#just sitting criss cross applesauce waiting for my present!

[zoesmp4]

PHOTOGRAPH “we keep this love in a photograph.” carl grimes x fem!reader

tags: angst, death, use of y/n, 8x9, some fluff

a/n: first angst, i was bawling my eyes out while writing this 😓. based off photograph by ed sheeran, lyrics r in italics. i hope ygs enjoy!!

loving can hurt sometimes. you never really understood how much until now.

FLASHBACK. 

“we should do something.” carl says, fiddling with your promise ring which he got you. he saw it while on a run and thought it was pretty, “pretty items for a pretty girl.” he thought. you were sitting criss cross applesauce in front of him, him doing the same. both of his hands were interlinked with yours, giving light squeezes. “and what’s that?” you ask. “we should take a photo. you know for the future.” “for the future?” “like to show our kids.” you wanted to kiss him until you couldn’t breathe. did he really just say that? did he mean it? this boy would be the death of you. 

“wait okay so- i just do a random pose?” you say, looking at the camera carl held in his hand. “up to you baby.” he never failed to make you feel special. you were so in love, and you knew he was too. “m’ ready!” “sweet.” he angles the camera to fit you both into the frame before you press your lips onto his cheek. his lips curve up into a smile before you hear the click sound from the camera. 

carl held the photo of you both in his hand, examining every part of it. mostly examining you. the way your hair fell perfectly upon your face, the way your lips looked perfect on his skin. god, he just knew he was going to make you his wife one day. you giggled at the light kiss stain you left on his cheek. 

PRESENT TIME.

you held the necklace you got when you were fifteen, heavy tears flowing down your face at a rapid pace.

FLASHBACK.

“carl.. you didn’t.” you say, looking at the beautiful silver heart locket in the small black box carl handed to you. “you like it?” he says, grinning from ear to ear. “i love it. i- you didn’t have to.” you say, your eyes getting mistier by the second. “don’t cry pretty girl.” he says, putting his hand on your cheek. “i love you so much carl.” “i love you more.” 

PRESENT TIME.

holding him closer til’ our eyes meet. did it have to end like this?

FLASHBACK. 

“carl you can’t leave me like this. i wo- i won’t allow it. this isn’t fucking fair.” you say, hitting carl’s chest softly. you were so angry, and sad, you didn’t know how to feel. “y/n you’ll be fine. i know you will. you’re a strong girl. it’ll b-“ 

“what about- what about the plans we made? who am i supposed to talk to late at night when i have nightmares? w-who am i supposed to cry about stupid things to? carl i can’t do this without you.” you started to choke on your words, the realization hitting deeper and deeper that you would never get to see, to talk to, to hold, to kiss, to love carl grimes ever again. 

carl pulls you into his chest for one last hug. you embraced him tightly, trying to make the best of it while it lasted. he then cupped your face and pressed his forehead onto yours. “my girl, my y/n, i love you.” 

PRESENT TIME.

you kept his last words deep within your soul. your hands quivered as you slowly opened the piece of paper which carl left for you. your heart stopped when you saw his handwriting. all of his words written on the paper. you wished it could’ve lasted longer. you wished you had more time with him. 

“my dearest y/n. i remember when we first met. you looked so scared. you were always quiet, always alone. i felt so bad for you. i would always admire from afar, watching the wind blow through your hair. you were so pretty. i don’t know how i ended up having you as my girlfriend, but it’s the best thing i could’ve ever experienced. 

i know you’re sad. i know you’re angry. i’m frustrated too. i meant it when i said i wanted to show the photos to our kids. i meant it every single time i said i love you. because i am truly in love with you. every part of you. and nothing will ever change that. in another lifetime we will reunite once again. i will always be with you. don’t ever be scared. we keep this love in a photograph. we made all of these memories for ourselves.

so you can keep me, hidden in the pocket of your ripped jeans. you won’t ever be alone. wait for me to come home.” 

you look at the photo which fell to the floor while you were reading the letter. quiet laughs mixed with sobs come out of your mouth when you remember that day. forever you will have this memory. captured in a photograph. 

[hyukalyptus]

happy birthday — bestfriend!taehyun x virgin!reader | taehyun (kinda) giving reader her first orgasm. NSFW/MDNI!

cw. joi (f. receiving), nipple play, use of sex toys, reader is a virgin and has never had an orgasm, masturbation, fingering, pet names (good girl, pretty girl, baby), fem/afab reader. notes. i'm reposting works from my old account. this one had a cult following and part ii is coming for kinktober!!! smut under cut. wc. 1.6K

“Don’t look at me like that…it’s not that big of a deal.” 

“No, I know it’s not,” Taehyun says. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you being a virgin—there’s nothing wrong with you never experiencing an orgasm before either. That’s not why he was looking at you like this. 

He’s looking at you like this because suddenly, you’re this untouched, innocent, beautiful woman sitting in front of him. And the image of you…fucked out like you’ve never been before, hair all messy, squeaking and squealing, hips grinding against anything would not leave his mind. 

The thought of it—you—plagued his mind over the next few days. He never thought of you this way. You’re his best friend. His best friend that fell in love with strangers at the ice cream store, that was talking to a new guy every time he saw you, that was always so scantily clad. That’s why this was all so unexpected. 

Being a virgin isn’t surprising…but you’ve never even touched yourself? 

Your birthday rolled around and you were still in your life-long dry spell, too nervous to ever take that step with someone else, too nervous to see what all the fuss was about. It can't be that good, can it? After all your festivities died down, Taehyun was still with you at your apartment.

“I can’t believe you didn’t get me a present,” you pout, laying your head on the couch cushion. 

“No, I did,” he says matter-of-factly. “I just wanted to wait until everyone else was gone.”

“Wha—why?” Your head bolts up, attention piqued as he reaches into his coat pocket for a small wrapped box. “Okay…uhm, thanks?” You chuckle awkwardly, starting to unwrap the shiny paper. “But you coulda just—” and there it is. A box with sparks and firetruck-red words, complete with a plastic window revealing a small, red clit vibrator. “Uh…Tae?” Your ears turn as red as the box itself. “I think you meant to give this to someone else?”

“No, no. That’s for you.” You’re in absolute shock. “I just…couldn’t stop thinking about what you told me, which,” he takes a deep breath. “I just felt, like, that was something you really trusted me with…you know, telling me. So,” he says, taking your hand. “I wanted to see if you’d let me make you cum for the first time?”

“You’re joking,” you snort, but he is obviously very serious about this. Big eyes staring at you sternly, eyebrows just barely stitched together, lips pursed. 

“Just let me help you through it the first time? Might make you a little less nervous.”

Oh, how did you end up here? Naked, laying on your back in your bed, Taehyun sitting criss-cross applesauce on the mattress next to you, reading over the user manual of this sex toy. He’d already read them and got a tutorial on how to use it in the store, but he wanted to double check everything. 

“So, go ahead and press and hold—”

“Wait, Tae?” He hums in question. “Um…do you think we could warm up to the sex toy?”

“What, you wanna, like, kiss…?”

“No, just…” you sigh. “Just tell me what to do.” Everything in him shifts. 

“Oh, okay,” he chuckles, wrapping his brain around every little thing he wants to do to you, but this…this is about you. “Squeeze your tit for me.” Slowly trailing your hand up your side, you rest your hand over it at first, the nerves getting the best of you. “Squeeze it for me, okay?” He says. “That’s it…that’s a good girl. You listen so well, hm?” It’s taking everything in him to not take over and fuck you right there, but he wants you to make yourself cum for the first time. 

See, that was the plan the entire time. He wanted to give you the courage and ability to fuck yourself. And that just makes you positively giddy. 

“Lick your fingers…rub them over your nipple.” You follow his instructions. “Try the other…which one feels better?”

“Uh…” you stutter, breathless words on the tip of your tongue. “The right.”

“Rub the right one for a while,” he says. You can hear the smile in his voice. “Close your eyes and take some time to just feel it…tell me how you feel.”

“It feels,” you start, “kinda weird.” Chuckling, you open your eyes to shyly look over at him. But you quickly shut your eyes again, because even though it feels weird…it still feels good. 

“That’s okay. How else does it feel?”

“Feels like…there’s waves washing over me,” you say, chest heaving. “Little waves.” And suddenly—you feel it. You’re wet. You’d been wet before, but this time, it was different. You’d done it to yourself. “Woah,” you gasp, rolling your hips. 

“That’s it…just like that, baby—oh, can I call you that?”

“Please,” you groan, throwing your head back. You found your hand traveling toward your clit. 

“Don’t touch yourself yet. Just keep rubbing that pretty nipple of yours, okay?” You nod, but this is torture. You’ve never felt this before and he’s making you hold back? What a jerk. “Now, I want you to cup your pussy. Just put your hand over it and let your hand rest there for a bit.”

You laugh out loud, “What’s that gonna do?”

“Just do it.” 

You shrug, following his instructions that you disagree with, but hey—maybe he knows something you don’t. Your hips keep up a little rhythm while your hand rests there, just teasing yourself. He was right. That son-of-a-bitch was right. It’s a teasing technique and it works. 

You let out this embarrassing whine and he says, “Told you.” You roll your eyes before— “Rub your nipple again.” 

All you can think is—”When am I gonna be able to use my present?”

“Soon, I promise,” he says. “Take your fingers and feel how wet you are.”

You do as you’re told and your mouth drops open. You’re absolutely, positively soaking. “Oh my god…” you whisper, a cocky smirk appearing on his face. 

“Rub your clit…just barely.” And you do exactly that—just barely touching yourself, which you’ve never done. So this is a big moment for you. And for a moment, you’re simply proud of yourself. You can’t pinpoint why you were so nervous to do this, but you must admit, it does feel right having him here for this. 

“Now, take your toy,” you’re eager—almost too eager. “Flip it on to the lowest setting.” 

“How is this supposed to touch my clit? Won’t it hurt?” It felt a bit too strong for you, but—

“No, it’ll feel good, I promise.” He broke his one rule—his palm graced your hip, but he stops himself before he could touch you too much. “Rub your lips a bit…” you’re so, so, so eager to let me touch my clit, please. “Do you even know where your clit is?”

And it hits you. No, you don’t. 

He chuckles, “So cute. Why don’t you try and find it for me, baby?” You start moving the tip of the vibrator around yourself, nothing truly hitting the spot. It feels…fine, but not great. You’re simply testing the waters. A little poke here—no, a little poke there—nope. That is until—

“Oh…oh…oh, holy fuck.” You throw your head back, back arching, letting out the sexiest moan anyone has ever heard before. 

“Find it?” You’re already gasping for air, gripping the sheets with your free hand. “No, rub your nipple with your other hand.” You nod lazily, reaching up for yourself and it’s honestly starting to get a bit too much. “Turn it up.” You click it again, and your hips start to shake. 

Something’s building in your stomach. You don’t know what, you’ve never felt like this before, but something’s about to happen. “I think…I think I’m gonna—”

“Stop,” he says sternly and you stop, taking the toy off your clit, thinking something’s wrong. 

“What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, I just wanna build it up a bit,” he says. You giggle, laying your head back down and starting completely over. All the way to rubbing your nipples, cupping your pussy, starting off at the lowest setting of the vibrator while he whispers dirty things to you. 

Don’t you dare cum until I tell you to.

You’re not gonna cum that quickly, baby. You’ve got yourself your first sex toy and think you know everything now, hm?

Your first is gonna feel so fucking good…you’re so lucky you get to experience your first orgasm like this. 

It’s been an hour. An hour. You’ve been teasing yourself for an hour. Tears are streaming down your cheeks, your skin is hot, your hips have a mind of their own. The only thing you know to do anymore is beg. Just “Please, Tae…please, please, please let me cum.” 

You’ve brought yourself to the edge again—for the sixth time that evening—and you fully expect him to tell you to stop, but when you tell him you’re close, he says, “That’s a good girl. Go ahead. You’ve been such a good girl for me.”

“I can cum?” You almost don’t believe it. You almost cry tears of joy. He hums and you finally let yourself go. Your body feels like…nothing you’ve ever felt before. It’s a euphoric bliss that has your legs trembling, hips stuttering, mouth whimpering. Everything just feels so good. 

And he praises you through every last second of it. “That’s my pretty girl, cumming so good for me,” he moans. “Just feel so good for me, please. That’s it. Just like that.”

You think you may have blacked out a bit, you’re not sure, but once you’ve recovered enough, you open your eyes to be met by his big, brown ones. “Oh, hey, Tae.”

“Hey, cutie,” he smiles. “Did that feel good?”

You’re laying on your side, still fully catching your breath, arm over your eyes in disbelief, legs flinching every once in a while. “Yeah, that felt…wow…thank you.”

“No worries,” he smiles. “Happy birthday.”

[oharamwah]

what about talking to miguel but only with ur eyes like before he makes a decision he looks at his Fem Spidey S/o and is looking at Reader and is like "u agree with this honey?" And she nods and takes an extended blink to give her approval? And they don't say a thing it's just eye contact! I just think it'd be so cute!! Plis write some headcannons or a drabble I'd really appreciate it! 😭🙏

ଓ — shy and naïve miguel can’t think for himself when he’s overworked.

boyfriend!miguel x fem spidey!reader

contents : early days of spider society, like PRE gabi… miguel dealing with exhaustion + anxiety.

i’m not sure if this is exactly what anon wanted? but i hope you angels like this one as much as i do !!!

august 15th - to be edited

© oharamwah, please do not steal my work

miguel always been one to work til he drops, that’s something that everyone knows. giving up never was and never will be an option for him, although it took him a while to gain such security within himself.

if there’s one person who miguel isn’t ashamed of asking for help from, it’s you, his long term girlfriend. you were dating long before you both became spider.. people. he doesn’t just love you. he trusts your judgement, and trust is a big thing for him. he’s never relied on somebody else’s opinion so much to the point where he’d found himself glancing at them for approval during meetings, yet there you were. sitting cutely in your self designed spidersuit with your legs criss-cross-applesauce as your head tilted while listening to miguel among your other spider-colleagues.

he was extra uncoordinated this morning, feeling a bit nervous as he proposed an idea that had never been attempted before. he was even more unable to concentrate with the lack of sleep and all. this didn’t go unnoticed either, practically everyone in the room looked at him with knitted brows as he placed ums and erms between every sentence. he felt himself growing insecure. his hesitance and exhaustion was showing and it made him feel weak, afraid of never having anyone’s respect. nothing felt right except for looking at you.

you being the only person who wasn’t throwing him a weird stare, sitting comfortably on the chair closest to his.

you who’s lips were pursed together into a flat little smile, one that miguel finds comfort in whenever he comes back from a particularly tiring fight. and your eyes, they were so kind, relaxed. you were listening patiently.

he stuttered the last sentence of his plans, but with a clearing of his throat he concluded his presentation and waited for feedback. well.. mostly your feedback.

his eyes saw nothing else but you, waiting for you to throw him one of your sweet little nods. you weren’t stupid, you knew this. you knew he was feeling a bit stumped that day. and to ensure he wasn’t embarrassed any further, you didn’t say anything. all you did was shut your eyes for a little over a second, slightly scrunching your nose and keeping that smile plastered on your face.

and to top it off, he felt your fingertip gently tapping on his knee before your whole hand was cupped around it, softly squeezing it but just tight enough for him to feel the warmth it emitted.

suddenly the man before you was back to his old self. growing confident in his words, confident that his ideas were logical, ethical. the tired and unsure miguel regained security of himself once again.

##

bonus bit : ♡

by the end of the meeting, everyone else had left the room, immediately forgetting everything miguel said and chatting away with each other. you remained planted in your seat as your eyes fixated on his shoulders. he was standing in front of a whiteboard with his arms crossed and one knee bent, the adjacent foot tapping a steady beat.

“i thought your idea was great, papi.” you said, finally getting up from your seat to place a hand on his shoulder. you could tell he was tense, still a bit upset about the outcome of the meeting.

“i’m not very good at expressing myself.” he said softly.

“you are,” you replied, rubbing up and down on his biceps, “you just need to be more confident miguel. you’re incredible and you know it, they just have to be able to hear it from the back of the room.” you said.

all he could do was turn his head slightly to look at you, and copy paste your signature pursed lip smile. he furrowed his brows tenderly, appreciating your comfort but unable to say it out loud. you knew, though, so you just smiled back.

[my-own-walker]

Someone You've Never Seen Before

A Kyle Spencer Fan Fiction

frat!kyle AU, fem!main character, sexual themes, mature language, use of drugs and alcohol, frat boy antics

11.

note: italicized text is a flashback

Our night ended with Kyle dropping me off outside the apartment, punctuated with a small kiss. A goodbye kiss. On each other's lips. At that moment, I didn't care where we stood, or what we were. I just accepted the small act of intimacy and went on my way. I was dizzy, blindsided by the onslaught of emotion. 

I had to see him the next day in class, or at least, that's the way Hannah of the recent past would have viewed it. It was more like, I got to see him the next day. I had the privilege and pleasure of seeing him so soon after everything went down. The forced proximity sent me into a frenzy.

I took extra care in choosing my outfit, putting on makeup, and making sure my hair was brushed for once. I looked so presentable, in fact, that I got the third degree from Lily as I was on my way out.

"You look...nice," she remarked from her seat on the sofa, hesitancy in her voice. She sat criss-cross-applesauce with a bowl of cereal in her hand. Her pretty blonde hair was thrown up into the messiest of buns, mascara smudged down her face.

"You're skipping class again," I shot back, trying to rush out the door, mimicking her tone.

"Hey, hey, no need for all of that," she called out. I stopped and spun around to face her. "I just mean, like, why?"

"I happen to think I look nice every day," I snarked. "And does there have to be a reason for it?"

"Well, I dunno, Han," Lily shrugged, putting a spoonful of Cheerios in her mouth. "I mean, you disappeared for hours yesterday, I barely got to talk to you when you came home, but you seemed happy, and now you have a sick-ass outfit on."

I stepped closer to her and rested my weight on one foot, popping my hip and crossing my arms over my chest. "None of that correlates."

"Defensive, defensive, Hannah," she tutted. "I'm just a best friend taking an interest."

"Okay, I'll take an interest, too," I returned. "Where were you last night, Lily Davies?"

She put her bowl of cereal down in her lap and covered her face with her hands. "A whore never reveals her secrets," she murmured, muffled by her palms over her mouth.

"Well, I love you," I laughed, changing the subject, "but I must go if I want to make it to class on time."

Lily lifted her face and smiled at me. "Bye, Han," she replied. "I love you most."

The lecture hall was empty when I arrived, just the way I liked it. I took my usual seat and pulled out my materials, sitting in wait for Kyle's arrival. I looked at some things on my phone to pass the time and I tried really hard not to stare at the door each time it squeaked open. 

Professor Edwards arrived and began leafing through his papers, preparing to hand back Friday's quizzes. The hall began to fill up pretty decently. I shifted anxiously in my seat.

Finally, I felt the air next to me change in the way it does when someone takes up the space next to you. I inhaled deeply and took in the unmistakable scent of Kyle. 

"Hey," he breathed, putting a hand on my arm. I breathed out and looked up, meeting his eyes. He smiled softly at me and laughed. "I'm always late, I know."

"I never noticed," I giggled, sarcastically.

He reached for my hand and laced his fingers between mine, squeezing for a moment before releasing it to grab his things out of his backpack.

+

Water came as a welcome bounty, spilling onto my skin from the shower head. The warmth spread over me like a welcome hug. I felt my life wrap gently around me as well, the sweet joys of new endeavors and passions. A small hum rose from the depths of my throat. 

It had been two weeks since our date, or, well, it had been a little long. It was September 27 when I stood in the shower, reflecting on him and me, whatever we had going on. 

For more than fourteen straight days, Kyle and I found reasons to see each other. Every single day. As far as Lily and Archie and every other person in our lives were concerned, we were getting a hell of a lot done on our "math project." We worked on it, sure. So much so that we were practically done, but no one needed to know that.

Most of our time spent together, though, was spent stealing glances, making each other laugh, learning about each others' interests, and curating the perfect joint playlist. We met in the library, at coffee shops, and on park benches between classes. I spent time on Thursday nights at his, like usual, but then, also, Tuesday nights.

Those nights got later, as in, I would stumble home in the early hours of the morning. 

"Stay the night, please," Kyle pleaded, tone seeping with worry. We both lounged on his sofa, Kyle sitting upright against the side of the sofa, legs outstretched across its length, and I in between his legs, head resting back against his chest. His arms rested lazily around my form. I could feel his voice rumble through his chest as he spoke.

"Are you coming onto me?" I snarked, turning my head to make eye contact.

"What? I-" he stammered, blush rising to his cheeks.

"You know I'm kidding, Kyle," I assured.

"I just mean like," he stuttered, "like, it's really late. I don't want you walking back this late." As he spoke, he wrapped his arms tighter around me.

I relaxed into him and rested the back of my head against his shoulder. "I know. I gotta get home, though," I contended. "My wife will worry."

"Lily can last one night without you," he laughed. "You can sleep on the couch. I just want you safe."

"I will be safe, Kyle," I muttered. I couldn't tell him the truth behind my rush. The truth being that Lily had no idea about the two of us, and she had been blowing up my phone for the last hour, begging me to come home to talk about her boy problems. Studying shouldn't take this long. was the last text she sent. She was right. And that's because we weren't studying. We were making out.

"Can you at least kiss me again before you leave?" he bargained. 

Without a word, I turned my body and laid a long, passionate kiss on him, before standing to gather my things.

I thought about him constantly, and I wanted to be near him always. When we weren't together, we were texting. Lily definitely knew I had something going on, but my pride refused to let her know the details. She didn't press me on it.

This shower had a purpose. The warm water washed over me, preparing me for my first Friday night out since becoming a "thing" with Kyle. Tri-Delta was hosting and I knew Kyle would be there. He knew I would be there. It was agreed upon by both of us that we would play it cool and not make anything obvious.

I got dress in a white tee, a black skirt, and a pair of beat up converse. I did my makeup and my hair and threw on a jean jacket just before walking out the door with Lily. 

The party was insane, as most were. It was packed from wall to wall with bodies and smelled of liquor. Lily grabbed my hand and dragged me through the crowd, searching for her sorority sisters. 

As we weaved around bodies, I took in who was around us. My gaze landed on Archie and Kyle, standing huddled together against the wall. Archie looked up and locked eyes with me, a strange look on his face. Lily tugged me forward and I continued through toward the Tri-Delta house's kitchen.

Previous Part | Next Part

[epickiya722]

REACTIONS TO EPISODE 12 - THREADS OF HOPE

We're halfway there, folks!

The usual, jokes, guesses, pictures, fangirling over characters.

LAST EPISODE'S REACTIONS

Getting a recap, huh? You know since it is the halfway mark of the season!

Oooh, but why did they have to remind me about Crust?

Izuku sits like me. That has nothing to do with anything, but I sit just like that... has he ever actually criss-cross applesauce? Like, he sits like that a lot.

I'm sorry, I just be noticing things...

Okay, Best Jeanist! Man's coming from the plane with the fibers!! Let's go!!

Imagine being Dabi. Like you just told Japan that Hawks killed Best Jeanist and then not even an hour after the video has been up, you see Best Jeanist coming at you. You unintentionally got proven to be lying about some details. You know how mad I would be?

"I just told everybody..." and see? You should just spilled your own damn business. You should have just expose Endeavor. It would have had the same effect... maybe... I don't know!

Present Mic coming in with the quirk narration! He got a lot of roles in this story...

