#i guess i could do a stable one a week and two ever other week

[glowingreverie]

the past two days, i've just been watching mukbangs

[sardonic-the-writer]

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

↳ notes: just wanted to do something in honor of sorry boys going on hiatus. this is entirely based on their last video so watch that to understand the silly headcanon time. cc!wilbur likers will be blocked by the way, thanks. get out of here

↳ warnings: none. just the four members here. four original, and only, members of sorry boys. no one else

↳ song: campus—vampire weekend

masterlist | commissions | carrd

• You'd think that an afternoon shift at a trampoline park would be easy; especially on the down days. Hanging around the snack bar with your employees, blowing whistles at loud kids, and keeping whatever was left in the lost and found bin became something of a daydream to you upon first getting hired

• It was a better alternative to the fast food joint you had worked previously at a crazed food van—you'd rather do anything but that after quitting

• Your first tip that things weren't going to be that easy should have been the camera crew that shuffled in on your second week, lead in part by a blonde guy with a stack of pre-signed waivers in his hand

• "What's up with that?" You turned to your only other coworker at the hour, a lanky guy with a mask and fluffed up hair. You thought you remember his name starting with an R or something along the lines of that, but mostly you referred to him as 'dude' or 'hey you.' He never felt the need to correct you, so you just never stopped

• "Oh yeah." He'd responded with a tired voice while barely even looking around. "Uh, we have a group that comes in every few days and rents out the place. I've seen them bouncing around, and I'm not really sure they're, uh, stable I guess you could say."

• Glancing down from the reception desk and to the play floor below, you caught a glimpse of the three others he spoke of, one being the blonde kid from earlier, surrounded by a few cameras and doing some rather weak jump moves. One in a red fat suit fell over at one point and refused to get up as he rolled around on the floor whining

• "Er," You took a step out of the reception desk area as you pointed a finger down at the scene. "Shouldn't one of us be down there? Supervising, and all that." You neglected to mention that one of the men looked old enough to be your father and should probably be mediating them

• For a moment you thought your coworker would shrug and tell you to go on, but he just sighed and grabbed his whistle like a weary office worker preparing for a morning round

• "At least this time I won't be alone." He looked at you. The eyebags under his eyes made you feel like he'd done this a lot more than he'd ever wanted to, despite only being at work a few weeks more than you

• The next few minutes went by fine. You were mostly ignored by the two fellows in fat suits as they proceeded to say 'dude' and 'bro' far too much, and was only offered a high five by the same blonde— Tungo you now knew. At one point the cameramen pulled you and the other worked over for a small interview, the likes of which you seemed to enjoy more than him

• The first time either of you really had to step in was when the red fat suit one delved into his shell, yelling something about yoinking his pork

• "Chungus? Chungo?" You managed to say his name without somehow laughing. "Please don't do that. We're gonna have some problems if you continue to."

• As Chounce popped his head out like a cartoon character to look at you, you offered a wobbly smile, and was severely relieved when he finally brought his hands out of his suit to cross them

• "For the record dude I wasn't even pulling my plug." He frowned, having the decency to look midly embarrassed. "I was just thinking about my feelings, bro."

• You got a thankful look from your fellow employee at your successful endeavors

• The both of you continued to watch as a competition between Chounce and Tungo occurred, eventually somehow turning into a fight between them as the self proclaimed Master Za watched

• In reality, you were pretty sure their real names all aligned somewhere along the lines of Tommy Charlie and Phil, if the signatures on their wavers spoke for anything, but none of them seemed to call each other anything but nonsense

• At one point, you were compelled enough by the entertainment to purchase a bag of popcorn from the snack desk, earning a look at disappointment from your coworker as he saw

• "Please don't encourage them." He dragged a hand down his face, careful not to knock his mask off

• "I don't think it'd matter if I did or didn't." You smiled through a mouthful. "Just look at 'em." You waved at the kid zone they'd all migrated too in the last hour or two, currently kissing Master Za on the face as he yelped in protest

• "Wait." Your hand lowered slowly as you blinked. "That's not allowed—"

• The two of you took off in their direction, using your whistles for what felt like the hundredth time that day as you ran

• By the time closing hours came around, it was dark enough outside to make you yawn. It took a significant amount of convincing to get the three of them, mostly Chounce, to leave and stop bouncing, but it eventually worked with a few well placed bribes. Namely, handfuls from your unfinished chip bag from earlier

• "You weren't all that bad! Not a wrong'un after all." Tungo eventually confided in you in front of everyone as you went to close up, looking strangely proud about such a mediocre compliment. You grinned at him anyways, finding him to be one of the saner ones throughout the whole ordeal

• "Maybe next time I could judge a match of yours, yeah?" You offered as you thumbed through the cash in the register

• "Please do not encourage them." A familiar voice from outside sounded for the second time that day, making you suck air between your teeth in an attempt not to snort with laughter

• "And remember to check the bathrooms before you leave. One of them likes to hide in them after we close."

• "Sorry, what—"

• You ended up having to drag Chounce out bt his ankles that night and into Master Za's car so he could get home

• "You know what? It's still better than the food truck."

[insxghtt]

(i am obsessed with this man.)

boyfriend!jack thurlow x reader

After everything that happened to him, he would be very insecure about meeting other people. so, when you first moved to the house next door, he wasn't the most friendly neighbor.

You heard some people from the neighborhood talking about him, saying that he was not the most stable person. That was a lie, Jack was doing so much better after being in a hospital for months. He was still depressed, but he was a normal person and he wished people could stop staring at him with pity all the time.

And, well, you did that. So when you went outside to smoke a cigarette and noticed him doing the same thing not so distant from you, you didn't turn away or acted weird. You just shook your head as a "hi", and gave him a soft smile.

Jack was mesmerized and he didn't even know why. Maybe he just forgot how it felt to be treated as a normal guy.

So he nodded back at you.

Even though he didn't retribute the smile, it was clear through his expressions that he was not bothered by your presence.

So a few weeks went by and that was all the interaction you had with him. It was weird, but nice. You would stand outside next to each other in silence as you smoked your cigarettes.

Finally, one day, he decided to say something.

"Sorry, i don't think i ever asked your name", he said.

You looked at him and he felt scared for a second, wondering if he had frightened you.

"No, you didn't", you said. and finally, you told him your name.

He repeated it to himself and nodded, making sure that he wouldn't forget.

"That's a nice name", he smiled and there was silence for a few seconds. "I'm Jack."

"I know who you are, Jack."

Your words made him insecure. What if the neighbors told you about how weird and scary he was?

"Your friend is always yelling your name at the door because she always forgets the keys", you explained and Jack sighed in relief.

"Shanda…", he whispered.

His childhood best friend had the keys to his house because she wanted to check on him at least once a day since he got out of the hospital.

But Shanda didn't have the best memory, maybe because of all the weed she smoked.

Having a conversation with you was easy after that. Every day you would get to know him a little bit more.

When he told you about his story, he was surprised you didn't treat him differently.

"We all have our demons, don't we?". Jack smiled at your comment.

When he first asked you on a date, he was so nervous and felt like he was ruining your friendship. He had invited you to have dinner with him at his house, but he burned the food and had to order pizza instead.

You laughed about it and he felt an immediate relief.

You two talked for hours and hours and at the end of the night you asked him what you've been wanting to ask for a good while.

"So… are you going to kiss me or what?"

Jack stared at you for a second and then smiled at your confidence.

And he kissed you. After that, he kissed you again and again.

Until you two were basically living together but none of you called it a relationship.

 One day you were watching TV on your couch and he walked out of the bathroom after taking a shower with the towel wrapped around his waist.

You looked at him finally realizing that that became a routine.

"Hey Jack, are we like… boyfriend and girlfriend?", you asked.

Jack was suddenly frozen, the reality had finally hit him.

But surprisingly, he didn't feel scared. He liked it. It sounded natural and even beautiful to call you his girlfriend.

"I guess…", he looked at you afraid that you would leave him. "I mean, if that's okay with you. Is it okay?", he almost stuttered.

"Yes. I like that", you nodded.

And obviously, Jack kept you awake all night making sure to show you how happy he was to call you his girlfriend.

Jack was not very good at expressing his feelings. Sometimes, very rarely, you two had arguments. They were mostly about how hard it was for him to share his thoughts over anything.

Not that he was rude, but sometimes instead of telling you the things that bothered him he would just be quiet and it made you confused and anxious.

It happened every time you tried to drag him to a friend's birthday party, for example. He hated places filled with people, but he wouldn't say that to you. He was just weird all night.

"You have to talk to me, Jack! I can't read your fucking mind, what am i supposed to do?"

"Why do you want me to explain every fucking thing that i feel to you?", he snapped. 

But as soon as he saw the look on your face, he immediately regretted his words.

It was hard for him to say "I'm sorry", so he just sighed and held your hand, saying "i love you" instead.

You knew he was doing his best, but you needed words. You needed him to open up like you always did.

So, he hugged you and hid his face on the curve of your neck, finally whispering against your skin: "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, you're right."

He was genuine. Jack was not the type of guy to just say things without actually meaning it. He never once apologized just to calm you down or to just move on from the subject. He was actually genuine about everything. Sometimes, he was so honest that it would hurt, but at least you knew that he would never lie to you.

He really did his best to be with you. He wanted to make you feel good because he was aware of how precious you were. so, every week he would go to therapy to make sure that he was being the best version of himself, not only for you but also for him.

Jack wouldn't be the type of guy to propose to you on a fancy dinner. No, he would do that in the middle of the night, after you two were absolutely exhausted from work. He would just look at you, with no ring and no flowers, and decide that you were the one that he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.

"I wanna marry you", Jack said and you stared at him in shock.

"What?"

"I want to marry you", he repeated and you smiled.

"Alright", you whispered. "Well, that's really ironic because I actually wanna marry you too."

Jack kept staring at your eyes and then brought his attention back to your lips.

"Good", he nodded.

 "Alright, we can get married then", you opened a big, beautiful smile and he didn't say it, but he felt like he was in heaven.

Jack would never understand why you chose him. He was broken, imperfect and confusing. But he was glad that you did and he hoped that even with all his flaws, you'd continue to choose him.

[lanitalay]

Before I Say Goodnight Chapter 14

A/n: I hope you all enjoy this one!!!!!!! I feel like I could end it in one chapter or in 10 :')

Warnings: canon typical mentions/depictions of injuries, mentions of a toxic relationship.

Word count: 2.6k

Other chapters

Steady steps fill the air as Eris walks down the main hall of the House of Wind. He had not expected to be welcomed here in light of recent events. 

“How is she?” He asks the shadowsinger posted outside a door, presumably hers.

“Stable” 

“Is she awake?” The spymaster shakes his head “Sometimes, never for long”. Eris purses his lips at that, those last few moments in the clearing flashing in his mind “can I see her?” Azriel nods once and opens the door behind him. Eris is certain that he will remain on the other side of the door and that his shadows will be watching closely. 

His breath catches in his throat when he sees her. In truth, he did not know what to expect. It had been days since that night and she had been given Feyre’s blood and a mix of power granted by two high lords, one high lady and one cauldron made fae. It was not something that had been documented before. He was relieved when she had opened her eyes in the clearing, but the white light that shot out of them had surprised him. She had been drained of her blood, kept in a dungeon for weeks, mauled by an ancient monster and struck by lightning. If he had to guess, she had done something to offend the Mother or another god. How does one come back from that? 

The dark circles under her eyes had softened. He noticed the new points of her ears poking out of her hair that laid strewn across soft looking pillows. The lightning had left her with scars that peaked out of her shirt and went to the base of her neck. The bolt forever reflected on her once porcelain skin. He couldn’t see her leg but was relieved to see two outlines beneath the sheets. From what he had seen, it would not have been surprising that a healer would have recommended amputation. Her cheeks looked fuller, that was a good sign. 

He stood there for a while, as she slept. There was so much guilt eating away at him for all of the things he had done during his father’s reign. Unspeakable and unforgivable things. He had tried to do some good, when he could guarantee that his father’s wrath would not be turned to him. He was brought out of his thoughts when she stirred. 

“You can’t be serious” she grumbles and Eris tenses “we are going to have to discuss boundaries”. Her eyes are open and she seems… fine. No pain, no grogginess, no anger. “What?” She yawns “everytime I open my eyes you're there, you were always at the Manor, in the dungeons and now my room? I think we need to talk about getting friends your own age”. Eris stays looking at her and she rolls her eyes “not you too”. He repeats himself “what?”. “I need normal conversation, everyone has been acting like I’m going to break if they look at me wrong and I hate it” he relaxes his stance but remains uncertain “you got demolished by three separate entities, you should be dead, forgive me if I am not in the mood to banter”. She goes to sit up but winces and lays back down “no”. Eris crosses his arms at his chest “no, what?” She throws a pillow at him “I won't forgive you not wanting to banter” he catches the pillow “I did not realize you were enthralled by my humor” he walks closer to her bed and places the pillow where it had been “are you aware of the watchdog at the door?” She scowls “don’t call him that. But yes” and yells “it’s a waste of your time Azriel, I’m fine!” 

