#like do you not hear yourselves or realize how ridiculous some of you sound

[yelenapines]

seeing that i just had to block one of my mutuals for standing with litteral genocide and saying extremely racist things i'm gonna say this right now:

if you support genocide or think that Palestine deserves what is happening or call Arabs inhuman and violent or stand with colonialism get the FUCK out of my page .you will not be welcome. i will not stand with a litteral genocide or allow people who follow me to be saying things like literal fucking children and innocent citizens deserve to be murdered and have their whole past/legacy erased. hope this helps.

[shadowdaddies]

can i please request one with cassian x reader where reader is pregnant but doesn’t know and is being extra clingy to cassian. literally he’s going up to drink some water and she’s going with him or he’s training and she’s sitting next to him waiting for him to finish. And at meetings she’s sitting in his lap and holds him close. everyone wonders why that is bc reader doesn’t usually like pda. the bond knows before them that she’s pregnant and she subconsciously wants to stay close to her mate to feel protected. they eventually find out after feyre recognizes the signs she also had and everyone are so happy for them, cassians extra possessiveness and protective instincts go crazyyyy😍🧎‍♀️

Okay so I'm combining this with this other Cassian x pregnant!reader request because I like how the stories go together:

So the first part of the story is fluffy, reader finding out she's pregnant. I'll mark with an * in the story for when it shifts from fluff to the action-packed part so you can decide for yourselves if you want to just enjoy the fluff or read the whole thing (I like the whole thing, I love how this turned out)

DISCLAIMER: I do not condone mortal combat while pregnant

Protect Our Family

Cassian x Reader

Warnings: canon-typical violence, mentions of sex, not proofread

Overwhelmed by fatigue, you were nauseous and achy as you had been on and off for several weeks now. It felt as if you had a cold and your cycle at the same time, but you weren’t due for your cycle for another six weeks. You weren’t sure what had you feeling so off balance lately, but you were overcome with anxiety anytime you were apart from Cassian. 

From the moment you woke up in the morning, you could feel the bond urging you to find your mate. It was different from the frenzy when you first accepted the bond; it was a sense of security you craved, one that was never sated until you felt Cassian’s comforting presence. One day, you joined Cassian to go to the River House for a meeting with Rhys about the Illyrian camps. The males were in the office while you talked with Feyre, the two of you playing with Nyx in the living room. 

They weren’t long into the meeting when you started feeling panicked again, that draw to find Cassian overwhelming your senses. Feyre immediately sensed your stress. “Are you feeling alright? You look like you’re going to be sick,” she questioned you with a concerned look. Clutching your hand to your chest, you took a deep breath. “I don’t know, Feyre. I’ve been feeling so sick lately, like I’m on my cycle except that I know I’m not. And I know this sounds ridiculous, but I have this new instinct that I have to be near Cassian for safety. I don’t know, I think I need to see Madja.” 

You looked over to Feyre, bracing yourself for the incredulous look you were sure to receive, but instead found her teary eyed, a soft smile on her face as she shifted her glance from your face, to your stomach, and then to where Nyx was playing with his toys. Frozen in place as realization dawned on you, you simply gaped at Feyre, who turned back to you and nodded reassuringly. “I had all the same signs early in my pregnancy with Nyx. The bond is pushing you to be around your mate to protect your baby.” 

Hearing the words “your baby” out loud brought both you and Feyre to tears of joy as you stood to hug her. As if the recognition of the pregnancy triggered it, your scent changed. There was no denying it now, you and Cassian were going to have a child. You laughed through your tears as you watched Nyx run up to Feyre, trying to grasp how that would be you soon enough. Cassian and Rhys came out of the office at the sound, concern on their features as they saw your and Feyre’s tears, before they scented you. 

You turned to Cassian, your broad smile affirming that they were in fact cries of joy as you nodded to him, “you’re going to be a dad.” An stunning wave of love flowed to you through the bond as you and Cassian ran to embrace each other. A tear rolled down Cassian’s cheek as he whispered in awe, “we’re going to have a baby.”

*

The moment faded quickly as Cassian looked to Rhys with a grim expression on his face. Cass growled out, “I’m not leaving her here.” You looked frantically between the two males, trying to decipher what Cassian meant as you took in Rhys’s conflicted expression. 

“What do you mean, leave me here, Cass?” you breathed out. Cassian looked down at you with a fierce expression before kissing the top of your head. “I need to go to Windhaven. There’s suspicions that Koschei’s spies have infiltrated the camps and Azriel believes they’re planning an attack soon.” Looking between you and Rhys, Cassian continued, “I can’t leave the soldiers during a time like this, but I’m not leaving you and our child right now.” 

The weight of an anvil fell on your chest as you registered the gravity of the situation. Before another tear could fall from your eyes, Feyre stepped forward. “What if we all went up to the camps?” She squeezed your hand as she looked to you, “I will leave Nyx here with Elain, but keep you company up at the cabin, so we can stay close to Cassian without being in harm’s way at Windhaven.” No one was excited about the idea, but it was the best option you had.

You and Cassian stayed awake all night, making love as you celebrated the life you would soon be bringing into the world, but come dawn, you were filled with dread at the thought of your mate being in danger and away from your child. The four of you left for the camps early in the morning, Cassian and Rhys helping you and Feyre get settled into the cabin before they left to meet Azriel at Windhaven. It took everything in you to deny your instincts to follow Cass to the camp, but you felt peace knowing that Rhys was with him, and they would not be far in the event of trouble, which Rhys assured you was highly unlikely. 

You held back your tears as Cassian begrudgingly winnowed away with Rhysand, and settled into the couch with Feyre. You had been relaxing on the couch for awhile, Feyre giving you advice on your pregnancy while you two sipped on tea, when Feyre’s eyes turned that glazed look that let you know she was communicating mind-to-mind with Rhys. She kept her composure impressively; if you didn’t know her so well, you wouldn’t have known the way her eyes widened and the tick in her jaw was her tell. Something was wrong.

You jolted up from the couch, prepared to find and protect your mate when Feyre gently grabbed your arm, drawing you back to your surroundings. She spoke to you as one might a startled animal, “Rhysand was just informing me that there is an attack at the camp. It’s a small group, though, and the Illyrian soldiers far outnumber Koschei’s party. They can handle this.” Despite every bone in your body telling you to do otherwise, you nodded as you sat back down on the couch. Feyre gave your shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll go fix us some food in kitchen.” 

You tried to relax on the couch, but that instinct from before was back. You needed to be with Cassian. You needed your family together. You padded into the kitchen where Feyre was cooking, catching her in a tense position over the stove as she seemed to be speaking to Rhys again. Before she could even turn to address you, you had winnowed to Windhaven.

Chaos raged throughout the camp. At every turn, you witnessed a battle or a body. Without a second thought, you let your protective instincts for your family take over, grabbing a sword from the ground as you raced through the camp in search of Cassian. Fortunately, the Illyrian warriors recognized you as their General’s mate, and worked with you as you fought off soldier after soldier in Koschei’s army. 

A soldier cornered you in front of a tent, taunting you. “I can smell that little Illyrian brute inside of you. What a favor I’ll bring to the world to rid-“ His threat was cut off by an obsidian knife through his throat. Blood splattered as Azriel yanked truth-teller out of the male’s throat, throwing his body to the ground. Before you could explain what you were doing there, Azriel pulled you into a hug, pressing a kiss to your cheek as he murmured, “congratulations, sister.” 

You only had a moment to be shocked by Azriel’s uncharacteristic affection before two more males approached you, and you two were thrust into the throws of battle once more. Adrenaline surging through you, it felt as though a mere second had passed from when you’d arrived to now, as you stopped to look around at the bodies that littered the ground, the battle seemingly over.

You turned to see Azriel, who you’d been fighting along side, taking deep breaths as he came down from his own adrenaline rush. It was then he looked at you with a bewildered expression, registering what you had just done. He came over to you, frantically searching for any injuries as he tried to keep his calm. “What were you thinking? Cassian is going to lose his shit. You went into battle pregnant!” Az said, almost more to himself as you both tried to comprehend all that had transpired.

It was then that you caught sight of your mate further across the camp, sprinting towards him without a second thought. Cassian did a double-take as he saw you running to him, frozen in shock as you felt his fear through the bond. You had no time to feel guilt as you threw yourself into his arms, hugging him as though he might disappear if you let go. When you finally pulled apart enough to look him in the eyes, you were taken aback by his intense gaze. “Please don’t be angry. I couldn’t live with myself if I knew something happened to you, Cass. I need you,” grabbing his hand and holding it against your stomach, you emphasized, “we need you. We are a family, and I will always come for you.” 

Cassian leaned down to kiss you deeply before pulling away to whisper, “I love you. But you are pregnant, and I will always be the one to protect us. I am-“ 

Before he could finish his sentence, a figure approaching behind Cassian caught your attention. In the blink of an eye, you drew a throwing knife from his belt, throwing it into the chest of the soldier just before he could thrust his sword into Cassian. Cass whipped around to see the soldier on the ground before turning back to see you cocking an eyebrow at him. “WE protect this family.”

[kisses-for-you]

Sacrifice - Conner Kent

Conner Kent X GN!Reader

Summary: You and Conner don't really like each other. But when you make a sacrifice to save Conner, you both realise your true feelings.

Word Count: 1,580

⚠️ Warnings: Death.

You and Conner never really liked each other. It's like ever since he joined the team, you just hated him for no apparent reason. You didn't know why and neither did he. Maybe it's because you felt a certain type of attraction to him? No. That can't be it. Don't be ridiculous.

The tension between you and Conner was palpable. Anyone could see it. But despite the clashes and disagreements, there were moments when you caught each other's eyes, stealing glances across the room. In those moments, there was something unspoken, a subtle shift in the air. It was as if beneath the layers of animosity, a flicker of curiosity lingered.

One day, during a particularly intense mission, you and the team find yourselves facing an unexpected threat. Mother May has used her magic to stun everyone including Conner, except for you, which meant it was just you and her. Bad news for you, you don't have any magical powers, so what now? How are you meant to fight a witch with just your combat skills? That doesn't seem like it's going to work out great for you.

Feeling the weight of the situation, panic sets in as you assess the limited options. Your heart pounds in your chest and your palms start sweating. Mother May advances towards you with a wicked grin, revelling in her advantage. Without hesitation, you throw yourself between Mother May and Conner, shielding him from any possible danger.

She starts to speak but you interrupt Mother May, steeling yourself for whatever consequences may follow. "If you want to get to any of them, you'll have to go through me first," you declare, surprising even yourself with the conviction in your voice.

The empty road becomes charged with tension as Mother May assesses the situation. Conner, still under the effects of her magic, watches the unfolding scene with a mixture of confusion and concern. Despite your 'dislike' for him, you were still protecting him. Why?

Mother May smirks, confident in her powers. "You can't protect them forever, and trust me, your death won't change anything," she taunts.

Not letting her see the fear that is currently coursing through your veins, you respond, "Maybe I can't change anything, but I can't just stand by and let them get hurt either. At least I'll die knowing I did my best to protect my team."

Conner's gaze shifts from Mother May to you, a mix of surprise and realization crossing his face. He doesn't want you to die, especially not like this. But he can't do anything. Her powers have him and everyone stunned, stuck in place.

"You're brave, I'll give you that. It's a shame this is the way you have to go down," she scoffs, raising her hand to unleash a magical assault. As the energy builds, you brace yourself, fully aware that this might be the end. Yet, strangely, you feel a sense of peace knowing you're protecting the team, even Conner.

Just as Mother May releases the magical force, a sudden burst of red streaks across the scene. The force of her magic sends you flying backwards, directly into a wall. A sickening crack echoes through the air as your back collides with the wall.

Everything goes black. Surely, you should be able to feel something. Some sort of pain. You've most likely just broken something from the force of the hit but you can't feel a thing. You can't see anything either, nor can you hear anything. No fucking way. Is this it? Did the bitch really just kill you? That easily as well? What about the rest of the team?

Everyone winces at the sound of your back making contact with the wall. They know what's probably just happened but none of them want to believe it. You can't be dead.

As the darkness envelops you, one distant voice echoes in your mind - Conner's voice. "No, this can't be happening," he mutters, breaking free from Mother May's spell, his eyes widening in horror at the sight of you crumpled against the wall.

Before anyone can attack Mother May, she vanishes into thin air. Now you're dead and your murderer is nowhere to be seen.

The team, released from the magical hold, rushes to your side. Conner, fueled by a surge of emotions he didn't quite understand, kneels beside you. "Hey, come on, wake up," he pleads, his usually stoic demeanour towards you now replaced by genuine concern.

His voice slowly fades away as your hearing once again disappears. This time, it doesn't come back. This is really it. You're gone.

People say that when you die, you get to rewatch your entire life from birth to death. But for you, it's just pitch black, a neverending darkness. You didn't even get to say goodbye to anyone. You didn't get to tell Gar about how much you actually love hearing his stupid jokes. You didn't get to tell Kory about how much of an impact she's made on you and the rest of the team. You didn't get to tell Conner about how you don't actually hate him. You didn't get to tell him about how you used that hate as a disguise for your true feelings. You've realised you love him but it's too late now. You're dead.

Conner, kneeling beside your lifeless body, is overwhelmed by a mix of grief and guilt. The team gathers around, grappling with the reality of losing one of their own. Conner finds himself unable to comprehend the weight of your sacrifice.

Amid the chaos, he reaches out, gently brushing a strand of hair from your face, a gesture that feels more tender than he ever expected. "I didn't... I didn't get to tell her how much I loved her," he stammers, his voice betraying a vulnerability you'd never witnessed before. He finally admitted the truth and you aren't even here to hear it.

In the following days, guilt gnaws at Conner. He feels somehow responsible for your death. Maybe if he'd been stronger, faster, he could've saved you. But he didn't and that kills him inside.

One night, Conner stands alone on the rooftop, staring at the city below. The realization hits him hard - he never got to express his true feelings to you. The words he kept buried, hidden behind a façade of dislike, start to haunt him slightly.

"I wish I could've told you," Conner whispers to the night sky, a silent confession to the empty air.

"Told me what?" you ask, your voice startling Conner. He turns around and his eyes widen in shock.

He stammers, "Y/N? But.. you're dead. How? Is my mind just playing tricks on me?"

"No. I'm very much alive. Trust me, I don't get it either. I died, or at least I was sure I had. Something somehow brought me back. But I don't know what," you say, standing there with a mixture of confusion and relief. You're glad to be back but you still shouldn't be here. How was this possible?

He takes a step closer, his eyes searching your face for any sign of deception. "If this is some kind of sick prank, it's not funny."

You take a step closer to him, closing the distance between you guys. Wrapping your arms around his neck in a hug, you respond, "Is this enough to prove I'm really here?"

Conner, caught off guard, hesitates for a moment before returning the hug, wrapping his strong arms tightly around your waist. As he holds you, a mixture of relief and confusion also washes over him.

"I thought I lost you," Conner admits, his voice a blend of vulnerability and sincerity. The realization that you're standing in front of him, alive and well, hits him and he hugs you the slightest bit tighter.

Conner, still processing the whirlwind of emotions, starts to speak again. "I never got the chance to tell you something," he pauses but continues, "Y/N, I never hated you. I just pretended I did because I thought that it was easier than admitting my feelings for you. But I realise now that it was a really stupid choice. I should've just been straight up with you. You dying made me realise how much I regretted not telling you. So now, I'm telling you because I'm too scared that something like this might happen again in the future and I can't go through this again. The regret and the guilt are too much. Even for me."

You pull away slightly, looking into his eyes. A small blush forms on your face as you realise he reciprocates your feelings. The corners of your lips curve upwards as you respond, "When I died, Conner, I regretted not telling you that I loved you so much. So, I'm going to tell you the truth now. Conner, I'm in love with you and I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I guess it took me literally dying to realise how I actually felt."

Conner flashes you a smile, a smile of relief and happiness. He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can even get a word out, you cut him off, your lips crashing against his own in a kiss full of passion and emotion.

His hand reaches up to cup your cheek as you slowly pull away. The warmth of his touch reassures you that this moment is real. "God, I love you so much, Y/N."

[one-n-only-cedar]

Chapter 2: Beginnings

“This is Director Brooke Augustine, reiterating once again the importance of the Department of Unified Protection. The streets of your city are crawling with Bio-Terrorists and you have no power to defend yourselves or your loved ones, let us be that power.” July, 2017

I stood before a sea of people, a situation I was unfortunate enough to be familiar with. I was nothing more than a prop to my mother, I'd like to specify at these events but that would be a lie. I felt like a prop my whole life: beauty pageants from age 3, gymnastics at ages 6-14, Cheerleading(though that didn't work out), and now that I'm graduated I could go with her on any of these stupid events she wanted. My mother stood beside me looking every part the powerful mayor that she was and making some half hearted speech about new beginnings. I scanned the crowd, mostly reporters here for the Grand opening of Machiavelli's, a new restaurant in town. It was a fancy upper end sit down restaurant located right in the heart of Downtown. Across the street from a Clucky's Chicken. I noted kind of offhandedly how there was a distinct lack of customer's at the fast food place. It was noon you'd think they'd have some kind of rush.

My mother finished her speech managing to work my graduation into the end and force me up to the podium.

“Hello Citizens of Nova City.” I started and a reporter raised his hand

“As a Youth, How do you feel about the D.U.P.’s sudden involvement in this city?” the way he said youth felt condescending, like I was just some kid tagging along with mommy to the grocery store.

I tossed a look over my shoulder at my mom and she shrugged uselessly turning back to the crowd I cleared my throat, which suddenly felt like spiders were trying to crawl up it.

“I have no thoughts on the matter, the government is simply trying to do its job.”

“They could declare martial law,” Warren said interrupting my internal monolog

I looked over at him pulling my eyes away from the restaurant opening across the street. Another fancy place I'd never see the inside of. His eyes were hard, glaring at me as I tossed him a sheepish grin.

“Did you hear any of that?”

I shook my head, “no sorry I'm in my own little world here.”

He huffed, taking off the ridiculous chicken hat we were forced to wear and smoothing back his blue and green dyed hair. “I was telling you about The DUPs” he said

“Oh right, right they were brought into the city weren't they?”

“Yeah apparently some crazy ‘Bio-Terrorists’ are running around.” He said sarcastically, spitting the term as if it hurt to say

“Oh no how scary,” I said feigning fear “Bio-Terrorists, what a shit phrase.”

“Scary!? I'll tell you what's scary, these government fucks are gonna come in here and take our rights away.”

I laughed, Warren was a great person to work with and he made the time pass by.

By the time our shift had ended we both made our separate ways, Mom was at work at the hospital so I got the thrill of walking home.

The city was serene at night, hard to believe that the government thought there were terrorists here. I was walking slowly simply enjoying the midsummer cool of the night when I heard a scream. It was a shrill sound filled with fear. Immediately my heart started to pound, coursing adrenaline through my body. I moved without thinking - acting before my brain even caught up to the situation. By the time I realized I was running head first into danger with 0 preparation I had already found the danger. A large man stood over a prone woman, in an alleyway.

“Stop right there!” I shouted in my best attempt at a voice of authority. “Leave that woman alone, you-” I cut off what do you even say in a situation like this “you ruffian.” Yeah that didn't sound nerdy at all

The man turned away from the girl and his eyes struck fear into my very core; they were glowing orange. He had a sneer on his face as he flexed his fingers and fire erupted from the palm of his hands. All fear in me evaporated as the woman screamed. Regardless of my own wellbeing or inability to stand against this man I had to keep her safe. I ran, feet pounding concrete as I threw myself into danger.

The guy side stepped my charge striking my face with a flaming backhand, a raging heat scorched my cheek the powerful slap sending shockwaves of pain down my spine and bringing me to my knees

“Did you honestly think you'd come in here and be some kind of hero?”

His laugh was harsh, like he was forcing it through layers of gravel stuck in his thick neck. He snapped his hand out wrapping it around my neck, fire coating his palm and searing my flesh. Then he lifted me up, I felt my feet leave the ground as he dangled me in front of him. Then his massive palm grabbed my face fire searing my eyes, every breath was hot and ragged as I gulped fire down to my lungs in a desperate attempt to breathe. His laugh persisted ringing in my ears until I felt my body going numb, a sudden and brilliant flash of gold filled my vision, a feeling of warmth exploding out from my chest. A heat much like the one lingering on my face, only this one was comforting.

There was a sea of darkness all around me only briefly illuminated by a golden glow coming from somewhere behind me. It seemed for a moment that whatever was behind me was turning with me as I looked for the source of the soft warm glow until I looked down seeing a Radiant supernova wriggling in my chest.

