#it doesn't help that it matches the doors/windows from growing together

[marsosims]

with the parents gone, erin and reid decided to move to san sequioa

[cmncisspnandmore]

One Night Stand: Part 8

Pairings: Simon "Ghost" Riley X f!Reader

Warnings: Preterm babies? mentions of medical things.

Word Count: 2k

New to the series? Catch up here: 7

Getting into the wheelchair was the most humbling thing you had ever done in your life. You had really taken for granted how easy walking around when you were pregnant was. Now as the nurse and Simon held onto your arms and helped you into the wheelchair as you gasped in pain, your entire body shook with the effort. As they carefully lowered you into the wheelchair, you caught a glance of Simon's face. His face was slightly pale, his eyes worried as he watched you. 

He looked like he was the one who could pass out at any moment, not you. “There we go, you alright?” the bubbly red headed nurse asks. She straightens up after she puts the foot rests down, her badge clip clinking together. Kelsey, her name was Kelsey.

“Yeah, i didn't expect it to feel like that…” You mumble, and she gives you a soft smile.

“Kinda like your organs are just gonna fall right out of you?” She smiles, and you can't help but laugh. 

“Yeah, pretty much. It wasn't painful, just really uncomfortable… But I'm okay.” 

“You sure?” Simon's voice is rough, his brow still pinched as he listens to the conversation between you and Kelsey.

“I’m fine Si, I promise.”

He doesn't reply, he just gives you another once over before stepping out of the way so Kelsey can wheel you out of the room. The hallways were long and white, a few vitals carts hanging around. Nurses passed every few moments as they went about their days. A few pressed themselves against the wall as Simon walked by. His large form takes up most of the hallway. He was the poster of intimidating, all muscle and an impassive face to match. 

As we reach the end of the hall our nurse Kelsey waves her badge in front of a sensor that controls the large windowless doors in front of us. As the door slowly open the soft hum of white noise and beeping monitors fill your ears. 

“This is the NICU, its where we keep my personal favorite patients,” kelsey smiles as she pushes me through the doors. There's a typical nurses station in front of us, but instead of the regular hospital rooms that you see in the rest of the building. There are two long walls with large glass windows that allow you to look into two rooms with 3 rows of incubators. Each room housed 9 of them, not all of them were full. Some were just waiting to be occupied. A few sets of parents stand around them, wearing pink overgowns, as they reach their hands into the incubators to touch their babies. 

Kelsey disappears for a moment and comes back wearing her own overgown and hands one to simon. “You have to wear these, its to prevent germs from your clothes getting on the babies. It just helps us keep them safe. We also need you to use hand sanitizer before you enter and when you're done. It's important we do everything to keep them safe.” she explains as she helps you put yours on. You look over your shoulder as Simon attempts to put on the overgown, its stretched tightly over his arms and chest. His larger than average form filling up most of the pink overgown. A small snicker leaves your lips as you take him in with the pink gown. He’s usually dressed in all black or dark colors. To see him wearing something so bright was actually funny to you. 

You never thought you’d see the day Simon Riley wore pink, but here he was, stuffed into a too small overgown, small frown on his lips. You can’t help the small smile that plays on your lips despite the nerves you were feeling growing inside you. What if you couldnt handle seeing your baby like that? Would they look okay? Would they even look like a baby?

You had no idea what to expect, your stomach was turning as Kelsey gave you some hand sanitizer. After you and Simon rubbed it in, she wheeled you into the room, it was warmer in here than in the hallway. The constant hum of the machinery louder, as she pushed you towards the last incubator on the left. It was a large plastic box, with 4 little circle windows, a soft yellow glow emitting from a light on top. As you get closer you can see some of the stuff inside A soft pink blanket, and the smallest baby you have ever seen. They wore a hat so small you weren't sure if it was even possible for them to call it a baby's hat. It seemed more fit for a doll. 

Your daughter laid in the center of the incubator, an array of tubes and wires connected to her too small body. Her eyes were covered with gauze, and she had a mask over her nose, and a thin white tube coming from her mouth. She was mostly still, the only occasional movement was her arms or legs moving in a sort of jerking movement. Her diapers were too big for her, even in the Nano- Preemie size they had on her. 

“Shes… shes so small..” you whisper, your hand coming to rest against the warm plastic of the incubator. 

“She is, but she's been doing really well. She’s been stable since we put her on the oxygen and she hasn't shown any signs of distress since. I think she's got a real chance.” Kelsey smiles as she looks between you and Simon. 

“If you want you can reach in through the little windows, just try not jostle any of the wires,” she smiles, as she walks over to another family standing around an incubator. 

Simon stands behind the wheelchair, his hands coming to rest on your shoulder. He's quiet for a few moments, the warmth of his large hands seeping into the fabric of the hospital gown. You shove down the emotions that are bubbling up inside of you, taking a deep breath you lean forward in the wheelchair. A dull ache pulling at your lower stomach as you carefully move yourself towards the edge. Your hand shakes a little as you reach your hand up and through the small open window. You hesitate, your hand hovering over your daughter's tiny frame. The only place where she didn't have monitors and iv’s was her small hand. It was no bigger than your thumb nail. Barely big enough for the tip of your finger to fit in, taking a deep breath you gently touch her tiny hand with the tip of your finger. 

Reflexively she grabs onto your fingertip, her tiny fingers gripping the tip of your finger. Emotion clogs your throat, but it's not you who makes a sound, instead it's Simon. It was quiet, and if you hadn't become accustomed to him over the past few months you never would’ve mistaken his sharp intake as annoyance. But you knew better, it was him trying to keep himself together. You glance over your shoulder and notice his brown eyes are glassy. A single tear falling down his cheek and dripping onto the pink overgown. 

“Simon…” you whisper, reaching your other hand up to rest on his hand that is still firmly in place on your shoulder. 

“Sorry..” he mumbles, wiping his hand across his eyes, before he clears his throat. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” You smile softly at him, “Come over here.” 

Simon hesitates, but moves a little closer, coming to stand on the side of the wheelchair, you can feel the tension rolling off him in waves. His entire body was stiff, every movement seemed almost painfully slow. 

You pull your hand out of the incubator and grab Simon's much larger hand, “It's okay, you won't hurt her.”

Simon's brown eyes searched your face, looking for any signs that it was a bad idea, he was so much larger than her, even you. His hands weren't the gentlest, and they had done terrible things for many years. How could he possibly touch something so small, something so innocent. His heart hammered wildly in his chest as you gently guided his hand into the incubator. As his index finger touched her small hand she grabbed it just like she had yours. 

“See? You didn't hurt her,” you smile, leaning your head against his upper arm. You hated to admit it but even this small venture had you drained. The events of the past 24 hours are catching up to you fast. Your body was starting to hurt, and sitting was uncomfortable but you didn't want to leave.

How could you?

The image of Simon standing in front of the incubator was something you wanted burnt into your brain for the rest of your life. His hand, which was larger than your daughter's entire body, hovering over her as her hand gripped his finger. After a few moments, Simon pulled his hand out and looked down at you. His brow slightly furrowed as he took in your expression. 

“Are you okay?” He asks, his fingers catching the side of your chin and tipping it up so he could see your face better. 

“Yeah, I’m okay,” you force a small smile, but Simon sees right through you. 

“Don’t lie to me, you just had major surgery,” he grunts softly, his hand sliding to rest against your cheek. You instinctively lean into him, his palm warm and comforting. 

“I’m just tired, and a little sore, but I don't want to leave her…” You whisper, your eyes falling shut. You were more than just a little sore, whatever pain meds they had given you were definitely wearing off. You could feel the incision now, it was a dull constant ache. But the headache that was starting to form behind your eyes was worse. It was like someone was taking an ice pick to the space behind your eyes. 

“You need rest,” Simon frowns, his brown eyes trailing across your face, “we’ll come back later okay?” 

You pull your bottom lip between your teeth, and give a small nod. As much as you didn't want to leave you knew it was best that you got some rest. You weren't any good to anyone if you didn't heal. But it didn't stop the nagging feeling in your chest when Simon carefully pushed the wheelchair out of the room. 

Once you're in the hallway Simon helps you take the overgown off, he throws the light pink objects in the trash and turns back to you.

“Ready?” He asks, “You can go take a nap and we can come back okay?”

Would they let you?

Did they have visiting hours here?

God why hadn't you researched the hospitals sooner?

What if something happened while you were resting?

What if she stopped breathing?

What if she died....

She was so small, so fragile, so breakable. 

And it was all your fault. You couldn't do the one thing you were supposed to. You were supposed to keep her safe until she was strong enough. Your body was supposed to nourish her and carry her until she was bigger. She was too little. Who would protect her now that you, the person who's supposed to, couldn't.

“Hey,” Simon's thumb sweeps under your eye, “why are you crying?”

“It’s my fault…” You sob, tears falling rapidly now. “This is all my fault.”

“Love..” Simon whispers, now kneeling on the floor in front of the wheelchair. One hand resting on your knee the other on your cheek as he wipes away the flood of tears. 

“None of this was your fault,” he grabs your chin, forcing your eyes to his. “None of it okay? You didn't do anything to cause this. It wasn't something we could have stopped okay? No one is blaming you, and I know that she won't either. Whatever happens, we’ll get through this okay? We’ll get through it together.”

“Okay…” You managed to breathe out but the tears didn't stop, and neither did the guilt eating a hole in your chest.

Next Part:

Taglist: @coffeeandtealol, @natashamea18, @itsmytimetoodream @humanities-cutest @ajrfanz @jggykhug09090 @dedicateeverythingtomilkshake @ashreblogsnow @liwooa

[i-literally-cant-with-this]

☆☆☆ Pavlov's Sweetheart ☆☆☆

A love story about a man, his wife, and a belt. 🤷‍♀️

CW ::: Nothing much, public sex on a side road, mentions of oral, cock talk, wet pussy ... but it's Nanami-san. Wtf do you expect..I mean c'mon.

☆ Imagine belt shopping with husband Nanami. He texts you before he comes home from work telling you his favorite belt, the black leather one you'd given him just for the hell of it, met an unfortunate fate. He asks if you'll accompany him while he browses some of the high-end stores for a replacement. "Of course! Would you prefer I meet you there or would you like to come home first?" He opts to come home first so he can shower and change out of his work clothes.

☆ The first store you go to has some nice leather belts. But they're not the right shade of brown.

☆ Somewhere along the way, you can't help but notice the sticky spot in your panties. You're confused because Nanami hasn't done anything to make you wet. You're not thinking about anything else. But no matter. On to the next store.

☆ He finds a belt that he likes and he tries it on in the fitting room. He doesn't close the door. After all, it's just a belt.

☆ "What do you think of this one, dear?" Nanami models the belt. Lifting up his muscular arms and turning all around so you can get the full view. You smile and nod. A pink blush creeping up your chest and cheeks. Your eyes are practically seizing they're fluttering so much.

☆ "You don't like it?" Nanami asks. He notices the way you're staring at him. The way your breathing is picking up. The way you're subconsciously squeezing your thighs together. He can sense there's something off with you.

☆ "It's okay, but I think we should try somewhere else." You're not sure why you're avoiding this store, but you feel compelled to keep moving. You know if you don't, there's no telling what might happen.

☆ You go to the next store. This one has a little bit of everything. It's more modern, with a mix of leather and other materials. Nanami picks up a black studded belt and holds it up to your face. "I like this one. What do you think?"

☆ "Y-y-yeah. That one looks good." You stammer. "Whatever you need, honey."

☆ Nanami decides to try on a few more. You're too busy trying to hide your growing arousal to make eye contact with him anymore.

☆ He comes out of the fitting room wearing a thin brown leather belt. The way it hugs his hips and the top of his ass makes your mouth water. He's not even trying to seduce you. He's just standing there, completely oblivious to the way you're struggling to keep from moaning and falling on your knees to take his cock into your mouth.

☆ "Do you think this one is alright? I'm not sure." He says. His hands are on his hips. You can't help but stare at his crotch. You know what's hiding behind his pants, and you can't wait to get back home and get a taste of it. If you can last that long.

☆ "I think it's perfect," you squeak, and you throw your arms up in the air as you walk away to look at a glove display.

☆ But that only makes it worse. Now all you can think about is your husband beating your bare ass raw with his new belt and choking you with matching gloves on while he pumps his cock inside of your cunt until you're both ready for him to fill you with his hot cum.

☆ He pays for the belt, and the two of you leave. He drives you both home, his right hand gently rubbing your thigh. He's humming to himself while you stare out the window, desperately trying to forget how wet you are. Trying to think of something sad, so you'll stop imagining how the veins on his dick stick out and throb when you touch him just right. Or tease him for too long.

☆ "Did you want me to pick up a snack on the way home?" Nanami asks, breaking the silence.

☆ "No! M'fine!" You yell. "Can you just pull over and fuck me somewhere!"

☆ "W- I'm sorry, what did you say? You want me to pull over and fuck you?" He looks over his right shoulder to make sure there's no traffic as he whips over to take the next exit.

☆ "Now, what?" He parked the car in a secluded spot off the highway. "Are you serious?"

☆ "Yes, I'm serious!" You unzip your pants and slide them off. Then, you lean over and unbuckle his belt. You kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear, "I want you to fuck me. I need you to, Nanami. Please, honey. I don't, god. I just need you so badly right now."

☆ Nanami chuckles to himself, but you can see his cock getting harder in his pants. He pulls his zipper down and lets his dick pop out. He strokes it a few times, his eyes fixated on you as you lick your lips in anticipation. "Hold on, just a second." He pulls his new belt out from the loops on his pants and a small, but relieved groan leaves his throat. "S'much more comfortable like that." You damn near cum right there. The sight of him removing his belt and knowing that he was going to be balls deep inside of you within seconds was teetering on the edge of being too much.

☆ He pulls you onto his lap, straddling him with your legs spread. "You ready?" He asks. His voice is low and gravelly. You nod your head, "Have been since the first store." You blushed as he ran the palm of his hand down your face.

☆ He grabs the base of his cock and guides it inside of you. Your pussy is so wet, he's able to slide in with ease. "Ohhhhh fuck!" You moan as you feel him stretch you out. He puts one hand on your ass and another on the back of your neck. "Fuck, baby. You're so wet."

☆ "It's all for you, sweetheart. It's all for you." You say as you pick up the belt, wrap it under your ass and give him both ends so he can lift and lower you onto his cock as he sees fit.

Taglist ::: @darkstarlight82 @callm3senpaii @arlerts-angel @bakubunny

[storiesundercandlelight]

I think it would be interesting to explore pre-canon Jonathan Reid! Maybe something about him and his partner before the war?

This is so interesting!! I hope I captured Jonathan alright! As I stared this I had so many ideas that they all fought each other for the chance to be the one I went with 😅 in the end this one won! I veered off canon a bit towards the end.... *cough* Elizabeth just doesn't exist in my world

You knew he'd follow you upstairs, the attention would get to him soon enough, all the praising and compliments on his work would slowly but surely wear him down. You hated these parties, obligations to attend because of your parents, but you would never turn down the opportunity to be around Jonathan.

Neither of you had let it be known that you were together, the idea of giving up this little secret of yours was too difficult to let go of, knowing full well that both yours and Jonathan's family would be all over it in a heartbeat. Asking questions of when. When is the wedding? When will you have children? When When When? Neither you nor Jonathan wanted that just yet.

Besides, there was a certain thrill to sneaking off, hiding behind closed doors and shared glances across a room that no one else noticed. You sat down on the window ledge in the upper sitting room you had found the door to, the sounds of the party downstairs muffled by the closed door only briefly loudened again when Jonathan slipped in.

"God I can't stand that woman" You chuckled, knowing full well you'd ignored Jonathan's pleading look of 'save me' that was thrown your way just before you raised an eyebrow at him and walked upstairs to hunt down a quiet spot. "You are merciless for leaving me like that"

"Well I didn't want to give us away" You said innocently.

"Mm, perhaps there is some error to our choice on that, if everyone knew then I could easily use you as an excuse to avoid yet another conversation about how I'm getting on in years and should really find myself a nice girl to settle down with, especially the many daughters who's names I don't even register enough to remember"

"Such a hard life you live Dr.Reid!" You both chuckled as Jonathan sat down beside you, pulling you close to him as you both looked out the window to the dimly lit gardens outside, a few party goers wandering the courtyard. "I hate that you're leaving"

"I know, I can honestly say I would rather attend a hundred more of these parties just to stay with you" Jonathan sighed, his hand mindlessly stroked along your own as you relaxed into him, willing your emotions not to surface again like they had before. "I won't be gone long I suspect. They just need help treating wounded soldiers, they're overrun"

"I just wish it wasn't you, any other doctor would be preferable"

"I'm sure there's another wife out there who would be saying the same if it was another doctor"

"But I'm not your wife"

"Not yet" You looked up at Jonathan, his lip was tilted up in a small smile you couldn't bring yourself to match. His hand gently brushed a wayward strand of hair from your face. "You will be, I'm coming back"

"But how can we be sure? What if something happens?" You could feel your chest growing tighter at the thought of it.

