#i was going to finish the next chap today but this fic was calling to me

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Hellfire's Mama fox Chap. 9; A Munson Christmas

*Author's note*

Since the last chapter was pretty short I give you guys a longer chapter to digest and enjoy. Kinda had difficulty with this cause writing a Christmas fic when it's summer time just doesn't feel right, especially when there are days when the humidity is too high to get into the Christmas spirit. But I hope you all enjoy this chapter nonetheless and until the next update my lovelies :)

NEXT CHAPTER

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@queen-paladin

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@remussl0vers

@sweetpeapod

@assassinsasha23

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Another thing about the holiday season is that we don’t just get a half week off for Thanksgiving, but our two week of Christmas and New Years also happens right around the corner.  After getting through our midterms everyone from freshmen to seniors could breathe a sigh of relief as this past week was a relaxing time before the Christmas holiday.

And as mentioned before, every Friday when hellfire met, I brought out my oneshot campaign of ‘The Wrath of the Snow Queen’.  Today was our final day to wrap up the entire story then Eddie had said he had an announcement about our New Year campaign.

“The freezing cold of the fortress has weakened your strengths. Though you all have fought bravely and valiantly, it would seem the Snow Queen’s wrath was too great for you all to handle. Do you yield and become part of her Winter army? Or does one of you have the guts to try one final time to finish her off?” I announced as I looked to the boys.

“Time out!” proclaimed Jeff as he and the boys huddled up.  “Guys I hate to say it but we’ve got to surrender.”

“I concur.” Agreed Gareth.

“Now hold on! If we yield now we’ll become eternal white walker zombies.” Eddie stated.

“He’s right. We’ve still got 15 hit points left we can’t just give up now!” exclaimed Dustin.

“We got lucky last time, maybe we can have a luck of the dice again.” Mike suggested.

“Unlikely Mike. The Snow Queen has frozen my sword unbreakable and Gareth’s scepter. Without our most powerful weapons we’re fucked!” said Lucas.

“Hey!” I interjected.  The boys turned to me as I then spoke as Jadis, the Snow Queen.  The motherly-like tone that held an icy, chilling tone.  “While I commend your efforts to defeat me, it’d be wise to heed the words of your comrades. Come and stand at my side. You know you have no hope of winning this.” I extended my hand out to them and gave them a sinister grin with a lustful, hypnotic look in my eyes.

“One sec.” Dustin held his finger up to me before the boys came back into their huddle.  “What do you think Mike?”

“Who here has at least enough hit points to go against her?” asked Mike.  They were silent before Eddie said.

“I guess that’s me. But it’s only 10.”

“Alright Eddie. I know it’s risky as hell but you’re the only one with enough strength to fight. So it’s your call.” Eddie pondered before coming up from the group huddle and he sneered at me.

“This isn’t over until the last one stands you bitch.” My smirk widened.

“Foolish mortal.” I taunted.

“Eddie, are you sure man? There’s no shame in running.” Jeff said to him.

“If we don’t win this, the entire kingdom will be engulfed in an eternal winter. And I can’t let that happen.” He said to Jeff before holding out his palm. “Give me the D20.” I picked up his black and red dice and tossed it over to him.

Eddie brought the dice up to his lips and blew into it twice before slowly rolling it between his palms then really began to shake it up.  The boys gathered around him all waiting with anticipation and anxiety as their fates came down to this last roll.

Finally Eddie let the dice go onto the board.  It skipped and rolled across the board until it started to slow down and finally land on it’s number.  Unlucky number 8.  The boys exclaimed in disbelief and fear as my grin went wider and I did a few hand movements, bending my fingers or flexing them like a dancer’s before whispering.

“Frozen heart.” I then shot my hands outward and Eddie froze to where he stood before collapsing onto his chair.

“NOOO!! BEREN!!!” the boys exclaimed.

“Do not weep for him gentlemen, you shall soon join him.” I spoke as Jadis before speaking once again in my Dungeon Mistress tone.  “You soon feel an icy chill on your feet, slowly inch by inch ice begins to encompass up your bodies until each of you are nothing but frozen statues. With a few waves of hands, you all soon awake but all any of you saw was a vision of a world of eternal ice and snow. You all have now become part of Jadis’ White walker army. And have failed in saving the Kingdom from an eternal winter.” I then laughed as Jadis before switching off the lantern.  “And thus ends our winter campaign Hellfire.”

“Damn Roxxi, you really showed no mercy on any of us.” Said Dustin.

“Can’t have you boys winning all the time.” I shrugged as I turned on the main lights in the drama room and started packing everything up.

“Alright my little sheepies. Before we depart on our Winter solstice holiday, I’d like to make an announcement about next year’s campaign.” The boys all turned to Eddie giving him their full attention.  “I want all of you to prepare new character sheets by January 6th because this new campaign will be the biggest one that Hellfire’s ever known. For we are about to embark on the Cult of Vecna.”

The boys cheered and high fived each other all talking about the well-known history of Vecna and his cult.  I too was excited and couldn’t wait to help Eddie with this campaign.

“Happy Christmas you guys, see you next year.” I bid farewell as the boys all packed up their stuff before leaving the drama room leaving Eddie and I alone to place everything back for the holiday break.

“You really were a brutal Dungeon Mistress with this campaign my Queen.”

“You’re not the only one who can be cruel when she wants to in her campaigns. You have no idea how hard it took me to try and make sure that none of you was going to come out on top. The rewrites I had to do.”

“Well if I’m honest sweetheart, this was probably better than your Halloween campaign. I mean don’t get me wrong, you went above and beyond for Halloween. Far more than you’ve ever done. But this campaign…..” he let out a low whistle.  “You had me sweating my balls off.”

“A little too graphic there babe.” I grimaced.

“You knew what dating me would entail. Explicit language and innuendos.” I rolled my eyes and playfully shoved him with my shoulder as I walked past him but he quickly caught me by the waist and pulled me onto his lap as he sat down on his throne.  Our noses grazing against one another’s as he let out a soft moan.

I pressed my forehead to his before capturing his lips with mine in a soft, loving kiss.

“And I wouldn’t have you any other way my Lord of darkness.”

“Good to know I surpass Ozzy Osbourne in your eyes.”

“Please, Ozzy don’t hold a candle to you. Plus he’s way too insane for me. No offense babe.”

“He may be absolutely bat-shit crazy.” He eyed me on that pun to which I gave him a slap to the chest for the terrible reference.  “But the man in a music god.”

“I thought that was Metallica?”

“Don’t get ahead of me sweetheart.” God I love it when Eddie gets so passionate about his favorite musicians.  “So, shall it be the usual Christmas at the Munson residence?”

“Not completely. I’ve got something special for you and Wayne this year.” His eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas.

“What is it? Come on tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!” he pleaded as he bounced in his throne happily jostling me around before burying his face into my ear as he spoke as low as his voice could go, “Tell me.”

“Nah-ah-ah-ah. Not until Christmas Eve. Plus you and I still gotta decorate the trailer. We promised Wayne we’d help out this year.” Eddie groaned.  “Come on please. Please?” I gave him my best bunny face with cute nose twitch.

“You know I can’t resist the bunny face.” He pecked my nose.  “Okay, okay. For the old man.” I smiled and pecked his lips once again and we continued to clean everything up and pack up our D&D folders and figurines before finally shutting all the lights off and locking up the drama room for the winter break.

We drove into downtown Hawkins and gathered up the groceries for the Christmas dinner I would soon prepare for the Munson boys.  And with the recent rise in paychecks Wayne’s been getting, we got ourselves a decent 16lbs turkey.

I also gathered up some eggnog, beer, potatoes and gravy, and corn on the cob.  After paying for the groceries and as we came out of the store, we saw how the snow was beginning to fall.

“And just in time too. And thank god I got the essential groceries two days ago. Weather man was saying this could be our biggest snowfall of the Christmas season.” I said to Eddie.

“Well let’s get this stuff home and hunker down before the roads get too icy.”

“Yeah, with your driving we’d never survive.” Eddie gawked offended.

“Have I ever got us into an accident?”

“Yet. But there’s time, there’s time.” I felt a pinch to my butt as I let out a squeal before hitting Eddie in the arm.  Once we loaded the groceries into the back of the van, I took the cart back to the pickup area and got into the passenger seat as Eddie drove off.

“You’ve got snow on your hair.” Eddie chuckled as he reached over and took a strand of multi-colored hair and stroked the snow that had landed on the pink and blue parts of my hair.

“Both hands on the wheel Munson.” I gently reprimanded him as I pushed his hand towards the wheel and used the visor mirror to brush out the large snowflakes from my hair.

Once we got home, we unloaded the groceries and I packed them away into the fridge when I saw Eddie just standing in the middle of the trailer lost in his head.

“Eddie?” I walked over to him and took his arm which made him jump slightly and he looked down at me and seemed to relax.  “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare yah.”

“No you-you didn’t.”

“Where’d you go Eds?” I asked him.  He was about to argue but with a raised brow he sighed and said gesturing towards the trailer.

“This time of the year always makes me feel depressed. No matter how much Wayne works, we can only ever have a smidge of what a real Christmas is like once every few years. I can’t even remember the last time I decorated a Christmas tree. I see all throughout Hawkins how people can have these big trees, hell there’s one at the center of downtown every year for Christ’s sake!” he scoffed.  “But we Munsons……we don’t have that luxury.”

“Trust me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Putting up the tree and decorations may be fun and exciting but packing them up after the holidays. That’s where the fun stops. It’s a pain in the ass packing it all back up again and having to store it somewhere or just throw it away. Not to mention all the pine needles that fall from some trees, or the tinsel that you still find in your hair when it’s the middle of April.” Eddie softly chuckled.

“Still…..it doesn’t change the fact that I have to have the Christmas traditions and their seasonal looks shoved down my throat and I can’t do anything about it.” I leaned against his arm and rubbed his back.

“You still got Georgie’s number right?”

“Right on the side of the fridge, why? You know he’s not in Hawkins anymore.”

“I know but I was thinking. You were one of the best auto-mechanics he ever hired here in Hawkins. Maybe he’d give you a job in his new shop in Chicago. I’d find a job there as well and along with your night gigs with the band, we might be able to finally afford a yearly traditional Christmas that you’ve always wished for. We could even get Wayne to come up and enjoy it every year.”

“You think we should move to Chicago once we graduate?” he asked me.

“It’s an option. Do you not like it? Is it too specific?”

“No, no. Just—this is why you’re the brains and I’m just the arm candy.” He said as he nuzzled his nose against mine.  I scoffed softly and pecked his nose.  “I mean it. All I had in mind was just us getting the hell out of Hawkins in general. No destination, no plan, just you, me and the open road.”

“I don’t think I’d be cut out for full on open road life. At least not until you make it big as my metal rockstar.”

“By day I’m an auto-mechanic at Georgie’s Tire shop. But by night, I’m Eddie Munson metal God of rock.” I nodded as I softly laughed.

“Exactly babe.” I then felt Eddie pick me up and swing me around before setting me down.  “Now come on, let’s get the lights strung up.” I took Eddie’s wrist and lead him towards the storage closet where he kept the fairy lights that he’ll sometimes decorate for either a special ‘at home dinner date’ or for our pillow forts that is required at least three times a month (at least according to him).

Together we strung up the lights all over the living room and we also got into the old Christmas packages that were stored under the crawlspace of the trailer and brought out some of Eddie’s old homemade Christmas decorations that were made by Little Eddie.

You know those snowmen and mittens you used to make back in elementary school during the Christmas season.  Apparently Wayne was given some of those by Eddie’s mom back in the day and only until I had moved in and discovered them did I want them to also be put up around the trailer.  Even when Eddie gets embarrassed of having these things be put up on display, I think its adorable seeing little five year old Eddie’s first cutout snowflake and Christmas trees.

Once the decorations were all put up, Eddie and I stood side by side and admired our handy work.

“Not bad.” I complimented.

“Not bad at all.” Eddie agreed as he wrapped his arms around me as he stood behind me.  “Plus I think the old man missed having some sort of Christmas spirit in this trailer.”

“Really?” I asked turning to look up at him.

“Oh yeah. Told me how ever since you came along, the holidays seemed to seep its way into our humble little trailer.”

“I think he also once said at our first Christmas together of how you’d managed to stop acting like the Grinch.” I teased with a giggle.  I felt Eddie poke me in the ribs making me jump but he made sure to keep a firm grip around my waist.

“You’re lucky I’m feeling merciful tonight. But push my buttons any further and I’ll tickle torture you until the New Year.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.” He darkly chuckled into my ear as he brought my closer to his back.  I squirmed in his hold but he kept me close as I felt him kiss my neck trying to subdue me.  It would’ve worked too had it not been for the front door suddenly opening up and in came Wayne with patches of snow on his shoulders.

“Wayne!” I exclaimed as I pushed Eddie’s face out of my neck.  “You’re home early.”

“The factory decided to let us off early due to this snow storm. Been getting updates from every station that it’s gonna be a big one in years.” He said as he locked the door behind him and took off his winter gear.  It was then he finally took notice of the fairy lights we had stringed up and the decorations we had set up.  “Now it’s starting to feel like Christmas in this place.”

“Roxxi’s idea. And thanks to her quick thinking, we’ve got plenty of food to get us through the storm.” Eddie said as he rocked us from side to side.

“Thanks Roxxi. We don’t know what we’d have done if not for your organized preparations.” Wayne thanked me.

“You boys would be living off on canned food and beer. Growing men need more than that.”

“I get me by why include Wayne?” Eddie teased.  I elbowed him in the stomach making him let out a grunt.

“Eddie, behave.” I reprimanded.  “So Wayne, do you think you’ll be getting a few days off work due to this upcoming storm?”

“Who knows. I’ll get word about it from the office sometime tomorrow.”

“I think it’d also be best to just stay home even if they tell you to come in. The slippery roads aren’t worth driving, especially at night.” I advised him.

“I’ll keep that in mind Roxxi.”

“Now then, how’s about I make us some grilled cheese and tomato soup for supper?” I asked them as I got out of Eddie’s arms and headed over to the kitchen.

“Sounds good to me.” Said Wayne.

“I can go for that.” Added Eddie.  I gave them a nod before gathering the stuff I would need to make them what we all had agreed to have for the night.

Once all of it was made, we gathered around the dinner table for the first time in a few weeks since Wayne’s been doing some overtime lately to try and get that Christmas bonus this year.

“So, in case we do end up being shut in from the storm, what’s the plan for Christmas Eve?” asked Wayne.

“Well like Eddie said. Thanks to the babysitting money I’ve been getting from Ms. Mayfield and a few of the other trailer moms around here, the savings Eddie’s had since his work at the automobile shop two years ago, I was able to get us a decent size turkey. Figured we’d cook that up, along with some mashed potatoes and gravy and corn on the cob.”

“Sounds like the perfect Christmas meal.” Wayne praised.  “Think you can help out this time without burning anything Eddie?”

“I swear on Metallica themselves.” Eddie said holding up his right hand followed by crossing his heart with his left.

“If you do good this time, I might just take that ban off of you so you can help cook more food besides soup.” I told him.

“Walking on thin ice there sweetheart.” He threatened playfully.

“Don’t back sass her boy. Be thankful she gives you as many chances as she does.” Wayne told him.

“I’m just too nice I suppose.”

“Yeah haha, maybe I should ask the big guy in red to give you both lumps of coal in your stockings this year for your attitude tonight.” I giggled and wrapped my arm around his shoulders before pecking his cheek.  “If that’s your way of bribery my love, you’ll have to do better than that.”

“No bribes, just to let you know we’re both teasing. Right Wayne?” he nodded with a hum as he kept eating his dinner.

Once our dinner was done, Eddie did the dishes and put them up to dry and we all decided it was best to hit the sack since it had been a long week for all of us.

A few days later and after helping Wayne for a few days of clearing out the snow from the trailer when it would snow every couple of days in between and the big day finally arrived.  Christmas Eve.

And like every year when Eddie and I started dating I made my Munson men my grandmother’s special Christmas chocolate chip cookies.  Every year she always made sure to make a whole bunch of them for me and Steve.  Of course mother dearest always tried to make her own mother stop feeding me fattening foods but gran-gran was always one step ahead of her own daughter when it came to spoiling me.

“I swear babe, did your grandma put some sort of drug in these cookies?” asked Eddie as he had his fifth cookie.

“No drugs whatsoever. And don’t talk with your mouth full, you’ll choke.” I reprimanded as I bopped his nose.

“So Roxxi, about what time you thinking about cooking our Christmas feast?” asked Wayne.  I let out a soft hum before looking at the clock to see that it was just past 11:30.

“Well the turkey’s gonna be the longest to prep. At least I’ve been letting it thaw out since six this morning. I’d say about…..2ish. That way we can eat by 6-7ish at the latest.”

“Works for me. I can handle the turkey prep. You kids handle the rest.” We nodded then Eddie proposed that the two of us should head out to do one final snow day before the Christmas day crowding.  So he and I got on our winter gear before heading outside with Wayne telling us to be careful out there.

If you’d like to compare just how much snow we’ve gotten for this year; using Eddie as a measurement the snow that had been shoveled away to clear a path from our trailer to the cars was up to his knees. 

As for the rest of the neighborhood when the snowplows came through the road, the piles alongside the road were well past every trailer.  I’m told there’s even been a call for this area to have some construction trucks up in and take some of the snow away like how they do with dirt sometimes.

But whether or not they’ll end up doing it that’s up to the politicians, which usually means they won’t cause they’ve got other important things to take care of.  Eddie took my hand and led us towards the woods just behind Max’s trailer, or I should say almost dragging me to the woods.

“I swear you’re like Bambi when he saw his first snow, Eds.”

“Hey it should be a crime to lose their inner child when it comes to playing in the snow! And anyone who does….” He trailed off before releasing my hand and got a handful of snow and just shot it at me making me shriek.  Suddenly I felt a snowball hit my face.  “Is punished by the Lord of snowballs.”

I spurted out the snow and wiped it out from my brow before turning to Eddie with a harsh glare in my eyes.

“So, you think you can take on the Snow Queen, foolish mortal?” I said lowering my voice to the tone I had used at my Winter’s D&D session.  I readied a snowball in my hands and took aim before firing at him and managed to get him in the arm.  He let out a groan before exclaiming.

“A flesh wound! Nothing but a mere flesh wound your highness!” he ran towards a tree while I kept throwing snowballs at him, some getting him in the back but most I ended up missing him completely until he got to his shelter.  I took shelter behind a large snow covered bush and readied my arsenal with as many snowballs as I could.

“This be war foolish creature! Once this war is over, I shall be the victorious one and you shall join my army of the frozen empire!”

“Nay! It is I that shall be victorious and free all that you have ensnared ice witch!” Eddie’s voice cried through the woods.  We soon began throwing snowballs at each other as viciously as we could but then Eddie made a suicide attempt as he came out from his hiding spot and began to charge at me.

“A foolish maneuver. Attack my White walkers!” I then proclaimed as I imagined Jadis’ white walker army marching out to meet Eddie head on.  He maneuvered with skill pretending to decapitate each of them (the only way to kill a White walker) once he got close enough to me, he revealed a hidden snowball and threw it right at my chest sending me falling backwards into the soft powder of snow.

“Hear me now. Eddie the Banished have doth vanquished the evil Jadis the Snow Queen! And spared this forest from her eternal winter.” He said as he stood over me victoriously.

