#i shoulda just stayed home bro

[neverendingford]

.

[wysteria-bloom]

𖧷 " such a lightweight "

What jjk character would do if you're drunk

Minors DNI

Warnings : f!bodied reader, female pronouns used, HIGHLY suggestive, sukuna can be a warning himself. I may have went a bit feral on Shiu's one but I can't help it okay 😥😥

Characters : toji, geto, gojo, nanami, sukuna, shiu, hakari

A/n : jjk manga is popping off rn bro most recent chapter made me cry. Sukuna was so sassy the whole time, unc has had enough of yuji's shit 😭

⟢ fushiguro toji ␥

This man has the most unimpressed expression on his face when he finds you stumbling through the front door, one of your high heels evidently missing whilst the strap of your dress was hanging on through pure will power.

It was amusing for a split second, but now he just felt bad. He walks over to you and fixes your dress strap, trying not to break out into a fond grin when your eyes brightened at the sight of him," Your friends suck." He states, reaching an arm behind you to shut the door," who makes a fuckin' woman walk home alone? I'll kill them..."

You instantly wrap your arms around his waist, resting your face in the crook of his neck. He froze briefly before leaning into the embrace," Don' be maaad.... they hic wanted to stay longer... but I missed you... hic... so I left..." you drawled out against his skin tiredly, inhaling his scent like it was air to you.

His heart clenched and he let out a low hum," that right?" He grumbled and slowly wrapped his large arms around you, his warmth all-consuming," shoulda messaged me, baby..."

"I know, I hic know... won' happen again... promise... pinky swear..." your eyes drooped lazily, you would definitely fall asleep standing up if your husband allowed it.

You were lifted from beneath your legs, his other arm wrapping around your back securely. He looked down at you with a slight quirk to his lips at the sight of your shocked expression," can't have ya droolin' on my shoulder, baby. A bed might be more comfortable, yeah?" He teased out gently as he began to lift you upstairs.

You found yourself only smiling up at him like an idiot," I fuckin' love you..." you drawled out.

That finally made his lips crack into grin, green eyes hazy with love," You're a cute drunk..."

"Say hic it back!"

"Nah, you gotta wait till morning for that."

"So rude." You snorted out, closing your eyes to fall into a deep slumber, not missing the way he mumbled 'love you' into your hair.

⟢ geto suguru ␥

"I wish you would tell me when you decide to get black-out drunk." The man sighed out like a disappointed parent as he squeezed some cleanser onto a cotton pad, raising a brow at his girlfriend in disdain," What if something had happened to you?"

You pouted at him," I was with Shoko..." you murmured drunkenly, blinking lazily up at him. Then you tugged the end of his shirt," take this off."

He snorted, pure amusement crinkling within his eyes," nah." Then he cupped your chin gently," stay still." He brought the cotton pad to your face, wiping away the makeup you had put on.

You groaned, cheeks flushed as you glared at him," You don't love me." You grunted out.

"Cause I won't take my shirt off?" He smirked, running the pad beneath your eyes gently.

"Uh huh."

"You're such a horny drunk, you know that?" He teased with that easygoing smile on his lips, shifting slightly to get in a more comfortable position, his legs wrapping around you as you sat in the middle of them," Why can't you be this horny when you're sober, huh?"

"Cause... I need to make you yearn for me."

He let out a low whistle, pretending to be impressed," You know that word? Crazy." He then blew away a stray eyelash on your face, smiling gently when you scrunched your eyes closed," keep 'em shut, pretty girl."

Your heart fluttered," Don't speak like that." You did as you were told however.

He wiped at the mascara on your eyes with a new cotton pad, the pad of his thumb that was holding your chin playing with your bottom lip annoyingly to make you pout," Why? Got you hot and bothered?" He droned out with that low tone of amusement.

"Manipulative creep." You bit the tip of his thumb but not enough to hurt him.

He chuckled and leaned forwards to press a warm kiss to your forehead," baby, if you keep insulting me I might not reward you for sitting so still~" He cooed out.

You sat even more still, letting go of his thumb," say less king."

"Absolute horndog."

⟢ gojo satoru ␥

Gojo looked on at you with a slight concerned glint in his eye, caressing your face lovingly with his hands as he placed kisses across your flushed face," so cute... you need to know how to pace yourself, pretty." He hummed out with that lightly teasing lilt to his voice.

You blinked at him drunkly, cheeks smooshed together by his hands," 'm... not drunk..." you denied, an obvious slur to your words as you narrowed your eyes cutely.

He chuckled lightly, gently pinching your cheeks and shaking his head lightly. His eyes shone with fondness, but also a hint of playfulness as he listened to your denial.

"Really now~?" Gojo inquired, his voice laced with an amused skepticism as he leaned in closer, peering at your warm face. His warm breath brushes against your skin, a subtle smirk on his lips," Maybe we need to get all this swaying checked out by a doctor then, huh?"

You frowned," Nooo... no hic doctor..." you then pressed a hand to his chest, giving him a distraught expression," Oka...okay... fine... I'll admit it, okay?... I'm drunk..." you whispered out like it was a well-kept secret.

Satoru found it adorable.

He smirked, tilting his head slightly as he continued to admire your drunken adorableness," There we go. Was that so hard to admit, huh?"

He then moved his arms to wrap around your waist, pulling you closer against him," So cute... my cute little drunkard..." He nuzzled his face against your much warmer one like you were a cute little animal.

"Shuddup... that's not an endearing nickname, ya know..." you groaned out but leaned into his affection nonetheless," yer... hic... a worse drunk than I am..."

At your claim, he gave a dramatic gasp, feigning offense, "Me? Worse than you? I'll have you know I'm much better at holding my alcohol than you are."

"Bitch no you're not." You reply sassily, raising a brow as you reached up and pinched his pale cheeks in return," last time you hic were drunk... you dropkicked a trashcan and dove into the trash."

"Hey, hey... that trashcan had it coming." Gojo protested, his cheeks squished between your hand. He leaned in closer, his smirk growing wider, "And even if I had a little bit too much drink that night, at least I didn't pass out on a public bench... like some people."

You pressed your forehead against his, nuzzling it in the most aggressive fashion you could muster, nose scrunched up in annoyance," Shut up... loser..." you whined out with a weary blink of your eyes, fatigue settling in.

God, he loved you.

He smothered you in his arms, your cuteness too much to handle for him as he ignored your insults to let you the hell go.

⟢ nanami kento ␥

You frowned up at the man in suspicion as he drove with that handsome frown on his lips, the furrow to his brow seemed like a natural expression for him.

"My husband... wouldn't be happy with you... driving me home..." you drawled out lazily, drunken eyes admiring his appearance despite your words.

Nanami, your husband, let out a hum, eyes glinting with amusement as he swiped the indicator to make a turn around the roundabout," Yeah? I'm sure he'll make an exception for me." He replied, deciding to go along with your drunken ramblings.

"Mmm... Hey," you muttered, your slender fingers tracing over the buttons of his shirt," why're you so handsome...?"

As you traced your fingers over the buttons of his shirt, he could feel the warmth emanating from your touch. "Genetic luck, I suppose," he quipped, glancing down at your hand as you continued to lightly graze his shirt. "Or maybe you just have a biased perspective when you're intoxicated."

You snorted," biased? Don't get ahead of yourself mister... I'm a married woman...." you slurred out, eyes blinking up at your husband hazily as you popped the first button on his collar teasingly.

He swallowed, trying to focus on the road as he clenched the steering wheel slightly," Ah, yes, my mistake," he played along, his voice laced with a hint of amusement. "A married woman with very wandering hands."

He glanced down at your hand briefly as you popped the first button of his collar, his eyes darkening slightly with desire, "Are you sure your husband won't mind you unraveling my shirt so easily?"

"I dunno... Maybe he won't mind cause you're so handsome..." you hummed, popping the second button, getting a good look at his sharp collar bone now. You wanted to lick it so bad," Hey... I'm... I'm super drunk... huh?"

He couldn't help but feel his pulse quicken as you continued to unbutton his shirt, revealing more of his chest. He let out a soft breath as your gaze raked over his collar bone, his own desire growing.

"Yes, very drunk," he agreed, tilting his head slightly to get a good look at your expression. "Drunk enough to tease your husband in the car, it seems."

"Oooh... so you're my husband..." you let that lazy grin spread across your lips, popping two more buttons and slipping a hand over the expanse of his chest, his shirt following your movements," I'm a lucky woman, aren't I?"

The car came to an abrupt stop, leafs of the trees scratching the top of the car with each blow of the wind. Nanami's hand came to your wrist, holding it gently and bringing it to his lips where he pressed a kiss to where your pulse was.

The look in his eyes sent warmth to your core as he gave you that gently tired smile he always does, head quirking to the side slightly," I think the backseats are calling our names, no?" He droned out lowly.

You never clambored to the backseats quicker.

⟢ ryomen sukuna ␥

"Ugh, you reek of alcohol, woman. How much have you had?" The curse grumbles out unamusedly, glaring down at the woman who was clinging to his arms like a lifeline.

"O-only one or two..." Then you smiled lazily," or two... three.... four five-"

"Fucking alcoholic." He snarked out a disgusted scrunch of his nose, not even wincing when you smacked his broad chest for that comment.

You pout up at him,"F-fuck you, okay? Fuck. You. I'm in my hot girl summer era and I hic don't need your old ass cramping my style." You slurred out, stumbling over your own feet.

Sukuna reached out and held you by your shoulders, glare softening into a deadpan expression," What are those words even."

"Old. Ass."

Rolling his eyes, he pulled your hair lightly in a reprimanding manner," Keep fucking flapping those pretty lips. See where it gets you." He murmurs," because that couch very much has your name on it right now."

"Whaaa?" You whined out, moving your arms to wrap around his waist, chin resting on his chest to look up at him," You'd kick me outta our bed?"

"In a heartbeat."

"Ughhh..." you buried your warm face into his chest, shaking your head," so mean... I was gonna offer a blow job as well but you've lost that privilege..."

He snorted, actually finding that sentence amusing as he scratched at your scalp with his sharp nails gently, just like you had taught him," would've been a fuckin' sloppy blowjob anyways."

"You love them, though."

"Mm." He didn't even deny it. Shameless. Then he looked to the side," You're too drunk. Wouldn't even be enjoyable for me." He replied, canting his head to the side curiously, it was almost cute to see him do it," You, however..."

You lifted your head up at the low tone to his voice, feeling your face heat up at the dark look in those garnet coloured eyes.

A smirk spread across his lips as he looked down at you, gripping onto your chin and leaning down close to your lips that he puckered with his thumb and pointer finger," It'll definitely be more enjoyable for you."

You blinked dumbly at his offer, head tilting like a lost puppy,"... How are hic you gonna give me a blowjob?" Then you gasped, gripping onto his jacket and shaking him back and fourth excitedly," You finally want to try pegging?!"

He growled, smacking you across the back of the head as he clawed your grippy hands away from him," no- NO. You fucking dolt! I was offering to go down on you!"

You rubbed at the back of your head," Domestic abuse isn't hot!"

"Never fucking mind you get nothing from me. NOTHING."

⟢ shiu kong ␥

"Oh so pretty... so so pretty... love you..." you kissed across your husband's face, leaving lipstick smudges everywhere as you blinked down at him drunkenly," My pretty husband... you put the stars to shame..."

Shiu only looked on in complete and utter amusement, unlit cigarette hanging from his lips," yer so fuckin' drunk." He stated with that shit eating grin on his face.

"Naw..." you pouted, kissing his nose," I had... One glass... of wine... promise m' not drunk..." you pecked his lip, getting more comfortable in his lap as you cupped his face like you were holding the fucking world in your hands.

"One glass of wine my ass," he chuckled, gently grabbing your wrists and turning his face to the side to keep you from planting even more sticky kisses onto his face. "I've seen you down an entire bottle of whisky and still stand straight and clear, and you're telling me one glass made you feel all fuzzy and sentimental like this?" he said jokingly, tilting his head to the side as his eyes flicked over your drunken expression as he set his unused cigarette to the side.

You pout down at him," Ehhhh... I feel like you don't trust me at all. Just believe what I say from now on, okay?" Fuck you were a delusional drunk, but it was adorable. You leaned close to his face again, wriggling your hands that were caught in his gentle grasp," Now lemme kiss you..."

Shiu had no choice but to indulge in your antics, especially when you looked this adorable being clingy.

"Alright, alright." He chuckled, wrapping his free hand around the back of your head, guiding it down as he pressed your lips against his own, kissing you with his signature slow, yet intimate pace.

You hummed happily against his lips, thighs pressing tighter against his as you leaned into the kiss completely.

Shiu always had a sensuality to his kisses and left you wanting more out of him every time.

You tugged at his bottom lip with your teeth teasingly.

He found it hard to resist himself as you teased him with soft nibbles, his hand on your head slowly making its way south, tracing along the curve of your body until he got to your hip, his fingers gently gripping onto the flesh as a quiet hum vibrated from his chest between the slow kisses.

"Watch it." Shiu murmured against your lips, his tone low and almost playful as he lightly squeezed the spot he was holding onto in warning.

"What're you gonna do huh? Gonna take advantage of your drunken wife?" She cooed out dangerously as she moved her hips against his, hands tangling into his hair," thought you were a gentleman..."

"Oh darlin'..." he chuckled at your cheeky remark, raising an eyebrow up at you as he suddenly used his grip on your hip to pull you closer to his hips, their forms now more intimately pressed together as he smirked up at you mischievously.

"I am a gentleman... Doesn't mean I'll let you tease me like that though." He smirked, tugging your head back a bit, his hot breath ghosting over the column of your throat.

You groaned lowly as your throat was exposed to him fully, shivers running up and down your spine. A hand reached out to grip onto his suit jacket," Fucking tease... indulge your wife a little, won't you? I'm the drunk one after all..." you pouted out, back arching and pressing her front to his.

"You're a big girl." he teased, lips running along the skin of your exposed neck, tracing along the soft flesh with languid but deliberate kisses, a low chuckle escaped his throat as he felt your body arching against his, his hand still gripping onto your hip, slowly but firmly guiding you to grind against his lap," A big girl who should learn to keep her teasing mouth in check." he added in between kisses.

"So mean... you're so mean..." She moaned, head thrown back in pleasure as her core grinded against his, feeling something twitch beneath her," why'd I marry you, huh?..."

He snorted haughtily, raising a brow in amusement, "Now you know damn well why you married me." he nipped on the skin at your neck, letting out a low, barely discernible groan of pleasure as he felt the friction between your bodies against the hardness in his trousers.

You panted heavily, hazy and drunken eyes looking down at him like he was a work of art," enlighten me..." you replied teasingly.

"I hope I don't have to remind you how good I treat you, every single night, love." he teased, his hand slowly making its way further under the thin fabric of your dress.

You bite your lip, your core clenching at those words," mmmn.... nothing wrong with a little reminder, now is there?" You drawled out, head tilting to the side suggestively as you spread your legs a little more to give him more access.

His eyes darkened with desire, his hands gliding higher under the hem of your dress, slowly but firmly caressing the soft and supple skin of your thighs, before they slowly made their way towards the apex of your legs.

"I s'pose there isn't."

Your world flipped as you were pressed against the couch, watching as the man above you sent you a wry grin, an eyebrow quirking at your eager expression," prepare yourself, honey~"

⟢ hakari kinji ␥

"The fuck are you blabberin' on about?" The male raised a brow at the woman below him as he tried to get her into pyjamas," Not even speaking Japanese at this point."

You frowned at him, glaring harshly," I said... you looked... really good tonight... but now I fucking take it back..." you drawled out drunkenly," You ugly fuck."

He let out a low low whistle," quite the potty mouth on ya." He hummed out, silently cheering to himself when he finally got the pyjama shirt over your head," Hey, sit up a sec."

"Fuck you."

"You sure you want that when you're drunk? I'd rock your world, doll." He teased out with that sly little grin on his lips as he wrapped his arms around you, pressing his hands to your back to guide you into a sitting position.

"You perv." You grumbled out, not resisting against him as you settled your face into the crook of his neck lazily, placing absentminded kisses against his skin against your previous grievances against him.

Her kisses settled a fire in his stomach, but he pushed away the thoughts to the best of his abilities," I have such a pretty girl." He cooed out gently as his hands run underneath your shirt, unclasped your bra for you and helping you take it off in a way that perserved your modesty," Can you blame me for being a perv towards you?"

You sighed in relief when the boob trap was off of you and flopped back onto the bed, you hated sleeping with your bra on.

You looked up at him, watching him begin to take his jacket off, tossing your bra to the side lazily. Warmth clouded your cheeks and you found yourself smiling at him like an idiot.

Her noticed the expression and narrowed an eye, lips quirking up," What's got you lookin' all cute, huh?"

"I have such a pretty boy..." you repeated his words from earlier, pressing a hand to your cheek like a schoolgirl with a crush.

Hakari paused for a brief moment, that fire in his stomach a full blaze now. His fever hit him full pelt and the only way he could express those emotions was pinning you down and kissing you all over, feeling himself grin wryly at the sound of your happy laughs.

Hakari wrapped his arms beneath you, lifting you and then maneuvering himself so you sat in his lap. He ran his fingers up and down your spine gently," gonna be the death of me, doll."

"The feeling is mutual, doll." You cooed out against his ear.

"Such a lightweight." He snickered, pulling you into a loving embrace and nipping at your ear," love you."

"Mnn... love you the most."

[vintagedolan]

concept: fucking grayson in new jersey

say less

“Gray-”

“Nah, fuck this, bro! He shoulda just kept his fucking mouth shut if he was gonna pussy out. Pisses me the fuck off.”

Ethan sighed, looking over at Karoly and then at you, eyebrows raised. You knew what he wanted - he wanted you to calm his brother down, put your hands on his face, make him look at you in the eyes like you always did when he got worked up like this. You nodded at E, moving to where Grayson had paced off to, just off the gravel of the driveway, both boys right behind you. 

You put one hand on his shoulder and felt his tense muscles relax at your touch.

“Sorry-”

“Don’t be. He’s a little bitch, and if you don’t call him out, I’m going to.”

Suddenly, 3 pairs of eyes were on you, incredulous. And then they were laughing, so loud that it bounced off the trees on the other side of the drive, filled the evening air. 

“That’s my fuckin’ girl,” Grayson beamed, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you up against him so he could kiss you hard. You melted into him for a moment but pulled back before you could get lost in it. You had a tendency to forget your surroundings when he kissed you like that, and you didn’t need the teasing from E and Ryan all night. 

“C’mon, Ma said she stocked up on vegan ice cream before we came,” E mumbled, leading the way back to the house with quick strides, hoping to get back before it got dark. 

Grayson held back a bit, arm snaking around your waist for a moment and then he paused, moving in front of you and crouching down. You weren’t sure why he loved to give you piggy back rides - it was just one of those things he thought was cute. So you happily jumped on, pressing a kiss to his cheek once you got settled with his hands under your thighs.

“I love you, you know that?” 

“Love you more,” you hummed.

“Not possible.”

You just shook your head and kissed him again, loving the way his hands squeezed your thighs when you did. 

“I really do wanna call him out you know, I wasn’t kidding,” you mumbled, resting your cheek on his shoulder as he walked, the crunch of the gravel below his feet louder than Ethan and Karoly’s conversation a few yards ahead. 

“You can do whatever you want baby, but don’t feel like you have to. I’ll be fine.”

“But you were so excited,” you pouted. “You ordered mats and everything.” 

“I know, but I can always send them back. It’s no big deal.”

“Don’t send them back, you and Ryan and E can still wrestle, it’ll just be for fun. I’d love to see you show off, even if it’s just at home. I was excited to see you train, see what you used to do.” 

You could practically feel his chest puff up as you spoke and he craned his neck so he could see your face.

“Yeah?”

“Hell yeah. Maybe you can teach me a few moves,” you grinned, moving to kiss him again. He stopped walking as you got the porch, deepening it again, swiping his tongue into your mouth as best he could from his angle. 

“I can think of a few I could show you.” His tone dropped, and if you could have clenched your thighs together, you would have. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. But, ice cream first so we don’t seem sus.” 

“Ugh,” you grumbled, making him chuckle as he let you down, pressed a kiss to your temple and led you inside by the hand. Ethan already had your favorite flavor by the chair you usually sat in and he passed you a spoon, giving you a quick appreciative smile when you sat down. 

Inevitably, the boys got into another middle school story, full of names you didn’t know and places you’d never been. You let them have their fun, spooning out bites of ice cream while you scrolled through twitter, seeing everyone’s chatter about Logan shit talking on his podcast. 

It wasn’t that you wanted to see your boyfriend wrestle the prick - in fact, you knew you’d be nervous to see him in an actual match like that. But you’d watched him get so excited, so hyped up to get a chance to really get do the thing that he loved so much again, and you were seething that someone had gotten his hopes up just to back out. 

You didn’t think much when you typed it out.

oh so we’re saying “more important things on the horizon” instead of “I’m scared as fuck” now?🤔 my b, I didn’t get that memo

You hit send on the tweet and locked your phone, moving back to your pint of ice cream and minding your own business. Eventually, both Grayson and Ethan’s phones buzzed - a text from other Ryan, in the group chat.

“10 points to Y/N for that subtweet.” He read. “What? What subtweet?” 

Your eyes went wide and you simply took another spoonful of ice cream into your mouth, waiting for them to find it and read it. 

Ethan found it first, and they all huddled around his screen to read, looking up at you with the same incredulous eyes as earlier. 

“You’re a fuckin’ legend,” Karoly grinned, shaking his head as the twins mouths hung open. “You think he’s gonna say some shit back to you?”

“I’d like to see him fuckin’ say somethin to her, he won’t have fingers to type with,” Grayson puffed up again and you just grinned, putting the lid back on your pint and getting up to take it to the freezer. 

“What would he even say though? I’m right, he’s just scared to embarrass himself.” 

“Damn straight,” Ethan grinned, clapping Grayson on the back as he stood to follow you. You gave your goodnights before you headed upstairs and down the hallway to the bedroom. It was the new rule - whoever had their girlfriend with them in Jersey got the bedroom and the other twin got the laundry room. 

You were particularly glad for the door, and more specifically the lock on it, which Grayson turned as soon as he followed you in and got it closed.

“C’mere.” 

You didn’t have to - he pulled you to him before you could even move, holding your face with both hands and stepping to meet you so he could kiss you fully, roughly, your whole body already buzzing as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

His hands dipped down over your ass. “Jump,” he mumbled into your mouth, not willing to break away from you just yet. You obliged, grinning as he held you up by your ass, big hands kneading slow and deep as you licked into his mouth. He shifted you just barely, and you whimpered a bit when you felt how hard he was beneath you. 

“Already?” You mumbled, ego swelling.

“Fuck yeah, don’t know why but that shit fucked me up baby,” he huffed, backing up and moving towards the bed and leaning over to lay you down gently. As soon as your legs were free of his waist he was tugging off his crewneck over his head and throwing it across the room.

“Thought you were gonna teach me some moves,” you teased, pretending to be unaffected just to spur him on. He’d find out just how wet you were in a few seconds, so you might as well have your moment of fun. 

“Tomorrow. Or shit, round two, right now I just need to fuck you baby,” he explained, pulling his pants and boxers down in one go. You reveled in the sight for the moment that you could, hard cock disappearing from view as he leaned over and hooked all his fingers into the waistband of your panties and leggings, pulling them all the way off in one swift motion.

He eyed your shirt for a minute and you got the memo, sitting up and stripping it off quickly. You barely had time to unclasp your bra before he was pushing on your legs, pulling them up and bending them to spread you open for him at the edge of the bed. 

“You ready?”

“Fuck yeah baby,” you smiled at him, reaching up for his face. He slid his hands off your thighs but you held them where they were as he pushed in, the pinch of the stretch masked by the feeling of his sweet lips on yours when he leaned forward to kiss you. 

He let out a sigh when he made it balls deep, and then he rolled his hips back only to snap them against you a moment later, so hard your whole body jolted.

“Fuck,” you groaned, already knowing that with him in that type of mood, you were in for at least two orgasms before he busted. He didn’t let up, keeping a relentless rhythm that had you biting down on his shoulder so you didn’t fully scream out his name for the whole house to hear. 

But when he found just the right spot you couldn’t help but gasp, your back arching up against him, torso to torso as he railed into you over and over. You scratched down his back.

“Fuck, shit baby right there, right there right there,” you squeaked, every muscle tensing up as your orgasm hit, warm and fluttering for a moment before you started quivering with aftershocks.

“Fuck that was hot,” he groaned, giving you one more good stroke before he pulled out, leaving you much too empty.

“What-”

“Roll over,” he instructed. You did your best with your still-quivering legs, and he took your waist in his hands, flipping you the rest of the way over - whether it was from impatience or care, you couldn’t tell. But it didn’t matter, because he wasted no time in ducking down, wrapping an arm around your hips to lift them enough to shove a pillow underneath and prop them up for him.

You craned your neck back to see him, just quick enough to catch his wink before he pushed into you again, filling you back up in an entirely different way that already had your hands grasping at the comforter. 

He was grunting and groaning so loud that you were sure the boys could hear, and you were also sure that he didn’t give a single fuck as he started to roll his hips the way he always did when he was chasing a high.

“Jesus you feel so fucking good,” he moaned, leaning over you so you could feel his weight on you as he pulled out just enough and pounded back into you in a way that had your mouth hanging open, no sound left to come out as your body started to work itself up again. 

“One more for me baby girl, give it to me, fuck,” he breathed into your ear, and it was as if that’s what your body needed to let go. Your thighs clenched together as much as they could with him in between them, which only spurred him on as he chased his own high, cumming with a groan that put his pull up sounds to shame. 

