#in the middle of the day I just suddenly switched moods and despite my friend already being over and me having been perfectly happy with

[seilon]

hhdgsgddhh

[felice-jaganshi]

Send Me An Angel

Stolas×m!Reader

Chapter 1

Stolas was sitting alone in his study, trying to read a romance novel… but every time he tried to picture the love interests, he kept seeing Blitz and himself. He groaned and set the book down, “How does one make this feeling end?!”

Just as he felt another sad serenade begin to form in his throat, there was a knock on the door.

“Sire? You have an unexpected guest.”

“Ugh, send them away! I am in no mood!”

“Aw come on now Stolas, is that any way to treat the king of hell?” A grinning face forced his way past the butler. Stolas stood immediately before swiftly bowing.

“Your majesty, I apologize, I hadn't known it was you! Why the sudden visit?” He smiled nervously, mentally cursing himself.

 

“Oh, I have someone who was desperate to meet you, and I owe them a favor. So, I figured the best way for them to see the real you, was a surprise visit!” Lucifer was grinning, but there was no kindness behind it. Like he hoped this meeting would show Stolas in a bad light. And well, given he was lounging in a barely held shut robe and nothing else in the middle of the day… let's say Stolas felt he was off to a bad start.

“Someone who wanted to meet me? And who would that be?”

 

Lucifer lowered his voice to a whisper, and turned to the door, “A new Sinner.” Stolas looked over and saw a demon helping his butler back to his feet and fussing over him for any injury, despite the imp's quiet protests that he was fine. As if feeling the extra eyes on them, the demon turned their head, giving a sheepish smile before it switched to an awed gasp as they locked eyes with Stolas, their pupils dilating.

 

As they slowly stood, Stolas took in their form.

Their hair was a pastel gradient from sea green to baby blue to lavender. They had large canine ears atop their head that were the same sea green at their base, fading to white at the tips. Their clothes were formal, but simple, a white button up, with a dark blue vest, though their green overcoat was covered in yellow flower designs. He held a red covered book in his arms. As he examined the demon's jawline and deep blue eyes, Stolas realized they were a man. He also noticed a large bushy tail swishing behind him. It was mostly lavender with white at the tip similar to his ears. He finally made his way down to the man's shoes, and was surprised to find cheap sneakers. They didn't match the rest of the outfit in the slightest, and it made Stolas question if this was the man's usual state of dress, or if he dressed up for their meeting.

 

The man took three steps into the room and gave a half bow, “It's a true pleasure to meet you, my name is Zachary, but my friends call me Zachie.” He turned his face back up and gave a dazzling smile, full of genuine happiness. His tail wagged excitedly.

“Oh, well it's a pleasure to meet you too. So what made you so desire to meet with me? Most human souls lose any interest in the Goetia once they learn how little power we really have in the pride ring. I didn't make you some kind of promise while drunk at a summoning, did I?” Stolas was nervous, he avoided Sinners at all cost, given how volatile and violent they typically were. One poisoned cup out of ten after all…

 

Zachary's expression fell, looking down at his feet. His ears drooped and his tail swished across the floor anxiously, “Well no, I never tried to summon you. All the rituals in the book required multiple people to summon any demons… but it said you loved astrology, botony, and knowledge in general, so I imagined you enjoyed reading… and I love reading and stargazing, so I thought maybe I could share some of my favorite books with you.” His head popped back up suddenly, “Oh! I almost forgot! Here!” He held out the book in his arms. “This is for you. A gift. I… had someone get it for me, it's the first book in my favorite romance series. I hope that's not too weird of a gift…” 

 

Stolas was taken aback, “You… are correct, I do enjoy books.” He hesitantly took the book, reading the title, “What kind of romance is it?”

“A love story between a fallen god and a demon king.”

Lucifer cleared his throat, “Welp! That sounds like my cue to leave! Zach knows his way back to the hotel easily enough, so just kick him out when you're bored of him. And Zach, remember to text Charlie if you're going to be late getting back, or she'll worry you got lost or something.” And with that, Lucifer disappeared in a shimmering gold and red mist.

 

There's a nervous silence between the two for a moment, Zach fidgeting and looking around the room. It's then Stolas noticed his robe had fallen open a little. He tightened it, “Ah well, have a seat while I go change. I'll have tea and snacks brought for you while you wait.” Stolas quickly stepped away from the room to change into something more fitting for having company.

While he was in his closet, he looked the book he'd been gifted over again. It was a paperback with beautiful art on the cover, red being the predominant color. Reading the back of the cover, it certainly sounded like an interesting story. A fallen god, a ghost risen? Well, perhaps it would be better than the romance novels he'd found in hell.

 

Once dressed, he returned to the room, finding Zachary sitting in one of the chairs and typing speedily on his cellphone. Stolas couldn't help his curiosity and peeked over his shoulder to see who he was messaging. It was self preservation, he reasoned. What if Zach turned out to be an assassin?!

But what he saw looked like- “Are you writing a story?” Zach yipped and jumped an inch at the sudden awareness of Stolas.

 

“I um, yes… it's not very good… but I'm trying to be a writer. I tried to get a book written when I was alive, but couldn't get past the ‘rough draft’ phase.”

“Mind if I read what you've written?” He asked, holding out his hand.

Zach's ears perked up, “You're interested in my story? I can read it to you, if you'd like! I've been told I have a good voice for it.” His tail flicked a few times, hopeful excitement, Stolas guessed. 

“Hm, I suppose that would be fine…” He sat down and picked up a tea cup.

Zach smiled and started reading from chapter one…

His voice was soothing as he fell into a reading cadence, and Stolas found himself relaxing further into his own chair.

 

As he finished chapter one, Zachary looked at him expectantly. “What do you think so far? Do you like it? Or am I boring you?”

Stolas opened his eyes, he hadn't even realized he'd closed them!

“Oh, it's quite nice. Your voice is rather soothing. My apologies, I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I suppose I nodded off a bit.”

 

“Oh, no need to apologize! That's a compliment in and of itself.” Zach smiled and put away his phone.

“Oh? How so?” Stolas was curious, how was falling asleep on a guest a compliment?

“Because you're comfortable enough to fall asleep around me. That shows trust. And you found my voice relaxing enough to soothe you from whatever was bothering you. I'm happy I was able to help, even if just for a little bit.”

 

“Ah, I suppose you're right…” Stolas blushed at his reasoning, it was rather sweet… “You know, I think you should keep writing.”

The canine's ears perked up, “You do?” Zach's eyes were practically sparkling with hope. How cute!

 

“Indeed, in fact I'd appreciate it if you came by regularly to read to me, perhaps weekly, if that wouldn't be too much of a strain on your schedule?”

“I'd love to!” He smiled wide,tail wagging aggressively. “How about every sunday? I'm sure I can convince Charlie to let me have every Sunday off from the hotel, especially if I lie and say it's to pray or something holy or religious sounding.” 

Stolas chuckled, “My my, lying to the princess of hell to see me? Sounds like you're making me a dirty little secret~.” 

Ah, what was he doing?! Don't flirt with a sinner, Stolas! They're dangerous! 

 

“Oh, huh… I didn't think of it that way. Yeah, it would be better just to say I want to meet up with my new best friend! Then I'm not potentially hurting anyone!” He had such an innocent reaction, Stolas had to stop and just… blink.

Was he turning down his advances?... Did he call Stolas his “best friend”? 

Stolas smiled, “Yes, I think best friend is the correct title for us. Zachie.”

[cuddlepilefics]

hey could u do a felix sickie with chan caretaker and it like spans out for days!! ive lowkey been stalking ur page hehe

Didn’t think it was bad

Fandom: Stray Kids

Sickie: Felix

Caregiver: Chan + Minho

After the group has dinner together at a restaurant, Felix suddenly doesn't feel too good anymore. He doesn't think much of it at first but it soon gets way worse and he needs his hyung to make it better.

No one’s POV.:

After a busy day of work, Stray Kids had dinner at a small restaurant close by as none of them were in the mood to cook. For once, the atmosphere was quiet, the members to run down to keep their usual bickering going, so there were a few hushed conversations around the table but other than that, the members were absorbed in their own thoughts. Felix especially, after having developed a headache over the course of the afternoon. He was probably just tired, so he didn’t see a need to tell his friends about it and decided to just eat dinner and head straight to bed once they got home. It wasn’t like he had much of an appetite but he knew he’d feel better once his energy was restored. At least, Felix thought he would. Somehow the food wasn’t settling all that well but he pressured himself to keep eating as he feared his energy wouldn’t return if he didn’t. By the time the group headed home and split up to go to their separated dorms, the Aussie was feeling downright sick. Fearing it might have something to do with the food they had been served, he quietly muttered: “Is anyone feeling… nauseous too?” His three dormmates looked at him in surprise, Seungmin and Jeongin shaking their heads as Minho closed the distance to take a closer look at his dongsaeng’s face. “I feel fine”, the second oldest hummed, glancing at the two maknaes, “You did have a different dish though, so do you think it was bad?” – “I didn’t think it was bad”, Felix denied, shaking his head, “My body’s probably just too tired to digest it right now, so I’ll probably be fine once I slept. Goodnight.” The other three wished him a good night as well before everyone left to their own room.

Despite his determination to go right to sleep, Felix still laid awake for another two hours. His stomach was unusually noisy and kept gurgling uncomfortably. Still, he didn’t think his food had been bad. With his head aching still, the Aussie tried to lay on his side and snuck one hand under his shirt, gently rubbing circles over his bloated middle. Just when he was about to nod off, an intense cramp twisted his stomach, making him groan in pain. Felix hated being alone when he wasn’t feeling well but still believing it was just some indigestion from overworking his body, he didn’t think it was justified to wake anyone up. He wouldn’t go to Seungmin and Jeongin anyway, still feeling a little protective of his only two dongsaengs despite the age gap being pretty small. Felix knew he could go to Minho and that the older would be there for him but he also knew how much his hyung had been working lately and how little sleep he had gotten, so he didn’t want to be the reason the other missed even more sleep.

It wasn’t entirely up to him though, as his stomach churned again, making Felix more certain that it’d be safer to just hang out in the bathroom for a while. With his eyes stinging from the exhaustion, he decided against turning on the light and instead just kept the door opened a crack, to let the light from the hallway illuminate the small space. Sitting with his back against the bathtub, the Aussie drew his legs up to his chest and rested his head on them. He was slowly dozing off, when the light was switched on and Minho sleepily shuffled into the bathroom, startling when he found his dongsaeng curled up next to the toilet. “Hey, you doing okay?”, the older asked, “Did you throw up?” Felix tiredly blinked up at him, shielding his eyes from the bright bathroom light as he shook his head. “What’s going on? You still feeling nauseous?”, Minho frowned, crouching in front of the younger. Muffling a queasy belch in his fist, the Aussie choked out: “I-I don’t know, my stomach’s just not so happy right now.” – “Did this come on suddenly after dinner? You seemed okay this morning”, the older worried, taking in his dongsaeng’s pale complexion that made his freckles stand out more. Shrugging, Felix muttered: “I had a headache earlier during the afternoon but my stomach only started acting up during dinner. I just wanna sleep it off but was afraid I might get sick, so it seemed safer here.” – “Do you think you ate something bad?”, Minho inquired, already having suspected that when the other had asked them if they felt the same after dinner. “I don’t know, I still don’t think it was bad but why am I feeling like this if it wasn’t?”, Felix groaned, palming his tummy. After a moment of silence, the older offered: “How about we get you back to bed? I’ll get you a bucket just in case, so you can try to sleep it off without having to stay on the floor all night. I can also make you some tea and a hot water bottle to see if that helps any.”

Although Felix really hadn’t wanted to keep his hyung up, he had eventually nodded and allowed the older to walk him back to his room. While the Aussie curled up under his blanket, Minho hurried to place a bucket next to the other’s bed before heading to the kitchen to turn on the kettle. He brewed a cup of ginger tea, hoping it’d ease Felix’ nausea, before pouring the remaining water into the hot water bottle. By the time he got back to the Aussie’s room, the younger was dozing off, not entirely asleep but not fully awake either. He placed the tea onto the nightstand and took a look around the room to ensure the other would have everything he might need. Carefully peeling away the blanket, he slipped the hot water bottle between Felix’ stomach and the arm he had protectively wrapped around it, before tucking him back in. After comfortingly patting his dongsaeng’s head, Minho went to the bathroom and back to bed, hoping the younger would feel better once he woke up.

Felix didn’t easily wake up the next morning though. After sleeping through his alarm, he barely reacted to Seungmin trying to wake him up. The vocalist noticed how warm the other felt to the touch and left him to rest while he went to get Minho. The older confirmed, Felix did have a fever and would probably do better just staying at home today, so the dancer called Chan, informing the leader about their dongsaeng being sick. Of course, it didn’t take long for the oldest to make his way over to the other dorm to check on his sick friend. Minho wasn’t really surprised when Chan showed up while they were still on the phone, knowing how protective the older was of his fellow Aussie. The leader worriedly made his way to the younger’s room and took a seat on the edge of the mattress. “Good morning, Lixxie”, he hummed softly, rubbing Felix’ arm through the blanket. The other gave a low hum in acknowledgement despite keeping his eyes closed. Feeling the boy’s forehead, Chan sighed: “Minho told me you weren’t doing too well and you do have a fever, so we’ll just have you stay in bed today, yeah?” The younger nodded tiredly, eventually looking up at his hyung. “The rest of us has to go though, so should anything be wrong, don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”, the leader instructed, wanting nothing more than to stay back with his friend but he knew how busy their schedule was today, so there was nothing he could really do other than to get Felix some time off to rest.

After making sure Felix had his phone close by and it being fully charged, the group had to leave for their schedule and the sick dancer simply went back to sleep. That didn’t last for long though, as the Aussie soon woke up to his stomach churning nauseatingly. He could almost feel last night’s dinner at the back of his throat as his mouth watered. Well aware that he’d need to get up and clean out the bucket if he got sick in that, Felix sat up and waited for his head to stop spinning before he shakily made his way to the bathroom. He had almost made it there when a wet burp made some liquid splash up against the back of his throat. Swallowing the sour stuff back down, Felix rushed the last few steps to the bathroom and crashed on his knees in front of the toilet just in time to retch up a small wave of his dinner. He choked and gave a strangled cough, that only brought up a bigger wave, burning his throat. The Aussie’s stomach clenched and he gagged uselessly before resting his pounding head on his arms. Why did he have to be sick on a day when the group was so busy? Any other day, Chan might have found one member to stay back with the younger but today there was no one. Hating to be alone when sick, Felix couldn’t hold back the emotional tears anymore.

He had spent close to an hour in the bathroom but didn’t throw up anymore, so he eventually made his way back to his room and curled up in his bed. Felix struggled to resist texting one of his friends but he knew they were all busy and he shouldn’t be a baby about being sick, no matter how much he hated it. He didn’t have to resist for long though, as eventually his phone rang. Chan wanted to check up on the younger and was heartbroken when the boy’s voice cracked painfully, although he couldn’t tell whether the other was crying or horse from being sick. When Felix told him he had thrown up, the leader was already planning to head back to the dorms to take care of his dongsaeng, contemplating what to tell their managers. He knew the younger wasn’t too good at being alone when he was sick, especially not when it was something stomach related, so he knew someone, preferably himself, had to take care of him. Chan talked to Felix for a bit, trying to distract the younger from his misery before ending the call and searching for their manager. He was surprised how quickly he got the permission to go back but it was no secret to their manager either that Felix needed someone when he was sick.

Chan hurried back to the other’s dorm and entered quietly, hoping his dongsaeng would be asleep. Felix wasn’t. Laying on his side, he held on to the bucket next to his bed and tried to take deep breaths, so his stomach would calm down but it didn’t really. “Hey”, the older sighed, taking a seat next to the dancer. He gently ran his hand up and down Felix’ back but the younger didn’t dare open his eyes. “You going to be sick again?”, Chan asked carefully, brushing his friend’s bangs out of his face. Though incredibly nauseous, Felix gritted his teeth and shook his head. Glancing at his white-knuckled grip on the bucket, the older hummed: “You sure? Because you really don’t look too great.” The dancer only turned a shade paler, leaning further over the side of the bed as his throat constricted with a useless gag. Pushing the bucket a bit closer, Chan stroked his back. Felix couldn’t really bring anything up at the moment but the older comforted him through the entire episode of dry heaves. Eventually, the dancer rolled back onto his back and wrapped his arms around his stomach as it felt like the bed was moving but he knew it wasn’t.

“You okay for now?”, Chan asked, cupping the other’s cheek to get an idea how bad the fever was, only to find the boy burning up. His temperature was so much higher than it had been that morning. Running his hand through Felix’ hair, the leader sighed: “Your fever’s up. Do you want me to run you a bath? You might rest more comfortable if we can get your temperature down, plus, you could wash off the sweat.” Felix had to admit, the sweat did feel disgusting. How his shirt stuck to him every time he moved in the slightest. He just really didn’t want to move and taking a bath sounded like too much of a challenge. Sensing the dancer’s inner conflict, Chan promised: “Let me run you a bath. I’ll carry you there and you don’t really have to do anything.” Hesitantly, Felix nodded, finally looking up at his hyung. His eyes held a sickly gloss and the flush on his cheeks created a stark contrast to the pallor of his skin. “I’ll be right back, yeah? Just going to fill the tub and pick out some clothes”, Chan smiled, leaving the room.

When the tub was filled with lukewarm water and lots of bubbles, the leader made his way back to Felix’ bedroom and picked out the softest clothes he could find in the dancer’s closet. When he had everything set up, Chan crouched next to the other’s bed and gently nudged his arm, informing: “Everything’s ready. Can you sit up and put your arms around my neck?” Nodding weakly, Felix propped himself up on his elbows but the moment he was upright, his stomach lurched. He hunched over his lap as a small wave of pure stomach acid rushed up his throat. The first wave splashed onto his blanket but luckily, Chan was fast enough to catch the second one in the bucket. The younger whimpered pitifully as he clung to the bucket. Coughing up another bitter wave, he couldn’t stop the tears from falling. “It’s okay. We can clean it up”, Chan comforted, “Don’t worry about it. Just try to take some deep breaths, so we can get your stomach settled.” Eventually, Felix was reduced to dry heaves again and the older carefully took away the bucket despite his dongsaeng’s protests. Chan folded back the blanket to contain the mess and picked the dancer up, trying not to move the younger too much. He settled Felix on the bathroom rug and helped him remove his sweaty shirt.

While Felix soaked in the tub, Chan returned to the other’s room and changed his sheets, throwing the soiled ones into the wash, so he had a clean bed to rest in when he was done with his bath. When everything was set up, the leader cooked some plain rice and brewed a pot of tea to hopefully help the younger stay hydrated. Felix was slowly dozing off in the tub, when he felt his stomach cramp and anxiously sat up. When Chan came in to check on him, the younger panickedly motioned toward the small trashcan, his other hand firmly clamped over his lips. The leader rushed to fetch the trashcan, holding it under his dongsaeng’s lips just in time for the boy to retch up a tiny trickle of bile. It was obvious there was nothing left in him, so why couldn’t his stomach accept that. Felix eyes stung with tears as his throat was once again torn to shreds. “Do you want to try some plain rice and tea once you’re out of the bath? You’ll obviously keep getting sick even if there’s nothing in you and if you have something to throw up, it might not hurt as much”, Chan hummed, combing the other’s damp hair back. Felix just shrugged at that. He didn’t know what he wanted other than for all of this to stop.

With the dancer being too out of it to really make any decision, Chan washed his hair for him and helped him out of the tub. Bundling Felix into his towel, the leader dried the boy’s hair and handed him his clothes. When the younger was all dressed, Chan took him to the couch, joining him a bit later with a bucket, a small bowl of plain rice and a cup of tea. “I have some fever-reducers and antiemetics for you to take if you manage to have at least a few bites of rice. Maybe you have a better chance at sleeping this off then”, the leader stated hopefully, handing Felix the rice. Though his throat was pretty raw, the dancer managed to force down a few bites before accepting the tea and washing the pills down. They the little meal sat heavily in his stomach but he hoped once the medicine kicked in, it would settle. That didn’t happen soon though and he was soon hugging the bucket again, trying to breathe through the nausea, so the medicine would have a chance at taking effect. Felix eventually let go of the bucket and relaxed back into the couch cushions, as the medicine finally eased the sick churning in his stomach. Pulling the thin blanket from the back of the couch, Chan helped the younger settle in for a nap and turned on a boring documentary to lull his dongsaeng to sleep.

Felix really did manage to sleep until the early evening before he woke up to a cramp, leaning over the side of the couch to be sick into the bucket. His hyung was by his side in an instant, rubbing his back and reassuring him that it’d be over soon. When the spell was finally over, Felix was spent and tears ran down his flushed cheeks. Chan gently brushed the tears away and offered the younger some water to rinse out his mouth. “Do you want me to take you back to your room? The others will probably get home soon, so….”, the leader asked, figuring Felix might prefer to rest in the quiet of his room. The dancer nodded and reached out his arms for his hyung to pick him up again. He was frustrated with being too weak to do anything but at least he had Chan with him. The older already suspected Felix to be dehydrated and felt himself confirmed when the boy rested his head on his shoulder, muttering: “Please make it stop spinning, my head hurts too much for that.” – “I’m sorry, Lix, but I think we should really get more water into you. I can check if we have some sports drinks if you want to try that”, the leader hummed, placing his dongsaeng on the bed. Felix gave a weak nod. Although he didn’t really feel like putting anything into his stomach, he knew if he didn’t manage to stay hydrated, he might need a trip to the hospital, which he wanted even less.

After slowly sipping about half of the sports drink, the dancer curled up under his blanket and went back to sleep, hoping if he slept, the nausea wouldn’t increase to the point he needed to be sick again. Not wanting to keep the younger up, Chan left him to rest and headed to his own dorm. He packed some stuff he might need if he decided to stay over the night, which he most likely would end up doing. When he returned, Felix was still asleep although his face looked a little pained. The group returned not too long after and Chan warned them to be quiet because the younger was asleep. Minho got pretty worried when his hyung updated them on their sunshine’s condition. Sure, Felix had been unwell since the previous night but they hadn’t expected him to get so much worse so fast.

Wanting Felix to get as much sleep as he somehow could, they didn’t wake him for dinner. Instead, Chan sat with him through most of the night and when the younger woke up around three in the morning, the leader brought him a few crackers, so he could have another dose of medicine, which he rinsed down with the rest of his sports drink. Having slept through most of the day, Felix wasn’t sleepy anymore, so he convinced Chan to watch a movie with him and being whipped for his dongsaeng, the leader of course complied despite being more than tired. They had only made it halfway through the movie when the younger fell asleep with his head on Chan’s shoulder, who shut his laptop and placed it on the nightstand before allowing himself to go to sleep too. He was awoken barely an hour later by Felix frantically shaking his arm and he hurried to hand the younger the bucket from next to the bed. Sobbing from pain and exhaustion, the dancer only choked up a few small trickles of the sports drink before being reduced to unproductive gags and breathy burps. “Do you want to try going back to sleep? You’re empty”, Chan cooed, rubbing the other’s back. Felix shook his head, there was no way he could sleep right now. Pulling the dancer into his arms, Chan hummed: “I could make you some tea, your throat must be hurting and it might settle your stomach. At least it would keep you hydrated.” – “Hyung, it won’t stay down”, Felix cried, his voice barely above a whisper. Running his finger’s through the younger’s hair, the leader sighed: “I know, I just don’t want you to get too dehydrated because I know how much you hate hospitals.”

They sat in silence for a while and eventually Chan heard some soft snores from the boy in his arms. He himself couldn’t fall asleep though, his mind filled with worry. By the time Chan managed to drift off too, the sun was already rising. Minho felt his heart break when he went to check on the two Aussies in the morning and set about preparing a pot of rice porridge for his sick dongsaeng to have before informing their manager that both Chan and Felix would be absent for another day. Felix had still looked awfully pale and Chan’s eyebags had grown after barely sleeping that night, besides the leader still had to take care of the younger. Wanting the two to get as much rest as possible, Minho made sure, his dongsaengs were ready for their schedule on time and shot Chan a message, informing him that there was porridge on the stove, which he’d only have to heat up. The leader found the message about an hour after the other members had left to work and made his way to the kitchen to eat something himself before heating up some porridge and getting another sports drink for Felix. He didn’t want to wake the younger but it had been a while since he had last drunk anything and Chan knew his condition would worsen if he couldn’t keep him hydrated.

Taking a seat next to the pitiful bundle that was his dongsaeng, Chan ran his hand up and down Felix’ back. The younger groaned quietly, rolling over and pulling the blanket over his head. “I’m sorry, Lixxie, but I need you to wake up. It’s just for a moment till you had something to eat and drink and then you can go back to sleep”, the leader smiled sadly. It took a few minutes but eventually, Felix sat up and sleepily looked at his hyung. Chan got him propped up against the headboard and handed him the bowl of porridge, instructing: “Just eat as much as you feel like it might stay down. I have some more medicine for you afterwards.” The dancer nodded and ate his breakfast painfully slow but still, he managed to finish half of his porridge, which was more than Chan had expected. He took the pills with a few sips of his sports drink before the leader allowed him to lay back down and considering he was still sleepy, Felix just went right back to sleep.

