#like i KNOW they're mostly mouth and their noses level with their eyes

[numerowah]

man the way i draw does NOT lend itself to wario easily this sucks

its still cartoony, but its less cartoony than wario is [tbh waluigi too but he's easier to hide mess-ups] and i either fuck up his proportions or they look wrong they way i draw them. or both

i'll get him in a dress eventually i just need to figure this out X]

[catcze]

Boxer wriothesley making out with you after a fight

16+ !! Suggestive content !!

Reblogs are greatly appreciated !!

「 FEAT : 」 Wriothesley x GN! reader

「 ### : 」 Fluff, some suggestive content & mentions of sex but nothing actually 18+. Modern au !!

「 CWS : 」 Written pre release so potentially ooc !! Light mentions of injuries. making out 🥴. established relationship. Hand holding & hair pulling. Wriothesley lifts you up at one point and is so down bad. Wriothesley calls the reader sweetheart and baby. Reader wears perfume. Author knows jack shit about boxing and has never watched a boxing match so please excuse any and all inaccuracies

I got this ask and blacked out i saw red i was caught in a whole TRANCE do not perceive me i lost my sanity as i wrote this because the feelings that overcame me at the thought of shirtless, post-fight Wriothesley who shines w/ sweat and is full of post-match adrenaline was too much for my mental capacity to bear

The route to Wriothesley's locker room is one that you can navigate with your eyes closed— a confidence born from familiarity. Every time after a match, whether he wins or he loses, you always find your way from your front row seat to the door you stand before now. The first few times, he had instructed his managers to come pluck you up from your front row seat and escort you, but now the staff just bring you as far as the backstage security clearance, leaving you to find your own way.

You knock on the hard door twice, giving it a moment, then enter—

— and you're immediately swept up into Wriothesley's arms, a startled yelp escaping you as you clutch his shoulders on instinct.

"Hey, sweetheart," Wriothesley murmurs, pressing his nose to your neck while he holds you aloft, your legs tightly around his bare torso. He breathes your perfume in once, twice, like he can't get enough of it. "You enjoy the show?"

"Wriothesley!" you gasp, trying to tug free of his hold, gripping his hair and trying to pull him off of you to no avail. He stubbornly melts even more against you, pushing your back further against the door you came in through. "Put me down! You should be resting right now, not-"

"Not enjoying the fruit of my victory?" he teases against your neck, his tongue licking up the skin, making heat pool in your belly. Your shiver does not go unnoticed, and you can feel the quirk of his lips where they're pressed up against your neck. "'m fine, baby. Already got checked out and everything. Just need to go home and get some ice, that's all," he reassures you, pressing kisses to your neck and the side of your face, his hands squeezing your thighs appreciatively as he keeps you pinned up against the door.

You relax against him then, glad that he's mostly fine. The match had been over quick, anyways— it hadn't dragged out long enough for him to get hurt too badly. He had definitely walked away in much better shape than his opponent, at least.

The hand in his hair stops trying to tug him away, instead pulling him closer. You scratch his scalp and untangle little knots in his hair while he takes his fill of lathering attention onto your skin, making him purr delightedly in between leaving marks and bites wherever his mouth can reach.

When he adjusts his hold on you to free one hand (there's a zing in your veins when he effortlessly holds you up with ease) so it can play with the edge of your shirt, you reach down to pull it away, weaving your fingers together instead.

"We can't fuck in your locker room," you tell him resolutely, a frown on your face. "You have an interview when you go out and your managers will have your head and mine if you go on air looking like you just smashed."

He sighs but acquesces, pulling away from your neck to level his face just a few inches from yours. "Just a kiss, then. That okay?"

You nod and he's on you in an instant. With the short time you both have, Wriothesley hardly dawdles as his tongue traces along the seam of your mouth, instantly dipping in when you grant him entrance. There's a sigh from you and a low groan from him when his tongue meets your own, and he squeezes your hand that's still connected to his.

Wriothesley bites down on your bottom lip, making you gasp and pull him harder against you by his hair. You can feel his heartbeat where his chest is pressed against yours, the sweat on him making him stick to you. Fingers dig into the meat of your thighs, his thumb drawing shapes you can't make out in your kiss-fueled haze.

His tongue licks the inside of your mouth, sighs of bliss transferring from his mouth into yours. "You're so good to me, baby," Wriothesley mumbles against your lips, eyes half lidded and something hungering behind them.

You can't even bring it in yourself to speak, tugging him closer once again because in that moment he is focusing too much on speaking and not enough on kissing you. He chuckles at your desperation, but gives in to you as he always does, letting himself be dragged further into your embrace.

Fuck it, the words are on the tip of your tongue. Fuck the interview. Put your hands under my shirt kiss me somewhere else—

Knock knock.

Like a gunshot, your eyes fly open at the interruption and you hand jolts, accidentally pulling on his hair too hard and making him hiss when he detaches from you. "Sorry, sorry," you murmur to him, pressing a fleeting peck to his lips. Now, it is your turn to bury your nose into his neck.

"You good in there?" The voice of his manager comes floating through the door, muffled. "The interviewer's been waiting a while by now, you know."

"Right, right. Be out in a bit." He hopes his manager doesn't realize that his voice is far too close to the door than it normally should be.

Wriothesley has to stifle a dissatisfied sound, maneuvering you off the door and gently placing you down on the bench in the room, mindful of the way your legs shake. A gentle kiss is placed to the crown of your head, then to the back of the hand he holds before he lets go.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he says in a low rumble, voice deepened from the makeout. His lips are swollen from all the kissing— you hope people attribute it to his fight instead of a post-fight makeout. "Sit tight here, I'll come back for you when I'm done."

Then that hunger reappears in his eyes and his smile gets the slightest bit sharper. "We'll go home and continue where we left off. I promise."

[foundmywei]

Buddie Fanfic Recs 1

Here are my favorite buddie fics! This post includes 40 of them, go to Part 2 for more~

10k words or under

the wood marked for your fire by hattalove

(10,264 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“Chim. Weird question?” Chimney’s chair creaks. Buck cranes his head over the back of the couch and watches him straighten up, pop his back, close the folder. “You only ever ask me weird questions,” he says, and then crosses the loft to sit in one of the armchairs. He levels Buck with a look that’s way too knowing for the amount of words they’ve exchanged. “What’s up?” He takes a breath. “What does it feel like to be a dad?” in which buck is used to wanting things he's not allowed to have; it's just that he never thought being a father would be one of them.

but, baby, watching you blush by calvingseason

(10,100 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Eddie opens his mouth. Closes it. Finally, he settles on, “You told your parents you’re married? To a man?” Chimney and Hen both glance at him with twin looks that clearly mean he’s on his own with telling the rest of the story. Which—they had no problem teasing and joking about it three seconds ago, but now that Buck has to really get to the heart of the issue, they’re leaving it to him? Go fucking figure. “I told my parents,” Buck says, rubbing at the bridge of his nose with closed eyes, “that I’m married to you.” or, buck and eddie go to hershey for buck's high school reunion. the only problem? everyone thinks that they're married.

take my hand (take my everything) by cnomad

(10,307 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

When Buck has another near death experience, he decides the smartest thing to do is update his will. It's not a big deal, really—he just wants to take care of the people who matter most to him: Eddie and Chris. But to Eddie? To Eddie that's a pretty huge deal.

for all the perfect things i doubt by extasiswings

(5,199 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Evan Buckley is really good in bed. Sometimes he wishes he wasn’t.

it was you, love by hammersmiths

(6,673 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Eddie doesn’t realise the pattern until Karen says, “You’re collecting us like Pokémon.” “What, Wilsons?” Eddie says. He’s mostly distracted by Christopher on the couch, who is with Denny showing Miles, Hen and Karen’s newest foster, how to play Animal Crossing on his Switch. Miles is already developing the same starry-eyed look in his eyes Christopher himself gets around Buck. “You certainly don’t make it hard.” “Not Wilsons, dummy,” Karen says. “Lesbians.” Which is—not what Eddie was expecting her to say. “Uh. What?” or, Eddie befriends May and Linda at dispatch. Then realises some stuff.

you remind me of home (oh, baby, merry christmas) by catchingpapermoons

(7,247 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“Buck, just come here,” Eddie says, and Buck feels his heart start to pound. “Do you need me to come get you?” “Oh.” He takes another deep breath. “You’re sure?” Eddie laughs. “Like Christopher won’t be over the moon that you’re here.” “For a month, Eddie.” “So?” -- or, Buck has to live with Eddie for a month, which would be fine if he wasn't in love with the guy.

one of the few things by thatnerdemryn

(7,222 words | General Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“I want someone who’s going to take care of him, love him just as I would without babying him or making him feel like he can’t do things, you know? I want someone who is going to fight for him, not against him, who would literally go through hell for him because he deserves it--” Eddie cut himself off, but Hen didn’t need him to continue. “You want it to be Buck.” Maybe she should’ve been more surprised or she should’ve asked the question instead of saying it so surely and causing the bit of panic that erupted in Eddie’s eyes, but it was obvious in everything Eddie was expressing. Or five times that Eddie tells someone else that Buck is Christopher's legal guardian plus one time he finally tells Buck.

someday soon i'll make you mine by lecornergirl

(2,710 words | General Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

"I didn't raise him to be this dramatic, you know," Eddie mutters as they listen to Christopher making his way down the hallway to make his entrance. "He gets this from you."  Eddie doesn't seem to think there's anything unusual about what he's just said, but something warm blooms in Buck's chest. He gets this from you. His artificial, arbitrary line in the sand between parent and not is blurring once again. 

you can start a family who will always show you love by fleetinghearts

(8,185 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“Yeah, yeah, he’s—he’s my kid, he’s my kid,” Buck tells her, tripping over his words in the effort to get this whole process to hurry the fuck up so he can see Chris. There’s the sound of something hitting the floor from behind him, followed by what might be plastic bouncing off the shiny hospital tiles. The person at the desk looks up in surprise, over Buck’s shoulder, and he turns to look too. Eddie’s standing there, Styrofoam cup rolling at his feet, coffee splattered all down the bottom of his faded blue jeans. The plastic lid of the cup skitters over the tile before coming to a stop a few feet away. He looks like someone punched him in the gut, absolutely shellshocked, something Buck can’t quite read behind the startled expression on his face. or, buck's looking for something, and the diazes let him know he already has it

can't see anyone but you by allyasavedtheday

(4,967 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“Besides,” he says, clearing his throat. “Once I’m on the date, there’s no beating me. I know how to treat a date right.” Buck tilts his head to the side, his cocky smirk re-emerging as he appraises Eddie. “Wanna put your money where your mouth is, cowboy?” “What?” “Let’s go on a date,” Buck says like it’s obvious. Eddie splutters through some attempt at a response but Buck carries on speaking before he can come up with something to say. “You show me your best date moves and I’ll show you my best date moves and whoever’s better doesn’t have to pay for dinner.” * Post 6x17, Buck and Eddie decide to go on a practice date. It goes exactly how you think it would.

something to hold onto by foxwatson

(5,185 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

There’s about a palm’s width of distance between Eddie’s knee and Buck’s thigh, where they’re both sitting on Eddie’s couch. It would barely take any movement at all for Eddie to just nudge his leg over a little further, press their knees together and let his rest there. or the one where frank tells eddie he should work on letting himself want things, and eddie starts by cuddling with buck

accidents happen ( but i will love you on purpose) by withmeornotatall

(4,425 words | General Audiences | Chapters: 171)

"Buck..." Eddie says lowly. "Did you already put a load of laundry in?" "I had nothing to do whilst Chris was doing his math homework," he explains himself, turning back to Eddie. "And my workout stuff smelt so bad, Eddie. I almost cried." "Buck, let me do the groceries then—" "No, Eddie, its fine." Buck shakes his head resolutely. "You know I love shopping, especially with Chris. And beside, you still have to do the light load and then fold it all up. Even split of chores, I promise." Buck wonders if Hen and Chim ever split their errands on their days off, before Karen and Maddie. (OR: buck kisses eddie, goes grocery shopping with christopher, then realises he's in love with eddie, in that order)

I-10 by sunryder

(6,997 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Instead of taking the 1-40 through Nashville back in 2012, Buck took the I-10 along the southern border. But once you were in West Texas, all roads led to El Paso. There was no getting out of the state without passing through it. Evan considered inevitability a pretty damn good analogy for Eddie Diaz. (Where Buck literally takes a different road and meets Eddie a few years early.)

baby, you were my picket fence by spaceprincessem

(6,179 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Buck is all in. He’s one-hundred percent, give em everything he’s got, will do anything Maddie asks— “You can’t tell anyone,” Maddie suddenly becomes so serious Buck feels like he has whiplash. He blinks a few times, brow furrowed, “Well, yeah I know that.” “No, Buck,” Maddie leans forward covering his hand with her own, “I mean it. No one else is allowed to know about this.” Buck opens his mouth, but Maddie reads him like the traitorous sister that she is and cuts him off by saying, “That includes Eddie.” “Maddie,” Buck whines, and he’s very well aware at how pathetic it sounds, “that’s not fair! It’s — he’s — it’s Eddie!” [or Maddie wants to propose to Chimney. She gets Buck involved. Buck can't tell anyone. He somehow proposes to Eddie instead.]

all i know since yesterday by sibylsleaves

(6,082 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Buck knows what he’s doing might be constituted as ‘a bit creepy,’ but he can’t really help it. He has a book in his lap, so it’s not like he’s just staring at Eddie, but—ok, so he hasn’t actually read a page in over twenty minutes, and in the meantime he has watched his best friend chop like six different kinds of vegetables to go in Bobby’s ragu. “How’s it going, Buck?” Hen asks, flinging herself into the adjacent arm chair. “Fine,” Buck says, barely looking at her. “But something’s up with Eddie.” or, Eddie flirts. Buck worries.

Break Glass in Case of Emergency by Beforeastorm

(2,894 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Eddie’s mind wandered to the red folder, tucked high up in the back of his closet. He recalled back to a conversation he had with Buck, almost a year ago at this point:

“It’s an insurance policy; a break glass in case of emergency. A trump card.” “One I really hope we’ll never have to use.” “But if we have to, we’ll be really glad we did this.” When hospital policy doesn't allow Chris, as an unrelated minor, to visit a comatose post-lightning strike Buck in the ICU, Eddie has a solution. Unfortunately, that involves sharing some pretty personal information in a waiting room filled with the 118.

like a heartbeat racing by elisela

(3,600 words | General Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Buck can do this. He can totally do this, it’s just a favor for Maddie, and what’s he good at if not helping out his sister? Sure, doing a cake tasting when you’re neither the bride nor the groom is a little … unorthodox … but it’s cake. He loves cake, he specifically ate fewer carbs all week so he could pig out to his heart’s content on cake, delicious, fluffy cake, and he can do this. “I can’t do this,” he blurts out the night before, pacing the apartment with Eddie on speakerphone. “Maddie said she told them I would be coming so at least I don’t have to pretend to be Chim, but how pathetic is it to show up to a cake tasting alone?”

you were the wilderness I crossed into by rowan_wood

(9,218 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“Truth.” “How many times have you fallen in love?” The table was quiet, but Eddie didn’t take long to think it over. “Three times.” “With who?” Lucy asked. “Nope, not part of the question,” he smiled at Lucy, easy as anything. Buck tried to count quickly in his head, the math not adding up. “My turn, right?” Eddie asked the group. “Chim. Truth or dare.” or: the 118 has a 24 hour shift, and zero calls. The firefam spends it playing games, and everyone takes the opportunity to tell Buck just how much they love him.

11k - 40k words

The Family We Choose by maybeamystery

(20,468 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“Hey, bud!” says the scowling man, suddenly all smiles. The smile changes his face into something beautiful; Kelly realizes that this kid has not one but two hot dads. As he’s swept into the arms of his other dad and they start off in the direction of the nearest ice cream shop, Kelly says to the curly-haired man, “You two have an adorable son.” [10 times Buck is mistaken for Christopher's dad and 2 times it's not a mistake. Contains major spoilers for 5x14]

a leaf falls on loneliness by iimpossible_things

(11,163 words | Not Rated | Chapters: 1/1)

Buck doesn’t think that if he were to say, “I’m in a bad place”, that anyone would turn him away. Really, he doesn’t. The 118 has too many good, kind people for that. But every time he wants to open his mouth, to say something, to reach out to Eddie or Bobby or Hen or Chim, he hears Eddie yelling, “you’re exhausting.” —you’re exhausting, you’re exhausting, you’re exhausting— So each day he does his job and he laughs and he jokes and he pretends he’s the care-free goofball he’s always been. And each day he packs away his bruises and his worries, takes them home to his empty loft with its quiet rooms, and licks his wounds in silence.

Buy Back the Secrets by allyasavedtheday

(18,808 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 3/3)

He casts his gaze to the right, to the voice he’d heard a minute ago and the hand still on his shoulder. And, well. Okay. So Buck may have just been unconscious for an indeterminable length of time but he doesn’t think he’s exaggerating when he says the guy leaning over his bedside is one of the most attractive people he’s seen in a long time. Especially when his face splits into a smile that rivals the brightness of the hospital lights that almost just fucking blinded Buck a second ago. “Welcome back, hotshot,” the guy says and it sounds fond – familiar – and Buck honestly has no idea who this guy is. His brown hair is dishevelled on top of his head and his eyes look tired but then Buck notices the LAFD t-shirt so- alright. Someone from the firehouse, maybe? But he’s pretty sure he’d remember a face like that. * After getting hurt on a call, Buck wakes up thinking it's 2018. AKA Buck can't remember who Eddie is but he's pretty sure everyone's lying when they say they're "just friends."

you're my whole house by hammersmiths

(11,958 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Eddie shrugs. “Christopher mentioned to Daniel that Buck and I are partners. I mean, sure, it’s a little weird that she invited him over as well, but—” “Partners,” Hen interrupts, “like work partners?” Eddie and Buck glance at each other. “Uh, yeah?” Eddie says. “What other type of partner?” Hen stares at them for a moment, before she bursts out laughing. “You dumbasses. She thinks you’re together.”

the distance to the stars by cloudydaisies

(27,258 words | General Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“Didn’t know you were seeing someone.” Buck just laughs. Like, honest to god giggles. Eddie is stuck fighting off doubly massive waves of butterflies and confusion, all while Buck just gazes down at him. “That’s cute,” he hears Buck mumble, just before climbing into the truck, calling Eddie after him. - or, everyone knows eddie is dating buck except for eddie, literally.