Aw, Bakugou does care!

"That body was real." You know what, and I thought about this a lot, has anyone in this story realizes that because of how evolved the world has become that anything is possible? Like... it didn't occur to Dabi that maybe Best Jeanist's death could have been faked?

Oooh, love the fire!!

I'M SORRY, the fact that Spinner thought to BITE Tomura to wake him will always be funny to me. 🤣🤣🤣 Especially, when Nejire comes and it's "NO, NO, CRAP! AYO WAKE UP!!"

DABI, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO NEJIRE-CHAN?! WHY?! FIGHT ME!!

Okay, but clap it up for that scream! Yuki Kaji, always serving with his voice acting!

Also Hiro Shimono for Dabi's laughter!! King!!

Looking like some fire demon...

Aw shit, he's waking up.

WAIT!! BURNIN CAN ALSO MAKE WEAPONS LIKE THAT OUT OF HER HAIR?! OMG!!

OH! OH! HE'S COMING!! I KNOW WHO IS MAKING A COMEBACK AND...

HE'S HERE!!! AAAAAAHHH!!! THE ONE, THE ONLY, LEMILLION!!!! 💛💛💛💛

Isn't that that worm from Men in Black 2?

As much as Dabi can hate Endeavor, which is justified, him putting his siblings in danger is just... maybe because I am an eldest sibling that I feel this way. I can hate my parents all I want but using my siblings who are innocent and victims just like me to hurt my parents? Could not be me.

"I don't feel a thing anymore." You. Are. A. Liar!!! Because if you didn't you wouldn't have cared about Twice dying and so on! Nice try!

AND ENDEAVOR JUST STANDING THERE!!

THANK YOU, LEMILLION FOR COMING IN CLUTCH!!! BEST BOY!!! 💛💛💛🌟🌟🌟

I'M SO GLAD BEST JEANIST & LEMILLION GOT IT THIS TIME! THEY DESERVE IT FOR THIS EPISODE!

Mirio is like "nah, fam, six months is too long for me, I'm going to help and you will not stop me".

Aaaw, Eri! And her little cute determined face! Wanting to help out big bro Mirio! Making that my wallpaper!

"That is the reason I started training." Y'all, I am crying! How can someone be so precious?!

OKAY, MY BOY BAKUGOU!!! COMING IN WITH THE NEW SPARKS!!!

HE'S GONNA SAY IT!! HE'S GONNA SAY IT!!

"GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT!!!" HE SAID IT!!!!

Spinner and Mr. Compress, I know you're not calling his name cringy. One, that is a child. Two, one of you decided POLKA DOTS was a fabulous idea of a villain outfit and the other decided to wear a top hat. Also, kinda of responsible for Midnight, so... shush! SHUSH IT!!! I like you both, but shush it, damn it!

That exchange between Bakugou and Mirio. Ha, never change, boys. 😆

I know that's his big brother, but I would not let him hug me after he had made it aware he wants to kill me.

"You're the pitiful one." That is just like a younger sibling. I would know.

BLACKWHIP: FROPPY STYLE!!

"Stay out of our family affair." This is the same guy who just blasted his family business on air. That is hilarious! 🤣

Actually, you know what, Izuku was already in the family business because of Shoto. That is also funny. Like Dabi, my guy, too late. He's already on the Christmas card.

"Todoroki is a precious friend!" STOP PLUCKING AT MY HEARTSTRINGS!! 💚

IT'S DANGER SENSE!!!

FINALLY HE DOES SOMETHING!!

FINALLY HE PASSES OUT!!! SEE, THE SEDATIVE DID WORK!! THANK YOU, HERO STUDENTS!! AND MT. LADY!

*shows Miruko* 😭😭😭😫😫😫 Like that? I don't wanna see it again...

Did she have a splinter in her... now who drew that?

DID THEY HAVE TO SHOW MIDNIGHT?!

I love that Iida calls Bakugou by his full hero name. That's the class rep... THAT WE LOVE!!

"How could you get yourself defeated?" I mean, man's got jumped.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO PUT THAT SPINNER FACE!

OH, IT'S MR. COMPRESS' TIME TO SHINE NEXT EPISODE?! LET'S GO!

Okay, but let's applaud Best Jeanist for coming in because the guy was really holding up while missing... I forgot which organ, so no wonder he was bleeding out!

[marxandangels]

Alastair is yammering away like he has been all night in Dean’s head but joke’s on fucking him, words don’t make any sense right now. He was singing the birthday song for a while but it’s just sound now. Dean is the type of drunk where you start losin track of the meaning of words. People say shit to you and they sound like a cartoon playing backwards. Colors are upside down. The floor is moving. He always panics when he gets here. He’s got blacking out on purpose down to a science, but sometimes he takes one shot too much. A step too far. It’s a balance, yeah? You wanna be senseless but not spinning. He’s sitting on the floor in his motel room, back against the wall and both hands pressed to the gross carpet. Maybe his body can explain to his brain that he’s sitting still.

Suddenly, with a slap of blinding electricity, he’s sober. Cas is standing in front of him and Dean is too disoriented to stand up or do anything but sit there like a dumbass.

“Hello, Dean.”

“Jesus fucking Christ. What’re you doin here?”

“You were praying to me.”

“No, I was fucking not.”

“I heard my name once. After that, it was just wordless panic.”

“Oh. Just drank too much. Thanks, I guess.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Wait. Don’t zap away. Sit down.”

Cas stares at him, face unreadable, for an endless moment. Something stops Dean from saying anything. He could look at Cas’ face forever, now that he’s letting himself. He cranes his neck back, watching the weird, sharp shapes of Cas’ face get even weirder and sharper in the moonlight, get even weirder and sharper from this angle. And then Cas sits down on the floor, criss-cross-applesauce. Huh. Must be Jimmy Novak’s muscle memory. Dean can see a strip of his calves at the top of his dress socks. He has to resist the urge to reach out and touch.

“It’s my birthday.” Stupid.

“I know.”

“You’re supposed to say happy birthday.”

Cas tilts his head in that way that Dean is starting to get fond of. “Is it?”

“Yeah, that’s the thing human beings say.”

“You misunderstand me. Is it happy?”

Dean laughs. “Nah, it’s really not. Tried to drink myself to sleep but it didn’t work.”

“I can put you to sleep. I can make sure you don’t dream. My gift to you, as I believe is customary.”

“Uh, yeah. I’ll take you up on that, but first… Um. Do you wanna watch a movie or something?” He doesn’t wanna be alone. Dean feels himself blush. Fuck. “Unless you have angel shit to do.”

“I don’t have… Angel shit to do at this moment.”

Dean spends his thirtieth birthday watching Boondocks Saints with an angel in a dirty motel room. He asks Cas one question about Catholicism and triggers a monologue about the Protestant schism and how Martin Luther was “the most irritating and pedantic man that has ever walked the Earth, including Slavoj Zizek.” Dean laughs himself into a side stitch and Cas smiles back, not confused like you’d think. He was trying to make Dean laugh.

When Dean can breathe again and asks who the hell Slavoj Zizek is, Cas puts on an insane accent: “There is never a ‘right moment’ for the revolutionary act—the act is always, by definition, ‘premature.’” This sets Dean off again, and Cas laughs a little too. Dean hopes it’s his first laugh. He wants that bragging right.

Thirteen years later and one year sober, they watch it again in their living room. Jack sits on the floor working on a Hello Kitty jigsaw puzzle as he watches and Sam definitely isn’t paying attention, texting Eileen in the big armchair. Cas is falling asleep on Dean’s shoulder. Half asleep, he pulls out the Zizek impression again: “The paradox of love is that it is a free choice, but a choice which never arrives in the present—it is always already made.”

[360iris]

The Invitation (Young!Lucius Malfoy x Reader)

Warnings: Smut, smut, smut! Alcohol comsumption. Finger fucking, overstimulation. Vaginal penatration. Daddy kink, subspace mention. Oral giving and receiving. Pure filth.

Word count: 3,469

Summary: Gryffindor!Reader gets invited to the Slytherin party of the year by her nemesis, Lucius Malfoy. Fun times follow.

A/N: @thotbutpurple​ mentioned my first piece not having enough smut. I hope I delivered! Quite proud of this one, worked on it for nearly a week.

Admittedly, Lucius had caught you under the perfect circumstances. Equal parts tipsy, horny and momentarily separated from your friends. 

Slytherin house had decided to throw another one of their infamous party’s brimming with free booze and food catered by the school’s house elves. 

Over the years, you, like countless other students, had heard the tales of their untamed nights. Admittance being through invite only; of which were handed out secretly and strategically. 

Up until yesterday’s events, you had resigned yourself to the fate of never experiencing the grandeur of the self-proclaimed Slytherin Elite.

Friday, February 10th, 1978

Cutting off poor Frank Longbottom who was usually your lab partner in Potions, Lucius Malfoy, slips into the seat to your left with a low and harsh, “Find another station, you gormless Muppet.”

At this point, it was your natural reaction from hearing his voice, to let out a disgruntled sigh paired with an annoyed eye roll. 

“What do I owe the displeasure of being in your cologne drenched presence today, Malfoy?” You jabbed, in a soft but clearly inconvenienced tone. 

His gray irises narrowed as his thin lips quirked up to the side in a laidback smirk.

 He enjoyed your pointed jabs. So much so that he would go out of his way, on the daily, to verbally prod you until you couldn’t take being in the same vicinity as him anymore. Your unpleasant interactions with the older boy usually ended with you storming off enraged to go rant to your friends about how much of an absolute cunt he was. 

“I come bearing gifts, Y/N. One of which I firmly believe you won’t be able to resist accepting.” He drawled.

Inwardly, you had to admit, this piqued your curiosity however, you decided to mask it by turning away from his irritatingly, attractive visage and towards a piece of parchment Professor Slughorn distributes to the class.

“And this so-called gift is what exactly?” You questioned, careful to keep your eyes trained off of him. A task that was quickly shoved aside when a pale hand slid a single, silver metallic stamp into view. It was no bigger than a galleon. Finely embellished with the words: Salazar Slytherin’s Spectacular Soirée.

Your eyes bulged and mouth gaped as you couldn’t help but snap your head to look at his face once more. “Lucius!” You whispered in absolute surprise. 

“That can’t be what I think it is.” You continue after a sharp inhale.

He tilts his head as he takes in your clearly enthralled reaction, not replying to your statement. 

You take a moment to compose yourself. Drawing your hands into small fists on the desk and letting out a silent but deep exhale. 

You didn’t need to ask why he would gift this to you of all people. Lucius’ verbal prodding had been getting progressively more consistent once you’d entered your seventh year this semester. 

Like most girls turning 18, your inherently childish ways had vanished; awkward appearances for the most part altered and morphed during the summer spent away from Hogwarts. Hips slowly filling out and breasts becoming distinguished. Meanwhile, your library of insults to throw at him became more deadly and varied. 

You could play his game better than he expected you to now.

You crossed your legs underneath your skirt, steeling your expression. You leaned forward to lay your chin against your right palm and turned your gaze towards him. Making a show of looking him up and down before quietly whispering: 

“All this just to fuck me huh, Malfoy?” His face stills and demeanor changes. Tongue-tied by your change of tone.

You proceed with a nonchalant, “Your mind must be plagued with questions of just how pretty and pink my pussy is. I’m right aren’t I, sweetheart?”

You observe his jaw lock in place.

“Do you want to brag to your spineless lackeys about how you were the first one to fuck that cocky, Gryffindor halfblood? I bet you wouldn’t wait to boost over how all you had to do was touch her once, call her a filthy, little mudblood and she’d come like a bitch without a pedigree.”

His eyes darken and fists clench so tightly that they turn whiter than you thought possible for him; as you inwardly muse over if he was becoming horny or infuriated. Maybe it was both, but you wouldn’t stick around to see the outcome. He was a deadly bomb waiting to go off.

Pursing your lips, looking him over once more, you decide to leave him with, “Nice chat. I’ll see you around then, Lucius.” 

Agilely, you gather your things. Sauntering over to Professor Slughorn and quietly feeding him a contrived lie about how it’s that time of the month and you didn’t think you’ll be able to sit through today’s lecture; effectively earning yourself leave from the classroom.

As Lucius sits, daftly staring at your back as you make your escape. If he wasn’t previously furious from listening to your small beratement, he most definitely is when he glances down to see the silver stamp invite missing from where he had placed it on the table.

 “That bloody minx.” He seethes under his breath.

Having made your speedy getaway and in the clear for the moment, you decide to make a beeline to the Gryffindor common room where you know your friends are spending their free period. 

Remus, who is the first to notice you entering the warm lounging area, stands up at your arrival and walks to meet you halfway. 

“Y/n, aren’t you supposed to be in Potions right now? Did something happen?” He questions, his brows beginning to furrow. Sirius and James who are seated next one another mid-laugh immediately turn their heads in your direction.

Not stopping your power walk, you reach out and grasp one of his hands and pull him with you towards the boy’s dormitory entrance. “Padfoot, Prongs! Up, up!” You urgently whisper in their vicinity. 

Once the door is securely locked behind the four of you, Sirius questions you, “Alright, spit it out. What’s got your panties in a twist this time, Y/L/N?”

You ignore him, haphazardly tossing your book-bag on the floor next to James’ bed; of which you proceed to throw yourself onto the edge of, letting out a cheerful giggle. 

“Boys. I’ve just been bestowed one the greatest gifts a Hogwarts senior could ask for. One of which, you lot would have never been able to get your hands on. So you must now bask in my glory!” You jokingly proclaim, yanking off your school shoes before pulling your legs into criss cross-applesauce. Incapable of caring that your underwear is now in the boy’s lines of sight.

“And what is this gift exactly, oh great benefactor?” James questions, sitting on the floor in front you, folding his arms atop your lap and leaning his head forward on them with a fond smile. 

Your fingers absentmindedly glide and fiddle through his chaotic curls. “I don’t know, you might not be able to handle the excitement. I fear you might faint from the shock of the reveal!” You continue to jest.

“I best take a seat before you continue then.” Remus grins, plopping down next you on the bed, giving you his undivided attention. This of which, causes Sirius to scoff. 

“Dish it already, woman. At the pace you’re going, I’ll be a skeleton by time you finally tell us what the big deal is.” He sarcastically jabs folding his arms briskly. Instead of moving away from the door, he leans his back against it and crosses one leg over the other. His gaze lazily quizzical as you roll your eyes at his apprehension. 

“Sirius, you’re no fun sometimes, but if you’re in such a hurry to cum your pants then here it is.” You reply, reaching the hand that’s not currently tangled in James’ hair, to triumphantly pull out a small, silver stamp from the inside of your bra and present it for the group to see.

There are mixed reactions to the reveal. 

James scrunches his nose up in mock disgust, Sirius freezes and Remus placing one hand on your shoulder, leaning forward to get a better look. And then the questions begin.

“What is it?”

“Oh, it just happens to be a pass into one of Slytherin house’s craziest parties of the year, James dear.”

“How’d you even manage to get your hands on one of these?”

“Like I said, it was a gift, Remus.”

“Be honest, Y/n. What poor sod did you steal it from?”

“For your information I didn’t have to steal it. Lucius Malfoy just handed it to me for nothing.” You say matter-of-factly at which he first gapes before proceeding to fume. 

The conversation that continued from then on took a tiny bit of convincing on your end, but all three boys agreed in the end to come with you. No one in their right mind would let a chance like this go by.

Saturday, February 11th, 1978

“If you think you could pull the stunt you did yesterday and waltz in here today without having to answer to me, you’re gravely mistaken, lionet.” Lucius whispers into your ear and you just happen to be in the mood to challenge him further.

“I don’t think I’ve made even one mistake though, Daddy.” You coo back to him. Batting your eyelashes up at him and with a quick smirk you bring your cup of fire whiskey back to your lips for a sip.

With one hand he grabs your hips and pushes your back flush with the wall behind you. The other reaching under the skirt you’re wearing and pausing right at the hem.

“Prod me one more time, doll. I guarantee I’ll have you crying your pretty little eyes out.” He growls into your neck and this time you openly giggle up at him.

“I thought you knew that’s what I wanted, baby?” was the last thing you drawled out before the next thing you know, he’s dragging you further away from the main party, into a small reading room. 

Closing the door behind you two, he leads you to sit down on one of the ottomans in the middle of the room.

“I’ll let you in on a secret, Y/N. A small part of your observation from yesterday was correct.” He says undoing the tie around his neck and bunching it up. Before you could question him further, he gingerly stuffs it in-between your mouth.

“Can't risk having anyone hearing the cute little moans you'll be letting out for me. I want all the time I can get from you tonight, lionet.” Is all he offers as an explanation.

Rubbing your thighs together to aid in soothing your gradually aching cunt, you watch as he gets on his knees in front of you.

“I’ve spent countless months thinking of this stupid, fucking pussy of yours and tonight I’m determined to have it creaming all over my cock.” He's gazing at you intensely while his hands are reaching to pull off your undies.

Not being able to actually respond around your makeshift gag, you settle for lifting your hips so he can get to pleasing you quicker.

As the minutes pass, the soberer you become but Lucius’ arousing words continue to sway you into a pliant and silent submission. 

Never in a million years did you think you would willing want Lucius Malfoy to fuck you senseless but the closer you get to having him, the more sure you are of it. You pray to Morgana that he leaves your cunt an absolute mess.

Once you’re free from your undergarment, he pulls you by your thighs until your ass is flush against the edge of the couch.

He pushes your knees back against your chest to get full access to your core, “Daddy wants you to keep your thighs nice and wide for him so he can wreck your little pussy, okay?” He questions and you let out a muffled sob of your confirmed understanding.

“Good girl” is all he replies before he gets to work. Spreading the lips with two fingers, he examines just how pink you are down there, seemingly pleased because immediately after, he springs into action.

His mouth cups around your clit, starting off slow and light to ease you into the pleasure before increasing the intensity. 

He begins alternating between sucking and lapping at your bud while a single finger makes its way to your slit. Leisurely dragging the pad in your wetness before sliding it inside you, centimeter by centimeter, until it’s gone as far it can go. 

Thrusting the one finger in and out until he feels your insides are soaked and loose enough for the next. 

By the time you’re comfortablely taking four fingers fucking into you, your arousal is dripping down his wrist and you’re nearing your first orgasm.

“Lu- Lucius!” You manage to drool out through the thickness of his tie, catching his attention. 

“Luci- I’m close!” You try to sob out and he responds by sucking and lapping at your clitorus intenser than before. His tongue rubbing just the right angle and you can’t help but let out a small squeal as your body is raked over with a white flash of euphoria.

He eases you through it with softer and softer laps as you squeeze your thighs to your chest with a vice grip. He licks up the remainder of your cum before coming up to remove the tie from your mouth and pull you into an enticing kiss. 

As your breathing relaxes, he pulls his lips away. “How was that, sweetheart? Did Daddy make your little cunt feel good like he promised?” He coos, caressing your shoulders to soothe you further.

Fighting to get your words back you mewl, “Mmhmm, thank you Daddy. Felt really good, just like you promised. Do you think I’ve been good enough to have your cock though?” you ask looking up at him through wet lashes. His immediate response is a moan. 

How is it that you know just what to say to rile him up? He wonders.

Picking you up, he takes your place on the couch. Pulling off his trousers and underwear, finally freeing his cock, it swings upright against his tummy. Scooting to leisurely lean back, he places you in his lap as you take a minute to admire his member. It’s thick and hard with a raging reddish-pink tip, leaking a small amount pre-cum. 

Your core throbs and there’s no way you’re not gonna suck him off before getting him inside of you. Before you can scuttle off his lap however, his hands are gripping your hips. “Where are you going, love? I thought you wanted my cock?” He questions with a smirk. 

Of course Lucius would make you beg to suck him off, you think, responding with a desperate moan. You try to lean in for a kiss but a hand flies up to hold your jaw in place. Squishing your cheeks and mouth together.

“Ah ah.” He tuts. “You know what to do, baby.” 

You let out a defiant whine and the hand around your cheeks grip tightens. 

“Daddy just told you to beg, you fucking whore.” He growled, giving your head a slight jerk back and you melt against him. 

Grasping at his shoulders and trying to keep yourself from swooning, you respond with, “Wanna suck your cock, Daddy. Can I make you feel good please? You can even fuck my throat. Let me be a good girl for you.” you whimper through his grip and he just smiles at you before pulling you in for the kiss you wanted.

“That’s all you had to say, little lionet. Come on, let Daddy slide down your throat.” He grins and you practically fly down from his lap to get his penis in your mouth.

Moaning when his pre-cum hits your tongue, you immediately lick up and down his length. Getting as much spit around him as possible before beginning to use your hands to jerk him off. Lapping at his tip all the way to sucking his balls between your lips. 

All he can do is whisper softly  “Fuck fuck fuck, yes- ah that’s a good girl. My little girl is such a good slut for me.”  before you come up to start deepthroating him and then his head is lolled back against the couch, gently holding both sides of your face as his tip hits the back of your throat.

Pulling you off of him by the hair at the nape of your neck, he has to take deep inhales and exhales “I wanna come in you, sweetheart.” He groans, caressing your hair.

Once he’s recovered enough, he lifts you to sit back on his lap, this time facing away from him. 

You lean forward grasping his knees while he fingers you to make sure you’re ready to take him. “Alright, Angel.” He groans, licking his newly wet fingers to taste your arousal once more before reaching around to rub slow circles against your clit.

As you slide onto him, leaning your back against his chest, the room fills with your collective sighs and moans of pleasure.

He begins to set the pace, starting with slow pulls out of your heat before using your weight to pull you back down onto him firmly. Experiencing such euphoria that coherent speech begins to elude you. The both of you too lost in the pleasure to say anything other than “Yes, yes, yes! Right there, fuck me!” mixed with slurred moans and sighs.

His fingers rubbing your clit in circles, fastens in pace and soon your second orgasm knocks into you so hard that all you can do is grip his wrist and thigh, convulsing helplessly around him. 

As you’re climaxing, Lucius fuzzily notices that you’re squirting. All that can be heard from your lips is a fucked out wail and he’s sure he’s in love. 

He’s fucked you through your orgasm and the pleasure is gradually escalating into overstimulation. Your body locking in place as he maintains the same pace, rocking into you. 

“Luci- fuck! Lucius!” You’re crying now, thrown deep into subspace.

“Come on Angel, let me give you one more. Think you can manage one more orgasm, hm?” He asks desperately fucking into you like he’s starved of pleasure.

“Can you handle it, babygirl?”

“O- Okay!” Literally sobbing now from the buildup. He’s fucking you like you’ve never experienced before. 

“It hurts so good, Luci- you’re fucking me so good!” You cry out, both of you racing towards the end. 

One last thrust does it and he grabs you by the waist to bring you down on him. You let a blissed out scream and he’s resting his forehead against your back breathing heavily. Warmth spreading in your stomach as he releases into you. He gives a few thrusts before pulling out.

You’re feeling fuzzy as he cleans your inner thighs and face off. He sprinkles kisses from your legs to your lips, praises peppering your ego. 

“You were such a good girl for me.”

“Look at you baby. So pretty.”

“Good job, love.”

“You were wonderful, little lionet.”

Pulling your panties back on for you, he’s pleased knowing his come is still inside you. “Something to remember me by.” He says before pulling you into one last kiss for the night. It’s slow and soft and as your coherent mind is making its way back into your body, you register how tender he’s being.