He stayed behind you for a few moments as you caught your breath, peppering kisses along your spine, your neck, your shoulders. Eventually he pulled out, making you shiver as he disappeared to the bathroom to get a washcloth for you. You let him clean you up as you continued to come down, twitching with sensitivity that made him press an apology kiss to your asscheek. 

When he disappeared again you rolled over and got up in search of clean panties, pulling some on and grabbing one of Grayson’s shirts before climbing back into bed and burrowing under the covers. 

He returned with a pair of his shorter boxer briefs on and a wide smile, sliding in next to you and wrapping you up in his arms so you were pressed to his chest - your favorite place to be, no matter where in the world you were.

[jeeperso]

D&D Quotes Without Context

Ravenloft Edition, Barovia Arc part 3

"Time to carve up the lamb." Nyx says as she goes to charge the Lamb, only to slip on something grimy on the ground. "Alright, who has been tossing out leftovers so close to the inn?" The goblin who was watching the combat raises his hand "Probably Big Jimbo." “What the crispy fried livestock fuck is this?” "Jonni, never try hold person on a slasher. Haven't you ever read any of the horror novels about them, something about them makes them no longer human." Jonni: “That’s bullshit!” GM: Jonni takes 7 slashing. Jonni: “Also there’s a fucking knife in me!” "I am sad to inform you, our meat shield is lacking in meat." "What? What's......Azathoth damnit! Was I sleep-time-traveling again?" Gorbash: "Oh thank god, it's not one of those fucking walking brains." Jonni scratches her ass. “Well, I got laid and sent something back to hell. Good night.” GM: The only thing you'd get from the mask is a bad infection if you get a splinter from it. Edmund: *disinfect* "I don't think the casket did anything: my internal chorus would have snarked something." "Oh, okay. No need to threaten to dump it into the void of eternal body-less voices making dad puns." "There are no greater goods, just Good with high opinions of itself." "You went right after that specific sword. Who sent you?" "I CAN'T SAY SHE'LL KILL ME." Jonni: “And I will if you don’t. So, immediate certain death or potential death. Your choice.” Gorbash: "Ah right, the ones violating Strahd's No Eating Vistani order. Of course the vampire's want to steal my anti-vampire sword." Nyx: "Don't tell me, the leader who we spared after Jonni transformed him into a giant snail wants revenge." Gorbash: "Didn't we throw him in the river?" Gorbash: "Fantastic, smart vampires want to steal my stuff." “Marsh, let’s get through one Domain without adopting.” Gorbash: "And break tradition?" "Tell that group we are on a mission for Strahd, delaying us threatens the safety of all in this domain. Cursed coffin, stay in one place too long and you don't want to see what it does, a fate even vampires should fear. So tell her to leave us be to our task." "I think I'll be too busy screaming to do that but if it comes up before my horrible horrible death I'll let her know." GM: Halfling is long gone by the way. He did his job he got paid -- twice -- he's hitting Ye Old Titty Bar. “Poom, check his pocket. If it’s a symbol of madness you’ll be unaffected.” "I am sorry to say, I don't know of any way to help you short of suggesting a garlic rosary and finding religion." "Alright, I guess you got a gofer." "Great, stay away from the coffin and don't try and steal from us again and you'll probably make it out of this alive." "This isn't my first rodeo of getting drafted by adventurers." "Freelancer or goonion?" "I warned you, coffin. Last warning, one more stunt like this and I will send you to the Void of External Body-less Voices that Make Dad Jokes!" GM OOC: Jules right now: "I don't feel safe." OOC1: Well he can take his chances with us or the vampires. GM OOC: True. OOC1: I think we're the better option for continued survival. I mean we didn't just gut him for trying to steal from us. OOC2: Yeah, but only because he snitched. Gorbash has been extra paranoid about... well everything, but now also about people planning to steal his Bro-blade. “Vistani got a secret handshake or is this like the tribes back home?” "Oh, am I leaking?" "Yes, your relatives are speaking through you." "Darn: cleric warned me it might progress this far." "I wish to repay your generosity to our people by giving you some advice." “Good advice or ‘We don’t talk about Bruno’ Advice?” “Blade's a dude. He leaves when he’s ready.” Jonni: "…. Shit I shoulda asked if great gamma really did fuck a fire elemental…” Madam Eva, Vistani seer: "She did." OOC: Eva's advice to you would just be "Buy a hundred lotto tickets and hope for the best." "Poom, are you going to ask a question of her or should I ask my question now?" "Go on. I've got voices in my head for that." "I sense that her quest to find a way to escape will bring her into conflict with an evil far greater than any you can imagine. And you will need to save her." Jonni nods solemnly. “So it’s true. Jack Chick still lives.” Nyx: "Who is Jack Chick and why did I shudder upon hearing his name?" "Darn it! I thought we escaped that sound effects nut." "Oh that's little Sisko." Eva points to a young Kenku boy who is standing among you. "He's great when we need to be dramatic. The customers love it." Jules: "Hey baby, wanna see my poison sacs?" Nyx facepalms. "Great, now I have to watch out for two horndogs." OOC: And now Marshal must one day ascend the Murderhorn and [say] the spell to rouse the Yettirasque. OOC: Remember our backup plan. AHM. Always Hug Marshal.

[triplexdoublex]

That’s My Baby

Pairings: Mod Sun x Reader

Warnings/tags: Pegging, use of a strap-on

A/N: This takes place in the same universe as my other Mod fics but it can still be read as a stand alone.

“Hey, you’re home!” You greeted Mod at the door. “I was starting to get worried, you usually text if you're gonna be home late from the studio.” 

“Sorry, I got a little distracted,” he motioned to the pink store bag in his hand.

“Oooh is that for me!?” You questioned excitedly, retrieving the bag from his grasp.

“Uhhh… yeah, I mean technically —“ he winced as you opened it, uncertain of how you would react. “I know we had talked about spicing things up and I-I just happen to pass that new sex shop they just opened on the way home, so I stopped in , and - and umm, yeah I thought I might be into trying... that” he spoke quickly, with both hands shoved into the pocket of his jeans, awaiting your response.

“Oh..” you gasped in shock as you pulled the apparatus from the bag. “A strap-on? Y-you want me to —“

“Sorry—” he began, with his head hung low. “I-if you’re not into it we can just—“

“Hey, hey, look at me,” you placed it back in the bag and stepped closer raising his chin with your fingertips. “You just caught me off guard that’s all. I’d be honored.” You smiled.

“Yeah?” His face lit up. 

“Yeah,” you pulled him in for a kiss. “C’mon,” you took his hand in yours, the bag in the other and walked him towards the bedroom. 

“Now?” He questioned, in surprise.

“Mmm, hmm” you hummed in confirmation , tugging him through the bedroom door.

“Damn, you spoil me.”

“You know it, baby.” You smirked before pushing him down on the bed, with a hand to his chest. You placed the bag at the foot of the bed for the time being as Mod rid himself of his shirt. You crawled over his sprawled out body on the bed and began kissing his neck. 

“God, I fucking love you!” He spoke with a hint of soft laugher to his voice. “I shoulda known you’d be cool with this.”

“Of course, anything for you, baby,” you began kissing him lower, and lower, trailing your lips and tongue over the permanent artistry that adorned his flesh until they disappeared below the denim horizon of his jeans. He lifted his hips as you unbuttoned his pants, aiding in their swift removal; his boxers stripped away with them. You took him in your hand and slowly pumped him while you lowered your mouth to the tip with a teasing, single swipe of your tongue. 

“Always such a tease!” He remarked with an impatient whine looking down at you.

“Can’t help myself, love watching you get all flustered and needy,” you continued to taunt him, holding him motionless in your palm as you licked around the base and mouthed his balls. His eyes were locked onto yours, watching you work. His hands were gripping at the sheets with eager frustration, his cheeks rosy and flushed.

“Please!” He begged as he lifted his hips from the bed with desperate need, trying to fuck into your fist. Eventually after teasing him a little bit longer you obliged and took him fully into your mouth; a satisfied hum falling from his lips. “Finally!!” he cried out gently threading his fingers into your hair, his hand bobbing along for the ride as you worked your mouth up and down his length, taking him in as deep as you possibly could and pumping what you couldn’t. You kept at until you felt his hand pushing at your shoulder; a breathy “stop, stop” bringing you to a halt. “Didn’t wanna cum yet,” he huffed “Wanna wait until —“ his eyes finished his sentence, drifting to the pink bag at the end of the bed. You got up off the bed and quickly retrieved the bag, as to not keep him waiting. 

“Oh good, you bought lube too” you noticed when taking out the strap-on. “Here,” you tossed it to him.

“I’ll be right back,” you excused yourself to the bathroom to put on the device, saving you both the awkward embarrassment of trying to figure out how to put it on.

Inside the bathroom you stripped off your clothes and struggled to find the right orientation of the contraption, turning it around as you tried to pinpoint which of the multiple adjustable loops were meant to wrap around your thighs and which were meant  to encompass your hips. Once you got it figured out you stepped into it, and pulled it up, adjusting the straps to fit you snuggly.

“Sorry that took so long,” you said as you stepped back into the bedroom. “I swear you need a degree in engineering to put this thing on,” you laughed. “Ohh— getting started without me I see,” you took notice of Mod prepping himself on the bed; two lubed slicked fingers working him open. “Ready for me yet?” You asked crawling onto the bed and settling between his thighs.

“I-I think so” he slid his fingers out.

“How do you wanna do this?” You questioned. 

“Just like this,” he answered. “Wanna face you.”

 You cracked open the bottle of lube and drizzled it over the pink, phallic shaped, object strapped to your pelvis and used your hand to make sure it was fully coated before bringing the tip to the slicked pucker between his cheeks.

 You were met with resistance at first, barely able to inch your way inside “Try not to tense up or it’s gonna hurt more. Just relax,” you coached him, rubbing soft circles with the thumb of your free hand on his hip. It took a few moments but eventually Mod relaxed enough and the head of the toy popped in, being swallowed by the tight ring of muscle. 

“Mmm, fuck!” Mod groaned, squeezing his eyes tight.

“That’s the worst part I promise,” You stayed as still as you possibly could. “I’m gonna give you some time to adjust, let me know when you’re ready.”

“You’re right it’s not so bad now, think I’m good,” he said after a few minutes. “You seem to know what you’re doing, have you done this before?” He questioned as you began slowly rolling your hips.

“No, but do think I’ve never been on the receiving end of anal before? Did you forget I used to date Colson?” You laughed.

“Ah, Touché” he laughed as well. “Speaking of Colson, please don’t tell him or the guys about this.”

“If that’s what you want baby, I can respect that, but I want you to know that this doesn’t make you any less of a man or whatever it is you're worried about?” You reassured him, gripping his waist with both hands as you gently thrusted.

“Mmhhmm uh, I-I know that, but I’m not sure the boys would agree,” he answered through strained moans.

“Pleasure is pleasure, if whoever the hell made humans didn’t want men to get fucked up the ass then perhaps they shouldn’t have put the male G-spot there,” you said in all seriousness.

“That’s a good point,” he laughed looking up at you with his crystal blue-green eyes. “This is why I love you,” he cupped your face, with a smile on his, and connected your lips.  You swallowed down his moans one after the other as you slowly increased your sped and depth. “Mmmmm mhhmmmmmn,” he broke the kiss with a long and throaty moan when you brushed against his prostate. “Aw yeah, do that- do that again!” He exclaimed breathily, gripping your backside, pulling you in deeper.

“Yeah, that’s my baby, that’s my baby. Let me hear you,” you praised and encouraged him. Typically Mod wasn’t one to be openly vocal, you knew he had the potential but he usually chose to hold back for whatever reason, but there was no stopping him now. 

“Uhhh , baby, fuck! This feel so ah- amazinggg!” He whined, covering his face with his hand.

“No, lemme see you,” you pushed his hand away and cradled his face. “Look at me. You close?” You questioned. Mod nodded. “Wanna watch you cum for me.” You reached your hand down between your two bodies and began stroking him to assist with his release. He tried his best to keep eye contact; his eyes fluttering closed in sync with the ebb and flow of your thrusts. Suddenly, you felt him twitch in your hand. “You gonna—“

“Yes,yes —- oh fuck! UhhMmmm,” His eyes rolled back and his shaft pulsed as he came, emptying on his stomach. You gave him a few minutes to come down from his high.

“Might sting a little” you warned, before you slowly pulled out, producing a brief whimper from Mod. “Stay right there,” you said. “I’ll be back with something to clean you up,” You once again excused yourself to the bathroom where you rid yourself of the contraption and wet a face cloth with warm water before returning to the bedroom. “You did so good,” you praised him as you wiped the cum and lube from his body.

“ I seriously can’t thank you enough, that was absolutely incredible,” he smiled at you fondly as you finished cleaning him up.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” you smiled back. “You might want to take it easily for the rest of the weekend, you’re probably gonna be a little sore.”

“Oooooh yeah, good idea,” he groaned as he sat up. Just then his phone went off. It was a text:

Colson: 11am tomorrow don’t forget!

“Oh fuck! I forgot I promised Colson I would help him move his shit into Megan’s place tomorrow.” 

“Can you cancel?” 

“No, I already smoked all the free weed that he gave me in advance in exchange for helping him.” He laughed 

“Yup sounds like something you would do!” You giggled “I’ll go with you tomorrow to help.”

***************

“Aye, perfect timing!” Colson shouted as you and Mod pulled into the driveway. “Just about ready to move my dresser out into the truck. Mind giving me a hand, while the boys take a break? Rook, Slim and Baze have  been helping since eight am but I know that’s early as fuck for you and you need your beauty sleep or whatever.” He laughed “let’s go.” 

Inside both boys lifted one end of Colson’s dresser and removed it from his room, and headed down the stairs with it. Mod was moving slower than usual, feeling a little sore as to be expected. 

“Aye, Mod you think you can walk a little faster here, my fuckin’ arms are getting tired.” 

“I’m walkin’ as fast as I can, Kells. You want help or not?”

“Walkin’ like you got a dick up your ass is more like it,” Colson taunted in friendly banter. “I’m the one walking backwards down a staircase here bro.”

“Kells, just shut the fuck up.” Mod laughed as they continued down the stairs.  He could feel himself beginning to blush and hoped he could just play off his pink hued cheeks as exertion, before Colson started asking more questions.

“Yo, Y/N!” Colson yelled over to you as you were loading some of the smaller boxes. “What the hell did you do to my boy last night? He joked. “Man can hardly walk. Did you finally break him out of his little Vanilla shell and give his thighs a workout making him fuck you good and hard last night or some shit?” Colson truly had no filter at times.

You looked at Mod with a smirk before answering. “Yeah, something like that.”

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Drifters ch.9 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Enter the Other Brother. Blue, welcome home! You might be in for a surprise!

Tags: Spicyhoney, Violence, Rescued Child, Medical Experimentation, Babybones

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Edge was not a Monster who cared very much for surprises. In his experience, they never led to anything good, not to birthday parties or unexpected gifts, but rather ambushes and dust. He preferred careful planning to the seat-of-the-pants schemes that his brother often came up with, every step made with strategy in mind.

He couldn’t say for certain if Blue was the same way, although he suspected he may be. His understanding of how the alternate worlds worked was more for the layman rather than the professional, but he wasn’t blind to the personality traits that he and Blue shared, the sort of twist in nature vs nurture that any sociologist would love to explore.

He had a fair idea of how he might react to finding this clown car of a domestic scene in his own living room and if he’d known that Stretch hadn’t even mentioned he and Red were here, much less the baby, he would have at least sent Blue a blasted text.

That might have at least braced him and given him a chance to come up with a better question than simply, “Is that a baby?”

His brother, ever the peacemaker, chose that precise to speak up, scoffingly, “sure can tell you two are brothers, ya share the same brain cell, your bro said the same damn thing. yeah, it’s a baby, good on you for noticin’.”

“blue!” Stretch scrambled upright and his bright grin was too wide, too wrong, tinged with poorly hidden guilt. “sorry, bro, i was gonna call and it slipped my mind. yeah, hey, everyone showed up on our doorstep yesterday. check out the snow princess, cute, huh?”

That much at least was the truth, but Blue didn’t seem to have heard a word of it. This wasn’t quite the reaction Edge had been braced for; he’d expected Blue to make a beeline for the baby, had been resigned to handing her over for plenty of excited cuddling and cooing.

This was something else entirely. The normal stars of his eye lights were overly bright, flashing between blue and yellow with seizure inducing intensity, set into a face that was like stone. He barely glanced at the rest of them past a brief, bizarrely sympathetic glance at Edge. The anger in his gaze was for his brother alone.

Stretch seemed equally confused, his oversized smile faltering, “bro?”

“How could you?” Blue said, his voice carrying despite its deadly softness.

“wha…me?” Stretch looked around the room as if perhaps another person had appeared, that it was to this stranger his brother spoke that way. He shrank back as Blue abruptly moved, slamming the door shut as he stalked over to the sofa, his small body radiating fury.

“How could you!?” Again, louder this time, not quite a shout but verging on one.

“coulda woulda shoulda? bro, what the hell—”

Blue ignored that, stamping his foot and sending out a spatter of rapidly melting snow from his boot to dampen the carpet. “Irresponsible!”

Stretch’s face was falling, going oddly blank, his false humor fading. Next to him, Red looked equally perturbed. “now hang on a sec, short stuff, ain’t no reason to go off on the honey bun.”

“Stay out of this!” Blue snapped and for a wonder, Red jerked back, his mouth snapping shut. His eye lights briefly guttered, leaving his sockets dark and black, returning only when Stretch spoke up next to him.

“yeah. stay out of this,” Stretch agreed, softer but no less sharp and from the look he shot Edge, he was included in that statement.

Edge said nothing and even the child was silent, a dab of runny banana sliding down her chin as she stared at the Swap brothers with wide sockets. Even if he’d wanted to intrude, this argument was between brothers and it was an unspoken rule through all the ‘verses that one did not interfere with brothers.

Despite the surface similarities, none of their relationships were exactly the same. Edge knew all too well that if he railed at Red over his laziness, his brother never took it to heart or soul. He let Edge rant, blowing off the steam that built within him throughout the day and his frustrated insults rolled off Red like water off the proverbial duck. The only fallout tended to be yet another sticky note added to the continuing line trailing away from a single, absurd sock.

Stretch was, well, lacking waterproofing. More like Edge in that way, truth be told, and if Edge could snipe at his brother all day long for his ridiculous puns and lazy ways, one genuine return jab from Red often left him deeply wounded, all the more painful for its unerring accuracy and rarity.

He wondered how he’d handle being under the weight of that much visible disappointment. Edge almost always agreed with Blue’s assessments of his brother’s behavior, but his delivery needed work and the unexpected impulse to protect Stretch from that disappointment took him off guard. He wanted to scoop Stretch up like he did the baby, hold him close, cradle him in his arms and protect him, and that was ridiculous, utterly; he was an adult, older than Edge, and yet the urge remained.

In the end, Edge could only look away, stirring the gloopy remains of the banana while the two brothers whispered furiously behind him.

“Of all the careless, irresponsible—” Blue took a deep breath, let it out, muttering out, “This is all right, this is fine. We can deal with this.” He scrubbed his gloved hands over his face and then squared his shoulders as he said, “You still should have called me.”

“probably,” Stretch agreed, and perhaps the unexpected storm had passed. He relaxed back into the sofa, the tension in the room easing. “didn’t want to interrupt your important training.” He flashed Edge a sharp glance and he tried to look as if that was the exact reasoning.

“Yes, well, that’s true,” Blue admitted. “And I appreciate you thinking of that, but next time…well, there probably won’t be a next time of this, I should hope.” Any lingering worry that Blue might object to them staying for a time vanished as Blue finally swung back to the baby, this time with a familiar, bright smile on his face as he gushed out, “Which is a shame because she is simply adorable!”

He rounded the coffee table with the haste Edge originally expected, grabby hands extended, and the moment Blue bent down to reach for her, the baby burst into sobbing howls, squirming away.

Automatically, Edge swung her up, settling her against his shoulder and patting her back gently as he soothed her with a bewildered, “There, there, it’s all right. What’s wrong?”

Blue looked as if he might burst into tears himself, stumbling back a step and his eye lights faded from stars to unhappy circles. “I didn’t mean to—"

They both turned to look at Red as he let out a harsh laugh. “what’s wrong? he scared the shit out of her coming in like that, that’s what’s wrong,” Red snorted contemptuously, “don’t you know nothin’ bout babies? you’re almost as bad as my bro.”

“Not really,” Blue admitted. Shame filled his expression as he shuffled his feet. He noticed he was still wearing his boots and sat on the floor to pull them off, carrying them over to the door and automatically straightening the other shoes before adding his. “Most of my experience with children has been seeing them from a distance.”

That gave Edge a start and he realized he’d been expecting Blue to have some sort of knowledge about childcare, though he wasn’t sure why. This world was softer and tended towards kindness, but that hardly meant it gave them any innate parenting skills.

“Well!” Blue straightened, propping his hands on his hips. “I’m sure that the Magnificent Sans can learn!”

“sure you can, bro,” Stretch said, cautiously, and that Edge could understand, being very familiar with Blue’s brand of determination.

“yeah, well, here’s your first lesson,” Red slouched back on the sofa, picking at his gold tooth with a sharpened fingertip. “babies don’t like it when ya shout.”

“yep, that’s a good place to start. you know what, i’m gonna get everyone some coffee,” Stretch announced and fled to the kitchen, the coward.

Blue paid that no mind, already came back over determinedly when he spied the bowl Edge had hastily shoved on the table. The child was watching him warily as Blue picked it up, taking hold of the little spoon. “Here, let me help!”

Before Edge could stop him, Blue tried to poke the filled spoon into her mouth. The child refused to part her teeth, leaving a smear of mushy banana across them, and Blue’s brief confidence sagged, “Oh. Um. Maybe she’s not hungry?”

“Maybe.” Edge took the bowl back and immediately she began bouncing eagerly in his lap, mouth opening wide as she made urgent little sounds.

“fuck, you two are morons,” Red snorted, because of course he would stay to bear witness. “she don’t know you. kid is small, she ain’t blind. she ain’t gonna take her banana goop from just any plain asshole, she likes an asshole she knows.”

“Yes, thank you for clarifying that for us all, brother,” Edge said sourly. Somewhat gentler, he said to Blue, “Sit with me. Let her see you, it may make her more comfortable.”

“yeah, hold out a hand and let her sniff ya, that’ll do it,” Red chuckled meanly as Stretch came back out with a tray of mugs. He set it down before smacking Red on the back of the skull.

“will you cool it on the running commentary? let them work it out.”

Red rubbed his head and scowled, but he accepted the coffee cup when Stretch handed him one. “just callin’ it how i see it.”

“yeah, well, if they give up on trying, that leaves you as mary poppins, smartass.”

“good point. my teeth are sealed.”

The child grudgingly allowed Edge to settle her back on the pillows with the unspoken promise of more food. She watched Blue warily the entire time she was eating, but he made no move towards her. He sat obediently still the entire time, his gloved hands clasped tightly together in his lap as if to stave off any impulse to scoop the baby up. If nothing else, her attention on Blue kept her from messily sharing any more of her banana.

When the bowl was scraped clean, Edge wiped the child’s chubby face clean with a damp cloth then settled her back into his lap. “You see, little one?” he told her softly, “Blue is a friend.”

“I am! I really am! Want to come here?” Blue slowly held out his hands without getting too close, waiting with impressive patience. The baby looked from him to Edge, and he tried to look encouraging.

Slowly, she held up her arms to Blue. He lifted her a little awkwardly, but managed to get her settled into the curve of his arm without intervention.

“There we go!” To Edge’s relief, Blue kept his enthusiasm at a minimum, though he practically vibrated with excitement. Almost immediately, the baby began to loudly babble and if he didn’t know better, Edge would say she was scolding Blue for his part in the earlier brotherly dispute.

Soon enough, her chattering dwindled to murmurs, her sockets growing heavy, then closing entirely as she slept. Edge let Blue keep holding her as he gratefully took up his own cup of coffee and never had caffeination been so delicious.

Blue only looked at her in awe, lightly touching each of her tiny, perfect fingers. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered, turning the full force of his starry eye lights onto his brother, “but honestly, Papy, you should have told me you two were expecting a child!”

Stretch choked, spilling coffee down the front of his shirt. “wait, what? that’s why you were so pissed off?”

“I would have thought you would be more cautious about that sort of thing, but I suppose it hardly matters now,” Blue said philosophically. “You still should have called me though when she arrived!”

“but we didn’t…!”

“Here we have a new baby, and I wasn’t even able to give her a baby shower!”

“She’s already had a bath,” Edge said, confused. This was going entirely too fast and he was not in top form, how could they possibly have been expecting her, there was nothing about the past two days that Edge had expected in the slightest.

Rescue came from an unexpected and wholly unwanted source.

“fuck’s sake, blueberry, she ain’t their kid!” Red snapped.

“Don’t swear,” Edge and Blue said, nearly in unison. Then Edge nearly choked on his own coffee as realization clicked with the force of an open-handed slap. Blue thought that the baby was his, not simply his responsibility but his own and Stretch’s. Suddenly his earlier sympathetic look made more sense, by Asgore’s horns, of all things he could believe…!

“She’s not?” Blue asked, confused. “But, then where did she come from?”

“where the fuck do you think, numbnuts?” Whatever the patience Red usually had for Blue seemed to have found its limit. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, all but slamming his mug down on the coffee table, “she wasn’t flown in by the stork, kid was homegrown just like the rest of us and she’s got the fucking serial number to prove it!”

“Oh.” There was a wealth of meaning in that single, soft word, too many to properly interpret. Blue looked down at the baby sleeping in his arms, his fingertips hovering over her rib cage without touching, right over where her pajamas hid the healing scar. The same scar his brother and Red still had, faded and blurred, but still there. Then he wordlessly handed her to Edge, climbing to his feet and walked determinedly over to his brother.

