#idea and was like 'i dont know if i mind slurs that could be directed at me like d*ke' she turned her head and stared right at me when she

[spiribia]

stop saying insect shame metaphor has to go. i see the wasp on the length of my arm.

[stardust-kenobi]

Mine

Poe Dameron x Fem!Reader

Requested by: @nocontr-ol 💕 sorry it took so long, lovely. I had finals and projects to focus on. (but now I am on break, yay!!)

Summary: A man won’t leave you alone at the cantina, lighting a fire in your boyfriend, Poe, who now needs to show you that you belong to him, and him only.

Warnings: Angry Poe. SMUT. So smutty, rough sex, oral, mild bondage, spanking, female masturbation. Poe cussing (bc it’s hot as fuck). !TW: Unwanted physical advances from a stranger!

Word count: 2.8k

A/N: it took me forever to finish this bc the end of the semester is here and I’m swamped with work. Poe’s behavior is probably a bit out of character...but I’d like to think he has a jealous side that we don’t see in the films

gif is not mine

The lights were dim on your skin as the exterior shine faded with the evening. Your crossed arms rested against the bar while you were alone with your drink and your thoughts. Poe was still within eyesight across the cantina, catching up with an old friend. Every minute or so his eyes darted to your gaze for a moment to ensure that you were where he left you, and that you were safe. You loved him and how deeply he cared for you.

You trace the top of your glass with your finger tip. Your ears drowned out the music blasting and voices crowding the room. You were known to get lost in your own mind when you were alone, something Poe always thought would get you in trouble. A figure meets your left sided peripheral vision. It must be Poe, you thought. Without verifying your thoughts, you turned to wrap your arms around him.

Oh, no. This isn’t Poe.

“Well I guess I don’t even need a pickup line then do I?” A strange and unfamiliar voice startled you as you look up at the figure. You quickly backed away, noticeably unsettled. You offered a warm smile and immediately reject him with a hint.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you were my boyfriend”

“I could be your boyfriend, sweetheart...for the night of course” the towering figure continued, chuckling at his own words, paying no attention to your disinterest.

“No thank you, I’ll just go meet up with my boyfriend now” you politely declined again. As you turn to walk away, the man grabs your arm aggressively, halting your actions.

“No, stay a while, I don’t bite” he winked.

“Again, no thank you” you snarled. This only seemed to intrigue him further. His grip refused to release you. You’d hoped Poe had already had a moment to check on you across the room again. You checked where he stood before, he wasn’t there.

“C’mon, I really want you. If you come back to my place I’ll definitely make it worth your time.” His words slurred now, suddenly obvious that he was drunk. That explained why he couldn’t take the biggest of hints.

“I dont know what else to say to you except go away. I’m not interested” you stood your ground, your warm and polite smile fading quickly. His hand removed itself from your arm and travelled forcefully to your waist. Acting on your instinct, you pulled away, but with not enough force to separate yourself. He pulled you into him, no matter how much you tried to free yourself.

“I don’t think I’m taking no for an answer. I like when women play hard to get” he whispered.

Before the stranger had a chance to bother you any more, his grip and his presence were ripped from your body and out of your field of vision when Poe shoved him off you with a look of rage so terrifying in his eyes.

“What did he say to you?” Poe turned to you.

“He wouldn’t leave me al-” you began. Poe cared little to hear your whole statement considering he already caught a glimpse of what occurred. He heard enough.

His fist tightened into a ball, flung back behind him, and plunged into the scumbag that harassed you. You gasped at his actions. The man became defenseless in his inebriation and fell to the cold and crowded floor.

“Poe!” You cried out to him to stop. His fist pulled back again, but stopped itself when he heard your protest. He looked at you, arm shaking, then looked at his knuckles in shock that he was about to actually beat this man.

“Don’t you ever fucking touch her, talk to her, or even look at her again, you got it?” He yelled. Jealously and rage rushed through his veins and made itself known in the tone of his voice. “She’s mine, asshole”. He shoved the man deeper into the floor. You knew you’d be lying if you didn’t admit that it was attractive to watch him defend you like that, and be so possessive of you at the same time. Overall, though, you were relieved to be rescued from the situation.

“Poe, baby, look at me” You demanded, grabbing his warm face, surely steaming from his evident anger.

“I think he got the point. Just leave it alone!” You protested.

“Let’s go” he ignored your words.

“What?”

“I said let’s go. Get your stuff, c’mon. We’re leaving” Poe emphasized, grabbing your bag from the bar and wrapping his arms firmly around your waist before leading you out with him.

“Hey! Stop it, Poe. Let go of me!” you hissed. The cold air struck your skin at the moment you both exited the cantina.

“I didn’t do anything”

“I know you didn’t. I saw what he did. But I am taking you home, now.” He insisted. His eyes were still so angry and this confused you. Poe said he wasn’t upset with you, so why was he so stern toward you? Why was he rushing to get home?

—-

When you arrived to his place, Poe slammed the front door open with an unnecessary strength and guided you inside with a hand on your back. Swiftly, you both removed your coats and hung them by the door. You’d not said one word to each other since leaving the cantina. At this point, you were scared to speak to him.

“Are you okay?” you broke the sharp silence hesitantly while Poe leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed, and his gaze directed at nothing but the thoughts running through his head.

Rather than answering your question, he slowly moves over to you across the room where you leaned against the wall. He placed both hands above your head on the wall and brought his face incredibly close to yours.

“You know, I’d hoped I wouldn’t see the day when another man tried to take you from me” He began softly “But, tonight...I had to watch that happen”

“Poe I was going to get away from hi-” You started, only to be cut off.

“No, no. I know that, baby. I do...but I don’t know what I’ll do with myself if I don’t take you, right now, and give you a little reminder...that you are mine”. The coarseness in his whisper against your ear sent shivers and excitement all throughout your body.

You were speechless, and he noticed.

“Do you know how it felt to see his hands tightened around your waist? Do you know what that did to me?” His voice was rough, but barely broke a whisper.

“W-what did it do, Poe?” You inquired. You were turned on by his behavior and he hadn’t even touched you yet. His hand met your throat and applied pressure, pushing you back into the wall.

“It lit a fire in me, y/n. Jealously that I’d never felt before” he growled. “And now I have to put that fire out”

“Okay” you agreed, still mostly speechless from hearing Poe talk to you like this.

“Now you’re gonna go take your clothes off, all of it, lay on the bed, and wait for me” he demanded. You’d not dare tell him no, you were too excited for what he was going to do.

You obeyed his commands and remove all your clothes before laying flat on your back atop the comfortable bed. Minutes later you heard his footsteps approach the bedroom. As he came into view, you observed his stance. He had his buttoned down shirt open at the top, and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand, swirling it before finishing it off, never breaking his gaze at your naked body.

He groaned quietly at the sight. You smirked at him, but his gaze remained stern, as it had since you left the cantina.

“Fuck. You’re perfect, y/n” he admired your body while you were on display for him. Only for him.

After resting his glass on the table, he removed his black leather belt. Rather than throwing it to the floor. He placed it gently next to you on the bed. What was that for? You wondered.

His shirt followed the belt, but was dropped to the floor. He stood there, in the same spot, still staring at you, now with only his black pants clinging to him. You admired his chest, wanting it closer to you.

“Poe...” you called to him

“Touch yourself” He instructed. You wasted no time, spreading your legs open to give him a better view. Your fingers found their way to your clit and began circular motions that made your body jump from your already heightened arousal.

“That’s it” he encouraged you. “Enjoy it while you can, you won’t be touching yourself for the rest of the night. You won’t be touching anything, actually”

You gasped, realizing now that he had many intentions for the belt that he left next to you. You continued to pleasure yourself for him, small moans escaping your lips for Poe to hear. He licked his lips subtly, eyebrows furrowed. He was so ready to get a taste of you but made himself wait so he could enjoy the show.

It was as if he couldn’t handle NOT touching you anymore when he walked toward the bed and grabbed the belt aggressively.

“Turn around, lay on your stomach” he said, and you do as he commanded.

The clinking of the metal on the belt grabbed your attention. You were unable to see what was happening, but you had an idea.

“Hands behind you”

Poe placed his knees on either side of your ass and grabbed your wrists together. With the belt in the shape of an 8, both your wrists are placed in each side before he quickly tightens it around them. With your hands bound behind your back, you were at his mercy.

He backed up, and pulled your hips up and backward with him. With the side of your face planted into the bed and your ass in the air, Poe was given open access to your very sensitive, already dripping sex. His fingertips circled your wetness and without much warning, he plunged two of them inside of you from behind. You gasped loudly, not expecting him yet.

“My god, you’re so wet for me already” he reveled, groaning at the feeling of your soaked warmth around his fingers. He curled them inside you, pumping at a steady pace.

“Fuck, Poe” you whimpered from your pleasure.

“You like that?” He said softly, barely above a whisper. Then, you feel the sudden sensation of his tongue against your clit with his fingers still working away inside you.

“S-shit” you moaned, the pleasure grew significantly.

Your arms squirmed as you wanted the ability to reposition yourself. The frustration of being restricted was arousing to you, something you didn’t know you liked until now. His tongue lapped between your folds and circled your clit rhythmically, his consistency pushing you to the edge already.

“Poe I’m gonna cum” you announced. He knew how to make you cum quickly and knew not to change anything about what he was doing.

“Oh my god, Yes” You moaned. You fell apart so gracefully onto his mouth and around his digits. Your orgasm flooded your body and somehow felt more intense at the arched angle he had you in. Your arms involuntarily squirmed again, wanting to grasp something in your state of euphoria. He noticed, and used his unoccupied hand to grab your bonded hands resting on your tailbone, a gesture that in the moment was so romantic.

As he picked up on your signals that you had fallen from your high, he removes his touch. You could see from your peripheral vision that he took his fingers into your mouth, savoring your taste.

“Now I have to show you who this pussy really belongs to” he purred in your ear, leaning down next to your face. Your body tingled, eager for him to take you.

He brushed the tip of his length against your sensitivity, causing your body to jolt. He softly chuckled, planning to tease you further. Poe circled your clit softly with the tip before pushing himself inside you only slightly, and removing himself again.

“Poe, please.” You begged.

“Please what baby?”

“Please fuck me” you pleaded. He slammed into you upon your request and relentlessly thrusted without time for you to adjust. You whimpered loudly, feeling a painful discomfort that slowly transformed to pleasure for you.

“Oh baby you feel so good....you’re so fucking tight” he breathed through his efforts. He ceased his thrusting and held himself inside you, completely buried. Your arched position allowed his length to press against a new angle in your walls. You whined as that new feeling was already overwhelming, almost too much with his size.

Your noises were mostly muffled from your face being pressed into the mattress. He wanted to hear you. He needed to hear your euphoric noises.

Poe’s hands moved from grabbing your hips to your shoulders and lifted you up from the bed. He did this both to expose your lips to release your moans as well as to use you as leverage to fuck you deeper.

He made no attempt to be quiet and exerted all his sweet moans into the air, turning you on by his voice alone. As he thrusted harder, he picked up his speed as well.

Poe suddenly wrapped one hand around your throat, causing you to struggle for air. He pulled you up and back, bringing his mouth to your ear.

“Who does this pussy belong to? Whose is it?” He growled in your ear.

“I-it’s yours” you managed to mumble

“Speak up”

“It’s yours, P-Poe” you moaned louder.

“That's right. This pussy is mine. No one else can fuck you, only me” he continued. “You got that?”

“Yes” you breathlessly whined.

He released his grip on you, and pressed your head back down onto the bed. You wanted so badly to touch yourself while he pounded into you, but your wrists remained bound together. It was as if he had read your mind when he reached around your hips to massage your clit. Your breathing hitched at the sudden sensation. 

“Look at you, taking my cock so well, baby girl” He purred. “So fucking pretty”

Poe’s moaning grew rougher and deeper as he approached his orgasm. The palm of his hand suddenly struck your ass, you pleasantly winced at the feeling. It was followed by several more, each hurting and stinging your skin more deliciously than the previous slap. He released something resembling a growl at the sight of your skin turning a cherry red from him striking you. 

The pleasure you experienced became overwhelming. Poe repositioned himself slightly, hitting deeper inside your walls, you could barely take it. Your eyes watered at the intensity of your ecstasy and you cried his name.

“Poe, yes, fuck. It feels so good” you whimpered.

“Yeah? You little slut, you love that shit don’t you?” He snarled.

“I’m gonna cum inside you, y/n...as another reminder to you, that you’re mine” He grunted through his choppy breathing. His thrusts became less rhythmic. He fell apart and you felt his cum fill you completely. He groaned loudly through his orgasm, and gripped your hips firmly through the intensity of his high.

“Fuck” Poe breathed, still buried inside you. Your body ached from the tense position you’d been in the entire time. After removing himself, he immediately worked to free your wrists.

“Gotta get these off of you”

Finally, a sweet feeling of relief overcame you with the returned access to your arms. You turned to lay flat on your back, catching your breath in the process.

“I’ll get you some water” Poe sweetly announced, before getting up, putting on sweatpants, and leaving the room.

You smiled warmly to yourself, loving the type of attention you received tonight. Poe returned with a glass of water, sitting next to you on the bed. He made sure you got plenty of hydration after the heavy breathing you exerted.

“Feeling okay?” Poe inquired.

“Yeah, just worn out right now” you chuckled.

There was silence for a moment while both of you settled down.

“I won’t leave you like that again. I’m sorry” he broke the silence, changing the subject. This confused you.

“What?”

“At the cantina. I’m sorry I left you alone for that long. That guy would’ve never had the chance to tou-”

“That wasn’t your fault, Poe.” You interrupted. “He was just an asshole. You know I can handle myself” you reminded him.

“Oh, trust me, I know you can defend yourself, y/n, but I still want to protect you when I can”

“You did more than enough...in more ways than one” you giggled.

“I love you, y/n” he abruptly expressed

You smile widely like an idiot, barely able to keep eye contact with him.

“I love you, Poe”

“You drink up. I’m going to get you a bath running” he says before planting a tender kiss on your perspired forehead.

It was impossible not to fall deeper in love with him every day.

[violetnotez]

Bakugo x reader

⤷ Genre: Fluff+small amount of angst

⤷ Word Count: 5307+

⤷ Warnings: Drunk reader, cursing, also reader+Bakugo will be aged up (early 20′s, cause no underage drinking in this house!)

⤷ Synopsis:  Bakugo doesn’t have any feeling for you. You’re just one of his shitty friends and that’s it. He’s only picking you up from a bar after your breakup because you drunk called him and not because he’s worried you’ll get hurt. He doesn’t feel his heart pang when you say you want him to drive you to his apartment, not yours. He doesn’t completely turn beet red when he sees you change into his clothes.But, as much as he denies it, Bakugo realizes he loves you when you cry to him drunkenly , saying you wished you had a lover as sweet as him

This fic is for the @bnhabookclub Bingo Event! Here’s my masterlist to see all my work for this event! Also this was actually inspired by @shoutogepi​ HC of Bakugo and Kirishima taking care of their drunk s/o! I honestly loved this headcannons so much, and they really inspired me to write a more angsty sort of spin on it. Here’s a link to her post (I also explicitly asked her if it was alright to take inspiration from her headcannons, just in case!)

Bingo Slot: Realized Feelings

Bakugo stepped his foot deeper into the gas, the engine in his car roaring as it zoomed through the dark streets.

Damn you and your shitty decisions.

He had been woken up in the dead of the night to his phone ringing annoyingly against his bedside table. Your caller ID of “Cute Shithead” was shining brightly against his face, his finger immediately taking the call. 

He had to admit, he was a little annoyed for you calling him so damn early in the morning, but hearing your voice immediately melted any irritation. By the way your words slurred together, you sounded completely wasted. That alone could turn him into a worried frenzy, but the tone of your voice sent ice down his spine.

You sounded so lonely, so defeated, as if you had lost all hope and were giving up. 

He rammed his foot again into the gas, following the directions to the club you said you were at as closely as possible over the roar of his engine. 

He was just being a decent friend and helping you out, he told himself. There was no other reason why he was helping you...it wasn’t because his heart practically dropped at the sound of your voice, or how he felt his chest tighten when you said “Please come get me Katsuki”

Or that you had called him, not anybody else, to come and get you. It was all platonic-he had to keep telling himself that.

He hastily pulled into the parking lot, his car swerving into a spot a little too haphazardly. He yanked the keys from the vehicle, closing the inky black door with a thud as he looked at the building in front of him. 

A bright, Neon green sign lit up the roof, a line of club goers filtering through as they waited for the bouncer to allow them in. It was pretty late in the night-2 am to be exact-so more people were stumbling out of the club than actually going on.

Bakugo quickly began to walk over to the establishment, his body weaving through drunken couples clambering to their cars or taxis. He was searching everywhere, helplessly trying to find your face in every person he saw.

Where the hell were you?

Bakugo turned to his side, looking at the asphalt that lead into the club. There were parking spots right there, all empty, probably for Ubers and Lyfts to come pick up people who had ordered them. THere were a few people sitting on the curb, waiting for their rides as they sat on their phone or blabbered drunkenly to their friends.

But then he spotted a familiar body, their shoulders slump down in exhaustion, their eyes downcast in defeat. He quickly made his way over, knowing exactly who that body belonged to.

“Shit y/n, the hell are you doing here by yourself-“

He quickly bent down, looking at you square in the face.

You gave him a weak smile, your eyes so full of relief and sadness he felt his heart ping from your expression.

He had to admit- you looked like a wreck. Your once meticulously curled hair was frizzy and in shambles from dancing, your makeup splotchy in places and black coating under your eyes. 

HIs calloused hands wrapped around your waist, his other arm gently pulling your free hand around his neck for support. He felt like he was moving a ragdoll-you complied with each of his movements, your body resting against his as if you depended on him

“Well, I did have some f-friends… with me…” your murmured out, your voice thick from sleep deprivation and alcohol.

“And the hell are they?”

“-they left a few hours ago…” you slurred,” I said I’d stay… a little longer”

Bakugo began to walk you to his car, the walk more like a stumble as he tried to guide you on your wobbling feet. He felt his insides heat up with an intense flame of rage, licking up and consuming his insides. How the hell could your ‘friends’ just leave you? THis was nothing like you, to be so impulsive that you became incredibly vulnerable in public. Something was seriously wrong with you, something you had to be going through.

“Shitty friends for leaving you like this.” he replied gruffly, making no attempt to hide his obvious anger. “Are you okay? Did anybody try and do anything funny to you?”

He was worried, he had to admit that to himself- you were clearly in a wrong headspace in a pretty sketchy place. Anything could go wrong, and he wanted to make sure that nothing happened.

Not because the idea of you dancing with another guy makes him want to punch a wall.

Or trying to lure you to his apartment made him want to yell and break that imaginary mans jaw, in order to keep you safe in his arms.

Nope-strictly platonic.

You scoffed at the blonde's words, a harsh chuckle spilling out of your chapped lips. “Of course Bakugo, everybody here wants to grope the girl who looks like she’s been crying all day-

“I’m fine-really”

Somehow, even with your slurring words and clouded mind, these words were the first sober syllables you had uttered.

But- if you were fine, you wouldnt be going to a club this late at night. You would have been smart enough to at least stay alert, not completely wasted, and you definitely wouldn't be by yourself. Your werent fine, and Bakugo knew it, because you werent being you.

He was impulsive, irrational, and went with his gut feeling, even if it was a stupid or dangerous idea. You on the other hand, were like his better half: calm yet forceful, a commanding tide to soothe the volcanic eruptions of his anger.

But now you were different, a choppy whirlpool of emotions that were locked away deep inside you, the effects changing your once calm and rational demeanor into something saddened and desperate.

Bakugo gave you a long look, his red eyes slanted as he tried to read what was on your mind.

He stopped your two’s trudging, finally being in front of his car.

A protest was dying to spill from his lips, to retort and fight back the obvious lie you had just uttered. But something in your tired voice made him falter, making him feel more empathy for you than frustration

“Okay then…” he sighed, “let’s get you home,”

  ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ

It was unnervingly quiet.

Bakugo had the music off, worried that the thumping bass would aggravate any possible headache you had as you curled up in the seat beside him, your high heeled shoes long forgotten on the floor of his car.

He drove much more smoothly than before, his eyes desperately trying to focus on the road. He wasn't used to this kind of you-he missed your smile, and the way you would joke and laugh with him. Of course he would act like he didn't like it, giving you snarky comments and off handed insults that would only push you even more to joke with him.

Now he felt like he was next to a shell of you- you were there, right next to him, but- You weren't there. Your smile, your spirit, your light- it was being blocked by some darkness inside you.

“Are-are you mad at me Katsuki?”

You finally spoke to him, making Bakuo’s eyes wide and his heart stop in his chest.

Why did you sound so timid?

Bakugo continues to glue his eyes on the road, his voice gruff yet uncertain.

“The hell I’d be mad at you for?”

“I don’t know…” you replied softly, “you just sounded-mad”

Shit- now he felt guilty, making you feel worse than you probably already did. It was just that he was worried, and sometimes his emotions came out quicker than his words. He just couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that you out of all people could act like this.

“Well, I’m not mad at you-I’m just-“ he sighed, trying to find the words.

“- the hell were you out that late? The club scene isn’t your thing”

You shifted uncomfortably in the seat next to him, cuddling yourself in closer to your body.

“I thought I told you-” you answered sadly, ‘I got dumped”

Bakugo blinked a couple times, the shock vibrating throughout his body. He knew you had a boyfriend, apparently Shindo Yo, the damn pretty boy of another hero agency.  You were his closest friend after all, so he dealt with the news as best he could, but Bakugo has never liked the guy. He always chalked it up to him being protective over you as your friend, but the way he used to feel so angry and so frustrated whenever he saw you hold hands or hug made him want to scream. A small amount of happiness filled up his chest by hearing you say you were single, instantly  making him feel guilty as he saw how distraught you were.

“The hell-“ he gulped out quickly, “what for?”

“Dont know..” you sighed, your face contorted in a grimace, “he-he said he needed to focus on his career-and that-that I was going to stop him from achieving his goals-”

Bakugo instantly felt anger erupt in his chest, his hands becoming clammy against the leather steering wheel.

“Wait-that dickwad, Shindo Yo, right? The damn extra won't amount to nothing, the hell he-”

He was rambling, the spiteful words spewing from his lips. He just couldn’t understand why your piece of shit of a boyfriend would dump someone as amazingly kind and caring as you, and go as far to say such awful words. It made him incredibly furious, and all he wanted to do was confront your now ex and give him a piece of his mind for causing you to act this way.

He was surprised though to hear your voice interject him, your tone stern yet pleading.

“Bakugo, can we not talk about it? Please?”

He wanted to kick himself for being so inconsiderate, an embarrassed blush creeping into his cheeks.

“Shit-I-okay,yeah”

The car ride continued in silence, Bakugo staring at the road in conflict, you cuddling yourself into a small ball on the leather seat.

It continued for a few minutes, until Bakugo broke the silence by clearing his throat.

“Want me to drop you off at your place?” He asked gruffly, looking at you slightly from the side. 

He noticed you shift, turning to look at him with large, pleading eyes.

“Can-can we go to your place instead?” you squeaked out, almost as if worried by his response. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound mean earlier….I just- always feel so safe and warm when I go to your apartment, Katsuki”

Bakugo felt his heart quicken in his chest-you called him “Katsuki”, his name. Something in you saying that made him feel hot from flusteredness, but then you said you felt safe with him...he had never been more thankful for the darkness of night, because he knew his face was completely red.

He gulped, trying to build up the wall around his emotions you were trying to knock down. With each word or truth that spilled from your sleepy, drunken mouth, he found it harder to keep his feelings at bay. He took a deep breath, his clammy hands readjusting on the steering wheel.

You two were just friends.

He didn’t like you like that and you-you probably didn’t either.

He needed to be Bakugo, your best friend, your rock in hard times, not Bakugou, the blushing mess next to you that was concerned with his own feelings.

He clicked the turn signal on his car to the right, taking the route back to his home instead of yours as he sighed.

“-Fine.” 

Bakugo pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building, the bumpy street roads now turning smooth as he fit his car through the metal gate and settled into a parking spot near his apartment. 

He turned the key of the car, killing the roaring engine as he stepped out of the car, the closing door as a soft thud as he commanded you to “Stay inside”.

Your sluggish head instantly perked at the statement, unable to understand what he had meant by that. But your body felt too tired, mentally and physically, and too weak to even protest. You stayed there, cuddled into the seat as Bakugo opened the door of the passenger seat, his arms outstretched as they tucked themselves under your body.

“Wait what are you-“ you asked sluggish, your eyes barely open as you wrapped your digits around his arms.

“I’m picking you up” 

HIs tone was calm and forceful, as if this was a completely normal occurrence between the two of you- which it wasn't. 

You instantly blushed at the prospect, excuses already forming on the tip of your tongue.

“You don’t have to, I can-“

“I could barely walk you to car and that was in flat ground,” he retorted back, I’m not gonna walk you up stairs-”

“Just let me do this”

He stated a little more softly, his voice gruff and low as he picked you up off the seat as if you weighed nothing to him. Your hands instantly latched onto his neck finding comfort by burying your head into the crook of his neck.

Shit-why you had to go and be so cute?

His grip around your body tightened, making sure you felt secure as he walked you up the plight of steps to his apartment. 

Something about this felt so surreal- your warm body against his, his hands wrapping your thighs, the way your hair felt against his cheek...these were all sensations that left his heart pounding.

All of this seemed to frustrate him as much as it brought him joy-he shouldn't feel any of these tingling sensations around you. He shouldn't feel weightless and giddy, or terrified he'd do the wrong thing around you all the time. It bothered him to know end, and made him feel so frustrated.

But the most frustrating part was the fact you were oblivious- that you had this secret power over him and you didn't even know it.

He finally stepped foot in his apartment, setting you down gently as he ruffled through his pockets for his keys. His hand was still wrapped around your waist, giving you some stability as he opened the door with a slow creak, ushering you inside.

You stepped inside, feeling somewhat out of place- you had been here countless times before: parties, get togethers, the meet up place before you would hang out with the Bakusquad….so why did it feel so strange?

The room felt more intimate in a way-you had never been here without someone else, usually Kirishima. 

And youd been here at night, but never this late, and the fact you had asked to sleep over- well, everything just felt so new and raw.

Thankfully Bakugo broke through your rapid thoughts, his vermillion eyes looking down at you with slight worry.

“You good? No needing to throw up or anything?” he asked gruffly. 

God he felt so close- you could practically feel his heat radiating into your body still, making your cold digits beg for his touch.

Your cheeks warmed at the thoughts, a small “Mm-mm” and a shake of your head the only thing you could muster to do.

He led you over to his room, passing the small kitchen and bathroom as he did.

“Then you need new clothes- get you out of that clubbing crap”

Your mouth instantly formed into a pout, your eyes looking up at your best friend.

“It's not crap-its pretty”you corrected him, your tone playfully hurt.

“More like tight,” he replied snarkily, “ how do you even move in that thing?’’

You were about to quickly retort back that he should wear the dress and find out, but then a sudden image of Bakugo wearing your skin tight dress at a club made you instantly double over in giggles. 

Bakugo gave you a questionable look, his red eyes almost judging your drunken, laughing form.

“I just keep it down with my hands silly,” you said in between giggles, your body flopping onto the plush comforter of his bed. Now you felt a little more at ease, as if the courage of alcohol had kicked into your system yet again.

Bakugo shook his head, his blonde locks swaying at the motion as he quietly said ‘Giggly ass drunk” under his breath. He began to rustle through his closet, trying his best not to stare at your form laying across his bed in such a body accentuating dress.

You hadnt seemed to notice Bakugo's rhetoric or dilemma, a soft smile gracing your lips stiill. Your propped your body up on your elbows, your tousled hair pooling against your skin.

“so what amazing little number are you gonna put me in now?”

“-This,”

You felt cloth instantly hit you square in the face, as if Bakugo had thrown it over his shoulder-most likely on purpose.

Usually you would attack the asshole for doing something like that, but you just felt too tired to even throw an insult back. Your lips pouted out once again, a small whine escaping your throat as you ripped the shirt from your face.

Bakugo grinned slightly at you ,finding your expression adorable as well as funny.  He watched you inspect the shirt, the fabric as dark as your dress.

“You would think interning with Best Jeanist would have left some fashion sense in you,” you spewed out, your face clearly distraught by the shirt he had given you.

He rolled his eyes, his grin now turning into a grimace. 

Was drunk you really that picky over a shirt?

“That was 5 fucking years ago, and I only interned with him cause he was one of the best,” he tried to defend himself, feeling his cheeks grown warm from your drunken disapproval. But his fiery personality kicked in, his tongue beginning to stutter over his words. “- just throw the goddamn shirt on before I let you sleep in that shit you call a dress”

“Or I could sleep in my underwear, there's other alternatives,” 

your words flew out of your mouth faster than you could stop them, a triumphant grin on your face as you saw how beet red Bakugo became.

A giggle escaped from your lips, the sound ringing softly against his ears.

“Dont worry Katsuki, Ill wear the clothes,” you gave him a soft smile, cuddling the clothing to your chest.

He blinked a few times, trying to get his heart to settle back into a steady rhythm.

This wasn't real.

You didn't make him nervous.

You were just his best friend- you being in his room, in a pretty dress, making flirty remarks didn't affect him.

You were drunk-you weren't yourself right now- so why did he feel so hopeful? And for what?

He quickly spun on his heel, turning around before you could catch the glowing in his cheeks.

“Whatever-just call me if you need help” he threw over his shoulder, his hands closing his bedroom food with a loud slam. 

Bakugo sat himself on the couch in his living room, his hands resting on his face, his elbow connected to his legs.

The hell was going on with him?

As he was brooding over his conflicted emotions, he heard the door of his room click open, and it seemed all his feeble attempts to slow down his heart went out the window.

There you were, clad in his black tshirt, the fabric pooling around your thighs and making your arms look tiny in the flowing fabric. You must have been wearing the shorts worn from under your dress, but still- he got a full view of your beautifully plush thighs, making heat rise to his cheeks.

Strange sensations filled his stomach, that tingling butterfly sensations filling his stomach-

The hell was wrong with him?

“For your clothes being so bland, they are pretty comfy…” you smiled up at him, his heart quickening at the small gesture.

You walked your way over the couch, resting your body opposite him, giving ample space between the two of you as you sighed in content.

“I could go to sleep right now”

Bakugo snorted, his arms wrapping against his chest as the heat continued to rise in his cheeks.

“The hell your not-”

You instantly pushed yourself up, cocking your head at Bakugou in confusion.

He had to admit it to himself- your looked-cute-, sitting there, your legs crossed with his shirt wrapped around your frame, your eyes wide and hair a mess.

He could get used to seeing you like this-

But shit he couldn't-didnt-think like that. You were his friend, nothing more.

“What do ya mean?” you asked “You were complaining about me two minutes ago, wouldn't you want me to go to sleep?”

He gave a small chuckle, his eyes looking down at the floor.

“Sure but-I'm not letting you go to sleep with all that shit on your face-”

Your hands instantly went to touch your face, your digit scrubbing against the skin.

“Huh?-Oh”

You looked down, and there on your hand was your foundation, a tiny bit too dark as it had mingled with your bronzer and highlighter, black running against your skin like tire streaks on a road.

How did you not even feel that was on your face? How drunk were you?

The thought of you being so intoxicated you forgot you had makeup on seemed like the funniest thing ever, giggles dribbling out of your lips.

“Oh my god, I forgot!” you laughed, chuckles wracking through your body.

Bakugo simply shook his head, unable to contain a smirk from gracing his lips. He got up slowly, walking over to your side of the couch to offer you his hand.

“Alright cmon-you giggly ass drunk,” he smirked, his lungs tightening as you gave him a smile of your own, your smaller hand slowly taking hold in his larger one.

You leaned into his body, already accustomed to him being your support- he would at least admit it right now...you were cute

He walked you over to his bathroom, his digit flicking on the light switch. 

It was a little small, with enough room to hold two people inside. He gently pressed you against the wood of the cabinet, his hands grabbing your waist as he hoisted you on to the counter.

Any other day you would be embarrassed by this sudden closeness with your best friend but something about this felt bitter sweet. It had been so long it seemed like since someone had truly cared for you, being there by your side and making sure you were okay. It felt comforting to have Bakugou near you, but you knew this wouldnt last. You were drunk and feeling broken-is was just his obligation as your friend to get you through the night. Once you sobered up, itd be back to the way things were-bitterly lonely.

As you muddled in your emotions, your feet dangling against the cabinets, Bakugo was rummaging through in the cabinet next to you, emerging with a bottle of makeup remover.

You cocked your head at the bottle, the liquid inside an artificial yet soothing blue.

Why did he have that?

Bakugo stared down at the bottle in his hand, his red eyes quickly glancing at the writing on the side and setting it down on the counter, now rummaging for a cloth.

“This shit should work-”

Your hand grabbed the bottle, now inspecting it in curiosity.

“When did you get this?”

“Remember last time you came over,” he asked over his shoulder,” when the power went out in your apartment and you said you had to do your makeup?”

You simply nodded your head-you remembered that day. You had planned to go and watch a movie with your boyfriend-ex, and the screening was at exactly 12 am since it was premiering. You had wanted to look at least a little decent, but fate had gone against you and destroyed that plan halfway into putting on your  makeup. So you had of coursed called Bakugo, who grumpily obliged to let you use his apartment.

Bakugo’s hands gently took the bottle from yours, his hot skin brushing against yours as he applied the liquid to the cloth. His frame fit snugly in between your legs, your inner thighs brushing against the fabric of his sweatpants.

 “Well, You left it-” 

He simply stated, everything in his being trying to keep his tone leveled as he began to wipe your skin clean of the events from the night. 

You had never seen Bakugo be so gentle- he was taking his time, focusing on one small area and then moving onto the next. His strokes were even and light as air, not digging into your skin or forceful in any way. 

“And- and you kept it?” you gulped out, your eyes searching his own vermillion ones.

Bakugo was scared, terrified even-he didnt want to look you in your eyes. 

Would he do something he regretted if he did?

