#i always get a few sweaters for christmas and like that's enough. like once a year i buy a funny custom tshirt

[wndaswife]

To your stepmother’s surprise, you come home from a Christmas party asking for her to care for you; it’s been months since her wedding to your father and months since you’ve paid her any attention at all.

Tags: angst, kiiinda fluffy, stepmom wanda loving you so so much, almost nearly unrequited love

drabble for matriarchal disturbance

I forgot my keys. 

You texted Wanda some time during the evening once you realized you had forgotten them, and since she was the only one at home until tomorrow, she’d have to let you in. Or at least keep the door unlocked. 

Oh no. It’s okay, I have work to do so I can unlock the door when you come home. :)

It was Christmas break and you were home for just a little, so you were out drinking with some friends from high school and some of their new college friends. 

Wanda had texted you a week or two prior asking when you might be coming home. You didn’t answer — you didn’t ever feel in the mood to talk with your stepmother — but you knew it was still her curiosity talking through your father when he called a few days after you left her on read, asking the same question. 

They were both happy to have you home, but Wanda particularly, though you could tell she was trying not to be overbearing. 

She offered to make you tea or coffee once you were unpacking and offered to make you whatever you wanted for dinner that evening, and very subtly tried asking if you’d be home all break or if you might consider staying longer than when you planned to leave. 

Your holiday break ended much later than the day you were planning on leaving, but you didn’t want to stay around much longer than was necessary — you’d spend New Year’s at home, and then you’d leave. 

You weren’t really excited to be home, but you weren’t so cruel as to not come back for the holidays. 

Still, you weren’t really looking forward to having to deal with your stepmother’s longing, curious looks, always wanting to talk with you or bring something up but not knowing how to and not wanting to spoil her limited time with you. 

The feeling you got from seeing her look at you from the corner of your eye wasn’t necessarily all a form of annoyance, but some kinds of pity too, and perhaps some guilt. 

There was something about the Christmas party that sorta had you feeling down, and you weren’t quite sure what it was, though perhaps it was simply because there were many things that had bothered you and you just couldn't pin it down to one thing. 

It was something about meeting some of your friends’ other friends, and even some of their new partners. You hadn’t drunk anything, and perhaps it would’ve been worse for you if you did — you tended to get a bit more emotional while drunk. 

All in all, you just felt… left out. And like you were missing something, or like you never wanted to be there at all. 

You wanted to be somewhere you belonged and where your presence was not only enjoyed but needed — somewhere it was warm and loving and kind and soft. 

While seeing all your friends together with their new ones and their partners, you just kept thinking of Wanda.

And you really hated yourself for it. 

You wanted to go home to see her, and you knew you couldn’t stop it, because you’d been thinking of her all night. So you drank enough to feel just a little drunk — to get just enough confidence to make a bad decision — and went back home early. 

From the window facing the street, you could see through the curtains that the living room lamp was on.

Wanda opened the door when you knocked like she said she would. From the door, you could see a book laying on the couch. She smiled at the sight of you. 

“Did you have fun?” she asked immediately, stepping back a bit to allow you in. Then she said sympathetically after taking a better look at you, “You look a bit tired.”

You thanked the stars for having taken a few shots before you left. 

You stepped into the house and wrapped your arms around Wanda, feeling the warmth of her knitted sweater against your cheek, then against the tip of your nose when you turned your head to bury your face in the crook of her neck. Her hair tickled the space between your eyebrows. 

There was a split moment before she wrapped her arms around you that would have been indiscernible if you hadn’t felt how immediate her embraces were a million-and-one times before. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” Wanda asked, having turned her head to look down at you so the breath of her soft whispered voice blew warm and gentle against your ear. 

“I wanna be your baby again,” you confessed — stupidly. 

Wanda tried to speak immediately for how she felt deep in her chest when you spoke the words she had only dreamt would come out of your mouth ever since the wedding, but found she could speak only in stutters. 

Then she finally said, “You’ll always be my baby, Y/N.”

You hugged her tighter and you knew that if you hadn’t been just a little bit drunk, you would’ve been angry at what she had just said. But now, it could nearly make you cry. 

“Can you bring me to bed?” you mumbled quietly into her neck, still seemingly a bit embarrassed through your drunken state. 

“Of course,” she answered, smiling down at you. This was the closest you’d been to her in months, and likely the longest you’ve spoken to her with undivided attention in that same span of time too. She almost didn’t want to move at all for how you’d unwrap your arms from around her once you headed up the stairs together. 

You unwrapped yourself from around her body and she closed and locked the front door; you’d literally just been standing embracing each other in the wide-open doorway for several moments. 

Then you swiped at your eyes when you pulled away in case you accidentally had cried. 

Wanda smiled at you sweetly, and a bit tiredly too, and you knew she must’ve finished her work a little bit ago and decided to stay up to wait for you. She took your hand and you walked up the stairs beside each other in silence. 

She squeezed your hand and you squeezed back, and Wanda looked over her shoulder at you shyly as you stared down at the steps of the staircase. 

“Can I help you get ready for bed?” she asked once you both arrived in front of the washroom. 

You nodded silently then looked up at her with a small smile. “I just have to get my stuff from my bags,” you told her. Then, a bit hesitantly, you let go of her hand and walked towards your bedroom. 

Wanda turned on the washroom light and paced around a little, playing with the knitted fabric of her sweater nervously and checking her hair a bit in the mirror, and even trying to repress a tiny smile as she couldn’t help but make comparisons to how it all used to be before the wedding. 

But she didn’t want to get ahead of herself — after all, every day after this would be different, and whatever had caused you to come seeking her comfort wasn’t guaranteed to happen again from tonight onwards. 

You came into the washroom with a little bag of your toiletries and started unpacking them, starting with makeup wipes and face wash then everything else. 

“Come lean against the counter,” Wanda said, and you did. She began removing your makeup with one of your makeup wipes, the fingers of her other hand delicately perched under your chin to keep your face in the light. 

She was gentle with how she swiped against your face, and thorough with taking all the makeup off. 

Wanda was always so nice and gentle. In taking care of you, and in treating you in any way, really, she always did it as if you were delicate, and special to her too. She never wanted to hurt you, never wanted to make you feel like you weren't the most important thing in the world to her. 

You felt like crying, but really didn’t want to ruin how casual you were trying to make everything seem. 

She must’ve noticed how your eyes were filling with tears because once she finished she set the makeup wipe down and held you to her chest wordlessly, running her hand down the side of your head soothingly with her other arm wrapped around your waist. 

She seemed to understand that you still had your reservations about being with her like this again, and that you weren’t trying not to get into things too quickly. 

Even so, she couldn’t help but… hope, even just a little, that the feeling of how she held you and brought you close might make you miss her enough to want to be her baby again for more than just an evening. 

“I’m gonna brush my teeth and stuff,” you mumbled and straightened out of her hold, swiping at your eyes again.

Wanda packed up your makeup wipes and slid it back into the toiletry bag you brought. 

Quietly, you asked, “Can I sleep with you?”

You weren’t really sure where to look when you asked, so you tried to keep busy getting your toothbrush ready. 

But when Wanda replied with a gentle, almost eager, ‘Of course,’ you couldn’t help but look over at her to see her smiling at you.

You looked away while she told you that she would also change and get ready while she waited for you — her shared bedroom had a washroom in it. 

Wanda felt ridiculous for how she felt in her stomach — a familiar fluttering feeling dancing around where it would when you were still together. Sometimes Wanda reasoned the memory of the feeling up to a fantasy, that perhaps she may have recalled it as differently as it had been for it’d been so long since she’d felt it. 

But it was exactly the same as she recalled. 

And it was only with you. 

She hadn’t realized she had been smiling until she heard you come into the bedroom, and she instinctively relaxed her face so as to not be overzealous and overwhelm you. 

“Are you ready for bed?” she asked, closing the door of the walk-in closet as she stood in her pajama shorts and tank. 

You nodded then looked away from her for how happy you felt to be asked that, to soon be adorned by Wanda’s kisses and touched by her gentle, loving hands and embraced by her arms the moment you got into bed. 

Wanda seemed to be hesitant at your reluctance for a moment. Her fingers twitched with the urge to walk over and embrace you, to kiss your lips and lead you to her bed. But instead, restraining herself, she went to bed first, getting under the covers and looking over at you encouragingly. 

Silently, you followed after closing the bedroom door. 

She turned off the lamp on her side and you hesitated for a moment before you reached over and did the same. 

Then you were blanketed in the darkness of the bedroom, and for a moment you couldn’t see Wanda in your peripheral vision at all; you could for a moment construe the feelings of blankets under your hands as being in your own bed instead of hers. 

For a moment you felt glad to imagine you had made it all up, but then you felt terribly disappointed and lonely again. 

Without Wanda, it was always just a little bit… lonely. 

But the burst of sudden feelings was contained only within a few moments’ time, for your eyes soon adjusted and you could see the shadow of your stepmother beside you. 

She reached out for you, her hand moving under the blankets and placing it on your bare thigh. She moved closer. 

“Don’t be nervous,” she said quietly. “It’s okay.”

You’d been here before — in Wanda’s bed without your dad being home, in her company, in the spotlight of her undivided attention, in the warm shower of all her heart could pour out for you and only you. 

It was was familiar with Wanda and you knew it for it was the closest thing you’d felt in a while to being somewhere you were certain you belonged in. 

Then she added, “I want you here, Y/N.”

Like you had asked her, Wanda babied you — she cared for you. Her other hand wrapped around your waist and she slowly urged your body to lay down beside her. 

She didn’t stop there; she moved herself onto her elbow only slightly to gain height over you, then cupped your furthest cheek with her hand. She kissed your face gently, tenderly, on your temple then on your cheekbone, and your chin. 

Not your lips — not unless it was you who made an advance towards her first. 

You turned and wrapped an arm around her torso securely, burying your face in her chest. She lowered herself back down and wrapped her arms around you immediately. 

Squeezing your eyes shut, you muttered against her, “I love you.”

In the morning when you arose before her, you carefully peeled yourself away from a soundly-sleeping Wanda. There was a pang in your chest as you sat at the edge of the bed, recalling how she held you close after you had told her you loved her.

She held you in a way that communicated desperation and longing; it wasn’t only sweet and tender like she always was, but pained, too. She had cradled the back of your head to her chest, rubbed your upper back and pressed her lips against the top of your head. 

She might’ve nearly said that she loved you a fourth time, though you presumed she had tried to contain the way she wanted to pour herself out for you right then and there. 

You turned and watched as she dozed, her body the very same that you were held against through the night, the same you had thrown yourself into her arms of and were accepted and loved and cared for like you wanted, like Wanda wanted. 

How at peace she seemed having gone to sleep with you in her arms, with all she had been longing for warm in her embrace and sleeping in the eternal comfort of her loving. 

If you were honest with yourself, and you tried to be for how often you lied to Wanda, you didn’t think it was a lie when you told her you loved her, for you still did. 

And you still could, inviting her over to your place and responding to her calls and texts when you were away, letting her care for you and at the very least not pretend she wasn’t always looking at you, waiting only for your eye contact as cue for her to bring up one of the dozens of questions and worries she had about the life that you no longer shared with her — which was to say, all of it. 

Wanda stirred and her fingers flexed outwards slightly, reflecting a slowly-rising sun’s beams against her wedding ring, before she relaxed again, still in deep sleep. 

Just under an hour later once Wanda woke up to find you gone, she texted asking where you were. 

When she texted, you knew that she must have looked first to see if you had moved to your own bed, for you had left and decided to go on a drive. 

She messaged: Have you gone out?

Sitting in a parking lot of a walking trail with the breakfast you picked up, the sun only just having fully risen, you texted back. 

Forgot something at Kate’s last night.

She asked if you were going to eat breakfast there or if you would be home to have breakfast with her; she’d make some now so it could be ready by the time you got back. 

You tried to keep eating after choosing to leave your stepmother on read, but soon lost your appetite. Instead, you went on a walk that lasted until the early afternoon when your dad got back home. 

As you had planned, you went back to your place on the second of January, and that evening wasn’t ever brought up. 

[m0nsterqzzz]

(wife) Natasha Romanoff x reader

word count: 1.8 k

- Snow Day -

summary - snow days with your wife and kids

a/n - ahhhhhh i love snow and natasha.

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The moment Natasha jumps on top of you at 7am is the moment you decide to divorce her. 

Not seriously, but you did threaten to as she shook your body and practically screamed, “It’s snowing detka!” You opened one eye and sure enough, there was ice frost covering the outside of your bedroom windows and you could see snow covering the trees. 

“That’s nice honey. Now go back to bed.” She shakes her head, jumping off the bed and yelling as loud as she can- which is pretty fucking loud if you didn’t know-, “Kids! It’s snowing!”

Just like Natasha, your kids love the snow more than anything. Probably more than they love you. It's a few seconds before the cheering begins, and then your oldest sons come running into your room and jump onto the bed. “Wake up! Wake up!” Lev, the oldest, practically screams in your face, and then Andy- short for Anthony-, the middle child, lays his whole body weight on top of you. He’s fourteen years old, only two years younger than his older brother and eight years older than their little sister, but after years of working out with Natasha, he’s very strong and putting his whole body weight on top of you means basically cutting off your ability to breathe.

The sound of little footsteps entering the room makes you all stop, and Lena, your six year old daughter and youngest child, enters the room with her stuffed monkey in hand and crawls into the bed next to you. She loves the snow, but she also loves sleep just like you.

“Come here принцесса.” Lev mutters, grabbing his little sister from the bed and holding her in his arms. Her big brothers are her protectors, and if you and Natasha aren’t there to treat her like a princess, her brothers are.

“You wanna build a snowman little spider?” Andy asks, tickling her stomach as a method of waking her up. She giggles, a tired grin taking over her face as she looks out the window. “Snow day?” “Snow day Lena.” She nods, suddenly much more awake as she climbs out of his arms and back onto the bed. You think she's coming back to cuddle with you, but you should know by the devilish grin on her face- one very similar to your wifes- that is not true. She stands up on the bed, then lets her small body free fall onto yours. Was naming her after your sister in law (the one that totally did this shit to you a few months ago) a good idea? Probably not.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

And that's how you ended up gathering up all the scarfs in the house, which only turned out to be 4. Luckily, one of them was really long so you and Natasha can share it once you get outside. While the kids are in their rooms putting on thousands of layers, Natasha is in a tank top and leggings like she's about to go out on a run in the summertime. “Natalia. Where is your sweater? Sorry I meant, where are your sweaters? Plural because it’s fudging freezing outside.” 

She shrugs, continuing to make six cups of hot chocolate despite it being 7 in the morning. You chuckle. “The kids only need one cup each Nat.” She nods, looking down at the cups with a nervous smile. “I know…..three of these are for me.”

You grab a few sweaters for her, forcing her to put them on and then standing in front of her holding in a laugh at the now balloon shaped form of your wife. “You look um….you look amazing honey.” She can't see you considering the beanie going down to her nose and scarf up to about the same place but she can hear you searching through your pockets for your phone. “I know what you’re doing! Do I look stupid to you detka?”

“Yes….and this is going on the Avengers Christmas card.” You snap the photo, running away from her when she begins waddling towards you. 

You go stand out on the porch with her, waiting for your kids to come out and join you in the cold. Why they love the freezing temperatures will always be a mystery to you. When they come out, each kid is handed one cup of hot chocolate that they pull down their scarves to chug. They boy’s aren't too big as they’ve grown a lot over the years since you bought the pieces of fabric, but the new one you bought for Lena when winter season started is practically covering her whole head and Natasha has to pull it down in order to see the little girl's bright smile.

You take your seat at one of the rocking chairs you and your wife bought for your wrap around porch, piling several blankets over your lap and watching with a smile as the kids- that's including Natasha- run out into the chilly forest. When Lev was two years old and you had first adopted the few month old baby Andy, Natasha retired from her job as an Avenger and bought you and your kids a large piece of property and a big house. The land is filled with trees that kids spend evenings placing hide and seek in, and in the summer they go horseback riding with their mom. Natasha takes care of all the animals that live around the property and in the barn, and you spend days doing whatever you wish whether it's helping her or staying inside the house relaxing with the kids.

A snowball flies past your head, and you look up to glare at your wife. “Hey! Why are you looking at me? Look at them!” The redhead points to the kids, who stare at her bewilderment. “You know what? Fuck this.” You mutter, removing the blankets from your lap and running out into the snow. You form a snowball, hiding with your kids behind a stack of hay that Natasha left out the other day. Your wife was an Avenger, a spy, and a shield agent. That's all true. But you live with her. It’s not too hard to pick up on her habits. 

You can hear her crunchy footprints coming up behind the hay, but the kids have already formed even more snowballs so you hold up three fingers, slowly putting each on down until you have zero left. They all jump up, practically yelling war cries as they hit their mother with snowball after snowball. You take this chance to run into the forest nearby, hiding behind a tree with several snowballs in hand.

Once they run out of snowballs and the laughter dies down a bit, you sneak out from behind the tree and begin throwing the snow at the back of your wife. The children laugh, but she turns to you with a devil-like grin and you instantly know you’re in deep shit. “Okay Nat….Nat….our kids are watching. They can't see me go like this.” You dramatically tell her, only bringing more giggles out of your kids. 

“Get her mom!” Lev cheers, and your eyes widen as you look at him in mock offense. 

“Whose side are you on kid?” You ask. He shrugs, holding up another snowball and throwing it at Natasha's head.

“Neither. Every man for themselves!” He sprints into the forest, Andy close behind him and Lena standing out in the open with no snowballs in hand. 

Natasha grins at her, opening her arms for a hug. “Come here and give me a hug, little spider.” The six year old narrows her eyes at the Russian woman before sprinting after her brothers, but Natasha is already forming four snowballs when the little girl gets to the edge of the tree line.

You watch with a grimace as your wife throws each snowball at the back of the little girl, and the force of the snow makes Lena fall face first into a pile of coldness. You smack Natasha’s arm. “Natalia! She’s six years old!”

The redhead just laughs, turning her back to the forest as she grins at you. “She's my daughter. She can handle a couple snowballs to the face.” While she was defending letting her child get hypothermia, Lev and Andy were sneaking up behind her, each with a large pile of snow in their arms.

“Um….Nat-” You start with a giggle, but it's too late and the boys are lifting up the piles to drop them on top of her head. It breaks over her head, falling down in front and behind her like snow and leaving it all over her head and shoulders. “That was for Lena!” Andy yells and then they take back off to the forest, Natasha not far behind.

A few hours later, you watch as Natasha and the kids come back out of the forest, and then plop down in the snow with erratic breathing. You get up from your seat on the porch, walking onto the cold field and then laying down in it right next to your wife.

It's silent for a few minutes, but then the sound of shuffling begins. You look to your side to see Natasha moving her arms and legs, forming an angel looking shape in the snow. You all spread out a little before copying her movements. So that's what you guys do for like three minutes, before standing up and admiring your guy’s work. There are five different sized angels in the snow, the perfect replicas of you and your family.

“Mama. I’m cold.” With a small smile, Nat grabs her by her under arms and hoists her up on her shoulders. 

“I think that calls for more hot cocoa.” “Tasha-” You go to tell her that they’ve already had too much sugar and that Lena is practically shaking due to a sugar high, but she’s making her way into the house with the boys trailing behind her before you can say anything. You chuckle to yourself, following after them.

She’s already grabbing the packets of cocoa powder once you get inside, and the boys settle themselves on the couch as you snatch them from her. She groans, sending you her best pout. You've been married to her for a very long time though and rarely fall for that anymore. “No. They can have something else.” The redhead widens her eyes, trying to put on a puppy dog's face that has you laughing harder than you ever had.

“Fine.” You’re not going to tell her that the only reason you said yes is because Lena was doing the face too. The little girls were much cuter. They cheer, beginning to heat up some milk to put in the hot drink as you go sit down on the couch with your boys. 

Natasha and Lena join you guys, the older of the two sitting behind you on the couch so you can lay your back on her chest, and the boys let their little sister choose a movie which is why you end up watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Your wife isn’t focused on the movie though. She’s admiring you, how you chuckle at the funny parts as your eyes sparkle with joy.

Snow days are her favorite thing, but it’ll never compare to you.

