apartment with a bag of baking ingredients and waited hours. Are you going to tell me why?”

“Maybe. If you ask nicely.”

“Need I remind you just who’s apartment you’re in?”

In the next second, Ranpo stops moving, and Yasui waits patiently for him to figure out what it is that he wants to say. He takes the chance to sip at his drink, studying Ranpo carefully to see if he can figure out for himself, why Ranpo’s decided to show up in his apartment tonight of all nights. The baking ingredients are indicative to his friend asking him for a favour without actually asking him, and the way he’s sitting there, muddling over his thoughts, tells Yasui that there’s something important on his mind. It’s just a matter of what.

Finally, Ranpo speaks, his cheeks flushing as he refuses to look Yasui in the face.

“It’s Minoura’s birthday in two days—” Ah. “—I wanted to make a cake. But as everyone so reminds me, I can’t bake.”

It’s such a sweet gesture, one that has Yasui feeling proud of how far Ranpo has come since he and Minoura started seeing each other. As much as he loves to tease the younger two for failing to keep out of each other’s pants for at least a week when they started working together, he’s also incredibly happy for them. He’s watched Minoura over time become less of a hardass and learn how to actually have fun with his life—and also how to cope with having circles run ragged around him by the tiny detective they are both acquainted with—and he’s also been able to witness Ranpo meeting someone who is capable of understanding him, despite not being on the same level of genius, and not be expected to carry the world on his shoulders.

Both were people that needed someone to buoy them up, and he’s just glad that they can do that for each other.

Yasui stands up, and grabs the bag from the table, gesturing with his head for Ranpo to follow him over to the kitchen. “Alright, come on lover boy, I’ll help you make a cake for your boyfriend.”

“Yasui’s the best!” Ranpo lights up and bounces after him, not even hesitating to hop up on the bench right beside where Yasui plans to prepare the cake. Oh well, that means he can make Ranpo actually help him instead of sitting there like he usually tries to do.

“I’m going to remember those words for the rest of my life.” Yasui says, pulling out each ingredient and setting it on the bench; flour, eggs, vanilla—interesting choice considering he knows that Ranpo prefers chocolate or caramel, often calling vanilla the… basic bitch of flavours, which Yasui finds vaguely offensive considering he likes vanilla. There’s no milk or butter in the bag, not that that’s a problem since he has some in his fridge, and he realises then that Ranpo had already deduced what he owned and what he didn’t. “Did you buy this yourself, or did you steal your Agency’s credit card and deem it a work purchase?”

Ranpo huffs, and accepts the mixing bowls and utensils that Yasui hands him. The blush on his face burns brighter. “Minoura gets really happy when I do things for him…”

“You have it so bad.”

A piece of paper hits Yasui in the head; the receipt from the store. “You could’ve had this, but you said no.”

He looks up at Ranpo to find the other smirking, and turns away, only to grab the flour and baking soda and slap it into Ranpo’s hands with a smirk of his own. “Still not interested. Now mix those together will you?”

“I thought you were going to bake the cake.”

“I am, but that involves you helping. Otherwise, I will give this to Minoura myself and leave you in the doghouse.”

“You’re so mean to me, Yasui.” Ranpo pouts, even as he measures out the ingredients and puts them into a bowl. He takes the spoon that Yasui offers him and starts to mix at a steady pace. “You and Minoura.”

“And yet you love us anyway.” Yasui places the butter and sugar into a bowl and moves off to find a mixer.

He’s pretty sure he has one, but it’s been a while since he last baked something, so he isn’t quite sure where he put it. Rummaging through the cabinets, he keeps up a steady chatter with Ranpo, listening to the younger talk about the cases that he solved that day, about the shenanigans that he and his co-worker’s at the Agency got up to—which apparently involved dragging poor Nakajima all over the city to hunt down a limited edition pocky, that they did eventually find. In return, he too, tells Ranpo about his work as the commissioner, not that it’s the most exciting of work; meeting after meeting, more paperwork than anyone could ever imagine, and more idiots than he ever dealt with when he was a detective.

One would think the higher up you were in the food chain, the smarter you’d be, but no, everyday Yasui finds his patience being tested by the morons that would rather ask pointless questions than actually do good.

Before he knows it, the cake is mixed and poured into the pan, and then all that’s left to do is wait as it bakes. And the icing, but since that’s the fun—and easy—part, Yasui knows it won’t take long to do. While they wait, he starts to clean up, grabbing dishes and putting them next to the sink to deal with later; he fills them up with water though so that the mix that’s left over in the bowls doesn’t get a chance to harden and become infinitely harder to scrape off.

A noise catches his attention, and he turns to see Ranpo’s slid off the bench and is now focused on the oven, head resting on his arms and watching the cake bake away.

Uh oh.

Yasui takes a second to dry his hand before joining Ranpo on the floor, biting back the groan as his knees protest the motion, and slings an arm around his friend’s shoulders, pulling Ranpo close. “What’s on your mind?”

The silence ticks by before Ranpo speaks, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “Do you think he’ll like it?”

“He’d be a fool not to.” Yasui gives Ranpo a quick squeeze. “You’re making this cake for Minoura, he’s gonna appreciate that.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll shoot his ungrateful ass, and we can enjoy the cake ourselves.”

Ranpo snorts, lips stretching out into a grin, as he leans into Yasui’s side. “Please don’t shoot my boyfriend. I do actually like him.”

“Then stop your worrying, Ranpo. Put all that energy into decorating the cake—and not eating the icing.”

“But, Yasui, that’s the best part.” Ranpo complains, pushing himself to his feet and offering his hands out to help pull Yasui up off the ground.

He can’t stop the groan this time.

“Don’t you dare.” He says, seeing the thought forming behind Ranpo’s eyes. There’s still plenty of life in him yet, and he’ll chase Ranpo around the apartment if he dares to call him old.

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“You didn’t have to.” Yasui huffs, and then spies a container from the corner of his eye. He bites back the grin that threatens to form, and snatches up the container, prying off the lid, and scoops a small amount of icing onto his fingers. “Hey, Ranpo.”

Ranpo turns. “Wha—HEY!”

Yasui laughs at the mock offended look Ranpo throws him, icing smeared across one side of his face. He’d been aiming for Ranpo’s cheek, but the younger man moved at the last second, so gone across Ranpo’s ear and straight into his hair. He’s not sorry.

“Oh you think you’re clever, don’t you?” Ranpo lunges to the bag and produces another container of icing. “I came prepared, Yasui, I bought more than one flavour to snack on!”

The grin on Yasui’s face widens, and he arms himself with another scoop.

“Bring. It. On.”

[gravity-barbie]

The Sparrows getting jealous HCs

Request @mylesofasgard

Umbrella version

Masterlist

Marcus Hargreeves

-As arguably the most famous person in the world, and just an even-tempered person in general, jealousy is a fairly new phenomenon for Marcus

-But then you mean more to him than fame and prestige ever did so maybe that’s why he gets so irked when he sees someone hitting on you

-Whoever they are, they obviously aren’t going to measure up to the Marcus Hargreeves which he will passive-aggressively hint at as he wraps his arm around you and introduces himself to the person

-He’s too image-conscious to be as rude as he’d like to be but you’ll probably still notice a tenseness to him as he holds himself back

-He’s quick to laugh it off afterwards and will tolerate a bit of teasing about it, letting you know it came from a place of love

Ben Hargreeves

-Ben definitely has some jealousy issues, he has wounds from losing things that have mattered to him before, and if there’s something he cares about more than his number it’s you

-He instantly loses his cool when he sees someone flirting with you and aggressively confronts them, and if they don’t back off he will keep escalating things until he’s pulling his power out

-You’re the only person that can convince him to calm down and walk away at that point

-When someone is expressing a more subtle interest in you that he can’t overtly call out he’s more calculating (still fuming but quietly) as he figures out how he can reasonably eliminate the threat

-He feels the need to prove himself during and after these kinds of situations and is a lot more ambitious and quick to show off than usual

-He deals with some lingering insecurity for a while and will be a bit mopey because of that, so reassuring him that you love him and he’s your number one would go a long way

Fei Hargreeves

-Fei has a little jealous streak but she’s typically good at keeping a lid on it

-She’ll likely bring the subject up to you, letting you know if you’re involvement with a certain person makes her uncomfortable

-She’s quite rational so she knows when she should or shouldn’t take a ‘threat’ seriously, even if someone’s being obvious she’ll give you the chance to turn them down before she works herself up

-And likewise when she does decide she needs to step in, she’s smart enough to keep herself collected and think a solution through (even though she’d love to just have their eyes pecked out)

-She’s less likely to confront the person and more likely to unnerve them with morbid jokes delivered with her devilish smile, while reminding them of all the fun things her birds can do to a human being

Alphonso Hargreeves

-Alphonso’s not exactly insecure and he definitely isn’t easily threatened so jealousy isn’t that common of an occurrence

-He certainly doesn’t like people hitting on you but he’s more annoyed on your behalf than anything

-Depending on how forward the person is being, he might not take it seriously, and actually joke about it with you later

-But if they’re being an active nuisance he won’t hesitate to put them in their place with brutal bullying or by picking a fight with them

-He talks a lot of shit to you about the person afterwards, sometimes out of the blue months later

Sloane Hargreeves

-Jealousy from Sloane is a surprise (to her as much as anyone) because she trusts you so much and on top of that she’s a little bit naive anyway

-She tries to get over it on her own without causing a scene or alarming you, feeling bad because surely she has nothing to worry about

-She amps up PDA and is extra sweet to you, partially to remind the other person you’re unavailable and partially to ease the guilt she feels over doubting you

-When it’s an obvious case of someone pestering you she’s more assertive, while violence (or any kind of conflict) is never her go-to she’ll do whatever it takes to defend you

-She’s a little clingy afterwards, eager to put that other person behind her and focus on your relationship

Jayme Hargreeves

-Jayme is a punch first ask questions later kind of girl, so when she sees some dickhead bothering you she does just that

-But if the person she suspects is into you is a friend of yours or something she struggles a bit, she knows better than to just pick a fight with them but she’s also too embarrassed to talk to you about it privately

-Mostly she’s just extra rude and sarcastic to them because if she gets called out on it she can just argue it’s her personality, though you know her well enough to know she’s being excessive

-She’s also more physically affectionate which is a giveaway because while she doesn’t shy away from PDA when she feels like it she also doesn’t make a show out of it usually

-Despite all evidence to the contrary, she denies being jealous at all costs

[mundymundy]

Can you write an jealousy headcannon for the support class charector.

medic, sniper, spy jealousy hcs

Medic is the petty kind of jealous.

