#i gotta dress the twins more in some of my clothes

[cherry-pop-elf]

Birthday Boys

It’s Fred and George’s birthday, and you wanted to give them something very special. It’s hard to give them something like that, but you are married to them for a reason. As if they would ever settle for someone boring, now would they?

Warnings: 18+, Double Penetration (A and V), teasing, breeding, overstimulation, dirty talk, birthday suits ((hehe)) lipstick kink(?) and of course Fred Lives. Because I said so ((George still missing an ear tho! Bleh-!))

“Well what’s this?” George would blink, as a paper airplane would land itself on his desk. Fred would raise a brow, as he set down the ink he had grabbed for his younger twin. It’s April First. The ever busiest day of the year, and their birthday as well. That meant they were swamped with work, and just trying to finish the day. The shop may be closed, now, but damn they were still drowning.

“Don’t just stare at it, open it up-!” Fred would bonk the younger twin, with his wand, making him fix at his hair. He would give a grumble, as he unfolded the neat little parchment. By the hand writing alone, he knew it was from you. What was written made him a bit flushed in the cheeks. Always was the more emotional of the two, so Fred was quick to look over his shoulder. Reading along.

To my special Birthday Boys. You two have been working so hard all day. Such a wonderful occasion deserves a present, doesn’t it? I better expect you to leave paper work for later, and hurry up to our bedroom. It gets rather chilly being all alone. I don’t want your present to get cold either. Not when I worked so hard to wrap it all up so nicely in purples and oranges. If you don’t want it, I’ll be more than happy to make use of it all myself. Sincerely yours~!

Never had they side alone aparated so fast in their life. Gave you quite the startle, to suddenly see them. You should have figured they wouldn’t waste time, but boy they move fast. Even after all these years together, it catches you by surprise. Though, this time they were the ones with wide eyes this time around.

There you were, in the middle of the bed, dressed to the nines. A array of orange, and purple, fabric against your skin. Stockings of lace. Done up so pretty to mimic that of a fire work, with little dots all around. The fingerless arm length gloves had to be, as to help bring focus to how bare the rest of you were. Nothing else to your skin, but your own birthday suit. Besides so heavy makeup, because you knew they loved it when it got all ruined. What really sold it was the bows all over you. Around your thighs, wrists, neck, just for the comical effect of a birthday present. Hey, it’s April Fools. Gotta get silly.

“H-“ Before you could get a single syllable out, they were on you. Like starving dogs. Clothes were flying, and your body was quick to be sandwiched between the two men. Your neck attacked in kisses, and their ever rough hands trailing your skin. Tracing all the invisible lines they had tracked on you.

“Guess you like the surprise-?” You joked, as you were leaning yourself against Fred. While George was enjoying your front. Sucking plenty of hickies on your skin, while Fred was enjoying playing with your nipples. Had you squeak, and flush, as he was enjoying the happily given toy.

“Taking that as a yes-“ You sighed, as you were just a meal for the wolves. Wolves that always had your flavor of flesh in mind. It just felt so good to be so desired. To be wanted so badly, it could hurt. Especially after such an exhausting day, they needed to get that pent up steam out.

“Been thinking about you all day long-“ George would sigh, as he stole your lips into his own. Happily allowing your lipstick to stain his own, while your hips rubbed onto the building hard on in Fred’s lap. Just a tangle of wild limbs, and you couldn’t have loved anything more.

“Come on, save some for me. Give em here-“ And you would be stolen by Fred next. Making sure he got his lips stained all the same. George didn’t complain, as he would let the lipstick residue trail over your exposured chest. Designing you, as Fred let his tongue do any talking he had left.

You enjoyed the sensual, and slow, pace. Made you fall into the mood far easier. But, you knew why they were being so gentle. Gentle starts always ended with you drooling and utterly delirious. They were going to destroy you, to your core, and that had you so hopeful.

“Just look at you.” They breathed, in unison, as you were just a doll in their hands. Your body leaning into Fred’s, with his legs spread to make sure you were comfortable. Meanwhile George was above you, on his knees, and taking in the sight. Just starving for you, while Fred was busy with the bedside table. Making sure to grab some lube, as you realized what you signed up for.

“Don’t say I never treat you.” That had them laugh, at your comment. Sweet little feathery kisses were given to your face, and neck, while the line was passed to each other. Slicking themselves up, before using the residue to make sure you were nice and comfortable. A thank you, for such a wonderful present.

“Wrapped up in such a pretty bow.” Fred sighed, as he stuck two fingers inside of you. That had you bite your lip, before the mimicking motion from George made it slip out. Fred was in your ass, and George was in your core. Able to copy each other’s movements in perfect unison. Some call it disturbing, you call it heaven.

“Damn, wet as hell. Don’t even need lube. We’re so excited to get to be our gift, weren’t you? Isn’t that sweet Fred-?” “Oh the ever sweetest George. We love it when you get excited. Gets us excited.” They echoed each other, while making sure to lather as much as they could. Knowing you would need it, and still remembering to put your needs first. Just gentle motions, as they made sure to cover as much as two fingers could. Teasing away at your sensitive spots, just to make you squirm.

“I can’t wait any more.” “Couldn’t have said it better myself.” And like that, the fingers were removed. You whined at it, which made them smirk. Now, you were feeling them pressed against you. They planned to go in, at the exact same time. It made your heart race. To imagine, being stuffed so quickly.

“How about we-“ But they broke through the tight barrier, and your mind was mush. Not so much from pain, just the over whelming sensation of being so full. To feel your insides grow so tight, as your muscles were being pulled yet pushed at the same time. Was a fluttery experience. Somehow so light, yet couldn’t be heavier.

“Fuck fuck fuck-“ You heard Fred whisper into your ear, while your blurry eyes could make out that George was hardly able to keep his own open. Biting into his stained lip, as to not whimper too early. To last, but damn. You knew he was fighting for his life.

Once they were both fully inside, the three of you just stayed that way. A mixture of wanting to make sure you were adjusted, and them not wanting to end the game so soon. How embarrassing that would be. Least that meant you were being pampered. With heavy breathing, and wet kisses on your skin. A means to help you relax, and it worked.

“Lucky me, I get to be the first one to pump you full. Isn’t that nice of Fred? To let me be the one to pump your little womb full?” That had your face burn. Yeah, you three were trying, but none of you exactly went into to much details on how such a thing would plan out. Given Magic was involved, with everything, isn’t a dumb guess to think these two will somehow knock you up at the same time. Just made you all the more flushed, as Fred would rub over your stomach.

“Don’t worry. When he’s done with you, we will switch. I can’t just waste it all in your ass. I love that cute thing, but I love you being full of out kids more.” Fred moaned, as he finally moved his hips. Just in time with George’s. The feeling of two at once, in different holes. Truly a fuzzy experience.

Your hands found George’s shoulders, while Fred grabbed your legs. Keeping you spread as wide as they could, as they rocked their hips into you. Such perfect calculations to make sure your mind stayed in that blissful fuzz. Was leaving you with your nails into Georges skin.

“Come on, love. You gotta moan louder for me. I’m missing an ear over here. Give me some noise-!” George cackled, as Fred took that as a que to pick up the pace. Your head was rolling itself back, and leaned on Fred’s shoulder. Giving George exactly what he wanted, after all. Louder moans, whimpers, gasps, and plenty of smacking flesh to fill in between.

“So cock drunk, and the night hardly started.” Fred teases, as he bit into your shoulder. Needing to steady himself, but the feeling was too much. George would have agreed, if it were vocal. They were getting sloppy with their movements, and you wouldn’t last long either. Especially since George was now planting sloppy kisses against your lips. Leaving you two a jumble mess of spit and moans.

Hearing their desperate breaths, and whimpers of trying to hold on, it was what brought you over the edge. By proxy, your tightening grip in your body had them gasp. Their hips stuttering, as they came inside of you. Throbbing, and having a shake in their system.

Riding it out was such a warm feeling. Felt like everything was on fire, in all the best ways. Already so exhausted, and ready to just sleep, but….They weren’t making any April fools joke with you. Just as your eyes closed, they moved.

You have a squeak, before a breathy moan, as they pulled out. Left such a mess between all your legs, before you were flipped around. Your hands now on Fred’s chest, and ass presented to George. Out right lining up again.

“Perk-A-Boo~!” Fred teases, as he poked your nose. Just as you wiggled it, they thrusted right back into you. The stimulation of being restuffed was mind melting. Right after your high, and with so much already running down your legs. The sounds of all made were so loud, and wet. Was utterly thrilling.

Fred was happy to drink in your moans, hogging as many kisses as he could. Meanwhile George was happily feeling over your hips. Letting those hard working hands trace the lipstick marks shared between them both.

“Don’t do poor Georgie like that, come on. You gotta moan a little louder. His hearing isn’t so good.” Fred would tease, as he forced your chin up. Trying to amplify your desperate sounds. It was all too much. You were going to reach your peak again, with tears running down your face. Smearing away the remains of your makeup.

“Just hang on a little more. I want to make sure I get nice and deep in there.” Fred comforted, as George planted kisses down your back. Making sure your skin was covered in whatever remained of their lips.

Everything was so blurry, but you knew this. You came again, and your insides were coated once more. The ringing in your ears were dancing with the shakey moans of your lovers. So happy, and satisfied, with wrecking you so much.

When you came back to reality, you realized the lingerie you wore was gone. Seems they made sure to give you a sponge bath, before they were knocked out. You between them, as they snuggled you.

Fred behind you, as he held your stomach. Ever a man that loved feeling your ass against him. Meanwhile George was infront of you, tangling your legs together, as he snuck his arms just above Fred’s. His face under your chin, so he could listen to your heart beat.

“Happy birthday, you two.” You whispered, as you made sure they both were kissed on their heads. Freckled smiles crossed their lips, as they snuggled closer. Fred, enjoying his nose in your neck, while George gave you a squeeze. Maybe you should gift wrap yourself more often.

[rubycruzin4abruzin]

Forbidden Crown - I

Summary: As a princess, your parents choose your spouse, and they decide it’s time to start looking shortly after your fifth birthday. However, when your parents decide to unite kingdoms with Tir Asleen and introduce you to Prince Airk, you’re seemingly more drawn to his twin sister, Kit.

Pairing: kit tanthalos x princess!reader

Contains: fluff, matchmaking, childlike play, kisses to mimic adult behavior, pure innocence

Word Count: 3.2k

A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of Forbidden Crown! It’s a coming of age story, so in this chapter, our main characters are five years old, but in the next, they’ll be ten, and so on. Not too much happens in this chapter, but I promise it’ll get a lot juicier later. Enjoy! :)

As a princess, you always knew you wouldn’t get to choose a spouse. Instead, you grew up knowing exactly who you would one day marry.

Your parents, the king and queen of Azarenth, decided it was time to start looking for suitors shortly after you turned five. Their idea was for the two of you to meet frequently, essentially growing up together before tying the knot and officially uniting kingdoms. After some extensive research, your parents discovered a nearby kingdom with a prince around your age. So, they packed your belongings and loaded up the carriage for the journey to the kingdom of Tir Asleen.

Since you were so young, your parents didn’t tell you the exact reason you were visiting this new kingdom; all you knew was that you were going to play with a new friend and that your parents seemed very anxious upon arrival. They had dressed you in your best clothes: a puffy white dress with pink lace ribbons, and were constantly readjusting the bows or smoothing out the fabric. You scowled at all the fuss; you had been on plenty of playdates before and didn't understand why this one was such a big deal.

Stepping out of the carriage, a woman who appeared to be the queen of Tir Asleen greeted you and shook hands with your parents. She introduced herself as ‘Sorsha,’ and wore a wide smile as she spoke in a gentle tone.

“Hello little one,” she bent down to meet you at eye level. “The children are out back in the garden. Why don’t you go play?”

You agreed, happily leaving the adults to chat freely. As you made your way to the garden, you wondered what Sorsha had meant by ‘children.’ Your parents had said that you were here to make one friend, but the possibility of making multiple friends was even more exciting.

Upon reaching the palace garden, you opened the gate and walked in to see only one child, a boy who looked to be around your age. You felt a twinge of disappointment, but quickly hid it after he noticed your presence and flashed you a warm smile.

“Hi,” he greeted. “I’m Airk. Airk Tanthalos. What’s your name?”

You introduced yourself, prompting him to nod in response before speaking again.

“My mom says we’re gonna be friends now. I was just playing hide-n-seek with my sister.”

You perked up at this new information, excitedly anticipating the arrival of more friends.

Airk spun around, calling out to the entirety of the garden. “Kit! Our guest is here!”

No response. Airk sighed. “Kit! Olly olly oxen free!”

Suddenly, a little girl emerged from behind a tree, capturing your attention. She was unlike anything you’d ever seen before. You were taught that princesses should always be proper and ladylike, which Kit certainly was not. Instead, stray hairs clung to her flushed cheeks and hung just above her mouth, dyed purple from grape-juice. Grass and mud stained her tunic, and she wore breeches. You didn’t know girls were even allowed to wear breeches.

As she walked towards you and Airk, you quickly became infatuated with her. She was just so… cool.

Airk turned back towards you, rolling his eyes. “That’s Kit. Don’t mind her. She’s stubborn.”

“Gotta be stubborn when you’re the best hide-n-seeker in all of Tir Asleen.” Kit retorted, sticking out her tongue.

Airk stuck out his tongue back in response before gesturing towards you. “This is our guest. Mom says we’re going to be friends with her now.”

Kit turned towards you, face brightening as if this was the first time she noticed your presence. “Oh you’re the guest. How old are you?”

You shyly held up five fingers, causing Airk to erupt into mocking laughter. “You’re five? I hadn’t realized I was in the presence of a baby!”

Anger bubbled up inside you at his words. You had just met this boy, and he was already not very nice.

“Shut up, Airk!” Kit exclaimed, pushing her brother's head. “If anyone here is a baby it’s you!”

“Nuh-uh! You’re the baby! You’re only six!”

“So are you, idiot!”

“I’m still older!”

“By like, one minute!”

Airk huffed in response, crossing his arms and pouting. Kit flashed you a reassuring smile, and you felt warmth bubbling from inside you. This girl, this cool, older girl, had just stood up for you.

“Do you want to play tag?” Kit asked you. “Airk is awful at tag.”

“Nuh-uh! I’m super fast…”

“I can’t,” you cut Airk off and looked towards Kit regrettably. “I can’t run in this stupid dress.”

You pulled at your outfit, exaggerating your frustration. Kit scrunched up her face, seemingly deep in thought before she jumped up as if a lightbulb went off in her head.

“I’ll be right back,” she exclaimed, before running inside.

Now that you and Airk were alone together, it was almost awkward. You tugged at your dress, while he sat and pulled at the grass.

“I like your dress,” he muttered. “I think it makes you look pretty.”

A blush crept onto your cheeks at the compliment; maybe this boy wasn’t so bad after all. “Thanks.”

Seconds later, Kit came running back out of the castle carrying a garment of some sorts. She slowed to catch her breath as she approached you, proudly holding up the item.

“Breeches,” she explained breathlessly. “Put them on under your dress, then just tuck the skirt in.”

You stared at the garment, turning it over in wonder. “I’ve never had breeches before.”

“Keep them,” Kit replied. “Now you do.”

Your heart swelled at her kind gesture. First the cool girl had stood up for you, and now she was giving you a gift.

After thanking her, you slid the breeches on from underneath your dress, and tucked your skirt into the waistband. The thick fabric of your dress spilled out and bulged against the hem of the pants, sort of making you look like a spinning top, but you didn’t care. You were mobile now, and free to play whatever.

Feeling giddy, and slightly mischievous, you walked up to Kit, giggling behind your hand before slapping her on the shoulder.

“Tag! You’re it!”

You ran away, chuckling loudly as Kit gasped. She narrowed her eyes with an impish grin, feigning displeasure at being “it.”

“I’ll get you for that!”

The game continued with the three of you, but it was mostly you and Kit chasing each other around the garden, giggling until your ribs ached. At one point, you were running away from Kit, almost escaping before she took a shortcut through a flower bed and tackled you. You landed flat on your back, looking up at a giddy Kit in shock.