A hint of a smile escapes Eris “you are the worst patient I’ve ever seen”. Now, she looks seriously pissed off “you try being bedridden for a week and see how you like it”. “You’ve been bed ridden?” She nods and grimaces “after everything went down the magic healed all my wounds but my leg was broken in so many different places and it healed all wrong. Madja has had to re-break and properly set the bones. They have not let me leave the bed”. A shiver runs down Eris’ back and just how brutal the attack had been. Any lighthearted energy having been sucked out of the room. “I wanted to apologize” she looks away from him and starts to pick at a loose string in the bedsheets and interrupts him “don’t”. He goes on “I have to, it was my father who got you into this whole mess and I could have done so much more to prevent it or to get you out sooner. I should have killed him years ago but I never had the courage and-” she held up her hand “Eris, please don’t”. He took a step closer “and I’m sorry you got hurt and tortured and I just stood by” she would not look at him but asked “did you notice that the bargain marks vanished?” He nodded. She took a breath and said “you kept your promise. I’m out. You never owed me any kindness. We were never even friends” that stung. “You deserved better” she made knots to the string she was fidgeting with “I hate when people talk like that, you can’t change what happened or what you did or didn’t do”. He took one more step “I think it's fair to lament what happened” she looked up and met his gaze “I think it's useless”. He could have flinched at the venom in her voice, but stood still when clouds and bolts of silver amassed in her eyes. She closed her eyes, breathed deep and said “let’s talk about something else” when she opened her eyes again, the storm was gone. Before he could think of what to say the door opened and Madja walked in, followed by Azriel. 

“Good morning y/n, how are you feeling?” The healer asked while opening up her bag of bandages and tonics. “I’m fine, the leg is a little sore” Madja hummed and said “well we have the last procedure today. If all goes well you’ll be able to walk around in a few days”. Y/n smiled at the news “really?” Madja nodded “alright, I will need any visitors to say their goodbyes now” she searched through her bag for something and Eris took his cue to leave. But before he did said “I will be back in a few days”. 

Azriel stood at the door throughout every procedure. His stomach churning every time he heard crunching or snapping coming from inside. She had been put to sleep again. Madja was done in less than an hour. 

He waited by her bedside until she woke up. After the procedures she would wake up in pain and he would be there to give her the tonic Madja had prepared. “That never gets easier to get down” she gagged at the foul taste of the concoction. “I know, it does not taste good”. He remembers all of the times he’s been hurt and forced to drink it. “You’re done though, Madja said everything went perfect. You can try to walk tomorrow” she let out a sigh “thank God”. Azriel chuckled “here, Elain made you soup” and helped you sit up so you could eat. 

“So what are you going to do?” Nesta asked, interrupting a very interesting scene in the book you were reading. She was keeping you company while Azriel was at a meeting in the River House.  “About?” She closed her book. Oh lord. “About Azriel and Eris”. You frown “I’m still lost” she leaned closer “are you going to choose?” Now you scowled “I don’t know why I would choose between two friends” Nesta rolled her eyes. “Don’t be coy, y/n” you cross your arms, defensive “I am not being coy, I am not thinking of my love life at all”. Now, she leans back and says nonchalantly “Gwyn has been dying to ask Azriel out”. Your eyes widen and you curse at how those words irked you just how Nesta wanted them to. “Gwyn does not want to go out with Az” Nesta raised a sharp brow “she used to, but since you came into the picture she’s lost interest”. You huff “what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that Azriel only has eyes for one person but that person seems to be undecided” 

“Why do I have to make a choice now?” 

“You don’t have to, I was just curious”.

“I barely know either of them”.

“You know them well enough to know how you feel” 

“It’s not that simple” your voice quivers and Nesta’s expression softens.

“It seems simple to me”

“It’s not. I hate talking about it but I used to be engaged to a man, back in my world. He was not kind to me. But I stayed far longer than I should have because everyone in my life kept telling me that I had to, that I should. I also had a complicated relationship with my mother. She was very… controlling”. You got lost as you remembered how she would manipulate you “Anyway, it feels that all my life I have never made a choice for myself. The only true choices I have made was leaving him, traveling and then working at the apothecary. Everything else was either orchestrated by my mother or predetermined by fate. The portal being open, Lucien finding me, meeting Azriel, meeting Eris and now I am not even human anymore”. A wave of pain floods your chest at the reminder of your stolen mortality. “I just… as much as I might like Azriel I need to heal, in more ways than one”. 

Nesta nodded “I’m sorry for everything. I understand feeling like things just happen to you without you having a say in the matter” the way her eyes darkened you knew she had also gone through something similar. You could recall from what Mor had told you that she had been made against her will and that she had a… destructive way of dealing with the trauma. “I love Cassian, he’s my mate but a part of me will always wonder about the mortal life I could have had or what I would have done if they had not locked me in this house. So I’m sorry for prying and pressuring you. I should have known better” tears are gathering in your eyes. She gets out of her chair, sits in front of you on the bed and pulls you into a hug. “I don’t know what to do,” you say, voice quiet. “Just focus on healing”. 

The following day was better, you could finally stand and walk around. 

The day after that was great, Madja said you could resume your usual activities as long as you did not put too much stress on the leg. 

The following week she gave you the all clear that everything was perfect. Azriel was with you  every day. Eris came to visit and was relieved to see you in better spirits and mobile again. Lucien had brought you gifts that Muriel, Jurian and Vassa had sent along. He told you that Muriel thought you had been sick all along and she had sent so many tonics and salves in hopes that you'd get better.Your heart warmed. It broke a little, too. Going back to the Human Lands was not an option now and that stung. 

You were at the River House for a visit when Feyre asked you what you wanted to do now. “I have no idea, but I need to get out of the House of Wind”. Feyre furrowed her brows “why? Did something happen?” You shake your head “no, no, it's just that I feel bad asking to be winnowed or flown all the time and during the day nobody is really in the house and it gets lonely”. She thinks for a moment “you could stay at the town house if you want”. You raise a brow “town house?” She nods “we used to live there but the family grew so much we needed a bigger place. I don’t think anybody is using it now… so you could move there if you like”. That sounded perfect “yes, I would love that”. Feyre smiled “that’s perfect! You’d be so close you could walk here”. 

“How will I ever repay you?” It was a sincere question, they had been keeping you alive since Lucien found you and you had no money for rent or anything. “You don’t owe us anything, you’re part of our family now” you hated how that scared you. “Seriously Feyre, is there a job I could do or something?” She shook her head “Nope, you will move to the town house and continue to heal. I think you could train with an apothecary here or even with Madja if you’re interested”. She went on to list every apothecary in town and how they would never say no if the High Lady asked them for a favor. 

A knock startled you “come in”. “How was your day?” Azriel asks and closes the door behind him. He stays in place as he sees that you are packing up your clothes into boxes. “What are you doing” you look up at him “I was at the River House today and Feyre said I could move into the town house”. 

“Oh”

“I was just telling her how it gets lonely here when all of you are gone and how I’d be more comfortable in Velaris rather than above it” 

“When are you leaving?” 

“Tomorrow” 

He didn’t reveal any emotion but you knew he was hurt. “She said there are several rooms… you could come with me, if you want” he shifted his stance, hands behind his back, wings tight. “Do you want me to go with you?” You reply “I don’t really want to live alone” he shakes his head. “Do you want me to go with you?” Yes, you wanted to scream. You wanted to shout and hug him and apologize for not asking him first and that he found out like this. You wanted to kiss away his frown until he was smiling. But you stood there not saying anything. 

“Y/n”

“Yes” you step closer to him “I want you to come with me” you falter. Heart beating faster, hating the vulnerability. His hands come to his sides “are you sure?” You mentally curse him “yes, I’m sure”. You are standing a foot away from him. So close you can see a glimmer of something in his eye when you finish talking. “But I have to be honest with you” the glimmer disappears “Az, I…” A lump forms in your throat and you can’t get the words out. “I like you, ok? I like you a lot and I think you like me too but-” 

He cuts you off  “I do” 

The lump gets bigger “but I can’t promise you anything other than friendship right now… I hope you can understand that” 

He steps closer and your breath falters. He is so close. You want to reach up and just touch him. He grabs your hands and says “I’d wait any amount of time for you. You have my friendship, always”. His gentleness overwhelms you and tears well up. You groan “I feel like I’m always crying” he smiles and wipes away a few stray drops. You inhale “so you’ll come with me?” He nods and you want nothing more than to wrap your arms around him and kiss him. 

Azriel laid in his bed feeling lighter than he had in years. She likes me. 

Her words were a breath of fresh air, a cool summer breeze, a shimmering night sky. She likes me. 

He could not stop replaying the moment. She likes me. 

That night, he prayed that the fullness in his chest was something more than infatuation.

taglist: @luvmoo @leeknows-wife @nocasdatsgay @mybestfriendmademe

[forget-you-morelike-fuck-you]

Heartwork- E.M. Epilogue

You and Eddie settle into your new relationship

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 Masterlist

TW- none! Just fluff <3

Pairings- Eddie X Reader

Word Count- 847

(Gif not mine, credit to owner!)

As the weeks go by, you and Eddie settle into a new rhythm, exploring each other in new ways as your friendship transforms into something new. You come to adopt new rituals, like watching game shows on Fridays after work and eating at the diner together at least once a week.  

Slowly, as you continue this new journey into romance, you notice Eddie picking up his old hobbies again. He just invited what remains of the Hellfire crew over to play a quick one shot over at his house, on a weekend, of course, and he’s been playing his guitar more and more. He pulls it out and strums idly as you lounge around together, sometimes humming new tunes as he plays. You smile to yourself every time you hear it, and hope he’ll let you into his world of music sometime soon. 

You alternate weeks to have dinner with your parents and Wayne. Both houses are warm and welcoming, and the food is always good, but the conversation is even better. Wayne is a riot, always cracking jokes that make you snort with laughter between bites of food. You see where Eddie gets his sense of humor, even though he rolls his eyes at some of the cornier jokes Wayne makes.  With your parents, it’s a bit different. They’re just happy to hear about everything you and Eddie get up to. They treat Eddie like part of the family, except now, they love him even more for making you so happy. And, of course, your mom is absolutely thrilled when you come in the first time holding hands. She jokes about what your wedding will look like, and while you do get embarrassed at her playful jabs, you do it with a smile and a laugh, as Eddie does. 

When just after six months pass, you’re sitting at Eddie’s with him one night during one of your Friday night game show dinners. You’re both poking at your Chinese food, watching intently as you try to guess the puzzle on Wheel of Fortune. You figure it out, the phrase being “One in the hand is worth two in the bush,” and yelling at the TV, taunting the contestant spinning the wheel before turning to Eddie and laughing. His gaze on you is warm, those eyes you’ve come to seek most boring into yours as he laughs at your silliness.  

“I love you,” He suddenly says, his eyes sure and stable on you. Your smile drops for a second, stunned at the confession. You would be a flat out liar if you said you had never thought about hearing those words, but still, it’s disarming to hear them so out of the blue like this. You’re not even 100% sure you heard him right. You stare back at him, your heart leaping in your chest, and Eddie’s eyes start to dart around the room, backpedaling as if he almost wished he could take the words back. The last thing he would ever want is to scare you.  

“What did you say?” You ask breathlessly. The smile that starts to break out on your face is full of wonder, full of joy. Eddie’s mild panic cools when he sees it, and he takes a calming breath as he looks at you properly again. 

“I- I love you,” He states again. There’s no trace of doubt in his voice. Just wariness that you might not say it back. Not that that wouldn’t be okay, but still, you’re sure he’d like to hear it. You let out a little laugh before throwing yourself at him, overcome with the need to be as close to him as possible. You pull him in for an earth-shattering kiss, legs tangling together as you lay on him, and he holds you tight against him, the embrace absolutely crushing in the best possible way. 

When you pull away, your gaze is steady on those beautiful, deep brown eyes, hands going to hold his face as you feel the words building in your chest, pushing their way out like a new flower in Spring. “I love you, too.” Eddie’s smile blossoms across his plush lips as he pulls you in for another kiss. This one is a bit softer, but still, you feel like you could melt in the palms of his hands. 

“You love me?” He whispers, his forehead laying against yours. You bite your lip, your eyes closed as you breathe this perfect moment in, and give a small nod.  