"I'll be huddled up in some dusty medical tent, I doubt I'll see any of the action" Even Jonathan could hear the lie in his voice, truth be told he himself didn't know what to expect, the very idea of going to France both scared him and filled him with a sense of duty that he couldn't ignore. "I'll write you sappy love letters, you'll be sick of me by the time I return home" You chuckled at that.

"I will be sorely disappointed now if I don't receive those letters. I'll need something to laugh at while you're gone"

"Such cruelty, you'll break my heart"

"Oh well we can't have that, not with you running off to war and all"

"Certainly not! You can make it up to me"

"Oh? How? Is this your not so subtle attempt to get me into a compromising position?"

"Well I haven't failed with that so far" You playfully hit Jonathan who laughed and pulled you closer against him. "Promise you'll marry me when I come home?"

"I hope you have a ring in your pocket" You heard Jonathan huff out a laugh but the smirk on his face wasn't quite as full now. "I promise" You turned to look at him fully, taking a moment to look at every detail of him, you were sure you knew every inch of him perfectly now but still, in this moment you just wanted to lock absolutely everything about him into your memory.

"Did that count as a proposal or will I have to do it again?" Jonathan's attempt to lighten the mood was tinged so blue with sadness you almost didn't want to answer, but with a deep breath you smiled back at him, this wasn't the time to dwell on the future.

"I suppose so... not quite as elaborate as I'd have expected...although knowing you as I do I can only imagine something... clinical? Medical? Hmm...perhaps you could have put the ring in a pill bottle? No?"

Jonathan rolled his eyes at you before leaning close and capturing your lips with his. You both held on as if your lives depended on it, as if any moment some god awful person was about to burst into the room and throw Jonathan on the next boat out of here. You suddenly felt such a sadness for all the many women who'd had to say goodbye to their loved ones before you. Such a sudden sense of being shoved into a club none of you wanted to be in, a club for lonely women awaiting the return of their men... or of the telegram to say they wouldn't be coming home.

The very idea had a tear running down your face, one that Jonathan wiped away gently with his thumb. He held your face still a moment, perhaps taking his own mental image of your face. "A few months... then we'll be together again... probably wishing we could both go back to war to avoid our mothers organising the wedding" the smiles shared between you now were sad ones, ones that wished to laugh it off but couldn't quite life the veil of grief you already felt at being pulled away from each other. Normally you would be checking the clock, seeing how long you could drag out before having to reluctantly return to the party before anyone noticed you were both gone. But tonight? Tonight neither of you could bare the thought of moving just yet, the thought of time standing still just a little longer was too tempting. The thought of just pretending for a moment that the coming days weren't actually coming was too precious to care about returning to a world where you would be split apart.

________________________________

It was only now that Jonathan allowed himself to even think about going to your door. To show you what he had become. This monster that had consumed him.

A part of him wondered if word of his return had reached you yet, he hated that the last few weeks had been nothing but chaos for him. Yet you were all he thought about when the night began to fade into dawn and his body began to shut down in it's new unnatural way.

A part of him wondered if he should avoid you, perhaps he should leave and pretend to have died. But he knew too many people had seen and spoken to him now to be able to pull it off.

So many visions of your face flashed through his mind, the disgust, the horror and fear, the hurt in your eyes. Jonathan found he couldn't even imagine an outcome where you would welcome him back into your life once you found out what he has become. Another part of him couldn't bare to put you in that position in the first place, to ask you to live with him the way he is, a creature of the night, destined to watch all of his loved ones grow old while he lived in limbo.

All the dinners he wont spend with you because he's out scavenging for skall and rat blood. The very idea of you being privy to that information made Jonathan want to throw up.

He wondered if you still had all of his letters... he still had yours by some miracle, he'd spent hours digging through that god awful pit he'd been left in looking for them... the tied together stack finally in his hands again though they were mostly ruined from the rain.

The warm lights of your home were there, the dark wooden door begging him to knock. He knew you were awake, his new senses drew his eyes up to the second floor where he knew you were sitting in your room. Your heat beating gently, he wondered how that rhythm would change when you opened the door and saw him.

As Jonathan stood there he wondered how many more times he would find himself like this...wondering if now was the right time to knock on the door.

[couldyouspeakmyname]

Could you please do some headcannons for yandere shishigumi kidnapping a kind and cute lioness in her own apartment? (You can choose if this is gonna be individual for each lion or if the entire team is going at the same time).

You know I love me some yandere content

Yandere is a portmanteau of two Japanese words. The first is yanderu, which means “to be sick,” and the second is deredere, used here for “lovestruck.” A yandere is often sweet, caring, and innocent before switching into someone who displays an extreme, often violent or psychotic, level of devotion to a love interest.

Bonus Chief Lion

-Maeve

Ibuki

Ibuki isn't the kind to kidnap without provocation. Either you were moving to far for him to see daily, or you were in some sort of danger.

Ibuki has no problem kidnapping you. He plans in advance and has the inner Shishigumi help him.

He feels terrible about it honestly he does, but he cant being himself to let you leave him

He uses chloroform to keep you asleep, as he kidnaps you in the middle of the night.

It was one of the smoothest operations the Shishigumi have managed to pull off.

When you wake up your in a comfortable room, and it's already decorated to your tastes. The only thing is the door locks from the outside and there's bars on the window.

Ibuki walks through the door, looking sheepish.

"I'm so sorry for this, but I couldn't let you leave"

Free

It doesn't take much for Free to jump to kidnapping you.

It could be anything as minor as him having a suspicion you could be moving even a few blocks away. Any distance further from him is a distance he can't allow.

It could also be something as small as someone seeming a bit to friendly, and you looked like you didn't dislike it.

For Free, sometimes you just have to take what's yours. Well, you're his, so he has to get you

He does it on a whim, and breaks in during the middle of the night. He does it with limited help of the other Shishigumi. They mostly just are there for back up

Free wakes you up, throwing a bag at you. "Back what you need, we're going home"

If you try to protest, he'll use force. He wont hurt you, but he's stronger than he looks. Sure, you're a lion too, but few can match Free in a fight. He'll hold you at gunpoint if he has to.

Once you're in the Shishigumi's mansion, you're not leaving until Free know you'll come back

Dolph

Dolph doesn't jump the gun. He's willing to allow you to live your life as easily as possible.

He'd much rather have an organic meeting and grow to be your lover naturally

Dolph wouldn't kidnap you unless he perceived danger to you, or your 'relationship'

Dolph asks you to come with him, and only if you refuse does he actually kidnap you.

It's not scary, so to speak. While you're sleeping, he drugs and kidnaps you. You don't even realize that you've been kidnapped until you've woken up

"Welcome to the Shishigumi."

Agata

Agata hates the idea of uprooting your life, just for him.

He really wants it to be your own choice, but when he's between a rock and a hard place he'll act

Like the rest, you'd have to be moving further than him than he's comfortable with. As a young lion active on social media, you'd have to move more than a days trip away. Perhaps he even saw another male on your social media and that could have also triggered him

Agata doesn't plan as well as the others, and simply unlocks your door (he had a copy of your key) and asks you to pack up and come with him. If you refuse? He's going to apologize the whole time but he will drag you kicking and screaming.

The cops wont be there in time, and Dolph is his back up. You really didn't have a chance.

"I'm so, so, sorry...but I couldn't let you leave"

Chances is they paid off your neighbors, so no one calls the authorities to look for you.

We all know the major would turn a blind eye anyway.

Dope

Dope is the kind to move you before he actually moves you. Your bank account? He has the info and has transferred funds.

Your job? He put together voice clips and had "you" quit.

So by the time you find yourself passing out at home after drinking juice/milk/coffee (beverage of choice) he's already made it look like you were planning on leaving for weeks

No one really says anything when you vanish

You just wake up in the mansion.

"Your move wasn't needed. I can support you just fine"

Miguel

Has some serious reservations about kidnapping you. Someone so sweet doesn't deserve something so traumatic to happen to them

Like many of the Shishigumi, he'd have to be seriously pushed in order to kidnap you.

The likelihood is that he perceived a threat to yourself, or to your future romantic relationship

He snatches you in your apartment in the middle of the night. He really didn't want to have to do this, but it's for your own good.

He's the sort that will grab you himself, but he does apologize more than once

"I'm sorry, but I promise that this will be a good thing."

Jinma

Jinma is another one who doesn't jump to kidnap you.

He does it when he's finally pushed after finding out through the grape vine that you may be moving, and he can't have that

It's already hard to to he can't just talk to you, and the idea of you moving both terrifies and enrages him

Jinma has the more burly members of the Shishigumi do the kidnapping, while he waits for you in the car.

He tries to sooth your anxiety, don't worry, he's not going to hurt you

"Don't worry, I have everything under control"

Hino

Hino, surprisingly, jumps to kidnapping pretty quickly.

He introduces himself early on, so you'll know who he is, just not why he broke into your place in the middle of the night or why he's kidnapping you.

Hino has no qualms about it either, you're really better off with him. He'll treat you like a queen. It's only fitting, given he's the king of beasts.

The reason he kidnapped you is probably trivial, it could have been something like a store owner getting to friendly.

Hino doesn't share very well.

"Don't worry Darling, you'll be well taken care of"

Sabu

Sabu is a yandere that knows he's a yandere and that his feelings aren't normal. Unlike the rest of the Shishigumi, the only thing that would push him to kidnap you is if your life was actually in danger

Perhaps his enemies found you, and now there's no other choice.

He plans ahead, and has movers scheduled to come collect your things the morning after he kidnaps you.

He probably finds some way to drug you, to make you easier to manage and snatch.

When you come to, most of your favorite things are in your room. A candle is burning with your favorite scent. Sabu is waiting for you to awaken.

"Your life was in danger, I couldn't allow you to die"

Chief Lion

Doesn't kidnap you himself, but he is in the car waiting once they drag you in.

Chief has no qualms about kidnapping, and after you kept his interest for more than a few months, he just has the Shishigumi do it for him.

They wait until it's dark, and grab you while no one else is around or awake.

No one will dare come after you, not once word gets out who took you.

You're hands are ties and you can't struggle very much.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance officially. We're taking you to your new home"

Most likely to jump to kidnapping

Free > Hino > Chief Lion > Agata > Ibuki > Dope > Jinma > Miguel > Dolph > Sabu

[flowercrown-bard]

I have a sentence for you...or a prompt. I don't know what I want you to do with it, but by god please do something:

"He doesn't have anxiety. He just has a god complex and no opposable thumbs!"

My darling nonny. First of all, what. Second of all, I love you and I love this prompt! I made the weirdest noise when I read it. I did not expect that second sentence XD

The thing is, I didn't know what I wanted to do with this prompt either...while being sober, so here's what my slightly tipsy brain came up with :D

word count: 2160

can be read platonic or romatic I think

content warnings: use of the name ‘Julian’ (not by Geralt), one very bad sexual innuendo (nothing sexual happens)

part 2

The spell hit Jaskier square in the chest, before Geralt had time to react and throw himself in front of him.

“Geralt?” Jaskier’s eyes went wide, though not in fear but in anticipation, as they snapped over to the witcher. “Geralt, what’s happening?”

Helplessly but not overly concerned, Geralt watched as Jaskier’s arms took on an unnatural position, bent at his sides. The bard’s head started to bob.

Geralt blinked at him and turned to the young sorcerer that looked curiously at Jaskier.

“Why aren’t you more worried?” The mage furrowed his brows. “Shouldn’t he be terrified?”

He turned to Geralt, who only shrugged.

“This happens regularly,” Geralt replied and his lips twitched up. “Last month, he’s been hit by a truth spell and the month before, he drank a potion that made him invisible to all but Roach.” His smile turned into a grin. “That was a very peaceful time.”

“Excuse me?” Jaskier squawked, his head still bobbing. “You missed me!”

“I didn’t. I could still hear you.” Geralt turned his attention back to the sorcerer who stared at them as if they were insane. “So, what exactly does this spell do?” Almost casually, Geralt’s hand wandered to the sword strapped to his back. “It better not be anything actually dangerous.”

Jaskier might have gotten cocky with how easily Geralt was able to break curses with all the experience he now had, but that didn’t mean Geralt wasn’t prepared to fight anyone who meant to cause Jaskier true harm. Even if Jaskier thought himself near invincible by now.

“No, no!” The mage held up his hands. “It’s not dangerous. I swear! It’s just supposed to…” he swallowed, his eyes darting between Jaskier and Geralt, clearly trying to figure out which one was more dangerous: The armed witcher or the bard who didn’t seem to be bothered in the least by being cursed but seemed rather giddy at the prospect of finding out what was going to happen next – after all, curses made for the most exciting songs, according to the bard. “It’s supposed to make his appearance match his character.”

Jaskier opened his mouth, probably to say something along the lines of ‘I already am as beautiful on the outside as I am on the inside’, but instead of words, a loud cock-a-doodle-doo left Jaskier’s lips. For a second, he looked terrified, before his expression morphed into one of fury and he let out a tirade of what was probably supposed to be insults.

Geralt exchanged a look with the mage, drawing up one eyebrow, when Jaskier continued to cluck.

“Ah, well, you see,” the mage turned bright red, “Marx was quite sure that he,” he glanced at Jaskier, who suddenly shrunk, his hair turning bright red and rising up and turning into a coxcomb, “was a coward and would turn into a chicken.”

Jaskier gave the mage one final indignant glare, probably cursing his rival’s name, before his mouth turned into a beak and his face was no longer that of a human, capable of expressing such emotions.

“Your employer was wrong,” Geralt deadpanned. “Jaskier is anything but a coward.” With the corners of his lips twitching and a glint in his eyes, he added, “But he definitely can be a cocky bastard.”

Jaskier, the cock, fluttered with his wings in indignation and let out another crow, looking up at Geralt. Though Jaskier could no longer speak or make facial expressions, Geralt knew exactly what the pleading look Jaskier sent him meant.

Geralt knew a hundred and one ways to break a curse. But more importantly, he knew Jaskier.

And so, Geralt knew exactly what Jaskier needed him to do.

--

It was ridiculously easy to break into Valdo Marx’ quarters at night, even while carrying a rooster that never stopped clucking and fluttering his wings excitedly in one arm. Jaskier could count himself lucky that he hadn’t turned into a peacock. It might have been more fitting, if Geralt had anything to say about it, but it would have definitely made scaling the building and squeezing through the window together, much harder.

Once inside the troubadour’s rooms, Geralt set Jaskier down gently.

“Do your worst,” he said with a grin and watched Jaskier ruffle his feathers in excitement, before he darted across the room, tearing at Valdo Marx’ notebooks with his beak, tearing at the decorative pillows on the armchair and plucking the strings of the lute standing against a wall harshly enough with his claws that they nearly snapped.

Geralt grimaced at the sound, but leaned back against a wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching in amusement as his best friend wreaked as much havoc in his rival’s rooms as possible.

The noise must have roused Valdo Marx from his sleep, for a muffled curse came through the closed door, presumably leading to the troubadour’s bed room. The sound of Valdo Marx jumping out of his bed and hasting towards his now destroyed living room was interrupted by Jaskier, who crowed again and fluttered his wings in an attempt to make himself taller, preparing to make an impression when Valdo finally saw him.

The door was flung open and a dishevelled troubadour appeared, staring in horror at the mess that was his living space.

“What in the name of –“

His eyes fell on Jaskier first, then he saw the witcher still leaning against the wall, pointedly casual. Realisation dawned on Valdo’s face, followed briefly by a flash of triumph, that instantly turned into regret when Jaskier began hacking at the notebooks with more glee than before, preening under the horrified attention of his new audience.

“Witcher,” Valdo said breathlessly. “Put a stop to this, this instant!”

Geralt lifted a brow. “You got what you wanted, didn’t you?”

“Yes, yes, I proved Julian is a coward.” He waved his hands through the air, his voice turning shrill with every second that his panic grew. “I get to see him anxious and he’s reacting very poorly and I have to face the consequences. I get it. I shouldn’t have hired that mage. Is that what you want to hear?”