It also doesn't take much to make him jealous. It doesn't stem from insecurity; he just hates when other people touch what's his. The other mercenaries, especially poor Scout, know not to touch you unless they want a surprise excruciating examination. But he won't take it too far as they're still valuable test subjects. Total strangers, however, he's not afraid to terrorize.

Medic will stare at them behind your back with his jaw locked in an unnerving grin and just let the crazy shine through.

He'll act completely innocent if you ever catch him in the act and somehow charm his way out of trouble.

If they don't take the hint, it's time to bring out the PDA. He has no shame as he'll come up behind you and wrap his arms around you, kissing your temple while looking at them with a challenge in his eyes.

Even before your relationship, Sniper was prone to jealousy.

He would watch at a distance when you would give someone else your attention and resentment would build in him, but not towards you. Never at you. He would get frustrated at himself for not having the guts to tell you how he felt.

It gets better when you're finally together but he's very good at hiding it.

Mundy tries to use it as motivation to be the best man he can be for you, but he still worries if he's good enough for you. But he'll be damned if he lets someone flirt with you right in front of him. He'll butt in on your conversation with a joke and make them uncomfortable enough to stop.

"Thanks, mate. Always did consider myself a looker."

If he gets a laugh out of you, that's just a bonus.

Sorry, but Spy doesn't really get jealous. At the most, he's amused by the other person's pitiful attempt at seduction.

He told you once he wouldn't care if you flirted back, but he's always secretly pleased that you never do. It almost makes him feel guilty when he has to seduce and sleep with other people for his profession.

But you knew what you were getting into by being with him.

It isn't until he's confronted with the very real possibility that you might leave him for someone who could give you monogomy that he realized he had to change to keep you in his life.

Only then would he start feeling jealous. It would be extremely subtle but you notice it because you know him so well. If you ever flirt with someone just to make him jealous, he'll drop you on the spot.

He gave you his heart and you abused that gift.

[mc-lukanette]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

—————

A few days had passed since Marinette had burned the Adrien photos, and Luka was relieved to note that they hadn't come back since. Marinette seemed equally at ease, their daily calls becoming more and more relaxed with each time she told him about her still-empty wall. He did wish he could do a little more concerning the red string around her neck, but his mind was drawing a blank and she was happier than before regardless.

The main problem however, was the relation to the miraculouses. Everyone knew that Ladybug wasn't interested in Chat Noir, a fact that made the knowledge of the red string even worse. He wasn't sure if the red strings were tied to the miraculouses or not - or how if they were indeed connected - but he speculated that it was about more than just talking to Marinette about Adrien; Chat was a factor as well. He couldn’t imagine the societal pressure of Ladybug and Chat Noir being a couple, and no one had to do much research to realize that Chat Noir was okay with it while Ladybug was very much not.

He'd have to take on the red string from both sides of the masks, and it took one particular day for him to get his chance.

"You want me to go on patrol with you?"

Ladybug nodded, balancing herself on his windowsill as she replied, "If you'd like to. Chat Noir is busy tonight, so the position's opened and you're one of the people used to having a miraculous."

Luka caught himself before he could start smiling too much, knowing that it was Marinette under that mask and she wanted him to go on patrol because they were friends.

"I'd be honored to."

She beamed at him, and after the snake miraculous was on his wrist, he was transformed and the two set off for the rooftops together.

—————

Viperion glanced left and right as he went along with Ladybug. He'd been called enough by then to have gotten used to superheroing, though it was his first time actually on patrol. Given the situation they were in, he was thankful that Adrien was busy that particular night with what Viperion could only guess was Gabriel's orders.

The red string was still dangling around Ladybug's neck, though Viperion'd grown attuned enough with his fate sensing that he could stop focusing on it and simply see her if he chose to. It didn't stop him from thinking about it, but it helped.

Ladybug seemed to know the route to take, so he mostly followed after her, but it was partway through where she'd decided that they should take a break. Paris was always quiet right after akuma attacks, meaning that they could afford to take it easy since there'd been one just that afternoon.

They leaped buildings until they reached the Eiffel Tower, scaling the monument until they reached the top platform. He didn't miss that she'd avoided using her yoyo for the job, possibly to put them on an even playing field.

Letting out a breath, Ladybug leaned against the railing and she gazed over the city. Gesturing to the view, she explained, "We'll have a good vantage point from here in case anything happens."

Viperion chuckled. "You really do think of everything."

She blushed faintly, but took the compliment casually. "I'm just doing my job." She turned her hip to more easily grab her yoyo, then opened it and reached inside. "Anyway, are you hungry?"

He tilted his head in curiosity, then grinned as she pulled out a bag of macarons from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It wasn't anything suspicious given that it was known as the best bakery around.

"Thanks," he replied gratefully, taking one of the macarons she offered him.

She grabbed one as well and they took a simultaneous bite of their respective treats. He was a little surprised to hear that she brought along snacks, but supposed it made sense if breaks during patrol were a common thing after akuma.

They settled down on the ground, Ladybug placing the open bag in-between them so they could pick them out at equal leisure. Tossing him an apologetic but teasing smile, she added, "Sorry, but cushions wouldn't fit in the yoyo."

He raised his brows at her, then glanced down at the hard ground below them. He snorted at her joke, noting, "It's nice to see you outside of akuma battles, where you can relax and play around more."

She smiled shyly at him, in a way that was so Marinette that he couldn't believe he hadn't figured her out sooner. "Thanks. Chat says I have no sense of humor."

He frowned, replying without hesitation, "Chat's wrong."

She waved him off, though he could tell that she appreciated the comment. Hearing that Chat had told her something like that was news to him, despite all the research he'd done into their relationship. Granted, he imagined that anything could be said off-camera and he couldn't have known.

"Does he say things like that a lot?" he asked, hoping he wasn't prodding too much. There was just something about how casually she'd said it that unnerved him.

"Huh?" She blinked, thrown off by the question, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... most of the time, he flirts instead. It's..." She hesitated, like she wasn't sure that she could talk about it. Glancing at him, then back to the open sky, she relented and added, "—it's a lot sometimes, but he does his job well enough, so it’s not like it’s a serious problem. I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve never wondered about the what ifs of having someone else, but whenever I think about it, I just—"

She squinted at nothing, Viperion's gaze flickering down to the string, which had became visible now that he was focusing on it.

It had tightened, pressing into the black of her bodysuit in a way only he could see, and he found himself squinting just like she was.

"—I can't imagine being Ladybug without him," she said.

He pressed his lips together, trying to suppress any reaction to the comment. He'd suspected it for a while, but actually seeing it was something else entirely.

The red string demanded dependency on Ladybug's part. He wasn't sure how much it pulled Chat on the other end, but judging from what he'd gathered from Marinette's luck and fate's blatant favoring of Adrien, he could guess.

Ladybug peeked up from her macaron when he remained silent, confusion passing over her features. "What? You look like you have something to say."

"Ah—" He looked down, brows furrowing as he hoped even more that he wasn't pushing boundaries. "—just... I know that he's been with you since the beginning, but I don’t think you need Chat Noir to be an amazing Ladybug."

She straightened, dropping her treat in surprise and then fumbling to catch it. Perhaps she hadn’t caught onto what her words implied, or had said them without thinking due to the string and was now facing it head-on.

He continued, "You've dealt with akuma plenty of times without him, and you work well with all your heroes. I'm sure you could make the best out of any partner you had." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Maybe Chat Noir only seems as good as he does because he's at your command."

Ladybug's cheeks tinted red, nearly matching her mask, as she ducked her head at the high praise. She raised the macaron back to her lips, chewing on it as if that helped hide her face.

It was only after she'd slowly nibbled the treat all the way down and swallowed that she replied, "T-thank you."

He shrugged, having only been honest.

"Chat Noir..." She cleared her throat. "Well, Paris would disagree with you."

"Paris is wrong too," he replied in the exact same tone as when he was discussing Chat. After careful consideration, he asked cautiously, "Do you mean how—"

"Yeah, the—" She frowned and waved both hands vaguely in a gesture that no one but him would've understood. "Yeah."

So she was all too aware of their status of a "couple" in the eyes of Parisians. It made sense with everything he already knew, but he hadn't wanted to be right.

The phrase she'd used when talking about Adrien resurfaced in his mind: made for each other.

He clenched his fist. She was being pressured on both sides of the mask, towards both sides of Adrien's mask.

"I don't like it," she admitted, "but Chat drinks it up and I guess the public is into the idea of this superhero couple. They see us like celebrities."

"It's not right," Viperion hissed, and Sass would've been proud of it. "You save Paris every week and you deserve to be respected."

"There's nothing I can do about it," she told him, almost in defeat. "Besides, Chat... he needs a pick-me-up every now and my pep talks don't always work on him. He pouted when I brought in a male hero for the first time."

"That's not your fault!" he argued. "Chat needs to be confident on his own. He can't keep relying on you or make you feel like you can't do anything without him doubting himself. You're under enough stress as it is, and—!"

He caught himself, his mouth shutting tight before he could reveal exactly how much he knew. Ladybug blinked at him, seeming puzzled by the outburst but not suspicious at least.

He took a breath, reminding himself to stay calm. Reaching back, he grabbed hold of his lyre and brought it in front of him, strumming a few notes and letting them settle the discordant song that was playing in his stomach.

"My point is... Chat shouldn't be someone adding onto the pressure. That's not a partnership."

Her shoulders relaxed, her eyes darting around as she processed his words. She looked conflicted.

"...I'm sorry," he added, settling his lyre in his lap. "Not for what I said, but—I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"No, no." She shook her head, pulling her knees to her chest. "It's good that you did. I've actually—" Her voice grew quiet. "—been thinking about it lately."

"About what?"

She made the same vague gesture from before. "All of that. There's been a lot going on and it's given me a lot to think about."

He knew immediately what she meant.