The dancer had been napping for the past hour, while Chan had worked on his laptop till he heard the younger call for him. “What’s wrong, Lixxie?”, the leader frowned as he rushed to Felix’ room, “Do you need to be sick again?” Felix shook his head but still kept one hand pressed to his middle, while the other reached for his hyung’s hand. The medicine kept the nausea at bay but that didn’t change anything about the cramps as his stomach fought to digest his meager breakfast. “H-Hurts”, Felix managed to choke out, gritting his teeth as a tear spilled from his eye. Crouching next to the bed, Chan felt the other’s forehead and offered: “Your fever doesn’t seem to be that high, so do you want me to make you a hot water bottle? I could also rub your tummy if you think that would help.” – “Y-Yes please”, the younger whimpered, scooting over so his hyung could take a seat next to him. Chan wordlessly slipped his hand under Felix’ shirt and ran it over the younger’s tummy with barely any pressure. He frowned when he felt just how tense the other’s abs were. Still, he could see Felix’ face relax as he continued to draw circles over his middle and smiled when the dancer started to doze off. When he was certain the younger was asleep, Chan went back to work on his music. He knew he still had to produce stuff, other wise he might not be allowed to stay back with Felix and he knew he couldn’t leave the other behind.

The day passed slow, with Felix sleeping through most of it as Chan worked in the living room. He kept checking on the younger though, bringing him water and tea and reminding him to stay hydrated. It was already late afternoon, when the leader decided it was time for more food and medicine and he went to wake his dongsaeng. Felix wasn’t as difficult to wake as he had been this morning, still he wasn’t too happy about having to eat something. He agreed to have some crackers and a few sips of tea, hoping it’d be easy to keep down but before he even got a chance to take the medicine, he already reached for the bucket, coughing up the few crackers he had just forced down. “Alright, how about we try just the antiemetics with a few sips of water and when they kicked in we can try food?”, Chan sighed, handing the younger a tissue, so he could wipe his mouth. Looking at the leader with watering eyes, Felix pouted: “I-I just want this to be over.” – “I know, Lix”, the older hummed, handing him his water and one of the pills, “It should be soon, stomach bugs rarely last longer than a few days, so you’re almost there.” After downing the pill with glorious two sips of water, Felix leant back against the headboard and closed his eyes. He was tired but didn’t dare to lay down flat.

An hour later, the dancer was dozing off but Chan had figured the medicine should be working by now and nudged his dongsaeng’s shoulder. “I got you some tea and you can choose if you want to have crackers, plain rice or porridge”, the leader announced, handing Felix the cup. Cringing, the younger muttered: “The crackers didn’t work earlier but the porridge was alright this morning, so let’s try that again.” Chan nodded and got the other a small bowl of porridge, before sitting down on the foot of the bed to keep his friend company. Felix made sure to eat slow, taking a sip of tea every now and then and eventually also downed the fever-reducer with some tea. “I’ll have the rest of the porridge in a few minutes, just need a break to let everything settle”, he breathed, shakily placing the bowl onto the nightstand and closing his eyes. Pressing his fingers against his lips, Felix muffled a queasy burp but was able to keep his food down. Chan talked to him quietly about everything and nothing, trying to distract him from his misery and about twenty minutes later, the younger finished the remaining, cold porridge.

Considering he had managed to keep all of his late lunch down, Chan accepted when Felix told him he didn’t feel like having dinner and would just try to have another bottle of water over the course of the evening. His fever too wasn’t nearly as bad anymore and although he was still sluggish, the dancer managed to take a quick shower by himself. When their friends returned in the late evening, Felix convinced them to watch a movie together in the living room and Chan was able to convince him to nibble on a few crackers over the course of the movie. It wasn’t nearly enough to be considered dinner but at least he had a little in his stomach and so far, it seemed to stay down. As promised, the dancer had finished a small bottle by the time he decided to head back to his room to sleep. Chan tucked him in and made sure the younger had everything he might need. As it turned out, what Felix needed were cuddles and it only took some convincing to get his hyung to climb into bed behind him, the leader spooning him and drawing soft circles on the younger’s tummy. They were both more than surprised when they woke up the following morning, realizing they had made it through the night without incidents.

Felix was the first one awake and found Chan deeply asleep next to him. Aware that the leader had lost quite a bit of sleep because of him, Felix quietly slipped out of bed and made himself some tea. He felt mostly better, so he wanted to try and have a small breakfast already to test what shape his stomach was in. First, he sipped his cup of tea, while watching a drama on low volume, when it seemed to have settled well, the Aussie was a bit bolder and nibbled a plain slice of toast. At first, that also seemed to settle well, before his stomach gave a wet gurgle, sending the boy straight to the bathroom, where he retched the small breakfast right back up. The noise woke Chan, who sleepily sat up and realized his dongsaeng wasn’t next to him anymore. Slipping out of bed, the leader shuffled to the bathroom and plopped down on the rim of the bathtub, from where he rubbed Felix’ back.

“Ugh, I guess I was too daring”, the younger grimaced, spitting into the toilet. When he noticed Chan’s questioning look, he sighed: “I felt better and wanted to try some breakfast. The tea was alright, the toast wasn’t.” – “Even if you feel better, you still need to take it slow”, the older worried, “I think your fever did break, you’re not as warm anymore and your shirt is completely sweat-through. Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll make you some more tea if you say it was alright earlier?” Nodding, Felix got back to his feet and reached for his toothbrush. “Sounds like a plan but first I need to get rid of this taste”, he muttered, starting to brush his teeth, while Chan got him some fresh clothes and set about making more tea. It was good to see the younger getting better, now they just had to slowly get his body used to food again and he should be fine in a day or two.

[after-witch]

Big City (Yandere Shigaraki x Reader)

Title: Big City [Yandere Shigaraki x Reader]

Synopsis: You’re about to leave for a new university in a new city in a new country. Your friend doesn’t seem pleased. You agree to meet up before you leave in the hopes of keeping your friendship alive.

For request: hi can I request one with maybe yandere dabi or shigaraki (upto you) with a darling who almost barks at them when they get kindapped cause they were about to get into their dream college and were about to fulfill their lifelong dream and now because of the situation its ruined. Like they worked so hard all their life for it. How would they react?

Word Count: 2000-ish

notes: yandere, kidnapping

You mindlessly check your messages for what feels like the tenth time in the last hour, despite knowing what you'd find: no response from Tomura. It was... unusual. A little worrying. But mostly, it was frustrating. You had too much on your plate to deal with managing his moods right now, or managing anything but arranging your flight and your luggage and confirming your schedule for the upcoming university semester.

To say that Tomura had been unusually quiet and unresponsive since you gave him the news would be an understatement. You didn't think it would matter that much. Your friendship was purely online, anyway; he'd shut down the idea of meeting in person, saying he was too shy about his appearance. But you didn't mind. 

You gamed, you texted, you send each other screenshots of people saying ridiculous things online. You talked over the phone about, well, everything. Truthfully, he was your closest friend, though that wasn't saying much. Your family wasn't in the picture, and you found it hard to get close to anyone, found it hard to open up to others.

So when you immediately called him after reading your acceptance letter, gushing about the news, his lack of a response was... deflating. But, you chalked it up to Tomura being... Tomura. Sometimes he got moody or seemed to get annoyed by ordinary things. He gave you a 2-day silent treatment for boasting about getting the autograph of your favorite hero. But you had learned how to navigate his moods for the most part, but it was hard to manage anything when he wouldn't even respond.

You're about to close the app when a message suddenly pops up:

Hey. Sry I haven't been talking. Kind of going through stuff. Since your leaving.... can we meet in person before you go? Just lunch. I'll pay. (Maybe)

Your fingers shake a little above the screen. A first meeting? Now? Right before you leave? You think back to your late night gaming sessions, your conversations, the closeness you feel between you and think--why not?

*You're And...  yes. (NOT MAYBE) Where do you want to go?

**

You lean your back against the brick of the shopping complex and pull out your phone. Tomura had named the time, the place--and asked if you could meet up behind the complex where it would be empty. You agreed, of course. You know that he's shy. Maybe he wanted to meet you without crowds around first. He's a few minutes late so you pull up your messages, thumbing through them without much thought. You're bored. You switch over to your email and recheck your flight schedule, the gate times, the rules and luggage limitations. You've read them a thousand times but each reread brings you closer to a much longed-for reality: an overseas university with a stellar reputation and a practical guarantee of a job in the field after graduation. Sometimes you could hardly believe it.

You're contemplating taking a selfie when a voice suddenly speaks from behind you, distinct and firm.

"Finally."

Before you can turn, before you can think, you feel a sudden grip on your arm--and everything goes black.

**

You wake up some time later. Your head feels fuzzy, your vision slightly off, like you've been napping too hard. Maybe you have, you think, as your vision clears. But you're not in your stripped down bed in your packed-up apartment. 

You blink and blink and take in a bedroom that you've never seen. It's messy, wrappers, cans, paper plates strewn about. The air smells stale. You look down and realize you're sitting on a mattress on the floor. Your hand slips into your pocket for your phone, but it’s not there. Shit. 

Your back is pressed up against the wall which is perfectly fine, because it's then that you see someone sitting on the other end of the mattress.

You jerk back with a start, but there's nowhere to go. The person--a man, you quickly note--is sitting with their legs crossed. Their face is obscured by a dark hoodie and messy hair and you don't even think before you shout out the first words which spring to mind:

"What the fuck?"

The figure gives a chuckle, dry and short. "Sorry. Had to do it this way. Guess you're not used to Kurogiri's quirk, huh."

His voice makes you feel strange. It sounds familiar. It's something you've heard before. On TV, maybe or--oh. Oh.

"Tomura?" The query comes out high-pitched, almost whining. You're in disbelief. It has to be--

Tomura, and his reaction seals it, it definitely is Tomura, practically giggles as he breaths out a sigh. It's an odd sound coming from an imposing figure, but is it really an imposing figure if it's your friend?

He raises his face and the hoodie shifts downward. Your eyes are drawn to his lips, chapped and a bit scabbed over. You want to cringe when he pulls his lower lip back to bite on some of the dry skin.

"Tomura," you say, letting out shaky breaths of your own as the reality of where you are and what's going on begins to seep in, "Tomura, what’s going on? Did I pass out in the parking lot?" He brought you here, maybe. Maybe the blackness was you blacking out and hitting the pavement and that's why your head feels funny and Tomura just brought you to his house because he's so shy that he didn't want to get the attention of the staff at the shop or the police or any random passerby on the street who for some reason didn’t see him dragging you along or--

Your thoughts still race as he snorts. He relaxes a little, his shoulders slumping as he scooches a little closer on the mattress.

"You seriously don't recognize my face?"

You feel your own face scrunch in confusion. Of course you don't recognize his face. Tomura never sent you pictures. He said he was too shy. And, you don't mean to be mean, but you can kind of see why, because--oh. Oh fuck. Oh fuckity fuck fuck fuck.

You get it. And he gets that you get it, because he's got this sort of sour smirk on his face as you inwardly ask yourself what in the flying fuck was going on with your life if a notorious villain secretly befriended you then kidnapped you then brought you to his bedroom of all places.

"I don't..." The fuzzy feeling is back as your neck begins to ache and you swear a migraine is coming on. "I don't..." You don't finish, you can't finish.

"You don't what," he spits out, annoyed and frustrated and whereas before his frustration was something for you to manage and recede with silly pictures or playful chiding, for the first time it makes you nervous and you shrink your shoulders in.

"I don't--I'm not," you finally say, you finally do spit out, "I'm not anyone important. I don't know if you're looking for a ransom or... whatever it is you want, but you know I don't have anyone who will pay it."

He scratches at his scalp and sighs, and you recognize in the tone that he's calmed down, somewhat. At least you have that going for you, sitting in the apparent bedroom of a villain. Speaking of--you eye his hands. He follows your look and shoves them in his pockets before speaking.

"You were leaving." He looks away and itches his cheek. "Going to some fancy foreign school. What would you even need that shit for, anyway?"

You stare at him. This feels like a conversation that could have been had, say... over text, not after kidnapping you from behind a cafe.

"It's my dream. I told you about it all the time. I worked my ass off to get a spot at that school."

The numbness of anxiety has begin to edge away and you cross your arms. You don't want to look scared. Or mad. You try to look normal, you try to think normally, because if there's any way you're going to get out of this situation, you have to remain calm. 

You try to imagine that it's 3 am and you're talking on the phone, having an argument, a testy patch of friendship. But it's hard to ignore that he's a villain who brought you here for some unknown reason; a villain who got you to trust him (but why?) and talk to him (but why?) and fuck, how many private things had you told him in the middle of the night? So many texts and emails and late night conversations.

It suddenly dawns on you that you don't know how long you were out. You have a plane to catch and luggage to finish and you're here instead. You take a breath in the hopes of further steadying your nerves. You look at Tomura, who has been watching you for the past minute with an impassive, hard-to-reach expression. 

He doesn't seem to be... threatening. He didn't try to hurt you or threaten to hurt you. Maybe, maybe this was a case of... you know how things can be online. How people can get obsessively attached. Maybe he thought you were dating. Maybe he had a crush and didn't express it and years of isolation made it impossible for him to just y'know, talk to you like a normal person. He's awkward and shy and inappropriate and okay, okay, okay. You can work with this.  You've had your fair share of online... situations. Like most people. You just have to deal with them with delicacy.

You breathe. You smile, a little. And you scooch just a bit closer to Tomura, whose eyes widen in surprise at your movements.

"So... Tomura?" Your voice is soft and placating and oh so very chill. The kind of voice you've used with him before, when he was being a grumpy ass-hat pissed off about losing to you in his favorite game.

"Yeah--Yeah?" He says, clearing his throat. You want to smile harder because you think oh, good, I've got him here.

You mimic his earlier movement and give your hair a little ruffle, a little scratch. "I guess we can just order delivery for lunch, huh? I have to be home by eight, so I can get my stuff together for my flight tomorrow." You give your lip a little gnaw, in a gesture that probably felt cuter in concept than execution. "Oh! Since I can stay a little later, we can totally game while we eat, right? I owe you a rematch for last time."

Saying all this, being so sweet and kind, acting like nothing has changed, feels really, really surreal. But you push through it because the best course of action with guys like these is to placate them and get them to let you go on your way, then ghost like hell once you're out of their reach. And what better way to ghost than to move to a completely different country?

He stares at you for a moment. You think he must have been expecting you to cry or yell or scream or call him a creeper. Which he probably is, but he doesn't need to know that you think that. At least not until you're safe. You see a quirk of a smile before he flat out begins to laugh. It's a hard laugh, a wheezing laugh, one that has him slapping his thigh. Your skin feels light and numb and your body begins to shake a little in uncertainty and anxiety and just a bit  of anger.

And you can't help it, you have a mouth, you really do--

"What the hell is so funny!"

His laugh tapers off and he wipes a bit of drool from his lips (ew) before regarding you with an expression that seems wild and strange and definitely not the response you were expecting.

"Why would you need to catch a flight? You're not going anywhere."

His answer sends an instant ice-cold knot to your stomach. You huff out a breath. Maybe you can still salvage this, maybe.

“C’mon, Tomura.” Keep saying his name, you think. These types of people like it when you acknowledge them. “Don’t be silly. We’ll still talk and game everyday like we always do, and--”

Before you can think he’s suddenly right up against you, his arm pressed up practically against your ear as he looms over you, keeping you pinned to the wall. His eyes look manic and he’s smiling and it’s not a nice smile, but one full of hidden intentions that make your stomach drop and drop and drop.

“Don’t worry. We are going to talk and game everyday. As long as you’re good, anyway.”

You ignore the implications in his words--what does he mean good?--and try to argue, try to reason.

“But… the school… my degree…” You look up so you can blink away tears. You hate crying. “You know what it means to me. It’s my dream,” you whisper. He’s supposed to be your friend, why can’t he see that?

You instinctively begin to shake as you feel a finger pet your cheek. It’s supposed to be soothing, you think, but all you feel is icy anxiety and fear overtaking your nerves. He practically coos at you as he continues, his rough knuckle scratching you.

“Don’t worry. You can always think of a new dream.”

[miyalove]

good luck kisses | atsumu

—pairing: atsumu x fem!reader

—warnings: best friends to lovers, manga spoilers (specifically the kurasuno vs inarizaki match), swearing, name calling, reader admires his thighs for a split second, *unedited

—synopsis: 3.1k | after countless times of refusing atsumu a good luck kiss, you figured that after the major lost against kurasuno— what better way to cheer him up?

—a/n: this is literally the cutest request ever, thank you so much, anon! + request are open!

you’ve know miya atsumu long enough to know that he’s over all a very likable guy. he’s charming, funny, optimistic, and the list could go on forever. but like any thing else, with perfect attributes comes a few flaws. sure, your best friend is handsome, skillful, and observant but damn is he stubborn.

a prime example of this bold trait is right now. 

it’s game day for him, nationals to be exact. you were waiting in the crowd with what felt like the whole of your school when you got a text. it was from your best friend, obviously, saying to meet him in front of the boy’s changing room 4. you responded with a quick, ‘i’m here’ when you didn’t see his lean figure any where near the entrance. as you waited, you observed the busy halls of the gymnasium.

this is a big game. you could tell from how the school’s going all out in with the cheering and decorations. you were so lost in your thought, you didn’t notice the changing room door creep open behind you.

as you got pulled into the room, you are fast to react. pulling your arm out of the supposed attackers grip, you turned back to run for the door but it was too late. it shut and from what you could see; it’s’ locked too.

“relax, doll,” instantly, your tense figure loosens up at the familiar voice. turning to your “attacker”, you send a sharp glare his way, “oh god, 'tsum. i thought i was gonna fucking die cause of your dumbass.”

you playfully hit his chest as he lets out a small chuckle, his signature smile resting on his lips. you can’t tell but it’s much brighter now that you’re here. he’ll never admit it, but there’s just something about you that makes his mood lighter...

“sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya,” as he speaks, he finds purchase on a lone desk in the corner of the large room. he hops up on it, all while facing you still. he’s legs dingle at the edge of the table. as he settled himself down, you see his smile falter a bit.

sad at the sudden distance between the two of you, you find yourself chasing after his warmth like moth to a flame. following his ways, you’re hoping on the desk next time him casually resting your head on his shoulder. in the midst of the comfortable silence, you speak up, “shouldn’t you be out stretching with the rest of the boys?”

“yeah,” his golden eyes can’t help but steal quick glances at you. he can smell the sweet vanilla of your shampoo with how close you are. you’re not looking at him, sadly, instead your focused on the bland walls of the changing room for whatever reason.

despite his thoughts, he continues, "i just wanted to see ya before the game." his words are sincere, you can tell, but even at that you don’t react much.

he doesn’t like how your attention isn’t all on him. yeah, you’re close practically sitting on his lap, but what’s the point in all this affection if you’re not truly with him. shifting his position, you pick your head up at the sudden movement.

the setter is facing you know, deep honey eyes meet your own. there’s something within his hues that you can’t make out properly, a spark that you sometimes only see when you’re with him. a warmth spreads through you at the thought, but quickly leaves once you remember who atsumu is.

he’s your best friend, you remind yourself, you’re not supposed to be feeling things like that for him. 

in the middle of your admiration, you didn’t even realizes he was speaking. “earth to (y/n)? are ya there?” he waves his large hands in front of your face, successfully knocking you back into reality.

shaking your head, you sigh with wide eyes, “sorry, what were you saying?”

in response, the taller boy lets out a teasing giggle. casually, he leans back onto the wall behind him spreading his legs a bit wider. for him, the action probably meant nothing but you can’t help but stare at the way his lean legs flex as he makes himself comfortable again.

“ya liking what you see, doll?” 

this couldn’t be happening. you just caught caught checking out your best friend like a piece of meat. embarrassed, you roll your eyes trying your best to rid of the thoughts of atsumu. not having enough courage to look him in the eyes, you can’t help but shift your attention away. furrowing your brows, the way you fidget with your fingers gets worse when you hear his voice again.

“avoiding eye contact won’t make you want me less, yanno,” he delivers this line with a teasing smile. when you finally shift your attention back to him (just the way he likes it) you notice a pink hue taking over his face. it’s light and if you hadn’t focused on it, you would have definitely missed it.

it’s causes a fluttering feeling in your chest knowing that your actions, and even his playful flirting, is affecting him too. shaking your head, you remind yourself why exactly you’re here.

“’tsumu, you have a game in—,” grabbing your phone, briefly you check the time, “about 9 minutes so why exactly did ya call me over here?”

as if a switch went off in his empty head, he jumps off of the desk the two of you were perched on and grabs at his volleyball club jacket.

“ah shit, i called ya over cause i needed my good luck kiss, but now i’m running a little later than i thought,” frantically, the setter opens and closes his lockers. the clanking of metal echoes in the room. grabbing random gear off the floors and on shelves, he’s slipping on one of his knee pads when he flashes you a beaming smile.

“unless of course, the time can help me out?” tilting your head, your brows scrunch up in confusion. what does he mean help him out? oh! the good luck kiss. 

looking back up at him, he’s hopping around with one shoe on, trying his best to slip on the his second knee pad. you can’t help but let out a little chuckle when he stumbles off balance and nearly falls straight on his ass. it’s a funny sight, your tall best friend wobbling and jumping around like a newborn fox hunting for the first time.

“’tsumu, you know i always say no whenever you ask for...” the two of you suddenly make eye contact. the setter’s lean figure freezes in the middle of the room. and despite his messy hair and frenzied appearance, he looks at you like he as all the time in the world. his eyes, though far away and obviously distracted, hold a much more deeper meaning within them. he’s almost daring you to say the magic words. under his intense eye, you feel small like prey getting watched from the distance by it’s hunter.

“... those things.” defeated, you avoid his strong gaze. you don’t see the way he stares at you (since your so focused on your feet dangling from the desk you’re atop of). you don’t see the way his eyes shine just a little darker or the way he smiles (a real, genuine one) at you with so much adoration and so much compassion that really it would take a fool to not see that miya atsumu is in love with you, his best friend.

it feels like now’s a good time to say it. whenever the two of you are alone, the feelings you give him practically suffocates him. he can’t help but to crave your attention or hear your laugh or make you smile (because you’re absolutely gorgeous doing nothing but you practically glow when you smile). with one shoe in hand and the other untied, the blonde feels like now is the best time to come forward... but of course, that’s not what he does.

“come on, doll. not even a small pe—” 

knock. knock.

the door swinging open, cuts his thoughts off.

“kita’s getting on our asses cause of you, again,” suna’s monotone voice breaks the uncertainty in the room. lingering his stare on your figure for a little too long, the setter nods at his teammate tying his shoe before walking towards the door.

“(y/n),” you wave at your fox-like friend at the mention of your name. quickly getting off the desk, you follow their lead in leaving the room. 

the two of them part ways, suna impatiently waiting for their setter to finish his farewells not too far behind him. “good luck ‘tsumu! even you suna,” at the mention of his name, suna nods.

leaning into your best friend, mockingly he puckers his lips only for you to roll your eyes at his childish behavior, “i said no, freak.” stepping back a little, atsumu let’s a out a playful chuckle while rolling his eyes, “whatever.”

instead of a kiss, you give him the next best thing; a tight hug to which he immediately returns. his arms rest on your waist while you feel the weight of his head on top of yours. his grip on you tightens when you pull away for the first time.

“3 minutes,” you mumble into his shirt as a warning. you’re practically choking on his ocean breeze clone with how deep atsumu is shoving your face into his chest.

trying your luck, you pull away one more time and to your relief, he lets go with a sigh. instantly, he gets ushered away by a peeved suna before he can say anything else. as he gets dragged by the arms, you wave goodbye with a smile, “beat those damn crows, guys!” 