“Tag! You’re it! I win again!” She exclaimed, giggling as she reached up and pulled out a pink ribbon from your hair.

You groaned, grabbing for the ribbon as she dangled it over your head. “Kit! No fair, give it back!”

“I don’t think I will. I won, so I’ll take this as my trophy.” She twisted the ribbon in her fingers, examining the lace detail. “Besides, I gave you my breeches, it’s only fair you give me something of yours.”

She crawled off of you and lazily tied the ribbon in her tousled hair. The untidy knot hung loosely over her tangles and stood out like a sore thumb, but the sight of her in something you owned was so enthralling that you couldn’t care less.

Batting her eyelashes, she pouted her lips dramatically. “How do I look?”

You giggled. “Beautiful. Like a princess.”

The two of you tittered about while Airk groaned, feeling left out. “Can we play something else?”

Kit shrugged. “Fine. Let’s play house.”

Airk perked up, nodding in enthusiastic agreement before running over and grabbing your arm. “Great! We can play mommy and daddy, and you’re our child and you have to do whatever we say, Kit.”

“Nuh-uh!” Kit argued, grabbing onto your other arm. “How about I play the daddy, and you be our child and do whatever we say!”

“No fair!” Airk exclaimed. “It was my idea first!”

“It was my idea to play house!” Kit retorted smugly before slinging an arm around your shoulder. “How about we let our guest decide?”

“Fine!” Airk turned to you. “Who do you want to be married to? Me, or Kit?”

You looked between the siblings, weighing your options. Kit was so cool, but Airk was a boy, and you’d never heard of two girls getting married. But if it’s just pretend, and she’s playing the daddy anyway, then it should be alright… right?

Turning to Airk, you shot him a smug smirk. “Who’s the baby now?”

Kit erupted into mocking laughter while Airk grumbled, crossing his arms. “I’d rather be the horse.”

With that complaint, the game began, Airk finally giving in and agreeing to be yours and Kit’s son. You were pretending to prepare Airk as the next heir to the throne before Kit entered the scene, carrying a branch as a makeshift sword.

“Hello, wife,” Kit announced, lowering her voice to impersonate a man. “I’m back from the fight with General Kael.”

“Welcome home, dear,” you replied. “How was the fight?”

“Well I won, of course.” Kit boasted.

You clapped your hands in excitement. “That's wonderful, my love! Airk, did you hear your father?”

“Sure, sure.” Airk grumbled, completely disinterested.

Kit turned to her brother, waving her finger and pretending to be stern. “Listen to your mother, son. Someday it will be your responsibility to defeat leaders of evil armies.”

Airk rolled his eyes while you giggled, smiling at your pretend husband. “Darling, I’m so happy I married you. You’re such a great husband and father, and I’m so proud of you for defeating General Kael.”

“Bo-ring!” Airk complained, being completely ignored by you and Kit.

“Thank you sweetheart,” Kit replied in her mannish voice. “But the battle isn’t over yet. I must go back out and defeat Queen Bavmorda. Give me a kiss for good luck?”

���Kiss?” You asked, breaking character.

Kit dropped the act, returning to her normal voice. “Yeah. Mommies and daddies kiss, so we have to kiss.”

“You can’t kiss!” Airk shouted. “Kissing is for grown-ups!”

“We’re grown-ups in the game,” Kit argued.

“I’ve seen my mommy and daddy kiss, but I’ve never kissed,” you admitted, silently hoping that Kit wouldn’t think less of you.

“That’s alright,” Kit reassured with a gentle smile. “It’s easy. Just stand still, and close your eyes.”

You did as you were told, and suddenly, just for a brief second, you felt Kit’s lips on yours. It was only an innocent peck, but lingered with the taste of grape juice, and left an unfamiliar buzzing sound in your ears. Every inch of your small body tingled with warmth, and in that moment, you were convinced that Kit could do no wrong; everything about her was perfect.

“Gross!” Airk sneered, earning a sharp thwack from Kit using the tree branch she was holding.

And so the game continued, you pretending to tend to your ‘kingdom’ and prepare Airk as an heir, while Kit ran around the garden, using her trusty tree branch to reenact tales her father, Madmartigan, had told her. In between scenes, you would boss Airk around, sending him on side quests, or hide behind shrubs and share sweet grape-juice flavored kisses.

Eventually, the sun began to set, signaling the end of your play day. You and Kit had teamed up to wrestle Airk to the ground when Sorsha and your parents entered the garden gate, laughing like longtime friends. Upon seeing you, however, your parents froze at the shocking sight. Their beloved daughter, raised to be a prim and proper princess, was caked in mud, and wrestling a boy with her dress tucked into a pair of breeches that didn’t belong to her.

You heard your mother call your name, and immediately paused the roughhousing to shift your attention towards her. She forced a plastic smile, clearly displeased with your current appearance, but unwilling to make a scene in front of Sorsha.

“What are those?” She asked through gritted teeth, gesturing towards your lower half.

“Breeches!” You replied proudly. “Kit gave them to me.”

“Well wasn’t that nice of her,” she hummed, exchanging looks with your father.

Sorsha looked over to her own children and let out a sigh, noticing they hadn’t stopped wrestling. “Kit! Get off your brother!”

“Airk is in training, mom!” Kit whined, climbing off her brother. “He has to learn how to defeat Queen Bavmorda if he wants to be the next heir to the throne!”

“Her father…” Sorsha muttered an apologetic explanation to your parents before turning back to the twins. “Kit, why don’t you and Airk go inside and ask the cook to make our guests a snack?”

“Fine…” the twins murmured before trudging back into the castle.

Now that you were alone with the three adults, it seemed as if all their attention fixated on you. They crouched down to your level, peering at you with toothy grins plastered on their faces. A feeling of unease settled like a pit in your stomach, compelling you to take a small step back before they started speaking.

“Sweetheart,” your mother started, her voice dripping with sickening sweetness. “Did you have fun today?”

“I did,” you replied, letting your guard down slightly. “Kit is fantastic. She’s like a brave warrior princess!”

Your mother pursed her lips in disapproval, prompting Sorsha to quickly chime in. “What about Airk? Did you enjoy playing with Airk?”

Even though you had formed a stronger bond with Kit, you did still enjoy playing with Airk. “Yea, he was fun to play with too.”

All three adults beamed at you once again, teeth shining so bright you were almost sure you were going blind. That previous feeling of unease settled in your stomach again; you weren’t sure what your parents were planning, or why they kept interrogating you about your new friends.

It was your father, your gentle and typically soft-spoken father, who decided to ask the question they were all waiting for. “Princess, when you grow up, would you like to marry Airk?”

The adults looked at you expectantly, waiting with bated breath. To you, this was nothing more than an innocent question, a completely hypothetical situation. To them, however, your answer would determine the rest of your life.

You furrowed your brow, pondering their question. “If I marry Airk, does that mean I can play with Kit forever and ever?”

Your parents glanced at each other, and then at Sorsha. All three were slightly taken aback by your response, and none of them knew how to answer your question.

Finally, it was your mother who decided to speak up, nodding slowly as she did. “Well… if you were to marry Airk… technically you and Kit would be sisters. So… yes, I suppose you would get to spend a lot of time together.”

A warm feeling exploded in your chest. Sisters? You’d never even had a sibling before, let alone a sister, and the thought of having one as cool as Kit made you bounce with excitement.

“Then yes,” you exclaimed. “When I grow up, I want to marry Airk!”

The adults cheered in approval, your father hoisting you up onto his shoulders while the women chatted about plans for something you couldn’t make out. At this point, the twins came back out carrying snacks, and ended up joining the impromptu celebration. Not you, nor Kit, nor Airk knew what exactly was being celebrated, but everyone was happy, and that was all any of you cared about.

That night was spent in the Tir Asleen castle, you and your parents meant to be resting for the journey back to Azarenth the next morning. You were supposed to use one of the many guest rooms available, but you and Kit had begged your parents to let you share Kit’s room, and after promising to go to sleep at a reasonable hour, they finally agreed.

You and Kit spent the entire night hidden under her covers, telling stories and sharing sweet secrets. Once the night sky turned pitch black, you had to resort to soft whispers and stifled giggles, for fear of your parents hearing you awake so late and making you sleep separately. Eventually, just before daybreak, you two fell asleep, passed out only after neither of you could keep your eyes open any longer.

The next morning, Sorsha found you both collapsed, buried under Kit’s sheets, lying in a heap and practically tangled into each other. As she gently shook you awake and sent you to the room your parents were staying in, she couldn’t help but smile to herself; Kit didn’t have many girl friends, instead opting to spend most of her free time with her brother and other boys from the neighboring village. It was refreshing, watching her daughter form a close bond with a girl, especially one she was planning on having as a future daughter-in-law.

After getting dressed and sharing a quick breakfast, it was time for you and your parents to begin making your way back to Azarenth. You and Kit shared a tearful goodbye, promising to remain close companions as you embraced each other for the last time.

“Do you still have my breeches?” Kit whispered.

You nodded. “I’m wearing them under my skirt.”

As you let go of each other, you glanced down and noticed your pink ribbon from the previous day was now tied around Kit’s wrist, neatly held together with a bow. You smiled, gingerly picking up her hand and running your fingers over the lacy fabric.

“My ribbon…” you whispered.

“Mommy helped me put it on,” Kit grinned proudly, holding it up by her face in an exaggerated pose. “How do I look?”

You giggled. “Like a princess.”

After leaving Kit and bidding a quick farewell to Airk, you and your parents piled into the carriage for the journey back to your own kingdom. Soon, all you could hear was the dull clip-clop of the driving horse stepping along the cobblestone road.

“Hmm,” your mother pursed her lips as soon as Tir Asleen was out of sight. “I’m not sure how I feel about that Kit girl. She doesn’t seem like the most positive influence. I mean, breeches? On a princess? What was her mother thinking?”

You gulped, crossing your legs and pulling your skirt farther down, fearing that your mother could tell you were secretly wearing Kit’s breeches underneath.

“Something tells me Sorsha isn’t too happy about the breeches herself,” your father murmured, making your mother nod in agreement.

The tips of your ears burned with resentment. In that moment, you hated your parents for looking down on Kit, and didn’t understand how they couldn’t see her the same way you did: wonderful.

Despite your indignation, you chose to bite your tongue, deciding that arguing would prove fruitless. Instead, you threw yourself into your imagination, looking out the window of the carriage and daydreaming about you and Kit growing up and running away together, free from the confines of your parents.

Little did you know, it would be five years before you saw Kit again.

[sweetbunpura]

Stolen Jackets: Floyd, Dorm Jacket

Camp Vargas: Floyd, Hoodie: Jamil

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“Floyd.”

“Hmm?”

“Where's your jacket?”

“Dunno.”

“What do you mean you don't know?” Azul crossed his arms. “That jacket is part of your uniform. Go find it or you're going to be stuck washing dishes today.”

Floyd threw his head back and sighed, removing his legs that were propped up on the table as he slowly climbed to his feet. He shoved his hands in his pockets and left Azul’s office. 

“I told you he would send you away if you showed up without a jacket.” Jade spoke up from the front post. 

“I can't find it, it ain't my fault.” Floyd grumbled as he walked past. 

One annoyed trek to the shared room and one trashed bedroom later, Floyd still hadn't found the jacket. Now thoroughly pissed off, he made his way back to Mostro Lounge and slammed the front door open.

“I can't-” Floyd paused as he stared at the person in front of him.

Yuu has turned to face him, dark hair pinned back with a beautiful white and purple floral hair pin. She had on a beautiful black cocktail dress with black heels. She was also wearing his dorm jacket and carrying a fancy purple bag. And now that Floyd was staring unblinkingly at her, he noticed that she was also wearing makeup. She was stunning and Floyd was silent.

“Ah, you're back.” Jade smiled. “I was going to call you, but Miss Yuu happened to show up with your jacket.”

Yuu glanced over at Jade and raised an eyebrow. “You called-”

“You should thank her, Floyd.” Jade cut her off. “Now you won't have to wash dishes.”

“Uh-huh.” Floyd swallowed and looked away as he lowered his hat to hide his face. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“Oh, this? Vil kidnapped me and took me shopping for new clothes, quoting ‘You need better clothes, Potato.’” Yuu shrugged. “I was about to get out of them when I got a call.” She looked at Jade. “From Jade to come here and return your jacket.”

Floyd looked at his brother, who was grinning with teeth on display. “You knew where it was?”

“I took a guess.” He chuckled. “Turns out, I was correct. You do have a habit of forgetting your jackets at Ramshackle.”

He stared hard at his twin as Yuu pulled the jacket off, showing off her bare shoulders, and handed it to Floyd.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks, Shrimpy...” Floyd put it on, breath hitching as he could smell the perfume she had on.

“I have an idea.” Jade voiced, grabbing both Yuu and Floyd's attention. “Why don't you stay and eat, Miss Yuu? I'm sure Floyd would be more than happy if you did.”

“Jade.” Floyd glared at him with a low growl.

“I'd hate to be a bother, I'm pretty sure Azul needs all the hands he can get. Besides, I gotta get back before Grim gets hungry enough to start trying to eat the fluff out of the sofa... again. Bye Jade, bye Floyd.”

“Bye, Miss Yuu.”

“See ya, Shrimpy...”

She left and Floyd watched her go before rounding on Jade.

“Come here.”

“Oya Oya, so angry.”

Floyd leaped at Jade, who swiftly dodged away, before being jumped at again by his twin. They both hit the floor with a thud, alerting the staff and bringing Azul out of his office. They grappled and rolled around, knocking over tables and breaking some glasses.

“Jade! Floyd! What in the great seven’s name are you both doing!?”

At the end of the day, all Floyd really cared about was how good Yuu looked in the dress and his jacket.

[apocalypseornaw]

Real or Not (Pt 5/5)

Dean Winchester x Reader

Dean makes it to Donna's

Always a pleasure "working" with @lacilou

Donna had met you at the door, waving at Claire as she backed out of the driveway. You half expected her to ask but instead she smiled "Ya know where the guestroom is and guest bathroom. Why don't ya go get a shower and change into more comfy clothes then we can talk or not whichever" you instantly pulled her into a hug trying very hard not to cry. She held you for a few moments, rubbing your back soothingly then leaned back to smile at you again "Want tea or coffee waiting?" "Tea please"

You, the boys and Jody's girl all kept extra clothes at Donna's. She was a safe place to crash. Once you were out of the shower and dressed you stared at yourself in the mirror, immediately regretting not paying better attention when you grabbed clothes. You'd gotten a pair of your sleep shorts out but the shirt you'd grabbed was an old henley of Dean's.

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

You ignored the ache in your chest as you brushed your hair out then headed out the bathroom. You padded softly down the hall enjoying the feeling of the cool hardwood floor under your feet.

When you made it to the kitchen Donna was standing with her back to you, you saw she had her phone to her ear and started to step out to give her more privacy until you heard your name. The bits you caught were "Jody's gonna flip" "You shouldn't have went back Claire" "Yeah I know" "I know how two faced Camila is" "I don't think Y/N is gonna believe me though. I could strangle Dean"

You cleared your throat and had to stifle the urge to laugh when she spun around wide eyed looking very much like a kid with their hand caught in the cookie jar "Claire sweetie I gotta go. Give Jods my love and call me when ya get home"

You raised an eyebrow at her phone as she sat it down "What was that about?" She shrugged but when you crossed your arms she let out a sigh "Claire had a talk with Camila" "A talk?" You asked skeptically and she flinched "She might have gave her a black eye, broke her phone and told her if she came within fifty feet of you she'd get worse that than"

You felt your heart warm at Claire's protectiveness but felt the need to say "While I appreciate Claire wanting to defend me she doesn't need to risk getting in trouble. That bitch isn't worth it" Donna nodded slowly and held out a steaming mug. When you took it you realized she was still staring at you "What else Donna?"

