#its not my intention I swear I just think its neat | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sprite-writes · 1 year

Text

all I want for christmas (is you)

Leonard “Bones” McCoy/Reader (Original Female Character)

Summary: McCoy finds himself wrapped up in the Enterprise annual gift exchange, and for some reason, this Christmas gift feels a hell of a lot more important than just a Christmas gift.

Maybe it’s got something to do with who it’s for.

Word Count: 6,463

A/N: guys I swear this was suppose to be a 2000 word drabble for the holidays but its a whole chapter now idk, I hope you enjoy! as always special thanks to @lightning-writes

“Lieutenant, is there a reason you haven’t drawn a name yet?”

“I need to feel all the papers! That’s how you pick the best one– duh.” She swirls her hand around the bowl once more, rubbing the notes between her fingers. Spock stares patiently.

“Is there a best one to be picked? My understanding of the secret Santa tradition was to be given a random partner.”

“There sure is, and it’s... this one!” she says as she finally plucks the blue sticky note. “It was calling to me.” She unfolds the paper like it's about to self-destruct, and it reveals its neat loopy handwriting.

CMO McCoy

She blinks.

Oh. Leonard.

She blinks again.

It’s Leonard!

She laughs to herself, and Spock raises an eyebrow.

“I assume you’re happy with your choice?”

Her heart beats a little quicker. “Oh, definitely. I told you I had to feel all the papers.” She smiles and rocks on her heels.

I’m Leonards's secret Santa!

Spock nods politely and returns the bowl back to himself. “Thank you for your participation, Lieutenant. I hope your exchange goes well.”

“You too, Spock! Merry Christmas.”

She pats his shoulder and returns her gaze to the piece of paper. Spock makes his way back to his station when something settles in the pit of her stomach.

Oh god, I’m Leonards's secret Santa.

“I’m not doing a gift exchange.”

“Bones, hear me out.”

“No.”

“All the other senior officers are doing it, Even Spock!”

“And? Good for them.”

Leonard doesn’t look up from his PADD, and Kirk fitfully shakes the bowl of papers.

“What will it take for you to do this?” he pleads. Leonard halts, his eyes narrowing, and his hands folding on his desk.

“What are you offering?”

When Kirk sighs, “I mean, whatever if it’s reasonable,” he knows he’s got Kirk right where he wants him.

“You show up for your next two physicals, get up to date on your vaccines, stop flirting with Nurse Walker – then I’ll buy someone a candle or something.”

Kirk glare,s but it does nothing to deter his friend.

“ I think Walker really likes me—“

“Jim.”

“Fine! Fine, you win, just pick a name.”

The doctor rolls his eyes and plucks the first paper off the top of the pile. It’s yellow, and he hopes to god it doesn’t say Spock.

It doesn’t; its pristine sharpie work stains the paper.

Operations Manager A. Sunshine

He stares and squints, all while Kirk watches him intently. A tight, nervous feeling begins to bloom in his chest.

Sunshine. Christ.

“Well?” Kirk prompts. Leonard folds the paper again and shoves it in his uniform pocket.

“Yeah, I got it,” he waves Kirk off. “You can leave my office now. Not like I got patients to attend to or anything.”

Kirk laughs, and it’s blindingly bright.

“I’ll leave you to it, Bones. Remember - two weeks until the exchange!”

Two weeks until the exchange. God help me.

“Okay, what about a jacket? Or a sweater?”

“Nyota, we wear a uniform every day. When is he gonna wear a sweater?”

Sunshine paces back and forth on the sidewalk, chewing on her nails. They’re an hour into their recreational shore leave, with four stores under her belt, and she’s no closer to a gift.

“You want my help or not?” Nyota crosses her arms and stops Sunshine in her path.

“Sorry, I’m being mean, aren’t I?” She receives a pointed look. “I don’t mean to, I just really want this to be…”

“Perfect?” Nyota finishes.

“Perfect?” Sunshine repeats the word, rolling it over in her mouth. “No, not exactly. I just want it to be… right? I guess? I feel like there's an answer, and I’m just not seeing it.”

She sighs. The entire endeavor begins to feel a bit hopeless, and she wonders if she's doomed to just be the shittiest secret Santa the enterprise's annual gift exchange has ever seen. She imagines Leonard's face opening a sweater he’ll never wear, feigning appreciation, and her stomach flips.

Nyota locks her arm with Sunshine’s and gives her all the seriousness she would a Starfleet mission. “If there's an answer on this starbase, we’re gonna find it.”

“You think so?”

She smiles, “Not a doubt in my mind.”

“Bones, you can’t just get a woman makeup, you have to know her shade,” he plucks the tube of lipstick from Leonard's hands, whose eye twitches.

“She wears this color every day, Kirk.”

“She does?” He examines the tube. “Oh, yeah, I guess she does. Still shouldn't get it for her though, what if it’s not her brand?”

“Her brand?”

Kirk looks at Leonard like he’s a child asking perpetually asking why.

“Yes, Bones, her brand. This stuff is very elaborate.”

“Well, I don’t see you coming up with any bright ideas,” he hisses, shoving the lipstick back into its holder like it offended him. Kirk shrugs.

Leonard wants to scream. From the moment he unwrapped that damn yellow paper he knew this would be a disaster. Why couldn't he have gotten Chapel? Or Sulu? Or Chekov? Or even Kirk? Instead, he gets Sunshine, who he can't bear to disappoint with the candle that's been sitting in his bedside drawer since two Christmases ago. She deserves more, a lot more… he just has no idea what more looks like.

“This is impossible.” he concedes, his hope having run dry after four stores and three makeup departments.

“It is not, we just need to get creative. I think you’re looking at this wrong, Bones,” Kirk begins to weave his way through the retail-maze. “You’ve got to think more… Sunshine. Not just some generic Christmas gift.”

Kirk's words make their way around his head, and unfortunately, he has a great point. Perhaps, maybe, there is a tiny chance that he was carried away by the daunting expectation of what a holiday gift should be. The answer is staring him in the face now - he isn’t getting a Christmas gift, he is getting a Sunshine gift. This, he could work with.

“You might be onto something, Jim.” He snaps his fingers. “With me–I’ve got an idea.”

Sunshine has always been partial to mint chocolate chip, and it's not like there's much of it in space. So, the cone in her hand is indeed a necessity and not a distraction.

“No more pit stops after this,” Nyota says, sweet yet stern, as she holds the door open for Sunshine.

“I completely agree, so quit trying to get us sidetracked,” she quips and takes a long lick of her mint chip.

Ever the patient one, Nyota rolls her eyes with a smile. “So sorry, Lieutenant. I'll try to stay on task.”

Sunshine laughs, links their arms, and they walk down the strip. The impending sugar rush raises her spirits, and she is more than ready for the next bout of stores.

“Okay, so I'm thinking we stop up here and try--”

“Oh, look, It's Jim and Leonard,” Nyota says casually, and nervousness shoots through Sunshine.

“It's what!?” Sunshine hisses, her head shooting left and right for a store to dive into. It’s too late, Jim is already waving, and nudging Leonard, who does his polite little half-wave—awww.

“Shit, it’s too late, we were seen,” she sucks in a breath. “Okay, okay, act natural, Nyota. Don’t give anything away!”

She lobs the rest of her ice cream in the nearest trash, straightens her clothes, and skirts backward until her back is against the nearest wall. She has just enough time to pull Nyota next to her and prop her foot against the wall before the pair approach—and just like that, she’s as natural as ever.

“Hello boys,” she hums. She doesn’t even spare them a glance at first, choosing to stare at her nails, and be incredibly casual. She’s met with silence and the prickling feeling of someone staring at her.

They all are.

“Er—hi, Sunshine,” Kirk says slowly, like it's a question. She inches her gaze away from her hand. Kirk has that crease between his brows that he gets when he’s thinking, and Leonards's arms are crossed over his chest, and suddenly this interaction is anything but natural. She plants her foot back on the ground.

“Everythin’ alright?” Leonard asks, in his concerned doctor voice that she knows all too well. She prays the interaction is salvageable.

“Of course it is, everything is normal, as it usually is – right, Nyota?” She juts her elbow into her friend's side, who does not take the gesture kindly. With a hard glare, Nyota nods.

“Just enjoying the day off,” she says tightly, and Sunshine envies her talent for socializing.

There's a suffocatingly awkward pause, where Sunshine sweats and looks at anything other than Leonard – who, in turn, stares at her like he’s trying to solve a math problem.

“Well, uh, we should get back to it, I guess,” Kirk breaks the silence, still confused as ever.

“Yeah! Yeah, of course, us too,” she blurts, and pushes herself off of the wall, “Have fun! Be safe! See you at work!” And with that, she's locking her arm with Nyota once more and hauling ass away from the two. She walks so fast, they’re out of earshot in seconds.

“You know that went terribly, right?” Nyota says flatly.

“I do, and I’m willing to take some of the blame.”

“Some?”

“Most of the blame, maybe,” Sunshine cringes. “It really was that bad, wasn’t it?”

She knows the answer already, but instead of a hearty yes, Nyota bursts into laughter, and keeps laughing until Sunshine joins her.

“It was terrible, awful,” she says, trying to catch her breath. “You’ve really got it bad, huh?”

Sunshine giggles, and leans on her friend. “Ha, got what bad?”

Nyota pauses, curiously observing her friend's seriousness. “Nothing. Here, I’ve heard good things about this store.”

Leonard stares at Sunshine's back as she retreats, thinking about what the hell he just watched unfold.

“Any idea what that was?” Kirk asks, his head tilted so far, he could hurt his neck.

“Not a damn clue.”

Another hour passes, and Sunshine is close to hysterics, and the shopkeeper is hearing all about it.

“So, I pick the name out of the bowl,” she brandishes the crumpled blue paper, “and I’m like, ‘oh, perfect’ because, like I said, we’re great friends, like super close, but now, I actually have to get the gift. And it’s impossible! Everything is too ordinary or not thoughtful enough or just useless! We’ve been at this for hours, and I’m at my wits end here.” Sunshine’s legs swing from her place perched on the countertop.

“So, this friend of yours,” the assistant manager, Tina, begins, “he doesn’t have any hobbies? Or interests?” Customers pass, and Sunshine sighs.

“Hobbies? Not really. I mean, all we do is work, and he works a lot– did I mention he’s CMO? Yeah, I mean, he’s passionate about his work! He loves being a doctor, he acts all jaded about it, but he’s actually a huge softie, loves helping people.” She pauses and sucks in a breath, while Tina nods like she’s keeping up. “He doesn’t love doing it in space, though. That’s what he’s mostly jaded about. I mean, he did his dissertation in med school on deep space diseases, so it makes sense but –”

“Well, where’s he from?” Tina interrupts.

“Oh, he’s from Earth; I am too.” Sunshine points to Nyota, who is rifling through the cologne section in her stead, “So is my friend.”

“You know, there’s a little earth-themed shop just around the corner…”

This piques Sunshine’s interest, and it fills her with hope.

“Earth-themed?” she repeats. Tina nods while she restocks the shelf behind the counter.

“It’s an antique shop; they have trinkets from everywhere but mostly earth. Maybe you’ll find something there?”

Sunshine grins, and she feels a weight being lifted off her chest. “Tina, you’re a godsend, thank you so much,” she hops off the counter with renewed vigor. “C’mon, Nyota! I think we’ve got our answer!” Nyota is halfway through the stack of samples in her hand when she’s rushed out of the store. She fleetingly wonders why she puts up with this.

—

Leonard barely looks up from his PADD the entire way back to the ship. It takes Kirk, attached to his side, to weave him through crowds and assure no accidents or injuries. The enterprise is quiet upon arriving, and Kirk is ushered into Leonard's office.

“Alright! Game time, Bones, tell me whatcha got,” Kirk claps his hand on Leonard’s shoulder—it reminds him of a high school football coach.

“Right, we’re gonna need to abuse your authority. “

“…for a Christmas gift?”

Leonard rifles through his drawers.

“Well, what else would it be for? Listen, go ask the head nurse–should be Nurse Bennet– tell her you need access to the medical imaging equipment, and grab the camera in Drawer B, got it?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess?”

Leonard shoos him out of the room. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he uses the moment of solitude to clear his head.

He really hopes this isn't a stupid idea.

—

In the antique store, Sunshine elects to not sit on any of the countertops.

The entire place seems fragile to her, with shelves lined high with old-world things she didn't recognize and floors littered with boxes. It was eclectic, to say the least. To say the most, it was downright cramped. And tiny.

Definitely no countertop sitting for her.

Her eyes trail across the room, and she gets an odd nostalgic feeling, like she isn’t quite in space anymore. It feels like her mom's old house. The feeling sweeps her up like a hug, and she almost forgets why she’s there as her eyes roam. Nyota recenters her with a nudge and points to the back of the store.

“Hello!” Sunshine calls and catches the attention of the man behind the register. He’s older, with deep smile lines, and an overly large coat. He looks kind, she thinks. He waves in return for her hello.

Nyota slips between two shelves, already scouring for ideas, while Sunshine approaches the shopkeep.