Pulling back from his lips, you stare into his eyes. “I hope you’re aware that you can’t fuck me that good and expect it to be a one time fling.” You state smiling, fingers grasping at his sides and he laughs.

“I was never planning for it to be, doll.” He replies, slipping a strand of hair behind your ear. “Now run along back to your miscreant friends. I’ll finish cleaning up here.” He pats your butt, pushing you towards the door and with a roll of your eyes, you head out.

After turning a few corners you immediately bump into Sirius who looks over you with a raised brow. 

“What?” You ask, pulling back.

“Nothing, you just look like you got fucked into next year though.” He barks out. Laughing his head off, pointing out your makeup that’s missing in action and hair completely unstyled. You elbow him in the stomach feeling suddenly sheepish.

“Shut up and help me find the others. I’m in desperate need of a shower.” And you can’t help but chuckle with him, his laugh being undeniably contagious.

“Whatever you say. I think I saw James challenging some random sod to an arm wrestling match.”

[wordynerdygurl]

The Guy

Author’s Note:  Hello my lovelies!  I have to say, I love writing requests and taking part in Challenges.  It helps me sharpen my skills!  But, with the insane way the world is right now, I offered to participate in one... then lost the details.  So, with my sincere appreciation for @lancsnerd​ ,who kindly sent me a reminder about my missing “assignment”, I present the following! Summary/ Prompt:  A quote of “He’s the guy” and my boy, Loki Pairing:  Female Reader x Loki Warnings:  Swearing, Implied Smut, Fluff, Soft Loki

“Are you gonna tell me what I want to know?  Or… do we have to do this the hard way?”  Gravel filled and low, the Winter Soldier had you pinned against the rough brick wall, his metal arm holding your wrists together.

“Ooph!  Bucky!  Get off!”  “Make me, princess!”  

Kicking your legs free, you swung around Bucky, locking him in a bear hug from behind.  Squeezing him with your thighs, your forearms wrapped around his strong neck, “Tap out, Buck!” Wheezing, staggering back, Bucky tried spinning you around but even his metal arm was unable to grab you, “Never!” Applying more pressure to his windpipe, you grunted, “Give me the win!” “No way”, you felt his hard hand grip your thigh, breaking your hold.  Suddenly you were untethered, above your feet was the ceiling of the gym, and then there was no breath in your lungs.  Bucky had managed to flip you over and slam you down onto the waiting mat with reverberating force.  Gasping loudly, you curved up to meet Bucky’s waiting hand, “You alright, doll?”

Shaking your head, sitting up, “That was a dirty trick, Barnes.  I had you and you know it.” “Yea… but you still haven’t answered my question, so I couldn’t let you win.”  Pulling you to your feet easily, Bucky threw his arms around you, his warm hug an easy way to make sure there would be no lasting damage from your sparring session. “Why do you want to know so bad?”  Lowering yourself to the workout bench, forearms resting on your knees, you kept a close watch on your sparring partner. Tossing you a towel, Bucky grabbed both of your water bottles, sitting down on the mat in front of you.  Wiping the sweat away from your forehead, slugging down the cool water, you kicked at the super soldier sitting criss cross applesauce.  Leaning back, resting his weight on his arms stretched behind him, “Because...  I worry about you.  I want to make sure you’re safe… and I want to believe this guy is good enough for you.” Considering his words, you snapped your bottle shut, nodding, “I get it, Bucky.  I really do.  I’m just… not ready to talk about it.” Sensing your hesitation, Bucky patted your knee, “Just know that I’m here when you are ready.  And if he fucks up, I’ll kill him.” Laughing, you stood up with a groan, “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind!” At dinner that night, Steve knocked into your shoulder, “Hey kiddo.”

“Hey Stevie!  How are you?” “It’s spaghetti night, what more does a guy need?”  It was an easy exchange, making you chuckle as he loaded a plate high with pasta and sauce before settling himself into the chair next to you. Unfolding a napkin to lay over his trousers, “Bucky told me you’ve met someone?” Flicking your eyes to the Winter Soldier, who all of the sudden was very interested in something Tony was saying, you munched on your garlic bread.  Swallowing thickly and patting your mouth clean, you turned to Steve, “Oh, he did huh?” “Yes… but he says you won’t give up this guy’s name?”  Concern was present on your friend’s face.  While you appreciated Steve's sentiment, it wasn't necessary, not entirely.  You knew what you were doing and you didn't want to be talked out of it, even by your well intentioned friends.

"I don't know why everyone cares so much.  He's a guy… I'm a girl… it's traditional and boring."

Swirling a fork through his saucy plate, lifting those dutiful blue eyes to yours, "So why the secrecy?"

Chewing, thoughtful, you considered Steve's question.  It was valid.  You were quick to acknowledge that, answering, "Um… because we're still in that love bubble.  Ya know?"

Chiming in, Bucky curious now, "Love bubble?  I don't know what that is… what does that mean?  Love bubble?"

"It's that time in a new relationship when… um… it's like…" words failing, you desperately tried to give structure to your argument.

Interrupted by Loki, sulking at the end of the long table, "She doesn't want to share her paramore.  Greedily, she wants to keep the pair in a love bubble.  Separate and safe from any interference.  Unpopped, if you will."

"Is that true? You don't want us to bug you?"  Bucky's eyes widened at the thought.

Shrugging, you dug around for another meatball, "Kinda… Look, it's not that I don't love you, Buck.  Or that I don't trust you, Steve.  It's just… all of you can be a lot to deal with.  And-" looking at the faces of each of your Avenger friends, "-my… guy… I really, really like him.  I don't want to scare him away."

Admitting it out loud, that was taking a lot of your courage but you were being completely honest.  This guy, he was just about perfect and you didn't want to blow that by bringing him around your overprotective people so soon.  Natasha, the group's mama bear, smiled.  "Seems reasonable to me.  Give her some time, fellas… if he's half as great as she says, we'll like him well enough."

Steve, smiling a little in your direction, "I don't know who he is… but it seems like he makes you happy!"

Bucky, over protective, kept hounding you, "When will I get to meet him?"

"Soon, Buck.  I promise." 

"I wonder who it is… this man you care about so much that you're protecting him from us, your dearest friends!"  It was Loki, musing from afar that made the observation, his sharp eyes on you.

"I told you-" It was Tony’s turn to interrupt, loudly calling, “FRIDAY?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark?” “Start a pool.  Five dollar buy in, guesses on who this guy is… whoever has the winning answer gets the kitty!” “Tony!  Not cool!  And, not necessary!  You guys don’t really need to do this!”  But your protests went unheard as chatter erupted and a round of bills were flung on the table. Steve, murmuring to Bucky across the table, “What was that guy at the coffee shop?  Cameron?  Carson?” Snapping his fingers, Bucky answered, “Carlton!”

“He’s my guess, Tony.”  “Shit, Steve.  That’s not fair… but, ok.  Ok, my guess is Matt.  That guy from the pizza place who kept bringing extra chicken fingers for you!  You’d never admit to a date with him!”  Bucky, smug and pleased, sat back content with his detective work.

“Natasha?  Thoughts?”  Tony was typing away, his interface with FRIDAY recording all the back and forth, compiling the list of possible boyfriend candidates. Tapping her lip, Nat watched you, “Hmm… Is it Warren?  The kid from China Star who rode the Kawasaki and always wanted to take you for a ride?”

Clint leaned over you, grabbing a breadstick as he threw down a ten, “I want to put Charles, from the IT department on the list… and Juan, the recycling rep.  Both of those guys follow you around like puppies and I could see you taking pity on at least one of them!” “Nope.  No way!  She went out with Charles once already.  He was the guy who ate her french fries at dinner.  Big No-No!”  “Rhodes, how do you remember that shit?  Fine, not Charles then.  What about Frankie?  The dude from the diner?”  Clint asked the assembled team, looking for someone to back him up.

Mortified, hiding behind your hands, you grimaced.  The list, it kept growing, and you could feel icy eyes of judgement lighting you up from across the room.  You knew you’d have to answer questions later.

Jane, having joined Thor at the table, was getting caught up on your situation.  Conspiring with her Norse God of a boyfriend, she chuckled, slapping a bill on the table with the announcement, “Our money is on Loki.”

Silence overtook the room.  Everybody stared at the small, brunette scientist, evaluating if her suggestion was real or a joke.  A guffaw broke out of you and quickly gathered steam, propelling you directly into a hiccup filled giggle fit.  In a flash everyone joined in, the idea of you and Loki being together was at once so hilarious and unbelievable. It was also diverting enough that the talk of your love life died completely.  Grateful and satisfied, you finished dinner without any other questions, even offering to do the dishes.  While you were scraping remnants into the compost bucket, you felt the room’s temperature drop, noticing that Loki had slid into the room, "Love bubble is it?"

Dropping the plates into the sink, plunging your hands into the soapy water, his strong ones glide over your shoulders, "Yes.  I'm really enjoying our little bubble of love."

“Me too.”  Pressing a small kiss to the curve of your neck, Loki pulled your body close, hugging you tightly from behind.  As Loki was nearly a foot taller than you, it was nothing to tip your head up, his welcome mouth finding yours for a soft kiss.  Curving your back, your bottom rubbed against his pelvis, his desire already rising. “Although, they had a lot of suggestions, my innocent little kitten.  Should I be worried?” Shaking your head, “No.  None of those… meatballs compare with you, Loki.” “Good.  That makes me glad… and I’m pleased to know how coveted you are, my pet.”  Roving hands took the liberty of sliding under the hem of your shirt, fingertips just grazing over your bra covered breasts.

Sighing into Loki’s loving touch, “Not that you were much help!"

"What can I say?  I like seeing you squirm"  his lethal voice purred, warm against your ear.

Pirouetting in his arms, your damp hand brushing back a strand of dark curls, "Jane almost gave us away.” A small smile, almost sad, pulled down Loki’s lips, “Is the idea of you loving me so hilarious?”

“Not to me.”

His head dipped, lowering those pink lips to your own, almost colliding… when laughter, drawing near, broke your moment of connection. Effectively ending your private chat, Thor stomped confidently into the room unaware of the way Loki jumped back as if scalded, or the way your hands trembled at the possibility of discovery.  “Brother!  I need to speak with you!” Flicking his desire filled eyes to yours, Loki smirked, “Of course… to what do I owe the honor?” “I have asked Jane to be my bride!” “Brother!  It’s about time Jane made an honest man out of you!”  Loki, more than a little surprised but genuinely pleased for his sibling, hugged Thor close.  “YAY!  That’s so exciting!  Have you guys picked a date yet?”  Wiping your hands dry, leaning against the sink, you were happy to hear all of Thor's big news. Shaking his blonde head excitedly, “We shall be wed in three months time… and I was hoping that Loki would play for our special day?” 

Loki, blushing a deep rosy pink, “Thor… It’s been years.” 

“So?  What of that, God of Mischief?  You always find a way”, wagging a finger at his dark hued brother, Thor’s teasing grin was sweet. Piling on excuses, trying to gently defer his brother’s marital request, Loki added, “I don’t think I have a suitable instrument.”

That was enough for your mouth to hang open, “Wait… you want Loki to perform?  Like play music?  At your wedding?”  “Of course!  He’s the best chamber musician in Asgard.  Possibly the entire Nine Realms.”  Pride filled Thor’s words at Loki’s accomplishments, something you found impossibly charming, even if you couldn’t quite believe what he said was true.  

“Thor, really… I don't think-" Clapping a broad hand onto his younger brother's shoulder, Thor’s tone changed, “Music from home, Loki. It would mean so much, especially since… Mother and Father-”  

Loki held up a hand, stopping Thor from going further into emotional sincerity, unable to bear the rawness in his brother’s words.  Closing his eyes, agreeing, “Fine.  Ok, I’ll… I’ll do it!’  Loki could sense your watchful eyes on him, curious and questioning, as he gave into his older brother.    

With his easy smile spreading, Thor’s joy pushed the cloud of sadness away, “Our special day will be filled with music!  And flowers!  Jane has a whole… Pinterest board?  I don’t know what that is but she’s filled it with ideas-” spinning around to grab you off your feet, Thor continued, “And you’ll be invited too!  All of the team must come, not just my wayward brother!” Getting swept up in Thor’s passionate excitement, you laughed, offering up more congratulations and promises of attending.  As your toes touched the floor, Thor pulled Loki away, “Jane says you will take Darcy as a date for the ceremony.” Tilting his head, Loki shrugged shyly, speaking loud enough for you to hear, “Uh… actually, I already have a date.” Gripping Loki in a rib smashing hug, Thor squeezed his little brother tightly, “That is marvelous news!  Jane will be so pleased!  So, who’s the lucky girl?” Smiling, you watched them go, happy to see the pair so connected.  You didn’t need to hear Loki’s answer.  You knew who he’d be taking to Thor’s wedding.

That night, as you were toweling dry your cropped hair, a pop of green light signaled the arrival of your secret boyfriend.  He was positively electric, grabbing you by the terry robe covered hips, and kissing you swiftly.  Loki's hands rubbed over the soft fabric on your back until they cradled your smiling face, "Hmm… you smell so clean that it makes me think dirty thoughts."

Giggling, you rose up on your toes, curling your hands into his tangle of dark hair.  You bent his waiting mouth to your own, savoring the sensation of shared breath, as your tongue flicked over Loki's lips, “Dirtier than that?” Nodding, his heated look hungry, “Oh yes.” "How dirty are we talking?", you teased, resting your cheek against Loki's chest.  His rich laugh, rumbling through his core, joined your own.  Pressing his forehead to yours, Loki sighed sweetly, "I missed you…"

"I just saw you at dinner!"

"But it's been too long.  I… I need more."

Turning to hang up your towel, over your shoulder, "More what, my prince?"

"More of you."  Having gained on you while your back was turned, Loki was behind you now, wrapping his long arms around your waist.

Squealing, delighted, "LOKI!  Someone will hear!"

Dropping you quickly on the mattress, Loki shimmied up beside you, toying with the open collar on your robe, "So?"

"So… they'll find you here."

Thoughtfully, Loki’s proud look captured your own, "Maybe I don't care.  Not anymore… Maybe I don't want to keep you and me… us, a secret."

Swallowing hard, your gaze trapped by Loki's earnest expression, "Really?  You're ready to pop the love bubble?"

His fingertips brushed over the thin skin between your breasts, "Yes?  I… I think so.  Are you?"

Biting on your bottom lip, scrutinizing his handsome face, "Loki, I…"

Freezing, his hand stalled, and Loki sat back on his heels.  Looking out your window, shoulders slumping in resignation, "You don't want to tell anyone.  You are ashamed to be with me."

Swiftly sitting up, cupping his face with your hands, crooning, "No, no, no, no, no, no!"

Shrugging away from your touch, "You don't care for me, not like you claim to, if you won't declare your feelings for all to hear."

"Loki!  That's not it at all."  

Letting you tug him closer, Loki's tear filled eyes still refused to meet your own, "Loki… I… I love you.  And… I just don't want to share you.  Not yet, anyway.  That is-" putting your arms around his neck until you were nose to nose with the red-rimmed eyes of an emotional Odinson, "-my only reason for keeping our romance quiet."

Whispering, Loki was too shocked to shake you off, "You… love me?"  His voice wavered, as if the idea of being loved by you had never been a real possibility, as if something impossible was occurring right here and now.

On your knees, sighing, you started pressing tiny kisses along those sharp as knives cheekbones, "Yes.  I am crazy in love with you, Loki Odinson."

Loki had held you tightly before; in the night when terrific dreams haunted his sleep, in the night when he claimed your body for his own.  But this embrace, after telling the dark Prince the truth in your heart, had no equal.  

Still taller than you, even though you were both kneeling, Loki's right arm wove around your waist forcing your hips flush with his own.  His left supported your back, his hand cradling the nape of your neck, helping him kiss you soundly.  It was conquering.  

You were his.  Body and soul.  What's more?  He was yours.

Coming up for air, panting from the work of loving you, "My dove, my dearest one… I love you too."

Shucking your robe was easy and Loki savored the lavender soap scented skin he exposed.  If a spot of you wasn’t kissed, it was licked. If not licked, nipped.  If not nipped, it was caressed.  And Loki was very thorough. When you mewled, weak from forced pleasure, “Loki… please.  Make love to me.” he was eager to comply. “Look at me, darling girl.”  Puffing out your pleasure filled breath, skin dewy with perspiration, you met Loki’s eyes with your own.  Resting his hand over your heart, he lifted your own, letting you feel the pattern of his pulse.  “It beats for you and for you alone.” In the afterglow, laying in Loki’s arms, you stifled another giggle.  Groggy from exertion, Loki opened one eye, “What’s so funny?” “You never told me you play a musical instrument.” “You never asked.”

“Are you any good?”

“You’ll find out when you accompany me to Thor’s wedding.” --- With his heavy cello, Loki took a seat on the edge of the dance floor, taking just a moment to get settled.  A beautifully strange combination of concentration and relaxation mingled over the features you loved so dearly.  Fiddling with strings, taking a moment to tune the instrument, you admired his long, talented fingers as they took their place on the frets. The din of conversation was silenced when the first low note of Loki’s song echoed through the ballroom.  Everyone paused, entranced at the melody weaving its way through the throng of well wishers.  Many were surprised, but not you, not entirely. You knew how long Loki had been preparing for this moment.  It wasn’t all about making Thor’s day special, although, that was surely part of it.  No, he planned to seduce every single person with sound.  Giving all of the attendees a taste of what being loved by Loki was like, he hoped The Avengers would see that he was worthy of you in all ways. Mesmerized, the bow danced over the strings, each note perfectly played.  It wasn’t hard to picture those shapely digits dancing over your skin in the dark of night.  Sending a shiver up your back, you sipped at your champagne, unwilling to take your eyes off of Loki. “I didn’t know he was so talented.”  Bucky, stiff in his tuxedo, sidled up to you with Steve in tow. “Me either.  Look at those fingers fly!” “Guys… hush.”  Shooting a silencing glare their way, you let the music transport you, swaying just a bit at the soothing sound. Too soon, in your opinion, the last lingering note of Loki’s song filled the hall.  Rising swiftly, Loki bowed at the applause, then turned to the happy couple.  Thor hugged his brother close, while Loki kissed Jane’s hand with a gentlemanly air.  Conversations started again, quiet at first, then gaining strength as Loki strode across the room.  Snagging a glass of champagne from a passing tray, his eyes trained on you, Loki accepted accolades as he moved ever closer.  Another server took his empty glass as Loki finally made his way to you.

Scooping you up, Loki spun you slowly in a circle, your gown snapping behind you in an emerald wave of chiffon and lace.  “Loki!  Come on, put me down!” “As my lady commands”, when your mouth passed close enough to his own, Loki kissed you as if you had never kissed before.  You pushed your hands through his dark locks, a hand on each side of his face, “You were amazing, babe.  Just amazing!”

“You really think so?” “Absolutely!”  His arm settled on your waist, keeping you tight to his side, as you were handed another glass of bubbly.

Bucky, leaning against Steve, wore a look of wide eyed shock, “Um.  Loki… what the fuck are you doing?"

"Agent Barnes, do I really need to explain?"

Mouth dropping open, Bucky gaped, "He’s the guy?  Really?  You’re telling me Loki is the guy?” “She’s not telling us, Buck… she’s showing us.”

“But Stevie…?  Loki?  You?  You’re the guy who makes her happy?  The one who she’s been covering for?” Pressing a chaste kiss to your forehead, just a touch guilty, “I am.  And, I’m madly in love with her.” “I’m happy Bucky.  Stevie… really.  Loki is… he’s my everything.  I love him, too.”  

As your secret was outed, the group formed a circle around you and Loki.  Questions were shouted, congratulations extolled, Loki was clapped on the back more than once.  Natasha gave you a wink and the "ok", which was really all the approval you needed. 

“So, who won the pool then?”, Clint couldn’t help asking. “Me… and Thor”, the bride stepped right up to Tony with her hand out ready to take the prize money. “No fair!  He’s your brother in law now.  He probably told you!”  Rhodey chimed in, unsatisfied with the final results. Defending her methods, Jane spun in her wedding dress, “No way!  I used my powers of scientific deduction.  I knew she was head over heels for Loki the night we announced our engagement.” Wondering, you looked at Jane, “You did?  How?  I mean, I didn't tell anyone.  We didn't tell anyone ” “You didn't have to!  You two wouldn’t look at each other.  Dead give away.”  Counting her cash, Jane smiled at you. “That may be true, but I promise you this, Odinson… break her heart and I’ll kill you.”  Bucky shook Loki’s hand good naturedly, if a little too long, stopping only when Steve pulled him away. Gazing down at you, adoration evident in his face, Loki husked, “Not to worry, Agent Barnes.  She has my heart you see... and I plan to be her guy as long as she’ll have me.”

Tagging my Minxes:  @lancsnerd​ @vodka-and-some-sass​ @just-random-obsessions​ @brokenthelovely​ @lots-of-loki​ @thefallenbibliophilequote​ @sammy-jo1977​ @queenofmischief​ @iamverity​ @iluvsumbucky​ @unadulteratedwizardlove​ @wolfsmom1​ @procrastinatinglikeabitch​ @mizfit2​ @shxdowofdarkness​ @nonsensicalobsessions​ @ahintofkiwistrawberry​ @jessiejunebug​ @rorybutnotgilmore​ @crystalizedcaramel​ @lokislittlecorner​ @scrumptious-finicky-illusion​ @capcapcapsicle​ @jamielea81​ @caffiend-queen​ @thenatalie @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore​ @is-it-madness​ @jenjen8675309​ @alexakeyloveloki​ @poetic-fiasco​ 

[fangirlovestuff]

Chris Cross Applesauce - Chris Evans x reader

a/n- Hey lovely people! it’s Chris’s birthday here so here’s this fluffy piece based on a very random thought I had lol. Happy birthday to this absolutely perfect human. The summary lowkey sucks but I promise it’s pretty cute! Enjoy <3

summary: You and Chris have known each other for forever, and you’ll love each other for more than that.

word count: ~4,500

warnings: panic attack, obliviousness

5 years old

The hot summer sun sent waves of heat across your face as you stood in the street. You were holding your mom's hand, half hiding behind her foot, as she talked with the other mom in front of you. Two little boys were hiding behind her as well, eyeing you and whispering between themselves.

"Sweetie, say hello to our new neighbors," your mom gently nudged you as she put your 2-year-old brother on the ground, holding his hand as well. You had moved into your house a few days ago, and your mother wanted to get to know your neighbors in the friendly little town.

"Hi," you said shyly. The other woman smiled at you warmly. "Hey there, I'm Lisa. Boys? Say hello please," she turned her gaze to them now.

"I'm Chris," one of the boys said. His blue eyes met yours and he extended his hand for you to shake. You took it, telling him your name as well. No one else you knew had ever offered to shake your hand, kid or adult, so it made you feel very respectable. On the other hand, you wondered about this strange boy your age who was shaking people's hands like you've seen grown-ups do. His brother didn't let go of their mom but introduced himself as Scott. He looked closer to your brother's age.

"Well it's been a pleasure to meet you," your mom smiled at the woman. Lisa, your mind supplied, that's what she said her name was.

"Likewise!" Lisa replied warmly, "We'd love to see you around sometime."

You parted ways, you getting into your house as they went into theirs across the street.

That night your mom went into your room to tuck you in. She sat down on the edge of the bed and kissed your forehead gently, making sure the blanket is tight enough around your small form.

"So, what do you think about our new neighborhood? Think you'll be friends with the little boys from across the street?" your mom smiled.

