#just wanted to put this up before i hop on mobile for the rest of the evening - i'll get to replying to other starters tomorrow !

[thevoidscreams]

Another request for Mating Press March?

I know you already have one Lamenter request, but they are my favorite Sad Boys and I'd like to put in another:

Your Lamenter lover finds you alive and well after thinking he witnessed your death, and proceeds to go absolutely feral.

Thanks!

Let's try this again. And hopefully I don't start TWEAKIN

Warnings: Emotion distress (For characters and writer both), rough sex, and breeding, he goes a bit nutty at the end but he fine, I swear. also lore about my oc's that no one asked for

Word count:2972

Simus could no more deny you the right to tour duty or your work then you could him his vows to the imperium or the emperor. Still he wished he knew you were anywhere else but the ground right now.

He leveled his bolter and took aim, a fine red mist replaced the head of the ork as he continued moving. Reports were coming in from his brothers. The orks had been a surface issue. And he didn't like what he was hearing over the vox.

You finished lathering a thick coating of new skin over the guardsman's leg. His stitches would hold for now and the antiseptic new skin would keep it from infection. He thanked you and got up, you sent him on his way with instructions to be careful as you cleaned up bloody rags and began to clean the mess your most recent patient had left. The tear had been ragged and hard to close, In the end his fellow guard had to give some of their blood if possible to help keep him alive. The rest made it out with far fewer injuries. Though not every one who had come to you had been as lucky. The sheet covered body of a young soldier was tucked into the back corner of the transport where it wouldn't be disturbed by you moving about.

They were gone for half an hour before the radio you kept on in case of emergencies buzzed to life, the words weren't easy to make out through a constant hum of static but what you did hear iced your blood. "Orks..only beginning...awoken.. evacuate citizens..Necrons awake."

Well, it tracked you sighed as you rushed to pack up. Simus was always worried about you being on the ground during conflicts. But this was your job, your calling. You had to struggle and strive for years in school to make it as a field surgeon and medic. Yes, you were put more close to the danger but you were also closer to all those who needed you. If you stayed on the barge, your patients might not ever make it to you for treatment.

You tried the radio again to see if you could get a hold of your lover. Nothing, the radio crackled and died before you even got a single call out. Normally you'd hear from him every two hours, but the radio had been going down constantly in the old transport you'd been allowed to commandeer as a mobile medical wing. You climbed into the driver seat and tried once then twice then a third time to turn over the engine. It didn't so much as chug or huff. You slammed your closed fist on the dash and swore. "Come on!"

"We need to get going." Gideon, one of the chapter's apothecaries spoke, peering into the transport. "I know, the damn thing won't start." You hopped out of the seat and Gideon took your pack from your shoulder and motioned to the west. "They're coming from that direction, they'll drive the orks and our forces eastward. We don't have much time." Gideon warned. "Yeah, when is there ever enough time?" You rounded the vehicle and hauled the hood open. There was nothing you could see, the machine just seemed cold, and unable to run. "What's wrong with this thing?" You growled, frustrated that your only source of somewhat safe travel had shit the bed. "I do not know. I am not a tech marine, the machine I service is the body." "Yeah well you look capable and I suppose when someone is capable you want to ask them." The old apothecary snorted. "Save your flattery for your lover."

Gideon had been working side by side with you since you joined the Lamenters. He was an old hand and he had seen his fair share of shit hit the fan. He helped you close the hood as it was too high for you to reach. He was also the only one who knew for certain that you and Simus weren't just good friends. When he'd first broached the topic with you, you'd nearly run face first into a door in your panic to leave. But he did not condemn the two of you. 'My brothers and I do not walk an easy path. If any of them can have a soft place to land at the end of the day, I wish them to have it. And if that place is you, then please, all I ask is that you be gentle to his hearts.'

With one final frustrated kick you decided to just leg it. There was blood under your fingernails, it reminded you that there was still a body in the back of the transport. You wouldn't be able to take it with you but maybe someone could collect him once all of this was over.

You needed to let someone know that you wouldn't be here, and that there was a body in need of funeral services.

 "Gideon, can you vox-" The front of his beak helm exploded into a shower of hot fragments. You swore and hit the ground as Gideon took his bolter from his side and fired into the oncoming group of orks that had crested the hill to the north west.

"Go!" Gideon shouted and you bounded up from the ground and south east, towards the town they were evacuating. However many of them there were, it couldn't have been much as Gideon caught up and hauled you from your feet, holding you like a sack of potatoes under one arm. Throne, could this day get any worse?

Simus's feet pounded the soft earth as he ran full tilt back towards the east. With his brother at his back they were seven strong. Their captain, Ulric had had to head back to the drop ships with Luchinus to seek aid for his legs. Or rather what was left of them. The captain left him with the orders to pull back and regroup to help usher the civilians to drop ships and get them into orbit. He was especially vehement that they should be careful. But Simus couldn't think about his own safety at a time like this.

He needed to get to the armored transport his hearts were pounding. With the Necrons awake this whole operation had gone from bad to worse. They needed back up.

He nearly stopped dead in his tracks, his ceramite clad feet churning us grass and mud as he slid to a stop. The transport was ahead of him. 

What was left of it anyhow. A gang of orks growled and swung at each other as they fought over the scraps of something while even more went to work dismantling the haul of the vehicle. Simus's blood went from ice to boil as he saw two of the beasts tug the mutilated torso of a human body apart like two dogs with a bone. "No." His legs felt weak and he screamed as he drew his chain blade. His brothers joined the fray as the orks turned and howled in excitement for another scrap. Raising barely cobbled together bolters and other guns. Simus cut his way through the crowd of green reeking bodies, guts and blood, splattered his armor as he wailed incoherently at the monsters around him. 'They ate her! They ATE her! Theyatehertheyatehertheyatehertheyatehertheyateher!!!!' The words repeated in his mind over and over as he cried and tore his way through body after body until he stood over a mountain of mutilated carcasses and his armor shone red as their brothers' of the blood angels.

His Sargent grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away. "Brother we must go! The people of this world still need us." "They ate her." His voice was tinny through his helmet's grill. His brother looked at what few shreds of human meat were left under all the other carnage. "I am sorry brother. I know you cared for the girl, but there will be time to grieve for her later."

He went with them. His mind and body screaming at him to turn around and retrieve you, in any sense that he could. But he followed the order to move on with numb obedience.

Gideon set you down in the safety of a ship, ready to depart for the barge in the skies above. "Was anyone able to reach him?" You asked, Gideon shook his head, he set down his ruined helm and sighed. "No, and what's worse is that we’ll be flying blind till we breach the atmosphere."

"I hope he's okay." You sighed and Gideon put an armored hand on your back. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Simus would do anything to get home to you. You know that." You did, but it didn't make you worry any less.

Outside the windows you saw a writhing tide of green and silver as orks and Necrons battled each other over the remains of your transport. "Sheesh, I hope Simus doesn't see that." You chuckled trying to bring your own mood up. Gideon got up to see to the well being of the civilians, you joined him, making sure that no one was hurt. It would help pass the time.

Simus didn't remember the trip back up. Or how long it took, or what happened between the transport and the armory where his armor was taken away to clean. His eyes burned and his legs finally gave out. An arm caught him. Captain Ulric held him up with a look of concern on his weathered face. "Brother, what ails you?" Simus just shook his head and the tears came forth, pouring from him he tried to grapple with the thought that you weren't there anymore.

Ulric's concern doubled at the display and he led Simus away to speak with him in private. He held his brother for several long minutes as he sobbed. He didn't force an answer from the younger astartes.

"I went back to the transport. I was going to get the medic to a safer place." He took a ragged breath and Ulric just held him tighter. "They got her. They were tearing her apart. The orks."

Ulric felt his chest tighten. "Simus, you cannot blame yourself for her death. We do what we can but we cannot save every person. Take heart in those we did save today and do not dwell on your failures my brother." Simus shook his head. "No, I lost her Ulric. She's gone." He wept, and Ulric did not understand. "I understand you were close to her. That she was your friend but we lose those we care about, it happens."

Simus's hands closed on Ulric's shoulders, it did not matter to him now if the captain knew, he would take whatever punishment it entailed. "I love her, Ulric. She was not just my friend. I loved her so much." He felt as if his hearts would tear themselves apart. The confession made many things fall into place for the captain. "I understand. Come, I will bring you to your chambers and you will rest. We may discuss this further later."

Ulric helped the grief-stricken Simus to his private quarters and set him on the bed. "Take some time for yourself here. You know where to find me when you are ready." SImus nodded and Ulric pressed his forehead to the top of Simus's. "We will get through this brother."

With that he left the camber and shook his head trying to clear it of his own grief, the captain saw in his eyes a pain so familiar it had nearly killed the captain once. He walked slowly, memories of another in his mind. He would do all he could, but the only way to heal was time and support. He would not tell the chapter master. He would take this secret to the grave for Simus. As any good father would.

He hadn't been in the armory, or the strategium, or even the showers. You asked every marine you passed until you rounded a corner and ran nose first into the chest plate of captain Ulric. "Oh, captain! Thank the throne, have you seen Simus, I can't find him anywhere!" The captain looked so startled as he looked over your form. "Captain?" You asked, his eyes wide he responded in barely a whisper. "His quarters." You smiled up at him, delighted. "Thank you." You zipped off before he could stop and warn you. "What on Terra is happening today?"

The door wasn't locked, you pressed your palm to the panel and it slid right open. Simus was kneeling on the floor, his face buried in the pillow you'd been sleeping soundly on not even a day earlier. His body was shaking as his body wrecked with his silent sobs. You rushed to his side without a second thought and shook his shoulder gently. "Simus, my love, what happened?" He turned so quick you could hear the bones in his neck crack. His eyes were wide and haunted, as if he was seeing a ghost. "My hearts?" His voice was hoarse as he reached for you. When his hands met a warm solid body instead of cold and empty air he cried out. His arms encircling you and crushing you against his chest. "Oh my hearts, you're alive!" He continued to weep, but this time his tears were of relief and almost disbelief. He kissed you hard, taking your breath away as he practically crushed you. You finally managed to steal a breath, and wiggled your arms free enough to return the hug. "Of course I'm alive. Why would you think I was dead?"

He pressed his face into your neck as he explained. Your heart hurts just hearing the echoes of his grief. It sank in then just how much he truly loved you, and your whole body felt warm as you knew the feeling was mutual. Simus needed to ensure that this never happened again, that he was certain that you were safe. He knew he could not demand you give up your work, it was a part of who you are. But maybe, he could delay your return to the field for a while. He wouldn't hurt you, no he could never hurt you. But he knew he didn't have to hurt you to have you put on leave. His cock twitched as he caught your scent again, this time warm and alive. Oh yes, he could do that.

His hands tugged at your clothes as he kissed you again. You found that you could not resist him, the day had just been too much and you needed him. He needed you too.

You reached for your buttons and tugged at them. A few popped off but you didn't care. Simus made quick work of your pants, they came off and he drooled at the sight of you mostly naked below him. He tore the body glove from his form to free his cock. Then he fell upon you, his mouth seeking your throat as he marked your skin, sucking dark angry red. You knew they would hurt later but you didn't care. His cock pressed at your entrance. He didn't take the time to finger you or eat you out as he normally would, this wasn't that kind of lay.

He pushed in, you hissed as your body was forced to adjust rapidly to his girth. But he didn't slow down, he needed you full of him, full of his seed. If you were with a child you couldn't be on the field, and he would know that his beloved was safe.

"My hearts~" He moaned as he pulled back and thrust into you. Your body was so warm, so wet, and so very, very alive.

His arms encircled you once more as he rutted into you, one arm behind your head to keep it from hitting the hard floor as he fucked you with reckless abandon. Your body took him so well, he thought and he had to swallow another mouthful of drool at the mental image of you heavily pregnant with his child growing inside you.

The pleasure had been dulled by pain at first but soon it was molten hot in your core and you were screaming his name as he fucked you. His teeth nibbled more bruises into your shoulder, his tongue soothing the skin after each one he made. Your fingernails dug into his back, scoring lines down his pale flesh as he took you animalistically. He'd never been this rough before, before it had been sex, love making, but now he was just ravaging you. And you loved it. You eyes rolled back and you came, your voice as hoarse as his had been from screaming his name and mindlessly begging for more.He gave you more, cumming deep within you as he continued to fuck you near to the point of breaking your mind. Again and again, until you'd been under him for so long that by the time he'd finished for the last time, you couldn't even cum again, your body simply didn't have it in you. He dragged you up from the floor admiring his handiwork. A fat rivulet of his cum gushed from your cunt and onto the floor. 'Ah, that's a shame.' Simus thought as he tucked you into bed. His body curled around you. 'Well, there's more where that came from.' He smiled and fell asleep with you in his arms. He was still not entirely sure if you were here with him, or if he'd gone mad with grief and had dreamed all this. Either way at least he got to have your warmth next to him again.

(Probably gonna make a follow up to this)

[thevoicefromanotherworld]

"SHE WOULDN'T DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT"

I WROTE ANOTHER FIC WITH JAX

I hope you like it! 😊🖤

Jax had called your cell phone a couple of times without getting an answer.

After twenty minutes of trying to reach you, he decided something had happened to you, so he hopped on his motorcycle and drove to the repair shop.

He walked briskly into the chapel and saw Clay talking with Tig in the corner, while the others were scattered around the bar.

The moment Morrow saw him, he knew something was wrong.

Jax walked up to him, his face serious, and gestured toward the chapel doors.

"We need to talk now," she said. He nodded, and after telling Tig to gather the others, they entered the chapel.

They sat down in their respective places, and Jax spoke.

"You all know y/n," he began. "You know she works at the hospital, and even if she's not wearing a jacket, she's one of us," he said, scanning them all. "Her shift ends at nine, and I always call to make sure she's okay and that she gets home safely, and she ALWAYS answers." He threw his pay-as-you-go cell phone on the wooden table. "Except today. I've called her more than five times, and she hasn't answered any of them," he murmured. "She wouldn't do something like that."

"Do you think she's been kidnapped?" "Juice asked," that would be really stupid of anyone, because they know we'll come after them at the first opportunity."

Clay leaned his elbows on the table thoughtfully before staring at Jax.

"Does anyone have a grudge against Y/N? Has she argued with anyone from the other gangs in the last few days?"

"If what you're implying is that she asked for it, then you don't know her at all."

"You're wrong, I don't know her," Clay countered. "Do you know why? Because the day you brought her in, you did it without informing the rest of the club." He pointed to his chest. "I'm the president, and you're my second-in-command," he growled, holding her gaze. "I wouldn't want to have to put the prospect jacket on you."

"You wouldn't dare," Jax blurted out, his eyes wide. "What would you do if it was Gemma?" he asked suddenly. "Because we all know you'd mobilize the sons of the entire country to find her. Am I wrong?" He questioned, shaking his head negatively. "You don't have to answer, I already know you will do so"

Clay raised his index finger threateningly, pointing at it firmly.

"Be very careful what you say, son," he muttered before turning to the others. "Votes in favor of finding y/n."

Jax could see the uncertainty on the sons' faces.

They wanted to listen to Clay as the president, but they all knew Jax was the one who was truly right.

All hands went up, and Morrow slammed the gavel down on the wooden stand, ending the meeting.

Jax sprang to his feet, and Oppie, seeing him, followed him out of the workshop.

"Wait, Jax," he said, seeing the blond man put on his motorcycle helmet. "I just wanted to tell you not to rush it," he murmured. "We need to think carefully about our next step." If we screw up, we could go to war with the Mayans, and we already have enough with the Niners.

"I know, Opp," he smiled, giving her a hug. "I appreciate your concern," he murmured. "Now I need to… go for a walk to clear my head."

"Okay," he whispered. "Be careful, and come back in one piece, otherwise your mom will amputate my leg."

"Don't worry, I'll come back in one piece with all my parts back," he laughed before starting the bike and heading out onto the road to join the traffic.