"It's... frustrating," she groaned. "I don't like Chat that way. I mean, maybe sometimes he said or did something that I found charming, but that's just—not enough for me, you know? To only feel something like that for a second or two." She averted her gaze, growing distant. "Everyone seems to think we belong together, and... I hate that they might be right."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Well, I'm a hero; a permanent one. I need to be there all the time. Every akuma, every purification, every Miraculous Ladybug. Only I can do it." She hugged her legs closer, burying her face in her knees. "I want a relationship. I want someone to date and be close to, but I can't have it. I'm always running away; always going somewhere with some excuse so I can go deal with the akuma, and I can't tell anyone! Can you imagine how that'd make my date feel?"

He opened his mouth, but a thought occurred to him at the last second that gave him pause.

"You... so you think..."

Once again, he hoped to be wrong. He wanted so badly to be wrong.

But Ladybug looked up, her expression pained as she confirmed, "There's only one person I could be with where it wouldn't have to happen."

His blood ran cold, he felt sick, and the memory of the red string flashed in his mind, wrapped around Adrien's ring.

Fate didn't just tie her to him; it wanted to make her believe that he was her only choice.

Viperion's grip on his lyre tightened, his teeth grinding together behind closed lips as he tried to maintain an aura of calm. He wasn't just angry anymore, he was livid, and he silently wished that the face on the other side of the butterfly miraculous was the universe so he could give it a piece of his mind.

How could you do that? How could you take a girl who's always worked so hard and tried her best, and treat her like she's nothing? No, not nothing, because then at least she'd be left alone. How could you treat her like a plaything, as if she's some prize for a guy to win no matter what? How could you manipulate her to think that everything's her fault, just so she never thinks to fight back against the ones putting pressure on her?

What's love if it's gotten through such force?

"V-viperion?"

A hand falling upon his jolted him back to reality, his head snapping up to see Ladybug there, her pupils shrunken in and her brows knitted in worry. Whatever his face had looked like, it'd scared her.

His first instinct was to feel guilty. He was supposed to be comforting her, not making things worse by letting all of his emotions show on his face.

His second instinct...

He tossed his lyre off to the side, Ladybug's gaze briefly following it until his hands fell upon her shoulders. Her eyes widened, and she let out a squeak as he pulled her onto his lap and into a hug.

The only thing he was grateful for in terms of her superhero status was that he could hug her as tightly as possible without hurting her.

"A-ah..." She seemed tempted to say something, but fell silent soon after and hugged him back, burying her face into the side of his neck. He felt her strength in the way she squeezed him, like she was starved for his affection despite them being in a similar position not too long ago.

He understood. Before, they were tackling her problems when she was Marinette, but Ladybug had never had someone to personally confide in concerning Chat.

She'd needed this.

"You already do so much," he whispered. "You should be allowed to be with whoever you want, and you shouldn't have to settle when it comes to love."

She sighed against him, like she knew deep down that he was right. "You don't know how bad it could get. Some hypothetical boyfriend wouldn't deserve that kind of treatment."

"I get why you'd feel that way," he said, "but I'd hope that this hypothetical boyfriend would know that you're worth it."

Her fingers twitched against his spine. "...You don't even know me."

"I know that you're creative. I know you're smart. I know you work harder than anyone else to keep Paris safe. I know you have a right to feel however you want, and if you think you need to earn being with someone who's not Chat, then you've more than done that." He slid his hand up to squeeze her shoulder. "I also know that you'll find a way to make it work, if you put in even half the care into it as you put into Paris."

"Vi—" She paused, her voice softening. "Luka..."

They stayed like that for a while, the bag of macarons going untouched an arm's reach away. Viperion just held her, sensing that she was feeling out what he'd said and that they didn't need words for it. That was fine with him; her love life was none of his business. He only wanted to help her have the choice to live it.

A breeze blew by, their bodysuits protecting them from the wind chill factor as their hair was lightly shifted by the gentle air. Ladybug stirred, letting out a noise like she felt personally slighted by the wind, then pushed herself up, her hands on his shoulders as she pulled away from him.

"We...we should get back to patrol," she admitted.

He offered her a small smile, noting that she seemed to be in better spirits at least. "Alright." He let her out of his lap, leaning over to the side to pick up his lyre.

He heard her retreating footsteps, along with a light, "You can keep the macarons."

He glanced up at her, surprised. "Are you sure?" he asked, knowing that he was mostly responsible for them not eating all of them. "Is that what you usually do on your breaks: let Chat have them?"

"Oh." She stood awkwardly in place, looking off at the sky before dropping her gaze to the ground. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she grinned sheepishly and replied, "Actually..."

He tilted his head, curious.

She peeked over at him, eyes half-lidded as she told him, "I've never done this with Chat."

He raised his brows, as if that would make her clarify, but she simply turned away from him and started doing a few stretches, clearly prepping to head back out.

Pursing his lips in thought, Viperion turned his back to her, giving attention to the little plastic bag resting neatly on the ground. Even though it was open, the little ribbon that had held it shut was still around it, suddenly feeling more special now that Ladybug had said something so... cryptic.

He looked out at the view they had, then Ladybug, then back at the bag, feeling extremely slow on the uptake as his brain pieced things together based on what information he had.

Then, suddenly his brain supplied: Wait... was this a date?

He buried the thought just as quickly, shaking his head and scolding himself for jumping to that so fast.

"Are you ready to go back to leaping rooftops?" Ladybug asked behind him, her tone light even if she was still in her own head.

"Yeah," Viperion replied, picking up the little bag like it was something precious. Hoping to lighten things further, he then added, "I'm new to this, so I might lag behind."

She chuckled. "You might. Apparently I'm a really amazing hero according to someone I know."

He grinned to himself. Even if she was just teasing, it felt good to hear her compliment herself in a way.

He had just tightened the ribbon to seal the bag back up, listening to the sound of Ladybug's foosteps, when he felt a sudden niggling sensation at the back of his head, or—behind him? He turned, puzzled, then leaped up as he caught sight of a teal wisp in Ladybug's path.

He rushed over as she yelped and tripped over what would seem like nothing according to her. Catching her just in time, he also realized belatedly that it may've been an overreaction, given that she was in superhero form; he could only blame it on reflex.

Ladybug stood up with a start, covering the lower half of her face in shame. "Ugh, that was so embarrassing, I'm sor—"

"It's not your fault," he hurried to say, not explaining further as he grew lost in thought, staring silently at the place where the wisp had formed itself.

He hadn't just seen the wisps this time; he had sensed them. That was new, and he wouldn't have questioned a new addition to his fate sensing had it not been the fact that he hadn't particularly done anything as Viperion; it usually took an instance or two of him using his power for something to manifest, but here...

He glanced up when he realized that Ladybug was looking at him curiously. Debating with himself for a moment, he ultimately trusted his gut and met her gaze, asking,

"Do you mind if I talk to Sass again after this?"

[gildedmuse]

The ZoLaw AU Nobody Asked For Where...

Zoro is "in love" with Mihawk/Ace/Saga/Shanks/King/Sanji, he's really sure of it [okay you're gonna have to stick with me for a hot minute on this one]. Not that he has any idea of how to flirt with such an amazing guy.

Law is a flirt, that's an established fact. He's even tried flirting with Zoro a few times, probably for laughs or thinking it might unnerve Zoro before a match (ha! as if Zoro was so easily distracted!).

(Nevermind he'd failed to recognize it as such until Robin pointed it out. Oh, so that's what he meant about Zoro's Santoryu skills having other uses. No, wait, he still doesn't get why the guy would say that....)

It's not like Zoro enjoys the idea of being indebted to that smug son of a bitch with his smirk that makes people go all pink and voice that he's probably making purposefully low so it does that annoying thing to your stomach. But, well, he's starting to think maybe Usopp had been right when he used to talk about "the importance of wooing". Not the part where he insisted he was a master of it - Zoro isn't an idiot, and besides what would Usopp even be doing "wooing" someone not Kaya and around her he is just Usopp but more sappy. Still, it's possible he was onto something with that nonsense about people liking when you say silly things about them wearing clothes or their faces being good, or maybe they actually do like being given useless stuff that they're just going to throw away later or.... Damn, what else had he gone on about? Arg! It had all just seemed like a huge waste of time and making a fuss over these bootless acts and words that didn't seem to mean anything much. Why should Zoro even bother!?

Oh, right. Because stupid [Preferred Hot Guy] and his stupid face and even stupider damn voice. Not that Zoro hadn't tried it his way first, it's just, well, the guy is clearly an idiot and it was his fault for making Zoro gets all - just - tch! Stupid!

And with Usopp's advice half forgotten before he's even finished, it doesn't exactly leave Zoro with a ton of others he can ask for ideas I mean, tch, he's certainly not paying Nami just so she can insult his haramaki again - it's comfortable, especially with his swords, and he's not wasting money on some itchy outfit he'll never want to wear - and he doesn't want Franky making a big deal out of it. Zoro just KNOWS he'd turn it into this whole thing and insisted on building a giant robot with Zoro's face painted on it or worse. And it would probably just end up smashing down [Preferred Hot Guy]'s door, just like it did when Sabo had asked for his help on putting together a surprise party for Koala. Sure, Sabo (and most the rest of Zoro's idiot friends) thought it was awesome, but Kaola was definitely not "woo"ed, and she was already dating Sabo forever by that point! Besides, Zoro is way too mature (and can't afford to fix his door after). No, giant heart-strewn robots definitely weren't what he needed.

Chopper is a kid, Brook is super old, Kuina is Kuina and Luffy is like his captain (they're not exactly pirates, just university kids, but Zoro thinks Luffy would definitely be his, that is if captains were reckless idiots that dragged you to all their stupidest, messiest, best adventures) and you can't ask kids, old people, rivals or captains about stuff like asking out crushes. Everyone knows that. Perona already is always trying to tell him what to do, he's not about to give her permission to boss him around. Johnny and Yosuke once said that Zoro could get any girl he wanted without even trying, but apparently that doesn't work on guys. If he asked Vivi she'd tell Nami. If he asked Jinbe he'd tell Luffy. He could ask Yamato, but the guy keeps slapping Ace on the back and yelling really loudly about what good friends they are, and again, Zoro is not as clueless as everyone seems to believe. He knows hopeless when he sees it (plus he's tried both fighting and talking to [Preferred Hot Guy] way too loudly and they got him about as far as Yamato....).