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[bysaber]

Breaking up ft. Satoru Gojo

Day 13 of 31 Days of Ficmas!

summary — you break up with your partner a few weeks prior christmas.

word count — 1.2k

content — hurt/comfort, gojo is emotionally constipated but he’s trying ok, lowercase intended

notes — today was supposed to be obito’s fic but i wrote this one first because im kinda… going thru the same thing lol. enjoy <3

everything feels out of place as you lay in bed trying to place together pieces of an unfinished puzzle.

two weeks have passed since the last time you and gojo spoke to each other. two weeks since you broke up with him, leaving a part of your heart behind.

you know you have to move on, but it’s hard when you have years of friendship and a one-year-long relationship weighing on your back. you look back to all the efforts you put into it and, foremost, you can’t completely let him go.

you always knew about gojo’s personality, in fact, you fell in love with it. but it became unsustainable when you were the one doing everything while he sat back and watched.

you used to say to him, “you are a good person. you are the best person I’ve fallen for, like a window of light in the dark.” and never once you regretted those words. you made sure to repeat them to him during the breakup.

you truly believe satoru’s a good person, and he never intended to hurt you. what defined the fate of your relationship was his inconstancy, his fear of emotions.

gojo could shower you with kisses and “i love you”s for days, but they were always half-hearted and, whenever the conversation between the two of you took a deeper turn, he would instantly shut down.

become cold, even.

he also didn’t care much about life in general, talking about several topics and simply forgetting to ask simple questions like “how was your day?”

you knew he cared, but it didn’t feel like he did.

it killed you every time he’d disappear for an entire day, especially on days you weren’t okay, not even bothering to reply to your texts, and then replying with a mere “i was busy” – you knew it already, but a text would be nice.

and to match his emotionless self, you were the embodiment of intensity.

you tried to crack up his shell, always paying attention to what he said and remembering it. you dove head first into every interest he had, and supported him in every choice he made.

you cared, you asked and, mostly, you talked.

multiple times, you tried to express how you felt, how you wish he could open up more and maybe just regard you a little more – a few texts not to worry you wouldn’t hurt. gojo said he was like that, but that he would try to be better.

what mined your relationship was that lie.

because he never even tried.

and after another month of dealing with all of that, with not feeling wanted enough, cared enough, you decided to end everything.

you can’t lie a little part of you hoped he would fight for you, ask for you to stay. but as you watched distress filling his eyes, all he could muster was, “i’m really sorry i couldn’t be better.”

and you lost everything you thought you had.

you blink away your tears, trying to escape from your painful thoughts, and get up from the bed – it’s past seven now and you need to start getting ready for a christmas party at one of your friends’ house.

you need to move on.

after taking a quick shower, you put on the red dress you’ve decided to wear – a dress that gojo bought for you months before – before starting to do your makeup.

this is when your doorbell rings.

you frown, “who is it?” you yell as you make your way toward the door, but there’s no time for an answer before you open it.

you almost close it again when you see your ex-boyfriend standing there, but you don’t. you know you need to be mature about this situation, even if seeing him makes all the walls you’ve been building crumble down.

it hurts.

“gojo.”

you don’t look him in the eye, focusing on his christmas sweater instead. funnily, the one you gave him a year ago.

“can i come in? it’s freezing outside.”

if you looked into his eyes, though, you would see the big blue bag under them. you would see how faded his blue irises are, and how fucking anxious satoru is.

you don’t ask further questions, letting him into the house he knows all too well before you close the door. he follows you like a lost puppy, and keeps standing when you sit on the couch.

“you look gorgeous,” he compliments meekly.

“thank you. what do you want?” it takes all of you to not start crying right then and there, but you know you have to be firm.

“i want you back.”

satoru doesn’t beat around the bush, and the silence that follows is so loud it can be heard. you feel your heart beating in an insane rhythm, and your head spins.

“gojo, you can’t–”

“you were right. you are right. about everything,” he interrupts you. “i was a boy, and for that i’m sorry. i acted like you had to keep up with my shit, like you would always be there, and i’m sorry for that too,” gojo speaks so fast you can barely keep up with him, like he’s going to die if he doesn’t say those words. “i thought i couldn’t change, i thought i didn’t have to. because it is easier to live the way i live, but… it is much harder to live without you.”

“gojo–”

again, he doesn’t let you speak, “don’t call me that. please, don’t call me that,” gojo drops on his knees in front of you and grabs your hand. “call me satoru, toru, baby, love for all i care. just not gojo. i’ve been miserable without you, i never thought a person could get so miserable,” his voice cracks, pulling your hand towards his face in a desperate attempt to be comforted. “i promise you i will do better, i will pay attention, text you all the time, tell you all about my past and what made me who i am, scream through my pain for what’s worth. just take me back, please.”

you are so deeply in shock that it takes you a while to register the tears falling down his face, his eyes closed as he expects the worst.

all it takes is for your thumb to caress his cheek softly, and satoru sobs. you grab his face with both of your hands, cleaning his teardrops as your own fall, and you gently kiss his forehead.

it kills you to see him like that, but at the same time it gives you a reason to live to know that he’s willing to try. for you.

you kiss his nose, his cheeks, and then his lips.

satoru whimpers, pulling you into an embrace so strong you’re afraid he’ll never let go.

“toru,” you say when you part your lips and bury your face in his neck, feeling his scent. “everything’s okay now. i’m here, i’ll take care of you.”

“missed you so much, i’m so sorry,” he whispers.

“i missed you, too,” you confess, finally looking into his eyes and frowning when you notice he hasn't slept. “what’s past is past, we’ll be okay. but i guess we should just sleep a bit, hm? it was one hell of a ride.”

“sleep together, right?”

he sounds so clingy, you chuckle lightly.

“yes, toru. together.”

[seonghwaddict]

★ NEVER SAY NEVER. [ 008 ] as you wish, princess.

synopsis. something about the eight most well-known boys of your campus just didn't sit right with you, so you never gave any effort to interact with them. but after a series of… interesting incidents, they can't seem to leave you alone. pairing. college students! vampires! ot8! ateez x fem! reader. genre. fluff, angst, eventual smut, college au, vampire au. chapter warnings. suggestive content, undressing, alcohol consumption, swearing, use of pet names, drunk y/n is very.... affectionate :). word count. 4.3k

　　　　　　　　chapter vii // chapter viii // chapter ix

As you followed Hongjoong’s instructions, you slowly began realising how drunk you were as you sloppily climbed up the steps. After what felt like an eternity, you made it to the final step, sighing with relief as you caught your breath and looked around.

Just a few steps in the front of the stairs, a girl crouched on the ground with two of her friends comforting her as she sobbed and swore herself off men. A little farther than that, a couple was making out very loudly against a wall. You grimaced and turned to look down the other way of the hall, finding one of the bedroom doors open and deciding to check in there.

As you approached the door, a different couple ran out of the room, a slightly drunk and stern-faced Yeosang stepping out behind them as they fled down the stairs. His eyes landed on you and it took him a second to realise why you looked so familiar—squinting and leaning forward comically as you approached him—but when he did, his eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas.

“Y/N!” He called out to you happily, stepping towards you as his voice was slightly louder than it needed to be.

You matched his giddy smile, “Yeosang!”

His eyes moved down from your face, taking in your appearance as you assessed his. You completely missed how he blushed and looked you up and down, suddenly a bit breathless.

His blond hair had grown long enough to be swept into a half-up-half-down hairstyle that tied together his outfit made up of a green sweater and blue trousers, fitted on his hips with a black belt. 

Yeosang’s breath caught in his throat as his gaze travelled down to see your exposed thighs, the hem of your skirt gently brushing against the soft skin he’s always wanted to touch. He shook away any inappropriate thoughts he had and stepped closer to you, enveloping you in a warm hug. 

“How much did you drink?” He laughed softly as the two of you separate, leaving you stumbling slightly.

You shrugged, a goofy grin on your face. “Not sure, I lost count.”

“Let’s get you some water?”

“‘m fineee!” you slurred once again but wrapped yourself around his arm and leaned against him for support, your feet tired. You flinched when another song came on downstairs, much louder than the rest as the beat boomed throughout the house and left your skull pulsing. 

Yeosang furrowed his eyebrows and frowned full of concern, “You okay, petal?”

He wasn’t sure where that pet name came from, but feeling a little brave with the small amount of alcohol in his system, he didn’t care much. It was you that had to hide your blush as you shook your head at the question.

“This song… gives me a headache.” You told him, clamping your eyes shut as you buried your face in his shoulder.

A tut left his lips as he looked around, pulling you into the bedroom he chased the couple out of earlier and closed the door behind you. It was decorated very plainly—a large bed, a desk with a chair, a closet and no personal objects in sight. It made sense though, considering they rented this house just for tonight.

You sat on the bed and watched as he closed the door carefully, shrugging off the white shirt since it was getting a bit warmer in the room, exposing your bare arms and shoulders. When he turned around and saw your full outfit without the annoying white shirt, leaning back on your hands as you looked up at him, his breath caught in his throat for a second time, eyes glazing over as he tried to collect himself. You looked so inviting and he had to fight himself internally to not devour you right then and there.

He sat next to you and hitched a knee up on the bed to look at you better, tentatively moving a little closer and watching to see if you’d protest but when you didn’t he relaxed a bit.  “We can stay in here until you feel better.”

You opened your mouth to say something but a noise beyond the window above the head of the bed distracted you. A familiar, obnoxious cackle rang through the glass and had you perking up slightly, kicking off your shoes to climb further up on the bed (Yeosang tried his best not to look at the way your skirt rode up your hips, ever so slightly exposing a sliver of the plump flesh of your upper thighs). Once you got the window open, you leaned forward, kneeling on the bed and poking your head out the window.

Your confused face was quickly overrun by a bright smile as you watched the commotion down in the garden. There weren’t many people outside so it was easy to spot Wooyoung, San, Yunho, Jongho and Seonghwa. San and Jongho sat on the ground, separated by what looked like a crate, using it as a platform for them to arm wrestle on. Yunho stood behind Jongho and Wooyoung behind San, each of them cheering on their fighters while Seonghwa acted as a referee.

You called out to them, waving one of your hands around mildly aggressively as you used the other to prevent yourself from falling down. All of them looked up, smiles stretching onto their faces as well.

“Y/N!!!” Wooyoung was the first to call out to you. “Come join us!!”

You giggled, nodding your head and leaning back on your knees and into the room. Yeosang had settled down on the bed next to you, laying on his side as he watched you communicate with the guys outside, face full of adoration.

“They want us to go down and join them,” you told him once you made yourself comfortable kneeling next to him.

He didn’t answer you right away, nor did he make any moves to get up. “You look so beautiful right now…” He breathed.

You blushed, looking away and hitting his shoulder playfully.

“I’m serious, you look beautiful… now and always.”

“Yeosang, you’re drunk…”

He gently caressed your arm, leaving trails of goosebumps in his wake. “I don’t have to be sober to tell you the truth. I think you’re beautiful, petal. The prettiest flower I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeo…” you whispered, “I could say the same for you.”

It was his turn to blush, the apples of his cheeks swelling as he gave you a small smile, his hand slipping further down your arm to intertwine your fingers. “You think I’m pretty?”

A chuckle left your lips as you nodded.

A beat of silence passed between the two of you and he sat up, leaning against the headboard of the bed with his legs stretched in front of him, looking into your eyes as you watched his perceptive ones. His hand never let go of yours as he angled his body to face you, his thumb tracing light circles on your skin as his gaze flicked down to peek at the way your hand fit in his. Your gaze roamed all over his face, lips parted slightly as you took in the soft angles of his features. Yeosang revelled in the way you looked at him then, basking in the warmth of your gaze.

“I want… can I…” He hesitated, but you nodded at him, silently beckoning him to continue as you waited patiently. He glanced down at your lips. “May I…?”

He didn’t need to elaborate, his question clear enough for you to understand just by watching him. Your breath hitched as the hand that was holding yours grazed just above your knee. A tiny nod was all you needed to give him before he was leaning forward.

His hand let go of yours, featherlight touches trailing up your side until it rested on your jaw softly. You copied his movements, bracing your hand on his thigh as you leaned forward to brush your lips against his. His breath shuddered against your lips as he leaned forward, deepening the peck slightly before pulling back. And then you watched each other for a second. He adored the way your cheeks were slightly dusted with pink, flustered.

A moment later, you both dove in again. This time, there was more heat behind the kiss as your mouths worked against each other, setting an almost bruising pace. His hand moved up your thigh to rest on your hip, pulling you forward to straddle him on his lap before the hand moved down again, gently massaging your cushiony thighs. You sighed softly against his lips, your hands trailing up his body, one resting on his shoulder as the other played with the soft hair on the nape of his neck.

When you felt his tongue swiping along your bottom lip, you didn’t protest as you parted your lips, letting him explore your mouth as your noses nudged each other. Tongues bumping against each other, he faintly tasted of mint and whiskey.

Eventually, he disconnected his lips from you, loving the slight swell of your lips and the way a tiny string of saliva connected his and your lips as you parted, only snapping once you leaned too far back as you heaved breaths. His hand continues caressing your thigh, occasionally slipping under the hem of your skirt before slipping out just as quickly, and your hand continued brushing his beautiful blonde strands as you both caught your breaths.

“That was nice.” You finally spoke up, shoulders drawing up a little as you giggled.

Your words combined with your actions brought a smile to his face, the hand on your jaw slipping down to rest on your waist. “I agree…”

“My lipgloss got all over your lips.”

“Why don’t you clean it for me then?”

You blinked at him, not used to this kind of boldness coming from him. Your hand on his shoulder hesitantly moved, hovering over his surprisingly soft lips for a moment before you used to thumb to rub off the gloss. Before you could pull your thumb away once you finished, he pressed a light kiss to your digit.

Another beat of silence passed between the two of you, though it wasn’t awkward. 

“They’re waiting for us downstairs.” You reminded him, leaning forward to press a short kiss to his lips before leaning back on his lap.

“They can wait a little longer…” He leaned forward to capture your lips in his one last time but was cut off by a shout from outside the window.

“Y/N PLEASE COME DOWNSTAIRS I MISS YOU IT’S BEEN YEARS.” “Wooyoung, it’s been a few hours-” “I don’t give a fuck, I miss her.”

Another laugh escaped you as you smiled against Yeosang’s lips. “Let’s go?”

He groaned and give your waist a squeeze, lifting you off him gently before getting off the bed and offering you a hand. “I’m gonna kill Wooyoung one day.”

“Please wait a few weeks, we still have to finish our project.” You brought your hand up to pat his cheek after getting up, turning to leave the room but suddenly feeling too dizzy to walk. Your ministrations with Yeosang had made you forget you were exceptionally drunk.

He laughed as he watched you collapse back into the bed, shaking his head slightly as he leaned his head out the window. “Can someone more sober than me please come get her?”

And before you could register it, Jongho was carrying you down the stairs and across the very busy living room to get to the garden where the other guys were waiting, one hand under your back and the other under your knees. As he walked outside, you missed the reactions of them as they finally laid eyes on what you were dressed in, your face affectionately nuzzled into Jongho’s bicep.

Seonghwa’s jaw just about dropped as he heard a sharp intake of breath from his right, where San was pouring himself a glass of soda next to the barbecue. Yunho nearly dropped his glass while Wooyoung showed no shame in the way his gaze travelled over your body like a predator, suddenly regretting the fact he was so drunk and would probably forget this delicious image the next morning. Jongho set you down on one of the two couches they dragged outside, still blushing over how you pressed a kiss to his cheek as a thank you when he scooped you up into his arms earlier.

“What took you so long?” Wooyoung pouted, throwing himself on the couch to sit next to you, pulling you into his chest with his hands around your waist.

“She was too drunk to stand up and I tried lifting her a few times, but turns out I’m too drunk to do that without running both of us into a wall.” You looked at Yeosang over Wooyoung’s shoulder as he spoke, nodding him a thank you.

As you leaned away from the embrace, you looked around and observed the guys. San was in a tanktop that did nothing to hide his muscled and blue jeans, Yunho in a ripped camo sweater and grey ripped jeans while Wooyoung dressed himself in wide-cut black trousers with a black t-shirt tucked in and a large denim flannel on top. Jongho was dressed in a fluffy lilac sweater with denim pants. But the biggest change in appearance came from Seonghwa.

What was light pink hair was now dyed black and neatly swept back from his forehead with gel. His outfit was a lot edgier than you were used to when it came to him—a short-sleeved white dress shirt, a loosely done tie, black leather pants and, to top everything off, a strappy black harness pulling his shirt to his chest and accentuating his perfect waist. You willed your eyes to stop trailing over his figure so desperately, but you were only human after all.

Two hours later you were still outside, comfortably sandwiched between San and Mingi as you all laughed at a story Yunho was telling. At some point Seonghwa had thrown a blanket over your legs, your heart warming as he explained it was so you wouldn’t be worried about anything showing. Occasionally you’d stand up or go inside with one or two of the boys, feeling the need to dance every time a good song came on—which was quite often because Hongjoong had impeccable taste.

At this time it was nearing three in the morning. Most people had already left and the people still at the party were already passed out in various areas of the house. Your friends had come over to let you they’ll be leaving in case you wanted to join them but you assured them you’d be fine staying and San—the 100% sober one, was unable to handle alcohol very well so he opted to not drink that night—promised to take you home. Minseong handed you your phone before he, his boyfriend and Sangmi left (Daniel had gone home with some girl already). Hongjoong turned the music down on the speakers and left a softer playlist running as he and Mingi joined the rest of you in the garden.

Snuggled in between the large bodies of San and Mingi, you yawned, hugging your knees tighter to your chest. A quiet rumble of laughter came from Mingi on your right as he gently rubbed your left shoulder, his arm slung over you as San’s was looped around your waist and toyed with the waist chain.

“Are you tired?” San leaned his head down, speaking into your ear lowly and sending shivers down your spine. Not trusting yourself to speak just yet, you just nodded with a pout, to which he chuckled. “Do you want me to take you home now?” You nodded again, this time looking up at him with wide, tired eyes. He let out another short chuckle as he turned to address the rest of the group. “Our little lady is tired, I’m gonna take her home now. I’ll be back in a bit.”

They all nodded and wished you a good night, Mingi absentmindedly leaning down to press a quick kiss to your hair before San picked you up from the couch. He carried you the same way Jongho did, one hand under your knees and the other under your back. He wrapped you in the blanket a bit more securely before lifting you up, knowing you’d die of embarrassment if you accidentally flashed any of them.

“Don’t rush, I can drive the rest of us home, too. Just get her home safely.” Seonghwa called after the two of you as San went around the house to get into the car.

Soon enough you were seated in the passenger seat of San’s car. You mumbled out the address of your apartment building and he soon began driving as you dozed off. Once you arrived a few minutes later, he gently patted your knee, coaxing you to wake up.

“Wake up,” he muttered, careful not to startle you. San smiled when he noticed you were beginning to stir awake. “We’ve arrived.”

You stretched slightly in his seat as he got out and rounded the car, opening your door and extending his hands to help you get up. You obeyed him quietly, the blanket falling to the ground of the car as you step out. A rosy tint dusted the tips of his ear as you leaned up and embraced him over his shoulders, clinging onto him tightly as you stood on your toes. After recovering, he reciprocated the hug by wrapping his strong arms around your waist and pulling you closer.

“Your awfully clingy when you’re drunk.” He joked, leaning back to look down at your tired face. “Come on, let’s get you to bed, yeah? Do you want to be carried again?” You waited a moment before nodding, a small smile on your lips when he laughs again. “Well, as you wish, princess.”

He winked playfully before turning around and leaning down a bit more, gesturing for you to get on his back. Once you did, he placed his hands under each of your thighs to secure you better. He listened to your instructions carefully as you leaned your head on his shoulder and murmured into his ears. Since it was so late (or early might would be a better fit), the lobby staff was nowhere to be seen as he entered one of the main elevators.

When you got out on the fifth floor, you directed him to the apartment you shared with Sangmi. Since you didn’t bring your keys, you pulled out your phone from where you tucked it into the waistband of your skirt, quickly pulling up your chat with her to ask her to open the door. But your face drained of colour when you saw the messages she sent you half an hour before.

minnie &lt;3 – 2:37 am I’m going home with a guy from the party I think the spare key is where it always is

You groaned and dropped your head on San’s shoulder, making his head turn to look at you as best as he could. “What’s wrong?”

“My roommate isn’t home,” you sighed, not wanting to get off his firm but comfortable back quite yet, “Can you let me down for a moment, Sannie?”

He set you back on your feet and watched as you crouched in front of the door, flipping over the corner white doormat to reveal a key taped to the bottom. It didn’t take long for you to unlock the door and let the two of you in, taking off your shoes and making a beeline for the bedroom as San looked around the entrance area and living room before following behind you.

He wasn’t sure what he expected your room to look like, but if someone asked him he could confidently tell them that your room feels like you. It was a wonderful display of organised chaos. Not messy at all, but rather full of personality. Posters hung on the wall and a variety of sketchbooks and pencils littered your desk. The large window behind your bed was covered by sheer curtains and then a layer of more solid ones, drawn close to give you some privacy. A slim bookshelf full of books and other trinkets was placed in the corner opposite your closet, two different guitars and their stands leaning against the furniture piece—one white electric guitar and one acoustic.

He inspected the room, his gaze finally falling on you as you switched the much too bright lighting from the overhead lamp to the lamp on the bedside table, giving the room a softer, warmer glow. You sat on the bed, turning to look at him.