The Definition of Love and All Things Ineffable by ElvenSorceress

(29,351 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 3/3)

Maddie asks him, like she’s been waiting to ask him, “Does Christopher call you ‘Uncle Buck’?” It’s… it sounds so casual. Nonchalant. Maybe even reasonable? And like there’s something she’s trying to figure out, but why would Chris ever call Buck his uncle? He’s Jee-Yun’s uncle. “No,” Buck answers. “Why?” “He called me Aunt Maddie.” She tips her head curiously, brows knit together. “You’re far closer to him than I am. I thought if I’m his aunt, you’d have to be his uncle. Why wouldn’t you be Uncle Buck?” There are pieces of chicken mushed into Jee’s fingers and carrots sticking to the bib draped over her front and what might be peas caught in her hair. And Buck doesn’t really have an answer. It’s just. It’s wrong. He’s not Chris’ Uncle Buck. Maybe he should be? Maybe he’s supposed to be? Or maybe Chris doesn’t call him that directly because he’s always been BFF Buck or His Buck. He shrugs and uneasiness settles in his stomach. What more could he ever be to Chris but an uncle? ~~~ In which Buck processes his breakup, learns his place in his family, has a huge crisis of sexuality, and finds the truth about love beating in his own heart.

Didn't think you meant it by EtoileGarden

(33,519 words | Explicit | Chapters: 12/12)

“Y’know,” he said. Shrugged again. “That last call? I kind of thought I’d have that by now.” “What,” Eddie raised his eyebrows at him. “A roof collapsing on you?” Buck grunted, elbowed Eddie. Lightly, because he did appreciate the humour in Eddie’s voice. “No,” he said. “Just - married.”

drink the river dry by Rianne

(32,215 words | Explicit | Chapters: 1/1)

It wasn’t until they were discussing his discharge paperwork and painkiller schedules that it really sunk in for Eddie that Buck would be staying with him and Christopher. That he would be around 24/7 except for his shifts at work. That he’ll sleep on the couch, where he’s been sleeping for days now to look after Christopher. The worst part is that it’s necessary—Eddie isn’t going to be able to do a damn thing for himself for the next couple of weeks. He’s lucky if he can put a shirt on by himself a month from now. Yeah, that’s going to be a problem. Or: Eddie gets shot, breaks up with his girlfriend, and pines like there’s no tomorrow.

Despite it all, Because of it all by kitkatpancakestack

(23,747 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

He puts the truck in park in front of Eddie’s childhood home. Christopher shifts in the back, already unbuckling his seatbelt. Eddie is frozen with his jaw set, eyes hard and unblinking as they bore holes through the windshield. Buck was here once before, after that relief trip to Texas, but he is under no illusions that this time will be similar. For one, he doesn’t have the buffer of other firefighters to hide behind. This isn’t a visit that will last a couple hours, and so the sugary, superficial niceties will eventually crumble when it’s mid-way through the week and he’s still hanging around. There is also the shadow of everything that has happened since the wildfires skulking behind them, waiting to be found out. But, this is Eddie and Christopher, needing him to have it together, so he paints on a smile and squeezes Eddie's knee and slides out of the truck. * Eddie's dad gets sick. Buck goes with him and Christopher to El Paso.

you light the spark in my bonfire heart by woodchoc_magnum

(22,669 words | Mature | Chapters: 2/2)

A post-5b fic, in which Buck slowly realises that he's been in love with Eddie this whole time.

some day i'll fall into you by allyasavedtheday

(13,467 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

I got you. I got you. I got you.

“You said that,” he says, clearing his throat around the emotion clogging his windpipe. “In the firetruck. I heard you.”

Buck leans back enough that they’re looking at each other. The hand he’d had on the back of Eddie’s head moves to the side of his neck, his thumb pressing lightly against the hinge of Eddie’s jaw.

Eddie swallows around the lump in his throat and meets his gaze. “I believed you then.”

Buck sighs like the breath has been punched out of him and leans forward to press their foreheads together. “Believe me now,” he murmurs and Eddie’s not sure if it’s a plea or a request but he finds himself nodding anyway.

“Okay.”

*

A look at how Eddie deals with his recovery post-4x14.

I Know a Place We Can Go by maybeamystery

(15,580 words | Explicit | Chapters: 1/1)

“Well, that was heartwarming,” Chimney says loudly. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s go save some lives. In WeHo. Where Buck goes to gay bars because he is apparently a bisexual now.” “I’ve always been a bisexual,” Buck sniffs. “You just didn’t notice.” “There are gay bars outside of WeHo,” Hen adds. “Just saying.” [5 times Buck and Eddie get hit on in West Hollywood and 1 time they definitely do not]

Tick Tick Boom by ChasetheWindTouchtheSky

(30,439 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“Did you know if you put a frog in water and slowly bring it to boiling, it won’t hop out?” Chris is chattering as Buck makes a quick dinner while Eddie argues with his gas company on the phone. He can hear the occasional swear word in Spanish as his voice raises. Eddie doesn’t like to raise his voice around Christopher – the very thought makes Buck want to kiss him full on the mouth – so he decided to take it to the living room while Chris sits with his homework in the kitchen and Buck cooks. “Hmm?” Buck asks, unable to fully pull himself out of Bobby’s baked mac and cheese recipe. It took him years, but he finally convinced the man to write it down. Bobby’s handwriting was juvenile at best on a good day, but this was nearly unreadable. Buck wonders if he did that on purpose. “Frogs?” “Yeah!” Chris states. “My teacher said that if you put a frog in a pot, you have to make sure it’s not immediately boiling. You put them in water and then slowly raise the temperature and they won’t realize what’s happening. Then once they realize, they have no place to go. They can’t jump out.” * S6 Spec: Buck decides he doesn’t need therapy, reverts to some bad habits, and explodes. Or, the Breakdown Fic.

40k+ words

To Build a Home We Deconstruct Our Rituals by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

(44,248 words | Explicit | Chapters: 11/11)

After the shooting, Eddie realizes he needs to put some things in place. Like who will get his assets if he dies. Who will speak for him if he ends up in a coma. What might happen if his family contests Buck's guardianship. Luckily, he's got a simple easy-peasy solution that won't result in insanity, catastrophe, or heartbreak:

Marry Buck.

the mortifying ordeal of being known by Polish_Amber

(60,866 words | General Audiences | Chapters: 7/7

The thing was, the 118 was full of gossips. Eddie had been at the station less than a week before Hen and Chim wrangled details about his “hot young thing” from him (“Buck is only 4 years younger than me, he is not a ‘hot young thing’!” Eddie complained.) And Bobby was open about his worries for his son’s lack of direction and the secrets he appears to be keeping (“I just wish I could help Evan find the thing that gives him purpose,” Bobby lamented.) It just made it all the more ridiculous (and horrifying) when Eddie realizes he’s been dating his Captain’s son this whole time (“Defiling his baby,” Chimney cackled, because he clearly wanted Eddie murdered.) -- Or, the AU where miscommunication abounds as Eddie seeks advice about his new relationship, Bobby despairs over his adopted son's career prospects and his refusal to talk about it, and Evan Buckley-Nash juggles training at the fire academy, building a family with his new boyfriend, and trying to work out how to tell his overprotective dad that he's already chosen the life he wants, actually. It takes a goddamn tsunami, of all things, to get the story straight.

Stuck on Fast Forward (Throw Away the Blueprint) by extasiswings

(42,884 words | Explicit | Chapters: 9/9)

“Sounds like the problem is you think casual sex with a stranger or finding someone new to date are your only options.” Eddie’s brow furrows. “Aren’t they?” “I mean, there’s always…someone you already know. Who you’re already comfortable with.” “Because my pool of male friends who are single and who would be interested in having sex with me has so many options?” “Well, I don’t know about many, but you only need one,” Buck points out. “And who would that be?” “Me, of course.” [Or: Frank gives Eddie therapy homework, Eddie misunderstands the assignment, and Buck is just a really supportive friend...right?]

Don't Take My Sunshine Away by SevenSoulmates

(113,785 words | Mature | Chapters: 21/21)

Eddie is in a coma, and Buck blames himself. He should've been there to protect Eddie. The least he can do now is to be there for Christopher, even if Buck doesn't know if he has it in him to be a parent without Eddie. Buck makes Eddie a deal: he'll fight for Christopher in the real world, while Eddie fights to wake up. Eddie's come a long way since those bleak days in El Paso, listening to his parents comments about how he's not fit to be a father. How Christopher doesn't deserve to be dragged down by the likes of Eddie and Shannon. Eddie thought after moving to LA, he and Chris had escaped that. When he wakes up and finds Buck neck-deep in a legal battle with his parents for custody of Christopher, Eddie must face his own mistakes, and find the confidence to stand up for himself against his absolute worst nightmare.

i think i belong to you (hope you feel the same) by Ran

(41,111 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 4/4)

Buck’s taking him to therapy, where he knows Eddie’s therapist’s name and Eddie’s entire history with him; Buck, who let himself into Eddie’s house with food from Eddie’s favorite coffee shop with coffee crafted perfectly for Eddie’s tastes; Buck, who apparently has a book on Eddie’s coffee table with so many dog-eared pages it’s like any interruption at Eddie’s house is worth putting it down. Buck, who touches him with a devotion as palpable as all the little pieces of himself scattered throughout Eddie's home. Eddie thinks he might have solved his own question, but he’s afraid to look at the answer too closely—because he’s fairly certain his best friend is in love with him, and Eddie can’t remember a single thing about him. Or, the one where Eddie wakes up from the shooting only to think he was hurt in a certain 7.1 earthquake years prior and learns to appreciate the life he's created for himself since then.

Overcome by Spicysauce

(53,697 words | Mature | Chapters: 10/10)

“I’m not leaving you, Buck.” Eddie says with a tired sigh, like he’s struggling with the weight of the world and Buck’s the one who put it there. “Just switching jobs, that’s all.” That’s all?, Buck wants to scream, because every relationship he has is tied to the job in some way, and first Maddie left, and then it was Chimney, and now it’s Eddie. But he doesn’t scream, because that would be a little bit too tragic, even for him, and nods instead. Bites his tongue. Pretends that he isn't falling apart where he's stood. *** Or, set post season 5A, where Buck is alone, and angry, and exhausted, but mostly terrified that everyone he loves is slowly slipping away from him.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Buck by sunryder

(50,287 words | Mature | Chapters: 13/13)

Red is dying and Buck is fucked up about it. Not just about losing a friend, but about ending up like Red: dying alone without the people who used to be his team. Buck doesn’t want to go out like that. It might take him a few panic attacks, a road trip, and a book recommendation, but Buck is going to tidy his life up.

let the world have its way with you by fleetinghearts

(54,477 words | Explicit | Chapters: 1/1)

“It’s just that—I died,” Buck continues, voice unsteady enough that Eddie wonders if this is the first time he’s acknowledged that out loud. “I died, and there’s so much more. There’s so much more I want to do, things I don’t even know I want to do yet, and I almost had the chance to have and live them taken away. I don’t want to die and regret missing out on everything else, Eddie.” “So let’s make a list,” Eddie says. “Let’s do them.” or, a bucket list that’s really about buck needing to make a change and an eddie who’s ready to do anything to see him fall in love with life again. it takes some crossing off for eddie to realise—the thing at the top of the list in his own heart? it’s been right here all along

you and me by woodchoc_magnum

(55,411 words | Mature | Chapters: 2/2)

An alternate ending to Season 6, where Buck realises that what he's been searching for has been right in front of him the whole time.

[siriuslysmoking]

more jegulus x reader? anything really as long as its super fluffy

Surprise

Pairing: jegulus x reader

warnings: tooth rotting fluff, Pregnancy, lying (for the surprise duhhh), nothing big (lemme know if i missed anything)

Notes: FLUFFY JEGULUS!!!! I WAS BORN FOR THISSSS!! I hope it's okay that I made this a pregnancy announcement, but that's what I was in the mood for.

They were catching on, you couldn't hide it for much longer. Regulus and James noticed the suddenly baggy clothes, it wasn't as if you didn't wear baggy things, just not this much.

You had never lied to your boys like this, a small thing maybe, but this was big. you had something growing inside of you and you hadn't told your boys yet.

Of course the first person you went to was your friend Lily, you would have gone to Sirius or Remus but they'd spill the beans, you knew you could trust Lily.

She had a perfect plan.

You carefully fixed the bows on the two presents, you were sitting on the couch, waiting for Regulus and James' arrival after hanging out with their friends. You were fidgeting with you hands as you waited for the sound of the door opening. your leg shaking up and down off the floor. You hadn't worn a tight shirt in a while, not wanting to ruin the surprise, but you were today, you had a blanket covering your belly to make sure you didn't give anything away. You were sure the boys wouldn't say anything, but just incase they noticed anything.

Regulus and James will be ecstatic but will they be mad at you for not telling them sooner? They were -James Mostly- so excited to start trying for a baby, ever since Alice and Frank had their baby James got baby fever. It's not like Regulus Didn't want a baby, h just wasn't as excited as James was when you all agreed.

A soft thud knocked you out of your thoughts. You took a deep breath in when you saw them both walk into the living room, James came over to kiss your cheek, Regulus who was about to do the same, paused as he saw you twisting the rings adorning your fingers.

"are you okay, Love?" Regulus murmured, leaning down so that your faces were level, him crouched in front of the chair you sat in.

"Mhm." you hummed, looking towards James you began to speak again, "I have something for the both of you."

"oh? wait-" James' eyes widened, looking towards the kitchen, sounding panicked, "What's the date?"

"nothing important, Jamie." you laughed, your nerves slowly mellowing, "Just a normal day."

You looked towards Regulus and he had his eyes on you with his eyebrows knitted together in question. He was always the most observent.

"come sit." you patted the couch next to your chair. they both followed your hand, taking they're spot on the couch. "alright."

you nodded to yourself as you moved your hand behind the chair to grab the two boxes. "open."

"Sweetheart..." James trailed off, holding his present, while looking at Regulus. "You didn't have to get us anything for this 'normal day'."

"open it." you started growing impatient, mostly with Regulus' hot gaze on you with questions in his eyes.

"okay." Regulus and James both torn into their present, James more enthusiastic, while Regulus kept his paper in just one sheet with few rips.

They both slowly pulled out the fabric, holding the shirts up to their body, James laughed, "Oh, Sweetheart, no need for a shirt, I already know what you like to call me."

You put your hand up to your mouth, as Regulus moved forward, crouched in front of you once more, you raised the blanket from your lap as Regulus held onto your stomach. "Really?"

"I'm confused..." James trailed off, he looked. at Regulus' shirt where it lay on the coffee table and then his, Regulus' hands, and then back to you. his eyes widened a second time again. "You're not serious."

You nodded, holding the ultrasound pictures up for them both to look at. "Regulus it has your nose! And my hair! I already know it's gonna be a quidditch player."

James was bouncing up and down, he leaned down to hug then turned, quickly racing down the hallway, "I"VE GOT TO GO CALL PADS!!!!!"

You and Regulus laughed at James as hid figure disappeared down the hallway. you decided to cuddle up on the couch while waiting for James to get back.

"Padfoot, Guess what!"

[luke-o-lophus]

All of Me, All of You

Summary: Steven's life is finally going his way, but he's feeling empty. It's up to you, his long time friend, to remind him he's beautiful and worthy of love. And maybe find love along the way.

Warnings: Some self depreciating thoughts. Mostly fluff, some hurt/comfort. Sooo much FLUFF!

There is silence on the other end of the phone. For a moment you think the network was iffy, but you can hear faint notes of traffic noise through the call.

"Steven..?", you try carefully, your heart already pounding in worry. Is this even him calling?...Did the suit fail?.... did Khonshu make them do something horrific, did --

"Y-yeah", his small voice answers, a cool wave of relief washing over you. He's alive. "Oh thank god, Steven, are you okay?" you scramble to a sitting position, phone clutched tightly. "N-no", he almost whimpers before adding "I'm not hurt, I'm home, we're safe." You're quiet for a few beats as you process that news before you say softly,"Can I come over?"

Steven looks like a wet cat. The tip of his nose is red, his eyes not meeting your gaze when he opens the door for you. You hurriedly prop your umbrella by the door and usher him to his couch, fussing over his wet hoodie and how he should have called you to be picked up from the university if he didn't have an umbrella. Steven's usually mouthy when you fuss over him, sassing you back, but he's awfully quiet when you sit him down. Before you can turn to get a towel, he has wrapped his arms around your torso, caging you to his seated form. You jump slightly in surprise, but his face is stuffed to your tummy, hidden from sight. "Oh sweetie", you mouth in the faintest of whispers, shuffling yourself closer to him and splaying fingers in the wet mess of his hair. You hold him to yourself, stroking his head gently, feeling the shudders pass through his form. He is weeping.

Steven never cries, Marc is the one who cries easily. As if once he got the license to cry before you without judgement or fear of being treated differently, Marc could not stop. You've even seen Jake cry once or twice. But Steven, no. He's so good at de-escalating tension and finding emotional outlets that it never gets there. You give his shaking body another once-over. But no, no traces of blood on his clothes, just soaked and stuck to his skin.

When his grip loosens, you kneel down to his level and sweep some of his curls from his forehead. "Come, Steven, lemme get you out of these. You need warm clothes", you try gently. This is unfamiliar territory, you don't know how to approach him when he's this vulnerable. Does he want to talk about it, like Marc...or pretend the moment never happened, like Jake?

Steven being Steven, doesn't leave you fumbling in the dark. He gently pulls you up onto his lap. "Shirt is drier", he says between sniffles, pulling the hoodie off and dropping it onto the ground. You nod, hoisting yourself comfortably on his lap, sitting sideways and leaning back against the armrest. He rests his hand on your knee, absently tracing with his thumb. "Do you..wanna talk about it?", you tread carefully. Steven sighs heavily at the query, his thumb not stilling.

"I topped the semester exams", he mutters.

Whatever you had expected or imagined, that was not one of them. You let out a small noise of confusion before you can stop yourself, and your friend lets out a bark of humorless laughter. "I know I should be happy", he continues. "But I'm not." He finally looks up at you, eyes heavy from tears and exhaustion. "I thought finally getting to study Egyptology, being chummy with the others, and...you know, the rest. I thought I'll be bloody happy", he shivers. "Today my professors say they're proud of me, but I...I...." He shakes his head and drops it back against the couch.

"You feel lonely?", you ask. A tremor passes through his body at the word, and you know you've hit the nail on the head. "I am sorry", he is almost pleading, looking down at your knees. "You're always here for me, and I'm being a...I'm so sorry"

"Hey, hey", you gently pull him out of his spiral. "We do not apologise for how we feel, hmm? And..I get it. Having friends and...a partner? Not the same." Steven hums and wraps an arm around you, your head tucked under his chin with practised ease. You grab a hold of his hand, dragging it away from your knee and playing with his deft fingers. "I just feel like I'm holding the others back. I'm with my books and papers..and they're so handsome...have you seen Jake?"

That makes you sit up straight. You were no stranger to his distorted sense of self, the way he hid himself and his body. But hear him say he's holding the others back? "Steven, love", you start, cupping his cheek. "You are handsome, gorgeous even. You know I wouldn't lie."