She shrugged "Camila told Claire she lied about a lot, like the ring thing" you shook your head "Even if Dean wasn't looking at rings, he was willing to quit hunting.... Donna he still hadn't even told me he loves me. How many signs do I have to let slap me in the face before I accept I'm not the one for him no matter how much it rips my heart out or how much I love him"

She opened her mouth as if to say something but you quickly forced a yawn "I'm gonna take my tea to the guestroom so I can lie down if that's ok" she nodded "Of course. Holler if ya need anything" you gave her a small smile before nearly running to the guestroom, shutting the door behind yourself.

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

You sat the tea on the dresser before sitting on the bed. What were you supposed to do now? The bunker had been your home for quite some time before you and Dean ever shared a bed. Maybe the twins wanted a third for hunting? Or you could go with Claire some?

You eventually laid across the bed, hoping sleep would pull you under.

Dean parked next to Donna's truck feeling his heart skip around in his chest. He cut his eyes at Sam as he killed the engine "What do I say to get her to listen to me?" Sam shrugged one shoulder "Honestly?"

Dean felt his jaw clench as he said "Yeah honestly. I'm trying to fight for the woman I love her and this is new territory to me Sammy" a small smile slipped onto Sam's face "Don't gameplan man. Just talk to her, stutter and stammer if you have to. Just try to tell her how you feel and make her see you mean it"

He nodded slowly before climbing out of the impala, hearing Sam get out behind him. Before they made it all the way onto the porch the front door swung open and there stood Donna looking very pissed. "DEAN WINCHESTER! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

He flinched at her tone and held his hands in front of him defensively "I promise you my own crime is being stupid enough to think Camila had changed any. Anything she told Y/N was a lie. Please let me talk to her Donna" she looked from him to Sam before nodding "Ok, Sam ya wanna ride into town we me? The dinner has decent enough food"

Sam nodded "Sure" Donna leaned in to grab her coat before looking back at Dean "She's in the guestroom. Don't make me regret this Dean" Sam patted Dean's shoulder reassuringly before following Donna off the porch.

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

Dean stepped inside and stopped. What if you didn't want to see him? What if you didn't believe him? What if you really were through?

He wanted to give into those self depreciating thoughts he had his entire life but your face popped into his mind. The smile you'd have when you would wake up next to him, how you'd wrap your arms around him and kiss between his shoulders while he cooked. The way you'd patch him up after a hunt or sit watching his every movement with tired eyes as he patched you up.

Every moment of your relationship and even before flashed through his mind. It was worth the risk. He knew for him that you were it, he just hoped you felt the same.

-----------

He walked to the guestroom and knocked twice. After a moment he heard your sleep ridden voice "Come in Donna" he hesitated, should he tell you it was him? After a moment he pushed the door open "Hey sweetheart"

You shot up in bed and stared at Dean for a long moment. Your first urge was to run to him or even cry but you bit both those down to let venom slip into your tone as best as you could "Where's Camila?"

He shrugged "Don't know. I came here to talk to you" you stood off the bed smoothing a hand over your hair as you did so. You refused to be sitting while he stood. You needed halfway equal footing.

"Why? To tell me yourself I never measured up to her? To tell me you would've quit hunting for her? Or or or did ya come to tell me stories about her like I heard you and Sam reminiscing about WEEKS AGO!" You hadn't realized the anger that was simmering under your pain but once you started talking it refused to not be fed.

You tool a step towards him "When would I have been enough Dean? I was friends with you and Sam for so long before we ever started getting closer. You had every chance to not yet you took me into your bed. You touched me, you kissed me, you made me feel wanted like you actually cared but all the while I was falling in love with you were you still hung up on her?"

"No" he answered it so matter of factly it pissed you off further. Your teeth clenched hard as you said "Then why don't you love me? Why don't you feel about me how I feel about? WHAT DOES SHE HAVE THAT I DON'T?"

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

You felt angry tears slip down your face half a second before Dean was pulling you into his arms. You struggled, trying to break out of his embrace but knew he was stronger than you and your traitorous heart and body wanted nothing more than to melt into him. "Why don't you love me?" You half whispered half sobbed into his chest.

"I do love you" he spoke quietly. You pulled back from him to look up into his eyes "Don't say it to save my feelings" he gave you a smile that wasn't his usual flirtatious one but was genuine nonetheless "I'm not baby please can I talk now?" You nodded so walked the two of you over to the bed and sat down scooting back against the headboard pulling you onto his lap as he went and you let him.

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

Once you were straddling him with your head resting in the bend of his neck he started to rub circles onto your back as he spoke "She lied about me wanting to quit hunting. She lied about a lot, that's all she ever did. When me and Sam were talking about her it was because he was giving me hell for not trying to get you sooner because he was comparing how much better of a hunter, cook and woman you are and I was agreeing. I have loved you for a while now but sweetheart this is new to me, I've ran from any feelings my entire life. I've ran from the possibility of opening myself up to being hurt but you? You could rip my heart out right now and I'll use my last breath to tell you I love you"

You leaned up to look into his eyes "I've felt so out of place since I heard you two talking about her. I wanted to trust in us, not just a lovers but as friends. Dean I've never dreamt of feeling how I feel about you. I love you" you pressed a gentle kiss to his lips and he sighed lightly into your mouth, a sound of contentment. When you pulled away he smiled again "I love you Y/N. A future for me? It's you. No matter what else may come my future is you"

You smiled again, feeling tears brimming in your eyes "Shut up and kiss me like you love me Winchester" He grinned at your words "Oh I definitely can do that"

@lacilou @saranghaey @stoneyggirl2 @marimarvelfan @roseblue373 @suckitands33 @backtotheshitshow @jackles010378 @leigh70 @diagnosedpsychosis @badassbitch-21 @geekwritersworld

[flamingpudding]

Fictober23 Prompt: 31 - "It's not your fault."

Fandom: DPxDC

Rating: T

Warnings: -

A/N: Based on the setting created through Prompt 14 and its Reblogs. Not necessarily to read beforehand but it might give a little context. I tried to go with a more Halloween themed short story hope that worked out.

"Damian this mission has the highest priority any mission or case ever had before." Dick was clutching a glaring Damians shoulders who was now raising an eyebrow like his elder brother had lost his mind.

"Richard, this is ridiculous." He commented, crossing his arms.

"I am serious Dami, we can not fail with this." The elder stressed more. If it were any other situation than this then Damian might have taken Dick more seriously but as it was. His elder brother was pleading with him, dressed in a ridiculous Vampire outfit after having forced Damian into an outfit that was clearly a mockery towards his old league gear. It was a simple ninja costume Dick was making him wear.

"Please Dami! You don't want to get black listed for a month like Bruce or Tim, right? Jason is going to do this if we ruin their first Halloween in Gotham!" The younger's eyes narrowed.

"Do not place me on the same level as Drake. I will not lose any rights towards my nieces and nephews like he did." He huffed as he looked away stubbornly from his elder brother. Damian was not foolish enough to repeat the same mistakes some members of his family have made. He was not going to let his nephews even touch coffee or any caffeinated drink in the first place.

Besides the incident with Jasmine and their father was a whole different matter. It was their fathers own fault for unconsciously challenging his niece and disregarding her talent in analyzing one's mindset, Todd had mentioned once.

"I just want to make sure! Jason has become so protective of the kids and I do not want to lose favorit uncle's privileges!" Damian's eye twitched as he shoved away his elder brother with his hand placed in the other's face. "You must be delusional Richard. I seem to remember that I was the favorite uncle of the twins."

Before Dick could counter Damian the front door opened and the two saw Jason enter the manor with the crime twins on either side of him and the toddler in his arms. The second eldest raised an eyebrow at them before glancing down towards the twins.

"Hey Little Wing, right on time! Where is Jazz?" Dick greeted them cheerfully, bending down a little to wave at Ellie that was blowing a raspberry in his direction. He was probably imaging it but it looked like the little girl was glaring at him.

"Already dropped her off with her school friends, I will pick her up tomorrow afternoon. It's her sibling free day, remember?" Jason only raised an eyebrow also noting the frown the twins were sporting at seeing Dick.

Dick nodded, turning towards the twins. Did he imagine it or did one of the boy's whisper fruitloop to the other. "Ready for your first Trick or Treat in Gotham? We gotta collect all the candy for you two that we can!"

"Sure." Dick was hoping for more enthusiasm from the boy's but maybe that would come once they got their first candies bagged. "You two look interesting, what are you going as?"

"Frankenstein." The two answered simultaneously before glaring at each other and Dick sweatdropped. One of the boy's was dressed like a mad scientist with a white coat and welding goggles strapped to his head as well as some broken medical equipment clearly made visible. The other boy looked more like a monster with ripped clothing, fake bolds glued to his neck and drawn stitches all over his visible skin that was coloured slightly greenish.

"Wow you both did a good job! The monster looks just like in the movies." Dick tried in hopes

"I see. So Daniel is Doctor Frankenstein while Dante is Frankenstein's monster." The twins looked up towards Damian, the glare lost for a moment before they turned on each other again.

"See Uncle Dick said it! When someone says Frankenstein they think of the Monster, twerp!"

"Nuhu! Uncle Damian got it! He knew I was the Doctor and not the monster!"

"And Jazz just got them to stop arguing about that shit." Jason muttered with a glare towards Dick before the twins could devolve any further into their argument Jason stepped towards the side where Alfred had appeared and was heading over the now bubbling little girl that was making grabby hand towards the butler. He then turned towards the boys.

"Okay you two. Remember today's rules." He clapped his hand for more effect and to get the two to look at him. Which sort of worked as they still gave each other side eyed glares but nodded regardless. "Good and remember no crimes today, enjoy your fun and do not stuff yourself with candies."

"Okay Dad." The twins answered in sync before Jason literally pushed them towards Dick and Damian and out the Manors front door. They were the ones taking the twins out for a Trick or Treat run as their first Halloween in Gotham. Jason was going to hang back with Alfred to take care of Ellie.

Dick had volunteered doing this for his brother a couple weeks before Jason had wondered what he was going to do with the kids for Halloween. Dick had also instantly volunteered Damian for it two. Their youngest brother wasn't that much older than the twins yet and they surely would feel more comfortable with two known family members around.

An hour in and Dick was moments away from admitting that he made a grave mistake.

"Dami! Have you seen Danny?!" Jason was going to murder them if they lost one of his kids. So Dick was rightfully slightly panicked. He had taken his eyes of the boy for only a moment to check something on his phone.

"You have lost Daniel?" The youngest Wayne looked miffed at him and had a slight glare before though Dick noticed something else in his eyes too. "Damian, where is Dan?"

The younger clicked his tongue and Dick paled slightly. Okay no big deal, they temporarily lost the crime twin. He had found and followed Danny before, surely he would be able to find the boy in the crowd of disguised children too. Danny went with a mad scientist costume. How many of them were running around? It would be more difficult to find Dan, he had spotted a couple of different Frankensteins already.

"Jason is going to blacklist us, isn't he?" Dick muttered his eyes wandering over every child he could see going from door to door for candies. Damian doing the same even watching other adults and parents in case one of them had the idea to snatch his nephews from them.

"It won't be as bad as Drake and father." Damian commented as a form of consolation to his elder brother but knew it probably would. Jason blacklisted Tim from watching the kids for the caffeine incident for a month and their father was still blacklisted until Jazz felt like talking to the man again, the twins in solidarity to their sister doing the same.

"Should we split up? But what if they are looking for us? Oh good what if one of the rogues snatched them up? Or worse, some leftover guys from that damned organization?" From the corner of his eyes Damian saw how his elder brother was getting worked up and even though he wasn't showing it, he too was worried. This certainly was not how they had hoped the boy's first Halloween with them would go.

In a decorative street tree on the side of the path Dick and Damian were on sat two boy's one munching on a licorice stick while the other was nibbling on chocolate. Both were invisible just in case their uncle decided to look up.

"Fake blood next?" Danny asked as he watched Dick starting to pace.

"Not yet. Did Dad mention anything about the firecrackers?" Dan asked in return as he bite of another piece of his licorice stick.

"Not that I remember, tho Jazz said to go easy on Uncle Dick." Danny hummed tilting his head slightly with a frown. "But he lost that privilege looking like the fruitloop. You got one of Dad's fake guns right?"

"Why? Didn't you say you wanted to 'fake' stab yourself with the broken syringe?" Dan raised an eyebrow as Danny gave him a feral grin. "You recovered your shape shifting power, right?"

Dan returned the feral grin with one of his own understanding what kind of prank Danny was hinting at. "For once, I like the way you're thinking, twerp."

"Would you stop calling me that! We are the same age now!" Danny pouted as he stuffed the last of his chocolate in his mouth and prepared to jump off the tree.

"Never!" Dan quickly answered with a laugh as he took the lead and jumped off the tree and disappeared into the crowds first as he let go of his invisibility. Danny quickly followed doing the same. They had after all a lot more pranks planned to play on their uncles.

The evening ended with Dick and Damian making their way into the Manor through the bat cave entrance so that they could get to the Medbay before Jason saw the twins. Both looked rather disheveled and like they had gotten dragged through mud. What they didn't expect was Jason, being in the cave and looking at them with raised eyebrows. Dick was holding Dan who was literally growling as Dick was pressing a bundle of tissues against the boy's nose. There was a ripped strip of his vampire costume tied around Dan's arm, a line of dried 'blood' going down the arm.

Damian was holding Danny. The boy looked dizzy, holding his head with one hand while he whined about everything being to bright, the goggles of his costume were cracked and the white coat now had red 'blood' strains, the shirt he was wearing also appeared to be soaked in 'blood' and there was a tried spot of blood below Danny's nose like he also had had a nose bleed like his twin.

"What happened?" Jason's tone sounded neutral and Dick laughed nervously.

"It looks worse than it is…" He tried to salvage, maybe they could still save their nephew watching privileges.

"Really?"

"It's Richard's fault. He lost sight of Danny first." Dicks head whipped around towards Damian who just decided to throw him under the bus. A look of betrayal crossed the eldest face at the narrowed stare Damian was giving him. "The situation spiraled from there."

"No wait! Damian lost Dan! It's not just my fault!" He tried to defend himself as Jason's eyes narrowed on him. But before he could come up with any more reasons why it was not just his fault and that they should not lose any of their uncle privileges because of that…

…Jason started laughing, wheezing out a "It's not your fault."

Confused Dick blinked before Dan jumped out of his hands the same time Danny jumped out of Damians. Suddenly the kids appeared like nothing was wrong as they rushed over towards Jason. Hadn't Danny been dizzy until now? And Dan had complained and growled at him about a headache?

He glanced at Damian who was watching the twins with narrowed eyes.

"Well looks like you two had a lot of fun." They watched how Jason patted the twins' heads grinning at them as the boy's sported proud looks, like they were pleased with themselves. "Your Auntie Babs is making a highlight reveal for the entire family later. Till then go wash up and bug one of your other uncles or aunts."

"Can I go bug Uncle Tim! I got an new invention idea when Uncle Dick got chased by the dogs!"

"I want to find Aunt Harper."

"Sure both should be in the Manor by now. Just wash up first." With the boy's sent away it left the two adults and teen in the batcave. One of them gabbing like fish, the other glaring with narrowed eyes and the last of them still chuckling.

"Todd." Damian hissed and Dick knew that tone. Damian was promising revenge on Jason.

"Light up brat. The twins needed an outlet and Jazz suggested they could pull some pranks today, I just told them that with you two they could go all out."

Dick wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or be slightly mad at his brother for that but eventually he decided to go with relief. "So we are not losing uncle privileges, good."

"You two are still getting blacklisted for two weeks."

"WHAT?"

"I demand a reason."

"You tried taking them with you on patrol and you gave them blade training. They are six."

[loveebot]

helloo!! orange cat!reader or golden retriever!reader?? :)

thank you for the ask !! i have my four main !readers but if anyone has ideas for occasional side !readers then please send them in🎀🎀 ( 2 in 1 guys !!! 😋😋 )

gingerkitty!reader

canonically kitty!reader’s baby sister. lovess the sanrio universe (has sanrio bedsheets, clothes, jewelry, etc). her hair is always in pigtails. soft spoken. brown eyeliner. friendship bracelets coating her wrists. always sleepy. def turns into her sis when someone wakes her up earlier than she was planning on. her outfits are definitely like the original coquette (not dollette) superr calm + mellow. much more friendly and affectionate than kitty!reader. “girls just wanna have some” by chromatics.