My wonder lasted only a moment as I looked at the golden flower blooming within what I could only assume was my soul. It was quickly replaced by fear as I heard movement in the darkness, things scurrying around me. Things sniffing me out, a soft growl played in my ear accompanied by a dry harsh laugh.

“You're not so powerful.” Came a crazy voice like ice breaking off down a melting stream. Much like the ice the voice sent chills throughout my entire being nearly suffocating the warmth of the golden glow in my chest. “You're just a baby, you have no concept of the power within you.” Came the voice

Laughter exploded around me, the voice seemed to be toying with me. Then the cold halted and warmth replaced it gold pouring off of me in such brilliant beams that it combatted the darkness.

A scream cut off my fear and the light died down.

“Ezra?” Mom's voice came.

“Mom?” I asked voice rough

Then I was Yanked into a tight hug, her arms pulling me to her in a warm embrace. We stayed there for a moment and I scanned the room, a hospital room. I sat on a bed in hospital gowns, the smell of burnt cloth filling my nostrils until I realized there had been bandages around my head that now smoldered. Mom started to shake and I realized she was sobbing.

“Mom, what's going on?” I said

After a moment of her crying she pulled away, scanning me for injuries. “I thought you were dead.”

“Dead?” Then it all raced back to me.

“The woman, is she okay?”

“She ran while you took that beating,” mom said bitterly, “some bystanders caught it in action. They're calling you a hero.”

“Me? A hero?”

Mom turned on the little TV in the room and switched to a news channel, and there it was. Shaky cellphone footage of me; feet dangling off the ground and the Bio-Terrorist with his flaming fists one around my neck the other around my head. I looked over at mom and she refused to acknowledge the footage. I reached for the remote to turn it off but then a golden flash caught my attention. I watched as golden light burst from my hands, crawling up my arms and eventually coating my whole body. It shielded me as the flaming beast jumped back. I stood on my feet all.of one minute before the light burst off me, a wave of golden light rolled off me in all directions even going so far as to knock the cameraman over. I looked at mom and she held my gaze,

“I-I'm,” I gulped around the dry lump in my throat. “I'm one of them?”

“Oh Pooh, no. You're a hero.”

“That was the least heroic footage I have seen.”

“The woman you saved, her name was Isabel Walsh. She came forward and told the story from her perspective. The guy tried to mug her, and you stopped him.”

I nodded, “I heard her scream, it sounded like she needed help.”

“No terrorist I know would run unarmed into danger because someone needed help.” She said, swelling with pride.

Man I bet the people from school are regretting not even knowing I existed.

I stared at my reflection, my brown eyes blinking back at me, slowly I examined myself, with a cold detached analysis. Ensuring everything was perfect: my makeup, my hair, these god awful preppy clothes. I had to be the perfect sidepiece to my mother's show or I would be shunned without dinner. in my room the TV played the news,

“And in local news an unnamed teenager saved a woman from a Bio-Terrorist attack we have been unable to reach him or his guardian for further questions but the woman he saved has come forward.”

I leaned back to look at the TV just in time to see shitty cell phone footage of a golden light knocking the one filming over. The footage switched to a tired looking redhead and a reporter with big doe eyes,

“Isabel, was it?”

The redhead nodded

“Tell us what happened.”

“Well,” the girl said in a shaky tone “I was out on a walk when this big scary man cornered me in an alley. When I tried to go around him he knocked me down. I screamed and next thing I knew this brave young man rushes in and confronts the man. I didn't see anything after that because I ran.”

That kid looked like he had promise, maybe I could recruit him. Help him get a handle on those powers, he clearly has a desire to do good.

The cool air of the night clung to the black outfit that hung just loosely enough to give me room to move, and moving is exactly what I was doing. I leapt over a pipe on the roof and slid under another. Not even attempting to stop as I reached the edge of the roof I flung myself into the air soaring over the gap and landing in a roll to keep my momentum as I hit the next roof.

I liked the run. It helped clear my head. The movement was easy. Years of gymnastics and little fear of falling helped me move. I always went on runs after my mom forced me to play her prop. It always left a bad taste in my mouth and a fog in my brain. The run cleared both, here on the rooftops in the night was where I felt at home. I ran past a folding lawn chair sat in front of a TV narrowly dodging the cooler that sat next to it. Briefly in the back of my head I thought about how strange it was that a set up like this one would be here but the observation was lost as I threw myself into a much larger gap.

The space was larger than any human should be able to clear but luckily I wasn't just any human, I was a conduit. My body dissolved into a cloud of black smoke-like shadow as I pushed myself forward just enough to land on the roof of the old abandoned apartment complex. The Burrows were full of these, housing complexes that had been left to rot as the scummy landlords refused to take care of them and the people who lived there left for some place better or were removed for failure to rent. Even before the DUPs this city was a Shit hole.

“Didn't think you were gonna make it.” Came a familiar voice

“I always do” I replied turning to face Greyson, he was built like a brick wall, towering over me with shoulders so broad they made him look square. His face lit up as he smiled at me,

“So tell me, Umbress what brings us out here to the slums?”

“Two things, I needed fresh air and I got a lead. My source says there is a conduit holed up in this building.”

[scrambled-meat]

also thinking abt how many t*rfs/transphobes ive seen constantly n even as recently as today talk abt how transsexuality is inherently immoral b/c its inherently sexual

1st of all: no it isnt

2nd of all: the parts of it that *are* sexual are no different than the parts of heterosexuality or homosexuality that are sexual

i am not constantly aroused by being trans. i just feel like a normal dude most of the time, but just as any living human being that isnt asexual, i do experience sexual arousal and enjoy sex.

sorry not sorry that i think other trans ppl are hot.

transsexuality and androgyny are not inherently sexual, but they are sexy.

feet are also not inherently sexual but some ppl think they're sexy. does that mean we need to outlaw feet pics, or even feet in general, and try to legislate foot fetishists out of existence?

do you hear yourselves? like, do you realize how fucking stupid and ridiculous that sounds??

anyway trans ppl are fucking hot. not sorry.

[sacredsorceress]

Raincheck || Shang-Chi

pairing: xu shang-chi x avenger!reader

summary: when some being threatens the universe, you have to cancel your date night with shang-chi except you made the mistake of having stephen strange do it for you. now, after days of fighting you make it your mission to apologize to the man of your dreams

a/n: based on a request! this is a part two to “Karaoke Night” but you’ll likely be able to read it without the first. hope you enjoy!

word count: 2.5k

warnings: brief description of reader being wounded

Karaoke Night

masterlist || request || taglist

“Not tonight, Wong.” You said, not even bothering to turn around when you heard the portal open behind you as you applied another layer of mascara. “I’m busy.”

“Not when the universe is at stake.” Wong argued, huffing and puffing. “We need you.”

“Can’t you and Strange figure it out for yourselves tonight?” You asked, spinning around in your seat. “I have a date.”

Before Wong could even warrant a reply to your excuse, you watched as another portal opened besides his, a disheveled Stephen Strange stepping into your bedroom.

“Why don’t we just make it a party?” You grumbled, crossing your arms.

Acting almost as though he didn’t hear you, Stephen turned to Wong.

“What’s taking you so long?”

“She says she has a date.” Wong said, side-eyeing you.

Facing you once again, Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, sighing deeply.

“The fabric of the universe is hanging in the balance and you can’t help because you have a… a date?” He asked. “You realize how ridiculous you sound, right?”

“You know,” You said, grabbing your shoes and slipping them onto your feet. “If you ever answered Christine’s phone calls maybe you would be a little more understanding-”

You should’ve known he would shut down that conversation real quick.

“Look, we don't have time for this, Y/n.” Stephen said sternly. “It’s him again.”

Without even saying his name, you knew who he was talking about.

It was almost laughable how neither of you would say his name aloud, but as memories of your two day long battle with “him” came flooding back to you, you couldn’t help the shiver that ran down your spine.

“So we need to leave now.” Stephen said. “Who knows how much damage he’s already done.”

You knew there was no possibly way you were getting out of this- you couldn’t. This was the life you had chosen, but as you heard your phone ringing on the desk behind you, you sighed already knowing who was on the other end and the decision you were about to make.

“Fine.” You said dejectedly, picking up your phone and seeing your date’s name flash on the screen. “But,” You said striding over to Strange and shoving your phone into his chest. “You tell him I’m busy.”

Before he could argue with you about how he would absolutely not be answering your phone, Wong opened the portal to where the two of them had just come from and you stepped over to the other side. Sending Strange one last shrug, Wong followed you into the madness.

-

Standing in front of the karaoke bar you had promised to meet him in front of four days before, Shang-Chi anxiously balled one of his hands into a fist in his pocket while the other held the phone he was fearing would go to voicemail the longer it rang.

Maybe you were just running late. Maybe you were just confused by the different time zones. Maybe you just didn’t want to see him. With every ring worse and worse scenarios arose in his mind and all he could think was maybe, maybe, maybe.

Just as he had given up hope, he saw you pick up on the other end.

Eagerly raising the phone to his ear, he chuckled.

“Y/n? I was almost worried-”

Cutting him off, he heard another man clear his throat on the other end.

“This is Dr. Stephen Strange.”

Shang-Chi furrowed his eyebrows, his laughter getting cut short.

“I mean don’t get me wrong, sir,” He said. “I’m a huge fan, but where’s-”

Just as Stephen was on the phone, he heard a loud blast come from behind him on the other end of the portal you and Wong had just stepped through. Attempting to finish this conversation as soon as possible to assist the two of you, he stumbled through what you asked him to do.

“Look, Y/n can’t make it tonight.” Stephen huffed.

Before Shang-Chi could even further press about what had tied you up for the night, Strange had hung up your phone and thrown it onto your bed, stepping through the portal with the conversation he had just had long forgotten in his mind.

On the other end though, Shang-Chi slowly pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the now blank screen in front of him.

If he was nervous about where the two of you stood before, he questioned whether there ever even was a “two of you” now. Maybe you were always like that- having fun with him for one night before forgetting about him the next morning. He had always known it was a long shot- you were practically the leader of what remained of the Avengers and he had just been introduced to the circle- what did you ever want to do with a guy like him?

Taking a deep breath, Shang-Chi shook his head and shoved his phone into his pocket. Zipping up his jacket, he took one last look at the bar before turning back in the opposite direction and making his way home.

-

“Shaun?” Katy called, waving her hand in front of her friend’s face. “Earth to Shaun!”

Snapping out of his daze, Shang-Chi swat Katy’s hands away from his face.

“What?”

“Are you still thinking about the whole Y/n thing?” She asked. “She’s a superhero, Shaun. She didn’t just bail on you for no reason-”

“No,” Shaun corrected her, laying his chin in the palm of his hand. “There is a reason- she decided that she didn’t want to go out with me.”

Katy had heard about you all week.

In the beginning she was happy to listen to Shaun tell the same story five times about your first kiss and how nervous he was for your date that upcoming Friday- it was good to see him so happy and hopeful after everything that had complicated his life in the past few weeks- but after you- or rather Dr. Strange- cancelled your plans, all she watched her friend do was mope around and sigh about how he should’ve known that you would never, ever want to be with a guy like him anyway.

Katy knew it was utter bullshit and as much as she cared about her friend, frankly at this point she was sick and tired of hearing about it.

However, as a sparkling circle appeared in front of the both of them, it enlarging in front of their very eyes, it was almost as if Katy’s prayers were answered when your figure emerged from the portal.

Shang-Chi straightened as he watched you step out of the portal- looking much different than the last time you saw him but still recognizable- and you approached him.

Rather than your civilian wardrobe, you were disguised as Sorceress- complete with your black jumpsuit and cloak that was adorned with gold embellishments along with your mask to match. Although stunning, there were obvious tears in your suit with scrapes and scratches across your visible skin and debris coating your hands. Even as you slowly stepped towards him, Shang-Chi noticed how you limped when you walked and the slight struggle that came with every step.

Even still, Shang-Chi couldn’t help but grow flustered as you strode over to him confidently, the fires on the other end of the portal still burning brightly behind you.

You were breathtaking even in your lower moments.

“Shang-Chi.” You addressed him softly, resting the palms of your hands against the podium.

He didn’t even know what to say, his words all getting caught up in his throat as he grew tongue tied over his name slipping from your lips.

“We um…” He tried (and nearly failed) to speak before clearing his throat. “We only park cars.”

After the last time of you seeing him being the night you kissed days before and an unexpected raincheck of your date on your part two days ago, the last thing you were expecting him to say was... that.

“What?” You asked.

“The uh… the portal…” He said trying to save himself, internally kicking himself with every syllable. “We can’t um… park that.”

Katy had embarrassed herself plenty of times in her life but as she watched her best friend fail catastrophically in front of you of all people, she couldn’t even bare to watch as she face-palmed and shook her head.

“Dude, you’re embarrassing us.” She mumbled, nudging her friend.

Luckily, you were you and after a long day and a half of fighting a once thought unbeatable force, hearing the man in front of you fumble over his words was endearing to say the least.

“Oh!” You played along, spinning around to quickly shut the gateway you had opened behind you. “That’s my bad. I forgot to bring the Avengers’ mobile today. Y’know, budget cuts and all…”

Finding some sort of hope in him that he had lost since he assumed you stood him up Friday night, he chuckled, leaning on the podium.

“I understand, miss.” He said. “Easy mistake. Is there uh…” He said repositioning how he was leaning on the podium and fidgeting with his tie. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Well,” You said, laying your elbow on the podium and chin in your hand. “I was just looking for this funny, sweet, really handsome guy I was supposed to have a date with the other night. Have you seen anybody like that around here?”

If Shang-Chi didn’t know what to say before- he sure as hell didn’t now.

He could feel the warmth rise to his cheeks as you complimented him and he simultaneously wanted to escape your gaze due to how flustered it made him and pull you into his embrace right then and there. 

You made Shang-Chi feel things he had long forgotten, but he welcomed the old friend with open arms.

“I don’t know,” Shang-Chi said, smirking. “Maybe I have. Want me to relay a message for you?”

Here was the moment you had been dreading.

You wanted nothing more than to go on a date with the man in front of you- the fact that he had agreed to go out with someone who’s life was as complicated as yours in the first place was shocking to you- and now as you stood there in front of him, ready to apologize, you feared you wouldn’t be given the same opportunity a second time.

Nevertheless, you knew he deserved not only an explanation, but an apology and you were there to provide.

“Yeah, um,” You cleared your throat, straightening. “Can you tell him that I’m... that I’m sorry? I should’ve known that Strange would give you some half-assed, blunt answer and I should’ve honestly just answered you myself. I was just so afraid that you would get mad at me-”

“Woah wait.” Shang-Chi cut you off. “Why would I get mad at you?”

“I don’t know,” You said, playing with your fingers. “Because my life is so complicated? I mean c’mon, Shang-Chi I had to cancel our date last minute because some powerful being threatened to destroy the universe.”

“Wait are you saying the world almost ended two days ago?” Katy interrupted.

There was a silence for a moment, during which Shang-Chi shot a glare at his friend for interrupting the conversation before you continued.

“Yeah, but there’s always something threatening to destroy earth.” You said nonchalantly. “Nothing new.”

Feeling a shiver run down her spine, she only stared at you in horror, nodding her head slowly.

“….Good to know.”

Dismissing Katy, Shang-Chi turned back to you, the playful humor that had been carrying your conversation earlier long gone as he stared at you seriously.

“I would never get mad at you because you decided to save the world instead of going to some karaoke bar with me, Y/n.” He said. “Trust me. My life is complicated too. I get it. I just wish you told me earlier so I knew the truth instead of-”

“Instead of complaining about how he wasn’t good enough for you all week.” Katy interjected once more. “It was so annoying- and sad. Really sad.”

“Katy!” Shang-Chi shouted, feeling his cheeks grow hot.

Rather than making fun of him like he thought you were going to do, your face dropped.

“You thought you weren’t good enough for me?” You asked.

Shang-Chi knew there was no use in lying- especially when Katy had just exposed him in front of you. Rather than playing it off, the man in front of you shrugged.

“I mean… yeah.” Shang-Chi said. “You’re like the leader of the Avengers and cool and… super pretty… and I park cars for a living.”

You had to admit you were flattered by his compliment but it was overshadowed by the feeling of your heart sinking into your stomach.

How could he think he wasn’t good enough for you? He was the whole package- funny, kind, handsome- and you knew for a fact that he could kick some ass better than you could ever could even as an Avenger.

Not even realizing it, you reached out your hand and laid it on his.

“First of all,” You said. “You are an Avenger- I’m pretty sure Wong established that-”

“Is that like a package deal or-” Katy interrupted.

“Katy I swear I’m going to kill you.” Shang-Chi said, cutting off his friend. “Aren’t there cars to park?”

“Slow day.” Katy said shaking her head adamantly. “So back to the Avengers thing-”

“Yeah,” You laughed. “If you’re willing- it’s a package deal. If you want to stick with the bow and arrow I know someone who can teach you. He owes me a favor anyway.”

Your answer satisfying Katy, she smiled to herself before you turned back to Shang-Chi.

“Besides, even if you weren’t an Avenger,” You said. “Parking cars is one of the hardest jobs ever! You need to have people skills and know how to parallel park…”

“Thank you!” Shang-Chi agreed. “That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time… but keep going.”

Chuckling to yourself, you squeezed his arm gently and continued.

“And I mean,” You swallowed, trying to find the courage to say what you were planning on saying next. “You’re… you’re funny and so, so sweet… and you… and you take my breath away… and what I’m trying to say is that I really like you and I can’t believe that you thought you weren’t good enough for me because I thought it was the other way around.”

Like the night that he asked you to go out with him, Shang-Chi couldn’t believe that this was really happening but as he felt your gentle touch against his arm, he rooted himself in reality and smiled.

“So can I get another first date then?”

Breathing a sigh of relief that he didn’t want to reject you after the mess of your last prospective date, you nodded eagerly.

“I have a half-an-hour break in fifteen minutes,” He said checking his watch. “Wanna meet me for coffee across the street then?”

Glancing up at the smiling face of the man in front of you, you felt your heart skip in your chest and smiled.

“I’d like that.”

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

A Moment's Surprise--Chapter 5

Whether it’s called an accident or the fates of the universe, you and Calum find yourselves taking on the next level of your relationship: parenthood.

Reader (Gender Neutral) X Calum. Multi-chapter Series.

Series Note: Across this series, pregnancy is discussed thoroughly. While I have made this series specifically a reader insert and have done my best to avoid coding for cis women, I am taking this moment to acknowledge that this content may not be suitable for every reader. I want to acknowledge even if I’ve been careful some things (like uteri) are still mentioned and if that causes you discomfort please DO NOT read this. You may keep scrolling (as there is a read more) / skip this as necessary.

Chapter Warning: Smut/Sexual Content Referenced but not explicitly described.

Series Masterlist

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Epilogue

Chapter 5

The plush white sheets have swallowed you. When you blink up to the high vaulted ceilings and the sun shines in from glass walls, you realize the sheets are pulled up near your chin and they’re tucked in on one side of you. The mattress at first felt good as you sunk into it, but you’re realizing now that you didn’t tuck a pillow between your knees. “Well, that’s going to suck,” you whisper. 

“Oh, I love hearing that first thing in the morning,” Calum exhales in your ear. 

“Suck you off, yes if you ask. But I was referring to my back,” you laugh and take a moment to push up and turn to your other side. Calum’s face greets you with a sleepy smile. 

“I’ve been told a time or two I’ve got some magical fingers.”

You snicker, knowing the time or two has been you. “I wonder who would say a thing like that.”

“But seriously, what’s going on with your back?”

“I usually sleep with an extra pillow between my knees for extra support,” you inform. 

Calum’s nod is thwarted by the pillow his own head is on. “Got it, won’t forget tonight, okay? Anything else you need? We can go out to get it if need be.”

“A kiss,” you return with a grin. “I hear those are domestic grown.”

He can’t help the ridiculous laugh that escapes him. But he scoots in a little closer. “I heard they’re grown here too.” He presses a kiss to your lips as well. As Calum pulls back from the kiss, he reaches behind him and unearths a pillow from the mound that was the bed when you two finally fell into it last night. 

“Spread ‘em, love,” he teases. “We’re not leaving this bed for a while, alright?”

“You are utterly ridiculous, you know.” You peel away the layers of the sheets and Calum slips the pillow between your knees, before covering the two of you back up in the sheets. 

“But I’m your utter ridiculousness," he counters.

“You are.” In the silence, gazing at the stubble of Calum’s cheek, your mind wanders back to his arrival. “What did Joy say to you the other day? When you got home?”