You weren’t exactly sure what made you say it, and you definitely knew it was a bad idea. Hell, you’ve only known San for, what? Three or four months? Sure, you’ve formed closer relationships in a shorter time and you were already very comfortable with him, but as soon as your words left your mouth you were fully aware of the consequences if he didn’t reciprocate the same kind of comfort.

“Can you… can you help me change?” You asked quietly, hoping the dim lighting would hide at least some of your flushed face.

When he didn’t answer immediately, you were sure he was ready to walk out and never talk to you again. But he didn’t. Instead, he stepped closer to you and crouched in front of you to face you eye-to-eye.

“Are you sure? Would you be comfortable with that?” You nodded and he held up a hand for you to stop. “I need your words. I need you to say you’d be comfortable with me doing this for you.”

You weren’t sure why he needed such concrete permission for just changing you, but you nodded again. “Yes, I’m comfortable. I think I’m too tired to do it myself.”

He cracked a smile and nodded, standing up and turning around to take some steps to your closet. He opened the drawers you told him to—the first and the third—and pulled out an oversized white t-shirt and wide sweatpants and walked back to you. He set the clothes next to you on the bed and kneeled on the ground.

First, he took one of your legs and placed it on his knee, carefully taking off the thigh-high sock and then setting it down and doing the same with your other sock. Next, he grabbed the sweatpants and pulled them up your leg and under the skirt so he could slip the skirt over the sweatpants without exposing your most intimate parts. He did the same with the shirt, pulling it over your corset after unclasping the waist chain. With the large shirt covering the corset, he reached his hands under the fabric and wound them around your waist until he found the zipper.

With his eyes on you, he began pulling down the zipper, at first a small tug to see if you’d change your mind and push him away, but when he saw no insecurity in your soft gaze he dragged it all the way down. His gentle hands grazed your bare sides as he removed the clothing item, causing your breath to hitch. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything as he got up to neatly put all the clothing he removed on top of the dresser.

Minutes later, he helped you remove your makeup and was now guiding you into your bed, pulling the covers over you. As soon as your head hit the pillow, you were nodding off into your dreams, barely registering San tenderly caressing your hair before moving to the door to let you sleep for the night.

“Thank you, Sannie.” You told him as you grabbed a hold of his hand.

He looked down at you and smiled, leaning down and pulling your hand to his lips, your skin tingling in the spot where he kissed it. “Anytime, princess. Good night.”

“Good night…” You covered half of your face with your blanket, your words slightly muffled. “I had fun today.”

“Really?” He smiled wider, a dimple surfacing on his cheek.

You nodded.

“Good, that’s all we cared about really. We just wanted you to have a good time.”

“I… Thank you, that’s very sweet of you. Of all of you…”

A look passed over his face and you had the feeling he was thinking about something, contemplating something. The mystery was soon solved as he leaned down again, this time placing a chaste kiss on your forehead before straightening himself out, switching off your lamp and leaving your room with a final “Good night.”

A smile lingered on your face even and you fell asleep as soon as the door of your room clicked shut. The next morning you stirred awake, moving to lay on your back to sit up with a groan. As you rubbed your eyes and your vision cleared, you looked around, distantly remembering a figure in a tanktop crouching on the ground.

Finally, your eyes zeroed in on your nightstand, a white pill and a small water bottle with a sticky note stuck to it were placed on top. You shuffled forward on your bed, gently peeling the note off the plastic and reading it, placing it in between the pages of your favourite sketchbook that you keep in the drawer of the same nightstand.

Take these when you wake up and make sure to eat well. - San

　　[ lilo's notes ... ] i hope you all enjoyed this chapter because i certainly enjoyed writing it~ i'd like to take a second to thank everyone who's been checking on me, whether it's by comments, dms or asks. thank you all so much for your support, let's all look forward to the future of never say never together!

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　　NEVER SAY NEVER　©　seonghwaddict, 2023

[sadesluvr]

"Santa, Baby" - A Mike Schmidt blurb

After years of hating the holidays, Mike gets a Christmas miracle.

A/N: Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays everyone! 🎄✨ This is just me writing a silly little blurb bc I’m sad yet obsessed with the idea of spending the season with Mike and Abby. They deserve the world :’)

Set in the 2000’s like the movie.

Word count: 463

Tags: FLUFF / GN! Reader / Not much really / Mike gets to be happy for once

Mike couldn’t remember the last time he enjoyed Christmas. It was no secret that it was difficult for him, working a minimum wage job with two mouths to feed didn’t leave much room for luxury dinners or fancy gifts, but it didn’t mean they didn’t try. They always put up a tree, a few decorations, and Abby got at least one present…Other than that, they spent the actual day watching whatever was on TV and listening to the radio. Then, he was usually back to work in a few days.

He hated not being able to give Abby the holiday she deserved. It killed him to think that the kids at her school would talk about all the cool things they got, whilst she got barely anything. 

He couldn’t even remember the last time he received a present. 

This Christmas was different. It was his first with you, someone who happened to have money at your disposal. Ever since you'd visited their house, you’d made efforts to turn it into a home - replacing the curtains, buying a new fridge - even spoiling Abby with art lessons. At first, Mike had been hesitant; but he saw the way that Abby smiled just a bit brighter, and the way slept just a bit easier, and slowly gave into the idea of being spoiled.

“Open it!” You buzzed, Santa hat bobbing slightly as you handed a large box to him, Abby engrossed in her new toy, but glancing up briefly to watch the interaction. Mike raised an eyebrow, blushing even at the idea of having a gift. Slowly, he tore off the wrapping paper, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he realised what it was.

“It’s a PS2!” you buzzed happily. “I remember you talking to me about how much you loved to game and had an NES when you were a teenager…I know memories of that time aren’t the best, but maybe you can make new ones..?”

Mike felt the tears well in his eyes, clenching his jaw as he trembled. 

You’d listened to him. Not only had you listened, but you’d remembered. You’d cared enough to go out of your way and get something that connected his past and present, when you could’ve just as easily got a cashmere sweater.

He felt twelve years old again; wasting hours in front of a tiny TV, shoving popcorn into his mouth as a gamed. His mom never understood the appeal.

With shaky hands, he looked up at you. You’d even bought him a game alongside it.

Smiling, you felt your heart break just a little, but you could see that he was practically screaming thank you. 

“Go ahead,” you smiled, watching as Abby rushed over to admire Mike’s new gift. “I’ll watch the food,”

[jo-harrington]

Disaster Preparedness (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Maybe it's time to put a name to whatever it is you and Eddie are...but not without some misunderstandings first.

Previous Part: Peak Sales Hours

Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. Reader works at the Claire's at StarCourt. Eddie works at TapeWorld. Angst, Jealousy, Fluff, and a series of unfortunate misunderstandings with a sweet ending.

Note: A day late, but what can you do. This was sort of always a pre-planned part of the Store Manager Verse (and actually set at Christmas Time at StarCourt) but a very special prompt made me switch it up. So without further ado @allthingsjoeq and @bettyfrommars please consider this collection of Holiday shenanigans inspired by I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus my take on Prompt 14 from your Holiday Prompt Party:

You can tell that the mall Santa is a babe under that beard, and you decide to get closer to investigate.

With a little twist...

You can find my masterlist here for more featuring our resident Store Manager and all of my other writing.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

The holiday season wasn't Eddie's favorite, per se.

Just like Thanksgiving, it was a time to make do. Couldn't really celebrate when you were reminded of the things you'd lost or didn't have in the first place.

Still it had its high points. Cookies were great, having a little extra cash between Wayne's holiday pay and bonus and the handful of parties he'd be able to deal at, and let it be known that...Eddie Munson was a sucker for snow and always wished for a White Christmas.

And for his friends? Eddie would always muster up the Holiday Spirit and Christmas Cheer. A special one-off campaign for Hellfire, a potluck dinner with Corroded Coffin, and handmade gifts that he spent way too much time on.

This year...working at StarCourt brought its own spin on Holiday cheer and it was a little annoying.

If he hadn't worked the closing shift on the 30th, and seen all of the overnight workers and maintenance vehicles that rolled out of the service corridors as he walked out, Eddie would have thought that it was magic that transformed StarCourt Mall into a true Winter Wonderland come December 1st.

Because it was night and day.

Lights were strung around every store entrance, wreaths and garland hung every 50 feet from the ceiling, soap snow fell down from special blowers in the vents onto the food court, and the space in front of Montgomery Ward suddenly contained a special gift-wrapping destination.

And suddenly the mall muzak had a festive flair to it.

It was honestly kind of sickening.

He wasn't a scrooge or anything, it was just overwhelming and appeared all at once. And after how overwhelming Black Friday had been, how was anyone supposed to cope with the bright lights, large crowds, and repetitive music? He intentionally started turning the shop radio to a higher volume to drown out the bells jingling and carols mingling for the next few shifts after the decorations appeared.

"It's Holidazzle," you told him as he leaned against the entryway to your store--"the conversion Eddie, for God's sake!"--and watched you hang a special banner in the window, featuring the Gift of Piercing and cartoon bears ice skating around a tree.

"It's overkill," he argued.

"It's Mall Life." You climbed down from your ladder and surveyed your work with a critical eye. "You get used to the big everything that is Christmas and just deal with it, and then, come January, it all dies. We're decorating today, and next week we start wearing reindeer antlers on the sales floor. It just is what it is. Gotta get the customers into the festive spirit so they buy more before it all tapers out.

"Surprised Kyle isn't already wearing like...a Santa hat and a cheesy sweater with ornaments hanging off it or something."

And Eddie wasn't sure if you were somehow clairvoyant or just knew his boss well enough, but that's exactly what Kyle wore to his next shift and, indeed, every shift for the remainder of December.

Santa hats in every color--and he'd bought hats for everyone else in the store--and if there wasn't a Santa hat, there was tinsel in his hair. A piece of glittery garland strung around his neck and a mug full of cocoa constantly present in his hand, even when he was on the sales floor. And, somehow, a different cheesy holiday sweater on every single shift he had.

Where did he even get them?

"Listen," he clapped a hand on Eddie's shoulder and shoved a candy cane in his hand. "I know you're Mr. Non-Conformity, but in this instance, you just gotta go with the flow. No one wants to give their money to the Grinch. But Jolly Old Saint Kyle? He's who they're trusting for their Christmas Gifts. You catch me?"

---

So Eddie tried.

He did. He tried.

For all of 3 days.

He wore the hat, he played the game, he did his spiel about gift certificates and BOGO, and he didn't even get a treat at the end of his shifts because you worked the opposite schedule from him. With school and all it was hard...

He just wanted to kiss you. Was that too much to ask for? It wouldn't be the most romantic place but he figured that he could set out some mistletoe by the baler and trick you into a festive smooch when you took the cardboard out. He could do that now, except he couldn't.

...but Wednesday night you'd both be closing. You'd swapped shifts with Mindy two weeks in a row so you could go to his show last week and she could go to her kids' Christmas Recital at the elementary school this week.

He definitely planned to make his move and get his reward. And give you a little reward of your own, seeing how hard you'd been working too. He wondered if this might be the chance to officially ask you to be his girl. Everyone had already made the assumption the two of you had been dating for months...why not put a name to it? And then he could take you out on a real date.

What could possibly go wrong?

Famous last words.

With a few minutes until his fifteen, anticipation building...Mike and Dustin ran into Tape World, looking out of breath and nervous.

Eddie was finishing up a special order for a customer when he saw them out of the corner of his eye. Little assholes, lurking by the door. Mitch had tried to walk up to them and give them the spiel but they waved him off.

"We're here for Eddie."

Great. This better not be about one of them missing Hellfire on Friday.

"What do you want?" he huffed, trying to be a little patient with them since it was the holidays after all. He picked on them enough at school. "It’s busy tonight."

"Well," Dustin shifted. "We were coming to see the new Ewoks movie--" Eddie snorted and grinned at them fondly. "--and we were just killing some time, when we passed by Mom's store."

Eddie couldn't help the bark of laughter he let out with that one. He told the guys to cut it out, this...continuation of calling you Mom since Halloween.

"You guys gotta stop calling her that," he scoffed. "Steve Harrington's your Mom. Get that straight."

"Well then Mom is upstairs right now flirting with not Mom," Mike sassed, hands on his hips.

Now that gave Eddie pause. Harrington? Upstairs with you?

Flirting?

“Kissing.”

Kissing?!

"What?" Eddie's voice broke a little as he reacted. He chuckled to try and alleviate some of his own nerves. "Isn't Harrington dating someone? Pretty sure I've seen him running around with that cashier from KB Toys."

"Well it was Wicks'n'Sticks."

"But we think they broke up!" Mike piped up. "Because Steve quit Scoops last week."

"Which means we need to pay full price for movie tickets again," Dustin nodded.

"But Nancy said that Robin told her…that he got a job at Santa's Workshop," Mike thumbed over his shoulder. "And we just saw Santa upstairs with Mom and she was wiping strawberry lipgloss out of his beard."

The first thought in Eddie’s head was that you didn’t wear strawberry lipgloss.

The next was that you didn’t wear strawberry lipgloss when you kissed him. What if you wore it for Steve?

No, that was ridiculous.

But unless Santa’s Workshop was operating as a functioning kissing booth and Harrington was looking for a quick and easy fix for a bunch of housewives smooching him after their kids asked for a new bike or Hot Wheels racetrack or Tina the Talking Tabby doll…there was no explanation.

Which, alright, Eddie wouldn’t normally consider himself a jealous person. An envious person. Yeah, he might have seen a little green at the edges of his vision when the kids fawned over Steve Harrington time and again, but ever since he was brought down a few pegs—humbled—he didn’t seem like the same old douchebag from Hawkins High that he used to be.

Eddie might even say Steve was kind of alright.

But you were his girlfriend…or something…

And the jealousy and possessiveness he often mocked others for over the years, as he watched meathead jocks tighten their arms around their girlfriends shoulders as he simply walked past, suddenly overcame him.

“Mitch I’m taking my fifteen!” He called towards the back of the store and strutted out of Tape World, all while Mike and Dustin called after him, fully intending to get to the bottom of this obvious misunderstanding.

---

He planned to ask you about Harrington the moment you opened the door to the loading dock, hauling the dolly of cardboard boxes behind you.

A simple "hey sweetheart, how was your day, anyone named Kris Kringle come to bother you?" and he would have had his answer and all of his doubt would have been alleviated once and for all.

Except that as soon as you appeared--with your disheveled hair and makeup, your slumped shoulders, and your groan of weariness--your eyes got brighter and you melted at the sight of him. So happy to see him, so relieved.

Then he melted.

"God, what a night," you groaned and let the dock door slam behind you. You abandoned your cardboard and walked right into his arms where he was standing by the baler; your arms wrapped around his waist and your face nuzzled into his flannel, just the way he constantly craved. "Some lady wanted an individual gift receipt for every single item she bought. Then Chrissy almost messed up this kid's piercing. Thank God I stopped her as soon as I saw."

"Oh yeah?"

"And then I swear I'm like...I just have one of those faces where everyone comes and complains to me as they're shopping. I have to hear about everyone's life story or their relationship issues, especially this one guy..."

Eddie's ears practically perked up at that.

"This one guy?" he urged you to continue, on the edge of his proverbial seat.

"I dunno," you sighed tiredly. "Not the first time he's come to me for advice. He's a nice guy and he means well, but it just seems I'm always the one. And I'm happy to help just...not during Q4, you know? He needs to figure out how to talk to his ex on his own. And not just...come in looking for extra glossy strawberry lip gloss thinking he's gonna kiss his way back into their good graces."

Extra glossy strawberry lip gloss.

Eddie wondered if he was pushing his luck if he were to ask if this nice guy was dressed in a Santa suit.

Still his heart soared nonetheless. He should have known that it was nothing to worry about, that those little shits just put two and two together to make five, and that mom wasn't actually kissing Santa Claus.

It was just a misunderstanding.

"How was your night?" you backed away from him slightly to look into his eyes. "I feel like I haven't seen you in days."

It was like a weight on his chest had been lifted, as he stared into your sparkling eyes.

"Same old, same old," he chuckled away the doubt. "Probably worse because no one knows what they want to give as gifts for Christmas and they're not listening to me."

"How dare they not take the advice of the great God of Music!" you feigned outrage.

"Gonna give me an inflated ego, sweetheart."

"You mean you don't already have one?" you teased.

Whatever fleeting bits of doubt remained disappeared as his fingers found your sides and he tickled you as punishment for the jab. Even more so as you grabbed his face and kissed him to get him to stop.

---

You'd spent the remainder of your break on Wednesday night softly kissing on the loading dock. You held hands as he walked you back to your store. Then once the mall was closed, you continued the kissing against the side of his van in the employee lot as the rest of the cars disappeared one by one.

With one last kiss goodbye, you agreed to Christmas movies and cocoa at his place on Sunday.

But as he sauntered into the mall on Sunday morning, twirling his lanyard on his finger as he headed to Tape World, Eddie swore that the universe was mocking him--

Or it was just that trademark Munson Bad Luck.

--because with a quick glance up towards your store, he saw you, holding the gate up with one arm, talking and laughing with someone conspicuously dressed in a Santa suit.

Well, he couldn't really see the holly jolly bastard that was up there making you smile, but just a quick glimpse of red velvet and white fur and all of his doubt was back.

The two of you still hadn't put a label on your relationship yet. He'd wondered the other night as he drove home if it was a little juvenile to want to call you his girlfriend. Was it too high school? What did a real life, grown up boyfriend do? He only had TV shows to go by and he figured you'd laugh if he tried to give you his '84 class ring that was stashed in his sock drawer. In fact, he was sure of it.

But how was he supposed to get past the visceral need to be your boyfriend when you were up there being wooed into potentially becoming the new Mrs. Claus yourself?

By Santa Harrington no less.

The doubt was back with a vengeance.

Kyle--decked in red onesie pajamas, butt flap and all--clocked his woes as soon as he walked into the store.

"Don't tell me she broke up with you," he guessed as he counted up the registers for the day. "I know it's not the end of the world, but you guys barely got started. What the hell did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Eddie answered honestly as he restocked the front display.

"Hmmm, actually come to think of it, that might be exactly the point."

"I don't think we were ever together, if I'm being honest."

"Dumbass," Kyle chuckled under his breath. Eddie, exasperated and just needing someone to commiserate with, explained the whole thing to his boss, who simply ate it up like a gossiping housewife and then laughed louder. "No seriously, you're a dumbass. This is the Mall at Christmas, dude. You're gonna start going cross eyed if you're looking around every corner for a suspicious Santa Claus flirting with your girl.

"Why don't you save yourself some heartache and just talk to her. You know, like you should have been doing this whole time? So, one time only because you're my buddy, I'm letting you take an extra break so you can go up there and talk to her."

And Eddie knew Kyle was right: it was all about communication.

Communication, or the lack thereof, was how the two of you had gotten this far, right? You'd known each other since May? June? And had only figured out that there was some mutual attraction in...what? September if Eddie was going to be honest with himself. Two weeks ago if he wasn't.

Lack of communication, caused by self doubt and fear, cost him...months...of getting to kiss you and hold your hand. And while he cherished the time spent being your friend, he was always gonna wish he had all that time being more.

So no, he shouldn't let it draw out much longer.

---

Unfortunately, he really was a dumbass.

So instead of taking advantage of it being so early in the day that there were practically no customers in the mall to go upstairs and clear things up with you and maybe ask you out on a real date...

Eddie booked it across the mall to Santa's Workshop.

There he stood, wasting his extra break in line with the handful of proactive parents coming in early to get their family pictures with the Big Man himself.

"What's on your wish list this year?" A little boy in a tiny navy suit tugged on the leg of his jeans and asked him.

"Uh..." He was at a loss when it came to kids and his hands wrung around his lanyard. But he couldn't just leave the little guy hanging. "A new amp...and maybe a Skeletor action figure."

The boy's eyes got wide and blabbered on about his desired Castle Greyskull while his mom ran a comb through his hair.

"Eddie?"

Eddie froze and his attention shifted from the kid, up and up green velvet clad legs then torso, to a familiar cherubic face and tousled curls covered by a pointy hat.

"Gareth?" he chuckled, staring incredulously at his friend dressed as one of Santa's Helpers. "...what is this? I didn't know you..." his eyes slid down to the little boy, then back to his friend. "...were an elf."

"I was trying to keep it under the radar," he shrugged and gestured down to his costume. "Especially since they have me dressed like this. Uh....anyway, why are you in line for Santa?"

"Uhh..." Eddie scratched the back of his neck then folded his arms across his chest. "Gotta get my wishlist in before all the good gifts are taken."

Gareth narrowed his eyes in suspicion and Eddie hoped that he would just chalk it up as another one of the million things he'd seen Eddie do over the years of their friendship.

"Can I keep the picture?" Gareth finally asked mischievously. "Or was Wayne planning on sending out a special card this year?"

"Nah man," Eddie nodded, grateful not to have to answer any more...invasive questions. "It's all yours."

"Nice." Gareth held his fist out for Eddie to bump and then let the family ahead of Eddie in to see Santa.