“Somethin’ I can do for you?” he asks, his accent familiar, and strikes her with a sudden longing feeling.

“If it's not too much trouble, I really need some help finding a gift for my friend,”she says, uncharacteristically beginning to feel shy. “And there's a bit of a story to it too, if you have the time.”

He stares at her curiously, and she hopes she hasn't overstepped.

“Sure.” He shrugs.

He gestures for her to come around the counter, and she can see a wooden chair peeking from behind it. She accepts his invitation and makes herself comfortable in the old-looking wooden rocking chair. Dust flies from it when she sits. He continues counting the register and waits for her to begin.

“So,” she fiddles with the blue sticky note that has lost its stickiness, “I joined Starfleet like, a little over a year ago, and there's this Doctor…”

—

The captain clears his throat and clears it again, running a hand through his hair because he’s just not sure what to say.

“So, I gathered you both here for a reason, which is very important… but I also cannot provide much information about why it’s important - very… classified stuff, but I assure you-”

Leonard is too impatient for his own good, and he’s rolling his eyes and grumbling mere seconds into the captain's fake speech.

“I’ll take it from here, Jim,” he interjects, “I can’t watch you flounder like a fish out of water anymore.”

The captain's patience wavers, but Leonard takes no mind to this.

“Henly, Donavan, stand next to each other and smile. We’re doing a Starfleet scrapbook or something,” he says, voice filled to the brim with sarcasm. He brings the camera to his face, and the two girls look at one another with confused, pinched faces.

“We don't have all day, Ensigns,” he mumbles. Henley and Donavan turn their confused frowns into tentative smiles, and he snaps the picture. He throws a thumbs up their way.

“Great. You’re dismissed.” Leonard turns around, sights set on their next stop already. Kirk, however, scrambles to leave this interaction on a politer note.

Kirk calls, “What he means is thank you so much for participating ladies, and you look great by the way, can’t wait for you to see the scrapbook!” but they were already retreating, whispering and giggling to one another. He sighs.

“So, now that I’ve abused my authority for the sake of a Christmas gift, do I get to know what the gift is?” he demands.

“We’re not done abusing your authority, just so you’re aware,” Leonard says pointedly, “and fine, but we walk and talk.”

That’s fine with Jim, he’ll walk wherever, talk to whoever, if he finally gets to know what’s going on.

“One year, for Pam and I’s anniversary, she got me this holoframe, piled high with a bunch of pictures of us. The thing’d flip through them all day, like a highlight reel while our marriage fell apart.” Leonard stays five steps ahead and doesn’t look back at Kirk. It’s an odd place to be vulnerable, the enterprise hallways, and Kirk has no idea how this fits into anything.

“Okay…”

“I hated the damn thing. Not the sentimental type, but what you said, about getting a more, Sunshine gift, somethin’ clicked,” he snaps his fingers. “Can’t think of anything she likes more than the crew, and I’ll go out on a limb and say she’s the sentimental type.”

Kirk pauses thoughtfully and suddenly feels touched by the gesture that isn't even for him.

“So, we are making a Starfleet scrapbook? But of all Sunshine's favorite people?”

“Do not go around saying we’re making a scrapbook like we’re a couple of grade schoolers.”

Kirk catches up with his friend with a newfound dedication to this endeavor.

“Sorry, holoframe,” he grins.

—

Sunshine and Nyota are both perched behind the shop counter now. Sunshine slumped down into the rocking chair, Nyota rested on the arm of it.

“...after I told Tina all of this, she sent me here and said maybe you could help—oh, well, actually, she never said that, I just sort of roped you into this on my own accord, sorry about that– but, on the way here, I wrote down this list of facts about Leonard to maybe help find him something?” She pulls out a crumpled receipt with sharpie on the back.

“You brought…a list?” the shopkeep drawls, and it makes her blush.

“Yeah it’s—I thought it might help,” she says sheepishly.

“She is very prepared,” Nyota supplies with a comforting pat on her shoulder.

“Alright, then let's see it.” He holds out his hand, and she lays the receipt flat on his palm. It feels like she's handing something over much more important than the record of her ice cream purchase, but she doesn't put her finger on why.

She waits as the man reads, and she rocks in the chair. She thinks about what a whirlwind of a day it's been but still feels at ease.

“He’s from Georgia?” the shopkeep finally says. She perks up.

“Yeah! He’s, like, a country boy,” she cringes. “Well, like, he's from the country, he grew up on a farm, I just don't know what the actual word for it is.”

Thankfully, the man just chuckles and doesn’t correct her. It's a win in her book.

“He ever miss home?” he asks, eyes still on the paper.

“Oh, only all the time,” she scoffs, “ he’s really not a fan of space.” She buzzes with excitement— she can tell he’s onto something. When he finally speaks, Sunshine has to restrain herself from leaping up and hugging him right there in the store.

“Yeah, I think I got a few things he’d be interested in… Georgians ought to help each other out anyways.”

—

Three fake emergencies and six photos later, both men are exhausted.

Leonard hopes no one enters the rec room for the next hour. He fears the image of him and the captain sprawled on the couch looking through photos of various crew members may be hard to explain.

“Are we done now? Please tell me we’re done.” Kirk shifts, really he wiggles, to prop his feet on the chair beside him. Leonard fiddles with the camera as he replies.

“Just waiting for Uhura to be back from shopping, and that should be it.” Kirk sighs and sinks lower into the couch. Since starting this whole thing, Leonard's anxiety has grown steadily, like a snowball rolling down a hill. Aside from the task of wrangling crew members, and then inventing explanations for his actions, the real challenge is convincing himself that this is even a good idea in the first place. He thinks about that tube of lipstick, and if it was her brand, and wishes this whole thing could be simpler.

“Do you think Spock’s still mad?” Kirk asks, and Leonard barely hears it over his own thoughts.

“He’s forgiven you for a lot worse, I wouldn't get too wound up about it,” he replies absently, hands still fidgeting. “Y’know, Jim, I appreciate you running all over hell's half acre for me. God knows you didn't have to.”

“Bones, I have no idea what that means, but you’re welcome.” His friend smiles, and it quells some deep nervousness. “Totally gonna be worth it, anyway,” Kirk adds.

Leonard isn’t all that sure what he means, but still, he agrees.

“Yeah, I think it will.”

Leonard doesn't see the smirk on Kirk’s face, nor does he pick up on the mischievous cadence of his voice, or even the way they're on completely different pages. Kirk thinks perhaps that's for the best.

—

The gift sits on her desk for three days before she wraps it.

She carefully maneuvers her work around it, avoiding touching the object like it was some precious gem. On occasion, her eyes would drift to it while she sits in her quarters, and her cheeks would heat without reason. She makes an effort not to think about it too much or get too excited, and to definitely not touch it. She finds lately that a bit of effort is required to get her mind off of many things related to the CMO, and it takes even more effort not to think about why that was.

She wraps the gift on the day of the exchange—because it's the easiest way to avoid thinking about it.

—

Leonard gets the damn thing out of his sight as soon as possible.

The gift had been finished – pictures uploaded, running on a ten-second loop – hidden away in a gift bag, out of sight out of mind. He is protecting his peace—leaving it out in the open will only restart the cycle of doubt in his head. So, he pulls doubles, up until the holiday party, if only just to get his goddamn mind off of this stupid exchange he shouldn’t have ever done in the first place—

He works until Chapel won't let him in the medbay anymore, and when she doesn't, he slots his time with other tasks. Hell, he even wonders if he should’ve gone back for the lipstick, the day after they leave the port. He goes as far as to bother Nyota about it, who waves him off and tells him she's sure Sunshine will love her gift—her reassurance helps more than he anticipated.

He almost gets himself to forget the whole thing, lost in the medbay chaos, until he feels the scrap paper crushed in his pocket.

The gift stays hidden away until just a few minutes before he has to meet her, and his palms sweat when he picks it up.

—

Lieutenant Jameson calls out the day of the holiday party— Dakitoan Flu.

Without much choice, Sunshine takes his rounds. She doesn’t think she’s ever completed a task faster in her life. Complete is even a strong word—it's more like half-ass. She’s all too aware of how she’ll have to repeat most of the work again tomorrow, correcting her own mistakes. But she doesn't care. She’s been stressing out about this party for two entire weeks, she’d be damned if she misses it.

When she does finally rush to the rec room, the blue-wrapped gift in hand, there are few people left, and her heart sinks a bit.

There's a Christmas tree in the corner of the room, with only one present left beneath it, and a few red and green ribbons are strewn about. She spots Spock first, already wiping down tables and cleaning up the festivities. He catches her eye, and he must see how her posture is wound tight with nervousness—or her pink cheeks, or her frazzled hair, or the way she obviously ran here. Spock doesn’t quite smile, but his gaze softens in some way she doesn’t see often, and he nods toward a table in the far corner. She follows, and—

Oh! It’s Leonard!

Spock gets a double thumbs up for his help.

Leonard sits with Jim, both of them with glasses of some dark liquid in hand. She wishes she could have had a drink before this. She smoothes down her hair before she approaches.

Kirk notices her first and smiles — it reminds her how nice it is to have someone in her corner.

“Sunny! You made it!” He cheers. She grins back and lets it sink in, yeah I did make it, and the thing she’d been fussing over for weeks is finally coming to an end.

Leonard is much more reserved, he always is. He sees her, and his posture relaxes—he does that a lot. Almost like he’s holding his breath for some reason.

“Captain, Doctor,” she greets the two, still catching her breath. “I’m sorry I missed the party, you have no idea how insane my shift has been —I mean, no idea, but it's over now, and I’m so glad I caught you guys.”

“We had to convince Spock to leave the Christmas tree up until you got here, he’s been cleaning damn near since the party started,” Leonard tuts, and she laughs.

“Aw, I’m glad he did…” She looks at the pine tree, which is bare of ornaments and lights, and raises her eyebrows.

“Well, he sort of did,” Leonard amends. “It was a compromise.”

“A compromise that leaves me with putting the decorations back in storage, so I’d call it more of a trade,” Kirk complains.

“Master negotiator, huh?” she teases and has every intention of teasing him more, maybe even calling Christmas his new Kobayashi Maru, but she waits a beat too long.

“Anyways, Jim, don’t you think you should be getting to it?” Leonard says, as if the conversation didn’t just start.

Jim doesn't say anything at first, just stares at Leonard while Leonard stares at him. It’s all very… intense, she thinks. They exchange pointed looks like they’re engaged in a silent conversation– actually, she’s pretty positive they are. Awkwardness begins to prick at her skin.

“Is there something—”

“Wow, I didn't even notice the time, better get to it, just like you said,” he springs to his feet with alarming speed.

“Oh, do you have to go?” she asks with disappointment.

“I do, duty calls, or something.” He holds her by the shoulders looking at her with enough intensity to make her squint. “Have fun,” he says meaningfully, and smiles, and then, he's gone, leaving with a friendly pat on her back.

She hesitates a moment before taking Kirk's seat.

“Is he…okay?”

“That's a loaded question,” Leonard deadpans, and despite her confusion, she laughs.

“So I have something-”

“Anyways, there's this-”

Their sentences crash into each other, and they both freeze.

“You first,” she offers. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just purses his lips and avoids eye contact.

“Just—Don’t move, I’ll be right back,” he grits out and leaves her at the table. It's abrupt and leaves her wondering why this interaction is going like this. She wraps her arms around herself and waits.

Behind her, he picks up the last present left under the tree, which has been waiting there for her all day. Yellow bag with yellow paper stuffed inside. He places it on the table, and sits back down, hands wringing together. She wants to ask what's got him so worked up.

“I’m your secret… Christmas person or whatever the hell it is,” he grumbles and doesn’t meet her gaze. Not until he hears her stifle a giggle, which then bubbles into a laugh. She doesn’t mean to, but the whole thing just comes together too perfectly for her to contain herself.

“You’re my Secret Santa?” she asks, alight with excitement, and he nods at her slowly.

“Yeah, if that’s the name—” He’s cut off with another laugh, and she eagerly puts her gift in front of him—blue paper with a blue bow.

“Leonard, I’m your Secret Santa!” She beams, “We picked each other! What are the odds?”

He stares at her, then at the gift, and says quietly, bewildered, “What are the odds?”

She doesn’t catch what he means, but she’s too excited to harp on it.

“Well?” she prompts and inches the blue box towards him. “Are you gonna open it?”

Curiously enough, she’s not nearly as nervous anymore.

He blinks and shakes his head like he’s clearing his thoughts. “Yeah, yeah of course,” he says distractedly.

He opens the box carefully, it's like he’s doing an operation. When he looks down at the gift, the gift, he pauses and gets this expression that Sunshine doesn’t think she's ever seen on him.

“Len?”

“Sunshine, is this…?”

“It’s a postcard! From Georgia!” She grins, “A real one from Earth, It’s an antique.” She reaches over the table and taps on the glass of the frame in his hand. “See? There's a little stamp of authenticity. Isn’t that neat?”

Neat. It’s about the neatest thing Leonard’s ever seen.

She settles back in her seat. “I thought it might make you a little less homesick,” she adds, much quieter, as if the statement itself needed privacy.