“Something I already know,” he returns, threading his fingers through yours over the comforter. “And that sounds like a hundred times worse than I intended, sorry. I think she still wants me to do things a certain way, you know. Because she’s my mum. And I understand her perspective. Just doesn’t mean I’m going to do it like she wants me too. I want to do things when they feel right. And it’s not just me it would affect either, so there’s more things to juggle than it can appear.”

You nod. “Parents never really stop being your parents.”

“And to think, we’re next,” Calum laughs. 

“Whoa, buddy, who would’ve thought?” You want it to come out like a joke. You want to laugh and move on, think about baby names or possibly breakfast. But even you hear the shake in your voice. You hear how much truth resides in the statement. 

“Hey, I’m going to be there. And Mum is too. And Dad said he’s going to fly out too. Not sure when. But aye, be ready,” Calum teases the last sentence with a decent Scottish accent impression before he continues in his normal voice, “And your uncle is coming next week. And your mom’s flying in at the end of the year.”

“You know you’re dating a worrier, right? Just want to put that into perspective for you,” you tease. 

Calum traces your hairline before pressing a kiss to your forehead. “And I’m going to marry said worrier too.” The confession doesn’t shock Calum like he thought it might. He wondered what he’d feel with those words crossing his lips. He imagined he might panic. But instead there is only a calm falling over Calum. “Besides, I didn’t get two years with you without realizing that you worry about the future and what comes next. I want you to know that I’m going to be right there next to you. You don’t have to do it alone.”

The two of you hadn’t previously discussed life ahead in concrete details. It was things you’d both like to have with each other. But now with a baby on the way, you weren’t completely shocked as some things started to feel like they had to be more clear and concise between you two. But you’re still not quite sure your ears are hearing Calum’s words fully. “You want to marry me?” 

“Absolutely I do. And I swear that will be a lot more planned,” Calum grins. “And you’ll know when I’m asking for real because I’ll have a ring. I worry that having a kid and trying to think about a wedding is like having three full time jobs. One of those is going to get severely underserviced. And I’d rather not stress you out more or have that added to my stress either. Selfish I know.”

You shake your head. Your fingers move from his elbow up to his bicep. “No, not selfish. I wouldn’t have the capacity for a wedding right now either.”

“So you want to marry me too, huh?” It falls out breathlessly from him, but Calum doesn’t care.

“Yes, I do want to marry you.”

“Good, that’s what I wanted to hear.” The two of you share a soft kiss before a short silence fills the space between you. It’s nice to have a small moment of peace. To just enjoy each other’s company before the rumbles of bellies becomes too incessant to ignore. 

________________________

The sink runs from your left and you watch as Calum slips the plate into the drying rack. His attention is fully trained on the sink and dishes in front of him. The question bubbles on your lips, if he wants help, but he’s already said no the last two times. You feel awkward asking a third time. So you’ve resorted to a shameless lusting at the sight of the sleeves rolled up his forearms and the bracelet dangling from his slender wrist. You gifted it to him on your first anniversary together. Now, Calum hardly ever takes it off. 

“I can feel you staring,” Calum calls out from the kitchen. 

“Sue me,” you return. In your huffed retort, you catch the whiff of onions from the dish you and Calum cooked off your breath. “Do you have any gum?”

“If you check my backpack, I think so. Either in the very front pocket or in the very back.” 

You push up from the sofa and find Calum’s backpack in one of the bar seats at the counter. Where Calum’s bag was black, you had a matching one in olive green. His had a tag with Hood and yours had your last name stitched into the front of it. The bag was a gift from Calum after you noted liking his and how many components and pockets. It made a solid travel bag and when you only had to go for a weekend or so, you liked the simplicity of only having one bag instead of a bag and a suitcase. There was no lugging something out of airplane overhead bins, or dragging something behind you as you made tight connections. You could just grab it and go. 

You check the front pocket like instructed and find it empty. Strange to you, because Calum almost always kept a pack of cigarettes there. You look up as your hands continue to rummage through the empty pocket. Was he trying to quit again?  It really hadn’t been a topic of discussion between the two of you about Calum’s smoking since he’d left for the tour. But you wonder, much like with the drinking, if Calum was trying to ease any temptations early on in the pregnancy rather than later. Your fear is that if you do ask too much about it is that whatever progress Calum had made, he’d slipped. 

Not that slipping was a bad thing, but you know Calum can be the hardest on himself out of anyone else. You take the mental note, but don’t speak on it for his sake. If he wanted to talk more about it, he would eventually. But gum--gum is your objective currently. You look back down at the bag and go to the biggest compartment. You find his laptop tucked into the sleeve and in the mesh pocket you spot the green package of gum. As you go to grab the packet, you notice something purple too in the bag. It’s thick. 

Curiosity gets the best of you and you give the object a tug. It’s pliable in your grasp and it crinkles a little. “What are you reading now? Another Ashton recommendation?” you ask with a small tease and pull the book from the depths of the bag. 

“Oh, uh,” Calum starts, watching you pull out the GED prep book from his bag. “It’s not really a book for pleasure.”

You read the title and look up to Calum. 

He gazes back at you, hands still holding the sponge against the last plate. It’s not like he needed your permission. But it was something he wanted to do. Now that he was going to have a kid, Calum didn’t want them thinking education was completely worthless due to him dropping out. It also worried him. He hadn’t been in school for almost a decade. Let alone he hadn’t had an ounce of schooling in America. Well before the practice exam he took, he knew the American social studies and civics information was absolutely going to be the most difficult for him. Even with all the logic and reason Calum had, he still didn’t want to tell people about it. What if he failed the test? What if he never passed it?

“Yeah, I-Well, I guess you know now,” Calum offers with a half hearted chuckle. 

You put the book back into the bag. “I’ll just pretend I didn’t see it. I’m sorry. I should’ve just stuck to finding gum.”

“It’s not that serious, love. No harm, no foul.”

“Cal, really, I am sorry.”

You say it so softly. Even as Calum scrubs the invisible stains, he knows you don’t mean harm. “It’s silly, really.”

“No, it’s not silly.” You walk to the side of the sink that he’s standing and rest one hand on his lower back. He stops his work on the plate and lets it fall back into the soapy water. 

“The English and Science make perfect sense. But I swear to Christ, American History is going to be the death of me. And like, it’s only money to retake the exam for me, for others not really. Which makes no sense. Why are you charging that much for one exam? And it’s so fucking stupid really.” Calum huffs and turns away from the sink to grab the kitchen towel to dry his hands. It's just a test, but somehow the thought sits on Calum’s chest and tightens to the point he’s not sure he’s getting a good breath. 

You follow behind him. “Baby, do you even want to talk about this? We don’t have to. We can take a dip in the pool. Watch a movie. Literally whatever you want,” you plead to his back. 

Calum’s shoulders fall. “What if I fail? What if I do all this and it doesn’t work out?”

With cautious steps, you slip in front of him and take his hands. They’re still just a hair damp but you don’t care. “I know I might not have a say in this literally at all. But I promise you it’s all going to work out.”

It would be easy to say that you’re only promising that because you’ve got a degree from higher education. It would be easy to say that school’s just been something natural for you. But Calum knows even if it might feel good to say those things, they thoughts are coming from a place of fear and of jealousy. “I just don’t want to fail,” he admits. 

“I won’t let you.”

It’s four words. But you say them with so much conviction that he almost believes you. “Pinky promise?”

“If you let me, I pinky promise I’m not going to let you fail.” You bring your pinky around his and lift it to your lips for a kiss. 

“It took me longer sometimes to get things back in school. I never hated it. I just got frustrated with it at times.”

“Can I ask why now? You’ve been more successful than I’ll ever see even with my degree. What makes it different now?”

“Pumpkin,” Calum states, gesturing to your stomach. “They make everything different.” The conversation is soft. Like neither one of you wants to put too much volume behind the words. The words are not heavy. They just feel fragile. This conversation is delicate.

“And you’re positive that you want to do this? You’re on the road right now and we’re still preparing for the baby.”

He knows it’s a lot going on. But there will always be a million things going on in life. And maybe it was less about worrying about the timing of things for Calum. He just didn’t want to feel like a hypocrite to his own child. He wants his child and any future children to see him and know that their pops walked the walk and isn’t just saying things because they sound good or are the right thing to say. Instead, he wants his child to know that everything he believes in he put the work in for it. He put action behind it. Calum wants his child to do the same. Words are just the surface. Action is the substance. 

All of these words and thoughts feel like bees in Calum’s mouth—a jumbled hum and thick around his tongue but Calum’s determined to get it out and see this through. “I know there’s a million different things going on right now. But when we’re on the bus, I study and at the venues too before soundcheck. Days off are trickier because I do want to get out and sight see. But there’s time. In airports, when we’re flying,” he says. 

There’s a moment’s pause as your mouth turns up on one side, the thoughts pulling slowly at your lips. “Maybe once we get through the beginning of this quarter at work, I can shoulder more baby prep stuff with Joy to give you just a little bit of extra time to study too. I found a doula that I’ll start working with later this upcoming week and she’ll be a huge help too.”

“Well, I don’t want you to do it all yourself. I’m already going to be gone for so much of this.”

You shake your head and wrap your arms around his torso. “No, I don’t mind cutting you out. I just mean I think we’re heading into a bit of a waiting period and with Joy and my doula there’s probably going to be a little less either one of us will have to worry about like planning wise. A lot will probably just be on me anyways like physically. I am sort of the host in a way. Should anything outside of that come up, it’ll always be a decision between us.”

“There’s still the baby shower and baby names,” Calum counters. “And I still want to be there even for the things that seem like I can’t directly help with, you know. I’m still here, if not physically all the time.”

“And you will get all sorts of bump updates and if Chickadee kicks my spleen and bladder I’ll tell you all that too,” you reassure. 

“You mean when they kick your spleen and bladder.”

“Smartass,” you snort. 

“Yeah, well too bad for you now. You’re stuck.” 

“Some might say I’m right where I want to be. I won’t tell you who those some are, however.” 

Calum grins, “Some might say I already know.” 

“What if we took today to do some stuff, like venue browsing and then tomorrow we debate baby names? Still get your hands into the mix and then if you want time later to study, there’s still that option too.” 

“Sounds good to me. I’m like 90% sure I got confirmation about the September show. As in, my manager did in fact email me, I just have not checked it thoroughly.” 

Playfully you tap on Calum’s ass in the close hug. “Let’s check on that first and then look for venues. And then start a rough guest list. Like super rough so I can order invites and get addresses.”

“We won’t need them for another few months.” 

“Still the sooner we get even a really rough estimate, the easier it’ll be just to have the stuff now and mail them out later than it would be to rush it all at the last minute.” 

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

 The two of you don’t move from the embrace. The scent of your body wash invades Calum’s nostrils. He’s tried to remember exactly how it smells now that he’s been gone but nothing quite does it or you justice. Why memory is such a faulty mechanism Calum’s never understood and he hates that even for the people he loves the most he will still carry incomplete pictures. Somewhere between guilt and recognition Calum tries to find peace, though much like his memory even he is faulty too. He wants that perfection but he will never have it. 

You rest your head on his shoulder, arms tightening around his waist. The shy and embarrassed look on Calum’s face as you pulled out the book greets your closed eyes. “I’m sorry again,” you whisper. 

Calum doesn’t know what you’re apologizing for--if it’s about the book, if it’s about the responsibility thing--, so Calum stays silent for a moment. He could tell you there’s nothing to apologize for. He could accept the apology. He could say nothing. But none of them feel appropriate. None of them hold the real weight of how thankful he is that you want to make this work for him. None of those options allow him to express gratitude that you’re willing to go above and beyond to accommodate him. “Can I just say thank you instead?” he asks. 

“Calum, if you haven’t noticed in the span of twenty minutes I feel like I’ve committed several crimes against my future husband. I don’t think you should be thanking me.”

“No, like, things happen. I just--I appreciate you being understanding and working with me.”

“It’s how I say I love you,” you whisper. 

“Well, in case I haven’t said it yet today, I love you too."

Tagging: @carma-fanficaddict @one-sweet-gubler @sunflowercalum @wonderlandiswhereitsatyo @markaylafruitcup @fandomfoodiedancer @wiiildflowerrr @icelily13 @busstop

[pitaparka]

when you sleep with him for the first time headcanons

note—it gets a little suggestive during oberyn's part, but nothing too crazy. i use sleep here in it's purest form by the way, so enjoy! let me know if you have any ideas for the next one! me and the boys are open to suggestions ;)

MANDO

- mando has always allowed you his bunk to sleep, whenever you like

- when you stayed with him on the razor crest and watched the kid, he was always more than willing to give it up anytime you needed sleep

- he didn't sleep much anyway, and usually your sleeping schedules didn't overlap

- but boba fett's ship doesn't have much space to begin with, let alone enough space for all of the crew mates he's happened to find recently

- which mean's you and mando, having already been living together and already know each other, were sleeping together, in the same small bunk, at the same time

- he offered to sleep on the floor, or pressed up against the wall

- but you got mad at him for even suggesting such a thing

- there was more than enough space for the two of you to sleep, you argued, though there was barely enough room for one

- it was comical, trying to press up against him, and find a spot comfortable enough for the both of you to lay

- it was jarring to you when he removed a single pauldron for you to rest your head on his clothed shoulder

- you felt like you had violated him in some way, seeing him just the lightest bit more bare than usual

- though you were slightly uncomfortable from the rest of the beskar pressing up into your body, you were lulled to sleep in minutes from the sound of his steady heartbeat

EZRA

- the cots had never been a long term solution

- that you knew

- so when the morning comes around, and your cot drops your ass on the floor, you wish you gotten new sleeping arrangements the last time you were in town

- you were just wishing it had taken longer for them to fall apart the way they had

- there wasn't much on the green, in terms of furnishing markets

- the cots had been the only barrier between you and the floor, and now, there was nothing protecting you from the frigid, uninsulated ground of your broken down ship

- it was ezra who offered up the idea: put one blanket down on the floor, and use the other one to cover the both of you with

- you took a second to ponder it, thinking of any idea, any reason that could be used to save you from having to sleep next to ezra, the man who had been so warm and kind to you, but you had frozen him out, because of your ridiculous crush on him

- you offered up the idea of just disassembling the cots and using the cloths as protection from the cold

- but this wiseass pulls out the cloth from the cot and his blanket and compares the two, and there's no way the cloth is going to have any integrity making contact with the ground

- so you agree, and when nightfall comes, you're too exhausted from harvesting all day to fight with him

- he puts his blanket down as protection, and you all but collapse on top of in

- ezra does you the service of tucking you in, before climbing in next to you, and you're soothed by his warmth

- not soothed enough that you fall asleep immediately, still unnerved by the idea of sleeping so close to him, hearing him breathe, feeling him move

- but he throws his good arm over your body and pulls you into him, muttering something about the cold

- and your heart melts just a little bit as you fall asleep, pressed up against his chest

FRANKIE

- frankie had been upset for weeks after his divorce, which was to be expected

- but everything had been so stressful on him, and you were getting worried for his mental health

- he hadn't been answering calls, he'd cancelled plans with you last minute, which is something he never did, and he hadn't been doing anything for himself, just living in a rut of paperwork, sleeping, eating, and going to work

- so when he calls you up to ask you to go camping with him, you obviously say yes

- it's almost a two hour drive to the campsite, and frankie is fairly quite, which isn't usual, but you get some good music going and some good conversation going, and soon enough, you and frankie are laughing and singing your heads off on your way there

- it's getting dark when you arrive, and you make quick work of getting everything out of his car when he realizes something is off

- "oh no" he exclaims, and you fear the worst

- "what? what's wrong?"

- "I brought the small tent."

- "how small is the small tent?"

- "i brought the four-person tent, not the ten person tent."

- "are you kidding frankie? i'm sure we'll fit in a four-person—“

- "i'm telling you, it's not as big as you think it is, trust me."

- when the tent is complete, four-person is an exaggeration

- it's a four-person tent if the four-people were sardine packed and the size of children

- it's going to be just enough room for both you and frankie to lie down in with your sleeping bags

- but that's for a later time, because frankie has marshmallows to roast and lots of things to tell you after he's been ignoring you for a whole week

- he apologizes and you sit next to him at the firepit on your site, and you listen to him talk, and give him advice, and rest your head on his shoulder

- and when it's late into the night and you two go to retreat to bed, you have to squish up against his broad shoulders that seem so much broader in the small tent

- and when he wakes with nightmares of his fighting buddies and far too many sleepless nights, he pulls you close to him, and falls asleep again, until the sunlight streams through the front flap of the tent far too early in the morning

WHISKEY

- that day’s mission was harsh

- it had you spent, not only physically, but mentally as well

- as you lie awake in your bed, you realize you’re not getting to sleep tonight, whether or not you had another important mission that morning

- the hotel bed was creaky and entirely not your bed from home and the air conditioner was broken so it was freezing

- you figure there’s no better time than the present, and you’re well aware whiskey is right next door

- if he’s awake, you’ll ask him to have a drink with you, and if he’s asleep, you can just hop into bed with him

- he’s a deep sleeper anyway

- you’re careful turning the knob into his room, just in case he’s asleep, and you spot him in his bed, on his side, breathing softly, room cloaked in darkness

- you come around on his side of the bed and you whisper his name

- he stirs a little

- you debate going back to your room and just toughing it out, but he doesn’t give you the chance

- he’s up, groggy and hair tousled and in just a plain t-shirt

- “sweetheart? what are you doin’ here? what’s goin’ on?”

- you tell him you didn’t want to sleep alone tonight, and he wipes the sleep from his eyes and squints at you, using only the moonlight to help him see

- “what kind of gentleman would i be if i refused you my bed?”

- this makes you smile, and he lifts the covers for you to get in with him

- you plant your head on his shoulder and drape an arm over his chest, cozying up to him as close as possible

- his hand rests comfortably on your back, and he breathes rhythmically

- and you’re silently grateful he doesn’t ask questions, just lets you curl up into his side ands lets you fall asleep with him there

JAVIER PEÑA

- it happened in a flurry of passion and kisses, hands roaming his body and yours after a far too close dance with death

- if it had not been for his bulletproof vest, he'd be lying in a hospital or a morgue

- but he wasn't

- his body was warm and so was yours and the ride to his apartment was far too quiet for your liking and his

- it was only appropriate you accompanied him for a drink after such a great victory for the DEA, but it had taken a toll on both of you, mentally

- you more so than him, which is why you ended up drinking much more than you normally would have when you drank with javi

- he tried to laugh away the stress, complaining about his sore and bruised ribs, but the room was still tense

- emotions ran rampant through your body, and when he brings it up, tears start to pool in your eyes at the thought seeing him for the last time, in a suit, at his own funeral he wouldn't attend if he had the choice

- he sets his drink down and pulls you into his arms, holding your waist and cupping the back of your neck, stroking behind your ear as he listens to you cry softly in his shoulder

- he reassures you he's fine, nothing happened to him, and you pull away from him, grab his face, and stare into his eyes

- he smiles kindly at your own red ringed eyes, irritated from crying, as you try to memorize each streak of brown in his own

- it's too much for the both of you, and you pull him into a kiss

- his mouth is surprisingly soft compared to your own drunk passion, and as much as he'd love to take you right then and there on his couch, he knows he'd regret it if you woke up the next morning and regretted it too

- so he entertains the kiss, not that he minds, and leads you to his bedroom

- where the silk sheets and heavy comforter that smell so strongly of javier peña pull you to sleep next to him, faster than you'd like to admit

MARCUS MORENO

- missy and your daughter had always gotten along very well

- you were very familiar with marcus, and could even call yourselves friends to an extent

- your daughters were very intelligent little girls, and knew that if they got the two of you talking when you came to pick your daughter from his house, they would have at least another hour to play while you two chatted endlessly about boring adult things

- for missy's birthday party, she had wanted all of her friends over for a huge sleepover, and of course her father caved

- he couldn't say no to her no matter how much he tried

- marcus, the genius he was, figured that if the kids were all under one roof having fun, why not let the adults have fun too?

- everyone was invited

- the kids would have lots of different fun activities to choose from, from swimming, to games in the backyard, and a movie night under the stars outside

- and the adults were welcome to stay, chat, drink, and play adult card games marcus had saved for special occasions

- the night of the sleepover, a dozen children and adults were packed into his backyard, watching some new movie he had rented the missy was excited about

- but it was freezing, and you hadn't expected to be outside for so long

- marcus realizes this and he leans over quietly, so not to disturb the movie

- "are you cold?"