“You may have defeated me…..but I’ll—be…..back.” I playfully choked and coughed out before closing my eyes and lying still in the snow.  I heard Eddie chuckle and heard the snow crunch beneath him as I felt him hovering over me.  I opened my eyes and saw the gleaming look in his eyes as he looked down at me in pure adoration.

“Hi.” He greeted me.

“Hi.” I echoed back with a giggle as I reached up and brushed the hair out of his face.  “Really wish you had worn a hat at least. Your ears won’t be too happy with you later.”

“I know a girl that can warm them up later.” I playfully shoved his shoulder as he reached up and took my beanie off and brushed the tangles out from underneath the hat hair I would have.  “This tri-colored pattern really makes it pop out in the snow, especially the blue.”

“You don’t think I overdid it do you?”

“Hey, if it makes you happy, I’m happy sweetheart. Plus I think each of these colors represents who you are.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. The yellow tips represent your beautiful creative mind. Usually girls only think about makeup and boys and the current fashion trend. But you my beloved Elf-witch; you think beyond materialistic things. You create beautiful words and stories that I’ve only ever dreamed of. Which leads into the magenta middle, and since it’s part of the red family. It shows your fiery passion to achieve those goals. And you don’t let anyone stop you. And at the roots, this deep blue shows your empathy and maternal instincts towards those that need it. You will gravely defend those who are closest to you and won’t take anyone’s crap for it.”

“If you’re trying to win brownie points from me Munson, know that it’s working.”

“I’m not looking for anything. I’m just stating the facts.” He took a strand of my hair and twisted it around his index finger gently before letting it slide off.  “You’re one hell of a woman Roxxi Murdock. And I can’t imagine anyone else I’d rather be with.” I smiled lovingly at him before bringing him down into a soft, passionate kiss in the snow.

After awhile we both grew cold and decided it was time to head back and get warmed up before we’d prepare our Christmas eve dinner.  Once the time came around, the Munson men and I got to work at our stations and worked for the next couple of hours to prep, cook and set the table up.

Once the turkey was good and prepped, Wayne set it down at the center of eating table while I lit the candles and set down the mashed potatoes while Eddie set down the gravy.

“Shall we?” asked Wayne.

“I can lead this time.” I volunteered.  Now Eddie and his grandpa weren’t all that religious like most of the people in this town were.  And I had lost my faith shortly after being kicked out of my parent’s room but deep down I felt like every holiday there still needed to be a Grace spoken to bless the meal and this holiday.  So I was fortunate that the Munsons had allowed me to indulge in this small favor after them taking me in when I had nowhere else to go.

We sat down at the table and held hands with each other across the table and bowed our heads as I spoke.

“It hadn’t been easy this past year Heavenly Father, but somehow we managed to pull through and make it another full year. Bless this food and the hands that helped prepare it. Give us warmth, love and hope as we try to get through the remainder of this year and into the new year. Bless these fine men who helped me in a dark time and give them praise for all their hard work. In your son we pray, Amen.”

“Amen.” Wayne and Eddie softly echoed as we let go and ate our well deserved Christmas meal.  “Mmm I swear sweetheart, without you we’d be feasting on beer and bean dip. This is the best mashed potatoes and gravy I’ve ever had.” Eddie praised.

“It’s not that hard to mess up mashed potatoes and my granny’s recipe for gravy is pretty easy. But you gotta give Wayne the credit for the turkey. Not even my aunt’s turkey could compare to this.”

“The key is proper spicing and some good old melted butter.” He said as he took a bite of his turkey.

“And mixing it with some gravy is just as good, if not better.” Eddie said as he dunked his spoon into the gravy bowl and poured it over his turkey.

“Can’t argue with that. Now quit hogging the gravy Eddie!” I said reaching out for it but he pulled it away from me.

“Not here and now you two. Gravy’s delicious but it’s a nightmare to clean up if it stains the carpet.” Wayne warned us.  After that, we didn’t say much of anything else as we continued to eat and enjoy our Christmas eve meal together.

Once we were full and packed away the leftovers in the fridge, as Wayne went to go get our presents, I went over to his old record player and grabbed a Christmas record and placed it into the record player.  Soon the trailer was filled with the soft gentle piano playing of ‘The First Noel’.

Wayne soon came out with two wrapped presents and handed them to me and Eddie.

“Merry Christmas kids.” Eddie quickly unwrapped his gift and stared wide eyed as it was the new Iron Maiden album that had came out back in October.

“No way! Iron Maiden’s Live after Death album. Been waiting to get my hands on this for months!”

“Good thing you didn’t.” Wayne said as he took a sip of his beer and sat down on his chair.

“Thanks Wayne. Really I—thank you.”

“It was nothing boy. Jerry at the record shop owed me for helping him when he got that flat tire back in the spring.” I unwrapped my gift and saw that it was a couple of X-men and Daredevil comics that I didn’t have in my collection.

“Oh my god Wayne. This is…..these comics are almost nearly impossible to find. How did you…..”

“You’re not the only comic book advocate. I’ll teach you the network and how to get your connections to all the good stuff.”

“Thank you. Guess I’ll go next.” I stood up and jogged over to Eddie’s room to find my presents to them.

Boy I’ll tell yah it was not easy to keep these gifts hidden away especially from Eddie.  Guy always like to peek and poke around especially as the holidays get closer to see if any presents are hidden away.  But thankfully I managed to find a good hiding spot for each of them.

I pulled out the long rectangular one out from behind the dresser where Eddie keeps his hand-me-down guitars gifted to him by Wayne then pulled out the smaller box out from one of my old shoeboxes.  I came back and handed Wayne the small box while Eddie got the big rectangular shaped one.

I watched as both boys unwrapped their gifts and hold their gifts up.  For Wayne I did a handmade mug that I personally hand sculpted and painted myself with the word’s GREATEST UNCLE written across.  And for Eddie, I drew him his own personal Rockstar poster.  Him with his infamous Sweetheart guitar standing at the edge of a volcano with smoke, ash and lighting dancing behind him as he shredded on his guitar.

“While I was away at the rehab center, they had an art and pottery making class. So I signed up for lessons and made you guys those. Do you like them?”

“Roxxi this is about the best mug I’ve ever received. Thank you darlin. I’ll find a special place for this mug to hang on.” Wayne said.

“That mug there was the fourth one I had to make. The first two ended up having cracks after they were baked, and the third one got broken by my roommate.” I then turned to Eddie and reached out to touch his shoulder.  He slightly jumped and I asked him, “You okay babe? You’re pretty quiet.”

He set the charcoal picture down and grabbed my face before placing his lips firmly against mine.  I was shocked at first but succumbed to his kiss as our arms wrapped around each other.  After a bit he separated from me and said.

“Roxxi, is there anything you can’t do?”

“Changing a car tire and taxes.” He booped my nose and picked up the picture.

“I swear, this could be an actual cover for Iron Maiden or even Metallica.”

“Well, when Corroded Coffin makes it big, you can use this as your first cover album picture. I give you the rights to it.” He looked at me in awe.

“Sweetheart—”

“I’m serious Eddie. Take it and promise me you’ll use it one day.” I held out my pinkie and he softly scoffed but wrapped his pinkie around mine sealing the deal.

“I swear.” He kissed our interlocked pinkies before standing up.  “I hope you now know that your gift to me will be inadequate to yours.” He said disappearing towards the storage closet.

“You know what I always say! It’s not about the price but the amount of thought and care into a gift that matters.” He soon came back and handed both Wayne and I our presents.  I opened mine up to see that it was a new handmade t-shirt.

It was the same color pattern as everyone else’s Hellfire t-shirt but when I went to unveil in, across the front it read:

HELLFIRE’S MAMA FOX. With the D20 dice acting as the O and a proud nine-tailed fox standing below the lettering with it’s paw resting on top of the Tiefling’s head and each of the fix tails were on fire.

“Eddie…..”

“Put it on, I wanna see how it looks on you.” I set the box aside and put the shirt over my current one.  I gave it a bit of a stretch so that it fit a bit more before turning to Eddie and asked.

“How’s it look?”

“Perfect. And I don’t just mean the shirt.” I rolled my eyes at him before pecking his lips once more and thanked him again.

“A free admissions ticket to the Hideout for an all-night Happy hour.” Wayne said.

“Figured you and I could go together or something. We’re hard working men after all. We deserve some nights off, right babe?” Eddie asked me.

“Agreed.”

“Even though I can’t condone you both drinking underaged. I know there’s nothing I can say to stop either of you. But then again this town could care less about high school teens drinking underaged at times. How long till these expire?”

“We got till the end of the year to use them. Figured we’d go the day after Christmas?”

“Sounds good to me. Do you mind if I steal my boy for the night Roxxi?”

“He’s your nephew, I got no leash on him. I can man the palace whilst you two are on your quest.” And with the gift exchange now complete, the only thing left for us to do was enjoy a little Christmas movie marathon starting with the greatest movie of all, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Eddie and I were cuddled together on the couch while Wayne remained in his chair.  A glass of hot chocolate sat in front of us thanks to Wayne and I took my last sip of hot chocolate before cuddling close to Eddie and falling asleep somewhere during the start of A Christmas Story.

*Eddie’s POV*

Somewhere during our Christmas movie marathon, I felt Roxxi doze off against my shoulder and the second I heard her moan tiredly and snuggle deeper into my chest, I knew that she was now in that state between awake and deep sleep.

Very carefully I picked her up from the couch and took her into our room and set her down on the bed.  I covered her up and stroked the strands of hair out of her face, all while staring down at this gorgeous goddess before me.

I know I say this every time but this time there’s no question about it.  Roxxi is it for me.  She’s the only girl who I see being my endgame.  I want her to be the last thing I see before I go to sleep, the first thing I see when I wake up. 

She’s never once denied me of my dream to become a metal rockstar but she also encourages me to find roots before achieving that dream so that way we’re already on steady ground instead of going off of nothing.  After all she’s been through these last few years, she deserves a better life and I promised her I’d give it to her.  I leaned down and softly kissed her cheek and whispered to her.

“Merry Christmas Roxxi.” I soon shut the bedroom door behind me and returned back to the couch and let out a sigh.

“She really means that much to you, doesn’t she Eddie?” Wayne said.

“I still sometimes can’t grasp why she’d choose me out of any guy in Hawkins.” I told him.

“Because boy what you lack in ego and pride, you make up for in empathetic intelligence. You were the only one to stay with her when she had no one left.” I turned to my uncle and told him.

“She’s it for me Wayne. Once we graduate, I…..I’m gonna ask Roxxi to marry me. I know we might be too young but—I can’t wait any longer. She’s my wife and I want to make it official. Even if I can’t prove it with a ring, I still want her to be mine.” Wayne stood up without another word then went over to one of the cabinets and started rummaging through it.

I tried to look over to see what it was he was trying to find until he pulled a small black film canister out and came over to me.  He held out the canister and I looked at him confused.  He gestured for me to take it and I hesitantly took it.  I gave it a small shake and heard something rattling in it.

I popped the top open and turned it over and soon falling into my palm was a beautiful engagement ring.  I turned to Wayne in shock as he sat down next to me.

“This was my Mama’s engagement ring. Your paternal grandparents were married for 56 years. My mama gave me this ring hoping I’d find a girl to give this to. But as you know I’ve never been the one to settle down, and your old man would’ve sold this to get his next fix. But you Eddie, I see in you a man who knows what he wants. And if you believe with all your heart that that girl is a part of that dream, you give her this.”

“Wayne I—I don’t……this is……”

“Say no more son. But don’t give this to her until you both graduate. Let this be another motivation for you to get off your lazy ass and graduate.”

“Thanks to her I managed to pass my quarter classes, and get by with decent grades in my yearly ones. All that’s left is the spring term and then we’re done.”

“She’s good for you boy. Keeps you in line better than I ever could.” I placed the ring back into the film canister and pocketed it into my black leather jacket. 

This was never leaving this pocket, if I were to put it somewhere in my room I’d know either it’d be lost forever or Roxxi might stumble across it while cleaning up or reorganizing my stuff.

“Thank you uncle. For everything.” Wayne and I never really were much for sentimental feelings.  As men we just sorta—I don’t know just know when we love and appreciate each other.  But ever since Roxxi came into our lives, I guess I’ve been….wanting to show it a bit more lately.  Especially when Wayne agreed to have her live here after her parents kicked her out.

Hesitantly I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around my uncle and embraced him tightly.  I immediately felt his arms wrap around my back as we both gave each other a pat on the back.

“Merry Christmas son.” He told me.

“Merry Christmas, old man.” I told him giving him one last pat then separating from our hug.  “Think I’ll head to bed. Promised Roxxi I’d help make breakfast for you in the morning, don’t tell her that I told you that.”

“My lips are sealed.” He gave me a nod.  I nodded back before getting up and headed back towards my room and saw that Roxxi was still asleep.  This time she was on her stomach curled closer to the wall.  I walked over to her, got undressed and carefully got into the bed and cuddled close to her before falling asleep holding her in my arms.

Oh yeah, she’s definitely the one for me.  I hope the end of the school year comes faster than this first half of the year did.

[the-illiterate-pirate]

Tell Him that His Lonesome Nights are Over || Pt. 1

I decided on a two shot! Adding this one together with the rest of the story would be too long imo, and tbh I need to hit my fic quota for the month before it's too late. This chap is just story but dw, the next one will have all the good stuff 😏

This draft is like a year old please forgive me if my old style and my new style clashes together noticably lmao

NOTES: SFW, Fem!reader, Reader and Sandman eat jerky, Reader is said to have a large family, like huge like. Oh my god, keep it in your pants please. Tell me if I need to add anymore warnings!

I've added a reference to a song I enjoy a lot, think you can find it? >:3 probably it's very noticable

You'd felt his eye on you for most of the race. You didn't mind though. It wasn't a harmful look, more like one of interest. And dare you say it, you liked the attention.

Sandman was an attractive man, and he finished first in the last race only on his feet. (His feet! Against horses! How incredible.) It was flattering to know you'd caught the attention of someone so important to the race, but you didn't understand why he watched you so intensely. You were nothing important. You had only finished in tenth place. That was more because you got distracted helping one of the other contestants that had fallen into some cacti. If you truly had your mind on winning, there wasn't a chance you'd score under fifth place, and you knew it.

Maybe it was because you were a woman. You couldn't blame him for that. There wasn't another in the race. You stuck out like a sore thumb compared to all of the men that surrounded you. You had a bright red target on your back since you joined the race, but you didn't really care. You had one plan in mind, and you wouldn't let some misogyny take you off of it. But the woman thing was just a guess. Maybe the sandman saw something else in you.

What timing, maybe I could ask him tonight.

It was dark now, you had settled down for a night of rest. Earlier that afternoon those two riders Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli raced by, but they were the only two you found. It was late, your horse and you both were tired, and it was still early in the race, it wouldn't hurt to take your time getting to the finish lines.

You watch the dark headed man walking, rather than running, past your camp some meters away. You called his name, arm waving in the air in a gesture for him to come over. He was unsure at first, but he came over. Victory. The fire you had going sparked in his eyes and illuminated his sharp features in a way that made him look more charming than usual. He was beautiful in the firelight.

Settle down, now. You warned yourself.

"Hey! You are Sandman, yeah? Wanna rest those feet of yours? I got food and drink for two." You handed him one of your canteens. He stared at the offering skeptically for a second but decided to take it quickly after, downing it like it was the only water he'd seen today. The container was already half its original weight when he finally pulled away to thank you. You simply waved off the thanks. "You gotta be tired from all this running you're doin', why don'tcha stick around for the night? I don't mind the company."

Silence from the man. Then a soft, "How do I know I can trust you?"

"What? To not hurt you in your sleep? Hah!" You laughed, "I don't care about this race enough to hurt people over it. So I've got some competition, that just makes it even more exciting." You smile wickedly, the fire extenuating the color of your eyes for Sandman to see. You look down at your canteen, swirling the water around inside in a circle. "As for trust... I guess you just have my word." You look into his burning eyes. "I won't hurt you, Sandman."

He seemed to think about it. He took a slow drink from his canteen while he did. He swallowed before answering; "Today has been tiring. I'll take your word for it, so I'll stay the night."

Fantastic.

He sat across from you on the other side of the fire. A little too close to your horse for your comfort, but you brushed it off, he didn't seem like the type to hurt an innocent animal.

Only the fire crackling was heard for some time. You both sipped from canteens, washing away the thirst of racing across dry deserts. Just the image of dead trees and cacti in your mind made your cottonmouth act up again.

There were times you almost started a new conversation. Your mouth would open, but you were quick to shut it yet again. Sandman threw you a questioning raise of an eyebrow, but you could only look away in embarrassment at your inability to be comfortable in silence. Growing up in a big family would do that to you. There always had to be some sort of commotion going on in your house, and you'd grown accustomed to it in your years. The thought of being without your family for the next few months saddened you. You really missed it all. A nagging in your reprimanded the rest of you for being so homesick already. It hadn't even been a week yet!

Instead of striking conversation, you turned to your bag and opened it. This bag was smaller than the one that held your clothes (still on your horse) and was home to your toiletries, rations, a third canteen, and finally some elk jerky, made specially for you in your favorite flavoring. You tore off a chunk and began to nibble on the tough meat. The familiar taste brought you back to earlier times of traveling America with your big brothers, hunting for the best game the world offered. Simpler times, you missed it, and your brothers. But maybe now wasn't the time to be sentimental.

You weren't sure if Sandman would be interested in jerky. Did his people have jerky too? Was it wrong to assume otherwise?

"U-Uhm," The glare he shot made you jump just the tiniest bit. No one looked at you the way this man did. It was unnerving. But kind of exciting. You steeled yourself for your next question. "Do you like jerky? My brother's specially made it."

"Jerky." He quoted as he took the dehydrated meat from your hand and looked it over. "I haven't had any before the first race. I think it's really good." He took his first bite and was surprised with how tender the meat was. His eyes sparked at the flavor, mixing together in ways that made his mouth drool like nothing else. You breathed a triumphant breath through your nose. Your brothers win again. Best not to tell them that once you got home, though, all of their heads were big enough.

Although, those boys knew their way around an elk. Meat not too tender, with just enough chew. And the seasonings were to die for.

Sandman quickly finished his first piece of jerky and seemed disappointed that it was gone. He was pleased when you offered more. This time, he ate it slower.

"You mentioned your brothers made this... Do you have a lot of them?" The innocent question got a laugh from you.

"You could say that... F-Five. I... have five brothers."

Your answer must've made him inhale his jerky, because once the words left your mouth he spasmed and coughed like nothing else.

"Five brothers? How, how–?" You tried to smother your giggles, as not to interrupt him, but his face just then was too good. He seemed absolutely gobsmacked over it.

"Yeah! Five brothers and three sisters. We all chip in to help Ma and Pop at home, though. My three eldest brothers help my dad out with work while my sister's help Mom with the gardening and chores. It's pretty crowded but we made it work. We're doing well financially, but the prize money from this race could help us out a lot, that's why I joined... None of them could come though. It's kinda lonely, but I know I'll come back home to a happy family.

"...S-Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble. Do you have any family, Sandman?" He turned his sight at the fire before him, staring intently at the flames. You could see them dancing in his eyes reflection. "I have a sister," He started softly, then paused. Those intense eyes of his looked at you next as he thought over something silently. "My tribesmen have disowned me, so she's all I have left."