[pannman]

Angel dust x male reader who 100% can NOT dance, not from mobility issues or they're uncoordinated or something serious, just complete and utter DOGSHIT dance floor skills. And so angel teases reader whenever angel tries to teach him

More of the fluff and lighthearted side of things, if you want to make it a oneshot or headcanon format it's fine either way

Fun fact I am a terrible dancer so this should be fun. I also did a little research into pole dancing for beginners so hopefully it's accurate. Sorry I added a little spice at the end. I forgot to aim for fluff. I hope this is still good

Class Is In Session

Angel Dust x Male reader

Cw: teasing, flirting, very suggestive, Angel being Angel

You always admired the way Angel could be so graceful and so flexible. You wanted to impress him. He knew a lot about you. But what he didn't know, was that you were an awful dancer. You were very awkward and clumsy and you always felt like everyone was staring at you. But still Angel's dance moves made you want to be better

You were especially impressed by Angel's pole dancing skills. He even had a pole in his room for practice. He loved to show you his routine. Especially since it got you extra flustered. You wanted so badly to see the affect it had on him. But you had never pole danced before. And you were so bad at dancing already you'd die of embarrassment if anyone saw you practicing especially Angel

So... you decided to practice in secret. You thought he'd be gone all day for work. It would've been perfect. So you snuck into his room. You say "snuck" but you actually had your own key. You two had decided to take things slow together so that meant sharing a bedroom had to wait. But Angel insisted you at least keep a key. You gave fat Nuggets a scratch under the chin as you entered. He seemed quite happy to see you

Finally you hopped on to the pole. Or... tried to anyway. You leaped on with enthusiasm but felt your grip fail and you fell flat on your bottom. It didn't hurt too bad. But what was worse was the immediate burst of laughter behind you. You turned beat red and you knew who it was. Angel must've got home early. You did not want to turn and face him

He didn't show any mercy. He approached you from behind. He stood in front of you and leaned down. "Were planning on putting on a show for me. Because if so I think your comedic timing is very on point though the rest needs some work"

You blushed. Partly from embarrassment and partly from the way he was looking at you right now. He reached one of his long arms out and offered you his hand. You took it and he helped you to your feet. "If you wanted a private lesson all you had to do was ask babe" he smirked "I didn't realize my boyfriend was so interested in my craft"

"I.. I-I...I..." You stammered. He acted all flattered in a teasing tone "Oh my! All choked up over me.... I know something else I prefer you choked on" his innuendo was very foward though you were used him being foward by now. Still you guys hadn't actually had sex yet. Taking things slow included sex. But that never stopped Angel saying what was on his mind

You decided that maybe... maybe it was time to take the relationship to the next level. You grinned at him. "Maybe I will. Maybe... it's about time we made that next move. But... if you want it I'm gonna need a little something first." You said suggestively

Angel eyes popped. "Are you sure?" He wanted to make sure you were ready. "Yes" you answered "but first... teach me a few tricks on this pole" Angel chuckled but agreed "sure thing! First off you can't just jump in and start spinnin around and hanging upside down and stuff. Start off with some stretches okay? Then I'll give you grip aid to go on your hands, roll out a crash mat so you don't hurt your ass again and we'll start off with some beginner moves"

You agreed and did some stretching and warming up. Getting your muscles active and ready. Then Angel placed a thick mat on the floor in case you fell again. He handed you some product to put on your hands and you rubbed it in. Then he played some slow but catchy music. "It's about having fun. No music doesn't sound nearly as fun." He said and he got started by demonstrating some basic moves. You tried them yourself and he assisted you by using his hands to guide your back and your body to the best posture and position

You fell a couple times but Angel caught you. Saying something along the lines of "falling for me all over again" or "just can't stand not being in my arms can you?" And you grew more flustered at the proximity but it was also very enjoyable. Like an intimate moment. Not a bad idea for a date honestly

It was actually fun but it was also exercise. You were sweating quite a bit and you hadn't even had sex yet. He stopped you often to make sure you took breaks and drank water. Then finally you had gotten the moves pretty down pat. You were surprised that you were able to get it. But Angel was a good teacher. "A plus!" He said

Finally you were finished and you immediately locked lips with your tall sexy boyfriend. He kissed you back. Passionately. You broke the kiss and whispered to him "how about a little extra credit?" he pulled you closer wrapping his arms around you pinning you to him. "I thought you'd never ask" he said before pushing your head down and you allowed your teacher to guide you to where he wanted... once again

[wormshirt]

As someone who uses a mobility aid and has muscular tension that cause me general body and joint pain and stiffness from the hips down on both sides what would kill me with doctor who wouldn't be the running it'd be the fucking stairs. They don't always have stairs in doctor who but oh boy when they do. I can run super fast and then inevitably injure my hips and suffer through it and keep limping along through the pain but if it's a flight of stairs between me and safety I'm so dead. If I don't take those stairs 1 step at a time my knees WILL lock or my muscles will throw such a massive hissy fit that it'll take me TWICE the time it takes your average person to go up those stairs and I will be killed or kinapped or put through some strange and unusual scifi horror by step 3. The doctor and I (limping) run down 50000000 hallways and we reach the end of a hall with only a reasonably sized staircase on the other end of it and the doctor immediately starts vaulting up the steps 3 at a time until he turns around and notices that I have stopped completely at the bottom of the steps to stare at him blithely. He starts trying to get me to go up the stairs or ask what the hell I think I'm doing and I slowly lower myself back down to the ground and cross my arms over my chest and begin reciting funeral prayers with a serene smile. The big evil monster comes after me and I am eaten. Badly. The doctor yells NOOOOO really loud and cries a little maybe idk and then is emo about it for like half a season until they end up back by the staircase in a season finale or something and it's revealed that the stairs are magic stairs that preserve the conciousness of any ugly ass bitch who hates staircases enough and the doctor is implied to have know this all along. and the doctor gives me some heartbroken major depressive disorder poster child look and a little speech about how they "couldn't have come back here for blah blah excuses reasons" and I smile sweetly and say "why the fuck didn't you have an emergency exit strategy or some shit incase the guy who uses a fucking cane couldn't do some shit like go up stairs super fast because he uses a fucking cane. Hello. Not even mad. Are you stupid. You are a timelord. Your people let your gay ass fuck off to who knows where because you're the dumbest timelord ever and they couldn't stand your stupid ass. I can't believe I'm stuck on this gay ass space station with this lame ass death for all of eternity because you didn't think that the guy who struggles to go up stairs would struggle to go up stairs. You wanna know what the alien said to me before he ate me. He said hey that dude you're here with sucks so bad and is stupid and gay and lame as hell. And I would have said 'yeah lol' but then he ate me. He ate me because of stairs doctor. Stairs." And then I'd stay forever trapped with my soul in that staircase just so I could spend the rest of enternity sending spam calls and telemarketers to the tardis phone. The doctor's investigating something outside an alien bar somewhere and sees ads like XXX Brittany Wants To Spend a NIGHT With YOU Sexy! Hot Singles in your area! Call here for a night of FUN! HOT SINGLE Xxeksifloryean Milfs Looking For a MATE in GALAXIES NEAR YOU!!!!❤️❤️❤️ and softly puts a hand on the posters and goes "I'm sorry I couldn't save you....." five seconds later jerry from *TOTALLY REAL* intergalactic statefarm NOT A FAKE NOT A SCAM calls up the doctor on the TARDIS phone to ask about the doctor's insurance info. Somewhere I kick an ugly ass step on a stupid fucking staircase and break my ghost toe. I hop around and start swearing.

[mars101]

Act 2: -> Scene 3: Have you ever heard of... online dating?

WRITTEN PART -> (0.6) -> no ss after

“Hon, have you ever felt lonely while here?”

The three ladies were sitting on the stools by the small outdoor bar that overlooks the docks. Y/n stood behind the bar, mixing up drinks for Miyeon and Jiwoo with her tool belt still around her waist.

“Miyeon, I haven't felt lonely ever while here. The only time I felt a bit lonely was when Yin left for college.”

“So do you know what that means?”

Y/n leaned toward Miyeon as she beckoned her closer with a wave of her hand. Jiwoo took a sip of her drink as she shook her head at the two.

“When the love birds fly the nest, you'll be lonely again.”

With a slam against the table, Miyeon's drink was placed in front of her, startling her. Y/n points at her before making her own drink, “I'm not going to listen to you anymore.. I don't want my babies to leave.” Y/n layed her head on the table as the two caressed her head.

“y/n, your babies are in their 20's, going to get married, and have kids soon. you know-”

“Oh my god, no, I'm going to be a grandma soon.”

“y/n you know yin, she'll probably never leave anyways. she'll wanna stay here and be just like you.”

“Just like me? I hope not. It's a good thing Yin was able to find love and actually keep it..”

Y/n sits down on a stool next to the girls after mixing her glass. She leans onto Jiwoo's arm as she takes a drink. “Y/n? Are you perhaps.. wishing for love??” Miyeon leans her own head onto the other side of Jiwoo, reaching across to hold Y/n's hand.

The two clasp hands over Jiwoo's lap and Y/n glances at Miyeon. “My time for love is over, and it is not going to happen again sadly”

“oh “sadly” huh? it seems theres still a bit of hope in you”

“Barely any hope. I never leave the island, and there's only a few single older tourists that come around. Plus, they don't want the single mother..”

“Some people do, have you ever heard of.. online dating before, Y/n?”

Jiwoo puts down her drink and turns to look at Miyeon as she rests her hands on the conjoined hands on her lap. “You are NOT going to show her what online dating is..”

The three sit up on the stools as they watch Miyeon take Y/n's phone that was resting on the bar table, “Okay so, I'm going to download all the dating apps I know of and we're gonna find your match from each one.” Y/n grabs her phone out of Miyeon's hand before downing her drink.

“That is the last thing that you are going to do on my phone.”

“you don't have space, don't you? still playing your mobile games, huh? candy crush? homescapes? your merge mansion and cookie run?”

“Okay at least leave Cookie Run out of this, Yin introduced me to it..”

“My god, Y/n, how old are you? 40 or 5? Do you play on an IPad too??”

“No..” Y/n hops off the stool quickly and unclips her tool belt, “I am going to put this belt away and when I come back, you better be done with this topic”

“When you come back bring the IPad! We have to see what level you're on!”

Y/n walks away from the two, flipping them off as she walks to the garden's backhouse to put the tools away.

synopsis = a day before her wedding day, Yin decides to find her father so he can walk her down the isle, the problem? There's three candidates: Lee Juyeon, Kim Younghoon, and Lee Hyunjae.

last/next

masterlist

taglist:

@boomhoon, @sanasour, @loonaluvz, @jaerisdiction, @cowsmicwu

[the-last-concert]

Chapter Six:

All I wanted…

The flat we rented out was bigger than I expected. I stood staring at the oak wooden doors taller than me. With my truck in one hand and my backpack in the other, I froze and got lost in how different London already felt. Nevermind the weird looking cars and mobile attractions on the way, London ran at its own different pace.

“You guys,” I said in disbelief. “The doors are bigger than my entire apartment alone.”

Speedy and Pepper, who were already making their way up the stairs to unlock the door, glanced my way and started cracking up.

“That was an easy setup, Moggie.” Speedy teased. “I won’t even touch that one. Pep-?”

Pepper ignored the question. “Watch out. I just wanna settle in.” With them both fighting to be the first one inside, they fell midway and I hopped over both of them. I beat them inside.

I lowered myself to their eye-level. “Who’s laughing now?” They looked up and both shared the same smile. I started running. They chased after me instantly.

“Cut her off by the kitchen, Speedy!” Pepper yelled, trying to grab me mid-air. I dodged his swinging arms and rounded the corner around the dining room table. Now, with Speedy closing in, I hadn’t had much room to move. But I remembered how slow he actually was. I juked him just near the marbled island counter. “Damn it-Speed. She was right there. How hard was that?”

Speedy tried to recover his breath before answering. “You try catching her, then. Oh, that’s right. You couldn’t either.”

I rested on the couch, legs-crossed. “Don’t feel too bad, boys. I’ve always been the fastest runner in this bunch.” They piled onto me before I realized what was happening. They started tickling me to prove their point. I tapped out.

“Yeah, but reflexes still suck,” Pepper teased me. Then he pulled Speedy off me. “Mog, take a look around while we bring the bags in, okay?”

I raised my eyebrows. “What are y’all up to now?”

“Just trust me,” was all he said as they both left, hanging on each other’s shoulders.

I shrugged before getting a good look at our new home. It was a beautiful flat. The room had a darkening shade because of all the brown oaky furniture. The door had been matched with the dining table, the coffee table and the wall of bookshelves. They already had multiple books, organized, color-coordinated, and ranged from brightest color to darkest color. The fireplace near the living room was white brickwork that had a dark sheer fabric draping over the top. There were plants, from medium to large. The pots were black and white. It was so cozy. I remember Pepper saying it used to belong to an artist he met a while ago. The previous owner was also touring. I stopped at the kitchen to see how the contrasts fit together. Light and Dark. Yin and Yang. This artist was all about the balance of spectrum coloring.

“Hey guys, who used to live….” I trailed off. I saw both of them holding a bouquet of flowers. Speedy was holding yellow sunflowers. And Pepper was holding red roses. My mouth fell open.

“We never asked you, officially,” Speedy said, shyly.

“And we wanted to.” Pepper said. “So…”

“Will you be our girlfriend, Mahogany Farewell?” They said in unison, pushing two bouquets at me at the same time.

I nodded before my mouth could respond. “Yes, yes I will.”

I ran to hug them both and we all fell on the floor, we looked at each other and laughed so much.

“Clumsy as ever,” Pepper kissed my cheek. I blushed right away.

“Yeah, but she’s our Moggie.” Speedy kissed my forehead.

“Guys, guys,” I tried to retreat from their attention, but they didn’t let me go. “This is beautiful. How did you even hide this from me?”

“Remember you had to stop and take pictures at the famous clock tower ?” Speedy asked. “I told you I was shopping for Vickie.”

“You little liar,” I told him.

“Aye, I’ll be that, if it brought you this amount of happiness.” Speedy chuckles while we all get up from the floor.

“Here-give me these,” Pepper grabs the two bouquets. “I’ll put them in water for you.”

“Make them how you used to,” I requested. “Your flower arrangement for my 16th birthday was breathtaking.”

Pepper’s eyes widened. “You remember that?”

I understood his sudden surprise. My birthday that year wasn’t exactly what I expected. The cake went missing, only a few people showed up. And me and Pepper were in the middle of a fight… in front of everyone. But when I got home, there were three different kinds of bouquets at the counter. The arrangement had dandelions, lilies, lilacs and roses. From lightest to brightest. With a single note: For the most beautiful color I’ve found. I suddenly stop focusing on what happened… except for those flowers.

“Of course.” I smiled. He walked off a little lighter now.

“So, you like the flat?” Speedy cheese.

“Yeah it’s so-,”

“Balanced?”

“Exactly,” I laughed. “Who lived here again?”

“Classified information, Mog. Afraid I can’t say.” Speedy turned his head so dramatically. He was picking on me. I pushed his shoulders.

“Come on, what is it going to take to get you to squeal?”

He turned back and smirked. “Strip.”

I was shocked. “Right here?”

“Unless you’re too chicken.”

“I’m not. I think it’s just a little pretentious. I mean- where’s my fun?”

“Okay, fair enough.” Speedy realized he needed to wage something too. “How about we make this interesting, then?”

“I’m listening.”

“Each person has to drop an item on the floor, but it has to be clothing of your choice. And… it’s only if we catch each other in a lie.”

“So two truths and a lie, then?” Pepper chimed in with the flower arranging, done. It was the only color that didn’t blend into the background. We smiled at each other as he put them down on the coffee table.

“Not exactly.” Speedy explained. “Your statement has to be true, well at least to you. The other person's job is to see if it’s 100% accurate.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Pepper shrugged. “We’ve only known each other our whole lives.”

“Exactly.” Speedy agreed.

“Okay, and if it is a lie,” I said. “Clothes drop?”

“Yup.”