“I think... I think I always have,” You’ve been remembering all the time you spent around Eddie and Y/BFF/N as a teenager, wishing to have what she had. It took you a long time to come to terms with the fact that you not only wanted what, but who, too.  

Eddie rubs his nose gently against yours, and he kisses you once, twice, three times, feather light on your lips. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to catch up,” He murmurs against you. 

“It’s okay,” You promise. “You were definitely worth waiting for.”  

@corrodedcoffincumslut @haylaansmi @bebe07011 @callsignraver

[abstractnaturaldisaster]

Steddie Flower Shop / Tattoo Parlor AU

Alright, buckle up! The angst is over. I hope y’all like the getting together part. Two more parts and then the main plot of this AU is done.

Part One I Part Two I Part Three I Part Four I Part Five I Part Six I Part Seven I Also on AO3!

***

Eddie woke up early and made coffee that could probably raise the dead. His sleep was fitful and he couldn’t stop thinking about how much he’d fucked up. Of course it was also the day before Valentine’s Day so Eddie truly had an order list a mile long. He pulled his hair up into a bun and got to work on the bouquets that he could bust out without thinking. His mind wandered the whole time trying to figure out what to do about Steve. When Eddie had put together the last dozen red rose-baby’s breath-greenery combination and drained the remaining dregs of the coffee pot, he had at least decided on a course of action. Steve hadn’t picked up his bouquet the day before and it was still sitting on the edge of the workbench in one of the buckets of water.  If Eddie was honest with himself; he had kind of phoned it. He really hadn’t been sure if Steve was going to show up and he didn’t have time to waste the week of Valentine’s. He picked up the bouquet and started working to add dimension and interest. He pulled in purple hyacinth, helenium, and broom. He wove in ivy to fill out the sides of the bouquet and fiddled with the flowers until he was happy with the final product. Eddie wrapped the arrangement in butcher paper, checked the time, and decided it was as good a time as ever to head over to Steve’s.

“Steve?” Eddie asked nervously once he made it across the street. No one answered him for a minute but he heard some hushed whispering in the back. He shifted his weight between his feet and rocked from his heels to his toes until Robin slammed open the back door.

“You better be here to apologize and you better do it quick because Steve is in no mood.” Robin said as she walked past Eddie. 

Eddie had never thought Robin was particularly intimidating until this exact moment. He had the urge to turn tail and run but Chrissy would be back at the shop by now and would never let him live it down if he came back holding this frankly ridiculous amount of flowers. Eddie walked to the back room where Robin had left Steve. Eddie had never been in there before. It was mostly a storage room with a small table and chairs that Eddie imagined Robin and Steve used for breaks and when they didn’t want to be out in the front of the tattoo studio. It’s just as homey as the rest of the shop with its mismatched furniture and plants. Steve had hung several bunches of flowers upside down from the ceiling to add to the garden witch vibes the whole shop had.

“Hi,” Eddie said, self-consciously pushing the flowers out for Steve to take. Steve looked at him for a minute. His eyes were red-rimmed and he had dark circles Eddie had never seen before. “Uhm, these are for you. I, er, missed you coming by yesterday.” Eddie finished weakly.

“I didn’t, figured you were probably busy, or whatever,” Steve answered.

“Oh, yeah it’s been a lot this week. But I always want to see you,” Eddie admitted.

“What?”

“I, uhm, maybe I should back up. I’m sorry I ran out the other day. I didn’t have the most stable upbringing and some of what you were saying made me nervous that you looked down on me for not having money, I guess. Which I totally should have explained and not just like shut down and run away. But like, I never had enough to afford a, err, ‘actual’ tattoo. And I know that I totally fucked up and you can tell me to turn around and never come back but I think you’re really special, and that drawing you did kind of took my breath away, dude.”

“Dude,” Steve smirked.

“Sorry, I don’t do this often or like ever, I kind of don’t know what to do with you honestly. I’ve never– that is to say, I’m definitely not good enough for you, man.”

“Man? I think that might be worse.” Steve laughed a little.

“I’m ruining this. I’ll just, uh, go. Sorry, again.” Eddie left the bouquet he was still holding on the table and starts to head out, rubbing the back of his neck a little nervously.

“No, Eds, come back,” Steve said. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“What’d you mean it like, Steve?”

“Oh, well, I don’t think you can call your Valentine ‘man,’ Eddie.”

“My what?”

“Oh, sorry you haven’t asked yet. I’ll wait.” Steve grinned.

Eddie could have passed out. He was pretty sure that Steve was going to tell him to leave, not patiently wait for Eddie to get his shit together and ask him out.

“Right, yes, I’m getting to that.” Eddie smiled back. He looked back up at the ceiling and realized all the bunches of flowers were the arrangements he’d given Steve. “Wait, you kept these?” Eddie gestured at the bouquets.

“Of course, I did, Eddie.” Steve answered. “I mean, I had sort of meant to only keep the first one. To celebrate opening. But then Robin noticed the green carnations in the next bouquet and said that was like a sign you might, uhm, like guys, or whatever, so I kept that one, and I dunno, it just kind of became a thing.” Steve was blushing and looked down at his hands.

“Oh, baby, that’s so cute, fuck.” Eddie went to sit next to Steve and placed his hand face up on the table for Steve to take. Steve reached out and linked his fingers with Eddie’s. If Eddie had thought he was going to pass out earlier, he was certain he was experiencing cardiac arrest now. His heart was pounding in his throat and he was sure his hands were clammy and gross. “You won’t be able to keep this up, you know?”

“Why’s that,” Steve asked.

“There’s nowhere near enough room to save all the bouquets I plan on giving you, sweetheart.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh big time. Now that I have this? I’m not letting go,” Eddie gestured to their linked hands. “Not until you want me too.”

“Oh,” Steve gasped. “For the record, I do think maybe I was a little too harsh on you. I’m pretty used to guys like you giving guys like me shit for tattooing flowers.”

“That’d be pretty hypocritical of me, Stevie, as I also work in flowers.” 

“Well you still have this whole, like, look. I probably bring your street cred down at least several notches.”

“I don’t care about that, hun. I live above a flower shop for god’s sake, there’s not a lot of street cred left in these old bones.” Eddie croaked out the last part doing his best imitation of Mr. De Lucas.

“You’re such a shit.” Steve elbowed Eddie in the side.

“You like me though,” Eddie said. “Even worse, you like like me.”

“Questioning that the longer this conversation goes on.” 

“Rude. You wanna know a secret, Steve-o?” Eddie jumped onto the table to get closer to the flowers hanging from the ceiling.

“Hey! Get down. This is dangerous.” Steve couldn’t hide his laugh but he grabbed at Eddie’s belt.

“Hold on! I gotta show you something,” Eddie said. He moved closer to the first set of flowers he ever gave Steve. “Robin was on to something you know. I am not only a florist but I am a huge flower nerd and read all sorts of books about the languages of flowers. So this one was for luck opening your store. Daffodils are for new beginnings, Allium for prosperity, Laurel for success, and Hollyhock for ambition,” Eddie recited as he pointed out each of the flowers.

“But you didn’t even like me back then,” Steve said, a little awe struck.

“I might not have liked you but I did want to fuck you, big boy,” Eddie said with a wink.

“You’re actually the worst. I take everything nice I’ve ever said back.” 

“Never,” Eddie said as he moved on to the second set of flowers he gave to Steve. “So, Robin was basically right about this one. Chrissy gave me so much shit for thinking you were straight but that seemed easier than being rejected. So lavender, green carnations, pansies, buttercups, all historical references to being gay. I figured if you understood what they meant you’d tell me early on if you didn’t like me that way.”

Steve walked around the table to meet Eddie by the third bouquet. He reached back up to hold onto his waist. Eddie was already getting way too used to having Steve’s hands on him.

“Next was my friendship offering and like maybe a little bit of a hint that I was kind of into you. The oak leaf geranium is for true friendship and feverfew is for warmth of affection. But you hadn’t given me shit about the gay flowers so I was also a little hopeful, hence the cyclamen. And the lilacs.”

“What do lilacs mean?” Steve asked.

Eddie flushed bright red. “Uhm, this was way too early and like still is but, uhm, they represent the first feeling of love.”

“So what was the next one for?” 

“Well the victorians believed that the brighter the bouquet the more passionate the underlying relationship so I wanted to give you something bright and happy but it’s also like a ‘I’m very into you please like me back’ vibe?”

“Are you asking me, or telling me, Eddie?”

“Oh, telling, absolutely,” Eddie answered. “Also, Chrissy gave me so much shit about this one because it is probably worth like three times what you paid for.”

“Eddie!” Steve yelled and slapped his thigh.

“Listen. I was going big or going home, Steve. Now will you let me tell you about it?” 

Steve nodded and gestured for Eddie to continue.

“Good boy,” Eddie noticed Steve tense a little at the diminutive. He set that aside to explore later. “Okay so this is a ranunculus and its symbolizes radiant charm. The roses all mean different things based on the color. Orange is for fascination, purple for enchantment, and red, as cheesy as it is, is for love. I also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make fun of myself so this one,” Eddie points at a gorgeous orange flower, “is for impetuous love, I mean, I was moving way too fast and I didn’t even know if you liked me back, Steve.”

“I don’t offer to tattoo just anybody, Eds.” Steve was blushing again. “So are you gonna ask me, then?” Steve asked as Eddie hopped down from the table.

“Steve Reginald Harrington, will you do me the honor of being my Valentine?” Eddie asked and dipped into a deep bow holding his hand out.

“You’re ridiculous and that is absolutely not my middle name,” Steve answered.

“Not an answer, babe.”

“Of course, you absolute buffoon,” Steve agreed. Eddie took Steve’s hand and kissed the back of it, bringing Steve into a hug.

“Mean. And, uhm, would you mind being my day-after-Valentine’s-Day Valentine? It’s just like super busy at the shop tomorrow and I don’t want us to be interrupted.” Eddie added.

“Oh, you have plans for me?”

“Obviously, big boy,” Eddie answered.

“I accept,” Steve said. “Also, I may or may not have scheduled my week so I can be out tomorrow if you want a delivery van buddy.”

“Do I? Of course, Stevie!” Eddie was very excited about having someone to keep him company driving through all of Chicago tomorrow. Eddie looked at the clock in the back of the room and noticed the time. “Oh fuck it’s so late. Shit. Steve. I actually have to go. I’m so sorry.” Eddie gave Steve a quick peck on the cheek and rushed out of the shop.

“You are actually ridiculous, why do I like you?” Steve called back as Eddie ran across the street.

Eddie flipped Steve off in response. Eddie got back into the flower shop and both Robin and Chrissy were sitting at the workbench.

“Did you fix it?” Robin asked.

“Yes, but no time for details, I have to pack the van and I’m so fucking behind,” Eddie rushed to grab the order slips for the morning deliveries.

“Dude, we packed the van for you,” Chrissy said as she grabbed Eddie by the shoulders. “Calm the fuck down or I’m going to have to drive your god forsaken van.”

“Hey! Not nice! But also, you’re the best, I love you, BYE!!” Eddie yelled as he hightailed it into the van. He caught Steve looking out the window of his studio and flashed him a big grin and blew Steve a kiss. Steve made a big gesture of catching the kiss and sent Eddie back heart hands. Jesus. Eddie was in love with a fucking dork and he had never been happier.

***

Part Nine available here!

I’m still literally overwhelmed with y’all’s support. Thanks for reading!

Also if y’all know shit about flowers I know these are unrealistic to find all at the same time but Eddie has mad hothouse connections and he’s also a little bit magic.

Taglist: @a-little-unsteddie @maya-custodios-dionach @eboyawstenn @swimmingbirdrunningrock @sadcanadianwinter @thehumblefigtree @throwbackthrowaway @micheledawn1975 @blisschaoss @vecnuthy @grimmfitzz @spectrum-spectre @croatoan-like-its-hot @momotonescreaming @beckkthewreck @korixae @citrus-owl @baron-zemo-trash @sleepdeprivedflower @nuagedemots @lololol-1234 @books-and-current-obsessions @acrolius @mightbeasleep @vi-an-te @gregre369 @i-must-potato @vampireinthesun  @steveisabicon @child-of-cthulhu @whimsicalwitchm @aceflavouredyougurt @that-bi-gremlin99 @oxidantdreamboat @goodolefashionedloverboi @notaqueenakhaleesi @briceslayed @raisedbylibrarians @bejeweledbaby @avacrebs @magpiemuseum @majesticenbypancake  @r0semaryyy @nerdsconquerall @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @shiyshy2004 @zerokrox-blog @straight4joekeery

[losingherface]

The Flowers |PT. 2|

ellie x fem reader

Info: a continuation of The Flowers Part 1 :)

Warnings: none

Ellie’s POV

•

Sunday morning, typically slow and quiet here at Jackson. Everyone was either resting for upcoming patrol or was prepping for the long week ahead.