Leonard stares at the postcard. It's got a picture of a peach orchard, on a perfect summer day, he can tell by the blossoms that line the trees. Greetings from Georgia! it reads. It looks like something he would have seen hanging in his Ma’s house. He thinks of the red door of his childhood home, and how the branches of his family's own peach tree framed it. The smell of his Ma’s cooking and the feeling of coming home— his chest fills with familiarity and longing. He stares for a while and doesn't say anything for even longer.

He doesn’t realize he’s been silent until Sunshine clears her throat. It feels like he forgot he was on the Enterprise for a moment.

“Sunshine this is…” Damn near perfect. “Nice. Thank you.” He says it and cringes. There's so many more feelings and thoughts under the surface. He wishes he could make a sentence out of them. But Sunshine, like she knows his inner thoughts, accepts the weak compliment like it's the best thing she's ever heard.

“Aw, Leonard!” She tucks her hair behind her ear and flushes – or maybe it's the lighting. “I'm so glad you like it. You have no idea the hell I put Nyota through to find it.”

He’s not sure what Nyota had to do with it, and he doesn't ask either. “I’ll thank her too then,” he says weakly, but he definitely won’t. With a deep breath to quell his nerves, he pushes her gift toward her.

“Your turn,” he says with bated breath.

Being so wrapped up in her own Christmas shopping, she almost forgot she gets a gift too. She tears through the tissue paper with the same unrestrained excitement she had picking her secret Santa just a few weeks ago.

“I still think it's so crazy we got each other, this makes the gift-giving thing like, ten times better,” she tells him. He nods curtly, and she can tell he’s wound tighter than a spring–or at least that’s how he would say it.

“Relax, Len, I’ll like whatever’s in the bag– heck, I’d like it even if you gave me a rock.”

She dives her hand into the bag, the tips of her fingers touching cool metal. At first, she has no idea what she’s looking at. A… little screen? A flat little screen with a cool blue border? She opens her mouth, a question on her tongue, when—

“The power buttons on the side,” Leonard says. He doesn’t give her a chance to move, leaning over the table and clicking the button for her.

The screen comes to life with a picture of Sulu and Chekov, both donning awkward thumbs up… and is that in Kirk’s room? She blinks, and it changes again, this time to Scotty and Keenser sitting among a mess of wires in engineering but smiling brightly nonetheless. Another second passes, and she's looking at Spock and Nyota, sitting beside each other in the rec room loveseat looking equally poised yet annoyed. Sunshine laughs before she can stop herself.

“Len is this—?” The picture flickers again, and the sight of it stops Sunshine's words in their tracks. It's Leonard and Jim, on that same rec room loveseat. Jim’s practically beaming—face lit up and an arm looped tightly around Leonard’s shoulders. Leonard, shit. He’s got that soft and reserved smile on his face—like the one he has when he talks about home or his friends, where his eyes are just filled with this warm something.

Sunshine’s face turns hot, and her chest becomes unbearably heavy with emotions.

“Leonard, this is so fucking sweet—” She cuts herself off with a wet laugh, and she realizes she’s got tears in her eyes.

Leonard, however, looks mortified, as he watches her face become red and tears fall down her cheeks.

“Shit—Damn it, I’m sorry—You weren't supposed to cry!” he stutters in a panic. Sunshine laughs again and hiccups over it with a sob.

“They’re happy tears, Len!” she insists, wiping her cheeks. “This… I think this is the nicest gift I've ever gotten.” She can’t bring herself to look away. The pictures are just the slightest bit grainy—like the camera her mom used to take pictures of her. The thought starts the waterworks all over again.

“It is?”

She sniffles, scrubbing her tears with her sleeve. As Sunshine traces the edges of the frame, and watches the photos loop again, she knows for certain this is the sweetest, most thoughtful gift she's ever gotten. She thinks about how curious it is that it's from someone she’s known only a year—a coworker, no less.

Then, she thinks, maybe, it's not all that curious at all.

“We should do this every year,” she tells him. She’s positive, actually, that, as much of a headache as this exchange has been, she would do it again in a heartbeat.

“Secret Santa?”

“Yeah, but not so…secret next time, and… just us, maybe.”

She doesn’t look at him when she says it, for both their sakes.

“Sure,” he says, and she can hear the tightness in his voice. “I’ll try not to make you cry next time.”

She laughs, “No, do it! It’s more fun that way. Maybe I’ll make you cry.”

“Uh-huh.”

He seems less nervous now, like his smile is coming a bit easier.

“We should get going before Spock sticks us with the rest of the cleaning,” he says, gathering the discarded paper from the table, “and I know you had a long day, Jameson told me you covered for him.”

She doesn’t want to leave, but she knows he’s right. She wonders if he feels the same pull to stay.

“Yeah, but it’s fine,” she tries to say casually. She leaves her chair as he does. “You know me, I don't mind.”

“Doesn’t make it a good thing, you pull about as many doubles as—”

“As you?” she interrupts cheekily, and he rolls his eyes with a smile.

“Yeah, as me.”

The paper goes in the trash, and they’re left with nothing to do but bid each other goodnight. It’s the last thing she wants to do.

“Thank you again, Len. The pictures—It’s perfect. I love it.” She tries not to cry again, mostly for his sake.

“No problem, and you too,” he tells her simply. His cheeks are still tinged pink, and seeing him hold the present she labored over in his hands, with all that warmth in his eyes, it's almost more than she can stand.

Fuck it. She thinks to herself, and before her nerves can stop her, she wraps her arms around Leonard's neck. It's an awkward angle, and she has to pull him down to her height a bit—and she’s still got the frame in her hand and everything. As far as hugs go, it's not great, but in other ways, it's perfect. Leonard doesn’t react for a moment, but finally, his arms encircle her waist, after a fair bit of hesitation.

It’s really nice, she thinks.

“No, really, thank you,” she says into his shoulder. The fabric of his uniform is soft, and she can smell his apple shampoo.

“You too, Sunshine,” he mutters. The sincerity in his voice feels nearly tangible. Leonard pats her back, maybe because he feels awkward or maybe because it's time for the hug to end; either way, she lets him go.

“Have a good night,” he says, and he can't quite meet her eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she answers softly.

They share a long parting glance, as they head in opposite directions to their quarters.

Unbeknownst to the pair, their senior officers are perched just around the corner.

“...and he knew her shade, Spock. The exact shade of lipstick she wears. He was so… dedicated to the whole thing. I half-thought he might give her a candle or a necklace or something but this?”

Spock nods thoughtfully. “She treated the exchange with similar enthusiasm, from what Nyota has told me.”

“You’re a genius for setting this thing up,” Kirk shakes his head, “even if I did have to copy Sunshine’s signature on 20 different sticky notes.”

“Well, it was your influence that caused me to—”

Kirk waves him off.

“You don’t have to justify it, Spock. Hell, everyone can see how bad they’ve got it for each other. Can’t blame you for wanting to move it along.”

“Indeed they do, Captain.”

#leonard mccoy x reader #Leonard McCoy #james t kirk #star trek #star trek alternate original series #reader insert #on a cloudy day #bones x reader #original female character #star trek imagine #Idc that they dont celebrate christmas in space #they do now #spirk

306 notes · View notes

oleander-nin · 19 days

Note

See I knew I probably wouldn't need to clarify but I have a mild overthinking problem and couldn't remember if I had focused too much on the fact their intentions were good and made it sound like I was totally ignoring the fact that their actual actions are bad. Also, HOLY I type a lot maybe I should do rough drafts or give myself a world limit because jeez I'm sorry that's a lot to read.

Anyway as for the reblog thing my favorite story from you would probably be mind games from your horrortober or The Weight of a Letter, which yeah isn't finished yet but its got a good setup so far plus I think CK is neat :^

-🍰

Nah, you're all good! I overthink a lot too(and have an awful case of paranoia) so I get you. The worst I'd react to you possibly romanticizing it is like, telling you I disagree then moving on. Also it can just take me a long time to answer smth fndkavndak. You don't gotta give yourself a word limit if you feel the need to, I love getting long asks like that! I just don't know how to word what I'm thinking a lot, so it takes me a while to answer lol. That's a me problem, not on you.

YAY MORE TWOAL LOVE(I'm working on it I swear I just got busy fndjkanvkjdn)

thankies sm for talking w/ me, you're awesome. I hope you've had a great week.

#asks <3 #🍰 anon

3 notes · View notes

woozi · 1 year

Note

hello yza... it is I, car crash anon!! it's been such a long time lol but I finally tuned back into svt bc of the new comeback haha. smthing tripped a switch in my brain and now I keep looping the two lines of world with the interview / deja vu line... they sound soooo pleasing to my ears I simply cannot explain it. it's just good. anyways bc I was on a bit of a nostalgia trip I went to watch old svt dance practices and when I was watching the inkigayo fancam for fear (I. I don't like the moving camera so I treat this video as the dance practice for fear) I noticed smthing with the chorus choreography? like I could be making it up but to me it rly seems like in the chorus hoshi kind of like. squats slightly lower than the others? like yknow in the move where he's got his hand by the mouth to drink poison. I swear like he doesn't bend his knees that much more but he does like. sink kind of lower. comparing it to mingyu in the second chorus rly illustrates the difference—I wonder if it’s intentional or simply personal style, but it’s really interesting to me tho bc I think since mingyu’s quite tall he directs attention to the center. and to me bc hoshi noticeably sinks into that move it Also directs attention to the center and rly pulls u in. but he is like. very slightly getting shorter when he does that I think. anyways I could be making this up it’s pretty subtle lol. hope ur having a good day!

waiT OH MY GOD HI??????????????????????????????????????????

URE SO RIGHT ITS BEEN SO LONG this is such a nice surprise to me <3 also mood tbh the cb's also one of the reasons why i've been on here more lmao 😭 ALSO SO TRUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE <33333333 that's my favorite chorus in world too but moreso bc of the choreo heheehe

ALSO LOVE THIS LITTLE ANALYSIS FJKDJKFDKJFD just watched the vid again so i can make sure we're on the same page, and that really is a neat lil observation!! personally though i think it's just their dancing style hehehe

i missed ur lil anecdotes sm hehe thank u for dropping by!!

#car crash anon #anon #y.ask #long post

3 notes · View notes

nyankoizumi · 2 years

Text

I spent a whole day yelling to my mom about Wakey Wakey and what makes it so special in its own way and now you have to suffer: the post

Yes we have a bunch of very important scenes of Wakey Wakey still not leaked and it's kinda silly to make an analysis when we don't even have the full material but I'm a silly guy okay and i do agree and can see what the creators meant when they said that they wanted to keep the show "small" because, yes please!! That really adds to the essence and makes wonders to the tv show, because it makes everything feel… static? I dunno, i think it adds to the whole prison loop house with shit that comes alive and teaches you something badly feel everything has, something Wakey Wakey does lack on. The town doesn't feel small enough and nor does the happy house, added to Red actually leaving the town, making it feel much less "trapped"

But don't you DARE think I'm here to say "pilot bad" and call it a day because i love Wakey Wakey. But in a special way.

I don't know if it's an universal thing, but the feeling wakey wakey gives to me is like when an animated show gets a movie. It has that vibe, and some of the patterns i tend to see with those cases? Same characters we love, but put them in a foreign situation we don't know yet!! New world!!! Give them a musical number about it!!! New characters?! So exciting will we see them again? NO in FACT nothing that happens here will be brought up in canon probably but it's fun so just. Listen to the songs and slightly smoother animation okay

Just overall, the music and atmosphere and the tone def makes me feel like I'm watching a strangely short DHMIS movie but it's interesting enough to make me not realize

And while i do think it's a neat little middle between the yt series and the tv series in term of tone and characters, given that the main guys talk and do more things than the yt series but not as much as the tv series, and they show little tid-bits of personality traits (that we didn't quite see in the yt series) that get exaggerated in the tv show for funny content's sake (more clear example is red guy's. Uh, annoyance? English hard) , i do think it isn't the PERFECT transition for someone to go through, despite being neat in itself. Don't get me wrong, it might be better than the whiplash of watching the yt series and having no clue what just happened, to watch the tv series and still have no clue what's happening but also they fight to death and straight up kill the teachers now, apparently. But i do feel like the tone is pretty different from the two. It feels much more light than the other two, and it doesn't have the pace that the tv show has. If i HAD TO, I'd say it's closer to the tv show, but to me, honestly, it doesn't need to. It's not as dark as the yt series, and it doesn't feel as trapped as the tv series, but it's! Really good!! Because it's like it's own thing and that's honestly based!! The production is as good and impressive as usual, it's really funny, it has an interesting topic at hand, and the songs are so much fun. The songs are specially what give me the cartoon show movie feel, they're not so spot on to children's songs like the yt series, but they have this… silly musical feel to them that i super vibe with, like, the introduction song is unironically really catchy and cute and super "hey guys its the start of the movie everyone in town let's sing", and Mean Steve's song (was that his name? Metal child) is animated in such an interesting way, and yeah, it doesn't rhyme sometimes and it's kinda strange and pretty to the point with his true intentions but that's also what i love, it does catch the essence of the teacher's songs but put it's own musical twist to it, i swear i thought red guy was gonna start rapping his ass off the moment he had that one line in the song that would've been glorious but, his few lines and the awkwardly sung normal speech at the end was enough to satisfy my strange taste heart.