ㅤㅤ ㅤ۪ㅤ— ㅤ۫ㅤ๑ㅤ ۟ㅤ ˗ˋˏ 🐈 ㅤ‧₊ ♱

w/ matt — you’re def your calmest with him. you can fall asleep on him at literally any time. if you have an attitude cause you’re forced to wake up early for something important he shuts it down immediately. “c’mere,” he’d say, then whistle. “knock it off, seriously.” you’ve always gotta be touching him (holding hands, moving his hand to your back, making him stop whatever he’s doing just so you can hug him; things like that).

w/ chris — he’s alwayss buying you sanrio merch. especially if you’re pissed at him (we all know chris just acts a fool, and usually you take it the wrong way). “listen, i know you didn’t like the joke i made about the girl in the movie. so…i brought you something.” and obviously you’d already forgiven him hours ago so you reward him with mind boggling sex!

w/ nate — you guys are saurr cute. you’ll come home from work and he’ll be sitting on your bed watching the adventures of hello kitty and friends. you’re just thinking “i love you sooo much.” y’all def make matching bracelets together and never take them off. i’m sorry your sex is soo vanilla for a whileee, it’s only one night when he comes home from a really bad game and takes it out on you that you both realize you like it rough.

goldenretriever!reader

works at a cute little unknown bakery. jorts. “falling for ya” by grace phipps. fluffy socks. has an insane strawberry shortcake obsession. canonically puppy!reader’s irish twin (1st). the more “mature” of the two of them. she’s really just as dependent on her man as her sister is. they’re only different because she’s less clumsy. babydoll dresses. her baking materials are heart shaped. hopeless romantic (the kid who would make pretend wedding dresses out of toilet paper then proceed to get yelled at by mom and dad because she was wasting it=her).

ㅤㅤ ㅤ۪ㅤ— ㅤ۫ㅤ๑ㅤ ۟ㅤ ˗ˋˏ 🦮 ㅤ‧₊ ♱

w/ matt — he’s your favoritee person in the world. whenever he’s not home ‘cause he had to shop or film or whatever you literally break down. he comes home and’s like “hey, what’s the problem? m’here, okay?” he loves when you wear your babydoll dresses ‘cause he knows there’s nothing under. believeee he’s taking you to the nearest enclosed space and eating. you. the fuckkk. out. such a munch.

w/ chris — when you guys bake together it’s always a big ass mess (you never don’t have a food fight). he lovess when his girl gets needy. which is almost all the time, so it’s just constant touching. you’re all on him and he’s all “yeaa, i know, i know.” especially cause you’re a little shy, not to the point where you don’t talk to people but y’knoww.

w/ nate — your favorite thing to do is steal his baseball caps and wear them backwards. you lovee his hair. you always tell him if he changes his haircut you’re literally gonna dump his ass, no joke. when you guys are fucking you’re fingers are always running through his hair, and you both like it so it’s highly unlikely that he ever would change it. sometimes he comes to visit you at your little bakery so he can watch you work. you usually don’t even notice him because you’re so locked in to your masterpieces.

୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ .⁺ ⸝⸝

just me acknowledging that this is 100% inspired by multiple other writers on this app, specifically, starfxkr, princessbrunette (love her sm) and donatellawritings, and if any of the writers who use these type of !readers see this and feel that my interpretation is too close to theirs and they want me to take this down, i will.

󠀠󠀠󠀠󠀠󠀠󠀠𓊆ྀི󠀠󠀠󠀠󠀠󠀠󠀠󠀠⠀ׁ⠀ㅤ © ㅤ 𝓵𝗈𝗏𝖾𝖾𝖻𝗈𝗍 ︎︎︎︎ ︎︎︎︎ . ⠀ ୭ৎ ㅤ 󠀠󠀠󠀠𓊇ྀི

[jungle-angel]

Send Off (Bob Floyd x Reader)

Summary: You, Bob and the rest of the squad get ready to send your kids off to school and let the shenanigans ensue

"Okay Daddy I'm ready now!" Auggie chirped as he stepped out of the bathroom.

Bob sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Auggie, though he had tried, couldn't quite match his own clothes yet. "C'mere bud," Bob told him.

He went into Auggie's room and dug around in the dresser for a hot minute, pulling out a little white t-shirt and a blue checked flannel to go with Auggie's jeans. "Put this on," Bob told his little mini-me.

"But we're gonna miss the bus!" Auggie chirped again.

"Buddy we've still got plenty of time," Bob assured him.

"What's he buggin about missing the bus?" you asked, poking your head in the door.

"Just a little," Bob answered. "And might I ask why you're up Mrs. Floyd?"

"Bob, I've been taking it easy for three weeks now," you told him, the dishtowel in your hand coming to rest on your ever growing bump. "The only thing that your sister's allowing me to do is eat, sleep, read, watch t.v or use the can."

"Hey, Reagan's been doing this for the last nine years," Bob reminded you with a grin. "Trust me, you don't wanna brush off her advice."

You laughed a little, neither of you having noticed that Auggie had disappeared and come back a minute later. "Daddy I can't brush my teeth."

"Why not buddy?"

"Patrick's parked on the shitter!"

You and Bob both burst out laughing at Auggie's response, but at least three-year-old Patrick had finally gotten the hang of using the bathroom on his own.

You got Auggie's toothbrush and the charcoal and mint toothpaste out of the bathroom and had him scrub his teeth in the kitchen sink before Patrick was done, having just washed his hands. As soon as Auggie's backpack had been packed up, he followed Bob out of the house to wait for the bus.

It wasn't long before the rest of the squad had begun making their way down. Maverick was the first to drop by with Danny and Thomas while Rooster was close behind him with Nicky and Pete.

"You guys get outta the house ok?" Bob asked.

"Never better," Maverick yawned. "These two little demons though, woke Penny and I up at six-thirty while Amelia was doing her makeup in the bathroom."

Bob snickered a little, more so when he noticed Rooster in his black basketball shorts and a mismatched shirt. "You didn't sleep did you?" Bob chuckled.

"I couldn't even a coffee before we left," Rooster groaned. "These two are like bottomless pits......they just wolfed down their cornflakes and called it a day."

Coyote came striding up just a minute later with Paloma and Carla giggling like crazy but the exasperated look on his face saying it all.

"Hair......" he interjected before anyone could say anything. "That's all you've gotta know."

Bob looked over at his giggling nieces whose thick hair had been put into tight cornrows with white and turquoise beads at the end. "How'd you do it?" Bob asked him.

"I don't have a clue," Coyote said, throwing his hands up. "Those two cannot sit for two seconds to save their lives and my mom and my wife are the only ones who can do their hair. But somehow, Daddy did it!!!"

Payback crossed the street with Geneva and Neveah some time later while Mickey trailed along with Isabella in her new dress with a bright sunflower pattern. Hangman came around the back of his house with the twins while Phoenix was the last to arrive with Gabe in tow.

"Holy shit," Hangman groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. "Is it the first day of school already?"

"Unfortunately," Rooster answered.

"God help us all," Natasha said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Couldn't get the coffee in on time?" Jake asked her.

"This little knucklehead woke up and tried to bring the dog to school with him," Natasha answered. "First time I ever saw Cole jump outta bed in his shorts."

Everyone had a good laugh on the morning shenanigans while everyone had begun taking pictures of the older kids all lined up with their backpacks as they waited for the bus. It felt like forever but finally, the little yellow bus that had the name of their school stenciled on the side, pulled up and let the kids on. All of them waved goodbye to their parents, ready for the first day of school as the bus pulled away down the street.

"Are you crying?" Bob asked Jake.

"No," Jake insisted. "I've got allergies, that's all."

Bob rolled his eyes as everyone dispersed and went back to the house. His father's truck pulled into the driveway to bring Patrick down to the nursery school, where Auggie had gone, leaving you and Bob with the whole day ahead to get the nursery decorated for your daughter.

"What?" you asked when you heard Bob chuckle a little.

"Hangman was crying at the bus stop when Missy and Molly got on the bus," he answered.

"Did he really?"

"Oh yeah," Bob laughed. "Tole me it was allergies."

You both had a good laugh on the matter as you began putting the nursery together and attempting to paint it the way Patrick's nursery school had done. You looked over at your phone, noting the time, but hoping all the same that Auggie and your nieces and nephews were having the time of their lives on their first day of kindergarten.

[mushangaa]

Metal

2024/02 (full view) Water | Earth | Metal

Frida, the oldest, her element is Metal and boy does she know how to use it in combat. But instead of cold grey I went with a more loving interpretation. And Bismuth vibes. Iridescent Bismuth has all them colours of her sibs in it too. I talked a bit about her element in relation to Raphaels element (fire) in this post.

And I shall ramble some more in general under the cut.

I just love Frida, or rather the Frida I cooked up in my head since we never got her properly in rottmnt. She is rather mature and responsible, she has a lot of things to keep on top of on the farm and is very business about it, thankfully she shares that load with Raphael, the other oldest sibling TM. But beneath all that she is also a bit of a gremlin like the rest of the fam, she just grew up a little too fast in some ways, but she has not let go of all of that and beneath her mature ways and responsible behaviour there is still a mischievous lil girl that sometimes will engage with the pranks of the youngest or get into some shit with the twins or convince Raph to shenanigans if she feels he has been wound up to tight lately - or full on brawl with him with reckless abandon since those two can't hurt each other that easily since they are matched in strength so Raph can let go a lil of his control and so can she. And like I dunno how to properly explain it in English but Bismuth gains it's fancy colours when it is subjected to moist air (just like silver turns black after a while and so on) and normally it is just grey and I like to relate that to Frida who is a very dark bluegreen black hue and likes simple clothes and muted colours but on the inside she is just as colourful as the rest of them you just gotta give her room to get out of her shell so to speak and be a little less restrained just like you have to dig up Bismuth for it to become colourful. She also normally does not do dresses, she gets one in her family portrait here but usually she tries to not be too femme on clothes, for one she does not like skirts and dresses too much she has a lot of farm work and loves riding, neither of those make dresses practical to her and she'd hate for her father to buy her fancy stuff only to soil or rip it needlessly. She also kinda really dislikes how she gets treated if she does go with more femme clothing - see she is the oldest daughter and a great deal of their yokai neighbours and those in town have a lot of opinions about that. Like how she is approaching the age of needing to be wed and settle down. Or how she is a bit too headstrong and opinionated for a female. Or how she needs a strong hand to reign her in obviously since her poor wifeless dad obviously raised her too much like his boys and yadda yadda and if she does then lean more into her femininity they are all over that since now that.. that is more proper isn't it? Isn't it better like this? She looks so pretty. Anyway so like Frida does not reject her femininity in general but she totally rejects how people around her define it for her and there have been some hands thrown in the past with neighbour boys who tried to court her and on one beautiful occasion Splinter roundhouse kicked a neighbour through the east wall (which the whole family happily repaired together) of their farmhouse after he made some implications about her biological clock ticking and whatnot and maybe wedding her to one of his sons before nobody wants her no more. That all is to say, Frida doesn't exactly do dressed but she does this dress. She calls it her "dress I own for your funeral if you don't mind ya business"-dress. It has magpie colours and shimmers a bit in light, the bottom part has some white flowing feather like applications in there. She fell in love with that one so Splinter got it for her for the special occasions. Frida also is the only one of her siblings who inherited her dads eyecolour.

[emeritusemeritus]

Can I request studying with GoF twins for a new project they’re working on? Like with witty or flirty remarks before they start getting carried away? Just some fluffy young love. It sounds nice

You know GOF twins is my weak spot, that long hair has me drooling every time 🖤

Warnings: flirty banter, implied sexual remarks, mentions of underwear, teasing. More than friends, not quite lovers. Georgie is beautiful when he blushes. Fred has no chill.

Words: 1k

Questions Questions.

It's Saturday evening in the Gryffindor common room and for once it's pretty quiet, with most of the students third year and up still at Hogsmeade. Naturally, the twins and you had crept out earlier that morning through the passageways you knew like the back of your hand to Zonkos, before the rush of the school trip began. They needed some things for whatever they were working on, a new invention they were excited about, something you were trying to help them with.

It was peaceful now, the fire roaring, the proximity between you and the twins. You'd been best friends for years, practically since the moment you stepped onto the Hogwarts Express for the first time and it was no secret that you'd gotten a little closer with the twins over the years, your relationship changing as you got older.

"Can you invent anything that makes Ron's robes look not-nauseating to the female population?" You joke, leaning across to watch Fred's nimble fingers messing about with the contraption he was building. Fred pauses, letting out a belly laugh and George giggles along, face scrunching up in the cutest way.

"Ha! 'Fraid not princess," Fred says with a smirk, getting back to work whilst George makes some notes on a piece of parchment.

"What are you wearing?" George asks, briefly looking up at you, over your body, before jotting something down with his worn down pencil.

"George Weasley! You can't ask a lady that!" You say with a smirk, knowing that pointing out the secondary meaning of his words would rile him up. It works almost instantly, his cheeks heating up to a beautiful pink colour that you take great pride in. Fred snorts out a laugh, flicking his eyes between your delighted face and his brother's blush whilst he tinkers.

"So," Fred drawls out, voice dropping to dangerously flirty whisper. "What are you wearing?" He winks, looking at you up and down as if he had Mad-eye's magic eye to see under your clothes. You can't help but smile at him, his effortless boyish charm always flowing in abundance when he teased.

You raise one eyebrow, testing him and he simply smiles back with a little shrug.

"You said George, gotta be more specific princess."

You laugh along, nudging him slightly on the shoulder, the two of you sharing a little moment as your eyes fix on each other.

"I meant to the Yule Ball," George says quietly, still recovering from his little faux-pas. You turn to George and give him a little smile, always the sweet one.

"Oh I don't know yet," you answer honestly. Truthfully you hadn't really given it much thought, what with the tournament, your homework and helping them with their business, both the inventions and the gambling.

"Not got a date?" Lee pipes up behind you, appearing from over Fred's shoulder as he throws himself down onto the sofa next to George.

"Shove off Lee," you laugh, fixing him with a little mock glare.

"She's got two," Fred says proudly, his smile wide even though he doesn't actually look up from his work. Lee is called away only a few minutes later by someone in the second year and he leaves the three of you alone again, huddled close in the corner by the fire.

"I'm sure whatever you wear you'll look great," George says shyly, "I mean you look great all the time."

"Especially in that sundress," Fred chimes in, mentioning the dress you'd worn the last time you were at the Burrow in the summer. Both Fred and George had commented multiple times about their approval of the dress.

"Well unfortunately for you both, that dress and my yule ball dress are staying on. Guess you'll just have to imagine my underwear Eh Georgie?"

Fred let's out another boyish laugh and George blushes again, smiling to himself.

"So what are you actually working on?" You ask, realising that you didn't actually know what he was crafting, somehow missing the memo on this future prank.

"Never mind that, what colour's your underwear?"

"Fred!" George chastises his twin, even though he's laughing too.

"Red," you reply causally, watching carefully from the side of your eye to see their reaction.

Fred is rendered speechless, something you've never seen before and you're pretty sure you could see a blush forming underneath his drooping bangs, though he tries to hide it. George's mouth had transformed into a little 'o' which he fights to hide pretty quickly and to make matters worse you shoot him a little wink, which brings back the colour to his cheeks.

You sit for a while, falling into a comfortable silence, the three of you working on your divided tasks. You notice Fred wafting his long hair out of his face for the third time in an minute and decide to help him out.

"You'll never see anything like that, come here," you say, twisting around on the sofa and reaching up to gather his hair in your hand. It's soft and smooth, the perfect length for a small ponytail, even the slightly shorter front bits gather nicely until the hair obstructing his view is all out of his face.

He flashes you a thankful smile and for a moment it takes your breath away. Merlin he's gorgeous.

"You gonna plait mine next?" George teases, pulling you away from your focused gaze until you glare at him playfully. Only when you turn around do you notice that Lee has joined you all again, dropping some coins into the briefcase, having apparently been selling.