Which meant he was next.

Now, Eddie wasn't big on confrontation, so unless he was actively thwarting bullies and deterring them from picking on his friends, he wasn't the type to pick a fight. He also wasn't the type to have a calm and rational discussion and get to the bottom of a problem either.

So this was new territory for him.

What would he say?

What could he say?

"Now listen here Harrington," he muttered. "You...she...I..."

He ran a hand over his face and shook his head.

"I heard you're having some relationship issues," he tried again. "But you can't keep sniffing around my girl. My girl? Ugh...but what if she isn't."

There were a few flashes of a camera and by that time, Gareth was back to lead him to his execution.

"Alright, young man," he snickered. "Are you ready to meet Santa?"

"Shut up," Eddie shoved him and stalked along the carpet into the little photo area.

He was too preoccupied with the task at hand, too consumed with thoughts of you laughing with Steve Harrington and exactly what he was gonna say, that he didn't notice that it wasn't Steve under the beard and hat until he plopped himself directly on Santa's lap.

Santa groaned as Eddie settled himself and threw an arm over his shoulders.

"Aren't you a little too old for this Munson?" Santa deadpanned. "Or is this one of your little Hellfire pranks."

Eddie froze at the familiar voice, as years of hearing that grumbling gritty tone at Benny's and the police station and around town flashed through his memory.

"Hop?" he whispered in horror.

"Who were you expecting?" Hopper grunted.

"Why are you Santa?"

"...don't tell me you thought Santa Claus was real, kid?"

"No, I just--" Eddie stammered, looking for the right words. "I...Why?"

"I'm doing this to surprise Jane," he explained in exasperation. "Buddy of mine runs Santa's workshop and Joyce said she'd bring the kids to the mall today, maybe get a picture. So I pulled some strings. I don't know what to get her for Christmas; she's keeping her wish list under wraps."

It all started making sense for Eddie. Jane was friends with Dustin and the others so he'd seen her around Hawkins High, even though she wasn't interested in DnD. She was a good kid, if a little shy. Of course Hop was doing this for his adopted daughter, wanting to give her a perfect Christmas.

"But you...were up at Claire's earlier?" Eddie narrowed his eyes, the reason for him being there still eluding explanation.

"Because that's Jane's favorite store. I swear I'm single handedly keeping them in business with the number of earrings and scrunchies I buy every week. The manager promised she'd keep an eye out if Jane and Joyce popped in today, let me know everything Janie was looking at if this ended up being a bust."

Hopper shot Eddie a pointed glare and Eddie, correctly, looked ashamed of himself.

"Alright, less talking," the elf at the camera rolled their eyes and waved for Hop and Eddie to scoot closer. "More smiling. Say jingle!"

There was a flash and a polaroid was shoved into Eddie's hand as Hopper shooed him away.

---

"What is this?" you pulled away from Eddie's soft, warm lips as your hands felt something foreign in his back pocket.

The Year Without Santa Claus wasn't the most romantic Christmas movie, but Eddie was feeling a certain type of resentment when he had chosen the movies at Family Video, and it was mostly going ignored in favor of cuddling and kissing and sweet words.

Until your hands worked their way downward to pull Eddie's weight further into you, and you found--

"Did you go take a picture with Santa?" you giggled as you inspected the Polaroid. Eddie groaned and rested his head on your shoulder. "Can I keep this?"

"Believe it or not," he sighed, "Gareth already has dibs."

"May I ask why?"

"Because he likes to ruin my life. Pretty sure he's gonna take it to Fox Photos and get it made into t-shirts."

"No, why did you go take a picture with Santa silly," you shoved him. "It's really sweet."

He turned to look up into your eyes, to get the courage to just...tell you how silly he was being...to ask you out for fuck's sake...but the way you looked at him, the softness of your gaze, the way you reached out and pushed his bangs out of his eyes...he didn't want to ruin it all.

"I promised I was getting into the holiday spirit didn't I?" he shrugged pathetically. "Couldn't let the opportunity pass without getting photo evidence."

You stared fondly at the picture for another moment and then pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"It's perfect."

---

After Eddie had chickened out, you planned your get-togethers for the rest of December.

Or rather, the lack of them.

With finals coming up and the semester coming, and then mall hours getting later and later the closer to Christmas it got, the opportunities to hang out became sparse.

The best the two of you could unfortunately--or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it--come up with was Christmas Eve.

You'd fight off those final last-minute holiday shoppers, and come 6pm when the mall closed, you'd both be off to Benny's for the special pot roast dinner that he put up for anyone who didn't have family to go to, or didn't want to go see the family they had.

With Rick out making the rounds, and Wayne scheduled for that sweet time-and-a-half holiday double most years, Eddie usually ended up at Benny's anyway.

This year, with you, it would be perfect.

He just had to get through the next few weeks without a hiccup.

The universe, once again, decided to test him.

Mock him.

It was almost comedic at this point.

Santa was everywhere.

Of course, he would be, it was Christmastime but...everywhere in relation to you.

Thankfully, it wasn't Harrington he needed to worry about.

However, that meant it wasn't just Santa he needed to worry about.

It was all of the mall Santas.

Hop had shown his face in the red suit and beard once or twice more and scared the life out of him. Especially when Eddie walked smack into him on the way to drop an Orange Julius for you on the night you closed.

The church's community choir had spent one Saturday afternoon caroling by the Sears, all dressed as Santa Claus. As the two of you made your rounds window-shopping and chatting on your break, one of the Santas grabbed you and spun you around in a circle during a jazzy rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas where you, apparently, were the true love bestowing the many gifts.

How Eddie let a bunch of Santas serenade you before he got a chance to, he would never know. Nor would he let himself live it down.

And then one awful day, he found you sitting at your usual table in the food court with a charismatic older man in a Santa suit--sans hat or beard. The man sat in Eddie's usual seat and leaned quite close, making you look entirely uncomfortable; he couldn't help puff up his chest to ward off the intruder by the time he reached the table.

"This is Henry," you introduced as politely as you could. "He's gonna be the manager at the new Spencer's store when it opens in January."

"Figured I would do the neighborly thing and just say hi," he chuckled and looked down at his attire. "Oh? This? Figured that this would be a great way to do something nice for the community in the mean time."

"That's great," Eddie sniffed judgmentally, getting a weird feeling about this Henry. "Nice to meet you. You're in my spot though."

"Eddie!" Your eyes went wide and you bit your lip to stifle your laughter.

"Hey, nope, totally get it," Henry held his hands up and stood from the seat. "Those lunch breaks are short, especially when you want to spend them with friends and not a stranger like me. Nice to meet you guys. See you around."

Eddie dropped into his seat and you waited until Henry was well out of earshot to scold him.

"That was not nice."

"I'm not nice," Eddie grumbled. "He was looking at you weird, like he wanted to steal your soul or something. Did you not get creepy stalker murderer from him?"

"No, I totally did," you nodded. "He was like...dead behind the eyes. I know, that's awful to say. Anyway, are you feeling soft pretzels and cheese because I--"

"Are you a Santa magnet or something?" Eddie interrupted you and you looked like a deer in the headlights.

"What?" you giggled. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "Seems like they're just always around."

"It's Christmas, Eddie," you frowned in confusion. "Even I have a little Santa dress that I'm gonna wear to work. Everyone's just in the spirit."

"Yeah well..."

"I thought you were trying to get in the spirit too," you reminded him and then reached over and plucked at the fair isle sweater Kyle had gotten the whole TapeWorld team so they could match for a group picture. "Exhibit A, Mr. Grinch."

"I am trying," he whined. "It's just hard to be extra jolly when someone's always sniffing around your girl."

"Am I your girl?" you asked. You were obviously teasing him, but still...Eddie froze. "You haven't asked me if I want to be yet."

Everything inside of him was on red alert at that moment.

Evasive maneuvers? No, that was a bad idea. All power to the forward shields, which were holding but weakened. He didn't have enough firepower for this.

"No..." he replied awkwardly. "I haven't."

The way your expression dropped broke him, and he knew he had fucked up.

---

"I'm disowning you," Kyle shook his head in disappointment by the time Eddie got back from lunch. "In fact. We all are."

"Jesus Christ," Eddie groaned.

"Mitch! Paulie! Eddie's disowned."

"You can't fire him, he's closing tonight," Paulie argued.

"Not fired," Kyle pointed across the store with authority. "Disowned. And such a shame; Edward Tapeworldington, first of his name...you shall never be king."

Eddie stewed in the laughter of his coworkers.

"Why don't you ever listen to me?" Kyle threw an arm around his shoulder. "You could have asked her out right then and there. Been like 'hey you wanna be my girlfriend?' And it would have been like...the happiest day of your life. Hell, happiest day of my life. Cuz then I wouldn't have to hear you bitch about it all the time."

"Didn't know I complained that much," Eddie muttered self-consciously.

"All the time," one of the other guys chuckled.

"It's not complaining," Kyle corrected. "It's just that...we want you to be happy. As cliche as this sounds, we're like a family right? Hey, psst, all of you? Savor it, you're only gonna hear me say it once.

"If one of us is miserable, we're all miserable," he continued. "And you've been kind of a miserable piece of shit for a while, Ed. I'm sure your buddies would tell you the same thing. Lovesick puppy act's only gonna get you so much sympathy until you're the one getting in your own way."

Eddie felt his stomach turn because getting in his own way really did hit the nail on the head.

He thought about it for an eternity--really only 30 seconds--went about asking himself what had held him up for all this time. Fear of rejection obviously but even he started to think that some of the things that had gotten him so caught up were just...excuses.

Even now that he knew you liked him just the way he liked you, they were just excuses.

"So why can't I just...say something?" he finally asked.

Kyle clapped his hand down on Eddie's shoulder twice and then turned so he could head out for his own break.

"Only you can answer that question kid."

---

"Hey do you wanna go out sometime? Ugh."

So he practiced.

"So remember how we're supposed to go to Benny's for Christmas Eve? No."

For days he practiced.

"You know how the first time we went out for pizza I mentioned it wasn't a date? Well this one is. No god, you're an idiot."

Through the rest of the semester, during band practice, he even almost flubbed the lyrics at the gig at the Hideout on the Tuesday before Christmas. There were only so many days left until your dinner together at Benny's and he really wanted it to be your first official date.

But if Eddie was gonna fix this, if he was gonna ask you out, he needed to get it right.

"Hey sweetheart." He muttered as he counted down Paulie's register at the start of his closing shift. "I know I really flubbed it last time we talked but I really like you and I want to know if you'd be my girlfriend.

"We've already kissed enough for it," he added at the end and then winced.

"How about you just lose that last bit," Paulie offered beside him and signed a few receipts. "And then it's perfect."

"Yeah?" Eddie asked hopefully. "Alright. Cool. Great."

He would do it after work tonight.

"Edddiiiiieeee!!!" a screeching voice called from inside the mall and Eddie and Paulie both watched as a Santa with flailing arms ran into TapeWorld. "Eddie man, I really need a favor. I need to use your bathroom."

"What the f--Gareth?" Eddie looked around the store to make sure he wasn't just hallucinating. Gareth was already shedding the hat and the fake beard and unbuckling the wide belt from around his waist. "What the hell are you doing here? Why are you Santa? I thought you were an elf?"

"There's no time to explain," Gareth panted. "But there's a line through the food court to use the bathroom and I couldn't wait, so you either need to let me into your back room or I'm gonna exorcise a demon right here on your sales floor man. Please."

"Ugh," Eddie wrinkled his nose and pointed towards the stockroom. "Yeah, sure whatever. Gross."

"I owe you one," Gareth tossed the fluffy jacket of his costume over the counter at Eddie and then ran into the stockroom. Hopefully just in time.

"So glad I'm cleaning the bathrooms tomorrow night," Paulie scrunched his nose in disgust. "Alright, you and Mitch need anything before I go?"

Eddie was about to say no, was about to send Paulie on his way.

But then he looked down at the coat and got an idea.

An awful idea.

Eddie Munson got a wonderful, awful idea.

"Actually, now that you mention it," Eddie grinned and shrugged the coat on, then the belt, and as he glanced up at Paulie, his coworker groaned, clearly able to read Eddie's mind.

"I thought we agreed no more gimmicks," Paulie exclaimed. "You're just gonna go up and talk to her."

"Yeah," Eddie nodded. "I, Santa Claus, am gonna go up and talk to her. I'm not even gonna take my full break, just five minutes, and then you can leave."

"This isn't gonna work man."

"None of my plans ever do," Eddie shrugged and pulled Paulie into a big hug. "But if it does, I owe you my whole life."

And off he went, across the mall, and up the escalator. He adjusted the coat and the hat and then remembered that he forgot the beard on the counter.

No matter, of course; he really didn't want to get fake beard in his mouth when he planted one on you.

There was practically a line out the door by the time he got to your store. He was able to see you through the window, on the register checking one customer out after another.

You were in the zone, but you didn't look stressed. You smiled a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes, but every so often Mindy would crack a joke beside you and it did.

"This actually might be the worst idea," he muttered to himself.

But it was too late.

It was now or never.

You were gonna kill him.

Some of the younger kids in the store started muttering in excitement when they spotted him, only for their parents to say "that's not the real Santa" and "Santa doesn't wear ripped jeans" but you were oblivious until he was standing right beside you at the counter.

"Excuse me," he took a breath and lowered his voice like he would during Hellfire. "I heard there was something special on your wish list this year, young lady."

"Sorry sir," you answered without a thought. "I'll be with you in a second."

"You can't even take a second to help jolly old Saint Nicholas?"

You turned your head, obviously about to tell him off as you schooled your features into something plastic and robotic and customer friendly, until you realized it was him. Then something visibly short-circuited in your brain and he smiled brightly.

"I'd like to apologize to all the boys and girls shopping tonight," he announced to the customers theatrically. "But I have very important Christmas business with our dear Store Manager here. It'll only take a minute."

He was surprised when a few of them started laughing and clapping.

"Alright Santa," you finally composed yourself to answer, arms crossing over your chest in annoyance. "What official Christmas business can I help you with?"

"Well, I was reading over the wishlist that you sent up to the North Pole," he explained. "I don't have it with me, you see. Had to leave it down in the workshop so the rest of the elves could work on the scrunchies and the lipgloss you wanted."

"Uh huh."

"And the new windshield wipers that you refuse to let Santa replace."

You rolled your eyes and waved your hand to get him to go on.

"But there was one thing on the list that...maybe it's these tired old eyes--"

"Old?" you giggled and reached out to tug on his curls. "Your hair isn't even white Santa."

A bunch of nearby kids boo'd.

"Clock's ticking," you whispered. "Get on with it, or I'm gonna have to kick you out Ed."

"--maybe these tired old eyes weren't able to read. See I thought it just said friend. But my trusty elves Kyle and Paulie and Mitch assure me it says boyfriend."

Mindy cooed an awww from beside you and Eddie felt his confidence grow.

"So, Miss Store Manager," Eddie held his hand out to you. "Which one is it? Because I happen to have some high quality...boyfriend material that I can use to make your wish come true. Is that what you'd truly like this Christmas?"

Mindy immediately slammed a hand onto your shoulder and squealed, and although your lips were clamped shut and nose was scrunched, Eddie was sure that you were holding back a smile.

It was the longest 30 seconds of his life.

"Yes, actually," you finally responded. "That's exactly what I want for Christmas Santa."

Eddie's heart surely grew 3 sizes in that very moment as a bunch of customers clapped. And he was eagerly about to jump forward and plant a kiss right on your lips when your hand slammed against his chest to hold him back.

You laughed and your eyes sparkled with promise as you pointed to the door, a silent understanding that you'd continue this conversation later. But for now?

"Get out of my store!"

---

Eddie found you leaning against the side of his van when he clocked out. Your car was parked beside his, running idle, as you waited. The radio softly played the Nutcracker Suite and you hummed along to it.

"Alright," he began when he got close enough. "I know that what I did was a big no-no, but I think everyone was in good spirits about it."

"You're lucky they were," you glared at him in--what he hoped was-- fake annoyance. "I really would hate it if my DM got a call complaining about that. Then I'd have to break up with you before we were actually even together."

"I wouldn't blame you," he winced and then looked down at his feet. "So...do you wanna go out sometime?"

"Like a date?"

"Yeah," he glanced up at you and then back down at his feet. He shuffled them back and forth. "Dinner at Benny's on the 24th? How does that sound."

"Ugh, I dunno," you sing-songed and took a few steps to close the distance between you. You grabbed the lapels of his jacket and shook him a few times.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he questioned as you lifted his hair and turned his head back and forth.

"I'm looking to see if this was the quality boyfriend material that Santa just promised me a few hours ago."

"Hey now," he grabbed your hands in his. "I most certainly am. We've just...been friends for so long. I didn't know if..."

"I do," you answered before he could finish.

"But what if I..."

"You aren't."

"I was gonna say 'what if I fart under the blankets while we're cuddling.'" He deadpanned. "See, this is why it's important not to make assumptions."

"Alright, Fartmeister," you challenged him. "If you want to Dutch Oven your girlfriend, I guess I can't fight you. But don't be shocked when I do the same thing to you eventually."

"That's all I want from a girlfriend," he said. "A strong sense of retaliation and justice."

"Alright then."

"Alright." He shook your hand like you were making some kind of deal. "Christmas Eve at Benny's for our first date."

"Sounds perfect," you agreed.

"Good."

"Good."

You launched yourself in his arms and pressed your lips to his and he swore, probably for the first time in his life, he believed in the spirit of Christmas.

---

Next Chapter: Standard Operating Procedures 1.06

[tteokdoroki]

*ੈ🌩️‧₊˚— through the storm, there’s always you + katsuki bakugou.

૮˶ᵕ ༝ᵕ˶ა synopsis — the one in which katsuki bakugou hates the winter, until you bring him a gift that changes his mind for the better.

⭑ warnings — please read + mdni ! characters aged up, fluff, strangers to lovers, mentions of injury, mentions of hospitals, pregnancy & birth ( non - descriptive ), winter babies, wholesome family content, not beta read ! - fem!reader, pro-hero!bakugou.

⭑ words — 1.8K.

⭑ notes — hi !!! merry christmas if you celebrate and happy holidays to those who don’t !! i hope you’re all keeping well and safe. here’s a little drabble for your troubles since i’m working on something longer that’ll hopefully be out in the new year !! so this isn’t beta read and i hope you enjoy !! mwah - m.list ✩

katsuki had always hated the weather around christmas time. 

as a kid it meant being stuffed into itchy, scratchy sweaters that matched with stupid deku’s and being forced into what seemed like hours of pointless christmas card photo shoots tucked in next to the green haired, green eyed wimp. it meant mitsuki dragging him out of the comfort of his all night sheets early on December 25th to swap presents— her loud, irritating voice booming out Christmas carols with the words sung wrong as his pops set up a hearty breakfast and plucked wrapping paper from between the spikes of a young bakugou’s blonde hair.

back then, mitsuki would pull the cruel joke of putting coal in the younger’s stocking for a laugh and in response katsuki would hide all of her hurts to make it look like she had none. 

in middle school, katsuki spent most of his winter break running over school choices— learning the curriculum inside and out so that he could get into U.A. friends, family gatherings, festive…none of them mattered to him as much as his aspirations did, but he still helped masaru decorate the house and put up the tree— lit the fire because he didn’t run as hot as other people during the colder season. he hardly saw his friends, his posse, his entourage, whatever they were. they didn’t understand what it was like to work for something, to want to succeed…to make sacrifices. these were people katsuki didn’t need.

when christmas roll around at UA, katsuki felt like he was really part of something for the first time. his friends, kirishima and kaminari especially, begged him to cook the dinner— getting permission from aizawa after school to buy the ingredients, clinging onto his arms to keep him warm while asking him what went in what, affectionately pissing him off. 

there’d been a gift exchange too, and he’d tried to brush it off when his group of little misfits had presented him with a few exclusive allmight merchandise that hadn’t been collectible since he was a kid. ‘thanks,’ he’d mumbled, brushing an arm over his eyes in away that covered up the tears brewing in them. ‘idiots.’ aside from the celebrations and the small twinkle of happiness being surrounded by his classmates brought him— winter still sucked for bakugou. he’d discovered his quirk didn’t quite work the same, that he’d need to train a hundred times harder to be just as efficient as his peers during the flu season if he were to succeed and become a top hero like he’d promised himself as a kid. his hero costume required form fitting sleeves and a collar up to his neck that made him think back to that time where that villain had almost ended his life and he wasn’t quite strong enough to escape its reach. 

bakugou fucking hated the winter because of it.

the Christmas season starts to become even more intolerable once katsuki breaks onto the scene as rookie pro hero dynamight. he gets stuck with all the bullshit patrols like the Black Friday sales and Christmas eve last minute rushes for gifts because he’s not quite high enough on the ranks for the ‘real’ work yet. it’s fine, the blonde tells himself, anythin’ to get higher up  in the ranks. spreading the holiday spirit isn’t exactly his forte but the singles without families to go home to for the festives seemingly love spotting the desirable and explosive hero stalking the city streets, and it does wonders for his reputation too.

after bakugou’s first year as a rookie, do things pick up. he gets his first villain attack on december 24th, a simple robbery that he gets to handle all on his own— the prick’s quirk is fast moving, strong and nearly wipes the blonde out in one clear shot, sending him flying into the nearest building while other rookies evacuate the scene. 