But i did figure a way to put it while having a sandwich which i chocked on upon this realization; it's like the yt series is a kids show that got terribly corrupted and starts """normal""" then goes insane, while Wakey Wakey is more like a kids show/movie that is actually going on adult swim or something so like, everything's fairly normal but it doesn't shy away from grotesque imagery or jokes when given the chance.

(i guess the tv show could be both at the same time- haven't thought about it)

In conclusion, I love Wakey Wakey, it feels like a DHMIS movie but chiller i get why the creators don't like it but still i find a unique charm into it and please i want a full version I'm so greedy /hj

#dhmis #my thoughts on the pilot feel like that one scene from the tv show #where stain was like #i cant stop looking at it.... its terrifying and beautiful at the same time #and yellow and red were trying to get them to look away #like i totally get that creator's shame when you do something but its kinda not what you wanted so throw it away burn it with fire #i totally get that. i totally get that a hundred percent. the thing is i dont care /ref #/j #dont hug me im scared #dhmis wakey wakey #dhmis pilot #when i say I've been screaming about this thing all day i mean that #i woke up and watched it then was holding back MORE talking during dinner #so be aware my mother is now very well taught about dhmis' influence on the internet and it's tumblr sexymen #and all that you have just read #and how are you doing this mother's day /j #rant #oh and the mayor's song in the wild is incredibly amusing to me

9 notes · View notes

scarredhag · 2 years

Text

03/24/23

//The Day I Knew the Feeling of Yellow//

First time I saw you

You were standing across the room

Not too tall, but enough for me to notice

You were conversing with someone

You had intense long black hair

Petite figure, intimidating demeanor

As you sit with great posture

Only seeing your neat ponytail

First day I saw you

I didn't notice I've been staring

At the back of your head, thinking

As to why am I so curious of you

Got snapped back into existence

Listened to people around me talking

While my eyes still locked onto you

For I couldn't seem to look away

Three hours had passed

You stood up and went outside

Still haven't gotten to see your face

And there I thought to just shrug it off

First month, I watched you

Fall in line, few feet next to mine

Standing with your bag on your back

And there I was, again, staring

Your hair was down

And this time, it was shorter

Enough to show your shoulders

You were looking down the ground

The sun was at its peak

But I swear you were beaming

And everything became slow, so careful

Like a vulnerable glass being put down

You were just standing there

Yet I felt my heart skipped a beat

Breath got taken away

And there was only one suspect

And there I thought it only happens in movies

Yet there I was, feeling some type of heaviness

It was new, something I've never felt before

And never thought I'd ever get to feel

I had to force myself to look away

And control my trembling heart

I was terrified, I didn't know why

Maybe because it was you

Months had passed, we became closer

And I've learned to set it all aside

And everything I did for you

Was masked with friendly intentions

For a while, I forgot what I was feeling

For I was perceived to not have these feelings

But we grew closer than we ever were

Like I was moving closer to the edge of a volcano

I was well aware of how dangerous it was

But it was too late for me to step back

The heat was already flooding behind me

And I could only step by jumping off

It was painful, got my whole body burning

From feeling too much for my best friend

You had no idea I was hurting

I hid them well under my long sleeves

I couldn't let you see them

And I could never let you know

How much every time you hold me

I felt some sort of electricity

I could never let you know

How, me, staying up 'til 3am

Was completely intentional

Just so I could accompany your boredom

I could never let you know

How many butterflies fluttered in my stomach

As you found peace in my presence

And fell asleep with your arms around me

I could never let you know

How your touch still lingers like a ghost

How I could still seem to feel it

If I just try my hardest to imagine

It's been years, and here I am

Though, having a forgetful memory

I truly select what I want to remember

And in fact, still remember every bit of it

I had no idea that colors can be felt too

'Til I felt it all in all of my being

It was a soft and light touch

'Til it became too heavy for me to carry

Here I am, writing once again

With the same subject, over and over

For the same person, again and again

And never sending them ever

All I can do is push myself away

It's too late to confess these things

It'd just be too much to say so much

And you don't have to know anything at all

#poem

0 notes

sssrha · 4 years

Text

transcription of slides under the cut:

[SLIDE 1] the vibes ao3’s top 9 mdzs ships give me (a really stupid thing i made on a lazy saturday)

[SLIDE 2] wangxian: the wholesome canon relationship (with a hint of spice)

ok maybe calling the union between a demonic cultivator and a secret sex fiend “wholesome” isnt exactly accurate…but that’s where the “hint of spice” comes in

other than that tho? i remember seeing a meme somewhere about wangxian and sangcheng and wangxian was described as “domestic gays with a house and a white picket fence and two kids” and honestly? yes

not that they cant be freaky. id say their particular brand of freakiness is vaguely surrealist suburban horror. make of that what you will

[SLIDE 3] xicheng: either its “pair the spares” or just about trauma

their dynamic is 500% “karen/enabling husband” but like in a good way

objectively the best-dressed couple you will ever meet. like seriously why are you even trying? theyve got you beat

jc would own a flower shop and punch you in the face for saying a single bad thing about his flowers. lxc would own a tattoo parlor and hand you a lollipop and tell you how proud he is of you for not crying while he gave you a tattoo

they dont strike me as a “every evening we relax and watch the sunset” type of relationship B U T every other week they go stargazing with a detailed map of the night sky

[SLIDE 4] xiyao: either a) the angst of betraying/being betrayed or b) the angst of killing/being killed

high society gays. they would both unironically wear tuxedos to a mcdonalds. lxc would see it as a fun couples thing and jgy would do it to assert his dominance

i swear they would be among the smiliest of the major couples. only one of them would give you a happy smile

dont mess with them. no like dont mess with any of the couples but so far jgy is the first one who would make your life living hell and keep you around long enough to suffer the consequences

[SLIDE 5] sangcheng: being simultaneously over- and underestimated

i saw a meme about sangcheng and wangxian where sangcheng was described as something along the lines of “wine aunt and vodka uncle” and honestly? yes

they’re both human disasters. nhs would have various splotches of color on his clothes and you cant tell if it was intentional or if theyre actually stains. jc is very neat and organized but will have a mental breakdown at the slightest inconvenience

sometimes they just sit down across from each other and. cry. its how they bond

idk why it popped into my head but they’re both ace Because I Said So

[SLIDE 6] xuexiao: cute domesticity but also murder

i refuse to believe that xy is anything but unhinged in every universe. whether or not thats a good thing is up to you

xy could and would murder you in your sleep and not feel bad about it until xxc told him off. even then he might still decide it was worth it

xxc doesnt exactly know about The Murder Stuff(TM) but he knows some shit is off but he trusts xy enough to not comment on it

they would meet and hook up in a bar and mutually decide that they may as well stay together for the rest of their lives the next morning

[SLIDE 7] xuanli: the token straights (but also? theyre really cute???)

i did not expect them to be as cute as they were but here i am

anyway jyl has jzxuan wrapped around her little finger and shes just too nice to use that to her advantage

if jyl asked jzxuan for some chocolate jzxuan would just buy her the entire hershey company and forget to give her an actual chocolate bar and jyl is too sweet to actually say anything about it

they would definitely have like 20 children. theyd fucking love being parents. the moment having another child became dangerous theyd start adopting left and right. theyre rich they can afford it and their hearts are big enough for all their kids so why would they not?

[SLIDE 8] songxiao: childhood friends to lovers AND perfect power couple

i know they have more nuance than this but i cant help but think of them as The Perfect Couple(TM)

not shipping-wise!! i mean like. theyre both law-abiding citizens. their house looks like a model house. theyre dressed super neat and handsomely. they both know cpr and first aid and one of them is a lawyer and the other is an award winning writer. idk who is who but yk.

they are who people call to deal with problems instead of the police and they delight in that fact. that is what i mean by them being The Perfect Couple(TM)

[SLIDE 9] chengxian: disasters through and through

uhh i am going to be spending the entirety of this slide ignoring the fact that i personally consider them siblings

they would live in a dingy studio apartment in the heart of a city and theyd both never be home

theyre both super fucking rich but theyd never have any money on hand so dont be surprised if they just starve out on the street one day because theyre just that stupid

they collectively have the self esteem of rotting cabbage but theyre keeping themselves and each other alive purely out of spite and sheer force of will

[SLIDES 10] nielan: childhood friends to lovers AND himbo power couple

psst heres a secret: neither of them are actually himbos

H O W E V E R they both 500% pretend they are. they intentionally act as stupid as possible just for the fun of it

the best part is when they stop acting stupid when something important happens. crouching-moron-hidden-badass at its finest

also the older brother energy is overflowing. it does not matter who you are or how old you are. if you meet them then youre going to walk away with two new big brothers

[SLIDES 11] the end (unless i gather the willpower to make a part 2)

2K notes · View notes

tinyyzz · 3 years

Text

Only You

Notes: Ok I think this piece was really, really rushed and draggy bc it kinda is I’m sorry ;-; I did my best to make it have some sense without making it too boring (I have actually contemplated on just making it a drabble bc tbh I had a plot line going on and it just veered into like 100000000000 different directions so-) I do hope you guys like it tho uwu. Also thank you guys so much for 50+ notes (and counting! :D) on the first one. I’m glad you guys liked it.

Notes: a revamp! For some parts, the song at the end is blue heaven by gene Austin :3

Prompt: none

Tommy Shelby x reader

“Tommy?”

You knock on his bedroom door quietly. It had been the dark of night, and you had heard a thud and a soft groan from the next room, which had been Tommy’s.

“You alright?” You whispered, unsure of what to expect.

He opens the door and you recognise the brave facade that he put on, the one where you would want him to think him fearless. Somehow you felt offended, you knew him long enough to call him out on his own bullshit, maybe it was an instinct for him.

You hoped one day it wouldn’t be an instinct when it came to facing you.

“Did I wake you?” He asks solemnly, suppressing his rushed breaths.

“No.” You reply bluntly, ignoring the beads of sweat on his face.” I don’t sleep a lot.”

He nods, staring at you for a moment, his sharp blue eyes seemed to glint in the darkness for a while as you met his eyes.

“Would you like me to come in?” You chuckle teasingly and groaned inwardly

Quiet moments and you always resulted in spontaneous statements.

“Yeah.”

You blinked.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He opens the door wider, and you were suddenly engulfed in the comforting and familiar scent of smoke and ink. Tommy, you thought, smiling, you had secretly liked him long enough to know this was how he smelled. Walking in, you stared and looked at your new environment, it didn’t seem plain as you imagined, but neither was it interesting.

It was neat, simple.

You were about to walk in, when you suddenly remembered who Tommy Shelby was, you look at him suspiciously , you didn’t feel scared, just hesitant. You would’ve agreed, if he didn’t look so threatening at the moment.

“I don’t plan on doing anything to you if that’s what you’re thinking.” He says with a hint of a smile

“Oh no, no.” You say, chuckling softly, thankful that some of the tension had eased.” I’ll come in.”

Walking in, you looked around at your new environment curiously, it didn’t seem plain as you imagined, but neither was it interesting. It was neat, simple. Drawers and tables had nothing but plain, miscellaneous items like papers and pens neatly put in cups and stacks. Cigarettes and burnt out cigarette butts. Alcohol.

“Would you like to lie down?”

You snapped your head to turn and look at him, already forgetting that he was there. You stare at him, suspicious again. You really never knew what his real intentions were, no one did, it was why everyone feared him after all.

He chuckles, sensing your wariness.”I swear I won’t do anything.”

You didnt need a telling twice as in the comfort you had begun to feel tired, walking carefully towards it, you sit on its edge and slowly sink in, feeling the softness nearly engulf you, without thinking, you start to shift lower into the pillows.

“Bloody hell.” You whisper, staring at the ceiling and feeling the comfort of the bed underneath you. You hear a raspy chuckle erupt from the man beside you and then remember where you were, immediately and clumsily sitting yourself upright on the bed, crosslegged.

“Sorry.” You mutter, clearing your throat, thankful for the dim light covering your burning cheeks.

“No no,” he says, walking over and lying on the other side, looking up and puffing smoke in the air. “Don’t fucking care anyway.”

Settling down slowly under the covers, you face him, whatever made you do it you didnt know, it’s the nighttime you thought to yourself, makes you do crazy stuff.

Slowly, he turns to face you as well, if he was bothered or fazed, he didn’t show it. A comfortable silence fills the air and a small spark of happiness warmed your heart. This moment, you thought, was yours and yours only, no noisy barmen, no smell of raging alcohol, no motive to do anything else, no flirting.

Just staring.

And to you, it was enough.

But then you notice, even in the darkness, his beautiful and impossible shades of blue eyes were monotonous and dull.

“You look tired Thomas.” You whisper softly

He continues to look at you in silence.