Geralt let out a low hum, drawing it out longer than necessary, simply because he knew how much Jaskier enjoyed witnessing Valdo’s growing despair.

“You’re right, you’re the one who has to face the consequences for cursing him.”

Relief flooded Valdo’s face. “Great. Now make him stop!”

Jaskier looked Valdo directly in the eyes as he fluttered onto the table and ruined the remaining notes the troubadour had carefully arranged in neat piles on his desk in the least dignified way a bird could ruin something. Though Jaskier’s voice was stolen from him, the mess he left on the notes couldn’t have been a more obvious statement: Valdo’s songs were shit.

The slighted troubadour’s face turned red with fury.

“How dare you!” Valdo took a step towards the destructive rooster but thought better of it almost immediately. He settled on pointing an accusatory finger at Jaskier instead of risking coming anywhere near him. “You’re a cad and a coward! I should have known how poorly you’d react to being cursed – becoming panicked and being unable to control yourself!”

Geralt tilted his head to the side. “See, that’s the thing,” he said slowly, his voice even enough that only Jaskier would be able to tell how much he enjoyed this as well, “That’s where you are wrong. Jaskier isn’t a coward. His fluttering around and destroying things right now? He’s not having anxiety. He just has a god complex and no opposable thumbs!" Geralt gave Valdo a shit-eating grin. “And he’s got a crow to pluck with you.”

“He-“ Valdo visibly had to restrain himself. “Help me, witcher. You can’t just let this monster destroy my property. He…he-!”

“You want me to get rid of a monster for you?”

Valdo nodded eagerly.

Geralt exchanged a look with Jaskier and shrugged.

“I don’t work for free.”

Valdo spluttered. “You can’t be serious.”

Geralt remained silent and Jaskier took a threatening step towards the open door to Valdo’s bedroom, obviously with the intent of destroying Valdo’s bed in any way he could think of. Panic flashed across Valdo’s face.

“I’ll pay you!” he shouted quickly. “I – I’ll write a sing about you. If you help me, I’ll sing about…” his eyes darted around the room, clearly struggling to come up with something on the spot. His gaze found Jaskier, before he grabbed Geralt’s arm, licking his lips nervously, or perhaps in an attempt to look seductive, “ – about how masterfully you handle cock.”

Jaskier froze and Geralt could see the moment when Valdo realised that he had said the wrong fucking thing.

If cocks could look murderous, Jaskier definitely did in this moment.

Geralt couldn’t tell if his rage came from the prospect of Valdo writing a song about this encounter and making a profit out of it, or if he was indignant because Jaskier had had the exact same idea for a song. Or perhaps he had a problem with Valdo’s barely concealed attempt at compromising Geralt, something Jaskier himself had taken great joy in doing with the worst possible pick-up lines, since the day they had met.

Whatever the reason for his anger, Jaskier took a deliberate pause, in which Valdo had enough time to regret every decision that had led up to this moment, before he charged at the troubadour, fluttering his wings and jumping up into Valdo’s face, clawing at his curls and tearing at his lacy night shirt.

“Witcher!” Valdo screeched, not unlike a rooster himself, and waved his arms to shoo Jaskier off – unsuccessfully. “Make him go away! Break the fucking curse! I – I’ll pay you! Twenty crowns!”

“Seventy,” Geralt deadpanned. No one in their right mind would pay that much coin, but Valdo Marx was evidently desperate and his decision was helped along by the rooster, who’s beak came dangerously close to tugging at the troubadour’s moustache.

“Fine! I’ll pay you seventy crowns.” Valdo’s voice broke in his blind panic. He would likely be unable to sing the next day, from all the shouting he did. “Just get him off of me!”

Geralt waited another heartbeat, granting Jaskier a last moment of rightful – and undoubtedly petty – vengeance, before pushing off the wall, opening his arms invitingly.

“Jaskier?”

Jaskier clucked in disappointment and pecked one last time at Valdo’s hair, before fluttering into Geralt’s arms.

The witcher left the troubadour’s rooms with his best friend, still in the form of a very smug cock in his arms, seventy crows richer and an experience he and Jaskier would laugh about many times over the next years.

--

As Geralt sat the rooster down on the bed at the room they had rented and let himself fall onto the bed next to him, Jaskier looked incredibly pleased with himself, preening and making noises, as if recounting the happenings, though Geralt had witnessed them first- hand.

When Geralt tilted his head in amusement, Jaskier seemed to realise that he still had no voice – or opposable thumbs - and let out a rather loud and obnoxious noise.

“Sorry,” Geralt said with a shit-eating grin, “I have no idea what you want from me. You’ll have to speak more clearly.”

Jaskier glared at him and fluttered closer to tug at Geralt’s hair impatiently.

Geralt chuckled and ran a hand over Jaskier’s soft feathers, making the bird-bard relax under his ministrations, though it was clear that Jaskier did so very reluctantly and would hold a grudge, if Geralt didn’t break the curse in the next five minutes.

Geralt hummed thoughtfully as he petted Jaskier.

“Just for the record, I thought taking revenge on Marx was a terrible idea,” he said, and when Jaskier clucked reproachfully, he added, “but it was quite impressive. And I had a lot of fun watching you.”

Geralt hadn’t known that cocks had the ability to look proud, but Jaskier somehow managed to do just that.

“In fact,” Geralt said slowly, already knowing that Jaskier would agree, once he heard Geralt’s full proposition, “how would you like to wait just a little longer before I break the curse?”

Jaskier pecked at Geralt’s fingers and glared at him.

“Come to Kaer Morhen with me,” Geralt said, flicking his fingers lightly against Jaskier’s beak. At his words, Jaskier perked up, cocking his head to the side curiously.

“Last winter, Lambert destroyed my room with a moon dust bomb. The damn silver shavings are still everywhere.” Geralt’s lips stretched into a wolfish grin. “I’m sure, as my ‘best friend in the whole wide world’, you wouldn’t mind returning the favour and wreaking a little havoc in my brother’s room. I couldn’t imagine anyone would be better suited for that job than you.”

Jaskier fluttered excitedly into Geralt’s lap and the sound he made in response to Geralt’s words could only be described as incredibly cocky.

[hawksugarbaby]

Hawks x reader- snowed in

Fluff

The snow piled up around the door like Icing sugar decorating a cake and the windows frosted over with frozen icicles dangling from the ledge, threatening to pierce the soft snow. "It's so cold Kei" you ran your hands up and down your cold arms layered in goosebumps and pressed your glacial feet against his calves making him jolt forward "JESUS CHRIST!" he shouted wiggling away from your feet making you giggle.

"I'll put the heating on and close the curtains? That might help" he shrugged sending a crimson feather to do the work for him "mhm, you mean your wings will do it for you" you smile softly curling into his side and he grinned putting his arm on your head "you make a wonderful armrest" the bedsheets crinkled and shifted with your feet that kicked his shin jokingly "ouch, i'm in agony" he said casually without any indication he was in pain (because he wasn't) and you pouted angrily turning your head away from him which made his arm fall onto the bed "aw i'm sorry princess, you make a wonderful girlfriend too!" he kissed the back of your neck wrapping his arms around you and rolling you on top of him. "I love you~" he sang, drawing out the love and you dropped your annoyed expression, A bright smile etched on your face instead. "I love you too!"

Keigo wrapped his wings around you blanketing you in crimson feathers that kept the heat as close to you as possible. "Your pretty kei." you said bluntly, keeping your (e/c) eyes on his ruby pools "thank you baby so are you" you said kissing the tip of your nose making your face scrunch up and your eye's crinkle at the corners in a smile. Your legs tangled together and your arms were going numb, crushed between you and your boyfriends chard chest from the lack of options on where to put them.

"Your wings are so warm" you muttered nuzzling into his chest like a big cat, the thumping of his heart was steady and soothing and you matched your breathing to his without reasoning "are they? I never knew that" he sighed placing one hand against your head stroking your hair softly. "Yeah they're like a whole ass radiator connected to you" you said and he hummed in response. "A whole ass radiator?" he repeated teasingly and you snickered "a whole ass radiator" the confirmation made the two of you laugh slightly and keigo peeked out the window, the blinding white blurred from the frozen glass but as if waiting for it a frozen stalagmite fell from the ledge impaling the snow quickly. "Thank god we're not standing under those right now" keigo mumbled and closed the curtain again.

"I wish we could build a snowman or something" you sighed, leaning your head up again and wiggling to find comfort "yeah me too we could have- ow okay you just kneed me in the dick and I do not appreciate that" he wheezed his face burning red and eyes streaming tears "oh my god i'm so sorry I didn't even realise" you gasped kissing his face over and over as if it would alleviate some of the pain, you wiped the tears running down his face with your sleeve and buried your face in his chest. "y'could kiss it better" he teased earning a slap in the chest "KEIGO!" his chest vibrated and he squirmed.

"that feels fucking weird. Don't shout at my lungs what did they do to you?" he turned his face away like a dramatic character from a Shakespeare play and you rolled your eyes "I dunno but your still breathing so they have that to apologize for" keigo's mouth fell open in shock and his eye's rounded in amusement "i'm hurt" "no your not you liar" "I am truly in pain, I don't think I can go on" he clutched his shirt and said "just know I always loved you" then sank his head onto the pillow heavily his tongue lolling outside of his mouth.

You wailed loudly and dropped the back of your hand to your forehead "whyy! My one and only love, I'm sorry I never should have treated you so cruelly" your dramatization made the blonde laugh and you gasped "HE'S ALIVE!" the volume of your shouting was enough to have the neighbors bang on the wall in annoyance "SORRY MY BOYFRIEND WAS FUCKING DYING!" you shouted through the wall and rolled your eyes sinking back into keigo's chest and turning to your cheek rested against him instead. "Rude" you tutted and Keigo nodded in agreement, knocking his head against the headboard that banged against the wall annoying the neighbors further.

"Keigo I have a question" you lead the conversation and keigo panicked, what if you proposed, what if you asked him to propose, what if you wanted a dog, what if you wanted kids, what if you wanted food, oh god what if you wanted takeaway! With the snow building up to the letterbox he didn't imagine you would manage to get any takeaway to the house right now. Please don't want takeaway. "Do you like this house?" okay it's not takeaway "I think i'm content here but I wouldn't mind something new" he admit scratching the back of his neck and looking at the wall behind him "not a fan of the neighbors either" he stuck his tongue out and you chuckled drumming your fingers against his forearm.

"so I was wondering if you maybe, at some point it doesn't have to be now, and you don't have to make a decision right now but-" "spit it out princess, your stalling" he smiled stroking your cheek gently with his thumb and you sighed mumbling something under your breath earning a glower from your boyfriend. "Would you wanna move in with me? Eventually, If you want, you don't have to but I think it would be nice" you lowered your voice at the end.

Keigo laughed and kissed the top of your head "yeah I think that would be nice" he agreed and you grinned, a giddy feeling developing in your head and you wiggled in excitement. "If you keep wiggling your gonna create a problem you'll have to deal with" he smirked and you immediately stopped moving "I take back the proposition you can stay here with your horny ass." you tapped him on the nose sitting up and moving so you were straddling his stomach.

His wings couldn't wrap around you as well when you were sitting up so he dragged a blanket over your shoulders and tucked his wings back underneath him. "Could we get a bigger house? Maybe one with a nursery..." you trailed off. Fuck. there was the kid's question he was afraid of. Keigo figured he should ask the all important question soon, you had been dating for 4 years but keigo had never been so committed to a relationship before, maybe it was the abandonment issues or how his job filled up his life but you were special you were different. Maybe it was time for this conversation then.

"You want kids with me?" he asked in disbelief sitting himself up and sitting against the headboard analyzing you carefully like a trap "of course I want kids with you. Not right now but in the future i'd like kids" keigo had never come to terms with the idea of someone wanting to spend their life with him but as the snow fell caging you in he suddenly didn't mind more days like this. Talking and cuddling for the rest of time would be amazing but kids were scary to him, he wanted to be better than his father and he wanted to be there for his kids, pick them up from school and help them with homework but would his work get in the way?

"Kei I know you had an awful childhood, and I understand why you might feel... cautious about the idea of having children, but you are the only person I would even ever consider worthy of dating me never mind raising our kids" you comforted, kissing him softly placing your hand on his and squeezing tightly. "I just don't know if i'd ever be a good dad, i'm barely a good person, I literally just about function as a human" his eyes darted around the room for something to focus on but they kept landing on you. You were what he should focus on right now. "Baby you would be an amazing dad, a busy one yes, but an incredible one! And sure you're a little dysfunctional but so am I! Your an amazing person and I love you okay and if you don't want kids right now that's okay, we have all the time in the world-" "-we have until menopause" "we have until menopause"

He sighed and swallowed thickly "okay." he said curtly, nodding away to himself and pulling you in for a hug wrapped up by his wings. "Okay?" you raised your eyebrows and tilted your hand rubbing your cold hands up his back "I'd like kids eventually. But not right now I think I wanna marry you first" he sighed brushing your hair behind your ear and pulling you into a tight hug and crossing his fluffy wings behind you "y-you wanna marry m-me?" you stuttered and he laughed "of course I wanna marry you I just don't know your ring size yet and I didn't know if you want to marry me" he kissed your forehead and you smiled softly "of course I wanna marry you!" you exclaim wrapping your arms around him and barraging him with kisses across the bridge of his nose. "I'm glad because I wanna marry you too"

You lay there for a while longer just talking, it didn't matter what you talked about, you made a conversation out of it. "Can we PLEASE get a cat" you whined giving him your biggest puppy dog eyes but he remained stoic "we're not getting a fucking cat they just try to pull my feathers out and it's really annoying" he shook his head raising his palms to the sky "but they grow baack" you wiggled your arms and he chuckled and pet you on the head "i'm sorry baby it just really hurts and I don't wanna deal with that every day" he apologized and you sighed knowing you wouldn't get your way "what about a puppy then" "babyy"

You snuggled once again into his chest, filled with joy at the prospect of marrying keigo. "The snow isn't clearing up" keigo sighed knowing there wasn't much in his fridge right now "I don't have much to eat but I don't think I could get groceries right now" he tapped his chin and you popped your head up "to the kitchen we shall go and imma make the best damn meal we've ever had" you challenged yourself and keigo smirked "I could have you for dinner" he nuzzled into your neck and chuckled and you tutted tapping him on the head "Sorry baby you aren't a big enough portion size for me" you quickly jumped up dragging the blanket behind you like a cape and disappearing around the corner like the phantom of the opera. "My dignity" he lamented and strolled behind you.

You opened the fridge and immediately shut it again "you have chicken" "yep" "and only chicken" "yep" you smirked to himself and you sighed pinching the bridge of your nose and opening the fridge again and digging for something that resembled a meal. Eventually you had a chicken breast, a couple strips of prosciutto, various cheeses, flour, various spices, basil leaves, butter and olive oil. "Put a pan on with olive oil and butter will you love" you pulled out a chopping board and got to work butterflying the chicken breast "yes chef!"

You stuffed the chicken breast and basil and wrapped it back up in the prosciutto keeping it sealed together. "is the pan warm?" you asked, eating a handful of grated cheddar in the meantime and he nodded holding his hands over the pan for heat "OW okay rude" he pulled his hand off when freckles of oil jumped up and burned his hands. "Silly" you put the chicken in the pan and you jumped at the sizzling whirling behind hawks who folded his wings around you "it's okay baby don't worry" he said going full protection mode.

You served the meal and garnished it with basil and cheese skipping back to bed to eat the meal together. "Y'know this does look better than any KFC I've ever eaten" he praised and wrapped his wing around you turning on the tv that you only really needed for background noise as you usually talked over it anyway. "Hey kei" "yeah baby?" "I hope it snows like this all the time"

[scintillasofbeomgyu]

˚ · . 𝘁𝘅𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! — 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨/𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙙𝙖𝙮

pairing: txt x fem!reader

genre: f l u f f ; comfort (?)

word count: 1,2k (in total)

warning: this was not proofread ksjsjd

a/n: this has 100% been done before, but as someone who has been having bad days recently, this helped me feel a little better. i hope you all enjoy!

᠃ ⚘ choi yeonjun:

he softly knocks on the door before entering; carrying with him a shopping bag filled with snacks in one arm, and a stack of dvd's in the other. you're sitting at your desk keeping your mind busy with an assignment, doing your best to keep your composure. yeonjun was very aware of the fact that it was difficult for you to express your feelings, as you felt it was burdensome on others. and although he often assured you of the fact that he never felt that way, he also never forced you to open up. he gave you all the time and space you needed, while still showing you he was there.

he places the goods onto your mattress and whirls your chair around, you stare at him in surprise and his heart aches a little when he notices the damp corners of your eyes. “when did you get here? i'm just finishi–”

he wraps his arms around your waist and carries you to your bed, giving your forehead a big kiss after gently lowering you onto the blankets. he brings your laptop closer after sliding in the Princess Diaries cd and tosses you the shopping bag. he climbs into the bed with you, and attaches himself to you before wrapping you both in a blanket burrito.

you try to protest, but he only cuddles you tighter and opens his mouth, “my hands are busy, can you open the spicy chicken crisps for me, babe?”