He fought against the urge to admit more and explain his situation. Like how with the winning money he would buy back his ancestor's land and save his people. There was something soft about you. Sandman wanted to trust you, there was something about you that made it hard to hate. Was it all just so you can trick him? If he decided to ride with you, would... would you use his trust against him to your advantage? He took his time admiring your features.

...No, he didn't think so. That look on your face, you looked so sympathetic towards him, someone you'd just met.

He decided he hated your full attention on him, he squirmed underneath your gaze. To push your attention away from him, he nodded his head towards the shadows on the far side of the fire. "Your horse, what's their name?"

"Oh! That there is Boom-Lay Boom. But my family's taken to calling her Diamond Eye." The sudden attention to your mount had you excited and jumping up from your seat to walk to her side. She was a fine mare, you'd had her since your fifteenth birthday. It was then you truly learned how to care for a horse, you'd done just about everything for her, all except change her shoes, to this day you were still nervous of hurting her hooves. And at this point you were pretty sure you'd grown a mental connection to the girl. You were as thick as thieves.

"Your horse has two names?" Sandman asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Why not?" You asked back, raising your own. Sandman laughed. And at that moment you decided Sandman's voice was wonderful to listen to. You could hear him speak all night if he would. You'd enjoy it more than your mother's music.

"She's a beautiful steed." He said while he began to stand, coming towards you and Diamond Eye.

"Aw, did'ja hear that, Boom-Lay? Sandman says you're pretty!" You cooed and coddled the horse, running fingers through her mane and up her jaw. She simply snorted at you. You heard Sandman chuckle from his spot on the other side of the mare. His hand was raised, gently petting the side of her thick neck.

It was then you decided that he and you had connected on some level, just like you had with Diamond Eye. Maybe not as deep, yet, but it was a great start.

[didiersdragon]

hi hi! i'm alive! quite inactive due to life but wanted to pop by and drop this little lava plus jake as their son and kid unagami fic that i had planned to make a multi chap out of but i don't think i'll be able to finish so i thought i'd at least have the first chap posted here for anyone who would like to see it!! huge thanks to @articalextraordinaire for betaing this one <3<3 anyways here ya go! its not much but hope the read was worth it!

Today was supposed to be one of the best days of his life. He woke up at 8 am from the sun shining brightly through the window. He didn't even whine and try to get more sleep before his dad came to wake him up, no. He jumped out of bed himself, brushed his teeth, did his own hair, dressed and got his backpack on all before breakfast! Even Uncle Zane was surprised! His dads were confused! But they were still proud of him! He only needed a little help from Auntie Nya to tie his shoelaces.

What’s the special occasion? Uncle Lloyd was finally taking him to work with him! And Uncle Lloyd did not have just any regular job, no. He had the BEST job in all of Ninjago. He was the Green Ninja! And Jake was so excited to be able to hang out with him for the day.

It was supposed to be the best day ever.

But one call from Uncle Lloyd made it all come crashing down.

"But dad," Jake whined, "Uncle Lloyd promised he would take me with him to work today!" 

His dad Cole gave him a sad smile. "That was before there was a prison breakout at Kryptarium- which is not the safest place for a kid, Jake." He said, as he prepared to go help Uncle Lloyd. “I’m sure Lloyd will take you with him another day, he always makes up broken promises.”

That did not stop Jake’s sad pout though, it only made it worse. “Kryptarium break outs are so cool! Maybe I could see Pythor or UltraViolet- or maybe even Killow! I wish you could take me with you. I love watching you guys kick butt!”

That made Cole laugh. “I know you do, little man. But we don’t want anything bad to happen to you and those villains won’t stop at anything to make sure they hurt us by hurting you.” His dad ruffled his hair lovingly before he reached over where he sat to grab his hammer. 

Jake nodded understandingly. But it only eased how upset he was a little bit. "Then, what am I supposed to do today?" he whined, as he grabbed his dad's hand and shook it. He knew he was being a bit too much because he understood that his family had a responsibility to protect Ninjago. But it was the weekend! He couldn’t waste the weekend!

Cole paused in gearing up to turn his attention to his son. He smiled as he crouched down to meet the boy's height, which was not entirely successful because his dad was a giant. "Well, we asked a couple of friends to take them with you to their work today! I think you'll like them. They're heroes themselves, you know?" 

That had caught Jake's attention. Heroes other than the ninja?

"Who is it?! Is it another elemental master? Auntie Skylor? Oh! Is it Queen Vania? Or King Benthomaar?! But wait, I can't breathe underwater.... Is Auntie Pix giving me my own underwater suit-"

"Okay, okay. Calm down, kiddo." His Papa Kai chuckled as he came into the room, lowering himself down next to his husband. "Getting a little too excited over there, bud."

Jake flushed, scratching his head. He couldn't help it. It was so cool to be able to hang out with the amazing people that helped his dads save Ninjago once upon a time. Sure, he’s already met a lot of them and sees his aunts and uncles more often than not. But that’s when they’re just his aunts and uncles and not when they're being superheroes. There is a difference!

His Papa flicked his Dad's forehand, causing Cole to lose his balance and fall on his butt. Which led both Jake and Kai to laugh. After getting himself together, his Dad continued, "well, it's not any of them. But we can definitely reach out to them another time!" 

"This time, though, you'll be hanging out with some of Ninjago city's very own local heroes."

"Who is it?!"

"The Paper Boys!" 

Jake frowned. Those aren't heroes.

And he said so, making both of his dads hum. 

Cole straightened up to stand as he spoke, "You may think that at first but," He put his hands underneath Jake's armpits and picked him up as he stood, making the boy squeal. "They're possibly some of the greatest heroes Ninjago has ever seen." 

"Really?" Jake gasped.

"Yup! They even saved Papa once!"

Kai nodded as he got up as well. "It's true. I would've been a goner if it weren't for them diving into the canal to save me when Kalmaar came to get the storm amulet." He shivered a bit, "Doesn't bring up good memories, for sure."

Cole moved Jake to his hip and wrapped his other arm around his husband, bringing him closer. "Thankfully, we're all safe and together. They've done a lot for us," he turned to Jake, "They're immovable and have always held down the fort when all seemed lost. If you think our adventures are cool, wait till you hear about theirs."

Jake was hooked now. He had met them once before but never knew just how much they had done for Ninjago. He felt excitement well up as he hung onto every word his fathers said about the paperboys, slightly shaking with excitement.

"When can I go?" He asked, louder than he meant to. But his dads’ only chuckled.

"How about right now?"

"YES!"

Cole smacked a big kiss on both of their temples before putting Jake down. Kai took the boy's hand and they both went outside the monastery. His dad followed shortly with a backpack with everything they needed from the weaponry. 

Outside stood a girl with short hair next to two bicycles. One was occupied by herself while the other looked like Jake's own. It was one of the paper boys, he remembered seeing her around the city. She seemed cool. Was her name Anastasia?

When they came to a stop in front of her, Kai took the chance to introduce them, "Jake, this is Antonia. Antonia, this is our son Jake." 

Jake raised a hand to wave but hid slightly behind his Papa's leg. "Hi, Antonia." He wasn't shy! She was just...a little intimidating. 

But that changed when she smiled and gave a wave of her own. "Heya, Jake! It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from your dads."

Jake looked up at his dads at that. Cole rubbed a hand behind his neck and chuckled, "I tend to get carried away talking during patrols." Everyone laughed at that. Cole turned to Jake. "Antonia here is going to take you with her and show you what the paperboys do. You stick close to her at all times okay, little man? And don't cause too much trouble for them!"

Jake nodded enthusiastically, "I promise, Dad!" He had already started hopping his way towards the bicycles when he was pulled back by his Papa.

"Jake," Kai dropped down on one knee and grabbed Jake's shoulders. The boy straightened up when he saw the serious look on his father's face. "Don't go running off somewhere without one of them. You know Ninjago city as well as us, so you know just how dangerous it can get in a blink of an eye. You got your watch on, right? You remember how to send out a signal?"

Shrugging to shake the backpack he had on, Jake nodded. "Yes, Papa. I have to press the side button three times and it sends Auntie Pix my location! I even have everyone's phone numbers written down in my notebook, pepper spray, a map, water and the taser-flashlight Uncle Jay got for me on festival day."

"Say what now?" Both parents said in unison.

Kai shook his head, "Whatever. As long as you know how to use it safely." He sighed, before he gave a crinkly eyed smile that made Jake smile in return. "Have fun today, alright kiddo? I'm sure Uncle Lloyd will make today up to you when he can." 

Jake jumped into his Papa's arms when he opened them and snuggled in to savor the warmth that radiated off of him. "I know. I'll be careful. I love you, Papa."

"I love you more, my little lava monster."

"Hey!" Came from Cole before he swooped both his husband and son into his arms. "Don't leave me out of the party."

They all laughed. Jake melted into the hug. There was absolutely no place in the world he felt more safe and loved in than in his dads’ arms. His dad squeezed them both and finally let them down when his papa started elbowing dad.

"Well, we got to go help the others out at Kryptarium Prison." Kai said. He patted his hand on Jake's head before he continued. "Take good care of him for us, Antonia. If anything happens, call us first, okay?"

She gave a mock salute. "You got it, boss." Then she turned to Jake and gestured towards the bicycles. "C'mon! Don't wanna run late for your first day with the paper boys!" 

Jake was excited. He gave his dads one more hug to their legs before he ran to gear up. 

"So," Antonia started as they buckled in their helmets. "I'll give you a run down of what we'll do and everything when we hit the road, that cool?"

"Yup!"

"Awesome! Also, someone else might be joining us. Nelson already went to get him, I hope that's alright with you?"

Jake nodded again, but asked, "Who is it, though?"

Antonia grabbed her bike as she spoke, "It's someone you've definitely heard of. His dad promised to give us a sneak peak of the new game he's working on in exchange for us showing the kid around."

"New game? Are they new here?" 

She shrugs. "The dad isn't. Kid is."

"Huh?"

"You'll see. C'mon, now. If you're ready, let's head out."

"Right!" Jake grabbed his bike and with a final wave to his parents, they both started to make their way down the mountain. He was excited to see what the day held and also curious about who this person is. Someone he's heard of but was new here? His dad makes games? Well, he'll see!

-

Cole and Kai waited at the gates until they could no longer see them before they went back inside. The parents worried about their curious son but they had to help their friends. Right as they were about to get in their vehicles, their comms crackled to life.

"Uh-guys?" Lloyd's voice came through. "How far out are you? The Mechanic's got a hold of some of the buses and a bunch of escapees are heading towards the city. We got the commissioner and the police ready to intercept them outside the city limits but they'll need some backup."

With one shared glance they were already in their vehicles and hitting the road. "We're on our way, Lloyd. We’ll try to intercept them before they reach the city but tell the commissioner to hold the line just in case." Kai replied.

"You got it. Stay safe, guys."

Soon after, Cole's voice came in, the concern palpable in his tone as he said, "Kai, should we tell Antonia to take Jake back to the monastery? I'm worried about him. "

"Me too, Rocky. But don't worry, I trust Antonia and Nelson. They'll make sure nothing happens to him. Besides, we'll make sure they don't make it anywhere near our son."

[tippenfunkaport]

WIPs Status Update

I am fairly confident no one cares what I am up to, but I haven't done one of these in ages so I figured I should.

In Progress Fanfic

Outlaws of the Whispering Woods

This fic is on temporary hiatus because I'm working on finishing it as part of the @wipbigbang. Participation in that event means I can't update that fic again until the posting period starts on September 8th BUT that once that posting period begins, I should have both art for the new chapter as well as regular updates through November until the fic is done which should be exciting. 

That said, there is still like 60k ish to go in that story so if it looks like I'm not going to be able to get it all done in time, I might swap it out for the Chipped Glimmer fic which has also been languishing in WIP hell because it's shorter and easier for me to get done on time. I'd prefer to use the event as a kick in the pants to finish OotWW, though, so we'll see.

Prince Glowyn the Fourth

This fic is 100% complete at last, I just have one chapter left to post and will be doing that sometime within the next week.

Going There

Just about four years after I started it, Going There is finally done as well! (Literally just finished it today!) "Done" in this case means I finally rewrote the back end and filled in the missing connecty bits I never wrote the first time so everything's written, it's just going to take me an unknown quantity of time to edit and post each of the chapters. But less time than rewriting it all took so I expect those last few updates to come fairly regularly once I get them started.

Coming Home

I have always said that I wanted to wait to continue this fic until Going There was done so now that I have finally finished it, the sequel can get my attention more regularly again. That said, with everything going on with the WIP Bang, posting the rest of Going There, running the Big Bang and posting my own Bang fic (plus, like, all the other IRL stuff i have to do this summer), I really don't anticipate getting it updated anytime before the fall at the earliest and even then who knows.

Also, because this is my last in-progress canon fic I'm not in a huge rush to get it out there, I'd rather take my time with it, so I'm fine with that timeline. It'll get updated when it gets updated.

Area First Ones

In my head, this is episodic and while i have five chapters written, I have some things I want to add in between so it's not as simple as just cleaning and posting those. So basically, this one will be one of those fics I update when I update here and there with no set timeline other than my whims.

Coming Soon!

My Big Bang fic is called Horse Girl Everyone and it's the long awaited Riding School AU! 

That one is going to be longgggg and basically never-ending and episodic (seriously, we're over 50k words and while Catradora have been circling each other for chapters Glimmer and Bow literally only just met and you KNOW how I feel about Glimbow). I was hoping to write enough in advance that I could do some kind of regular update schedule at the start but because I'm also running the Bang and having some annoying medical stuff going on, I think that's not happening.

I've written a ton in advance, don't get me wrong, I just don't see myself having time to revise it all and post weekly with everything else going on. But we'll see!

Anything else?

Well, yeah, lots of stuff but it's not fandom related so I can't tell you about it. ;-) Though maaaaybe I might have the chance for some of you to help me beta some of my original stuff in the near future if you're willing so keep an eye out for that.

I'm trying to have less things in progress at once so, though I have other fanfic projects in various states of completion, I'm purposely not going to even think about posting any other multi-chaps until GT and OotWW are done. 

One shots and shorts? Yeah, I'll be throwing those up randomly as the mood strikes, you know how I roll. I'm eyeing up the Domaystic 2024 prompts to see which ones call to me right now.

So I have other stuff planned for later but I'm not even going to tease it because we'll see how everything shakes out.

This year has actually been absolutely horrible health wise but weirdly productive writing wise so it's been a mixed bag but at least nice to get some stuff done!

[blackbat05]

Exploring

Rick Flag x Reader

A/N: Can be read as continuation from previous fic - A beardful! Also this gif🥹

Genre: PG-13

Notes: Baby Robin explores the Flag Residence on workout day.

At 3 years old, the youngest in the Flag family was naturally curious, wandering off the moment eyes were looking elsewhere.

Today was workout day, which meant that every member of the family - including his favorite uncle and aunts were training at the underground facility that Papa build.

Little Robin toddles towards the shed, pressing the big red button that his Mama always pressed when she bought drinks for everyone.

Entering the big silver box, Robin sees many circles on the wall. Which one should he press? He goes straight for the button lowest and the easiest to reach.

The silver box whirs to life and starts to bring Robin downwards. The box opens and Robin sees a light down the hallway. That’s where must Papa must be!

As fast as his legs could take him, Robin enters the room.

“Hello Robin!” He sees Aunt Cleo at the table, observing Sebastian running on the mini treadmill that was specially designed for the rat. “How did you come here?”

And so Robin finds himself being the “trainer” for Sebastian as assigned by Cleo to make sure that Sebastian doesn’t slack. “He’s been eating too much cheese.” Cleo tells him.

Cleo gives him a bag of dried apples after a job well done. “Bring this to Mama ok?” As Robin sets off to find his Papa.

He continues to walk, turning right to the next hallway. Another door! Papa must be there. Robin tip-toes to grip the handle but without much success. Then, the door opens.

“Heya little rugrat!” A familiar pale face stares down at him. “Come to see me on the ropes?”

Robin feels himself lifted up and placed into a chair to watch Aunt Harley do a mind boggling routine on the ropes that were attached to the celling.

Achieving a perfect landing, Robin laughs, clapping his hands wildly.

“Aw!!! You’re the sweetest cherry little birdie!” Harley chirps. Then it hits her. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be with Mama?”

Robin blinks at his Aunt Harley.

“Oh!!! You’re here to look for Flag! Well then! He’s just down there! Gotta go now!” And with that, Aunt Harley’s ponytails swish behind the doors.

Robin toddles down further, entering the next room he sees.

Uncle Robert’s at a weird looking contraption with handles for him to pull blocks attached to the string. Robin always knew that Uncle Robert is strong.

“Now how did you get down here little chap? And what’s this?” Robert finishes his set of weights, pointing to the bag of dried apples that Cleo gave earlier.

“Papa.”

As always, Robert is able to understand what Robin wants with few words.

“Your old man’s coming down shortly. I’ll stay here with you until he comes least you’re up to no good.” Robert lifts Robin up, taking him to the seat that was within his sight.

“Guess you’ll just have to be with me for now.”

***

“Damn it!” You cursed internally, briskly walking towards the shed. You should have known better the moment your baby boy could stand on his two feet.

Dusting the flour from your pants, you pressed the lift button repeatedly. Reaching underground in record time, you entered the first room to see Cleo cleaning up Sebastian’s treadmill.

“Hey Cleo, have you seen Robin?”

“No, I have not.” Cleo scrunches her face in confusion. “I thought he went back to find you.” She sees the worried expression on your face and quickly changes her tone.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he hasn’t gone far. I can get Sebastian to find where he is.” Cleo switches on her light, summoning Sebastian and a few other rats to go on the hunt.

The two of you hurried down the hall, calling for Robin.

As you make the turn, you bump into Harley who was blasting pop rock on her earpiece that you could almost hear it from a mile away.

“Heya Mama! Whatcha doing here too?” She says a little too loudly. But you caught what she had said.

“Robin came down here too?”

“Yeah, must have been looking for Flag. Hey, where is he though?”

So in a condensed version, you repeated the same thing to Harley and off the three of you went, looking for a misplaced toddler.

You almost tore parts of your hair out upon looking at another dark room when-

“You sneaky munchkin! He’s alright Mama! Just here hanging out with the man crew.” Harley hollers down the hallway to attract yours and Cleo’s attention.

Breathing a sigh of relief, you sped down the rooms to meet Harley standing outside.

“Robin, where have you been? Mama’s was worried-” You came to a stop, the rest of the words forgotten. In front of you was possibly the most cutest and ridiculous sight you ever seen.

“Eighteen… Nineteen… and, twenty!” Rick completes his pull-ups in quick succession with Robin safety fastened to the baby carrier that your husband wore.

“Up! Upppp!!!” Robin pleads with his Papa, chubby legs wiggling in the carrier. Rick wipes his sweat before removing Robin carefully from the carrier. “Let’s take a break first bub.”

You decide to make yourself known.

“So that’s where you are!” You smiled brightly, opening your arms as Robin clumsily runs into your arms. “How was workout with Papa?”

“Workout, was amazing. Right buddy?” Rick gives you a kiss on the cheek.

“Ya lady here almost lost her marbles when she couldn’t find Robin!” Harley saunters up beside you.