"You're just saying that", he dismisses you. "No!", your voice rises an octave. "No, hear me out." You scoot off his lap to kneel on the couch. "You, Steven Grant, have the most beautiful eyes of any human on the planet...uh-uh..don't interrupt me. You have the cutest blush when you're happy, and your nose..ooh" You drag a finger down the bridge of his nose as you make the cheeky comment, and he can't help cracking a smile. You smile back in truimph, continuing,"You have a voice I could listen to all day, hair I'd never get tired of playing with... and you have..pretty! lips!" You punctuate the last two words with taps to his lips with your pointer finger, and he ducks a little with a blush. Your cheeky smile softens then, as your heart clenches at the sight. He was so beautiful, so close, but never close enough to call yours. You draw your hand back, and Steven's brows furrow at the sudden intensity of your gaze. "Anyone would be lucky to have you", you breathe out.

There's dead silence for a few moments, almost as if you both have stopped breathing too, then Steven mutters quietly,"Including you?" You hold his gaze for a moment before chuckling mirthlessly and tearing your gaze away. It almost hurts as you whisper out,"...Especially me." But Steven's hands are cupping your face and making you look back up. His face looks wrecked, eyes so wide with hope they're bordering on terror. "Do you...mean what I think you mean?", he treads carefully. His gaze hypnotizing, you can't look away as you speak,"Would you like it if I said yes?" Steven shudders at that, his body melting into yours. "I'd be thrilled", he answers simply.

And that answer is all you need -- so simple, so Steven. "I'd be thrilled too, if you liked that", you bite your lips in sudden shyness. Arms engulf you in a hug again, pulling you back onto his lap.

"So..you like me, huh?", his voice is dripping with cheekiness. You sputter in indignation. "How dare you tease me about that?", you whine. He laughs then, a musical sound, and leans close to touch your foreheads together. The moments linger on, calm and sweet, right out of a sappy romance novel. Then his eyes glaze over for a few, but he's back soon, sitting back with a whine. "What happened?", you ask. "The others are being mean", he pouts. "Jake's paying up to Marc. They bet on who'd confess first"

[bsaka7]

esteban/mick football au not!fic absolutely no research done and all team knowledge extremely out of date

Esteban and Mick first meet at a France vs Germany international friendly. Pierre isn't there even though his club team schedule isn't in the way anyway. he's on loan anyway, to some team in Italy, and it doesn't look like he's going to get called back. Charles probably also plays for France (because this is fic but he's still salty about it) but his club team IS playing and they won't spare him.

because of that Esteban is playing striker when he usually plays left wing because he can score but he's not considered as aggressive on the goal. He does score in this match and he puts the French crest between his teeth and pulls up his shirt, abs on display (Whatever. Hot).

Mick is playing for Germany. he's had a couple of national team callups but usually just in games like this. he's hoping to make the squad for world cup qualifying and then the world cup. He's a right back, maybe, and Seb's there, playing center mid. He plays seventy minutes which is more than he usually gets, these days.

The game goes like 2-1 to France. Mick plays well but not. Standout. He has pretty good stats, but nothing too special. He probably plays for a mid-level german club and he's in talks to play in the epl. he sees esteban score from across the field and he thinks it's a good goal and he bites the inside of his cheek because he really doesn't want to lose but also it doesn't matter and also it was beautiful.

AFTER the game he goes out to a nice but not super nice dinner with his mom and sister. esteban is there with some of his teammates and they're not drunk yet but they WILL be. Anyway esteban comes over to mick and complements his playing and touches his arm and shoulder and mick says (dry mouth) "I'd say nice goal but. Yknow." esteban laughs because he does know and he invites mick out with them and micks sister says he'd love to go and esteban says good with the little smile where his nose crinkles.

So mick ends up at a club with half the French national team and they're nice about it and some of them recognize him because well. His dad. Even though he's wearing a hat (but Esteban turned it around so it's backwards and said so I can see your face and mick doesn't fix it). Esteban mostly stays at a high table, with mick, and his teammates rotate through and they end up doing shots and mick is drunker than he anticipated but he's having more fun than he thought too and he also feels a little bit pathetic because esteban is essentially babysitting him (even though esteban isn't and doesn't care because he feels left out of his own team and he likes mick and he did like his playing).

they end up getting a taxi together and esteban tells mick that he should forget the premier league and come play in France ("your French is good enough they'd like you and we need a solid defender come on. not as much pressure and good play."). mick nods and says he'll think about it and it's early but they're both so earnest about the whole thing.

the taxi takes a turn too fast and mick lurches across and their shoulders brush. esteban kind of catches him, hand around his waist. mick looks up at him. he's a little short of breath and tired from the game and he's like. Oh.

esteban is looking down at him with those big dark eyes and the streetlights go by and some of his hair has escaped the gel and flops down onto his forehead and his hand is so warm.

esteban is like. You can come over if you want. I've got fifa.

mick laughs and says yes before even thinking about checking his watch or texting his roommate or anything.

they go back to estebans hotel room (his roommate said he wasn't coming back at the club idk) and they have a few more beers and play, their shoulders pressed together and esteban says something about how mick plays again and mick is like in fifa and esteban is like. no, before.

mick is like wait you've watched me play in the Bundesliga and esteban kind of looks away and says sure and mick knows it's a yes.

they're SO close together and estebans arm is behind micks back and mick kind of turns to him and he knows he's not supposed to because it's sports and he just lost but he tips his head up and kisses esteban and it goes from there, soft and good and a little awkward but easy too. he falls asleep right there, sprawled across esteban.

In the morning esteban has to rush to catch the plane back with the team but they exchange numbers and esteban tells mick to come visit and mick knows he means it...[insert Disney visit here]...

and then.. world cup callups happen and mick doesn't get called up and of course esteban does (as left wing pierre is striker Charles is center mid) but he was left out of the euro lineup a few years before so he knows how it can feel.

he invites mick to a game anyway bc they're friends and sure - they hooked up that once but since then it's been. Different than estebans other friendships in sport but still - they go out and party and eat and talk at charity events. and then mick is at dinner at his parents house and theyre looking at old trophies and photos of when they were kids and there's one of Charles pierre esteban and mick doesn't say anything about it and esteban just sighs with secret relief. estebans met micks mom and sister and dog and they've gone running together with Angie on a vacation in Italy but - they both had their girlfriends there.

So mick comes to the world cup even though he's not playing and he watches France win their qualifying group and then the quarters by the skin of their teeth vs Australia (sorry dannyric) and then lose horribly in the semis vs idk the netherlands. Mick sits in weird spots, not the best seats. he just wants to watch. sometimes he's with friends and sometimes surrounded by strangers. And he tells himself he's there to watch good football.

still, Germany v Spain are playing soon. Mick can't make both and he chooses to watch esteban play...

They go out to dinner afterward but Esteban just picks at his food (he barely got to touch the ball). mick doesn't get it but he gets it and he grabs estebans arm when they're standing out in the dark waiting for an Uber and esteban is looking down at him and he's looking up. mick has broken up with his girlfriend even if he doesn't totally know why (it just wasn't right) and they KISS and mick is like. Shit. Shit. This is what I've been waiting for this whole time, since the first game, since forever. And he's in talks with estebans team and they're going - okay.

They go back to micks hotel room and esteban takes a shower because he wants to take another one and he just sits there on the bed, so dejected, and mick doesn't know what to do, doesn't quite know what it means that Esteban has trusted him like this, in this state, to be the one here. and they just turn on the TV and fall asleep on top of the big bed, on top of the covers.

When Mick wakes up slightly in the night esteban is crying softly into his shoulder and mick can't pretend he's not awake so he just rubs estebans shoulder til they both fall back asleep. In the morning este pretends it never happened and mick isn't going to SAY anything but they're still both in (idk where this is happening for some reason I'm imagining like LA. Sorry Qatar world cup) for a few more days bc France still has the third place match vs Spain.

they talk about the world cup a little more in vague terms and smaller frustrations and go do all the tourist stuff together and it's fun and sometimes este disappears with his girlfriend but moslty he's with mick and then he tells him she's gone home and mick is. Well he likes esteban so much and he doesn't want to be like this but his stomach is all twisted up from not playing and from everything else (Germany is in the finals). They hook up i think the day before the 3rd place match.

It's good but a little weird. they don't really talk about it after but Esteban gets up and goes to play and mick didn't get tickets to this one so he watches on tv in his hotel room. Esteban scores a goal but France still loses 3-1 and then he doesn't text mick back for hours.

micks flight is the next day so he goes to estebans hotel hoping he might still be there and he goes up to his room and runs into pierre in the hallway who is like. wtf r u doing here.

mick shrugs and says nothing.

Pierre's like weird ok and says something cryptic about esteban.

Anyway esteban doesn't answer the door but on the way out mick runs into him in the lobby like you didn't respond to me r u okay im going home tonight.

Este is like. Yeah sorry and doesn't want to talk about it and mick is SO SAD and he's like. Okay. esteban doesn't invite him up to his room and mick doesn't know what to do so he leaves and gets the airport early and it sucks...

THEN like a week or two of radio silence later he gets the contract with estebans team and signs it and esteban texts him that he's excited for mick to join the team and things sort of slot into place again - they text and they see each other once in France when micks there for a day and the new season is approaching.

before preseason esteban takes mick apartment shopping and they play fifa and it's like before but not Really they're still close but somethings wrong and esteban won't talk about it.

They go out with the team during preseason and end up outside together smoking even tho they really shouldn't and mick says something like i have to go check on Angie.

Este says wistfully I haven't seen her in forever and mick says (rashly) you can come.

este doesn't know that Mick got the apt that este said he liked best because of the windows and the kitchen and the layout. he comes over and they feed the dog and take her out and they're both a little drunk and este is like. Oh. He wants to ask - because of me? But he doesn't.

Mick wants to ask him to stay. But he doesn't. So they stay up all night watching some marvel TV show even though they still have practice tomorrow (just not early). mick is falling asleep and he wakes up and his head is in estebans lap and esteban has his fingers in micks hair and is holding perfectly still and Angie is at his feet.

mick looks up at him and is like. Come to bed? And este is silent but nods and they go in and go to sleep and they wake up early and este kisses him

mick: I can't.

Esteban: Why not.

Mick: in America - you. You stopped talking to me.

Esteban: sorry

Mick: I know

Esteban: tries to kiss him again

mick lets him and then says: we can just be friends or -. I don't know if I can. Play my best when we're going back and forth

Este: play your best (a little amused)

Mick: I have to know where I'm at with my uh new teammates I can't. I can't be always second guessing.

Esteban: (nods)

Mick: and I would rather be friends if you - I thought you had a girlfriend

Este (looks away): not - not for a while

Mick: oh. (and he's sleepy and stupid so he asks) why

Este : silence

Mick: come on, talk to me (soft)

Este: since the world cup. After. I spent the night with you. I just. I knew she wasn't what I - not what I wanted but what I needed

Mick : oh

Esteban: yeah

Mick (repeats) : yeah

And then esteban tries to kiss him again and mick kisses back and mick makes breakfast while este takes Angie out.

they go to practice and someone asks este about pierre and they've got a preseason game coming up. there's a press conference about the season and the new signings and someone asks este how he thinks their new defense looks as that was their weakness before.

esteban looks at mick and smiles so big with such honesty and says something like "i think this could really be the change I - uh, we - needed for the team"

[asksuccubussides]

What if you were an asexual succubus, wouldn't that be fucked up or what

Chapter 10

Masterpost of chapters

When a demon is speaking in their native language (Demon) the text looks like this

11 days since Remus was cast out of hell

Virgil had been sitting on pins and needles ever since he'd gotten the string of texts from Janus talking about what an absolute buffoon asshole motherfucker of a muppet sod Remus was. When the door to their dorm opened and Janus came in it felt like he could finally breathe for the first time in over an hour.

"If you say I told you so I will jump out of that window" Janus said before Virgil even had a chance to open his mouth.

From head to toe Janus was dripping wet with his clothes smelling musty and his nose red from the cold. He yanked a bathrobe and some warm clothes from the drawer before turning to leave again.

"I'm retreating into the shower"

While his roomate was gone Virgil put on some warm water for tea, mostly to keep his hands busy. Personally he only ever drank energy drinks so the only reason he kept buying tea bags and honey was because he knew Janus liked it. He spun around on the desk chair while waiting for him to get back. getting back into bed wasn't even on his mind.

Finally Janus came back but all he did was quietly put his wet clothes against the radiator to dry them before rolling onto his bed with his face against the wall and his arms tightly wrapped around himself. Virgil pushed the chair to scoot closer to the bed.

"So like is this one of the times where I should summon a spectre to haunt him or?"

"Oh yeah throw the next worst Bond movie onto him. That'll work great" Janus muttered back.

"You know I meant ghost!....So Cryptid then? Monster of the black lagoon? A gremlin?"

"He already is one!"

"Sure. Okay dude are you just planning on moping and whining all evening-"

"YES! Yes I am! I love moping and I adore whining! They're some of my favorite activities to do ever in the whole universe!"

Virgil crossed his arms against the back of chair and let out a long sigh while sinking his head aginst his arms "You know I'm sorry about saying that uh whole thing earlier right?"

"Oh please Viv Do remind me of exactly what you're apologizing for and add some extra groveling while you're at it"

He let out another sigh "I'm sorry for like saying you chose to have energy to hang with Remus but not to like go to class or buy groceries or something. I know you can't control your energy! Or your pain levels! Or anything like that! I knooow. I was just being a bitch"

"Yes you were!" Janus turned around to face his friend.

"Alright so what happened then?"

"Nothing! He just decided to ask me about my scar right when we were about to- about to" Janus waved his hand around in the air "Which is such a normal and nice thing to do! Nothing wrong with that!" Virgil swung side to side with the chair while waiting for his friend to continue. Jan nervously scratched at his nails "Iit's such an enjoyable feeling to just know that he's laughing about me right about now"

He looked to Virgil as if searching for if his friend would agree with him or not. To his surprise his friend moved away from the chair to sit down beside him on the bed and with some hesitation Virgil held out his arms to embrace him.

Normally Janus wasn't much of a hugger but it had been such a long time since Virgil last accepted any physical touch from him, aside from to calm him during panic attacks, that he hugged his friend like it was a single drop of water in a vast desert. He let his head lean against his friend's shoulder and closed his eyes as he pressed his fingers tightly against his back.

Virgil counted the seconds as they embraced. He hoped Janus didn't notice as he angled his face so he could ever so carefully breathe in the smell of the other man as a few strands curls tickled his nose. He moved his arms closer around Janus' back and lingered on the feeling of his chest touching his.

"People are just shitty Jan. It's like Paramore said, Everyone is a bad guy!"

"Ah yes the very famous Paramore lyric"

"It's from their latest album okay" Virgil moved back from the hug and held his hands against Janus' shoulders at an arms length "....Sometimes when the anxiety is all over me I just blurt shit out...Maybe..." On the inside Virgil was kicking at himself for showing Remus some grace but if he could make his friend feel any better it might be worth it "Maybe he was just anxious over uhm whatver you were doing and just shat some random sentence out"

"Hmm maybe" Janus replied without really speaking directly to him, more like a musing out into the air.

"Alright now we forget about that twat and we can watch the new scream film"

"Karma's a very nice lady and she knows I've done nothing wrong ever" Janus continued while smiling to himself.

"That's right"

"And shes's going to make sure Remus gets a brick thrown through his window any night now"

"Sure dude!"

"And that he slips in the shower"

"Great!"

"He would have been lucky to even breathe the same air as me"

Virgil tried to playfully dunk his fist against Janus' shoulder but instead his hand slipped and he awkwardly butted his fingers against the other man's neck "Okay let's not go that far. Why do we have to bring up uhhh romantic stuff. Why? Who nee- I mean. We're- We are living the nice bachelor life right? College yaaaayyy" He said it in the least energetic way possible "Just two dudes hanging out. No uh dates needed right!?"

Though Janus' expression didn't change one bit he silently thought he'd made his (sadly straight) friend uncomfortable by talking about his date with Remus too much. He mimicked the dunking of his fist against Virgil's neck before patting him on the shoulder.

"Ssssure, let's watch whatever Scream film you want to show me so badly"

-

At about the same time on the other side of town Remus staggered out of a club toilet stall and gave way to let the human he'd fed off pass by him and leave. He continued to stumble forward towards the bathroom sink and leant over it but crossed his hands over his mouth to stop himself from puking since he knew he couldn't waste it. He swallowed the puke back before smashing the bathroom mirror with his tail and chuckled when a random bystander got startled by the sound.

He stumbled out from the bathroom and pushed warm bodies away from him to try and get out of the club. If he stayed any longer he would start arguing to himself that since he'd already been punished for trying to eat a human once he could surely try once again.

A presence beckoned him halfway across the crowd and when he looked up he saw the top of a pair of blue horns peak over the heads of the humans. The hair on Remus' arms raised at the sight of a fellow demon and he began to swat humans away with his tail to get across the room. As he got closer he became sure it wasn't any succubi he recognised but damn any succubi at all was Amazing news!!

Remus grabbed onto the fellow demon and let up into a wide grin to which the succubi let up into a smile and held their hand against his shoulder with the same warmth as a bus driver waving to a fellow bus driver has. They took a quick look at him but their eyes stayed at the white patch of his hair as their smile slowly died out on.

"E- Excuse me but I'm working" The succubi spat out while beginning to back away from him.

All Remus could do was hold onto them even harder as his mind raced for a way to communicate. Some piece of paper nearby he could write on maybe. Maybe he could write in the dirt outside.

"I really have to go"

His nails started to dig into their skin. If he could just get them to open a door home!

"I don't want a white hair to touch me....Please"

In desperation he started to gesture to his mouth before trying to mimick the motion of writing. He even tried signing in hope of the tiny chance that the succubi would somehow understand.

The succubi swatted at his head with their hands to try and get him away "You're a Patton! I don't want to get in trouble for helping a Patton! Fucking traitor!"

Remus grip around the succubi's shoulders crumbled the second he was called a Patton. His legs felt weak and his hands shook as he watched the stranger turn and expand their wings so they could fly away as soon as they got out of the door.

The club music continued to blare into his eyes but he couldn't hear any of it. A Patton. A Patton. A Patton.

His eyes pierced onto the nearest human he could see and tore the bottle out of their hands to throw it at the wall. As the glass shattered onto the floor he tried to scream but as usual not a single sound came.

-

12 days since Remus was cast out of hell

"You are looking unwell" Logan commented at the end of his english lesson.

The two demons were sitting in the tiny office Logan was using as a substitute teacher. It was where he held the private lessons to the succubi. The instructions Remus had gotten for today was to memorize some verbs but at this point he'd gotten so bored he'd started to eat the paper.

The succubi spat out the paper and wrote in the saliva slicken mess 'Fed last night'.

"As far as I am aware we are supposed to look and feel rejuvinated after feeding, though I suppose just as some humans become sleepy after a feast and some energetic we are the same"

'Im just kinda fucked up'.