"Feeling left out Georgie? I'm thinking pigtails for you," you joke, earning a mock laugh from George but his sweet smile after let's you know he enjoys the playful banter. "Actually, please let me," you add with a pleading look in your eyes, actually wanting to get your hands on his hair.

"Only if you tell me something," he barters, smirking at you. You frown but nod anyway.

"Does your bra match your underwear?" He asks casually, as if he was asking for the time. He gives you the cheesiest smile he can and you burst out laughing at his supposed 'payment'. Fred bursts out with another laugh, completely ignoring the thing he was trying to construct as he throws his head back with a laugh.

"Rotten boys," you mumble, looking between the two giggling twins, never more thankful that this is your life.

[svt-rosalie]

. . . ♡ FAMILY ! ? 🌷 MEMBERS ★ ﾟ๑

ׁ ׅ ୨ ❪ relationships! ❫ ୧ ⊹ ࣪

© 2023 , svt-rosalie rosalie masterlist!

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ NAME — aurore dumont

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ AGE — 49 ❪ march 15, 1974 ❫

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ STATUS — alive

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ FAMILIAL TIES — mother & daughter

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ DESCRIPTION — to say jihye is a mommy’s girl, is an understatement. jihye is her mothers mini me. as a little girl, rosie would take her mothers makeup and dress up in her moms clothes (even though they were a bit too big for her 8 year old frame) and walk down the hall to their living room giving a little runway show, to which her mother would always be her biggest fan and cheer her on.

“oh so gorgeous!” “i have the prettiest daughter in the world!”

as rosalie grew older, her mother became her anchor for teenage years. especially when she became a trainee and was away from her mother for a while (rosalie began living with her grandparents for about a year whilst her parents found a decent house and building for the bakery). there was many late night calls that would lead the poor girl to tears, crying out that she misses her mom. aurore was able to life up her daughter on her dark days and laugh with her daughter on the bright ones and that’s all that rosalie needs.

nothing is more important than the love a mother gives.

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ NAME — park hyeonju

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ AGE — 52 ❪ october 18, 1971 ❫

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ STATUS — alive

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ FAMILIAL TIES — father & daughter

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ DESCRIPTION — hyeonju is a father and everything in between, a best friend, a hype man, and a body guard. now valentine is the biggest daddy’s girl but that doesn’t mean rosalie isn’t next in line in wanting all of her appa’s attention. she loves when her dad ask her to join in on activities he knows she doesn’t enjoy, like going to the hardware store or making renovations to the house, but just wants to spend quality time with her one way or another — and he always goes to the nail salon to get their toes done together after wards. you gotta pamper yourself after all that hard work as rosalie says.

hyeonju always attended everyone of rosalie’s daddy daughter school events and made sure she was the most spoiled girl without making her a brat. she’s his first daughter/child so of course he’s going to make sure she knows she is loved both emotionally and physically. anytime the park family is out on a errands or just to spend family time together, rosalie is always holding her fathers hand or his arm (or on the special occasion he’s giving rosalie a piggy back ride).

rosalie couldn’t ask for a better father, he’s the one there to fight off all the monsters hiding in her closet and hold her close when the nightmares hit too close to home.

“it’s okay my rosebud, flowers can’t bloom without a little rain huh? appa’s here, it’s okay.”

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ NAME — park jiyeong, valentine dumont

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ AGE — 13 ❪ february 14, 2010 ❫

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ STATUS — dead ❪ february 12, 2022 ❫

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ FAMILIAL TIES — little sister & older sister

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ DESCRIPTION — valentine is rosalie’s entire heart, literally. when valentine was born all bets were off — rosalie was obsessed with her and wouldn’t let her out of her sight. she told all her friends and teachers at school that she has a new little sister and that she’s the best thing ever even though she’s stinky sometimes.

valentine grew up basically shadowing everything rosalie did. rosalie went for extra lessons for english, valentine would too even though she liked her french classes more; rosalie would put a little bit of lip gloss on and valentine would always pucker up her lips for some as well saying she wants to be just as pretty as her big sister! everything they did was for each other and with each other, you’d think they were twins.

when rosalie became a trainee, valentine bragged to everyone saying she was going to have the bestest singing sister in the world, mind you valentine was around 3 at this time so all she knew was the videos rosalie would play of girls generation and shinee, so she thought rosalie was going to be the coolest person in the world. she was right.

as valentine grew up and rosalie began to get busier with being an idol, nothing in their relationship changed. rosalie still called every night to her mom and dad and asked for valentine within 5 minutes.

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ NAME — sabrina

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ AGE — 5 years old ❪ 2018 ❫

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ BREED — ragdoll cat, female

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ STATUS — alive

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ DESCRIPTION — sabrina is and always has been jihye’s number one girl. she received sabby as a gift when she was 18 as a birthday gift from her appa after she had been begging for years for a cat. sadly her mama is allergic so her parents had to wait till their oldest was out of the house to allow such a big purchase and why not when she becomes an “adult”!

sabrina only likes rosalie and pixie. anybody that tries to pet her she will hide and slap your hand away (claws not out, she’s not that mean). she’s a sweet girl though, to rosalie, and loves to cuddle and make biscuits. she’ll sleep all night surprisingly and be the most active kitty you’ve ever seen during the day time.

rosalie knows she’ll be heartbroken when sabrina gets older but right now sabrina is still just a little baby who loves to be carried around and played dress up with!

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ NAME — pixie

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ AGE — 2 years old ❪ 2021 ❫

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ BREED — black cocker spaniel, female

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ STATUS — alive

୭ৎ ࣪ ׅ DESCRIPTION — pixie is just a little baby. she has no thoughts in her head expect her best friend sabrina the ragdoll, her owner rosalie and treats. she’s such a sweetheart but is genuinely just so coocoo.

she doesn’t go crazy like sabrina will but she’s just dumb. . . to put it mildly. pixie will be walking and is only looking up at rosalie instead of straight ahead of her and bump into a wall, she’ll bark at the floor because she thought she saw another being that wasn’t suppose to be there but it was actually just her own shadow coming from the sun shining in the window.

rosalie has a little like baby walker that she puts pixie in for walks and sometimes sabrina as well. when rosie bought that a lot of people thought she was pregnant. . . nope just for her fur babies. pixie is rosalie’s best friend and often goes with her to practices and oversea events when the group is going to be there for a while (sabrina doesn’t do well on planes so she stays with wonwoo’s family).

taglist — @angie-x3 @alixnsuperstxr @allthings-fandoms @peachyaeger @sakufilms @aysxldea @swagcandyfun @wonwooz1 @s4nsmoon

click here to join the taglist!

[casualsnickers]

Month of Emmet Quick Write #8

Prompt #8: Cozy

It's been an entire year since Ingo returned from Hisui and Emmet wants to celebrate. Dawn too. And even though things haven't gone back to the way they once were (and they never will), maybe that's okay. So long as everybody's together again.

Read the whole thing below the cut.

“I am Emmet. Remind me again what we are looking for.”

“Twice-spiced radishes, sootfoot roots, muffin mix, some raw honey- oh! And potatoes! Lots and lots of potatoes!” Dawn led Emmet along by the arm, her eyes shining as they came across more and more stalls peddling out-of-season vegetables and once-in-a-lifetime cooking supplies. She swung her arms as she went, chattering about this and that as she led the much taller man through the open market.

               Emmet wasn’t exactly comfortable with his brother’s newest charge. My brother’s awfully young, very excitable, somewhat weird charge. He had been introduced to Dawn in the past back when Ingo had first returned from Hisui. It had taken Ingo some time to remember a young girl he knew. Somebody named ‘Akari’. Funny, Emmet chuckled inwardly. It had taken Ingo an entire month to remember the familiar stops and schedules of their shared lives in Unova; it had taken Ingo only a single day to remember Akari- ‘Dawn’ as she was properly named in the present.

“What dish are those ingredients for?” Emmet asked innocently.

“Lots of things!” Dawn replied cheerily, sweeping an errant lock of hair out of her face. “We gotta get authentic ingredients if we really want to surprise Uncle Ingo! And I think he’d really like two particular dishes- he liked them a lot back in Hisui.” Dawn paused, frowning. “Actually, I think he liked them too much… Did he actually ever eat anything else?”

“What are you referring to?”

“Potato mochi and tundra stew.” At the mention of the latter, Dawn’s face shrunk in on itself as if having tasted something sour. “Still have no idea why he likes the stew so much. Eugh. You wouldn’t like it. It tastes bitter and horrible like gnawing on beetroots.”

“What’s in the stew?”

“Usual stuff. Cut-up potatoes, wild grains, sometimes rice, snow radishes and-“ Dawn’s scowl suddenly deepened. “Urm… Maybe I should just… get that particular ingredient on my own. It’s nothing bad!” she squawked, rushing to explain herself as she fumbled with the hem of her dress, not quite meeting Emmet’s eyes. “It’s just… gross. I think it’s gross! Some people like it! I just think it’s nasty.”

               The two spent another hour or two gathering ingredients from the open markets of Driftveil  before eventually finding a small ferry to get them back across the waters to the western ports of Nimbasa City before noon had broken. From there, Emmet helped wave down a tram for the two of them to make their way back home.

               Emmet unlocked the door, blinking. Ingo’s still gone. “Strange,” he murmured, stepping to the side and allowing Dawn to pass him. Today made a year’s anniversary of Ingo and Dawn’s return back from Hisui. Dawn hadn’t planned anything for herself and had preemptively decided to spend the day hanging out with Ingo after getting her mother’s permission. Emmet was more than fine with the opportunity. If Ingo was happy, he was happy too. Of course, despite Ingo being back home for so long, Emmet had noticed that Ingo hadn’t fully settled.

There were a few things here and there. Ingo probably didn’t know it but Emmet had begun picking up on cues that his twin was hiding things; bad things. The body scars were the easiest to see. Tearing scars along his arms on hot summer days. A snippet of a criss-crossing scar across his back after stepping out of the bathroom for something or another. Electrical burn marks hidden well by his work gloves. Uncle Drayden had noticed Ingo favoring his right knee over his left during bad storms. Iris had noticed Ingo’s tendency to hoard food and to that extent, old clothes. Elesa had noticed that Ingo flinched when the subway trains would roll into the platform too fast. Emmet had noticed that Ingo was quieter, never quite reaching the same levels of volume that he easily met and surpassed in the past. Emmet never asked. Ingo never spoke about them, almost as though he were either ashamed of doing so or that in doing so, he would stir up bad memories.

Ingo had his days. Some days, he would wake up and barely speak, still performing his job but with no life as though a ghost had possessed him. Some days, he wouldn’t eat. He would pick at his breakfast and work straight through his lunch, going straight to bed after a grueling shift at the station without so much as washing his face or brushing his teeth. Some nights, Ingo would go for walks. Long walks. Long walks at night, specifically with the pokémon he had befriended in Hisui. The pokémon that Ingo confided his troubles in when Emmet couldn’t overhear anything and the ones that often escorted him home in the dizzying hours of the early morning.

Both Emmet and Elesa had agreed to not smother Ingo and let him adapt slowly. And Ingo had been returning back to his old tracks gradually the more and more his family watched over him and ensured that he was seeking the proper physical and mental help that he needed after experiencing such a thing as amnesia-backed, time and space displacement. That they would support Ingo in his slow but steady recovery. And though Ingo was reluctant to speak about his experiences in Hisui, Dawn had come up with reintroducing the better parts of their joint-kidnapping by reminding him of the memories they both shared along each other: the food from Hisui.

“How are the muffins looking?” Dawn called, carefully checking the consistency of the stew that she had quickly assembled while Emmet hadn’t been paying attention.

               Emmet peered into the oven, nodding. “They’re almost done. Are you making some kind of glaze or topping for them? Wait. I thought you said we were making mochi and… stew?”

“The muffins are the appetizer,” Dawn laughed. She put the lid back on the stew and went to clean her hands. “My old friend Rei- he taught me how to make them so that I could eat while travelling to complete the pokédex. I got real good at it and eventually taught Uncle Ingo how to make them. We often shared them whenever we ran into each other which was a lot- way more than you think! He had a… specific way of making his. Something to do with pecha berries.”

               Emmet snorted. “Pecha berries? Yyyup. My brother has a sweet tooth.” He carefully skimmed over the directions for the recipe he was about to prepare. “I don’t doubt he would use pecha berries for muffins. Which are already sweet.”

“The raw honey is gonna be the glaze and that’s already kinda too sweet, even for me. He’ll love these, I’m sure of it. Ooh! And I think they’re done!”

               The front door clicked and opened, Elesa’s boisterous voice and Ingo’s tired but slightly amused grumbles filtering into the house. Dawn immediately dried off her hands and flung herself out of the kitchen, nearly carrying Ingo off of his feet as she threw her arms around him.

“Uncle Ingo! You’re back!”

“Ah, Ak- Ahem. Dawn.”

               Emmet only listened in, dropping the potato mochi into the pan to cook them exactly as the recipe ordered. And as he cooked, he could hear several more voices join in. Ah. There’s Uncle Drayden. And Iris, too. He dropped the thoroughly cooked pieces of mochi onto a covered plate at his side, humming as he dropped in another piece. I can hear Cilan very slightly. Cameron sounds like he’s here too.

               He let his gaze travel over toward the packed party sitting in the living room, watching as Ingo and Dawn bickered over something small. And then Emmet saw exactly what he had been hoping for.

Ingo was talking. He was smiling, using his old over-exaggerated hand gestures as he spoke animatedly to Drayden and Iris who were staring at Ingo with amusement. Ingo’s voice carried clearly into the kitchen.

He’s… happy. Emmet supposed that if Ingo was happy, he was too. Ingo was safe and sound and happy, surrounded by people who loved him. And that eased Emmet just enough into carefully preparing a plate of muffins to take out to the living room.

[gh0stsp1d3r]

Request: So, I was thinking about Elle Woods (random, I know lol), BUT what if Y/n was similar to Elle Woods (also BUBBLES FROM POWERPUFF GIRLS) in that she’s REALLY girly, like pink/glitter ALL OVER, very bubbly, but instead of her being a lawyer with pink all over, she’s an assassin with pink all over?? And I’m talking EVERY PINK lol- Clothes, accessories, weapons, etc…. Similarly to how Elle isn’t taken seriously as a lawyer (at first) because of her demeanor and how she dresses, Y/n isn’t taken seriously (at first) as an assassin because of how she acts and dresses? BUT like Elle, Y/n is REALLY good at her job… Anyways, somehow meeting Tan and they fall in love??? Lemon being (slightly) amused at Y/n and Tan’s banter? But also Tan being really soft for her?? By @kpopgirlbtssvt

SORRY I TRIED TO COMMENT ANS SAY I WOILD DO IT BUT IM SHADOWBANNED SO I CANT ): I MISSED YOU THO AND I MISS WRITING FOR TAN SO… :3 hope it’s good love!

Lipstick

“You sure you’re an assassin?” A man said, you huffed and crossed your arms, you were currently sitting on top of the man, knife in hand.

“Look, sir, I’m trying to kill you right now and if you keep questioning me I can’t really do my job.” You said, then stabbed him in the neck before he could say anything else.

“Fucking prick.” You mumbled, putting the pink knife in the sink not too far away. You wiped your bloody hands, and then you looked down at your clothes.

“Aww man! That was my favorite shirt.” You pouted, and tried to swipe as much blood as you could off of it.

You sighed and took a picture of the body, sending it to your boss who would then send it over to the person who hired you.

You cleaned up the knife, and quickly went on your way as if nothing had happened.

You texted your boss “Is that the only mission you got for me today? (:”

“I mean, I have another one if you want to..”

“How much is it?”

“A lot. This guys offering 500k, but you’d have to be partnered up.”

“… with who?”

“The twins.”

———————————————————————

That’s how you were now with the twins, standing outside the building full of people.

“Why can’t we jus.. I dunno, go in?” You turned to them both, you all currently on the roof.

“What the fuck do you mean?” Tangerine asked.

“Watch.” You said, dropping down from the roof and going up to some guards. Tangerine and lemon mentally groaned in annoyance.