"I don’t know mom," you said with all the self-importance a five-year-old can muster. "They're boys." You scrunched up your nose, frowning slightly.

Your mom felt no pressure to add anything on the matter. "Well, goodnight sweetie." Your mom kissed your wrinkled nose, making you giggle, and got off the bed.

"Goodnight mommy," you mumbled as you felt sleepiness take over you.

6 years old

You entered the classroom, your eyes darting around nervously. You calmed down a bit after seeing a familiar and smiling face in the crowd of strange kids around the classroom.

"Come on! I saved you a seat!" Chris exclaimed excitedly and waved you over. You smiled back and made your way over to his table. You sat down next to him, pulling out your brand-new pencils and notebook and putting it neatly on the table in front of you.

Chris and you were talking about one of your latest games in the yard, where he and Scott were pirates and you were a princess that needed rescuing. "But princesses need to be rescued from the pirates, not by the pirates!" you argued. "But we're good pirates! And besides, hanging out with pirates is way cooler than with some prince or duke or whatever it is princesses do," Chris said. Before the argument got more heated, the teacher stepped in and silence took over the class. For the rest of the day you focused on school, meeting new friends and learning new things.

At the end of the day, you and Chris left the classroom side by side, the pirates argument long forgotten as you talked about everything that happened today.

"And when Anna fell off her chair in the middle of class," you both laughed.

"And the teacher told her not to sit criss cross applesauce on her chair," you said and continued to laugh. "I didn’t know that's how that's called," you said, pleased at all you've learned today. After a short pause you realized, "Hey, that's like your name! Chris cross applesauce!" you laughed. "That's not the same thing," he said indignantly, slightly offended. "Well it sounds the same," you smiled teasingly, but your sensitive nature told you to drop the subject.

You waited for your moms to come pick you up and went home. On your way home you animatedly told your mom about your day, excited about what new things could happen in school.  

12 years old

"Chris cross apple sauce!" you called out as you climbed up the stairs of the Evans house. You knocked on Chris' room door. "We gotta go or we're gonna be late!"

"When are you gonna stop using this stupid nickname?" Chris grumbled, fidgeting with his shirt as he opened his room and joined you to go downstairs. One of your classmates, Jenna, was throwing a birthday party and her parents were out for the evening, so she invited the whole class. The whole affair felt very grown-up and exciting, because you've never had a class party without parents.

"Never," you replied with a playful grin. "Bye Lisa!" you shouted out to Chris's mom, who was in the kitchen.

"Have fun kids!" she yelled back as the door slammed behind you both.

You got into your moms' car and listened to some music on your way. You both hummed along to the familiar Disney tunes without realizing it, laughing when your eyes met and you realized what you were doing. You quickly arrived at Jenna's house and jumped out of the car.

"Bye mom!" you told her through the window.

"Thanks for the ride!" Chris added, before you both turned towards the big house.

"Have fun kids! Remember I'll call you when I'm coming back to pick you up!" your mom yelled after you before lovingly scoffing and driving away.

You knocked on the door and waited silently until Jenna rushed to open the door.

"Hey guys!" she smiled at you happily. "Come in, we're just waiting on a couple more people and then we can start the fun."

You went in and handed her your presents, wishing her a happy birthday before sitting down with your friends. Chris and you were friends among yourselves still, but usually when you were with other people you each had your own friends to be around. You sat down next to Anna and Maddy, and you gossiped in hushed voices about what's gonna happen at the party, who broke up with who, and that unflattering shirt Kailee was wearing, just your normal girl talk. Chris was probably talking to his friends about football and skateboards, or whatever it was boys talked about. Honestly, you were never too bothered to ask.

 The room filled out a little more and Jenna came back with a few cups and bottles of drinks. None of them were alcoholic of course – this was a 7th-grade party after all. She settled down on the carpet with all of you. There was a chorus of "Happy birthday Jenna"s before an awkward silence settled over the room. None of you really knew what to do next.

"So," Jenna started, "anyone has some ideas about what to do?" she said nonchalantly.

There was a little pause for thought before one of the girls, Katie, spoke up. "Oh! There's this game my sister told me about. It's called seven minutes in heaven," she said with a smug smile. Katie was one of the only kids with older siblings who actually told her things, which made her the pinnacle of knowledge among the girls. "Do you have an empty bottle, Jenna?"

Katie explained the rules of the game. "Every time someone spins the bottle and needs to be in a closet or like, a small space, with whoever it lands on for seven whole minutes, no takebacks! And it has to be boys with girls," she smiled. "My sister told me that sometimes people kiss inside the closet. Once two of her friends went in and after seven minutes, they opened the door on them kissing!" she giggled as if letting you all in on a secret. You were all hooked. That sounded like such a big kid's game and you all wanted to play it. You got in a circle, putting on brave faces as Jenna came back with an empty water bottle. "Who wants to go first? You can go into the coat closet outside," Jenna gestured towards the entrance.

Mike, one of Chris's friends puffed out his chest. "I'll go first," he smiled, seemingly confident. He spun the bottle and it landed on Katie. "Well, after you," he smiled as he helped her up.

They went into the closet and you all dispersed into quiet conversations.

"Think they're gonna kiss?" Anna whispered.

"I don't know," Maddy said. "Katie and Mike actually seem like a good couple to me. Something might come out of this."

You nodded and hummed in agreement. You were thinking about whether you wanted that bottle to land on you or not. If it landed on you, would you finally kiss a boy?

Mike and Katie came back. The girl immediately surrounded her and the boys him, questioning in hushed voices: "did you kiss?" "What was it like in there?". But Katie and Mike kept their mouths shut, cryptic smiles on their faces. "Let's continue the game!" Katie finally exclaimed and you all went back to sitting in a circle.

"Who's next?"

"I'll go next," Chris smiled, encouraged by his friends patting him on the back as he reached forward and spun the bottle, your thoughts spinning with it. Would it be weird if Chris kissed another girl before you kissed a boy? An odd feeling coiled in your stomach at the thought.

The bottle finally slowed down, stopping on Mike. "Spin it again!" everyone yelled.

"Alright, alright," Chris laughed as he spun the bottle once more. It slowed down again stopping on you this time. You haven’t even thought about that. Would kissing Chris be the solution to your earlier question?

The room filled with whispers. Chris and you were friends, everyone knew that. But some people have previously asked you if you weren't, you know, more than that. Boyfriend and Girlfriend. You denied every time – that's ridiculous, you've known each other since you were five, the usual.

Chris' cheeks reddened a little as he got up, gesturing for you to go first like Mike did before. You smiled a little shyly at him and went on, and he followed you into the dark closet. All of a sudden you felt aware of your limbs, and how little space you had to stand in.

"So… we have like seven minutes to pass. What do you wanna do?" you asked, trying to ease the tension.

"Do you think Katie and Mike kissed?" he asked out of the blue. You frowned, thinking it over. "I don’t know," you finally shrugged, "why?"

"Cause if they did, they're totally gonna hold it over us. Like, feel superior, ya know?"

"Guess you're right." You looked up at him and shrugged once more. He was already so much taller than you.

"What if we kissed? Just like, to keep them from getting too annoying about it," he quickly added.

"Well, whatever," you smiled.

He leaned down and your lips touched for a brief moment before you both pulled away, avoiding each other's eyes.

"That wasn't so bad," you said teasingly, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. Nothing happened right? That was your first kiss, but it doesn't mean you and Chris need to stop being friends or anything. It was just to keep your friends in check.

"Yeah," he said and you both laughed awkwardly.

Your friends came to your rescue, opening the closet when the time was over.

The party continued and you had fun. You played some other games, and you were with your friends – it was great. You could officially say your first party without parents was a success.

When your mom came to pick you up you and Chris chatted in the car as if nothing happened. You didn’t tell anyone you kissed Chris, not even your mom. Just at night, when you went to sleep, you whispered into your pillow – I had my first kiss today.

16 years old

You knocked on Chris' room door, notebook in hand. "Come in!" he yelled from inside. You came in, closing the door behind you and flopped down on the bed next to Chris, who was watching Top Gun for like the hundredth time. "Hey, Chris cross applesauce," you greeted as you extended to notebook to him.

"You know saying that is longer than just Chris, right?" he scoffed, taking the notebook from your hand.

"I know, but it's catchier," you said and smiled stubbornly. "Aren’t you tired of that movie already?"

"It's one of the greatest movies of all time," he said absently, trying to both copy your homework and keep enough of his focus on the movie.

"Whatever. Don’t you ever do your homework yourself?" you teased him. "Why would I when you do yours so well?" he smiled cheekily and you rolled your eyes.

"You're gonna have to start doing your homework sometime. Anyway, did anyone reply to you yet?" you asked, genuinely interested. A while back Chris told you he wanted to be an actor. At first, you were doubtful. You've seen him in school plays and such and you knew he enjoyed doing them, but you knew acting could be a tough career. It was also one he would probably pursue away from home, which was weird – you were so used to Chris living across the street from you almost your whole lives. But then you saw how serious he was about this you knew you had to support him in his dream. He sent out a letter to a few summer internships in New York, and he was waiting on answers.

"Actually yes!" Chris jumped up and grabbed a piece of paper from his desk and handed it to you. You read it quickly, mumbling beneath your breath, "we want to offer you an internship…" you finished reading the letter and smiled at Chris, who was beaming back at you. "That's amazing!" you hugged him without a second thought. You caught Chris by surprise but he quickly wrapped his hands around you. You pulled away, looking down and smiling shyly.

"Yeah, everyone here was really excited to hear about it. I'm surprised you didn’t hear us from your place," Chris laughed, and then his smile turned bitter. "There was one person who wasn't so happy. We broke up." You sent him a sympathetic look. His girlfriend was bitching for a while, you weren't surprised they broke up, but you were still bummed for Chris. When you broke up with your boyfriend a few months ago, Chris was there for you and you intended to do the same.

"Well, I guess you're gonna spend your summer in New York, surrounded by hot girls and tons of shops. Can’t say I'm jealous about the hot girls part, but I wish I could go shopping in New York."

Chris laughed. "I am gonna be working, you know. Earn my money. So I doubt how much of the girls or the shops I'll be seeing."

"Hot secretaries," you argued wittily and he laughed once more, the sound filling your heart with pride; you made it happen. You just wanted your best friend to be happy. "You have a point," he admitted, smiling smugly, and then, "What's that letter? I can’t tell if it's an 'i' or an 'l'." He pointed to your notebook.

"Shut up, that's clearly an 'r'!"

"That's what you call a clear 'r'? It just looks like a straight line!"

You swatted his arm and he laughed. "You should be thankful you're getting my homework anyways." You raised your eyebrows at him. "I am," he said, his blue eyes meeting yours. "I'll be even more thankful if you wrote a better 'r' though," he smirked. You took out your tongue at him and you both laughed.

You were happy for Chris, but you had a hard time picturing summer without him.

20 years old

At 20 years old, you were finally in LA for the first time in your life. The City of Angels did not disappoint, filled with beautiful people and huge lavish houses. You liked NYC better, but you had to admit LA had its charm.

Chris and you were sitting in the corner of a dimly lit Italian restaurant, eating your pasta bowls in companionable silence.

"So, excited for tomorrow?" you asked, smiling at him from across the table.

"More like terrified," he chuckled as if joking, but you knew him well enough to know he was actually nervous. You reached your hand across the table to rest on his, comforting him. "I'm sure it's gonna be great. The only thing I'm worried about is that now you're becoming a movie star and you're gonna forget about us," you added jokingly. To be honest, you knew you shouldn't really be worried about that; Chris was too good to pull something like that. But deep down you couldn't help feeling like he's going off on his own, that he's going to disappear from your life.

Like you read him, Chris knew how to read you. "You know that would never happen," he turned his hand palm up and squeezed yours. "Yeah, I know," you smiled. "You're always gonna be just… Chris cross applesauce." You giggled and he rolled his eyes at you.

"Still stubborn on that I take it," he huffed.

"Always," you winked and he laughed. "But anyway, I'm excited to see you play a jock. I'm sure it would be great," you smiled smugly.

"Oh god," he buried his face on his hands and you laughed. "I'm never gonna hear the end of this, am I?"

"Probably not," you laughed.

"Ugh," he groaned. "And there's this one scene… whatever, I guess you'll see it tomorrow. Why did I agree to this?"

"You mean this as in this movie or as in bringing me to watch it?" you asked, amused and curious about what scene he was talking about.

"Everything."

"Well, that's your problem I guess, can’t resist the opportunity to do the things you love," you laughed, and then realized what you just said. "Oh my god that came out so wrong!" you put your face in your hands while Chris laughed. "I meant like, acting," you clarified as you laughed along with him.

"I know," he said and smiled, his eyes shining with mirth and… well, love. But that was normal – you've known each other for fifteen years; you wouldn't have stayed friends if you didn’t love each other. It was a given, you never had to say it. But it was a constant that comforted you many times.

You smiled back, and your eyes were probably shining with love as well.

26 years old

There was a knock at your room door. You looked at the clock beside your bed; 1 am. Who could it be at that hour?

You opened the door in your pajamas, still weary from your interrupted sleep. You saw Chris, who was breathing heavily and quite honestly looking like shit, as much as Chris could be.

"What’s going on?" you asked, brows furrowing as you guided him in to sit on the bed. His breathing hitched and you saw tears shining in his eyes. He shook his head, and you noticed his body was shaking as well. You sobered up, putting your hands on his cheeks and guiding his gaze to yours. "Chris, just breathe with me, okay? Match your breathing to mine and we can breathe together. That’s right, everything's fine. You're okay." You kept breathing slowly, encouraging him to match his breathing to yours. You've never seen Chris have an anxiety attack, you didn't even know he had them, but you knew what they were, obviously.

You helped Chris calm down and he closed his eyes, clearly keeping in tears. You wrapped your hands around him in a tight hug and put his head on your shoulder. He sobbed into your shoulder, burying his head in the crook of your neck. You sat there for a few minutes until his breathing calmed down completely. You pulled away and your eyes locked with Chris' blue ones.

"What's going on?" you asked softly.

"I just… there's so much going on right now. Which I ought to be thankful for, I guess. And I know it's self-centered, but… I can't help but feel like all of these eyes are on me. And I," he took a breath, " I might not have all that much going on later. You know how it is- you never know what your next project will be, and I'm not that good anyway. So, I could disappoint them. I'm so grateful for what I have, but the possibilities to fail are overwhelming." You looked at him sympathetically. "But that's just a spoiled thing to say I guess," he added quickly and chuckled, as if dismissing it. "I have pretty much all that I could ask for and I'm still complaining." His head hung low, his gaze boring into the floor and your heart broke for him.

"Chris," you nudged his head up to yours. "You are amazing, and you are entitled to your own problems. The fact is, it is stressful. And you're not undermining other people's problems – I know you don't, you’re one of the kindest people I know. So, if you need help, panic attacks might be a good sign to go and ask for it. If you're in too deep with your own problems, you can't help the people around you."

"Panic attacks?" he looked puzzled.

You raised your brow at him, sending him a questioning look. "Yeah, that's what it seemed like."

"It just happened, like, a couple of times until now, and I'm sure-"

"Chris." You cut him off, "Even if they weren't you should still talk to someone about what’s stressing you out. Okay?"

"Yeah, I guess when I-"

"No, no postponing this," you cut him off once more. "Tell you what. I'll find someone, and once I do, you're going. Promise?"

He looked down, considering what you said, no doubt thinking you were going a little crazy about this. You didn’t care. Over the years, you've seen and heard enough about what anxiety does to people, and you couldn't let that happen to someone you loved.

"Promise." he finally looked up at you.

"Good." You hugged him once more, and it wasn't long before your eyes were drooping low, Chris' as well. You nudged him and you both fell onto the bed, tired out.

You woke up in Chris' arms the next morning. Somehow he managed to become the big spoon during the night. You untangled yourself from his arms, silently walking to your computer to start your search.

You were determined to help your best friend.

28 years old

"Hey there, Chris cross applesauce!" you said, hugging him briefly and sitting down beside him at his kitchen table. "What's up? You sounded nervous on the phone."

He chuckled at your antics. "You know how I was on the fence about taking the Cap role, right?"

"Yeah, I also know I told you to take it and that you'd be the perfect Captain America and you pretty much ignored me." That was a bit of a downplay of the many conversions you had about the topic, which were a little more serious than this. "What about it?"

"I took it," he grinned.

Your mouth literally shifted into an O shape and you gasped. "Are you kidding me? Is this a joke or are you for real right now?"

He shook his head. "It's for real."

"Oh my god, Chris that's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" your smile was so wide you thought your cheeks were going to rip. You hugged him tightly, practically squealing. You pulled away slightly, your face staying close to his. "That was a really brave thing to do. You're gonna be so great!"

"Yeah," he smiled timidly. "There is one more brave thing I haven't done yet, and I definitely should have."

"What, you wanna go bungee jumping?" you chuckled.

"Scarier." And before you had the chance to reply, he crashed his lips into yours, still managing to kiss you softly.

It felt like something inside you finally clicked. Suddenly you remembered everything and you realized; you've loved Chris for years. How could you not? He was your person, always in your corner, and you always in his. You rationalized that it was friendship, but deep down you knew this was more. You remembered the day of your first kiss, and how you could've just told your friends that you kissed and it would've had the same effect. No other kiss made you feel this light and giddy, until now. When Chris kissed you, it felt right. The missing piece was there all along.

You pulled apart, your breaths heaving. Your eyes met his, a smile creeping onto both of your faces. "I-" Chris started, but you cut him off, "I know," you bit your lip, "me too."

Your lips touched once more, more tentative than before, taking your time to explore each other. Time seemed to slow, leaving you both in a bubble of your own. You and Chris were always in a bubble when you were together, now you just gathered the courage to call it what it is – love.

31 years old

You looked in the mirror and took a deep breath. If you were nervous, Chris is probably terrified right now. But you knew it was good terrified.

You took in your white-clad form in the mirror. In spite of your nerves, you couldn’t keep the smile off of your face. 25 years of memories weren't nearly enough, but you fondly remembered each and every one of these memories. And you were ready to make a lot more if you could do it with Chris by your side.

You took one more steadying breath as you got ready to walk down the aisle. Today was the day; you were finally getting married.

Finally seems like an understatement. Looking back, you probably fell in love with Chris the moment he offered his hand to you when you were five. It just took you a little time to realize it.

And so, your heart swelling with love and a beam on your face, you were getting married to the love of your life.

39 years old

"Happy birthday baby," you whispered as you both woke up, the sun hitting your face.

"Thanks," Chris murmured as he buried his face in your neck to kiss you, his voice deep from the night's sleep.

"Mommy! Daddy! I can't find my bow!" Ella, your 2-year-old screamed from her room.

"Guess the kids are awake," Chris said in a disappointed tone and you chuckled.

You both got up and went to face the day – like you did so many things since that day thirty-odd years ago – together.

[mediocre-writerr]

supermarket flowers [jamie taylor]

Jamie Taylor x fem reader

Requested:  We all know flowers are one of Jamie’s love languages so she likes giving the reader flowers as gifts to tell her things and to mark points in their relationship (bonus if one time it’s the reader that gives jamie flowers)

*not my gif*

Saying that Bly Manor is beautiful would be an understatement: the amazing architecture, the people, but especially the gardens. 

But you maybe a little bias on that front because of Jamie...the beautiful beautiful gardener and your beautiful wife. 

And it all started when your sister Dani got the au pair job. Obviously, you had to get a job there as well, you couldn’t live in Bly without having a job. So you took up an apprentice job with Owen as his little chef in training. That’s how you two met. 

“You see we don’t use a hand mixer in this house because of the glucose levels in the dough. They need to be in tip top shape or else they won’t taste as good.” Owen explains and you’re about to respond when a beautiful brunette walks into the room. 

Your eyes never left her figure as she walked into the kitchen, barely acknowledging your assistance, “What is that?” she asks. 

“We’re making dough for our pizza tonight!” Owen exclaims, “I was just giving Y/N here a quick lesson dough chemistry.” 

She finally locks eyes with yours and you’re drowning in them. Her beautiful brown eyes were captivating. And it was up to you if you decided you wanted to sink or swim. There was a spark there and she had to have felt it too. 

“Although, I’m sensing this dough is not the only thing that has chemistry.” Owen says with a little smirk on his face. 

You laugh nervously, speechless as what to say, “I’m Jamie,” the gardener says extending her hand out and you gratefully accept it.

There were sparks, electricity coursing through your body at this point and Jamie releases a deep breath, “Y/N Clayton, Dani’s little sister.” 

“Oh so you’re Little Poppins.” she says with a smirk and you chuckle at the nickname, “Or should I call you Chef Poppins?” she adds on.

“Either one is fine with me thank you.” you smile at her and she nods her head.

“Alright then, I have some more flowers and bushes to tend to.” Jamie says and leaves to go back to the garden.

You turn back to look at Owen and he’s smiling at you, “Awe you’re still blushing.” he says poking your cheek before getting back to kneading the dough. 

Flash forward to five years later and now you’re married as happier than you ever thought you could be despite everything that happened. 

Bly was an interesting case to say the least. The whole Lady in the Lake situation was quite a scary scene. We lost Hannah and day by day Dani is losing herself. But you still have her here, your sister is still here with you and that’s all the matters right now. 

You found yourself at the farmer’s market. Jamie was back at The Leafling helping everyone who wants flowers. You had big news for her and wanted to give her a flower to show your love. You just had to find the perfect one. 

All of your relationship Jamie has taught you so much about flowers. The most intriguing part of it to you was all of the various meanings. 

You stood in the kitchen as you began to cut the pizza you and Owen made for everyone into slices. Owen was tossing all of the salad together as Hannah was making the tea. 

Flora, Dani, and Miles were setting the table up. Jamie comes walking in with a handful of different colorful flowers. 

“Flowers for delivery!” Jamie announces and Flora squeals in excitement, “Here ya go Flora.” 

Jamie hands her Flora’s own flower before giving one to Miles. You though it was sweet that she was giving the children flowers. But your joy turned into a quick confusion when you realized that she was giving everyone one. 

“Is this still a gerbera daisy?” Flora asks putting her flower in a vase. 

You saw small little vases lined up along the window sill with everyone’s names on it. You didn’t notice until now that both you and Dani have your own little vase. A small smile started forming on your face. 

“Yes it is, do you remember what it means?” Jamie asks staring at Flora intently.

“Of course I do! It means innocence, cheerfulness and joy!” Flora exclaims and she smiles at the young girl before giving a nod.

“Nice job little rascal.” she says booping her nose before handing you your flower. 

You are presented with a beautiful flower they were pink and very swirly in the middle of it, “What kind of flower is this? And what does mine mean?” you ask realizing that everyone had different flowers probably all meaning different things. 

She smiles to herself before putting a bite of salad in her mouth and eating it. After she finished eating she clears her throat, “It is a ranunculus, also known as buttercups. It symbolizes charm, radiance, and attraction.” she whispers the last part, but everyone at the table heard.

You smile to yourself looking into those beautiful brown eyes before looking down to take a bite of pizza. Dani nudges you and mouths the words ‘Oh my god!’ as you smile at your sister. 

“Seems like Jamie pepper-only has eyes for Y/N.” Owen murmurs and the whole table groans in response, but as you catch Jamie’s eye she sends you a wink. 

You’ve searched this whole farmer’s market twice to try and find the flower you’re looking for. But none of them seemed to be the right match. How hard is it to find daisies? It’s not that hard they’re in season and they’re all over The Leafling, but I can’t take it from the store. 