Stretch only watched warily, allowing Blue to take away his half-empty coffee cup to shove it on table, ignoring the splash of coffee that slopped out and spread across the wood. He slid his small, strong arms around him, holding onto his brother tightly.

“I’m so sorry,” Blue said simply. The words were muffled, buried into Stretch’s coffee-stained hoodie. “I shouldn’t have been so upset with you and I certainly should have let you explain.”

“aw, bro, it’s okay—” Stretch hugged him back, resting his cheekbone on top of Blue’s skull.

“It’s not,” Blue said, the words tainted with the hint of a sob. “I assumed you were being irresponsible, and I shouldn’t have.”

“not like i don’t give you a reason for that.”

“There’s a difference between a messy room and, well, this.” They stayed there a moment longer, holding on tight, and when Blue drew away, he swiped a hasty sleeve over his damp sockets. “Now!” Blue clapped his hands together softly. “I think we should discuss living arrangements.”

“We can,” Edge said, quietly firm, “but I hardly think that will be necessary. We won’t be here for long.”

The sudden trio of protests was loud enough to wake the baby and Edge turned away, bouncing her in his arms as he tried to soothe her back to sleep. He’d known there would be objections, but he couldn’t allow them to sway him. This child was his responsibility, his choice, and his alone.

He had a duty to her and Edge was determined to see it done.

TBC

[boyle3758]

A Day in Life

Warning: I wrote this in middle school with some friends, sooo it's going to be a bit weird lol, I thought I'd just post it and see what you guys think.

(This is my very first post btw)

Description: 3 friends are texting and go to a mall to get some food. They end up passing out and dreaming about seeing decapitated children. Eventually, they wake up and run away from the police into a random house and find a portal and go into it. It ended up taking them into hell. They go back into the portal and they end up in this nice place in which they will live forever.

************************************************************************

STEVE: Hey

ALEX AND ANGELINA: Hey

STEVE: You guys want to hang out today?

Angelina: Yeah where should we go

ALEX: How about that mall

Angelina: so the usual hang out spot

STEVE: Yeah

ALEX: Ok I’ll meet you there after school

ANGELINA: okay UwU

* 15 mins later*

STEVE: WHERE'S THE TOILET PAPER? I NEED TOILET PAPER

ALEX: boi u high

*5 mins later*

ANGELINA: k I’m here hbu

*SILENCE*

STEVE: I think my uber driver bout to kill me

*STILL SILENCE*

ALEX: Don’t worry I’m following you

STEVE: R U STALKING MEEEEE

ANGELINA: Stop being sissies.

STEVE: k I’m here

ALEX: I’m here too where are you

ANGELINA: everywhere and nowhere *in head: up yo ash*

ALEX: let's meet at the fountain

STEVE: I’m by dicks sporting goods

ANGELINA: bruh are you fr “dicks sporting goods” *snorts*

ALEX: Ok I’ll walk over there “Walks over to Dick’s”

ANGELINA: *GETS OFF BIKE* Iḿ here.

ALEX: meet us at Wetzel's Pretzels

STEVE: u know damn well I ain't paying

ANGELINA: Me neither.

ALEX: I ain’t Paying, I paid last time:

ANGELINA: YES YOU IS

STEVE: I like trains

ANGELINA: CALLATE ESTUPIDO

STEVE: #savetheturtles sksksk

ALEX: “Slaps STEVE”

ANGELINA: F U TWO

ALL: stop texting

STEVE: TF MAN

STEVE: WANNA FIGHT

STEVE: IMMA SLAP THE MAN (SHEET) OUT OF YOU

*Bystanders stare at STEVE and ALEX*

ANGELINA: EVERYONE'S WATCHING U TWO*

ANGELINA: *pays* F U TWO. NEXT TIME ONE OF U IS PAYING *Walks away*

STEVE: ok.

ALEX and STEVE: * Follows ANGELINA*

ALEX: Whos that kid over there

ANGELINA: I don't know

STEVE: Let's go see

ALL: * Sees that the little boy is by himself*

*little boy runs away when they try to help him*

ALEX: Let see where he goes * Starts to follow the little boy, STEVE, and ANGELINA follow*

STEVE: It looks like he's headed for the desert

ALL: *Keeps following*

STEVE: I’m scared af

STEVE: I shoulda stayed home.

ANGELINA: you’re a freaking girl bro and what's that over there

STEVE: but you’re a girl

ANGELINA: yeah but i’m tough you’re not

STEVE: wanna go

STEVE: catch me outside

ANGELINA: bish *knocks him out with a chancla*

ALEX: GUYS CALM DOWN and it's a freaking door

KID: *appears and disappears quickly*

ANGELINA: Bish, get back here. *grabs Chancla and runs after kid*

STEVE: oh hell Nah

ANGELINA: Stop being sissies. *whips out Chancla again*

* sees a crowd of decapitated children appearing*

ANGELINA:*Brandishes Chancla at the crowd of dead children and beats them all up*

ALEX: *faints*

STEVE: frick this sheet I’m out *takes ALEX with him*

*everyone zooms away to a door that they found*

ANGELINA: wtf was that?

STEVE: it was my zoomer skills uwu

ALEX: shut up we need to go and to find whatever the hell that was

ANGELINA: *holds Chancla in front of her*

ALEX: put the stupid Chancla away

ANGELINA: fine. *pulls out a belt*

STEVE: omfg let’s just go

ANGELINA: Here steve you can have your belt back

STEVE: why tf do u have MY belt

ALEX: stop fighting we need to go

*decapitated children come from all angles*

STEVE: I’M TOO YOUNG TO DIEEEE

*everyone gets pushed into a corner*

ANGELINA: well I guess this is the end

*whips out her Chancla AGAIN*

This is the first 4 pages lol (theres 12) so it's kind of like a sneak peek, I'll post some more if you guys like it! Thanks for reading! ❤

[fanfoolishness]

Liveblog time!

Live-blogging for The Mandalorian 2x05, The Jedi, beginning now!

Almost forgot! This was my first piece of Mandalorian fanart, I think!

Calodan on Corvus is possibly my favorite planet after Sorgan. I love the misty color palette so much.

Also heeeey I’ve now seen nearly 3 seasons of The Clone Wars so Ahsoka will not be nearly so much a stranger this time around!

Calodan gives me such an Avatar-city under siege from the Fire Nation vibe, except Ahsoka’s the whole-ass Fire Nation and she’s here to save the day.

Why does the Magistrate have the beskar spear, anyway? And I wonder if it has any electronics in it the way everything else beskar we’ve seen has. I would guess not, but it would be kind of cool if it did, maybe something that actively keeps the spear well-balanced.

Look, evil lady, killing people doesn’t put the blame on Ahsoka. It just ain’t how it works. But bad guys always think that’s somehow an argument?

I wonder if the men of Star Wars are sad. Their hair is never very exciting but the women go all out.

So Din’s slightly testy with Grogu about getting back in his seat. Because... he’s fully expecting to go down to that planet and come back up again without the kid. I’d be testy too. ;_;

Oh God Grogu is even cuter than I remembered somehow. Like weeks and weeks of nothing but Mandalorian and every time I watch him he’s still just marvelous.

Love that shot of him focusing on the control knob with the pretty lights behind it. It really makes it seem magical, which to Grogu’s mind, it is

Love these weird giant creatures in the back, apparently just massacring these trees. CRONCH

I wonder how far they walked into town. I just love finding every little scrap of time between cuts that you could stuff a fic into.

I bet Grogu loves the smells of the marketplace, but can pick up on the tense atmosphere and doesn’t like it. He likes the kids, though.

I really enjoy the lighting of this episode because 1) we get to see those little lights on Din’s gauntlet easily and 2) it drives home the fact that not every world is going to have the same spectrum of light as our yellow sun. Reminds me of when I got to see the total solar eclipse in 2017. The sky seemed like daylight, but wasn’t. It was utterly unlike our world and I still get chills EVERY. TIME. I think about it.

I like her stupid guard droid. Cool color scheme.

God I wish I had a little water garden all my own.

Love the sound beskar on beskar makes.

Grogu: “Dad, this guy sucks. I can tell.”

UGH love those misty hills!!!!! So fucking pretty!

I love these trees so much. They remind me of buckberry.

Ahsoka: BABY???

Ugh the misty background is so gorgeous at night too!

Poor Din. He is so worried. Look at all this pacing when this is normally such a man of stillness and restraint.

Din: *pacing around anxiously* *kicks a cool rock* “I wonder if the kid would like this rock? MAYBE I SHOULD GO INTERRUPT THEM AND ASK oh never mind.” *back to pacing*

That smile that Ahsoka gives Grogu after she looks at Din — it’s so clear how many nice things he’s telling her about Din <3

Din is so worried. What’s she going to say? Is he doing this right? He doesn’t want to mess things up for the kid —

Can you just imagine everything in Din’s head right now? Relief at knowing the kid HAS a name, that Ahsoka can talk to him? Guilt at not somehow knowing the name before this? His heart going out to the kid, thinking of his home being taken away from him, thinking of him being in danger many times before Din could meet him or help him? Thinking this is time to say goodbye...

Awww thinking of Grogu curled up in Din’s cloak on the mossy ground while they sleep

Din is so worried Grogu won’t pass his test ;_;

Din is worried *he* won’t pass the test XD

So cute how Din kneels down to his level to encourage him to take the ball :)

Din is SO EXCITED

I love how when *Grogu* calls the ball to his hand, the musical cue plays *Din’s* motif with the recorder — a sign of their connection <3 <3 <3

Mando music is playing in the background. Grogu is NOT going to grow up to be a Jedi! I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again, the title of the show might refer to Grogu :)

Ahsoka: giggling at “laser swords”

Aww man, these trees aren’t this way because of the giant animals? The Magistrate did this? Goddammit. I was hoping it was just like, a life cycle of the planet.

I like that even though Ahsoka is grownup and serious you can still see all those little smirks <3 Love that Snips!

CAN’T BELIEVE DIN TRUSTED HER WITH THE MUDHORN PAULDRON

Hey! Din learned how to drop-kick someone with the Rising Phoenix!!! Good job Din! Learning from Koska, I see. (Not as graceful as her, though.)

Huh, he still has durasteel or something on his shoulder, from under the beskar. I don’t know WHY THEY WON’T PUT OUT AN OFFICIAL DRAWING OF HOW ALL THE ARMOR FITS TOGETHER.

Look dude, don’t even mess with Din Djarin, all right? And none of this “we’re a lot alike” bullshit. But I did appreciate this guy’s attempt to “I don’t even care, bro” as foolish at it was.

WHERE IS THRAWN AWWWWWW FUCKING YEAAAAAH I still only know him from the Zahn trilogy but I’m so excited they repurposed such an awesome character.

“Wait here, I’ll... go get him.”

Din rocking him gently in the hammock back and forth ;___;

... how... long did they stay there just... cuddling... I fucking CAN’T

Ahsoka: “...it’s been like four hours. I’d better go look for them. Either Mando’s not giving the kid up or the kid doesn’t want to go. Shoulda seen that coming...”

I totally got this wrong in one of my fics. I wrote Din flying the Razor Crest back to the town. I’d forgotten HE SITS THERE SO LONG WITH THE KID AHSOKA HAS TO GO AND FIND THEM when Din was the one who claimed “I’ll go get him, wait here.” OMG DIN. JUST ADMIT YOU WANT TO PARENT THIS CHILD FOREVER.

The concept art of Din and Grogu striding off into the sunset together? My HEART

Man. I’m enjoying the Clone Wars, but I’m just so sad at all the badness that’s going to happen to everybody in them ;_; And thinking of how many things Ahsoka has gone through by this point is just... the Star Wars galaxy just hates people not being traumatized, doesn’t it?

Do I have the strength to get through The Tragedy tonight??? I mean, there’s Boba Fett and Fennec Shand being badass, and the best opening of any media, ever, but then there is PAIN and CRUELTY and it ISN’T FAIR.

[the-starless-sky]

The Cat’s Whiskers x Akan Yatsura / “JUSTICE” voice drama part 2

Exams ended...!! Hello I am alive...!! And very (not) ready for “PRIDE”...!! T_T

“JUSTICE” Part 2

Yohei: So, you bastards… under whose orders did you come here?

Mobs: We’re not working under anyone! That kinda thing doesn’t matter, just cough up the cash, fuckin’ bastads!!

Iori: Tch… so they’re just punks.

Oi, we’ll let you off today, so get out.

Mobs: Don’t look down on us! If ya don’t give us the cash, y’all gonna get hurt!

Yohei: You’re letting them go? You really have that soft spot on you.

Iori: There’s no helping it. No matter what you do, guys like these won’t even get you 1 yen.

Mobs: Makin’ a fool out of us...! You shitheads! Urrah!!

(Mob punched Iori)

Yohei: You bastard... what the fuck did you just...?

Iori: Leave it, danna. I’m fine.

Yohei: Don’t think you can leave unscathed after laying your hands on Iori...!

Mobs: Bring it on, get me!!

(Yohei and the mobs fight)

(The mobs fall down and cough in pain)

Iori: Danna. That’s too much.

Yohei: Huh? Oh. Sorry.

Iori: Well, then...

(Iori forcibly pulled one of the mobs up)

Mobs: Ahh... ah!

Iori: You bastards. Learnt something, didn’t you?

If you pick a fight with real yakuza like us, you ain’t getting away just like this. Understand?

This time, we’ll let you off like this. Be grateful, won’t you?

Mobs: Y-yes... we’re very sorry...

Iori: Haha. Even so, danna. You really overdid it.

It’s gonna take lots of time to clean this up.

Yohei: Sigh. Small fries making us waste so much time.

Jeez, what a pain.

_

Saimon: He-eh, you were very rough, weren’t you, Yohei.

Yohei: Well, ‘cause that time I didn’t have any brains but physical strength.

Zen: If it’s physical strength, then I, too...!

Cough. Then, where does the maneki-neko comes in?

Iori: Wahahaha! Oh yeah, right.

Then, a few days after that uproar, we got called to Boss’s office.

We went in high spirits, thinkin’ we’re gon’ get a reward or something, but...

_

Yohei: Jeez, that damn boss messing around like that...

What the hell’s with giving us this maneki-neko!?

Iori: Hahaha, our guess were wrong, huh.

Yohei: We protected the shop’s name and loaded customers, so he could’ve given us something more... you know!?

Iori: Well, it’s probably simply because he didn’t have anything prepared. After all, those guys suddenly came to our face by themselves and then left just like that. Seriously, it feels like we were wheedled out of it cleanly.

Yohei : Well, when he just up and smiled like that, as he said, ‘I have high expectations for you’, there’s really nothing else we could say.

Iori: Right.

Well, we’ll answer his expectations, quickly get lots of money, and make the boss, us, and the Suiseki group, everyone all merry.

Yohei: Haha, yeah. Let’s do it. I’m counting on you, maneki-neko.

Iori: Ya shoulda said ‘partner’ right there, like, ‘I’m counting on you, Iori’!

Yohei: Oi, oi, you’re talking like Boss now.

Iori: Haha. How was it? I look like Boss when I talk like that, don’t I?

Yohei: No way. Stupid.

Iori: Haha.

Yohei: Hahaha.

_

Saimon: So that kind of thing happened, huh, Yohei? I didn’t know at all.

Zen: To think that that maneki-neko was a gift from the Boss...

Iori: How’s it!? A real good story, ain’t it?

Zen: Yes. A lot of things happened in the past, wasn’t it.

Iori: Well, that’s ‘cause we’ve been workin’ together for almost all the time.

Yohei: It was a story from really long ago, though.

Iori: Come of think of it, at that time there were those Alter Trigger Company guys too, weren’t there?

Yohei: Hah. What unpleasant connection, seriously.

Iori: Seriously an unpleasant connection, it is.

Yohei: Hm?

Iori: Danna, ya also heard of it recently, right? The Alter Trigger Company name.

Saimon: Why do you guys... that...?

Iori: Hahahaha! If ya work in this industry, ya gon’ hear lotsa stuff.

Yohei: And? How much do you know?

Iori: Nah, I dunno the details, but I only know that this bar’s ‘bout to be bought... and who’s gonna buy it.

Yohei: As expected, news travels fast to you.

Yeah. To protect this place, we have to get the one billion.

But this and that have no――...!

Iori: And that’s the deal. So, y’know anything about Paradox Live and Alter Trigger, danna?

Saimon: What are you trying to say?

Iori: The sudden buy-out uproar and the opening of Paradox Live. Plus, the winning prize is exactly the amount of money that y’all needed, one billion yen. Don’tcha think it’s too good a scenario for mere coincidence?

Saimon: In short, Alter Trigger Company is connected to all of it... is what you’re trying to say, is it?

Iori: Who knows?

Saimon: But... No, don’t tell me... that kind of thing is...

Yohei: We’re... being manipulated?

Iori: ‘Sup with that... seein’ that reaction, y’all don’t seem to have any info.

Saimon: ...

Iori: Seems like it’s a fruitless effort on our part. Well, let’s just say I told y’all ‘cause of our old friendly relations.

There’s somethin’ ‘bout this competition. Do your best to be careful.

Yohei: Oi, what the hell’s up about this event!?

Saimon: Anything is fine―please tell us whatever you-

(Bar door opens, and the bell rings)

Ryuu: We’re hooome!

Reo: Big Bro, we’re back!

Yohei: Sigh... seems that the adults’ time ended.

Hokusai: Hey... you said you guys keep cats... where are they?

Shiki: Oh... sorry, we made it so they can’t come into the shop. Right now, they’re probably asleep upstairs...

Hokusai: Even though I brought lots of setarias... [1]

Reo: Don’t be that dejected, Hokusai. Instead, seems like Satsuki will play with that!

Hokusai: Satsuki... really?

Satsuki: Ha? Who the hell wants to play with some wild grass?

Oi, Hokusai, stop looking at me with eyes full of expectations!

Reo: Can’t help it! Then, guess the demon king will do! Heere, come here~!

Ryuu: There’s no way Ryuu will wag his tail to such a grass...

Woof, woof~ Let’s play, let’s play!

Hokusai: Ryuu. Paw.

Ryuu: Woof!

Hokusai: The other paw.

Ryuu: Woof!

Satsuki: No, I told you it’s a setaria! The fuck’s with ‘woof’!?

Hokusai: Ah.

Shiki: U-um, inside of the shop, please don’t...!

Saimon: Haha, it’s alright, Shiki. We’re already closed, after all.

Zen: We’re very sorry that our kids...

Yohei: I feel like I kinda understand your feelings...

Satsuki: Thanks for the food, Big Bro! Raimen-tei’s ramen’s the best today, too! And the change...

Iori: S’kay, just take it, Satsuki.

Satsuki: Seriously!? Is it really ok!?

Iori: Let’s say it’s a tip for printing that one time. ‘Kay? [2]

Reo: Ah, what? Only Satsuki!? That’s unfair! Me too, me too!

Satsuki: Haah!? You didn’t even do anything!

Reo: Haah!? What are you saying? A cute kid like me has a value by just being there. Unlike Satsuki! Right, Shiki?

Satsuki: HAA!?

Shiki: H-hey, let’s not fight...

Satsuki: You ugly! Shiki, back off!!

Shiki: A-ah.... you’re so mean, Satsuki-kun...

Zen: Aah, they’re at it again. I’m sorry.

Oi!! What the hell are you guys on about!!?

(In the background.)

Reo: You’re frustrated, aren’t you~? For not being popular!

Satsuki: Oi!!!

Zen: How many times is it already!?

 Saimon: They seem like they’re always fighting.

Iori: Haha. They’re what you call somethin’ like ‘the closer you are...’! [3]

Ryuu: By the way, what were boss and the others talking about?

Saimon: Hm? Oh, just small talks.

Ryuu: Reeeally? Hmmm? Ah, I know!

You guys were talking about the people standing behind everyone... right!?

Saimon: ...!? Ryuu...!?

Reo: What is it, what is it? Talking about ghosts?

Ryuu: No~ It’s a-dults’-ta-lk!

Iori: Oi. Whaddaya mean? Ya know somethin’?

Ryuu: Know? About what? The ingredients of konnyaku?

Iori: Sonny, don’t be boring and say sloppy things.

Ryuu: To pack... [4] like, packing chikuwa and cucumber?

Saimon: I’m sorry. Could you please not press this child with questions?

Iori: O-oh... yeah, ya right. Sorry, sorry.

This sonny... he knows somethin’?

Ryuu: Hee-eey, if ghosts do appear what do we do~?

Satsuki: Hey, Shiki, is this guy always like this? Even in the ramen shop he just keeps blabbering on whatever comes up on his mind.

Ryuu: Shiki’s arm is really white and boney, huh!? Calcium!!

(Ryuu bites Shiki’s arm.)

Shiki: I-it hurts! Ryuu-kun, stop biting me!

Ryuu: Munch, munch...

Reo: Seriously, how could you live together with that? Ain’t it crazy?

Shiki: No, I’m already used to it...

Ryuu: Woof, munch, munch!

Satsuki: Nothing is scarier than routine...!

Shiki: But, he also has a really kind side to him...

Yohei: Oi, until when are you gonna bite Shiki’s arm!?

Ryuu: Oooouch! Master’s bullying me! I’m against violence!

Hokusai: Shiki, are you okay? It hurts, didn’t it? Good boy...

Shiki: Thank you...

Saimon: Sigh...

Shiki: Owner...?

 (in the background.)

Reo: Come here, good boy, good boy.

Ryuu: Woof, woof!

Reo: Here, here, here, and there!

Ryuu: Woof, woof, woof!

 Shiki: Um, are you okay...?

Saimon: Hm? Why?

Shiki: It kind of looked liek you were spacing out... I wondered if you were tired...

Saimon: Ah... I was just thinking. Thank you for worrying, Shiki. You’re a kind child.

Shiki: N-not at all.

(Iori clapped his hands twice.)

Iori: Well then, it’s already late. Let’s call it a night.

Reo: Yeeees~!

Zen: Even though we said we’ll only have a glass, in the end we stayed for a long time.

Saimon: It’s alright. Come again whenever you want.

Hokusai: It’d be nice if I can meet the kitties next time...

Yohei: Yeah, you can even bring them home if you want.

Hokusai: Really...!?

Reo: No, no. We already have Mr. Monkey in our house, right? By the name of Satsuki!

Hokusai: I see...

Satsuki: Oi, oi, oi, Hokusai! The hell do you mean by ‘I see’!?

Ryuu: Bye-bye, thank you, come again!

Shiki: We’ll be waiting for your next visit.

Zen: Yeah, thanks for the food!

Iori: Hey, brats! Wontcha get outta here fast!?

Reo: See ya~!

Hokusai: Hehe...

Satsuki: Let’s come again!

 Iori: Danna. I’m different from when I’m still chasing after you.

Now, these guys’re my family.

So, to protect ‘em too, I can’t lose on stage.

I ain’t gon’ give ya mercy even though we’re old comrades.

Yohei: Heh. Bring it on.

‘Cause we also can’t lose.

No way i’d lose the bar and my comrades.

Iori: Well then, the next time we meet’s on the stage!

Yohei: Yeah. Just you wait.

(Iori walks out of the bar.)

Yohei: Oi, you’re Gazen, aren’t you?

Zen: Yes?

Yohei: Him... Iori, look after him carefully, wont you? I’m counting on you.

Zen: Yes. You don’t even have to tell me that.

Yohei: Heh. I see.

(Zen walks out of the bar.)

Yohei: Well then, now you all go and clean up! Move quickly!

Shiki: A-ah, yes!

Ryuu: Eeeeh?

Saimon: You too, Yohei.

Yohei: Yes, yes, understood, Owner-sama.

Then, Shiki, you clean. Ryuu, get the dustpan.

Shiki: Yes!

Ryuu: Understood!

Notes

[1] Neko-jarashi, setaria or foxtail, the grass you play with cats with.

[2] I'm actually not sure this is his exact words, but anyways it's a tip for doing some kind of chore.

[3] As in, 'you're so close you fight'or 'the closer you are the more you fight with each other'.

[4] Tsumaranai means boring, but it’s also the negative form of tsumaru (to pack).

[dershloopmain]

End Of Everything - Chapter 1

‘’Hey, Donnie! What’s the big idea, I was watching that!’’ Raph yelled as his brother clicked the remote, changing the channel from a cartoon he was watching to the news.

‘’Stop whining Raph, apparently, something big is going up there. April thinks we should check it out.’’ Donnie replied, rolling his eyes.

‘’Then go topside and have a look! It was just getting interesting too,’’ Raph took a dive for the remote, attempting to rip it out of his hand, failing miserably.

‘’Hey stop it you big baby,’’ Donnie said pushing Raph back with his foot, ‘’I’m trying to listen. You can watch whatever you want in a minute.’’

‘’Whatever,’’ Raph said defeatedly, slumping back in the chair and folding his arms.

‘’Oh my god…’’ Donnie said, causing his brother to look up confused. Then, he saw it.

‘’Leo, Mikey get in here!’’ Raph yelled, unable to take his eyes off of the news anchor.

‘’What’s the matter Ra-’’ Leo stopped, mouth open as he too became transfixed on the news report.

‘’What are you doing dude? Why are you just standing there like a-’’ Mikey was the last to realise.

Raph felt a pit open in his stomach. He wasn’t sure if he was going to hurl or cry as he listened to what the lady said.

‘’News just in: Over 1000 people have contracted the parasite, with the numbers rapidly rising. The people in the zombie-like state cannot hear you but have incredible eyesight so stay hidden at all costs. Do not try to interact with them, as even just a minor scratch could cause you to contract it and turn into one of those things. If you’re out on the streets, we here at CNN implore you to immediately seek shelter. There are emergency bunkers if you can not return home quick enough and if you can arrive home, lock the doors, border the windows and do not answer the door to anyone outside of your household. We will keep you updated.’’