᠃ ⚘ choi soobin:

as i'm sure we all know, being a leader is not an easy job, but it certainly comes with its perks. that being, every challenge you encounter, enabling you to grow that much more as a person. and that's exactly why soobin is an expert at listening to you and giving you good advice, while still being able to give you those words of affirmation.

he'd nod along quietly every once in a while, to show you he was listening attentively to your rant about how you felt underappreciated at work. you did everything to help out, and although you knew you shouldn't do it expecting thanks, it still made you feel horrible.

“i understand, i'm sorry that you feel that way, love,” he'd say, pulling you into his lap. he rested his head against your back; one arm snaking around your waist while the other clasped yours gently. “it's amazing enough that you've kept going for so long, i'm proud of you. maybe we should rest today, hmm?”

he'd let the others know he wouldn't be back to the dorms when you finally fall asleep, and he'd spend the entire weekend right by your side. cozy home dates, visiting the library, going to the movies, little picnics in the park and your boyfriend showering you with endless love!

᠃ ⚘ choi beomgyu:

he'd come home from practice to find you curled up on the sofa, staring out of the living room window as the raindrops trickled over them. he may be very playful, but beomgyu is almost hyperaware of the feelings of other people– even more so of those of his girlfriend.

he'd hang his coat over the rail in the hallway, and push his bag into the corner– something which he never did unless you shouted at him. treading carefully over the floor in his white socks, he'd plop down on the sofa next to you and cuddle into your side. you'd be startled at first, but once you realize it's your messy haired boyfriend, you smiled. his presence already made you feel so much better.

“you're home early,” you'd say, before pulling your nose up in disgust, “and sweaty.”

chuckling softly, he'd only move closer to you. “how was your day?”

you'd sigh before telling him, the days events replaying through your mind, knowing all too well what his reaction would be.

“oh, okay. i see,” he'd say, sauntering back over to the doorway. you'd raise an eyebrow at his calm demeanour; a smile tugged at your lips when he slipped his shoes on, realizing what was going on.

“beomgyu, what are you doing.”

“what does it look like?! i'm on my way to end someone's life.”

᠃ ⚘ choi taehyun:

you rubbed your eyes, the dried tears from earlier in the afternoon making them itch. your nose caught a whiff of a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen and your tummy grumbled. you found taehyun at the counter, fixing burgers together in the apron your mom wore whenever she came over.

the sound of your giggling startled him a bit, but he gave a warm smile and gestured for you to come closer. he draped an arm over your shoulder and kissed your forehead, then picked up one of the fries from the bowl and fed it to you. “you cooked?”

“no, yeonjun-hyung came over while you were asleep. i paid for the ingredients though.” you snorted, finding the evidence, of what must have been his attempts before resorting to yeonjun, in the sink.

you sat down at the counter, but before eating, he'd take your hand and lightly brush his thumb over your knuckles. “you're more than i deserve, don't let anyone feel like you are less than that ever again. i love you, and you are wonderful. if you ever need a reminder, no matter what time of the day it is or how far away i am from you, i will give it to you.”

although taehyun isn't the type to be overly affectionate, in the ways that others are, he hates to see you upset. he'd come running whenever need him, and he would not move a muscle until you felt better.

᠃ ⚘ huening kai:

you craned your neck from the computer screen at the sound of a knock at the door. you had gotten into an argument with your mom earlier, about whether writing counted as a 'real' job or not, and decided to visit your boyfriend to let off some steam. thankfully, the other members were out, so didn't have to filter anything out and could scream till your heart's content.

hueningkai listened attentively, making expressions which matched the tone of your voice and body language. he'd panic a little when you began choking up, but only because it'd pain him to see you in such a state. he pulled you into a hug, caressing your hair as you gripped onto his grey hoodie. “it's okay, i'm here. let it all out, (y/n).”

you opened the door to the room he shared with taehyun, thinking perhaps they had all returned from their schedules. but what you found, cracked a big smile across your face. mollang was perched up in the hall, with a tray of cookies, milk and ice cream in front of him. you picked up the note and the pink peony from the top of mollang's head, giggling at your boyfriend's cute handwriting before running off to find him.

you're feeling a little down today, right? (〒﹏〒) mollang knows your mom didn't mean those mean words, okay! we all believe you can do it and work towards your dream! huening told me he doesn't doubt for a second that his princess will conquer them all! ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ so, huening's beloved (y/n), fighting!

love,

mollang ( ꈍᴗꈍ) (not hueningkai!)

Requests are still open for now, but will be closed sometime soon so I can focus on the projects I’m working on!

[thekillingjoke-haha]

Love And Marriage

Spnquotebingo @spnquotebingo

Quote: You don't save a marriage by sleeping with other people.–Lucifer

Mostly Memory: slant/bold. Quote:small/bold

"What the hell, Anthony!" She yelled scaring both brunettes in the bed she shared with him. The women who looked half her age scrambled off the bed in a rush and ran out of the room getting dressed as she ran out the tower. This time she was throwing objects at the genius screaming and swearing every word under the sun. And yes this wasn't the first time, but its sure as hell will be the last. "How could you do this to me!? Time and time again I forgive and you do it again!!" She tried taking control of her emotions, but they over took her and laid everything out on the table.

Tony slipped on his clothes yelling back and forth with his wife. It was a screaming match that all of New York could hear. "Maybe if you weren't such a controlling bitch I wouldn't need to rush into the arms of a women that would get off my back!" He yelled back and she was stunned into silence. Tony continued talking. "Ever since we been together you've been trying to change who I am and I got sick of it, but you were America's golden girl I couldn't dump you. You just couldn't take the hint ,sweetheart." He finished his intoxicated words got the better of him, but drunk words were sober thoughts and maybe this is exactly how he felt after all these years.

"I want a divorce." She said her voice shaking not wanting to cry in front of the man she loved and she thought loved her back. "What?!" He turned on his heels and stared at her the shouting didn't sober him up, but those four words did. "What did you say?" He asked as if he didn't hear her. "I'm through, Tony. I'm tired of this back and forth. You said it yourself your not willing to change your partying playboy ways so I'm through." She said as she went to get her phone to call her brother. "I want a divorce." Those were the final words uttered to him before she stopped talking to him all together taking off the ring made from the metal of his original reactor the diamond glowing the same blue that lulled her to sleep. Y/n twirled the ring in-between her fingers a nervous habit after the years.

Steve got to the tower from his apartment along with Bucky and Sam. His two friends walked into her bedroom to hear Tony shouting and pleading for her to listen to him. Steve went to his sister as his friends pulled the thrashing man out of the room and to a different part of the building so he could cool off. Tony in the end didn't calm down and was getting violent to the point they had to knock him out and by then Y/n was getting packed with the help of Steve

The suitcase was harshly zipped up as she rushed closing it. Tears flowed freely down her face as she packed all her things well all the things she bought herself. She wasn't running, running was for cowards she was escaping before she drowned herself in whatever kind of love she once had with her husband. Y/n breathed in through her nose as her body convulsed with another fit of silent sobs. Trying to calm down she wanted to get think clear. Did she really want to leave? No, but he didn't give her much of a choice. The light tan line on her finger just further proved she wasn't turning back...not this time. Not even for him. Y/n needed time to think without the threat of the end of the world and out from under her now ex's crushing ego.

She was shacking with anger and in grief it happened again and she was done with it all. Tony fucking Stark her husband, lover, best friend cheated on her again for the third time that she knew of. Y/n saw it she was always there at the wrong time almost like he wanted her to see how pleased he was with another. Steve came out of the bathroom with more hygiene products. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?" He asked for what feels like the hundredth time. Steve knew Y/n wasn't okay he could see it and the sight made him want to rip Stark a new one. With a deep inhale she looked up at him with s slight smile as real as she could make it. "I'm okay I just need to get out of here. Fresh air. New scenery if possible." She said as she looked longingly at a picture on the nightstand not noticing that her brother left with her bags while she stared off. The picture was of her fifth date with Tony after being together as boyfriend and girlfriend for two years, a light festival their first openly public date for cameras to capture them together making it official. America's Sweetheart with a Playboy billionaire...that headline alone should have been the first of many red flags.

The memory played vividly in her mind. Her eyes shined like stars as she dragged him behind her. It was still light outside and the small park was crowded. "Come on, Tones!" She said excitedly as she dragged him along. Many people looked at them and whispered, but they didn't care. They spent the night talking about any and everything it felt so natural. Y/n stared into the sky on their picnic blanket having already painted her lantern with a good amount of wet paint still on her hands. "We've been on what feels like a million dates and this seems like the perfect one to ask you. Will you marry me?" Tony said holding a black velvet box with a f/c diamond ring. "I thought you'll never ask!" She pulled him into a kiss paint covering his cheeks as lanterns where released. He kissed back hands resting on her hips. "Let's go home Mrs.Stark-Rogers." Tony said with a smile. "Well come on then Mr.Rogers-Stark." He was once again dragged away. "No no no my name first Steve will not hold that over me!" Y/n giggled as the memory faded into a much older one.

The twelve year old girl was getting her hair brushed by her mother. "Mama what's love like. I know you love daddy so what's it like?" She asked it's been two years since her father died ,but her mother always said she stilled loves him. "Love is a amazing feeling that doesn't happen often and sometimes it can hurt." The blonde women said to her daughter she couldn't tell her wanting love cost more then giving it. "Why will it hurt?" The young h/c girl asked turning around. "You're to young to know right now, but at some point you will." By the time Y/n turned fifteen she learned that loving someone can hurt after she stood next to her brother and best friend looking at the slab of stone that marked their mother's grave.

The first time it happened she was pissed, but not at the right person at the time. The second red flag.. Screams are what filled the house as Y/n threw clothes at the tramp that was in bed with her drunk husband. She was so anger, but that just hid the pain she was feeling three years for him to cheat. After shutting the half clothes harlot out on the front porch of the Malibu home she stormed back to Tony. He stayed in his boxers on the bed looking dazed he was drunk. "Why?" Is all she could ask as tears fell down her cheeks. The billionaire stood up and walked toward her he wiped her tears. "I'll change. I promise." He kissed her head. She believed him she had faith that he couldn't change for them. After all Y/n did the same she gave up being a hero along side her brother because he told her he already worries about getting home to her as Ironman no need to add the stress of not knowing if she'll get home. So she hung up her red, white, and blue catsuit for him.

After a year Y/n sat in her art studio wear she sold her and other rising artist artwork after Tony said she shouldn't paint in the tower,she painted with her brother laughing messing with colors. She was thankful she put down plastic tarp beforehand a giggle rang out when Natasha walked through the door. Without saying anything she drops a magazine on the table of brushes next to Y/n. On the cover was Tony kissing some red head though a window tears welled in her eyes as she wiped her hands he eyes not leaving the cover till it was picked up off the table. Natasha comforted her as Steve took the magazine and paced. " Am I stupid for trusting him? Thinking he would change?" She asked as the waterworks flowed. "No ,if anyone is stupid its him. Ever since he came out as Ironman he thought he was untouchable. God imma kill him!" The red head said while Steve was flexing his hand not wanting to hit any of the stored art pieces. The third red flag for all to see.

The bus rocked back and forth as she looked over at her brother sleeping next to her. They were heading to the airport and he was going to see her off before possibly killing Tony. Speaking of she looked down at her phone and saw dozens of missed calls and hundreds of unread text. She felt that the world was so much bigger after leaving, after getting away from the place that no longer felt like a home. Turning back to the window a memory came to surface as a teenage girl sat on the bus watching old Brooklyn go by. She thought life was so slow she wanted to grow up faster and experience life. Y/n wanted to find love like her parents had. "What are you thinking about doll?" She turned and in Steve's place was Bucky her adoptive big brother. "Nothing important, James." She said with a sigh as the old modeled cares turned back to modern vehicles and yellow taxi's.

Tony woke up and ran around the tower while calling and texting his wife. "Friday track Y/n' s phone. He said as he went to the lab to get in his suit. "She's as NYC airline." The irish voice answered as he stepped into the suit letting it close around him. Before the hatch could open completely he was flying out of the tower to the airport. "Any idea which flight?" He asked wanting to get there before it's to late. "No boss, but the next flight leaving is heading for U.K and boarding in fifteen minutes." Time was running out he needed ever second he could spare. "We'll make it in ten." That night Ironman flew to save whatever he had left.

Y/n held her ticket in her shaking hands her breath uneven. Steve left after the bus dropped her off they said their goodbyes not making the separation hurt any less. Her thoughts came back to Tony all the good times made her smile, but the dark clouds took them over soon after. It felt so right to be in his arms thinking about the future they had with each other within seconds that became a distant memory. What's sad is she wants to go back wondering if she held on to those moments longer they'll last forever. The ring she slipped back on her finger weighed a ton. Y/n didn't have the strength to take it off not for good at least and this made her feel weak. Pain was heavy in her heart from the constant ache, but the little voice kept saying maybe if we tried harder he would have loved us the way we love him, maybe rushing into a relationship wasn't the best idea, maybe he's happier without us ,maybe not telling him about the positive test was the best option ,maybe...maybe.

A hand resting on her stomach she wanted to laugh, but that would have brought on a fresh wave of tears. She started off the day without Tony in bed and sicker then she's been since her pre-serum years. Y/n went to the doctor completely covered form any prying eyes and the test were clear she couldn't believe it she took about ten test in her studio bathroom before heading back to the tower. Howard warned her and Steve that the serum might sterilize them, but at the time both of them were to small and sickly and she knew getting pregnant might kill her anyways so they both agreed to it. Y/n wished she could hug the man today he made her better and let her have a gift she never thought was possible. A baby was growing inside her. Tony never really talked about kids and neither did she since that wasn't a possibility before, but the moment she held five of the clearer test she wanted to rush into his arms and have him be the first to know. That quickly fell apart that evening and now she's here.

The suit landed out side the airport and Tony immediately ran out of it into the building looking through his tented shades he followed the path Friday set for him rushing through security. "Now boarding flight A145 to United Kingdom. Ahora aborda—" The intercom rang out. He was running out of time. There he saw h/c hair one of a couple dozen in line due to the oddly timed flight. "Y/N!!" Many heads turned at the shout while so gasped and whispers started. She looked at him and froze. His eyes looked bloodshot and he wore baggy sweats and a AC/DC shirt. Turning back around she tried to get on the plane quicker, but a hand grabbed her arm. "Please listen to me. I'm so so sorry! I'm a fucking moron okay? I know I just keep screwing up between us and I know you're tired of me saying I'll change, but if it means I keep you in my life I'll do damn near anything." Tony's voice shook as his eyes welled with tears people crowed to see the Starks some seemed to clued in on the subject while others were lost. "You can't fix this Tony. There's nothing to fix between us you said your piece and actions speak louder then words there is no saving this." Y/n whimpered holding her hand in her own.

"I can save us, N/n! Please just give me a chance too. You and me against the world right?" She shook her head no as she looked into his brown eyes with her glassy e/c ones. "Wrong. You just don't get it do you? You don't save a marriage by sleeping with other people. And I gave you more then enough chances to change because God I changed so much for you!! I gave up saving people, gave up painting in the tower, stopped helping Pepper with business, stopped going to briefings, and so much more. All for you and you couldn't do one thing for me." With quivering hands she gently brushed the tears from his cheeks letting her hands go from his shoulders to his hands. "I loved you, Anthony. I always will have a special place in my heart for you, but clearly the same doesn't go for you." Y/n now held one of his hands bringing his knuckles to her lips giving them a chaste kiss.

She let go of his hand as she stepped back from him many of the passengers having already boarded the plane. "Don't say goodbye." He said voice small and weak. "...don't think of this as a goodbye. We just met at the wrong time in the wrong place. Maybe I'll come back to you and just maybe we can start again from the beginning, but until then this is a see you later." She turned and went on board as he stood their feet glued the the floor. Looking down at the hand she held the ring sat in his palm she left him with a piece of his heart while she took the rest with her. What is a marriage without love

————————————————————————————————————————————

A/n this is the second to last one before the full masterlist is posted. Fyi I wrote a happy ending and if it's really wanted I'll make a short one-shot of it but angst ending for now.