He was trying to control himself, to fight everything in him all night to not let you catch on to him, to not let you or himself see his true emotions...he was getting too tired to fight, and he was scared that he’d let something slip that he didnt even know about himself yet.

“Well yeah, I wasn't just going to throw it away,” he answered,” I figured you'd come and get it,”

He paused, his hand faltering against your skin for the smallest second. Maybe-it wouldn't hurt to say something...you were drunk after all, you wouldn't remember most of tonight probably….

“-also,” he gulped out, his heart beating in his chest, “ Its nice to have reminder of you here too,”

Your eyes instantly widened, the wind knocked out of your chest, constricting almost in pain.

Why did that make you feel so-so fluttery inside?

And why did it hurt so much?

Maybe because it almost sounded like-Bakugou may care for you? More than just a friendly way?

No-it couldn't….he was your best friend….but god, it felt so good to be cared for, to actually feel wanted-

And of course had to be by someone you knew you never had a chance with.

Your shoulders began to shake, realizing how much you must have screwed up-you lost your boyfriend, was humiliated by him, and then humiliated your own self by losing control. 

Bakugo was the only one you had truly could count on-he was the one person you called, and he had shown up to get you. He had tried his best to keep you comfortable, went out of his way to keep you safe, his best to keep you happy…

How long had it been since someone had been this caring to you?

Your shoulders began to shake, the weight of everything crashing down on you, tears spilling across your cheeks like rain droplets outside a car window.

How did everything turn out so wrong?

Bakugo instantly noticed your change, his body instantly panicked and worried.

“Shit-y/n, you okay? Whats wrong?” he asked, his tone desperate as he set the cloth down and wrapped his hands around your forearms, securing you as wave after wave of tears racked your body.

He wrapped you into a slow hug, his warm palms placed firmly against your back as you instantly wrapped your arms around his neck.

He felt so warm and safe, your noise buried into the soothingly sweet smell that was him. 

“Katsuki I-I-Im sorry, I didnt mean to-” you blubbered out, trying your best to apologize over your heightened emotions.

Bakugo had no idea what to do- was this just something you did when drunk? He had no idea why you had started crying, and he hoped it wasn't something he did- but telling by how in pain you looked and how quickly you welcomed his embrace, this was something he didnt do and couldn't fix-at least not quickly.

He continued to hold you tightly, his hands beginning to become clammy against your back.

“Dont say sorry-Your fine, just- tell me whats wrong,”

He felt your hands ball his shirt in your fists, your chin digging deeper into his skin.

“I wish I could find a guy as great as you,”

Shit.

Bakugo’s face turned beet red, his arms stiffening at your words- when he asked what was wrong, he didnt mean something like that.

But the truth comes out when you're drunk, and Bakugo fully believed in this saying…

Did that mean-you liked him?

He couldn't deny it now- it was too hard and everything was against him at this point.

Just the small prospect of being your lover made Bakugo’s heart quicken, the little sentence you just uttered destroying the wall he had kept to protect himself from the truth.

He liked you.

Alot actually.

He scoffed, trying  his best to remain calm as he cradled you in his arms.

“Im not as great as you think I am,”

He felt you cuddle yourself even deeper into his neck, your hair tickling his jawline.

You seemed to be calming down as Bakugo had had a mental crisis….your sobs were now sniffles, and you werent breathing as hard. But you still were cuddled deep into his body, as if using him to block yourself from the outside world.

“No you are, you really are…”you sighed quietly, “ even if you are an ass sometimes, you are very kind and sweet-

“I just wish I could date someone like you,”

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

How could he even say anything after that?

How was even able to respond?

He wouldn't-Bakugo decided to hold you quietly, as if you never said anything...but those words were echoing inside his head.

God- you could date him in a heartbeat. But, reality kicked into Bakugou- you were drunk, and just got dumped. You were just starved of touch and affection from that.

There was no way sober you would have said something so revealing as this- you saw him as his best friend, nothing more and nothing less of that. You wouldn't jeopardize your relationship by saying something that could mean the end of your friendship.

Bakugo felt the tightness of your body loosen, your breathing now regular, something so different from a few minutes ago.

“Y/n?” he asked quietly, almost timidly as he waited for a response.

Nothing.

Bakugo sighed, a small, tired smile playing on his lips

“You fell asleep huh?”

Bakugo playfully rolled his eyes as your quiet demeanor spoke the truth for him.

His hands found themselves placed against your back, wrapping against your body once again so that your legs were around his waist, his arm supporting you as he carried you back to his room.

Maybe in the morning you would remember this...maybe not. He was conflicted- a part of him hope you didn't, so your relationship could resume as normal, but- something in him hoped you remembered. And hoped you wanted to talk more about it- because if you felt the same way and meant it, he wouldn't mind to see if you two could be more than just friends.

He pecked a look at your sleeping form, your smushed face against his shoulder making his heart fill with warmth.

“Shit-if only you knew...I would date you-

“even if your a giggly ass drunk,”

[sokkas-honour]

for spotify wrapped: #7 and zuko?

checkmate - zuko x reader

pairing: modern!zuko x fem!reader

wc: 4.3k

warning: parties, alcohol, vomiting, kind of cheating, lmk if i’m missing smth

notes: the party in here is a kind of based off the ones i’ve gone to so they might be drastically different than they actually are lmao. if a character is very ooc for you, please lmk, i’m often scared that i differ too much from who they actually are. also i loved writing this and have been working on it for days.

-

you think you're funny right? calling me drunk when it's too late at night

he sat at his desk, book open as he studied for his earth kingdom history test late that saturday night when he received a call. he wasn’t very interested in answering but he reconsidered when he saw your name as the caller id. with a sigh he clicked accept.

“heyyyy zuzuuuu.” your words slurred through the phone when he finally picked up. voice sounding somewhat absent as lyrics from whatever song was on played in the background. you must’ve been yelling into the phone as the music seemed to playing rather loudly.

“hey y/n.” zuko sighed but still greeted you, a small smile forming on his lips at the fact that he was talking to you.

“did you knowww that you’re kinda cute?” you asked, a loud giggle escaping your lips at your drunken confession.

“thanks y/n.” a blushed spread accros his cheeks at your compliment.

“zuzzuuuuuuuuuu, come to the party. pleasseee.” you begged, your words starting to slur even more as you pleaded for your friend to come to the gathering.

“where are you right now?” he asked, realising that he hadn’t heard of any party during the week and hadn’t seen anything in their group chat. he had absolutely no idea where you were and who you were with.

“jet’s place. he invited me to his party with his friends.” you explained, practically shouting into the phone as the music behind you blared.

“did you go alone?” he pushed for more information, concern growing as you explained the situation. he’d heard rumours on things jet had previously done around campus and even in high school, none of it sounded any good and it rose all of his red flags.

“well no, with jet.” you stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“i mean with someone from our friendgroup.” he clarified, remembering that your drunken self probably wasn’t exactly thinking much.

“nope.” you popped the ‘p’ as you cheerily responded which earned a sigh from the firenation boy.

“what’s jet’s address? i’ll be there soon.” he concluded. he’d come to get you and let you spend the night at his place since you seemed a bit too drunk to be trusted to be left alone.

“he texted me roku valley number 35? i think? it’s this huge house.” you seemed to have sobered up as you told him where you were.

“i’ll be there in less than 15 minutes.” he informed the drunken girl and started grabbing his keys.

“see you zuuuzuuuu.” he heard you say but you didn’t hang up so he didn’t either, figuring you probably wanted to say something else.

right as he was about to grab his jacket, he heard a discussion between jet and yourself and grabbed the phone, and put it on speaker to be able to know exactly what was happening.

“hey y/n, you enjoying yourself.” jet asked, seeming to have not been affected by any alcohol yet. unbeknownst to zuko, he had handed you a bottle of beer which didn’t take you long to finish.

“yeah, i even got a friend to come.” you excitedly responded as you continued to drink.

zuko listened intently as he left his apartment to get to his car, he threw his phone in the passengers seat and started his car as another distinctive voice came up into the phone.

“so what about you and that firenation boy.” jet asked, this time no music was blaring but the voices were just muffled as your phone was in a pocket of yours. the no music meant that you had stepped out of the main room and you were probably alone with the boy.

at the realisation, zuko sped up, the roads were practically empty so he didn’t bother anyone as he couldn’t wait to come and get you.

“zuzu?” he hadn’t been paying much attention to your conversation with jet as he focused on the road ahead but the mention of his caused him to pay half attention to the call.

“i dont know. he’s like my best friend y’a know.” you explained to the boy after he had nodded, zuko deducted the last part.

he decided to just hang up as he was getting closer to his destination and before he knew it, he was in front of the house where the party took place. he parked rather hazardly on the sidewalk but he wasn’t going to be there for long, a simple get in, find you, and get out.

when he opened the door, some random generic pop song was blaring and a crowd of people were all in the center of the room, drunkenly dancing around. he had to push a path for himself to try and find you but it was a bit hard considering it was perfectly lit.

“zuko?” he heard the familiar voice of haru, a fellow classmate with whom he had shared classes with in his sophomore year of college.

“hey haru, have you seen y/n?” he didn’t feel like small talk as he was concerned for you. thankfully for him, haru seemed to pick up a small stress in his words and pointed to the kitchen with his head.

“thanks.” zuko smiled and quickly left to the direction that the earth kingdom boy had said. when he finally found it, it was practically empty apart from two people who seemed like they were about to indulge in a make out session and his eyes widened when he was able to recognise you. he’d recognise you anywhere.

“you mind leaving?” apparently he hadn’t been very discreet as the boy, who he saw was jet, moved his head to glare at the newcomer. interested, you turned around, your back now facing jet and you grinned.

“zuko!” your excitedly exclaimed, quickly leaving jet’s grip and skipped to your friend happily. to any sober person, your skipping was a mix of jumping and almost falling, and in any other circumstance, zuko would’ve found it adorable.

“hey y/n/n.” he was a tad bit surprised as you wrapped your arms around his waist but relaxed when you slightly cuddled into his chest.

“nicely played scar boy. nicely played.” jet gritted through his teeth at the fact that zuko had just taken the girl he had been flirting with away from him.

“jet that’s mean, zuko’s scar is very pretty to me.” you mumbled, not loud enough for the person that you actually wanted to hear it but loud enough for zuko to hear and it made his heart race.

telling me truths that you know all are lies, yeah, you think you're funny right?

the car ride home was quiet from both sides, zuko focused on the road while you went in and out of sleep.

when he finally parked near his apartment, he got out of the car and when he went to help you, he saw you were already out but slightly leaning against the car as you were tired.

“see zuzu? i’m not that drunk.” you gave him your signature drunken smile, earning a chuckle from him as he wrapped his hand around your waist to help you stand up.

he kept it around you as he you went up the two flights of stairs and he been kept it around you as he opened the door. you almost sprinted to bathroom as soon as the door was open, feeling the contents of the night come up.

concerned, zuko quickly shut his door and went after you. his heart broke slightly when he saw you leaned over the sink, a weak hand holding your hair back as you body ridded itself of whatever was in its stomach. he leaned down, wrapped a solid hand around your hair and rubbed circles on your back as you kept going.

when you finally felt like your stomach was completely empty, you rose your hand slightly. eyes red and cheeks puffy, you tried to give zuko some sort of joking grin but you were only met with a concerned face.

he let go of your hair and filled up a nearby cup of water and handed it you while you sat on the ground, not feeling like getting up just yet.

“spirits y/n, how much did you drink?” he bent down to your level, hand on your knee and worried eyes staring in yours.

“don’t know.” you shrugged your shoulders before slowly sipping the water.

“i guess you can tell me tomorrow morning, after you’ve rested a bit alright?” he suggested, taking the now empty cup from your hand and placing it on the sink counter. he extended his hand towards you to help you stand up and you gladly took it.

you let him guide you to his bedroom. you took a seat on his bed and absentmindedly stared at the wall in front of you as zuko grabbed a pair of his sweatpants and a shirt for you to sleep in. you staring got interrupted as you felt the clothes land on you, turning around, you saw a small smirk on his face.

“how kind zuko.” you seemed to have somewhat sobered up, throwing a playful grin his direction as he turned around to let you change in privacy.

“once you’re done, i’ll just grab a thing or two and go to the living room.” he explained, meaning he was giving you the bed.

“no zuko stay, it’s fine.” you crawled to the other side of the bed in his clothes to grab his hand, trying to get him to stay.

“you sure? don’t want you throwing up on me.” he joked, earning a slap on the arm from you as you moved back to the other side of the bed to give him some space.

you had taken your phone out of your pocket and were scrolling through it as you waited for zuko to get ready.

‘had fun tonight, see you tomorrow evening? 7pm?’ you texted jet, hoping you could finish whatever you started.

‘cant wait’ was his response that came almost immediately. a smirk on your face, you shut off your phone and placed it face down on the night table next to the bed as zuko entered the room.

“who were you texting?” he asked, eyebrow raised in questioning.

“no one, just scrolling through insta.” you lied, a reassuring smile on your face as he took his spot next to you. you mumbled one last thing before placing your head on the pillow and passing out. it wasn’t loud but you made sure that it was loud enough for zuko hear it. “i love you.”

you think you're super sly, flirting with them but telling me you're mine,

zuko woke up before you, smiling at your adorable soft snoring. he knew you were going to have one hell of a hangover so he prepared the ibuprofen and the glass of water, and set it on the night table closest to you before heading to the kitchen. he figured that he might as well make breakfast for the two of you, knowing that you’d be ravenous as you had been the multiple times you’d spent the night.

the boy found himself falling asleep next to you at least a couple of times a month, this being the third in two weeks. you two had never defined your relationship but you were both there for each other. he often found himself taking a drunk you home, wether it be from a random campus party or a little get together with friends. he didn’t mind, he loved spending time with you.

he got out the pan, the eggs and the bacon. that was something he knew how to cook and it was your favourite post-drunk breakfast, you always claimed that his bacon and eggs were the best.

while he was cooking the bacon, he heard some rustling from his room and a small knowing smile spread accross his face. he could hear the floorboard creek as you stepped out of the room and arrived practically directly in the kitchen.

you had woken up to an empty bed but to a heavenly smell. once you saw zuko in the kitchen being the cause for the delicious aroma that had filled the appartment, you rubbed the last of the sleep out of your eyes and walked towards him. you thought he looked adorable as he cooked so you wrapped your arms around him and cuddled into his back. you knew exactly what this did to him.

“good morning sleepy head.” he greeted you, heart racing a bit at your proximity. zuko desperately wanted to turn around to kiss you good morning but opted for keeping his attention on your breakfast.

“good morning.” you mumbled into his shirt, too lazy to remove your head from its comfortable position which earned a small chuckle from the raven haired boy. you could feel it in his chest.

“sleep well?” he asked as you moved your head so that only your chin was against his back, letting your just stare at the ceiling.

“like a baby.” your morning voice prevented you from saying it normally so it came out more as a rasp than anything.

“figured as such, you passed out as soon as i turned off the lights. how’s the hangover?” concerned laced in the last part, moving the eggs from the pan to a plate that he had already prepared.

“better than expected, i’ll take the pill after i eat something.” you explained, trying to clear your throat in order to have a bigger range of voice.

“mind unlatching yourself? breakfast is ready.” he explained as he placed the final bacon on the two plates then turned off the stove. you reluctantly removed your arms, a small pout forming on your lips.

when zuko turned around, a plate in each hand, he laughed a bit at your childish expression but still leaned a bit down to place his lips against yours as he wanted to when you first stepped into the room.

you smiled into the kiss and it replaced the pout even after he broke it in order to place the two plates on opposites sides of the two tables. you decided to make yourself useful and went to grab the silverware.

the majority of the meal was spent in silence, a couple of giddy smiles and compliments on the food were exchanged but a conversation didn’t pick up until you were about to finish the last of your eggs.

“did jet do anything last night.” so that’s what zuko was thinking about during the meal.

“no he didn’t zuko, i wouldn’t have let him anyway. i may be drunk but i’m not dumb.” you explained, telling a small white lie in order to reassure your friend. jet and you were about to make out but zuko didn’t have to know that, even if he saw the position you two were in, it was possible to lie about the intentions.

“you sure? didn’t seem like nothing when i found you.” he sipped his water as he doubted your previous statement.

“i was a bit nervous so he was kind enough to talk me out of the funk i was in.” you lied through your teeth but kept a genuine comforting smile, even extending your hand onto the table in order for him to grab it.

“what were you nervous about? since you seem to remember last night pretty well.” he looked at your hand but refrained from bringing his up to yours.

“i only remember bits and pieces zuzu. and don’t know really, i was probably nervous about you.” you bit your lip, waiting to see zuko’s reaction to your wild claim. as you expected, his eyes widened in shock and blushed.

“me? why would you be nervous about me?” he stuttered a bit in the beginning, his heartrate picking up your confession. zuko had been head over heels for you ever since he saw you in his first class of his sophomore year, and he wished more than anything that you two would get together.

“don’t know, maybe it has something to do with that beautiful face of yours.” you brought your mug of tea that he had made up to your lips to hide your small smirk but you still sent a wink in his direction. you loved watching his whole face illuminate and his cheeks grow redder.

“oh.” was all he managed to say, too stunned to say anything. zuko had been in multiple relationships before, boys and girls, but none of them ever drove him as crazy as you did.

the rest of the morning was spent by helping him do the dishes along with a bit of cuddling on the couch as the news served as background noise. sadly, an alarm rang from your phone, reminding you that you had somewhere to go. time to kill and get ready before your little rendezvous.

“do you have to go?” zuko mumbeld, not wanting you to leave his embrace.

“yeah i set a reminder to remember to start studying for the math final.” you explained, slightly unwrapping yourself from his grip.

“that’s in a long time y/n.” zuko rose an eyebrow in confusion, unwrapping his arms from your waist to let you get up.

“yeah but i’ve been falling behind and need to catch up by myself.” you explained, grabbing your phone and put it into the pocket of the sweatpants you were wearing and you realised you were still in zuko’s clothes.

“you don’t mind me keeping your clothes that i’m wearing right? i’ll change once i get home.” you gave him your best puppy dog eyes in order to convince him to let you keep his comfy clothes.

“of course, you look hot in them. also, feel free to leave your old clothes here for the next time you crash for the night.” he eyed you up and down, loving how adorable you looked in his clothes. it wasn’t the first time he saw you in them, the number of times you needed new clothes after a party was so high he lost track. you usually kept them but returned some.

“why thank you zuko.” you teased, grabbing your coat that he had placed delicately on top of an armchair.

“see you soon?” he wishfully asked hoping you two could go out together sometime as you were about to leave the room.

“you can count on it pretty boy.” you sent him a small smirk before shutting the door behind you. behind the door was a lovestruck boy that finally had his chance.

building me up, but buttercup you lied, now in gonna ruin your life,

a couple of weeks after that night, zuko and you had spent a couple of afternoons together and zuko savoured every minute of them. you were supposed to meet him and the rest of the gaang at a coffee shop but everyone had already finished their drinks and you still hadn’t showed up.

“you sure she’s going to show up zuko? it’s y/n.” sokka took zuko out of his constant glancing at his phone to check for any messages from you. you were somewhat notorious for showing up to friend dates later then the decided time.

“she said she would be there, y/n promised me she’d be there today.” the boy insisted, opting to stare out the window when he spotted katara placing her head on aang’s shoulder.

“she’s over an hour late, let’s just head back to our place and ask her to meet us there?” aang suggested after placing a small kiss on his girlfriend’s forehead.

“yeah zuko, i love y/n just as much as you but she might just have gotten caught up with something.” toph shrugged her shoulders, trying to help everyone convince the raven haired boy to just leave the coffee shop.

“i guess you’re right. let’s go.” zuko turned his head from his outdoor gazing and smiled to his friends who all cheered a bit before everyone grabbed their jackets.

everyone walked in pairs to take up less space on the sidewalk on the way to katara’s, toph’s and aang’s apartment. zuko found himself walking side by side with suki who was talking to him about a recent goof that sokka recently made. he felt bad for not fully paying attention but he couldn’t help thinking about why you didn’t show up or even text him. you never came late to any of your dates so why be late now.

all of a sudden, he bumped into toph who had stopped walking, apparently everyone stopped walking for some reason but he was so engrossed in his thoughts he didn’t realise it.

“why did we stop.” he asked, turning his head into the direction that everyone was staring in. he squinted his eyes, trying to see what everyone was seeing.

“jet.” sokka said through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the aftermentiononed boy. zuko finally spotted him, katara’s short lived highschool romance who supposedly ended badly. he had heard some rumours around campus but other than that, it seemed like a bad highschool experience.

“oh no.” he heard those two words slip out of sukis mouth as he saw who jet was with, he would recognise you from anywhere. he saw jet whispering something into your ear which earned a giggle from you before leaning in to peck his lips.

“how about we go this way.” aang nervously suggested as everyone spotted you, not wanting to make this too uncomfortable for anyone but it was too late, zuko’s heart dropped at the sight.

“yeah, sounds good to me.” he managed to say, swallowing hard as he couldn’t take his eyes off of the similar way you acted with jet. the look you gave him was the same, he thought it was reserved for him.

cause ive gotten tired of the games that you play, when you tell me you love me then you throw me away,

when he got him that night, realisation dawned on him. every time you left a bit early, claiming to go study or go see friends, you were probably lying. it solidified when he received a text from you, probably apologising for being late because you didn’t seem to notice your whole friend group down the street from you.

‘hey zuzu, i’m so sorry but not making it today. i got caught up with this highschool friend i ran into.’

the text basically aggravated him, he saw the reason why you were late and receiving a text for you lying about why you weren’t there. he decided not to bother to respond and basically just find a way to release his agression. opting not to make his phone a victim of his anger, he grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at the wall.

‘we still on for friday night? at that really good firenation restaurant?’ he heard his phone ding with a message from you right after he picked up the poor pillow that had suffered so much.

zuko was about to call you to confront you but then it hit him, you were just playing with him, you were just playing with jet. you probably only saw him as a friend but noticed his obvious feelings and decided to toy with him, or maybe that’s just what you did with everyone.

you two never actually said that you were both a thing, which is probably your excuse for all of this. but there was one thing you didn’t realise, and it was that two people could play at this game.

‘of course, see you at around six pm at zheng-ho’s delicacies?’ he smirked slightly when he got your enthusiastic text back, agreeing to meet him then and there.

the only thing left was to bring someone else into this game, someone who had previously been apart of his life in the beginning of college. she probably wouldnt mind a small rekindling without any real commitment.

he searched for her name in his contacts and clicked on it, realising it had been a while since he had contacted his sisters friend and his old girlfriend.

‘hey mai, i know it’s been awhile but wanna meet up at around five this friday?’ and sent, your single player game was now a multiplayer one.

so cry me a river 'til you drown in the lake, cause you may think you're winning but checkmate,

the rest of the gaang decided to avoid the topic during the week, letting the tension between the two of you be resolved on your own. you of course were unaware of them seeing you with jet, and even more unaware that zuko saw you kiss him, so you kept flirting with him, feeling a bit down when he didn’t always reciprocate it.

so now you stood, in front of zheng-ho’ delicacies at exactly six pm, waiting for your date with zuko. if anyone asked you, you’d say you felt a bit bad about dragging zuko into your games but it entertained you, it kept you on your toes.

you recognised the firenation boy across the street thanks to his scar. but who you didn’t recognise was the girl with long black hair that was holding his hand. he looked down at her and placed his hand on her cheek to lean down and kiss her. the action making your blood boil, what the hell was he doing.

you took your phone out to pretend you didn’t see anything, only lifting it when your heard his footsteps next to you.

“hey y/n.” he greeted you as you lifted your head with a small smile, lifting yourself up slightly to kiss him, taking him by surprise.

“good evening zuzu.” your hand immediately went to grab his, trying to show him that you had the upper hand in whatever game he was playing. you didn’t know that he saw your kiss with jet, you didn’t know that he had figured out your little game.

“shall we.” he unlachted his hands from yours, holding the door open for you with a smirk onto his face, knowing you were shaken by the change of power dynamic in whatever game you were both now playing.

yeah you may think you're winning but checkmate.

general taglist: @butterfly-skinnylegend

zuko taglist: @duh-dobrik

atla taglist: @missmorosis @draqondance @biqherosix @firelady-jay @welovediaaxx

[trulycevans]

the first date

[gif not mine, credit to original owner]

Warnings: drunken antics, and some swearing

Summary: anon requested

“how about chris x reader where they agree to go on a first date to see a football game and she shows up wearing a jersey of the other team🥺🥺😂😂and chris is shocked, not realizing that she might be a fan of the other team but his shock quickly changes to adoration bc she is cute in her cap and a little too big shirt🥺😂”

Words: 1.7k

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

[A/N i don’t know much about american football as i’m from the uk so i’ve had to use google a lot for this, if anything is factually wrong then pls dont hate me]

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

R I N G. Your phone blared in your pocket as you pulled up outside of the busy sports bar. Upon seeing the bustling street filled with drunk fans you silently questioned why you’d offered to pick your cousin and his friends up. You answered the call through your car’s handsfree as you found a parking space. “Heeeey [Y/N],” Your cousins slurred words spoke through the line. 

“Hi bud, I’ve just parked up, are you outside?” You questioned putting your car into park and relaxing slightly. 

“No, we’re just having one more drink, can you come in?” He hiccuped on the other end of the line. “You know I have work tomorrow right?” You questioned him and he giggled. “Yeah, but you’d do anything for me right? I mean we’re practically siblings,” You rolled your eyes as you turned your car off and put the phone to your ear. 

“Fine, I’m coming in. Where are you?” He directed you to a table at the back of the bar, and you shuffled through the crowds of football supporters in vibrantly coloured jerseys and scarves. You finally managed to find your cousin who gave you a large hug on arrival. “There she is!” He grinned, “My big cousin!” He exclaimed, swaying you both from side to side. “Hi bud,” You smiled pulling the blue Indianapolis Colts baseball cap from his head and putting it onto your own head. “Did they win?” You questioned, as you pulled away from his embrace, muttering hellos to his drunk friends as you sat on a bar stool next to them. A chorus of ‘yeah’’s followed your question. 

“I’m gonna go and buy the next round, what do you want?” Your cousin asked, attempting to stand up but stumbling as he did almost knocking into another person at a neighbouring table. You mumbled an apology to the group and helped your cousin to steady himself. “Bud, the likelihood of you getting served anything else is slim to none right now. I’ll go and buy you something. Just sit down.” He placed a sloppy kiss on your cheek, “You’re the best cousin ever you know?”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You owe me, bud” You chuckled before heading over to the bar to order more drinks. You waited patiently to be served feeling sorry for the poor bartenders having to work that shift. 

“You don’t strike me as a Colts fan,” You heard a voice beside you, you turned your head to see one of the men from the neighbouring table leaning against the bar. It was only now when you actually had a chance to look at him that you realised how attractive he was. His brunette hair poking out from underneath a black NASA cap, a trimmed beard framing his face, and sparkling blue eyes dancing over your face as you looked at him. 

“Oh I’m not,” You blushed subconsciously reaching up to touch the hat you’d stolen from your cousin. “I’ve just come to pick up my cousin, he’s the Colts fan” You explained, and he nodded. “Ah so that’s your cousin back there?” He questioned, both of your eyes scanning the table where your cousin was swaying drunkenly in his chair, eyes closed and a cheesy grin plastered on his face. 

“Unfortunately yes,” You laughed, “We’ve always been close, but never agreed on the team we should support, it’s been a consistent argument over our childhoods.” The bartender finally reached you asking you what you wanted, and as you opened your mouth to order the man next to you interrupted. “Let me get this. I insist.” He smiled. 

“The man insisted,” the bartender shrugged at you. “Uh ok... three Budweisers and just a Diet Coke... You sure you wanna pay?” You asked the man as the bartender reached into the fridge behind him for the drinks. “Yeah, just come and sit with us for a little while at least, bring your cousin and his friends too.” You nodded at his words. 

“I’m Chris by the way,” holding out his hand for you to shake. “[Y/N]” You responded by taking his hand into yours.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Sitting with Chris and his friends had caused you to stay at the bar way longer than you had planned, your eyes widened as you peered at your watch some hours later. “Shit, we’ve gotta get going. I've gotta be up for work in five hours.” You downed the last of your drink and tapped your cousin who had dozed off on your shoulder. 

“He’s not waking up any time soon, [Y/N].” One of his friends laughed, “He’s impossible when he’s like this.”

“Need some help getting him to your car?” Chris questioned, a wave of relief passing over you at his offer. “That’d be so amazing, thank you.” The pair of you stood up and a chorus of farewells were exchanged between you and Chris’ friends. You and Chris hauled your cousin up from the chair and carried him out, one of his arms on each of your shoulders. Approaching your car you cursed at the big yellow ticket that was slapped under your windscreen wiper.

“Shit! I forgot this was short stay parking only,” Leaning over to pick up the ticket from your window, struggling however as your cousin's weight crippled you. 

“I feel like this is partially my fault,” Chris stated apologetically as he hauled your cousin into the backseat of your car and stepped to the side so you could manoeuvre the sleeping man into a comfortable position. 

“No, I should have remembered to move my car...” You sighed, “I should have paid more attention to the time. 

“If I hadn't invited you to our table though you’d be home by now. Let me make it up to you?” He kept his gaze on your back as you strapped your cousin into the seatbelt.

“Make it up to me how?” You questioned, standing back to shut the door, glancing at him quickly. 

“Well I have tickets to the Patriots v Eagles game if you wanted to come with me?” He scratched the back of his neck nervously causing you to smile.

“Like a date?” You raised an eyebrow.

“I mean it doesn’t need to be a date, but it can if you want it to be?” His flustered demeanour was extremely endearing and part of you was wondering how he was even single when he looked that good. 

“I’d like to go on a date with you Chris” You ran a hand through your hair, 

“Great, can I get your number then?” He asked and you obliged, passing your phone over to him so he could stamp his digits into it. You heard a groan in the backseat of your car, causing the two of you to laugh. “I’d better get him home before he pukes in the back of my car, it’s just been valeted.” You tiptoed to press a light kiss to the cheek of the taller man, being close enough to smell the mixture of beer and sandalwood that radiated from him. “I’ll text you,” You whispered. 

“You’d better” He grinned cheekily at you. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

chris 🤍: I’m just leaving my house now, see you soon X

You grinned foolishly down at your phone as you read the text message. Peering in the mirror you straightened the Eagles baseball cap on your head and tugged at the slightly oversized jersey. Ever since that evening at the bar you’d been texting Chris non-stop, even FaceTiming a couple of times where you’d met his dog, Dodger, and he’d had the chance to talk to your cousin now that he was sober. 

A knock at the door had you racing through your apartment only to hear your cousin get there first. 

“No. Freaking. Way!” He exclaimed, causing your eyebrows to furrow together, when finally reaching the door your confusion was replaced with dread as you gazed at his blue Patriots hoodie and the NASA hat you recognised from the bar. 

“You’re an Eagles fan?” His eyes almost bulged out of his head as he looked at the turquoise jersey. 

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it” Your cousin winked, patting your shoulder in mock comfort as he passed, “Good luck” He whispered, loudly enough for Chris to hear. 

“I guess I should have checked what side of the stands we were sitting in,” You nervously laughed, folding your arms over your chest. You watched his expression soften and he reached his hand up to move your arms away from your chest, intertwining your fingers with his. 

“Well,” He hesitated. “As disappointed as I am that you’re not a Patriots fan, you do look incredibly cute in that get up.” You flushed a bright shade of red at his words as his eyes scanned your body, “Come on give me a spin” He teased, using your intertwined fingers to spin you around slowly. 

“Chris, don’t be mean!” You pouted as you were facing him, and he laughed, his eyes scrunching closed.

“I’m not being mean... But that jersey is drowning you-” You playfully smacked his chest. “I do have some Patriots clothes in the trunk of my car if you’d prefer to not get heckled in our seats?” 

“That sounds like a good idea,” You sighed, taking the cap off your head and throwing it on the side table by your door. You shouted goodbye to your cousin and walked hand in hand out to Chris’ car wear you exchanged an Eagles jersey for a Patriots one. “You have a personalised jersey?” You giggled, looking at the EVANS emblazoned on the back.

“Don’t tease, football is kinda my life.” He grinned as you pulled on the jersey. You fixed your hair in the reflection of his rear windows, feeling Chris’ eyes studying you carefully.

“I didn’t think you could get any cuter, but you definitely suit blue more than green.” 

“You’re walking a fine line here, Evans. Shut up and get in the car before I change my mind” You playfully rolled your eyes, sauntering over to the passenger side of the car.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

taglist

@onetwo3000​ @tvckerlance​

[kibybun]

Anonymous asked: What about either Dabi + Hawks or Erasermic with a darling who they think is just a sweet, shy little café employee, but once they've been kidnapped they find out that darling is actually either an undercover hero or on-the-run villain from a different country who's actual personality is basically the opposite of what they thought. Would they feel betrayed? Angry? Maybe a little impressed? (Bonus if this is a "darling gets revenge on their yandere" scenario, but only if you want :>)

Yess I love this idea! It's like a coffee shop au but with more twists and turns! Also you're so sweet! Thank you so much and I hope you have an amazing day/night!❤❤❤

Yandere Dabi + Hawks x Reader

Tw: Yandere, kidnapping

Enjoy!

💙Dabi and Hawks were walking around down town trying to avoid work. In the news, for the past few weeks atleast, all they talked about was this run away criminal. They had committed mass murder in the country next to their's and has been suspected to have fled here. This was tiresome due to the fact everyone wanted them.

🧡The hero's wanted to apprehend them and gather up all the fame and publicity while the villains wanted to recruit and monopolize their power. Dabi and Hawks were over this.

💙They had escaped their duties and were looking for a break as they walked through the barely lit streets at night. They didnt really expect to find anything open due to how late it was but were pleasantly shocked seeing as a little coffee shop was open.

🧡The duo enter the shop and are greeted with the pleasant smell of coffee. They also are greeted by you.

💙When they saw you they stopped breathing, their hearts beated harder and faster. They had fallen in love.

🧡You were on your phone simply trying not to doze off. You didnt even realize that someone had entered the coffee shop.