I spent Sunday’s like this; Drawing and dinner at Joel’s. Ever since I started receiving these random letters, I find myself almost waiting around for this person, hopefully catching her in the act, but I failed.

Today, I cleaned up, it helped ease the stress. I walked out onto my porch that clearly needed sweeping. A letter was on the ground this time held down by a rock and a nearly dead rose with it.

I sighed deeply and looked around again. She was good. So I took the letter and went inside, placing the broom against the wall.

The letter this time wasn’t a letter, more so a message.

Hey. Let’s meet. If you want to, I’ll be at the stables this afternoon working alone. Could use the company. Come hangout. - Y/N.

So she works at the stable. I’ve probably spoken to her at least once.

•

The thought of going out to the stables right now alone with this person was a little nerve wracking. I thought about who I could’ve upset to prank me like this. Still, I got dressed and walked on over.

•

There were two guards guarding the stables today which I waved to.

“Ellie?” I hear my name and turn around quickly to see Joel.

“Joel.”

“What are you doing here? You don’t work here on weekends.” I didn’t know what to tell him. I didn’t want to sound like this desperate woman that would do anything for another woman’s touch or that was just how I looked at it.

“Yeah. Just here to check on Shimmer.”

“Maria’s got him. He’s fine.”

I stood there nodding my head. “I’m actually here to get something I left behind.”

Joel nodded and finally stopped interrogating me. I kept my slightly head down trying to avoid any future conversation.

I didn’t even notice myself walking past the stables which i realized when I heard my name once again.

“Ellie..” A soft voice says calmly. I lift my head up and turn around.

She was someone I had never spoken to. She wore a grey shirt with dirt on it, blue jeans and huge gardening gloves. She looked like she had been working for a while at this point. I blush. Embarrassing.

“Y/N?” She nods and we walk over to a vacant bench. One leg over the other, she rests her hands under her thighs.

It was kind of awkward.

“….The letters. Why? Why not just say something?”

“I was going to, the other day but I saw-”

“Dina?” I cut her off. Why was Dina such a threat to her?

“We’ve never even dated. She’s really into Jesse and I love them both. That’s all.” I could see on her face, she was insecure and scared. I was too but I just a bit better at going about my day to day life without letting my insecurities interfere.

I grab her wrist and hold her onto hand tight as I slid down the bench and got a little closer.

“Okay. I guess I don’t have to send you anymore letters, huh?” She let’s out a soft laugh.

“I guess not….Why don’t we walk into the pub Friday night together. It’s Karaoke night and I want you to have the night you thought Dina and I were having.”

“Yeah….I’d love that. Was it not as romantic as I thought ?”

“Dina and I danced but the whole night was chasing after her while she chased after Jesse. But..I have to get going. I have a long nap ahead of me. I’ll see you Friday Night?.”

“Yea. I’ll see you then. I can’t wait.”

She had the biggest smile on her face. We both did. Now I’m excited for Karaoke night ?

•

Friday Night

Karaoke night was a way Jackson sent us off to relax for the weekend and a message of ‘YOU MADE IT THROUGH ANOTHER WEEK OF PATROL’. We always went to kind of celebrate that opportunity and it was a nice time where families who have been separated for the longest because of work, whether it was on patrol or in town work, to get together and catch up.

Joel and I used this time that way. We talked about anything.

Tonight, Joel and I sat at a table and waited for our food. They tried to give us the restaurant experience, supposedly this is how it was before the outbreak. Tommy and Maria also sat with us, the chair beside me stayed empty as I waited for Y/N.

Just a few minutes after eating sautéed pickles, the loud noise of terrible singing went throughout the whole building, but I see Y/N walking through the front door. My heart drops and I immediately feel like hiding and throwing up.

Joel notices, “What’s Up?” He asked. I couldn’t answer him in time because Y/N ends up tapping my shoulder.

“Ellie, Hi.” I look up to her and smile. We both lean in for a hug. I quickly look over to Joel who is right across from us and see his eyes widening.

“Come on.” I stand up and grab her hand. I wasn’t going to endure the embarrassment that Joel puts me through when I like someone.

•

An old folk song plays, this time a woman who can actually sing has the floor.

I don’t know how to do this. To my surprise, Y/N grabs my waist and pulls me in. The look in her eyes makes me melt. I hold her too.

“You don’t how long i’ve been wanting to do this….” She says.

“Tell me. How long has it been?”

“Um…..since you got here. Well since i’ve gotten here. So like 5 years.”

I was shocked. I never knew someone would like me let alone for five years.

“So why did you start sending me letters only now?”

“I guess I got jealous and that was my way of getting your attention….but look it worked.”

It did. I press my nose onto hers and give her a quick kiss. I pulled away and saw her rubbing lips. She looked as though she was about to die.

She doesn’t say anything but kisses me back, this time a little longer. Coming up for air, she asks, “can we go to your place and watch a movie?”

“Yeah.. Yes we can.”

Ever since then, Y/N and I have been together almost everyday and night. We patrol together and help each other with our own personal jobs. She’s incredible. And I already know she thinks the same of me.

•

A/n: so this took kinda long to post apologies! Anyways hope u liked it thx for reading <33333

[snelbz]

'Til Death Do Us Part {Chapter Nine}

Elorcan. Rockstar Modern AU.

@snelbz x @theladyofdeath collab

‘Til Death Do Us Part Masterlist

Elide - 

Our suite in the hotel is by far the nicest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in. It’s beautiful, candles and rose petals everywhere. There’s a bottle of champagne in a bucket on the bar and chocolate truffles on the table. As the door closes behind me, it’s obvious that this room was prepared in the hopes of one thing.

Sex.

A trail of white rose petals lead into the adjoining bedroom and are arranged in the shape of a heart on the king-size bed. And, of course, there’s a heart-shaped tub in the corner of the bedroom. Wouldn’t be a honeymoon suite without it, I guess.

As he drapes his jacket over the back of the couch and begins to unbutton his shirt, my anxiety goes on high alert. I can’t sleep with him yet. I’m not ready. My brain is warped from the day, my heart is heavy and confused, my nerves are fried, and my body is exhausted. Did I even get to eat at some point today? I honestly can’t remember.

I try not to stare as he rolls his shirtsleeves up and continues unbuttoning the front of his shirt, exposing his chest and abs. I was right, they’re completely covered in tattoos, just like his arms. And although he's definitely good-looking in his own way, he's just not my type at all. I've never been attracted to men with long hair or tattoos and facial piercings. As far as men go, I've always been drawn to men with short hair, thin, athletic builds, and stable careers.

Lorcan Salvaterre is…none of those things. His muscles mesmerize me, just as much as they did the first time I saw him, only now they’re on display even more than they were then.

I guess I've always wanted the opposite of my uncle.

Once again, I find myself wondering if the team somehow made a mistake, and matched me up with the wrong guy. It’s the only thing that makes sense, because he’s the complete opposite of everything I said I wanted on the forms they had me fill out.

I sink into a chair, reaching down to remove my shoes as he approaches, of course, the bar. I didn’t see it at first, but I notice it right as he picks up the small envelope propped on a wine glass.

“It’s got both of our names on it,” Lorcan says, holding it up as he turns to face me. “Want me to read it?”

“Sure.”

Opening the card, he clears his throat and reads off what it says. “Dear Lorcan and Elide, congratulations on your wedding day! This is the first step in what we hope is your happily ever after.” He pauses and I can see him chewing the inside of his cheek in agitation. With a sigh, he keeps going. “You have the option of leaving for your honeymoon tomorrow to spend two weeks at an all-inclusive romantic resort, or, if you feel you need more time to get to know each other, you can choose to postpone your honeymoon up to two months. If you choose to postpone, the next step is moving in together. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need any advice, and remember to keep up with your journals and video chats. Also, please refer to the study guidelines if you have any questions. Most of all, have fun and open your hearts to love.”

Dropping the card back onto the bar, he turns towards me. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a vacation.”

A romantic resort. Nuhuh. Not yet.

“I’d like to wait, if that’s okay with you.”

He looks at me for a moment before nodding. “Of course.” I sense slight disappointment in his voice, but he doesn’t mention it. Instead he pushes his shirt down his arms and tosses it aside before unbuckling his belt.

“What’re you doing?” I blurt.

His eyes snap up to mine as he freezes. His hands drop to his sides. “I was just going to change. I hate these stiff-ass clothes.”

That’s something I’ve noticed about him so far. He seems to add “ass” onto the end of everything. 

I suddenly feel foolish. “Sorry, I just…thought you wanted to…” My words trail off and his brows raise. I explain, “I’m not ready to sleep together.” The words feel ridiculous coming out of my mouth, even if it’s the truth.

He doesn’t judge me, though. He simply nods. “I’ve collected that.” He laughs, softly. “It’s alright. I’ll just…change in the bathroom. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable.” 

“I’m not uncomfortable.” The second the words come out of my mouth he grins and I hate him for it. It’s cocky. Cocky, and hot as hell, but I don’t let him know that. “I’ve seen a man’s stomach before. I’m not that pitiful.” 

“I don’t think you’re pitiful.” He unzips the bag at the foot of the bed and pulls out a pair of sweatpants. “Try to relax, alright? I promise not to do anything you’re not ready to do. You look like you’re about to puke and that doesn’t sit well with me. You don’t have to be scared of me, Elide.”

I know I don’t, I trust in Aelin and Aelin knows Lorcan, so I know that I’m safe. 

“I’m sorry this is just…so crazy,” I finish, knowing it’s pathetic but I have too many emotions to sort. 

He nods and sits at the foot of the bed, head cocking to the side. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable?”

Put a shirt on? Your god-like muscles are distracting. My eyes can’t help but linger as the thought crosses my mind.

“I’m not scared of you,” I finally say, and add, “and like I said, I’m not uncomfortable. I’m just…trying to figure out how our lives will mesh together.”

“That’s for future Lorcan and Elide to figure out, not us. We’re supposed to relax and enjoy our wedding night,” he says, leaning back on his hands. “As great as it would be to leave tomorrow, I’m okay with not flying for hours and hours.”

“I’ve never been on a plane,” I admit, playing with my wedding band. It’s strange having a ring on that finger.

“Really?” He asks, cocking his head again. “That’ll change. You and Aelin will have to fly out and see us when we’re on tour.”

I swallow hard as my stomach sinks. "How often do you tour?"

I don’t know exactly how often Rowan is gone, but I know it hasn’t been as much in the past six months 

“Depends. We don't tour a lot like most bands do, only like two or three times a year, sometimes more, and usually not longer than a few weeks at a time.” He shrugs. “We’ve done the on the road for months thing. We got that out of our systems when we were twenty.”

"So what happens during the tour? Where do we stay if I went? And what happens to me if I stay home?"

“If you go, then we’ll stay wherever. On the bus, in hotels. It all depends on what we have lined up. If you don't go, you’ll stay home,  wherever we end up living."

That sounds awful to me, living on the road. Exactly what I didn't want, not having a solid home. Did they not even reference our applications? What was the point for filling it all out?

"That's not really what I wanted. I like to be home, and I don't like being alone all the time. I was hoping for normalcy and stability." My voice cracks as I realize all the reasons I wanted to get married are slowly disappearing right in front of.

Lorcan gets up from the bed and pauses in front of me. crouching down so he’s eye level with me, he says, “You'll have it. Just different than you expected." He meets my eyes for a moment and his soften just a bit. "Hey, we don't have to talk about all this right now. It's been a long day; we're both tired and a little bit stressed over this whole thing. Let's just get some rest, and tomorrow, we'll figure out where we're going to live and everything else after that.”

I hesitate. “What is everything else?”

He stands back up, giving me a front row seat to his muscular, tattooed stomach. “I guess we'll find out tomorrow.”

I smile weakly. “Thank you. This is just harder than I was expecting, I guess.”

“Agreed. I'm gonna take a quick shower.” He says, sitting on the couch across from me, reaching down and untying—

“Have you been wearing boots with your tux all day?” I ask, blinking down at the black boots he’s discarded on the floor.

He looks from them to me. “Yeah. It’s all I wear unless I’m working out. Then I wear tennis shoes.”

I blink. “You wore boots on our wedding day?” I don’t know why this is so wild to me, it’s the least surprising thing that’s happened today, but I’m hung up on it. I should’ve worn Vans, rather than the sparkly heels Aelin picked out for me.

“I wear boots every day.” He looks at me like my shock is funny to him. “Our wedding day is no exception.”

I watch him rifle through the duffel bag that the hotel brought up while we were at the reception before disappearing into the bathroom.