- "oh! no, it's okay, i'll be fine—“ you try to excuse yourself, but he gets up without a word, and returns with a sweatshirt of his

- it fits snugly over your head, and completely eliminated the chill in your bones

- it doesn't take long for your eyes to start getting heavy, and soon enough, you're passed out on marcus' shoulder

- "what if we camp out here for the night?" he suggests, and the kids are more than excited

- the adults know what he's up to

- but they let him anyway

- it'll be great to tease him about later, and besides, you guys are adorable together

MARCUS PIKE

- working together with marcus was always a joy

- he was always very respectful and funny

- you knew he had his heart broken more than once in the past, so even though you dropped hints that you'd want something more with marcus, you let him take it at his own pace

- when you dropped by his place that night, with important new documents you had received right before you left work and chinese food, you're ecstatic when he lets you in

- you spend hours pouring over the documents, making sure every single detail was covered and examined, when you realize how tired you are, and how loud the rain is coming down outside his window

- "it's getting really late. i should leave," you say, but marcus stops you

- "you could always, y'know, stay the night if you wanted. i'd let you have my bed."

- you smiled at him, but politely decline, as you wouldn't want to kick him out of his bed, but you yawn again

- "look, you're exhausted, and it's pouring" he points out, "you know most accidents happen by people falling asleep behind the wheel when it's raining?"

- you laugh at him

- "you just made that up,"

- "i did, but you should stay. if you don't want to i totally understand, but you'd be missing out. my bed is really comfortable."

- "is that why you're always late to work?" you quip, and close the files

- he gasps in mock shock

- "that was one time, and my alarm didn't go off," he claims, smiling at you

- he lends you a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and you pretend to not see a slight blush on his face when you walk out into his bedroom with them on

- marcus was right when he said his bed was really comfortable

- somehow, in the middle of the night, you two find each other, his face pressed into your shoulder, your arms wrapped around him, and the rain comes down even harder

MAX PHILLIPS

- "i just need some space from him, is all."

- that's all you had to tell him for max phillips to be on your side, rubbing your shoulder and telling you that all men suck anyway, you didn't need that jerk of a boyfriend to be happy

- well, now ex-boyfriend

- of course he had ulterior motives, and you knew this, but you didn’t care

- your heart wanted someone to watch movies with and eat a pint of ice cream out of the tub with you, and if max was the one who would do that, you’d settle with him for the night

- the way he pulled you into his arms, and pressed his body up against yours, was more than comforting

- he made funny jokes, tried tickling you, anything he could think of to get you to smile for him

- and for the most part, you did

- you were sick of your ex bringing the mood down the way he did, no matter how much you missed him

- the movie has gotten boring a long time ago, but you listened to max’s breathing, and felt his chest rise and fall behind you, and it was enough to lull you to sleep

- and he would’ve woken you up, to take you to his bed, but he was scared you’d leave to go home if he did

- so he took his couch throw, pulled it over the two of you, turned off the television, and settled back as you got comfortable on his chest

- this was a side of max phillips you’d never seen before, and you didn’t expect to see any time soon

- so you relished in it, and let sleep pull you in

MAXWELL LORD

- his head aches, and his eye is still bleeding on the plane back to washington d.c.

- the ride back is silent, save for the rumbling of the engine

- he rests his head against the wall of the airplane for most of the ride there, and you take comfort in knowing while he’s asleep, he’s not in pain

- when he starts getting restless, having what you think is a nightmare, you start holding his hand, stroking your thumb up and down his soft skin

- it takes him a minute, but he calms down, and you don’t let go of his hand

- with nothing to do but watch him sleep, you decide taking a nap too would be your best option

- which is when the plane hits a particularly rough patch of turbulence

- he bounces awake, nervous and alert, and you tell him it’s just the plane, everything’s fine

- when you pull him into your shoulder, he takes the opportunity to fall back asleep

- you can feel the tension in his neck just by having him rest his head on your shoulder

- you keep a firm grip on his hand, when your own eyes start to get heavy

- your head rests on his, and the rest of the ride there is smooth and painless

OBERYN MARTELL

- he had been pursuing you for quite some time

- as the second son of a king, he was more than accustomed to people saying yes to appease him

- he was forward with you, and you were forward back with him, and he liked that

- it was your words that told him you weren't looking for anything long term, that if he were to pleasure you, and you him, he would be nothing more than a simple one night stand

- boy did he prove you wrong

- your legs were so weak afterward, you couldn't bare to get up

- he took incredibly good care of you, squeezing your sore thighs and rubbing your aching muscles, pressing kisses up and down your back, brushing the hair out of your face

- it only increased your attraction to him when he brought in more people, caring for them and having them care for you, and by the time you had finished, you felt as though you couldn't physically go another round that night

- he purred in your ear that every night with him would be a night like this, and you whined back, making him grin and capture your mouth in a passionate kiss

- you didn't mean to fall sleep with him, but all the nibbling bites at your ear and the serotonin coursing through your veins had you spent for the night

- he let you sleep, and even stayed for a while before being summoned for an important meeting

- you made a mental note that eventually, you two would need to do that again, because you slept like a baby the whole night through

PERO TOVAR

- it's below freezing when you settle down for sleep that night

- no matter how much wind the tent tried to keep out, it just wasn't enough

- you're bundled up in all the clothes you had brought with you, the only blanket that could be spared, anything that could try to keep you warm, but nothing’s working

- the cold just bleeds through the blanket and your clothes, into your legs and chest and bones so that you can’t fall asleep if you tried

- you figure the only way you’ll be able to get any rest to be ready for the next day, is to go find a warmer place to sleep

- if the fire’s still going, you’ll rest there

- you shiver as you pick up your things, but your interrupted by tovar, who comes in with a thick fur blanket wrapped around his shoulders

- “where are you going?”

- “i was just going to sleep next to the fire,” you say, trying to keep the chill out of your voice

- “it’s going to be cold tonight. lay down.” he instructs, and you oblige

- he lays the blanket down over you and climbs underneath it next to you, so that your shoulders touch and watch him for a second before he turns over and tries to go to sleep without a word

- you pull the blanket up to your shoulders and you feel ten times warmer already, but it’s the heat from tovar that really entices you

- so you push back against him, your back against his, and fall asleep with the warmth of his muscles against yours

[intheticklecloset]

Some Kind of Way (My Hero Academia)

ShinDeku AU

Summary: Shinsou begins to realize he may have feelings for Deku, and it makes him act so out of the ordinary that his crush decides the best way to help him relax is the very thing that kickstarted his feelings in the first place.

A/N: I am so unbelievably excited to finally share this with you! This one has been waiting in the wings for quite a while! Welcome to the first fic in my official ShinDeku AU! This story takes place after the events of "Say Mercy" and creates an entirely new storyline. While these two remain good friends in the Primary Universe, in this AU, things go a little differently.

I will admit this is pretty self-indulgent, but I know I'll want to keep writing for these boys, and what better excuse than to create an alternate reality in which they get together? Cute boyfriends and lots of tickling - what more could you want? I hope you enjoy! <3 <3

Word Count: 2,275

~~~

Midoriya: Video games at my place! Kaminari and Todoroki are coming – do you wanna join??

Shinsou stared at his phone screen for so long it went dark on him three times. He’d nearly forgotten that at some point he and Deku had exchanged numbers. Their spring break had just started; today was Monday, which meant that Deku’s mom was probably at work right now, as it was just after ten in the morning.

It really shouldn’t have been this hard to reply to a text. Yet here he sat, struggling to do just that.

It’s video games, Shinsou berated himself. You’ve played video games with him before. That’s what you were doing the last time you hung out. Just answer his text!

Shinsou: Yes. I don’t know where you live, though.

Midoriya: I’ll send you the details! Can’t wait!! :D

Shinsou set his phone aside, heart racing. This is ridiculous. What’s happening to me? He rubbed his eyes tiredly, his mind flashing back to the last time he’d hung out with Deku. They’d gotten into a tickle fight, which he’d ultimately won, but there had been a…a moment. When he’d pinned Deku for the last time and ordered him to beg for mercy. The way Deku had screamed the word over and over through hysterical fits of laughter…

He swallowed. It had been so satisfying, but more than that, it had been…cute. No, adorable. Completely, utterly adorable. Deku was adorable. And for the first time, Shinsou was noticing.

He tried not to think about it as he gathered up his things and walked out the door, heading to the destination the green-haired boy had provided him with.

*

Seeing him in person was so much worse.

Deku opened up the door with a bright smile and an invitation to come inside. It was the first time Shinsou had seen him without his school uniform or hero costume on. He wore a bright yellow All Might t-shirt and blue shorts, and he was barefoot. Shinsou awkwardly took his own shoes off in the entryway and followed him into the small living room, where Todoroki was already seated on the floor.

The icy-hot hero raised a hand in greeting. Shinsou nodded at him, then took a seat as well.

“Kaminari should be here any minute,” Deku said, pulling out his phone to check for a text from the blonde. “It’s so cool to finally have friends over at my place! Make yourselves at home. We’ve got juice and soda in the fridge if you want some, and later we can have lunch together, too.” Deku smiled so brightly it lit up the whole block. “Plus I’ll get to introduce you to a racing game that’s not Mario Kart for once!”

Shinsou couldn’t take his eyes off of him. He found himself noticing things more and more. The particular shade of green that his eyes were. The spattering of freckles across his face and arms. How scarred his right arm was. How muscular he was despite his smaller stature. Shinsou noticed all of it, and it made his heart beat faster and faster. Crap, crap, crap, he thought frantically. I…I’ve got a—

Someone knocked on the door, Deku hurried to answer it, and the spell was broken. Shinsou blinked several times. Seriously, what was happening to him?

“Heyyy, it’s my man Shinsou!” Kaminari greeted enthusiastically, slapping him on the back. “And Todoroki, of course. Ready to lose some video games?”

Shinsou let out a sigh of relief, then smirked up at him. “The joke’s on you, Kaminari. Midoriya says we’re not playing Mario Kart.”

“Dude, what?” Kaminari whipped around to face Deku. It was so much easier to look at him with Kaminari in the room as well. “You can’t take my crown away like that!”

Deku grinned. “I’m introducing you to a different racing game. Kacchan and I play it sometimes – Team Sonic Racing!”

“Sonic has a racing game?” Kaminari asked, then hummed. “Well, he is a speedy little guy. I guess it makes sense.”

“Team racing?” Todoroki asked. “What does that mean?”

Deku lit up at the question, then launched into a long, rambling explanation of all the ways it differed from Mario Kart, and why it was superior, as well. After a little while they finally got to the actual playing part of it, and before they knew it, the morning hours were long gone.

*

Getting lost in the world of Team Sonic Racing did wonders for Shinsou’s mind. He was able to focus on something that wasn’t Deku, for once – even if Deku’s character of choice did cause him a lot of trouble during the races. It gave him a chance to calm down, clear his head, and get back to his normal self. At least, until a couple of hours later when it was lunchtime.

Kaminari had announced early on that he had lunch plans with some others from their class, so it was expected that he’d leave after a couple of hours. But it was a surprise to both Shinsou and Deku when Todoroki announced he was also leaving.

“My apologies,” he said, “but I got a text from my sister that asked me to meet her downtown for lunch with her and my brother. I’m…trying to get back in touch with them, as it were. I can’t really do that while I’m at the dorms.”

“That’s okay,” Deku said, sounding sincere. “I understand. Go have fun with your family.” Then he turned to Shinsou. “Do you want to stay, or do you have somewhere to be?”

Shinsou’s heart was racing again. He was about to be alone with Midoriya again.

“I…I can stay,” he said, nodding. “If that’s all right with you.”

“Of course!”

After bidding farewell to their other friends, Deku led Shinsou back into the kitchen and opened up the fridge, pulling out various things they could use to make sandwiches. Shinsou got the bread out of the pantry (after struggling for a few moments to even find the pantry), and soon they were both at work making lunch for themselves.

“How’s your spring break so far?” Deku asked.

“It’s…fine,” Shinsou murmured. He didn’t really have anything exciting to report on. “You?”

“Great! I kind of took it easy this weekend because All Might insisted I actually rest, but we trained together this morning before I invited you over for video games. We’ll train again tomorrow, too.”

Shinsou glanced at him. “It’s spring break.”

“I know, but I don’t want to stop training. I’ve got to work as hard as I can to get even stronger.”

“Rest is important, too, you know.”

Deku smiled. “You sound just like everyone else.”

“Because we’re right.”

“I’m resting more than I’m training this week. Don’t worry, Shinsou. I won’t burn myself out.”

Shinsou nodded. “Good.”

“So,” Deku continued, expertly changing the topic as he finished up his sandwich, “want to play some more after lunch? Or we could watch a movie or something instead. What do you want to do?”

“Um…” Shinsou hesitated. Again that image of Deku laughing and begging entered his mind. He shoved it away. “I…I don’t know. Midoriya,” he added quickly, before he lost his nerve, “why do you want to hang out with me so much?”

Deku went silent for a moment. “Because you’re my friend? And you’re really cool! I think it’s so awesome that you want to join the hero course, and your quirk is so useful, especially with that voice changer thing you have now, and—”

“Useful?” Shinsou turned to look at him, surprised. “No one’s ever called my quirk useful before.”

“Then no one’s really known you before,” Deku replied confidently, taking his first bite of his lunch. “Mmm, this is good! What’d you make?”

Shinsou glanced down at his half-finished sandwich and reached for some lunch meat. “To be determined.”

*

When they’d finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen, Shinsou and Deku went back into the living room, where Team Sonic Racing sat waiting for them on the screen, should they continue to play it.

“Are you okay, Shinsou?” Deku asked, his voice gentler now. “You seem bothered about something.”

Dear god, was he really so easy to read? Shinsou cleared his throat. “No, I’m fine. I’m just…” He searched for the words. How could he explain to Deku that he was pretty sure he had a crush…on Deku? “I’m just…I don’t know. Fine.”

“You know, if you’re not up for video games anymore, we could play a different game,” Deku said. Shinsou glanced up at him, hearing the teasing tone in his voice, and his eyes widened when he saw the green-haired boy wiggling his fingers and smiling wide.

Instant. Blush.

“Uh, I-I mean…I mean, i-if you…want to, then…” Shinsou stammered, hating every word he tripped over. It had never been difficult for him to speak to Midoriya before. Why was it suddenly the hardest thing he’d ever done?

“Actually, maybe we shouldn’t have a tickle fight,” Deku announced even as he lunged for Shinsou and tackled him to the floor. “Maybe I should just tickle you! You really need to relax, Shinsou. You act like I’m about to bite you or something.”

“I d-dohohohohon’t – I cahahahahan’t help it!” he giggled, the light pinches along his sides and ribs enough to help him loosen up a little, but not enough to really make him panic just yet. He fell onto his back on the floor, letting Deku tickle all over his torso, drawing giggle after much-needed giggle out of him.

“You don’t have to be nervous around me,” Deku continued, oblivious to Shinsou’s struggle. “We’re friends! If you want to talk about something, I’m happy to listen.”

Crap, crap, crap! Shinsou brought his hands up to cover his face, growing really, truly flustered now. “I’m sohohohohohohorry, I cahahahahan’t – I cahahahaHAHAHAHAN’T!! NAHAHAHAHAHA!!” The violet-haired boy shot his arms down to try and shove Deku away when he reached his hips, squeezing with a wicked smirk on his face. “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOHOHOHOHO!! MIDORYA!!”

“Relax, Shinsou~” Deku teased, swinging a leg over to straddle his friend and pin him more firmly in place, still squeezing his hips. “Sometimes it’s best to just laugh it all out, right?”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! GOD, MIHIHIHIHIDORIYA!! NOT THEHEHEHEHERE!!” Shinsou cackled, twisting and writhing on the ground. “YOU KNOHOHOHOHOHOW IT’S BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAD THEHEHEHERE!!”

“Why do you think I’m tickling you there?” Deku laughed, too, finding his hip bones and pressing in deeply. “Tickle, tickle, tickle~”

“DOHOHOHOHOHOHOHON’T!!” Shinsou cried, flustered and embarrassed but also having a lot of fun despite himself. He let out a loud shriek and kicked his legs when Deku focused on that one spot that drove him absolutely crazy. “NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! MIDORIYAHAHAHAHA!!”

Deku chuckled. “Feeling better? Feeling relaxed yet, Shinsou?”

Shinsou squealed, prying his eyes open just enough to see Deku’s huge smile, his bright eyes, his looming form over him, and the boy from 1-C simply could not take it anymore. “PLEHEHEHEASE!! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP IT!! MIDORIYA, PLEHEHEHEHEASE!! MERCY!! MERCY MERCY MERCYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!”

Deku stopped, but didn’t climb off of him. Shinsou gasped for breath and looked up at him, still giggling, surprised to see a tiny blush on the boy’s freckled cheeks. He blinked a few times. “M-Midoriya?”

“I…I’m s-sorry, I, uh…” Deku stammered, blinking as well. His cheeks got even pinker. “Oh! I’ll let you go—”

Shinsou reached up faster than either of them could think and grabbed onto Deku’s arms, stopping him from climbing off just yet. He forced himself to make eye contact with the smaller boy, and when he did, what he saw there gave him the encouragement he needed to finally get this off of his chest.

“Midoriya,” he said quietly, “I think I need to tell you something.”

Deku swallowed. He suddenly seemed nervous, too. “Y-Yeah?”

Shinsou’s heart was pounding against his ribcage. “I…I kind of…like you. Like…you know. That way.”

Deku let out a little gasp in response, but he never broke eye contact. His cheeks went from pink to red. “I…I t-think I like you, too, Shinsou…”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Shinsou finally moved to sit up, wrapping an arm around Deku’s back to keep him from falling over as he did so, and when he was upright again the two of them were face-to-face. Shinsou’s eyes flicked all over Deku’s blushing features, from his shining eyes down to his lips and back up again. Then he brought his free hand up to scribble against the smaller boy’s side.

Deku immediately smiled wide, giggling slightly, and Shinsou’s suspicions were confirmed. “Ugh, you’re adorable,” he muttered, pulling him into a bear hug and burying his face in his shoulder. “You know that? Adorable, Midoriya.”

“I-I think you’re cute, too,” Deku stammered, sounding incredibly flustered.

“Only cute?” Shinsou teased, digging his fingertips into the boy’s ribs, feeling him jolt in his arms but holding him tightly all the same. “Wow, and after I just poured my heart out to you.”

“Ahahahahaha nohohohohohoho! I’m sohohohohohorry!” Deku squealed, giggling and squirming but unable to go anywhere or protect himself. He tossed his head back and laughed freely. “You’re adohohohohohorable, too! Plehehehehehease, Shinsou!”

“Too late, Midoriya,” Shinsou replied, grinning into his shoulder, feeling more confident now. He slid one tickling hand down to Deku’s hip and laughed with him when he spasmed so hard they both fell to the floor. “You said I was just cute. Now you’ll have to face the wrath of the tickle monster!”

“Nohohohohohohohoho!” Deku cried, giggling hysterically, but it was obvious to both of them that he didn’t really want any of this to stop, and neither did Shinsou.

So it didn’t.

[t0wnspersonb]

Practice Makes Perfect (Tsukishima Kei x Reader)

Rated: Explicit

Word Count: 3,823

Warnings: SMUT, loss of virginity, bad language, Tsukki being too damn beautiful.

Summary: It’s been several months after Tsukishima’s confession in the infirmary. You two are dating now, and after a study session in his room, you two decide to take your relationship to the next level.