Next quote is a free space and I'm going ham!!!!

[bangtancentricsblog]

paint it black

❍ pairing: jungkook x reader

❍ verse: red and white

❍ word count: 1.4k +

warnings/disclosures: angst, a tiny dash of fluff and a pinch of backstory I guess but please let me know if I missed anything that could be triggering!

〚prev • next〛

It’s unusually slow this afternoon; the sun shines through the windows casting a warm glow across the parlor. Yoongi is almost done with his shift, which means Namjoon will be coming in soon, but there’s something that feels off. Almost like a little tickle of unease that settles over you as the day grows longer, the sun no longer warming your skin as you sit behind the reception counter. The parlor is mostly silent except for the familiar hum of the tattoo machines, Jungkook is halfway through a three hour session and Yoongi should be nearly done with his client. It leaves you alone and mostly bored as the last of their clients waits for their appointments, though do you really have any room to say you're bored when you were just making out with your boyfriend in the restroom not too long ago? You sigh distractedly, thinking of the way he pulled you onto his lap, big hands roaming your body touching you like a man starved.

There’s this strange forcefulness to the way Jungkook touches you as of late, it leaves your brain foggy, almost hazy with this need to keep him close, one that keeps the fire burning until it swallows you up leaving nothing left but the dying embers of your need. Sweaty bodies entangled in the most intimate of ways, because like this you are vulnerable to the soft press of Jungkook's fingers smoothing over the heated flesh he'd bruised with his grip. The little pinpricks of tingles that shoot up your arm and settle at the bottom of your spine that have you squirming closer to him, there in the comfort of your bedroom does he trace the delicate lines of ink much the same way you would; except this one is special because it matches his own put there by his own hands. Couples tattoos were cliche, a little corny too but he'd looked so happy to show you what he'd drawn up for you and Jungkook was just as corny as they got, a loved up boy with nothing but softness and romance hidden beneath all that ink and black clothing. Because there on paper sat a single rose delicate but intricate with vines and leaves all wrapped together like barbed wire but much more beautiful.

It held no color, but the sentiment remained and he'd happily inked it onto your skin upon your approval. Jungkooks works were always beautiful (biased or not), his love for his work clear in the detail he put into each and every one of his pieces. You're so lost in your thoughts you don't hear the bell ring as someone new comes in, it takes them a few tries to get your attention, soft voice filling your ears and bringing your gaze to them or rather should you say her. She's pretty, though the voice in your head screams she doesn't belong here and all at once the tickle of unease drowns you, filling your lungs until they feel like cement. There's this tiny sound ringing in your ears; a gasp maybe, no not quite, it sounds more strangled, a wheeze, your mind provides and it's coming from you it seems. You feel a strong hand on your shoulder, your unfocused gaze settling once they land on Yoongi who looks concerned, his words drowned out underneath the rushing of blood in your ears.

‘‘You feeling okay?’’ he asks once the furrow of your brow has relaxed.

‘‘Are you wrapping up?’’ you say instead, moving to the register to charge the client Yoongi’s just finished up with while he beckons the other over with a wave of his hand leaving you alone again with a reassuring pat on the back. The girl stands to the side watching with wide eyes as you stare back at her. You have this nagging urge to chase her out the door, but why, you can’t quite say, instead you clear your throat glancing at the clock before speaking.

“Hi, how can I help you?” She brightens just slightly, her smile spreading in a way that one would wax poetics about but makes your stomach turn.

“Yes, would I need to book an appointment to get a piercing?” She asks, her voice lilting in a girlish fashion that grates on your ears.

“Give me just a second.” You mutter, thumbing through paper work that’s been thrown in a basket for sorting. Some are consultations appointments, others are forms that need to be put away, though at the very bottom you find a few piercing forms quickly handing one to her on a clipboard along with a pen.

“Piercings don't usually require appointments, so fill this out please and you can hand that to me when you're done.” you supply easily though your mind still screams that she's a threat, that you shouldn't even be giving her the time to make herself comfortable in a place that you've already staked your claim. You try your hardest not to focus on her too much, but somehow your gaze falls back to her form. She’s pretty in a way that you could only dream of being, all the features that make someone outwardly pretty whereas you had to work to even be okay with your looks. Her frame was petite with thin everything, in a way that you remember wishing you could’ve been but that just hadn’t been written in the stars. She was what you had always been led to believe all men wanted, petite doll-like and perfect, she was everything you weren’t and it made this cold anger simmer just under the surface of your skin. You faintly register sharp pops followed by a small pinch that makes you flinch out of your thoughts, a sound you realize comes from Jungkook as he stretches his arms over his head, the black t-shirt he wears is too short and flashes you a small stretch of skin that leaves your lips twitching into a smirk.

‘‘Did you finish up?” you ask, beaming up at him as he crowds you against the reception counter.

‘‘I did, please charge them so I can finish up and we can take a break before Namjoon and Alice come in for their shifts.” he sighs, squeezing a giggle out of you at the way he lets too much of his weight rest on you.

‘‘Gimme a sec and you also have another client so no breaks.” he groans though he feels the way you press a little kiss to his chest before pushing him off you.

‘‘I’ll be done soon so get ready to clock out soon, no overtime today remember.” you mutter your response relishing in the giggle he rewards you with before you meet her gaze again. It’s strange the way a single look can make your anger return in full force still cold much like before but it sits in your chest, burning a hole where your heart should be. It scorches your insides in a way that makes you oddly melancholic, and yet also suffocated almost like your organs are slowly shutting down, reminding you of something you’d forgotten. This is familiar, it sparks a feeling in you that you’d worked hard to bury one of longing and heartache, of love and happiness, one that you can see brimming in her eyes as she gazes at you but not quite at you either. No, her gaze falls just behind you, and though you want to pretend you don't know what, no, not what but who she’s looking at. Because her eyes glitter in a way that seems too familiar for you not to know, in a way that little voice in your head had whispered the moment she’d walked through those doors.

And when you turn, your gaze falls on Jungkook who laughs with Namjoon who you hadn’t heard come in. Jungkook meets your gaze easily, smiling in that way that usually warms your cheeks and makes your heart flutter but falls flat when you hear her giggly gasp. You want to feel something other than anger, but you can’t, not when she hides the way her cheeks pinken behind the clipboard. Your gaze falls to a silken strand of red that flutters about as if carried by a soft breeze and you foolishly follow it, because the string connects her and Jungkook’s pinky fingers. You want to cry, not for a love you might lose but more so because you’ĺl be left with the charred mess that is your heart and hope she won't paint his black the way yours has been.

@boymeetsweevil

[missmorosis]

Jealous

anonymous asked:

I’m BEGGING for a hc where zuko and sokka like the reader and get jealous of one another. Plot can be anything! :)))

anonymous asked:

oomgomg Hii u replied to me earlier 🥺👉🏽👈🏽 LOVE THAT YOU LOVE SOKKA!!! I love zuko too but sokka needs more appreciation imo.

Would u ever write an zuko and sokka x reader or oc where they both like the same person? Because I find myself conflicted between who I like more because they’re great for totally different reasons! Idkk but anyways looking forward to reading more of ur work!! And happy early valentines dayyyy 💕💕💕💕💕

please this prompt makes my true beauty heart go 📈📈📈

ALSO THE TWO OF YOU BASICALLY HAD THE SAME REQUEST LSAKDJS

enjoyyy <33 THIS MAKES NO SENSE IM SORRY

Pairings: Sokka x Reader x Zuko

Warnings: fainting and sickness (sighh yes yes i wrote another sickfic IM OBSESSED) & it may be the worst thing ive ever written-

Summary: a sick y/n is caught up in a love triangle... which boy is better?

Word count: 1.4k :)

The doorbell rang, and Y/N rushed to answer it. She opened the door to reveal a smiling Sokka. He was your best friend, so he normally showed up unannounced once in a while.

"Hey, Y/N!" he said.

"Hi, Sokka! What brings you here?"

"Knowing you, you probably haven't had dinner yet?" She nodded with a laugh. "Wanna get something to eat?"

It was past dinnertime, and she still wasn't hungry... In fact, the thought of food made her nauseous. Y/N nodded anyways, and Sokka smiled, getting his car keys out of his pocket.

Driving past the streets, the two blasted music out of the car's speakers, and Sokka sang along to all of the pop songs on the radio. Y/N laughed at the silly expression Sokka had on his face, even though the music was way too loud; it was honestly giving her a headache, but it was okay. She looked out the window to see Zuko, another close friend, heading out of the Jasmine Dragon. He must've just finished work...

"Oh, it's Zuko!" she chirped, giving him a wave. Sokka said nothing, his singing quieting down to silence, but he pulled over anyways to say hi. He parked his car, and the two hopped out.

“Y/N!” Zuko ran over with a huge grin on his face, waving his hand as a greeting. “Nice to see you again! Oh... hi Sokka.” Zuko’s cheerful smile slowly morphed into one of distaste when he noticed that she had been with Sokka.

“Hey, Zuko,” Sokka acknowledged. Y/N turned to see that Sokka’s face also fell when his eyes met Zuko’s. Sokka slung an unnecessary protective arm over her shoulders, and Y/N cleared her throat to clear up the growing tension. Shaking Sokka’s arm off, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Is it cold out here or is it just me?" Y/N blurted, causing Zuko and Sokka to look at each other worriedly. Sokka pulled off his jacket to throw it onto her. He zipped it up, and met her eyes.

"It's not cold at all... you feeling okay?" Y/N nodded slowly, signaling that she was okay, so Zuko and Sokka dropped the subject. She could have sworn it was chilly out.

"Anyways," Sokka continued, heading into his car, "wanna go grab dinner together or something?” The other two nodded, also following Sokka into the car. Y/N hopped into the passenger seat, and Zuko was stuck in the back seats. She could tell he wasn’t happy with her sitting next to Sokka, but she ignored it. They were just being plain childish, and it was giving her a headache.

“Oh, Y/N,” Sokka started. “I went to-”

"Sokka, go left," Zuko interuppted. Sokka sighed and turned the wheel, following through with Zuko’s command. 

As the car turned, it pushed Y/N to the side of the car, forcing her to lean on the car door. Deciding not to get up, she nuzzled closer to the car window, her warm breath fogging it up. She blinked, trying to stop the growing sleepiness clouding her head. 

Y/N heard Sokka ramble on about his day in the background, and her eyes closed for a second... just a second. She was just so... exhausted...

"Hey... Y/N? Are you asleep?" Sokka's voice asked softly. He poked her side, making her slightly stir awake. She tried to lift her heavy eyelids. Wow, she felt so sluggish.

"What, is Sokka boring?" Zuko laughed, as Sokka gasped, offended. "I should have been the one driving next to her."

"Y/NNN- how could you fall asleep in the middle of my story?" Sokka shook Y/N awake with his free arm. "Come on, you can't leave me with Zuko."

"Hmm?" Y/N hummed quietly, letting them know she was awake. Her voice was raspy; she had a sore throat, but the boys seemed to wave it off as a symptom of sleepiness.

"Am I too boring for you?" Sokka asked.

"No, of course no-"

"So you're saying you'd be with Sokka rather than me?" Zuko accused.

"N-no-"

"So you'd rather be with Zuko?"

"What? You guys are arguing for no reason," she mumbled, but the two boys ignored her.

"Of course she'd rather be with me; she's just too nice to say that to your face," Sokka argued, his voice increasing in volume.

"No, then why would she fall asleep while you were talking? You're boring." Zuko's voice was also loud.

"Please stop," Y/N whispered, rubbing her temples, and this gesture didn’t go unnoticed. Sokka and Zuko froze at once, watching her with concern.

"You have a headache? Are you sick?" Sokka asked immediately. Y/N sighed and nodded.

"Is... that why you fell asleep- because you were sick?" Zuko added, and Y/N nodded again weakly, and sighed. Sokka reached out next to him and put his hand on her forehead.

"Y/N, you're burning up..." Sokka gasped.

"Let me see," Zuko mumbled, placing his hand on her forehead. He sighed. "Y/N, you feel really warm."

"I'm so sorry for waking you up- it would have been better for you to stay asleep," Sokka apologized.

"No, no. It's my fault." She shivered, pulling Sokka's jacket tighter. “If I knew I was sick, I shouldn’t have come with you guys.”

"Here, have my jacket, too." Zuko wrapped his jacket over her as well, draping it over her shoulders.

"She doesn't need more than one, Zuko," Sokka scoffed quietly. "Anyways, we can go home if you'd like?"

"Oh, no, don't worry about me! We can go get dinner or something, it's just a headache. It'll go away," she reassured them.

"I don't know..." Zuko said. "Maybe we can get something to eat at your house?" Sokka turned around, heading back towards Y/N's home.

"I agree, you need rest." Sokka looked at her in the mirror. "Sorry to break it to ya, but you don't look so good."

"Okay... if that's alright..." she said, and Sokka smiled.

Everyone arrived at Y/N's house, and Zuko helped you out.

"Shall we?" he asked, gently grabbing your hand.

"C'mon, Y/N," Sokka said, glaring at Zuko. He grabbed your other hand, and pulled you along.

"Y/N," Zuko muttered.

"Zuko, let go of her," Sokka said, warningly.

"Who do you think I am? I don't have to listen to you," Zuko snapped back.

"You guys are driving me insane, can't you both just shut up and get along?" Her voice now matched theirs in volume, and the two stopped arguing, looking apologetic.

Boy, were you lightheaded all of a sudden. She staggered on her feet, and she buried her face in her hands. Not now...

"What's wrong?" Sokka's voice immediately asked.

"Are... are we scaring you? We promise it's not going to get too serious..." Zuko sounded concerned. She could feel both of the boys' arms hovering around her body, trying to protect her, catch her if she fell, or give her reassurance.

"No, no..." she breathed. "I'm.. fine..." With that, she promptly passed out.

Both boys rushed to be the one who caught Y/N. Zuko scooped her up into his arms, and he carried her into her room, leaving Sokka alone.

Zuko gently laid her down onto her bed, pulling the blanket over her. With a swift kiss that he was tempted to do all evening, he got up and headed out the door.

"Well..." he said, glancing at Sokka. The atmosphere was now awkward, and neither boy was going to leave for a while...

Y/N woke up, and judging from her headache and how warm she felt, she wasn't any better. Groaning, she got out of bed, expecting to be alone, but she was wrong.

She opened her eyes to see two boys asleep on the couch. They had stayed...

Medicine was laid out for her on the counter, and she gladly took it.

"Y/N?" Zuko's voice croaked, making her jump.

"Oh, hey... I wasn't expecting you two to stay..." she said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Of course we stayed... you feeling better?" Concern was written all over his face.

"I still feel like trash..." she answered truthfully.

"Maybe I can kiss it better," Sokka said with a small, playful smile, now awake as well, and she laughed.

"Anyways, thank you both..." She gave a quick kiss on both of their foreheads, making both of them blush. "Now, get some rest at home... I'll be fine."

"No way, I'm staying," both said at the same time. Y/N sighed; there was no way of getting rid of them, and she loved them for that.

"Do you need anything?" Sokka asked, getting up to get her some water.

"Nah, I'm alright... we can watch a movie, though?" She flopped onto the couch, in between the two boys. She turned on the classic Meet the Robinsons and laid back.

Both boys rested their heads on her shoulders, and she laughed.

"You two are idiots, you're going to get sick." They shrugged, and she smiled.

LMAOBDJJEEK OKAY WHOO IM TIRED BUT I WANTED TO GET SOMETHING OUT

this is totally unedited too IM SORRY

taglist (send an ask to get added!) @urmomoness @zuko-is-the-sun @busyforkuvira @appa-gaangnam-style @xxspqcebunsxx @akiris @welovediaaxx @ray-ofmoonlight @sokkaandzukosimp @u-4iia @sunnimochix @kaylove12

Zuko taglist: @duh-dobrik

[angloie]

Rivals. Nothing more. (1/2)

> Percy is annoyed on how Annabeth always was. Her passion to win, to suceed, to be better than him. He hates that. It's totally not hot, or whatever.

> Warnings: swearing and kinda (?) suggestive undertones, my writing

> Genre: fluff, mutual pinning, Percy having a huge fat crush on Annabeth.

You can find the second part here!

Percy wasn't very fond of smartasses who talked back.

I mean, who wouldn't? They were truly insufferable; acting like they knew everything and spat out facts here and there, all high and mighty.

Annabeth fit that description perfectly.