However, you did come across pink carnations. A flower you know very well and is embedded deep into your heart.

You and Jamie have been dating for about six months now and each day your relationship is growing stronger and stronger.

“Someone looks excited for their date tonight!” Dani teases as she walks into your shared bedroom.

You look over yourself in the mirror and show her your outfit, “Yay or nay?” you ask as you do a little spin.

“You look beautiful Y/N!” she says as she embraces you in a hug, “Well you always look beautiful, but Jamie is gonna love it. If she breaks your heart, I’ll end her.”

You pat your sister on the shoulder, “Dani I love you, but we all know that she will beat the living shite out of you.” you say trying mimick Jamie’s British accent.

She laughs and nods, “Yeah you’re right! But still!”

There was a knock on the door and Dani let out a little squeal. She opened the door and revealed the beauty that is Ms. Jamie Taylor. 

“Hello Poppins, is Little Poppins here?” she asks and you smile at the nickname. 

“Yes she is right here.” Dani opens the door a little wider and Jamie steps in with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. 

She looks at you up and down before smiling at you, “You look absolutely beautiful. These are for you.” she says and you smile taking them from her.

“Thank you. What’s the story behind these?” you ask sniffing them before placing them in a vase that you always keep by your bedside now. 

“The story is for a later time, in more private.” Jamie says sneaking a glance at Dani who was still standing there with a big smile on her face. 

“Oh me! Right! I’ll see you when you get back!” Dani exclaims as she pushes you out of the door. 

You get into Jamie’s car as she drives you into the little village of Bly. She knows a nice little restaurant that she has grown to love. As she parked the car she leans over the middle console and places a soft kiss to your lips. 

“Wait here, I’m gonna grab our food.” Jamie says.

Before you can ask her what the plan was for tonight she left the car and went into the restaurant. Your head was spinning from the kiss. It may have been a short and sweet kiss, but it was still intoxicating. 

Every kiss with Jamie no matter how short or soft it was, it still had so much passion and love behind it. Every day you find yourself falling more and more in love with the gardener. You haven’t told her yet, but gosh you loved this girl more than life itself. 

Jamie came back into the car with a bag full of food. She placed it into the back seat and started the car back up again, “Where are we going love?” you ask her.

“Back to the manor of course. I know a little spot we can eat there.” she says before intertwining your fingers together. 

The two of you made it back to Bly and you went to the greenhouse. You meet there every morning and share a small coffee before you have to get to work. You placed yourself on the couch as she sat down next to you placing another kiss to your lips. 

The two of you started eating as you embarked on the most simple yet beautiful conversations. As you two finished eating you look at her with a smirk on your face.

“What?” she asks smiling back. 

“The story behind the flower you never told me.” you say sitting criss-cross applesauce on the couch and turning to face her. 

She laughs nervously, probably the first time you’ve ever seen her nervous, “Carnations, a lot of people don’t like them and I don’t know why. In my opinion, they’re beautiful. But they mean fascination and new love. Which is what I feel about you. However, it’s not new love. It’s love that I’ve felt since the first time I laid eyes on you. I love you Y/N Clayton.” she says and you smile at her widely.

“I love you Jamie Taylor.” you whisper back.

You didn’t think her smile could widen even more, “Fuck yeah.” she whispers. 

She crashes her lips onto yours as you thread your fingers through her hair. You place your hand on the back of her neck pulling her as close to you as possible. Her body pressed against yours and you were drunk off of her love and kisses.

Your big brick of phone began to ring from your purse. You took it out and answered it already knowing it was one of two people, “Hello?” you ask as you pull out of your parking spot in the farmer’s market.

“Hi darling,” you hear Jamie’s voice fill the phone. 

“Hello my love, what’s up?” you ask as you begin your drive to your little apartment about The Leafling. 

“Are you still at the farmer’s market?” she asks.

“No why? Do you need something?” you answer. 

“Yes unless you got more cereal at the farmer’s market.” Jamie replies.

You chuckle slightly at the sarcasm, “I’ll stop at the supermarket and grab a couple boxes. How’s Dani?” you ask.

Dani has been living in your guest bedroom of the apartment. Jamie doesn’t mind knowing how much she means to you and how much Dani means to her. Whatever the hell went down at Bly was really taking a toll and you just want to be there to take care of her and keep an eye on her as much as you can. 

“She’s having a good day today. She has helped out with the shop, there was a little jump when she looked into the window, but I helped her out.” she explained and you nodded sighing a little bit, “She’s gonna be okay.” Jamie reassured you already reading your mind.

Your sister mentioned that something was gonna take over one day. And it already started back up again. She’s scared and so are you. She was the only family you have ever known and you don’t know what you’re gonna do if she goes. 

“I hope so. I’ll see you when I get home.” you say.

“Okay love, drive safe. I love you.” she says and you smile at those three little words.

“I love you more.” you respond before hanging up and making your way to the supermarket.

“Jamie, baby, where are we going?” you ask as her hands covers your eyes guiding you to a small little place in the gardens of Bly. 

“Shh-it’s a surprise love. You’re not supposed to know that’s the whole point of a surprise she expresses and you internally roll your eyes, “I can sense that eye roll.” she says and you giggle lightly. 

“How did you know?” you ask laughing.

“Y/N, we’ve been dating for three years now. Of course I know when you’re rolling your eyes.” she explains and you laugh even more.

She releases her hands from your eyes to see a beautiful secluded area with a beautiful flower growing on the bush. The moonlight hitting it just right causing to have this sort of glow effect. 

“That right there is a moonflower. It’s a lot of effort, but it’s worth it.” she explains from behind you as she’s sitting on a small bench. 

There’s a nice little picnic basket set on the ground in front of her. You go and sit down next to her, the cool air brushing against your skin causing goosebumps to form on your arm.

Jamie immediately notices your chilliness and wraps her arm around your waist. She pulls you deep into your side and you smile softly, resting your head on her shoulder. Jamie reaches down slowly to open the picnic basket revealing another bouquet of flowers.

“Hey I actually know these ones!” you exclaim as she pulls out the bouquet of tulips. 

She laughs before handing them to you, “Yeah a little too cheesy for my taste, but I thought it was fitting for this.” 

“For what?” you ask and she smiles shyly.

“This.” she says softly before getting on knee in front of you and pulling out a ring.

You release a small little gasp before a huge smile breaks out onto your face, “Tulips mean true love, never in a million years Y/N did I ever think I’d find someone like you. My life has been filled of exhaustive people, but you made all this effort and time worth it. And I want it to last longer. I want this feeling to last a lifetime and even after. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

Small tears were falling down both of your cheeks. Nothing sad, but everything happy. You cup her cheeks wiping away the falling tears and smile at her. 

“It would be my honor.” you whisper to her and she nods. 

“Yeah?” she asks smiling so wide and it’s so bright you think you might go blind.

“Yeah.” you let out and she immediately crashes her lips onto yours. 

When you pull apart she slides the ring onto your finger. The two of you rest your foreheads together, the smile never fading. 

You reach the supermarket and immediately go to the cereal aisle. You reach up getting Dani’s favorite cereal and Jamie’s favorite. When you’re about to check out your eyes are caught by a bouquet of flowers. 

The white little daisies that you have been looking for were right there. Jamie always rants about how much she hates supermarket flowers since they have loads of bad things, but you need these flowers to surprise her. You also see anemones, something that would be perfect for Dani. 

You grab both of those bouquets and place them in your basket. After you checkout you make the drive to The Leafling. Opening the door of The Leafling you see Dani standing there, sweeping up the floors. 

“Hi welcome to The Leafling!” Dani says with some enthusiasm and you laugh.

“It’s me Dani.” you say and she laughs.

“Oh hi Y/N!” she says embracing you in a hug. 

She takes some grocery bags from your hand and helps you bring them upstairs, “Where’s Jamie?” you ask.

“She went to go grab something from the hardware store. Something about not having the right screwdrivers.” she explains and you nod. 

The two of you proceed to put all the groceries away. Once you’re finished you grab the blue anemones from the bag you had and gave them to her.

“These are for you.” you whisper and she smiles widely.

“Thank you Y/N! They’re beautiful! What do these ones mean?” she asks and you chuckle. 

You take Dani’s hand in yours and give it a small squeeze, “I know you’re struggling Dani. Everything that happened at Bly, what happened to you. You’re my best friend even if Jamie is my wife you will always be my best friend. I don’t want to lose you Dan.” you whisper tears glistening in your eyes, “These mean protection against evil. I can’t lose you.” 

She takes you into a big tight hug. Dani holds you close as she rubs your back, “I’m gonna be okay Y/N/N. I promise.” 

“Good because you need to be here to meet your niece or nephew.” you whisper and she pulls back from the hug staring at you. Her eyes wide and her mouth agape in shock, “Jamie and I tried the IVF thing that came out. It was a lot of money, but it was worth a shot. I went to the doctor’s before the farmer’s market and it worked Dani.” 

Dani immediately hugs you again before letting out a squeal, “No way!” she exclaims, “I am so happy for you!” 

“Thank you!” you say smiling and letting out a small chuckle. 

The front door unlocks and you know that Jamie is home. She notices the two of you sitting on the couch as she proceeds to wave at the two of you. Jamie puts away her bag of department store gear into the respectable places before noticing the supermarket daisies on the counter.

“Love, how many times do I have to tell you about supermarket flowers?” she asks finally coming over to sit with you guys.

She gives you a chaste kiss and you smile into it. Then she makes her way to Dani before ruffling her hair, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t find them at the farmer’s market. Plus I couldn’t take them from the store. They are for you.” you mention and she smiles. 

“For me?” she asks intertwining your hands together and you nod, “What’s the story?” 

“Well I remember you telling me that daisies mean innocence, purity, new beginnings-” you begin before she cuts you off.

“And motherhood.” she whispers barely audible and you nod a huge smile on your face.

“I’m pregnant Jamie.” you say and she looks at you like her eyes are about to pop out of her head. 

“Baby really?” she asks her voice breaking a little and her lips quirk up into a smile.

“Yes really. You’re gonna be a mom Jamie.” you say nodding and she immediately kisses you deeply and passionately. 

She places her hand gently on your stomach before leaning down to talk to him or her, “Hey little fella. I’m your other mom. I can’t wait to meet you.” 

8 - m o n t h s - l a t e r

You found yourself at the farmer’s market yet again, your baby bump now visible and you were due any minute now. 

Your phone began to ring and you immediately answered, “Hello love?” you ask.

“Y/N...” you hear from the other line, Jamie’s voice was somber and you can tell that she has been crying. 

“What’s wrong? What happened?” you ask. 

“I think we need to drive to Bly.” she whispers into the phone.

“What? Why? Jamie what’s going on?” you ask frantically making your way straight to the car, whatever you needed to buy was long forgotten. 

“It’s Dani.” she whispers on the other line and you felt your heart drop into your stomach. 

So the two of you found yourself at Bly once more. The lake looking more and more ominous as you stared at it. Jamie kicks off her shoes and starts making her way into the lake. 

Jamie shouldn’t have to do this. It’s you. You’re the one who needs to do this, but you can’t. The lake is far too cold and the weather outside wouldn’t help the baby’s health either. 

A few moments later Jamie resurfaces from the water. She finds herself on the shore as you immediately wrap a towel around her. Tears flowing down her eyes before she shakes her head. 

You let out a sob as she hold you tight. Your sister was gone. 

Two weeks later you found yourself at the cemetery in Bly. It was small, but the two of you thought it was fitting. Owen, Henry, Flora and Miles were all there with you. 

All six of you stared at the grave before placing flowers onto the tombstone. Jamie thought we should put crocuses onto the grave. It means hope after darkness. After struggling for so long, hopefully this allows her to find rest. 

She was buried right by Hannah. Two people you lost to weird place that is Bly Manor. 

1 - m o n t h - l a t e r

You sat on the hospital bed holding your newborn baby in your arms. Jamie is standing there smiling at you widely. 

After all the darkness and craziness that has been happening, this was the first time you felt hope in a long time. Even though your sister isn’t here physically, you know she’s always here. 

“Welcome to the world Danielle Hannah Clayton.” you and Jamie whisper. 

The name seemed fitting and you couldn’t help, but feel lighter. She leans over and gives you a small kiss to her forehead. 

White jasmine flowers in a vase by the window sill. It means unconditional and eternal love. Jamie picked out the flowers yet again.

It had to be your favorite of all.

The unconditional and eternal love that you and Jamie felt towards each other. The unconditional and eternal love you felt towards your newborn daughter. And the unconditional and eternal love that you, Jamie, and now your daughter Dani felt for the two people you lost. 

They aren’t here physically, but you know they’re always here besides you. 

[the-sunshine-dims]

amnesia rewrite! (chapter 3)

it took a bit but here's chapter 3!

ch 1 | ch 2 | ch 4 | ch 5 | ch 6 | ch 7

original fic

words: 3,457

ao3

contents and warnings: angst (past and present), hurt/comfort, amnesia,  mentally a child!janus, patton has too much guilt to be healthy, flower crowns, food mention,

________

Roman slowly approached the open inviting door of Patton's room, which considering the circumstances that he was there for, didn't seem that inviting. After a moment or so he knocked on the wall to warn Patton he was there.

And Patton, who had been on the floor possibly scrapbooking, definitely making a mess, turned around quickly at the noise before he smiled at him

“Hey Ro!” He greeted with a grin, waving roman over to him.

Roman offered him a small, slightly strained smile in return  “hey Padre,” he greeted in return before going “pat you might wanna sit down because something... kind of happened.”

Pattons happy smile shifted into a concerned one as he started talking again “okay I’m already sitting, but what happened?” 

Roman nervously rubbed his neck, while he had volunteered to go tell Patton the night earlier he had not accounted for how awkward it would be to tell people something he didn’t fully know about, actually he was pretty sure he would still feel awkward even if he knew every single detail. “okay, so, apparently Janus.. went into the imagination, and something happened, we- logan and me, think he got attacked or hit his head or something, and umm well logan kind of confirmed he has amnesia..” he chewed the inside of his lip nervously, a bad habit he had picked up from Virgil a long while back.

Patton opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to process that and trying to find the right words before simply going “is he okay?”

Roman nodded “yeah, well he’s the best he can be. When I left, him and Logan were competing on who could complete a rubix cube the fastest, I’m pretty sure Logan was even letting him win,” he smiled to himself, and Patton couldn't help the small smile at that mental image either “it's kind of adorable actually.” Roman trailed off, eventually he remembered that there’s still one, very important last thing he should tell Patton “okay also, specs said Janus is mentally a child of some verity, we still don’t know exactly how mentally old he is but we know he doesn’t remember king splitting and anything more recent than that.”

Patton made a sympathetic noise “poor thing…” he trailed off, it would be bad enough if Janus had to deal with amnesia but Janus in the mindset of a child.. children shouldn’t have to deal with the aftermath of amnesia or loss (especially twice in the loss subject.) 

Roman nodded crestfallen as the image of Janus sobbing into his chest burned itself into his memory “yeah..” he agreed, Roman may have been kind of upset at Janus for the POF disaster but.. he didn’t deserve anything that happened in the last 24 hours.

After a bit it was clear Patton wasn’t going back to his scrapbooking so Roman sat down on the floor with him, doing what he and Logan did with Janus and just not leaving him alone after unleashing a bunch of stuff he had to process.

After another long stretch of silence Patton looked over to Roman “hey, ro.. do you think I’d be able check up on him?” He asked, he wanted Janus to know he cared enough to go and see him when something bad happened.

Roman hummed “probably, I mean it’s not really my decision but I’m sure he’d be happy to see you from what Logan told me, so yeah we can go see!” He told him before continuing “oh also if he wants to hang out or is just fine with hanging out you can go to bring him somewhere else if you want, because i’m pretty it'll be kinda boring otherwise.”

Patton smiled fondly, and with a nod he got up and helped Roman up with him, and after a moment of just standing there Roman realized Patton didn’t know where Janus even was because he accidentally excluded that information, even when it would make sense to share it, the closest thing he said to a location was that logan knew about Janus as well, and that was why he was awkwardly standing around so he just took Patton's hand in his own and pulled them into the hallway and headed to logan's room.

Once they had passed the kitchen Patton paused though, stopping them both dead in their tracks, before simply asking “have you guys eaten yet?” 

Roman laughed awkwardly and nervously rubbed his neck again, trying his best to avoid eye contact,

That was enough of an answer for Patton so he just sighed fondly before popping into the kitchen and beginning to cook food for everyone, once he was done he made sure to leave an extra two plates in the fridge, though it would be a wonder if Remus actually ended up eating his and didn’t just use it for an ‘art project.’

_____

Janus looked up from where he was sitting on the floor watching tv almost the very second the door opened, Expecting Roman since he disappeared a bit before, so the moment he did catch a glance he gave the smallest, happy little smile as he began waving, and received a wave from Roman in return,

Morality entering right behind Roman was a surprise though.

He offered another wave, because he liked Morality, He was nice, Morality once gave him one of his stuffies when Janus was sick, so he liked him.

After a moment Janus just settled back into his spot as Patton came over to him and handed him breakfast, Janus offered him a brief thankful smile to be polite because that's what Thomas's parents said to do before beginning to turn his attention back to the tv.

Patton was happy Janus seemed relatively content but he didn’t know how to ask to hang out with him, if he ever had a plan he had forgotten it the second he stepped into the room.

After a couple awkward moments he just took a breath and settled down before turning his attention to Janus and asking “hey would I be able to hang out with you for a little bit?” 

Janus turned to him and nodded, simply going “‘Kay” and continuing to do as he did prior, now just with the acknowledgment of Patton's presence, Patton couldn't help but smile as he settled fully onto the floor, sitting criss-cross applesauce against the bedside, passively waiting for Janus to be done with his food and initiate a conversation, Patton knew sometimes there were days where people were less talkative so he didn’t wanna force him to talk if he wasn’t in the mood. 

After a while passed and everyone had eaten, Janus did end up speaking up, asking simply “how are you?” 

Patton smiled at him “I’m doing fine kiddo, how are you?” He asked in response, honestly he wasn’t the finest. He was nervous and still feeling guilty from everything that went down because of the wedding and the fact he had treated Janus so badly, hell he’d treated Remus badly too! He had been so mean to everyone.

Janus hummed in thought before simply going “‘m fine too,” which was only partially a lie, and he had a very tiring day the day before so he got to lie about how mentally drained he was, and hey he was fine for the most part, Roman and logic were being very nice and he had been able to just hang out watching tv while Logic worked and he liked doing that, it was some much needed calm,

Patton offered another smile as he tried thinking of what to say; after another awkward silence he decided To just warmly go “hey kiddo would you want to go explore? And if so do you have any specific places you wanna hang out at?”

Janus pinched his chin in a very exaggerated thinking pose that would make logan proud before just going “sure! and i don’t really mind anywhere really! Well- as long as there aren't horses there, they’re mean,” he told him, before continuing “they hate me and I hate them, it’s a mutually understood hatred.”

Patton didn’t have Time to unpack all of that so he just chuckled and nodded like he understood and didn’t have a million questions on why Janus hated every Horse in existence and just how they all hated him back- so instead of thinking about that he took a moment to think on where he should go with janus, not really knowing where janus would genuinely want to go, before remembering a certain interest Janus used to have that Patton distinctly remembered king showing off whenever he could, so after not much of a second thought he just smiled and asked “would you wanna hang out with me in Roman’s meadow? It’s really pretty there and hey we could even make flower crowns-“ 

The moment the words left his mouth Janus practically had stars in his eyes, he looked like a steven universe character as he excitedly gasped before nodding vigorously “yes please!” He chirped excitedly.

Patton once again smiled, and contained a soft chuckle at how happy Janus looked, he looked like when you tell a child ‘actually yeah why don't you pick out a candy’ when going to the store, he looked.. childish, and Patton thinks that’s good, if he’s in the mindset of younger Janus, Patton doesn’t think it would be good if Janus started acting like normal Janus right now.

After a bit of Janus just being excited it finally crossed his mind that the reason Patton’s not getting up to go is because he’s waiting for him to say he’s ready, so he bounces up and after a short confused look that’s quickly replaced with a smile Janus helps Patton up to the best of his ability and then it’s Janus’s turn to wait because he doesn’t know where anything is, he doesn't  even know how he got to Logan's room, all he remembers is crying a bit and then waking up under a soft blanket on Logan’s bed.

Luckily for Janus, Patton took no time to shoot a wave to Roman and Logan before going “I’ll be back soon, don’t worry I’ll keep him safe” and then presenting his hand for Janus and once their hands are linked Patton headed to the nearest imagination entrance.

_____

The moment Janus could see the archway with the absolutely beautiful meadow covered with all kinds of wildflowers and overgrown green grass just beyond it he ran out into it without a moment's hesitation.

Patton followed him with a smile playing on his lip, and a chuckle following in suit as Janus twirled himself around into a soft patch of grass and promptly fell face first into the blanketed earth, after a moment Janus just smiled hugely and began happily laughing as he turned over so he could face the sky. 

(And Patton tried his best to not think about how he had kind of outcasted this side, this side who with just the mention of flowers or flower crowns was almost bouncing with excitement, this side who viewed him as a friend, this side who really did want the best for Thomas. And instead he tried to focus on the fact he was trying to repair it, and the fact that Janus was practically elated as he began his best attempt at rolling around in the grass and flowers, which counted for something, at least it meant he chose a good place to hang out with Janus,) so he just smiled and sat down next to Janus, 

And after a moment he picked a small yellow flower and offered it to Janus, cuasing Janus to beam at him as he took it before he began picking others around him and weaving them into a crown with it.

And After a moment Patton just slowly went “I have to admit, I have no idea how to make flower crowns,”

Janus looked over at him with a reassuring smile before he replied “that’s okay, don’t worry! That just means I can teach you!” he said as he grabbed more flowers and started a new crown and while making sure Patton was paying attention, weaving them together slowly to see if that was all Patton needed to learn or if he needed actual instructions like he did when creativity was trying to teach him to crochet.

Patton tried his hand at it after he grabbed a handful of flowers and slowly tried to replicate what Janus did, and after a bit and some trial and error he was successful, Which caused both Janus and Patton to cheer because he Did it!

“You did it!! You did super super well too!” Janus congratulated him excitedly, and he decided he liked teaching, he felt super proud, he understood now why Logic liked it so much now (despite not really actually teaching.)

“Thanks!” Patton grinned, and after a minute they both started doing their own things, Patton trying to make another flower crown to get the gist of it down to memory, and Janus.. Doing something, he wasn't entirely sure what.

Though soon the peaceful happy mood shifted for Patton, it wasn't that anything really happened, actually it might've been because nothing happened, because it was quiet enough to allow Patton to begin thinking, and normally thinking was a good thing, but recently every time he began thinking all he could think about was how wrong he'd been and how much he'd failed- so the more time went on the more sorrowful he became and the more the small smile that had been left from the little mini celebration dwindled.

After awhile of the two just sitting in silence the thoughts got louder and louder, them all just echoing in his head until they got loud enough to voice themselves, much to the chagrin of Patton, who would prefer having a choice of whether his insecurities and regrets got out, and if they did get out he would prefer to tell them to someone who hasn't literally just been through a traumatic experience, “I’m sorry- I’m sorry I misjudged you and was mean- I’m so sorry I was so awful to you- I’m so so sorry” he practically word-vomited. the words coming out a mile a minute, and because of that he was able to make it become more mumbly a little after the second ‘sorry’, which was lucky for him as he wanted it to be as inaudible as possible so Janus didn't have to actually understand his little guilt-ridden ramble, which didn't work completely but he tried, because he didn’t want to let his guilt get in the way of hanging out with Janus, Janus quite honestly should not have to deal with that at the moment, he should get to have a happy fun day, since he was already dealing with so much, if he did even tell him he wanted to tell him after his memory returned.