‘’Oh my God,’’ Donnie repeated, his shoulder sinking and his leg bucked, causing Raph to fall onto the floor. Though he didn’t shout. Didn’t curse. Didn’t get angry. He stayed silent, besides a small ‘oof’ as he hit the floor, jamming his shoulder.

‘’I- What are we going to do?’’ Leo said quietly, walking over and sinking down next to Donnie.

Raph felt a pit open in the base of his stomach. What were they going to do? What about in 10 years? 20 years? 30 years? Did it even matter? Would they even survive? So many unanswered questions swirled around in his mind, a feeling of nausea overcoming his senses.

‘’I’m not sure,’’ Donnie replied softly, still unable to pry his eyes from the TV screen, ‘’We could leave the city? The farmhouse should be still available.’’

‘’I don’t know. Too risky.’’ Raph said from the floor.

‘’Riskier than staying here? New York is a huge city, Raph there are millions of people here. If they see us then there’ll just be more hysteria.’’ Leo said solemnly, a strange look on his face. A look Raph had never seen on his brother before. It was fear. Genuine, pure fear. It contorted his facial features in such a strange way it nearly scared him too. But he wasn’t scared. He couldn’t feel anything, it was disturbing. Sure, the situation was strange and he was mildly uncomfortable with Leo’s facial expression but… he wasn’t scared. Just nauseous. His head was pounding, which didn't help either.

‘’I don’t know I’m just thinking of the long term. Millions of people means millions of stores right?’’

‘’Yeah and millions of infected and millions of raiders. They’ll be nothing to raid. From the looks of things, people are already panic buying. Sure, they can get more stock but long term that’ll just mean more people hitting the stores for supplied when this whole thing gets out of hand.’’ Donnie chipped in, looking down at his T-phone, quickly tapping out messages to god knows who.

‘’Don, you’re great and smart and all but why the hell are you playing with your phone at a time like this?’’ Leo said sternly, looking over at his younger brother who was still looking down at his phone.

‘’First of all, thank you and second of all if you hadn’t noticed there’s a zombie virus currently taking over new york and assumably the world. I’m asking April and Casey if they and their families are ok.’’ Donnie said smugly. Raph smirked. At least one of them was coping well with this.

‘’I don’t know… I agree with Raph. It’s not like the farmhouse has a whole lot that we don’t. Besides, we’re pretty safe down here. Even then we could make some kind of topside stakeout. Like, convert a store or something. Then we can have a ton of supplies AND multiple backup plans,’’ Mikey said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

‘’Wow Mikey that’s… actually really smart,’’ Donnie said with a grin. Raph and Leo nodded in agreement, smiling at him too. Mikey smiled back, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

‘’I don’t know guys it’s not that smart,.’’

‘’It is though! Only April, Casey and a few mutants know we exist so it’s not like we have a high chance of infection. We also have plenty of food and resources down here and miles of sewers to hide in if needs be. Then, when we run out of supplies here in New York we can just go to the farmhouse. There’s that little store that had the weird dream book right? I doubt anyone will hit that. Even then we have chickens there and miles of woods. Food won’t be that hard to come by right?’’ Donnie elaborated, smiling proudly at Mikey.

‘’See little brother?’’ Raph chipped in, ‘’You aren’t a total screw up!’’ Mikey rolled his eyes. ‘’Thanks for the backhanded compliment bro.’’

‘’Any time.’’

‘’So… what do we do now?’’ Leo said, his eyes shifting around to every possible exit or entrance.

‘’I don’t know. Casey said his dad and sister were on their way to the hospital while the outbreak was happening. Turns out she was bit and uh… turned on his dad during the car ride. April said her dad was getting groceries and hasn’t heard from him in nearly 24 hours so she’s not exactly in a good state either. Should we pick them up and bring them back here?’’ Donnie said sadly, looking down at his phone. Evidently, no matter what anyone said he would bring them back to the lair so they all agreed.

‘’More heads may equal more mouths to feel but it also means more hands for supplies so yeah, why not,’’ Leo said with a shrug. Raph was unable to shake the eerie feeling Leo was giving him.

‘’Uh and they’re our best friends? Cold much Leo?’’ He said angrily. Even during the apocalypse he was still so… he wasn't sure but it was nothing good.

‘’Sorry for trying to think logically about the situation Raph. God even during the apocalypse you still won’t let anything I say slide will you?’’

‘’Nope,’’ Raph smiled sweetly.

‘’Good to know. On that note, you can go with Donnie to fetch April and Casey. Mikey and I will stay here to start prep the lair and try to figure out what food and supplies we need.’’ Raph rolled his eyes but nodded, standing to get ready to leave, when he heard a noise.

‘’Raph!’’ Donnie was shouting at him. Why did he keep shouting his name?

‘’What?’’ He responded, confused as to why he was even shouting. He was right next to him?

‘’Raph!’’ He shouted again, louder this time.

His eyes opened and Donnie stood over him, glaring. Great. Another stupid dream.

‘’What?’’ He said groggily, sitting up and stretching out his limbs, chasing away any fleeting relaxation sleep brought.

‘’Leo told me to wake you up. It’s your turn to do the supply run.’’

‘’It was my turn to do the supply run last week’’ Donnie shrugged. Raph sighed and got out of bed, grabbing his sai and bandana, wrapping it tightly around his eyes. The more he thought about it all, the worse he’d feel so, as per usual, he pushed it to the back of his mind and got ready to leave. Pulling his knee and arm pads on he took a deep breath, getting ready to face his older brother.

Slipping through the door, making sure his gear was all secure, he glanced at the large, decaying armchair Leo was sitting in, looking down on him. Nothing miraculous had happened overnight, he hadn’t changed. Raph wasn't sure what he’d expected to be honest. Nothing had changed over the last 6 months so why would it now? Leo’s eyes settled on him. Raph let out a small breath, praying Leo hadn’t heard it.

‘’Raphael, I trust Donatello has told you you’re duties for today?’’ Leo said flatly, his face unchanging.

‘’Duties? He told me about the supply run but nothing else.’’ Raph said, trying to keep the air of annoyance out of his voice but, as per usual, failing.

‘’Your duties are not only your supply run, but there’s a break in our defences. I want you to take Casey with you to check it out and make sure there’s no infected inside the barricade. Then fix it.’’

‘’That’s a four-man job, Casey and me can’t do that alone I-’’ Leo cut him off with a stern glance. He knew what would happen if he continued like this, so he shut his mouth, ‘’Fine.’’ Clenching his fists, he walked out, making sure to not slam anything. He knew what would happen if he did, and he didn’t feel like facing that punishment again.

Raph walked to Caseys room and poked his head around the hung blanket that served as a door.

‘’Case? You up?’’ Raph said, stepping into his friend’s room.

‘’I am now. What’s up?’’ Casey said with a yawn stretching his arms out.

‘’I gotta go on a supply run and Leo wants you to help me fix some ‘hole in our defences, ’’’ Raph said mockingly.

‘’So you want me on your run too?’’

‘’Possibly.’’

‘’Shoulda just said so bestie!’’ Casey said, jumping up from his mattress on the floor. Raph groaned and rolled his eyes.

‘’Stop it. We gotta go soon or Leo will throw a tantrum,’’ Casey winced. He knew what Leo could be like if he got mad and didn’t want to be on the receiving end of another ‘’tantrum’’ as Raph put it. Raph saw Casey’s calm and fun demeanor deflate before his eyes and he felt his own disappear too. That's what happens when your older brother is a tyrant he supposed.

‘’You got it,’’ He replied, beginning to pull on his own protective gear over his muddied and bloodied clothes.

Once they got to the surface, they breathed in the fresh air. Raph had to admit, a zombie apocalypse wasn’t ideal, but the pollution levels were lower than ever. The air smelt so… clean and that’s one thing he never thought he’d say that in New York.

It’d been 6 months since the world had been overrun by the infected, and 3 since the hierarchy had been ‘established’. By established, he meant enforced. Leo was at the top, then Donnie and April, then it was Mikey and Casey. Last but most certainly least it was him. Something had changed in Leo in the last 6 months and Raph didn’t like it, not only because it meant he was the one having to risk his life for the rest of them, but also because he just wanted his big brother back. The big brother that could take a joke and care about him, even if he was a complete ass sometimes. The big brother that had his back, no matter what. The big brother he once had once known though, was gone. He let out a sigh, one that didn’t go unnoticed by Casey.

‘’What’s on your mind man?’’ Casey said, slinging his splintering bat over his shoulder.

‘’I don’t know. Just fuckin’... Leo man. He’s so up himself but I’m genuinely worried. This entire thing is getting to his head seriously. You’ve seen how he’s been? On top of that, he’s been such an ass to me. It’s always me doing supply runs and me risking my shell just to get some more stuff for everyone. It’s not even like we need it! We have plenty in the sewer. Besides, I don’t think he even cares that much. He’s so cold I just… I miss my brother ya know man?’’ Raph lowered his head, refusing to let this moment of emotion overtake him.

‘’I know dude,’’ Casey said, looking away too, ‘’I just… it’s hard. I don’t even know if my sister is still alive. Well to an extent. What if someone… you know. Same with my dad. Gotta admit, this whole zombie apocalypse thing totally blows a lot more than the movies and tv shows made it look.’’ He wiped his gloved hand over his eyes, sniffing slightly. Raph looked over, his face falling.

‘’Hey man, c’mon,’’ He said softly, wrapping his arm around his friend’s shoulder, ‘’I’m sure they’re fine. We’ll find them and save them, no matter what. Donnie’s working night and day on the cure and has been for months, it can’t be long now until he has it working!’’ Raph said encouragingly, shaking Casey a little. He let out a small, less enthusiastic laugh.

‘’Yeah I hope so,’’ He looked up and smiled at Raph, something behind him catching his attention, ‘’Hey we’re here,’’ he said, pointing over his shoulder to the small corner store. They were surprised it hadn’t been hit initially, considering how open and obvious it was, but to be honest, they weren’t complaining.

‘’What do we even need anyway?’’ Casey said, pushing open the door.

‘’Shit if I know. I think we’re running low on some first aid stuff so we could just grab some of that. We could also grab some more luxury stuff like candy or something.’’

‘’Ooo yeah sure. Sounds good. April was saying she was getting bored, I’ll see if they have any stationary stuff. Then D was saying he needed more coffee so I’ll get that too. Anything you want me to grab you Raph?’’ Raph thought for a second before replying.

‘’Nah I’m good. I was gonna get Mikey some gummy bears or something so I’ll see if they have anything good.’’

‘’Suit yourself,’’ Casey said, crossing his arms behind his head and scanning the shelves with his eyes, looking for what he wanted.

Raph walked over to the register and looked behind it, his eyes wandering to a jar full of gummy animals. Mikey would love that. He walked behind the register and snagged it from the shelf, tucking it safely into the bag slung over his shoulder.

Suddenly, a noise came from the backroom. Something… falling? He looked over at Casey to see if he’d heard it too. The panicked look on his face told him everything. Raph motioned for him to be quiet as he pulled his sai from their position at his waist and slowly walked towards the closed wooden door. Twisting the handle ever so slowly, he peeked in, scanning the darkroom for signs of movement. Raph smirked and turned out, looking at Casey.

‘’All clear. I think we’re going stir-’’ Raph was cut off as he was yanked back into the darkness, only able to let out a small yelp before he came crashing to the ground.

‘’Raph!’’ Casey yelled, taking a running jump and throwing himself over the counter towards the door, pulling it open all the way.

‘’Get off me you freak!’’ Raph yelled, pushing the infected away with all his might, but it was persistent, snapping and lurching towards him. Casey swung his bat in a downward arch, pushing it further towards Raph.

‘’Dude! Away from me! Not towards you dumbass!’’ Raph screamed, pushing the creature back off him as it clawed and lurched forward again, taking him by surprise. He let out a yelp as he pushed it back again.

‘’Sorry man!’’ Casey shouted back, this time using his bat to scoop the thing off his friend, throwing it into a corner and beginning to bash its already decaying head in.

‘’You ok Raph?’’ Casey asked, looking over his friend before taking his hand and helping him back to his feet.

‘’Yeah,’’ He said, gulping air down, ‘’I’m alright.’’

‘’You didn’t get bit or scratched or anything?’’ Casey said cautiously, his eyes scanning Raph cautiously, taking a couple steps back.

‘’Not that I know of. He had a good go at it though, I’ll give him that.’’ Casey snorted, slinging his bat back into his backpack.

‘’Let’s just get what we need and get out of here. Probably attracted more with your girly screaming.’’

‘’Who are you calling girly Jones? You screamed way more than I did,’’ Raph said, punching Casey on the shoulder.

‘’We’ll call it even.’’

‘’Shit! The gummies! I hope I didn’t smash the jar when I fell back. Mikey’d love those,’’ Raph said, pulling his backpack around his body and opening it, checking the jar was fine.

‘’I just gotta grab Red something. I’ve got the coffee and stuff so we should be good to go.’’

‘’Yeah. I’ll probably grab some chocolate or something. See if Leo wants any.’’ Raph walked over to the chocolate selection on the counter. Though sparse, there were some decent choices. Grabbing a couple of crunchie bars and snickers, he stashed them away in his bag and checked he had everything. Only his sai where missing. He must’ve dropped them when he was attacked. Jumping the counter, he swung the door open again and saw them in the middle of the floor, the once cleanly wrapped handles decaying, the perfect shiny metal scuffed and marked, on the verge of rusting. He sighed and picked them up, looking back over at the zombie that lay on the floor, its brain splattered on the tiles. The grey-green skin was eerie but… so human. Raph wondered if he had been the owner of the store before all this. Most of his lower body was gone, it seemed to cut off just above his pelvis. It was nearly disturbing… but after 6 months of this, you get desensitised to the excessive violence.

‘’You ok man?’’ Casey said behind him, startling him out of his thoughts.

‘’Yeah. I'm good. Lets… just go home.’’ 

[annoyingdogsong]

okay so. this is an evil powerade (darnold x benrey) fic i wrote like. three months ago and i’ve finally decided to stop being a COWARD and actually publish it somewhere. uhh enjoy, ig? i hope i got both characters right, but who really knows lmao.

fic under the cut!

well, this was certainly... a predicament.

it was after the science team had left darnold alone, and he went back to his lab in order to grab a few things he had forgotten. there he found... well, who else but the strange security guard who not only ruined his computer, but downloaded the pyro update on tf2 when darnold told them specifically not to. and here that guard was, sitting at the desk, randomly pressing the keys on the keyboard, as if that would start the device back up. however, they seemed distracted enough; darnold figured he could just walk over to his desk, and...

"oh, hey, what's up," the member of security swirled around when darnold took a step towards them. so much for grabbing what he needed and getting out of here undetected.

"i'm just here t' grab a few of my potions before i head home," darnold explained, making his way behind the desk so he could rummage through it mindlessly.

"neat," the guard nodded and turned back around to work on the computer some more, which darnold couldn't help but chuckle at.

"your friend said your name is... benrey, correct?"

"yeah."

"well, benrey-" darnold paused as he placed some cartons and buckets of his potions on the table, "-i'm not sure what you think you're going to do with that computer. you've completely destroyed it, you see."

"nah, it just needs some gamer fuel and it'll be- i'm gonna fix it riiiiiight up. don't worry about it. i got it aaaaallllll figured out."

"well, good luck with that."

darnold shook his head and smiled. despite how rude benrey was before, they made him... oddly happy, and that brought a familiar glow to his cheeks.

suddenly, darnold had a realization...

"oh! you're forzons ex, aren't you, benrey?"

benrey appeared slightly caught off guard by darnolds question, but remained in his seat.

"uh... yeah, how'd- how do you, uh- know that?"

"well," darnold removed the glove on his left hand, showing benrey the irate gamer themed wedding ring he was wearing, "he and i are married, and before we were even engaged he would talk about you a lot. not ever by name, but... i can certainly understand what he would find appealing in you."

oh, dear... did he really say that last part out loud?

"mhm, yeah," benrey scoffed before letting out a long exhale. they didn't seem phased by darnolds last comment, but he did keep his eyes locked on the ring with an evil intent.

from what darnold could remember, benrey was always a fan of the angry video game nerd, and apparently their claim that the irate gamer was a rip-off of avgn was what caused him and forzon to break up. a rather humorous end to a relationship, darnold felt, and when forzon was relaying this information to him, he had to force himself not to laugh; though a snort or two escaped him at times. he was happy that forzon didn't break up with him over something so seemingly miniscule, however. in fact, forzon was the one who proposed to him, which darnold was surprised by given forzons... nature.

"yoo, your computer's fixed, friend."

darnold was snapped out of his thoughts when benrey said that, and he walked over to the back of the lab with curiosity. benrey turned the screen to him, showing that tf2 was booting up, and darnold took notice to the fact that the pyro update was still downloaded onto it. oh, well, he'd deal with that later; right now he has other matters to address.

"woah, golly- how did you manage to do that? that- that computer was well beyond repair!"

"gave it some gamer fuel, like i told you to do before," benrey smacked his lips in a teasing, yet somehow pleasant manner, "shoulda listened to benrey. maybe then wouldn't have problems."

darnold chuckled and shook his head for what felt like the hundredth time today. benrey seemed to have that kind of affect on people.

he leaned over benrey, placing his hands on the table so he could get a better look at the screen. with this placement, darnolds head was now resting on benreys shoulder, and their hands appeared dangerously close. benrey took very quick notice of this, as to be expected.

"bro, you're so close... we aboutta kiss right now?"

they gave a toothy grin and glanced at darnold out of the corner of their eye, waiting to see his reaction, though it wasn't the one he was used to, which were gordons. instead of an angry outburst, and/or a fit of laughter, darnold barely seemed phased by it at all. all benrey really did was make him blush a little, though it was difficult to tell that was the case. considering darnold was married to forzon, benrey really should've expected this, but they didn't; so they let out a loud, disappointed sigh.

"maaan... not even a little smooch or nothin'? what're you, home of phobic, BUDDY?" they snorted, and in response, darnold placed one of his hands atop of benreys and laced their fingers together.

"if you'd like a smooch, delete the pyro update, and do it right now."

"no!" benrey immediately protested, "i wanna... i play with the pyro poof! you really shouldn't be so- shouldn't be so mean to it. it's not bad."

"well, gee, i guess you won't get any kisses then!"

"ohh nooooooo!"

"delete it, then. please."

with a grumble, benrey reluctantly opened the steam file for tf2 and moved all the corresponding files into the recycle bin. when they were done with that, they pushed away from the desk, spinning around quickly so that they tripped darnold over and caused the mixologist to land in his lap.

"can i get that smooch now, please?" their smile was wide, with their eyes half-lidded, as if this wasn't even that big of a deal (which, to him, it wasn't).

"hmm... fine, i suppose you deserve what was promised to you. i can't have anyone going unsmooched now, can i?"

darnold adjusted himself so that he could be comfortable, and after a minute or two of both him and benrey giggling to themselves, he placed a hand on benreys cheek and made their lips meet.

the kiss lasted a lot longer than darnold expected; he thought it was going to be just a quick peck and it was over with, but that very obviously wasn't what benrey had in mind. in fact, it very quickly turned into a make out session; whenever their lips would part, benrey would quickly connect them again, which darnold wasn't against... it was just something he wasn't entirely used to. forzons kisses were always a mix of passionate and fast, since he was basically always on the move. tommys kisses were gentle, sweet, and often didn't last very long either. so benreys kisses were something darnold would have to get used to.

eventually, though, darnold had to pull away so he could take a breather, and benrey was fine with that. they wanted to get a good look at darnold anyway. their smile was just as wide as before, but had a bit more of a dorky vibe to it now, which darnold found absolutely adorable. he teasingly used his index finger to poke the tip of benreys nose, and they both laughed in response.

"man, that was really, fuckin, uh... epic, awesome sauce moment. wanna, uh- wanna go again? please? can we- can we please go again, bro?" benrey asked once the giggle fit was over with.

"hmm... maybe later, i really ought to get home," darnold responded, tapping his chin in thought, "forzon is probably getting worried. though, knowing him, he-"

"nah, don't, uh- don't worry about forzon, he'll be fiiiiinnnee," benrey interjected, nuzzling his nose in the crook of darnolds neck, "it's comfyyyy heeerrreee... stay with meee..."

after a moment of thinking, darnold wrapped his arms around benreys neck and nodded.

"all right, fine, but if forzon gets angry i'm going to blame it all on you, you little rascal."

"hahaha, ah... that's fair."

[layce2015]

Life is Strange 2 (Sean Diaz x Reader)

Chapter 3: Bear Station

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

The sun was setting and the logs were burning as Sean, Daniel and I were sitting around the campfire, eating the snacks Sean and I had in our backpacks. Sean had cookies and sodas while I had some hotdogs and a few chips. We had the hotdogs on sticks to cook them over the fire.

"Wish we had more..." Daniel said after we finished eating. "I know...Me too..." Sean said as I go and dig into my backpack. "I wish we had a cheeseburger and a milkshake like yesterday..." Daniel said to Sean. "Dude...That shake was so good...Can't believe we found a diner on the way out here..." Sean said in agreement. "I want another one..." said Daniel. "I know...We'll get you one...Promise." Sean said as I pull out three of the Choc-O-Crisp. "I know it's not a shake, but I hope you guys are okay with this as dessert." I said as I start to hand them the candy.

"Yes! Awesome possum!" Daniel exclaims as he takes one of the candy bars. "You're welcome." I said, laughing, then I hand the other to Sean. "You want one?" I asked him. "You sure? I hate to eat up all of your food." Sean said and I shrug. "I still got a few left. Hopefully, we'll come upon some sort of gas station and I'll buy some more. Plus, I don't mind sharing." I said and Sean smiles as he takes the candy bar. "Thanks." He said. "You're welcome." I said and we began to eat our dessert.

We sat there in silence as we look out towards the beach, the water glistening in the moonlight and the owls were hooting in the quiet, still night sky. "You okay, buddy?" Sean asked Daniel. "Yeah...Feels good to sit down..." Daniel replied then he looks up at his brother. "Sean? Are you mad at me for what happened with Brett? I don't remember everything..." He asked Sean. "It's not your fault... Shit happens...Brett deserved it." Sean replied. 

"Who's Brett?" I asked. "Our asshole neighbor. He got mad at Daniel for accidentally pouring fake blood on him." Sean replied. "Oh!" I said as Daniel asked. "Why can't I remember? That's weird..."

"Uh... Don't worry, dude. You were running around all day... You tired out. It happens." Sean said and Daniel looks up at him then nods. Then suddenly, Daniel points up in the sky. "Look! A full moon! Ooowoooooo!" He howls and Sean and I chuckle. "Uh...It's not quite full yet, wolfboy..." I said to him.

"Do you guys think there are werewolves for real?" Daniel asked us. "Dude, we are the wolves..." Sean said then he leans back and howls. "Oowoooo...See?" He said and Daniel laughs. "Oowooooo..." he howls then he looks over at me. "C'mon, (y/n)! Join us!" He said and I giggle. "Alright, alright." I said then I lean back and I raise my head to the moon.

"OOOOWWWOOOOOOOOOOO...OWOO OOWWOOOOOOOO." The three of us howled then we started to laugh. "Although, I have to say my howls sounded like a dying wolf." I said. "Aw, C'mon it wasn't that bad." Sean said to me and I chuckled. "You don't have to sugarcoat it, Sean. It was bad." I said. 

"I'm bored... Sean...Can I play Mustard Party on your phone? Please?" Daniel asked him. "No reception so go for it..." Sean said as he hands his cellphone to Daniel. "Yeah! Thanks!" Daniel said and he begins to play. "Oh, I am so gonna beat your score...Oof! Aw, come on..." he said as Sean and I shuffle closer to take a look. "Almost...Almost..." Daniel said, frantically, until the battery dead tone plays, Sean smirks at this. "What? Nooo! I was so gonna beat your score!" Daniel exclaims. "You wish." Sean mutters as he takes his phone back. "Stupid phone..." Daniel grumbles.

"You look tired...Ready to crash?" I asked Daniel. "I've been ready all day...My feet hurt..." he replied as he and Sean move to their blanket and I go over to mine, which was on the other side of the fire-pit.

"I think we earned some serious rest." I said to them. "Yeah, I could sleep forever." Sean replied as he and Daniel lay down on their blanket. "Not on this ground. Ugh..." Daniel grumbles. "Better than freezing out there, right?" I asked. "Way better...Now we have a real fire..." Daniel replied and I chuckle.

"And a secure base! You did awesome today, Daniel." Sean said to him. "Really?" Daniel asked. "Hell yeah!" Sean exclaims. "You're like a...real wilderness expert!" I said and Daniel smiles. "Hmmm...that's cool...My eyes won't...stay open, guys..." Daniel said and his eyes close and he passes out. Sean and I chuckle at this. "Sleep tight, bro..." Sean whispers then he looks over at me. "Goodnight, (y/n)." He said. "Goodnight, Sean." I said and I finally close my eyes and fall asleep.

"Daaad...Dad...Where are we?" I hear Daniel groan and cry. My eyes open as I go sit up and see Daniel tossing and turning just as Sean wakes up. "Daniel?" I asked as Sean turns over to his brother. "Hey bro, wake up!" He said as he wakes Daniel up with a shake.

"Sean? Sean? What happened...Where's Dad?" Daniel asked, tearfully, after he sits up. "It's okay! You just had a bad dream. That's all..." Sean assures him as I go over to them, squat down and places a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Sean? (Y/n)? Where...Where are we?" Daniel asked. "Right here...in the park. Remember our amazing fire?" I said to him, with concern, as Sean places another log on the fire and gives it a puff.