“Heyyy..”

“Who are you?” One asked.

“I think she’s the bosses sons girlfriend.” Another one said, you nodded.

“Yeah. Peter!” You made up a random name. You said it cheery and with a smile.

“Yeah, alright.” The one at the door mumbled, opening it up. You looked back at the twins and winked.

“They’re fucking daft.” Lemon said.

“Right? There’s no way-“

You opened the door in the back, and motioned for them to come.

They both furrowed their eyebrows and came in anyways.

Sneakily crouching around, you all found the room that the man was in.

But there was a guard outside, so you grabbed the knife on your hip and came up behind the man. You jumped on him and covered his mouth and nose, then repeatedly stabbing him in the neck while doing so.

The man fell, and you yelped when you almost fell too, but they had both caught the body before it hit the ground. You slowly and carefully dropped down, tangerine helping you while doing so.

“Aww, that’s so sweet.” You whispered to him, kissing his hand. “What a gentleman.”

“Shut it.” He whispered back.

You smirked and opened the door slowly, the man was sleeping on his desk.

“So we jus’ gotta bring him in?” You whispered.

Tangerine and Lemon knew the drill, and Lemon handed him the body bag.

“I’m not used to this at all.” You shook your head. You were more used to actual jobs were you killed, not kidnapping ones.

The man started to scream when you punched him in the face, knocking him out quickly. The both of them quickly put him in the bag, and dragged him into the back again.

“Why the fuck do you have a pink car again?” Tangerine asked, quickly throwing the car door open as some guards came your way.

“Cause it’s pretty.” You shrugged, and you went into the back, grabbing a gun, and shooting the guards on by one, hiding behind your door when they shot at you.

“Drive, drive drive!” You shouted, quickly getting into the car, and ducking down, tangerine sped off and Lemon had thrown the body in the back with you.

You laughed and then you realized something.

“Damnit, now my cars all ruined.” You pouted, and shook your head to yourself.

“What the fuck was that? You coulda’ gotten all of us killed!” Tangerine shouted angrily, knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Oh relax, I know what I’m doing.” You said, putting your feet onto the other seats, tangerine tan a hand through his hair and Lemon just staring ahead in disbelief.

——————————————————————-

That’s how it all started. It’s now been two years of you, Lemon and Tangerine working together now, you all simply fit, and had the best performance.

“Get your dirty hands off her.” Tangerine had practically growled, the person you guys were fighting currently on top of you, pretty much wrestling you.

He ran straight into him, knocking him onto the ground and some glass. You furrowed your eyebrows and held your hand to your cheek, which the man had punched hardly.

You sat up and watched them fight now, holding your elbow that had glass in it. You looked up at Lemon and scooted over to him. He just looked down at you and then back to tangerine. He punched the man in the face repeatedly, then pulled out his gun and shot him, his brains going splattering all on the cold tile floor.

“Oh. That’s.. lovely…?” You mumbled, and looked at Tangerine.

He looked at you and then Lemon, you both stared at him in shock slightly. He stood up, and buttoned his shirt back up, fixing his hair and looking at you both.

“What?”

“Nothing, mate, nothing.” Lemon shook his head.

“That was hot.” You blurted out, both of them looked at you now.

Tangerine rolled his eyes as he dragged the body, hiding it behind the counter and taking a picture of it. He came up to you.

“You alright?” He asked.

“Just some glass in my elbow.. and pretty sure I got a bruise on my cheek but.. I’m fine.”

He nodded and went past you, You stared at him, admiring his face.

“Quit staring.” He said when he passed you. He would be lying if he said he didn’t secretly like it.

“Can’t help myself.” You shrugged, and walked next to him. Lemon snickered at you both.

“What?” He looked to lemon.

“You two are adorable, honestly.” Lemon said, putting his hands up in defense when tangerine gave him a look.

That made his ego bigger than it needed to be, he looked at you when you weren’t paying attention again and Lemon hit his shoulder and nodded to you as if saying “go for it, man.”

Lemon walked away from you both, and entered the drivers seat.

He looked at you and you looked back, smiling at him.

“Staring problem, Tan?” You teased.

“Was jus’ wondering if you wanted to go out on Saturday.” He said, messing with one of the rings on his fingers.

“Is Tangerine asking me out on a date?” You gasped and smiled.

“No one said it was a-“

“So it’s not a date?”

“I mean… yeah it is actually.” He said.

You smiled at him again, kissing his cheek. The pink lipstick staining his cheek, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“I’d love to.”

He looked at you again, his usually cold and hard glare turned into a soft and loving one every time he looked at you. You just didn’t notice it until now.

———————————————————-

He took you inside, Lemon waiting in your living room for him.

He sat you down on the closed toilet seat, and he reached for your arm, which you let him grab. He was on his knees as he examined it, noticing small pieces of glass scattered in your arm and elbow.

He grabbed tweezers, cleaning them with rubbing alcohol first, and then he slowly started to removed the pieces.

You winced in pain. He held your arm with his other hand, trying to get you to stay still.

“Jus’ a few more, yeah?” He said, you nodded with your eyes screwed shut.

After a while, he finally got all the pieces out. The pain was horrible, but felt somewhat better now.

He looked up at you, still on his knees.

“You alright?”

“I’m fine, shit, just hurts.” You mumbled.

“Sorry, I shoulda been there earlier.”

“It’s not your fault, tan.” You said, and he was now standing in front of you, he helped you stand up.

“Thank you.” You said.

“Of course.” He looked at you, glancing at your soft lips for a moment.

You noticed, and decided to take action. You leaned to him, and kissed him. He grabbed your hips, pulling you closer, your chests touching now.

Your hands were in his hair, and he shut the bathroom door quickly with his foot, he went to the floor, and you straddled him now, giggling quietly when you looked at his now pink face.

“What?” He asked.

“My lipsticks all on you.”

He blushed at the realization, he hadn’t even realized until now.

He shrugged. “Whatever.” He kissed you again, feverishly, cupping your cheeks.

This man would be the death of you.

[daresplaining]

Mike Murdock's Sunglasses: On Character Design and Autonomy

I've written a little in the past about character design in regards to the translation of zany alter ego 1960s Mike Murdock into slightly-more-grounded, at least 85% more real 21st century Mike Murdock. Specifically, I talked with artist Phil Noto about Mike's outfits in Daredevil #606-612, and analyzed the clothing choices made by the creative team in the 2020 Annual. However, one specific detail that I find interesting in Mike's transformation from Matt's hyperactive id to his own autonomous person that I haven't really written about yet is his sunglasses-- when he wears them, when he stops, and how this shift may or may not align with his journey.

Matt: "Let's see now-- I'll just muss up the mop, to give myself that carefree tousled look! A fella like Mike wouldn't be caught dead with a simple Ivy-League hair comb! And, I'll have to give my specs a coffee break for a while, as I cover my sightless eyes in a more colorful way-- If the attorney-at-law business ever gets slow, I might just decide to open a school of method acting! Yessir! Stanislavsky had nothing on me! Now, all I've gotta do is change my personality! I figure a clown like Mike Murdock is sure to be on all the time!" Daredevil vol. 1 #26 by Stan Lee, Gene Colan, Frank Giacoia, and Artie Simek

Matt and his dark glasses were inseparable in the 60s-- literally, to the point that he even apparently wore them under his Daredevil mask (fortunately, he doesn't do that anymore). The clear hesitance of DD artists in this period to draw their blind protagonist's uncovered eyes is likely one of the reasons that when it came time for Matt to invent himself a fake sighted twin, the sunglasses stayed on. This has not always been the case. In the years since, Matt has taken on several sighted identities in which he does not wear glasses at all-- notably, con artist Jack Batlin in the 90s. Of the two approaches, the former makes slightly more in-universe sense. As someone with no vision at all, who was blinded in a physically damaging accident, logic suggests that Matt's eyes would look different from those of a sighted person-- most likely due to chemical burns/scarring, but at the very least from things like a lack of eye contact. Thus, the choice for Matt to simply switch up his style of shades for the Mike look, rather than taking the risk of foregoing them entirely, feels logical (even if it doesn't always match up with the way Matt's eyes are actually depicted, but that's a topic for another post).

As it turned out, the oversized, colorful shades ended up tying perfectly into the loudness of the rest of "Mike's" outfits, becoming a memorable staple of the look that Matt crafted for his fake twin-- a look that was as distant from the classic Matt Murdock suit and tie (and simple, dignified shades) as he could manage. These shades were iconically, undeniably Mike's. However, they were still born from the use of sunglasses as a visual shorthand for-- and Matt's in-character response to-- his blindness. A Daredevil reader in 1968 might have looked at ol' Loudmouth Mike and asked the question: If this guy were a real person, independent of Matt, with his own backstory and reasons for dressing the way he does-- would he still choose to wear dark glasses?

Mike: "Well, as I live and breathe! You're Daredevil, right? Friend of my brother, if I don't miss my guess. Real pleasure to meet you at last." Daredevil vol. 5 #606 by Charles Soule, Phil Noto, and Clayton Cowles ("As I live and breathe" is such a funny thing for him to say in this scene.)

Enter: Fragment-Boy Mike, and the beginnings of an answer.

When it came to transforming the concept of Mike Murdock into a fully realized character of his own -- not to mention pulling him out of the 1960s and into the 2010s-- some core Mike Murdock elements were dropped by the creative team, both for the sake of streamlining the narrative and in order to match the tone of the contemporary comic. Fragment Mike is no longer Daredevil's alter ego; in fact, he claims in his first appearance in Daredevil #606 that he has never even met DD before. Gone are the loud clothes, the primary colors, the waistcoats, the fedora with the feather in it. Curiously, all that remains of his original Look(TM)...is the sunglasses.

Foggy: "That is...correct. How did you...?" Mike: "Because I ain't him. I'm me. And now, Foggy...you need to call my brother." Daredevil vol. 5 #608 by Charles Soule, Phil Noto, and Clayton Cowles

Fragment Mike existed in a kind of limbo that neither he, nor Matt, nor even his "creator" Reader really understood-- a tortuous state of both being and non-being, in which he believed himself to be real and then had his worldview shattered by learning that no one else saw him that way. Mike claimed his autonomy and fought for his right to live throughout that story arc, but the simple truth was that he was born out of Matt-- specifically, out of Matt's case files, from which Reader accidentally spawned him-- and the memories he possessed of being anyone/anything else were false. He was nothing but a twisted, reanimated echo of an identity his brother had created, dark glasses included; Matt but not Matt, physically separate but still bound to his brother.

Mike: "I'm Matt Murdock's twin brother, but...but I'm not. I've got some fake memories. I'm like a shell of a thing...but inside...I can tell I didn't live through anything...and I think...I think it's driving me crazy." Daredevil vol. 6 Annual #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Manuel Garcia, Le Beau Underwood, Chris Mooneyham, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Clayton Cowles

But! Fragment Mike, just like Matt, maybe because of Matt, is a fighter. He does not take being fake lying down. Through some Norn Stone magic, our fragment became a Real Boy, with real memories of a real backstory. And if we take a look through that backstory, we finally receive an answer to that 1968 DD fan's hypothetical question, because...

Daredevil vol. 6 Annual #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Manuel Garcia, Le Beau Underwood, Chris Mooneyham, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Clayton Cowles

The moment Mike Murdock becomes a real person, the sunglasses vanish.

Look back through Daredevil volume 6. Once he is officially, cosmically real, the only time we ever see Mike wearing dark glasses is when he is dressed up as Matt (ohhh, the poetry of it all!). He is wearing them, standing in Matt's apartment, when he dies in Matt's place-- fated, in the end, to never entirely escape his brother's gravitational pull-- but what matters is that the sunglasses tied Mike to his origins as his twin in a costume, and the loss of them indicates fully and utterly that Mike has broken away and become his own person. We even get this fascinating scene at the beginning of volume 7:

Matt: "...It was Matt. He came back from rehab, went to his apartment... I don't know what the #$@% Fisk was thinking, but I know they've got history and... Ah, Butch. He killed my brother." Daredevil vol. 7 #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson, and Clayton Cowles

This is Matt Murdock, in the year 2022, once more pretending to be Mike...post-Norn Stone reality rewrite. And this time? No sunglasses. In fact, Matt claims that the key to a foolproof Mike Murdock disguise is in the eyes: "Not just making sure they faced the right direction...but that no matter what, he had kindness in them..."

Do I love Mike Murdock wearing smarmy shades? Of course I do. But I love a good piece-of-clothing-as-allegory just as much, and I love peeling back the layers of identity to discover who Mike really is when he is not his brother.

[missvelvetsstuff]

With Friends Like You, Who Needs Enemies

Steve Rogers x Reader, Steve x Natasha, Bucky Barnes x Reader

Reader is a mutant with the ability to turn sound into light who was 'adopted' aka stolen as a child by Baron Von Strucker to use for experimentation. She was given a form of the Super soldier serum so in addition to her mutant abilities she also has super strength, enhanced senses and healing. When he starts experimenting on his volunteers, the Maximoff twins, she tries to convince them to escape with her but they tell the Baron that she's planning to escape so he doubles her cell security. Steve and reader met when the team recovered Loki's scepter from Strucker.

She falls in love with Steve and becomes good friends with Nat but they aren't the friends she thinks they are.

Chapter 4

Y/N woke up when the sun hit her eyes and took a moment to assess her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was how warm she was, a light sweat dotted her brow. There was something heavy holding her down. An arm. A thought of Steve drifted through her mind and then it all came rushing back. She sucked in a breath and tried not to cry, not wanting to waste anymore tears on him. She tried to stretch but the arm pulled her closer and Bucky mumbled into her hair. A sad smile crossed her face.

"Bucky" she waited with no response "Bucky. I need to get up."

Bucky mumbled "Five more minutes" and started softly snoring.

Y/N giggled softly "No. Bucky I gotta pee. Please"

His grip loosened and he lifted his head slightly "Hurry back, doll."

As he woke up Bucky realized what he just said. He shouldn't be acting like she was his girl. She's his friend, who just went thru some major heartbreak. He needed to put his own heart on hold and just be there for her however she needed. He sat up and leaned back against the wall.

When Y/N came back she sat on the bed next to him and sighed.

"How are you feeling this morning, doll?" He asked softly.

She shrugged "I don't know. Sad. Mad. I have so many questions but I don't know if I really want the answers. Even as he distanced himself I never imagined he would do something like this."

Bucky grabbed her hand "Don't feel bad, I never would have pegged Steve for a cheater. I don't know what happened to him.

Are you hungry? There's a breakfast feast thing in the great hall until 2 or 3. They shouldn't be there so we could go get a bite."

Y/N nodded "Yeah. I could eat. Besides, I'm still an Avenger. I'll have to get used to seeing and working with them. Might as well get myself over it quickly." She went to get dressed then turned around "I don't have any clothes here. This t-shirt is lovely but it's a little short to be appropriate for a crowd. And my robes from last night are filthy from sitting in the dirt."

Bucky thought for a moment. "I can go get your bag for you if you'd like"

She shook her head "No, it's fine. We can just go to my quarters. If they are there I'll deal with it."

Bucky looked at her "Are you sure you want to do that so soon?"

"Yeah. Let's go"

Bucky dressed and loaned her a pair of sweats that she had to hold up as she walked. They went to her room where she took a quick shower and dressed in jeans a t-shirt and sneakers.

They were lucky to avoid running into either of them on their way to breakfast. The "great hall" was more of a tent with long folding tables and chairs, while an actual great Hall was being built nearby. They sat at one of the tables and ate from the variety of dishes available.

Bruce came in and sat with them, he had spent most of the night walking, trying to keep the other guy at bay.

Sam and Clint wandered by, still drinking and laughing about something.

Tony was at the head of the table with sunglasses on and a large bloody Mary. Thor came in, obviously still half drunk and gave Y/N a hug then patted Bruce on the back and wandered off to refill his cup.

Unfortunately their luck had to run out and when they were finished eating, chatting with Bruce, Steve came in looking like Hell. Dirty, red eyed and obviously hadn't slept. He looked around for a minute until he laid eyes on her, then timidly walked up to Y/N "Can we talk, please?" he asked softly and looked around "in private?"