There is HER but.... no, he has his pride. Zoro would rather cut off his own feet than go to Robin and ask something so embarrassing. Besides, he already knows whatever answer she gives, he wouldn't't understand it. Or he WOULD but she'd also give him one of those SMILES like she just knows he doesn't understand it even though he totally does. Maybe.

At least some of it. Well, if the damn woman just said what it was she wanted him to know instead of making it some kind of demonic riddle!

And that leaves... Well, Zoro has always been proud, but he's not a fool. When Kuina defeated him he stayed until he became better, when Luffy was there to help him out after that asshole cop got in his face and handcuffed him to that lamppost, he let the annoying kid help, when he had the chance to train under Silvers Rayleigh, he took it and nevermind that it meant having to put his ego aside. Zoro would never let some hurt feelings stand in the way of victory.

And Zoro is only a little flustered and embarrassed he has to ask for help over something that is so nonessential and shouldn't even be that hard, but damnit he really wants things to work with this guy! And that means being good at flirting and dating and sex and compliments and relationship and everything. So he grits his teeth and does it.

Even if it's a strike to his ego having to ask Torao for help. Especially help with this whole... (Come on, he already asked the embarrassing part, just say it....)

"Really, Zoro-ya? You can't even say it? You need my help to get your little crush to notice you, right? To make him *want* you, I should say. Tsk, tsk, no need to get all indignant, Zoro-ya. And here I thought you would have preferred me being honest and to the point."

Would it be too much to tell the younger man how adorable it is to see him so flustered? Considering how easy he's made getting a reaction out of him, Law supposes it would be. Really, he should take pity on Zoro-ya, after the other boy worked up the courage to come to Law with such a request.

"That's quite the cute expression, Zoro-ya. Though what happened to the swordsman that gives me such a challenge on the mats. I certainly hope you're not so easy when it comes to showing your hand to your [Guy]-ya. Love is like any other fight; hardly worth the effort if there is no blood on the line."

[Why is Torao smiling at Zoro that way? It's.... Annoying, and Zoro doesn't like it! Gah!]

Okay, okay, so Law may enjoy himself a little too much at first. Can you blame him, when here is the overly confident, self assured, unimpressed Roronoa Zoro of kendo infamy standing here, openly admitting to Law's superiority? How can he resist the temptation of... Nudging the boy's (very easily pushed) buttons when he's giving Law such an opening?

Not to mention Zoro is one of the Strawhat gang, and while he always has been one of the more interesting tolerable, it still gives Law a great deal of satisfaction knowing that their usual method is running straight into every situation without a thought or care hasn't paid off. For once.

(What? Cora-san, it's not that he's laughing at Zoro-ya's misfortune! Don't give him that look! Law just likes that one of the Strawhats finally had to admit that Law is better than them.)

It's more than that, though. Law remembers the boy's blank stares the number of times Law played coy or made vague advances out of curiosity or boredom. Worst, he saw Zoro-ya's last attempt to talk to this guy he's apparently gotten himself so tied into knots over and.... Law can't believe someone can make such a mess when he's hot enough that, to be honest, he could have skipped right past the part where he used his mouth for something as pedestrian as talking. Law can already see [Preferred Hot Guy] would be more than happy to... Accommodate this more direct approach.

But Zoro-ya had asked for Law's guidance. He's hardly going to throw away such an opportunity. It isn't as if Law is going to stop Zoro from getting his [Preferred Hot Guy]-ya, but what about the next person that catches the kenshi's eye? No, it's better if he learns these skills properly.

Zoro: Tch, come on, how hard can it be? Just show me how it's all done so I can do it.

Law: *smirking* Just so long as you take our little lesson seriously, Zoro-ya.

Flirting goes well, date upcoming!

Zoro: So now what?

Law: *raised eyebrow, more concerned with his medical text book at this moment. He can't always just be amusing himself by teasing messing with this boy* Hmm. I thought you said the flirting worked. *As Law knew it would.*

Zoro: Yeah, now you have to show me the next part. Don't tell me you're backing out of your promise so soon, Torao!

Law: ....

Law: *Curiosity getting the better of himself, turning to look at the green haired boy with.... A weary thoughtfulness* You have the attention of your boy. What precisely is the problem?

Zoro: That was just the asking out part!

And while Law is helping to guide Zoro through all of it without being a diaster it's hard not to notice. Well, he already noticed Zoro was hot, but it's not just that. He's also cute. Like, in a way that makes Law smile this kind of stupid smile.

One that Zoro-ya informs him isn't nearly as annoying as his usual smile which only makes Law feel....

Oh.

Oh.

Fuck.

How did Law let this happen?

[hpalways]

genshin boys confessing to you

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Characters included: Childe, Zhongli, Diluc, Kaeya

Warning: Nothing ( Except for the fact this is the first time I’ve written something like this LOL. I apologize if this is not how you write scenarios/hcs cus uhhh idk)

Childe/Tartaglia

He wasn’t sure how to go about it. Maybe it was the way he had held himself back from you for so long -- hiding his true self like the two faced bastard he truly was. 

For the entirety of his life, he spent on the idea of chaos. Now that love had been introduced to him, it was like another new field of adventure for him to overcome. 

The last thing he expected in his lifetime was to experience romance. Albeit, you were there, wrapping him around your finger, alluring him in wholly. He had enough of his feelings eating him away, and knew that he had to confess tonight. 

You were brought to the Liyue Harbor at night. The golden lights illuminating the city was beautiful and it mesmerized you instantly. But to him? You were the more beautiful than the stupid structures that made him feel homesick. To him, you were home. 

You asked him what was wrong, but he merely shook his head, a small smile adorn on his lips to cover the fact that he was getting unnerved. 

“Come, dear Comrade. Let’s go closer to the sea.” He wanted to get you somewhere more private, away from the crowds filled of unwanted attention. His hand wrapped around your wrist and his heart instantly raced. 

You leaned your arms at the edge of the dock and turned to look at him. He was giving you another smile, but this time, his dark blue eyes were crinkled. It was one of those sheepish smiles he’d give out; the kind that was genuine and pure -- the kind he’d only wear around you. 

“Can I tell you something?” He would not wait for a response before he’d blurt it out. “I like you, [Y/N].”

Throwing your arms around him, you told him that the feeling was mutual. 

Zhongli

He couldn’t stop thinking about the mere mortal -- you. Unsure and confused as to why you had been on his mind so often lately, he decided to invite you out to tea one night. Perhaps he could ask you about it -- after all, if he couldn’t figure it out, he might as well seek out the source of his turmoil.

Sipping the tea in silence, he tasted the sweet golden liquid in delight. The warmth it gave to his body reminded him of you. Hearing gentle words or feeling the touch of your hand would usually make him feel warm inside. 

He set the teacup down and fixed his gloves, thinking deeply that his brows furrowed. Leaning on the back of his chair, he suddenly made eye contact with you. 

You sent him a grin and took another sip of the tea. He blinked in awe and tried to regain his composure. Somehow, he would always find himself letting his guard down around you... but then this would happen! 

Perhaps he was overthinking. Everyone else always said that he did, despite him not seeing it. 

Finally choosing to tell you what was on his mind, he unbottled his feelings... in a rather abstract way. “You remind me of this tea. Just as it is when I drink its delightful honied taste, you impact me exactly as that. I feel warm around you and all my worries ease away the second you smile. Do you why know I feel this way, [Y/N]?”

You raised your brows in shock. Then you joked around, saying that it sounded as if he liked you. 

Much to your further surprise, he pondered and did not laugh along. His gloved hand stroking the bottom of his chin, he stared at the wooden oak of the table in deep contempt. “I think... that might be it. I think I like you.”

Diluc

He was in love with you, but he did not know how to voice it. Seen as stoic and quiet, he preferred to push his feelings down whenever he saw you at the tavern. 

He knew your favorite drink and would always have it prepared in case you chose to visit. And whenever he told you that it was in stock, he could see and relinquish the excitement you show. 

That night, as he handed you the alcoholic drink, your fingers brushed at the exchange and his cheeks warmed at the contact. He wished you would just leave so he could pay attention to his work, but instead, you asked him to join you. 

After much pleading from you and having the case of being weak against puppy faces, he relented and joined you at the table, after asking the other worker to cover him. 

He got the usual: grape juice. You teased him for his choice and he only rolled his eyes, yet the smile made its way on his face anyway. He was taken aback when you decided to drink grape juice along with him. You were going to stay sober for him? 

This gave him another push. He wanted so badly to just let his feelings out. 

You told him that grape juice was delicious and a surge of confidence tipped him over the edge. “There’s something you need to hear.” You looked at him with those eyes of yours, oblivious to his oncoming declaration. It nearly made him cower back again, but the love he had for you was stronger. “I have feelings for you.”

Blinking for a few seconds, you then smiled, almost in relief. “Took you long enough, doofus. Because I like you too. Why else would I visit the tavern so often?”

Kaeya

He was beginning to grow annoyed. Left and right, he had been dropping hints for the feelings he held for you, but being the dense person you were, you barely bat an eye at them. 

His fingers would twirl in your hair and he would whisper compliments into your ear. Expecting you to grow nervous around him, he was only met by disappointment when you rolled your eyes and called him a tease. 

That was true. He flirted often and pretty obviously. But these feelings were genuine for you! He loved your smile, your laugh, your demeanor, your everything. 

It scared him. Perhaps you didn’t like him that way. Perhaps he flirted with you too much it held no effect on you. 

There was one thing he could not do: Outright say that he liked you. The best he could do was to continue these shenanigans. 

Tilting his head dangerously close to your face, his heart dropped when your face contained no reaction to the proximity. Day after day, it was getting increasingly difficult. 

Finally deciding to give it one more go, his hint was a way more obvious one. It was blunt and it expressed exactly what was felt internally at that moment. “Can I kiss you?” 

You instantly backed away from him, your face falling in... betrayal. Hurt was clear in your eyes as tears prickled the corners of them. He didn’t know what to do. Rushing to you, he asked what was wrong, before embracing you, pulling you into his warm chest. 