“when i do, i better get my kiss!” is the last thing you hear before he get’s shoved through the gymnasium doors. 

hearing the buzz go off, it was the only sound you could focus on. it was the end and the outcome had been more than surprising— inarizaki had lost. the audience seemed to be stunted, the crowd including you had gone completely silent. all that you heard was kurasuno’s crowd screeching in glee. all that you saw was the dog pile of orange and blue uniforms happily cheering for their win.

your face morphs into pure irritation. eyes filled with fury, lips pressed into a line. to say you were pleased with the outcome of the game would be a complete lie. resentfully, you think aloud, “can’t they celebrate a little less publicly.” 

so caught up in side eyeing the flock of crows on the field, you barely noticed your own team huddling up to take a bow for the crowd. you only look away from glaring at kurasuno when you feel an all to familiar stare on you.

shifting your gaze, there in the gym floor is your best friend who is standing closely to his brother. you can see the hurt in his eyes despite being a notable distance away from him. 

in fact, the whole team’s aura shifts right before your eyes. they all wear emotionless smiles, heads down in shame. despite being friends with all the members of the team, you can’t help but focus on atsumu the most. 

his eyes had shifted away from yours, but even without his golden hues staring you down you can tell how hurt he is. you can tell just from the way he grits his teeth, the way he refuses to look up at the cheer squad, and how stiff his shoulders are that he’s taking the lose to heart. 

it breaks your heart seeing how rough he’s talking it. atsumu is a perfectionist and holds such a high standard for him and his team. he works hard every practice and even goes after hours because that’s how much passion he has in this sport. he’s blaming himself, you can see it written all over his face.

without thinking, you lean over the safety railing. bracing yourself to let outa loud scream, “‘TSUMU!” he snaps his head your way again. 

“JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!” mood instantly shifting, you think of the best way to get your best friend’s mood up. atsumu tilts his head in confusion, had you really heard him bad mouthing himself from all the way up there? 

“IT’S WRITTEN ALL OVER YOUR FACE, DUMMY! A WELL-PLAYED GAME IS STILL WORTHY OF PRAISE, NO MATTER WHOSE THE WINNER!” 

wide eyed, atsumu flashes you a brief smile. it doesn’t really reach his eyes like the ones you’re use to getting from him, but you decide that even a little happiness is better than none, right now. sending him a thumbs up, the whole team bows while simultaneously thanking the crowd. and with that, they disappear back into the gym halls.  

it seems that this is atsumu’s favorite way of meeting with you recently. here you were again, waiting in front of changing room 4 as per requested from atsumu, himself. instead of waiting though, you knock on the door hoping that you’re not interrupting any one whose actually using the changing room to, you know, change. 

“’tsumu?” creaking the door open, you poke your head into the room. the setter hums in response and you shut the door behind you when he motions for you to come in.

not wanting to beat around the bush (a trait atsumu admires about you), you take a seat on the floor as he shimmies a fresh shirt over his head, “how ya feeling?”

“we just lost. how do ya think i’m feelin?”

you’re glad he has a shirt over his head because then he would have definitely saw you eyeing his lean figure. realizing you need to respond, you rid yourself of those thoughts again, “jeez, it was just a question...” 

rolling your eyes, you hear him sigh as he rakes through his hair to fix up his messy tassels, “i— there was a lota shit on the line for this game.” you hum allowing him to continue. 

“kita gave us this speech thing after headin back to the changing room and it really had me thinkin. he wants to be proud of us, but how can he be when his underclassmen lost to a bunch of newbies,” in the middle of his monologue, he lazily throws himself on the floor.

with his arms wide open and legs stretched out like a starfish, you take it as an invite to embrace him. you settle yourself onto your side to face him on the floor as atsumu continues. 

“this was the 3rd years last game, just wanted to make it a good one but ya saw how that went,” his brown hues never break from the ceiling. it’s not that he doesn’t want to look at you, in fact, he’d probably enjoy tracing all the small detail of your face than the ceiling’s but he just can’t rip his attention away from the bland wall.

he’s really deep in it, you mentally note. the last time you had saw the setter so stressed out and uncertain was when osamu came up and told him that he was loosing interest in volleyball. it was a heartbreaking feeling for him (you knew this because he didn’t lay off of it for nearly 8 months). 

you eye the rambling setter at your side once more. he’s lips are pressed into a deep frown and his eyes don’t shine like usual when he’s with you. thoughtlessly, his fingers tap to a random beat on the tiles all while critiquing every little thing he did wrong in the game. 

it was upsetting hearing him underestimate himself like that. you’ve been with him through most of his volleyball life, and you don’t plan on leaving when he, most definitely, goes pro. 

he’s in the middle of another speech when you’re body moves without thinking. just like when you shouted down at him when he was thanking the crowd. there is just something about seeing the one person you love tear themselves down right in front of you that hurts. 

best friend or not, you figured that making an exception tonight was okay. you wanted to make him happy and in your head it made sense. game after game, he’d ask for a good luck kiss and game after game, you would reject him. it never stopped him from asking though which was baffling to you.

it became a sort of tradition to reject him at this point, even having no shame in front of his teammates too. but this was different, this was more than just a good luck kiss, you wanted to see him again the teasing, stubborn miya atsumu you’ve grown to fall in love with.

so as he rambled, you leaned into his figure. he didn’t even flinch. hell, he didn’t even notice how close your lips were to his. he was so focused on ripping his plays down piece by piece. it wasn’t until your hot breath fanned over his skin that his words faltered.

finally turning towards you, his eyes widen a bit before narrowing them down at your lips, “what are you doing?” his words come out as a small whisper. 

you have no idea how to respond because in all honesty, you don’t know what you’re doing. all you do know is that, with how close you are you can trace every detail of his face from his slender nose to his round eyes. all you do know is that hearing him disgrace his skills makes your chest ache.

all you do know is that despite miya atsumu being your best friend, you want to kiss him more than anything right now.

“i’m gonna kiss you...” is what you say and exactly that is what you do. 

your lips pucker into a soft kiss, finally closing the gap between the two of you. you turned your head to the side, leaning in to deepening the kiss. without hesitation, atsumu is sitting up, gently guiding your figure over to his lap. 

you don’t break away from the kiss as you gladly find purchase straddling his hips. all your senses are overtaken by him. your eyes flutter close but even in the darkness, all you can make out is his beaming smile, all you can hear is his melodious giggles, all you breath in is his sea foam cologne.

you can feel his large hands resting on your hips, pulling you closer every time you even think about pulling away. at one point, it becomes too much. the flame ignited on your skin gets too hot and you need to breath in more than just sea foam smoke.

humming into his mouth, atsumu takes it as a sign to part. breathing hard, you can’t help but to rake your eyes over his swollen lips and how his uneven breathing matches yours. the sight of a disheveled atsumu sends a pang of pride to you heart. 

panting for air, you smile at the boy in front of you lightheartedly reaching out to play with his blonde locks. a comfortable silence blankets the two of you as you focus on evening out your breathing.

in the middle of your gulps of air, you can’t help but let out a laugh, “how’s that for a good luck kiss?”

taking this opportunity, he rubs his nose against your cheek, impatiently waiting for you to give him the go ahead for another. he’s enjoying how your scent takes over him as he smirks, “i wouldn’t know... mind if we try it again?”

[benedictscanvas]

a shared heart - spencer reid x reader

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: None! Just fluff

Request: Let me just say—you’re one of my fav new writers. The subtlety in your fluff is just so real and genuine. Not over the top, but still so heart-warming and believable. Can I please request “you can have half” with reader and Spencer Reid?

A/N: Let me just say - thank you so much! This comment really meant a lot to me. I hope I managed to do this justice, even though I had to switch up the prompt a bit. This one was so fun to write, and I’m definitely tempted to write a part two, so let me know if you’d be interested! :)

---

(ways to say i love you) number 11 = “you can have half”

Spencer walked briskly out of the elevator and onto the floor of the BAU, the paper bag in his hand rustling with each step. When he reached his desk, he greeted his colleagues with a small smile and a nod, setting his satchel on the floor next to his chair and sitting down with a little content sigh.

He glanced around. It was still a little early. Hotch was in his office already, obviously, but other than that it seemed like only Derek and Emily had arrived so far. The two worst people to be in. He wished it was Rossi, or even JJ, because he knew as soon as he placed his paper bag on the desk, they’d be circling him like the vultures they were.

He gingerly placed the bag on the wood, trying to rustle it as little as possible. Before he could blink, there were two eager bodies looming over him at his desk. He sighed, a lot less content.

“Morning,” he said, looking up at them briefly but averting his gaze as soon as he did because he knew exactly how this interaction was about to go down. Derek leaned forward over the desk with his palms splayed out in front of him.

“Is that what I think it is, Reid?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he murmured, reaching into the bag as nonchalantly as he could and pulling out a muffin. He turned the bag on its side and placed the muffin down on it delicately, reaching for a sip of the coffee he’d gotten from the same place, still refusing to look at them despite seeing Emily’s mouth hanging open out of the corner of his eye.

“Do not tell me,” she began, voice very close to being scary, “That you went to our favourite cafe…and you didn’t bring us a muffin too.”

He debated how to tell them, or whether to try and lie and say that this muffin wasn’t from their favorite cafe, it was from somewhere else, but that was hopeless. They knew. He finally made awkward eye contact as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“They only had one muffin left,” he said regretfully, eyes flashing with sympathy, “Sorry, Emily. I haven’t eaten this morning.”

“I haven’t eaten either,” Derek said, pouting at him like he pouted at Garcia sometimes when she teased him.

“Neither have I,” Emily was quick to add, eyes darting between Spencer’s face and the muffin on the table. Spencer’s eyes narrowed at her. He wrapped a protective arm around the muffin on the table and his sympathetic gaze turned into a glare in an instant.

“I’m not sharing my muffin with you,” he said firmly, looking between them and rolling his eyes when Emily winked at him, like he was just saying it for Derek’s sake and he was going to share with her when the man’s back was turned, “Either of you.”

His sharp look towards Emily told her all she needed to know.

“You’re the worst,” she huffed dramatically and kicked Spencer’s chair, just enough for him to rock a little before she sat back down at her own and folded her arms. Spencer shook his head at her. She could act like a petulant child when she wanted to and he was pretty sure she enjoyed it a bit too much.

Derek was still staring at him expectantly.

“What?” Spencer asked impatiently, desperate for the two of them to go back to their business so he could just eat his damn muffin in peace. All he wanted was a few minutes silence to eat his breakfast before what was sure to be a stressful day.

“Wait, were you serious?” Derek asked incredulously, leaning back from the desk with wide eyes, “I’m your best friend! Give me some muffin!”

“No!” Spencer growled, tugging his muffin across the the other side of the desk and hunching over as he took a bite, “Leave me alone.”

Derek held his hands up in surrender as he backed away from the desk, but Spencer didn’t miss the look he gave Emily as he went back to his own desk.

He found himself feeling a little guilty. Most other days, and he’d probably cut the muffin into three pieces happily and pass around the pieces, taking the grateful thanks with glowing pride. But this morning, a bird crapped on him the moment he left his apartment, ruining his coat in a second. He’d had go back inside to change, which made him off his schedule by a few minutes. It was a fact that had been irritating him ever since.

Just as he felt that no one was coming to steal what was his, even though Emily was still sulking from a safe distance, there was a cheery voice and some heels clacking across the floor that made his head snap up from his desk.

“Morning everyone,” you chimed out, waving to your coworkers as you sat down at your desk, opposite Spencer’s own. Everyone greeted you with bright smiles, even Emily perking up a little bit as you entered. It was as if Spencer’s hunched back straightened out in an instant, the furrow in his brow vanishing and replaced by a fluttering in his stomach that he was desperate to tame. It only got worse when you peered over at him from behind the files piled on your desk, “Morning Spence!”

“Morning Y/N,” he said with a soft smile, “You’re in a good mood, I presume?”

“I hope you’re not profiling me!” you joked and Spencer couldn’t help a little laugh at that before you gasped suddenly. He followed your gaze to the muffin, “You went to Gino’s! Everything okay?”

He could feel the heat across his collarbones as you stared at him, chin resting in your hand. The other two hadn’t even thought about the fact that he only made the detour to Gino’s when he needed an extra pick-me-up in the morning. You knew, though. You knew and you cared and Spencer felt like his chest was slowly constricting around his heart.

“Bird crapped on me first thing,” he shrugged, a little embarrassed but you just groaned sympathetically.

“And you had to change, so your whole morning routine was thrown off?” you asked, and now he was really sure he was getting dizzy as he watched your concerned frown, “I’m sorry, Spence, that’s the worst. But at least you’ve got an amazing Gino muffin! I could do with one of those.”

He was slowly losing his mind every time you said something that proved how well you knew him, how much you paid attention when he talked. No one else paid attention like you did. Anytime he caught himself talking too much, or the looks his team sometimes gave him, he’d look down and scuff his shoes against the ground to stop himself becoming too embarrassed, but you’d quickly reassure him, squeeze his arm with a smile or tell him to keep going.

He fell deeper every single time.

So he spoke without thinking, without caring who might have heard him.

“Do you want half?”

Two heads shot up from their desk in his peripheral vision and he ignored them as best he could, keeping his gaze on you. You were still smiling at him, that soft little smile that he didn’t see you give to many other people, even though he wasn’t naive enough to think it meant anything.

“No, no,” you shook your head, “It’s your bad morning muffin, I wouldn’t dream of taking it from you.”

But he was already reaching into his draw, pulling out the blunt knife he kept for just such occasions and slicing down the middle of the muffin. He wrapped half in one of the napkins they’d put in the bag and held it out for you, hoping his hand wasn’t shaking.

“It can be our good morning muffin,” he said, explaining himself when you still didn’t take it from him, “Random acts of kindness are proven to improve mood, so it’ll only improve my morning if you take it.”

You were still hesitant but when he left it on top of a file and went back to eating his own, you finally picked it up and took a bite. You practically moaned and Spencer’s ears were definitely turning pink now.

“Oh my god, Spence, this is so good,” you said between mouthfuls, “You’re an angel.”

He didn’t think he would take such flippant words to heart, but he couldn’t help the warmth that spread throughout his body right to the tips of his toes.

“Happy to help,” he said simply, trying to sound breezy but probably failing. You both ate in peace from then. Or relative peace, in Spencer’s case. Because there were two sets of daggers being glared into the side of his head. He knew that if looks could kill, he would be dead a hundred times over, though he hadn’t even made eye contact with his killers yet.

Half an hour later, muffin finished and mostly forgotten, all four heads were buried in their work before you stretched out and stood up from your desk.

“Coffee round?”

Emily offered to come with you and Derek mumbled his thanks while Spencer looked up at you with a grateful smile.

“That would be great, thank you,” he said sincerely and you grinned at him.

“Anything for my angel,” you hummed appreciatively, walking past him with Emily. Just when he thought you had gone, he heard quick footsteps returning to him and before he could react, you had pressed a kiss to his cheek. You ran off again and he stared after you, dumbfounded, still staring when you turned around to wink at him.

He was only snapped out of his stupor when something smacked him on the head and he turned to see a ball of rubber bands on the floor next to him. He looked upwards. Derek.

“Um, ow!” Spencer exclaimed but Derek rolled his eyes.

“Dumbass,” he said, then put on a mock high voice, “Oh please, take half of my muffin, Y/N, since I worship the ground you walk on.”

Spencer whipped his head round to check you hadn’t returned.

“Shut up!”

---

You were biting your lip so hard that you thought it might bleed. You shouldn’t have kissed him. You knew you shouldn’t.

But you didn’t regret it. Not even a little bit.

“Can’t believe you got that damn muffin,” Emily muttered to you as you made the coffee side by side, “You know he wouldn’t give any to me or Derek? But you come along and he’s practically shoving it into your mouth.”

She was constantly trying to convince you that Spencer liked you but you weren’t having any of it. He was just kind, you insisted. Overwhelmingly and unfalteringly kind.

“Emily…” you warned, not wanting her to continue her line of thought while you were at work where anyone could hear you, “He’s just being nice.”

“And I guess that kiss on the cheek was just being nice too?” she glared at you from your side playfully, then made her voice purposefully higher as she imitated you, “Oh Spencer, my angel, I would do anything that you asked me t-”

“Shut up!”

[peterparker-pickedapepper]

Always You

(Peter Parker/Spider-Man x Stark!Reader)

Chapter 01

A/N: this is set during Homecoming (and eventually FFH) in a universe where Tony isn’t ☠️ bc we don’t acknowledge that trauma here 🙂 also, there are elements from the comics and the older movies, but it’s still in the MCU

———————————————————————

I never meant to find it.

And I wasn’t being nosy either. It was my dads fault, really. Okay so yes, I wasn’t supposed to be in his workshop. But is it my fault he just leaves important things lying around? Mom’s told him to keep it tidy enough times you think it’d be engrained in his brain.

Anyway, the how isn’t important. Not even the why matters. It’s everything that came after.

It was the day my world began falling apart.

The moment I lost all trust—all respect—for the two men closest to my heart.

Now that I know their secret, I don’t see how I’ll be able to look them in the eye. But I’m going to do it. I’m going to keep my head up, act as normal as possible...

And see how long it takes for them to tell me themselves.

———————————————————————

                      Three Months Earlier

“I’m here on the corner of fifth and main, just a street away from the reported sighting of a flying man causing panic among the locals.”

Y/N adjusted her fingers around the smooth base of the microphone, her skin slipping against the hard plastic. It wasn’t nerves causing the dampness on her palms, but excitement. Her eyes flickered from the camera lens pointed in her direction to her best friend standing behind it before easily finding their mark again.

“The large, mechanically winged man has been wrecking havoc in New York’s beloved neighborhood of Queens for the last—”

The ground suddenly shifted beneath her feet with a loud boom, jolting her forward and stopping her report mid-sentence. She twirled around, eyes instantly landing on the sandwich shop across the street.

Or, rather, on the man looming ominously from its roof.

She could only assume it was a man. She’d never seen his face—or any part of his body for that matter—not that his skintight suit left anything to the imagination. But the media affectionately called him “Spider-Man”, so they pretty much filled in the blanks on that one.

She watched as he seemingly surveyed the area. It was always so hard to tell what was going on behind that mask, but every time she saw him she liked to imagine a picture perfect heroic expression etched into handsome features.

It made her disdain for the local superstar a little easier to swallow down.

His head swiveled back and forth a few times, fists clenching at his sides, before he shot one of his webs and disappeared on the other side of the building. She immediately turned back toward her camerawoman, lips pulled into an excited grin.

“This is perfect. Come on.” She wasted no time in scooping up some of the equipment laying at her feet, but stopped short when she noticed the apprehensive expression staring back at her.

“I don’t think I’m really in the mood to run toward danger today.” Her best friend’s bored voice didn’t match the concern she knew was brewing just below the surface.

“MJ,” Y/N all but whined. “We need this story.”

“We need to get ready for next week’s debate.” She muttered, mild annoyance seeping through. “We need to be home in twenty minutes so your dad doesn’t kill us. We need—”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Y/N huffed, tossing the last of the camera supplies into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder.

She turned on her heel, pulling her phone from her back pocket as she moved toward the last crash that sounded a few blocks away. She was getting this story, whether she had to go alone or not. Screw her father’s arbitrary curfew. He was in India for the next few days, anyway.

“You’re serious?” MJ’s incredulous voice echoed from behind her. “What about Liz’s party?”

Y/N’s attention only wavered from the small screen in her hands once she was finished temporarily disabling the tracking feature her dad had not so subtly installed before giving it to her. He didn’t need to know she almost immediately figured out it was there, just like she didn’t need to know that he got a notification every time she hacked into the system.

Her eyes found MJ’s, wide with shock and following something in the sky above. Y/N’s head snapped upward, gaze locking on the flying man who was twisting and turning aggressively in an attempt to kick Spider-Man off his right wing.

“Yes. Very serious.” She huffed, pulse jumping with excitement. “If FRIDAY calls just, please, try to be convincing.”

With that, she spun around one last time before jogging toward the action. She knew MJ’s hesitation was coming from a good place. They’d been inseparable since middle school because they were on opposing ends of the same strong-willed base.

Where MJ was methodical and calculated, Y/N was rash and unpredictable. They were both the type to end up involved in sketchy situations, just at varying speeds and levels of grandeur. Y/N had her father to thank for that.

The iconic Tony Stark was not a pretender. He was who he was, loud and proud. He’d never apologized for it before—not even when he should’ve—and he probably never would. Y/N, on the other hand, had been pretending to be something she wasn’t for more than a decade.

He’d given her a choice when she was old enough for kindergarten. They talked about it, mapped out the pros and cons, and she made a decision. Soon after, she entered the outside world as Y/N Smith. It was the best thing her five year old brain could think of. Plus, she didn’t want her place on the alphabetical rosters to change.

She went to public schools—something Tony never missed an opportunity to mention he hated—and started paving her own way. Right now, that meant she was chasing a super-powered fight through the streets of Queens.

Since landing a highly sought after internship at The Daily Bugle, Y/N’s main priority had been impressing her overbearing bosses. That came with varying levels of complexity, depending on the superhero shenanigans of the month.

She rounded a corner into an alleyway, instantly ducking down when a blindingly bright object whizzed by her head. Her arms shot up in a protective motion as she leaned against the cool brick wall at her side. She remained there, frozen in place with a racing heart, for several seconds.

Something thumped to the concrete only a foot away from her crumpled frame, nearly making her jump out of her skin. She peeked through her arms, still crossed over her head, eyes widening as they landed on a pile of red and black fabric.

The lump groaned and slowly unraveled to reveal Queens’ favorite masked hero. He shook his head, the mechanical eyes of his suit twitching as if malfunctioning. Y/N was stuck in her spot, wide eyes hungrily drinking in every detail they could. Despite following his activity for months now, she’d never gotten this close to the mystery man.

His suit was tighter than she thought possible. It hugged his body in a way that left nothing to the imagination. The rippling muscles lining his torso were clearly visible beneath the thick material. She watched as he sat back on his heels and rubbed the side of his head, shoulders tensing as he seemed to finally realize that she was there.

“Whoa, hey.” Came his breathy, surprisingly high-pitched greeting. He cleared his throat before continuing, a steady hand extending her way. “Are you okay, miss?”

Y/N’s brow furrowed in curiosity, not missing the way his demeanor changed the moment he noticed her. It was like a flip switched. He’d turned on his superhero persona, a process she was unfortunately all too familiar with.

“I’m fine.” The words came out more forcefully than she’d intended, but she was all business now, too.

There was no way she was letting him out of her sight without getting some information. She wasn’t even worried about all the ways her bosses would kill her, she’d beat herself up enough for the missed opportunity. She ignored his hand, dusting her jeans off and hobbling to her feet before reaching for her phone to launch the recording app.

“Can I ask you a few questions, Spider-Man?” She jutted the phone out in front of her, and he took a step back as if the device would somehow hurt him.

The eyes on his mask widened, something she didn’t know was possible. “Oh. I...uh—”

Just then, the ground shook with a massive impact that couldn’t have been more than a block away. It would’ve knocked Y/N right off her feet if it weren’t for the gloved hand that shot out to stabilize her.

“Gotta go!”

By the time his hasty goodbye met her ears, he was gone. It took about ten seconds for Y/N to process what just happened before she took off running in the same direction he’d swung in. She was too far in to give up now. At this point, she’d settle for some shaky footage of the fight. It’d be enough to satisfy her editors for a few days.

She ran out in the street, stopping abruptly as a stampede of people swarmed her. Elbows and shoulders rammed into her sides as she tried fighting her way through the panic. 

“Oh, come on people! Chill the fuck out!” She found herself shouting to deaf ears. 

Maybe it was because she grew up immersed in the superhero way of life, or her bordering on unhealthy need to get some kind of story tonight, but either way she was aggravated by the public reaction more than anything.

She was rarely scared anymore, even when faced with imminent danger. Admittedly, she didn’t have a good gauge for when she might be getting herself into trouble. Another thing she blamed her father for. 

Her eyes remained trained on the sky, watching the fight unfold in mid-air. She cringed as Spider-Man nearly fell off the homemade-looking flying suit. He quickly regained his balance, shooting a web into one of the back engines. It immediately started sputtering as the metal clanked and caught in the sticky substance. 

They were going down, and fast. She knew this was probably her last chance to get any kind of discernable footage of the event, so she reached into her back pocket for her phone. It was at this moment that someone decided to shove into her so hard that she lost her footing and tumbled to the ground. 

A rush of air left her lungs as she hit the asphalt, hard. She couldn’t help but wince as pain shot up both of her arms. There would definitely be bruises she’d need to hide later. Thankfully, at least she ended up near the curb so she wasn’t instantly trampled to death by the screaming crowd. 

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and huffed, wiping away the tiny rocks that were now embedded into her palms. She was about to hobble to her feet and call tonight a wash when her eyes landed on a blueish-purple glow coming from a nearby alley.

Maybe she wouldn’t get any useable footage tonight, but a souvenir would lift her spirits and, hopefully, her credibility in the office. Without wasting anymore time, she stumbled to her feet and ducked into the darkness of the cramped space.

She followed the pulsating light, stopping only when her eyes landed on a small, metallic object. It had a thin silver cage protecting what looked like a gem or rock of some kind. Nothing too crazy, aside from the whole glowing thing. Her brows furrowed with curiosity as she crouched down to get a better view. 

She had absolutely no idea what it was, and she’d seen a lot of weird things in her dads workshop. The only thing she could compare it to was some of the alien technology that’d been leftover from the Battle of New York. She’d run a few stories about that herself, plus saw her dad tinkering with some things since Thor took Loki back to Asgard.