~~~

I hear you guys! I fucking see you!😂 we all need some Tsukki smut in our life so here is part 2 of Kiss it Better, I’ve included the link for anyone who hasn’t read the first part. I hope you all enjoy it and I would love the feedback afterwards:)

ALSO. I AM TAKING REQUESTS. I know I have some sitting in my inbox right now that I need to get to still so I apologize in advance if I can’t get your request out right away. But I literally adore all of you so much. Thank you for taking the time to read my shit writing:’) Anyway please enjoy the shit show lol.

~~~

It had been several months since you and Tsukishima started going out, after his confession in the infirmary, and after you guys had walked home together – well – things just naturally fell into place.

 It felt like your interactions were the same, he was still a cocky little asshole, teasing you and harassing you endlessly.

 But it was different somehow. You guys were almost inseparable it seemed. There were sides to Tsukishima that only you got to see, an unsaid trust that went both ways. You confided in him, sought comfort in him, and he did the same. He was your person, and you were his.

 You hadn’t realized how same and different it would be once you guys were in a relationship. 

 But you loved it all. 

 You loved every second of it.

 You loved him.

 You were in love with him, and while it was something that neither of you had said yet, that feeling was definitely there.

 It was said through his endless lectures on how you needed to eat better, it was said through the way he held your hand, or when he carried your bag. It was said in the way that his eyes gleamed when you proudly showed him the latest photos you had taken.

 It was said in the way that you praised him for being an amazing blocker in volleyball, it was said when you would give him a new dinosaur figurine. It was said when you would introduce him to a new song that reminded him of you.

 No, you guys had never uttered the words ‘I love you’ to each other, but you did.

 He did.

 And that was all that mattered.

 Right now, you two were currently cleaning up the classroom together, since it was your week to clean.

 You guys easily conversed with one another as you wiped down the blackboard and Tsukishima swept. 

 “– because of those dimwits we had to do twice as many drills.” Tsukishima said, finishing his story on how exhausting yesterday's volleyball practice had gone.

 “Kageyama and Hinata sure are energetic.” You mused, pausing your wiping to glance over at the tall blonde in amusement.

 He sighed and looked over at you, “They’re idiots. They act like everyone has the same amount of stamina as them. It’s ridiculous.”

 You couldn’t help the soft laughter that bubbled up from your lips. “I think you’re just lazy Tsukki.”

 His eyes narrowed, but not at your comment, but at what you had called him. He had told you weeks ago to start calling him by his first name, considering that you guys have been dating for a while now.

 He leaned the broom against one of the desks and walked over to you. You were near the teacher’s desk as you surveyed your work. He moved in front of your vision, towering over your small frame, causing you to crane your neck back to just look at his face.

 He moved closer, his palm resting on the desk behind you, trapping you in.

 “What’s the matter Tsukki?” you asked in confusion, your head tilting to the side. 

 His eyes narrowed further, a frown creasing his lips. “I told you to start calling me Kei.”

 A soft blush covered your face as you broke the eye contact with him, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous. 

 “I – I know. It’s just a force of habit.” You mumbled quickly, shifting from foot to foot.

 Tsukishima couldn’t help but smirk, leaning in closer to you, causing your back to press into the edge of the desk as you tried to put more distance between the two of you.

 “Why are you acting so nervous?” he murmured, the hand not resting on the table coming up to move your hair over your shoulder.

 You visibly flinched, which caused his smirk to widen as he saw the blush coating your face. 

 “I’m not nervous stupid!” you fired back, looking at him now. “You’re just too close!”

 You could feel your heart racing, your palms accumulating sweat. 

 “I’ve been closer.” he said simply and pressed his body against yours, one of his thighs coming to rest between your legs. This caused your skirt ride further up your thighs, and you couldn’t help but clutch at the front of his uniform helplessly as you attempted to stabilize yourself.

 Tsukishima wasn’t lying, he had been closer. Many times, in fact, in the comfort of his bedroom. While you guys had never actually had sex, it had gotten close. 

 If Tsukishima was being honest, it was because he couldn’t help himself. Your expressions were just too much, the sounds that escaped your mouth were incredibly sweet, it made him want more. Every time. 

 But the same could be said about you. Tsukishima was incredibly good looking, his lust filled expressions drove you insane, and the way he made you feel was just too good.

 “S-Shut up idiot.” You moved to push him away from you, but he was already cupping your face and tilting your head up for a kiss.

 You melted against him, kissing him back with vigor. You all but breathed want and need into his lungs as Tsukishima explored the wet cavern of your mouth, his tongue hot and wet as it rubbed against yours gently.

 The kisses you shared always spoke volumes with how you were feeling. They ranged from short and sweet, to something incredibly passionate and needy. 

 Either one, they always left you breathless and needy, your head spinning with so much want and need. 

 Tsukishima’s grip on your jaw tightened ever so slightly as he continued to explore your mouth. His tongue tracing over your teeth and bottom lip before going back to massage your own tongue. You were at his will completely, not that you minded. Not that you could even think about anything else other than the way he was making you feel.

 The leg between your thighs shifted suddenly and you felt yourself being pressed against his clothed thigh in the most intimate way. A surprised noise could be heard in your throat, and desire rippled through your body like a tidal wave.

 Tsukishima pulled back slightly, allowing his lips to flutter against your jaw and down your throat. His fingers working at the buttons of your uniform.

 You were left feeling delirious and incredibly achy. Your grip on his uniform tightening as you tried to get your bearings. 

 You finally realized where you were. 

 School. 

 You couldn’t do this here. 

 “Tsuki - ah - shima. S-Stop, we can’t do this here.” You gasped out, eyes fluttering shut in pleasure as he nipped at the exposed skin of your collarbone, and at the same time pressed himself harder against your core. His hands were now on your hips, and at the same time that he pressed his thigh closer to you, he had moved your body forward, causing you to grind against him.

 Pleasure rippled through your being; you knew that you were soaking wet right now. It was unfair how well he touched you, how he knew how to make you hot and bothered.

 “I told you to call me Kei.” he murmured and dragged your body against his thigh again. A delicious gasp escaping your spit stained lips. 

 “K-Kei. We c-can’t do this.” You whimpered out. “W-We could get caught. A-And if y-you’re late to practice, you know that Yamaguchi will be sent out to find you.” 

 He sighed deeply, and reluctantly pulled away from you, adjusting himself accordingly. You were right. He didn’t want anyone seeing you like that, that was for his eyes only. 

 It was so hard for him to not want to continue after he saw your disheveled form. It was fucking beautiful. Your lips were swollen with his kisses, your shirt unbuttoned, exposing the dark mark he had left on your soft skin. Your skirt was hiked up on your thighs, and your face was dazed with want and need.

 Tsukishima gritted his teeth, stopping himself from pushing you up on that desk and having his way with you finally.

 It was silent as you guys made yourselves presentable and finished cleaning up the classroom. The tension was thick in the air, lust buzzing in the air between you two. 

 Club activities flew by and so did the walk home. The tension never disappeared between the two of you, which had made Yamaguchi a bit nervous as you all walked home together. Of course, he wasn’t aware of what had transpired in the classroom, nor could he decipher what exactly the tension was, but he could feel the strange energy between the two of you.

 “You’re coming over tomorrow right?” Tsukishima finally said as he dropped you off at home.

 “Yeah. I definitely need help studying for that math test next week.” you sighed frowning slightly.

 “That’s why you need to take better notes in class. You can’t just keep drawing like a mindless idiot all the time.” Tsukishima said, causing you to scowl at him.

 “Whatever asshole! Goodnight! Text me when you get home. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” You said childishly slamming the door in his face.

 At least some things would never change between you two.

 ***

 You grumbled under your breath as you attempted the math problem in front of you. 

 You were in Tsukishima’s room, the said male was currently reading a book, sitting across the table from you and ignoring you completely as you struggled.

 “I don’t get it.” You sighed, slouching your upper body on the tabletop. You hated math. It was your worst subject despite the good grades that you got.

 His eyes flickered over to your dejected form before going back to his book. “Whining about it isn’t going to change anything.”

 You scowled at his blunt statement, pulling your head up from the table, you stuck your tongue out at him. “Don’t be such an insensitive jerk.”

 His eye twitched at your statement as he looked at you once more. Before he could retort his older brother entered the room carrying a plate of snacks.

 “I thought you guys could use some food.” he said brightly, carefully placing the plate of food on the table.

 Your mood brightened immediately. “Thanks, Akiteru!”

 Tsukishima felt his eye twitch further, so you could easily call his brother by his first name but not his.

 His brother smiled back, “No problem Y/n-chan! Ever since you and Kei started dating his mood has improved a lot!” he said, giving you a thumbs up.

 Tsukishima slammed his book shut, placing it on the table and glowered at his older brother. “Don’t you have to go practice?”

 He waved him off as he turned to look at you. “Who knew that Kei could get such a cute girlfriend!”

 A soft blush coated your face much to Tsukishima’s annoyance, he stood up and began pushing his brother out of his room. As soon as he slammed the door shut and locked it, he turned his glare on you.

 “S-Stop looking at me like that! I didn’t do anything.” You said nervously. He ignored you completely and took a seat right next to you, leaning in closer. 

 “What are you doing?” You whispered, your heart racing in your chest as he grabbed your chin, turning your head to look at him.

 He was staring at you intensely. “You better pay close attention; I’m only going to help you go over this stuff once and if you miss any of the problems you can just go home.”

 You frowned at his bluntness but nodded, nonetheless.

 You weren’t sure how long it was, but you somehow finished the problems, and luckily didn’t get any of the answers wrong.

 Tsukishima was surprisingly a good teacher. At least when he wanted to be, he was still incredibly impatient when teaching you, but you learned the material. 

 “Finally.” he muttered as you finished putting everything in your bag away, before you could say anything, he grabbed your arm and slammed his lips into yours.

 You made a noise of surprise before kissing him back, eyes fluttering shut. 

 The kiss was hungry and desperate, his tongue prying your lips open and immediately beginning to fight your tongue for dominance. It was hot and wet and sent a wave of arousal throughout your entire body. The hand that was resting on your arm slid up to grab your jaw, fitting his mouth against yours perfectly.

 His other hand moved to rest in the middle of your back, and before you knew it your world shifted.

 Tsukishima had maneuvered your body to the floor, hovering over you. The hand that was on your back moved back around and you felt long slender fingers wrap around the back of your knee, carefully hiking your leg over his hip.

 This new position allowed Tsukishima to get closer to you. He pressed his body into yours gently, being sure not to crush you with his weight. He adored the softness of your body, and the sweet smell of your skin.

 But it wasn’t enough. 

 He wanted more.

 Tsukishima carefully snapped his hips forward, pressing his growing member against you. The only clothing separating him from your weeping core was a pair of thin panties.

 He groaned against your lips, pressing harder against you. A soft whimper from you egged him on, he couldn’t help himself. He grinded his hips harder against you, his member uncomfortably hard and searching for some kind of relief.

 His lips began trailing kisses along your jaw and down your throat, his fingers brushing against your collarbone, pushing your shirt away to reveal more skin.

 You gazed up at his ceiling in a daze, softly gasping at each thrust of his hips, you could feel your panties dampening further with your arousal as you clutched at his shoulders.

 “Take these off.” he demanded huskily in your ear. He tugged at your jacket and shirt, his fingers dipping underneath the fabric and brushing against the delicate skin at your stomach.

 “You first.” you breathed out, your own hands sliding beneath the blue shirt he opted to wear today. The tips of your fingers trailing softly against the hard lines of his stomach, his skin was warm and soft, the muscles flexing as he exhaled in a shudder.

 He sat back on the balls of his feet, his hands easily removing his shirt, tossing it behind him on the floor. He almost moaned at the sight before him. 

 You were sprawled out on the floor, legs bent slightly at the knee, your skirt was hiked up just below your panties. Your face was flushed red, your eyes half-lidded as you stared him with desire. Your chest heaving up and down.

 “Your turn.” he said simply and helped you sit half up. But before you could even remove the clothing yourself, Tsukishima was already at it. Pulling the jacket off your shoulders and then tugging your shirt over your head, revealing the soft white colored bra to his greedy eyes.

 “Fuck.” he whispered under his breath, you were fucking beautiful, and you were all his. “Come here.” he breathed, pulling you easily onto your feet and then pushing you down onto his bed, crawling on top of you.

 You loved the way he looked at you, like you hung the moon. Like you were the brightest thing he had ever seen in his entire life. It made you feel wanted, loved, adored. 

 Tsukishima’s lips easily found yours once again, still needy and urgent. He was pressed against you between your legs once more, grinding softly against your soaked core.

 His fingers trailing up softly from the hem of your skirt, up your stomach, to your ribs, and then they were cupping your right breast. 

 Kneading you softly through the cup of your bra. Like before, his lips began trailing kisses along your jaw, sucking at your throat, and then to the tops of your breasts.

 His breath was hot and damp against your overheated flesh, his tongue flicking out to taste your soft skin. You tossed your head back in pleasure, unable to stop the sweet moans and gasps that were escaping your lips as he began sucking and biting.

 “K-Kei.” You stuttered out, eyes slipping shut in pleasure. He glanced up at you and reached to pull one of the straps of your bra down, allowing one of your breasts to pop out freely.

 He watched as your exposed nipple began to harden before softly engulfing the pebbled bud into the hot cave of his mouth.

 Fuck, he’s never heard anything as sweet as the moans and high-pitched whines that escaped your swollen lips.

 You couldn’t breathe, the pleasure was overwhelming as he began flicking his tongue back and forth against your nipple. The back of your hand resting over your mouth, attempting to quiet the moans that were escaping your lips. Tsukishima began rolling your nipple between his teeth carefully, causing you to arch your back off the bed.

 Hot white pleasure shooting into your body, your lower half was on fire, burning with so much need. You had soaked through your underwear completely, and your cunt was throbbing to be touched now.

 “Please.” You whined out, chest heaving as you struggled to catch your breath. “K-Kei. Please.”

 He hummed against your breast, releasing your nipple with a soft pop before moving up and pressing a soft kiss to your lips. 

 “What do you want?” he asked, voice low and deep. But he already knew that answer, his fingers already dancing across the zipper of your skirt, easily opening it, and pulling it down your legs, where you kicked it off of your ankles. 

 Tsukishima could have cum in his pants then and there. You had luckily decided to wear a matching bra and panties today, but that wasn’t why he was in awe. He could visibly see how wet you were.

 Your wetness soaked through your panties; a dark wet spot easily being spotted by the tall blonde. 

 “Is this because of me?” he murmured, a long finger gently rubbing up and down against the stain. “You’re soaked.” he breathed out, feeling the moisture collect on his finger.

 “Kei.” a high-pitched whine left your lips. “I-I want you. Please.”

 He exhaled loudly through his nose and began removing the rest of your clothes, his gold eyes drank in your exposed body greedily. 

 This. this was all his. You were all his.

 He then removed the rest of his clothes; his body bare for your eyes to see. 

 Tsukishima was the most beautiful person you had ever laid your eyes on. The muscles in his body flexing as you took him in, and then… he was fucking hard. It looked incredibly painful, his member pulsing and leaking precum.

 Gently parting your legs further, he carefully rubbed his member against your glistening slit, moaning at the wetness.

 This was it.

 “Are you sure?” he asked softly, gazing at you with a gentle expression, his thumb rubbing softly against your knee.

 You nodded, fearing that your voice would shake with the nerves you were experiencing, but the desire for Tsukishima overshadowed that. You wanted him.

 He shook his head. “I need to hear you say it Y/n.”

 “I want you Kei.” you said breathless. “I-I love you.”

 You weren’t… fuck, you weren’t planning to say that. You could feel panic rising in your chest, your eyes widening as you took in his expression.

 Tsukishima’s eyes were wide, his lips parted softly at your statement. A soft blush coating his face.

 “I love you too.” he finally said, and then pushed his hips forward.

 The sudden pressure below, the intrusion you weren’t used to had you gasping loudly, throwing your head back at the unfamiliar sensation. 

 The stretch wasn’t uncomfortable, there was the slight fear at the back of your mind that it would hurt based on all the stories that you had heard from your friends and senpais. 

 It was just different… but fuck. The expression that was now on Tsukishima’s face wiped away any kind of discomfort you may have been in.

 His face was contorted in pure bliss, his eyes squeezed shut, lips parted in pleasure. It was a beautiful sight.

 You were the one making him feel that way, you were the one that was giving him all this pleasure. This was yours to keep, this moment.

 You gasped softly as he began moving, carefully rocking his hips against yours. His cock rubbed against your velvety walls, reaching a depth within you that you didn’t even know you had.

 “Y-You’re so tight.” He stuttered out. “Feel so good.” he praised and began moving in and out of you more. 

 You were getting used to the uncomfortable feeling of being full; and that’s definitely what you felt when Tsukishima was inside of you.

 It started to feel… good actually. 

 Tsukishima must’ve realized that as well, his speed and force increasing a bit more. He reached down and carefully began circling your clit with his thumb. 

 Oh fuck. No, that was good. That was really good. Your body jolted in pleasure, a soft whine escaping your lips. 

 “I’m close.” Tsukishima said panting, his eyes began to focus on your expression, wanting you to feel just as much pleasure as he was. 

 You were beautiful. You were so fucking beautiful, naked, and gasping, taking his cock so well. He gritted his teeth, hastily removing himself from your weeping core. Tsukishima grasped at his member tightly and thrusted twice into his fist before spilling himself onto your lower belly.

 His cum was hot and thick as it splattered onto your skin, you had never seen anything more perfect than the way Tsukishima looked coming undone. 

 You couldn’t help but stare at him as he came down from his high. His blonde hair was disheveled, sweat gleamed on his pale skin, outlining the hard muscles in his arms and stomach. 

 When he finally opened his eyes they immediately softened as they took in your spent form. 

 “Hold on.” he murmured softly and got up to find a towel, carefully cleaning up the mess he made on your stomach.

 You couldn’t help but to continue laying there, exhausted despite the fact that you hadn’t done much. After Tsukishima finished taking care of you, he pulled the blanket on the edge of the bed up as he laid next to you. You moved closer to the blonde male, resting your head against his chest, his fingers began combing through your hair.

 “I’m sure that wasn’t good for you.” he said quietly, after a moment of comfortable silence. “But I plan on making you feel good every time from now on.”

 “It was good.” You said softly, on the verge of sleep. “We just need more practice… like volleyball.”

 Tsukishima laughed softly against your hair. “Shut up stupid. Go to sleep.”

[mentally-in-northern-italy]

Wrong Idea — James Potter x reader

***not my gif***

Summary: You have a big crush on James Potter but have to live with the ‘fact’ that James is smitten with your best friend, Lily. But is this really the case, or have you just got the wrong idea?

Word count: 2.9K

A/N: Hi! Second fic, whoooo! No one really requested this but it just came to me. Again, a bit too long for my liking, but it’s okay. Any feedback is very much appreciated. Requests are open, so feel free! Enjoy!!

_________________

“He is totally staring at you, Lily,” you whisper to your friend as you stand beside her, both pretending to be overly concentrated on finding just the finest box of Chocolate Frogs that Honeydukes has to offer. 

“He is not,” Lily whispers back, acting as if this prospect sounds ridiculously unbelievable but you could see her small smile as she tried her best not to glance at his direction. She continued to act as though she was very carefully examining a box of Chocolate Frogs as you chuckled quietly, trying to ignore the faint pang in your chest.

James Potter. Star Quidditch player. Self-appointed ‘mom’ of the Marauders. Personification of the very cliche, but fitting phrase, “messy hair, don’t care”. And, of course, a very famous lady’s man.

And, lastly, your ‘former’ crush who was now seemingly smitten with your best friend, Lily.

You weren’t sure when it was exactly when you had realized that you were inordinately conscious of how you looked whenever he was around, how you stole quick glances at him throughout your shared Potions class, hoping he wouldn’t notice, or how much the thought of the raven-haired boy consumed your mind. Slowly, but surely, your crush on James had developed into something so strong and overwhelming, you couldn’t even think of confiding in anyone else. Not even your best friend, Lily Evans. 

When you had heard about the rumours and gossip circulating around the school, about how James was supposedly head-over-heels for a certain red-head, you had tried your very hardest to force those feelings out of you. You couldn’t have a crush on James. He liked Lily. End of story.

You felt even worse when Lily would blush mildly, her cheeks turning as red as her hair, whenever James stopped you two to talk in the middle of the hallway. How Lily would talk your ears off about how much she hated James, and how annoying and arrogant she perceived him to be, but you knew better. You knew Lily liked James too, maybe not as outwardly as James liked her, but enough to make you feel like a terrible person for liking the same guy as your best friend of five years.