“Fine, I’ll go first,” Pepper said as he leaned back in the black sofa chair. His brown eyes pierced into mine before he made his first statement. “I used to wet the bed until age 11.”

My eyes got bigger. I couldn’t confirm or deny if he was lying. He had such a poker face. His muscles were relaxed and his face remained calm, like he didn’t just share something most people would be mortified into saying. But Speedy’s laughter is what gave him away.

“Actually it was age 13, Pep,” Speedy called him out. “Don’t think I forgot about that football camp nightmare you dragged me to.”

He smiled more broadly than before. “Guilty.” Then he got up and walked toward me, removing his jacket slowly. He threw it a few feet in front of me. He baited, “Your turn.”

I had to hide how much that aroused me. I turned to Speedy. “I wanted to be an actual princess before we went to middle school.”

“No!” Speedy shouted in disbelief. Maybe because back then I was into sports as much as they were. I did all the things they did. I fought my hardest to keep up with them. At the time, I didn’t care if they were boys. I just wanted to be the best and win.

“That’s true,” Pepper spoke up. I felt his breath against my cheek. I hadn’t realized how close he was now standing next to me. “She used to have a binder of every Disney princess ever. Then a whole section of the country she wanted to rule after.”

“How the hell did I miss that?” Speedy mumbles to himself.

Pepper shrugs. “She’s always been good at looking after her own secrets.”

I frown. “If that was true, how’d you find out?”

Pepper smirks. “I snooped through your drawers on a dare.”

We all turn to Speedy. It had him written all over it. “Like you’re surprised.” Speedy doesn’t deny it. “As much as you rough housed us, you were still a girl.”

“You’re turn, loser.” Pepper said to him, impatient. I chuckled because so far, Pepper was the one in last place.

“I hated living in Mystique.” Speedy confessed.

Pepper shook his head. “You can’t be serious.”

“But, I am,” Speedy nudges his head to me. “Moggie, tell him why.”

I sighed. I never thought he would bring this up. “Because everyone compared his performance to yours, Pepper. You were the athlete prodigy and everyone in the town felt like he was just your shadow.”

“You know that was complete bullshit, right?” He walks past me to comfort Speedy. “I never could touch your ball-handling or the 3-point shots. And you killed me in that kicker position. The one I really wanted.”

“Back then, it didn’t matter.” Speedy said. “They saw you going places, but me… I was the airy misfortune who got lucky because I was friends with you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, then?”

“Because you were a mess after Moggie, man.” He kept being transparent. “You shut everything out, even me. It hurt for a while because I only felt like you were the one person, besides Vickie and Moggie, who believed in me.”

“Man,” Pepper looked frozen with guilt. “I didn’t know… how disconnected I really was.”

Speedy smiled softly at him while smacking his stomach. “Forget it. It was a long time ago, and we ended up leaving that ghost town, anyways.”

“I eat my pizza only with pineapple slices on the cheese,” I blurted out. They stared at me before their eyes started to water from holding in their erupted laughter.

“Strip, Moggie.” Pepper ordered while he shook his head.

“Yeah, like we don’t remember you devouring that whole meat lover thing after you got high with Julia from our school's game,” Speedy pointed out. “WOW, Julia Eisenhower! Remember her, Pep?”

“I try not to,” Pepper said as he looked at me, waiting to see me disrobe. I lifted my sweatshirt over my shoulders and threw it near his jacket. He licked his lips, eyeing my brown satin bralette. We were the only ones showing skin. I needed to catch Speedy in a lie next.

I moved to the couch. Speedy sat in the loveseat across from me. Pepper followed up, next to him. “Wasn’t she the one who followed Pepper around like a lost puppy? She only hung around me to get information on him.”

“Yeah she even begged me to-,” Pepper hit Speedy’s chest before he could finish.

I frowned. “No more secrets. Come on.”

Pepper complained. “It’s not even worth mentioning.”

I turned to Speedy. I knew if I looked at him closely, he wouldn’t be able to resist. “Speed?”

“She said she would go down on me if he took her to prom.” He finished. I smiled in victory. But then I remembered Pepper took me to prom, though. After my ex dumped me right before.

“But he didn’t ask her, though.”

Speedy face changed into a petty grin. “She didn’t know he wasn’t going to then.”

“Cute,” I commented. Julia was a loose one. And kind of gullible. That was a bad combination if you were asking for a favor from Speedy. That’s the way he liked them, then. Easy. And with no complications.

Pepper rolls his eyes. “Go, whore.”

“It’s your turn, goody-two shoes.”

“You wanna talk about goody-two shoes? Okay,” Pepper’s mood was oozing with his competitive demeanor. “What’s so goody-two shoes about fucking your sister?”

No…. I braced myself for Speedy’s retaliation. Valerie Davis, was killed during our middle school graduation. She was hit by a drunk driver while crossing the street. They never found the guy, either. Case went cold. It took awhile for Speedy to leave his house after that. And he quit sports … for a while. Between Pepper’s after school practices and his mom working full-time as a nurse, I was the only one who ever visited him. I was the only one who saw just how broken he was. When Pepper had a chance to visit, he masked his emotions so well. He would joke around and play. He would pretend so brilliantly. Like I didn’t find him in the bathroom with bloody wrists before. Like I wasn’t the one who cleaned him up after he made me promise not to tell Pepper.

Speedy looked forward to me, amber eyes burning. “Is he lying?”

I didn’t want to be the one to confirm this, but I was the only one who saw them together. I even watched for a little bit. Their bodies were so wrapped into each other inside our secret hideout near the back of Pepper’s house. I was mad that I couldn’t pull away from seeing them in that way. I was mad he even took her there. I was envious of Valerie’s femininity. It attracted Pepper so much. And for a while, I pretended he didn’t want her that way… until that day.

I looked down before answering. “No.” Speedy got up from the couch so violently and walked over to the kitchen. Then I flinched when I heard a plate smashing the ground. “Maybe we should stop playing.”

“No, no let’s not,” Speedy tried to laugh off his rage. “I guess I should be the one to tell you I was Moggie’s first.”

Pepper’s head snapped up and crossed between the both of us. Then his eyes began narrowing towards me. “That night… you told me Dillion was.”

I was about to speak, but Speedy cut me off, crying hysterically. “Dillion was gay, Pepper. That’s why he broke up with Moggie in the first place. And you know what the killer part is? While you were pretending Moggie was so innocent… she asked me to do it.”

Pepper was the one who left now. The slammed door confirmed he was done playing. I looked at Speedy, furious as he brushed my expression off his shoulders. He removed his sweater and threw it at me.

“You can tell him that I asked you.”

I dropped his sweater on the floor. “That was bullshit.”

“Like him fucking my sister wasn’t?” Speedy snorted, picking up a cigar box. “You know he only did it to get back at both of us. He always hated being ignored.”

I didn’t respond. I left the room to find Pepper. I knocked three times.

“Go away, Mahogany.”

I took a deep breath and opened the door, anyway. I caught him pacing back and forth, trying to calm down. “Pepper… Please talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to say!” He snarled. “He always needs to one up me. It’s so childish and you….” He slowed down and turned towards the rest of the room. “You lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie,” I closed the door behind me. “That night you asked me who my first love was.”

“Are you really pushing a technicality right now?”

“Point is, I didn’t lie. Speedy did, though. He’s the one who asked me.”

He shook his head. “I don’t care about that damn game anymore, Moggie.”

“You had no right then… to bring up Valerie that way.”

He paused before responding. “I hated being called a goody-two shoes. People expected me to be a saint my entire life. But I’ve done fucked up shit too.”

“We didn’t,” I walked slowly towards him. “We knew how badly you just wanted to be seen without their expectations.”

“Yeah, being conservative and religious had no room for it,” he chuckles softly at himself. “Man, I hated being the pastor’s son.”

“But now you’re not,” I turned him around to face me. I needed to bring him back into this reality. His head hung low, eyes closed. He breathed deeply before his deep brown eyes saw me.

“You’re right, I’m not.”

“Now, apologize to Speedy about his sister.”

“Yeah…. yeah okay.”

We walk out to find Speedy cleaning up the mess of broken plate pieces scattered on the floor. I leaned on the cold counter as Pepper went to help him. This is how apologies started between them. For a moment, nothing would be said. Just silently helping the other. And then, words would follow after the action was finished.

“Look, about Valerie-,” Pepper started, stopping the broom from moving.

Speedy waved him off, with the dustpan. “Forget it. Seems like we’re even now.” They smiled briefly before they continued to clean. I relaxed even further once they started to clear the air.

But I decided this was the perfect time to change the subject. “What’s for dinner?”

“We can go out to a Pub,” Pepper suggested as he dumped the pieces into the trash. Speedy put the broom and dustpan back. “I know there’s one only 2 miles from here.”

“Going out sounds perfect, actually,” Speedy rubbed his neck. “I can use a drink.”

“I think we all can,” I agreed. I went to the living room to look for my shirt. Once I found it, Pepper’s eyes found me first. He’s frowning now. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”

“Or…” Pepper probed, eyeing me again. “Let’s order in.”

“What are you thinking about? Cause I’m hungry right now.” Speedy didn’t catch his sudden mood change. Either did I. Pepper hit his bare chest and then they both looked at me, hungrily.

I slowly walk up to the counter. “What’s going on?”

Speedy’s grin creeps up. They were clearly sharing a vibe I missed. But I didn’t care either way, as long as the food was ordered. “Nah you right, Pepper. Ordering in is fine. Pizza… right Mog? I’ll call it in.” He leaves to get the phone and goes into the room.

I sit down in one of the kitchen stools and look over the photos we all took this morning. Pepper hates taking pictures, but I love how he stood through it willingly. I chuckled. “Hey you didn’t even…” My eyes were inches away from his face. I couldn’t move after. It was because of the memorizing expression he was making.

“Mog, we’re finishing that game.” Then Pepper reached up to remove my sweatshirt from my body. “And I plan to see every inch of you, tonight.”

I was debating if I should protest, but I decided that my goal was to see every inch of him first. But he had to agree on something. It was the only way we would make it out alive. “Only if you keep it clean. No below the belt hits this time around, got it?”

He grinned, hands up surrendering. “No promises.”

“I mean the game, Pepper.”

“Oh, that? Yeah, whatever you say.”

Speedy came back with phone in hand. “She agreed?”

“Yup,” Pepper said, cheesing.

“Whatever, hurry up Speedy. Or we will start without you.” I said. He made a face and left the room when the pizza place answered.

“I think there’s liquor here actually,” Pepper got up to a wooden oak cabinet and there were rows of wine dating back to 1936.

“I don’t know, Pep,” I got up to get a closer look. “Should we even be opening this? It looks too priceless.”

“Nah. He won’t trip. Believe me, it was his family’s collection. And he’s not much of a drinker.”

“So it’s a male artist?”

“I ain’t saying, Mog.”

“But you just said-,”

“Look- do you want the wine or not?”

I huffed before taking the glass out of his hand. He was so tight lipped. I could never have my way. But with Speedy, I could. Speedy would squeal if I worked on him long enough. “My god. This is strong, Pepper. What is this?”

“It’s a 1936 Chateau Latour. His family traveled to France a lot.”

“It’s been aging since that long?”

“You just saw me open the bottle, Mog.”

I sat the drink down. “That’s probably enough for me.”

He shook his head, downing his glass. “Fucking lightweight.”

I flicked him off. And he made a face before sitting his glass down and flopping on top of me. “Pepper! Move your heavy ass.”

“No, I think I’m comfortable where I’m at.” I could hear the smile in his voice. I stretched my arms out from underneath him and started tickling his sides. “Man, quit it Mog.”

“No, this is your punishment now.”

He tried to block but I was faster. That was until he grabbed both of my wrists and threw them down against the fabric of the couch. I held my breath for some time. He was so close and my naked torso felt his skin on top of mine. It was straight heat. Then to my surprise, he lets go of my arms.

“Fuck the game.”

I was pushed down further into the couch by Pepper’s weight and he pulled my legs around him. His swollen lips brushed near my chest and I moaned a little. He moved his way up to my neck and I whimpered. These sounds were acting out like they had no control. His touches on me got pretty bold. His fingers braced my lips before his mouth met me there. The moment grew so still- yet I could feel both of our hearts pounding everywhere. I couldn’t imagine when he would stop. He kept moving and I kept reacting to every single tingling spot. It was electrifying because he was taking his time now. He wasn’t in a rush like on the plane. Every touch, every kiss, every caress felt like its own moment. I wanted to just hold it. Play it on loop for eternity. I was still getting used to him feeling me like this. Touching my body like no time was missed. He was giving me time to adjust and I wanted to thank him for it. My body would have been trembling so much more. Then he stopped. And looked up from the couch. I wondered why until I saw Speedy leaning against the wall, watching us. He doesn’t look angry. Just intrigued. Then it dawned on me. How was this even going to work? Being with both of them sexually? Clearly they both put their claim on me. But was this a take-turn situation or something else entirely?

“Please, don’t let me stop you,” Speedy comes from around the wall and sits on the loveseat across from us. “Continue.”

“You really gonna watch?” I asked in disbelief.

Speedy blankly stares. “Why wouldn’t I? I have a right to see your body ….as much as he does fucking you.”

Pepper lost it. He starts cracking up so hard now. He almost fell off the couch. “Suit yourself cause I ain’t stopping either.”

He proceeded to go back to kissing me. I don’t know how my body got ten times hotter with Speedy now being there. I tried to focus my eyes away from his stare. But it was … too intense. I looked at him the whole time Pepper was making his way down my pants now. He threw it on the ground and Speedy flexed his back out and sank more in the chair. Pepper rustling through my panties as Speedy finds my glass and sips it slowly. I couldn’t get over everything happening simultaneously. When Pepper did connect his mouth to my pussy, my body jolted forward. Speedy, out of the corner of my eyes, grabbed his dick to stop it from reacting. He wanted to watch us together. That’s why he wasn’t in a hurry for Pepper to move. Somehow this relaxed my body even more. I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure it was a phenomenal show.

“Fuck, Pepper.” I moaned and my eyes shot down to meet him. Then he continued with his tongue going in and out of me. Moving so rapidly. My breathing felt more airy. My senses were diluted with euphoria.

I didn’t purposefully do this, but my head shifted sideways in Speedy’s direction as he witnessed every reaction through me. I saw his body swirling around in the chair now. He couldn’t sit still. His eyes locked on to me and I gave him the okay. He got up so quickly and pulled his pants down. He slid his dick inside my mouth and I had to open my mouth wider to be more sure I had a good grip on him. He started to moan vigorously. Like he was anxiously awaiting for me to off him. I just let him control the movements. Speedy’s dick was slipping inside and out of my mouth while Pepper's tongue was inside and out of me. I was on pure ecstasy. Seeing them both in a vulnerable position like this drove more electric charges into my body. I was being stimulated from two places. Then Pepper switches and puts his dick inside. It was a quick adjustment but my pussy welcomed him in with no interruption. Speedy is about to reach his end and him finishing first, causing more wetness down there and Pepper released early.

“Shit. That took me by surprise,” Pepper said. “Sorry, Mog.”

“Wait. Watch out.” Speedy pulls Pepper from me and then picks me up as he sits down. I was straddling him. “Ride me now.”

I couldn’t resist his command. Especially with this new look in his eyes. Like he was hungrily seeking revenge. I was motioning through his legs and my ass was smacked from behind.

“Fuck!” I screamed in pleasure, but my eyes were closed. I had no idea who did that but it didn’t feel like Speedy’s hands. In fact, he was grabbing me the entire time. He sped up more and more and my body braced for the release. When I was done, Speedy did not let go of me. He was grinded against my pussy slowly. My eyes had rolled back a little from the motion.

“There’s my Mahogany.” Speedy kisses my forehead, then neck. And finally, my lips. I instantly melted all over him again. A towel was thrown at Speedy and he caught it before he sat me down off of him.

“Get her cleaned up,” Pepper instructed, fixing his boxer briefs. “I’ll wait for the pizza man.”