Figuring she could show it to him at the very least, she pulled the end of her sleeve over her hand and grabbed it. She let her bag slip off of her shoulder and quickly unzipped it before sliding the object inside. 

Just then, the sound of screeching metal filled her ears at a deafening volume. She managed to close her bag before covering her ears and ducking against the brick alley wall. The crowd still surrounding the area screamed in horror.

She watched with wide eyes as the huge bird-man landed on the rooftop just a few feet away from her crouched form. It was the closest she’d been to the masked—villain? She wasn’t sure—and he was far more intimidating than she’d first assumed.

His glowing beady green eyes didn’t so much as glance in her direction as he slung Spider-Man over the edge of the building, the tip of one of his wings wrapped around his throat.

An involuntary gasp tore through her chest.

It wasn’t that she was worried about the hero. For one, she knew he was more than capable of fending for himself. It wasn’t even that she cared if he got hurt. He was mostly an annoyance to her, his illusive nature making her job way harder than usual.

But if she knew one thing in this moment, it was that the bird-man was the bad guy, and she couldn’t let him win.

So, she did something really stupid.

She found the closest thing that she thought might actually do any kind of damage—which was, unfortunately, an old bike helmet next to the dumpster—and chucked it at the pair.

It hit one of the metal wings with a pathetic clink and all three of them froze.

Y/N held her breath as the man’s head turned in her direction slowly. Way too slowly. Like ‘I’m going to really enjoy killing you’ slowly.

After that, everything happened impossibly fast.

“Hey! Watch out!” 

She barely had time to recognize the panicked voice before she was flying. Her stomach flipped and she couldn’t even scream, overcome with sudden vertigo. She pinched her eyes shut the second she saw the top of a building and clutched onto whatever was carrying her away. 

If it was the weird bird guy, she accepted whatever evil plan he had. But, if it was Spider-Man, she was going to kill him.

It must’ve only been seconds before her feet touched solid ground, but it felt like an eternity to her. The moment she felt the stability beneath her, she began fighting against her captor.

“Let me go! Oh my god. If you don’t put me down right now—”

“What the hell—ow!”

Once she was free, she staggered away from him with a huff. She cleared the hair out of her eyes and bent over, resting her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding wildly and her stomach was still doing summer-salts.

She raised her eyes to send a withering glare toward the masked man. “Never do that shit again.”

He stared at her—at least she assumed—for a long moment before taking a step forward.

“What the hell was that? You could’ve gotten yourself hurt.” He gestured wildly with his hands, clearly agitated.

“That’s one way to thank me for saving your life.” Y/N ground out, sounding way more bitter than she would’ve liked.

“Saving my—” The eyes on his mask narrowed incredulously. “You did not save my life. All you did was distract me and put like ten other people in danger.”

She couldn’t help but scoff. “Please. Spare me the morality speech, Spider-Man. We both know you don’t bother worrying about people like me.”

Y/N was all too familiar with how superheroes think. When they’re in the middle of a fight, all they care about is winning. They usually have a bigger mission to accomplish. One that doesn’t concern itself with the lives left behind.

“People like you are all I worry about, trust me.”

With that harsh declaration, a heavy silence fell between them. Y/N clenched her jaw tightly, biting her tongue to prevent the floodgates from opening. Spider-Man wasn’t the only one who deserved her hostility toward superheroes, he just happened to be the one in front of her now.

Instead of speaking her mind, she turned on her heel and stalked away from him. At this point, it was late. The sun had set and her dad surely knew she wasn’t home when she promised. She had to accept that today just wasn’t her day and head back for some damage control.

Peter, feeling his chest tighten with regret for the way he’d snapped, followed closely behind her quick steps.

“Wait!” She actually stopped, something he wasn’t expecting, so he rammed right into her back. His hands quickly wrapped around her biceps as she spun around. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I, uh...”

He didn’t know what to say. This was the second time in one night he’d run into her, but he was still dumbstruck. The circumstances weren’t ideal. He thought he’d lost her earlier, but then she had to go and put herself in danger.

He took a step away from her, dropping his hands and rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. He had to remind himself that she had no idea who he was. Even if he did embarrass himself—like he usually did around her—she wouldn’t know it was him when they saw each other in the halls come Monday.

“At least let me get you home.” He insisted, feeling bad that he’d indirectly kept her out so late.

Y/N pursed her lips, immediately wanting to accept his offer but trying not to give too much away. Truthfully, she was exhausted. She just wanted to get home and deal with the fallout disobeying her curfew would bring so she could get some sleep.

“Alright.” She sighed, pulling anxiously at the straps of her bag. She knew this meant she’d have to swing through the streets again, something she wasn’t nearly ready to do.

Nevertheless, she allowed Spider-Man to walk toward her. She averted her eyes as he wrapped an arm around her back and tried not to let her breath catch when his gloved fingers skimmed the exposed skin of her lower back where her shirt had ridden up.

Warmth enveloped her as his proximity settled in. Under his mask, Peter’s face was burning. This was by far the closest he’d been to his classmate. Or any girl, actually. Not wanting to think about it for a second longer, he shot a web toward a nearby building and followed the directions Y/N yelled out.

Within minutes, they landed on the helipad outside her front door.

Peter felt his stomach drop with realization once he let his eyes wander around the outside of the huge building.

“Oh my god. Is this seriously where you live?” He cleared his throat after squeaking out the question, not necessarily wanting to give away his shock.

“What?” Y/N scoffed teasingly. “Don’t I look like a spoiled rich girl?”

“That’s not—I wasn’t—” He didn’t know what he was trying to say, honestly. There were endless questions flitting through us mind at warp speed.

If she lived here, at the Avengers Tower, did that mean she was one of them? And he just hadn’t met her yet? Or did she work for Mr. Stark? But she was so young. He guessed she could be an assistant or something. Maybe she worked for Pepper? Or Happy? Or, she could—

Y/N rolled her eyes, deciding to spare him the embarrassment of sputtering any more. “My dad is famous...like helped form the Avengers famous.”

Peter’s mind went blank. He wasn’t expecting that.

“Cap?” It was the first name to spill out of his mouth. “Wait, can he even have kids?”

Y/N couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her at his assumption. “He totally can, but no.”

“Oh.” The gears of his brain started turning again and realization slowly dawned on him. He felt his throat run dry as his eyes widened behind his mask. “Oh.”

Shit. This was way worse. He couldn’t believe he had no idea who she really was. Sure, she used a different last name at school, but he should’ve seen the resemblance sooner.

“Look, I know you two have worked together.” Y/N sighed, thinking back to all those weeks her dad was gone fighting Steve and the rest of his friends for no real reason. “Can you just...not tell him about this?”

Peter’s brows furrowed in confusion. Why wouldn’t she want Mr. Stark knowing that she’d been with him?

Either way, he agreed, since he had a favor to ask of his own. “Only if you won’t.”

She gave him this dumbfounded look, and he knew he had to elaborate.

“He made me this suit before the whole thing with Captain America, so I thought he would keep giving me missions, but now it’s been months and he won’t return my calls. I’m lucky if I get through to Happy. He doesn’t want me getting involved in this stuff, so...”

It struck Y/N then how weird it was to hear a superhero talk about her family so casually. It didn’t seem possible that the two of them were in the same circles. Sure, she’d practically grown up with a few of the world’s most famous heroes, but somehow Spider-Man was different.

He was local. And elusive. A pure mystery to her.

“What exactly is this stuff?” She thought back to the weird glowing object in her bag, having almost forgotten it was there.

“I don’t know.” Peter shook his head, seemingly defeated. “I thought it was just neighborhood stuff, but those guns...I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Alien tech.” Y/N said without hesitation, although she wasn’t actually positive that’s what it was. “My dad has some in his workshop. It was leftover from the Battle of New York.”

“How does it work?” Peter found himself asking excitedly, easily pushing all the other revelations from this conversation to the back of his mind.

“I don’t know.” She admitted, looking away from him as her chest tightened with emotion. “I’ve never gotten close enough to any of it to see. He likes to keep me out of things too...”

It was at that moment, as a breath of silence settled between them, that they realized she was still in his arms. Y/N’s face erupted with heat and she quickly pushed herself away from him. Once her feet were back on the ground, they both stepped backward to create some much needed distance.

“I, ah...better get back...”

“Yeah, yeah. I have to go too...”

They looked at each other for a few long moments. It was at if neither of them truly wanted to separate, but knew they had to. It was clear, though, that they’d just formed some kind of connection.

Y/N felt something strange—and wildly inappropriate—brewing in her chest. A certain kind of attraction toward the masked hero she’d never considered before. It appalled her, honestly. It wasn’t like she hated the guy, but she certainly didn’t like him. And she had no idea who he was. He could be eight years old, for all she knew.

With that realization, she turned on her heel and stalked down the narrow entrance to the Avengers Tower, her face still burning. She heard the thwip of Spider-Man’s webbing and knew he’d be gone if she looked back. So she didn’t.

She pressed her hand against the touchpad outside the front door and quickly slipped inside once it recognized her prints. She sighed heavily and let herself fall back against the door, the comfort of home enveloping her.

The peace was short lived, however, as she caught sight of her mother waiting expectantly behind the bar to her left. With a glass of red wine in hand, her knowing gaze shifted from the helipad outside to Y/N’s stiff frame.

She took a slow sip, eyes narrowing over the rim of the glass.

“You’re so grounded.”

———————————————————————

let me know what you think!! should I continue this series??

[blahblahspeaks]

give me love ~ matsuwaka issei

the haikyuu community has done a lot for me and one of them is introducing my newfound obsession for matsukawa

deadass want a poly relationship with him and hanamaki but that’s a conversation for another day 💖

anywho, i’ve been seeing a lot of hard dom issei but i really want a soft headcannon/blurb for him because i’m feeling sad and i need a strong man to hug me

i hated the blurb but i loved it enough to include it into the final upload.

hope you enjoy! @karasunosimp

general:

issei is a well rounded guy. very respectable and respected. his friends love him and when he speaks highly of you, they have the same respect for you as well.

yes the type to ask you “you good?” randomly.

doing homework: “you good?”

passes by you in the hall: “you okay?”

random text in the middle of practice: “let me know if you’re feeling alright.”

literally eating next to him: “everything alright?”

he cares for you a lot.

yes, he says some dumb shit. yes, he may do something that pisses you off, but he always makes up for it. whether it’s by taking you ima. date, kissing you until you can’t breathe or by making more effort to come see you in the times he’s not at practice.

to me, he is the embodiment of “idk, what do you want to do?” and is always down to abide by your plans. if he wants to do something, he’ll ask you in advance to make sure you’re cool with it.

pre-dating:

you probably met him through hanamaki. you were just looking to expand your friend group and just meet new people who attended seijoh as you. when you saw him, you just instantly connected with the guy! instantly!

even though you’re in a group chat with him and hanamaki, he’d text you privately just to share a couple of chats with you. you two probably share a few inside jokes that makes hanamaki feel left out, but you two enjoy the jokes.

he feels happy when he catches you in the bleachers of their games. sure you were there to support your school, but he couldn’t help the pride sensation bubbling inside of him as he knew you were cheering a little louder for him.

he’s your definition of perfect!!

a little rough around the edges but has a heart of pure fucking gold.

his carefree attitude about everything is what caught your attention! he was mostly cool and level headed, ignoring the snarky remarks his friends say to him and firing back something just as hurtful.

confessions:

what started as an innocent crush on issei ended up developing into a relationship neither of you saw coming.

how he confessed? he was walking you home after a practice match and his hands were shoved into his track pants, keeping his eyes trained on his feet. when you ask him what’s wrong, you loop one of your arms through his and he malfunctions. looks at you with red cheeks, his usual lazy face was showing signs of confusion and embarrassment. suddenly stops walking and turns towards you. before you can ask what’s happening, this man blurts out the confession he has been practicing for WEEKS. you love it and decide to date from then on.

honeymoon phase:

cute relationship, everyone loves you.

i can see him being the jealous type!

rip oikawa if he catches him standing too close to you or finding his eyes wandering elsewhere.

if you two are in class before it starts, he’ll be leaning on one of the desks with you in between his legs. or he’ll be sitting in the seat and have you placed on his lap.

pda? he’s alright with it. he’s not really obsessed with showing the world that you’re his s/o but he will remind everyone by pulling you close to him by your waist. if you’re not okay with it, he completely understands and opts for hand holding or a gentle hand on your lower back when standing near you.

if you’re feeling a bit under the weather, he will immediately come over and take care of you. i’m talking, medication, your favorite snacks, a few of his hoodies, maybe a movie or two. will stay over with you the whole day, doing his best to cheer you up.

the same thing applies if you are feeling sad. he’s not the super talkative type but whenever you’re with him, you can feel this big comforting aura around him. never forces you to open up about your feelings, but if it gets to the point where you’re harming yourself, physically or mentally, he will pull you aside and talk to you.

if you want to share something about your day, he’ll listen (for the most part).

if you’re excited by something, he’ll stare at your eyes and smile at how cute you are so riled up about this one thing.

if you’re chatting about something random, this man will deadass be texting hanamaki and responds to you with “damn, fr?”

first date: takes you to tokyo and spends the entire day with you visiting some of your favorite anime studios <3

terms of endearment: (idk what else to name this)

he is a lazy kisser, but he is very skilled with his hands. will cup your cheeks, place hand behind your neck, squeeze your hips, etc. when he gets into the mood, he’ll deepen the kiss and transition into a heavy makeout.

i imagine him being a “babe” kind of dude.

“babe, let’s go eat.”

or

“babe, wanna go watch a movie this weekend?”

he loves it when you call him sweeter nicknames! call him “my love” or “sweet boy” or anything else that is endearing and he will melt!

＾＾

“babe?” issei called out, his eyes finally lifting from his phone to look at the door that led to the bathroom. “almost done in there? movie’s about to start,” he adds, glancing at the time on his phone screen.

“yeah, i’ll be out in a second,” you responded, placing the lid back on your face moisturizer. after securing the jar, you slid it back into its place in your medicine cabinet before shutting the small door.

your hands gently rubbbed across the surface of your skin, working in any last minute product before you deemed yourself ready. with a final nod, you flipped the light switch off and you exited the bathroom to join your lovely boyfriend who was relaxing under the sheets.

he flashed you a small smile, arms open in invitation. you didn’t waste a single second when you crossed over and situated yourself under the blanket only to scoot in next to him. “sorry for taking so long,” you said, immediately relaxing under his hold when his arms found themselves circling around you.

issei only hummed and leaned down to kiss your cheek softly, but he stopped in his movements to sniff your cheek. you furrowed your eyebrows when you heard the obvious sniffing noise, trying to pull away from him, but he only held you closer.

“what, you creep?” you frowned.

“your face smells good. what is that?” he asked, his nose still obnoxiously pressed against your cheek to sniff the slight fragrance from your skincare products.

“it’s called skincare, and you would be able to smell it all the time if you’d join me,” you grumbled, deciding to let your weird boyfriend continue his actions. if you weren’t annoyed, you definelty found this boy an interesting case to say the least.

“that takes too long,” issei stated, pulling away slightly to peck your cheek before he releasing you slightly from his hold. “plus, isn’t the face wash thing enough?” his lazy brown eyes found yours in the dim lighting of your bedroom, expressing his appreciation for you silently.

“it’s something, i’ll admit. but one day you’re gonna have to start usi—” he cut you off with a gentle peck of your lips before glancing over at the tv. the opening credits of the movie were starting and issei was not interested in missing it. even though you knew he wasn’t doing it to be mean, he probably was happy to get out of that conversation despite starting it.

“god, you’re something else.”

“love you too babe~”

[kintatsujo]

LoZ AU- The Courage of Running Away Part FIFTEEN

Okay so first of all if you haven’t seen part fourteen with Astramorus’s friend Serenumbra showing up you’re going to want to because there’s a bit at the end of this one that will be providing context for.

#AU August

#LoZ AU: The Courage of Running Away

So it’s high time we got into Whatever The Fuck Ghirahim is Doing and we’re not gonna get ALL the answers but we ARE gonna get a whole fuck ton of flirting!

Let’s start with what I think will be Ghirahim and Dinravi’s first revealing scene together once we’re out of the 0.5 Draft, which takes place right after Ghirahim shooshes at Astramorus and scares the marbles out of him:

[Image descriptions: Ghirahim is throwing off his fortune teller’s cloak while striding toward Dinravi, who is putting his necklace onto a dresser with a large mirror.  “What an INVIGORATING outing that was!” Ghirahim declares.  Dinravi says, “YOU’RE in a good mood-” he starts to remove his outer duster- “You didn’t KILL SOMEONE while I wasn’t LOOKING somehow, did you?” Despite his words he’s smiling, perhaps in amusement at Ghirahim’s good spirits.  Ghirahim puts a hand to his face, brushing his hair out of his eye slightly while pursing his lips flirtatiously. “Oh, Sweet Prince, how UNCOUTH,” he says, then comes forward and puts a hand on Dinravi’s chest, smiling up into his face.  “I do HAVE other INTERESTS,” he says, a heart accompanying his words.  Dinravi seems mostly unmoved, if amused.  “There’s hope for you yet, thank Din.” he says. End ID.]

(In case it wasn’t clear Ghirahim is intimating that his other interests include scaring the wits out of old men.)

Basically Ghirahim showed up under the fortune teller guise fairly recently, revealed himself to Dinravi and has been trying to seduce him into becoming the demon lord Ghirahim knows he can be ever since.

But it’s actually not working very well because Dinravi is basically chill as fuck:

[Image description: Ghirahim has his arms around Dinravi from behind and is leaning up to murmur into his ear.  “You and I, wielder of Power,” he says, “We could BATHE THE SANDS RED and drink the BLOOD OF YOUR ENEMIES, crush their bones in my TEETH.”  Dinravi, amused, answers him “I don’t WANT to drink blood Ghirahim, I want poultry pilaf and some fried bananas- please don’t cling to me while I’m COOKING.”  End ID.]

(Dinravi cooks for himself as a hobby.)  Also for the record I’m letting Ghirahim have randomly sharp teeth as he pleases because I think it’s hot.  XD

On Eltani’s side of the situation, well:

[Image Description: Eltani is talking to Dinravi, and says, “There’s something OFF about that fortune teller, Belovéd, you WATCH YOURSELF with him.”  Dinravi answers, “Of course Mama.”  He then thinks, pursing his lips, “Do I TELL HER that he’s an ancient demon trying to SEDUCE ME for some reason?”  He then blushes.  “ABSOLUTELY NOT,” he thinks, and a label pops up reading “Reminder this kid is only 20.”  End ID.]

And no, Dinravi’s not really fully aware he’s technically Ganondorf and whether Ganon and Demise are fully connected is something I’m gonna choose to be vague about; all he knows is this sexy demon man showed up one day claiming as the holder of the Triforce of Power that makes him a worthy master.  

And Dinravi’s response to that?  By sheer force of will, he’s determined to influence Ghirahim for the better instead of being influenced for the worse.

Because Dinravi’s a particular sort of badass and also an optimistic 20 year old kid gunning to be a good leader and possibly save the world, from Ghirahim specifically if it comes to that.  Preferably by pointing out to Ghirahim that he doesn’t have to railroad himself into his own fate.

[Image Description: Ghirahim is showing Dinravi his hands transformed to claws, tapping the heavy necklace Dinravi usually wears.  He says, “I’m a SWORD, Dinravi, what do you THINK makes me feel ALIVE?”  Dinravi answers solemnly, “Even a SWORD can become something ELSE, Ghirahim.”  Ghirahim’s demeanor suddenly shifts as he pushes his hair out of his face with what is now a normal human hand, and, remarkably, blushes.  “WELLL,” he begins, then shifts to flirtations, leaning his back against Dinravi’s chest.  “Maybe with some BEATING, HEAT... And no small amount of SKILL.”  Dinravi scrunches his face, trying not to laugh.  “Pff do you EVER turn it OFF?” he asks.  Ghirahim’s face lights up as he goes in for the figurative kill: “My RAPIER WIT?” he asks.  “NO!!”  Dinravi bursts out laughing.  End ID.]

So who do you think is more doomed, the person laughing at bad puns or the person aiming to get a laugh with the bad puns?  This version of Ghirahim’s had a little more time to settle into himself, and in some ways that makes him more dangerous, but in others it might make him a little more... human.  Dinravi is young and inexperienced, but he’s had a lot of good examples to look towards.  

The real question is how Ghirahim got here, and he’s not answering that one as of right now.  

And in the meantime, Astramorus is trying to sort out his atonement:

[Image Description: Astramorus enters a room with Serenumbra.  The centerpiece of the room is a glowing bow on a pedestal, set at the feet of a statue of Hylia.  Serenumbra asks: “Is that-”  “Yes,” Astramorus answers.  “Manifested by the previous Hyrulean princess to have fought Ganon.  A BOW OF LIGHT.”  The Bow of Light glows.  Astramorus takes it in hand.  Serenumbra says, a hand to his mouth, “Ah, surely that will help, I hope the boy will ACCEPT it from you.”  Astramorus looks slightly surprised at the statement, then slightly exasperated.  “Sure, sure, yes, I’ll figure something out.”  Serenumbra smiles cheerfully. The scene switches to show Astramorus outside the Sky Temple in the middle of the night.  He is releasing fairies.  End ID.]

Astramorus what are you doing????  Didn’t one of those fairies literally save you just a few scenes ago???

[katie-writes24]

Standing Right In Front Of You

Pairings: Alexander Hamilton x reader, Thomas Jefferson x reader

Warnings: a complete VENT, indecisive reader, kinda fluffy in the end, the reader is l o n g i n g, but overall sad and unfair :(, mean girl Eliza if you think about it

OKAY! So, I had a thought the other day, since I’m a total sucker for the Alex vs Thomas fics, because truly, I love them both. So, I thought: let me make a fic where you could really choose who you, as the reader, want to be shipped with? Or, even better, can be BOTH! I hope that makes sense, because despite not having a real ending, I left it open so you can choose which man you want to go for, even though both are shown to have feelings for the reader? Okay, anyway, next thing. Where am I to ever figure out a plot for this fic, you ask? Well...I totally based this off an episode of The Office. I have NO regrets! DM me if you know what episode this if from hehe! Okay, sorry I’m rambling, enjoy! I love feedback, and let me know if you wanna be tagged!

The party was in full swing; with the sun setting and various kinds of alcohol being passed around, everyone was warm and giddy. People were dancing in the middle of the room, others were sitting at tables laughing. The top lights had been dimmed and replaced with flashing lights of different colors near the stage.

It was definitely a kind of party that Y/N wasn't used to.

Once the ceremony was over, they had moved inside and she hadn't left her seat since. John had left to go dance and Anjelica only came to talk to her every once in a while. Currently, Y/N was sipping on her straw and watching the crowd in front of her.

She was lost in her own thoughts and when she heard the chair beside her scrape across the tile floor, she jumped in her seat.

"Some party, huh?" Alexander sat and looked across the room before lookign at Y/N.

"Yeah, it's uh...it's nice," She shrugged and sat up in her chair, suddenly becoming nervous from the man being so close to her.

"I bet you twenty bucks that John ends up bellyflopping on a table," Alexander smirked as he watched his friend do shots with Hercules and Lafayette.

Y/N scoffed, "I bet you double that the three musketeers try and steal the swan over there."

They both laughed as Lafayette looked suspiciously at the ice sculpture in the corner, whispering to John and pointing accusingly.

"You know what, I don't doubt that," Alexander folded his hands behind his head as he leaned back. "So, when are we going to see those dance moves? A little birdie told me that you can swing pretty good."

Y/N rolled her eyes, "Whoever told you that was a liar, I've never danced in my life." Alexander obviously wasn't buying the lie as he looked up at the ceiling and groaned.

"That's not true, I know you can at least do a shimmy!" Alexander raised a brow teasingly as she gave a glare.

"That's what you want to see? A shimmy? How classy." Y/N tossed her hair over her shoulder and ducked her head, oblivious to the way Alexander was looking her up and down adoringly.

"So, I was thinking-" Alexander was cut short by the burst of excitement from Eliza, who wrapped her arms around his shoulders and giggled.

"I am loving this venue," Her eyes were lit up in excitement, Y/N always wish she had her attitude of constant positivity and bliss. "I'm so glad we got to come!"

Alexander looked up at her with a soft smile, caressing her arm with his hand. He looked peaceful, looked at Eliza with adoration. Something lovingly.

Something Y/N would never have with him.

"You know this could fit maybe another fifty people, Alex? It would be a perfect place to hold another wedding don't you think?" Eliza rambled on and on and Y/N had to sip on her drink in order to keep her mouth shut. She couldn't stand that they were talking about their hypothetical wedding in front of her, not that they could know that it bothered her that much. They couldn't understand that Y/N was pained every time they kissed, or every time they called each other cute pet names. They didn't understand that she aches for Alexander and his warm hands and witty smile.

They didn't understand that she craved something she could never have.