Y/N shook her head. "I don't have anything to say to you Steve."

Her cold tone broke him and he fell to his knees. "I'm so sorry sweetheart. I never should have......no, I shouldn't have....." And started crying "I messed up so bad I don't even know where to start apologizing. Please Y/N, I'll do anything."

Y/N looked at him in disgust. "There's nothing you can do Steve. Go back to her."

"Please let me explain sweetheart"

Y/N looked at Bruce, he just shrugged. Then Nat came in and the hall quieted, many people quickly leaving, not wanting to get caught up in the impending drama.

Y/N sighed "I guess we're doing this now." And sat back. Steve sat across from her and glared at Nat who smiled at him and winked, making him growl.

Steve started "I truly am sorry. Nat and I had been hooking up on occasion before we saved you. When I met you, Y/N, I was overwhelmed with your beauty, your kindness after all you had been through. I felt a strong need to protect you from the world and people like Strucker. I wanted you physically but didn't want to push so used Nat to satiate my needs. We had stopped for awhile before I met you but when Bruce disappeared Nat was beside herself. Between the stress and pain of losing him and trying to build the team up she was falling apart. About 3 months after he left we ended up in bed together. I meant for it to be a one time thing but Nat came to me constantly and I wasn't strong enough to say no."

Y/N looked to Nat, who was sitting with her arms crossed and still smirking "Do you have anything to say for yourself? Sister!" She spat.

Nat grinned "What? I fucked your man. What else is there?"

"Oh I don't know, How about why you pretended to be my friend while you fucked my man?"

Nat shrugged "Because I could? Maybe I was tired of the perfect and pure Y/N who caught the great captains eye taking what I wanted. Steve and I were together long before you showed up but he dropped me like a bad habit when he saw you."

Steve interrupted "Natasha, we were never together, never a couple. Just fooled around."

Nat glared at him "I KNOW!" She shouted "I wasn't good enough for the great Captain America. Even though I was by your side through everything. A former Black Widow wasn't fit to be his paramour."

Steve looked at her confused "You never told me you wanted anything else. You always insisted it was just sex."

Y/N spoke up "Fine Natasha, you wanted more with Steve. How did that make it ok to pretend to be my friend and go behind my back like that? Why didn't you tell me that you and him had something?"

Nat shrugged "It was fun. Watching how clueless you were, you never caught on even though you almost caught us so many times. Watching Steve get all flustered and try to explain the sounds or smells you didn't understand. You were so easy to fuck with."

"What about Bruce?"

Nat scoffed "He left before we ever became anything and even though he finally came back and said he wanted to try he wasn't sure if we'd ever be able to have sex. I have needs too, so pulled Steve away last night. You catching us was just a bonus." She glared at Y/N "Sometimes even the princess doesn't get what she wants."

Y/N looked sadly at Steve "You know I wanted you too. I would have, you know, if you asked. I've been ready for awhile but Nat told me to let you lead. That you wouldn't like a woman being so aggressive"

Steve shook his head and glared at Nat "I wanted to but Nat said that you were traumatised by everything Strucker did and that I should let you come to me. You two were close so I trusted her." He looked down at his hands "I'm so sorry sweetheart. I should have talked to you a long time ago."

Nat laughed "Can you two even hear yourselves? 'I wanted to but Nat said'" she mocked "I've met actual children that were more difficult to manipulate. And whined less."

Y/N stared at Nat in shock "So it's all just a game to you? Playing with other peoples hearts is just a fun way to pass the time? So much for the Black Widow being redeemable."

Nat scoffed "Please. I've done so much worse on SHIELDs behalf and had worse done to me but you don't see me whining about it."

Bruce growled "No, Natasha you just play head games with people who trust and believe in you. You disgust me."

She rolled her eyes "Waahh! You are all a bunch of fucking cry babies. Pffft, earth's mightiest heroes my ass."

"Enough!" Tony shouted out of nowhere "Just stop. She did some fucked up things and obviously has no remorse, which means she can't be trusted. With Cap's approval I say the Avengers cut her loose. Can't work as a team if we can't trust each other." He turned to Nat "Why don't you go help your sister rescue the rest of the Widows. Play your games with them."

Nat stood up "What? I've been there since the beginning and you're going to kick me out over a bad affair? That's bullshit. You need me. I'm going to talk to Fury!"

Tony sighed "Talk to anyone you want, maybe you can stay with SHIELD or SWORD or whatever they are calling themselves. I don't care where you go but you can't stay here. Cap and I are the bottom line for the Avengers."

Nat huffed "Fine. I'm out. Clint?" She looked at her friend.

Clint shook his head "I'm good where I am. You're not the person I thought I knew."

"Fuck all of you then" Nat stomped off.

Steve looked up at Y/N hopefully "Does this mean we can-"

She shook her head "No, I have to go. I need to be alone" she looked sadly at Bucky and left.

Chapter 5

[tiredtogepi]

A Lady & Her Hounds

Chapter 6

The Hound x Fem!Reader (Jon Arryn's daughter; Sabrina)

This chapter contains: Fluff | Death

Word Count: 1051

There were many thunders throughout the night. You hated them. The sudden flash followed by a loud noise you didn’t know when would come. One thunderous one made you jump. You decided to sit on the bed and hold a pillow for comfort.

“Scared of a little thunder?” His voice was even deeper and more raspy than usual.

“If it was little I wouldn’t be scared of it.”

“You’re not gonna sleep? If you keep moving around like that I can’t fucking sleep either.” He asked

“I can’t...” You were obviously tired, but storms weren’t your favorite sleep sound.

He grunted, annoyed that he was wasting his sleep. He grabbed the pillow you were holding and stuffed it inside his armor. He added the shoulder pieces and gave them back to you.

“Here.” He didn’t really wait for your reaction, he just turned around and went back to sleep. You hugged that pillow and laid down back on the bed. Somehow a eucalyptus smell of the armor was still there, maybe because of the forest, but you felt safe. It reminded you of when he carried you back to your bedroom after that horror session with his brother. You relaxed and were finally able to fall asleep again.

In the morning your pillow felt bigger, warmer, cozier and hairier. You spread your fingers on the pillow, grabbing the fabric and bringing it closer to you. You moved your head a little and realized you felt something. A relaxing sound. Rhythmic and calm, and it was… moving?

“Breakfast will be ready soon!” You heard the grandma knocking and yelling from outside the door.

You opened your eyes. You noticed your pillow on the floor. ‘Shit’, you were lying on his chest.

“Fucking Hells!” You jumped away from him. He wasn’t bothered, he wasn’t touching you since his hands were resting behind his head. You didn’t know if it was because he didn’t want to hold you or just out of respect if that’s even possible.

He didn’t say anything, just stood up and started getting ready for breakfast. A man’s gotta eat, especially a man that size. He left first, giving you some privacy to get dressed properly.

You put on your clothes and ran down the stairs. Arya and Sandor were already eating. You joined them and finished your breakfast.

After paying the grandma and thanking her for the hospitality, you headed out to the last part of the trip.

You could see Arya was nervous as you approached the Twins. Suddenly a hog farmer appeared on the road. For some reason, The Hound’s plan was to simply kill the man and take his cart.

“Are you always this obtuse?” You stood in front of him avoiding that he would kill the man who laid unconscious on the ground.

“She called you stupid.” Arya added.

“I know what it means.” He growled.

You all decided to take the cart and leave the man. The Hound was already eating half of the cart's load in pork. He offered some to you both, but you just wanted to get there as quickly as possible.

“It’s not going anywhere” He said to her.

“What?” She turned confused.

“You keep looking at it every five minutes. The closer get the more scared you are-“

“Let her be. She’s been waiting for this moment.” You cut him off.

“Aye, that’s why she’s scared.” He said while shoving some more pork in his mouth.

“I’m not scared, I’m looking forward to finally getting rid of you.” She said sharply.

As the night was falling you made your way to the entrance of The Twins.

“Something’s not right” You mumbled.

“What?” He asked

“I don’t know, just my intuition.”

As he talked to the man trying to convince him to let the cart inside for the feast, you and Arya sneaked out of the cart walked around looking for a way in. After hiding from some soldiers behind barrels and boxes you saw men killing her brother’s wolf.

“Arya, we need to go.” You look beside you and she wasn’t there anymore. You tried to find her as some men approached you saying some disgusting words. They wanted to ‘celebrate’ they said. Two of them grabbed you behind the barrels and tried to force themselves. You grabbed your dagger and was able to easily slice one’s throat and hit the other on the chest.

You felt a hand on your shoulder. Sandor had already taken Arya on his horse and he called you to run to yours. You nodded and ran. You saw many things in your life, but what they did to that wolf’s head was too much.

That night Arya added one more name to her list. She kept The Hound too, for his surprise. From a child’s perspective you could see why she hated him. But as a young woman you started to understand why some things he did were necessary.

That night was hard to fall asleep. But when you finally did you dreamed about your dogs. How nice it was to be home, and with the animals who loved you unconditionally.

You woke up with the sound of footsteps and grabbed your dagger. You loosened your grip when you saw it was just Sandor bringing some more firewood for the night.

“We’re going to the Eyrie when the sun comes up. You should sleep.” You said quietly. “I’ll make sure they award you well… with whatever you need to be on your way.” You rested your head on your side, facing him. He looked back at you.

“It was your first time killing today.” He said.

“Any man who tries to lay a hand on me again shall have the same fate. If they need to die for me to be safe, so be it.” You thought he was going to say something, he also thought maybe he should say something, knowing what you’ve been through with his brother.

He nodded and got down to sleep. He didn’t know what he wanted anymore, he spend his whole life knowing that he hated his brother and had a wish to kill him, but he also knew that living in freedom and protecting you was something he was getting used to, and even fond of.

[oliverreedmasterass]

Jake being nervous before performing with Mirador and Josh comforting him…

Addison!! Here ya go :) (My first draft of this was like 10x goofier than this, hopefully it's more touching than stupid now)

Must I Go Bound?

Words: 4.5k

Warnings: language, mental breakdown, Sam's feet

“Jake!” Josh hollered from the backstage area of the St. Louis arena. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath. “Where could that fucker be?” 

Josh had been pulled to the side by one of their roadies, asking if he could snag Jake to get his in ears fitted. Josh figured it would be relatively easy to track down his twin but, after twenty minutes of searching to no avail, he was starting to get worried. 

In the lead up to Jake’s debut with his pal, Chris Turpin, as the band Mirador, Jake had seemed like he was more excited than nervous. Compared to the shy teenager who had to turn his back to the crowd, this older version of Jake commanded the stage with such ease and grace that Josh knew it was only right that he start a new band. 

Josh had even shared a nice breakfast with Jake that morning at a local cafe, cracking each other up while brainstorming monologues Jake could give during his performance. 

“You’re gonna have to thank Greta Van Fleet for letting you guys open,” Josh had told Jake, which made him boom with laughter, wiping fat tears from his eyes. 

So, when they went their separate ways, Josh to get fitted into his jumpsuit, and Jake to practice his guitar a bit more, Josh assumed that things were going great. But, after practically tearing the arena apart searching for his brother, Josh knew something was up.

Jake was the master at masking his emotions, afterall. 

On his third loop around the concourse area, Josh ran into Chris, who looked equally on edge. 

“Jake?” they asked each other. At that, they both frowned. 

“I can’t find him,” Josh shared. 

“Me neither,” Chris shook his head, his eyes darting around in the hopes that he would catch a glimpse of his missing bandmate. “We’ve got our final soundcheck coming up soon. I really don’t want to go out there by myself.” 

“You’re not going to,” Josh promised him. He gave Chris a pat on the back and then hustled for the doors leading inside the arena. The hoards of seats surrounding him were all empty and, through the flashing lights, Josh could barely make out any of the sections above him. 

Stupid Jake always wearing black, Josh grumpily thought to himself. If only the guy could wear neon and a sign above his head that read, “HEY JOSH, I’M RIGHT HERE!” 

With a sigh, Josh started to walk up and down the rows, hoping he would eventually stumble across Jake. 

It took about ten minutes of wandering until he literally stumbled over his brother in section 117 row 4. 

“What the?” Josh hollered as he sprawled to catch himself. After regaining his balance, he fumbled for his phone so he could shine a light on what had tripped him up. It was frankly a concerning sight. Jake, still dressed in his street clothes, was curled up on the floor, next to a pile of discarded french fries that had been missed by the janitorial staff the previous night. His hair swirled around his blank face that was gazing at the seat in front of him, unblinking. “Jake!” Josh attempted to get his attention, waving his hand in front of his eyes. He remained motionless. “Shit,” Josh thought aloud. “Are you dead?” It was hard to see through Jake’s loose-fitting clothes if he was breathing or not, so Josh opted to kick him in the stomach. 

“Oomph,” Jake coughed out. 

“Come on, dude,” Josh softened his tone. “You gotta get up for your soundcheck.”  

Jake continued to lay stiff on the concrete. Josh was desperate to get some kind of reaction out of him, so he plucked a cold and soggy french fry from the ground and started to poke it into Jake’s left nostril. His brow furrowed when he realized that Jake’s mouth didn’t even curl into a frown at the sensation. 

“He’s entirely catatonic,” Josh realized. “Fuck.” 

Josh first started to run back to the concourse to grab Chris, but then decided that it would be better if he took Jake with him, so he squatted back by his side. With a loud grunt he managed to lift Jake’s ragdoll body over his shoulder and started the tough trek up the stairs. Well, at least Josh didn’t have to worry about doing any additional cardio before their set. 

He did a half-lap past the shuttered food stands before he stumbled across Sam and Danny, who were playing with Rosie. 

“Why are you holding Jake like a sack of potatoes?” Sam called to Josh after throwing Rosie’s tennis ball over Josh’s head. Josh squatted a bit to avoid getting pelted with the ball and, in his moment of weakness, wound up juggling Jake in his arms. Danny and Josh both gasped as they watched Jake tumble from Josh’s grip onto the floor in a tangled mess. To the surprise of no one, Sam burst into laughter. 

“God, is he okay?” Danny gaped at Jake. Josh kneeled by Jake’s limp side and carefully cradled his head in his hands, guiding it over to his lap where he could lay more comfortably. Josh snapped his fingers in front of Jake’s eyes, but the guy didn’t even blink. 

“I think he’s going through it,” Josh decided. Sam approached his side and squatted down so he could be closer to Jake. 

“I remember him pulling something like this the first time we played at Fischer Hall,” Sam nonchalantly remembered as he stroked his mustache. “I had to stomp on his foot to get him to snap out of it.” 

“I just shoved a french fry in his nose but that didn’t work,” Josh looked at Sam in sadness. 

“You did what?” Danny’s voice shook before collecting himself. “We need to get him back to the green room before anyone finds him.”

“He’s got soundcheck in, like, fifteen minutes,” Sam said after glancing at his Hello Kitty watch. “At Fischer Hall I had to do an entire line dance on his feet. I don’t know if I’ll have enough time to do that now.” 

“You’re not gonna do that,” Danny corrected Sam. “We can’t go breaking Jake’s feet.” 

Sam hung his head in disappointment. Josh had zoned out through their bickering and, when he came back to, he realized that he had been absently combing his fingers through Jake’s long hair. Jake must have really been out of it, because he was usually unbelievably sensitive about people touching what he called “God’s gift.” 

Danny looked around at his band and huffed. He hated how he always had to be the one to take the lead. The Kiszkas were frankly a mess more often than not. 

“Come on,” he ordered as he leaned down to grab Jake and stretch him over his shoulders. Josh, Sam, and Rosie trailed a few paces behind him as he led the charge towards the backstage area. Danny had a plan. 

The three men huddled in the bathroom, surrounding Jake who was flopped over on a folding chair, his eyes still glazed. “Are you sure this is the best idea?” Josh whispered to Danny. Danny tossed the shower head from hand to hand while staring Jake down. 

“I think it’s the only way,” he decided. “Pull the lever, Sam.” 