“I am tired.” He finally says, a hint of sadness seeping in. “(Y/N).” he continues, you hum a reply. He pats down on the space next to him and you take it as a sign to scoot closer. So you do, lying upright and using your arm to support yourself.

“Can you sing?”

You look at him ridiculously, and he smiles a very very small smile.

“I don’t know.” You mutter, after a moment’s pause, raising your brow. ”I could try.”

He closes his eyes, and, taking a deep breath, you start to sing quietly.

Day is ending

Birds are wending

Back to the shelter of

Each little nest they love

Maybe it was your hope that you singing had effected him, but as you watched you see him, just for a moment, relax.

When whippoorwills call

And evening is nigh

I hurry to my

Blue heaven

“(y/n).” You hear him mumble, and feel him grasp your hand, nearly asleep, so quiet that if your face wasn’t as close to his as it was, you would’ve never heard it.”Ever do this to any others eh?”

“Only you.” You mutter in reply, smiling at the little victory of putting Thomas Shelby to sleep. Carefully, you scoot a little further away from him but with your hand still tightly clasped in Tommy Shelby’s you couldn’t go far, so, lying sideways, you look at your hands, content and somewhat, excited, but even so, soon, you feel your own eyelids start to grow heavy, and eventually give in to the night.

#peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinders #tommy shelby #tommy shelby imagines #tommy shelby x reader #all these make me cringe AHAHA

183 notes · View notes

just-a-really-tall-girl-tbh · 3 years

Text

Grounded

Summary: Y/n is kidnapped and forced to reveal secrets of the pack

Pairing: Derek X Reader

Warnings: Blood, torture, swearing

Word count: 2605

Original piece please don’t copy

The school bell rang for the final time that day, a collective sigh of gratitude echoed in the room, the teenagers grateful to be released from the maths teacher’s class. Gathering your books, you stacked them in a neat pile before exiting the room, offering a small smile to your defeated teacher. It wasn’t her fault maths sucked and no one enjoyed it, you did feel bad for her on some level but also who the hell would willingly dedicate their life to teaching numbers?

Entering the hallway, you made your way through the sea of teenagers, everyone desperate to go home for the weekend. Reaching your locker, you grabbed the couple books you needed, shoving them into your backpack, thinking about the homework you had due on Monday you sighed. The door to your locker slammed shut before you could close it.

“Hey, you ready?” Stiles smiled.

“I told you I can walk home.” You rolled your eyes, walking away from the boy. Surprised by your quick movement, Stiles jogged to catch up to you, throwing an arm lazily around your shoulders.

“I know you can walk home but why would you when you have me?”

Exiting the main doors of the high school, you welcomed the fresh warm air, the smell of angsty teens left behind you. Reaching the end of the pavement, you saw the jeep parked a few cars away.

“Stiles I want to walk.” You turned to face the boy.

“Y/n, you heard what Derek said okay? All these recent attacks? The break ins and thefts? He doesn’t want you alone.” Stiles tried to reason with you. Knowing the recent spike in criminal activity was less than likely to involve the supernatural, you felt safe walking the 20-minute trip home. In fact, you enjoyed the peace it brought you. Half of the walk was through the woods, a quiet haven from the busy high school, and being autumn, you relished in the yellow and orange leaves that swept through the small woodlands.

“Stiles. It’s 20 minutes. I’ll text you when I get home okay?” Stiles sighed.

“You know Derek is going to kill me if I let you, you know, that right? You like the idea of alive Stiles because I do! And I am not letting you be the reason I don’t make it to my 20’s okay?”

“Derek doesn’t have the balls to kill you.” You turned on the heel of your foot, headed towards the woods, leaving a defeated Stiles in your wake.

“I’m telling Derek you said he has no balls!” He called after you. You let out a small laugh, grabbing your headphones from your backpack, and your phone from your pocket, you scrolled through your playlist, deciding today was the perfect day for (Your current favourite song).

Entering the woods, you felt a rush of calm wash over you, the stressful week was pushed to the back of your mind, your thoughts centred on the surrounding woods. You stepped over exposed roots and around large bushes, glancing up at the sky you watched as the wind swept through the foliage, the ageing leaves dancing in the light breeze. The sun peaked through the cracks, determined to reach the forest floor, providing the perfect amount of light for your stroll. The floor of the woods had been coated in fallen leaves, leaving a blanket of red and orange below your feet. Taking a moment to stop and appreciate the tranquillity the forest provided you, you felt your phone buzz in you pocket.

Home yet? I’m this close to sending out a search party!

Rolling your eyes and shaking your head you began typing a response.

You need to…

Before you could finish you felt a knock to your head, your vision distorted, the soft sound of music playing through your headphones which were now next to you on the forest floor, was the only thing you could hear before everything went black.

***

Another blow straight to your stomach knocked the wind out of you. Coughing and spluttering you attempted to regain your breath, each inspiration hurting more than the last.

“Oh, you are so going to regret that.” You mumbled.

Leaning to the side of the chair you spat a mixture of saliva and blood to the ground, you couldn’t tell where the source of the blood was coming from, maybe your lip, or maybe the inside of your mouth. Too many lacerations to your face meant it all blended into one.

You raised your eyes to meet your rival, struggling to see through the blood you saw one man wiping his fists on an old rag, your blood coating his knuckles. He faced a woman to your left, who sat with one bent knee up on a bench. Her back leaning against the wall adjacent to you, a smug grin on her face.

You rotated your wrists which were bound behind you, the thick rope digging into your skin. Your ankles were bound too, tied to the legs of the wooden chair you sat on.

“You’re going to tell us what we want sweetie, its just a matter of how beat up that pretty face is going to be before you tell us.” The woman commented, as she played with her fingernails, pushing the cuticles back. If she was trying to look disinterested, she was doing a great job. But you were ready for this. You trained for this. You knew what was coming, and if it meant keeping your friends, the pack, safe, then you would gladly take whatever they threw at you.

The mans fist connected with your jaw once more, snapping you out of your daze. The room began to spin around you, and your vision blurred. Trying to recenter yourself you pulled at your wrists, the pain of the rope grinding into your skin giving you something to focus on.

“Alright careful there, big guy, we need her conscious if we’re going to get that information.” The woman stood from her seat, striding slowly over to you, before bending at the waist in front of you. She reached out to grab your face, but as soon as her fingers made contact with your skin you pulled away. A stern look, on your face made the woman let out a small laugh.

“You’re a tough one aren’t you.” She turned her head, almost admiring your battered body before her. “Too bad that doesn’t mean shit around here.” Grabbing your hair, she yanked your head back, exposing your neck to the room. Moving to stand behind you she held out her other hand, gesturing towards the man in front of you. Without a word exchanged, the man grabbed a knife from a nearby table, its blade glinting in the moonlight the small window above you allowed.

“Sweetheart, you have no idea who you are dealing with do you?” The woman whispered in your ear, her grip on your hair only tightening as she neared the knife to your throat. You felt the cold edge, lightly cross your neck, not enough to pierce the skin, but enough for you to avoid swallowing.

Taking a deep breath in you closed your eyes. Grounding yourself was apart of your training, something that was drilled into you from the beginning. Breathing in again, you picked up on the different smells the room produced, sweat from the man in front of you, poorly masked by his cheap cologne. The sweet smell of the woman’s hair from behind, her locks dangling beside your face. The overwhelming metallic smell of blood being the most potent. You changed your focus to your heartbeat. Feeling it pounding against your chest begging to be released you pictured your heart slowing, its contractions reducing with every breath you took. Steadying your breathing was next. Cautious of the blade still connected to your neck you breathed in through your nose, holding in for a few seconds before releasing softly through your mouth. Repeating those steps, you were able to regain some stability. You were still in the same crappy scenario but at least now you were calmer. A panicking person is an interrogators wet dream. A calm person, their nightmare.

Sensing your self-control increase, the woman let go of your hair, moving the knife from your neck to the table beside the man. Standing before you once more, she knelt in front of you, keeping one knee up for balance, she waited for your eyes to open once more. Regaining the control, you almost lost, you felt strong enough to open your eyes once more. Staring at you the woman barely moved, she was searching your eyes for something, her expression a mixture of shock and impressed.

“You’re not afraid.” Her words barely above a whisper. Your only response was a return glare. A small smile creeping on to the face of your kidnapper. “They trained you well.”

Standing, she turned to the man behind her, whispering something in his ear before turning back to face you, her arms crossed against her chest. The man dropped the rag he was still holding and left the room, the sound of the door locking behind him.

“Let’s cut the bullshit honey. You have information I need. And I know I’m not going to break you, not by torturing you anyways. So, let’s try something else, shall we?” The woman began to pace back and forth in front of you, the small room only allowing her a few steps before being forced to turn around again. Your eyes followed her, left and right, before she stopped in front of you once more, still facing forward.

Taking in a sharp breath, she spoke. “How’s your sister doing?” She turned to face you. Refusing to let her know she was finally making some progress with you, you remained staring at her. Resuming her pacing she continued speaking.

“She’s what 5 now? Gosh so young. But you know what they say right? They grow up so fast.” Your eyes tracked the woman, more intently than before. This woman knew your family. Something that was always off limits when the pack was involved. Your attempts at shielding them from the supernatural had been successful, keeping that part of your life private even from Derek. And here this woman stood, threatening them. Threating to take away your motivation to make the world safer. Unfazed by your lack of reaction the woman carried on.

“Soon enough she’ll be going to high school, making friends, maybe even realising who her sister really is.” She stopped before you once more, bending at the waist she placed her hands on the arms of the chair you were bound to. “You didn’t think you could protect them, forever did you?” Tears threatened to fall from your eyes. No amount of calm breathing could ground you now. “Aw babe.” Her hand raised to your cheek, ready to wipe away the falling tear. You only pulled away from her once more, hating the way her skin on yours felt. “Don’t tell me I hit a nerve, did I? Sucks doesn’t it. Well, there is one way of ensuring your little family stay naïve to the world around them.” She stood tall once more, her voice now deeper, more sinister than before. “Tell me what I want to know.”

You had no choice, right? She threatened your family, your sister. You protected them from so long, only for you to be the reason they are in danger. Looking down at your lap, tears hit your thighs unable to control them you simply let them fall. Taking a deep breath, you looked up at the woman before you, a smirk present on her face which made it so much harder to say what you were about to. But the images of your sister raced through your mind. The way her hair shone in the autumn sun, the way her smile reached her eyes when she was really, truly happy, the way she greeted you after school every day by running down the front path directly into your arms. That was the highlight of your day, finishing school and-

Wait

You never responded to Stiles.

You never texted him back, and the kidnappers were kind enough to bring your phone into the room with you – hoping to get some information.

Your eyes moved to the door behind the woman, a loud crash followed by a heavy grunt sounded from behind the entranceway. The woman whipped her head around, only to be met by silence. She slowly approached the doorway.

“Adrian…?”

Silence

The woman turned back to you, unsure of herself. You only had a small smirk as a response. Before she could question you, the door busted open, barely remaining on its hinges, a rush of dust filled the room. Watching ahead as the dust clouds engulfed the woman, you heard a deafening roar followed by a petrified scream. Small thuds followed, as the dust reached your eyes you began coughing, the sudden pain in your ribs swiftly returning.

Two hands were placed on your shoulders, looking up you were met by two green eyes.

“Hey, you okay?” A worried Derek scanned your face, concern riddled him as he saw the multiple cuts and bruising before him. You could only nod, the dust denying you the ability to speak.

Moving behind you, he effortlessly cut the ties that bound your hands, then your legs. Using the arms of the chair to stable yourself, you attempted to stand, wincing when the pain became too much. Derek moved to your side, wrapping your arm over his shoulder. Carefully placing his arm around you, resting his hand on your hip he accepted most of your weight, attempting to make standing and walking easier. As you took a few steps forward, the dust cleared from your eyes and you were able to regain focus. Looking forward you saw the woman who threatened you, her back against the same wall the door was, her skin now covered in blood, her chest still rising and falling rapidly. Scott stood before her, looking down at the defeated woman, his eyes still red and his claws still present.

Clearing your throat, you stopped walking, causing Derek to pause and look over to you. You peered down at the woman, no longer in a position of power, she looked smaller, more gaunt than before. Her eyes showed she was petrified, providing some comfort to you after what she did.

“Sucks doesn’t it?” a whisper of a smirk present on your lips.

Proceeding to step forward through the doorway you were met by a panting Stiles, his arms stretched out in front of him, you couldn’t tell him to stop before his body connected with yours. You inhaled sharply, grimacing as pain rang throughout your body.

Derek used his free hand to grab Stiles by the shoulder, pulling him away from you, a small growl forming in his chest.

“Oh, shit sorry of course you’re hurt shit sorry.” The boy stumbled over his words, his eyes finally taking in the battered sight before him. He moved to the side of you not occupied by Derek, his help was welcomed by you, suddenly feeling lightheaded from standing.

The three of you began walking forward towards the exit of the building.

“Is now a good time to tell Derek, you think he has no balls?” Stiles piped up earning a death glare from Derek. “No? Okay we can come back to that.” You used whatever energy you had left to shake your head.