My own bag is sitting next to his, but I’ll get what I need out of it in a minute. I don’t want to move yet.

Letting out a deep breath, I close my eyes for a few moments and try to calm myself. It’ll be okay. They put us together. They know what they're doing. Right now I can't fathom what we have in common—aside from our love of eighties movies—but the experts must have seen something in him that I can't see yet.

Standing to get undressed, I realize I can't get my wedding gown off.

Shit.

There are way too many tiny buttons I can't reach, and with the fitted bodice, there is no way I'm going to get it up and over my head. I knew I should never have let Aelin talk me into this dress.

With a sigh, I fall back into the chair and close my eyes.

I don’t hear the door open, but suddenly, Lorcan is standing over me. “Why are you still sitting there, wearing your dress?”

I look up at him and, good gods, how is this man real? It takes an enormous amount of willpower to keep my eyes on his face.

He’s wearing nothing but a pair of grey sweatpants, his long hair damp and loose. There are still little drops of water begging me to follow their path as they trailed down his muscular body.

Despite the hair, piercing, and tattoos, just seeing his half-naked body and the way his muscles flex with each movement has my insides quivering in a way I wasn’t expecting. I can’t even imagine ever touching a body like that or having someone like him be interested or attracted to me in any way, in any realm of reality.

Tearing my eyes away from the muscular V that disappears into the waistband of his pants, I admit that I can't get the dress off by myself.

He gestures for me to stand and I lift my brows. “I’ll help,” he says, when it’s clear I’m not moving.

Considering there’s no other way I’m getting this thing off, I stand and turn my back to him. He’s surprisingly gentle as he undoes the delicate buttons. 

“I knew I’d get you out of your dress on our wedding night,” he says, and I know he’s teasing. If I turned, I’m sure I’d see that light glinting in his eyes, just as it was when we were dancing. “Although I imagined using a lot more teeth and being closer to the bed when it happened. Not that I need a bed. I could—”

“Are you always so vulgar?” I ask, keeping my tone light even though my heart is about to burst through my chest. I blame it on nerves.

He laughs, quietly. “This isn’t even close to me being vulgar. You haven’t heard me being vulgar.”

“I feel this is a good time to remind you that I’m not ready to have sex.” I’m not sure if I’m reminding him or myself as his fingers graze my skin. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve let someone take care of me and it’s starting to show.

“You married me, baby, that’s about as ready as we can get,” he says, that playful tone remaining in his voice.

I ignore what my stomach does when he calls me baby. 

When my dress is loose enough for me to shimmy out of, I step out of his reach, holding the front of my dress up against my body. When I turn, his hands are still out where he was ubuttoning the back and he’s watching me. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks, stepping forward. He grips some of the loose fabric and tugs on it, making me concede a step. “I’m not trying to make a move on you or anything, I just want to see you. Stop hiding from me.”

“No.”

His eyebrows raise. “No?”

“No.” There’s a bite to my voice and I think he likes riling me up.

His eyes flick down to where the dress hangs loosely at my chest. Only my hands keep it up. “Do you have anything on underneath that gown?”

My cheeks heat. “Of course, I do.”

“Then it’s not like I’m about to see you naked. Why are you hiding? Let me see you.”

Proving once again that I am the epitome of grace, I start to back up, shaking my head, but end up stepping on the hem of my dress. I manage to hold onto it with one hand, while the other pinwheels to keep my balance, but it’s no use. Closing my eyes, I’ve accepted that I’m likely about to crack the back of my head on one of the side tables, but then a strong arm wraps around me, catching me before I can bust my ass.

Lorcan sets me back on my feet, whistling low.

At first I don’t understand, but then I realize the dress has slipped, just a bit. Everything is still covered, but you can very much see the skimpy, white lace of my bra. It doesn’t take much deductive reasoning to figure out that I’m likely wearing the matching panties. Which I am.

His dark eyes are on my body, as if he can see said panties through the dress I’m still clinging to. “You’re wearing lingerie?”

I nod, figuring it doesn’t need an explanation. I clearly am. What he doesn’t see is the garter belt and thigh highs I’ve had on all night. They were Aelin’s idea. All of this was Aelin’s idea. I’ve never worn lingerie like this, and in all reality, I feel silly wearing them. I feel like a little girl, playing dress up.

“So you’ll wear sexy bridal lingerie, but you won’t have sex with me, or even let me see it?” His eyes are narrowed and the playful tone his voice had a few minutes is gone. “Why the hell did you wear this stuff if you don’t want me touching you?”

“Because I didn’t know who to expect when I walked down the aisle,” I snap, and feel guilty for my outburst when he looks like I just slapped him in the face. There’s a couple of feet between us now and it’s still difficult for my eyes to remain on his but I force them to. “Look—”

“You’re not sexually attracted to me,” he says, and I watch as he sorts out the words I spat at him. He rubs his jaw and I don’t know if he’s about to laugh or yell. He does neither. “I just married a woman who doesn’t want to have sex with me, not because she doesn’t want to have sex…but because she doesn’t want to have sex with me.”

It wasn’t how he imagined his wedding night. I know that. I get that. I understand that. I try a different approach as I tell him the truth. “You just aren’t exactly my type.”

If I expect my gentle approach to make a difference, I’m disappointed. He looks even more hurt at my bluntness. 

My dumb ass continues speaking even though it’s clear I should shut up. “I just prefer guys that are clean cut.”

He looks down at himself as if he’s assessing his tattoos, his piercings, that hair that’s a mess. He looks back up at me and his voice is low as he says, “Sorry to disappoint.”

I sigh. “It’s not—”

“You’re not who I asked for either,” he says, with that same intensity. “I asked for a hot blonde with big tits, not some chick that’s half my size and looks like I’ll break her in half if I so much as fucking touch her.” 

My back straightens and I feel a stinging in my eyes that I will away. “You’re an asshole.”

“I’m the asshole?” He laughs. “My own wife—”

“I’m allowed to say no to you, husband or not,” I hiss.

This time he truly looks taken aback, as if the thought of anything happening without consent makes him sick to his stomach. “You don’t fucking know me. I know you don’t want to have sex. I would never ignore what you fucking want. I was just trying to lighten the mood on our fucking wedding night. This whole damn situation is too fucking awkward already and now we have to share a fucking room, so I’m sorry that I was looking for some sort of marital normalcy. But, don’t you dare accuse me of not understanding the word no. I wouldn’t have laid a fucking hand on you.”

He mutters something about this being confusing and stupid as he turns his back to me and before I can think of anything to say he’s walking out of the suite.

Just as he’s about to the door, he turns and says, “Let me get this straight. You don’t want to travel, you hate long hair, tattoos, and piercings, you’re short, you hate my music, and you aren’t attracted to me? Did I miss anything?”

“Pretty much,” I reply, voice quite. “Actually, I don’t hate your music, I just don’t…understand it.”

Of all the things from that list I could have corrected him on, I doubt his music is the one he wanted.

Scoffing, Lorcan comes back into the living room and drops down on the couch. “What the hell was the point of all the forms and questionnaires we filled out? I asked for a hot, tall, sexy as fuck blond with big tits, who would come on tour with me.” He looks at me. “Instead, I get a dwarf who can barely look me in the eye, doesn't want me to touch her, and won't get on a plane.”

I blink back tears and set my jaw. I won’t let him see my cry. “Yeah, and I asked for a clean-cut, good-looking, sweet, intelligent, hard-working family man. Instead, I got rockstar Tarzan.”

I swear, despite his anger, the corners of his mouth twitch up. The hint of a smile is gone as quickly as it’s there. “We got fucked. Hard.”

“Do you think they made a mistake?” I suggest hopefully. “Maybe put us with the wrong partner? There are other couples in the project.”

He thinks about this for a few moments while chewing his lip. “I don’t know. Both our names are on that card. It would be hard to confuse us with other people, neither of us have very common names.”

He’s right. It’d be hard not to notice. My head suddenly feels like it weighs about a thousand pounds, on top of the stupid dress I’m still clinging to. I sit down next him on the couch. “I don’t understand this. What were they thinking when they put us together?”

It’s quiet for a long moment before he sighs, letting his head fall back against the couch, and looks over at me. “I have no fucking idea. But I do know one thing.”

I hesitate. “What?”

He takes my hands, brushing a thumb over the wedding band he slid onto my finger only a few hours ago. It’s still so strange to see it there. “I didn't answer a thousand questions about what I wanted in a wife to just give up the first night.”

My hand tightens in his. “I didn’t either.”

“For better or worse, right?” He smiles, and even though it’s tense, I can tell it’s real. “I’m sorry I’m an asshole. It’s one of my more pronounced traits and I’ll work on it. You didn’t deserve anything I just threw at you.”

I swallow thickly. “I’m sorry, too. I haven’t reacted well to…any of this.”

“Neither have I, but from now on, if I’m being an asshole, you have my express permission to hand me my ass, okay? It’s your duty as my wife.”

I giggle. Actually giggle. “I think I can do that.”

“Good.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my ring. I don’t think I’m breathing. If he notices, he doesn't say anything. “So…here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna sleep in the bed, I'm gonna sleep on this couch, and we're gonna get some rest. In the morning, we're gonna get room service and order every fucking item on the breakfast menu, and then figure out where we're going to live. We'll start over and forget about long hair, tits, and tattoos. Sound good?”

I mean it when I nod and say, “Sounds good.”

We sit there for a moment, holding hands like awkward teenagers on a first date, then I slowly get to my feet. He watches me and there’s something in his eyes that I can't place, but I like.

It isn’t that he’s not attractive. He is, brutally so, he’s just not the kind of attractive I’d ever imagined going for. I can’t deny that I haven’t been watching the steady flex of his muscles all night, though. 

I wasn’t kidding. The guy looks like fucking Tarzan. I wonder how Jane felt about the whole long hair business. A haircut wouldn’t kill Lorcan, surely.

“I’m going to change,” I say, and he nods as I gather my dress against my body. I head towards the gigantic bathroom on the opposite end of the room before clearing my throat. I look over my shoulder to find him still watching me and I let my dress fall to the floor.

His brows shoot up as those eyes graze my body, taking in every inch of that sexy lingerie. With him looking at me like that, I don’t feel as stupid as I had in the scandalous ensemble before. I step inside of the bathroom and turn to face him as I give him a small smile and say, “Never say I didn’t give you anything on our wedding night.”

With that, I close the door, leaving him staring after me on the couch with his brows high and his lips parted. 

On the other side of the door, I hear him mutter, “Fuck.”

[zedif-y]

Have you ever written anything with both Skizz and Gem in it? (For the ask game, a friendship ship ask?)

I have! However, it's for a multichap i'm sadly not picking back up again :[ if anyone's interested in it, i may post more, but know that the chances of it being revived are slim to none . i wrote this with @casuallywritingandhyperfixating with the help of @wisepuma23 :]

so yeah! if enough people ask for it then i think i can post the chapters we've written (5... or 4 and a half) so it doesn't go to waste, just not on ao3. anyway, gem and skizz scene under the cut!

---

Once Skizz gets properly dressed and ready to socialize, he heads out and makes his way to Gem’s place. It’s a cute cottage, luckily not too far from them, with a small stable next to it. Tall, light-speckled trees hang over it, creeping vines going up the side of the house. Overgrown berry bushes frame the outside, just the right amount of wild— but Skizz is pretty sure all the greenery is a style choice. 

The berry bushes are smart, though, good at keeping mobs away. Brains and brawn, indeed.

Skizz steps up to the door, anxiety swirling in his stomach. Gem was going to indirectly make this decision for him, and he didn’t know if he hoped for a no or a yes. 

He knocks. Barking comes from inside in response, then footsteps. 

The door opens, and Skizz waves, “Hey, Gem!” Her eyes go wide, a giggle on her lips as he opens his arms for a hug, “How are ya?”

She accepts it easily, giving him a squeeze. “Hey, Skizz!” She chirps, “I’ve been doing good, how–” More barking cuts her off, and she looks over her shoulder into the house, “Hush, Winnie, it’s just Skizz!” 

The dog barks a couple more times, then stops. Gem turns back to Skizz, grinning sheepishly, “Sorry about that.” 

Skizz shakes his head, “Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m sorry to bother you on the weekend.” 

Gem steps back, waving a hand as she replies, “It’s alright! How can I help you?” She holds the door open, “Come in! We can talk inside.” 

Skizz follows her in, taking a seat on one of her couches. The living room is a cozy, warm space, beautifully decorated… Though maybe he could make do without some of the animal heads.

(Gem’s awesome, really. Gem is great. Just uh… What’s her deal with beheading things?)