"Mmmm, yeah....Are we okay?" Daniel asked us. "We're fine... I'm right here and so is (y/n)...Don't worry." Sean assured him. "Okay, I won't...as long as you two are here..." Daniel said and I smiled at him. I ruffle his hair and said. "Go...back to sleep...You need your rest..."

"But I might have another scary dream..." Daniel said, slightly fearfully. "You won't. We're here. Just...Just close your eyes..." Sean said. "Thanks, guys...I'm glad you guys are here..." Daniel said as he starts to lay down. "Goodnight Daniel..." Sean and I said as I stand up, walk over to my blanket and lay down on it and fall back asleep.

"Look, it's easier now. We're going downhill. You just gotta keep walking." I said to Daniel as we walk down the road. It was the next morning and we were a few miles away from the park. "Oh yeah, that's better. Hey! Maybe we'll find a milkshake shop!" Daniel said. "Ah yes...The forest secret milkshake factory...Keep dreaming, dude. Let's walk a little more." Sean said to him. "There'll be a rest stop or something where we can buy food. I'm sure of it."

"Yeah...You said things were getting better yesterday...and the day before..." Daniel said to his older brother and I give a concern look over at Sean. "I'm sorry, dude. I'm trying my best." Sean said and Daniel looks down as we come up to a curved road. "Oh! Remember that time? Harry Thompson wanted to beat me up?" Daniel asked Sean before he continues. "Me and Noah traded some games with Harry...But he didn't like his. So he said he was gonna get us after school..." Daniel tells us.

"What did you do?" I asked him. "We waited in the gym until he went home..." he replied. "That's it? You shoulda told me!" Sean said to him. "I tried...But you said to get out of your room..." Daniel replied and Sean gives him a sad look. "I'm sorry, enano. I shoulda listened." Sean whispered, in a sad tone. "You did stand up for me...with Brett. For a change." Daniel said. "Yeah...Well. He had it coming." Sean said and I smile over at Sean. "Aww, such a good big brother." I said as I nudged his shoulder with my shoulder and he smiles at me.

"I can't wait to tell our secret adventure to Noah! I hope Dad never sends us on a vacation without him again." Daniel said and I frowned at this when, eventually, a gas station sign comes into view. "Hey! There's something ahead!" Daniel said, happily. "Yup! Must be the gas station we saw on that sign." I said. "Awesome! I'm sooo hungry right now." Daniel groans.

"I hear you...We're gonna get food...water...Plus a map. So we can find the best route." Sean said. "All right..." Daniel said, defeated. "Hey, come on! I know last night was tough, but...tonight will be better. I swear." Sean said to him. "Yeah...I hope." Daniel said as he walks over to gas station.

Sean looks over at me and asked. "Sooo....do you still want to come with us? Or do you....?" 

"I have nowhere else to go and if you have some idea where to go, I would like to go. That is...if you guys still want me around." I said. "Of course we do! Daniel wouldn't know what to do without his Choc-O-Crisp partner in crime." He replied and I chuckled. "And you?" I asked him. "Honestly, it's nice to talk to someone who is around my age, after talking to a nine year old for the past few days." Sean replied and I smiled. "Well, I guess I'm stuck with you guys, til the end of time." I said as I wrap my left arm around his shoulder and he chuckles. I pat his shoulder then we head over to the station.

After using the bathroom to clean up, Sean opens the door to the store and Daniel and I follow as an entry bell rings. "Hello there." This old lady behind the desk greets, which was surrounded by wooden statues of bears. "Hey" Sean and I greet back while Daniel sees the Choc-O-Crisps displayed near the entrance. "Woah, (y/n)! They have Choc-O-Crisp!" He said, excitedly. "Cool!" I said as I walk over to the display and look at it. I looked at the price and saw that it was basically two dollars a bar.

 Ugh....kinda pricey....but I still got about thirty bucks left. So...it's worth it! I thought as I grab a few bars and look around the shop, Sean following close as he also looks around and grabs some water.

"Oh my God, this is the coolest thing ever! Hey! C'mere... Check it out! Look!" I hear Daniel exclaim. Sean and I look over to see him pointing at a claw machine, with an advertisement saying it had a Power Bear toy. "Dude! Calm down. What is it?" Sean asked as we walked over to him. "Power Bear Claw! Uh...Can we play? I bet it's easy to get a prize!" Daniel said, happily. "Yeah, no. See all those prizes still inside? Nobody wins. Except the machine..." I said and he looks down in sadness. "Oh..." he mutters.

"But hey. We're the wolf brothers. Let's teach this machine a lesson...right?" Sean said and Daniel looks up at him and smiles. "Yes! Soooo...Who goes first?" He asked. Sean digs into his pocket and pulls out a dollar bill and hands it to Daniel. "Go get 'em, little brother..." he said. "Oooo, I am gonna beat this boss! Let's go, Power Bear Claw!" Daniel said as he puts the dollar in, starting the machine up.

"Wait till you get a good opening..." I said as he moves the claw, pushes the button to lower it but it misses the plastic ball. "Not fair! It sucks." Daniel said, annoyed. "Don't grab so fast..." Sean instructs him. "This is hard...Can one of you try?" He asked as he looks up at us. "Yeah, okay. Let's see what I can do..." Sean said as goes over to the machine and Daniel goes to stand next to me. "Yay!" He exclaims as Sean puts a dollar in.

"Let me get in the zone...Here we go..." Sean mutters and he pushes the button and almost had it but the claw missed. "Almost!" Daniel said. "Here, let me try." I said as I go over to the machine. I put a dollar in and start to move the crane over. "Okay...I think I got it...." I muttered as I concentrated on the machine. I moved the claw then pushed the button and it looked like it grabbed the plastic ball but it slipped out of the claw before it could pull it up. "Damn it." I muttered. "You were just inches away from victory." Sean said to me.

"Can I play? Please please please?" Daniel begs. "Sure...But don't beg! Get that prize!" Sean said to him as he hands a dollar to him. "Just watch me!" He said as he inserts the dollar. "Almost... Almost... Almost..." he said and by some freaking miracle, he was able to grab the plastic ball. "Yes! You're mine, Power Bear!" He exclaims as the claw brings the prize over. "Bet you're the first one to get a prize outta here..." Sean said as the claw drops the prize and Daniel digs in and pulls out the ball.

"Oooo, let's see...let's see..." he said, excitedly, as he opens the ball to reveal a Power Bear toy. "Soooo cool! Look guys! I beat the machine!" He said as he jumps on the balls of his feet and showed us the toy. "Told you nobody beats a Diaz!" Sean said to him. "Yeah, way to go, munchkin." I said as we walk back over to the grocery section of the store.

"Congratulations on getting one of these toys...It's been a while since anyone won." The lady behind the counter said to Daniel. Sean and I continue to look around for some grocery as I hear Daniel talking to someone. "Hi...What are you looking at?" Daniel asked. "Oh, hey there. Well, I'm actually doing research. It's, uhhh...Not for you." A man replied to him.

I look up from the shelf and see Daniel talking to a man, with curly brown hair and a beard and glasses, sitting in front of a laptop. "Why? Like dirty stuff? Uck." Daniel asked. "It's uhhh...It's adult stuff." The man replied. "I'm nine years old. I know these kind of things." Daniel said to him, making the man laugh. "Haha! I'm sure you do! What's your name?" He asked Daniel.

"Daniel!" He introduced.

"Hi Daniel, I'm Brody!" The man said as Sean and I walk over to Daniel. "Hey hi, uh...Sorry about my brother..." Sean said as he places his hands on Daniel's shoulder. "Don't be. He's awesome!" Brody said as I could see a picture of a naked person on Brody's laptop screen. Brody seemed to have noticed my stare as he turned around in his chair and said. "I know what you're thinking. What the hell is this creep looking at?"

"Uh, no, I don't mean...I mean..." I stammered and he chuckles. "It's not as weird as it seems, though. These people, they only wanna live a normal life. Just...naked. I mean, if they're not harming anyone, who's to say they're wrong?" He asked us.

"Nobody." Sean and I replied at the same time. "Yeah, I agree. Yes! Why should we all be the same? Who says so?" He said and I smiled. "Heh, nevermind. I'm getting carried away. Name's Brody. I'm kind of an online traveling journalist..." he greets as he holds his hand out to us. "(Y/n)." I greet as I shake his hand then he goes to shake Sean's hand. "Sean. What's an...online traveling journalist?" Sean asked, curiously.

"Just a fancy name for someone who drives around in a car...writing about people and....stuff. There's a few websites that pay me for these papers, since I know how to write." Brody said. "Nice to meet you guys. You traveling with your brother?"

"Yeah...We're on the road. Going south." Sean said. "And I'm just a friend that's tagging along." I said and Brody smiles. "Good for you two. The best way to learn is on the road...The earlier the better." He said and we smile at him. "Well, I'd love to talk and avoid work all day but...I'm already up against a deadline. Safe travels, dudes!" He said. "Thanks, man...See ya around." Sean said as we walk away from Brody and continued with our shopping.

"Hey, check out the puppy!" Daniel calls out and we walk over to see a basket with a little white and brown puppy inside. "Awww." I said as I kneel down and pet its head. "Yeah. It's a dog." Sean said to Daniel as he also pets the dog. "It's a puppy! Super cute!" Daniel exclaims. "Yeah. Super cute." Sean chuckles as I said. "Adorable." 

"Is this yours?" Daniel asked the lady behind the desk. "Somebody left her down the road. If I saw who did that, it'd be the last time..." the woman replied. "Awww...He must be sad! What's his name?" Daniel asked. "Her. Whoever takes her... gets to name her." The woman replied. "Oh, right...Oh! Can...we have the puppy?" Daniel asked as he looks up at us, his eyes glimmering.

"Please?" He begs and Sean and I look at each other as I stand back up. "I don't know..." Sean said, shrugging. "Yeah, It's a pretty huge responsibility." I said to Daniel. "Yeah! It would be so cool! Come on..." Daniel begs us. "Oh, honey...We have to have an adult take care of her..." the woman said to him, gently. "I know...I just thought we could..." Daniel said in defeat. "I'd love to...but she's right. We can't take care of a dog right now." Sean said to Daniel as he pats Daniel on the back of his head then we head over to the counter and pay for our groceries.

I look over and noticed there was a stand for a map. "Go on! It's actually free." The woman said to me, noticing my stare. I look up at her and said. "Really?" She nods and I smile as I take a map. "Cool...Thanks!" I said. "It's a real nice map. You'll find lots of great hiking trails around here..." she said and I nod at her as we start to head out of the store.

"Hey look...empty table!" Daniel said to us as he points at the picnic table. "Let's grab it! And check out this map." I said as we go over to the table. "It's our table now!" Daniel said as he sits on one side of the table and Sean and I sit on the other side. "Yep! Let's see...What have we got here..." Sean said as he pulls out some water and mac&cheese while I pulled out three hotdogs, some chips and some Choc-O-Crisp. "This is a ton of food! I thought we were broke!" Daniel exclaims. "Not today, Daniel." I said with a smile. "Yeah....So let's grub out. This is our treat." Sean said and I hand over the candy to him, while I hear a truck pull in. I look over my shoulder and see an old man driving the truck but I noticed that he was staring, intently, at us.

"Really? You got me a Choc-O-Crisp?!" He asked as I look back over to him. "Course I did! I couldn't leave out my fellow Choc-O-Crisp addict." I said and the three of us began to chow down on our dinner.

Some time passes, and I see Brody leaving the store. "Where you guys off to now?" He asked us. "Uuuh...South. I guess." Sean replied as he shrugs. "Right on. Pro tip, don't feed the bears! See ya later..." Brody said as he gets into his station wagon. We wave at him then I take out the map.

"Whoa, that's a big map..." Daniel said, astonished. "Yeah...Hope I can read it..." I said as lay the map out on the table. "Me too." Sean said as Daniel moves to sit next to Sean. "Is this supposed to be Washington? I don't recognize anything..." he said. "Yeah. Me neither...But we have to be somewhere in there." Sean said then Daniel points at a spot on the map.

"Hey, I know! We're here! There's a gas station, see?" He said. "Nah, no way. We were near Mount Rainier yesterday. But it's miles away now." I said to him. "Let us show you where we are, okay?" Sean said to Daniel. "Yeah, okay..." Daniel said as Sean and I look over the map then Sean points it out.

"All right...This is it!" He said. "Are you sure?" Daniel asked him. "Yes, it is. It's next to the river we camped by yesterday, here we are!" Sean said, slightly annoyed. "Okay, so...Can we go there tonight?" Daniel asked as he points to another park that was miles and miles away from us. "Are you kidding? It's way too far!" I said. "Yeah, you want to walk a whole week again?" Sean asked him. "Awww...But it looks cool!" Daniel whined. "Hold on, (y/n) and I will find where we can go." Sean said as he and I look over the map.

"Hey kids. Looks like you're out camping." A man's voice said and we jump then turn around to see that the old man from the truck had crept up on us. "Oh...yeah! Just going over trails and...stuff." I said to the man, calmly. "Seems dangerous to be out here all alone...But maybe you're the ones who need to be watched." The man said and we look up at him in confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean? We're just..." Sean started to say. "Sure hoped you paid for all that. We don't tolerate shoplifters." The man warned us. "I don't like what you're insinuating, sir! But we paid for this and the map was free." I said to him, firmly, as I glare at him. "Well let's go inside and you and your boyfriend can show us what you bought." The man said and my fists clenched at this.

"No...Thanks...We...have to go..." Sean said as he grabs my arm and the three of us begin to stand up. We start to leave but the old man pushes at Sean's chest with an index finger, pointing. "Nope. You're going inside...Don't make this worse for yourself, kids. Or I will..." the man threatened while Daniel takes a step back but Sean and I were trapped between the table and the old douchebag.

"Excuse us, sir. We were just hiking!" I said, firmly. "Then let's find out if you're telling the truth. Come on." He said. "But...We have to get going..." Sean replied as Daniel cowers back. "Sean...(y/n)..." he said, shakily. "It's okay...Look, my Dad is waiting for us..." Sean said to the man. "Okay. You can call him from our phone. Now let's go." The man said as he grabs Sean's arm.

"Don't touch me..." Sean shouts as he tries to pull out of the man's grip while I said. "Leave him alone!"

"Don't do it, kids!" The man said as Daniel and I try to pull the man off of Sean. "Let go!" The old man shouts then he whacks Daniel in the face with his arm. "Ow!" Daniel exclaims as he falls back. "Don't touch my brother!" Sean said as the old man punches me in the face with his free hand. "(Y/n)!" Sean exclaims as I fall to the ground and the old man gut punches Sean, knocking him to the floor. Before I black out, I see Daniel running away from the old man.

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 036 [Hero Law]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 2,840

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〈“There are ten million souls who are feeling like you. And ten million more who are finding the truth. Then it feels like you’re right where you belong, when ten million voices are one.” Shaman’s Harvest, “Ten Million Voices”〉

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“Mwah~! I healed you enough that you should be able to walk, but be careful,” Gran told Izuku softly, who was breathing heavily and looked exhausted.

“Thank you very much, ma’am.” His green eyes fell on his scarred right hand.

“That’s what you get for overusing your quirk in a short time frame.” She scolded him. “Consider your crooked right hand as a warning from now on. And just so you know, I will not heal injuries like these anymore.” She sent a stern look to Toshi. “You must find a new way for him to use his power. There has to be an option that’s not so self-destructive.”

I glanced at Toshi before clearing my throat. “Come on, Zuku.” I helped him off the bed, keeping my arm across his back as he limped out of the room. Toshi followed, walking on his other side.

“A new way of using your quirk…” Toshi mused.

“Hey, All Might.”

“Huh?”

“Remember when you told me why you came to U.A. in the first place? To find a worthy successor to inherit One for All…”

“Yeah.”

Izuku stopped walking, his back to us. “I put everything I had into the sports festival… but still, there were other competitors who fought for the victory harder than I did. So… maybe…” He sounds so sad, so broken. My heart squeezed painfully as I pulled him closer to me.

“You’re thinking it might be better for someone else to be my successor. Yes?”

“…yes.”

“You speak the truth. This place is full of incredible potential heroes. One for All is a crystallization of power, it bolsters quirks. For example, if young Todoroki were to inherit it, the strength added to his own quirk would probably make him an unbeatable superhero.”

I glared at the blonde. That may be true but damn, don’t kick ’em when he’s down, bro. And I thought I was bad at fucking comforting people, jeez.

“Then…”

“But you know, I was quirkless, too, as a kid.”

His eyes widened and he turned around to face him. “Quirkless? Seriously?”

Toshi smiled. “Back then, it wasn’t as rare of a thing, but it was still out of the ordinary. Even though I didn’t have a power of my own, I had someone who believed in my potential. My master gave me One for All and raised me to become a hero.”

“You never told me that!”

“It’s not my fault you never asked,” he shrugged. “Which is honestly surprising!”

I scoffed, sending him a grin. “That’s such a childish response.”

“I just can’t believe the number one hero was quirkless��”

“It’s true. When we first met, I saw a little bit of the old me in you, but kid, you’ve gone beyond my expectations time and time again. One day, you’re gonna do incredible things with One for All. That’s something I truly believe.”

Tears filled his eyes, voice strangled as he tried to hold them back. “I’ll do my best…”

I chuckled, pulling him into my arms, careful of the wounds he had. “I trust Toshi a hundred percent. He believed in you enough to choose you to inherit his power, Zuku, that’s not a decision he would take lightly. Of course, it ain’t gonna be easy, it never is. You’re gonna face a lot of setbacks with that over-powered quirk within you, but you gotta remember that you’re not fighting alone. We’ve got your back and we both believe in you, so have some faith in yourself, kid.”

He nodded and I felt my neck grow wet. I chuckled, running my hand through his hair.

Toshi smiled at me, nodding his head in thanks. “Anyway, the sports festival isn’t over yet. Get out there, you don’t want to miss the end.”

“Right,” Zuku pulled away, wiping at his eyes. “Your next match is up soon, right, Jen?”

“Yeah, about that…” I sweatdropped, scratching my cheek. “I was disqualified from going forward.” They both stared at me for a moment, processing the information, before their eyes grew wide.

“D-Disqualified?!”

“What did you do, young Jen?!”

“That brat Monoma from 1-B was talkin’ shit about our class. I warned him to shut up but he kept running his mouth so I shut it for him. I guess he ran and told on me and I was forced to forfeit my next match.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t remove you entirely!” Toshi sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his head. “I can’t believe you did that…”

“Really?” I raised a brow and he sweatdropped.

“You’re right, I can definitely believe it…”

I chuckled, glancing at Zuku. “Katsuki’s gonna be so~ pissed when he finds out.”

Zuku gave me a nervous smile. “Definitely…”

“Anyway, let’s get back. The others are probably dying of worry over you, kiddo.” I ruffled his hair and he nodded, heading down the hall.

“Jen.”

I paused, glancing back at Toshi with a raised brow.

“Did they say that it was Monoma that turned you in?”

“No?”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Stay out of trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

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When we finally made it back to the arena, the match between Kiri and Bakugo was underway. We stopped by the railing at the top of one of the seating areas, not wanting to miss the match.

“Kirishima and Kacchan,” Zuku mused. “So that would mean Ashido and Tokoyami finished their match already…”

I patted his head. “You can always watch the video when you get home.”

“I know,” he pouted. “But it’s not the same as seeing it live.”

“Bakugo is having a heck of a time dodging Kirishima’s fierce attacks!”

“Woah, Kacchan’s on the defensive? I guess Kirishima’s quirk seems simple on the surface, but it’s still effective.”

“Midoriya!” Iida came up from the hallway behind us, his smile dropping a bit when he saw me. “Winchester.”

I grunted, turning back to the match. I leaned over, resting my arms on the railing.

He cleared his throat. “I take it that your surgery must have gone well. I’m glad!”

“Yeah, thank you. Is Ingenium excited that you made it so far? He must be so proud of his little brother.”

“Hm, I’m not sure. I tried calling him earlier, but he was working.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“No, it’s for the best. To be quite frank, I’m worried that he might be disappointed that I lost.” He glanced at me again, which I ignored.

“Waha! Bakugo is countering again! But what’s this?! It seems to be working this time!”

Waha? Is Mic channeling his inner Waluigi? I hummed, propping my cheek against my palm. “Looks like Kiri’s finally running out of stamina,”

“The finishing blow!” Bakugo yelled. “Die!!”

I sighed deeply, hanging my head. That dumbass. The audience is already on the fence about how villainous he may be, he shouldn’t be making it worse.

“Kirishima has been knocked out! Bakugo is the winner!” Midnight announced.

“With that vicious knockout, Bakugo advances to the fourth round! Ladies and gentlemen, our final four! Wait, what? There are only three students on the screen!”

Midnight raised her voice. “Due to a… technicality, Jen Winchester will not be participating in round four! Todoroki automatically advances!”

“A technicality?! Who could have predicted this upset, folks?!”

“I did,” Aizawa grunted, making me sweatdrop. “Idiot.”

Thanks for the comforting words, Dadzawa. Means a lot, bro.

Iida’s brow furrowed. “A technicality?”

I sent him a blank look. “I punched a kid from class B.”

He straightened his back, an annoyed look on his face. “Why would you do something like that? You and Bakugo are always acting so selfishly! How do you think that makes class A look?!”

“Hah?” I stood up straight. He only had about half-an-inch on me height-wise. “News flash, elite, I don’t live my life around other people. I don’t base my choices on your sensitive ass feelings. You don’t like how I act? Tough shit. No skin off my bones, bro.”

“You’re so rude and disrespectful! How did you even get into this school? From what I’ve seen, you have zero drive to even be a hero!” His fists clenched. “All of us are working so hard to become heroes, even Bakugo, though I don’t approve of his actions, but you clearly don’t care. You’re taking up a valuable spot that someone else could be using! Not only that but during the USJ incident, that villain knew your name. No one hardly knows anything about you!”

“I-Iida, Jen, please calm down.” Zuku looked between the two of us, swallowing nervously.

I grinned, taking a step closer. “And just who the fuck are you to decide that, hmm? We’re on the same fucking level here. You’re not above me or anyone else for that matter. Why I’m here is my business, not yours. How I act is my fucking business, not yours. And my motivations? You guessed it, my business, not yours. So get fucked, prep, and get the fuck out my face before you end up like Monoma.”

“Guys, please…”

I hummed, glancing at him. “Zuku, go sit with the rest of the class. I need some space.”

“O-Okay…”

I sent Iida one last grin before walking away, my shoulder bumping his as I did so. God, that fucker gets on my last fucking nerve. He always knows just what buttons to press to get me riled up. I shoulda punched his ass harder when I had the fucking chance. With a sigh, I headed for the side door, passing the guard that had been posted there to prevent people from getting inside. The door opened up to a small grassy area.

I leaned back against the tree, sliding down until my ass hit the ground, my head lent back to stare at the azure sky through the gaps in the leaves. A small part of me couldn’t help but wonder if Iida is right to some degree. Do I deserve to be here? Am I ruining the chance for some other kid that dreams of being a hero? Being a hero doesn’t interest me at all. I wonder, if the class knew that, would they change their view of me? Their opinion is already pretty fucked when it comes to me. It’s not like I came here of my own free will, ya know. I was forced to come to this school, but…

I don’t regret coming here. Even if these kids hate me, I’ve developed a soft spot for them. More than anything, I just want them to be happy and safe. I guess… in a way… my dream is to see them achieve their dreams. When I first came here, I never planned on caring for any of them, but now that I do, I don’t want them to end up like Gramps.

I held my hand out, watching the flames dance across my palm. I molded and shaped them until they formed a red robin, tilting its head curiously. Iida’s right, I don’t want to be a hero, but I still have something that drives me. I’ll use this power within me to protect class A and make life easier for Toshi and Aizawa.

My stomach started to growl angrily and I huffed, pulling myself to my feet. I walked around the outside of the stadium until I came to the front where the food stalls were. Most of the customers were inside watching the matches, so the entrance was nearly deserted. I headed straight for the taco stand, but Ojin was gone and a little sign had been taped to the front that simply read ‘closed :)’. My head fell down onto the wood. Goddamn it, I guess I’m not getting my third helping of tacos today. What a cruel fucking world this is.

My stomach growled again. Yeah, I fucking heard you the first fucking time, take a pill. My eyes scanned the other food stalls. Most of them were empty, the owners having packed up and returned home since the festival would soon end, or inside the building watching the last of the matches. I spotted the Woodsman patrolling nearby and headed toward him. “Oi.”

He turned around. “Oh, hello! Shimatsu-san asked me to tell you thanks if I saw you again.”

“Thanks? For what?”

He pointed to my head. Oh right, I forgot about the headband. I had put it back on after the cavalry battle ended. “After the first half of the festival, his stand got a lot of attention from customers because of your advertisement. He sold out of product fairly quick.”

I grinned. “Ho~ Looks like I did somethin’ useful today. By the way, I wanted to thank you for finding Riku’s brother.”

He nodded and it felt as if he were smiling, but I couldn’t be sure with the mask covering his mouth. “Of course, that’s part of a hero’s job. I caught some of your match against Iida. You’re pretty strong, but you lack resolve.”

I groaned, throwing my head back. “Yeah, I fucking know.”

He patted my shoulder. “It was obvious to me that you were holding back quite a bit. I’m not sure if it’s because you lack something driving you forward, or if there’s an underlying issue that prevented you from using your strength at its full potential but don’t lose heart. Tell me, why do you desire to be a hero?”

“I don’t,” I responded blankly. His eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t have to say it, I know it’s weird as fuck and I don’t belong at U.A., but it don’t matter. I’ll become stronger and I’ll protect my family. I don’t need the title of hero to do that, right?”

