#i had a lovely breakfast and got to hang out with both of my siblings and two of my closest friends

[kansasjustgotgayer]

Doing homework is actually against my religion as a hedonist so I’ll need that added to my list of accommodations thank you

[supercutszns]

twin beads | luke castellan

wc + pairing: 6.7k, luke x daughter of poseidon! reader

synopsis: you’ve been unclaimed for five years. you’ve loved your best friend even longer. the sea used to be your greatest solace, but after percy jackson comes to camp, it’s your cruelest reminder. (based on this ask!)

warnings: best friends to lovers <3, percy/reader sibling dynamic, fluff and angst then fluff again, hurt/comfort, shameless making out. sorry this one is so long but besties to lovers is my lifeblood!!! i get so attached!! designated song is true blue by boygenius:)

i. you said you wanted to feel alive, so we went to the beach

“Ahoy, sailor!”

The familiar voice ricochets across the lake. You turn, leaving glimmers of sun behind you as you stare back at the docks of Camp Half-Blood. An orange blob with a curly mop of hair is beckoning you. You laugh, wave back at him, and plunge into the water. It cools your face after staying above the surface for so long—you just love watching the light reflected off the waves. But the second you’re under the water, the soreness in your muscles, the heat on your face, the exhaustion from treading for so long, are washed away from you. You swim with precision and vigor, relishing the feel of the river cupping your limbs to spur you forward. Not to sound lame, but you fucking love swimming. 

But maybe not as much as you love your best friend. 

He laughs when your head pops out of the water at the edge of the dock. “Wow, that took you longer than usual,” he teases, brown eyes glinting in the dawn. “You getting sloppy?”

You huff, splashing some water up at him but it barely touches him. “I’m tired, you moron. I’ve been out there for an hour.”

Luke leans down at the edge of the dock, offering you a hand. His face is bemused when you latch onto him, and with a good flex of his bicep he pulls you up. “All right, c’mon,” he grunts.

All your energy evaporates the second your body’s out of the water. You’re far too lazy to be graceful, so you sprawl out onto the dock like a dying fish, letting the sun kiss every inch of you. “Eww,” Luke giggles overtop you, prodding your side with the tip of his shoe. “Get up, you mermaid.” 

“Make me, you mailman.”

Your arm drapes over your eyes, and you sigh. There really is nothing better than these moments; droplets of water soaking into your skin after an early morning swim, your best friend right beside you. 

He keeps nudging you with your shoe, over and over until your ribs start to hurt. You groan, swatting him away and stretching out your limbs with a groan, letting them pop and relax, until you blearily make your way to your feet. 

“You forgot your towel again,” Luke condones, but like always, he’s brought one for you. 

He goes through a practiced routine of drying you off, wrapping the towel around your shoulders and down your arms, across your back, scrunching the water out of your hair. It doesn’t matter how cold the water gets—this part always makes you warm. 

“Thanks,” you smile as he hands the towel off to you. “Anything interesting happen this morning, O Captain, my captain?”

“Not yet, sailor, sir,” he replies in a stuffy, gruff voice the two of you have joked around with since you were kids. “Just grabbing you for breakfast.”

You giggle, following him past the docks and to the shore. Once you’ve grabbed all your stuff, you both fall in stride and head towards your cabin, your twin five-beaded necklaces hanging over your shirts. 

Five years ago, when you got to Camp for the first time, you were as big a loser as any. You were bad at everything—everything—and had no real friends until you accidentally whacked some other friendless loser in the head with an oar when you were about to go canoeing. Luke got mad at you, but his little sister Annabeth was even more furious. He offered to be your partner for the day anyway. You’ve been partners ever since. 

Over the years the two of you have grown in status at the camp, more so Luke than you. He’s an excellent cabin leader and by far the greatest swordsman in camp. You, still unclaimed, have found solace in giving younger campers swimming lessons and wading out there on your own till you get sunstroke. (It’s happened a few times. Luke is never pleased, but also refuses to let the Apollo campers take care of you. He nurses you back to health with ice cream and horrible gossip.)

But every night you return to the Hermes cabin with a hollowness in your chest. One bunk emptied, then immediately filled. You’ve had the same one for five years, and the only condolence is that it’s right next to Luke’s, and sometimes you spend hours at night making faces at each other till your laughter endangers other people’s sleep. 

Yes, you love the water at Camp Half-Blood, but you love Luke most. 

Rumours of a new kid are rustling at camp. You haven’t seen him, but you’re just dying to get in on the gossip. Apparently he slayed a minotaur. Apparently Annabeth has seen him. And apparently he’s unclaimed. You hate to admit it, but this is the most exciting news you’ve heard in weeks!

Your afternoon is spent giving some swimming lessons and taking some Demeter campers canoeing. (Some of them freak out on the water. so it’s a nice challenge to untangle the sea plants they get hooked around their boat.) It feels like you’ve been here forever. A break is in desperate demand right now. 

You have no idea what kind of God heard your prayers, but your fellow counsellor has an unimpressed look on her face when she taps you on the shoulder and goes, “Your friend’s calling you.” 

The way she says it is almost degrading. You turn to look back at the shore to see the dark curly hair you’d spot a mile away. Next to him is a much shorter orange blob, shuffling awkwardly as Luke attempts to flag you down. Score!

You shoot an apologetic look at her. “Uh … I’ll be right back.” You wince, already disposing of your baggy orange shirt (it’s Luke’s) with your bathing suit underneath. 

“No you won’t,” she says dryly. “Just go.”

You flash a smile you hope is loaded with charm, and you’re off into water. As you swim, the only thing on your mind is I really really hope that’s the new kid, and I wonder what Luke’s face looks like right now. (He’s probably grinning, eyes crinkled at the sides as he tries to follow your figure beneath the waves. Maybe he’s doing that cute thing where his head tilts to the side as he watches.) 

When you’re close enough to the shore, you come out of the water, wringing your hair. “Hey, guys!” It’s Luke, Chris, and some blonde kid you’re sure is the new one. “What’s up?”

Luke is about to say something, then he frowns. “Where’s my shirt?”

“Left it in the canoe, I’ll go back for it later,” you reply, limply gesturing behind you. 

“And where’s your towel?”  

“Okay, I did bring one this time!” You counter. “I just gave it to a little Ares kid ‘cause she forgot hers.” 

Luke clicks his tongue, shakes his head at you, but of course he’s got one in his hands so what’s the worry? He’s endearingly amused when you take the cloth and dry yourself off, and the new boy, having watched this all raptly, widens his eyes and drawls, “Ohhhh, so you’re his gi—”

“This is Camp’s resident mermaid, Percy.” Chris butts in, adding your name almost as an afterthought. 

After you fasten your towel around you, you’re put off by Percy’s scrutinizing stare. “Look, it’s been a pretty weird day so I cannot tell if you’re joking or not.” 

“I’m not a mermaid,” you snipe, throwing Chris a dirty look. “People just call me that because I give swimming lessons here.” You stick your hand out to the blonde boy. “Nice to meet you, Percy.” 

He gives a polite nod, a little awkward. “Right back at ya.” The two of you study each other as you shake. He’s young, probably about twelve, a smatter of freckles across his face. His eyes look like the lake. Something itches in the back of your brain. There’s a moment where the shake is suspended, neither of you have let go but are no longer actively holding on, and you see it in his face that he’s studying you, too. Huh.

The conversation continues as normal, but you almost start to feel queasy for a second. “We’re trying to find something Percy’s good at,” Luke says with a pat on Percy’s shoulder. “You got any ideas?”

“Yes, please, because I really would like to have a word with my father,” Percy clips. “Is Glory, like, purely a skill thing or can I get some if I tie someone else’s shoes or something?” 

“I don’t have shoes,” you add unhelpfully. 

“It’s okay, dude,” Luke squeezes Percy’s shoulder. “Camp is great, no matter where you end up.”

Even if you’re like her, he means without saying. Even if you don’t end up anywhere. 

You meet Luke’s eyes. This is a kid that wants so badly to meet his father, to ease the ache inside him. You are the absolute worst person for this. One of the longest current unclaimed streaks and your ache remains. To Percy, you’re the biggest example of a failure there is, and Luke is only just now realizing it. 

“Maybe try the infirmary?” You pipe, shuffling back and forth on the sand. “You might have a knack for medicine.”

“Doubt it,” Percy swallows. “But yeah, okay. Who’s your parent, again?”

Percy can’t see it, but Luke and Chris send you a shifty look and all you can do is widen your eyes to be like, Help! Don’t make me crush his dreams! I don’t want another kid to hate me! 

You swallow. No matter how fast you think, you cannot come to a logical sentence. “I, uh—”

Just then, in another stroke of luck (wow, that’s two more than usual) an Athena counsellor that looks insanely disgruntled is running towards you. “Stolls put spiders in our cabin again,” he heaves once at a stop. “Please get rid of them.”

“Can’t you just squash ‘em?” Percy asks. 

“Not the spiders, the twins.” 

Chris is already nodding, but Luke looks to you first. He’s anxious, disappointed. You wish you could smooth out the creases in his brow with your thumb. “Don’t worry,” you stretch out a smile. “I’ll chill with Percy. It won’t take you guys too long.”

He’s still hesitant. You’re not sure this is a good call either. But he reaches out, quickly squeezes your shoulder and mutters, “Thank you.” Your skin feels gooey when he touches it. 

His signature roguish smile returns as he looks back to Percy. The side of his face is shadowed by the sun so well it makes you jealous. “Don’t give her a hard time, eh?” He reprimands playfully. 

Percy smiles a little. “I’ll try not to.”

You are once again reminded just how easy it is to love Luke. How effortlessly he moves into your heart. It happened to you after you slapped him with an oar. It’s already happening to Percy.

You’re sure he won’t like you nearly half as much. 

After Luke and Chris leave, Percy resigns to staring out at the campers canoeing on the lake. Maybe now is a good time to admit you’re not good with kids. Luke has tried many times to make you his welcome partner, but you can’t take to the role nearly as well. You’re perpetually antsy. And sweaty. 

“So, what cabin are you a part of that lets you do this all day?” Percy asks, squinting against the sun. 

Your heart gets heavy. With a sigh, you sit yourself down, and Percy soon follows. “Hermes, actually,” you say as casually as you can. 

Percy goes pale as a sheet. “Uh, what?”

“I’m unclaimed,” you clarify. “I don’t … I don’t have a parent.”

There’s always a pitiful pause whenever a camper figures that out. This one is somehow … clunkier. “Oh,” Percy says. “Oh. Okay, that makes sense. For a second I thought—phew.” Then his eyes trail down to the thread hooked around your fingers, the five beads you run your thumb over. “How long have you been here?”

“Five long, blissful years,” you hum dryly. 

Water ripples over pebbles on the shore. Every new camper’s ambition is eroded by the truth you represent. Percy’s no different. His brows furrow and his face falls. “And you’ve never been claimed?” He asks, and you can feel the noxious mix of pity, confusion and despair laced beneath it. 

You shake your head, watching some Demeter kids splashing each other’s canoes with their oars. “Nope. But it’s not so bad. I like my cabin, you know? I like my life. Doesn’t really matter who your parents are anyway, I think. You do the same activities as everyone else, just on different teams.”

“But doesn’t it make you mad?”

“It used to,” you shrug, “But not anymore. It’s just …” You sigh, rolling a bead against your thumb. “If I’m unclaimed, I’m unclaimed. That’s the way it is. You can’t force the Gods to do anything.” 

“That’s what Luke said,” Percy remarks, almost bitterly. 

“I’m a rare case though, Percy,” you half-lie to him, nudging him a bit with your shoulder. “You’ll get claimed. It’s your first day. And until then you’re kind of free to be whatever. You don’t have to fit into anything, which is kinda nice, and you can screw around as much as you want and nobody can really get mad at you ‘cause you’re new.” A smile rises on your face. “And I heard you killed a minotaur, so you’ve already got some cool points.”

His face screws up in a grimace, and it makes you laugh. “Oh joy, cool points. Can’t live without those.”

Okay, maybe you’re not bad with kids. Maybe you’re just bad with boring kids. Because this is going decent, right? 

“What if I don’t get claimed, though?” Percy asks after a moment, a vulnerable note eclipsing him. It resonates inside your chest. You pause for a moment, heaving a loaded breath. 

“Do you fart a lot in your sleep?”

His melancholy pauses. He looks at you like you’ve grown another head. “Uh … what? No? I think?”

“Then you can take the bunk above mine if you want. It’s empty now,” you say. “And if you’re never claimed you can come swimming with me, and we can find seashells to put under Luke’s pillow every night until he starts thinking they’ve always been there.”

Percy blinks. “Do you have any friends?”

“Yes, and I’m going to torture him until I die. Cabin eleven is oodles of fun, Percy, you’ll see!”

He looks a little horrified. “Luke said I was going to like you,” he mutters. “I … am not sure if he’s right.”

Oh, well. You’ll take it. 

ii. you can't help but become the sun

You can’t sleep, and Luke knows it. His eyes burn into the side of your face as you stare up at your bunk. You sneak him a look. He smiles ruefully. Sweeping his arm up from beneath his covers, a makeshift tent is formed next to him. He nods to you. Before you know it, you’ve abandoned your own bed, taking a single step until you skirt into the pocket of his mattress Luke has carved for you. He lets the sheets fall, cocooning you with him the way he always does. 

You’ve been sharing beds on occasion for years. One of you gets cold, has a nightmare, or wants to talk until your mind fades out, the only solution is a place next to each other. Whispers against cheeks, giggles muffled into pillows, necklaces knocking together. You used to be further apart. Now you can’t remember the last time Luke hasn’t latched onto you the second you’re within reach. It warms you a little more each time. 

When your head hits his pillow, the two of you just stare at each other for a moment, lips pursed in amusement. His face is so wildly nostalgic to you—five years seems like too short a time to have known him. His eyes are pitch-dark and soft with exhaustion, but you can still pick out the trademark Hermes mirth glimmering through. You sometimes forget his scar, probably because you know he wants you to forget it. He’d kill you for thinking this, but you kind of like the way it hugs the curve of his cheek, bunches up when his dimple appears. It makes you sad. It makes you happy. It makes you love him. 

“Percy likes you,” he whispers, opening himself up so your chin brushes his shoulder. “That’s a first.”

He’s only wearing a tank top to sleep, so his warmth seeps through his skin when you tap him on the chest. “Shut up!” You hiss back, tapering into a giggle. “Has he picked up on anything yet?”

Luke bites the inside of his cheek, regretfully shaking his head. “Nope. But all that skill stuff is kinda arbitrary anyways. He’s still hung up on kleos, though, so … that’ll come in handy for Capture the Flag.”

“Ah, yes. Using a child’s misguided need for fulfilment as a weapon. A camp classic.” 

“Well someone’s gotta be useful for Capture the Flag in this cabin and it sure as hell isn’t you, mermaid,” he barbs back. 

Your jaw drops in mock offense and you squeeze a hand around his shoulder to shake him. “I will put you in a headlock right now, Luke, I’ll break your arm—”

“Be quiet!” He giggles as you attempt to wrangle yourself on top of him. “I’ll be nice to you, I’ll be nice, stop!” You get absolutely nowhere before the bed creaks and Luke shoves you back down. Your pulse rattles through your mouth as you laugh silently. “You’re the worst,” he mutters in your ear, raising the hairs on your neck.

“Well Percy likes me, so,” you turn your nose to the sky like a haughty old lady. 

“Percy’s a funnier, less annoying version of you,” he pokes your side. “That’s how I knew you’d get along, you weirdo.”

The momentary adrenaline this conversation has brought you is mellowing. “Hey, I’m very—very funny,” you mumble through a yawn. 

Luke laughs quietly. “Sure you are.”

He pulls you back to him, arm slung around the dip of your waist. When you make no protest, he seals you against his shoulder again. It’s started to feel a little different, him holding you like this. There’s an uncertainty your body faces about how to respond. His thumb runs over your spine and you decide to relax into him, pressing your face into the crook of his neck. Your chin knocks against his collarbone and you have the urge to curl yourself against his chest, just to feel him breathe. 

“Get some sleep, sailor,” he murmurs, fingers brushing through the roots of your hair. You don’t think he realizes he’s doing it. Your cheeks warm, and you bury yourself even further into the space against his shoulder and his pillow. Gods, there’s something wrong with you, isn’t there?

“Will do, soldier.” The campy voice you do is half hearted at best as you find yourself absorbed in the closest thing to a full home you’ll ever get. In this sleepy hollow with bedsheets and a boy, there is acceptance. 

Well, mostly. You think you dream about Luke brushing a kiss along your hairline in your last bit of consciousness. You think you wish it was real. You think you want him to do it again.   

iii. when you don't know who you are, you fuck around and find out

The last time your cabin lost a game of Capture the Flag, you’d still been taller than Luke. That’s how long your winning streak has felt. There’s no reason you foresee that changing today. Even when Annabeth drags Percy along with her on whatever surely precarious quest to victory she’s created. It’s unlike her, to bring a newbie along. It’s concerning. 

“He’s fine,” Luke drawls to you when your face has been tense for twenty minutes. “Annabeth’s got a plan.” He’s a little winded after clearing out some Ares kids with Chris. You aren’t much use when it comes to weapons—your friends take the lead as you wait from a distance, ready for backup. Thank the Gods they didn’t need it this time. You’re content to just watch, but whenever Luke grins after getting another kid to surrender, veins in his arms raised like rivers on a map, you get a little distracted and you’re not sure why. 

You just huff back at him, totally normal when he wipes a sheen of sweat off his jaw. “Annabeth’s gonna use him as cannon fodder,” you mutter back, and Luke hits your arm with an appalled grin. 

Annabeth did, in fact, have a plan. So you won. Obviously. 

You’re still doubtful Percy wasn’t cannon fodder, though, with how beat up he looks on the shoreline when the rest of your team flocks to the stolen flag to claim victory. He’s slumped down on the rocky shore, a few equally beaten Ares kids straggling away from him. 

“So I was right, huh?” Luke hums in your ear, pulling your eyes to him. 

He’s revelling in newfound glory, and damn it, you get confused when you look at him when he’s like this. You’re not sure when it happened but you want to tear your heart out of its chest because of how sick it makes you. Some of his curls are stuck to his forehead with sweat, his hair suffering a serious case of helmet-head. But it’s the pride oozing off him, the infectious happiness laced through his smile, that makes you fond of him in a way you’re not sure you should be. He’s beloved for a reason—he looks almost prophetic after winning a match, and he knows it. A glaring difference between the gangly boy you met all those summers ago. If you weren’t his best friend, you’d probably be one of his many admirers, watching his teammates fawn over his talent and wishing you were beside him. 

But you are beside him. And you’re his friend. Not an admirer. So everything’s fine. 

“You wouldn’t be saying that if we lost,” you retort, knocking your chestplate against his. It’s meant to be a friendly nudge, but Luke leans into it until you swear you feel his heart beating through the metal. 

He’s grown into his smile, less boyish and more wry. “You know I never lose, sailor.” 

You want to reply, but his eyes are startlingly pretty in the sunlight. That’s normal. Whatever. A heat rises in the apples of your cheeks so you scoff lightly and turn away as soon as possible. You feel Luke’s gaze following as you turn attention elsewhere. Your sternum feels fluttery.

Percy catches your attention again. Gods, he looks beat. He’s talking to Annabeth as she helps him up, and you see the gnarly scrape marring his cheek. You should probably check on him, right? 

You’re halfway to the kids when Annabeth shoves Percy backwards into the water. Like, shoves. 

“Annabeth!” You’re scowling at her the same way she scowled at you when you first hit Luke with that oar, rushing over to help Percy. 

“What is wrong with you?” Percy sputters out lying in the lake, but you’re ankles-deep in the water before you know it. He’s glaring daggers at Annabeth, but she looks relatively unimpressed. What happened during this game? 

“Thanks,” Percy mutters as you help him up. 

You say something to shrug it off but you can’t remember what, because your eyes are drawn to the scrape on his cheek. You have to blink a few times to get it, but you’re pretty sure it’s dissolving. Vanishing off his skin. “What the hell?”

Everyone on the shore is watching him now, trying to memorize his injuries before they wash away. Percy’s staring down at himself like he’s just been body-swapped. “I don’t understand.” 

You’ve never seen anything like this before. The strangest feeling fuels you—your bones feel firmer somehow, like the blood inside your body has weight to it. Like something is happening. A fear pierces your gut. 

Annabeth’s eyes have raised, and so have Percy’s. Your mouth goes dry. Right above him is the symbol of a trident, radiating so blue it washes out the sky itself. 

The claiming symbol of Poseidon. 

“Your dad’s calling,” Annabeth says, a smile itching the corners of her mouth. 

Percy looks like he’s going to pass out. You probably do too. “Told you you’d get claimed,” you manage to squeeze the words through the knot in your chest. 

You’re smiling until Percy looks at you, then looks up. His face goes white as a sheet. Or, as white as it can bathed in a pale blue glow. “Uh…” He blinks slowly, and your stomach twists. “I think she was talking to you.”

When you look up and see an identical trident looming over your head, you know something’s wrong. It’s made worse when Chiron rings out your and Percy’s name, branding you as children of Poseidon. 

Poseidon. 

You have a father. And he’s known you all this time. Your ears hollow out like a rush of water in a cavern.

Luke is the first to kneel. The rest of the camp follows. You watch as the entire camp basks in the glory of newcomer Percy Jackson, so quickly claimed by one of the most powerful Gods of Olympus. And you, who has waited five years to earn even a shred of his favour. 

This thing you’ve wanted for so long is suddenly the greatest insult in the world. Your best friend can’t even meet your eyes. 

iv. i remember who i am when i'm with you

You stare at Percy as he unpacks his things. Waiting to see traces of yourself in his face, traces of your father. Anything that could give you an inkling of what he looks like. Of what you look like. Of how this happened in the first place. 

It’s a futile search. Percy’s blue eyes, his freckles, the bridge of his nose, they’re all … nothing. Half of you is half of him, but there’s no indication of which parts. The cabin is cold. You’re not going to sleep well without Luke nearby. You’re not going to sleep well ever again. 

You feel nothing but strife, your throat closing in every time you take even a second to think. You don’t want Percy to see you cry. So you do what you always do. 

This has to be in the running for most overwhelming day of all time ever. Even when submerged in your favourite place on earth, you can’t get away from your dad. Your dumb stupid dad that has made the things you love and has ruined your life. 

You swim hard, and you loathe how good it feels. At least you know why now, but that doesn’t do much to ease you. When you pop up again, the sun has started to sink into the sea. And Gods, you have to give your dad credit. The landscape is so gorgeous you almost forget how long he’s ignored you. 