“Nothin to worry about,” Rick flashes one of his signature grins that you fell in love with in the first place. “Just two of us spending some man time together right?”

Robin giggles, detaching himself from you to latch onto his father’s leg once more. You swore you could see Rick melt a little.

Picking Robin up, he bobs his nose playfully. “Alright mister, for making Mama worried, your gonna have to take a bath!”

Robin squeals at the mention of a bath.

“You’re not going anywhere Mister!” Rick has a firm grip on Robin who tries to worm his way out. He comes to your side, careful to keep your baby out of earshot.

“After him, it’ll be your turn with me.”

[wakaoujisenhime]

Aomine, kise, and Akashi with their s/o using their safe word? Maybe a short fic for each?

A/N: you got it (•̀ᴗ•́ )و …also please excuse my lack in creativity concerning the safeword, I sadly had no better and serious-sounding one than ‘RED’ .-. and I wrote this from a fem!reader’s perspective since I wasn’t sure which one you were referring to! Make sure to get back at me if you wanted it from a different perspective!! ♥️

Tags/Warnings: smut (18+!!) ✅ rough sex (in form of insufficient prep) ✅ ❚ overstimulation ✅ ❚ BDSM play ✅ shibari/bondage ✅ use of blindfold ✅ spanking ✅

━━━━☆ ━━━━☆ ━━━━☆

Kise:

You knew that you should’ve insisted on talking with Kise.

The moment he came home you could already guess that something had happened and that his mood was down in the dumps. Usually, he would grin at you, hurriedly throw his shoes and jacket away, and then proceed to shower you with kisses, but today was different…

Today he’d come in and pretty much whispered that he was home, his movements were pretty sluggish, and even when you’d ran up to him the smile he gave you was barely noticeable. You were pretty quick in understanding that something had happened, so you immediately asked him about it, but he just shook his head in denial and reassured you that everything was alright and that you shouldn’t worry.

You decided to let it go for the time being and see how the evening played out, but unfortunately for you, there was no progress. Eventually, you decided to use your plan B: getting the truth out of him with sex.

He was one of those types that first needed some buttering up before they were ready to spill the beans and one of many ways - and the quickest - you succeeded in doing that was through bodily intimacy.

You had wrapped your arms around his neck from behind and started kissing his neck, whispering sweet nothings along his skin. It took a tad longer than usual for him to relax and indulge himself in your caresses, but things eventually took their course, and within a matter of minutes he’d taken over.

It felt amazingly good at first, the way his gentle hands roamed your body, exploring, experimenting, observing your reactions as he searched for your weak spots. The way your breath hitched when he began to play with your exposed nipples, paired with the slight tremble of your body as he let his fingers slide along your skin fired him up.

He’d soon gotten on top of you and while his mouth and tongue were busy pleasuring your chest’s sensitive buds, his fingers were preparing your lower body for what’s to follow…and that’s when it all went wrong.

Usually, he’d take his time to prepare you thoroughly with his fingers and his mouth. The way he enjoyed the slight thrashing of your body when he intentionally rubbed his fingertip against your g-spot never failed to make him smile proudly and your sweet moans when his tongue’s tip circled your puffy clit was the cherry on top. Next to making you feel good he also teased you occasionally. You like it like that, right? Hm? Is it here (Y/N)-cchi? You’re so cute you know that? You never told him, but his words never failed to increase the already intense pleasure you were receiving.

But today, after making out with you for a short while, he’d laid you down on your bed, raised your shirt up, freeing your breasts that he then kissed and pinched a few times before shifting his attention to your lower body. Once your panties were off you watched him lick two of his fingers and proceeded to stretch you, only problem was that after what felt like half a minute he pulled back and began unbuttoning his jeans, seemingly ready to move on.

You tensed up a little and tried to analyze the meaning of his rather absentminded facial expression. Many thoughts crossed your mind, such as him planning on having dry sex with you or just using his cock to get you wetter, but as soon as you felt his tip against your entrance, your mind went blank.

One of your hands stretched out towards the young man’s chest, planning on pushing him back a little, but a sharp pain made you freeze up on the spot. With wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, you looked up at the ceiling as you felt the painful way your walls were being stretched apart. Your free hand took a tight grip on the bed sheets, while the one on Kise’s chest ended up scratching his skin and even managed to draw some blood. All of these wordless pleas went unnoticed, your boyfriend’s attention was elsewhere but despite that, he didn’t stop thrusting his hips back and forth.

The pain gradually faded away but didn’t disappear completely and slowly but surely it became unbearable for you. Despite wanting to groan in pain, you bit the inner side of your cheek and began stuttering: “R-Ryou, wait please!”

Your voice was hoarse and slightly raspy from forcing back your pained moans so it barely managed to reach the young man’s ears. After vainly trying for a few more times you needed to resort to more drastic measures, so you moved both of your hands up to Kise’s face, taking a tight hold of his cheeks.

“Kise Ryouta! Red!”

The combination of his full name and the safeword both of you had agreed upon just in case, finally succeeded in catching his attention.

His eyes widened slowly as he realized what was going on. You're tensed up and slightly sweaty body beneath him, the pulsating pain in his chest, the almost painful tightness of your rather dry walls, and the most agonizing image for him: your pale face and slightly reddened lips.

Panic contorted his earlier calm facial features and he immediately pulled out, causing you to hiss at this unexpected motion.

“Oh my god, (Y/N)-cchi, I-I’m so so sorry, I–…god…h-how could this happen? W-What did I…what did I d-do?”

The tremble in his voice caused him to stutter as his shaking hands ran along your body in order to make sure that he hadn’t hurt you in any other way. His fingertips barely made contact with your skin, because he was afraid of touching you in some kind of way that could harm you any further. It was obvious that your usage of the safeword had shaken him up, even more than you’d expected, but this was your only option at that time…

With a sad smile, you took his hands in yours, brought them up to your lips, and kissed his knuckles, the sudden gesture making him flinch.

“Ryouta…do I now have your attention?” you softly asked, your kind tone moving him to tears as he ever so carefully embraced you and started apologizing multiple times. The earlier pain might not have been completely gone, but that was secondary, now you caressed the blond head that was buried in the crack of your neck, wet tears dripping down from your collarbone to your chest. In between your lover’s sobs you silently reassured and lectured him about how he shouldn’t go along with your antics if he wasn’t up for it.

When Kise had calmed down he finally raised his head to face you, his snotty and tear-stained face making you smile, as he once again begged for your forgiveness, promising you that the next time his mood was off he’d talk to you about it instead of bottling it up. Knowing that he was a man of his words you nodded proudly and gave his lips a tender kiss.

“Now then…ready for a second attempt?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Aomine:

Being Aomine’s lover was like a rollercoaster ride, at times he could be the person of your dreams while on others he was an unbearable asshole. Even though his attitude managed to make you see red ever so often, it also made your sexual life spicier.

He was a beast in bed, who managed to push you beyond your limits every single time. There was no such thing as can’t for him.

You can’t get into a certain position? He’ll make sure to mold your body into the position he wants you to be, regardless of how flexible you are or aren’t.

You can’t take his teasing anymore and want him to penetrate you? Sorry sweetheart but you’ll have to wait until he’s up for it and until then you’re free to beg and whine about it, providing him with further music to his ears.

You can’t hold your orgasm back any longer and want to cum? Telling him that is a bad move really because the moment he hears that he’ll grin to himself and stop all movements, wait for your body to calm down despite your numerous pleas, and resume only when he’s confident that you’re far away from reaching your high.

And it was precisely because of these past experiences that the two of you had agreed upon a safeword that you were to use only when things went too far. Both you and Aomine were confident that such a time wouldn’t come, until today…

While you were folding the laundry, your lover was in the kitchen, finishing up the dishes you’d more or less had to force him to do. Upon remembering his pouty face you couldn’t help but giggle to yourself, not noticing the tall young man creep up behind you with a mischievous grin.

“Got you!” he called out as he wrapped his arms around your body and pressed himself towards your back. You were caught off guard for a split second but decided to indulge his playfulness as a ‘reward’ for doing the dishes, but your lover unexpectedly took your well-meant intention out of proportion…

“Daiki…w-wait!” you manage to stammer out, your shaky hand gently slapping against the back of the bigger hand that’s hooked around your rib cage. Without fulfilling your request the man behind you keeps the thrust of his hips steady, as he palms your left breast and kneads it.

His slightly chapped lips run along the slight curve of your neck and pepper it with sloppy kisses. You flinch as you feel his other hand slide down your body, heading straight for your clit, and without wasting another second, starts massaging it.

Your vision gets blurry as you feel his rough finger mercilessly draw circles on your already sensitive bud and your moans grow louder as he bottoms out deep inside of you, the slapping of his balls further amplifying the squelching noise echoing in the room. All you can do is cling to him as you feel the knot inside you slowly tightening and dreading to burst any second from all the ministrations.

“You gonna cum?” he asks in a low whisper while nibbling on your ear. You bite your lower lip and nod multiple times as you squeeze your eyes shut and ready yourself for your orgasm.

The moment your walls squeezed down on Aomine’s shaft it made him shudder in pleasure and groan out a silent that’s it as he slowed down his hips’ thrusts, letting you indulge in your orgasm. His deep blue eyes fondly observed the way your body twitched and the slight tremble of your thighs against his own made him tighten his grip around you. While you were still trying to recover from the intense wave of pleasure that had shaken you, you felt how your boyfriend’s cock hardened inside of you, but before you could call out to him, the man took a fistful of your hair and pushed your face down on the pile of folded clothes before you.

He resumed his earlier thrusting speed, but thanks to the slight change in positions he managed to hit the entrance to your womb every single time his hips collided with your soft behind. Truth be told, when Aomine saw you - the person he loved so much - cum that hard by his hands it flipped a switch inside of him. The young man was usually holding many of his kinks and desires back out of worry for the consequences they’d have on your body, but right now all these worries had disappeared and were replaced by a single thought.

I’ll give her an orgasm that will mess her up

You felt an enormous weight push your back further into the mattress, your legs were spread apart, pulled back, and trapped beneath muscular calves. Something told you that whatever was about to happen it wasn’t going to be pleasant, so before your lover began you reached back, searching for his hand and whispering out his name in a slightly trembling voice.

Whatever your intention was, it was completely ignored by your boyfriend, because the moment he heard the silent call of his name he began to downright fuck you as if there was no tomorrow. Your eyes widened at the fast speed at which you were spread apart and the way his body had pinned you to the bed provided you with further friction that made you tear up.

You wished you could say that it felt good, but that might have been the case on another day where you hadn’t cum as hard as you did a few minutes ago. Right now you were in pain. Every thrust forward made your stomach tense up painfully, while each graze of the bedsheets against your abused clit made you jump; you were just so sensitive from before that anything Aomine did, made you shudder and jump as if he was throwing ice-cold water at your burning skin.

Even when you loudly pleaded with him to wait or stop, he seemingly didn’t hear you and kept going. So with not much of a choice left, you tried pushing yourself back against him, your safeword escaping your lips. ”Aomine, stop! Red! Red!“

And just like that all of his movements seized almost immediately, the weight on your back was lifted in an instant, and you were carefully pulled up right into the man’s muscular arms. He didn’t have to say anything, the tight hold around your sore body was enough to get the message across.

You relaxed against his chest and let your head drop on his shoulder as you finally granted your body a well-deserved break from all the over-stimulation. Only when you felt better did you wrap your arms around him.

“…’m sorry (Y/N)” he mumbled against your head in an unusually regretful and pained tone. Having you use the safeword the two of you had agreed upon was something neither of you thought would happen and now that it did, it was quite shocking.

You closed your eyes and planted a soft kiss on his neck, your hand moving up to the back of his head and gently ruffled his slightly sweaty hair.

“It’s ok Daiki, just…just let me rest for a bit next time before going all out like that, ok?”

He leaned back to look into your eyes and sniffled silently, before nodding a few times and giving you a peck on the lips.

Akashi:

Being as perfectionistic as Akashi was in nearly everything proved to be good in certain situations, though truth be told, the young man had bettered himself and was now less hard on himself than before, mainly thanks to you.

In the first few months of your relationship with him, everything was going perfectly well, including your sexual life. He was very attentive and always listened to any worry or topic you had on your mind, not only that but he was also very quick to pick up whenever something didn’t sit well with you. The best example of such a moment was when you’d first started having sex with each other.

Everything was, as expected, perfect but as time went on you felt like something was missing. It just wasn’t enough, you thought and it took you a while to bring it up and when you finally did things turned out to be unexpectedly different.

“Just use the safeword whenever you feel like it’s becoming too much for you or when you’re uncomfortable or anything of that sort, ok?” he softly asks as he tightens the last knot of the red rope around your body, watching you nod in agreement.

The young man took a few steps back to admire his handiwork and deeply breathed in as he pulled out a thin black fabric from one of the shelves. His slender and slightly rough hands brought the fabric around your face and before robbing you of your vision completely, he wanted to confirm the safeword one last time.

“What do you say when you want me to stop?”

“…red” you answered in a silent but firm voice, your response earning you a gentle kiss on the nape of your neck before everything went dark.

The silence and darkness that surrounded you, made you so nervous that you could practically hear the way your heart thumped against your bosom. Your breathing quickened and caused the ropes to practically bore into your skin with each lift of your chest. When you felt the gentle hands of your beloved trail down your back it made goosebumps adorn your skin and you slightly shivered at the prickling sensation.

Just as you’d gotten used to it, the warmth left your back and with your heightened senses, you listened to the faint steps of the red-haired young man who yet again turned around to pull something out of the drawer once more. While Akashi was doing that you tried to get a better feel for the ropes that were constraining your movements, so you wiggled slightly.

“I don’t remember giving you permission to move around now did I?” you heard a low voice mutter behind you and before you could apologize you felt something cold hit your exposed butt. You yelped out in surprise and instinctively attempted to raise your hand to cover your mouth, but the ropes stopped you mid-movement, their rough structure leaving faint marks behind.

After that failed attempt you began to take slow but deep breaths, ignoring the tight feeling surrounding your body. That’s when you felt the object Akashi had spanked you with touch your back and trace your spine’s curve with the leathery surface.

“I trust you’ll behave so that I don’t have to do that again” he cooed next to your ear, kissing it gently while eagerly awaiting your response.

Being in control was nothing new to the young man and it usually didn’t mean much, but now that the person he loved was at the palm of his hands, leaving both their vision and body entirely to him gave him a new sense of power he’d never felt before. His hands were trembling with excitement and just the mere thought of all the possibilities that this little play had in store for you made the tent in his pants feel tighter than before.

Not receiving an answer for that short while during which he fantasized about the upcoming pleasure and sweet pain he’d provide you with, made him a tad impatient, so he brought his arm around your body and teasingly tugged on the knot between your breasts while his other hand lifted the black leather belt from your back and prepared for another spank.

“So you’re not going to answer, huh?”

spank

You tensed your muscles and bit your lower lip as you felt the object hit your buttocks for a second time, but instead of the same tingling sensation from before it hurt, and whenever the cold air around you made contact with your reddened skin it burned so bad that it knocked the air out of your lungs, leaving you behind panting and gasping for air.

Mentally you were still stuck at the first time he spanked you, his unexpected words and the surprising roughness he treated you with were still stuck in your mind.

Was that really the same Akashi who treated you like a delicate flower during your first few times? Did he use his entire strength or is he still holding back?

Question after question poured into your mind, but before you could speak one of them aloud you were slapped yet another time.

“You must be really feeling it if you’re defying me for that long”

N-No…i-it hurts

You clenched your fists and let your nails dig into the ropes around your hands to try and cope with the pain and the way he played with your nipples wasn’t helping.

“S-Sei…w-wait”

“Hm? What was that my dear? I think you might want to speak up a little, or else I won’t know what you want” he said in a playful tone, positioning the belt on your bruised skin.

“N-No, Seijuro please!” you begged, body thrashing around, disregarding the slight sting of the ropes. You felt his gentle arms protectively wrap around your body as he leaned his chin on your shoulders and said: “(Y/N)…we agreed on something, didn’t we?”

His voice was silent but carried a certain amount of sternness that made you freeze up and look down in shame. Through gritted teeth, you whispered out the safeword and remained motionless as your lover began removing the ropes around your body. Much to your surprise, they were tighter than expected, so the moment they were loose enough for removal, you felt your blood circulation resume its course without disruption, making you feel a little weak on your knees.

“It wasn’t that hard now was it, (Y/N)?” Akashi asked as he carefully removed your blindfold and walked around you, now facing you. He let his eyes glide up and down your body, regret distorting his facial features.

“I-I’m sorry Sei, I just…I didn’t want to back out because it wa–”

“You don’t have to apologize, I know” he interrupted and caressed your cheeks before finishing what he intended to tell you, “but I told you to use our safeword if something wasn’t to your liking, didn’t I?”

You nodded and apologized to him, but you were still not looking into his eyes, only when he lifted your chin with his finger did your eyes meet. With a small smile, he gave your lips a soft kiss and smiled. “Just make sure to speak up next time, ok? I’ll never be mad at you or anything if you do…this is why we agreed on a safeword after all, right?”

A wide grin adorned your lips as you nodded energetically a few times and wrapped your arms around the neck of your boyfriend, relieved and happy that you worked it out.

[ks-dreams-fantasies]

I don’t know if you’re taking requests or not and I don’t want to stress you out so it’s ok if you don’t want to do this but could you maybe write a fic where vinnie takes care of the reader when she’s sick because the one where the reader took care of vinnie was so cute

"You'll get sick" - Vinnie Hacker

Hey guys, so sorry I’ve been MIA, I hope you can forgive me, but here’s a cute Vinnie fluff. After writing about Vinnie being sick, I got a lot of request to do another one, this time exchanging the roles. I feel like Vinnie would be such a simp and he would do everything in his power to make his girl feel better. Hope you enjoy 😘

Warning : None

Word Count : 1.1k

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The sound of your phone ringing woke you up, making you growl lightly. You had barely 3 hours of sleep into your system since you weren’t successful to have a good night sleep last night due to the fact that you were sick.

You tossed and turned all night trying to get comfortable, but your body was so sore you couldn’t find a position that would allow you to fall asleep. Your runny nose and your dry cough didn’t help either. Your new kitten had woken you up 30 minutes after you finally were able to fell asleep and now it was Vinnie requesting to Facetime you. You extended your hand, reaching for your phone answering the call

‘Hey baby” Vinnie said smiling widely ‘Where are you? Let me see your face” you hear him chuckle lightly as you growl. You moved the phone closer towards your head, finally showing your face to your boyfriend. He couldn’t see you properly since the curtains kept your room dark.

‘What do you want?” you asked groggily, tossing in your bed slowly, your kitten looking at you.

“Whoa, someone’s in a bad mood. What are you still doing in your bed? I’m usually the one sleeping in late, you’re the early bird” he said teasingly

“I think I’m sick” you replied, coughing, moaning softly

“Awnnn poor baby” he pouted, making your inside warm from how cute he was being “I’ll be right over, love you”

“No baby, I don’t want you to get si-” you didn’t get to finish your sentence as Vinnie had already hung up the phone. You sighed at the fact he didn’t want to listen to you. Vinnie had always been there for you, and he was super affectionate, giving you all his attention when you needed it. He hated to see you get hurt or not feeling good, so he always made sure he could be there to help you get through it.