Skizz tears his eyes away. Above the fireplace sits a large, heavy-looking iron sword. He doesn’t need magic to tell it’s enchanted– it shimmers as he looks at it, thrumming with power.

She sits on the other, looking at him expectantly. Ah, right.

Here goes nothing.

“I received a letter,” Skizz says cautiously, “And I might need to go somewhere. I haven’t decided yet, though. It’s a week or two just to get there, and I don’t know how long I’ll stay.” He pauses, gauging her reaction. “And if I do go, I need someone to take care of the village.” 

“And I’m the candidate to fill that role?” Gem guesses. 

Skizz nods. “You’re… the only other skilled healer, even if it’s only been a few months. I was wondering if you’d be willing to take my place for a bit, dude.” 

A few moments pass, each second making his anxiety ratchet up like crazy–

“Okay,” Gem says, making him blink. “Yeah, yeah, I think I could do that,” She adds. “I mean, I know how to do all the day-to-day stuff, and you’ve taught me well.” 

“Are you sure?” Skizz asks, honestly a little baffled. He’d thought it’d take a bit more than that— “It’ll be a lot more work, and if anyone calls on you for an emergency, you have to be prepared.” 

Gem is nodding before he finishes. “I know, Skizz,” She replies, smiling. Gods bless her, “I got this! I’ve… kinda been wanting a chance to really test myself, you know? Not that I want anything to happen, just… I’m here if you need me to step up.” 

Skizz chuckles. “Alright! Well, this is that chance, for sure. If you do come across anything you don’t understand, especially magic-wise, feel free to drop by and borrow some of my books. Joker will still be home, he can point you to the ones you need. You can use my office too!” He pauses, then, “Uh… don’t worry about the paperwork. I’ll get to that someday. Oh, and—” 

“Skizz!” Gem laughs, putting a hand on his arm. “It’s okay. I can do this.” 

Skizz relaxes, laughing with her. “Thanks, Gem. This helps a lot.” 

“Of course! I’ll make sure everyone here is nice and healthy, don’t worry,” Gem assures him. 

Skizz smiles. She’ll make a perfect cleric. 

“Okay! Yeah, I think I’m good!” Gem tells him, “I’ll go over the supplies this afternoon, so you don’t need to worry about that, either.” Skizz nods and stands, stepping towards the door.

Gem follows, waving him goodbye as she says, “Be safe out there, Skizz. And enjoy your trip!” 

“Seriously dude, thanks,” Skizz says, giving her a smile as she closes the door. His heart clenches as he walks away. 

Enjoy your trip. 

He’d try, there was bound to be a lot of new scenery, with that long of a travel. But… Something tells him it’s not gonna be all butterflies and roses. 

Something twists and writhes in his chest, anxiety bubbling in his veins. Skizz steels himself, letting out a breath.

“Of course it’s not gonna be easy,” Skizz mutters to himself, rolling his shoulders, shaking his head. “But you know what? You know what?”

He furrows his brow, “I can take it. Whatever happens, I can take it.”

I mean, come on, Skizz thinks, eyes trained forward. It’s not like I’ve lived this long and learned nothin’!

And then, quieter, it would’ve haunted me anyway, if I didn’t go. The last thing I need is another regret.

The anxiety doesn’t fade, not by a long shot. But as Skizz trudges back home, he finds it isn’t enough to stop him, worries and what-ifs be damned. A small smile tugs at his lips.

He’s always been pretty stubborn, huh?

[forcebookish]

Hi there! Just wanted to say that I LOVE ForceBook so much here. Like TopMew silent date? I was squilling like a baby goat the whole time. And the amount of acting from Force through the whole car scene… I was enjoying his acting all 3 episodes, but that was just WOW.

These two are the only ones from OF cast with whom I didn’t watch the series, and now I definitely need more of them. Like they gives me that soft type of chemistry like “stable couple who’s been together forever” even with this whole mess going on 😅

I’m interested if this is their usual style? From OF and interviews I kind of feel that way. Also maybe you have suggestion for me from which of their show I shoud start?

Sorry for ranting here about it ❤️

everyone in my asks keeps apologizing for ranting, have you seen my posts?? you're good, darling, you're giving me a taste of my own medicine and it is DELICIOUS. gather ye round, it's ranting time <3

and yes!! they absolutely are like that. they've been friends since kindergarten and since reuniting for this weird job they have, they've only grown closer - they're basically an old married couple by now😂 book has even referred to themselves as husband and wife😂

my foray into forcebook was kind of similar: i plummeted right into a boss and a babe halfway through its airing, binged half of it and then started following along weekly. between one of those weeks, i shot-gunned enchante because i was so desperate for more of them😅

you probably want to go the more sane route and watch them in order instead (but still binge them between only friends episodes i guess haha). from the start they've been great actors and have had amazing chemistry, and they keep improving. so if you watch in order, you can see the progression of their talent. they're very passionate about their work and have continued with acting classes to this day. book especially has incredibly expressive eyes and force can say so much with just a facial expression, just like in the car scene💔

or you could choose the story that's more interesting to you and start with that one to leave you wanting more! or save the best for last🤔 hm, i might not be helping😅

in enchante we've got pining childhood friends reuniting (sounds familiar, huh?), slow burn, mystery and intrigue, staaaaring into each other's eyes, and shenanigans. and it's even better on the rewatch! don't read any spoilers!! i mean, you might figure it out (i did) but still!

in a boss and a babe, we've got a scandalous office romance that has more to do with homophobia in the workplace and loving each other despite what anyone thinks, rather than any sort of "power imbalance." it's got instant attraction, sexual awakenings, (not-so) subtextual kink, silly sound effects, and dark backstories.

and its our skyy 2 sequel episodes have them acting even more like an old (kinky) married couple!

of the two, a boss and a babe is my favorite, and force's character gun is one of my favorite characters ever, but i find myself coming back to both of them all the time.

forcebook know how to make their characters come alive and their connection feel so real, through intensely emotional, comedic, sexy, and sweet scenes. they're the whole package!

and the constant throughout is: snuggling🧡💙

thank you for loving forcebook! they really deserve it <3

(you see what i meant about ranting??😅😂)

[poor-sickies]

Could you do "arm in a sling" with Keith? Insisting he can still fight since he's ambidextrous and can use his sword with his uninjured arm just fine?

Read my post first! - TLDR: I'm releasing unfinished drafts!

Okay, we're starting with a good one! This was one of my favourite prompts, but I guess I never really finished it properly as I wanted.

My original concept (written back in 2018): It was a bad fight, and they come back at night, he's got a dislocated shoulder, broken radius, broken clavicle, cracked humerus, so his arm pretty much destroyed lmao, is in a sling and strapped to his chest. He spends the night in pain, until Coran digs up some painkillers to soothe the pain. Then he's bored and insists on training like that. Shiro says no, but finds him later in the training room, actually doing well. Shiro drags Keith away and sends him to Hunk, who is repairing Keith's lion. They kinda lay there, Hunk fixing the lion, Keith passing him the tools, and they have a heart to heart.

Comments (written now): So with this one my main goal was to have a cute scene with Keith and Hunk hanging out - because it was such a wholesome friendship, and I would have loved to see it more on the show. I have some stuff written with the two of them on other fics, but this one would probably be the more canon-ish setting I ever wrote (or tried to). Sadly, I did not get to write it :( I have a very clear picture of how they’d interact here - Hunk is repairing Red, and Keith, after breaking his arm, and just being unable to do much in general, feeling kinda groggy from painkillers, and after being dragged there by Shiro, sits with Hunk, helping him out, passing tools, while they’re both talking. But that’s the ending scene - of course I wanted to self indulge, and have some injury after care. So this all starts with Keith being treated in the infirmary by Shiro and Coran, and just having a really bad night. All while hating the hassle of recovery in general.

Well... have fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This should keep it stable enough," Coran says, adjusting the strap around Keith's torso.

At times like this, Shiro is immensely glad Coran has some sort of medical training. Cryopods were a blessing, of course, but with a war going on and damage to the ship happening this often, couldn't be operational all the time. Unfortunately, it always seemed like the worst time possible to have them down.

He makes a move to help Keith out of the infirmary bed, but Keith looks down, not wanting to go just yet, and frowns, tugging on the sling, eyeing it with discomfort.

And as much as Shiro agrees that yes, it does totally suck to wear a sling, this time it's undiscussable.

Keith had managed to break his collarbone, dislocate his shoulder, and break just about every bone you could break in an arm. A hairline fracture on his humerus, and a clean one right across his ulna and radius were enough to grant him some time in a sling by themselves, much more with his shoulder and clavicle in the state they were in.

And Keith surely understands the necessity, of course. The list of injuries was far more than usual, and all of it on his left arm.

That doesn't make him less grouchy.

"How long do I have to keep it like this?" He asks, his right hand pointing to the sling. It's dark blue, similar to the ones on earth, and goes over his shoulder, with an additional strap around his ribs, effectively restricting any kind of movement.

Shiro takes in how tired and dishevelled he looks, the pent up energy from the battle long gone, making him appear smaller and more fragile than usual.

"Not long if the cryopods go online soon," Coran says, back turned to them, as he tidies up the medical box.

"But without cryopods, a couple of weeks at the very least," Shiro warns him, apologetically.

Keith groans, as Shiro helps him out of the bed.

He's in pain, despite not wanting to admit it. He keeps his head down, and tries his best not to jostle his left side.

"I can get to my room alright, Shiro," Keith points out, with no real bite in his voice. He's too tired for it.

"I know," Shiro says, with a friendly (and careful) pat on his back, "just keeping you company on the way."

Keith doesn't say anything else until they get to his room.

His red jacket is still thrown across his bed, like he left it this afternoon, before the emergency beacon activated and he had to change into his armour with a half unusual rush.

Fortunately Shiro had brought one of his comfy t-shirts to the infirmary before Coran fitted his sling, or else the painful process would have to be repeated so he could change. But he was still using his under suit, the top part falling around his waist.

Shiro picks up his red paladin pyjama pants and gently asks if he needs help.

“I’m fine,” Keith mumbles, trying to push his under suit down. The stretchy material doesn’t move much, and Keith only manages to push it down to his mid thigh, before giving up with a frustrated sigh.

Shiro places the pair of pants in Keith's lap, and kneels in front of him, to pull at the ankles of the suit, letting it come out like a snake shedding skin.

Keith lets him put each of his legs in the red pyjama pants, and stands to pull them up clumsily.

"Thanks," he says, stifled and low.

"Try to get some sleep," Shiro advises as he tucks the sheets around him, "you need to rest. And call if you need anything."

Keith nods, shifting to the side a little to find a somewhat comfortable position.

He supposes it's in vain.

The first few hours go by in a haze. It's dark and silent, only the noise of rustling sheets as he moves. His arm aches, through his shoulder and collarbone, flaring up with pain every time he rolls over. He doesn't know what time it is, but it really makes no difference. It's not like he feels capable of getting up for anything either. The others are probably asleep by now, there are no cryopods available, and whatever medicine there is out there would probably kill him.

He tries counting sheep, breathing exercises, laying really still - but his body doesn't want to sleep.

Keith almost doesn't believe it when his clock reaches seven AM, Earth time, and he hasn't slept at all.

Shiro comes to check on him, before his morning workout. He's still in his sweatpants, the black ones with the lion slippers, and from his face, wasn't expecting to see him awake.

"You woke up early," he comments with a half smile, stepping inside, and sits on the bed, next to Keith. "How did you sleep?"

Keith chuckles, humourlessly, and he's so glad it's Shiro here and that he's able to be honest. "I didn't."

Shiro grimaces. "At all?"

"No."

Shiro moves closer, and sits on the edge of the mattress.

"How bad is the pain?" he asks, taking in the dark circles around Keith's eyes and the careful way he moves.

"Worse than usual," Keith admits. At this point, there's no point in hiding it. He feels terrible. His vision swims with exhaustion, and his arm throbs. Hell, he needs sleep, but how is he supposed to with his arm hurting like this?

Shiro shakes his head. "Well I'm gonna get Coran. You need painkillers and rest. You look terrible."

Keith doesn't argue this time, and lets Shiro cover him back with his blankets and tuck him in. The prospect of being able to sleep soon and having some pain relief brings him some comfort. He lays back and relishes in it.

Shiro doesn’t take long to come back, with two pills and a glass of water.

“Here,” Shiro says, “Coran said these don’t have many side effects, you’ll just feel a little lightheaded when you wake up. Just try to sleep, and call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks Shiro,” Keith mumbles tiredly, head back to the pillow. Shiro dims the lights and closes the door.

It’s four hours later when Keith wakes up again, confused and groggy, but his arm doesn’t hurt anymore. He sits up slowly, his balance a little thrown off with only one able arm, and rubs his eyes.