You wonder if this is the last time you’ll find solace in the lake. If eventually, it’ll be nothing but an extension of your father’s neglect. 

The water ripples around you. You frown, barely having noticed it when someone taps your shoulder. You turn. “Luke?” You swallow, but why are you surprised? 

He’s panting, cheeks splotched with sun as he treads water, droplets worming down his face from his soaking curls. “Been looking for you,” he puffs, “Percy’s worried. Called you from the—from the thingie but don’t think you heard me.”

You assume he means the docks, but you don’t say anything as he takes a deep, grounding breath. “You’ve been out here for hours. Hours. For a second I thought you drowned.”

“Now we know that can’t fucking happen,” you mutter a touch too bitterly, staring down at your legs warped beneath the water. 

Luke’s silent as he watches you. “…Have you been crying?”

When you don’t reply, Luke tugs on your wrist. “C’mon, sailor, let’s go.”

“Not tired,” you say, frozen by the hot tears brimming on your lashes. 

“I’m not leaving you out here. Come on.” He frowns when you yank your hand away as he tries pulling you again. “You’re gonna get heatstroke.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

He reaches for you again and you try to reject it for a moment, but he’s stronger than you, and he loves you better than even the water could. The second he has you close your resolve falters. He holds you against his shoulder, knees knocking against yours as you tread. 

“It’s okay,” he croons when you involuntarily start to cry. For a Poseidon kid, you can’t seem to control your waterworks. “It’s okay, I know.”

His hand cards through your scalp and you relish in the warmth of his bare skin on your cheek. He smells like comfort. You cling to it with all you have, until your nails start to dig into his skin and your eyesight blurs. 

“Come back with me and I’ll dry you off, okay?” He kisses the top of your head, the way you dreamed it last night. “I’ll take care of it.”

You’re not sure which it he’s referring to, because it could honestly apply to anything. When you both set off for shore, you’re so distracted by your own misery that Luke’s actually able to keep up with you. He’s up on the dock before you so he can pull you out. 

The second you’re out of the water you feel like you’ve been gutted with a lead pipe. All the energy it gave you leaves, and you realize just how right Luke was about spending too much time out there. You can’t feel your legs. 

You buckle over almost instantly, but Luke holds you before you can even think of falling. “I’ve got you,” he assures, guiding you down to sit on the dock. Your eyes are too weak to even admire the sunset. Luke drapes a towel over your shoulders, rubbing it over your arms, a welcome familiarity. He takes his time, wringing your hair and drying your back as you gaze blankly ahead. There’s a tenderness to it now. Luke’s ruthless when it comes to a lot of things. When it comes to how he loves, too. But there’s nothing demanding here. He lets your tears fall in silence, undisturbed, the touch of his hands through the cloth a silent promise. 

When you’re fairly dry, he fetches something then quickly comes back. “Here.”

It’s his shirt. You only notice you’ve been shivering as he pulls it over your head, lets you fill in the sleeves, gently gathers your hair back. “Thanks,” you say. His fingertips brush your neck as he hooks them around your necklace to rest it over the shirt. You think he does it to remind you you’re still the same. You’ve had five years together. It doesn’t have to end now. 

“Why did it take him so long?” You struggle to say, eyes glossed like sea glass. “Why—why now? What did I do?”

Luke puts an arm around you. “I don’t know,” he mumbles honestly. 

You sink into his warmth like a wave meets the shore. “Five years, Luke. He ignored me for five years. And he takes Percy right—right away.” It’s hard not to choke between every word. “I just thought I’d never get claimed, and I was fine with that, and now I’m … this!”

Its hard to tell if the dampness of your cheeks are the remnants of saltwater or your tears. “I don’t want this,” you sniffle. “I waited so long … and I just don’t want it.”

Luke rubs your shoulder, lips pursed against your head. He murmurs into your hair, “I know, sailor. It’ll be okay. Promise.”

His voice is reserved. You look up at him. His jaw is resolute, his eyes red-rimmed in a way you hadn’t noticed before. “You’re upset too,” you comment quietly. 

He laughs listlessly. “Yeah, of course I am. I’m losing my favourite cabin mate.”

You sniff and try to smile. “Percy?”

He rolls his eyes fondly, and it feels like all you want. He squeezes your shoulders tight and you long desperately to be closer. “I just don’t know what I did wrong,” you whisper, pressing your cheek into him. “Why didn’t he see me until he saw Percy? Am I just … unremarkable or something?”

“No, no. Absolutely not—c’mere.” Luke loops an arm around your waist and manoeuvres you into his arms, cradled on his lap so you can bury your face in his neck. You can’t stop fucking crying, but his patience for you is infinite. “You are by far the most remarkable person I know.” He seals you against his chest, scratching your scalp the way he knows you like. “None of this is you, okay? Your dad’s an idiot. You are—you’re everything. They’re all mindless up there, they don’t know how to love you. They don’t deserve to.”

An edge seeps into his timbre that gives you pause. You feel weak, discarded. It sounds like he’s talking about a different person. But he’s right. He has to be, because he knows you better than you know yourself.

Luke keeps going. You peek at his face when he speaks. Stubborn as ever. “He doesn’t have any fucking right to you. If he wanted that he should’ve claimed you when you got here. You have a life. You … you had a home. And now just because he’s got another kid he kills two birds with one stone? He pretends like this is some Godly intervention? Like he didn’t ignore you the whole time you’ve been here because he couldn’t stand how much you didn’t need him? How much better you are? You’re my …” He struggles, brows furrowed, the sun melting in his eyes. “You’re my best friend, and we’re supposed to be together. He’s not allowed to take that from you.”

Your heart stirs. “Sounds like you’re jealous,” you try to tease.

Luke heaves a sigh, his muscles rippling against your chest. You’re suddenly aware of the fact that he’s got no shirt on. And that he’s pressed against you in a way that makes you question if you should be this close. Beads of water cling to the divots in his skin, and you linger a little too long on one nestled in his collarbone. You swear you think this every time he goes swimming with you: when did he get so … hot? And every time you think it, you want to gouge your heart out with a spoon. 

“Can you blame me?” A melancholy smile plays on his face. “I liked having you all to myself.”

Tears spring to your eyes all over again. “I liked that too.”

It’s a whisper that sends you forward, Luke bringing his forehead to your own, and you want to live in the warmth that coils through you. His nose catches against yours when he laughs, but he doesn’t move. You take a moment to savour it. You think he does too.

He wipes a tear off your face as you say, “I’m still yours.”

“Yeah?” Luke hums a bit, his hand sliding up your waist in a most unfriendly manner. “How?” 

You catch the glimmer in his eyes, that plucky smile he’s had since fourteen. Something shifts.

“What are you asking me, Luke?” You can’t fight the smile. 

“What do you want me to ask you?”

“I dunno, what do you want me to want you to ask you—”

“My Gods, you’re a pain in the ass.”

He groans, throws his head back, and kisses you like you aren’t the most annoying person in the world. 

It’s so cliché, but for a brief moment your strife is well worth it. You yank him closer before he pulls away. It’s a little unsure, the two of you so used to toeing the line, but soon you’ve given in and your hands are in his hair, mouths parting, and it’s messy and wanting and everything you need. 

Luke slips his hands beneath the hem of your shirt, palms flattening against your sun-beaten skin. It feels so good, better because the shirt is already his, a whine scratching your throat as he moves up so his thumbs graze the skin beneath the tie in your bathing suit. 

“Oh, sailor,” he coos against your mouth. You want to retaliate but it’s lost when he squeezes your thighs, warming you in all the right places. It’s hard to understand this is even happening—it feels like you’re underwater, a blissful fuzziness growing in your head entirely at his mercy. 

He razes kisses down your still-damp neck, catching pearls of water on his tongue. You cling to his shoulders, raking your hands down his back just so you can feel more of him. Luke’s dropped down to your collarbone at this point, tugging the neck of your shirt down as his teeth graze the bone. “You’re my best friend,” he mutters over your skin. “Still mine. Always mine.”

“Mmhm,” is all you can say back, the husk in his voice making your eyes screw shut. He teases a spot so sensitive you groan and laugh at the same time. The regret is immediate, but you feel a chuckle pass his lips, too. “Luke,” you purse a smile. He dots kisses back up your neck until you start returning the favour. 

You kiss his jaw, a few spots on his neck, feeling the flex of his muscle all around you as he squeezes the fat of your hips. You finally sweep up the water in the hollow of his collarbones, and his grunt of your name makes you, frankly, delirious. 

He brings your mouth back to his, skin sticking to each other. It’s harder to kiss as fervently when you’re both giggling against each other’s tongues, running fingers along the planes of each other’s bodies trying to see which places feel new and which are known from memory. It’s a fifty-fifty split, and you love it. 

Somewhere along the way he peeled off your shirt because it was clinging in places you knew he wanted, but now you’re panting and giggling into his hair, his nose pressed into your neck, both of you melded together with salt and sun. “You really know how to cheer a girl up, mailman,” you grin. 

His lips fix to your skin. “Really? You’re still gonna call me that right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Like it better when you call me captain,” he murmurs, nose grazing along your pulse. 

You swallow, “That doesn’t work unless we’re doing the whole sailor-ship bit.”

“We’re always doing the sailor-ship bit.”

“I seriously can’t believe I’m in love with you.”

He sighs warmly at the words. “You have no idea how much I’ve been dying for you to say that. Even though I knew you would.”

You roll your eyes as he presses his forehead to yours, and you’re more glad than ever that his face is the one you love so much. It’s a pretty great face. 

“You’re gonna be okay,” he says tenderly. “You’re too incredible for Poseidon. You’re worth more than that.”

He still looks gorgeous blurred by your tears. You listen to the beat of his heart and the waves rolling. “More than any water anywhere?”

“More than the fucking Styx, sailor. I’ll promise you that.”

That night, Luke stays with you and Percy in your cold chapel of a cabin. You exchange stories until Percy falls asleep in his bed, curled up like a sea otter. “He’s a drooler,” Luke notes fondly, eyes flicking to yours. “Like you.”

You shove his chest playfully until he wraps his arms around you and anchors you to sleep, like every night before. This time, as you drift off, he kisses your forehead again. Once because he loves you, and twice to make sure you know it’s real. 

luke taglist: @sunniskyies @apollos-calliope @lillycore @sunny747 @m00ng4z3r @pabkeh @thaliagracesgf @theadventuresofanartist @bonnie-tz @ash-williamsss @sucker-4-angst @kitkat-writes-stuff @too-deviant

let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

[sapphic-coded]

I Swear That I Don't Have A Gun

You grew up in Ohio with your father, brother, and sister. Your family was small and strange. Because of that, you were picked on relentlessly at school. Until another weird kid showed up. Her family moved in across the street from you. It wasn't long until the two of you became friends. Your friendship became the light in your life. Until it ended suddenly. Rumors followed your friend's disappearance. Russian spies. You didn't see her again until you crossed paths at work.

Series Masterlist

Natasha Romanoff x fem Reader

Warnings: Violence. Reader is a messed up assassin and misses her gun home. Childhood trauma hanging out in the background. Hunted animals. Minors DNI.

Word Count: 4.6k

Author's Note: Life has been crazy. It still is. But this series is so much fun to write. Please know that your comments and love have kept my days bright. I read all your comments. Your likes and reblogs make me do my happy dance. It makes me happy that you guys are enjoying this series as much as I am. I apologize for the wait. I hope this new chapter makes up for it!

Taglist: @natsxwife @iliketozoneout @newawakening9 @natasha-1million @ilovemcuff @taliiiaasteria @alowint @yerisdumbass @natashasilverfox @fxckmiup

Chapter Eight: You Can't Raise Hell With A Saint

Mount Vernon, Ohio – 1993

You watched the station wagon slowly back out of your driveway from your bedroom window. As you watched, you folded and then unfolded the piece of paper in your hand several times. Your father’s departing words echoed in the back of your mind. 

“This is vital to maintaining our relationship with our allies. Remember. When the time comes, we must position ourselves on the correct side.” 

You waited until the station wagon disappeared from view before your attention shifted onto the snowman across the street. Your father is gone for the weekend. Your assigned homework is already completed and buried in your backpack. You had hoped for two uninterrupted days with your friend. You two had discovered a perfect hill for sledding not too far away. You had hoped you could return to it this weekend with Nat. But before your father had left, he had given you an assignment. One you were not allowed to ignore. 

But if you finish it quickly like your homework…

You turned away from the window and got dressed. The house was quiet as you descended the stairs and hunted through the kitchen for breakfast. Your father had given both your brother and sister assignments. You figured your siblings were already out doing them. You found an opened pack of pop-tarts hidden behind the jar of two dead mating frogs. You ate the delicious blueberry pop-tart and washed it down with tap water from the sink. Once breakfast was done, you pulled on your snow boots and put on your heavy winter coat. You unfolded your father’s note once more to reread the words hastily scribbled in fine black ink. Then, you refolded up the note and shoved it into your coat’s pocket. 

You left out the back door and pulled on your gloves as the morning winter air scratched at your face. The snow crunched beneath your boots as you headed towards the treeline. The woods behind your house stretched onwards for roughly two miles. It was one of the reasons why your father had chosen to settle here. He could disappear into this patch of quiet woodland and no one but you and your siblings would know. 

For a while, the only noise was the steady rhythm of your footsteps and the chirping of birdsong as you left your house behind and walked deep into the woods. The sunlight shone brightly off the surface of the snow and made your eyes water if you stared at it for too long. You felt the wind beginning to pick up and blow against your back as you walked. Your pace did not slow until you reached the base of a tree with a dead hare hanging from a snare. 

You knelt down into the cold snow and pulled your hunting knife from your coat pocket. You cut the rope and lifted the dead animal up by the rope’s lead. Its dark lifeless eyes stared at you and you searched for any ounce of pity. When you didn’t find any, you stood up and continued walking. The weight of the hare hanging from the small noose made you feel less alone. You kept walking until you spotted a smooth, round rock. You picked it up and it nearly covered your whole palm. 

You tied the end of the rope around the rock as you continued further into the woods. The light of the sun had started to dim when you finally reached a large pond. Your feet carried you to a narrow dock that stretched out over the water. The wooden boards groaned beneath your feet as you came to the end of the dock. You looked down into the dark water. It hadn’t frozen over yet which made your assignment easier. The wind continued to blow at your back as you tossed the dead hare into the water. The lifeless animal hit the cold water with a splash and floated on the pond’s surface for a moment. Then the dark water pulled the dead hare down into its depths. You waited for some kind of response. A sign that your assignment was complete. But nothing happened. So you turned and started the trek home. 

Your thoughts returned to your friend as you began following your footprints back the way you came. You would have the whole rest of the day to do whatever you wanted. And tomorrow you wouldn’t have to waste any time with another assignment. Your immediate future was bright and that fueled your quick pace. 

But your pace started to slow when you lost sight of your footprints in the snow. The wind that had been blowing must have covered them up. You ignored the first sour taste of fear and kept going. You had planned to just follow your tracks back home, but you could make it back without them. You had only gone in one direction. It wouldn’t be difficult to find your way back home. You shoved your gloved hands into the pockets of your heavy coat as the wind now blew against your face. 

The light of the sun continued to fade as you made new tracks in the snow. You were going in the right direction. You had to be. But you spotted new bushes and weird leaning trees that you hadn’t seen before. You felt yourself shivering against the cold as the light faded into the coming dark. You kept walking until you finally leaned against a tree and sank towards the freezing ground. You closed your eyes and tried to curl yourself up as much as you could within the fading warmth of your coat. 

You don’t know how you messed up your assignment. You thought you knew your way back. You thought this would be so easy. Your father had dragged you and your siblings out here plenty of times. Yet you’re lost and you don’t know what to do other than sit here and–

“Y/N!” 

Nat. 

Triskelion, Washington D.C. – 2012

You miss your little piece of woodland paradise. You had discovered the small cabin during your fourth job. You had been posing as a realtor for your target. The cabin had caught your eye because of its remoteness. It was tucked away along the mountainside and far enough away from all the main roads that all you heard when you stepped outside was birdsong and the wind brushing through the trees. It was the perfect spot to kill your target. The cabin had been left on the market for years and only maintained by a vendor who came out once a season to keep the place from falling apart. You would have no interruptions to deal with. If your target tried to flee, it would be a long run back to a main road. And even if your target got that far, they would need to run from there back to the nearest town. This spot was an open playground. You could kill your target however you wanted. Chase them around if you were feeling energetic. Sever their head with an axe like a lumberjack cutting up wood. 

But when you had pulled up to the cabin for the first time, you realized that you couldn’t do any of that here. Sure, you had plenty of space. The cabin was remote. The main road lightly traveled. When you let out a scream to test if anyone would come running, no one did. It wasn’t until you walked through the cabin and into each of the small, cozy rooms that you understood why you couldn’t bring your target here. The cabin felt too much like a home. 

The pictures that hung on the walls were snapshots of the owner’s life. Frames full of smiling faces and captured happy moments. You saw the lives of their children begin with innocent, small, round confused faces and stop at handsome young faces decorated in medals and gowns. The furniture bore the nicks and marks of a life used. You could even see the spots of soot left behind in the fireplace where the vendor failed to clean. 

You had only ever been in a home like this once before. You had sat down onto the couch in the cabin’s small family room and looked over at the kitchen. You imagined the smell of Nat’s home. You imagined Nat’s mother standing in the kitchen. It was the only thing you could think of. You sat there for a long time. It had been the first time in years that you thought about your friend without all the other stories hanging onto the memory. You thought about Nat. You thought about how happy you had been around her. You tried to imagine her as an adult, but you couldn’t. She was dead, and you were no longer the kid she met back in Ohio.

You ended up killing your target during a private tour of a much larger home far away from the cabin you found. By the time you had bought and moved into the cabin, the new owners of the other much larger home had only finished finding all your target’s missing fingers. The cabin had become your home. Your place to unwind after your jobs. You had filled it with everything you knew that belonged in a home. You loved the feeling of walking through the front door after a long job and just breathing in the smell of your home. 

Your bunk is nothing like your cabin. You are buried beneath all the important floors. Your room has no windows. Your room has four white walls, harsh overhead lights, and a white tiled floor. The brightness of the room often gives you a headache which is why your favorite time to be in your bunk is when you are sleeping. All the lights are off and you can listen to the hum of the air conditioner. The best part is that you don’t have to wear that stupid suit when you are in here. You are even allowed to speak, however the only person you ever talk to is Rumlow. 

You miss your cabin so much.

The lights in your room come on when the door opens. The twin sized mattress you lay on offers the bare minimum of comfort, yet you don’t bother to sit up. Instead, as you wake and hear familiar footsteps, you drape your arm over your eyes. It successfully blocks out the harsh light, but does nothing to stop the approaching footsteps.    

“The bosses up top were impressed with your Bardstown mission,” Rumlow says. 

You can’t fight back the small laugh that works its way past your curling lips. With your arm draped over your eyes you can see Sikora’s bent neck clearly. You can still hear each crunch as his body collided down each step. “I killed one person and they weren’t even my target.”

“Which worked out in your favor,” Rumlow says as his approaching footsteps stop. “You played your part. The mission was a success, and no one will look deeper than that.” 

You lift your arm away from your eyes and let it flop down to your side. The harsh lights already make your eyes water, but you focus on Rumlow who stands beside your bunk looking down at you. “Do you find your work fulfilling?” Instead of answering you, he turns and steps away from your bunk. You sit up. “Satisfaction is very important to me.” 

Rumlow causally makes his way over to a small table. He picks up the half finished bottle of bourbon Nat gave you before leaving Bardstown. You couldn’t drink it then. Removing your helmet around her would go against everything Rumlow has been drilling into your head. But you had ripped your helmet off the moment you returned to your bunk. You had brought the bottle to your lips, and you had drunk so much while thinking of her. 

“What are you asking for?” he asks. 

“Let me work,” you reply. “Without the suit and the rules. Tell me who the bosses want dead, give me back my gun, and let me kill them.” 

Rumlow sets the bottle down. “That’s not how this works.” 

You roll your eyes and flop back down onto your bunk. 

“I also don’t have your gun,” he adds. 

You close your eyes and swallow back the urge to yell. You hate this role so much. If you were impressing these bosses so much, why wouldn’t they let you show them how good you really were? What was the point of all the secrets if most of SHIELD was really HYDRA anyways? Or at least, most of the important people. Or whatever Rumlow had told you during those first few days. 

“The bosses were also pleased with how you handled Romanoff,” Rumlow says. 

Your eyes open and you stare up at the bland white ceiling. You fight back the smile you know is coming when you think back to the best day of your life. You hope you end up on another mission like that. Just the two of you. The one little new piece of your life that made tolerating this role just a bit more manageable. 

“How do you feel?” Rumlow asks. 

Like you want to pour over the office directory until you find her office. You’d race up there and sneak in when she isn’t around. You’d sit in the comfortable office chair that you hope she has up there. You’d take your helmet off and wait. And when she finally enters you’d spin around in her chair for a proper dramatic entrance. 

You turn your head to look at Rumlow. “Depressed. My favorite gun is lost.” 

Rumlow holds your stare. You know what he’s looking for. Perhaps if he could read minds then he would have found it. Instead, you hide all your fantasies and memories behind your little lie. It’s easy. You do the same trick your father always did. String together a story from bits and pieces of truth and mold it into what you need. You know it worked when Rumlow finally breaks your little staring contest. You don’t move when he turns away from you. You don’t want to give away your victory. 

“You have training with Rollins in twenty,” Rumlow says before he leaves. 

You wait until the door to your room shuts behind him before you get up. You move towards the table and grab the half empty bottle of bourbon. You bring it to your lips and take a sip. The smooth amber liquid washes across your tongue and burns down your throat. You think of when she handed you this bottle. You remember the way her hands briefly brushed across your gloved ones. 

You set the bottle down and change while your mind lingers in that memory. Rollins is already waiting for you when you arrive at one of the training rooms a few floors up. Bright sunlight pours through the windows that run along the far side of the training room. You feel uncomfortably hot underneath your suit, and you already miss the cool kiss of the air conditioning that hums in your bunk. When you see Rollins in the training room, your interior visor screen lights up with data you already knew. Except for the healing ribs. That part is new. 

Rollins leads you over to a bunch of blue mats. The hand to hand combat drills still feel weird. You know what you are supposed to do. You had learned back when Rumlow first shoved you into this stupid suit that going for kill strikes was not in compliance. You had to work your way up to kill strikes to make everything more believable. 

“You’re not an assassin anymore. You’re a SHIELD agent.” 