“m-mister…uh, dynamight? a-are you okay?” 

your voice had been soft, your face the first thing he had scene when his vision realigned. blood trickled down the roundness if your cheeks, features aglow from the fires his quirk had set to your building— your humble little tailoring shop that he’d noticed was usually buzzing with customers  on patrol. “i uh— you hit your head pretty hard sir a-and there’s a villain outside— i don’t think you can fight it like this—“ you’d tried to explain in a hurry, the situation now obvious as bakugou’s head lay in your lap. 

groaning, he’d wanted to pull away from you get back up and take the damn villain down but before he could even move it’s quirk had sent another blast in the direction of your precious shop. one minute, bakugou’s life is flashing before his eyes and the next an invisible shield flies up in front of you both, protecting you from whatever impact had been coming. “‘m goin’ back out there,” bakugou told you sternly, gathering himself back up. there was no way a civilian should be doing his job, he should be protecting you, not the other way around. “stay fuckin’ put, till i get back. then we’re goin’ to a hospital.” 

turns out, you were great at following orders, by the time bakugou had taken out the perpetrator— you were more than willing to go with him to the hospital to get your injuries checked out. he stayed with you the entire time, he owed it to you at least. you’d saved his life, and sacrificed your shop but uttered not a word of complaint in response. and in the winter days that followed the incident, he visited and brought flowers and sat with you— learning about you, learning to love you right into the new year. 

bakugou’s spirits towards winter and Christmas had certainly changed since then. well into his thirties with achy joints, silvering hair and a stomach that’s a little less toned than it used to be— dynamight sits perched on the highest of buildings, a com mic pressed into his slightly muted ear. “ai’ght fuckers, let’s get this over with. the wife’s given me only a couple hours b’fore she can’t hold on any longer.” he grunts to his fellow heroes, ready to take down their annual Christmas robbery. 

it couldn’t have come at a worse time, katsuki promising you that he wouldn’t be working on the holiday for the sake of your kids— who needed their father just one day out of the year. you’d wrapped him up extra tight, a homemade scarf you’d worked on in the last few months slipped softly around his neck as you scolded him for taking up over time when he should have been with you, with his family.

“you got it kacchan,” izuku chuckles from his end of the line— positioned some ways away, his eyes also on the target. “operation kacchan’s home for Christmas is a go.” 

“agreed. i do not like it when mrs.bakugou is angry.” todoroki chimes in plainly, also accompanying the childhood duo on their mission.

“then keep yer eyes on the fuckin’ target— the sooner we can get my ass home t’what really matters this Christmas!” the blonde scolds his long time friends, rolling eyes eyes fondly as he sets his eyes on the target who‘d ripped him away from his family.

“daddy! you’re late!” 

katsuki’s oldest just barely looks up from her phone— a gift from last year— as he rushes into the hospital waiting room still decked out in his ashy hero gear. kayako bakugou still accepts the kiss to her forehead from her father and the ruffle to her blonde curls once he’s close enough. she has his hair, the colour of his eyes but the shape of her features are undoubtedly yours— the perfect blend of two people completely and utterly in love. 

his vermilion gaze shoots to his son, kuzki— a quiet little boy who’s not quite like the rest of the bakugou bunch but equally as loving and as precious to dynamight himself. “sorry ya guys have to be here on Christmas Day, s’late too,” the man pinches his kid’s cheek, kazuki squirming happily, albeit a bit sleepy. “we can open presents later, after i see momma.” 

“s’okay papa! nana mitsuki got us candy!” he squeals, the eldest bakugou hiding her nose in her magazine at her mention. 

“ma!” 

“what?” she huffs back, nodding her head towards the door. “you don’t have time to have a go at me, katsuki. your wife is waiting for you.” 

both of the bakugou kids get a smooch on their foreheads, and mitsuki the middle finger ( discreetly and in his head because he won’t risk getting his ass kicked by his own mother in front of his offspring ). he stalks his way into your private hospital room, keeping his clunky steps unusually quiet as he spots you resting in your bed. 

“you’re lucky, she just fed and was about to go down for a nap, but it seems like she was waiting for a certain someone.” you coo but you’re not looking at your husband, instead at the tiny bundle of joy wriggling about in her swaddle, laying in your arms. 

the elder blonde approaches the two of you, curling an arm immediately— soothed by your warmth which sends the chill of winter straight out of him. “she?” bakugou questions, too tentatively for a man with such a misshapen and rough exterior. you pass the little baby girl off to him, letting him take in the scent of baby powder and fresh linen. “god, she’s pretty. just like her momma, huh?” 

“think that’s all you, kats, you know these bakugou genes wait for no one,” you breathe your words out in exhaustion, but a smile stays strong in your face like the blistering winds outside. “thirteen hours of labour and she still couldn’t wait for daddy.”

“‘m sorry i couldn’t be there, stupid fuckin’—“ the baby stirs in his hold, growing fussy as if she already knows the signature forbidden word of the bakugou household. “stupid freakin’ deku held us up at the mission ‘n i tried my best t’get here..” bakugou loses his words, staring at his his newborn princess with so much love in the world— she’s tiny in his arms, gargling sleepily as he bounces her, standing to walk the room with his new little girl and showing her the snowfall. 

the three of you are entranced by the first glimmer of the crystalline weather— the room swimming with a contrasting warmth that katsuki can bear to stand because it’s not a frosted winter. it’s a perfect love. his own oasis away from the cold. “s’okay kats, she just wanted to be the best christmas gift you could have asked for,” you murmur. “our perfect little christmas gift.” 

katsuki bakugou hums in agreement, watching eyes the colour of your own but the shape of his flutter with tiredness for the first time being out in the new world. and now with his little treasure, his darling daughter and absolute labour of love— katsuki bakugou is able to state his reason for finally finding appreciation for winter after all this time.

“merry christmas, princess.” he says to her wistfully. “and to you too, m’love.” 

“merry christmas, kats.” you whisper back, your voice to him like a call through the storm.

[dat-town]

my first and last forever

Characters: Taesan & female reader

Setting & genre: fluff, established relationship, college au

Summary: You celebrate your first anniversary with your fashion designer boyfriend, so you stress over what to wear. Not that it matters, he loves you either way and his present is proof enough.

Warnings: birth names are used, teeny tiny suggestiveness because i couldn’t miss out on the reference for this cover, also cheesiness??

Words: 2.3k

Author’s note: happy birthday to my fellow leo (baby)! this is inspired by the fact that Taesan likes to customize clothes and this video where Leehan and him went to a stained glass workshop with a fan. title from Taesan’s self-composed song So I can say you’re beautiful (eng trans.)

Having an indie fashion brand owner boyfriend means quite a few things for your closet.

Number one, your clothing style starts to resemble his because he looks way too cool, gives great advice on how to match your pieces and he keeps buying you stuff.

Number two, except for a few items that never fail to make Dongmin crunch his nose in silent judgment (come on, it’s a Christmas sweater, it’s supposed to be ugly!), most of your clothes match his. Woonhak always comments on your couple look which in turn makes your boyfriend roll his eyes but you know that secretly he likes it.

Number three, you have pretty much every collection in every color of his brand’s clothes and those become your favorites (right after stealing Dongmin’s clothes).

Number four, choosing a date outfit without his input is killing you. When you don’t know what to wear usually you just ask him or send him options and let him choose but not this time though. You know he wouldn’t care even if you put on the bright yellow sundress he once compared to a children's crayon because he thinks you’re pretty no matter what but you would like to impress him, it’s your anniversary after all.

You weigh your chances as if you were on Who wants to be a millionaire?: you can ask the friend group over chat excluding Dongmin of course or give a call to his yapper best friend in case he knows something.

“No,” Jaehyun says immediately when he takes the phone call that you decided to make.

“Hello to you too. I didn’t even say what I want,” you pout, surprised at his reaction.

“Right but Dongmin has been going on and on about you guys’ anniversary for months I swear, so of course, I know what’s today and no, I’m not telling you what he’s planning,” Jaehyun rambled but you could tell it was clearly a rehearsed speech. He had expected this. Also you couldn’t help but internally coo at the thought of your indifference-looking boyfriend speaking so much about your upcoming celebration.

“Not even a little hint? How should I dress?” You voice out your dilemma and you can clearly hear Jaehyun laugh at your pain on the other side of the line.

“Ask your fashion designer boyfriend.”

“But I want to surprise him! He told me that anything’s fine and that’s not helping. I know him, I know we aren’t going to a super fancy restaurant or for a hike but still, there are so many options!” You whine and Jaehyun huffs.

“Dress comfortably and don’t wear too much jewelry but that’s all I can say,” he says before making a weak excuse that he gotta go, so he hangs up.

You sigh but manage to narrow down the options to two vastly different styles. One is a pale pink layered dress with ribbon strips which is very unlike anything in Dongmin’s wardrobe but he likes you in pink and he has a tiny bit of an obsession with you wearing ribbons or any strings tied. His mischievous ass likes to tug on them to see how much it takes for them to come undone or to get you annoyed. The other outfit is a fake leather, side slit skort with fishnet tights and one of his designs, a black crop top with colorful lettering. All three are also definitely things your boyfriend likes on you, so you’re stuck.

It’s time to ask the audience.

you guys!!! HELP [image_64735.jpg] [image_73628.jpg] which one should i wear? woon baby ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ you don’t laugh it’s a serious dilemma sanghyukie I would go with the first one you thank you, hyuk, you are a godsent princess wonnie ✨ OMG the pink?!?! is that a question? annabelle i vote the black one pls film the brainfreeze he gets when he sees you in that myungjae lol i second that sungho 💪 Please don’t cause him lasting damage 🙏 woon baby i love chaos so … the second donghyun-ah 🐠 👍 you [added a poll to group chat “daily dongmin gossip”]

The black outfit wins by one vote. You thank the guys for their input and start to get ready because you are already a bit too late compared to your estimate.

You dress up, do a smokey eye shadow makeup with cherry red lips, put on boots and pull your hair up in a high ponytail. Looking into the mirror, you know this look doesn’t seem anniversary-like at all with how dark it is but you are convinced Dongmin would like it and would even wear something similar. One last look in the mirror and one whiff of perfume applied, you are out of the door to catch the metro.

Your boyfriend is easy to spot even in the crowd at your destination station. He’s leaning against the wall, scrolling on his phone, looking as disinterested as one can be. He wears custom made sneakers, ripped jeans and a My Chemical Romance tee you bought him. You indeed match. He hasn’t noticed you yet, so you decide to sneak up on him. You’re two steps away from him when you see the corner of his mouth twitch as if he’s trying to suppress a smile but his posture doesn’t change. You know that you got caught but because Dongmin tries so hard to let you have your fun, you pretend not to know. You crash into his side, rise on your tiptoes and press a quick kiss on his cheek with a giggle. It leaves a slight pink color behind on the skin, the same as the tips of the boy’s ears. It only makes you smile harder.

“Hi!”

“Hey,” he turns to you then, pushing the sunglasses up onto the crown of his head and somehow he manages to artfully mess up his black locks without looking silly while you are busy scrubbing his cheek clean. The next thing you know is his feline eyes zeroing in on your choice of clothes and he visibly swallows, you can see the bob of his Adam’s apple, which tells you that you made a right choice but he plays cool.

It reminds you of the first time you spoke, when he came up to you between university classes as you were grabbing a drink and asked if you would model for his fashion brand. Or well, he was rather offering you a part time job for a few thousand won. He was very serious about it but you were no model and your art university had a whole website for such scouting, so you were a bit suspicious.

“Why me?” You tilted your head, keeping eye contact because you literally couldn’t look away. Dongmin has always had the most beautiful eyes that sucked you in like a black hole.

“I think you would look good in my clothes,” he said and your eyebrows immediately shot up at the implications behind his words which he soon caught up on too. “I mean, my brand’s clothes,” he corrected himself and suddenly he looked shy. He wore all black and an intimidating bad boy aura and he was getting flustered by you.

“Show me?” You asked him with a sweet smile, stepping closer as he whipped out his phone to show you pictures on his brand’s Instagram (@giant_mountain_clothes). If you hadn’t been taken before by his charm, you were definitely impressed then by how cool his designs actually looked, so you followed each other on social media and agreed on a date for the photo session.

When the day came, Dongmin was all professionalism as he handed you the clothes (jeans with a pattern that looked like graffiti, black and white crop tops with pretty cool line art and typography) and he gave instructions both to you and the photographer about the poses and camera angles. By the end of it, you pretty much thought you had misunderstood his intentions last time. It would have been a bit disappointing if the modeling session turned out to be an awkward experience.

“Not gonna lie, at first I thought it’s just an excuse to ask me out but it’s very cool that you already have a brand like this during uni. And the clothes were super comfy, so I will make sure to stock up before you get famous,” you spoke up playfully after the photographer left and it was just the two of you alone. After changing back to your own clothes, you were allowed to roam around in the studio slash warehouse but you turned away from the sketches on the table when the silence became too loud, facing Dongmin who cleared his throat as soon as your eyes met.

“Well, would you have said yes?” He raised a brow, all nonchalant, but you smiled.

“Try asking,” you challenged him which made him laugh and the rest is history. One year has passed and you’re still going on strong.

Later you got to know that all of his previous models were either his friends or a friend of a friend, so him asking you was actually a big thing. Once you were added to the big friend group chat, Jaehyun couldn’t stop teasing him about it and telling you endearing details about how nervous Dongmin apparently was before that first modeling session of yours. Because of course, there were more following that.

Snapping back to reality, you tilt your head while looking at your boyfriend.

“Like it?” You ask as innocently as you can but your breath hitches when Dongmin slides a hand over your bare side protectively and leans closer to your ear.

“Very. Might ruin your lipstick later,” he promises in a low voice, his warm breath tickling your skin, then he pulls away but keeps his hand on you as he leads you out of the metro station. He walks slower deliberately, so you could keep up with his long legs.

“So… will you tell me now where we’re going?” You can’t help but inquire because curiosity has been bugging you so much. Dongmin asked you to make your day free in advance but he didn’t say anything about his plans and he gave no hints either. Unlike you who accidentally told him about the concert tickets you bought (which he first laughed about because of your overdramatic reaction but his face lit up nevertheless as if you brought him down the stars), he was too good at keeping secrets.

“You will see soon,” he grins at you with his boxy smile like a promise and doesn’t crumble even seeing your pout. He must really want to surprise you because that usually works.

And surprise he does when he takes you all over Insadong, to the second floor of a crammed, colorful building in the middle of an artsy district of the city to a jewelry studio.

“Wait… wait! Is this what I think it is?” You turn to your boyfriend with widened eyes when you see a poster about custom ring workshops beside the entrance. “Han Dongmin, you’re such a romantic!”

“Am not,” The boy denies immediately but he’s not looking into your eyes, apparently too busy searching up the confirmation email on his phone.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” you mutter, smiling from ear to ear as you attach yourself to his side and crane your neck to look around in the studio. Now you understand why Jaehyun suggested wearing less jewelry for today’s activity.

You can’t stop smiling even as you are sitting down at a table after receiving protective gloves and an apron instructed to take measurements of the finger you want to make the ring for. You immediately reach out for Dongmin’s hand. There’s something intimate in the way your fingers slot together and you pay attention to every knuckle and even the needle scars on his fingertips from his hard work.

Dongmin is an artist and good at craft like that, so obviously the ring he makes for you is prettier than the one you make for him but he doesn’t seem to mind it at all. He doesn’t want perfection, he wants you with all your flaws and clumsy metalsmithing skills. It takes a few hours and a bunch of help from your instructors but you walk out of the studio with matching couple rings. Dongmin isn’t big on PDA but you can get away with holding his hand, the new rings still warm to touch grazing. You love holding his hand or just playing with his fingers; you love the casual intimacy of it, that you get to be close to him like this, connected in such a simple yet meaningful way.

At the metro, you nudge Dongmin’s side to make him look at you and there’s only fondness in his eyes which makes you feel spoiled. He always looks at you as if you were special.

“Thank you. I love it so much,” you tell him, wanting to commit this moment to your memories. Right next to the first time he told you he loves you. It was an accident, something he blurted out during play fighting while you acted pseudo sulky and you were so surprised you almost fell off the couch because he was an actions over words type of guy. You couldn’t make him say it again once realization hit both of you but you loved him in spite of it. Because of it. You just love him.

“Happy anniversary, baby,” Dongmin smiles and you melt like every time he calls you that. You close your eyes and lean your head on his shoulder, the ring bearing his initials feeling like a promise on your finger. He’s mine, mine, mine and I’m his, his, his, your heart chants all happy.

you [image_83464.jpg] woon baby i want to be the ringbearer at the wedding!! princess wonnie ✨ aww couple rings so cute! myungjae don’t flaunt your relationship in front of our single asses me when? TT

[honeyedmiller]

A Blissful Feeling | Javier Peña

pairing: husband!javier peña x wife!reader

rating: 18+, minors dni.

warnings: fluff, established relationship (marriage), smut (grinding, fingering, rimming [don’t look at me lol], f oral receiving, one (1) smack on the ass [if i remember correctly], unprotected piv, consensual choking, spitting, praise), small uses of spanish with translations at the end, uses of pet names in a loving manner, teasing, no use of y/n. please let me know if i missed anything.

word count: 4.1k

synopsis: You find out Javi is having a bad day at work, so you pay him a visit at the office.

divider by the wonderful @saradika-graphics

It was mornings like this that Javier wished he could stay in bed with you. Tangled in the sheets, bare skin against bare skin, soft lips brushing pulse points, and satiated grins adorning your lips as you stared at each other with pure love and awe. 

But, reality was an unwanted, cruel thing that wrapped herself around perfect mornings like ones like this. Ones where Javier is almost late to work because he can’t get enough of his beautiful wife, leaving him to rush out of the door with his thermos of coffee and a chaste kiss to the lips as a see you later, mi amor to you. 

That left you standing in the middle of the kitchen, bare feet on the cold tile floor as you leaned over the counter to make a list of all the errands you had to run today. Your silk robe was tied securely to your body, recalling that the material almost made its way off of you, courtesy of your husband’s needy hands. 

As much as you almost gave in to temptation, you didn’t need him to be chewed out by his coworkers for being late. They all loved and respected him at the Laredo sheriff's office, but to save him the humiliation, you mustered up more willpower than you wanted to and ultimately swatted his hands away. 

You knew he had a long work day ahead of him, though, and you missed him already. You loved your husband so dearly and being away from him for most of the day tugged at your heart. Some might call it clingy. You just call it being in love. 

You decided to get to work on your list anyhow, hoping that these errands and few chores would give you the perfect distraction from missing your sweet Javier too much. 

First up: tidy up the house. You put some music on and got to work, having the house cleaned in about an hour. You upkept with cleaning pretty well, so your intermittent cleaning wasn’t as tedious. Once you were done you showered and got ready for the day, sporting a cute christmas patterned sweater with some leggings Javier always said looked good on you. You smile faintly at your husband’s words, relishing in the recollection of them. 

The rest of the to-do list was pretty easy, considering it was mundane tasks like washing your car, putting gas in it, and grocery shopping. You also had a nail appointment lined up today, which you were excited for. You were feeling festive, so you wanted to go with something more Christmas themed. 

You decided to save grocery shopping for last, knowing it would take at least an hour and a half. The list you and Javier made last night was long, knowing you needed to restock on essentials and your favorite foods. 

You got washing your car and filling up the tank out of the way in twenty minutes, leaving you to head to the nail salon. While you were sitting in the chair mindlessly watching your nail tech paint your nails, your phone pinged with a text from Javi. 

Hi mi amor. How’s your day going so far? I miss you. 

You couldn’t help but smile foolishly at his text, making your heart flutter as you read the words over again. Six years together and two years married, and yet, he still made you feel so special—like the only girl in the room that mattered. 

Hi baby. I miss you too. It’s good, just got some stuff done off of my to-do list. How’s work? 

You respond as fast as you could with the hand thats nails weren’t being painted. 

He responded almost immediately to you.

That’s great, cariño. Work has been shitty today. Tipped my fresh coffee over by accident in the break room, and I couldn’t make myself a new cup since we ran out of coffee grounds. Nobody around here seems to know how to do their job today. Wish I was back in bed with you. 

Your smile falters at his text. You hated seeing him so stressed, wishing you could take it all away in an instant. 

Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that, amor. I’ll make you whatever you want for dinner tonight and give you a nice back massage. How’s that sound? ;) 

You’re hopeful your offer lightens his mood a little bit, but another idea skimmed your mind. You looked at your watch-clad wrist, seeing it was only eleven thirty. You decided you’d try and brighten his day sooner by surprising him with lunch at his job. 

Part of you wanted to go anyway just to see him and kiss him, telling him the stress of the day will go away when he comes back to a nice clean house and a home cooked meal waiting for him after he gets off of work. 

Sounds great, baby. Can’t wait. 

You heart the message and finish up with your nails, paying your tech and tipping her for doing an incredible job. You contemplate where to get lunch, and you ultimately decide on this Mediterranean spot you both love. It’s down the block from the sheriff’s office, so it was perfect. 

Within twenty minutes, you were heading down the road to see your husband. You pulled up to the sheriff’s office, greeting the familiar receptionist with a smile. 

“Doreen! How are you today?” You smile, and her grin reflects yours. The sweet older lady always enjoyed chatting with you, loving when you paid the office a visit. 

“Mrs. Peña! What a nice surprise. I’m good dear, how are you?” She asks, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. 

“I’m great, thank you. Glad you’re doing well. Is Javi busy at the moment?” You ask, hopeful that he isn’t so you can actually spend time with him and enjoy your lunch together. 

“Nope. Go right ahead, doll. Should I call him and tell him you’re coming?” 

“No, no,” You stop her with a sweet smile. “I wanted to surprise him with lunch today.” 

“Well aren’t you two just the cutest. Enjoy your lunch.” She winks at you, and you can’t help but laugh. You just absolutely adored her kind soul. 

“Thank you Doreen. See you in a bit.” You wave, heading off to Javier’s office. You turned a couple of corners before stopping at his door, knocking on it twice with a smile stretched on your lips. 

“Come in.” You heard him say, and you opened the door. 

He doesn’t look up from his paperwork until he hears the bag of food rustling, and his head shoots up. His big brown eyes gleam with joy as he takes in the sight of you. 

“Mi amor,” He whispers, getting out of his chair to make his way to you. “What are you—”

“Surprise.” You say and hold the bag of food up, and he chuckles as he wraps an arm firmly around your frame to pull you into him. You softly yelp in surprise, your free hand landing on his chest. 

“You’re the best, cariño. This is exactly what I needed.” He grins as he leans to kiss you tenderly, hand making its way under your sweater to splay out against the skin of your back. The coolness of his wedding band shot a shiver down your spine, and you moved your hand from his chest up to the back of his neck, pulling him in closer. 

He groans softly and pulls away before he gets lost in the art of kissing his beautiful wife. 

“What’d you get for lunch?” He mumbles against your lips. 

“Mediterranean.” 

“Mm, thank you baby.” He kisses your cheek before fully pulling away. 

“Thought I could join you today, if that’s okay.” You grin at him. 

“Of course mi amor, I wouldn’t want it any other way.” He kisses you chastely once more before closing his office door behind you all the way. He makes his way back to his desk chair and grabs your hips, silently asking you to sit down on one of his legs. You laugh at the gesture before taking the food containers out of the bag, the aroma of chicken kabobs and basmati rice instantly filling the office. 

Javier keeps one hand wrapped around your waist as you both eat, savoring the delicious food. Halfway through the meal, you feel his lips brush your neck with a ghost of a kiss that has you clenching your thighs together. 

Javier always had a way of arousing you, even with the simplest of actions. Sometimes it wasn’t fair how easily he could turn you on. He didn’t care though. He fucking loved it, and loved teasing you until you were squirming and whimpering for him. 

“Javi.” You whisper, leaning your head back on his shoulder. It could’ve also been the way that you two didn’t get to finish what you started this morning, so the anticipation has been building and brewing deep in your belly all day. 

“My wife is just the sweetest,” He whispers against your neck, “Just wanna thank her for a wonderful surprise is all.” He teases, hands caressing your curves underneath your sweater. 

Goosebumps rise on your skin from his touch, and you put a hand on his thigh to steady yourself. He stops his movements momentarily and brings one hand out from under your sweater, lifting your hand up to his line of sight. 

“Got your nails done, baby? They look real good,” He compliments, kissing your hand. He admires your red nails with a holly design on your ring finger. 

“Thank you, baby.” 

“Did you use my card to pay for them?” He asks, and you shake your head no. He groans, shaking his head. “Baby, you know I love to pay for your nails. Why won’t you just use my card?” 

“I feel bad, honey, you don’t need to pay for everything I need maintenance on all the time.” 

“Uh uh. Don’t ever feel bad. I’m here to spoil my wife as I please, and if I wanna pay for her nails, I’ll do so,” He chastised, but it wasn’t condescending. He chuckles after, and you turn to give him a confused look. “Besides, I love seeing what color and design you always pick out. Can’t wait to see how it’ll look wrapped around my cock you love so much.” 

He’s snickering like a school boy, and your jaw drops in pure shock. 

“Javier Peña!” You swat his arm, “You’re so bad.” He laughs at your scolding, putting both hands on your thighs. 

“You know you love it, baby.” He teases, rubbing his hands up and down your thighs, taking notice that you’re wearing his favorite leggings on you. 

“Do me a favor, mi amor,” He says, and you turn to look at him. “Lock my office door for me.” He nods his head towards the door, and you look at him in confusion. 

“Javi, what—?” You begin, but he shakes his head and gives you room to get up. You rise slowly, making your way over to the mahogany door to twist the lock shut. You turn to look at Javier again, and the lustful look on his face startles you. 

His sweet brown eyes are now nearly black, full of so much desire and neediness and—fuck—you were so turned on by it. There’s just something about the way he looks at you that silently screams possession, like he’s proud that you’re his, that turns you on so much. 

You needed to ground yourself back to reality though, because doing anything here would be too risky. 

“Javi, baby, we’re at your job. We can’t—we can’t do this here.” 

You begin to walk closer to him and he turns his chair to the side so he’s no longer facing his desk. He makes a ‘come here’ gesture with his index finger, and you want to fucking salivate with how delicious your husband looks right now. He’s got that carnal stare locked on you and your figure, legs spread wide with the fabric of his slacks straining against his thick thighs, and a devilish smirk on his face as he tugs you by the waistband of your leggings to stand before him, tucked between his legs. 

“But that’s where you’re wrong, baby. Wanna finish what we started this morning,” He tugs you down gently so you’re straddling his lap. You feel his bulge through his slacks, and it takes everything in you not to moan. “Just gotta keep that pretty little mouth of yours quiet.” 

His large hands cradle your ass, giving it a squeeze as he kisses you. Your first instinct was to card your fingers through his dark locks, but you had to remind yourself that you were in his office—you didn’t want to leave any evidence of your insatiable endeavors behind. You opted for the lapel of his suit instead, tugging him closer to you. You moan breathlessly into his mouth, instinctively grinding your hips down onto him. 

A deep groan rumbles from his sturdy chest, like the neediness and desire to have you right now was life or death. 

He pulled back from you for a second to trail kisses down the warm skin of your neck, tongue poking out to trace over your pulse point. 

You gasped and grinded yourself into him harder, your arousal slowly seeping through your panties and leggings. Your core was aching to be touched at this point, only merely teased this morning by your husband’s skillful fingers. 

You wanted more, more, more, but responsibilities outweighed desires. 

One of his hands traveled down to rub at your core over the fabric of your clothes, cock straining tighter against his slacks to find you’ve already soaked through your panties and leggings.

“Does my beautiful wife want me this badly?” He murmurs, and you nod frantically. 

“Please, Javi. Need you so bad.” Your voice sounded desperate and whiny, but you truly couldn’t care at this moment. All you wanted was for your husband to take everything he needed and wanted from you. 

“Stand up, sweet girl.” 

You obey instantly. He was so easy to submit to. Everything with him was just so easy. He was safe, he was gentle, he was home. 

He turned your body so you faced his desk, and he bent you downward so your body was at a ninety degree angle. 

He easily peeled your panties and leggings off of your ass, shimmying them down to your mid-thigh. He kicked your feet further apart, relishing in the sight of your ass on full display for him. He rubbed the supple flesh lovingly, giving it a smack before he sank to his knees behind you. 

You turned your head back to look at him, eyebrows threading together at the sight of him kneeling behind you. 

“Baby, what are you do—oh, fuck.” You cry, hand clamping over your mouth. Javier had taken it upon himself to eat you out from behind, delving his expert tongue through your slick folds. 

He hummed against you, licking up everything you gave him as your arousal dripped down your thighs, and now, his face.

It was rare when he ate you out from behind, but when he did, it was a fucking treat. Before him, nobody else had ever done so, so the first time he did it with you, it had you coming in less than five minutes tops. 

He usually liked to eat you out from below, just so he could see your pretty face contort into pure pleasure as his tongue fucked you rhythmically. 

Your hand did a half-assed job at muffling your moans as Javi’s tongue circled your clit, all the way up to your entrance, and past that to your other hole. You choked on a gasp as he greedily licked you, reaching your other hand back to grab one that dug into the meat of your thigh. He intertwined his fingers with yours, giving your hand a squeeze as he removed his mouth from you. 

He chuckled darkly as he spit onto your hole, saliva trailing down to your entrance. He got back to work immediately, licking your entrance before moving back down to your clit. He unlinked his hand from yours, prodding two fingers at your entrance. He pushed in slowly and with ease, slick instantly coating his thick fingers. 

You whimper at the sensation, that low burn of desire that’s been pooling in your belly all day completely awakened, licking a flame up your spine and waiting for a chance to engulf you wholly. 

“Could eat this pretty pussy all day, baby.” Javier mumbled below you, and you couldn’t help but clench around his fingers. 

The lewd sounds of your wetness reverberated off of his office walls, hoping to god none of his coworkers could hear any of this. 

You felt the internal flame in your body get hotter and hotter, traveling down your legs as they shook with pleasure. 

“That’s it, mamas, there you go. Doing so well. Let it go, baby.” Javier’s words launched you over the edge, gushing around his fingers and all over his mouth. You squeezed your eyes shut as you bit your lip hard to try and keep quiet. The obscene sounds of him slurping every last bit of you up nearly made your knees buckle. 

Your body went limp against his desk, breath uneven and shaky. 

“Fuck, Javi.” You breathe, eyes closing in pure bliss. 

“Worth the wait?” He asks. 

You nod mindlessly, mind too fuzzy to conjure up a proper response. 

“Good. Not done with you yet, though, cariño. Turn around for me.” 

You muster up all the strength you have in your body to turn around and face him, and your eyes immediately move down to the straining bulge in his slacks. You lean against his desk, pulling him to you by his belt buckle. You deftly unbuckle his belt and pop open the button of his slacks, sliding down the zipper in one go. 

You move to drop to your knees, but Javier catches your elbow before you fully sink down. You look up at him with glossy eyes and a confused stare, and he moves to cradle your jaw in his large hand. 

“Mm mm. Let’s save that for tonight, mi amor. Wanna be inside you now.” 

Before you can even register his words, he’s lifting you up onto his desk and pulling his slacks and boxers down. His painfully erect cock springs free, and you reach forward to give it a few tugs and swipe your thumb over his slit to collect the pre come that gathered at his tip. You pop your thumb in your mouth, sucking on it while staring into your husband’s beautiful brown eyes. You let out a satisfied hum, licking your lips after you remove your thumb from your mouth with a ‘pop’.

Javier hisses through clenched teeth, expression painted with neediness and agony. You tug on his cock a couple of times, biting down on your lip as you look up at your handsome husband. You bat your lashes up at him and you feel his cock twitch in your hand. 

“Need you, baby.” His voice is gravelly, nearly pained.

“I’m yours.” 

And he’s on you. He leans down to kiss you fervently, sliding the tip of his cock through your folds before pushing into you. You both swallow each other’s moans; the fullness he provided you each time was something you’ll always be mesmerized by. 

He starts off slow, testing the waters of his thrusts to see if his desk would creak too loud or if it would scrape too much against the thin rug beneath it. Once he found he was in the clear, he picked up his pace immediately. 

He relentlessly thrusted in and out of you, the tip of his heavy cock kissing your cervix. You cried out his name and he shushed you with praises that only made you more aroused.  

Sh sh sh, I know baby, I know. Taking my cock so well, hm? Such a good fucking girl for me. My pretty wife. All mine, he babbled. 

He looked down at you as he relentlessly fucked you, the sound of skin slapping on skin much louder than your moans. Javier couldn’t give a shit anymore, though.

His tunnel vision was locked in, only wanting to make you feel good. One of his hands gathered your wrists and held them above your head, flashing you a wicked smile as his other hand traveled up to your throat. Before he could squeeze, he waited for your consent. 

“Please.” You squeak out, and he wraps his fingers around your throat to squeeze the sides. 

“Open your mouth.” He says, and you oblige, sticking your tongue out for good measure. He spits directly into your mouth, and you swallow without hesitation. You grin up at him as he squeezes your throat a little tighter, a euphoric type of bliss overcoming your whole being. 

He’s fucking into you so hard now that various items on his desk start to rattle. Pencils are being knocked over and the framed photo of you and him on your wedding day plops down onto a pile of papers. His hand moves from your wrists to your breasts, squeezing them generously over the soft fabric of your sweater. 

He couldn’t wait to give the entirety of your body all of the attention it deserves when he got home from work tonight. The thought of you squirming beneath him as you tugged on his hair, moaning as loud as you wanted without a care in the world, had him fucking panting. 

You were canting your hips up to meet his thrusts as best as you could, the sensation of his wiry hair at the base of his cock causing a delectable friction onto your already sore and puffy clit. He moved his hands from your throat and breasts to skate them down your figure, finding home on your hips. 

“I’m close, Javi.” You were breathless, the rumbling fire in your core slowly overtaking your body once more. You needed only a single match to light your fire, and Javier was it. He was your match. He slid you against the matchbox and lit your whole body aflame, engulfing you in everything Javi. He was all-consuming. 

You let the feeling of that familiar euphoric bliss overcome your body once more as you convulsed, legs shaking as they locked around Javier’s waist. Feeling you clench around him with such force had his hips stuttering, knowing he wasn’t far behind from release himself. 

His lips enveloped yours once more, hands flying up to cradle your face as he spilled every last drop of his come into you. Your moans met in a harmony that not even the most skilled choir could compete with. 

His hips stilled completely, waiting a few seconds to relish in your warmth before sliding out of you slowly. You whimpered at the loss of fullness, wishing you could curl up next to him and enjoy his warmth for hours. Reality trickled back in as he bent down to pick up his boxers and slacks, readjusting himself to make it look like he didn’t just fuck his wife relentlessly on his desk.

He leaned down to kiss your forehead before helping you stand, kissing your thighs before sliding your panties and leggings up your legs again. The fucked out look on your face was one of his favorites, and it’s one he knows he’ll never get tired of seeing. 

“I love you, baby. Thank you for two meals in one.” He winked, and you felt your body get hot. 

You quirk an eyebrow at him, taking a step forward to close the gap between you both. He mindlessly wrapped a hand around your waist, and you rested a hand on his chest—right above the strong, rhythmic beat of his heart.

“You’re very welcome, Mr. Peña. Hope this made your day a little better,” You give him a chaste kiss, hand sliding down his chest to his abdomen before separating your lips from his as your gaze meets his once more. “And I can’t wait for mine tonight.” Your fingers tease the waistband of his slacks, and he grabs your hand to move it lower, resting over his already half-hard cock. 

He closes his eyes in pure bliss as you rub him through the fabric slowly, and you kiss his neck before huffing a small laugh. 

“Mine.” You say, stepping away from him, heading for his office door. You wink at him and blow him one last kiss before unlocking and opening the door, leaving him dumbfounded, turned on, and pondering what you had in store for him at home that night. 

But, for now, he had reality and her greedy ways to tend to before he could submerge himself once more in this blissful thing he called home—

You. 

translations:

-> amor: love

-> mi amor: my love

-> cariño: honey

-

tag list: @party-hearses ; @ilovepedro ; @nostalxgic ; @tinygarbage ; @bastardmandennis ; @amanitacowboy

[blues824]

(round 1)

silver w prompts #3, 4, and 5!!

My first request for the Fluffcember event!!

You requested: Present Shopping, Gift Giving, and Wrapping Gifts

Silver

“Come on, Silver! We haven’t checked out that shop yet!”

For the past two hours, you have dragged him about the town to go gift shopping for all of your friends. Of course, a few of them were gag-gifts, but that doesn’t matter because you knew that they would appreciate any gift you give them (unless it’s an ass-kicking). 

The aforementioned knight kind of let you drag him around, but he had to admit that it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open. The only thing that kept him going was how cute you looked wrapped up in one of his hoodies and a bunch of winter wear. You genuinely had this man wrapped around your finger.

Anyway, you walked into the store and found all sorts of wintery-themed trinkets. Little ceramic village houses that were powered with electricity, lamp posts, streets, even figurines of people and animals. Eventually, you came across a couple of nutcrackers, and you picked one up. It had silver hair and was dressed in a red soldier’s top and white pants.

“Look! It’s you!” You held it up to him for him to examine, and he took it from your gloved hands just to look at it more closely.

“What do you mean?” He was genuinely confused. Surely you weren’t comparing him to a nutcracker of all things?

“In my world, there is a ballet that depicts a little girl from Germany on Christmas Eve who dreams of a nutcracker coming to life and defending her from the evil Mouse King. That’s who you remind me of; you will always protect me no matter what trouble I find myself in,” and with that, you placed a kiss upon the bridge of his nose before turning away.

~~~~~~~~

You both sat down in the Diasomnia common room, him assisting you with wrapping gifts and writing peoples’ names. Malleus tried to sneak a peek at the gifts, but he was sent to his room so that the surprise would not be ruined. He knows you don’t mean it personally, and took it as lighthearted, and even let out a loud laugh as you ushered him out.

Sebek had an entire fit, but you quickly shut him and Lilia up so that you and Silver could continue wrapping their presents. You were struggling with wrapping the gifts and your boyfriend was struggling to stay awake, so you just looked up a video on Twisted Wonderland’s equivalent of YouTube. 

You should have bought gift bags at this point, you think, nearly ready to give up as you sat on the floor trying to figure it out. However, you feel someone slip the awkwardly wrapped item from your grasp and start to wrap it. Silver had a poker face as he undid the mess you got yourself into and smoothed out the wrapping paper before beginning. The lines were so sharp and pristine, probably a training exercise he has experience with to aid him in the area of patience.

Once he finished, he looked up and saw you staring in shock. He was about to question you when you let out a loud groan of annoyance and mumbled some expletives about how you just couldn’t get it right.

Silver just rolled his eyes and smiled before sitting behind you, you now sitting between his legs, and he reached around you to put his hands over yours as he guided you through wrapping the next item. It was a tad messier than the one he had just done, but it looked good enough, and you were completely fine with it. It didn’t look like total crap, and you were now cuddling with your knight in polyester armor (he was also wearing a sweater).

However, when you turned your head to thank him, you found that he had fallen asleep while leaning on you. You decided to let him lay there until you had finished, yourself getting better and better at wrapping gifts. You tried to not move around as much so as to not wake Silver up, and it seemed to be working. Eventually, you finally got through the entire pile of things you had purchased.

~~~~~~~~

He woke up on the couch in the Diasomnia lounge to you cleaning up a bit and putting the wrapping paper away. You saw that he was awake and you walked over to sit upon the coffee table.

Why is this man so goddamn beautiful??

That aside, he sat up slowly and stretched out, when you remembered something. You quickly rushed over to the main table between the two stairways and grabbed a present that you had wrapped. Luckily, Silver was sleeping when you wrapped it, and he didn’t seem to suspect anything. The royal green and silver wrapping paper beautifully contrasted each other, now that you thought about it.

Your knight turned to see what you were holding, watching as you perched yourself back on the coffee table. You gently handed him the gift with a smile, excited to see what he would think about it.

He delicately unwrapped it, not wanting to mess up the effort you put into wrapping his gift. It wasn’t perfectly done, but he didn’t care. It was wrapped by you and that was all that mattered. Eventually, he got to the box inside, and he opened the lid to find the same nutcracker from the store you both went to earlier.

Didn’t you put this back on the shelf?

“I may or may not have paid Ace a bit of money to purchase this for me behind your back just so it could remain a surprise. I already told you that it reminded me of you, so I decided to get it for you!” You explained, noticing his confusion.

He took the nutcracker out of the box and looked at its design and clothing even closer. Now that it wasn’t shoved in his face, he could admire the craftsmanship that went into the figure. 

“Should I have gotten you a music box with a ballerina inside?” You giggled at his question, shaking your head.

“No… But anyways, do you like it?”

“I love anything that you give me, Y/N.”

“While that’s cute, that’s not an answer.”

“Yes, I like it,” he relented, smiling upon seeing you excited. Maybe he should have gotten you a music box.