Before they could talk about their future even more (if she heard the names of their children, she might explode), Aaron came over and clapped Alexander on the shoulder. Eliza gave him a hug and a wide smile.

"Glad you could all make it," Aaron smiled and kissed the top of Y/N's head.

"Congratulations, Aaron! This really is a beautiful set up!" Eliza smiled at him as Y/N put her drink down.

"Yeah? I thought it would be too much, but this is what Theo wanted, and if it makes her happy, then I'm happy." It was so sappy that Y/N wanted to punch him in the face.

Screw everyone being in love and happy, I want that, too.

An upbeat song started playing and Eliza gasped, "I love this song! Alex, babe, come dance with me!" She took his hand and pulled him to the dance floor. Alexander went easily, smiling at Eliza with such passion.

Y/N had to admit, she had never seen Alexander happier than now. Ever since the two started dating, he smiled more and was high spirited, he even took days off from work, could you imagine?

She must of had a somber look on her face because Aaron placed a hand on her shoulder and looked down at her with a sympathetic look in his eyes. "You okay?"

Y/N nodded, "I'm fine..."

Aaron pursed his lips, but nodded nonetheless. He knew about her feelings, at least that's what he thought it was. To Y/N, it was something that grew incredibly.

She used to only imagine what his lips would feel like, imagined what it would be like with his arm around her shoulder. Now, she imagined how he would look in the morning, when the sun would wrap around his skin. She imagined if he would whisper to her late at night, when the world was quiet. She imagined what he was like when he just came back from work, if he would be all grumpy, or if he'd want to take a shower, or if he'd just wrap his hands around her waist and give her a kiss on the neck and tell her about his day.

But she didn't tell anybody that, of course not. Because it didn't matter. He probably did all those things with Eliza anyway.

"Well, I'm gonna give Laurens some water before he knocks something expensive over," Aaron tapped the chair and went to walk away, but Y/N called his name.

"Congratulations, I'm really happy for you," She smiled and he returned it before walking away.

The song switched to something slow and Y/N kept her eyes on her cup, refusing to look up because she knew her eyes would land on Alexander holding Eliza close as they swayed slowly.

Yet, temptation fought her, and the moment she looked up she saw them. Alexander was resting his cheek against Eliza's, whispering something in her ear. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and their bodies were closer than imagined.

Moments passed and she was still watching them, a mix of envy and guilt resting in her chest. Suddenly, Alexander's gaze found hers and she quickly looked away, pretending like nothing happened.

Footsteps approached her and she saw Thomas walk over, waving softly. "There you are,"

"Hey, Thomas," She sighed, hoping that he didn't notice the way her mood changed, how she was totally different than earlier that afternoon, when they talked in the courtyard briefly, his smart charm making her laugh.

"Well, don't sound so excited to see me," He raised a brow and sat in the chair Alexander had previously been in.

"No, sorry...just- it wasn't at you," Y/N rubbed her temples and sighed again, looking up at him and giving a half smile. "Sorry."

"No worries," Thomas smirks and lays his arm on the back of her chair. "Nice ceremony, huh?"

"Yeah, it was beautiful," She never been to a beach wedding before, and while she didn't appreciate the sand in her shoes, she liked the fresh air. She wouldn't mind having a beach wedding one day, if she found someone who she could spend the rest of her life with, someone who appreciates her and listens and laughs with her and loves her.

Once again, her eyes fall on Alexander, and she pushes the thoughts away.

Thomas follows her eyes and clears his throat, "You want to dance?" He holds out his hand, and Y/N is hesitant before she takes it.

He has big hands, promising hands. They hold her own with such care, and as he lead them to the dance floor, his grip staying the same.

Thomas wrapped one arm around her waist and held her own hand with his other. Y/N held onto the back of his shoulder with her free hand, and for a while they just held each other close.

Y/N could feel his breath near her ear, his fingers finally intertwining with hers. It made her stomach flip, not used to such affection. She leaned against him and laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

It was peaceful.

While others around them danced in a soft sway, they moved slowly in a circle, more focused on each other's warmth than the actual dance. As Y/N buried her face into his neck, she could hear him swallow. She hoped he was feeling what she was feeling.

Seconds passed, maybe minutes or hours, she couldn't tell, too lost in the tempo of the song in the background mixed with the safe feeling she had. Suddenly, Thomas was pulling back, licking his lips and looking at her with soft eyes.

"Y/N, do you want to get out of here?" He asked nervously, she'd never heard him sound so shaky. Looking into those dark orbs, she knew that he held promise, of what, she didn't know yet. But, she'd like to find out.

"Yeah," Y/N whispered and he nodded firmly. He took their untwined hands and lead them back to her table, gathering her purse and saying goodbye to the others at the table. As they headed for the door, she looked back to the dance floor to find Alexander looking back at her.

It made her pause; he looked unsure, eyebrows raised and mouth parted slightly.

Y/N would like to think that one day, he would try. He would stop distracting himself with work and worrying about what's next. He would sit down and have an honest conversation about them and that he would let her see that vulnerability that he hides so well. She'd like to think that they would be the one dancing right now, or even the ones sneaking out.

It was too late.

She mentally shook herself as she blinked, looking away and walking out of the reception, the look of what seemed to be heartbreak on Alexander's face.

Let me know if you want to be tagged!!!!

@notebookgirl30 @dontblinkumightmiss @companionjones @tinywhim @checkurwindow @21bruhs

[klutzyzombie]

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Summary: From a young age, Bakugou Katsuki is told his hearing will continue to fade with use of his explosive quirk. He's given hearing aids to help when he reaches high school but refuses to wear them because what pro hero wears those? It takes some red-headed courage to convince him otherwise.  Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Eijirou Kirishima, Ashido Mina, Denki Kaminari, Sero Hanta Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki & Kirishima Eijirou (KiriBaku) Rating: General Warnings: N/A Words: 6,701 Notes: So this is my first official fic for this fandom and I don't exactly have anyone to proofread this so I sincerely apologize if it's out of character and for the errors! This was written from my own experiences with going deaf and requiring hearing aids and how I felt about it when I was first told. It seemed like something Bakugou may have also felt so you'll have to excuse me projecting~

**Please note that when a character is signing, it will be italicized.

Ao3: [click here!]

He started losing his hearing in grade school. He had been about eight when his family took him to get his ears checked when his grades slipped and he continued to miss things said at home. From there he was bounced from doctor to doctor but the general consensus was the same; his quirk was causing him to go deaf. It made sense really; continued exposure to loud constant boom’s. Like playing a rock concert next to the amp turned up all the way. It was bound to happen the second his quirk manifested and the decision to be a pro hero was made.

They recommended easing down on use of his quirk unless the situation called for it to try and put off the inevitable, but that wasn’t about to happen. Pro heroes in training needed to have master over their own quirks! So they also suggested hearing aids which Katsuki was against. What pro hero wore those tacky things?! For now, his hearing loss was manageable, but if Katsuki was keen on becoming a hero (and he was; even eight year old Katsuki knew this) then the doctors expected his hearing to be practically gone by the time he was in his late teens.

So the Bakugou family learned sign language as a safety net and as he grew, his hearing faded more and more as expected. It became Katsuki’s new normal for things to be a little jumbled and almost like people were talking underwater if they weren’t close enough or if they soft spoken. Maybe that was why as got older he had a tendency to yell constantly, his voice growing a little more gruff with age as well. He’d also picked up on lip reading which was immensely helpful in middle school as he refused to tell a teacher he couldn’t hear them or ask to sit in the front. It wasn’t going to be the future he imagined when he was a kid, but hey, he was Bakugou fucking Katsuki! He wasn’t about to let something like hearing loss stop him from becoming the next number one hero! He was nothing but goal driven from a young age, refusing to tell anyone about what he deemed to be his biggest weakness, preferring to make due with his lip reading. When his acceptance into U.A. was announced, his parents made a decision and while he fought tooth and nail – literally – he was fitted for a pair of hearing aids.

U.A. was everything he had hoped it would be as a child (though he could have done without the damn nerd also getting in and sitting right behind him) and much to his utter chagrin, he even made a few friends despite the fact that he’d never refer to them as such. They were more like a few idiots who wouldn't know how to fuck off if their lives depended on it. One such of these idiots and the biggest offender was Kirishima who, from day one, seemed to latch on to Katsuki. It was annoying at first; sure he had ‘friends’ in middle school but they were more afraid of him and only followed him as some sort of leader or popularity magnet. Kirishima just- liked him. For him! There wasn’t any fear and he damn sure wasn’t getting popular by hanging around Katsuki. If anything that was reversed since the stupid idiot seemed to be friends with just about everyone to varying degrees.

And Katsuki wanted to hate it- hate HIM because he didn’t need friends let alone overly enthusiastic idiot friends and with Kirishima deeming him ‘friendly’, the rest of the idiot brigade followed suit. Before Katsuki knew what had happened, Kaminari had wormed his way into his and Kirishima’s study sessions, Ashido had started tugging on his arm in her bubbly excitement at something or another, and Sero had taken too confining in him about whatever trouble had been on his mind. Bakugou Katsuki had actual honest to god friends and it was Kirishima’s fault. It hit him one night after moving into the dorms after he’d been dragged to watch a movie in Kirishima’s room. Like, forcefully dragged and as they sat there, watching as Iron Man and Captain America did some epic team up move on some aliens, he realized he was actually enjoying himself around these idiots.

He wasn’t supposed to be fond of the dunces. He didn’t need anyone and after the hero exam he and Todoroki failed, he tried to go back to how things were. Katsuki didn’t need friends and Kirishima and Kaminari passing while he failed was proof of that. So he separated himself from them. Well, he tried to at least. It wasn’t easy to do since the clingy idiots couldn’t take a hint if he stapled it to their faces. It was exhausting and when he did finally manage it, about a week into his granted alone time he was miserable and angry and ended up back on Kirishima’s bed while he and Kaminari played some game on Kaminari’s Switch.

He couldn’t shake the idiots he unwillingly befriended and he whole heartedly blamed Kirishima for all of it. On a rare weekend home, he was bitching to his mom about the annoyances who kept blowing up his phone with their stupid ‘Bakusquad’ group text. Mitsuki was sitting at the kitchen table with designs and fabrics spread out while Katsuki ranted on. She hadn’t known her comment about him being popular due to his phone’s continued dinging would lead to this, but now it was hard to stop the small smile building as he went on and on about them. Something he pointed out to her with annoyance.

‘Sorry, it’s just nice to know you have actual friends! Finally.’

“I can fuckin’ hear you, hag!” Katsuki snapped.

‘Are you sure? I don’t see your hearing aids in.’

His response to that was to simply flip her off as he marched out of the room. “I’m not going to wear those fuckin’ things.”

“Katsuki!” They had this argument so many times now he could almost recite it word for word. It was what she always said since the moment they picked up the stupid devices. 'Wear them!' 'Are you wearing them?' 'How is training with the hearing aids working out?' Every damn time she called it was the same song and dance and it was getting more and more irritating every time she brought the damn things up! He could picture her pushing away from the table and marching after him so it wasn’t a surprise when her raised voice shouted after him. “We spent good money-“

“’-on those things so the least I could do is wear them’! Get a new speech! I don't fuckin' need them because I can still hear just fine!” There was an uncharacteristic pause after that and he wheeled around to glare at her, to see what she was trying to prove, only to see Mitsuki giving him a pointed look. “What?!”

‘I said if that was true, then you would be able to hear me.’ She signed while speaking. Well, he assumed she was. Her lips were moving and he could hear a faint sound that was in teh same tone as her voice, but couldn't quite make out the words. Katsuki stood there, red eyes narrowed at her which was a look she was mirroring back at him for all of a few seconds before she sighed, expression softening. ‘Katsuki, it’s gotten worse since you started high school. I’ve been practically yelling at you just so you’d hear me since you got home.’ The look on his face must have been horrified because his mom’s melted from fond annoyance to one of almost-pity. She lifted her hands to sign something else but he quickly turned and marched back up to his room to finish getting ready to head back to the dorms. He hated that look on her. Hated that look on anyone and he didn't need her to see that she was right. That his hearing really had gotten worse. It would make sense that it had, he guessed. He went from only training with his quirk a few times a week to preserve his hearing to using it about daily for hours on end.

So then why hadn’t he noticed it?

He guessed the whole ‘it’s a gradual process’ thing could be a factor and if he thought about it, he was having a harder time hearing Aizawa now. Deku’s muttering had also seemed to bother him less as of late and it damn sure wasn’t because the nerd had suddenly stopped the habit he’d had since they were kids. His hearing really had faded drastically in just under a year and that was a reality check.

One he also apparently wasn’t great at hiding because a few days back in school had Kirishima draping an arm across his shoulders in the locker room. He had a habit of doing that no matter what murderous look was on Katsuki's face and today when he went to shoot a glare at the red head - one he knew would just be ignored- he was met with a concerned look on Kirishima's face. “Yo man, you good? You’ve seemed kinda…”

“Extra murder-y.” Kaminari supplied.

Katsuki and Kirishima shot him a look, Katsuki’s much more threatening, but he went on. “Is everything alright? You know you can always talk to me!”

“Fuck off, I’m fine.” Was his eloquent reply and he knew Kirishima wasn’t convinced, but the red head knew enough about him to know to drop it. The look that now shifted across his face was proof he knew something was up, but he turned back to talking about some new show with Kaminari and Sero to make sure nobody else tried to take the opportunity to ask Katsuki about his oh so chipper mood. Kirishima was good at reading him like that. He seemed to always know what Katsuki meant or needed in the moment. It would be endearing if it wasn’t also equal parts annoying. Sometimes he wished the idiot would remember how damn powerful Katsuki was! But then again, Kirishima was also the perfect foil to him.

He watched as said boy grinned and laughed at something Kaminari had said, head tilting back slightly from the force of it. He was so stupidly friendly and he seemed to really want to be Katsuki’s friend if not his best one. He liked to proclaim as such at least and he guessed it was true to a degree. Kirishima knew him better than anyone else probably did and just how that happened should be concering. Just when had he allowed the idiot to figure him out so well?

Katsuki looked back at his locker with a huff, not about to give Kirishima another reason to ask about his mood again. He looked at his mask and the orange and black wing tips behind it. Looked at the orange X crossing the otherwise all black uniform. Looked at the matching heavy-duty boots and belt that housed mini versions of his quirk. Looked at how the entire ensemble represented everything he wanted to become and how his stupid hearing was likely to take all of that away.

He slammed the locker shut with more force than needed, meeting Kirishima’s gaze as he glanced over at the sound. “Meet me after dinner.” He said simply, walking off before he could see or hear the red head’s reaction.

---

Katsuki was a proud person and that was a fact that was well know. He never needed and never asked for help. He was self-sufficient and refused to lean on others to get to where he wanted to be. So reaching out to Kirishima about this was going to be a challenge. Said teen had been in his room for going on ten minutes, silently watching and waiting, sitting in his deskchair backwards as Katsuki glared daggers at the ground. It would be unnerving to have the talkative bastard so quiet if it wasn’t once again proof how well Kirishimia knew him; knew whatever was on his mind was heavy enough to make him clearly agitated and extra moody. This fact had him glance up so red eyes could meet red and at Kirishima’s concerned but patient face, he sighed and looked away.

“I can barely fuckin’ hear.” He admitted like it was the biggest secret he’d ever be forced to admit because to him, it was.

“Yeah?” Kirishima sounded confused but not in the way he had been anticipating. He was confused like you had just told him Ashido’s favorite color was pink. Like what Katsuki had just said was common knowledge.

This had Katsuki whipping his head back to look at him. “’Yeah’?! The fuck does that mean?!”

Kirishima tilted his head like he did when he could tell Katsuki was upset with him but didn’t know why. “It means yeah? Like, yeah I know?”

It was Katsuki’s turn to be confused now. “You know?”

“Dude, if it was supposed to be a secret, your awful at hiding it!” Kirishima laughed and he glared at him for it. This was supposed to be his close kept secret! His weakness nobody, except for maybe Deku, knew! Kirishima seemed to understand his inner turmoil (because of course he would) and gave the teen a small smile, moving to rub the back of his neck. “Well, maybe it just was to me? I dunno, man. I noticed from the quirk assessment we had on the first day.”

“How?!” His voice sounded more confused than annoyed.

Kirishima shrugged and moved his toe against the floor a bit to slightly spin the chair he was sitting on. A nervous habit he’d get when he was the center of attention, Katsuki noted. “You just weren’t responding to anyone. First I thought you were just kinda an asshole and ignoring people, ya know?” He looked back up at him with a grin. “But then when Aizawa-Sensei would repeat something louder and you’d respond and I saw your quirk in action, I guess I just put two-and-two together. I didn’t know it was some big secret though.”

“It’s not!” Katsuki was quick to snap but that wasn’t really true. It clearly was or his heart wouldn’t have dropped when he realized Kirishima had figured it out within hours of meeting him. He huffed to himself, not wanting to snap at Kirishima over his own overlook and looked away again, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Does anyone else know?”

Kirishima hummed in thought, looking up at the ceiling. “I think all of us kinda know somethings up to varying degrees.” He must have heard the speed at which Katsuki whipped his head around because Kirishima quickly clarified, “I mean those of us in the squad. Kaminari talks louder when he’s around us. Ashido and Sero started too as well after they hung out with us for a while. I suppose it also helps that the four of us are naturally loud anyway, but they definatley talk up and more clear when they're with us.”

Katsuki just looked at him stunned. They had all figured it out? And they hadn’t ever commented on it? Made it a point to make a joke about it? Tease him about it like they endlessly teased him about everything else? They had just started to talk louder for his sake?! Here he thought they were just obnoxious assholes…

Kirishima seemed to notice his lack of anger and response and crossed his arms over the back of the chair he was sitting on, resting his head on them as he studied Katsuki carefully. “Is this what’s been bothering you?”

Katsuki shot him a glare before huffing and looking away again. A nonverbal yes before he sighed, eyes closing. His mind was still reeling from the knowledge that not only did the other idiots figure it out, but that they had all apparently silently just decided to not talk about it and simply speak up and clearer so he could hear them all better. He had a plan going into this. He was going to tell Kirishima he was hard of hearing, tell him he’d known it was coming, and how he was supposed to wear hearing aids. He had planned for questions and for almost snapping at Kirishima for giving him a pitying look before quickly covering it up because Kirishima knew he hated pity. He had expected this conversation to go the opposite direction it had gone and now he was at a loss.

“They…" How was he supposed to proceed now?! "I’m supposed to wear hearing aids.” He blurted out quietly, almost hoping Kirishima didn’t hear him.

But of course he did. “So why don’t you?”

“Are you stupid?!” Kirishima frowned. It wasn’t pity on his face but almost like disappointment? That look was somehow worse and Katsuki quickly looked away from him again. “I can’t be number one like that.”

“So you’d rather just not be at your best then?”

Wellp. Anger was back. Least that was familiar over the weird sensation knowing his friends never brought up his hearing had left him with. He jerked back to face Kirishima, on his feet before he even registered he’d moved. Kirishima just looked at him with same look he had on earlier. “What?!”

“You can’t be your best if you aren’t even going to work with something that improves your skills.” Kirishima repeated, apparently oblivious to the absolute inferno of anger his words had lit. “Dude, you can’t stand there and tell me with a straight face you’d be at your absolute best going into situations as you are when you could be going in with your senses heightened. That would be like fighting with one hand tied behind you back all the time! It doesn’t make any sense, man!”

Katsuki stood where he was, keeping Kirishima’s gaze which had narrowed. It wasn’t anger, but the look he got when determination had set in and he wasn’t about to even think about budging on something. Katsuki liked to imagine it was the look he had when he tried to convince their classmates to come to Kamino Ward. What made it worse this go around was that, well, Katsuki knew he was right. “Tch.” He turned and stalked back to his bed before slumping down on it, glaring up at the ceiling as if it had personally wronged him. “What pro hero do you know wears hearing aids, shitty hair?”

“You?” That answer had Katsuki turn to shoot him a ‘stop bullshitting’ look but Kirishima’s face was so purely earnest the words died on his tongue. “Sure none of the current pros do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be the first! I bet they’ll even make some with little orange X’s on them! That would be so cool!” He gave Katsuki one of those toothy grins that rivaled the sun in brightness and it took all Katsuki had not to smile at him in return.

He scoffed and looked away instead. “You’re an idiot.”

“Maybe, but I’m right about this!” Kirishima stood up and moved to sit beside his feet on the bed. “You always are the first and best at everything. Wouldn't it be super manly to be the representation to little kids you want now?” Katsuki didn’t say anything, afraid speaking might betray how hot his face was starting to feel at Kirishima’s unbridled admiration. “Besides think of all the cool ways you could make them look! I bet you could get them like, orange to match your uniform or-!”

“They’re already orange.” Kirishima turned to look at him and Katsuki rolled his eyes at the awe on the red heads face. He knew what was coming without Kirishima even asking so he sat up to pull a small box from the far corner of his nightstand. He tossed it to Kirishima who caught and opened it, eyes growing wide.

“Dude, these look so cool!”

“No they fuckin’ don’t. Don’t lie to me-“

“I’m not, man! Dude, picture this.” He picked one of them up and held it so Katsuki could see before splaying his other fingers out behind it. “You could have them as part of you mask! I bet support could even make some super badass ones that could have another dual factor! Maybe even like Mic’s speaker thing? No, I guess that wouldn’t make sense. But maybe they can block out certain things? Like Shinsou’s quirk! Oh man, you’re an even better match for him now! Just turn them off and you can’t even hear him!” Kirishima went into a rant about all the things he thought the stupid device in his hand could be used for and honestly Katsuki wasn’t hearing any of it but not because of the hearing loss. He just watched the idiot talk, watched his lips move and hands gesture. Watched as he’d occasionally laugh at something he’d thought of and how his smile reached his eyes when he did. How he was so excited just to sit here and come up with dumb ideas and how happy he was that Katsuki was potentially going to be an even better hero.

That thought alone made Katsuki’s heart jump again. Kirishima had really meant it about being an example. He really did think wearing the stupid devices would make him a better hero. Didn’t think it would make him any less of a person or any less of a pro. Kirishima genuinely didn’t think less or pity him for it and it actually seemed like he was furious that Katsuki would risk throwing his own dream of being a hero away just because of two tiny devices that would help him.

It was almost too much for him.

“You’re an idiot.” He repeated. Kirishima stopped talking and looked at him. He was still smiling and Katsuki was willing to bet that he was too if the slight tug at his lips was any indicator. “Fuckin’-! Fine, you rambling moron. I’ll wear the damn things tomorrow.”

The grin he got in return had to rival the brightest light in the galaxy and before he could open his mouth to warn against it, Kirishima tackled him back on the bed. The curses and explosions he sent in return were simply laughed off and otherwise ignored.

---

True to his word, Katsuki stood in front of his mirror with the small devices in his hand. He looked at his reflection without them, took in the way he looked one last time as if he could never go back to this look before sliding them in and turning them on as he remembered the doctor demonstrating. He winced at the resistance he was met with as they flickered to life but looked back at his reflection once they were snugly in and properly adjusted. His hair hid them for the most part, ash blond strands hanging low enough that unless he really looked, he couldn’t see them. Maybe that meant nobody else would since he was actually looking for them. He let out a sigh and turned to grab his bag. He doubted that severely. He swore quietly to himself, ignoring how it actually wasn't as quiet as he thought, and started the trek to class.

The walk out of the dorms and into the school was… different? He could hear things he hadn’t otherwise heard before. He could hear birds chirping in the trees he walked under, bits and pieces of conversations of the people he passed, that one weirdo from 1-B saying something and even the faint smack that followed as that orange haired chick apologized for him. It was almost like he’d been listening to the TV volume only turned up to 2 and now suddenly it was changed to 10. It would be overwhelming if he were anyone else, he guessed. Katsuki imagined this is what those videos of colorblind people wearing those special glasses was like. To experience the world with a sense that was dulled for so long only to be informed that said sense could be much better.

He’d spent so much time glaring at the stupid things and then fiddling with them to get them adjusted that he’d been beaten to class by the self proclaimed ‘Bakusquad’. Kirishima was sitting on Sero's desk facing the door and when he spotted Katsuki, broke back out into that same grin he did that rivaled the light flickering in from the windows. “Hey, Bakugou!” He raised an arm in greeting, grabbing the attention of the other idiots who all turned to greet him though not as enthusiastically as Kirishima. Not much of a surprise considering the red head was very clearly the only morning person among them.

Katsuki tsk'ed in greeting but Kirishima seemed to be studying him harder than usual and it was pretty clear what he was searching for. So with a roll of his eyes, Katsuki turned his head slightly so Kirishima could see the small bit of orange poking out from under his hair and if the smile he was greeted with was bright, this one was blinding. He didn’t say anything much to Katsuki's relief, just looked back at Kaminari despite his grin not fading as Katsuki walked over to his desk and tossed his bag down. Such a stupid little thing and Kirishima was grinning like he'd won the lottery.