💙Hawks makes the first move and approaches you with a silly pet name. You jump, very unaware anyone was inside the shop, and drop your phone.

🧡You apologize and stumble on your words in a cute and flustered way as you pick up your phone and greet the two.

💙The two of them are awestruck by your cuteness as they watch you make their coffees.

🧡You make their coffees and they sit and watch you. It was subtle so you didnt notice and if you caught them looking you didnt mind. The only thing that bothered you was how they whispered, how they instantly shut up whenever you walked by.

💙You didnt like how it felt knowing they could possibly be talking about you, so you go and sit with them. Not before fumbling with your words asking if you could.

🧡They seemed excited as you sat with them, disregarding how awkward it was for you.

💙They start conversation by asking simple questions and answering themselves afterwards. It seemed normal and fun, especially with everything being so lighthearted, but something felt off.

🧡All three of you dodged questions about past events and family. It was odd but none of you spoke out about it.

💙The conversation continues on untill sunrise with many coffees in between. None of you really noticed untill the sun's piercing light blinded you.

🧡You stand and stretch before ushering the two sleepy men out of the cafe. It was closing time and you weren't going to put in extra time.

💙Hawks tries to ask your number but you close the door before he can ask. You wave through the window and scurry out of view. Dabi and Hawks stand there for a moment before walking off to do their tedious job.

🧡That night the duo returns to find the cafe closed. It was around the same time as yesterday when they arrived but the doors were closed and the lights were off.

💙They sit patiently outside the shop for around a hour or so but still nothing. They leave reluctantly, heartbroken they couldn't see you.

🧡They continue to return night after night looking for you for the next few weeks. It was useless seeing as the cafe didnt open since thay one night.

💙Hawks was moping around while Dabi was annoyed by your sudden disappearance but mainly due to Hawks. They were about to lose hope of finding you as well untill they found you at a corner store at midnight.

🧡You were holding a cheap bottle of liquor when the two of them charged you. You didn't understand what was happening as two pairs of arms engulfed you with your name being shouted. You freeze in shock and terror, dropping the bottle as well.

💙It takes a moment of the two of them blabbering on about how they missed you oh so much for you to realize it was those two guys from nights ago. You found it really weird how happy they were to see you but that they remember you too.

🧡You gently pry yourself from their rather tight grip and face them. Their faces were flushed pink as they held an unreadable look in their eyes.

💙You try to make awkward conversation but they only give half answers as they watch you with unwavering attention. They didnt even notice the employee trying to squeeze by and clean up the glass and liquor.

🧡You grow heavily uncomfortable so you grab another bottle of liquor and try to shuffle away from the awkward silence. Sadly, they wouldn't let you.

💙Hawks grabs your right arm, picking up another bottle in his free hand, and Dabi grabs your left arm, pocketing the bottle you were holding along with one or two more.

🧡They drag you to the cashier and pay for one bottle and start to drag you to somewhere else. You protest and object but they continue to drag you through the barely lit city to some crappy abandoned store.

💙They sit you on the ground and trap you by sitting far to close to you. Hawks slings an arm around your shoulders and pops the cap off of the bottle he was carrying, taking a big swig and talking about something random. Dabi starts to pull out all the bottles he smuggled out, telling Hawks to shut up in th process.

🧡Hawks hands you you his bottle that has significant amounts gone and insists you drink. Dabi wasn't paying attention but the weight of Hawk's beady bird eyes makes you crack under pressure.

💙You tip the bottle to your lips but you dont let the liquid escape the bottle. You swallow your saliva and hope it plays off the illusion that you did drink some of it.

🧡Hawks buys it and happily takes the bottle back and chugs more. Meanwhile Dabi had downed a good portion of his drink.

💙You continue to "drink" as the other two grow more tipsy, slurring incoherent words.

🧡Slowly, they doze off. Unfortunately, clinging onto you for dear life. Somehow you are able to escape their death grips and snag a semi full bottle before disappearing into the early morning light.

💙The boys wake up severely hungover panicked. Where'd you go? Did someone take you? Are you hurt?

🧡They try to jump up and find you but the sudden urge to puke over took them. They'll be sure to search for you in a hour or so.

💙The cycle begins again. They search every place they can think of as well as visiting the cafe and corner shop. It wa as almost pitiful how they searched for you like lost puppies.

🧡It was a month this time before they found you. This time you were walking toward someone with a limp. This time they were going to grab you and never let you go.

💙They take a slightly more stealthy approach this time. They creep behind you quickly so that you dont meet up with the other person. They grab you and knock you out to make transportation easier.

🧡They set you down on the ground of a dusty building and study your face. For some reason something felt off. Your face looked different in a way they couldn't explain. They chalked it up to being all the time they spent apart.

💙They sat close by waiting for you to awake. When you did they still kept their minimal distance but voiced their joy excitedly.

🧡When you wake your bombarded with noise. You glare harshly at the two in front of you and unleash a terrible string of slurs and cuss words directed at the two.

💙They were completely stunned. Where did the cute, shy girl they fell in love with go?

🧡What freaked them out even more was the wicked grin that spread on your face. Then their vision went dark.

💙It was their turn to wake up with a pounding headache, confused and dazed. They look around to see you talking to someone. They turn and reveil themselves.

🧡They were also you.

💙One had a softer look on their face while the other had a harsh scowl.

🧡They ask what's happening as they have a hard time deciding who to look at.

💙The kinder looking you steps forward and crouches down. You give them a slightly apologetic look before speaking.

🧡You explain how you were on the run and needed a place to stay. Hence the cafe. When they barged in you had to play along so you didnt get caught. That's when you ditched the cafe and later met then in the corner store.

💙Your face suddenly turns sour as you speak in a harsher tone. You explain how you were fine with their dumb crush until they brought your twin into it.

🧡The second you laughed in the background as their faces contort into pure shock.

💙You then stand and walk back towards your twin, spinning around to face them and explain why the two of you were on the run.

🧡Simple. You're wanted for mass murder.

💙Dabi and Hawks had two very different reactions. Dabi was throughly impressed with how you hold your true self so well while Hawks was heartbroken. He felt so betrayed having his one true love lie and deceive him like that.

🧡Tears pool in Hawk's eyes as he starts to scream and shout at you for breaking his heart. You walk towards him and crouch down. You wipe away one of his tears before roughly grabbing his face and whispering in his ear.

💙You tell him how he'll pay for hurting your twin and how the two of you know exactly how to make someone pay.

Kiby~💚

[sneezingpotatoes]

Merry (LATE ASF) Christmas xD

Over a year late, but... You know?😂😂😂 I come baring gifts! xD Gotta keep my word no matter how long it takes lmao

Okay so I got my ex-best friend to draw Draco for me xD LOL She’s vanilla and doesn’t know about my kink so I had to kinda sneakily ask her to add the blush and stuff lmao BUT FOR THE MOST PART, this is my OC Draco xDD She did a good job with it! That’s him feeling all sickly in the story xD I might get her to draw my other OC’s too! If you want her to draw for you too or see what else she drew, her instagrams are: @ixreikoluxi and @ixreiko_luxi ((Just dont message her anything kinky LOL but she does do commissions on anime art!)) Also I tried new things in here... And there’s a lot that be happenin in this fic so hopefully it’s a good read lmao xD 

ANYWAYS MERRY (LATE ASF) CHRISTMAS AND ONTO THE FIC XD I think it’s around 15k words OvO ENJOY

December 23rd

 A soft murmur slips past Draco’s ears through the darkness of sleep, earning a sleepy snort and a shift on the couch from the sleeping drunkard. The murmur wasn’t loud enough to fully wake the hungover excuse of a man resting on the couch, but it did plant the seed of a weak headache into his temples from the lingering alcohol flowing through his veins.

“...co ... Draco! Wake up, please.” 

The gentle shaking of his arm causes Draco to slowly stir awake. The rugged man lazily blinks a few times, trying to get his eyes to focus through the dim light on the face hovering above him. He winces as he’s greeted with a sharp churning in his stomach from his heavy alcohol consumption the past few days, cursing at the situation entirely.

“Shit. Wahtimeisit..? Wahdoyouwant?” His voice was deep and groggy from sleep, words slurred from his mind and mouth both sluggish and still trying to register and function at the thought of being awake so early.

“It’s 10 ‘till 6am. I need you to do the Christmas shopping for me while I’m at work today.” The gentleman firmly instructed. Shit. He had forgotten about that. The rugged man audibly grunted, rubbing the sleep out of his tired eyes. “I left the shopping list and some money on the table. Do not forget about it, Draco. I mean it.” His voice was strict and bold, leaving a mark on Draco’s deafened pride. The gentleman locked the door behind him and was gone before Draco could even attempt to respond. 

“Could’ve at least turned off the fricken light, jeez.”

He groaned, dreading the long day of shopping he had ahead of him. Every time Reuben had asked him to go to the store for him, it was always at least a four-hour endeavor, seeing how Reuben always had items on the list that he had never heard of, and the nearest shops around his area were all unheard of and he had no idea where any of the items were. Even if he did go shopping on a regular basis, he was sure that he would still be lost in each of the supermarkets. Christmas was in two days, so that meant that everyone was out and about, doing their last-minute Christmas shopping, just as he was about to, seeing how he had waited nearly a month to even think about the list. Yeah, Reuben had warned him about this multiple times, that’s why he had made the list ahead of time, but Draco didn’t care. Well, he didn’t care until now. The rugged man cursed to himself just thinking about the long shopping list and having to deal with crowds of people. Why did he have to do all the damn shopping, anyway? ‘It’s not like you do anything all day, anyway. You just lay around or go to the bar and get drunk. The least you could do is help out around here and go to the grocery store.’ He could hear Reuben’s nagging voice already engraved into his memory. They’ve had this conversation once before, and Draco hated to be reminded of it. He sighs, shoving away the memory and slamming his eyes shut, trying to return to the peaceful slumber that he had been rudely awoken from.

4 hours felt like minutes according to Draco as he was rudely pulled out of sleep by warm licks to the tip of his nose. At first, he shoves the clever feline back away from his torso and rubs his freshly licked nose, sluggishly trying to go back to sleep. Absinthe returns a couple of seconds later, gently sitting on his chest with a soft ‘meowrr’ that makes the rugged man bat an eye at the creature.

“Jesus Christ, cut it out, will ya!?” The man grunted, remembering that he was supposed to feed the feline two hours ago, and that he probably wouldn’t hear the end of it with Reuben when he got home. She speaks again, hopping onto the floor and stretching outward near her food bowl. “Alright, alright already. Shaash, I’m goin’.”

Brain still foggy from sleep, the rugged man brought himself to his feet, releasing a loud, well-needed yawn that forced his jaw to slack all the way open as he headed into the kitchen, feeling the patient feline watching his every move. He takes the can of cat food from the cabinet and sluggishly places the food in the bowl, having Absinthe instantly begin to eat the protein packed meal.

“You’re welcome, little bastard.” He mumbled as he watched the feline scarf down the mushy substance, gliding a gentle hand behind her ears. “Must be good, huh?” It was odd. Draco normally judged Reuben for speaking to his feline like an actual person, but it was actually quite soothing to say the least, as it brought a wry smirk to his face. Obviously, he wasn’t going to tell Reuben that. The black cat abruptly stopped eating and peeked her head at the man crouched directly behind her, purring when he rubbed the right spot. He gave her one last rub before getting up to grab a change of clothes.

He called an Uber after taking a decently long, hot shower and eating a slice of cold, leftover pizza from the fridge for breakfast. Reuben was the only person with a car around here and he had taken it to work today, so he felt that an Uber would be the better option at least. The rugged man scoops the money from on the table into his pocket, grabs the shopping list and heads outside into the freezing winter air.

***

The sky was a nice dark gray, not doing the sun any favors with providing any warmth or sunlight really. There was a cold, gentle breeze that would occasionally brush through his dark black bangs and hug his neck and chest, forcing him to pull up his short jacket collar as much as he could in order to shield himself from at least some of the coldness. This would be one of the moments that he missed his trench coat and fedora the most. Reuben had made him throw the old things out entirely and get a completely new wardrobe about a week after he had moved in. He couldn’t complain; he didn’t much care about having to wear new clothes, he just wanted to keep his fedora and trench coat if anything. The sound of car tires sloshing in a puddle of rainwater catches his attention as it appears to be his Uber driver. The driver waves at his direction, beckoning him to come over.

“So, where we headed?” The uber driver asked as Draco entered the back seat.

“Just to the local shopping center up ahead. I put the damn address in the app, why are you asking me? Do your damn job.” He muttered, eyeing the long list in his hand. He’s sure that the driver said something back to him, but he wasn’t listening; He was already in a bad mood and had to prepare himself for the long endeavor ahead of him. 

The closer they got to the shopping center, the more Draco started to get annoyed. There were so many cars in the street, driving slow for what Draco thought was both to look at all of the Christmas lights and decorations hanging up on all of the lamp posts and just from the amount of people in the area period. There were so many people walking on the sidewalks with their families, friends, partners and just some walking solo; He was kind of glad that he hadn’t driven here himself. It would be hell to find a parking spot anywhere, and just hell to get out of here. He grunts to himself, noticing a few people wearing face masks that were walking along the sidewalks as well. He had forgotten that this was the perfect weather and season for people to get sick. It was probably the perfect place to get sick too, seeing how there were just so many people brushing up against one another, touching all sorts of the same products and just overall breathing the same air in general. The driver pulled over in what seemed to be the middle of the shopping center, having a giant Christmas tree on display to his left with so many bright lights and Christmas ornaments dangling from all of the branches. That seemed to be the hot spot of the entire center, seeing how there seemed to be a ton of families crowded around the tree, whether they were taking pictures in front of it, sitting and chatting, or just hanging out around the area. He paid the uber driver and exited the vehicle, instantly starting to make his way towards the nearest supermarket so that he could get out of this mess as quickly as possible.

Draco was hit with a little bit of relief when he entered the store, feeling the heat instantly wash over him as he grabbed his handheld shopping basket. It was short lived though as he saw how long the checkout lines were, and how many people were still shopping down every isle in the store. He briefly sighed, shoving all of his aggravation aside. He knew that he wasn’t going to get anything done fast if he just kept moping about the situation.

It took about an hour of roaming down every isle a few times, bumping into and being bumped into a good handful of times and scanning over the shopping list at least 30 times before Draco was sure that he had gotten a good selection of items off of the list and made the executive decision to check out. It didn’t matter which line he chose; each line was so long that it was stretching into an actual isle, causing multiple people to have to cut through every once in a while, just to get to the other side of the store. He picks the closest line to him and decides to start waiting now rather than later. Why does everybody have to be out shopping right now anyway? He thought to himself, feeling his arms starting to grow tired from carrying the heavy basket for so long. 

It wasn’t long before other shoppers began to slowly file in behind him, causing him to feel slightly uneasy from how close they had to stand in order to be out of the way of other shoppers. What made matters worse was that the person behind him sounded like he was under the weather and Draco didn’t want to be anywhere near it. The thick sniffling that was heard from behind him made Draco internally groan. Damn it, he hated this so much. The regret was really starting to sink in now. At this moment he wished that he had went shopping right when Reuben had made the list. There’s a chesty cough from behind him that makes Draco turn his head slightly enough to see a young man sniffling helplessly into the palm of his hand. He rolls his eyes, feeling like he’s stuck in his current position. He knew that he always had an option to leave the line, but he had already waited 10 minutes and he didn’t want to be there any longer than he had to. The shuffling of feet in front of him caught his attention as he followed suit and scooted forward a couple of inches as the next customer was being serviced. There were only two customers in front of him now, and he was actually standing inside of the gap with the chip racks and soda coolers; He was nearing the light at the end of his tunnel. He knew that he could wait a couple more minutes and put up with this a little while longer. That was until…

“Hh… Ah’TSSCHiuh!!” 

The loud sneeze from behind makes the rugged man flinch, feeling a gust of air and cold spray instantly hit the back of his neck. He slowly turns around completely this time, bringing a hand up to wipe where he had felt the sickly spray come in contact as he was greeted by a young man with short brown hair, sniffling and wiping his nose onto his jacket sleeve.

“Oh, come on, man! Are you freggin serious?!” Draco yells, feeling disgusted and aggravated at the stranger. The outburst causes a handful of eyes to veer over to their direction. The younger man could only give a sheepish smile in return, feeling way beyond embarrassed and nervous of what the rugged man would do.

“I, uhh… I’m sorry, man! It’s just allergies! ‘Tis the season, right?” The young man said with a pleading smile and nervous laugh, trying his best to ease the rugged man over. Allergies my ass. His voice sounded thick and strained just from that apology alone, and Draco already knew what this meant. He looked like a walking germ cell; ain’t no way that’s some goddamn allergies. 

“Un-fucking-believable.” He muttered, looking at his hand in disgust. He was furious way beyond comprehension, but he didn’t want to cause a bigger scene than he had already. For this kids’ sake. The young man pulled out a pack of tissues and handed him one with a shaky hand. “Where the hell was this at before you fucking sneezed on me?!” His voice was loud with anger again as he snatched the tissue out of the man’s hand and wiped his own in disgust. The younger man quickly fumbled into the packet again to grab his own tissues as his eyelashes began to gently flutter shut. 

“Ah’TSSCHiih..! Ih‘TISShiEW!!” 

The cans and bottles in his handheld basket clanked against each other as the young man jerked forwards, diving into his hand full of tissues as his bangs bounced off of his clammy forehead with each itchy explosion. He would’ve crashed into the chip rack if not for the kind stranger behind him. Draco was relieved when the customer in front of him was beginning to load the belt with his items, allowing him to scoot up some again. It was short lived though, when the young man also scooted up behind him, sniffling and coughing so close in his ear it felt like he was practically shoulder to shoulder with him.

Finally, after a few more minutes of waiting, it was Draco’s turn to quickly checkout and instantly leave the store. The cold air greeted Draco once again, but he didn’t care this time. He was just happy to get out of that store and separate himself from that walking germ infestation. His arms were already starting to get tired even though he had two more stores to visit; He just wanted to go home honestly and take another hot shower to cleanse himself. It was about a ten-minute walk to get to the next store on his list. The fresh air was really nice, but it was awfully cold and starting to loosen up his sinuses. He had to sniffle every few seconds just to try and prevent his nose from leaking onto his numb upper lip.

His second shopping experience was pretty similar to the last store, minus the disgusting event, but the process went by faster than he had thought it would, and for that he was grateful. He peered down at the shopping list once again, having a wave of relief brush over him from seeing the small handful of items that he had left to get: Cranberry sauce, Asparagus, wait… Proscouittio? What the hell was a proscouittio? The rugged man sat down on the nearest bench, allowing his arms to rest by setting down all of his grocery bags onto the cold concrete as he pulled out his cellphone and dialed up the pediatrician.

“Hello? Draco?” The smooth and concerned voice of the gentleman was heard on the other end of the phone.

“Yeah, it’s me. What the hell is a pro… scouittio?” The rugged man asked, voice still coated with irritation from having to be out shopping. He snuffled twice into a curled knuckle, giving the underside of his nose a quick wipe after feeling a faint burning at the back of his sinuses from the cold air. A light chuckle is heard on the other end from the gentleman.

“It’s prosciutto, not proscouittio.” Reuben corrected through a light snicker. Draco snarled, irritably bringing his phone closer to his mouth. 

“If you’re going to laugh and make fun of me, so help me God I swear I’ll hang up right fucking now and blow this money at the nearest bar in sight.” His voice was dry and grim, causing Reuben to stop his chuckling instantly. The rugged man snuffled thickly again, lifting up his arm to briefly rub his leaky nose along his jacket sleeve this time. 

“Okay, okay, calm down. There’s no reason to get all riled up.” Reuben’s voice had a naturally childish glee to it today that forced Draco to ease up a little, even if he didn’t want to. “It’s a thinly sliced ham. Very delicious. You can find it at Scardello deli a little way east of the Shopping Center. Oh, and Draco, make sure you’re reading all of the ingredients carefully. My parents are coming over and it has to be correct.” It was hard to pay attention to Reuben, seeing how his nose would not stop running no matter how many times he wiped at it. He had to keep sniffling to himself in order to barely keep the leakage at bay. He audibly sighs, as he felt his inner nostrils begin to tingle from the cold air just enough to make his chest bounce with a muted hitch.  “—And a block of Gruyère cheese from the deli too, please.” There was a moment of silence before Reuben realized that he had been talking to himself for the past few seconds. Another muted hitch escapes from Draco as his nose and lips began to quiver uncomfortably from the subtle itch. 

“Hehh…” He could feel his eyelids start to droop closed and his shoulders begin to rise from the third inhale that was audible this time and forced him to bring up a shaky hand to squeeze his nostrils shut with his thumb and forefinger. 

“Hello? Draco? Are you there—" The hitch only sounds like a soft grunt to Reuben as he is unable to hear clearly since Draco instantly pushed the device deep into his chest as he jerked forwards twice.

“Kxxnt… Hhuh-… Eh’GSXnt!” The first sneeze was weak and soft enough to go unnoticed, but it made the gentle tingle in his sinuses rattle, causing the second sneeze to sound a bit more agitated and loud enough to get picked up on the line.  

“Oh? Bless you, Draco. Are you alright?” Reuben asked, voice clearly coated with concern. The rugged man barely caught the sentence as he brought the phone back up to his ear, sniffling a handful of times into his curled knuckle.

“Yeah, ‘s just cold as hell out here. What were you talkin’ about?” Draco muttered, massaging the bridge of his nose with chilled fingertips.

“I said I need you to pick up a block of Gruyère cheese from Scardello’s Deli for me while you’re out. I must’ve forgotten to put it on the list.”

“Jeez, I need a drink.” Draco groaned as he massaged the bridge of his nose in irritation of the new item added to his list this time.

"Tell you what: I'll pay your bar tab for all of the hassle you're going through today, even though all of this could've been avoided had you listened to me." Reuben offered, mumbling the second half of his sentence in a matter-of-fact manner. Draco didn't care though. He was sold on the 'pay your bar tab' part.

"You've got yourself a deal then." 

“Good. Oh- And Draco, be safe out there. Don’t stay out in the cold for too long. Make sure you’re keeping wa--” 

“Tch.” Draco instantly ended the call after he irritably smacked his lips, ignoring the pediatrician’s advice. He didn’t need to hear something he already knew and was well aware of. Reuben wasn’t his parent. He knew how to take care of himself. The rugged man quickly stood back up in a huff and headed straight for the second to last store on his list. 

The next store that he needed to visit was a fresh produce store. Reuben was very picky about the ingredients that he needed. He always wanted it to be organic and to be from a certain brand, which was very annoying and very time consuming to find. If he had been lazy and just brought home a random brand of the product, he knew that he wouldn't hear the end of it from Reuben. Draco didn't know why the hell he cared so much, seeing how it all tasted the same to him anyway. What was the point? It was all food; one just costs more than the other.

The list was growing shorter though, and it only took him about half an hour to find the ingredients that he needed, and checking out was a breeze. The only place he needed to visit was Scardello's Deli. He was glad that this was his last stop though. He was growing rather hungry and decided to take this opportunity to grab him some lunch with the leftover grocery money, if he had any.

Upon approaching the Deli, his heart instantly sinks from how many people are inside of the deli, and just from seeing all the tables outside being filled as well. For a brief moment he had forgotten that it was almost Christmas and that the piles of people showing up to this Deli wouldn't be an exception. Scardello's was also a popular Italian deli, famous for their tasty, high quality ingredients; seeing this many people here on an average day wouldn't be surprising either. You'd be lucky if you didn't have to wait in a long line that extended outside of the store.

Draco quickly stepped in line, wanting to save his place before someone else had the chance to and began the waiting game for the last time. He was happy, seeing how after he was finished shopping here, he could finally go home and he also had free alcohol on his waiting list. It wasn't too bad though. He enjoyed the scent of freshly toasted bread and the savory scent of spices that were infused into the meats. This was the best experience he had today for waiting in a long line, even if he had handfuls of groceries in his hands.

After waiting for about 20 minutes in line, it was finally his turn to order and he was relieved. There was a big glass full of different types of meats on display in front of him, all looking very delicious, but he points to the specific type of prosciutto that Reuben had asked for, along with the block of Gruyère cheese. The cashier nods to the rugged man and repeats the order back to a couple of workers that were slicing meat in the back as he pressed a few buttons onto his register.

"Prosciutto di Parma. Good choice. Delicate to the tongue and sweet to the taste." The woman behind him stated as she approached the meat display and stood beside him. She held her black suitcase to her side as her long, white lab coat flapped behind her as she turned to study the rugged man standing in front of her. "Hmm... You don't look like the type to eat anything close to prosciutto... Who sent you?" She mused, chuckling to herself as she saw the confused, and now irritated glare on Draco's face. The rugged man furrowed a brow at the lady, feeling offended by her choice of words. ‘Look the type’? The hell does she mean by that? 

Her long, brown hair seemed to flow vibrantly behind her back, naturally complimenting her dark, purple orbs while she looked at the display case full of meat. She was actually very beautiful in Draco's eyes; he had to force himself to shift his gaze so that he didn’t end up staring for too long.

"I gotta $62.60 for a Prosciutto Di Parma an’ a Gruyère ." The cashier stated through a heavy Italian accent that instantly snagged Draco's attention and brought him back to reality. Over $50 for just some damn meat and cheese? What has the world come to, he thought to himself. 

"U-uh, yeah, and I wanna add your uhh... Italian Sub. That should be cheap enough at least." He muttered, dazed by both the woman still hovering over his shoulder and the price of the meat as he fumbled into his pockets for the leftover grocery money. 

"Ey, Giuseppe, put his order on my ticket." The woman stated as she gently grabbed his hand in order to prevent him from scrambling for the lose bills in his pockets any longer. “Grazie mille amico mio.” Draco gave the woman both a confused and disapproving look in return but she brushed it off as she placed her own order on top of his. 

“Nessun problema. Qualunque cosa per mia sorella!” The cashier replied with a smile as he typed away on the cash register. 

"The hell d’you think you’re doing, lady? I have the money to pay, you know." Draco muttered to the woman with shattered pride after she had placed her order. The cashier had told them to stand over to the side as they began preparing their food.

"Mm-hmm. Oh I'm sure you do." She said with a flirtatious grin. Draco couldn't tell if she was joking or if she was just being sarcastic. Or both. The childish tone of her voice reminded him of Lirin a bit, and made him unintentionally release an agitated sigh. "Nobody in their right mind walks into Scardello's with pocket change."

"Listen, lady, pocket change or not: money is money. Don’t give a rats ass about how it looks." Even though she was very beautiful, her beauty didn’t seem to filter Draco’s mouth nor his personality. He could care less, really. She could’ve been Beyonce in a two piece and he still would’ve said the same thing. 

"Hm. Touché." She muttered, giving the rugged man an approving nod before giving him a light punch in the shoulder. “Can you not call me lady though? Don’t you know how rude that sounds?” 

"Do I look like a fuckin’ mind-reader? I don’t know your name, lady.”

“The name's Sicily." Her response came out awkward sounding as she fought to keep herself from actually socking him in the shoulder again. “Gaash, do you kiss your mother with that potty mouth?” 

"Don’t you ever mention my mother ever again, you got that??" He mutters intensely, having the cashier interrupt their conversation with two bags of food in hand. 

She awkwardly thanked the cashier and gave him a tip before leaving the Deli. Draco followed her outside over to a wooden bench a few steps away from the Deli as she sat down and separated the food between both of them.

"Y’know, you’re being kinda rude to the person that just bought all this food for you. Here." She said as she gave him the bag with freshly purchased food inside. "That one's yours." Draco accepted the bag in silence as she taps the bench and invites him to join her and have a seat, in which he distantly accepts. The two sit in silence for a good few minutes before Sicily decides to cut through the tension. “I didn’t catch your name earlier...” She mumbled into her sandwich before taking a bite out of it. 

“... Draco, I guess...” He replied annoyed, only staring at his sandwich rather than eating it.

"Well, Mr. Draco... You’re an asshole, you know that?” She stated through a soft chuckle after hearing Draco release a loud, obviously aggravated grunt in response, “An attractive asshole, I might add. And honestly, you just have the manliest resting bitch face I’ve ever seen--” 

“What the hell are you getting at here?” 

 “You wanna know why I paid for your meal? I just wanted to make that sour face at least a liiiittle bit sweeter, you know?” The rugged man gave a perplexed look towards the woman sitting beside him. It felt weird hearing a woman speak so openly and without a filter just like him. 

“...Shut up...” Draco half-muttered after an exhausted sigh, before finally taking a bite out of his sandwich. 

“You’d like that wouldn’t you? Too bad. I’m not a sheep. I don’t follow orders.” She mused with a dorky accent, surprisingly earning an unexpected chuckle from the rugged man. He wasn’t expecting such a resilient response. He had to admit, she was a cute, quirky, and geeky person that made his heart flutter the more he talked with the woman. 

The two sat on the bench oddly enjoying each other's company and eating the delicious Italian lunch for about half an hour. Even though it was really cold outside, it didnt matter to them. It felt like Draco was genuinely having a great time with Sicily and he didn't want it to end. You might even say it was a first date at that. She seemed to be the only person that could get underneath his thick skin and actually make him chuckle, multiple times at that. Wait a minute, what was he thinking? It couldn’t have been a date. They were simply just having a decent lunch together. That was all. 

The half hour feels like seconds as the time flew by, though. They had already finished their lunch and Draco knew that he needed to get back and put the groceries away. Sicily seemed like she had her own plans to get back to as well, seeing how she was the one who had cut the event short. She did feel awful about ending their moment, so she paid for his Uber and waited with him until the Uber arrived to take him home.

***

Draco had an odd, empty feeling resting in his stomach as the Uber pulled up to Reuben's home. He was glad to be home and to have all the shopping finished; It felt like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders, but he still missed the company of Sicily. He thanks the driver for the ride after he collected all of his belongings and started for the front door, heaving all of the groceries along with him.

Draco raises a curious brow as he sees Reuben's car in the driveway. It was out of the ordinary to see Reuben's car here at this time, because he normally didn't come home until late at night. The rugged man adjusts the bags in his hands, dismissing the fact of the car being there only to be halted by a stray dog crossing his path in the driveway.

The dog looked like a black and brown German Shepard, but it had a deep cut along its left eye and it was faintly shivering from the cold winter air. Once Draco made eye contact with the canine, it slowly sat down and wagged its tail, patiently waiting. For what, Draco had no idea. He had seen this dog before. Multiple times at that. Reuben would always chase the dog away with his shoe whenever he saw him on the porch, but Draco never understood why. The rugged man cautiously approached the injured creature with a struggling hand to scratch behind its ears and the dog instantly dropped its mouth open and let its tongue hang out, clearly enjoying the attention and feeling of affection.

"You like that, dontcha boy?" As if in response to Draco, the dog barked and hopped up to place his paws onto the rugged man’s chest, trying to lick his face. Draco chuckled at the friendly creature and gave it a hug as he couldn't resist the poor, abandoned animal. He knew how being cold, lonely and abandoned felt and how much value was in the slightest amount of affection. He wasn’t fast enough to dodge as the canine licked his cheek a few times. "Okay, okay, down boy! Get down!" He had to force the dog down, seeing how the canine was overly excited from the rugged man and his attention. "What’s your name, anyway?" He muttered, trying to find a collar or dog tag on the animal, only to find nothing. The stray dog sat in front of the rugged man with excited eyes. It was hard for Draco to look back at the poor animal, but he knew that he couldn't take him into Reuben's house. The pediatrician had mentioned that he disliked dogs with a passion; for what reason, Draco had no clue. He gave the dog one last good rub and slipped past him in order to get to the front porch. The dog only sat in place, watching the rugged man as he stood on the porch, glaring back at the stray dog with guilt. “... You know what, fuck it.” He says as he grabs a slice of the prosciutto and tosses it to the stray dog. Immediately, the dog grabs the meat and runs into the grass, tearing the meat up and swallowing it savagely like he hadn’t eaten in a while. ‘You enjoy that, little buddy.” He whispers before sliding into the house. 

***

Draco released a light sigh as he was relieved to be back home and outside of the cold. Before he could enter the kitchen to set down the groceries, Reuben arose from the couch and greeted him with a cheerful grin.

"Welcome back, Draco. I assume everything went well?" The gentleman grabbed a few of the bags from the rugged man and led him into the kitchen.

"Yeah, but- wait, why are you home right now?" Draco asked, confusion coating his voice, as he sat the bags on the counter and began to take all of the items out. Reuben gives a slight chuckle as he takes the empty bag from Draco and throws it in the trash.

"I couldn't have you here while I wrapped up all the Christmas gifts, now could I?" He said, pointing at the elegant Christmas tree that now had multiple gifts resting underneath it. Draco rolled his eyes, aggravated at the fact that it would’ve been a whole lot easier if Reuben would’ve taken him to the store in the first place. “Oh, relax, would you? I thought I’d find you wearing an ear-to-ear grin from the clean slate you now have at the bar!"

"... Fine, just whatever... There better be a flask full of booze under there or you're catching fists." He falsely allowed the joke to slip off of his tongue, forgetting that he wasn't outside with Sicily anymore. Reuben doesn't mind though, and takes it as him finally getting into the Christmas spirit. "What's with the sweater?"

"Oh this old thing? You like it?” Humors Reuben as he stretches out the sweater in order to show off all the glowing Christmas lights and decorations on it. The rugged man only gives a disgusted look in disapproval at the ugly thing. "It even lights up, s-see?Ihktsh!" Reuben furrowed a confused brow as he barely caught the abrupt sneeze into a curled knuckle, feeling an overwhelming itch force entry into his sinuses and cut his shirt viewing short. 

A sharp, breathy inhale was the only thing Draco heard before he looked over to see Reuben twitching forward with each rapid sneeze, catching them with the top-side of his hand. "Hih-Ktsh! Hihktsh! Hh-Hihh! Hih'KSsh! HuhISsSCH'ue!!" The power of the tickling sensation was so strong and abrupt that his lungs didn’t know how to function properly with the irritant fighting in his sinuses.