About a little bit more than half an hour after his call, you could hear your kitten meow asking to be fed. You groaned, getting up from your bed, walking slowly to the kitchen where the kitty bowls were. As you turned on the faucet, you heard the giggle of keys in the door, indicating Vinnie had arrived. Hearing the water running made him turn his head towards you.

“Baby, what are you doing up? You should be in bed” he said coming towards you, dropping two bags on the counter tops.

“No Vin, you’ll get sick” you responded stepping away from him before he grabbed your arm gently, bringing you closer to him as one of his hand went to your face, putting the strand of hair that felt on your face, behind your ear.

“I don’t care” he shrugged making you shake your head lightly “Now let’s get you back into bed, I bought a bunch of stuff to help you get better” he said stepping towards the bags as you coughed.

“Baby you shouldn’t have” you pouted before yawning, Vinnie walked back towards you taking your hands in his before smiling down at you.

“What about I run you a nice bath so you can relax and after that I’ll rub your feet with some Vicks and then we can cuddle.” He said as you smiled “How does that sound beautiful?” he asked, caressing your cheek

“I don’t deserve you, you’re too good to me” you whispered as Vinnie placed a small peck on your chapped lips. He grabbed you hand and lead you towards the bathroom, lifting you up, your body resting on the counter. He turned on the water, filling the bath and adding a eucalyptus scented bath bomb.

“Will you join me?” you asked pleading him with a small pout

“Of course, baby, let me help you.” He put you down, the two of you discarding of your clothes as he helped you get in the hot water. You both sat down, comfortably, your back resting on his chest as he pressed his body closer to yours. You felt yourself relax in his arms as he caressed your shoulder lightly. Later, you turned around so that Vinnie could rub your feet. It felt like heaven. He was always so careful and caring, you couldn’t help but smile at him.

“I love you” you said softly

“I love you too baby” he responded smiling down at you

You’ve sat in the tub for another 30 minutes before Vinnie got out, asking for you to wait before getting out. He came back a few minutes later fully dressing with some extra clothes of his in his hands.

“Here you go baby, I put the clothes in the dryer so you could stay warm” he said putting some joggers and baggy shirt on the counter before helping you out of the water, drying you off with a hot towel. You got dressed and went back into your room, where Vinnie had lit up a few candles, he had put on one of your favorite movies and a bowl of soup was waiting on a tray along with some medicine on your bedside table.

“Vin, you’re the sweetest, I-“

“Shhh baby, come on get in bed so we can cuddle” he said sweetly as he cut you off. You got into the covers, Vinnie handing you your soup before getting in himself.

Once you finished eating, you wrapped your arms around your boyfriend’s torso and he put his arms around your body, pulling you closer. The warmth of his body consuming and comforting you. You continued watching your movie in silence and soon enough Vinnie could hear you snore slightly, indicating you had fell asleep.

He chuckled before kissing your forehead sweetly. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world. You were always so nice to him, so it was no question for him to do the same for you. He loved taking care of you and making sure you were alright and happy.

He felt your kitty jump on your bed, making its way towards your head laying down next to you on the pillow. The sight was so cute that Vinnie decided to snap a quick picture of the three of you, posting it on social media.

Taking care of my sleepy girls today

After posting it, his DM’s were filled with messages of girls in awe, envying and wanting to be you. But Vinnie didn’t care about them because he only had eyes for you. He felt you move a little bit, tightening your grip around his body, still asleep. He smiled sweetly before kissing the top of your head.

“I love you” he whispered before falling asleep next to you.

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Thank you for reading

Hope you like it, let me know what you think

-K

Taglist: @chesca-791, @pearlkitten33

[write-orflight]

Settle Down: Prologue

**Gif Not Mine**

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Pairings: SpencerXReader (kinda enemies to lovers) 

Rating: M

Words: 2.5K

Warnings: None, will be smut in eventual chapters

Request: OPEN/CLOSED

Summary: Y/N and Spencer don’t get along but turn to each other for the one thing you need someone else for... A baby. You can plantonically start a family, right?

A.N: this is a bad bio but idk how else to put it. it’s a baby fic! I wouldn’t say this is enemies to lovers but they certainly don’t like each other at first so it kinda is. comment on this chap or message to be on the taglist. much love, Cia

                Prologue:  A Powerpoint, Really? 

If you had told 16 year old Y/N that she’d be working at the FBI, she would’ve called you batshit. 

Not only, did you not have any respect for authority or any inclination for rules in that matter, working for the FBI was never in the forefront of your mind. But when given the option of Jail or a full time job with benefits, it was fairly easy to make a choice. You remember the first day when you met your work partner and now best friend Penelope Garcia or specifically the day she caught you. 

You were waiting tables like you did every weekend to stay afloat. Today was unreasonably slow so you were just finding small things to do. That’s when she came in, an extremely brightly dressed woman, sat at the bar of the diner. 

“Hi, how can I help you?” You smile at the woman who looks up at you and smiles. 

“Yes, I’m looking for the Emerald City.” She says, smirking at you. Your face drops, you knew what she was talking about. 

When you started hacking it was only supposed to be a one time thing. You grew up poor, spent most of your life poor so when you saw your childhood home was set to be demolished to build a fancy new headquarters for Scotty Realins, an upcoming asshole tech CEO, without a cent going to your parents.  Something in you snapped. You had already been pretty decent at code and you flirted with a couple of guys in your STEM classes to learn how to hack so you would say you were pretty good at this point. So you hacked into the website and made sure all the Revenue for that day actually was wired to lower-income housing. At the end of the day, it was only a couple hundred thousand dollars but what was pennies to Scotty Realins changed some people's lives. 

So you started doing it more, to different companies under the pseudonym OZ. The money always went to different places that needed it whether it was paying the rent for a bunch of families or anonymous large donations to food banks or soup kitchens. You gained a bit of fame in the hacker community as a modern day Robin Hood. 

All good things come to an end though. And the end was standing in front of you in clunky, rainbow colored jewelry. 

“You don’t look like a cop.” you say, crossing your arms. 

“I’ll do you one better.” She says, pulling her FBI badge out, showing it to you briefly. You curse under your breath. “I’ve been following you for a while, OZ. Though I wasn’t expecting the man behind the curtain to be a woman. I will say, having my computers route back to a loop of “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” everytime I tried to track your IP was impressive. I couldn’t even be mad about it.” 

“Clearly not that impressive because you found me.” 

“Still took me longer than usual, which is saying a lot.” 

“This is a really long winded conversation if you’re just here to arrest me.” You say, taking off your apron. No use in keeping it on if you were going to be in handcuffs soon. 

“That’s because I’m not here to arrest you. I’m here to offer you a job, to work under me as a Tech Analyst in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI.” Penelope says. 

“And if I don’t want to?” 

“Then you’re going to want a lawyer and my very good handsome friend outside is going to arrest you. You’re smart and you have a chance to help people which is why you started hacking in the first place, right? Please don’t make me do that.” She looked at you pleadingly like she really cared and didn’t want you to go to prison. You didn’t say anything but something told you she’d been in the same boat as you before. 

“Hmmm…. I’m tired of waiting tables anyway.” 

So you uprooted your life and moved from Philadelphia to Quantico. Garcia took you under her wing and pretty soon the two of you functioned in her batcave like a well oiled machine. You could do without the constant gore that filled your screens but at the end of the day, you loved what you were doing and you wouldn’t change that for the world. 

The team was an added bonus, it was nice to have your own little found family. Garcia, of course, taking on the role as best friend mere days after your first meeting. You met Derek Morgan right after you agreed to take the job, he’d been there to arrest you and was very glad he wouldn’t have to do that. He told you often about how you reminded him of his sister and he regarded you in the role of younger sister from that day on. The next person you met had been Aaron Hotchner, your new boss. It took him a couple of weeks to warm up to you, you guessed he had a difficulty trusting new people and when he would call you guys for information he would always ask for Garcia instantly instead of you, not very trusting in your skills yet. Though that changed when you had been the one to track down the Unsub once. 

Rossi was easily won over when you told him about your Italian side of the family, specifically your grandmother who loved to cook and left you a lot of recipes. You and him often went back and forth in sharing dishes. Emily and JJ had also been easily won over with one bottle of tequila and a regrettable girls night. 

Then there was Dr. Spencer Reid.     

You had a lot of opinions on Dr. Reid, most of them weren’t good. It wasn’t like you hated him in fact, you’d consider him a friend but the two of you seemed to butt heads on well, everything. Both of you needing to be the smartest in the room and neither of you wanting to admit when you’re wrong will do that though. You still respected Spencer though, he was an extreme asset to the team and he was your best friend’s other best friend so you couldn’t really hate the guy. 

You also didn’t have to like him. 

So you had a good job, good friends, a nice house to live in. You were finally happy, content even. So why did it feel like something was missing? 

The something missing came in a stroller pushed by JJ the next week. 

The last case had been rough. Really rough. So while the team was on their way back you and Garcia hatched a plan for JJ to come visit from maternity leave and surprise everyone with the baby. While you guys were waiting for them to land, Garcia wanted to show JJ something she had gotten her godson so JJ asked if you could watch him and feed him until she got back, which you obviously agreed to. As you were feeding the child his bottle, and his ravioli sized fist wrapped around your finger you realized what had been missing. 

Fuck, you wanted a kid. 

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

You told Garcia first, it slipped when she noticed how off you were being. You wanted to have a kid bad now and you knew you didn’t want to wait. Penny tried to convince you that you’d “find the right person” but let’s face it, with this job, long term relationships were few and far inbetween. Plus you didn’t need a man, you had a good job and insurance, you knew you could provide a child with a life full of love it deserved. So you made an appointment at a fertility clinic. As the doctor was talking to you about your options, you felt yourself feeling more and more down about your decision and that only increased as you looked in the book of sperm donors in front of you. You looked at too many serial killers daily that it made you uneasy, carrying a stranger's baby. Maybe Garcia was right and your best bet was to wait for ‘the right guy.’ Even though you really didn’t want to. 

You walked into work later, a little sullen. Heading immediately towards the coffee machine. Penelope, who had been at Derek’s desk, makes a beeline towards you.  

“So how’d it go?” She says, smiling. “Did you make an appointment to be baby-fied?” 

You sigh. “I couldn’t do it, Pen.” You say, frowning. “I just-- We see so much here that I don’t want to accidentally end up with a sociopath’s baby because I couldn’t wait.” 

“But you don’t want to wait, do you?” She says softly, empathizing with you. 

“No, I don’t.” You sigh again, finishing making your cup before walking back out into the bullpen. JJ had brought Henry again for the others to see on the slow paperwork day. You tried not to look bitter but it was like she was flaunting the one thing you couldn’t have, even if it was unintentional. You watched as she handed the baby to Spencer, who instantly smiled and made faces at the laughing baby. 

“Spencer is actually a surprisingly good godfather.” Garcia says, smiling at the exchange in front of you. “Kinda makes you wonder what he’d be like with his own baby geniuses.” She says before walking over to the group and scooping her godson out of Spencer’s arms, Spencer still held on to his fist with his pinky, smiling down at the child. 

“Yea…” You say, to no one in particular. 

You had an idea. A probably bad one. 

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

You were sitting in the coffee shop, nervously fiddling on your laptop while waiting for Spencer. You were surprised he even agreed to meet with you for coffee though you were sure he was just doing it out of curiosity because you told him you had something important to talk about. You weren’t even sure if you were going about this the right way. Hey Spencer, I know we’re not even friends but how would you feel about fathering my child? God, this was going to be terrible. 

You looked up when you heard the tell-tale bell on the door indicating someone walking in. Spencer gave you a small wave before going to the counter to get a coffee. You took that time to nervously sip yours. Your heart was beating a mile a minute, it was now or never. 

“Hey.” Spencer says, when he finally gets to the table, coffee in hand. “Why are you all the way in the corner?” 

“This isn’t really a conversation I want overheard.” 

Spencer tilts his head confused at that. “So what is the conversation we’re supposed to be having. I asked Garcia but she seemed to also have no idea.” 

“Yea, I didn’t tell her on account of this maybe going extremely bad.” You say, before sighing and turning your laptop around so Spencer could see the Powerpoint screen you have on it. When he reads it,  he chokes on his coffee.

“A Powerpoint, really?” He chokes, still coughing around the coffee. “Y/N, what is this?” 

“This is Reasons Why You Should Make a Baby With me.” 

“Yea, I got that from the title, Y/N.” He says, still shocked. “Is this a joke?!” 

“I wish it was, Reid.”

“Can I at least ask why you thought a Powerpoint was the best way to ask?”   

“Because I felt you’d be more inclined to consider it if you knew I spent time on a presentation.” 

“That’s true.” He leans back, taking a sip of his coffee, gesturing for you to continue. You hit the next slide. 

“Ok, reason number one is we both want kids.” You say, looking at him. “Garcia told me the other day that you were talking about how much you wanted a kid and I also want a kid.”  

“I did tell Garcia that.” He muses. 

“Reason two, an offspring between us would probably result in another genius. As you know, you are smart.” 

“Yes.” 

“And I am smarter.” You say, Spencer opens his mouth to protest but you keep talking. “A child between us could probably be the next Einstein.” 

Spencer nods and you continue. “Reason three, I’d be a great mom.” 

“That’s a debatable fact.” 

“No, it’s not. You’ve seen me around kids, have I ever given an inclination that I wouldn’t be?” You ask, he shakes his head. “Plus, I happen to think you’d be a great father. Which brings me to Reason 4.” You say clicking through the next slide. “If you don’t want to be involved in raising that’s fine. I’m perfectly fine raising the child myself an--” 

“What?! No!” Spencer says, sitting up. “If I do agree to have this baby, which I’m not completely doing yet. I want to be involved, I want them to know I’m their father and that I didn’t abandon them because I know what that’s like.” He says, seriously. You nod, already knowing this about Spencer. 

“Reason 5: I’d be the perfect platonic co-parent, I won’t ask you for anything unless it’s pertaining to the child and if you decide that later down the road you want your own family, I’d be supportive and help you along the way.”

Spencer nods. “We’re never home enough for a baby.” 

“That’s where you’re wrong because I’ll be here. I mainly stay here anyway and if there’s ever a case where you need a tech analyst to fly out, Garcia’s already agreed to have it already be her when I floated the baby idea around last month.”  

Spencer hummed, silent for a second. “You really want a kid, huh?” 

“Yes.” You say. 

“So much so you’re asking me?” Spencer says, matter-of-factly. “A Coworker you barely speak to?”

Well, when he says it like that. 

“Yes. I’m asking because while we don’t get along the best you are still one of the most compassionate, understanding men I know. And I know that if I have to raise this kid with somebody, you would love them just as much as I would.” You say, Spencer nods at that. “So, please?” 

Spencer sighs. “When’s your next appointment? At the fertility clinic?” 

You didn’t even want to ask how he knew about that. “Next tuesday.” 

He nods. “I’m going with you.” He says, standing, pulling the strap of his messenger bag over his shoulder. “This isn’t a yes.” 

“It’s not a no, either.” You point out. 

“No, it’s not.” He says, leaving you behind in the coffee shop with a huge grin on your face.

Taglist: @moonshinerbynight​ @crimeshowtrash​

Message/reply to be tagged!!

[apinchofm]

First Kiss

From chap.29 of this fic

"Hey," Diana greeted Colette who sat in the chapel in the village near Sept-tours. Gallowglass was stood near the entrance, guarding as always.

"Hey, Marcus finished prodding you?" She said, helping Diana sit down on one of the benches. Colette liked coming here, how peaceful it was. A respite from the chaos of Sept-Tours.

"Yep, not long now," Diana replied, "I just want to keep them in here," She said, rubbing her stomach as she felt them kick. It was easier, almost with them inside of her. When they were small and safe. No creature could get to them.

"We will protect them," Colette assured, "And when you put the book together, no one will mess with you. They would be foolish to."

"Aye, if they wanted to mess with the de Clermonts before, they'd have a tougher time doing so now." Gallowglass agreed.

"How are you feeling today?" Diana asked and Colette smiled sadly.

"Better. Thanks," Diana held her hand in comfort.

"I'm sorry. I wished Goody didn't...sacrifice herself for me." Diana said.

"My grandmother knew it was going to happen. She always knew, as did I. It just hurts a lot more than I expected," She replied.

"You always have a place with my family and here. I'm sure very few would oppose that," Diana looked to Gallowglass who rolled his eyes. She and Matthew, as well as his step-father and Emily, were always hinting at his affection for Colette. But she was young, only twenty-one years old and grieving. The last thing she needed was the intensity of a vampire's affection.

"Ysabeau has been very kind. I admit, I thought she would want to tear my throat out when I arrived," Colette said, oblivious to the vampire looking longingly at her. Diana hid a smile underneath a cough.

Her firedrake suddenly appeared, surprising everyone as it didn't usually appear unless Diana called out loud for her. Little did they know that she now knew how to communicate telepathically with the firedrake.

"Corra!" Diana feigned annoyance and turned to Gallowglass, "Do you mind? She's more excited as I get closer to the babies being born." He nodded and left the church to catch the bird.

"Is Corra okay?" Colette asked, concerned.

"Oh, yeah she's helping you out," Diana said, but the younger witch tilted her head in confusion, "You like him. It's obvious."

"We're friends." Colette insisted.

"He likes you, really likes you, " Diana said. Colette's eyes widened and she looked back at where Gallowglass was attempting to catch the firedrake, who enjoyed toying with the vampire. Despite his speed and strength, it was hard to catch the magical bird.

"Oh! Really?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah." Diana said, "We've all kind of been dropping hints because he's not the best at this. Fernando said the only other person Gallowglass willingly followed around like this was his father. He's not exactly the relationship type, but according to all the gossips in this family, he's never looked at any woman as he looks at you."

She thought of how he followed her everywhere, kept a special eye on her. Why Ysabeau and Baldwin were so nice to her.

"Eric!" he turned confused to see the witch running towards him. He looked around, worried that something was wrong, but she was smiling.

"What's the matter?"

She leaned up and kissed him softly, surprising him but he happily kissed her in return, before she shyly pulled away. She didn't know the protocol for kissing a vampire, but he didn't seem to not like it.

"Oh, that was nice," Gallowglass stuttered out. For once, he didn't know what to say. First time in 1,600 years.

"It was." Colette agreed, and he leaned down and kissed her again

Diana smiled at the two and looked down at Corra who had settled down next to her, "Good job," She squawked happily in reply before going back inside her mistress.

[howlinchickhowl]

2021 Fic Year in Review

@captainjowl tagged me this morning, and also @squidyyy23 ​ a little while ago threw my hat in the ring, sorry squid - I know I’ve seen your name somewhere but also there is some real joy in calling you squid I hope you don’t mind - I’m working my way through my mentions! 

So, without any further ado, let’s review... (you took a rumour a few, maybe two people knew etc etc I’m a nerd ok let’s all turn our eyes away and pretend we do not see it)

Total Number Of Completed Works:

5 on a03 + 3 little tumblr only ficadees

Total Word Count:

60,926

Fandoms I’ve Written In:

Shameless (US)

Looking Back, Did You Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected?:

I started the year expecting to write no fic, so, on balance I’d say a lot more.

What’s Your Own Favorite Story Of The Year?:

This is tough! I love them all in their own way. The other day I reread Love, Like a River and I actually really like that one. It changes day to day, but today it is maybe that.