You told him how unfair it was. You were tired of how he kept playing with your feelings -- tired because the teasing tugged your heart strings every time, for you wished they were true. You wished it was true he wished to kiss you, or thought that you were beautiful, or... that he liked you.

His jaw dropped and he knew he messed up. Stroking your hair, he understood that he had to come clean. Because you liked him! And he, you. 

“None of them are lies. You are beautiful... and I’m in love with you. Look me in the eyes [Y/N]. Does this look like the eyes of someone who’s lying?”

He asked if he could kiss you, truly, and with a meek nod on your end, he pressed his lips on yours. 

[clairecrive]

"it’s been months since we broke up and i just found one of your old sweatshirts in my wardrobe and it’s making me miss you" nikolai x reader with a happy ending pls?

A/n: I can't help myself but give my best man a happy ending, sorry not sorry. Hope you like it x

Warnings: angst, confrontation, happy ending

Word count: 2K

Tags: @jupiterandbutterflies, @agentsofshield, @for-bebbanburg, @randomoutsiders, @pansysgirlfriend, @hannaxmaria, @vintagebitc, @story-scribbler, @crowssixof, @odetostep, @lizzie-he4rts, @korol-lantsov, @subjecta13-thefangirl, @gallysonegoodlung, @a-c-lee, @mriddlemethis (tag list form)

SHADOW AND BONE MASTERLIST

A knock on the door in the middle of the night wasn't something you were expecting to happen. Merely because you were not expecting anyone. Even though, to be fair, it wasn't that late. And considering how everyone's so busy these days, with the Darkling threat looming over your heads, everyone is required to put in some work to plan a strategy that will assure our victory. Or at least, to contain the damage that surely the Shadow Summoner had planned to inflict upon those who had betrayed him.

Sleep was a luxury these days, so really, you shouldn't have been surprised by someone calling for you. Sighing, you walked to the door wrapping your robe around your body.

When your eyes fell onto the person behind the door, you froze. Now this, was a surprise.

You definitely weren't expecting your ex-boyfriend to knock on your door in the middle of the night a month after your break up.

"Nikolai?" the surprise was clear in your voice as well as weariness. If he was here that meant that something terrible must have happened.

"Were you sleeping?" he shuffled on his feet. As if seeing at your door after all this time wasn't baffling enough, his insecurity certainly was.

You shook your head. "Has something happened?"

"Yes," he said rolling his shoulders back. You stood taller as well, bracing for the bad news. "it’s been months since we broke up and I just found one of your old sweatshirts in my wardrobe and it’s making me miss you," he added and pulled something from behind his back.

It was your sweatshirt indeed, one of your favourites, certainly the most comfortable one. One that you usually used to sleep but it was also the one that you had left in his rooms. The break-up had been sudden in the sense that it had been a long time in the making but the bubble had broken abruptly, leaving you no time to retrieve your stuff.

Well, you could have gone to him and ask for your things but you had spent the last month trying to avoid him.

"Nikolai-" now your words were tentative, a slight warning in them. There was a reason why things had ended, after all.

"No, please, just hear me out." There was no insecurity in his voice anymore, nor in his body language. You knew the man in front of him, painfully aware of how stubborn he was. And the truth was that you had missed him too. Being so close to him and yet so far away had been one of the hardest things you had to do.

So you relented. With a nod, you let him in your room.

You closed the door and when you turned around you saw him sitting on your bed. You took a couple of step towards him but decided to stand at a safe distance from him. Nikolai's eyes were on you and you shifted on your feet under his gaze.

"What's there left to say?" You spoke since he didn't. His presence was unnerving enough on its own, embarrassing silence wasn't a surplus you needed.

"I'm aware of why we broke up, what you think. But I need you to know that it was a huge misunderstanding." He said, squaring his shoulders.

You scoffed, crossing your arms on your chest. "Really? And you waited a month to clear the air?"

"It wouldn't have been fair to you for me to have this conversation before." He stated as if he was during one of his diplomatic meetings.

"Because all this time, you've still been flirting with her."

"I wouldn't put it like that..." He slightly grimaced, his eyes leaving yours for the first time to move to his hands.

"Courting, wooing, pursuing, whatever Nikolai. I don't care how you'd put it. I don't care about what you do with her either." Gesturing with your hands, you sneered at his audacity. He wasn't going to get out of this on semantics. Nonetheless, it was over and you didn't want to show just how aggravated seeing him with Alina made you. "It's none of my business." You shook your head and moved towards your window, giving him your back.

"Well, maybe you don't care but I do. Maybe what I have to tell you won't change a thing but I need to at least try." He raised his voice, frustration clear in his words for your attitude. But you couldn't care less, you had just started. "Because this past month without you has been hell and I don't want to spend another day without you." His voice trembled a bit at the end and you knew that it wasn't easy for him to be this vulnerable with you.

"Don't tell Alina that." You teased him in a neutral tone. Back still to him.

"Alina doesn't care, y/n. And neither do I."

"Could have me fooled."

"It would have been a political union." Frustrated, he pointed out. You turned around this time, scoffing at the implicit insult.

"That much I had guessed, Nikolai." You weren't stupid. And you knew Nikolai. As soon as the first wave of pain and betrayal passed, you realized that it must have been a strategic move on his part. Not that it made anything better.

"You...did?" He almost stammered, eyes widening in surprise.

"Of course," you sighed, "but it doesn't make anything better. So if this is all you had to say, I'm afraid it doesn't change anything."

"But- it changes everything. I don't love Alina, I never have." He insisted, standing up from the bed and taking a step in your direction.

"You would have still married her though, wouldn't you?" You pointed out with a rhetorical question that he still felt like answering.

"Well, I-"

"And you didn't tell me anything, did you?" You continued this time without giving him time to speak. "So yes, maybe you didn't love her. Maybe you loved me but would that matter once you were married to her?"

"I'll tell you: no it wouldn't have. Because as much as I loved you, I wouldn't have let you made me your mistress. And you and Alina are good friends, I'm sure you'd grow to love her with time." Your voice has hardened, failing at carelessly exposing an eventual love blooming between them. But Nikolai didn't notice. He was still at the second sentence.

"Loved?"He whispered. Past tense.

"Did you expect me to hold a torch forever?" Your voice softened at his reaction but still- you weren't going to be around forever. He had made his choice, after all.

"Of course not," Nikolai mumbled as he sat down on the bed again and looked down at your sweatshirt still in his hands. You couldn't see his face and you knew that it was a deliberate move. Never had you seen him to defeated and crestfallen. His shoulders slumped, his fingers fisted the material in his hands.

Sighing, you closed the distance between you and sat beside him on the bed. Maybe you had been too harsh but it was an instinct for you to be so defensive. Even though his betrayal had hurt you immensely, hurting him back was never your intention.

"I don't think I could ever stop loving you." You whispered. Eyes latched on your fumbling fingers, you heave a sigh. This felt like the confession it was.

"But you can't expect me to be fine just because you explained Nikolai. It doesn't excuse the lies or the betrayal." You continued, wanting him to understand. Now that everything was out in the open, it was best to speak heart to heart.

"Indeed it doesn't. And I'm sorry I've hurt you, it was never my intention." He agreed and apologised but you shook your head. What good was it an apology now? It wasn't a matter of forgiveness anymore. There was now a lack of trust and you didn't know how to handle it.

"How do you think I would have reacted? What if she said yes, uh? What then, Nikolai? Would an "I love you" fix everything?" Speaking no matter the lump of your throat, you turned to face him. His eyes were already on you. They were glossy and one of his hands reached out to yours to hold it.

"I knew she was going to say no. And I knew that it was a low move on my part considering that you're my whole heart but I couldn't have lived with myself if I didn't at least try," he confessed. You nodded because you knew how much he cared for Ravka's future and having Alina on the throne would no doubt have a positive impact on all fronts.

"Because having her on the throne would have been advantageous for us, for Ravka. It would benefit us in so many ways that I had to try, at least. No matter the sacrifice." The last word came out as a whisper, his eyes flickering between yours and you understood the underlying message. But that was exactly the problem.

"What hurt me the most, Nikolai was that you made the decision for both of us."

"I'm not a strategist but I understand the power Alina holds. It would have still hurt but if you had told me, it would have been different." You explained as his eyes filled with an emotion that you recognized as regret.

"I'm sorry, y/n. I never wanted you to feel like you don't matter to me. Because you do. You have no idea how much you do. And I love you, I really do." His hold on your hands tightened and you were surprised to see how his lower lip trembled a bit.

"I love you too, Kolya." You confessed, unable to pretend the contrary. "But I don't know where to go from here."

"You don't owe me anything, my sweet. I wanted you to know and now you do. That's more than I deserve." One of his hands came up to caress your cheek as he gave you a small smile. You actually leaned to him, missing the touch, the closeness.

You missed him.

And yes, he had made a mistake. Yes, he had hurt you. But was it to the point of no return? To be fair, you knew that nothing had actually happened between him and Alina besides the proposal. And sure, that was certainly enough on its own but in a way that meant that it hadn't actually cheated.

He had surely betrayed your trust and lied to you. But trust could be regained. And work could be done on your relationships so as not to have these communication problems again.

The question is: were you willing to put yourself through that? Because it was not going to be easy. And there was a chance that it wasn't going to work.

His eyes boring on yours, you hoped to convey your insecurity to him. You knew he loved you. And you dearly loved him too. Maybe you could give him a second chance. If love was there maybe it was worth it to put in the effort to make it work.

Scratch that- it definitely was.

"What about what I deserve?" You whispered as your hands wrapped around his on your face.

"Everything and more, my love." His eyes flickered between yours hopefully. Trying to see if he could find the confirmation in them of what your words implied.

"Well, I think that I deserve a prince." You stated with a small smile.

"Even if he's unworthy of you?" He insisted, raising an eyebrow but mirroring your smile.

"I guess I can give him another chance to prove himself."

"He'd be most grateful, my dear. But I'm afraid he'll never deserve you." His face got closer to yours, nose almost touching. He cradled your face in his hands, his thumb stroking your cheeks.

"Enough with the charming, Kolya, I'm already yours. Come and get me." You chuckled with a roll of your eyes before eagerly tugging him closer to you.