He knew the feeling of this type of tickle. It wasn’t from sickness, nor from hay fever, and his house hadn’t been dusty enough to irritate him the past few days, so it could’ve only been one other thing.  A handful of muted gasps escape from the gentleman as he could feel his sensitive nose trembling in agony. 

“Hh-have youhh beenn playi’gw-wihh-hih! Wid dohh-gs??” The pediatrician struggled to ask between hitching breaths as he grabbed a few tissues from off of the counter with one hand and pinched his nostrils closed with his other hand. 

“Yeah, so what if I did?” Draco fired back, defensively as if the stray dog were under attack by the evil pediatrician. The gentleman only blew his nose in return, shaking his head from how intense the tickle was becoming. He instantly shuffled backwards after he blew into the handful of tissues for a second time, foolishly trying to expel the irritant as quickly as possible, only to rattle the irritant around and get hit with the full force of the tickling sensation. He coughed and fanned at the air as if doing so would remove the irritant that forced his nostrils to instantly tremble in aggravation. He could feel his body rejecting the irritant fiercely as his eyelids instantly slammed shut once again and his chest visibly bounced from the rapid, overwhelming breaths his body felt were necessary to take between each desperate sneeze he lazily caught in the handful of tissues. The sudden irritant caught both him and his body off guard as it physically tried to process what the devil Draco had brought into his presence. 

“D-Dr-a’KSh!Ihktsh!! Huh’kSsh!! I-Ihssh’uehh-hih! HihH’ksh’u!!… I-Ih-hhehh-HH…” Reuben barely squinted his eyes open to share a struggling glare with Draco, trying his hardest to speak but failed miserably, getting lost in his own sea of rapid hitches. The strength of the irritant forced the pediatrician to instantly jerk forwards into the damp handful of tissues with rapid, itchy explosions. 

“Hihktsh! Kshnt! IhKTSH-tsshIISsh! AlleH-Hh’Issh…! T-tIDSh’ue!! Hehh…D-dohhgs-s Hhgh-ihkssh’u! hHAH-ESsh’uekgshu! IH’KGshIEw!! Iksshu! Kgshu-IKGSshu!” The gentleman's body trembled with each sneeze as he struggled to take in a breath of air. He had foolishly tried to speak in-between the fit in vain as he had cut himself off with the rapid, tumbling sneezes. 

The rugged man gives Reuben a questioning glare as he released four more tired sneezes in-between desperate nose blows and irritated coughs into his handful of tissues. He didn't know that Reuben had a dog allergy; He also hadn't played with the canine for that long either, so he was confused as to why Reuben was having such a reaction.

"I'm a-allerhh-hih... Hahh...! Ihktsh!! Hheh'kssh-ISshu! 'EDSh'ue!! Ekgsh!! IsshShishh! IGSSch'uh! Hahh... Allergigk do dogs." He congestedly tried to explain again through disruptive hitches. 

Draco could see the pediatrician's pink tipped nose still twitching from the irritant lingering about as he dabbed away the allergic tears that started rolling down his cheeks with the side of his hand. He gave a sly smirk to himself, finding a hint of pleasure in seeing the arrogant pediatrician looking so vulnerable. It was nice to see Reuben knocked off of his high horse for a bit. 

"Well in that case, I want a dog." Draco humored to the pediatrician as he watched him still trying to catch his unsteady breath.

"Hah’KGshn! Ihgsh! Kgsch! H-how consihhderate o-of... Ih-Kgsshn! Hh-huh... youhh." His speech was still shaky and broken from the faint hitches riddled between his words. He blows his nose once again in an attempt to blow out the irritant that had entered his nostrils, but it does nothing but dampen the tissues further in his hand.  

 The gentleman irritably tells Draco to finish putting away the groceries and to throw his clothes into the washer as he left the room to take some allergy medicine, already beginning to feel miserable. He also couldn’t help but give a little chuckle to himself, finding the whole situation to be quite humorous. He only wondered how bad it would be if Reuben were to actually encounter a dog in person. 

The hot shower that Draco had been waiting for all day finally came and went, leaving him with a strong feeling of relief and relaxation. It felt like ten pounds had been lifted off of his shoulders, seeing how he still felt disgusting from that irritating encounter at the store. Reuben seemed to be feeling better as well, since he had stopped sneezing when he got out of the shower. He had to admit: The Christmas vibes were definitely present from both the nicely decorated Christmas tree and all of the decorations Reuben had been putting up all over the house. It was his first Christmas with the pediatrician, and it felt like it was going to be a great one at that.

December 24th

The loud clank of a pan serves as a rude awakening for the rugged man as he flinched awake from the couch. He tries to open his eyes but instantly slams them shut with a heavy wince from the blinding living room lights. A few light coughs escape from his grasp as he sluggishly wiped the sleep from his eyes. He felt groggy today. Groggier than usual. He releases a sluggish snuffle in an attempt to clear the wall of congestion that must’ve built up overnight. 

“Evening, Draco.” The lanky gentleman greeted from the kitchen, adding water to a pot before placing it on the stove top. “A pleasure to see you awake. I surely thought you were going to sleep the entire day away.” The rugged man remained silent as he blindly reached for his flask from off of the coffee table and instantly began consuming the alcoholic beverage, only to choke on the burn in his throat. That was strange. He thought that he was used to the burn of a little Whiskey. “How many times have I told you to stop drinking in the morning?” The rugged man winces, trying to clear his throat of the itch and now faint burn from the alcohol.

“Mornin’ to you too, asshole.” He muttered dismissively, hearing his own voice sound a little scratchier than usual. “HhUh-TDZSSH...!! EHh’GTSZSHh’UHH!! GOD--!! Damnit!!” He barely catches the first loud sneeze into the cup of his hand, almost spilling his flask from the force of the second loud sneeze that shakes his entire core. He yells a swear, feeling the most torturous burn scrape his raw throat from the loud morning sneezes. 

“Ah. Lovely.” The sarcastic tone from the gentleman earned a pained chuckle out of Draco as he struggled to choke down another swig from his flask. “I’m expecting company over soon. I’d recommend getting dressed and presentable.”

“Dressed and ‘presentable’? Screw off.” Reuben only sighed in return, not in the mood to put up with Draco’s shenanigans. A mild yawn escapes his lips as he glares at the clock resting on the stand. “3:30pm? Shit.” He mumbled as he rubbed a hand across his face in an attempt to wipe the sleep away as he got up to join the pediatrician in the kitchen. There were a lot of different foods scattered across all of the kitchen countertops with other food items cooking on the stove as well, and he was sure that he saw something baking in the oven. “Why the hell are you makin’ so much food?” Reuben abruptly stopped cutting the vegetables on the cutting board and sat his knife down in order to share a confused glare at Draco. 

“Draco, my family is coming over for the Holidays, remember?” His heart instantly sank after hearing those words. He had forgotten about Reuben’s family coming to visit. He dreaded this day as well because it was going to be the most awkward day of his life, which was probably the reason he had forgotten about it in the first place. “You do remember, don’t you?”

“HhUH-EGTSsh!! Y-yeah, sure. When are dhey cobin’ a-adywayhh? IH’TIZSSCH'ugh!! Shidt.” He asked between the forceful sneezes, dismissively trying to hide the fact that he truly had forgotten about his parents coming over. The gentleman raises a concerned brow at the second pair of harsh sneezes and gives the rugged man a quick gloss-over. 

“My blessings. Are you feeling well, Draco?” The pediatrician doesn’t hesitate to shove a cool palm underneath the man’s disheveled bangs and atop his clammy forehead out of his routine pediatric habit. “You look exhausted. Then again, when don’t you look exhausted?” Draco flinches and knocks away Reuben’s hand in return, before taking another swig from his flask. 

“’M fine. Your snooty parents must be talking about me already.” He humored, but not really. He didn’t want to offend the gentleman, but they both knew it was obvious. Reuben brushed off his comment, not disputing it either, seeing how Draco could’ve been right. His parents were a bit snobbish and he wouldn’t be surprised if they actually were talking about him right now.

“We agreed on 4pm, but knowing my family they’ll probably be knocking on the door any minute now. That is why I’d strongly advise getting dressed.” The rugged man leaned against the countertop in silence for a moment, trying to find at least someway to get out of this pickle he was forced into. 

“Why the hell do I gotta act all nice and prissy just to impress your damn parents? It ain’t like we gettin’ married.” He irritably muttered into his opened flask, dreading the evening he had to prepare for. The pediatrician took a moment to compose himself, trying not to let the stress of the day wash over him and cause him to say or do something he didn’t intend to. 

“Draco, can you please just wash up and get dressed? Don’t make this difficult. You can leave for the bar right after, I don’t care, just don’t embarrass me, please?” Draco gave the man a questioning look. He hadn’t heard the pediatrician ask him to do something in this pleading tone ever. It was... different. A bit concerning. 

“Whatever...” He grumbled, silently slipping out of the kitchen and leaving the pediatrician to continue cooking the feast in kitchen.

He had to admit that he was a little nervous about meeting Reuben’s family. If his family was as arrogant and uptight just like he was, it was going to be a long evening. Especially if Reuben was acting this way about his parents, something was definitely going to go down. He did seem like the type to have parents with high expectations and standards, which Draco knew that he wasn’t qualified for. Even though Reuben was how he was, he didn’t want to leave a bad impression on his family, but he couldn’t make any promises either. He knew that he was going to have to prepare himself to probably listen to his parent’s brag about how much money they make and how proud they are to have a Pediatrician as a son. He released a long sigh as he collected a some-what clean outfit, completely ignoring the pressed suit and tie that Reuben picked out for him, and headed into the bathroom. 

***

Draco took his time in the shower, not wanting to leave the bathroom at all and face a room of strangers. He already started to feel slightly worse from when he had woken up, seeing how his nose had begun to leak and itch more profoundly and his throat was really becoming agitated. He could already hear a few unfamiliar voices carrying into the restroom that made him uneasy. He was a complete stranger getting dumped into a family meet and greet. He knew that he would feel out of place and like he didn’t belong but there was no way to escape. All of his guests had already arrived and were chatting up a storm in the other room. He could make out Lirin’s high pitched voice, which gave him at least a little bit of comfort, but the other few voices made him release a tense sigh. This was going to be weird, but it was better to hurry up and get this over with now.

Draco slowly opened the bathroom door, deciding that it was time to leave the steamy bathroom so that the stuffy, warm air could stop making his nose leak so damn much. He carefully peered down the hallway, instantly being greeted by unfamiliar faces. There was a man with brown hair and glasses in a dark suit, looking like an older version of Reuben just with stubbles on his chin that was having a conversation with a mature woman, looking young for her age, with long, luscious brown hair; They looked like they had professions related in business or sales.

“Speak of the devil, that must be the man of the hour! My son here’s been tellin’ me all about ya!” The man in the suit said with open arms as Draco approached the group. He instantly pulled the rugged man in for a tight hug that took the breath away from him and caused him to cough over the man’s shoulder. “Don’t be shy! We’re all family here.” After a brief moment, he finally let go and gave Draco a good look over. “You look well! Seems like you’ve made yourself right at home.” The rugged man remained silent, unsure of how to respond to the sudden change of tone from his last sentence.

“Oh, don’t mind him, honey.” The woman said as she straightened up Draco’s shirt. “Donovan’s always been such a hard-ass to all of Reuben’s new friends, haven’t you, Donny?” She said, abruptly giving Donovan a death glare. “My name’s Colette.” Before he could even reply to the woman, Donovan stepped closer to Draco with judging eyes.

“I just don’t want my son to have any bad influences or distractions. You know how it is.” Draco took an uncomfortable step backwards, feeling the tense atmosphere weighing on his shoulders. He already felt like he was being pulled in both directions from both parents. The rugged man froze, feeling like the dark glare from Reuben’s father was judging his every move and action. He curses internally, feeling his nose start to run again, knowing that he can’t do anything about it at this moment.

“Dad I’ve told you countless times, he’s not a distraction. I’ve been doing just fine even with him here.” Reuben said through an irritated sigh as he stressfully massaged the bridge of his nose. Donovan instantly approaches Reuben with a stern voice, clearly not fond of the entire situation. It seemed like none of his words were getting through to him.

“Mmm. And just how long does this Draco plan on staying here?” The rugged man forcefully took this opportunity to turn around and grab a few tissues and wipe his nose, before the leakage had the chance to become visible. A hint of relief crosses over him as he quietly blew into the tissues. It was a soft enough blow to the point where it didn’t draw any attention away from the conversation.

“Ease up, darling. It’s Christmas. We came down here to enjoy the holiday with our son and niece. Besides, Draco looks like a responsible young man. If our son says he’s fine with him being here, leave it at that.”

“Yeah, Draco is SUCH a RESPONSIBLE young man.” Lirin childishly chimed in, hugging Reuben loosely from his side. “You should see how RESPONSIBLE he is when he’s drunk.” She smirked. Draco bit his tongue, trying his best to catch himself from saying an angry remark. Just hearing her sarcasm made him clench his teeth.

“Is that so…?” The voice of a clearly intrigued and curious woman fills the room as Sicily enters the house and locks the door behind her. “We’ll have to grab a drink later.” She flashes Draco a charming wink that makes him instantly look away.

"Sicily, darling! We thought you wouldn't be able to make it! What a pleasant surprise!" Colette exclaims in surprise as she embraces the woman. “Is that alcohol I smell on your breath?”

"Mom, relax. What are you, a police officer? It’s Christmas!” Sicily’s entrance cuts through the tense atmosphere as she gives Donovan, Reuben and Lirin a hug in greeting. “Anywho, don’t be shy now, Draco, was it?” She gave the rugged man a playful nudge in his side as she pulled him over onto the couch. Draco doesn't fight her as he allows himself to be forced down onto the couch, feeling both relieved that he got snatched away from the demonic man, but also, dare he say 'happy' to see Sicily for a second time. "Some parents, huh?" She says after observing Draco's facial expressions. "I know. Dad can be quite the handful. Just make sure mom doesn't get a hold of any wine, or that could be a real shit-show." She giggled to herself as she kicked off her boots. “Last year, mom had a liiiiittle too much of the holiday nog and almost broke all of my drinking glasses. Wanna know how? She was throwing them at pops for losing 10 grand in one of his stock investments.” Another, louder giggle erupts from Sicily, earning a darted glare from Donovan towards Draco. 

“Um, excuse me everyone. Dinner is almost ready, so if you all could please relocate to the dining room…” Reuben muttered, placing the dinner rolls on the table.”

  ***

“Honey, this looks delicious!” Colette exclaims, looking at all of the food Reuben had prepared. It did look delicious. How one man could make so many different dishes all by himself beat Draco. He did a really nice job with everything, but of course, he wasn’t going to tell Reuben that.

“Let’s dig in!!” Lirin exclaimed before instantly chowing down on her over-piled plate. She was the first to make her plate before anyone else cold even touch the food.

There were so many silverware and differently sized plates on the table and it made Draco squirm internally. It felt like he was being setup. He and Reuben both knew that he didn’t have any knowledge about dining etiquette, or any etiquette in general. Hell- he doesn’t even know the name of anything that’s on his plate! He’s sure that everything on the dining table was fancy and had a L or Lu in front of it. He wouldn’t be surprised if Reuben’s family called their glasses of water: L’agua. 

The rugged man watched as all of the family members delicately picked up their proper utensils and began to elegantly cut and eat the food on their plates. It was like he was in the realm of gods and goddesses and he was the only human in sight, attempting to mimic their custom. Even Lirin somehow managed to mask her gluttony. It was hard to even think about eating, seeing how he could barely survive the coldhearted looks that Donovan was darting his way. He could tell that he was subtly watching him, waiting to see which utensil he would pick up first and judge him if he grabbed at the wrong one.

“Aren’t you going to eat, Draco?” Reuben’s mom gave him a concerned look as she noticed he hadn’t touched his plate. “Your food will get cold soon. It really is good, I promise!” 

"Mom? Please." She whispered, feeling insulted. "Hey Draco, wanna blow this joint and go get some drinks? Lirin tells me you're a real drinker."

“I thought you’d never ask…” He replied with a nervous laugh, giving Reuben almost a puppy dog look of ‘please let me leave, this is my only escape.’ His parents tried to talk them out of it, but of course, Draco can’t be talked out of consuming alcohol.

***

 The music being played from the piano at the back of the bar rang blissfully in their ears as they entered the bar. It wasn’t too crowded, surprisingly. A soft aroma of alcohol filled the air as the two slowly approached the counter. There was a nice Christmas tree set up near the piano that lit up the room, with a male bartender wiping out a glass behind the counter.

“How can I help you?” The man said as he tossed the towel onto his shoulder and sat the glass down onto the rack.

“Let me get two shots of Bourbon for me and my friend here please.” Sicily ordered as she took a seat on the bar stool. The bartender nodded in understanding as he grabbed a bottle and started pouring the alcohol. Draco hesitantly sat down in the stool beside the woman, still tense and a bit uncomfortable with going into a bar with the pediatrician’s sister. “Relax, I just want to loosen up and have a couple of drinks with you.” She muttered, pulling out a cigarette from the paper carton and resting it on her rose red lips. She shared a short glance with Draco before it was awkwardly broken by the rugged man pretending to clear his throat.

 As the night went on, the fuzzier his head was beginning to feel. He had only had 5 shots and he could already feel himself starting to get a little more than tipsy. It was weird; Usually he could down more shots than this without feeling a buzz this early on. He could hardly think, let alone keep up with what Sicily was saying, not like what she was saying mattered, anyway. Draco was sure that she was one shot away from being completely plastered, seeing how her cheeks were flushed and her words were so slurred that it was a challenge to understand a word coming from her.

“It’s nice to let lose every once in a while, and take a break from all this classy shit.” She says, hoping to break the tension while allowing a long sigh to escape from her lips, causing a stream of gray smoke to bounce off of the counter-top and disperse into the air.

"You're tellin' me..." Draco muttered, grabbing the shot glass from the bartender and immediately scarfing it down like it were a dose a vicodine. "I could barely manage back there."

"Yeah..." Sicily distantly mutters, glaring down at the shot glass in her hand for a moment before irritably scarfing it down as well with haste.

“HhH’EGJISCH…!! ‘EGSSCHIUH!!” The rugged man dove forwards over the counter, holding his glass of whiskey away from him in vain so that hopefully it didn’t spill when he jerked forward with both of his itchy explosions. “O-oh shit! *hic*” He yelled with a breathy chuckle, finding humor from both Sicily’s laughter and the discovery of a small splash of alcohol that had spilled onto the counter from his glass. Sicily had toppled over onto the drunk man’s chest in laughter, struggling to breathe from how hard she was laughing. Draco’s own laughter abruptly stopped as the burning in his nostrils was still intense and flaring about.

“HhUH…!!” He sloppily leaned backwards with a deep inhale, barely able to stay upright from the weight of Sicily leaned so close up against him. He can feel his nostrils trembling in irritation from the burning as he slams his eyelids shut and dipped forwards again, slamming his glass onto the counter-top.

“Hhih…! Hhg’TIZSSCH’uhh! *hic* h-HUhgDzZSSCH’uhgg!!” His reflexes aren’t in tune from the alcoholic fuzziness as he is slow in turning his head away from the drunk woman. The first sneeze flies over Sicily’s head and lands on the counter-top, but he is able to partially turn his head over to the right and aim the second slurred mess of a sneeze towards the ground. Sicily shrieks in surprise from the two loud sneezes, feeling his chest tense up and shove her forwards, but she instantly smothered her chuckles into her hands as she pulled away from Draco and took a sip of alcohol from her shot glass. The rugged man brings up a sluggish, curled knuckle to lazily wipe underneath his faintly twitching nostrils, only to feel how moist and leaky they had been.

“Sh-shidt… Hheh…” He tries to cup his hand in order to lazily cover the disgusting mess on the lower half of his face, but before he can even ask for a tissue, his chest inflates quickly, forcing him to lean back once more with a disturbed grimace on his face. “

Sicily sloppily reaches into her purse, fumbling over herself as she takes out her handkerchief and shoves it into his cupped hand.

“Pineapple!” Sicily yelled abruptly, before he could even finish the oncoming sneeze.

“HhUHh’G-ghhn…?” The forceful hitch is instantly interrupted as his fuzzy and sluggish brain tried to wrap his mind around the randomness of the word pineapple. He sat there for a moment, confused, still waiting for the impending sneeze but the tingling in his sinuses had slightly died down to a quieter itch at the back of his nose.

“Ahh YEP, works everytimee.” She tiredly mused, downing her last shot of whiskey. Two hiccups escaped from her mouth once she downed her last shot and she giggled to herself before she flipped the shot glass upside down onto the counter.

“I use’to do thaht with Reuben when he’ws younger. That boy hadth’ most sensitive nose I’d ever seen. Once he start’d sneezin’ there was no goin’ back. ‘less you yell ‘pineapple!’ a’the right time. That’ll do it.” She muttered, fighting the effects of the alcohol that were trying to make her pass out on the counter-top.

"Hey... I wann' tell you somethin' an... An' you bettnot l-laugh..." The rugged man rubbed his face, feeling his mouth and tongue gradually becoming numb. It was definitely weird. He was feeling a lot of things tonight, both good and bad. He looked at Sicily with tired eyes, watching her back rise and sink with each breath she took as she rested on the counter with her head faced down in her arms. She grunted softly, as if signaling to Draco that she was still listening. "I... I r-really like you, you know tha?"

"Oh, that's nice. Me too." She muttered, giggling softly in her folded arms. At that moment, Draco's heart flew out of his chest as he struggled to sit upright.

"I'll have the ramen too. No eggs..." She weakly reached out to grab Draco's arm and shook it gently, "Please no eggs. I don't want eggs." He sighed and rolled his eyes, realizing that Sicily must've been talking in her sleep.

   December 25th 

“Hhg’tdsszhh! ‘Egsschh!!” The two tired sneezes were lazily stifled and released into the air as he shuffled around covered in his soft blanket in which he wore like an oversized jacket. He gently scrunches his nose around, feeling the tickle remaining at the same strength. He was lifelessly lying on the couch, too fatigued to do anything. Too exhausted to even sniff away the wetness leaking from his sore nostrils. What was the point? He had been sniffling and snuffling all night; every time he sneezed, the wetness quickly returned anyway. He was so congested to the point where it sounded like he was inhaling pudding every time he took a breath. The room was still dark, besides the random flashing lights of the elegant Christmas tree in the corner of the room. He audibly winced from the pressure pounding in his head with the pulsing of his veins. Drinking alcohol all day probably wasn't the best call, he had to admit. He felt so worn out and tired but he couldn't fall asleep; Not even the word Christmas could bring his spirits up. He snuffled lightly, too exhausted to even sniffle as hard as he needed to. His body tensed up reflexively as a shiver crept down his spine, forcing his body to quiver every once in a while. Blankets. N-need more blankets. A-and huhh-

“Draco…? Are you up?” The soft, sleepy and tender voice of Sicily cuts through his suffering as he can just barely see a thin figure slowly approaching from down the hall. She slowly made her way over to the couch and noticed the poor, sickly body lying there in pain. Her sleepy expression changes instantly to concerned when she observes the sick body closely. “Draco, you look horrible!” She exclaimed in an intense whisper, not trying to wake up the sleeping pediatrician. She held his clammy cheeks and frowned, giving them a smooth rub with her thumb to clear the sweat away. “You’re boiling! And-- Oh...”

"Ehh'hoOo! Hh-hih- HIH'gdzssh!" He can feel his cheeks start to blush a light pink as he barely realizes that he had sneezed on Sicily's neck and chest; He wanted to pull away but he was too exhausted and fever struck to do anything.

“HEH'Ssgk! ’M-m alrigh’. ‘ll jus’… Jus’ do the sleep. EEH'HooOgk! Hih'gSHUHhgk!Tiredhh…” He muttered, finding it complicated to compose the proper sentences and to communicate in general. At this point, he had partially given up stifling, forcing his sneezes to sound like a mixture of a cough and a mild yell. Sicily gave him a worried look, finding it odd to see a person so delusional and out if sorts. She was too worried to feel disgusted.

“Hey, Draco! Wake up! I ne...ed you t.. sta... Awa... Ke..!"

Draco wasn’t sure what dimension he had stumbled upon, but he couldn't hear or see Sicily anymore; He felt like he was asleep but at the same time, he wasn’t sure if he was. The blackness around him began to swirl into a spiral as if he were entering a portal, and before he could comprehend what was happening, he was back home in his old house. All the lights were off in the house but the single overhead kitchen light, which severed as a homing beacon to the rugged man. There was a tall, slender woman that stood hovering over the stove, humming an all too familiar tune.  

“Mm?” The woman slowly turned around to face the rugged man as if she were moving through molasses. The crimson locks resting beneath her shoulders dangled behind her back as she gave him a pained smile. “Just in time for dinner. Have a seat.” The bags underneath her eyes were complimented with a subtle dark circle, indicating that she had been overly exhausted and worn out for days on end. “Dinner’s almost ready.” 

“N-no, I...” Something isn’t right. Before he could do anything, the creaking of the front door catches his attention.

“M-mom...?” His words came out sluggish and muffled, as if he were moving in a time warp. With each hesitant step he took, the world around him blurred and swashed around, colors blending and smothering each other like dye on cake batter. The single word that he spoke seemed to echo for ages and bounce off of the walls and floors with a weird reverb like they were in a mutated cave. 

“You heard your mother, boy.” A dark tone from behind brings a boil to the blood flowing throughout Draco’s veins. He knew that voice all too well.  “Sit like a good dog.” 

“You...” He clenches his fists, feeling all of his uncontrollable anger rising to the surface.

“Draco. Draco, get up! Draco--!?”  He could barely hear the screams of his mother behind him as he was too busy dashing towards the figment of his father with a bawled fist, ready for a solid punch.

“I’LL KILL YOU!! YOU FUCKING MONSTER!!!” His own battle cries begin to drown out the loud crackling of the now roaring fire engulfing the walls and flooring. The dark, bulky body in front of him kept a cool smirk on his face, even in the given situation, which angered the rugged man and the fire even more.

“Draco, stop it!! Draco--!!!” The fear-filled screams from his mother began to cut in and out, almost mutating into the worried screams of the pediatrician.“Draco!!! Stop! Wake up! Blast--, he’s not responding!” Reuben yelled as he was holding on to Draco’s arms.

“We need to get him into some cold water, NOW! Start the bath!” Sicily nodded and darted for the bathroom, immediately starting to fill the tub with the coldest water she could. "Draco, you're hallucinating! WAKE UP, DAMN IT!" There was a slight shakiness to Reuben's voice as he struggled to pin the rugged man down. He had been in situations like this before and seen it plenty of times, but something about seeing Draco in such a broken state filled the pediatrician with more than just a little worry. 

“I-I’ll fucking--... Kill you... I swear it...”  The rugged man exhaustedly muttered, trying to punch the air but failing, since Reuben was holding him down in place.

"Reuben, the tubs halfway full!" Sicily yelled from the bathroom. The pediatrician signals for her to come and help him drag the sick corpse into the bathroom, in which she doesn't hesitate to do.

He was a tall, heavy and sickly thing. It took them a while to get him off of the couch with him fighting the two while weakly kicking and punching at the air as if doing so would hurt his invisible enemy. You could imagine how tough it was for them to force him into the bathroom, let alone the freezing bathtub.

"Help me get his shirt and jeans off..." Reuben muttered to his sister as he forced the rugged man to sit down on the toilet lid.

"W-whahd are yhou d-doig, pervert?!" Draco yelled, eyes sluggishly tracing the room and barely staying open. "G-Gedhh... HEH'Gdzsshiew!" The sneeze sprays the pediatrician’s pajama shirt as he temporarily flinches in disgust, but he doesn't let it bother him. He's in pure focus mode, as a trained pediatrician should be. "EHHgtsshnk!! Thad's whad you ged, b-bast.. bah.. heh-"

"Don't mind him, Sicily. He'll be fine." He says, noting Sicily watching with an expression on her face that he couldn’t read, but mainly to himself to give him some sort of relief while dealing with the given situation. He bites his lip, having mixed feelings about the situation. "L-Let's get him into the tub." The two nearly shove the rugged man into the cold pool of water, causing a lot of it to be spilled onto the bathroom floor. It only takes a second of being in the freezing water for him to snap out of it and realize where he was. Reuben sighs, feeling his heart nearly beating out of its chest. He had never seen Draco in such a state before in his life, and it worried him more than any patient he ever had. “Could you use this cup and pour some cold water over him?” He says, handing Sicily the small cup. “We still need to cool his body temperature down before he overheats. I need to go ge… some water. T-towels…” Before Sicily can even say anything, Reuben darted out of the room and closed the door behind him. She knew exactly what that meant.

“I need to ge… some water. T-towels…”

She heard him repeat it in her head. The tone in his voice when he said it. The strain and slight shake towards the ending. The pause in between and after. She gripped the cup tighter in slight anger. Two loud coughs from the rugged man jolt Sicily out of her own thoughts and redirect her attention. She can’t help but give the rugged man a good gloss over. He was visibly shivering in place, causing little ripples to bang against to tub walls. He looked like a dead corpse that still managed to breathe in her eyes. His red nose didn’t even attempt to hold back the sickly fluids that dripped down onto his chin and bare chest. He was too cold and out of it to care or do anything about it. She could see a tinge of black starting to linger underneath his eyes and his cheeks looked like pieces of cotton candy against his ghostly pale skin. She dipped the cup in the water on his side until it was submerged in the water and poured it over his head. He didn’t even flinch. He was probably too dazed to even feel the cold water, she thought to herself.

“… ‘ts c-cold m-mom-mm…” He barely mutters through chattering teeth, slowly closing his eyes and leaning back into the tub. Sicily immediately drops the cup and grabs the rugged man before his back can fully sink into the tub.

“Draco! Hey-hey, you have to sit up! Look at me!” She says, voice sounding strained from pushing the rugged man forward to sit upright. Draco doesn’t respond, allowing his body to fully go limp into Sicily’s arms. Sicily grunts, barely being able to keep Draco above the water from her current position. She hunches over the bathtub, trying to find the right position to comfortably hold Draco upright, but falls forward into the cold water on top of him. She releases a heavy exhale from the abrupt submersion in cold water and immediately pulls Draco’s upper half out of the water and into her chest as if he were hugging her. The rugged man takes in an immediate deep gasp and releases a handful of wet coughs over her shoulder, shivering like a madman. The woman gives a soft smile to herself, feeling the grown mans body tremble underneath her arms. She allows her fingers to rest on his clammy back, enjoying the feeling of his body up against hers so tight and closely. She closes her eyes, feeling warm from both Draco’s body and the happiness and comfort of Draco’s embrace. It felt as if time stood still for ages as the two leaned up against each other in the tub. Draco’s body had calmed down from the event, besides the constant sniffles, and they just sat there together. Holding each other. 

“S-Sicily…” Draco’s faint whisper barely cut through the thin silence.

“It’s me, Draco.” She whispered back softly, still resting her head atop of Draco’s shoulder and hugging him. The rugged man slowly pulled away and nuzzled their foreheads together. She kept her eyes closed, enjoying the company of the rugged man. She moaned softly, feeling the warmth from his forehead rub against hers. The warmth from his fever radiated off of his face against her skin, summoning a faint smirk to cross her lips. She can feel her heart race a little from the shift in the room as she feels a cold hand rake through the side of her hair. She flinches as the cold water from his hand drip down her left side. His hot breath comforts her as she smells a hint of Marlboro and leftover booze beam closer. She can feel his shaky breaths get stronger and closer as his warm lips come in contact with hers. He gives her a long peck on her soft lips, allowing her body language to convey to him if he should stop or proceed. She gasps internally, half knowing what was happening and half not. She doesn’t fight it though, and brings up a hand to trace a line down his chest as he pulls her closer and gives her two more deep kisses. He can’t help but moan as she gently pushes his head closer to hers. It was a very intimate moment, that’s for sure. If Draco had any questions, they had all been answered right now.

He slowly pulls away and nuzzles her forehead again, allowing them both to catch their breath. Sicily’s eyes were locked onto his as she seductively licked her lips, signaling that she was ready for more. He swallows down a cough as she leans up against his chest again, but this time, pushing him back and forcing him to lay his back against the curve of the tub wall. Draco is caught off guard by this action and flinches, uncertain of what she was going to do next. He can feel his heart begin to race as she starts to give him kisses on the top half of his chest.  Once she reaches his neck, she rests her body on his and starts to give him pecks all over his face. She reaches his nose and gives it two pecks, feeling her insides start to get all warm and excited.

Her adrenaline was rushing all over for many different reasons. She knew about Reuben. She knew about him being gay and she knew about his sneezing fetish. She knew he had the hots for Draco way before he himself probably did. She knew that something was off when he said he needed to get some water. He couldn’t handle Draco sneezing on him or him being practically naked in the bathtub. She herself didn’t have the fetish, but she was overly curious about what was so appealing about it. She couldn’t knock it until she tried it at least; she was already in the mood to get dirty with Draco. It did give her a rush knowing that she had the man Reuben had his eyes on. She was doing things to Draco that Reuben would probably never get to do. Draco sneezing on him was probably the closest thing he would ever get. 

“S-Sicily I—… Hh…” He whispered weakly, closing his eyes and slowly lifting a hand to his face. She immediately grabs his wrist and shoves it back down into the water and holds his other hand hostage under the water as well.

“I know.” She says, watching his red, glistening nose twitch above her. Another peck from Sicily occurs on top of his nose. She can feel his chest rise with another weak inhale. “Don’t worry, I don’t mind. Just sneeze.” Draco snuffles twice, giving Sicily a confused glare.

“W-waih wah?” He says, trying to lift his hand again only to have Sicily press more weight down against it and prevent him from doing so.

“You heard me.” She reaches her head up to Draco’s, using her nose to lightly rub against the moist rims of his nose to try to coax out the sneeze before he can say anything else.

“B-but I ne—” Sicily shushes him and pecks him on the lips before continuing to rub his nose in different patterns and speeds. He produces two loud snuffles, sounding both thick and wet, which creates a spark in Sicily’s eye. “W-wa- HhiH… Hih! W-wahd are y-you HiHh…. Hh-doig??” He manages to say before tilting his head back against his will, involuntarily trying to escape from the induced tickling sensation on his already sensitive nose. She reaches up to follow him, giving a subtle giggle, enjoying the chase.