Did You Take Any Writing Risks This Year?:

Posting a WIP, what if I run out of steam?? (I have no plans to, but what if, you know?) 

And also I feel like gunpowder onto liquor was something of a risk for me, it was kind of experimental and florrid, had no like, purpose? really? was based off a spoken word poem, was formatted like a 19 chapter behemoth despite being really just a decent sized one-shot. I don’t know entirely what I was thinking, but it was one of those projects that just took me over and demanded to be written that way. If I was more skilled in the visual arts I would love one day to make some kind of multi-media version of it, but I think that might be one that just lives in my brain. 

Do You Have Any Fanfic Or Profic Goals For The New Year?:

Finish Ristretto, that’s project number 1! And then I have a few ideas in my little planning doc that I would like to hope I can do in this next year, but time doth fly. 

Most Popular Story Of The Year?:

Difficult to know what metric to use, but if we go by hits-per-unit on ao3 (because multi-chaps have naturally more hits because people are coming back to read the next chapters) it is far and away Song of the Hearth. And that is also the one that I have seen people recommend out in the wild so I think that is probably right.

Story Of Mine Most Under-Appreciated By The Universe, In My Opinion:

idk I think I’m pretty fortunate in the amount of appreciation my work gets shown. Maybe Found Wanting, but it was my first shameless fic while I was still getting my bearings and before I knew anyone, so it makes sense for it to be the least read/kudosed/whatever. And I haven’t read it in a while so maybe it’s no good! 🤷🏻‍♀️

Most Fun Story To Write:

I am really having fun writing Ristretto. I love silly flirty idiot boys and I am giving myself plenty of opportunities to write that shit right now. Also 13 mugshots[...] was a lot of fun, I remember feeling very dumb and gleeful while I was writing that. 

Most Unintentionally Telling Story:

I don’t know if I’m self-aware enough to know. You tell me?

Biggest Disappointment:

Missing self-imposed deadlines, even though I know in the grand scheme it doesn’t matter at all, it bothers me to lose a goal. 

Biggest Surprise:

How I apparently write fluff and happy stuff now? I haven’t written for fandom in a long while and in previous incarnations I have always considered myself a glutton for punishment. I’ve never been into angst necessarily, or at least not angst conjured solely for the fic, but the beauty of anguish has always appealed to me and characters who suffer have always been like magnets to me. So to show up at Shameless which is so ripe with opportunities to luxuriate in agony and then just, roll around in the marshmallows instead, that was a shock for sure! 

My Favorite Part Of Fandom This Year:

Being in it! I haven’t actively participated in a fandom for about 6 years and it has been such a joy to jump back in and get involved again, get to know people, make new friends! And we’ve all said it many times but this corner of the internet is such a haven of friendliness and openness and supportiveness and joy. I have loved going from total newbie happy to be noticed by even a couple of people to established clown ushering in the new wave as they arrive. I have loved watching new writers/creators shy about sharing their work being bolstered and enouraged and gaining confidence and finding their voices. I have loved watching people jump onto ideas offered by others and collaborating together to create something (this is an aspect of fandom I have only really seen here, the ease with which people just start vibing together, the complete willingness to share ideas and ‘yes, AND’ the post, elsewhere I find people are quite territorial about their ideas and their ‘things’, here it’s just like, yes, join me in my madness. I am begging you! So yeah, my favourite part is all of it. I don’t care if that’s cheating. 

Once again, this was going around when I wasn’t here a lot so I don’t know if you have done it already, but I would love to hear from @catgrassplantdad @sunoficarus @iansfreckles @unbridgeabledistances about their year of fic writing 🙃

[tsumuniri]

━━━ Atsumu Miya is a free-loader. Living inside his twin brother's home as if it was his, he would bring home girls and annoy Osamu most of the time. Y/N L/N is quite the opposite apparently because she's a virgin loser. Being the popular anonymous BL mangaka known as Yamazaki, she stays in the homey abode of her parents and watches boys from afar for references (not for admiration sadly).

Now what will happen if fate decided to tie these two idiots together and made them live across each other in one apartment?

。m.list ❯❯ ┃next

ZERO ━━ WHO’S KICKING WHO NOW?

DO YOU GET NERVOUS to the point you wouldn't be surprised that you already took a shit, not pee, but discharge the residue on your pants? That's how a certain H/C-haired female felt as she sat across the table with her editor on the other side. It was only a figurative speech, though; if she took it literally, Y/N would gladly dig her own grave and plan her funeral up to what kind of horrid gown she'd be wearing in her casket.

It wasn't your fault to be this anxious. You've been doing this type of gig for almost five years, yet you couldn't help but tremble slightly on your seat as you noiselessly wait for the male editor to enlighten you with comments in regards to this unreleased chapter. You hate having to go through this type of initiation, but hey, you love your job nevertheless.

"Great work today, L/N-san. You accurately followed my advice when it comes to the panels. As expected from your skills and experiences in the field." Akihito remarked, pushing up his glasses with his thumb and closing the original copy of the printed manuscript.

You now had the ability to breathe as you draw out a deep sigh of relief. "Well, thank the gods for that! When you criticized the paneling of this chap two days ago, I panicked a bit and had to rearrange them all." You rambled on and began to ravish the food on your tray to satisfy your empty stomach. It was a bit difficult to comprehend your words due to the continuous eating of the delicious french fries. However, your editor somewhat understood you in the end.

Akihito watched you chowed down on the poor potato snack and shook his head from the ridiculous spectacle of your hungry state. "You're the infamous Yamazaki, but you asked me to meet up with you in a place like this?" He panned out.

"What do you mean? And didn't I tell you not to say my pen name out loud? What if people might hear you!"

"Y/N, we're in McDonald's." Your editor frowned, gesturing around the place full of children with a nudge of his thumb. With the sudden dilemma of your hidden identity, he cocked a brow and turned his head to glance at the screaming little monsters chasing each other on the matted floor. It was clear to him that these youngsters didn't pay any mind to their talk.

"We took the table by the playground. I don't think kids of their age would know someone who makes picture books of men sucking-".

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! STOP!" You cut him off right before he could finish his ambiguous statement. You took a bite on the fry you were holding and dipped it in the blob of ketchup on the tissue paper. "I chose this fast-food resto because the atmosphere in this place is loud. I don't want someone to hear you nor see the material you're reading." You licked the salt off your fingers once you finished eating your fries.

His slanted eyes squinted in suspicion as his onyx irises surveyed your get-up from head to toe. Your patterned sock-covered feet nestled on black Adidas slippers as you had plaid trousers that seemed to look like matching pajama pants of a clothing set. The white shirt with the oppai logo you wore made up for your lacking asset. However, the best feature of this apparel you came up with was the unusual pair of large rimmed shades covering your eyes. "It seemed like you do know how to act natural, Y/N..." Akihito trailed, deciding not to ridicule the outfit you chose to wore for their meeting since he knew you were in a hurry to meet the deadline.

Your eyes glanced at the watch wrapped around your wrist and realized the current time. "I better get going. My mom would kill me if I didn't do the groceries. Thank you for today, Akihito!" You pushed yourself off the table, sitting up from the cushioned seat then bowing towards the male.

The brunette also stood up for courtesy's sake, softly smiling at you in gratification. "Thank you for your hard work as well, L/N-san. I'll make sure to send out a copy of the weekly magazine as soon it releases to the public. Your international fans will definitely enjoy this chapter once the global publishing company releases the translated magazine." He assured.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that everyone gets to enjoy my works! I'll see you soon, Akihito." You gave him a lazy grin as you turned your back and left for your pending chore.

"That man sure bought a lot of cleaning products." You thought out loud as you recalled the fascinating scene of a fellow shopper with a basket full of cleaning merchandise. You couldn't pinpoint his looks since the guy was wearing a face mask. But from his athletic build and large hooded eyes that made the other shoppers distance themselves away, you had a feeling he's good-looking. It wouldn't be surprising if he already has a girlfriend.

Or a boyfriend if he likes bananas over tacos.

Your little bubble of thoughts soon popped as you stood outside the gate of your household, staring at the moving boxes stacked on the grassy floor of your mother's garden. 'Now, what are they up to?' You mused, having a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach from the cardboard packages.

You hoisted up the two paper bags full of groceries against your chest and pulled the gate open. "Mom! Dad! I'm Home!" You greeted out, walking past the boxes and almost tripping on one of them. Your left arm had lifted the groceries with difficulty as you used your other hand to twist the doorknob of the front door.

The spruce door was pushed open by your right arm. As you took a step inside, your ears caught a pitched bark from the end of the hallway. A smile fixed on your lips once the familiar energetic sound registered in your mind.

"Kazu!" A short-coated corgi ran out from one of the doorways as it continued to bark and jump from the excitement of its owner arriving back at home. Its fluffy butt waddled with every step it took with its soft paws— bouncing a couple of times once you called out its name.

You smiled from ear to ear, "You miss me, boy?" You cooed, slipping out of your slippers and setting the bags of groceries on the hall table by the door. The dog barked softly and looked up at you with his beady eyes, wagging his tail and letting out another bark in reply. You would've played with this cute bunch that the gods have blessed you with, but the questions about the boxes haven't stopped galling you for answers.

"Where's mom and dad, Kazu?"

Kazu tilted his head and barked as if the corgi understood what you were trying to tell him. The dog turned around and darted over to the staircase leading upstairs. 'Maybe that's why they didn't hear me.' You thought to yourself and followed your dog over to the flight of stairs. The fluffy puppy used his time in climbing up the steps, but you decided to scoop the dog up in your arms and carry him midway due to how hard of a time the corgi's having.

You gently placed Kazu back on the floor after you both reached upstairs. Your brows furrowed together as you caught the sight of the two pieces of luggage outside your bedroom door. If your gut was telling you before that something grave might happen, it was screaming at you now that something will. "Mom?" You called out for your mother, needing an explanation for what the hell her parents are doing to her room.

Finally, the said person peeked her head out from the doorway of your room. "Y/N, dear! Welcome back!" She smiled and waved her hand to beckon you over to her side.

"Since you're finally here, your father and I have some great news for you!"

You eyed your mother, suspicious by the way she's acting, but you still heeded her command and took hesitant steps in the direction of your bedroom. "What's happening, mom? Why are you guys in my r-" You weren't able to finish your sentence as you find yourself in an almost empty bedroom with your father sealing a box with packaging tape.

The middle-aged man looked up from what he was doing and beamed once he saw his daughter walked inside the room, "My lovely girl! Great timing! Help your old pal in bringing your stuff outside the house." He hummed.

You didn't know what to say— you already had an idea of what the old couple was about to do, but you don't want to believe it. Your wide eyes shifted between your mother and father, "Don't... Don't tell me that..." You stammered as you were in disbelief from the current event playing right in front of you.

"We're kicking you out, Y/N!"

## and this is the first fic that i posted here on tumblr! though, i already published it in wp as well LMAO. i hope you enjoyed reading the prologue :'>

[sansmania]

its o VER WHY WAS THIS SO LONG? 

part 1 | part 2 | art that goes with the fic

Title: Your Man

Ship: Boss [ @bonelyheartsclub ]/ GN Reader

Descrip: take it im drifting out to sea because HES GONNA BE A COWBOY thE END

Willie had taken his time to take in the damage done to the beloved boots, tutting and frowning at the holes and shredded leather.

"Oh yeah, I can fix 'em for ya, but it'll take a few days, Mr. Boss. That lil' dog did a number to these." Boss exhaled through his nasal bone with a silent nod. It seems 'Toby' had also managed to dislodge some of the pins that held the heels in, which would mean the boots needed to be completely stripped and rebuilt from the sole up.

"That is fine, I suppose. They mean a great deal to me, so take the time you need to get them back to perfect condition." He seemed a bit emotional about leaving the boots behind, and you gently assured the skeleton that they were in skilled hands. Leaving his contact information, the two of you turned to leave. 

Until a bony hand grabbed your neckline again.

"You said this store specializes in leather and boots, correct?"

"Yes?" You held the word out longer than necessary, red pinpricks looking down at you, then to the fluorescent shoes between you.

"I would like to peruse them, then. It would not hurt for me to have a few more sets, anyway. And I am beyond done with these sneakers. I feel like one of those fictional circus clowns."

You bit your tongue at his presumption, knowing Boss wouldn't listen to a word you had to say on the subject, and accepted your fate in the tobacco and wood lacker scented hell.

After a bit of searching, pausing only to laugh at some of the ridiculous 'southern fact' signs they had decorating a shelf, the pair of you found the boot section of the large store.

"Human, I highly doubt if Texas were real, that it would home ninety percent of the planet's spider population." You couldn't help the snort that came out at Boss' comment as he walked over to the wall of shoes.

His eyelights were transfixed on the detailed stiches in some of the leather boots. His phalanges traced over a pair that had some gaudy gems placed into them- a pair that had studs- red stained leather- black snake skin. He was strangely silent as he looked over each set with wonder.

You didn't think any of them were Boss' style, to be honest. They were about classic as classic cowboy boots get- you could have sworn you even spotted a pair made of alligator skin.

"These." He finally spoke, pulling down one of the only sets that seemed to be ankle high. They were a deep maroon, black stitching along the sides and folds, and a very obvious steel toe embedded inside. There were a few gold embellishments and you felt they were gaudy as all hell.

But, that expression of wonder in Boss' eyes made him look like a child on gyftmas morning.

It was cute.

He was cute.

"I mean, sure, if you're into red, black and gold-" The skeleton flicked his eyes towards you, making your mouth snap shut. He took a seat on a nearby bench, listlessly kicking off the offending accessories to try the new boots on.

Boss became silent once again, taking in the shine of leather as he tilted his feet and legs to get a good look at them.

"There is a mirror over there." You mention, pointing a few feet away, and he stood up to admire the shape of the shoes. And while he did so, you also found yourself admiring him.

Boss was very tall- even without the help of his stiletto heels- and his broad shoulders squared in perfect posture made almost anything he wore look breathtaking. His choice of attire today fit snuggly against his ribcage, tapering down his spine- making Boss look, pun intended, skeleton thin. Tight, but soft, leather pants hugged his narrow hips and bony legs, perfectly shaping his body.

"Hmm. A bit lower than what I am used to, but they are quite fetching on me. What do you think, human?"

He caught you staring, once again, in the mirror- just as your eyes had been slowly trailing down his legs, brain becoming grey mush. You curse quietly, turning your head away with a mutter of agreement.

"Sadly, they do not match the rest of my attire. I should see if they have apparel here to compliment my figure and accessories." He made an amused sound when you cocked your head at the suggestion, cheeks burning with new fervor.

Oh. He knew exactly what he was doing now. Boss wouldn't even play with the idea if any of his family was around, but since it was just the two of you, he was going to continue his sadistic game.

When you had first met Boss, you would have sworn he didn't have a playful bone in his body- the serious tone and way he carried himself made it seem he was all work and no play. But, as you got to know him, his true colors seemed to blossom forth. Yes, he hated puns, that didn't mean he had no sense of humor. His humor was dry and a little cynical- and you had nearly soiled yourself in laughter when he cracked his first joke around you.

He also found Blue and Nox's rivalry amusing, egging them on at times just to get under their skin.

And when then two of you were alone, he was much more relaxed, allowing more of his jovial side to come out. Sometimes it was a welcome blessing and sometimes it was not.

As it was at your expense today, it was one of those times that his sense of humor didn't delight.

"Uh, s-sure. Why not? Let's find you a nice pair of chaps-" Boss' amused smile caught you off guard as he held a hand up to stop you from moving. You had hoped he would allow you to help, maybe in a way save yourself from this horrible fate.

"No, I believe I can handle dressing myself just fine. Though, I will listen to your opinion after I have chosen an outfit." The smirk didn't go away as you made a noise of disdain. The skeleton sauntered off on his own, leaving you to scream internally at being caught red handed and was going to make you suffer for it.

When he turned a corner, you were on your feet- tossing the old converse in your inventory- and did your best to sneak around the store behind the him. Occasionally, Boss would turn his head out of suspicion, causing you to duck behind a shelf, while he thumbed through the racks of clothes.

He was enjoying teasing you like this, smirk still apparent on his face. You were by no means subtle, so Boss knew you were tailing him around, and that only added to his amusement.

You peeked over a row of jackets that were fastened with tassels while Boss sifted through some button up shirts. His foot tapped along to the music with perfect rhythm, though, you were more shocked when his low voice was barely audible.

He was quietly singing along to the tune.

Boss Gothic Serif.

Was singing country.

And he knew you were watching and listening.

The next time he glanced over his shoulder, Boss caught your reddened face as a devious smile curled on his skull. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"Human, I have picked out a suitable ensemble. Feel free to wait there for me to change." You didn't hide this time when he spoke up, accepting defeat, stepping out to follow the monster towards the changing rooms.

You knew from the first day of meeting these skeletons that they would be the death of you. You just didn't expect it to be in a dime store cowboy shop in the city.

Flopping down on another bench, you waited for death to finish his wardrobe swap and drag you to the dark depths- knowing now that he was going to be dressed like a cowboy with Shania Twain playing gently to send you off.

The shuffle of cloth behind the barn themed doors caught your attention, the soft click of bones on wood as a lock was lifted and the doors swung open.

Words choked in your mouth as it hung ajar, Boss stepping out of the small room with the most smug look on his face you had ever seen him muster.

His head was tilted down ever so slightly, burning red eyes shaded by the black hat atop his skull. Your eyes dragged down to the crisp maroon and black button up, gold skull bola tie strung in the collar and rested on his nearly bare breastbone.

The shirt was rolled at the sleeves, showing off his battle scarred hands and arms, and the tail tucked neatly into a pair of tight black dyed jeans; adorned and held up by a red leather belt that had a large gold skull buckle to keep it all together. The jeans hugged the skeleton's frame all the way down to the coordinated boots.

Boss leaned against the doorframe, taking in your reaction with sadistic glee; How you couldn't form a single word in appreciation to his wardrobe selection. How your face was red enough to put his shirt to shame. How your eyes lingered over the single undone button at his clavicle.

How your reaction made his soul thrum with pride.

"Comments?" He finally spoke, beyond amused at the way you startled to his rough voice- dropping it an octave or two, successfully getting further reactions out of you. Finally, you managed to swallow the hard, dry lump that formed in your throat, tearing your gaze away to look back to Boss' expecting eyes.

You coughed and looked away

"Yee. Haw?" Was all you could manage as he stepped forward, boots loudly clacking against the hardwood floor. The terrifying skeleton you called a friend, and obviously waxed red towards, stopped mere feet before you, dragging your attention back to him.

"Is that all you have to say? I would appreciate some feedback, maybe I should make another selection if this doesn't suit me-"

"No, don't!" You found your voice as Boss turned heel to find something else to fluster you with. He quirked a brow ridge at your outburst, returning to his previous position, arms crossed as he awaited to hear your real feelings. 

"You. You look good, Boss." You did your best to hold your voice steady as his gaze made you shrink into the bench, like you were going to become a permanent fixture in the store.

"Just ‘good’?" Oh, he was going to make you suffer. Breathing hard through your nose, you looked back up at him. Boss already knew how you felt, so this was just torture to feed his ego.

And you may as well feed it.

"Fine." There was a pause as you found the words. “You look amazing. Handsome. Stunning.” You could feel your face and neck darkening with each admission- at this point, had you even been referring to just how he looked now? He seemed to preen at each compliment, all too pleased to drink in your words of praise.