And now, you couldn’t help but notice the way James’ eyes seemed to follow you two, as he stood by a shelf at the entrance of the shop, watching you both weave around the shelves stocked with sweets and treats in Honeydukes, talking quietly amongst yourselves.

“Lily, you like him, he likes you,” you try to tell her once again, ignoring how it made your heart sting a little every time you thought of them together, “why, in Merlin’s name, are you acting so oblivious?”

“[Y/N],” she scoffed, feigning offense, “I’m not acting oblivious. And I don’t like him. I just don’t… mind him.” 

“Mhm,” you hummed as you picked up a cauldron cake off the shelf, “I totally believe you, Lils.” 

“Believe what you want, [Y/L/N],” she retorted with a clever smile but the smile started to falter as she started to look more nervous, looking steadily at something behind you.

You turned around to look at what it was exactly that had her looking so alarmed and were just as alarmed when you saw James approaching you two, after abandoning the display he was previously taking a close look at, with a confident smile set on his handsome face. 

“[Y/L/N],” he greeted as he smiled at you for a millisecond too long, sending butterflies in your stomach into a frenzy, “Evans.”

“Potter,” Lily greeted him back curtly, her face set into a smile that conveyed politeness but not necessarily obvious interest.

Maybe it was your failure to repress your intense feelings for James, but you could’ve sworn that he was looking intently at you, perhaps in the hopes that you would also acknowledge him in some way. But, you didn’t trust yourself to be able to speak without melting into a stuttering mess so you stayed quiet, averting eye contact, and fidgeting with the packet of the cauldron cake in your hands. 

“Did you need something, Potter?” Lily questioned, raising a single eyebrow. James’ gaze still hadn’t left you but he was forced to tear his eyes off of you to address Lily. 

“Oh, no, I don’t need anything,” he remarked, regaining his confident (bordering on arrogant) composure as his eyes involuntarily shifted to you once again, “I just wanted to ask something.”

This captured your attention as your eyes jumped up from the cake in your hands to the sly smile that James was sending you and Lily. This is it, you thought, he’s going to ask her out and--

“Is there any chance, [Y/N],” James started out, sending you a sincere look, making your breath hitch in your throat, “that you could give up that Cauldron Cake?” 

“Huh?” you say in surprise. Cauldron Cake? 

“The one you have in your hand,” he smiled, “Uh, Padfoot, apparently, has been craving one for a few weeks and, unfortunately, that’s the last one they have. I looked all over.” 

“Oh,” you said, a bit awkwardly, evidently struggling to find the right words for this unusual sort of situation, “yeah, I guess you can…” 

“Y’know, I told him that’s not how cravings work,” he tried to crack a joke as you handed the cake to him, his hands slightly brushing against your own, making you weak in the knees, “but he claims I wouldn’t get it. It’s just a dog--, uh, a Sirius thing, I guess.” 

He laughed an incredibly awkward laugh, while you and Lily stood there, clearly unsure of what to do. It would not be correct to say you didn’t laugh because  you thought what James had just said was unfunny… no, it was more about the fact that you hadn’t understood it at all. This wasn’t like James. Sure, James’ jokes weren’t hilarious but they certainly weren’t as… dry as the one he just told. If you could even call it a ‘joke’. It sounded an awful lot like he just winged it -- came up with a half-assed joke just for the sake of coming up with one. Not a typical James Potter move, that much you knew. 

Lily was watching this exchange occur with weirdly curious interest. She wasn’t sure what was happening but she also couldn’t tear her eyes away from darting back between you and James. It didn’t take her too long to get a general gist of what was going on… she was the brightest witch in her year, after all.

“Right,” you say, attempting to swiftly leave this incredibly strange conversation, “I’m afraid Lils and I should get going now. Enjoy the… cake.”

“Oh,” James looked down at the cake, as if he had entirely forgotten he had it in his hands and then back up at you, “yes. Thank you, by the way, for the cake. I’ll see you back at the common room, [Y/N]. Evans.” He nodded in Lily’s direction, while he mentally cursed himself for acting so awkward.

Before anyone could say anything else, you took a hold of Lily’s gloved hand and started to lead her towards the exit of the shop, ignoring whatever it was she was saying to you. You shook your head a little as ridiculous thoughts started flooding your brain. Why did he use my first name and not Lily’s? Am I reading into this too much? Am I going crazy? 

You had decided that the latter two were more likely to be the case when the corner of your eye caught an entire shelf in front of the entrance of the shop, stocked with Cauldron Cakes. And the display wasn’t too far away from where James originally stood. In fact, that’s the very display he was checking out when you had noticed him staring. 

________________

You groaned as Marlene and Lily dragged you out of the dorm room, against your will, mind you, insisting that it was absolutely crucial that you abandon your History of Magic of homework and follow them.

“We have a test coming up!” you tried to reason with them, “Lily, Mar, come on, we should be studying!”

“Studying can wait, [Y/N],” Marlene said to you, matter-of-factly, “Quidditch cannot.”

They dragged you by the arm, through the Gryffindor common room, to the Quidditch game, which was just about to start. Today was a big day; the first Quidditch game of the season, Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. 

You, of course, knew what this meant. 

James Potter. Flying around on his broom. Being a brilliant chaser.

You had never been a particular fan of the game, but when you had started liking James, you found yourself going to the Quidditch pitch quite often. That is, until you deemed your feelings for James to be forbidden. Now, Quidditch games were just about the same as rubbing salt to your, very deep, wounds. 

The way he would look over at Lily, who stood right beside you, and wink at her made you angry. And not angry at Lily or James, but angry at yourself. All the glances he would send her way only made you get mad at yourself for ever feeling this way about someone who was so far out of your reach.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Lily said as you snapped out of your thoughts, leading you through the hallways in the direction of the Gryffindor stands.

“Yeah,” you mutter under your breath, with a twinge of sadness, making sure she wouldn’t hear, “for you.”

_______________

Gryffindor had won the match. Hufflepuff played exceptionally well, but it was no match for the Gryffindor’s brilliant offensive tactics. 

As the Gryffindor seeker had caught the snitch, the cheering in the stands rang out. You, Lily and Marlene jumped up, screaming and clapping, overjoyed at this brilliant win. 

“Come on,” Marlene said excitedly, “let’s go down to the pitch!”

“What?” you asked, alarmed. You did not want to be in close proximity to James right now. Not when his jersey would be clinging onto his body and his hair would be all sweaty and his face all red, making him look even more hands-

“Yes! Let’s go,” Lily agreed instantly, dragging you by the arm. 

You groaned once again but you knew they wouldn’t listen. As you three, no, as you two were walking down, -- Marlene was practically skipping -- thoughts of the Quidditch match in action flooded your mind. James sent so many winks and smirks in Lily’s direction that you could’ve sworn by Merlin that some of them were to you. Or this was just wishful thinking. After all, Lily was sitting right beside you. You decide that this is just you getting confused -- but then again, why did Lily always glance your way after James smiled at you, as he scored a goal, expecting you to react in some way? And why did she look genuinely pleased, instead of having even the hint of jealousy in her eyes? 

There’s nothing for her to be jealous about, you told yourself repeatedly, he was looking at Lily. 

As you three reached the Quidditch pitch, you could see clumps of students, crowding the Quidditch players, congratulating them excitedly. 

“Lily, I came to the match,” you tried to whisper to her as you two stood there, unsure of where to go, “can I please go study now?” 

“No, [Y/N] [Y/L/N]!” providing special emphasis on your full name, yelling loudly, capturing the attention of everyone on the pitch. Everyone’s head turned to look at you as you seemed to shrink into yourself and Lily wore a proud smile on her face, looking at you slyly. 

The mention of your full name had attracted a lot of unwanted attention. But it also, almost immediately, seemed to attract some wanted attention as well. 

Well, not wanted, that wasn’t allowed as per your rules, but appreciated, nonetheless. 

James’ head turned to you as he diverted his attention from some excited first-years to you and Lily. Your eyes had widened remarkably, your face had started to heat up and the butterflies in your stomach who had seemed to be asleep previously, had now woken up. 

“Oh, would you look at that,” Lily said quickly, “Thomas Lee looks dashing, I’m going to go tell him congratulations!” And with that, she walked away from you and towards Lee, the Gryffindor keeper.

James had started walking over to you as you stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. Do you meet him halfway? Do you keep standing there? Merlin, why did this have to be so difficult? 

“[Y/N], so glad you could make it,” he smirked at you as he pushed his sweaty hair back. 

“Uh, yeah, congratulations,” you said, trying to keep yourself from looking at his figure, “you played really well.” 

“Thanks!” said James, with, what looked like, genuine gratefulness, before the look in his eyes turned cocky again, “Although, I’ve played better. This game was a piece of cake.” 

“Of course,” you couldn’t help but smile softly at his words. This is the James you knew. The James you liked. The James you shouldn’t like.

“Speaking of cake!” he exclaimed suddenly, trying to salvage this conversation from turning awkward, “Thanks again for that cauldron cake! I was so bummed when I found they had run out.” 

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it,” you told him politely, when you remembered something. 

They hadn’t run out of cauldron cakes. In fact, they had them all piled up on the shelf right in front of the entrance. Before you could say anything, James started speaking again.

“Y’know, there’s a Hogsmeade trip coming up,” he started out confidently, but the slight shaking of his hands and the easy-to-miss quiver in his voice indicated otherwise.

“Yes, I know,” you told him, quietly. Was he telling you to ask Lily for him? Godric knows you would never be able to do that. “Lily knows too, so… you can ask her. I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

“What?” he looked very surprised, his eyebrows had furrowed as if he had no idea why you had mentioned that. 

“The Hogsmeade trip. You should ask her. She might seem like she would say no but she’ll say yes.” You ignored the feeling of your heart sinking. 

“But, I don’t want to.” he said with a slight shake of his head.

“What?” 

“I wanted to ask you.” his voice had gotten unusually quiet.

You were in absolute shock, to say the least. James Potter wanted to ask you? To Hogsmeade? What about Lily? 

“What about Lily?” you asked, confusedly, “I thought-- everyone thought--”

“I like you, not Evans,” he told you with no hesitation, “who said I liked her?”

“Literally everyone thinks so.”

“Well, they must have gotten the wrong idea.”

“But--”

“[Y/N], for someone so bloody smart, you are incredibly oblivious,” James said, with the slightest bit of his irritation showing through, “Didn’t you see me staring at you? Winking? For Merlin’s sake, there wasn’t a shortage of Cauldron Cakes back at Honeydukes! I just wanted to talk to you.” 

“But you were staring at Lily,” you say defensively, “not me. Why would you do that?”

“Because… I like you?” 

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do!” 

You shook your head in frustration. You couldn’t do this to Lily. This is not what best friends do. No, there is no way you would act on these feelings.

“Lily!” you turn away from James and make your way over to Lily, “we need to go.” 

You drag Lily away from Lee and start making your way off the pitch, leaving Lee and James staring at you both in confusion.

“So, did you say yes?” she asked you as you tried to walk as fast as you could without making it seem like you’re running away.

“What?” you turn to her. 

“To James? He asked you out, didn’t he?” she asked eagerly. You were surprised to see she wasn’t sad. At all. In fact, she seemed happy for you. 

“But you like James,” you tried to tell her, trying to work this whole situation out, standing only a few feet away from James and Lee, who were watching this interaction intently. Didn’t she?

“I thought I did,” she told you, “but I think I only convinced myself that I did, because I thought he liked me. To be honest, I really don’t. And all those times you tried to tell me he was staring at me? It was always you, [Y/N], I just happened to be standing right beside you every time.”

“But, I--,” you struggled to find words. 

“Look,” Lily said as she put a hand to your shoulder, “I know you like him. I also know he likes you. Why, in Merlin’s name, are you acting so oblivious?” she said, imitating your words from that trip to Honeydukes.

“You really don’t like him?” you asked, unsure of what you wanted the answer to be. On one hand, you would love to go out with James, on the other, you never wanted to hurt Lily’s feelings.

“No! Not even one bit,” she reassured you, “I’m a bit relieved, really, plus, I think I’ve found myself a keeper.” She turned away from you to face Lee, still stood a few feet away from you two, and smiled. Lee winked back. You laughed at this and reluctantly turned your head to James, also stood a few feet away from you. He stood with his confidence a little diminished, looking defeated. But he still gave you a small smile and waved awkwardly.

“Go! Say yes,” Lily told you, chuckling, “We can even go on double dates together.” 

You rolled your eyes playfully at Lily before you took a deep breath in and started to make your way towards him. 

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Um.”

“Let’s start over,” you told him as you straightened your posture and fixed your hair. 

“Start over?” he asked, regaining the arrogance.

“Ask me out again, Potter,” you told him, having found confidence yourself after your talk with Lily. You no longer felt bad about liking James. And you felt even better knowing he liked you.

“Oh, yes!” James plastered his smirk back on his face, “There's a Hogsmeade trip coming up, [Y/N].” 

“Yes, I’m aware,” you nodded and smiled, stifling giggles from erupting.

“Let’s go together.” he said cockily, his eyes twinkling.

“That was pathetic, James,” you said as you started to laugh softly.

“Hey!” 

“But yes. Let’s,” you told him with a mischievous smile, “Maybe this time, I can help you find the very noticeable, hard-to-miss Cauldron Cake display.” 

“Deal.” He sent you his infamous James Potter grin at which you grinned back.

[hopelesshawks]

Love and Admiration Part 7- Drinks

18+ Bakugo x fem!pro hero reader

Summary: (Y/n) has known Bakugo since middle school, admired him since high school, and had a crush on him since the first time they met. Even now, a top pro hero in her own right, she can’t shake her school girl crush. Too bad Bakugo literally has no idea she exists. Well that’s not entirely true… He does know pro hero Mercury exists, but (y/l/n) (y/n)? Never heard of her.

Warning for male masturbation

Masterlist Help Lulu <3

You must have cycled through half a dozen different outfits before you finally settled on one you liked: a careful balance of sexy and comfortable after a long day of hero work. You’ve only been to Masahiro’s once before but it’s a nice enough place and the drinks are good. You spend a stupid amount of time putting on makeup and then double, triple, and quadruple checking how you look in the mirror before you finally head out.

It’s an easy train ride into downtown, a few people recognize and stop you to ask for an autograph or words of wisdom or advice. It’s a surreal experience, sure your popularity has been exploding lately but it’s still odd to be treated as a celebrity. As you walk past a billboard of yourself advertising athleticwear it occurs to you that you kind of are a celebrity. Your train of thought is interrupted by Masahiro’s coming into view. You hurriedly duck into the bar, it’s pretty empty on a Thursday night so it doesn’t take you long to spot Bakugo. He, of course, looks incredible. He’s got on a plaid over shirt that he’s rolled up to his elbows, impressive forearms on display. The black tee he wears beneath it stretches tightly over his muscular chest. He’s sitting at the bar top but you can still appreciate the way his jeans hug his legs. He’s scowling down at his phone, having not noticed your entrance, and it shouldn’t be an attractive expression but somehow on him it just is. You take a deep steadying breath as you steel your nerves, trying to calm down your racing heart as you walk over towards him.

“Where are the others?” Bakugo’s head snaps up at the sound of your voice, eyes connecting with yours. “They bailed,” he scoffs, his annoyance clear in his voice. You hum in acknowledgment but then lean against the bar to flag down the bartender. Bakugo watches you curiously, only now properly taking in your appearance. You look good, he’ll admit. In the back of his head a voice that sounds suspiciously like Denki corrects him that you look hot. It’s his first time seeing you in civilian clothing, he realizes, and you wear it well. He’s still trying to decide whether he prefers you in your civilian clothes or hero costume when you finally get the bartender’s attention and the sound of your voice snaps Bakugo out of his trance. His ears go slightly pink when he realizes his train of thought and he quickly shakes his head as if doing so will physically dislodge the thought from his brain. He decides to instead focus on whatever you’re talking to the bartender about. “An order of your finest saké please, and just keep the bottles coming until we ask you to stop,” you tell the bartender with a grin. Bakugo is about to stop you, it’s a ludicrous fucking request considering the astronomical price tag that will surely come with it, but then you finish your sentence. “Oh and would you mind putting it on Chargebolt’s tab? He wanted to treat us to celebrate our big bust today but had to bail cause of work stuff. Y’know how pro hero work is,” you continue. “Of course! No problem Mercury, I’ll get right on that,” the bartender tells you before whisking off to fulfill your request.

As you get comfortable in your seat you find Bakugo giving you a slightly impressed look to which you respond with a shrug. “If he’s gonna bail on us the least he can do is let us get plastered on his money. If the bill gets too ridiculous we’ll switch to one of the other flakes’ tabs,” you reply with a grin. To your delight, Bakugo’s mouth stretches into an amused smirk as he chuckles. “Well played Mercury, well played,” he tells you as the bartender brings over the first bottle and fills two small glasses for you both. “We’re off duty, at least call me (y/l/n),” you tell him with a roll of your eyes. “Well then (y/l/n), let’s make dunce face’s fucking wallet hurt,” Bakugo tells you, grin almost feral as he takes his glass and holds it up. “I’ll drink to that,” you grin before raising your own. The two of you cheers before quickly drinking down the contents of your cups, probably too quickly considering the quality it, and then pour yourselves another round.

Fast forward a few hours and you both have had way too much to drink. Your laughter is too loud, your grins too wide, but neither of you seems to care and after one person had tried to tell you to quiet down and Bakugo nearly ripped their head off no one else has made an attempt. Bakugo genuinely didn’t expect to have this good of a time. Sure, you occasionally would start teasing him, bringing back his trademark scowl, but it was always good natured in the same way Kirishima, Kaminari, and (dare he say it) even Deku tended to be. The kind of teasing he didn’t hate, the kind that didn’t make him want to hide under the bluster and temper that he’d worn like a shield most of his life. He also can’t help but notice little things about you like the beautiful color of your eyes, the way your outfit hangs off your incredible body just right, the way your laugh seems to brighten the entire room. The more the two of you drink the harder it is for him to push the thoughts away. Every time you almost catch him staring a little too intently, he’s immensely grateful he can blame the flush in his cheeks on the alcohol. You are distracting in a way no one has ever been for him and it’s a disconcerting enough thought that he shoves it away and locks it in a box full of things he refuses to think about.

“Hey Bakugo, you listening?” you ask, waving a hand in front of his face. “Course I’m listening dumbass what?” he snaps, disgruntled at being caught lost in his thoughts of you. “That’s a lie,” you snort. Bakugo is about to snap at you but you raise your hand to cover his mouth with a giggle to stop him from saying anything. “Last call was like an hour ago, they’re kicking us out dummy,” you tell him, sliding your hand away from his mouth to let him reply. “You’re so drunk,” he accuses you like a hypocrite. “So are you,” you fire back. He doesn’t have a rebuttal for that so he just rolls his eyes before grasping hold of your hand and pulling you from the bar and into a waiting rainstorm outside.

Bakugo knows he should let go of your hand now that you two are outside. He knows you both should go somewhere to take shelter from the rain. There’s a lot of things he should do but instead he’s just standing opposite you, staring at your wide delighted eyes as you grin from ear to ear, alcohol keeping you warm even as the rain soaks through you two’s clothes. This is the part where he’s supposed to say goodnight and the two of you will walk your separate ways but he finds himself not wanting to leave you yet. “C’mon idiot, lemme walk you home,” he tells you tugging you along towards the train back to Hosu City. “I can walk myself home you know, I am a pro hero,” you tell him teasingly as you catch up to walk along beside him. The mere thought of you walking around the city drunk and alone is enough to send a protective surge through Bakugo as he growls out “Absolutely fucking not.” Even on the train he tugs you in closer against him, hiding you in the protective shell of his body and trying very hard not to think about exactly how close you are right now as you giggle and tease him. Your smell fills his nose and it’s intoxicating. He almost feels more drunk off your very presence than he does the copious amounts of saké the two of you had consumed.

Finally the two of you arrive at your apartment and Bakugo finds himself wishing the walk had taken longer. “This is me,” you tell him as the two of you walk up to your front door. He needs to let you go, you’re both soaked through and could use a long, hot shower but his alcohol soaked brain insists on telling him the two of you should conserve water and shower together. He tries to keep his eyes focused on yours but he can’t help the way they instead wander down to your lips. They’re so close and you’re standing there so open and vulnerable. Without consciously choosing to do so Bakugo feels himself start to lean in as if pulled by some gravitational force. He’s close, so close and when your eyes flutter shut he knows you feel the same pull he does. Just before he can close that final distance between you two, your phone rings, shattering the moment and causing both of you to spring apart. You curse and fumble to retrieve your phone before hurriedly answering. “Wha- yea. I just got home actually. Yes I’m fine,” you tell whoever is on the line with an exaggerated roll of your eyes. You mouth an apology to Bakugo but he’s a little preoccupied trying to figure out what the actual fuck just came over him as you finish up your phone call. Finally you hang up and turn back to him. “Sorry about that, just a friend checking I made it home safe,” you explain. “It’s fine I should, uh, get going,” Bakugo says, looking anywhere but at you with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “Oh, ok,” you reply and Bakugo wonders idly if he’s imagining the disappointment he hears in your voice. “I’ll see ya around I guess,” he tells you. “Yea, I’ll see you around,” you reply. He nods and then turns around on his heel and quickly walks back down the direction the two of you had come in, oblivious to your gaze still trained on his back long after he’s entered the stairs.