Sam twisted the knob, letting a powerful stream of cold water release from the nozzle in Danny’s hands. He took in a deep breath and then raised it to Jake’s eyeline, releasing the flood of water straight into his face. Danny, Josh, and Sam all watched, their breaths hitched to see if Jake would come back around. While his eyes flinched at the water and he sputtered every so often, he showed little sign of life. 

“Stop it! Stop it!” Josh waved his arms over his head. “This isn’t doing anything. And now he’s soaked.” 

“He was kinda smelling bad though,” Sam pointed out. “So it wasn’t entirely for nothing.” 

“There’s got to be another way,” Danny grumbled, deep in thought. Then, his eyes brightened. “I’ll be right back,” he excused himself, and then hurried away. 

While Danny was gone, Josh attempted to pat Jake dry with a towel and Sam grabbed a blow dryer to fix his hair. “Hey, I’m pretty good at this!” Sam called out as he pointed the blow dryer towards the back of Jake’s head, making his wet hair fly out in all directions. Josh wanted to point out that Sam was transforming Jake’s hair into a frizzy mess, but he kept his thoughts to himself. 

A few minutes later, Danny rushed back into the bathroom, holding Jake’s old reliable out with one hand. “You see this, Jake?” Danny asked his friend, slightly out of breath. Jake gave no response. Danny shot Josh and Sam a concerned glance. Jake usually lost his mind if he saw anyone other than his road tech handling his guitar. “I’m gonna mess with your guitar, Jake,” Danny tried again. Sam couldn’t help but bug his eyes. Danny was really putting his life out on the line in order to get Jake back. When Jake didn’t even bother to raise an eyebrow in Danny’s direction, he cursed to himself. “Okay,” he tried again, “you leave me no choice.” With a trembling hand, Danny reached into his back pocket and retrieved a pair of wire clippers that he had found laying by the sound board. He maintained eye contact with Jake as he opened the clippers and hovered them over his E and A strings. “I really don’t want to do this,” Danny warned Jake with a firm tone, hoping to get any kind of response from him. Nothing.

Snip. 

The room went silent. Danny’s chest heaved up and down as he braced himself for the worst, but nothing came. Jake continued to stare at a spot just above Danny’s head, looking like there wasn’t a single thought behind his eyes. 

“I think we need to call an ambulance,” Danny decided.

“Wait, hold on,” Sam cut in. Before anyone could stop him, he sent his bare foot flying heel-first down on Jake’s toes. 

“Sam, no!” Josh and Danny both hollered at him. 

“If it worked once, it has to work again!” Sam huffed out in determination. “I’ve got this!” 

Danny placed Jake’s guitar on the bathroom sink and had to physically pick Sam up to move him and his dangerous dogs away from his brother. “I said quit it!” Danny groaned out in irritation. Sam decided it was in his best interests to flail his feet around in the hopes that he might make contact with Jake again. 

“I’m gonna lock you in a closet, Samuel!” Danny warned his friend. 

“I dare you!” Sam called back, his feet still flying. With a scowl on his face, Danny hauled Sam out of the room. The sound of a heavy door slamming shut echoed through the bathroom, followed by cries and scratching noises. Danny stomped back into the room, wiping his hands off on his pants. 

“I need a cigarette.” 

Josh arched his head up to study his friend. “But you don’t smoke, Danny.” 

Danny sighed, leaning up against the sink. “It seems like a good time to start.” 

A knock rapped on the outside of the door, and Danny and Josh whirled around to see who it was. Danny was about to yell at Sam to get back into the closet when he saw that Chris was standing in the doorway, gaping at the sopping wet Jake. 

“Oh, that doesn’t look good,” Chris murmured. Josh’s stomach dropped; he had really hoped that Chris wouldn’t have to see Jake in his catatonic state. It was sure to make him feel all the more on edge before their big debut. 

“It does look bad,” Danny acknowledged, “but we’re working on it.” 

“By ‘working on it,’ does that include locking Sam in the broom closet?” Chris asked, jutting a thumb back out towards the hallway. “Because I heard him yelling some pretty rude things about you in there and wanted to see what was going on.” 

Josh hated to be the bearer of bad news, but he figured that Chris had already put most of it together. After releasing a deep sigh and smacking his hands together to get everyone’s attention, Josh motioned towards Jake. “He’s going through it.” 

“Obviously,” Chris deadpanned, staring at his bandmate. Before Josh or Danny could say anything else, Chris moved up to Jake’s side and kneeled in front of him, grabbing his damp hands. Briefly, Chris turned back to address the rest of the room. “You sprayed him with the showerhead?” Danny and Josh both shrugged. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Chris sighed and focused his attention back on Catatonic Jake. “Hey,” Chris softly spoke to Jake. “I know you can hear me in there.” 

Jake stared forward. Josh was pretty sure he hadn’t blinked in well over 20 minutes. 

“I get that you’re nervous for tonight, and that’s a totally reasonable thing to be feeling,” Chris continued. “Hell, I’m scared shitless too. But those people who are lining up outside right now love you. Like, cult-levels of love. I’m serious. You’re one of the most talented guys I know, and I’ve been looking forward to getting out there with you and showing everyone what we’ve got. We’ve been working our asses off for this, and you deserve to be in the spotlight. Whatever you’re afraid of, it’s entirely in your head. You’re a rock star.” 

Josh could tell that the weight of the situation was starting to take a toll on Chris. He had been praying under his breath that Chris’s heart to heart would break Jake’s spell, but it didn’t seem to be enough. Chris came back to his feet, straightened his suit, and let his shoulders fall. 

“I’d better get out there for our soundcheck,” he excused himself. As he walked past the sink, he stopped in front of Jake’s guitar and gaped at the cut strings. “And I better restring this thing,” he added, taking the guitar with him. 

“Thank you!” Danny called after him, but Chris gave no other response. 

“Hey, Danny,” Josh broke the silence in the room. Danny turned to look at him. “Can I have a moment with Jake alone?”

“Of course,” Danny was quick to oblige and made his way back into the hallway, where he could make sure that Sam and his feet hadn’t broken free from the closet. Josh shut the bathroom door and took a seat on the toilet across from Jake. 

“It’s just you and me,” Josh spoke levelly to his brother. “No Danny, no Sam, no Chris. Just us.” 

He stared deep into Jake’s whiskey-colored eyes, trying to signal to him that everything was going to be okay. 

“This is a step way out of your comfort zone,” Josh continued. “But that’s how we grow. I mean, you were the one who told me back in high school that my doubts and fears were the only things holding me back. The same thing applies here.” 

Still nothing. Josh turned his gaze away from Jake and focused on studying his hands, which he was twisting around in his lap. 

“I don’t know what’s going on inside your head right now, but I’ve been there too. I’ve had those scary thoughts before, that I’m not good, that I’m wasting people’s time, that I should save the humiliation. But, Jake, you have to remember: you love to play. And people love to watch you play. You’ve got this unspeakable talent, and you don’t give yourself enough credit. You’ve built this life for not only yourself, but the rest of us from the ground up, which is, like, insane. Watching you play out there, whether I’m on stage with you or not, is what makes this all worthwhile. Seeing that big smile of yours, there’s nothing like it. Don’t you want Chris to get to experience that too?” 

Josh could have sworn that he saw Jake’s eyes shift. Suddenly feeling empowered, Josh kept sounding every thought on his mind. 

“I’m not sure if it’s about singing in front of people, playing songs that you haven’t put through rehearsal a whole lot, or what, but you’ve got absolutely nothing to worry about. You’re gonna go out there and blow everyone away.”

“It’s not that,” Jake’s voice surprised Josh. With a short gasp he snapped his head up to face his twin. Jake’s eyes were now studying the ground, his shoulders hunched. 

“What was that?” Josh asked, scooting to the edge of the toilet seat to get closer. Jake seemed to be thinking, and then spoke a dial louder. 

“It’s not that,” Jake repeated himself. “I’m not worried about singing or playing new stuff.” 

“Then what is it?” Josh tried to meet his eyes, but was unsuccessful. Jake looked as though he was trying to spot every speck of dust on the tiled floor beneath his feet. The silence hung between them, but then Jake wiped his hand down his face. 

“It’s about playing without you.” 

Josh’s heart dropped. 

“Jake, I’ll be there with you for our set.” 

“I know,” Jake huffed, raking a hand through his frizzy hair. “I just know that it will feel wrong, like there’s a part of me that’s missing.” 

“I’ll be in the wings the entire time you play,” Josh promised. “But this is your time to explore the unknown, Jake. We’ve been at this rodeo for a while. I think it’s about time that we change things up.” 

“You’re right,” Jake murmured. 

“The second you get out there, you’re going to have the time of your life,” Josh assured him. “You and I both know how much you love seeing the audience eat up your every move. Well, you’re gonna get that on steroids. And, it’s not like you’re going out there alone. You’ve got Chris and your band with you too.” 

Jake nodded and his eyes finally met Josh’s. Josh gave him a sad smile when he saw that Jake had some tears welling up. 

“I almost feel like I’m leaving home all over again,” Jake admitted. “This is really hard.” 

“Oh, come here,” Josh motioned for Jake to join his side. It was a relief to see Jake comply and stand to his feet, shuffling into his arms. “You’re gonna be okay,” Josh soothed him, stroking his back gently. Jake placed his damp head on Josh’s shoulder, and Josh didn’t have the heart to tell him to move it since it was ruining his jumpsuit. “Man, if I had known that opening for us was gonna put you through this much, I would have vetoed the whole idea,” Josh tried to joke. He was glad that he heard a light chuckle come from Jake, in between his staggered breaths.  

“I’m surprised you didn’t put your foot down,” Jake said into Josh’s shoulder. Josh had to frown at that. 

“And summon Super Bitch? I would never do that to my brother!” 

“You do it to Sam all the time.” 

“That’s because Sam deserves it.” 

Jake let out a laugh that Josh could tell meant he was going to be okay. He released Jake from his grasp and, as Jake stepped away from him, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror above the sink. “Oh god,” Jake stopped in his tracks to gape back at his reflection. “What the hell happened to my hair? It looks like a lion’s mane.” 

“Sam blow dried it,” Josh tried to carefully explain. Jake turned back and glared at his brother. 

“You let him do that?” 

“You were literally catatonic, Jake. I figured if anything would make you snap out of it, maybe it would be that.” 

Jake tsked as he fingered through his poofy hair, and then he let his hand drop to his side, defeated. 

“I’m gonna have to take another shower,” he realized. 

“I’ll leave you to it,” Josh offered, making his way to the door. As he was about to turn the handle, Jake called to him.

“Hey!” Josh whirled around to face him. “Thanks,” Jake gave a small smile. 

“Anytime,” Josh grinned. And with that, he stepped out into the hallway and gently shut the door behind him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Jake click the lock on the handle and turn on the shower. Danny was quick to join his side. 

“Did you break through?” he was unable to contain his curiosity. 

“I’m a miracle worker, darling,” Josh joked. From inside the bathroom, they could hear Jake going through some of the vocal warmups that Josh had taught him. 

“Oh thank god,” Danny heaved. “I was bracing for the worst. I told Chris I could step in for Jake if he needed a hand, but we both knew that wasn’t gonna end well.” 

“Jake definitely owes us financial compensation for emotional distress,” Josh agreed. 

“Me-me-me-ME-me-me-me,” Jake belted from the shower. 

Josh and Danny both seemed committed to waiting outside the bathroom for Jake to make sure that he didn’t run on them again, but it didn’t take long for their attention to shift elsewhere. They had been in the middle of discussing what jumpsuit Josh could change into since the one he was wearing had gotten soggy when they saw Rosie run down the hall. Danny bent down to pet her, but she trotted straight past him, towards the closet where Sam was still locked. Rosie made her way to the door and let out a short bark. 

“Atta girl, Rosie!” they heard Sam’s muffled voice congratulate her from inside the closet. Josh and Danny both watched with their mouths hung open as Rosie dropped a key from her mouth and used her paw to swipe it under the gap at the bottom of the door. Within seconds, Sam had jiggled the handle and freed himself. “SUCK IT!” he hollered the second he stepped foot back into the hallway. “YOU CAN’T CONTAIN SAMUEL FRANCIS KISZKA!” 

“It didn’t take me 28 years to learn that one,” Josh grumbled to himself. 

Seemingly entirely unbothered by the fact that his best friend had manhandled and thrown him into a closet, Sam plodded back to Danny’s side and rested an arm on his shoulder. “So,” he started, looking between Josh and Danny. “Where’s Jake? I gotta get back to stepping on him.” 

“He’s showering,” Josh answered at the same time as Danny said, “You wouldn’t dare.” 

Sam glimpsed between the two of them and shook his head with a chuckle. “So which one of you opted to do the line dance on his feet?” 

“Neither of us!” Danny called out. “What the hell is wrong with you?” 

“You can’t blame me for devoting my time and energy towards something that I know works,” Sam stated like a know-it-all.  

“You’re gonna end up on a watchlist one of these days,” Josh mused to himself. It was a miracle that Sam had only been arrested once. His younger brother seemed entirely unbothered by his observation since he gave Rosie one more loving pet, and then pointed towards the green room. 

“I need to get my camera set up for Jake’s set,” he excused himself. “I’m gonna be Mirador’s tour photographer by the end of this shit.” 

“You wish,” Danny called after him as he sauntered away. 

It was good timing that Jake got out of the shower after Sam had left the vicinity. Otherwise Sam probably would have found himself in an unfriendly headlock as penance for what he had done to Jake’s hair. Jake opened the bathroom door in nothing but a towel and gave Danny an apologetic smile. 

“Hey,” he greeted the tall drummer. “Sorry about everything,” he added, while making a grand gesture with his hands. 

“I get it,” Danny reassured him with a shrug. “You’ve got a lot on your mind right now.” 

“Actually,” Jake countered, “the only thing that’s really on my mind is where my Mirador stage outfit went.” 

“That’s what I like to hear,” Josh congratulated him. 

About thirty minutes later, Jake was back in the green room with the rest of his bandmates, tuning his guitar that Chris had fixed. Across from him, Josh beamed at Jake in his loose black suit and silk top that exposed the string of pendants around his neck. Jake looked like he was entirely in his element, that he was exactly where he needed to be.  

Chris, Sam, and Danny were in the middle of an intense ping pong match that involved playing with bananas instead of paddles, but that was cut short when their tour manager popped his head into the room. 

“Ten minutes to stage, Mirador,” he shared before whisking away. 

Josh could tell that Jake’s body language stiffened ever so slightly at the realization that his performance was coming soon, but he tried hard to hide it from the rest of the room. While it worked on everyone else, Josh could see straight through his facade. That was one of the perks of being twins with the guy. 

“Can you step out with me for a second?” he stared at Jake and nodded towards the hallway. It didn’t take much coaxing to get Jake to follow behind him. 

The second they were out of the sight of everyone else, Josh engulfed Jake in a tight embrace, which Jake was quick to return. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, get rid of it,” Josh sternly told him. “Even if I’m not out there on stage, I’m always with you, okay?” 

Jake squeezed him tighter. “Okay,” he agreed. 

“You’re Sir Jacob Thomas Kiszka,” Josh reminded him. “And don’t you fucking forget it.” 

“I won’t,” Jake couldn’t help but laugh. “I was knighted and everything.” 

“Damn right,” Josh released him from his grasp to look him down. They had grown so much, even in just the past few years. Josh couldn’t formulate into words how proud he was of his brother. They had overcome so many hurdles and came out much stronger than he could ever imagine.

The roadie from the start of their drama-filled evening came up behind them and cleared his throat, holding out Jake’s in ears. “I’ve been looking all over for you,” the guy said through grit teeth, obviously at his wit’s end. “Can you let me know if these fit okay? Not that I can do anything about it, I’d just like to feel like I did some part of my job today.” 

“Oh god,” Josh clutched at his head in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry about that one, Ralph. We kind of got caught up in some other stuff.” 

“Whatever,” Ralph grumbled. 

Jake quickly tucked in his in ears and gave Ralph a big thumbs up. “They fit perfectly,” he told him. “I’m all good to go.” 

“You bet you are,” Josh pulled Jake back into his side. Jake leaned into his embrace and couldn’t help but let a wide grin stretch from cheek to cheek.