Which wasn’t even the truth. You found that this dance they forced you to do felt awkward. Your movements felt sloppy as you fought not to go for the opening that would put your target down permanently. And when a kill strike was considered acceptable, it always came far too late. It never felt right. These lessons pressed up against the memories of your training back in Ohio, and it often left you feeling more frustrated than anything else. 

Your training with Rollins is quickly following the same trend as all the others. Your punches feel sluggish and off. Every time Rollins dodges your hit or counters, you know exactly what you should have done instead. Your frustration grows as you hold back. Your thoughts scream at you in the roar of your father’s voice. You want to give in. Why trade blows when it can easily be only you hitting your target? But you’ve already tried giving in. You had managed to bloody your knuckles a bit before Rumlow had started talking to you about compliance. Everything had stopped despite your urge to keep going. Then you were back at the beginning as if your outburst hadn’t happened. 

Rollins dodges one of your punches and delivers a blow to your torso that pushes you back a step. He doesn’t advance. He stands there and waits as you swallow back all the foul words that usually tumble out of your mouth whenever something hurts. It’s hard not to say anything. Especially when he stands there looking bored. But you aren’t eager for them to start fucking with your mind again, so you keep quiet. The sound of your heavy breaths fills up your helmet as you return to your spot in front of Rollins. You duck under his right arm as it swings out. Your fist slams into his healing ribs and the noise he makes is exactly what you needed to hear. His cry is short-lived as he quickly masks it with a grunt. He retreats from you, and you let him. You watch as his breaths become more labored as his hands press against the very spot you hit. You don’t know if you just broke one of his healing ribs. It hadn’t been your intention, but you certainly didn’t pull that punch. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be resting?” 

Her voice steals your attention. She stands by the door dressed in a dark gray sweatshirt and black joggers. Her arms are crossed in front of her chest, and her head tilts slightly as her question is first met with silence. Well, more like your silence and Rollins’ heavy breaths. You could shatter this stretch of quiet in a heartbeat, and you want to. Your teeth sink into your bottom lip as you bury the urge. Your eyes greedily take in the sight of your friend. You are grateful for your stupid helmet as your eyes run down the length of her legs and stop at the black sneakers that cover her feet. 

“I thought you were heading back up to New York with Rogers,” Rollins finally says. 

“Eventually,” she replies with a slight shrug and walks further into the training room. “But I have some stuff I need to take care of first.” She uncrosses her arms as she casually approaches the mats. “You should head back before anyone from medical catches you here.”  

“I’m a bit busy training the quiet one,” Rollins says. 

You should have tried to break his ribs. He’d be too busy dealing with that pain to put a premature end to this wonderful moment. 

“I can take over,” she offers. 

Your helmet conceals the wide smile that cuts across your face. You don’t know what you have done to deserve so much alone time with your friend, but you will happily do whatever it takes to keep ending up in these wonderful moments. You don’t hear Rollins leave, and when you look over at the man, you can tell that he is unsure if he should leave. The questions he cannot voice are written plainly across his face and your smile falters. Is he…is he not going to leave? Is he really going to ruin this for you? You want to tell him that his concerns are unnecessary. If you were going to spill the beans, you would have done it the moment you and Nat were alone on the quinjet. Or sometime in Bardstown. Not in some fancy building secretly full of HYDRA agents ready to put you down with just a couple of random words. 

“Don’t worry,” her voice pulls your attention back to her. Despite the fact that she is addressing Rollins, her focus is on you. You spot the beginnings of a smirk that stirs up something inside you. Something exciting and warm. “I won’t break her.” 

You hear Rollins sigh and you feel the buzz of your excitement grow. 

“If you do, you’re the one having that conversation with Rumlow,” Rollins replies. “Not me.” Rollins gives you one last warning look before leaving. You watch the man’s retreating form and feel at ease when you see his hand come up to gingerly touch the spot where you hit him. 

When you look back over at Nat, you find her pulling her dark gray sweatshirt over her head. The uncomfortable heat that sticks to your skin beneath your suit returns as you feel your hands begin to sweat inside your gloves. You ignore the information that attempts to clog up your visor. Your focus is first on the black sleeveless shirt she wears. The hem of the shirt gets caught briefly on her sweatshirt and lifts to reveal the barest hint of a firm ab. You blink when the shirt falls back down. 

Nat sets her sweatshirt aside and steps onto the mats. “Are they always that serious around you?” 

You nod, but you are not thinking about Rollins, or Rumlow, or how painfully serious both tend to be at all times. You are too consumed by the realization that you have never seen this much of your friend before. No. That wasn’t it. You can recall several old memories of warm summer days and cool lake water. But you hadn’t felt like this back then. You are staring at her lean biceps and you just want to touch her. 

She steps forward. “Your missions with them must be fun.” She shifts into a fighting stance and raises her fists. “Let’s see what you can do.” 

You raise your fists and shift your stance. Your smirk at your friend’s earlier sarcasm falls away as your visor’s screen identifies multiple places to strike first. You know what you want to do, but that option isn’t listed anywhere on the screen. If it wasn’t for Nat standing in front of you, you would have quickly returned to your sour, frustrated mood. But instead, you wait for her to strike first. A few moments pass and all you two do is slowly circle the mats. You realize that she’s waiting for you to strike first. A hint of your concealed smile returns. You happily oblige. 

Your fist swings towards her, and you feel her arm quickly block your strike. Your focus is on her face, and you can tell that she barely had to think about her reaction. You continue to move in a slow circle and she does the same. You fall back into the training that Rumlow has been drilling into you since they freed you from that chair. You move in and strike. You frown slightly as she blocks or dodges every one of your strikes. It makes you feel like she’s in your mind. That she knew what you planned to do the exact same time you did. You retreat back a step when your fifth punch doesn’t land. 

You wait for her to move in with her attack, but it doesn’t come. You know she can’t see your face, but it feels like she can when she offers a small shrug and that small smile creeps back in. 

“I’m guessing that was your warm-up?” 

You know it’s bait, but you take it anyway. You move in with another series of attacks. Every single one of your punches feels just as sluggish as before. The rhythm feels off. You feel like each attack is wrong. Your strikes aren’t landing and just as you are about to sink into the seething grip of your frustration, you see Nat’s fist coming towards you. Your hand catches her wrist before her fist can make contact with your helmet. 

You watch as her brow arches in a silent question. You ignore the data that races across your visor’s screen and focus on the weight of her wrist in your hand. The familiarity of it lures out pieces of warmer memories. The touch of her hand taking yours. How her touch would melt the rigid cold left after early summer mornings with your father. You abandon the awkward dance you have been following. You can hear whispers of your father’s voice in the back of your mind as you take a breath and move. 

Her wrist slips free before you can pull her towards you. She goes on the offensive and the attacks you block send you back a few steps. You spy her foot moving to hook behind yours and you maneuver away from that pitfall only to feel her fist connect with your side. The pain is barely there. You two are sparring. But it lights a very familiar fire inside of you. 

You press forward with an onslaught of strikes that feel more natural. She continues to block most of them until you manage to slip past her defenses and successfully hook your foot behind hers. As you sweep her foot out from underneath her, her hands come up to latch onto the fabric of your stupid suit. She lets her falling body pull you down, and you both land on your side. Your one hand reaches to dislodge the grip she has on your suit while your other instinctively reaches out towards her neck. You feel her legs wrap around your waist and in one quick movement, you are on your back. Her hand stops yours from reaching her throat and pins it against the mat. She quickly pins your other hand to the mat, and you stare up at her as your heavy breaths fog up your interior visor. 

She doesn’t let go of your hands as she looks down at you. You know all she can see is her own reflection staring back at her, and you want her to pull the stupid helmet off your head. You wouldn’t be breaking the rules if she exposed this game. But she doesn’t. Instead, she leans down just an inch or two closer and asks, “How do you feel about opera?” 

You shrug. 

Her smile returns as she finally lets go of your hands. She gets up and you instantly miss her warm weight on top of you. You sit up as she returns to where she left her sweatshirt. She digs into her sweatshirt’s pocket, pulls something out, and tosses it towards you. You catch it. You can feel another burst of excitement rush through you as you stare at the phone in your hand. 

“That’s yours,” Nat says as she pulls her sweatshirt back on. “I thought it might be easier for us to communicate. I already loaded my number into your phone.” 

You have her phone number. You don’t move from your spot on the mats as your fingers wrap tenderly around the phone. Direct access to your friend without needing to go through anyone else or jump through any additional hoops. It feels like you’re back in Ohio. All you need to do is cross the street, and she’s there waiting for you. 

“I’ll be in contact soon,” she says as she moves towards the door. “Don’t put Rollins back in medical while I’m away.” 

You watch her leave. You wait until she’s gone before you lean backwards onto the mat and let out a quiet, short laugh.

[orobaxis]

Hi omg I loved ur ominis work I’ve been dying for any drop of anything 2 do with him since the game came out. Could I request some established relationship ominis x reader fluff? Maybe they’re studying together or they’re hanging out in the undercroft? Tyyy🫶

i could recognize her by touch alone, by smell (i would know her blind) -

ominis gaunt x f!reader (hogwarts legacy)

what is a day in the life of ominis gaunt? a lot less games of gobstones than he wants, a lot more nagging to study for his owls, and a lot more love than he ever had

no plot, just vibes

words: 2393

ominis has come to expect constants in his life. for one, every day he would find you waiting for him at the grand staircase, greeting him with a cheerful “good morning!” and looping your arm around his. he can never get used to the feeling of you being so close to him, feeling the heat radiating off your skin and smelling a scent that is so undoubtably you. he especially likes being able to be with you so early in the morning and having breakfast together.

it’s early enough that the great hall isn’t bustling with students yet; with a few early risers moving about here and there. you sit by the slytherin table beside him and help yourselves to some hearty breakfast.

“so,” ominis starts, “what have you got planned for us today?”

“hm, not much,” you tell him, “we do need to get that herbology homework done, though. i don’t want to spend any more time with it than i have to.” you look around the great hall, “sebastian didn’t want to come?”

ominis sighs. his friend has been…odd lately. you are both concerned for him, sebastian is getting more desperate to find a cure for anne, his twin sister. it also doesn’t help that the new fifth-year student has been following him around, seemingly encouraging his search and directing him to research more on the dark arts. “no,” he replies, “well…he wouldn’t wake up when i tried to. i think he’s exhausted from some escapades he’s been doing with that new student…”

you make a disapproving sound at that. “i’m also wanting to send an owl to anne. maybe get her some treats from honeydukes from when we last went,” you ponder.

“i think she will appreciate that,” he tells you with a smile, and he can almost sense you smile back in gratitude. he feels you push him gently with your shoulder, affectionately resting your head on his shoulder before sitting back up to resume eating.

you have become a real constant in his life. ominis admits that it took him longer to warm up to you than with anne and sebastian in your first year, but when he did, he didn't just 'warm up', he melted. the feelings he has for you are stronger than the ones he has with the sallows, treating them as the siblings he never had (rather, the siblings he wishes he has). everything with you though is more intense, and before he knew it, he was falling hard and fast. he still wonders if your mind is a bit of a mess because you seem to feel the same way. despite this, ominis thinks he doesn't mind it one bit.

-

“the headmaster is acting quite odd today.”

you look up to see ominis with a curious look on his face. he plops down beside you with a sigh before pulling out his parchment and quill. you both agreed to meet up in the greenhouses to do your homework.

“what, you mean he's not his usual awful self?” you ask him with a raised eyebrow. he rolls his eyes at that, “no, that's not what i mean. i mean...his attitude is still a troll’s, but he was going on about bubotuber pus as moustache paste and whatnot...i couldn't understand him.”

"hmm, maybe he was just feeling particularly chatty today,” you remark, “and maybe gave us hints on what questions they will ask us in our O.W.L.S.”

"i doubt that," he huffs. he stands in front of his potting station, sighing when he realizes the venomous tentacula he planted seems to have wilted (it didn't try to reach and devour him), "is my venomous tentacula dead?"

"oh no, it's still alive," he hears you walk over to stand beside him, "just sulking a little, i think. you haven't visited the greenhouse in a bit and i think it got hungry, although it did try a weak chomp when i first arrived," you giggle when ominis makes a face, remembering the last time he came to check up on it, it started chewing on his robes. "nothing a few pieces of meat can't cure."

"good, because i doubt professor garlick would appreciate it if i turned in a decaying plant," he mutters in relief. "i would barely pass the O.W.L.S. this year, i doubt i would have any chances of finding a good job in the future."

"stop that," you reprimand him softly, moving to grab his hand and guide him away from the table. the venomous plant hisses from its spot, clearly not appreciating not being fed. "you're a smart wizard, ominis. one of the smartest. if not THE smartest--"

"now you're just making fun of me," he tells you half-heartedly, lips twitching up into a smile when he hears your giggle. your hand moves to ruffle his hair, but ominis quickly stops you with a gentle hand to your wrist. “don’t mess up my hair.”

“you have to let your hair down sometimes, ominis!” you exclaim, “i like seeing your hair all disheveled.”

ominis laughs but says nothing, dropping a quick peck on your wrist where your pulse point lies. he drops your hand and returns to his parchment and starts dictating, his quill writing down his words. he pretends not to hear the gasp you made and your flustered breathing as you return to your station to resume your homework.

"well?" he turns his head slightly to your direction, "just gonna sit there in shock?"

"shut up!" you exclaim, before returning to your homework. you work quietly while ominis dictates for his quill, enjoying the peaceful (as it can be, with ominis' venomous tentacula) atmosphere of the greenhouse, until ominis' quill stops writing resolutely.

"all done!" he says triumphantly.

"oh, i'm almost done too!" you say, hurriedly scribbling on your parchment. once you're satisfied with it, you start to clean up and put away your things. when you tell ominis that you're good to go, he extends his arm to you, his hand waiting, "let's go then."

you slot your hand into his and he tangles your fingers together as you walk out of the greenhouse.

-

not that professor binns minds, but ominis doesn't really hide how boring he finds history of magic. he would sit there beside you, his chin on his palm, with almost a relaxed smile on his face.

"you could atleast pretend to listen, you know," you tell him. ominis turns to you, and the smile on his face widens,

"why should i? this is the most boring class we have. i'd rather be playing gobstones."

"well, first of all, we will still get tested on the goblin rebellions of the 18th century," you remark, whilst also trying to stifle your yawns behind your hand, "and it wouldn't look good if we get like a 'T' in history of magic. and secondly, you're not at all good at gobstones! you always lose to me!"

"i doubt we would get a Troll in this class," ominis tells you nonchalantly. "and you only win because i let you! you can be such a sourpuss when you lose! i've seen you with sebastian and anne, and not to mention zenobia!"

"well, zenobia is a reigning champion at gobstones!"

with his chin still propped up on his palm, he uses his other hand to reach for the pocket of his robes, "here, have something sweet."

you can see that he is offering you a candy, probably something he got from professor ronen's class. trying to hide a grin, you ignore his outstretched hand and ask him teasingly, "what something sweet? a kiss?"

it's like you can almost see the moment ominis processes what you said, and you trace the flush from his neck to his face, until he becomes redder than a tomato. he huffs, tossing you the candy, mumbling under his breath, "shut up!"

when professor binns ushers everyone out of the classroom to look at ancient relics, you end up playing gobstones against ominis after all (you win again).

ominis pretends it bothers him, but you begin to suspect that there may be some truth to what he told you about letting you win. ominis however, may have lost the game, but hearing you laugh really makes it a win-win situation.

-

on your way to the undercroft, ominis stops you. “i have to go to my dormitory,” he tells you, “i left something there.”

“oh, alright,” you reply, “do you want me to come with you?”

he sputters in surprise at your question, “w-what?”

“to the dormitories?”

“no!” ominis flushes at the thought of you being in his dormitories, and in his bed? his cheeks reddening even more at the thought and his neck heating up in embarrassment, “no, i’ll be quick. i’ll see you at the undercroft.”

“are you sure?” you ask him. “the walk doesn’t bother me.”

“no, i insist,” ominis calms down now, the heat in his cheeks dissipating. you have known each other for some time now, yet he still couldn’t help being flushed with words that you say and the things that you do. he is entirely enamored.

“alright, if you say so,” you answered in a sing-songy voice, making him smile. “i’ll see you at the undercroft.” with any luck, you hope to see sebastian somewhere in the defense against the dark arts tower or hopefully even in the undercroft. you haven’t spent as much time with him as you used to, with him usually being too busy running off with the new student. you just hope he eventually comes back to his senses.

-

when he gets to the undercroft, you call him over to the sofa that you had conjured. ominis sits beside you, his eyebrows raising, "i thought you'd've conjured a desk or something. and start nagging me to study."

you roll your eyes. "well, i would...but i got sleepy. the undercroft isn't the best place to study you know, it's dark and i hate that i can't see anything--"

"that must be so terrible for you," he remarks, receiving a gentle slap to his chest.

"i didn't mean it like that!" you say defensively, "and i just thought i could take a short nap instead of studying. we did do a lot of studying this week."

"hmm, if by a lot, you mean, 'doing the very bare minimum and completing our homework', then i'd say we did quite the studying."

you cross your arms and glare at him playfully, "ominis gaunt, i'll have you know that i study too outside of school hours. i go to the library and read up just before going to bed. and what about you? how are you preparing for your O.W.L.S?"

"you mean to tell me listening to you read the books isn't going to be enough?" he jokes, laughing at your 'horrified' gasp. you both try to get as much work done since O.W.L.S are coming up closer by the day, and you would jokingly nag him to actually do some revising instead of 'making you read' books for him. he loves the sound of your voice, and you like the relaxed look on his face when he listens to you.

ominis had been thinking about giving you something. it is something he had been keeping. he showed it to sebastian, who had been telling him to give it to you for some time now. he had been a bit nervous, though, and decided that maybe today is the day he will give it to you.

"i have something for you," he starts, "that's why i went back to my dormitories."

you sit up in surprise, turning to him. "what? ominis, love, you know you don't have to give me anything--"

"i know," he tells you, "i want to."

in his hand, he offers you a necklace. you gasp, hands flying to your mouth in shock. it looks beautiful! so elaborate, and yet, simple, its sheer elegance shining within the dark halls of the undercroft.

"ominis...it's absolutely beautiful," you run your fingers on it, still in ominis' hand. "where did you get this?"

"an old lady in hogsmeade...turn around," he instructs, "i originally wanted to give you something that is a gaunt heirloom--

"ominis!"

"sebastian wanted me to, said it's more elegant. but...i didn't want to give you something from that horrendous family," he huffs, "i believe you deserve better than that. so, i took the heirloom and traded it for this one, the old lady seemed very happy and in awe of it."

"i know i'm not so good with words," ominis starts (he immediately hushes your protests), and i would only be teasing and sarcastic to you. but i hope you know...y/n, there isn't anything that i wouldn't do for you. i really hope you know that and if not, i'll prove it to you every day."

you sniff, trying to stop the tears from falling down your cheeks, "oh love, i do know that. and i want you to know that i would do anything for you too."

he clasps the necklace around your neck, running his hand softly on your neck and a bit further down, making you shiver in delight. "you might think me silly for saying this," he clears his throat, "but i think, it's you for me, you know. and it's silly since we're so young and..."

"ominis," you began, but he interrupts you--

"you may not feel the same way, but i really think it's you. i dream of you, you know. all i do, is dream of you."

you finally turn, reaching to grasp his hands in yours. "oh ominis, of course i feel the same! if you still have doubts, then i will have to do my best to make sure you know that. every day, i will remind you." you hands fly to touch the necklace, skin still tingling from where his touch burned you, "thank you so much. i don't know what to say...how could i ever repay you?"

ominis chuckles, "it's a gift, silly. i gave it to you without asking for anything in return. although,"

"hmm? what is it?" you ask.

"i wouldn't say no to 'something sweet'."

-

hope everyone is doing well! i finished the main story, 70 hours in! still have some side quests to finish <3

thank you so much for all your replies! it really warms my heart!

also if you sent a request and i have replied yet, please know that im working on it! <3

and sorry if there's a weird formatting, i was working on both pc and phone!

[flwersgarden]

♡ lovestruck. °₊

pairings : elvis presley x female reader.

summary : elvis turns into a brat whenever you're not with him.

includes : fluff, (mainly) elvis being clingy (and childish), some swearing words.

author's note : this is a little present for my 170 followers! i still can't believe i have that many people who enjoy what i write and it just makes me so happy!!! i had a bunch of requests for something with the real elvis so this is for all of those lovely anons<3

buy me a kofi!

if someone would've told you that the moment elvis presley and you started dating he would make tantrums whenever you leave his side and deny anyone else's help but yours; you would've punched them in the face for playing with your feelings.

but now you would just hug them and nod while sighing. because that's exactly what he does.

elvis considers himself as a hopeless romantic, he believes in love at first sight and in the fairytale kind of love story. it didn't help that you were almost the same.

you and elvis met when he delivered some packages to your family business, he invited you a cold coke in your lunch break and the both of you just felt a spark. the rest is history (literally).

elvis got famous and you married him a few months later, just after he arrived to germany, now being at his side whenever he needed or wanted.

and you love him with all the love you could possibly have for someone as special as he is for you — you felt like you were going to burst out crying everytime you see his beautiful face.

you thought for a long time that you were the sensible and clingy one in the relationship as you always grabbed his hand in press conferences that you were invited to, gave him a kiss before every show to keep his stage fright at bay, pampering him after every show and telling him he deserves to be taken care of at least once, caressing his hair whenever he fell asleep on your lap, cuddling him while sleeping together at hotels or in your room at Graceland, tying his tie in those rare occasions he wore suits, kissing him on the cheek before he goes to meet some fans outside your home, etcetera.

it was just your routine.

you remember telling elvis about psychical touch being your love language at the first stages of the relationship.

“ but, and i mean this, if you ever feel overwhelmed for everything, just tell me and i'll stop. ”

“ i will, mama. ”

but he never told you anything. because he loved it. even more than he liked to admit. and he confirmed it the week you went away for a family trip.

you told elvis you were going to visit your sibling as they just had a baby a few days before you had to go and he took it very well, just nodding and smiling while you told him, feeling very calm.

he was also calm when you were packing your stuff while listening to him complaining about some childish fight he and some member of the memphis mafia got in, just to fill the silence.

he was also calm while kissing you goodbye, wishing you the best, telling you to be careful and ordering you to call him at least every two days to know you were good. after agreeing at everything you kissed him again, fixing his hair before driving away. he just waved you goodbye while ignoring that weird feeling he felt.

and he was also calm the next day, eating breakfast and dinner with his dad before practicing some songs in his piano and even calling some friends of his to hang out with.

but he stopped being calm the day after that.

he woke up with the sun hitting his eyes making him gruff and turn around, watching the clock in the nightstand, widening his eyes at the hour.