The bathroom was massive. There was a huge tub with jets on the inside. Speedy stripped the rest of me, before an orange satin robe was placed over my body. The candles had already been lit, and the only source of light dimmed the room. Speedy bent over the tub to turn the water on and his back muscles flexed. My eyes mulled over every entire inch. His physique was still a twig. But I could tell that his routine workouts toned his body a lot more. And… I have reviewed him a lot more since. Unlike Pepper, his body was free from ink. All except one spot. It was a particular tattoo near the back of his neck that spread across his back shoulder blades. They were wings. I knew that was a special one. Speedy never liked needles, but he got this to honor his sister. I knew because there was a princess tiara in the middle. One that was similar to the princess Valerie was fond of the most. Cinderella.

“Did I lose you, Moggie?” Speedy pulls me into his arms, while the bath was getting ready. “You’re staring at me quite hard.”

“That tattoo. I like it.” I said.

“Yeah? I think it helped me too,” Speedy explained. “I feel like she’s my guardian angel or something.”

“She is, Speedy,” I smiled up at him. Then I joked. “How much did you cry?”

He frowned. “Not one bit. Pepper gave me something to take the edge off.”

My eyebrows creased. “You don’t smoke.”

He waved off my assumption. “It was an edible, Moggie. And barely even one. He tore through it before I could get a decent amount in.”

I changed the subject. With Speedy so exposed, I didn’t want to talk about Pepper anymore. I nudged toward the water. “I think it’s done.”

“Oh, shit, you’re right,” he said, turning his body to stretch his long arms reached toward the tub. Then he smiles, diabolical. “Should I push you in?”

I immediately jumped up before he had the chance. “No way in hell you’re getting my hair wet.”

He shrugs. “After you then.”

I removed the satin robe and his amber eyes watched it drop to the floor before his gaze follows from the floor to my exposed body. I climb in and sink into the bubbles filled with lavender and honey. I haven’t had an oil fused bath in years. I was giddy that he remembered my favorite scents. Speedy didn’t take long to join in soon after. His black towel dropped and to my surprise, he tried his best not to splash me. His face remained a natural calm as he sank lower into the bubbles. His nostrils flared in and out when the scents overwhelmed him. Speedy always had a sensitivity to smells. But at least, I was glad he endured because of me.

“Hey,” I gathered his arms around me as I laid back on his chest. “What are you thinking about?”

“Honestly,” His laughter vibrated my head a little. “Home.”

“Ah, so he does miss it ?”

“I mean, how could I not?” Speedy replied. “As shitty of a town it was… I met you there, Moggie.”

“We caused a lot of havoc, didn’t we?”

“I’ll say,” he agreed. “Remember the toilet paper ficasto?”

“In middle school?” I tried to get the exact date. “It was right before thanksgiving. You and Pepper thought it was a good present for Principal Wellis to come back to. How’d you even pull that off? Breaking in?”

“One of the lunch ladies had a thing for me,” he pointed out. “I may have used it to my advantage and swiped one of her keys.”

“Mystique’s ladies’ man,” I said. “And the athletic prodigy. How did I get so lucky?”

“How did we? I mean-Miss Mystique of 2014.” Speedy pointed back. His arms felt like warm noodles around me. He started using the exfoliating glove for my back. It felt like welcoming tiny needles.

“I hated being in that pageant, you know.”

Speedy chuckles as he smoothes over my arms with soapy bubbles. “I know. But it was to crush Amanda. And you were so determined to see her cry when she lost.”

“My mom was overjoyed when I brought it up to her. You know her and her sisters were focused on participating every year.”

“And you outshined them all, Moggie. And Amanda Hillshire-though her father owned half the town-went on a rampage after. She started skipping school and hanging out with the druggies.” Speedy laughed even more now. “I think that was the best revenge plan I have ever seen.

“Well, she shouldn’t have spread those rumors about you, Speed.”

“I can’t believe you did all that for me,” he mumbled. “I was a wreck back then.” With his sister passing and his mom facing the banks on the house, it wasn’t easy for Speedy to hold him and his mom together. I knew I had to still look after him in my own way. Even after he cut me out, for a while.

“Yeah,” I sank down in the water to see his face upside down. “But you were my mess.”

He splashed me and I coughed from the water. “Get out before you get all pruned.” I stuck my tongue out before hopping out of the water. He flashed a coy warning. When I put the white towel around me, I saw his head go underwater before coming back up. “Don’t worry. I’ll be out in a minute. Tell Pepper not to eat every slice.”

I left the bathroom after drying off with the towel on my head. Speedy ended up wetting my hair, but I wasn’t mad. That was the first time someone I love took care of me this way. I was too relaxed for any counter measure. When I made it back to the living room, I saw the pizza on the kitchen island. It was already half gone. I shook my head.

“You know Speedy is gonna riot,” I called, picking up my slice. I was halfway through it when I realized Pepper was nowhere to be seen. When I moved closer around the couch, I screamed. All I could see was Pepper collapsed on the floor and the living room table partially shattered where he hit his head going down.

[reysdriver]

Glam Rock | S.B.

You and Sirius go to a muggle rock concert — sirius x fem!reader fluff

warnings: one mention of nausea but nothing else

words: 0.9k

"Sirius, if you put on any more jewelry, everyone will think you're part of the band."

"That's the point, love." He told you. "They're icons." 

You rolled your eyes. "But we won't get to see them if we don't leave soon." 

He looked into the mirror by your bed, studying his concert outfit. "Do you think I should put some eyeliner on?"

Hoping to get to your concert, you gently wrapped your arms around him from his side. He brought his right arm over you as you kissed his necklace-clad chest. 

"I think you're pretty enough already. I also think we should get there before Freddie makes his grand entrance, so we should get going." 

It was just under ten minutes until they were set to perform, and you were getting more anxious for every minute that passed. Your boyfriend sensed that, and decided his outfit was complete. 

"Alright. You have the tickets, right, love?" He asked you. 

"They've been in my back pocket all afternoon." You assured him, pulling them out to prove it.

"Then we can go now. Hold on tight." 

You held his comforting hand and he apparated the two of you to an empty alley near the venue. 

You had told him several times before that you could just apparate right into the venue, thus losing the need to buy tickets in the first place, but he had insisted every single time that he wanted the 'muggle experience'. 

Although Sirius was totally fine with apparition, it had always made you a bit nauseous. Sirius knew this and held onto your upper arms as you breathed deeply and composed yourself. 

"Okay, let's go." You said with a smile once the sick feeling went away. "Don't want to miss the show."

You started walking, following the sound of excited fans. Sirius linked your hands together while you walked, even though it would take you about a minute to walk to the venue. 

Once you arrived at the building, you handed your ticket to a teenage boy in a glass booth, he ripped part of it off and handed the rest back to you. He held up two fingers to the buff bouncer, who let you and Sirius into the concert hall. 

"We're in." You smiled at him, as another bouncer opened the door connecting the lobby and the main room. 

There was a huge crowd, which was expected since you showed up so late. 

Sirius looked straight to the bar; not to drink, but because that section was always mobile at the start of the night. He knew that when you got to the front, the drunk people would be far away from you by then. It was a trick he got while smoking outside with concert-goers another night. 

It was a trick that proved itself to work, since just a few minutes into the concert, you were a few metres away from the stage. 

In the middle of Somebody To Love, you felt a tap on your shoulder and turned around to see a blond man holding two beers. 

"Sorry, but my girlfriend is in front of you, can I get by?" 

Sirius wanted to say no, but you first got the attention of the girl he pointed to, who turned around and lit up when she saw the guy with the drinks. 

His arm crossed you to give her a beer, and you moved aside so they could stand together. 

The only problem was that he was taller than you, but shorter than Sirius. Your vision of half the stage was blocked, and Sirius didn't notice until he saw you readjusting to see the stage when they started the next song. 

"Here, you can hop on my shoulders." Sirius said just loudly enough for you to hear. 

He went to bend down, but you put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Then I would be blocking people too." 

"They can move." He insisted. "Or get on each other's shoulders. We could start a movement."

You laughed at his joke, and pushed your worries of offending other people aside. 

He bent down again, and this time you let him. You were a bit scared of it, but you climbed onto his shoulders nevertheless. He stood up, and you could finally see everything that was going on. 

You looked around the audience and saw a few other people above the rest of the crowd, and the people behind them didn't seem upset. 

You lovingly looked down at Sirius, who had his eyes glued to the stage, then you curled a lock of his perfectly smooth hair around your forefinger, and looked back at the band. 

They ended the current song, moved on to Love Of My Life. Your face broke out into a smile, and you thought that this could be your song with Sirius. 

Without a word, he turned his head slightly and kissed your inner thigh. You knew he was thinking the same thing, and that only made your smile brighter. 

Though you were still thinking about your boyfriend, you returned your gaze to the band. 

You set a mental reminder to buy a picture frame sometime soon. You would need to frame the ticket stubs as a souvenir of this amazing date at the best concert you've ever seen.  

[mysweetgirl2-love]

Snapshotted Sheets - Jim Hopper x Reader 

Going a little out of order for the prompts again, I had a Stranger Things "Halloween" challenge I had to write for and had Hopper put as a prompt that was a little down the line.

So, cutting out the middle man, I just ended up writing him now LMAO

It's short and sweet and I literally adore Hopper, arguably my top comfort character besides Kakashi, sooo... I hope I do him justice in this lil one shot haha!

Also, a heads up, this is set right before the events of season 2! Enjoy :))

Prompt #8: Polaroid

Word Count: 3k

✦✧✦✧

“Guys!” The gruff voice called out among the trees surrounding his quaint cabin tucked within the woods, calling for the rest of his found family that he knew were running laps around the home in a great chase. “Hurry it up! We’re losing daylight!” 

Eleven giggled gleefully in front of you, her awkward steps pounding through the leaves and clearly displaying the lack of balance she had in her mobility. You in close pursuit was surely no help to that fact—but you’d be lying if you didn’t think it made the chase that more entertaining. “El, c’mon! It’ll be quick!”

“You said ‘carve pumpkins’ first!” The kid retorted in a whinier tone, throwing a pointed look over her shoulder in trying to tempt you further. You didn’t fall for it, the burning sensation in your calves and chest telling you that it was too much movement. You were, in fact, getting too old for this. 

“Eleven, we can carve the pumpkins immediately after!” You respond as your distance from the girl only grew with her still running.  A soft groan left your chest while you hoisted yourself to stand straight again, shaking your head as the curly-haired teen leaped around the corner in further escape. “What am I going to do with you…”

“You? Ever thought about how I feel?” You turn back like El had to you, but finding the approaching police chief coming your way instead. “I’ve had to put up with this for a whole ‘nother year than you have.”

“Who’s fault was that?” You countered, your hands lifting from where they had been on your hips to than poignantly cross over your chest. A challenging brow raised in his direction to really send the message you were trying to relay.

In response, the man before you scoffed before his large hand reached up and pressed to smooth down the front of his hair, “Don’t do that to me…”

“Ah, ah, ah~” You tutted up at him, “You made that decision for yourself, Hop. I don’t think you can really complain about taking care of her alone when we were all right here.”

Hopper painfully smiled down at you, his shoulders heaving in a defeated sigh before his head fell back so he now looked up towards the top of the trees. You knew you were being harsh on him, and you knew the stakes were once a lot higher than they now stood. You didn’t stop yourself from taking a step in his direction, reaching gently for the limp hand at his side and delicately taking his wrist—pulling yourself towards his front and bringing his attention away from the sky.

“You have more to say?” He asked in mocking your previous attitude, you rolling your eyes before pulling his wrist over your shoulder in bringing you towards his chest.

“Do you want my hug, or not?” You scoffed with a silly grin, the expression arguably mirrored on the larger man above you.

He didn’t respond, tucking you in and placing your head on his chest. Your ear pressed snuggly against the left half of his upper body, the gentle heartbeat resounding against you in return. Heeding his message that you could only assume he was trying to send your way with pulling you in like this, you carefully brought your arms up and curled them around his waist. Actually following through in hugging the man in front of you.

“Mmm, yeah…” The police chief grunted above you, his face further turning in while his nose pressed up against your scalp, “this is just what I needed.”

Hopper had always been the hard exterior-ed person you knew him to be upon first meeting the officer. He was stubborn, maybe even rude, in order to keep the people he deemed innocent away from whatever-the-hell he was. Cursed? A burden? He wasn’t sure, and from that made it his goal to never let anyone get to know him past the basics. Jim Hopper, Hawkins Chief of Police, and maybe one of the two following questions. ‘Do you know how fast you were driving?’, or ‘Just wondering… what’re you doing later tonight?’

The consistency of his crudeness was his shield, something he could depend upon in the case someone became a little too friendly and risked their everything just by associating themselves in his misfortune. Though, like the policeman himself, you too were just as stubborn as the old man. Weaseling your way into his life, you broke through his long-established barrier and had come this far. Far enough to where his arms were commonly found with you sheltered in their protection, snug and safe, comforted. He needed to comfort someone too, he realized after meeting you. Denying himself that joy did more hurt than save those around him, and after the fiasco that was the disappearance and follow-up reappearance of William Byers, he let himself be more open to the idea of giving him at least that much in his life.

Two people made it past his barrier that following year. You were the second, the first was the run-away science experiment everyone had come to know as Eleven. He had heard a report of a dirty, young child running around the woods and knew it was his job to get to her before anyone else could connect the dots. A few tupper-ware meals and saran-wrapped eggos later, he had successfully found El and promptly whisked her off into the secluded cabin you now also called home.

Being as nosy as you ever were, you noticed Hopper was acting strange around springtime of this last year. Always denying dinners you wanted to invite him too, being antsy about leaving his police radio on whenever he parked outside your job so you two could share sandwiches in the quiet of his Blazer during your lunch breaks, even toned down the drinking—opting for water during the day instead of a beer. But, that was something you never outwardly pointed out to him, knowing that and the lack of pill containers was a terrific sign that you didn’t need to make him feel awkward over.

As good as the changes were, they also were sudden… maybe even a little drastic for a man like himself. Summer came soon after, and the excuse of late shifts couldn’t apply any longer when you now noticed his cruiser leaving the station by 6 p.m. at the latest. One day, during lunch, you finally broke—confronting the chief on his avoidant behavior and why he never had seemingly any time for anyone else. 

The outburst that occurred evidently surprised him, or at least the resentment you clearly had been building up over the past few months. You pointed out his sketchy efforts to avoid making plans, and the unusual lack of night outs in general. You didn’t give him a second to respond as you went on to make guesses on why he would be so weird since everything started turning back to normal (for the most part). Asked if he felt guilt, to which he should know he could talk to you about if he needed someone; maybe he had met someone who was so proud of his efforts and he was scared of introducing you both, to which you also made clear you would love to meet the woman if there was one. Even when as far as accusing him of joining a cult, that particular guess received a hearty chuckle out of the man before he made any effort in calming your frenzied allegations.

Hopper reassured that, as fun as listening to your guessing game about his life was, you hadn’t even come close to the reason why he was so absent. It wasn’t really anything new, you happened to meet him right before Will was ripped into the Upside Down which also happened to be a time where he was more open to involving himself in a life outside of his home. There was no reason to actually have suffered in his crushing loneliness then, he actually had a significant reason to stay home when he did.

Of course he hesitated then to reveal his ‘why’, knowing the danger you already had experienced because of him. He blamed himself for putting you so directly in harms way that fateful week, when everything fell so out of control. He couldn’t anticipate if the worst of it had even ended yet, Eleven’s continued existence making that fear of his a little too real. Then again, you had experienced maybe the worst of what had happened, signed all the same NDA’s the lab’s remaining government officials made you all fill out, even attended some of Will’s check-ups as the ‘cousin’ who had been witness to the horror of last fall. Would there be any more harm in letting you in on his secret than if he let you distance yourself from him because of it. Out of any outcome, the one he’d least want to come true was losing you… thus, he relented.