He shook his head. “If you didn’t belong here, you wouldn’t be here. Don’t be so hard on yourself, you’re still young. And you’re not wrong, you don’t have to have the title of hero to protect the people you love, but it can complicate things.”

“How so?” I raised a brow and he seemed confused for a moment.

“You don’t know about hero laws?”

Uhh… I scratched my cheek, closing my eyes as I wracked my brain. Hero laws… didn’t Toshi teach a class about that? Or was it Cementoss…

“She’s totally not gonna make it as a pro if she can’t even remember the hero laws,” came an annoying female voice, popping a ball of Takoyaki into her mouth.

“Mt. Lady, I’m trying to cheer her up!” He scolded.

“Hmph, no point in lying to her, Kamui.”

“I wasn’t lying!”

“Listen kid,” she pointed the empty toothpick at my face. “It doesn’t matter why you want to be a hero, all that matters is that you have some sort of reason! You may not like the title of hero, but if you want to use that quirk of yours, you don’t have a choice.”

I scowled. “Okay fine, let’s say I was absent for that class. Gimme a TL;DR for the laws.”

“TL;DR?” She tilted her head, her finger on her chin. “What in the world is that?”

I clicked my tongue. “I knew you were old.”

“What did you just say you brat?! I’ll have you know I’m only twenty-two!”

“Sure you are.”

“Why you -”

Kamui sighed, resting his hand over his face. “Basically, quirks can not be used by any non-licensed hero, unless used for self-defense purposes, but this is quite a blurred line and most times, you can get into trouble even if it is self-defense. Because of this, it’s impossible to protect people without becoming a hero unless you choose to break the law and become a vigilante, which I highly encourage you not do.”

“A vigilante, huh?” I hummed, holding my chin. “So like Batman.”

“Batman? Who is that?” Mt. Lady questioned. “And do not call me old again!”

Kamui panicked, waving his hands frantically. “Forget I said anything! Vigilante’s are as bad as villains!” He sighed deeply. “Tell me, Winchester, what is it you want right now?”

“A taco.”

“Not to eat! What do you want out of being here at U.A.?”

“To get stronger.”

“For what purpose?”

“To protect the people I love.”

He nodded, grabbing both of my shoulders. “Then that is your drive for becoming a hero. You may not like the title or everything that comes along with the job, but it’s the best way to ensure the safety of those you hold dear.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You’ll be a great hero one day, Winchester.”

“Not a vigilante?”

“No!”

“Fine~” I grinned. “Thanks for the advice, bro.”

“Yeah, she’s not cute at all.” Mt. Lady commented. “You’ll get so much farther if you flaunt what you got, girl.”

The two of us just looked at her blankly as she approached a Yakitori stand and started to flirt with the owner to get free food.

“Winchester?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t be a hero like her, please.”

“Not a fucking chance in hell.”

“And Winchester?”

“Yup.”

“Is there really a vigilante named Batman?”

“Fictional character.”

Kamui let out a sigh of relief.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

▸ Forward

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[shurisneakers]

espresso [9]

Summary: In which your best friend’s brother begins to set you up on dates when you mention that you haven’t been in a relationship in years, but things don’t go as expected.

Warning: implied homophobia, mentions of cheating swearing, angst, pining (????), wii music 

A/N: hello i’m barely alive what a surprise. this is my entry for the lovely @viktordrago‘s writing challenge. thank you to my girl @samingtonwilson love u and i hope you know that espresso would be nothing without u

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Previous part- Part 8 || Espresso Masterlist

“Is that everything?” Bucky asked, turning halfway to face you. 

You gave him a thumbs up and he nodded, shutting the trunk of his car. “Alright, let’s get this road trip started.”

You tightened the scarf around your neck as you got into the front seat of his car. Rebecca had juvenilely shouted dibs on the back seats, saying she intended to hibernate for most of the trip.

Less than a week from Christmas, the three of you were driving back to your hometown for the holiday. New Year’s Eve, however, was to be spent in your grimy dormitories and apartments since Bucky was nervous to be even slightly unprepared for class and beyond anxious about being stuck in traffic with the rest of the returning students.

Of course, much to his dismay, it was only a half-hour before Becca began her moaning and groaning. “How long ‘til we get there?”

“I told you we should have brought the tranquillizer,” Bucky sighed to you, hissing and jolting forward when Becca flicked the back of his head.

“Couple of hours, give or take depending on traffic,” you let her know, looking at the Google maps route you had opened on Bucky’s phone.

She settled back down and chose to look at her phone instead, the device keeping her occupied for only a handful of minutes before she looked up again.

“Pass me the aux cord, I wanna play my music.”

“No.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Wii score soundtracks are not considered music.”

“Wow.” Her eyes were wide in disbelief. “I can’t believe I’m related to such an uncultured swine.”

“Other songs also banned in this car are on this list I made for you,” Bucky reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a white, folded sheet of paper, handing it to her.

“What the-“ she began, quickly scanning over the list. You could hear the wrinkling of the paper as her grip tightened. “The fuck you mean All Star isn’t allowed?”

“It means I’ve heard enough of it this past year and if I have to hear it one more time I’ll personally remove my brain from my skull and run it over with this car.” 

You found the fact that he took time to create something so… petty was amusing, but apparently she didn’t think so.

“I miss my girlfriend already,” Rebecca huffed, feet on the windowsill.

Bucky, eyes on the road, replied, “Shoulda invited her to our place.”

“I wanted to, but she said she wants to see her sisters. She’s got a big family.”

“If it helps, you’ve got me,” you nearly sang, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

You received a scowl in return. “I’d rather have no one at all, thanks.”

Hearing Bucky hiss through his teeth at her comeback before fading into laughter, you rolled your eyes with a smile that matched his as you muttered “bitch” under your breath.

“Also, asking Nat to come to our place probably wouldn’t be the brightest idea,” she added, moving in her seat to lean against the car door. 

The light atmosphere dropped and you felt a palpable tension in the car in a matter of mere seconds. You spared her a glance. 

She looked unfazed but you knew otherwise. “You know, considering the circumstances.”

“Maybe he’s different now, Becks,” Bucky tried with convincing optimism.

“Right, because he’s been known to just do that.” 

The both of you fell silent, not wanting to push the conversation.

“Whatever, it’s his loss.” Becca looked back into her phone and continued aimlessly scrolling through Instagram. “What’s everyone else doing for the vacation?”

“Steve’s with Peggy. I think they’re staying at her house. Clint is with Bruce and Thor. I don’t think they’re going anywhere specifically but I heard they’re doing a bar crawl for Christmas. Sam and Sam are at Wilson’s place.”

“What about Dot?” you looked at your nails as you asked, attempting to look indifferent rather than desperate– which you most definitely were.

He hummed questioningly before peering at you. “Oh, she’s back in town too.”

“Wait– our town?” Becca straightened up, leaning forward on her hands. She stuck her head between both your seats, her interest piqued.

“Yeah, she went to Culver. On the cheerleading squad,” you muttered, “She told me she and Bucky almost dated,” you added in a less than quiet whisper with the intention of only letting her hear.

You could feel her glare burning the side of your face. You didn’t have to face her to know why she was doing it but you chose to ignore her.

“Did you know I almost joined the cheerleaders at Middletown?” Becca announced, loud enough to make your eardrums vibrate and you wince.

“You didn’t have to yell, Jesus,” Bucky muttered through his teeth, using a hand against her forehead to push her back to her seat.

“You did not almost join the cheerleaders.”

“Hell yeah I did! I got kicked out on the second day.”

“How?”

“I was told I tried to ‘make friends the wrong way,’” she said with her fingers hooked in air quotes, voice deeper for imitative purposes.

Bucky snorted. ”Knowing you, you probably offered to smoke them all out behind the bleachers with your stupid purple pipe.”

“Listen, it’s how I made friends in high school. A little indica, a little trip to Taco Bell.” She shrugged. “Thought it would work with them. Apparently fucking not.”

“Wait, how come you never offered to smoke me out?” you narrowed your eyes at her. “Did you not know how much I envied the stoners?”

“I didn’t need to waste the good stuff on you. I became friends with you because you kicked sand in my face when we were seven and thought it was the funniest thing.”

“Accidentally.”

“Your laughter said otherwise, you Jafar sounding bitch.”

“You know you’re gonna have to tone down the swearing when you get home, right?” He glanced at her expectantly as realization dawned on her.

“By how much?” 

“On a scale of one to ten, one being you on your best behavior and ten being your usual behavior, aim for negative twelve,” Bucky told her as she let out a groan again, head drooping into her hands.

“How many do you think I can get past her because she missed me?”

“Zero.”

“I can’t wait to see you struggle in front of your mom.” You grinned. “It’s my favourite part of dinner.”

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. “’Course it is.”

“God, how many Christmases have we spent together? Twelve?” Bucky asked distantly, seemingly ignoring the exchange you both shared.

“This’ll be the eleventh. I spent Christmas three years ago with, uh– with him,” you answered, surprisingly without an angry edge to your tone.

“Oh,” Becca said, quietening down.

“Yeah.” You looked out of the window, your breath fogging up the glass. “I wonder what he’s doing now.”

“Last I heard, he was sent to the nurse with a broken nose,” she mused playfully, eyebrow raising. “Coincidentally, it was the same time my brother got suspended from school for three days for a fight in the cafeteria.”

Bucky and you shared a quick glance before a small smile upturned the corner of his lips.

“He’s a bartender or waits tables or something now, I think.” You shrugged, playing with a loose thread on your sweater. “Don’t know if he’s still here or he left.”

“Have you kept in contact with him?” Bucky asked, voice strained. You knew it to be a symptom of rising annoyance, one you rarely saw from him.

“Nah. Someone mentioned it to me,” you shrugged casually.

“You sure?” Becca’s eyebrows were slightly furrowed and you almost rolled your eyes at the dramatic concern. “It’s okay to still care about-”

“I stopped caring about his life the minute I found out he was cheating on me with some girl from another school,” you said lowly, hoping to make your point. ”Let’s just drop this, yeah? I don’t plan on ever talking to him again.”

Neither of them said anything for a while until Bucky broke the silence again, “Honestly, I wouldn’t hesitate to break his nose again if he tried talking to you.”

“Oh, I know,” you replied, smiling as he did, too.

In her usual dramatic fashion, Becca sighed and slumped against the seats, forearm thrown over her eyes. “How did we all end up here?” 

“Fate. Destiny.”

“A horse,” Bucky grinned at you knowingly resulting in your laughter at his stupid reference.

“Maybe because we’re all running from something,” Becca ignored you both, staring out of the window.

“Not that deep,” Bucky said with a roll of his eyes, turning left. “Besides, I have nothing to run from.”

“Sure about that?” she raised her eyebrows at him. 

You looked at him curiously.

He shook his head wordlessly, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

“Whatever you say, bro.” She shrugged, before an evil smile took over her face. “Hey Bucky, guess what?”

“What?”

“You missed out a song on the list. Guess what we’re listening to on repeat for an hour.”

***

By the time you reached the town, it was nearly four. The plan was to stop at his place, drop off their stuff, say hi to his parents and then leave you at your house.

The Barnes’ house was clearly the most spirited one in the neighbourhood, with decorations lining the front yard all the way up to the door. Reindeers, coloured lights, fake snowmen- everything that you could think of was there.

Bucky lugged his and his sister’s bags out of the car, and held on to the both of them while you and her trudged to the front door. Becca had barely knocked on the front door when it opened with such force that the wind alone nearly knocked you off your feet.

“You’re here!” a voice you had grown up with for over a decade exclaimed, instantly brightening up your mood.

“Hi, Mom,” Becca almost squeaked as her mother half-crushed her to death before releasing her to look her up and down.

“It’s been ages since I’ve seen you both,” she said with a grin, pulling you into a hug as well, patting your back affectionately.

“It’s great to see you again, Mrs. B.”

“You look wonderful as usual, Y/N. How’s school going?”

“I’m scraping by,” you half-joked with a shrug.

“Aren’t we all?” Bucky’s voice nearly startled you from behind you and you parted to give his mother a more clear view of him. 

He beamed at her, adjusting the bags on his shoulder. “Hey, Ma.”

“Is this a horse or my son?” Winnie laughed, pulling Bucky into a hug as soon as he came through the door. Pulling at the strands of his hair, she sighed out another laugh, “Goodness, you’ve got a mane.”

“He’s definitely got the name for it,” Becca teased, earning a glare from him. “What? Bucky sounds like a horse.”

He discreetly flipped her his middle finger, picking up their bags and walking down the hall to their rooms to put them down. You watched him as he disappeared from sight, only snapping out of it due to the weight of a hand on your shoulder.

“You’ll be over for dinner on Christmas Eve, won’t you?” Winnie asked, arm around yours and Becca’s shoulders as she led you into the kitchen. The smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls was almost overwhelming, but a quick sense of familiarity soon took over.

“Of course she is. It’s tradition,” Becca answered for you while her mother hummed. 

Your parents weren’t big on Christmas, instead choosing to just spend it like a normal day. For as long as you remembered, Becca had always invited you to spend it with her family and you gladly accepted and soon it became something you looked forward to every year.

“It’s going to be better than last year’s,” she sounded excited as she placed a plate of cookies in front of you. “Ever since these two left, the house has been much more livable.”

It did look cleaner than the last time you were here but the worn out wallpaper, the darkened mantle over the fireplace and the dining table that still had chips in it from the times it was run into remained the same. It was the same comfortable house you’d spent a lot of your childhood in.

“I’d be offended at that if you didn’t actually call me every second day to ask about my life,” she snorted, stuffing a cookie into her mouth, making her mother laugh. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’ll be late but he’ll be here tonight,” she informed her, taking a seat at the table. 

You reached for a cookie only to have the plate pushed towards you. You cast Winnie a grateful look as she just smiled.

“Great, now I know when to avoid him,” Becca said more to herself, and you stopped chewing.

“Rebecca-“ her mom sighed, leaning forward on her elbows.

“He made it pretty clear that he didn’t want to be around me the last time I saw him, Mom.”

“Just give him a chance to adjust, please,” Winnie tried. 

You swallowed thickly, knowing where this conversation was heading.

“Did you tell him about Nat?” Becca cut in, discarding her half eaten cookie on the plate. 

There was silence. 

“Yeah, I thought so.”

“Despite what you think, he doesn’t hate you.”

“He just can’t stand to be near me,” she finished, smiling a half-smile that didn’t reach her eyes. 

You had lost your appetite completely, choosing instead to just toy with your fingers and look away from the conversation as if you weren’t there.

“Becca, did you fucking carry your entire dorm room in your backpack or what?” Bucky grumbled as he walked into the kitchen, massaging his wrist.

“No swearing, James,” his mother reminded him softly as he bent down to press a kiss against her cheek.

“Sorry mom,” he didn’t sound very apologetic. He looked at you instead, jingling his keys. “Ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go. I’ll text you Becks,” you said in a hurry. Your chair screeched as you pushed it back, standing up. “Thank you for the cookies, Mrs. B. I’ll see you soon.”

You waved at them, hearing a quick goodbye before jogging to Bucky’s side.

“I’m sorry you got stuck in the middle of that,” he whispered.

“I just don’t get it,” you sighed, ducking to sit in the front seat. “It’s been years now and he still hasn’t budged.”

“We don’t know that yet. Maybe he has,” his voice was unsure and he didn’t look at you as he pulled out of the driveway and back onto the road.

“Maybe.”

There was something playing on the radio that you weren’t paying attention to. It served as background noise as you took in your surroundings. It had been nearly a year since you’d visited home and you missed it, but sometimes it felt easier to avoid some of the things that had happened here.

“You’ll be over for dinner, right?” Bucky asked. His eyes were still trained on the road ahead.

“Yeah, ‘course.”

“Looking forward to it,” he offered you a smile, prompting you to observe him for a minute.

He had managed to pull a beanie on and looked softer than he already was constantly. His nose was bitten red from the cold, something that you found stupidly endearing even though you’d seen him like this over a hundred times.

“I’m looking forward to it, too.”

“Of course you would,” he said, a boyish grin on his face. “Why wouldn’t you want to spend more time with me?”

“Remind me who you are again?” you asked with a tilted head, leaving him laughing. “Your mom’s cooking is the only thing I care about.”

“You’re breakin’ my heart.”

“Assuming you have one, that is.”

He murmured something under his breath that you didn’t catch but you chuckled anyway. You felt lighter somehow, the slight edge you were on smoothing out slowly.

“You excited to be back home?” He turned right into a familiar cul de sac, driving at a much slower speed now.

“Meh. I’m excited to see everyone but… you know.”

“It’s tiring?”

“Incredibly.”

He didn’t have to ask– he knew which house to stop in front of. It was one of the bigger houses on the block, stretching tall over the others in comparison. It looked newly painted and there were lights strung up outside serving as bare minimum decoration.

“Well, I hope you it isn’t as shitty as you think it’s gonna be,” he mumbled, twisting in his seat to face you.

“That’s a nice way to put it.”

“You deserve good things, Mario, you really do.” There was a pink dusting spreading over his cheeks as well, the jacket he had around himself unable to prevent it. Your eyes flitted down to his lips momentarily, finding them slightly dry due to the cold weather but they looked pretty anyway. He was pretty.

“Thanks, Buck,” your voice was unusually soft. “You do, too.”

Neither of you knew what to say and you could feel yourself wanting to put yourself out of your misery by just kissing the idiot. 

But you didn’t. You let yourself take him in for a second more before clearing your throat and looking away, unbuckling your seatbelt.

“I guess it’s time I go see my-“

“Y/N, listen, if you’re free later, or if you want to, I-“ he suddenly interrupted your actions, making you stop to look at him. He paused for a second, never dropping your stare. 

Oh Jesus.

“Yeah?” Please just ask me out, for the love of God.

“I could- I could set you up on the last date?” The what now?

“What?”

“I mean, it’s nearly the end of the year. It’s been months since we started and you’ve still got one date left. I know someone here you might like, if you’re up for it.”

“Um-“ your mind screamed to say no, to just tell him you’re interested in him and move the fuck on, but apparently your body had other plans because the next thing you could remember saying was, “…Okay, alright.”

“Yes?”

“Yeah. Last date, right?”

“Yup. Fifth one’s the charm.”

“Ha, hope so,” you couldn’t stop the disappointment in your voice as you shrugged. “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” he confirmed, nodding. ”Christmas Eve-Eve.”

“Cool. Catch you then.” 

He bit his lip as you got out of the car, watching as you grabbed the backpack with your stuff and swung it over your shoulder. 

“Thanks for the ride, Bucky.”

You waved at him, he waved at you, and you rang the doorbell. The door swung open immediately and excited arms swooped you off the porch and into the house, door shutting behind you.

Bucky exhaled. He twisted the key to hear the engine sputter before starting fully, knuckles almost translucent with how hard he was gripping the wheel.

“What the fuck?” he muttered to himself. He almost banged his forehead against the window. “You absolute fucking idiot.”

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @dearericbittle!

Merry Christmas and Happy whatever Holiday you may celebrate! Hugs!

Read on AO3

*****

Oh Shit!

Oh Shit. Stiles takes a moment to revel in the fact that this is his oh shit moment. Not, oh shit, a dead body in the woods. Not, oh shit, werewolves. Not, oh, shit, Derek wants me to cut off his arm. Not, oh shit, kanimas, or hunters, or any other of bevy of supernatural fuckery. No, Stiles’ oh shit moment is walking past an alleyway and having his Derek Hale spidey tingle go off. His oh shit moment is seeing Derek Freaking Hale crouched in an alley trying to coax a completely demonic looking cat with a massive gash across it’s forehead out from behind a dumpster. Stiles assumes so that Derek can help getting Demon!cat treated.

Stiles oh shit moment is oh shit, I’m in love with this asshole.

Stiles would like to think that he is fairly self-aware but this knocks the wind right out of him. His stomach does a full loop-the-loop and his heart does a quadruple staccato for long enough that Derek looks up from his save the cat mission to meet Stiles’ eyes.

Derek’s eyes widen in apparent surprise before a grin spreads across his face. This does not help Stiles’ heartbeat situation, especially when paired with his recent oh shit revelation. The warm welcome fades on Derek’s features, replaced with a look of concern. Derek reaches out his arm as if to steady Stiles, though the only stumbling that is going on right now is emotional. Stiles rallies himself, before Derek can touch him - who knows how his traitorous body would react to that!

He gesticulates just a little too wildly with his hands, and bumbles further into the alley a little too dramatically before managing to get some words out of his mouth.

“Whatcha doin’, Sourwolf? You gonna put that poor cat out it’s misery with your teeth?”

Stiles cringes. It’s been years since any “rip your throat out with my teeth” jokes have really been appropriate or funny.

Derek has yet to speak any words but his eyebrows scrunch together in question.

Stiles takes a deep breath and shakes his head.

“Nevermind, Sourwolf. Weird kind of day. You ever learn something that kind of shifts your whole world view? Did you know that squirrels are behind the majority of  power outages in United States, Derek? Because, let me tell you, I did not.”

Derek shakes his head with what Stiles would define as fond eyebrows and proceeds to ignore everything that has come out Stiles’ mouth since “Whatcha doing, Sourwolf?”

“I tracked this little critter from near that bakery over on Main St. She’s bleeding and smells afraid. I’m having trouble getting her to trust me.” Derek’s voice stays soft and even while hes’s talking with Stiles. He’s crouched near the ground again and while his eyes are locked on Stiles’, his hand is reaching out towards the injured cat with feigned nonchalance.

Mirroring Derek’s tone of voice, Stiles asks, “What were you doing at the bakery?”

“Picking up cupcakes for Laura’s birthday dinner tonight.” He pauses, “You didn’t forget about that did you?”

Yes, yes Stiles had forgotten about that. In his defense, he’s been working nights the last week and days of the week are a nebulous thing when one is working the night shift.

Derek interprets his pause accurately. “Don’t worry about it. If you’re back on days, come over around 6 and we’ll feed you. Don’t worry about a present.”

Stiles is about to respond when he sees that cat has finally made her way to Derek’s outstretched hand and has deigned to be picked up.

Stiles thought that he’d gotten the whole loop-the-loop, crazy heart beat, oh shit moment stuff out of the way, that he’d managed to get a handle on it during his brief stint in the alley. But, no, he was a self-deluded idiot.

Seeing Derek cuddling a dirty, possibly mangy, blood soaked cat while whispering sweet nothings into her ear like she was a small child, disabused Stiles of the notion that he had any control over his bodily functions when it came to Derek Hale.

Stiles lived with his internal crisis for a few more seconds, until Derek stood up.

“I’m going to take this little beauty to see Scott. Will I see you tonight?”

Stiles mumbled what must have been some sort of affirmative because Derek said goodbye and left the alley.

When he got back to his baby, he collapsed in the front seat and banged his head against the steering wheel a couple times. He did not need this kind of complication in his life right now.

*******

Stiles can’t remember the last time he found himself banging frantically on Scott’s door. Probably high school sometime. With the distinct lack of big bads of the supernatural variety in the last few years, there hasn’t been much need.

Now, however, he finds himself banging on the door to the apartment Scott shares with Isaac, hoping the curly-haired menace is currently elsewhere. Don’t get him wrong, he’s square with Isaac now, friends even. It’s just, he’d like to have his mental breakdown in the presence of Scotty and Scotty and Scotty alone.

Thankfully, it appears Scott is home alone when Stiles walks in and collapses in flail of limbs on the couch.

“Scotty, my brother, my friend, my bro, my wolfy companion, the world as we know it is over.”

Completely unfazed by Stiles’ declaration, Scott sits on the coffee table across from Stiles and puts his hands on Stiles’ knees before speaking. With a gentle squeeze, Scott says, “The squirrels?”

“Yes, Scotty the squirrels. There’s an acronym. TSql. You know how I get about acronyms Tee-squill or The Squirrel Index.”

Stiles makes a concerted effort not to be sucked into an ADD fueled rant about squirrels and power outages before he can backtrack to what he came here to talk about.

“I’m in love with Derek Hale.”

This statement is greeted with complete silence. He risks a glance at Scott to see if maybe his declaration had somehow caused him to die of shock.

Nope, Scott is just looking at him with confused puppy dog eyes.

Finally Scott speaks. It’s slow, like he’s talking to a toddler or scared dog. “Are you okay?”

A noise Stiles can’t even begin to describe or categorize emerges from deep within his being. The gist of the noise was, “How can you ask me that? I don’t know. I don’t even recognize myself anymore. And when the hell did this happen?

Scott, blessed, wonderful, fantastic Scott seems to read his mind or possibly his noises. Maybe his noises are to Scott like Derek’s eyebrows are to Stiles. Aaand, that is a thought for another day.

“Well, it’s not the most terrible thing. I mean, Derek is a really good guy, You guys have been working together a lot lately what with working on the remodel plans for the house. Maybe it just happened naturally.” Scott says.

“Hmph. Naturally, you say.” Stiles pauses. Now Scotty is not always the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to analytics or plans or anything GPA related but Scotty has heart. When it comes to relationships and emotions, he’s usually right.

He things back to the first time they had to hit the road to visit some lumber distributor 3 hours away. The silence had started out extremely awkward. Stiles had fiddled with the radio and half-heartedly tried to comment on the passing landscape.

But then he had flicked the radio station through some kids station and Let It Go started playing. Somehow in the fraction of a second before Stiles was able to change the station again, Derek starts singing along. It’s under his breath, Stiles isn’t even sure if he realized he was doing it.

The ended up bonding over Disney leading ladies (not just princesses, thank you very much) for the next 2 hours. It seems like maybe that was the beginning of it all now that Stiles thinks about in a more calm state of mind. He should have figured it out when they gave each other nicknames. Derek is Elsa, Stiles is Mulan. And yes they actually call each other those names, unironically on occasion.  

“…earth to Stiles….” He comes back to the present with Scott’s fingers snapping in his face.