"Nobody is 'fucked up'. We are all different variations of functioning" He eyed the clock on the wall and began to shuffle his papers together "It has been an hour. I will see you in two days. Same time"

The older man abruptly stood up from his desk but he didn't even get to the door before Remus had wrapped himself around Logan's leg. He was sitting on the floor with his arms tightly crossed around his leg like a little kid.

Logan looked down at him "You can not keep doing this at the end of every lesson. You are well aware i have my own private life outside of this that I would like to spend my non working hours on"

Remus shook his head and only let go with one of his arms so he could gesture in the air the motion of writing.

"Do you have something productive to say?"

He nodded violently.

After prying the succubi away from his leg Logan gave him a paper and pen and waited patienly by the door for him to finish writing. Remus scribbled down a description of what he and Janus had done on the date before ending it with 'Can I kill him now?'

After skimming the text Logan gave him an unimpressed look "People typically have more intense physical touch than this during sport games. I doubt this is hardly enough to be deemed a sin" He sighed but let his expression ease a little as he saw Remus shrink in on himself "But it was a good first attempt. If you keep working on it you will surely see results"

--

16 days

Remus had been living in the corners of the library ever since he came to earth. When the janitor closed he simply hung to the ceiling by his tail until everything was dark and quiet. He waited and hoped to catch Janus either studying or working but up until now he'd had no luck.

Butterflies filled his stomach as he saw the librarian ending their shift and being replaced by Janus. He had to excitedly tap his feet into the ground to keep himself from immediately running and pouncing on him. The demon watched from a distance as Janus paid half a mind to pretending to look busy by the front desk. The human had dark bags under his eyes and he was still wearing the same skirt he had had on the date. When only a few people were around Remus went forward while grinning ear to ear.

"Jannie!!" His voice had gone hoarse from being unable to speak for a several days.

The human only looked up to give him an annoyed glance "I am already having bad back pain today, I dont need a headache as well"

"I was-"

"I am working" He interrupted "Unless you need help in some librarian way you can't talk to me"

Remus kept his eyes on Janus the entire time as he backed up to the nearest bookshelf, grabbed a random book and procedded to tear out a page before stuffing the paper into his mouth. He went back up to the desk and slid the book towards the human,

"Hi I would like to report a fucked up book!" Remus' cheeks were still stuffed with paper as he muffled it out.

Janus let out a long sigh "It's not a burn scar, it's discolored skin grafts. Yes it's real. No I was not born with it nor did I do it to myself. And yes I do still have partial feeling in that half of my face so do not try to poke at me to check if I will react" He listed it off as if he had said it so many times it was planned "There. All of the information you would want, now you can leave and stop pestering me"

"But-"

"Im working. Here let me show you" Janus tapped his finger into the desk "That was a dot. The end of the conversation. Bye! Have the most wonderful day! I hope you find succes in breaking both your legs!"

A small line had been created behind Remus and from what Logan had told him jobs were important to humans as well so for today he backed away.

--

17 days

Sleep hadn't come easy to Janus in a long time now but lately his thoughts consistently wandering to Remus didn't help. While tossing and turning all he could think about was the fuzzy hair creating a trail up his stomach, the way his arms had moved when he had taken his tank top of and most of all those damn shorts!

Somewhere at the back of his mind the instant shift in Remus' eyes as soon as the began to touch him replayed but it was hard to focus on it among all of the other impressions to rememeber.

After tossing and turning some more he finally decided to get up and go to the bathroom so he could touch himself without the fear of waking Virgil. Little did he know that Virgil had been laying awake just the same and as soon as Janus left the room he got up and moved to Janus' bed.

Virgil pushed his face into his roomate's pillow and took in the warmth that had been left.

--

19 days

It was nearing two o clock in the night when Remus sensed someone else in the library. He hid in his usual corner until he heard the person settling down by a table. His tail started to wag when he caught a faint whiff of the cologne Janus liked to wear though he decided to wait for a bit until sneaking forward since he didnt want to make it seem like he was stalking Jan.

Waiting even 15 minutes was like torture for Remus and not even the type of torture he would enjoy!!! After using up his entire supply of attention span he let himself drop down from the ceiling and inched forward to get a better view of Janus from behind the bookshelves.

The human was sitting by his usual table facing away from where the demon was hiding. Remus smiled to himself over how smart his human was. Though the demon soon noticed the way Janus' shoulders were shaking. He moved a little closer and heard a muffled cry.

The light from the computer was illuminating Janus' face making the rest of him look enveloped in shadow. unless Remus moved to the other side of the room he couldnt read his expression but he could just about make out what was written on the laptop. He'd seen similar pages open on Logan's computer sometime, someting about grading classes. Though it sort of looked like the page of Janus' computer was different from how the usual grading looked.

Every part of Remus' body urged for him to go forward and hold Janus but he knew in his mind this was one of those times him disturbing and being his annoying self was to be avoided. He silently stayed in the shadows until Janus had dried his tears and left.

--

23 days

"No! No! Put- put those back!" Virgil's words were twisting over each other to get out leaving a stuttering mess on his tongue "Stop packing your shit up! You're not moving! We're not moving! WHa- Why-"

"Sure Vivzy let me just put this fake candle from tesco back on this desk and everything will stay the exact same"

"Why didn't you tell me dude! 4 days! You've known for 4 fucking days! Just throwing a big life shitsurprise in my face so I can- I-"

Virgil's eyes stagnated and stayed staring unblinkingly at some spot in the air as his entire body crumpled in on itself. His shoulders bending inwards and his hands going up to his chest to drag the zipper of his hoodie up and down.

"Nononono" Janus let out in a single breathe. He reached his hands out and cupped Virgil's cheeks to make his friend face him. His eyes stayed unfocused looking right through him but it was better than staring at the air. "Long breathes Viv, long breathes"

He carefully took Virgil's hand in his and moved it against the pulse on his neck. He kept his breathing slow and gentle and waited for Virgil's eyes to focus on his.

"I've been trying to see if the collegeboard would let me keep living here and therefore I didn't want to tell you immediately incase everything would work out. Stressing out for no good doesn't help anyone does it now" Janus said while rubbing his thumb up and down Virgil's cheek "I failed my philosophy class Vivzy. It wasnt even close. Obviously that was my most dreaded least favorite not at all loved subject! If I couldnt even pass that I...I am not sure it is worth it to keep trying to get a deegree. I simply don't think my brain is built for the school system"

Virgil struggled between forcibly calm breathing to get out a few words "Your brain isn't wrong. You're smart"

He sighed softly "I know. I know. Such an insightful little nugget of wisdom. Sorry, couldn't stop the sarcasm. If everyone tells me i'm sssoo smart and that I have such a bright future in academics and I'm so bloody gifted and yet I can't function in this system what reason is there to not leave the system"

"You..can't leave me"

"Viiivzyy. Cmon now. Yes the moment I move I become legally unable to keep contact with any college student"

"But I live here and you're my roomate can't they-"

"Obviously i would neeeever ask that as my first thing. They told me that if I decide to drop out I have to move out in a month"

Virgil took a deep breathe "I can still study even if i have take the trolly every morning. We can look for an apartment together. We can live together! We're basically already doing that!"

"It won't be as cheap as here"

"Do they let you keep working as a help librarian?"

"Yes"

"great. And without the studies you have more time to work. And I can take more night shifts. We'll split the rent. Live in some shit place"

"Who abducted my Virgil and replaced you with someone just a tad bit optimistic" Janus said while letting go of his friend as he felt his breathing slow down and stagnate like normal "We can shoot a few shots to keep the rent low"

"No. JAN you cant bring up doing crimes! You know how fucking anxious even the thought makes me!"

"Do a few drugs"

"JA-"

"Publicly indecieve ourself even"

"-NUS!"

"Do my most favorite activity: tax evasion!"

"I'll do an ouija board seance and tell on your parents!"

Janus let up into a snort "Aww Vivzy, I could never leave you. We're like....BRothers!"

The other man's face went as pale as a sheet and it felt like his brain had just dropped to his stomach. Until Janus clapped his hands together and laughed so hard he had to turn away.

"Your face! Hah! I knew you would hate such a cheesy line!" He pretended to wipe away a tear "Ah nothing like some good comedy to cheer you up"

"..Right yea...It was too cheesy....That's why I reacted" Virgil hoped his blushing wasn't visible. He rolled his eyes "But I'm not helping you pack! That's what you get for stressing me out like that!"

"Aww no packing for lil ol me????"

"None of this furniture is ours. Im pretty sure you can handle putting all of those bottles of face creams in a box without breaking your arms"

Janus held his hands up and did an overly extra pout "You never know!"

Virgil let out a deep breathe before punching his friend in the shoulder "You asshole! You really fucked me up with thinking you were going to leave! Dont do that! Dude!!"

He continued to pout "Would playing boyfriend and girlfriend help? Like when were little? Cheer you uuuupp?"

"Shut up! You keep packing and I'll start looking for cheap rentals" Virgil was quiet for a minute before hesitantly asking "...So you are dropping out? For sure? Just like making extra sure here dude"

"Yes"

"Really sure?"

"Yes"

"...Okay then...Im glad or something dude I guess"

--

25 days

Remus arrived late to his lesson with Logan and didn't even bother to sit down before sliding a poster onto the desk right in front of the older demon. It was a poster showing all of the plays the local theather troupe was going to put on within the next 2 months.

"I understand that you are lonely but I can not say in honest that I have any particular interest in plays" Logan replied.

He shook his head and moved to write on the closest paper but Logan waved his hand to stop him.

"Could you try signing it to me? When I told my husband we couldn't communicate he thought it was a brilliant idea to learn sign language so therefore ever since I have been practicing"

Remus dumbed his signing down a lot and moved his hands slower than usual to help his teacher to understand 'My human loves theatre. Date idea. you understand. Need help which theatre I should invite human to?'

He gave Logan a look to see if he'd understood and in response Logan put on his reading glasses and skimmed the poster once more.

"Am I understanding it correctly as you intending to hear explanations of the plays plots from me so you can decide which to ask the person out on?"

The demon's tail wagged as he nodded.

"Well I might not be the most knowledgable on this particular topic however I am knowledgable in general and I unlike you have acess to google, in other words sure"

--

30 days

"Whos afraid of Virginia Woolf!" Remus exclaimed at the same time as he slammed a poster on to the front desk of the library.

Janus glanced at the poster before clapping with the least energy possible "Wow. Congratulations on learning how to read"

Once more Remus had gotten all jittery when he had seen Janus starting his shift at the library. This time he had already prepared a damaged book he'd found in one of the shelves so he would have a reason to talk to the human and he'd made sure to wait until all of the most impending work had been done. His human's shoulders had slumped as he worked like he was exhausted just from existing and his eyelids were dropping down threatening to close any second now.

Remus furrowed his eyebrows together and pointed at the poster again.

"In case you're genuinly asking I for one am not afraid of Ms. Woolf because she has been dead for quite some time now and I am quite sure I could easily defend myself against a rotting corpse. A remarkable cool death though. Anyhow, I am working. Goodbye"

Janus took ahold of a cart with a few large bookstacks on top and started walking around shelf to shelf and placing the books into the correct order. It only made Remus walk beside him instead.

"You like plays! I remember! You said so! I asked teacher Logan about it and I think you would like it!! it has uhh lying and trickery and deceiving! And it has Wolf in the title. Logan said my name means wolf" He had a stupid smile on his face as he said it.

"Really, I thought your name meant that you're the less interesting twin" Janus muttered back while continuing to put up books without looking at the other man.

Remus pressed his face up against the bookcase to try and get Janus to look at him "If I did something wrong you gotta say it! I am literally stupid!!! If you looked at my papers my gender marker would be write as idiot!"

In response Janus pushed the cart directly into Remus' abdomen so he was forced to move back "Oh great! Play the idiot card, What a classic! Are you planning on having me recite all of it so you can laugh about it. How sweet. Would love to go into every detail but I have to go and get an axe to chop your dick off with"

"Hah! Jokes on you! I would like that!"

"Actually I was lying. I can't afford an axe. Just this cart" He pushed the cart right into Remus' stomach again.

Remus grabbed onto the side of the cart to not fall over "If I did something say something! Was it- Did I suck at kissing? At sex? At driving? Everything??"

"Sweetie it's because you killed my beloved pet hamster"

"Wha- Noooo. I think I would remember that- Oh you were being sarcastic..." Remus replayed everything he could remember from the date as he continued to walk close behind his human. All of a sudden it was like a lightning bolt from the sky hit his head and he spat out "Was it cause I asked bout your face?"

Instead of a reply he simply got a glare.

"OooooOOh. OoooooOOOOOHHHHH. JANNIE! I didn't even think that has possibility to be the thing I did wrong! I had forgotten! I-"

"Don't even"

With another cart slam Remus was pushed out of the way and Janus continued down the shelf. The demon could feel his body turning cold down to his bones and he gulped back bile as sweet as heaven.

"DON'T YOU THINK I FEEL LONELY TOO!?" Remus yelled out.

Janus stopped and scowled at him for a moment before moving close to him and pressing a finger against his lip "Are you insane!?" He whispered "We're in a library you stupid muppet!"

Remus pushed his finger away and continued in a hushed tone "I haven't seen my brother or my friends in a month! YOU! You're the only fucker I have right now. Do you really think I'd give all that up for for some stupid fucking lie!? To insult you? For what? Tell me ONE thing that you think is worth jokes about that I am not more worse about!"

To both of theirs surprise tears welled up in Remus' eyes. Ever since getting cast out he'd been trying to hold them back and even now he fought to keep them from rolling down his cheek.

"You-" His voice cracked "You're the only one I have Jannie. Do you want a sorry 'cause I didnt think. I said stupid shit cause my brain is snot during sex and I hadn't noticed your scar until I was smooch drooling all over your cheek!"

Janus let out a scoff "You hadn't seen the scar covering half of my face until just then, well what a coincidence darling!"

"OKAy Okay I have not gouged eyes out yet! I did see but-" The argument, or rather, arguments he had had with his brother suddenly came to the surface of his mind and he took a deep breathe. He crossed his arms to form an X "Break time. I am not thinking clearly..I do not want to be mad and spew shit. Can I breathe for few seconds and explain then?"

The human was taken aback by it but nodded eventually. He leant up on his toes to wipe a tear away from Remus cheek "It's time for my break anyhow. Fancy a cup of tea?....You bastard" He added that last part to not give any impression of friendliness.

The demon trailed behind into the worker's tiny break room. Since Janus was alone on his current shift the two of them were the only ones in there. Remus sat down by a table and gathered himself while the other man made some tea.

"Honey or milk in it?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Salt and poison thanks"

" Of Courssse"

He sat the cups down on the table "Finished with breathing for a few seconds" Janus asked half sarcastically.

"Uhh yeahh. So you uhm I didn't do anything wrong except asking bout your face?"

"You did also ask it right when we were about to have gay sex so that was also very much appreciated" Janus had been hung up on the dead look in Remus eyes as soon as it started to become intimate but he didn't want to bring it up in case it was some sort of sore spot. He wasn't completely heartless after all.

"....Bad timing?...." He genuinly asked.

"Noooo. Perfect timing. No notes!"

"Ougghghg ouch. I did see your face when we meet but didnt think of it. Thinked as much about Virgils pimples when I saw him for first time. I only thought about your face because the uhm Texture...." he searched for the right word while snapping his fingers "The uhh feeling? The feeling of your skin was so new and cool and other good words-"

"I will actually throw you out the window if you even try to imply my scar makes me beautiful somehow. I am unbeliviable hot and beautiful" He said it in a completely neutral tone "And my scar does not add or subtract to that in any way. It's simply a part of my face. The only idiots who make a fuss about it are other people"

"No. No. Jan. Feeling! Cool feeling! I wanna like lick your face or rub me fingies to it. I don't think it is a whole thing"

Janus pretended to check his nails while still wearing gloves.

"My best friend" Remus continued but stopped as he didn't know how to explain the way having white hair made Remy...different "My best friend has similar stuff. That's why I know sign!" He remembered the incident at the club, the way the other succubi had looked at him the moment they'd seen the white spot of his hair "Have you met me?? Not like I am uhhh non demented either. And I got a bunch of scars too! Look!!"

Without any hesitation he pulled up his shirt to show off the scattered scars he had around his waist. He started to point at them one at a time.

"This one I got 'cause my brother stabbed me with a for-"

"Wow yeah great idea to have a whole strip show while there are cameras in here" Janus interrupted.

"OH! Not to mention my ass! One time my anus ripped and now-" Remus turned around and moved to pull his pants down but Janus grabbed his wrists in panic to stop him.

"I am not losing my job because of an idiot shaped like a person!"

The demon searched his face for any hint of laughter or even a spark of joy but despite his attempt the human still looked just as miserable.

Remus tightly took Janus' hand in his and pressed his forehead against his skin as he closed his eyes. His lips quivered as he spoke.

"I- I don't know what to do if you don't forgive me"

Janus looked at him in silence for at least a full minute during which Remus didn't let go of his hand even for a second. He held onto him so hard his nails turned pale white.

"....Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf...Is actually one of my favorite plays..."

The demon looked up to see the slightest of smiles on Janus' lips. The human leant forward and sweeped a piece of loose hair behind Remus' ear. Janus hadn't realized just how frail he looked until he'd seen him with his slightly sunken cheeks and eyebags deep enough to store a closet on the verge of tears. Suddenly it had seemed so silly to think he would have been playing him for a fool when Jan could barely imagine how much he'd lost to get here.

"JAANNNIIIEEE" Remus let up into a wail while climbing on the table to lump him into a tight hug.

"Yeah yeah. There there dear" He patted him aimleesly on the back.

"You won't leave me?"

"Why is everyone I know so obsessed with me leaving them all of a sudden, but yes sure I will go see the amateur rendition of the play with you" His smile widened "If you'll do something for me"

Remus perked up "MUrder!? Poison!! Guioltine making!?"

"Darling, You are not at all concerningly easy to convince"

"Anything Janny boy!"

"I wasn't even requesting you to do anything for me!"

"I¨ll kill them! And their little dog too!"

"Whos them?" Janus shook his head and rolled his eyes at the same time which is a high level of bitchery "Nevermind. Remind me to take everything you say with a cold glass of salt"

Remus looked at him with wide bordering on puppy dog eyes and a stupid grin which made Janus want nothing more than to caress his equally stupid cheeks and press a kiss to his equally brain dead nose. Instead he settled for playfully running his finger along the demon's chin.