"As you wish." He said before he kissed you. Slowly at first, almost as if he couldn't still believe that it was happening. Then with the hold on your face, he pulled you closer angling your face so as to deepen the kiss.

Your old sweatshirt laid discarded on your bedroom floor. Forgotten for the moment as you caught up on your lost time together.

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

I Owe You a Dance

Summary: Reader x Echo, pre and post Citadel

A/N: Hello Lovelies,

As most of you know, I love Echo, he is definitely one of my favourites, and this story idea came when I was coming up with a one-off for @kavecika, while we were talking I was like yes, this idea must happen. I hope you guys enjoy this. Thank you all for showing so much love for my stories and my crazy ideas. Love oo.

Warnings: Kissing, flirting, trauma, grief, I think that's about it, it's mostly fluffy.

Feel free to drop some love, a comment and/or a reblog, it’s always appreciated

AO3 Link   |   Words: 5,317 |   One Shot Master List  |   Main Master List

“Just ask her”

“I can’t”

“Echo, if you chicken out someone else will ask her, and then you’ll miss your chance”

“I know Fives, I just” Echo watched from across the mess hall at the new officer that had joined the 501st, all the guys heard, as soon as they had all the troopers casually made their way to the bridge nonchalantly introducing themselves to her. It also didn’t help that she was beyond gorgeous.

Hardcase, Jesse, almost all the guys were trying to find a way into her heart. She was pleasant enough, but never gave them an inch. She gave a simple smile, treated them with dignity, and remained friendly, but she never flirted back despite their efforts. Something Echo had noticed the times he was called to the bridge.

“Well, if you keep staring at her, it’s gonna turn creepy”

“I know, Fives! I … She … What … UGH!” Echo turned back to his food, yet his appetite was gone, since she walked into his life, everything seemed different. Food, air, colours, everything was dull, lifeless, Echo couldn’t take it anymore and pushed himself away from the table.

“Where you going, vod?” Fives called out

“For a walk, I’ll see you back at the barracks.”

“Echo, you haven’t touch…”

I didn’t hear the rest of what Fives was yelling, I just needed to get away from the mess hall, from the way those guys were flirting with her. There weren’t too many places on board the Resolute that were completely empty or that you could find a quiet place to think. I wandered around the halls for a while before deciding to head off to one of the closed hangars, a few were currently under repairs from the last time we encountered the Separatists. As I walked into the hangar, I noticed how everything looked abandoned, the scorch marks from the fire and explosions were gone.

I walked to the edge of the hangar and sat down with my legs hanging over. It was quiet, a lot better than the mess hall and away from all the giggles. I sat there for almost half an hour when I heard the door slide behind him.

I didn’t bother turning, I knew who it would be.

“How did you find me?”

There was no response, which was odd, Fives, never failed to fill a silence. The lack of response really puzzled me, I turned to call out Fives.

“Why are you being…” It wasn’t Fives, instead there was a very non-Fives looking person there, I kept my eyes focused on the eyes boring into my very soul.

“I’m … uh …”

“Hi” I offered

She offered a small smile, and a tiny wave, “Hi,” neither of us said anything.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt”

“It’s okay, would you care to sit?” I motioned to the space beside me, she simply nodded, and sat on the edge. Her face looked hesitant.

“You okay?”

“Never sat dangling my feet from a ledge in space before, it’s a bit unnerving”

“I can help you get up, if you don’t feel comfortable” I moved to stand, but her hand reached mine.

“No, I just need a minute”

I nodded, we sat for a little bit, when I felt her hand grip mine, I looked down to it. Her hands were smaller than mine yet they fit perfectly against my own, hers were soft, smooth, warm.

“I’m sorry” she started

“It’s okay, I get it, it's making you nervous”

“It is. You’re Echo, right?”

I was surprised she knew who I was, I nodded, not sure what to say really, ‘you know my name?’, ‘I didn’t think you noticed me?’ Nothing I said would have really made any sort of impact.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while”

“Really?”

She nodded to my answer, “You’re different”

“I am?”

“You’re sweet, and out of all the other guys on board” she motioned to the ship behind us, “you are the only one who hasn’t tried to flirt with me. You haven’t even introduced yourself.”

“I figured you had enough attention, I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable”

She smirked at that “Because staring at someone from across the mess hall wouldn’t make them uncomfortable”

“Oh, you saw that?”

“Yeah, Fives voice tends to carry” she laughed

“Yeah it does” we sat in silence for a little bit, “how are you like being on board the Resolute?”

“General Skywalker and Commander Tano are great, I really like them, Captain Rex is a good man, I admire the way the men respect him. Plus there’s this one ARC trooper who really caught my eye.”

“Really?”

“Hmmm”

“Fives can be a pain, but he’s a good guy”

She laughed again, “I’m sure he is, but he’s not the one that caught my eye, the one who’s sitting beside me and holding my hand is definitely someone I want to get to know. He’s humble, kind, a bit dorky, and sweet.”

“I’m not a dork”

“You are such a dork, but it’s a good thing.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah” she shifted closer, I moved slightly closer to her, “after all a dork keeps a respectful distance, until I make the first move.”

“That’s not being a dork, that’s being a gentleman”

“Getting really excited about orders and procedures, that’s not dorky?”

“That’s different, that’s being excited about your job”

“Oh, is that what you call it?”

“Yeah” her eyes locked with mine, we both leaned in, “you know for someone who’s really gorgeous, I’m surprised you went for a dork.”

“You think I’m gorgeous?” Her eyes shifted from my eyes to my lips

“Yeah, I do” I looked at her lips

“I’m a giant nerd, gorgeous is not my first thought” we were a hair’s breadth apart.

“What kind of nerd?” We both closed the distance, our lips crashed on each other. It was everything I could have imagined. Her lips were soft and warm, I moved my hand to her hair, I’d never thought she would have wanted me. We pulled apart, I looked at her face, her eyes remained closed, her cheeks had a slight tinge of pink. I watched as her eyes fluttered open, looking into mine, a smile graced her lips.

“I’m a huge nerd for procedures too” she beamed at me.

“I should probably take you out for a date, since you’re a fan of procedures” I teased, although in truth, I felt a bit guilty kissing her already.

“How about we go dancing?”

“I … I’m not a good dancer”

“That’s okay, neither am I, we can just dance all the really slow songs, that way we can just sway back and forth”

I passed my thumb over her cheek, “That sounds fun, we can go for dinner at Dex’s Diner first.”

“Maybe 79’s for drinks after?”

“After dinner or after dancing?”

“After dancing”

“That sounds fun” I smiled, “I feel I should apologize” she gave me a puzzled look, “I shouldn’t have kissed you before going on our first date.”

She giggled, leaning into my side, “well how about this be our first date”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, so tell me about what it means to be an ARC Trooper”

We spent several hours sitting in the hangar, just talking, laughing, getting to know one another, it was probably the best date I’d ever been on. Before long, I noticed she was starting to get sleepy.

“I think I should walk you to your quarters, you’re starting to fall asleep”

“‘M fine, you’re comfy”

“I’m glad to hear that” I smirked into her hair, “but if you roll off the edge, you won’t live, and I’d very much like to make sure you live long enough so I can take you dancing”

“Fine” she rubbed her eyes, she was beyond adorable. I shifted, till I was kneeling on the hangar floor. I helped her stand, but her feet were barely cooperating. I moved my arms under her knees and carried her down the hallway. A few troopers watched us, she curled into me, her hand clutching my shirt, I couldn’t help but smirk at her sweetness. I reached the hallway of the officers when I realized I didn’t know what door was hers.

“Sweetheart” I whispered in her ears

“Hmmm”

“I don’t know which is your door, I need your help”

“Ummm… last one on the left” she aimlessly motioned her hand, I couldn’t help but laugh a little, she was so completely out of it.

“I’ll still need your code” I reminded her as I carried her down the hall.

“1409” she mumbled

“What?” I asked, it couldn’t be right, her door code couldn’t be the same as my CT number.

“1409” she shifted her head a little, “why?”

I couldn’t hide the smile, “Don't worry sweetheart, I’ll tell you tomorrow.” I punched in the code, the door slid open, her room was sparse, there were a few pictures, I didn’t look that seemed too intrusive, and she’d probably show me in her own time. I laid her on the bed and laid a blanket over her tucking her in, I leaned down to brush her hair away and placed a kiss on her temple.

“Goodnight, sweetheart”

I walked to her door, looked back one more time, as her soft snores filled the room. I could stay there and watch her all night, but I needed to rest too. It didn’t take me long to make it back to the barracks.

“Where were you?” Fives asked, hanging off his bunk as he looked at me.

“I was just around” I didn’t want to tell him, but I couldn’t hide the smirk that appeared.

“You asked her out, didn’t you?”

“Maybe or maybe we had our first date”

“Did you kiss her?”

“Fives!”

“You did!”

“We’re not talking about this” I walked away, grabbing my sleep wear and went to the refresher. When I came out, I threw my blacks in the laundry pile, and headed to my bunk.

“How was it?” Fives asked

I let out a sigh, as my head rested on my pillow, “You're not dropping this are you?”

“No, just tell me, did you have fun?”

I smiled at that, “Yes”

“Good”

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

Fives and I walked on to the bridge, I looked over at my sweetheart, I saw how her face blushed when she saw me, since our first date three months ago, after dinner every night, we would go to the hangar and sit and talk, learn more and more about each other. We were about to have our first shore leave in months, and I’d finally be able to take her dancing.

“General”

“General” we both saluted General Skywalker as we approached him.

“At ease, Fives, Echo, I’m sorry, but your shore leave will be cancelled,” we both looked at each other than at Captain Rex.

“Was it something we did?” I asked

“No, Echo” Captain Rex began.

“Gentlemen, we are being assigned to a highly classified mission, once we land on Coruscant, the two of you, Captain Rex and myself will be going to the Jedi Temple to receive our orders. We will be teaming with Obi-wan and Commander Cody for this assignment.”

My eyes shifted slightly to my sweetheart, I saw how her back became rigid, “Of course, General” we both saluted and walked off the bridge, I gave a quick glance at my sweetheart, she gave a subtle nod. An indication that we would meet in our hangar. Thankfully they kept the hangar closed for now.