178 notes · View notes

ceilingfan5 · 3 years

Note

oooh trepverter for the prompt list !!

(coming up with a good comeback too late)

“I can fucking learn to cook,” Kravitz shouts after the fully, entirely gone taxi cab with his now-ex in the back seat, sitting pretty despite their breakup in the middle of the sidewalk. “But you can’t learn how to not be a bastard! Fuck!” He kicks a trash can, and swears again when it rings dully with all of the nerve endings its ruined in his foot. He’s just barely holding back tears, half because he’s hurt and half because he’s furious, and emotions are hard, and fuck toxic masculinity, why shouldn’t he cry about this?

But he’s glad he’s held back even just a little when someone laughs behind him, and he whirls around, ready to defend himself, and he comes face to face with the handsomest man that could possibly exist.

“That’s rough, buddy,” he says, with a voice Kravitz didn’t quite expect, but is instantly very into. “Couldn’t he have sent a text?”

“I know!” Kravitz huffs, trying to get his emotions under control, so he can be casual like this absolute fucking angel deigning to conversate with him here in the middle of this damned sidewalk. “He’s a piece of shit.”

“Glad he’s gone, then. The name’s Taako.” He reaches out a hand, and Kravitz shakes it, knowing full well that his hands are trembling and his grip is clammy and too tight. He wants to go home and sob and eat Ben and Jerry’s, but he’s simultaneously aware that this is some kind of auspicious meeting, and he’d better take it for all it’s worth.

“Kravitz. No offense, but why are we doing this?”

“Oh!” Taako laughs to the point of snorting, which is incredibly charming, half holding a hand in front of the gap in his teeth. Absolutely lovely. The hole in Kravitz’s heart is burning. “I just- I heard the thing about cooking, and I thought it was funny. I guess I didn’t say that, huh? I got kind of distracted by your handsome face.”

“Cooking?” he says, instead of handsome? But only barely.

“Oh, right, yeah, god, what a mess. Can we start over? Hi, I’m Taako, I’m a professional chef. You wanna stick it to that guy and actually learn how to cook?”

Kravitz might be having some sort of episodic medical event.

“Absolutely.” It comes out of his mouth before he can even think about the possibilities, namely just how likely this guy is a fucking serial killer, and also, like, what his intentions are romantically or otherwise, and also if he looks like an absolute mess that just got broken up with in public, and also whether this may be a very, very intense rebound sort of situation.

But hey, he’s gotta rebound sometime, yeah?

“Neat,” Taako says, grinning properly without hiding it this time, and Kravitz feels the warmth of the sun rising over his shell-shocked near-corpse, and he figures he’ll allow it. “Here’s my card.”

He hands it over, and their hands brush again as Kravitz takes it. “I’m free Saturday?”

“Saturday sounds radical.” Taako winks. “Come to that address and we’ll play in the kitchen, yeah? Maybe more.”

Kravitz swallows hard.

“Thank you?”

Taako salutes him, laughing, and struts on his way, leaving Kravitz in his wake with a lot of questions and powerful feelings and, at the very least, something new to focus on.

He still wants that ice cream, though.

#taakitz #taakitz fic #taz #tazb #taz balance #the adventure zone #the adventure zone balance #fan5fics #kiss him in the kitchen taako #sometimes a rebound can be something so personal

79 notes · View notes

liptonsbabe · 3 years

Text

Chains of a family [B.W]

Bill Weasley x Grant! Reader

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Summary: Molly knows about the reader’s relatives and she’s not so sure to put her trust in a girl that had just betrayed her own family

Word count: 1.9K

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: Hi! i’m so happy that you guys liked this thing! thank you so much for your support and, again, if you want to keep reading this let me know. Same note as ever, english not my mother language, so tell me if something’s is wrong.

Chapter 2: Not your family

The next morning turned out to be quieter than you imagined.

You slowly got out of bed and looked at everything around you noticing how quaint Bill's old room was. The ceiling was lined with grainy wallpaper with stacks of photographs of Quidditch players hanging from the reeds that moved from side to side, simulating the playing field; the right side of the room had a huge hole behind the small stool that tried to hide it, and from that hole a small garden gnome was sleeping peacefully with a small piece of cloth on top of his head. You stood up, walking towards the huge window that gave you a beautiful view of the Weasley's garden that at that moment was covered by a thin layer of drizzle that had fallen during the night.

Molly's fruit trees gleamed under the faint rays of the sun and you saw how a doxy from between the leaves poisoned Mrs. Weasley's apples, causing them to fall from the tree branches in a thick black mass with a foul smell coming out of it. You shook your head, excited to witness a very different way to wake up.

Even though several minutes have passed since you woke up, the house continued to remain in a strange silence that made you think that the family had decided to leave the burrow with the intention of buying more supplies or something like that. You knew that Bill wasn’t at home precisely for his obligations within the Order, so you didn’t worry about looking for him around the room, so you decided that a better option was going down to the dining room and know what was happening.

As you went down the spiral staircase, you cursed in a whisper when you forgot to put on your slippers before leaving the bedroom cause the floor was so cold that you slipped a couple of times. Back in the days, when you were still welcome in your parents' house, you had many servants who did all the things for you - putting on your shoes as soon as you woke up was one of those things - but now that your life had changed so much, you assumed that you would have to adapt and start taking care of your own needs.

Your curious eyes roamed the walls covered in family photos that caused a big warmth in your chest. In each of those photographs, all of Molly's children appeared along with their father, smiling for the camera and sending effusive greetings. A pic was hanging at the fireplace were Molly and Arthur were carrying a small white bundle crying his lungs out. You assumed it was Bill as his parents seemed too young back then and even as a small baby, you could recognize those tantrum features anywhere.

A giggle escaped your lips when you noticed a funny sequence from that same photo in which, even with Bill crying in his mother's arms, his father tried to carry him for a moment to calm him down, however the baby's cries didn’t stop. The baby was so annoyed that he ended throwing up the milk ration that he must have had before the photo session on his father's neat shirt.

You laughed because you knew that William's impertinence was something he had carried with him for several years now.

"Bill hates those photos." You jumped in your place scared to see Molly standing behind you. Your cheeks turned red “He says that it’s embarassing but i think that’s nonsense. He was an adorable baby”

"he was," you answered, looking anywhere but into Molly's shrewd eyes. "but I guess displaying them in the fireplace isn’t the right thing to do."

“Is it not?

"No, they should be at the front door where everyone can see them”

Molly giggled as you watched the sequence of photos over and over again. A silence settled between you, but surprisingly it was not an awkward silence, but one that was allowing you to create a bond that neither of you expected. Mrs. Weaslsey brought up a rag, wiping it around the corners of the photo from the dust.

"Arthur and I had to save up for months to take those pictures," she mentioned wistfully, "we just had Bill and it seemed like a good idea to welcome him into our family with a gesture like that. Arthur was new in the ministry and wasn't earning too much, but we had that quirk and decided we could afford to skip certain things to pay for the pictures. It cost us ten galleons and it still took us four months to gather them”

“Oh” You didn't know what to say, but you just kept looking at the photograph feeling a bit uncomfortable. You never had those problems at home because your family was insanelly rich thanks to the inheritance in life that your grandfather Tim had left to his son and later to his grandchildren. Even the descendants of your grandfather's servants came to work in your house, reason enough for you and your siblings to grow up with no sense of responsibility other than your own wishes. Molly sighed remembering those times when life seemed to be easier.

"So when Bill asked me to remove it from the fireplace, I refused. He doesn't know how hard it was to raise that money, but I think he has nothing to be ashamed of, he was too adorable!

"I don't doubt it for a second, Mrs. Weasley."

"You can call me Molly," she said, walking back to the kitchen where you continued watching the way the pans moved back and forth preparing breakfast. You were not very good at cooking - in fact, you had never cooked before- however, that didn’t stop you from offering your help. So you took a pan, placed it on the stove, and decided that you would find a way to make a good mountain of strawberry-filled pancakes just like your dear nanny did. Molly observed you carefully. "I think that now that you are living with us it is appropriate to have a more cordial treatment.My son told me a lot about you”

“Just the good things, i hope”

“Kind of” You stopped mixing ingredients to look at her carefully” He told us a bunch of marvelous things about you and how you two met. Actually, what worries me the most is what he didn’t tell us”

And there was the recrimination you were waiting for. You were aware that it had to arrive sooner or later, however, you would have been grateful that it did it when Bill were by your side to give you the opportunity to defend yourself properly. You cleared your throat uncomfortably, knowing that what Molly needed to hear from your own lips was which family you came from. You continued your task with the pancakes, turning out as bad as you expected.

"I'm sorry it turned out this way, Mrs. Weasley."

"Molly," he corrected.

"Molly" you smiled slowly "But believe me when I tell you that it was me who asked William not to mention anything about my last name or where I come from. I know that in this case, with the war above our heads, it is necessary to be certain of the people who enter your family and I apologize for that, it's just ... Bill is very important to me” Molly's eyes narrowed “Since we met ... I have found a home in him and well, all that feels when someone is in love. "Mrs. Weasley shook her head, understanding the feeling." I have experienced the rejection before. When people know that Tom Riddle is my family ... they run away in fear, curse my family and even walk away from us, as if sharing a blood bond makes us as evil as he is.

“And it’s not like that?” Molly asked with a hand on her neck. She didn’t want to be like the others and judge you without knowing the full story, just as she had promised Bill the night before that she would, but it was so difficult not to remember the death of his brothers by Voldemort’s hands and to pretend nothing had happened in the past. You sighed because the eggs you cracked on the bowl got mixed with their own shell “ I've heard of the Grants before, they're all Death Eaters, including your siblings!”

“It is difficult to have to choose a side when you don’t have your own convictions”

"And you have it?"

You looked at Molly in pain. Of course you expected those reactions from Bill's mother, she was within her right to be upset that her oldest son never told her that he was in a relationship with a girl who seemed to have the most fucking powerful and evil wizard in the world as a great-uncle. No, Molly wasn't mad, she was deadly angry, she felt like she was bursting!

Her hands became fists and without knowing how, you found yourself between the wall and Molly's big arms from one second to the other. The pancake batter was forgotten, as was the woman's promise to treat her son's girlfriend in a good way.

"How is it possible ..." Molly questioned in an agitated voice, pressing your arms against the wall, "... that a single deer leaves the nature of its own herd?" How can you ensure that one rotten apple even in a gold container doesn’t rot the others?”Your breath caught at the questions of the woman in front of you. Once again, you were aware that your presence wouldn’t be good news to them, but at least you hoped they understood your motives before judging you “Explain to me, (Y/ N) Grant, when have you seen a pig away from his equals?”

Your words caught in your throat at Molly's fierce question. Bill had talked a lot about the temper of his mother. Even if she could be really grumpy at times, she was in general a very sweet, pleasant and maternal woman with everyone; however, you didn’t fit into that generality because it seemed that the woman was determined to kill you with her own hands.

"If my presence bothers you so much, then you shouldn't have let Bill and I to stay here."

“He's my son! All I want for him is to be happy, and that's why I don't understand what he managed to see in you”

"Maybe the same thing you saw in your husband." Molly's lips twitched in anger, but you didn't stop. You hoped that she would at least understand what your words meant, because that would make it easier for both of you to try at least get along better, even if Molly seemed not to want to do it under any circumstances. How is it that this haughty little girl dared to compare herself with her dear and wonderful husband? "I'm sorry, but I don't think this conversation is going to take us anywhere."

"If someone betrays his own family ..." Molly stopped you before you walked out the front door. The others got down the stairs, seeing the scandal formed in the kitchen “The rest of us can't expect too much, can we?

Your eyes blured.

#bill weasley #bill weasley imagines #bill weasley x reader #harry potter imagine #domhnall gleeson imagine #domhnall gleeson #harry potter #fred weasley imagines #weasley

150 notes · View notes

fanmoose12 · 3 years

Text

a little something for @bruciesnat :) i know i've promised it like a lifetime ago, sorry for the delay! oh, and i decided to combine it with a prompt i also received a long while ago <3

Mike doesn't know why he's doing this. Doesn't understand how he agreed to it, can't comprehend why Erwin would make him do it. Mike doesn't know what he had done to deserve this- this punishment.

He's- he's a good man. An honest one. He serves to ensure the future of humanity, he risks his life to give others a better one.

He's good at it too, he's excellent at fighting and slashing and scouting. He was the best one at it, before- before the annoying midget came.

The same annoying midget, who is insanely strong and easily irritated. The same annoying midget, who has a crush on their adorable Hange. Hange, who Mike has to seduce to test Erwin's theory that Levi, insanely strong, easily irritated Levi, truly has a crush on their Hange.

Mike swallows heavily as he sits next to Hange, just a little too close as Erwin instructed. He smells that it won't end well.

He cringes, as he puts his arm around her shoulders.

Mike likes Hange, a lot actually. Sometimes he feels like they're siblings that were torn apart by some bigger entity. So yeah, he likes Hange. But definitely not like that.

But, oh well, anything for the cause, right?