What he told you quite literally shocked you beyond any news you could’ve expected to hear from him. You must’ve sat speechless in his passenger seat for a few consecutive minutes, much to Hopper’s peaking anxiety. He didn’t recognize that was you processing the information, so he kept tripping over himself to keep explaining himself. Why he took her in, why he didn’t tell anyone, why he was admittedly terrified that you’d learn without him having to tell you and the risks he couldn’t stop putting you in.

You eventually just had to clamp a palm over his mouth, press into his facial hair to keep him from circling the drain anymore than necessary. Another sigh and your shoulders fell with ease at the break of quiet you could find, sorting out the last of your thoughts before the inevitable. Everything wrapped up pretty nicely from there, all things considered. Hopper took you back to his place, much to Eleven’s very excited surprise. She wrapped you in the tightest of hugs with the brightest of smiles decorating her expression, finally seeing another person after months of just… this. The house, and Hopper. 

It was about a week or so out from Halloween, the memory of seeing Eleven those few months ago making you smile into the starchy material of Hopper’s flannel that grounded you all more in the realization of how far you three had now come. The cabin in the woods was a great comfort in your every day, to know you had this duo to return to after the easiest, or longest, of days. The love you three could share in, the love you had more than expressed for Eleven… just recently, were you opening up to the idea of disclosing feelings to Hopper. 

Not that you didn’t love him before… there was just a stark difference between a familial love, and a romantic one.

“What’re you thinking about, sweetheart?” Hopper’s voice now rumbled against your ear and over his heartbeat, rough fingers reaching up and tucking a piece of your hair behind your ear.

You flushed at him pointing out the look of concentration you hadn’t realized had been on your face, and you turned further into the man, “Wouldn’t you like to know…”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t have asked otherwise?” He chuckled easily, his mouth pressing against your scalp in a soft kiss. “I always like to know what you’re thinking.”

You laugh lightly at that, knowing that to be a constant truth—the question itself also a continuing enquiry. “Just… remembering how this all started this summer, is all. It’s a happy memory to look back on.”

“Sure is…” He sighed whimsically, and his tone let you know he knew exactly how you felt in that moment. 

“Wha—EW, guys!” You both jumped, then, at the pitch of Eleven’s grimace, you turning out from the police chief and seeing Eleven barreling in your direction. “That’s P.D.A.!”

“Did you teach her that?” Hopper was quick to ask, to which you nervously hummed.

“Maybe?”

Eleven came to a skidded halt beside you both, breathing heavily as she tried catching her breath. “The light!”

“I know, Kid, that’s what I’ve been saying this whole time!” Hopper claimed, pulling away from you and heading over towards the steps of his porch, a polaroid camera easily sat on their edge. “Now, hurry! Get your costume and I’ll snap some pics of you two!” 

Eleven rushed over next to Hop and ran up a few steps to the porch, heading in the direction of a sheet she had previously hung over the railing when you first all had come outside. Ripping it up from its position, she ran back to your side and thrust the cloth above her head.

“Help me!” 

“Okay, okay… breathe, El!” You remark, a slight correction to her urgency that did nothing but make her scowl. You threw the sheet over her head and let it collapse over her face, chuckling lightly at the interruption to her glare as she pulled the sheet a little further down; two holes cut into sheet that let her see.

“Alright, get in position,” You look up and see Hopper looking clumsily through the camera in his large hands, the object maybe too small for proper usage on his end.

Eleven bounded up and threw her arms in the air, roaring in your direction to which you widened your eyes and snapped into action—playing along with her eagerness and ‘screaming’ at the sight of the spirit before you. You could hear Hopper laughing behind the lens which made your act harder to keep together, but you managed and let Eleven direct you in shots. Wanting to please her with the first evening she was allowed outside, given a freedom to be a kid for once.

The photo shoot lasted for a half hour, or so, before Eleven finally leaned her weight on your hip and let out a weary sigh. “Tired…”

“Well, one would be after all the running around you did this afternoon.” You giggled, reaching down to pinch where you assumed her cheek would be behind the sheet, successfully giving her face a light squeeze before knocking her off with your hip, “C’mon, let’s get dinner going.”

“I’ll second that,” Hopper huffed, letting the camera drop from his face as he watched his approaching girls—a warm smile immediately lightening his expression. “T.V. dinners?”

“What?! No, I bought steak!” You retorted, gawking a little at his suggestion while he too raised his brow in surprise. Your dinner sounding miles better than his suggestion.

“In that case…” He placed his hand between you and Eleven once you both were close enough, lightly directing the kid towards the steps while simultaneously grabbing the fabric from her head. “You hurry up and get cleaned up, I’ll help with dinner. Hurry, okay?”

Eleven frowned in Hopper’s direction, not liking his commanding tone nor that he stole her costume—but regardless sighed through her irritation before heading inside. You laughed softly at her reaction, angling a brow then in Hopper’s direction.

“What was that for?”

“Hang on,” He held the camera up and flipped it around in his hand, “I needed a few more shots.”

“What?” You giggled, the excitement licking at your fingertips and making you buzz as he repositioned to now stand beside you. Eyes never leaving the others, his warm smile turned to a grin, yours widening in response, when the flash went off overhead you both.

“Hey!” You turned up to the polaroid and watched it steadily print whatever shot it just caught. “I don’t think it’s legal to take more pictures without—“

Suddenly, your jaw was gripped in two fingers and your voice fell short. Not expecting that much, you couldn’t seem to find it in you to retort when suddenly your face was angled back and lips pressed into yours. Greedy, loving, excited lips then kissed you to which you didn’t hesitate in replicating their movements. Another flash overhead, Hopper parted from your mouth, leaving you all the more speechless.

You blinked, processing, and your jaw fell slack, “Excuse you?!”

“Yeah—Yes!” He declared, reaching for the important photo printing from the camera and carefully pinching it with the one before in his fingers. “Excuse you is right. Who are you to tell me about the law?”

Your eyes widened at that, your jaw falling farther when you didn’t think it could. “That—I? Hello?”

Hopper laughed outwardly at your shock, bringing you in against him by your shoulder and pressing the bridge of his nose into your head, “You’re adorable~”

“God, you say that again, and you’re more than welcome to enjoy a T.V. dinner while El and I eat steak.” You grumbled, him still happily chuckling.

“As long as you’re at my table, every meal will be five stars.”

“That’s, maybe, the cheesiest thing you could ever say to me.”

Hopper let go of you and started for the steps of his porch again, shrugging softly as he left, “Well, it’s true.”

“Weirdo,” You snorted while following him, the large man pausing at his screen door before looking over his shoulder. He sent you a sly smile, shaking his head whilst your mouth turned up in a smirk. “What now…?”

“Nothing, just…” He carefully pulled his hand up and took yours one more, “Happy-almost-Halloween, sweetheart.”

Hopper’s eyes met yours that watched him in awe, the edges of his cheeks wrinkling into a sweet smile. You returned the gesture, grinning in admiration at your close friend, roommate, and now love, finding all of these conclusions to be the best you could ask for.

“Yeah, Jim… you too.”

Hopper’s face fell to a smile, giving your wrist one more squeeze before ultimately turning back to his door and heading inside. Making sure to pull you close in his steed. It was a beautiful night after that, and the pictures turned out perfect. You wanted to see the one’s of you and Hopper, but he said he misplaced them. You knew that wasn’t true, which only meant one thing. You’d just have to stop in at the station the next day and see them for yourself on his desk… Framed? Maybe. Only the following morning would tell.

[id-rather-be-an-outsider]

Respite Among Chaos | Pt II

Porco Galliard x Athlete!Reader

summary: now that you and Porco are closer than ever thanks to Reiner, witness the conclusion of your unresolved feelings for each other! are you ready to admit your friendship is a bit more? read part 1 here!

word count: 3652 (including words in text messages)

a/n: imma be honest this was gonna be a 10.2k 1-parter but Tumblr is being a bitch so that didn’t happen 🙃 I thought my hatred for the most recent mobile update hit a new height the other night when I was painstakingly trying to make the moodboard for this story, but today I learned something new about myself 🙃 please tell me I am not alone in this frustration. anyways, I hope you enjoy this conclusion!

masterlist

I’m surprised to find Porco waiting for me at my dorm, bouquet in one hand, Ben & Jerry’s in the other. “Porco! Where did you find a bouquet at this hour?”

“Walmart over in Liberio.” He shrugs it off as if it were nothing.

My eyes soften. “That’s really sweet, you didn’t have to do that. The ice cream was already more than enough.” I unlock my dorm, flicking the living room lights on. Pieck’s asleep in our bedroom, so I put my hand up to my lips. “Don’t be too loud.”

He nods and maneuvers around me so I can close the door, and I catch a whiff of his cologne. It smells like the forest after a long rain, refreshing. So very… Porco.

I hop in the shower, scrubbing myself down as quickly as I can and washing my hair (which takes the longest, of course), and as soon as I’ve got the water turned off I can hear a knock on the door. I wrap a towel around myself and open it to be greeted with Porco’s face.

He takes in my body and his nose turns a rosy shade of pink. He looks away as he says, “I got everything set up. Do you want to watch another scary movie?”

“Sure, thanks. I might be awhile because I have to put all my hair products in, but I’ll go as fast as I can.”

“Do you need help?” He asks.

“Nah, I got it. There’s a specific order to it or else it won’t lock in moisture how it’s supposed to.” His mouth forms an ‘O’ in understanding and he leaves me to my hair care.

When I come out, I’m dressed in a baggy tshirt and basketball shorts, also known as my springtime pajamas because it’s too damn hot in Marley for me to be wearing flannel ones.

Porco’s laid out like last time, except now he has an arm resting on my side of the couch back, remote in hand. “I’m sure your hair is perfect, princess. Come on.” He motions for me to come on, already, and I acquiesce his request by jumping on the couch bed, making it rock a little. He casually pulls me into him with his arm, then starts the movie.

•••

Minus the flowers, that’s how most nights go now, and my days are spent studying with Porco next to me when I’m not practicing. Every now and then he’ll buy me coffee, complete with whipped cream and my favorite drizzle. Sometimes he’ll even drop it off to me when I’m in class, eliciting ‘ooos’ and ‘awwws’ from the other students, much to my chagrin.

He always greets my Professors with his pearly whites, using the excuse of, “I apologize for the interruption, Professor, but the track star here needs her daily coffee or else she might get bad luck - superstitions, and all - anyway, I hope your students are getting valuable information from all the hard work you’re putting in. Have a nice day!” And then he leaves before anyone can say anything.

In the classes I share with Pieck and Historia, the two of them always nudge my arm and tease me, and I always hide my face in my arms.

One day, I get a notification on my phone, and open it to see Historia has made a group chat. We spend the rest of Professor Hange’s class texting while taking notes.

I sigh in frustration, putting my phone down, but I’m a little too loud, garnering Professor Hange’s attention. They look over at me. “Anything you would like to share with the class, y/l/n?”

I vigorously shake my head no. “Sorry, my mom just doesn’t understand what I mean when I say I can’t talk because I’m in class.”

They muse on my easy lie for a moment, then say, “Well. It’s not surprising, given your boyfriend doesn’t understand that either.”

My eyes widen, and I say, “He’s not my boyfriend, Professor.”

They frown. “Hm? He should be. Seems like a keeper.” And before I have time to say anything, they return to their lecture, Historia and Pieck sniggering, their eyes darting back and forth between me and themselves.

I mutter under my breath, “You guys are the worst.”

•••

I jolt out of my sleep in a cold sweat, panting. I check my phone. It’s after midnight. In a moment of vulnerability, I text Porco:

Almost immediately my phone vibrates with a response.

No sooner have I gotten everything ready (including my appearance) than I hear a quiet knock on the door. Opening it reveals Porco, who enters, closes the door for me, and immediately envelops me in a hug. I sigh in his arms, breathing in his cologne. “Thanks, Porco.”

He pulls back, eyes searching mine. “What’s going on?”

I let my forehead fall against his chest. “It’s a long story... Pieck and Historia are the only ones who know the full thing. Marcel and Ymir know some of it, but they don’t have the whole picture.” I ramble, my voice muffled in his jacket.

“You only need to tell me what you want to tell me. But, you probably can’t do that while eating my shirt.” Porco jests, and gently grabs one of my hands, leading me over to the couch bed. He takes his jacket off, tossing it over the couch back, and I look away when he makes to pull his pants off, but catch a glimpse of his briefs as he holds the blanket up for me to climb under, patting his chest.

I quickly join him after turning the lights off, laying my head on him. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me closer, and I feel every tense muscle in my body loosen up, his embrace a calming agent.

“So.” He says.

“So.” I mimic. After a few moments of silence, I try, “I… was abused as a kid.”

Porco whistles. “That is… really depressing to start with. What else?”

“Sorry,” I apologize, “It’s… there’s no way to explain it without going straight to the nitty gritty. But basically, my mom and dad split, and my dad would hurt me to get back at my mom. He’d leave bruises, scars, he’d lock me in a closet, he wouldn’t feed me, and when she would confront him about it all he just threatened to turn it back on her because he had friends who were cops. My mom felt powerless, and I was powerless. He broke me down and convinced me it was my fault that he did it to me, that I deserved it, and it blinded me to a lot of toxic friendships throughout my schooling, up until college when I started therapy. So… that’s why I have anxiety. And why I feel like a burden to people.”

“I am so sorry, y/n. No one should ever have to go through that. Especially not a kid.” His hand finds purchase on mine, his thumb rubbing circles on my hand. “You have to be really strong to make it through something like that, though. No wonder you’re a superstar.”

“I don’t feel strong, though. Everyday… It’s like it takes everything in me to not crumble under the weight of it. It’s a chain I can never quite break free from, and it makes everything just a little harder. Even sleep.”

“Is that what your dream was?” Porco asks.

“Yea, it was. Sort of.”

“What happened in it?”

I give a breathy laugh. “It’s weird, but, here goes. I was stuck on a date with Reiner, and was trying to find a way to get out of it. Going to bathrooms to hide, trying to climb out windows, waiting for him to be distracted so I could run out of the front door, the works. I already didn’t want to be on the date, but the thing making me want to leave was that something was wrong with him. He sounded like my dad. And finally, I did find a way out. Only, when I got out I was trapped in my dad’s house, and if I was trying to go out an exit, the room would extend forever. If I was just walking around? Nothing. But then, he started chasing me through the house, like he was hunting for me. Whispering my name and laughing, with this laugh he always had before… I had to be silent, but he could smell me. Eventually, Reiner found me, but… he wasn’t Reiner anymore. He was my dad, with Reiner’s face peeling off his skin. And when he caught me, he… I woke up then.” I nuzzle into his chest, needing comfort.

Porco tucks his head in, resting it in my hair. “Do you think sleeping with me at night would help?”

I ponder it, but shake my head. “I really don’t know. Selfishly, I hope it does, but I don’t want to steal you away from Marcel all the time. He might miss his little brother, you know.”

“Steal me from him all you want, it’s not like Pieck doesn’t steal him from me constantly. Can I tell you something?” His voice rumbles in his chest, and the vibrations in my ear are relaxing.

“As much as you want.” Is my response.

“That whole thing about Marcel being injured… The reason I don’t like Reiner is because he almost killed my brother.”

“What?” I turn my head to look up into his eyes, moonlight filtering in through the blinds to reveal his depths of amber.

He bites his lip as he scowls at the air, mind caught in the past. “He crashed his car with Marcel in the passenger seat. He was at fault for the crash, and somehow came out relatively unscathed compared to Marcel. He put him in the hospital. Critical condition, and a coma. I didn’t… we didn’t know if he would wake up. Every day was a nightmare.” His grip tightens on me as his voice becomes strained. “When he did wake up, he was all smiles, being a good sport about everything - you know how Marcel is. But I was never able to forgive Reiner. I almost lost my best friend. If I did-” He cuts himself off, inhaling the scent of my hair. “It’s something I don’t want to think about. By the way, whatever products you use smell amazing.”