She's such a stuck up nerd; always beating his spot just opened place higher than him. When they spar, Percy can't help but feel a overwhelming urge pushing him to win. Annabeth struck back with the same passion, every strike, slash, push, thrust, holds her need for victory.

And when Percy does win after a long match? It feels amazing. The refreshing mood when you get exactly what you want- for once beating enemy number one. Annabeth shakes hands with him after and it infuriates him all over again. Why can't she feel more embarassed? Devestated? Shame? She walks away from the training arena calmly like she won over him.

Oh, Annabeth does feel embarassed. Devestated, too. But the look in Percy's eyes when she acts all stoic- seated stop her high horse- is simply electrifying. No better feeling than antagonizing your rivals, right?

They first meet at twelve. Both still young and insufferable, being the natural rivals they were. After all, their godly parents were two of the biggest rivals between one another: Athena and Posiedon.

Then they’re thirteen. Rivals, yes, but they can get along better now. Much better, in fact. Annabeth just feels the tiniest bit of attraction. It's just platonic. That's what she likes to tell herself, really.

Fourteen and Percy and her still bickering and arguing like usual. They can respect each other's boundaries still, all while they make crude jokes about the other. People say that they might be best friends, but the two of them shoot their ideas out of their heads. Who would wan't to be friends with that loser, anyways?

The ripe age of fifteen. Same old Percy, and same old Annabeth. They grow stronger together, and even more stronger as they progress. It's such a heartwarming thing to watch. Annabeth becomes more aware of how Percy looks. His apearance. Once a couple inches shorter than her becomes level-height. And then Percy has the audacity to grow taller than her. 

He likes to tease Annabeth about it. Holding books above her head, or anything he can grab that's hers. It's more blood-boiling when you remember the fact that people in ancient Greece associated height with power. Percy? Have more power than her? Unaceptable.

Percy on the flip side becomes more aware of how his endearing his rival becomes. Annabeth puts him in awe sometimes, incredibly witty and smart. But the snobbish attitude from her makes him want to gag. Maybe not as much as it did in the past other years. Annabeth, (as much as he hates to admit it) is someone he can trust. After years of being partners in both battle and else, that was expected. Percy still can't trust Annabeth with his blue cookies though.

Sixteen, finally. A confusing year for Percy. It becomes a growing problem for Percy when his heart beats erratically when Annabeth is near. Her shampoo smells so heavenly from where he's sitting, which is at the end of her bed. Annabeth sits crossed legged from him, flicking the pages of a book. Percy just saw the lights on from her cabin and crawled through the window. That would make her annoyed, right? No other reason; just to annoy her. Totally not because he wants to see her again.

Annabeth doesn't have the slightest clue in her mind about why she let him in. Or why he opted to sit on her bed directly, instead of sitting on one of the very comfortable seats in the large room. Annabeth doesn't complain. The cabin is empty; her other guests singing along at the campfire or elsewhere. 

Percy gets up wordlessly as Annabeth continues to stare at her book. Words are flowing through, forming, but she can't seem to focus to comprehend the book.

She notices his arrival when the bed dips with his weight. Percy has a blob of water in mid-air, floating just above the palm of his hand.

“You better not get that on my bed,” Annabeth chides, “Or I'll make sure to kill you.”

“Really now?” Percy makes the water floating towards her, threatening to soak her face. It stops inches before her- stopping from wetting her clothes along with it. She doesn't flinch.

Annabeth gives a sticky sweet smile, but her eyes say otherwise. Something along the lines of 'You better be digging up your grave now'. Percy flinches back in surprise, hands braced in a defensive position. The water shifts and floats back to him... to only float around the room aimlessly.

It's times like this when he feels truly at peace. The air is tense, sure, but he feels calmer than ever before. It's liberating.

The water leaks a bit from the moving. Annabeth is amazed how it moves so effortlessly. It's Percy moving it, but that didn't matter. Sometimes Annabeth wished she had powers... Her smarts and wits were amazing, but she felt that she could achieve even more if she had them. It's a painful thought.

Percy sits back on her bed, staring at the white celling. Different coloured sticky notes and red strings are hooked together by flimsy thumb tacks. Talk about being a nerd.

Both lost in their thoughts and a good book, the water comes back around the room to splash on-

Just fucking peachy.

On Annabeth.

“Percy!” She screeches, hair damp with liquid and some finding it's way on her white shirt. Due to the thin fabric and cool water, he shirt becomes a little more. How do you put it? transparent. Translucent.

“Oh shit-” Percy jerks upwards, moving his hands around frantically. If he stares any longer, he might become more aware of the now visible uhm- undergarments. He also might notice that they are blue, his favourite colour, and how it looks so fucking good on her. 

Okay, he's noticed all of that in a matter of seconds.

“Quit staring!” Annabeth protests more, as Percy gets up to face the wall and cover his eyes. 

“I didn't mean to!” He says, still facing away from her. “I-it was a accident!” I swear!”

“Quit you're blubbering and get out!”

“Sorry!” Percy says again, and again. “I’m really sorry!” Until he finds his way to the large mahogany door and steps out.

“I- uh-" He tries to reasonate, tries to make up with her. But it's quickly shut off when Annabeth slams the door in his face. Leaving a very stuttering and blushing Percy.

Seventeen. It's a dreadful year for the two of them.

It becomes painfully clear why Percy had been a blushing, embarrassing mess around Annabeth. Clear on why he feels like he's on cloud nine when she pins him down in the sparing arena. And incredibly clear why Percy thinks about her eyes, her smile, her everything. Even the random facts he always thought was annoying and stupid leave marks on his brain. 

The oblivious son of Poseidon denies his feelings. Just some rivalry feelings! Some of which include him wanting to kiss Annabeth so bad sometimes, or even wanting to hold hands while walking along the sand. Maybe he does have the occasional dream of some less than appropriate things. Percy's rather embarassed about that.

It's when Grover, his reliable and trustworthy best friend finally makes him realize his true feelings. Ones hidden layers of sarcasm and sharp jokes.

“You think about her twenty four seven,” Grover starts, leaning back on the thick trunk of the oak tree. Percy had just came to him mid-spar to tell him how Annabeth was absolutely destroying him.

“And you also blab about her nonstop. I dunno dude, that sounds like a crush to me.” Grover sighs heavily. Percy blinks once. Then twice. And then three times.

“Do you get jealous when you see her with someone else?”

“Yeah! It's sickening! I feel all weird and stuff, so I-”

“You have a crush~” Grover teases.

“No? I think it's just-"

“Its a crush, Percy. You're so oblivious that it'll never progress more than that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Percy scowls at him. A bead of sweat trails down his forehead, caused from the hours of training.

“It means you have to confess.” Grover simply states, getting up. His hooves clomp down on the hard-packed earth as he trails away. “You gotta do it sooner or later, before someone else does it!”

That thought makes bile rise in his stomach. Annabeth? Go out with someone's else? Other than him? No way. Negatory.

But what if she declines? Annabeth is completely free to do that; but Percy would probably die of heartbreak. And if she started to date someone? Percy would explode.

It's settled, then.

He's going to confess.

-

- a/n:

(re-uploaded to fix some mistakes, lol)

[belovedstill]

Gavin & Kiro from my and they were housemates! series for @beautiful-mystic-mess c: this will at some point go on my ao3

and they were housemates! is a series of mlqc ficlets/oneshots in which MC, Gavin, Kiro, Lucien, and Victor all live together in one house and are in a poly relationship c: aka my baby

"—and then I got this awesome sundae, you should have seen it. Six flavours of ice cream! Six! Salted caramel, chocolate, strawberry—"

Gavin's mind grew at ease the moment he pushed the front door open - Kiro's cheerful voice always filled each nook and cranny of the house, covering the space in sunny warmth. It never failed to shoo his worries away and spill warm affection in his heart to find that the house they shared with the rest of their unlikely bunch wasn't empty most of the time Gavin dropped home to change on his lunch break. Normally, everybody was at work at this time, and the house stood uncharacteristically quiet, but now Kiro was home—not alone, by the way he animatedly talked about his day.

Gavin took his shoes off, carefully listening in.

"—the hardest time deciding on the toppings, they had so many. Like, there were your usual rainbow sprinkles and chocolate stars, and the popping one, but they also had cookie crumbs and candy bar pieces!"

It couldn't be Victor—he'd either hum in reply to Kiro's words or scoff and talk about how unprofessionally the dessert Kiro'd enjoyed must have been prepared.

"These flavours don't compliment each other," Gavin could almost hear him say. "I'll show you what a good sundae tastes like."

Couldn't be MC, either. She'd either have groaned at how delicious it all sounded by now or begged Kiro to take her to the ice cream parlor next time, only to end up in a teasing match.

"—with Savin, he bought some, too, though I think he only came along to keep the fans respectful. Honestly, he doesn't need to do that, everybody is already so nice and considerate, and they always ask before doing anything…"

Maybe Lucien, then…?

But there was no sign of Lucien's presence in the hallway; his shoes and overcoat were missing, and Gavin was pretty sure that Lucien was overlooking an exam at the very time.

That leaves…?

With a soft frown, Gavin followed Kiro's voice to the living room.

The man was sitting on the window seat, thumbs flying over a handheld game, as he chatted with—

"—since lemon sorbet was my last flavour, I asked for some fresh mint. And it—" Kiro paused and looked down, something like horror passing over his face. "Sorry! That's insensitive, forget what I said!'

—with Greenie.

"Are you... talking to my plants?"

Kiro's head snapped at his voice. "Gavin!" It didn't even take a full second for his smile to turn radiant. "I thought it'd help them grow better. They must be pretty lonely when everyone's gone, right?"

Gavin's heart thumped once, then again. Then again, until his chest felt so full his fingers itched—

He threaded them in Kiro's hair and pressed close, moving his lips to his forehead instead of his lips at the very last moment.

Sometimes, being close like this still felt like too much, too soon, too forward, no matter how much everything in Gavin pulled at him to show more affection, to give as good as he was getting—

What if they think I don’t love them? What if they—

Kiro's arms wrapped around his waist then, and stroked big, slow circles over his back. "I love you, too," he said softly, his voice tinged with a sweet smile. "Take your time."

I will, Gavin promised—himself, Kiro, their other partners—and pressed another kiss against the top of Kiro’s head. And when I get there, I'll give everything to you. All of me, to all of you. Just you wait.

[ripley95]

Yay! I'm so excited you're doing a prompt list. How fun! Is it cheating to suggest three in one? Somehow first snow, hot chocolate, and ice-skating all go really well together in my mind. If it sounds like too much, though, just choose the one you like best. You know I love fShenko! Of course, if the prompt doesn't end up inspiring your muse or for any reason it doesn't work well, no pressure in not doing it. Anyway, I'm excited too where you go with possible prompts!

I don't think it's cheating at all to ask for three, and I appreciate the challenge! I already had an idea for first snowfall for f!Shenko, though, so I wasn't entirely able to incorporate the ice skating into that, but it's kind of in there. Thank you so much for sending the prompt! It meant so much to me to see it in my inbox!

-

Finding Peace

Pairing: F!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko

Word Count: ~2100

Summary: Shepard has seen snow before, but it's always been ground side while on missions. Having grown up in space, she's never had the chance to truly appreciate it until now.

Read it on AO3

-

Shepard awoke to her room which was still in a dark haze. There was a noticeable lack of warmth by her side, prompting her to rub her eyes and look over to Kaidan's side of the bed. He was already awake, standing by the window, pulling the curtains back ever so slightly in a way that she couldn't see what he was looking at. Light washed over his face as he was squinting out the window, implying that it must already be morning.

"Everything all right?" she asked as she adjusted herself to sit up in the bed.

He promptly let go of the curtain, taking away the only sliver of light, painting the room in a dull grey. It was still bright enough to make out the smile on his face as he turned to her.

"Yeah, everything's fine," he said with a smile as he came to sit on the bed. "I was just waiting for you to wake up."

"Oh, and why's that?" she asked playfully.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, his grin still not fading.

She looked over to him and matched his smile. "I don't know. If you have to ask me if I trust you, that brings up a certain amount of suspicion."

He shook his head at her before he stared at her in wait for a serious response.

"Oh, come on, I think you know I trust you. The question is, why are you asking?"

"Well... It's the weekend. We don't have anywhere to be, and I uh... there's just something I want to show you."

The weekend. That was still a concept she was getting used to. Getting to go home at the end of the day working for Hackett ground side in Vancouver. Having an apartment to come home to with Kaidan. Actually having time off rather than being in a constant state of 'go' when they were still at war. It's exactly the kind of thing she'd always dreamed of but assumed she'd never get the chance to have. The thought of it put a gentle curve to her lips, feeling lucky to have Kaidan in her life.

"That sounds nice," she said, looking over to him again. "That still doesn't answer why I need to trust you, though."

"Well, let's just say my plan involves a certain level of unquestioning cooperation."

Shepard laughed as she stood up and moved to the closet to pull out some clothes. "Should I be worried?"

"No, definitely not," he said, moving over to the closet with her, making a point to pull out her warm jacket and a toque. "I know you're going to love it… but you're going to need to be blindfolded."

"What? Why?" she asked, as she looked at the clothes he handed her.

"Uh uh, no questions, remember," he said with a cocky grin.

She shook her head in amusement. "Mmm," she hummed in agreement. He had said as much. "All right. I'm all in," she said as she looked over at him, matching his enthusiasm.

"Glad to hear it. It'll be worth it. I promise."

---

"When you said I had to be blindfolded, I wasn't expecting it to be for so long," she said as she fiddled with the hem of the blindfold.

Kaidan looked over at her from the driver's side of the skycar. "Hey, don't take that off! It'll ruin the surprise."

Shepard promptly took her hand away from her face and looked over in his direction, despite not being able to see him.

"I wasn't really going to take it off, you know," she said with a laugh at how seriously he was taking it.

"I couldn't take the chance," he said with his own laugh at the situation. "Don't worry, though, we're almost there. It'll be worth the wait."

"Uh-huh. So, are you going to give me any hints?"

"And ruin the surprise when we're so close?"

Shepard laughed at that. "What if I had a guess already. You didn't exactly leave a lot up to the imagination handing me a warm jacket and hat."

Kaidan huffed out a laugh at that, himself. "I suppose you're not wrong there, but you're about to find out for yourself soon enough. We're already here."

Shepard felt the skycar slow down and land gently. She heard Kaidan turn off the engine.

"I'm going to have to ask one more thing of you first, though."

"Uh oh, what now?" Shepard asked with a smile.

"You need to put on these earmuffs too."

"Seriously?" she said, looking over in his direction again.

"Yes, seriously. Trust me, I have a reason for all this. As soon as we get out, you'll only have to walk a few feet before you can take everything off."

"Everything, you say?" Shepard asked, waggling her covered eyebrows in his general direction.

Kaidan snorted. "You know I'd never oppose that, but I don't think I'd recommend it in this particular scenario. Here," he said as Shepard could hear him leaning over from the rustling of his clothes. "I'm going to put these on you, and then I'll come to help you out of the car."

Shepard felt the earmuffs being placed over her ears. Everything was muffled now, but she heard Kaidan's door open and close behind him before she heard her own door open. She felt for the hand that Kaidan was offering and he helped pull her out of the car. There was an immediate and unmistakable bite of coldness in the air. They only walked a short distance before Kaidan stopped.

"Okay, you can take them off," Kaidan said as he let go of her arm.

She pulled off the earmuffs and her blindfold all at once and readjusted her toque quickly as she was met with a beautiful sight. Large snowflakes were falling all around her, if you could even call them snowflakes anymore. They were so big, they almost looked more like small clumps of snow, yet still entirely light and airy. She was surrounded by forest, freshly blanketed in a soft coat of it. The ground was absolutely covered and reached halfway up her calf. There was a pond in front of her that was steaming from the sharp temperature difference, the snowflakes melting away quickly as they touched the water. The absence of sound was striking, especially since living on starships her whole life and even in the city. She'd become accustomed to a constant source of white noise. But now, there was a serene calmness she'd never experienced before in her life. It was so quiet she could hear the flakes powdering the ground. The only way she could describe it was surreal.

This whole time, she'd been looking out at the scenery, barely even noticing Kaidan beside her. She looked over to him, seeing that this entire time, he'd been looking at her in wonder. He finally looked out at the forest, prompting her to look over it again.

"Do you feel it?" he asked, his voice hushed and gentle. "The peacefulness? The silence?"

"Yeah," she said, matching his gentle tone. "This is beautiful, Kaidan."

He smiled as he looked behind him. "Here, why don't we sit?"