“Stop fighting me and just do it already.” She says as she can feel his chest practically jumping with each stuttered inhale. Cold, clear sick coats the tip of her nose as she feels his nostrils twitching up against it. She knew that it was building up in there to the point where his nose was crying and leaking sick tears for a release.

“HhuH! …. Hh-hUh! HhIH!” She tightens the grip on his wrists in anticipation, feeling slightly aroused by it all. It was like waiting for the inevitable. A devilish smile creases her lips as she watches the rugged man’s face grimace in torment. He snuffles thickly a few times in vain, as the sick just leaked immediately back down anyway; he just accepted the fate of not being able to use his hands. He felt awkward not being able to have the freedom to cover his mouth. He wanted to turn away from her but he knew that wasn’t what she wanted. He curses mentally, feeling a little embarrassed but more irritated with the pestering itch in his sinuses.

“HIH… HHIH…! HHG’TIZGSSSSCHK’ughh!” She slams her eyes shut and flinches hard, unprepared for the sudden cold spray of sickly fluids. She wasn’t sure what position she was supposed to be in for the actual sneeze. She was too intrigued by the satisfaction of him suffering with his nose to think that far ahead. But this was something… new. “H-HUhgDzZSSSGCCH’kguhgg!! ‘HEEHGSSZCHH’uhh!!!” The second batch of mist sprays her face and she can feel glops of sick make contact with her face and chest that start to slowly drip down. At first she’s disgusted, but she is oddly satisfied in a way. The third sneeze hits her back-to-back with a new batch of wetness, and by this point, she feels like she’s being rewarded for her good deeds. A subtle moan is released, more to herself as she realizes that she liked it more than she thought she would. “Eh… HehhgKSSZCHHh’kt!!” She squirms, feeling a rush when his body jerks underneath her from the harsh coughs that follow; the rattling coughs remind him of how much he feels like a pile of crap all over again. Sick was all over both of them and he knew it. It was hard not to hide all of it, especially since he didn’t have his hands to cover or wipe away at it, and his nose was practically drooling over her nose tickling his. There was bound to be a lost of discharge. He can feel his cheeks start to flush a dark red from embarrassment as he tries so hard to sniff everything away. All he wanted to do was get out of the bath and hide on the couch. “S-sorry.” He mutters between sniffles and nose twitches, feeling slightly guilty as he tried to clean himself up without his hands.

“Thanks.” She says, kissing his now sick coated lips and giving him a smile. “Now I know.” Draco pauses for a moment, surprised at what he was hearing. Was he still hallucinating from the fever?

“Huh..??” He says, overly congested, trying to clean himself up with the bath water now that his hands are free.

“Now I know that you are the one… And this secret stays between us.” She said with a final kiss before getting out of the tub. The whole time she dried herself and left the room, Draco was still sitting there dumbfounded, overly confused about everything. He didn’t know how to feel. He was happy that he pretty much made out with his newfound crush, but… What the hell just happened??? Was any of this real..? N-no… It couldn’t have been…

“… I need to go the fuck to sleep…” He muttered before sinking into the tub again

***

“Reuben, I don’t care! I wanna open gifts now!” A loud, high-pitched voice rings the ears of Draco and causes him to stir awake against his will. “We’ve waited long enough! It’ll be New Years if we wait for him to get up!”

The rugged man sluggishly cracked open an eyelid to be blinded by the Christmas lights from the tree and the fire in the fireplace. Someone must’ve moved me back onto the couch… What the fuck… Immediately he feels his nose start to run like a faucet as he tries to sit up on the couch. He grimaces when his body aches and finds it a challenge to even sit upright. He sniffles a few times, trying to stop the leakage but it does nothing but make the sick dance around in his nostrils before returning back to the same spot it was in before so he just gives up and lets it stay there, too fatigued to attempt to blow his nose or wipe it. His heart skips a beat as he notices Sicily lying on the floor right beside the couch.

“Look who’s awake!” The pediatrician says, relieved to see him up and at ‘em. “Did we wake you?” Draco only sniffles in return, feeling grumpy and too sick to respond. He just wanted it to end. And by it, he means everything. This damn cold, flu, whatever the hell that kid gave him, Christmas, this day, pretty much EVERYTHING. Just leave him alone. “You should go back to bed and get some rest if you still aren’t feeling that well, Draco.”

“I wahs tryig do before your loud ass woge be ubp!” He yelled congestedly, coughing into the blanket right after. He winces, feeling his entire body feeling sore; inside and out. It felt like his whole body would break if he coughed or sneezed again.

“Okay, okay! Everybody calm down.” Reuben says, looking more towards Lirin as she raised a fist to him. “Don’t get too riled up, Draco. Your body is still recovering.” The rugged man leans back into the couch feeling defeated and overtaken by pain. He just wanted someone to put him out of his misery.

“I… I deed sobe paid bedicinde.” He mumbles through wet sniffles, sounding clearly beat down and worn.

“I’ll get them.” Sicily says, stretching from the floor before Reuben can leave the room. He freezes for a second but then nods in acceptance for her to get the meds. She returns a moment later, with the bottle of NyQuil and pours him a cup.

“I deed like… dhree o’ dhose…” He mutters through a strained voice as he shots the cap of medicine down.

“You ‘deed’ to blow your nose.” She jokingly mocks, pouring him a second cap full of NyQuil and handing him some tissues. He snuffles dismissively and jokingly steals the cap, chugging it down and returning it back to her with a mumbled ‘fuck you’ under his breath. She giggles, feeling slightly relieved that the old Draco was starting to come back a little. Reuben distantly watches the two from the distance, feeling a little excluded and odd. He knew something was going on here, but he wasn’t sure.

The gurgling sound in the tissues grabs the attention of the entire room as Draco gives one good blow into the handful of tissues. One blow and that’s it. Fuck it. He was too tired and that single blow took the wind and force away from him. He weakly coughed a few times into the tissues and threw them onto the floor, immediately sinking back into the couch.

“Let’s do the fucking gifts so you assholes can get out and leave me the hell alone.” He mutters, voice barely audible.

***

The gift exchange was fun for the most part. Everyone was having a great time except for Draco of course. Everyone seemed happy with their gifts. Reuben bought him a brand-new motorcycle so that he didn’t have to Uber or wait for him to drive him around. Lirin bought him a book on tips for being sober. And Sicily went out and got him a new flask with a bottle of Jack Daniels and a pack of Marlboros. One thing he could say was that this was the first Christmas that he had in a long while that actually felt homie. And it was the first Christmas that he had been too sick to participate in the festivities for.

“Alright Draco. Thanks for being apart of our Christmas and opening the gifts. We’ll get out and let you rest.” Reuben says, watching the NyQuil already start to take its’ toll.

Reuben and Lirin walk out of the room, leaving Sicily and Draco together again. She was sitting beside the rugged man on the right side of the couch. They sat together in a peaceful silence, besides Draco sniffling every couple of seconds. He didn’t mind her company. If anything, he was glad that she decided to stay.

“Alright, you’re tired. Time to go back to sleep.” Sicily says as she tries to get comfortable on the couch. “Come here.” She gently tugs on his arm for him to come closer to her on the couch. He exhaustedly obliges and nearly collapses into her chest, shifting around to get comfortable in her embrace. She blushes a little, feeling his head resting on her chest. Best Christmas gift ever, she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and raked her fingers through his damp hair, massaging his scalp as she tried to fall asleep wit the sick rugged man. She cracks an eye open as she feels the rugged man shift uncomfortably in her embrace and freeze before lightly jerking forwards twice, releasing two weak sneezes aimed at the floor.

“Hhuh’kgDTzsshn! Eh’Dsschkn!” The two weak sneezes take whatever energy he had left and he doesn’t even sniffle, feeling his entire body becoming too tired to do anything at the moment. He can only release a shaky exhale and collapse into Sicily’s embrace. She smiles, feeling overwhelmingly happy at the situation.

“Merry Christmas to me…” She happily mutters to herself before joining Draco in a long, well deserved sleep. 

END. 

Hopefully it was worth the wait LOL XD A lot is going on in this fic but I like’d working on it even though I had some intense writers blocks lol xD Like I said, I’m working on like 5 different fics all at the same time hahaha so hopefully I can post those because I been writing a lot, just not all on the same fic ahaha.

[alitaimagines]

“so i made my tinder available to the dudes in Germany and holy SHIT, how come no one ever told me they were so hot there???? one of yall didn’t message me and let me know.”  

character: ludwig beilschmidt / germany

fandom: hetalia 

song recommendation: hold up - beyonce 

You looked at Alfred betrayed. A girl was sprawled on his bed with the two of them only noticing you when your bags hit the floor. The blond whipped his head around and his face contorted to one of mortification.

"Alfred," You whispered, "Alfred, what did you do?" you asked mortified.

The girl laid in bed not saying a word. You were only gone for a world conference and Alfred threw the three year relationship away just because he didn't see you for two weeks. 

You immediately picked up your bags again and went back towards the door. Alfred quickly ran out of bed and tumbled down the stairs. You weren't fast enough considering you were carrying the luggage you had.

"Let me explain," Alfred exclaimed as he tried to grab your wrist. You didn't let him speak nor did you let him grab your wrist, "Explain what? That you cheated on me? That you decided to fuck another girl all because I was gone for two weeks? You can say anything right now and I won't believe a word."

Alfred tried to say something but nothing came out, "If I knew that you were just waiting for me to leave, you could have broken up with me a long time ago," Alfred grabbed your wrist again, "I didn't mean to cheat! I got drunk and it just happened," he tried explaining.

You gave the boy a laugh, "Alfred, you cheated on me. Imagine if you had gone to a world conference, came back, and seen me in bed with some random person. Better yet someone like Arthur, Gilbert, or Matthias?"

Alfred knew you had a point but not only did you have a point, he would have been livid beyond belief if he caught you doing the same thing. You didn't give Alfred another word as you called an Uber. You slammed the door shut and knew you just had to get as far away from Alfred as possible. You managed to book a hotel and called anyone willing to listen.

After you explained everything to Liz, she was ready to fly to the states, and kill Alfred right there. She knew that you weren't necessarily close to Alfred in a political sense but you were tied to him in a few political trades.

"What are you going to tell your boss?" Liz asked as she tried to tread lightly on what she told you, "Yeah, he didn't mind it. As long as our trades remain in tact, I'm allowed to do whatever I please. This might be a little over board but do you mind if I visit you for a few days? I need to get away from Alfred and I could use a vacation."

Liz immediately screamed out yes, "Of course. Book the flight now! We can meet up, go out and have fun. Roderich has been getting on my last nerves lately so please!"

You smiled as you finally wiped the final tears that had fell, "I'll see you soon. Once I get back from vacation, I'm going to have to find a new house, new everything."

"And that's a problem that you'll deal with later. For now, you're coming over and forgetting everything that just happened," Liz exclaimed, "I'll see you in a few days! Don't forget to bring cute clothes!"

Liz hung up the phone and you immediately started to look for flights. You were hoping on a flight the following morning. You didn't even want to be the same state as Alfred. He was calling, texting, messaging you, everything that was used to contact someone, he used. You ignored the messages, the calls, and realized that you would have to get a new number once you got back.

-

You got to Liz's house early in the morning. After she welcomed you inside, she escorted you to one of the many guest bedrooms and let you sleep until you woke back up refreshed. She hadn't told anyone you were coming over so it came off as a surprise to Roderich when he seen you.

"Did you come to just visit or?" He asked as he felt Liz kick him underneath the table. You gave her a smile realizing there was no reason to beat around the bush, "No, not really. Alfred and I broke up and I needed to get away."

Roderich gave you an 'I'm sorry' look as he stood up from the table. Shortly after, you heard the loud mouthed Prussian slamming Roderich's door open, "Alfred cheated on you? With who! What's their name? Was she another country?" Liz grabbed the nearest thing to her and whipped it at him, "Gilbert, enough. Just shut up for once," Gilbert did as he was told.

"Let's go. I'm sure you want to get out and actually do stuff. We're all planning on going to drinking later so for now, we can go to all the shops I've been dying to go to," Liz said as she kicked Gilbert once more, "I just need to use the bathroom."

You nodded, "I'll wait for you outside. The small breeze feels nice." Liz went to the bathroom as you made your way outside. Once you got outside, you realized that Germany was sitting on Liz's bench.

"Hey Ludwig!" You said as you finally got his attention, "What are the Germans doing on this end of town?" Germany shrugged, "Gil wanted to come and bug Austria for a bit. What are you doing here? You're usually with the Western countries."

You sighed, "Alfred and I broke up. I wasn't really in the mood to be around him so Liz invited me to visit her for a few days," Ludwig gave you the same expression Roderich did. 

You couldn't lie, Ludwig was attractive. Extremely attractive. He wasn't exactly your type. The few nations you did date, they were exactly like Alfred in terms of personality. Ludwig was completely out of your dating range, "We're all going out drinking later so if Gilbert is planning to go, you should come with."

"I'll see." Was all he managed to say as Liz walked out of the house, "I'll see you later, I guess."

You nodded as Liz ushered you to the car.

-

The night finally fell as the group of nations made their way to the bar. You weren't necessarily dressed in something fancy or cute but considering you weren't planning on seeing Alfred until you got back, you didn't have the chance to grab anything cute or sexy for that matter.

"So, this is the time to get drunk, bring a guy back home and to see you walk out in the kitchen in the walk of shame," Liz said as she tried to hype you up, "If Alfred did it, you're just as allowed to do it yourself!"

You knew Liz had a point. While the two of you just broke up and you were still very much in love with Alfred, you knew that it wouldn't hurt to finally have fun. Alfred technically wasn't allowed to drink in the states so going out to clubs or bars wasn't an option nor a date idea.

"I guess. Just dont expect me to leech onto someone tonight. I came here to have fun and drink with all of you," Liz gave you a look before she started laughing, "Yeah right! I seen the way Germany looked at you. The two of you would look great together!"

Before you could answer, Roderich, Gilbert, and Ludwig finally found the both of you. All of them were in their uniforms which wasn't out of the usual but you felt a bit self aware as you and Liz were the only ones dressed up.

"What's that? Is there a bottle of Jack calling my name? I think so!" You exclaimed as Gilbert couldn't help but laugh at your enthusiasm to drink, "Come on Liz, I already see the bottle and it's looking at me."

You grabbed Liz by the wrist and ordered the entire bottle of Jack Daniels. Liz was impressed. She never took you as someone to drink darker liquors but considering you hardly drank, no one besides the allies ever seen your drinking potential. You walked back to the table and slapped the bottle in the middle.

"To friends and break ups!" You said as you poured everyone a shot. They all grabbed the tiny glass as they cringed at the bitterness, "Oh come on! I know you Europeans drink more than beer!"

Gilbert laughed, "That's because you hang out with those allies. If you would've been around us more, you'd know we can out drink any of you!" You gave him a look as you grabbed the two shot glasses and filled them to the top, "We both drink until it hits the middle of the bottle and after that, two mug of beers, each."

Gilbert took on your bet as the two of you downed the second shot. Liz and Roderich looked at you in disappointment as Ludwig tried to talk Gilbert out of it. You poured the third shot and slid it to him as he tried to drink it without spitting it back up. You poured your fourth shot and started to pour Gilbert's as he looked slightly red in the face.

"Aw, Gil! Don't tell me you feel the buzz yet," Gilbert shook his head no as he gulped down the fourth shot. Although he tried to drink it, he felt the burning sensation in the throat, "No fair. We stop here and we drink my preference of beer now!"

You allowed him to get the beer he so dearly needed and soon enough, he came back with eight different mugs of beer. Four went to each of you and you cheered with him before you started chugging them back. You could tell the disappoint from Liz and Roderich soon faded into interest. Ludwig on the other hand looked at you like he never looked at any girl before. He never met someone who was able to handle their alcohol like you did.

"And done!" You said with a bit of a slur at the end. "Am I tipsy? Yes. Am I drunk? Not yet but that isn't stopping me!" You looked at Gilbert who looked like he was on the verge of passing out, "Come on Gil! Let's get some more!"

Just as you were about to grab the Prussian, Liz took your hand, "I need you to take one drink of water. One glass and you're free," You gave Liz a pouty face before you took the glass of water from her hand and chugged it down, "Okay! Let's go!" Just as you stood up, you felt yourself tripping.

"Let's go," Ludwig sighed as he grabbed you by the shoulder and directed you to the bar. You ordered four mugs of beer, two for you and two for Ludwig. You hadn't seen him drink a single mug of beer.

"Oh come on, Lud! You haven't drank any!" You said as you handed him one. He was hesitant on drinking it but before he realized what you were doing, you shoved the beer once more and he finally gave in.

That was your tipping point. You slowly felt the drunk feeling overcoming. You were able to tell that Ludwig wasn't as tolerant to alcohol like Gilbert was but that didn't stop you from continuing to drink with the other German.  

You heard the starting beat to 'Edge of Seventeen' by Stevie Nicks playing in the back, "JUST LIKE THE WHITE WING DOVE, SINGS A SONG THAT'S ACTUALLY SINGING!" You sang into the salt shaker on the table. "Come on! I love this song!" You grabbed Liz by the wrist and dragged her onto the dance floor.

Liz wasn't one for dancing but considering how drunk you were, she wasn't planning on letting this opportunity go to waste. Just as the music switched, you heard 'Hold Up' by Beyonce playing. Liz turned to you as she seen the small tears hitting your eyes. She had never seen your emotions change so quickly.

"Can't you see that there's no other man above you? What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you. Hold up, they don't love you like I love you."

Not only had Liz seen your tears pricking your, she heard the raw emotion in your voice.

"How did it come down to this? Scrolling through your call list, I don't want to lose my pride but Ima fuck me up a bitch. Know that I kept it sexy, know that I kept it fun, there's something thats missing, maybe my head for one."

Liz grabbed your hand as she took you back to the table. Gilbert was getting a kick out of the entire fiasco as Liz continued to hear your horrible rendition of such a great song.

"What did Alfred do to her?" Ludwig asked Roderich as he seen your face with tear stains, "He must've done something horrible for her to feel the way that she does."

Roderich didn't know if it was his place to tell your business but considering you were a: too drunk to care and b: he knew the story, he figured he didn't have anything to lose. Roderich also didn't have any idea as to why Ludwig cared about the breakup considering he hardly butted his head into someone else's business.

"She found Alfred sleeping with another girl the day when she got home from a world conference," Roderich explained, "She nearly lost her mind and all Alfred said was that the reason why he slept with another girl was because he got drunk."

Ludwig was taken by surprise. He would have never expected someone like Alfred to do such a thing like cheat on someone.

"Wow." Was all Ludwig managed to say as he continued to watch you sing.

-

You woke up the next morning with a massive headache. You had no recollection of what happened the night before but before you could have a second though, you felt a giant weight next to you.

You whipped your head to see who it was. You could have expected it to be Gilbert considering he was the one you were drinking with all night but you noticed the messy blond hair next to you. There was no way you slept with Ludwig.

"WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!" You heard Gilbert's voice scream as he walked into the room. You growled as you felt Ludwig wake up in a jump, "HOLY SHIT, WEST! YOU ACTUALLY SLEPT WITH SOMEONE!" You wanted to cover your head in shame as Roderich and Liz ran into the room.

"Holy crap! Good for you, ( your name )!" Liz said enthusiastically as she gave you a thumbs up. Roderich gave a deep sigh as he walked out of the room, "I had no idea the two of you landed in bed together!"

You threw a pillow at both Gilbert and Liz as they got the hint you were sending them, "Ludwig, I'm so sorry. I have no idea what happened last night and considering you look like you're just as hungover as I am, it doesn't look like you have any idea either."

Ludwig laughed, "I don't know either. I mean, clearly something happened if you're in my t-shirt and I'm completely undressed," You laughed as you tugged Ludwig's shirt to cover you up some more. "I don't regret it. Whatever happened, happened but I'm dying of thirst and I'm sure you are too."

Ludwig followed you to the kitchen as you seen a small note on the table.

"Gilbert left and so did we. Roderich and I went on a lunch date so there's food in the fridge, I doubt you want food but it's there if you want it."

"They went on a date and your brother left," You explained as you handed the German the note, "Now after this, I'm going back to bed and hopefully I don't throw up any of the Powerade I just drank. Listen, I'm not saying that I don't like you but let's give this a try in a few months. I need time to get over Alfred but in a few months, we should go out on a date."

Ludwig was taken back. He wasn't exactly an expert in the romance area but he didn't have anything to lose.

"Sure!"

//

After your night rendezvous with Ludwig, you went back home and slowly started to fix yourself. You moved your things out of Alfred's place and slowly got accustomed to living on your own country again. It wasn't weird or out of the ordinary considering you traveled between the states and your country more times than you could count but now that you weren't together with Alfred, you started to reconnect with the country you represented.

Slowly and surely, you started to contact Ludwig again. He was still the shy man you slept with that night but you made sure that you took it slower than usual. You weren't looking to jump straight into a relationship but you weren't necessarily trying to lose Ludwig.

He took you out on a few dates in Germany as he showed you all the greatest sights in Berlin. You learned all about the history of Germany and vice versa.

You weren't necessarily trying to hide the fact that you were seeing Ludwig but once it got to the ears of a certain American, he was livid. Alfred wasn't expecting you to stay single forever but he wasn't exactly expecting you to be dating Ludwig of all countries.

//

You looked at yourself in the mirror before starting to fix Ludwig's tie. The two of you had to attend a gala that your bosses were making both of you attend. Going to galas or fancy dinners weren't exactly your cup of tea and you were able to tell that it wasn't Ludwig's either.

"Well, I think we clean up nice!" You mentioned to Ludwig as you wrapped your arm around his waist, "We should've color coordinated considering we're each others dates."

Ludwig dug into his dresser as he pulled out a tie that matched your dress, "I bought this one in case you mentioned that." You couldn't help but laugh. You took off the black tie and slipped on the lavender colored tie, "See, now we match."

The two of you made your way to the ballroom where the gala was being held. Countries were talking amongst each other as you noticed Liz, Roderich, Gilbert, Vasch, and Lilly talking to each other.

"Oh my god, you guys look so cute together!" Lilly squealed as she noticed the two of you holding hands. Liz nodded as she gave you a discreet wink. "I doubt any of you are drinking tonight considering the incident that happened the last time the two of you drank together."

You felt your face turn red as Lilly tried to figure out the incident, "Ludwig, I'm getting a glass of wine. Do you want anything?" He muttered a mug of beer as you made your way to the bar with Liz and Lilly.

"Have you seen Alfred?" Liz asked as she tried to look for the loud mouthed blond, "I heard he's coming but I haven't been able to spot him anywhere. I also heard that he found out about you and Ludwig."

You shrugged, "As if I care if he finds out or not." Before Liz could say anything, she seen something flashy on your middle finger. She quickly grabbed your hand and seen the small diamond band.

"EXCUSE ME? WHAT THE FUCK! EXPLAIN!" Liz screamed as she startled Lilly and got the attention of a few countries, "The two of you haven't been dating that long! What the hell is up with the ring!"

You sighed as you asked Lilly to excuse the two of you for a second. You grabbed Liz by her wrist and took her to a small corner. You weren't looking to have everyone find out about the small gift Ludwig had given you.

"Shut the hell up!" You whispered, "He just gave me this ring as a gift for our eight month anniversary. He didn't exactly give me a reason as to why he bought it but he did say that I could take it anyway I would like. I'm taking it as a promise ring and that's it! Now if you scream about this again, I will kick your ass."

Liz tried to contain her squeal, "That's so sweet! I never took Ludwig as the kind of man to give a girl a promise ring but it's so adorable! You look great with it on! Just wait for Alfred to find out! He's going to lose it!"

You rolled your eyes as you got back to the bar and grabbed the glass of wine and made your way to the group of Euro's. You noticed that Gilbert was with Matthias and Alfred. Doing what? You didn't exactly want to know.

"Bro, you suck!" Gilbert screamed at Alfred as he pointed over at you, "You let someone as hot as her get away! What is wrong with you?"

Alfred felt like decking Gilbert right there but he wasn't exactly trying to cause a scene, "Is that a ring?" Matthias asked as he noticed the flashy diamond on your middle finger, "He already gave her a promise ring?"

Gilbert nodded proudly, "West gave it to her last week. I had no idea until he told me about it this morning!"

Alfred didn't say a word. He was beyond words but considering he was the entire reason as to why the two of you broke up, he didn't have any reason to upset about it. He noticed the way the German had his arm protectively around your waist. You were leaning against him as he watched you take a couples photos with Roderich and Liz.

"You really are an idiot. She’s hot and now she's with my brother!" Gilbert said as he continued to rub it in Alfred’s face, "Now you get to see her happy and who knows, maybe she'll be a German relative soon!"

Gilbert intentionally sought out to rub it in Alfred’s face and the American knew it. Maybe it was payback, maybe it wasn’t. Whatever Gilbert’s intentions were, he knew Gilbert held a point. He was an idiot for cheating on you and to see you so loved up in the arms of another man really upset him but this was all his fault. Alfred messed it up for himself and he couldn’t justify trying to ruin what you had with one of his so called enemies. 

ALITA

[iwakurodai]

Angel || Richie Tozier

hello! if this one isn’t good then you can leave me. I haven’t had a good streak with writing in so long. The ending is probably really bad but be gentle, I didn’t know how to continue this let alone end it so the ending seems a bit rushed/way too short! Anyways! I hope you enjoy this imagine to kick off my return to eggytozier

soulmate au where you feel the  pain of your destined lover but dont get the wounds/bruises. 

requested? nah, just had an idea

warnings? suicide, car wrecks, knives, cursing, death, dead parents, pain, blood, soulmates, bad endings, homophobic slur, and missing children

pairing? Richie Tozier x reader, and a bit of platonic!bill x reader

You met your soulmate when you were only five. 

Walking into preschool--hand gripped so very tightly onto your parent’s finger--you stopped at the door way as they spoke to your new teacher. Looking around, your eyes watch the kids chasing each other and knocking stuff over. Your eyes met a small boy that was playing alone, pretending to make food at the play kitchen way across the room. You were about to leave your parents when the teacher kneeled in front of you, distracting you and you forgot about the boy as she introduced herself to you. 

Farther along in the day, at recess, you were about to join the boy from before on the swing set until he jumped off and landed wrong. You felt nothing but searing pain in your ankle and you fell to the ground, sobbing, unaware of the boy screeching just a couple yards from you. You found out who he was when you both were carried to the nurses office by the teachers monitoring you. 

His name was Taylor James. He was a little blonde boy who spoke a little too quiet and laughed a little too loud. He had a strong interest in cooking after growing up with a chef as a father. He had a stutter and a lisp but you didn’t see the problem.

You two were only five, but since that point of meeting, you two were inseparable. 

As years went by, your parents and his became best friends. Taking mementos of you two to look back on when you got married. You two grew up together, not hiding a single thing. Well, it was hard to hide something when you both could feel something was wrong. 

Taylor was as quiet as he was in preschool and he was just as sensitive. Which caused him to become an easy target for bullying. You despised the bullies. Every time you saw them you couldn’t help but shout insults and jokes, hoping that they would feel what they did to Taylor. You knew that it wasn’t right but you didn’t care. All that mattered was Taylor being happy. 

But, you would never have been prepared for when the accident happened. 

You were 10, only five years were spent with Taylor. He was on his way to your house for Easter. You were helping your mother color some eggs when you suddenly dropped to the floor, screaming as if you were being murdered. Tears came out of your eyes like a river, you were barely breathing. A screech coming out of your mouth whenever you could get it out until nothing would come out. 

You felt as if your soul had been ripped in two, holding onto each other with thin strings. Your body was cold, freezing to the touch. Your nails digging into your arms but you didn’t feel a single thing. Your whole mind and body were numb, other than the feeling of your whole being, being put through a paper shredder. 

It wasn’t until you were sitting against your mother chest, still sobbing, that your dad came home. He had tears in his eyes, his hands were shaking. 

Your dad was coming home from buying some candy for you and Taylor when he saw a familiar car fly, headfirst, into a semi truck. He pulled over and ran to the scene, pulling out a phone and calling 911. He was telling the operator where he was when he was stopped cold at the sight of Mr. and Mrs. James, barely even recognizable. Your dad checked the back and was horrified to see little Taylor with a piece of shrapnel lodged into his chest. 

Your dad fled, rushing to you as he realized what would happen. He had only read about soulmates dying, but never did he think he--or anyone he knew--would witness it himself. You didn’t feel a thing of the crash. Taylor died on impact. But the feeling of your other half being ripped from life had scarred you to the core. 

You went silent, your mouth never opened other than to eat and drink. The trauma of losing someone so close to you had scraped your ability to find the use in talking. Your parents became scared, signing you up for a therapist. 

You were only with that therapist for barely half a year before they decided that a change of scenery was better for your health. With that suggestion, you and your family packed up and left your hometown. Driving as far as the family’s minivan could take you. 

Which was the small, secluded town of Derry, Maine. 

You didn’t go to school until the next year, your parents making sure that all the teachers knew of your problem and wouldn’t force you to do anything. 

You weren’t mad or sad or even happy that you had moved. You were just... surviving. You didn’t feel like you needed to feel anything, so you didn’t. In the short year of learning at Derry Middle School, you didn’t make any friends and only gained the attention of Greta Bowie. She took advantage of every time you were alone to bully you. She wanted to tip you over the edge and cause a breakdown. She had found out about your soulmate dying and was making up different scenarios of what could have happened. 

“Your little soulmate killed himself because you’re such a fucking disgrace of a human he didn’t want to be with you, didn’t he?” 

You pretended to not hear it. 

You also gained the attention of a kid named Bill Denbrough. He had a stutter and it reminded you, almost too much, of Taylor. He tried his best to make you comfortable: helping you with work when you seemed to not understand, giving you tips about avoiding Greta and Henry Bowers (who you hadn’t met but made a note of staying away from), and even inviting you to hang out with his friends. You always denied, you didn’t wanna damper their fun. 

Bill always shrugged, though, promising to make plans to hang out alone. You always gave him a small smile in response and a pat on the shoulder. You were scared of getting close to him. 

It was only a month after meeting Bill that you felt something strange. 

You were walking down the hallway, being called to the counselor’s office for your daily meeting, when you felt a strong sense of pain in your stomach. As if you’d been punched. You froze in the middle of the hallway, your mind racing with possibilities. 

Taylor? No, you thought, he’s definitely dead. You saw his body in the morgue, in the open casket with his family. He was gone. 

Was there a chance that you had gotten a new one? You hadn’t seen anything about gaining a new soulmate after the death of another, but it also wasn’t common to find yours at such a young age, like you. 

You got knocked out of your thoughts--literally--when you felt a punch to your face. You dipped your head down, covering your left eye as you head starts to pound fiercely against your eye. Your vision started to blur with tears, a ringing in your ears. You clench your eyes shut, forcing yourself to take a breath and get to the counselor’s office before you started to investigate more. 

You asked the counselor about having a new soulmate when you met with her again, of course by writing it down. She pulled out a dirty notebook and flipped a couple pages before reaching her desired spot. 

She read to you that soulmates who lose their other half so suddenly and unexpectedly have a chance to gain a new one. It happens so rarely that there had been only two ever cases about it. The universe had a plan, they always planned ahead of time. The universe had a backup when they knew a soulmate was going to die unexpectedly. Meaning that in rare cases, people would be born without a soulmate until they were needed.  

When she asked about the sudden curiosity, the bell rang. You ran out of the office and into the crowded halls, to the cafeteria--which you commonly avoided. But, today, you wanted to see Bill. You could see how much mysteries sparked the kid’s interest and you needed help. 

You found him pretty easily, he was with his friends. You knew them from Bill pointing them out in the yearbook when he was showing you Henry Bowers. You barely knew their names but that was the least of your concerns. You scrambled in your backpack, finding a piece of paper and a pen. You scrawled the words “I need your help” on it before throwing the pen in your bag and striding up to Bill, confidently. 

Ignoring his friends that were silenced with confusion, you shoved the paper in Bill’s face. He grabbed it carefully, reading it slowly. 

“Damn Bill, since when did you know the hot new girl?” A kid with glasses exclaimed, smiling at your determined face. “Hi, hotstuff, I’m Richie Tozier, but you can call me your boyfriend!” Richie shoves his hand in your direction. You glance at his hand and then at his face, scrunching your brows together and tilting your head. 

“C-c’mon, (Y/N), we-we can go to th-the libr-library,” Bill says, cutting off your introduction to Richie. “I’ll see you-you guys af-after school!” He exclaims, grabbing your wrist and leading you away from his friends. 

“What the fuck?”

“Why can’t we go?”

“What just happened?”

Bill ignores the three and you two make it out of the loud cafeteria and through the halls until you both finally get to the small school library. 

“So, what di-did you need h-hel-help with?” Bill asks, sitting down on a chair. You sit next to him, opening your bag and scrambling for a random notebook. You find one and hurry, rushing out an explanation. When you finish, Bill slides towards him and scans it quickly, mouthing the words as he reads. He looks back to you once he finishes, he was shocked. 

He’s never heard of the whole gaining new soulmates thing and he didn’t know what to do. But he wanted to help his friend. “Wh-What do you wa-want me to do? How can I-how c-can I help?” You smile in relief, reaching over and hugging him tightly. 

Bill grins widely, hugging you back. It was only the start to a whole new adventure and he was excited to help you figure it out. 

You back up from him, blushing in embarrassment before turning back to your notebook and writing something more. 

‘Do you have any ideas? All I’ve got is asking around if there’s been a fight.’

Bill hums, racking his brain for ideas. Biting his lip, he looks over at you to see you tapping your pencil on the notebook. “M-Maybe we can my friends i-if they’ve heard of-of any fights re-recently? R-Richie surely knows, i-i-if not then we can ask the r-r-redhead, Beverly, from History c-class.” You nod, accepting the idea. 

“Okay, I-I have to go. I’ll meet-meet up with you by the b-bike rack and w-we-we can b-brainst-storm more on the w-way home. Y-You live near the sy-synag-synagogue, right?” After seeing you nod, he smiles. “O-Okay, I’ll w-wa-walk you home. R-R-Remember, by the b-bike rack!” Bill says, leaving you to think to yourself. 