Janus was silent for a couple moments, quite honestly he was so confused, he didn’t know what Patton meant and even if he did it was so abrupt it left Janus quite literally stunned, but after an uncomfortably silent minute or so he tried to defend Patton “I don’t know what your talking about.. but I’m sure you weren’t mean! And if you were you probably had a good reason for it, I know you! You wouldn’t be mean if you didn’t have a good reason!” He told him insistently. 

Patton.. really wished that were true, he had a good reason on paper but in reality not so much, he wanted to keep Thomas safe, and somehow his view of Janus had changed throughout the years to view him as a danger, despite him knowing Janus, well he didn’t know his name till recently but he knew Janus. but regardless of that somehow he started thinking Janus was evil, and then he had mistreated him, not hearing him out even when Janus was probably the expert on the situation. “dee.. I know you don’t remember it but I really was super super mean! and I misjudged you and I most definitely ended up hurting you and you didn’t deserve any of it! and I’m so sorry I’m just.. so so sor-“ Patton was cut off abruptly as Janus hugged him, 

“You probably had your reasons,” he said once again, much more insistent, and patton couldn't help but wonder, had Janus always seen the best in people? And when did he stop? “-and whatever they were I’ll probably forgive you for them! I mean I honestly don’t remember what you're talking about so it might be... a bit before I fully forgive you when I got all the memories and stuff back but-  no matter what,” he pulled out of the hug just to be able to look into Morality’s eyes, trying to look stern, which for once, didn't really work. “you deserve a second chance.” He told him firmly, and after another moment he continued “and I’m certain we’ll be friends! I promise I’ll stand by you when I’m all memory-y again, promise!” He grinned and plopped his now suddenly and magically finished flower crown onto Morality’s head.

Patton smiled sadly at him, “okay, and.. Thank you,” he said, leaving what he was thanking him for blank, and honestly he was still feeling extremely guilty because despite everything and Janus not really knowing what he meant he still comforted him to the best of his abilities, and really how could he think Janus was evil, how could he, roman and Logan dismiss him so easily? never inviting him to the table, and pretty much just ignoring his existence to Thomas. later when everything was normaller Patton needed to have a sit down discussion with Janus and Remus because he needed to make sure they were starting to be listened too, and that they knew they would be, however though currently he needed to focus on Janus, because Patton brought him here to have a good day and while he thinks since it's been maybe a bit more than a hour, and eventually it'll get boring, he still wants him to have a good day.

So he adjusted the flower crown to be more comfortable on his head before he slipped right into his happy façade which luckily Janus, who was trying to make a little cave out of the tall overgrown grass, didn't seem to question “so kiddo! After maybe a half hour more out here would you wanna go inside and watch a show or movie? I can make popcorn!” (-and now that Patton was paying attention did Janus look that young before?)

Janus perked up like a sunflower and nodded “mhmm! sure! What would you wanna watch?”

Patton Smiled “I don't really care, i'll be fine with whatever you wanna watch kiddo,”

Janus seemed to think about it before going “can we watch kiki’s delivery service..? Oh! And can we have skittles too?”

Patton smiled once again. “of course! When we get inside I’ll set it all up!” 

Janus’s eyes lit up brightly before he murmured an excited thank you and tried to hurry and begin distracting himself so he wouldn’t feel like he was waiting and time would pass quicker and a minute wouldn't feel like an hour also he needed to focus on making that last crown anyway since he had already made one for Logic and he needed to make one for Roman.

_____

A couple hours later Logan and Roman got curious as to where the two went and discovered Patton and Janus dead asleep, Janus pretty much curled up into a ball against Patton's side, Janus’s normally small form somehow slightly smaller, as Patton's arm snaked around his side almost protectively, with the Tv asleep from no use, Logan and Roman just shared a soft fond look before silently agreeing to not wake them and summoning a blanket for the two before leaving. Logan and Roman could see something had changed, they could see the tension eased from Patton's shoulders ever so slightly, not gone for sure but he was clearly content and that was breathing room, because while Patton had always left the door to his room open as an invitation to anyone and everyone that they could come in and that had persisted, Patton had still been coming out of his room less and less, and aside from that there was other things that just made it clear something was wrong, but Patton and Janus were content, right there, taking a nap, and for now that's all they needed to know. 

[iatethepomegranate]

We are not alone in the dark with our demons, Chapter 16

In which Caleb buys a house in Rexxentrum with Beau and Yasha, becomes a professor, learns to be a person separate from the trauma that shaped his life for so long, and begins the arduous process of preventing what happened to him from happening to anyone else. It gets far more personal than even he could have anticipated.

Chapter summary: Jester accidentally strikes a nerve and makes amends, and Caleb receives an unexpected message that is both welcome and frightening.

Chapter notes: Chapter title is from La Vita by Beverly Glenn-Copeland

***

Chapter 16: And the body says "Remember you gotta breathe"

Caleb and Essek finally emerged for lunch, and the Nein (minus Beau and Yasha) broke into raucous applause as they stepped into the main chamber of the Chateau. The place was empty at this time, and Essek dropped his disguise. Yeza and Luc were, mercifully, not present. But Marion was.

“I will fireball this entire building and scatter your ashes in the sea,” Caleb said mildly, dragging Essek, cheeks plum-toned with a blush, to the two remaining seats at the Nein’s table.

“That’s a very cool line, Lebby,” said Veth. “You should save it for the bad guys.”

“These assholes are good practice,” Caleb replied.

Jester leaned over the table to grab Caleb’s hand, waggling her eyebrows. “Did you have a good time? You sounded really weird on the Sending. Omigod were you guys having sex?”

Essek was incapable of retaining his composure around the Nein, and the plum tone of his usual blush was turning redder by the second. “Shut up, Jester,” he said weakly.

Caleb stepped in before this got out of hand. “All right, that’s enough. We will accept your congratulations in the form of food, if you don’t mind.”

The conversation moved on, and the colour had faded from Essek’s cheeks by the time lunch arrived. Caleb wanted to scour the shops for all the paper and ink he could find before heading back to Rexxentrum. He would need to visit Felix tomorrow, and figure out whether his parents would let him go back to school. Essek was stretching his safety a bit to stay around Caleb for a little longer, with the intention of sticking around until they found Nico. They would need to think of a more permanent solution than disguise spells eventually. So they made plans to pick up all manner of random components that were easier to source in a port city than the Empire. Just in case inspiration struck and they needed a piece of sea glass or a really cool seashell for some reason.

The seashell was Jester’s idea. She dragged Caleb to the beach to find one, just the two of them. Caleb was fairly certain there were no spells that required seashells as a component, but he generally did not say no to Jester if he could help it.

“Hey, Cay-leb.” She had been holding his hand since they left the Chateau, and she swung it as they walked among the damp sand.

Ja?”

“Fjord and Mama said I made Essek really uncomfortable at lunch.” She had an eye out for shells, scanning their surroundings, but her mouth was downturned at the corners. “I’m sorry. I was trying to be, like, funny about it? Because I think I really freaked him out this morning.”

“Ja, you caught us at an… inopportune moment.” That was putting it mildly. Caleb had worked very hard to get Essek back in the mood after that, suspecting that it would have spiralled into a long-term problem if he’d let that ruin things. “Essek is a private person. He’s coming out of his shell a bit, but it needs to be on his terms. Thank you for not trying to touch him.”

“Yeah.” Jester stepped into the shallows and plucked a shell from the sand. “Ooh, this one’s pretty.” She tucked it into her pink haversack. “Should I apologise to Essek? I don’t know if he’ll want me to.”

“He will appreciate the attempt.”

“You sound like Fjord when he doesn’t like my ideas.”

Caleb snorted. “Your ideas are wonderful, Jester, and he knows that. They can simply have… unexpected consequences. An apology sounds good. Just don’t… ask for details of what you interrupted this morning.”

“Can I ask you?” A cheeky eyebrow quirk.

“Bathtub sex,” Caleb said flatly. Because if she heard it from him, at least she wouldn’t be bursting to know anymore, and that would make this whole thing easier.

“Ooh. Very sexy.”

Caleb busied himself looking for a shell while blood flowed to his face.

“You know Fjord and I tried that once? He slipped and broke his tailbone, so I had to take very good care of him.”

Caleb sighed, and resigned himself to the fact his blush would not die down any time soon. “You are a caring person, Jester.” Caleb, personally, did not mind her teasing or oversharing; it was a sign of their friendship.

“Thank you, Caleb! You know I was bullshitting you about the seashells, right?”

“Ja, I know.”

“Help me find a weird one so I can scare Fjord later.”

***

Caleb gave Jester the space to talk to Essek upon their return, this time to Veth’s place. He set up in the kitchen/dining room to sort through what he and Essek had found at the market. Luc practiced shooting old bottles behind the house under Veth’s supervision while Yeza worked in the lab. Kingsey was watching Caleb work, asking questions about all the components he had picked up.

As Caleb sorted, he found a quiet moment to send a quick message to Beauregard to inform her of their plans. “Hallo, Beauregard. Essek and I will return home tomorrow. Is everything all right? Can I get you anything?”

Beauregard’s reply was a little delayed, stretching the limits of the spell. “Uh, yeah. We’re cool. Um, Nico snuck in when Yasha and I were out. Ate some bread, took his stuff, left a thank you note.”

Caleb dropped the pouch of pearls he had been counting. Kingsley dropped to his knees to pick them up.

“Careful, Magic Man,” he said, passing the pouch back, holding onto Caleb’s hand. He pocketed one pearl with his free hand, but Caleb couldn’t bring himself to care. “Are you good?”

Caleb took a breath. “Ja. I think so.” He cast another Sending. “How long ago? Could he still be in Rexxentrum? What did the letter say? Have you told the Soul?”

“Breathe, dude. I told Yudala. Haven’t seen the letter yet. Yasha just told me about it. This was maybe three hours ago. Can’t be far.”

Nico was either in, or close to, Rexxentrum. He’d chosen to come back. He’d taken up Caleb’s offer to go to the house. He’d eaten. He had his spellbook. His coat and shoes.

“Hey.” Kingsley was still holding his hand. “Breathe.”

“Ja, I’m getting that a lot,” Caleb said faintly. He took a breath.

Kingsley guided him to the nearest chair, pushing him into it. “Sit. I’ll find your boy.”

As he left, Caleb said, “I know you take that pearl, by the way. You need practice.”

“Yeah, fuck you, too.”

In the few minutes Kingsley was away, Caleb set the pouch of pearls on the table, put his hands on his knees, and breathed. Willed himself to stay calm. This was good news. It didn’t need to panic him. Nico wasn’t talking, but he was listening. That was a good thing.

It was also a lot of pressure, now that getting him back genuinely seemed possible. He would wait until he knew the contents of that note before he did anything. Then, depending on what the letter said, another Sending was probably in order. To let him know that he was welcome back any time.

Kingsley came back with every member of the Nein who was still in Nicodranas, which did include the one he had been looking for, just not exclusively. Essek crouched in front of Caleb, a new shell necklace swinging from his neck that must have been an apology gift from Jester.

“Are you all right?” He took both of Caleb’s hands.

Caleb managed to smile, just a little bit. “I’m fine. It was good news.”

“What happened?” asked Veth.

“Nico has been to the house, while Beau and Yasha were out. He left a note.”

Jester butted in. “What did it say? What did it say?”

“I don’t know. Beauregard could only tell me what Yasha told her. She is still at work.” Caleb’s brain was whirling, not quite clicking as neatly as he would have liked. “I… may need to leave early.”

“Or you could send Yasha a message,” said Fjord. Thank the Wildmother for his voice of reason, because Caleb was apparently incapable of thinking clearly.

“The spell only lasts a moment. If she does not have the letter in front of her…”

“I’ll tell her you’re going to message her so she can find the letter,” said Jester. “Then you message her and she reads it for you.” She was casting the spell before Caleb had a chance to reply; Fjord scrambled to count her words. “Hey, Yasha! Caleb’s gonna ask you to read the letter to him. Can you grab it now? He’s, like, kinda freaking out about it. Bye!” She listened, while Caleb gave her a look that he hoped indicated both his gratitude and also his barely-there annoyance that she used up so many words just to tell Yasha he was panicking.

Veth latched onto Caleb’s arm, pressing her cheek against his bicep. Caduceus began to heat water for tea, his go-to whenever shit went down. Caleb felt a little ridiculous for reacting so strongly to something good, to the point that all his friends were doing damage control on him.

“Okay, Caleb,” said Jester. “Yasha’s gonna grab the letter and read it to you.”

“Danke. I will give her a moment.” Caleb tugged on Essek’s hands. “Get up before your knees give out, for fuck’s sake.”

Essek floated upward, sitting criss-cross applesauce in the air so he remained only slightly above Caleb’s eye level. “Better?” he said, entirely teasing him for fixating on random trivial bullshit. Not that Caleb thought the condition of Essek’s joints was trivial. But Essek probably did.

Caleb ignored the teasing; enough time had probably passed for Yasha to find the note. “Hallo, Yasha. If the note is twenty-five words or fewer, could you please read it to me? Otherwise, give me a summary. Danke.”

Yasha wasted no words. “Dear Caleb. In brackets: Bren, question mark? Thank you for the hospitality. Sincerely, N. That’s all it says. Beau told the Soul. Not Astrid, though.”

Another spell. “Thank you, Yasha. I’ll tell Astrid. I will be home tomorrow.”

“See you!”

The spell faded away. Caleb had two more Sendings to cast, and then he could process all of this.

“Astrid, it’s Bren.” Using his old name was never comfortable, but Astrid was one of the few people he allowed that privilege. “Nico took up my offer to visit the house. He ate and took his things. Three hours ago.”

“He will not be far,” Astrid replied. “I will adjust the search orders, but you and Felix remain our best options. Enjoy Nicodranas.”

Caleb let out a long breath. “Okay, one more spell.” He cast. “Hallo, Nico. I hear you visited my home today. I will return to Rexxentrum tomorrow. You are welcome any time.” He held his breath, waiting for a response, cursing the word economy of the spell for forcing him into somewhat stilted language. He hoped it was good enough.

This time, Nico answered. “Hallo… Caleb? I’m not… I don't want to talk. But thank you.” That was it.

And that was a lot. Caleb found himself slumped in his seat, one more knot in his gut finally unravelling.

“He spoke to you?” asked Essek.

“Briefly,” Caleb said, barely getting the word out through a lump in his throat.

“That’s very good,” Caduceus said quietly, preparing herbs for the teapot. “You’re doing a good job, Caleb.”

A weak laugh. “I’m trying.”

“Keep doing what you’re doing,” said Fjord.

“We’re all very proud of you,” Veth added. Caleb dragged her into a tight hug.

***

One last evening in Nicodranas. Caleb and Essek stayed with the Brenattos again, during which time Nugget blinked in for a visit. Covered in mud.

“We’ve stopped trying to tell him where he can and can’t go,” Yeza said tiredly as Jester cheerfully hosed the dog down with her control water spell. “As long as he doesn’t destroy the neighbour’s yard again, he seems fine.”

“At least he comes back,” Caleb said. “Beauregard is still bitter about Professor Thaddeus.”

Essek sighed deeply; he had been on the receiving end of far too many rants from Beauregard, even though he himself had never met the owl. “Do not speak his name. She will reach across time and space to yell about him.”

“Who the fuck is Professor Thaddeus?” asked Kingsley.

“Beau’s asshole pet owl,” Veth explained. “He abandoned us the first time we boarded a ship, which we accidentally stole, and she curses his name to this day.”

Kingsley, who knew everything there was to know about the Nein’s bullshit at sea, simply nodded. “That tracks.”

Caleb was at risk of overthinking everything going down in Rexxentrum again, so he transformed himself into a golden retriever as soon as Nugget was clean and chased the blink dog around the Brenattos’ small back garden. And then Luc chased both of them, mercifully without his crossbow because Yeza had preemptively confiscated it.

Once all three of them were exhausted, dog-Caleb collapsed in a heap in front of the couch, resting his chin on Jester’s knee while she used one hand to give him scritches and the other hand to give Nugget scritches on her other side. Luc draped himself over Caleb’s back and fell asleep.

When Caleb turned back at the end of the hour, the boy didn’t react, so he resigned himself to lying on the floor with his now-human head in Jester lap. She kept giving him head scritches anyway.

“I wish I was watching,” Jester whispered. “This would be a very cute picture.”

Essek, smirking, hovered to sit in front of the four of them, and produced an illusion replicating what he saw. Caleb hid his face in Jester’s skirt instead of looking at himself, because he would want to kiss Essek if he examined the way the man looked at him. And he was trapped by obligation beneath a sleeping child. You did not move for sleeping animals or children (or Beauregards), unless you absolutely had no choice (or Mollymauk dragged you away to examine magic shit, but that was covered under the no choice category).

“Aw, are you shy, Caleb?” Jester said. “Could someone get my--oh, thanks, Fjord.” A soft scratching of pencil on paper.

“Would you do me a favour, Jester?” asked Essek.

Caleb laughed against the fabric of Jester’s skirt; he was already doing her a favour with the illusion.

“I’ll do you all the favours, Essek! What do you need?”

“Could I have a copy of that, when you’re finished?”

“Of course! I’ll hide some extra dicks in yours.”

Essek sighed. “Thank you, Jester.”

Caleb fell asleep for a time. He woke up on the couch with a blanket and Nugget draped over him. The smell of something cooking was in the air; the spices were somewhat familiar but he couldn’t quite place them. Probably something local. He listened to the clattering of the kitchen for a while, sleepily scratching Nugget’s head, until he finally found the energy to open his eyes. He was dimly aware there were others in the room, but Essek drew his attention. And held it.

Essek hovered by the arm of the couch closest to Caleb’s head, making notes in one of his old Aeor field journals. Caleb let nostalgia wash over him; he remembered that book. It was one of the last before they had finally ended their weeks-long expedition and turned to face the rest of the world and all its complicated bullshit. Caleb had been popping in and out with risk teleports for supplies and Trent’s trial (and turning down the job offer from Ludinus). Getting away from it all and unravelling secrets with Essek had kept him sane through all of it.

It had taken them a while to speak plainly about their feelings for each other. Longer than the rest of the Nein probably knew. But, ultimately, the main difference before and after Aeor was the amount of physical touch they shared, and occasionally its nature. But only occasionally.

And some of those changes had happened before they spoke of it.

Essek, not looking up from the book, reached out to lay his arm on the couch, fingers barely making contact with Caleb’s hair. He lifted the book into the air and let it hover, continuing to make notes. Caleb knew enough about Essek’s floating cantrip at this point to know he could float and cast a concentration spell at the same time, at least when he wasn’t under duress. And Caleb still found that very cool. Or maybe Essek was just extending his floating cantrip to the book. Still cool, either way.

Jester was cackling softly, drawing his attention. She had her sketchbook out again and kept shooting glances in their direction with a cheeky raised eyebrow. Caleb, trapped beneath a sleeping dog, resigned himself to his fate as Jester’s model once again. She and the rest of the Nein were coming to Rexxentrum shortly for his speech (oh fuck he had a speech in mere days at the Academy), so there would be ample opportunity for her to get this out of her system.

Oh, who was he kidding? Jester would never get this out of her system and that was one of many reasons he loved her. And maybe he would pull her aside later and ask for copies of her sketches as well. Essek would have to leave eventually, and it would be nice to have something to look at in his absence. Even if Caleb’s memory was good enough to keep an image in his mind, he liked having tangible things to remember his loved ones by.

The loss of the letters still ached sometimes, even if he had needed to let them go. The quilt the Nein had bought for him helped when he was at home. Maybe he could collect happier memories now. Yasha used to press flowers in a book for Zuala, and he had a bare spot in his book holsters now. Both of them could use some happier momentos. Caleb had purchased a pair of nice leather-bound journals from a bookstore earlier today; maybe he would give one to Yasha and see what she did with it. It would feel less weird than doing this alone. And Yasha would understand the need for it.

At some point during Caleb’s mind journey, Essek had begun to stroke his hair. Caleb closed his eyes and tried to stay in the moment. Treasure it. He buried his fingers in Nugget’s fur. The dog huffed in his sleep.

Kingsley had evidently started watching Jester draw at some point and whispered advice for where she could hide dicks in the drawing. Fjord sighed but didn’t stop him. Caleb couldn’t hear Caduceus, Veth, Luc or Yeza in the immediate vicinity. Caduceus was probably helping with dinner, and maybe Luc had been tucked into bed upstairs. Or was off playing outside again.

A louder clatter of plates caught Nugget’s attention and he blinked away, earning startled yells from Veth and Caduceus in the kitchen. Caleb sat up and stretched. His spine cracked a bit; he was getting too old to sleep on floors and couches comfortably. He dug his thumbs into the back of his neck, working the stiffness out of the muscle.

“You get that too, huh?” said Fjord. Numerically, Fjord was a few years younger than him at most, and half-orcs aged a little quicker than humans. Functionally, they were probably close to the same age. It was hard to tell, given Fjord had started to go a bit grey on account of seeing some serious shit.

Caleb grumbled a bit, the edges of sleep clinging to his consciousness enough that he was still a bit cranky. “Sometimes I forget I’m thirty-fucking-four.”

“Don’t you remember everything?” asked Kingsley.

“Ah.” He chuckled ruefully. “Not quite.” He did not bring up the fact he had only spent twenty-three of his years with the expected level of awareness for his age (more awareness, actually, in the case of his toddlerhood). Eleven years of little-to-no memory continued to fuck with his head, even years after the fact.

Even without saying it, he had managed to bring down the mood of the room. He was good at that. Jester had even stopped sketching. She had lost five years of her own, but at least she knew where they had gone. Not that Caleb would ever say that to her; it would sound crueller than he meant. And he knew she wasn’t sombre for her own sake, but for his, because she knew why Caleb was missing eleven years. And she was the kind of loving person who would freak out when she found out stepping on grass hurt it (because she had found that out). Even Kingsley caught the drop in the mood; Caleb wasn’t sure exactly how much he knew of Caleb’s experiences, but he did know bits and pieces. Which bits and pieces, however, was unclear.

Then Fjord stretched his arms upwards, a dull crack in his shoulders. “There we go. Can’t let you have all the fun, Caleb.”

Essek grimaced. “Agh, will you two stop that?”

Jester laughed, a little wetter than Caleb would have liked. “We should start a grumpy old people club. Essek isn’t invited because he’s, like, a toddler in elf years.”

“I beg your pardon!”

“He will sulk if we keep him out,” said Caleb. “Very childish behaviour, I know, but you know the fair folk are basically children until they’re five hundred.”

“Please! I am most definitely an adult.”

“Barely.”

Essek scowled at him, because Caleb was technically right. Essek had been an adult for about twenty years. For an elf? That was barely anything.

“And Jester, I’m sorry, but you are not eligible either. You are neither old nor grumpy.”

“But I gave away five years!”

“I lost eleven and have moderate joint pain,” Caleb replied mildly. “I even found a grey hair the other day.”

“Ooh, where was it?” Jester set her sketchbook aside, propping her chin up on hands braced on her knees. “In your dick hair?” Fjord coughed suspiciously like he had found his own fair share of grey hairs in that region himself.