"Darling I have just the idea for what you'll do for me"

[illadvisedselfships]

Oh you're feeling sick? I'm so sorry. Get plenty of rest and warm food! ^^

If it'll make you feel better, here's a thought; imagine how Otis, Cruella, and Jim feel about Callahan, and vice versa (we already did the trio's thoughts on each other; now that a new F/O has been brought in, we must christen him XD)

Yeah, unfortunately children are full of disease 😅 I'll probably be like this for the next year but then I'll have built up immunity! ^^

AHHH yay! Here we go XDD

Cruella: Oooh well Cruella doesn't like anyone XD (Except Anita and maybe her furriers like Mr Skinner and Le Pelt- but even they are on thin ice as shown 😅), especially men, BUT Callahan is a rung up from where Jim and Otis sit at least XD They're derelicts XD 😅😅 Callahan on the other hand has a taste for the finer things ^^ He has money (He runs a billion dollar law firm). And *cough* she could honestly use his services. His agreeability to work with clearly guilty persons for the right payment is also a bonus.

Callahan can appreciate Cruella and her company (Especially in comparison to the other 2), including most importantly her money and finer tastes 😅😅😅 She is also excellent at sniffing out the blood in the water, too, so she's kind of on his level. 'Respect' may be going too far... but yeah, he has a a certain appreciation for her.

Jim: Again like Cruella- he could use a good lawyer XD How Jim's gonna pay him though I do not know. But I can totally imagine Jim with the most corrupt, sleazy lawyer ever like Callahan XD Maybe he pays him sort of under the table?? With moonshine? Drugs? A promise of a BIG payout once he gets off these charges and can get some other very illegal poaching gig? Perhaps working for Cruella.

Callahan completely underestimates Jim at the start. He thinks he's a goofy, uneducated, lily-livered geriatric alcoholic and that he can screw the poor bastard into a bad plea deal or settlement something- so Callahan can be done with another case in record time. BUT as we know Jim is not an idiot. Callahan is pleasantly surprised.

Otis: Oh boy. Callahan is everything in typical mainstream society that Otis does not vibe with 😅 He's got money, he works a nine-to-five, he gets the same run-of-the-mill 70 dollar haircut every month and he shaves every single day, etc. He's part of the 'conformist world' Otis hates. At least Cruella has her values, which may be crazy but she sticks to them, and at least Jim is not afraid to get his hands dirty (Metaphorically and literally). Callahan though is a cookie cutter stereotype, and he's two-faced, and he puts a bad taste in Otis' mouth. Callahan is lucky he still has his skin (no need to thank me Cal 🤣).

Callahan seriously looks down on Otis 😅 I don't know where on earth he gets the balls of steel, but he does.

~ Under the cut I wrote a little excerpt with the 3 of them (Mostly Callahan and Jim)... I couldn't help myself! 😅 ~

"Please Aaron," I beg, phone to my ear as I wonder slowly around the room, a pair of blue eyes on me from the couch; a printed DUI notice in his hand son his lap. Callahan's groan on the other end of the phone does not deter me. "You just need to represent him for an hour- less! Its not a biggie, its just... a little drinking and driving. He promises to never, ever do it again!"

Glancing over at Jim I see him scoff, shake his head and chuckle, and I wince. Well, that's a lie, but Callahan doesn't need to kno-

"Sure he wont. How many offences does he have? Uh... " I can practically see him holding his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose as he reads Jim's file that I subtly left on his desk earlier. "Forty five? How is this man not in prison?"

"A really good lawyer."

"Great, get him to handle this!"

"He-... he's on vacation." No need to reveal that we went to the 98-year-old lawyer's funeral a month ago. "-Look Cal, he will get you the money for this, he just needs some time. And the court date is Monday." While Callahan sits silent on his end I glance past Jim to some crates behind the couch and get an idea. "In- in the meantime, um, have you ever tried homemade moonshine?"

Jim immediately frowns. "Hold on now- "

Finally Callahan sighs deeply through the phone and I think I've got him, he probably doesn't want homemade moonshine but I think - I hope, - I made it clear I wasn't going to quit bothering him until he helped. He got Cruella off reckless driving!! Of course, he couldn't get off the animal cruelty charges, and now I only get to visit her through bars until our marriage licence comes through,.. but Jim does not have any animal cruelty charges... well, none pending at the moment at least... So this should be a snap for Callahan! No?? I stop moving around the room and root myself to the spot; listening carefully.

"Fine... but I don't want his money. For all I know it'll come from a goddamn mafia. And I don't want Cruella's, either, so don't even think about it."

"... well, I have some money saved up and- " My eyes wander over to Jim, his face going dark, glowering; he shakes head slowly. No. "He can pay me back- "

"How about you pay me another way?" My eyes snap away from Jim like a shot, and I look to the ground. What was that??

Voice lowered and much smaller, I cross my non-phone holding arm over my stomach. Um- "... what's this now?"

I can hear the smirk in Callahan's voice, the sound lower and huskier even than usual. My ears are getting hot. "You know what I mean."

Is he truly suggesting what I presume he is suggesting right now?? I mean- I'm not exclusive with anyone and everyone is g o o d with that but damn this sure is awkward. "I- "

"Look, that's my offer. You come stay with me for 2 weeks, do... whatever I ask," Oh, he's playing coy and vague. What's even the point of that at this point? Lord almighty- "And I'll get Jim off the charges."

"... " After some thought, and a glance at the crumpled DUI notice in Jim's hands, I huff out a sigh and close my eyes in embarassment. Will these people never tire of mortifying me?? Silly question, they wont- "Fineee... "

"Great! I'll send a car. See you soon, sweetheart."

"Uhuh." *click*

... For a moment I remain rooted to the spot, phone still at my ear, before gradually lowering it, tucking it into the back of my jeans and opening my eyes. Slowly I make my way over to the couch and flop down next to Jim, hanging my head on the back of the cushions. I close my eyes again and throw an arm over my eyes in defeat.

Its not like I don't want to see Callahan- I do, always, its just-... I feel bamboozled.

"... You're not paying for my bill, sugar."

"No, no." I sigh, assuring the one next to me. "We settled on a... different, payment plan."

"What do you- " When Jim sounds lost, I straighten up slightly, remove my arm from my face and open my eyes to give him an urging look. You get it. You can figure it out. Its to do with... yes, there it is. There you go. His eyebrows go up and his mouth opens. "Ah... "

"Yes." I grin, despite myself; shaking my head and straightening up the rest of the way.

A wry, teasing grin curls across his face. "... you sure are sweet."

"Don't you forget it."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Finally grinning for real, I get up again and check the time on my phone. "Okay, car's gonna be here in about an hour. If you get dinner for us now I'll go and find out what Otis has been doing in the bathroom all day."

Jim scoffs, getting up after me. "You gotta deal, there, sweetheart."

[multi-lefaiye]

omg bestie you should talk about your biomutant ocs' powers

omg so true i should (i know this is me, i sent myself this ask)

so this is mostly based on my partner and i's rewrite of biomutant lore that expands on a lot of the concepts presented in the original game. so there's some details i'm taking from there rather than from the game. dw about it <3

also hi pardon the tag but since u showed interest hello @wherearetheplants here's some Info

general info: in this universe, magic does exist, but only in very specific forms, and it's referred to as psi-magic (or psi-powers). there are two major forms: innate psi-powers, which are easier to master but generally weaker; and environmental psi-powers, which are generally stronger but harder to control. essentially, innate psi-powers are ones you're born with, while environmental ones are ones that are triggered by exposure to certain environmental stimuli.

there's also a whole mythology around psi-powers but we don't have time for that <3 so i'll run over some of my biomutant ocs' psi-powers!!

sol whitetail - sol whitetail has a case of incredibly powerful environmental psi-powers that they have effectively mastered in a very short time. they don't have a name for this ability, but for those who know biomutant, it's based on the 'rad wisps' mutation in the game.

effectively, sol's body is highly radioactive after they were brutalized and left to die in a radioactive zone years ago. though they recovered physically, the radiation never truly left their body, and over time they've taught themself to harness it in combat in the form of bright violet bursts. they're immune to it, but no one else really is.

sol essentially can just bombard those around them with radiation until they succumb to radiation poisoning. it's as brutal as it sounds. they rarely let it get that far, though, and mostly they use it for intimidation. especially because, if they expend themself TOO much, their body begins to break down slightly and their violet, radioactive blood leaks from their eyes and nose.

blink nocturne - blink nocturne has innate psi-powers, and at first glance his main ability doesn't seem particularly intimidating or useful in combat. he can teleport short distances at high speeds, creating a loud booming sound like a thunderclap. for those who know biomutant a li'l better, yes this is based on the 'blink' psi-power in game.

blink did name his ability after himself, as is generally the custom in this universe. he also found a good way to apply it in combat: if he gets enough of a running start, he can 'blink' himself towards an enemy with enough force to knock them back and do some serious damage.

his psi-powers don't have nearly the same level of dramatic side effects as sol's, but they still take a toll on him physically, especially in his bad leg (which was permanently injured when he was young). he can only 'blink' so many times before he needs to lie down and rest, so he uses this ability sparingly.

burgh mothmouth - burgh's psi-powers are innate in that they weren't triggered by any environmental factors, but he wasn't born with them. rather, he taught himself to use this ability after observing other, more experienced psi-power users doing this. his ability is, as you may be able to guess if you're familiar with the base game, based on the 'moth mouth' ability.

essentially, burgh can release a green mist, which takes the shape of fluttering moths, at those around him, which clouds their senses and disorients them. in extreme cases, overexposure to burgh's 'moth mouth' can cause permanent blindness. while it's not very useful in direct combat, as burgh must be concentrating to keep the mist in place, it is fantastic for ambushes.

burgh primarily uses 'moth mouth' to disorient those he's sneaking up on, making them have a harder time defending themselves against him when he finally strikes. occasionally, he also uses it to turn his enemies against each other, making them fight each other instead of him (and giving him a chance to flee, if needed).

tegu longshot - tegu actually has no psi-powers. i considered giving them some, but they don't. and they're fine with that.

[ethereousdelirious]

This incredibly short emeto thing just like... happened?

This is REALLY outing myself but I just got into Sa.murai Cham.ploo so... Don't @ me if this contradicts canon I'm only like 3 eps in

Jin's dragging his feet a little. Not enough to make Mugen want to kill him for it, but just enough that he notices. Little missteps here and there, the scrape of wood against dirt. It's been getting worse as they walk, though the hills have mostly leveled out into flat forest, peppered by the occasional upraised root or fallen tree to jump over

Or clamber over, if you're Fuu.

They've been walking for so long that she's run out of things to nag them about, and now she walks a little ahead. The idea had been to walk with Fuu in the middle, Jin in front, and Mugen taking up the rear, but Jin's pace has slowed so much he's barely keeping up with Mugen now. There's a sheen of sweat on his brow and upper lip and the only thing keeping Mugen sane over the course of this excruciating trudge has been watching Jin grow paler and paler as they go. If he really loatens for it, he can hear the occasional irritated growl from Jin's stomach, hear him swallow thickly and sigh through his nose.

Clearly, something's not agreeing with him.

His nausea seems to be reaching a peak now, one he'd been heading toward with his forearm braced across his stomach, clenching a fistful of his haori. He's breathing way too fast now, eyelids fluttering behind the flash of his glasses. Oh yeah, this is it.

"Hey, Fuu!" Mugen stops, lacing his fingers behind his head. Her call of "Ugh, what?" overlaps with his: "You might wanna stop for a sec; Jin's about to throw up."

"Whaat?" Fuu says again, whipping around so fast she nearly trips. Mugen snickers, though he's saving the bulk of his cruel glee for Jin, who's leaned against a tree with his eyes screwed shut.

Jin shakes his head, throat bobbing and stomach growling. "No…" He says, and his eyes open so he can glare at Mugen with that stupid superior frown tugging down the corners of his mouth. It's not so badass now, when Jin is so pale he almost looks green under the sunlight and the leaves, when he's shaking with the effort of holding everything back, when dashes of black hair swirl like ink across his cheeks. "I'm fine." His body hitches forward and he tenses, then swallows.

Mugen smiles and shakes his head. He knows a stifled gag when he sees one. He considers saying so, but eh. Might as well hang back and see what Fuu manages to inflict on him.

Sure enough, she comes flying in with her hand out, reaching up to feel Jin's forehead. "Oh!" she says, her exclamation so forceful that it ruffles Jin's hair. "You're burning up."

Well, shit. A fever like that can be dangerous, too dangerous to take lightly when they're out in the middle of nowhere. Mugen takes a breath to impart this sage wisdom, but it's like Fuu's acknowledgement has kicked Jin's legs out from under him. He lists to the side (oh, too avoid Fuu's shoes) and throws up all over the forest floor.

The stoic asshole doesn't even have the good sense to be pathetic about it, no moaning or crying or anything. He just doubles over, one pale hand splayed against a tree trunk, and retches.

"Ew!" Fuu jumps back, nearly knocking into Mugen, and dammit, he's too freaked out to laugh. Not that he really cares what happens to Jin, but shit, this would be an awful way to go. A guy like Jin deserves to die at Mugen's hand, not flat on his back in the throes of a fever.

Still, he can't resist a little snark. "Told you so."

Jin lifts his head up, his glasses resting on the tip of his nose. "Sorry… Fuu…" he breathes.

He staggers back a few steps, face ashen, and Mugen lunges because he knows what happens next, and then he's got Jin's full weight on his chest, strands of hair in his mouth (gross). His glasses have finally fallen off, balanced between his cheek and Mugen's chest. Mugen grabs them and tosses them to Fuu. "Well… shit."

[amoristt]

Just a Dare | Nathan Prescott x Reader

@trueloveknifefight asked, Also can I request Nathan asking you out?

here u are! i love writing convos w nathan UGH i adore his character.

as always, replies and reblogs are greatly appreciated1 i check all tags and comments <3

wanna support me for just $3? here's my ko-fi!

The lights were bright, vivid. Almost blinding. They dance LED accents into the reflection of your drink- a dull plastic cup filled to the brim with one part whiskey, zero parts mixer. The taste could bring a tear to your eye but you would be damned to water down such fine alcohol, provided by none other than Nathan Prescott himself.

Music reverberated along the pool rooms walls, laughter and hollers distantly rising with the tempos. Your foot absently tapped to the beat- you were never one for dancing. Never one for parties, either, actually, favoring drinking in the solitude of a small friend group.

If not for Nathan you wouldn't be here at all. Some would say it's a privilege to slip past those heavy doors, entering the dully lit world of the Vortex Club. You mostly just felt like it was all for show. Somehow securing a place among Nathan's friend group, and a good friend at that, it was almost duty to show up. He insisted on it.

So, here you were. Leaning against a wall in a suffocatingly warm, cramped pool room surrounded by a sea of faces you hardly recognized.

That was, until you saw Nathan's face peer through the small break in shifting bodies. You knew him all too well.

Strikingly handsome, equally strikingly pompous. Funny, crude, an absent minded party goer just as much as he was a fireball with racing, incoherent thoughts. A drinker, a druggie. Takes the edge off, he says, but you think he does it to take away his thoughts completely. You felt like his entire life was all edges, never sacred ground.

The poor bastard.

He lures your attention in as he saunters over with squared shoulders, narrowly avoiding spilling his drink when a random student cuts it a little too close. Normally Nathan would make a bigger deal, give him what for, but this time he just shoots the poor kid a menacing glare and grumbles, 'fucking watch it'. He's walking with purpose and intent, you can see it on his face. You must have a target on your forehead as he darts straight over.

When he comes to your side, his own alcohol dripping down the sides of his cup onto his wiry fingers, you raise a brow.

"Something wrong?" You ask, as he takes a spot leaning against the hard wall right next to you.

"Just wondering why you're being so fucking lame over here," He shouts over the music, taking a sip of his drink, grimacing at the taste. "We're all having a good time over at the lounge and you're over here acting like all the other wallflower nobodies."

You roll your eyes with upturning lips. "Maybe I like being a wallflower. I like people watching. I see things no one else does."

"Yeah, okay, fucking weirdo."

"I mean it," You push off the wall and grin. "Look-" You point to a student obviously wasted, drink held high over head while he lets the music take him away. "That guy is clearly trashed- he's having the time of his life. He's gotta be seeing double."

Nathan whistles at his state, taking in the guys goofy smile, half lidded eyes. "I'll bet it's the triplets. I could breathe on him too hard and he'd fall over."

"You should go try it." You tease. He shakes his head and takes another drink.

"Nah, he'll get it himself. Guarantee we'll be dragging him out by his feet by the end of the night." He shrugs. "Or, at least someone will. I sure as fuck ain't staying that long."

You snicker. "What, got a hot date?" Nathan glares at you. "Oh don't tell me," you cup your hands to whisper, a secretive gesture, "homework?"

"Fuck no," He scoffs, and you can just barely see that he's a little more than tipsy now. His pale cheeks dusted with red, the tip of his nose ruby under the harsh lighting. It's also then that you realize he's a little more tense than usual, even despite the drinking. He's standing straight upright, his right hand gripping his cup like a crutch and his left now shoved hastily into his pocket.

He hasn't looked at you dead in the eyes yet.

"So what is it then?" You ask curiously. He shrugs and stares into his cup. You frown. "Bro, are you like, good right now? Do you wanna leave?"

For the first time since he'd wandered over, Nathan looks up at you. His eyes are unreadable, but his composure seems stressed. He shrugs again. Before you can even open your mouth to ask him about his state, he sighs and downs an entire mouthful of burning whiskey. It makes you cringe just watching him.

"Fuck it," He huffs. "Look I got some stupid ass dare to come over here and put the moves on you, okay." He sounds almost annoyed, like it's a hassle for him, or maybe embarrassing. You cross your arms. "I was dared to come over here and try to get you like, to fucking, you know, leave with me, but now that I'm over here I'm starting to think maybe that was a dumbass idea."

"Leave with you?" You say incredulously, a brow already lifting. "You were dared to come over here and try to sleep with me? By our friends?"

"No, no, fuck," Nathan seems agitated now, rushing. "Like a date sorta bullshit. Ask you out." He manages to get it out in almost the worst delivery possible, meanwhile you're just trying to pick out who would put him up to this. Hayden? Victoria?

A laugh forces its way out of you. "Aren't we a little too old for that game?"

Nathan shrugs. "That's what I said but they insisted. Fucking babies. At least make the dare a little more fun than just asking some bitch out. That's like elementary level shit."

Your eyes widen, you scoff. "Excuse me?"

Nathan sputters. "You're not some bitch, I didn't mean to-... Fucks sake, I'm clearly a little drunk right now okay, if you could cut me some fucking slack that'd be awesome."

"Hey man I didn't ask to be a victim of bullying," You tease, and he can't help but laugh. You soften. "Never expected it from you, though of all people. As ironic as that sounds."

"I'm not even bullying you, come on. Don't be a bitch. I even admitted it and everything."

You grin. "Yeah. Gotta say though, I'm a little disappointed."

"Oh what, you wanted to see my moves?" Nathan hums. "You wanted some Prescott action?"