"Hey, Hans," he murmurs, adopting his most seducting tone. He hopes that his smile is charming enough to captivate their dear scientist. "Are you free tonight? I have two tickets to the theater perfomance," he leans in closer, lowering his voice to what could probably (Mike is an eternal optimist!) be called an enticing whisper. "They're showing the creation of the the Walls tonight."

Somewhere on his periphery, Mike can see a swift dark shadow that oozes the smell of detergent. That shadow, it grows closer, its aura becoming more menacing.

Mike can only hope that if Levi attempts to kill him, Erwin would intervene.

Although... knowing Erwin, he'd just write Mike's death off as a necessary sacrifice.

He takes his hand off Hange. The shadow retreats a few steps back.

"Sorry, Mike," Hange shrugs with a small, apologizing smile. "I showed that play to Levi a few weeks ago. I had my fill of religious propaganda for now. But if you're looking for someone to accompany you," she winks and turns around. Mike's heart sinks. "Levi really liked going to the theatre! He'll be happy to tag along, right, Levi?"

Mike meets Levi's eyes, and sees nothing but desire for murder inside.

Mike quickly scrambles to his feet. "You know, I'll just ask Gelgar to go with me. I'm sure he doesn't have anything better to do."

And they can get wasted afterwards. Mike really needs that after this conversation.

Just as he retreats, Levi takes his place, sitting down next to Hange, also just a little too close.

The mission had failed spectacularly, but, Mike consoles himself, at least he learned that Hange and Levi went to theatre together. And sometimes intel is more important than the victory, right?

Ah, if only Erwin would share his opinion on that.

***

Erwin's second attempt is even worse than the first one, but, at least, this time it doesn't directly involve Mike. Still, he's an unwilling spectator to it, and, just as the last time, he doesn't like where all of this is going.

He already feels bad for the poor guy Erwin hired to hit on Hange during the annual military ball. Where did Erwin get the money - did he take them from the Corps' funds or his own allowance, Mike doesn't know, and, frankly, he isn't sure which option is more disturbing.

At least, the actor is handsome, Mike doesn't know if Hange would like him, he doesn't know if she has a type, and if she does, he hopes it's not annoying midgets, but the guy is handsome, there is no denying that.

Hange has cleaned up fairly well too, the white suit looks excellent on her, bringing out all of her best assets, demonstrating her wide hips and lean, long legs. The hair, gathered in a neat bun, shows her long, gorgeous neck, and the light make-up make her even more gorgeous than usual.

When she and Erwin walked through the front door - him in his blue suit and Hange in her white, symbolising their Wings of Freedom, everyone had their breath taken away.

Even Mike was a little shocked to see Hange dressed up like this, and Levi, who stood right next to him, was completely blown away, staring at Hange with wide-eyed, lovestruck look.

Thanks to Levi's ridiculous expression, Mike now understands why Erwin goes to such length to bring their resident weirdos together. It is delightful to watch Levi behave like that, and Mike longs to see more of this side of him.

Soon after Hange and Erwin make their grand entrance, their guy makes the first move.

He approaches Hange, his eyes bright and smile so charming it makes Mike envious that Hange is at the receiving end of it. He kisses her hand, whispers something in her ear.

"He praises her recent experiment. I thought it was a good place to start," Erwin explains quietly to him.

"Ah," Mike nods. So Erwin thought every detail through? Not surprising at all. "Think this would have an effect on Levi?"

"It already does," Erwin says, pointing to a furious cloud of black hair and suit that is approaching them at a rapid speed.

"Has four-eyes lost all shame?" Levi practically growls, his eyes throwing flames. "Is she seriously flirting with a fucker from the MP?"

"He's not a soldier," Mike answers, reciting a legend Erwin created. "He's actually a wealthy merchant from the South. Heard he sells apples to the King himself."

"And since when Hange is interested in someone like him," Levi crosses hands on his chest, his glare turning even darker, as Erwin's actor takes Hange by the hand and leads her to the dance floor.

"You know, you can ask Hange to a dance," Erwin advices with a pleased smile. "Then she won't be able to flirt with others."

Levi scoffs. "I would rather fight a horde of titans than dance with stinky four-eyes."

Maria, Rose and Sina, Mike thinks. They're worse than children.

"Hange has taken a bath before coming here," he tells Levi.

Levi rolls his eyes. "And now she looks even more awful than usual."

Mike shares a look with Erwin. Does Levi prefer usual Hange, when she doesn't bath for days and her eyes water from the lack of sleep? It almost sounds cute.

"This is the last time I'm attending this shitty ball," Levi swears to Erwin. "Even wine here is shitty."

He marches away immediately after that, heading to the table with wine. Mike can barely stop his laughter, as he watches Levi take a glass of wine, drink a few large gulps of it, and then wince, his mouth moving as he probably murmurs violent curses. He doesn't take his eyes off Hange and her dance partner, and relaxes only when the song ends.

Both Mike and Erwin watch intently as the actor kisses Hange's hand once again. Hange blushes, and Mike almost coos. Levi grabs another glass of wine.

When the actor starts leading Hange away, in the direction of the balcony, Levi starts moving too. He intercepts them just at the edge of the ballroom.

Mike knows he should have expected something like that, knows that Levi doesn't exactly possess the best of manners, but pouring wine over someone? Over his own colleague and friend? Mike certainly didn't expect that.

He's delighted to see what happens next, though.

What happens is that Hange's gorgeous white suit is ruined and Levi wraps his hand around her wrist and drags her to the bathroom. He sports a unusually pleased expression and Hange is laughing herself silly.

Not a bad ending to this endeavor, Mike thinks.

"Another disaster," Erwin sighs.

***

Third time is a charm, or so Mike hopes.

This time Erwin decides to take matter in his hands, and that another sign that this plan will succeed.

The plan is simple, yet, hopefully, effective. Erwin is to whisk Hange away to some remote location, create a scene that would look like a moment between lovers, and Mike is to call Levi there and make sure he witnesses it all.

Erwin is a brave man, Mike thinks, as his Commander explains the plan to him. He would never dare to do something like that to humanity's strongest. To awaken his jealous streak... Mike is glad he's not in Erwin's place.

One sunny afternoon, the plan is set in motion. Erwin takes Hange, and Mike goes to find Levi.

He finds him fairly quickly, in the middle of cleaning Hange's room. Man, he could at least try to make his crush be less discreet. But that's beside the point now, because Levi is cleaning Hange's room and not watching Erwin and Hange. Mike confidently strides up to him.

"Levi! I've just been looking for you."

"What do you need?" he asks boringly. "And have you seen four-eyes? I can't find her all day."

Erwin prepared some legend, a reason why Mike needs Levi, but in the heat of the moment, Mike can't remember a single word. So he just yells "Come with me!" and hope that Levi follows.

Thankfully, he does.

Mike leads him to the stables, where Erwin is already at it. His palm is on the wall, next to Hange's head, and from Mike's point of view, it certainly looks like they're in the middle of... something naughty.

Next to him, Levi tenses, and Mike can practically hear his teeth grinding.

Mike prepares for something very ugly, but then...

"I- I didn't know that Erwin and four-eyes-" oh, fuck, it sounds like Levi is genuinely sad, like he's heartbroken or something. Mike feels a strange desire to hug the little guy and pat his head. But then he remembers that he and Erwin are the reason for Levi's distress right now, and... remorse starts kicking in.

"Levi, listen, it's not-"

"Levi!"

As always, Hange is the one to save the day.

She breaks free from Erwin and sprints to Levi, a wide smile on her face. "You won't believe what Erwin had just told me! He gave me permission to go in the town's library and bring back all the books I want! I'm in dire need of your muscles, humanity's strongest, you'll go with me, right?"

Levi still seems grouchy, but under Hange's sunny grin, his angry facade crumbles. "I don't know if Commander will allow it..."

He doesn't even try to hide his bitterness and irration. Mike disguises his chuckle as a coughing fit.

"Erwin!" Hange turns to him, eyes pleading. "Can Levi go with me?"

"Sure," Erwin nods. "Take all the time you need."

Hange yells in triumph, loud enough to make Mike wince. She grabs Levi by the hand and drags him away. Erwin watches them with a wistful smile.

"I don't think we should get involved in their relationships," Mike says, as he approaches Erwin. He stands close to his Commander, their shoulders pressing against each other. "We should let them figure it out themselves."

"Agreed," Erwin says. "I'm sure they'll manage well enough even without us."

Mike watches Hange wrap her arm around Levi, and is inclined to agree. They will certainly manage without them both.

Or, at least, Hange is able to manage.

And that should be enough.

#levihan

103 notes · View notes

rosierin · 4 years

Text

Studying with you

pairing: tsukishima x fem!reader

synopsis: after finding out about your gradually decreasing grades, your teacher urges you to change your studying methods and decides to find you a tutor among the class. shame that tutor is literally the biggest jerk known to man. you swear he knows nothing but insults and that his heart is made of stone. or is it?

genre: fluff

type: oneshot

word count: 1.6k

a/n: i hate love this guy, srsly

"Oi, (y/n). Wake up, we're not finished."

Your head jerks up and you let out a loud, drawn out groan as your eyes refocus on the man in front of you. He's sneering, same as usual, and you wish you could suddenly go back to dream land where you were happily baking cookies with Hinata and Kageyama.

Beneath your arms are two gaping algebra textbooks. One is riddled with scribbly notes and an unnecessary amount of pointless doodles, except the one of Tsukishima— scowling with a head drawn way too big compared to the rest of his skinny body. The other is filled with neat, detailed formulas, pastel highlights and all the correct answers which you've been struggling to find for the past two hours.

"I'm up, I'm up, geez.." You yawn with your head still on the table and look up at Tsukishima with drowsy eyes. "You could've woken me up a little nicer, ya know."

"Yeah.. no. How about you hurry up and finish so I can go home?" He looks more than done at this point and huffs, pointing at a formula jotted messily on your paper. "And you got that one wrong again, by the way."

You squint at your work, then realize he was right. "Oh. My bad."

Wanting to get things over with, you get back to work but your eyelids are so heavy it's ridiculous. Not to mention your brainpower has reached its limit.

You can feel your grip on your pen loosen as you try and correct your work but before you know it, your head drops again, only to be jolted awake by a sudden smack to the back of the head with what feels like a textbook.

"What the— Do you mind?!" You snap.

Tsukishima doesn't react to your outburst in the slightest, just nods to your unfinished work with a look of lazy authority. "Algebra." He stares at you with a deadpan expression when you pout. "Now."

"Fiiine." You sigh, annoyed that your puppy dog eyes didn't work on Tsukishima. Not that you thought they would. Tsukishima didn't seem like the type to particularly like animals, except maybe for dinosaurs. He had a small keychain of one buried deep within his pencil case, you found. "You know, you'd make a terrible teacher."

This time, it's Tsukishima's turn to yawn, stretching his long limbs and you have to force yourself not to focus on the pull of his lean muscles despite yourself. Then, he turns to look at you with a look of false innocence. "Sorry, go on?"

"I hate you."

"Great. Now ask me if I care."

You suck in through your teeth as you hold back from socking the blonde straight in the face. He's been sassing you non-stop since the beginning of your study session and you'd think you'd be used to his perpetual cocky remarks by now but alas, he was still a huge pain in your ass.

"Where're you going?" You ask as Tsukishima gets up from his chair that's in front of your desk, dusting the eraser shavings off your textbooks.

"Aw. Think you'll miss me?"

You bite your lip down and he notices, smirking contently before deciding to answer: "going to get some water. That question better be finished by the time I get back."

He's gone before you can retort, long legs granting him a quick escape. However halfway down the hallway you hear him add: "or I'll make you do three more."

Great.

"Yessir," you sigh, though you have absolutely no intention of following through.

You glance down at your textbooks for good measure— textbooks which are practically staring at you, and you can picture them with beady little eyes as though they're chanting— soooolve ussss.

You shudder. Man, you really were tired.

"Yeah, no. Sorry, Tsukki."

Pushing your homework aside, unfazed by your salty tutor's threats, you decide it's time for an actual break. You deserved it, right? Yeah, yeah you did. So without second thought, you let your attention drift to the scenery outside instead.

You'd been so focused on your homework (and Tsukishima's sass) that you hadn't even noticed the beautiful sunset that was now setting over the hills of Karasuno High. You always loved the way it looked at this hour, basking the buildings and tall, lush trees in its warm light. It was all too soothing, so soothing that you hadn't even realized you were once more falling asleep, eyeslids fighting to stay open until they finally gave in and what little willpower you had left, left your body.

"Right, time's up. You better be finish—"

The moment Tsukishima walks back into the classroom, eyes settling on your current state— sprawled out on your desk, mouth slightly agape and completely out cold, he's overcome with the urge to sigh.

He walks over to your desk and sits down opposite you, then as he leans his cheek into his palm, he lazily pokes your cheek— once, twice, but gets no reaction in response.

"You've got to be kidding me.." He sighs. But he decides to not bother and wake you up this time. What'd be the point? You clearly weren't in any shape to study and honestly, he didn't have the patience in him anymore to try in case it'd drive him crazy.