"Then I do believe I will purchase these items. They may be in start contrast to the rest of my wardrobe, but some variety in life never hurts."

It was interesting to watch Boss fannagle with the cashier about buying all the clothes items while he was still in them- but he managed to do it, and in style, if you were honest.

With his boots squared away, clothes tucked into his inventory, and you at his side, Boss literally strutted out of the store- leading you both back to his car.

"Human, you make it so easy to fluster you, you do realize that." Boss' smile from before had not left his features, even as you pulled into the culdesac in which you lived.

"Yeah, I'm aware, Boss." You heaved a final embarrassed sigh as the car came to a stop at your curb. Gathering your belongings, and what little bit of pride you had left, the car door swung open and you turned back to him. "Tease the human that has feelings for you. Ha, ha."

"But, uh." You pause, leaning on the door to look Boss in the eyes.

"Have fun getting into your room before Red or Stretch see you, Cowboy."

[perfectpaperbluebirds]

A Virus for the Vicar

Guess what... I inspired myself with this post to write my first drabble! Also, this had to be written because @gr0ss-enby asked so nicely, and @oh-no-my-hand-slipped had such awesome sickly Victorian prompts. So, here’s ~3000 words of a flu-ridden, regency-era clergyman. 

Feedback welcome! But please be a little gentle. This is my first short fic, as short isn’t usually my jam. But maybe it will be going forward, as I had a lot of fun with this one. 

*****

Lydia Lennox sat darning her husband’s stockings in the sitting room, humming idly as she stitched. She was startled out of her reverie by a commotion on the stairs. It seemed her husband, the vicar, was coming down in a rush. As this was usually the hour he usually closed himself away in his study to prepare his sermon, she was concerned. She rose to see what was the matter, but he appeared in the doorway just then, buttoning his coat with one hand as he held a handkerchief to his streaming nose.

“Mrs. Ames is being buried today. I must go perform the service,” he said with a sniffle. “I shut my eyes but a moment in my study and it seems I fell asleep, and now I am behind my time. I must dash.”

She bit her lip as she looked outside at the chillyA, drenching rain that had been falling for days. She knew he would not be dissuaded from going, despite the dreadful cold he had picked up, so she refrained from voicing her concern. He would only become frustrated if she tried to stop him. After all, burials were part of his duty as a clergyman. 

“Do take care, Mr. Lennox. Come back as quick as you can. I’ll have tea waiting for you.” She forced herself to leave it at that. 

His only reply was a sharp nod and a grunt as he strode to the door. He pulled it quickly open, then shut again, taking himself, hoarse voice and chapped nose and all, out into the downpour.

Lydia seated herself again with a sigh and resumed her mending, spending some time musing about her husband of 5 years. If one were to meet the vicar by chance, or only saw him on Sundays when he preached, that person would think him a stern man, or even a harsh one. It was true that he held himself to the strictest standards as a member of the clergy, and that carried into his interactions with everyone he met. He could be severe and intractable when he was in one of his moods, expecting perfection from himself and everyone else. There were times his eyes burned with such fire when he was preaching that she herself was a little fearful of him.

Yet she also saw the tenderness in every inch of his frame when he baptized an infant, or blessed a child, or took the hand of an elderly person to greet them. She got to witness firsthand his serenity as he tended his garden, his boyishness when he was spending time with his brother, and his gentleness and devotion during their own intimate interactions. 

He often seemed fierce, keeping most people, including herself at times, at arm’s length in deference to his duty as a man of the church, always mindful of how he might be perceived by his parishioners. Yet she knew there was more to him, and she loved him passionately, for all his own fiery passion for righteousness and zeal for his duty. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Some hours later, the door banged open, and the steady patter of water dripping off of a coat onto the floor of the foyer heralded the vicar’s return. That, and a thick, wet sneeze.

“HET’kiihh’shuuh! HET’chooff! “HEHHHT-CHOOO!”

She rang for the tea she had prepared for him, then hurried to his side, blessing him in earnest as she helped him remove his sodden coat. His hair and clothes hung limply on him, and he stood dejectedly, trying to wring himself out, his handkerchief again pressed to his nose. 

“Oh, my dear! Go quickly and put on some dry things. I’ll have your tea brought up to you there. You look half-frozen.”

“That I am,” he croaked wearily. “And half drowned at that. Never saw such a muddy burial. But the good woman is laid to rest as she should be, and that’s what matters.”

“Indeed,” she said, refraining from sighing. “But now go and tend to yourself, for that is what is called for here.”

“As you say,” he grunted. “I’ll be back down in time for supper, but for now I’ll go to my study. I need to catch up on my reading. The whole day is nearly gone as it is.”

“Couldn’t you take some rest? I’m sure the reading could wait another day.”

“There’s no need for it to wait when I can do it now just the same. As I said, I’ll be down for supper.”

He shuffled wearily to the stairs, coughing wetly as he went. 

Once again she bit her tongue and said nothing further. When his mind was made up, there was no arguing with him. So, she went about the usual dinner preparations, fretting the whole time, and all the more so every time she heard him cough or sneeze, which was not infrequently. 

Always true to his word, he reemerged 5 minutes before supper was to be laid out, looking drier but otherwise no better. He shivered faintly in the temperate air, wiping wetness away from his eyes and upper lip. She wished she could go hug him, and offer him any and every comfort she could, for he looked miserable, but she knew he would not allow it. She kept her eyes averted for the most part and tried not to fuss, for he would be quite embarrassed if she did. When the food was laid out, they seated themselves. They bowed their heads and he said grace as he usually did, though his voice was jarringly different. His usually rich, mellow tone was husky and strained, his consonants dulled with congestion and fatigue. Even before the final hoarse “ambend,” she wanted to reach for his hand and squeeze it, and tell him it was fine to not be fine. That he wasn’t any less even though he felt unwell. That she was here for him, no matter what. 

The meal was a quiet one, aside from his stifled sneezes and soft coughs. After one particularly harsh stifle, she timidly looked up at him.

“You sound unwell, my dear. Is there anything I could get for you?”

“No,” he shot back quickly, averting his eyes and stuffing his handkerchief out of sight. “No, I’m fine, thank you. Just a bit under the weather is all.”

“Please do let me know if there’s any way I can be of help to you,” she bravely tried once more. He fidgeted with his fork, still turned away.

“You are always a help to me, dear. But I am in need of nothing just now.”

She quickly nodded, then let her own eyes drop to her plate. They ate in silence until they were finished, then retired to the sitting room, he with a book and she with her needlework. This is how they ended their evenings, in companionable silence or quiet conversation until they went to bed. Tonight though, she knew there would be no conversation. They had both perched on the settee, only a few feet apart, and she quenched the urge to close the distance between them and rub his shoulders and neck. He allowed minimal physical contact between them anywhere besides their bedroom. The servants were watching, after all. 

As she sewed, she watched him in her periphery. He looked to be absorbed in his book, but through the entire hour they sat, he did not turn a single page. She studied his profile fondly, if also worriedly: His long longs, stretched out, but limp with weariness, his fine brow, now clammy-looking, his deep eyes, hazy with illness, and his well-shaped nose, the tip of it red and glistening. Every line of him spoke of fatigue. As she watched, she saw his eyelids drooping even as he fought against it.

She knew he would not go to bed before she, no matter how tired and ill he felt. It was improper. So, she feigned fatigue herself, yawning softly and stretching, before announcing she wanted to retire, almost an hour earlier than usual. 

He looked startled, but grateful as he offered to accompany her, and of course she accepted. 

They made their way upstairs, and he seemed to be moving almost in a daze. As they prepared for bed, his fingers were clumsy, and he was hampered by having to tend to his constantly dripping nose. She hovered at his elbow as he went through the motions, silently imploring him to admit how he was feeling and allow her to assist. Of course, he did not.

Once they were both in their night clothes, she watched him as he lingered, sitting on the edge of the bed and blowing his nose. She perched at his side so their knees touched; he shifted his away. 

"You look quite ill, my dear. Pray tell, how can I help you?" She began to gently caress his back, a gesture she knew he loved when he was weary. 

Yet he twitched away from her touch, a flash of anger in his eyes.

"Leave me be! I'm alright. I’m only in need of a good night’s sleep." 

With a huff he yanked back the bed clothes and proceeded to cover himself with them, keeping his back to her whenever he could.

Now she was frustrated too. With a scowl she moved to her own side of the bed. 

"Your stubbornness will be the death of you, Nicholas Lennox. Just because you're miserable, you needn't make me so as well, when I'm only wanting to help. But have it your own way."

He did not reply, and continued to keep his back to her. She turned away from him as well when she lay down. They both held themselves stiffly still, as far apart on the bed as they could be, until they fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

This was not the case when they woke, however. Upon opening her eyes the next morning, Lydia found she had rolled onto her back as she slept. Looking around as she roused herself, she was startled to find her husband still fast asleep beside her. Usually it was his stirring that woke her each day, or the sound of the door shutting behind him as he left.

Nicholas too had shifted in his sleep, and was lying on his stomach, his face toward her, his arm stretched across the center of the bed and resting an inch from her shoulder, as if he was reaching for her.

Any hard feelings that lingered from the night before instantly melted as she watched him sleep. He looked so pitiful and pale, and she heard his breath wheezing in his chest. As she stared, deciding what to do, he suddenly twitched once, then again, then he sprang awake, pressing a hand to his nose, but too late:

"Hehhgg'CHOOOF!" A wet, spraying sneeze exploded out of him, down the front of his shirt. He scrabbled desperately for his handkerchief, his breath hitching for another sneeze as he turned away from her. He couldn't grasp it in time.

"Hih-KIHT-chuuhh! Heht'kih'SHOO!" He sneezed miserably into his elbow, rough sneezes that seemed to scrape his throat harshly as they were expelled. He grabbed his handkerchief at last in a defeated sort of way, and wiped and blew his nose. With a weary groan he fell back against his pillow, throwing an arm over his eyes.

She watched this whole performance with widened eyes. All the years they'd been married, she had never seen him ill like this. She observed him for another moment, then nodded to herself, her mind made up. Regardless of how he would fuss, she was making him rest today, no matter what it took. She opened her mouth to address him when he again jerked forward, breath hitching desperately, handkerchief over his mouth:

"Hiihh'shieww! Hnnxxt'CHUUF! AhKT-CHOOOO! Oh blast it all," he mumbled thickly, the closest he ever came to cursing. He gingerly wiped his poor, red nose, eyes scrunched closed in pain. Yet he would have no rest, for he immediately began to cough. 

 She crossed the distance between them on the bed to put a hand to his shoulder. He jumped in fright, as though he'd forgotten he wasn't alone. Upon seeing it was her, he relaxed slightly, and didn't pull away, but acknowledged her with a little grunt. Encouraged by this, she pressed against his side and began to rub his back tenderly. He groaned softly in pleasure as she did, letting more of his weight rest against her. After a moment he had to hunch forward to stifle another hoarse coughing fit into his arm before leaning back into her touch, rubbing his chest with a grimace.

He was overwarm. She could feel the heat through his shirt. She pressed her palm to his forehead, then his cheek, clucking her tongue softly.

"I am most poorly today. Every inch of me aches or burns. My head pounds so, I can hardly think," he muttered, answering her question before she had to ask it.

"I shouldn't wonder, with how high your fever is. You're not to leave these rooms today and I'll not hear any argument."

"As you say," he mumbled with a cough. 

She wanted to be suspicious of his unexpected pliability, but looking at him, she only saw misery in every feature, so perhaps he was simply feeling badly enough not to complain.

She pressed a kiss to his hot temple. "Lay yourself back down and rest while I dress, then we'll see what we can do for you. We'll ring for tea, for starters." She rose, donning her dressing gown. "And I may have Dr. Barcliffe call 'round as well. I don't like the sound of that cough one bit," she said, as he erupted into another hoarse fit.

"There's no need to involve Dr. Barcliffe," he croaked, lying back down with a wince, rubbing his chest again. "I shouldn't want to be a bother."

"Hm," she murmured, moving to his side. She brushed the sweaty hair from his forehead, and he sighed in pleasure at her touch, his eyes drifting closed. "We'll see how it goes. But I shouldn't think tending to the vicar would be a bother to the doctor."

If he heard, he did not reply, and seemed to fall asleep again immediately. She dressed efficiently, and just as she finished, one of the servants arrived with a tray of tea and toast. The commotion roused the sick man, and he shook himself awake with another bout of hacking coughs as the servant departed. Lydia moved to his side and rubbed his back again. He leaned his head into her side wearily as he quieted.

"Poor man, I've never seen you so ill. It seems you've picked up something nasty--likely from your niece and nephew last week. I thought they were looking a bit peaky, and there you were, rolling around on the floor with them."

A muffled grunt was his only reply. She served his tea, and helped him sit up to drink it, though he tried to protest.

"I'd rather not take tea now. I only want to sleep some more hours yet."

"You must drink aplenty today. You'll only feel worse if you don't. We can't have you getting parched."

He mumbled a few more weak arguments, but when she pressed the streaming cup into his hands, he obediently drank. Of course, the hot beverage made his nose run in earnest, but he seemed too weary to care. She plied him with toast also, but he only managed a few bites, claiming his throat was too raw and painful to eat any more. With a sigh, she set it aside.

He was visibly trembling as he finished the tea, and the hectic red spots showed ever brighter on his cheeks. She assisted him in lying down once more, and covered him warmly, though they were slowed in the process by yet another coughing fit. She let her hand linger on his arm after he was settled.

"Is there anything else you want, my dear?"

He turned to look at her, his fever-hazed eyes imploring:

"Only to rest a while, with you by my side."

She tilted her head in confusion. "You-you're asking me to sit with you while you sleep?"

He nodded. "I'll sleep better if you're near. Would you come sit beside me, just here on the bed?"

"That I will," she complied willingly, flattered as well as flustered. She would never have expected such a request from her independent, private husband. She hopped up to sit beside him, arranging herself comfortably. She reached out to cover his hand with her own. 

"If I could trouble you for one more thing… could I lay my head just there?" He gestured to her lap. 

She reddened. "If you think it would help you sleep, I shan't say no. For you do look so miserable, after all," she managed.

"Nothing would help more." They carefully rearranged themselves to his desired configuration. Lydia was quite taken aback by these developments, though they were far from unpleasant. She studied her husband's still form for a bit, making up her mind as he continued to settle. Haltingly, she moved her hand to his head and began to stroke his hair with the lightest touch. His free hand found hers and gave it a grateful squeeze. Encouraged, she continued her ministrations with confidence.

"You're positively trembling with chills," she murmured, almost to herself. "After you rest a while, I'll have Hannah draw you a hot bath. Then a compress for your chest after a long soak I think. How does that suit you?"

A snore was the only reply she would receive, for the dear vicar was already sound asleep.

[heybeybey]

No Regrets

Holy shit I finally wrote a full short fic!! I was inspired when @petra-realsnk posted this beautiful fic! I’m currently finishing up Chap 135 (so there’s spoilers for those who’ve only watched the anime!) in the manga and thought about a what if scenario where the Survey Corps didn’t try to stop Eren. 

Note: I highly doubt that there’s a universe where Levi and the remaining Survey Corps members, especially Petra, would be okay with genocide but it was fun to explore the thought. (Felt masochistic, won’t delete later ✌️😘)

Pairing: Rivetra | Levi x Petra

Genre: Angst. And it’s Rivetra but I don’t think this can be considered romance. 

Summary: [Mature] Canonverse AU. Petra survived the 57th expedition and Eren was successful in his Rumbling. Petra and Levi questions if they made the right choices. 

----

They never talked about it.

No regrets. That's what his whole being has been about since he joined the Survey Corps. Petra’s devotion to him pushed her to follow him to the end.

The end did come and try as they might to ignore it, they lived every single day questioning the actions they’ve taken.

Today's Liberation Day. The Eldians are celebrating the day the great Eren Yeager freed Paradis from the rest of the world three years ago. As with every year, the town square will have a play reenacting the Rumbling later this afternoon. They're also serving dishes from the now-extinct Marley. He can only think what Niccolo must be feeling right now.

It's their country’s way of showing that they've won. It's theirs. The world is theirs.

His comrades. Erwin. All of them died for this farce.

However, the biggest clowns were the Survey Corps. 

Him, Hange, Armin, Petra, Connie, Jean, Mikasa. “The Great Heroes of Paradis,” people would call them in adoration and admiration.

Hange was still alive. She's still the Commander of the Survey Corps and she's been leading Paradis’s expansion with Armin across the flattened grounds beyond their little island. He doubts the both of them sleep well at night though. Last time he and Petra visited, he learned that Hange took down Erwin's portrait in her office. Petra cries whenever she sees Armin, remembering the boy who’d always talk to her about the ocean. 

Connie went back to Ragako to build back his village. He never tried to make contact with them again after that.

Jean transferred to the Military Police shortly after. Commander Nile named him next in line. They needed to promote as many people as possible because there’s still a possibility that half of the military can turn into a titan anytime now, even with that fucking monkey dead.

However, a recent rumor reached his city that the Military Police’s next-in-line just shot himself in the mouth yesterday morning.

Mikasa, on the other hand, disappeared.

Levi tried to locate the Ackerman girl a few times. Mikasa can be downright disrespectful and insubordinate during his time as her captain but she's still family. They never treated each other as such but she still is.

His condition prevented him from pushing himself further the way he could before and he had no choice but to follow as Petra led him back.

With his injuries, he needed to retire from the Survey Corps. Petra, banged up with her own scars—physical, emotional, and even mental, also signed in her resignation the day he signed his.

They say it's because they are not in the shape to push through anymore. Besides, there's nothing else to fight except their conscience and inner demons.

The truth is that seeing the Wings of Freedom on their uniform made him want to retch his breakfast every fucking day. Levi once said that he'd kill Eren the moment he shows that he’s a threat to humanity. They all dedicated their life to humanity’s freedom.

You bore the wings of freedom but allowed a monster to clip away the wings of the rest of the world.

What a joke.

He’s snapped out of his usual episodes when Petra came in through the door.

“It’s true,” she says and he takes in the dead look in her eyes. He wished it wouldn’t look any deader as the day Paradis won but it does.

He remains silent, waiting for her to continue.

“Jean. It’s true. He’s dead. His fiance found him yesterday.”

Levi understands Kirstein. He really does. He used to be against suicide because so many people who want to live die everyday. Now though, if he had the will to point a bullet to his own head, he would.

But he can’t leave the baby in Petra’s womb fatherless.

“Do we deserve this, Levi?” At first, he thought she was referring to Jean’s death. All this sadness and self-loathing. “Do we deserve this? A home. A baby on the way.”

When so many beyond the island saw their own homes and children trampled on.

This is the first time she brought it up and he wasn’t surprised that she was the one who opened this conversation.

Petra is already a shell of her former self. He finds it hard to believe that this was the same woman who’d fight titans with fire in her eyes. Who managed to capture his attention since the day she graduated from the cadets. Who managed to survive when their whole squad and the fucking Scout commander couldn't. If they hadn’t fucked around one drunken night of loneliness and despair, he feels she’d lose all the will to push forward.

“How should I know? I told you before. The only thing we can do now-“

“-Is to live with the consequences of our actions.” A beat. She looks down and carefully places her hand on the bulge of her stomach. "Do you think he'll be proud of us?"