“That would be Cantu, sir.” I say helpfully, then drop off, not sure what to say. After a while I settle on, “That’s some heavy history to back up a grudge. Even if Reiner wasn’t a jerk, I really wouldn’t blame you. If something happened to you because of him, I’m pretty sure I’d be able to override my anxiety to commit battery and assault. Or arson, at least.”

“At least?” Porco repeats, shocked. “Well, since we’re confessing, I might as well tell you… I told Reiner if he ever fucked with you again I would lay him out in front of the whole school, football scholarship be damned. Well, not in those exact words, but still.”

I gasp, poking him playfully. “Porco! Stop bullying, speak up!”

“You’re so corny.” He chuckles, rubbing his hand up and down my arm.

“And you’re so meaty.” I argue with a giggle, rolling away a little bit.

Porco gasps dramatically. “Are you calling me-” He yanks me back toward him, “A meathead?” He starts tickling me and a shriek is caught in my throat, knowing Pieck is asleep in her room.

In between breaths, I squeak out, “No- I would- never do that- to you!” The sarcasm still detectable in my tone despite Porco demonically attacking my senses.

I try to push away from him, but he only grabs my hands, and the couch bed shudders as he moves to pin my hands down - one on either side of my head. That pesky moon highlights our eyes, and from my view, his lips, too. He looks down at mine for half a second, murmuring, “You do so much to me.” The air hangs between us for a few seconds, the gravity of his words sinking in, and he leans his head down, his lips meeting mine. One of his hands slips out of mine, cupping my cheek with all the tenderness one would afford a sleeping baby, his other hand splaying open to interlace his calloused fingers with my smaller ones. His warmth seeps into my body, heating me from the inside out, and I melt into his touch, my free hand moving from the bed, to his chest, to his shoulder, then to the back of his neck, like I’m holding onto him for dear life.

When our lips part ways, he whispers, “Fuck. Was… Was that okay?”

I whisper back, “Yea - it was okay. I’m… surprised, but it was okay. More, than okay.”

“How did it surprise you?” He asks, eyes betraying his confusion.

I elaborate, “I uh… I just… I didn’t think you…” I pause, realizing I still don’t quite believe it. “Do…? You feel that way?”

He laughs, but only just. “How do I find the one person on Earth who I can confess my feelings for, and kiss, and they still aren’t sure how I feel about them? Get outta your head, y/n.” He sinks down so his chest is pressed against mine, and the thud of his heart in his chest soothes my nerves.

I counter, “In my defense, you only said I ‘do so much’ to you. You didn’t specify what. Meathead.”

I can’t see the eye roll, but I can hear it in the way he groans. “That’s just semantics. But if you insist, I’ll explain it. But only a little bit, since you called me a meathead.”

I scoff. “Hardly fair.”

“Okay, okay, fine,” He says. “The things you do to me. You make me smile every time I think about you, you make me laugh without even trying, you make me look forward to studying because I get to do it with you, you make me into a fool, doing things I would never do for anyone before - but for you, I get excited to do them. And of course, you’re making my bank account loaded with all the money you’re gonna win for us at the Olympics.”

“For us? You mean for me? And that’s if I even go.” I chide. There’s a comfortable silence before I say, “But that’s… really sweet. I didn’t know you…”

“Yea, I know you didn’t know. It was killing me.” He finally shifts, laying down next to me and pulling me into him.

I find myself tracing patterns on his chest idly. “So… were you just waiting for me to figure it out? Because that would have been a terrible idea.”

He sighs, and I sink further into his embrace, a sigh of my own releasing itself from my lips in this small bliss. He says, “Well, that was before I realized you were oblivious, hot stuff. I should’ve known something was up when I asked for your number.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because,” He kisses the top of my head, “Marcel came home from practice that day and said he hoped I’d been practicing my patience. Little did I know it was because he’d tried to tell you in a roundabout way that I was interested and you were convinced I wasn’t, but he didn’t bother to tell me that ‘til way later.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh…” I say, finally realizing what Marcel was on about that day.

“You’re fucking kidding me. Did you just get that?” Porco asks, and I can tell he can’t believe it.

“To be fair, I am just a dumb jock.”

He stammers, then says, “Ohmygod, just shut up and go to sleep, nerd. You are not ‘just a dumb jock.’ Most ridiculous shit you’ve ever said.”

I kiss his chin, breaths of laughter escaping through my nostrils, and settle in for a good night’s sleep, free of any nightmares, because all I’m dreaming about tonight is the man next to me, making my heart flutter with every passing glance.

•••

“Sup, book thief?” Porco says as he lets her and Historia into my dorm for another group movie night.

“For the last time, Galliard, I thought Marcel’s book was mine! I gave it back after I realized it, I didn’t steal it.” Ymir gripes, then narrows her eyes at me. “You look too smug right now.”

I feign innocence. “Oh, what? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of you and Hisu not being the only couple in the group anymore.”

“You and Porco are homophobic.” She retorts, eyes shooting daggers through my impenetrable soul as Porco closes the door and rejoins me on the loveseat. Since both couples went public, we’ve had to make some adjustments, such as adding a giant bean bag chair capable of fitting two bodies, which they prefer over the previous arrangement.

Historia scolds, “No family drama in front of our new friend, Ymir! Hi, Colt, we’re not as dysfunctional as you think.” She beams at me, winking when she sees Porco throw an arm around my shoulders, pressing a kiss to my temple. “You guys are so cute.”

I hide my face with my hands, and listen to Colt  (who has generously chosen the floor as his designated spot) say, “Oh, don’t worry. I know Ymir is the real nightmare, here. I’m always afraid she’s gonna beat me with the baton in the coed relays.”

“I still might.” She threatens.

“Settle down, grumpy grampa,” Marcel warns, “Any more of that talk and we’ll be having a counseling session to resolve your anger issues instead of a movie marathon. Everyone all good? Pieck?” He looks around, receiving a thumbs-up from everyone including Ymir and Hisu as the pair get comfy on the lounger, and Pieck starts the first movie.

“Now who the fuck decided we’re watching all the hobbit movies? I don’t understand why I have to sit through this shit just to watch the desolation of a dragon-I-can’t-pronounce-his-face-“ Ymir’s complaining is cut off.

“-It’s ‘The Desolation of Smog!’” Colt says, then, “Wait- no, that’s not right. Smay-oge?”

“Smaug.” Porco supplies, and Marcel and I give each other the most shit-eating grins anyone will ever see.

In unison, we throw our heads back, shouting, “Shut up, nerd!”

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Hello! I recently ran into your blog and have just been browsing through your obey me content. And I gotta say you’re very well versed in this fandom I rly dig it! Having said that I was curious about your opinion on a small conundrum of mine. Ya see I’ve been a fan of obey me for a while, like back when the og game was still like rolling out chapters. The unfortunate thing was though eventually life sorta happened and I kind just kept falling off. It seemed like the more content they added the more it just felt like getting through the story was just a chore. And the game play and grinding did not help whatsoever, it just got so boring and I didn’t rly have an incentive to go back. Which sucked cause I love the story and I’ve always wanted to go back to it, but I’ll boot up the app and just remember why I keep stopping aside from the plot itself the rest of app just wasn’t fun for me. But with nightbringer out now I rly wish I was able to finish the og game for myself in its entirety first so I could witness everything first hand ya know. Like literally if they took the Ruri Tunes and just put it in the first game that would’ve helped me out a bunch. But my poor little brain just does not have the attention span for the old gameplay, like I understand mobile games like this usually don’t want you to get through everything too fast but that’s why you have stamina to either wait or pay for. Everything else should be for entertainments sake, and not so much a grind wait the battle out and repeat sorta thing. But that may just be me, I am cautious to hop into Nightbringer though because I was never able to finish the og game. Do you think I should just go for it, maybe start fresh especially when I’ll have more time on my hands soon enough? That’s it though, I’m super sorry I kinda ranted on a bit. If you do make it through all this I can’t thank you enough for just that honestly. I love your content and hope you have an amazing day/evening/night. Keep up the great work!!!!

In my opinion, it's best to finish s1-s4 before playing Nightbringer because technically it starts off after s4

BUT so far Nightbringer has only referenced S1-2 so if you want a fresh start and to jump back into it then you should be good!

+ nightbringer has a rhythm game which in my opinion is more fun than the dance battle

Honestly do whatever makes you happier and most importantly what you'll have fun with because at the end of the day this is a game and that's the whole point of it!!

Also aaaahhh thank you!!😖

[funforahermit]

Let me just work through some confusing stuff for a minute here, because I can't sleep.

I feel strangely disappointed by the Rhys Darby Live Experience, and I'm not sure why I'm making it so hard for myself to be happy. There was nothing wrong with the show, it was great. He was amazing. Like, of course he was. Yes I knew all the jokes, save for one or two, but he tells them so well every time, we all know he does. And the whole Calm App Finale was completely new and fucking epic. I laughed so much the entire time, my cheeks were hurting from smiling. I whooped, clapped and cheered. And when it was all over, I felt so empty. I'm still trying to process that feeling.

When it comes down to it, I belive what I'm experiencing here is disappointment in myself. I feel like I failed. I failed to reach a goal I didn't know I had until I missed it.

What goal? Surely the goal was to have a good time, to be entertained? But I did, and I was, and that doesn't seem to matter. The secret goal, I guess, was to make *him* feel good, and specifically because of something I personally did.

Obviously after realising that, the next question is: What the actual fuck?? What sort of special snowflake do I think I am? Now the people who make art and bring gifts, they are special. He cherishes them, as well he should. The people who actually talk to him, at the stage door or on social media, and do it well enough to be heard and appreciated, they are special. But what can I do? Cheer a little bit louder than the rest when he asks if anyone has seen Wrecked?

I'm just a little cog in an anonymous applause machine, and I feel bloody unsatisfied with that. I want a smile on that face, and I want it to be mine and mine alone. Just for one precious second.

And I hate that I feel that way. I've never been ambitious in my whole life, why now, why this?? In fact I feel like an asshole.

I think I was really spoiled by one out-of-this-world amazing experience with Tony Head years ago. I think I'm trying to get that back, but you can't force these things.

I thought I could hop on the instagram train, since Rhys has been adding people's pre show selfies to his story like crazy lately. Thought my girlfriend and me would stick out if I mentioned how far we travelled. But I did it wrong, because I've never used instagram nor have I really edited an image on mobile before, so it's just a plain picture with a comment. He can't do shit with that, can he, even if he wanted to.

Then I thought okay maybe twitter is easier and put it up there as well, with a slightly different text. Waited patiently the whole day to maybe maaaybe get a like, until I remembered that his likes are public, and he's not an idiot who doesn't know how strange it would look if he put a selfie of a bisexual couple that's clearly into him in there. Yeah that's not gonna happen.

So basically I tried too hard and also not hard enough, and I'm really just an idiot who has no clue how to play this game. I should stop before I embarrass myself or get too hung up on not getting anywhere and spiral into a new depression.

But I know that I will continue to crave that smile, or an electronic version of it. How's that for a bucket list.

[mochiable]

— how you met nct dream.

anon request: hello! i don’t know if you take this type of request but i would love a scenario on how you meet nct dream ot7 if it’s possible, thank you!

warning: one swear word

wc: 1.5k

₊˚✧┆𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞

you had been watching that cute boy on the badminton court playing with his friends ever since you had started working in the gym and you couldn't help but become more and more interested in him with each passing day. the noises he made when he hit the shuttlecock, the whimpers that came from his pink fluffy lips when he missed the expected shot and the way he frowned and puckered his mouth when his partner missed were some of your favourite things about going to work. yet you had never been able to strike up a conversation. never until this day, when his friends decided to take a break and go watch the football match, while he preferred to stay and practice a bit more.

"you're good," you complimented him once you approached him and threw him a bottle of water, which he managed to catch on the fly. "thank you," he replied flashing you a shy smile, causing his cheekbones to bulge. "where did you learn all that?" you asked sitting down on the bench at the side of the court. he turned to look at you nervously, setting the bottle down once he had taken a sip. "my father... well... he taught me, i guess," he replied, averting his gaze to anywhere on the court except your eyes. "and what do you like best about it?" you questioned him, watching the feather he was playing with bounce on the ground. "ahhh, i... i like badminton, i mean... i like it a lot, like... the... the... the rackets are really nice," he replied trying to find the right words, looking even more tender than ever and causing a smile to form on your lips. but just then his friends arrived, so you stood up and approached him. "nice to meet you, mark," you bowed your head and he copied you, failing to hide the blush on his cheeks.

₊˚✧┆𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗝𝗨𝗡

you snorted once more when the card of the hotel you were staying at wouldn't open the door. you had just taken a dip in the pool and were starting to get cold from wearing only a t-shirt over your swimsuit. you had already used every curse word the dictionary had and still the door wouldn't open. until suddenly you heard a click and it did, so you hurriedly tried to enter. however, something a little softer than the door blocked your way, making you bump into it or, rather, into someone.

“can i help you with something?” the boy smiled kindly as two others a little taller than him appeared from behind. you frowned, looking at the number painted on the door and then looking at the number written on your card. it was then that you realised your mistake, “shit! sorry, sorry. i've got the wrong room,” you apologised, trying to hide your embarrassment and nervousness. “is your room next door?” he asked leaning the side of his body against the door frame, to which you nodded, “i hope to see you again then,” he spoke, as the other two boys who hadn't moved yet tried to hide their laughter. you smiled still a little self-consciously and turned around with the intention of getting out of there. “nice outfit, by the way.”

₊˚✧┆𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗢

you were taking the dog for a walk in the park as you usually did, but this day was a bit different. you let the dog loose, trusting him completely, although you regretted it after a second when you saw how he ran away from you, starting to chase a boy riding his bike. you ran after him, calling his name and wishing you were born with more stamina, because your lungs weren’t strong enough for that. the boy slowed down when he noticed the animal running after him, who didn't think twice before jumping on top of him and knocking him off his bike, licking his face while getting petted. when you managed to get to where they were, you apologised repeatedly, getting several "don't worry" from the boy, smiling with amusement at your furry friend.

“i hope your dog doesn't attack me again,” he laughed softly, hopping on his bike and riding off, reassuring you that there would definitely be a next time.

₊˚✧┆𝗛𝗔𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡

in the summer you worked in a flower shop, you didn't get paid much but it was enough to pay for your studies. that day, your boss sent you to the most famous dance company in your city to deliver a bouquet with yellow sunflowers, something strange you had to admit.

leaving the lift you bumped into a handsome guy who apologized for not having noticed and almost destroying those beautiful flowers. as an apology he offered to guide you to your destination and you, a bit shy, accepted shyly. you could notice the look of confusion when you pointed out where you should deliver the sunflowers and, when you entered the room, he didn't hesitate to speak.

“so the flowers are for me, you’re the one sending them?” he approached them to smell their soft, fresh scent and then looked at you with a twinkle in his eye. you shook your head slightly, watching an amused pout form on his handsome face, “how bad, i would’ve wished to receive such a gift from someone so pretty.”

₊˚✧┆𝗝𝗔𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡

Songpa Naru Park was perhaps your favourite place to spend the afternoon when you didn't have too much to do. coming here, watching the almond blossoms swaying in the wind, listening to the swallows singing and watching families having a good time were your favourite images. you couldn't miss the photographs, you were nobody without your camera and your snapshots.

at that moment, watching the black and white ducks arguing over which part of the lake belonged to each of them, you felt a flash in your right profile, which made you startle and your camera, which was in your lap, rush to the ground. however, a big hand prevented that horrible disaster.

“forgive me,” the stranger apologised, “i didn't mean to,” he showed you his perfect white teeth as he returned the camera to your lap. “did you take a picture of me?” you asked looking in his direction, remembering that bright light. he looked at you with regret and put his hand to the back of his neck, scratching it nervously, “sorry about that too.” you gave him a tight-lipped smile and lifted your shoulders, “don't worry, it's all right,” you replied turning your gaze back to the lake, “it’s beautiful, isn't it?” you asked, watching him out of the corner of your eye. “yes, very pretty,” he replied, looking at your picture on his camera, which brought another smile to your face, a bigger one this time.