"Shut the hell up." You shove his shoulder, an action that would be a mistake to so many others, but for you, it was welcomed. "I'm disappointed that it was just a dare. I'd probably have said yes if it wasn't. But, oh well."

Nathan doesn't answer for a long moment. First, he stares into his drink, processing. Almost like he hadn't heard that right, or like you were messing with him. It's rare to see Nathan Prescott stunned into a momentary silence. He's thinking, wondering what he should say next. Suspicious that you're just playing with him, hopeful that maybe you aren't.

And, you hadn't been. Truth be told if given the chance you would allow him to take you out for the evening. Show you fancy things, try out something a little more intimate than just laughter and poking fun at classmates together. You enjoyed his presence, looked forward to it at times.

A small part of you had hoped that he felt the same, maybe. Somehow. While grateful that he respected you enough to cut the crap before it even began, you couldn't help but feel a little... Disheartened at the prank. You'd saved your pride by denying him beforehand, but, if it had been genuine...

"So if it wasn't a dare," He began, quietly, barely audible over the booming music overhead. Eyes barely visible in the sea of vibrant lights crashing like waves. "You'd have said yes."

You shrug, trying to play it casual to save your own feelings, just in case. "Probably. I mean, we're already friends. We have fun so it couldn't have been that bad." He nods along to almost every word.

"Well what if we did it anyways." He blurts.

"Did what?"

"Go out tonight. Like, you know ditch this lame ass party and have some real fun."

"You love this lame ass party, and plus," You shake your head in feigned annoyance. "I'm not sleeping with you, Nathan."

He glares at you. "Fucking duh. I'm just saying we can go and hang out somewhere else. This party happens all the fucking time so it's not like we're missing anything."

"But, wouldn't that make me the butt of our friends joke?"

He shrugs. "Fuck em. It was a dumb dare anyways."

"Now it seems like you're trying extra hard to convince me to say yes." You state, and he's frazzled, running lines through his brain to try and save the absolute failure of asking you out. You decide to spare him, take a little leap of faith for yourself. "But, alright. I'm in."

Nathan gapes at you. "You're in?"

"Yeah, why not. I'm not busy right now and if you're not either than," You smile. "Why not. You better wow me though, Prescott. I'm talking a night to remember. Fireworks, dinner by candle light, a serenade. The whole package."

Nathan's eyes light up, but he tries to hide it, rolls those beautiful blues. "Well considering I've had like no fucking time to prepare how about we instead go to the roof and chill out."

You toss the idea around in your head for show. You already knew the answer the moment he asked if you were being serious.

"I mean I guess that would work," You say. "I was looking for fireworks but I suppose that will suffice. Feel free to go tell our buddies their joke may have backfired on them."

Nathan shakes his head. "Nah, don't even bother. They're all drunk and probably don't even remember daring me in the first place."

"Alright then," You push yourself off the wall, feeling your cheeks warm. A flutter takes wing in the base of your chest, your heart picking up just a little faster. You can't stop the smile that graces you as you say, "Lead the way, Prescott."

Nathan does lead the way. He takes your hand into his own, your fingers tracing over his boney knuckles as he drags you through the sea of bodies, out to the school hall and up winding stairs.

You giggle like a child when he struggles to find the correct key on the janitors ring he'd snatched weeks ago just in case, tease him when he almost spills his drink all over himself. Nathan's hands are almost shaking, but you chalk it up to the alcohol. You chalk everything up to the alcohol- his trembling fingers, his red face, a shy, albeit goofy smile resting upon his lovely, angular face.

The night was cool and crisp, a stark contrast to the smoldering heat of the Vortex Party.

He looks amazing out under the stars, and underneath the scope of the vast, black sky dotted with trillions of perfect, twinkling lights, you feel at peace.

Looking at him, you feel like this may be the start of something you'd denied yourself the chance of ever even imagining.

Out there, alone but together, hearing the echoes of music mixed with the livelihood of crickets in the darkness...

it truly was a night to remember.

-----------

Days later, you sit atop your desk, feet tapping rhythmically on your chair, typing away at your phone.

"Love the top," A familiar voice pipes, and you glace up to find Victoria standing before you, books pressed to her chest. She takes in your shirt, a nicely fitted long sleeve with a rather low cut v-neck. "Why haven't I see that one before?"

You shrug and set your phone down. "Never got around to wearing it I guess. Not a big fan of V-necks."

"It fits you," She sets her books down at the table beside you and brushes a hand through her hair, making sure every strand is in line. "I'll have to get one myself."

"You know what, you can have it after today," You say, and she perks up in disbelief. "As a thank you for what happened at the party."

That disbelief soon turned to confusion. "...Meaning?"

"Y'know, making Nathan ask me out. He made a whole huge deal about it- said you guys were drinking and playing Truth or Dare of all things. Gotta say, I was a little surprised."

Victoria's brows knit. "We hardly drank at that party, and I wouldn't be caught dead playing Truth or Dare. That game is for kids."

It almost knocks the wind out of you.

They hadn't even been playing in the first place.

As the teacher walks into the room, the first period bell blaring annoyingly over the speakers, you climb off your desk and prepare for the day, hardly able to contain yourself. It hadn't been a dare, after all.

And, you and Nathan's official second date was merely a day away.

[morganaspendragonss]

Hello 🥰 Whump fic idea :)TK lands in the hospital, again. But this time they're serious, serious injuries, he is under a respirator, he is not breathing on his own, the doctors do not give him much chance of survival, they even advise it would be the best to prepare for the worst and say goodbye, just in case. Owen calls Gwen, she's arriving the same day with Enzo and baby junior. When in the hospital they find out how it happened and that it's mostly Owen's fault (I don't know, for example, he allowed Tk to enter the unstable building to tend to the patient, or whether he made someone else angry and this person unloaded it on TK, or Owen decided to do something reckless and TK wanted to save him or it is The arson situation from 2x12 so Gwyn arrives pregnant, without a baby of course), Gwyn slaps him twice and Enzo punches him right in the nose, breaking it, for risking TK's life. Fortunately, despite the bad prognosis, TK wakes up, but after he took his sweet time being in a coma.

holly's august extravaganza day 3: the meetings for those in my wake

thanks for the prompt! i really loved writing this one though i need to confess to toning it down a little? idk but with the way it was going it didn't feel right to have enzo break owen's nose. i hope you still like it!

ao3 | 3.3k | major character injury, coma, angst with a happy ending

For years after the divorce, Gwyn came to learn that any call from Owen was almost certainly bad news.

TK got in a fight.

TK overdosed.

TK was shot, he’s in the hospital.

Over and over, until the first words out of her mouth whenever Owen’s name flashed up on her screen were, What’s wrong?

Things have been better in the three years since her time in Texas. Gwyn suspects it’s partly TK’s influence—he’s been more than enthusiastic in getting to know his baby brother, and Isaac has latched onto TK despite only seeing him in person every few months or so. But they’ve talked as well, she and Owen, and they really are doing better. They’re almost like friends now, which is why Gwyn thinks nothing of it when he calls just after she’s put Isaac to bed for the night.

“Owen, hey,” she greets. “What’s up?”

The silence she’s answered with is the first sign that something’s wrong.

The sob that follows is the second.

“Owen?” Gwyn repeats, louder this time, her heart leaping into her throat. She sits down heavily on the sofa as she waits for Owen’s response; there’s only one thing that could make him cry like that, and tears prick at Gwyn’s eyes as she imagines TK hurt again, or worse.

“Gwyn,” Owen eventually manages to gasp out, voice wrecked. “Gwyn, it’s TK. He’s… You need to get here. You need— It’s not like last time. They don’t know if he’s going to— They don’t think— It’s bad. Really bad.”

Owen breaks off, crying harder, and Gwyn claps a hand to her mouth. She remembers well how devastated he’d been when he called about the gunshot, but this a whole other level. Gwyn’s head spins with the potential implications of that and she finds her breath coming in sharp gasps, but it’s Owen’s next words that knocks it from her altogether.

“They think we should say goodbye.”

The rest of the story comes haltingly—someone got angry after his son couldn’t be saved on a call, he came to the firehouse, he attacked TK—but Gwyn barely hears it. Her boy is in the hospital again and this time…this time he might not be coming home. She can’t understand it; she spoke to him just two days ago, they made plans for he and Carlos to visit for Isaac’s birthday, and now…

“I’m so sorry, Gwyn,” Owen finishes. She feels a flash of that age-old urge to scream at him, but she fights it off, not wanting to wake Isaac.

“I’ll be on the first flight over,” she promises, then ends the call, sliding off the couch to the floor. Her phone falls from limp fingers and harsh sobs tear from her throat, muffled by the press of her fist against her mouth.

Enzo finds her there an hour later and immediately takes her in his arms, not complaining about her tears soaking his shirt. When she tells him what happened, he insists on joining her, and Gwyn allows herself to take that shred of comfort and run with it.

She thinks it’s the only comfort she’s likely to get right now.

The next flight isn’t until morning, so Gwyn spends a sleepless night packing and unpacking their suitcases and making phone calls with the firm and her clients to cancel everything for the foreseeable. She has the brief, terrible thought about whether she should pack funeral attire, which almost sends her into a panic attack as reality hits her all over again.

Enzo saves her from it, gently guiding her to bed, but not before she packs the clothes anyway.

Isaac seems to pick up on her mood when they’re hurrying out of the house, remaining mostly quiet aside from the odd question about where they’re going. He perks up considerably when he finds out they’re heading to Austin, babbling about seeing TK, and Gwyn has to blink hard to keep from crying again. Enzo reaches over to take her hand, and he barely lets go until they’re landing in Austin.

*

The entrance to the ICU looms before her, and Gwyn feels stuck. There had been a part of her, still, that had hoped to find TK miraculously awake and on the mend, like the last time she had made this trip. She doesn’t want to believe that he’s here, hurt, maybe dying.

But he is, and she’s forcefully reminded of that fact when a kind-looking nurse approaches her hesitantly.

“Ma’am? Can I help you?”

Gwyn blinks at her, her brain taking a moment to catch up. “I, um. I’m here to see my son. TK Strand.” She pauses, then shakes her head, cursing herself internally. “Tyler Kennedy Strand.”

The nurse’s entire demeanour changes, a sympathetic smile taking over her face. “This way.” She leads Gwyn through the ICU, then points at a door near the end of the corridor. “Tyler’s room is just there. I promise, we’re doing everything we can for him.”

Gwyn nods absently, her gaze stuck on the door the nurse had indicated. She walks forward slowly, the room seeming to get further and further away until, suddenly, she’s standing on the threshold, and she sees her son.

TK is barely visible, his face half-obscured by the ventilator, half by bruises, and heavy gauze covers his forehead. His arms, resting limply at his sides, are littered with scrapes, and if Gwyn squints, she can just about make out more bandages peeking out from under the hospital gown.

She’d thought that seeing him would make it all real, but she feels separate from everything somehow, only one thought going through her mind on repeat.

This is not my son.

A quiet whisper draws her attention to the figure sitting at TK’s side. Gwyn has to suppress a gasp as she takes in Carlos’s appearance; she hasn’t seen him in person since the wedding last year, and his pale face and red-rimmed eyes cut a stark contrast to that day. He hasn’t noticed her yet, wholly fixated on TK, one hand gently stroking the tufts of hair poking out above the bandage. His lips move and Gwyn knows she should walk away, but instead she finds herself leaning closer, straining to hear Carlos’s words.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he’s saying. “I know you’re fighting and I know you’re going to try as hard as you can to come back to us—believe me, Ty, I am praying every day to see those pretty green eyes of yours open again. But I—I want you to know that it’s okay if you can’t. If it gets too hard, if you need to let go, you can. I already miss you like crazy and I really, really, don’t want to live the rest of my life without you, but the thing I can’t stand more than that is the idea of you suffering.

“Come back if you can, but if someday you find you can’t, remember that I love you and we’ll be okay. I promise.”

Carlos sniffs and ducks his head to place a gentle, lingering kiss on TK’s cheekbone. It’s such a tender, intimate moment, but it quickly shatters when Carlos looks up and spots her, his eyes going wide. “Gwyn. I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were there.”

She waves him off, willing herself to finally step into the room. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have said something, but I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Carlos nods, giving her a small, sad smile, which Gwyn does her best to return. She pulls up another chair and sinks into it, reaching out to take TK’s hand. She’s startled by the coolness of his skin, and more tears burn in the back of her eyes.

“What did the doctors say?” she asks, clearing her throat and twisting her body towards Carlos, though her eyes never leave TK.

“That it was a miracle he made it through surgery,” Carlos says, sighing wearily. “Eight stab wounds, too much blood loss, damage to his organs, broken ribs—that’s all bad enough, but they’re most worried about his brain. He took at least two blows to the head, and add that to the fact he wasn’t breathing for a good few minutes… They keep saying not to speculate, but we all know the odds here.”

Carlos’s voice breaks and Gwyn reaches out to comfort him, feeling sick to her stomach at the revelation. Why anyone would do this to her boy, she can’t comprehend; she finds herself both wanting answers and feeling unable to take any more.

Owen chooses that moment to appear in the doorway, looking every bit as wrecked as he sounded on the phone. “Gwyn,” he says roughly. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Carlos moves as if to give them privacy, but Gwyn shakes her head at him, cutting off his protests before he can even get them out. “You stay with him, Carlos,” she tells him. “We’ll talk in the hall.”

They head to a quiet spot not too far from TK’s room, and Gwyn turns to face Owen, holding her arms. “What the hell happened, Owen? Why is our son lying in there, not even breathing on his own?”

A flicker of a frown crosses Owen’s face. “I told you—”

“No, you didn’t.” Gwyn clenches her jaw, staring him down. “You said he’d been attacked, not that some maniac had used him as their personal punching bag.”

A few more seconds pass before Owen relents, sighing. “There was a call,” he starts, voice heavy with sorrow. “A car accident; dad and his kid were trapped inside. We got the dad out but the son was stuck pretty good. It took a long time to free him and by then it was too late—EMS did their best, but he was gone.

“The dad went ballistic, screaming at all of us, but especially at TK. We don’t really know why, but it was probably a convenience thing; TK had been the one to break the news, he was the closest person—the guy wasn’t exactly thinking clearly. He threatened him, tried to hit him—the cops had to arrest him eventually, but you know TK. He refused to press charges, said that the dad was just in shock and that he understood.”

Gwyn smiles a little at that; her son has always been too forgiving for his own good. It’s never come back to hurt him this badly before, though.

Owen pauses, throat bobbing as he seems to work up to the next part. His voice is quiet, and he seems reluctant to meet Gwyn’s eyes. “He showed up at the firehouse a week later—the dad, I mean. He said he wanted to apologise and, I swear, Gwyn, he really did seem genuine. None of us wanted to let him near TK, but ultimately it was TK’s decision. They went round the side of the house to talk; when neither of them came back after twenty minutes, we went looking.

“By that time, the guy was gone, and TK was…” He stops and shakes his head, swallowing hard. “He could barely breathe. Tommy and Nancy did what they could and they got him here quickly, but we have no idea how long he’d been like that before we found him.”

Gwyn’s head snaps up, a white-hot anger flashing through her. “I can’t believe you,” she hisses. “You left our son alone with a man who had already threatened him for twenty minutes, Owen.”

Owen frowns. “I told you, he seemed genuine. And TK—”

Gwyn can’t help it; she slaps him. “Don’t you dare,” she grounds out, crowding into Owen’s space. “Don’t you dare act like this was his fault.”

“I wasn’t—”

Her arm moves on instinct, but before she can connect again, a hand closes around her wrist. Gwyn turns to find Enzo staring at her, brow wrinkled in confusion.

“Gwyn, what’s going on?”

She shakes her head and takes a step back from Owen, freeing herself from Enzo’s grasp. “What’s going on,” she responds tightly, “is that he is part of the reason why my son is half-dead in there.”

Enzo gapes between them. “What?”

She ignores the question, needing to focus on anything else to keep her anger from overwhelming her. “What are you doing here anyway? Where’s Isaac?”

“He’s with Grace and Judd, they offered to babysit so I could come here. What—”

“Hang on,” Owen interrupts. “What is he doing here? I figured he’d stay in New York with the kid.”

“Isaac is TK’s brother, Owen,” Gwyn says, turning on him again. “And Enzo has just as much right to be here as any of us; he was more of a father to TK than you were sometimes.”

Owen’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “Him? You’re joking, right?”

Gwyn isn’t sure what happens next, who starts it, but soon they’re all yelling, insults and accusations flying around the ward. There’s a furious nurse heading their way, but before she can say anything, another voice cuts through the argument, quiet and trembling but still somehow powerful.

“Get out,” Carlos says. “All of you.”

They all turn to him, Gwyn’s lips parting in shock. Owen takes a step towards him, holding his hands out in a gesture that’s probably meant to be pacifying.

“Carlos—”

“I mean it, Owen,” he snaps, harsher than Gwyn has ever heard him before. “You all screaming at each other is the last thing any of us needs, least of all TK. The only person to blame in all this is the guy who attacked him, and he’s already in custody; he’ll get what’s coming to him. If TK—” Carlos breaks off, clenching his jaw and staring down at the floor. He closes his eyes for a moment, before breathing out shakily and looking back up at them. “If anything changes, I’ll call you, I promise. But you can’t be here right now. Go, please.”

Carlos doesn’t wait for a response before turning on his heel and going back into TK’s room, reassuming his position next to the bed. Gwyn watches him for a second, nodding when Enzo pointedly takes her elbow.

“He’s right,” she says, directed at Owen. “We should go.”

Owen glares, gearing up to argue again, but he must think better of it as he suddenly slumps, all the energy draining out of him. “Right,” he mutters. “Right.”

They file slowly out of the ICU, closely watched by the hard eyes of the nurse from before. Gwyn spares one last look before forcing herself forwards; if getting here was hard, walking away is a thousand times worse.

*

Three weeks pass with no change and, crucially, no improvement. Gwyn spends more time with Carlos than she ever has before, and she hates that it’s her son being comatose that has brought the two of them closer. A tentative peace exists between her and Owen and she knows—truly, she knows—that the attack wasn’t his fault, that there was nothing that could have stopped it.

But she can’t help but be angry that, once again, her son was seriously hurt and she wasn’t around.

She takes Isaac to see TK once, when the worst of the bruises have faded a little. She worries that he’ll be scared, and he does seem to hesitate when they reach the room; in truth, Gwyn hadn’t wanted to bring him at all, but he’d kept asking about TK and she’d found herself helpless to do anything but acquiesce.

They still haven’t told him what’s going on. No-one knows how to. All Isaac knows is that TK is a little hurt and he needs rest, and even that knowledge seems to upset him.

Once he gets used to the sight, Isaac stretches his hands out to the bed. “TK,” he says simply, looking pleadingly up at Gwyn.

She hugs him close, trying to smile for him. “TK’s asleep, sweetie,” she explains. “He needs rest.”

“When wake up?”