“Sorry. You’re right.” Stiles feels himself smiling a little as his heart does a weird happy lurch in his chest. “Shoulda realized after our shared love of all things Disney.”

Scott nods, “And a relationship built over the years based on trust, respect, and a terrible sense of humor.”

“Okay, okay. So not a surprise and probably not as life altering and world changing as I may have first thought. But, still…” Stiles trails off. His oh shit moment blindsided him so much that he hadn’t actually thought about what came next. Does he declare his love? Or maybe just ask Derek out of a date? Or just pretend nothing has changed? Or die of embarrassment when Laura finds out that Derek said no? Or yes - he’s not sure which would cause Laura to dole out the worse punishment.

Scott, again with his uncanny ability to read Stiles’ mind, says, “You know you don’t have to decide what to do right away. The question to ask yourself is, what do you want?”

“I don’t know what I want. I hadn’t really thought beyond hoping Derek doesn’t think I’m dying of a heart condition every time he walks in the room.”

“I hear you, buddy. I’ve got to go to work. Think about it.”

Scott grabs his keys and his wallet and is about to head out the door before he turns back towards Stiles, “You coming tonight?”

Already lost in thought, Stiles replies distractedly, “Yeah. I’ll probably just crash here until then. Ride over together?”

“Yeah, see you then.”

Stiles barely notices the door slam behind Scott. What does he want? He’d always imagined himself in a marriage with kids like his parents. Then werewolves happened and it was hard to imagine past the next week, much less into a future with kids. He’d had a few brief relationships during nursing school but no one he could picture a future with. Now, since he’d come into his spark and they’d managed to bind the nemeton? Not to mention, Laura back from the dead and taking her place as Alpha? Beacon Hills was stable. Nothing had come rampaging through and killing people in almost 3 years.

He hadn’t realized it, but he’d sort of been cruising through on auto-pilot just waiting for another shoe to drop the past few years. Not doing noher, just not really having any intentionality about anything either.

This oh shit thing, this being in love with Derek, maybe that made him think about a future. Stiles isn’t ready to picture being married with 2.5 pups yet. But, walking down the street, holding Derek’s hand for all the world to see, that he could imagine. Sharing curly fries at the diner or going to see a movie, cuddling together under a blanket on the porch swing - those thoughts made him feel warm all the way to his core. Just thinking about made his lips twitch towards a smile and his heart race in anticipation.

Ok, he now knows what he wants. Now, what to do about it, that is the million dollar question.

*******

He ends up bailing on Scotty and going over to the newly-remodeled (with his help!) Hale house early, hoping to catch Laura before everyone started piling in for her birthday dinner.

Luck must be on his side today because for the second time in one day the person he wants to see is home and alone.

He finds Laura in the garden out back singing to the vegetables, She claims it makes them taste better - and veggies can use all the help they can get in the taste department, so she sings.

She waltzes over to him and takes his hands to lead him a rousing dance through the tomatoes as she sings highly altered versions of the VeggieTales songs. Stiles knows better than to try and escape the song and dance so he bears up manfully until Laura ends her song in a fit a giggles.

“What brings you to see your favorite Alpha, today?” she asks when she finally catches her breath. She folds her legs under her gracefully sits in the grass as she asks her question.

Stiles sits beside her and takes a deep breath for courage.

“I’m here to give you your birthday present.”

A grin spreads across Laura’s face as she does gimme hands towards Stiles.

He swats her hands away playfully, before speaking, “Alas, not that kind of gift.” He smiles, “What is your absolute favorite thing to do in all the world?”

Stiles pauses for a moment but before Laura can respond, he adds, with a pointed look, “You actually favorite thing, not some sentimental drivel cause it’s your birthday.”

Laura blows a raspberry at him, “Fine. But only because you’re my favorite.” She wiggles her hands like she’s a puppeteer and cackles before saying, “Meddling”

Stiles gives an exaggerated nod. “Thus my gift to you. First - information no one else but Scotty has”

Her eyes light up and her grin widens.

“Then, I’m going to ask for advice. Now, in the spirit of birthdays, I’m allowing you to meddle. I ask in return, good faith advice, not advice to make me do what you think would be funniest.’

Her grin doesn’t fade but a hint of seriousness comes into her eyes. Stiles can tell she understands even before she nods her head.

Stiles looks down at his hands. He had decided to come and talk to Laura but he hadn’t really figured out how he wanted to start. Well, he figured it worked for Scotty so he might as well just try ripping the bandaid off.

“I’m in love with your brother.”

Laura didn’t do anything so ungraceful as gape like a fish but the phrase, you could have knocked me over with a feather came to Stiles’ mind as he watched her reaction.

Stiles forges ahead before Laura has a chance to reply. “Our pack being what it is, we don’t stand on werework tradition very often. But I was wondering if there was a traditional way to court a werewolf? A wooing ritual or something?

Stiles can tell Laura is trying really hard not to laugh - not out of meanness but out of the sheer ridiculosity of what he is saying. Stiles waves her off.

“I know. I know. I’m the last person to care about tradition. But, you know, Derek has had the best track record. First Paige died, then Kate, and Jennifer. Braeden wasn’t so bad but it also wasn’t so serious. I want Derek to know I’m serious and that he has a choice. If there were a traditional way of doing that, then that is what I’m looking for. If not, I’ll figure something else out.”

Laura scoots around so they are facing each other and practically mirrors Scott from earlier when she puts her hands on his knees before speaking.

“I don’t know if Derek feels that way about you, I don’t know what his reaction to you will be. But I do know this. He could never confuse your intentions with any of those who came before.” She sat up and put her hands back in her lap before continuing. “There is not a wolfy-wooing ritual per se. At least, not one that I am aware. But there is this nursery rhyme or poem kind of thing that our mom used to say to use about the one we would eventually fall in love with. Let me think for a second and try to remember it.”

Her brow scrunched slightly and he eyes drifted to the left as she thought, Okay. It went something like this: Each wolf is whole in itself but there are those who are created to walk beside in perfect harmony. A mate to write their name on your heart will make you safe by watching your back, give you peace by travelling beside you, bring you joy by smiling back at you, and join hands with you so will never be alone on your life journey. You know Derek has the Triskelion tattoo on his back and that can mean a lot of things. But he also has a Triquetra tattoo on his hip. It comes from this verse. The three points are behind, beside and in front of, joined together in the center, together forever. It’s not a ritual or anything but it might help you figure out what you want to do.”

The whole time Laura had been talking, Stiles paid rapt attention. He wasn’t crying by the end but he was certainly moist in the region around his eyes. He had an idea.

But like all great ideas, life interrupted.

******

It was about halfway through Laura’s birthday dinner. Everyone had had one plate of food and most of the wolves had had a second plate but no one had even mentioned cake yet.

Stiles noticed the cat first. He nudged Derek. “You didn’t tell me you brought that cat home.”

Derek turned towards Stiles, confusion clear on his face, fork with potatoes stabbed through on it hanging in the air halfway to his mouth, “I didn’t”

Stiles chuckles slightly and nods in the direction of the cat which is now in the doorway to the dining room. “Then she followed you home.

By this time, the rest of the table has quieted and turned to see what Stiles and Derek are looking at. The cat continues walking towards but with each step, she gets larger and larger until when she reaches the table it is but a small step to climb up on the table and continue walking down it’s center.

The cat, now roughly the size of a miniature pony, walks past Lydia and Jackson, then Erica and Boyd, and Scott and Isaac, and completely ignoring Laura and Stiles before she stops in front of Derek. All of the sudden there is a naked lady instead of cat sitting in the middle of the dining room table.

“Kind one,” she hisses, “You have saved my life this day. You have shown your worth. In the name of Samaoth, High Priestess of the Sable Court of Fae, you are granted a boon.” She waved her arm in a graceful arc around her head somehow managing not to have any other part of her body move a single muscle. You’d think the naked part would be the most eye catching part of the naked fae sitting on the table but it was more like a statue that didn’t really know how a human body worked. It looked right - sort of. But the more you looked, the more wrong you felt on the inside.

When her arm was in front of Derek one, it held a plain manila folder in it’s hand. Derek was just staring.

With a slight hint of impatience, Samaoth hissed, “Take it now mortal. Do as it says and you will be granted your heart’s greatest desire.”

Derek reached out and took the folder. Before his fingers had even fully closed on the edges, Samaoth had vanished into thin air. He didn’t quite have hold of it yet and the folder dropped to the table, relieving itself of a single piece of paper.

It was a simple piece of printer paper. Across the top it read, “Booking Confirmation for Sable Court Representative to the Greater Northwest Region Supernatural Symposium: Derek Hale, plus one.”

After about 30 seconds of stunned silence, every single person at the table began speaking at once.

*******

An indeterminate amount of time later, Laura’s alpha roar breaks through the cacophony of shouts coming from the rest of the pack.

Once everyone is quiet, Laura turns to Derek, who is still sitting in silence and staring at the innocuous looking piece of paper on the table in front of him.

Laura asks him, with slightly forced calm, “Der-bear, what’s going on?”

Derek opens his mouth. Nothing comes out. Stiles doesn’t even recognize Derek’s current eyebrow configuration.

Derek swallows and tries again. “Well,” he pauses, “there was this cat and it was bleeding and I took it to Scott to get fixed up.” He looks helplessly around the table. “It was a normal cat.”

The focused attention of the whole pack swings around to Scott. He shrugs sheepishly. “It was a normal cat.  I gave her stitches and left her in the kennel overnight. Though, it seems like she got out.”

Laura rolls her eyes. “Yeah, okay. Normal cat. Got it. Except your normal cat is apparently the High Priestess of the Sable Court of the Fae. Derek, what does the paper say?”

Derek looks at Laura and startles like he hadn’t thought to read past the bold heading. His eyes rapidly scan the paper. “Apparently the Greater Northwest Regional Supernatural Symposium is being hosted in Seattle this year at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, ummm, next weekend. Registration starts on Thursday afternoon at 4 PM. It has a confirmation number, address, phone number and whatnot and a link to app download and password to download the app for the symposium.”

Stiles decides that now is the time to speak up, “For those of us who are new to werewolfly culture, what exactly is the Greater Northwest Region Supernatural Symposium?

Laura sighs before she answers. “It’s going to be a shitshow, that’s what. Wolves aren’t usually invited. We’re too volatile or something. It is mainly run by the fae and other ‘more evolved’ supernatural beings. The get together to schmooze, make treaties and listen to presentations on things like ‘Kobolds and cleaning: an analysis of practices through the ages’ or ‘Pixies in the modern age: pesky or pragmatic?’ It’s pretty much a chance for the hoity toity of supernatural society to get together and bond over how superior they are to the rest of us. For a wolf to show up, and not even an alpha will be an insult to every single being there.”

Stiles feels the need to pipe in again, “Great. So this is the gist. Derek saves this cat’s life, he gets a boon - supposedly his greatest desire but only if he goes to this conference of supernatural one percenters. This is ridiculous!” Turning to Lydia, he continues, “Is this even possible? I thought we had a big do not touch sign over us after our last dealings with the fae.”

Lydia responds quickly, “You’re right. But, Samaoth didn’t seek us out. Derek sought her out - albeit unknowingly - so that may cancel the binding. Let me see if Illirial is available speak with us.

Lydia’s eyes turn milky white as she chants under her breath. The wolves can probably tell what she is saying but to Stiles it just seems like a low susurrus. After a few moments her eyes return to normal and she holds out her hand.

A moment after that a small hologram - Princess Leia style - appears in her hand. Stiles hates dealing with the fae. It makes his brain hurt. But they all owe Illirial and he seems to make an effort not to be purposefully obtuse when speaking with them.

His voice is slightly tinny when he speaks, “Greetings Hale Pack. It is a pleasure to be with you once more. For what reason have you requested my presence this day?”

As Lydia was the best at untangling the vagueries of fae speech, Lydia replied. “We call upon you as a friend, with no obligation attached, to ask of you some information. Under what circumstances might this be amenable to you?”

Illirial appeared to think about it for a moment. “As friends, it would be in my heart to give this information, if I am able. Perhaps one day I may come to you, with no obligation, for the same, until such time as we have shared information of equal value. If I am unable to share what you ask, we will speak of this no more and part again as friends.”

Lydia nodded and continued, “This is generous of you, Illirial. You confirm yourself as friend of the Hale Pack. What can you tell us of the Sable Court of the Fae? Specifically of the priestly order attached to it.”

“As you know, generally, the fae owe allegiance to either the Seelie or Unseelie court. This is balance, as it should be. You mortals may believe one to be good and one to be evil but we fae do not ascribe to that kind of moral judgment. Seelie and Unseelie merely are. WIthout the balance of the courts, the world would fall apart, in a most literal sense. But we fae, while bound to our courts, do have free will. In times when balance is threatened, the fae turn to the Sable Court. They are judge; they are arbiter; and if need be, they are executioner. The high priestess has final say in all decisions made by the Sable Court.”

When it was apparent the Illirial was done speaking, Lydia spoke again, “If the Sable Court High Priestess were to offer a boon, with an obligation attached, what should one take into consideration while deciding on a course of action?”

Illirial responded immediately, in almost a panic, “Only the recipient of the boon can make that choice. Only five times in our history has the Sable court been known to offer a boon. Each time the obligation was how the boon was revealed. While danger might abide within fulfilling the obligation, the Sable Fae are straightforward. There will be no hidden knives or truthful deceits as you might find with some of the other fae.”

Lydia nodded again and replied, “Illirial, the Hale Pack thanks you for the information you have shared so openly, which we acknowledge is beyond your natural state. That which we do not speak of will remain private and you may feel free to call upon the Hale Pack for an exchange of information equal in value to what you have offered us. Go with peace and the blessing of Mother Moon.”

Illirial bowed and vanished from Lydia’s hand.

Stiles turned back towards Laura to see how she would respond to this information and saw his Alpha was white as a sheet. All the blood had drained from her face and she looked like she was about to fall over.

“That’s who did it?” she asked.

Stiles startled. He didn’t know how but he’d forgotten that Laura had never met Illirial before.

Derek grabbed her hand. “Yes.” He looked like he wanted to fight the binding for a moment but then his features calmed. “You know we can’t even speak of how it happened. But yes, it was Illirial who brought you back from the dead.“

Stiles suddenly realized that it was probably the Sable Court that had dictated the binding of secrecy around that whole fiasco. Even now, it was hard to think back to that couple of months when the fae had descended on Beacon Hills. If he tried to pin down the memory too specifically, it would slide away like trying to hold fast to a thousand strings being pulled in all different directions.

Laura seemed to come back to herself. “I know Der-bear. I understand.

Derek stood up. “Well, I guess I better get packed to go to Seattle.”

Stiles made the decision in an instant and stood up as well. “Me too.”

“What?” Derek replied.

Stiles picked up the sheet of paper and waved in front of his face. “Plus one, Sourwolf. I’m going with you.”

He looked like he wanted to argue but was cut off when Laura said, “Good idea. I’ll book you both flights up for Thursday morning.”

*******

2 Days Later (aka Thursday)

Stiles settled into the first class seat Laura had sprung for with a wiggle of his hips. He turned towards Derek, still grinning, when he heard him groan under his breath.

“None of your groaning or sighing is going to ruin this for me, Derek. First class! I’m going to get a hot towel. And free snacks. This is awesome.”

“Sorry. I don’t mean to spoil your fun. It is pretty awesome.” Derek smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes - or his eyebrows.

Stiles turned serious for a moment, “Hey. Sourwolf, I know you don’t like not knowing what’s going to happen but your heart’s desire, that’s gotta be exciting to think about.”

Derek gave another half-hearted smile. “Yeah, I guess.”

“What do you think it will be?”

“I don’t know. I do kind of wonder about whether it’ll be something that I go, ‘oh, of course’ or if it will be something I didn’t even know I wanted. Or if Samaoth can somehow look into the future and know what domino to knock over now that will result in a chain reaction that will make me happy down the road.”

“Whoa there, Derek. That is a lot hamsters running around on their wheels inside your head.” Stiles pauses. “Seriously, though, would any of those options be a bad thing?”

Derek’s eyebrows morph into thinking position #2 and he is silent for a while.

This time, the smile on Derek’s face is genuine. “You’re right. We go to this conference. We come home and then I get my heart’s desire.”

Stiles heart does a little lurch at that. Right now, he knows what his heart’s desire would be: to build a life with Derek. He hopes that spending this weekend alone with Derek will help him think about what Laura said and decide how he wants to woo Derek.

Because Derek deserves ALL the wooing.

*******

Stiles flops on the bed as soon as they get to their hotel room. He blows out a frustrated breath and closes his eyes. Landing in Seattle had started off on the right foot. They had both fallen asleep on the flight and Stiles woke up with Derek’s head resting on his shoulder and their hands pressed together on the arm rest. However, it had all gone downhill from there.

Getting their luggage, getting out of the airport, and the ride to the hotel don’t bear mentioning beyond the word torture. But, then they had finally gotten to the check in desk and the finish line was in sight when Stiles tuned into what the customer service representative was saying:

“Mr. Hale and Mr. Stilinski, welcome to the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. I hope you enjoy your stay in Seattle. You have been booked in one of our honeymoon suites. This includes a complimentary bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. Please, just let room service know when you would like them delivered. Here is your room key.”

Derek quickly responded, “We were booked in the what?”

“The honeymoon suite, sir.”

“We are just here for a conference, A room with 2 doubles or 2 queens will be sufficient.”

“Sir, we are completely booked. There are no other rooms available.”

Derek looks like he wants to argue with her but instead puts on his big boy pants and says, “Fine. But, you can keep the champagne. I don’t drink.”

The woman’s smile brightens. “Thank you, sir. And please accept this voucher for a free spa treatment instead of the champagne.”

Derek stares at the woman until Stiles reaches out and takes the voucher. “Thank you ma’am. Have a wonderful day.”

So, the bed Stiles has just collapsed on is the bed he is going to have sleep in tonight. With Derek.

Now, apart from the initial freak out, Stiles thinks he’s dealt with his oh shit  moment like a completely mature adult. He listened to his heart, decided what he really wanted from the situation and is setting about figuring out how to get there while respecting the other person involved. But none of that mature adult thinking included having to share a bed with Derek Hale.

Also, until now he had somehow managed to not really think about the physical ramifications of being in love with Derek Hale. He didn’t think that Derek was asexual so that meant that somewhere in the future, if his wooing was successful, their would be sex. Sex with Derek.

His face burns just thinking about it. But also, his pants parts are also thinking about getting excited as well. Pants parts… Stiles groans internally. He’s not twelve anymore. If he can’t say the words he’s not mature enough to do the deed.

His brain spirals a bit as it starts to list all the names of things he needs to be mature enough to say. Penis. DIck. Cock. Asshole. Balls.

He is interrupted in his reverie by Derek clearing his throat. “I don’t know what you are thinking about right now but could you please not smell up the bed we both have to sleep in tonight with those thoughts?”

Stiles almost chokes on his own tongue. “Ye…YEa..yes. Sure thing. Sorry.”

He stands up and wipes his hands on his jeans. “I’m going to go to the bathroom.” He groans. “That just made it worse, didn’t it.”

Derek chuckles. “Yes, it did. Don’t worry about it. I’m just teasing. I am not sure that there is any smell you could make that could be worse than the airplane.”

Stiles felt his face heat up for a different reason. He knows Derek is just trying to make him feel better, but he thinks he maybe just gave Stiles a compliment or said that he doesn’t mind what Stiles smells like when he is aroused.

Stiles shuts down that train of thought immediately and goes to throw some water on his face in the bathroom. When he comes out Derek is sitting on the bed like he was waiting for Stiles.

Stiles jitters nervously around the room, touching everything and generally berating himself for not being able to act normal.

FInally, Derek speaks. “So, I know we don’t spend a lot of time with supernatural beings outside of our pack. There are some rules of politeness that it would probably be good for you to know.”

Derek talks for awhile and Stiles tries to remember all the protocol that Derek is telling him.

“Finally, with me not being the Alpha and you being a human spark, we will need to ramp up the appearance of our pack bond.”

“What exactly does that mean, Sourwolf?”

Derek stands up and walks towards Stiles. He stops just inside a normal human’s comfort zone for being a near another person. Derek looks Stiles in the eyes. They stand there for about 5 seconds that felt like 5 years before Derek reaches out and cups Stiles face, rubbing his thumbs over the apples of Stiles’ cheeks. He raises his eyebrows like he’s asking permission.

Stiles has no idea what is going on here but he really doesn’t care. Derek can do what the hell he wants to right now. Stiles nods.

Derek steps closer and leans towards Stiles, coming even closer.

Stiles closes his eyes. His heart is rabbiting out of his chest. He opens his mouth to gulp in air as he thinks he might be drowning. Surely Derek can tells what kind of effect he’s having.

Just when Stiles thought he might die of anticipation, Derek ducks his head and rubs his cheek on Stiles’ neck and shoulder.

Stiles lets out a high pitched squeaking noise. He realizes that Derek meant pack scenting. They needed to touch each other so the pack bond was more apparent in how they smelled.

Derek is still rubbing his face on Stiles’ neck when Stiles breaks. He lets out a almost hysterical sounding burst of laughter and sways backwards away from Derek.

“Stiles, are you okay?”

Stiles wheezes. “Yeah, of course. Scent marking. Pack bonds. Got it. That’s all.”

He knows he’s not making any sense but oh shit Stiles wants to climb Derek like a tree. I mean, he always know Derek was attractive but this kind of visceral physical reaction is a whole new thing.

Derek takes a step forward, confused eyebrows returning, and asks again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Stiles begins to nod like a bobble head dolls, preparing to reassure Derek that he is indeed fine. Instead, he says. “No, nowhere near fine.”

Concern painting Derek’s features, he starts to talk but Stiles cuts him off.

“Scent marking makes sense now that you say it outloud. But seriously, before you saying it, it felt like you were going to do something completely different. I mean I know it makes no sense but I’ve been kissed a few times and I know what it feels like coming on. I mean I know that doesn’t make any sense but I don’t think my heart could take thinking you were going to kiss me and then you don’t but you’re still rubbing all up on me.”

Stiles knows he’s rambling. It’s the ADD and the stress but he can’t seem to stop himself. Finally Derek just slaps a hand over his mouth, forcing Stiels to stop.

Derek looks almost bewildered. “Is kissing me something you want?”

It’s Stiles turn to feel bewildered. “How do you just ask that? That’s a crazy kind of a question.”

Derek raises one eyebrow and says, “Stiles, answer the question. I’m not going to make fun of you.”

Stiles takes a deep breath and looks up at Derek, feeling shy for the first time in a very long time. His voice comes out like a whisper. “Yes. I think I do. I mean it’s a pretty recent development and I had planned on wooing you before i told you, but since you ask, yes, kissing you is something that I want.”

Derek is silent for awhile before Stiles eventually begs, “Come on, Sourwolf, put me out of my misery here, one way or the other.”

Derek looks up again, his face vulnerable in a way that Stiles isn’t sure he’s ever seen. “I’ll be honest, I’ve never thought of you in that way before. But now that you bring it up, it seems like maybe it could be worth thinking about. I don’t want to kiss you on an experient, with us wanting different things out of it. Maybe we could talk more about it when we get home and give me a little while to think it over.”

Stiles isn’t really sure how to process what Derek just said beyond it wasn’t no. Stiles smiles, a little hope seeping into his own thoughts on the matter.

“Yeah, Derek. That sounds good.” He looks helplessly around, not really sure how to start a different conversation and not really having any thing else to do in the hotel room.

Derek saves the day. “Look, they have registrations times in the morning as well as tonight. What do you say we go and see a movie tonight instead of sticking around the hotel? We can grab some dinner too.”

“Yeah. That sounds great.” This is not a date, Stiles repeats to himself in his mind over and over again. But at the same time, he can’t keep the goofy smile off his face..

*******

The not-a-date was amazing. Somehow, they had both been able to just have fun together and not get stuck dwelling on to kiss or not to kiss question. Stiles was floating on cloud 9 until they got back to the hotel room. More specifically, the bed.

Stiles and Derek have both changed into sweatpants and t-shirts and are standing on opposite sides of the bed, just staring at it and not getting in.

Finally, Stiles looks up and tries to school his face into a serious demeanor. “Now look here. I have already admitted to where I stand on the whole kissing question. I am a virile young specimen of a human being. This” he says pointing a finger around the bed, “is a no judgment zone. You ignore any bodily functions that may happen in this bed, because of how I feel about you.”

By the end of his speech, Stiles’ cheeks are burning and he doesn’t know why but he is having trouble catching his breath.

Derek blinks like an owl. “Feelings?” He’s sounding a little breathless himself.

Stiles shakes his head in frustration. “Yes, Derek. Feelings! I thought we already had this conversation.”

Derek shakes his head. “No. We had a conversation about kissing. Not a conversation about feelings.’

“Yeah, well, for me there the same damn conversation. The feelings came first. Then the wanting to kiss you.”

“Oh.”

“What, oh?” Stiles bites out, beginning to feel annoyed. And embarrassed.

“In my experience, that’s not always the case. Not with Kate or Jennifer or Braeden.” Derek replies in a very small voice.

Stiles annoyance falls away and his heart breaks, just a little. Stiles walks around the bed so he can at least be near to Derek.

“I know we haven’t worked the whole feelings/kissing thing out but can I give you a hug?”

Derek doesn’t even reply. He just reaches for Stiles and wraps his arms around his entire torso. Derek practically collapses into the hug and Stiles does his best to channel everything he learned about hugs from his Mom and Mama McCall into this hug.

Stiles thinks this might be the longest he’s ever hugged anyone for and he doesn’t ever want to let Derek go. But eventually their arms naturally drop. Stiles puts his hands on Derek’s cheeks, and looks him in the eyes.