“ god-dammit! ” he said with his deep morning voice, almost tripping while getting out of bed, running to the phone and immediately calling jerry, who usually told him almost everything.

“ jerry here. ” his friend's typically calm voice answered.

“ jerry, man! ”

“ ep, what the fuck, where are you? ” it sounded like jerry was walking out of a room, 'whispering' to the phone, now his voice sounded concerned.

“ i fell asleep, damn it. ” elvis just ran his hand by his hair, the way you use to do when he felt stressed. “ what are y'all doing? ”

“ well, all the musicians are waiting for you while practicing and everyone else are just cracking jokes, the colonel almost sent the whole police force there to see what made you so late. ”

elvis just sighed.

“ okay, tell 'em i'm really sorry and that i'll be there in ten. ”

“ you good? something happened? are you sick? ”

“ nah, nah, i just... i'll tell ya later. ”

“ sure. see you then. ”

“ see ya. ”

elvis hung up, hitting his forehead in the wall next to him before walking to the bathroom to get ready.

you were the one to usually wake him as you woke up earlier because of all the household duties you love to do. it was after you told him after he insisted on hiring someone for it:

“ i love taking care of you, don't be stubborn. ”

that he stopper insisting.

now he regrets letting you win because he got so used to your cute voice waking him up with little kisses in his face.

damn, he felt like he was going to cry.

️️ ️️️️️️️️️

after he arrived, everyone was around him, asking him if he was okay, if something happened, it made him want to hold his head to block out the noise.

“ nah, 'm good, don' worry, 'kay? ” he said with a tired tone in his voice.

you usually walked hand in hand with him, answering all questions for him as you knew how overwhelmed he could get at this hour and even more when he had to practice for some show.

elvis then sat in the chair inside the booth, clearing his throat. feeling a bit weird as you weren't there to give him his good luck kiss.

“ ep, you good? ”

he turned to see the pianist looking at him.

“ yeah, yeah, just a bit, uh... don't worry. ” he just shook his head, giving a thumbs up for the music to start.

he spent the whole session spacing out after ending a song, laughing quietly at some jokes and just drinking water.

he felt so weird. he didn't knew in what moment did your touch became so comforting to him at the point where he felt he was going insane without it.

when steve gave everyone a five minute break elvis just shoot himself out his seat, almost running to the phone out of the booth.

dialing your number he waited, not patiently, for you to pick up.

“ hello? ” elvis thought he was going to pass out at the sound of your voice, he really missed you.

“ baby! god, it's so good to hear your voice. but hey, i think you cursed me or something 'cause y'know i got late today because i couldn't wake up without your 'good morning', ” he even made a girly voice in an attempt to copy yours. “ then i didn't had breakfast because i tried to do that sandwich you make for me and it just. didn't. hit. the. same. ” he stomped his feet at every pause, like a toddler. “ and i almost break down crying because i didn't get your good morning kiss either, can you come home? ”

he waited for an answer, probably a 'okay, i'm actually taking a plane back home as we speak' type of answer but what he got was laughter.

laughter.

“ wha-. is my suffering funny to ya'? ” he asked with his hand in his waist; doing his dad stance.

“ oh my god! elvis aaron presley, are you telling me to go back home because you couldn't get your good morning kissie? ” you said between laughs, probably tears running down your face.

“ no! ” he defensively said, looking around before saying. “ not just that, it's the sandwich too. ”

you laughed harder.

“ stop laughing, it's not funny! at all! if you told me 'elvis, i love you and i need you to leave right now to be at my side', i'll do it! i'll take the first plane back home and- ”

his rant was cut off as steve screamed at him.

“ elvis, come on! ”

elvis sighed.

“ you have to go back? ”

“ yeah... ”

“ okay, look, call me when the session ends and we'll talk about whatever you need, okay? ”

“ okay... ” he pouted like a child.

“ okay. i love you, you baby. ”

“ 'm not a baby. ”

“ sure. ”

you hung up, making elvis sigh again.

“ elvis-! ”

“ yeah, i hear you, goddammit! ”

️️ ️️️️️️️️️

he was now in his dressing room, sitting in the chair as his makeup artist worked while listening to the colonel explaining the whole agenda to steve.

elvis was playing with his straw, occasionally smiling to his makeup artist in a way to say that it was going good.

“ colonel, with all due respect, i feel like 'suspicious minds' should be the open scene, it's just a small show, not a big event. ”

“ no, no, no! it should be polk salad annie, it's fun, it's upbeat! ” the colonel turned to elvis, pointing at his figure with his clown custom cane making elvis snicker as he remembered that time you joked about the colonel showing a picture of him to the shop worker about the type of cane he wanted and them just giving him a clown cane. “ my boy would agree with me! ”

steve just sighed. “ elvis, what do you think? ”

“ uh... ” the makeup artist took a step back, elvis standing up; putting his hands in his waist, looking at the ground. “ excuse me. ” he walked to the white phone that was on the table.

“ what are you doin- ” elvis held a finger to the colonel.

“ hiya, baby! ” elvis greeted you, showing his back to the colonel and his profile to steve. “ wanna ask you something really quick, uh, what song do you like more as an opening song: 'suspicious minds' or 'polk salad annie'? ”

steve had to turn his head to the side to hide his laughter at the sight of the colonel's shocked face.

“ suspicious minds? great! thank you and enjoy your day, doll, i love ya'. ” he kissed the phone before hanging up, looking at the colonel with a confident smile.

“ suspicious minds will be the opening song. ” he sat in the chair again, grabbing his coke and sipping it while looking at the song lyrics clearly unaware of the situation before hearing steve's loud laughter.

“ what in the damn hell just happened? ” the colonel asked while steve kept laughing.

️️ ️️️️️️️️️

he was getting ready for a press conference, fixing his hair for the millionth time.

the colonel was giving orders to the press, telling them what was appropriate to ask and what not while elvis stood behind him, next to jerry and another memphis mafia member.

“ shit. ” he muttered under his breath, trying to make his hair look good.

“ what's going on? ” jerry asked, sparing a glance to elvis.

“ my hair is looking like a damn mess. ” he complained, his hands still touching the ends of his hair.

“ lemme call the styl-. ”

“ no, he doesn't know how to do this. ” elvis quickly turned the offer down, getting more nervous as he saw how his hair continued to look like he just woke up or something.

“okay! boy, we' goin' out right now-. ”

“ no, just let me fix this. ”

come on, you dumb hair, work!

“ elvis, we don't have ti-. ”

“ wait! ” he quickly remembered what you used to do, he grabbed steve's water bottle wetting a part of his scarf in it now using that piece of cloth to tame his hair down, making it work. not as perfectly as it did when you did it but it worked.

“ 'kay, let's go. ” he shrugged his shoulders, walking to the press conference with five shocked and confused faces behind him.

️️ ️️️️️️️️️

after the show, elvis just dried his sweat with the white towel he was given by some staff giving them a quick 'thank you' as he walked to his dressing room.

in a moment of obliviousness he stopped in his tracks, leaning his cheek to the side while drying his wet hair.

everyone just stood quiet.

“ uh... elvis? ” steve asked, looking at elvis as if he was insane. “ you good? ”

he just looked at steve like he was bothering him before realizing what the fuck he was doing.

snapping out of the state of mind he was in, he stood straight, clearing his throat.

“ sorry, thought the suit was... tighter. ” he whispered the last part, walking quickly to his dressing room while everyone looked confused.

he dialed you again, now in his expensive robe, sitting in the small couch his dressing room had.

“ hi! ” your voice welcomed him again.

“ i'm going insane. ”

a few seconds of silence passed.

“ okay, what happened? ” you asked as if this was normal to you, it sounded like you were in some kind of outdoor area as the wind could be heard.

“ i just- you're going to laugh again. ”

“ i won't! ”

elvis reluctantly shook his head.

“ i don't believe you. listen, just... can you come home? i really, really miss you. baby, i'll send the private jet, hell, i'll fly it myself! ” he threw a hand to the air, hitting his elbow with something making him pout.

you softly chuckled. “ elvis, just for two days mor-. ”

he groaned.

“ no! i want you here right now! you don't get it, i have to take this suffering alone. ”

you held your laughter back, shaking your head.

“ elvis, it's just for two days, they're going to pass quick! i'll be there in a blink, you'll see. ”

he blinked.

“ liar. ”

“ elvis! ” you laughed. “ you're being a brat. ”

“ hey! 'm not. ” he sighed again, falling in the couch as if it was some kind of support. “ fine. two more days and you take your cute ass home, got it? ”

“ yes. ” you chuckled. “ i love you, sleep well. ” you sent him a kiss, making him smile.

“ i love you too, g'bye. ”

“ bye. ”

the call ended. making elvis feel lonely again.

️️ ️️️️️️️️

it was now the day you were going to come back home, elvis dressed the best he could, driving himself to the airport as he insisted in you traveling back home with his plane so he could welcome you without anyone bothering you.

he was checking himself out after arriving, fixing his hair the best he could, cleaning his glasses and trying to make his outfit look better. feeling the excitement feel his body at the realization that he was going to go back to normal, his morning kisses will be there, the pampering will be there after every show... and those delicious pj's sandwiches you do.

thank god you're already his wife because he could propose you again.

... why not propose to you again?

before he could think even further he listened to the plane landing, bouncing in his feet like an excited kid. and after some minutes, he saw your figure go down the stairs, now in the same place as he was.

he ran to you, giggling like a love-sick high schooler, his arms holding you when you were close enough.

“ elvis! ”

“ doll! ”

you both said hugging each other with all the strength you could muster.

“ i missed you. ”

“ i missed you even more, sweetheart. ”

you both didn't notice the relieved sighs of jerry behind the both of you.

breaking up the hug, you both walked to the car. hand in hand.

“ so, how was it? did you get some free time without me? ”

elvis immediately shook his head, holding your hand tighter.

“ no doll, i beg of you to not leave me alone ever again. next family reunion i'm going with you, i don' give a damn if i have something important that day. ”

you laughed, caressing his arm with your other hand as you arrived closer to the car, jerry and steve beside the both of you.

“ that's too bad cause i thought of going to my cousin's wedding next wee-. ”

“ NO! ” three male voices shut you down, jerry pleading with his hands as if he was praying, steve with his hands in his head as if you just told him the world was ending and elvis hugging your waist as if you were going to dissappear in any second.

looks like the one that'll be needing free time is going to be you.

[cherry-queens-blog]

A little story i had saved for awhile now and never got around to post it yet. This story hit me right in the feels a bit hard. In this story Gyutaro is searching for a partner on a dating site only to be constantly mocked and rejected sending him into a depressed frenzy until he finds reader.

(MDNI)

Warning: Self harm, depression, and Mentions of blood.

FINDING LOVE

It was a late night about 11:56 and Gyutaro was on his laptop making a profile on a dating site. He was pretty lonely and wanted to at least try and find someone he can talk to, hang out with, and just be with. He wasn't expecting much due to his appearance so he expected to get rejected by literally everyone but it doesn't hurt to at least try right? He thought in his head. Months had soon passed him by as each message he had gotten so far was just women making fun of him, calling him names, and telling him to get off the site. This made his self esteem drop further and further, even seeing all the guys get the ladies like crazy caused his jealousy to just sky rocket. The longer Gyutaro scrolled through the site the more it sent him into a spiral making him let out a frustrated sigh. It really seemed like no one interested in him, and the constant rejection was staring to really wear him down.

"why can't anyone just look past my appearance?"

He muttered to himself while slamming his laptop closed in anger. He knew that he wasn't conventionally attractive, but seeing all the other guys easily getting dates made him feel worse about himself, his jealously growing and festering, making him more bitter and angry. Gyutaro got another message but chose to just ignore it for the night, getting up and going to bed instead since he had work in a couple hours but as he laid down it felt impossible to sleep. He laid there in his bed staring at his blank wall unable to shake off the loneliness that consumed him. He just wanted to feel loved and wanted so badly but getting that was merely impossible. Not knowing how to escape from his own bitter thoughts he laid awake tossing and turning for a good two hour, unable to find any peace. The rejection from the dating had hit him harder than he thought it would, and he was starting to think there was no point in trying anymore.

Eventually, exhaustion took hold of him and he finally fell into a fitful sleep, weighed down by his own sadness and frustration. As the sun began to rise in the sky and his alarm goes off waking him from his slumber. Groaning he hit his alarm to shut it off, sitting up and rubbing his tired eyes, feeling the fatigue from his restless night settle in. Despite not wanting to get up, he dragged himself out of bed and got ready for work. He knew he couldn't let his personal life interfere with his job, so he tried to push his negative thoughts aside as he headed out to face the day. Throwing on his shirt and pants he heads out of his room towards the kitchen to find Ume who was already ready for school making frozen waffles in the toaster for breakfast before school started up. Gyutaro glanced at his little sister, giving her a nod of greeting before walking over and pouring himself a nice cup of hot coffee. He wasn't exactly a morning person especially not after the hurtful night he had, but he appreciated the effort Ume put in to make breakfast. He took a sip of the of the steaming liquid, letting out a deep sigh as the caffeine hit his system. He sits down at the table as Ume brings him waffles, setting them down in front of him, taking a bite of the waffles, savoring the sweetness and warmth of the food. Gyutaros thoughts however were still clouded with the constant rejection from the site he was using, his mind racing as he thought about all the messages he had gotten last night. After breakfast Ume and Gyutaro both grab their coats and Ume grabs her backpack and phone. The two siblings walk outside towards his motorcycle, placing a helmet on Umes head and helping her onto his bike before getting on himself. After dropping her off at school and giving her a quick hug, watching her run off towards her friends he sets off to work. As he rides off to work he can't help but feel the sense of emptiness building up inside of him. He was grateful for Ume, but he still felt alone and miserable.

Doing his best to push those thoughts down trying to focus on the road ahead of him coming to a stop at a red light. Waiting for the light to turn green a truck flew right past him at 150 mph speeding past the red light, barely missing him by a few inches. Gyutaro felt his heart drop into his stomach as the pick up truck flew past him at such a high speed. He felt lucky to be alive but his heart was still pounding rapidly inside his chest and he couldn't help but feel so thankful that Ume wasn't with him and was safe at school. He couldn't help but feel resentful towards the driver in the truck who put his life in danger.

"that was too close" he muttered to himself thinking about what could've happened if that truck had hit him dead on. He could feel the flood of adrenaline coursing through his body as he let out a shaky breath, his hands shaking on his handlebars of his motorcycle.

As the light finally turns green Gyutaro sat and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before continuing his ride to work. Pulling up to his work and parking his bike, he sets off inside and starts getting the motorcycle shop ready for opening. Gyutaro spends the day working on various motorcycles, trying his best to focus on his work and not let his mind drift off to his own problems. It's not easy, but the physical labor somewhat helped keep his mind clear and helps him feel like he's accomplishing something in his life. As the day draws to a close, he finishes up and begins cleaning up the place getting it ready for closing. He felt exhausted after the long day, but he feels a sense of satisfaction from a job well done. Gyutaro finally arrives back home to find Ume passed out on the couch with cartoons playing on the tv. Sighing softly as he looks at her small form sleeping peacefully on the couch making him feel a sense of warmth and protectiveness flow over him. He grabs a blanket and carefully covers her, making sure she's comfortable before moving over to the remote and shutting off the tv. He heads to his room and changes into more comfortable clothing and sits at his laptop pulling it open to find a bunch of messages from the dating site. Opening up the site he looks through all of them just to see so much hate towards him again, not a single nice message was in sight and it caused his depression to spike, going through and blocking each one of them, feeling like he about had enough as his mood turns sour as he reads each one. The teasing and bashing was something he should be used to but each message had cut him so deep, hurting him so badly every time. A spiral of emotions tearing into him as he sat there wondering why nobody ever wanted to just give him at least one chance, and just look past his ugliness at all. Closing the site he decides to look at other things online to try and distract himself from all the bullshit, and negative thoughts that is pounding inside his head as the hurt, anger, and loneliness swarms him, lingering in the back of his mind, keeping him from being able to relax.

Though despite his best efforts to distract himself from it all, he finds himself unable to shake off every ounce of emotion pumping through him like a drug that's poisoning his mind and body, feeling trapped in a endless cycle of rejection, and loneliness unable to break away no matter how hard he tries. He sits there feeling so isolated, and unwanted by everyone and everything, taking in all his willpower to not break into tears and lash out.

Gyutaro spends the rest of the night feeling so lost in his thoughts and pain. Feelings that nothing will change for him and there's nothing he can do to make his situation better for himself. He can't help but feel tired and drained as he finally crawls into bed, feeling like tomorrow will just be another day of the same old routine. The emotions that are stirring within him finally over takes him making him feel like he's about to lose his mind, the hurt drowning him in depression and self hatred, he finally breaks apart fully, tears now soaking his face as the anger creeps in stronger then before. with tears pouring from his eyes, his hands covering them as the madness takes hold, hair nails now digging into his flesh on his face dragging them down leaving wounds upon himself that bled as he begins to yell out due to the overbearing hurt that was now to much for him. All the pain and and anger that is pouring out of him in torrent of tears and self-harm, hoping the physical pain would drown out and numb out all the hurt inside of him. As he screamed and cried out, he couldn't help but feel like giving up. The constant rejection and mockery he faced all cause of his appearance has really chipped away his self esteem, leaving him feeling like he isn't worthy of love or happiness. After awhile Ume comes into his room after being woken up by his screaming only to have her heart drop into her stomach, seeing her brother in tears and scratches painting his face from him scratching. Without another second she rushes to her brothers side and hugs onto him tightly trying to comfort him, to calm him with her embrace.

"Shhh it's okay brother, everything's okay, please relax everything's okay big brother" She says to him as his heart swells up as Ume holds onto him. The warmth of his sister's embrace sooths the pain he's in right now, hugging her back tightly, taking in big deep breaths trying to calm down from his high of pain. "it's nothing Ume, I'm just f-feeling a bit d-down.." He muttered not wanting to burden her with the full extent of his problems, but eventually he finds the courage to speak up to his little sister and tell her what's going on. "I just... I feel so alone, Ume.. It feels so hard, to keep going when it feels like nobody's ever going to love me." He admits with his voice breaking a bit as his tears wet her shoulder. "I love you big brother, I always will, you're the best brother i could ever ask for"

Her words had struck him harder then anything, to hear how much his sister loved him and cared for him so much was enough to smother his pain a bit despite the tears still being visible in his eyes. A couple weeks pass by and Gyutaro finally had a day off from work so he decides to take Ume to the park so she can go and play for awhile. He sits down on a bench while Ume played on the slides, swings, and so on. Pulling out his phone he sees many messages from that damn site again. Feeling a sense of dread wash over him as he sees all the messages from the dating site, now debating whether or not to read them, but something urges him to open it and face all the insults head on but was interrupted when you walked over and sat by him on the bench, pulling out your phone from your pocket. You were extremely cute with big doe hazel eyes, a nice figure, nice hair, everything. Gyutaro didn't have the confidence though to start a conversation knowing he's just gonna get hit with insults all over again. The feeling of anxiety taking hold, her beauty making him feel even more self-conscious about his own appearance. He does his best to ignore her, only paying attention to Ume's laughter and enjoyment along with the feeling of the sun on his skin. You look up from your phone, looking over at him as a small smile formed on your face.

"Um.. hey" You said to him while looking out at all the kids playing in the park. Gyutaro was completely taken aback when you spoke to him, making him feel shocked and nervous. He looks over at you, feeling his heart rate increase at the sight of your smile. "uh.. hi.... um what's up?"

He stammers a bit, feeling like his mouth is suddenly dried up. he tries to keep his cool and keep his tone casual, but he can feel himself getting tongue tied, hoping your different from the rest but he can't help but push those thoughts down not wanting to get his hopes up. "The sky" You respond back to him joking a little with a slight laugh. Gyutaro let's out a small chuckle as well at the small joke you made, feeling a smile forming on his face, while feeling a slight relief. He was grateful for the moment of levity, which managed to dispel some of the tension he's been feeling. He realizes now that you are trying to make conversation with him and decides to give it a chance, though he still feels nervous about it, worrying about rejection still."so uh... do you come here often or?" He asks trying to keep the conversation going between you two without getting to attached, not when he knows that he could be rejected at any moment. "nah not really, how about you? do you come here often?" You ask him, looking at him as he shakes his head no. He felt a bit embarrassed that he mostly spends all his time at work or at home with his little sister. "Not really, I usually work a lot or I'm usually busy with my sister so I don't get out much"

He admits feeling a bit self-conscious about how boring his life must sound right now to you, but he wasn't gonna pretend either just to impress some pretty girl either. "oh..." You reply going quiet for a moment thinking to yourself. "eh that's okay" Gyutaro felt a little bit of relief wash over him knowing you were a bit understanding of his situation. He knows he's not the most exciting person in the world, but he hopes that you'll find him interesting enough to keep talking to him. "yeah it's not so bad, I mean I like spending time with my little sister and all, but sometimes it would be nice to have someone else to talk to"

He says while glancing over at his sister again, feeling grateful for her presence but also feeling a little lonely. He's not used to striking up conversations with strangers, but he's trying to push himself out of his comfort zone. You raise a brow looking at him wondering something. "Are you lonely or something?" You ask him, watching him shift in his seat a little as he felt a bit uncomfortable at your direct question. His cheeks flush a bit red, feeling self-conscious about his loneliness. He wasn't used to being so vulnerable around strangers, but he does decide to be quite honest with you for some reason. "uh yeah, I guess you could say that" He shrugs his shoulders a little. "I mean I have my little sister but"

He trails off as he looks at all the people on the playground again, feeling a twinge of sadness rise up in his chest. You felt a bit sorry for him but also found him cute as well so you thought of something. "How about we go out sometime?" Your question had really caught him off guard. Gyutaro looked at you in absolute shock as he felt a surge of hope at your words, not quite believing if he had heard you correctly or not. His heart skips its beat inside his chest, nervousness grasping his throat as he got choked up a little bit. "Really? you would want to go out with me?' He asks feeling a little incredulous. He quickly composes himself, not wanting to come off as desperate or eager.

"I mean, sure, that sounds great, uh when were you thinking?" As he asks feeling nervous about this whole thing. A faint blush spreads across your face as you begin to speak. "Are you free tomorrow night?" Gyutaro feels his own cheeks flush as he notices your blush on your face, feeling a sudden surge of confidence. Maybe this is his chance, his opportunity to break out of his shell and finally experience what he's been wanting for so long now. "Uh yeah, tomorrow night works for me!" He says, trying to sound casual despite the butterflies he feels in his stomach. "did you have a specific place in mind?