I looked at Fives, “Fives, I’ve got a bad feeling about this”

“You always say that”

“No I don’t”

“Yes, you do, and we always make it, right?” Fives put his hand on my shoulder. I had to admit, he was right, no matter what, we did make it back. I let out a sigh, and nodded.

“It’s just your nerves, it’ll be fine, trust me.”

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

“I’m sorry, I won’t be able to take you out on a proper date, I was really looking forward to dancing with you” I looked into her eyes as I brushed her hair behind her ear.

“That’s okay, love, so we’ll just go dancing when you get back. We’ve waited this long, what’s a few more days, right?”

“How did I get so lucky with you?” I leaned down pressing my forehead against hers.

“No, love, I’m the lucky one” we didn’t speak for a while, her hands were holding on to my armour, the way she clenched it, I could see she was feeling nervous.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?”

She let out a shaky breath, “I …” she looked into my eyes, stepping closer, “I trust you, Echo, I do. I just … I don’t like the fact that there is zero information provided for this assignment. I have a pretty high clearance and I couldn’t find anything. I have a really bad feeling.”

Knowing she was nervous, resurfaced the feelings I had just after the meeting with the General, I let out a shaky breath, “Honestly sweetheart, I’m a bit nervous too, but I think it’s because for the first time, I feel as though I have something to lose.”

“You think that’s why we’re both nervous about this”

“I do” I gave her my best reassuring smile, however, I knew my nervousness was more than just losing her, there was something about the way General Skywalker held himself, he was nervous too, something I rarely saw from my General. She wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my chest, there was barely any space between us and yet she kept pulling me in. I wrapped my arms around as tight as I could, “I promise, I’ll fight to come back, might take me a bit of time, but I will come back. Okay?” I placed a kiss on the top of her head.

“Okay” she looked up to me, “I believe you, Echo” she gave me her best smile, “at least we still have two days before we’re on Coruscant.”

“Exactly, now what to do with two whole days?” I teased, she gasped and smacked my arm. We both laughed, I hoped the teasing would calm our nerves, but as soon as the laughter died down, it hovered there. We just stood in the hangar wrapped in each other’s arms.

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

I was in my apartment, trying to keep the nerves at bay. We were supposed to be boarding the Resolute in a few days, I hadn't heard from Echo, the only news I did hear was that General Skywalker arrived back from his classified mission this morning. I waited for Echo to show up, I figured he hadn't been able to contact me, maybe there was a mission briefing which was keeping him away. At least we still had a few days before we had to leave so we'd still be able to have our date. I sent him a ping, but there hadn't been a response.

I was preparing lunch for us, when a knock came on the door. I turned off the stove, and moved the pot to another burner, rushing to see my love, I couldn't wait to be in his arms again. Except when I opened the door Fives was standing there.

“Fives! Welcome back!” I threw my arms around him, I looked around him to see Echo, “Where’s Echo? Is he running late? Come on in.”

I motioned for Fives to follow me, “I just made Echo and I lunch, there’s enough for you too, if you’d like some. So where’s Echo? You know, for a stickler for procedure, he’s always late” I didn’t want to stop talking. If I didn’t stop talking, Fives wouldn’t be able to correct me. He wouldn’t be able to tell me what I sensed he came here to tell me.

“So, you hungry? I don’t know if you'll like it, I’m not sure if Echo will like it, but I figured I’d give it a try. He can tell me what he likes, maybe if I know his favourite food, then I can…”

“You need to stop” Fives cut me off, his tone was soft, and hurt.

“I can't” the lump that I was trying to ignore rested on my throat. I heard Fives come up behind me. He placed a gentle hand on my arm, and turned me. I closed my eyes, if I didn’t see the pain in his eyes, if I didn’t see the hurt, then it didn’t happen, right. Our fears didn’t come true.

“Please look at me” Fives voice began to crack

“He’s not coming, is he?” I let out as a tear came down my cheek, I opened my eyes to see Fives had been shedding his own tears.

“No, he’s not coming” the confirmation broke me, I fell to my knees. Fives did his best to hold me, as the both of us sat there completely shattered, crying. Eventually, Fives picked me up and had me sit with him on the couch, he told me about the mission, how Echo … the reason he wasn’t coming back. I didn’t say anything for a while.

“Say something”

“He lied”

“What?”

“Echo, he lied to me, he said he’d come back to me, that he’d fight to come back, but he lied. He’s not coming back. He’s not fighting for me.”

“He tried, I think that’s why he tried to go for the shuttle, he wanted to get back to you.”

“Thank you, for telling me”

“Captain Rex said he’d come and visit you tomorrow. He also said if you needed a few days, he’d smooth it over with the General.”

“No, I’ll be ready. You’re not getting time off, so why should I”

“You don’t…”

“I’m not taking it.”

Fives simply nodded, “I’ll give you space, if you need anything comm me, okay?”

I nodded.

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

“Officer, can I speak with you for a minute”

I looked up to see Captain Rex standing by my station, I nodded, and headed over to the Captain’s office. It had been four years since Echo passed away, and a year since Fives. I had never moved on from Echo, I know sometimes some of the guys, Jesse and Kix had told me I should try to move on, to meet someone new, but I just couldn’t. I don’t know why but I just felt like I’d be cheating on him.

“Everything okay, Rex?”

“Yeah, vod’ika, it’s just …” he looked tired, stressed, I sat in front of his desk and reach forward to grab his hand.

“Hey Rex, I’m here, what’s up?”

He squeezed my hand, and patted it with his other, “It's the last attack, Cody and I are … we believe something’s off, the way the Separatist are attacking, it’s like they know what we’re planning before we even do.”

“You think we have a traitor?”

“It won’t be the first time, but I actually believe that they somehow tapped into our database. I’m going with Cody, Jesse and Kix, to find out what’s going on.”

“Oh” I felt the butterflies in my stomach, I couldn’t lose anymore, I had already lost Echo, Hardcase, and Fives, I tried to fight the tears that wanted to escape, “please be careful, I can’t lose you guys too” I locked eyes with Rex, he nodded.

“We‘ll do our best vod’ika”

I nodded, I stood to walk away, “I miss him too” Rex called out before I walked out of his office.

“I still dream about him,” I swallowed the warm bubble, “it’s so real, when I wake up, I expect him there.”

“Me too” I heard Rex shift from his seat and come up behind me, “I miss how he made you smile and laugh, you still had a bit of light with Fives, but after Fives … it’s like the light went out in you, vod’ika.”

“Having Fives, made it still feel like he was here, but now …”

“I know” he laid his hand on my shoulder, I turned to look at the Captain that became a brother to me, “I wish I could see that light in you again, even if something happens to me on this mission, please promise me, you’d try to find that light. Please.”

I nodded, he pulled me into a hug, nothing else needed to be said, as silent tears fell down my face.

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

I received a comm when I was at my apartment, “Rex?”

“Hey vod’ika”

“You made it back!” I couldn’t keep the joy out of my voice, at least Rex made it back.

“Yes, we all made it back. Vod’ika, I need you to come meet me.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we just need to talk.”

“That doesn’t sound good”

“Just, trust me, please”

“Alright, tell me when and where”

- - - - - - - - - - -

I waited at 79s, the place was busy as always, a few of the 501st were there, they all waved and came to greet me, but everyone left me alone, they all knew there was no trying. I would always be Echo’s girl, that would never change.

“Hey vod’ika”

I turned to Rex who took the stool beside me, I pushed his drink to him, “Hey Rex, glad to see you’re in one piece.”

“Me too”

“Why did you want me to meet you at 79s, it’s really not your scene”

“I wanted to talk to you about something, and I needed some liquid courage before I did”

“Oh, okay. Sounds serious”

“It is” I watched as he downed his drink in no time. He ordered one more, and downed that too. My eyes went wide, I knew he could drink, hung out enough times with him, Kix, Fives, Jesse and Hardcase to know that, but he never did two shots back-to-back like that.

“This must be huge for you to take two shots”

He let out a sad chuckle, “Let’s go for a walk”

“But you just got here”

“I know, but trust me, please”

I nodded, I finished my drink and left the credits on the counter, we headed out of 79s, we started walking along the promenade.

“Alright, you gonna keep me in suspense or you gonna tell me what’s going on? Was it a traitor, is that what you’re going to tell me?”

“No, it wasn’t a traitor, and they … in a way they did tap into our data base, but …”

“But …” I watched as his hands rubbed his face, we stopped at a bench, the street was empty, odd for the time of night, but then with the increased Separatist activity more and more people were staying home. Rex motioned for me to take a seat.

“We traced a signal, a signal that had a repeating number.”

“Okay” I shrugged

“They were holding a clone hostage”

“Who was holding a clone hostage?”

“Techno Union on Skako Minor”

“Is he okay? How long was he there?”

“He’s … relatively okay, after all they did to him, he was in their hands for a number of years.”

“That poor man. What do you mean relatively okay?”

“They did experiments on him, fixed him after he had been injured in an explosion, but the Techno Union turned him into more of machine, they replaced his legs after he lost them in the explosion with droid’s legs. They also replaced his forearm with a scomp link. They even turned his brain into a computer.”

“Those bastards, please tell me you got them all, that you made them pay for what they did.”

“Yeah we did”

“I can’t even imagine what that poor clone must be feeling, to be in the hands of those … monsters for so many years. Will he be getting help?”

“I hope so”

“Why do I have a feeling that’s not the only reason you wanted to meet me?”

“Well it was, but it’s not the complete story”

“What is the complete story?”

Rex turned to look me in the eyes, “He’s been held captive for four years”

“Four years … why … Rex?”

“Remember I said the signal kept repeating a number?”

I didn’t answer, I could feel the tears, please, don’t let it be him, please don’t let him have been in the hands of monsters for four years.

“The number was …” Rex took a deep breath “1-4-0…”

“No!”

“Vod’ika”

“No! No, Rex! Don’t tell me that he’s been … No! He’s dead, he died. He wasn’t held captive! He wasn’t tortured! He’s dead!”

“I’m sorry vod’ika”

I felt as though Fives had come to tell me Echo had died all over again, the tears were coming hard and fast, Rex pulled me into his arms and held me, as I completely broke down. He held me for a while, before I was able to compose myself.

“Where is he?”