I’m scared that if we don’t find my soulmate, I’ll lose them before I could get to know them. You thought to yourself, playing with your pencil. I don’t wanna know that they’re going through pain and I’m not doing anything to help. 

But, you didn’t know you were going to have to halt the investigation because less than a month later, Bill’s little brother ended up missing. 

You became close to Bill throughout his grieving. You related to him in a way. You both lost someone close to you, for you it might’ve been more painful in the sense of your soul ripping in two, but he lost his little brother. And he thought it was his own fault. 

Bill came to you to vent about Georgie. He went through all the stages of grief in front of you. And you were there to help him through it all. 

Being close to Bill also meant you became good friends with his. Stan Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak, and Richie Tozier became a constant in your routine. They didn’t pressure you to speak but they made light hearted jokes about it. You weren’t ever offended, you laughed with them. Richie made the most jokes though. He couldn’t go an hour without shooting a flirty comment at you with a wink. You found it adorably annoying.

Eddie and you became close too. After a freakout with Eddie not trusting any other boys with his extra inhaler, you stepped up and held it for him. You keep it in your bag at all times and when you didn't have your bag, you had it tucked in your pocket. He had a respect for you for putting up with Richie and not managing to smack him. You always shook your head and chuckled at his disbelief. 

Stan and you only became close after you found him crying with bruises up and down his arms. You helped him up and led him into your home, holding an ice pack to the worst of them all. Stan had been beaten by Henry Bowers and you caught him after he had ran far enough away to lose them. He gained the smallest crush on you after that, but you didn’t have know that. 

You didn’t ever bring up the possibility of having another soulmate to the boys. You didn’t want to stress Bill with his search for Georgie and you didn’t want the other three to ask questions about your first. Though, Richie loved to pester you. 

Richie loved to make jokes about being your soulmate, about how you never bring up soulmates because he was already in front of you. You always brushed it off and rolled your eyes at him. But, one day, the jokes seemed to be a reality. 

You were walking home from your therapist appointment when you felt something hit the back of your head. You reached up and rubbed at it, groaning about how your soulmate must be in wrestling club with how much fighting he did. As you came across Mr. Keene’s pharmacy to pick up your prescription, you glance down the alleyway. 

You almost didn’t catch it but you did a double take and saw Richie struggling against the brick wall as a platinum blonde boy holds him there. 

“Let go of me, bleach bottle! I got shit to do!” Richie exclaims, groaning as he tries to pull away from the kid holding him down. You step closer, hiding behind the wall as you watch. You knew you should help, but something was stopping you. 

“No, you don’t, trashmouth, not anymore.” You watch as a kid with a blonde mullet stalks towards Richie with something in his hand. “I’m gonna teach you to keep your mouth shut, faggot,” He snarls, clicking a button and showing off the glint of the knife. You gasp quietly, slipping away from the wall to try and stop him. You recognized the mullet from Bill pointing it out in the yearbook. Henry Bowers. 

Richie, for once, was shocked silent. His eyes watching as the knife practically glared at him. He swallows thickly as Henry brings the knife close to his face. “You better be happy to welcome a new stamp, Buck Teeth,” Henry mutters, poking the tip of the knife into Richie’s cheek and dragging it slowly across his skin. Richie’s eyes screw shut, gritting his teeth to stop himself from yelling. 

You gasp loudly, eyes widening as you spin to press your back to the brick wall. Your hand reaching to press against your cheek, feeling the knife dig into you but not showing any wound. Heat seemed to lick at your cheek, stinging and causing your eyes to water. Taking a couple deep breaths, you press a hand to your chest to calm your heart beat. 

“What the fuck was that?” Henry whispers to Victor who shrugs. “Well go fucking check, dipshit!” Victor jumps, letting go to Richie, who falls to the ground. He didn’t dare to get up, knowing that if he did Henry would just find a way to injure him more brutally. 

You tense, glancing around before rushing into the store you were hiding in front of. You watched at the bleach blonde looked everywhere before freezing and rushing back to the alleyway. You waited a couple seconds before leaving the store and glancing back where Richie was. 

Richie was pushing himself up, holding his cheek with a frown on his face. Henry and the other one, nowhere to be seen. You deem it safe enough to bolt into the alleyway and to Richie who looked up with fright in his eyes before relaxing at the sight of you. 

“Hey, dollface! What’s up?” He exclaims, smiling at you while still holding his cheek. He acted like nothing had happened. You stop in front of him and look at him incredulously. Blood was starting to drip from his fingers. “What? Oh, you mean this?” Richie asks, noting your shock. “It’s just a scratch, my dear, no need to worry!” You shake your head, grabbing Richie’s wrist and taking it from his face. 

He sucks in a breath, not liking how the cold air felt in his new wound. He didn’t notice how you winced as well. “Yea, okay. Might need a band aid, maybe? Say, where you headed?” Richie asks, suddenly losing interest in the still burning wound. You roll your eyes, pulling him along with you to Keene’s to pick up some supplies. 

“Do you think Mama (L/N) will freak about me bleeding out on your kitchen table?” You scoff at Richie’s words, dabbing a wet washcloth on his cheek to clean the blood from around the fresh band aid. “What? You don’t think so? You know your mom loves me, angel!” You freeze at the nickname. 

It was new—different from the other pet names he’s given you. You roll your eyes, brushing it off as him just finding a magazine that mentioned it. 

“You like that one? I made it up on my own!” Richie exclaims, smiling brightly at your reddening face. “Yea, cause you are like an angel. Maybe that’s why you don’t talk, cause if you do then none of us will be able to handle your beautiful voice and we’d all die because our heart burst from it!” Richie over exaggerates, springing up from the kitchen chair and laughing at your little jump. You chuckle a bit before turning around and cleaning up the mess you made. 

“Hey, (y/n)?” Richie asks, suddenly quiet and serious. You raise an eyebrow, turning on your heel and tilting your head at him in question. “Have you found your soulmate yet?” He mumbles, shocking you. 

You didn’t know if you should tell him. Yea, you were very happy you found your second soulmate but you didn’t know if you should tell him or let him figure it out himself. 

“You don’t have to answer, I was just wondering. Because, I’m scared I don’t have one,” Richie confesses. You sit down next to him, slowly, growing confused. “That or my soulmate is extremely careful because the last time I felt pain from them was…” Richie stops to think. “Have I ever felt pain from them before?” You sigh, looking down and grinding your teeth. 

You’ve been overly cautious about hurting yourself over things. You didn’t want to put your soulmate through something painful, it hurt you to see that you were the cause. But you needed to do something. You knew Richie was your soulmate, you just had to find the courage to show him. 

“It’s whatever. I can deal with not having one! It’s not like I need one or something!” Richie laughs, pushing away his true feelings. He stands up, rubbing his hands over pants before starting towards the door. You start to panic, not wanting him to leave on a sad note. You rack your brain, filing through the things you could do to make him stay. But there was really only one choice as there was nothing around you to help you.. “I should probably go, I was supposed to meet Eddie at the park—“

“W-Wait.” 

Richie freezes, a hand reaching towards the door. He spins on his heel slowly, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped. “Did you just—“ He cuts himself off as you start to walk closer to him. You nod. Your voice was hoarse, as it hadn't been used in more than a year. And you stuttered, you weren’t exactly used to talking anymore. 

“I—“

“Y-Your soulmate,” You confess, biting the inside of your cheek and watching him carefully. Richie’s face drops. He chuckles lowly, sounding betrayed. 

“Don’t try, angel. I don’t want you to fake being my soulmate just to make me happy,” You roll your eyes as Richie looks up at you with sad eyes. “You deserve to be with your actual soul—“ As Richie talks, you lift your arm and grab a lump of your skin in between two fingers, and squeeze. 

“Oh, fuc—“ Richie exclaims, jerking his arm to his chest quickly. He looks at you with confusion, his face screwed with disbelief. 

“You’re—“ He didn’t have to finish his words as you nod in confirmation. Richie laughs, relief seeping through. “Shit,” He breathes, bringing you in for a tight hug. “You’re actually my soulmate. Holy fuck!” Richie rambles, a grin gracing his features. 

You giggle, wrapping your arms around him and holding him close. You got a second chance, you didn’t wanna screw it up. You decided to put off telling him about Taylor. Richie’s smiling face was way too precious to be put down by your past. 

“Wait! I gotta tell Stan! He’s gonna shit himself!”

[homubat]

a letter for an ex friend

hey, you used to be a big part of my life back when i was just an awkward lonely teen, and it meant a lot to me that you were my friend. ive got lots of pleasant memories of hanging out with you. i always looked up to you, too.

i think youve always been a rather hardheaded person, though. i put you above myself in terms of worth. i thought of myself as your sidekick instead of your equal. i thought you smarter, more talented, and more like-able than i could ever be (i had a lot of self confidence issues back then lol). i was always afraid of disagreeing with you because you were never one who was easy to compromise with.

weve grown apart after high school as people do. our interests went in different directions and we had less to talk about. ive changed a lot, personally. im more confident nowadays and im better at speaking my mind and voicing my thoughts. ive made lots of new friends and had lots of great experiences that helped me grow as a person.

im sure you know why i cut you off, or at least you have an idea as to why. its because i was increasingly hurt and frustrated over your lesbophobic viewpoints. you thinking it remotely okay to look down on lesbians or equate us to TERFs. as well as you genuinely thinking the word lesbian could be applied to anyone whos attracted to men. you demonize lesbians to the point of thinking it okay to slander and shit on a minority group. i dont care how many lesbians youve met that have wronged you or were bigoted towards you (youve probably not met them. just saw a bunch of vocal lesbian terfs and based all of us on them) it doesnt make it okay for you to generalize and demonize a minority group. i stand by this and i cant forgive you.

i dont claim to be a perfect person, i used to think some pretty messed up stuff- for instance i got caught up in asexual exclusionism for a while before i decided to step back and rethink what it is i was even trying to achieve and the kind of person i wanted to be. i realized it was fucked up of me to look at viral homophobic posts that asexual people online made, and then base the entire ace community around them and hold them accountable (sound familiar?)

i also remember you opened my eyes more in regards to the word queer and how it is an identity in its own right and not merely a slur. im happy i listened to you and heard what you had to say. unfortunately, i dont think theres anything i can say that would make you rethink /your/ bigoted mindset. you probably arent reading this, but if you are, im sure youve rolled your eyes at the very term "lesbophobic" because im certain you think its a joke.

you wanna know something kind of funny? it was because of you that i accepted that i was a lesbian. i remember you were at my house one day and i think we were playing kirby or something on wii. and i was explaining my sexuality to you- saying that i thought i was bisexual, but i had no romantic attraction to men, and extremely minimal sexual attraction to men. and i remember you just looked me in the eyes and said "cypress, youre a lesbian" lol. it really never left me.

anyway- this letter has no real purpose other than for my own closure regarding our friendship and how it ended so abruptly. i am always looking to grow as a person. maybe one day youll take a step back and try to become a better person too. regardless, again, i cant forgive you. if you want to become a better person, do so for people youll meet in the future, because im not going to be a part of it.

[ill-find-something-better-later]

Listen, I dont always write fanfic, but when I do it’s because the story exploded into my head and would not let me rest until it was out of my system. So here’s two straight days of frantic word vomit in the form of a 7k Reddie fix-it fic, enjoy

~~~

    Eddie woke up alone, and trapped. The cistern had collapsed, and it was a miracle that he had ended up in a little pocket of air, sitting like he was under a tree in a nice meadow rather than the ruins of a killer alien clown’s underground lair.

    He took a deep breath—at least, he tried to. The air was laden with dust, and his chest hurt like someone had torn it open.

    Which was, he remembered with a shudder, exactly what had happened.

    Despite his best efforts, he started to panic. His breath came fast and ragged. He had no idea where his inhaler had gone, and he just knew the air around him was probably as thick with toxins as it was with deep, ominous, terrifying silence. With one desperate, adrenaline-fueled shove, he pushed at the debris above him. It fell away with ease.

    What had once been a massive, twisted cavern, the home of nightmares, was now nothing more than sea of rubble. Eddie looked around in horror. There was nothing, absolutely nothing; no signs of clowns, or lepers, or Losers, or even a fight at all. He called out, but his voice wouldn’t come. He coughed—then quickly fell into a fit of coughing—and tried again. Nothing but his own echo.

    Panic came full force.

    Eddie scrambled out of his hole, his grave, and stared wildly at the remains of the cistern. He couldn’t breathe. The wound on his chest was closed, but it was burning like mad and, by god, he had died. At least, he was pretty sure he had died. That’s what typically happens after a giant monster punches a gaping hole into your chest. And if he had died, then anyone else could have died, too. Any of the Losers—Bev, Mike, Ben, Bill, Richie—could be buried less miraculously under the ancient debris of fucking Neibolt.

    "They’re fine,“ he said aloud to no one. To himself. His voice was the only thing keeping him from blacking out. “I’m fine, so they’re fine, everybody’s fucking fine—”

    He stopped, realizing for the first time that he was fine. Filthy, exhausted, bleeding in a few places, and sore literally everywhere, but fine. And somehow alive again, despite being convinced that he had definitely died.

    "I’ve got to get the fuck out of here,“ he whispered.

~~~

    The Losers, or what remained of them, stayed in Derry for over a week after everything had ended. Bev wasn’t ready to go home, back to real life and her shithead soon-to-be-ex husband. Ben stayed for her. Bill and Mike had been trying to help wherever they could, and Richie…

    Richie could hardly get out of bed.

    His phone had been ringing constantly since before they had even faced the clown. Angry managers and publicists trying to drag him back to LA. But now more than ever, he couldn’t face them, couldn’t face anyone. Richie was different now, with all these memories crammed back into his head, all this fear, and regret—all this fucking love that would never have anywhere to go. How could he possibly just go back, pretend nothing was different?

    The others came to him in shifts. For the first couple days, he wouldn’t even let them in, but it got too annoying to listen to them through the door.

    Bill tried to relate, sharing stories about Georgie that were more comforting than Richie wanted to admit. He stuttered less, now that Pennywise was gone, but he was especially smooth when he spoke of his brother.

    Mike assured him that it was all over. They were free. He said Eddie was a hero and, yeah, Richie fucking knew that, and it didn’t make it any easier, didn’t make the hole in Richie’s heart any fucking smaller. But it was nice to remember, if only briefly, the determined jut of Eddie’s jaw, the spark in his eyes.

    Ben was obviously a lot more clever than Richie had ever given him credit for. He knew way too much. Richie tried not to flinch when he mentioned how “especially close” he and Eddie had been. But Richie wasn’t blind either, and he figured Ben’s thing for Bev wasn’t that different, really. Except Bev was still alive.

    Bev. Richie had always been close with her. They had bonded a lot over vicious rumors and cigarettes, once Richie had warmed up to her.

    She didn’t say much. The first time she came in to see him she had simply sat down in a chair by the bed, and offered him a smoke.

    "The detectors don’t even work,“ she had said. “I already checked.”

    This had produced the first thing even slightly resembling a smile on Richie’s face. “Good ol’ Bevers,” he slurred into his pillow. “Raised like a real scoundrel.”

    They had sat together like that for a long time, Richie slumped against the headboard, smoking like a chimney. It didn’t do much for him, but the habit was familiar. And sitting up, at least, had to be a step in the right direction.

~~~

    As it turns out, getting stabbed through the chest, dying, being buried in rubble, and then coming back to life really fucking sucks.

    Eddie had managed to dig his way out of the cavern, though he had cut his hands up in the process. It wasn’t the way they had come, if that way was even still standing. He had crawled for a while through a small tunnel, trying and failing to ignore how filthy the stone was, and the open wounds on his hands and face. Every movement sent a shot of pain across his chest. At one point, he had stopped and checked on it, only for his heart to skip several beats when he saw the angry red scar across his ribs.

    "I should be dead,“ he said to himself. “I totally died.”

    Without his inhaler, Eddie hadn’t managed to take a good deep breath since he woke up, so his only comfort was ranting aloud. Part of him was worried he might draw unwanted attention, but there had been no sign of Pennywise in hours. Or maybe minutes.

    "Hard to tell when you’re fucking underground.“

    Eventually the tunnel widened, and he was able to stand. His legs protested, and the pain in his chest made little black flecks dance across his vision, but he did it anyway. The floors were still uneven and the walls were slimy, slowing his progress. A few times he wondered if he would ever make it out, if he would be stuck down here forever. Maybe he wasn’t even going the right way. Maybe Pennywise’s last trick was to resurrect him just so he could die alone, covered in filth, in a fucking sewer.

    "Fuck that,” he muttered hoarsely. “Fuck that, and fuck him. You can do this, Eddie, just keep moving.”

    He pictured the other Losers, alive and well and waiting for him. A few times, he caught himself smiling, picturing their faces when he turned up in one piece.

    Bill would lose his mind. He had waited a long time for someone he had lost to come back, and Eddie was doing just that.

    Mike would ask a million questions. Call Eddie a hero or something, which would be ridiculous because he hadn’t even fucking killed the thing.

    Bev would probably cry. So would Ben, if he had to guess. Eddie might cry, too, even if Richie teased him for it.

    Eddie liked to think that Richie might, for once, just shut the fuck up.

    Eddie liked to think that maybe, for once, he would force him to.

~~~

    By the end of the second week, Richie was mobile. He would drag himself out of bed for the sake of getting some coffee, or some bourbon to pour into it. His friends would cheer him on in their own ways, and it wasn’t nearly as pitiful as it sounded.

    "Baby steps,“ Bill would say to him, "it’s all about b-b-ba-baby steps.”

    The weather was too nice. Richie found it profoundly inconsiderate to his mood. He would open the window in his room to smoke with Bev, despite the dead smoke detectors, because he could still hear Eddie in his mind.

    "You’re sucking in first and second hand smoke, dumbass. That’s twice the cancer. Besides, those smoke detectors are there for a goddamn reason, you know. This place is one giant fucking fire hazard, really, someone should call the fire department, or OSHA, or something because—”

    Richie would let the rant play out in his head, which was probably pathetic. But it was all he had, and if he had to leave Derry eventually, forget about Eddie forever, then he would cling to that nagging ghost as long as he fucking could.

    It was on the tenth day post-Neibolt that Bev asked him what his plans were. She wasn’t the first to ask, but she was the only one Richie felt obligated to actually answer. Which is why he had hoped she never would.

    "I mean, what else is a hack comedian supposed to do?“ He shrugged, an effort to look fine when he really, really wasn’t and probably never would be. “I’ll go back to LA eventually. Maybe I’ll even still have a career if I’m real polite about it.”

    "I get it,“ Bev said, blowing a cloud of smoke out the window. "I don’t think I could ever feel ready. But we can’t hide here forever.”

    "Maybe you can’t.“

    "Rich.”

    "Don’t “Rich” me,“ he said lightly. "I could totally just spend the rest of my days wallowing in this room until I wither up and die. Can’t be hard.”

    "Eddie wouldn’t want that.”

    Fuck that. Fuck that, and fuck Derry, and fuck evil clowns, and fuck absolutely everything else.

    "Eddie had a wife to go home to,“ Richie snapped, voice breaking. "So does Bill, and you have Ben, and Ben has you. What do I have? A big, empty apartment where I can drink myself into a coma and hopefully forget that I’m forgetting him? Fuck that.”

    Bev blinked at him, cigarette dangling between her fingers like she had forgotten she was holding it. “Richie, is that what you’re worried about? Forgetting again?”

    He stared at her, and then stared out the window, taking a drag. “What can I say, I’m a weepy little bitch. Sue me.”

    Bev rolled her eyes, which was as comforting as it was insulting, honestly. “You won’t,” she said insistently.

    "What?“

    "You’re not going to forget Eddie.”

    "How the fuck do you know? What, the ol’ clown sent out a memo that I missed or something?“

    She laughed, and the sound was so unexpected that Richie snapped his mouth shut with a muted click.

    "You won’t for the same reason that I won’t forget you, or Bill, or Mike. We’re friends, Richie, we’re Losers. Pennywise is gone and we’re the ones who killed him. He can’t take our lives from us anymore.”

    Richie hadn’t thought of that. Mostly because his thoughts had been occupied with Eddie’s lovely eyes, his sharp smile, the sound of his voice, and all the other flavors of him that Richie would never taste again. He had been so frantic at the thought of losing those memories that he hadn’t considered that he never would.

    He couldn’t leave Derry with Eddie by his side, but he could at least carry the memory of him. And, shit, that had to be worth something.

~~~

    That was a light. Eddie was certain of it, that was a light!

    He had been trudging through sewer water for what felt like days. His body was screaming for him to stop, and he had never ignored so many of his own maladies in his life. The tunnel had gone from uneven rock, to uneven brick, and Eddie had briefly convinced himself that he had turned around and was headed back into Its lair.

    Then the brick became smoother, worked, rounded. When Eddie realized that he was now walking through the sewers of Derry, he actually teared up a little. He never thought he’d be so happy while standing ankle deep in grey water.

    And now, finally, finally, he could see the literal light at the end of the tunnel. It was faint at first, and he had already had a few false starters—the glint off of a glass bottle, a trick of the eye. This time, however, the light grew as he moved closer.

    He broke into a jog, though it was more of a controlled stagger. Water sloshed loudly around him, dragging at his feet, and the sound echoed through the tunnels.

    Eddie started to panic again. He was so close.

    What if this was Pennywise’s last trick? What if Eddie was still trapped down there, and this was all just an elaborate vision? The tunnel would collapse right before he escaped. That awful laughter would float up from behind him. The water would rise, his wounds would reopen. He would die all over again. He would never see Richie, would never hear his dumb jokes or his stupid laugh. He would never get the chance to shut him up the way he had always wanted to. He was so close now, dammit, so close…

    Sunlight.

    Warm, blessed evening sunlight.

~~~

    The Losers finally departed from Derry in sequence. Bill went first, since he had a deadline, but it took a day and a half of convincing to get him going. Ben and Bev left together, and despite himself, Richie wished them the best.

    He was going to miss them. They never would have left until Richie was okay again, and although he was far from fine, he was no longer scared to leave all of this behind. It was actually kind of baffling, to think that he had been nervous to leave Derry fucking Maine in the rearview.

    Still, he didn’t leave until the afternoon. The New England sun was nice this time of year, and Richie was trying so hard to focus on that instead of bottomless chasm in his heart. His future felt empty in a way it never had before. Apparently forgetting Eddie while he was still alive left Richie with more hope than remembering him dead. Funny how that works.

    Only it wasn’t funny at all.

    When he finally loaded his things into the car, and said a final farewell to Mike, it was well past noon. Richie took the long way out of town, hoping for one last grab at closure.

    He had been to the kissing bridge a handful of times, back when he was growing up, but no more than anyone else. Mostly because he was terrified of the one spot in the whole world where he had let his secret see the light of day. As he pulled up to the old bridge, he dug around for his pocket knife.

    The carving was faded, weathered to match the wood around it. Richie crouched down and ran the point of his knife over the letters until they were stark enough that he could read them through the tears in his eyes.

    R+E

    He sat there for a while, for once just letting himself cry.

    Then he stood, wiped at his face, said a soft goodbye, and left.

~~~

    The sun was setting over Derry fucking Maine, and Eddie Kaspbrak was there to see it. He stumbled out of the sewers and collapsed into the shallow water of the river, gasping in the fresh air. He was filthy, sore, tired, and fucking alive, and fucking free. For a moment, he didn’t even bother with caution, splashing the water right onto his face. When he looked up, he felt the fading sunlight on his cheeks, a faint breeze tugging at his hair, and he laughed.

    Then he stopped laughing because it fucking hurt.

    It took an immense amount of effort to pick himself up again. He had to make it back to the hotel, to the other Losers, to Richie. It was impossible to tell how long he had been down there, but his first priority was getting to them. The rest could come later.

    The walk back into Derry was shorter than his trek through the sewers, but it felt like more of a hike. About a mile, mostly uphill, through the woods in the dying daylight. It didn’t help that every odd shadow had him jumping straight out of his skin. When he finally saw the light of town, he practically ran.

    Being back in civilization was like finally waking up from the nightmare to an unfamiliar room. He was okay, he was going to be fine, he was alive, but it wasn’t home. He wouldn’t be safe and sound until he found the others. Which was still fine, because he was almost back to the hotel, and he could practically see them turning to look as he came through the door. The shock on their faces, the disbelief, and then they would be on him, and it really would be okay. Richie would say something stupid, Eddie knew he would, and that’s when he would shut him up with— 

    The hotel was empty.

    The lights were all off, despite the relatively early hour. No one was there when he went inside. The lady who ran the desk in the back said that all the guests had checked out. They were gone.

    Eddie asked if he could use the phone. She glowered at him, clearly not happy about the dirt and various other substances he was coated in but she pointed to an old landline. Eddie had absolutely nothing, no wallet, no inhaler, not even a pen. But they had all exchanged their phone numbers back at the restaurant, and Eddie had only bothered to remember one of them.

~~~

    Richie was almost an hour away from Derry when his phone rang. He figured it was his manager again, or his publicist again, or maybe someone else who wanted to bite his head off for disappearing for weeks. He glanced down at the screen. No name, but the number tickled something at the back of his mind. He let it go to voicemail.

    He didn’t think he had room left in his brain for more long lost memories.

    A few minutes later, it rang again. Richie glanced down, saw that same number, and cursed. Maybe it was Mike, calling to tell him that Pennywise had a son or something, and the terror was only just beginning. He let it ring out again, as a nagging feeling grew in his chest.

    When it rang again, Richie caved.

    "Listen, you can’t expect me to keep putting up with this shit, okay? One supernatural showdown a year, that’s the new rule. I am capped out! What the fuck more could you possibly want from me?“

    There was a silence, just long enough to make him nervous. And then…

    "Richie?”

~~~

    There was a terrible screeching sound on the other end of the line. Eddie heard Richie curse, and then rustling, and then silence.

    No, not quite silence. Richie was muttering something barely loud enough to be noticeable. Eddie strained his ears, and made out enough to discern the familiar chant.

    "This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real.“

    And Eddie understood, he really did, but it didn’t stop the flare of indignation. He was just so desperately relieved to hear Richie’s voice, and he was a little delirious, and he had died, and there had been several tense minutes where he didn’t think Richie would pick up the phone and, well…

    "I am totally fucking real, you dipshit!” He practically snarled it, earning another glare from the lady behind the desk. “You would know that if you were here right now. What the fuck, dude?”

    Richie didn’t immediately answer.  His breath was rattling through the receiver in short bursts, and Eddie was almost sorry for snapping at him.

    "No,“ Richie choked out. "No, no, no, no, you’re not. You were… you're… I was fucking there, and you were…”

    Eddie sighed, the anger draining out of him and leaving him empty. “Yeah, I was, Trashmouth. And now I’m not.”

    There was another pause, filled only with the awful sound of Richie’s ragged breathing, and it sounded too much like one of Eddie’s nastier asthma attacks. Eddie wanted him to be here, and not just a voice on the phone.

    "How?“ he finally asked, voice too small, too unsteady to belong to Richie Tozier.

    Eddie sighed again. "I don’t fucking know, Rich. Look, I’m back at the hotel, and I don’t have my wallet or literally anything else. I don’t even know what fucking day it is. Just please tell me you’re not on the other side of the goddamn country." 

    There was another curse, and more rustling. When Richie spoke again, his voice was more sure, a hint of urgency hidden beneath it. "I’m not, I… I left like an hour ago.” A pause. “Had to pay my respects to your mom.”

    His voice cracked as he said it, and Eddie decided to ignore that. “Fuck off.”

    Richie’s breath audibly hitched, and Eddie ignored that, too.

    "Give the phone to the lady,“ Richie said hoarsely, "I’ll get you a room. But don’t get the wrong idea or anything, I don’t do prostitutes anymore.”

    Eddie rolled his eyes, scoffed, and handed the receiver to the sour-faced woman. He didn’t trust his own voice now, worried it would give away the chest-bursting relief that had come over him. Richie was okay. He was only an hour away, and he was coming back, and he was okay.

    The woman rattled off several questions, and pecked at the keyboard of the ancient computer in front of her. A minute later, she curled her lip and passed the phone back to Eddie.

    "You’d better be fucking real, Kaspbrak. I’m pretty sure I just got ripped off.“

~~~

    The irony of driving almost twenty miles over the speed limit for the sake of Eddie Kaspbrak was not lost on Richie. He had almost crashed the car once, at the first raspy sound of Eddie’s voice. Now he was hurtling down the highway at breakneck speed, back to Derry, back to him.

    Richie still wasn’t sure he was even awake. Part of him was absolutely certain that this was some awful dream, that he would get back to Derry and Eddie would be just as dead as when he left. The other part, the one that was playing and replaying Eddie’s voice in his head, was almost sick with hope.

    He had been crying ever since Eddie had told him to fuck off in that just-barely-fond voice that he so rarely used. It had occurred to him, of course, that Eddie would have a field day with that, but he couldn’t stop.

    Eddie was alive. Eddie was fucking alive.

    Alone, and probably hurt, and definitely pissed off, but alive nonetheless. Richie would have had a much harder time believing it if he hadn’t fought and killed a giant, shapeshifting killer clown two weeks ago.

    He was so close. It was a miracle that he hadn’t been pulled over, but he pushed his luck even further anyway, creeping up toward one hundred. He was so close.

    There was a paranoid little voice clamouring in the back of his head, shouting things like "trap!” and “danger!” and “impending doom!” Richie ignored that voice.

    Eddie was alive.

~~~

    Eddie was falling apart. He had made it back down the hall, up the stairs, and into the room before the miles of crawling, stumbling, digging, climbing, and fighting to survive finally caught up to him. Three steps past the threshold, he collapsed.

    The room was empty, but it had clearly not been that way for long. It reeked of cigarette smoke. Eddie slumped down onto the floor, and lay there for several minutes, mind blank. Then he started thinking about all the awful little things crawling around in the carpet, and he became acutely aware of everything still coating his body.

    With a new surge of energy, he hauled himself up and into the bathroom. There was no first aid kit, no isopropyl alcohol, no sterile bandages, but at this point Eddie would settle for an incredibly hot shower.

    He almost lost his balance getting in, which made his heart plummet in his chest. But when he stepped into the water, his whole body unwound like a cut wire. The grime of the sewers fell away, sluicing off his skin and draining back to where it had all come from. Eddie watched his own blood circle the drain, and shivered despite the scalding water.

    Richie had barely left, and he wouldn’t have been far behind the others, so it couldn’t have been all that long since Neibolt collapsed. Eddie figured two days at the most. Unless Richie had decided to stay.

    "Had to pay my respects to your mom.“

    Eddie shook his head. A fog of delirium and exhaustion blanketed his mind and was clearly affecting his judgement; Richie wouldn’t stay any longer than the others. He shut off the water.

    Eddie wrapped himself in a towel and left the bathroom, lungs clogged with steam. It wasn’t until he was standing in the middle of the room, strength once again draining from his limbs, that he realized his only clothes were no more than filthy rags. He fell down onto the bed, and cursed at the ceiling.

    Several minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

~~~

    Richie made it back to the hotel in less than forty five minutes. There had been one more close call when he got off the highway a bit too fast and fishtailed, but he had made it in one piece. After he pulled into the parking lot, he barely remembered to turn the car off before scrambling out of it. He barreled through the door, up the stairs, to the same damn room he had been suffering in for the last two weeks. Figures.

    It was then that he finally slowed down, stopped. Eighty miles, and he had never let himself doubt this, but suddenly he was paralyzed with nerves. What if Eddie wasn’t there, and he had been drawn back to this room as a sign that he really should just curl up and die in it?

    His chest was tight. He took a breath.

    With a shaking hand, he knocked on the door.

    A second passed. Two. Three. A silence just long enough for Richie’s heart to stop beating.

    "It’s open.”

    Then it started again, full throttle, slamming against his ribcage as he opened the door.

    Only for it to skip, soar, and drop through the floor all at once.

    Eddie was lying on the bed in nothing but a towel, hair still wet from the shower, covered in cuts and bruises. There was a massive, raw scar where Pennywise had run him through. The hole in his cheek had closed, but it hadn’t completely healed. His chest was rising and falling in short movements, like he was struggling to breathe.

    Richie was dangerously close to bursting into tears again.

    After a moment of silence that seemed to stretch for hours, Eddie turned his head to look at Richie. The movement was slow, almost wary, as if Eddie was just as terrified of Richie being a lie. They locked eyes, and fuck—

    Fuck. Eddie was real, and alive, and right the fuck in front of him.

    Richie took a shallow breath, and then another. His throat was all twisted up.

    "You look like shit, Eds,“ he whispered.

    Eddie’s face twitched, brows sliding down into an all too familiar scowl.

    "Yeah, well you’re no fucking portrait, asshole.”

    Richie shuddered, and suddenly he could breathe again—he hadn’t been able to breathe in weeks—and then he was laughing. Before he really thought about it, before his brain could catch up with anything, he was striding over to the bed and sitting down next to Eddie.

    His skin was too pale, making all the bruises and blood stand out harshly. Richie reached over and brushed his fingers over the large scar on his chest. His body was warm and solid.

    Eddie went stiff, but made no move to pull away. Richie, not really realizing what he was doing, traced the scar lightly with his fingertips. It spread across the lower half of Eddie’s chest and down over most of his stomach. Richie could still see Pennywise’s claw protruding from the spot, dripping with Eddie’s blood.

    "How the hell did you survive this,“ he muttered.

    Eddie shrugged mechanically. "I don’t think I did.”

    Richie snapped his eyes up to meet his. There were more questions, a thousand more, but they all died as he met Eddie’s gaze again.

    He snatched his hand away, finally realizing where it was, what it was doing. Eddie seemed to realize something, too, as his face regained some color.

    "Hey, Rich, you wouldn’t happen to have a change of clothes I could borrow, would you? Mine are covered in sewage.“

    Richie’s brain finally caught up, and his own face grew hot. He nodded, mostly focused on not staring at Eddie’s half naked body now that it had sunk in that Eddie was half naked. "Yeah, obviously,” he stammered, “in the car. I’ll, uh, yeah.”