When Bakugo gets back to his own apartment he almost immediately peels out of his wet clothes, leaving them in a heap in his bathroom as he pads across the cool tiles over to his shower. He can’t get you out of his head. Your laughter, your smile, your body, and especially the way you’d looked as he’d started leaning in towards you in front of your door. He turns the water on hot, waiting until it heats up properly before he steps beneath the spray. He thought the water might help clear his mind but it has the opposite effect. All he can do is think what may have happened had your phone not rang. Unbidden his brains offers him images of him closing that final distance to bring your lips together. He pictures pulling you in closer and kissing you senseless, pictures the way you’d breathlessly pull away just enough to invite him into your apartment. How the two of you would have made your way to the bathroom and stripped out of your wet clothes together instead of alone on opposite sides of town. His dick is already painfully hard when the temptation becomes too much and he reaches down and wraps one hand around it. As he slowly begins to jack himself off, he closes his eyes and pictures your hand wrapped around him instead. The image is so vivid, the memory of you so fresh, that it doesn’t take long for him to start approaching climax. He uses his free hand to steady himself on the wall as he moves his hand faster and faster, still pretending it’s you driving him closer and closer to orgasm. When he finally falls over the precipice, his cum splattering against the shower wall opposite him, it’s your last name that he moans as he slowly pumps himself through it until he’s finally spent. As he slowly comes back to himself, the post orgasmic haze clearing little by little, Bakugo is struck by two thoughts:

1. He is going to murder his idiotic friends

2. He is completely and utterly fucked

A/N: The fic finally earns its 18+ rating. Also, Masahiro’s comes from Masahiro Sakurai, the game developer who created the Kirby and Super Smash Bros games, which have always been my favorite.

Taglist: @pixelwisp @oliviasslut @larkspyrr @heroacadema @kozukatsuki @captaincyberqueen @undead-nyx

[theeslytherinslut]

12 Grimmauld Place (5/?)

Pairings: Sirius Black (post Azkaban) x reader, Remus Lupin x reader’s brother, Sirius Black x Slytherin!reader 

Word Count: 2,909

Warnings: lil angsty

A/N: The longest chapter yet and it’s entirely in Sirius’ perspective! Hope I wasn’t too far off from his inner monologue. Also lots of spicy Tonks cause I love her. 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 6

Sirius’ POV

Feeling intrusive, I caught Tonks’ eyes as Remus and Y/N hugged each other, her sobbing into his shoulder. With a quick twitch, I signaled to her that we let them have a moment. She nodded and followed me into the living room. 

“Still haven’t gotten around to cleaning anything, have you?” she teased, gesturing to the layer of dirt and dust that seemed to cover every inch of the house. 

“Whenever you feel up to joining in...” I teased back. 

“Well, it looks like you’ll have Y/N to help you with that,” she responded, raising her eyebrows at me in a funny way. 

“What?” I asked. 

“Y/N,” she looked at me meaningfully. But not knowing what she meant, I stared blankly back. “You men--it’s a wonder you make it up in the morning by yourselves...Obviously, her flat is no longer safe. She’ll have to stay out of sight for a while too. What better place to both be safe and stay out of sight than here?” 

“Stay here?” I asked dumbly. Sure, I figured she’d stay the night, but it never occurred to me that this would be the best place for her. But now that Tonks pointed it out, it did make sense. Not like she could go back to her blown flat; besides, she was vulnerable there. Vulnerable and alone. 

“Yes, cousin. Are you alright?” she laughed at my bewildered state, but I didn’t find it so funny. It was difficult to ignore my feelings for her when I wasn’t seeing her every day. How was I supposed to manage now? 

At school, it was easier to manage. In the hallways, I’d look at anyone but her, smirking at any girl I caught looking at me, any sort of distraction. But when Moony wanted to go have a chat with her, well, I’d have to plainly look away, instead contenting myself with glaring at passing male members of her house, daring any of them to speak up or look at her. 

Remus had made his views very clear in the year of her arrival. He’d been gushing about since first year, always saying how she’d enjoy something or another. I still remember her terrified face during Sorting dissolving into a bright smile when her eyes found us seated at the Gryffindor table. Remus waved excitedly at her from his seat, the rest of us doing the same--all hoping she’d soon join us. However, upon seeing the rest of us with him, her face turned bright red, and her eyes went terrified once more. Before I could even shoot her a reassuring smile, she’d turned back to McGonagall. Unfortunately, she’d been placed in Slytherin, something we never let poor Moony forget. That night in the common rooms after everyone else had long gone to bed, he’d made us all swear to never lay a finger on her--to essentially be another three big brothers--never to look at her in any sort of way. Of course we all made the promise, but I couldn’t honor it. 

I still found myself scouring the Great Hall for her face at mealtimes, ducking around shelves in the library in between classes looking for her. I always made sure to be on my best behavior in front of Remus, but behind his back, my eyes couldn’t wait to hungrily devour his sister. Her witty remarks as some Gryffindor teased her, her filthy mouth when a fellow Slytherin made the wrong comment--and just when I thought I couldn’t fall for her any more deeply, I’d caught her hexing a Gryffindor in the corridor. The poor bloke came out a few seconds later, clutching his jaw and nose, both of which were expanding at an alarming rate. She came skipping round the next moment, smiling broadly at her achievement. It was all I could do not to kiss her right then. 

“Sirius?” Tonks asked, pulling me from my memories. 

“Sorry, yes?” I asked, trying not to appear as anxious about it all as I was. 

“What’s your problem?” she asked. Looking at her, I weighed my options. On the one hand, the only living soul who knew about how I felt about Y/N was now no longer, in fact, living. On the other, keeping it such a secret allowed me to continue in my friendship with Moony. Lovely as she was, I couldn’t have anything come between us. Not when we were the only ones left. 

“I--” I started to begin the story, but upon remembering James, I stopped. “Nothing.” 

“Sirius,” Tonks started, an offended look on her face. “I am your cousin. You tell me right now, or I’ll go get Remus, and he will.” 

“You would, wouldn’t you,” I said, a fond smile coming on my face as I looked at her. 

“I most certainly would.” she threatened. With her hands on her hips, I was suddenly reminded strongly of Mrs. Weasley, which only made my smile bigger. “Now, go on and tell me, you grinning git!”

“Alright, lower your voice. Can you keep a secret?” I asked, looking at my hands. 

“Course I can,” she indignantly responded. 

“Well, there’s a, a slight--er, problem, with Y/N staying,” I said quietly, keeping an ear out for her sniffles. 

“Problem? What problem? Not like you don’t have enough rooms. Or is it you fancy her or something?” she said, laughing. I kept quiet, and after a moment or two, realization began dawning on her face. 

“Oh, but Sirius, she’s Remus’ sister!” Tonks said, looking at me scoldingly. 

“Don’t you think I know that, Nymphadora?” I barked, angry that she responded the way I feared.

At the sound of her birth name, her hair began burning bright red, and I retreated. 

“Sorry, it’s just--I know, okay? I’m very much well aware of the fact she is Remus’ sister. Why do you think I’ve kept my distance all these years?” I said. 

“Likely cause you were in Azkaban,” she pointed out. I gave her a nasty look, and she smiled softly. “Next time, don’t use my full name.”

I rolled my eyes and began anxiously pacing the floors. This was wrong; this was all wrong. The one girl Remus said was off-limits. All he let me get away with all those years at Hogwarts. With a fresh pang of guilt, I recalled a put-out looking Remus looking at me while I talked to a tall, blonde Ravenclaw during Charms. It was only years after I learned he’d had a thing for her--but to my defense, I’d have backed off without a complaint if he’d only told me. 

“All these years?” Tonks said, liking working things out in her head. “Surely that doesn’t mean...since Hogwarts?” 

“Yes,” I admitted miserably. “Since her first year.” 

“First year?” she shouted. 

“Keep down your voice.” I hissed at her, pausing to hear Remus speaking softly to Y/N. 

“Sorry,” she winced. “But really, since first year and you’ve never said anything?” 

“Well, I couldn’t. Remus made us all swear to leave her alone--and bloody hell, was that a job. After school, it was easier, once I was able to keep my distance. Out of sight, out of mind, as the Muggles say. Sorry, you know how Arthur loves his Muggles.” I laughed as she gave me a funny look. “And then--as you so astutely pointed out--I was in Azkaban. So it really hasn’t been a problem these last few years.” 

“But now she’s living in your house,” she pointed out. 

“Precisely,” I responded, running a hand over the scruff on my face. She remained quiet, looking thoughtful for a few minutes before responding. 

“Well, this is just bloody ridiculous. You’ve got to do something,” she said. 

“Do something? Do what? How could I betray Remus like that? He���s the only one left, Tonks. How am I supposed to betray him this way, especially after James, and then all the time apart, and then managing to let Peter slip through our fingers? I can’t do this to him.” I reasoned, beginning to harden my resolve. 

“Oh, you are bloody ridiculous, you know that?” she sighed, running her fingers through her now bubblegum-pink hair. 

“Excuse me?” I said, stopping my pacing to glare at her. 

“Bloody ridiculous!” she repeated, “Sirius, that was years ago. That was a feeble promise forced to be made by an older brother before his friends got horny and couldn’t think straight.” 

“What?” I said, pulling a face as I considered her words. 

“Remus made you all promise that so young so she wouldn’t become a plaything of yours, especially when the both of you turned out to be such whores.” Tonks laughed. 

“Whores? I was not a whore! And certainly not James, why after fifth year I don’t think I ever heard so much as a comment about any girl besides Lily.” I defended the both of us, vaguely aware of how I’d ridiculously brought my hands to my hips in indignation. 

“Sirius, you’re family, you know I love you--but Merlin, you were the biggest sodding slut the whole of Gryffindor has ever seen! I’d bet there isn’t a room in the castle you haven’t done something naughty in.” she laughed once more. I opened my mouth to protest, but couldn’t come up with a room fast enough--only proving her point. 

“Now, you two are not schoolchildren anymore. You are a grown man, Sirius. There’s no need to honor such a trivial and unnecessary pact.” She took a step towards me and put her hand on my cheek, dropping her voice. “Think of how much you’ve suffered, Sirius. Think of what you’ve lost; think of who you have lost. Remus has suffered the same loss. He lost James just as you did, but he also lost you. He thought you’d gone bad, thought Peter dead--James and Lily were dead. And then, years later, you return--innocent. You came back to him, and he, you. Things like that change a man. I’m sure there’s no one on this planet he trusts more with his sister than you. Don’t sacrifice your happiness for one more minute, cousin. Especially not when things look so similar to how they looked before, back when it all went wrong. Don’t waste another minute; I’m not going to either.” 

Shaken at her words, I remained quiet for a few moments. So much had changed since that night in Gryffindor tower. Maybe he wouldn’t mind the idea so much anymore. Besides, he trusted me enough to keep her safe.

My happiness...I’d never given the idea much thought, never considered it much of a possibility after being imprisoned. Never had reason to since. But now, my brain was swimming with possibilities. 

“Hang on,” I said, remembering the end of her monologue. “You aren’t going to either?”

She cursed under her breath before looking at me.

“Noticed that, did you?” she grimaced. I merely looked at her expectantly. “Alright, fine. Can you keep a secret?” 

“I mean, if I outed you, you could just out me,” I pointed out.

“True, alright. Well, it’s Remus,” she whispered, avoiding my eyes. 

“You and Remus?” I asked, frowning in thought. 

“And what about it?” she said, looking at me testily. 

“Well, nothing really. It’s just I never thought about it...are you sure?” I asked after a moment. I loved them both, but the thought had never even crossed my mind once. Surely if there was something between my cousin and my best friend, I’d have suspected something by now. 

“Of course I’m sure, you git,” she hissed at me. 

“So then why aren’t you together?” I asked. I couldn’t think of any reason they shouldn’t be if they both felt that way. Not like I had a sit down with the lot of them about not dating her. 

“Because he too is being ridiculous. Refuses to even look at me most of the time. Says I’m too young, says I deserve better than him.” 

“Better than Moony? Good luck with that one, cousin.” I laughed, shaking my head at the thought. 

“That’s what I keep saying, but he’ll hear none of it. Says I deserve better than a shabby, poor old werewolf.” she rolled her eyes. 

“Is that really what he thinks of himself as? A shabby old werewolf?” I asked, sad for my friend. If anybody deserved happiness, it was Remus. Before she could answer, we heard him calling. 

“Pads?” I suddenly heard. He entered the room alone, smiling softly at the two of us. 

“Hey, mate.” I smiled at him, opening my arms once more. Remus had always grudgingly accepted my affection, which only made me more inclined to give it knowing it bothered him. And as I knew he would, he rolled his eyes and smiled as he accepted. 

“Perhaps we should stay...” Remus said, looking to Tonks and then back to the kitchen. 

“Ooh no, you don’t. We’ve got to go, cut up sister or not. Besides, who better to take care of her than Sirius? Isn’t as if he’s got anything better to do. Perhaps she could persuade him in actually cleaning something in this wretched house.” Tonks added, gesturing to filth. I glared at her but remained silent; she was right. The house was filthy, but it was painful enough to be here, let alone restore the bloody thing.

“Suppose you’re right...” Remus said after a moment, “Take good care of her, Pads.” 

“Course I will, Moony. Always took good care of you, didn’t I?” I jeered.

“Not bloody likely! And don’t you go taking credit for that, that was all Madam Pomfrey,” he scolded, wagging his finger at me like he used to as a Prefect. “The group of you could hardly stand to sit still in the hospital wing for half an hour, let alone get me through a transformation!” As Remus told his story, Tonks looked at him with a funny look, and with an alarming pang, I realized Y/N often shot me the very same look. Did that mean she felt for me as Tonks felt for Remus? 

“That is bang out of order, mate! I worked hard at becoming an Animagi! Took years, it did. Don’t remember seeing Madam Pomfrey out trotting about with a teenage werewolf. Besides, kept your arse out of trouble!” I bantered back, smiling jovially. 

“Oh, it just as easily could’ve gotten me in trouble,” Remus shook his head at the memories.

“But it didn’t, did it?” I teased, “You know you loved it just as much as we did, Moony. Try as you might to remain all high and mighty. Ickle Prefect Moony,” I jeered, poking at him as he laughed. 

“Alright, alright. C’mon, let’s go before the two of you really start down memory lane. We’ve got to meet Dumbledore.” Tonks said, gently steering Remus towards the door. 

“Hang on, you’re going to Hogwarts?” I asked. I couldn’t help but be jealous. 

“Briefly. That wretch woman gets nosy when we’re there for more than a quick pop in.” Remus said; the disgusted look on his face told me he meant Umbridge. 

“Ah, well, say hello to Harry for me if you see him. I hear the little scamp likes roaming round nearly as much as we did.” I smiled after them. 

“That he does; I still remember catching him with that map...I don’t even know how he got ahold of it. James would’ve been so proud, out in the dark corridors taunting Snape. Like father, like son.” Remus smiled fondly at the memory before hanging his head slightly and ambling off to join Tonks. My chest hurt at the mention of James and Harry, and I was once more painfully reminded of my solitude. What I wouldn’t give to see James again...

I followed them to the door, waving goodbye as the two of them popped out of sight. I stared longingly at the spot where they’d disapparted. 

Standing in place, I gave myself a moment to gather my thoughts before returning to the kitchen. 

Tonks had made many good points, but were they just good because I was looking for any kind of reason to be with her? Did they actually make sense, or was I just looking for an out?

Remus had only made us promise once in the wee hours of the morning in the Gryffindor common room. Besides, if family was off-limits, well, that made him a right hypocrite, didn’t it? He did leave her here with me though, with the promise I’d take good care of her. That meant, to some degree, Remus trusted me with her. Would I be breaking that trust by going with my gut with Y/N? 

Good and evil continued to argue on my shoulders, but if I waited for a decision, I might be here for years. 

What’s more, was she even interested in me? I mean, sure, I’d caught her staring in school--but that was years ago; a lot had changed since then. But then there was the blush that always colored her cheeks every time I said something cheeky, the relief on her face when I’d met her in the port key room. Surely she wouldn’t let someone she detested bathe her, right? 

I resolved to simply flirt. If that went well, then she felt something too. And if she felt something too...well, let me not get ahead of myself. 

*******************************

Taglist: @geeksareunique @fredweasleysbitchh  @green-intervention​ @stopbeingcurious

[sturchling]

If my other prompt is too mean here's this Mari resigns class rep Lila takes over chaos ensures gets pressured everyone ask her for everything no matter her excuses act ungrateful 2 her demands Mari's help Mari say screw you like a savage and Lila snaps and lashes out to the point she runs away like a lunatic

Ok, so I am slowly coming back into writing fanfiction. I did find a job and am getting settled into the new routine. I am still going to be slow posting, but I will be writing again. 

Also, about that personal writing project, I have more details to share now. I am trying to write my own novel now. It will be a fantasy novel, and I will publish through kindle direct publishing. I hope to have it done by the end of the year or early next year. If any of you want details, I would be happy to chat with you about it.

Without further ado, here is the story, I hope you like it! Let me know what you think.

Things in the akuma class had taken a turn for the worse. Lila’s plan had worked perfectly. She had slowly chipped away at the class’ confidence in Marinette until they all thought she was the worst person in the school. Marinette had tried to stop Lila at first. She had gone to her friends about what Lila had threatened her with, but not many believed her.

 --------------------

The only people who still believe her are Kim and Nino. They had known her almost their whole lives, and knew Marinette wouldn’t make something like this up. They also knew Marinette well enough to know that she would never do the things Lila accused her of. Adrien also knew that Marinette was innocent, but he couldn’t say anything to the class.

  --------------------

He had tried at first, but Lila had been able to twist everything to her advantage again. Then she had gone to Adrien’s father. Mr. Agreste had told Adrien that he had to ‘maintain good relations with Miss Rossi, for the good of the brand’ and threatened to pull him out of school again if he failed to do so. He may not be able to help Marinette directly, but he has tried to warn her of some of Lila’s more heinous lies.

  --------------------

The rest of the class had become incredibly cruel towards Marinette. All they ever did anymore was glare at her and call her cruel names. Lila had succeeded, the class had all turned against Marinette. The only time they really spoke to her was to ask her to make things for them or to plan trips and events for the class.

  --------------------

It eventually became too much and Marinette had had enough. She resigned as class rep one Friday afternoon, and immediately stopped doing favors for the class. The class was furious that she wouldn’t make them things anymore, but was happy that they could get a new class rep now. One that wasn’t a bully to the sweetest girl in class. In fact, they decided that the sweetest girl in class should be the new class rep.

  --------------------

The Monday after Marinette resigned, the class elected Lila to be the new class rep. At first Lila was thrilled to be elected. She felt this meant that she was officially the queen of the class. But then the reality of the situation set in. She realized all of the work that the position entailed. She tried to give the work to Alya as her deputy. Alya said that she would do the paper work, but Lila would be able to set up much cooler events and trips than Alya with all her connections.

  --------------------

Of course, Lila couldn’t use her connections to create all these opportunities for the class. She had no connections to use. What is worse, Lila didn’t realize all of the extra things the class would ask for. Everything they used to ask Marinette for, they started asking Lila. She tried using any excuse she could come up with. She couldn’t make that banner they wanted because she was busy helping Prince Ali with his new charity. She couldn’t help make stuff for the bake sale because she was helping her mother with a new proposal at work. But nothing worked, they still demanded that she do all of this additional work for them.

  --------------------

And they got angry when Lila couldn’t deliver. The class quickly devolved into chaos. All the fundraisers didn’t meet their goal, and trips didn’t actually happen. Guests would cancel their appearances for the class last minute. The class began to act more and more ungrateful to Lila as she continued to fail as class rep. Lila saw her position in the class slipping with each passing day.

  --------------------

She even resorted to actually working, to try and win the class back. She started to apply herself to the class rep job and really try to get everything under control. But it was impossible to do the job on its own, let alone with the class asking for all of these additional favors. Lila didn’t understand how Marinette did it. She must have had outside help, there is no way she could have done all this work on her own, she must have cheated the system somehow.

  --------------------

Lila started to get angrier and angrier at Marinette. Marinette could have told her how hard this would be, and told her how she had cheated the system and made this so easy. When Lila saw Marinette go into the restroom alone, she made her move. She cornered Marinette in the restroom again and demanded she help Lila with the work. “You were the one who resigned and got me into this mess. You obviously had help, no one can do this job on their own. Since you caused all this, and you didn’t tell me who helped you when you were class rep, you are going to help me now. You will help me and make me look good to the class again, or you will regret it.” Marinette just looked at Lila with a blank stare. “How will you make me regret it? You already took the class from me. You don’t have any leverage here.” Lila got a smirk on her face, thinking she had the perfect plan. “Simple. I’ll make your parents turn against you. I did it with the class, I can do it again. If you don’t help me, I’ll go tell them how awful you have been to me and how their daughter is a bullying liar. Those are your options, so what is it going to be?”