Another topic he tried to not approach is the baby. He knows that he'll never abandon her and the little boy or girl inside her but that doesn't mean he'd make a great father.

"Beats me."

She finally snaps. "Levi, just talk to me for once!"

When he imagined a future with Petra back when he was still her captain, he saw it happening with them winning against the titans. He'd kiss her on the battlefield in relief, not caring if fellow soldiers saw that he’s in love with his own subordinate all this time, as everyone cheers over the fact that everything's over and that they're now free to explore beyond the Walls. He'd awkwardly admit that her feelings have always been mutual and maybe he'd even propose years down the road. She'd laugh at him and tell him that age must be really catching up to him if he's actually considering marriage.

"Levi, please. You used to be so open with me. Please don't leave me alone."

She's downright begging now, her arms encircling around his waist as she starts sobbing in desperation. Petra clutches his hand, caressing the remaining two fingers on his one hand.

"Please talk to me. You don't have to carry this burden yourself. I was there until the end, remember?"

In a way, seeing her like this is a relief. Since they retired, he'd always see her walking around the house in a daze. The only time he hears emotion in her voice is when she screams out at night as she wakes up from a nightmare. She doesn’t talk to anyone else now besides him. Sometimes, he rarely even listens. When Hange and Armin visited, she'd make tea and serve them like a meek, little housewife and she'd force a smile on for their guests.

He hates it. This isn't Petra.

Her crying now and demanding him to open up. This is Petra. 

He misses her. 

And since he hasn't found his voice in the past three years, he answers her by abruptly spinning around, grabbing her ginger strands and roughly kissing her to shut her up.

His hand grabs the spot where her chin meets her neck and he clenches. He manhandles her to their room and he fucks her while also making sure he doesn't harm the baby. This is the only way they can communicate their sadness and understanding right now.

She accepts it all without question, her teary eyes staring at the ceiling above him. The only indication that she's okay with all of this are her quiet moans and whimpers for him to go harder and her arms clinging around him in desperation. 

This isn't Petra.

He isn't Levi anymore either.

[aadmelioraa]

Take Two

A Happiest Season Abby x Riley fic (2.4k, T)

It had been one year since Abby had left. One year since they’d called it quits. One year since their engagement was over.

And now it was Christmas time again, only this time Abby was more alone than ever.

She’d been on a few dates since they’d broken up, but no one had stuck around. Probably more her fault than theirs. It had been good to get back out there, but it still hurt to remember how things with Harper had ended.

It was a pretty big shock at the time, but looking back it had been a long time coming. Abby and Harper were on different paths and it just wouldn't have worked, no matter how much they loved each other.

“It’s not you,” Harper had insisted. “It’s me, and I’m so sorry.”

That was one of the last things Harper said to her.

They’d been talking wedding plans that morning and by evening Abby was packing her bags.

Harper had been so desperate to make her happy since they got engaged, but her constantly bending over backward wasn’t what Abby needed, and it was stressing Harper out. Neither of them was their best self together, not anymore. Rather than bringing them closer, in the end, that Christmas with the Caldwells had exposed too many rifts in the relationship to salvage.

Tagging @mego42 @endlesslychildish @arcane--soul @skittles321

Read the rest below the cut or on ao3

“I want you to be happy without trying so hard to satisfy the idea of me in your head. You’re such an amazing person—“ Abby had started sobbing here, “—but I can't give you what you need either.”

She’d moved out that night. Harper hadn’t accepted the breakup at first despite sort of initiating it. The conversation had lasted for hours, but eventually, she acknowledged the inevitable and left Abby alone for a few hours to pack. John, thankfully just a text away, had helped her drive everything over to his place.

It had been the second-worst night of Abby’s life.

She’d moved to Philadelphia two months later. She’d grown up there, technically, but without her parents, it didn’t really feel like coming home. New neighborhood, new apartment, new job. If that wasn’t proof she could get over it, what was? But when the holiday season came around again a lot of memories, once happy, now painful, resurfaced.

Waking up alone on Christmas Eve that year, in a word, sucked.

Abby was awake at 6:30 am for some reason. She checked her phone. She’d missed two non-emergency texts from John last night after she’d taken melatonin and passed out. He was definitely still sleeping; she’d text him back later.

She made a pot of coffee and stood in the kitchen in her pajamas wondering what she was going to do to keep herself occupied all day. John, who was living with his boyfriend in New York now, had invited her to stay the night and spend Christmas with them, but Abby wasn't sure if she was feeling up to it. She kinda wanted to sit the holiday out completely this year. She opened her phone and jumped aimlessly between the same three apps, then finally forced herself to take a shower.

At noon she decided to get dressed and go for a walk. That ought to keep her distracted enough. She put on jeans, thick socks, and her warmest sweater under her coat and started wandering.

There was nothing quite like Philly at Christmas. Still brash, loud, and occasionally vulgar but now decked to the nines with tinsel. She was glad to have new haunts to discover along with revisiting old haunts.

The snow from the previous day had turned to slush by the time the sun was at its peak, but that didn’t stop the kids in her neighborhood from spilling out into the streets to play football and tag under the grey sky. She waved at her upstairs neighbors and made a mental note to try and get to know them a little better in the new year.

It was a nice enough day. Maybe she’d head to Fairmount Park. Wherever she ended up there were sure to be plenty of frantic people coming to and fro, finishing last-minute Christmas shopping.

A wave of mixed emotions washed over her as she passed by a jeweler. Harper had given back the ring, of course. It was with John for safekeeping. Abby couldn’t return it, but it felt really weird to have it at her new place. Fresh start and all. Maybe someday she’d be ready to sell it. For now, she didn’t want to think about it.

She continued on at a brisk pace, stopping at a street cart for a lunch of falafel which she ate standing over a trash can, then continuing on.

It was after four o’clock by the time she realized how far she’d walked. Her hands had grown pretty chapped, she should probably go inside for a minute. There was a bar up ahead that looked open, and she could definitely use a drink.

It was fairly empty when she entered which made her instantly relax. She sidled up the bar and took a seat, rubbing her hands to warm them.

“Hey.” There was one bartender working, a curly-haired woman wearing a bandana headband, fitted flannel, and impeccable winged eyeliner like some kind of femme Luke Danes. “What can I get for you?”

“Vodka tonic?”

“Not feeling the Christmas spirit today, huh?” the bartender asked, grabbing the well vodka and rimming a glass with a wedge of lemon.

“Not really.”

“Yeah me neither. Anyway, name’s Gem,” the woman said, setting the cocktail down with a gentle tap. “Yell if you need anything.”

She smiled and walked to the far corner of the bar, a towel draped over her shoulder. A tall redhead and a petite girl with shoulder lengths locs raised their glasses at her.

Even if Abby wasn’t feeling it today, she’d picked a good spot.

She’d just started to feel the effects of the booze when she heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, I thought that was you.”

Startled, Abby nearly dropped her drink.

Riley, Harper’s Riley, slid onto the stool next to her.

“Hey!” Abby said, “What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you too,” Riley laughed.

“Yeah, I mean—great, great to see you.” Abby couldn’t help from grinning. She probably looked like an idiot but she didn’t care.

“You look good,” Riley said, subtly sweeping her eyes up and down in an appreciative manner.

“Thanks, thanks.” Abby was glad she’d foregone the beanie with the hole in it. “You look good too.”

She really did. Her hair was a little shorter now, though it still framed her face perfectly. Otherwise, she looked exactly the same as when they’d met two years ago. She was wearing a black mock neck sweater and a pair of perfectly tailored wool pants. Her boots had a slight heel, not too high to be practical in an East Coast winter. The hem of her sweater pulled up a little as Riley leaned over the bar, exposing just a sliver of skin. Abby tried not to stare too obviously while she ordered a drink.

“I moved to Philly last month, to answer your question,” Riley said. “Got a fellowship at Kensington, I start in a week.”

“Oh, cool. Congrats, that’s awesome.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Riley took a sip, glancing over at Abby in a way that made her face grow slightly warm. “What have you been up to?”

“Finished the doctorate and got a job as a curator at the PMA. It’s going well. I mean, relatively.”

“Well, look at you!” Riley raised her glass. “Doctor.”

“Doctor,” Abby echoed, laughing, as she knocked her glass against Riley’s.

“Glad to hear that.” Riley took another sip of her drink and paused, mouth pulling to one side awkwardly for just a second.

Abby knew the question that was coming.

“So,” Riley was looking straight ahead into the mirror behind the bar, “how’s Harper?”

Abby grimaced.

Riley’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit…”

“It’s ok! It’s ok,” Abby could feel herself overcorrecting. “It’s been about a year. But yeah, we’re not together anymore.”

“I’m really really sorry, Abby.”

“It’s fine, really,” Abby shrugged. “I mean, if anyone knows how I feel, it’s you.”

Riley exhaled and leaned over the bar, her elbow just barely touching Abby’s. “Yeah, that’s definitely true.”

“So what are you doing in a random bar on Christmas Eve anyway?” Abby asked, ready to change the subject.

“I live up the street, actually. I’m heading to Pittsburgh to see family tomorrow, but that’s going to feel like work, so today I just wanted to relax.”

“Totally,” Abby said, watching as a party of college aged kids spilled in from the street and headed to the high top tables towards the back of the bar. “I’m just taking it easy today, too.”

“Big plans tomorrow?”

“Might see John. I think you met him…when we met.”

“Yeah, I remember John. How’s he doing?”

“He’s really good. Thinks I need to get out more, but otherwise he’s very happy.”

Riley laughed. “I’ve been out exactly three times—wait, no, this makes it four—since I moved here in November so clearly I have no idea what that’s about.”

“You liking Philly so far?”

“Yeah, I do. I mean, don’t get me wrong it’s weird as fuck, but it’s got some really great people. The doctors I work with are whatever, but this kind of place has a good vibe.”

She smiled at Gem, who was rolling her eyes as she made Long Island Iced Teas for the group at the high tops.

“You two know each other?” Abby asked, internally cringing at how un-cool about it she sounded.

“I’ve been here three of the four times I’ve been out, so you could say that,” Riley said. “Nice people usually.”

Gem dropped off the tray of Long Islands and brought Abby and Riley another round.

“They tried to order mojitos,” she sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Fucking kids,” Abby said. Riley laughed. That felt good.

Another large group came in, middle-aged couples this time. It had grown dark outside, it must be after five by now.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the conversations happening around them. Old friends were reuniting to the right and left of them, the chatter that filled the air was starting to make Abby feel a little claustrophobic. She shifted towards the edge of her seat, tapping one foot nervously against the floor.

“Hey, do you want to get out of here?” Riley asked, raising her hand to catch Gem’s attention. “It’s getting a little crowded.”

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Abby said, relieved. “I’m just gonna run to the restroom.”

She threw a slightly crumpled pile of bills—mostly fives—on the bar and made her way to the back.

By some good luck, the bathroom was free with no line. The space was cramped and not overly clean, and the small black and white tiles that covered the lower half of the walls created a frantic pattern that did nothing to help Abby’s nerves. She exhaled a deep breath, fixed on her own gaze staring back at her from the mirror.

You’re fine. You’re just hanging out with a girl. A friend, even. Stop being so fucking nervous.

She rolled her eyes, annoyed at her own pep talk, then made her way back to the bar.

Riley was waiting with her hat on, hands thrust deep into the pockets of her dark green coat. Her face broke into a smile when she saw Abby returning.

“Anywhere in particular you want to go?” Abby asked.

“Not really,” Riley said casually. “Lead the way.”

“You got it,” Abby said, and Riley followed her outside.

The air was brisk, and snow had just started to fall as they left. There were Christmas lights everywhere, garlands wrapped around lampposts, a tree decked to the nines in nearly every window.

“Philly really gets in the holiday season, huh?” Riley asked dryly, then pointed up at a stuffed orange mascot that hung from a wreath on someone’s porch. “What the hell is that thing?”

“You really are new here,” Abby laughed. “I don’t know if you’re ready for me to explain Gritty tonight but I promise he's worth the wait.”

They continued up Broad Street, gradually making their way away from the noisy crowds. It had started to snow, which helped muffle the sounds of passerby and create a more mellow but still festive atmosphere.

“So, I’m glad I ran into you,” Abby confessed, breaking the silence that was lingering between them.

Riley’s shoulder bumped against hers as she sidestepped a puddle. “I am too. I have to ask though, is it because we’re both members of the Harper broken hearts club, or something else?”

“No, I’ve been trying not to think too much about that,” Abby said.

“Sorry to bring it up again.”

“I mean, it’s kind of unavoidable. That’s not what I meant, sorry. I’m glad because I really liked you when we met, and I kind of regret not realizing that at the time.”

Riley glanced over at her, genuine surprise etched on her face. “I liked you too, Abby. A lot.”

Abby smiled into her scarf and shook her fingers through her hair the way she always did when she was nervous. “Really?”

“Yeah, past tense though,” Riley added.

“Asshole,” Abby laughed, and Riley’s mouth twitched in reply.

They had paused on a street corner. The snow was falling around them in big flakes, Riley’s hair glittering in spots where it had landed and begun to melt.

Riley cocked her head, lips slightly parted, and stepped a little closer. Her brown eyes sparkled in the light of a Christmas tree peeking out of a nearby window.

“You good?” she asked.

Abby hesitated, chewing her lower lip.

“I can head home, if you’re not feel—“

Abby didn’t let Riley finish. Surging forward on her toes, she kissed her.

Rile tasted like the old fashioned she’d been drinking, smoky and slightly sweet. She kissed Abby back, running a hand through the hair behind her ear, and Abby could feel her smiling as their noses bumped together. When she pulled back Abby caught her breath and realized she was grinning too.

“I’ve wanted you to do that for a really long time,” Riley breathed.

Abby laced her fingers through hers and they kept walking. She wasn't feeling alone amidst all the holiday revelry any longer.

“Do you want to grab dinner sometime, maybe?” Abby asked tentatively.

Riley squeezed her hand. “How about now?”

Abby grinned. “Now is great.”

[kreidewaltz]

Hi hi! Congrats!!! If the event is still open may I request please. Black+embroidery+Lev?

Thank you very much!! And congrats again🥰

TRIAL AND ERROR | L.H.

about. after being together for a while, both of you are trying to make your dates fun. he has an idea for a date that caused you to reminisce memories from years ago.

word count. 1.1k 

genre & warnings. third year!lev and female!reader, fluff, established relationship since first year, comedy, milashka means darling/cutie.

author's note. thank you anon sorry for taking so long eheh :D not proofread!! this is set in winter that’s why there’s snow and stuff also i searched up embroidery terms so yeah i hope lev isn’t ooc in this fic i had fun writing for him though <3 

“y/n! over here!” you see your boyfriend waving his hands a few meters across from you and you bury your nose on your maroon scarf. the snow on people’s heads, the cold breeze can’t beat the warmth you always feel when you see lev. giggles slip from his chapped lips when you’re in front of him and wrapping your arms around him already. you pouted when you feel his hand patting your head before he flashes his charming grin, while you play with the end of his nekoma jacket. he loops your arms together while you wait for the door of the train to open and you wait for the people to get inside before you do because you wanted to stay close to him.

“want some?” you offer him a sandwich when you’re both seated on the train station and you give him a water bottle after he takes a bite. he whispers thank you and continuously chugs on the water, shaking your head because you’re eyeing your boyfriend and get shy when you're ogling over him to yourself. you grab a pack of tissues from your bag before pushing his cheeks together and pat the tissue gently on his face with a concentrated pout on your lips.

“let’s go on a date on the weekend!” your hand stops patting his face while your toes curl on your shoes. you try your best to cover your excitement since it’s been a while since you went on a date with lev. you're anticipating winter because of the snow and you can finally wear the thick and fluffy clothes that's stucked in your closet for a while. he squints his eyes and nervousness grows in his head while you regain composure before you grin wide and nod too quickly.

"ah that's great! any ideas?" he whispers while you rest your head on his shoulder, and wrap your arm around his waist. (you know you look you're cuddling your pillow but you pushed those thoughts at the back of your head.) he giggles lightly when you snuggle in his neck, he pulls your scarf to your shoulder before it falls and he rest his hand on your thigh. he remembers the first time he did that and the both of you got flustered. the amount of shy glances and hushed whispers are something awkward but he treasured.

"hmm, let's decide on that later babe. 'm sleepy." you murmur against his neck before hugging him tighter, but the excitement you’re feeling for the date didn’t wither. while you doze off on the ride, lev is determined to think of ideas to make the date this weekend interesting and memorable. a sigh leaves his lips because he keeps thinking of cheesy normal dates—which he didn't mind but there's something bugging him to make this date a little different from the others. i'll let her sleep first, then he spares you a glance and a soft grin ghosts his lips because of how peaceful you look.

-

"milashka!" lev saying that earns him a few judgmental stares from strangers but he shrugs them off, solely focusing on you. you feel like an object under a microscope since he keeps staring at you with his piercing emerald eyes for a while. you wave at him with a wide grin before walking up to him and loop your arms together. lev looks at you and smiles, putting his hand over your shoulder because he's holding a paper bag on the other which contains the things you'll do on the date later under a tree. yes, that isn't weird, he convinces himself but he envisions the date last night and it looks fun and romantic.

"i hoped you picked which thing to do today! since your tired girlfriend fell asleep on call." giggles erupted from the both of you while you recall your talk with your boyfriend last night. you finished your night routine and you’re already laying on the bed when you talked to him, while he brings his phone around and you laugh to yourself when he’s similar to the vlogs you watch on a daily basis. his stripped button down polo and shorts compliments his body and makes you swoon over him in your head. he texted you earlier that the location will be a walking distance so you’re relieved you picked your sandals. “ah! i’m so excited.” he claps his hands together quickly while his fresh face lit up with glee.

after turning and walking in ten minutes, you arrived on the location and the snow covered trees makes you thrilled and let out squeals. you pull your big coat closer to yourself because the breeze makes you grit your teeth. lev shoots you a sympathetic smile before holding your hand and sit under the tree, he gently pulls out the things for the date and some food he bought earlier while you’re admiring the scenery around you. he grabs the canvas fabric and the plastic hoops since you’re focused on taking pictures of the trees and both of your foot prints on the snow.

“everything’s so pretty when it snows.” you whisper directed to your boyfriend then you turn around and got a glimpse of the hoops and the variety of embroidery flosses. a loud gasp leaves your lips and lightly shake his shoulders before giggling and feel your heart pound quickly. he quirks his brow when he sees you get exhilarated but he smiles nonetheless, actually relieved that you're deligted with doing embroidery.

"ah y/n! how do you do it?" it's been ten minutes since you both started. he whines while a pout forms on his lips, obviously annoyed to himself. you show him your embroidery and chuckle when he sighs more and opts to watch you thread instead. you see the stitches looking like a mess on the back because it's been a while since you did this. when you flip the fabric it resembles the reference your boyfriend picked. i miss doing this with mom, you thought while continuing to thread the black floss in silence. when you started earlier you told about your memories doing this with your mom, you started knitting but she recommended you to embroider instead and it was the right thing to do.

"this is like a time machine," you whisper to him when you finished and show him the result. you let him admire your work and play along with him when he says he embroider that while holding yours. he frowns in confusion when you whisper but his eyes widen and he tenses in his place when he hears your next words.

"doing the one thing that i like with the one i love."