She looked behind them to see a large log cabin with a deck and rustic, wooden patio furniture. He sat down on a bench, prompting her to sit beside him. She hadn't even noticed the two thermoses in his hands before now. He poured out some hot liquid in a cup and handed it to her. She smelled it and savoured the chocolatey aroma and warmth before taking a sip. Kaidan poured his own cup before he started talking.

"I know you've seen snow before. We were on Noveria together, after all, so I knew this wasn't exactly a brand new experience for you. But do you remember what you said when we were in port there, waiting for authorization to get in?"

"You mean before we were attacked?"

"Yeah. You were silent for a moment, looking out past the Normandy. It was the first time you told me about growing up in space. You said you never got the chance to appreciate snow before. The only time you'd ever seen it was ground side in the middle of missions, but you never got to savour it. You always thought it looked pretty from the vids on the extranet."

"Yeah, I remember that," she said with an amused laugh. "I joked about possibly getting some shore leave there if we finished the mission quickly enough."

Kaidan nodded. "Yeah. I remember that too. I think about that a lot, actually. I don't think Noveria's the best place to experience snow, mind you. The constant blizzards, the insanely cold temperatures and all that, but the closer you and I got after that, the more I thought, "I can't wait to take her back home with me." Winters in BC were some of my favourite memories growing up. The snow is special, but there's nothing quite like the first snowfall of the season.  It always feels like it puts the world to a halt the way it insulates against the noise. I've never felt more at peace than I have the first time it snows. Even though you were joking on Noveria, I always sensed a lot of sincerity there too. Ever since you said that, I've imagined a time that I could share this with you. It's not every day you get to witness someone experience that for the first time."

She looked at him genuinely, feeling as though she could cry for how sentimental it was. He was right. She'd always wanted a chance to admire the snow in peace. To feel it in her hands, to catch some on her tongue as it fell from the sky. To not need to be in an environmentally controlled suit to be able to withstand the harsh temperatures. It had always been a dream of hers, but she'd never gotten the chance. It was even more than she ever expected it to be. She laced her fingers in his and looked at him. "It's not every day you find someone thoughtful enough to want to share that with them."

Kaidan unlaced his fingers from hers and wrapped his arm around her. "No, it's really not," he agreed. "Was it worth all the trouble I put you through?"

She smiled at him gently. "That wasn't any trouble, Kaidan, but... it was definitely worth it," she said as she took a sip of her hot chocolate, looking out over the forest and the dense flakes falling. She could imagine them making a tradition out of this. Rushing up to the woods to watch the first snowfall, cuddling under a blanket and sipping hot chocolate. Next year, she'd have to watch Kaidan's face light up as they stepped into the snow, the same way he got to watch her this time. She could imagine his sense of wonder and calmness. "I think this is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me."

He held her tighter towards him, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"We've got some free time coming up over the holidays. What do you say to coming back here?"

"I think I could be convinced," she said as she sat up, flashing him a grin.

He smiled back at her. "Good. Mom reserved this cabin all winter for the family to use. We just have to make sure to ask to use it for a certain time. That pond's going to freeze over soon enough. I figure I can teach you how to ice skate."

Shepard let out a roar of laughter. "Oh, I don't know about that. You've seen me dance. I don't think I could get away with ice skating."

"Hmm, good point," Kaidan said as he took a sip of his hot chocolate. Shepard elbowed him in the side and he almost spat out his drink. "What? You're the one who said it, not me," he said with a laugh.

She rolled her eyes at him playfully. "Listen, I'd say we're about on par with the dancing skills, so you might want to shut it," she said, her smile returning.

"All the more reason we could still give it a shot. I'm not half bad at skating. Maybe you'll be better at it than you think. I won't pressure you, though. Whatever you're up for."

"And what if I fall and hurt my hip or something?"

"Then I'll nurse you back to health in front of the fire," he said, leaning in closer to her and grazing her lips gently in a kiss. "There's plenty of other things we could try. Skiing, sledding, snowball fights, you name it. I honestly don't care what we do, just that we're together."

That was a sentiment she knew well. "In that case, I'm up for anything."

[odd-birds-and-booksellers]

Love You Now

"I think kids should grow up where it snows, you got sledding, you got snowball fights, you know? If we have two kids then we each get one on our own team...I mean threes okay too, I mean the more the merrier right?"

The fresh powdery snow blanketed the ground around them, it had been falling heavily since noon but that hasn't stopped the Karevs from enjoying their day off in the snow, they'd spent the morning using the unused baking trays that they had received as housewarming gifts back when Robin was first born as sleds. For the onlookers it was hard to tell who the parents were, as Alex and Jo had taken to racing each other, leaving their kids to watch their parents with utter embarrassment.

"Okay tap it gently P and then with any luck we should have…" Alex leant in ticking his daughter's sides as she patted the bucket softly, warmth flooding through his body as her giggles rang out across the back yard. "...the best snow castle ever made."

Leaning around her, he gently lifted the bucket up to reveal a perfectly built snow castle.

"Mommy look we made Elsa's castle," Peyton squealed in delight, whirling around to see Jo standing in the back doorway, a steaming cup of hot chocolate in her hands as she watched them play.

"You guys made snow castles without me?" Jo whispered in disbelief, faking a pout as she made her way over to them leaving her drink on the snow-covered BBQ she leant down beside Alex, his arm automatically wrapping around her as Peyton began filling another bucket full of snow enthusiastically.

"Snooze you lose" Alex grins, nuzzling his ice-cold nose against her neck, making her shiver. Pushing him away she ignores the smirk on his face as she scans the garden wondering where their eldest had got to, it was far too quiet for her liking.

"Erm Alex, couldn't you have watched both of them?" Jo groans catching sight of Robin at the end of the garden in what she'd politely call a compromising position.

Alex's eyebrows wrinkle as he follows Jo's gaze, chuckling as he sees his son peeing in the snow, rolling his eyes at the young boy's antics.

"Dad, look I can go on my own!" Robin cries, turning towards Jo and Alex a proud grin stretched across his face.

"That's my boy!" Alex cheered, fist-pumping the air, feeling a handful of snow hit his face, the ice droplets dripping down his top, as he turned back to see his wife's scowling face.

"What?" He shrugged, he was proud, he couldn't tell you the number of times he had to stand right by his son's side because he refused to go on his own.

"He's peeing in the snow" Jo exclaims, gesturing back to their son, a bewildered look on her face as she looks between her son and husband who were sporting matching smirks.

"Yeah but all by himself..." Alex protests, brushing the snow from his face, his eyebrows pulled together in a frown like he didn't understand why Jo was mad.

"Yeah well, Mrs Mclusky is staring at us" Jo hisses, nodding her head towards the next-door neighbours garden and sure enough there the old bat was, face pressed against the window as she narrowed her eyes on the Karevs in disgust.

"You want him to write ya name? Mind ya business" Alex yells, making the lady jump as she lets the curtains fall. The nosy old bat was always sticking her nose in where it wasn't wanted, she already told Jo this morning how nice it would be if she was always at home with her children instead of working.

"And you wonder why they don't like us…" Jo mutters, shaking her head as she smiles down at Peyton helping the little one line her Elsa dolls up against the castle.

Alex ignores her, whistling at the dog that had been happily barking at the birds at the bottom of the garden, "I think that boat sailed when Maverick got into her guinea pig enclosure…" he says, as Maverick comes bounding towards them bypassing Alex for Jo as he sticks his little wet nose against her leg.

"He thought they were toys...didn't you? My tiny little murder." Jo mumbles, rubbing Mavericks belly as the dog rolled over in delight.

"Can you eat snow?" Peyton wonders, holding a handful out towards Alex, her little face scrunching up underneath her woolly hat, it was far too big for her but Helen insisted Karev babies always had big heads so every year a hat way too big would be sent out.

"No"

"Sure"

"Well as long as it's not yellow." Alex shrugs, gesturing towards where Robin had so kindly done his business before receiving a sharp elbow to the ribs from Jo who shakes her head at him in disbelief.

Suddenly the baby monitor lights up, the cries of the youngest Karev flowing through it.

"I'll get her…" Jo says already rising to her feet as Maverick barks at her, nipping at her boots, upset he no longer has her attention. "Are you coming in with me?" she smiles, lifting him up into her arms as if he was her baby.

"You should stop carrying him…" Alex quips, groaning at the sight of his wife rocking the dog in her arms, chatting away to him in that sickly sweet voice she reserved for babies only. "Dogs aren't meant to be this pampered."

"Earthquake!"

All of a sudden Robin is bursting through the set of snow castles lined up, roaring like a dinosaur as he kicks his way through sending the snow flying.

"What the fuck?" Shrieks Peyton as she stares down at the collapsed pile of snow by her feet.

"Peyton…" Alex warns, narrowing his eyes on her, he didn't have a leg to stand on. She definitely learnt that from him but he really tried to discourage her from saying it since the whole end of year play disaster.

Peyton growls shoving Robin down into the snow, for a four-year-old she had some serious strength but so did her brother, next thing Alex's knows they were wrestling in the snow, clawing at each other through their gloves.

"Hey hey stop...stop" Alex cries, pulling them both up by their hoods, a scowl on his face as he inserts himself in between them. "Guys we can all go back inside if you can't get along." Alex doesn't shout at the kids often but when he does it means business.

Sighing the guilt sets in almost immediately at he stares down at their faces, logically he knows all parents yell and tell their kids off but every time he does he can't help but feel that step closer to being his father, and no matter what Jo says he can't seem to pull himself out of that funk. "Come here okay...you wanna fight this out there's only one way to do it….snowball fight!" He grins, kneeling down, wrapping his arms around both his babies, laughing as they leap out his grip, their fight completely forgotten as the head to separate sides of the garden.

"What the hell is that?" He whines, as Jo emerges back in the doorway, Alessia attached to her hip although you could barely see her through the fur wrapped around her head that seemed to be bigger than herself.

"It's her snowsuit," Jo answers, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Honestly every time I think you can't possibly traumatise our kids anymore you outdo yourself…"

"I do not..." Jo protests, waving her hand at him dismissively as she plops Alessia down in the snow much to her dismay as her little nose crinkles up, "I'm gonna get a pic for your mom." Jo informs Alex, as she pulls her phone out, smiling brightly at Alessia, hoping the little one will copy her, but all she gets back is the signature Karev grumpy face. "Oh...oh we should also get a picture of them all in the jumpers she sent as well, that will be good."

"She looks ridiculous" Alex growls, lifting Lessy up away from Jo's photoshoot, he bounces her gently, she's still a little sleepy from her nap as she lays her head against Alex's neck.

"You're a hater" Jo scowls, snapping a photo of the pair, beaming with satisfaction as she leans forwards rubbing the baby's back gently "Daddy is boring...yes he is, he is a grumpy old man," she mumbles, lifting Alessia out of Alex's arms she continues to babble away in baby talk until she feels something hit her in the back. Whirling round to find both Robin and Peyton wide-eyed standing upright, their hands hidden behind their backs. "Hey...I'm holding precious cargo you can't throw snowballs at me."

"Put Lessy down and we can make it a fair fight old lady" Alex challenges, raising his eyebrows at her, as he glances over towards Robin and Peyton, winking at them as he watches them slowly reveal the snowballs they'd been hiding behind their backs.

"Oh no, you did just not call me an old lady?... That's it" Jo snaps, still gobsmacked he had the audacity to bring her age up. Narrowing her eyes on Alex, she decides this means war as she settles Alessia down in the sandpit, making sure she's safe. "Here baby you're gonna sit here in this snowy sandpit and mommy is gonna go destroy daddy okay?"

Turning around she finds Alex is already prepared, snowball in hand, practically jumping in anticipation as he waits for Jo to move away from Alessia. "You ready?"

"Oh it is on Karev"

"Robin" Alex calls, gesturing for his son to join him as he heads towards the treehouse at the end of the garden.

"Peyton" Jo cries, grabbing her daughter's hand as they move further away from the boys.

"It's a fight to the death!" Robin calls, poking his tongue out at the girls as he climbs the ladder up to the treehouse.

Alex smiles awkwardly, the enthusiasm was appreciated if not a little intense. "No, no it's a fight until the girls' surrender."

"Which will be never, will it P?" Jo snorts, one hand her hip as she throws a snowball up in the air.

"Yeah losers"

"Prepare to die"

"Robin…" Alex grimaces, shaking his head at his son as he continues to pile up snowballs behind the tree and pass them up to him.

"Prepare to feel ice in your pants!" The young boy screeches, throwing a warning shot down near the garden table which the girls were now using as a shield.

Alex laughs, as he climbs the ladder to join him. "Yeah prepare to feel ice in your pants."

And like that they're off, the war was on as snowballs went pelting across the garden, laughter from both sides could be heard from the end of the street.

Alex watches Jo as he rounds another snowball in his hands, she crouches down using the table as a shield while she gathers more snow for herself. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Peyton charging at Robin, it happens in slow motion, she slips suddenly, her little legs flying as she lands on her back with a thump.

Alex is over in a flash, dad mode taking over as he hovers above her, searching for any sign of injury as his little girl's face screws up, hot tears springing from her eyes.

"Daddy" she whimpers, her little hands reaching out for him.

"P...P baby are you okay?"

Umph. Alex feels a heavyweight against his back as Jo wraps her arms around him tackling him to the ground. He'd been played. He can hear Peyton laughing as she cheers her mom on from the side. Alex growls as he rolls them over so he's got the upper hand, yelping when he feels Jo's hand slip below the waistband of his joggers, the cold snowball she had in her hand seeping through his boxers making him hiss.

"That'll cause some shrinkage," Jo smirks, raising her eyebrows at him as she rolls him back over so she's straddling him.

"Pfft, you wanna see?" Alex snorts, grabbing hold of her hand that's still placed dangerously close to his so-called shrinkage.

"We have children present" Jo mumbles, looking up as she high fives Peyton.

Groaning Alex sits up with Jo still seated in his lap, she just about hears him mumble that's she a tease before Robin wraps his arms around Alex from behind, both hands filled with snow hitting Jo squarely in the face, both boys laughing as she splutters in surprise.

Leaning over Alex grins kissing her lips, the powdery snow melting from their heat as he feels Robin's hands smack against his cheeks.

"That is disgusting" He cries, his little gloved hand slipping in between Alex and Jo.

"You're gonna wanna kiss girls one day Robin," Alex warns, flipping Robin over his shoulder gently.

"Or boys" Jo chimes in, as Alex settles Robin in between them reaching out to ruffle her son's hair.

"Or boys" Alex agrees.

"No I don't wanna kiss anyone ever" Robin pouts, wriggling out of Alex's grip, he was six going sixteen and he hated nothing more than being his parents baby boy.

"Me either!" Peyton chimes in, plopping herself down on Jo's lap, her arms wrapping around Jo's waist as Robin begins to bury them both with snow, still determined to win the war they'd started.

Grinning Alex rises from the grass, wiping the snow off him as he turns his attention to his littlest baby who had been happily watching from the safety of the currently snowy sandpit, squealing in delight when Alex heads towards her, she's a definite daddy's girl. "That's good cause you aren't allowed and neither are you baby girl" He coos, lifting her up into his arms, pulling down the ridiculous hood Jo had put her in.

"I'm not gonna kiss any boys, or get married" Peyton informs them, her little face scrunched up with disgust at the thought as Robin continues to pat snow over her and Jo's legs.

"That's right" Alex nodded, squatting down to show Alessia the snow, she had just turned one and pretty much hated anything that wasn't her daddy's arms.

"I won't do anything at all...I won't even get a job."

"Well, I'm glad to see that backfired…" Jo chuckles as Peyton kicks her legs out crashing through the snow chasing after Robin who was heading back towards the treehouse.

"That's not what I said P I just said no boys," Alex calls after her, his eyes widening as he looks at Jo, he just wanted no boyfriends he didn't want degenerates.

Rolling her eyes, Jo laughs as she reaches for Alex to help pull her up. "Hey, you guys wanna build a snowman before it gets too dark?"

"Can we build one as big as dad?"

"No… but we can build one bigger!"

-

It's a while later when Alex finds himself squished into his and Jo's bed, Alessia starfished out at the end of the bed, her soft snores echoing around as the ending credits of Toy Story play on the screen, Peyton and Robin pressed into his and Jo's side both exhausted from the days' activities.

Life is pretty hectic for them, they don't get many days where it's just the five (six if you're counting Maverick) of them uninterrupted, but when they do Alex is always struck by how lucky he is to have found Jo, to have created this family with her. They were far from perfect and maybe their kids did pee in the snow, and have potty mouths and maybe their dog was a homicidal maniac but they were happier then Alex could have ever imagined he would be.