Class was almost night and day.

He could hear Aizawa’s lazy tone easily, better than he had ever remembered being able to. He didn't need to rely on his handouts and the board to take notes. It was considerably easier to understand Ectoplasm now too and, much to his sheer and utter annoyance, he could hear Deku muttering to himself again. It was annoying, sure, and he almost considered taking the stupid things out to prevent it, but the fact that he actually could stopped him. Even Deku's muttering couldn't quite distract from the almost wonder he had. He could also pick up on Kaminari and Kirishima whispering though he coldn't make out what. (Probably about the math problem Ectoplasm just wrote down.)

The lunchroom was another experience. He hadn’t ever heard it this loud and he muttered to Sero if something special was happening because of the noise before Sero eyed him confused and said it was always this loud. Huh. He knew it should be considering the amount of teenagers cramed into it, but the thought hadn't really ever crossed his mind just how loud it should be. It was almost painful. Their usual table was at least a little quieter since it was in the far back. Katsuki was actually able to hear Kaminari approaching without relying on the slight ting of electricity in the air that usually was his give away. He looked up and watched as he and Kirishima stepped over towards them, caught up in some conversation about something, only stopping when Kirishima moved away and took his usual spot beside Katsuki while Kaminari went to sit in front of him.

“Hey, Bakubro! You look-“

Katsuki winced. “Fuck, can you maybe not talk so damn loud?!” He brought his hands up to his ears, wincing as they gave off feedback which he assumed was due to the mentioned static Kaminari gave off. Maybe he really should speak to support about upgrading them if he was going to start using them more. Wait, was that going to be a thing? He'd told Kirishima he'd wear them today; not from then on. When had he decided this was going to be a permanent thing?

He was lost in his own thoughts about if this so he missed the way Sero, Ashido, and Kaminari looked at each other, then at him, then back to one another. “Uh? He’s talking like he usually does. Which yeah, it’s loud, but it’s his usual volume.” Sero defended, looking all the world like Katsuki had just started sprouting a second head.

Shit.

Katsuki huffed and looked down pointedly at his lunch, taking a bite of rice to further avoid meeting their gaze. “Well tone it the fuck down, dunce-face.”

Kirishima was pointedly quiet while the three others sat in silence for a joyous and nerve wracking moment. He wondered briefly if they would just drop it, but no, he was never that lucky. He heard a gasp, knew it was Ashido, and jerked his gaze back up just as she leaned across the table and reached over to move his hair aside. “You got hearing aids!”

“Fuckin’-! Don’t touch me!” He swatted her hand away but the damage was done.

She was grinning from ear to ear and practically bouncing in her seat. “Oh my gosh, they look so good! That color is going to match your uniform perfectly!”

“Nice, dude! When did you get those?”

“Does this mean you’ll answer when I ask you for help now?”

“I think he was just always ignoring you, Kami.”

"What? No! Why would he do that?"

"Because you ask him for answers on every problem rather than how to solve it?"

Bakugou watched the three teens in front of him suddenly turn on Kaminari, laughing at the other blond’s expense. They hadn’t even flinched at him wearing them! No jokes, no sympathetic looks, nothing! They just took it in stride as if he’d said the weather outside was cool. He looked over at Kirishima to get confirmation that he wasn’t insane and they had really found out what he deemed his weakness. Kirishima met his gaze with a knowing grin and a shrug of his shoulders, a silent ‘I-told-you-it-wasn’t-a-big-deal’ look on his face. Katsuki shot him a glare but turned back to his meal to try and hide the smile he knew would betray any small amount of anger it may have had.

They didn't seem to care. He'd spent so much of his life dreading the day he'd have to wear these stupid things. Dreading the way people would look at or perceive him. He was Bakugou Katsuki and the only way he should be looked at was with admiration or fear; not pity or sympathy, and he whole heartedly believed that was going to be the outcome wearing these would bring. He expected the three idiots in front of him to make a huge ordeal about it, but they just seemed relieved and excited. Just like Kirishima had been.

Maybe having friends wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

---

After that, Katsuki wore them daily. They became second nature from then on and he wanted to be surprised that nobody seemed to even flinch at them, but after seeing his friend’s reactions, he really wasn't. What was supposed to be a weakness was nothing more than another area he could work with. Something Katsuki could train and hone like his quirk. He’d even followed Kirishima’s idea and got a pair that would work with his mask. They got upgraded to protect his remaining hearing from his explosions while enhancing it. His regular ones got an upgrade as well so they’d stop sending him feedback every time Kaminari got within a foot of him which spared Kaminari getting threatened and snapped at so it was a win for him as well. (Both pairs were returned black with an orange X printed on them and Kirishima swore he knew nothing about it.)

Months passed and it was hard to imagine he’d ever put up such a fight to wear the stupid things. They really did make a difference and it was even better knowing nobody felt the need to shout at him. Part of him wondered just how many people did but also didn’t think his pride could risk asking. It was like nothing had changed and while he wouldn’t ever admit it, it was apparent he had worried and put this off for absolutely no reason. His friends rolled with it like nothing had happened and that alone, while he refused to admit it, was the real reason he continued to keep it up after the first day. The idiots seemed to be full of surprises, especially Kirishima.

So it really shouldn’t have been a surprise what happened one night during the middle of their second year. The pair were up late in Bakugou’s room going over the latest math homework they’d been given. Well, more like Katsuki was going over Kirishima’s since his was already finished. At some point he’d taken his hearing aids out figuring he wouldn’t really need them in the quiet of his room.

He marked one last problem Kirishima needed to look over and handed the paper back. The red head took it then asked ‘Do you want to go get something to eat?’

“Yeah sure.”

He pushed himself up and brought an arm back behind his head to stretch it out and then it dawned on him. Kirishima hadn’t spoken. His lips hadn’t moved.

“What?!”

Kirishima startled at his yelling. “I asked-“

“I know what you asked!” Katsuki was pretty sure he must look strange because Kirishima was looking at him with sheer, utter confusion. “It’s- it’s how you asked it!”

The red head blinked at him in confusion, clearly not understanding why Katsuki was suddenly so upset. “What about it?”

“You signed!”

“Yeah?” He held the ‘ea’ sound out as if the pause would help him figure out what had happened. Katsuki could feel his face heating up. “Dude, I’m so confused right now. What’s wrong?”

“You-! You fuckin’ signed to me!”

“Yeah, you covered that part. What about it?”

“When the fuck did you learn it?!”

Kirishima still looked at him baffled. “Dude, I’ve known for years. My mom is hard of hearing.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Because I didn’t think I’d need to? I sign to you all the time, man!” Now it was Katsuki’s turn to look lost. He looked at the red head for a few minutes as if he’d just told him some world altering view, which he kinda did. “You good, bro?”

“No I’m not ‘good’! When the fuck have you ever signed to me?!” Though as the question left his lips, memories started replaying in his head. One’s of Kirishima casually signing ‘lunch?’ while verbally saying they should head to grab a bite to eat. Memories of Kirishima signing ‘that was awesome!’ after Katsuki did some impressive move in training. Of Kirishima’s fingers moving to ask him to pass his notes back over. Vision after vision of Kirishima slipping it into such casual setting from the first weeks he knew him and wow, okay that did something to his heart.

Why hadn’t he ever noticed it before? When the hell had Kirishima become such a casual part of his life that him speaking in a language hardly anyone knew became second nature? How had he learned so much about Katsuki without him ever knowing the red head was close enough to figure him out? Why did he decide to dedicate so much of his energy and time to be around him?!

“Dude?” He looked over at Kirishima who was now looking at him worried. “I was kinda kidding when I asked if you were good but now I’m actually worried. Are you alright? You look, like, sick."

Katsuki dropped to his knees in front of the red head who was looking even more concerned now. He opened his mouth, probably to once again ask if Katsuki was okay, when Katsuki put his hands on either side of his head and pulled him into a kiss. It wasn’t anything spectacular on the outside, just a chaste kiss, but it was an awakening for Katsuki who avoided feelings and distractions. Katsuki who had mentioned romance was the furthest thing on his mind when Ashido asked him back in first year if he was interested in anyone. So yeah, it wasn’t the most romantic of kisses as Katsuki hadn’t exactly kissed anyone aside from one or two people back in middle school and Kirishima hadn’t exactly moved or leaned into it let alone reacted.

Wait, shit. Kirishima hadn’t reacted.

That thought had him pulling back immediately, apology already forming but going unspoken as Kirishima mirrored the gesture of grabbing his face and pulling him into a kiss. Now it was Katsuki’s turn to be shocked but it faded in seconds, eyes closing on instinct as he moved to rest his hands on Kirishima’s hips. Kirishima in turn gently cupped the side of his face, guiding Katsuki’s head to tilt to the side slightly so he could deepen it. Alright, this one was much better than the pitiful one Katsuki had just done. Kirishima’s lips slid against his like they were meant to be connected and his hands lit Katsuki’s skin on fire. The feeling was like wearing his hearing aids for the first time. Like reawakening a sense that had been muted for years. He didn’t want it to end but after one last slow kiss, Kirishima pulled back, lips parted as he breathed.

Katsuki opened his eyes and blinked down at him, no doubt looking as kiss-drunk as the red head. Kirishima beamed back up at him, cheeks tinted red which Katsuki could feel his own face mimicking. He glanced away as if that would hide it, ignoring the way his heart rate picked up when Kirishima’s arms moved to wrap around his waist, head resting against his chest. He had about a billion things he wanted to say, knew Kirishima had about a billion he probably wanted to ask, but of course the red head knew him well enough to know he needed a minute before he spoke. Kirishima knew him so well. How did he not ever connect these dots and do this sooner?!

“So you like me.”

Alright, maybe not the elegant response he wanted but he earned a laugh from Kirishima. He shrugged and looked up at him so Katsuki could see his lips, smile still present. “What finally gave that away?”

Katsuki could feel his face flush anew. “’Finally’?”

“I haven’t exactly been trying to hide it from you.”

“You never fuckin’ said anything!”

“Again, never thought I’d need to.”

And alright, that was fair if he thought about it. He frowned but it was more at himself than at Kirishima and he ducked his head down to rest against the red head’s shoulder, the red head pulling him close. “You have awful taste.” He muttered to which Kirishima just hummed, lightly resting his head against the side of Katsuki’s.

They stayed like that for a while longer before Kirishima’s stomach made them remember what had started this whole ordeal in the first place. As they stood up and started to head out, Katsuki paused and turned grabbing his hearing aids and sliding them into place, ignoring the way Kirishima’s face lit up at the simple motion. He didn’t comment on it though, only taking Katsuki’s hand for a whole second before dropping it. Katsuki arched a brow, about to ask what was wrong.

‘I really, really like you, Katsuki.’

Katsuki was pretty sure his face was currently redder than the idiot in front of him’s hair and mumbled a quiet “Fuck you” as he lightly punched his shoulder. Kirishima laughed and caught Katsuki’s hand before it fell away. He went to lace their fingers together and tug him down the hall but Katsuki stayed rooted to the spot. Kirishima looked back at him, head tilting in the ‘whats-up’ way he did before Katsuki pulled his hand back.

‘You are an idiot, but I like you too.’

It shouldn’t be a surprise the way Kirishima’s eyes lit up. It shouldn’t be breath taking the blinding smile such a simple statement was met with. It shouldn’t make his heart skip when he was rewarded with another kiss. None of it should be but here Katsuki was, arms wrapped around this dumb, red headed ray of sunshine who managed to do the impossible.

[writseo]

Messed Up | Pansy Parkinson X Reader

Messed Up By Chloe Adams & Once Monsters

Trigger Warnings: Abusive Relationships

I know my heads not right. 

    You were met with confusion as you somehow always found yourself wanting to be near Pansy. You switched all of your routes just to be able to pass by her, even if it was for one second. She never tried to pick on you, but you were sure that she knew who you were. In fact, you would always find her staring at you in the middle of class. And despite how she went against every single belief you had, you couldn’t help but feel nothing but admiration for her when would start to boss everyone around to fit her needs. 

I think too much overnight. 

   The confusion began to grow when you couldn’t find yourself not thinking about her as the night grew darker. You’d be wake past 2 AM but never past 4. Pansy would appear in your dreams but when you woke up, you would feel disappointed that nothing was true. That she didn’t actually speak to you nor did she hug you tightly as it was all just in your head. You would hardly get any sleep as days would pass by. Soon after, you were convinced that she deliberately put herself in your head. After the first night, Pansy began to smile at you as you passed down the halls, leaving you confused and even a bit scared. Pansy was an A-grade student. If anyone knew how to go inside someone else’s dreams, it might as well be her. 

But in you, I see a light, let’s be more than strangers. 

   As your friends would complain for how often Pansy would pick on them while calling her horrid names, you found yourself growing more irritated. Of course, they were worried. Is she under a spell? Did Pansy hurt you? Thoughts would rummage through their minds as they tried to piece together why you suddenly had a change of heart towards the girl. However, your closest friend had a thought that was the most accurate to the truth but of course, they pushed it away. Does she actually like Pansy? 

     But in every action she took, you saw a reason. When she spat back at a second year after they would try to ask her politely to move out of the way, you saw the need for control. After every push she gave to Hermione, you saw jealousy. After every chase she gave for Draco, you saw the need for acceptance. But after every glance and smile she would give you down the halls, you couldn’t quite make out what her reason for that would be. 

     It wasn’t until you were paired for Potions that you two would actually talk for the first time. Terrified that you were going to screw up and get a bad grade, you were shocked to see her act differently towards you. You felt special as you watched her make her contributions while giving small talk, when you have observed her slacking off with her friends and ordering her partner to just do the work for her so many times. She treated you differently and you loved that. 

You say you’re scared, I’ll take you there 

    As time went on, she grew more inviting to you in the hallways. You were scared, shy at first to speak to her. Draco and Blaise would be around, snickering at your stutter but Pansy would quickly snap at them to shut it down. You could say that you were scared because of her bossy, sassy attitude. But deep down, you knew that the fear was from something more. Something more internal and rooted into you. 

If you were my god, I’d believe

   She always invited you to everything. Pansy would take you out on trips, even head to the muggle world and explore a small bit. You began to grow more confident, not just with her but in general. Pansy always pushed you to greater extents. You quickly learned that if you ever had fear left in you, she'd be there to hold your hand as you’d try to pass through.

So turn the light's off-

As you stood on the London Bridge, looking at the water underneath as it slowly streamed passed the two of you, you decided to take your courage to a new level.

- and get closer to me

High off of the sudden adrenaline going through your veins, you kissed her. And she did the same.

I want to overdose on the air you breathe.

    You two officially became inseparable.  Everywhere you went, she was there. Everywhere she went, you were there as well. You loved when Pansy would try to show you off. She loved when you would get flustered i as you would try to be modest while she bragged about you. You brought a side in her that made her more empathetic, happier as she would stop herself from picking on the younger children, knowing how upset you would be if you saw her that way. Especially when her nasty habit would cause a fight where you’d start to consider to leave and she would try to give in herself. 

Some days I need to break down. 

    And as time went, Pansy couldn’t hold in all the annoyance and resentment she had as she felt like she was on a leash, as if you were her controller. 

    “Where are you going? I am not finished talking!” 

   She would explode with every single ounce of irritation she had from you and would begin to yell when you would try to stop her from hurting another poor first year. By that point, the headache that was always hidden but there whenever you were near her, would begin to grow from a small ball of tension to a metal clad that would bang it’s way through your skull. You would try to defuse the situation and walk away but she never quit.

Some days, you’re just like me. 

      Pansy was always too stubborn, but so were you. The both of you would be near tears for a couple of days, breaking down at the thought of each other. You two wanted nothing more than to just ignore what had happened. But neither of you wanted to prove that you were wrong, even though you both weren’t  innocent at all.

But you’re like my medicine 

      By the end of the week, you would still be together. Pansy would instantly try to make you feel better as she would offer you small massages and small treats. She would try her best to make sure that you were in a better mood as you would just stay the whole night, cuddling her in her bed. It didn’t matter if you were in different houses. You always managed to sneak into her dorm and sleep right next to her as she would lay her head on yours.

From good, good to bad, bad to worse, back to good but it works.  

      That was your cycle. You never cared that it had happened so often up until the very end, when you realized how awful she left you. One minute you two would be smiling, holding each other’s hand as you walked around the grounds, searching for something fun to do. Then you would be slightly annoyed as she would make snide comments about the passing students. And she would be uncomfortable and feel offended as you would try to oppose her comments. In less than an hour, you would be screaming at each other, once she even pushed you as it began a whole fight. By the end of the day, you would be kissing on the couch, trying to savour every moment as you were fueled by your anger for each other. 

Our messed up kind of love

       Though as that one fight began, so did a whole other bunch of instances. Your eyes began to gain even darker bags under them, your headaches became constant, and you gave up on even using mascara anymore, knowing that it would do nothing but just run down your face by the end of the day. You knew how much endurance your relationship required from the both of you. You knew how awful of toll it took on your mental and physical health. But you knew even more about how much you felt like you needed her. How just by being with her each minute of the day was the only thing that made you feel whole and better again. That was all you could have ever wanted from her. You knew what it was like to be without her but you also knew that it was worse than being with her. At least you thought it was. Pansy was our queen and your enemy, all at once. Your love wasn’t at all like it would be in Disney movies, it was the kind you saw in a Criminal Mind episode before a murder would go down. Then, you would get the fake happy ending that would relax the both of you for the whole day until the night would come, dampening your mood as you would scream and sometimes even throw things at each other. If an outsider saw the way everything went down, they would tell you to leave and run from the toxic relationship that you had brewed with Pansy. But you two would say otherwise. After all, it wasn’t a Disney kind of love. It was a messed up kind of love. 

[lovelivingmydreams]

In this together

This is part of a bigger story starting here

Virgil was staring hard at himself in his mirror. His thoughts swirling uncontrollably.

Today was amazing! But what if it goes wrong and it’ll be my fault? Roman called me brave… Me? Brave? I can’t mess this up…

It was disorienting. Feeling himself shoot to his highest glee only to fall to his deepest despair on the flip of a dime. His eyeshadow switched between bright purple to deep black every time he blinked.

“If he’s ready we’re ready…” But he wasn’t. He’ll never be ready. But he is willing to try… Was that enough? Would Roman be disappointed to hear that?

“What is all that turmoil in here? Struggling with the truth Virgil?” Janus’ voice purred from behind him.

Virgil tensed and his eyeshadow got stuck on black. He threw up his hoodie just in case though. Roman would want to tell everyone everything with him just as soon as he managed to get a grip on himself. Virgil could hear the barrage of Disney and Broadway love songs trough the walls.

“Shut it J. Or I’ll close the door on you again,” Virgil growled. He’d hated doing it, but it was his compromise for Patton. Roman got to keep his door shut to Janus and Virgil would allow him to visit again and relay any messages if needed.

He was trying to be civil. But he was nowhere near ready to go back to old times. He might never be.

Ever since he moved upstairs he’d only left his door open to Janus once before and that had been an accident. He’d been in a good mood on Halloween and let down his guard just a little too much.

“Now Virgil, no need to be so harsh. I just wanted to check in. Thomas has been lying a lot today. Hope you two weren’t too hard on him for it?” Janus tried to play it off but Virgil could see he was actually worried. And maybe they were overcompensating a little today. Both were still frustrated with the whole change in the mindscape going over their heads. And if Thomas was accepting deceit as part of him, then Virgil had to be even more on guard for it going too far.

“None of your business. And I’m not struggling with anything. I’m going to talk to Roman. And I’m going to be honest.” It worked so well for Thomas… There were the butterflies again. He was smiling despite himself. He turned away so Jan wouldn’t see.

“Thomas is fine. Now get lost,” he huffed, barely containing his glee as he thought about Nico and how happy he made Thomas. “Very well… Good evening Virgil,” Janus bowed before disappearing.

Virgil sighed in relief and looked in the mirror again. Yep still purple. Though there was a slight black undertone. He needed to talk to Roman now. Before the prince figured out how torn he was himself.

He closed his eyes and appeared in front of Roman’s door. He could enter whenever he wanted but he preferred giving the others the choice not to let him in.

He raised his hand and knocked. “Ro?” he asked carefully.

Virgil heard his dramatic friend stop in the middle of ‘helpless’ and a second later he was pulled inside and swept into an improvised waltz as the song continued for another chorus.

“Oh, Virgil! Such a glorious day!” Roman gushed, his eyes bright with excitement. It was infectious Virgil felt giddiness overwhelming him and he let Roman guide him and laughed as the prince sang at the top of his lungs.

And suddenly he felt a pull. One he was getting sort of familiar with as he and Roman had indulged in this a few times before now. He panicked and both sides fell flat on their behinds. Before Virgil could properly register what had happened Roman was already in front of him and looking down worriedly.

“Virgil what is wrong? You’ve never pulled away before?” he wondered. Virgil hated to see the slight trace of rejection in Roman’s feature and knew that he had to explain himself right now.

“It’s not that Roman. I just… Came to talk about something…”

He was sure his eyeshadow was back to black, Roman was looking at it rather sadly.

“Ok… Let’s get more comfortable,” he suggested as he helped Virgil up and sat them both in some beanbags he summoned for the occasion.

“Thanks…” Virgil sighed as he sat down.

“It’s about wht you said to Thomas… I didn’t know what to say then, but I do now. I… I am not ready.

Roman paled and was about to say something but Virgil shot into a tangent before he could.

“Because I’ll never be. I wasn’t ready to try out for the first play, I wasn’t ready to post the first video, I was not ready to make the first move and I won’t be ready for a lot of ‘firsts’. It’s not in my nature to be. I second guess and I worry about the bad stuff that could happen. But I am willing to take the risks and hope the reward will be worth it… If… You’ll have my back? Even if it does go wrong?” His voice trailed off at the end. He’d never openly asked for help with something before.  He hated admitting to needing it. But here he was, asking Roman to basically hold his hand during the scary bits.

Roman blinked a few times and then that soft smile came back. The one he’d worn when complementing him and watching Thomas and Nico together.

“Of course Virgil. We are in this together,” Roman promised as he laid a hand on his shoulder.

Virgil relaxed and smiled up at his friend.

“So… Want to tell the others about today with me?” Roman asked, getting excited again and Virgil felt his own heart start to race and the butterflies to take over again.

“Yeah,” he nodded, and this time when he felt the pull he did not stop it.

“Oh! So good to be back!” Alexander exclaimed embracing himself as he twirled around in the room giggling happily. He walked over to the mirror and inspected his outfit. It tended to change around a lot and it was always interesting to see what gorgeous creation he was wearing this time.

The outfit reminded a lot of the one he’d worn on his first appearance. The comfortable, Magenta, zip up sweater that looked like a royal vest and the soft brown pants, the stylish boots reaching to his knees and the elegant details in the design Thought this time, those were stitched in a glittering silver. And his eyes were accented with a warm sunset pallet. He also got a cape that shimmered in rainbow colors as he moved, shifting hues depending on the light.

He looked amazing.

And while taking in all the details and appreciating being himself for a little while sounded lots of fun. He had to go say hi to his family while he was here. Oh! And fill them in on all the gossip!

The gossip being Nico… Wow, talk about a dream guy...

Right! Focus!

“Logan! Patton! Janus! Uncle Remus! Remy you too get that fabulous behind of yours to the commons or I’ll drag you there!” He yelled as he hurried towards the commons. No sooner had he arrived or Remus appeared, apparently back from a fight in the imagination.

“Alex! How is my favorite nephew doing?” Remus screeched ruffling Alexander’s hair with his non bloodied hand.

“Amazing as you can see,” Alex informed him twirling around to show off his glittery costume.

“I do. Could be gayer though,” the master of chaos grinned as he waved away most remains of his latest outing. The others might not be aware, but Remus did make an effort not to gross out Patton too much.  And with others Alex meant Patton and Logan. Roman knew exactly how disgusting Remus could get because they’d shared a room for a while and recently they’d started to share a wall with a door in. Virgil and Janus had lived with Remus and seen him at his absolute worst several times.

Alexander smiled at him appreciatively. “Give it a minute,” he grinned.

“Oooooh! Sounds like you have something interesting on your mind…” Remy grinned from the doorway. Alexander looked up and grinned at the side in charge of Thomas’ rest.

“And it better be. It’s fabulous seeing you babe. But interrupting my nap comes at a price. Juicy gossip or my never ending wrath.” Before Alexander could respond with more than a chuckle he was tackled in a hug. “Kiddo! You’re back! I didn’t know you’d stop by for a visit! I’ll make cookies hold on!” Patton always acted as if Alex was simply bussy at college or something and had any say in when he stopped by. Roman and Virgil didn’t exactly plan this. Ever. It was something they did when it felt right for them.

“Patton, let Alexander breathe.” A calm voice instructed and the grip loosened.

“Whew, thanks Logan,” he smiled at the studious side.