    He stood, and Eddie sat up but didn’t follow. He looked dizzy.

    Richie practically sprinted to his car. It took three tries to get it unlocked, his hands were shaking so bad. As if Eddie would disappear in the thirty seconds it took to haul his shit back up to the room.

    When he came back, Eddie was leaning his elbows on his knees. He looked bone deep tired, and Richie knew exactly what that was like. He dropped the suitcase on the floor and flung it open.

    "Most of this shit’s been worn already,“ he said. "Just once, but I know how you are.”

    "Where’s my stuff?“ It wasn’t an angry question, really, but Richie’s blood ran cold anyway.

    "It’s, um… Most of it’s in my car, actually,” he mumbled. He had taken what remained of Eddie’s things the second night after defeating Pennywise. None of the Losers had said anything about it. Richie had hoped it would help with his grief, and it had, just a little. “I could go get it, I was just in a hurry, and I—”

    "No, it’s fine. Just give me something comfortable. And nothing with your fucking face on it, either.”

    Richie scoffed without really thinking about it. “You think I would wear my own merchandise? I can’t believe you think so lowly of me, Eds.”

    "Shut up and give me some clothes.“

    "What’s the rush?” Richie grinned. He couldn’t help himself. This was the back and forth that he hadn’t been getting from Eddie’s ghost in his head. “Are you that eager to get into my pants? You’re so much more forward than your mom.”

    "Richie, I will fucking strangle you.“

    "Not the kind of foreplay I expected, but I can work with it.”

    Eddie threw a glare at him, and Richie was filled with the usual buzz from his undivided attention. He wasn’t even ashamed of it now. It was better than anything he had felt in weeks.

    He dug out a pair of sweats and his last clean T-shirt, trading insults with Eddie as he did so. It was a tired exchange, and neither of them were on the top of their game, but it was so sweetly familiar that Richie felt drunk. Eddie went into the bathroom to change, and Richie had to resist the urge to shout at him through the door.

    When he came back out, Richie’s words died on his tongue.

    The shirt was too big, and the pants pooled at his ankles. Eddie was glaring at him like he was braced for an onslaught of teasing. Richie hated to disappoint, but his heart was up in his throat, and all he could think about was how amazing it was that Eddie was actually here, wearing his fucking cookie pants.

    When he didn’t immediately say anything, Eddie rolled his eyes and shuffled back over to the bed. “Quit fucking staring, asshole, it’s not my fault you have a lamp post for a body.”

    Richie watched him settle on the bed, not bothering with the blankets. He looked exhausted, but he didn’t close his eyes, didn’t even pretend to fall asleep. Neither of them spoke for a moment. Richie was scrambling to get his voice back when Eddie broke the silence.

    "I thought you might be dead.“

    His voice was small, a little breathless. Richie blinked at him, and finally found words again. "What?”

    "When I woke up,“ Eddie went on, "I was buried in the rubble, and I was worried… I thought that maybe you guys were buried too, that the whole place had come down right on top of us.”

    Richie was hit with a sudden wave of guilt. Eddie had been down there for weeks, and they had left him there. “Fuck, Eds,” he breathed. “Fuck, I—I’m sorry, man, I tried to get you out of there, but it was happening so fast.” He turned away, shifting so his back was leaning against the side of the bed. “I would’ve stayed down there with you, but Mike and Ben dragged me out.”

    He heard Eddie take a breath. “Then you really would’ve been dead, idiot.”

    Richie huffed out a laugh. Bev had said nearly the same thing on the eighth day, after Richie had snapped at Bill for not letting him stay in that sinkhole.

    "Richie…?“

    It was really nice to hear Eddie saying his name again, even if he sounded like he was about to have a mental breakdown. "Yeah?”

    "How, uh… How long was I down there?“

    Richie sucked in a breath, let it out, felt the weight of too many nightmare-fueled sleepless nights dragging at his body.

    "Almost two weeks,” he sighed.

    "What the fuck!?“ Eddie barked, sitting up so fast the bed shook. Richie craned his neck to look at him, and Eddie stared back with wide eyes. "Two weeks? I was dead for two fucking weeks?”

    Richie’s stomach dropped at the words. “What the hell do you mean, you were dead?”

    "I was fucking impaled through the torso, dumbass, of course I was dead. What, did you think I was just taking a nice stroll through the sewers? For two whole goddamn weeks! Jesus, that can't—I mean, that can’t be fucking possible, right? I would have started to decay. My pancreas would be digesting itself, and my cells would be breaking down, and maggots would—!“

    He cut himself off, too busy hyperventilating to continue detailing the slow process of his own decomposition. Richie really wished he had brought Eddie’s bag, oversized clothes be damned. His inhaler was gone, burned up and buried beneath Neibolt, but he probably had a backup somewhere.

    Instead, panicking, he climbed up onto the bed and took Eddie’s face in his hands. "Eddie, hey, Eds, fucking look at me.”

    Eddie’s eyes were wide and endless, a shade of brown that Richie could stare into for hours—but he focused on the glossy fear in them instead of his own stupid heart.

    "Listen, I don’t know how, but you’re not dead. You’re right here, and there’s no maggots, or clowns, or fucking disease zombies, or whatever. It’s just me.“

    Eddie’s brows drew together, like he was reaching for some conclusion and couldn’t quite connect the dots. His breathing was starting to slow down, though.

    "Just you,” he wheezed. “You were…so close. An hour away.”

    Richie wasn’t sure where he was going with that. He shrugged. “Yeah, I had only just left. We all stuck around for a while. Kinda hard to just pack up and go home after… y'know, all of that.”

    Eddie stared up at him for a moment, doe eyes doing cruel things to Richie’s heart. Then he grabbed Richie by the waist and pulled him forward.

    Richie tried to breathe, but it was difficult with Eddie’s face pressed into the crook of his shoulder, and the smell of generic hotel soap scrambling his senses. He held himself still, unsure of what to do. Then Eddie started shaking, and Richie broke from his stupor to wrap his arms around him.

    "Eds?“

    "Don’t fucking call me that,” came the unsteady reply. Richie swallowed the urge to tease him, to break the tension that hung in the air, to mask his racing heart with humor.

    "You probably ought to get some sleep,“ he said instead. "Maybe we can figure this out in the morning, when we’re not, like, in shock, or whatever.”

    Eddie hesitated before nodding against Richie’s shoulder. He waited even longer to finally loosen his grip, wiping at his eyes as he turned away.

    God, Richie wanted to kiss him.

    Eddie rose from the bed with visible effort. Richie helped him turn down the covers, waited until he was settled, and then moved for the chair in the corner. It was an old piece of shit that made his neck hurt just from looking at it, but it would do for tonight. He was halfway through wadding up his jacket for a pillow when Eddie called out to him.

    "Rich, this is gonna sound weird…”

    Richie grinned. “Weirder than coming back from the dead, or just typical Derry weird?���

    "Shut up. I just… can you just come over here?“

    "I was just getting comfy,” he sighed, even as he stood.

    "No you fucking weren’t.“

    Richie laughed, though he tried not to. He was starting to get slap happy, and combined with the shellshocked elation he was trying to process, he was a bit off his rocker. Eddie blinked up at him from the bed.

    "Well? The fuck do you want?”

    Eddie rolled his eyes. The color that rose in his cheeks was visible even in the dim light of the lamp, which they had both silently agreed to keep on. Without saying anything, Eddie shifted over until there was just enough room on the bed for one more. Richie took an embarrassingly long time to process this.

    "Oh come on, shit for brains, just get in,“ Eddie snapped.

    Richie almost couldn’t hear him over the rushing of his own heartbeat in his ears. Slowly, he slid under the sheets. The bed was warm where Eddie had already been laying. Richie reminded himself to breathe, somehow struggling more with this than the unexplained resurrection of his best friend and lifelong love.

    Eddie shifted, shoulder brushing against Richie’s and sending his brain spiraling. “Thanks, by the way,” he whispered. “For coming back.”

    Richie nodded, not trusting himself to look at Eddie. “Yeah, no problem.”

    He wanted to say more, but his thoughts were too jumbled to really make sense of them. There was one persistent question, though.

    "Why did you call me? I mean, Mike’s still in town.“

    Eddie was silent for several moments. And then he said, quietly, "You were the first person I thought of.”

    Richie didn’t want to overthink that, but he knew he was going to. “Oh.”

    Silence stretched again. Richie let it sit for long enough that he could safely assume Eddie was asleep before saying more. “Y'know, just for the record, I would have come no matter what. Even if I was all the way back in LA. I’d always come back for you, Eds.”

    He was just starting to think he was in the clear when Eddie let out a sharp breath and clutched at Richie’s sleeve.

    "I love you.“

    The erratic beating of Richie’s heart stopped cold. He finally looked at Eddie, who had turned over and pressed his face against Richie’s arm. Tears leaked from his tightly closed eyes, running across the perfect bridge of his nose and dropping onto the pillow.

    "Fuck. Eddie…” he trailed off, not sure what to say. Eddie loved him. This night was getting more and more unreal by the hour. “That’s, uh, really not something you want to hear from a guy who’s crying.”

    Eddie snapped his eyes open. Christ, they were beautiful. Big and brown and sparkling even when he was furious. Shit, especially when he was furious.

    "Are you fucking serious right now?“ he hissed. "You’re gonna joke about this? You know what, never mind, I fucking hate you.”

    "Aw, c'mon, Eddie Spaghetti, don’t be like that.“

    "Fuck off,” he fired back, trying to turn away. Richie rolled over and hooked an arm over him, pulling him close.

    "Hey now, you’re the one who wanted me to share a bed with you, the least you could do is cuddle.“

    "Let go, Richie.” Eddie wriggled, but Richie held him tight. Fuck that, he wasn’t planning on letting go for at least a few weeks, if ever. “I swear to god, I’ll knee you in the balls.”

    "Don’t do that, I might need them later.“

    "Yeah right. Like I’d ever want to get anywhere near your unwashed dick.”

    "I never said I was gonna need ‘em for you, Eds.“

    Eddie stopped squirming and looked Richie in the eyes, which was unfortunate, since Richie was trying to banter and those eyes always left him speechless.

    "Shut up, Richie,” he whispered, and his breath brushed across Richie’s mouth a moment before his lips did.

    Richie had figured that if this really was a dream, this would be the moment he would wake up. That was how it always worked when he dreamt of Eddie, ever since they were kids. They would go for the kiss, and he would startle awake with a pounding, aching heart, and a cold sweat on his brow. The cycle of his entire repressed childhood.

    But he didn’t wake up now. Eddie’s lips pressed into his, hungry and hesitant at the same time, and it was so much better than any dream. Richie pressed back, just as desperate, and way too strung out to care. It felt more real now than when he had first laid eyes on Eddie, first touched him.

    Eddie was here. Eddie was alive. Eddie was in Richie’s arms, and was kissing the breath right out of his lungs.

    And Eddie loved him.

    When they pulled away from each other, Eddie’s eyes would hardly open. Richie smiled, and even though he couldn’t see it, he could tell how ridiculously soft he probably looked.

    "You should come back from the dead more often, Kaspbrak,“ he sighed.

    Eddie managed to roll his eyes before they drifted shut again. He gave a weary grunt, and offered no further comment. Richie watched him for a moment, but he was struggling to keep his own eyes open, and he was warm, and safe, and happy for the first time in over a month. Scratch that, in years.

    Just before he fell asleep, he reached up and pressed a kiss to Eddie’s forehead. "I love you, too, Eds. Always have.”

    He felt it just before he slipped away, Eddie’s arms holding him a little bit tighter.

[lost1nspac3]

Who Am I?

The marauders put two and two together. They knew that Remus was alone, and just needed to feel loved. So that's what they did. When they got back to where they were camping, they started up the fire again and got the story of what happened from Remus. If it wasn't for Sirius holding his hand Remus would have run away again“i came out and- and my dad was angry. He threw pictures of our family across the room, broke vases, chairs, and the coffee table. He burned all photos that had me in them.....” Remus paused. It still hurt to tell the story. But now, he was safe. He was with his friends. “he- get threatened me. Called me a disgrace, disappoint, fag, so on....... My mom wasn't happy about this. She agreed with what he said but didnt like the way he was reacting by breaking things.... She cared more about a vase than her child..... ” Remus trailed off, leaving it at that. He wasn't going to say what happened next. “he hurt you didn't he” Peter said, putting a hand over his mouth. Remus nodded • • • The 4 marauders fell alseep about 5am. They were up all night talking, and ended up all in a bundle, hugging.People say that love has to be shown in words. But Remus Lupin knows this isnt true. When Remus Lupin is around bia friends, he feels loved. Even if thy are just sitting there. He feels loved. He feels wanted. He feels cared for.Remus grew up where love was a sore topic. Love was girl and boy. Not girl and girl or boy and boy. Remus thought gays were brave. He thought they're cool. He looked up to them. He knew he was onw of them when he met Sirius Black He knew he was in love. But he didnt tell anyone. He kept it a secret. He put on a mask. He hid who he was. And he hated itRemus Lupin is the friend that waits for you when you tie youe shoe. Remus Lupin is rhe friend that listens when you need to talk. Remus Lupin is the one that's scared to be him. Remus lupin is the one that loves everyoneRemus Lupin is who we need more of in this world."THIS IS RUBISH!" Sirius yelled, running a hand through his hair. "how does this stuff even work!??" It was summer, and the sun was setting. Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter were camping in the woods, something they did every summer. Dora Potter gave James some little challenge things for them to do, and some were harder than others. The first one was to do something no one has done before. This one was easy, mainly because of Sirius' wild imagination. He came up with the idea to turn into his dog form (also known as snuffles) when on a broom with James, whilst Remus and Peter set off fireworks. It was somwthing else, and if you didn't know the marauders, it'd seem really weird. "were lucky this stuff won't be on O.W.L.s " Peter said as he syarywd handing out some snacks he bought. "bloody hell, theres O.W.L.s next year!" James said, looking up from the paper he had been staring at. "im not ready for those-" they were all sitting around the fire, which was the only source of light other than the moon and stars in the sky (and their wands, but the only one that remembered that was Remus) Remus hasn't looked up from the paper, yet was listening to everything in the conversation. He was thinking about the question on the paper that Sirius was yelling about. He didnt know what to put for it. Who are you? At first, the boys thought the answer was there name. But then, they realized the question had much more to it. Who are you? What parts are you made of? What Makes you different? James and Peter had found a few things to write down, but Remus, nor Sirius, couldn't think of anything. 'what am I?' he had said when they got to this challenge. 'a werewolf?' he finished, rubbing the back of his neck. He had almost said 'monster' but stopped himself. He knew that wouldnt go over too well..... He truly had no idea what to write. Peter had written how he wad a good listener, how he was caring and kind, and how he knew small things about his friends that not many people knew. James had written about how he was a believer. He believed in himself and his friends, and someimes even his peers. (If they weren't a Slytherin that was. He really didnt like Slytherins.) He wrote that he would never give up on his friends and trusts them with his life. Sirius was also having trouble thinking about things, because of where he came from. He wasn't loved or cared for by anyone other than the Potters or his friends.

James and Peter went to get some more snacks from the tent when Remus and Sirius stayed at the fire, Remus never looking up from the paper. "I DONT KNOW WHO I AM!" Sirius yelled, throwing his arms into the air. "I DONT KNOW!" Even though Remus wasn't showing it, he was just as frustrated as Sirius was. He was starting to get mad at James' mom for giving them these challenges. After 5 minutes James and Peter came back to the fire, holding bunches of foods and snacks. Remus didn't eat anything though, He said he wasnt hungry. After about half an hour, Sirius came up with some things, saying that he was different and indepenident. It made sense, he was the first non-Slytherin in his family. "your brave " Remus said, looking up from the paper for the first time. "your brave for going back to that place every summer" Sirius looked into Remus' eyes for a second before nodding and writing that down. A little flutter of hope had gone through him when remus had said that he was brave. Remus wished he could say that HE was brave. Yeah, he had moments when he was brave, but most of the time he was a loser. His mind flashed to a month ago, when summer had just stared. The month he wished never happened. That's when evwrything went down hill. He hadnt told anyone about what happened thought. Just kept it to himself. His friends didn't need to know he was homeless. That's when Remus wrote something on the paper for the first time. He curled the y at the end of the word aroundd the bottom of it, making the word be underlined with the y's tail. He stared down at the word and sighed. It was who he was and he couldn't change that.

The word was gay.

.

.

.

After the word gay, remus wrote a few things the other said. Brave. Smart. Kind In small print off to the side though, Remus had a wrote things he didn't want anyone to see. alone, monster, disappointment, failure, ugly.... Most of the list is what he got told when he came out. None of it was from his friends, but more of less his parents. Remus kept adding to the list, adding homophobic slurs he got called by others, and other hurtful things that he knew he was, no matter what people told him.

Its was about 2 in the morning when Sirius feel asleep, then about 2:30 when peter and Remus fell asleep. James, who was still wide awake, notices the small handwriting in the corner of Remus' parchment. He read the words. Alone. Monster. Disappointment Failure. Ugly. Faggot. Mistake. Accident. Unlovable. Unnoticed. Homeless

James bit his lip and looked over at Remus. He was hugging himself in his sleep. 'hes homeless?' james thought to himself, setting the parchment back where Remus had set it. James didn't know what to do, or what to think. So he woke Sirius up.

"whadyawantProngs" Sirius muttered. He and james were farther away from the team and fire, james didn't want anyone to heae them. (He mainly didnt want Remus to know he read the paper). "its about Remus " james said. "i didnt know who else to tell, but he wrote really bad things about himself Sirius. He isn't ok." James paused and looked at Sirius, who now looked worried. "he wrote a monster, and that he's ugly and a disappointment and an accident and a f-" James couldnt being himself tk say the word. "he said he was homeless, Sirius. Something happened. He needs help Sirius sighed and rubbed his eyes. "lets talk about this tomorrow. Right now Rey is with us, and he's safe. Well ask him a out it tomorrow. Er- later today I guess James nodded and started walking back to the tent. But when they got there, the fire was out, and Remus was gone. All they found was a sobbing Peter.

---

"h-he r-ra-ran" Peter stumbled around the words, trying to stop sobbing. He couldnt believe what had happened. He could barely remember it. He had told the story to the best of his ability. At this point he was just repeating things.

Not long after James and Sirius left, Remus had woken up. He saw the paper had gotten moved and started freaking out mentally. Thats when it happened Thats when Lyall(a/n: sorry if its spelt wrong) Lupin apreared. Thats when Remus screamed, but it was muffled but his father putting his hand over his sons mouth. Peter woke at Remus' scream, and watched everything that happened under his eyelashes, not daring to open his eyes anymore. Peter heard the words Remus' dad spoke. Peter heard the quiet sobs Remus let out. Peter heard Remus call his name. Peter heard the calls for help. "Remus?" he muttered, acting like he had just woken up. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then acted like he was just seeing the sence before him for the first time. Before Peter could say anything else, Remus' father dropped Remus and disappeared again. Peter went over to Remus. "are you ok? Should I get the oth-" Remus had fun before Peter could finish the sentence.

"shhhh Pete it wasnt your fault, calm down " James said, slightly hugging his friend. Peter nodded. It took a a few minutes, but soon he had calmed down. "we need to find him " Sirius said. He had beem staring at the paper remus had wrote on, re-reading everything on it. He was almost in tears. He couldnt believe anything that Remus had written. It hurt his heart. "i agree. Peter, did you see what direction he went in?" Peter nodded and started walking in the direction Remus went in. Sirius' hands were shaking. He had tears in his eyes that broke free when they couldnt find Remus. "we'll never find him..." he said, sitting on a rock. Thats when he heard it. Crying. "Rey?" Sirius looked around. There was no one there. "hey James? Did you bring the cloak?" James looked at Sirius. "yeah. Why do you ask?" Sirius bit his lip slightly. He knew where Remus was. "no reason " he lied, getting up. He walked between some trees that were behind the rock he had been sitting on and saw the log. "rey?" the cries stopped. Sirius sighed and sat on the log, right next to where Remus would be if he could be seen. That's when he felt him. Remus had put his head on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius could hear the cries, he could feel Remus trying to catch his breath. Thats when James came back to where Sirius and Remus were. He sat on the other side of Remus and reached out to pull the cloak off Remus. Sirius hugged Remus, the james hugged him too, waving Peter over. If there was anything Remus needed right now, it was love. And that's what the other marauders would give.

.

.

.

The marauders put two and two together. They knew that Remus was alone, and just needed to feel loved. So that's what they did. When they got back to where they were camping, they started up the fire again and got the story of what happened from Remus. If it wasn't for Sirius holding his hand Remus would have run away again

“i came out and- and my dad was angry. He threw pictures of our family across the room, broke vases, chairs, and the coffee table. He burned all photos that had me in them.....” Remus paused. It still hurt to tell the story. But now, he was safe. He was with his friends. “he- get threatened me. Called me a disgrace, disappoint, fag, so on....... My mom wasn't happy about this. She agreed with what he said but didnt like the way he was reacting by breaking things.... She cared more about a vase than her child..... ” Remus trailed off, leaving it at that. He wasn't going to say what happened next. “he hurt you didn't he” Peter said, putting a hand over his mouth. Remus nodded • • • The 4 marauders fell alseep about 5am. They were up all night talking, and ended up all in a bundle, hugging.

People say that love has to be shown in words. But Remus Lupin knows this isnt true. When Remus Lupin is around bia friends, he feels loved. Even if thy are just sitting there. He feels loved. He feels wanted. He feels cared for.

Remus grew up where love was a sore topic. Love was girl and boy. Not girl and girl or boy and boy. Remus thought gays were brave. He thought they're cool. He looked up to them. He knew he was onw of them when he met Sirius Black He knew he was in love. But he didnt tell anyone. He kept it a secret. He put on a mask. He hid who he was. And he hated it

Remus Lupin is the friend that waits for you when you tie youe shoe. Remus Lupin is rhe friend that listens when you need to talk. Remus Lupin is the one that's scared to be him. Remus lupin is the one that loves everyone

Remus Lupin is who we need more of in this world.

[badwolfwrites-sometimes]

Drawn Together: Chapter 13

!!WARNING!! This chapter includes slurs and homophobia, please proceed with caution.

Artisloveandlife: Ludwig I have a question Artisloveandlife: Do zombies get smarter after they eat a human brain?

Feliciano had no idea why he was asking that kind of question to a person he met yesterday. He has been cleaning the kitchen, as one does, when it suddenly popped into his head.

'Well, nothing in my life makes sense anymore so it's fine.' He thought, but quickly snapped out of his daze as Antonio entered with Lovino.

"I can't believe you got Feli to clean up the kitchen. This day is going down in history!" Lovino said, throwing his arms in the air as if he was thanking God for this blessing.

Antonio kissed his cheek. "He's doing a very good job at it, be nicer to him." Lovino almost chocked at that comment.

Feliciano chose not to comment anything on it and instead handed Lovino a deck brush, daring to suggest his brother actually does some work. "You're always telling me to be useful, set me a good example." He smiled before receiving a smack to his shoulder. "Ow!"

"Sassy bastard!" Lovino said, but grabbed the brush anyway. If Feliciano wants him to work, he's going to work and he'll work better than anyone.

That being said, it took him less than a minute to give up and pass the brush to Romeo, who had the unfortunate luck to show up in a very unfortunate moment. "Nonno'll be here any second and you're much faster than me." Is the reasoning Romeo got behind this sudden job. This meant that everyone, aside from Lovino, had something to do.

It was around 9 p. m. when they were finished with the chores, and just on time it seems.

"My boys! Where are you? Come greet your old grandpa!" A deep melodic voice sounded off from the hall, just as the three of them sat down. The youngest two were, naturally, the first to sprint towards their grandpa. He couldn't lift them up as he used to, but it didn't bother them much.

"Nonno!" Feliciano squeeled, glad to have him home finally.

"How was the trip, Nonno? Did you bring us presents?" Romeo asked, cuddling close to the old man still breathing with life.

"Meo, that's rude." Feliciano remarked.

"I did ask how the trip went first." Romeo defended.

Their grandpa just laughed the whole thing off, glad that his boys never change. His eyes scanned around for Lovino, finding him standing by the doorframe, looking quite uncertain. He smiled to his eldest grandson before turning his attention back to the two in front of him. "Now, now. Don't fight over such silly things. Of course I brought presents for my lovely boys."

Both Romeo's and Feliciano's eyes glowed, going back to hug their grandpa much stronger this time, just as Feliciano felt his phone vibrate, reminding him of the happiness of this moment. They finally let their grandpa free to check for presents.

"Welcome home, Mr. Vargas." Antonio greeted, joining Lovino by the doorframe.

"Oh, Toni. I didn't know you are here as well. And cut the formality already, just call me Grandpa Rome." Grandpa Rome said, shaking Antonio's hand and patting him on the shoulder, before turning his attention to Lovino. "Lovi, my beautiful boy, come give your grandpa a hug." He said and pulled the reluctant Lovino in for a hug. "You look worried, did the dinner come out bad? You know your grandpa will eat anything you boys make, isn't that right?"

Lovino laughed. He needed that, even if that wasn't what has been bothering him. "Yeah... You always ate our weird shit." He said.

"That's right." Grandpa Rome smiled. "Now chin up and fix your language, my boy." And the three of them left for the kitchen.

Grandpa Rome told them all kinds of stories on the dinner table, entertaining them as they ate, but Feliciano could sense a weird vibe from Lovino. The one he usually felt just as Lovino was about to break down and cry. And he wasn't the only one who could feel it. Antonio had been secretly holding Lovino's hand underneath the table this whole time.

"You know, you wouldn't believe how full of faggots Europe is." Grandpa Rome said, startling the four of them. "At this point, you can't even walk down the street without running into one of them."

Feliciano's eyes immediately raced towards Lovino. Lovino just looked down at his plate, silently begging his grandpa to stop. It was all so wrong. Even Romeo sensed something wasn't quite right and he had no idea what was going on. Silence fell upon them.

Antonio chose to break it first. "You know Mr. Vargas, that's not really a nice word." He looked unsure, the moment those words left his mouth he regretted them.

Grandpa Rome gave him a side eye and Feliciano knew it was all going to go downhill from now on, yet he spoke. "Toni's right. We're all human and we should be respectful of each other." Feliciano wasn't known for his courage much, but this was different. This was about his brother.

Grandpa Rome kept quiet, taking a few bites of his dinner before so obviously deciding he didn't like it anymore. "Is there something you want to tell me, Feli?" He finally spoke, his words harsh and crushing Lovino's heart.

Feliciano just shook his head, offering one final glance towards Lovino before he let his head fall down to look at his hands. He shouldn't have done that, because as soon as he looked at Lovino, Grandpa Rome noticed. Romeo really wanted to excuse himself by this point.

As he felt deep chocolate brown eyes staring deeply into his soul, Lovino looked back at them, tears already welling up in his hazel eyes. Can this be over already? He stared into his grandpa's eyes for what felt like ages, before Grandpa Rome spoke. "And you, Lovi? What do you have with the faggots?"

Lovino doesn't break the eye contact, but it was Antonio who answered. "We're together. Me and Lovi, we're dating." Lovino wasted no time in running away from the table. The secret was out, his life was over.

Grandpa Rome stared at Antonio in a way that made Feliciano and Romeo want to sink further down in their seats. Their grandpa never looked at anyone like that. "My own grandson..."  Grandpa Rome said in utter disbelief before getting up and walking towards Antonio who stood up. "I expected more from him. I expected more from you, Antonio." His voice was coated in disgust.

Antonio kept his stare firm on Grandpa Rome's eyes, his face serious. "Then you shouldn't have made him so perfect." Antonio said calmly, but he was more afraid than ever before.

Feliciano clutched his phone, hoping Lovino or Ludwig or Elizabeta or anyone would send him a text to let him know everything will be fine. Because right now, everything wasn't fine. Romeo held Feliciano's yellow sweater, hoping the same as he drew himself closer to his brother.

"Get out." Grandpa Rome said. "Get out and don't you dare come back to this house again, Antonio!" He shoved Antonio aside and left the kitchen, the three of them hoping he wouldn't go find Lovino.

Feliciano tore away from Romeo, running towards Antonio for a hug. His heart was breaking as he felt Antonio tremble under his arms, but he still lifted his hands to pet Feliciano's brown hair.

"I'm sorry, Toni." Feliciano whispered. Romeo left his seat to join the hug. "I'm really sorry." Feliciano said.

Antonio smiled, his eyes betraying his real emotion, but refused to let Feliciano and Romeo see them. He had to keep his tears for himself. "Take good care of him for me, will you both?" He asked.

They both nodded and Antonio broke the hug, making his way out of the house. As he did, he stopped and looked up towards Lovino's room, no doubt thinking that's where Lovino most likely run off to. He whispered something before leaving, not looking back. Feliciano could swear on his entire art career that Antonio's final words before leaving were directed towards Lovino. A silent 'I love you.'

Feliciano and Romeo cuddled up on the couch. They could only wait now for either Lovino or Grandpa Rome to come back down now.

"I had no idea..." Romeo whispered.

Feliciano nodded. "I found out accidentally. It wasn't supposed to come out like this." He said. "Sorry for not telling you, Lovi told me to keep it quiet."

"I get it." Romeo wiped at something close to his eye and Feliciano begged the world it wasn't a tear. "This is a bad place for being gay. If it was elsewhere in the world, I would have thrown a coming out party."

Feliciano laughed. "If it was elsewhere, we'd get to watch Lovi get so drunk we'd have to carry him back to his room."

"He'd be less grumpy too."

"That's Lovi, he's always grumpy." Feliciano said, dwelling deep into his thoughts. "Now that you mention it, he seemed a lot more happier these past few days that he spent with Toni."

Romeo was silent.

"I wish they could be happy forever." Feliciano commented, finally allowing himself to cry. Oh, how he needed to cry.

After a while, Romeo had enough of waiting and went up to his room to get his mind off everything that happened that night. Feliciano completely understood, he wanted to run away to his room as well, but doing that would only make Grandpa Rome angrier. At least his battery wasn't completely drained.

For the first time that night, Feliciano read Ludwig's message.

Lutzie71: Logically yes, but in practice no.

Artisloveandlife: Hahahahahahah Artisloveandlife: Thanks i needed that

It was well past midnight, Feliciano didn't expect a response from Ludwig anytime soon, but once he started climbing the stairs back to his room, his phone vibrated.

Lutzie71: I hope you are alright, whatever it is.

Somehow, those few words from a stranger meant more to Feliciano than anything his closest friends ever said to him. It could be that the situation was really tough and he needed some assurance, or he just didn't have friends who cared much. It didn't matter, he just needed those words.

Artisloveandlife: Thank you Artisloveandlife: Im alright but my brother isnt Artisloveandlife: And i want to help but i dont know how

Lutzie71: Sometimes just being by their side is enough Lutzie71: My brother used to read to me whenever I upset Lutzie71: Maybe something similar could help

Artisloveandlife: Id sneak into his bedroom when i had nightmares and sleep with him Artisloveandlife: Hed be mad at me but then he would tell me that its all going to be okay and that he ll protect me

Lutzie71: Maybe this time you should be the one to protect him

Artisloveandlife: Thank you Ludwig Artisloveandlife: Also sorry for not answering for a while  Artisloveandlife: We ve been cleaning all day and then the whole thing with my brother happened it was a crazy day

Lutzie71: It is alright Lutzie71: I don't mind waiting

Artisloveandlife: You didnt stay glued to the phone all this tine waiting for my reply did you ??

Lutzie71: You can't prove anything

Artisloveandlife: Your so cute Artisloveandlife: You re*

Lutzie71: You learn quickly

Artisloveandlife: I was a str8 A student Artisloveandlife: Jk i failed math Artisloveandlife: But i lived

Lutzie71: Yes life is important, but do you know what else is important?

Artisloveandlife: What

Lutzie71: Knowing the quadratic formula

Artisloveandlife: Meanie Artisloveandlife: Im an artist its all about the feeling not finding x Artisloveandlife: Ive been single since birth i dont even have an x

Lutzie71: Poor you Lutzie71: Although I must admit my dating skills aren't exactly the best either

Artisloveandlife: Forever alone club

Lutzie71: Indeed

Artisloveandlife: My battery is about to die so i guess this is goodbye for now Artisloveandlife: Ill go and try to take care of my brother but i doubt ill be successful Artisloveandlife: Ttyl Ludwig

Lutzie71: Will you ever tell me what it means? Lutzie71: Best of luck to you and your brother

Artisloveandlife: What ??

Lutzie71: What does ttyl mean?

Artisloveandlife: Talk to you later

Lutzie71: Well... that makes sense Lutzie71: Ttyl, goodnight Feliciano

Artisloveandlife: Nighty night Ludwig

As soon as he sent that message, his battery died. Sighing, Feliciano climbed up the stairs to Lovino's room.

Lovino's and Romeo's rooms were both on the 3rd floor, above Grandpa Rome's room and a guest room. The good thing was that each floor also had their own toilet, so there was no need for a race to who needs it the most. What was specific to the 3rd floor was that it was the only one with the bathtub.

Lovino's room was on the right side of the hall, directly above Grandpa Rome's room, so Feliciano suspected that Lovino wouldn't cry too loud and anger Grandpa even more. Feliciano also didn't believe that Grandpa hated non-straight people, he must have been feeling just a bit under the weather and this would all be settled properly soon. He hoped it to be true.

Feliciano slowly entered Lovino's room. "Lovi? Are you asleep?" He whispered.

Lovino just shuffled around in his bed, hiding his face away with the pillow and his back turned to Feliciano. Feliciano entered the room and crawled into Lovino's bed. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" Feliciano asked.

"Sure..." Came a soft answer, Lovino's voice numb from crying.

"Thanks." Feliciano cuddled close to his brother, just like they used to be back in the day. "Hey Lovi?" He called after a few minutes.

"Hm?" Lovino answered.

"I made a new friend."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. Do you remember Lizzie from Middle school?"

"The one who used to do your biology homework?"

"Yes! That's her." Feliciano laughed at the memory. "She got married, you know. And she introduced me to her husband's cousin."