He shuffles slowly to the lounge, not caring about his hair probably sticking a various directions. He's not as tired anymore, but he still feels pretty off.

[fenharael]

15 questions tag

I was tagged by @girlvinland :) I tag @mrslittletall @moniesmonsters @bizzyfish and anyone else who wants to join!

Answers under cut.

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yes, my great-grandmother.

2. When was the last time you cried?

A few weeks ago. Pre-period + anticipatory grief.

3. Do you have kids?

No. I don’t really want kids, I think I am too selfish and there are other things I want to do. I don’t really want my identity to become “parent”, and I don’t want to be responsible for psychologically damaging a child, or having them grow up to hate me, or becoming a serial killer or something. I think that your child hating you or becoming an awful person would be too horrible. I would want them to have a good life and to be the best parent I could, I don’t think I could do it well enough. I definitely never want to be pregnant, it freaks me out a lot and sort of disturbs me conceptually. If I ever did have a kid I’d probably want to adopt one, and I’d want to be 100% financially secure and have no debt and own a house.

4. Do you use sarcasm?

Yeah, when it feels appropriate or funny.

5. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Their general sense of style. Usually what outfit they are wearing, jewelry, hairstyle, shoes…etc.

6. What is your eye color?

Brown :B

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

It depends on my mood. I guess I like ambiguous endings for the most part, or bittersweet endings.

8. Any special talents?

I’m pretty good at copying things. Like certain sounds, melodies, or art styles. I’ve never really tried to imitate a writing style before so idk if I can. I had a piano teacher who said I might have perfect pitch, but I think it was just the ability to mimic something I already heard.

9. Where were you born?

The Unholy Swamp

10. What are your hobbies?

Art, writing, video games. I did figure skating for a little while but I stopped because I don’t have access to a rink anymore and it was pretty expensive.

11. Do you have any pets?

I have two kitties :)

12. What sports do you play/have you played?

I did sports roulette throughout pre-school and grade school…soccer, tennis, swimming, figure skating, ballet, gymnastics. None of them really stuck except when I wandered back into skating for a while. I’d honestly like to learn pole dancing in place of it, it looks really fun and like a more engaging way to exercise.

13. How tall are you?

5’3” 😔

14. Favorite subject in school?

Art, English, History, Biology. I was planning on going into medical illustration but I ended up going to a different college because they gave me more scholarship money lol.

15. Dream job?

When I was little I wanted to be an animator at Pixar, now I don’t really know. I’ve sort of been trying to worm myself into Art Direction, but I feel like I’m just getting more specialized in UX/UI for enterprise level systems… which is sort of boring, but it’s predictable. I’ve been sort of waffling for the past few years about going back to grad school for Art Conservation, but from the research I’ve done I need a lot of chemistry prerequisites to even apply and there are only 4 schools in North America that are accredited. So I’ve sort of just…stagnated on it because I’m a weenie. I’m sort of at the point where I’m like: “should I just stay at my boring, stable job and use my free time for what I’m currently doing? Is just fucking around and having silly fun fulfilling enough? Who am I, What do I want” etc etc and then get into the Identity Mirror Spiral lol

[beastenraged]

Luxu is a character that was assigned to be a faceless observer of the narrative. Player is a faceless observer who forced themselves into the narrative.

How would you write the two meetings?

If they meet, it is outside the pages of history.

If they speak, their words go unrecorded.

Such a meeting would never be known by the statutes of what we call ‘canon,’ if it ever did occur in the first place. 

Luxu is not entirely sure what brings him here, to this place full of Light and sea. Destiny Islands, the locals call it, and it is a World that remains stable through the cycles of Light and Dark the rest of the Worlds involve themselves in. 

Much like Scala ad Caelum, actually. A place to remain the same, so history may take place. So the future can happen. 

“Hello. Market Day isn’t until next week.”

He turns to catch a figure moving towards, stumbling through the sands. Luxu calls them a ‘figure’ because there’s something...lacking about the blue cloak that covers every inch of skin. Lacking in gender, at least, man or woman. 

Or even the thought of something in between those binaries so many people demand. Much like Luxu himself, actually, no matter how he uses ‘he/him’ for his own convenience. (Or the convenience of others...?)

The truth, as always, is far more complicated. 

“I’m not here for whatever you sell here.”

The figure pauses. “Oh?”

“No.” What possesses him to say what he does next...could it be Darkness itself? “I’m here from outside this World.”

“Oh. Oh. Which one? Are you from...?” The figure hesitates. So different from every sure movement they’ve made so far, even the ones that have almost got them tumbled over onto the beach shells. 

“Before? Are you a Dandelion?”

Luxu can’t help the jerk at hearing that from this stranger. A Dandelion? As far as he knows, no other made it out past the Union Leaders he observed. None were awake to run. Excepting...

“You’re that kid. The extra. The one who wasn’t supposed to be a Dandelion.”

The figure’s stance hardens, shoulders stiffening up. “...you must be Luxu.”

Luxu. Luxu. How do they know that name. 

“You know what, I didn’t think the Foretellers went around babbling about little old me to their kids,” Luxu remarks, as casual as he can fake it. 

The figure hesitates. “No. They didn’t. But. I asked. And you aren’t any of the others, I saw happened to them and the Foretellers...so you must be Luxu.”

Luxu claps. “Excellent reasoning! What’s your name?”

“My name? Oh. It’s ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛.”

Nothing but static. Just like-

The figure laughs, a little. “Yeah, I can’t tell anyone my name now. I guess it’s the price for...what I did.”

They fake a casual shrug, mimicking Luxu’s own gesture from earlier. “Nothing to worry about, I don’t really talk to people much these days. So what are you doing here, Luxu?”

“Just taking a look at this place for myself. So...what did you think about becoming a Dandelion?” Luxu asks, genuinely curious. He never got a chance to talk to any of the Union Leaders about this, outside of Brain, and Brain always refused to say anything about that time in the dataworld. 

So what answer will this stranger provide?

“You know, the Dandelions plan was an awful one,” the figure says. Looking out to the horizon, not meeting Luxu’s eyes. “We should have stayed and helped each other, not been...pitted against each other. I did what I did to save Ephemer and everyone else...but it was wrong. Whoever came with that...”

A gloved hand pulled into a tight fist. 

“They were wrong. I hate them, for what they did to everyone. Isn’t that awful?”

This nobody can’t say that about the Master’s plan. The Master that Luxu has sacrificed everything and everyone for. 

(He’ll make this hurt.)

“Your friends are gone,” Luxu draws out, relishing every flinch the stinging message nets him. “They are gone and you will never see them again. You’re going to die before they will, don’t you know? And you won’t see them...” 

Because Dark things don’t get to move on. And this person before is full of Dark. 

(Just like Luxu himself.)

The figure stands still. As still as the fixed positions of the stars in the skies. 

"You can't bring them back."

Luxu pauses in his step. Of course he can't bring them back, that's what the plan is for-

"You'll have changed and they won't have. You can't bring back what you had," the other repeats.

He turns just enough to meet a yellowish eye staring at him, from under that blue hood. 

“Just what you said, about my friends being gone? Yours are, too. You just don’t know it yet.”

Luxu can’t speak, he can’t even move- as those damning words continue. 

“I got a chance to grow up beyond ‘a role.’ But you?” Those yellow tinted eyes hold the worst emotion of all, as they look at him: understanding. “You’ve never had that chance.”

“I...” Luxu swallows. He doesn’t need to breathe, he’s never had to before. But something about this place, this person, leaves his useless lungs struggling to be filled. 

“No offense, but I hope we never meet again.”

“...that sounds like a good idea,” Luxu makes out. 

The figure looks out to the sea. When they look back, Luxu is gone. Just them. Them and...

“Baba, baba! Look, I found a starfish!” The patter of small feet, bright silver eyes excited. A pink starfish held up, over a small white-haired head. 

They chuckle at their child’s enthusiasm. “Very nice, Xehanort. But don’t forget to put it back in the sea, okay?”

Xehanort nods solemnly, every inch of his six years. “I won’t. I promise, I’ll put every starfish back!”

“I know you will. I know.”

[sanchoi21]

When Dreams Meet Reality

Ash Ketchum Vampire x Reader Part Two

WARNING: Mentions of Sex and alcohol. Mostly fluff but heavily suggestive. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

You always found some red roses or blue lilies which are only found deep in forest kept outside your doorstep. First it was once a week but soon it started everyday. You were thrilled to see them on first day since it was something new to you. But as it continued to occur often it just confirmed your intuition about who it might be. Indeed it has to be that hot vampire named Ash that you met a few days prior. You were genuinely moved by his efforts to bring you your favorite flowers everyday without even you noticing him. He was scared to come openly to you so he did such stuff. You decided that it's enough and you need to capture your little admirer. So that night you decided to stay up and keep a watch on front door. You soon spotted him in his black hood and this time daisies in his arms. You ran downstairs slowly opening the door and coming out.

Y/n: Hello there, my admirer! How have you been?

Ash: I missed you a lot Y/n. Whenever I came you were fast asleep so I didn't feel like waking you up.

He said with a small sad smile. He still looked ethereal anyways. You took a step closer and hugged him tightly. He blushed at the contact and returned the gesture.

When you both were immersed in each other's presence you didn't notice the front door opening. Your father came outside and harshly pulled you apart from Ash earning a gasp from you and a blood cuddling look from Ash.

Y/f/n: Y/n who's this man you are with, at this time of night? Are you dating? You didn't even consider telling your parents about it! I guess you have a lot of time up your sleeves other than helping us! From tomorrow you are grounded and I'll marry you to the son of my friend soon enough. Atleast his dad will give us some money and you will be useful for once...

Before he could say anything or hurt you any further, Ash grabbed your other hand and freed you from him. He had the most dangerous look in his eyes, something you never knew would be seen on such a cute boy's face.

Ash: Excuse me sir, but your daughter likes me and you can't just force her to marry against her will.

Y/f/n: Ohh! Ofcourse I can! And who are you to stop me? I didn't raise her to get wasted on some guy like you!

Saying this you father took a farm tool which was fallen nearby and lunged towards Ash. You tried to protect Ash by hugging him and waited for the blow to come but it never did. Surprised you gazed up at Ash who had stopped your father's blow with his bare hands. Blood dripped from his wound onto you. You were terrified to see the love of your life bleeding like this, so you took action. You took the tool from Ash and pulled it out of your dad's hand and threw it away.

Y/n: Dad I had enough of your torture. I am feed up now! You won't even let me breathe. I don't want to stay here anymore as today I lost all the reason. You never even considered me as your daughter and now you want to sell me off for some marriage. NEVER!! I am leaving. I want to find my happiness too. So don't ever find me dad. Thankyou for making me go through all such shits up until now.

Y/f/n: Y/n wait?!! I am terribly sorry! Please don't leave us!!

You paid no attention to your father's cries as you knew little to well that those were pure lies. You quickly took the chance and grabbed Ash's hand and ran towards the stable where your horse was there. Your horse was the one who always helped you escape towards the forest when you were tired. It was a female who couldn't reproduce so your dad hated her and had given her to you as she was useless to him. So without any regret you quickly untied her and climbed on her, signaling Ash to do the same. He too climbed on her and you quickly took the rims and drove your horse towards the forest.

Your dad tried to chase you with other horse but he couldn't as your horse was fastest runner unbeknownst to him and both of you knew all the secret passages of this forest.

Ash was surprised by your boldness but for timebeing he decided to keep quite as you both moved forward.

After coming deep in woods you realized that Ash had grabbed onto you very tightly from behind. It made your face heated and you got butterflies. Ash guided you towards his castle and you were awestruck by it's massiveness and surprisingly comforting aura. You both reached towards the gate as it opened itself for it's master. You tied your horse in her new stable where Ash had his male horse. Good that they both accepted each others by nuzzling their noses.

Ash took you inside his castle which was lit up by dim candles which caste shadows in hallways. It was eerie but beautiful. As you wondered on how beautiful and well kept this place was despite Ash being the only one living here. He must be lonely you thought. Once you both reached the dining hall, Ash pulled a chair for you and asked you to sit. He soon came out with a bowl of hot ramen and served you. You were surprised from where he got it. Before you could ask he answered.

Ash: Look Y/n.... I was going to kidnap you today. As I really had enough of being without you. I am really very sorry for that. So I had my maids prepare something for you to eat beforehand, so you wont be hungry later.

Hearing his honest reply you were surprised and flustered knowing he cared so much for you. You composed yourself and replied.

Y/n: Ash it's ok you don't have to be sorry. And thankyou for caring so much for me. I am genuinely moved. But what about you won't you eat anything??

Ash: Yes I am also having it. (He said smiling cutely.)