₊˚✧┆𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗡𝗟𝗘

you were definitely lost. maybe if you hadn't listened to your brother, you would now be at the restaurant where your parents were waiting for you. but obviously, he didn't want to use the gps as he had "memorised the way". and this is when he forced you to roll down the car window and ask some stranger for help.

“excuse me, could you tell me where Las Torres restaurant is?” you asked a handsome guy, wearing a loose summer brown shirt. he smiled at you and asked for your phone so he could write it down for you, which you readily agreed to. “here you go. i’ve drawn you the official route, but also a small detour that will get you there faster,” he explained, handing you back the phone through the window. after thanking him and saying goodbye, he gave you a smile with a wink, which caused a slight blush to appear on your cheeks. you soon learned the reason for this gesture. he hadn't asked for your mobile phone just to guide you, but to write down his number as well.

₊˚✧┆𝗝𝗜𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗚

you were having dinner with a friend at one of your favourite restaurants, celebrating the end of the school year and another year of your friendship. however, you weren't paying full attention to your friend, as you were busier watching the boy who hadn't stopped looking at you all night and who, when you looked back at him, looked away, blushing slightly. halfway through dinner you could notice his friend saying something in his ear, looking in your direction, and how the boy's eyes widened while he began to shake his head. but suddenly, the other boy stood up and, ignoring his friend's prayers, approached you with a mischievous smile on his face.

“good evening,” he greeted, interrupting your conversation and resting his hands on the table, “you've caught my friend's eye, but he's too shy and cowardly to come and ask for your number himself, so i’m here to make his dreams come true,” he addressed you with confidence and amusement, pointing to the sweet boy who was now covering his face with the tablecloth. you finally decided to write down your number on the napkin and your heart skipped a beat as the boy smiled shyly at you after receiving the piece of paper with your number written on it.

©️  MOCHIABLE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

requests are open!

main masterlist | nct masterlist

a/n: this is my very first multiple scenario and i have to admit i’m very nervous about it. i’d really appreciate it if you could provide me with some feedback and tell what do you think of it! hope you liked it, love you<3

[gingerteaonthetardis]

I feel like I just ghostwrote your post about Fremione 😭 sorry if you've been asked this before but do you have any favorite head canons for them, au or canon? I love hearing your thoughts on them ❤️

omg, nonny!! never apologize for asking me to fremione post! i don't do it nearly enough and i'll always take the excuse.

but okay, i have a lot of disjointed thoughts and feelings about them that take place in varying sorts of universes, so i'm just gonna start throwing them out there.

obviously, i can never rest in a world where fred dies, so my go-to solution is hermione sweeping in with muggle cpr, saving our ginger damoiseau in distress. whether or not they have feelings for each other at this point varies, but him coming back from the dead with a dramatic gasp and her face being the first thing he sees is a universal constant.

i have this pet theory (that i want to use in a fic and just haven't yet) that after the war, fred ends up using mobility aids and stuff, because not everything can be healed with spellwork. hermione spells some very dramatic-looking flames onto the sides of his wheelchair, which he absolutely adores. (she also loads that bad boy up with buffer charms, knowing that he will absolutely be acting like a bumper car at every available comedic opportunity. she doesn't want him breaking anybody's ankles, no thanks.)

hermione has reading glasses and she often falls asleep in them at night, because of course she reads herself to sleep or brings her work to bed with her. fred is always the one to take them off and put her book/work on the nightstand and tuck her in. of course, if she were to ask how her glasses get back into their case, he'd fervently deny any involvement. what, you think he's a sap or something??? (yes.)

another classic staple of a fremione universe is them bumping into each other on their way out of the yule ball. whether they dance or talk or say nothing at all, just walk back to the tower in silence, i think that she wouldn't end her night alone. bonus points if he's accompanied by the whole squad. (alicia giving hermione a piggy-back ride; angelina offering to hex ron for her; fred, george, and lee pretending to fight for the honor of her hand, etc.)

hermione finds an article of his clothing stowed somewhere in the tent during the horcrux hunt. she may or may not wear it to bed every night, breathing in the smell of gunpowder until her mind calms down enough for rest.

the shop grows and expands a lot once they get together—mostly incidentally, but it's not fred's fault that his cool and brilliant and fantastic girlfriend keeps cropping up in the workshop at random hours and then making suggestions on what he's working on while they're making out on the desk. what's a guy supposed to do?? not accept the freely-offered assistance of a literal actual genius?? not bloody likely.

the day they get the ultrasound and see twins, hermione nearly hexes fred directly out the window.

hope you enjoyed my nonsense rambling! feel free to hop into my ask box and talk about them any time.

[griffintail]

The Start of Something

Summary: It’s the start of a beautiful story on the Dream SMP.

Pairing: Wilbur Soot x F! Reader

Previous | Next

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: So the reader will have a set hair and eye color but I hardly ever mention those facts so it’s not going to be that big a deal. It’s just a point of the plot.

Oh and (Y/U/N) means YOUR USERNAME.

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

(Y/N)’s POV

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

         I spun in my chair, adjusting my beanie as I waited for the exact moment my stream was to start. I hadn’t exactly talked to anyone on the SMP but it was still fun to stream on there. Soon, my timer went off and I fired up the stream.

         “Hello magical people! Welcome back to another wonderful day on the SMP! I have levels today so hopefully we won’t need to bother Mr. Soot. We’re going to actually try and talk to people today if we’re able so, let’s see who’s on!”

         I logged onto the server, hitting tab to see who was on.

         “A new name! Purpled. Something tells me I want to give him the Lilac.”

<(Y/U/N)> Hello good fellows! \o

<Tubbo_> Hello! \o

<WilburSoot> Hello Ms (Y/U/N)

         I smiled at the responses as I went down to my flower chest taking out a lilac as I glanced at chat.

         “Two new names? Oh! Yeah, sorry guys, I already met the Dream team. They gave me a tour offline. I’m sorry. I’ll pop by and maybe say hello to Mr. Sapnap.”

         I asked for Purpled’s coordinates, meeting up with him to give him his flower before going back towards my house.

         “Wait, why is everyone telling me to hide my brewing stands?” I raised an eyebrow as I looked at chat. “I mean, I guess? I’m just confused.”

         I kept my eye on chat trying to figure out was going on as I went home when I saw in-game chat.

<WilburSoot> general 1

         “Is something going on with the gentlemen? Is that why you’re telling me? I’m not going to hop on the discord just yet because they weren’t talking to me.”

         I was very curious though. I came towards Tubbo’s house seeing several of them outside his house. Tubbo threw his brewing stands at Tommy and then they all dashed into his house.

         “Some shady deals going on there don’t you think? Should I check on the children like the good mother that I am?” I asked chat as I hesitated outside the gate.

         There was a resounding yes in the chat and I chuckled as I adjusted my headset, the boys leaving the house.

         “Ok, let’s give them a ring.” I pulled up discord taking a deep breath as I looked at their call before going in as I went back to the game. “Gentlemen?”

         The first thing I heard was one of them scream and laughed as I followed them on the path.

         “WOMAN! You must leave im--" Who I could assume was Tommy start before Wilbur cut in as they stopped in-game.

         “No wait Tommy, remember we need to make sure everyone knows.”

         I raised an eyebrow. “Know what?”

         “Do you have any brewing stands or blaze rods Ms. (Y/U/N)?” Wilbur asked as though it was the most urgent matter.

         “I mean yeah at my house and enderchest…”

         “No, no, that’s not good as soon as we help Tubbo we need to collect yours as well.” Tommy declared and I smiled slightly at his dramatics.

         “And may I ask why gentlemen?” I questioned as we started to walk again.

         “Their code is all wrong! It’s all broken and if you have any you’ll just explosively shit!” Tommy exclaimed and I snorted putting a hand over my mouth.

         “You should probably watch your language Mr. Innit but this is of the upmost concern then! We must help everyone! But what are you gentlemen doing to protect yourself?”

         “We have a disposable sight elsewhere, as soon as we gather everything, we’ll get rid of it!” Wilbur declared.

         “Well then let’s get to the nearest ender chest now!” I nodded in-game before sprinting towards Tommy’s house. “How long until it comes into effect Mr. Soot and Mr. Innit?”

         “Soon, it’s of the upmost urgency that we dispose of them as quickly as possible.” Wilbur said.

         “Actually, I know, I know how I can get there quicker.” Tubbo commented seeing him drinking a potion. “I have a speed pot.”

         “Oh thank, oh thank god! Run, run.” Tommy commanded.

         “That’s good, potions are really, really good. You should always use potions as often as often as possible where ever you can buy them.”

         Now I see where this is going, shaking my head, I still followed all of them towards Tommy’s; Sapnap, Tubbo, and Tommy in front of Wilbur and I as Tubbo let out a confused sputtering.

         “Don’t worry, I’m sure, I’m sure something will come up.” Wilbur brushed it off.

         “I can hear starting to come up we need to get the blazes rods out! Get it out!” Tommy shouted, causing Tubbo to shout, making confused shouting to happen as I walked through the gates of Tommy’s area.

         “Ok! Ok! Ok! I’ve got ‘em! I’ve got ‘em!” Tubbo announced.

         “Ok! Hand them to me! Now! Now!” Tommy demanded.

         “Take it! Take it! Take it!” Tubbo chanted as he threw them but as Wilbur and I stopped in front of them, Sapnap punched Tommy away and took all the blaze rods.

         The shouting quieted as we watched Sapnap in surprise.

         “He’s gonna, he’s gonna shit. Just watch him.” Wilbur told us.

         “Oh boy.” I muttered, crouching as I backed up with the rest of them.

         It became a jumble of words as the boys backed up to what Tommy called the Power Tower but I broke from them, deciding to go around the other building he had called the Cuck Shed, dashing for the ender chest. Sapnap was too focused on them as I went in to see my own gear.

         Grabbing the stack of blaze rods, I hesitated as I hovered over my full netherite set, smirking to myself as I already knew the chat’s answer. I muted on Discord looking at my Twitch chat.

         “Should I be ready to become the goddess chat? I mean, as far as I can tell, Tommy and Wilbur have nothing and Tubbo has iron but Sapnap now has all the cards with enchanted diamond sooooo…”

         Before I had even finished my sentence, the chat spammed yes with the emote of me holding a shield, with a face that meant I was ready for war.

         That’s my chat.

         I grabbed my armor, axe, and sword but didn’t put it on as I sprint to catch up with everyone retreating towards the woods as I unmuted.

         “You tell them why they’re breaking the law Wilbur. Tell them why.” Tommy said as I stood behind Sap and Tubbo.

         “They have the, they have the brewing stands. Aren’t they gonna like shit themselves if they have them?” Sap questioned.

         “Yeah.” Tubbo realized.

         “No, no, no, no, no.” Tommy protested. “We’ve got equipment.”

         Everyone stopped as they started talking over one another.

         “You really can’t follow us.” Wilbur said once it quieted down.

         “What is the disposal system? Can we see it?”

         There was a brief silence before Wilbur spoke.

         “Yes, yes. Come with me.” He sounded hesitant but still lead us further into the woods. “If you come with me, we’ve, uh, got a mobile disposal unit out here. That we’re using to, dispose of it.”

         Over the hill, I could see it and I muted my discord as I snorted once more, a hand over my mouth muffling it. It was an RV, a van.

         “This is all about drugs isn’t it?”

         I unmuted as I listened.

         “I’m going to ask that you don’t come inside.” Wilbur instructed.

         “Yeah, you have to stay on the other side of the river please.” Tommy agreed.

         “It’s dangerous. It’s dangerous.”

         I watched Sap get closer, carefully following behind him as they protested. If anyone was going to fight the, “operation”, going on here, it was him.

         My assumption led to be correct as Sapnap spoke.

         “Wait, Tubbo, (Y/U/N), I don’t think it’s a disposal system.”

         “Wait, it looks like a drug lab or something.” Tubbo went.

         Wilbur started muttering to Tommy as Sapnap sprinted towards the van.

         “Are you guys…? I need to look for myself.” Sap said before going into the van, I quickly following having tried to block him but got pushed in.

         He went into the back room with Tubbo, I being able to see in and see the line of brewing stands.

         “These guys are…”

         “You guys are drug dealers!” Tubbo exclaimed, pulling a sword.

         I looked at Tommy and Wilbur before stepping forward, showing my netherite one, making Tubbo step back.

         “And so, what if they are? What are you going to do about it?” I asked.

         “We have a court house for things like this!” Tubbo reminded us.

         “Who says they’re going to court? You aren’t the law.”

         “Are you with them (Y/U/N)? Have they’ve gotten you addicted to, to this?” Sap questioned.

         “No, I’m not an addict to anything.” I huffed as I typed to Wilbur. “So, I suggest you just hand over those blaze rods.”

You whisper to WilburSoot: Distract him to face away from me.

         “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

         “Tommy, I think, I think we should go.” Wilbur said moving for the door out.

         “Where are you going?” Sap quickly asked following them so they didn’t get away, turning his back to me.

         I smirked as I glanced at the chat seeing the spam of emojis as I equipped my gear, Tubbo retreating further back into the van, terrified of my armor. I shook my head at him in-game before putting a shield on, stepping out.

         “All of you are going to court.” Sapnap declared on the other side of the river.

         I leaned into my mic, putting on my crazy sing song voice. “Think again~!”

         I crit him with my sword, setting him on fire, causing him to scream as he dove for the water. He blocked with his shield but I dove in with no mercy and hit him with my axe before using my punch bow to push him out of the water. He started sprinting away as I ran after him.

         “What are you doing?!” He shouted.

         “Taking back what isn’t yours!” I grinned before critting him three more times before the text appeared in chat.

Sapnap was slain by (Y/U/N) using [The Goddess’s Sword]

         “Mr. Soot. I suggest picking this up.” I said as I leaned back in my chair, everyone silent except for Sapnap protesting.

         “How could you do that?! You’re going to team up with drug dealers?! This isn’t allowed!”

         “Oh yeah? I think the text says it all. You got KOed by the Goddess bitch.” I smirked as the chat shouted out pogs and cheered. “General 2 men!”

         I switched Discord rooms as Wilbur came over picking up Sapnap’s gear getting the respective achievements for the blaze rods and diamond gear. Two pings went off in Discord, I laughing as the silence was filled.

         “Holy shit! That was insane! Holy shit!” Tommy kept shouting. “Sorry mum!”

         My laughs died to giggles as I looked at Wilbur.

         “Soooo, you guys need a little hired help?” I asked. “Because, that was my application Mr. Soot.”

         There was a moment of silence.

         “Fair enough. What’s the price for your services Ms. (Y/U/N)?” Wilbur questioned.

         “Wait Wilbur, a WOMAN helping us?” Tommy questioned now.

         I chuckled as I came towards Tommy, who backed up quickly, leaning into the mic again. “You want to question me?”

         “No! No ma’am! I’m sorry ma’am!” Tommy quickly sputtered.

         “I didn’t think you’d be quite so…intimidating Ms. (Y/U/N). You seemed quite nice after all.” Wilbur spoke up.

         I leaned back again as I noticed Tubbo’s name tag no longer in the van. “It’s all about appearances Mr. Soot! Take a look at your lovely van! Seemingly innocent on the outside but all the excitement in the back. All good business men and women know that you need to have the good exterior but when the time comes, you need to stab a bitch. And I don’t need any payment, just a place in your business and the supply when I need it.”

         He chuckled. “Alright, well welcome to the team Ms. (Y/U/N).”

         “Excellent! Let’s get to work.” I clapped my hands before going into the van with the two of them.

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

Third Person POV

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

         Wilbur had been trying to desperately take the bit back on track. He hadn’t planned for someone to just derail it as such but then (Y/U/N)…She stepped in from nowhere with stacked gear. The psychotic but beautiful sing song voice had given him a shiver as he watched in shock as she slayed Sapnap with ease. As he was stuck in his shocked, silent state and grabbed the gear, he noticed his chat spamming the words, The Goddess.