[hypersonic04]

Heaven In Your Eyes

Hi everyone! I think I’m finally getting back into the groove of writing, both in terms of actually writing and also feeling mentally okay to delve back into tumblr. This is pretty basic I fear, so please bare with me lol. I’m not too sure what the word count is, but it’s not super long. I’ve missed you all so much, and really hope you enjoy <3

“I didn’t think you’d pick up.”

“You’re joking, right?”

Breathy laughter tumbles down the telephone line, your knuckles white as you grip the phone in your cold fingers. Looking both left and then right, the street is bare of taxi’s. It’s 3am, you’re stood outside a nightclub alone in the middle of London, and there’s only one address you know off by heart.

“Y/n? Are you still there?”

His voice brings you out of your panic, squeezing your eyes shut in an attempt to get rid of the wine-instilled haze that seems to be clouding them.

“Yeah, sorry.” You inhale sharply, quickly glancing at the gaggle of girls falling out of the club doorway in loud giggles and clicking heels. “Are you at home?”

“Yeah, is everything okay? You’re worrying me, where are you?” The sound of him shuffling to his feet - you picture him in those navy plaid pyjama pants you’d bought him last Christmas, weary eyes and a furrowed brow as he awaits your reply.

“Can I stay over?” You grimace as the words slip out of your mouth. Asking to stay over at your ex-boyfriend’s flat because you can’t remember the address of your hotel is quite possibly your lowest point yet. Your feet hurt in the strappy heels wound tight around your feet, the spaghetti straps of your dress offering no warmth to your bare shoulders. It’s November, for Christ sake.

“Course.” He responds after a few beats, “do you need me to come and pick you up?”

“No, it’s okay, I can Uber.” Licking your lips, you spot a cab making it’s way to the queue, holding your arm out for it. “I won’t be long.”

“Okay, let me know when you’re nearly here.”

With that, you hang up and jump in the cab. The address rolls off your tongue without a second thought, like it’s tattooed onto your brain. It makes your heart ache a little. You wonder if it’s the same for another girl somewhere out there, if in the three months you’ve been separated, Ross’ flat has become someone else’s drunken retreat. You find yourself picking around the edge of your nail as you picture the unidentified her in his bedsheets, the ones you used to tuck tightly around his mattress in the mornings because you knew he liked it, the very same bedsheets that once smelled like you.

The taxi driver coming to a halt surprises you, and when you look out of the window, sure enough, his apartment building looms next to you. You pay the driver, sliding out of the car and sending a quick text to him.

It’s all too familiar, the way you wait under the porch, leaning against the brick while you wait for him to come and open the door for you. You reminisce in a way that you’ve avoided for the entirety of your time apart, a way that you knew would leave you sobbing if you dared to delve into the memories of him.

You stand up from the wall when his figure approaches through the frosted glass, tall and looming. Opening the door, his eyes are exactly as you pictured them - dark, creasing slightly at the corners as he smiles softly at you, tired from touring.

And he is wearing the pyjama pants.

“Hi,” he smiles lopsidedly, standing to the side to let you in.

“Hi.” You say quietly, quieter than you anticipated. “Thank you so much.” You turn to face him as he shuts the door, swallowing heavily. He just looks so comfy, familiar, home.

“You know you’re always welcome.” He scratches the back of his neck as he stretches a little, and it takes every ounce of self discipline and control to not watch as his sweater rides up, fingers tingling with the thought of running them over the soft skin at his waist like you used to. His hair is longer, it makes your breath hitch, and you know he notices in the way his eyes trail down your throat, your neck flexing as you breath in.

“Yeah, well, I’m really grateful.” You nod, the silence all consuming.

You follow him up the stairs as he takes the lead, heels clicking on tiles and your hand clinging to the handrail. He lets you into the flat first, and the way your stomach drops at the sight of it takes you by surprise. It’s like you can see ghosts of yourself in every corner - tangled together on the sofa, dancing together in the kitchen, sharing a cigarette on the balcony.

The sound of the door clicking shut and locking fills the room. You sit on the edge of the sofa and undo your shoes, his gaze burning into you. He’s stood against the doorway, eyes following your every move.

“Why are you in London, anyway? Alone?” He asks, and you can hear the almost jealous tone in his voice.

“Someone’s party, some publisher, I don’t know.” You mumble, the free cocktails finally taking their toll. “And yes, alone. Go on, call me a loser, I know it’s on the tip of your tongue.”

He chuckles lightly and you roll your eyes. That laugh, the hold it’s had over you from the second you heard it all those years ago, makes you angry, in a way. How dare he have that power over you? How dare his slightest chuckle remind you of every Sunday morning spent together, every drunken walk home, every party where you’ve been the only two people in the room?

Walking over, he takes your heels from you and sets them in the hallway, before coming to sit next to you. You’re looking up at the ceiling, knees pulled to your chest as you lull your head back.

“This is nice.” He muses, taking the sparkly material of your dress between his fingertips, rubbing it against them.

“Do you think?” You smile sleepily, tilting your head to the side, his eyes trained on the material draped over your legs.

It’s silent in the flat, and it dawns on you that he probably just stayed up to wait for you.

“Why were you up at 3am? I didn’t think you’d answer.” You say quietly, watching as his eyes meet yours for a second, before flicking back to the ceiling.

“Can’t sleep these days.” He huffs, chest rising and falling heavily. You remember how he used to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, head nuzzled into your chest, impossible to wake up, in fact.

He turns to look at you for a second, gaze falling to your lips, over your cheeks, nose, meeting your eyes again. It’s been three months since you’ve been face to face, and it almost makes you laugh how you ever thought you could forget him. It feels like you were tracing the outline of his lips only yesterday, every inch of his existence at the forefront of your mind, like a textbook you’ve read every day, laid in bed staring at the ceiling.

“How was the rest of the tour?” You whisper, still facing him.

“It was good, really good.” A faint smile ghosts over his lips, eyes softening ever so slightly as he thinks of the band. “Missed home though.”

“Hm, I bet.” You nod.

“How’s work?”

“Shit.” You say with a sputtered laugh, smile widening as you look at him, shaking his head with a giggle.

“Seriously?” He looks at you with tilted brows, wincing almost.

“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking, moving away from home. I don’t know, I just wanted a change after everything…” Your voice trails off. Silence consumes the room. You swear you can hear your heart beat against your chest, or maybe it’s his. “I guess I thought that if I moved away, if I changed every other area of my life, then maybe it would fix everything.”

You sigh, looking down at your hands.

“And it didn’t.” You glance at him as the words leave your mouth, wishing that you could get a glimpse into that brain of his. Cogs turning slowly, calculated, pondering over every word.

“When I heard you were moving, I assumed it was because you were going to be happier away from me. That’s why I didn’t do anything.” He runs a hand through his long hair, your eyes following as he does so, “Because you were leaving and I didn’t want to be the knobhead ex-boyfriend telling you to stay.”

“Who told you I was leaving?”

“George. He told me about the phone call.”

You inhale sharply, brow furrowing slightly as you remember that day vividly, sat in your London apartment surrounding by boxes, listening to George begging you to stay. For Ross, for the band, for Dirty Hit. How could you stay? How could you work for your ex-boyfriend’s record label, looking at pictures of him every day, his music playing constantly, surrounded by him? That’s no condition to move on. How can you pretend someone doesn’t exist when your to-do list at work revolves around him?

“If you’d have told me to stay, I would have.” You bite down on your bottom lip, glancing at him. It’s true. His shoulders rise and then fall as he listens to you. It goes quiet, the tension in the air turned to a sadness.

“I’ve missed you.” He says through a strained voice.

“I’ve missed you, too.” You smile softly, sadly almost.

His dark eyes twinkle in the dim light of the floor lamp. They’re chocolate, they’re pools of honey, they’re heavenly. Sticky and sweet and enticing, and you just know you shouldn’t have them, shouldn’t let yourself fall into them.

“Have you been seeing anyone?” He asks abruptly.

There’s a shift in the air, his eyes fixed on your lips as your tongue swipes at them, still sweet from the sugar of the mojitos you’d drank earlier. You wonder what his taste like as you stare at them, perfectly met, gravelly stubble begging to be met with your soft fingertips. You know what they taste like, and that’s the problem.

“No, have you?”

He shakes his head.

“God, we’re boring, aren’t we? No sex in three months. We’re in our prime, Ross.” You laugh loudly at yourself, his eyes crinkling as he does the same. He always loved the way you found yourself funnier than anyone else in the room, obnoxious giggles escaping your pretty lips as he watches them curve into a wide, toothy smile.

“You’re right, it’s tragic.” He huffs.

You glance at him, features soft, hazy under your gaze. He’s propped himself up with his hand, elbow leaning on the back on the sofa, looming over you ever so slightly. You watch as he brings his fingertips lower, lower, brushing a curl from your collarbone, twisting the end of it between his fingers, gentle, quiet, slow. You smile at him softly as he does so. Moving from your hair to the strap of your dress, your skin feels cold, goosebumps over every inch of you. He notices, dark eyes glancing at yours for a second.

“Ross…” you whisper.

He looks at you intently, a sense of worry in his eyes, almost. He wonders if he’s overstepped, if he’s misread the sighs.

“I’m sorry, I just…” he sighs slightly.

“No, I…” you shake your head at him lightly, “I don’t want you to feel like this is why I’m here. I didn’t come here to have sex with you, Ross. I came here because you’re all I could think of.”

He rubs at his chin, watching as your turn to face him properly.

“No matter where I am, London, Manchester, even the other side of the world, all I can think about is what would have happened if I’d not have left, if we’d have worked things out.” Tears prick at your eyes, maybe the alcohol, maybe the way he softens as you speak, as you place a hand on his knee. “I’m an idiot, and I run away when things get difficult, and this was the first time in my life I realised I’d fucked up massively.”

“You’re not an idiot.” He tucks some hair behind your ear.

“No, I am. I should have stuck it out, talked to you.”

He places his hand over yours on his knee.

“Stay, y/n.”

You take your bottom lip between your teeth, sighing deeply.

“You said that if I’d have asked you to stay, you would have. I’m asking you now. Stay.”

You nod, squeezing his hand in yours. His other hand is on the back of your head, pulling you to hun until your lips are slotted together. Your hands find either side of his head, leaning into him even more, feeling his fingertips brush the straps of your dress down your shoulders.

“I’m never leaving you again.” You mumble between kisses, feeling him nod as your lips meet.

[stevesbipanic]

Based partially off headcanons I've talked about with @steveshairychest and @amoris-no-smut

For the first few years of Steve's life he didn't really care about Christmas. Christmas was some boring adult thing that happened when it snowed. Steve liked the snow, but Christmas was boring, it was wearing a tie and shoes that hurt his little feet and being dragged around a room meeting people he didn't know before being sent up to his room to be quiet.

His first year of kindergarten he was very confused when it grew closer to Christmas. Kids started talking about someone named Santa Claus and presents? Maybe Santa Claus was one of those people his parents made him meet, Steve wasn't good with names. Steve had gotten a present from one of the adults at the party once, it was a small toy truck, maybe that person had been Santa Claus.

Steve knew about Christmas trees, his parents had a big one in their living room for the party, he hadn't ever seen his parents bring reindeer to their party, and why did Santa Claus wear red, that wasn't a suit, they wore suits at the party. He liked snowmen though, he and his new friend Tommy made one in the playground the day before break.

When his mother was dressing him for the party he asked her.

"Mommy, who's Santa Claus, is he coming to the party, did he give me my truck last year?"

"Steven I've told you you're too old to call me mommy, you call me mother remember."

"Yes, ma'am. But is he coming?"

"No, Santa Claus doesn't come to our party."

"Oh."

And that was that.

By the time he started grade school Steve was no longer naive. He knew that Christmas wasn't an adult party for everyone else. Everyone else decorated their tree in silly ornaments as a family. Everyone else got presents and a roast dinner and Santa Claus. Steve didn't get any of that. Maybe Steve wasn't good enough to get that.

Steve didn't care about Christmas once he started high school. Christmas didn't make you popular or captain of the basketball team or get you a girlfriend so who cared. His parents didn't host the party anymore, he's sure they had one somewhere else, they didn't come home enough to have one anymore.

The first Christmas Steve ever had was in 1985. Robin insisted he spent the holiday with them since she knew Steve's parents were away. She didn't know Steve had never had a Christmas. For the first time Steve decorated a tree, he sewer popcorn into strings, he baked and iced cookies, he had a family dinner and felt warm. For the first time Steve got a Christmas present. A soft yellow sweater from Robin who promised not to steal this one. Steve finally understood why everyone loved Christmas.

There was something else that had been nagging at Steve for years that he knew every other kid got. A birthday. He'd been to Tommy's birthday parties as a kid, he celebrated Robin's in November with her. He got the kids a birthday present every year. But he didn't know his.

Eddie had started hanging around Family Video after he graduated. He didn't have any solid plans yet and also wanted to hang out with Robin before she went with Nancy to college. Plus Steve was always there.

"Hey, Stevie my birthday is coming up soon, wanna come over and get drunk with everyone?"

"Course, Eds, wouldn't miss it."

"When's your birthday by the way, hope I didn't miss it already."

"Oh um, you might've."

"I might've?"

"I-I don't know my birthday. My parents never told me, I know I was born in 1966 that's about it."

"You don't know your birthday?" Robin had come back from the backroom and was shocked to learn this information.

"Your parents never had like a party or anything?"

"They didn't even celebrate Christmas properly, Eds, my birthday was hardly a priority."

"Wait, so last year?"

"My first Christmas and it was perfect, Robbie, thank you."

Robin went over to the counter and dialled Nancy's number.

"Nancy Drew we need you!"

Nancy was able to sort through old records and find Steve's birth certificate. The four of them were sat in Steve's living room, envelope in his hands.

"Well, open it sweetheart, when's the big day?"

Steve's hands shook slightly as he pulled out the paper.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

Steve handed Eddie the paper.

"Oh, Stevie."

"Told you they didn't celebrate Christmas properly."

Steven Richard Harrington

Born: 25th December 1966

"Well, there's only one way to fix this, Stevie. We're going to throw you the best Christmas/20th birthday ever!"

And celebrate they did. Together Steve and the party decorated a tree in his living room and hung balloons, baked Christmas cookies and a birthday cake with far too many layers and wonky icing, and under the tree was two gifts from everyone.

"Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean you don't get birthday presents, love."

When Steve cut to the bottom of his cake he pulled Eddie into a kiss and stood under the mistletoe. It was a perfect Christmas and a perfect birthday.

Now Steve really cared about Christmas all thanks to his real family.

[stardustvanfleet]

Merry Christmas To You — Josh Kiszka x Reader (Fluff)

PAIRING: Josh Kiszka x F!Reader, Fluff

WORDS: 2.2k

SUMMARY: It's a snowy night in early December, and you and your boyfriend Josh are having a cozy night in, decorating your tree. When he puts one of his favorite classic Christmas albums on, the evening becomes even more romantic thanks to an impromptu serenade.

WARNINGS: None beyond kissing, language, mention of alcohol, and minor flirtatious innuendo.

A/N: Happy holidays and Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you enjoy this incredibly cozy and sugary sweet festive fluff. I had hoped to get this out a bit earlier in the month, but between working two jobs and preparing for the holidays it took a bit longer than expected, so thank you all so much for bearing with me during this time of year that is so damn hectic!!! Some special thanks here go to my loves @sinsofstardust and @losfacedevil for beta reading and being endless sources of both inspiration and love-- I adore y'all!!! I hope you all have a very happy holiday ❤️

FIC BEGINS BELOW THE CUT!

//

It was one of those December nights that you wished you could live in forever. Dusk had fallen early, and a light snow was falling outside; the soft, downy flakes catching in the light of the streetlamps as they tumbled gently towards the ground. For the first time in your new apartment, the one that you and your boyfriend Josh had moved into together just a few months earlier, the view through your window panes was truly beginning to resemble a Christmas card.

You took a sip from your mug of cocoa, which had been generously spiked with Bailey’s, but still tasted dangerously sweet. Turning over your shoulder with a grin, you caught Josh’s eye as he entered the living room with his own mug, steaming hot and piled high with whipped cream. You couldn’t help but feel your heart swell when you saw him— looking so handsome in one of his cozy white sweaters, his curls framing his face so beautifully, it was inevitable that he still gave you butterflies after all this time. 

“Josh, come watch the snow with me, love,” you giggled, curled up on your couch, which was pushed up right up against the largest window in the living room— it had been a perfect spot for watching the leaves change color and eventually fall to the ground, and now it provided an exceptional view of the picturesque wintery scene outdoors. His grin was infectious as he looked over towards the window and mused, crossing the room towards you, “How about that? It looks like we’ve got a winter wonderland on our hands…” reaching the couch rather quickly and setting his mug down on the coffee table.

 He slid in right next to you, his arms immediately wrapping around your waist as he moved to press affectionate kisses to your cheek, one after another, not seeming to want to stop as long as he had you giggling under him.  Finally, you pleaded through your laughter, “Joshy… I don’t see you watching the snow!” as he gave a chuckle of his own and teased, “Ohh, sorry about that, mama… you know how distracted I can get…”

You captured his chin between your fingers with another giggle, feeling heat rising in your cheeks at his use of the pet name which he knew always made you weak in the knees. “Seems particularly easy to get distracted around here….” you replied playfully, before pulling him in and kissing him fully, your heart fluttering at the satisfied sigh he let out against your lips. It was all so endearing, from the softness of his lips to the familiarity of his scent, which was spicy and comforting and floral all at once. There may have been a chill in the air that day, but in the warmth of Josh’s arms, with his lips against yours… despite the weather, it was undeniable— you were melting.

It would have been so easy to get entirely lost in the kiss, but he began to smile against your lips, and pulled back gently, offering you a cheeky smile as he teased back, “Careful, or I’ll get distracted enough that we’ll have to push decorating the tree to another night…” his words making you giggle and lightly, jokingly smack at his arm, chiding, “Joshua… you’re gonna end up on the naughty list….” giving him another quick kiss and a grin before wriggling out of his grasp to rise from the couch towards the large box of ornaments sitting beside the coffee table.

“Hold on, angel…” Josh said, standing up himself as you paused, turning to face him with a smile. He was looking at you with a twinkle in his eye while heading towards the record player set up beside the bookshelf, continuing, “Is it really Christmas if we don’t have the perfect soundtrack?” You watched with amusement as he crouched down to rifle through the large record collection that the two of you had assembled, a wide grin breaking out on his face when he found what he was looking for. “Nat King Cole,” he said with satisfaction, “...now, there’s a reason his middle name is King. And, well… okay, so it’s two reasons. The first reason is that it’s his name, naturally, but there’s also another reason… the big reason, the important one. And it’s that he’s the King of Christmas. it’s just that simple…” 

You found yourself giggling with affection as your boyfriend rambled on; it was one of the many little things about Josh that had made you fall in love with him. As he spoke, he stood from his crouching position to place the record on the turntable and lower the needle, and the cozy tones of Deck the Halls began to play in the living room— Josh’s handsome face illuminated only by the flickering light of the fireplace and the warm golden glow of the lights already set up on your Christmas tree. The light danced across his delicate features as he rose to walk towards you and the box of ornaments, and he offered another grin, asking, “Shall we get this decorating soiree started?”

You laughed again, unable to deny the way his turn of phrase and distinct mannerisms made you feel with your heart fluttering so distinctly in your chest. When at last he reached you and began rummaging through the box of ornaments, you couldn’t take your eyes off him. When he finally looked up to meet your gaze with a knowing half-smile, you tenderly leaned in to kiss him gently once more, before pulling back and replying, “Okay, now we shall,” which elicited a laugh from the man in front of you, his warm brown eyes sparkling in the low light as he replied, “A very important final step before we get started… my darlin’ is so thorough.” You giggled breathlessly at the affectionate nickname, taking his hand inside the box of ornaments and giving it a squeeze. 

Together, you began picking out ornaments and hanging them on the tree, from sparkling white crystal snowflakes and pinecones, to small figurines of ice skaters and Santa Claus, to childhood photos of the two of you in tiny silver frames— Josh insisted that those should be hung up beside each other, saying definitively, “I’ll need you to keep me company up there!” 

Between his jokes and your responses, Nat King Cole’s voice served as a backdrop, his gentle crooning making the room feel cozy and festive beyond belief. The reflection of the Christmas lights were twinkling in Josh’s eyes as he stole glances at you while you both hung ornaments on the tree at once, his hand coming to wrap around your waist for a stolen moment as he headed back towards the box to grab his next ornament of choice. Your heart stuttered deep within your chest, beginning to pick up its pace at Josh’s loving looks and touches.