“Ja, actually. Not where I had expected to find one, but here we are.” It wasn’t Caleb’s first grey hair; he’d found a few here and there before. But that one had been rather memorable.

Kingsley’s tail swished around the way it did when he was thinking something probably not appropriate for polite company. “Oh? How’d you find it?”

Essek sighed and opened his field journal. He was awful at lying to friends. Made sense, since he’d never needed that skill until a few months ago.

“Oh, Essek found it,” Caleb said, because the game was up anyway.

Kingsley smirked. “I thought so.” He didn’t push further; Kingsley was actually quite good at poking boundaries without breaking them. Most of the time. By now, he knew Caleb was very open to teasing of a sexual nature while Essek’s threshold was much lower. Jester, still chastened after whatever Fjord and her mother had said to her about making Essek uncomfortable, snickered a bit but said something.

Caduceus emerged to gather everyone for dinner.

[the-bastards-box]

Comic' 15th Birthday

Well Comic and Fresh celebrate Comic' 15th birthday and Comic gets something special

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

Fresh was busying himself finishing hanging up streamers in their shared livingroom, he glanced at the clock and checked to make sure everything was in place for when Comic woke up.

He had a table with punch for the two of them and some breakfast foods he "borrowed" from a buffet restaurant in another AU, and a very large, very colorfully wrapped, gift placed front and center. Fresh thought he heard movement in Comic's direction and scrambled to hide behind the table.

Comic entered the livingroom while rubbing their eyesockets, they looked around the room.

fresh jumped up from behind the table. "SURPRIZE BRAH!" A banner that said Radical Birthday on rolled from the ceiling and he threw a Furby at the ground that exploded violently into a shower of glitter confetti... It left a burn mark on the floor.

Comic flinched at the loud noise, after they calmed down a bit they smiled at Fresh, "so it's my birthday already, huh?" They looked around the room again.

"Yeah!" Fresh grinned at Comic.

The smaller skeleton is smiling, still slightly scared from the explosion but mostly okay.

Fresh's grin falters a bit. "Ahhh. Sorry, I didn't mean to spook ya, dude."

"no worries, really" Comic looked at him "sooo what's the plan for today?"

Fresh smiled wide again "Well I got us some bomb food... And this," Fresh smacks the top of the giant gift sitting on the table "This baby's for you." He looks at Comic. "Other than that we have the whole day free to celebrate however it would float your boat my radical brotato chip."

"well maybe let's begin from food . . . i'm kinda hungry" Comic rubbed their eyesockets again.

Fresh whipped a couple plates out of nowhere and gestured to a steaming hotel pan full of spaghetti complete with stolen buffet tongs and an industrial sized bottle of ketchup and maple syrup. "Sweet! I snagged some grub for us. Dig in my dude dude."

Comic chuckled once they saw the food, "you know that I could cook something?"

They took a plate and put some spaghetti on it and was about to cover it with ketchup, but suddenly stopped "wait, do we have chocolate syrup?"

Fresh grinned "Yoooooooo! Now we're talking!" He dashed into the kitchen and grabbed the sauce and dashed back handing it to Comic.

Comic poured the syrup onto their spaghetti.

Fresh grabbed his own plate of pasta and after Comic was done he took all three bottles and squeezed the disgusting trifecta over the top while giggling.

Comic sat down and began to eat their pasta.

Fresh joined Comic and snarffed his down happily. although, he looked a little green in the face.

"are you okay?" Comic is worried.

Fresh paused eating, "Yeah I'm fine dude. Why?"

"you don't look really good . . . you know like you're sick or something" Comic is looking at him.

Fresh blinked slowly, processing. "What? Nah dude I'm good!" He laughed a little too loudly to cover it up "You're trippin."

"are you sure?" Comic is just worried.

"Yeah dude, this is my enjoyment face." Fresh smiled at Comic.

Comic doesn't really believe him, "okay . . ."

Fresh takes another bite and flashes Comic a thumbs up. Comic soon finished eating.

Fresh finished too and he ported both their plates to the kitchen sink. "'aight!" Fresh was practically vibrating in excitement. "What next?"

"gift" Comic stood up and walked over to the box.

"Heck yeah!" Fresh bounced over to the table with Comic "I think you're gonna love it!"

"probably" Comic smiled at him, adjusted their glasses and opened the box.

Inside the box was another box. Fresh was smilingly mischievously. Comic opened the next box.

Inside the box was another box. Fresh snickered, watching Comic.

Comic looked over at Fresh and opened the next box.

Inside the box was another box. Fresh was full on giggling at Comic's expression now.

Comic chuckled and opened the next box.

Inside, curled up neatly, was a long bright green Furby.

Comic slowly grinned and looked at Fresh, they look really happy.

Fresh's own grin spread on his face. "Yeah?" He bounced in place a little.

Comic basically threw themselves at Fresh, wrapping their arms around the much taller skeleton "thank you thank you thank you!" They are really happy.

Fresh stumbled back with a little "oof" and hugged them back "Hahaha I knew you'd love it."

Comic let go of Fresh and picked up the long Furby looking at it.

Fresh grinned at Comic. "It's sick right? You know what you're gonna name em?"

Comic thought for a second "neon, i'm naming them neon" They're smiling.

"Niceeeeeeeee! It fits them." Fresh hugs Comic tight squishing the Furby between them. "Happy birthday brah."

"thank you" Comic' smile disapeared "today's the anniversary of our first meeting too . . ."

Fresh reflexively hugs them a little tighter at the memory. "Yeah it is..." Fresh looks down at Comic and looks at their face to see how they're feeling.

Comic looks a bit tired, probably due to the nightmares that they have around this time of the year. A small frown is present on their face.

Fresh holds Comic's face in his hands, squishing their cheeks a bit. "What can I do to turn my heckin fly birthday brah's frown upside down?"

"dunno really . . ." Comic is hugging Fresh.

Fresh looks at Comic thinking. "Video games?" He suggests "You're lookin a little tired for other birthday activities and junk."

Comic nodded "it sounds good"

"Sweet!" Fresh lets go of Comic and boots up their atari console. Comic is looking at him.

Fresh gets everything set up, sits down criss cross applesauce and holds out a controller for Comic. "Mario 'aight?"

Comic nodded and took the controller.

Fresh grinned at them encouragingly "Get ready to taste second place. Don't think I'm gonna take it easy on ya just because it's your b-day, scrub."

Comic chuckled "well i won't go easy too"

"That's what I like to hear." Fresh laughs.

Comic is trying to focus on winning.

Fresh keeps getting distracted watching Comic play, they're kinda adorable when they're focused on whooping his butt.

After a while Comic yawned and stretched a bit.

"Tired?" Fresh looks at Comic.

"a bit . . . didn't sleep much during the night . . ." Comic rubbed their eyesocket.

Fresh frowns sympathetically "Wanna take a nap then?"

Comic slightly nodded, they yawned again.

"Nap time it is then!" Fresh stands up and stretches discarding the controller on the floor. He offers a hand to help Comic up.

Comic takes his hand. Fresh pulls Comic up with a smile. As soon as they were standing he picked them up and carried them to their room.

Comic holds onto him and closes their eyes.

Fresh tucks Comic in, throwing blankets over them and giving them gentle pet on the head. "Happy birthday brah." He moves to leave.

Comic is watching him, "thank you . . . thank you for everything"

Fresh pauses at the door looking at Comic, a light blush on his face. "It's no problem dude... sleep well."

"um . . . fresh?"

"Yeah bro?"

"c-could you stay a bit with me? at least until i fall asleep . . .?"

Fresh's blushes. "Y-yeah! For sure." fresh clambers on top of the bed next to comic and snuggles up to them.

"thanks" Comic smiles slightly, moves a bit closer to Fresh and closes their eyes.

Fresh watches them drift off to sleep and soon closes his own eyes.

[yongiefilms]

JUST ALWAYS.

STARRING: zhong chenle and reader

GENRE: fluff; best friend!au

WARNINGS: lawbreaking; excessive mentions of teasing; though the rest is complete friendship goals

PLOT: trust your best friend to know every detail of your life, even that one embarrassing time when you blabbered about your idea of a perfect date. but also trust him to be the one to fulfill every wish you ever had, even ones you thought would never come true.

RUNNING TIME: 2.7k

DIRECTOR’S NOTE: putting out fluff before every fic i drop is just pure angst because it is coming and very soon...but enjoy this cute scenario as my parting gift for you all (even if there will be possibly be a few more fluff fics after this, though don’t take my word for it). also shoutout to @dvrlingrenjun​ for always reading through my fics at ungodly hours of the day.

zhong chenle was your best friend since birth. you did everything together. there wasn’t a time when he wasn’t with you. you were the inseparable duo, the partners in crime, and one half of a whole. that was you and chenle. the best of friends, but not lovers like many assumed you to be. though that was never a problem, for it a topic of discussion that was never addressed, yet fully comprehensible to you both. it was a pure and friendly relationship, something that would sustain for years to come. he was there every step of the way and who says he wouldn't continue to be?

when you both were learning to ride bicycles, who was there? chenle. when you got your first tooth pulled, who was there? chenle. when you scraped your knee on the asphalt after running around the playground, who was there? chenle. for each and every memory.

he was always present, simply growing to be your best friend. sure you had others, consider the boys he befriended at the start of high school, but they didn’t mean nearly as much to you as he did.

you could tell him anything. do anything. there was no judgment, just absolute enjoyment. that’s the way it always went and it was why you knew whenever vacation rolled around for the two of you, it would always be the best time as long as you were with him. he planned new things every day, always making an effort and this time he said it was a surprise. nothing new, but you couldn’t help but be anxious at what he had planned.

so when he had picked you up from your house, several doors down from his own and drove to the outskirts of town, you knew something was up. he had parked at the entrance of a restricted zone and told you to follow him through the clearly broken metal fence. you had no choice but to do as he said, especially when you were losing the day fast. yet it wasn't as bad as you presumed it to be, for he led you to an expanse of a field littered with various types of flowers and plants and a very tall hill that could be seen clearer as you walked forward.

he ran straight towards the hill without glancing back to see where you were, too excited for his own good.

“come on!” he exclaimed, calling your name in the process. he was in a hurry for who knows what reason, but that didn’t stop him from making sure you were doing just fine on your own.

when he turned his body around he saw you were struggling to make your way up the steep hill after running to catch up to him. you were huffing and puffing every so often. your legs felt like jelly and you were not even halfway to your destination. it just proved how out of shape you were, well partially at least. why he decided it was a good idea to come here at nearly seven at night when the heat felt worse than it did during the day was beyond you, but it was one of the things you admire about him—your best friend since day one. he was always filled with unpredictable and undeniable fun, making your days brighter with just a grin along with his contagious laughter. you were grateful for him and his sense of adventure, but not right now when you felt you were going to collapse any second.

he rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath some phrase in mandarin before carefully going down the hill to where you suddenly stopped. one wrong move and he would tumble down the dewy grass so he had to be cautious. one of you had to make it out of this alive and you were hoping it was him considering you needed the most help.

he finally reached you after some delicate movements, where you stood relatively close to the start of the hill.

he chortled at you and your exasperated expression, one with your lips pursed together and your eyebrows furrowed. your skin was flushed from the heat and he could see some beads of sweat glistening on the top of your forehead as well as on your temples, just waiting to fall.

you weren’t kidding from being out of shape but it was mostly the humid heat emitting from the sun that was the cause.

he clicked his tongue and shook his head then proceeded to latch his hand onto your wrist to tug you up the hill since you clearly couldn’t do it yourself.

“you can never do anything without me huh?” he questioned with a quirk of his brow.

you sheepishly smiled at him and mumbled in reply, “possibly but don’t let it get to your head.”

his piercing laughter rang in your ears a second time and he trotted forward without responding, though you knew your statement added to his ever-inflating ego.

after several long minutes and repetitive stops because let us be real he had more energy than you, more strength in his legs, you had made it to the top of the hill that overlooked the cityscape of your small town nestled in between the mountains. the scenery was beyond beautiful leaving you starstruck for you never quite saw it in this light, literally. the sun was beginning to set beyond the horizon, the warm colors starting to fade into the darkness of the night. some lights of the homes in the distance were sparkling and the usual sound of cars was drowned out by nature’s bliss. a breeze could be felt that cools you down in moments, brushing against your face and his own, his hair ruffling ever so slightly.

but it wasn’t only the scenery, it was also him and what laid before you. you had guessed he had come upon the flowery hill before he had come to your house to pick you up. for the picture mimicked one you would only see in movies. a red and white checked blanket was laid on top of the dark green grass without any wrinkles in sight and was held down by a huge brown wicker picnic basket. additionally, juxtaposition to the basket, was one of your favorite novels of all time, little women by louisa may alcott, with a bouquet laying on top. you could make out some small white daisies in the bouquet, your favorite flowers something only he would know.

everything just appeared to be perfect.

his hand had dropped from your wrist as he took steps forward to sit on the blanket, leaving you to admire everything in front of you.

your eyes were wide and filled with shock, but you managed to let a soft smile slip onto your face as you focused on him.

zhong chenle amazed you. he always did.

he tilted his head, waiting to see your next move, and then patted the spot next to him, silently asking you to join him.

you shook your head to get out of your trance and strode forward, sitting down criss-cross applesauce right next to the boy in question.

“chenle...” you spoke. “what is all this?” you let out a little guffaw, a teasing tone dripping from your words. “did you do this all for me?”

he gave you a deadpan look and you had to hold back the giggles from escaping your mouth. “don’t think too highly of yourself now.” he reached over to lightly push you to the side, the laughter bubbling up from your throat.

“but in all due seriousness, it’s a picnic can’t you see?” he put his arms in front of him and made a grand gesture towards everything before you.

your cackles halted to a stop and you huffed in response, rolling your eyes at his remark. trust him to be smart with his retorts, always trying to be one step ahead while ruining the zest in the process. silence encompassed you both as you just stared at each other, but then a beam broke out on his face, his eyes transforming into little crescents. he let out a small cough to clear the air as it was now your turn to give him a deadpan stare, but it was hard when his next words warmed your heart.

“anyways...while we are having a picnic that i obviously did for you, it isn’t for no reason. do you remember that time we were just absentmindedly discussing our crushes or something like that? it was a while ago, so i am not sure if you remember, but i do.” his hand was twiddling with a piece of grass as he had twisted away from you, refusing to make eye contact. “you told me this idea you had for a perfect date. one where your partner would prepare a picnic for the two of you, specifically with a home-cooked meal and the two of you would watch the sunset while having a view of the town. you said it was basically the dream date and the person that would do this for you would have your heart.” he let out a taunting snicker and finally raised his head to gaze at you again. “imagine that, but since you clearly haven’t had a date in forever, i thought why not?”

you were about to punch his shoulder from his not so kind jab at your love life, but he jerked away just in time before continuing. “might as well put my clearly romantic side to good use. as you can see i clearly did a fantastic job if i do say so myself. i think i got the whole lovey-dovey thing down.”

you hummed in acknowledgment though you weren’t going to give him the benefit of the doubt, well not entirely at least. “sure you do,” you let out a scoff. “but lovey-dovey? buddy, need i remind you we are friends?” you furrowed your eyebrows and glanced at him weirdly, though you were being lighthearted rather than serious.

he nervously chuckled and cleared his throat, afraid you caught onto something, but he knew it was all in good mirth. however, that didn’t calm his beating heart.

his nerves were still haywire, yet he managed to place his right palm over his chest, near his heart. “did you…” he took a sharp inhale of breath. “just friend zone me?”

you hit his chest playfully. “shut up. you’re so annoying sometimes, lele.”

he gave you a toothy grin, bumping his shoulder with your own. “it is my job after all.”

another roll of the eyes. “unfortunately, but i really can’t believe you remember what i told you about my idea for a perfect date. it seems so long ago…”  you trailed off, lifting your eyes to admire your town, the faint glow of the sunlight reflecting across your face.

“i always remember things involving you.”

your heart stopped in your chest at his bluntness, the evident embarrassment coursing through your veins. sometimes it astonished you how chenle never had a filter, always speaking his mind, yet with it came the fact that he sometimes did not know what he truly said. right now was one of those countless times, albeit you knew he meant declaration, especially when it came to one of his closest friends.

you could hear the shuffling besides you. chenle was obviously trying to set everything up by opening up the basket and taking out all the goodies he had prepared for this “romantic date.”

you whipped your head around to see what he was doing with making so much noise. at that moment he had managed to take out two perfectly plastic wrapped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, placing them on two paper plates he had taken out seconds before. his hand reached in the basket once more and he took out two apple juice boxes, putting them right near the sandwiches.

your titters rang loud, startling chenle in the process as his head abruptly jerked up.

you brought your hands up to your mouth to try to stop the chuckles from coming out, the sound becoming muffled. he raised his eyebrows at you, trying to figure out what was so funny. instances went by before you had finally become quiet and dropped your hands in your lap.

“chenle you can’t be serious. what is this? an elementary school meal?” you threw your head back, placing your hands flat on the checkered blanket to keep your composure.

“hey! elementary meals were good. don’t slander them.”

you brought your head forward, raising your hands up in the air for defense. “okay, okay.” your beam was wide viewing his clearly offended expression. “though i know you can cook so it came as a surprise. i am just a bit confused is all.”

he sighed loudly, leaning back on his arms. “yes i can, but i was on a time constraint so i couldn’t hone in on my cooking skills today, okay? sorry to disappoint. though if you think about it this is technically home-made.”

“you’re not wrong, but hey i will take what i can get.”

“thank you for your generosity.” he let out a scoff then reached to the side of the basket and picked up your favorite book, thrusting it into your hands. “now here, i couldn’t forget to bring it.”

you ran your fingertips across the cover, turning it over in your hands to admire every inch of the novel even if you had seen it a thousands times before.

he poked your shoulder blade to capture your attention amongst your state of admiration. he held out the bouquet of flowers you speculated he had picked from the flowery field surrounding the hill and you put the novel to the side, taking the flowers from him.

“wow i guess i can’t deny you are a little bit romantic,” you jeered at him.

he whirled his head away, the tips of his ears growing slightly red. “now shut up and let’s watch the sunset...please.”

you let out a long breath. “fine, but don’t forget we have to eat too.”

he rolled his eyes, handing you the plate with the peanut butter and jelly sandwich along with the apple juice, which you gladly took from him after placing the bouquet down. “obviously.”

so that is how you spent the rest of the evening, like the perfect date you had in mind years ago―watching the sunset and eating a homemade meal even if it was something straight out of the elementary school cafeteria, while sitting atop a hill that encompassed the whole town.

when the light of day finally faded away, you cuddled close to your best friend, seeking some sort of contact even if the coolness of the night was rarely felt.

he didn’t even think twice before putting his arm around you, tugging you a little bit closer to him. when he did so you placed your head on his shoulder, rotating away from the now dark sky to peer up at him with puppy dog eyes.

you spoke so gently that if anyone managed to pass by the two of you right then, they wouldn’t be able to hear you from the barely evident sound.

“hey lele?” you question.

he hums in return, still observing the twinkling lights of the town and stars.

“thank you for today. i enjoyed our little friend date, definitely was like i imagined it to be.” you released a small giggle. “a perfect date indeed so thank you for doing this for me.”

he turns his head down to glimpse at you once you finish talking, his gaze filled with fondness. he then shifted slightly and placed a kiss on the top of your head, murmuring his next words.

“you’re welcome.” you could hear the smile in his voice.

you looked straight forward, no longer locking eyes with him and whispered into the night,“i love you.”

his melodic laughter filled your ears. “yes i know.” he paused, murmuring right back. “but i love you too.”

you held out your pinky finger, raising it slightly so he could clearly see it among the increasing blackness.

“always and forever?” you asked.

he hooked his pinky with yours.

“always and forever.”

[alolowrites]

Late Night Visitor

Summary: A mysterious stranger visits your balcony and accidentally leaves behind a priceless jewelry that they stole from a museum.   

Author’s Note: I’m pleased to share the next story for @bnhabookclub​ Hero Camp Bingo event. The prompt I used was “Crime AU” It took a while getting this done because of work stress and having slight writer’s block (plus I kept changing the story’s direction). But really, it was because of how stressed/tired I’ve been the past few weeks. So, really sorry if it took forever posting another story.

It’s also my first time writing for Hawks, so hopefully I did him justice! He was the first character that popped up when working with this prompt. Please enjoy!!

Word Count: 2.3K+

“Ah! Hot, hot!”

Well, isn’t this just great? Nothing like accidentally burning your tongue during dinner to remind yourself how impatient you are—damn hunger. One hand flails to cool down your mouth. Steam dances above the hearty bowl of curry rice, the sweet smell of caramelized onions greeting your nose with a soft kiss. Bless the local 7-11 markets for selling quick and easy meals.

You sit criss-cross applesauce on the fluffy gray rug and scroll through social media for the millionth time. It’s been a slow weekend as yesterday’s news is recycled for today’s news. A random show plays on the television, but you don’t pay attention to the white noise. All your focus is on the phone, yet you still reach for another bite from your meal. How the rug stays clean during dinner nights at home is a complete mystery.  

Sipping on your drink, you spare a glance at the balcony and do a double-take—a stranger is crouching outside. You choke, “Oh shit!”

Without thinking, you scurry behind the gray couch, not caring if the rug becomes messy. Your pounding heart is like a concert bass drum which echoes around the small apartment. The sound drowns out the show’s mindlessly chatter. Frightened eyes peek around the corner, and you whip back in full regret.

The person is still outside. Their back is facing toward the balcony door, and they are wearing a form-fitting black hoodie. Hands search for your phone, but they come up empty. Panic finally settles in when you realize it’s on the coffee table. Great, you moan as your head softly hits against the furniture—is the door even locked?

You’re faced with a dilemma: Do you stay out of sight until the stranger leaves or risk being seen while getting help? After much deliberation, you swallow a hard pill and growl at the ceiling, “If I’m doing this, I better not die!”

You’re like a soldier crawling through the mud with a drill sergeant yelling down your neck. You snatch the phone off the table, but make the mistake of looking up at the sliding door. Everything comes to a screeching halt as curious gold eyes stare into your timid ones. The mysterious visitor becomes more intimidating thanks to the balaclava mask—it covers the lower half of their face.

The intense staring contest last for an eternity. You nearly rip off the loose strands on your rug when the stranger approaches closer; they stop when you back away. Taking pity on you, they jump over the balcony and disappear into the quiet night.

A sense of relief washes over you.

Who knows what could have happened to you? Maybe your mom was right about learning some self-defense; the pepper spray is not enough. As you stand and dust off your pants, a shiny light catches your attention; it’s coming from outside. You go against your better judgment and tiptoe toward the balcony.

Your jaw immediately falls to the floor when you spot an exquisite ruby pendant. A sparkling round diamond sits above the bright red gemstone, a slight tint of purple hue lurking underneath. Even the platinum metal chain carries an air of luxury. It’s as if the gods carefully hand-crafted this entire jewelry themselves. In short, it is simple but elegant.

Sliding the door, you wonder if this is some kind of trap. After checking your surroundings, you swiftly pick up the accessory and snort, “Thank you for making me feel poor.”

Fingers glide along the gemstone’s perfect curves as you gaze at the sleeping neighborhood. Your mind goes wild: Who was the person with those haunting golden eyes? Why did they come to your balcony? And why in the world did they leave behind a beautiful masterpiece?

You have so many questions but very few answers.  