  --------------------

Marinette just rolled her eyes, which shocked Lila. “Lila, my parents already know about you being a liar. After you got me expelled, I told them everything you have said to me. The threats, the lies, everything. They won’t believe you at all. You have no power over me anymore. Good luck as class rep. It was such a demanding position I never had any free time; I am glad it isn’t my job anymore. See you in class Lila, and I am looking forward to hearing your plan for the end of the year trip at the presentation later today. I am sure you have something amazing planned with all your connections. For your sake, I hope your plans actually work this time. Not sure how the class would handle another let down.”

  --------------------

Lila was shocked at what Marinette just said. While Lila stood in shock, Marinette walked around her and out of the restroom. Lila panicked as she realized Marinette was right, the class wasn’t going to keep letting these failures go. Lila went back to the classroom and was immediately bombarded by the class. Normally she would welcome the attention, but that was when the class was just fawning over her. Now, they were demanding more and more favors from her.

  --------------------

Lila quickly became overwhelmed by everything and snapped. She shoved everyone away, yelling, “That’s it! I’m done! This isn’t worth it! I quit being class rep! I only wanted the stupid job to take it from Marinette, but this is ridiculous. You guys can’t do anything for yourselves! You keep demanding all of these crazy trips and events that just can’t be done, I can’t organize those kinds of things!” The class is shocked by Lila’s outburst. Alya reaches out to the girl she considers her best friend, “What are you talking about Lila? You don’t sound like yourself. I am sorry if we put too much pressure on you, but you could organize these cool events. For a girl with your connections, it should be easy.”

  --------------------

Lila pulled away from Alya, looking completely deranged. “No, I can’t do it. I don’t have all these awesome connections. I lied. About everything. I just wanted to be the queen of this school, so I told you idiots what you wanted to hear. I never thought being class rep would be so much work. So, I’m done. My mom’s assignment here is done anyway, so we are going back to Italy. Have a good life, losers.”

  --------------------

The class looked on in shock as Lila fled from the class and out of the school. Lila got home and convinced her mother to end her time in France early. She told her mom that she was getting scared it was too dangerous to stay because of Hawkmoth and her mother agreed. Lila hated that she hadn’t had the opportunity to help Hawkmoth defeat Ladybug, but she had to get out of Paris.

  --------------------

The class was in shambles after that. Everyone tried to apologize to Marinette and get her to be class rep again, but the girl refused the position and made it clear that they weren’t friends again just because they said sorry. Mrs. Bustier’s class never fully recovered from the betrayal of Lila. Things did get better between the class and Marinette. They were civil to each other, but Marinette was still not ready to be friends again. Mrs. Bustier’s class was left to wonder how Lila had tricked them, and how they had let themselves be tricked. And they wondered most of all how they had let Marinette, the best friend they had ever had, get away.

[takaraphoenix]

Three Crows and a Goat

Fandom: Shadow and Bone / Grishaverse

Tags: m/m, character introspect, kind of fluff, jealousy, Asexual Kaz

Main Pairing: Kaz/Jesper

Summary: Kaz Brekker wasn't an emotional man, at least not when it came to expressing his emotions. He rather showed it. Like by getting his partner an Emotional Support Goat.

Links: On AO3 / On FFNet

--

Kaz Brekker wouldn't consider himself a emotional man. That wasn't to say he didn't have emotions; he simply preferred not to broadcast them, or to say them out loud. He was a controlled man, a man who always had control – over himself, his emotions, any situation at hand.

He had been informed that while that made him brilliant at his job, it made him questionable at best as a romantic partner. He wasn't one for physical signs of affection either. Human touch came... hard to him. Very rarely and only with those he truly trusted and loved. So any touch at all was already a huge sign of his affections. Still, when his eyes would wander and he saw other couples, hanging all over each other, constantly touching. It made his skin crawl. And it on occasion woke a strange sense of guilt – not an emotion Kaz experienced too often.

His partner didn't mind. He knew Kaz, knew who Kaz was – and that was who Jesper loved. The whole package, all of it, all of him. Baggage, quirks, issues and all. They had found their own ways of handling some things; Kaz' dislike of touch extended to a sexual level. It wasn't something he desired, even though he was close to Jesper, close enough to touch him on occasions, in reassurance, gently. Not sexually. For long, he had thought those two were linked, the same; he disliked touch, so of course did the thought of touching someone intimately not sit right with him. It was only after he had... fallen in love, that he had come to realize that these two things were not entirely the same, because even when he felt the urge to touch Jesper, it was never in such a manner.

And even that, Jesper was okay with. He'd had such a soft look on his face when he had assured Kaz of that. Yet Kaz knew Jesper was a sexual creature, he was a physical person. And so they had come to an agreement, regarding that. As long as it was purely sex – no emotion, no repeats, no personal details exchanged – Jesper was free to lay with whoever he liked.

On occasion, very rare occasions, Kaz found himself doubtful. Doubtful whether this was enough for Jesper. Because Jesper was not like Kaz – he was an emotional person. He was expressive in his emotions. Affectionate. Perhaps not in the traditional sense either, but still.

All of these factors culminated in Kaz Brekker, feared and respected throughout all of Ketterdam, carrying a fluffy baby goat through the streets. If any of his enemies could see him now-

He tried to carry the fluffy baby goat with as much dignity as he could, but there was very little dignity in carrying a fluffy baby goat. The only thing that kept him going was knowing what the goat was for. He knew both Jesper and Inej had thrown him suspicious and surprised looks when he had volunteered to get the goat; that was a job far beneath Kaz Brekker. There was a reason.

Because Kaz was not too good at showing his emotions. And because Jesper was very expressive in showing what he was feeling at all times. And because Kaz knew what the goat was for.

/break\

On the train, seeing Jesper just completely lose it and have a meltdown, Kaz knew most other partners would have gone over there to comfort him personally, hold him close in a tight, soothing embrace. Kiss him, hold him, make him feel safe. Kaz knew how to do the last of those and on occasions the first two, but this was different. This was on a different level.

"I need you to calm down. Hug the goat, shut the hell up!"

At first, Jesper looked startled. Him and Inej had both suspected the goat to be bait, to be a sacrifice if push came to shove. With furrowed brows did Jesper pick up the goat and gently caress it before hugging it tightly. Kaz could hear him whisper a startled so soft before he wrapped himself around the small furred creature. Fully and completely wrapped around the goat.

Kaz sat stiff, watching with wary eyes. Watching the gentle touch as Jesper caressed the fur, buried his face in the goat's neck, hugging it with both arms. The longer he hugged the goat, the more he calmed down. Physical contact soothed him. This comforted him. And Kaz knew that. He also knew he wouldn't be comfortable trading places with the goat, being hugged with so much intensity, two arms wound tightly, face buried in a neck, full body contact. The thought was overwhelming.

And so Kaz Brekker had gone and organized a goat. A small, soft goat. The one the woman he had gotten it from had assured him was the cutest of the goats. So Jesper would have something, something soft and warm and reassuring. Something to hug.

Perhaps Kaz was not the typical kind of partner, perhaps he couldn't offer Jesper the same things others could. But he was Kaz Brekker and he knew how to make the things he could do count.

The smirk spreading over his lips was pleased and satisfied as he watched his partner calm down enough to get up and get his gun out and shoot with pure, raw precision at any danger threatening them from the outside.

/break\

Kaz ran his hands over his cane. Over the mended parts. It was a love-language in itself, the way Jesper had fixed the cane. Theirs was a subtle way of showing each other their affection, but that did not make it any less strong. Like his hands, his eyes wandered. They were on a ship, about to leave for Ketterdam again. Return home. This mission had been a huge failure all around. Perhaps not a full failure, considering they had seen the 'saint' with their own eyes. Had seen the Sun Summoner, the light, the power, the... miracle. Kaz was not a believer, yet did religion not stop being religion when it was physical and graspable? The girl sitting opposite him was not some fabled saint in some religious tomb to be prayed at. She was no Sun Summoner or Sankta Alina, she was a lost girl. She was a lost girl, a scared girl, as he had seen so many before in his life.

The supposed saint sat between her friend and Inej. Inej, who had barely been able to tear her eyes off Alina since they had met her. There was awe and wonder in Inej's eyes, in a way Kaz had never seen before. Even as she was speaking with Jesper, she could hardly look away from Alina.

"The friends we made along the way."

Kaz quirked an eyebrow at that, looking more intensely at Mal and Alina. They truly expected to keep those two, didn't they? No. Lost girl or not, Kaz wasn't in the habit of keep every stray they met. Though, admittedly, he did invest in one of a kind and there was probably nothing more unique than the Sun Summoner herself. It would make Inej happy, that was for sure.

"I'm talking about Milo," clarified Jesper indignantly when Alina looked to be getting a big head.

"Who's Milo?" wanted Mal to know, confusion all over his face.

It was Inej who rolled her eyes, albeit affectionately. "No one you need to concern yourselves with."

That only made Jesper look even more offended. The goat was supposed to serve one purpose; get Jesper through the train ride safely. Instead, he had... grown attached to the animal. Named it. Bonded with it. Kept bringing it up. Kaz Brekker was not a jealous person in nature – he knew what was his and he made sure they were always clear in what that meant. Yet, inexplicably so, he felt jealous of a goat. A ridiculous motion that he most definitely could not allow anyone to know about. What was, perhaps, even more ridiculous was what followed.

"Mister Brekker. Your... special delivery, sir."

Kaz arched an eyebrow and turned toward the voice. "About time. The ship is about to leave."

He put as much displeasure into his words as possible, though he still took the bag of coins from his belt and handed it over to the young woman, in exchange for... a rope. Jesper next to him gasped m a high-pitched manner as he turned and saw what was on the other end of the rope.

"Milo!" Jesper's voice was loud, drawing unwanted attention and earning a pointed glare from Kaz, causing him to immediately drop his voice. "But how—Where-Why? I thought our funds were dwindled, why would you-?"

As he spoke, or rather rambled in broken half-sentences, he picked up the goat, hugging it close and kissing its head. Kaz made a face at that, though subtly so. Though he may not understand why Jesper felt that way about this creature, he knew the goat was making him happy. Otherwise, Jesper would not have kept bringing it up all the time.

"It seemed like a worthy investment," dismissed Kaz shortly.

Inej was hiding a smile and... Mal made a loud sound. "The goat! The goat that helped me escape!"

He lunged forward and started petting the goat too, much to everyone's surprise. "You too? How?"

"There, in that necklace around its neck, was a bullet. I used it to break my chains. To escape. A good boy, aren't you? Such a good boy!" Mal laughed, ruffling the goat's fur.

"His name is Milo and he is the best boy," agreed Jesper eagerly, petting Milo's flank.

"Milo, is it? Pretty boy," Mal was nearly cooing at that. "How do you know him?"

As Jesper launched into a retelling of how they had first crossed the fold, the other three were left simply staring at them. At least Kaz wasn't the only one watching them in mild disturbance. When Kaz turned a little, Alina had taken a seat next to him.

"You two are a very... different couple," whispered Alina curiously.

"I doubt that is any of your business," stated Kaz just a little coldly.

He wasn't one for chitchat either. Though he had to admit, he was mildly impressed that she had picked up on it. Most people who met Kaz and Jesper didn't realize what they were, that they were partners beyond their work. Perhaps there was a potential to Alina, even beyond being a Sun Summoner. She could be useful. Not that he was making any definite decisions, though he had to admit that it would bring Inej joy. And, looking at Jesper and Mal bonding over a goat, all Kaz saw was yet another argument Jesper and Inej would use to try and convince him to keep Mal and Alina.

"This is very thoughtful of you," continued Alina, not minding him, the smallest smile on her lips.

Kaz opted to ignore her. Perhaps then she would go away. Or stop irritating him. She surely seemed to fit in with them, he mused as he looked back toward Jesper, Mal and the goat.

"Oh. Oh, I'll go and find him something to eat," suggested Mal eagerly. "He deserves it."

Jesper handed the rope over to Mal and let the other lead Milo away. Instead, he turned toward Kaz, basically beaming at him. That expression surely was worth the money spent. Kaz swallowed down the smile fighting its way up onto his own lips. No such things, certainly not in public. Instead, he slowly reached out and rested his hand on Jesper's, holding it gently. If possible, the smile on Jesper's lips brightened even more.

~*~ The End ~*~

[nebulousnajm]

whose child is this? - levihan crackfic

Levi heads to his room to grab a document from his desk, but all thoughts of bureaucracy and paperwork fly out of the window as he finds a baby sitting and blabbering to itself on his bed. The baby looks up at him in the doorway and exclaims “papa!” upon seeing him.

He frowns. Very few of the survey corps have children, and so he’s familiar with how those look like. This brunette child is not one of them, “whose brat are you?” he asks, as if it is capable of answering him.

Did a governor or someone from the inner walls visit? It’s probably someone’s child that wandered off. He sighs, closes the door, and goes to ask the guards stationed at the headquarter doors about any recent visitors. The answer is “no sir, only the supply carts have come today,” he nods in thanks and deliberates on what to do.

On his way back to his room, Levi passes by Hange’s lab. He can hear them sorting through their books, probably looking for some obscure fact to back up a working theory. He knows that Hange is friendly and on talking terms with all of the staff, so they may recognize the tiny intruder.

(continued after the cut)

He knocks –to announce his presence– and enters the room. He finds Hange scanning a book with one hand and jotting down notes every other second with the other, all the while muttering to themselves. For a split second there’s something comforting about the sight; about seeing them be at some level of peace doing something they love. But he pushes the thought away into the forbidden corner in his mind where all similarly sentimental thoughts go.

“Hey four-eyes,”

Hange looks up, “hm? oh hey Levi! i didn’t hear you coming in”

“I’m not surprised. Anyways, did one of the supply staff have a brat recently?”

They look thoughtful, “..no i don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

It’s an expected question; he’s never expressed an interest in the detailed lives of the staff, but given his current predicament, he’s sort of forced to know more.

Levi also realizes that there’s no way to explain the situation in a way that will make sense, but then again, Hange has never needed things to make sense to take them seriously.

“There’s a... baby in my room, and i don’t know whose it is,” he looks away and doesn’t mention that said baby thought he was it’s father.

“What?!”

“I don’t know! Why do you think i’m asking you?”

He must look visibly flustered because Hange laughs and puts down their book, “alright, maybe if i see this mysterious baby i’ll recognize it,” they get up and –presumably– head to his room. He spares a glance at the lab before he follows; it’ll need a dusting soon.

Once he catches up to them, they ask, “what does it look like?”

“Brown hair and grey eyes, you’ll see for yourself,”

“Grey eyes huh? I don’t think I know of anyone who has a grey-eyed baby,”

Levi wearily hopes that Hange unlocks that memory once they see it; this whole situation is starting to take a lot longer than he’d like it to.

They reach his room and find the baby looking around in wonder at its surroundings. It’s quiet. He remembers that this is unusual for babies but doesn’t know what to do with that piece of information.

Hange giggles as they approach the tiny creature on the bed, “who are you, you little cutie?”

The baby raises its arms and says “mama!”

Hange complies with the request and lets it wrap its small arms around their neck and rest it’s head on their shoulder.

“I’m not your mother though,” a small pause as they notice something on the baby, “aww you have a book with you?”

It does? Levi hadn’t seen if it had something in its hands, but going off of the small yellow cardboard square it’s holding, it apparently does. He plucks the item from its hands, and reads the title out loud, “The Bumblebee and The Tulip”. The script on the cover is legible but strange.

Hange smiles, “it’s been ages since i’ve seen a children’s book, I’ve only ever found them in Sina,” they glance back at the baby, “so you’re a rich kid, huh?”

“Doesn’t look like one though. No fancy hair clips or jacket. Not even expensive shoes,”

They hum thoughtfully, “true. What a strange little specimen,” they take a look at the baby’s clothes, “speaking of strange, these clothes are weird too. Simpler yet somehow more complicated than usual,”

Well. This isn’t going great, “I don’t think there’s anything “usual” left in this situation,”

The baby, which has been sitting contentedly in Hange’s arms this entire time, now reaches towards him and says, “papa,”

He narrows his eyes at it, “why does it think we’re it’s parents? And can it only say those two words?”

Hange laughs a little, “I don’t know, but babies can only say so much. Do you know how to hold one?”

The answer must be on his face because they just continue, “you basically have them sit on your arm, and you support their neck or back with a hand as well, here try it,” and they offer the baby to him.

“I think i’ll drop it if I try to carry it,”

“You won’t, this one’s quite light so you’ll be able to handle it,”

Levi shoots them an unimpressed look but hold out his arms anyway. Hange hands the small thing over to him and arranges his arms so that they look like how Hange’s did. He’s still a little worried that he’ll accidentally hurt the child even as it just sits there and stares at him with strangely familiar grey eyes.

Hange tilts their head to the side and smiles, “you look kind of adorable together,”

He glares at them with no real heat, “no we don’t”

“It’s true! You know what? Actually..” but they trail off.

That’s weird. Hange never keeps an observation to themselves, “what is it?”

They look kind of sheepish, “okay, well, it’s ridiculous, but the baby does look a little like both of us,”

“What,”

“I know it’s impossible, but it has your eyes and it’s nose looks like what mine did when i was that age,”

Levi looks back at the baby and a weird feeling blooms in his chest. Hange’s observation explains why the eyes were familiar; he’s seen them everyday in the mirror. He also notes that even the baby’s hair is of a very similar shade to Hange’s, but that doesn’t mean anything; brown hair is very common.

“Right, well. This brat might look like us but that doesn’t mean shit. It’s not our child and we don’t know whose it actually is,”

Hange sighs, “I’m sure we’ll find it’s parents once we ask around, but it is confusing. You said you just found it on your bed?”

“Yeah,”

“No disturbance around it? Any footprints or signs that the window was open or anything?”

“I wasn’t really focusing on that when I found it,” but he does take stock of his room now and notes that nothing seems out of place; as if the child simply manifested into existence.

Just as they’re contemplating on who to ask, they hear voices. But not from the hallway.

The sound of two voices in conversation came from the wall to the left, the one that has no door or window and just connects to more stone. Yet it sounds like someone is coming from there as if through a hallway.

Levi and Hange glance at each other, “Levi do you have a secret corridor attached to your room?”

“No. why would I-“ but he stops short as the voices become clearer.

Because if this entire thing wasn’t weird as fuck already, it’s their voices that are coming closer, and he starts to be able to pick out the conversation:

“Four-eyes i swear to god if our child is in the universe of the cannibal-murder-giants,” that’s his voice. What the fuck. To make matters worse, the baby he’s holding turns towards the voice with excitement.

Someone, no, Hange laughs. That’s their laugh, but Hange is standing right next to him staring wide-eyed at the wall.

“There’s nothing to worry about! the drop range I set for here is limited to only the building where our parallels work at, so Kora should be safe. what I’m really hoping for is to find her alon-“

Two people materialize as they step out of the wall, and freeze upon seeing them.

Two people, may he add, that look and sound exactly like them.

A very thick silence suffocates the air, and it’s only broken when the baby squirms in his hold, reaches out towards the other two and says “mama! papa!”

The other Hange awkwardly waves at the child while the other Levi simply says “shit,”

Other-Hange tries to smile, “uh hi. can we have our child back, please?”

“your child?” the real Hange chokes out.

“Yes, she accidentally wandered here while we weren’t paying attention,” other-Hange replies as if answering a normal inquiry about the weather.

This other-Hange approaches him with their arms out to receive the child and he instinctively steps back. The other-Levi laughs, “we’re not gonna bite,”

His own hold on the baby isn’t going to last while she’s trying to jump into her mother’s arms, so he tentatively hands her and her book over lest he drops both.

He notes that other-Hange wears a wedding ring, and when he glances over to his apparent twin, he’s wearing a matching one too. Great.

“You just caused a huge mess, you know that Kora?” the other-Hange tells the baby with a fond smile.

Kora simply laughs in response.

Levi’s fairly sure that his brain short-circuited, because he asks “who are you?”

“Damn I didn’t think I would be this stupid” other-Levi says.

other-Hange laughs a little, “hey be nice! you weren’t the brightest bulb when you learned of this either,”

“Yeah whatever, we gotta head back anyway before we break this universe,”

“Right. Well, it was interesting meeting you two. Try to convince yourselves that this was some weird fever or lucid dream, things will go smoother that way,”

And with that, both Others turn back to phase through the stone wall they came from. Kora waves at them both as she disappears without a trace, just like how she appeared in the first place.

It might have been minutes or hours that Levi and Hange just stood there gaping at the wall, but eventually he says “what the fuck?”

“I have so many questions. I’m going to be thinking about this for the rest of my life,” Hange says as they sink down to sit on the floor.

Levi joins them and thinks that maybe one of the new recruits snuck something into the tea.

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thanks for reading! 

this fic can also be found on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31065770

please don’t repost or upload on another site :)