It was when Josh’s favorite Christmas carol began, however, that he really began to focus his attention on you. The familiar swell of strings marked the beginning of Nat King Cole’s rendition of The Christmas Song, and as Josh crossed back towards you to hang a silver bell on the tree, he caught your eye with a smile, before beginning to sing along with the record. “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” You felt heat immediately beginning to rise in your cheeks as a look of joy appeared on your face. Nothing made you melt more than Josh’s voice. “Jack Frost nipping at your nose…” He gave you an affectionate smile while singing the lyrics, reaching out to tap the end of your nose with his fingertip at the end of the line, which made you giggle wildly. You reached up to grab his hand and pull it to your lips, pressing little kisses to his knuckles as he continued singing along. You were mesmerized, unable to tear your gaze away from him even if you wanted to. Everything about Josh was enough to light up a room, but whenever he decided on performing for you, even in the comfort of your own home— it was still always utterly captivating. He was breathtakingly talented, and unfathomably beautiful.

Gently, tenderly, Josh’s hand fell to your waist while he continued the song, the words flowing as smoothly and sweetly as honey. “Everybody knows… a turkey and some mistletoe… help to make the season bright…” He was beginning to sway you along to the music, and you were letting him— lost entirely in his voice, his loving touch, his gaze, in this moment that was beginning to feel dizzying in its domesticity. By the time the song reached its instrumental interlude, the two of you were slow dancing in the living room— your head coming to rest on Josh’s shoulder, face buried in his neck as he held you close, sweeping you around the room in slow circles to the piano instrumental. He was so warm, and you could feel the soft rise and fall of his breaths through the cozy knit fabric of his sweater. When you finally lifted your head to meet his eyes for the final chorus, the love you were feeling for him was almost overwhelming.

“And so, I’m offering this simple phrase… for kids from one to ninety-two…” Josh paused in his serenade for a moment to bring his free hand to cup your face, stroking his thumb across your cheekbone as he smiled at you with undeniable affection. “And though it’s been said, many times, many ways… Merry Christmas… to you…”

You knew you were looking at him like he had hung the moon in the sky for you… but, frankly, with the adoration in his eyes, it almost seemed like he’d truly have been willing to try. As the song reached its conclusion, you leaned in without even needing to think, capturing his lips so lovingly and passionately that Josh let out a soft sigh against your lips, struck by surprise and delight. You found yourself lost in him, lost in your feelings, as you melted entirely in his arms, his hand still cupping your cheek and jaw with unmistakable tenderness. By the time you two finally allowed your lips to separate, the next song had already been playing for what had surely been over a minute. After a breathless moment of collecting yourself that must’ve taken a few seconds, you managed to let your eyes flutter open, only to see Josh opening his eyes at nearly the exact same time— the sight making you giggle, your heart skipping a beat within your chest.

“Your voice is unbelievable,” you murmured, reaching your own hand over to cup his cheek in return, which prompted him to lean into your touch so effortlessly and subconsciously. Instantly, even in the low light, you could tell the compliment was making him blush, with his cheeks and the tip of his nose flushing a rosy red under your touch as he averted his gaze shyly, letting out a bashful, “Oh, god… Thank you… I think you’re unbelievable.” A smile crossed your face as he paused for a moment, blinking at you as if in thought before continuing, looking at you so lovingly, “I’m so happy we get to make Christmas memories in a place all our own this year, angel… you’re home to me, lover. You make it feel like Christmas.”

Truly, you couldn’t have said it better yourself. 

The moment was breathtaking. Josh’s words, his eyes, the glow of the Christmas tree and the crackling of the fire… everything was so perfect. Your smile, at this point, was entirely out of your control— you wouldn’t have been able to stop even if you had wanted to try. Words failed you for a moment as emotions swirled like snowflakes within you. “Oh, Josh… I love you so much.”

He was grinning at you, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. When he spoke again, you could hear the affection in his voice. “I love you so much, darlin’. I’d lasso the moon for you.”

His reference to It’s A Wonderful Life made your smile widen even further—- something you had previously doubted was even possible. Your head was spinning a little from his romantic words, and when you finally managed to speak again between shy giggles, you teased, “You’re too smooth for your own good… but it is a wonderful life, Josh, because I’ve got you.”

Josh laughed a little, breathlessly, the rosiness of his cheeks still so endearing. You couldn’t resist any longer, closing the distance between the two of you and kissing him, so deeply and passionately that he almost faltered on his feet for a moment, his grip tightening on you to steady himself— and perhaps from a desire to be even closer to you.

When you finally pulled back, the Nat King Cole record still softly playing and your tree sparkling behind you, the two of you once again took a moment before opening your eyes. You found yourself lost in Josh’s warm embrace, the scent of him, the feeling of his heartbeat against yours. You were all his, and he was all yours. And this was only the beginning.

The words left your lips in a whisper, affectionate and gentle. “Merry Christmas, Josh.”

He leaned in, pressing his forehead to yours.

“Merry Christmas, angel.”

//

A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! If you enjoyed this, you can find my masterlist here and be added to my taglist here.

TAGLIST: @sinsofstardust @jakesguitarsolo @losfacedevil @sparrowofthedawnsworld @gold-mines-melting @texas-bbq-pringles @mountain-in-springtime @alwaysonthemend @tripthelightfatality @tommie-gvf @second-suns @runwayblues @shutupdevvie @godly-sinsx @sacredjake @ignite-my-fire @kiska-enthusiast @songbirds-sweet @rhythm-of-space @hsfallingsky @the-starcatcher @kenobicoffee @earthlysorrows @zm-gvf

[buckysmith]

Advent special 2

Christmas” headcanons

Ghost:

- do not play snowball fight with him

- I repeat do anything but that

- this asshole has a aim, he would hit you even if you are behind a wall

- he sees it as his personal mission to hit you with every single of his snowballs

- after this snowball masker, and after you're more than wet and cold, he carries you back into your home

- he apologizes while he does  that like a billion of times

- he thinks your mad when your just cold, almost freezing

- you have to tell him that your okay

- he wants to take a hot shower with you, to get you both warm again

- kissing your forehead and praising you how good you played while his arms are wrapped around you

- that makes your checks hot cause of embarrassment

- you only hit him once, well not really you managed to punch the snowball right into his face

- but that isn't the reason for your embarrassment

- you not only punched that snowball right into his face, no, you managed to somehow tackle your boyfriend (you slipped) and because of that, both of you rolled down the fucking hill

- after that he teases you with that, even make fun of it

- it's not that you tackled  your elite military husband or something like that... no, no, it's just that your clumsy

Soap:

- he loves to play in the snow, it reminds him of his kids and teenage years

- he also loves to make snowman, he makes at least one every single year, calling it Mister snowy

- mister snowy is a big part of his live, at least somehow

- you and him would make the biiigest mister snowy he's ever build, every single year again

- you even got him a scarf and a hat!

- watch your husband being exited like a child

- well- that child changes it's mood the moment he looks at you

- his smile would change into a grin, leaving an uneasy feeling

- you should run, you know that

- but he's way faster than you so expect yourself to be burried underneath him, face first into the snow

- you both would playfully fight, but he's careful not to hurt you in any way

- after that you both could fit as mister snowy the snowman too

- well- if we go with the red nose  you both could be rudolph the red nosed reindeer as well

- and after you both are done with the snow and the with the sun long gone you both get back into your house

- a day like that would end in a hot bath with him being behind you, kissing your back and neck, murmuring sweet nothings while you listen to some Christmas songs

Alejandro:

- he's absolutely not used to the cold so he wouldn't like to go outside for long

- even though he has like five pants on, ten sweaters with the biggest jacket you could find in the store, he's still freezing

- he would loudly complain about the cold in Spanish

- watch him get angry at you when you threw a snowball in his face

- I swear babe, you should better run and get your ass somewhere safe

- he's after you like a hell hound

- well- not for long cause he walks like an penguin

- he falls face first into the snow

- if you dare and laugh at him, he will make you pay later

- get your poor husband up and home

- after that he has a cold

- he legit hates you for a few hours, acting all grumpy, just like a angy cat that wants cuddles

- take a HOT bath with him, scrub his back, kiss his whole body and praise him and he might be in love with you again (he always loves you)

König:

- he LOVES snow

- like fr this giant teddy loves snow and everything that has to deal with it

- he takes your family to his in Austria, the farmhouse his family lives in is big enough to take more than just two families so...

- expect to do a lot of sports with him

- skiing is one of it- or snowboarding- but no matter if you never did that before he teaches you.

- he holds both of your hands while teaching you how to handle ski

- a lot of praises

- he wouldn't leave the mountains of his own, you would basically have to drag him away

- after that he makes you a hot chocolate

- he gives it to when you both are in a hot bath that smells like Christmas spices, with you being between his legs and some Christmas movie in the background

- he doesn't even notice it but he's really tired

- take your big boy to bed after your mugs are empty, the water is cold and the movie is over

Graves:

- He loves skiing

- he doesn't give a fuck about the cold

- he takes you to Europe to go skiing (Austria/Switzerland or Germany )

-even thou it's not his first time there he  thinks the only difference is that they speak funny German

- he LOVES skiwater

- have an eye on your husband or some angry Austrian (cough König cough) is going to hunt him down

- he loves the vibe  to sit with you in some of those old houses (restaurants) , watching all the Christmas lights around you with people having fun, drinking beer and just enjoying their time

- but if you don't like something like that he would take you to a midnight date

- He would sit with you next to a bone fire, with many blankets around him and you to hold you both warm and to grill some marshmallows, mumbling some seeet nothings into your ear

- after that he takes you with him into a hot tub

- your hot tub  is outside of your hotel room and he loves how you cuddle to him while it's snowing, placing soft kisses on your forehead, rubbing circles into your arm while he holds you close

- if you want to go inside he leaves the tub first, just to grab a blanket to cover you the moment you leave the tub

- after you both are in bed, he immediately falls asleep, snoring like a dad...

Price:

- he has a little house in the woods, next to a lake and far away from other people

- he loves to go there with you

- you can do whatever you both want

- you want a snowmobile race? His into it

- you want to go ice-skating on the frozen lake? Watch him take out his ice-skates

- you want to just lay on the couch, cuddling with him while watching a movie? Hes the first one that has snacks and hot chocolate for you

- he loves to go into the hot tub he built outside of that little house

- just to be with you there, to have you on his lap, just enjoying the moment of peace means a lot to the old men

- he has always a cigar in his mouth so if you want to kiss him while you're in the hot tub, take his cigar between your fingers, take a drag and kiss him immediately

- watch this man melt into a love sick puppy

- but he takes his cigar back, scolding you for being a bad little one by giving you the biggest hickey you've ever got

-  enjoying his cigar after that, just to snap the last bit of his cigar away when there's barley anything to hold on to

- after that his whole attention is for you

- he's a bit goofy so, expect him randomly go out of the tub, just to dive  himself into the snow

- after you both are back in the house he wants to cuddle with you, with nothing more than a blanket covering you both

- he loves to watch you sleep when there's nothing covering you, it reminds him that your his, and that he's yours... that he found the one for forever

Valeria:

- forget it

- she doesn't leave Mexico, not for her cartel, not for snow, not for you

- well- forget that, she would leave the moment you look at her with your puppy eyes

- she act likes she hates everything about your trip

- well and mostly she does

- she hates the cold, she hates that she gets wet thank to the snow- she hates everything about the cold

- the only thing that makes her smile is that she sees you smile

- your smilie brighter than any star could ever be

- for you she forgets about her hate against snow and the could

- you want to play in the snow? Well, she's not gonna play you alone

- you want to make a snowman? She's into that idea (she gives the snowman a gun)

- you take that gun back, scolding her and asking where she got that thing

- she just shrugs with her shoulders, telling you that she's a cartel boss

- she wants to take a hot bath after playing in the snow

- give her kisses all over her body, praise her that she was so strong for you and maybe she will not drown you

- she hates the taste of hot chocolate

- she doesn't hate it when your lips taste like hot chocolate tho....

[talesofesther]

the heart that matches mine

Wednesday Addams x Reader

Summary: You and Wednesday attend Nevermore's Christmas Eve party; with matching sweaters.

Requested by @dingus85

A/N: This story is part of my Christmas Special event. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. <3

Masterlist

"Pretty please?"

You begged, holding both matching Christmas sweaters in your arms, the soft fabric molding between your fingers as you looked at Wednesday with your best puppy eyes.

Wednesday huffed, she regarded you with a serious look before snatching one of the sweaters from your hands without a word, making you squeal in happiness.

It was a sight to behold; Wednesday Addams walking down the stairs with a white and red sweater filled with reindeer and Christmas trees, holding onto your hand — who also wore a sweater, exactly like hers.

Given that there was practically a blizzard roaring outside, the students were gathering at the school's venue for a fun night on Christmas eve; Principal Weems had ordered a few snacks, there was music playing and the place was warmly decorated with orange blinking lights and a large Christmas tree in the middle of the room.

As soon as you both entered, Enid was making a beeline to you; "OMG, you two look adorable," she exclaimed, the little Christmas hat she wore bouncing with her excitement.

You could see she contained herself from pulling you and Wednesday into a hug, making you chuckle; "thank you, Enid."

"How do you always manage-"

"Don't ask." Wednesday cut off Enid's question to you before she could finish, making the werewolf grin.

"Your soft spot is showing, Wednesday," Enid winked, "anyways you guys gotta try the gingerbread, it's to die for!" And with that, she was running off to Ajax's side again.

You squeezed Wednesday's hand once it was just you two, her sweater was a little too big on her, the soft fabric getting between both your palms as you pulled her along.

Most students were dressed the part, even Weems had a red dress and white shoes that fitted her to perfection. The tables had Christmas-themed towels over them, each one with an ornament on top; the song playing was one you didn't know but the melody was a soft, pleasant one; and the array of golden lights attached to the walls and ceiling got the room all warm and magical.

"You have to admit it's a nice holiday," you said, walking around the Christmas tree and to the table filled with snacks.

"There's a disgusting amount of colors for such a small room," Wednesday grumbled, taking a tiny bite of the gingerbread and furrowing her brows when she realized it really was good, "we could be celebrating in infinitely better ways." Her eyes were set on you as she finished, on the glow that the many lights cast over your skin.

"You know what my favorite part is?" You asked with a grin, sneaking an arm around Wednesday's waist and pulling her body closer to yours. There was something about seeing her with a fluffy sweater that got you wanting to squish her to you and not let go.

Naturally, her hands came to rest on your shoulders as an adorable tilt came to her brows, trying to solve your riddle.

You twirled her around until you stood under a little mistletoe trinket, the smile ever present on your lips, "extra excuses for me to kiss you."

Wednesday's lips quirked up in a small, mischievous manner. Her hands closed around the collar of your sweater and she pulled you toward her with intent.

It was the most you'd ever get from her in the middle of so many people; Wednesday wasn't the most affectionate, but she was intense in her own way; with how she hardly ever lets go of your hand or how she kisses you quickly yet passionately enough to get your knees weak.

She pulled away only enough to brush your noses together; "to this, I could get used to."

Your nose scrunched with giddiness, you pushed strands of hair behind Wednesday's ear, your fingertips grazing the soft skin of her cheek; "merry Christmas my little raven."

⋆* ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Thank you for reading this little story. Feedback and reblogs are very much appreciated. <3

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[georgiebrits]

Christmas - Min Yoongi

You were surprised when Yoongi told you he was going to take you out for ice cream in the middle of winter.

When you asked why, he said simply, “I wanted to treat you for a change.”

And you thought that would be it. He didn’t seem too pleased when you agreed with him, though.

Maybe his family or friends had mentioned something to him about the occasion before he decided he wanted to celebrate it with you, but you really couldn’t remember.

Still, you went along with whatever he wanted – it wasn’t like you could turn down free ice cream - but even though Yoongi didn’t say anything, there was tension between you all day. When he got home late in the evening, it seemed as if he barely spoke at all.

In an attempt to break the ice, you asked him why he was so quiet. He just shrugged, and you realized you weren’t getting any real answers. If it were up to you, you wouldn’t have asked at all. But Yoongi was important to you, whether he knew it yet or not.

That night, after you had gone to sleep, you thought maybe you should talk to him about it, but then the next morning, there he was. Standing on your doorstep with a small black box in his hands. His smile was soft and kind, but his eyes held no warmth. They seemed cold. You wondered what he was hiding behind his face that made him appear so distant. Maybe his family or friends had said something to him after all.

But you were sure that nothing would make him act like this, even over a cake.

With a slight hesitation, you reached out and took the present from his hands, and he immediately let go. The way his hands lingered around yours was enough to tell you exactly how much he loved them. It made a strange feeling well inside you – one which made you want to run back into your room, and hide until this whole thing blew over, but instead, you opened the gift.

A beautiful silver bracelet rested in your hand, glistening from the sun filtering through the blinds and catching the light in ways that made the delicate, intricate pattern shine. You stared at it, trying to process what you were seeing. The bracelet was gorgeous, and you weren’t exactly used to receiving presents on your birthday, but it didn’t look cheap. There had to have been some serious money involved if he spent that much for a plain, old silver bracelet.

You glanced up at him questioningly, “Do I get a price tag? And a description of what’s in it?”

His shoulders slumped slightly in relief and he replied, “The design is pretty simple. Just loop a few links around my wrist and attach one of your favorite colors. And no description, please, I don’t want to explain myself any more than I have to. But if you want something more detailed, you can ask the jeweler tomorrow, alright? I just wanted to show it to you now and…”

You raised your arms and wrapped them around his neck, burying your face into his chest. He tensed slightly, and you felt him stiffen even further. Then he relaxed, slowly wrapping his arms around you in return. You felt him bury his nose in your hair as if to inhale its smell. His body heat was warm and comforting against yours and you buried your fingers in his hair as well. For once, you didn't mind having long hair.

You closed your eyes and breathed him in.

He smelled like chocolate, like cinnamon and cloves and honey, like vanilla and sugar, and something sweet that reminded you of a bakery. A place that only you knew existed. His presence always filled you with warmth and safety.

“It’s lovely,” you finally said, voice muffled by the fabric of his sweater. You pulled away just enough to meet his eyes, “Thank you.”

Yoongi smiled at you gently, leaning forward for a brief kiss. Then he kissed you again.

This time, though, it was sweeter, slower. He pressed his lips firmly against yours, holding onto your waist. One hand moved upwards to cup your cheek as he deepened the kiss, and another slid underneath your blouse to stroke your side softly. Your hands roamed his back slowly, moving down towards his ass and squeezing lightly.

Yoongi moaned softly in response to your touch, breaking the kiss momentarily to lean down and trail kisses along your neck. "Mmm, you smell so good," he whispered, nibbling on your earlobe.

"How do you manage to stay so fucking fresh? Is that a natural scent?"

Your body responded instantly, pressing against him, wanting more. You tugged his shirt off, pushing his pants down so you could slip your hands under his briefs. "Is that how I always smell to you?"

He chuckled, "Only when you're turned on like this." Yoongi groaned as your fingers wrapped around his hardening member, guiding him toward the edge of the bed. "Come here, baby," he whispered, pulling you down with him. "Let's enjoy this birthday surprise together."

You followed his instructions obediently, taking every opportunity you could to kiss him passionately. His hands were everywhere on your body, stroking and exploring every inch as his tongue traced the contours of your mouth. You couldn't stop moaning as you felt his erection against your thigh, and he seemed just as eager as you were. "God, you're so sexy," Yoongi breathed against your lips, his hands sliding down your body to hook under your hips. "Are you ready to feel good, baby?" he asked, positioning himself at your entrance.

Your breath hitched in anticipation as you nodded eagerly. "Yes," you managed to whisper before he entered you, filling you completely.

You clung onto him tightly, legs shaking as your body adjusted to him, to the length of him. He thrust deeper, deeper still. You gasped in pleasure, gripping tighter to his back. "Does it feel good?" Yoongi panted, his hips moving in a steady rhythm. He leaned down to kiss you again, his tongue battling with yours as his thrusts became sharper, more urgent. Your nails dug into his skin as you moaned into his mouth, your body on the verge of exploding with pleasure.

Yoongi kept kissing you, running his hands along your sides and back as you gripped him harder. His thrusts came faster and you could feel yourself starting to come.

As you felt yourself approaching the peak of pleasure, Yoongi pulled back slightly to look into your eyes. "Let go, baby," he encouraged, his hips moving faster as he brought you closer and closer to release. And then it happened - you cried out his name as waves of pleasure washed over you. Yoongi continued to thrust through your orgasm, moaning your name before finally finding his release. He collapsed onto the bed beside you, his arm draped over your waist. "You're amazing," he whispered in your ear, pressing a kiss to your temple.

You grinned, turning your head to kiss him back. "And you taste amazing," you teased as he lifted your chin up to meet his lips.

"That's the best birthday gift ever," you said later that day as he wrapped a scarf around your neck while you waited for Namjoon to pick you both up from your apartment. The snow fell softly outside your window, the sky covered in a clear blue color. You looked at Yoongi, sitting across you, watching you as you watched the falling flakes. He had gotten you a new hat, too, just like you had asked him to.

He looked surprised at that comment as if he hadn't expected you to say something like that. But then he smiled softly, his eyes shining happily as he looked at you. "I'm glad we did this," he replied. "We'll make Christmas better when it's our sixteenth year together." He paused, looking thoughtful.