"Oh no…" Jo whispers, a lazy smile stretching across her lips as she looks over at him.

"What?"

"I know that look."

"You do?"

"Mhmm, you're gonna say something soppy like I love you." She nods, her sleepy eyes fluttering shut as she snuggled further into his neck.

"I do love you," Alex grins, pressing a light kiss to her forehead, untangling his arm from underneath Peyton slowly as to not wake her, so he could slip his hands under Jo's top, skimming across her hips, making her squirm.

"Your hands are cold" Jo moans, her face scrunching up as she protests but she's trapped between him and Robin.

"I know, that's why I'm warming them up," Alex smirks, his hands sneaking dangerously close to her bra. He's teasing, she knows but his teasing is the reason they now have three kids taking up space in the bed.

"I love you too by the way" she grumbles, nudging his head back with her nose so she can see his face, her lips finding his instantly. "Even if you are an old man and I'm a young spring chicken" she mumbles against his lip, making Alex snort as she presses a row kisses along his jawline, he wasn't the only one that could tease.

"Stop kissing, it's gross" Robin grumbles, still half asleep as he rolls over Jo, squishing himself in between his parents.

"You're gross" Alex mimics, as they both lean down pressing kisses all over the boy's face as he groans in protest, it's a second later when P is up, climbing onto Alex's chest, careful to mind the baby as she wraps her arms around Alex smacking her lips against his cheek.

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

This one-shot is dedicated to Nat (HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL)

It was really hard to write just fluff, so I won't do that again anytime soon.

But also this is part of my What Could’ve Been universe, so the kids are diffrent to the ones I usually write on here. 

Thanks for reading.

(the snowsuit)

[etlunainmorte]

❄❄❄

***

*Bella Basil Raspberry Tea*

Total Time - 45 minutes preparation plus chilling

Serves - 6

Ingredients

3 cups fresh raspberries

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup lime juice

2 individual black tea bags

1 bottle ( 1 liter ) carbonated water or 1 bottle ( 750 milliliters ) sparkling rose wine

Ice cubes

Fresh raspberries and basil leaves, optional

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar, basil and lime juice. Mash berries. Cook over medium heat for 7 minutes or until berries release juices.

Remove from the heat; add tea bags. Cover and steep for 20 minutes. Strain, discarding tea bags and raspberry seeds. Transfer tea to a 2 - qt. pitcher. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Just before serving, slowly add carbonated water or wine. Serve over ice. If desired, top with raspberries and basil.

Nutrition Facts

1 cup: 281 calories, 0 fat ( 0 saturated fat ), 0 cholesterol, 9mg sodium, 44g carbohydrate ( 37g sugars, 4g fiber ), 1g protein.

*Cookie Dough Stuffed Oreos*

Yields - 30

Prep Time - 10 minutes

Total Time - 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 c. ( 1 stick ) melted butter

1/2 c. granulated sugar 

1/2 c. packed brown sugar 

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

1 c. almond flour 

1/2 tsp. kosher salt 

2/3 c. mini chocolate chips

24 Oreos

1 c. chocolate chips

1 tbsp. coconut oil 

1/4 c. sprinkles 

Directions

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugars, and vanilla. Stir in almond flour and salt, then fold in mini chocolate chips. 

Separate Oreos trying to keep cream intact. Place 2 tsp of cookie dough on Oreo half with cream, then sandwich with other half of Oreo. Repeat with remaining Oreos and dough. 

Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Dip Oreos halfway into chocolate, place on prepared baking sheet, and top with sprinkles. Refrigerate until chocolate is hardened, 1 hour.

***

"You said, please, say yes." You excitedly informed him. "And I said, yes! I'm going to the New Year's Ball with you, V!"

It took the poet a full minute before he finally realized what you were talking about. And when he finally realized what your words truly meant, his eyes slowly widened and his mouth fell open in shock. He grabbed his messy hair with both hands and spoke, "That - that's your answer, right? You'll go to the Ball with me?"

"Hahaha! Of course, you silly poet!" You laughed as you threw yourself at him, hugging him and placing a tender kiss on his cheek. Oh, how sweet you smelled. What a nice morning, indeed! "See ya!"

And before V could even reciprocate with a kiss of his own, you took your hands off him, waved, and went back to your house.

Now, if it were only that easy.

"What happened to you, dear?" Adelaide asked you, a plate of fluffy pancakes in her hand. 

Your hands automatically went up your hair as realization finally kicked in. "I told him I'd go the Ball with him."

"Yes, and?"

Giving your grandmother a horrified look, you answered, "I don't have a vintage dress!"

***

❄ Three Wishes ❄

***

IX

***

"You're in luck." Your cousin, Avery, told you as she nudged your arm with an elbow. "I got your back."

"Thanks." You answered with a shy smile as the two of you made your way to her mansion.

It was a good thing that you called Avery first before going to the shopping district to look for a decent vintage dress. You never knew much about gowns or even dresses ( except for the ones you wear for your concours and concertos ), and you're just glad to have her around.

And honestly? She didn't disappoint. Not only were you not going to spend a single cent, you're also going to have the full vintage wardrobe experience free of charge!

Avery opened the heavy wooden door, a feat which always awed you, and allowed you to step into the threshold first before her.

The warmth of the place welcomed you like an old friend, and the entirely redesigned interior made it look as good, or even better, as new. Avery chucked ( not literally, of course ) the old Grecian statues and the rest of the old stuff away ( including your great grandfather's intimidating life - size portrait, which, if she could be honest, was already considered cursed by a lot of curators ), put them up for auction, and actually gained a lot of money from it ( well, not that Roman would refuse, anyway ). She hired a florist and an interior designer for a revamp of the mansion, and voila!

And now, as you glanced with wonder and admiration at the complete transformation of the interior, your jaw couldn't help but drop and your eyes couldn't help but widen. The house, and all the places and corners the eye could possibly reach, looked actually clean, it didn't even look like a haunted mansion, anymore. In place of the old Grecian statues were two Venetian pedestals with modern flower vases in it. The baroque period paintings were gone from the walls, replaced with modern ones depicting gardens in all four seasons. The old and worn down window frames were also replaced. Even the floorboards don't squeak anymore.

Everything was brand new! And everywhere you look, there were lots, and lots, and lots,... of flowers! And,... this actually made you a bit confused.

Avery, actually decorating her house with flowers,... ?

"Didn't know you'd go for flower power." You let out your thoughts as you followed and observed the positively radiant woman upstairs. "And you looked, ah,... different." You remarked, seeing that she finally got rid of her blue highlights and just let her hair grow naturally, letting its true auburn color show, which looked perfect in its own way. You also noticed that her style changed, as well. Instead of a loud statement shirt, a pair of ripped jeans, and a pair of thick leather boots, she's wearing a pastel - colored floral dress, and a pair of wedges.

Avery,... wearing dresses?

Am I missing something here? You thought to yourself as you smiled at your cousin.

"Who? Me? Different?" Avery replied as she glanced at you at the corner of her eye.

You hummed in approval. "You looked,... radiant."

"Nah! I'm still old me. And you're the main focus here, not me. So, if you please,..." Your cousin requested as she gestured for you to open the door to the bedroom on the left hallway. You grabbed the doorknob firmly, carefully turned it, and opened the door,...

You felt a strange wave of nostalgia brush you gently in the face as you entered the old room. The huge French canopy bed on the left, the sweet scent wafting about the cozy room, the pastel colored wallpaper, the heavy floral curtains, and even the white vanity table on the right gave the impression that this room belonged to a very delicate lady,...

... who seemed very much in love.

Huh? Why did I think of that? You pondered as you heard the door close behind you.

"I had this room renovated." Avery told you as she walked towards the vanity table and placed a hand on the ornate mirror. "This belonged to gran's mom."

"Really?!" You gasped, taken by surprise by what you just heard from your cousin. Your eyes wandered once more all over the place, drinking in all the lovely sights the room could offer. It's as if,... the room itself held some sort of significance to you. Like you've been here before. "Wow,..."

"You know, V spent a lot of time in this room last October." Avery giggled as she gave you a sly sideways glance, wanting to see your reaction. And you didn't disappoint. The moment your cousin mentioned his one letter name, your face heated up, making it as red as a beetroot.

"W - what's he doing here?" You stuttered, making the other woman laugh.

"Ah! Long story. I'll tell you some other time." Avery answered as she went towards the large wooden closet on the left near the French canopy bed. "But, I'll tell you this: he's in love with gran's mom."

"Sorry?"

"Never mind." Your cousin teased as she opened the closet, revealing a huge collection of Victorian era dresses of all fabrics, colors, and shapes.

And it simply took your breath away! And instantly made you forget what Avery just revealed.

"Amazing!" You gasped in awe as Avery took one dress made completely out of lace from the huge closet. "It's so, so beautiful!"

"Look, I may tell you that this lady here suits your skin tone but, you can try as many of these as you like." Avery told you as she carefully handed you the delicate dress. "Hell, you can try all of them!"

And that's what you did for the next few hours. As tiring as it was, carefully putting on these dresses and making sure that they don't get damaged in the process, it really was fun trying them on. There were just too many, in different shades of red, blue, purple, green, and yellow, in different fabrics like lace, satin, silk, chiffon, and in different cuts, although ninety - five percent of them had extremely low necklines and all of them had tight fitting bodice.

And somehow, the dresses,...

... felt so familiar to you. From the colors perfectly matching your skin tone, to their sizes exactly fitting your form.

It was like you actually owned them.

"That's beautiful." Avery, who got so tired of waiting and elected to just sit on the bed to watch your every move, said for seemingly the hundredth time that day.

"Yes but," You answered as you uncomfortably looked down at what you’re wearing: an exquisite pale green dress with an empire waist and a pair of bishop sleeves made of voluminous silk. " ... it doesn't seem right."

Avery rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "I told you. Pick whatever you like. V will not judge you if you pick the wrong one, come on!"

"No, it's not that I'm worried about V judging me." You said as you faced the closet once more. "These dresses are all beautiful, and they all fit so perfectly, it's actually scary. But, I don't feel,... special,... in any of them. In a way."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's like,... I'm happy they all fit. But, I'm not happy wearing them."

"Really? How so?"

"It's like,... ah,... how do I explain this?" You bit your lower lip as you browsed the many more dresses that were hanging inside the vintage closet belonging to your gran's mom. "It's like, I'm looking for something that resonates. That feels special. You know what I'm saying?"

"I'm not sure I know what you meant." Avery answered as she collapsed on the white pillows.

"Ah, it's so hard to - "

"Hard to what?"

You turned towards your cousin, your eyes almost popping out of their sockets and your mouth opening wide. Like you've just awoken to a huge revelation.

"Found something that resonates?" Avery asked as she rolled on the bed, propping her chin on her knuckles and playfully swaying her feet back and forth.

"I might have." You replied as you took a particular dress from the closet and made your way once again towards the massive bathroom. "Wait."

"Isn't that what you're already making V do?" Avery teased with a huge grin plastered on her face as she rolled on the bed once more and laid on her back.

"What's that?!" Your voice echoed from the bathroom. You were just too weirded out with your cousin's behavior.

"Nothing! And make it quick already! I'm starving!"

"Alright! Alright! And can you put something else in here, like a vanity table or something? It feels really empty here!"

"Just like how V feels without you?"

"Come again?!"

"Did I say something?"

"Ugh!"

Avery was clutching her stomach with both hands, hysterically laughing at her jokes when you finally came out of the bathroom. And when she saw you, her mouth simply dropped.

"Girl," She gasped, feeling as if her eyes were deceiving her. " ... you're wearing,... that?"

"Yes!" You proudly declared as you made a little pirouette, the soft fabric of the dress flowing gracefully with your movement. "Isn't this perfect?!"

"W - well," Avery said, still a bit tongue - tied, as she got off the bed and made her way towards you. " ... I must say that's a really curious choice. A good choice, nonetheless. Looks perfect, yes."

Your eyebrows knitted, confusion with Avery's strange commentary on the dress you chose starting to set in. "You don't look happy."

"What? Ugh! Come on, I said it's perfect, right? Now, get dressed and come down, I'm really starving, I could eat a huge bird right now!”

You were still staring at the dress laid carefully on the sofa a few minutes later as you and your cousin enjoyed some cookie dough stuffed oreos and bella basil raspberry tea.

"So, are you gonna tell me?" You said after taking a sip of the sweet beverage. "What V was doing there last October?"

"Ye really wanna know?"

"Well, duh. Of course."

Avery took one cookie from the huge plate and pointed it at you. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

"Umm, yes? No? I don't know,..."

"Well, whatever your belief is, this place," Avery said, taking a bite of the treat. " ... used to be haunted. And I commissioned the Legendary Devil Hunter to drive the spirit out. But, he refused!" She said, then took another bite. "And this man, this thin man who calls himself V, he volunteered. He confronted the Demon who took over this place," She plopped the treat into her mouth and chewed. And with a still full mouth, she said, " ... and set the tortured souls free. Safe to say he won, right?"

"Oh, I s - "

"BUT, of course, you wouldn't believe me! So, forget what I just said." Avery took another cookie and ate it whole. Then, after that, she took another one from the plate and ate it as well.

"You, ah, eat well!" You said, carefully choosing your words so as not to offend your cousin.

"Who, me?" Avery asked as she ate another cookie, then took a sip of her tea. "Nah. Must be your imagination."

" ... okay,... "

"I answered your question, now answer mine." Avery gestured at the dress on the sofa and took another treat from the almost empty plate. "What made you choose that dress?"

"Instinct." You simply answered.

"Meaning?"

"I feel it's the one, you know?"

"Just like how you feel about V?"

"OH, SH - !"

"I'm home, ladies!" Roman, who just entered the living room, greeted you and made his way towards his wife to plant a kiss on her radiant cheek. He, then, took out a box of dumplings from a plastic bag and showed it to Avery, whose eyes and mouth widened in delight.

"Roman Mikael Francisco, you greatest husband in the world!" Avery exclaimed in ecstasy as she grabbed the Chinese take out box from Roman's hand. "How did you know I'm craving this?"

"Instinct." Roman answered as he winked at you, making you nod in realization of the real situation.

"Oh, shush, you!" Avery playfully slapped Roman's hand and looked back at you. "And you! You have to go back home, it's getting late."

"I'm not a kid!" You replied with a silly grin on your face as you took the dress from the sofa. "And it's only afternoon."

"Whatever." Avery said and stood, accidentally dropping her handkerchief from her lap to the floor in the process. "Oh, it fell! Just like how you and V fell for each other!"

"Stop!"

***

❄ @la-vita , @clevermentalitybeliever , @birdgirl69 , @v-vic , and @dreaming-gamer . ❄

***

"You alright on your own?" Roman asked graciously as he walked with you towards your house. "You need help with that box? That's huge!"

"I can handle this, thanks!" You replied with a smile as you held the box containing the dress and its accessories closer to your form.

"Are you a hundred percent sure?"

"Yes."

Roman nodded, his charming smile showing on his young - looking face. "Alright, alright. I'll go back to Avery, then. She's getting more and more delicate these past few days, you know?"

"Yeah. Take care of her, alright?"

"Si, si." Roman smiled, waved, and walked back towards the mansion.

So, I'm right! You thought as you opened the door to your own house. "Gran, I'm home - "

However, something, or someone, stopped you in your tracks.

Christopher Lancaster, your narcissistic former lover, was waiting for you in the living room. What's more, he was holding an expensive - looking bouquet of red roses, there was a box of expensive French chocolate on the table, and Adelaide was looking at the man with utter hate and disdain from one corner of the room. Like he forced her to let him in the house.

"(Y/N)!" The man greeted as he stood up from the sofa and made his way towards you. "I was waiting for you."

You took a few steps back and held the box right in front of you to prevent the man from getting closer to you. "What do you want, Christopher?"

"Aww, how cold! Yikes!" The man sarcastically said as he made a shivering gesture. "I only wanted to give this to you - "

"What. Do you. Want?"

"Sheesh, can't a man invite a lady properly to the New Year's Ball?"

"Oh! Is that so?"

"So, you'll come with me! That's great news! I - "

"Get out of here, you're scaring gran."

The man drew back in shock at what he just heard. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said, GET OUT! I'M NOT GOING TO THE BALL WITH YOU!"

"WHAT? YOU CAN'T REFUSE ME!"

"WELL, I JUST DID!" You yelled as you took the box of expensive chocolate from the table and shoved it forcefully into his arms. "NOW, GET OUT!"

The man gave you one last look of contempt before turning and finally leaving you and your grandmother alone.

And, hell, it felt good!

***

❄❄❄

***