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

“So, you didn’t call the police?”

“Um…no…?”

“And why not?”

“It was a mixture of being both scared and stupid.”

“Oh my—” Fuyumi pinches the bridge of her nose. You twiddle your fingers like a guilty child and sink further into the booth. Fuyumi had her suspicions when you texted her to meet up at the usual coffee shop near your apartment. It’s your go-to place whenever you’ve done something questionable, which is ninety-nine percent of the time. Plus, the café whips up the perfect batch of castella—her favorite pastry.  

Customers stroll in and out of the coffee shop as piano music plays softly in the background. Roasted coffee beans linger in the air, tempting your nose with its delicious aroma. Out of habit, you push the castella closer to Fuyumi as if that would help soften the blow. She exhales, “Next time, please call the police.”

“Yes, mother,” you mumble much to Fuyumi’s displeasure, but she lets it slide. With the worst over, you bounce straight up and tap the table with an air of excitement. “Oh! Here’s the best part though, besides surviving a break-in—”

“The person was outside your balcony.”

“—close enough, but not really the point, okay?” Fuyumi rolls her eyes, and you fish out your phone to show her a picture. She takes a closer look as you ramble off. “Anyway, my late-night visitor left behind this gorgeous pendant! Why they were carrying this around is beyond me, and so carelessly too. I’m no jeweler, but I’m pretty sure those stones are worth a fortune—still beautiful, though.”

“Yeah, and stolen!” The white-haired teacher hisses. You blink, wholly baffled at her extreme reaction. Fuyumi whips out her iPhone with two fingers flying above the screen. She shoves it toward you, your eyes skimming through the article. The news delivers a sharp slap across your face as the realization sinks in.

Oh no…

Fuyumi bites her lip, “It’s The Grand Droplet, a priceless heirloom rumored to offer infinite life and prosperity. Police are saying the notorious thief, Hawks, stole the pendant last night from the Yutaka Jewelry Museum.” A few seconds later, she adds, “You have the pendant—”

“Shhhhhh!” A hand attacks her arm, your panicked eyes wandering around the coffee shop as if your cover got blown. No one turns their heads, but you shoot an annoyed glare at Fuyumi. “Why don’t you say it louder? I don’t think the barista heard you!”

“I’m sorry! It’s just,” she grips the table’s edge and leans closer, “This is serious! You have to bring the pendant to the authorities. See, this is exactly why you should have called the police last night! The longer you wait, the more guilty you look. Maybe you’ll even become an accomplice to the crime.”

“You’re not helping!”

“Sorry…”

You dramatically groan into your hands, “Why did this happen to me?! When I said I wanted to live like Larry, I didn’t mean this!”

“I know,” Fuyumi pats your head and sneaks a bite of her delicious treat; her phone chimes beside you. She checks the message before flashing an apologetic stare. “Listen, I have to take care of something with my family, but I hate to leave you like this.”

“No, it’s okay. I can handle this myself,” you pathetically convince her. “I’m sure nothing bad will happen, knock on wood—”

“The table is metal.”

“I said what I said!” Your fist aggressively pounds the table, scaring off some customers. A mother hastily pushes her child away from the chaotic scene. You calm down and sigh, “I promise to call you if I’m in danger, okay?”

“Okay.”

You nod before whispering, “Sorry, table.”

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

The walk back home is anything but relaxing. You are on high alert, throwing suspicious glances at anyone coming too close to you. They could be undercover cops waiting to ambush you and interrogate your poor soul for hours until the necklace reappears.

But I didn’t do anything! I’m a good noodle!

You sigh as the key unlocks the door, your shoes flying off by the entrance. Fortunately, you hid the pendant in a safe place. All you want to do is get rid of this jewelry; it brings nothing but trouble.

Marching down the hallway, you grumble under your breath, “Stupid Hawks, and his stupid stealing habits.”

Everyone knows about the infamous Hawks. He strikes when one least expects him to, and somehow successfully evades capture after every heist. But Hawks always leaves behind his signature red feather as a little present for authorities—it never fails to rile them up. Hopefully, the cops show some mercy when you explain what happened. Maybe you should work on your puppy dog look before heading downtown, which might help you score a few sympathy points.

You find the burgundy jewelry box sitting on the closet’s top shelf and breathe a sigh of relief—the pendant is still inside. Not wasting precious time, you close the lid and exit your room. A soft click makes you freeze.

Standing by the balcony door is Hawks, who wears a black jacket with a white shirt underneath. His ashy blonde hair is lazily slicked back, a few strands sticking here and there like no tomorrow. Surprisingly, he lowers the balaclava mask and flashes a boyish grin, “‘Bout time you came home! I was getting bored out there.”

“How did you—wait, never mind. You break into high-security places to steal things for a living,” you say, shifting the jewelry box onto your right grip. “Listen, as much as I would like to stay and chit-chat, my day is fully booked. Can’t really cancel on these people, ya know?” You slowly tiptoe backward, an awkward laugh ringing through the air. “Let’s do a rain check; I’m free next week. Okay? Okay! See ya—“

“Hold it!” You halt on his order, a curse slipping out your mouth. Hawks strides across the floor, and you clutch the box closer to your chest. You feel as though your feet are glued to the ground, the nerves growing stronger once Hawks stands only a few feet away. He crosses his arms and nods at the box, “Whatcha got there?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special, really.”

“Can I take a look?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Um, because I don’t want to, that’s why,” you childishly snap and send him a dismissive wave. “Now, shoo! You’re wasting my precious time.”

Hawks chuckles at your feisty attitude. He finds this whole ordeal extremely amusing. You know who he is, you know of his reputation just like everyone else in Japan. And yet, you keep on swinging like a boxer with your witty responses. Still, he has a job to finish. “I’m not leaving until you give me that pendant.”  

“Well, I hope you’re paying for half the rent because there’s no way in hell I’m giving it to you, Mr. Thief.” Two seconds later, you add, “Besides, it’s not even yours!”

“It’s not yours either.”

“Oh!” You give him a fake laugh, pointing one finger at your chest. “So the thief is criticizing me for having something that’s not mine? How rich.”

“You’re lucky I find you cute, but,” Hawks dangerously invades your personal space without giving you a chance to stop him. From far away, he doesn’t appear tall. However, Hawks somehow towers over you, which makes you involuntarily squeak. A wicked glint shines through his golden eyes as he studies your unique facial features. You suddenly forget to breathe when his eyes glance at your lips—damn him.

Hawks plucks the box from your loose grip. The hypnotic spell comes crashing down, and you loudly snarl, “Hey! Give it back!”

“Sorry, Dove,” Hawks keeps you at arm’s length, his gloved hand giving your shoulder a soft squeeze as he smirks, “I got a buyer who’s willing to pay a hefty price for this beauty. Of course, you are way more stunning, but he doesn’t need to know that.”

“Quit charming me!” You’re a blushing mess now and throw a pillow at him; he easily dodges it much to your dismay. Hawks’ cackles bounce off the wall, which makes you scowl. His fingers slide the balcony door open, and he tastes sweet freedom.

“Farewell, Dove!”

You have a deja vu moment when Hawks jumps over the edge. Your legs rush outside, and eyes frantically search the streets, but it’s no use—the thief is long gone. One hand slaps your forehead as you stupidly let him get away with the jewel. Feeling like a deflated balloon, you whip out your phone and make a quick call.

“Fuyumi…yeah, the pendant got stolen again.”

Stupid thief.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

You collapse on the couch with as much grace as an inexperienced dancer who steps on people’s toes. Work left you exhausted, but you’re glad it’s almost the weekend. You’ll definitely sleep in and have a lazy day on Sunday. It’s what you deserve after meeting tight deadlines and also talking to the police about Hawks.

Fortunately, they do not blame you for anything, much to your relief. It’s been about a week since Hawks broke into your apartment to steal back the Grand Droplet. Police have no luck locating him; they believe the thief is lying low until it’s safe enough for him to strike again. Where exactly is anyone’s guess.

A knock disrupts your thoughts.

It comes from the balcony, and you jump to your feet. No one is outside, although a flash of red catches your eye. Lo and behold, it’s Hawks’ signature feather with a small note attached. Oh, how lovely, you think before snatching the gift off the floor. Your pet name is affectionately written across the paper. You hate yourself for finding Hawks’ calligraphy impressive, but proceed to read the note.

Sorry for cutting our convo short—had a deal to close. No hard feelings, though, right? If anything, I’ll make it up to you, Dove. Besides, you still owe me that rain check.

See ya soon!

-H

You don’t bother biting back your smile.

Guess you’ll be seeing Fuyumi at the coffee shop again.

Fourth prompt is crossed off. Which one will be next? Stay tune! Thank you for reading! 

Previous prompt: Cuddles 

Hero Camp Bingo Masterlist

[padme-parker]

Collide / Chapter 1

[a Star Wars x Avengers crossover]

Summary: With the fate of the universe lying in your hands, you are sent on a mission to a galaxy far, far away.

Warnings: none (I think)

Word Count: ~3k

A/N: The readers ‘superhero’ name is Star btw, so I hope that clears up any possible confusion (there will be a backstory/flashback later as to how she got that name). This is the first series I’ve ever written, so there's gonna be some major plot holes and shit that doesn’t make sense!! I’ve been trying to work through the kinks and make it seems as logical as possible. Sorry and Thanks for reading :) xx 

also I didn’t really proof reader so sorry if there like,,, a lot of mistakes

image is from the 100! (but this isn’t strictly about the 100 !)

“and I scream from the top of my lungs, what’s going on?” -4 Non Blondes

You sat down on the couch with a huff, Tony had taken the remote away from you after you decided to replay Revenge of the Sith for the 100th time. It was the team bonding movie night, occurring every friday. Peter and you were more than eager to rewatch it, however the team was not so ecstatic about it.

As soon as Tony saw your eyes light up, he immediately knew what you were thinking of, “And don’t even think of asking FRIDAY to play it for you.” You let out another huff, deciding to leave so you could have some time to yourself.

“Star, where are you going!?” He paused the show, as he and the others turned to you.

“Well, since you took away my joy, Mr. Stank, I’ve decided to ogle Anakin Skywalker in the comfort of my own room.” You could hear the snickers let out by the team as Tony muttered under his breath, unpausing the show as the theme for Sense8 started to play.

As you entered your room, you took no notice towards the figure in the corner. You were just about to flop down onto your heavenly bed before you were interrupted.

“Miss L/N.” You let out a scream as you turned to the figure. Quickly unholstering your weapon, you pointed it at the figure, finger guns ready to shoot if needed. “Cut the crap L/N, and put the ‘gun’ away.”

“Damn Fury, I could’ve been changing! What the hell.” You gave him an incredulous look

“Oh you’re funny, but we all know that you don’t give a damn if someone sees you half or fully naked. Not that I’d want to, cause frankly I don’t.” Your eyes widened with shock, mouth falling open, “Nevermind that, I’m not here for chitchat. I have a mission for you that requires your focus to be….elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere..? EYe- sir it’s the 21st century, not the 18th century.”

“Yes, well regarding the place you’re going to, our timelines won’t be explicitly the same.” You gave him a questioning look, he continued, “Tell me young L/N, have you ever heard of the force?” Oh at this point he must’ve been tickling your pickle, I mean what kind of joke is he playing at?

“Yes, of course I have! It’s a fictional power from a fictional movie!” Opting out on the ‘DUH!’ at the end just in case Fury decided he wasn’t in the mood to play games anymore.

“Wrong, agent L/N. You’re absolutely wrong.” At this point you were seated on your bed, hands clasped together and placed on your lap. “In fact, where do you think you got your powers from?” Oh shit, maybe you should’ve thought about the fact that you could move things with your mind before saying that the force was fake.

“I don’t understand, even if what you’re implying is remotely correct, it would be impossible! There’s also no way I could even go back to the past to change it” Before you could utter another word, Director Fury motion for you to stand up.

“Come with me agent L/N, you have much to learn.” He said as he directed both of you out of your room. Soon you found yourself in front of the doors to the meeting room. Walking in, you noticed there had already been files laid out across the table. “Take a seat, L/N. I’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“First things first,” I’m the realest, HA! I’m funny, good one y/n.  “The force is real, it’s essentially what gives you your telekinetic powers. Second, because of Doctor Strange, it has come to my attention that the fate of the universe lies in your hands.”

“Wait, what? Why me? Is it because I’m a huge Star Wars fan..? I mean come on! What about Peter, he likes Star Wars too!!”

“Cause I said so, and no, Peter is too young.” Yeah, but apparently old enough to be watching a show with the team that contains nudity, but then again he is 18. Poor kid would just blush at the thought of sex.

“Okay, but even if I did agree to doing this, wouldn’t it be too late for me to at least try to solve anything?” There were a million thoughts and questions running through your mind.

“Time runs at a slower pace in our universe than it does in theirs. If our calculations are correct, we are currently in the Revenge of the Sith timeline.”

“But I thought it was, ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…’ not the present..” you rebutled

“Ah, yes. We contacted Mr. Lucas himself. Turns out he too is force sensitive, and gifted with foresight. That’s why he wrote the books and comics, along with creating the movies. He did it so he would never forget about where he’d come from, but it also served as a warning. When he first had visions of the downfall of the Jedi Order, he fled. Using a bridge that connected Coruscant to our Earth. That’s how he, and many other force sensitive beings like you, can inhabit the earth.” He explained.

“That still doesn’t answer my question, how-”

Fury interrupted you before continuing, “Right, like I said, time runs slower here than it does in their universe. While time in his universe runs faster. Before he left, Qui Gon Jinn hadn’t been born yet. He’d left their universe when he was merely 22, about the same age as you. At the age of 32, he’d already released A New Hope. On Earth, he ages slower. Had he stayed within his universe, he would’ve been dead way before you were born.”

All this new information was giving you a headache. “Hold on, you mentioned a bridge.. What exactly is it?”

“Well agent L/N, the bridge is located in the middle of Antarctica, precisely the south pole in an underground ice cave. The bridge can either be used to summon other beings or to travel to different planets. It just so happens that we have one here on Earth. How? We have no idea, but we’re working on it.”

At this point, you were confused and wouldn’t be able to comprehend any new information if he gave any. Noticing the distant look on your face, Fury dismissed you.

“I’ll give you the night to think about it, but remember, the fate of the universe lies in your hands, Y/N. We don’t have much time to waste.”

-

You sat on your bed, hands raking through your hair. Hours ago you were so excited to rewatch your favorite movie, and now you were about to be thrown into that universe. You didn’t know whether to be elated or terrified. Fury said that there were other force sensitive beings on Earth, so why would they choose you? Surely there was someone stronger than you that they could send. But then again this meant that you would be seeing THE Anakin Skywalker.

You looked at the files again to get a better grasp of the mission. Join the Jedi Order. Befriend Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Senator Amidala. Eradicate the Titan race. Hold on, they wanted you to kill a whole race of creatures. If you couldn’t kill a fly, then there was no way you’d be able to off a whole race.

You decided to shoot Peter a text, asking him to come to your room. It didn’t take long before you heard a knock on your door. You responded with its open and Peter came into your room, flopping down onto your bed right next to you.

“What’s up buttercup?” You scrunched up your face. Ew, save it for MJ. Speaking of MJ, you wondered how the two of them were doing. However, you chose not to say anything and instead focus on the situation.

“Okay Pete, I’m going to tell you something and you absolutely CANNOT repeat it to anyone else. Not even Ned.” You paused, waiting for him to nod before continuing, “So like after Mr. Stark so rudely interrupted our rewatch of Star Wars, I went to my room to watch it myself. And then one thing led to another and nowi’mgonnabetravelingacrosstheuniverseandplayingjediwithTHEANAKINSKYWALKERandofcoursedaddywankenobibutFurywantsmetokillawholeraceofbeingsbecausethefateoftheuniverseliesinmyhandsnow.” You turned to Peter hoping his advanced hearing allowed him to understand what you just said, but instead you just received a flabbergasted look from him. “ ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᶦ ʲᵘˢᵗ ˢᵃᶦᵈ…” You waited a few seconds expecting that he would catch on eventually, alas he didn’t. You began to repeat yourself, only this time slower.

“...so you're telling me that the force exists and i got stuck with a FREAKING radioactive spider bite??” Dear god, this boy was going to be the death of you.

“Peter, that’s not the point!” You said, trying to get back to the subject, “The point is that by tomorrow I’ll be in a whole other universe, that up until today, didn’t exist to us. This is supposed to be fictional dude, and now it’s becoming my reality! OUR reality! What if I get impaled by a lightsaber? I’m only 20, I can’t die!! Or worse, what if Anakin doesn’t like me?” The severity of the situation was just now hitting you, so many things could go wrong on this mission, but the whole universe was counting on you. The weight of the world began to crush you and breathing became hard. Falling to the floor, you laid in a fetal position, arms clutching your knees.

From the corner of your eye you could see Peter's arm reaching out to touch your shoulder, “Hey, star, you're okay. You’re gonna be okay. C’mon sit up and take a deep breath with me.” Carefully, Peter hoisted you up. You sat criss cross applesauce on the floor, parallel to Peter. Following the breathing exercise, you felt yourself calming down.

“Thank you, y’know you didn’t have to do that. But I appreciate it, a lot.” You knew you weren’t getting a wink of sleep tonight, so you asked Peter if he could stay for the night, which he agreed to. The two of you spent the night talking about the most random things, and before you knew it, the sun had already risen.

Noticing that it was morning, you offered to make some breakfast for the both of you. However as you got up to move, FRIDAY interrupted you, “Miss Y/N, Director Fury requests your presence in the meeting room.” Letting out a loud groan, you told FRIDAY that you would be down soon.

“Well Peter, it looks like I’ll have to make you breakfast once I get back.” You gave him a quick nod before making your way to the meeting room.

“I trust that you spent the night thinking about the mission, agent L/N. So, what have you decided?”

You cleared your throat before responding, “One last question, then you’ll have my answer.” Fury briefly nodded, signaling for you to continue, “Of all places within our universe, why there? Titan is within our solar system, wouldn’t it make sense for the avengers to travel there and just..” holding up a two finger gun to your head, you pretend to shoot yourself and die, “y’know? I mean it would save us a lot more time.”

“Well to put it simply, they have technology far more advanced than ours, we need a special weapon in order to carry out the mission.” You hoped that Fury wasn’t referring to THE weapon. If you went, that would mean you’d be forever changing the timeline, and there’d be no way to fix it. But if you didn’t go, Anakin would fulfill his prophecy, he would live the life of a liar, traitor, and puppet. You wouldn’t be able to forgive yourself for letting Anakin suffer.

“Fine, I’m in. When do I leave.”

-

The flight to Antarctica was long and boring, you would’ve slept but your nerves kept you up. But as you felt the jet land, you couldn’t have been more relieved. You were finally back on land. You could kiss the ice if you wanted to, but chose not to. Who knows what kind of ancient bacteria is lurking.

The entrance to the cave was surrounded by many agents. Although it was quite literally in the middle of nowhere, security was still a top priority. Entering the cave, you clutched the fluffy jacket that was wrapped around your body. You walked in silence, admiring the cave until the agents stopped in front of a hatch.

“This is as far as we can go. Climb down the ladder and follow the path, Fury will be waiting for you.” One of the agents informed you, as the other bent down to open the hatch. Well, here goes nothing.

The first thing you noticed was the change of temperature. Above the hatch, it was freezing, but below it was warmer. Warm enough that you broke out in a slight sweat, but not warm enough to melt the ice. The second thing you noticed was how well lit the passage was, which surprised you. There were lights hanging onto the wall. Hmm, there’s no way they could be solar powered, it's too far underground. They must be powered by the bridge.

You followed the passage, noticing a slight hum that grew louder with every turn you took. Soon, you found yourself in front of a door, a faint green hue escaping from under it. You slowly pushed the door open. The sight in front of your very eyes had you mesmerized. The bridge itself was made of a stone like matter, hovering above the ground. Walking closer to it, you took note of it’s spiral pattern and engravings.

“Welcome agent L/N.” Fury’s loud voice startled you out of your trance.

“The symbols, what do they mean?” You asked

“Well, we're not entirely quite sure what they mean. But we do know that it’s a language of sorts. You see, if you tap the symbols in a specific order, you can travel to a different world or summon a person.” Fury turned to you, handing you a necklace. “It’s a communication, tracking, and code device, all in one. Use it when you need to communicate vital information to us. All the codes you need are in the device, but be weary of using them, any only summon one of us if absolutely needed. It also includes mission details, like the time on Earth and a countdown. If you're not back the day the countdown is done, we will come find you.” He demonstrated how to use the device, pressing a button to bring up Coruscant’s code.

“Now, exactly how does this work ?” You pondered

“It relies on the energy being emitted from the bridge. For it to work, it’s essential that you stay on a planet with a bridge. If not, we won’t be able to track or help you if needed.”

Not another word was uttered as you went to remove your jacket. The black long sleeve shirt along with the black jeans and combat boots you were wearing was going to make you stick out like a sore thumb in the Jedi Temple. Reaching for the device around your throat, you pressed the button. You took a deep breath before touching the first symbol. A warmth began in you, starting from your core, expanding to the tips of your fingers. With each symbol you touched, the vibration of the hum increased. You continued to touch the symbols needed, pausing slightly before touching the last one.

“What now? Do I jus-” There was now a chill in the room, your hair lightly swayed. A small swirl of green mist appeared from behind the bridge, expanding until it filled nearly half of the room. “Do i just walk in..?” Fury nodded. You took hesitant steps towards it, your heart beating louder with each step. Before you fully engulfed yourself into the mist, you turned towards Fury, “If I don’t come back, tell-”

“You’re going to come back. You have to. The avengers, human race, and every inhabitant of the universe is counting on it.” Letting out a shaky breath, you nodded before stepping into the mist.

The further you went in, the less you could feel Fury’s burning stare on the back of your head. As it became weaker, you began to see a concrete wall. You reached out to stabilize yourself, it felt as though you were being kicked out of the bridge. The mist dissipated the second you stepped out of it. Hugging the wall, you look around the concrete room, noticing a heavy look door in front of you. With all your might, you pushed the door open. You began to sluggishly walk down a corridor, tripping over your own feet every couple of seconds. Damn, I really should’ve slept. All of your energy had left your body, and now it felt like you were going crazy as you began to hear a voice in your head.

Who are you? That voice, it sounded so familiar. Too focused on trying to figure out who the voice belonged to, you failed to notice the Jedi running up behind you. It was the ignition of a saber that made you freeze, followed by, “Stop right there! Turn around and face us sith!” Oh, so apparently you were a sith now. You raised your arms up slowly, showing that you weren’t a danger to them. Fully turning around, you were mesmerized to find who was in front of you. Or more like, the crowd in front of you. Your eyes scanned through the familiar faces until you locked eyes with him. His eyes followed your every move, his gaze strong and hard.

“Anakin…” You whispered, your knees buckled, sending you to the ground. Your eyes fluttered close, the exhaustion taking a toll on you. Before you could fully fall asleep, you heard the voice softly respond,

It’s you.

~~

read ch 2 here

omg yall I feel like this sucked ass, I rushed the last couple of paragraphs cause I just really wanted to publish this. I’ll probably come back in the future to edit/rewrite it once I get some stuff sorted out. as of rn I'm thinking of doing a love triangle but idk. Also please tell me how you feel about the title,,, I’m stuck between ‘Borrowed Time’ and ‘Clash’, I only went with the former cause it seemed fitting but I also really like the name ‘Clash’. lmk what you think !!!