“You are welcome. I do share Patton’s sentiment though. It is good to see you again,” Logan offered with a kind smile.

Alexander smiled back before looking down at the mindscapes resident dad. “Hi poppa Patton. You doing okay?” he asked as he pushed himself out of the embrace. Not that he minded too much. But he had been standing still for too long already. He was about one minute away from exploding with excitement.

Patton looked him up and down and his eyes sparkled. “Oh, I think you know I’m doing really good today. From the looks of it you have Virgil’s sparkle!” he giggles. “I am feeling all over the place but mostly good feelings. Mind informing us why?”

“Oh, no don’t wait for me. I didn’t want to join in on the conversation anyway,” Janus drawled from the door. “J! Now we’re complete!” Alexander exclaimed clapping his hands in elation.

He could see that everyone was happy to see him this excited.

“Well, then I might as well spill the tea! It’s so hot! Fresh from the kettle and mhmmm, is it good!”

“Alexander, the point,” Logan reminded him as everyone took a seat, intrigued by Alex’s behavior.

“Oh! Sorry Logan, got carried away by my metaphor,” Alex laughed awkwardly. Luckily Logan could always ground him in the present.

“Thomas met a cute guy!” He blurted out elated. Patton was squealing. “Oh my goodness! Yassss babe!” Remy exclaimed clapping his hands once before raising them to the sky as if thanking the heavens for this development. Logan and Janus were much more quiet in their happiness but exchanged a pleased look, Remus was grinning from ear to ear and whooping as he swung his Morningstar in celebration. “Thomas is going to get l…”

“Uncle Remus!” Alexander scolded playfully.

“Oops, right. Not in front of my bro’s kid,” Remus winked.

Alexander chuckled and summoned an image of Nico for the others.

“This is Nico Flores…” And with that he shot of in a long tangent about what had led up to the meeting and everything they’d learned about him… Not exactly in chronological order.

“Oh and get this Logan. He’s a poet!” he exclaimed.

Logan perked up in interest at that. His earlier caution making a little more room for hopeful excitement. Alex knew that the others had known on some level what had caused all this excitement. Logan had made Thomas rationalize his expectations earlier and Patton had almost certainly been the one to wonder if he was ready to just hand himself over to a new guy like this.

Janus was the only one who maybe had been kept completely shut off from the conversation Alex was still building up to. Well and Remy clearly had slept through the whole day. Remy adored drama but he always missed out.

“Anyway so then Virgil was like ‘Whatever’ and Thomas walked up to him…”

Remus found the trashcan incident insanely hilarious of course.

No one was a fan of the boiled mayo carrots.

And everyone groaned a bit at the bathroom guy. Patton felt bad for the man, Logan was just embarrassed and Janus was glad he’d been able to cover for Thomas.

Remy had a grand old time laughing at the antics of Roman and Virgil and Thomas’ subsequent failing at basic human interaction.

Once again they all winced at Janus’ completely failed attempt to cover the fact that the moment of Gay panic had made them miss most of Nico’s question.

“That was the worst possible thing you could’ve suggested,” Logan observed.

“A complete dumpster fire,” Remy nodded with a grin.

“Yeah, I have to agree double D. Very poor choice of words.”

“There was panic and confusion. I never said I’m infallible. It’s not like I made a whole thing about not expecting perfection from yourself and allowing yourself to have flaws or anything,” Janus grumbled, though he knew that that fiasco almost cost them something Thomas wanted. A win he needed.

Alexander picked up his story again, hoping to lift the mood. “So then Roman was all sad and resigned. And Virgil was like. ‘Wait that is my thing.’ So he did Roman’s thing and took a leap of faith and pushed Thomas towards Nico!” He was so excited about that that he couldn’t help but sprint in place clenching his fist and pulling his arms to his chest, hoping to somehow squeeze the excess energy out of himself.

“So Thomas just went all in on ‘the truth and nothing but the truth’ and Nico was fine with everything!” Alexander jumped and spread his limbs wide as if to encompass all of who Thomas is to illustrate Nico’s acceptance of them.

“We have his number and he said we should meet up for lunch on purpose sometimes, no carrots necessary!” Alexander finished grinning at everyone in anticipation.

“I have never loved carrots as much as I do now!” Patton squealed.

“Well Alexander, I have to hand it to your father. He did a good job… Both of them did.” Janus was sincere, but he worried that once Alexander split his dads wouldn’t be sure of that.

“I know! I’m feeling so good right now! I might go a few days without glitching… Should I pop upstairs and say hi to Thomas? No I’ll do that later. Right now I should… Oh! Nico knows about our channel… You think he’ll google us? Maybe we should sent him a suggestion of what to watch first? No that’s probably not a good idea. I mean we did one of our misleading complement pick up lines when we asked his number, he thought it was funny… Yeah. It’ll be fine,” Alexander shook himself out of that train of thought, he could almost feel Roman squeezing Virgil’s hand somewhere within his core.

“Still  so much stuff to do… If you need me I’ll be in my room! Brainstorming ideas and making sure you all are reminded how important you are! Please do come by? I would love those cookies, and it’s always nice to chat with someone!” With that Alexander left the room leaving the other sides to talk about what they’d heard and plan to spend some quality time with Alexander while they waited for Virgil and Roman to be ready to come back.

Next chapter

[ellaenchanting]

Hypnovember Day 18: Monster

Ellen sat in the back room of the coffeeshop quietly sipping her tea. The other members of the hypnosis meet up group were slowly gathering after their break,  chatting and catching up before practice portion of their group officially started. She strategized about what it would be helpful for her to practice tonight. Her traitorous brain eagerly supplied some silly power fantasies. She quickly suppressed them. That kind of stuff wasn’t fair to think about here. It wasn’t everyone else’s fault that she was so warped.

Ellen both loved and hated the group. She wasn’t just into power fantasies- she was genuinely interested in hypnotherapy and doing hypnosis for fun. She had been very surprised to find a local hypnosis practice group existed at all where she could practice her skills and learn more . (It was tiring having to work up the nerve to bug her friends to volunteer to be practice subjects.) Of course, she was the youngest person there and usually the only woman but- that was OK. She had long ago accepted that that most actual hypnotists were middle aged men and she was an odd aberration.

She felt like an aberration in other ways too. Few of the hypnotists here seemed to struggle with nerves in the way she did. Group practice often brought those nerves on . She hated the way they would make her words come out stilted and wrong, her gestures awkward, and her metaphors so mixed up until they ultimately went nowhere. When it got really bad, Ellen’s childhood stutter would return in full force. It felt important and meaningful to her that she got it wrong so often- like she had failed to perform in some cataclysmic way.

 It also felt meaningful when she got it right. Ellen would feel proud of herself  for her mastery of something and then almost immediately the thought would sneak in- “if only they knew”. It’s not that the hypnosis she was doing with the group had a sexual charge- group members ranged from kinda- to very- not-her-type- but she could only imagine the disgust her subjects would feel if they knew the full range of thoughts she had about hypnosis internally. Or, even worse, if they could see her web browser history. How would they feel being taken advantage of by such a perverted monster?

In a lesser but still meaningful way, Ellen also felt annoyed that she had never quite been hypnotized yet despite many, many attempts. Usually practice time involved pairing up and switching turns being the hypnotist and the subject. Ellen would usually go along with others’ inductions and give them some technical feedback afterwards, but the truth was she rarely felt anything besides plain, comfortable relaxation. She knew there was more- she could see it in the reactions of some of the people she hypnotized and the incredible mental feats they performed. She had evidence that this kind of deep hypnosis existed. She just couldn’t access it herself. 

Ellen was shaken out of her reverie by a voice.  

““Hi! I heard your name was Ellen?””

She looked up to see the group’s newest member. He was a little older than her- probably mid- to late-twenties- and had a nice dark beard. When she replied with the affirmative, he extended his hand and shook hers confidently. 

“Hi, I’m John.  Do you have a practice partner yet?” 

Ellen and John socialized a bit before starting their practice. This was normal at the meetings- partially because of mutual nerves but also because everyone  welcomed the  opportunity to geek out about an unusual personal interest. John said that had been doing hypnosis for about 5 years- around the same time she had- but he had already started a stage show and was planning on turning it from a hobby into a career. She was impressed. She found herself feeling surprisingly connected to him. She wondered if he had that effect on everyone he met. If so, it was a neat trick.

When they finally got down to practice, Ellen started by doing a modified Flowers induction. She had come in with the intention of throwing in a lot of language patterns into her induction- she had been drilling her Zeebu cards lately- but an odd change of mood happened as she watched John start to sink into hypnosis. Something about the way he responded to her words, melting and  seeming to almost to throw himself into trance, triggered something in her. She found herself hovering closer to him, her voice going softer as she spoke closer to his ear.

She almost reached out and touched his arm when she remembered- no. That would be inappropriate. She caught herself and reminded herself to be professional. She gave John a few generic positive suggestions and then brought him back up out of trance.

John took a surprisingly short amount of time to recover, his expression showing alertness almost immediately. When she remarked on it, he told Ellen that he was actually a very practiced subject- that he had purposefully worked on his ability to be hypnotized. Ellen hadn’t even known that was possible to do- the research she had read strongly suggested that someone’s ability to be hypnotized was pretty static and unchangeable. She confessed to John that she always had difficulty being hypnotized and envied people who could access that state easily. She worked to keep the longing out of her voice as she described her desire for the experience of knowing she was deeply and truly hypnotized. 

John paused for a moment after she spoke.  He gave her a curious, searching look. Then his face cleared as he seemed to decide on something. 

“Hey, do you mind if I try something a bit different?” he asked.

Ellen nodded. She switched positions with him and made herself comfortable as per his instructions. 

“Can I touch you?” John asked.

All things considered, Ellen thought she hid her spike of excitement quite well. She nodded again.

John started steadily and confidently speaking to her as he traced a finger lightly up and down her hand. He wanted her to focus on the feeling of the finger going up and down, he said. Ellen gamely focused her attention. It felt nice, that light touch.

John continued to talk to her, telling her she didn’t have to worry about going into trance or getting sleepy or being hypnotized- all she had to do was focus on his touch. That was good- Ellen had historically bad luck with those concepts.  She dutifully focused, even as she had some stray thoughts about how amazing John’s voice sounded. John’s fingers started to move to trace her arm up and then back down, all the while continuing to talk to her about focus and enjoying how the touch felt. Ellen still noticed some of the clever words he said, but the specifics were fading. It was all beginning to feel like a general wave of instruction washing over her. She was vaguely aware he was speaking to her more directly now and telling her how good she was doing and enjoyed how pleasant those things were.  Suddenly-

“Sleep!” 

John’s hand grabbed her arm and pulled it gently downwards. Ellen felt her eyes close as her head nodded forward. Her whole body slumped. Fortunately, John was kneeling in front of her and waiting to catch her. Once he did, he took her shoulder and rocked her deeper and deeper into trance with his words and his touch.

It felt amazing- just like she had always hoped that it would. John finally stopped rocking and took her hand. That gesture felt so right and lovely and perfect that Ellen felt herself quietly moan in response.

And then....she noticed she had done it.

Suddenly thoughts flew back into her mind. What was she doing? Did everyone else hear her? Were they watching her now? Were they realizing what a creepy pervert she was?

Ellen violently sat up, opened her eyes, and yanked her mind awake. Shaken, she took a moment to clench and unclench her hands, reminding herself that she had power over them. She was up. She had control of herself. She was OK. 

After a few breaths, she looked around the room and noticed that no one else seemed to be looking at her. She resisted the urge to cry in relief. 

She finally noticed John was there, still on his knees and giving her a concerned look. “Ellen?” he asked firmly. “How do you feel? What happened?”

She took a moment to respond. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to....I made a noise and I didn’t mean to be...awkward. I’m really sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he replied, going back into a more soothing voice. “Being hypnotized feels good sometimes, yeah? It’s ok to enjoy it. Is that what happened? It felt good in..in a way you weren’t expecting?”

Ellen nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m..weird, I didn’t mean to be weird,” she replied, still very flustered.

He looked at her gently. “You’re not...you’re not that weird. Listen, I get you might not want to talk about this here but- we could talk about it after practice maybe? I think we may have some things in common.”

Ellen thought about everything she had seen about erotic hypnosis online. All the misogyny. All of the shame and degradation people wrote about. She pictured the sexy stage show she had downloaded parts of and how much the hypnotist seemed to relish in people’s genuine embarrassment. 

She remembered that she didn’t really know John at all. 

“No!” she replied sharply. Then gentler-  “I mean, I don’t want to talk about it. It’s OK. I’m OK.”

He nodded. “You are, you know. And it’s OK if you’re....if you’re not ready yet to talk about it. But- “ He made sure she was looking at him as he said the next part. “There’s nothing wrong with you. And- if you do ever want to talk more about it or even ask questions, here’s my card. Call me anytime, ok? I mean it.”

He produced a business card out of his pocket. Ellen hesitated, then took it.

Just then, the leader announced that their practice time was over and moved onto wrapup. Ellen waited for everyone’s attention to be gathered, then snuck out the back on the building. She needed some fresh air. She was done with hypnosis for tonight. 

But she thought of the card, still in her jacket pocket, the whole bike ride home.  

[bluesfortheredj]

Modern Romance - Epilogue.

Smut ahead.

“Gwil, I can’t do this, I can’t cope,” she sighs, her voice on the verge of cracking with tears.

I can hear our son in the background; his cries coming across loud and clear as if it were him on the phone instead.

“It’s as if I’m not good enough, I’m not you. He doesn’t want his mum, he wants his dad.”

“Don’t say that, he doesn’t want me! He wants you, the person who gave birth to him.”

“He always calms down when you soothe him. I’ve tried everything; his nappy is dry, he’s not hungry, he hasn’t got wind… I don’t know what else to do,” she sounds empty, completely drained from a sleepless night and day.

I’ve only been gone 48 hours and she’s been up for most of those with our little one. I should be there, I say this too many times in our relationship, but I’m out in Europe filming and absent for more important moments as usual. I didn’t want to leave but in all honesty we need the money now we’ve got a tiny human to feed and clothe, and with (Y/N) on maternity leave it’s a struggle at times to make ends meet. Our little Leo is only six months old and it was the toughest decision to make but (Y/N) encouraged me to take it being as it’s only four weeks, despite being apprehensive about being left on her own with the bubba.

“Put me on video,” I instruct, needing to see her face.

It feels like Australia all over again and I might as well be the other side of the world with how isolated she must be feeling right now. She does as I say and now I can see the sheer exhaustion on her face in the suddenly harsh light of our lounge; she’s pale, there are deep dark circles underneath her eyes, and she looks completely beaten. Leo is screaming in the rocker next to her, one of her feet still managing to try and soothe him in spite of the fact that her whole body was now weak with tiredness, and I have to force a reassuring smile.

“He will not. Stop. Crying,” she sobs, “the neighbours must think something terrible is going on in here with the way he’s screaming. I’m an awful mother, I can’t cope being alone with my own child, I-”

“Shh,” I hush, “you’re doing a brilliant job under the circumstances. I should be there to help, there’s absolutely no shame in struggling on your own with a new born! Just look at me… look at me a second… just breathe okay? Take some deep breaths. That’s it. In… and out. Now you’re gonna pick up Leo and do the same okay?”

I’m clutching at straws, I have no more of an idea of what to do than she does, and I’m just making this up in the blind hope that it’ll go some way to calm the two of them down.

“Maybe do the skin to skin thing?” I add, knowing that we were told how it can help with bonding in the early months.

She nods slowly, stands the phone up on the coffee table, undoes the top few buttons on her pyjama shirt, takes one last deep breath, then picks up Leo from the rocker and carefully tucks him inside the clothing with his little red face still crying out for something unknown. I nod and smile as she looks to the phone screen for reassurance, then she wipes her tears away and starts to take deep breaths once more while her finger tips massage Leo’s scalp gently while he cries into her neck.

“You know him better than anyone on this planet,” I remind her, “you nurtured him for nine whole months and made sure he came into this world as safely and healthy as he could.”

Her eyes close as she begins to hum a song and she nods along to what I say until finally those screams begin to fade and I watch as his tiny chunky arms reach out to (Y/N)’s skin and rest upon it as if hugging her. The humming stops and I soon realise the two of them are now asleep in front of me, but I stay on video for another twenty minutes just to watch them both and take in the sight of my little family snoozing happily without me there. Leo stirs a little, his eyes opening slightly to look up at his mum, then he nuzzles into her neck with a yawn and he’s soon off to sleep again before I manage to end the video call.

Everything had been quite the rush since I proposed over a year ago; we had a small wedding ceremony at a country house in the middle of nowhere when she was six months gone with only the closest family and friends being invited, and we chose to forgo a honeymoon in favour of going away after the baby arrived which obviously did not go to plan because babies are notoriously good at messing up plans; it’s lucky they’re so bloody cute. And Leo… well, he’s the cutest of them all, not that I’m biased in any way obviously, but he is definitely the most gorgeous baby I’ve ever laid eyes on, and the most perfect mix of (Y/N) and I with his tiny button nose and piercing blue eyes. It’s funny how you imagine having the perfect little family and yet somehow the reality isn’t as easy as you think; sleepless nights, sick down every top you own, explosive poos in almost every colour of the rainbow, pee on your face if you take the nappy away too quickly… it’s really quite fascinating how much a small human can impact on your life. (Y/N) is a born mother but it hasn’t been easy adjusting to this new way of life for either of us, and I know that this is such a huge step to be left on her own with Leo for so long, and I sure as hell wouldn’t be able to do it, I know that for a fact.

“Gwil!” (Y/N) whispers excitedly when I answer her video call a few days later, “look!”

She switches cameras to show me a sleeping Leo in his cot then backs out of the room and turns the camera on herself to show me a relieved smile on her still slightly sleep deprived face, “it only took a week,” she sighs.

I smile, yet still feel sad that I’m not there to help out, “I’m sorry,” I exhale with a shake of my head, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she reassures, “if I can get through the last week without tearing my hair out then I can get through anything, right?”

“Exactly,” I nod, “you’re the strongest woman I know.”

“I’m nothing without you here.”

“Shut up,” I scoff, “don’t be ridiculous. Now remind me, when are your parents getting there?”

She looks down at her watch briefly, “in about an hour.”

“Good, and did the shopping get delivered alright?”

“Yep,” she nods, “got about 20 packs of nappies now which should last at least a couple of days,” she laughs.

“How’s his poo doing?” the conversations we have these days really are quite unexpected.

“It’s looking more human and less glowing alien goop, so it’s going in the right direction!”

“Oh thank god,” I sigh, “I could not cope with the…” I pause as I almost gag at the thought of what I used to find in his nappy, “yeah… that.”

She laughs at my reaction; a laugh that I hadn’t seen since before I left, and I melt into the seat at the desk in my hotel room at the sight and sound of that beautiful response. It was like cool rain after a sweltering summer’s day, having a mug of hot chocolate while underneath a blanket in winter, or the pure, ecstatic relief of coming home after weeks away. She’s home to me; I don’t even need to be in our house as long as I’m with her and now little Leo as well.

“What are you thinking?” she hums, seeing me drift off to a place with her.

“I’m just-”

Leo’s scream comes across loud and clear on the phone and she sticks out her bottom lip as far as it will go before knocking the back of her head on the wall behind as she tries to muster up some energy to deal with the impending situation.

“I love you, bye,” she sighs, ending the video call just as I open my mouth to reply.

“Love you too,” I say to the photo of us dancing at our wedding that makes up the background on my phone.

I spend far too long looking at pictures on my phone these days, although it’s getting increasingly harder to find the ones of us alone through the many rapid shots of Leo doing completely mundane things like giggling, waving his hands about, sleeping, eating, bathing, and most probably pooing in at least fifty percent of them. I have to scroll for a while before something other than our little man appears, and I end up going all the way back to the first photo I ever took of (Y/N). It’s just as magical as the day I took it; the soft glow of the rising sun illuminating the outline of her body in our bed. Because now it is our bed. The bed we’ve made love in countless times, the bed we’ve both cried in, comforted one another in, laughed until we’ve almost wet ourselves in, and the bed our baby was conceived in. The first thing I do when I get home is take her to bed, as long as Leo can give us five minutes that is; I think I’ll have to call in reinforcements, aka grandparents as childcare.

-

I try to squeeze through the crowds at the airport as quickly as possible so I can jump in a cab and get home, but these people will just not move. My frustrations grow with each person that bumps into me, and I’m a grumbling mess when I finally get outside the prison that is Heathrow, especially when I see that there are no taxis in sight thanks to the mass influx of people tonight. It’s a nightmare and the cheerful and relieved mood I was in when we landed has been stripped away bit by bit in the last half an hour. I finally find myself a cab and pop earphones in for the relatively quick journey considering London traffic, then I breathe a sigh of relief as I arrive home and walk up that familiar path. The door flies open before I even get to the mat and I drop my suitcase and bag as (Y/N) comes running out to greet me, flinging her arms around my neck and almost knocking me over with her enthusiasm. Now I’m really home.

“I missed you so much,” she quietly sobs into my shirt.

“I missed you more,” I whisper back, tears rolling over my cheeks, “are you okay? Is Leo alright? Where is he?”

She pulls away and I wipe her tears as she hangs on to my coat, “please don’t hate me but he’s with my parents until tomorrow…”

My face lights up at the thought of having (Y/N) all to myself again if only for 24 hours, and I can’t help but let out a relieved laugh, “how could I ever hate you? I get you alone for a whole day and we can pretend we’ve got no actual responsibilities. I couldn’t love you any more if I tried. Now come on, we’re having sex in every room.”

I take her hand and pull her inside the house to the sweetest sound of her laughing behind me, and I sit her on the stairs before running back out to grab my luggage. I drop it all in a pile in the hallway before I kick the door shut behind me, then she stands up on the step she stood on the first proper weekend we spent together and we recreate that kiss; the kiss that cemented us as a couple despite there being no labels at that point as we stood in our pyjamas ready for a night of nothing in particular.

“I completely and utterly adore our little Leo, but my god I’ve been aching to have you all to myself since he arrived,” I admit breathlessly, barely parting from our kiss as my hands wander her body unsure of where to stop these days.

“I know,” she nods as her lips move along my jaw lazily, “it’s just you and me until tomorrow night my love. Let’s not waste a minute.”

My eyes roll into the back of my head at those words and she pushes against my chest as she steps down from the stairs, then in a flurry of discarded clothes, wet, messy kisses and bumps into walls, doors, and furniture we somehow end up in the living room with me sat on the sofa and my beautiful (Y/N) bouncing up and down on my lap. I’ve missed this, I’ve missed her, I’ve missed the feeling of being so intimate with the one I love, I’ve missed her body and all the beautiful little changes it’s made to carry and nurture our son. I look up at her in both awe and pure pleasure to see her gaze focused on me and we meet for a sloppy, teeth clashing kiss while our bodies move together as one for the first time since our bubba came along. I’m first to orgasm, with her following shortly after, and we lay in a tangled, naked mess along the sofa as we catch our breath once we’ve finished. Our bodies are stuck together with the thin layers of sweat that coat both of us and the only sound is our breathing as it transitions from pants to soft breaths.

“Pasta?” she eventually asks.

“I fucking love you,” I reply.

She gets up with a grin and I study every inch of her body as she looks around for something to cover her, then I realise just how much it had changed during the pregnancy and the last few months and it’s a bewitching sight to see.

“You look incredible,” I admire, leaning up on one arm as she slips my t-shirt over her head.

“Urgh,” she groans, “I’m fatter than ever, my nipples are so painful, the stretch marks have spread, and I can barely get control over my bladder. I look far from incredible.”

I furrow my brow at her and sit up, “I mean it; you’re absolutely stunning. I hadn’t realised just how much your body had adapted to having our little one but it’s amazing to see, and you’re just as beautiful as the day I met you, if not more.”

“How is it you can still make my knees weak with mere words?” she blushes, backing out of the room to sort out some food.

I dress… well, I put on my pants and the jogging bottoms I wore on the journey back, then join her in the kitchen and it’s as if we’re back to those first couple of months again; the silliness, the passion, the carefree nature of us both, and it’s just as intoxicating now as it was back then. I know it’s completely selfish but having her attention on just me again is what I’ve been craving since our little muffin came along, and I’m sure that this will satiate my need for at least another six months. To be honest, I think she needs this just as much as I do; she’s had a tough month being on her own with Leo and playing both mum and dad while I’ve been away, and now she can have a well deserved day off from it all.

Our day is filled with delicious food, laying on the sofa and watching a whole television programme without being disturbed by cries, getting lost in one another with endless kissing and touching, and we make love two more times with one in our bedroom and the other in the kitchen. By night we don’t even want to go to sleep for fear of missing a second of being with each other, but we soon have to give in to the utter exhaustion of being awake for so long, and we huddle up together for a peaceful nights sleep.

“Morning,” (Y/N) whispers softly as I blink into the light of the room.