Y/n: A-Ash w-what about your hand? We need to apply some medicine to it! It was a deep cut after all.

Ash: Y/n look it's almost completely healed. Don't worry about it. Did you forgot that I am a vampire after all! (He said cheekily.)

You shook your head saying.

Y/n: I know Ash. But it still hurts right?? So what if you can heal yourself, pain is still unavoidable. So from now on rely on me too to make you comfortable and safe. Thankyou for saving me but I think now that we are together we should share pain too rather than bearing it alone.

You said smiling warmly, to which Ash looked dazed and surprised as he blushed mouthing a simple "OK".

You both sat and had dinner together. Ash took you to your room saying that you can stay with him from now on and ask for anything you want to which you gladly agreed.

Once you got to your room you showered with all of your today's frustration washing out. Ash prepared some clothes for you which were surprisingly a perfect fit for you. You wore them and came downstairs to see Ash sitting on a couch in front of fire place. The fire were making cracking sounds with orange light spreading throughout the living room casting warm shadows. You made your way towards Ash who was lost in reading an old book in his hand. He still hasn't noticed your presence as you back hugged him. He flinched a little but soon gave in and smiled softly at you questioning why you aren't asleep yet. You didn't reply and just mindlessly started playing with his soft raven hair. It's being so long since you felt so calm and warm. Ash turned you so you are facing him and he hugged you snuggling into your chest. He felt comfortable and warm in your arms. He felt complete and felt that his long lost warmth has returned back to him now. You both just sat there next to each other, basking in each others presence, gazes and comforting touches.

You took gestured Ash to lie down on your lap. To which he gladly complied and layed on your lap. You gently stroked his head and moved his raven locks out of is handsome face. Soon he drifted to sleep, watching him sleep also somehow comforted you and you too, rested your head on the backrest of couch and eventually slept.

Next morning you both woke up with you sore bodies from sleeping in uncomfortable positions. But you found yourself on top of Ash straddling him as your face was inches apart. He quickly stole a kiss from you smirking after seeing your heated reaction. But to his surprise you kissed him back, harder this time and he too gave in. After pulling away Ash mouthed you a "Good Morning" in his rough morning voice which was oddly very attractive.

You both got up and did your morning routines with later in day Ash introducing you as the Lady of the House to the maids and other staff managing the estate. As his people deeply cared for Ash they didn't quickly accept you a stranger into their household but soon enough after knowing your true nature they too warmed up to you and accepted you as the next Lady of House after Ash's late mother. Though you will be official Lady of House after marrying to Ash.

You and Ash spent a lot of time together while having fun or managing the estate together. It was a lot of work for Ash alone but now that you were by his side it was a lot easier and the household soon was back to it's glory days after decades of sadness. You had truly lit up Ash's life in the similar way he had filled yours with light too.

Soon the day of your wedding came. You wore a beautiful red wedding gown and walked down the aisle with Ash's butler ho was now a fatherly figure to you. Ash looked gorgeous in his red tuxedo.

You both stared at each other in awe of the other's beauty.

The Priest: So do you Mr. Ash and Ms. Y/n take each other to be your partner for the rest of life and to be with them in sickness and health till death do you apart.

Ash: I do.

Y/n: I do.

The Priest: So now I proclaim you as husband and wife under the blessings of our God. Groom may kiss the bride.

Ash swiftly pulls you close by the waist and gently kisses you on the lips. You kiss him back melting into each others kisses as you can hear cheers from the audience.

The day passes by with you and Ash greeting the guests, toasting champagne and later having dinner too. By the end of the day you are both tired and want to be alone together. So Ash sneaks you both out and towards your bedroom.

The bedroom is lit by dim scented candles and rose petals and flowers all around. It's truly beautiful.

Y/n: Ash you did this??

Ash: No, actually I just asked for something nice but I guess our maids a little too much for us. I am also surprised.

Y/n: They really do care about us Ash.

Ash: I never noticed it before I met you but you are right they always have cared about me since I was a child. Thanks for making me realize it.

You just smiled warmly at him.

Ash sneaked up on you when you were removing your jewelery and helped you get out of the wedding gown. You also helped him get out of his tuxedo.

Ash: So Y/n are you ready to be a vampire like me and stay with me forever??

Y/n: Yes I guess now I am ready! But you told me there was a different ritual to make me into one of you.

Ash: There are two ways one is o let you drink my blood, but that isn't classic or rather what I want,

Y/n: Then what is??

He said chucking deeply with a devilish smirk plastered on his face.

Ash: It's a way exclusive to couples.

Y/n: W-what is it?

Ash: Me biting you and drinking your blood while I am buried deep inside you.

You gasped at the sudden realization of what he was suggesting and flushed red. You also wanted him, but this was way sudden and his change in demeanor from cute to hot made you go feral.

Y/n: Fine by me! Take me Ash and make me one one with you forever.

Saying this you pulled Ash into a deep kiss as you both let yourselves drown into each other. You both succumbed to your desires which you had kept hidden from yourselves as well as each other. You let it all out, marking and claiming the other as yours.

The next morning when you woke up, you could feel the emmence pain in your legs, soreness and hickeys all over your body. Ash sure was a natural and that too extremely good at it, so it technically isn't your fault that you can't help but ask for more. You saw Ash still sleeping beside you now that he looked so innocent nothing like his self last night. You kissed his forehead earning a hum and a "Good Morning" from him.

Ash: Y/n are you ok?? Do you feel weird? Does it hurt anywhere???

You giggled softly.

Y/n: Yeah it hurts a bit but I am fine really, and happy to at that. As I got you all for myself last night.

You chuckle at him with your new fangs now visible to Ash. He blushes slightly as he recollects yesterday's events and hugs you tightly promising to never let go. As you both wonder just how exciting and lively you future together will be.

[viilpstick]

Girl idk what's happening I'm insane lately

•••

"We're quite similar, I fear." Vil suddenly said as he sat down on a couch inside Ramshackle dorm, observing his girlfriend and Daisy preparing food on their own, joking around and talking to themselves. He smiled.

"Sorry, ya talking to me?" Ruggie pointed to himself in disbelief, opting to stand just in case Daisy or Yuuna needed help with anything — or to snatch food, whichever one came first. "I don't follow."

"I do pride myself in knowing my worth, after all, as a celebrity, I kind of have to. In your own words: time is money." Vil explained further, his eyes moving to look at his underclassman. "But I think we can both agree they deserve better than us."

"Yeah, right. I don't have anything against you, Vil, but we both know that ain't true when it comes to you and Yuuna." Ruggie rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and resting on a wall as he looked at Daisy smiling and laughing. "I'm no celebrity, no prince, I don't even have a stable life. I don't quite understand why she chose me. I--"

"Don't even have the time to spend with her?" The blonde asked, catching Ruggie's attention as his ear twitched. Vil looked at the ground, a bit melancholic. "I can't even count the amount of times I didn't properly talk to her or held her... I'm always too busy with my career."

Ruggie stayed quiet for a moment and Vil assumed he was thinking about his words. The hyena beastman sighed deeply and frowned slightly.

"It's been weeks since I wasn't able to properly sit down and talk to her."

"Yet she still claims to love you just the same."

They looked at each other for a while and Ruggie gave his signature laugh, Vil arched an eyebrow.

"who would've thought I'd have something in common with a rich celebrity." Vil chuckled at that.

"I guess that's not our only similarity. We're both wrapped around the finger of two magicless girls." He said and Ruggie hummed. "I'm just glad it's you and not anyone else. Someone else might've not understand my struggle."

"Nah, we're on the same boat. Though don't expect me to help you with Yuuna. I'll only ever do anything if I get something in return." Vil thought he had finished, until he added: "or if Daisy asks."

"Of course."

Truly, despite their radical different lives, both Vil Schoenheit and Ruggie Bucchi felt unworthy of their partners' love. Feeling, and sometimes fully believing, that they would never be enough for them, that the time they spent away and how they were compared to others were extremely detrimental to the girls.

Thankfully, their similarities laid not only in their insecurities, but in the unconditional love of their lovers. They could doubt all they wanted, the girls weren't going anywhere.

They would stay. For them.

*lays down. cries.*

THIS IS FREAKING ADORABLE!!! VIL AND RUGGIE NEED TO BE FREINDS. IN NEED INTERACTION- YANA. YOU HEARD ME.

[my-head-is-an-animal]

Problems With The Heart

Greg House x Dr Anna Harding (OFC)

Story Masterlist

Chapter 8 - Tritter’s end

Wilson wasn’t exactly sure of the ins and outs, but it seemed that the second Anna found out Tritter was the cop behind it all, a fury took hold like nothing he’d ever seen and apparently like nothing House had ever seen. They had been in Cuddy’s office with House and Anna had needed permission to do a procedure on a patient. The second she saw him, their faces changed.

‘Anna, so good to see you.’ He smirked.

‘You two know each other?’ Cuddy asked, but House gave Wilson a look that said they needed to step back and let Anna do her thing.

‘When did discharge papers mean you don’t show the proper respect to your superiors?’ Anna growled and House took a seat, staying quiet. Tritter didn’t move and he could tell from Anna’s face that she didn’t really expect him to. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Just putting balance back into the world.’ He said, a hint of something Wilson couldn’t identify behind his eyes, was it fear? Surely not.

‘Balance?’ Anna’s hands were shaking, she was furious. ‘You want to talk about balance? I’m assuming your commanding officer hasn’t been informed of your previous employment, shall I go and have a quick word?’

‘And tell him what?’

Anna strode right up to the towering man, but even he seemed to want to step back. ‘The difference is, I have the scar to prove it, you just have your word.’ Her voice was low and growling. ‘I’m assuming you’re the one I’ve been hearing about? You want to go to court or make a deal?’

‘Deals are off the table for him.’

‘You’re not making a deal with him, you’re making it with me!’ Anna yelled, Tritter immediately stepped back. Anna took a calming breath. ‘Okay, here’s the deal, Dr House, Dr Wilson and pretty much this entire hospital is under my protection. I will stop at nothing to see that they are kept in positions to do their jobs to the very best of their ability. Dr House will undertake four weeks in a rehab facility, you will drop all the charges, you will unfreeze accounts, you will return whatever property you have taken and you will find a different hospital to get treatment for any ailment you may have in the future. Those are the terms.’

Tritter thought for a moment. ‘What if is say no?’

Anna paused for a moment, her knuckles were white and her whole body was shaking. ‘I will destroy everything you have.’ She whispered, lowly. Even Wilson was terrified, he’d never seen this side to Anna before. ‘I told you the world would get smaller if I was angry with you, this is your final chance to put the past behind you. If you don’t, it’s not just a few scars that will prove what really happened.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Reports are only as good as the people who write them. But footage doesn’t lie.’

That seemed to be the one thing that got through to him, made him step back.

‘You don’t have access to any footage.’ He said, calling her bluff.

‘I think the question remains, are you willing to bet your life on that?’ Anna looked like she was on her last stable nerve. ‘You have twenty-four hours to make things right, you won’t get another chance to do so.’

Tritter eventually left and Anna turned to House.

‘Four weeks, do it for me.’ She said. House was reluctant, but he nodded and looked down at the floor.

‘Anna-‘ Cuddy went to say.

‘I just need the procedure approved. We’ve exhausted all other options.’ She said, still shaking.

‘Sure.’ Cuddy nodded and Anna spun on her heel to leave.

No one knew what to do, even House remained quiet.

‘She knows him.’ Wilson said, breaking the silence. ‘How?’

‘I don’t know.’ House seemed genuinely in the dark about it.

‘You must know something. People like Tritter don’t just back down to anyone and Anna doesn’t get that angry for no reason.’ Wilson pushed.

House stood up and sighed. ‘Guess I should check myself in upstairs.’ He said and left.

Cuddy just looked to Wilson who was just as clueless. They’d spent god knows how long arguing about everything and it ended with one word from Anna.

Wilson found his accounts had been unfrozen, he had access to his money again and his car had been returned. He wandered up to Anna’s office a week later to thank her.

‘No need.’ She didn’t even look up from her screen, but she did sigh, knowing he’d need a little more than that. ‘All you need to know is this: soldiers do nasty things to nasty people, I save nasty people’s lives. It’s no wonder I don’t sleep at night when men like him are still here because of my actions.’

‘He was a soldier?’ Wilson frowned. ‘I thought he’d been a cop for twenty years?’

‘He was part time soldier, sent out as reinforcements when I was doing my last tour,’ Anna sat back. ‘Our two units were working together, I was working to keep everyone alive. He abused that and one of his men died because of it. It’s all you need to know.’

She got back to work and Wilson realised that was the end of the conversation. He didn’t push the subject and instead just got back to work.

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