"there's a nice restaurant called kozue we can go to" Your smile never fades as you continue to talk with him. "oh I never asked what's your name by the way?" You felt a bit silly not asking him for his name earlier in the conversation. Gyutaro smiles felling a bit happy for once right now, he also couldn't help but feel so excited as well while hearing your suggestion. He could not believe his luck either, was this really happening to him?. "My names gyutaro and yours?" He responds while extending his hand to shake yours. "My name is Y/N". You shake his hand with a nice smile. "nice to meet you" He responds trying to keep the excitement out of his voice, not wanting to scare you off with his eagerness. He just can't help but feel like he's on cloud nine in this moment right now. Your mom soon pulls up to pick you up and you get a message from her stating that she was there. You get up off the bench, and as you do Gyutaro gets a bit worried for a second as you stand up looking at your phone until you put it in your pocket. "my rides here... do you have a phone?". He looks at you a bit confused as to why your asking him that, but he's to excited to and decides to hand it to you without thinking to much about it. You take his phone and put something into it before handing it back and waving at him goodbye as you walk to your moms car. Gyutaro felt a bit disappointed as you left until he looked down at his phone and seen that you had put your number in his phone which spikes up his excitement as he can't wait to see you tonight.

[solarrue]

Hello! I want to say that I love your writing! Keep the good work hehe. Also I would like to request Diluc, Thoma, Ayato, Ayaka, Kaeya, Scaramouche and Jean (hope it's not too much) trying to cook traditional dish from their foreign S/O's country.

Sorry for my english btw, it's not my first language. Have a nice day! <3

Ooohhhh! I love thisss!! 💕💕 Keep in sending requests peopleee!! <3 (don’t be shy😉)

I hope you guys like how I wrote these!

I

GENSHIN HCS | COOKING A TRADITIONAL DISH FROM THEIR S/O COUNTRY

characters: diluc, thoma, ayato, ayaka, kaeya, scaramouche and jean x gn!reader

warnings: not proofread.⚠️⚠️

diluc

Diluc had always noticed the way your face lit up when you ate a dish from your country. So one day, he decided to make it for you as a surprise.

He doesn’t cook often, because he lets his maids do the work, but this time he wanted to do it for himself, so that it could be more special. He found the recipe to the meal, and it was confusing to him at first, but he got the hang of it.

When he was finished, he woke you up, and told you he had a surprise for you. When you walked down to the kitchen, you saw a familiar dish waiting on the table. When you tasted it, it was amazing. You were surprised he made it exactly as you did, especially on the first try.

After the meal, you hugged him and thanked him, in which he became really flustered. “D-don’t mention it, anything for you.”

thoma

As Thoma is the housekeeper of the Kamisato clan, he should know how to cook really well. That’s not exactly the case when it comes to foreign dishes.

He really tried to make a traditional dish from your country, but he became confused while reading the recipe. So the only person he could ask for help, was you. You explained to him step to step how he should make it, and in the end he understood it. “What would I do without you?” He said, which made your heart skip a beat

It tasted a little bit different to what you were used to, because Thoma had messed it up a little at the beginning, but later on he became a master on how to make this dish. Even making it for the Kamisato siblings in the future.

ayato

Ayato was a really busy man. Being the head of the Kamisato clan, and the Yashiro commission was not easy and he had a lot of work everyday. Except for this one day.

It was your anniversary today, and so he decided to do something special for you. He had a full day planned for the both of you, but to start of the day, for breakfast, he decided to make a traditional dish from your country.

Not gonna lie, he failed miserably, almost burning the kitchen down. He is not the best at cooking, because he always has someone to do it for him. So after he was done, and made you taste it. It was definitely not the best. You were completely honest with him, but you really appreciated the effort he made into making that.

Some other time, you cooked the dish together, and he finally made it somewhat edible. “I am glad I didn’t burn the kitchen down this time.”

ayaka

Ayaka would see that you were really overworked and stressed this one day, so she decided that she would make something for you to cheer you up, why not just make a traditional dish from your country? Just as her brother, she’s not the best cook. She has everyone doing it for her.

She tries anyway, which didn’t go so well. You smelled something burning from the kitchen, then you realized it was Ayaka making something, which made you really surprised.

She handed you a plate, and you noticed it was a familiar dish. You smiled, and took a bite, it was really salty. She saw your expression, and began to apologize. You calmed her down, and said it wasn’t a big deal.

“I just wanted to make something to cheer you up.” She said, blushing a bit. You just smiled, and told her she didn’t have to, but she obliged anyway. In the end, you two just went out to eat, because the whole house smelled burnt because of the kitchen.

kaeya

Kaeya was laying next to you in bed, wide awake already, as for you, you were still in deep sleep. He smiled, and kissed your forehead before getting up, and getting dressed.

He had the day off today, so while you were still asleep, he wanted to make you breakfast in bed. He didn’t know what to make, but an idea popped into his head suddenly. He was gonna make you a dish from your country. He has never tried to make it, but he has seen you make it dozen of times, so it might be easy.

To your surprise, he made it exactly as you did. “This is amazing! Where did you learn to cook this good?” You asked in amazement, to which he shrugged and smiled at. “It’s a secret.” He said as he winked a you.

scaramouche

Scaramouche was sometimes really shy to ask you about stuff, despite you being his s/o. So when he watched in admiration as you made a dish from your country in silence, he really wanted join, but was shy to ask.

You noticed his glances, and smiled. “You okay?” You chuckled, and turned around to look at him. “I’m fine, yes.” He looked away, and you just shrugged and continued. After some minutes, he went up to you, and wrapped his arms around your waist. “Could I…possibly help you?” He whispered in a low tone.

Your eyes lit up, and you told him what he needed to do, and to ask if he needed any assistance. This was definitely one of his favorite way to learn about you culture and food, and also spend time with you.

jean

You were perfectly aware that Jean was a perfectionist, and a hard worker. She felt that everything needed to be done perfectly, so when you needed to make a dish from your country to bring to a family gathering, she was more happy to help.

Since you had other stuff to take care of, you gave Jean a detailed recipe for the dish, so it would be perfect. Let’s say, she did not disappoint! When you returned, it was absolutely perfect, and it blew you away, how this was her first time making it.

You thanked her a thousand times, and she just smiled and kissed you cheek, “anything for you, hun”

A/N: sorry for being away for so long, my finals were stressing me out, but I passed all of them (thank god). So, I’m gonna be focusing more on writing, I can’t promise, because I have a life outside tumblr, but i will write when I have the time

Also, thank you so much for all of the support I’ve gotten! I can’t explain how much this means for me!

Goodbye, love you <3

[greyghoulclub]

There was a letter for Max on the table. It had been there for at least two months now. But she was too scared to open it, for may be written inside.

She stares at it from across the breakfast table while she was supposed to be eating breakfast before she got to school. With a shaking hand she picked it up and looked at the scratchy block handwriting on the envelope.

Maxine.

There was only one person apart from her mom who called her Maxine.

The letter was found in his room the day after he was skewered by the monster made of people. It was one of three. The other two addressed separately to his parents. She thought about the letters the gloomy day his coffin was lowered into the ground. It was in the middle of August but the sky had been overcast as if it was weeping for him too.

Her mom had sent the one addressed to his mother away the day after they were found. She saw her stepdad rip his up with some ugly words about his now deceased son. After that she hadn’t seen her step dad since. Fine by her, she didn’t like the guy anyways and he didn’t either.

Her mind was full of the memories of him, the good and the bad. The time where he had helped her beat a record on the arcade machines to win a giant stuffed bear for El, but then that was followed with a memory of him breaking her skateboard for sneaking out at night. She understands why he did it now, but she was still pissed about it. The walking paradox that was Billy Hargrove.

The letter itself read;

"Dear Maxine,

I want you to know I never really hated you, not one bit. I thought you were annoying sure, but who doesn't think their younger sibling is annoying? Tell Lucas I didn't hate him either, I was made to act that way. Neil wouldn't have taken too kindly to you hanging out with a black kid. He was the monster, not me.

He pit us against each other Max, especially so I wouldn't have had an ally against him. He used me to punish you since people would ask questions if you were walking about with a black eye. I hope he hasn't turned onto you since I'm going to die soon. You're a good kid Max, and you don't deserve anything he may or may not throw against you.

I'm going to sound insane right now, but there's more monsters in Hawkins other than Neil. Actual monsters that you'd see in a horror movie, dogs with no faces, ones that can walk on two legs. And one that's made out of people. That one made me take people to it against my will to help it get bigger. It brainwashed me Max, I can feel it in the back of my head as I'm writing this, it doesn't want me to tell you this. It tells me I need to not be as weak as the boy. I don't know who the boy is but you've got to keep him away from me. I already took Heather to the monster and her family, they got melted into the monster, it was the most horrible thing I've ever seen and it made me do it. I think I might be a bad person Max, but I don't want to be. I've never wanted to be a bad person but other people and things made me a bad person Max.

I don't know what I'm trying to tell you Max, I guess this might be the last time I speak to you as me. The monster is taking control more and more. Just remember that I love you, and while I might have not been the best brother to you, you were the best sister to me.

Love, Billy"

The letter had tear stains near the end, the ink starting to smear from either Billy's tears or Max's. Part of her was angry that it took Billy dying for him to tell her this, the other part felt a sort of relief to know that Billy really did love her. Tears were freely flowing as she read the letter again, pain in her chest growing for not realising earlier that Billy had been a victim of both the Mindflayer and Neil. She felt as if she had failed Billy even though she wouldn't have been able to do anything.

She clutched the letter close to her chest as she cried in the corner of Billy's room. "I'm sorry Billy, I'm so sorry,"

[luigisblueoveralls]

Hello, I know that you only take Luigi requests, BUT I hope I don't bother with my request that I feel it would be nice: the Mario brothers as older/younger brothers of the reader :) gender neutral

No your request doesn't bother me at all!! I love this request! I just do better writing about Luigi individually but both brothers as a whole I can do! I decided to make them older than the reader since I can see them being great mentors while also being very protective to their younger sibling. Thank you so much for your request!

The Sibling Trio

Older!Sibling! Mario & Luigi with GN!Younger! Sibling Reader

Summary: Mario and Luigi are your older brothers, but the three of you do everything together. When the two of them find out you're being bullied, they step in to put an end to it.

Notes: Mario and Luigi are awesome and overprotective older siblings, scenes of bullying but nothing graphic. Mention of depression and self harm but just a mention. This is something different, but I had a lot of fun writing this one! Thank you again for this request!

💚

Another day, another day of being tormented at school, you thought. At least you would be looking forward to hanging with your older brothers after school. By the time school would be done, their work day is usually done. Your older brothers were Mario and Luigi and although they were in their 20s and you were younger, they still dragged you around with them with everything they did. And even though you looked forward to hanging out with them this afternoon, you still worried and were scared for going to school today. What your brothers and family didn't know was that you were being bullied at school. More specifically by Spike's nephew, which was Mario and Luigi's old boss they had who treated them horribly. Despite you not being a triplet to Mario and Luigi, you bared similarities to them in looks. So of course Spike's nephew, Shane, spotted you immediately. The torment started about three months ago and has been going on since then. You were thinking about the day when Mario came up behind you and ruffled your hair.

"Morning, Squeak." Mario greets you.

You smiled in response. Squeak was a nickname the brothers have given you when you were a baby because every time you smiled, you would squeak out of happiness. At first the nickname annoyed you, but as you got older you grew to love it.

"Morning Mario." You greet him back as he sits next to you at the table.

Mama Mario was making breakfast for the whole family, even though you and Mario were the only people up at the moment.

"Where's Luigi at?" You ask, seeing his absence.

"He's getting up. You know how he is." Mario says with a chuckle.

Luigi was definitely hard to get up in the morning. It's not that he wants to sleep all day, he is just a very drowsy person. After a while though, a very tired Luigi walked into the dining room.

"Morning sleeping beauty." You jokingly greet Luigi and he chuckles at your remark.

The rest of the morning was spent with the three of you guys chatting and eating some delicious pancakes Mama made. Eventually it was time for Mario and Luigi to go to work and for you to go to school. The twin brothers often drove you to school and picked you up depending on when their first and last clients of the day were. Thankfully today they were able to take you to school and pick you up as well. It's less likely chance for Shane to torment you. The three of you then arrived at your school.

"Do you wanna grab some grub after school, (Y/N)?" Mario asked you.

"Grub? What are you talking about, Mario?" Luigi asks Mario, making you giggle.

"Food, Lu!" Mario says.

Seeing the two brothers scuffle with each other always made you laugh. It never got serious to the point were they would have an intense fight with each other and that always made you feel relieved.

"But yes that would be great." You answered as you climbed out of the van.

"See y'all later." You told the brothers as you exited the van.

"Bye, Squeak!"

"Love you, Squeak!"

Both Mario and Luigi call out to you as you made your way to inside of your school. You wave back as they drove off and disappeared.

"Welcome to Hell, (Y/N)." You mumble to yourself as you walked to the first class of the day, already ready for this day of torment to end.

~

"You're such a loser!"

"Look at the baggy clothes they wear!!"

"Such a rat looking face!"

You tried to make your escape at the end of the day, but Shane and his goons managed to get to you. You were standing outside near the parent pick up line, and no teacher or parent took notice to you getting bullied. Suddenly, Shane shoved you down hard, causing you to hit your head on the hard pavement.

"What?! Too scared to fight?" Shane screamed at you, getting close to your face.

"J-Just, leave me alone." You stutter out, scared out of your mind.

"Pfft! They are just like their older brother that wears green all the time!" One of Shane's goons yelled.

Your blood boiled hearing that they were mocking Luigi. But unfortunately they had you pinned down to the ground and you couldn't get up. Shane was about to raise his hand down on your face and you recoiled back, waiting for the pain to arrive.

"Hey!!"

A familiar voice shouted, making Shane stop. You turned to see who it was and it was Mario and Luigi, quickly making their way towards you. You felt instant relief but also disappointment in yourself for this is how your older brothers find out about you being bullied.

"Leave her alone, NOW!" Mario shouted, causing the boys to let go of you and back off of you.

Luigi immediately came to your aid while Mario was cussing out the boys.

"Now if I ever see or even hear you come within fifty feet of (Y/N), I will be sure to make y'alls life hell. And I don't care that your daddy is our old boss, you don't mess with our younger sibling. Got it?" Mario sternly told Shane and his goons.

The three of them nervously nodded in response. Even though Mario was the shorter sibling, he was still taller than Shane and his goons. You could say that Shane had a Napoleon complex.

"Now scram!" Mario bowed up at them and the three of them scurried away like pussies.

"(Y/N), are you okay?" Luigi frantically asked you, as he got you on your feet.

By now, all of the parents and teachers were staring, which made you madder. Of course, Mario immediately took notice of that.

"Oh so now all of y'all are staring now when a midget starts yelling at some kids instead of helping someone who was getting bullied for God knows how long?!" Mario shouted at everyone.

"Mario, please." You call to him, to try and get him to stop.

"No, (Y/N). This is wrong. We have to report this." Mario sternly said.

"No, please. Just take me home." You muffled your sobs.

It's what you wanted. You wanted to be away from here.

"Mario, please. Let's get them out of here." Luigi pleaded with Mario.

Mario sighed deeply and nodded in agreement.

"Alright." Mario mumbles.

As the onlookers stared, Mario and even Luigi gave them all dirty looks. They both were boiling with anger. How could they sit there and stare and let their little sibling get beaten up and bullied like that?

"Wait till I get my hands on that damn kid." Luigi mumbled as they got you in their van.

You just sat in silence, holding your arm in pain, as Mario started the van and drove off.

"How long has he been picking on you, (Y/N)?" Mario asks you in a serious but comforting tone.

"Not long." You lied.

Judging by your soft tone, the brothers knew you were lying.

"(Y/N). Don't lie to us. Please. We want to help you." Luigi reassures you.

You knew they were trying to help but didn't want to make them worry more than they already were.

"I just..don't want y'all to worry about me."

"What do you mean? Of course we are gonna worry about you! You're our sibling! Youngest, in fact." Mario remarked.

He wasn't getting onto you at all but he wanted to make it clear that he was serious.

"I know." You mumble.

The rest of the ride back to y'alls house was silent. You felt as though you had disappointed Mario. Luigi was just very concerned and worried for you, and so was Mario, but you couldn't help but like you did something wrong. The van pulled up to the house, but neither you, Mario, or Luigi got out.

"I'm sorry." You broke the silence.

"For what?" Luigi asks you.

Both Mario and Luigi were confused as to why you were apologizing. You did nothing wrong.

"For disappointing y'all."

Mario and Luigi immediately turned to you.

"You didn't disappoint us, (Y/N)." Mario reassures you.

"Yeah. We just want you to be okay. We will get this figured out." Luigi reassures you as well.

"But it's Spike's nephew. Y'all's old boss."

"We know. And we don't care. You're our sibling and we want to make sure you're okay and not being bullied. There's no excuse for it." Mario told you.

Hearing Mario's words helped you a little bit.

"We love you, Squeak. We just want the best for you and don't want you to go through what I went through." Luigi mentioned.

You knew what Luigi was talking about. During their school years, Luigi was bullied heavily by their classmates, and even though you were younger at the time when this was happening, you could recall how it impacted Luigi. He was depressed and even had thoughts of hurting himself. Of course, he is better now, but you knew that Luigi didn't want that to happen with you.

"I know." You mumble out, trying not to sob.

The feeling of love and protection from your older brothers overwhelmed you greatly. But in a good way. Mario and Luigi immediately climbed into the back seat to hug you. Even though they had a huge family, Mario and Luigi secretly favored you the most. You were special to them and they loved you so much.

"Oh, you two, you're going to suffocate me." You joked as they hugged you tightly.

"Tomorrow, we are going to have a day off and come to your school to talk with the principal. And then get some ice cream. How does that sound?" Luigi offers.

"Yeah! And even take you to that book store you love so much!" Mario added.

"Sounds like a plan. Thank you, guys." You thanked them.

"You're welcome." Both Mario and Luigi said in unison.

"Jinx! You owe me a soda!" Mario exclaimed, punching Luigi in the shoulder.

"Aw, really, Mario?" Luigi groaned, making you laugh.

The three of you eventually exited the van and went inside y'alls house. You all spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and playing video games all night to ease the anxiety of what the next day would bring.

💚

It's out!! Again I loved doing this one and sorry for the long delay! I've been having a busy couple of days but I hope you enjoy!

[rosey100]

It had been almost a month since they started "hanging out" after the party and JJ and Varina have gotten closer each passing day, But unotified by both of them (mostly JJ) have been super close where they gave each other pet names while getting to know one another. It wasn't in til they're repeated siblings find out about them it was honestly( Zoe first) Mazzi and Vera who noticed how they act like Varina would be daydreaming out of nowhere with lovey dovey eyes or JJ could be making hearts with his breakfast. JJ was not sure if he could love someone else after the party but he gotten over it slowly and didn't wanna be hasty with anyone else and Varina wasn't sure that JJ would feel the same way about her.Mazzi agreed til she stated the times he was talking to someone on the phone way different when he would be if his friends and how he was going out almost literally of two and a half months without his skateboard or book bag and he would be all smiley when come home (JJ couldn't deny those facts ).For Varina though it was a shocker that her sister Vera figured out of all people who would notice she was the doodles she made and all the time she sneaks out when theirs parents are too busy or when everyone wasn't gonna be home (Varina couldn't try denying it).It took a lot of thinking and a lot of convincing (from mostly Mazzi then friends) for them to finally realize they're true feelings are to

"Just say it already!"

(OK,just a casual night time picnic.. with a girl...just the two of us...alone together far away from your friends and now you're sweating now before you even get the chance to tell your feelings to her-)

*Running to JJ waving*

"JJ! HEY JJ!"

"VARINA! *cough* Varina Hey! I didn't see there."

"Got here sooner then I thought, man you have no idea how hard it was just to make sure my parents- "

Meanwhile JJ's mind

(Wow this is really really happening, she's actually here..with me..and I thought she wasn't gonna be able to come and i ¢an'tevenwa!ttot@llher- hold on J! JUST CLAM DOWN! Just clam down man! You got this J! You got this! )

"Not gonna tell you what took me so long to get here when I got the chance but thankfully I found a quick route here. So we're watching the fireworks form here? "

"Ha? Oh!! Yeah the fireworks! Yeah right here, watching them right here yeah!."

"Ok haha?"

"Hopefully you don't mind, *hovering a bag and shaking it* I thought I could bring some snacks for us tonight."

"Oh that's pretty good, I just got us some drinks too. It RC and lemon lime soda."🤷🏽

*Giggles* " Alright then you lay down the blanket, I'll see if we have enough snacks and we'll get ready. "

In JJ's mind

( WOW! I almost forgot how much smarter she is and she's so cute when she talks like that -)

"Alright you got the blanket?"

"Huh I got a blank chest!?"

*😳

"The Blanket! Did you bring a blanket to watch the fireworks on?!"

"Oh the blanket I think I..I ?!"

"Please... don't tell me, you forgot "

"I mean it's not like I am the one who has it- I did bring the blanket" *pulls out a dark blue plaid blanket out of his backpack*

"You can be sure a darling dork "

*Lays down the blanket on the ground*

**Sits on the blanket**

"Ahh I definitely picked the best place for tonight."

"It sure is, I haven't seen this many stars since I was 7."

"Oh really now?"

"Yay I was a Wild kid then a Wild Kratts kid to be exact."

"Cool, Hey was one too when I was 5, though my mom would be frantic for the stents and crazy things that I and the other get into" 😄

"Seriously I was the definition of a wild child" 😌

"Ya right Goody Two-shoes,even my sister Zoe couldn't lie like that time she was stuck in a cave to get a tarantula when she was 8 even my Uncle Chris almost went to get a jackhammer and she still got out with over six of them."

Six tarantulas at 8 are not even crazy for anyone who would try🫢😆

I'm not joking it happened my dad was the one trying to wake up my mom when she faded.🤣

|*Both laying down laughing and talking for a half hour when waiting for the fireworks to come was getting more different*|

"The sky really pretty at night"

"Yah sure is pretty"

"Varina? I want to come clean."

"Yes J?"

"I didn't tell you to come to just see fireworks."😔

"Huh?!"

"I lured you here to..to -"

"JJ? *nervously*

"I wanted to tell you that I...I "

"You what JJ!!"

I love you

*😧

"You uh Love me*😳

"I..I mean... I love UVD lights"

JJ

"I mean you just a friend for comfort after all, I mean"😅

" I think I should go* stand up walking away angrily*

Huh what!?

*quickly walks to her after realizing*

"You know? It's not every day you could've said it's shright before you got me over here!!"😡

"No! Wait Varina!"