         Was that another name for her? Was she an expert at PVP the same as Dream and Technoblade? It would explain how Dream might know her. Another highly praised PVPer? He would have talked to her.

         He just hadn’t expected such intimidation from the lady that had brought flowers to every new player on every server she had been on; the same lady that called people Mr. and Ms. and gentlemen. It was quite interesting, Wilbur wondered if she was like that in public, polite and kind until the situation called for another girl.

         Maybe he should get to know the woman himself.

[jeongvision]

pairing. boyfriend! dong sicheng ✗ fem! reader

genre. fluff, humor, airport au, non idol au, established relationship au

warnings. slight cursing, mentions of alcohol, not proofread so expect grammatical mistakes lmao my bad

author’s note. this timestamp has been inspired by a fic called maison des fleurs (jeong jaehyun x oc) written by loviet from asianfanfics!

[ 5:14 AM ] You’re tired, so dead tired. If you weren’t tired before, then you are most definitely exhausted now.

For weeks, you and your boyfriend have been planning on taking a short trip to Greece as a mini getaway way to celebrate the end of your spring semester. You both thought it would be nice to destress after months of restless nights with your eyes glued on both your textbook pages or laptop screen. The moment you both finished your last final, you two booked the next flight out and packed your belongings.

What perfect way to celebrate the end of your hellish semester by spending time with your loved one traveling to a different country?

Unfortunately, life seems to love throwing curve balls at you, because here are you at the airport, sitting on one of those uncomfortable chairs at the terminal gate, three hours past your initial departure time. Weather reports called for harsh winds and rain, making it extremely dangerous for any aircraft to fly in this state due to turbulence. Meteorologists predicted that it will subside within another three hours but even then, it’s not a guarantee that it will stop storming by then.

Just your fucking luck, huh?

You and Sicheng are currently sitting in the terminal gate amongst all other passengers, impatiently groaning as the minutes pass by. You rested your head against your boyfriend’s shoulder, the soft padding of his jacket cushioning your cheek. You inhaled in his scent, putting your mind at ease as you wallowed up the lost time you could’ve used to explore other regions of Greece. You two already walked to nearby shops and food stands to kill time but it still gave you ample amount of time to spare. The both of you thought maybe social media or mobile games could assist in your boredoms but their attempts were futile.

You let out a deep sigh. “This sucks.”

“I agree,” Sicheng nodded. He repositions himself in his seat to ease the tension from your neck craning on him, arms draped behind your shoulders as he pulls you in more. “Have anything in mind?”

You scoffed. “Yeah. Get the hell out of here and go to Greece already.”

He chuckled. “Patience, little one.”

“If I had one, then I’d be a doctor.”

“Gotta wait for another eight years to become one, y/n. You still haven’t finished your undergrad yet.” You rolled your eyes and let out a chortle, playfully slapping his arm in response. He laughs again while his arm still remained around your figure. And just like that, you’re both enveloped in silence, eyes constantly checking the clock and the windows for any possible signs of hopping onto the plane as you two scheduled.

Minutes rolled by and you’ve lost count on how many sighs you heard from nearby passengers. Then, you felt your boyfriend clear his throat a little.

“Let’s play a game, hm?”

Confused, you took your head off his shoulder and narrowed your eyes at him. “Huh? A game?” He nods, his hand gently tightening on your arm. “What game are you thinking about?”

A grin appears on his lips. “Two truths and a lie.”

Suddenly, you burst into a fit of giggles. It was one of your favorite games to play with him, given how it was the main reason why you two are together in the first place. You two were sat in a circle with other mutual friends at one college party, also playing two truths and a lie with an addition of alcohol. It was Winwin’s turn when he inadvertently confessed to you tipsy, eyes glazed over at you as you were dressed so beautifully that night.

You nodded towards the latter, “Shoot.”

He pondered in his thoughts, weighing out his possible choices. He hums a little under is breath. “One, I accidentally stepped on Bella’s poop earlier before we left to the airport. Two, I got a 36 on my practical for anatomy. Three, I managed to get Ten to eat a grape last week.”

It doesn’t take you a second for a smile to slowly creep up on your face. “I highly doubt that you could make Ten eat a fruit.”

“What makes you say that?” he challenged.

“He’d rather get a tattoo of Johnny’s face on his asscheeks than eat a slice of apple.”

“Are you saying that I’m too dumb to pass my practical?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you failed it. And same goes for Bella’s poop situation.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Fair enough. Your turn.”

You giggled before pondering in your own thoughts for a moment. “Hm... One, all I ate during finals week were instant noodles and Jollibee. Two, I can tell which eggs have a double yolk inside without cracking it open. Three, if you never confessed to me drunk that night, I would be dating Lucas right now.”

He gawks at you, “What?! So you would’ve never dated me if I never said anything that time?”

Teasingly, you raised an eyebrow. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“I ain’t calling you a truther.”

You grinned in response. “Nope. Unlike you, he was actually courting me.” You give him a glance over. “Meanwhile, your lazy ass thought that by just staring at me from afar, I would somehow get telekinesis and catch the hint that you liked me.”

He ignores your comment. “I think you give yourself too much credit for calling yourself some kind of egg analyst.”

You slap his shoulder again, earning a chuckle from him. “Do not!”

“Just because you coincidentally cracked an egg with a double yolk inside does not make you an egg expert.”

“You mean, eggs-pert?”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too, babe.” He rolled his eyes and you laughed. “Okay, this is getting fun. Let’s keep going! Your turn.”

He takes another moment and relays his choices, a subtle pout on his lips before he grins. “Okay, I think I got one,” he begins. “One, I’ve always had a crush on you since freshman orientation. Two, Yuta actually pushed me to play two truths and a lie that night because you were also playing. Three, I want us to move in together after we graduate.”

You stayed immobile in your seat, eyebrows lifted in shock. Your eyes are wide open, mind completely wiped blank from his words. You nervously laugh, breaking the silence. “Winwin, I don’t think that’s how you play the game.”

He chuckles. “It’s not about the lies you tell, but the truths you tell.”

Your fingers twiddled with one another as you looked away from his gaze, eyes down on your lap. “But still. You’re supposed to say two truths and one lie, not three truths.”

He grins. “Bold of you to assume I didn’t say any lie.”

“Well, then I say the third one is the lie.”

“Where I want us to move in together?”

You look back up. “Yeah.”

“You’re right. In fact...” His face inches closer to yours, his forehead making contact with your own. “... I don’t want us to move in together when we graduate.” He pushes a strand of your hair behind your ear. “I want us to get married instead.”

Your eyes widened. “W-What?” He only grins at you. “Si-Sicheng, what—”

“Attention, passengers!” the ground attendant shouted. “Gate 486 is now open for boarding. Please form a line and have your ticket ready for admission.”

Your lover backs away from your presence, grabbing his bag before standing up from his seat. He nods to the terminal gate. “You heard her. Let’s go. Don’t want to miss our flight.”

Oh, but darling, how could you miss your flight when you’re already floating on cloud nine from his words?

[whump-town]

A Favor

Feeling very Hotch and Hank these days (feel free to send me asks about them because I fucking love them and I will write more about them if given the chance)

No warnings

No Pairings

It begins about mid-April in the height of the whole “April showers bring May flowers” thing. Hotch is sitting on the porch when Derek pulls into his driveway. The day is chilly, the perfect sort where the weather never gets the chance to get humid because the rain doesn’t stop falling and the sun stays tucked behind thick, billowing clouds. Windshield wipers darting quickly, never fast enough to fight the rapid downpour. Sitting out in a rocking chair, sweater pulled over his white-shirt to fight the chill, Hotch cocks his head to the side as Derek throws his door open, jogging - head down- to the porch. The car is still on.

“I need a favor,” he shouts as he nears the porch. He runs on up, ignoring Hotch’s raised eyebrow of confusion. Derek follows his eyes to the car and lets out a breathless sigh. “Listen, man, Hank’s got the croup or something. The nursery won’t take him when he’s got a fever and the plumbing just blew sky high at that house I’m renovating on Sixth Street. Savannah -”

Hotch stands, all Derek needed to say was that he needed Hotch to watch Hank for a little bit. The rest is rather unnecessary. How many times did Derek spend an hour or the day watching Jack so Hotch could do his job? Hanging around a park or the office instead of out doing what he wanted. Even if he hadn’t watched Jack, Hotch loves Hank. He cares about Derek and he also likes Savannah. Besides, his day isn’t exactly looking too busy at the moment. “He’s in the car?” Hotch asks, reaching down and grabs the raincoat he’d laid over the chair beside him.

Derek nods. He winces, “he’s moody but I think he’s excited to see you.”

Hotch hums. As they near the car, Hotch’s jacket is thrown over his arm as he walks into the rain, he smirks as they get closer and Hank’s crying gets louder. He looks at Derek, a twinkle in his eye, and betrays his amusement. Hank doesn’t exactly sound excited to be here.

Derek opens the door, immediately placing a hand on Hank’s heaving chest, shushing him gently. “Hank,” he calls, rubbing Hank’s chest with his thumb. “Baby look who it is.” Hank whines, kicking out and still making softer crying sounds as he rubs his eyes and finds Hotch. “See?” Derek offers, stepping to the side to let Hotch step closer. “I promised I’d take you to see Hops.” Hank still cries, softer now but big pitiful tears that make both men’s heartache. It makes Derek feel awful that he has to leave him.

Derek steps back, sighing as he moves to the other side of the car for the diaper bag. “Everything should be in here,” Derek shouts, as he leans around and drags the heavy bag out. He hadn’t looked in it, he realizes, before leaving but he’s certain diapers are good but he’s not so sure about a spare change of clothes. If it’s that big of a deal, Hotch will just drive him to Derek’s. Besides, Savannah should be off by five and Derek should be done by lunchtime. They’ll be fine. Hotch has done the baby thing before.

Hotch unbuckles the straps holding Hank in, frowning when Hank immediately starts fighting to get the rest of the way out. His fingers have lost the dexterity he had in his youth - too many years of abusing them for all they were worth in fights, countless hours of paperwork, and... Foyet. Wiggling baby and tiny little mechanics do not help. He’s managing slowly when Derek comes back around, his grey t-shirt now soaked, and he steps back to let Derek in.

“Alright, alright -” Derek gets him out in a second. Working through the straps and buttons with no issue. “Look,” Derek turns and gives Hank to Hotch. Smiling when Hotch wraps his raincoat around the baby, rocking his body to try and soothe Hank back down. The baby takes to Hotch, wrapping his arms around his neck, and presses his wet face into Hotch’s shirt. Derek can faintly hear him hiccuping, still crying but softer now. Whining more than sobbing.

At that moment, Derek has no idea the impact of the domino that he has knocked over.

When Hank was born, before Hank was born, Reid went through this phase of reading every parenting book he perceived worth it. If they were really good, if Reid found them intellectually stimulating and correct statistically, he’d turn them over to Morgan. Annotated. They would be covered in sticky notes, full of notes and commentary. Lots of directions about orders to read the books in and how to skip around so ensure he got the best read according to Reid.

Having nothing to do with what Reid thought was best or even important, Derek found himself reading through the guides about grandparents. About the ways that people change. Adapting to being a parent and then how parents handle being grandparents.

His father would never meet Hank.

Chicago is so far away. Fran is here when she can be, she’s a fantastic grandmother. He’s called her for everything under the sun and even though Hank has had a thousand colds and upper-respiratory infections come and go, he still calls her for every single one. Just to make sure. Just for someone to tell him he’s doing all this right.

Savannah hasn’t talked to her parents in years. Things are too complicated.

Hank will have a grandmother. One.

It’s so unfair.

It eats Derek up. Grandparents had been so important to him as a child. His grandmother was one of the only people he felt safe with, always. She was just calm in the storm of pain in his life. Who could be that person for Hank? He never wants Hank to need someone but it’s better to have a net to fall on, something to brace against when the floor gives way than to come crashing through the floor. To be met with concrete where it doesn’t have to be.

Then Derek goes and spills all those dominos.

The first time that it happens he’s a mess. He dropped Hank off at daycare at seven, like he does every morning. So, reasonably, that’s where Hank should be at two when Derek goes to pick him up.

An hour later, shaking and on the verge of tears, Derek finds him in Hotch’s backyard. The two calmly swaying in the hammock, Hank drowsily listening to Hotch read “The Lorax”. Even intently listening, head tilted up so he can see Hotch, to the older man’s boring, if not entirely too complicated, commentary about capitalism and Karl Marx. The alienation of labor and lack of class consciousness, it’s no wonder the kid is falling asleep.

Putting Hotch on the emergency list had been more of a precaution for the possibility that Morgan is on a job and Savannah has work. He hadn’t really considered Hotch would need to go get Hank. Morgan hadn’t even wanted to list him, didn’t want to bother him like that.

By about the hundredth time, it’s no longer jarring to walk into the daycare and find his son is already gone. Even the workers know to warn him now.

Derek has a key to Hotch’s, he’s more than earned that right but especially these days. He lets himself into the front door and through the house, knows exactly where to find his son. The kid spends more days out of daycare than he spends in it.

“What are you two going to do when he goes to Kindergarten next year?”

They’re in the backyard, as they typically are. As annoying as he finds paying for a program that Hank doesn’t honestly attend most days, he can’t complain that much. Hank is reading exceptionally well, having two adults’ undivided attention for long periods of time helps. There are side effects. He can read books on his own but he does occasionally do old people things.

Like grunt when he sits down.

And asks to drink everything out of a mug.

Derek can see the face Emily makes, knows how this conversation goes by default of how it’s gone a hundred times before. “No,” Derek says, flatly. “You can not pull him out of Kindergarten.”

Hotch looks down at Hank, the toddler curled up into his side with a picture book. “He doesn’t have to go to Kindergarten.”

Derek had made himself sick thinking about Hank’s perceived lack of support. He hadn’t anticipated this. The giant hammock Hotch put up in his backyard. Met for fall days just like this, large enough for Emily and Hotch lay on two separate ends. Hank in the middle of them, feet kicked up on Emily’s thighs like a little king. The bookshelf in Hotch’s old office lowest shelf full of children’s books. The car seat in his old pick-up truck. The go-gurts, applesauce squeeze drinks, and gummies in his kitchen cabinets.

“There are proven benefits to homeschooling,” Emily offers, eyes peeking up above her own book.

Morgan rolls his eyes, “and there are too Kindergarten as well.”

Hotch says nothing but the blank look, the slight glare, speaks for itself.

“I don’t want my four-year-old to act like an old person,” Morgan defends. Is it not bad enough he grunts when he bends down to get things? That he’s told Savannah his back hurts and he needs a heating pad? He’s four. He doesn’t need any of those things. “No offense,” he adds, very delayed. The worst part is that he was going to have to bring Hank here this afternoon anyways. He’s expecting a new roofer at his property on the other side of town and Hank gets too antsy to watch. Besides, Hank would much rather be here.

“Look!” Hank sits up, twisting and turning around so that he can show Hotch his book. Derek moves forward, about to fuss and warn him to gentle but Hank knows what to do. He spends every day with two old people, neither as limber as they once were. Covered in scars and trauma that have stolen mobility. He knows how to be excited and bouncy with them. So he’s careful even as he looks like a monkey climbing up the side of Hotch’s legs and hip to half sit on his stomach and turn his book around. “See?”

Hotch nods, smiling encouragingly. Hank’s new thing is spiders. Bugs are very age-appropriate but Emily and Hotch struggle to maintain a blind amount of interest. Especially when Hank brings them bugs, he’s so excited too. It’s adorable but Hotch is going to lose his mind if he has to let Hank crawl into his lap with one more spider.

“I’ll be back by six,” Morgan says. He kisses the top of Hank’s head, nodding his head when Hank shows him the enlarged picture of the spider in his book. “If not--”

“He’s fine here, no reason to rush around.”

Morgan nods, "love you, buddy."

Hank ignores him, just falls over onto his side. Squirming around until he's tucked against Hotch's side, smirking up at his father.

"Behave."

But the truth is, Hank always acts on his best behavior for Hotch.