“Morning,” I reply groggily, trying my best to sit up.

“I have a confession to make…”

“Go on.”

“I phoned my parents this morning and they’re bringing Leo back in an hour. I loved our time together, it was perfect in every way, but my god am I missing that little sleep stealer!”

I let out a chuckle at her confession, “me too. It just wasn’t the same watching almost a whole series without one interruption. I miss cuddling him in one arm and trying to do something else with the other.”

“Well, it’s official… we’re proper parents now.”

“Yep. Undoubtedly so!”

She slips under the covers and cuddles into my side, running her fingers through the hair on my chest softly, and we both close our eyes to savour the moment before begrudgingly getting up and dressed ready for the return of Leo.

“Thank you,” I say as we spot her parent’s car pulling up outside.

“For what?” she frowns.

“Sticking with me, making me a dad, being my rock… the list goes on.”

She places a hand on my cheek and kisses my lips gently, “you big softie. You’re stuck with me anyway,” she winks.

The arrival of Leo at the door is signified by one of his giggles, and (Y/N) runs to open it and take our son in her arms with me following quickly behind. He wriggles against her and soon starts grabbing at her to get as close as humanly possible to his mum as she peppers his head with kisses while she carefully rocks her body soothingly.

“Daddy’s home!” she whispers excitedly as she passes him to me and ushers her parents into the lounge.

He grumbles a little, having to get used to smelling his dad again after such a long time, but he soon settles and overall seems pleased to see me thank goodness. I rock him in my arms as (Y/N) goes to make the tea and I stand in the kitchen doorway looking between the two loves of my life and completely taken aback by how lucky I got to have them in my life.

“Hey, come here,” I nod as (Y/N) turns to look at me.

She steps towards us both and plants a soft kiss on the little one’s nose as I wrap my free arm around her, then press my lips first to (Y/N)’s head, and secondly to Leo’s. As long as I’ve got these two in my life, I’ll be happy.

[might-be-a-zygon]

Flat 40b

Chapter Four

What Choice to Make?

“Jenny.”

The Doctor stood stock still, just watching as the all-too familiar figure leaned easily against his doorway, as though she hadn’t been dead for centuries. He just about registered the other blonde he’d been talking to making a beeline for the door, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to care, because that was Jenny, and she was here, and she was alive. He wasn’t entirely sure how it’d happened, but frankly, he didn’t care.

Maybe, just this once, the Universe had decided to be kind?

“Hi dad.” She gave him a knowing smile as she repeated the first words she’d ever said to him.

“How-“

“I don’t know.” She admitted. “I woke back up. Guess I’m a bit more like you than we thought. I’ve been trying to find you but you’re not exactly easy to track down. I kept missing you.”

The Doctor’s grin turned sheepish for a minute, before returning to something between shock and awe. “I don’t like to stop running for too long.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” She replied, her voice full of mock-earnestness.

“Oh and you got cheeky!” Despite his words, the Doctor wasn’t a bit annoyed about that fact- he looked positively delighted. “Does that make you a teenager now?”

“Well, I was born as an adult and I’m not sure how aging works for Time Lords but-“

“Oh you’re definitely a teenager! What have you been doing all this time?”

“Looking for you, mostly. I went into the family business.” That one earned her a confused look from the Doctor, who made a vague gesture for her to sit down in the empty seat near his desk, though he didn’t sit down himself. How was he supposed to sit down when he was still fizzing with excitement? “And the family business is…?” “Running around. Saving people. Fighting the bad guys- all the stuff you’re best at. You know I-” The Doctor cut her off before she could finish that thought. “I should have waited.” He cut in quickly, needing to get the apology out there. He’d never been great with apologies (though judging by the notecards he’d found in his drawers he’d been trying to improve at some point), but this one felt too important to let slip past. He’d left her for dead and she’d been looking for him ever since. How was he supposed to ignore that and just pretend to have a normal conversation knowing how long she’d spent looking? “You didn’t know.” Jenny managed a smile, though there was enough of him in her that he could recognise the façade. “I knew you were like me. I knew how long it takes for a Time Lord to properly die. I should have stayed with you, made sure that they didn’t try to…” He cut himself off before he could get into anything too horrifying. Being buried prematurely was something Time Lord’s always had to consider when they weren’t with their own kind- it was something he’d narrowly avoided himself, when he’d worn his seventh face. In an attempt to lighten the mood, he smiled again, leaning against the edge of the desk. “So- how did you find me in the end?” “Well,” Jenny looked him over, “You attract attention. A mad professor who hasn’t aged in seventy years? it seemed like it was worth a shot.” “Mad professor?” He looked a little offended, but the expression was so comical it just made her laugh. “You’re not exactly teaching a standard curriculum in there are you?” “Curriculums are boring.” The Doctor dismissed. “I’ve gotta admit though- it’s not the face I was expecting. I was a little worried you wouldn’t recognise me yet, what with Martha not-“ The Doctor’s face suddenly fell, and he found himself leaning forwards across the desk slightly. “Martha?” “Yeah? She doesn’t know me yet, so I kind of assumed that this must have been where you met her, since-“ “She didn’t go here.” The Doctor cut her off again, too in his own head to worry about politeness. “The timing is off anyway, she’s been out of University for years! She- by now she’s married, they have a son. She definitely wouldn’t be here.” He turned to look at her, his expression grave. “You’re sure it’s her?” “I spent my first day alive trying to save her, remember?” Jenny raised an eyebrow. “It’s definitely her. She’s one of my flatmates. I don’t understand-” “And you live with Bill? Two of my friends and my daughter wind up in the same flat, and-“ He glanced at the photograph of River Song on his desk. “My wife is here to.” That girl from before had said that River Song had turned up at the flat to help her daughter move in. Her daughter. “How did you meet River?” He asked, not quite sure whether he wanted to hear the answer. As soon as she’d given it, he wished he hadn’t asked. “Who?” “Well that was-“ “Yeah.” Thea murmured, glancing back towards the office. Her and Bill had left pretty much as soon as Jenny had started talking, both unwilling to get stuck in the middle of the family reunion. There was a moment’s silence before the both of them burst out laughing. It wasn’t exactly what they’d been expecting to happen- though at the very least neither of the parties involved seemed particularly horrified by the fallout, so she supposed some solace could be taken in that. “So, plans for the rest of the day?” Bill asked once they’d both calmed down a bit. Thea just shrugged. “Might just go for a walk. I keep dreaming I’m walkin’ around campus so that’s probably my subconscious telling me to learn my way ‘round. She laughed a little at the concept, shaking her head. “How ‘bout you?” “Dunno, really. I was

supposed to have a meeting with the Doctor but it looks like that’s not happening now. Might just head back to the flat and-“ She paused mid-conversation, looking off behind Thea at someone she couldn’t see. “I wouldn’t go up there if I were you!” She called. Turning around, Thea nodded a bald man in a bright orange coat heading for the stairs up towards the faculty offices. “Why not? Is he being grumpy again?” The man began heading towards them when he spotted Bill. “Well-“ Bill laughed. “Yeah, when isn’t he?” “Fair point- Oh!” He seemed to have spotted Thea. “Who’s this?” “Oh! Nardole this is my flatmate Thea, Thea- Nardole he’s-“ “I babysit-“ he began cheerfully, before she cut him off again. “He works with the Doctor.” “Oh, uh. Nice to meet you?” Thea looked between the pair of them a little perplexed. They seemed pretty unlikely friends, but the man seemed friendly enough- she wasn’t about to be rude just because he’d come a little out of the blue. “Likewise.” He inclined his head slightly in her direction, drawing out his response just slightly longer than most people would have done. At that point he turned back to Bill. “How come I can’t go up there again?” “His daughter came to visit.” Thea explained, trying not to do so in too dramatic a fashion. From the look of surprise on Nardole’s face, that didn’t seem to have helped. “You didn’t know he had kids either, then?” Bill asked. “I knew he did but- I thought they were all-“ He glanced at Thea again, “I mean, I knew his wife but-“ “He had a wife?” Bill looked even more invested now. “He never mentioned he had a wife.” A noise which might have been a scoff left Nardole’s mouth. “Well he wouldn’t have, would he?” “Well you can’t just leave it at that!” “Well I can’t just tell you about his private business, you know I do value my life.” Sensing that things were about to devolve into a personal conversation, Thea began to back away, leaving the two of them to their bickering. “I’ll see you at the flat later!” She called to Bill, waving as she began to back away, walking a vaguely familiar path which cut across a grass bank and led her off in between two buildings. She must have picked up more of the geography of campus than she thought. She came up to a dead end, flanked by a rusty old door, some rubbish bags, and some discarded pallets. Maybe not. “Jack?” Yaz had dialled the number about as quickly as she could after shutting herself up in her room, any question of getting lunch long since forgotten. She needed to know what a young Jack Harkness was doing here- and whether it had something to do with whatever had been tracking them before they landed here. “Yasmin Khan! Well if it isn’t my favourite police officer.” She distinctly heard someone shout “Oi!” on the other side of the line, followed by the middled thump of a cushion hitting the phone, and laughing from Jack. “Okay- okay. Second favourite officer!” He said, his voice slightly distorted as he turned his head away from the phone, before coming back in clearer a moment or so later. “Sorry- she got there first. So. To what do I owe the pleasure?” “I just ran into you.” “You’re in Cardiff? Is the Doctor refuelling?” Jack asked, suddenly sounding a little more interested. “We’re in Bristol.” Yaz clarified, taking a seat at her desk, and grabbing the notepad she’d been using to scribble down all the unusual things that had been happening. With the Doctor out of action for the time being it was her job to investigate whatever had been chasing them. “I’m not in Bristol.” “Well I know you’re not now. I ran into a younger version.” That certainly seemed to peak Jack’s interest. “How much younger?” “I couldn’t tell, really.” Yaz shrugged, before trying to explain herself, not wanting to come off as apathetic. “The Doctor said you age slower so it’s not exactly easy to work out.” “I don’t remember ever going to Bristol- at least not in this time zone.” He admitted. “What was I doing there? Did you talk to me or just walk past me?” “You were looking for one of my flatmates-

temporary flatmates.” Yaz corrected herself, quickly. She didn’t plan on staying here without her Doctor for any longer than she needed to. “It’s a long story,” “Isn’t it always?” She could practically hear the smile in his tone. “Who’s your flat mate?” “Rose-“ She didn’t even get a chance to finish saying the name- something about it seemed to have flipped a switch for Jack, pushing the joking note right out of his voice, and leaving him sounding serious, and a little sad. “Rose Tyler?” He asked quickly. She could hear worried tones coming from whoever was in the room with him, but couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. “Yeah?” “Man, okay. You ran into a real young version of me.” There was a slight pause, before he asked, “Did the Doctor see Rose?” “Well.” Not really. Thea Smith had seen Rose- but was that the same, on some level? The Doctor had said that Thea was her, even though they weren’t exactly the same person- Thea was the human version of the Doctor, so did that count? “…Sort of?” She eventually settled on, sounding wholeheartedly confused about the whole thing. “Is she okay?” He asked, sounding surprisingly earnest. Yaz was reminded briefly of walking with him, talking about the Doctor. She realised, again, that deep down, Jack really did love the Doctor. Then again, she didn’t really see how anyone could meet the Doctor and not come away with half of their heart forever stuck in the bottomless pockets of that stupid coat. “Why wouldn’t she be okay?” Now it was Jack’s time to sound baffled. “Well. Rose? I mean, she lost her a really long time ago but-“ “She lost her?” Yaz glanced behind her, as though she could see straight through the wood and across into Rose Tyler’s room. “They used to be close. Did the Doctor not mention that when you saw her?” “She’s- Not really herself right now.” Yaz glanced out of the window, pushing her fingers through her hair. She should braid it to keep it out of her face, if she was going to be dealing with stress like this. “What do you mean?” He sounded worried, and she suddenly felt a little guilty for trying to be cryptic. It wasn’t as though she was the only one who cared about the Doctor. “She- Something was tracking her- she used a-“ Yaz tried to think of the name of the thing the Doctor had used, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever given it a real name. “A machine thing, in the TARDIS to make herself seem human. I’ve just gotta look after her and lie low until whoever was looking gives up. She said if they’re looking for an alien man, we’re pretty safe.” “She used the chameleon arch?” Something about the tone of Jack’s voice showed that that was serious. “Where in Bristol are you?” “St Luke’s University. The TARDIS set her up as a PHD student- she’s going to love that when she wakes up properly.” She laughed, more of a nervous tick than anything. The seriousness that he was treating the chameleon arch with made it all feel a lot more real to her. “Oh! I do remember that. We sent Rose in undercover because of the UFO and stuff- I guess that was probably you guys?” He asked. Laughing, Yaz nodded as though he could see her, before actually speaking. “Yeah, I think it probably was. The Doctor was out cold and I don’t exactly know how to land the TARDIS properly.” “Nice to finally have an answer on that one. I think the Doctor just gave up in the end. Unless…” He trailed off, calling out to the person on the other end of the line. Yaz heard a couple of muffled voices respond, but she still couldn’t understand the conversation. A minute or so later, he came back to the phone. “What year are you in?” “Uh-“ Yaz actually had to glance over at the university calendar she’d pinned up on her wall to check. Going back such a short jump was disconcerting to say the least- it wasn’t like jumping into the far past. She was living through the same time twice. “2017.” “ Oh, great- not a big jump. I don’t exactly have access to reliable time travel right now but…” He paused, clearly thinking. “I know a guy who can probably help me out. I’ll be there in the

morning.” Thea glanced at the dead end she’d steered herself into with a sigh. She’d been so sure there was something down here. Glancing at the door, she frowned slightly. There was something off about the heavy-looking ring of the handle. It was faintly worn, and much too clean, as though it saw a lot of use, but the patina on the door suggested it was rarely opened. What could even be behind it in a building like this? She was no architect but with the number of offices inside it couldn’t be much more than a cupboard. Impulsively, she reached forwards, mostly just intending to pick the ring pull up and let it fall again, though when she did so it proved oddly stiff, and she wound up pulling the whole thing forwards rather than lifting it. It clicked into place with an odd mechanical thunk, and then the whole door began to open without her needing to touch it. It was a pretty odd design for an automatic door- almost like someone had wanted to hide whatever was inside. Then again, if they were hiding it why wouldn’t there be a lock? She stepped inside cautiously, moving down the stairs and towards an odd blue glow at the end of the corridor. There had to be something down here, else the place wouldn’t be lit up- but it wasn’t on any of the maps. Maybe she was just trespassing in somebody’s office but- Well, Thea had always been a little too curious for her own good. “Hello?” She called. There was no response. The door at the end of the corridor was odd to say the least. Well, it was more doors than a door- two huge silvery things covered in a pattern that looked a little like a series of clocks. “Bit ornate for a Uni basement…” She muttered, pushing lightly on one. It didn’t budge- however when she touched one of the odd glowing panels at the side of it, a little hatch did spring open, asking for a password. She stared at it for a moment, somehow doubting that ‘Password123’ would work here. She didn’t know the password. There was no way she could know the password, and yet something was nagging at her to try it anyway. No harm in trying, right? Reaching out a hand, Thea began to press buttons mostly at random, the thirty-two digits which popped into her head first. The string didn’t mean much to her, but the door began to open with a satisfying whirring noise. Pulling her hand back as though she’d been burned, Thea watched as the double doors peeled back, revealing the room behind them. “Are you guys coming to the- what is it tonight?” Rose glanced up from her cooking to look back at the other two women still in the kitchen. “It’s the comedy club thing, right?” Amy was already eating, so it was Martha she got a response from first. “Yeah, not really my scene, sorry.” Rose looked a little dejected, picking at the purple band tied around her wrist. She was already beginning to regret buying it. “Amy?” “Hmm?” She glanced up from her lunch, “Oh, not tonight, sorry. My-“ She hesitated for a beat, before continuing, “My boyfriend is coming round.” “You’ve got a boyfriend?�� Rose asked, suddenly a little distracted from the congealed pasta in her pot, and the thought that she might wind up walking to the campus chippy. “What? Oh, yeah. Rory. He’s a nurse.” Amy picked her plate up, moving to scrape what was left on it into the bin before dumping it into the sink to be a problem for later. “What about you? Got anyone back home?” Rose played with the wristband guiltily. Should she mention Mickey? Were they even really still together? She still cared about him, but it’d been months since she’d seen him, and after she’d disappeared for so long- well he had to have started moving on, right? And then there was the Doctor… “Sort of.” She eventually settled on, though that somehow earned her an eyebrow raise from the Scot that let her know she was about to be pressed for further information. She decided to volunteer it before she could be asked, “I’ve got a boyfriend back home, but we’re- I think we’re sort of on a break? I don’t think the long distance thing is gonna work for us.” Amy had hopped up to

sit on the side by the time she emerged from the kitchen with her unappetising pasta-blob, leaving the whole table free. She swung her legs slightly, her boots clicking against the dodgy cupboard door. “And it doesn’t have anything to do with the handsome fella who was round here looking for you earlier?” She asked, a teasing note at the end of each word. Rose scoffed, “What? Jack? No. He’s just a mate- good mate, but no.” “But there is someone else.” Martha hadn’t spoken in a minute or so, but now her voice held enough of a knowing tone that Rose couldn’t exactly argue. It wasn’t as though there wasn’t someone else she cared about- even if it couldn’t actually go anywhere. “There’s- a guy I’ve got a bit of a thing for,” She started off, before quickly adding, “but we haven’t done anything. It’s not like anything’s ever gonna happen- don’t think it could.” “Why not?” “He’s just not that sort of bloke.” Rose pulled a face. It was hard to imagine the Doctor ever settling down- not that she’d need him to, really. She’d have liked to have a real relationship with him but- well. He was more than worth settling for. “Is he gay?” Amy asked. “What? No. Well, I don’t think so.” She thought briefly to how he behaved with Jack, “Bi, maybe, But- he likes to run around showing off for girls, I just don’t think he’s the dating sort.” “I’m starting to think I’m the only single one in the flat.” Martha remarked, looking as though she’d rather be off the topic of unattainable lovers. “Nah- I think Bill’s single. Jenny, too. At least I haven’t heard her mention anyone. ” Amy remarked. “Ash mentioned having a girlfriend- not that I’ve spoken to her much.” “Yeah, I don’t think she stays here much.” Rose glanced towards the door to the main hallway, making sure nobody was listening. She didn’t want Ash to think they’d been gossiping about her. “I’ve never seen her in the kitchen or anything.” “What about the other two?” Martha asked. “Thea and Yaz? I don’t think they’re together,” she broke into a smile, leaning across the table towards Martha, “But I give it a month.” “A month?” Amy cut in. “No way. Two weeks, tops.” Rose gave her a challenging look, “You want to bet on that?” “Oh you know I do. Twenty quid says they’re together within two weeks.” “You’re on.” Martha looked between them, “Isn’t it a bit weird to bet on our flatmates?” She asked, earning herself two sets of raised eyebrows in return. “…I say three weeks.” Of all the things Thea had thought could hide behind doors like those, this wasn’t one of them. A woman sitting alone at a piano, in Edwardian dress, giving her the most disdainful look she could manage. “He’s sending his pets to look after me now? As if this couldn’t get any worse.” Thea blinked, glancing at the woman, and then the doors behind her, clearly apprehensive about stepping any closer. Somehow, this all felt very, very wrong. “Sorry? Is this your office or something? Nobody sent me here I just-“ “Nobody sent you?” The woman cut her off. Thea nodded, and that grim look on her face suddenly transformed into a wicked smirk. “Oh now that is interesting. How did you get through the doors?” “There- Are you stuck down here? Should I call someone?” Thea looked genuinely concerned, but the woman just laughed. “Oh no, poppet. It’s not like that.” She looked at Thea expectantly, and when she didn’t get an answer she spoke up again, clearly a little exasperated. “Well are you going to answer my question?” “There was a code. I just- guessed.” Thea knew it probably sounded suspicious, but- well, nobody could accuse her of lying. She wasn’t sure how she’d known the code, it was just a very (very, very, very) unlikely guess. Well, that or there was something wrong with the system. “You guessed the code?” The woman gave her a disbelieving look. “You’re not one of his pets he’s sent down here to test me?” “One of his- who’s he?” Thea gave her another blank look. Who on earth was this woman and what was she doing in this mostly barren room? “Oh- Doesn’t matter. Since you got down here all by

yourself, why don’t you and me sit and have a wee chat?” The woman gave her a smile that showed far too many teeth to be comforting. Thea resisted the urge to back away. “I don’t bite- much.” As much as she wanted to just leave- to come up with an excuse and go back home as though none of this had happened, Thea had always been a sucker for a mystery. What could be more mysterious than a sinister woman in a hidden vault under the University? She felt rather like she’d stepped into a ghost story. Moving with some caution, she took one of the two seats near the little platform the woman’s piano stood on, getting ready to ask a question, which the stranger beat her to. “Call me Missy- what’s your name? Can’t promise I’ll remember it, but I’m told it’s polite to ask.” There was a moment’s pause, before Thea spoke again. “Thea. Thea Smith.” Missy faltered for a moment or so. “Thea.” She said, her fingers tapping a strangely familiar beat out on the lid of the piano. “Pretty name. I had a friend with a name like that, a very long time ago.” “You’re going to have to spend the night there sometime, you know.” Clara half-heartedly chastised, setting a cup down in front of Me, who was once again using one of the diner tables to go through what they’d gathered. The sky outside the windows was already dark, and yet Me seemed to be in no hurry to return to the flat- honestly she didn’t know why they’d bothered basing her there. She could have just as easily claimed to be an off-campus student and snuck in during the day to examine the odd readings. “No I don’t.” She replied quickly, waiting for Clara to slide into the booth opposite, before pushing a little pamphlet across the table towards her. “I’ve worked it out.” “What?” “All the funny readings. I know what they’re coming from.” Clara seemed to perk up almost immediately, leaning across the table with both hands wrapping around her mug as though she was cold- not that she could ever really be cold anymore. “It’s a handbook for new students- it has a full faculty list in the back, and-“ Me flicked through a few pages of the book, before pointing to one face in particular. “The Doctor. Doctor.” Clara read, smiling a little at the description. Where every other facilty member had ‘Doctor of’ with whatever they studied following their name, and in most cases, a department, he’d somehow gotten them to forgo that. “Wonder how he managed that- probably just refused to give a real answer til they stopped asking, actually.” “The readings are consistent with repetitive TARDIS landings.” Me tried to explain, but Clara shook her head. “It’s way too much, though. He’d have to be taking off and landing it six times a day.” “We’re probably skewing the readings a bit.” “Not that much.” Clara took the pamphlet from her, smiling just a little at the black and white picture of the Doctor. It was clear from the look in her eyes just how much she missed him. Me leant across the table slightly, taking one of her hands with an uncharacteristic gentleness. “We can just go if seeing him is going to hurt too much?” Clara shook her head quickly. “No- I want to figure out what’s going on here. Maybe he’s in trouble or something.” “He can-“ Me began, but Clara gave her a look that quieted her. They so rarely agreed where the Doctor was concerned. As much as she’d gotten past it, Me had a mix of guilt and resentment and some degree of affection for the man Clara so adored, and it was one of the few things they’d never really be able to reconcile on. Deciding, for once, to concede, she nodded, “We’ll work it out.” Clara flicked through the pages of the book idly, before stopping at a particular one. “What’s wrong?” “I-“ She traced a finger over the page. “I know her.” “Well, this was pretty much your time, before Trap Street.” Me reasoned, “You could have known her from anywhere.” Clara paused, looking at the picture a little closer. “No but-“ She was trying to think. Everything about what had happened that day was hazy- something about being scattered across the Doctor’s

time stream had ravaged her memories. “I met her. She was-“ Me glanced over her shoulder at the picture. “She’s just a professor. Archaeology, I think she said. Her daughter’s in my flat.” “She’s his wife!” Clara eventually said, startling Me to the point she very nearly spilled her drink. “She’s the Doctor’s wife- I met her once.” “I’d heard stories about him being married- I didn’t really believe them. Still, I don’t see the big deal- he brought his wife with him when he came to teach. That seems normal enough.” “She’s dead. He told me she was dead. She died years ago.” Clara tore the page out of the booklet, adding it to the file she’d been using to map their progress. “In fairness-“ Me gave Clara a look, gesturing between the two of them, “I don’t think either of us can talk about staying dead.” “She has to have something to do with all this.” Clara insisted. “I- We have to talk to her.” She picked up one of the red whiteboard markers which should have been for writing out specials. “What was the name again?” “River Song.” Me read off the sheet, still sounding less-than-convinced, though the revelation that the Doctor was indeed married had gotten her a little more invested. Clara wrote it down. “She came in with her daughter to help her unpack. Do you think that means-“ “That the Doctor has a daughter?” Clara gave her a startled look. “I know he had children once. A long time ago.” One thing was for sure. They really had to meet this woman.