"Leave me out of this JJ!"

"No! Listen I'm sorry I didn't mean it"

"Oh I'm sorry*turns around* , Guess you mean a friend for laughs huh!"

"No Varina it's not like at all"

"Then what do you want for me "

" If you listen to me I'll tell you if you weren't yelling at me and Why you are getting mad for was it because what I said!"

"It's not that "

"Then what did I do "

"You're so serious"🤦‍♀️

*😑🙎🏽

*Whisper to herself * "Cause I love you "

You lor-

"CUZ I LOVE YOU!!!

*🫢

"I..I You love me?!?!"

*😮‍💨 "Cats out the f**king bag "

"Ya but I threw him out first."

"Look I'm sor-

"No Varina listen"

"I know I said that time I was love with her and all that but I was love blind then, I never saw her the way I see her now and tha-

*😤😔

"That's over now, I don't have those feelings her I have for her ever since that party and I never thought it'd would be you"

*🥺

"There not once I haven't stopped thinking of you, I never once thought about anything else it was you, but you were already heartbroken and at first I figured nothing but me feeling sorry for you."

"I didn't think I would feel the way I do or if I ever know how I feel now!?"

"I didn't know if you felt the same way I thought no one would since the night but you were first person to be there for (besides my friends and my little sister who planned to kill her if she knows where she live) me."

"And here I think you're going with me to get a rich kit friend fam."

"Varina, I never thought you felt that way"

"As rich kit"

"As just a friend "

*😔 "Varina"

"You are the best thing that ever happened in my life and you're passionate, you're inventive , you're kindhearted and you're the most beautiful person I've seen inside and out."

"Wow! 🥺 Its just feels so strange yet better to let all that ou-

*Places both hands on her face pulling her to his lips *

*Kiss*

**😳**

*Steps back*

"I..I'm sorry I just got.. ugh I uh." 😨

Jimmy?

Yes

"Have you ever been closer to someone?"

"For a hug?"

A kiss * come close to him hand on his chest*

"Well.. I guess...I don't know...we should you know?"

*🥹

"Just shut up you big dum dumbing head"

*Pulls him by the caller*

Kiss

Varina and Vera Varmitech belongs to @jokerislandgirl32

Zoe, JJ, Mazzi Z belongs to me @rosey100

[proxis-shattered-expectations]

Good day love, I just came back from brunch and slamming bottomless mimosas with my girls, and…the mimosas won 😳

And whilst I lay in bed contemplating my life choices and trying to keep my $20 dollar breakfast skillet down.

Got any headcanons or scenario for Strife and Fury and Reader getting White Girl drunk at brunch and War and Death having to deal with them?

  Ah yes, Mimosas are all fun and good until one has a lil too much...they always win.  Mayhaps a scenario this time around

Brunch of Mimosas

Third person’s POV

  When Death had arrived to Y/N’s flat, he was expecting to see them along with the other siblings.  All the while hoping the house is still intact due to the foreboding image of three horseman under one roof.  To his surprise when he entered, one was there, the only one large enough to have trouble sitting on the couch. Perplexed, Death spoke up to grab his brother’s attention.  “War, What are you doing here?”

  Said nephilim snapped to attention at this, giving up on the furniture as he stood to his full height.  “I would ask you the same, but it would seem for a similar reason.”

“Which is?”

  With a gruff reply, War answered with a slightly annoyed expression, still glaring at the piece of furniture below.  “Y/N is not here.  They left a note pertaining to their whereabouts, so  I intend to wait until they return.”

  Nodding, Death glanced around the room with an almost thoughtful gaze. He dared himself to ask the obvious.  “And what of the other two? I imagine wherever the human goes, Strife is sure to follow.”

  War’s expression did not shift much at this inquiry, all he did was point to the counter.  Ontop was a slip of paper, and as Death approached and carefully plucked it from the surface, his eyes skimmed the message written.

  Got hungry while waiting, will be back after Brunch.

  Sincerely, Y/N

  P.S. Strife tagged along as well so if you wanna join, feel free to pop in at (Made up restaurant address)

  Well that explains their absence...but what of Fury?

  As if on cue, the telephone on the wall rang out with it's ear splitting symphony. The Sheer sound made both nephilim flinch as they whipped around to face the source.  For a moment they stood there, letting it ring for a while until Death caved and went over.  Tentatively, he remembered what Y/N would do to silence it, and slowly picked off the plastic contraption from its perch. Holding it close to his ear, he waited for an answer.  Breathing could be heard on the other side with undiscernible background noise to muddy any sort of words to make out. Death was about to hang up until finally, the other person spoke in a voice that left him questioning why he had to be the one to pick up. “Hello hello, we’ve been trying to contact you about your car’s extended warranty.  Is this ‘Big red’?”

  The overuse of a fake accent was strange, but the lilt and familiar drawl in the other’s voice gave it away.  Death instinctively let out deep sigh as he answered in a deadpanned tone.  “Strife, where are you and where is Y/N?”

  An Immediate answer came when he heard Strife in the background go “Oh shit, it’s the Reaper!”  Followed by a raspy laugh and another giggling, and he swore he heard the other whisper something about a prank call.  The Old Nephilim almost facepalmed at this, and would have also missed the next person that sounded like Y/N’s voice, but it was light and buzzed by the sound of it as they tried to act serious.  “I don’t know who this Strife is...but I will find you....and I will kill you.” And before he could retort, the other line hung up abruptly

The Impulse to crush the infernal device was tempting, but Death had better things to do than take it out on the communications box.  War couldn't help but give him a questioning look as Death strode past towards the door.  “Where are you going Brother?”

“To find our little wayward trio.  It seems they can’t go anywhere without proper supervision.”

*At the Restaurant* 

  Death had seen many things in the multitude of worlds and eons he has lived through, and while War was the youngest, he certainly was no exception.  But even the sight before them had left them stumped and without words.  

  The restaurant was mostly empty save for the waitress and barkeep, both of whom would not bother looking at the two nephilim, instead were currently transfixed on the lone trio in the back corner of the room.  Death himself was almost afraid to approach.

  Fury was currently sitting there, but from her slouched form laying her head on top of the table, it was hard to even tell if she was conscious due to how still she was.  That in itself was shock enough.  The other came in the form of Strife (No surprise), who was now standing in front of the wall with an apple on his head, struggling to keep upright and balanced.  At the center of it all was none other than Y/N, also standing but holding what looked like a butter knife in their grasp as they held it upward.  They were facing Strife, who called out in a blurry form of speech.  “C’mon Y/N, you can do it!! I believe in you!!!”

  Next to him, War’s eyes seemed to light up in pure shock, taking the incredulous sight in, and Death couldn’t blame him for the bewildered puzzlement.  It’s not everyday you see Nephilim and a human wasted while attempting to play knife throwing, and before War could have a chance to speak up, Death stopped him as he quickly muttered.  “No...I wanna see how this plays out.”  Even if they were obviously drunk, Death was not about to let the opportunity of a butter knife hitting Strife in the eye pass up.

Both watched as Y/N wavered to the side a bit, and without missing a beat, flung the knife forward hoping to hit the fruit.

Needless to say, it didn’t.

  With a metallic clang, it made contact with Strife’s chest plate and bounced off as it fell to the floor.  Strife glanced at the failed attempt, and then back to the human with a slurred quip that followed.  “Not bad for a first try....how about we try one of my knives...maybe it’ll stick better.”

  Death couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle, half tempted to just let it happen until War saw the chance to say something before it got messy. “Strife, what in the Creator’s name are you doing?”

  Both Strife and Y/N perked up at the voice, and quickly forgetting about arming the drunk human, Strife called out as he staggered towards the pair.  “War! Yo you missed the party, it was just about to get good."  Flailing limbs met with the immovable wall of War as one arm landed on his shoulder, holding himself up on unsteady feet.  “My bro, you have got to try one of these My-mosies.  Y/N said they are pretty good and DAMN, they are good!!”

Y/N giggled in a light hearted manner, adding drowsily.  “It’s Mimosa, get it right bro.”

  Strife put his other hand up in surrender as he struggled to say his next words, laughing at the cheeky response before Death finally spoke.  “What happened to Fury then?”

  Y/N quickly piped up as they started.  “Well she came in a little later, and while we were eating I got some drinks after she said she was thirsty-”

  Before they could finish, Strife interrupted with an excited tone to his voice.  “She never had a Mimosa before, and I was already on my third so I gave her mine...Then I think it became a competition after a couple drinks?  I think after the....”  His words drifted off as he proceeded to count with his fingers, earning a concerned look from War. “Fifth? No...Tenth drink, she went to sleep...that was an hour ago.”  

  Strife still held onto War’s shoulder for support as he yelled across the room.  “Yo Fury, ya dead?!”

  A couple seconds passed without a word, but before they could fear the worst, the body shifted as an arm rose up, which proceeded to flip the bird as a coherent response.  “Yeeeaaahhh...she’ll be fine.”  Strife waved it off as he left War’s side, facing the eldest with an unnerving stare.  “You know Y/N, I think I understand that saying now.”

  “I said alotta sayings...which one?”

  Strife poked a finger at Death, almost accusingly with confidence in his slurry voice.  “The one where you get drunk until everything starts to look good....I think that’s happening right now cuz Death don’t look as ugly as usual.”

  Y/N sucked a breath through their teeth as they tried to stifle a snort, but the silence from Death was starting to become concerning as golden eyes burned back at Strife.  It wasn’t funny anymore.  “War, drag him out of here before I render him unable to see anything for a long time.”

  Needless to say, all three in question had a very fun time dealing with that hangover

Thanks for the ask and stay tuned!

[ajaxsprettyboy]

Fair Ground Fairytale

Highschool Senior!Beidou x reader

Smut ahead! Gn reader! Fluff and separate smut !

Thank you @1108707 for the idea!

-

You woke up with an annoyed look on your face, “6:30 already? Ugh..” The last quarter of senior year starting off with a bang…literally, your alarm is a cartoonish BANG sound. You tore your sheet and comforter off of your groggy body and began getting ready for the day ahead. By the time you make it down the stairs you realize your parents are gone, at work. They left you a note, ‘off to work, don’t be late!” And then you realized you were running late.

No breakfast this morning but oh well, your car sped down the streets to get to school. You made it just in time to get to class with your things for first period, calculus. “Okay guys so today we have a new student! Give a warm welcome to Shenhe!” Shenhe introduced herself to the class and answered a few questions about herself, you looked over to your seat mate, Beidou, and giggled about all the attention she was getting.

Shenhe wasn’t new to the school, she just decided to move her math classes, it’s not uncommon if you plan on taking a different subject in college, fortunately she had already taken precalc and understood most of the work without needing to do much extra homework. But enough about her the class is over.

Second period was boring, just you and Ningguang doing your science work together. Third period was your first elective, it was quite simple and moved fast. As was fourth, back to back electives are quite easy to do in comparison to the required classes. Fifth period however, was lunch, you sat with Ningguang and Beidou, who sat with Kazuha and Zhongli, who sat with … you get the point, the table was full. Anyway this matters because you and Beidou were squished together.

You awkwardly laughed at the close proximity, looking over at Beidou, who was laughing and giggling acting as though the cramped space didn’t bother her. She was always like this, making uncomfortable situations more enjoyable. After lunch the rest of your classes flew by without a hitch. Once it was time to leave you grabbed your things and waited for Beidou, you felt a need to say bye to her today. This was odd in her mind but she waved it off as a simple friendly gesture.

‘Did you really just do that? God, you’re lame!’ You thought to yourself as you walked home. You wondered why you acted this way around beidou, but before you could come up with an answer Tartaglia jogged up to you. “Hey [NAME]! Can you watch my siblings for me tonight? I have a track practice to go to and I can’t find a babysitter on such short notice, I promise I’ll pay you for this!” You sighed and agreed, texting your mom you’d be babysitting for a friend tonight. This gave you more time to think though, so that’s a plus!

You walked to Tartaglia’s house, opening the door with the spare key hidden in the plant to the left of the door. Both of his siblings ran up to you and asked where their brother was, and as the night went on you collected a variety of drawings and paper toys for you. All poorly drawn, but very cute.

Once Tartaglia came home he greeted the lot of you and handed you around $100, thanking you for doing this for him. As you walked back home for dinner and to go shower, Beidou texted you. “Hey, do you wanna hang out this weekend? If you’re free we should go to the fair” you smiled, you smiled hard. You tried to respond all cool and calm, “Yeah! I’d love to! What time do you wanna go?” You texted back before having time to think ‘shit I look too excited.. I hope she doesn’t think anything of it.’

Fortunately for you she was in the shower, so by the time you got home, she had only just seen the text. You were eating dinner when she responded, causing you immediately check your phone thus causing your to end up dropping your phone in your food. You sighed and grabbed the food covered phone and wiped it off with a paper towel. You saw what she said, a simple “sorry I was in the shower, around 1 or 2 pm good?” You were so excited! Wait.. is this a date?

“ yeah, sorry lol I was having dinner”

No no

“Yeah! Sorry I’m late, I was eating!”

No too formal

“Yeah, that’s good, and dw I was just eating”

Send?

Hmmm okay…

Aaaand she left you on delivered… fuck.

She probably fell asleep right? Yeah.. maybe her WiFi is just slow.. yeah., just go to sleep [NAME], you still have some days before the weekend.

Morning came and went, Beidou was apparently at a doctors appointment, but she texted you back at lunch time!

“Okay, I’ll drive! And dw I’m not sick, it’s just an annual checkup lol”

Okay okay okay cool cool cool … what do you wear to your … outing?

Okay well maybe you’re overreacting, it’s gonna be hot so just a pair of shorts and a tank top? No too boring.. and that’s all you spent the day thinking about…

The next was spent thinking about what you should and shouldn’t bring with you.

Your week was hell because alle you could think about was your day out with Beidou… wait.. what day of the weekend are you going?

Oh right you already asked her, Saturday.

It’s gonna be hot and sticky but hey it’s gonna be fun! A date with the girl you like! Wait.. you like her? Okay nice you figured it out!

Does Beidou like you though? She has to if she’s asking you to go out with her … it’s just you two so you best enjoy it.

And finally the day came.

You wore your best summer outfit, you brought sunscreen, chapstick, water, money, and an extra pair of sunglasses. Beidou showed up exactly at 1 pm, her car is a convertible, it was a grayish blue. She smiled and opened the passenger door for you. You got in and placed your bag on the floor, greeting her with a smile and made sure to only make eye contact when talking to her.

“You know, if you’re uncomfortable with this being a date it doesn’t have to be,” Beidou says, she must be nervous too. “Oh! Yeah I’d like if it could be a date..” you smiled. She smiled and pulled into a parking spot. She then helped you out of her car, and you walked to the gate holding your things and her hand.

The date went smoothly! You rode rides together, got food together, saw all the farm animals people brought in to be judged, you had fun. But the last thing you did together was go on the Ferris wheel. “I know this is cheesy, but when we get to the top… can I kiss you?” She asked, she was visibly nervous awaiting your answer. You nodded and sat next to her.

And soon enough you were at the top, and you had the best kiss of your life.

And that was the start of your relationship.

Smut section

Three months later she asked you if you wanted to come over her house, over the phone. You obliged, happy to see your girlfriend at any point in time.

Once you made it over, she walked you to her room, things went naturally, you and her watched movies and one thing led to another .. now you’re laying naked on her bed making out with her.

She palmed your sex, watching your reactions, and gradually getting lower , then asking you if she can use her mouth, you agreed, watching as she licked your sex, sucking, licking, spitting, all things your sex was subjected to that night. She then asked you if you were comfortable with touching her, you agreed.

She switched positions with you, you did as she did to you, but you also used your fingers. Fingering her pussy, feeling it spasm around your fingers, she moaned and whined begging you to let her cum. “Go ahead, pretty,” you said while licking her clit. As she let herself cum she squirted all over your face, it was sweet and warm. You began cleaning her up with some tissues, and she left to go get a wet rag to clean the both of you.

Needless to say, one of, if not the, best night of your life.

[themultifandomgal]

Peaky Blinders- First Date

Arthur

After the war you became a nurse at the local hospital where you saw the Shelby brothers often. One day Arthur came in with a black eye and split lip, asking you to help clean him up. That's when Arthur asks you out on your first date together. Your first date was actually very romantic.

Arthur started off the evening by knocking on your door, dressed in a suit with a bouquet of flowers in his hand

"Well don't you scrub up well Mr Shelby?" you smile

"Ugh thank you" he nervously scratches the back of his neck "these are for you" he hands you the flowers

"Thank you. Come in for a minute while I find a vase" you open the door up for him more. Arthur follows you in and closed the door behind you both. You walk into the kitchen and bend down to get a vase out of the cupboard, then arrange them in the clear vase. You turn back around to see Arthur staring at you. You took your hair behind your ear "are you ready to go?" ask

"Yeah, come on" Arthur holds out his arm for you to hold. You walk out of your house, locking up behind you and making your way to his car.

Arthur takes you out for an amazing meal then takes you to the pictures, ending the night with a kiss on his cheek.

Tommy

Your first date with Tommy was going riding together. You ride over to a field full of flowers where

"Tommy this is beautiful, how'd you find out about this place?"

"My mother you'd to bring us here, it's my quiet place" you notice that there's a shift in Tommy's behaviour. You're happy that you get to see this side of him, the side not many people see, not even his own family. During the date Tommy asks about you and your life, while also flirting a lot with you.

John

Although you had arranged marriage, John still sets up a date of sorts. The night of your marriage you felt uncomfortable sleeping with your now husband, but he's so sweet about it and you just sleep in separate rooms. The following day John attempts to cook breakfast for you so you can sit and get to know each other, but he burns it all

"Oh John look at the smoke coming off that bacon" you giggle

"Damn it" John throws the utensils onto the counter top

"Here. Let me help" you take over putting fresh rashes of bacon on the hot pan. The rest of the morning is spent you showing John how to cook breakfast.

Finn

You and Finn would often hang out together, but your first proper date was at the pictures. Finn had bought your ticket and large tub of popcorn, which you both shared. Just like the movies you both of you went to take a handful an your hands touch. Awkwardly for the rest of the movie you both keep your hands to yourselves but on the way home you end up holding hands. And of course Polly and Add have to embarrass you both in front of the other Shelby siblings

"How was your date? I hope you actually watched the film" Ada asks

"Seriously Ada?" Finn whines

"Ada is right. If your anything like your older brothers then.."

"Pol leave em alone" Tommy rescues you as your face turns bright red

"Don't corrupt YN now" Ada laughs.

Michael

You and Michael went for a pic-nic for your first date. Polly had made most of the food, but Michael did try bless him. On the date you talked about life, how he was taken from Polly from a young age with his sister and how your parents passed away so you got a job with the Shelby's, them looking after you like your one of their own. You enjoy Michaels company and although your first date was simple, it was all you needed to know that you were already falling for this man

"Today was lovely Michael"

"So does this mean a second date is in the cards?" you chuckle at his nervousness

"Yes it does"

Isaiah

Of course your first date was at the Garrison, Tommy, Arthur and John were supervising the date making sure neither of you drank to much and Isaiah kept his hands to himself. If he did get a little handsey (not that you minded) your brothers were there to remind him

"Take you hand off her leg if you still want hands" Arthur would grunt out occasionally.

Alfie

Alfie had set up your date the next time you came to London for business. He took you to one of his favourite restaurants. On arrive it was empty

"Couldn't be to carful, don't want your brothers finding out. They'll 'ave me head" you chuckle at this response

"It's perfect Alfie. Thank you" Alfie was a true gentleman all evening, starting with pulling your chair out for you and opening the car door up when you left. You most definitely will be coming to London a lot more.

[y0urlittl3ang3l]

Genshin Impact AU

Character 1:

Garroth Ro’Meave

Information- Bio

Hair color | Blonde

Eye color | One eye cerulean blue, the other a pale white

Complexion | Fairly tanned

Birthday | 11/05

Height | 6’6 (198 cm)

Affiliation | Fatui

Vision | Cryo

Constellation | Draco the Dragon

Information- Family

Parents Garte Ro’Meave(Father)

Zianna Ro’Meave(Mother)

Siblings Zane Ro’Meave(Younger brother)

Vylad Ro’Meave(Younger brother)

———————————

No. 5 of the Harbingers, also know as “Seren”. His name strikes fear in many nations, he’s a cold person with a very stand-offish personality.

———————————

Character details –

Garroth is the son of the No. 1 Harbinger, Garte, and is held to very high expectations by his father in how he is on the battlefield. And though Garroth fears his father, he has no respect for him whatsoever, often giving information on his father to enemies of Garte on his journeys to other nations. Garroth is fairly close to “Childe” the No. 11 of the Harbingers, he is surprisingly fond of the younger male and spars with him when Childe asks(Garroth wins 95% of the time, other times he lets Childe win)

Garroth often accompanies Childe on his travels as well, that’s how he met Laurance, the Co-Calvary Captain of the Knights of Favonius.

Garroth and Laurance didn’t get along when they first met, Childe immediately taking notice and trying to distance the two the remainder of their stay. But of course Garroth somehow found a way to be left alone with Laurance long enough for a fight between the two go break out. The two were equally matched it seemed, as they both won constantly in their fights never being able to get a tie.

Childe ultimately had enough of their shit and forced them both into a small place to talk out their differences and what not. After being locked in a room they found that after finding out more about each other they grew to respect one another.

The two becoming friends, and it eventually evolved into Garroth asking his father for more posts in Mondstat. Garroth and Laurance then became the best of friends, but when the Fatui they argued(jokingly) like they used to.

When did they’re little relationship go even farther? Well one night Laurance got drunk at Diluc’s bar with Kaeya, and spilled all his feelings to Garroth while the blonde is taking him home.

Garroth malfunctions and tries to leave when he puts Laurance in bed, but Laurance stops him and asks him to stay with him, even if it’s just for one night. Garroth ends up caving and stays, falling asleep in Laurance’s bed. Childe goes fucking bonkers looking for Garroth and bursts into Laurance’s home to see Laurance clinging onto the No.5 Harbinger’s back as said Harbinger makes breakfast.

The two began to secretly date and their relationship was amazing.

———————————

What Garroth thinks of.. –

Laurance ~

Laurance..? Well..don’t tell anybody but me and him are dating. D-Don’t yell, please! It’s a secret okay? If the other Fatui find out my father will never let me come back here again. Anywho, I love Laurance very much, he’s the best thing to ever happen to me. How did this happen when we used to fight so much? Funny story actually, Tartaglia decided it’d be funny to lock us inside a closet together.