“I don’t know, baby. I don’t know.”

*

Three weeks pass, and the doctors start talking about options and next steps. It’s obvious what that’s code for—they want to pull the plug. They’re told to take all the time they need to discuss it but, ultimately, the decision will be Carlos’s, as TK’s husband and next of kin.

Gwyn knows what choice he’s going to make; it’s the same one she, or anyone else in his position, would make.

That doesn’t make it any easier to bear, for any of them.

Gwyn finds him in the hallway, bent over with his head in his hands. She goes over and quietly sits in the chair next to him, placing a comforting hand on his back.

There’s a long silence before Carlos sniffs and turns to her, his face the picture of devastation. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this, Gwyn,” he whispers, voice cracking. “How am I supposed to just give up on him like that?”

She shakes her head. “You’re not giving up on him, Carlos. You’re letting him go.”

“I don’t know how to do that either.”

“None of us do.”

Silence again, but this time, it’s Gwyn that breaks it first. “Listen, Carlos, I know this is hard. God knows I wish none of us were even here. But we are, and we have to do what’s best for everyone, including TK.”

“I know that,” Carlos admits. “I just don’t want to lose him.” He closes his eyes and leans into Gwyn, allowing her to wrap him in a hug. “I wish we had more time.”

Gwyn’s heart breaks all over again, and she squeezes his shaking shoulders. “We’ve got time,” she says, though she knows that’s not what he meant. “As much as you need.”

The sob she’s answered with tells her there’s not enough time in the world for Carlos to say goodbye to TK.

*

The call comes in the middle of the night. Dread pools in Gwyn’s gut as she accepts it and lifts the phone to her ear, her hands trembling.

“Owen?”

“Gwyn. TK, he—he woke up. It was only for a few seconds, but he woke up, Gwyn. The doctors said it was a miracle; they think he might actually recover.”

Gwyn gasps, a sob crawling up her throat as the news sinks in. It’s everything she’s been praying for ever since that first call, and all she can think about now is getting to TK.

“I’ll be at the hospital in fifteen,” she says. She ends the calls and raises her hands to her face, wiping away the tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

Maybe this nightmare is finally coming to an end.

*

TK is off getting tests when Gwyn arrives, but she’s finally allowed back in the room an hour later, Carlos and Owen on her heels. The ventilator has been removed, replaced by a nasal cannula, and his eyes are open—barely to slits, but Gwyn doesn’t care. TK is awake and alive, and that’s all that matters.

As soon as she’s in the chair by the bed, she reaches out for him, her touch feather-light as she strokes his cheek. “My brave boy,” she whispers wetly. “My brave, brave boy.”

TK’s head rolls on the pillow so he’s facing her and he mumbles something that’s probably meant to be a greeting, but the words jumble together and come out as gibberish.

Gwyn thinks it’s the most beautiful sound she’s ever heard.

They’ve all been briefed about the risks of brain damage and all the potential lasting consequences which could impact the rest of TK’s life. But right now, as she holds TK’s hand with Carlos on his other side and Owen at her back, Gwyn chooses to take solace in the constant rise and fall of TK’s chest and the heart monitor beeping out a steady rhythm.

There’ll be enough time for worry later; for now, her son is alive, and Gwyn can’t think of anything else that's more important.

[peterrparrkerr]

Revoked consent - read on ao3

TW for rape/noncon

*-*

Peter's hands shake a little as he takes the offered glass from Tony. He gives a smile, hoping he doesn't look as nervous as he really is.

Its his first time being paid for sex, and he doesn't know why it's so daunting this time. Hes had sex before, he's fucked himself on a dildo on camera for money.

But this is the first time he's actually sold himself for it.

Tony had offered him an amount he couldn't refuse. Not only would he be able to pay three months of rent, but he'll be able to actually get groceries and still have enough money to live comfortably for a couple months after.

Tony had already deposited half of it into his account. Peter's throat had closed up when he'd seen it.

Tony sits down beside him on the couch with his own glass. Peter glances over at him, then down at the glass.

He had to act like he was old enough to drink. Tony didn't know he was only sixteen. He'd said he was twenty-three online. It was the only way he could get on the website.

"Drink," Tony commanded softly. Peter glances up at him before giving a small nod and brought the glass to his lips.

He could feel Tony watching him as he tipped the glass up. He held his breath -the scent of the alcohol making his nose burn- and swallowed quickly.

The burn and taste isn't something Peter's ever felt before. It feels like he's swallowed acid and the burning won't leave his tongue.

He chokes on a cough, trying desperately to act like its not as fowl as it really is. But the one cough opens up the gateway, and he's hacking out a lung, his eyes burning with tears.

"Not into the hard stuff, hmm?" Tony asked, sounding amused as he plucked the glass from Peter's hand.

He shakes his head, forcing himself to calm down. How fucking embarrassing.

"No, I'm sorry," he manages, wiping under his eyes.

"Dont be," Tony hummed, standing up and moving back to the bar. "Its an acquired taste."

Peter doesn't say anything. He watches as Tony reaches down behind the bar. Theres a distinct sound of a can being opened, the sizzle of something carbonated being poured into the glass, and then Tony was returning.

Peter's glass was fuller than before, darker and fizzy. "Try this."

Peter takes the glass, bringing it to his nose and sniffing it quietly. Its pepsi. He takes a tentative sip, all while Tony watches silently beside him, leaning back against the couch.

Peter takes a drink. The alcohol is hidden in the soda, the burn lost in the fizz, and he smiles gratefully at Tony.

"Thank you," he manages, nerves still closing around his throat in a vice-like grip.

He drinks more, feeling Tony's fingers brushing softly against the hairs at the back of his neck. It makes Peter shiver, his stomach rolling and threatening to bring up his lunch.

He's halfway through his drink when Tony sets his empty glass down on the coffee table.

He then takes Peter's glass and sets it down too.

"Come sit on my lap," he orders.

Peter's hands grow sweaty, and he awkwardly does as he's told, feeling like he's all limbs and no grace.

Tony's hands feel huge on his hips, fingers pressing into the softness of his ass while his thumbs hook over the front of his hip bones.

"You're tense," Tony hummed, squeezing Peter's hips. "Relax."

Peter gives a small nod, forcing himself to put his whole weight onto Tony's thighs. It makes the older man smile, and Peter fights back the urge to get up and run out of the penthouse.

"What- what would you like to do?" Peter asked, hiding his shaky hands by holding the back of the couch on either side of Tony's head.

"Hmm," Tony grins, his hands moving up and under Peter's shirt. They're warm against the bare skin of Peter's sides, and it makes him slightly nauseous.

"Why don't you let me be in control," he suggested. The idea made Peter's heart rate quicken, but he forced himself not to outwardly react.

Tony had paid him handsomely for this, and he was going to pay him more once this was over. This was just a job. Peter's had sex before. Hes had a job before. This was just- combining the two.

"All you have to do is follow my lead, okay, sweetheart?"

Peter swallows thickly before nodding. "Okay," he agrees. He can do that.

Tony smirks before lifting his hands higher, forcing Peter's shirt up and exposing his tummy to the cool air.

Peter lifts his arms, allowing Tony to pull the shirt completely off before returning them to the back of the couch.

"Kiss me."

Peter leans forward, kissing Tony hesitantly, softly. His goatee is scratchy, the shirt pricks of hair biting into Peter's soft skin.

He hates it. Hates how kissing Tony makes him feel. But he kisses him with everything he's got.

The man under him groans against his mouth and begins working Peter's fly open.

Peter pulls away, glancing down, opening his mouth to tell Tony he's changed his mind, when the man grabs him by the chin and forces their mouths together.

Peter forces himself to allow Tony to tug at his jeans and boxers. He even gets up to allow them to fall to his ankles.

He's mostly soft, and he wants nothing more than to hide himself away from Tony's eyes as he crawls back onto his lap.

Tears burn in his eyes, but Peter forces them away, leaning in and kissing Tony as the man's hands roam over his naked body.

His nakedness to Tony's suit is unnerving -the juxtaposition making Peter feel lesser than.

He tries to ignore it. Tries to ignore the hands kneading his bare ass, pulling him apart to expose more of him to the cold air of the penthouse.

Tony's tongue tastes like whiskey, and Peter pinches his eyes shut on the wave of nausea that curls in his gut.

"Up," Tony orders, shoving at Peter. He climbs up as quickly as he can, and struggles to breathe as Tony manhandles him onto the floor.

He's on his knees, bent over the cushions, his ass presented to Tony.

Peter struggles to level out his breathing. He pinches his eyes shut and lowers himself so his chest is pressed to the couch cushions, mostly to hide his face in his arms.

"Hmm," Tony hums approvingly, hands rubbing at Peter's ass. "You sure are a pretty little thing."

Thing.

Peter feels humiliated, on the verse of a panic attack. His knees hurt against the hard floor -he thinks it might be granite or even marble. Its cold.  He doesn't think he can go through with this.

But Tony's already lubing his fingers and pressing two inside. Peter bites back a sob, reminding himself this is only for the money.

This is a job. He can do this. Its one time, and after this, he'll leave and never see Tony again.

He'll delete his cam page, he'll cut off any ties to Tony. Its just one time.

Tony continues to finger him open, but Peter can tell he's becoming impatient. He winces as three fingers are shoved in, the back and forth much too rough for prep work. Thankfully, Peter had done a lot of it himself.

Tony's fingers leave his hole and Peter can't help the momentary relief that floods his system.

Its chased away with cold water though, when he hears the zip of Tony's pants and the snick of the lid popping on the bottle of lube.

Peter's heart lodges itself deep in his throat, and its suddenly all too much.

He pushes himself up off the couch, half turning. "Wait, Tony, I can't do this-"

Tony's hand shoves against his back, right between his shoulder blades and pinning him to the couch. "Don't be nervous," he orders.

Peter feels the head of Tony's cock nudge at his entrance and he lets out a whine, frightened and desperate all at once.

"Wait, Tony, stop," Peter gasped, fighting to push himself up. Tony only leans more of his weight onto his back, and shoves his cock inside in one quick thrust.

Peter yelps at the stretch and burn, thighs shaking as his muscles work to keep Tony out.

"There you go, relax, sweetheart, you're doing so well," Tony grunts, feeding more of his cock in until its flush, hips to Peter's ass.

Tears burn at Peter's eyes as he struggles against the weight on his back.

Tony's fucking huge -bigger than he thought he'd be. He feels split open, ripped at the seams. Its so painful, and Peter has to bury his mouth into the cushions to muffle his whines and mewls of pain.

"Ton-Tony I can't-"

"Sure you can," Tony huffed, beginning to thrust in and out. Peter wails at the sharp snap of his hips.

He cries openly against the pillow, chest heaving, body shaking.

Each thrust punches out a breathy "ah, ah, ah," from Peter, his gut twisting with a mix of pleasure and disgust.

"Listen to you," Tony hummed, sounding almost desperate, hands holding Peter down. "Those noises. God, you're so tight, sweetheart. Taking my cock so well."

Peter chokes on a sob at those words, a string of babbled begging leaving his mouth, muffled by the leather couch cushions.

Tony must interpret the unintelligible babbling for something else, because he goes harder, thrusting faster, and Peter's back arcs, his head lifting off the couch on a shout.

"Please, please, please," Peter sobs, chest heaving. Tony pistons his hips, shoving Peter into the couch over and over in a disorienting pace.

Tony drives into him hard, burying himself as depe as he can go, and then pushing in further. Peter sobs against the pressure, being filled to the maximum.

And then Peter feels it. The unmistakable warm wetness that spreads inside him, coating his inner walls.

Peter whimpers as Tony punches his cock deep inside, pushing the cum deeper than Peter knew possible before pulling out.

Peter doesn't move, just tries to level his breathing. To collect himself before Tony seems his face.

"You going to cum for me, sweetheart?" Tony asks only seconds later. His hands are still pinning him down, but one now slids around Peter's front.

He doesn't get a chance to deny the man before a callused hand grips his cock and tugs painfully.

He yelps as his orgasm is yanked from him. Its not pleasurable in the slightest. It hurts so bad, Peter's eyes water again.

And Tony keeps milking him through it, wben when the last of it has dribbled to the floor. Peter reaches a hand down, whimpering and whining at the assault.

"Stop, stop!" He begs, stilling Tony's hand. "Please it hurts."

Tony stops, smoothing his hands over his belly and pressing a soft kiss to Peter's shoulder blades.

"Such a sensitive thing," he remarks. Peter buries his face in his arm. Tony gets to his feet then and steps away.

Peter reaches for his shirt on the couch and quickly pulls it over his head, hands still trembling.

He glances over to see Tony's back at the bar, filling a glass for himself.

Peter stands on shaky legs, stepping into his boxers and jeans and pulling them up before any of Tony's cum drips down his legs.

He tucks himself in and zips up before stepping into his shoes. His phone and wallet are still in his back pockets.

He glances up at Tony again, who's watching him over the rim of his glass. Peter doesn't know what to say, so he makes his way halting towards the door.

"The rest of your money will be deposited tonight," Tony said when Peter reached the door. Peter's gut twists, but he nods in thanks.

"I'd be more than happy to continue this partnership in the future," Tony hummed, just as Peter gripped the doorhandle that lead to the hallway. "Should you have need of extra money."

Peter doesn't acknowledge that. He slips out of the penthouse and into the hallway, making sure the door shuts behind him before rushing for the elevator, fresh tears blurring his vision.

[heresathreebee]

Old Stomping Ground

[Ava Starr X Female Reader]

Summary: One of the good things to come out of constant alien invasions are the abandoned ruins of New York, and you’re fixing to show Ava your favorite place. Previous Masterlist Next

Tag(s): 13+ | can be reader gender and race neutral reader but is written with woc readers in mind, no-snap au, post-Ant Man and the Wasp, Ava and reader on an adventure in post Avenger's New York, homelessness, alien trees and the power of community.

AN: no-snap au, post-Ant Man and the Wasp. No beta, we die like men. Just you and Ava having a short adventure.

You took three days off of work for this one. Packed two backpacks with food, water, clothes, and other supplies. Bedrolls and bug spray and hiking poles. Ava laughed at your enthusiasm but she seemed to vibrate with excitement right along with you. 

"Can you at least tell me where we're going," she pleaded. 

You ran through the end of the checklist for the third time, trying to be extra careful now that you wouldn't be hoofing it solo. You dodged the question expertly with a "it's not far and it's not dangerous so hush! Learn to enjoy the mystery, babe." 

Ava rolled her eyes playfully but stopped asking and let you finish. After that you ate a hearty breakfast and began your journey north by northwest. In the taxi, your girlfriend's eyes darted from building to building as you turned on every street and you mentally gave up on scolding her. She was too pragmatic to allow for that level of trust yet. 

You were surprised that it took her until you passed the ruins of the daycare you once attended that she whipped her head around to whisper, "is this… Leviathan alley?" 

You shush her but can't keep the excited grin from your face. "It's a bit more than just an alley." 

Once SHIELD was finished stripping for parts and gutting the cybernetically enhanced alien creature left behind in the Battle of New York, the rest was abandoned. The city's been planning to clean up and rebuild but there are scores in the earth where the leviathan crashed and crumbling, precarious buildings that need to be brought down first in the safest way possible. While the city’s been debating how to deal with the destruction, the poor and destitute had moved in and discovered the blood of the chitauri has some very interesting properties. 

"It's like it changes the property of concrete," you explained, climbing over rubble and reaching back to pull her up, "uhg– breaks it down into some kind of hyper fertilizer. There's this copse of trees growing where we think the stomach was and I think in its natural habitat, the creature was probably an omnivore of sorts and may have swallowed thousands of seeds–" 

"That's all very fascinating dear, could you please take this?" Ava shoves a canteen into your hands and cups your hands to bring it closer to your mouth. You've climbed for what feels like miles and hey, you are pretty parched. "Think we'd better rest and eat, maybe look for a safe place to set up camp and… oh, look over there!" 

Ava's sudden whisper makes you turn. It's green in that direction, though this 'alley' is shrouded in darkness due to the dome made from the spine and ribs of the leviathan, the sprigs seem to grow just fine, becoming taller as they moved farther away from you until they began to develop woody stalks and trunks. 

"That's the forest you were talking about," Ava whispered in awe. “I wanna get a closer look.” 

You gently caught her arm. “Camp first, eat. It’ll still be here tomorrow.” 

~ 

Ava didn’t expect you to take her into an encampment. There were two dozen people in tents, an open grill going and laughter. They seemed to recognize you. It was mostly older adults, a few elderly people wrapped in thick blankets and teens walking around asking anyone needed drinks. You grabbed the blanket from your pack and wrapped Ava in it as soon as she found a seat on a slab of concrete. 

"Comfy?" 

Ava smiled up at you, taking the proffered fruit slice from you. "Very." 

She examined the strange fruit. It had a thin violet skin with a spongy white inner layer and pink juice with black seeds  dripping from it. She leabed over your shoulder get a look at the fruit as a whole, and it seemed the pink goop was loose inside the fruit similar to a coconut. 

"Are these from the trees," she asked. 

"Yeah, they're edible don't worry. No side effects we've seen," you assure. 

Ava nods but as she's licking the tangy pink juice you continue, "well except for Nadia but she's a mutant." 

Ava flicks worried green eyes at you and slowly takes the fruit from her mouth. She's already swallowed on reflex so there's no turning back now, only managing whatever weird things would come next. 

"Uh… what do you mean by that?" 

You blink at Ava. "Oh it's not, like, bad or anything. Right, Nadia?" 

A dark skinned girl in an orange beanie looked up from her phone. "What?" 

"Tauri makes you, what, gassy?" 

The man on the grill threw his head back in a laugh and Nadia kicked a rock at you. "Ha hah, you're everybody's favorite clown in the circus. It doesn't make me gassy, you jerk, it makes me smell like roses actually." 

"Oh," Ava said, "that's all?" 

You and Nadia shared a knowing look. "It's strong. Not overpowering but strong like you've got your nose buried in a whole bouquet of them." 

"And your fingers tingle and you make sparkles– " 

"Nadia I think that's just you, baby!" 

People laughed and the conversation died down. Ava let the slip of tauri fruit linger in her grasp until you gently pried it out and ate it yourself. You were side eyeing her but kept your question to yourself and eventually Ava was able to relax. She fell asleep during Nadia's uncle Rodney's story with her head on your shoulder and dreamed of violet things. Violet dresses, violet paint, violet fires, and violet sprigs. 

All you could dream of was the smell of roses so close and so thick you could touch it. 

~

The walk through the natural path as the trees got thicker finally prompted Ava to ask the question that's been plaguing her. "How do you know them? Are they family?" 

You cast a quick glance over your shoulder and slowed your pace to match hers as your fingers tapped the straps of your backpack nervously. "Sort of. They were family when I had no home to go to. Then I got a job with enough money and a stupid good deal on my apartment because I had no priors. 