For a second he debates just leaving you there, passed out of your classroom desk, but quickly decides against it in case he gets an earful from your parents about leaving you alone or something. The last thing he wants is any extra trouble.

Therefore he agrees, albeit begrudgingly, to let you sleep. Just until you were rested up enough to work again.

⭐

Thirty minutes go by, you're still fast asleep.

During that time, Tsukishima took it upon himself to slip his headphones on and listen to some beats, hazel eyes flitting beyond the window to watch the last of the sunset, hoping it'd make the time go by quicker.

Usually, this would be right up his alley; peace and quiet, chill lofi and a sunset, however when sat on a painfully uncomfortable, wooden chair rather than his comfy and plump single bed, the experience was significantly less appealing. Therefore, after trying to find a comfortable sitting position and failing for the fourth time he decides to take his headphones off and focus back on his studies— he might as well, only when he reaches for his pen, he realizes it isn't there.

Amber eyes scan the table. Usually it'd be in his pencil case; he doesn't remember taking it ou—

Ah, never mind. It all makes sense when he sees it. Not in his pencil case after all, but balanced precariously between your fingers.

He rolls his eyes.

Why didn't she just use her own pen?

Reaching for it, he attempts to pull it out of your grasp only to freeze when you begin to stir.

He doesn't know why at this point— he could just wake you up, that's what he'd initially planned. But now, for some reason, there's something that prevents him from doing so. Maybe it had something to do with the way you were sleeping so peacefully.

He tries to pull at his pen again— gently— but this time, it isn't you stirring that makes him seize up, but the way your index and middle finger hook around his own.

His brain stutters.

Well, this is new.

Tsukishima's back straightens an awkward amount, completely unsure of what to do. Nothing like this has ever happened to him before. He becomes painfully aware of that. He's also painfully aware that you could possibly wake up while holding him like this.

Thankfully, you don't. And although the tenseness of his body is beginning to hurt, he still takes the time to admire your sleeping form.

You're laying crossed armed, head nestled between them, facing him. He watches your body rise and fall ever so gently, can almost hear your quiet breaths. It's picturesque, almost; the way your hair glows beneath the bright full moon. Unknowingly, his thumb twitches nearer, gravitating towards the warmth of your hand and he can almost feel—

"Enjoying yourself there?"

Suddenly he's frozen. Though it only lasts a second, for the next he's already retracted his hand, folding it under his arm like it was never there to begin with.

"Wh— How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough," you say, smiling curiously at him and for once the tables have been turned; the teased having become the teaser. "So you can be nice sometimes."

Tsukishima's expression is anything but impressed as you mock him, his face caught between confused and annoyed, and dare you say even a little bit embarrassed? He's quick to shake it off though, sparing himself of any sly comment as he regains his usual cool demeanor.

"Please. You're the one who grabbed me first," he scoffs.

"But you didn't try to move," you shoot back.

There's a strange atmosphere that settles in the room as your mishief-glinting eyes bore into his, and Tsukishima doesn't dare talk back for once, having been robbed of all witty comebacks. He hates being at a loss for words, but he hates even more so, the beginnings of a grin forming on your features, one that he knows is a result of his shortcomings.

"Whatever, (y/n) just pack up your stuff. We're done for the night," he says as he himself starts tidying his belongings.

You chuckle then nod your head. "Sure thing, sensei."

"...don't call me that."

"Sensei."

"Urgh, shut up."

⭐

Later that night, when you're lying in bed, ready to fall asleep, your eyes snap open as your phone buzzes underneath your pillow. You pull it out and press the home button, wondering who could possibly be texting you at this hour. When you do, you're surprised when it's Tsukishima's ID that pops up.

He had sent one message:

"Oh and by the way, you drool when you sleep."

227 notes · View notes

ceph-the-ghost-writer · 2 years

Text

Newcomer

Picrew Maker by Euphälle

Beyond & Between Masterpost

Content Advisory: hints of fear toward strangers/the unknown, reference to American evangelical-style religious fanaticism, mention of demons, reference to past event of child sacrifice, mentions of global catastrophe, suggestion of gun violence/intent to kill, swearing, general anxiety over creepy inhuman creatures (none of this short piece dwells on these things, but they for sure flavor it)

Belief is a dangerous thing.

It should go without saying by now. We all watched the Central States try to use magic to cling to its failing power. Not to mention when the cultists fed their children to a demon, looking to buy tickets to a heaven that had already closed down a long time ago. But we continue to learn nothing. The oceans keep on rising, controlled by the mer, the eastern winds carry radiation and the stench of cities overrun with the undead. People desperately grasp at anything they think might offer a quick, neat solution to a million messy problems.

I don't know whether the mind worms consciously chose this moment to pop up. But if it's a coincidence, then the fucking things have an uncanny sense of timing.

One of them finally came into town last week. Just breezed on in and sat down on a bench in the park, near the fountain. I watched it for the better part of an hour. It didn't strike me as particularly tall or strong. Judging from its tan it spent a lot of its time out in the sun. Its clothes were nothing special either. Some mismatched layers of dusty linen and denim, a leather satchel slung around its shoulders, ratty old military surplus boots. I would've taken it for a regular drifter if it weren't for the mask. Like the ones people wear over the upper half of their faces at harvest costume parties, except with no eyeholes. A blind prophet wandering in from the wilderness.

The Addison girls were the first to talk to it. I was too far to catch anything said, but there was plenty of giggling on their end. The mind worm, for its part, mostly listened and wore this weird little smile. Like someone who's in on a secret no one else knows. It accepted the welcome gifts the girls brought it: a crown of flowers and a pretty scarf May Addison tied in a bow around its neck herself.

Those were the first, but definitely not the last. Before long, people all the way from the outskirts were dropping by. A few even brought their little ones to meet it. Most kept the customs of hospitality. Sharing sips from pocket flasks with the stranger. Leaving it jars of jam or pastries wrapped in wax paper. It talked with Zoe McPherson, the tutor for the older kids, for a long while before finally getting up and following her away. Still wearing that smile. It's been holding court at her place ever since.

I heard some of the communes down south do business with mind worms. There've been stories about parents sending children that are almost grown off with the things. I don't know what was promised, if anything. I doubt it would take much, though. Just a slim hope that the next generation would have a better life somewhere else. Or believing mind worms are here to save our dying world instead of pick at its carcass. Maybe it comes down to the math of one less mouth to feed too.

What I believe is the things I see with my own eyes and the reliability of Dad's old rifle. People can argue about right and wrong afterwards. I'm not waiting around for my neighbors to make that thing the new local god just for the satisfaction of an "I told you so".

--Entry from a singed journal found tossed down a dry well in Valentine, Nebraska

#beyond & between #worldbuilding #speculative fiction

4 notes · View notes

glitterge1pen · 4 years

Text

Big Bird

Keigo Takami x reader, sfw, fluff, word count 1,336

“Hey watch it Big Bird!”

You're not snapping at him, it’s a playful remark. He looks at you blankly at first. There is a brief second where you think you might have upset him but then he spreads his wings to their full span and you're squished against the elevator wall.

"Ha ha very funny"

You say as dry as your voice will allow.

"What? You get to call me names but I cant-"

You cut him off.

"Names! You should be fucking honored to even be compared to him"

"Hm? Do you know Big Bird on a personal basis?"

He teases. You sigh dramatically hoping to get a laugh from him.

"Big Bird? I wish I knew him”

With that the elevator sounded announcing your arrival to the lobby. You rushed off, saying goodbye to Keigo with a wave of your hand. You were actually quite busy today and needed to hurry.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

The next time you do it is in a meeting with another hero agency. You’re sitting next to him, listening intently to all the information that is being given to you. When you and all the other seated heros are passed folders with documents you mumble under your breath,

"Shit, looks like we got ourselves into a bind Big Bird"

He grins, but then remembers that he’s supposed to think the Big Bird thing is annoying. He pokes you in the back with a feather but leaves it at that.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

You have a day off. Hawks tries to be subtle about checking your schedule. He doesnt find out and spends half the day wondering what you’re up to. If you’re just taking the day to rest, running errands, watching movies. Then he asks himself why he cares so much, before he can answer his own question his phone vibrates. Its a text from you, he stares at it from the notifications screen.

"Would you look at this Big Bird"

He clicks on it, not being able to see the picture from his notifications. It looks like you’re at a store. It’s you holding up a box of Sesame Street band aids. As he’s looking at the photo you send a second one. There is only your wrist in frame, on it you have placed a Big Bird band-aid.

He stares at it. At the stupid, stupid Big Bird band-aid. Is this your way of flirting? Were you just being funny? And god why did he care so much. He is standing just holding his phone until the screen goes black. He knows. He knows why. He doesn't want to say it out loud. Doesnt even dare to call those stupid photos you sent cute. He wouldn't dare. But the thought taunts him in the back of his mind.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

He wakes up one morning exhausted. Not bothering to get to the agency on time. He feels sore, worn out, tired. Keigo rolls over in bed mulling over the previous nights events.

It was a bad brawl. A robbery. Hostages.

He has to go into today. To finish up the debrief, to see if any new questions from the investigation had come up. He cleans himself up, gets dressed and heads out the door.

As he passes by people he says good morning, sends greetings, shakes hands. Not letting his bitter mood shine through his persona. Once inside the doors of the agency he relaxes a bit. He can feel everyone's eyes on him as he makes his way through the building.

He silently prays for you to be in the elevator. But you aren't there. There’s an impatient jitter starting to consume his nerves. He wishes he did better yesterday. That you didn't have to see him struggle. Or the way he had shouted at you to help the hostages. If all of this wasn't so complicated, the world so horrid.

If he saw you it would be fine. You got it, you got what the job was about, you got him, you got that he just wanted things to be normal. You wouldn't ask him about what had happened, you would wait until he was ready to talk about. You would see him and you two would joke, and complain and just be the usual.

Keigo stops, thoughts clearing as he sees the duct tape on his office door. There’s a note from you, it just says 'out on patrol' .His attention is on the Big Bird key chain. You have it taped next to the note.

He feels as if the Big Bird key chain is looking straight into his thoughts. Specifically his thoughts about you, like the Big Bird is a spy. He considers it much too seriously. Leaning in to inspect it before hooking it around his belt loop.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

There’s a hero meeting. Politics, recent major incidents. Keigo wants to skip out on these things and does his best to bite his tongue. Instead he focuses on not paying attention to you. Which has been getting harder these days.

The meeting is over and while some people have left others mill around the room chatting. They discuss meeting notes, recent patrols, a new tv show. He stands and heads over to the snack table. Pours a cup of lukewarm coffee, snags two ginger snaps before walks over to where you are.

You’re talking with Ken. When Keigo approaches he hands you a cookie and you thank him silently, only mouthing the words, not wanting to interrupt Ken.

“I swear all he wants to do is run into walls and watch sesame street”

Keigo turns his head, hoping to god that you won't bring up the Big Bird thing. Embarrassed by the thought alone.

“What’s wrong with that he has Oscar the Grouch as a role model”

You and Ken laugh a little.

“How'd you know Oscar was his favorite?”

“Are you kidding, Oscar is everyone's favorite”

Now that. That makes him feel a million different things at once. His mouth is open in shock and disgust, eyebrows creased together.

“Everyones favorite?”

Its snarky, maybe too snarky a tone for him to take on. Ken and you look off put by it. Then a look of realization washes over you. Your expression borderline remorseful. Ken glances at you hoping for an explanation, amused by whatever it was he was seeing. Keigo has his arms crossed, waiting for you to say something.

“Big Bird-”

The words leave your mouth and Ken loses it in laughter. He’s clutching his sides, a few other people turn to look. Ken had easily clicked together the little puzzle in front of him after you said Big Bird. Keigo refuses to look at either of you, arms still crossed, your stuck in a useless rant about a children's show, trying to get him to loosen up.

As Ken is hunched over, trying to recover from his laughter he sees it. It being the Big Bird key chain fastened around Keigo’s waist. His hand trembles in laughter as he brings his fingers up to the key chain. Keigo glances down at the motion and so do you.

You feel your cheeks warm up, feeling bashful all of a sudden. You tilt your head to the side.

“You kept it?”

Keigo stops messing with you, drops his arms, and states very matter of fact like,

“Of course I did?”

“Oh, I thought you, I don't know I didn't think about it”

Ken gets up, his laughter having calmed. He wants to leave before things have the chance to get awkward.

“It was nice seeing you two, but I gotta get back to work”

You say goodbye to Ken, staring at his back as walks away, not wanting to face Keigo alone. Neither of you say anything. Keigo wondering how much of all that was just to tease you and get a rise from you, and how much was him pouting and genuinely caring. You are doing the same.

“Well Big Bird, up for lunch?”

You can push that all aside for just a while longer you decide.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

A/N: I had this idea this morning and it wasn't going to leave me alone until I wrote it out. It's not as fleshed out as I would have liked but I think it came out neat. Originally this was just going to be like a two paragraph headcanon but then my head kept having thoughts :/ Requests and the such still open tho

#hawks #hawks x reader #hawks fluff #bnha #kiego x reader #hawks imagine #bnha x reader #keigo takami #gender neutral reader

190 notes · View notes