Tartaglia ~

Tartaglia? Hmm, well he’s probably one of the only harbingers I trust with my secrets that’s for sure. He’s also the closest to my age out of them all too, so we bond over that. He helps me hide my relationship, I help him intimidate others into protecting his siblings. I guess I could call him a very good friend of mine, we hang out outside of work and spar a lot.

Katelyn ~

Katelyn is a bit of a hot head I must say…but she’s one of the people I’m close to in the Fatui. Her husband, Jeffory, is also one of the people I’m close to, I think Laurance would like her a lot too. Katelyn can be very nice once you get to know her, but at first we fought a lot, her thinking me being ranked higher than her was a mistake. But I showed her that she was wrong to think that of course. She began to respect me and then I began to respect her and her accomplishments, our relationship is much better.

Jeffory ~

Jeffory is a great guy, from the moment I met him we got along nicely. He’s always been a really nice guy, if I had knew better I would’ve thought he used to have a crush on me or something haha..wait did he..? Anyways we used to get paired up a lot in the past, but know he’s always paired with Katelyn. He’s very easy to work with, he’s easygoing and all that, probably the purest person in the Fatui.

Garte ~

Garte is an awful, awful man. Why would I say that about my own father? Cause it’s the truth, my father is a horrible man who has done horrible things. I might follow his orders but there’s no way in Celestia I’d ever give him my respect.

Esmund ~

Esmund is the Archon I serve, he’s the Protector and has a dream of overthrowing Celestia. I will follow him and aid him in his quest to wage war on Celestia, and I will help him destroy it, his wish is my command. Though he can be a bit..overbearing..it’s all worth it to see his vision become a reality, he only has good intentions for Teyvat.

Aphmau ~

Oh..The Hydro Archon? I heard she’s a good healer, The Protector, Edmund, despises her though, he says she’s selfish and only did good deeds to make people like her. But I think he’s only saying that because she led him on in the past, made him fall in love with her before ditching him for the Electro Archon, Aaron. I don’t know why The Protector pays her all this attention anyway, he should just ignore her and focus on the task he set out to complete.

Aaron ~

Ah..The Electro Archon..If there’s one god The Protector hates the most out of everyone..it’s definitely him. He was the one who stole his lover after all, though it has been a couple centuries since then. Oh well, he has a different view of time than I anyways, I’ve been alive much less than him. I heard that The Electro Archon is a very powerful god, and that’s he’s ruthless too.

Travis ~

Oh god, not him. That man drives me fucking crazy, he has no respect for his body it’s like he has a death wish or something. I think I’ve saved his life like a dozen times at this point, he’s always in some sort of trouble *rolls eyes*

Dante~

Ah, Dante *smiles* he’s a good kid, a really good kid. I taught him how to use a bow and stuff like that. What you didn’t know he was from Snezhnaya? He moved to Mondstat when he was 18 you didn’t know? Well I guess you know now then, haha. But yeah, he and I were very close when he was younger, I get to see him a lot more now though so I’m happy for being positioned here in Mondstat

[solarisrasa]

Lavender Tea and Ice Cream Kisses

Part 2 of Tealeaves for Heart and Home: A Malec (HumanAU) A/B/O series about re-finding lost loves and learning to build a family anew.

Part one

Read Here on Ao3

  Alec slips out of Magnus’ bed in the blue-grey light of early morning, pressing his scent carefully into Magnus’ pillow. He hopes to be back before Magnus wakes and definitely before Max. Just in case though, he searches until he finds a scrap of paper and writes a short note with his phone number at the bottom.

  Magnus

  I ducked out to grab a change of clothes and hopefully get the three of us breakfast. I promise to be back before you miss me. If you wake before I’m back, give Max a kiss for me.

  Alec

He sets the note right where Magnus will see it, tucks the blanket a little closer to Max and forces himself to leave. He dials his sister quickly as he hurries toward the subway, hoping she won’t be too angry about being woken early.

  “Alexander Lightwood you’d better be calling because you need a massive favor.”

“I need a massive favor.”

  “You better not have already fucked things up with Magnus.”

He makes an affronted sound and dodges a sleepy kid on a skateboard, “No. I have to rush home to change clothes, I don’t want to spend a whole day with him and Max in a suit and...I need to grab a couple things in case he wants them for...later.”

Izzy makes a delighted sound in his ear, her sleepy grumbles subsiding and he grimaces.

  “For his nest you mean? You move quick big brother. What do you need me for? Jace and I already set you out of office for the week.”

Alec decides not to acknowledge her comments and skips to the favor he needs as he starts down the stairs, “I want to grab us breakfast but I won’t have time to do both. Can you please see if the  Patisserie near yours can put together some things and bring them to my apartment?”

She sighs, “ You’re not even giving me time to look presentable and Simon’s not even here to do it for me, you definitely owe me.”

“Anything, within reason, you want. Thank you, Iz.”

She makes a noise that’s not exactly nice into the phone and hangs up. He rolls his eyes but he’s smiling as he boards his train.

-

“I’ve decided you can make it up to me by giving me details.” Izzy announces without so much as a knock of his door. Not for the first time, Alec wishes he’d thought harder about giving her a key.

“I promise you details, to a point, but not right now. I need to get back to them.” He presses a quick kiss to her cheek and takes the boxes from her, “You made it just in time.”

He’d pulled on his shoes just a moment before. She laughs and tucks a little slip of paper into the front of the top box.

“You’re lucky I’m such a good sibling. I can wait for info but you’d better text me a picture or two of that  adorable kid. He is...he’s yours, isn’t he?” She gets a little quiet at the end and Alec pauses where he’s half out the door.

He smiles, soft and big. He tries to tell his heart to slow down but he’s so  overwhelmingly happy about the last eighteen hours, “Yeah. Max is mine...he’s amazing, I can definitely send you a picture and...hopefully he can get to know his aunts and uncles soon.”

Izzy’s big eyes sparkle, both with her delight and unshed tears and Alec clears his throat, “Okay, I really have to go.”

She nods and shoos him away.

-

Alec had slipped out the backdoor that morning, the thumb lock allowing him to ensure the door locked behind him. That’s a problem now, of course.

He laughs at himself, standing outside of  Pandemonium with his boxes of pastries and no way to contact Magnus, since he never got his number. He can’t believe he’s managed to do this.

Before he can really settle into berating himself or resign himself to just sitting on the ground until a reasonable hour to start shouting Magnus’ name, a sound draws his attention. Next to  Pandemonium is a stately looking antiques shop and the door swing open to reveal a man dressed, well, a bit like an antique himself. His salt and pepper hair is in a disarray and his beta scent is old books and black tea. He squints at Alec.

“You are Alexander Lightwood.”

It’s not a question but Alec doesn’t know what to do but nod and the man huffs, “Locked yourself out?”

Alec laughs, embarrassed, “I was...overeager about grabbing breakfast. You know Magnus?”

“I should say so, I got that little shit out of his father’s reach when he  finally realized his life was worth more than being Asmodeus’ bargaining chip. Catarina told me you’d showed up again yesterday.” The man sounds unbearably fond as he insults Magnus and Alec smiles despite himself.

“My siblings were working on a community outreach project and they heard about his shop. My sister ran up eight flights in her heels to drag me here as soon as they realized. I never…” He feels like he has to justify himself to this man, “I never wanted to leave him. I’ve prayed for his happiness everyday. I’m grateful to you for getting him, getting  them, safe.”

The man nods slowly, “I always thought that Magnus had romanticized you in his head...but I can see that maybe he didn’t. I’m Ragnor and if you give me a moment I can get a spare key and let you back-”

“Daddy!”

Alec’s head jerks up, as does Ragnor’s, and his eyes widen in horror.

Max is leaning  out of the third floor window, his little body leaned far forward and one little hand waving. Before Alec can do more than choke his name and take a frantic step under his son, strong hands are jerking Max back inside.

He blinks, then lets out a shaky breath and turns to Ragnor who just nods and rushes to get his spare key.

Alec hurries up the stairs, hoping Ragnor locks the door behind him, needing to make sure Magnus is okay after Max’s little stunt.

He hears them before he sees them.

“-because I can fly, Ayah! I’ve been watchin’ the birds and I know how.” Max sounds determined and Alec’s heart clenches.

“Human bones are much heavier than birds, Blueberry, we can’t fly like they can.” Magnus tells him, voice soothing. Alec rounds the corner into the living room then, setting the boxes of their breakfast on the side table. Max turns to him with a big smile.

“It’s okay if I didn’t fly, Daddy would’ve catched me!”

Alec blinks away the hot tears those words summon, Max is already so sure of him. He swears to himself, then and there, to do his best to always catch his son. He locks eyes with Magnus and suddenly the distance between them is unacceptable. He strides to where Magnus is sitting on the floor, holding Max’s little hand, and drops to gather them both into a tight hug.

Max giggles and snuggles in close. Magnus tips his chin to look at Alec with a little, relieved smile and the lingering scent of fear fades with his affection.

“You look very James Dean, darling.”

Alec laughs and shrugs, “I just grabbed anything that wasn’t work clothes. I meant to be back before you were up, but, uh, I didn’t think about the locks.”

Magnus’ brows furrow, “How  did you get back in?”

“Ragnor.”

“Ah. Forgot I gave him a key. He was nice?” Magnus demands and Alec nods, pressing a kiss to Max’s curls as he let’s Magnus go.

“Yeah. I have the feeling he was getting ready not to be but, well, I was holding breakfast and telling him thanks for helping you when Max decided to scare us. Not the best moment to grill me.” He pokes Max’s side, “Please don’t hang out of windows, little bat.”

Max nods easily and presses his face into Alec’s neck, “ ‘kay. Did you bring food?”

Magnus rolls his eyes, “Ready to eat everything in the house already. He’s going to be a nightmare as a teenager.”

“Well for now, I brought French pastries.”

Magnus stands up with a little wink, “A man could get used to this Alexander.”

Alec doesn’t have words to answer, finally registering what Magnus is wearing. He’s wrapped in a black silk robe, open over his chest, and with only the faint traces of yesterday's makeup and his hair a mess he’s beautiful.

“Breakfast!” Max crows, wriggling in Alec’s arms and distracting him from Magnus’ gorgeous self, not that his attention has gone unnoticed if the pleased curl of Magnus’ scent can be believed.

Alec let’s him go and pushes to his feet, grabbing the boxes and setting them on the table as Magnus grabs plates. Max climbs into a chair and his eyes are wide as he sees the croissants and danishes that Izzy chose, along with three fruit tarts that Magnus zeroes in on.

“Save me one of those.” He points one perfectly polished finger toward the tarts, “I’m going to make us some tea.”

He hurries back into the kitchen before Alec can protest and he shakes his head, turning to Max.

“What would you like, Max?”

The little boy lifts a hand to his ear, tugging at the lobe as he looks seriously at the food. His little face scrunches as he concentrates and Alec bites his cheek to stop himself from cooing aloud.

“Can I have two, Daddy?”

Alec smiles gently, “I think your Ayah would be okay with that, but let’s start with half of each okay? Which ones?”

Max hesitates, but must find Alec’s answer acceptable because he points to one of the fruit tarts and a  pain au chocolat . He grins at his plate as Alec carefully sets half of each treat in front of him. Max smells like pure joy and sweet delight. Alec smiles in sudden understanding, Max smells a little like blueberries under his happiness.

“Lavender tea.” Magnus announces, setting a tea tray down and looking askance at Alec.

“Yes please. Max?”

“Thank you Ayah!”

Magnus hums and pours them all cups while Alec puts a plate together for each of them and the scent of gentle contentment curls around them. He feels light within, like he’s living inside of a perfect moment. He acknowledges but releases the urge to try and hold onto the moment, he’s happy enough just living it right now.

-

Magnus thinks his heart might actually be in danger of melting. Alec is crouched next to Max, both of them watching a caterpillar munching away, Alec is whispering and pointing and Max looks amazed. They’ve already been at it for a few minutes but Magnus doesn’t mind.

They're both wearing gray shirts and blue jeans and Alec’s leather jacket is tossed over his shoulder carelessly.

He pulls out his phone and takes a couple pictures, debates sending one to Isabelle (she had stuck her phone number on top of their breakfast with a note for Magnus to text her) and ends up sending one to Cat.

  Magnus 11:05a

  1 attachment

  I think Alexander is going to be the favorite by the end of the day.

  Catarina 11:05a

  Please, Max thinks you hung the stars. Be careful.

Magnus frowns a bit at that, but just sends back a smiley face. He understands that his friends are nervous about this,  he’s nervous about it. Watching as Alec carefully helps Max hold the caterpillar, grinning, he has to admit he’s not worried about Alec and Max. It’s been clear since the moment Alexander realized that he’s more than willing to be a part of their son's life. Magnus is most worried that Alec’s built up some version of him that the real thing won’t measure up to, he’s worried maybe he’s done the same.

He was so full of hope and certainty the night before, pressed close to Alexander on the balcony, his dream come true. The light of day reminded him, no matter how much he hated it, that they don’t know each other well enough to make a commitment to each other, like… like mating. Max carefully puts the caterpillar back and Alec blows a little raspberry on his arm, making the little boy giggle. Magnus wants this so badly though, it’s an ache he’s ignored for years but with Alexander holding their son’s hand, smiling at him as they come back to the bench he’s been waiting on, he wants.

“There was a bug, Ayah!”

He laughs and takes Max’s other hand, “I saw, did Daddy tell you about it?”

Max nods enthusiastically, “He said it was gonna be a butterfly, he even knew what kind!”

“Did he?” Magnus looks to Alec, teasing. The alpha blushes but laughs helplessly.

“Izzy loves science and I always thought insects were interesting, we were regulars at the butterfly pavilion.”

“Well that is just charming Alexander, but Max, if you want to bring home any bugs, please tell me so I can make Daddy deal with it.” Magnus gave a playful shiver and stuck out his tongue and they both laughed at him.

“I promise.” Max sounds so serious when he says it but a second later he’s tugging both their hands, “Come on! To the park!”

They follow his insistent tugs, sharing fond looks. Technically they’re already in the park, but Max insists that “just plants” isn’t a park so he’s pulling them toward the play area. There are plenty of other kids running around for Max to play with but Magnus knows his routine.

“Swings first?” he asks and Max nods seriously.

“Yes. Push me?”

“Of course.”

Max lets them go to run to the swingset and makes an impatient gesture when he realizes they haven’t both run after him. Magnus rolls his eyes and presses a kiss to Alexander’s cheek, “Duty calls.”

“I’m sure I’m required too.”

Max is now calling out to both of them, looking every inch the demanding five year old and Magnus laughs, “Indeed. Last one to him buys ice cream!”

He hears Alec shout “Hey!” as he takes off running with a wide grin. Max must understand some of what he’s done because he starts laughing and shouting, “Go Ayah!”

Alec beats him by a millisecond but considering he started at a disadvantage it’s impressive and Magnus raises an eyebrow as Max delights in how fast they were running.

“It’s only a little race Alexander.” He says, voice a little lower.

Alec tips his chin, “I may be, just a little bit, competitive.”

Magnus presses his lips together to stop from laughing especially as Max makes an impatient huffing noise between them.

-

Eventually Max tires of the swings and joins in some elaborate game a group of children have going that seems to center around the slides. Magnus expects they’ll find a bench to keep an eye on him but Alec plops into a swing with a little hum.

They don’t say much to each other as they swing, but it’s lovely all the same. They move away when another family comes to the swingset, making room and grinning at each other. Alexander wraps an arm around him and they stand, watching Max and chatting quietly.

Alec tells him about  Found and how he’s hoping to be able to launch the service by the end of the quarter and Magnus stares at him.

“You’re a good man, Alexander.”

Alec blinks at him and shrugs, “I’m just trying to be better than my parents were. Lightwood & Co is one of the largest holding companies in the country but it has an awful past. There’s a lot for me to make up for. If I can use my position to help people and to make changes to some of the things my parents did it’s my responsibility to do it.”

Magnus kisses his cheek easily, “Exactly. A good man.”

Alec just shakes his head, “What about you? How long have you had the tea shop?”

“Just a tea shop? I’m offended.” Magnus keeps his tone playful enough and Alec just rolls his eyes, nudging him for the answer, “I opened  Pandemonium three years ago. Max and I were settled, I had savings and an idea. At first it was just a little online tea shop where I tried to promote information for anyone living in a bad situation, but then my...my father died.”

Magnus watches Max come down a slide, gathering himself for a moment. Alexander squeezes him closer.

“He never removed me from his will, I didn’t want the company and he didn’t leave it to me but, he left me a good deal of his personal wealth. I used some of it to open the shop and donated a lot of it to local shelters and organizations that I work with now. It’s been brick and mortar for two years now. I sell tea, curios, and a safe place. My home is on the third floor but the second is broken into several small suites that I allow people in immediate crisis to stay in. It’s not the type of place someone would look for them and I connect them with services and people who can get them away and get them legal aid.”

“If I’m a good man, you’re a great one Magnus. That’s an amazing thing to do.” Alec shifted so he could hold Magnus against his front, chin resting on his shoulder, “Hopefully I can help.”

“Help?” Magnus’ nose wrinkled, did Alec think Magnus expected his money or name?

Alec hummed, nosing at his jaw a little and Magnus realized his scent had probably sharpened with his uncertainty, “Only if you want. Izzy and Jace stopped by yesterday to ask you about your interest in being part of a community outreach program they pitched to me. Obviously they didn’t get to that when they saw you.”

Magnus relaxed at that, it wasn’t because of who he was, “That sounds like we need to have a business meeting. Isn’t that a conflict, Mr. Lightwood?”

Alec chuckled, his lips brushing Magnus’ cheek as he pressed their faces together, “It would be, except I’m not heading the project, I just signed off on the idea.”

Magnus promises to consider it but they move on from work easily. Alexander doesn’t let him go and Magnus leans into him happily as they watch Max and share stories of their own childhoods. Alec has far more of them, but his parents don’t factor into any of them and Magnus wonders if their lives were all that different.

“Anyways, Jace watched a bunch of stuff about Annie Oakley and begged for a BB gun, which he got because no one ever could tell him no. That was trouble enough, but he showed Izzy Annie’s trick of shooting cards and she thought it was the coolest thing she’d ever seen. They spent all afternoon practicing while I was studying and then they came to get me to show me, but Izzy’s always been….a force of nature and Jace is reckless. They thought it would be the height of spectacle for Jace to throw the card  in front of me and Izzy would shoot it out of the air.”

Magnus gasps at the story, “They didn’t.”

Alec nods seriously, chin bobbing against Magnus’ shoulder, “They did. I was sort of proud because Izzy  did put a hole straight through the middle, but my eyebrow was on the other side. I knew I was fine but I let them panic a little at all the blood because I thought they might learn their lesson that way.”

“And did they?” Magnus leans to look at Alec’s amused expression.

“Yes and no. Izzy’s an expert marksman, she keeps her carry license up to date and Jace refuses to even touch a paintball gun without a full safety check for everyone involved. He was an EMT for a couple of years too.”

“So they figured the lesson was to get better at it, not stop?”

Alec makes a face, “Yeah. Family trait I’m afraid.”

Magnus thinks about every time he was caught sneaking out and all the loopholes he exploited in his father’s rules and sighs.

“Max is going to be a terror one day, he gets it from both sides.”

“Oh?”

Magnus laughs, watching their son help a younger boy down the slide, “You met me in a questionable club in Jakarta. I told you I’d snuck out of my house for the night and you made me show you my ID to prove I wasn’t underage. Between the two of us I think you have more of the good streak.”

Alec makes a mock affronted noise and then he whispers, “I put a baby in you that night Magnus.”

It shouldn’t be hot, but Alec’s voice is warm and deep and Magnus can feel the slow curl of desire in his belly. Alec skims his nose along his throat, breathing in deep and Magnus flushes when he realizes Alec can smell his interest.

“We are at a  park for fuck’s sake.”

Alec kisses his cheek and backs off, “You’re right. I’m sorry, I’m not usually so uh...forward.”

“Just me?”

“Yes.” Alec laughs, “Well and being around you has burned through the suppressant I was due to renew next week. I’ve not been off of them in years and it’s a bit...intense.”

Magnus takes that in, Alexander is probably hyper aware of his scent right now, even more because of Max. Alpha’s are often more sensitive to their partner’s, mate or not, with a new child around and since Max is new for Alec it has to be triggering some things.

“You said there’d been no one else?” Magnus steps away from his grasp, they need to be looking at each other to talk like this, but he tangles their fingers together.

“No, I-” Alexander takes a deep breath, “I couldn’t stomach the thought, no one else smelled right. I tried to move on but I had one rut and it was difficult so I didn’t...I never tried. I didn’t want to, honestly.”

Magnus squeezes his fingers, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I wasn’t much for romance in the first place, I’d only gone on a handful of dates before you, had one ill-fated relationship, if you could really call it that. I missed you more than I wanted to find someone else.” He looks away, tracking Max and Magnus studies him for a moment.

Alec is content but there’s a fading distress in his scent and Magnus gets the impression the rut he went through was more than just difficult.

“I dated a few people, after I had Max.” He offers and Alec glances at him, carefully neutral, “Some of them were lovely but none of them fit, most of them never even got to meet him. One of them stayed something of a friend for a little while, so he did, but we drifted apart, as friends do. He met one of the others but he didn’t like her and happily tried to kick her out of the house. He was three.”

Alec laughs at that, “Did he tell you why?”

Magnus bites his lip and nods, “He told her she was very pretty but not very nice and that she should leave because she was just making me sad. I might have tried to salvage it but Camille thought I was in the kitchen and told him to keep his “bastard little mouth shut” so I let Max see her out.”

Alec’s jaw clenches hard and Magnus winces, he should’ve probably cut that part out.

“Well, if she ever comes near you again I’ll do the honors this time.” Alec’s voice is steady but there’s a thread of protective, righteous anger in the way he smells and it makes something in Magnus endlessly pleased.

“Ayah!” Max interrupts them, dashing toward them with something in his little hands, “Daddy!”

They both kneel down so he can show them and he opens his hands to reveal a pretty little blue stone, “That girl gave it to me, she said I was really nice and blue was a nice color!” He points to a little girl with brown curls and a red bow who waves at them with a big smile.

“That’s great Max! Did you tell her thank you?” Magnus checks. His son might be destined to be a hellion, but he’ll be a hellion who minds his manners if Magnus can manage it.

“Yes! I told her she could have tea someday too.”

Alec carefully helps Max tuck the stone in his pocket and Magnus nods, “If an adult brings her to the shop I’ll make sure she gets some. Now, how about you, me, and daddy go for some ice cream?”

Max lights up and shouts a happy goodbye to the other kids, some of them wave but most are enthralled with their game.