"Rodney and Jules and some of the others prefer it out here with the forest. Some of them have nowhere else to go or no way to take care of themselves. Nadia's been kicked out of every home she's ever been to, but she won't go to that gifted school for mutants in Westchester county. Can't say I blame her either." 

"School for mutants, eh," Ava said as she trudged on, "interesting." 

You walked along in silence, drinking in the inviting quiet of the forest and the tiny chirps and peeps of its new inhabitants. You'd almost say it would be a shame to tear this place down knowing it's a new natural habitat, but you know New York had a hundred bigger and more pressing issues to deal with right now. As long as any capitalist moguls kept their eyes elsewhere, the new jungle should be fine. 

As the forest becomes denser, you have to pull a rechargeable flashlight out to see the ground beneath you. Black bugs crawl under and over the brush and fallen twigs, and something no bigger than a cat scuttles away out of the path of the light. Ava puts a hand on your arm and you open your mouth to assure her you'd protect her, but as you look at her you realize she's ready to protect you. Arm poised out and eyes darting around for signs of sudden movement from the brush. 

You walk in silence for what feels like an fantastic eternity but when you look at the canopy you stop yourself. Ava looks up to, gently taking a hold of your hand to keep you close and it sends tingles up your arm. She rarely reaches for you but she seems to be growing more and more confident of it. 

Light dances beyond the thicket of the leaves. Green and gold flashes as a soft breeze creates gaps beyond the chitauri rib ceiling and every time a light flashes you feel warmth on your skin like soft little kisses. 

Something wooden creaks, and that creaking quickly turns to snapping. You unconsciously squeeze Ava's fingers as you spot a black tree trunk beginning to fall towards you. Suddenly, Ava's arms are around you and she pulls you down into a duck. 

Everything happens so fast it blinds you. You can't see, can only feel as shivers of warmth and cold jitter through your entire being, drowning you into sensations you've never felt before. It makes you feel fear more than anything. Is this how you die? Cowering? 

When the sounds of falling trees stop, there is only the wind and the rush of Ava's windbreaker against yours. You test your fingers to see if they still work and dig them into her back. Nothing broken, you're still standing if gravity is correct. 

She finally lets you lift your head from her embrace and survey the scene. That tree opened a spot in the canopy for more natural light to pour in which is good because your flashlight was lost among the thick bramble bushes. 

Ava brushes your forehead. "Are you OK?" 

It must be a trick of the light but she looks like she's shimmering. Perhaps you hit your head or something but it seems like you never fell. Your standing just beside the fallen tree but you could have sworn you'd almost felt it go through you. And then…

And then there was the smell of roses. 

"I'm fine," you say at last. "Let's get back, probably shouldn't have come here by ourselves anyways…" 

Ava gives you a look, it almost looks like trepidation. You steel your resolve and press on to retrace your steps, knowing you had a lot of walking to do before you would exit the treeline. 

Ava has powers and you're ok with that. You'll just let her tell you in her own time. 

[ruewrites]

May I suggest a oneshot of the fantastic three (Dia, Luci, and Barbs) hanging out together but instead of being all StRIcKTlY PrOFeSSioNaL it turns out that they're just absolute idiots together? I know that isn't super specific but I just really love the idea of those three doing dumb stuff as friends and enjoying themselves. Also I think the excuses they'd have to make to avoid getting caught would be hysterical.

(Also mostly platonic if that's alright with you, if I'm breakingany rules feel free to ignore)

All Play, No Work

AO3

Ships: None

Word Count: 1043

 Warnings: None

A/N: I hope you liked this! I had a fun time doing it, sorry it took me so long! And don’t worry, you didn’t break any rules! Thank you for being so kind!

“Excellent shot my Lord,” Barbatos smiled as the small piece of paper flew between his fingers.

Diavolo was grinning from ear to ear as he started to make another one out of a piece of notepaper. Truthfully, Lucifer wasn’t sure why he thought they’d get any work done. Perhaps he believed that his efforts combined with that of Barbatos would help keep Diavolo on task,  and that all three of them would be able to have a productive time. However, Lucifer was quickly realizing that this wouldn’t be the case.

“Maybe you could move the goal a little to the right Barbatos? That way I can really test my aim,” Diavolo said. He closed one of his eyes and started lining up the paper triangle for his shot. Barbatos nodded and moved his fingers ever so slightly to the right.

Lucifer sighed and put down his pen, watching as the folded piece of paper flew towards the goal. It was short, just like his patience.

The firstborn closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Lord Diavolo, perhaps this little activity of yours would be best saved for later? After you have finished your work?” It wasn’t a question despite being phrased as such. Diavolo wasn’t one of his brothers, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t chastise him like one of them. 

Diavolo laughed and went back to folding yet another paper triangle, “You should really learn to relax a bit. This could count as work you know, the humans taught me how to play. I find it rather entertaining and a great way to learn about them.”

The triangle hit Lucifer square on the nose, making him scrunch up. He swore he heard Barbatos snort, but there wasn’t a way to prove it. He made a mental note to hunt down both Solomon and the other human after his work was completed.  Picking up the little paper triangle, he raised it until he was at eye level with it. It didn’t unfold easily. Honestly, humans were such odd creatures amused by the simplest of things. It astounded him sometimes, the things their own human had been drawn too. Lucifer wondered if he’d ever understand any or it, or if it would simply remain a mystery to him forever. His brothers also often became enamoured by human things often, and Lucifer tried to understand, he really did, but the meaning escaped him frequently. 

Yet it didn’t make sense for such to be the case, because on the surface it was all so…

Simple. 

Diavolo’s smile started to falter so slightly as he watched Lucifer stare at the little paper triangle. “Come now Lucifer,” he huffed, “Paperwork will always be here! Humans come up with such fascinating little games to entertain themselves with! Surely playing one or two couldn’t hurt, besides we may miss one if we’re late on experiencing another-”

He was cut short as the paper hit his chest and then landed on his desk. 

“Ah, so I suppose I haven’t lost my aim,” Lucifer chuckled, “One game, then we get back to work.”

**********

With some begging and pestering, one round quickly became two, and then three, and then another game entirely. Lucifer would tell anyone who asked that he’d been annoyed and that he wanted to do nothing more than to get back to his work, but in reality he was having a rather fun time. He didn’t even remember when they broke the demonus out, he just knew that he had a refilled glass in his hand as he was being dragged along in Diavolo’s fun. He wasn’t drunk per say, only the slightest bit tipsy. 

Currently, a little red balloon was being passed from one demon to the other.

“The last time Solomon wanted to cook with me, I gave him clay and told him it was dough, when he discovered my rouse, I apologized and said I made a mistake and that he could help next time,” Barbatos sighed, using his tail to smack the balloon towards Lucifer.

“But of course you didn’t mean that.” 

“Oh heavens no. I wouldn’t willingly let him into my kitchen, not even if he twisted our pact in order to get his way.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh? He does have a passion for it,” Diavolo’s brow furrowed as he pushed the balloon back.

“My Lord, with all due respect-”

Lucifer cut in, “His monstrosities could take out all three realms with little trouble. I’m not exaggerating.”

Diavolo caught the balloon and walked closer to Lucifer, “While that may be true, it wouldn’t hurt you to be a little kinder to the exchange students no?” 

Before Lucifer could question anything, Diavolo furiously runned the balloon onto his head, leaving the firstborn looking rather bewildered. This time Barbatos didn’t snort. A laugh escaped him before he managed to cover his mouth. It took a while for Lucifer to even notice that Diavolo no longer had the balloon in his hands. 

“Oh Lucifer! Look at you! You know you just look so adorable like that!” Diavolo’s boisterous laughter filled the room.

“I do say, I have to agree with you young Master.”

Lucifer closed his eyes for a moment before reaching up between his horns. Oh this. This was a thing human children did to amuse themselves right?  It shouldn’t surprise him that It amused Diavolo too, many things amused him. 

Before Lucifer could even utter his next words, the door opened. 

“Hey Lucifer? You here? I was wondering if I could… borrow… some…”

Mammon and Lucifer locked eyes for a moment. Raven black hair a mess, small paper triangles all over the floor, and a mountain of paperwork surrounding them. The air between the two brothers was tense, and neither one dared to move a muscle.

Mammon’s eyes wandered up to the balloon sitting atop his brother's head before slowly lifting his phone.

Click.

There was only a brief pause before Mammon took off down the hallway, Lucifer hot on his heels yelling all sorts of obscene threats towards his cackling brother. 

“Ah, well that was nice while it lasted,” Diavolo sighed, “You did get a picture of him though, didn’t you Barbatos?”

“Of course my Lord.”

“Excellent.”

[neonthewrite]

Washed Up Winchesters 8 (Final)

The mystery is solved and the case closed! It seems the Winchesters didn't quite expect things to go this way, but when there's a giant involved, all kinds of things go differently!

Cowritten with @nightmares06, the writer behind the @brothersapart multiverse!

( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) ( 7 ) -8-

Story Tag

Read Time ~10 minutes

~~~~~

Chase pushed himself up and shook his head. He was more used to being swept up in a giant hand, but toppling over a few times had winded him. He frowned over the edge of the hand, then over at Sam. “What?”

Jacob’s other hand lifted to be level with them. Minnie was clinging to his thumb and scanning the flock of sheep warily. They were all still milling around, keeping a tight group, several of them aiming disdainful baaas up in the air. Dean’s defiant stand over their heads certainly had not gone unnoticed. Minnie had never seen sheep act like that, certainly not in the shadow of a giant. “Sam?”

"Th-the sheep!" Sam gestured in the direction of the hostile flock. "We're chasing skinwalkers, not werewolves! They can be any type of animal, so long as it's what the pack started out as!"

The confusion on Dean's face cleared. "So you're saying this flock is the people we've been chasing the whole time?"

Sam nodded at the silver knife in Dean's hand. "One way to find out for sure."

Jacob frowned pensively. Even after hearing about how dangerous the skinwalkers were, he could hardly imagine the flock of fluffy sheep before him causing much trouble. Mostly they milled around among each other, all keeping tabs on Dean with his glimmering knife. It was weird that they didn't even want to run from Jacob, but he hadn't made any moves against them.

Even Chase and Minnie had been mostly spared. Chase had only fallen over because he kept trying to pull Dean up.

Jacob decided to throw in his two cents. "I mean, they're… they're not really doing anything," he pointed out.

"Except yelling at us," Chase agreed, waving a hand at a ram that bleated insistently up at him.

"Wait," Minnie chimed in, her brow pinching with confusion. "Do they understand what we're saying when they're in their whatever-form?"

Sam circled a hand through the air aimlessly, trying to gather his thoughts and what he knew of their current enemies. "Skinwalkers aren't like werewolves, who give in to their more... animalistic side when they transform. They maintain their regular consciousness and memory. The main danger is that they can transfer their ability with a bite, increasing the size of their pack... or flock." Sam gave the flock of sheep a strange look. He'd never encountered supernatural creatures in the guise of herbivores like the sheep. This case was shaping up to be unique in more ways than one.

"That means," Sam continued, "they know just who we are, and anything we said while we were here. Which is why they were so quick to lunge at me and Dean. They already found us once on the ship, when they were in their human forms. We couldn't stay under cover, and ended up tossed overboard."

Minnie frowned critically over the side of Jacob’s hand, even as the giant lifted everyone slightly higher. If those sheep really were skinwalkers, and at this point they certainly weren’t acting like normal sheep, they’d just let the group wander among them. She’d patted their heads and tried to click at them like she did with her lambs back home and everything. The feeling that wormed into her gut was something like betrayal.

“So these guys might be the reason I found you floundering out in the waves,” Jacob echoed, a disapproving frown on his face.

“Well what do they--” Chase began, asking Sam first before looking over the side of the hand at the nearest sheep bleating up at them. “What do you want in Lilliput then?!”

For a long moment, it appeared as though Chase's demand would go unanswered. The sheep milled restlessly around, giving Jacob's feet a wide berth as they bleated.

Then, the ram that had given Dean a runaround when he was on the ground stepped out into an opening that formed in the flock. It cocked its head, fixing one eye on the hand that held Chase, Minnie, Sam and Dean. Its expression was impossible to read as it looked them over, one by one.

There was a shift, and then the ram's horns appeared to melt away. Several cracks could be heard as its back shifted to an upright position, and the hooves split into four fingers and a thumb.

After less than ten seconds from when the shift started, the ram stood there as a regal and distinguished looking man, dressed in a simple white shirt and dark pants. He frowned at the people in Jacob's hand, then up at the giant himself.

"As I recall," the man said, "you were the ones to smuggle onto our ship when we had done nothing to you in turn, stinking of silver and gunpowder."

Seeing the transformation had been more than enough to leave Jacob, Minnie, and even Chase speechless for a hesitant moment. Jacob’s mouth opened slightly, as amazed as he’d been the first time he met Chase. He had never really thought about tiny people existing anywhere before. He definitely hadn’t imagined them having the ability to turn into tiny sheep. “Uh. Wh… what,” he muttered.

“I mean. I guess that’s technically true,” Chase finally admitted, sending an uncomfortable sideways glance at Sam and Dean. He frowned down at the apparent leader of a flock of sheep skinwalkers. “So … are skinwalkers usually dangerous, or not? ‘Cause I feel like that would clear up a lot, knowing what you actually plan to do in Lilliput, right?”

The man’s lip curled in disgust. “Oh, please,” he said disparagingly. “Unlike our more… wolf-ish cousins, we have no interest in anyone’s hearts.”

Next to him, a second sheep transformed back. This one was shorter, and he had very mousy features in comparison to the ram’s dignified look. “But we like Romaine hearts,” he stuttered out insistently. “Right? Right?!”

“Please, Jerimiah,” the ram said. “This situation is delicate enough without your help.” He turned to look up at the Lilliputians and Blefuscians held in the giant’s hand. “Haven’t you ever heard ‘The grass is greener on the other side?’ We are here in search of better pastures. Nothing more.”

Chase’s mouth opened in a delighted grin over the bad pun. Before he could try to chime in with his own, Minnie slapped his arm with the back of her hand. In her opinion, she had enough to deal with without her brother adding to the pile. She’d thought this was a poor lost flock of sheep. Not an intentional group of … magic shapeshifting squatters. “So are Sam and Dean the only ones you hurt, or …?”

Jacob heaved a slow sigh. Minnie had a point. If they had left behind more than just Sam and Dean, it would be dangerous having the shapeshifters around Lilliput too. “Yeah, I mean. I’m pretty sure I can outrun you guys, but what’s to stop you from sneaking along later and trying something again? Are Chase and Minnie here in danger because they know your secret?”

The ram’s mouth twisted in annoyance. “All we want is green fields and calm waters,” he explained. “Any Blefuscans that we ran into, we ran off, nothing more. These… hunters that followed us were the most persistent, and I couldn’t risk the safety of my flock. Throwing them off the ship was only done as a last resort.”

Looking over the rest of the flock, and a brief glance at the twitchy Jerimiah, the ram shook his head in doubt. “Perhaps it was merely a pipe dream to find a place free of warmongering, but we had to try.”

“So…” Sam tentatively leaned forward. “Your main plan is to get as far from civilization, and stay there?”

“Sammy…” Dean started, but was ignored.

The ram nodded. “It seemed like a more likely situation to find in Lilliput compared to Blefuscu. Such an idyllic land…” He turned to Chase and Minnie. “No one here is at risk from my flock, I give you my word. Even if we get sent back to Blefuscu.” The last statement was said with a sideways glance at Dean.

The guy seemed genuine enough. Having lived in Lilliput for a bit, Jacob knew the locals to be fussy but harmless. They would likely be too caught up in their own drama to notice an extra flock of sheep up past the hills, especially since no one really wandered this far anyway. He decided that he believed the stern little guy.

It wasn't really up to him, though. He lowered his hands a bit, not enough to put his passengers at risk but at least to bring them more level with the ram. "Whatcha think, Chase? Minnie?"

"It's weird," Chase said, practically bursting for an opening to speak up. "Sheep-people .... sheepshifters!"

Minnie smacked his arm. "How is that helping?" she scolded, before addressing the ram again. "I don't think anyone uses these pastures so you won't get anyone upset. But will you even be safe out here? From wolves and things, I mean?"

The ram looked down his nose at her. “Wolves have been our problem since the start,” he said with a sharp look sent in Dean’s direction. “We haven’t been able to shake them yet.”

Sam stepped between Dean and the ram with an arm to separate them, before thoughtless words could be thrown. “If we leave you be, does this mean you’ll leave the Lilliputians alone?” he asked, trying to keep the focus. “We’re only here to deal with threats.”

The ram sighed. “We won’t bother a soul, you have my word. So long as we have our pastures.”

Sam put his arm down. “I think our job’s done then,” he said. “They’ll just need a safe place to call home now.”

“This works,” Chase agreed, gesturing at the current pasture. Aside from Jacob looming over the field with several people standing on his hands, it was a simple, idyllic view. The area was lush, if a bit wild, and unbothered by Lilliput or Blefuscu. “We even have Jacob here to come check on you sometimes if you need anything.”

Jacob rolled his eyes at being volunteered so easily. It was his lot in life anymore, to have Chase suggest him for any task that needed doing. “I have a pretty easy time getting over here,” he agreed anyway. “If you need supplies.”

Minnie glanced over at Sam and Dean. Sam seemed mollified, though Dean looked as ready for a fight as ever. Looking back at the sheep, she gave them an exaggerated shrug. “Looks like everyone’s okay, so … it all worked out? This time?”

The ram gave Minnie a stiff half-bow, looking uncomfortable with the unfamiliar gesture. “We will hold up our end of the bargain,” he promised.

With a quick shift, the man again turned into a ram. Large, curving horns came out of his forehead first before he fell forward onto a new set of hooves. By the time he hit the ground, he could have blended in with any herd of sheep and proceeded to walk amongst the others. Jerimiah followed suit next. Then, a slowly stirring wave expanded throughout the herd until they were all heading in the same ambling direction.

Sam sighed, blowing out his bangs. “Case closed.”

“Weirdest case ever,” Dean complained. “Almost as weird as running into the actual giant in the lands.” He sent Jacob a side-eye. “Maybe next time we’re in Lilliput, we can enlist some extra help again?” Despite his usual gruff tone of voice, the interest in having a giant helper shone right through.

Chase drew himself up proudly, though he still stood notably shorter than either brother. “We’re totally ready to kick some ass, anytime we’re needed.”

Minnie rolled her eyes. “Preeeetty sure they were asking for Jacob,” she pointed out, nudging Chase with an elbow.

“Hey! I helped!”

Jacob smirked. He’d gotten somewhat used to the surly attitude from Dean. It seemed the little folk over in Blefuscu could be just as excitable as the Lilliputians he’d come to know. Chase and Minnie’s antics were practically a given. “I’m basically a glorified taxi,” he warned. “But I’ll be here.”