“He’s at the barracks”

“I need to see him”

“Vod’ika I’m gonna warn you, he’s not the same Echo, not right now, maybe in time he will be, but he’s finally getting a chance to heal”

I pulled out of my vod’s arms, “I understand Rex, I do”

“I’ll see him tomorrow and see if he wants to see you”

“Rex, tell him he has no choice but to see me, tell him I don’t care what he looks like, I need to see him.”

“I’ll try”

“Tell him, I’ll meet him anywhere”

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

I sat in my apartment, my palms were sweaty, my stomach was queasy. Rex had told me that he had finally persuaded him to come see me, he wanted to do it somewhere we wouldn’t be stared at, or made him uncomfortable. I offered my apartment and that seemed to be acceptable.

It had been four years since I last saw him, four years, since I felt his arms, four years since I looked into his eyes, four years since I felt his lips. I waited four years for a miracle and it finally came.

*Knock, knock*

I stood from my couch, I fixed my hair one more time, readjusted myself. I took a deep breath before the door slid open.

I looked at the clone standing before me, his skin was pale, clearly he had been hidden away, his face was thin, he kept his arms behind his back.

“Hi” I finally offered a smile gracing my lips

“Hi sweetheart” Echo replied, a smirk appeared

That’s all I needed before I threw my arms around him, I pulled him into me, his arms wrapped around me. We stood in the doorway both of us shedding silent tears, eventually I pulled away.

“Want to come in?”

He simply nodded, I wiped the tears from his face, and grabbed his hand, pulling him in to the apartment. He looked around the room. He stood by the door, keeping his distance, even when I grabbed his hand, he didn’t reciprocate the gesture, he just let me hold on to it, and let it drop unceremoniouslyfrom my hand.

“How have you been?”

“Echo, you don’t have to try that hard”

“I … I don’t know why you wanted to see me”

The statement blew me away, “Seriously?”

“Yeah, I mean look at me, why would you want to see this?”

I walked closer to him, “Echo” I reached for his hand again, but he pulled back, I let my hand return to my side, “I wanted to see you because I needed to, I … I never stopped loving you.”

Echo turned his face from me, “Why? You could have found yourself a good man, a man who could have given you so much more.”

“Echo, I never wanted anyone else, since the moment I saw you on the Resolute, I’ve never wanted anyone else. You’re all I ever wanted.”

I saw a tear slide down his cheek, “Echo, please look at me” he didn’t turn his head, I was out of my depth, I wanted to grab his face, I wanted him to look into my eyes, I wanted to press my lips on his, I wanted to caress his face, but maybe that was overstepping it.

“Echo?” He finally turned to look at me, “I don’t care what you look like, I’m so sorry for everything that happened to you. I can’t even imagine what you went through, or what they did. I will make it my personal mission to destroy every single one of them for hurting you.” I stepped closer, he didn’t seem to flinch, “I told you, I would wait till you came back, that a few days more was no big deal,” I stepped closer again he didn’t move.

“Echo, you told me you’d fight to come back for me. I could never move on from you Echo, every night I’d go to bed dreaming of you. There were times” tears started to well up, “when all I wanted to do was be in a coma because then” the tears started to slip down my face, “then I’d be with you all the time.” I stepped closer, Echo was crying too, “I love you, Echo, that’s not going to change, not time, not death, not what the Techno Union did to you, nothing. Nothing is going to change how I feel about you. I’ll understand if you don’t want me, but I still want you. I can’t breath without you Echo, when you … when I thought you died, I died too. You are everything to me, Echo. Even if you only wanted to see me today and never again, at least I’ll know that you’re alive, I’ll be able to live, because you did. I’ll be able to breathe, because you’re breathing.”

I closed the distance between us, “I will follow wherever you lead, because you’re my Echo, you are my life, my heart, my soul, having you back means I’m back too.”

I reached my hand to brush away some of his tears, “Echo, I’ll tell you every day, every hour, every minute, every second, that I am here for you, however you’ll let me.” I felt his hand rest on my back, as his scomp wrapped around my back too, the pressure was light, he was hesitant.

“Sweetheart, you’re the only thing that kept me alive, during all that time, I just kept picturing your face, kept seeing your beautiful smile.”

I raised my other hand, I gently caressed his face.

“I’m glad you fought, my love”

“They … I … I’m not …”

“Echo, you don’t have to tell me right now, we can take this really slow, okay? I just want to be here for you.” He nodded as another tear streamed down his face, my thumb caught it, as I gently brushed it away. I looked over to the radio, and smiled at him.

“You know, there’s something we can do that we hadn’t done but always planned to, when we were both back on Coruscant.”

He looked at me, his face puzzled, I didn’t say anything, I pulled out of his hold and walked over to the radio, I found a slow jazz song, an old favourite of mine. I turned to look at Echo a small smile pulled on his lips, he walked over to me, his hand reached up and brushed back my hair, a gesture he had done a million times before.

“I do believe I owe you a dance, sweetheart”

“No time like now”

He pulled me into his arms, I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him in tighter until there wasn’t any space left, we slowly began swaying, I rested my head on his chest, I closed my eyes listening to the familiar heart beat I memorized all those years ago, his cheek rested on the crown of my head.

“Sorry, it took so long, sweetheart”

“It was just a few extra days, love.”

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An Unfinalized List of Characters in FFVII Remake, In Order of Who Wants to Get Into Cloud's Pants Least to Most

To be finalized when I finish the game. A note: this is the first Final Fantasy game I have played, so I have no nostalgic connection to these characters.

Barrett - A fanatic. All his passion is wrapped up in The Cause. Literally uninterested in anything but the cause. If there was a physical way to make sweet love to the cause, he'd do it. He'd settle for someone who cared about it as much as he does. Deeply uninterested in Cloud.

Aerith - I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. Maybe I'll change her position as the game goes on, but right now she's mostly interested in Cloud the way one might be in an undersocialized cat. Kinda worried, but also laughing a bit as it tries to make sense of its new supportive environment.

Reno - only had one fight with him so far, but he only flirted with Cloud like two or three times in that whole 15-min fight, which is well within the range of flirting during battle that is acceptable for making jokes or attempting to unnerve your opponent. Would he fuck Cloud? Who knows, he is currently an enigma to me.

Biggs - He clearly is a part of Team Re-Socialize Cloud Properly. He wants to be Cloud's casual dude-buddy. Invite him over for an equivalent of a game day night hangout with beer and pizza. If they were both drunk and Cloud offered a friendly mutual-exchange handjob, Biggs would be up for it, but it'd probably only be the once. Also, Cloud would never offer so their bro-ship is pretty safe.

President of Shinra - If there was something in it for him, like increased market share or it was part of a 14-step plan to something else, he’d do it. But I don’t think he’d enjoy it very much.

Heidegger - Not interested in and of itself, but that’s a man who would deeply enjoy some sort of humiliation fuck with Cloud, just because he’s clearly the kind of guy to get off on public and private humiliation. He’d do it as some sort of powerplay, possibly in front of cameras.

Wedge - OKAY HERE’S THE THING. Wedge is a beautiful mystery to me. He clearly hero-worships Cloud, openly seeks his approval and goes out of his way to help and assist Cloud any chance he gets. But, does that translate to romantic/sexual interest??? Or does he simply view Cloud as cool-older-brother material? I put him this high because after some consideration, I concluded that if Cloud ever made a move towards him, Wedge would absolutely jump at a chance to be involved with him. Fortunately, as above, Cloud would never offer, which is good since that relationship would be awful for both of them.

Jessie - So by all rights, she should be higher, since every third sentence out of her mouth is assuring Cloud that she would love to take a ride on that, anytime and anywhere he wanted. But I don’t actually think, under the smokescreen lascivious behavior, that she’s actually that interested in Cloud. Would she cheerfully sleep with him if he made even the slightest twitch towards her? Yes, 100%. But I just can’t see her doing it more than a handful of times before she got bored, unless Cloud has some masterful techniques, which we all know he doesn’t. Jessie’s more interested in the chase, in wearing down the resistance. She’s not interested in Cloud, per se, she’s interested in the character he’s playing, which is fun considering she’s playing her own character 24/7.

Roche - Oh he definitely wants some rivalry sex. He wants to have Cloud as his eternal rival, dancing together in fighting and in bed. This is probably what he considers a romance, and he’d love to both win and lose against Cloud forever, until they’d burned down the city between them. I put him higher than Jessie because he is technically interested in Cloud as a person, even though he has deeply misinterpreted what kind of person Cloud is. If he doesn’t show up again, either later or in the next game to try to fight/seduce Cloud again, I will be very surprised.

Tifa - Oh girl. She got it bad. She not only wants Cloud physically, she desperately wants a romance from him. They grew up together, and then he left, and then they meet again and it’s so clear that something in him is broken, and she wants desperately to be the one to fix it. She wants to be his sweet, loving angel who embraces him softly and brings him back to humanity. She is the president of the Re-Socialize Cloud Properly club (with Biggs as vice president and Aerith as treasurer). She is totally and fully in love with him, but she doesn’t get why the love of a good woman isn’t fixing what is clearly so wrong with him. Poor girl. Terrible choice for romantic partner, unless she wisens up.

Sephiroth - We all saw this coming. He has shown up in game possibly-for-real like, four times, each time smirking that little smirk at Cloud and saying things like ‘I would be loath to live in a world where you and I are not bound together’ and ‘I am your everything’ and maybe pinning Cloud to the ground. Sephiroth doesn’t just want Cloud, he craves Cloud. If he could cut Cloud open and intermingle their very essences together, he’d do it. He’d like to consume Cloud totally, envelop him so that all Cloud does or thinks about is him. If he could personally give Cloud every mouthful of air he breathes, he’d do it. Interestingly, Sephiroth is the only one who I’d ping as Cloud being interested in in return. Cloud’s an emotionless, stoic little traumasack, and the only person thus far he’s had strong emotional reactions to is Sephiroth. Now, granted, they’re all desires to kick his ass, or disbelief, or even fear, but at least that some sort of handhold that no one else has. Poor Tifa didn’t even start getting such basic decencies as ‘listening to your friends problems and trying to help’ or ‘vaguely courteous responses to questions’ until an old woman lectured him about being a dick.