“Listen to me, Derek. I love being your friend. I love being your packmate. I love getting to spend time with you. Me being in love with you won’t change any of that if you don’t want it to. It’s like an A and an A+. Both are awesome. One is just a slight improvement over the other. I don’t want the A+ unless it is going to make you happy too. I’m here for the A no matter what you decide about kissing and feelings.”

Derek closed his eyes before he started speaking. Stiles can feel each movement of his jaw as he chokes out a response. “The last time I tried kissing and feelings together, I ended up having to kill her. I don’t know how to do this like a normal person.”

“Derek, look at me. Do you think that I know how to do this like a normal person either? There is no normal. There is just whatever we decide we want.”

In a barely audible whisper, Derek says, “I think I’d like to try this with you. But slowly. Definitely feelings, but maybe no more than kissing for awhile.?”

Stiles can’t imagine what the sheer joy that sweeps through him must smell like to Derek but Derek sniffs the air and a grin breaks out across his whole face, eyebrows and all.

Stiles is practically vibrating in place. “Can I kiss you now?””

Instead of answering, Derek leans forward and gently presses their lips together. Despite how chaste the kiss is, Stiles feels it to the very core of him. His heart is doing things he couldn’t eve describe and his knees are about to buckle.

Without thought, his arms wrap around Derek’s neck and his hips press forward. He stops himself short of grinding because that would not be taking it slow. But, as it is, he and Derek are touch from head to toe, wrapped in each other’s arms and more deliriously happy than Stiles knew was possible.

Derek ran his fingers through Stiles’ hair as he pulled away from their kiss. Stiles didn’t have scent to go by but he thought that Derek was just as happy as he was.

“Alright, lover boy or lover wolf? Is that a thing. It should be. Lover-wolf, let’s go to bed.”

“Not a thing. Don’t make it a thing.”

“Too late, lover-wolf, its a thing.”

They both climb into bed and Stiles stalls out for a minute but then he reaches out and takes Derek’s hand. By the time they fell asleep, Stiles had claimed the position of big spoon and had Derek wrapped in his arms.

*******

The first thing Stiles notices when he wakes up is that he is wrapped around a furnace. Then he realizes that furnace is Derek and his brain shorts out in pure bliss for a moment. But as soon as the warm fuzzy endorphins finish blazing through his system, he begins to take note of other things.

The muscles of Derek’s arm under his head. The roughness of the hair on Derek’s chest, where Stiles’ arm is rested. The tangle their legs have made. The insistent pressure of Derek’s hip bone against his rapidly hardening cock.

Stiles moans almost unconsciously as his hips jerk forward a few times, chasing that beautiful, wonderful pressure. It takes more willpower than he knew he possessed to stop and cant his hips away from Derek. Rubbing off on Derek after sharing one chaste kiss was not taking it slow.

Instead, Stiles scritched his fingers over Derek’s chest where they lay and was about to wake Derek up. Before he can get ‘good morning’ out of his mouth, Derek is on the other side of the room, wolfed out and panting like he just ran a marathon. His eyes are wide and wild - almost like he is somewhere else and not here in a hotel room with Stiles.

Stiles sits up in bed, not sure what just happened. “Derek, what’s wrong?” he asks, voice taut with false calm. He has to stay calm.

Derek hunches further into the corner of the room when Stiles speaks and doesn’t respond.

“Ok, Sourwolf. I’m going to get out of bed slowly. I’m not going to hurt you. You are safe.” Stiles keeps talking, low and calm, while he slowly walks towards Derek with his hands out.

Stiles stops just inside arm’s reach of Derek. He curses himself for his stupidity in what he is about to do. He takes one step closer to the frightened, wolfed out werewolf, not really sure what his next step will be. But when Stiles gets closer to Derek, Derek sniffs the air and that seems to break through whatever Derek had been experiencing.

He manages to pull back the shift and lurches forward into Stiles’ arms, pulling him into a desperate hug and burying his nose in Stiles’ neck. He is pulling in deep breaths of Stiles’ scent and trembling in his arms.

Stiles is at a loss but does his best to hold the man he loves through whatever’s happening right now. He ends up sliding to the floor so he hold Derek better as he is rocking back and forth.

He seems to be inhaling huge breaths of Stiles scent. When Stiles focuses enough to tell what Derek is muttering, he hears, “It’s Stiles. Stiles not Kate. Stiles is safe” over and over again.

Once he picks up what Derek is saying, Stiles heart breaks even more. He leans back a bit and tries to get Derek to look at him, “Sourwolf, your’re safe. I promise.”

Derek won’t be moved. “Need to smell you. Eyes can lie. Need to smell you.”

“Okay, Okay. At least come to the be…couch with me. We can be more comfortable.”

Derek shook the whole way to the couch and immediately curled back into Stiles’ space when they sat down.

It was almost an hour before Derek calmed himself down enough to unwind from Stiles. Stiles arms and legs were so cramped and he had to pee so bad he thought he might actually wet himself. He’d kind of thought they might have gotten through a few dates and make-outs before he was hit over the head with the ‘worse’ part of ‘for better or worse’. Not that he was thinking about marriage already. Oh shit! He might be thinking of marriage already.

“You gonna be okay if I go pee real fast?”

A ghost of a smile flashed across Derek’s face. “Yeah, I think so.” He paused, “But hurry, please”

Stiles peed the fasted he’d ever peed and went back to sit beside Derek.

He gets a good look for the first time since they moved to the couch. Derek’s face is pale and drawn with tear tracks streaking his cheeks. His eyes look hollowed out and exhausted. His whole body is hunched over like he is ashamed.

Stiles gently lifts Derek’s chin so he can look him in the face. “What happened?”

Derek opens his mouth like he was going to talk but instead ends up shaking his head. “I don’t know. I’m so sorry. Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you deal with that. You didn’t sign up for that. Just sorry.”

“Hey, hey. No. Before anything else, I am your friend and packmate. Which means I absolutely signed up for keeping you safe when you are terrified. I absolutely signed up for being there when you need me. The kissing and feelings has nothing to do with that. And I did sign up for that.”

Stiles thinks he must look strange because the way Derek is looking at him is like he’s never seen Stiles before. It almost makes Stiles embarrassed for how fierce he just was. But then Derek whispers, “Thank you.” And, that’s it. Stiles knows he said the right thing.

“Anytime. Though I do hope not all the time.” Stiles takes a moment to choose his next words very carefully. “If you don’t quite know what happened or don’t feel ready to talk about it yet, that’s okay. I’m not going to press. But I think you should consider talking about it. I mean, maybe with a professional. I’m always happy to listen but that was a really big reaction to I don’t know what. I am here for you and I will always be here for you. However, a professional might make it so you get better instead of just having support when it’s bad. I don’t know if I said that right or not.”

Derek’s voice is back up to normal volume. “You said it just fine. Maybe. I’d have to find someone supernatural. Maybe Laura knows of someone.”

Stiles is full to bursting with pride when Derek says that. The pink on Derek’s cheeks tells Stiles, he can probably smell that on him. He replies to Derek’s cheeks instead of his eyebrows like usual, “Yes, I’m proud of you. Get used to it, Sourwolf.”

*******

It takes awhile for them to finally get around to taking showers and getting dressed. By the time they are ready to leave the room, there is only about 15 minutes left of registration. Stiles is about to open the door when Derek grabs his hand and stops him.

He fumbles for his words for a moment before his eyebrows become determined and he looks up at Stiles. “So you know rank and protocol can be very important to supernatural beings.”

Stiles nods.

“As an unmated wolf representing a pretty powerful group, I will be considered fair game.”

“Fair game for what?”

“Wolves have a lot of behaviors surrounding smell because that sense is enhanced for us. For the fae, touch is very powerful. They can read auras, map bindings and relationships, heal or harm based on intention, enact treaties, and so much more. They understand enough about wolves to know not to touch a mated wolf without permission but an unmated wolf is fair game.”

“What are you saying? Cause it almost feels like you want me to be your mate so you don’t get touched too much while we’re here. And that feels like you are manipulating me because you know about my feelings. I don’t think you would do that so please tell me what you are saying.”

Derek looks horrified as he talks again, “No. Nonono. I just meant, maybe we could pretend to be mated. Maybe engaged to be mated or something. We wouldn’t smell right to other wolves but for the fae, they might believe if we were convincing enough.”

“I’m not sure that would be much better, Sourwolf. I don’t want you kissing me and touching me if you don’t mean it. That would be too heartbreaking for me.”

“What if we just didn’t say anything but did some of the stuff we’ve already done, just in public - holding hands, hugging, ummm, small kisses.”

Stiles thought about it for a moment. “Just make a promise. Don’t do anything with or to me that you don’t have feelings behind. I mean maybe you wouldn’t have thought to do it at just that moment except us being here but in general, it would make you happy to do it with me…”

Stiles huffs out a breath. That didn’t even make sense to him and he said it.

Derek takes a step closer. “I’d be happy to hold your hand all the time. Being surrounded by your scent is amazing. It’s like no matter what else is going on, no matter how crazy or dangerous things are, I can find peace if you are nearby.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yean, okay.”

Stiles turns to the door of their hotel room again, about to open it. And, again, Derek stops him. “Umm, before we go down there, can we do one more thing?”

Stiles tilts his head in inquiry.

“Can I kiss you again?”

Stiles’ breath whooshes out of him and his heart beats in that quadruple staccato as he nods his head.

Derek crowds him against the wall, boxing Stiles in with his whole body before he leans in and presses their lips together.

Stiles doesn’t know and really doesn’t care what to do with his hands. They flail up and land somewhere on Derek’s back as his legs give a wobble under him. Oh God. This is like a perfect moment.

Then, Derek opens his mouth just a bit and lets his tongue lick at Stiles’ lips. That sends a shock right to Stiles’ heart and feels warm through his whole body. Another lick and shock lands a bit lower. There’s nowhere for him to move that doesn’t involve rubbing against Derek.

This time, Derek rubs back and Stiles thinks he might die of sheer pleasure. He opens his mouth, letting his tongue meet Derek’s. At Stiles’ acquiescence, Derek growls, eyes flashing blue, and grabs Stiles’ hands. He slams them against the wall above their heads and presses hard into Stiles’ whole body.

Stiles whines and tries to reciprocate as much as possible but Derek has complete control over him. And, oh shit, does that work for him. HIs brain is rapidly dribbling out his ears, being replaced entirely by the pleasure of Derek pinning him to a wall.

All of the sudden Derek lets out a frustrated groan and Stiles’ front is freezing. Derek takes a step back, chest heaving and eyes blown wide. Stiles is sure he looks about the same. Maybe with a touch more confusion.

“Wha…why did you stop?”

Derek practically growls out his answer and his eyes flash blue again, “The first time I make you come, it won’t be pinned against the wall in a hotel room that smells like about 10 other people.”

Stiles thinks if he were five years younger, hearing Derek say that might have made him come untouched, standing against a wall in a hotel room. As is, he presses a hand against the base of his cock and squeezes his eyes shut for a moment before grunting, “If you don’t want me to come, then you should probably stop talking about it.”

Derek is flushed and beautiful and his eyebrows have gone a bit sheepish. “Yeah, for me too.”

Stiles puts his full weight back on his own feet (and not the wall, or Derek) and looks at the clock on the bedside table. “Aannd, we now have 5 minutes left to register.”

“Then we better hurry.” Derek smirks at Stiles and grabs his hand to drag him to the elevator.

*******

The rest of the weekend was amazing. It turns out being the Sable Court representative meant they had to show up at a few seminars, make sure everyone knew they were there to represent the Sable Court, and attend the Banquet on Saturday night. No one made treaties with the Sable Court so there was very little politicking to be done. Every so often folks with grievances would try to get Derek to settle it between. Derek made a point of never giving a direct answer but he did keep note of a few situations that had the potential to blow up and made sure to pass that information on to whatever being was the equivalent of their Alpha.

Mostly, Stiles and Derek got to wander around a beautiful hotel, holding hands and reveling in just being together. The banquet had been the highlight of the weekend. Derek grumbled the whole time that he didn’t want to dance. But Stiles eventually convinced him, leading Derek onto the dance floor with a mischievous grin on his face.

Stiles proceeded to do the Macarena to every song that the string quartet played. Derek’s sour face barely lasted one song, by the end of the second song, he was laughing, By the end of the third song, he even had some of the other attendees who were around his age trying to get the pace of the Macarena right to match Liszt’s Angelus.

Derek pulled him close, laughter still in his voice, “You are ridiculous. Now you’ve got the whole place doing it, can we go?”

Stiles felt a pang of disappointment. He’d thought they were having fun. He quirks a half-smile at Derek. “Not having fun?”

Derek pressed a hard, quick kiss to Stiles’ lips. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? When you laugh, the joy in your scent is all I can focus on. I just want to slam you against some vertical surface and kiss you until it is as much a part of my scent as it is yours..”

Stiles’ eyes widened and yep, his whole body was on board with that idea. His voice cracked when tried to talk. Finally, he got out, “Yeah, that sounds like more fun than this. Let’s go do that.”

Later that night, after a good amount of very awesome making out, followed by two long, separate showers that would have taken all the hot water had they not been in a hotel, Stiles and Derek found themselves lying in bed together again. The heat from earlier in the evening has been banked and they are cuddled together, completely boneless.

Stiles is almost afraid to break the perfect atmosphere by speaking but he does. “You know I went and talked to Laura before her birthday dinner? I asked her whether there were specific werewolfy mating rituals. Or a specific way I should woo you.”

Derek looks at him, slightly horrified. “You didn’t!”

Stiles grins. “I did. I told it was her birthday present - that I was voluntarily letting her meddle.”

Now Derek looks worried for Stiles’ sanity. “What did she say?”

“I made her promise she would take the piss or get me to do something stupid before I asked her. She seemed to get that I was serious. She told me about this quote about mates that your Mom used to tell you.”

This time Derek smiled and recited from memory, “Each wolf is whole in itself but there are those who are created to walk beside in perfect harmony. A mate to write their name on your heart will make you safe by watching your back, give you peace by travelling beside you, bring you joy by smiling back at you, and join hands with you so will never be alone on your life journey,”

“Yeah, that. I started out thinking I was going to try to take that quote and prove to you that I am your mate, through wooing. But I realized there is no way that I would be able to convince you I am your mate, if I am not. Instead, I’ve realized that I want to tell you how you are my mate. From there, it is up to you where we go.”

Stiles swallows. “Derek Hale, I know that I am always safe with you. If we are in danger, I know you will be there, making sure that we both get out alive. You also make me feel safe sharing who I am with you. You’ve never made me feel bad about myself or how I was feeling. They say peace isn’t the lack of conflict but rather it is an inner quality that allows you to maintain equilibrium even in the midst of conflict. Now, equilibrium is not something I am much talented at. But with you by my side, I can find that calm. I can find my way out of calamitous thinking. You make me feel grounded. You’ve got a wicked sense of humor when you choose to let it out and you are the most fun to be goofy around because you’ll pretend to be annoyed but I know you really love it.”

Stiles stops for a moment, and takes Derek’s hand before he continues. “I know this isn’t really taking it slow when it comes to the feelings side of kissing and feelings but I want you to know, I think you are my mate. I hope one day you will decide that I am yours”

All of the sudden, there is a cat on their bed. It begins to grow and then transforms into a naked lady, just as it had at Laura’s birthday party.

Samaoth greets this with a hissed murmur, “Kind one, your obligation is fulfilled and your boon is granted.”

Stiles feels sick. Derek looks like he is about puke. Derek rasps out, “Not like this. I don’t want it like this. You can’t make him feel like this and then expect it to be okay.”

Samaoth arches one eyebrow. “Make him? I did not make him. This was a boon of revelation not a boon of creation. Maybe a slight nudge so that you were in a situation that would encourage you to share your feelings with each other. But the feelings themselves, they are yours, and yours alone.”

The pit in his stomach closed up and he was able to breathe again. But before Stiles could speak, Samaoth continued, “You know, not having to attend this thing was wonderful. Would you be willing to attend as my representative every year, Kind one?”

Derek appears to still be reeling, so Stiles answers. “Perhaps we leave it open for you invite us each year, while we retain the right to accept or refuse as we are able.”

Samaoth nods, “This is acceptable. Enjoy your mate, Kind one.” Samaoth then disappeared into thin air between one breath and the next.

Stiles and Derek look at each other. Derek finally speaks, “That was exhausting. Can we just go to sleep and talk about it tomorrow?”

“Sure.” Stiles kisses Derek’s forehead gently and then whispers, “Sweet dreams, Lover-wolf.”

*******

Traveling home was almost as exhausting as traveling to Seattle in the first place. But at least Roscoe was waiting for them instead of a taxi.

When they had both climbed in, Stiles tapped on the steering wheel a couple of times to relieve the nervous tension.

“We haven’t really talked much about what Samaoth said. I thought we might at least talk about what we wanted to tell the pack when we get home.”

Derek nods. “That’s a good idea.” He pauses. “I think I should go first.”

“Okay.”

Stiles is confused when Derek starts how he does but listens without interrupting. “Kate liked to play sexual games. She was always pushing me further than I wanted to go. I think Friday morning happened because you used your fingernails to wake me up. She used to scratch me, until I would bleed. She would start soft, almost tickling and gradually get harder and harder until I would beg her to stop. She would only stop if I did something for her, like go down on her or play with her nipples.”

Derek takes a deep breath in and out through his nose. “I thought I loved her. I thought she loved me. I thought that was just how sex was. I didn’t know how bad she was until it was too late. You know the rest of the story. But I think she really messed up how I think about feelings and kissing as we’ve been calling it. I think you’re right. I probably need to talk to a professional to get it all sorted out in my own head.”

Stiles nods and makes an encouraging noise because it seems like Derek isn’t done talking yet.

“I want that with you. I want the whole thing: mates, married, growing old together, everything. The feelings are there. But I think I also need time to work out my own head before we go any further than the kissing.”

When Derek looks up at Stiles, his eyes are pleading with Stiles, like there was anything other than yes that Stiles would say to all that. “Derek, I am here for you, however you need. As long as we can talk to each other, it will be okay. I can’t promise to always do or say the right thing but I want this too. I want this in a way that is healthy for you. And in the mean time, kissing you is no hardship.”

To demonstrate, and because he wanted to, Stiles leans forward and kisses Derek, once on the lips, once on the forehead, and then once on each cheek.

Stiles leans back, and asks, “What do you want to tell the pack?”

“The truth.”

*******

Everyone is gathered at the Hale house when they walk inside, hand in hand. Laura squeals and jumps up to hug them both as soon as she notices. Scott grins and gives Stiles a thumbs up while everyone else takes a moment to catch up.

They sit down together in one of the love seats, Derek on Stiles’ lap.

Lydia starts of the friendly interrogation. “I’d ask how it went but it appears to have gone very well.”

Stiles is grinning and Derek has a soft happy smile on his face. They look each other in the eyes and both say, “Yeah,” at the same time.

Laura throws and throw pillow at their heads. “Stop being so sappy and tell us all about it.”

Derek throws it back at his sister and Stiles starts to talk. “The conference was a conference. Nothing exciting there except, we kind of both decided that we are mates.”

The whole room erupts in shouts and wolf whistles.

Once they settle down, Stiles continues, “Samaoth doesn’t like to go so she used this as an excuse to get out of it and give Derek his boon. Apparently, we have always been each other’s mates and might have figured that out on our own eventually but Samaoth’s boon was one of revelation. The time alone together, along with a small nudge from her, helped us to be able realize our feelings for each other.”

“Congratulations, guys,” Boyd says when Stiles stops speaking. The rest of the pack echoes the sentiment.

Derek nudges Stiles, “Can you tell them the rest too?” Stiles startles slightly. “You want to share that part?

“Yeah. I don’t know that I can say it again but they’re pack. It’s safe.”

Stiles smiles, pride and happiness leaking out everywhere. “Part of us deciding what it means for us to be mates is that we decided to take it really slow. Derek shared some things about what Kate did to him that have messed up how he sees the physical aspect of relationships. He’s decided to talk to a professional about to get things straight in his own head. We’re still mates, we’re just taking it really slow.”

Derek stared at his shoes the whole time Stiles was talking. His embarrassment is bright on his cheeks and the rest of the pack must be able to smell it.

Laura stands up from her seat and kneels on the ground in front of Derek so she can look him in the eyes. “I am so proud of  you. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. We all love you and want you to be happy.”

Erica yells from across the room. “What she said.”

Lydia replies, “I might have said it with more tact, but I agree too.”

Isaac, Boyd, Scott, and Jackson are quick to follow with their own reassurances.

There is a bit of awkward tension in the room like no one really knows what comes next, until Stiles declares, “It’s time for Frozen and a puppy pile.”

Derek smiles and says, “Yeah, that would be great.”

Three disney movies later, Stiles falls asleep with Derek sitting between his legs, back resting against Stiles’ chest. He’s never been so happy in all his life. Maybe he should be looking forward to his next oh shit moment.

The end.

[feathery-dreamer]

the (likely) reasons i am a wreck

I keep going back and forth between considering myself the most worthless burden in human history and feeling damn proud of the extraordinary things I’ve been through.

I think the main issue is, young people are expected to have done everything and be willing to give away their own wants for society/family/money/whatevs. Anything and everything we do for someone else, is taken for granted; anything and everything we ever think of doing for outselves, is selfish and outrageous.

It was even worse in my case, with a largely autistic older sister. Almost as soon as I was able to walk and speak, I was expected to function as a “big guy” - while being treated as a “baby” in other respects. Displayed as swoon material, grabbed painfully for “affection”, shown off by my sister as “tiny baby bro”. All the while doing household chores and other legwork (parents, sister, uncle, even guests I didn’t know), entirely for free. (That’s on top of all the usual children’s troubles with adults, which you’re probably all familiar with. You know - “you need to talk about your problems” until your problem is with them, your issues are mocked as you struggle to find words to describe them...)

Later on, bitter people kept saying “everyone does this, everyone suffers that” to dismiss the rare complaints or boasts I dared make. That, and crippling memory issues, forced me to forget the most unusual things in my life.

Hence I constantly forget how special I really am, and I don’t mean that in a “we’re all special snowflakes” kind of way. There are many circumstances to my life which, looking at other people’s stories, I’m positive only a handful of people on Earth even heard of.

- No, everyone does NOT have “sibling rivalry”... certainly not one where they grow up babying an older sibling who abuses them with impunity. She’s physically assaulted me, and done other unspeakable shit, to get her frustrations off. The rest of the time, I watched her make my mother cry on a regular basis. I saw this creature get away with manipulative behavior, and took charge to keep her in line while the grownups were away. Over time, I too began making excuses for her; couldn’t even name her behavior as harassment/bullying/abuse.

- No, everyone does NOT do legwork for family... definitely not to replace the older sibling‘s lack of work. I was probably given twice the normal amount of chores to cover for my sister’s lack of interest/comprehension. If I ever said no for any reason other than my physical health, I was chided and reminded to “make myself useful”. All while being called a baby, and having my complaints laughed at, just like any other infant.

- No, everyone does NOT learn a foreign language thoroughly as I did. It’s quite rare to send your primary-school kid to a weekend course for, what, two years? It’s also rare, for a child at that age, to go to a French-speaking school for two years and then move to France. This is how I came to be (at the risk of sounding cliché) top of my class in that subject, and in English after we moved.

- No, everyone does NOT have a hard-working father. Mine is, in fact, very enterprising and hardheaded when it comes to subjects that interest him. He was purposedly called to France to work there, at one of the shiny central workplaces of the firm he worked for. I don’t know how many Turkish engineers have that kind of reputation.

- No, everyone does NOT have birthday parties. Particularly one organized by school staff, on the last year you lived in your home country. It actually made me cry in happiness, and trust me I’m rarely even happy enough to laugh. I still can’t believe I forgot one of the most beautiful days of my life, until I rediscovered the trilingual birthday cards they gave me.

- No, everyone does NOT go study abroad. I didn’t even just "go study abroad”. I literally went to live in a culture practically opposite to the one in my childhood. One where people hated my entire nation with blood-boiling passion, in a private school full of snobs.

- No, everyone does NOT “get picked on at school”, or experience the issues I’ve faced during adolescence. Being bullied and hormones are one thing; but I also had to adapt to a complete 180° cultural turn + abusive sister. Things woulda been agitated enough if I’d stayed home, and I spent it among children who hated my kind. That’s on top of all the news about corruption and terrorism and other horrors, coming together to plague my home country.

- Everyone does NOT take a theoretical aviation course in middle school, and then enter a nationwide test for it. Our teacher was a real pilot, and he actually included Cessna planes (I forgot the type) since there’d be practical training as follow-up. My group continued these lessons while the other kids had their first traineeships; that shoulda tipped me off about its importance. Thing is, the first attempt, the entire group failed; then we had catch-up lessons, and the second session’s date was approaching. My invite arrived on the exam’s day so I couldn’t notify the school in advance; the principal herself came to tell me it was okay to go, but I insisted on staying cause I was a sickler for regulation. I really hate myself for being so short-sighted, because that was something so casual to me back then, I didn’t even remember it.

- Everyone does NOT pass their bachelor’s exam, and with honours at that. Certainly not in a prestigious private high school, and definitely not with all the added cultural and familial struggles.

- Everyone does NOT go abroad to do traineeships, and find new research topics in the process. In fact, the great majority of students at my university trained either on-campus, or with one of the partners conveniently listed on the website. The few who actually left France, went to Québec to train in a French-speaking environment; and those were still partner teams. Meanwhile I landed two traineeships without any campus involvement, first in my native country (family helped me get that) and then in Ontario. During the latter I saw a conference, and from there arranged my third traineeship in Sweden. That last one, among the three, was the only compulsory traineeship I ever did; the rest was entirely my own doing.