-

Max picks all three of their flavors in the end and Alec and Magnus have to discreetly swap cones when he’s distracted. Magnus likes cookie dough much better than the bright blue cotton candy that Alec is happily eating and he makes a face.

“I don’t like the dough chunks.” Alec mumbles, hurrying to catch a drip with his tongue, “They’re too sugary.”

Magnus just looks from him to the vibrant blue treat and Alec shrugs. He’s ridiculous and Magnus should not like it as much as he does, but he does. They’re sitting at a metal table with a big umbrella overhead outside the ice cream shop and the breeze is nice.

Max himself has mint chip and is cheerfully licking away, looking far too cute as his feet kick where they don’t touch the ground. His wavy hair is a mess from all his play and sitting beside Alexander, both of them catching stray melting drops no one could deny they’re relation.

“Oh!” Alec fumbles for his phone, “Magnus could you take a picture of us, I promised I’d send one to Izzy.”

Magnus grins, navigating Alec’s phone with one hand so he can get the camera pulled up, “Smile!”

Max looks up with a big toothy grin but Alec huffs, “Meant like a selfie of all of us, I’m terrible at them and my fingers are sticky.”

Magnus blinks and then he’s grinning and shuffling his chair so he can get all of them and their ice cream cones, aware that Alec can probably smell how fucking happy he is.

He takes a couple and turns to look at Alec, Max focused on his cone again, “That good?”

“One more.” Alec says and then he’s leaning across the table, sticky blue lips meeting Magnus’ and he snaps a photo before shifting to kiss Alec a little better.

Chapter 2

 Max resists the pull of sleep until late. He’s pouting adorably between sleepy little blinks by the time he’s too tired to protest Magnus putting him to bed and Alec can’t stop smiling at the sight. He joins them in Max’s bedroom, the space awash with blue’s and soft things, stars painted across the ceiling. The child-sweet scent of him is heavy here, the bright blueberry curl of his contentment makes Alec relax further.

 His little boy is well loved, not that he expected anything else of Magnus. He sits on the edge of Max’s little bed and tucks the blankets close around him as Magnus gently strokes his cheek, singing a lullaby. Alec doesn’t speak the language, but he hums along. Max falls asleep easily, his little mouth open for his heavy breaths and his hand curled loosely beside Magnus’ wrist.

 They sit companionably, just ensuring that Max is really out, for a while. Eventually they pull themselves away from the boy, quietly shutting the door and heading for the living room.

 Magnus tugs Alec to sit beside him on the couch with a little smile and they stay close.

 “Thank you.”

 Alec’s brows draw together and he smiles, bemused, “What for?”

 Magnus smiles back, a slow, sleepy thing, “Spending today with us. It was lovely.”

 “Magnus...of course. I want to spend plenty more days like this. My schedule has definitely been cleared for this week so if it’s alright I’d like to be here?” He traces the tips of his fingers over the back of Magnus’ hand.

 Easily tangling their fingers together Magnus hums and his warm sleepy sandalwood scent gains a hint of sharpness, “ I’m glad you want to but...not everyday.”

 Alec can’t help the way he tenses but he refuses to jump to conclusions, they’ve wasted enough time, “Okay? If I’m going to be in the way or anything, please, tell me.”

 Magnus shakes his head with a rueful twist to his lips, “No such thing, I’d love having you in my way. I just...I know last night we talked about wanting more, wanting to be mates,” he takes a breath, “and I do want that but I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. It feels so perfect right now, being with you, but we don’t really know each other as well as we should if we’re going to take that kind of step. We’ve not had to juggle our work, our relationship, and our son. I think we need to give ourselves the space to do this properly, not rush into things together because we missed our first chance. That could ruin us again.”

 Alec blinks but listens. Magnus is right, they need to do this right. They don’t have to be cautious but they do need to give themselves some time to learn about each other, about annoying habits and tender spots. Magnus has never seen him on a three day work and worry streak, he doesn’t know Magnus’ vices or his working habits.

 “I think that sounds like wisdom speaking. So I know another thing now, I know you’re wise.”

 Magnus laughs and the sharpness in his scent fades, the warmth of them together burrowing into Alec’s chest.

 “You are definitely never allowed to have tea with Ragnor, he would do his best to dissuade you of that.” Magnus winks.

 “I agree with you about not rushing into things but...why not spend the week together? Maybe not every night, but the days?” Alec is careful to make it clear he’s only curious.

 “Aside from how likely it is we would overwhelm each other a bit? Max. He’s always wanted a Daddy and you’re so good with him but I worry that if you’re here so much and then not when you go back to work he’ll be hurt by it. I just, I don’t want to do anything to make him think he can’t be exactly himself around you or that you might not be staying in his life.” Magnus’ free hand twists in the air as he talks, nervous.

 Alec sighs and leans a little more firmly against Magnus.

 “I don’t want to make him think anything like that. I want to do right by both of you. What do you think about every other day? Maybe?”

 Magnus relaxes against him, “I think that would be perfect, and I think that I’m going to text you enough on the days you aren’t here you won’t even miss us.”

 Alec presses a kiss to his temple and says, low, “I’d miss you if you were in the next room, I’ve missed you for years.”

 He      doesn’t     miss the way that Magnus’ cheeks are a little pink as he twists to press a kiss to Alec’s mouth. It’s soft and easy, just lips dragging together, but it’s perfect.

 It also reminds Alec of his potential gift.

 They part and he shifts to more comfortably face Magnus, “I wanted to ask-and I won’t mind if you don’t want it right now, or at all-” Magnus looks curious, “If it was okay if I left you with something of mine for your nest?”

 Magnus’s eyes flicker over him and Alec worries he’s overstepped, but then a soft, surprised smile touches Magnus’ mouth.

 “I know I just said we should feel things out but I-” Magnus lifts his chin, unconscious but enough to draw Alec’s attention to his bare throat, “-find that I want your scent around me too much to say no. I would love for you to bring something for my nest.”

 Alec glances down with a little smile, “Well...I thought I could give you my shirt. I’m wearing a second layer, Izzy said that it would be better for me to wear what I wanted to give you, so my scent was stronger. I thought um, I could trade it out when it starts to fade.”

 Magnus touches the backs of his fingers, rings cool, to Alec’s cheek. His lovely eyes have gone the color of melted caramel with affection and Alec has to drag a breath in through his mouth at his scent, all surprised delight.

 “Please.” Magnus nods, “That would be wonderful.”

 Alec tugs his plain t-shirt off, the simple undershirt he’s wearing sticking to it for a moment before he separates them. He holds the shirt out to Magnus and has to repress a laugh when he realizes how dazed he looks.

 “Magnus?”

 “Mmm?” Magnus blinks, looking away from his torso only to stop at his now exposed arms and Alec does start laughing then.

 “See something nice?”

 Magnus takes the shirt and holds it up to his face, pointedly looking at Alec as he inhales slowly, lips curling up. Alec swallows hard at the obvious display.

 “More than nice. You are going to test my self-control, Alexander.”

 The noise that catches in Alec’s throat is half-laugh, half alpha want and he watches Magnus’ pupils dilate. Their scents grow spiced and heavy between them, enough that Alec can almost pick his own pine-sharp arousal from Magnus’.

 Magnus’ tongue darts out to wet his lips and Alec sways momentarily closer, before he catches himself. He leans away and watches Magnus blink, face falling a little.

 “As badly as I want to kiss you, I think we both need a second.”

 Expression clearing, Magnus rolls his eyes, “We are being a bit ridiculous.” He pats the shirt now in his lap, “I’m going to put this where it belongs and then we are going to say goodnight like perfectly reasonable adults.”

 They grin at each other and if Alec lets his gaze linger on Magnus’ butt when he walks away, well…

 -

 Jace calls Alec a workaholic approximately once a day. Normally Alec just scoffs at him but considering how his day off and apart from Magnus goes, he’s worried his brother is right.

 He manages to sleep, though it might have something to do with the way Magnus’ happy scent is stuck to the jacket he drapes over his pillow. He wakes a little later than usual and tries to drag out his morning routine.

 By the time he’s sitting at the table that he only owns for nights when his siblings and their mates come over, he’s listless. He swirls his coffee a little, the syrup he uses already well mixed in. After staring a little longer he decides he’s allowed a treat and goes for the whipped cream.

 He sprays it into his cup and raises it to take a sip, only to stop.

 For six years he’s accompanied his coffee with a quiet wish for Magnus’ joy, with a little push for the universe to be gentle to the omega he’d loved and lost. The thought of not doing so leaves him bereft.

 Alec tugs his phone toward him and snaps a picture of his coffee, the tower of whipped cream leaning a little to the side. He sends it to Magnus with a little sunrise emoji.

     Alec 8:06a  

     Here’s a secret about me, take it to your grave… I love whipped cream.  

 He sets his phone back down and licks at the cream to keep it from making a mess. He stares at the table with a little frown and thinks:      I hope Magnus has a good day, I hope the world is kind to him still. I hope Max smiles.  

 -

 He makes it until almost three before he gives in. Max has been quietly drawing for an hour and the store has lulled after their lunch rush. No one is currently in need of Magnus and the number of texts he’s received from Alec assure him that the other man is      not    busy.

 As he thinks it he gets another picture. This time it’s of a grumpy looking cat sleeping in a patch of sunlight. Based on the last photos, he’s fairly certain it’s Alec’ living room floor.

     Magnus 2:47p  

     You have a cat?  

     Alec 2:47p  

     I might. Church (him) would argue that I am a trespasser in his house. He’s technically a registered therapy animal but he’s so grumpy his last owner gave him up.  

     Magnus 2:48p  

     Does he like other cats?  

     Alec 2:48p  

     I think so? Clary brought a kitten over once when she was volunteering at a shelter, Church seemed to like it. Why, did you have a cat hidden somewhere?  

     Magnus 2:48p  

     There’s a few cats that make their rounds here and I was thinking about getting a kitten for Max’s birthday.  

     Alec 2:49p  

     Oh?  

     Magnus 2:49p  

     It may, just a tiny bit, possibly, be because I want a kitten very badly.  

 Bubbles appear to indicate Alec is typing and Magnus decides that he is definitely not too busy for a call. He moves toward the little couch where Max is drawing, hits the button to video call, and waits with a little smile.

 The call connects and Alec’s messy hair and warm smile fill the screen. His eyes are bright and he appears to have leaned his phone against something because he’s sitting so he can rest his chin on his folded arms.

 “Hello, gorgeous.” Magnus is helpless to the way he grins as he greets Alec.

 “      Hey.”    Alec hides his mouth in his arms but the gleam in his eyes tells Magnus how pleased he is. He doesn’t get to say anything more though, because the sound of Alec’s voice draws Max’s notice.

 “Daddy?” The little boy leans into Magnus’ space, hands braced on his leg as he cranes his head to see the screen.

 Magnus laughs as Alec lights up even more, he is just too much looking so delighted, and holds the phone so Max can climb into his lap. The little boy hesitates, grabs the paper he was working on, and then gets situated.

     “Hey little bat, what’s that?”  

 Max smooths the paper out, shy for a moment and then turns it over to examine it. Magnus’ heart clenches when he sees the art his son has been working on. It’s the three of them, clearly, but they all have butterfly wings. Magnus’ are red and gold, Alec’s are blue and black, while Max’s are all four colors. His son is still staring at his drawing.

     “You don’t have to show me, if you don’t want to.”    Alec says it so very gently and Magnus gives Max a little squeeze of encouragement.

 “Here.” Max holds the paper up and Magnus watches the way it affects Alexander. His eyes widen a fraction and his jaw loosens as he takes in the full picture. When he speaks again he has to clear his throat and his eyes are wet.

     “That’s really great Max. Our wings are really cool.”  

 “Mine are like yours and Ayah’s, because I’m made of both of you.”

 Magnus has to press a kiss to Max’s hair, working not to let the arm holding his phone out tremble.

     “That’s right.”    Alec does well at covering for Max, but Magnus can hear how hard he has to work to keep his voice steady.

 “I’ll put it somewhere safe so Daddy can see it when he comes over tomorrow, okay?” Magnus says and Max nods, his shyness fading under his parent’s love.

 He starts chattering easily enough, asking Alec all about what he’s doing and getting very excited when Alec turns the phone so they can see Church, blinking blearily at them. Magnus doesn’t get to say nearly as much as he wants to before the sound of the singing bowl calls him away, but he leaves his phone with Max.

 The sound of his son laughing with Alexander carries him through the rest of his day.

 -

 Alec is laying draped over the couch, head in Magnus’ lap. It’s their last day together before Alec has to go back to work and Max has done his best to wear them out. They’d spent hours playing games and taking turns playing villains to Max’s dramatic, magic, hero. He’d been just as exhausted by early evening and they’d read to him together until he’d drifted off curled into Alec’s side.

 “You know, I almost had a younger brother named Max.”

 Magnus hums, “Almost?”

 Alec shifts, glancing up at him, “He didn’t make it. My mother was different then, a little. She was warmer toward Izzy and Jace at least, but I think losing a baby when she did really took a toll. She learned my father was cheating on her a month or so before and there was a lot going on with the company. I think she sort of blamed everyone around her when it happened, the stress trying to balance personal drama and professional issues caused. She and I... when I was sixteen, just before she found out she was pregnant, I told her I was gay. It didn’t go well, so things were already rocky between us.”

 Magnus just listens, carding a hand slowly through Alexander’s hair.

 “I guess, when you said his name was Max, I thought it was fitting. In a way it was like another person I lost coming back to me.” Alec frowns, “That sounds like I’m saying...I don’t think of him as a replace for anyone, he’s      ours    and he’s amazing but it, it means a lot to me that they share a name.”

 Magnus sighs, he doesn’t know how to put it into words either, but he understands what Alec is trying to say. He rubs his thumb over one of Alexander’s heavy brows.

 “I’m glad too. It’s like I gave him a little of you without knowing.”

 Alec’s expression eases and he smiles softly, “Yeah.”

 They lapse into quiet again, Magnus trailing touches down Alec’s neck slowly, admiring the man as he relaxes. They let go of the weight of heavy thoughts as they just breathe together.

 Quite by accident Magnus fingernails catch on a slow downward drag and Alec sucks in a breath. The scent of serene alpha takes on a spicy edge, the faintest touch of crushed pine.

 Magnus swallows and more deliberately runs the edges of his painted nails behind Alexander’s ear.

 “Magnus-” Alec’s voice is heavy, warning.

 He presses a little harder, mesmerized as he fills his lungs with the growing smell of Alec’s desire. In a moment Alexander has moved.

 He’s sitting up, hands gently wrapping around Magnus’ wrists as he leans in, brushing his nose up the column of Magnus’ throat, his breath warm as his ghosts over his pulse. The heat in the room rises, their scents blooming with want.

 “Magnus.” Alec whispers the word, the quietness of it doing nothing to hide the desire in it.

 Magnus tips his head to the side and gasps at the drag of lips as Alec leaves a line of kisses over his skin until their mouths meet. Alec releases his caught hands and Magnus winds fingers into dark hair, leans into the wide spread of Alec’s fingers as he cradles the omega’s face.

 Alec gives into his hungry mouth as Magnus presses into him, insistent and needing. The scent and taste that fills his senses is overwhelming, it’s everything he’s been missing for      so    long and he refuses to pull away. Alec makes a low sound in his throat, vibrating in his chest for a moment with the edge of alpha that makes ancient biology in Magnus desperate.

 The large, hot hands that cupped his face so tenderly grip his hips firmly. Magnus couldn’t say which of them initiates the move, but they’re both pulled along by the tide of shared lust, and he’s pulled fully into Alec’s lap.

 He makes a noise of his own, something he’s never heard from himself outside of his worst heats, and Alec surges against him with a low moan. Magnus thinks he could burn to ash under Alexander’s touch, thinks it’d be a sweet way to go and then Alec guides him through a roll of his hips and he doesn’t think much at all.

 They don’t part from one another’s mouth except to gasp as they allow friction to build between them. It’s torment to not be bare against one another but stopping long enough to remove anything would be intolerable and definitely not necessary.

 Alec shudders and jerks hard against Magnus, even as the omega let’s out an overwhelmed groan and they finally slow.

 Foreheads pressed together, they both pant until Alec chuckles breathlessly.

 “Something-” Magnus swallows, “-Something funny?”

 Alec just laughs again and Magnus is helpless against it, joining in despite the uncomfortable dampness in his pants.

 “We are so good at taking this slow.” Alec half-laughs out.

 Magnus smacks at his arm, “Maybe if you didn’t smell      amazing    and taste even better we’d have a chance?”

 There’s more than just exertion coloring Alec’s cheeks but he pulls back with his eyebrows raised, “Me? What am I supposed to do with you right in front of me, all-” he trails off, letting go of Magnus’ hip to gesture.

 “You just indicated all of me.”

 “Exactly.”

 Magnus leans forward to smack a kiss to his lips, ignoring the huff of laughter it earns him. He shifts back quickly though, grimacing.

 “Need to borrow some pants?”

 Alec shifts and cringes, “Underwear, at least. God, we really just      did    that.”

 With as regal a shrug as he can manage, Magnus gingerly slides off of Alec, “I don’t have any regrets.”

 He’s trying for an airy sort of tease but he can’t help the little niggle of worry. He knows Alec is still adjusting to the sudden burn-out of his suppressant, mild as the effects can be, and they did agree to do things right this time. Alexander may not have much practice, but he’s already good at knowing when to reassure it seems.

 “I could never regret you.” He smiles, like he hasn’t just made another breath-stealing declaration, “Getting carried away with you has, to date, only resulted in the best things.”

 Magnus doesn’t have a defense for that, nor the way that Alec wears his every feeling on his sleeve when they’re together. He’s gotten the impression, from the few texts he’s exchanged with Isabelle, that Alexander Lightwood is a stoic, unreadable professional and often taciturn, even in private. None of that holds true when they’re together though, any of it melts after minutes together and Magnus secretly hopes Alec never stops letting all his walls down so easily around him.

 “Pants.” Magnus says, instead of voicing any of the swirling joys and worries.

 “Pants.” Alec agrees with a silly little wiggle of his hips and an exaggerated face.

 He means to go grab them, maybe make them something to drink, and start the enjoyable process of telling Alexander goodnight, but he stops after only a few steps.

 “Stay tonight?”

 Alec looks surprised, then pleased and he stands, “If you don’t mind that I’ll need to be up early?”

 “I’ll text Isabelle to bring you clothes and feed Church if you need, but no, I don’t mind. Max will probably be up with the sun after his early night anyway.”

 Alec follows him into his bedroom, politely waiting for Magnus to bring them pants to sleep in. Magnus had told him that he’d made his nest inside the large walk-in closet because it was a safely enclosed space and Alec had been conscientious of it every time he’d been in the bedroom.

 “If you text Izzy, because she definitely won’t ask so many terrible questions if it’s you, I can probably stay long enough to help get Max ready for the day.” Alec tells him, stripping out of his pants even as Magnus chokes a little.

 “That would be wonderful, darling.”

 “I want to be his parent for more than just the fun parts.”

 Magnus wonders how many times his heart can take Alec’s sweetness before it just leaps out of his chest and into the man’s hands.

 “I know. I want that too. Spend the morning with us if you can manage and, well, once you know what work looks like tell me and we can,” He tries to hide the twist in his stomach at the thought of Alec’s real life taking him away, “we can figure it out.”

 Alec looks at him seriously, “Magnus. I am going to make time for you and Max. I have never even taken a sick day, not even for ruts since I’ve been suppressing them, and you can ask anyone, I have a dire need for a social life. The company won’t fall apart if I actually take time to live      my    life. Even if it would, I'd figure it out to give us the time and effort we deserve.”

 “Alexander…” Magnus can feel wetness gathering, “Thank you. I will do my best to put as much effort into this, but we really have to go to bed now.”

 “Tired?” Alec sounds concerned and Magnus laughs.

 “Yes, darling, but mostly I’m afraid if we don’t get to sleep you’ll keep being absolutely exceptional and sweet and I’ll be overcome.”

 Alexander looks delighted by that, “I’m just being honest.”

 Magnus tries to glare, but the way he keeps smiling ruins it, “That is precisely what I mean.”

 Alec raises his hands in mock surrender as Magnus finally gets changed and slides into bed beside him, but he figures if that’s the only problem they have for the moment it’s well worth it.

Part Three

[marcholasmoth]

OSRR: 3479

happy valentine's day :)

i had a lovely day!

i started the day being surprised with a stuffed puppy and a box of chocolates and a card from my momma. the puppy is very soft and also very cute. then was breakfast with pink unicorn pancakes which i had with my sister, along with some appley sauce, served with a side of hugs.

then i left for work - or rather, i left for the grocery store, where i picked up flowers for my coworkers, and THEN i left for work.

i got in on time and was happy to give things out to the people i care for. they were all surprised and happy to receive something for valentine's day. as someone who loves the smaller holidays, it's important for me to express whatever it is that the day is supposed to express, especially valentine's day!

for me, valentine's day is about celebrating love in all its forms: familial, platonic, and romantic. for all of the commercialization and normal socialization about the holiday, so many people feel like valentine's day is only for people who have a significant other. that's the farthest thing from the truth! because for everyone, there is always someone significant to you, just as everyone is significant to someone. it's the day for celebrating those relationships, too. do you not have a partner, but have a best friend who you haven't seen in months? express your affection and appreciation to them. do you want your siblings (biological or chosen) to have a wonderful day? express that to them however you are comfortable. are you aromantic or asexual (or both!) and feel like the day isn't something you'll ever like celebrating? it might not be, but it doesn't mean that the relationships you have are any less relevant and worthy of celebrating as others!

valentine's day is a day to celebrate love in all its forms. it's a day to show appreciation and affection for the people who surround you and for the people you hold dear in your heart. there should be no exclusion on valentine's day. there is no one superior type of love.

i was so happy to give flowers and chocolates and personalized cards to my coworkers today. they were so happy to receive them. so often i notice people who give flowers don't receive them. but i think everyone should be given flowers.

i mean, i walked outta the grocery store with a rolled up hang-y thing of flower bouquet protective bags so i could make sure my friends went home with their roses protected from the wind and the biting chill in the air.

it worked pretty well.

i got back to joel's after work to a pleasant surprise of pasta - which is a traditional valentine's meal for my family because spaghetti sauce is red - and i was able to share chocolates and to give joel his card and gift. when i signed his card last night, i cried. (thinking about it now, it gives me something to talk to christine about for next appointment.)

i'm happy to be where i am and i'm lucky to love the people i love. they all deserve the best.

and so do you!! you don't have to change a single thing about yourself to be worthy of love.

picture that astronaut meme:

"wait. i'm worthy of love?"

"you have been the whole time."