"Okay." Lovino said.

"He liked my art that I made for that book, but you know what?"

"What?"

"He's Ludwig. He's the author of the book. And he's my friend."

Silence.

"Why are you telling me this? You know I hate Germans." Lovino asked, turning around to face his brother, his eyes were red from the tears.

"I know. And I thought that if I told you that, you would focus more on your hatred towards them and the pain from the dinner will go away." Feliciano answered.

Lovino was silent yet again. He really did need to focus on something else and not that dreadful dinner. It was just so hard knowing that, after tonight, he couldn't see his beloved for who knows how long.

"Let's just sleep, Feli. No Germans, no dinners, just sleep." Lovino finally said, turning around once again and falling asleep as if he was dying.

Feliciano followed suit, but in the final moments before drifting away to sleep, his mind raced towards Ludwig's words to him. Unlike his brother, Feliciano fell asleep with a smile.

The next few days were extremely heavy on the Vargas family. Romeo would often run off somewhere, anywhere just to be away from the house. Grandpa Rome and Lovino refused to talk to each other face to face, with Lovino barely ever leaving his room. Any kind of communication was passed around through Feliciano, and Feliciano had a short living memory, meaning that most of the information trusted upon him to deliver was forgotten.

When he wasn't serving as carrier pigeon to his grandpa and brother, Feliciano entertained himself by talking to Ludwig. It was all still very casual; a few weather comparisons, talking about books and stuff like that. Occasionally, however, Feliciano would send Ludwig something which the former swore made the latter hate and love him at the same time.

Artisloveandlife: So if i were to duplicate myself would the other me get all the information i am getting or do i need to pass it in some way Artisloveandlife: Like if i learned that the chicken came before the egg would the other me know it instantly or do i need to teach them

Lutzie71: You would probably have to teach them Lutzie71: Also egg should come first considering that many species before chickens used eggs for their offspring

Artisloveandlife: How ??

Lutzie71: Well dinosaurs were hatched from eggs and, through evolution, a chicken was born

Artisloveandlife: But what about the chicken egg ??

Lutzie71: Well, with every new species new genes were developed and passed down, but theory egg is always first

Artisloveandlife: But who laid the egg ??

Lutzie71: A T-Rex

Artisloveandlife: Oh

There were other occasions when Feliciano would get too philosophical and Ludwig played along.

Artisloveandlife: I dont understand why we have arms Artisloveandlife: I mean i get it for grabbing stuff and all but Artisloveandlife: Why couldnt it have been something completely else

Lutzie71: Probably because arms were the easiest to develop Lutzie71: They are just upper legs

Artisloveandlife: Oh Artisloveandlife: Why do we have feelings

Lutzie71: Well, what you call feelings might not be feelings at all but emotions Lutzie71: Emotions come from your brain and they stir up some hormones you mistake for feelings Lutzie71: Or it could be nerves like when you touch something cold you would feel cold

Artisloveandlife: So we re kinda like robots

Lutzie71: Yes and no Lutzie71: Robots don't need emotions

Sometimes, they just talked for hours, until one of them fell asleep or their battery died.

Artisloveandlife: Ludwig what kind of movies do you like Artisloveandlife: Im looking for something to watch

Lutzie71: I don't really watch movies, but I like historical dramas Lutzie71: I guess the best example for that would be Saving Private Ryan

Artisloveandlife: Oh i like that genre too Artisloveandlife: I like romance and comedy the most but not really romcoms Artisloveandlife: And my fave historical movie is national treasure

Lutzie71: Can that even be considered a historical movie

Artisloveandlife: Ofc it can Artisloveandlife: I passed my american history exam because of that movie

Lutzie71: First part or the second part?

Artisloveandlife: Theres a 2nd part ??? Artisloveandlife: Wth ive never seen it Artisloveandlife: Now i know what to watch tnx

Lutzie71: I should probably rewatch it as well I've forgotten most of the plot

Artisloveandlife: We could watch it together Artisloveandlife: I think thered an app that lets you watch movies and talk to each othrr

Lutzie71: Are you alright?

Artisloveandlife: Yeah why

Lutzie71: You had a lot of mistakes

Artisloveandlife: Oh that  Artisloveandlife: I have big fingers and no autocorrect

Lutzie71: I see Lutzie71: About the app, why don't we just use Skype or other methods Lutzie71: I have never heard of the app that lets you watch movies and talk at the same time

Artisloveandlife: There should be some on app store as far as i know Artisloveandlife: Gotta go now its pigeon time Artisloveandlife: Ttyl Ludwig

Lutzie71: Skree skree Feliciano

That day the tension between his family was at it's peak. It was time for Grandpa Rome to leave again, this time for France, and he still hasn't made peace with Lovino.

"Nonno, you're not going to change anything by not accepting him. He's still going to love Toni." Feliciano tried to convince his grandpa for who knows what time this week. "Just get over it and let him be happy."

"You don't understand it, Feli." Grandpa Rome slapped his fist on the suitcase. "It's unnatural. It's dangerous. And he just can't be happy like that."

Feliciano sighed. "Why do you think that? Why can't he be happy? You haven't seen him with Toni the way I did." He wiped at the tear threatening to fall from his brown eyes. "I haven't seen him that happy since I finished High school. Nonno, please, just let him have that."

"He could get hurt, Feliciano! And neither you nor he understand that!"

"He could only get hurt if he's alone!" Feliciano yelled. "And right now that's exactly what he is. He's alone and hurting and Toni understands and cares for him. Lovi needs him, Nonno. No matter what anyone of us believes in."

"It's wrong, Feliciano!"

"Even if it was, what you're doing is wrong too!"

Silence fell upon them. Feliciano took it as an opportunity to calm down and breathe. He hated fighting, even if it was necessary. He just wanted everyone to accept and love each other, even if they didn't understand each other. "It's not all black and white, Nonno, and for Lovi being gay is completely white. Don't be that black spot that ruins everything. Lovi is still painting his life, staining it..." He whispered. "Staining it would ruin everything. And no one wants that."

Grandpa Rome kept quiet. Feliciano continued. "Do some research, Nonno. You don't have to understand it, but if you love Lovi, tell him. Accept him and learn because you love him and you want to protect him." After that, Feliciano left Grandpa Rome standing over his suitcase in his room.

Lovino never came downstairs to say goodbye to his grandpa. No one blamed him, this was one hell of a week and everyone wanted things to go back to normal. Romeo and Feliciano parted with Grandpa Rome, but before Feliciano could return to the house, Grandpa Rome placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Tell Lovino that I love him for me." Grandpa Rome said and Feliciano nodded. "And tell Toni he can come and visit, but I want him out of the house by 9 p.m." Feliciano's smile grew as he said that, nodding much more intense than before. This was progress.

Grandpa Rome left after that and Feliciano happily returned to the house, immediately racing towards Lovino's room to pass him the news.

Artisloveandlife: I DID IT!!!

[madamsixx]

Beyond The Leather: Chapter 11: Iman Drunkington

Continued from last chapter

The limo picked up me and Lisa and drove us to the after party. There were tons of people and paparazzi as usual. The camera men were following the Motley boys everywhere. People were treating them like they were Kings maybe even Gods.

"There are soo many hot guys here. I have to find someone for my self." Lisa whispered in my ear.

"Lisa I don't think any one of these guys are good enough for you. Look at them, there all the same drunk drugged up rock stars."

"Well you certainly caught a drunk drugged up rock stars attention." She winked at me. She turned my head to look over at Nikki who was looking at me. I rolled my eyes and looked away.

"I don't want him. He's a mess and he's crazy and he's mean." I walked towards a table that had punch and poured my self some.

"Mani he's probably just lonely." She said following me.

"Hey Mani hey Lisa glad you girls could make it." Tommy said walking over to us.

"Were glad we could make it too." I said.

"So Tommy what does a girl have to do to get some blow around here?"

"Lisa!" I yelled.

"What? This is the after party isn't it!" She yelled back.

"Your speaking my language Lisa. Come on girl let's party." He grabbed her and they walked towards a table filled with people and obviously drugs.

I stood by the table and continued pouring and drinking the punch. Which tasted weird but was good.

"Your friend seems to be having a great time."

I turned around and saw Nikki standing behind me. I rolled my eyes and looked away from him.

"You look gorgeous white suits you."

I was wearing a white dress with a half arm sleeve. I knew I looked good in white. And I wasn't going to give him my attention. After how he behaved in March and ignoring me today.

"Look Mani I'm sorry ok, I just didn't know that you were coming and I was shocked when I saw you on stage. I didn't know what to say to you." He moved in front of me so I would be looking at him.

I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I saw his lips moving but couldn't hear a thing he was saying.

"Oh soooo ya know what to... to say now?" I asked wondering if I was making sense.

All of a sudden his straight lips turned into a big devils grin plastered on his face. "How bout a truce." He signaled over for a guy with brownies and little finger cheesecakes to come over. "I know you like sweets cause your sweet. These brownies will go well with that punch."

I looked at the brownies I couldn't resist. They looked good. I grabbed one and ate it. And it was so good. So I started eating them up. I ate about 6 maybe 7 or probably 9.

10 min later....

"Nicholas I neeeeed a drink." I giggled. I was laughing non stop and very hyper.

"C'mere doll let's get you a real drink." Nikki grabbed my hand and led me to the bar. I was smiling so much I felt like I was on cloud nine. I sat at the bar and started laughing so much at absolutely nothing.

"Hey Jack and coke." Nikki said to the bartender.

"Noooooo I drink Cranberry juice." I yelled hitting him on the shoulder.

"Ok sweets cranberry juice and jack for her." He pointed with that same devil's smile on his face.

Another 10 mins later...

I was 5 drinks in when I got on the dance floor and started doing cartwheels in my heels and dress. I was chasing after the waiter trying to grab more brownies from him with Nikki chasing after me.

"Give me the fucking brownies." I grabbed the tray from him and started running and bumping into people. I tripped and fell down and ended up rolling underneath the table eating the brownies.

"Princess I think your done with the brownies." Nikki crawled under the table and grabbed the tray.

"How dare you.......you need to get me more. I need another drink."

What am I even saying I have no idea. But my mind is racing and I'm happy. I ran back on the dance floor grabbing people drinks and downing them. I thought it was funny and people were laughing with me.

"What the fuck Nikki. What the fuck is she doing?" Mick asked Nikki.

"Holy shit is she wasted?" Tommy laughed

Nikki turned around to see me taking people drinks and drinking it. He then ran to me on the dance floor to get me off of it.

"Hey come on doll your done." He grabbed my arm.

"Fuck off no I'm not." I pulled my arm back and ran from him. People were staring at me and really starting to laugh. So I laughed. Until I saw another brownie tray. I dashed towards it like a track star and grabbed the tray. But the waiter wouldnt let the tray go.

"Let the fucking tray go or I'll hit you with my big toe!" I yelled.

"You need help, and I'm not letting go." The waiter yelled back. I yanked it from his hand so hard that he let it go. I ended up flying back wards and knocking into another guy who's drink spilt on him.

"Oh woops" I laughed

"You think this is funny you wasted bitch." He grabbed my arm.

"Oh pee you....you smell. Aaaaaaaand it is funny." I then leaned and breathed on his face and started laughing.

"Laugh at this bitch." The guy then back handed me and I fell backwards hitting the ground hard with the tray splattering on the ground with the brownies.

"Your a fucking dead man." I heard Nikki yell. He clenched his fist and swung, his fist nailed the guy on his right eye. The rest of the Motley boys came charging at the guy.

I was so out of it I didn't even see what was going on. I heard yelling and screaming coming from different directions, I was dizzy and my head was hurting. But on a positive note, there was a brownie in front of me not smooshed and ready to be eaten. In fact it was talking to me. I was hurt but I could still eat this one. And so I took a bite and laughed about it.

I felt arms grab me and pick me up in bridal style and carry me out. We ended up in a hall way. The arms put me down on the ground. I was so dizzy I couldn't keep my eyes open.

"Oh my God is she ok? Nikki what the fuck happened!" Lisa started crying and yelling at the same time. While trying to keep her balance she was high and drunk. And now so was I.

"Sixx what happened?" Vince said trying to hold Lisa up.

"It was just a joke, I didn't know she would go crazy like that." Nikki was panicking.

"She can't go back to our....our hotel like this. Tamara will kill her and me. We will.....will never see the day of light again." Lisa slurred leaning on Vince.

"Well clearly the both of them are wasted. Her I can understand" Mick points at Lisa. "But Iman doesn't drink. We'll talk about this later. Let's just get these two to our hotel." Mick said while grabbing my one arm.

"Mick I didn't mean to do this. It was just for fun." Nikki looks at Mick.

"Just grab her other arm Sixx!" Mick yelled.

Nikki grabbed my other arm and they picked me up.

"Stop....s..s...stop" I pulled away from them and fell on the ground throwing up.

"Babe we need to get you to our hotel room ok now come on." Nikki tried to pick me up again but I hiked up my dress and pulled my panties down. Taking them off completley and throwing them at Nikki. I put two hands on the wall for support and squatted then started peeing on the ground.

"Dude thats fucking awesome." Tommy chuckled "I love drunk Iman." Nikki glared at Tommy with a straight face. "Sorry." He said in a low voice.

I then tried getting up but started to stumble. Nikki caught me and picked me up. He threw me over his shoulders and then everything went black.

Nikki's POV

We arrived back at the hotel. I layed her down on the bed and took off her heels.

"Look she can stay with me if you can't take care of her." Mick suggested.

"No I rather keep her here with me. Who has Lisa?" I asked while turning her to the side and pulling the sheets up to cover her. I also went and got the garbage bin and put it on the side of the bed.

"Vince does, we'll come by in the morning and check up on her." Mick says while heading to the door.

"Nikki," Mick calls.

"Yeah."

"Your never going to be good enough for her. If this is how you keep treating her." He says, then walkes out the door shutting it behind him.

At this point I just sat on the couch staring at her laying on the bed. I never meant for this to go as far as it did. But every action has a consequence. And it was somthing that I was going to have to learn. I got up and went to my suitcase and pulled out a pen and paper and started writing in it.

Iman's POV

The next day I woke up with a massive headache. I looked around and realized that this wasn't my room. I also realized I had no panties on. I slowly got out of the bed holding my head and wondering where I was. I started walking towards the washroom when I looked on the ground and noticed about 5 crumpled up peices of paper. I looked to my left and saw paper and pen laying on the couch. I walked towards it and picked it up and started reading it.

She's only fifteen She's the reason--the reason that I can't sleep You say illegal I say legal's never been my scene I try like hell but I'm out of control

All in the name of rock 'n' roll For sex and sex I'd sell my soul

Pretty, pretty so innocent

I hope to God these lyrics are not about me. I bolted towards the washroom. And threw up in the toilet. I looked in the mirror and could not even believe what I was looking at. I looked like a nightmare. I splashed water on my face and in mouth. "Jesus what happened to me?" I said to myself.

I then heard a door open and close. Whoever came in is either one, a bad guy that's trying to hurt me or two, a nice guy that saw somthing was wrong with me and was trying to help me.

"Mani!"

I heard a voice call. I immediately knew who it was. I walked out of the washroom slowly looking at the raven haired bassist. He was undeniably beautiful. Even in the morning when people looked like crap he looked good.

"Good morning sweets." He walked to the table and places a bag down on it. "How'd you sleep princess?"

"I dont know cause I cant remember. What the hell happened to me Nikki?" I demanded.

"Well that's what a hang over is." Nikki chuckled. He started pulling out bacon, eggs, and bagels from the bag. And had a orange juice and a bottle of cranberry juice. The fact that he knows I love cranberry juice made me smile and my heart melt. But I had to get back to the serious questions.

"I don't drink alcohol so I shouldn't have had a hangover Nikki." I said with a now agitated voice.

"Well you drank yesterday." Nikki turned to face me. "That punch you were drinking had alcohol in it. Alot of it too." He chuckled.

"Oh my God. Did I make a fool of my self at the party." I asked putting my hands on my face and sitting on the bed.

"Well you were chasing down the waiter and swearing at him, you grabbed other people's drinks and started dowing them, you splashed some randoms guy drink on him and he pushed you. And then you went out into the hall way and peed on the ground. But that was after you took your panties off and threw them at me." Nikki says laughing.

"Its not funny. And all that from alcohol and punch. Oh God I feel like I won't be able to show my face out in public again." I groaned.

"Mani." Nikki walks over to me and sits beside me on the bed. But I get up and move away from him.

"Everytime I go out with you guys something goes wrong. What if they release any videos or pictures of me. Tamara will quit on me and my family will feel embarrassed. Oh God." I say pacing around the room.

"They won't, I had Doc take all the cameras away from the photographers. And beleive me when I say it wasn't your fault princess." He assured.

"I need to leave." I started walking towards the door. I wanted to get away from Nikki. Him and his band have just been causing chaos in my life and I had enough.

"Wait can we talk?" Nikki asks standing up from the bed. I stopped and turn to look at him. I nod and walk back sitting on the chair by the table with the food.

"Look about what happened in March I'm sorry for what I did. I .......I just got very mad watching you dancing with somone else." Nikki says scratching the back of his neck and sitting back down.

"You got mad watching me dance with somone else. So that gives you the right to physically hurt me. You grabbed me and then shoved me into a wall and tried to punch me."

"No I didn't try to punch you Mani. I punched the side of the wall-"

"Does that matter!" I interrupted. "You physically hurt me Nikki!" I shouted getting more angry.

"Iman I'm not that person ok. That's not me. I deeply care for you and would never harm you." Nikki started raising his voice.

"But you did Nikki. You did harm me." I shouted.

"Cause you fucking danced with another fucking guy. You knew exactly what you were doing and how that would make me feel!" Nikki shouted back.

By this point we were both in a shouting argument and pointing our fingers at each other. I knew this wasn't going to get solved.

"This is a mistake I'm leaving." I say standing up. "I don't have to put up with you. Your not my boyfriend and I don't owe you anything. I danced with him cause I wanted to, it had nothing to do with hurting you." I shouted and started walking away.

Nikki got up and walked after me. I opened the door and he slammed it shut. Scaring the hell out of me. "Were not done talking!" He shouted.

"Well I am you scare me. And I want to leave right now." My voice started shaking.

Nikki was taken back by my words. His eyes went wide and he looked shocked.

"Are you.....are you scared of me?" He asked with a very low voice. I nodded and my eyes started to tear up. With everything that happened I was starting to feel scared of him. He had two sides to him. I was now starting to understand what Tommy's ex wife Elaine was saying. One minute he would be happy and caring then next he would be angry and aggressive.

Nikki sighed and looked at me hurt. He walked over to the bed and sat down. He looked down at the ground and stayed silent. I sat down on the chair and looked out the window.

"Iman I...I'm so sorry I hurt you. I really care about you and im sorry."

I couldn't help but let out a sigh. I walked and sat beside him on the bed. "Its ok." I whispered.

Nikki turned and looked at me his green eyes staring into my soul. It was hard for me to resist him. He then moved close and kissed my cheek.

"Hey Sixx you guys up." Tommy barged into the room with Vince and Lisa following behind him. We quickly separated from each other.

"Oh did we miss somthing." Vince starts laughing.

"Mani how are you feeling?" Lisa asks walking towards me.

"I'm ok. We should start heading back to our hotel I'm sure Tamara is going to be looking for us." I stand up turning away from Nikki.

"Alright we'll walk you girls down." Vince grabs a hold of Lisa's hand tugging her out of the room, while I walk around the bed to put on my heels.

"T- bone get out." Nikki glares at Tommy.

"Aww come on Sixx."

"Goodbye Tommy." I say putting on my heels.

I get up and turn around to face Nikki. He walks over towards me scratching his head. "So is it all good between us or am I gonna have to stop hoping?" He asks.

"The lyrics on the paper, who's that about?" I raise a brow. He turns back to look at the paper on the couch and turns back to me. "Turn to the right and you'll see." He says with a smirk.

I look over to the right and noticed my reflection staring right back at me. I was trying my best not to smile. Nikki certainly had a way with words and how to make a woman blush. But I wonder if that's a trick to get all the girls. I mean let's just face it. When I came backstage he had two girls on his arm. Not to mention he is dating another girl. I almost forgot about that. I turn back to face Nikki who is now right in front of my face.

"You didn't answer question princess?" He says with a low voice and tucks my hair behind my ear.

"I have to go Nikki." I smile and then walk out the door closing it behind me.

[ariesbilly]

I cried for an hour over this last night: okay so with Nancy Steve had his whole life mapped out, he wanted to work for his dad, get married and have kids, a nice house with a picket fence etc, and everyone assumes that Billy would steal him away from that stuff, like that’s not really what he wants, but in truth... Steve probably DOES want that stuff? It’s Nancy who doesn’t, Steve was begging her to go back to normal! (I am literally crying again lmao) so when he gets together with Billy (cont)

(cont) he wants nothing more than to live out the American dream with Billy, he loves him so much and he just wants that life with him so bad, so he will always kid around about how they’re basically married and try to make Billy like the kids so they can hang out and say like “we’re like a family” and Billy makes fun of him for it all the time, but one time Steve just bursts into tears and says how bad he wants to marry Billy and have a family with him, how he would trade everything (cont)

(cont) just to walk down the street and be allowed to hold his hand or take him to a fancy restaurant or have a big wedding with him because he’s a total romantic but it’s the 80s and that stuff doesn’t seem like it will EVER be possible and Billy is all hurt like “do you not want me? Do you want a girl?” and Steve is crying like “NO I only want that stuff if it’s with YOU I’m crying because I can never marry you and have kids with you and I want to be with you forever” honestly I’m in tears!!!!

ok HONESTLY i just got an idea and i dont know why no ones thought of this before cuz like... its some good angst that i need (and if anyone has uh.... please direct me to that fic)

so like, jonathan and nancy get married (or it could be any of the kids. hell, even joyce and hopper. idc that parts not important)

steve and billy have been together for a while, billys long since worked his way into the group like everythings good, so theyre both guests at the wedding (maybe theyre even in the wedding party depending on whose wedding it is). ok so steve gets HELLA into weddings. eats that shit up. loves the public declaration of love, is a total sap, cries the whole time, he loves love. so like the whole night hes dancing with billy and talking about how beautiful the ceremony was and hes throwing in his two cents about what he would like for his own wedding, and its all relatively lighthearted tho billys biting his tongue trying not to be cynical because... they cant get married. but steve seems happy right now so whatever. hes not gonna rain on his parade. let the guy dream.

but by the end of the night steves kinda plastered and billys gotta drag him back to their hotel room/wherever theyre staying. and its still kinda funny and theyre laughing, billys cracking jokes about what a lightweight steve is, etc. 

billy finally sets steve down on the bed and he leaves for two seconds to go to the bathroom and suddenly he hears steve crying and hes like ??? but of course he runs over to steve and crouches down in front of him and is holding his face, asking “baby, whats wrong?”

and steves a drunk hiccupy mess just crying and finally he gets out that he wants a wedding and he wants to be married and he wants kids and a family, the whole bit, but hes never gonna get it. like its all coming out in slurs and jumbled thoughts and billys fully convinced that this is steve breaking up with him or something, like steves been harboring these thoughts for a while that he sees no future with billy and this is just his drunk mind spilling all the truth

and MAYBE just to keep billy on his toes (i love drama leave me alone) steve passes out while billys asking him what the hell he means, so billy barely gets any sleep that night running over all these worst case scenarios in his mind

so the next day steve wakes up groggy as hell, hungover, the beds empty but he sees billy sitting off in a chair, maybe biting his thumb, knee jittering. steve asks him whats wrong and billy knows maybe now isnt the best time to be having this conversation, he should wait til steves feeling better but fuck it. hes gotta know what steve was on about last night

and steve like, barely remembers even saying all that and when billy asks him if he wants to break up steves eyes go big and suddenly hes feeling very sober and very present and hes jumping out of bed and going to billy and telling him “no, of course not!” and billys looking at him like he doesnt quite believe him, then steves holding billys face and kissing him so deep and telling billy that yeah he wants all that stuff but it only matters if he can have it with billy

and maybe billy apologizes for the fact that he cant give that stuff to steve but steves telling him its not his fault and hes choosing this life with billy and he wouldnt trade it for anything...

but of course somewhere down the line billy proposes to steve. they cant legally get married but billy decides fuck it, hes committed to steve regardless. and they have a ceremony for their friends and family. and you BEST BELIEVE theyre still together when gay marriage is finally legalized and they run their butts down to the courthouse to make it official. and there is definitely at least one adoption in their future. theyve already parented many dogs together. possibly a cat or two 

[mskinkyafro]

Last Call (Ethan Ramsey x MC)

A/N: I know what most could be thinking...what the hell it’s only been two chapters, but I can’t help it! I feel so much excitement and adoration for Dr. Ethan Ramsey. We don’t know much about him but ideas were popping in my head all weekend.  Any details I reference about his past in this fic is original content I conceived and nothing confirmed in PB cannon. This would definitely not be apart of cannon so cannon divergence here. The song used briefly in this fic is “These Arms of Mine” by Otis Redding.

Italicized and bold:song lyrics

Italicized: internal thoughts

Summary: Dr. Ethan Ramsay takes time to reevaluate the newest intern that’s captured his attention in more ways than one, whether he wants to admit it or not.

All Rights to PB for their characters, settings, and stories. I don’t own them, I just borrow minus my MC Dr. Katrina Michaels.

All Rights to who own the song “These Arms of Mine”.

In the mischievous hours of the night Dr. Ethan Ramsey sits alone in the now barren Donahue’s nursing another drink. The place once buzzing with noise is now near sheer silence except the gentle music playing from the jukebox. The last crop of stragglers, only a few with slurring speeches make their exit. Hearing the soft thud of the door shutting he let out a mild grunt and raises his near empty glass towards the bartender.

“Last one, buddy. My knees are screaming and any minute longer I’ll be visiting you at your job versus you visiting mine.”

Reggie says as he refills the glass and then grabs a rag to clean.

“Now we can’t be having that now.” Ethan replies before taking a small gulp.

Suspicious at such warm words from the man Reggie stops wiping down the counter to look at Ethan.

“Hmm, that’s strangely kind of you-”

Before Reggie can finish his sentence Ethan cuts him off all the while looking into his diminishing drink

“Because then who will serve me drinks at my beck and call?”

His eyes shine with mirth as looks at Reggie while he takes another sip.

“You almost had me there. You’re a cheeky bastard, you know that? I should throw your ass out for that.” Reggie says while shaking his head amused.

“But you won’t because you’re too good. That’s exactly why the likes of myself don’t deserve you as friend Reg.”

“Heh, damn right. I only keep you around because you tip well.”

Ethan chuckles at the man in front of him.

“Never change, Reggie.”

“Wasn’t planning to buddy.”

The two men finish laughing when the shoosh of the door opens and a young African-American woman enters while calling over her shoulder before the door closes.

“I’m going to use the restroom and wait inside until the Lyft comes. Night everyone!”

Recognizing the voice speaking  Ethan turns and sees Dr.  Katrina Michaels. As she moves from the entrance and towards the back right of the bar to the restrooms his gaze follows and he retreats to his mind briefly.

“I haven’t quite figured out why but there’s something about the rookie that intrigues me.”

Reggie notices his friend is watching the woman from earlier and can already gather what could be the reason why. Being the good friend that he is Reggie decides to give his old pal  a nudge in the right direction. So he taps Ethan on the shoulder to get his attention.

“Welp, I gotta clean up in the back. Keep an eye on the place for me. Especially the little lady, I’m leaving both in your capable hands.”

Ethan quirks an eyebrow at Reggie as he takes another swig and asks

“What are you getting at Reg?”

Reggie smirks to himself and shrugs his shoulders before he turns to leave Ethan alone and enters a side door near the shelves of alcohol. Ethan scoffs and continues to drink his glass of scotch enjoying the the burning sensations that slide down his throat. His thoughts lingers to earlier in the night when talking to Katrina.

“She definitely is different in the real world but on the hand not so much.  I don't quite understand why this intern is different from the others. Other than  proving herself capable so far but outside  EdenBrook I notice that my thoughts have dawdle on her more  trivial attributes. Such as her underlying fierceness or perhaps her vivaciousness. Well I suppose I can’t say I truly recognized these qualities more so I overlooked them, one such as her beauty. She truly is stunning. It makes me wonder why a woman like her spent time near me when the place was swarming with younger men. Especially asking if someone was waiting at home for me. It can’t be what I think… no I probably need to ease off the alcohol right now. Besides who would wait around  for me anyway? Edie surely doesn’t anymore.”

As he sets his glass down back on the counter he hears a soft voice calling his name which removes him from his thoughts. Without turning around he says

“Hello again, rookie.”

“I’m surprised to see you still here Dr. Ramsey.” Katrina Michaels murmurs.

He turns to face the intern and replies

“I’m surprising in a lot of ways.”

She smiles and delicately places herself  onto the stool that’s next to Ethan.

“You’ll have to  prove that you know.”

Despite himself he smirks at her. His gunmetal blue eyes piercing into Katrina’s hazel ones. Their gazes seem to challenge yet captivate the other. There’s a comfortable yet tense air between the two until the smooth vocals of Otis Redding play from the jukebox.

“These arms of mine, they are lonely. Lonely and feeling blue. These arms of mine are yearning, yearning  from wanting you...”

The song continues to play as Katrina speaks.

“You know he’s is one of my favorite artist. I used to...”

As she speaks Ethan watches the woman in front of him. He observes the way her eyes are lit up to how a rogue strand of her curly hair hangs, and even how in the dimly lit bar her smile radiates and contrasts with her beautiful coffee-hue complexion. He tries to listen to all she’s saying, now beginning to tell him about much of a fan she is. But he’s beginning to distract himself with his thoughts once more.

“Of course this song plays. Very convenient timing, I’d say. I bet Reggie had something to do with this. It’s been so long since I had someone. At this point other people would take anyone. But I could never at my stage in life. That’s why I’m here at almost one in the morning. I wonder why she’s here too, besides being young.”

Ethan breaks away from his mind to refocus back onto Katrina whose finishing up a compliment about his research.

“Katrina, may I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Dr. Ramsey.”

“First, outside of EdenBrook you may call me, Ethan.”

Katrina runs her hand through her hair before replying

“Are you sure, Dr. Ramsey?”

He rolls his eyes briefly before turning to look at his glass to take another sip of his scotch.

“Yes, rookie. You referring to me as doctor outside of the hospital makes me look a bit pretentious.”

“I think that’s your own doing, Dr. Ramsey.”

He pauses lifting his glass to meet his mouth in midair and turns to glare at her but it falters once he hears the bubbling of laughter escape her plump lips. He goes back to take a swig and places his glass back down gently.

“Sorry. I couldn’t pass that up...Ethan.”

“Now, was that really that difficult?”

“Not exactly, but it’s a bit strange. To be on first name basis with your idol.”

“I’m just a man, rookie. Not a celebrity or some god.”

Katrina turns her face away from Ethan and averts her eyes from his as she whispers

“Maybe, but you sure do have god-like looks.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t make out what you said?”  curious of what she said.

“It’s not important. But you wanted to ask me something?”

“Yes I do. I happen to be thinking of what you asked me earlier in the night and wondered the same.”

“Is that so? Is there a reason why you liked to know?”

Her tone so playful with a hint of flirtation that he couldn’t decipher if he imagined it or not.

Instead of speaking he shrugs his shoulders in response.

Smiling to herself and looking down before meeting his eyes again.

“I’m just like you. No one awaiting my return.”

“Interesting.”

The fading music is more audible as the two stop speaking momentarily

“...I need somebody. Somebody to treat me right, oh. I need your arms. Loving arms to hold me tight. And I, I, I need your, I need your tender lips to hold me.”

A chime from Katrina’s cell phone breaks the silence before either one of them could.

“That’s my Lyft. It’s two minutes away so, I’m going to waiting outside.”

Ethan nods in understanding, she begins to remove herself from her seat, but still slightly tipsy she slips and falls into Ethan’s body who reacts immediately.  He grasps firmly yet gently ahold of her,  keeping her steady. Both freeze from the sudden contact and close parameters they are from the other.

Katrina can see Ethan’s adam’s apple bob up and down in his throat and he thinks to himself while staring at Katrina.

“I suddenly have the urge to gently brush the curls away from her beautiful eyes and...I need to stop this instant. It’s late and I am feeling a bit lonely but I’m beginning to enter a dangerous area. This would lead to an H.R. nightmare. I can’t let myself get tangled with the matters of the heart. Especially with my, ahem, the rookie. God, I need to lay off the sauce for a while.”

He’s pulled from his thoughts when Katrina removes herself from his arms.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it, rookie.”

“Is that going to be a permanent thing? Even outside of work?”

“What?”

“Rookie. I mean you’ve called me by my first name earlier tonight even when I thought you didn’t even know it, much less remember it nor care to.”

“I’ve told you. I’m observant...rookie. Does that answer your question?” He says smirking at her.

Rolling her eyes she moves to make her way to the exit.

“Yes it does. And you deny that you’re favoring me.”

“I’ll let you believe what you want. Even if it’s a silly notion.”

“Whatever you say, Dr. Ramsey” she purrs.

Ethan feels his heart rate increase briefly. Before he can respond, she speaks up.

“My ride should be here now. I’ll see you around Dr. Rams- I mean Ethan.”

She rubs her hand obsessively through her hair before giving him a quick wave as she inches closer to the door.

“For whatever reason my name leaving her lips sounds right. As the same for hers. Katrina. Ka-tri-na. I’d like to say it more than just in my...Okay enough. I must stick with calling her  rookie. That’s what's...what’s safe.

Katrina opens the door which pulls Ethan out and he speaks for the final time

“Have a good night...Katrina. Get home safe.”

She stops at hearing her name being used and turns back around and grins wide at Ethan.

“You too.”  she steps outside and calls back to Ethan.

“Maybe once I’ve graduated from rookie or you tire of it, you can call me Kat. Whichever comes first.”

Without another word or glance she walks out the door.

Ethan is left staring at the spot she was occupying before turning his attention back to his glass. He drains the rest of his drink and retreats into his thoughts.

“So much for playing it safe. Then again, what’s life without a few risks.”